《Re-Awakening: I Ascend with a Legendary class》 Chapter 1: Prologue In the year 2025, a cataclysm known as World Break struck Earth, changing everything. The world was plunged into chaos as humans were forced into the deadly challenge of the Grand Abyss Labyrinth. This marked the dawn of a new era¡ªthe Age of Adventurers. Twenty-five yearster, Earth was no longer a home but a battlefield. Monsters spilled into the world, unleashed by catastrophic Dungeon Breaks. Humanity had advanced with magic tech, supernatural powers, and newfound resources from the Labyrinth and Dungeons that made them formidable¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t enough. Thousands of Dungeon Breaks ravaged thend due to failure to clear the Labyrinth¡¯s 30th floor in time, where even the mightiest adventurers had fallen. Selfishness and cowardice overtook the remaining powerful few, who fled in magi-tech spaceships as millions escaped while leaving billions to die on the they once called home. Among those left behind was Almond Crowshade. As the world crumbled, he stood alone, deep in the heart of the Labyrinth, facing the impossible¡ªthe 30th Floor Boss. In a frozen, deste world of blue frost, he squared off against a towering beast of godly might: Algeran, the ckfrost Terror. A colossal being of over 100 meters, with shimmering blue crystal fangs, spiraling horns, and ck fur lined with frost. It had crushed every challenger before. And now, it mocked Almond. "Human, your tenacity is impressive, and your persistence is something I haven¡¯t seen. Despite losing so many times, you escape and still challenge me, kakakaka! It¡¯s fun!" Algeran¡¯s voice boomed with cruelughter. "Unfortunately, youck the power to defeat me and this shall be yourst attempt." Almond, battered and bloodied, stood unconscious, but his body moved as it obeyed his undaunted will. ¡¯Pitiful kid. If only you were a bit lucky and born early, you might have been able to change this fate,¡¯ Algeran thought, but suddenly, its pupils shrank upon seeing dreamy golden particles oozing out from Almond. Almond¡¯s grip tightened around his Legendary-grade ck sword. He could barely form a thought, yet he had not surrendered. The will to fight¡ªhis tenacity¡ªdrove him as he stabbed the sword forward, and shed it dialogical. Without warning, golden particles began to swirl around him, like sparks of some strange power. The beast¡¯s mocking expression faltered as its icy gaze locked onto the mysterious glow. Almond¡¯s voice echoed, his eyes whitened, without focus. "¡­Scatter¡­ away¡­" ¡¯W-What?! How can he wield this power when he is just a mer-¡¯ A torrent of golden-red energy erupted, far beyond anything a mere adventurer should have wielded. The power Almond unleashed from his stab and swing motion drowned the dreadful Floor Boss that nobody could defeat...the Mythical-rank level 300 Floor Boss just got shredded till it turned into mist and scattered as a rain of blood formed, painting thendscape red. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond fell, exhausted and unconscious. Shortly, a blurred figure appeared, a silhouette barely discernible, but with the elegance of a woman, long hair cascading in a haze of mystery. "My, my¡­ this is a surprise," she whispered, her tone curious, almost amused. "You¡­ you are an interesting one." The woman gazed upon Almond, who had copsed in exhaustion, his consciousness had already faded as he was in slumber. Her eyes narrowed, scanning him closely as something unseen caught her attention. [Trait discovered: Tenacity (X)] "An X-rank trait?" The figure¡¯s voice cracked in shock. Her eyes showed excitement and amusement as she muttered, "Nothing fancy-sounding one, but an X-rank trait signifies limitless potential¡­So it was this thing that allowed him to break the limits and wield that Transcendental power." "This is too precious and fun of a toy to let it rot here," the woman¡¯s eyes glinted, her finger caressing her lips as she looked at Almond with cheeks red, and the grin wide. ¡¯Let¡¯s see...there¡¯s one more on which Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial will descend. Yes, there. You will go there, on a Earth just like this one.¡¯ As thest vestiges of energy drained from Almond¡¯s body, he fell into a deep unconsciousness. He had won¡­ yet all he felt was an all-consuming frustration. As darkness enveloped him, he screamed a raw, primal cry of rage that echoed through this abyss of darkness around him. ¡¯It¡¯s over¡­¡¯ Almond thought he died, but then, in the silence that followed, a mechanical and cold voice echoed in his mind. [Transfer to another worldmencing...] [Your memories will be sealed, and you will reincarnate in another world where Grimworld¡¯s tutorial awaits. Each floor cleared will unlock your past memories until the 10th Floor.] ¡¯Transfer¡­ Reincarnate? And what does it mean by Grimworld¡¯s tutorial?! And I have to clear the floors in another world to unlock memories¡­ does this mean I¡¯m not dead yet?!¡¯ [Good luck.] Chapter 2: The Death In the Grand Abyss Labyrinth¡¯s 1st Floor, at one of the eight starting areas. ¡¯This can¡¯t be happening. We are all ssmates, and this is our important day¡­my important day to change my life, so why¡­¡¯ A ck-haired young man with a thin figure was in a dark hall made of stones and illuminated with me torches on the stone pirs every ten meters apart. Almond Crowshade turned eighteen nine days ago in his second life which wasn¡¯t aware of yet, and was dealt with a bad hand in this new life. "Hey, Almond. You¡¯re lucky, eh? Come on, give that thing you got from the treasure chest. I can¡¯t believe you found a treasure chest in the starting area." A young man with dark red hair and two other boys of the same age surrounded Almond, his back against a pir as he looked at the trio with a mixture of fear and hate. The dark red-haired young man grabbed Almond¡¯s ck hair and forced him to look at him, a hint of jealousy in his eyes, "I hate your eyes, bastard. They always glow in golden-almond color in light, like your fucking name. Hurry up and take out the thing you got!" *Ptui* Almond clenched his teeth, feeling anger but also helplessness as he wiped away the spit from his face. ¡¯I can¡¯t overpower him even if I use the Physical Enchantment I¡¯ve learned...! Damn my body! Why is it so weak!? If only I had some time to level up! Fuck!¡¯ [Lamp Benom] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 1 -ss: B-rank me Sorcerer. -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: ??? | Health: ??? | Stamina: ???] -Magic: ?[Mana: ??? | Focus: ??? | Perception: ???] Almond couldn¡¯t see their ss or stats usually, but since he had learned about Lamp¡¯s ss from his own mouth, it appeared in the interface. As long as the information he heard was true, it would appear in the interface. He looked at his ssmates with a mixture of hate and fear. As his luck would have it, after entering thebyrinth that was mandatory by the system for everyone who turned eighteen and awakened their ss, he encountered these bastards. There were eight beginning areas on the Labyrinth¡¯s first floor, eight different corners. After entering any of the thousands of gates, one would arrive at one of the eight areas in this Grand Abyss Labyrinth, but he just had to encounter these bastards from his ss, thanks to his misfortune. "Pff, he selected the Support role and got a D-rank Clergyman ss, hahaha. I know you have some defect making you physically weak and all, but seriously¡­did you think you could do anything with this ss on your own?" *Smack* A punch struck Almond¡¯s face, making his nose bleed. "If you don¡¯t want to die, hand over the thing you got," the blue-haired young man put the dagger at Almond¡¯s throat, his eyes menacing as he grinned sadistically. [Seyung Kim] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 1 -ss: C-rank Dagger Killer. -Stats. -Physical: ?[Strength: ??? | Health: ??? | Stamina: ???] -Magic ?[Mana: ??? | Focus: ??? | Perception: ???] "Hurry up, Almond. Nobody is waiting outside to cry for you, and nobody gives a damn. Stop wasting our time," said the third boy with an annoyed expression. He had brown hair and looked at Almond as if he were looking at a dead man, his eyes cold as he felt no empathy. [Jacob Roshir] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 1 -ss: A-rank Sentinel Swordsman. -Stats. -Physical: ?[Strength: ??? | Health: ??? | Stamina: ???] -Magic ?[Mana: ??? | Focus: ??? | Perception: ???] "Seriously¡­ Just disappear and rest in peace, would ya? Weaklings are supposed to die here in the first ce," Jacob said with a deadpan expression. ¡¯Why can¡¯t you leave me alone?!¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes were bloodshot as fear of death enveloped him. He really felt they were going to kill him, especially Jacob. ¡¯This was my chance to turn my life around, but these pieces of trash!!¡¯ ¡¯I have to survive for now.¡¯ Almond tremblingly took out the reward from the treasure chest he got. He had no other choice. It was a Rare-grade item called Pearl of Light Flower, able to cure all types of harmful effects and give a protection barrier for ten seconds after activating it with a cooldown of 1 day. He was super lucky to find a treasure chest right after entering Labyrinth¡¯s first floor in this area, and even more lucky to find a Rare-grade item inside the Bronze treasure chest. But now, he had to give it away. "Damn, this bastard got a Rare-grade essory item?!" "That¡¯s pretty lucky, eh?" "It¡¯s super lucky to get this here, lol! But I guess we are the lucky ones, boss," Seyung grinned. "Thanks, Almond," Seyung Kin looked at Almond with squinted eyes and a nasty smile, his dagger still on Almond¡¯s throat. "You said you would let me go¡­" Almond¡¯s eyes were filled with more and more fear of death as he saw Seyung¡¯s eyes. ¡¯Will he kill me? No way, right?¡¯ ¡¯He is eighteen years old, first time entering thebyrinth like me.¡¯ ¡¯Will he kill his ssmate for nothing?¡¯ "Are we really gonna kill him?" Lamp asked while looking at Almond, looking slightly nervous. "Tsk," Jacob picked his right ear boringly and turned around. "Finish him off, Seyung. Today is your debut killing." "My father told me that if I make a conflict, I have to make sure there are no loose ends," Jacob nced at Lamp to his side. "If we don¡¯t wantplications Almond can bring, we have to finish him off." "Do it, Seyung." "Yes, boss!" "No," Almond¡¯s pupils shrank. He tried to get up using all of his strength, but it was lower than Jacob who suddenly pressed his foot on my shoulder. "Sit down," Jacob snorted. Seyung grinned, ready to sh his dagger. ¡¯Don¡¯t!¡¯ ¡¯I only have two skills¡­Healing Wisp and Cord of Peace. I have to¡­¡¯ *sh!* [Your Health is dropping rapidly. You have been poisoned.] ¡¯Use¡­them...¡¯ "Let¡¯s go. And Lamp," Jacob turned to Lamp. "Get used to killing if you want to join my father¡¯s guild." "S-Sure." "I killed somebody, but it doesn¡¯t feel much. Hey, Jacob, I want to kill one more," Seyung disyed a nasty grin. Meanwhile, Lamp was pretty nervous and even felt like throwing up seeing Almond twitching, but he held it in and turned around. "Let¡¯s see¡­" Jacob looked at the map he brought. "We are in this area of the first floor." "We should start with the goblin settlement in the west. It¡¯s not far and a perfect starting area to hunt. They are easier to kill with our team, and once we level up, we¡¯ll target the goblin colony," Jacob put away the map and said, "Let¡¯s go." "We might also meet some people on the way," he added with a grin. "Hopefully we meet more of our ssmates, hehe. We can form a team with our lead in that case." Almond looked at them with blurry vision as they walked away. He heard their words for several seconds before everything started going nk. [You have used Healing Wisp (D).] N?v(el)B\\jnn Healing Wisp: Create a wisp that can enter into a wound, purify it from harmful effects, and heal the wound. [You have used the Whisper of Peace (D).] Whisper of Peace: Alliavete the pain and calm the mind. [Your Health is at a critical juncture.] [Your Mana is drained. Poison can¡¯t be removedpletely.] [Your Health is at a critical juncture.] ¡¯I am¡­not dead¡­yet?¡¯ Almond regained his consciousness, but the system notification told him that his survival chances were¡­zero. ¡¯I can¡¯t do anything?¡¯ ¡¯Why did I have to get the treasure chest right off the bat?¡¯ ¡¯Would they have left me alone if I didn¡¯t find the treasure chest?¡¯ [Your death is imminent.] ¡¯I don¡¯t want to die.¡¯ ¡¯I don¡¯t want to die!¡¯ Almond looked at the system panel. ¡¯Is there no way?¡¯ ¡¯Anyone out there?¡¯ ¡¯Help¡­¡¯ [Your lifeforce connection is ending.] ¡¯I don¡¯t want to die¡­I just turned eighteen, and this was my chance to turn my life around!¡¯ ¡¯I don¡¯t want to die!!¡¯ [You are dead.] [...condition fulfilled.] Chapter 3: The Resurrection Ten years ago, a cmity known as World Break urred in this world known as Earthart. [#### Commencing] As this unrecognizable notification arrived before everyone¡¯s eyes, a strange cmity descended. Geography changed due to seawater being reduced by 20% and newnds formed. Despite Earthquakes and tsunamis urring over the globe resulting inrge-scale destruction, no human or animal was hurt because a mysterious protective golden film enveloped everyone when the first notification arrived. It was all magical as the cmity remained for 24 hours, and after that, everything was fixed. It was as if someone was treating this as y to y with and mold it as they like. The geography changed, and something else also appeared. Thousands of Labyrinth Gates. They appeared in different parts of the globe, with all those gates leading into a singlerge Labyrinth. The Grand Abyss Labyrinth. At the same time, all humans at eighteen years old and above received a notification in their minds. It told them to select an option. Everyone had five options. [Warrior] [Mage] [Thief] [Tank] [Support] [Select within 1 hour.] [Failure to select before the countdown will result in instant death.] [If you have selected, you will enter the Grand Abyss Labyrinth after the countdown. Since you are the first ones on Earthart to enter, you shall be given a newbie pack containing amon-grade weapon suitable to whatever ss you awaken.] [Good luck.] That was how humanity on Earthart was ushered into the new age. Age of Adventurers. The general currency became Gold Coins that one could acquire after killing monsters in the Labyrinth. After the initial forced entry, everyone was required to enter the Labyrinth within one month of turning 18 years old. The Newbie pack was removed after the first wave of humans entered, but it was nothing important since people could easily get amon-grade weapon inside the Labyrinth. The system also asked for monthly tax in Gold Coins after one turned eighteen and entered Labyrinth, with the tax increasing ording to their level. But with power, riches, and fortunes as rewards to obtain, many adventurers braved thebyrinth. And many died trying. Ten yearster, humanity was fairly established in the new age. The Labyrinth was an unknown world that humans had to explore, and so far, the top forces of humanity were exploring the 10th Floor after defeating the 9th floor¡¯s Floor Boss three months ago. Aside frombyrinth gates at different ces on Earthart that remained permanent, Dungeon Doors would appear randomly as well, granting rich rewards with great difficulty. Unless a Dungeon was cleared, it would gradually fill up, and a Dungeon Break would ur, pouring monsters onto Earthart, so Adventurers also had to clear dungeons. Guilds consisting of powerful Adventurers were established, and the Global Adventurers Association was formed to maintain the world of Adventurers. The concept of countries was reced with a single governer body¡ªEarthart Union, due to geographical changes and looming danger from the mysterious system that brought dungeons and Labyrinth that nobody could figure out. The Labyrinth was permanent but had schedules. Thebyrinth¡¯s gates through the globe would only remain open for 15 days a month. During the first half of the month, they remained closed. Once it opened for people to enter, the exit portal would appear every three days for 5 hours, for a total of five times during the 15 days the Labyrinth remained active. And every three days, the defeated monsters and bosses would respawn, or new ones would arrive with stronger power, granting new rewards and riches. The newbie awakeners, those turning 18, must enter abyrinth within one month or ept death. Almond turned 18 nine days ago, and he was waiting for the day to enter the Labyrinth once it opened. With his frail body that couldn¡¯t physically train due to a gene defect, he was weak. But he had absorbed all helpful knowledge about thebyrinth and the type of powers recorded so far in the library and daily news because he wanted to turn around his life after entering thebyrinth! He thought he could fix his condition by selecting a support ss at first and then creating a powerful build after reaching level 10, where everyone is given a specialized second ss! He also trained in the use of Mana, learning Physical Enchantment by doing a hellish training, but due to his Strength already being low, it wasn¡¯t useful yet. However, it would be useful after adding stat points to his low Strength after leveling up. There was also a rare power called Soul Core that some Elite and Boss monsters would drop. Adventurers could equip a Soul Core in their body to gain a new set of skills. There were plenty of opportunities for one to get strong and turn around their situation after bing an adventurer if one was brave and hardworking enough. Or so Almond thought until thest moments of his life. ¡­ [Unique conditions fulfilled.] [You have triggered a special event.] [By staying between the realm of living and dead with your stubborn soul and a flicker of luck keeping your body alive thanks to your ss, you are granted a special ss courtesy to #####.] ¡¯Am I making up things due to my broken hope even after death?¡¯ n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡¯There¡¯s still darkness around-¡¯ Suddenly, Almond¡¯s eyes shot open as he found himself floating mid-air with a powerful aura gushing out of him and enveloping him. [Congrattions. You have awakened an SS-rank ss¡ªSpirit Dealer] Almond slowly descended on the ground, his injuries healed, and feeling healthy like never before. "I¡­am alive?" Almond¡¯s eyes trembled as he looked at his hands and body, feeling everything as real as reality. "I am alive." Chapter 4: Heir of Oblivion Almond reigned himself as he wiped the tears that appeared due to intense relief and exhration from his resurrection. But he knew that he had to make things right if he wanted to live. ¡¯Jacob won¡¯t let me live if Ie out of thebyrinth alive. But¡­¡¯ His fist clenched tightly as he muttered, "Since I am alive. I am not letting you three pieces of trash live¡­no matter what!" Almond¡¯s whole vibe changed as fear escaped from him, and his eyes oozed out ferociousness and bloodthirst. He then took a deep breath and looked at the new ss he got. [Spirit Dealer] -ss rank: SS -ss Perk: ¡ª> +150% Mana capacity (SS) -ss skills: ¡ª> (S) Spirit Pocket: You can harvest a spirit containing memories of a target that has recently died. [0/20] ¡ª> (S) Spirit Explosion: You can use a stored spirit to cause an explosion in any location within 10 meters of yourself. Explosion might be special by chance, boosted by the random powers of the spirit¡¯s arsenal of skills before their owner¡¯s death. ¡ª> (SS) Spirit Devour: Devour the spirits to acquire permanent stats. There¡¯s a limit to gaining stats from the spirits of the same species. ¡ª> (SS) Spirit Factory: Use the spirits and turn them into one-time use items or spirit weapons, with their effect depending on the target spirit¡¯s power before their owner¡¯s death. ¡¯So I can harvest spirits and use these spirits for other skills...This looks powerful,¡¯ Almond felt his ss¡¯s power within, boosting his mood and confidence. Looking at the path ahead into the forest, he started walking, ¡¯ording to the first floor¡¯s map, I am at the southwest starting point of thebyrinth. I remember those three talking about going to the goblin settlement in this area.¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted sharply. ¡¯Very good. That¡¯s a perfect ce to test my skills and kill those three pieces of trash.¡¯ [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 1 [0%] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 250/250] -Stats: |-Physical: ?[Strength: 7 | Health: 7 | Stamina: 7] |-Mental ?[Mana: 10(+15) | Focus: 10 | Perception: 13] ¡¯My stats changed¡­My Health was 3, Strength was 2, and Stamina was also 3. My Mana was 10, but it increased to 25 thanks to my ss perk. Focus and Perception are same as before.¡¯ ¡¯I already had above-average perception and focus, so I was hopeful after entering here, but those three pieces of trash got me,¡¯ Almond clenched his fist. ¡¯But I may be even a bit thankful to them now,¡¯ Almond grinned. ¡¯Not that I would spare them, though.¡¯ ¡¯Alright, I am here.¡¯ Almond arrived in Murky Woods, a small woond area upied by Dire Wolves between levels 1 to 3. He saw clear signs of those three entering this forest. The goblin settlement was at the end of this forest, at a river bank running from Fairy Mountain, which was one of the higher-level areas on the first floor. As Almond walked into the forest, he finally encountered the Dire Wolves. But dead ones. ¡¯Hmm? What¡¯s that?¡¯ Almond saw a blue wisp hovering above the furthest wolf. [Dire Wolf Spirit]¡ª[0:1] [Dire Wolf Spirit]¡ª[0:0] It vanished. ¡¯So it was a countdown,¡¯ Almond understood what it was and made haste into the forest. ¡¯If I can get some spirits for free, I can start getting stronger!¡¯ ¡¯Due to getting the Clergyman ss, the Academy gave me a holy staff, but¡­¡¯ Almond nced at his staff while running. [Holy Staff] -Grade: Common -Effect(s): ¡ª> +10 Mana capacity. -Skill(s): ¡ª> Holy st: Shoot a holy orb that sts in a 1-meter radius and deals pure magic damage of light attribute. Cost: 10 Mana. ¡¯Still, this is the lowest level of staff even inmon grade with that shitty effect. I can also use Spirit Explosion as an offensive means, so I am not out of options for an attack skill.¡¯ Almond saw more wolf spirits and quickly acted, using his Spirit Pocket skill. [Spirit Pocket] -Rank: S -Effect: Pull spirits within your vision and store them in the spirit pocket. -Cost: ¡ª -Current number of spirits: [3/20]. Almond resumed running. ¡¯Is this an effect of my ss? My physical body is performing like this for the first time.¡¯ ¡¯Fatigue isn¡¯t catching up like I thought.¡¯ ¡¯I can speed up.¡¯ Almond soon arrived at another pack of dead wolves, and all of them had their spirits still hovering! Spirit Pocket. Current number of spirits: [8/20] ¡¯Just running like this feels good,¡¯ Aldmond grinned as he ran at his full speed ahead. He could feel his body in its entirety without feeling weakness like before! ¡¯There¡¯s some kind of power that¡¯s preventing fatigue from building up. I can feel it!¡¯ ¡¯Haha, this is awesome.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om [You have discovered your awakened innate talent.] [You have been unknown. Should you have died, there would be no record of you or memories of you in anyone. Therefore, you were to be devoured by Oblivion, the Maw of Forgotten.] [You witnessed its presence.] [Yet, you managed to escape.] [Thus, you have awakened an innate talent: Heir of Oblivion.] [Heir of Oblivion] -Description: For you, who has witnessed the presence of Oblivion yet managed to escape. -Rank: Mythic, (???). -Effect(s): ¡ª> Mana consumption and Stamina consumption are halved. ¡ª> Mana recovery, Stamina recovery, and Health recovery is doubled. ¡ª> Your impression on others is easily forgotten. ¡ª> Your impression on people you hold important is strongly remembered. ¡¯T-This¡­¡¯ Almond was dumbfounded, amazed, overjoyed. ¡¯No wonder I am not tired at all by running. Simply running won¡¯t consume my stamina due to this fast recovery!¡¯ ¡¯With such a passive trait, I should also try to learn closebat style skills! I don¡¯t want to leave an obvious weakness when I can fill it up and make it my strong suit.¡¯ He encountered another pack of four dead wolves and absorbed the spirits. Almond was getting excited by his future prospects, but his daydreaming was over as he smelled smoke and heard chaotic sounds nearby. ¡¯They started attacking the settlement already? But they should be tired after fighting in the forest.¡¯ Almond arrived at the periphery and could easily see the fight urring in the center of the settlement. ¡¯This ce feels familiar¡­must be because I¡¯ve read about the First Floor many times,¡¯ Almond wryly smiled and focused on the settlement. ¡¯They killed three goblins out of ten.¡¯ -Current number of spirits: [18/20] ¡¯Got them.¡¯ ¡¯All three Goblin Archers are burned to death, so goblins lost their long-range attackers already.¡¯ Almond suddenly saw one of them chugging a potion and understood why they weren¡¯t tired. ¡¯Jacob, that bastard. He must have brought a bunch of potions from outside. His father is guild leader of an A-rank Guild, so he must be loaded.¡¯ ¡¯That pouch I saw hanging at his waist must be a storage pouch.¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes were coldly fixed on the trio. ¡¯I have to kill them before they grow. Those potions give them a way higher edge, especially if he also has special effect potions.¡¯ ¡¯I have to eliminate Jacob before anyone else.¡¯ He had seen thetest developed potions. It was a new way of making potions. Instead of just creating buff, debuff, and recovery potions, this method was offensive. Throw a potion and freeze an area. Throw a potion and burn a field. Throw a potion and release toxic gas. Potions became disposable special weapons! ¡¯Jacob, please don¡¯t use too many potions until I am done. They¡¯ll be very helpful to me,¡¯ Almond grinned. [Spirit Factory has finished the production.] ¡¯Perfect.¡¯ Chapter 5: Spirit Factory ¡¯Using this skill for 4 Spirits drained half of my Mana pool, but it¡¯s already recovering fast.¡¯ He quickly checked out the result, as this Spirit Factory was actually a mystical room he could ess with just a thought. He saw four items on a table and checked them out. -> Wolf w Gauntlet x 1. -> Ring of Crimson Howl x 2. -> Wolf Fur¡¯s Coat x 1. [Wolf w Gauntlets] -Grade: [Common] -Durability: [100/100] -Duration: [1 day] -Attack: [12] -Effect(s): ¡ª> 10% chance to cause bleeding. -Spirit Effect(s): ¡ª> Transform it into a pair of spectral wolves inheriting your stats for 30 seconds. Cost: 10% of your Mana. It requires 5% of your Mana every 30 seconds to maintain the spectral wolves. ¡ª> Feeding a spirit to this item also extends its duration of existence. Almond¡¯s eyes popped out of his sockets. ¡¯Am I a cksmith or what? Such a crazy weapon with a transforming effect by simply using Mana and a dead monster¡¯s spirit?¡¯ ¡¯But I also need to feed such weapons spirits to keep it. Otherwise, it will disappear. Still, this is awesome!¡¯ Almond equipped the Gauntlets in his hand with the design of sharp wolf ws of Dire Wolves! ¡¯Great, this is better than holy staff, although I have to get into close range.¡¯ Afterward, Almond adorned the wolf fur coat behind him. ¡¯This coat should cover even if I get a couple of hits. And this looks awesome. Wish I had a mirror.¡¯ n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om [Wolf Fur¡¯s Coat] -Grade: [Common] -Durability: [100/100] -Duration: [1 day] -Defense: 10 -Effect(s): ¡ª> Upon getting injured, you gain a 5% damage reduction for 10 seconds, and your natural healing is increased by 5% for 30 seconds. 1-minute cooldown. ¡¯Not bad. Good for amon grade, but I have no intention of getting attacked in this battle,¡¯ Almond saw that only four Goblins remained now since those three had good synergy in skills and could spam skills due to recovery potions. Lamp spammed his Fireball and Firewall from the back, Seyung used his speed to go in and out to stab or sh goblins with his poisoned dagger that made the goblins wobbly. Jacob seemed to have receivedbat training and could fare well against the goblins, using his sword to release a sword sh projectile to attack while also deflecting attacks in close range using some kind of parry skill. He acted as the vanguard for the other two. ¡¯Jacob has to go first,¡¯ Almond thought and looked back at thest item to check it¡ªRing of Crimson Howl. Seeing its effect, his eyes sharply glinted. ¡¯This is it.¡¯ [Ring of Crimson Howl] -Grade: Common. -Type: One-time use. -Effect: Unleashes an intimidating howl that briefly stuns or distracts everyone within 10 meters of it. -Use: After infusing 5 Mana in the ring, the howl will unleash after five seconds from it. ¡¯It¡¯s like a shbang,¡¯ Almond narrowed his eyes as he moved his gaze to the battle in the settlement. ¡¯The only goblin remaining is Goblin Captain now.¡¯ ¡¯It¡¯s time. Jacob¡¯s at level 3, that bastard. I need to kill him before he kills Goblin Captain.¡¯ Jacob was injured twice due to Goblin Captain, but he healed himself, and now that other goblins were dead, those trio would finish off Goblin Captain easily. ¡¯But I won¡¯t let you do that.¡¯ Without further ado, Almond threw a ring after activating it, right between the Goblin Captain and Jacob. Upon countdown, the ring released a howl with a red aura in a 10-meter radius. Almond couldn¡¯t hear anything, but seeing that Jacob and others, including the Goblin Captain, covered their ears as if hearing an unbearable sound, he knew it worked. Almond had already dashed one second before the ring activated. When he was within 10 meters of Jacob, he immediately used two Spirit Explosions. ¡¯I don¡¯t want to take any risks. Two should be better than one.¡¯ "Huh?" Jacob opened his eyes as the howl vanished but saw a bluish-green ghostly wisp right in front of him. And one wisp was behind him. *BOOM!* *BOOM!* "Jacob!" "What the fuck just happened?!" *Pach¡­* In front of Seyung, Jacob¡¯s half-burned headnded, and half a secondter, both he and Lamp screamed in horror and shock. "What the fuck?!" Seyung was scared out of his wits. Jacob was his backer and anchor. He was basically Jacob¡¯s servant, as he knew he would have good future prospects if he stuck with Jacob. But¡­he just died. "Arghhh!" Seyung turned around upon hearing Lamp¡¯s scream and saw a wolf¡¯s w-like weapon piercing his chest from behind. "Hi, Seyung." "Y-You¡­" Seyung tremblingly took a step back as he saw Almond walking out from behind Lamp like a demon. The setting sun¡¯s faint glow highlighted Almond¡¯s eyes and gave it a faint red hue, scaring the shit out of Seyung. "Surprised?" Almond smiled and pulled up his w as blood sprayed out. Lamp grabbed his neck as he struggled to stop the bleeding, but the notification told him he was going to die soon. "Help¡­" Seyung was filled with fear and didn¡¯t act, only looking at Almond as he pointed his dagger at Almond, his hands trembling. "I killed you with Poison Coat skill on my dagger¡­how can you live after that?" "Dark Rule number 1, if you want to kill someone in Labyrinth or Dungeon, you have to confirm their death," Almond smiled. "After all, the system won¡¯t notify an adventurer¡¯s death like monsters, nor will it give you any exp for level up." Seyung felt a chill crawling back upon hearing his words. "Y-You know¡­you don¡¯t need to kill me. S-See, your hand is trembling," Seyung quickly said while forcing out a smile. "Lamp was a good guy¡­he didn¡¯t want to k-kill you." Almond looked at his hand, and it, indeed, was slightly trembling. "Maybe I am scared? But I am conscious of another feeling at the moment," Almond said, his lips parting into a grin. "It¡¯s excitement and thirst to thrive because I am alive, and I want to fucking continue living!" Seyung felt chills as he looked at Almond¡¯s grin and eyes. "W-We can make a deal, brother Almond." "Deal?" Almond sneered. "Do you think Jacob¡¯s father won¡¯t investigate anything and let you go without doing anything if you live?" "I don¡¯t want to die, "Almond¡¯s eyes turned frigid cold. "And for that, you will not live." Suddenly, Seyung felt intense pain and saw a spear driving through his stomach from behind. [You have been attacked by Goblin Captain.] [Your Vitality is dangerously low.] "P-Potion¡­" Seyung spoke while blood oozed out of his mouth, looking at the mess of blood and gore that was Jacob as he tried to find the storage pouch. Goblin Captain didn¡¯t give him that chance and finished him off. [You are dead.] ¡¯Come to me,¡¯ Almond also took Seyung¡¯s spirit. ¡¯This is good. I have my personal death inspection way. If someone¡¯s dead, I can know by seeing the spirit wisp. His gaze focused on the Goblin Captain. "It¡¯s your turn." "Grr¡­" Goblin Captain warily looked at Almond while pointing a spear at them, injured but slowly healing with some kind of healing skill. [Goblin Captain] -Rank: Bronze -Level: 5 -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 13 | Health: 12 | Stamina: 11 ] -Mental: ?[ Mana: 11 | Focus: 9 | Perception: 9 ] "You will be the first monster I kill, be honored." ¡¯Never mind, that dialogue felt cringe,¡¯ Almond wryly smiled, seeing Goblin Captain flinching after hearing him. ¡¯That monster is wary of me, and I have abo for this situation. Good, stay like that.¡¯ *Boom!* He used a Spirit Explosion behind it, causing it to lurch forward while Almond readied his Wolf w Gauntlet, his eyes focused as he drove both hands¡¯ wolf ws forward, one into Goblin Captain¡¯s forehead and the other into his neck. [You have killed a level 5 Goblin Captain.] [Due to you killing a monster five levels above you, you have gained 50% more exp.] [You have reached level 2. You have gained 3 stat points you can distribute.] [You have triggered the level-up Boon. Please select your boon.] ¡¯Finally,¡¯ Almond grinned. Looking at the progress bar and percentage, he was already 94% deep into level 2, so just one monster, and he would level up again. He also got 13 Gold Coins for killing the Goblin Captain. ¡¯This strangely feels like this isn¡¯t my first time fighting Goblins...is it because I¡¯ve always imagined fighting them after reading and watching the videos?¡¯ ¡¯Whatever. Time to pick up a boon.¡¯ [Select your level up boon] 1. Skill¡ªRandom. 2. Weapon¡ªRandom. 3. essory¡ªRandom. 4. Magic Item¡ªRandom. 5. Random¡ªRandom. ¡¯Adventurer¡¯s Rule number one: If there¡¯s a Skill option in the Level-up boon, always choose it,¡¯ Almond selected the 1st option. These level-up boons would be different each time, and they only appear once every five levels. The skill option wouldn¡¯t always appear, but it was considered the most important priority once it appeared because it could either give one a new skill or upgrade an existing skill! Random¡ªRandom could give stat points, but it could also give anything or nothing, so it wasn¡¯t something most adventurers would select unless other options were not desirable for them. [Your Skill, (S) Spirit Pocket, is upgraded to (SS) rank.] ¡¯A new effect?!¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glimmered golden. [Spirit Pocket] -Rank: SS -Effect(s): Chapter 6: Skill Upgrade, Spirit Devour [Spirit Pocket] -Rank: SS -Effect(s): ¡ª> Pull spirits within your vision and store them. ¡ª> Pocket: Spirit Kodoku¡ªAdd spirits to this special pocket where they would devour each other until thest one surviving has devoured others and evolved into a Spirit Wraith that you can use as your summon¡ª[0/20] -Cost: None. -Current number of spirits: [21/100]. ¡¯This is interesting. A new effect and my pocket also got bigger.¡¯ ¡¯Spirit Wraith¡­ I want to see what it is, but I have to gather more spirits. I don¡¯t want to use 20 of my 21 spirits in this Spirit Wraith.¡¯ ¡¯I used three on Spirit explosions and four to create items. The ring is powerful for now, but judging by how Jacob recovered, the ring¡¯s effect won¡¯t be useful on higher-level monsters in Fairy Mountain. Still, I have one left, and it can be my emergency bomb.¡¯ Even if it was a higher-level monster, it could give a window of a second or less for him to act. As long as the ring proves to be a surprise element for the enemy, it was useful! Almond looked at the mountain from afar, which was spreading out glow as the evening descended. ¡¯Let¡¯s wrap up the preparation before entering that area. The Goblin Colony is on the way, so I¡¯ll clear it and level up, but before that¡­¡¯ He picked up Jacob¡¯s storage pouch and put it in his backpack. He also put Spirits of Jacob, Lamp, and Seyung into Spirit Kodoku. Afterward, Almond used his ss skill¡ªSpirit Devour (S). ¡¯Let¡¯s see how this skill rolls.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 2 Dire Wolf Spirit.] [You have gained +1 Strength] [You have devoured a level 3 Goblin Warrior Spirit.] [You have gained +1 Health and +1 Stamina.] [You have devoured a level 2 Dire Wolf Spirit.] [You have gained nothing.] ¡¯Wait, what? No more points after just devouring one?¡¯ ¡¯Let me try with a higher level one.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 3 Dire Wolf Spirit] [You have gained +1 Mana.] ¡¯Before using one more level 3 Wolf, I should check the goblin one.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 4 Goblin Archer Spirit.] [You have gained +1 Focus and +1 Perception] ¡¯Interesting. Level 3 Goblin Warrior gave me two stat boosts, and level 4 Goblin Archer also did the same.¡¯ ¡¯Is it because they are different monsters?¡¯ Almond grinned and looked at his clenched fist filled with newfound power. ¡¯Let¡¯s continue. It feels awesome to actively feel myself getting powerful.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 3 Dire Wolf Spirit.] [You have gained 0.5 Strength.] ¡¯Well, better than nothing. I have four wolf spirits left, so I¡¯ll use them for Spirit Wraith ingredients.¡¯ ¡¯Next.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 5 Goblin Captain spirit.] [You have gained +2 Mana and +2 Strength.] ¡¯Awesome.¡¯ Almond could feel strength surging from within, both physical and magical. [You have devoured a level 4 Goblin Archer spirit.] [You have gained +1 Perception.] ¡¯I have one more Goblin Archer, but I might get nothing or 0.5 if I devour it. Hmmm, nah.¡¯ ¡¯I better use it as an ingredient since I¡¯ll have more spirits to devourter anyway.¡¯ Almond put the Goblin Archer spirit in the Spirit Kodoku pocket along with the four Dire Wolf Spirits. N?v(el)B\\jnn [You have devoured a level 5 Goblin Warrior Spirit.] [You have gained +2 Stamina and +1 Focus.] ¡¯Nice,¡¯ Almond grinned from ear to ear, feeling his stats increasing. Others need to level up to increase stats or eat rare and precious potions that are always in demand but not always in stock. Not to mention, whenever such items are found in thebyrinth, or even raw resources that can be processed to make a potion that increases stats, the big shot guilds and those with the money grab them first. Many also end up in Auctions. ¡¯My stats are already way higher than what people of my level should have,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. [You have devoured a level 4 Goblin Guardian spirit.] [You have gained +1 Focus and +1 Health.] ¡¯Alright, this is it.¡¯ The remaining spirits were of two Level 4 Goblin Warriors and one Level 3 Goblin Guardian. ¡¯I already devoured a level 5 and a level 3 Goblin Warrior spirits. Hmmm, I might get nothing, but I¡¯m not sure since I could also get 0.5 stat points.¡¯ Almond thought for a moment and decided to experiment since he felt it would be better to find the limits and effects of the skill properly. [You have devoured a level 4 Goblin Warrior Spirit.] [You have gained +1 Health.] ¡¯Alright, so it¡¯s rted to my level to a certain extent since I devoured a level 5 Goblin Warrior before this, and this level 4 Goblin Warrior still gave me a full point.¡¯ Almond put the remaining level 4 Goblin Warrior and level 3 Goblin Guardian within Spirit Kodoku¡¯s pocket, along with four wolves and one Goblin Archer. ¡¯I need eleven spirits more to create a spirit wraith. Alright, let¡¯s do this!¡¯ Spirit Kodoky: [9/20] Spirit Pocket: [0/100] Almond started walking towards the Fairy Mountain, but his next goal was the Goblin Colony, which was somewhere at the base of the Fairy Mountain in the west. The rough and slightly green open ground continued for five hundred meters before more trees appeared. ¡¯There¡¯s fire atop a wooden tower and¡­¡¯ Almond squinted his eyes and focused, which caused his eyesight to get better, and he gained a slightly zoomed-in view. ¡¯That¡¯s a goblin, which means that¡¯s the ce I am looking for.¡¯ But he was still around a hundred meters away from the Goblin Colony. *Rustles¡­* Almond paused as he heard a rustling sound. ¡¯My senses are sharper¡­¡¯ ¡¯There!¡¯ Almond infused Mana in his Wolf w Gauntlets, causing both gauntlets to turn into a beam of dreamy light before they transformed into two spectral Dire Wolves! ¡¯Go!¡¯ Almondmanded the wolves to get into the bushes. "Wait, wait! Please, stop!" Almond hurriedlymanded the wolves to stop upon hearing the words before an orange-haired girl with a short ponytail emerged from the bushes, a wand in her hand. She was surprised upon seeing a familiar face. ¡¯This guy is the one who sleeps in the corner mostly and gets bullied sometimes¡­I think.¡¯ "You¡­Almond, right?" she asked with a bit of doubt. [Natalia] -Adventurer Rank: Bronze. -Level: 4 -ss: ??? Chapter 7: Doubts, Suspicion, Uncertainty Almond¡¯s brows creased upon seeing the girl. "Natalia¡­" She was his ssmate. "Oh, so you¡¯re him," Natalia heaved a sigh of relief before she approached him, "Have you seen Jacob and others? He told me we would meet up near the Goblin Colony when we met earlier. I think only Jacob¡¯s group, you, me, and Lily spawned in this area. The other ssmates must have spawned at other starting areas." Almond¡¯s hand holding his staff clenched, but his expression remained slightly frowning as he shook his head, "I haven¡¯t seen them." He nced around Natalia and asked, "Are you alone?" "Hell no. I¡¯m with Lily. She got a powerful Phantom Thief ss, so she has concealed herself near the Goblin Colony to be on the lookout and scout it. Anyway, you seem¡­pretty good. What¡¯s with the wolves?" Natalia looked at two ghostly wolves with a metallic sheen in front of Almond in surprise. ¡¯She is with Lily? That¡¯s bad.¡¯ "It¡¯s my skill," Almond tly replied before saying, "Anyway, I¡¯m going to find some Dire Wolves to kill and level up. Bye." ¡¯I guess Goblin Colony is canceled since Lily is there.¡¯ ¡¯But Natalia won¡¯t be suspicious, right?¡¯ Almond thought as he couldn¡¯t help but feel apprehensive. ¡¯She saw me¡­and if she thinks a bit more, I came from the same direction where Jacob and others were, ording to her.¡¯ ¡¯Normally speaking, there¡¯s a high chance for us to meet given that the starting area is not big and it¡¯s not as thick with trees,¡¯ Almond thought while walking past Natalia. ¡¯Good thing she is stupid, I hope. But should I really just walk away from her? What if¡­¡¯ "Wait, Almond. You came from the Goblin Settlement, right? Jacob and others were also there, though," Natalia rubbed her chin with a confused expression. "Where the hell did they go? Did you see any signs of them going anywhere?" Almond cursed internally as he turned around and shook his head at her, "No, but I can¡¯t be sure since I didn¡¯t pay attention to that kind of stuff. I skipped the Goblin Settlement area and directly walked here. As you can see, I am just level 2." "Urghh, fine. It¡¯s over an hour, and we haven¡¯t even done much," Natalia wryly smiled before she asked, "But since you are here and I am tired of waiting, how about we three work together to clear the Goblin Colony?" ¡¯But I don¡¯t want to show you my skills!¡¯ Almond annoyingly thought. ¡¯Fuck it. I¡¯ll have to wing it by using the two Wolf Spirits and my holy staff. Goblin Colony is a good ce to earn EXP.¡¯ ¡¯I shouldn¡¯t revert wolves back to the weapon form. I have to keep this a secret until I decide what to show for my ss to others.¡¯ Almond didn¡¯t want to create a hassle, so he agreed, and the duo silently walked toward the spot where Lily was hiding. "That furry coat looks pretty good," Lily said as she emerged from conceal. ¡¯So he is Almond? His eyes are indeed as beautiful as rumored.¡¯ She was covered in a sleek ck ninja-like robe, and only her beautiful dark blue eyes were visible to others. ¡¯I didn¡¯t sense her until she spoke,¡¯ Almond thought as he looked at the ck-haired beauty with a slender figure and ample bosom, looking sexy yet deadly in that outfit. ¡¯She is prepared. That outfit is definitely a magic item.¡¯ [Lily Darkwood] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 5 -ss: Phantom Thief¡ª(?) ¡¯Did she kill some level 6 Wandering Trolls around here? They are the only ones around here that can make you reach level 5 aside from Goblins in the colony.¡¯ ¡¯Her ss is of S-rank, from what I¡¯ve heard. Her stats should be high since she is level 5. That¡¯s 15 stat points from level up¡­not to mention herbat ability that¡¯s best in the academy.¡¯ Almond nced at Lily and Natalia as the trio walked towards the Goblin Colony with him in the middle. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡¯What should I do? Lily is not as stupid as Natalia.¡¯ Natalia was chubby in the right areas and a beauty of the ss. However, Lily was considered the top beauty of the Frostar City Academy and also the most powerful student in it. She was already scouted by one of the globally renowned guilds¡ªLeague of Firefly, one of the top 10 most powerful guilds in the world. On top of that, her background was also powerful. Her father and mother were in the GAA branch in Frostar City. They were not just normal staff members but the Frostar City¡¯s Global Adventurers Association Branch President and Branch Commander! Both were strong adventurers, but her father was the Branch Commander, meaning that he was one of the strongest adventurers in Frostar city like Jacob¡¯s father, who was a Guild Leader of the strongest guild in the city. With Lily entering the League of Firefly, her parents¡¯ influence and power were bound to grow further in the Frostar city. ¡¯Jacob¡¯s father can easily talk with Lily¡¯s parents andunch an investigation unless he has a bad rtionship with GAA¡¯s top brass. But even so, he can still use his influence and money to get help.¡¯ ¡¯If Lily or Natalia mention me, I wille into his radar.¡¯ ¡¯No. In fact, he¡¯ll be suspicious of me because there¡¯s no other suspicious element aside from me. We just entered the Labyrinth, and their first meeting was with me. Nobody would see them afterward because they are dead! Their bodies are in Goblin Settlement, though they will be eaten after three days once new Goblins spawn, but still...¡¯ ¡¯With his people, he can easily find out that I was getting bullied by them sometimes, which also gives me a good reason to kill them after gaining power.¡¯ ¡¯A result of power trip.¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted, ¡¯But they killed me, so I simply paid back. And I won¡¯t let myself get caught, no matter what!¡¯ "Almond, there¡¯s a pack of wolves over there. Since you¡¯re just level 2, why don¡¯t you kill them and gain a level or two?" Lily said as she pointed her dagger at a cave to the east of Goblin Colony. The cave was small, and there was rough grassless ground outside, perfect for wolves to rest with stones and boulders around it. The river stream was also not far, as one could hear the sound of it flowing down from the mountain. "Alright, I¡¯ll be back." "No, we areing. We¡¯ll watch from behind and be on the lookout," Lily said, her sapphire blue eyes looking at him. "Fine," Almond tly replied before he walked towards them. "Almond, are you always this boring? Even the way you speak is boring," Natalia chuckled. "No wonder you get bu-" Lily nced at her, but Natalia also realized she was about to say something bad, so she stopped. Almond didn¡¯t bother replying and continued walking silently before stopping behind a tree. The cave was twenty meters away on open ground near the mountain¡¯s base area, and this was thest tree to hide. "Wait a second. I want to assign my stat points." "Alright," Lily nodded. Chapter 8: Physical Enchantment [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 2 [94%] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 256/325(+10)] -Stats: 3 unassigned points. |-Physical: ?[Strength: 10.5 | Health: 9 | Stamina: 10] |-Mental: ?[Mana: 13 (+19.5) | Focus: 13 | Perception: 15] ¡¯Focus can improve my overall magic control and efficiency, while Perception will allow me to get insight to improve my skills and enhance my senses. Both need to be improved to get better and learn new skills.¡¯ ¡¯But I have a flexible way to get stat points, so¡­¡¯ Almond added two points in Strength and one in Health. "Alright, I am going," Almond said as he started walking towards the open ground from the woods. But one of the wolves had woken up and was walking around, so the moment it saw him, the wolf howled, and the other four wolves woke up. ¡¯A pack of five dire wolves?¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯All of them are at level 4. Guess I¡¯ll reach level 4 if I kill them all alone. Suddenly, Almond heard a voice as if someone whispered in his ear. "Do you need help?" ¡¯It¡¯s Lily¡¯s voice. For her to learn Magic Whisper, both her Focus and Perception must be over 15.¡¯ Magic Whisper was a simple application of Mana, using it to carry one¡¯s voice directly toward a target¡¯s ear, but the range depended on one¡¯s control. Almond simply raised his hand and shook it left and right to answer her. ¡¯I had nine days to learn some tricks myself. Lily must have taken a potion to boost her stats before entering the Labyrinth and learning some skills thanks to her background, but I also learned Physical Enchantment!¡¯ Physical Enchantment would show its power now that he had higher stats in Strength! Almond was confident. He had given his all for this day and his future. There was a hup, but everything was going well aside from the two new surprising elements¡ªNatalia and Lily, that he had to ensure wouldn¡¯t trouble him in the future before leaving the Labyrinth after three days. The two girls stayed behind in the woods while watching him. "He is level 2 and alone," Natalia rubbed her chin. "Do you think he can kill those five wolves?" "I don¡¯t know," Lily replied. "I don¡¯t remember him doing anything in the academy. But Rosa mentioned him to me a few times since she often sees him in the academy¡¯s library." "Well, that¡¯s the only thing he can do since he is physically frail," Natalia said before she chuckled as she remembered something, "I remember swooning over him on the first day of the academy because he looked handsome and his eyes were mesmerizingly attractive, but he looked very pathetic afterward." "He would get tired after running a bit and always stumbling in physical sses, not to mention getting bullied," Natalia wryly smiled. "Is that so?" Lily looked at Almond¡¯s back as the fight had already begun. "He doesn¡¯t look bad or unfit right now." Almond sent both of his Spectral Dire Wolves into the fray of five wolves while he cast Holy st to attack the strongest wolf of the pack. Fortunately, his aim wasn¡¯t bad, and the orb from his staff struck the wolf, causing the Holy st. ¡¯Interesting. I can use Mana to heal my spirit wolves?!¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glowed. His Spectral Dire Wolves were stronger. Even if their limbs would tear away, he could use Mana to regenerate them, and he had nock of Mana! *Growl!* The alpha that survived the first holy st dashed toward him with bloodshot eyes, wanting to tear him to pieces. ¡¯I can see its movement clearly and react,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he dodged and ducked while clenching his fist tightly and punching with all of his strength after infusing 10 Mana points in his fist. Physical Enchantment! *Chree!* His fist prated the Dire Wolf¡¯s head from below as Almond simply upper-cut the beast. Blood sttered, painting his face red. ¡¯This was easy,¡¯ Almond grinned. [You have killed a level 4 Dire Wolf.] [You have reached level 3. You have gained 3 Unassigned stat points.] Instantly after that, he released Holy st on the Wolf that his two Spectral Dire Wolves had attacked and finished it off. After using 20 Mana to heal both of his Spectral Dire Wolves, they began fighting against the remaining three wolves while Almond also joined the fray. "His Physical Enchantment is perfect," Lily¡¯s eyes glinted, showing a hint of shock. ¡¯It¡¯s even better than mine. He is able to infuse the mana evenly and urately in all chakra points. How?¡¯ ¡¯It requires 50 perceptions to even detect the Chakra points. I had my father¡¯s help, and I still couldn¡¯t urately do it like him.¡¯ ¡¯How did he do that? Is this even possible? Or does he have some kind of skill or he awakened a talent to help him with that?¡¯ "Woah, he really killed the wolves just like that," Natalia¡¯s mouth was wide open in surprise. "Those two wolf spirits look just like Dire Wolves. Is he some kind of summoner?" "And It¡¯s weird. He never attended physicalbat sses, but he is fighting like a warrior.." Natalia muttered as she wasn¡¯t expecting Almond to join the fight physically and kill the wolves brutally like that. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "He never did? Maybe he trained at another ce?" Lily said, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "Because his movements are not at all of a beginner who never trained." "Could be, but he is a poor boy and works part-time to get by. I doubt he can pay for any good training center." On the other hand, Almond devoured a level 4 Dire Wolf Spirit and got +1 Stamina. He stored the remaining four spirits in the Spirit Kodoku pocket. ¡¯Now I only need nine spirits to create that Spirit Wraith,¡¯ Almond thought as he turned around and walked towards the girls. He could see them looking at him and feel their eyes on him a bit different than before. ¡¯I¡¯m not sure I can defeat Lily. She is an assassin-type, and her perception and focus seem higher than mine. Ambushing her is a tall order. Not to mention, I¡¯ve seen her fight, and I am not at all confident if I were to brawl against her, with a weapon or without a weapon.¡¯ ¡¯She¡¯ll wipe the floor with me.¡¯ ¡¯But as long as these two live, there¡¯s a high chance I could get caught and killed. What should I do? I don¡¯t want to kill unnecessarily, but I want to survive...¡¯ Almond was feeling anxious about the uing future, but he calmed down as it was no use getting anxious over it. He just had to think more and reach a conclusion. He still had time. "We can wait for a few minutes so you can recover your Mana," Lily said. "You can meditate and recover fast. You know the method, right?" Almond nodded and closed his eyes, but he didn¡¯t meditate, which requires one to enter a deep focused state. If he did, he wouldn¡¯t know what was going on around him. ¡¯My Mana recovery is already fast thanks to my innate talent,¡¯ Almond looked at the status and saw his Mana recovering. Chapter 9: Raid on the Goblin Colony Meditation would increase Mana¡¯s recovery by 100% of the normal rate. The initial normal rate of mana¡¯s recovery depends on one¡¯s ss rank. The higher the rank, the better the Mana recovery rate. Afterward, it would increase every 10 points into the Mana stat. His SS-rank ss gave him a natural mana recovery of 0.7 Mana per second, and with over 30 Mana points, he gained 0.3 extra, which propelled his normal recovery to 1 Mana per second, which was then doubled due to his innate talent! If he meditated on top of that, it would increase even more! Two minutester, Almond opened his eyes and nodded, "I¡¯m done. We can go." "Good, here¡¯s the n," Lily began exining. "I¡¯ve scouted the Goblin Colony. There are twenty Goblins inside unless I missed one or two, and most of them are level 5 and 6, but four of them are at level 7, which includes the Goblin Chief, one Goblin Archer, one Goblin Mage, and one Goblin Guardian." "Natalia can use a decoy-type skill to create a clone. It can move, and it inherits 50% of her stats and she can use her skills through it. We¡¯ll use it to lure out the Goblins from the front gate while you and I will attack from behind and take out the Goblin Archers and Goblin Mages who will stay behind first," Lily said to Almond. "Got it," Almond nodded. "After that?" Lily took out two daggers from her storage pouch, "That¡¯s all to the n. We¡¯ll fight the rest of the battle ordingly since it won¡¯t be hard. I¡¯ve done a simtion of fighting in this colony multiple times in the training center." "Alright," Almond nodded as he nced at the daggers. ¡¯They are notmon-grade for sure.¡¯ "Let¡¯s go," Natalia grinned and used her skill, conjuring another Natalia looking just like her. ¡¯Her ss must be pretty useful if it has a skill like this,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯She and her friends talked about their sses during lunch break.¡¯ ¡¯If I remember correctly, it¡¯s called Mirage Witch¡ªB-rank ss. Well, I can confirm it right now.¡¯ Almond checked her status this time, and indeed, her ss name and rank appeared as his information was true. ¡¯I wonder what else she can do with it¡­¡¯ The trio moved towards the Goblin Colony. Natalia went towards the front gate and hid ten meters away behind a tree. Since she could share her senses with her clone, she controlled it as the clone arrived in front of the Goblin Colony¡¯s gate. The colony was like a tiny vige with seven wooden huts, one wooden house bigger than the huts, and a wooden watch tower at the center. The gate was closed, and there were two trees on both sides, along with a few other trees inside. As Natalia¡¯s clone appeared near the gate, the level 6 Goblin Archer on the watchtower soon noticed her and picked up a crude blowhorn to alert the goblins. Natalia¡¯s clone threw a sk of me, an attack-type potion that could explode and set mmable things on fire to destroy the colony gate and set both trees to the sides on fire. This aggravated the goblins further as four level 5-6 Goblin Guardians and four level 5-6 Goblin Warriors, along with a level 6 Goblin Mage and the level 7 Goblin Chief, rushed out and chased after Natalia¡¯s clone, who ran at full speed into the woods. The other goblins remained inside and rushed towards the gate and trees to put out the fire by filling up water buckets from their well. Meanwhile, Lily and Almond jumped over the wall from the back andnded on a wooden bridge that was fixed around the colony¡¯s walls for goblin mages and archers to give them higher ground. Lily¡¯s daggers glowed before she threw both of them toward the level 7 Goblin Mage, who stayed at the back along with the level 7 Goblin Archer. Both daggers prated the Goblin Mage, one into its throat and the other into his chest, but the Goblin Mage didn¡¯t die instantly like she expected since it seemed to use a skill to heal itself while barely holding on. ¡¯Tsk, real life still has variables that simtion can¡¯tpute,¡¯ Lily thought as she saw the Goblin Mage living, but she didn¡¯t bother with it anymore and took out a bow to aim at the Goblin Archer in the watchtower ording to her n. She had to kill it before it could alert the goblins chasing Natalia¡¯s clone. It had a blowhorn, which could give a message to the goblins outside, so it was important to kill it fast. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Meanwhile, Almond had also attacked,manding both of his spirit wolves to pounce on the level 7 Goblin Archer, pinning it on the ground while he rushed forward with physical Enchantment and jumped,nding directly on the Goblin Archer¡¯s head with a kick to finish it off. *St* He saw Lily failing to kill Goblin Mage due to it having some kind of support-type skill and took that chance to use a Spirit Explosion by using a level 3 Dire Wolf Spirit from Spirit Kodoku pocket. ¡¯The explosion would alert other goblins, but that¡¯s fine. We¡¯ve finished off three who were at the back.¡¯ Naturally, Lily heard the explosion right as she released the arrow at the Goblin Archer on the watchtower. She wanted to make sure this Goblin Archer died, so she didn¡¯t hold back in using Mana and finished it off. "What was that?" Lily asked as she turned to Almond. ¡¯So he killed both level 7 goblins. That must have propelled him to level 5.¡¯ [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 5 -ss: ??? "It was my ss skill," Almond answered, his eyes on the Goblins near the gate. "The explosion alerted them. Let¡¯s finish them off fast." "Yeah. There are a few more Goblins than I initially counted, but that won¡¯t change anything," Lily looked at the iing Goblins screaming and shouting with red eyes and released arrows while her Daggers flew back at her. ¡¯Geez, she is loaded with items.¡¯ Almond also stored all three spirits and used Spirit Devour on them. Two level 7 Goblins and one level 6 Goblin gave him +2 Focus, +1 Perception, +1 Health, and +1 Stamina. Almondmanded his wolves while he stayed back with Lily and assigned all six stat points to his Strength. ¡¯If I want to kill Goblin Warriors and Goblin Guardians with one attack solely using Physical Enchantment, I need to increase Strength.¡¯ Physical Enchantment could increase the user¡¯s Strength stat by 10% to 100%, depending on the proficiency of the skill. And¡­Almond¡¯s proficiency was enough to give him a 100% boost, thanks to the intense training he designed himself to learn Physical Enchantment after reading and learning about it from various sources. The mana consumption required to use Physical Enchantment was rtive to the Strength stat and the area it affected. The higher the strength stat andrger the area, the more mana it requires to use Physical Enchantment. The duration it remained active also depended on one¡¯s proficiency, and for now, Almond¡¯s Physical Enchantment couldst for around twenty seconds. Almond only enchanted his Arms and Legs. He didn¡¯t even know how to enchant his whole body yet because he didn¡¯t train in other areas. After assigning stat points, he rushed forward with Physical Enchantment to finish off the level 7 Goblin Guardian since Goblin Guardians could have support-type skills as well, and they could prove troublesome. Meanwhile, Lily finished off the two Goblin Archers who were at the back using her bow. They didn¡¯t get the chance to even release a single arrow before they were killed. ¡¯A skilled marksman,¡¯ Almond thought as he saw the double kill by Lily. On the other hand, Almond was instantly surrounded by the remaining nine Goblins, among which one was a Goblin Mage, four Goblin Warriors, and three Goblin Guardians, all of them at level 5-6. The wolves pounced on the Goblin Mage at his left upon hismand, and he exerted strength in his legs, jumped out of the encirclement while dodging an attack from the Goblin Warrior, andnded behind the Goblin Mage before killing it with a kick. The Goblin Warriors and Guardians couldn¡¯t catch up with Almond¡¯s speed, and they were meleebatants, so they angrily rushed at him to attack him, wanting to skewer him with their swords and spears. "I¡¯ll finish them off. Thanks for gathering them." Almond suddenly heard Lily¡¯s voice in his right ear. Lily, with glinting daggers in her hand, jumped right into the middle of the group of eight Goblins. Almond was wondering what she would do, and then he saw Lily¡¯s figure d in purple lightning before her speed drastically increased, and she moved zig-zag around the Goblins, her daggers shing away at their throats as they were beheaded while they couldn¡¯t even react. Seeing this, Almond¡¯s eyes widened before they lit up with ze, his fist clenched. ¡¯Physical Enchantment, a self-buff skill, and a movement-type skill, all in a perfect symphony that allowed her to make a move like this¡­¡¯ ¡¯She must have learned other skills outside, thanks to her background and trained herself. Skill Scrolls are rare toe by, but it shouldn¡¯t be hard for her.¡¯ "Natalia should being here soon," Lily said as she walked towards Almond. Almond nodded. ¡¯Status open.¡¯ Almond reached level 6, while Lily remained at level 6 after leveling up once despite killing many Goblins since killing monsters weaker than one¡¯s level would yield lower EXP than usual. Still, she was only a bit away from reaching level 7. Chapter 10: Monster ¡¯Strength,¡¯ Almond added all three stat points into Strength, feeling power surging in him. |-Physical: ?[Strength: 21.5 | Health: 11 | Stamina: 12] |-Mental: ?[Mana: 13 (+19.5) | Focus: 14 | Perception: 16] "Almond, how did you learn your Physical Enchantment?" Lily asked after she chugged a Mana potion instead of meditating to recover her Mana. "I designed a training method after learning about it to master it," Almond answered. "What?!" Lily¡¯s eyes showed disbelief. "You can¡¯t be serious." Almond frowned but didn¡¯t bother arguing and calmed his expression as he replied tly, "I have no reason to lie." ¡¯Did he really master Physical Enchantment himself?¡¯ Lily didn¡¯t want to believe, but a part of her believed he was telling the truth since it didn¡¯t feel like he was lying. "What was the training?" "I can tell you, but the training is hell. You won¡¯t do it even if you learn it." "Just tell me," Lily stared at Almond¡¯s eyes. "I learned that infusing Mana appropriately in Chakra points is the key, but it was impossible to find these points, so I tried to spread Mana and feel them-" "Wait, wait," Lily interrupted Almond, her eyes trembling, "You spread Mana? That hurts like hell, especially around the Chakra points. You don¡¯t feel anything other than pain if you do that! How can you even sense the Chakra points¡¯ location? There are so many in each limb and other parts!" "You also need a fine Mana control and precisely infuse Mana in the chakra point to avoid pain and injury in case loss of Mana control¡­" Lily was still in disbelief. Almond wryly smiled, "It was hard. I spent three days simply in pain without any results. But I couldn¡¯t quit. I had to learn it." ¡¯Since I picked a support role, I needed something that makes me strong and increases my chance of survival,¡¯ Almond looked at his fist. ¡¯The pain I went through was well worth it.¡¯ He remembered how many times he thought about giving up, but giving up because of that pain painted a picture even bleaker in his mind. He formed that picture to make himself go forward! Lily saw Almond¡¯s fist clenching while she herself felt involuntarily admiration. She knew the pain, and literally nobody was willing to go through that. "Anyway, Physical Enchantment is one of the most important skills to learn, and one could learn it right after awakening. I had to learn it to be better, simple as that." Almond cracked his index finger and turned to the Gate as he heard something, "Natalia¡¯s here." Meanwhile, Lily¡¯s eyes glinted as she looked at Almond, and a grin formed behind her mask. ¡¯This guy is a monster¡­¡¯ "What happened to Jacob and others?" Almond was startled at the sudden question from Lily. ¡¯Why is she asking me? Is she suspicious of me?¡¯ "How would I know? I haven¡¯t seen them," He turned to Lily with a in expression and answered before turning to the gate again. Lily¡¯s eyes showed an amusing expression. ¡¯I would have believed you if I didn¡¯t hear your name from Seyung¡¯s mouth. He didn¡¯t finish the name when we met as Jacob red at him, but he was likely going to speak your name.¡¯ ¡¯Something definitely happened between you and them.¡¯ Meanwhile, Almond¡¯s brain was heating up. ¡¯I can feel her gaze on my back¡­Why is she suspicious of me?¡¯ ¡¯This is not good.¡¯ "Guys, the goblins are returning. Let¡¯s get ready," Natalia said as she rushed towards them. "Alright," Lily nodded and took out her bow again to deal long-range damage first. Meanwhile, Almond devoured the Goblin Spirits he captured. Nine Goblin Spirits, with one of them being level 7 and the rest being level 6 or 5. [You have devoured a level 5 Goblin Warrior Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Perception.] ¡¯Already over? Must be because I¡¯ve already devoured Goblin Warriors from the Goblin Settlement, and I am also at level 6.¡¯ -Level: 6 [4.2%] [You have devoured a level 6 Goblin Mage Spirit.] [You have gained +1 Focus.] ¡¯Alright. Last one.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 7 Goblin Guardian spirit.] [You have gained +1 Health and +0.5 Stamina.] ¡¯I guess I¡¯ll be able to get a point from one more Goblin Guardian, even if it¡¯s level 6.¡¯ *Rurarrr* The sound of Goblins arrived as they entered the gate. Goblin Chief furiously roared upon seeing dead goblins and humans in his colony, rushing at full speed using some skill while the giant club in its hand also glowed. Lily, showing no hesitation, instantly fired a powerful arrow toward the iing Goblin Chief, who couldn¡¯t dodge at the frontal speed it wasing at. However, its reaction speed wasn¡¯t bad as it swung its hand holding the ck wooden club towards the arrow, causing it to explode. The ck wooden club was half destroyed while the Goblin Chief was slightly injured and slowed down. "I¡¯ll kill it," Almond said as he sacrificed a wolf spirit to cause Spirit Explosion since Goblin Chief was within range of ten meters. *BOOM!* But Almond was surprised to see this Spirit Explosion¡¯s wisp color turning red right before exploding in the crimson spectacle. ¡¯Oh right, it¡¯s that effect that can activate by chance!¡¯ "Woah, what was that?" Natalia eximed in shock. "It¡¯s almost dead," Lily raised her eyebrows. ¡¯This explosion skill is quite powerful.¡¯ The Goblin Chief was gravely injured, and since this Spirit Explosion acquired the Bleeding effect from the Dire Wolf, it was also more powerful. Goblin Chief started bleeding all over, and even the Goblin Mage¡¯s healing didn¡¯t work! Goblin Warriors and Guardians rushed at the group with bloodshot eyes to attack, but just eight of them were no match. Almond¡¯s face couldn¡¯t help but form a grin as he rushed forward with his fists glinting from Physical Enchantment. His steps light as a feather, he jumped and swung a kick at Goblin Guardian¡¯s head, exploding it. Right afternding, he threw his punch after ducking a Goblin Warrior¡¯s sword sh and exploding its head. ¡¯I didn¡¯t know fighting like this unrestrainedly would feel so good.¡¯ [You have killed a level 6 Goblin Guardian.] [You have killed a level 6 Goblin Warrior.] Meanwhile, Lily also attacked, not backing down. After releasing an arrow to kill the Goblin Mage who was trying to heal Goblin Chief, she joined Almond with her daggers, swiftly killing one level 6 Goblin Warrior and proceeding towards a level 5 Goblin Warrior. Lily reached level 7. "Shit, I need to do something, or I won¡¯t get any experience," Natalia quickly used a skill¡ªLight Pebbles¡ªB-rank. Five glowing brown pebbles formed as she controlled them and shot towards Goblin Warrior and Goblin Guardians, damaging them. Meanwhile, Goblin Chief died of bleeding. Since it was the leader monster, Almond got a lot of EXP from it. [You have killed a level 7 Goblin Chief.] Almond attacked thest level 5 Goblin Guardian that got damaged from Natalia¡¯s skill, finishing it off. [You have killed a level 5 Goblin Guardian.] [You have reached level 7. You have gained 3 unassigned stat points.] [You have triggered the level-up boon.] "You two are monsters," Natalia wryly smiled and looked at Almond before adding, "And what¡¯s with your love for heads, Almond? Geez." "It¡¯s not love, butmon sense. Exploding heads guarantee death for the majority of the monsters," Almond tly replied before he looked at the dead bodies and absorbed their spirits. [You have devoured a level 7 Goblin Chief.] [You have gained +1 Health, +1 Stamina, +1 Mana.] "Let¡¯s rest here for a bit. We have plenty of huts here to explore and rest," Lily said as she looked at the wooden house. "We might also find some useful things here," Natalia grinned and walked towards a nearby hut. "Let¡¯s go." "Almond, you cane with me to explore the house since you contributed a lot. I won¡¯t need stuff from here unless it¡¯s something rare," Lily said to Almond before she started walking towards the only wooden house. "Are you saying if it¡¯s something rare, you won¡¯t give it to me?" Almond asked as he caught up to her. "Yeah, but it depends," Lily nced at Almond, her eyes glinting, a faint smile behind her mask. "If you continue to team up with us, I don¡¯t mind giving it to you." Almond thought for a moment before nodding with a smile, "Sure." ¡¯I have no other choice. Lily and Natalia are a danger to my life. I have to resolve this issue before the exit opens on the third day,¡¯ Almond thought as he opened his level-up boon. ¡¯Please give me a Skill option.¡¯ Almond opened the boon window. [Select your level up boon] 1. Skill¡ªRandom. 2. essory¡ªRandom. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om 3. Random¡ªRandom. ¡¯Three options, but I got skill again!¡¯ Almond was thrilled. He instantly selected the Skill option. [Congrattions. You have acquired¡­] Chapter 11: Unexpected Development [Congrattions. You have awakened a new ss skill¡ªSpirit Syringe (S).] [Spirit Syringe] -Rank: S -Effect: ¡ª> Consume 10% of your Stamina to conjure a Spirit Syringe. You can inject it and absorb the target¡¯s Mana and Health in the Syringe, with the Syringe¡¯s limit being up to 100% of your Health and Mana. You can then use it to heal and recover yourself or others. ¡ª> You can store up to 5 Spirit Syringes. ¡¯Full recovery syringes?!¡¯ Almond was dumbfounded. ¡¯Hmmm, I need to see how it works,¡¯ Almond thought as he entered the house. ¡¯This could also work as an offensive skill because it drains the target¡¯s Mana and Health.¡¯ It was a two-story house, so Lily went upstairs while Almond started browsing below. Cupboards, beds, or anything that looked like it contained something. ¡¯Common-grade weapons that are useless, but I¡¯ll use a melee one since it¡¯s better to use Wolf w Gauntlets as Spectral Dire Wolves.¡¯ Almond grabbed amon-grade sword, feeling it settling in his hand. ¡¯Sword¡­I felt like using it many times, but I couldn¡¯t because of my weak body.¡¯ *Swoosh!* Almond swung the sword horizontally, his eyes gleaming, ¡¯This feels good.¡¯ He then continued searching and, a minuteter, looked up before thinking, ¡¯Usually, the Bronze Treasure Chest spawning in this colony is on the 2nd floor of this house, from the information.¡¯ Lily shortly returned and said, "I found the treasure chest." "What did you get from it?" Almond curiously asked. However, Lily just walked towards Almond while looking at him, her eyes piercing into his. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Soon, she was close enough for her breasts to touch his chest, which prompted Almond to step back before his back was against the wall. ¡¯What the hell is going on?¡¯ Almond frowned, "They are pressing against me." "I know," Lily said as she blinked once before her eyes looked into Almond¡¯s golden-almond-colored eyes, her breasts pressed against his chest, and her face just a few inches away from his. "Your heart is beating very fast," Lily chuckled. Almond raised his eyebrows, "So is yours. My perception is not that low." "Well, I am feeling a bit excited, that¡¯s why," Lily smiled behind her mask. "So, what happened to Jacob and others?" "And before you say any bullshit, allow me to tell you that I absolutely don¡¯t care about those three idiots," Lily narrowed her eyes. "I just want to know you." ¡¯Really?¡¯ Almond looked at her silently, her eyes crystal clear. He didn¡¯t feel she was lying, and from what he knew about Lily, she indeed didn¡¯t give two hoots about anyone in the academy, be it any rich boy or talented boy, because no one was more rich or talented than her in the academy. Looking at her sapphire eyes that looked as if curious, Almond¡¯s expression gradually eased as he came to a conclusion. "I killed them." "Why?" "They killed me in the starting area for a Rare-grade item I found in the bronze treasure chest, but I survived," Almond coldly said, "So I killed them because if I don¡¯t, then Jacob won¡¯t leave me alive after I leave and his trash father would also support him to hunt me." "Because I am a nobody outside, quite literally." After a few seconds of silence, with just them staring into each other¡¯s eyes, Lily took a step back and grabbed his hand before taking out a ring from her storage pouch. [Earth Flower Ring] -Rank: Umon. -Effect: ¡ª> Infusing 50 Mana in the Ring will create a defensive earth flower in front of you the size of a 5-meter radius. It will disappear after one minute or if it¡¯s destroyed by attacks. "This is what I found from the Bronze treasure chest above," Lily put the ring on Almond¡¯s index finger before looking at Almond. "From now on, you¡¯re not a nobody but my partner." "Partner?" Almond¡¯s face showed a bit of confusion. Lily¡¯s dark blue eyes glinted as she removed her mask, revealing her angelic yet cool beauty-type face as she charmingly smiled. Closing in, she paused with just an inch of distance between their faces, her pink lips just a centimeter away from his as she whispered with a sassy smile, "In other words, my boyfriend." "Are you messing with me?" Almond frowned. Lily chuckled, "Not at all. I¡¯ve felt attracted to a boy for the first time. I feel like we have chemistry and that¡¯s how I roll in my life. I want to experience some new things with you because of what I feel." "Do I have a say in it?" Almond asked with a serious expression. "No." ¡¯Whatever the case, it¡¯s better to go along with her for now.¡¯ ¡¯Is she seriously serious?¡¯ Blinking twice, Almond¡¯s hand went around her waist before he pulled her towards him and pecked her lips, "Alright." Lily was stunned, her ears turning red and her white cheeks a shade of pink. ¡¯She was so bold, and now look at her. This confirms she has a reason to pull this on me...a reason I can¡¯t understand yet. Why does she want to be in a rtionship with me? We talked for the first time today...¡¯ "That was my first kiss," Lily wryly smiled and put her mask back on as she walked towards the door.¡¯ "So was mine," Almond said as he followed her out. ¡¯What the fuck is going on?¡¯ "Good to know." "Same." ¡¯She...is not faking it? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Almond wasn¡¯t sure about the reasons Lily had to like him. He didn¡¯t know what she saw in him, but... ¡¯I have gained eyes to see if someone is sincere or scheming when I deal with them thanks to the shitty life I lived...¡¯ ¡¯She has nothing to gain by deceiving me, not that I feel she is doing that. So what does she see in me?¡¯ He would be more than happy if he could get an ally instead of an enemy, but he knew it was hard. ¡¯Based on points, she has no reason to rat me out to Jacob¡¯s father. There¡¯s nothing he can give to her that she doesn¡¯t have already, not to mention she is going to a top 10 guild soon... Maybe she¡¯s just really interested in me? She is an oddball from what I knew about her, but this was a crazy boldball just now.¡¯ As they both left the house, Natalia saw them and said, "Yo, did you find anything?" "Yeah," Lily nodded. "You can search the other huts. We are going to rest." "I can keep things I find, right?" "Yep." "Great," Natalia grinned and dashed into the third hut. "Jacob¡¯s father will investigate. Three dayster, he will send people here to find his son once he sees he didn¡¯te out," Almond said as he sat down cross-legged against a nearby tree, leaning at its trunk. "Did you forget about your girlfriend already?" ¡¯I¡¯ll spit it out,¡¯ Almond¡¯s lips twitched, "This feels unreal. Just a while ago, I had considered the possibility of killing you two to keep myself safe." Lily¡¯s eyes expressed her smile as she moved and boldly sat on his right sidep before putting her arms around his shoulder, "You need to better hide your intent to kill, though that¡¯s what made me curious in the first ce." "You could sense even that?" Almond was startled as sweat beads formed on his forehead. ¡¯She sensed that...¡¯ "Well, that is thanks to my passive ss skill, Phantom¡¯s Sixth Sense. If it¡¯s an intent directed at me, I¡¯ll be able to sense it even if ites from a pro or a noob." "As for Jacob¡¯s father," Lily¡¯s dark blue eyes glinted as she slyly smiled, "GAA will support his investigation if hees, but it won¡¯t lead to you. Now that you are my darling, of course, I will support you." Almond wryly smiled, "Well, that¡¯s reassuring to hear, but what about Natalia? She has hung out with Jacob multiple times, so if his father asks her and she tells him about meeting me¡­" "Natalia¡­" Lily looked at the hut and saw Natalia emerging from the 3rd hut and smiled. But Natalia was shocked to see the duo in their position and hurriedly rushed towards them instead of going to the 4th hut. "What¡¯s going on?!" [A/N: If you want to learn about Lily¡¯s thought process and her decision regarding this, you will find that soon inter free chapters.] Chapter 12: Trust "W-What¡¯s going on, Lily?" Natalia asked, her expression ufortable, her bodynguage fidgety. ¡¯Why are they so close? What¡¯s going on?¡¯ Almond blinked as he looked at Natalia, ¡¯Something feels weird¡­Her expression...¡¯ "We got into a rtionship a few minutes ago," Lily said as she rested her head on his shoulder, her breasts sightly pressing against him. Natalia¡¯s eyes started tearing up, "B-But¡­you know my feelings." ¡¯So that¡¯s what it is¡­¡¯ Almond wryly smiled. ¡¯She is a lesbian.¡¯ "Natalia, since I understood your situation and hung out with you as your partner, you should also understand that I am more attracted to males. I¡¯ve made that clear, but¡­" Lily stood up and approached Natalia, her mask vanishing as she faintly smiled and caressed Natalia¡¯s cheeks as she gently said, "I know you love me, and I won¡¯t stop you or keep you away. But you have to ept me and my feelings, too." Natalia angrily pouted and wiped her tears, looking at Almond with a hateful gaze as she stomped her feet and said, "But how is this possible? You two just met and talked for the first time today!" Almond raised his arms in surrender, "I don¡¯t know. To be honest, I still haven¡¯t epted the situation fully, but I am trying to." "See! He doesn¡¯t even love you!" Natalia¡¯s cheeks puffed as she intently looked at Lily. Lily turned to Almond with deadpan eyes, "So you don¡¯t feel attracted to me?" "No, no, that¡¯s not what I mean," Almond weakly smiled as he looked at her eyes and then below, sizing her up, "You are the most beautiful girl I¡¯ve ever seen, and as a male, I feel super attracted to you. God forbid if someone puts us in a room together." "Actually, never mind about that," Almond coughed. "But you know," Almond stood up and continued as his smile vanished, his golden-almond eyes sharply gleaming. "I¡¯ve been a weak nobody until now, and although I believed I could change my life after turning eighteen and entering the Labyrinth, I died because of some pieces of trash and my luck, but fate was with me, so I am here." "And I don¡¯t want to die but thrive in this world," Almond continued with a somber expression, "Lily, you are attracted to me, but as of right now, do you think you put your life on the line for me?" Lily raised her eyebrows. Natalia suddenly said with gritted teeth, "I can put my life on the line for Lily!" ¡¯Let me finish, at least,¡¯ Almond rolled his eyes and said as he looked at Lily¡¯s eyes with determined expression, "Lily, I want someone who I canpletely trust. I¡¯ve been alone forever, so I do long for such a person. It would be great if I have someone who has my back." "But it¡¯s hard to do in this world for someone like me who has always been alone, and you are the first person who got this close to me. I can feel you are sincere because you acted on your impulse and what your heart tells you, and that¡¯s good. That¡¯s better, and that¡¯s why...I will extend my trust to you." "Will you do the same?" Lily¡¯s dark blue eyes sparkled as she walked towards him and put her arms around his waist before gluing together, her face an inch away from his as she said with a grin, "You don¡¯t know how you are making me fall for you more and more with each passing second, darling~" Her face inched closer, and she nted her lips on his before kissing him. Natalia¡¯s face turned horrified, "Lily¡¯s first kiss! No!" Lily chuckled and linked her arms with Almond as she winked at Natalia while grinning, "That wasn¡¯t our first." Almond coughed. "How fast are you guys?! Don¡¯t start fucking now!" Natalia pouted and angrily stomped her feet, her words causing both Almond and Lily¡¯s ears to turn red. ¡­ Natalia went back to scavenging the huts while Almond and Lily rested under a tree, checking their status. ¡¯My current Focus and Perception are enough for now. My main offensive arsenal is Physical Enchantment, so increasing Strength will allow me to kill the higher-leveled monster easily,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted, adding the 3 stat points into Strength as it reached 24.5. "Here¡¯s my current stats, Almond. Take a look," Lily said as she shared her stats with Almond, her curious eyes indicating she also wanted to see his stats. ¡¯If she sees my stats¡­¡¯ Almond internally shook his head. ¡¯If I want trust, I need to give trust.¡¯ [Lily] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 7 [11%] -ss: Phantom Thief (S) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 250/250] -Stats: 0 unassigned points ?[Strength: 25|Health: 15|Stamina: 15] ?[Mana: 25|Focus: 17|Perception: 20] "Pretty good," Almond raised his eyebrows. "Thanks to the stat-increasing potions I had before and now leveling up, my stats are better than average," Lily said with a thrilled sheen in her eyes. "We¡¯ll visit all five important locations on the mountain and a secret one." "Secret one? Are you talking about White Pn¡¯sir?" Almond asked in surprise. ¡¯Thisir is randomized every time, and we have to follow small clues to find its location, but with her, we should be able to find it rather quickly.¡¯ "Yep. I assume you know all the information about the first floor, right?" "Yeah, that¡¯s what I did for years. Gathering information on the Labyrinth¡¯s floors," Almond said as he couldn¡¯t help but smile. "I know everything that is revealed in any piece of media." Saying that, he shared his status with her. [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om -Level: 7 [4%] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 335/335] -Stats: 0 unassigned points ?[Strength: 24.5|Health: 13|Stamina: 13.5] ?[Mana: 14 (+19.5)|Focus: 15|Perception: 16.5] The first thing she saw was the ss and its rank as her eyes widened in shock. Chapter 13: Fairy Mountain "Your ss¡­" Lily¡¯s eyes sparkled as she looked at Almond. "It is unheard of to get an SS-rank ss right off the bat." "I don¡¯t think so," Almond shook his head and faintly smiled, "What if those who awakened it didn¡¯t reveal it? I initially awakened a D-rank ss, but I met some sort of conditions, so there¡¯s a high chance there are other people who have an SS-rank ss." Lily became thoughtful, "True. It could be that the S-rank is the maximum rank of ss one can naturally get. The higher rank ss might need to fulfill some conditions to acquire." Almond nodded, "I have one more insight in this matter. I think that if we can trigger some kind of event by fulfilling conditions, we can rank up our sses." "That¡­" Lily blinked and nodded, her eyes twinkling, "It does sound possible. I want to try doing it. Do you have any information about this since you experienced it?" "I¡­died. I didn¡¯t almost die as I said before, but I actually died," Almond wryly smiled. "I was killed by those three beyond doubt. I could feel it¡­that darkness." "But then I heard I fulfilled some condition and resurrected with this new ss." "That¡¯s a rather extreme condition," Lilymented. "I don¡¯t want to try dying." "Of course," Almond released a hollowugh. "But¡­I think the clue should be in our ss. Also, we should wait until we get our specialized ss after reaching level 10 before exploring this." "Mhmm, true that," Lily nodded with a grin and stretched her arms as they went around Almond¡¯s neck before she nted her lips on his before shortly Almond¡¯s hands went around her waist. Her tempting smell wafted into his nose as their lips yed with each other, the taste of her lips feeling strangely sweet. Lily¡¯s hands tightened as she pressed closer, feeling an electrifying pleasure. The slightly sweaty yet manly smell numbed her brain as their lips wildly yed with each other. Their heartbeats quickened each second, their breathing rugged yeting in sync. It was a new yet desirable experience for both of them. Feeling this warmth and pleasure of bing close to someone, Almond¡­didn¡¯t want to push this away. "Your hormones are exploding, I can tell. But this is not the ce or time, guys," Natalia said while rolling her eyes. "¡­" "¡­" "Cough, let¡¯s go. It¡¯s time to start moving," Almond stood up and grabbed the belt-holding sword in the sheath before putting it on his body at his back. "Put your backpack in this storage pouch, it¡¯d be bothersome to carry it now that you have a sword to carry," Lily said as she opened the storage pouch. "Thanks." And then, the trio finally resumed their exploration, moving towards the fairy mountain¡¯s southwest area base. This mountain was humongous, stretching at six kilometers in height with the mountain base taking up to ten ten-kilometer radius of area. "So, which site do you think we should raid first?" Lily asked with a smile. "I trust you have moreprehensive nning than me." Almond chuckled and said, "We¡¯ll go to the Nest of Willowbees area first. Leveling will be harder now, but our goal is to reach level 10 to trigger our specialized ss¡¯s initiation before Labyrinth¡¯s night descends." "Because once 24 hours pass, the monsters will double in number." "Yeah. It will take time toplete quests of our specialized ss, so the earlier we get them, the better," Lily nodded. "Thank you for carrying me in advance," Natalia cheekily said. "Nah, you will be our key yer," Almond deviously smiled. Natalia felt a chill, "The hell are you nning?" "It¡¯s fine," Lily held back herugh and smiled as she patted Natalia¡¯s shoulder, "He will surely lead us well." Natalia: T-T "First, I sacrificed my love, now my body¡­fine. Do whatever you want with me." ¡­ As the trio entered Fairy Mountain and started walking towards their first destination, Almond took out a parchment from his pocket and opened it. It revealed the map of this Mountain and the special areas on it. *** [Fairy Mountain]¡ªMajor Location. 1. Nest of Willowbees¡ªBronze rank level 7 - 10 2. Cavern of ssze Bears¡ªSilver rank level 1-3 3. The Shimmering Fen¡ªSilver rank level 3 - 5 4. Briarwood Grove¡ªSilver rank level 5 - 7. 5. Frostbite Cliffs¡ªSilver rank level 7 to 10. -Secret Areas on the mountain: ¡ª> White Pn¡¯s Lair¡ªSilver rank level 1 to 10. -Field Bosses on the mountain: ¡ª> de Mantis¡ªBronze rank level 10. ¡ª> Maddening Beaver¡ªSilver rank level 5. ¡ª> Wandering Fairy¡ªSilver rank level 10. *** "We¡¯ll most likely spend three days on this mountain, and we won¡¯t be alone here," Almond said as he looked ahead at the higher ground containing new types of tall and big trees. "If we encounter another group, we¡¯ll act ording to their power and conduct," Lily narrowed her eyes. "Let¡¯s hope we don¡¯t encounter a big group," Natalia weakly smiled and added, "By the way, is that area of Willowbees?" "Not yet but we¡¯ll get there after crossing that patch of trees," Almond tapped on the parchment in the Willowbees¡¯ area, and it changed, revealing information. This item was Map Parchment. It¡¯s a nk paper when bought, but it can be filled with details drawn and written by a person. "You¡¯ve really made sufficient details on this," Lily raised her eyebrows. "Don¡¯t tell me you have all the details like this of all areas on the first floor?" n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "All floors." "Damn!" Natalia couldn¡¯t help but utter in amazement. [-Nest of Willowbees-] -Description: Hidden among the towering trees and thick, flowering vines, this is the hive of the Willowbees,rge, aggressive insectoid creatures that resemble a cross between bees and willows. They feed on magical nectar from enchanted flowers, giving them the ability to shoot sts of pollen and summon vines to entangle intruders. -Key Features: Dense foliage, towering enchanted trees, massive bee hives dangling from branches, and scattered pools of magical nectar that can be collected as a resource to craft Healing Potions. Monsters: ¡ªWillowbee Workers (weaker, swarm enemies) ¡ªWillowbee Guards rger, with venomous stings) ¡ªWillowbee Queen (boss, summons roots and vines to trap enemies) "Let¡¯s go. We¡¯ll enter their territory after crossing a kilometer of distance. We might encounter wild monsters, but they won¡¯t be a threat to us unless it¡¯s the Field Boss of the lower area, the de Mantis." Chapter 14: Nest of Willowbees, Thunderbird Guild Group (1/2) There were eight major locations on the first floor of the Labyrinth, like Fairy Mountain. Exploring any of those eight locations and adventuring there sessfully can make Adventurers powerful, as each Major location has monsters up to Silver rank level 10, which is also the limit of level on the first floor. On the Fairy Mountain, the higher one went up, the stronger the monsters one would encounter, including Silver-rank monsters. The bronze rank¡¯s limit was level 10. After reaching level 10, two things happen¡ª1. Specialized ss quest. 2. Advancement Trial to reach Silver rank and start from level 0 until level 30 for Gold rank trial. Almond¡¯s goal was to reach level 10 by clearing the Nest of Willowbees. It was dangerous as Willowbees were flying monsters and required a certain amount ofbat expertise and skills, but it was the fastest ce to reach level 10 on the first day of the Labyrinth. ording to the calction of Experience needed to reach level 10 from level 7, one was required to kill 15 level 10 Monsters, 50 level 9 Monsters, or 100 level 8 monsters to reach level 10. Farming in one ce wasn¡¯t useful because killing the same monsters, lower level than them, would eventually give them zero EXP. As the trio finally entered the area of towering trees, Natalia almost cursed out loud. The three of them quickly hid behind a tree. "Shit, there¡¯s already a group here," Natalia whispered. "What do we do?" "Are they familiar to you, Lily?" Almond asked as he secretly looked at them. Lily¡¯s head was right above him as they both peeked out from behind the tree to look at the group of six people. They were simr in their age but had an older man in his mid-twenties with them as well. "They are foreigners¡­ definitely not from our city," Lily narrowed her eyes. "Although their outfits are different, each of them has an armband above their elbows, which is kinda familiar." Almond felt his head on a soft cushion as Lily¡¯s breasts pressed on him, her arms around his neck from above as she entered a thoughtful state to remember about the armband. Meanwhile, Natalia stared at Lily¡¯s buttcheeks from behind, her hands raised and fingers movings with an eager expression as if she wanted to squeeze them. "I remember now," Lily sat down behind the tree, a light bulb glowing in her eyes, "That armband belongs to Thunderbird Guild. It¡¯s not a top 10 global guild, but it¡¯s still powerful enough to be ranked 14th." "So they are the new recruits they got this month," Almond frowned. "They even got a Knight with them." Knight was a term used for Adventurers who were at higher levels but still visited lower floors of the Labyrinth to apany other Adventurers. The term Knight was given because each Floor had limitations on entry. The First Floor¡¯s limit was Silver rank level 10. If anyone higher than this level entered the Labyrinth, their stats would be suppressed with a penalty. Their stats would be the same as when they were Silver rank level 5. In short, there was a high chance that Knights would die if they encountered powerful monsters or Adventurers of Silver rank level 10 unless the Knight was exceptionally skilled and had a refinedbat arsenal. "This is troublesome. My parents had no contact or deal with this guild, so they won¡¯t give me a face even if they know I am the daughter of a GAA branch president and branchmand," Lily clenched her fist. "And I don¡¯t believe they will be happy seeing us here." "I got an idea," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. "Let¡¯s make contact with them and see what they think about strangers." "You mean¡­" Lily raised her eyebrows before she looked at Natalia. "What are you two looking at me for? Don¡¯t tell me¡­use my clone?" ¡­ The giant hives of Willowbees were not present on trees at the start, but the group had just entered the area and spotted a big hive the size of a house fifty meters above, dangling on a branch with around fifty arm-sized bees working high up in the trees to collect nectar from flowers and fruits growing these unique trees. The group had stopped behind a tree to prepare a few traps before initiating their attack. But then, they heard something and looked back. Natalia¡¯s clone was running towards them, her eyes and expression weary, and her outfit dirty as if she had recently experienced some struggle. The group silently watched her. One girl, three boys at eighteen years old, and a twenty-five-year-old man who was a Knight. The boys, seeing Natalia¡¯s breasts bouncing, couldn¡¯t help but look there as they felt blood rushing below. She was a mage and wore a dress that showed her cleavage, so it was a tempting sight. ¡¯Horny bastards,¡¯ Natalia internally snorted. She quietly arrived behind the boulder as well and took deep breaths as her chest heaved up and down before weakly smiling, "I-I¡¯m sorry to disturb you, but my group and I separated because of de Mantis." "de Mantis? You didn¡¯t bring it here, right?" the man in his mid-twenties asked with a frown. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I¡­don¡¯t think so," Natalia hesitantly shook her head before she pleaded as her eyes got a bit teary, "I-I can¡¯t survive alone. Can I stay with you, please?" "Yeah, of course," a blond-haired young man said with a dashing smile as he approached her, "A fairdy like you shouldn¡¯t wander this mountain alone." "Zoren, you know we can¡¯t do that," the Knight said as his brows furrowed. "I said we can," Zoren nced at the knight. "Any problem with that, Henry?" ¡¯This damn yboy,¡¯ Henry internally cursed, but he couldn¡¯t defy Zoren, who was the second son of Vice-Guildmaster of Thunderbird Guild. The other three didn¡¯t say anything because they had no say in this, though the two boys were stealing nces at Natalia¡¯s figure while the red-haired girl appeared a bit annoyed and looked at the beehive as she ignored this matter. "Come, sit here for a bit," Zoren gently grabbed Natalia¡¯s shoulders and sat her down at the boulder. ¡¯The n might go smoother than expected thanks to this yboy.¡¯ Chapter 15: Thunderbird Guild Group (2/2), Nasty Guy "I am Natalia, thank you, Zoren," Natalia said as she wiped her tears and smiled. "Can you help me find my friends, please? You can also kill de Mantis and get rewards. They are not far from this area." "de Mantis might drop a special sword with a low chance, so it¡¯s a priority," Henry said, "We have to kill it before others. But for now, we¡¯ll clear that one Hive of Willowbees since we are prepared. It should take ten minutes max with the traps as long as you four coordinate properly ording to the n." "B-But de Mantis might be after my friends¡­" Natalia said while she nced at the red-haired girl briefly before turning to Zoren. ¡¯Why is that bitch looking out? Let¡¯s hope we aren¡¯t discovered before we pass by them¡­¡¯ The n was to distract this group while they went around them and enter deeper into this area to farm a hive or two of Willowbees. Of course, this n had two points to clear, and Natalia proceeded to the second point. "Please, Zoren. I am worried about my boyfriend. I will be eternally grateful if we can go to them right now," Natalia said as her eyes turned teary again. *Pat!* Natalia felt a stinging pain on her cheek as Zoren angrily pped her. "Bitch, do you think I¡¯m a fool? You have a boyfriend already, yet you want me to save them?" Zoren said, his narrowed eyes glinting darkly with lust as he ogled at her and grabbed her wrist tightly. His other hand went into his storage pouch as he took out a pair of handcuffs, a magic item crafted by Earth Union that disrupts Mana flow to prevent anyone from using skills. "W-What are you doing?" Natalia found her hands in handcuffs. ¡¯This motherfucker¡­¡¯ The red-haired girl wanted to say something but stayed silent. ¡¯This piece of trash¡­¡¯ The boys also wanted to stop him, but if they said anything, Zoren could easily kick them out of the guild. "I¡¯ll have fun with you when we camp. If you satisfy me, I¡¯ll save your friends," Zoren nastily grinned. ¡¯That¡¯s it. This bastard needs to die.¡¯ "You better be careful now, you piece of garbage," Natalia coldly said before her clone exploded. *Boom!* "Arghhh! W-What the fuck!" Zoren was closest to her, so he was injured. The defensive item on him reduced damage further, so he only got superficial burns. The three Bronze-rank adventurers were slightly injured, while Henry was unscathed. On the other hand, Almond and Lily had already passed by the group and arrived around a hundred meters deeper into this area while carrying Natalia¡¯s real body, which was resting behind a tree at the moment. Lily was in the position to aim at the Beehive that was near that group for thest minute, and the moment she heard the explosion, she released the arrow that went straight through a level 7 Willowbee Worker before hitting the giant beehive the size of a house. "Hit the Beehive! Kill that bastard!" Natalia hissed the moment her senses regained in her real body. "What happened?" Almond was surprised at Natalia¡¯s outburst. "What did they do?" "I already did," Lily said as she looked at Natalia. "They have a knight, so they can¡¯t be in danger even if they are good people, but¡­" Her eyes narrowed as she continued, "What happened there? Were they that bad?" "Not all," Natalia said as she calmed down and continued, "But that blond-haired bastard called Zoren is apparently a big shot¡¯s son, so even that Knight obeys him, not to mention the other three random new recruits of their guild who can¡¯t do anything since they want to join the guild." Natalia clenched her fists, her eyes trembling, "That bastard pped me and wanted to rape me. He even put Sealing Handcuffs on me to prevent me from escaping." She shuddered as some memories surfaced in her mind and hung her head down, her breathing bing uneven, her fists clenched. "That piece of trash¡­" "Sorry, Nat..." Lily walked towards her and hugged her as she caressed her back, "You did well. And don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll deal with him." ¡¯Does she have some kind of trauma?¡¯ Almond thought as he felt it was the case seeing Natalia¡¯s state. "Rest for five minutes and rx," Lily said as she wiped Natalia¡¯s tears. "We have time since that group will be busy fighting and fending off that swarm of Willowbees." Almond looked at the area as a big barrier covered the group. He could not see the people from this position due to the big boulder, but it was clear they decided to stay from the look of the situation there. "It seems they are gonna kill the Willowbees instead of running." "That knight is Silver rank level 5, but his barrier skill can easily protect them from these Bronze rank Bees for an hour, even if the Willowbee Queen emerges from that hive, not to mention they won¡¯t have ack of Mana recovery potions," Lily nodded. "They have plenty of time to prepare and let the four newbies deal with them." After all, it wouldn¡¯t be worth it if that Knight killed the Willowbees, as nobody would get any EXP. ¡¯What if I use 10 Spirit Explosions at once? What if I stack them¡­? This is the kind of skill that doesn¡¯t cost Mana but spirits,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted, eager to try. But he needed more spirits for this and it wasn¡¯t wise to stay here to collect the Spirits while that group attacked. They had to move away from them and start killing Willowbees at another hive. Almond looked into the mysterious Spirit Kodoku pocket where he had put 20 spirits when they left the Goblin Colony. This Spirit Kodoku also had the spirit of Jacob, Lamp, and Seyung alongside Goblin Spirits and a few Dire Wolf spirits. ¡¯I wonder what woulde out from this¡­¡¯ There was no countdown or anything. He just had to wait until the process inside this Spirit Kodoku pocket was finished.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Chapter 16: Fighting a Willowbee Hive Five minutester, the trio moved deeper as they created distance from the Thunderbird Guild. Almond wanted to earn free spirits, but it was too dangerous to stay there. That Knight was a Silver rank level 5, someone they couldn¡¯t hope to defeat at the moment and couldn¡¯t run away if he decided to chase them. They passed by three hives of Willowbees and crossed six hundred meters of distance before finally stopping at the next hive they saw. "Let¡¯s do this fast," Lily said as she took out her bow, aiming a 45-degree angle at the house-sized hive sixty meters off the ground dangling on a big branch. Natalia was hidden behind a big rock while her clone was right below the Hive on ground level, which she would use to taunt and distract the Bees. Almond alsomanded his spectral wolves to apany Natalia¡¯s clone for higher efficiency in taunting the bees. After all, It was clear that no matter who attacked the Hive, the Willowbees would first go for the targets that were close to them. A few secondster, Lily released the arrow as it struck a level 7 Willowbee Worker, killing it before proceeding to stab the hive. The Willowbee Workers hummed heavily as the air vibrated, all flying towards Natalia, who started running. Almond captured the spirit of that level 7 Willowbee and immediately used it right below Natalia¡¯s clone, but with itsg of a second, Natalia got out of its range while the three Willowbees that were closing in on her got caught up in the st. [You have killed a level 7 Willowbee Worker.] [You have killed¡­] Two Willowbee Workers died while one was injured. Meanwhile, Lily also started shooting arrows empowered by Mana, often piercing two or three Willowbee Workers at once. The moment fifteen Willowbee Workers died, the Willowbee Guards spawned from the hive. They were bigger and had a huge venomous sting, unlike the Willowbee Workers, who only had small stings and usually attacked with their piercing hands. Ten Willowbee Guards of levels 8 and 9 arrived as they quickly flew towards Almond and Lily. "Dodge their stings or destroy them," Almond said before he unsheathed his sword, his eyes dancing with the light of thrill as he rushed forward. He wanted to move and fight physically with a sword since the moment he held it. And seeing the iing Willowbee Guards, he couldn¡¯t hold himself back. *Sreeee!* Four ck venomous stings shot at Almond upon seeing him rushing forward, but Almond waved his sword as he destroyed one while moving at high speed before jumping and directlynding on a Willowbee Guard, his sword piercing its head. Physical Enchantment was activated as he overpoweringly moved his hand, slicing the Willowbee Guard¡¯s head to its tail in half. [You have killed a¡­] ¡¯Shush.¡¯ Almond jumped as a Willowbee Guard was about to attack him with its piercing ws, but it was as if he was already skilled with a sword, Almond parried the attack by moving the sword, his hand speed fast as he sliced it into two pieces. ¡¯What the¡­¡¯ Lily was taken aback. But she didn¡¯t have time to take a look at Almond as she took out her daggers, jumping into the fray to kill the three Willowbee Guardsing at her. *BOOM!* *BOOM!* Almond used two Spirit Explosions by using two level 7 Willowbee Worker¡¯s spirits. One of them turned special, oozing out a green spark that poisoned the Willowbee Guards, ultimately killing three Willowbee Guards in two explosions. Almond¡¯s legs anchored on the ground as he exerted his strength and jumped high, his sword directly piercing a Willowbee Guard from below, but he still went up until he was within 10 meters of distance between him and the Willowbee Hive! ¡¯Spirit Explosion.¡¯ He put five spirits of Willowbee Workers, stacking them and sticking them right in the hive as he used the Spirit Explosion skill. Moreover, since they killed over seven Willowbee Guards, the Willowbee Queen was also emerging and got caught in the st. *BOOOOM!* The hive was destroyed as its chunks fell on the ground while the injured Willowbee Queen shrieked. ¡¯Let¡¯s see,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he fell down but his eyes were on the Willowbee Queen as he used his new skill, Spirit Syringe. A mystical ghastly syringe appeared and was injected into the Willowbee Queen before. It was filling up rather quickly, 20% in one second. Almondnded on the ground, Lily appearing right beside him. The remaining Willowbee Guards were killed by her and Natalia¡¯s clone was also destroyed. She arrived here beside them as well, ready to fight the remaining Willowbee Workers and the Queen. Almond and Lily leveled up to 8 while Natalia reached level 7. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Let¡¯s do this," Lily smiled as she chugged a Mana potion and dashed, her daggers glinting. Almond held his sword tightly as he also dashed, still having plenty of Mana tost in the battle, he continued slicing the Willowbee Workers into half while waiting for the Willowbee Queen to descend. A few secondster, the Queen descended, already injured and poisoned, as one of the explosions became special. Its vitality was at 67% already. The Spirit Syringe was already filled so Almond was about to go there and grab it himself with a high-speed dash empowered by Physical Enchantment, but surprisingly, the moment he looked at the Syringe, it vanished and appeared in front of him. ¡¯Nice!¡¯ The fight against the Willowbee Queen was uneventful as Lily and Almond finished it off with one attack each while Natalia used a debuff skill on it called Mirage Blindness, making the Willowbee Queen hallucinate that there were multiple Lily and Almond, which caused its attacks to miss. "Let¡¯s go. We have to change our location and I know a perfect ce," Almond said as he absorbed the Spirits into his pocket and started moving, arriving at a nearby tree before punching it. ¡¯Not this.¡¯ He moved to the next tree several meters away and did the same while Lily and Natalia followed him. "What are you doing?" Natalia asked. "There¡¯s a chance one of the tree trunks is hollow and it¡¯s a good hiding ce since these tree trunks are wide and big, especially at the bottom." A minuteter, they found a hollow tree Almond pierced his sword and carved out a door and the trio entered inside. After creating small holes for the light to pass through, they sat down in meditation to recover. A hiding ce was required if one wanted to meditate since meditating would require them to focus deep enough that they wouldn¡¯t know what was happening around them. Strong adventurers had multiple ways to keep themselves safe, but for the newbies, it was better to be safe than sorry by finding a good hiding spot. ¡¯Time to check the loot and get strong.¡¯ Chapter 17: New Items [You have devoured a level 7 Willowbee Worker. Gained +1 Health and +1 Stamina.] [You have devoured a level 7 Willowbee Worker. Gained +1 Focus.] [You have devoured a level 7 Willowbee Worker. Gained +0.5 Focus.] ¡¯Three is a rough limit to gain stats from the same species¡­unless I devour higher level ones, then it would be one more, I guess.¡¯ ¡¯Next.¡¯ [You have devoured a level 8 Willowbee Guard. Gained +1 Strength and +1 Health.] [You have devoured a level 9 Willowbee Guard. Gained +1 Perception and +0.5 Focus.] [You have devoured a level 8 Willowbee Guard. Gained +0.5 Mana.] ¡¯Last to devour,¡¯ Almond used Spirit Devour on the Willowbee Queen spirit. [You have devoured a level 10 Willowbee Queen. Gained +1 Strength, +1 Perception, and +1 Mana.] Almond clenched his fist and opened it a few times as he felt the surge of power-up he gained settling. [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 8 [5.2%] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 388/388] -Stats: 3 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 26.5 | Health: 15 | Stamina: 14.5] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 15.5 (+23.25) | Focus: 17 | Perception: 18.5] After he looked at his status, he decided to add 3 unassigned stat points to his Focus. Almond felt a slight change as he added 3 points to the Focus stat. And a secondter, he heard a notification. [The activation range of your Spirit Explosion has increased to 20 meters from 10 meters.] ¡¯Awesome.¡¯ He could now use Spirit Explosion anywhere within 20 meters of himself! ¡¯If I could get a vision like a bird¡¯s eye from above, it would make things easier since I¡¯d be able to put Spirit Explosions with uncanny precision,¡¯ Almond thought. ¡¯Alright, this is a goal. I¡¯ll have to get a skill like that somehow.¡¯ He then looked at the Spirit Pocket skill¡¯s interface in his mind and fell into thought. Spirit Pocket: [47/100] After a second, he put the remaining 7 Willowbee Guard Spirits into the Spirit Factory, along with 3 Willowbee Workers. Almost all of his Mana was exhausted as he put these ten Spirits into the Spirit Factory. The stronger the Spirit, the more Mana was required to put it into the Spirit Factory. However, the cost of Mana was lower than when he put the Dire Wolf Spirits. Almond guessed that the Cost was adjusted ording to his level as well. One more addition was that the Spirit Factory didn¡¯t have a timer before, but it showed a timer after he put the Spirits this time. ¡¯It could be rted to increasing Focus.¡¯ [Time until the first production¡ª1 minute and 42 seconds.] Afterward, he looked at the Spirit Kodoku pocket, though it still didn¡¯t show any timer. ¡¯Hurry up,¡¯ Almond internally said to it before he closed off everything and entered meditation to recover Mana. The room in the trunk was silent as minutes passed by. After the trio recovered their Mana, they drank water to quench their thirst and continued to rest to recover their Stamina for a few minutes. Five minutester, they left the trunk and crossed a bit over a hundred meters of distance before targetting another Willowbee Hive. It took them a bit over five minutes to kill all the Willowbees. "How are you so good with the sword? You couldn¡¯t even hold one properly if I remember correctly," Natalia asked as she stared at Almond weirdly. ¡¯Geez, is he some kind of natural-born genius with the sword?¡¯ "Yeah, I am honestly impressed," Lily nodded. "And it¡¯s like you¡¯re improving crazily fast." "Yeah¡­" Almond looked at the sword, his wrist masterfully bending as he swung it swiftly around him. "I don¡¯t know. The sword just feels...right in my hand, and I somehow know how to use it. I can figure out new ways to attack with it fast while fighting." "Weird, but good for us," Natalia snickered. "We¡¯ll need to hunt two more Willowbee Hives to reach level 10." "Yeah, let¡¯s go and get a quick rest somewhere before continuing," Lily nodded as she put away her daggers. "We are doing way better than I expected." The trio continued walking and soon found a small pond after crossing a bunch of bushes. However, they immediately scurried away from there and found a hollow tree trunk before settling inside. "Shit, de Mantis is drinking water there. What should we do? I heard they are really perceptive and can find their prey from fifty meters away," Natalia said as she gulped. "Are we safe in this trunk?" "Don¡¯t worry. The Mantis can¡¯t smell much, so we are safe here. It¡¯s their sharp vision from those big eyes that can look at all sides and weird aura-sensing antennas that make it a hunter," Almond said. "Yes, it¡¯s impossible to ambush that de Mantis," Lily nodded. "It will sense me even if I use my skill, which makes me invisible to the eyes. I have yet to master Mana Shroud. If I could use it alongside my Phantom Cloak skill, I could ambush it." Mana Shroud was another technique that used Mana to close all nodes of one¡¯s body to prevent any aura from leaking. It required 20 Focus and 20 Perception to begin learning it due to the requirement on Mana control. "We can kill it," Almond suddenly said. "I thought you were a walking encyclopedia, Almond?" Natalia rolled her eyes. "de Mantis bronze rank level 10 is the same level as Willowbee Queen, but it is twice or more as strong if you don¡¯t know." "I know," Almond said as his eyes flickered a bit, and a strange wooden cross-bow with patterns of Willowbee Guard¡¯s yellow and silver design. [Willowbee Crossbow]¡ªUmon-grade. "Oh?" Lily blinked. "Item? I thought you could summon monsters¡­" Natalia was startled. "One of my ss skills can create items from monsters I kill. Basically, dead monsters drop something unique that only I can see, and I can use that thing for my skill, which can create random things." "But where would you get arrows for this?" Natalia tilted her head in confusion. "I think there¡¯s no need for external arrows, right?" Lily smiled. "Yep," Almond nodded and shared the item¡¯s status with them. "It costs mana per shot." [Willowbee Crossbow] -Grade: Umon. -Durability: [100/100] -Duration: 1 day. -Attack: 100 per shot. -Cost: 10 Mana per crossbow arrow. -Spirit Effect(s): ¡ª> You can infuse an additional 10 Mana in the crossbow to grant the Poison effect to the arrow. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡ª> Feeding a spirit to this item also extends its duration of existence and recovers its durability. "And¡­ahem, I have more items." Waving his hand, Almond took out nine more items as theyy on the ground, causing Natalia and Lily to stare at them with a dumbfounded expression. 3 x Willowbee Crossbow. (Umon) 3 x Willowbee Poison Bomb. (Umon) 1 x Willowbee Shield. (Umon) 3 x Willowbee Daggers. (Common) Chapter 18: Blade Mantis (1/2) "Take a look at them," Almond said, sharing details of the items. [Willowbee Poison Bomb] -Grade: [Umon] -Type: [One-time use item] -Effect: [A bomb that explodes upon impact and covers a 5-meter radius area into a poison mist that slows and damages everyone within, with a chance to paralyze them if inhaled.] -Use: You can throw it after infusing 10 Mana points, and it will activate at the location where it is impacted by anything. The bomb was palm-sized, etched with Willowbee¡¯s characteristic patterns. "This is amazing," Lily blinked to see if she wasn¡¯t mistaken, clearly impressed. "It¡¯s even better than those recently developed potions." "Five-meter radius is not small either," Natalia grinned, "Damn, Almond. You can make some sick stuff, eh? Let¡¯s see the others." Lily curiously looked at the dagger¡¯s window panel next. [Willowbee Dagger] n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om -Grade: [Common] -Durability: [100/100] -Duration: [1 day] -Attack: [15] -Effect(s): ¡ª> 15% chance of paralyzing. -Spirit Effect(s): ¡ª> Infusing 10 Mana in the dagger will increase the paralyze chance to 50% for 2 seconds. ¡ª> Feeding a spirit to this item also extends its duration of existence. "Eh? So it doesn¡¯tst long unless you feed it a Spirit?" Natalia raised an eyebrow. "Yeah," Almond nodded as he nced at Lily. "Take them. You¡¯ll use them better." "Thanks," Lily smiled and took the three daggers as she put them in the storage pouch. "These are pretty good. At least, this paralyzing effect will work on monsters of Bronze rank up to level 10." "So, is it hard to get the spirit or easy?" Natalia asked. "One monster¡¯s death gives me one spirit," Almond faintly smiled. "So long as we hunt monsters, I won¡¯t run out of spirits." "That¡¯s good," Lily nodded as she chuckled, her eyes showing eagerness, "Your ss lives up to its rank. I also can¡¯t wait to upgrade mine." "That reminds me, what¡¯s your ss and its rank?" Natalia pouted and shared her status with Almond. "Here¡¯s mine if you are curious." [Natalia] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 8 -ss: Mirage Witch (B). -Vitality: [100%/100%]. -Mana: [250/250]. -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 15 |Health: 12|Stamina: 12] -Mental ?[Mana: 25|Focus: 15|Perception: 14] "Here," Almond said, revealing his status, but added, "Don¡¯t tell anyone about this ss. Only you two know, and I don¡¯t trust anyone else with it." "That means you trust me, eh?" Natalia cheekily grinned and looked at Almond¡¯s status before she suddenly eximed. "Fuck you! SS-rank ss?!" Natalia¡¯s eyes almost popped out of her sockets. ¡­ "Are you sure about this?" Lily somberly looked at Almond. "Yeah," Almond grabbed the shield and felt it as he moved it around. "It¡¯s light and will work in case n A fails. Let¡¯s kill it before anyone else does." [Willowbee Shield] -Grade: [Umon] -Durability: [200/200] -Duration: [2 days] -Physical Defense: [41] -Magical Defense: [38] -Effect(s): ¡ª> 15% chance to retaliate with a dart if attacked by a melee attack. ¡ª> Feeding a spirit to this item also extends its duration of existence and recovers 50% durability. "Geez, I am getting fidgety," Natalia wryly smiled, her heart beating faster. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if de Mantis suddenly pounced on them any time now. They were too close to it. The only reason it hadn¡¯t discovered them was because it was taking a rest and drinking water. Because when it usually starts roaming for hunting, it easily discovers prey within 50 meters of itself. "Your clone is crucial," Almond said, "And this is the best time to kill the de Mantis. If we kill it while we are below level 10, the chance to drop that rare-grade sword increases, and¡­" Almond paused and looked at hismon-grade sword before continuing, "I want a better sword." Lily resigned upon seeing that Almond was adamant about killing the de Mantis. "Alright, let¡¯s do this. If you get that Rare-grade sword, you won¡¯t have to fear anyone on this floor, given your crazy sword mastery." Almond nodded, feeling a rush of adrenaline and thrill. It was time to execute their n. The trio crouched behind a tree at the edge of the pond area that was surrounded by bushes and trees. The clearing was about 12 meters in radius, with the pond itself covering a 5-meter span in the center. Natalia conjured her clone and made it walk around the area silently. It wouldn¡¯t be strange if the de Mantis found them. The only saving grace was that it wasn¡¯t in hunting mode, which allowed them to initiate against this hunter, who usually takes the initiative in attacking others. Almond knew this was a good opportunity, and he wanted to grasp it. As Natalia¡¯s clone covered halfway distance and reached the west side of the pond, the Mantis¡¯ antenna moved, and its head looked up before turning straight at Natalia¡¯s clone. The mantis was drinking water from the southeast side of the pond while the trio was hiding behind the tree on the south side. There was only around 10 meters of distance and some bushes between them and the de Mantis. ¡¯Please, don¡¯t sense us and go after the clone,¡¯ Natalia thought as she looked at the de Mantis through her clone, her eyes soon meeting its eye. ¡¯Fuck, it¡¯s two meters tall with those crazy scythe des. One attack, and we would die,¡¯ Natalia stepped towards it, entering the pond area. The moment her clone moved, the de Mantis¡¯ ck eyes glinted red, and it dashed like a wind. It was time! The n was to paralyze it with daggers and Almond finish it off with a full-powered attack of his sword at its neck. Lily and Almond swiftly entered the pond area as they activated their Physical Enchantment, eyeing the de Mantis¡¯ back! *Swoosh¡­Swoosh!* Two daggers empowered by Lily shot at the de Mantis, who hacked both of its des at Natalia¡¯s clone in an X-shaped motion, cutting it instantly. Its eyes rotated as it also saw the daggers and moved, but it couldn¡¯t dodge thatpletely as both daggers stuck in its middle-body area, which was the widest part of its body structure. It had a rotund carapace part that seemed to contain its main bodily organs, and Almond had told her to aim in this area. This area ensured that daggers would strike it and might also increase the paralyzing chance. After getting struck with the daggers, the monster¡¯s attention shifted to Almond, who wasing at him like the wind, his sword glowing as he empowered it with Mana in a perfectly synched swinging motion ording to his dash. Feeling the threat, it wanted to move but suddenly found itself paralyzed. There was a 50% chance of both daggers to paralyze it, and one of them seeded! ¡¯Die!¡¯ Almond¡¯s dash was fast, and his hand swung at deadly precision as he converted the burst of speed to increase his swinging force. His Physical Enchantment gave a 100% boost to his Strength, so his Strength stat was higher than de Mantis, who had 45 Strength! Its defense was naturally lower! ¡¯Beautiful¡­¡¯ Lily¡¯s eyes saw the dash and that arc of sword Almond swung with the sword, her perception and skill allowing her to see this motion very clearly. But¡­right before Almond¡¯s sword was about to strike the neck of de Mantis, his sword exploded! de Mantis screeched in pain and anger while Almond¡¯s heartbeat instantly quickened. ¡¯Fuck, fuck! I used too much Mana to empower this shittymon-grade sword, it couldn¡¯t handle it!¡¯ The sword was destroyed right before its de could cut off that head! Almond had used the sword a lot already, so its durability was already low! ¡¯It¡¯s not over!¡¯ Almond¡¯s pupils shrank to the extreme, his heartbeat loud enough to fill his mind, but his focus remained steadfast. Chapter 19: Blade Mantis (2/2), Specialised Class Process ¡¯It¡¯s not over!¡¯ Almond¡¯s pupils shrank to the extreme as the de Mantis¡¯ de arms swung at him, glowing with a red aura as it was about to hack him into four pieces. Naturally, the Shield was precisely for this. It was a rectangle shield almost a meter long. ¡¯Now!¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as he stacked 5 Spirits right below the Mantis the moment its des were about to strike him. Usually, this de Mantis was sharp enough that it would easily dodge out of Spirit Explosion¡¯s range since it had a dy of one second, which was plenty of time for this agile monster to react. But how would it dodge while it was attacking him? Almond was dragged back a few meters as the shield blocked the attack while his powerful Strength boosted by Physical Enchant allowed him to stand his ground with his shield as he remained uninjured except for a minor shock due to the impact. But on the other hand¡­ *BOOM!* A loud explosion rang in a colored spectacle of green smoke and dust, obliterating the de Mantis that was already injured by the idental sword st. But even if it wasn¡¯t injured, this stack of 5 Spirit Explosions hitting at point ck range right below it was enough to kill it. [Congrattions. You have killed the level 10 de Mantis, the Field Boss of the lower area of Fairy Mountain.] [100 Gold coins to all participants in the battle.] "W-We did it!" Natalia ran towards them as she shouted with excitement. Lily smiled and nodded, looking at the smoke and dust where the explosion urred. "The n was perfect. Paralysing daggers are great, though they wouldn¡¯t have survived that explosion," she wryly smiled. Almond walked toward the dead Mantis, his attention on the drops, if any. [You have reached level 10. Please check out the specialized ss tab and rank advancement tab for more information.] He had the highest contribution, and since the Field Boss gave higher EXP, he filled the big progress bar from level 9 to 10, sessfully reaching level 10! Natalia reached level 9, while Lily remained at level 9. But most importantly, a faint blue glow could be seen as the smoke and dust from the explosion settled! Almond¡¯s fist clenched as he took a deep breath, his mouth stretching into a grin as he picked up the ck-ded sword with sharp red patterns on its de edge. Grabbing the exquisite dark green wooden handle, Almond instantly felt powerful upon holding it! [Preying Hunter¡¯s Sword] -Grade: [Rare / Low] -Durability: [1000/1000] -Attack: [100 + 100% of user¡¯s Strength.] -Effect(s): ¡ª> If you are chasing someone, your movement speed increases by 30%. ¡ª> sh-type attacks of this sword have 35% higher pration power. ¡ª> Preying Sense: Infusing 50 Mana in the sword will allow you to sense all living beings within 50 meters of yourself for 10 seconds. Almond¡¯s hand trembled as he read the weapon¡¯s details. The chance to get this sword as a drop was usually low! It had only dropped 2 times in 10 years! Even though it was a Rare-grade low-tier, it was still powerful. Moreover, rare-grade items were something that usually Gold-rank monsters dropped, who only appeared on the 5th floor and onward! Lower floors had a chance to grant such items at a very low rate or by meeting some conditions. Field Bosses were such monsters that had those drops at a low rate. Moreover, just like how stronger people would be suppressed with a penalty if they entered lower floors, it was also forbidden to enter the lower floors with items gained from higher floors. Otherwise, Lily could easily bring more powerful items since her parents were higher floor adventurers and they had tons of items. ¡¯This is a chance. If we kill the other two Bosses while being lower level than them, we might also get their rare drops. Even if one of them drops, it will be worth it.¡¯ "How¡¯s the sword?" Lily asked as she and Natalia walked towards Almond, looking curiously at the sword. "See for yourself," Almond grinned as he shared the sword¡¯s details. "Holy cow!" Natalia spluttered, her mouth wide. "This is going to be so deadly in your hand!" Lily¡¯s eyes glinted, "You mastered Physical Enchantment in Arms and Legs, so your Strength doubles, and adding that to this sword¡¯s offense...Almond, I think you can instantly kill the second Field Boss with this if the attacknds properly." "Yeah, possibly," Almond nodded as he swung the sword masterfully around him for a couple of seconds before putting it in the sheath. "Let¡¯s continue moving," Almond looked west, where the Nest of Willowbee area was about to end. "One more hive and you two will reach level 10 as well. I¡¯ll check out my specialized ss stuff and rank-advancement quest while walking." The trio began moving towards the west while slowly going higher up in the mountain. They were already a bit higher and once they crossed the Nest of Willowbees area, they would enter the middle part of the mountain where Silver rank monster would start to appear. ¡¯Interesting¡­so I can choose how I want this to proceed, eh?¡¯ [You are now qualified to build your specialized ss. Please choose how you want this to proceed.] [Option 1: Analyzing your journey in the Labyrinth so far, you can have the S-rank ss: Runic Spellsword, afterpleting the specialized ss quest.] [Option 2: Selecting this option will allow you to build your own specialized ss and each of its aspects through a series of quests that will test your capabilities to determine the ss-building options.] [Once selected, you cannot change the option.] ¡¯S-rank ss and it¡¯s even sword-rted,¡¯ Almond was tempted. But as he looked at his current ss, his eyes glinted sharply, ¡¯I have an SS-rank ss¡­and a ss above S-rank cannot be naturally obtained.¡¯ There have been cases of people building an SS-rank ss after they chose option 2, and he wanted to do the same! Heck, the Guild leader of the globally No.1 guild had an SSS-rank ss he acquired after choosing option 2! And he was sure there was more than one person with an SSS-rank ss after choosing this option. They just didn¡¯t disclose it to the public. ¡¯Option 2.¡¯ As Almond selected option 2, a thought drifted through his mind. ¡¯Is there a ss rank that¡¯s above SSS rank?¡¯ [Please select the Suffix you want for your specialized ss from the options given to you.] n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om [The first quest will be generated afterward.] [ ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª {Suffix}] [Options] -yer -Swordsman -Warden -Hunter -Spellsword -Grimde ¡¯This¡­is a bit tricky,¡¯ Almond frowned. ¡¯Swordsman is ideal. I don¡¯t want to brag, but I feel like I am a genius with the sword.¡¯ ¡¯But thatst option is making me feel that itch I want to scratch¡­¡¯ "What¡¯s up, troubling to select your Suffix?" Lily elbowed Almond upon seeing his frown. "Ultimately, it¡¯s just a name. The real determination will be the rating you achieve in your quests, which will determine the skill options you will get." "That¡¯s true¡­" Almond looked at the options thoughtfully and decided to dissect the names logically. ¡¯Swordsman will likely present me with sword-rted options, though this will be influenced by the Prefix I selectter as well.¡¯ ¡¯As for Grimde, which is Grim plus de¡­well, swords also have des. It can be said that de is a broader term and can include all ded weapons, including swords.¡¯ Almond entered a thoughtful state for a while as he just walked alongside Lily and Natalia before he finally concluded after a minute. ¡¯This is it.¡¯ Chapter 20: Strange Occurrence Almond selected Grimde. [Quest to determine the options for your Prefix] ¡ª> Objective: Kill 50 Monsters. It looked simple, but Almond knew he would be analyzed thoroughly on how he would kill those fifty monsters as the options would generate based on that. ¡­ Skipping two hives, the trio stopped at the seeminglyst hive as they were almost out of the Nest of Willowbee area. During this battle, Almond didn¡¯t take much action. He stood at one spot, right below the hive, and held his sword in a leisurely yet masterful grip. Natalia focused on killing instead of baiting the Willowbees. Lily also did the same, often switching her weapon between bow and daggers. As for Almond, he stood like a sword god. If any Willowbee Worker attacked him with their sharp, pointy hands, he would deflect them and hit them with the back of his de, throwing them towards Natalia. Having reached level 10, he would get zero EXP from killing those level 7 Willowbee Workers, so it wasn¡¯t worth it. He also didn¡¯t want to fill up his new quest progress with kills of such weak monsters. Iing Willowbee Workers were deflected like he was swatting flies. Soon, Willowbee Guards arrived and started shooting their venomous stings. But with precise shes and nimble motions of his hand, Almond also deflected those with his sword before swatting them toward Natalia and Lily. His strength after using Physical Enchantment allowed him to overpower the Willowbees. And with his sword being Rare-grade, it took no damage or loss of durability against these Bronze-rank monsters¡¯ attacks. Soon, the Willowbee Queen arrived and targeted Almond right off the bat as vines sprung from the ground around him and snared him. Almond chuckled. He wasn¡¯t going to run away anyway. In fact, he hadn¡¯t moved a single step from his spot since the start of the battle. Willowbee Queen was big and level 10, but it still wasn¡¯t strong enough to make him move. Almond split the iing stinger from the precise center. The Willowbee Queen buzzed towards Almond immediately after its stinger attack, intending to impale him with its venomous hands and bite him with its fangs. However, Almond waved his hand, a cold sheen of the de sweeping across him as all four of the Willowbee Queen¡¯s legs were cut finely before he bent, spun, and kicked it, shooting the monster straight toward Natalia. "Thanksies!" Natalia grinned, her eyes dancing with excitement. Only she was left since Lily had just reached level 10 after killing some Willowbee Guards. Pointing her ward at the iing monster, Natalia conjured a cloud of purple sparks that transformed into an ethereal de as if it were a sh attack. *Srees!* The iing Willowbee Queen found itself split in half from the middle, its eyes losing light a secondter. "That was¡­" Almond blinked as he paused and confirmed what he saw before he continued a secondter, "That was my attack." "Bingo," Natalia showed a victory sign with her fingers with a grin. "Action Mirage, my ss skill. It copies a phenomenon I have seen at its original effects, but with 20% reduces potency." Lily killed thest Willowbee Guard with her dagger, stabbing straight into its head. Turning to Almond, she said, "Her ss is quite useful in a group, especially in a powerful group." Picking up her dagger from the Bee¡¯s corpse, she added, "Your attacks are strongest among us even though it¡¯s just you swinging your sword. Despite a 20% reduction in them, they are enough for Natalia." "Eggzactly," Nataliughed. "Gosh, Almond is so powerful, I bet he could be one of the super rookies that¡¯s been famous these days." "Spare me that attention. I am a scaredy cat outside, and I intend to remain that way," Almond wryly smiled. "That might not be a safe option anymore, Almond." Lily, Almond, and Natalia began walking again as they continued to converse. "What do you mean not a safe option anymore?" Almond blinked. "I am not powerful enough to defend myself against the ugly minds who have more power and backing. Getting attention without protection willnd me trouble." Lily calmly shook her head. "You have a great deal of knowledge about Labyrinth and other information that¡¯s on the surface, but I know the insides of how this society works and news that never gets to the public." "Just know that being weak will also attract nasty fellows that prey on the weak now that you are a bonafide Adventurer, both here and outside," Lily¡¯s hand grabbed Almond¡¯s, her fingers intertwining with his. "You have to get a backing. In this world, having a strong backing in your profile for all the world to see is the best deterrence and protection you can get," Lily¡¯s hand grip tightened. "And entering a Dungeon without a backing is hard because Association and Guilds get priority." "That¡¯s right," Natalia quipped, "for example, bing a member of the top 10 Guilds. I bet if you participate in those examinations and tournaments they hold, you can get fame and backing." "That¡­is not wrong," Almond¡¯s face turned contemtive. What Lily said made sense. Although he hadn¡¯t heard the news, he had heard rumors of nasty things happening around the big-shot families, guilds, and other forces, and not all rumors were groundless. As he epted the grim reality, the hairs on his body stood, and a sudden wave of goosebumps and harrowing cringe filled him up. Sweatbead formed on his forehead, and everything turned ck for a second. "Almond? What happened?" Seeing Almond slowing down and swaying, Lily and Natalia stopped, both looking confused and concerned. He recovered swiftly, but his breathing turned uneven, his eyes confused, "I-I don¡¯t know. This was strange..." "That felt¡­familiar," Natalia said, her eyes slightly trembling. "Almond¡­did you have some kind of trauma or any memories of anything happening when you were a kid?" "Has this ever happened before?" Lily asked, her brows creased up in worry. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "No. It¡¯s my first time experiencing this. Moreover, I don¡¯t remember anything trauma-inducing. My parents¡­I was eight years old when they entered the Labyrinth in the first wave of humans and never returned." Almond shook his head, "This was strange." He looked fine now. It was as if what he had just experienced didn¡¯t happen at all. "But that happened for a reason," Natalia said, her tone firm. "Almond, what you experienced happened for a reason. It triggered for a reason. What were you thinking right before that happened?" Lily nodded and said, "We were talking about the society, undercover news, and top 10 guilds¡­" "I was thinking about how shitty the world is," Almond dryly chuckled. "But I am thinking about that topic right now, and it¡¯s not happening." "Anyway, let¡¯s forget about this. If that happens again, we can talk and explore," Almond added. "You two also reached level 10, so it¡¯s time to leave this area andplete our Rank Advancement quests." Chapter 21: Cavern of Glassblaze Bears Advancement Quest was simple. One just had to kill 10 Silver-ranked monsters. Almond, Lily, and Natalia left the Nest of Willowbee and arrived in the secondrge area of the Fairy Mountain, containing Silver-ranked from level 1 to 3. It was a huge cavern inside the mountain, with four entrances avable for people to go inside. The trio entered inside through the southwest entrance of the Cavern. Almond opened a map of the cavern. Such maps were avable in the market, and he used those maps to create his own on the magic map parchment, like the Nest of Willowbee area. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Cavern of ssze Bears (Silver Level 1 to 3) ¡ªThis shimmering cavern is home to the ssze Bears, enormous, crystalline bears that breathe fire and have molten cores. The cavern walls are lined with crystalline formations that reflect light, creating a mesmerizing but dangerousndscape. ¡ªKey Features: Jagged crystal walls and flickeringva pools. ¡ªMonsters: ssze Cubs, ssze Brute Bears, Elder ssze Bears. "Here¡¯s the map. We are near area number 25. If we walk just ten meters and turn north, we¡¯ll likely see a group of ssze Bears. Lily nodded. "These ssze Bears are both tough with their armored exteriors and powerful because of theirva and ss-based skills, but they are not as fast. This won¡¯t be hard." "Sword is a bad weapon against them, right?" Natalia turned to Almond, "If you use this sword to deflect theirvatic attacks, its durability will decrease even though it¡¯s rare grade." "I¡¯ll just have to kill them by moving fast. One attack is enough," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he took the lead, his sword ready to taste a new prey. As the trio approached, Almond¡¯s keen eyes scanned the field ahead. The bears shimmered under the reflection of the crystalden cavern walls. Eight in total¡ªan Elder ssze Bear stood in the middle, its fiery core pulsating with heat like a molten heart. Surrounding it, four massive Brute Bears paced slowly, their jagged crystal hides catching the ambient light, while three ssze Cubs skittered around, small but still dangerous. Almond nced at Natalia and nodded, who used her clone skill to attract the bears first so that they would have an easier time initiating the attacks. Seeing Natalia¡¯s clone, the Bears roared. Elder ssze Bear was the first one to attack. Opening its mouth, it released a ssy orb containing fieryva that shot at Natalia¡¯s clone and exploded, destroying it. Ash and sparks covered a small area, a perfect smokescreen. Almond and Lily both went out with Physical Enchantment activated. "I¡¯ll kill the Elder one," Almond said as he jumped in an arc, going straight toward the Elder ssze Bear, his sword¡¯s de gleaming sharply. *Swoosh!* The bear swiped its paw as if it wasn¡¯t bad even though Almond attacked suddenly, but s, it wasn¡¯t fast enough. *sh!* A head rolled down a secondter, and a notification entered his ears. [You have killed a Silver level 3 Elder ssze Bear.] Leveling was impossible while Advancement Quest was ongoing, but he got 28 gold coins for killing it. Lily threw two Willowbee Daggers at two ssze Brute Bears, paralyzing one. She attacked one that wasn¡¯t paralyzed, her figure vanishing before a sharp shing sound of flesh-tearing rang out as the ssze Brute Bear¡¯s head rolled down. She didn¡¯t wait and attacked the one that was paralyzed, though it had freed itself already in half a second, but that was enough. ¡¯Phantom sh.¡¯ With a wave of her dagger, a ck sh with a violet hue shot at the bear, tearing through its armor and shing its head off. Its whole body was armored, but the neck area was still weaker than other parts. As for Natalia, she copied Lily¡¯s Phantom sh and shot it at the ssze Cubs. They didn¡¯t have armored ting on their bodies yet, but they were small, nimble, and powerful. One of the Bear Cubs rolled away from the sh, but one got killed. Meanwhile, Almond had swiftly dispatched thest two agile ssze Cubs with his sword after slicing a ssze Brute Bear. These small Cubs, capable ofunchingva-infused w projectiles with a mere swipe of their paws, were responsible for most of the deaths among novice adventurers, who often underestimated them due to their size and armor-less exterior. A ssze Brute Bear remained, but Almond and Lily just watched as Natalia dealt with it. Releasing the Light Pebble skill on the surface near it, it exploded in light and blinded it, which was further enhanced by the cavern¡¯s ssy style. Right after that, she used Action Mirage again, unleashing Almond¡¯s shing attack as an ethereal sh projectile swiftly beheaded the monster. "Their items are going to be very good," Almond smiled as he captured all spirits. "But first, it¡¯s time to get strong." He had told them about the Spirit Devour skill as well since there was no point in hiding just this given his increasing power that would be obvious. "Let¡¯s take a break and eat something before continuing," Lily said. "True! I made sandwiches, so let¡¯s eat those first," Natalia grinned. "Lily, take ¡¯em out." The trio decided to rest for a bit and eat something since this area in the cave was closed on all sides except for the north, though at the north, two passages parted, one at the west and another at the east. Meanwhile, Almond began. He would only be able to get stats from nine to twelve spirits at a maximum of these three types of ssze Bears, so he wanted to do that first. [You have devoured an Elder ssze Bear Spirit. +2 Strength, +1 Perception, +1 Mana.] [You have devoured a ssze Brute Bear Spirit. +1 Health, +1 Stamina, +1 Strength.] [You have devoured a ssze Brute Bear Spirit. +1 Focus, +1 Health.] [You have devoured a ssze Brute Bear Spirit. +1 Stamina.] [You have devoured a ssze Brute Bear Spirit. +0.5 Strength.] [You have devoured a ssze Cub Spirit. +1 Mana, +1 Perception, +1 Stamina.] [You have devoured a ssze Cub Spirit. +1 Focus, +1 Strength.] [You have devoured a ssze Cub Spirit. +1 Mana.] [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Bronze. -Level: 10 [¡ª] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 342/462] -Stats: 0 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 31 | Health: 17 | Stamina: 17.5] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 18.5 (+27.75) | Focus: 22 | Perception: 20.5] ¡­ The trio had just finished eating and resting for ten minutes when they suddenly heard something and their faces fell. "I swear if that bitch is here, I am going to capture her! Henry, you better act fast this time." Chapter 22: Spirit Wraith "Run." Lily¡¯s whisper reached Natalia¡¯s and Almond¡¯s ears the moment they heard it. "Use your clone and send it to East," Almond whispered. There were two ways, one west and another east. Going east would give them more passages soon, ording to the map, so the trio quickly ran east-side passage. Natalia had used her clone skill and sent it to the east passage while making a sound to attract them. And while the trio ran with Lily carrying Natalia¡¯s body like a sandbag over her shoulder so she could control her clone, Almond suddenly received a notification from his skill. [Spirit Wraith has been birthed. Due to the involvement of three sentient intelligent human spirits, the Spirit Wraith will have human-level intelligence. Please write down the personality description for your Spirit Wraith and its gender.] n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond was startled but acted fast upon seeing a misty, dark gold window. [¡ª¡ª¡ª] <- Write the name. -Describe: -Gender: The trio stopped after crossing twenty meters in a hurry and hiding behind a natural obsidian stone pir growing out of the ground. Meanwhile, Natalia let herself get spotted by that group, but only her back, and immediately used Light Pebble skill on the ground to create a blinding sh. Henry the Knight acted fast, dashing at a breakneck speed as he waved his sword when he was halfway towards Natalia¡¯s clone, releasing a wind-sh projectile as her clone was cut. "It¡¯s that bitch! Hurry, we have to capture her!" ¡¯Fucking hell, are we here to kill monsters to capture girls? This goddamn garbage bag!¡¯ ¡¯Why did I have to team up with this guy for my first entrance into Labyrinth?¡¯ The girl and two boys in the group were frustrated but bound, just like Henry. They could only hatefully look at Zoren and nothing else. Because if something happened to Zoren in the Labyrinth, Henry knew his life would turn into a living hell. Those three kids also knew that there was no justice out there who would protect them from Zoren¡¯s influential father. After all, they had normal parents who were only Silver-ranked and had no backing. Zoren¡¯s father could make them disappear without leaving any proof for the Global Adventurer Association or Earth Union. And being a frontline adventurer exploring the 10th Floor, Zoren¡¯s father had more weight in this world. The plight of the weak against the strong and influential remained the same, no matter the age. ¡­ "We have to kill that bastard," Almond calmly said. [Alfred] <- Write the name. -Describe: Butler¡¯s disposition. -Gender: Male. "Well, if we continue with our pace, it won¡¯t be long before we are strong enough," Lily nodded. "You will be stronger even faster," Natalia said, her eyes a mixture of slight fear and anger. "I want him dead because he clearly wants me to be subject to a life worse than death!" "Voice down," Almond wryly smiled. "The next group of bears shouldn¡¯t be too far." Saying that, he waved his hand and added, "And we got a new ally." Lily and Natalia were startled as dark green and dark gold sparkling smoke gathered before Aleron, who soon turned into a six-foot-tall butler wearing a ck suit with a dark gold design and a dark green glowing border around him, appearing material yet slightly ghastly. "A butler ghost?" Natalia was dumbfounded. "He seems powerful," Lily blinked, her eyes filled with curiosity. Before she could ask, Almond already shared the Spirit Wraith¡¯s status with them. [Spirit Wraith¡ªAlfred] -Rank: Bronze -Level: 1 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 20 | Health: 15 | Stamina: 18] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 23 | Focus: 17 | Perception: 21] -Skills: ¡ªme Maniption (B) ¡ªSword Mastery (A) ¡ªSword Wave (A) ¡ªPoison Lace (C) ¡ªBleeding ws (C) ¡ªHealing Orb (C) ¡ªIcicle Spearshot (B) ¡ªFortitude Aura (C) "Damn¡­" Almond muttered in amazement. "Your summon has a level¡­does that mean it can level up?" Lily asked, her eyes glinting. "If it can, then this is big." "It¡¯s just like that Dragon Rider Krom¡­his dragon just evolved recently, so Almond¡¯s summon can also get powerful," Natalia excitedly said. "And this guy got so many skills of different natures and types¡­" "Alfred, use your skills appropriately and aid us in battle. We are going to kill a group of ssze Bears." "As you wish, Master," Alfred bowed like a butler with one hand on his heart. ¡­ The trio went towards another group of ssze Bears and killed them. This group had ten ssze Bears consisting of two Elder ssze Bears, four Brutes, and four Cubs. Alfred¡¯s Fortitude Aura increased everyone¡¯s resistance to magic and physical damage by 10%, and although he didn¡¯t have a physical sword, he could conjure one made of me and use it. His movements were also not bad, and it appeared to learn from Almond, which was simply a cheat because Almond was getting scarily proficient with the sword, and so was Alfred by imitating him. After the battle, Almond devoured two Elder ssze Bear Spirits, gaining a total of +2 Health, +2.5 Stamina, and +0.5 Mana. He decided to use Spirit Kodoku one more, adding ten Willowbee Guards Spirit, two Willowbee Queen Spirits, four ssze Brute Bears, and four ssze Cubs. However, it didn¡¯t work. [You must include at least five different types of monsters among the twenty Spirits.] ¡¯Hmm? If that¡¯s the case, then it seems each human is considered a different type individually.¡¯ After all, he had added Goblin, Wolf, and Human Spirits previously, which technically meant three types of monsters. But if Lamp, Seyung, and Jacob were considered different types individually, then it made sense. "I am done recovering Mana," Natalia said as she stood up. The trio continued as they followed the passages and arrived at big or small caverns with groups of bears and continued killing. This area was huge and was like a maze of sorts due to many passages, so it wasn¡¯t often they would encounter other people. But there were times when people would encounter another group identally as well due to its intertwining passages. There was no way of knowing when they would suddenly find another group at junctions where two or more passages intersected. It wasn¡¯t long before all three of them had killed 10 Silver-ranked monsters each andpleted their advancement quest. Alfred also reached level 8 since he was participating in the killing of Silver-ranked monsters while being lower-ranked, gaining experience faster. His stat distribution was left to Almond, and he evenly distributed stat points to all stats. There was just one problem. Alfred couldn¡¯t learn Physical Enchantment and such applications of Mana. He could only use skills. It appeared that his body wasn¡¯t capable of that as he didn¡¯t have Chakra points. ¡­ After the group reached Silver-rank level 1 afterpleting their Advancement Quest, they decided to rest at a rtively safe ce covered by obsidian pirs. It had been two hours since they entered this area, and the group was fully geared, thanks to Almond. He made a bunch of stuff from ssze Bear Spirits, all useful and powerful. Armors, weapons, and one-time-use essories of Defensive and Offensive-type! "There should be ssze Bears there. Let¡¯s check it out." A group of six Adventurers were passing by and stopped seeing a bunch of stone pirs that blocked their views. Chapter 23: Piece of Trash Returns Almond, Lily, and Natalia stood up while Alfred also becamebat-ready. The group of six adventurers seemed to be from an academy in another city, and they also became alert when they saw Almond and others. "Rx, I thought there were bears here," the leading man with light red spiky hair said with a dry chuckle as he raised his hand holding the sword. "Then go back," Almond inly said. "Yeah." That group also didn¡¯t want to bother fighting against other Adventurers. Usually, nobody would fight without a reason because if a fight urred between two groups of simr levels, it would result in casualties from both sides. After resting for a few minutes, the gang began exploring once again to find bears and kill them. Half an hourter, the three of them had reached Silver-rank level 3, and their progression in the 1st Specialized ss Quest reached halfway. All of them had killed 25 or more monsters so far. After advancement to Silver rank, they started at level 0, so reaching level 3 granted them nine stat points. Alfred finished his Advancement quest and reached Silver rank level 1 as well, gaining 30 stat points total as he became more powerful. [Spirit Wraith¡ªAlfred] -Rank: Silver -Level: 1 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 25 | Health: 23 | Stamina: 23] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 25 | Focus: 23 | Perception: 25] Almond found it slightly funny that Alfred was stronger than him stat-wise if he didn¡¯t count the 30 bonus Mana stat he had thanks to his ss perk. [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Silver. -Level: 3 -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 500/500] -Stats: 0 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 31 | Health: 20 | Stamina: 20] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 20 (+30) | Focus: 25 | Perception: 24.5] In the end, they didn¡¯t encounter that Thunderfire Guild group again but encountered two other groups. Those encounters ended with peace, as nobody wanted to fight. There was no point in farming here anymore as they had reached level 3, on top of that, all of the bears were killed by multiple groups who were exploring. They would respawn tomorrow, so it was time to enter the new area. "The night wille soon. We¡¯ll camp somewhere in the Shimmering Fen," Almond said. "Yeah, that area is best. The fog covers it all day and night, and the area has a low amount of trees and is open with various nts and flowers of Bronze rank and rarely some silver ranks," Lily nodded. "I have a magic camp kit that can make a good spot for us to rest." They couldn¡¯t harvest any Willowbee Nectar Pools because it was a Bronze-rank area, and many guilds usually sent their higher-rank Adventurers daily while Labyrinth remained activated so they could go and farm the nectar since those could be used to make healing potions. However, the Shimmering Fen was a different story. It was an area of Silver-rank level 3 to 5, along with a Field Boss¡ªSilver rank level 5, Maddening Beaver¡ªwho roamed around and targetted higher level Adventurers. Since it stayed burrowed and traveled through the ground, it could pop out at any time. If a group of Silver rank level 3 rested there, it wouldn¡¯t target them but instead go for Silver rank level 4 or 5 if there were any. And there were bound to be many groups there because that area was vast and good for camping and resting. The evening had already descended, so it was time to find a spot to rest before the night. Naturally, a few groups already nned to camp in this Cavern of ssze Bears as there were many passages, and one could take a corner and build camp before taking a rest and keeping a watch turn by one. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ¡­ Almond and the gang arrived at the northern exit and left, but the moment they emerged, a group was standing twenty meters away under a tree as if waiting. "Hehe, so that¡¯s your group, huh? We saw some destroyed Willowbee Hives on our way out of that area, so I figured you would be with your group and might exit here," Zoren spoke, a nasty sneer stered on his face. The three young adventurers who were new recruits of Thunderbird Guild behind Zoren pointed their weapons at them, nervous and unwilling. Meanwhile, the Knight¡¯s expression was indifferent or rather dead, as he pointed his sword at them. "If you could send thatdy over here, we won¡¯t need to shed your blood." "Are you serious?" Lily narrowed her as she took out her bow and nocked an arrow, a rather special arrow that Almond¡¯s Spirit Factory crafted from ssze Bear Spirits. It could explode in a 2-meter radius upon exploding and cover the area in mes if the area had greenery or woods. Natalia held a towering ss Shield and also had a Lava Crystal Chest te for her defense while holding a wand in her other hand. Alfred had a Round ss Shield and a ss Bone Sword made from the Spirit Factory as well, ready forbat. As for Almond, he only kept the Rare-grade sword in his hand as that was enough. ¡¯All of those items are Umon-rank¡­and that Chest te is Rare-rank? How did they get those?¡¯ Henry frowned seeing their items. ¡¯And that guy also got the rare Preying Hunter¡¯s Sword. So this group was the one who killed it.¡¯ He had a premonition that this wasn¡¯t going to go as well as he and his shitty young master thought. "I have a proposal," Almond suddenly said, his eyes shing disgust as he nced at Zoren before turning to the Knight. "Those three fellows don¡¯t seem to be willing to throw their lives away for this, and you¡­ never mind. Anyway, if you are the source of confidence for that piece of trash, then how about we duel and settle this without involving others?" "Huh?" Zoren was stunned before he startedughing. "You think you can do anything to us?" Taking out a scroll, he infused Mana as it vanished and created a five-meter radius ring, buffing everyone within as their defense increased. "That¡¯s not going to help you much," Lily snorted as she also took out the same-looking buff scroll and buffed the group. "Really, but do you have this?" Zoren sneered as he took out a scroll, but it was ck with dark yellow patterns and oozed out the same colored aura. "That¡­" Lily¡¯s eyes turned somber. Almond also recognized it, his eyes shing a dark glint. ¡¯This piece of trash¡­¡¯ Chapter 24: Conflict & Conclusion That unusual scroll in Zoren¡¯s hand was a Curse Scroll, a rare drop by the Wandering Fairy, a Field Boss of Silver rank level 10 that wandered the upper area of the Fairy Mountain. The buff scrolls were something one could buy, albeit at a high price, which wasn¡¯t a concern for the established guilds and forces, but this Curse Scroll wasn¡¯t like that. Lily didn¡¯t have that one. "It seems you know what this scroll is," Zoren¡¯s nose went up, his expression haughty. "That¡¯s right. Once I use this scroll, all of you will get your stats halved for one minute." "I wonder how the battle will proceed after that?" he added with a grin. Almond¡¯s lips moved as he used Magic Whisper, which he had already mastered after learning from Lily during their breaks. He got the hang of it pretty fast. ¡¯Lily, we can dispel that curse, you know how. But that guy is stupid to wait. We¡¯ll make the first move.¡¯ Almond had already retrieved his Rare-grade item that he, fortunately, acquired from a bronze-rank treasure chest right after entering the Labyrinth. Pearl of Light Flower¡ªAble to cure all harmful effects and grants protection for ten seconds. The harmful cleansing effect was an AOE effect, but the protection was only for the user holding the pearl, and this effect had a cooldown of a day. ¡¯Yeah. So are we really killing them?¡¯ ¡¯Nah. Just cut off that garbage¡¯s limbs instead of killing him for now. I¡¯ll fight the Knight.¡¯ ¡¯Alfred, It¡¯s fine if you cut their hands since that will be enough to put them down,¡¯ Almondmanded. ¡¯But if they surrender, which I feel they likely will if Lily and I win fast, then spare them.¡¯ Lily¡¯s eyes glinted, ¡¯Natalia, can you support Alfred while he deals with those three Adventurers?¡¯ ¡¯Got it. They don¡¯t even seem that gutsy to fight other Adventurers,¡¯ Natalia nodded. The Knight saw their lips move and knew they were talking in Magic Whisper, but he didn¡¯t make a move. "So? What¡¯s your damn decision? Give her to me, and she will exit this Labyrinth from your city¡¯s gate after two days when the exit opens. Safe and sound." "We¡¯ll just have a bit of fun," Zoren licked his lips. The Knight tightened his grip on his sword, sensing the tension that his shitty young master couldn¡¯t feel. He had no choice but to protect him and obey him. If Zoren died here and he exited from the portal, the people of Thunderbird Guild and his father or uncle would most likely be standing outside at the entrance at their city¡¯s Labyrinth Gate. If Zoren wasn¡¯t with him, it would be over for him and his family. Suddenly, he saw the guy with Preying Hunter¡¯s Sword dashing swiftly. ¡¯Fast!¡¯ Henry¡¯s pupils shrank. *ng!* n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Their swords shed. *Crack* And the Knight¡¯s sword cracked as he was pushed back! ¡¯What?!¡¯ Henry was shocked. ¡¯Wow, the 30% pration on sh-type attack is working well,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. Zoren was startled at the sudden development and quickly used the scroll, targeting the group ahead instead of Almond. However, Lily had already vanished using her invisible skill, and Alfred had dashed toward the three adventurers, so the scroll only affected Natalia. *Awoo!* Almond¡¯s two Spectral wolves materialized and attacked the Knight, but wind swirling appeared around his legs as he flew up. However, the wolves jumped and bit his legs just in time while Almond also used Spirit Explosion right above him, ten meters off the ground, causing him to smack down violently. Before he knew what happened next, a strong kick struck his belly, causing him to gasp, and his arm holding the sword was sliced off. "Don¡¯t kill him, please!" The Knight shouted with bloodshot eyes, despite the pain, his gaze on Lily, who had appeared behind Zoren. "My family will die if he dies!" Lily, who was standing like a death god behind Zoren with her daggers raised and ready, immediately swung them, cutting both of Zoren¡¯s arms from his shoulder. "Arghhhhhh!!!" As for the other three Adventurers, they didn¡¯t stand a chance in the first ce, and seeing Zoren and the Knight already losing, they immediately dropped their weapons and started pleading, one of the guys even begging to spare them. "Geez, this was anticlimactic," Natalia wryly smiled. Naturally, Lily didn¡¯t stop at merely cutting Zoren¡¯s arms. She threw a Willowbee Dagger right at his crotch as well. Zoren screeched horrifyingly before he straight-up fainted. However, a ring on his hand shone and covered him in a golden barrier before he started healing, albeit slowly. The dagger from his crotch also expelled andy on him, his bleeding stopped, and his arms gradually began to regenerate. "Ring of Aegis Elysian," Almond raised his eyebrows. "It¡¯s from the major area Fallen Monastery Town, dropped from killing the Silver rank level 10 Field Boss there." "Heh, his parents sent him prepared for his first adventure," Natalia scoffed. "So? Do you want to give us any suggestion on how to end this, Mr. Helpless Knight?" Lily looked at Henry with a deadpan expression as she walked and stood beside Almond. Henry stood up, his expression weary. He sealed off his wound by using Mana and tightening his muscles to stop the bleeding before bowing full ny degrees. "Thank you for sparing him." "Look, it would leave a bad taste in our mouth if we kill those three newbies who are clearly forced into this shit," Almond coldly said, "And a case like yours isn¡¯t rare as well." "So tell me, is your Guild Leader understanding of his subordinate or listens to his trashy son and believes him?" Henry shook his head, "the Guild Leader will listen to me. But Zoren needs to stay alive for that." "And¡­.I hope you can cut my other arm off as well, along with Zoren¡¯s, once he wakes up. We will finish our journey here and wait at the starting area for two days for the exit." Henry spoke with determination. "If I am disabled, that bastard won¡¯t order me around, and I will also have a reason to state to the Guild Leader why we pulled out early." "I-I am going to leave the Thunderbird Guild after this. Fuck it, fuck this bastard," the girl spoke as she trembled. The three of them were clearly unable to continue the adventure on their own. They were at Silver rank level 1, but that was where their first entry into the Labyrinth would end. "This is seriously unpleasant," Natalia clicked her tongue. "That bastard will at most get a p on his wrist from his parents even if you tell your guild leader that you allnded in trouble because of him." Henry weakly smiled, "That¡¯s right, but what can I do? My original level is Gold rank level 55, and I am one of the promising members of the Guild, but in front of the Vice Guild leader¡¯s son, my worth is still low." The top most powerful Adventurers who were exploring the 10th Floor were all tinum rank adventurers. Gold-rank adventurers were also considered powerful forces and usually a promising asset of a force because they could reach tinum rank sooner orter. "Alright, we¡¯ll do that," Lily nodded at the Knight. "And if that piece of trash cries for revenge, then tell him and your vice guild leader to meet me at the League of Firefly." "I have a rather temperamental master who made me her disciple and will love to solve this conflict," Lily smiled, albeit coldly. "I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard of the Lady Aria of Crimson Shadow." Henry¡¯s eyes widened, and a strange relief washed over him before he burst outughing. "Thank you. So you are the mysterious disciple she announced she took five days ago." "Truly, thank you for sparing him and us. This information will surely give Zoren more than just a p at his wrist." ¡­ After Zoren woke up, he saw that Henry¡¯s arms were cut off as he was held at the point of Almond¡¯s sword tip while those three new recruits were lying on the ground, surrounded by wolves, Alfred, and Natalia. He looked above and saw Lily looking at him with an icy smile as dread instantly filled him up. "Y-You don¡¯t know who you are messing wi-" Lily instantly swung a kick at his head, "Speak another word, and your head will fly." "I am sparing your life, but not easily. Before I begin, listen to me because you¡¯ll once again scream like a bitch and faint," Lily said with a disgusted expression. "I am Lily Darkwood. A member of the League of Firefly and the disciple of Crimson Shadow. If you have any more problems and beef, bring your father, mother, or your entire family there." After saying that, she didn¡¯t wait for his response and immediately swung her daggers, cutting off his arms and legs as he screamed in pain again before losing consciousness. Lily took out a healing potion and threw it on him as it shattered, spilled, and stopped Zeron¡¯s bleeding. A healing potion of this level couldn¡¯t regenerate limbs, but it could stop the bleeding and seal the wound. Natalia ran towards Zoren and removed the storage pouch from his waist along with that Ring of Aegis Elysian before spitting on his face. "These are our spoils," she snorted. Almond faintly smiled, "That¡¯s for sure." "We¡¯ll leave the mountain and head out. The faster, the better," Henry stood up and bowed again. "Thank you again. I will remember this favor." Chapter 25: Camping Area [The Shimmering Fen (Silver rank level 3 to 5 area )] -Description: This enchanted bog is a treacherous area where the ground is often covered in ayer of shimmering, luminescent fog. The starting part of this area has solid ground, but the further area is unstablend with big bogs. They are inhabited by Moonlight Wisps and Bog Slithers, ethereal and predatory creatures that hide in the fog, ambushing adventurers with stealth and deception. -Key Features: Murky, fog-covered waters, floating magical lights, and dangerous sinkholes. -Monsters: ¡ªMoonlight Wisps (ghost-like, elusive, cast illusions) ¡ªBog Slithers (snake-like, blend with the water, lethal strikes) ¡ªShimmering Fen Serpent (massive and capable of controlling the fog) The group arrived at the Shimmering Fen, already midway up the huge mountain. There were already three camps at the open ground where the Shimmering Fen area began. The fog wasn¡¯t much here, so visibility was not impacted. The three groups had lit up campfires and built tents, preparing for the night. "That spot is big and good for us. Let¡¯s go," Lily identified a rtively good spot ording to the camp kit she had and led the group there. Alfred was resting in Spirit Pocket, but Almond could summon him with a thought, and he nned to keep Alfred out to watch out for the group along with the wolves. Alfred wasn¡¯t a human despite his appearance, so he didn¡¯t need rest or sleep. A charge of Mana was enough to invigorate him. People were already cooking meat on their campfire as the smell wafted around. The sun was about topletely set, so it was time to eat and rest. "By the way, I only have one camp, a big one. The three of us will have to share it," Lily said as she nced at Natalia, "Nat, you know what I mean, right?" Natalia¡¯s expression dramatically changed, "You want me to sleep outside so you two can have fun inside?!" Almond almost choked on the water he was drinking and coughed violently. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "¡­" Lily. Natalia burst outughing, "Yeah, yeah, I got it. I don¡¯t have any problem if we three share it." ¡­ The camp was like a room. It was simr to one of the other camps that a group was sharing a bit over twenty meters away. The other two had lower-quality tents. "This is pretty good, eh? There are cupboards and even a big bed inside," Almond looked around inside the tent. It was 7 meters tall at the center and 6 meters overall while being roughly 144 square feet big. "Is that a bathtub?" Almond was taken aback to see a small, round, empty bathtub with curtains at the corner. "Yep, and I am going to clean myself first. You should go out, Almond," Natalia grinned. "But Lily will join me." "Nonsense, of course I am going to join you," Almond snickered. "In your dreams!" The development of magitech was already progressing with more and more ess to items and wonders found in the Labyrinth Floors, Dungeons, and exotic skills from the specialized and sub-sses that people had. "The price of this tent is three hundred fifty thousand gold coins, but the good thing is that the tent¡¯s external corners have Monster Repelling Talismans attached that can repel all monsters up to silver-rank level 10," Lily smiled. "That¡¯s one problem less." "But we still have to be wary of others," Almond wryly smiled. "That¡¯s for sure." "Alright, you two freshen up. I am going out." Almond left the tent before summoning Alfred and the Wolves. He had attached the Wolf w Gauntlets to his waist horizontally as if they were grabbing his waist so they wouldn¡¯t get in the way during the fight, and he could also summon the wolves because the spirit effect required physical contact with the item to be activated. But he nned to fasten them to Alfred¡¯s waistter since they would get in his way of sleeping. One more interesting thing he found was the magical connection between him and Alfred. Almond could transfer his Mana to Alfred and vice-versa. He didn¡¯t check the distance until this remained activated, so he began with that experiment. "Master, that¡¯s the limit. I can¡¯t absorb your Mana anymore," Alfred said in Magic Whisper while raising his hand and waving it. Almond was fifty meters away when he heard Alfred¡¯s Magic Whisper and saw his hand as he understood. He began walking closer, and soon, Alfred gave thumbs up along with another Magic Whisper. "Master, this distance is the maximum for me to fluidly absorb your Mana." Alfred couldn¡¯t learn Physical Enchantment because his physical body did not have Chakra Points. His physiology was different. However, Magic Whisper didn¡¯t require Chakra Points, but only the mental process and proficiency of Mana, so he learned that pretty fast and fluently. "So the maximum distance is roughly forty-five meters," Almond muttered. Looking around, he saw more Tents standing and more peopleing in. ¡¯It¡¯s going to get crowded soon.¡¯ Returning to the campsite, he fastened the Wolf w Gauntlets to Alfred¡¯s waist. "Keep the wolves materilized by infusing Mana. You can absorb Mana from me since the consumption won¡¯t even matter to me, given my recovery speed." "Understood, Master." The Spectral Dire Wolves had a keen sense of smell and the ability to find hidden targets. They were bound to be helpful in keeping a watch. Lily and Natalia finished bathing roughly twenty minutester and called him. The girls went to make the campfire and prepare the dinner while Almond went for his turn to freshen up. There was body wash liquid, a brand-new towel, and clean water as the old one was reced with a handy magic item capable of storing 1 ton of water. It wasn¡¯t even that expensive, but he still didn¡¯t have money to buy it before entering his first adventure. Looking at the gold coins he had amassed and his current status, Almond couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡¯Life¡¯s going to get better.¡¯ He finished bathing ten minutester and saw that the big area already had twelve Tents at various spots. "Come, the food is ready." The trio sat with the tent at their back and open ground in front of them with multiple Tents in view, looking at people as their indistinct chatter rang. "It¡¯s crowded already," Natalia said as she picked up the skewer stick. "I bet there¡¯s going to be some drama, hehe." Chapter 26: Focus Field, The Shimmering Fen "There¡¯s still space to make tents, so unless a shitty group arrives and demands one of those tents to get removed for them, there won¡¯t be a drama," Lily said before she took a bite of the meat piece. Almond was patiently eating, chewing, and watching as well. "I wonder if other people would stop such tyranny or just watch?" N?v(el)B\\jnn "What would you do?" Natalia asked. "I won¡¯t help. I wouldn¡¯t mind lending help to such trouble if I was very strong, but I¡¯m not. So I am not in a position to help others and attract an enemy." "Conflicts and tyranny inside the Labyrinth will reduce," Lily faintly smiled. "GAA is developing a type of recording camera that Adventurers can bring in and record everything they face. This data can¡¯t go out of the Labyrinth directly, so they will build stations at the starting points on each floor, and those stations would be guarded tightly with formations and defense from magic items." Natalia and Almond were surprised. If GAA and Earth Union got the proof, they could indeed nab people and punish them ordingly. If a guild group behaved poorly and tyrannically, the guild¡¯s reputation would suffer, and it would face problems as well. "Tsk, if we had that now, we could¡¯ve sent that piece of trash to the pits of hell," Natalia clicked her tongue as she remembered Zeron. "Imagine if we uploaded that to the inte. His social life would be over." "That will reduce conflicts, but¡­" Almond nodded but felt that this was going to be a double-edged sword. "If all big guilds and powerful forces can ess those recordings¡­it might bring trouble. Not to mention, there are people in GAA and Earth Union both who are not exactly righteous enough to protect the weak." Natalia and Lily understood what he meant by then because they knew what Almond did. "Yeah, that¡¯s why this is not mandatory. You can bring that tiny recording camera with you for your safety only if you want to," Lily faintly smiled. "And nobody would know if you bring one with you or not. You can buy it, but whether to use it or not is up to you, so everyone would automatically assume that the other party has the cameras attached." "That sounds good. The Labyrinth would, at most, turn like our real world. Justice will be served to few while powerful and influential will get away in the end," Almond shook his head and continued eating. "Whatever, getting powerful is the only way to survive." "That¡¯s for sure." ¡­ The trio finished eating and went to bed without further ado. It was around 8:30 PM, and most of them were going to sleep already. But around 10:00 PM, when the area waspletely silent, a group arrived in the area as their noise woke people. They came from the direction where Lily¡¯s tent was, but seeing Alfred and two wolves, they quietly walked past them. However, it wasn¡¯t long before the noise outside increased. Almond and Lily woke up and looked at each other as they got up and peeked outside through a zipped window that Lily unzipped. "Get the fuck out of here!" "Yeah, let others sleep and find a different spot!" "Just make some ce by adjusting your tents, and we¡¯ll camp, or we won¡¯t mind destroying one!" Natalia also woke up as the noise increased, "What¡¯s going on? A group arrived at thiste to make a mess of our sleep?" She also peeked outside from the window. It wasn¡¯t long before the drama settled down. One of the members of that new group apologized and requested to make some space at the side to move two tents to make space for theirs. In the end, it was solved rather peacefully, and everyone went back to sleep once again. Of course, most of the others had one person keeping watch outside, taking turns every 2 or 3 hours depending on the number of people in their groups. Only Almond¡¯s group was sleeping soundly because of Alfred and the wolves that kept watch for them. Around 4:00 AM, Almond, Lily, and Natalia woke up. They freshened up and emptied their bowels one by one after digging a hole and sitting on a portable toilet inside the tent. A group or two seemed to have left, but the majority were still resting when Almond, Lily, and Natalia departed deeper into the Shimmering Fen. Usually, it was better to venture when the sun came up because Shimmering Fen already had fog that reduced visibility, not to mention the pitfalls and sneaky monsters in this area. "Almond, do you know how to Focus Field?" Lily asked as her dark blue eyes flickered with the faint glinting light blue of Mana while a circr invisible field appeared around her that only she could see. "Didn¡¯t have time nor stats to practice it," Almond shook his head. "And we can¡¯t learn it right now, not in this situation." "Yeah," Lily nodded and smiled as she said, "But I¡¯m sure you will be able to learn it rather quickly once we exit. I nned to train Natalia with my mom¡¯s help anyway, so you can join us." "That¡­ I¡¯d be grateful for that. Thanks." Focus Field required 20 Perception and 20 Focus in stats. It was an application of using Physical Enchantment in the eyes and then using Mana to construct a field via their vision. Physical Enchantment in the eyes worked wonders, allowing one to sense the aura and potency of things and beings. The better the mastery, the more details of aura sections one could see, which could allow the user to measure a target¡¯s parameters. But the Focus Field was a step higher. Within the range of one¡¯s Focus Field, one would be able to sense movements and auras of other things and beings clearly, allowing them to react fast. They would gain ultimate sight within this range. The downside was that the consumption of this technique was no joke, so it was impossible to maintain the Focus Field perpetually for beginners. The bigger the range, the higher the consumption. Naturally, it was one of the toughest techniques because one needed to find Chakra Points in their eyes, and a slight mistake there could cost their eyes. On top of that, after enchanting their eyes, they needed to learn to properly create the field via their eyes, requiring a challenging control of Mana. Controlling a small amount of Mana and a higher amount of Mana had a big difference and difficulty. Almond didn¡¯t dare to try because he didn¡¯t even have enough money to buy a single high-quality potion to recover his eyes in case he went blind. He could torture his arms and legs, and he could recover them using his own healing skills from his previous ss, but his eyes were different. His only healing skill wasn¡¯t powerful enough to recover his eyes. He had a pain-reducing skill, but it was useless in reducing pain during the process of finding chakra points because he couldn¡¯t use Mana for it, nor would it remain active for long once he started training, and he had to save Mana for his injury recovery using the healing skill. Focus Field was one of the essential techniques for Adventurers to eventually learn and master because it was also the only way to discover sudden attacks, traps, and ambushes unless one had some kind of skills that helped them in this regard. As such, in case of feeling danger via gut feeling or during battles, one could use Focus Field to discover threats and react fast. ¡­ *Grr¡­* The wolves growled as the fog thickened, and they started seeing glowing wisps. Those glowing wisps were actually Silver-ranked level 3 monsters¡ªMoonlight Wisps. They showed hallucinations to Adventurers via eye contact, altering their perception, so one had to remain focused. Otherwise, they might get attacked walking into vine traps, fall into pitfalls, or get attacked by Bog Slithers, the Silver-ranked level 4 monsters that remained hidden on the ground of greenery, snake-like and elusive that released lethal water beams. "I¡¯ll handle those wisps," Almond said as he looked at the three wisps over five meters away. ¡¯Spirit Explosion.¡¯ Almond had nock of Spirits, so he immediately executed two Spirit Explosions using Willowbee Spirits on the group of 3 Moonlight Wisps. One of them turned poisons, but even without that, those Moonlight Wisps would¡¯ve died. Their defense was too weak, even weaker than Bronze-ranked monsters. Capturing the spirits of those three Moonlight Wisps, Almond said, "We¡¯ll encounter more since we are properly in the Shimmering Fen now. I¡¯ll use the sword¡¯s skill and detect the monsters within 50 meters." "Great. We¡¯ll hunt them swiftly once you detect them." "That¡¯s the n." Almond activated the Preying Sense effect of the sword, giving him power simr to Focus Field. In the next second, he looked around and could see all the monsters within a 50-meter radius with him as the center! "We¡¯ll go in the northeast direction, as that¡¯s the most crowded area, and clean it up while Alfred, you will go with the wolves to taunt the Wisps, and Bog slithers in the west. Just bring them to the northeast. Don¡¯t fight there or you¡¯ll get into trouble." "Understood, Master." Chapter 27: Hunt In the Fen, Field Boss Encounter The hunt in Shimmering Fen was going as smoothly as they expected. Their capabilities were shown to each other, especially with Almond¡¯s additional boons like various items. Almond had looted Jacob¡¯s storage pouch, and recently, they got another storage pouch from an even richer young master. In short, there was nock of potions for them, so they didn¡¯t spare them as well. Swiftly using Mana or Healing potions and started progressing fast right from the start. They only stopped after two hours, and that was when they were truly tired and also found a spot to rest on solid high ground. So far, they had killed over fifty monsters total consisting of Moonlight Wisps, Bog Slithers, and six Shimmering Fen Serpents. Almond had also begun his second creation in Spirit Kodoku, adding Moonlight Wisps, Bog Slithers, Shimmering Fen Serpents, ssze Bears(all three of a kind), and Willowbee Wisps (Queens)--five different types of monsters. He saved de Mantis Spirit for another creation process as he didn¡¯t want to throw it in this round. "This is going good," Almond leaned on his hands behind him, stretched. "We¡¯ll likely finish our first-ss series quest in the White Pn¡¯sir." The next area was usually Briarwood Grove¡ªSilver ranked level 5-7 area, but the secret area, White Pn¡¯sir, was located before that area at this time. They have been observing the ces and hints, which consisted of a small white flying bird, tiny white feathers, and white powder. These three were clues and hints to find the White Pn¡¯sir since its location changed every three days. They had spotted white powder and a white feather in the Shimmering Fen and also removed those hints so that others wouldn¡¯t find them. Since those hints appeared in the Shimmering Fen, they just had to find the small white bird flying somewhere outside of the Shimmering Fen and follow it, which would lead them to the entrance of White Pn¡¯sir. *Hisss¡­* Suddenly, Lily¡¯s ears twitched, and Almond also sensed the danger as both of them jumped. From the ground, a st urred with sparkling crystal particles sting out, throwing Natalia high up. Alfred jumped and caught her beforending, while Lily and Almond immediately pounced on the Shimmering Fen Serpent. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Lily directly threw the daggers while she was in the air while Almond pushed his feet, his arms and legs Physically Enchanted, and his sword in his hand as he zoomed in towards the monster before cutting off its head. But it wasn¡¯t over. This Serpent could grow heads and shoot off its semi-crystalized scales, which were poisonous and prative. Cutting off its head gave them time to prepare for the next move since that was its only weakness. Cutting its head would prevent it from shooting its attacks, though it wouldn¡¯t kill it. Almond had literally studied all monsters on the First Floor and knew their weakness. He had added that data in his magic parchment as well. As such, he jumped away after slicing its head and released two Spirit Explosions, one glued to it below and one above it, boxing the monster between the two explosions. *BOOM!* One of them turned special, releasing blue sparks that would show one hallucination. [You have reached Silver-rank level 5. You have triggered the level-up boon.] "Alright, I¡¯m done," Almond chuckled. "And it finally triggered, on thest level." "You leveled up? Great, guess I¡¯ll also trigger it at level 5," Lily grinned. "So, what did you get?" "No skill option, unfortunately," Almond nced at the options and put them away, not choosing the reward right away. "These snakes are damn annoying," Natalia puffed as she walked to the side. "Alwaysing out of the ground like that." "After all, their daddy is that Maddening Beaver," Lily smilingly said before she looked at Almond, "On that note, that Beaver mighte after us. We are deepest in this area right now, and you¡¯re the only silver rank level 5 Adventurer here for now." "Yeah, I hope ites to us," Almond was looking at his sword while raising it, his eyes squinted as he looked at the surface of its de that was sparkling due to some sunrays passing through the fog and hitting it. "What are you looking at?" Natalia sat down and asked upon seeing Almond looking at the sword¡¯s de like that. "I feel something familiar," Almond sat down beside Lily and put away the sword. "But it¡¯s a bit annoying. I feel like there¡¯s something within my reach but infinitely away." "Regarding sword?" Lily curiously asked. "Yeah. I¡¯m getting that feeling sometimes when I swing my sword, and it just appeared again, but¡­" Almond shook his head. "Forget it. It¡¯s annoying. It¡¯s like a wall is blocking me while showing and calling me for something attractive." The group rested for fifteen minutes and fully recovered their stamina and spirits before finally moving again. Soon, Lily also reached Silver rank level 5. Alfred reached Silver rank level 4, the same as Natalia. An hourter, they were nearly at the edge of the Shimmering Fen area. They kept themselves at least half refilled in Mana all the time in case of the sudden raid from Maddening Beaver. And just as they finished off three Bog Slithers and a Shimmering Fen Serpent, the ground trembled. "It¡¯sing," Natalia eximed. Almond immediately chugged Mana potion before saying, "Lily, can I kill it alone? I have an idea to increase the rare item drop chances." He infused 50 Mana in the sword to get a scanning of his surroundings. "Three o¡¯clock, three Wisps, and two Bog Slithers." "A Fen Serpent and a group of four Wisps at eight o¡¯clock. Alfred, go there with the wolves." "There are two more groups at eleven o¡¯clock and twelve o¡¯clock, which is straight ahead facing the snowy peak we can see from here. Finish them off. I¡¯ll deal with the Beaver." And that gave all the directions they needed. Natalia and Lily jumped into action along with Alfred, leaving Almond alone with the Maddening Beaver that jumped out of the ground right after he finished speaking, its eyes locked on Almond. It also nced at Lily since she was also level 5, but seeing Almond¡¯s gaze on itself, the monster also focused on Almond. It was six meters tall, fat, and with a thick brown metallic shining scaly exterior, not to mention those sharp ws that could instantly dig through the ground. The potholes it dug had many adventurers dying since those potholes usually had monsters and its surface would get swiftly covered with magical moss and greenery growing in the Shimmering Fen to make it look like just any other surface of the area. Judging from the marks on its body, it was clear that it had fought other adventurers, but managed to escape, either after killing them or after getting injured and feeling danger since this Field Boss was a master in escape, and had high vitality and defense. [Maddening Beaver] -Rank: Silver. -Level: 5 -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 600/600] -Stats: Chapter 28: One Shot, Surprise [Maddening Beaver] -Rank: Silver. -Level: 5 -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 600/600] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 70 | Health: 70 | Stamina: 70] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 60 | Focus: 60 | Perception: 60] ¡¯It¡¯s fat, alright,¡¯ Almond looked at its status, his eyes focused. Field Bosses were stronger than Adventurers of the same rank and level, requiring a group effort to defeat them. But Almond had different thoughts. What if the rare drop chance increased if he fought and killed it alone, without any help, and did it quickly despite the gap in stats? -Moonlight Wisps x 3 = 2 Mana, 1 Focus, 1 Perception, 1 Mana, 0.5 Perception. -Bog Slithers x 3 = 1 Strength, 2 Health, 2 Stamina. -Fen Serpents x 3 = 1 perception, 2 Strength, 2 Health, 1 Stamina, 1 Focus. The above was the result of Spirit Devouring in this area and below his current status: [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Silver. -Level: 5 -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 575/575] -Stats: 6 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 34 | Health: 24 | Stamina: 23] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 23 (+34.5) | Focus: 27 | Perception: 27] "Come on, Maddy," Almond muttered under his breath as his eyes were locked onto the Maddening Breaver that was in the air and falling. But before it reached the ground, the monster had swiped its right hand, shooting a sharp and two-meter-long three-wed projectile at Almond, its speed breakneck. Almond didn¡¯t even flinch. His eyes only flickered as the pupils shrank, and a st urred, his feet kicking off dust while he shot at the Beaver like a bullet, his sword¡¯s edge gleaming crimson. ¡¯Refill my syringes, you big healthy bastard.¡¯ Almond consumed 20% of his stamina right off the bat as his sword cut past the monster¡¯s neck andnded behind it. Two ghastly synergies were injected into the Beaver, sucking its Health and Mana. Almond¡¯s sh-type sword attack prated and shed through its tough armor and also dealt damage, enough to shave away 7% of its health since it was cut at its neck and sprayed a fountain of blood. Maddening Beaver got mad that it was damaged and didn¡¯t even notice the syringes due to the cut on its neck. 200% of Almond¡¯s max Vitality and Mana was akin to over 20% of the Beaver¡¯s Vitality and Mana, so the Syringe weakened it more, but it was strange to monsters since this was a type of attack that didn¡¯t inflict pain, but still dealt damage in a way. Maddening Beaver contributed the weakening to that sh at its thick neck. Not feeling threatening enough to escape, it angrily turned to Almond and opened its mouth, releasing sharp andpact mud bullets. Almond quickly manifested the ssze Shield, its durability reducing crazily. It was a huge rectangle shield, but it allowed the user to see through it, so Almond approached the Beaver while it shot the bullets, his legs pumping. Two secondster, he jumped along with the shield and threw it towards the monster. Maddening Beaver¡¯s eyes glinted dark red as its tail struck the shield, easily shattering it while its w went for Almond, who was airborne. "Not that easy, Maddy," Almond smiled as he knew this would happen. This monster¡¯s reaction was fast, and its fatal point was its head. Moreover, if it was damaged below 50%, it would usually escape to the ground. One of its specialties was fast healing while it was under the ground, so once it escaped, it was over. It would recover quickly and target other Adventurers. Moreover, if Almond went for the Beaver¡¯s head carelessly, it would finish him off with its w and tails that packed more power with its skill than just disyed in its stats. Even if he didn¡¯t die, he would be a mess at least. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Frontal attacks like that were useless unless¡­he attacked beyond its speed of reaction, and he only had one way to do that, and he had to one-shot the monster to win! He pumped his feet and did an air jump using Mana, dodging the w swiping while also using a Spirit Explosion behind him. Right before the explosion urred, another ssze Shield appeared behind him to block the explosion while his feet gentlyid the shield in thest of milliseconds. All ording to his n, but the satisfaction of actually executing the moves he imagined was exhrating. He was in full control of his body and mind, in perfect synchronization. *BOOM!* The explosion impacted the shield and then his feet, which Almond used to push forward, getting a speed boost from the explosion¡¯s impact. He broke the sound barrier as a loud boom urred immediately after the explosion and his sword, enchanted with 200 Mana, suddenly and unknowingly produced a de-like aura that extended from it, making it longer and razor-sharp. *sh!* ¡¯W-What did I do?!¡¯ The thick and wide neck of the Maddening Beaver was cleanly cut! *Smash!* Almondnded on the ground and rolled several meters before smashing into a tree, his expression dumbfounded while his head began bleeding due to the impact. His speed was fast, so it aided in strengthening impact, cracking his head slightly. However, his mind was on that strange sword attack he just executed! ¡¯I was going for the stab in the head¡­but why did I sh through its neck? And what the hell was that?! Did I just perform a freaking Aura Enfold?!¡¯ His thought train stopped before it began as he felt a headache and pain, his vision turning red. ¡¯Shit.¡¯ He quickly injected the Spirit Syringe and recovered himself. [Congrattions. You have killed a challenging foe all by yourself. You are rewarded 10,000 Gold coins for defeating the Maddening Beaver alone at your current level.] [You have reached Silver rank level 6.] ¡¯The notification is different,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. He looked at where the Maddening Beaver died and absorbed its spirit. Nearby, a glowing palm-sized orb was present, blue with brown patterns. Almond had recovered to full thanks to his Spirit Syringe. He walked towards the orb and picked it up, looking at the rare-grade drop. [Earth Shattering Gloves] -Grade: [Rare / Low] -Durability: [1500/1500] -Attack: [100 + 100% of user¡¯s Strength.] -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Active) Drilling w: Transforms the gloves into ws and consumes a certain amount of Mana every second, depending on the ground¡¯s toughness to dig through and travel fast. ¡ª> (Active) Infusing 50 Mana in the ws will create an Earth elemental barrier with a radius of 5 meters around the user. ¡ª> (Passive) While the gloves are equipped, you exude an aura within a 5-meter radius that increases physical and magical defense by 50 t values. This is only applicable to up to five ally targets selected by you. "These are simply wonderful," Almond smiled. ¡¯I can wear the gloves and hold the swords.¡¯ The pair of gloves wasn¡¯t a weapon, after all. However, it could be one with that first active effect. ¡¯Rare drops are awesome.¡¯ He didn¡¯t join Lily and others in clearing the Monsters. Lily also didn¡¯t deal many killing blows, instead, she let Alfred kill them. She only killed Shimmering Fen Serpents masterfully to leave a good record in her ss quest. Natalia was progressing as well, albeit slowly. "That was really fast, Almond. I looked away for a moment, and the Beaver¡¯s giant head rolled off," Natalia blinked in curiosity. "But I saw a light." "Aura Enfold," Lily said as she stared at Almond, her eyes sparkling with thrill and shock. "How did you do that?!" Almond coughed and stood up, his expression turning solemn as he stood on a sword, holding a pose like a Jedi. "Super de Awakening! Haa!" Almond cringed at his own words, but he swung the sword. And nothing happened. "As you can see, I also don¡¯t know," Almond wryly smiled. Natalia and Lily almost fell to the ground. "You¡­you got us," Natalia burst outughing. "True. But that makes more sense because Aura Enfold is not easy to learn at all. But you¡¯re really a monster, my darling," Lily¡¯s arms went around his neck, resting on his shoulder and pecking on his lips. "A box full of surprise." "Here¡¯s another one," Almond smiled and showed them the Earth Shattering Gloves. Chapter 29: Heartmending, Heartbroken With Earth Shattering Gloves in addition, the party¡¯s overall power became even stronger. During theirst phase of exploration in the Shimmering Fen, Almond made sure to fill up five Spirit Syringes before exiting the area. He didn¡¯t level up anymore, but Natalia and Alfred reached silver-level 5 while Lily stayed at silver-level 5, barely at the half bar towards silver-level 6. Almond only jumped a level because of solo killing the Maddening Beaver, which gave him an unusual amount of high EXP. After finally leaving the Shimmering Fen, the party moved west and arrived at a grove of Snow Almond Trees. This grove was a small collection of beautiful Snow Almond Trees. It was called this name because its leaves were in the shape of snowkes while having the color of almonds and vein patterns. Almond, Lily, and Nataliay on the grassy ground under a tree, resting after cooking steaks and eggrolls with bread from ingredients Lily and Natalia brought from outside. Alfred sat on a rtively thick branch of the tree, keeping a lookout in all directions. "The leaves have almost the same colors as your eyes," Lily¡¯s fingers were interlinked with Almond¡¯s, and her head leaned towards his shoulder. "Yeah," Almond replied, his mind half resting and half thinking about Lily as he turned his head towards her. "What are you looking at?" Lily asked, her smile like a graceful yet cheery moonlight shining on a clear pond as she looked at him, looked at his glossy almond eyes. Her gaze then went to his lips, and she stole a short, smoochy kiss, causing Natalia to roll her eyes as she heard the sound. "I feel like something¡¯s filling up because of you, and it¡¯s making me feel good," Almond said, his eyes bing unfocused as he felt various emotions. ¡¯Is this what it feels like to get close to someone and trust them while receiving the same? I can feel her affection so purely¡­it feels real¡­¡¯ "It must be your love pool," Lily replied with a grin. "I am filling it up with my love." "My love pool empty¡­" Natalia muttered. "Anyway, Lily, what did you see in him? I mean, I can see it now. If I was a normal girl, I would¡¯ve definitely felt attracted to the current Almond. Most of the girls would jump into hisp for a good future, be it short term or long term." "But you knew nothing about him except that he was freaky with his Physical Enchantment mastery at first. I know you have some crazy thought process, but I want a clear answer, ¡¯kay?" Almond felt a bit of a sting, but he was also curious. Lily blinked as she saw Almond¡¯s eyes and mischievously smiled, "You also seem to be curious about this, darling." Almond dryly chuckled, "Well, I can say I am pretty good right now, but at that time¡­yeah, I don¡¯t understand what you saw in me." "Do you believe in chemistry between people? The chemical reaction between people? Or like an attractive force that pulls you towards a person because of¡­feel, instincts, and those fleeting things?" ¡¯Wait, wait¡­don¡¯t tell me my Innate Talent attracted her attention because I was thinking about her most of the time since we met?¡¯ Almond suddenly felt kind of sad, and this made him realize that he didn¡¯t feel good that he attracted her because of that innate talent. "To be honest, Lily¡­I don¡¯t believe in that, but I think it exists," Almond answered ording to what he felt. "I don¡¯t believe it because I am not sure I am capable of getting myself to feel that chemistry. I think too much to ept that." Lily smiled gently and adjusted herself, moving toy her head on his chest, their faces inches apart. Almond¡¯s heart started pounding, and he could feel her heartbeat against him, both of their pulses quickening in sync. "I believe in it," she whispered, her eyes closed, her peaceful smile lighting up her face. "I believe in following my instincts, in the chemistry that feels right. I decide who I want close to me because of how they make me feel. Their words mean nothing if they are lies, and I can capture that, so I believe in my instincts, my feelings," She paused, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "And when I met you, I felt it¡ªthe connection, the desire. You were guarded and distrustful, but I could see the drive in you. That, to me, was¡­incredible. I felt a resonance." Almond could understand. He had seen Lily in the academy, but she was always stoic and indifferent. It felt like she had a mask ready that could be adept when interacting with people. She appeared a professional and level-headed beauty who had an air of confidence with her smile when she was interviewed a week ago. But she wasn¡¯t anything like that right now. Natalia snickered, "That¡¯s why nobody knows her true self, well except for me, you, and her parents." "True. I have a desire deep down, and that¡¯s why I focus more on training. Learning martial arts and honing my skills to be strong is necessary for that desire and it¡¯s most fun to me," Lily spoke while her eyes were closed with a peaceful smile. Almond suddenly felt very connected to Lily. "When you thought about killing us, killing me, I felt that desire in you. I had figured out why you wanted to kill us already, so I also felt that conviction and desire to survive." Lily looked at Almond, only a few inches of distance between their faces as she grinned at Almond, "That was super attractive too and it made a chemical reaction in me like no other." "My instincts sought you, desired you, and because of that, I decided to get you for myself, even if I had to ckmail you." "But you showed your true colors, and it made me even more happy," Lily smiled. "You made a decision to trust me. The level of distrust I saw in your eyes at first was crazy, but for your survival and desire, you decided to ovee that." ¡¯So it wasn¡¯t because of my innate talent¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s hands wrapped around her back, his mind and heart feeling infinitely attracted to her at the moment. He could see her dreamy dark blue eyes were oozing out intense affection for him. Lily could see the same in his and it made her even more happy, more satisfied as if her cells, her instincts got delicious food. "Almond, my darling. I knew If I showered you with my affection and love, we would work out, but you made a step as well, and that was just amazing to me." "That was the proof that our chemical reaction was like no other. You felt it too, but subconsciously and that¡¯s why you made that decision to trust mepletely." ¡¯That¡­¡¯ Almond was amazed, his eyes turned slightly misty as his emotions whirled. He understood something at the moment that made him grateful. He wanted to think this was fate, but his rationality told him it was really a coincidence, a good one for him. A lucky one. "Thank you, Lily." Almond¡¯s lips directly went to hers as he passionately kissed her and both of them got absorbed in it for a few seconds before Natalia coughed. "Come on, you¡¯re making me jealous." Almond and Lily stopped as they lightly chuckled and got up. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Sorry, Natalia," Almond apologetically smiled. But seeing that her eyes were actually watering, he was taken aback, "I-I¡¯m sorry. This was insensitive. We won¡¯t do anything like this anymore while we are here, okay?" Lily bit her lips and sighed. "Sorry, Nat. That¡­was bad on us." "Lily, let¡¯s not do this for Natalia anymore," Almond said with a serious expression. "I was lucky¡­truly lucky to encounter you, Lily. I am changing, no, I am developing, and evolving because you took initiative for me." "And I know¡­what it feels like to have love," Almond turned to Natalia. "We won¡¯t hurt you anymore." Natalia sniffed as she wiped away her tears. "Now you understand, huh? I guess you too, Lily." She pouted as she spoke, but her eyes were still getting watery despite her trying to hold back. "I am heartbroken." The two dunces who were feeling love for the first time, only now could understand Natalia who had her heart brokenpletely, and the fact that she would have to ept that. "I¡¯m sorry, my candy," Lily hugged her. "*Sniff*¡­lick me." "¡­" "¡­" Chapter 30: White Polans Lair A few minutester, as the trio were resting or rather waiting, Alfred suddenly spoke. "Master, I see the bird you mentioned." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond sprung up on his feet, "Where?" Alfred quickly pinpointed it, and the group began moving again, following the bird. The clues led them to this area. Particrly the direction the feather pointed when they discovered it. Based on that, Lily and Almond deduced that the bird would appear around this area of Snow Almond Grove. After following it for twenty minutes, it led them on a zigzag path upward, and they finally arrived at a tall grass area with a mud pond. The bird flew towards the mud pond and suddenly dived down. "Damn, so it¡¯s under that?" Natalia¡¯s face scrumped. "Guess we¡¯ll have to get muddy." But the special area was worth it because defeating the boss there would give them a random Rare-grade item. The important thing was that Rare-grade items found inside the first floor would be valuable forever, as long as the Labyrinth existed. Because Rare-grade items crafted outside or gained from 2nd or other floors couldn¡¯t be brought into the First Floor. Selling these 1st Floor Rare-grade items would fetch a high price because it could tremendously help newbie Adventurers on the First Floor! "Alfred, you go first and find the passage so that we can quickly dive and reach there," Almond said with a wry smile. "Got it," Alfred seemed to smile and dived into the pond. A minuteter, Almond got Magic Whisper from Alfred, "Found it. I¡¯ve created a Mana trail to the passage for you to follow." "Thanks, Alfred." The trio could see a string of Manaing out of the pond. They jumped in and quickly followed the string of mana through the darkness of the mud below. Lily and Almond could tear through the mud and go smoothly thanks to Physical Enchantment. Both of them held Natalia¡¯s hand and pulled her with them since she couldn¡¯t travel inside on her own without Physical Enchantment. Without Physical Enchantment, a group must have one or two warrior-role Adventurers to even enter and lead their group to the passage with their ss skills since warrior-based sses usually had at least one strengthening skill. Of course, other skills could also work since there were a myriad of sses and ss skills. ¡­ A minuteter, the trio finally entered a passage and met with Alfred before resuming their journey after cleaning up with water from a water bag. "Let¡¯s go straight for monsters at silver level five and above," Lily said. "No need to waste time on silver level one to four monsters." "Yep," Almond nodded. "If I remember correctly, White Pn have those strange white snakes and white lynxes, right?" Natalia spoke as the group arrived at a big cavern with white trees and white fog covering it all. The group stopped at the passage¡¯s end and didn¡¯t enter the cavern. "This area should have monsters between silver level one to five," Almond said as he grabbed his sword. "I¡¯ll scan the location, and we¡¯ll make a beeline straight towards that passage at the end." Sixty-five meters away was a passage leading to the next cavern. "Alright, let¡¯s do this," Lily nodded and carried Natalia in her arms. "It¡¯ll be faster if I carry you." Almond nodded as he consumed 50 Mana and used the Preying Sense of the sword, locating all the monsters fifty meters in front of him. "Thest fifteen meters will be unknown, so I will take the lead and deal with monsters that jump on us but won¡¯t stop our speed. We¡¯ll be able to fight better inside the passage even if some monsters follow us." "Alfred, you will run behind Lily and Natalia so you can act if some monsters attack from behind after we pass them." "Understood." "Let¡¯s go," Almond said and dashed, Lily and Natalia right on his tail and Alfred behind them. Since he knew where all the monsters were hidden in this fog-covered tall-grass area, he knew what to do. Crossing ten meters, Almond said with Magic Whisper, "Jump high. Cross six meters at once." Almond was two meters ahead of Lily and Natalia, so it was enough. He jumped and crossed six meters, skipping over a bunch of White Pn Snakes and Tigers that were on the right and left. Lily also jumped, powering her legs as she crossed seven meters and resumed running with a two-meter distance between her and Almond. "Tigers on our ass," Natalia said as she spotted two Tigers pouncing behind Lily. They were already alerted when Almond jumped, so when Lily jumped, they decided to attack her. Unfortunately for them, Alfred was right behind as his fiery sword sh cut both of them and tailed behind Lily before smiling at Natalia, who was looking back over Lily¡¯s shoulder. Alfred had learned to use me Maniption to empower his sword, effectively creating a technique¡ªme Elemental Aura¡ªon his sword, coating it with a fieryyer that increased his attack¡¯s lethality to a notch above. The group continued behind Almond as he bypassed all the monsters, but thest fifteen meters were unknown. "Lily, let¡¯s jump with our full power. We can cross fifteen meters easily with Physical Enchantment." "Good idea. Better to do that than to rush through." Almond¡¯s legs pumped as he arrived at the mark, consuming Mana and empowering his legs further as he jumped long. He crossed over fifteen meters and directly arrived at the solid stone ground in front of the passage. Turning around, he saw Lily and Nataliaing as well, but their bnce shifted due to double weight. Lily blinked as she saw Almond looking at them and let go of Natalia with a slight arm motion towards him. Natalia¡¯s mouth was open, tongue out, and face shocked while forced to the side as her angel had changed mid-air. It was a funny scene as she didn¡¯t expect to be thrown at such height and speed. But Almond quickly acted and caught her while Lily alsonded safely. Alfred arrived right behind, bringing five White Pn Tigers and Snakes. The group entered the passage fast as the monsters followed. But since the space was small inside, the monsters couldn¡¯t fight properly, and their main weapon, the specialty of monsters here¡ªWhite Pn Poison, couldn¡¯t work that much. White Pn Poison was dangerous because it could make someone paralyzed and also sleep, making their consciousness wobbly. Paralyse could only stop the body, but not the applications of Mana or the usage of skills. But Sleep affected the mind, so it was hard to use Mana techniques or skills. White Polem monsters all had this poison as their main attribute, so most of their attacks were infused with this poison. However, inside the passage, they couldn¡¯t move freely to attack, and they weren¡¯t intelligent enough to make a formation. The group killed Silver-level 4 and 5 White Pn Tigers and Snakes easily without getting hit. Lily was close to silver-level 6, at 97% while Alfred and Natalia were halfway to silver-level 6 after the battle. "We got a drop!" Natalia eximed. "That¡¯s our first drop from normal monsters!" Chapter 31: New Production "Nice, it looks like something you can use," Lily said as she inspected the item Natalia picked up. [Serpent Curse Wand] -Grade: Umon. -Attack: +10% potency to Control-type and Offense-type skills. -Perk: ¡ª> +3 Perception, +3 Focus. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Serpent Spell: Using 50 Mana, you can shoot an ethereal white serpent. If struck, it puts the target to sleep with a 50% chance while having a 100% chance of paralyzing for 2 seconds. "This is great," Almond said as read the status. "It can paralyze boss monsters for a second, not to mention its usefulness against other silver-ranked Adventurers." "d we triggered the drop here. This is indeed one of the better umon-grade drops on the first floor," Lily smiled. "And its perk is maxed. The maximum stats we can get from an umon grade is six if I remember correctly." "Yep, it¡¯s six. Rare grade has up to 50 based on its sub-grade, but mine duped on that one since low-ss rare grade could have a maximum of 10 stats bonus," Almond wryly smiled. "But in exchange, I got all possible effects, so that¡¯s good." Preying Hunter¡¯s Sword didn¡¯t get any boost that increased the user¡¯s stats¡ªperks. Hismon-grade staff also had a stat boost, though it was just +1 Mana stat (+10 Mana into the Mana pool) "Anyway, this was a good find. Let¡¯s continue," Natalia said with a jolly grin, clearly in a happy mood as she gave hermon-grade wand to Lily, who put it in the storage pouch while she held a white wand with a crystal red-eyed serpent head at the top. The chance of getting drops from normal monsters was utterly low. It was less than 1%, be itmon-grade or umon-grade. It was the same for both since this rate was the rate of drop from a normal monster. This rate increased by 5% every three days since the Floors would get powerful every three days, up to 21% on thest three days of the month. The Elite Monsters would also spawn, a stronger version of the same monster like Elite Goblin Archer, Elite Bog Slither, and so on. Those had an extra 10% chance on drops, but only one Elite monster of each kind would spawn in an area. Naturally, their numbers would also double every three days, so thest three days of the Labyrinth were practically in Hell-Mode due to a massive increase in the number of monsters, not to mention how they would be 5% to 10% stronger every three days. ¡­ The party was walking and arrived at the end of the passage after walking for a hundred meters. "Well, I guess this will be our new battlefield for some hours," Lily said as she looked at arge cavern with glowing nts, tall grass, trees, and less fog than the first area, but more variety of trees, nts, and other things. [The Spirit Factory has sessfully finished its production list.] ¡¯Nice.¡¯ "Let¡¯s sit down for a bit," Almond said with a smug smile and sat down. "We just got twenty new items." Lily and Natalia clearly appeared excited and sat down. "Bring the stuff on the table, boss," Natalia rubbed her hands with anticipation while grinning. "Let¡¯s see what you cooked this time." Lily chuckled as she winked at Almond, "A scrumptious meal as always, for sure." Almond had put fifteen spirits inside, resulting in fifteen items. 5 x Bog Slithers Spirits. 5 x Moonlight Wisps Spirits. 5 x Shimmering Fen Serpents Spirits. "Here we go," Almond waved his hand as he spawned out the items. 5 x Bog Slither Arrows (Umon-grade) 3 x Moonlight Crystal (Umon-grade) 2 x Wispy Illusion Bombs¡ªone-time use (Umon-grade) 2 x Shimmering Spine Spears (Umon-grade) 2 x Shimmering Serpent¡¯s Fangs¡ªone-time use (Umon-grade) 1 x Shimmering Trap¡ªone-time use (Rare-grade) "Thatst one," Lily was surprised. "Your spirit factory crafted a rare grade." "I wonder what it does," Natalia blinked curiously as she looked at the five-inch radius thick ring with Shimmering Serpent¡¯s scales shining as its material. "Yeah, I was also surprised to see a rare grade one," Almond shared the item¡¯s details with them. [Shimmering Trap] -Grade: Rare -Type: one-time use -Use: ¡ª> Infuse 50 Mana in the ring to activate the ring and then put it anywhere you wish to set the trap. Anyone who steps on the ring or touches it will trigger the trap in 0.5 seconds. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Turns five-meter radius ground into deadly bog five meters deep that pulls the targets downward while covering the area with thick fog. Voice can¡¯t travel out of the fog unless enhanced with Mana. Reading the effects, the trio got chills. It was deadly, alright! n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond grinned and said: "This is going to be useful. It doesn¡¯t even look like a trap, but more like a dropped item or something." "Let¡¯s see other items," Lily moved her gaze to the arrows, her eyes sparkling. "Those seem very useful to me." "Me too," Natalia said as she waved her Willowbee Crossbow. Almondughed. "Yep, take a look." Sharing the details, everyone looked at the new status window. [Bog Slither Arrow] -Grade: Umon -Durability: [100/100] -Attack: [50 + 100% of Mana infused converting to attack. (Max 100 Mana)] -Effect(s): ¡ª> Targets stuck by the arrow will get ensnared by vines from the ground, the number of vines depends on the Mana infused into the arrow¡ª1 vine per 10 Mana infused. -Note: ¡ª> Using the arrow decreases its durability, and loss increases per Mana infused¡ª10 Mana infused is a loss of 10 Durability, and using 100 Mana will destroy the arrow after it is hit. ¡ª> You can repair the item¡¯s durability by 100% using one Spirit. "Another crazy item," Natalia muttered. "These arrows are so powerful." "I can repair their durability as well," Almond chucked. "We have five, so split up yourselves." "I¡¯ll take two," Natalia said with a grin. "Lily, you got a quiver from Goblin Colony, right?" "Yep," Lily nodded as she picked up the remaining three arrows and put them in her storage bag before taking out the quiver. Willowbee Crossbow could generate an arrow using Mana, so she didn¡¯t need a quiver until now. "Check out this. It¡¯s most useful in my opinion," Almond shared the details of the Moonlight Crystal. [Moonlight Crystal] -Grade: Umon -Effect(s): ¡ª> Infuse 10 Mana to activate the crystal, producing a bright light to illuminate an area. It also discovers monsters within a 10-meter radius and gives light up to a 50-meter radius. It remains active for 1 hour, and the crystal can stick to anything solid but drowns in water. Cooldown: 1 hour. -Note: After the crystal activates, it bes fragile and can be destroyed if struck by an attack of 25, be it physical or magical. "This¡­is very useful, like very," Lily muttered, realizing this item¡¯s potential. "As long as it¡¯s not destroyed, we can use it." "Crazy effect, damn. The illuminating items like magic torches andmps in the market don¡¯t evene close to this crystal¡¯s effect," Natalia said in amazement. "Yep. But even a level 1 bronze-ranked monster can destroy that crystal if it punches it," Almond wryly smiled. "So it¡¯s safe to say that even shockwaves of stronger attack could identally destroy it, unless¡­" Almond grinned and took out a ssze Shield, "We protect it with another item. This shield can work, but we want something like a ss cube." "Great idea," Lily¡¯s eyes lit up. "Once we get out of thebyrinth, I¡¯ll tell my father tomission a tough ss cube. We can put this crystal inside it and use it." "Excellent," Almond smiled. "And for that, we shouldn¡¯t use these crystals here. They are too fragile for now, so put them in your storage pouch." After Lily put them inside her storage pouch, Almond shared the details of the Wispy Illusion Bomb. [Wispy Illusion Bomb] -Grade: Umon -Type: One-time use. Chapter 32: Second Cavern (1/2) [Wispy Illusion Bomb] -Grade: Umon -Type: One-time use. -Effect: ¡ª> Infuse 10 Mana and throw the bomb. Upon impact, it explodes and makes everyone within a 10-meter radius dizzy and shows them hallucinations for 2 seconds. "Not bad. Useful against other Adventurers like the Shimmering Trap," Lily nodded. [Shimmering Serpent¡¯s Fangs] -Grade: Umon -Type: one-time use. -Attack: 50 [+100% of user¡¯s strength] -Effect: ¡ª> Poisonous Flying Dagger that rapidly dissolves into lethal acid and fast-acting poison once struck to the flesh. "This one is also good," Lily raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, it¡¯s deadly," Natalia nodded. "Andst," Almond shared the details of Shimmering Spine Spear. [Shimmering Spine Spear] -Grade: Umon -Duration: [2 days] -Durability: [1000/1000] -Attack: [50 + 60% of the user¡¯s strength.] -Perk: ¡ª> +2 Strength. -Effect: ¡ª> Shimmering Stab: Increases piercing power by 50% and user¡¯s action speed by 30% for 3 seconds after infusing 50 Mana. Cooldown: 10 seconds. -Note: ¡ª> Increase Duration by one day and Durability by 50% at the cost of one Spirit. "We¡¯ll open our attack with this," Almond grinned as he grabbed all three spears and stood up before turning to the passage¡¯s exit. The sword was in contact with him at his back in the sheath, so he activated Preying Sense after walking to the edge, overlooking the cavern. Preying Sense! Almond¡¯s eyes grew as if he was looking from a higher dimension, everything within a 50-meter radiuspletely clear. The air felt cooler, carrying a damp, earthy scent that mingled with the faint aroma of the glowing nts scattered across thendscape. The cavern stretched like a sprawling underground forest. Luminescent fungi clung to the cavern walls, casting an eerie, bluish glow that bathed the scene in soft, flickering light. Trees with twisted, dark trunks and silver-leafed branches reached upward, swaying gently as if moved by an unseen breeze. In the middle of the cavern, a crystalline river wound its way through the terrain, its waters glowing faintly. Along the riverbank, tall, thick grass swayed, concealing movement underneath. Some of the nts pulsed with life, their bioluminescent hues flickering from green to purple in a rhythmic dance. Scattered throughout were stone formationsrge, jagged rocks that jutted out of the earth, some wrapped in vines, creating natural obstacles. The fog here was thinner than in the previous area but still present, clinging low to the ground, curling around the tree roots and obscuring their feet. It shifted and swirled, giving the sense that something could emerge at any moment. asional shes of movement could be seen in the distance, shadows darting between the trees, their forms indistinct in the pale light. Almond detected the pinpoint location of every monster fifty meters away. He grabbed one of the spears from his left hand and stood in a spear-throwing position, his right arm exerting full power along with his two legs using Physical Enchantment as he gained a solid foothold. The ground beneath him slightly cracked as his right arm¡¯s veins popped out, his strength fully exerted. And then¡­he attacked. A loud sonic boom echoed as the spear instantly vanished from Lily and Natalia¡¯s sight. A momentter, another st rang out, and they saw four Lethal Fang Rabbits impaled in various spots as the spear crashed into the cavern wall 180 meters away. [You have killed four level 7 Lethal Fang Rabbits¡­] [You havepleted your first specialized ss quest¡­] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond stayed focused, ignoring the notifications. He had already picked up the second spear with only five seconds left. BOOM! The second spear shot out like a bolt with another sonic boom, piercing a level 7 White Polen Tiger before skewering through two level 6 White Polen Snakes. [You have killed¡­.] [You have reached level 7.] Once more, he grabbed the final spear, even faster this time, and hurled it with a loud rumble, striking two level 6 Lethal Fang Rabbits and a level 7 White Dust Centipede squarely in the head, sttering it. After ten seconds of Preying Sense, Almond¡¯s body rxed, releasing visible steam. "Wooh! That felt good." Natalia¡¯s mouth hung open in shock "Motherfucking $#@#, what the hell¡­" "Wonderful attacks," Lily grinned as she walked to the edge of the passage and put her hand on Almond¡¯s shoulder. "Cool down a bit and recover, darling~ We¡¯ll take the field now." Almondughed and sat down on the floor. "Enjoy. I¡¯ll be there soon. Alfred, summon the wolves and let them aid Natalia while you can fight however you like." "With pleasure," Alfred slightly bowed before the ws at his waist glowed and summoned two Spectral Wolves. "Hurry, Nat, or you¡¯ll be left behind," Lily said before she jumped high, her figure glinting with aura as she used Physical Enchant along with her two ss skills, turning invisible and boosting her speed as she moved like the wind while her daggers cleanly cut off five monsters¡¯ heads¡ª2 x level 6 Tigers and 3 x level 7 Lethal Fang Rabbits. Natalia also joined while Alfred took on a different area to be his battlefield with the Spectral Wolves. Almond gathered all fifteen Spirits and meditated, quickly recovering his Mana and Stamina. ¡¯I have to add some points into Stamina. Using my full physical power exerts more stamina.¡¯ Those three spears drained 80% of his Stamina since he had gone all out in physical exertion on top of using Physical Enchantment. But the results were just as satisfying, having killed ten monsters in ten seconds with Preying Sense. He had 34 Strength and 23 Stamina. The more strength he exerted, the more stamina he consumed, and his Stamina wasn¡¯t keeping up with his Strength at the moment. Just like how a stronger or/and a higher graded skill would consume more Mana, it was the same with exerting one¡¯s physical body¡¯s strength. And just like how one¡¯s skill execution mastery, technique execution mastery, and efficiency of the skills brought out higher performance with the same amount of Mana consumption, it was the same with using the physical body efficiently to bring out higher performance with the same amount of Stamina consumption. Almond had 12 Unassigned stat points, and he decided to dump 11 into his Stamina to fight longer. He fully recovered thirty secondster and cooled down, as adding points to his Stamina stat increased both his maximum stamina and recovery rate. Almond jumped into the fray with his sword, joining the battlefield at far right. Alfred was in the far northeast, 100 meters away, while Natalia was fifty meters below him in the southeast. Lily was in the center of the battlefield, so Almond jumped towards the western area. A level 7 White Polen Tiger pounced on him along with a level 7 Lethal Fang Rabbit in a pincer attack. ¡¯Let the dance with de begin,¡¯ Almond had an expression of utmost enjoyment and thrill. Chapter 33: Second Cavern (2/2), Specialised Class Prefix Options Almond¡¯s sword glinted in motion as he targeted the Tiger first as it was closer, his sword cutting in an arc as it rolled off the tiger. His motion slowed down only a bit while it still continued, his foot pressing on the ground as he turned, his de slicing the Lethal Fang Rabbit into two horizontally. Lethal Fang Rabbits were one meter tall and had sharp de-like fangs along with ws. Their Fangs were truly lethal due to the high pration they had, capable of even piercing umon-grade Shields and containing a fast-acting poison that deteriorates health. So if they jumped and drove their Fangs into an Adventurer without defensive skill, it would usually result in 100% death. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond was more careful of the Rabbits, but it wasn¡¯t hard. As long as he was careful of their close-range Fang attack, he would be safe. Everyone was inbat, using various skills and new items. Natalia¡¯s new wand matched perfectly with her ss skills. And with the Willowbee crossbow that produces its own arrows at the cost of 10 Mana, she could easily finish off the monsters. She also had Big Slither Arrows, which were considerably powerful. The wolves were helping her as Almondmanded them, making it easier for Natalia to maneuver and get protection. Alfred had no difficulty fighting solo like Lily and Almond since he had a good assortment of various skills, and he used them proficiently. Everyone was in different areas in this small forest-like cavern, thrillingly fighting against monsters and undoubtedly improving, gaining experience in their first run of Labyrinth. Almond freely used Spirits from his Spirit Pocket since he was going to get more, and he could only keep 100. He restored the durability of both Slither Arrows each time Natalia used them, and he also restored the durability of the Spear but didn¡¯t use them anymore. He also started devouring Spirits during the battle since it didn¡¯t hinder him performance-wise, even if he used Spirit Devour during the fight. This way, he emptied more space to keep storing the Spirits. 3 x White Pn Tigers: +1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +1 Perception, +1.5 Focus. 3 x White Pn Snakes: +2 Health, +1 Perception, +1 Mana. 3 x Lethal Fang Rabbits: +1 Health, +1 Strength, +1 Focus, +1 Stamina, +0.5 Focus. 3 x White Dust Centipede: +1 Mana, +2 Health, +1 Strength. The battlested for around 20 minutes as the group chugged a few Mana potions in the middle of the battle. They didn¡¯t exert themselves heavily in the physical area as there were no potions to recover Stamina. But bybining steadfast and efficient physical exertion in tandem with using their skills, they couldst longer in the battle while killing more monsters. There was no need to exert 100% of physical power every second. In total, the number of monsters killed stood at 58 as Almond acquired 58 Spirits, and this also marked thepletion of Lily¡¯s and Natalia¡¯s first specialized ss quest. During the battle, Almond also devoured 12 Spirits of White Pn Lair¡¯s monsters, and his Spirit Pocket was still 100/100 by the time the battle ended as he calctingly used up the Spirits he had from previous areas for his skills and recovering items. In the end, Almond remained at level 7, but 92% progressed toward level 8, while Lily, Natalia, and Alfred reached level 7. After the battle was over, the group picked up some Umon-grade flowers and fruits from the tree. White Pn¡¯s Lair had a good amount of resources, a perk of being a hidden area. The first cavern had nothing, but the second and third caverns were bound to have a good amount. From this second cavern, they got nine Umon-grade resources. After scouring the forestic cavern, the group entered the second passage and sat down to recover as well as proceed in their Specialized ss Quest. First of all, Almond added 20 Spirits in the Spirit Factory for the new production batch. 5 x White Pn Tigers. 5 x White Pn Snakes. 5 x Lethal Fang Rabbits. 5 x White Dust Centipedes. Afterward, he looked at his specialized ss panel. [ {Prefix} Grimde ] [Please select a prefix out of the options given below] [Options] -Shadowbane -Ironfang -Stormborn -Cinderborn -Ashenvoid -Riftveil ¡¯Six options¡­¡¯ Almond rubbed his temples. This was going to be hard to decide. ¡¯Alright, let¡¯s break this down.¡¯ ¡¯Shadowbane Grimde¡­.this would lean towards assassin side, having shadow attribute and other pointsplementing it.¡¯ ¡¯Ironfang Grimde¡­Iron and Fang, hmmm, this sounds like a full assault ss. I guess this would be more like a warrior.¡¯ ¡¯Stormborn Grimde¡­.considering elements, Storm would have wind, lightning, and water, and storm itself. Sounds like this ss would have a bit of versatility but more on the offense side and powerful with shy style.¡¯ ¡¯Cinderborn Grimde obviously sounds like me rted. Ash, magma, me¡­no doubt this sounds powerful as well.¡¯ ¡¯But the next two¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯They are more interesting.¡¯ ¡¯Ashenvoid¡­Ashen means many things: very pale, an indication of fear or being sick, and could be rted to ashes as well. Void is self-exnatory, but I can¡¯t image how and what kind of skills this ss would generate.¡¯ ¡¯Lastly,¡¯ Almond looked at thest option and wryly smiled. ¡¯Damn this.¡¯ ¡¯Riftveil¡­Rift has multiple different meanings based on context. A crack in the ground or space and a crack in the rtionship between people are two, but how does itbine with the veil?¡¯ ¡¯Veil can mean multiple things¡­.first is a face-covering veil. It also symbolizes mystery and can also mean separation, like Rift. Someics and webtoons I read in the library also describe the veil as a boundary between the physical and spiritual realm¡­it¡¯s used to separate the material world from spiritual stuff.¡¯ Almond had removed the first four options from his mind. Thest two were simply too interesting, but he had to choose one. ¡¯What should I choose? Think, think more, and reach a conclusion¡­¡¯ Chapter 34: Class Names, Tricky Quest ¡¯Ashenvoid Grimde or Riftveil Grimde¡­.¡¯ ¡¯Which one will synergize with me more with my first ss and can enhance my style?¡¯ Almond was thinking of all the possibilities and crazy fantasies that could be possible with those two ss names. ¡¯Ashenvoid sounds more powerful for obvious reasons¡­Void is rted to space-time, or rather, the absence of it. It¡¯s nothingness. It should be offensive based on its name.¡¯ ¡¯But,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes were glued on thest option. ¡¯Riftveil is more mysterious... it also has the concept of void in a way since it nullifies connections, but it seems to be able to do more, and I cannot figure out everything. Who knows what kind of possibilities are there?¡¯ ¡¯Riftveil¡­this word, it¡¯s more mystical, and it definitely has more unique possibilities.¡¯ Almond¡¯s thoughts swirled, and he made a decision. ¡¯This is it.¡¯ [You have chosen Riftveil as your special ss¡¯s prefix.] [The initial potential rank of your Specialized ss has been determined, which is based on not just the simple words but also your thoughts and desires.] ¡¯Show me the rank,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes burned with anticipation. A secondter, it finally appeared. [Riftveil Grimde¡¯s initial potential ss rank is SS. Depending on your next quest¡¯s result, this rank could decrease or increase.] ¡¯Decreases too?¡¯ Almond winced. [Second Quest of your specialized ss: Skill Visualization. This will determine the first skill of your ss and also its rank as well as the number of ss skills you can initially have and get hints regarding the development of your next ss skills.] ¡¯Here it is¡­¡¯ Almond gulped. [Quest: Skill Visualization.] -Objective: ¡ª> Imagine and visualize a skillpletely based on your ss name. Derive meanings, bend them to your will, and draw your skill. You may visualize multiple times, and you don¡¯t have to think about restricting your imagination. Be sure to name your visualized skills so you can submit one. "Almond, did you finish your ss name?" Lily asked. Almond opened his eyes and nodded, "Yep." "Here¡¯s mine," Natalia excitedly said as she used Mana to write in the air with her control with a stylish font. [Chaosbound Serenador] Both Lily and Almond were surprised. "Chaosbound Serenador¡­sounds good," Lily blinked as she said. "Guess the rank," Natalia said cheekily. "S rank," Almond smiled. "That ss name deserves S rank for sure." "Can¡¯t deny that," Lily nodded before asking curiously, "So, what¡¯s the rank?" "Never mind, your expression gave it away," Lily said with a chuckle before Natalia could speak. Natalia merrily grinned, "It¡¯s an S-rank ss, and I¡¯ll make it SS-rank! What did you two get?" "SS-rank ss," Lily said as her smile contained a hint of joyous pride. "I am satisfied with it because I feel like it¡¯s going to synergize with my ego well." Saying that she also wrote her ss name and rank using Mana. [Dreadspire Warlock]¡ªSS-rank. "Woah, that¡¯s one scary ss name," Natalia eximed and then snickered, "Definitely suitable to you." Lily showed her paws and growled while smiling, "I¡¯ll make sure you tremble in fear and wet your bed after I get this ss." "Nyo!!" Natalia dramatically said before she and Lily couldn¡¯t help butugh. "What did you get, darling?" "Mine is also SS-rank, but not as scary sounding," Almond smiled and snapped his finger, drawing his ss name in the air as Lily and Natalia looked at it. [Riftveil Grimde]¡ªSS-rank. Natalia smacked her lips, amazed, "That¡¯s one hell of a cool name, damn." "Very cool, just like mine," Lily grinned. "And if we just take suffixes of our ss, Grimde sounds more scary than Warlock." "Grimde is strange¡­I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve seen that suffix on anyone before. Did you, Lily?" Lily shook her head, her eyes twinkling in curiosity, "There are a lot of suffixes, but there¡¯s no suffix that¡¯spletely unique to oneself so far. Many people have the same suffixes, but it¡¯s my first time seeing Grimde." "That¡¯s kinda true," Almond thoughtfully nodded. "I saw familiar suffixes in the list, but this one struck me." Serenador and Warlock were not suffixes that appeared the first time. One of the top ten strongest Adventurers had a Warlock in his title, and it was because of his special ss. There were even Warlock in the starting ss of people. Like Blood Warlock, Storm Warlock, and such. Serenador was also not that rare. It was just like Bard. There were ss names with Serenador as a suffix as well. But Grimde seemed to be a new addition. "Anyway, our ss ranks are promising, but we have to be careful with our next quest," Lily said, her expression turning serious. "Based on the information I have, the chance of increasing our ss rank with the next quest is low." "In fact, the likelihood of our ss rank decreasing is higher. You can say that decreasing in rank and keeping the same rank have the same chance on average while increasing the rank has a low chance." "Interesting¡­" Almond was surprised. He didn¡¯t have information about this, but it wasn¡¯t strange Lily had that information. "Having parents in the Global Adventurer Association sure is handy," Natalia grinned. "Share some tips with us!" "The tip is already given in the quest. You can imagine and visualize a drum that shatters the, but as the quest mentioned, we have to visualize the skillpletely!" Lily said, emphasizing thest word. "Completely¡­" Almond muttered. "You see, the quest tells us not to restrict our imagination, but it also wants us to visualize skills fully." "I feel like we have to visualize an overpowered skill with great details and multiple possibilities based on the meanings we derive from our ss names," he added. "Yes, darling," Lily smiled. "That¡¯s exactly what I feel, and most people don¡¯t do that. I also think that we have to put as many details as possible in our skill visualization while keeping it tied to our ss name¡¯s meanings." "But Almond, your ss name sounds confusing," Natalia said as she looked at Almond, "Riftveil Grimde¡­I am having a headache just thinking about what to visualize with that to make it overpowered, lol. Do you have any idea?" Lily nodded in agreement, "True, it¡¯s a bit tricky." Almond¡¯s expression was nk, "I have no idea yet. I haven¡¯t even begun thinking about anything overpowered rted to it." "But," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as his face shifted into a grin filled with anticipation and excitement, "I¡¯ll definitelye up with something awesome." "That¡¯s good to hear. Let¡¯s finish off this area and clear the Briarwood Grove area after that," Lily said as she took out a bunch of things from the storage pouch, "The evening would descend by then, and we¡¯ll take our time visualizing the skill at the camp in high hills at the upper part of the mountain." "Sounds good," Almond nodded, followed by a growling sound from his stomach. "I was hungry, but now I am even more hungry! Almond, help us this time so we can cook faster," Natalia rolled up her invisible sleeves. "Alright." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "I am famished," Lily rubbed her stomach. "Let¡¯s make something quick and filling." The three of them grinned and spoke at the same time. "Steak!" After all, they were exhausted after fighting, consuming all their physical energy at the end, and Almond was even more so since he exhausted himself twice. Stamina¡¯s recovery heavily depends on hunger, especially for Adventurers who exhaust themselves multiple times a day. If the physical body doesn¡¯t have any energy, stamina recovery considerably slows down. As such, the trio cooked a meal with a makeshift outdoor kitchen as usual, thanks to the tools Lily brought with her. Half an hourter, everyone had eaten and fully recovered as they resumed their journey towards the final cavern of White Pn¡¯s Lair. Chapter 35: Before The Final Boss, New Spirit Wraith Third cavern of the White Pn¡¯s Lair. It had many monsters and resources, but the final boss was further at the end in their, slumbering. Number of monsters in the third cavern: 78 Number of resources: 26. 36 x Silver level 8-9 White Reaper Beetles. 29 x Silver level 9-10 Chilling Spark Panthers. 13 x Silver level 10 Sabersnout Hogs. Among them, Almond killed a total of 26 monsters, his progress stopping at level 9 [77%]. Lily killed 23 monsters, her progress stopping at level 9 [39%]. Natalia killed 16 monsters, reaching level 9 [3%]. And the remaining were killed by Alfred, who also reached level 9 [8%]. It took around forty minutes to fight and kill monsters in thisrge cavern that was 4 kilometers square in size. Almond gained a new surge of stat points after devouring three Spirits of each type of monster, getting stronger again. Devouring those nine spirits, he got: 3 x White Reaper Beetles:+2 Strength, +1 Health, +1 Stamina, +0.5 Focus. 3 x Chilling Spark Panthers: +1 Strength, +2 Health, +1 Mana, +1 Perception. 3 x Sabersnout Hogs: +1 Strength, +2 Health, +1 Stamina, +1 Focus, +0.5 Perception. He wasn¡¯t even trying hard because if he did, he would eat most of the monster kills. As such, he focused on refining and discovering more sword ys instead. The party was practically invincible against monsters on this first floor, mainly thanks to the abundance of items Almond¡¯s Spirit Factory produced and the synergy of the team. Almond and Lily were absolute beasts inbat, and Natalia was a trickster to the enemy and support in a way, not to mention the Spectral Wolves and Alfred, who were not any less powerful. Almond had lent Earth Shattering Gloves to Natalia for the time being. She could utilize its passive effect of increasing the defense of allies within a 5-meter radius better since she was in the team with wolves and Alfred. The party dominated this third cavernpletely and cleared it before finally under a tree in the center instead of entering thest passage since it was short, and they could see the boss slumbering from there. To make space for the new 78 Spirits¡ªminus 9 that he devoured¡ªAlmond sacrificed all the Spirits he had gained from previous areas by repairing items and using them to increase the durations of some more useful Spirit items. Of course, he had recovered Wolf w Gauntlet long ago, making it duration 30 days when he was in Willowbee Nest since he had excess Spirits to be used because there were a lot of Willowbees. Wolf w Gauntlets were useless to be used as a weapon, but the effect it got from his Spirit Factory was fantastic since the spectral wolves inherited Almond¡¯s stats, making them powerful! As for other items, he mainly increased the duration of all three Shimmering Spine Spears to 3 days, costing him 9 Spirits. Bog Slither Arrows to 3 days, which cost him 15 Spirits. Finally, one ssze Shield¡¯s duration 3 days, which cost him 3 Spirits. ssze Bears gave mostly one-time-use items except for ssze Shields, and they had already used them in Shimmering Fen. The shield was good, so Almond kept one since the rest were destroyed. 3 x Moonlight Crystals didn¡¯t have durations despite not being one-time-use items, fortunately. They were safe in the storage pouch. 2 x Wispy Illusion Bombs were one-time-use items, and they hadn¡¯t used any yet as there was no need so far. 2 x Shimmering Serpent¡¯s Fangs were also one-time-use items, and Almond nned to use them in the iing boss fight. 1 x Shimmering Trap, the only Rare-grade item his Spirit Factory has produced so far, was put into the safe. It was a rare grade, meaning that it could affect monsters above Silver level 10 easily as well. There was no need to use it blindly. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om As for other items that Natalia and Lily used, he had already increased their durations to 10 days yesterday. Natalia¡¯s Willowbee Crossbow was at 10 days duration. The other two crossbows had vanished since a day passed. Lily¡¯s all three Willowbee Daggers were also at 10 days duration. These were useful because of the paralyzing effect. All in all, Almond had 10 different types of items from his Spirit Factory, all of them abundantly useful and more powerful than regr items of the same grade! Right after they sat down for recovery in a triangle formation, Almond heard the sweet sound of notification from his Spirit Factory. He looked at the list. 3 x Snow Hide Cloak. Umon-grade. 2 x Pn Tiger¡¯s Belt. Umon-grade. 4 x White Pn Charm Rings. Umon-grade. 1 x Spirit Snake Bite. One-time-use. Umon-grade. 2 x White Dust Carapace Armor. Umon-grade. 3 x White Dust Venom Quiver. Umon-grade. 2 x Lethal Fang Sabers. Umon-grade. 3 x Lethal Fang¡¯s Boots. Umon-grade. ¡¯Interesting new items. And only one one-time-use item, eh?¡¯ Just as Almond finished reading the list, another notification greeted him, making him excited. It was from his Spirit Pocket! "Hey, party, it¡¯s finally time we get one more member," Almond grinned as he eagerly activated the Spirit Kodoku Pocket and brought out the new Spirit Wraith in the middle of the triangle they had formed. Lily and Natalia quickly attended to Almond upon hearing that, as they knew what he meant. "What¡¯s it going to be?" Lily muttered in anticipation as she saw a swirl of mystical and colorful smoke with sparks gathering in the middle. "It won¡¯t be a humanoid since there¡¯s no human Spirits inside, right?" Natalia blinked before she added. "If only that bastard Zoren didn¡¯t affect others with his death, we could¡¯ve killed him. He deserves to die, humph." "Can¡¯t deny that," Almond nodded, his eyes on the Spirit Wraith manifesting. Half a secondter, everyone saw a monster they had never seen before. "A chimera-type, huh?" Lily¡¯s eyes glinted in curiosity. "It looks scary as hell," Natalia winced. It was 2.5 meters tall, had ssy scales over its body, and had four snake-like arms with a literal snake-like mouth in ce of a standard hand or w. They wiggled like tentacles, the snake mouth hissing as their venomous fangs glinted. It also had four legs like a mantis, but they were thick and stubby. Its crystally eyes glowed dark green with blue pupils, and the final horror factor was a pair of giant bee-like wings but furry with green and yellow patterns at its back. There were four glowing blue crystal orbs on its chest as a part of its body as well, pulsing like a heartbeat. "Alright, this is one hell of a creepy thing. No wonder the product is called Spirit Wraith," Almond wryly chuckled. [Please name your new Spirit Wraith.] "Share us the status. I wonder what skills it has," Lily grinned. "I¡¯m sure it¡¯s powerful." "Yep," Almond quickly made a name and then shared the status. ¡¯Oh? This doesn¡¯t start from level 1, and what¡¯s with the new things?¡¯ Almond was surprised and shared it, "This is new, alright. Take a look." [Chimera Viperfiend] -ssification: Off-Tank Chapter 36: Spirit Factory Enhanced [Chimera Viperfiend] -Rank: Silver -Level: 5 -ssification: Off-Tank -Quirk(s): ¡ª> Irrational: Can switch between defensive and offensive mode quickly. Speed +30% in offensive mode, Defense +30% in defensive mode. ¡ª> Poison Physique: Can absorb various kinds of poisons and store them. -Stats: 42 unassigned stat points. ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 15 | Health: 15 | Stamina: 15] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 15 | Focus: 15 | Perception: 15] -Skills: 1. Viperfang Shot. 2. Synthesize Tank. 3. Toxin re. 4. Nightmare Mist. 5. Moonlight Barrier. -Note: This Spirit Wraith has a chance to awaken new skills upon getting stronger. "Woah, what a monster," Natalia eximed. "Those quirks are so useful. Why don¡¯t we have those?" "Maybe we would have if we ate each other and evolved like that. I guess that depends on chemistry," Almond chuckled as he looked at Lily. "Lily would know." Natalia burst outughing while Lily jokingly rolled her eyes. "That aside, this monster is going to be very useful for us," Lily¡¯s eyes glinted. "Almond, how do you n to assign the stat points?" "Hmm, I¡¯m tempted to focus on Strength, Health, and Mana more, but I¡¯ll do evenly for now. What if it awakens a new skill if I increase its Focus and Perception?" Saying that, Almond distributed the stat points, adding 7 to each stat. "And," Almond grinned and waved his hand. "The new batch of items are ready. With them, we¡¯ll be able to fight the boss with fewer risks." The boss they were going to fight could be arguably the strongest boss on this Fairy Mountain. Wandering Fairy was also strong, but it was a different type of monster than the one they were going to fight in White Pn¡¯sir. Both were Silver level 10 Boss-type monsters, the strongest ceiling possible on the first floor of thebyrinth. However, in terms of lethality, White Pn¡¯s boss was stronger. "Each of us will wear the Snow Hide Cloak since we have three. They are made from White Pn Tiger Spirits," Almond shared the cloaks and then the item¡¯s details. [Snow Hide Cloak] -Grade: Umon. -Duration: [3 days] -Durability: [500/500] -Defense: +30 P.def, +30 M.def. -Perks: ¡ª> +3 Health. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Gravity-Repel: Infusing 50 Mana in the cloak will make you highly lightweight for 1 minute, reducing the gravity effect on you by 30%. Cooldown: 2 minutes. "What¡¯s this? Your items didn¡¯t give stat perks before," Lily was surprised. "And the duration is automatically 3 days?" "Yep. I think reaching 30 in Focus and Perception improved Spirit Factory automatically. I got a notification, but it was during the fight, and now it¡¯s gone, but I remember it was rted to it." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "This is nice," Natalia wore the cloak. "It¡¯s furry like tiger¡¯s fur, but it also gives us good overall defense, especially at the back." "Yep, it¡¯s indeed very good equipment," Lily nodded as she also wore the cloak and grinned. "This effect is going to be my favorite." "Yeah, we¡¯ll be faster with it," Almond nodded and took out the next items, "Next is Pn Tiger¡¯s Belt, but I only got two of those." [Pn Tiger¡¯s Belt] -Grade: Umon. -Duration: [3 days] -Durability: [300/300] -Perk: ¡ª> +2 Stamina, +2 Focus. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Poly-items (Passive): You can stick items to this belt in miniature form with simple contact. Up to five items. "Wait, for real?" Natalia quickly took a belt and put her crossbow on it. In the next second, the cross-bow became like a keychain and hung on the belt. "Holy shit!" Lily and Almond were also surprised. "These effects from your Spirit Items are pretty awesome," Lily grinned. "You two wear the belt. I already have a storage pouch at my waist to pick things." "Yeah, this will be handy. We can hang potions and items at our waists now," Almond got up and put on the belt. He put on the one that gave lower stat perks and gave the one with more stat perks to Natalia. Lily took out two Mana potions and two Healing potions before taking out more things. "Here, you wanted to use this at this boss from the start, so you can hang them at your waist now," Lily took out two Shimmering Serpent¡¯s Fangs¡ªone-time-use items. "Lily, I want two Bog Slither Arrows," Natalia¡¯s eyes twinkled. "I can use them during battle now." "No need," Almond interjected with a chuckle as he took out the next item, "I have something better to hold the arrows." "Woah, Quivers?" Natalia fixed her gaze on the three Quivers. "That¡¯s pretty nice," Lily blinked, curious. "And I suppose these quivers have effects too¡­." "Yep, let¡¯s see what they got," Almond shared the details. [White Dust Venom Quiver] -Grade: Umon. -Duration: [3 days] -Enchant: +10% Damage to arrows in the Quiver. -Perk: ¡ª> +2 Mana, +1 Perception. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Arrow 1: Infuse 10 Mana to generate a White Dust Venom arrow in the quiver. ¡ª> Arrow 2: Infuse 20 Mana to generate a White Dust Toxin st arrow in the quiver. ¡ª> The quiver can only hold up to 10 arrows. "Crazy item¡­." Natalia was dazed. "How many quivers you got?" Lily asked with twinkling eyes. She was also an expert archer, so this quiver was very tempting. "More than we need," Almond chuckled and took out two more quivers. "Take these two. They got better stat perk." Both of them reced the normalmon-grade quivers with the new ones. "Next items are rings. I got four of them, so Alfred can also get one," Almond took out four rings before sharing the status of one. [White Pn Charm Ring] -Grade: Umon. -Duration: [3 days]. -Perk: ¡ª> +1 Focus, +3 Stamina. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Charm: Infuse 50 Mana in the ring to manifest a snake illusion that has a 10% chance to charm the target, allowing you tomand it for 10 seconds. ¡ª> Magic Shield: Infuse 50 Mana to generate a projectile shield in front of you to defend. High magic defense but low physical defense. Cooldown: 1 minute. "The first effect is pretty much useless with a 50% chance,"¡ªNatalia said, "But the second one is pretty good." "Yeah, high magic defense shield is good," Almond said as he activated the effect. A meter radius big shield appeared one meter in front of him. He could move it just with his thought, making him a little surprised. Lily blinked, "That¡¯s nice. At least we won¡¯t need to hold the shield and can instantly activate the ring¡¯s effect." Almond gave the ring with the best perk to Natalia and then distributed the others with him, keeping the one with the lowest stat perk. "Spirit Snake Bite, this one is a one-time use item that can increase any pain felt by twice for 1 minute, and I got only one," Almond handed it to Lily, "Put it in the pouch, we don¡¯t need to use it on monsters." "True." "What¡¯s next?" Natalia eagerly asked while rubbing her palms. "White Dust Carapace Armor. It¡¯s big and heavy, so Lily and I won¡¯t use it. Alfred and you can use it," Almond gave the armor to Natalia and Alfred before sharing its details. "It looks kinda beautiful even though it¡¯s made from that White Dust Centipede," Natalia grinned. "A mage with that armor looks funny," Lily chuckled. [White Dust Carapace Armor] -Grade: Umon -Duration: [3 days] -Defense: +100 P.def, +70 M.def. -Perk: ¡ª> +3 Health, +1 Strength, +1 Focus. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Defense Up: Infuse 50 Mana to increase original defense values by 20% for 1 minute. Cooldown: 2 minutes. ¡ª> Dust Mist: Infuse 50 Mana to release a dusty mist within a 10-meter radius for 10 seconds, obstructing the vision of everyone. "Not bad," Natalia grinned. "Looks tough enough, and I love the effects." "Thank you, Master." "Any more?" Lily looked at Almond as if asking for more candies. Almond smiled and took out three pairs of boots and two Sabers. "Lethal Fang Boots and Lethal Fang Sabers. These are thest ones." "Boots? Noice!" Natalia was excited. Weapons were useless to her, but this batch of production was all useful items that everyone could wear and use. "Boots sounds nice indeed," Lily smiled. "Let¡¯s see what they got for us," Almond shared the status of Letha Fang Boots. [Letha Fang Boots] -Grade: Umon -Duration: [3 days] -Speed: +10% normally, +20% in the forest. -Perk: ¡ª> +2 Perception. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Lethal Jump (Passive): Increases jumping power by 50%. ¡ª> Lethal Dash (Active): Consume 50 Mana and Dash anywhere within 10 meters at a sonic speed, but silently. Kic power generated in the process is stored in your body, increasing your next physical attack¡¯s power by 10% to 20%. Cooldown: 10 seconds. "This one is simply wonderful," Lily was amazed. "Indeed. Jumping power 50% is big for us," Almond grinned, "Not to mention the increase in movement speed." "I like the boots, but since we only have three pairs, give one to Alfred," Natalia said, a bit relucent, "Since he is paired with me and protects me, they would be better off on him." "Oww~, my baby finally grew up," Lily teased Natalia. Natalia pouted, "I am still a baby. Give me your milk, mama Lily." "Oh shit, I got an idea. Don¡¯t use condoms when you make love, so Lily can produce milk eventually, and I can drink it then!" "¡­" "¡­" Almond threw the saber at Alfred, giving him a better sword. This saber had better Attack than the spear, and its effect gave it bonus damage on sh-type attacks. "I am not going to use this, so put it in the storage," Almond said as he gave the other one to Lily. "Alright." Ignoring Natalia, both of them closed their eyes and started meditating to recover their Mana. Chapter 37: Boss Fight: White King Manticore [White King Manticore]¡ªBoss -Rank: Silver -Level: 10 -Vitality: [100%/100%] -Mana: [1500/1500] -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 150 | Health: 150 | Stamina: 150] -Mental: ?[Mana: 150 | Focus: 150 | Perception: 150] This boss was five meters tall with a quadruped beastly body, a pair of tough draconic wings, a tail like a snake but with a scorpion¡¯s sting, and a dreadful head that was a mixture of lion and monkey. It was mostly white with just patterns on the tail, fur, and wings of other colors. All of them were also at level 9, one level lower, so there was a high chance they would get a rare drop! "It¡¯s powerful," Natalia¡¯s teeth chattered as she looked at its stats. "Won¡¯t we die if we get hit by one of its attacks?" Lily chuckled and said, "Of course not, silly. Well, you won¡¯t die because of that armor, but there¡¯s a high chance Almond and I get fatally injured if we get hit by a solid attack." "Which won¡¯t happen," Almond drew his sword as he walked into the passage that was merely 10 meters long, with the Manticore sleeping right in the in barren cavern¡¯s center. [Almond] -Stats: 7 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 41 | Health: 34| Stamina: 38] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 26 (+39) | Focus: 31.5 | Perception: 30.5 ] "Lily, do you know its attacks?" Almond turned to Lily as the group entered the passage. "Yeah. We¡¯ll have to cut off its tail and one of the wings to weaken it. I¡¯ll get the tail by sneaking up," Lily held her daggers and scrapped their des against each other as sparks flew, while the daggers glowed as she activated their effect. "Good, I¡¯ll taunt it first, so aim for the tail and cut it off as soon as you get the chance, which you will know," Almond nodded before turning to Natalia, "But send your clone first so I can start with a solid attack. I want to cut off one of its wings first, at least to make it less troublesome for us." "Roger," Natalia nodded as she used her skill, summoning a clone looking just like her. "Alfred, you will enterst with the wolves. Attack it as efficiently as possible. You don¡¯t have to worry about injury anyway." "Understood." Lily looked further at the back, "How do you n to use the new Spirit Wraith?" Almond smiled, "I have an idea. I¡¯llmand it with my thoughts, so let¡¯s go. It¡¯s time to start." Natalia¡¯s clone went first, causing the White King Manticore to wake up as soon as the clone stepped foot inside. She made her clone use a ss skill¡ªSparkling Dust that she got from Skill Option in level-up boon. It covered the area around Manticore in a sparkling purple-red dust, lowering its vision and making it see everything double. *Growl!* Almond saw it was about to attack and dashed inside, Physical Enchantment activated in his arms and legs as he consumed 80 Mana. The monster¡¯s tail was like an invisible wind wave as it struck Natalia¡¯s clone in a horizontal sweep. It was seeing two Natalias, so it attacked like that. But Almond had arrived right above it, his sword gleaming as its red de glinted straight toward one of its huge wings. Gravity Repel! Lethal Dash! Almond¡¯s figure vanished as a glowing sh clearly became visible in a straight line, cutting through the Manticore¡¯s right wing while also managing to sh its body in the process. *Roar!!* -8% Vitality! Lily had turned invisible and entered right after Almond jumped inside. ¡¯Not yet,¡¯ Lily didn¡¯t attack. This wasn¡¯t the chance Almond was talking about. She observed Almond and Manticore waiting. Meanwhile, the enraged Manticore swiped its w at Almond, who hadnded on its right side. Its w burned with me in the process, a powerful attack that only those with Tank-role and defensive skill could block. As such, Almond didn¡¯t n to block it in the first ce. He rolled right below Manticore¡¯s belly as he drove two Fangs into its stomach. Shimmering Serpent¡¯s Fangs, the one-time use items of high lethality! [Shimmering Serpent¡¯s Fangs] -Grade: Umon -Type: one-time use. -Attack: 50 [+100% of user¡¯s strength] -Effect: ¡ª> Poisonous Flying Dagger that rapidly dissolves into lethal acid and fast-acting poison once struck to the flesh. He drove both daggers into it, opening a wound and causing the Manticore to jump away from Almond while it roared in pain and anger. It wanted to fly since this cavern had a high ceiling, but Almond had cut off its right-wing! ¡¯Use Nightmare Mist!¡¯ Almondmanded Chimera Viperfiend. Manticore jumped near the cavern entrance, so Chimera Viperfiend was ready! Chimera Viperfiend entered and opened its mouth, releasing a dreamy purple sparkling mist and covering a ten-meter radius area, aiming to cover the first half of the Manticore¡¯s body. This was another debuff skill like Natalia¡¯s Sparkling Dust. The difference was that Nightmare Mist would enhance the feeling of fear in everyone inside the mist and cause them to look at living beings in a different way, making them resemble things they fear. Manticore was debuffed and paired with toxin injury. Before the Nightmare Mist effect kicked in, its rage was towards Almond and had already opened its mouth to release a wide-range attack, bursting out a sea of me in a cone area in front of it, targetting Almond. But unfortunately for the Manticore, Almond had Gravity Repel activated! With a strong m on the ground with his hand, Almond flew ten meters off the ground at once, easily dodging the attack. Meanwhile, Lily was right behind it, where its tail was out of the Nightmare Mist¡¯s range! Her daggers glimmered sharply as she judged this to be the chance and cut off its tail! Its scorpion tail was most lethal because it was very fast, and a single of it could kill any one of them. At the same time, Alfred was also out of its attack range, so he released mesword Wave, a skill that synergized me Mastery and Sword Wave! This move was also considered sh-type due to its shape and attack, so the Lethal Fang Saber¡¯s passive effect boosted it! Natalia didn¡¯t want to be outdone and also attack along with Alfred since she recognized this was the chance, shooting a Bog Slither Arrow to the right side of her head from the passage¡¯s entrance! ¡¯Take it, bastard!¡¯ Manticore was ganged up hard as it roared and jumped again, Nightmare Mist¡¯s effect had kicked in, so it jumped away from everyone and arrived at the far northwest of the cavern at a corner fifty meters away, shaking its head vigorously as its body glowed. "Damn, it crossed a big distance," Almond muttered, but his eyes glinted as he dug his feet into the ground and grabbed a tiny spear keychain from his belt! ¡¯Too bad you won¡¯t escape from our attacks,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as the spear became big the moment he grabbed it and he aimed at its head. *BOOM!* This spear attack¡¯s speed wasn¡¯t something Manticore could react to, even though it was one of the strongest bosses on the first floor! But even though it couldn¡¯t react fully to dodge, it could still react, which caused the spear to miss its head by a centimeter, Almond knew this could happen, so he aimed the spear to its left. Even if it managed to react, the spear still struck its intact left wing! Its vitality dropped 57% with all the attacks so far! But there was no time to waste. They had a total of one minute to finish the battle because of the items¡¯ effects they had activated, and thirty seconds had passed by! It was time to go all out! ¡¯Synthesize Tank!¡¯ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Chimera Viperfiend transformed as its feet dug into the ground and its upper body bent, its four armsbining into a single barrel. ¡¯What the fuck, it became a literal tank?¡¯ The four crystals on its chest actually produced a frontal barrier for it with a central gap for the barrel! It was a tank that could tank damage and attack! Naturally, Manticore wasn¡¯t waiting. After suffering the Spear¡¯s attack, it roared strongly and released several des of dark winds, targetting not just Amond but Lily, Alfred, and Chimera Viperfiend. Natalia was still in the passage at a safe distance, but she entered after seeing that attack, ready to release an arrow from her new Quiver. She had consumed 100 Mana to summon five strong 2.0 Arrows costing 20 Mana each, so she released them while Almond and Lily sessfully dodged the Dark Wind des. Alfred also dodged them while Chimera Viperfiend was struck, its barrier shattering. However, it also released a powerful shot from its barrel, an attack with acid and poison that couldbust. *BOOM!* Natalia¡¯s first arrow also struck its head, reducing 3% of its vitality. *Roar!!!* -11% Vitality from Chimera¡¯s attack! That one shot had consumed all of Chimera Viperfiend¡¯s remaining Mana ording to Almond¡¯smand, but it was worth it! The st was big and a perfect cover. Almond and Lily were less than halfway to their Mana pool, so Almond injected both of them with Spirit Syringe, recovering to full as they resumed their attack. Lily released her ultimatebo move as the Manticore was damaged and blinded due to the st Chimera Viperfiend released. Meanwhile, Almond also dashed and attacked, his sword gleaming coldly as he infused 100 Mana to empower it. ¡¯Lily, we must back off quickly after this attack.¡¯ *sh!* *Crissss!* Both of their full-powered attacks struck Manticore as it could only blindly release its w attack, which Almond and Lily easily dodged. Alfred released a mesword Wave from ten meters away with all of his remaining Mana at the opportunity as well. The Manticore was on the verge of death, and that meant it was going to release its strongest attack that could potentially kill them. But Almond wasn¡¯t about to let that happen, and that was why he told Lily to back off after their final full-powered attacks! Spirit Explosion x 5! Five was overkilling it since the Manticore had 8% of its vitality left, but Almond wanted to make sure it died with this attack! *BOOOM!* Chapter 38: Skill Upgrade, Plan [Congrattions on defeating White King Manticore. 10,000 Gold coins to each party member.] [Congrattions. You have reached level 10.] n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om [You have triggered the level-up boon.] Everyone, including Alfred, leveled up to Silver level 10. Almond and Lily finally triggered their second level-up boon after entering Silver rank. Natalia had already triggered it when she reached level 9 and got a skill option in it. Chimera Viperfiend reached Silver level 8 from Silver level 5 as well. "Are we going to be lucky again?" Almond muttered, looking at the spot where the boss had died and absorbed its spirit. It had dropped materials for crafting armor and weapons, but that wasn¡¯t what everyone was hoping for. As the dust scattered, they finally saw all the drops, including a blue orb! The trio moved in closer to inspect the item. "It¡¯s an essory," Almond raised an eyebrow. [White King Manticore¡¯s Ne] -Grade: [Rare/Low] -Durability: [1000/1000] -Aura: +10% Elemental resistance to the user. -Perk: ¡ª> +4 Health, +4 Mana. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Magic Scales (Passive): Reduce magic damage dealt to you by 10%. ¡ª> Mana Overload (Active): Increases your Mana by 100%, but after five minutes, your Mana recovery will be sealed for 10 minutes. ¡ª> me Barrier (Active): Conjures a barrier of fire element at the cost of 100 Mana. "This could sell for millions." Natalia¡¯s eyes sparkled with excitement as she gazed at the ne. "This is indeed the most valuable item we¡¯ve gotten so far," Almond grinned. Natalia coughed and looked at Lily and Almond. "So who¡¯s going to keep it?" "You can keep it for now, but I¡¯ll take it in three days since I n to stay on this floor," Almond said with a faint smile. "Guess why?" "Spirit Devour?" Lily asked, a knowing look on her face. "Exactly," Almond said with a nod. "Devouring lower-level monsters¡¯ spirits gives fewer stat points. I¡¯ve reached the maximum level possible on the first floor, so I¡¯m not going to get any stat points from Bronze-rank monsters anymore. I might also get nothing from other Silver level 5 or lower monsters, though I¡¯ll have to check that first." "But there are other areas, like Fairy Mountain. Seven more, to be exact," Almond said, his eyes glinting. "I¡¯m going to do a spirit devour hunt at every ce." "Holy shit," Natalia muttered. "You¡¯re going to be so much stronger than others at the same level." "Good, then I¡¯ll focus on Dungeons after leaving," Lily said with a sharp smile, her eyes fiery. "Dungeons don¡¯t level you up, but the monsters there drop many things, and bosses drop stat-boosting items at a low chance. You can grind here while I¡¯ll grind in the dungeons." Almond chuckled as he handed the ne to Natalia. "Sounds good." Lily put the materials in her storage ring while Natalia and Almond went to pick up the arrows and spear, respectively. "What did you get this time? Skill options?" Lily asked Almond with a smile. "I got a skill option this time." "Let me see," Almond said, thinking about the two Level-up boons he now had. He¡¯d saved the first one since it didn¡¯t have a skill option and nned to keep saving it. As for the second, Almond looked at it and couldn¡¯t help but grin. "I got it!" Without hesitation, he selected the skill option. [Your skill: Spirit Factory (SS) has been evolved to Spirit Forge Factory (SSS)] [Your Skill: Spirit Forge Factory (SSS) requires some conditions to be fulfilled for aplete upgrade.] "Oh?" Almond raised an eyebrow. "Let¡¯s rest for a bit. I need to focus," he said, then took a seat. Then, he activated the Spirit Forge Factory, finding himself in a cyberpunk fantasy-themed hall lit by spiritual torches. "It¡¯s bigger," Almond thought as he scanned the room, spotting arge screen that disyed the skill¡¯s details and upgrade requirements. A mystical, skully maw with a swirling ck vortex was centered below the screen. ording to the new information Almond got after the skill was upgraded, he knew the maw was responsible for creating items after eating spirits. ¡¯What¡¯s this?¡¯ There were more things. To the left and right of the hall were various square bs disying item types. Many types of items. ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯ Almond suddenly thought of something, quickly turning to read the information on the screen. ¡¯Damn, I was right.¡¯ The skill¡¯s new effects were crazy! [Spirit Forge Factory]¡ªLocked. -Rank: SSS -Effect(s): ¡ª> Use spirits and turn them into various items via Spirit Maw. It will not disy more details regarding crafting when you add Spirits into the Spirit Forge Maw. ¡ª> You can now initiate Super Spirit Item Forge, requiring 20 Spirits for a single item creation. It will be a guaranteed maximum potentialized item. Cooldown: 1 day. ¡ª> You can select Item-type bs to decide which type of items you want to create for each Spirit. You can also select bs and randomize the creation of items based on selected bs. -Currently avable Item-type bs: -{Weapons}- ¡ª Swords: Long sword, Great sword, Katana, Rapier, Scimitar, Broad sword, Short sword, Pole Sword. ¡ª Daggers: Curved dagger, Wavy-ded dagger, Slender dagger, Long dagger. ¡ª Spears: Lance, Javelin, Pike, ive, Halberd. ¡ª Axe: Broad Axe, Double-headed Axe, Throwing Axe. -{Armors}- ¡ª Light Armors: Leather Armor, Cloth Armor, Robes. ¡ª Medium Armors: Chainmail, Studded Leather. ¡ª Heavy Armors: te Armor. -{essories}- ¡ª Rings, Ne, Bangles, Earrings. He then looked at the requirement on the right side of the screen, making his eyes widen in shock. "Damn¡­ the ss can go above SSS-rank?" "This is crazy¡­" he murmured. Since he¡¯d spoken out loud, Lily and Natalia became curious. They knew Almond got a skill option, so it was bound to be crazy, given already his high-ranked skills. "What happened? I bet your crazy ss skill got even crazier," Natalia smirked. "Which one got upgraded?" Lily blinked, throwing a guess. "Don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s Spirit Factory?" "Fuck, if it¡¯s that one, how broken is it now?" Natalia was dumbfounded. "Is it Spirit Factory for real? Nah, no way." "Actually, it is," Almond said with a wry smile. "But it¡¯s sealed for now. I need to fulfill the requirement to make it activate." He shared the new skill information with them, causing their jaws to drop. "Fuck! This is too OP!" Natalia muttered. "Agreed," Lily nodded, her eyes twinkling. "An SSS-rank skill¡­it¡¯s got to be this strong." "So, what¡¯s the requirement?" Natalia asked. "It¡¯s going to make me broke for the foreseeable future," Almond sighed, sharing the details. [Requirement to unlock the skill and finish the upgrade.] -1. Sacrifice 100 Rare-grade items (0/100). ¡ª> Skill Unlock & Guaranteed Rare-grade item forge option. -2. Sacrifice 50 Super-grade items (0/50). ¡ª> Guaranteed Super-grade item forge option. -3. Sacrifice 10 Epic-grade Items (0/10). ¡ª> Guaranteed Epic-grade Item Forge option. -4. Sacrifice 5 Legendary-grade Items (0/5). ¡ª> Guaranteed Legendary-grade Item Forge option. -5. [Sealed]: Requires the ss to reach (L) rank. "Damn," Natalia muttered. "Wait¡­ the ss can go beyond SSS-rank too?" Lily¡¯s eyes sparkled as she read the end. "I can eventually craft Epic-grade and Legendary-grade items by using the spirits of Epic and Legendary-rank monsters, but that¡¯ll require me to go to higher floors. But it¡¯ll be better if I unlock that guaranteed option before that." Lily nodded. "Yeah. You can start by purchasing cheap Rare-grade items from artisans outside to unlock the skill." "That¡¯s the n. I also want to buy Epic-grade and Legendary-grade items to unlock the Epic and Legendary forge options as early as possible. All in all, I¡¯m going to be broke for a while, but it¡¯ll be worth it." "I¡¯ll help," Lily said, her eyes lighting up as a n started forming. The thought of them living together made her grin. "I think I have a suggestion you¡¯ll like. Want to hear it, darling~?" Chapter 39: Lilys Suggestion, Almonds Plan "I also think I¡¯ll like it. Let¡¯s hear it," Almond said, smiling. "So here¡¯s the n. Since I¡¯m going to League of Firefly, and you will surelye with me to the same city, I¡¯ll arrange for cheaper Rare-grade items with the guild¡¯s help. We can live together in the new city," Lily grinned. "The apartment I chose is big enough for two of us." "You wille with me, right?" "I wille," Almond grinned, his eyes hopeful and filled with anticipation about his future. He had no one to call his own for a long time now. And no one to say farewell in this city. Living in academy dorms, he was apletely isted student. He had spent most of his time with books and gathering information until nine days when he awakened and started training for Labyrinth, as he was already ready for a new, better future that he wanted to shape for himself. "Hehe, for your information, I am also going with Lily," Natalia said with a smug smile. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Oh?" Almond was surprised. "But she will be living with her grandparents," Lily smiled as she patted Natalia¡¯s head. "She can finally go there and live with her family." "Thanks to you," Natalia side-hugged Lily, rubbing her cheeks onto hers. "You seem happy about it, so all is well that do you well. Anyway, let¡¯s start moving now. We¡¯ll recover by the time we reach Briarwood Grove." "Yeah, let¡¯s start moving," Lily nodded. The trio stood up and began walking out of the White Pn¡¯sir leisurely with Alfred at the back and Chimera Viperfiend at the front. "Now I got three Boss Spirits, and there are only two more big bosses on the fairy mountain left, so that makes it five," Almond smiled. "With these five, I¡¯ll put the fifteen other Spirits in the Spirit Kodoku." "That¡¯s going to be one hell of a crazy Spirit Wraith," Natalia grinned. "I am looking forward to it," Lily said, nodding. "That said, you are sufficiently powerful to be recruited by top guilds. How about you join League of Firefly with me? I¡¯ll talk to my mentor about it. Since we are going to live together anyway." "Guild, huh¡­I did n to join one because having a guild could help me, but that was when I had that D-rank support ss," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. "I shouldn¡¯t join a guild." Natalia blinked and asked as she raised her eyebrows, "Yo, boss. Do you want to create your own guild?" "No, I have a better idea," Almond smiled. "I can¡¯t create a guild. You need to be a tinum-rank Adventurer as the guild master and need at least five Gold-rank Adventurers as members to start a guild and register it to GAA." "What¡¯s your idea?" Lily asked, curious. "I am nning¡­" ¡­ The party eventually walked out of the White Pn¡¯sir right as Almond finished talking about his n. "That¡¯s a good idea, huh¡­If I am not recruited in the League of Firefly, I¡¯ll join your program," Natalia said with a nod, her eyes glinting, "That¡¯s seriously a good n." Lily nodded. "True. It won¡¯t be hard to find people who will ride on that program of yours. Especially in the current generation where youths want to be Adventurers, but not everyone gets a good start, either with a ss or their background." "Yeah, the death toll is less than starting, but it¡¯s increasing for those who graduated sincest year," Almond admitted, his fist clenching. "I had the worst category start, but it changed like someone flipped a coin in my favor. If I flip coins for others who had a bad start with my ss, specifically the Spirit Forge Factory skill, I can get good soldiers." "Lord Almond, banzai," Natalia cheered. "I am kinda excited since we are friends, but envious of your ss, tsk, tsk." Almond lightlyughed in response. Lily and Natalia could feel and clearly agree that it wouldn¡¯t be long before Almond became a solid force of power at the front. ¡¯I won¡¯t be left behind,¡¯ Lily nced at Almond as her eyes turned fiery, ¡¯I¡¯ll make sure to keep up with you, daarling~ ¡¯ "Alright, time to get muddy again," Almond said as they arrived at the swamp wall." "If only it was just mud," Natalia gagged. "It¡¯s disgusting and smells too." "Yeah, it¡¯s a mix of mud and some aquatic nt growth that turned into a natural chemical of some sort, creating this green-blue swamp," Lily wryly smiled. "We¡¯ll get out faster this time," Almond smiled andmanded Chimera Archfiend. "Alfred, you go and take Chimera with you. Once you are at on the surface, hook your one snake hand at the edge to remain above, and stretch your three snake hands to here to pull us." Chimera Viperfiend¡¯s four arms could stretch up to 20 meters, and the distance from here to the surface was merely thirteen meters. ording to Almond¡¯smand, both Alfred and Chimera went up first before three snake arms entered the passage after a minute. Almond, Lily, and Natalia grabbed an arm each before Chimera pulled them up as they swiftly tore through the mud pond and emerged. After cleaning themselves again with the 1-ton water pouch, the party started moving towards Briarwood Grove. They arrived there after an hour, and there were monsters on the way. Almond killed two new varieties of wandering monsters of the mountain, but they were silver level 4 and 5, respectively. ¡¯Time to test Spirit Devour.¡¯ [You have devoured Silver level 4 Blue me Deer Spirit.] [You have gained 0 stat points.] Although he expected that, he still felt a bit disappointed. ¡¯Next try.¡¯ [You have devoured silver level 5 Green me Stag.] [You have gained 0 stat points.] ¡¯Fuck.¡¯ "It seems you didn¡¯t get any from either," Lily said as she saw Almond¡¯s expression. "Yeah. Geez, I want to see if I¡¯ll get from level 6 and further. Briarwood Grove has monsters from levels 5 to 7, and there are no Boss-type monsters there like the previous three general areas. If I don¡¯t get stats from level 6 or level 7 monsters there, then we¡¯ll rush through it and go to Frostbite Cliffs." Almond opened his magic parchment and zoomed towards Frostbite cliffs. *** [Fairy Mountain]¡ªMajor Location. 1. Nest of Willowbees¡ªBronze rank level 7 - 10 2. Cavern of ssze Bears¡ªSilver rank level 1-3 3. The Shimmering Fen¡ªSilver rank level 3 - 5 4. Briarwood Grove¡ªSilver rank level 5 - 7. 5. Frostbite Cliffs¡ªSilver rank level 7 to 10. -Secret Areas on the mountain: ¡ª> White Pn¡¯s Lair¡ªSilver rank level 1 to 10. -Field Bosses on the mountain: ¡ª> de Mantis¡ªBronze rank level 10. ¡ª> Maddening Beaver¡ªSilver rank level 5. ¡ª> Wandering Fairy¡ªSilver rank level 10. *** "Here, there¡¯s a hidden boss in the Frostbite Cliffs. It¡¯s been exposed for years, but due to the difficulty of getting there because of the risk of falling off to death, not many parties try to go there," Almond said with a ferocious grin. "We¡¯ll hunt it. That¡¯s a must." "Of course. That hidden boss drops a random skill from rank D to A rank with a 100% guarantee," Lily grinned back. "With our party, we can defeat it easily." "Damn, there¡¯s a boss like that?" Natalia was startled. "Yep, but people actually die before getting to the boss. That¡¯s why it is a famous death trap. Usually, only high-ranking Adventurers go there. Even if they are suppressed to silver level 5 stats of their past self, their skills are not. So with some good skills¡¯ help, they can reach there." "We can reach there, all thanks to Chimera Viperfiend," Almond grinned. "And the boss is not even as hard as White King Manticore." "Yep. And¡­we have arrived," Lily observed ahead. Briarwood Grove stretched before them, dotted with yellow flowers covered in sharp spikes and trees bearingrge, prickly yellow fruits that dangled from high branches. Chapter 40: Wandering Fairy Hunt {-Briarwood Grove-}¡ªSilver Level 5-7 Area. -A once beautiful grove now overgrown with dangerous, magical thorny flora and fauna inhabited by Thornwalkers, sentient nt humanoid-like creatures, along with Briarweb Spiders and Gloombriar Shrooms that use the thornyndscape to their advantage. The grove pulses with corrupted energy, creating a hostile environment. -Key Features: Dense, twisting thorny bushes, dark energy pulses, and overgrown ruins. -Monsters: ¡ªThornwalker¡ªSilver level 5 to 7. ¡ª Briarweb Spiders¡ªSilver level 5 to 7. ¡ª Gloombristal Shrooms¡ªSilver level 5 to 7. The party entered the creepy forest full of thorns. Fortunately, not all thorns were poisonous, but the monsters here were most poisonous. The party entered with Chimera Viperfiend clearing the way. With this tanky guy, no traps, thorns, or poison could block their path. Being resistant to poisons and even able to absorb them, Chimera Viperfiend was a bane of monsters in this area. It wasn¡¯t long before they killed their first batch of monsters, numbering six. [You have devoured Silver level 6 Thornwalker Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Health.] ¡¯Oh?¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes twinkled. ¡¯So, it works on Silver level 6 monster spirits. It¡¯s only half a stat point, so I suppose I won¡¯t get more.¡¯ But there was no harm in trying since he didn¡¯tck Spirits. [You have devoured Silver level 7 Thornwalker Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Health] ¡¯Alright. I guess that¡¯s how it works.¡¯ ¡¯I am sure to gain more stats from level 8 since I know that for sure, but I guess any lower, and I¡¯ll only get half a stat point per type of monster at levels 6 and 7. That¡¯s one stat point, so it¡¯s still worth it.¡¯ "Alright, I¡¯m done. Let¡¯s continue." The party continued as it went deeper into the forest, but instead of going roundabout like in the Shimmering Fen, they followed the map to take the shortest route to get out so they could reach the Frostbite Cliffs before the evening. After all, there was no need for excessive farming here since they had already reached the maximum level possible on the first floor thanks to farming in the hidden area, White Pn¡¯sir. Almond started using some Spirits of monsters from White Pn¡¯sir to make space for monster spirits of Briarwood Grove. He increased his stat points, even if it was only one stat point per type of monster here. [You have devoured a level 6 Gloomblister Shroom Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Perception.] [You have devoured a level 7 Gloomblister Shroom Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Mana.] [You have devoured a level 6 Briarweb Spider Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Focus.] [You have devoured a level 7 Briarweb Spider Spirit.] [You have gained +0.5 Health.] An hourter, the group sessfully left the Briarwood Grove. There was a distance of a bit over one kilometer until they reached the Frostbite Cliff area at the top of the mountain, but before that, they had to kill the Wandering Fairy. Wandering Fairy¡ªSilver level 10 Boss-type Monster. A mage-like monster that used whatever area she was to her advantage using her nature magic. Evolving nearby nts and guiding wandering monsters to hermand, along with using direct nature-magic skills, was her specialty. She could very well be the toughest boss monster to defeat if one was unlucky, but that also meant that if a party used their brains and isted her properly in a small area, she could be easy to defeat because she wasn¡¯t that tough. Unfortunately for Wandering Fairy of this period, Almond and the gang were her worst enemies due to having two talented attackers with high-ranked skills and three more with much versatility along with a bunch of items. After the party found Wandering Fairy, they didn¡¯t attack directly but waited for her to wander toward a rtively barren area with more stones and less greenery due to the rocky terrain. It took over forty minutes of stalking the fairy, but they had time to waste, so they leisurely stalked the monster until it wandered to a disadvantageous area. The rest was easy. The battle started with Chimera Viperfiend¡¯s Nightmare Mist skill, causing the Wandering Fairy to flinch and cower. If she had seen anyone, then it would¡¯ve taken time, and she could have used a skill before Nightmare Mist took effect, but by getting stuck with Nightmare Mist first out of nowhere, the effect was quick, and looking at Almond, Lily, Natalia, and Alfred caused her to cower slightly, prompting her to escape first instead of attacking. But how could she escape? n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Almond and Lily were swift in their attacks. Lily shot a Bog Slither Arrow while Natalia used her debuff skill, Sparkling Dust. The arrow quickly caused vines to produce as it ensnared the Wandering Fairy, ensuring that Sparkling Dust took effect. Half a secondter, Almond arrived with a super fast dash aided by Gravity Repel, the cold de of his sword targetting Wandering Fairy¡¯s neck. But this wasn¡¯t a boss monster that died just by getting beheaded. It was a boss monster with some tricks. Her fallen head produced vine-like threads that rooted on the rocky ground, causing the ground to crack before a golem formed. ¡¯Viperfang Shot.¡¯ Chimera Viperfiend sted four orbs with snake-head designs with open mouths and gleaming fangs ready to bite from its snake-like arm¡¯s hands. Alfred unleashed an Icicle Spear Shot at the golem¡¯s lower body, making it freeze on the ground and immobilize it. Natalia and Lily attacked its original body since it was also capable of using skills, while Almond unleashed a devastating full-powered sword attack on the golem with the fairy¡¯s head. There was a striking weakness to both after this transformation, which was why Almond aimed to behead her. For the golem¡¯s body, it was a core right below the head, tucked inside a rock safely. For the headless original body that made a makeshift head with leaves and vines, it was the heart area. Lily threw a dagger and stabbed one into her heart while Natalia used Light Pebbles to destroy her wings, preventing her from flying. Meanwhile, Almond¡¯s sword squarely pierced through the rocky throat and destroyed the core. [Congrattions. You have defeated the field boss¡ªWandering Fairy.] [10,000 gold coins to each party member.] "Let¡¯s see if it dropped a rare grade," Natalia grinned. "Nope. I don¡¯t see it," Almond said as he looked at drops on both spots. There were a total of five materials, but no item drop of rare or umon grade. Lily was about to say something, but her pupils suddenly shrank, and she turned around, her daggers in a criss-cross position before her. Almond also turned as he heard some sound and saw a group of ten people. "Damn, you killed Wandering Fairy?" Chapter 41: Camping, Creeps Ten people, all in theirte teens. It was clear they were students of another city¡¯s academy, different from the group they had encountered in ssze Cavern. "Yeah, we killed it," Almond walked and stood beside Lily with Alfred and Chimera Viperfiend at their sides. Behind them was just a rocky terrain wall, and to the sides, open. Natalia stayed at the back as she stayed on the lookout. ¡¯Damn, what¡¯s that monster?¡¯ ¡¯Must be a summon.¡¯ ¡¯That looks a bit familiar¡­I mean, not exactly, but it looks like a mixture of monsters.¡¯ ¡¯Now that you say it, doesn¡¯t that armor and those snake arms look a bit familiar? But it¡¯s as if they got some new design.¡¯ The group started talking in Magic Whisper. It was clear from their lips moving. The group¡¯s leader seemed to be a fair-brown-skinned boy with a rather calm expression and silky short red hair. After Almond spoke, there wasn¡¯t any response for three seconds until the red-haired young man said with a nod, "Sorry for disturbing you. We just heard some big sounds, so we came here to take a look." "No problem. You can go now," Lily nodded, her face deadpan behind her mask. "There¡¯s nothing here." The red-haired young man nodded before turning around, "Let¡¯s go, y¡¯all." ¡¯Bro, we could totally get those materials if we asked.¡¯ ¡¯Yeah, Kr. Wandering Fairy¡¯s drops can be used to craft a mage-type weapon. Either a wand or a staff with some good effects and affinity with nature-magic.¡¯ ¡¯Dolly here has nature-type skills¡­¡¯ ¡¯Shut up,¡¯ Kr snorted. ¡¯Do you think they will give up on their items just because we are high on number? Learn to read the room.¡¯ ¡¯Kr is right,¡¯ a blue-haired girl, Sophie, rimmed up her sses with her finger and said, ¡¯None of them were even the slightest injured even while fighting the Wandering Fairy. Their clothes were also fine. The damage in the surroundings indicates that the Fairy couldn¡¯t do much because they had a very strong attacking style. They also had a lot more items on each of them. It was an unusual party.¡¯ ¡¯They are strong and higher leveled than us,¡¯ Kr narrowed his eyes. ¡¯Especially those two who were at the front. Their vibes were dangerous.¡¯ ¡¯Geez, I don¡¯t know how you can sense those vibes and shit, but gotta trust you on that since we¡¯vee this far thanks to you, Kr.¡¯ ¡¯But wait, we are all at Silver level 7 after farming for hours in Briarwood Grove, and we didn¡¯t even see them there. How are they higher leveled than us?¡¯ ¡¯They must have farmed at a hidden location,¡¯ Sophie answered. ¡¯That¡¯s the only answer. Also, they were the first to clear the Shimmering Fen. I remember seeing them at the camping area there.¡¯ ¡¯To be honest, I didn¡¯t get a clear picture like Kr, but yeah, those two looked bad news to me, too.¡¯ ¡¯We¡¯ll meet them again soon,¡¯ Kr said. ¡¯They should be nning to camp at Snowrock teau as well. It¡¯s evening, so people would gather there.¡¯ ¡¯Are we also going there already?¡¯ ¡¯Yeah, we¡¯ll rest now. I am also hungry, so y¡¯all better cook something good.¡¯ ¡­ After storing Wandering Fairy¡¯s materials and its Spirit, the group stayed there to recover for a bit before walking towards the snowrock teau for camping. They were the fourth to arrive there and easily got a good spot for the camping. Snowrock teau was just half a kilometer away from the border of Frostbite cliffs located in the east of the upper part of the mountain. Most people camping here would go to the Frostbite cliffs after resting to kill monsters there. The monsters there were the strongest in terms of troublesomeness and power, but their numbers were high, and it was a good spot to farm to reach Silver level 10. Almond put away Chimera Viperfiend in the spirit pocket to see how the storing worked since he obviously couldn¡¯t go around with Spirit Wraiths after he left the Labyrinth. Fortunately, the slots to put Spirit Wraith were different, and from that, it appeared that he could keep 10 Spirit Wraiths stored. But since it didn¡¯t take up a slot after he summoned them outside, it was safe to assume that there was no particr limit on the number of Spirit Wraiths he could have. Lily and Natalia took a bath first, and then Almond went inside to freshen up while those two started preparing for dinner. After he finished bathing, Almondy on the bed inside and opened Spirit Kodoku. It was time to create a new Spirit Wraith. 3 x White Pn Tiger Spirit. 3 x White Dust Centipede. 3 x Lethal Fang Rabbit. 3 x White Reaper Beetle. 3 x Chilling Spark Panther. 3 x Sabersnout Hog. 2 x Thornwalker. ¡¯That¡¯s twenty.¡¯ Amond was about to activate it, but he looked at the list, and something clicked in him. ¡¯No, wait¡­¡¯ If possible, he wanted a slightly more humanoid Spirit Wraith than Chimera Viperfiend next. Among the types of Spirits he had, the only humanoid-type monster was Thornwalker! ¡¯Chilling Spark Panther is not needed since I already added White Pn Tiger. Both are kinda simr, but just different skill sets.¡¯ ¡¯Rabbit for agility, Beetle for toughness and wings, Centipede for poison and toughness, Sabersnout had a sword at its snout¡­this could be interesting.¡¯ He adjusted the Spirits to add inside. 5 x Thornwalker. 3 x White Pn Tiger Spirit. 3 x Lethal Fang Rabbit. 3 x Sabersnout Hog. 2 x White Dust Centipede. 2 x White Reaper Beetle. 2 x Briarweb Spider. ¡¯Yep. This looks good, and hopefully, it will make for an interesting Spirit Wraith,¡¯ Almond grinned and activated Spirit Kodoku with these twenty Spirits. Almond got up and was about to go out when he suddenly heard some sounds along with a clear voice. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Hey, beautifuldies. It looks like you¡¯d love apany, haha. How about we have dinner together?" Almond raised his eyebrows, his hands slightly shaking. Noticing it, he stopped right before the exit. ¡¯The fuck¡­Am I expecting a drama and getting excited about it? Don¡¯t tell me¡­¡¯ Almond gulped, his fist clenching. ¡¯I want to kill people? Am I hoping for a conflict that would result in us killing them to get human Spirits?¡¯ Chapter 42: Treacherous Bastards It wasn¡¯t like the thought and desire to add human Spirit in the Spirit Kodoku didn¡¯t cross his mind. But he didn¡¯t want to kill people for it¡­¡¯Unless they want to kill us,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. Almond stepped out and saw four young men in theirte teens, along with a man in his mid-twenties. There was also when Natalia was shooing them, waving the vegetable knife at them, "Go away, we are busy." "Leave," Lily said, looking at them with a deadpan expression. "Woah, chill, chill. We were just asking." "And it seems you are not alone, eh?" One of them spoke upon seeing Almonding out. "Haha, what luck you got, friend. Living with two beauties." Almond looked at them, feeling something amiss in their smiling and friendly face. But he didn¡¯t want to sound sour, given their friendly tone. "Yeah, I guess I¡¯m lucky," Almond smiled. "Anyway, if you¡¯ll excuse us now, we could focus on our things." "Yeah, yeah, haha. Enjoy." "We might run to each other again, friend. See you,dies." The group leftughing and smiling but with a sinister air that Almond could strangely feel. "Bunch of trash," Lily muttered and continued peeling the potatoes. "Did you feel it, too?" Almond asked as he sat beside her and started helping. "What did you feel?" Natalia nced at Almond while cutting the potatoes. "I just feel like they have some ulterior motive," Almond frowned. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "I did feel their bad intentions," Lily nodded, her eyes icy. "My Phantom¡¯s sixth sense could feel it." Almond narrowed his eyes, "The way that guy spoke at the end about seeing each other again¡­it seems they won¡¯t leave us alone." "What? Fucking hell," Natalia muttered. "So, are they horny dickheads like that Zoren bastard?" "Not different from him, for sure," Lily said as she coldly nced in their direction. "They won¡¯t make a move here with many groups, which means they will likely follow us or find us in the Frostbite Cliffs area," Almond said as he cracked his finger, "We should prepare to bury them there if they have some ns for us." "If they have any weird ideas, then we¡¯ll strike first if they run into us again," Lily sharply said as her hands blurred, cutting the potato she peeled into dices. "What are we making?" Almond asked as he looked at the veggies and meat. "Torti meat wrap and fried leaf meatballs," Natalia grinned. "My original recipe." "Just make sure we don¡¯t get diarrhea," Almond chuckled. Lilyughed while Natalia snorted and replied, "Fine, you can make your own dish." "Come on, I was just joking...you thought I would say that?" Almond grinned and rolled up his sleeves. "We¡¯ll make something ording to my recipes today. Living alone for so long has its merits, you know?" ¡­ After having a good meal, Almond kept Chimera Viperfiend and Alfred, who summoned wolves to be on the lookout while they leisurely fell asleep without worry. If anyone approached them or something happened, the Spirit Wraiths could quickly wake up Almond. Naturally, the spirit wraiths that stood guard around their tent attracted the attention of everyone. Many of them were the ones who had seen Alfred already at the camping area at the Shimmering Fen, but seeing an eldritch monster in the addition this time, the people couldn¡¯t help but wonder about them. There were also groups who had entered the first floor for the second time. Some people wouldn¡¯t level up that high on their first try, and once the first three days passed, some of them wouldn¡¯t enter the First floor of thebyrinth during this month because the danger would¡¯ve increased. The group that approached Lily and Natalia while they were preparing the meal was one such group. The four eighteen-year-old young men had entered the Labyrinth¡¯s first floor a month ago but only reached Silver level 5 or 6 before leaving. And the reason they didn¡¯t progress all the way was nasty and criminal. During their first run, they had a taste of the debauchery they could do and had their first kill as well. It was none other than the two girls they brought with them to their party. These four assholes had fun with those girls for two days at the Valley of Shadowsong, a big area just like Fairy Mountain, since they were close to that area when they arrived on the first floor the previous time. They also didn¡¯t have a Knight at that time as they hadn¡¯t entered a Guild yet. But after entering the Guild, they waited a month before entering the Labyrinth again. This time, they had a Knight with them sent by the guild to observe their performance. As the moon shone in the sky, the Knight went to sleep in the tent while the four youngsters sat around the firecamp, talking with each other using Magic Whisper. "What¡¯s the n, guys? Do we tell that Knight about it?" "That guy seems upright and all, what if he disagrees?" "Damn, I¡¯m telling you guys, we are doing this," one of them licked his lips with a crazed expression as he remembered the experience a month ago. "Don¡¯t tell me you all didn¡¯t enjoy that? I mean, who the fuck can catch us here?" "We gon get those two bitches for sure, but the topic, how do we go about at it? And what about the Knight?" "I have an idea." Everyone looked at the dark-skinned guy with a military cut in the group, their ears perking. "First, we¡¯ll leave once those girls leave. We have to follow them, and we have a good skill for it thanks to Jayson¡¯s Eagle Eye skill. He can look at them from afar." Everyone nodded before a blond-haired guy called Roderic asked, "Good. What about the Knight, Izaak?" "Once we arrive at a rtively isted ce in the Frostbite Cliff somewhere, I¡¯ll ask the Knight about the main question," Izaak grinned. "You¡¯ll stay in his blind spot and look at my hand." "I¡¯ll ask him what does he think about capturing those two bitches and having fun in ourst day here. If he expresses displeasure and tries to lecture us, I¡¯ll show my first two fingers," Izaak¡¯s eyes glinted. "At that sign, you three will attack him at once." "He needs to die, or he will kill us if we fight, not all, but some of us might die in the fight even if he is lower level since he got better skills than us." Chapter 43: Frostbite Cliffs, Making a Move "Damn, that¡¯s a good idea. Alright, let¡¯s go to fucking sleep now, but in turns. We gotta keep an eye on that tent." "We¡¯ll take a turn of one and a half hours each. I¡¯ll keep on the lookout first," a slim and tall guy with long brown hair said. "You wish, Loke. I worked hardest today, so I¡¯ll look out first and then have a long sweet sleep, motherfuckers." "Fuck no, Jayson. We are doing rock paper scissors for this shit." "First andst slot is best, heh. Alright, no getting sour over the results, fes," Roderic said, grinning. "Let¡¯s start." ¡­ Almond, Lily, and Natalia fell asleep by the time the clock hit 8:30 p.m., while most of the parties were also sleeping by 9. There was no disturbance of any sort during the night, so when Almond¡¯s eyes opened, it was already 4 o¡¯clock in the morning. Seven hours of sleep, and he would automatically wake up. "Get up. I want to take a dump," Almond got up and lightly kicked their legs as they woke up. "Be quick," Natalia said as she went out, followed by Lily. By the time the clock hit 4:30, the group had packed up and began walking. A few others were also packing up, one of which was the group of four little assholes who were courting death. ¡­ {-Frostbite Cliffs-}¡ªSilver level 7 to 10 Area. -The Frostbite Cliffs rise high on Fairy Mountain, where the air is thin, biting cold, and perpetually dusted with swirling snow. This frigid expanse is covered in sheets of ice and jagged cliffs, providing the most challenging area for the adventurers to tread. The cliffs have an ethereal glow from the frost crystals that shimmer under any avable light, and the sky above is often obscured by thick, rolling clouds, asionally broken by shes of lightning that illuminate the mountain peaks. -Key features: ice-covered terrains, frigid winds, perilous ledges and caverns, frequent avnches. -Monsters: ¡ª Ice golems¡ªSilver level 7 to 10. ¡ª Snowspine Leopards¡ªSilver level 7 to 10. ¡ª Stormwing Butterflies¡ªSilver level 7 to 10. ¡ª Frostfeather Harpy¡ªSilver level 10 hidden boss. The party moved towards the northeast direction in the Frostbite Cliffs. Down the cliff, there was a wide yet slippery icy ledge with a cavern¡¯s entrance inside where the hidden bossy. It was extremely dangerous to reach there because a slight mistake would result in a fall amidst biting cold and strong winds, straight to death. But it was at the very end of the northeast, so there was still a considerable distance to cross. After an hour of roaming and hunting leisurely, Almond had devoured all three kinds of monsters of all levels, gaining more stat points. With his current capabilities, he could literally one-shot any monster with a single sword move, and while Lily could also do that, she would need more energy overall to do that, while Almond could do that with rtive ease. All in all, Almond devoured many spirits and gained another surge in stats. Ice Golems: ¡ª> Level 7: 0.5 Health. ¡ª> Level 8: +1 Stamina. ¡ª> Level 9: +1 Strength, +1 Perception. ¡ª> Level 10: +2 Focus, +1 Health. Snowspine Leopard: ¡ª> Level 7: +0.5 Mana ¡ª> Level 8: +1 Health ¡ª> Level 9: +1 Strength, +1 Stamina ¡ª> Level 10: +2 Health, +1 Perception. Stormwing Butterfly: ¡ª> Level 7: +0.5 Mana ¡ª> Level 8: +1 Focus ¡ª> Level 9: +1.5 Health, +1 Perception ¡ª> Level 10: +2 Mana, +1 Stamina In total, he gained stat points equivalent to leveling up six times +1.5 stat points. [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Silver. -Level: 10 [42%] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 750/750] -Stats: 10 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 43 | Health: 41| Stamina: 41] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 30 (+45) | Focus: 35| Perception: 34 ] He couldn¡¯t wait to reach 50 in Focus and Perception since it was within his sight. The main advantage of reaching 50 in those two stats was a significantly deeper view into the skills, not to mention the ability to pinpoint Chakra points in one¡¯s body that could open a new world of techniques. One could even find out what stats affected their skill and gain insight into their skills, allowing one to fiddle with skill executions and modifications uponprehending the skill. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om While the party continued moving on the rtively t snowy ground with a low amount of trees, seventy meters behind them was a group following them. "Guys, those three are quite powerful, not to mention their summons. If Big Brother John wasn¡¯t with us, we would have had to cancel our n," Jayson said with a grin. The Knight with the name John heard that and lightly chuckled, nobody noticing a glint passing through his eyes. "Did you find out who is the master of those summons?" Izaak asked. "Yeah, it¡¯s that dude. We gotta take him out first, so his summons will probably vanish." "How are we going to do this?" "Brother John has more skills. We can make a n based on that." "Good idea. It¡¯s better if we can ambush them, but they are moving fast. We have to go around them faster while skipping monster hunting to ambush them." "That¡¯s actually better, yeah. We should do that." "Hehe, I can¡¯t wait, brothers. Let¡¯s go!" "They are going in the same direction since the start, so that makes it easier for us, haha." Jayson led the group in a detour after seeing the general direction in which Almond and others were going. Twenty minutester, they were just sixty meters away from Almond and others, to their left behind a boulder. "Let¡¯s start," John the Knight said as he narrowed his eyes. "Let me repeat the n. Jayson will stand here, ready to use his ss skill: Meteore Arrow after Izaak and Roderic make a dash towards them with my buff and use their attack-type skills, their aim will be that dude." "Loke, since you have a mage ss with offense and defense skills, I want you to act ording to the situation after Izaak and Roderic¡¯s attacks," John said with a serious expression. "Observe and make a decision." "Got it, brother John." "Alright," John was ready with his mace and shield, a cold glint passing through his eyes. He used his ss skill: Warrior¡¯s Blessing, to buff Izaak and Roderic¡¯s Strength by 30%. Izaak had two daggers in his hands while Roderic had a longsword. Both of them were ready and immediately made a dash. "Let¡¯s fucking do this." Chapter 44: Unexpected Turn, and Slip The party was walking leisurely, unaffected by the biting wind and snowfall. To their left, the number of trees was high, making for a good obstacle to vision. Izaak and Roderic moved at full speed through the woods with their weapons and skills ready to unleash. When they were halfway, they saw an arrow streaking above them, going straight for Almond. ¡¯Wait, isn¡¯t this a bit soon?¡¯ Roderic thought, feeling that Jayson shot that arrow early. They were looking at Almond as they continued, something shocking happened in front of their eyes. They saw Almond turning towards the arrow while his hand moved in a way their eyes couldn¡¯t even follow. They only saw a shing spark as his sword struck the arrow, deflecting it as it exploded a meter above him. Getting covered in smoke, Almond felt his ears ringing as he was injured, but not much, his vitality dropping by only 11% as he bled from his ears. But the effects of the arrow still affected him as the concussion from the st made his vision shaky with a headache. ¡¯Those damn rats!¡¯ Almond stabilized himself. Meanwhile, Alfred and Lily reacted instantaneously as they spotted Izaak and Roderic before they couldunch their attacks at Almond. ¡¯What the fuck! He released that arrow fucking early, we ain¡¯t even in the attack range yet, dumbass Jayson!¡¯ Izaak cursed, but there was no going back. Meanwhile, Jayson¡¯s lips trembled, "Brother John, you told me to release the arrow, but wasn¡¯t that a bit too early?" "Arghhhh!!" Jayson suddenly heard a scream from behind and saw John¡¯s mace stuck inside Loke¡¯s chest at his heart. "Yeah, it was early, not that it would make a difference," John said, his eyes flickering with magic as he looked at the Izaak and Roderic. "Those two idiots are not a match against them anyway." Jayson felt his heart turning cold, his eyes trembling. He suddenly aimed his bow at John but only saw John¡¯s body covered in a bronze glow before crashing onto him, feeling his entire body in shambles before he puked blood. "You pieces of trash, I only agreed to your n because I knew what you nned to do if I disagreed, and I also wanted to make sure you assholes died here," John spat on Jayson before crushing his head with his glowing foot as he used Physical Enchant. *St* John looked at Izaak and Roderic but saw that they couldn¡¯t even hold a candle against their opponents. Roderic immediately lost his head a few seconds into the battle as Lily beheaded from behind while Alfred simply overpowered Izaak, unarming him by cutting his arm from his elbow and then cutting him into two with the me-coated scimitar. Almond had already injected himself with a Spirit Syringe and walked towards Lily and Alfred. "These fuckers really courted death," Natalia made a disgusted face as she looked at the dead bodies. Almond captured their spirits and looked ahead. "There¡¯s more," Lily said. "The one who shot the arrow." "Let¡¯s go," Almond used Physical Enchant and made a dash towards them at full speed, but it wasn¡¯t long before he saw a man standing with both of his hands raised high. Lily raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw two dead people nearby, "Did you kill them?" "Yeah," John nodded, his hands still high. Natalia, Alfred, and Chimera also arrived there, staying behind Almond and Lily to be on the lookout. Almond captured the two more human spirits. "Weren¡¯t you this group¡¯s Knight?" Almond asked, confused. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I was here as an observer since they joined my guild," John nodded, "But they turned out to be pieces of trash. They had assaulted two girls in their previous run here and sexually tortured them for two days. Little assholes wanted to do that again and even told me about it." Lily and Almond understood the gist. "So you pretended to agree with them," Lily¡¯s eyes shed. "These bastards were going to kill me if I didn¡¯t agree," John coldly smiled. "But these cocky little idiots forgot that I¡¯ve been an Adventurer for five years." "Well, thanks, I guess?" Almond said. "You can put down your hands now." "John caster. I live in Desmod City and am vice president of the Death Angel Guild," John said as he put his hands down and smiled. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, promising adventurers." "I¡¯ll get going now. Come find me if you want some help in Desmod City." John left without waiting, dashing away with silent steps on the snow. "Hehe, serves these assholes right," Natalia sneered. "They got what they deserved." "And I got some human spirits," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he looked at the dead bodies. "I¡¯ll make good use of them." The party continued moving towards their destination and encountered two more monster groups. Almond refilled his Spirit Syringe stock during the battle. Ten minutester, they finally arrived at the edge, overlooking a vast and exotic territory ahead. "Fallen Monastery Town is ten kilometers away, below that patch of dark clouds," Almond said as he looked at dark clouds far away. "I¡¯ll go there to hunt after finishing here." "That aside, this is damn scary," Natalia said as she looked at the steep cliff, quickly moving back after taking a look. "Fortunately, the ground here is solid since the snow isn¡¯t gathering here much," Lily said as she looked around the ground before turning to the edge. "Which one of those three ledges are we looking tond on?" "The middle one to our right. This won¡¯t be hard with Viperfiend¡¯s help," Almond smiled. "Let¡¯s go." "Let me go first," Lily said as she crisscrossed her daggers. "I can also stab the daggers into the ice and get hold." "Alright." "Be careful," Natalia bit her lips. "Don¡¯t fall to death, or I won¡¯t have a chance to drink Mama Lily¡¯s milk." Lily rolled her eyes. "Get ready," Almond said before hemanded Viperfiend. Shortly, Lily¡¯s waist was wrapped by the Viperfiend¡¯s arm. Afterward, she jumped off the cliff without hesitation, nearly causing Natalia¡¯s heart to leap, "Gosh, this girl is too much." Lily maneuvered in the air as she turned around and swung towards the wall with momentum, stabbing the daggers into the wall as she stopped and started moving towards the ledger. Almond chuckled andmanded Viperfiend to do the same to him before he also jumped off. "I think I¡¯m good here, and anyway, you two and Alfred can kill the boss yourselves!" Natalia shouted while standing at the edge. But suddenly, her feet slipped and she fell forward as her horrified scream rang out. Fortunately, Viperfiend had enough intelligence to react to save an ally as his third arm stretched and quickly wrapped around Natalia¡¯s waist. She crashed into the wall before as her tears and snot ran out. "Fuck my life!" Almond and Lily were already at the ledger as they sessfullynded and saw Natalia dangling with tearful eyes and frozen snot as biting winds struck her, causing their lips to twitch as they held backughter. "Well, you¡¯re already here, so you might as well join us," Almond said with augh before hemanded his summon. "Vipefiend, move her to our side a bit. And don¡¯t stand at the edge, or you might slip too." "Come baby, Mama will lend you a hand," Lily chuckled as she stretched her hand. Chapter 45: Frostfeather Harpys Juicy Reward After everyone arrived at the cave, they entered and walked through the passage for fifty meters before arriving at an icy cavern. At the center was a ten-meter-tall harpy with her frosty wings curled up around her. The moment they exited the passage and entered the cavern, Frostfeather Harpy woke up and screeched sharply as ice pirs produced around her, and she flew up. "You know the n. This will be our quickest boss fight," Almond grinned. "Let¡¯s start." Viperfiend, Alfred, and Almond went first, attracting her attention. Viperfiend and Alfred unleashed their long-range skill attacks while Almond waited as he took a potion at far left, his eyes on the monster. Natalia and Lily also took up a crossbow and bow, respectively, shooting arrows. Lily also used her newly acquired ss skill during this¡ªPhantom Moon¡¯s Edge. [Phantom Moon¡¯s Edge]: -Effect 1: Grants 100% pration boost and 50% damage boost to any attack. 50 Mana cost. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om -Effect 2: Disintegrate a weapon-type item and covert its entire potential into a single highly prative projectile attack of any shape you desire. 100 Mana cost. The higher the Mana consumption when using this, the higher the potential boost. Lily fired two arrows instead of one, both being produced from the magic quiver. She used both effects of her new skills, enhancing one arrow with 1st effect and using 2nd effect on the second arrow as it disintegrated and shaped into a vertical sh of hazy white light, slicing off Harpy¡¯s right wing. Before her wing was sliced off, Harpy had attacked Alfred and Viperfiend with Ice Shards, but that was the only attack she could make before everyone¡¯s attacks struck her¡­including Almond¡¯s ultimate attack. Spirit Explosions x 20! Ten in front of her. Ten behind her. *BOOOOOOOOOM!* The stacked explosions of 20 Spirits were destructive, to say the least, not to mention that seven of them burst out in special effects! The harpy was immediately frozen and attacked with unique ice-type attacks and poison attacks as Almond had used ten spirits of monsters from White Pn¡¯sir and the other ten from Frostbite Cliffs area! "This is crazy," Natalia muttered. "Isn¡¯t that too op, Lily?" "It is," Lily nodded. "It doesn¡¯t cost Mana, so he can stack 100 Spirits¡­Imagine the damage from those." "Fuck¡­" [Congrattions on defeating the hidden boss, Frostfeather Harpy. Everyone in the party is rewarded 10,000 gold coins and one random skill generation, which you can ess in your status. Good luck.] The battle was over, and everyone reached the peak of level 10. Their level of progress stopped at 10[99%]. The only way to reach level 11 would be when they entered the 2nd Floor of the Labyrinth and killed their first level 11 monster. "No rare drops. But we got nice materials," Almond said as he looked at the drops. "Money," Natalia grinned. Thinking of something, she blinked and asked Almond, "Wait, you don¡¯t want to craft items with materials, right?" "Nah, I don¡¯t need it because I have a factory," Almondughed. "We¡¯ll sell them." "Yey! The materials sell for a good price whilemissioning to craft an item will instead cost us," Natalia was happy with the decision. "And Lily doesn¡¯t want gold coins from them, so it¡¯s only for us to split." "Really?" Almond turned to Lily. "Yep. You two keep the gold coins from selling things. I¡¯m getting a big sry on gold coins from the guild on top of 50% of whatever I¡¯ll earn myself from their Dungeons." Since Dungeon Doors randomly appeared all over the world, their ownership became territorial. Big guilds hadrger territories under their name, so they had ess to more dungeons. GAA and Earth Union had the highest territory as they were a kind of new joint government of the world, so they had ess to a lot of dungeons whose ess they provided to smaller guilds and their own Adventurers. "That¡¯s a nice deal, but I guess you¡¯ll be an Adventurer celebrity with that and all the stuff thates with it," Almond wryly smiled. "Yeah, we¡¯ll have to participate in some events andpetitions and other stuff you see in media, but¡­" Lily shrugged before she put her arms around his shoulder and grinned, "I want you in my life from now on, so well, I am happy." "So you were waiting for someone to make your life interesting, eh?" Almond smiled as his hands went around her waist, but both of them suddenly remembered something and nced at Natalia. Natalia clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. "Fine, you can kiss this time." ¡­ The party sat down in the cavern, ready to unveil their most important reward. Random Skill Generation! At the end of their profile status was a new tab [Random Skill Generation (D to A)]. "Time to use my good luck spell. Z, Arrsaka, Voodoo, Zing, Bing, Bong," Natalia spluttered gibberish with her eyes rolling upward, causing Almond and Lily to be speechless. "Come to me, A-rank skill!" Natalia pressed the tab as a notification rang. "What did you get?" Lily asked. "That was some advanced spell, for sure. It might have worked," Almond snickered. Natalia appeared nk as she read the notification. Silence ensured as Lily and Almond looked at each other after not getting any response for two seconds. "Wh-" Almond was interrupted by Natalia¡¯s shriek as she raised her arms with an excited expression. "Let¡¯s fucking go! Call me Divine Witch Natalia from now on!" "It¡¯s just an A-rank skill," Almond wryly smiled. "Well, you¡¯re wrong," Natalia¡¯s smile had stretched from ear to ear as she shared the notification. [Congrattions. You have triggered a lucky break, acquiring an S-rank skill: Arcane Bastion from the Random Skill Generation.] "S-rank?" Lily was taken aback. Almond was dumbfounded, "Holy shit, Divine Witch Natalia, alright." "What does it do?" Lily curiously asked. Natalia shared the skill status with a grin, "It¡¯s awesome!" [Arcane Bastion] -Skill rank: S -Effect: Conjures a tower shield in front of you, capable of absorbing damage and generating Bastion Aura based on damage it absorbed. ¡ªBastion Aura: You can use Bastion aura to boost an attack or heal. Bastion Aura limit is based on the amount of Mana consumed when using the skill. -Cost: 100 Mana. "That¡¯s truly a good skill," Almond raised his eyebrows. "Suppose you consume 300 Mana on this skill to defend against a powerful attack, storing a high amount of Bastion Aura and then use your remaining 100 Mana to use Action Mirage skill, copying an attack and boosting it with Bastion Aura to increase its power." "Hoho, nice idea. This skill cane in clutch in that style," Natalia grinned. "Lucky," Lily wryly smiled. "Let¡¯s see what do we get, Almond." "I ain¡¯t using my spell for you two," Natalia snorted. "Yeah, yeah," Almond rolled his eyes. Pressing on the button with his thought, the tab [Random Skill Generation] disappeared and a notification rang. [Congrattions. You have acquired a B-rank skill: Lightning Lash.] [Lightning Lash] -Skill rank: B -Effect: ¡ª> Lashes at an enemy within 10 meters of yourself with a lightning whip from either of your hands. Has a chance to shock the target if the target takes damage from the skill properly. Shock ailment was different from paralyzing. Shock could weaken the enemy, slowing down their action and responses. Lightning-attributed attacks could also cause paralyzing, but this skill couldn¡¯t do it given how it was structured ording to the effect. ¡¯Well, not bad. Once I hit 50 in Focus and Perception, I might be able to improve it,¡¯ Almond truly couldn¡¯t wait to explore the world of magic and learn how the skills were created. Chapter 46: 2nd Quest of Specialised Class Series "What did you get?" Lily asked before adding with a downcast smile. "I got a measly D-rank skill: Water Palm..." "It wasn¡¯t that bad for me, but nothing impressive," Almond said as he shared his skill with the duo. "Anyway, once we reach 50 points in Focus and Perception, we might be able to improvise these skills, so all skills are wee." "True," Lily nodded while looking at her status in the quest section. "Well, it¡¯s time to start with our final ordeal here." "Yes!" Natalia said as she remembered it, her expression turning somber. "You two gotta help me, alright? I heard discussing such stuff can give us ideas." "That¡¯s not wrong," Almond faintly smiled. "Alright, let¡¯s settle your skill first. I already have an idea of mine, which I will expand my way." "Same," Lily said before adding with a chuckle. "Let¡¯s fill up Nat¡¯s empty brain first." "Hey!" ¡­ After discussing for ten minutes¡­ "So, I have to imagine an orchestra of different instruments, all releasing different kinds of powers, giving buffs, and debuffs¡­." Natalia muttered. Lily and Almond nodded. Natalia¡¯s ss name was Chaosbound Serenador. Imagining a mystical array of instruments with all-around effects inbat seemed suitable to the name. To give it more substance, Almond said, "Natalia, imagine these chaotic instruments facing a horde of monsters all around you. You are alone with your array of mystical instruments produced from your skills." "Image all kinds of effects and attacks. Destructive sound waves of various shapes. Sound-based infiltrative effects like causing Sleep, Shock, confusion, Charm, and everything you can think of." "The goal is to just imagine without limitation about what your first ss skill can do, based on your ss¡¯s name." Natalia closed her eyes and began imagination, entering deep focus. Lily smiled, "This should be more than enough. I can¡¯t think of anything else rted to her ss." "Yeah," Almond cracked his neck and sat straight as he closed his eyes, "We should also start now." Lily nodded and closed her eyes as well. Both of them had ideas of what they wanted to explore with their ss¡¯s name. Almond¡¯s ss name was the most peculiar, but he had the imagination to stretch it open. ¡¯Riftveil Grimde¡­ A grimde . An unplesant de.¡¯ ¡¯A grimde that can cut anything. Create a rift between anything. Not just physically, but ethereally, mentally¡­¡¯ ¡¯Yes. A grimde that can cut off connections between powers, between people.¡¯ ¡¯A grimde that can cut off emotions. A de that cuts off anger, happiness, excitement, sadness, all emotions from someone¡­¡¯ ¡¯A grimde that cuts off a mana flow of someone¡¯ ¡¯A grimde that brings the most unpleasant experience onto someone.¡¯ ¡¯I have to add Veil in the equation too. A veil¡­a cover, a de that can uncover anything¡­unveil anything.¡¯ Almond was in trans as he started imagining everything possible. ¡¯A grimde that sees through mysteries. A grimde that rifts through any veil.¡¯ ¡¯A grimde that creates a veil to preserve everything I have cut¡­for my benefit.¡¯ ¡¯A grimde that cuts off enemy¡¯s strength and veils it¡­for myself? It should be possible. No. This must be possible.¡¯ ¡¯My grimde must cut through the world, cut through the material ne and spiritual nes if they exist.¡¯ ¡¯My grimde must open the veil of mystery of myriad existences so I can explore them for myself.¡¯ Almond¡¯s mind was in overdrive as he was fully absorbed in exploring the imagination he could make with his ss. Time passed, and half an hour passed when he was done. Almond decided to epass everything he had imagined into a single skill, naming it¡­Grimde Art: the Paradox of Riftveil. ¡¯Submit.¡¯ [You have submitted your imagined skill to portray the potential you see in your ss.] [Evaluating¡­.] Almond opened his eyes and took a deep breath. "It seems you are also done," Lily said with a smile upon seeing Almond opening his eyes. "What did you name your skill?" Almond grinned as he answered, "Grimde Art: the Paradox of Riftveil." "Ooo, that sounds like a super edgy overpowered name, eh?" Natalia chuckled. "Well, I named my skill Myriad Symphony of Sound." "I have a better name, do you want it?" Almond smirked. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Sure!" Natalia crossed her arms. "Behold¡ªHarmonious Crescendo of Anarchy." Lily¡¯s eyes twinkled, "That¡¯s way better. Nat, use it." "Damn, boi! Alright, I¡¯ll use it," Natalia was amazed. "What about your name, Lily?" Almond curiously asked. "Dreadspire Warlock can have way more options, more than Natalia¡¯s ss and mine." "Yeah, since it¡¯s a Warlock, I could go in any direction in the realm of magic," Lily smiled. "I decided to emphasize Curse and Death as this is also suitable with Dreadspire word." "And my skill¡¯s name is," Lily grinned, pausing for a second before revealing, "Omen of Abyssal Eldritch. I¡¯ve made sure to imagine cool enchantments too¡­call it Dreadspire Darkened me, Withered Wind, Curseweaved Water, and Gloombound Earth." Almond blinked, amazed. "Impressive! That¡¯s an awesome idea, considering the ss has Warlock. That¡¯s going to be op for sure." "My ss evaluation just arrived!" Natalia eximed as she quickly checked the notification. [Congrattions. The starting rank of your specialized ss is SS-rank. The first skill of your ss has been generated based on your skill imagination input.] "Let¡¯s fucking go! It¡¯s an SS-rank ss," Natalia squealed excitedly. "I can¡¯t believe it¡­won¡¯t I be as powerful as Almond now?!" Lily rolled her eyes, "You wish. His first ss is SS-rank, and it¡¯s aplete one with a skill set and new skills that can be obtained by chance. Specialized sses are different." Almond added with a chuckle as soon as Lily finished, "Natalia, SS-rank is your specialized ss¡¯s potential. It¡¯s up to you to reach that potential by creating and improving your ss skills." "Sigh, you two can¡¯t see me happy, right?" Lily and Almond both rolled their eyes upon hearing that. Nataliaughed, "I know, I know. Specialized ss needs to be nurtured. And it¡¯s thanks to you two that I was able to beat the low chance and acquire a higher-ranked ss than I was initially assigned." "Truly, thanks a lot." "You¡¯re wee," Almond smiled. "It¡¯s fine. You¡¯re my baby, after all," Lily lightlyughed as she patted Natalia¡¯s head. "Now show us your first ss-skill. Let¡¯s see what you got." Chapter 47: OP Skills! [Chaosbound Serenador] -ss rank: SS -ss perk: +100% Mana capacity, +100% Mana recovery. -ss skills: ¡ª> 1. Chaosbound Requiem. [Chaosbound Requiem] -Rank: SS -Effect(s): ¡ª> A requiem to manifest Chaosbound Instruments. 1. Chaosbound Drum: Increases the Strength of allies designated by you and decreases the Strength of enemies based on Mana consumed. 2. Chaosbound Cello: Increase the potency of your skill or a target¡¯s skill, based on Mana consumed. 3. Chaosbound Piano: Unleashes sound-based attacks with shapes ording to your desire. Damage based on Mana consumed. 4. Chaosbound Flute: Charm the enemies to control their body movements forcefully while calming allies. Requires mastery in flute for increased chance of Charm and more Mana to increase intensity. -Cost: 10% of your max Mana locked per Instrument summoned. -Note: Each 10% of your max Mana locked increases your Mana recovery by 10%. "Holy shit¡­." Almond was startled, and so was Lily as they read the skill with amazed expression. "As expected of a Specialized ss," Lily muttered. "They do be very powerful, especially of SS-rank." Natalia was grinning from ear to ear. "Right! It¡¯s so awesome. My Mana pool doubled, and so its recovery." "It¡¯s good indeed," Almond nodded. "But it¡¯s SS-rank," Natalia wryly smiled. "I can¡¯t imagine what kind of power your SSS-rank ss will have." Lily grinned, "We¡¯ll find out soon." "Our evaluations aren¡¯t finished yet, so in the meantime, let¡¯s test your new ss," Almond said and stood up. "Let¡¯s see the Chaosbound Piano¡¯s power." "Yey! I better get the hang of it." ¡­ Five minutester, Natalia slumped on the ground, her expression nk. "It¡¯s fine. You can start learning in the Firefly City," Lily patted her head as she chuckled. It turned out that although the instruments could y themselves with hermand, there was a hidden effect that activated when she yed Piano herself. ¡ªIncreases the effectiveness of the Chaosbound Instrument by up to 100% if the user ys the instrument. It was up to 100%, meaning that if she could y decently like a professional, the boost would be increased by 100%! "You should learn instruments, start with Piano," Almond said with a nod. "I feel like the better you y the instrument, the more its power will increase, and even its effect executions too. It might also go above 100% boost, and this could be some kind of condition for your ss to go to the next rank." Lily nodded in agreement, "Yep. And weren¡¯t you good with guitar?" "True, but there¡¯s no guitar here," Natalia sighed. "Well, I guess I¡¯ll start with learning Piano once we leave." "Good girl," Lily patted her head while grinning. She suddenly got a notification and chuckled, "Nice, I got my evaluation done." [Congrattions. The starting rank of your specialized ss is SSS rank. The first skill of your specialized ss has been generated based on your skill imagination input.] Lily directly shared it with Almond and Natalia as they began reading the information. [Dreadspire Warlock] -ss rank: SSS -ss perk: +100% Mana recovery, +100% Blood recovery. -ss skill(s): ¡ª> 1. Warlock Enchant: Dreadspire Elements. [Warlock Enchant: Dreadspire Elements] -Skill rank: SSS -Effect(s): ¡ª> You can use these four Dreadspire Elements to enchant your weapons or skills with added effects. The higher the mana consumed, the more potent the effects. You can have multiple Dreadspire Elements enchants in one attack. 1. Darkened me: Continuously burns, fueling from the target¡¯s blood, and bans the healing process, even from skills. 2. Withered Wind: Corrode durabilities and defenses. 3. Curseweaved Water: Drains target¡¯s Mana and Stamina. 4. Gloombound Earth: Reduces target¡¯s movement speed and action speed. -Cost: 50 Mana and 1% of Blood per enchant. Stays active for 10 seconds. Every 1% of Blood sacrificed increases potency by 1% and duration by 1 second, and the lower your blood, the more powerful the enchants. "That Darkened me is crazily powerful," Natalia was dumbfounded. "The others too¡­damn! As expected of SSS-rank ss." "You can consume 1% of your blood to increase duration by a whole 1 second," Almond raised his eyebrows. "Not to mention that the ss perk gave you a 100% recovery boost in Blood. This is op, alright." Lily took out her daggers as they were coated in ck me, her face grinning. "This is nice. Alright, I want to check my Blood recovery." "Let¡¯s see," Almond nodded as it was important to check that. He looked at Lily¡¯s vitality, but it was still 100%, although she lost 1% of her Blood. After ten seconds passed by, she started losing 1% of her Blood every second. Meanwhile, the ck mes became darker and glowed more intensely. Three secondster, 1% of her Vitality was reduced. It reduced by another 1% two secondster. And after that, she started losing 1% Vitality every two seconds. Suddenly, Lily changed the enchant as a dark blue watery aura coated around her daggers. The consumption doubled, so Lily removed the Darkened me enchant. "Hit me," Almond said seeing the Curseweaved Water. "Let¡¯s see how long the effect stays on the target once you hit them." Lily slightly cut Almond¡¯s palm, and he immediately saw a debuff on him in his status window while stamina and mana started draining at a weird rate. "It¡¯s a percentage-based reduction for this Curseweaved Water," Almond was startled. "That¡¯s crazy. "Six seconds. It stayed for six seconds." "That¡¯s a lot. And I felt my stamina and Blood recovery increase. Is it because I drained your Stamina?" Lily was surprised. "You can drain stamina? That¡¯s freaking powerful," Natalia was tongue-tied. ¡¯Lily¡¯s vitality was reduced to 83% when she made that sh, so¡­.¡¯ Almond thought of something as he said, "Do it again. Let¡¯s see if the duration of debuff increases since it technically mentioned losing blood would increase the power of Enchants." Moreover, Almond saw that the debuff in his status showed 6.3 seconds, so he figured the duration also increased. Lily made a small sh again, and indeed, the duration increased to 7.1 seconds, and the reduction rate of Mana and Stamina also increased slightly. When she made the second sh, her Vitality had been reduced to 78%! "Alright, your first skill is extremely powerful," Almond grinned. "Well, it¡¯s an SSS rank, so that¡¯s obvious, but this is cool." Lily deactivated the skill and nodded, a thrilled smile on her face. "All four elemental enchants are powerful! And they also have the original elemental attributes on top of these Dreadspire effects." She suddenly thought of something and said, her eyes widened, "But this makes one thing clear. The guild leader of League of Firefly has an SSS-rank specialized ss! My mentor told me about one of his skills in rough detail, and if Ipare it with mine, then it makes sense." "This means that there are indeed people with SSS-rank specialized ss," Almond wryly smiled. "Well, we expected that." "So there should be rtively more numbers of SS-rank specialized ss Adventurers, eh?" Natalia murmured. "Yeah, but this is still rare. We are just way better," Lily cheekily smiled. "And you are lucky you got us to help you with your specialized ss." "Tsk, I don¡¯t deny that." "Having a high-ranked ss is good and all, but in the end, what matters is how good our abilities and hard work are," Almond said as he felt something deep in his heart but couldn¡¯t figure it out. "We don¡¯t be undefeatable with high-ranked sses¡­if we be careless, we die." "Urgh¡­" Almond clutched his head as he suddenly saw some images of pure destruction and shook his head while his breathing turned heavy and uneven. "What happened, Almond? Are you okay?" n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "That¡­" Natalia frowned. "It¡¯s the same as before...." "I¡¯m f-fine," Almond shook his head a few times and rubbed his temples as everything disappeared. The headache was also gone instantly as if it never appeared. "So weird," Almond sighed. Suddenly, a notification rang in his head. [Congrattions. The starting rank of your specialized ss¡­] Chapter 48: Scary Power ¡¯W-What?¡¯ Almond was dumbfounded as he looked at the notification. ¡¯This can¡¯t be.¡¯ Seeing Almond¡¯s expression, Lily and Natalia were confused. Why did he look shocked? Shouldn¡¯t he be excited if he got SSS-rank ss? "Hey, don¡¯t tell me it¡¯s not SSS-rank," Natalia said, frowning. "It can¡¯t be," Lily was speechless. "It shouldn¡¯t be lower than SSS rank." Almond reigned his excitement hearing their words and weakly smiled at them, "It¡¯s not SSS-rank." "Damn!" Natalia clicked her tongue. "That¡¯s really sad. I for sure thought you would get it." "Wait," Lily narrowed her eyes. "You don¡¯t look upset." Almond burst outughing and directly shared his ss details with them. "Well, it¡¯s freaking one rank above SSS rank!" [Riftveil Grimde] -ss rank: Legendary -ss Perk: +100% Perception, +100% Focus, +100 Will. -Legendary Quirk: Riftveil Eyes. -ss skill(s): ¡ª> 1. Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest. "$##&$%@&¡­." Natalia muttered gibberish, "The fuck!?!" Meanwhile, Lily¡¯s eyes were twinkling. "This is incredible..so the legendary-ranked ss gains something called Legendary Quirk...How cool." "Here, let¡¯s check it out first," Almond grinned and shared the quirk¡¯s power. [Riftveil Eyes] -Type: Quirk -Effect: ¡ª> Allows you to see the desired attributes of your targets. Using it will exhaust your mind, and overdoing it will make you unconscious. "What¡¯s it talking about? What kind of attributes?" Natalia tilted her head, confused. "I can check right now," Almond blinked as he used the quirk, looking at Natalia and Lily. A few seconds passed by, but Almond¡¯s brows furrowed. "Nothing¡¯s showing up." He looked at the skill again, and it clicked, "Wait, so it¡¯s up to my desire on what I want to see, eh?" Almond rubbed his chin, "What if I want to see Natalia¡¯s Emotional attributes?" Just as Almond willed that, he saw the attributes. [Empathy: Ability to understand and feel the emotions of others, impacting social rtionships andpassion-based abilities. 83/100] [Compassion: Capacity for kindness and care may affect healing abilities, trust-building, and supportive interactions. 51/100] [Mental Resilience: Emotional toughness, determining how well one can cope with trauma, stress, and adversity. 64/100] [Hope: Optimism or positivity that influences motivation, morale, and one¡¯s ability to inspire others in dire situations. 73/100] [Fear Tolerance: Measures how well one can endure fear, useful in facing intimidating opponents or frightening environments. 52/100] [Confidence: Belief in one¡¯s own abilities, often impacting courage, assertiveness, and performance under pressure. 58/100] [Determination: Drive to achieve a goal regardless of challenges, affecting stamina, persistence, and willpower in difficult tasks. 67/100] [Curiosity: Desire to explore, discover, and learn, impacting intelligence, adaptability, and resourcefulness. 63/100] "This¡­is scary," Almond was shocked as he read the information. "What? What did you read about me?!" Natalia rapidly blinked. "Show me." Lily looked at Almond¡¯s eyes and wryly smiled, "If what I am assuming is right, then it¡¯s indeed scary." "Are you sure you want to see this?" Almond asked as he looked at Natalia. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Natalia¡¯s lips twitched, but she vehemently nodded, "I want to see my mental and emotional attributes, yes!" Just as Natalia said that, Almond actually saw three of her attributes increase by one¡ªfear Tolerance, Mental resilience, and Curiosity! ¡¯Wait, will her attributes be affected if I show this to her?¡¯ Almond was curious now. "Here, take a look, both of you." Soon, they finished reading, and both had different reactions. "Wow¡­" Lily was amazed. And Natalia, "$&#%@%¡­mother of fucking hell¡­" "But this ain¡¯t so bad¡­I am coping well in some areas," Natalia muttered as she nodded, "This is kinda urate now that I think about it." Almond soon saw her attributes increasing again. ¡¯Her mental resilience, fear tolerance, and confidence went up¡­¡¯ ¡¯It seems that since these are all emotional attributes, they can affect each other and change. She is growing, basically, which we all do while living life.¡¯ ¡¯Seeing one¡¯s own attributes in numbers can be quite an experience. People usually have the wrong idea about their attributes unless they dictate it through their actions, which most people don¡¯t really do.¡¯ ¡¯Even myself¡­it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been this talkative and open in front of others¡­I am changing, and I ept these changes.¡¯ Almond was genuinely excited. For someone who prized knowledge and understood its significance, this newfound power was incredible! "Here, Nat. Your attributes increased," Almond shared the updated attributes. "Oh¡­Wow!" Natalia was amazed, and a fire lit in her eyes, her fist clenched. "I-I am going to ovee this shit. Especially my trauma and fear!" "Check mine," Lily said as she stared at Almond. "Check¡­let¡¯s say psychological attributes." "Yeah, but let¡¯s narrow down more," Almond said as his expression turned thoughtful. "I could feel that getting information about eight attributes drained my mental stamina a bit. How about we check your intuition and charisma? Both are in different fields in a way." Lily contemtively nodded. "True. Intuition is psychological, but Charisma¡­can be described as a social and rtional attribute." Almond looked at Lily and willed it, soon getting information about her Intuition and Charisma. [Intuition: The ability to sense things beyond logical understanding, useful for decision-making and detecting hidden motives or traps. 98/100] [Charisma: Natural charm and influence over others, impacting leadership, persuasion, and social interactions. 92/100] "Bingo," Almond grinned and shared it with Natalia and Lily. "I knew these two attributes of yours were crazy high." "Wow, way to go, my oddball Mama Lily." Lily was very flexible in a way, as Almond had seen different faces of her, not to mention her natural beauty that enhanced her Charisma further. As for Intuition, he had experienced that firsthand. Lily smiled, satisfied with the result, "Well, I¡¯m going to reach 100 in both sooner orter." "You will," Almond chuckled. "Anyway, let¡¯s check out the skill now." He glinted as he added, "I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a reason why I have Riftveil Eyes. I may be able to affect these exotic attributes of others." "That¡¯s seriously scary if you can do that," Natalia cringed, getting goosebumps. "True," Lily wryly smiled. "Let¡¯s see," Almond checked the skill and shared it with them. Chapter 49: Power of the Legendary-rank Class [Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest] -Skill rank: Legendary -Effect: ¡ª> Conjure a Grimde only you can see. This de is able to cut through anything up to a divide, physically and ethereally, including the attributes you see via your Riftveil Eyes and ethereal aspects of mystical things, and harvest the cut-off parts. You can use the harvested attributes or aspects for yourself if you wish. -Cost: ¡ª> Dividing any attributes or aspects above 80 will cost 100 + 10% Mana and 20% of your mental stamina. ¡ª> Dividing any attributes or aspects above 50 will cost 50 + 5% Mana and 10% of your mental stamina. ¡ª> Dividing any attributes or aspects below 50 will cost 30 + 3% Mana and 5% of your mental stamina. "Holy moly!" Natalia screeched. "This is way too scary!" It could indeed sh everything by half with every use of the skill! Almond immediately used the skill as an ethereal ck grimde with pale white aesthetic patterns on its de manifested and shed Lily. Lily immediately felt something and saw that her Mana capacity was divided by half! "Crazy," Lily muttered. "So this is the power of a Legendary skill. It¡¯s broken." "It¡¯s awesome," Almond nodded, extremely thrilled, as one could see in his eyes. He suddenly thought of something and wondered, "I can also cut things physically¡­more specifically, divide them. What does that mean?" "Don¡¯t tell me," Almond muttered as he looked at the girls. "Can I try it on you two?" "What?!" Natalia demanded, uncertain and confused, feeling a cold chill. "What are you trying to do?" Lily blinked as she thought of something, "That¡­would be interesting. Do it." Almond grinned as his eyes glinted, reflecting the ethereal grimde as it cut both of them. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om In the next second, Natalia¡¯s height shrank by half, including her clothes and everything she had worn, because Almond thought of dividing her height by half and everything else to be proportional to her height. On the other hand, Lily¡¯s C-cup melons, well, it could bet between C and D, shrank by half! He decided to use the harvested aspects of the girls on him as his bust grew, but not in the woman¡¯s way, and his height also became taller. "Fuck, this is insane," Almond muttered, and he quickly removed the harvested attributes from him while Natalia and Lily returned to normal. "That was so fucking weird," Natalia was dumbfounded. "Everything looked so big to me¡­." "Indeed, it was a bit weird," Lily dryly chuckled. "Well, I am going to mainly use this to divide the target¡¯s stats and boost myself," Almond grinned. "That alone is crazy powerful." "Yeah," Lily nodded. "Almond is getting crazy powerful," Natalia was dazed. "Feels like the protagonist of some movie." "Nah," Almond wryly shook his head. "Though I can¡¯t deny I am getting a windfall here, I still have some deste feeling I can¡¯t exin. Anyway, all I know is getting powerful is my priority, and there¡¯s no stopping it no matter how strong I get." "With that said, let¡¯s get moving," Almond said, smiling as he stood up and stretched his arms. "It¡¯s time to finish our 1st floor¡¯s journey." "Sounds good," Lily grinned. "So, what are we going to do? Trigger the Floor Boss or go through the trial?" "Floor boss with just three of us? No way," Natalia sprung up on her feet and firmly shook her head. "I did consider triggering Floor Boss, but yeah, it¡¯s not worth it right now," Almond said, rubbing his chin. "I mean, I¡¯m pretty sure I can use my Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest on it, weakening it while empowering myself. But that would still be dangerous." "I don¡¯t mind taking the risk, but you are right," Lily nodded. "We also need around three hours just to get to the center of thebyrinth and then collect the materials required to trigger the Floor Boss." "Yep. If we fail to defeat it by the time the exit gate appears, it will vanish, wasting our efforts. As such, let¡¯s go through the Floor Clearing trial. That¡¯s best for now." There were two ways one could go to the next floor. Either by defeating the Floor Boss of each floor, which is massive in size with tons of Health and various attack patterns with multiple phases. The ideal party to defeat the 1st Floor Boss was 50 Silver level 10 Adventurers. Moreover, defeating Floor Bosses gave rewards ording to contributions on the leaderboard that the Labyrinth generated each time a Floor Boss triggered. Any action done by an individual that contributed to the damage on the Floor Boss would count, including healing other Adventurers who were focused on attacking, defending, and everything else. The three of them could try, but frankly, there wasn¡¯t enough time. Up to the 5th floor, the floor boss would vanish every 3rd day¡¯s end (and it would spawn stronger every three-day cycle), but from the 6th floor onward, new types of rules applied where the entire floor would change once the Floor Boss appeared. All other monsters would vanish, and the floor Boss would remain perpetually active until it was defeated. It would also get stronger every three days as long as it wasn¡¯t defeated, making it a tough ordeal since as long as the Floor Boss remained on the floor, nobody would be able to level up by defeating monsters as there would be no monsters to kill. This incident happened on the 6th floor, and it caused a high death toll where even some talented and promising rising adventurers and frontline adventures of that time died since the floor would shrink and it would be hard to escape from the Floor Boss. Exit would appear every three days for five hours, but it would be random while the Floor Boss would roam the floor, so only lucky ones could escape. From then onward, a rule was applied where GAA and top guilds would first discover the Floor Boss triggering condition and keep an eye on it so that no one would trigger the Floor Boss of the new floor without preparation. Unless top guilds¡¯ core members reached the maximum possible level to be reached on the new floor, nobody was allowed to trigger the Floor Boss. ¡­ "Let¡¯s check our new ss Specialized quest before moving up," Natalia said as she looked at the new quest. Chapter 50: Chakra Points, Parting [Third quest of specialized ss: Second Skill Creation. You may use 1 Skill insight given to you to get insight into your next skill. You will be given hints during the insight and, at the end, will get multiple skill options. You may select one of the skills as your second skill.] "Well, we should start this quest once we are outside," Almond suggested. "The skill insight will put us in a deep, focused state for hours¡ªmaybe even ten hours or more, from what I¡¯ve heard and read." "Yep," Lily nodded. "We should start that quest after leaving." ¡­ Almond climbed up first after storing Alfred and Viperfiend in his spirit pocket, after which Viperfiend used his arms to pull up Lily and Natalia. There was also an option to stay in the cavern until the exit portal appeared, but they would have to stay for over ten hours there. As such, the party started descending the mountain at a faster pace. Most of the Adventurers were still hunting in Frostbite Cliffs, so there was no one to court death as they descended. After all, it wasn¡¯t that umon for adventurers to loot others on the 3rd day. A risky move, so only big groups would do that. The target could either fight for their items or give up on life. Threats from a big group often worked towards smaller groups. Over the years, the GAA received manyints and worked to resolve the issue, capturing looters outside and imprisoning them. There were also some groups who killed others, and someone witnessed it coincidently, leading to their punishment. With the changing world, rules and means to get information were easy with the usage of skills. So, although the number of looters decreased, they weren¡¯tpletely gone. ¡­ The party sessfully descended the mountain without anyone looking to court their deaths. Almond originally nned to go to the Fallen Monastery town, but his specialized ss¡¯s perk changed his mind. His perception and focus stats surpassed the 50-point mark with the ss perk, so Lily and he decided to open Chakra points. Lily had firsthand experience on how someone could do that properly, and Almond had a self-experimented experience. They decided to return to the starting area and open chakra points on Almond. On the way back to the starting area, Almond started feeling something weird. He felt as if he was being observed. He ignored it at first, thinking that a monster might have seen him, and his high mental stats captured that gaze, leaving his instincts to push this notion that he was being observed. But this happened again when he passed by the Goblin Settlement. And again, when he passed by the Goblin Camp, where he had killed Jacob, Seyung, and Lamp. ¡¯What¡¯s going on? I¡¯ve checked thoroughly, but I saw no monsters. So why do I feel like I am being observed?¡¯ Almond shared his findings with Lily after they got through the Direwolf woods. "Was that why you stopped to look around at those two ces?" Natalia raised her eyebrows. "Yeah, but I saw no monsters," Almond said, his brows furrowed. "I really don¡¯t think I am feeling this for nothing." "I believe you," Lily nodded. "With your current level of perception and focus added to your natural cautiousness and mental attributes, your instincts and intuitions should be high. You can¡¯t be wrong about the feeling of getting observed." She thought of something and added, "I might have a clue, but I can¡¯t confirm it here. I have to go outside." "Alright. Since there¡¯s no use thinking about this, let¡¯s get started." They arrived at the starting area, one of the eight stone chambers where people would spawn once they entered any Labyrinth gate outside. Lily and Almond sat across each other as Lily guided Almond. Since she knew the method of properly detecting Chakra points from her father, who did this procedure on her, she taught it to Almond, who slowly began to proceed and find Chakra points one by one and carefully opened using Mana without the hellish pain he had gone through in his reckless method. On the other hand, Natalia began practicing her specialized ss¡¯s skill: Chaosbound Requiem. She yed different instruments, seeing how well she was with each, and practicing them since there was nothing else to do. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond and Lily were absorbed in opening Chakra points all over Almond¡¯s body. Rumor had it that there were hundreds of chakra points within the body, some so hidden that they required extremely high perception and focus to find. There were a few frontline Adventurers who had some kind of unique power unrted to skills or sses but purely via some mysterious hidden chakra points. This was a mix of spection and truth formed by people by watching videos and streams from frontline adventurers, with one of them even revealing a hidden chakra point¡¯s ¡¯experience.¡¯ Since there were also mentions of chakra points in texts from ancient countries that existed thousands of years ago, many believed there were some special chakra points that could grant unique powers. The top Adventurers also periodically scanned their bodies in deeperyers with growing power, trying to find them. Those who had ¡¯apparently¡¯ seeded haven¡¯t revealed much about them as well as nobody who ¡¯supposedly¡¯ opened one had actuallye forward with solid information. But it was clear there was truth to this, and it was only a matter of time before it revealed itself to some people, and some more, and then everyone. ¡­ Time passed by in the blink of an eye, and while Almond and Lily had taken a few breaks and continued with their chakra points opening session for hours, they didn¡¯t realize the time was over until the exit portal opened nearby them. "We opened over three hundred Chakra points in your body," Lily said as a mischievous glint shed across her eyes, and her hand went towards Almond¡¯s crotch. "The only ce that¡¯s left is this, and your bum at the back." "Cough¡­I can do that on my own," Almond said before he came true to his desire and added, "or we can continue after I return, what do you say?" "That¡¯s better," Lily grinned and leaned on him as her arms went around his shoulder, "See youter, darling~" *Smooch* "Yes, yes, that¡¯s enough. We are gettingte, Mama Lily." Natalia nced back at Almond and stuck out her tongue as she Magic Whispered to him, ¡¯Lily will be mine until you return.¡¯ "Have fun, you two," Almond chuckled. He knew Lily wasn¡¯t into girls. She was a true woman down to her wild instincts, seeking an ideal male mate and power. As they two left, Almond turned around and stretched his arms and legs, "Now then¡­" Coming out of the stone chambers, it was already evening as the portal opened at 7 in the evening and remained until 12 ¡¯o midnight. "Let¡¯s see how it feels to hunt at night." Almond left at full speed, and his senses wide opened. Over the past three days, his natural hunting and survival instincts had sharpened, andbined with his powerful physical and mental attributes, he felt practically invincible on thebyrinth¡¯s first floor¡ªunless he did something reckless, which he wouldn¡¯t do. As such, with his two powerful sses and his innate talent that increased his recovery drastically, he was about to speed-hunt every single different kind of monster at silver level 6 and above on this floor to raise his stat points at the maximum possible! Chapter 51: Lilys Parents, GAAs Secret Project Lily and Natalia emerged from the city¡¯s Labyrinth gate, where families had gathered, some waiting hours to see their loved ones. Parents wept with relief and pride as their sons and daughters returned from their first venture into the Labyrinth. Although not many were professional adventurers, every single person who was above 18 ten years ago and has survived until today was technically an Adventurer since it was mandatory to enter the Labyrinth, everyone above 18 was at least Silver level 10 or higher. Paying the monthly tax of the Labyrinth system required gold coins, so many just cleared the first floor again and again instead of risking their lives on higher floors. These people had jobs outside and didn¡¯t live their lives as Adventurers but as civilians. Naturally, GAA was still encouraging them to participate in higher floors, at least until bing Gold-rank level 1 Adventurer to attain the Sub-ss, which would grant one of those development sses like cksmith, Tailor, and such to boost their world. There were already many people like this. They didn¡¯t have experience inbat as much but focused on developing their sub-sses. ¡­ "Mom, Dad," Lily smiled as she saw her parents standing a bit far from the initial crowd. She also saw Jacob¡¯s father standing with two people from his guild. "Hello, uncle and auntie," Natalia grinned as she waved at them. "I can see you two progressed a lot, from your demeanor to gait to the light of your eyes, hahaha. Good work, girls," Lily¡¯s father, Dagon Darkwood, said with jollyughter. Lily¡¯s mother, Sabrina, gently smiled, "Wee back. Come on, I have prepared a feast in celebration." "Mhmm, but before that, I want to talk about something," Lily said as she stared into her parent¡¯s eyes. Dagon and Sabrina blinked. They knew what that look of their daughter meant. It was something serious and a priority. "Well then, let¡¯s head back to the home." While the group left, Jacob¡¯s father was walking to and fro as even after five minutes, Jacob hadn¡¯t arrived yet. "Something¡¯s wrong," Jacob¡¯s father, Draven, looked convinced as he spoke. "I told him to exit within five minutes. He wouldn¡¯t disobey me. Something¡¯s wrong." Taking out a cig, he started smoking while walking to and fro. "Something¡¯s wrong." He immediatly started walking towards the gate, but the muscr man beside him suddenly stopped him, "Guild master, you don¡¯t need to go. I¡¯ve called people, and I am also going in. You have a meetinging up for the deal you finalized yesterday." "Hurry up," Draven said, his face ugly. "Within five hours, all traces will vanish, and the floor will reset." His heart was telling him that something was wrong. "Damn it!" Draven crushed the cigarette under his foot and vanished like a gust of wind, entering the Labyrinth gate. The vice guild master, Rufus, turned to a man in histe twenties and said, "Mark, stay outside and handle the guild¡¯s matter. And tell those guys to hurry up." "Got it." Rufus also dashed nimbly and silently, entering the Labyrinth gate and choosing the 1st Floor to enter. After entering, he took out a magi-tech device and contacted Draven. [Rufus: Draven, searching like this is a waste of time. We don¡¯t know where Jacob was spawned in the first ce to begin looking around for his traces.] [Draven: Where are you?] [Rufus: I am at the eastern spawning point.] [Draven: Go out and use your Focus Field. Tell me if you get the feeling of getting observed at starting areas where monsters spawn and see if you can find something.] Rufus was confused, but he did as told since Draven sounded as if he was onto something. But as he speedily went out and looked around using Focus Field, he indeed got the feeling of being observed. The Focus Field heightened one¡¯s senses via eyes and allowed them to see things normal eyes couldn¡¯t observe. Almond had abnormally high Perception and Focus for someone at Silver level 10, so he got this feeling even without using the Focus Field. And he was right. Draven and Rufus both felt the same thing. ¡­ Darkwood Mansion in the Frostar city. "So, what¡¯s the serious talk, daughter?" Dagon asked. A maid arrived from the kitchen, putting juice sses on the table. "You two, drink this first," Sabrina said. Natalia grabbed the juice and chugged it down while Lily took a sip before saying, "Did the GAA already start testing the prototype you were talking about?" Dagon and Sabrina looked at each other, their expression shifting. "Lily, please tell me you didn¡¯t do anything stupid," Sabrina asked, her face somber. "And to your question," Dagon said before nodding, "Yes, they¡¯ve nted Arcane Eyes on the first floor for testing. This is not to go public, you understand? This project is directly approved by the top brass of the GAA. It¡¯s not the same as the personalized camera project." Natalia almost spat out her drink and gulped before looking at Lily, who started rubbing her temples. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Shit," Natalia muttered. "What did you two do?" Dagon frowned. "Cough, we didn¡¯t do anything," Natalia quickly said with a wry smile. "But someone else did." Sabrina and Dagon clearly heaved a sigh of relief before bing curious. "Almond was right about getting the feeling of being observed." "Huh? It¡¯s impossible for newbies to discover Arcane Eyes, not without a properly honed Focus Field," Dagon raised his eyebrows. "What happened?" Sabrina asked. "Who is Almond?" Lily¡¯s expression turned deadly serious as she looked at her parents, "Can we somehow ess the Arcane Eyes¡¯ data and delete something?" "Not possible," Sabrina shook her head. "This is handled by the top brass of the GAA headquarters. Branches like us have no ess to anything rted to Arcane Eyes." "That means Jacob¡¯s father won¡¯t be able to ess them either," Lily muttered. Dagon¡¯s brows furrowed upon hearing that, "Are you talking about Draven? Don¡¯t tell me¡­his son?" Sabrina looked at Natalia who quickly nodded, "He¡­cough, dead." "And I assume this Almond person killed him?" Dagon asked with a wry smile. "Who is he to you? We¡¯ve never heard of him from your mouth." "This is strange," Sabrina looked at her daughter, feeling something amiss. "It¡¯s the first time we¡¯ve seen you concerned about someone else aside from Natalia." Lily smiled and said, "He is my boyfriend." "What?!" Chapter 52: Circumstances "Your boyfriend?" Dagon was taken back. "That¡¯s¡­an unexpected news," Sabrina digested it before adding, "So, who is that unfortunate fellow?" "Mom!" Lily pouted. Natalia snickered and said, "Don¡¯t worry, he is also crazy like our Lily." "Well, that sounds like a worry on its own," Dagon wryly smiled. Lily rolled her eyes. "Haha, don¡¯t worry about that. He is not a bad kind of crazy," Nataliaughed. "Well, this unknown young man is piquing our curiosity more if even Natalia says that," Sabrina chuckled. "Right, honey?" "Indeed," Dagon said,ughing. But he stopped seeing Lily¡¯s expression. "Alright, alright. Let¡¯s see what¡¯s the matter. We are all ears now." Sabrina nodded. "Ok, so Almond¡­killed Jacob and two others. But they almost killed him first-" "Wait, Lily," Natalia interrupted her. "Let¡¯s start from the very start, like who was Almond in our academy and then him in the Labyrinth." "Right." Dagon and Sabrina patiently listened to Natalia and Lily as they jointly began telling their story. ¡­ [Draven: Let¡¯s get out. I need to attend the meeting.] [Rufus: If what we are perceiving is indeed that rumored project, then we can talk about it in the meeting and ask Mr. Han if he can talk to the GAA¡¯s top brass and let us have a look.] Both of them had discovered the existence of Arcane Eyes, a type of monitor device that could directly ry everything it captured on the Labyrinth¡¯s floor to the outside. Arcane Eyes were deployed hurriedly on thest three days of the previous month¡¯s Labyrinth cycle. For one, the GAA¡¯s top brass wanted to see what was happening inside while the Labyrinth remained close. And second, they wanted to start observing Adventurers inside. This way, they would be able to observe newbie adventurers and pick out some talents while also discovering nasty individuals to punish them. ¡­ Draven and Rufus arrived at their Wildhunt Guild¡¯s base, a magnificent wooden-metal castle reflective of modern and magic tech in the mix. Entering the hall, he sat down on the couch and lit up the cigarette, his heart unsettled. "Rufus, send someone to the academy with party invitations for all the students and their parents from the same batch as my son," Draven ordered, a cold glint passing through his eyes. "And get me the status of every student who entered¡ªwho¡¯s returned and who hasn¡¯t. I want to know about each one." "Alright," Rufus nodded and took out the phone, but before he could call, he received a call. "Hello, Mr. Han. Yes, we are at the guild base¡­.yes, understood." Draven looked at Rufus, who promptly said after cutting the call, "They areing here in ten minutes." "Got it." Afterward, Rufus contacted a guild member to work on the part invitation n while he and Draven waited in the hall. Several minutester, three people arrived at the guild base. A middle-aged man, a ck-brownish-haired woman in her thirties, and an old man in his sixties, all wearing different colored professional office suits. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om To grow the guild further, Draven had made a deal with GAA to get some Dungeon Doors owned by GAA in the forest fifty kilometers away from the city. As the biggest guild in Frostar City, the Wildhunt guild had many members. Entry into the Labyrinth was limited, but the same was not true for the dungeons. There were riches and power to be earned by exploring the dungeons, making them important resources for overall growth in the world. The deal was already done, so these three from GAA were here to give the locations of Dungeon Doors and finalize the deal¡¯s terms. After an hour of peaceful meeting, the old man in his sixties, Mr. Han, spoke as his eyes slightly narrowed, "You seem to be in distress, Mr. Draven." Draven leaned back and lit up a cigarette as the meeting was finally over. After puffing once, he took a deep breath and said, "My son didn¡¯t return from the Labyrinth." "And I¡¯m certain something bad happened to him because he was supposed toe out," Draven closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening again. "I¡¯m worried." "Did you send people inside?" "I did. I¡¯ve sent over a hundred people inside. All of my Silver-ranked and five gold-ranked Adventurers are looking for him." Draven stubbed the cigarette on the ashtray to his left after taking a long puff and looked at Mr. Han in his eyes. Everyone could see his bloodshot eyes. "Mr. Han, I need a favor." "It seems you went inside and discovered it," spoke the middle-aged man¡ªa known tinum-ranked Adventurer ranked 78th in the Global Leaderboard¡ªAustin Wern, Ironheart Crusader. The woman adjusted her rims and said, "I¡¯m afraid ess to Arcane Eyes is not possible." "I want to know what happened to my son," Draven said, his fist clenched tightly. "If the Arcane Eyes are deployed, I¡¯m sure someone at the top is watching everything. It¡¯s fine if you can¡¯t show me the video screens, but at least tell me what happened to my son." "Mr. Han," Draven looked at the old man, his eyes almost pleading, "I will forever remember this favor." Mr. Han stood up and sighed, "I will try to see what I can do. But please know that only three people are allowed to watch the video screens right now. Not even I have ess to it, so don¡¯t keep your hope on me and try investigating your way." "I¡¯ll pass down the order to this city¡¯s GAA branch to cooperate with you as well," he added. "Thank you, thank you very much," Draven stretched his hand for the handshake. After leaving the Wildhunt Guild¡¯s base, Mr. Han said, "Let¡¯s go to the GAA branch here and have a talk with Dagon and Sabrina. It¡¯s been a while since west talked." ¡­ On the other hand, Lily and Natalia also had been speaking for the past hour and finally ryed everything. "So he is that impressive," Sabrina was slightly dazed, especially at thest part. "I can see why your heart settled on him. He must have rocked your so-called chemistry meter," Dagon dryly chuckled and rubbed his temples, "But this trouble is serious¡­" Chapter 53: I Got His Back "Indeed, the matter is a bit tricky," Sabrina sighed and said, "Arcane Eyes¡¯ video screens are fully restricted. Only three people can watch the video screens, and those three are the GAA president, GAA¡¯s most powerful Adventurer, and GAA¡¯s Grand Admiral." Hearing the end, Lily¡¯s eyes lit up, "Dad, you know the Grand Admiral, right? You said you were friends with him." "That old man had broken many of my bones when I was in the military," Dagon wryly smiled. "And even more when we worked together in the Labyrinth exploration in the beginning. He is a stickler for the rules, but¡­" Dagon looked at Sabrina, who nodded at him and turned to Lily, "Dear, your friend-" "Boyfriend," Lily corrected her. Sabrina rolled her eyes, "Yeah, your boyfriend. He didn¡¯t do anything but kill those three, right?" "Yes." "However, Jacob and the other two killed him first at the starting area, correct?" "Yep." "Then don¡¯t worry about this," Sabrina smiled. "Although they do n to punish nasty people who go out of their way to harm and sabotage other Adventurers using Arcane Eyes, Almond won¡¯t be on that list." Dagon nodded and said, "Naturally, that doesn¡¯t mean he will be off the hook. If that old man Rudra is one of the people overlooking the Arcane Eyes, Almond will be called to the headquarters." Lily frowned, "What will they do to him? Dad, Mom, I am telling you, I am going to live with him in Firefly City once he finishes his speed-hunting in thebyrinth! That¡¯s final. You have to make sure nothing bad happens to him!" She stood up and said with mes in her eyes, "I want him in my life just like how you two are in each other¡¯s lives. If something happened to him when he is not at fault, then¡­" "Then what?" Natalia slowly asked as she gulped. "Then I am going to get strong enough to topple down whoever that harmed him! I know I¡¯ll be strong enough and catch up to front liners! It¡¯s only a matter of time, humph!" "¡­" Experience tales at m v|l e¡¯m,p| y- r Dagon and Sabrina weakly smiled. It was shocking to them to see Lily like this, and they could feel that if something bad happened to Almond, Lily would indeed follow up with what she said. This daughter of theirs could be very stubborn. "Rx, Lily," Sabrina said as she gently smiled. "Since you like him so much, then we won¡¯t just ignore his plight." Dagon nodded with a smile, "Don¡¯t worry, his calling to the GAA headquarters won¡¯t put him in danger. I will personally apany him if he gets called. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get the order to escort him if he ever gets one." Natalia thought of something and said, "If they can watch various spots in the Labyrinth using Arcane Eyes, then won¡¯t they know about Almond¡¯s skills? Is that why you said he will be called not for the punishment, but¡­for recruitment?" "Since he killed those three, I believe he will have to go through some questioning and tests," Sabrina said. "Grand Admiral is someone who nurtures talents, but he is a righteous man. He needs to see if Almond won¡¯t stray to the wrong path." "So that¡¯s why¡­" Lily sat down and slumped back on the couch with relief before she grinned. "That¡¯s good to hear. Almond is more level-headed than me, that¡¯s for sure." "True, he even spared that piece of trash because killing him would indirectly harm the innocents," Natalia said as her expression turned foul. "I still feel hate towards that bastard. I wish he¡¯d drop dead as soon as possible." "Consider him dead," Sabrina said, her demeanor turning cold. "Based on what you said about that incident, I¡¯m pretty sure Arcane Eyes were also deployed in that area, at least, I hope so." "True," Dagon nodded, "If an Arcane Eye captured that incident, and they see how Almond handled it, he will get plus points in old man Rudra¡¯s eyes. That¡¯s a decision that I might not have been able to make if I was in his shoes." "During our time in the middle floors, after people were used to the Labyrinth and new changes, many killings happened," Sabrina sighed and shook her head. "Anyway, don¡¯t worry about Almond. You focus on your departure after two days." "Okay, but I got his back, and you got mine, so we have to work this out. I am really looking forward to life now." "We got it," Sabrina gently smiled. Suddenly, Dagon¡¯s phone rang. Seeing who it was, Dagon was surprised and walked away, "Mr. Han?" "You two want to eat first or get freshen up before eating?" "I want to take a bath," Natalia said as she sniffed hard and her nose scrumped up. "We are a bit smelly right now." Sabrina chuckled, "Alright then, go and take a shower. I¡¯lly out the food on the table." "Thanksies, Aunt Sabrina." Lily also got up and yawned as she stretched her arms and left, going upstairs after Natalia. "Lily," Sabrina called out. Lily stopped in the middle of the stairs and turned to her mother, "What?" "I¡¯m proud of you." "Mhmm," Lily grinned and nodded. "Me too, of you both." After Lily left, Dagon returned and said, "We need to go to the GAA branch." "Who¡¯sing?" Sabrina asked, already guessing the matter. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Mr. Han and two others. It¡¯s just a normal visit, but I am curious as to why they were here. Were you informed?" "Nope. It must be a guild-rted matter, but since he contacted us, then we¡¯ll find out soon. Let¡¯s go." "If it¡¯s a guild matter in this city, then it should be only one," Dagon raised his eyebrows. "Wildhunt Guild." "Yep, that¡¯s why we have to get some information from him. Draven must be going insane with his son missing, and I¡¯m positive he talked to Mr. Han about this if they went to visit his guild." The two of them left and met up with the GAA members. Draven¡¯s party invitation was also sent to the Darkwood family, who received it shortly after they finished talking with Mr. Han and his small entourage. "Draven invited us for lunch in the morning," Dagon¡¯s one eyebrow raised, feeling weird. "What¡¯s going on?" "He must want to investigate on his own," Sabrina read the invitation. "It seems this is sent to families of all students who went to the Labyrinth." Looking at Dagon, she said, "Draven is a frontline adventurer¡­but not a good one. He will try to do anything to get information, even if he has to kill innocents for it." "That won¡¯t happen anymore," Dagon grunted coldly. "I won¡¯t allow him to be rampant anymore. Times have changed." ¡­ The sky turned fully dark after a few hours, and before midnight arrived, Wildhunt Guild members started leaving the Labyrinth as the exit portal was about to close. Draven was waiting with antsy feeling as he couldn¡¯t wait to hear from the guild members who went to investigate about his son. He personally heard reports from every single person for three hours straight, but he couldn¡¯t get much information. Over a hundred Adventurers had gone and spawned in all eight starting areas randomly as they only focused on searching, essentially exploring the entire floor during those five hours. But nobody found Jacob or anything rted to him, making Draven mad as he drank himself to sleep drinking a wine made from rare-grade resources. "Tomorrow¡­.Rufus, I want all the information¡­" "I¡¯ll prepare everything. You go sleep now, you need it." Chapter 54: Top Brass of GAA Skytree City, Global Adventurer Association headquarters. The main building was a huge cone-shaped structure, and other buildings connected to it all around. Your next chapter is on m v|l-e¡¯m,p| y- r It was the biggest and most advanced structure on the Earth, located in thergest city¡ªSkytree City. At the top of the headquarters building, in the restricted area, a person emerged from the secret elevator. He was 6¡¯5 feet tall with a ck beard and mustache, paired with short ck hair and a muscled figure. Although he was seventy years old, his build, aura, and look gave off a youthful vigorous, and powerful vibe. Grand Admiral Rudra, a frontline adventurer. He wasn¡¯t listed on the Global Adventurers Leaderboard as he never participated inpetitions, but there was no denying that he was one of the most powerful adventurers with unknown depths. What most people didn¡¯t know was that he was also one of the few who had attained supernatural disposition even before the Grimworld¡¯s tutorial descended on Earth. He already had all of his Chakra points opened, and he even had opened one of his hidden chakra points unknowingly because of his daily meditation and training. He was always at the frontline and the highest contributor to clearing the Labyrinths. He became GAA¡¯s Grand Admiral to oversee the new military might of GAA and nurture uing Adventurers. ¡­ Grand Admiral Rudra arrived in front of a door that projected a robotic face, the leading AI of GAA. "Wee, Grand Admiral. Please give me a sample of your Mana to confirm your identity." Grand Admiral Rudra infused a bit of Mana on a tablet stuck on the door, which lit up slightly and a secondter, the AI spoke, "Confirmed. Wee back, Grand Admiral Rudra." He entered the hall with multiple screens lit up all around, and a man looking in his forties with mixed ck and red hair was already sitting there, eating a pizza and drinking while watching the screens. "Hey, pops, you¡¯re back? Come here, I found someone interesting." Grand Admiral Rudra vanished from his spot and appeared right behind the man, his palm in a pping motion as it squarelynded on the man¡¯s head. "Damn, that hurts, old man! But I took it, so let¡¯s rest the case. I¡¯m sorry for not going to clear that dungeon." The man turned to look at the old man while rubbing his head. He had purple-blue eyes with intensity of lightning and a lean-muscled build with a height of 6¡¯1. Aryan Deva, the son of Grand Admiral Rudra Deva¡ªthe 3rd rank holder in the Global Leaderboard and the strongest Adventurer of GAA¡­at least based on the Global Leaderboard rank. "Aryan, this is thest time. If you fucking ignore my orders again, we are going to have a serious duel." Aryan felt a chill as he got up and fawningly smiled, "Come on, Dad. Wasn¡¯t that dungeon cleared just fine? There was no need for me to go there." "Anyway, sit here. I want you to look at someone." Rudra snorted and sat down on the main chair before leaning back and looking at the front screen. However, in just a few seconds, his pupils shrank. Aryan saw his father bing still and grinned, "Told ya, pops. I found someone interesting. Those top guilds have top-notch young blood talents, the so-called Super Rookies. It¡¯s time we also have someone like that, you know?" On the screen was none other than Almond, going past groups of monsters while leaving behind cut-off bodies of humanoid monsters¡ªCorrupted Priests and Priestesses who were over two meters tall with darkness and death attribute skills. Almond soon stopped and absorbed some monsters¡¯ spirits, increasing his stats before he continued moving. "By the way, this is his footage of three hours ago. I just arrived an hour ago and asked Astra about the killings of Adventurers by other Adventurers and saw him. He is in the inner circle of the Labyrinth right now, where we don¡¯t have any Arcane Eyes, so we can¡¯t observe him." Hearing that, Rudra frowned, "He killed others?" "Yes, but¡­it¡¯s better for you to see it. Astra, show the target¡¯s earliest footage," Aryanmanded the A.I Astra. Upon getting Aryan¡¯smand, the front screen changed as it showed Almond cornered at the pir in the starting area¡¯s stone chambers by three young men. Rudra¡¯s brows furrowed more. "We have to improve the Arcane Eyes further. We need to hear the sounds, too. How¡¯s it going in that regard?" "We already got the Arcane Eyes with sound capture enchantment in development. We¡¯ll deploy some tomorrow." Rudra nodded. Although he couldn¡¯t hear anything, the rity of the video was ultra high definition and from all angles due to the nature of how Arcane Eyes worked. He could see their lips and could interpret what they were talking about. "Who is that brat¡¯s father?" Rudra asked when he ¡¯heard¡¯ what Jacob said about learning from his father not to leave any trouble and ordered Seyung to kill Almond. When he saw Seyung slitting Almond¡¯s throat, Rudra coldly snorted. "His father is Draven. You know him," Aryan grinned. "That fellow is hanging at the top 90s in the Global leaderboard and seeking to grow his guild." n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Frostar city?" Rudra raised his eyebrows. "That¡¯s where Dagon is, right?" "Yeah," Aryan said, his smile widening. "Well, this young guy and Dagon have quite the connection as well. Astra, fast-forward a bit." "Dagon¡¯s daughter is going to Firefly. I wish we could get her here," Rudra sighed and continued to watch. "We need some more young, talented blood." Rudra saw Almond suddenly floating with mysterious energy oozing out of him, surprised. "He triggered a special condition. That makes him the 6th one to do this that entered our radar." "True. I¡¯m pretty sure there are more people who triggered special conditions and acquired better sses," Aryan nodded. "The ones we know have gotten A-rank ss, S-rank ss, and even one SS-rank ss. This youngd¡¯s new ss is no less than S-rank, I¡¯m sure of it." As Aryan finished speaking, hemanded the AI, "Astra, fast-forward and show us some fights and the instances where he takes out the unique items," Aryanmanded after "Unique items?" Rudra raised an eyebrow, "Is it rted to his ss?" "Indeed. If I have to guess, his ss is pretty powerful. Maybe S or SS-rank. It could even be SSS-rank. From what I¡¯ve gathered, he can create explosions anywhere at any point of space within ten meters of himself, which increasedter to twenty meters. The explosions can be quite unique too, and I¡¯ve inferred it¡¯s rted to monsters he had killed." "He can also create some unique items, which are frankly quite powerful from what I observed. Andstly, he can summon." Rudra soon saw Alfred and was surprised, "A humanoid summon. Interesting." Aryan told Astra to fast-forward more, but Rudra interrupted him with a snort, "Stop it, Aryan. Astra, listen to me. Set the motion speed to three times and show me everything you¡¯ve captured about this person." "Understood." "Well then, I am going out, Pops. You enjoy the show." "If you even think about stepping onto the first floor of the Labyrinth to see him, I¡¯ll skin you alive." Aryan stopped at the exit door and released a hollowugh, "Come on, Dad. I¡¯m not going to do that. I¡¯m quite scared of him to meet him there. He is practically invincible on the first floor right now. Anyway, the second cycle of Labyrinth started two hours ago, so I am going to the 10th Floor." "Good." Aryan left. Meanwhile, Grand Admiral Rudra ordered Astra while watching Almond¡¯s adventure, "Astra, get some rice and dal-tadka for me." "Also, call President Lincoln and put him on my call," he added. "Understood." Chapter 55: Grand Admiral Rudras Analysis, Dravens Investigation Two hours passed by as Grand Admiral Rudra finished watching everything. The Arcane Eyes they¡¯ve deployed were in the outer areas of all eight corners of thebyrinth and some in the eight major areas. Since there was a shortage of Arcane Eyes to deploy it at all spots, the ones in the eight major areas moved around. A few had moved a bit further, which luckily captured Almond¡¯s adventure in the Fallen Monastery town that Aryan was watching when Grand Admiral Rudra arrived here. Looking at the footage of Almond¡¯sbat in Fallen Monastery Town, Rudra¡¯s eyes glinted. "Why is he killing monsters when he is already at maximum level? And he is not particrly training." There were people who fought just to hone theirbat and learn more about their skills. But from what he observed, Almond was in a very efficient and quick hunting mode. "That¡¯s not a sign of learning or training. It¡¯s as if he has a goal rted to killing monsters," Rudra got off the chair and locked his hands behind his back as he started walking to and fro. "He could be farming for drops, but that doesn¡¯t make sense given his ss that produces items." "He could also be gathering gold coins. His profile showed he is not well-off, but he already got a girlfriend who is Dagon¡¯s daughter." Looking at the clock, he muttered, "It must be over six in the morning there. Good." "Astra, call Dagon from my contact list." In Frostar city, Dagon woke up hearing the ringtone and saw that it was Grand Admiral Rudra. He couldn¡¯t help but dryly chuckle, "I have a feeling this is about Almond." [Dagon: Good morning, admiral.] [Rudra: Morning. What do you know about Almond Crowshade?] [Dagon: It seems that you¡¯ve already seen him in action. I¡¯m afraid I only know as much as you do, admiral.] [Rudra: Bring him here once hees out.] [Dagon: Roger. Also, I have a favor to ask, if you don¡¯t mind.] [Rudra: I got it. I¡¯ll make sure Draven won¡¯t get what he wants.] [Dagon: Thank you, senior.] [Rudra: It sounds like you¡¯ve already epted him as your son-inw.] [Dagon: Ha-ha¡­cough, my daughter can be quite stubborn, so I have to do all I can. But since you¡¯ve seen him in action, can I ask you about your analysis of him, please?] [Rudra: He is focused. No unnecessary thoughts. His expression while fighting and killing monsters has a purpose. There¡¯s no distraction in his life. He has a strong thirst to be powerful and¡­] [Dagon: And?] [Rudra: He is goddamn talented¡ªa monster-level breed of human. The way he improved in his sword mastery can only be summed up as a true-blue genius. Like how Mozart knew what to do when he saw the piano andposed a myriad of works in his short life that made a whole case of genres, this young man picked up his sword and did exactly that. Once he learns Aura Enfold, I feel he willpose monstrous sword techniques.] [Dagon: I see¡­I didn¡¯t think I would hear this level of praise for someone from your mouth.] [Rudra: But I will have to test his mind, his heart. We already have some big headaches hiding in the darkness. I don¡¯t want someone like him to go on a dark path.] [Dagon: I understand, admiral. I will bring him to you once hees out of the Labyrinth.] [Rudra: Did your daughter tell you why he extended his stay in the Labyrinth?] [Dagon: Not in details. She just told me it¡¯s rted to his ss.] [Rudra: Got it. You can go back to sleep now.] [Dagon:¡­.cough, I usually wake up at six, but-] Rudra cut off the call before Dagon could finish, a smile hanging on his lips. "Lucky bastard." Explore new worlds at freewebnovel "He caught you," Sabrina chuckled. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Dagon helplessly smiled andy back on the bed, "He was just pulling my leg. Anyway, we¡¯ll give the good news to Lilyter. Since she believes Almond is good, then I believe he will pass senior Rudra¡¯s tests." Adventurers at such a high rank and level could indeed remain perfectly fine even without sleeping for multiple days unless they exhausted their mind and body doing strong work and needed sleep. On the other hand, Rudra sighed as he put away his phone. "Even Dagon¡¯s daughter has found her life partner, and then there¡¯s my son, who isn¡¯t married yet," Rudra rubbed his temples as he muttered, "Does that rascal want to pass down our bloodline or not?" Astra¡¯s hologram appeared as she said, "I¡¯m positive he has an offspring or two in the process, given his activities. For a fact, a female named Amelia is keeping his baby, though she thinks she is keeping it a secret." Rudra was stunned, "Since when did you collect such information?" "I was ordered by Aryan to do that, as he wanted to know about his possible offspring." "That darn rascal!" ¡­ While Almond was speed-hunting the Labyrinth, even as a new day descended inside and outside, Draven was in his afternoon party with newbie adventurers and their parents. Given that Draven organized a party, everyone thought that his son had also returned, which wasn¡¯t the case in reality. Looking at everyone enjoying and being happy, Draven felt like pulling his hair. He only showed his face one time and then left, letting Rufus and other members of the guild do the work of meeting and talking. Some parents also had a desire to let their kids join Wildhunt Guild, so they were happy to be here. "Draven, what we know so far is that there are three more students who haven¡¯t returned yet." "Who?" Draven asked, his expression intense. "Seyung and Lamp. These were Jacob¡¯s friends. The third is someone called Almond." "I know the first two, but who the hell is Almond? His parents?" "No parents. Lives in the academy dorms. He has some internal physical defects, making him weaker physically with low stamina. He has been bullied by Jacob and those two a few times, but nothing serious." "Also, three students who returned didn¡¯t attend the party. They are Jayce, Natalia, and Lily." Draven frowned, "Lily and Natalia are kids of the Darkwood mansion. Forget about them. What¡¯s the deal with Jayce?" "He lives with his older sister. I¡¯ve sent someone to check, but he is at his home training while his sister is at GAA¡¯s branch, working. I guess they just weren¡¯t interested in the party, considering Jayce would join GAA because of his sister." Draven sighed, his expression weary. "Did you ask students if they had seen Jacob? Where did he spawn?" "Apparently, nobody saw him at the starting area spawning with them. But everyone had spawned to all starting areas except for one¡ªthe starting area leading to Fairy Mountain." Draven¡¯s eyes glinted. "So nobody here saw Jacob spawned at their starting areas¡­" "Not just Jacob, but they also didn¡¯t see Seyung or Lamp, nor Lily, Natalia, Almond, or Jayce," Rufus slowly said as a sheen shed in his eyes. "It¡¯s safe to assume that these six spawned in the same area." "That¡¯s it!" Draven smashed his hand on the couch¡¯s armrest and stood up, "Send someone to ask Jayce if he saw them. Now." Chapter 56: Sabrinas Plan?, Almonds Solo Speed-run Adventure (1/2) Rufus soon got the confirmation and ryed it to Draven with a nod. "Jayce said that he saw them, but he left earliest and speedily since he wanted to go to another area, so he doesn¡¯t know what happened." "What if that bastard is lying?" Draven frowned. "ording to Mark, he isn¡¯t lying. He used Focus Field to check his pulse and behavior when he answered. I can go and check again if you want to do that." Draven shook his head and gulped an entire wine ss. "No need." "Just kill him." Rufus¡¯s eyes squinted, "That¡­" Draven looked at Rufus, his eyes already turning red. "My son is dead. It¡¯s confirmed by now. With the items he had, he shouldn¡¯t have died at the monsters¡¯ hand! Someone fucking killed him for sure. Fuck, I should¡¯ve sent a knight instead of listening to Jacob." "Calm down, Draven. Jacob was a fine warrior. He knew how to fight and survive. You trained him. I also feel there¡¯s a high chance that he was killed, but killing Jayce will only bring you troubles," Rufus frowned. "Wait for Mr. Han¡¯s reply." Draven threw the ss on the ground and roared before slumping back, his head down. "I failed you, Marilyn. I failed to protect our son¡­" Rufus sighed. Draven¡¯s wife got herself killed to save Draven in the Labyrinth nine years ago, on the 2nd floor. Jacob was nine years old at that time, and it was tough. It was also that time Draven became more ruthless. He spoiled Jacob to get over his mother¡¯s death and also trained him, and taught him to be strong in this world. But now that Jacob died, Draven had no one to call his own. ¡¯He will snap,¡¯ Rufus thought as he looked at Draven. ¡¯This is only a matter of time. If he snaps and kills students, it¡¯ll be over for Wildhunt Guild.¡¯ Readtest stories on mvl "Rufus, go to the GAA branch and ask for their help. Ask Lily and Natalia about him. I want to know everything!" Draven said before he started chugging the bottle of wine. "Got it. And Draven, we¡¯ll find the culprit. I¡¯ll make sure of it," Rufus said in a firm tone before leaving Draven alone in his room to grieve. ¡­ Rufus visited the GAA branch in the city and soon met with the branch president, Sabrina Darkwood. After telling her about the ongoing situation, Rufus somberly said, "Draven is going to snap sooner rather thanter. He will try to hold on until the reply from Mr. Han, but if nothinges up, I don¡¯t know what he will do." "We need your help." Sabrina sighed and nodded. "I understand. Let me see what I can do." "Thank you." After Rufus left, Sabrina leaned back on the chair, her expression thoughtful. "Making him snap is not good," Sabrina muttered. "Considering Draven, Rufus¡¯ worries are true." After thinking for several minutes, Sabrina formed a n. "This can work if Grand Admiral cooperates with us¡­but he will only do that after testing Almond, and he can only test Almond once hees out." "How long will he take? Four days, five days, six days? Will Draven wait that long?" Sabrina narrowed her eyes. "He will if he gets the guarantee." Sabrina called Dagon and told him about Rufus¡¯ visit and her n. [Dagon: We might have a chance with this. Senior Rudra is very impressed with Almond, that¡¯s for sure. Once Almond passes his test, he will cooperate with us. I¡¯ll send him a message to call me when he¡¯s free and tell him about the n.] ¡­ On the other hand, Lily and Natalia had woken up at seven in the morning. They showered and ate to fill before triggering the Skill Insight from their 3rd specialized ss quest in the training hall of the mansion. Both were sitting cross-legged in absolute focus, experiencing a mindscape of wonder rted to their ss, where they were acquiring information and using it to design their second-ss skill. Time passed by as seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. Sun went down, and night descended, but those two were still in the same position. Meanwhile, Almond finally decided to sleep. He hadn¡¯t slept at all since Lily and Natalia left. All he did was kill monsters. During these 30 hours, he cleared: -Fallen Monastery Town (Inner area). -Valley of Shadowsong (Major Area). -Doomed Citadel (Inner area). -Wonder Tree-Topia (Major Area). -gued Necropolis (Inner area). Five hours in total were spent just to travel around and slow-moving to recover. After cleaning up Fallen Monastery Town, he went to the second big area¡ªValley of Shadowsong, like the Fairy Mountain. He reached the valley right as the 4th day of thebyrinth started. Elite monsters spawned in the second cycle, which was beneficial to Almond, considering they would be considered different species, so more stat points for him from each group of different monsters. He didn¡¯t bother killing monsters at silver level 5 or below, directly skipping them and going straight for silver level 6 and above. It took him five hours to speed-run the Valley of Shadowsong, and by the time he was finished, his 3rd Spirit Wraith was also finished. Itsponent consisted of five Boss-type monster spirits¡ªde Mantis, Maddening Beaver, White King Manticore, Wandering Fairy, and Frostfeather Harpy. Among the other fifteen Spirits, Almond had added one Human spirit, one of four nameless trashes the party had killed in the Frostbite cliffs area. He hoped one human spirit was enough, considering that Wandering Fairy and Frostfeather Harpy were a bit on the humanoid side as well. Naturally, the human spirit was eaten and devoured, but the memories and knowledge contained in the spirit were passed down and would influence the final creation ording to what Almond thought. But the final result wasn¡¯t like Alfred as he had assumed. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om It was more like Frankenstein. The new spirit wraith had a human-like physique, 7 feet tall and bulky muscled, wearing ripped pants, a white t-shirt, and a jacket on top. But unlike Alfred, this guy could transform in crazy ways. Chapter 57: Almonds Solo Speed-Run Adventure (2/2) This new humanoid spirit wraith had flexible transformations. He could sprout monstrous wings that seemed mixed wings of Wandering Fairy and Frostfeather Harpy. He could transform his arms into des. He could berger in size. He could turn fully beast mode like Manticore, which had multiple beasts¡¯ features, but unlike Manticore, this Spirit Wraith looked like a slick nightmare. Four legs, four pairs of big crystalized thin wings with colorful patterns, three tails with de-like tip parts, arge variety of two horns on all three heads¡ªone lion-like head, one Beaver-like head, and the third being a mix of fairy and harpy head, leaning towards human-style face just like those two boss monsters. Almond named this Spirit Wraith [Chimera Frank] since this guy was a true monster in human-like form and no doubt the strongest Spirit Wraith so far. It had tons of strong skills and high base stats. It was already at Silver level 5 when it manifested like the Chimera Viperfiend, with easy 42 stat points to distribute on top of its already high stats. Almond realized that boss-type monsters¡¯ Spirits yed a huge part in making this Spirit Wraith so strong. He had already nned to make the next Spirit Wraith, which he figured would be even more crazier. He had two Boss monsters¡¯ spirits from Fallen Monastery town and five from Valley of Shadowsong. The two bosses in Fallen Monastery Town were fully humanoid¡ªBishop of Dark Faith and Apostal of Blighted Chalice. This area had basically ghouls-version of Priests and Priestesses as monsters, so they were all kind of humanoids. He had kept these thirteen spirits of monsters of this area just for the next Spirit Kodoku creation. After putting five boss monster spirits of Valley of Shadowsong, two boss monsters, and thirteen other spirits of Fallen Monastery Town, Almond left the Valley of Shadowsong and went to another inner-area location like Fallen Monstery Town¡ªDoomed Citadel. After clearing the Dommed Citadel, boosting more stats, and getting two more Boss Spirits from this area along with a lucky drop of a Rare-grade item, Almond went to the third big area¡ªWonder Tree-Topia. Speedrunning thisrge area as well, he got more stat boost and five more Boss spirits, and by the time he was finished with this area, his 4th Spirit Wraith waspleted. But Almond didn¡¯t bother using it, nor did he use his other Spirit Wraiths. There was no need. He was sufficiently fast alone. Naturally, he did put together 20 Spirits in Spirit Kodoku again, with 7 of them being boss monster spirits from Doomed Citadel and Wonder Tree-Topia. Sun was going down afterward, but he pushed further and cleared the third Inner-area location¡ªgued Necropolis before the clock hit 12 ¡¯o midnight. With four Spirit Wraiths¡ªAlfred, Chimera Viperfiend, Chimera Frank, and Dark Pope guarding him, Almond slept like a baby without any worry on top of a big tree¡¯s branch a kilometer away from gued Necropolis. The Labyrinth¡¯s first floor had a total of thirteen monster-infested areas. If one looked at the map, their location would be drawn as mentioned below: n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om 1- Fairy Mountain (Major area)¡ªSouthwest. 2- Valley of Shadowsong (Major area)¡ªWest. 3- Wonder Tree-Topia (Major area)¡ªNorthwest. 4- Twilight Cove (Major area)¡ªNorth. 5- Crystal Hollow (Major area)¡ªNortheast. 6- Ashen Fields (Major area)¡ªEast. 7- Starfall Basin (Major area)¡ªSoutheast. 8- Frostlight Grotto (Major area)¡ªSouth. These were the eight major areas that one would choose based on one of the eight starting spawn points. Almond was already done with three of them and also finished three out of four Inner areas. ¡ª Fallen Monastery Town (Inner area). ¡ª Doomed Citadel (Inner area). ¡ª gued Necropolis (Inner area). ¡ª Burial Light Forest (Inner area). These four inner areas were in the inner circle of the floor. Finally, the centermost area of the first floor, where the floor boss would spawn once conditions were met. Continue your saga on mvl Heart of Wildered¡ªCenter-area. The conditions of the first floor¡¯s boss spawning were pretty simple. There were four items with Special-rank in their description found in four inner areas¡¯ main boss rooms. The description of the items mentioned these items being Floor Boss¡¯s requirements along with the Floor Boss spawn location¡¯s name, so it was easy to know what to do. Almond had two more days before the 3rd cycle of the Labyrinth began. He didn¡¯t mind fighting in the 3rd cycle with increased difficulty, but he wasn¡¯t going to dy just to do that. He nned to clear the rest of the areas and kill the Floor Boss to clear his first floor and get ess to the second floor. The n to clear the first floor via Floor Trial went to naught since he and Lily spent the whole remaining time of the 3rd day opening his Chakra points. As such, although he could do the floor trial after the girls left, he didn¡¯t do it since he had decided to kill the Floor Boss on his own to clear the floor instead of doing the floor trial. Almond woke up after eight hours of sleep and resumed his solo adventure, his 5th Spirit Wraith still in the making. On the other hand, Lily and Natalia were still in meditation. They entered meditation at 10 in the morning yesterday, and the clock was already hitting 9 o¡¯clock the next day morning. They were in meditation for 23 hours. There was a known limit of Skill Insight period, and it was 24 hours. Spending the whole 24 hours meant that one gained the full benefits of the Skill Insight period. Both of them opened their eyes when the 24th hour passed by. "Urgh¡­" Natalia clutched her head andy on the floor. "This headache is annoying." "But worth it," Lily smiled as she alsoy on the floor. "I had a long, fun dream of fighting with exotic powers rted to my ss that I was designing." "Same," Natalia couldn¡¯t help but grin, thinking of the dream. "Anyway, let¡¯s quickly submit our second skill design, eat and then sleep. I¡¯m tired as fuck." "Yep." Chapter 58: Fish on The Hook (1) At noon, Sabrina and Dagon talked with Grand Admiral Rudra on a video call. Sabrina exined the n to deal with the time bomb that was Draven. Hearing Draven¡¯s situation, Rudra¡¯s mustache red in anger, "That bastard! If he raised his son with a bit of kindness instead, he wouldn¡¯t be wallowing in grief right now!" "Alright," Rudra sighed and continued, "I will arrange this y you made, Sabrina. But let¡¯s go with three days instead of five." Dagon and Sabrina were surprised. "Lily told me Almond nned topletely clear all the areas," Sabrina blinked. "But you think he can do that in the next three days?" "Senior Rudra, you have seen him in action and also praised him to the heavens," Dagon said with augh. "That¡¯s enough reason to believe you." "Well, I can¡¯t disagree," Sabrina chuckled. "I am more and more eager to see him in the flesh." "Don¡¯t count the chickens early," Rudra sternly said. "He must pass my test first. If he doesn¡¯t pass-" "He will pass," Dagon grinned. "We believe in our daughter¡¯s ability to see someone¡¯s character. She said he is a good person, so he is." "That¡¯s right," Sabrina said with an almost prideful tone. "Alright, alright. I¡¯ll find that myself soon. You two just get him to me when hees. As for Draven, I am directing Han to ry the message to him now." "Thank you, Admiral Rudra," Sabrina smiled. "You two have epted him without even meeting him," Rudra rolled his eyes. "Alright, I am cutting off now. Let¡¯s hope he passes my test." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡­ An hourter, Draven got a call from Mr. Han, and he immediately jumped from his chair. "Mr. Han? Please tell me you have good news." "I do have the good news, Mr. Draven. I have gotten approval from the Grand Admiral to allow you to watch the recordings captured by Arcane Eyes." "What?" Draven was shocked, his lips trembling, "D-Did you already see what happened to my son?" "No. I am not allowed to see it. The new policy is that those whose rtives met with unfortunate development will be allowed to see what happened to them in the Labyrinth. This is not public yet, but I requested it, and they agreed to let you see it after three days." "Three days?" Draven frowned and then eased it up as he added, "Understood. I¡¯ll get on the flight after two days." "Yes. The arrangements will be made by then." "Thank you, Mr. Han." ¡­ Lily and Natalia woke up in the evening after resting fully. After freshening up, they went to the dining table to eat and started TV to watch the ongoing situations over the world. "Super Rookie Jian Ranford has just returned from the 2nd Floor yesterday and already cleared a red-colored C-rank Dungeon all alone in just three hours!" The screen showed a young man, eighteen years old, with short white-blue hair and brown eyes. He could be considered a pretty boy with his thin frame and look, but his demeanor was cold and indifferent. The reporters were asking him questions while he was moving towards the car surrounded by bodyguards, but he kept a mum and a in face, ignoring them until he arrived at the car¡¯s door and finally turned to the cameras. "I heard a question about the strongest Super Rookie, who asked that?" "It was me!" A round, spectacleddy in herte twenties replied, raising her hand. Jian looked at her and replied, "You will get your answer soon when the new leaderboard opens up." After saying that, he entered the car and left while the reports continued to speak. "Humph, that bastard is quite haughty," Natalia snorted. "I¡¯ll beat some sense into him when I fight him," Lily chuckled. "Anyway, you are participating in the Rising Star Tournament, right?" "Of course," Natalia grinned. "I can¡¯t possibly back away when this tournament is giving away stat-boosting items. With my new ss, I might enter the top 100 in the new leaderboard, what do you say?" Lily chewed her meatball before answering, "No idea. You need to get betterbat-wise. Talented people between 18 and 24 all over the world will be entering brackets of different ranks in the Rising Star Tournament. We¡¯ll be in the Silver rank bracket, and there will be many Silver-ranked adventurers." "But I can at least get into the top 100 in the Silver bracket of Leaderboard, right?" Natalia asked with a pout. "That¡¯s minimum if I want the stat-boosting item." "You gotta train," Lily wryly smiled. "Look, there are 150 cities in total. Thousands will participate, and there are many of the so-called elite families that train their kids to be fighters. Just after the first year of the appearance of the Labyrinth, these families had popped up as they knew that the futurey on bing powerful and having a powerful new generation." "That¡¯s why thepetition will be tough. Aside from ss skills, you also need to learn core techniques like Physical Enchantment, master a weapon, and train inbat. In your case, your ss is one of those perpetual ssbat types, so you need to master an instrument first." "Your second ss skill: Musico Weaponize, is pretty cool. It¡¯s a passive skill and allows you to perform unique basic attacks based on the instrument you are wielding. Any instrument you use will be your unique weapon, so mastering one is a must." Natalia nodded, her eyes fired up, "Piano will make it hard for me to move, so I can¡¯t train in it if I want to utilize my second ss skill for the Rising Star Tournament. I¡¯ll go with Flute first." "That¡¯s good," Lily nodded. "You¡¯ll start training in it once we reach the Firefly City." "When¡¯s our flight?" "Tonight at 9 o¡¯clock. Meet your grandparents and stay with them for a bit before we meet up at the League of Firefly guild¡¯s training center. I¡¯ll talk to my mentor to allow you in." "Yey! Also, we¡¯ll enter Labyrinth near the end of the second cycle, right? Because I want to finish the floor trial and get the juicy reward. I¡¯ll need it to do better in the tournament." "Of course. Anyway, let¡¯s finish eating so we can go to the GAA branch. I saw Mom¡¯s message on the phone after I woke up. It seems Mom and Dad want to talk about something rted to Almond." Chapter 59: Fish on the Hook (2), Arrival at the Firefly City Lily and Natalia heard from Sabrina and Dagon about the n to deal with Draven, and it was frankly wonderful, just like baiting a fish into the hook using bait. The bait was Almond, the fish was Draven, and the hook was Admiral Rudra. "Mom, Dad. Thank you. That¡¯s a great n, and I¡¯m d Admiral Rudra agreed," Lily said, grinning as she added," And I am sure Almond will pass the moral test easily." "We hope that¡¯s the case," Dagon said with a nod. "Anyway, I¡¯m in a hurry¡ªthere¡¯s a gold-colored A-rank dungeon door on the verge of breaking about five kilometers from the northern city border. I won¡¯t be able to see you off at the airport." "No problem, Dad. You hurry up." Dagon left hurriedly. Sabrina looked at Lily, her eyes glinting as if she was scanning her body, "Dear, do you want to open the rest of your Chakra points now, or did your mentor say she would do it?" "She will do it," Lily replied with a smile. "But we don¡¯t have much time, so I¡¯d like you to help Natalia open her Chakra points. I¡¯m sure she will be epted in the guild, given her specialized ss and potential, but it¡¯s better she gets some help before her examination test." Natalia sped her hands and cheekily smiled, "Thank you, auntie." "Oh, it¡¯s nothing," Sabrina waved her hand and got up from her chair. "Let¡¯s go to the training room and finish it. Your primary ss is quite good due to its skill, and your specialized ss is an all-rounder and powerful being at SS-rank. I¡¯m sure League of Firefly will consider you an asset to nurture. But if not, GAA will always have a spot for you." "Nah, I¡¯ll make sure she gets in the League of Firefly guild," Lily grinned. "I¡¯ll make better use of her." "Auntie, I think Lily is going to vite me!" Sabrina couldn¡¯t help butugh. "Alright, alright. Don¡¯t do that, Lily." "¡­" Lily. "Hehehe," Natalia. ¡­ The night descended soon as time passed swiftly in the training room. Lily didn¡¯t want to stay idle, so she was also ying with her new ss skills, exploring better usage and applications to use them in herbat style. Sabrina was proficient in opening the basic chakra points all over the body, so she was done helping Natalia just half an hour before their departure to the airport. Fortunately, the airport system all over the world has drastically improved, and the fuel usage has also changed to magic crystals from dungeons. Each monster dropped magic crystals with attributes, and there was usually a magic crystal vein in dungeons from which Adventurers could mine the crystals. The Grand Abyss Labyrinth didn¡¯t have those, but both of these supernatural forces were important for humanity¡¯s growth. The Labyrinth allowed Adventurers to level up and get stronger, while Dungeons gave much-needed resources. Failure to clear a dungeon before its border turnspletely ck results in disaster, so it¡¯s critical to clear dungeons on time. Usually, the Dungeon Doors spawned with a white-colored border, but if left unattended, their color would change to blue, then red, then golden, and then ck. Dungeons became a high priority for adventurers because there had been multiple disasters urring due to dungeon breaks. The patterns and time required for their color change weren¡¯t discovered because it appeared that each dungeon door had a different period, making GAA and Earth Union put much effort into locating and observing them all over the world. GAA shared responsibilities of handling Dungeons with Guilds by giving them territories because of that, but generally, dungeons were considered fortunes and a ce for training for Adventurers as long as they were cleared on time. Thanks to dungeons that often dropped stat-increasing items, it was hard to judge an Adventurer¡¯s stats purely based on their rank and level. Not to mention other factors like mastery of five important Mana techniques¡ªPhysical Enchantment, Aura Enfold, Focus Field, Mana Transmutation, and Flow State. ¡­ The distance from Frostar City to Firefly City was 6758 kilometers. The flight took three hours. If it was in the past, it would¡¯ve taken a lot more hours, but the safety measures while in the air and the functions of the airnes had drastically improved thanks to the addition of Magitech, which was developing fast. With the additions of various magitech developments, the importance of Dungeons increased even more, ignitingpetition between Guilds. GAA was still at the forefront of development, but many organizations backed by Guilds were researching their own new Magitech. Firefly City¡ªone of the ten biggest cities on Earth. League of Firefly had a huge array of structures to their name. A headquarters building, a training center building, abat arena, and other smaller facilities. It was like a university campus. As Lily and Natalianded, both went their separate ways for the time being. Natalia¡¯s grandparents picked her up while Lily was picked up by a woman in her mid-twenties with wavy red hair. "Lily Darkwood," Lily cordially smiled as she stretched her hand for a handshake. ¡¯So she is the one that senior Aria favored, huh?¡¯ "Hazel Sol, nice to meet you, youngdy," Hazel said with a smile, sizing her up, "Well, you¡¯re gonna be popr among the guys. Hope you don¡¯t mind some courtings." "I do mind, as I am taken," Lily inly said and took her hand back as they both started walking. Thanks to the storage pouch, many people didn¡¯t need to carry their luggage, though Lily kept an umbre since she didn¡¯t like to walk empty-handed, it wasn¡¯t just any normal umbre--It was an Epic-grade defensive-type item that her father had given her. ¡¯Taken, huh? Poor girl got trapped by some guy, but the world of adventurers is a cut-throat one,¡¯ Hazel thought as she wryly smiled. "That¡¯s a surprise, Lily. Is he some famous rookie or an older guy around my age who impressed you?" ¡¯So she is the type that¡¯s more into this?¡¯ Lily thought. She could easily read this Hazel girl. "What about you, Hazel? I feel like you got someone good as your partner." "Eh? Haha, well, he is kinda good," Hazel smiled. "He¡¯s got an S-rank specialized ss on top of an A-rank primary ss and is doing good." "I wanted to join him on the second cycle of Labyrinth on the 6th floor, but the guild said no," Hazel sighed. "I need to get better." ¡¯Duh. You¡¯re focusing on the wrong areas as an Adventurer. I bet she is also cheating with someone, securing anotherp to ride on,¡¯ Lily rolled her eyes. Funny thing, Lily was actually right. They arrived at the car, so Hazel sat in the driver¡¯s seat, and Lily went around to sit in the passenger seat after folding the umbre. But just as the car started and Hazel drove the car, she spoke again, "Anyway, I heard from senior Aria that you have the potential to be the super rookie like the one we already have." "Maybe." Hazel responded while smiling, "You got S-rank primary ss, right? In that case, someone like you must surely have gotten into a rtionship with a talented guy, haha. Is he also going to join League of Firefly?" "No idea. It¡¯s up to him," Lily replied. "Oh, to be honest, if you want to be in a rtionship with someone, it would be better to be in the same guild. There are only benefits this way," Hazel said with a grin. ¡¯Geez, will she stop talking about rtionships and stuff?¡¯ Lily sighed internally. She didn¡¯t want to talk about this anymore. "Yeah, noted. Anyway, how far is the guild¡¯s location?" "Just ten kilometers. We¡¯ll be there soon." ¡¯Great.¡¯ Hazel could feel Lily didn¡¯t want to talk about it. ¡¯Tsk, the new kids get some attention and think they are something. ss ranks are not all there is to be a powerful Adventurer. Well, she¡¯ll find out how toughpetition is here soon enough.¡¯ There was silence in the car for ten minutes before it was broken by Hazel who cursed out loud and pressed on the brakes. Lily blinked, her eyes focused on a three meters tall door manifesting several meters away, in the middle of the road. "Wonderful," Lily said as she got out of the car. "Wait, Lily. What are you doing?" "It¡¯s a three-meter-tall door with a white border, meaning that it¡¯s a D-rank dungeon gate," Lily took out her daggers and positioned them at her waist with the sticky belt, and her outfit also changed, turning hazy ck wispy magic robe, looking badass. After all, it was her specialized ss¡¯s second SSS-rank skill, a toggle-type skill--Dreadspire Mantle. "I am going inside. I was supposed to be allowed to enter any dungeon I wish within my rank difficulty range anyway." ¡¯And because I don¡¯t want to hear your nonsense anymore.¡¯ At that, Lily jumped into the dungeon door.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Chapter 60: Fish on the Hook (3), First Floor Boss Summoning D-rank dungeons were small, generally the size of a major area of thebyrinth¡¯s first floor. Despite showing phenomena like the sun or moon, these dungeons had fixed boundaries ording to their size. Some dungeons were entirely enclosed, resemblingrge castles, peculiar towns, or sprawling settlements inhabited by various monsters like goblins and orcs. Others took the form of intricateworks of tunnels and caverns, forests, mountains, various unique biomes, etcetera. As Lily entered the dungeon door, she found herself in a lush meadow with domes made of colorful flowers. The dungeons had some simrities to each other, no matter the rank. The starting area¡ªfilled with normal mobs. The inner area as one progresses further¡ªresources and elite mobs. And boss room¡ªthe final boss, whose defeat would lead to the appearance of the exit portal. There were also mini-bosses, but those only appeared in B-rank dungeons and above. After the final boss is defeated, the dungeon door remains in existence for 24 hours, allowing the adventures to explore it and possibly find a magic crystal vein to farm. D-rank dungeon meant the monsters inside were only up to Bronze-rank level 10. It was like a walk in the park for Lily as she leisurely killed the monsters using new styles. Her second SSS-rank ss skill¡ªDreadspire Mantle, was a perpetual booster as long as it remained activated. [Dreadspire Mantle] -Skill rank: SSS -Type: Toggle. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om -Cost: 0.5% to n% of Blood every second. -Effect: ¡ª> Adorn the outfit of Dreadspire Mantle over the user. While the skill is active, all attacks of the user, be they magical or physical or both, can drain the vitality of the target based on damage and fill up the gauge of Dreadspire Call. The higher the activation cost, the stronger the vitality drain. You can also channel drained vitality to another target. ¡ª> Dreadspire Call-[0/100]: Once filled up, the user can call upon a Dreadspire Elemental to aid inbat. Once summoned, the gauge resets. These elementals have the same stats as the user. You can summon up to four at once. ¡ª> Dreadspire Elementals: 1. Lupine of Darkened me, 2. Roc of Withered Wind, 3. Whale of Curseweaved Water, 4. Golem of Gloombound Earth. Lily wanted to see these Dreadspire Elementals, but the monsters here were too weak, such that it was taking time to fill up the Dreadspire Call gauge. ¡¯It seems that the higher the damage I deal, the faster it fills up. But since these monsters have such a low maximum vitality, the damage it registers, which is based on their maximum vitality, is also considered low even if my attack is stronger.¡¯ Lily was slightly annoyed at it, but there was nothing else she could do. Fortunately, by the time she arrived at the boss room¡ªa beautiful garden with colorful flowers¡ªthe gauge had finally filled. The boss was a massive flower with five writhing vines and a circr, tooth-ringed mouth. ¡¯Let¡¯s see¡­¡¯ Lily summoned Lupine of Darkened me as a five-meter-tall badass ck wolf manifested. It had crimson aura waves and some patterns of red on its fur, with deadly shining ck ws covered with translucent red aura. Lily¡¯s eyes sparkled as she saw the wolf. ¡¯Attack!¡¯ The wolf transformed into a dark red stream of me that formed a massive w, shing through the flower and tearing it to pieces before reverting to wolf form behind it. "Awooo!!" [Congrattions, you have defeated the Dungeon¡¯s Final Boss.] ¡¯Wow! But this isn¡¯t enough. I need to enter a stronger dungeon as soon as possible!¡¯ Lily was in a good mood as she tested her new skill, even though it was only a part of it. She was raring to fight more, so she exited the dungeon and saw there were already normal members of the guild present whose job was to secure the area around the dungeon door. "You brat, you couldn¡¯t contain yourself, eh?" Lily smiled as she saw the speaker¡ªa gorgeous woman in her thirties with dark silver hair, wearing a ck robe embroidered with silver design and a sword at her waist. Ranked 12th on the Global Leaderboard, she was Aria of Crimson Shadow, the second-most powerful member of the League of Firefly guild. But her gaze shifted to behind Lily as the Lupine of Darkened me also emerged from the dungeon door, startling the surrounding people. "What is that?" Aria looked at the wolf and raised her eyebrows, her eyes glinting. ¡¯Interesting. It¡¯s a pure elemental creature.¡¯ "Lupine of Darkened me," Lily replied with a smile and waved her hand, causing the wolf to vanish as she dispersed it and also found another thing regarding the skill. ¡¯It seems that once an elemental is summoned, it stays even if I deactivate the skill. Which means it needs to be defeated unless I disperse it, huh? Cool.¡¯ "It seems that you got a pretty interesting specialized ss," Aria smiled and stretched her hand towards Lily. "Come, we¡¯ll talk in detail about that." Lily nodded and grabbed her hand. In the next second, she only saw darkness around her before she appeared right in front of the League of Fireflys¡¯s gate! ¡¯Shadow Transport,¡¯ Lily blinked and looked around. ¡¯Pretty handy skill.¡¯ "Come, let¡¯s finish the guild matter first. After that, we¡¯ll do a thorough evaluation of your currentbat power." "And I can go to dungeons, right? I can¡¯t wait." It was already almost one o¡¯clock in the morning. The sky was fully dark, and stars were visible. By the time Lily finished with guild matters and her evaluation, three hours had passed by. There wasn¡¯t any need to sleep for her yet, so she asked to dive into a dungeon and went on. Meanwhile, Natalia spent the night at her Grandparent¡¯s ce. They were Gold-rank adventurers and progressed slowly as they also had apany to handle. Natalia¡¯s uncle was in jail, but his wife, daughter, and son were living with her grandparents. All of them also abhorred him because they knew of his crime and were epting of Natalia. She had a real family time after years and spent the night with her cousins, roaming the city as they showed her around. Lily cleared a big C-rank dungeon until seven in the morning, with Aria apanying her for observation. Upon returning to the guild, she fell asleep and met up with Natalia after waking up. Aria agreed to let Natalia train and give her guild entrance examination a dayter. Meanwhile, Almond was on the cusp of clearing the entire first floor of the Labyrinth. The second cycle¡¯s third day had just started, but Almond was ready to summon the Floor Boss as he stood at the center of the Heart of Wildered. Summoning his eight exotic Spirit Wraiths around him, Almond put the four special items at the center of the entric stone circle and initiated the Floor Boss summoning. [Floor Boss summoning¡­in ten seconds.] "Get into position. Eight of you in eight directions. We are going all out once the boss appears," Almondmanded his Spirit Wraiths. Alfred stood at the north. Chimera Viperfiend stood at the northwest, entering its Synthesize tank mode. Chimera Frank stood in the south point, entering its Monster Lord form. Dark Pope appeared at the southwest spot. Forest Maid Sylvia entered her Forest Queen form and rooted herself in the western spot. Chimera Crystalist, in its Crystal Artillery form, floated in the eastern spot. Starlight Beast crouched itself in the northeast direction of the circle. Finally, the Infernal Knight, wielding a massive greatsword and shield ofva patterns and ashen rock, positioned itself on the southeast point atop its fiery horse. Almond stepped back from the center, stopping on the south side five meters in front of Chimera Frank as the countdown hit zero. [ Floor Boss¡ªLord Wildered the Broken has been summoned.] Chapter 61: Fish on the Hook (4), X-Rank Trait: Tenacity!! The floor boss towered at an imposing fifty meters, a colossal figure carved from rugged stone with deep fissures crisscrossing its surface. These cracks pulsated with an eerie glow, streaming vibrant red and green energy, giving it a life-like aura. In its right hand, it wielded a massive, shattered sword, jagged edges gleaming ominously in the light. Its left arm ended abruptly at the elbow, reced by a menacing hook that seemed to glint with a predatory intent. As it lifted its head to the sky, a thunderous roar erupted from its depths, echoing through the surroundings, a primal sound that signaled both power and impending doom. [Lord Wildered the Broken]¡ªFloor Boss -Vitality: [100%/100%] -Mana: [25,000/25,000] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 200 | Health: 1000 | Stamina: 500] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 2500 | Focus: 200 | Perception: 200 ] Almond¡¯s eyes shed with power as he immediately made the first move. Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest! The ethereal grimde manifested and shed through Lord Wildered before its Vitality suddenly dropped to half, from 100% to directly 50%! In turn, Almond felt surging vitality coursing through him! Now he was as tanky as the floor boss! The air crackled with anticipation as Almond stood at the center of the battlefield, his gaze fixed on the colossal Floor Boss towering above them. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ¡¯Attack!¡¯ Everyone attacked at the same time, unleashing a bombardment of exotic skill attacks containing their full power. Alfred unleashed a vortex of me like a drill containing all of his Mana, blindingly beautiful as it pierced through the darkness toward the monstrous giant. Skill: mestorm Drill! Chimera Viperfiend, in its formidable tank mode, crackled with mana as it released a relentless barrage of a condensed beam like a railgun from its barrel. Skill: Vipertoxin Beam! A new skill attack in its Synthesized Tank form. Chimera Frank assumed its terrifying Monster Lord form, a hulking figure of raw power. It let loose a terrifying roar that sent visible ringyered shockwaves that dealt devastating damage, crackling the Floor Boss¡¯s exterior. Skill: Echo of Ruin! Dark Pope, cloaked in shadows, extended a hand, and summoned tendrils of darkness thatshed out with ferocity, striking the Floor Boss and inflicting deep wounds that siphoned its strength. Skill: Shadow Strike Whish! Forest Maid Sylvia, in her Forest Queen form, sprouted a giant sunflower that unleashed a bright, burning golden beam, unleashing a furious offensive attack. Skill: Sunburst Fury! In the eastern sky, Chimera Crystalist floated gracefully, shimmering with crystalline beauty. With a swift motion, itunched a barrage of razor-sharp crystal shards that flew through the air like deadly missiles, exploding on impact and raining glittering destruction upon the Floor Boss. Skill: Prismatic Onught! Crouched in the northeast, the Starlight Beast glowed with ethereal light, coiling its muscles like a spring. It leaped into the air and enveloped itself into a starlight veil before crashing down upon the Floor Boss with explosive force. Skill: Starlight Meteor Strike! Lastly, in the southeast, the Infernal Knight raised its greatsword, and a sweeping arc of moltenva cascaded over the Floor Boss, igniting it in a ze of destruction. Skill: Molten Arc Cleave! *Roarr!!* The Floor Boss¡ªLord Wildered roared as they swept its broken sword in a furious motion, its vitality still at 21%! The broken sword was suddenly extended with a dark red and green energy weaved on it. But Almond was ready with his own strongest attack with his insane stats. Beforeunching this attack, he had used Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest again to halve Lord Wildered¡¯s Strength stat and absorb it! Next, Physical Enchantment¡ªboosted his Strength by 100%! He attacked the iing sword attack of Floor Boss with his Preying Hunter¡¯s sword in a shing motion, bearing all of his power as it cut past Lord Wildered¡¯s sword attack before Almond jumped and executed five shes in quick session, exerting all of his physical prowess! Five shes of Starlit Destruction! This simple move of the sword required him to exert his physical prowess to the limit to perform five shes that would be connected to each other and create a star-shaped carving infused with a devastating attack from his exerted physical strength and condensed Mana! *BOOOM!* [Congrattions. You have disyed the transcendental feat of defeating a Floor Boss all by yourself. You have been awarded with 1,000,000 Gold coins.] [You have been awarded aplete Floor Boss Subjugation Reward Chest for achieving 100% contribution on this Floor Boss fight.] "Woooh!" Almondnded on the ground as the adrenaline rush got to him with thatst attack. That was by far his strongest executed attack. On top of his already insane stats, he had further boosted himself with Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest. "Good work, everyone." The Floor Boss scattered away, leaving behind a glorious treasure chest that nobody had ever gotten before. But Almond put it inside the storage bag that Lily had given him before leaving since Lily had kept Jacob¡¯s storage pouch inside Almond¡¯s backpack that she took out with her when she left. Afterward, Almond captured the Floor Boss¡¯s Spirit and simplyy on the ground right there and then. [Spirit Kodoku has fini-] ¡¯Yeah, yeah,ter.¡¯ "I am going to sleep. Look out for me, buddies." Thest time he slept was over a day ago, and he had been fighting non-stop, so he was extremely tired as his adrenaline rush died down, and in just a few seconds, he was sleeping like a log. Ten hourster, Almond woke up, but along with feeling vigorous and refreshed, he was suddenly assaulted with a burst of memories. Clutching his head, Almond saw images shing in his mind, voices of people he had never seen before but somehow felt familiar, and most of all, the destruction of the world happening in front of his eyes before he entered into the Labyrinth¡¯s 30th Floor, and then the image skipped to the mysterious notification telling him that he was going to be reborn and could get his memories upon clearing 1st to 10th floor of the Labyrinth. But then, everything went nk, and a clear flow of memories entered him. The memories of him when he was a kid with different parents. How they entered the Labyrinth, died, and his life turned a mess before he trained hard until he was eighteen and entered the Labyrinth, bing stronger gradually, forming new bonds, and bearing new hopes. He and his party cleared the second floor and celebrated outside before the flow of memories was cut off. At that moment, Almond understood everything that was happening. The light in his eyes shifted, his entire vibe elevated, and he oozed out an aura resembling an indomitable sword, viewing everything in front of it as nothing more than temporary obstacles for him to ovee. [You have awakened your dormant Trait.] [Trait: Tenacity] -Rank: X -Description: This trait is awakened due to your undefeated will and tenacity in the face of adversaries. Despair runs from you, and hope embraces you. -Effect: You may transcend and break all your limits in the pursuit of your goals. ¡¯The world of my past life was destroyed¡­¡¯ Almond clenched his fist. ¡¯Although I didn¡¯t get my full memories, the images, my entry into the 30th Floor, that dead Floor boss, and that message¡­¡¯ ¡¯Whatever the case, this is my new life, and I will make sure the same fate won¡¯t befall this world, for I have people I hold dear now, and I will have more of those people in my life,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes were bright. Looking at the Spirit Wraiths and his feats so far, he had a surge of confidence and drive because he was strong! And he was going to get stronger, stronger than anyone, to find who or what was putting the Grimworld Tutorial on worlds. ¡¯Grimworld Tutorial, and whatever that is above this¡­I aming there,ing to destroy your system. That is my ultimate goal! Chapter 62: Fish on the Hook (5/6), Meeting Lily’s Parents At the Labyrinth gate in Frostar City, there were always two people from GAA watching. They changed shifts with two other people every eight hours to be on the lookout. "I don¡¯t get it. Why are we looking for some unknown kid? It¡¯s the second cycle¡¯s third day¡¯s evening already." "You think he died inside?" "If not, he has five hours only. Once the third cycle starts and the monster number increases along with their stats, it bes way hard to survive inside." "Eh, the gate is glowing. Someone¡¯sing out." The two men fixed their eyes on the gate and soon saw a ck-haired young man with almond-golden eyes walk out and stretch his arms with a leisurely vibe. "Feels good," Almond smiled as he looked around. Everything was familiar, the same as when he first entered the Labyrinth, but¡­he waspletely different! He sensed a couple of gazes on him and turned his head looking at the two men in their twenties as they were walking towards him. "Almond Crowshade. We are from GAA, nice to meet you." Almond smiled and nodded, "Hi." "We would appreciate it if you coulde with us to the GAA branch, as we have orders from Commander Dagon." "Sure, let¡¯s go." ¡¯I guess Lily has made arrangements for me.¡¯ ¡­ After Almond arrived at the GAA branch, he met with Lily¡¯s parents in the office. Looking at Almond, both of them subtly sized him up, their eyes filling with shock as they could feel Almond¡¯s stats were off the charts for someone at Silver level 10. Almond greeted them politely and respectfully, but his bearing was confident and unperturbed, attributed to his arsenal of power and also the memories he acquired of his past life and knowing a brutal truth that people of this world didn¡¯t know rted to the ¡¯phases¡¯ of the Labyrinth. ¡¯Anyway, do they know about my rtionship with Lily?¡¯ Almond was only a bit nervous about this one thing. "Almond Crowshade," Sabrina smiled, her voice gentle and calm as she continued, "Lily told us everything." "Everything?" Almond blinked. Dagon had a poker face as he replied with a nod, "Everything, indeed." "But there are important things that you need to know right now," he added and gestured to Almond, "First, have a seat." Almond sat down on the chair, a hint of curiosity on his face. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "The act of you killing Jacob and the other two has been captured in a live high-definition video format due to a secret project of GAA¡ªArcane Eyes." Almond¡¯s pupils shrank. "But don¡¯t worry," Sabrina immediately added after Dagon finished speaking. "Jacob¡¯s father doesn¡¯t know." "If my act is captured, then does that mean what they did to me was also captured?" Almond asked. ¡¯He is still calm, no anxiousness or worry,¡¯ Dagon was surprised. ¡¯It seems he already figured our intentions aren¡¯t to harm him.¡¯ "That¡¯s right, what they did to you was also captured at that time," Sabrina nodded. "I had formed a n to help you get out of this mess and deal with Jacob¡¯s father, who was like a time bomb ready to explode because his son died." "And," Dagon said, "That n was approved by Grand Admiral Rudra." Almond was genuinely surprised. ¡¯Grand Admiral Rudra?! He¡¯s way too big of a big shot.¡¯ "It was too dangerous to leave Draven alone because he could kill students and anyone he found suspicious, which was why this n was formed," Sabrina narrowed her eyes, "GAA decided to let him see the footage of his son¡¯s being murdered. This was the only way to keep him from snapping." Almond nodded, his expression thought, "From what I know, Jacob¡¯s father isn¡¯t exactly a good person. I¡¯ve heard rumors, and rumors like those have a basis of truth¡­is GAA nning to eliminate him?" Sabrina and Dagon were taken back. ¡¯Kid is sharp.¡¯ ¡¯Lily was right. He is a hoarder of information.¡¯ "That¡¯s right," Sabrina nodded with a soft smile. "Lily ispletely smitten with you, and we don¡¯t have any objections. She¡¯s our beloved, brilliant daughter, and we trust her judgmentpletely." Almond¡¯s ears turned slightly red as he couldn¡¯t help but smile. "Cough," Dagon coughed and continued with the main topic, "Anyway, that¡¯s why we have to remove the threat that is Draven, and you are bait in this n. We also can¡¯t just kill Draven openly. There are guilds and forces that oppose GAA from the dark, and killing Draven without solid proof will put GAA in a negative light." Almond nodded. "So after showing him the footage, you will let him loose on me?" Seeing no hint of fear in him, Sabrina and Dagon were surprised and wryly smiled. "Aren¡¯t you scared?" Sabrina raised her eyebrows. "This is a risk for you." Almond smiled and replied, "Two reasons. One is that this n was approved by Grand Admiral Rudra. I can¡¯t possibly die with him in the y." Dagon chuckled and nodded, "That¡¯s correct. What¡¯s the second reason?" "My ss skill," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as an ethereal and mysterious grimde shed in them, clearly captured by Sabrina and Dagon, who felt a potent, higher rank of power from Almond. It was higher than any of their skills¡¯ quality, and that¡¯s what Almond wanted to show them. "Interesting," Dagon said as he stretched a grin. "Although we are curious about your arsenal of power, we won¡¯t pry as that¡¯s not exactly tasteful for Adventurers. Putting this aside, the stage is set for the y, so we can depart for Skytree City anytime you want." Sabrina waved her hand as a hologram popped up from the table in front of her, showing a countdown. "If you want to rest and sleep, you can do that here or in the Skytree city because you exited the Labyrinth one day earlier than we expected. Draven is already there and waiting to see the footage, but he will only see it once you arrive there," Sabrina said. "Well, there¡¯s no need for rest as I had full ten hours of sleep after defeating the Floor Boss," Almond smiled and got up, "but I¡¯ll appreciate a shower before we depart." Chapter 63: Fish on the Hook (6/6) "Floor Boss¡­you defeated it alone?" Dagon asked, dumbfounded. Sabrina was also taken aback and thought she had heard wrong. "Not exactly alone, as I have my summons," Almond chuckled. "But it¡¯s mainly thanks to my specialized ss¡¯s skill." Almond didn¡¯t want to leave them in suspense after sharing this revtion, so he decided to demonstrate the skill directly. After all, they were Lily¡¯s parents, fully supportive of her¡ªand of him. They had even prepared everything he needed with genuine care. If he couldn¡¯t trust them, then who could he trust? "I can show you the effect directly on you if you don¡¯t mind?" Almond asked with a smile. Dagon¡¯s eyes immediately gleamed as heughed, "Alright, throw it on us. I assume it¡¯s not direct offensive skill since you suggested using it on us." Almond nodded, his eyes gleaming as he used Divine Diver¡¯s Harvest on both of them, halving their Strength stat. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Dagon and Sabrina were shocked as they felt a clear reduction in their Strength. "So you halved that Floor Boss¡¯s Vitality by half, borrowed its Strength as well, I suppose?" Sabrina asked, her eyes blinked once, showing amazement. "This¡­is powerful," Dagon calmed waves in his heart before he heartilyughed. "Alright, boy, you got one hell of a specialized ss, I can tell. What¡¯s its name?" "Riftveil Grimde," Almond answered with a smile and returned their Strength. ¡­ Dagon and Almond arrived at the Darkwood family mansion. Almond finished showering, and they departed on an advanced private magitech airne given to high-ranking members of GAA. In just an hour, they crossed seven thousand kilometers and reached Skytree City,nding at the Global Adventurers Association¡¯s headquarters. Since Dagon had notified Admiral Rudra that he wasing with Almond, the y had already started. Mr. Han led Draven to the restricted area of the headquarters, leaving in the corridor before gesturing to him. "Please go ahead. You¡¯ll meet Admiral Rudra past that door, and he¡¯ll show you the video." Mr. Han left, and Draven walked as he arrived at the door. It automatically opened the secondter, with a single big screen showing Jacob, Seyung, and Lamp. "Jacob¡­" Draven muttered, his lips trembling. He looked at Admiral Rudra¡¯s back facing him andposed himself, "Greetings, Admiral Rudra." "Come in and stand here," Admiral Rudra replied without turning around, his hands still behind his back as he calmly stood at the center of the big room. The other screens were off at the moment¡ªonly one big screen was turned on. The door behind closed as Draven walked in and stood beside Admiral Rudra, his gaze on the screen. "Do you know the crime of killing another Adventurer in the Labyrinth?" Draven nodded, "Imprisonment to death sentence depending on the circumstances and reasons after investigation." "Thisw will change soon," Admiral Rudra said, his voicecking any emotion. "But that doesn¡¯t concern you anymore. Here, take a look at what your son did inside and what happened to him in the end as a result." "Astra, y from the start." Draven wanted to ask something, but in the end, he didn¡¯t say anything and just looked at the screen. But his expression soon changed as he saw the three of them cornering Almond. "T-This¡­." Draven gulped, foreboding something bad. And indeed, Seyung looked at Jacob and said something while Jacob waved his hand, his expressionmanding. Right after that, Seyung slit Almond¡¯s throat. The trio left, leaving Almond twitching in pain and agony, heading towards his death. "If your son were alive, he would¡¯ve been subjected to the new punishmentw. Not imprisonment but envement and forcedbor with period mind-controlled moral tests to determine their disposition and further sentence." The video paused there as Admiral Rudramanded Astra, "Show the goblin settlement incident." The video fast-forwarded as Draven saw Jacob, Seyung, and Lamp fighting against the Goblins. But suddenly, Draven¡¯s body jerked as he saw two explosions urring around Jacob, exploding him into bits as his disfigured headnded beside Seyung. "Jacob!" Draven shouted, his breath uneven. "Someone killed him!" Admiral Rudra didn¡¯t say anything as the video continued and soon showed Almond. "H-He¡­" Draven was shocked, his eyes trembling. To clear his confusion, Admiral Rudra promptly spoke with indifference, "He had a second awakening of sorts, the one that urs upon meeting some special conditions resulting in awakening a new primary ss." Draven¡¯s eyes were already bloodshot, his fist clenched. To him, it mattered not if his son did that. He was captured only because of this new magitech. He himself had killed people in the Labyrinth secretly. To him, the only fault here was getting discovered. ¡¯I am going to kill you even if it¡¯s thest thing I do, bastard!¡¯ Draven¡¯s eyes glued hatefully on Almond as he saw him taking Jacob¡¯s storage pouch and leaving. "What are you going to do, Draven?" Admiral Rudra finally moved and stood across Draven, his eyes boring into his with sharp glints in them. "I-I¡­" Draven¡¯s heart was beating fast. He rationalized because the threat in front of him wasn¡¯t something he could face. He knew what this Grand Admiral Rudra was like. One wrong statement, and he would face hell. Taking a deep breath, Draven suppressed his emotions as his expression turned weary and defeated, "What can I do except move on? I only wish that bastard fails the moral test and you give him appropriate punishment." "I have called Almond here, and he will take the moral test soon, within half an hour. You are free to spectate." Draven¡¯s eyes twitched as he promptly bowed to hide his eyes that showed his current uncontrolled desire. "Thank you. I will take up on that offer." "Go, wait in the longue area. You¡¯ll be called when it starts." Draven left the room as Rudra watched his back with a somber gaze. ¡¯It seems that he has given up on the future.¡¯ Although Draven tried to hide it, Admiral Rudra clearly captured his desire to kill Almond. This desire was set at an extreme level such that Draven didn¡¯t think about any consequences at all. All he wanted was just one opportunity to be near Almond, to make one move and kill him to avenge his son. What happened to him after he killed Almond no longer mattered in his mind. ¡¯Good thing that Sabrina hatched this n in a timely manner. This piece of trash would¡¯ve caused much damage in the Frostar city otherwise.¡¯ Rudra sat down on the chair and sighed. "Almond, you better pass the test. We need you on the good side." Chapter 64: Truth Seeking Orb, Morality Test "So this is the GAA headquarters," Almond muttered as he saw the mega sci-fi magic structure with multiple roads streaking over each other in multiple directions and buildings situated around the one giant cone-shaped structure in the middle. He had seen this many times in the news, but seeing it with his own eye was a different experience. ¡¯There used to be a simr big organization in my past life¡¯s world,¡¯ Almond remembered that as he had regained some of his memories. The nended, and both of them got into the car before going straight to the central building. After meeting up with Mr. Han, Dagon, and Almond followed him and entered the elevator that stopped on the middle floor of the building¡ªthe 32nd floor. As they walked into the floor¡¯s longue, Almond saw an imposing figure sitting on a couch while reading a hologram from a tablet in his hand. ¡¯Admiral Rudra.¡¯ When Almond looked at him, Admiral Rudra put the tablet away and stood up, his gaze directly meeting Almond¡¯s eyes. At that time, Almond felt something very clearly. The willpower and other mental aspects of his old man were crazy high. ¡¯Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest might not work on him as effectively as it works on others,¡¯ Almond thought as his eyes glinted, and he used Riftveil Eyes. [Willpower: Mental fortitude and resistance to mind-control, illusions, or fear effects. 99/100] [Focus Intensity: Depth of concentration on a single task, impacting the effectiveness and efficiency of abilities or actions. 100/100] ¡¯Crazy.¡¯ n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Did you finish prying?" Admiral Rudra asked with a poker face as he stared at Almond. "Cough¡­I apologize," Almond coughed in response, his eyes shifting. He wasn¡¯t expecting to get caught. "Got you," Admiral Rudra chuckled. "But I am surprised. Usually, I can sense it, but I couldn¡¯t sense if you were prying or not." "What¡­then how?" Almond asked, his expression shifting from getting startled to curiosity. ¡¯He must have one hell of an intuition, too, if he caught like that.¡¯ "Your eyes and bodynguage gave it away, allowing me to throw a sure-fire guess," Admiral Rudra slyly smiled. "Next time you use that scanning power of yours, create a facade outside." "Admiral, you¡¯re already teaching him as if he is your student," Dagonughed. "So we don¡¯t need to do the morality test, I guess?" "The test will happen now. And I am betting on a positive result as well. Let¡¯s go." Almond could only wryly smile, but he didn¡¯t hold back and checked a couple more things using Riftveil Eyes. [Insight: Depth of understanding or perceptiveness, affecting problem-solving skills and the ability to discern subtle truths based on the information captured via advanced awareness. 99/100] [Sense of Justice: Moralpass or fairness, influencing the likelihood of defending others, intervening in conflicts, or showing mercy. 100/100] ¡¯Damn! Sense of Justice is at max¡­¡¯ Almond looked at the old man¡¯s broad back as he followed him with Dagon and Mr. Han. ¡¯But I don¡¯t understand if this means he is a god saint or normal.¡¯ ¡¯I think I¡¯ll find out soon during the so-called Morality test.¡¯ Still, he wanted to see one more attribute. ¡¯Though I don¡¯t know if it will show me this attribute¡­oh, there it is,¡¯ Almond thought, and it appeared. [Ego Strength: Bnce between humility and self-respect, affecting pride, resilience, and interpersonal harmony. 100/100] He felt kind of relieved. Sense of Justice and Ego Strength at maximum meaning that this Admiral Rudra was really someone extraordinary. They walked through a corridor and soon entered through a door, arriving inside a big room with a white-walled chamber with one side made of ss inside. There was a pedestal in the center of the room, holding a mysterious ss orb with faint sparkling blue, white, red, and green hues of energy. "Come." Almond nodded and followed Admiral Rudra inside the chamber while Dagon stayed outside, observing them through the ss wall. Mr. Han had already called Draven, so he soon arrived. Dagon just nced at him before turning his head back to the chamber. Draven¡¯s eyes were glued on Almond after he looked at Dagon and Mr. Han briefly. Inside, Admiral Rudra gestured at the orb and said, "Put any one of your hands on the orb. This item is called Truth Seeking Orb, which can discern the truth from anyone touching it. I will ask you a question, and you simply have to answer it as truthfully as possible. If you do not resist the power of this orb, you will automatically speak the truest answer." Almond nodded as he put his hand on the orb. "Before I ask the first question, let me tell you one more thing," Rudra said, his expression somber, "Situations may change a person¡¯s disposition, and this Truth Seeking Orb can discern that based on the question I ask. It will bring out your true feelings, your truth that you also may not be consciously aware of it." "However," he added, his voice firm, "A strong mind does not truly bend, and a just heart does not truly break. The world is unfair, but fairness must be present in one¡¯s heart, for a good de must cut down evil for fairness." "Now, are you ready?" "I am," Almond nodded, his expression solemn. He knew he wasn¡¯t a viin. He believed in goodness instead of going out of his way to harm others. He believed in fairness and epting it, and he believed in repaying evil with punishment. Hearing Almond¡¯s reply, Admiral Rudra turned on the speaker to allow the people outside the chamber to hear his question and Almond¡¯s answers. Afterward, Admiral Rudra asked his first question. "Why did you kill the three people who killed you?" Almond didn¡¯t resist the power of this orb because he believed in himself. Hearing the question, his mouth opened without his control, and his voice rang out. "Two reasons. One, for revenge. They killed me without any reason or conflict. I didn¡¯t do anything to them, yet they felt the need to bully me, depicting their vile nature. It is only right that I kill them." "Second, if I didn¡¯t kill them, there was a hundred percent chance that I would¡¯ve been hunted down by Jacob and his father, who had taught Jacob the ruthless way to live. My existence and my confession can bring them trouble, given that there are ways to discern truth easily thanks to magic." "If I may add, I had thought about sparring Lamp, who wasn¡¯t keen on killing me. However, a weak-willed person like him with a broken moralpass, who bases his values on material things and following others, was bound to descend intoplete vileness. He would spill to Jacob¡¯s father, and I would be in immediate danger even inside the Labyrinth with people of his guild and he himself entering to hunt me." Everyone was shocked. Although they had heard answers from people influenced by Truth Seeking Orb, Almond¡¯s answer was simply too detailed, which was a testament to the breadth of his mind. Almond himself was dumbfounded as he finished speaking, "I¡­actually think these are my personal thoughts. But it¡¯s strange how I spoke automatically." Outside, Draven was gritting his teeth and clenching his fist, barely containing his killing intent. On the other hand, Dagonughed. "Well said. What do you think, Mr. Han?" "Indeed. Based on that answer, I can imagine Admiral Rudra liking him already," Mr. Han wryly smiled. Meanwhile, Admiral Rudra asked another question, but it was a simple one like what would he do if he saw five people getting chased by a monster in pursuit of death and he had the ability to save them? Outside, Draven turned to Mr. Han after hearing hisment and said while frowning, "Mr. Han. I think that is wrong. Does he think he can dictate the future of someone by prediction? Lamp was a wimpy kid. He even begged Almond before he died. Doesn¡¯t this make him ruthless and viin?" ¡¯This asshole,¡¯ Dagon¡¯s nose red. But before he could speak, Admiral Rudra¡¯s voice rang outside as if he heard Draven¡¯s question. "Draven," his voice was firm, resonating with authority, "We are not training saints here, nor do we need saints in this world. They will not save the world of this time." "A person with power must have the ability to discern cold, hard facts, to uphold fairness, and to apply logic in their reasoning. Almond had formed apelling rationale and justified reason for his act. So, don¡¯t you dare twist that in my presence!" ¡¯This old man is awesome.¡¯ Chapter 65: Play Over Draven shut his mouth after that, but the me of revenge in his eyes burned even more. All he wanted to do was to tear Almond into pieces, and he was determined to do that. The rest of the morality test was no surprise anymore as Almond answered the question with a proper sense of justice in his heart. He wasn¡¯t a saint, but he proved he wasn¡¯t evil. "Good, the test is over," Admiral Rudra said, a faint smile ying on his face that hinted at something more than mere satisfaction. He was already looking forward to Almond¡¯s future. Turning off the speaker, he stood and said, "I¡¯m fairly sure that Draven will try to kill you. If he knows he won¡¯t seed in my presence, he won¡¯t do it right away. In that case, you and Dagon can go out and bait him." Almond nodded, mildly nervous, but overall, he was okay and ready. However, he had an idea, and he decided to share it, "Wait, before we go out, I have an idea. Since you approved of this n, then you are also looking for the chance to eliminate Draven, right?" "That¡¯s right. He has gotten away because of no proof, but he had done many vile things, enough for me to behead him, but I can¡¯t because of Earth Union and other guilds¡¯ opinions. Without proof, I will bebeled as a tyrant, and GAA will suffer greatly." "Then I can erase his cautiousness right now," Almond said, his eyes glinting as he looked at Draven through the ss. "I can force him to make a move on me." Draven, who was outside, was fairly certain that Almond knew he was Jacob¡¯s father. His eyes were spewing daggers, but they shifted as soon as Admiral Rudra looked at him. ¡¯I can¡¯t let that old monster get wary of me. I will only get one chance. Just one chance!¡¯ "What are they talking inside?" Draven asked with a frown. "It doesn¡¯t matter to you, does it?" Dagon snorted. Meanwhile, Rudra¡¯s eyes visibly shook as he heard Almond¡¯s idea and stared intensely at Almond. "Are you certain that is possible? I mean, I don¡¯t doubt you, but you do realize that being able to do such a thing is exceedingly terrifying, right?" Almond nodded, his expression severe, "I know. I can ruin lives with this, but I can also do much more than that. I don¡¯t n to use this power in a bad way, certainly not on the innocents." Admiral Rudra¡¯s eyes had a strange flicker of me, "But you can use it to root out vile pests. Alright, do it." "Let¡¯s start walking, I¡¯ve locked on him, so once I do that, he will attack me for sure." As the duo started walking out of the chamber, Almond used his Riftveil Eyes to discover Draven¡¯s cautiousness. [Cautioness: the trait of being careful and attentive to avoid danger, mistakes, or risks. 63(34)/100] ¡¯Hmm? Why are there two numbers? Is his current state already affecting his cautiousness?¡¯ Almond was surprised, but that didn¡¯t change what he had to do. The moment they exited the door, Almond used Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest and cut off Draven¡¯s cautiousness by half. ¡¯Done.¡¯ Draven¡¯s vibe had already shifted. His mind was fully upied by the revenge. Admiral Rudra exited first, and Almond followed. "Alright, the test is done. Almond, we have some other stuff to do, so follow me. As for Dagon, Han, and Draven, you three can leave." After saying that, Admiral walked towards the room¡¯s exit, showing his back to Draven. But he had also given a signal to Dagon, who was behind Draven. Almond also followed Admiral Rudra, his back facing Draven. He could feel literal heat at his back, the vibe and the killing intent bearing on him from Draven. After all, his perception was off the charts. And then, it happened. Throwing caution to the wind, Draven, tinum-rank Adventurer of level 57¡ªprimary ss of warrior role and specialized ss of simr role¡ªattacked Almond as two small ck axes with bloody aura and patterns conjured, going straight for Almond, intending to cut him into three pieces. "Die!" And he shouted as he was close to his goal, his eyes bloodshot. He could see his axes going to cut Almond into three pieces. He was already visualizing it. But all that shattered as an imposing figure suddenly blocked everything as apis blue barrier manifested. Both axes struck the shield before they shattered. The barrier then released a pulse of shockwave targetting Draven, shooting him back right at Dagon whose punch squarely struck Draven¡¯s head. *Smack!* Knocked outpletely cold. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Han, upload the recording of his assault to the inte and send a copy to the Earth Union. Ensure that Almond ispletely blurred from head to toe in the videos," Admiral Rudramanded, his gaze cold as he looked at the unconscious Draven. "Call the enforcers and have them throw him in jail for now. I¡¯ll decide his fateter." ¡­ Almond followed Admiral Rudra as they arrived in a big, empty training hall. ¡¯The materials on the walls, the aura¡­this hall feels crazy,¡¯ Almond curiously looked around. It waspletely empty with only white square patterned walls. "Almond, I understand your brilliance. And I¡¯m sure you also do," Admiral Rudra said, his arms crossed. "I don¡¯t know what¡¯s your n now that you¡¯ve sessfully started on the path of an Adventurer, but allow me to offer you something." "In exchange for joining the GAA, I will take you as my personal student and guide you in things that the public is not privy to. You will get my full support. You will get your full freedom as long as you show decent improvements periodically." "And," Admiral Rudra paused before he smiled, "You can state whatever desires and proposals you have. I will seriously consider them and approve them as long as they aren¡¯t harmful." Almond was taken back. ¡¯So much sugar? But he shouldn¡¯t know about my sses¡­why is he thinking of me so highly? I mean, he already knows about my ability¡¯s depth after seeing how I drove Draven to attack me¡­¡¯ Continue reading on NovelBin.C?m ¡¯But training with his guidance and getting GAA¡¯s full support, including my freedom¡­this is invaluable. I am sure to get stronger faster with him at my back since he has secret knowledge of chakra points and is one of the highest authorities in this world.¡¯ ¡¯I can also demand to be at Firefly City¡¯s GAA branch.¡¯ Chapter 66: Accepting The Offer Admiral Rudra could see what Almond was thinking. ¡¯You are smart enough to choose wisely, Almond. Your senses have given you enough information to form a solid intuition regarding me,¡¯ Rudra¡¯s eyes were smiling. "I have a suggestion regarding Draven," Almond said, his eyes firm. "You can also call it an experiment." "Oh?" Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows before he nodded, "I¡¯m ears." "You must have felt the power that struck Draven, right? The way I cut off his cautiousness by half." "I did feel something, but it was subtle enough that only a few would be able to sense that," Admiral Rudra nodded. "It should be a fairly advanced power. I assume it should be from an SSS-rank ss or higher." Almond was surprised, "You know about the ss rank above SSS rank?" "I am certain it exists, though I don¡¯t know the name of the rank," Admiral Rudra smiled. "I myself have upgraded my primary ss to SSS-rank just recently." ¡¯Damn!¡¯ "So, what¡¯s your suggestion?" Admiral Rudra asked. "I want to use my skill on Draven," Almond said, his expression serious. "I want to use him as an experiment subject. I can study my skills because my Perception and Focus are high enough. I want to see if I can cut off more things from him to make him an obedient dog of GAA." "After all, it would be better to use someone like him instead of killing him or imprison him. Using him for a good cause is better, in my opinion." Admiral Rudra was mildly surprised, "I don¡¯t necessarily disagree with you on that. But we have annoying people in Earth Union who take issues with human rights and other bull shit even though people like Draven treat other people like animals. It won¡¯t be about Draven, but just to make issues for GAA." "However," Admiral Rudra¡¯s eyes glinted coldly. "We can still proceed with that n. I will pass the verdict of imprisoning Draven and have Earth Union approve. As for whatever happens to him here, we have to keep a tight lid on it." Almond¡¯s eyes sparkled, and he nodded. "Sounds good. Thank you." He wanted to explore the power of his Legendary ss and experiment on someone. However, he couldn¡¯t do that just on anyone, so it would be better if he did that on a piece of trash like Draven. "Then I suppose you will join GAA?" Admiral Rudra smiled. "Yes, but I have some more desires to express," Almond grinned. ¡¯Joining GAA will be better if I want to form my trustworthy group, especially now that I have Riftveil Eyes which can allow me to see a person¡¯s everything, quite literally.¡¯ "Shoot." "I would like to be appointed at Firefly City¡¯s GAA branch." "Allowed," Admiral Rudra nodded. "Next?" "I want absolute secrecy regarding my sses and their powers," Almond soberly said. "I can trust you, but not others." "That¡¯s a must. I won¡¯t let your information get spread anywhere," Admiral Rudra nodded, a flicker of worry in his eyes. "There are some hidden forces. Something in the dark. This is why we can¡¯t divulge some important information to the public." Almond blinked in surprise and asked, "What is that?" "I have no idea. But I felt their presence during the 9th Floor¡¯s Floor Boss battle," Admiral Rudra¡¯s eyes were intense. "I don¡¯t doubt my intuition after I saw the unnatural death of a promising Adventurer." "We can discuss this when I find more information. Anything else you want?" "Nope. This is all for now because I feel like you¡¯ll take care of other things for me on your own," Almond chuckled. "Well, I am certainly not hiding my willingness to nurture you," Admiral Rudra smiled. "You are a gem that I want to unearth, but I won¡¯t interfere in your life too much. Someone like you needs to grow in your own way so your potential can properly bloom." As he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly flickered with Mana as a precise string shaped of mana released from his fingers and went inside the floor. A secondter, a five-meter crystal cube of deep blue color emerged from the floor. "Then let¡¯s start your evaluation. Show me your status first." Almond nodded. [Almond] -Adventurer rank: Silver. -Level: 10 [99%] -ss: Spirit Dealer (SS) -Specialized ss: Riftveil Grimde (L) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 2250/2250] -Stats: 10 unassigned points ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 88 | Health: 84 | Stamina: 83] n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 90 (+135) | Focus: 89 (+89) | Perception: 91 (+91) ] ¡ªWill: 100. "Huh?" Admiral Rudra blinked not once but twice as he looked at the status screen. He knew Almond had higher than usual stats. It was clear from his aura, but what the hell¡­ "You are close to reaching the limit on Silver-rank, what¡¯s going on?" Admiral Rudra asked, dumbfounded. "It appears that the rank after SSS is L...as in Legendary? interesting." "Limit? There¡¯s a limit on stats in each rank?" Almond was also dumbfounded hearing that. "Bonus stats stemming from ss perks and items do not count towards this limit, but yeah, there is a limit," Admiral Rudra nodded. "Bronze-rank can have 50 foundational points in all stats. Silver-rank can have 100, Gold-rank can have 200, tinum-rank can have 400." "But of course, it¡¯s impossible to maximize these limits," Admiral Rudra narrowed his eyes as he added with a faint smile, "Though you might be an exception." "I see," Almond mumbled. "I better save the unassigned stat points then." ¡¯Since I can gain stats from monsters of each rank as I level and rank up, it¡¯s better to save stat points gained from leveling.¡¯ "So, what¡¯s the secret? I assume it¡¯s rted to your primary ss," Admiral Rudra asked. "Yeah, it is rted to my primary ss," Almond smiled and revealed it. "Basically, I can gain stat points after killing monsters, but not from all monsters." He exined the working of the skill briefly. "I see. That¡¯s powerful, alright. Other high-ranking sses might have buffing skills that elevate their powers, but your ss directly gives you a foundational boost. Anyway, now that I¡¯ve seen your stats, it¡¯s time to see your mastery of Physical Enchantment," Admiral Rudra pointed at the cube to their left. "Punch it with your full power." "Alright." Almond faced the crystal cube and took a deep breath before putting up a punching stance. Mana infused into his chakra points as he aligned his body to a perfect condition to exert all of his power for a single punch and¡­boom. *Smash!* The cube glowed as it absorbed the power, measuring it in numerical value that was soon disyed inside the crystal cube. The number disyed was 226. "Do you know what this number means?" Admiral Rudra had a wry smile hanging on his face as he asked. Find more to read at NovelBin.C?m "No idea," Almond shook his head. "Let me tell you how the power works first. Your Strength is 88. Using mana for Physical Enchantment can, at most, double your strength, making it 176. But you can still generate more power, and this power is based on how you execute your punch. You made it reach 226 with your execution. Not bad." Admiral Rudra smiled as he added, "In short, this punch of yours was equivalent to a punch with 226 stat points in Strength." Almond rubbed his nose with a hint of smugness as he smiled. Curious about Admiral Rudra¡¯s power, he asked, "I am curious, how high is your punch power?" Chapter 67: Mana Techniques (1/2) "This crystal cube can¡¯t measure it. I¡¯ve tried it before, and it broke. It can only measure up to 1000 power level." ¡¯Damn.¡¯ "Anyway, Let¡¯s sit for now. I want to scan your body properly and see your chakra points," Admiral Rudra said as he released a Mana string, causing the crystal cube to return back under the floor. Both of them sat down, with Admiral Rudra sitting behind Almond and putting his palm on his back. A minuteter, he said, "Good job opening these chakra points. There are still some closed off, so I¡¯ll open them right now." Right after he said that, Almond suddenly felt a jolt in his bum and his crotch area. He didn¡¯t feel any pain, onlyfort! ¡¯He opened them just like that?!¡¯ Almond was shocked. "Now tell me, what other techniques do you know aside from Physical Enchantment?" Admiral Rudra asked. Remembering something, he added, "And Magic Whisper." "None. I only know these two for now," Almond wryly smiled. "But I want to learn Aura Enfold. I feel like I can get the hang of it pretty fast." He was about to mention he¡¯d identally used it before, but that would sound ridiculous¡ªno one identally uses Aura Enfold. The only reason he could use that was thanks to his memory seeping into his body at that time. It was like his soul had those memories sealed actively, but his soul affected his body, granting it a ¡¯muscle memory¡¯ of sorts. He was confused at that time, but everything became clear once he learned of his past life. "Good. That¡¯s the only technique you can learn for now. That and the techniques of Physical Enchantment, one of which is strength Boost that you¡¯ve already mastered." Almond nodded, "I also want to learn the other two, Focus Field and Fortification." "I¡¯ll teach you their methods now and get you to a rudimentary level so you can practice and master them on your own. Once we are done, you can go and enjoy in the Firefly City." "Really?! Thank you very much, Admiral!"Almond was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to hear that he could go this fast. He did want to meet up with Lily and Natalia, especially Lily, as soon as possible. Admiral Rudra chuckled in response to Almond¡¯s enthusiastic response and said, "I would hate to keep you with me and let your girlfriend get swarmed by other young suitors. It¡¯s only a matter of time before she¡¯s famous all around like other Super Rookies." ¡­ While Almond was learning the methods and reaching rudimentary activation of Mana techniques under Admiral Rudra, Lily, and Natalia were also training under Lady Aria of Crimson Shadow. Lily insisted on getting Natalia to learn alongside her, and Lady Aria agreed on the condition that Natalia pass the entrance examination of League of Firefly with ster marks. Tomorrow was the day, so Natalia was working hard to learn the Flute and the basic magical attacks she could unleash from it while ying it. In the training hall, Natalia moved about, ying the flute and striking at magic dummies that hovered around her. Her flute released small, circr waves with a focused center. These were called Sonar Strikes¡ªconcentrated sound bursts capable of piercing targets, delivering high single-target damage over range. Their mana consumption was very low unless she enhanced the attacks with extra Mana. Lily was also gearing her build towards increasing her Mana, Perception, and Focus more. She wanted resources and items that increased her Mana and Mana recovery so that she could perpetually keep her first specialized ss skill active¡ªwhich increases her Mana recovery by 50% extra as long as she summoned all instruments, while she would release constant basic magic attacks from instruments she wielded. Continue your journey with NovelBin.C?m On another side of the hall, Lily was learning Aura Enfold from Lady Aria. She had had her fun yesterday doing Dungeon Raids, but it was time to learn today. Her chakra points were all opened by Lady Aria, and coincidently, both Almond and Lily were doing the same thing at the same time¡ªlearning Aura Enfold. Aura Enfold required higher mana control than usual. It was a way to properly wrap Mana around themselves or an object to strengthen it. The benefit was that it didn¡¯t consume Mana constantly, but Mana itself gained a sort of "Durability" at that level of control and application after consuming a certain amount of Mana to form Aura Enfold. Mana would transform into aura and be visible in different colors, with colors indicating the level of one¡¯s Aura Enfold. Level 1 was blue. The higher one¡¯s mastery, A.K.A level, of Aura Enfold, the stronger the boost it provided, and the tougher and longer itsted. The method was to properly exude Mana from all of their chakra points outward from skin spores to apply Aura Enfold on the Body. This expulsion of Mana must be even and consistent, resonating all chakra points with each other. On the other hand, using it on an external weapon or shield was slightly tougher. This required Focus Field to observe the object¡¯s structure to see how it flowed magical power within it and then apply Aura Enfold on it to properly strengthen it. Using it on weapons could allow for the extension of the weapons in ethereal ways, resulting in a personalized arsenal of powers for Adventurers called Battle Arts. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om However, a single mistake and the entire applied Aura Enfold would disperse. The higher mastery of this technique included strengthening a single aspect, effect, or part more by higher consumption of Mana, but this required even higher Mana control and mastery of the technique. ¡­ After ten hours of constant tutge under Admiral Rudra, Almond indeed learned Aura Enfold properly. It helped that his muscle memory seeped properly and that his Mana control was quite good. His crazy high Perception and Focus for someone of his level helped quite a lot, as he reached level 2 Aura Enfold at the end. "Good job. This was unexpected, brat. You are too good with Mana control even if you have high Perception and Focus," Admiral Rudra wryly smiled. "Thanks," Almond grinned. "Now, I want to learn Focus Field and Fortification." "Let¡¯s start," Admira Rudra nodded. "You¡¯ll be done with those two in no time. Tell me what you know about Focus Field." "Focus Field is enchanting eyes with Mana and project a kind of magical eye based on our eyes outward so that we can observe everything within a dome-shaped range around us." "Good. I am going to guide my mana through your eyes. See how it flows and then do it yourself." Half an hourter, Almond¡¯s eyes were faintly glowing deep within as he could observe everything around him. "Impressive as expected. The more mana you use, the bigger the range. There are advanced ways to use Focus Field, but you should master level 1 first before moving to learn level 2." Almond nodded, his expression eager, "Now it¡¯s time to learn Fortification. "I know that we need to connect all basic chakra points to each other to create apletework of pathways so that we can enrich our entire body to increase the basic defense of the body." "Good, but there¡¯s more to it," Admiral Rudra said with a smile as he activated Fortification. Almond¡¯s eyes widened, sparkling with awe as he watched the disy of an advanced level of Fortification that he knew he wouldn¡¯t achieve anytime soon. Chapter 68: Mana Techniques (2/2) A crystal-clear, translucent golden film appeared around Admiral Rudra, coating his body like still water. The aura even extended over his clothing, a sign of an advanced Fortification. Maintaining this seamless connection from skin to clothing was no easy feat¡ªprojecting Fortification outward without losing the bond to the skin required mastery at a high level. "You must keep the entire pathway of the chakrawork consistent, and no chakra point must connect to more than one. Assign a starting chakra point and an ending chakra point while connecting all chakra points into a seamlesswork." Almond nodded, immediately closing his eyes and focusing inwardly as he began. "Keep at it. I¡¯ll return in half an hour to finish some procedures concerning your entry into GAA." Half an hourter, Admiral Rudra returned and saw Almond as he promptly recognized a proper activation of Fortification on his body. "Good. Now, let¡¯s begin your evaluation for your profile." "Profile?" Amond blinked. "Like this," Admiral Rudra showed his profile. [Rudra Deva] -tinum-rank / level 118 -Combat Power: A-10 -Combat Arsenal: ¡ªPhysical Enchantment¡ª ? Stage 3 Strength Boost: level 10. ? Stage 3 Focus Field: level 10. ? Stage 3 Fortification: level 10. ¡ªAura Enfold¡ª ? Stage 3 Body Enfold: level 10. ? Stage 3 Weapon Enfold: level 10. ¡ªMana Transmutation¡ª ? Stage 3 Elemental Mimicry. ? Stage 3 Complex-Combine Mimicry. ¡ªFlow State¡ª ? Stage 3 Overdrive. ? Stage 3 Overload. "Admiral Rudra, are you perhaps the highest stage in all Mana techniques?" Almond asked while wondering about Admiral Rudra¡¯sbat power. "Let me tell you a secret. My profile is ssified solely to me," Admiral Rudra said, a faint smile ying on his face. "I¡¯ve shown it to only three other people, and you are the fourth one. As for your question, yes. I am the one who explored, developed, and coined names of these techniques, so I am indeed at the highest possible for now." "W-What?" Almond was dumbfounded. "Well, I wouldn¡¯t say I did this all on my own," Admiral Rudra chuckled. "I had found an interesting book on the 2nd Floor of the Labyrinth nine years ago. It showed that Mana hid more mysteries than just using it to execute skills. It was a damaged book and didn¡¯t have detailed information, but whatever knowledge it had, I had used it to research and explore possibilities with Mana to reach this stage." GAA was indeed at the forefront in terms of people with a higher mastery of Mana techniques. For the public of adventurers, it was because GAA was researching more on this, but it turned out that it was this old man who solo carried the whole research! Although he had a damaged book, it was surely his insight, talent, and aptitude that allowed him to research this. ¡¯That makes sense. In my previous life, there were also these Mana techniques, with minor changes in name¡­¡¯ Almond remembered some techniques. ¡¯It could be someone or a group also found that book in myst life¡¯s world and researched these techniques.¡¯ "That¡¯s awesome. I wonder how much these techniques can increase one¡¯s power," Almond asked in wonder. ¡¯I hear Mana Transmutation can give elemental properties to our Mana...but I don¡¯t know much about it and Flow State since such information wasn¡¯t on the library or news.¡¯ Hearing Almond¡¯s question, Admiral Rudra chuckled, "Well, I am not bragging when I say that I am strongest in one vs one. Nobody can defeat me alone even if I don¡¯t use any of my ss skills¡­" Pausing a bit, he added with a glint in his eyes, "At least, nobody from our world." "Our world?" Almond¡¯s pupils shrank. "Are you saying there are people from other worlds here?" "That is what my intuition is saying after the information I have perceived and unnatural things I¡¯ve noticed," Admiral Rudra nodded. "I can¡¯t help but feel that there¡¯s more to this Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial than meets the eye and that some people of our world have made contact with them, especially the dark organizations." "I believe you," Almond somberly said. "I have some knowledge, but it¡¯s iplete. I need to clear Labyrinth floors to get that, but I am sure that it will be of great help to us. All I can tell for now is that something big will happen once the 10thbyrinth floor¡¯s floor boss is defeated." In Almond¡¯s past life, the 10th floor was cleared soon after he became Adventurer, and he knew something had happened, but the memory wasn¡¯t clear. He needed to clear the 2nd Labyrinth Floor to find that out properly. Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows upon hearing Almond¡¯s words and tone, "It seems you have some secret. Alright, I¡¯ll wait until you are ready to tell me. For now, let¡¯s begin your evaluation so that I can create your profile." "Let¡¯s do it," Almond grinned, slightly excited. ¡­ *BOOM!* Almond punched the crystal cube. "Good, Stage 1 Level 10 Strength Boost. I¡¯ll guide you on Stage 2 once you cross 100 points in all three Physical stats. Now use your Focus Field as best as you can and keep it for 1 min without any change." Almond did as told while Admiral Rudra¡¯s eyes gleamed, observing Almond¡¯s Focus Field. After a minute, he nodded at Almond. "Deactivate it. Your Focus Field had a 32-meter radius consistently for 1 minute¡ªthat¡¯s stage 1 level 3 Focus Field. Next, activate Fortification." Almond did as told, activating Fortification within 2 seconds. "Not bad, that was fast. Now, stand still and grit your teeth. This will hurt a bit," Admiral Rudra rolled up his right sleeve and, in the next second, punched Almond. *Smack!* Almond¡¯s Fortification shattered as he was flung several meters away, but in the next second, a wave of healing showered over him as all pain and injury vanished. He could only release a hollowugh in response as he got up, "That¡¯s one way to test Fortification, alright." Admiral Rudraughed, "The fastest way is for me to personally test it. Based on what I felt, you can keep your Fortification up for 60 minutes easily due to your fine mana control, and it boosts your overall body toughness by 24% of your original toughness¡ªthat makes your Fortification at Stage 1 Level 2." "Alright, now use Body Enfold." Almond nodded, using Body Enfold as an airy light blue aura spread around him, reminding him of Dragon Ball Z¡¯s super saiyan mode, but less showy and small, more closely to the body. "Punch me with your full strength." Almond blinked before he grinned and didn¡¯t hold back as he punched Admiral Rudra with his full power. *Boom!* Naturally, Admiral Rudra had Fortification activated, so not even his clothes got damaged, let alone him. ¡¯I expected it, but still¡­¡¯ Almond wryly smiled. "Not bad. Your Body Enfold increases your Physical Stats by 27%¡ªThat¡¯s stage 1 level 2 Body Enfold, and you¡¯re already close to reaching level 3." "Next, use Weapon Enfold in your sword." Almond took out his Preying Hunter¡¯s Sword. He had already trained 10 hours solely in Aura Enfold at first, so he was proficient in using it with this weapon. Admiral Rudra observed it for a moment and said, "Extend its range as much as you can while keeping Weapon Enfold activated. Its aura must not budge even in a bit." Almond nodded, his expression focused. The sword¡¯s length range increased by half a meter, and its de width also increased. One must know that the extended ranges, although not physical, share the same level of power as the boosted sword. It was essentially like the sword had gotten bigger and longer while getting the boost from Weapon Enfold. "Attack me." Admiral Rudra saw Almond¡¯s wrist and body resonating as his sword shed, and a hint of amazement appeared in his eyes. ¡¯This kid is indeed monstrous with the sword. His vibe entirely changes subtly when he wields it. That¡¯s perfect sh imbuing the flow and power of his entire body.¡¯ *sh!* "Wonderful. You managed to increase your weapon¡¯s attack power by 48%," Admiral Rudra wryly smiled. "Your rate of improvement with Weapon Enfold is absurd, alright." "True, but I think it¡¯s only when I use a sword," Almond said before he shrugged, "Well, I am not going to use anything other than swords, so that¡¯s fine by me." "Your Mana control is already high, so when you studied this sword and activated Weapon Enfold, it paired well, allowing you to reach a higher boost in Weapon Enfold than Body Enfold." "So I need to study my body better to allow for a better execution of Body Enfold? Got it," Almond smiled. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Thest evaluation is of yourbat power, but it¡¯s better that you do this in Firefly City," Admiral Rudra smiled as he showed a hologram screen to Almond from his wristwatch. "Special Hunter?" Almond read it out loud, surprised. "What¡¯s that?" "A new position in GAA for you." "Ehh?" Soon, Admiral Rudra exined why he did this. Apparently, Admiral Rudra had decided to create a special position for him in Firefly City¡¯s GAA branch to allow him more freedom than usual new low-rank members. After all, Almond was capable of clearing Labyrinth Floors at higher cycles and stronger than his usual rank. This would scream bias and make him look like a case of nepotism, but it was Almond¡¯s job to shut them up, which was why he decided to let Almond hold thest evaluation to determine his Combat Power at the Firefly City¡¯s GAA branch. "Alright, your profile¡¯spleted. I am going to send it to the GAA branch in Firefly City. Your jet is also ready, so you can depart after half an hour." Admiral Rudra handed a wristwatch to Almond¡ªan advanced Magitech device that was like a minputer. It acted as a mobile phone with ¡¯Magic Whisper¡¯ ability and information source. Wearing it on his wrist, Almond checked his profile. Chapter 69: Arrival at the Firefly City Firefly City, GAA branch. At the moment, a twenty-year-old blond-haired slim man¡ªJulian, was looking at the profile sent by the Branch Master with an errand of picking up the profile¡¯s owner from the airport. With him was his brown-haired, bulky-sized partner of the same age, Roken. "Hey, isn¡¯t this profile strange, Roken?" "What do you mean?" "Take a look." [Almond Crowshade] -Silver-rank / level 10 -Combat Power: ¡ª -Combat Arsenal: ¡ªPhysical Enchantment¡ª ? Stage 1 Strength Boost: level 10. ? Stage 1 Focus Field: level 3. ? Stage 1 Fortification: level 2. ¡ªAura Enfold¡ª ? Stage 1 Body Enfold: level 2. ? Stage 1 Weapon Enfold: level 4. ¡ªMana Transmutation¡ª ? Stage 0 Elemental Mimicry. ? Stage 0 Complex-Combine Mimicry. ¡ªFlow State¡ª ? Stage 0 Overdrive. ? Stage 0 Overload. Roken tilted his head, "He ain¡¯t better than us. What¡¯s the issue?" "Look at the damn details below! And his level, you skipped his level." "Haha, it¡¯s so low, I skipped." "Idiot," Julian made a disgusted face. "He is eighteen years old, and his level being Silver level 10 meant that he fucking entered the Labyrinth this month, meaning he awakened this month. At most, it¡¯s been 23 days since he got ess to Mana if he awakened on the 1st day of this month." Only now did Roken connect the dots, resulting in a dumbfounded expression as he eximed, "Fuck, this profile is fake! Ain¡¯t no way he reached these levels in those techniques in 23 days. It wasn¡¯t like he trained every day all day!" Discover hidden tales at NovelBin.C?m Julian muttered as he looked at the profile, "It¡¯s also strange that his Combat Power is yet to be assigned and that he got a strange position called Special Hunter. What the fuck?" "Who is this guy?" Roken looked at the photo. "Dude is handsome. Must be from some big family." "Are you saying only big families have handsome guys?" Julian snorted, his mood foul. "Chill, bro. You are also handsome. Anyway, so are we going to pick up this dude?" "As much as I hate to do it, we have to go now. He should bending in ten minutes." ¡­ Almondnded from the private jet belonging to GAA¡¯s upper brass in the airport¡¯s GAA¡¯s nending area. "Lily doesn¡¯t know I am here yet. I should give her a surprise," Almond smiled. He soon arrived at the Arrivals Hall, where he spotted two people, with one of them holding a sign of his name. They also spotted him. Almond nodded at them as he walked toward them. "Hi, I believe you are here for me." "Yeah, let¡¯s go," Julian said with a in expression as he nodded and turned around. "Hello, friend," Roken smiled and put down the sign as he nodded. "I am Roken, and that guy with a bit of a bad mood is Julian." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Julian¡¯s lips twitched, but he just continued to walk without any reaction or response. "Nice to meet you," Almond nodded. As Almond followed the duo, Roken curiously asked, "Almond, I haven¡¯t heard of the Crowshade family. Where are you from?" Almond blinked, "Well, I am from Frostar City. And it¡¯s not strange you haven¡¯t heard of this family as I am the only member with this surname, though I don¡¯t know if there are Crowshades somewhere else." "Ohh, I thought you were from some influential family, haha," Rokenughed while scratching the back of his head. "Haha, nope," Almond lightly chuckled before he paused and added, "Well, if you consider my girlfriend¡¯s family, then yeah, they are kind of influential." "Oh, nice, nice. Is she in this city?" "Yep. She is a member of the League of Firefly. She just joined recently." "Damn, that¡¯s pretty good. What¡¯s her name?" "Lily," Almond smiled. "I had a girlfriend, but she broke up with me a week ago, right before the Labyrinth opened," Roken sighed. "She said I was not serious at all and not working hard, so she went inside with another group. Well, I can¡¯t me her, but it feels a bit bad, heh." "So she was right?" Almond asked with a wry smile. "Well, kind of, yeah. I got my sub-ss the previous month. It¡¯s called Runic cksmith¡ªA-rank, so I started focusing on it since my specialized ss and primary ss are both B-rank, but she wanted me to focus on mybat arsenal," Roken shook his head. "So that became the catalyst for our breakup." "Then she is wrong," Almond smiled. "You do what you want to do." "Yeah, man. I think I¡¯m getting the hang of this cksmithing stuff. I even crafted a decent Rare-rank weapon the other day!" Julian immediately snorted. "Oh, sure¡ªafter failing a dozen times, crafting shitty umon-rank products, wasting tons of materials, and goingpletely broke." "Hey, that¡¯s just part of the learning process! I¡¯m only going to get better from here." ¡¯A-rank sub-ss, Runic cksmith, huh? Sounds interesting,¡¯ Almond raised his eyebrows. The group arrived at the car by now as Julian entered the driving seat. Almond went ahead to sit in the backseat while Roken sat in the passenger seat. As Julian started driving, he said, "The Branch Master ordered me to take you to the branch for your Combat Power evaluation. Are you ready for it?" "Is there anything specific I should know beforehand to be prepared?" "Nothing particr. Just know that usage of weapons or items is forbidden during the evaluation, so don¡¯t use them even by mistake." Almond thought of something and asked, "What if my summon uses an item? My summon is a part of my power, and so is the weapon it wields, right?" "That¡­" Julian frowned. Rokenughed and said, "That¡¯s a good question. We have to ask it there to get an answer. Adventurers who have summon-type powers are pretty rare, after all. We don¡¯t have any in our branch." "I see," Almond nodded. "So, how was your first adventure into the Labyrinth?" "Pretty good and rewarding," Almond smiled. "Good, good. Oh yeah, are you going to participate in the Rising Star Tournament?" "Rising Star Tournament?" Almond blinked, curious. "First time hearing this." Roken exined the tournament, causing Almond¡¯s interest to pique up. "Sounds interesting. When is it starting?" "After eight days," Julian said. "You won¡¯t get much far in that since you just entered the Labyrinth for the first time and are only at Silver level 10." Pausing a bit, Julian added with a hint of mockery, "Well, If your Combat Arsenal is urate as disyed in your profile, then you might get a good rank in the Silver-rank bracket." Roken wryly smiled as he used Magic Whisper. ¡¯Come on, bro. You don¡¯t have to say it like that.¡¯ "I see, so you think the Combat Arsenals evaluated in my profile are false?" Almond asked, an amused smile on his face. "Do you think GAA would do that?" "Then what¡¯s with your strange position in the branch?" Julian asked, his tone raspy. "Usually, newbies start as Scouts, then climb up to be Officers, then to Marshal, then Captain, and then Commander. So, what¡¯s with the Special Hunter?" "You really want to know?" Almond¡¯s voice dropped, taking on a deeper, almost unsettling tone that caught both Roken and Julian off guard. Roken coughed nervously. "I mean, yeah...we¡¯re curious." "Are you absolutely sure?" Almond¡¯s voice grew even lower and more somber, adding a strange tension to the air. "Like really, really sure?" Roken swallowed hard, visibly tense. Julian, feeling both irritation and pressure, didn¡¯t back down. "Just say it already." Leaning forward, Almond lowered his voice even more, his tone deadly serious. "Listen carefully¡­" "I have no idea." *Screech* "Bro! Eyes on the road! Don¡¯t crash!" *¡­Screeeaaach!* Chapter 70: Combat Power Evaluation, Infernal Knight Ashkar Julian didn¡¯t say anything anymore during the rest of the ride while Roken and Almond talked about various news regarding big families, adventurers, and other stuff. It was past 12 o¡¯ noon, and the sun was bright with no clouds over the city. After arriving at the GAA branch, they went to thebat evaluation zone, a building with a big white hall installed with advanced projection Magitech. They created 3D holograms of monsters and urately interacted with physical and magical phenomena in a unique way. They were not physical, but any skills and attack that struck them would cause a 99% urate reaction. Their attacks wouldn¡¯t register on Adventurers, but wearing a simple device would disy the Adventurer¡¯s vitality, and based on the projection monster¡¯s attack, it would reduce the adventurer¡¯s vitality. Overseeing this facility was Marshal Lopol, a level 23 tinum-rank Adventurer. "I¡¯ve asked the Branch Master," Marshal Lopol said as he nodded at Almond, "Your summons are allowed to carry a weapon, but you cannot. The reason is that your summon being able to use a weapon is a part of your power." "Got it," Almond smiled. ¡¯Now then, who should I summon?¡¯ "We¡¯ll start the evaluation in one minute, get ready. There will be spawning of monsters randomly for ten minutes in Stage 1. Your Combat Power rank will be determined based on the highest stage you canplete." Almond nodded. ¡¯I¡¯ll go with Infernal Knight. He is not too scary and not weak-looking with his cool mount¡ªhe is perfect size and badassery to disy.¡¯ "Come out, Infernal Knight!" Almondmanded as if he were calling out his Pokemon. Julian, Roken, and Marshal Lopol focused, curious to see his summon. In the next second, a big vortex of dark orange and emberic red mes appeared, within which the Infernal Knight stood as a towering figure d in dark armor veined with fiery cracks. Wielding a massive greatsword streaked with molten patterns and a shield of ashen rockced withva veins, he exudes volcanic fury. Mounted atop a spectral warhorse wreathed in mes, his burning eyes peer from beneath a horned helm, scanning the battlefield with lethal focus as the air around him shimmered with heat. Stay connected with NovelBin.C?m The warhorse was five meters tall, and the knight atop it was an over three meters tall humanoid as the pair made a giant monstrous figure together. "Holy shit, that¡¯s awesome," Roken eximed. "Infernal Knight Ashkar, damn cool, alright!" ¡¯It¡¯s powerful, I can feel it. His ss must be high-ranking,¡¯ Julian clenched his fist, ¡¯Why do people get different ranks of ss at the start?¡¯ ¡¯No, fuck unfairness! I am going to be stronger with whatever I have and get more myself! Admiral Rudra started at B-rank primary ss, but he is the strongest!¡¯ "That¡¯s a powerful summon you got there," Marshal Lopol raised his eyebrows, his eyes glinting. "Its stats feel quite high as well. Would you mind sharing the status screen of this summon with me?" "Me too, bro! If you don¡¯t mind," Roken quickly said. Almond smiled and showed his Status screen for all of them to see via the wristwatch¡¯s hologram function. [Spirit Wraith¡ªInfernal Knight Ashkar] -Rank: Silver -Level: 10 -ssification: Cavalry Warrior. -Quirk(s): ¡ª> Generates Embersparks upon getting damaged, which can be used to restore Infernal Knight¡¯s health and increase fire-attribute damage, but Infernal Knight can¡¯t receive any kind of healing aside from its own way. ¡ª> True knight Agramon: If Infernal Knight Ashkar takes fatal damage, his Warhorse Agramon sacrifices its life and revives him. The revived Infernal Knight acquires Molten Fury, increasing his stats by 50%. If Warhorse Agramon dies first, Infernal Knight acquires a special skill¡ªFailed Knight¡¯s Shattered Vow: Kills himself and self-destructs in a 100-meter radius while changing the 100-meter radius area into deadly moltenva. -Stats: 0 unassigned stat points. ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 66|Health: 62|Stamina: 62] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 67|Focus: 63|Perception: 63] -Skills: ¡ª Infernal mes (A) ¡ª Enhance-type ¡ª Darkened de (A) ¡ª Enhance-type ¡ª Shadow Step (A) ¡ª Movement-type ¡ª Hellfire Burst (S) ¡ª Attack-type ¡ª Infernal Shield (A) ¡ª Defense-type ¡ª Cursed Strike (B) ¡ª Debuff/Attack-type ¡ª zing Rush (S) ¡ª Attack/movement-type ¡ª Emberveil Restoration (A) ¡ª Self-support-type ¡ª Pyrosm sh (A) ¡ª Attack-type. ¡ª Emberd Barrier (A) ¡ª Support/Defense-type. ¡ª Inferno¡¯s Wrath (S) ¡ª Attack-type. There was a silence after Almond showed the status thatsted for three seconds before¡­ "Holy Smokes!" Roken shouted, his mouth wide open. Julian¡¯s eyes visibly trembled just like his body, ¡¯What is¡­what kind of summon is this? What the fuck is this?!¡¯ Marshal Lopol was also dumbfounded as he stood there stunned, and his arms crossed as he proceeded. There was a hint of satisfaction in Almond¡¯s eyes as he saw their reactions. He was quite proud of his four sentient creations as they had Human Spirits¡¯ influence. He had one more that he gotst, but he had yet to summon it from the Spirit Kodoku pocket and write down its name and disposition details. And in terms of stats, aside from Alfred and Chimera Viperfiend, the rest had way higher base stats because each of them had five or more Boss Monsters¡¯ Spirits in their Spirit Kodoku round! "This¡­is very powerful, Almond," Marshal Lopol said as heposed himself, his eyes curious. "The stats are close to same leveled Field Bosses, but these skills and those quirks, along with potential growth¡­what rank is your ss, if you don¡¯t mind revealing it?" ¡¯My information is ssified, so whatever I say would be epted. Let¡¯s go with S-rank.¡¯ "It¡¯s an S-rank ss," Almond replied with a smile. Roken and Julian were further stunned upon hearing Almond¡¯s ss rank. "I see, that¡¯s what I expected," Marshal Lopol nodded, his eyes curious and focused on the Infernal Knight. "By the way, are your summons real entities in some other world? I am just assuming this because there seems to be a story based on that Quirk." Almond chuckled, "That¡¯s not the case. The way I get my summons is a bit special. Their stories are what I came up with. I can decide what kind of personality and disposition my summons get when I summon them first, as this can give me interesting power, as you saw in my Infernal Knight." Almond had discovered this when he made Dark Pope Benedict, filling its disposition with a quirky personality and backstory in the mind based on its name. He was surprised to find an interesting quirk based on information he filled, so he figured out this hidden effect of influencing his summons. Marshal Lopol was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect something like this to be the case. "I think¡­just based on this ss skill that can allow you to get your summons of this type, your S-rank ss can be considered one of the most powerful if I have to judge," Marshal Lopol looked at Almond with a smile. The way he looked at Almond was nowpletely different. ¡¯This kid is going ces if he is really talented like his profile shows. This and his ss¡­we are finally going to have one Supper Rookie of this generation.¡¯ "Yeah, I agree," Almond smiled. "It¡¯s quite powerful if I have to say so myself." "Bro, I am so envious, like damn, you are op!" Rokenughed. Julian waspletely still and silent as he observed. He suppressed his growing envy, observed, and fueled his fire to be stronger. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Alright, one minute¡¯s up. Herees the first stage." Chapter 71: Leisure Clearing Almond turned around and saw five Bronze-rank level 5 Dire Wolves around him a few meters away. Theyunched their attack without hesitation upon materializing. Almond stood with his arms crossed, leisurely and carefree, as hemanded in his mind, ¡¯Burn them.¡¯ The Warhorse Agramon stomped on the ground, creating shockwavesced with mes¡ªa simple use of its me attribute¡¯s power unrted to the skills. The med shockwaves instantly incinerated the wolves. But the Stage 1 wasn¡¯t over yet. Two Goblin Archers and one Goblin Warrior spawned, initiating their attack soon. Almond didn¡¯t bother dodging and simply waved his hand, deflecting the arrows physically. Warhorse Agramon stomped Goblin Warrior to death while Infernal Knight Ashkar released a me wave with his sword in long range, destroying the Goblin Archers. Like this, three more different waves of monsters, all being Bronze-rank up to level 10, appeared. "That was expected. I suppose you don¡¯t need to take a break?" "Nah. Let¡¯s start Stage 2." Stage 2 began with five Silver rank monsters from level 1 to level 5. This time, Almond made a move¡ªa single move. His figure visibly blurred as he wielded his sword, crossing past the five monsters within a second as he exerted his physical prowess while using Weapon Enfold. In another second, all five monsters were sliced as their digital structures flickered and vanished. A silver level 5 Shadow Eagle spawned and made a surprise attack, but before it could near Almond, it was shed by Infernal Knight Ashkar. More and more Silver-rank monsters spawned with gaps as their level got higher and higher, but all of them were killed before they could do anything. Even if they used the skills, none could hit Almond. Soon, Almond started facing monsters at Silver level 11 and above. ¡¯What the hell are his stats?¡¯ Julian frowned. ¡¯They don¡¯t like they belong to a Silver level 10, even if he has used a couple of stat-increasing items.¡¯ "Damn," Roken muttered, just watching with a daze and a bit of excitement. ¡¯His stats,¡¯ Marshal Lopol blinked a few times, trying to get a reading on Almond. ¡¯His aura is properly maintained, and not once has his Mana control wavered¡­this kid is not even giving me an opportunity to get a proper guess on his stats.¡¯ ¡¯But they are all above 50 for sure. Those movements are impossible without at least that much,¡¯ Marshal Lopol¡¯s eyes glinted as he saw Almond dispatching a Silver level 20 Chainsaw Monkey in a single sh of his sword after leisurely dodging its attack. "Julian, is he going to get C-10 Combat rank just like that?" Roken muttered. Julian¡¯s fists were clenched in his cross-armed position, "His profile is real. He is using all Mana techniques with better fineness than us even though we have reached a bit higher level than him in those techniques. He got the C-10 rank in his bag." C-10 meant that he had reached the peak of Silver rank in terms ofbat power. It also meant he would be allowed to enter C-rank dungeons, up to the ck-colored C-rank dungeons, which are the most dangerous. Thest monster of Stage 2 spawned, a mini Boss of level 30. ¡¯Go, destroy it,¡¯ Almondmanded them with what skills to use for the attack. Infernal Knight Ashkar and Warhose Agramon unleashed dark red mes that whirled around them and rushed forward, using (S) zing Rush skill while both of them were also enhanced with the (A) Infernal mes skill that boosted their fire-rted damage further. *BOOM* The mini-boss was obliterated, putting an end to Stage 2. "Impressive," Marshal Lopol pped while smiling. "Way to go, bro! You better enter that tournament because you might just be the champion of the Silver-rank bracket, hahaha." Julian didn¡¯t want to admit it, but he had to¡­that Almond was skilled and powerful. "Let¡¯s start Stage 3," Almond said as he cracked his index finger, a faint smile on his face. Marshal Lopol thoughtfully nodded, "You might be able to defeat a few waves. Let¡¯s see how far you go in the B-rank." Stage 3 spanned longer because the monsters in this stage ranged from Gold level 1 to Gold level 100. "Do you want to wait a bit to recover your Stamina and Mana?" "Yeah, give me a few minutes," Almond nodded and sat down cross-legged, entering meditation. "You two got a new task, or are you just wandering around instead of training?" Marshal Lopol turned to Roken and Julian. "We were about to begin our training session, Marshal," Julian said respectfully. "Then go." "Marshal, can we wait until Almond finishes, please?" Roken asked while putting up puppy eyes. "Get lost. Just do your training until you get a task. Julian, don¡¯t forget about your goal in the Rising Star Tournament. If you want the rewards, you have to work hard." "Yes, sir. Roken, let¡¯s go." Julian began walking out along with relucent, long-faced Roken. After they left, Almond opened his eyes and looked at Marshal Lopol, "Marshal, do you mind if I borrow them to explore the city a bit? I also want to visit League of Firefly." "They are in their free time, which is usually used for training. So if they don¡¯t mind showing you around, sure. Also, I sent them away because I wanted to iste this session," Marshal Lopol smiled, his eyes shing a sheen of light. "I¡¯ve turned off cameras as well, so don¡¯t hold back in this stage. I will allow you to set your Combat Power rank if you want to hide your real Combat Power on your profile." "And yeah, I got the mail from Admiral Rudra," he added. ¡¯But I have no intention of doing that,¡¯ Almond internally chuckled. Admiral Rudra doesn¡¯t know about all of his Spirit Wraiths, nor the full power of his Specialized ss, and Admiral Rudra didn¡¯t even press Almond to reveal them, so Almond wasn¡¯t nning to show all of his cards here. Continue your adventure with NovelBin.C?m ¡¯Not like I can show my full power against the 3D projection of monsters. My Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest doesn¡¯t work on them.¡¯ He had tried the skill, and it ended in failure, which he expected since these monsters were not real at all. The Magitech also wasn¡¯t high enough to detect that advanced skill and make a proper result, and even if it could detect and halve the monster¡¯s stats, it couldn¡¯t give Almond the boost as he essentially couldn¡¯t ¡¯harvest¡¯ stats from these unreal monsters. "I am ready. Let¡¯s start." In the end, Almond fought until his Infernal Knight died. Naturally, it didn¡¯t die due to these fake monsters¡¯ attack, but Almond killed the Infernal Knight and triggered its trait True Knight Agramon to make it stronger until he defeated the 5th wave in Stage 3, reaching B-5bat power rank. He also exhausted his Mana and stamina by then because the Gold-rank level 50 monsters were indeed strong enough that he had to exert more of his power. "Do you want to continue with more summons?" Marshal Lopol asked. "I assume you have more summons." ¡¯I do have, but I wonder if I should show more?¡¯ Almond blinked, his expression thoughtful.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Chapter 72: Forest Maid Sylvia Almond answered as he made a decision, "Nah. I indeed have more summons, but Infernal Knight is strongest in terms of stats due to that quirk. I''ve also exhausted myself, so I guess this is it." "Do you want to register yourbat power as B-5 or lower?" Almond replied with a question, "Do you know thebat power of Silver rank Super Rookies?" "Well, the strongest of them have revealed thebat power of B-4." "Revealed?" Almond raised his eyebrows. "Revealed, indeed." ''Interesting choice of word.'' "Then I would like to set mybat power at B-1 for now," Almond smiled. "Alright. Your position is a bit special, so ording to Admiral Rudra, you are allowed toe and go as you please and get priority in Dungeons suitable to yourbat power rank. You can bring people inside with you, but only those belonging to GAA. You''re free to choose and recruit new people for GAA as well." "Wow," Almond was surprised. ''Old man is going all out. And he listened to myst suggestion, eh?'' Since he could see people''s character attributes, he was the best when it came to judging someone with coldly precise detail due to his Riftveil Eyes. "You don''t know what you have to do with this new position?" Marshal Lopol asked in surprise upon seeing Almond surprised. "Nah. Admiral Rudra made it for me but didn''t exin much," Almond wryly smiled. "I think because he wants me to freely progress in my own way." "I see. There''s also not much information about you and your position due to Admiral Rudra. Well, putting that aside, do you want anything or want to know about anything?" "Hmmm, I would like useless Rare-grade items if this branch has any. I am willing to buy them cheaply." "Oh? Why do you need them?" "Just some skill-rted condition of my primary ss. I need a hundred of them." "Hmm, we don''t have that many ''useless'' Rare-grade items in stock, but we do have some that are quite bad despite being Rare-grade. You''re going to the training zone, right? Wait for ten minutes, I''ll send someone there with the items." "Alright," Almond nodded with a smile. "Thank you for the trouble." Almond left while thinking about Lily. ''I aming soon, Lily.'' He was eager and wanted to meet up as soon as possible now that he was here. It had been a while since he was in her loveful presence and tasted her kiss. ¡­ Almond went to the training zone and encountered an interesting situation. "What''s up, Julian? Is that all you got? Did you even make any progress in this month''s Labyrinth dive, or did you just return after strolling for three days?" "I bet he was getting enlightenment under a waterfall somewhere on the sixth floor." "Hahaha, sounds about right." Julian was in a sparring ring with someone of his age, and it seemed that he was losing. Roken had a puffed expression as he angrily said, "Doman, you would lose if it''s just sparring using Mana techniques." "Huh? Are you going to say the same thing when a monster is about to kill you?" "Lmao, Doman. Monsters can''t use Mana techniques." "Ah, right, maybe he will tell the monsters to fight without using skills then," Doman grinned. "You¡­" "Stop it, Roken," Julian said as he got up, his whole body aching as he held his sword properly again and looked intently at Doman, the muscled guy wearing boxing gloves. "Let''s continue." Doman grinned as his fleeting footsteps caused confusion to Julian again, dodging Julian''s attack while throwing a jab at him using his ss skill, shattering Julian''s Body Enfold and Fortification as he puked blood. Almond blinked, ''That Doman has some good ss skills. He got better stats as well.'' Julian, Doman, Roken, and other people in this group were all Gold-rank Adventurers, mostly below Gold level 50 and some under 70. "I guess this is it. Hey, someone heal him," Doman said before leaving the ring. "I''ll heal him," Almond chimed in as he waved his hand, summoning the Forest Maid Sylvia, who used a skill to heal him. "Woah, who is that?" "No way, a summon?!" "Is it a new member?" The appearance of Forest Maid Sylvia attracted everyone''s attention. "She is such a cutie beauty," a girl said as she and other girls approached her, looking at her and Almond curiously. Forest Maid Sylvia embodied the spirit of the forest with her flowing gown of leaves, vines, and flowers, shifting in hues of green and earthy brown. Her hair, woven with twigs and glowing fireflies, cascades down her back while intricate root-like markings spread across her sun-kissed skin. She wielded a staff of ancient wood adorned with vines and a glowing crystal, symbolizing her connection to nature''s magic. Her emerald eyes shone with calm wisdom while her presence radiated life. [Forest Maid¡ªSylvia] - Rank: Silver - Level: 10 - ssification: All-arounder Mage. - Quirk(s): ¡ª> Floral Maid: Sylvia can summon small, animated flowers or saplings to assist her in minor tasks from any natural greenery around her. These helpers can retrieve items, carry small objects, or even assist in lightbat by distracting enemies. This quirk reflects her role as a devoted caretaker, with nature itself lending a helping hand in her tasks. ¡ª> Nature''s Caretaker: Sylvia passively releases a soothing aura that gently restores the health and Mana of nearby allies over time. The effect intensifies if she is focused solely on tending to others, boosting their recovery. - Stats: ¡ª Physical: ? [Strength: 55 | Health: 70 | Stamina: 60] ¡ª Mental: ? [Mana: 75 | Focus: 68 | Perception: 72] - Skills: ¡ª Nature Magic Mastery (A) ¡ª Nature''s Embrace (A) ¡ª Vines of Binding (A)n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡ª Forest''s Blessing (S) ¡ª Healing Dew (A) ¡ª Thorn Barrier (S) ¡ª Whispering Breeze (A) ¡ª Enchanted Flora (A) ¡ª Woond Camouge (A) ¡ª Earth''s Resonance (B) ¡ª Verdant Surge (S) With a gentle wave of her staff, she used a skill and materialized dreamy green wisps infused into Julian andpletely healed him. After she was done, Almond put her back in the spirit pocket. "Are you a new member? Hi, I am Lora. Nice to meet you." "Are you new here? What''s your name?" "Almond," Almond politely said. "And yes, I moved to this city and joined GAA." "I am Marina," another one said with a grin. "I have a question, handsome. Are you single?" Before Almond could answer, Roken jumped in with a snort, "He is not single! Go away,dies. He already has a girlfriend, someone of his age at that." "Hey, what do you mean by that, fatty? Are you saying we are olddies?" "We are just a couple of years old, it''s nothing, asshole." "Humph, ignore that bum, girls. It''s no wonder Sally dumped him." "Anyway, Almond. If you want any help, you can reach out to us. Seniors here will help you." "Since you''re new in the city, we''ll be happy to show you and your girlfriend the charm of this city." Roken snickered, "It''s fine. Julian and I can show them around. You all are too noisy, anyway." "Don''t listen to get dumbo, Almond. He knows nothing," Marina rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we won''t disturb you anymore. Have fun." Chapter 73: Onwards to League of Firefly Meanwhile, other girls, particrly the newbies like him, whispered among themselves. ''His eyes are so beautiful, right? And his fashion sense is good too, that noble vest and coatbo with sleek ck pants¡­'' ''Stop it, girl. But I can feel you¡­'' ''What about his ss? I think his ss is powerful if he has such a powerful-looking summon.'' ''Should we invite him to our party? He is also Silver level 10, so he''ll also enter the 2nd Floor next month.'' ''Didn''t we decide not to invite any boys for our first year here?'' Meanwhile, the boys were quiet at a distance due to two reasons. The first reason is that he healed Julian and seemed to know him and Roken. There were formed groups among Scout and Officer rank members, forming a sort of rivalry between them to get stronger and get over one another as their total contribution determined the next rank, and they could use GAA''s benefits and resources by using contribution points. The second reason is that a girl group that usually ys hard to get for seniors was swarming at him. "Thanks for the healing, but you might attract fellows who will pick some trouble with you," Julian said as he walked towards Almond after the girls left and nodded at him. "They are free to pick the trouble," Almond shrugged. "Anyway, I am here because I want to go to the League of Firefly and do some shopping before checking out my house here." Almond''s eyes glinted as he smiled and added. "Of course, your free time to train is precious, so I''ll give you some useful pointers regarding swordy, what do you say?" "Let''s go," Julian''s reply was swift, his expression deadpan and serious. "But make sure to keep your word." "Hahaha, what about me, bro?" Roken said as he pointed at himself smilingly. "You got any tips for me?" But before Almond could answer, augh echoed from behind as Doman and five people of his group¡ªtwo girls and three boys twenty years old approached them. "You''re seriously asking pointers from a Silver rank level 10 newbie, huh? No wonder you two aren''t improving." "It''s none of your business, Doman," Julian said, his expression indifferent. "If you''re just here to speak shit, no thanks. You can continue your training." "Little shit, you forgot your beating already?" Doman sneered. "That was a spar," Julian narrowed his eyes. "Now, get lost." Conflicts resulting in fights were absolutely prohibited. Breaking this rule could result in bigger trouble and hamper their progress overall. They could only fight in proper sparring, so Doman could only get pissed even if he wanted to beat Julian. "We are going to a dungeon as we just got a task mail, unlike a certain someone who got nothing to do," Doman said as he turned aloof and looked at Almond, "See youter, newbie." "Sure," Almond smiled, unfazed, yet a chill glint passed through his eyes as he checked out a certain Attribute of this Doman. ''That one''s a negative, alright. I''ll have to see if he has a skeleton or two in his closet.'' ''I would love my next summon to have some good closebat expertise.'' ¡­ Almond stayed in the training zone until an Officer-rank girl with long dark green hair arrived, who also attracted some attention because of her status as the Branch Master''s student¡ªNevira Irdent. She was in the same age group as Julian and Doman''s group¡ªtwenty to twenty-one years old. "Here''s the Rare-grade junks. Keep the storage pouch." "Thank you," Almond epted the storage pouch and put it in his coat''s pocket. ''Seven, huh? I was expecting more.'' "Check the mail and pay on time," Nevira said before leaving without further interaction. Almond checked the mail and saw that these seven Rare-grade items cost him 57,400 Gold coins. ''Not bad.'' "Roken, I''ll buy your rare-grade item if you don''t have any use for it," Almond said. "Really?! Thanks a lot, bro. It''s not that good, which was why nobody was willing to buy it." "And you put a price that''s more than its worth," Julian rolled his eyes. Roken winced, "I wanted to recover some money. We don''t even have any Dungeon assigned to us, and it''s 3rd cycle, so we can''t enter the Labyrinth anymore unless we have a death wish. What can I do now that I''ve wasted over 200,000 Gold coins?" Almondughed and said, "I''ll buy it. What''s the price?" "Umm¡­I put it up for 25,000 but fuck it. I am not going to rip you off. Take it for 10,000." Almond chuckled, "Alright, that just earned you a spot in a B-grade dungeon raid." "W-What?!" Roken shouted. Julian was startled before his brows furrowed, "How?" "Just know that I got it, I''ll tell you when we''ll go at the end of the day," Almond cheekily smiled. "For now, take me to the League of Firefly." "Let''s go, young master," Roken bowed like a butler and gestured to Almond with a respectful expression. "Driver Julian, take out the car." Julian didn''t say anything and began walking out of the training zone. Almond followed as he said, "That said, I also want to buy a car." Roken quickly walked beside Almond, "What''s your budget?" ''I should buy necessary things first before dumping all gold coins on gathering sacrificial rare-grade items.'' "Budget, let''s say it''s a hundred thousand gold coins." "Damn, alright. I know some good dealers affiliated with GAA, so we''ll get a good car with your budget." ¡­ As the trio got into the car, Almond asked, "How far is the League of Firefly?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Roughly fifty kilometers away. They have to protect their territory, which also includes a coastal area. They have to stop monstersing from the sea," Julian answered as he began driving. "Oh yeah, bro," Roken said as he looked back at Almond, "Why don''t you get assigned to the mini-branch of GAA there? I mean, it''s hard to get spots there, but given your strange position, you should be able to ask it." Julian nodded, "GAA members there enjoy better training and a better environment cause there''s a beach, and they can join League of Firefly''s sea defense to kill monsters regrly, which earns them more gold coins." "Interesting. That just gave me a good idea," Almond smiled. On the way to the League of Firefly, Almond took his time checking out various important attributes of Julian and Roken. His powers, especially in both of his sses, were suitable for a leader, amander with the power to arm his subordinates with more power. And Almond himself wanted to form a trustworthy group. He wasn''t going to underestimate himself, especially after learning of his past life and the bigger troubles in the dark regarding this Grimworld''s Tutorial. ''Their characters are good in the core. One has a strong drive to get stronger despite the bad hand dealt to him and focuses on it.'' ''The other has a carefree and honest nature. His sub-ss might just pave a good path for him.'' ''Starting with these two, I''ll make them powerful and earn their loyalty. This is the best way if I want truly trustworthy people to work for me.'' Chapter 74: Only One Way: Commotion League of Firefly Guild Base. Almond was genuinely surprised by the scale of the base as they entered through the peripheral gate and saw big and exotic buildings. "Yeah, this is nothing, bro. League of Firefly is over three times bigger than GAA''s branch here in terms of base size," Roken said upon seeing Almond''s expression.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "But of course, the main headquarters of GAA is the biggest and grandest of all," Roken added with a grin. "Let''s go," Julian said as he parked the car and turned it off. ¡­ The trio entered the Reception building, which had five desks and a person sitting behind each of them. Almond, Roken, and Julian walked towards a desk as the ck-haired girl in her twenties promptly asked, "How may I help you, visitors?" "I am here to meet someone," Almond said with a polite smile. "Would you please tell me where is Lily Darkwood?" Hearing that, the girl squinted her eyes for a second before replying, "I''m sorry, but reporters are not allowed to have an interview with her." Almond blinked. "Do we look like reporters?" Roken pointed his finger at himself. "Reporters in camouge?" thedy tilted her head. "We''ve had five of them since morning." Almond wryly smiled. "We are from GAA," Julian replied with a deadpan expression. "Huh? Are you here for her inspection? Nope. Not even your Branch Master is allowed to do that. Her profile will be out when the guild decides to do that." "¡­" "We are not here for that," Roken scratched the back of his head and looked at Almond. "Can you please call her here then?" Almond asked with a dry smile. Thedy rolled her eyes, "Yeah, sure. Who are you? Her brother? Haven''t heard of one." "Umm¡­I am...." Almond paused and leaned ahead before he whispered, "Her life mate." Thedy was stunned before her expression gradually darkened, "Security!" ¡­ "This is embarrassing. Do you not have her contact or something?" Julia clicked his tongue as they were escorted out of the reception building. "I don''t have her contact," Almond wryly smiled. "I didn''t think it would be hard to meet someone here." "And we didn''t think that your girlfriend was the super newbie that''s going to be super rookie soon. She''s the same one some of those people were talking about, right?" Roken curiously asked. "Yeah, I don''t think there''s another Lily Darkwood here." "Hey, chaps from GAA." Suddenly, a group of six people approached them. Four of them were in theirte teens, and two were in their early twenties. "What''s up?" Roken blinked. "What you''re here for?" the red-haired young man in his early twenties asked. "We came to meet someone. I wonder if you can help us?" Almond asked. "Huh? You''re asking us means that the receptionist rejected you, eh? Don''t tell me you''re here for Lily Darkwood?" "¡­" Almond had a feeling this group was also about to reject them. Getting no answer, a few of them in the group burst outughing while the red-haired senior said, "You''re not the first one to be rejected, heh. Get lost." "Actually," Almond stepped forward as he cracked his knuckle, his face forming a narrowed-eyed grin. "I am here with a challenge. I heard there are some strong newbies in the League of Firefly." ''I guess this is the only way to meet her. A littlemotion can be helpful,'' Almond thought, smiling inwardly. ''Might as well see what the chaps of this guild got.'' Julian and Roken were startled, just like the Firefly group. From that group, a brown-haired eighteen-year-old suddenly sneered and said, "Since you''re here for the challenge, I''m sure you''ll put something on the line. How about the winner take home 100,000 Gold coins?" "Haha, good idea. The arena''s there," another said with a grin. "Don''t back off now that you''ve said it." "Senior Ryker, it''s fine, right?" the third newbie asked the red-haired twenty-year-old. Almond looked at Ryker, smiling. "It''s fine. We''ve had challenges from other guilds before, but this time it''s GAA. No harm in earning pennies," Ryker said as he formed a faint smile. "Come on, chap." "Almond Crowshade," Almond said and chuckled. "Don''t worry, we won''t remember that name for long," the cocky brown-haired newbie said before he strutted towards the Arena''s direction while others also turned. Almond promptly replied as he followed the group, "That''s an interesting theory, friend. Unfortunately, it only applies to goldfish. So unless you are one, you won''t ever forget my name." "He won''t ever forget your face after the battle," Roken sneered before he quickly whispered to Almond, "Bro, is this really a good idea?" "Don''t worry, didn''t they say challenges aremon?" Almond smiled and nced at Julian. "I don''t give a fuck, besides, it''ll be fun to see them eat dirt," Julian said as he sensed his gaze, causally walking alongside Almond. Ryker heard them and chuckled, "Let''s let the fist do the talking now. The arena is three hundred meters deep, so we should hurry." Almond followed them while looking around, amazed at the whole base. ''Is that hill at the end a residential area? There''s a cool pce there.'' Almond didn''t know that Lily and Natalia were training in that private pce that only high-ranking tinum-rank members could ess, and only they could bring others on that hill. ''That tall and big building must be their main headquarters building.'' They soon arrived at the Arena section. It was a big bow-shaped area slightly bigger than a football field, with five elevated tform rings over it in pentagon-shaped points. "This is pretty good," Almond said. The 4th number tform was empty, so the newbie did a long and high jump,nding squarely on the tform. "Come on," he said, beckoning at Almond. "Sure, but I would like to change the bet," Almond said, his voice loud as he raised his hand holding an item. Ryker and others looked at it while the brown-haired boy on the tform also squinted his eyes to see the item. "This is a Rare-grade weapon drop from the 1st Floor, Stardriver Shard Staff." "No fucking way," Roken shouted. Julian was also dumbfounded. "You can''t be serious?" Ryker narrowed his eyes. "That fetches one million Gold coins minimum, and more if it has good perks and skills." "No fuck, he said it, so it''s on the game now," the blond-haired newbie said excitedly. "But know that we won''t put anything of that value on the line," the second senior, a tall, muscled man with short indigo hair, said with narrowed eyes. "If you said that in excitement, I''ll allow you to take it back." "I am serious," Almond said as he handed the item over to Julian. "He''ll hold onto it." Saying that, he jumped andnded on the tform, ten meters away from the brown-haired newbie. "Damn, bro is serious," Roken muttered, his excitement surging. "This is going to be fun." On the tform, Cyner grinned at Almond and said, "I am Cyrus, and my role is of a warrior. What''s your name again? I forgot." He took out a big mace with a spiked metal ball. It was a Rare-grade item crafted in the guild''s forge house. Almond took out his Preying Hunter''s Sword. "Another rare drop," Ryker muttered. "Two top-notch drops from the first floor." "That chap must be from a rich fam, humph." "What''s his role?" Almond stretched his arm and made a showy magic symbol with a star-theme design from his palm facing the ground. "I am a summoner," Almond smiled. "Come out, Starlight Beast." Chapter 75: Starlight Beast "W-What the fuck?" Cyrus'' eyes popped out. "That''s one fucking cool beast!" "Whose summon is that?" Almond''s Starlight Beast instantly captivated the tform. The beast''s sleek, muscr body shimmered with a soft, stardust-like glow, and faint constetions pulsed subtly across its silver-blue coat. A flowing mane shifted between indigo and silver while intense, glowing silver eyes seemed to peer into every onlooker''s soul as more and more people focused there and closed in towards thisbat ring tform. Everyone felt as if they felt a mysterious pull from the beast, unaware that it was the Starlight Beast''s inherent trait. [Starlight Beast] - Rank: Silver - Level: 10 - Quirk(s): ¡ª> Starforged Core: This core pulses with starlight, allowing the beast to passively regenerate Mana over time and granting it resistance to physical and magical attacks. When its health drops below 30%, the core activates a Starforce Surge, temporarily increasing its Strength and Mana by 25% and surrounding it with a faint, protective aura of stardust that reduces iing damage. - Stats: ¡ª Physical: ? [Strength: 70 | Health: 80 | Stamina: 70]n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ¡ª Mental: ? [Mana: 80 | Focus: 70 | Perception: 70] - Skills: ¡ª Celestial Roar (A) ¡ª Astral ws (B) ¡ª Starburst Leap (A) ¡ª Moonlit Howl (B) ¡ª Radiant Aura (C) ¡ª Starlit Veil (B) ¡ª Cosmic Pulse (S) ¡ª Twilight Regeneration (B) ¡ª Meteor Rush (A) ¡ª Neb Shield (B) Starlight Beast didn''t have a human soul in its creation, but its birth gave it a quirk on its own, like Chimera Viperfiend got, through the process consisting of twenty Spirits that were used as the foundation of their spirit evolution. But unlike Chimera Viperfiend, Starlight Beast had five big bosses from the major area¡ªStarfall Basin, and two big bosses from the Inner area¡ªBurial Light Forest. "Do we start now?" Almond asked stunn-looking Cyrus. "Y-yeah, let''s start," Cyrus nodded before he breathed out and focused. ''It''s just big. It can''t be that powerful. I''ll go all out from the start.'' "Alright," Almond smiled andmanded the Starlight Beast to use its only S-rank¡ªCosmic Pulse. In the next second, a disk-themed pulse gently released from the Starlight Beasts'' body, creating an ethereal cosmic disk covering the entirebat ring tform. *BOOM* This sound was actually Cyrus'' knees hitting the ground before he released a scream as he felt his whole body breaking. ''Shit, was this too strong?'' Almond was dumbfounded and told Starlight Beast to tone down on the gravity pressure. ''But how? It shouldn''t be this powerful.'' Cyrus was barely hanging on to prevent himself from getting unconscious. ''Gravity? I fucked up¡­ I used half-assed weight increase¡­f-fuck¡­'' Ryker arrived on the tform behind Cyrus and pulled him up, "It seems that Cyrus lost this match. Give it up for our GAA friend here!" Almond was already using Focus Field, thought a bitte, but he captured Cyrus'' activity that suddenly ceased. ''It seems that he used a kind of skill that made the effect of Cosmic Pulse stronger on him¡­should be weight or something rted to it.'' "Well, anyone else wants toe up?" Almond said as he enhanced his voice with Mana. "If any silver-rank can defeat me, I''ll give up my rare-drop¡ªStardriver Shard Staff. Ryker followed up as if he wanted to fuel this, "Everyone, feel free toe up." Ryker jumped off the ring while carrying Cyrus and handed it over to his friends. "Take him to the infirmary. He needs to be healed from within his bodily foundation. Tell the healer to check his body properly first." Cyrus'' three friends took him away while Ryker turned back to look at the ring. The second challenger had already arrived. ''A summon this powerful,'' Ryker narrowed his eyes. "Ryker, I''m calling Xaviar." "You think no one else in Silver rank can defeat him, Sam?" Ryker turned to his friend. "Yeah," Sam nodded, his gaze on Almond while he dialed a call to the League of Firefly''s Super Rookie¡ªXavier Rozerf. Meanwhile, the second challenger was thrown off the stage one second after a makeshift referee from the crowd arrived and rang the gong to start the fight. "Repel?" Ryker frowned. "It seems to be based on attraction and repel," Sam muttered. "This means that the pulsing ring phenomenon¡­this is reminding me of some bosses in Starfall Basic." "Yeah, that Star Ma Minotaur, but it also has a visual effect of Starfall Lionking''s Glitter Pulse, meaning there''s more to this skill than just attraction and repel." The third challenger arrived. This time, each step within Cosmic Pulse''s range suddenly formed tiny neon-colorful stones that struck the challenger along with a hard gravity pull toward the ground. It was over in a jiffy. "What the hell? How can Mona lose this fast?" "Yeah, she''s got two A-rank sses and is one of the best among this time''s newbies." "She didn''t get the chance to disy her arsenal of power. That beast''s crazy skill is overwhelming them." This time, the previous month''s newbie arrived, who had ascended to the 2nd Floor and went past Silver level 10. But the result remained the same. Instant defeat. Two more challenged Almond. And then two more. But Almond hadn''t moved a single step from his position. Suddenly, only the uproar and talk ensued while no one else came to challenge him, nor anyone shouted that they would go next. The one who said he would go after Mona was also silent. The audience was also increasing in size and the higher-ups were getting informed about the challenge, though it wasn''t anything new, so it was just about rying information. However, that changed within the next ten minutes when one of the strongest Silver Level 30 Adventurers lost as well. This person had reached level 2 in all Mana techniques, and level 6 in Strength Boost. He managed to hurt Starlight Beast, but that''s all. Almond had tomand Starlight to use three skills, and one fact still hadn''t changed. He still didn''t move from his initial position. Nobody could get close to Almond nor manage to hit him from long-range. Starlight Beast was like a ruthless protector, defeating opponents swiftly while protecting Almond on its own with Starlit Veil, a passive skill that works while Starlight Beast is spending its Mana¡ªthe effect of creating a mystical transparent silver curtain as a makeshift shield anywhere within its range. Chapter 76: Almond vs. Super Rookie Xavier "Anyone else?" Almond shouted, causing other voices to lower. Seeing no oneing forward after five seconds, Almond wryly smiled, "Well, this is disappointing." "Don''t be." A voice boomed out before a figurended on the tform ten meters across from him. "Xavier!" "Defeat him, Xavier!" "Show him who''s the boss in Silver-rank!" Almond looked at the light blue-haired young man with a white shirt and a trouser the same as his age, who was quite famous a month ago. "Nice summon," Xavier said, his eyes on Almond as he took out a rapier from his storage pouch. "Thanks," Almond smiled. "I guess I don''t need your introduction. Well, I am Almond, nice to meet you." Xavier faintly smiled, "If you have more summons, take them out. This one won''t be enough to protect you. I am 20 levels above you anyway." "Grrr¡­" Starlight Beast growled at Xavier, its mane pulsing with a glow. "It''s saying that you are getting too full of yourself," Almond chuckled. Xavier raised his eyebrows, "Well, do you agree?" Almond grinned, "Absolutely." Xavier icily smiled as his eyes turned severe. "I hope you are right, or this will be an unsightly battle." He activated Fortification, consuming 100 Mana as a protecting film that appeared around him, along with Body Enfold, to increase his overall physical power. The referee, who was floating above the tform on a small cloud, felt they exchanged enough words and hit the gong. *Swoosh!* Xavier''s rapier pointed at Starlight Beast as a sharp blue-silvery beam unleashed, aimed at its head. Starlight Beast''s reaction was fast enough to protect itself as it used B-rank Neb Shield skill, a whirling mass of sparkling dust that ate up the beam attack.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om But Xavier had alreadyunched himself right after that attack, his Physical Enchantment and Weapon Enfold also activated. Starlight Beast couldn''t react in time as Xavier had already arrived at Almond''s left, his rapier glowing and ready to deliver a powerful strike using his physical prowess and an attack-type ss skill¡ªRadiant Pierce (S). ''He might die, so I''d better use it in a non-fatal area,'' was what Xavier thought as he aimed the attack at Almond''s shoulder. But instead of seeing blood, Xavier saw sparks flying before feeling a powerful rebound as his body was flung away. He quickly stabilized himself after shooting ten meters away and gained a foothold as hended, his eyes trembling. "Not bad," Almond nodded with a smile. ''His Strength Boost is at level 7, Fortification at level 4, Body Enfold at level 3, and Weapon Enfold at level 2.'' However, Xavier had waves rising in his heart. ''What''s going on? Was my skill interrupted right before it could release?'' The arena suddenly turned deathly silent. Nobody had expected Xavier to get pushed away after he himself went for an attack. But Starlight Beast was angry, so itunched itself at Xavier, going full throttle for the first time. Starburst Leap (A) Cosmic Pulse (S) *Boom!* Xavier rolled to the side as he dodged the leap, but its main attack was the area of effect it generated afterding. Xavier was struck by the shockwave, making him unbnced while feeling a jolt throughout his body with pain, and due to that, Cosmic Pulse''s gravity pull suddenly ruined his foothold as he fell hard on the ground. Starlight Beast used A-rank Meteore Rush skill, turning into aet wrapped in fiery starlight, intending to crash into Xavier. ''It can''t be this easy, right?'' Almond raised his eyebrows. ''Super Rookies are supposed to have S-rank and above sses, along with a good foundation.'' Fortunately, Almond was right. Xavier''s body was wrapped in a milky-blue light as his figure flickered, moving ten meters towards Almond as he dodged Starlight Beast''s attack and was already in the position of stabbing at him. ''Radiant Pierce!'' *Swoosh!* Almond''s pupils shrank as he precisely side-stepped while moving less than half a meter, dodging the beam by a palm''s length. ''What? How can he dodge that?'' Xavier''s Focus Field clearly captured Almond moving timely as he masterfully dodged the attack. But he didn''t have time to think because Starlight Beast was once again on his tail, more angry than ever. "Get lost, beast," Xavier muttered with a dark expression as he caught Starlight Beast''s movement in his Focus Field. He jumped and somersaulted before unleashing his signature powerful attack. ''Radiant Pierce¡ªCrimson Spiral!'' This time, Xavier''s piercing beam had a crimson spiraling effect around it, while the beam also had a hue of dark red. It struck the Starlight Beast squarely, entering its head anding out of his back as its vitality turned zero in a second. ''I''ve half of my Mana now, but that beast''s gravity was annoying,'' Xavier thought as he looked at Almond. ''He shouldn''t have any more Summon as powerful as that beast, right?'' "Wow, that was not bad at all," Almond said as he pped and nodded while smiling. "Why did you put away your sword?" Xavier narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to continue with another summon?" "Of course, if you let me do it," Almond chuckled and added, "Come out, Dark Pope Benedict." Just as a fancy ck-crimson magic circle formed below Almond''s right-hand palm, Xavierunched himself, his rapier glowing while three needle-like projectiles conjured as they shot toward Almond. Almond''s eyes glinted, a smile ying on his face. His left arm, empowered with Fortification and Body Enfold, swooped in a timely manner as he shattered the needles forcefully by using 100 extra mana on empowerment. Ignoring the stinging pain, Almond''s right hand moved as his Preying Hunter''s Sword once again appeared in his hand, his eyes cleanly following Xaviar as he had arrived in a crouched manner to his left side, ready to stab his Rapier. Almond met his rapier in a head-on collision, but he didn''t push away Xavier this time, "Do you know¡­I don''t need to do particrly anything to summon?" Xavier''s expression changed as he saw a figure manifesting from the corner of his eyes that soon saw ck tendrilsing at him. Xavier jumped away quickly, missing by a hair''s breadth, as he saw a three-meter-tall figure d in a ck robe with a shadowy effect around him, with one hand empty and another holding a thick ck book. "Tell me, young man," Dark Pope said to Xavier, his eyes peering at him with a nasty smile, "To dare challenge my lord here, are you inspiring or perhaps suicidal?" *Uproar!* "A humanoid summon?!" "Damn, he can talk!" "What the fuck?!" "Two such powerful summons¡­I feel like he''s got an S-ss." "Xavier! Don''t lose to him!" "That beast is no less impressive, but to have two such powerful summons while he is just a newbie¡­fuck, his ss must be powerful!" Dark Pope looked around at the source of such noise, "Where are we even?" "This is not a battle to the death, so keep that in mind," Almond said with a wry smile. "Duly noted," Dark Pope nodded as he turned to Xavier again, his lips spreading into a grin. "Come on, young man, let''s have some fun." [Dark Pope Benedict] - Rank: Silver - Level: 10 - ssification: Mage - Quirk(s): Chapter 77: Dark Pope Benedict [Dark Pope Benedict] - Rank: Silver - Level: 10 - ssification: Mage - Quirk(s): ¡ª Veil of Shadows: A passive shroud surrounds Benedict, reducing damage from holy attacks and granting him slight regeneration in darkness. ¡ª Sin of the Faithful: Losing his daughter, Miriel, to the demons, Pope Benedict broke the god''s will to bring her back¡ªOnce Dark Pope Benedict receives fatal damage, Demonic Angel Miriel revives him and joins the battlefield. - Stats: ¡ª Physical: ? [Strength: 40 | Health: 80 | Stamina: 60] ¡ª Mental: ? [Mana: 110 | Focus: 95 | Perception: 85] - Skills: ¡ª Darkness Mastery (A) ¡ª Shadow Dominion (A) ¡ª Shadow Strike Whish (S) ¡ª Dark Benediction (A) ¡ª Soul Grasp (S) ¡ª Dreadful Aura (A) ¡ª Void Barrier (A) ¡ª Corruption Wave (A) ¡ª ck Prayer (A) ¡ª Obsidian Fouled Arms (A) ¡ª Deathly Conviction (S) ''Use Shadow Dominion and y with him,'' Almondmanded. [Shadow Dominion (A)] -Description: Dark Pope summons arge area of darkness that suppresses light, granting him increased power within its bounds. While active, allies within the shadow gain enhanced defenses, and enemies suffer reduced visibility, perception, and slight erosion of their magical defenses. Xavier''s expression was dark as he looked at Dark Pope. ''This summon feels even stronger than that beast.'' Darkness suddenly started spreading around the tform as Dark Pope used Shadow Dominion, initiating thebat. ''What?'' Xavier narrowed his eyes, activating his Focus Field at full power. ''Where is he?'' ''I can''t sense him¡­there''s no unique mana trail in this mess. This is bad.'' ''Should I attack Almond? No, if I do that, I''ll get struck by that summon''s skills.'' "Come on, make your move," Almond''s voice carried over, his tone carefree. Xavier gritted his teeth and dashed at him. ''I can''t hit that guy with my long-range skill, I have to get close.'' He couldn''t detect Dark Pope, so if he didn''t do anything, he was just waiting to get ambushed. But just as he crossed five meters, even in his fast dash, crackles of whip echoed in his ears before he felt danger. He had no choice but to boost his legs and change his direction as he made a burst dash to the left, dodging whatever that was about to attack him. "Your reaction is pretty good, but how long will youst like this?" Almond asked with a smile. While the battle progressed slowly on the tform due to Almond not taking the initiative to attack Xavier, the audience was growing faster even since Xavier''s appearance. Naturally, the uproar was even bigger than before, enough to reach seniors of the guild. "Damn, just how many summons bro has?" Roken smacked his lips. "But I think Infernal Knight is the most badass, right, Julian?" "He has more of such powerful summons?" Ryker asked, his brows furrowed. "How many exactly?" "We don''t know," Julian curtly replied. "Including the two he showed back in the branch, he got four so far." Sam had his mouth covered with his palm, his eyes on the tform, "Our super rookie will lose¡­He doesn''t have enough Mana to deal with this summon along with Almond, while Almond still has a lot, and he hasn''t shown everything yet ording to these two." "Why isn''t Xavier using his Spellde''s Descent? That SS-rank skill should allow him to one-shot both of them if he does it correctly," Ryker muttered. "Right?" "He wanted to use it, but I am thinking that he can''t discover Dark Pope. That shadow zone must be hindering his perception and vision," Sam guessed. "Without proper perception and vision, he could miss the target even if he used Spellde''s Descent. And he is already low on Mana, so he only has one chance." ¡­ "Lily, let''s go out! Quick!" "What''s the matter?" "Some guy from GAA is challenging newbies! He put up the Stardriver Shard Staff as a bet! That magic staff is perfect for me," Natalia said, excited. "Let''s go get it!" Lily raised her eyebrows, "What''s his level?" "No idea, but it''s silver rank. Anyway, I just heard about this from Melissa, who contacted me just now. Let''s go, let''s go!" "He might be Almond," Lily smiled, her eyes sparkling as she began walking towards the exit. "Wait, Almond? How do you know?" Natalia caught up to her.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Just my guess from what you said," Lily grinned. "He is a newbie in GAA, put up a 1st Floor Rare-drop that hasn''t been seen for years as a bet, and came here¡­yeah, that''s Almond. Only he was on thebyrinth''s 1st floor in the second cycle where drop chance increases, especially when soloing, so he might have gotten it." "Damn, that''s kinda make sense. Let''s see if this challenger is really him," Natalia was excited. "I''ll get that magic staff easily if it''s him." They arrived at the arena shortly but saw that no one was fighting on any of the five tforms. "Hey, where''s that challenger, Mel?" Natalia asked as she and Lily walked towards a group of four girls of their age. "Executive Ken took him away. You should''vee here two minutes earlier. That rookie from GAA really defeated Xavier, and he made it look easy! Can you believe that?" Natalia grinned, "We believe because we know someone who can do that." "Why did Executive Ken take him away?" Lily asked, her brows furrowed. Executives were only below Guild Master and Vice-Guild Master. They were frontline adventurers. "I don''t know. He just appeared on the tform out of nowhere and said something to that rookie before both of them disappeared with Executive Ken''s teleport skill." "I bet Executive Ken is going to recruit him to our guild," one of the girls said with excitement, "It will be fun if he joins our guild. He is also quite handsome, you know?" "I watched the battle with my skill, and oh girl, his eyes were something else, not to mention how he made it look so easy when defeating Xavier," another one swooned. "What''s his name?" Lily said inly before narrowing her eyes as she asked. "Is it Almond?" The girls were startled. "How do you know his name? We just found out a minute ago since it''s been spreading after he left." Lily vanished like a shadow, onwards to the headquarters building. "What happened to her, Nat?" "Hehe, just know that he is the reason why she shooed away Xavier when he came to propose to her," Natalia snickered and left as well, going after Lily. "Hey, what do you mean by that?" "Does that mean Lily likes this Almond?!" "Poor Xavier¡­I think I should tell him this news andfort him to move on." "¡­" Chapter 78: Finally Meeting Almond found himself in a in white room inside the guild''s headquarters building with nothing inside except two chairs. ''Teleport¡­'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''What a handy skill.'' "Sit," Executive Ken said as he sat down on the chair and gestured for Almond to sit on the chair two meters across from him. Almond blinked and sat down, "So why are we here? I thought challenges from other guilds were supposed to bemon." "They aremon, but a random newbie defeating our Super Rookie is notmon," Executive Ken narrowed his eyes. "If someone recorded your battle with Xavier and how you defeated him, it''s going to damage our guild''s public image. We can''t let that happen, especially now that Rising Star Tournament is approaching." "That tournament has the sponsorship of some of the biggest families and all top ten guilds. There''s a lot of money and resources involved in it, so what you''ve done is quite damaging. Wee to the adult''s world." Executive Ken''s eyes glinted as he added, his voice firm, "Join this guild, and we''ll forget about your mistake since you''ll be able to bolster the image. Xavier losing against a fellow guild member won''t hurt us. We''ll also handle your contract with GAA. As long as you agree, you can join us." Almond raised his hand, blinking with a slight smile. "Are you, by any chance, treating me like I''m ten years old? I have to admit, though, your recruitment tactics are impressive: pressure, temptation, and a convenient escape from the illusion of mess you''ve pinned on me." Executive Ken felt like a deted balloon inside, though he didn''t show it outside and just raised his eyebrows. He was about to say something when his wristwatch rang. His eyes flickered as he opened the mail in private mode, making it appear in his brain via a magic signal instead of a hologram. "I guess that''s the file you got on me," Almondmented, his bodynguage leisure as he leaned back on the chair. "Don''t worry, you won''t find anything." "Admiral Rudra is personally ensuring that." Executive Ken''s eyes shook at the mention of Admiral Rudra. He let go of his facade andughed out loud. Almondughed together with him. "You stinky brat, where did youe from?" Executive Ken asked while grinning. "Hell, the file I got didn''t even have your full name." "Almond Crowshade, nice to meet you," Almond smiled. "So, were you here just to challenge our rookies or what?" "I was here to meet someone, but I wasn''t allowed to," Almond wryly smiled. "The receptiondy threw me out." Executive Ken raised his eyebrow, "It seems that you''vee here to meet our new Super Rookie. She has been assigned training tasks toplete before Rising Star Tournaments, so random people can''t meet her, not even reporters or GAA members." "That I heard," Almond dryly chuckled. Suddenly, the door of the room opened with a bang. Executive Ken and Almond turned at the door and saw Lily standing, her eyes on Almond. Almond stood up and raised his hand to wave at her while smiling, "Hi-" *Swoosh!* Lily''s figure blurred as she moved like the wind and hugged Almond tightly. "I thought this guild was about to do something stupid after I heard that Executive Ken took you away." Almond chuckled, "Haha, they won''t do that." Lily side-nced at Executive Ken briefly before closing her eyes and focusing on the hug as she soaked herself in Almond''s presence. "Mhmm, now I am finally feeling better. Let''s go somewhere else and decide some things, like where we are living together from now on." Meanwhile, Executive Ken felt a chill when he saw Lily''s icy nce. ''It seems that our new super rookie is also cut out of some extraordinary mold. Jeez, how can she exude such a resolved killing intent?'' Looking at the duo, he could only wryly smile. ''Kids these days¡­'' "Ahem, this is unexpected," he spoke after a cough, hoping to get their attention. "How about we have a small talk about your¡­.rtionship?" Chapter Explore: "What?" Lily asked inly as she stood by Almond, grabbing his hand. "Please don''t say anything stupid like I am not allowed or anything." ''She doesn''t hold back against her superiors, huh? I guess she got hold of the guild''s dynamic based on her treatment here,'' Almond internally chuckled. ''Maybe having Lady Aria as her mentor has its exclusive perks.'' "Of course not. I won''t say anything stupid like that," Executive Ken smiled as he spoke, putting emphasis on stupid as his lips twitched a bit. "But I would like you two to keep your rtionship a secret for a bit." "Why? That makes no sense unless it''s for stupid things," Lily fired back immediately with a frown. Executive Ken''s right eye twitched, but he held his smile and replied, "Well, the boys are kinda fired up because of you and the girls also have a rivalry. You revealing you have a boyfriend is going to dampen some fighting spirits." "So it''s really for some stupid reasons," Lily snorted. "To be honest, I agree with Lily," Almond smiled. "But we don''t need to do anything regarding this. It''s not like Lily wants to announce to the world." "I don''t mind doing that so that other girls don''t get any ideas about you," Lily cutely harrumphed. "But I heard reporters can be annoying when they find such things. Almond can stay rational, but I might not if they overstep their boundaries."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "You are not too known at the moment. Only some channels here are eager to get first and inside news to present to the world when you appear in the Rising Star Tournament," Executive Ken wryly smiled. "But I agree with Almond," Executive Ken shrugged. "I guess I''ll leave you young ones to deal with your life yourself. Walk while holding hands or not, you are free." "Thanks," Almond smiled. "Then send us off to Shadow Pce, please," Lily said. "Or we can also walk down this headquarters while holding our hands." "I''ll take you up on that offer," Executive Ken wryly smiled and got up as he stretched his hand towards Almond. "Well, nice to meet you, Almond. I hope you can keep my crude tactics a secret. Almond shook hands and nodded while smiling, "No problem. Though I was a bit disappointed to see you do that to someone who defeated your Super Rookie." "I thought only your ss was strong and not mind, so I decided to give it a try. Anyway, I trust you to keep this confined, or my ass would get whooped by Admiral Rudra, hahaha. Now off you go, have fun." Just as Executive Ken used his skill, Natalia entered and saw them. In slow-mo, her mouth opened, and her expression changed as she tried to stop them, "Waaaiittt¡­" And they were gone. Executive Ken looked at Natalia and wryly smiled, "Natalia, right? Want me to send you to them?" "Yes, please Q-Q." ¡­ When Natalia was teleported into the Shadow Pce, she caught the lovebirds kissing passionately. "Goddamn, you thirsty hoes! But anyway, you continue. I''ll take a stroll outside. Adios~" "¡­" "¡­" After a short, passionate session of kissing,the duo walked outside to the training field of the hill. "You can leave the guild, right?" Almond asked. "Yeah, why?" "Then let''s go. Admiral Rudra gave me a property here," Almond grinned. "We''ll do some selling and shopping first before heading there." Chapter 79: Temporary Rich Almond, Lily, and Natalia soon met up with Julian and Roken, who were outside. They were still with Ryker, Sam, and a few other seniors of their age, talking about Almond and other things. Seeing Lilying with Almond, Ryker''s brows jumped. ''So he was telling the truth when he said he knew Lily and came to meet her¡­'' Chapter Find: But his gaze went to the handholding part, and his heart skipped a beat, feeling shocked. ''Don''t tell me¡­'' "Seniors, we''ll be going now. Let''s have a good fightter," Almond cheekily smiled. "Smell yater, chaps," Roken said with a smug expression and waved his hand, while Julian simply nodded at Ryker and others before joining Almond''s group. "Damn, don''t tell me he is our beautiful super rookie''s boyfriend?" one of the seniors muttered as he watched Almond and Lily leave while handholding. "He indeed is," Sam said as he sped his hand like a Buddha. "Amitabha, may the other boys get peace with that because they are not going to stand a chance against Almond." "Well, the Silver bracket of the Rising Star Tournament is going to be more interesting," Ryker smiled. "Once Xavier finds this, he is going to train like hell to get back at Almond. He lost twice in one day." "Let''s go tell him that right now! We''ll start by asking if he knew Lily already had a boyfriend." Another senior snickered. ¡­ After the trio got in the backseat of Julian''s car, Almond said, "I want to sell the first floor''s rare drops, so let''s deal with that to increase my budget." "Then I''ll drive to the Skypath Treasure House. We''ll get better prices there." "Almond, how many gold coins have you got in total after your first floor''s 2nd cycle run?" Natalia curiously asked. Roken and Julian were surprised upon hearing that. "Something over two million gold coins. And I got a total of six rare drops on top of the other rare drops we had. That''s easily above 15 million gold coins," Almond grinned. Roken and Julian were dumbfounded. "Holy shit!" Roken smacked his lips. "How did you get so many rare drops?" Julian focused on the road lest he lose his shit again, but his ears were attentive. "Just a bit of luck paired with an adequate challenge to increase drop chance. Killing bosses while being lower level or soloing them increases drop chances. And in the second cycle, I killed all bosses alone, so six of them dropped rare-grade items." "Did you kill the floor boss?" Lily asked, her eyes glinting. "I did," Almond smirked. "Quiet easily." "Yeah, yeah, we can imagine," Natalia sighed. "Your specialized ss''s skill is too op." Julian and Roken were intensely curious, so much so that it was eating them as they really wanted to know Almond''s sses and skills. But they didn''t ask as it would be rude. "Let''s finish shopping and stuff first before heading to my house. We''ll open a surprise box there. Even I don''t know what it contains," Almond said as the image of the Complete Floor Boss Subjugation Reward Chest shed in his mind. Lily immediately followed up with a grin, "Floor Boss drop? What did you get? People get treasure chests based on contribution, but you killed it alone¡­I imagine you must have gotten something crazy." "Bingo. It looked crazy in design, so I bet it contains some really good stuff." ¡­ After arriving at the Skypath Treasure House, Julian made a hard bargain for Almond, selling all but one rare drop that Natalia wanted, and got a whooping 18 million gold coins. One of the rare drops, a shield he got from defeating a Wonder Tree-Topia area''s boss, had max perk values and three effects, so it alone sold for 3 million gold coins, the same price as Earth Shattering Gloves. The gloves were considered one of the most, if not the most, valuable drops because of the effect of burrowing and traveling via ground, making it a highly sought-after life-saving item. The rare drops that Almond, Lily, and Natalia got via team efforts were Preying Hunter''s Sword, Earth Shattering Gloves, and the guaranteed rare drop they got from defeating the hidden boss¡ªWhite King Manticore. Lily didn''t want any money, and Natalia only took one million Gold coins because she wanted Stardriver Shard Staff. As such, aside from this one item, Almond sold off everything, including the Pearl of Light Flower and the rare drop he got from Jacob given by his father¡ªthe Ring of Aegis Elysian. All in all, Almond pocketed 17 million gold coins from the sale, and adding another 2 million he got from purely killing monsters and bosses, he was officially a temporary rich adventurer. "What''s up with the flying vehicles here? I am seeing more and more of them," Almond said as he got out of the car and saw two ''strange'' vehicles flying past them as they exited the Skypath Treasure Pavilion. One looked like a boat-shaped with wings, and another was like a sedan sports car with a jet-wing design. "Yeah, they''ve started selling custom flying vehicles. It takes several days to make one, but only top manufacturers are selling them for now," Julian said. "And each one''s starting cost is over one million gold coins." "Almond, you should buy one," Natalia grinned. "You''re loaded anyway."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Do you have any ce where they already have some flying vehicles in the showcase?" Almond asked. "We can buy a car, but just save fifteen million gold coins," Lily said with a smile as she shared a piece of good news. "I''ve asked teacher Aria about the trash-tier rare-grade items, and she inquired about it in the guild''s forge. You can buy the bulk of one hundred with the price of 15k per item." Almond was pleasantly surprised, "You''ve already arranged for that? Awesome! What about Super-grade ones?" "They have a stock of trash-tier Super-grade items, but only around twenty, and it will cost you around 30 million gold coins to buy these twenty." Almond looked at the requirement window and sighed, ''Yeah, I am going to stay broke as long as I want to unlock these stages as soon as possible. But it''ll be worth it.'' [Requirement to unlock the skill and finish the upgrade.] -1. Sacrifice 100 Rare-grade items (7/100). ¡ª> Skill Unlock & Rare-grade Guaranteed item forge option. -2. Sacrifice 50 Super-grade items (0/50). ¡ª> Super-grade Guaranteed item forge option. -3. Sacrifice 10 Epic-grade Items (0/10). ¡ª> Epic-grade Guaranteed Item Forge option. -4. Sacrifice 5 Legendary-grade Items (0/5). ¡ª> Legendary-grade Guaranteed Item Forge option. -5. [Sealed]: Requires the ss to reach (L) rank. Chapter 80: Complete Floor Boss Subjugation Reward Chest They visited a couple of manufacturers who had some flying vehicles already made. Almond didn¡¯t want to wait for over a week to get his ride, so he decided to buy a readymade one. Its design was like a jet-sports car. Three meters wide with an additional three meters of wingspan for retractable wings. Its length was four meters long. The color schematic was dark and edgy, with mainly ck and red colored designs. It cost 1.8 million gold coins. Since Almond had gold coins to spare for now, he decided to splurge a bit. He had already gotten a way to secure more gold coins thanks to his perk of no limit on entry into dungeons matching hisbat rank in GAA¡¯s territory. Since hisbat rank reached B rank, he could ess B-grade Dungeons containing Gold-rank monsters. Dungeons were the biggest source of earning for adventurers. Almond gave his new home¡¯s address to the manufacturer as it would take a day to do thest bit of refining and maintenance of the Redhawk Spacecraft. After finishing there, the group finally headed to the new home. "This area is near the coastside. Don¡¯t tell me¡­" Julian muttered as he looked at the address properly. ¡­ "I knew it," Julian dazedly said as he looked at the so-called "house." "What the unga bunga! How did you get your hands on this property?!" Roken¡¯s jaw dropped as he looked at a property that screamed tranquility and aesthetics from all sides! "Damn," Almond muttered as he walked ahead, entering the gate. What greeted him was a greenwn ground with a small pond to his left. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om To his right side was an array of flowers and empty ground suitable for growing more nts. Going ahead, there was a cobblestone pathway that parted into three paths, each one leading to different structures. In the middle was a beautiful and aesthetic wooden pavilion akin to an eastern castle two floors big. The left pathway led to a rectangr structure with no walls or roof. It was an open pavilion suitable for meditative-type training. To the right was a guest house and a training ground with strange crystal dummies with metallic coatings. "This is crazy!" Natalia screeched. "I will also live here! I don¡¯t mind making my bed on the ground!" Lily was grinning as well, "This is amazing, Almond. This is in the restricted area of the coastal side, so the general public doesn¡¯te here. We have a beach view right outside and a clean part of the beach to ourselves. "But this area is also one where monsters usually enter," Julian said. "That¡¯s why other residents in this area are all Adventurers, powerful ones. Mostly tinum-rank ones." "I feel something more to this," Almond said as his eyes glinted. He could feel magic permeating below the ground and around the whole property. That reminded him of the words Admiral Rudra said when he mentioned giving him a ce to live here. ¡¯So that¡¯s what he meant when he said he would give me the safest ce. There¡¯s definitely some sort of magic formations here.¡¯ "You must be sensing the Magic Formations. It¡¯s not strange here," Julian said. "But if this property belongs to Admiral Rudra, then this courtyard definitely has the best magic formations fueled by sufficient magic crystals in the stash somewhere under the ground." "Say, Almond. I can live here, right?" Natalia asked, disying puppy eyes and expression. "Pretty please." "Fine, you can live in that pond." Lily chuckled while Natalia pouted, "What am I, a fish?" The group arrived at the central pavilion, and sufficient to say, it was amazing. The hall was huge, with a set of couches, sofa chairs, and small tables facing the firece. The kitchen was to the left side, and a rectangr dining table was outside the kitchen. The stairs to the second floor were at the end of the hall in the middle section. Everything was fully furnished, and the entire ce had decorative aspects like chandeliers, vases, curtains on windows, and such. After looking around a bit and checking out the upper floors, the group sat down on the living hall¡¯s couches and sofa chairs. "It¡¯s time to open the surprise box," Almond grinned as he took out a big treasure from his storage pouch. [Complete Floor Boss Subjugation Reward Chest] "That¡¯s a long-ass name," Natalia was speechless as she inspected the treasure chest. "I still can¡¯t wrap my head around how Almond soloed the first-floor boss," Roken asked, dazed as he looked at the giant treasure chest. Julian wondered the same thing. ¡¯Such a big treasure chest¡­just what kind of rewards are in there?¡¯ "Open it," Lily said, her eyes shining curiously. "It should contain something extraordinary. Maybe a special item." Without further ado, Almond touched the giant treasure chest as he got a notification asking if he wanted to open it. Discover hidden stories at NovelBin.C?m ¡¯Yes.¡¯ *Crackle..* The big chest opened with a small bang and crackles as colorful firecrackers sted out of it. And with that, a bunch of small colorful orbs spewed out, each containing various items. Almond saw a window panel containing the list of items and leaned on it, ¡¯Damn, so many things?¡¯ - Skill Upgrade Card x 1. - Super-rank Item Ticket x 1. - (Special) Wild Berserker¡¯s Blood x 1. - (Special) Dew of Arcane Moonlight x 1. - Random Skill book (B-rank to S-rank) x 1. - (Rare) Blood Starmite Ore x 2. - (Rare) Silkshade Herb x 2. - (Super) Thunderstone Trotto Shard x 1. - (Super) Sunroot Vine x 1. - (Rare) Sword of Wildered. - (Rare) Amulet of Blood Berserker. - Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket x 1. "What are these crazy things?!" Natalia shouted as she read the list. "What the fuck¡­" Roken was dazed, rubbing his eyes. "Two special items?" Julian muttered while his eyes trembled as he read the rewards. "Sweet," Lily grinned, clearly thrilled. She waved her hand, gathering all the orbs using her Mana as they floated in front of Almond. "Darling, start opening them one by one and inspect them. Let¡¯s see what kind of crazy things you got." Almond was rubbing his hands while broadly smiling. Putting away the Skill Upgrade card into his storage pouch, he said, "I¡¯ll use the tickets at the end, so let¡¯s start with the special items." Touching the orb containing the Wild Berserker¡¯s Blood Drop, he opened it and saw a tiny vial containing glowing red blood. [Wild Berserker¡¯s Blood] -Rank: Special. Chapter 81: Juicy Rewards (1/2) [Wild Berserker¡¯s Blood] -Rank: Special. -Effect: ¡ª> Drinking the blood will increase Strength, Health, and Stamina by 10. ¡ª> There¡¯s a 1% chance to acquire Wild Berserk passive skill. "Holy shit!" Roken¡¯s jaw hit the floor. "Is this for real?" "p me," Natalia said as she stared at the item. "Should I really?" Roken blinked as he turned to her. "NO!" "This is invaluable. I¡¯ve seen stat-increasing items, but this tops them all," Julian said before he swallowed hard. "All three physical stats increasing by 10 is big," Lily¡¯s eyes glinted. Almond picked up the vial and stretched his hand to his left at Lily. "Take it." "Why are you giving it to me?" Lily asked in surprise. Julian¡¯s eyes twitched. ¡¯Is he for real?¡¯ "You might not know, but there¡¯s a limit of maximum stats we can have," Almond said. "You should understand now why I¡¯ve given that to you." "Yeah, that item is useless to him," Natalia said while grinning. "Do these two know about your skill?" "They don¡¯t even know my current stats," Almond chuckled. Roken and Julian blinked, confused. "You brought them here for a reason, what¡¯s the deal?" Lily curiously asked. "The three of us are going to enter a Dungeon tomorrow. They¡¯ll be my party members." Roken and Julian looked at each other. "You were really being serious about that, bro?" Roken asked. "Of course," Almond chuckled. Julian clenched his fist, "I¡¯ll remember this favor." "Just consider us a party, haha. No need to remember favors. I am allowed to bring any members I want, so I chose you two, simple as that." "Huh? You ain¡¯t gonna invite us two?" Natalia pouted. Almond shook his head. "Nope. I can¡¯t even if I want to." "He can¡¯t," Lily nodded as she understood, "GAA won¡¯t allow Adventurers of other guilds to enter their dungeons. I also have dungeons to do, but I can¡¯t invite Almond as he is not part of League of Firefly." "Yep. But we¡¯ll time our dungeon entry so we can get together once we finish our respective dungeons," Almond smiled. "Sounds good." Afterward, Almond looked at the second special item. [Dew of Arcane Touch] -Rank: Special -Effect: ¡ª> Drinking the dew will increase Mana, Perception, and Focus by 10. ¡ª> 1% chance to acquire Mana Crystalite passive skill. Nobody was as surprised as previously because they had guessed that this second special item might be something like that. But it was still crazy as these two consumable items gave 60 stat points! Natalia, Roken, and Julian didn¡¯t bother hiding their envy. After all, it was impossible not to feel envious of such invaluable items. "Alright, who is going to open this skill book?" Almond smiled as he took out a pitch-ck skill book from an orb. "Opening it will transform it into a random skill book from B-rank to S-rank." Natalia pointed to herself with a pleased smile. "Why don¡¯t you open it yourself, bro?" Natalia threw daggers at Roken with her eyes. "Nah, my luck is shit." Natalia pointed to herself with a pleased smile. "Give it to Natalia," Lily said with a chuckle. "She¡¯s the Divine Witch, after all." "I¡¯m just afraid she will lose that title if she tries her luck here," Almond cheekily said as he threw the book to Natalia. "Well, give it a try." "Is she that lucky?" Julian raised his eyebrows. "Well, she got an S-rank skill from the random skill chance that was supposed to only be up to an A-rank skill," Almond wryly smiled. "Holy cow! That¡¯s another level of luck, alright," Roken said as he looked at Natalia. "Eh? What is she doing?" "Her ritual or something, I guess," Lily shrugged. "That won¡¯t help, heh," Julian scoffed. "Z, Arrsaka, Voodoo, Zing, Bing, Bong, king, kong!" Natalia spluttered gibberish before pping the book¡¯s cover and then opening it slowly. As soon as shepletely opened the book, it glowed and started changing as entric patterns and designs appeared. Lightning crackled around the book, looking as beautiful as the blue and white lightning-themed design and patterns that appeared on the book. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om [Lightning Dragon Skill Set] -Book owner: Almond. -Skill 1: Lightning Tailwhip (S) ¡ªEffect: Conjures a lightning dragon tail anywhere within 10 meters of the user to deal devastating lightning-attribute damage. Causes shock and paralysis. -Skill 2: Voltron Edge (S) ¡ªEffect: Infuses a melee-type weapon with crackling lightning energy, increasing the weapon¡¯s damage significantly and granting lightning-attribute to all attacks released through the weapon. "What the fuck?" Almond muttered despite himself. "I thought it would be one skill, but it¡¯s two!" Roken eximed. "Julian, do you know about skill books?" "There are skill books with more than one skill, but to get one like this," Julian was dumbfounded. "Crazy." "It looks like Natalia¡¯s gibberish luck-increasing magic is true," Lily muttered. "Those two are some powerful skills, especially that Voltron Edge." "But you¡¯ll have to learn them yourself," Julian said. "And only one person can view the content, who is you. Only you can give it to another one to view it." Skill Books had workings of the skill. Adventurers had to learn it themselves by reading its content. Almond nodded as he conjured a mana hand and grabbed the book from Natalia, "This is nice, indeed. I needed some good attack skills anyway. Thanks, Nat." Natalia sat there with a smug expression, "I told you, I am the Divine Witch Natalia, and I can manipte luck at my whims." "I guess you¡¯ll be opening the random things from now on," Almond grinned. "I am curious to see how long Nat¡¯s luck streaksts," Lily chuckled. "Bring it on!" "Moving to the next items, they are just materials," Almond said as he took out the two Blood Starmite Ore pieces. "That can be used to make a solid rare-rank weapon," Roken said with shining eyes. Almond threw them at him and said, "They are yours to experiment." "W-What? Are you sure? Each one can easily cost over two hundred thousand gold coins!" Roken was taken aback as he caught the ore pieces. "Yeah, just take them and use them to get more experience with your sub-ss. As for the Rare-rank and Super-rank herbs, can I let you handle their sale, Julian?" Almond asked. "I can do that," Julian nodded. "Our branch will buy them. Herbs are precious to make potions. If these Herbs are something that we haven¡¯t acquired before, we must let GAA get their hands on it." "Some herbs have seeds hidden in them," Lily said. "So close inspection of herbs is a must because we can grow them here if we get the seeds. That¡¯s a huge benefit." "That¡¯s interesting," Almond raised his eyebrows. "But they would require more than just regr air, water, and sun, right?" "Yeah, they need tons of magic crystals," Julian nodded. "We already have a garden in our GAA branch. The dungeons are assigned properly so they can farm magic crystals from killing monsters and finding Magic Crystal Veins." "Nice," Almond said as he moved to pick up the next orb. "This one has Super-rank material. Sorry, but I won¡¯t give this to you, Roken," he said with a smile as he got an idea. "Now that I got the skill book and this Super-rank material that¡¯s of lightning-attribute, I am going to use it tomission a good sword." Read new chapters at NovelBin.C?m "That¡¯s a good idea," Lily nodded. Chapter 82: Juicy Rewards (2/2) "This short sword looks badass," Almondmented as he took out the next item¡ªSword of Wildered. The short sword had a rich dark green wooden handle with rose-red patterns, and the sword''s main part was even more unique¡ªa sleek green crystal de. [Sword of Wildered] -Grade: [Rare/High]. -Attack: 200 + [110% of user''s Strength] -Perks(s): ¡ª> +10 Strength, +15 Stamina, +5 Focus, +15 Health. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Active) Wild de: Unleashes a sh-projectile that deals damage based on your Strength and Mana consumption. The sh gets stronger the more it travels, up to 500 meters for +200% bonus damage. Cooldown: 1 minute. ¡ª> (Passive) Blood Drinker: The sword absorbs the blood, either yours or your opponent''s, and increases its attack by 5%, up to a 100% increase. "It''s a high-tier rare grade!" Natalia eximed. "You don''t get these even on the 2nd floor." "True," Roken nodded. "And this sword is even good. Two effects and almost maximum perk value." "Its active skill''s cooldown is very low," Julian narrowed his eyes. "You can abuse this as a long-range one-shotter." "Indeed, this is not bad at all," Almond raised his eyebrows. "I''ll use this until my Super-grade sword is ready. And then I''ll use dual wielding because it sounds fun and powerful." "Knowing you, you''ll do crazy good even with dual-wielding swords," Lily grinned. "I do dual-wielding daggers, and it''s fun." "Dual wielding is good, but it also consumes more stamina and mana. This is good when ites to fighting a strong single monster to want to finish it faster," Julian said as he looked at Almond. "Getting adequate mastery in dual wielding is important for that, but I suppose you won''t have any problem with that. Do you have some kind of innate talent rted to the sword? Because your sword mastery is very high from what I saw during yourbat power evaluation." "You can say that, yeah. And I''ll keep my word of giving you pointers in sword training," Almond smiled and picked up the next orb before taking out its item. [Amulet of Blood Berserker] -Grade: [Rare/High] -Defense: +200 Physical Def. -Perk(s): ¡ª> +10 Perception, +8 Focus, +20 Health. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Passive) Blood Berserker: The lower your vitality, the stronger your strength. You also gain Lifesteal, absorbing the vitality of the targets you bleed with your weapon. The lifesteal effect is doubled, and you also recover stamina if you attack with your fists ande into contact with the enemy''s blood. ¡ª> (Active) Crimson Warrior: When your vitality drops below 30%, you can activate Crimson Warrior to increase your Strength by 200% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 1 hour. "These are some crazy effects," Lily muttered. "This can actually make someone unkible if they are good with fist fights." "Damn, Pugilists-type adventurers will go crazy for this item," Roken said. "They fight with bare fists because of their ss, so pairing them with this item will make them unkible against same-rank mobs." "Yes, but I have a very good use for this," Almond''s eyes glinted. "I''ll have to try this new tactic I just thought of against a strong boss." "I know what you''re thinking," Lily looked at him. "You want to use Divine Divider''s Harvest to get Strength, drop your vitality below 30%, and use this skill, right? Attacking after that is going to be catastrophic." "Fuck, that''s just too op!" Natalia was dumbfounded. "What does Divine Divider''s Harvest do, bro? If you don''t mind telling."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I''ll leave it a suspense for now," Almond faintly smiled. "You''ll see that tomorrow when we enter the Dungeon." "Anyway, it''s time to begin the final course," Almond took out the Super-rank Item Ticket and Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. Natalia stood with a smug expression, both of her hands stretched forward. "Thee shall receive Divine Witch Natalia''s fortune." "Haha, there''s no way you will get lucky all the time," Rokenughed. "Time to get exposed." "Foolish," Natalia said with a disdainful expression. Almond sent the tickets on her palms and said, "Alright, let''s see you roll high again. At least, I''ll hope that because I''d benefit." Natalia began as she closed her eyes and uttered gibberish while moving both of her hands holding the tickets. "You first," Natalia spoke, her voice deep as she raised the right hand holding the Super-grade item ticket. "If you''re luck ritual is the real deal," Lily crossed her arms as she said, "Then it should be a high-tier Super-grade item." "Boom Shakka!" Natalia shouted and used the ticket. It shattered and turned into motes before transforming into a fancy ck robe with a waist-belt attached. It looked pretty cool with dark gold and crystal blue patterns on the fabric. Everyone quickly inspected the item. [Nightfall Ebonox Robe] -Grade: Super / High -Defense: ¡ª> +200 Physical Def. ¡ª> +400 Magic Def. -Perk(s): ¡ª> +40 Mana, +14 Focus, +16 Perception, +20 Strength. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Active) Nightfall Retreat: This effect can only be activated during the night. Using it will make the user invisible from all senses for 10 minutes. Cooldown: 1 hour. Cost: 200 Mana. ¡ª> (Active) Darkness Surge: Upon using this effect, the user can produce dark-elemental energy for five seconds (doubles during the night) to give their next skill or attack the dark-attribute for bonus damage based on the amount of darkness energy produced during five seconds. The darker the ce, the more dark energy is produced. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Cost: 50 Mana. "¡­" "No way, she got divine powers of luck?" Roken wondered with a disbelief expression. "No way." "She is just on a lucky streak, or maybe this item ticket was supposed to give a Super-grade high-tier item in the first ce," Julian said as he rolled his eyes. "Tsk, tsk, you dare doubt my divine might, foolish mortal," Natalia shook her head withment. She threw the robe at Almond and focused on the other ticket. "Well, we''ll find out the reality soon with that ticket," Almond chuckled as he put away the robe in his storage pouch. "Do it," Lily said, staring at the exotic metallic ck ticket with dark gold metallic patterns. Natalia used the ticket, and it actually burst into colorful sparks that turned into a big roulette with five sections. Chapter 83: Unexpected The roulette had five sections, each containing a single word. [ Talent ] [ Skill ] [ Consumable ] [ Item ] [ Random ] "Talent? Is it talking about innate talent?" Roken''s eyes widened. "Yeah, that should be the case," Julian nodded. "I believe that''s the most valuable out of the five there." "Well, getting that Talent option out of the five will prove that Nat''s luck ritual is the real deal," Almond grinned. "You better not fail, Nat." "Humph, just watch." "She won''t get it," Lily chimed in. "But I am saying this so that she will get it." "Here I go!" Natalia pressed the red button, and the roulette started spinning. "It seems that I have to press the button to stop it," Natalia raised her eyebrows. "Well, that''s just perfect," Lily grinned. "Now it''s really all up to your luck." "I pray for Talent," Roken sped his hands. Natalia hit the button, and the roulette started slowing down. The needle was hitting each section''s border, slowing down more and more until the needle entered the [Random] section and hit the border. "Go over, go over!" Natalia''s face was red as she muttered. Everyone''s eyes were glued to it. The needle even bent since it was a flexible one, but would it cross over to the [Talent] section from the [Random]? Natalia spluttered gibberish in the next second and¡­ It didn''t cross over! The roulette stopped on the [Random], and a pitch-ck palm-sized box appeared. "Damn!" Roken pped his thigh. "So close." "Well¡­." Julian simply shook his head while smiling. "That''s how luck works." "Open that box," Lily said. "Yeah, the moment of truth is only after you open the box," Almond grinned. Natalia touched the box, her expression utterly somber, "Behold." The box opened as a strange ck glowing light in scattered form oozed out slowly. It lingered around the opened box, making everyone feel something mystical. Inside the box was a soft red cushion, and on it was a ck bead, looking rough but still having a strange sheen to it. There were hidden patterns on it, but they were so deep within that it had entered the micro-realm. It was simply impossible to observe them with normal or even just enhanced eyes. Everyone just quickly inspected the ck bead to satisfy their curiosity. "What the hell is this?" Natalia blinked. [Broken Myth Bead] -Rank: ??? ¡ªRequires 1000 Perception to inspect this item¡ª Everyone was dumbfounded. But before anyone could say anything, another strange thing happened. "W-What''s going on with me?!" Natalia shouted as she looked at her arms and body, glowing all ck and gold sparklingly. "This¡­" Almond was shocked. He suddenly had a very familiar feeling looking at the phenomenon on Natalia. Lily looked at Almond''s face, hearing him and seeing his expression, she knew Almond guessed something. "Is her ss evolving?" Lily turned back to Natalia as she connected the dots. The only thing Almond had experienced that she didn''t was a new ss awakening. It was an instinctively logical conclusion, but she was wrong this time. "What''s going on?" Roken was dumbfounded. "That''s ss evolution? Damn!" Julian narrowed his eyes. "No way, right?" Almond saw Natalia''s expression easing up and her eyes closing. "We can only wait now." "Anyway, I''ll take the bead. This is definitely something good, and this is Nat''s 3rd lucky trigger in a row. I''m guessing whatever that is happening to her urred because of opening these random things and getting lucky in them." ¡­ Somewhere in the mysterious ck space filled with stars. There was a throne, and on it sat ady-like figure that couldn''t be perceived properly. Only the shape and outlining of her hair and outfit were visible as she glowed in a white-ish blue aura. [Grimworld Tutorial Overseer] In front of her was a screen disying the live feed of Almond''s new home. Her eyes seemed to flicker as she saw the ck bead and then Natalia as an amused expression appeared on her face. "He is already affecting World Lines in his new life¡­Is he unconsciously making things better for the people around him?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Interesting¡­.the Heir of Oblivion talent is enhancing it due to its effect of his strong impression imprinting on people he finds important." ''What an interesting curve this is going in,'' thedy seemed inebriated. She pointed her finger ahead as a square runic te appeared. Her finger released a trail of white string as it entered the te. Her eyes seemed to blink afterward as the screen changed again, showing Almond who was in a sword stance while unconscious, his aura oozing out watery dreamy golden substances as he faced the dreadful level 300 Mythical-rank Floor Boss. Thedy appeared highly intoxicated as she watched him. "Scatter¡­away¡­." Almond''s lips moved unconsciously, his eyes closed as he stabbed forward in the air and shed, unleashing a torrent of golden destructure that destroyed a foe several times stronger than him,pletely and utterly. "Almond, oh Almond¡­you better set foot into this realm of power again and properly this time, or else everything will be ruined again." ¡­ Natalia sat back down on the couch, her eyes glittering as she was reading something. She could feel four gazes on her, all hungry to know what happened to her. "Share it already," Lily rolled her eyes. Natalia grinned, her nose pridefully high, "Behold the wonder of Divine Witch Natalia." [Scales of Fortune] ¡ª Innate Talent - Rank: Legendary - Effect: - >+10 Luck: Passively increases the user''s overall luck, enhancing chances of favorable oues in day-to-day events and challenges. - > Fortunate Scale: The user can manifest an ethereal scale that stores a desired amount of luck, ranging from one month up to one year''s worth, to provide a temporary surge of exceptional fortune. This stored luck can be unleashed at any chosen moment for a powerful, one-time effect, greatly boosting luck for a critical situation. Once the lucky event urs, the boost dissipates, and the user''s natural luck decreases proportionally to the stored amount, resulting in average luck until the pre-used luck period has passed. Chapter 84: That...Felt Amazing, Using The Fortune Scale An hourter, Julian and Roken left the courtyard while still feeling a bit riled up inside. "Bro, Almond is kind of amazing, what do you say? I think I''m gonna support him." "Support for what? Next Earth Union presidential seats election?" Julian chuckled. "But you are right. There''s a reason he invited us here and to the dungeon tomorrow. We''ll respond to his reason appropriately." Looking at the night sky while walking out, Rokenughed before saying, "I think our days are going to get better thanks to Almond." ¡­ Meanwhile, Lily, Almond, and Natalia talked about various things and also decided on their dungeon entry time tomorrow. Almond had just gotten a notification in his wristwatch that a B-rank dungeon door with a white border had appeared. Without further ado, he had booked the dungeon to his name by informing Marshal Lopol. Lily wanted to enter a B-rank dungeon, but she wasn''t allowed to. However, she still decided to enter a ck-bordered C-rank dungeon. It was 10 o''clock in the night, so they weren''t sleepy yet, and since they hadn''t eaten yet, the trio decided to go out and eat somewhere nearby. After returning, Almond and Lily went to their luxurious bedroom while Natalia went to sleep in a different room. The house had six big rooms in total, so there wasn''t ack of space. "I''m going to take a shower first," Almond said as he headed to the bathroom. Lily saw Almond going in and thought, ''I also need a shower since I didn''t have one after training.'' She took off her clothes outside and opened the bathroom door, which wasn''t locked. Hearing something, Almond turned around and instantly swallowed hard upon seeing Lily''s hot figure, utterly tempting from head to toe. His gaze went to Lily''s twin-round marshmallows with cherry tips. They hung slightly low while having a tempting curvature upward, appearing firm and yet soft. Lily''s face was a shade of pink as she felt Almond''s gaze and saw his little dragon getting hard. But she boldly walked inside as she said, "I''ll wash your back." Almond turned around, his ears red. "Ahem, sure." However, the image of Lily''s slim and perfect figure wasn''t leaving his mind. The shower room was not too big, but it had water spraying installed on all four sides, along with water spraying from the top. Almond deactivated all sprays while Lily was soaping his back. "Turn around," Lily said, her voice small. Almond turned around and met her eyes, finding a simrity in their current emotions. "Ahem, should I clean you while you clean me?" "If you want to, sure." "Then I''ll go ahead," Almond picked up the shower gel and dripped it on Lily''s bosom. It slid down and covered her pink cherry, but before it could drop on the floor, Almond had put away the bottle and put his hand over her twin peaks as he started rubbing. Lily''s face turned a shade redder, but she was done with Almond''s chest and went down, her hands roaming on his abs with anticipation of going further down.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "You like them?" Lily asked with a smile, feeling electric currents from Almond fondling her breasts. "Well, yeah¡­"Almond coughed and moved above, foaming her shoulder and neck area. Lily giggled and moved down, suddenly grabbing the hard meat rod gently within her palm and moving it. Almond twitched but stayed strong. Nevertheless, his red ears and flushed face indicated that he was feeling the unintentional handjob strongly. His hands went down and fondled her twin peaks strongly for a bit to make Lily twitch as she almost let out a moan before he moved at her belly. But Lily responded by increasing her hand''s speed of cleaning Almond''s stiff little dragon. "W-Wait¡­" Almond stammered as he leaned ahead, feeling intense pleasure as he rested his head on her shoulder. Lily got excited as she really wanted to see the result and didn''t stop. "No, babe. I am not going down alone," Almond tried to hold back and armed up as he grabbed Lily''s buttcheeks and pushed his hip in the front, his meat rod resting right below Lily''s pink lips at her crotch. Lily felt a strong current of pleasure as she hugged him tightly and moved her hips on her own, feeling Almond''s straight and stiff meat rod rubbing her down. Both of them could feel their hearts racing so fast, their blood rushing in their body and minds filling with pleasure. "Fuck, I can''t anymore¡­" Almond groaned as he released the load that started hitting the ss behind Lily as he twitched. Lily suddenly kissed Almond while pressing herself tightly in the hug, her body twitching as her dam also flooded. As their passionate kiss continued, Almond turned on all the shower points. "That¡­felt amazing," Lily said after a minute, her head resting on his shoulder in his embrace. Almond smiled as his right hand gently pped her buttcheek and then strongly squeezed, "I agree, my naughty girl." ¡­ After they finished showering, both of them slept on the bed, naked and skin to skin. The morning arrived soon as Almond and Lily woke up at eight o''clock. After wearing the pajamas they bought yesterday, they went down and saw that Natalia was preparing breakfast. "Lovebirds woke up, eh? Sit down, the breakfast is almost ready." "What are we eating?" Almond asked as he sat down and turned over the te before grabbing a fork and a spoon. "I smell eggs." "Yeah, it''s a breakfast set with egg as the main ingredient, hehe. Egg rolls, Omelet, half-fry egg with mixed spice and bread." "Nice," Lily smiled, her stomach slightly rumbling shortly after she spoke. "We have two hours of free time before entering our respective dungeons. Let''s do some morning training after breakfast and then leave, what do you say?" "Sounds good." ¡­ An hourter, Lily and Almond sat down on the training ground as they had finished sparring with each other. Natalia was practicing her Flute attacks on the dummies. These strong dummies were set up through the ground so that they could actually move around at various speed levels, giving Natalia an adequate challenge on how to control her magic basic attacks to hit the targets. "By the way, take this with you," Almond said as he took out the Nightfall Ebonox Robe. "You''ll benefit better from this since your Primary ss is also attuned to dark-attribute, and you''re an assassin type." "Thanks," Lily smiled and took the robe before putting it in her storage pouch. "Oh yeah, we still have an hour, so do you want to finish the deal with the guild''s forge to unlock your skill before entering the Dungeon?" "Sure, definitely. My spirit pocket is full, and I''ll get more spirits from the dungeon. It''s better I use them to create items." "One more thing," Lily said as she took out the Dew of Arcane Touch. "Do you mind if I give this to Nat instead? She''ll-" "Of course," Almond chuckled as he interrupted her. "I don''t mind If you want to give it to her. Actually, I got an idea." "Same," Lily grinned. "Let''s use her Scales of Fortune." Almond grinned and nodded. Turning to Nat, he shouted, "Nat,e here." Natalia stopped her training and walked towards the duo, "What''s up?" Looking at the transparent vial containing magical blue sparkling liquid, her heart skipped a beat with anticipation. "There''s a 1% chance to acquire Mana Crystalline passive skill from this," Lily said, her smile sharp. "Let''s see you get it." "And I reckon that this passive skill is anything but ordinary," Almond said. "I am assuming that only the Complete Floor Boss Subjugation Reward chest drops these valuable consumables that increase stats so much. And even then, they have a 1% chance to get those unique passive skills." Natalia gulped hard as she tremblingly took the vial, "I can really get such an awesome skill¡­but how much luck should I use?" "One month? Two months? Six months?" Natalia muttered, unable to decide. Lily and Almond entered thoughtful expression for a few seconds before they simultaneously spoke. "Three months." Natalia blinked, "Geez, what''s with that sync?" "Well, if we consider a 1% increase in luck per day, then 3 months should be enough to push the probability to 100%," Almond answered. "True, I calcted the same way," Lily smiled. "Alright, then 3 months it is," Natalia nodded, her expression somber. "Let''s do this." Using her innate talent, a mystical scale appeared. After choosing a period of time, [3 months] manifested on one side of the scale while a golden milky star appeared on the other side of the scale. "Done," Natalia said before taking a deep breath as the Fortune Scale vanished and her luck increased proportionally. Without further ado, she opened the vial and chugged in the content. Chapter 85: Mana Crystalline, Skill Unsealed "I got it!" Natalia was shocked as she acquired the passive skill. "I really got it!" "Great," Almond smiled. "Now share its details. Let''s see how powerful it is." Natalia shared the skill while grinning from ear to ear, "It''s freaking awesome!" [Mana Crystalline] -Description: You have Mana crystalline pathways established in your body. Uncovering their mystery can allow you to step into the advanced usage of Mana, and you can also teach others how to form Mana crystalline pathways once you discover how they formed in your body. -Skill rank: S (Growth) -Effect(s): ¡ª> +50 Mana stat. ¡ª>You can store 1000 Mana in Mana crystalline pathways, which you can use to recover your Mana pool. Lily and Almond were dumbfounded as they reached the skill''s details. "This is crazy, this skill''s potential is way high," Almond muttered. "Nat, once your Perception and Focus reaches 50+, you should give an hour or two daily to learn more about Mana Crystalline in your body," Lily said. "This is a big boon." "For sure," Natalia grinned. Suddenly, Almond got a call, and he picked it up via his wristwatch that was connected to his mobile phone. "Great, our new ride is here," Almond said as he lightlyughed. "Our new day is off to a good start. Let''s go and finish the deal in the guild before diving into dungeons." ¡­ They arrived at the League of Firefly guild base like a gust of wind in their new flying ride. Many people already recognized him because his fights yesterday were recorded by multiple people and spread everywhere, even on the inte. Almond was already being considered a Super Rookie of GAA by many people. Lily, Almond, and Natalia went directly to the guild forge, where Almond paid for 93 Rare-grade trash items. He directly sacrificed them without further ado and unlocked his Spirit Factory. Lily had also ordered three tough crystal cubes, and they were ready. Almond put a Moonlight Crystal in each of them, sessfully creating a super-useful monster detection and lighting item. Focus Field could also discover monsters, but it cost Mana while using this item was free except for its one-hour cooldown, not to mention it illuminated 50 meters of radius. Almond gave one to Lily and kept two for himself, intending to use one for himself and one to experiment in the new option of his Spirit Forge Factory. Almond left quickly after finishing matters in the guild. He contacted Roken after parking his new ride in the GAA branch''s parking area and found out that the duo was in the training hall. ''His voice was hesitant. Did theynd in some trouble?'' Almond raised his eyebrows. His eyes flickered as he went inside like a gust of wind, soon arriving at the training zone. Indeed, when he arrived there, he saw Roken and Julian hanging upside down in the air, their legs bound by magical vines controlled by a blond-haired guy in Doman''s group. He was a bit speechless to see them getting bullied like this. "What''s going on?" Almond spoke, his voice high as he walked towards the group. "Hey, newbie. I told you we''ll talkter," Doman said with a grin. "C''mere, we are having some training-rted fun." "I don''t have time for stupid shits. I have a dungeon to enter with those two," Almond inly said before he took out his sword and shed in smoothly, projecting a simple magic sh as he cut off the vines. Julian turned while in the air,nding on his feet while Roken fell on his back. Their Mana was drained, so there was no way they could break free from those vines themselves. "Did you say that we are simply doing stupid shits here?" Doman narrowed his eyes. "Did I stutter?" Almond asked as he raised his eyebrows. "Hey, newbie. It''s better to show some respect to seniors, you know?" a guy in Doman''s group snorted coldly. "You never know when you might need them." "Seniors? Ah, right. I am your senior in that case," Almond smiled as he glinted, activating the wristwatch and showing his position in the GAA. "ording to GAA, my position as a Special Hunter is above you all." "Bullshit, there''s no position like that here," Doman frowned. "By saying that, you are denying Admiral Rudra''s authority, you know? He appointed this position himself." Everyone''s expression changed. Almond shook his head as he sighed and turned around, "Anyway, we don''t have time for stupid shits. Let''s go, Roken, Julian." "Hey, newbie senior, since you are well above us, how about giving us some pointers?" Doman baited Almond, a sly expression forming on his face. "Get an appointment." Hearing Almond''s response, Doman''s face turned dark while Marina and her group burst outughing. ¡­ "What happened back there?" Almond asked, his face speechless. "Like how can you give into them and then suffer?" Roken sighed, "Julian just doesn''t want to quit." "I have no reason to decline his challenge," Julian said with a deadpan expression. "I lost, so I had to hang like that." "And then I had to join the fray and lose," Roken rolled his eyes.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "What was the challenge?" Almond curiously asked. "Rock, paper, scissors." Almond almost slipped and became even more speechless. "Yeah, but it''s not normal rock, paper, scissors," Roken said. "When you lose in a bout, the loser must use their hand moves to defend against the winner''s unarmed melee attack, mostly punch or p. If you sessfully defend, nobody gets points, but if the winner''s attack hits you, then the winner gets a point. The first one to get three points wins." "Geez, that Doman is a melee fighter, he trains in hand-to-handbat. Of course, he''s bound to win." Almond shook his head as he unlocked his aircraft''s doors, and Roken quickly took the passenger seat. "I know, but I''ll win someday and smack his smugness out of his soul," Julian''s eyes icily glinted. "Imagine when he loses against someone he used to bully." "Rejoice because that day wille soon," Almond chuckled and went to the backseat. "And Julian, you''re driving since I have something to do with a skill. I''ve sent you the address of the dungeon door." "Alright." Sitting inside, Almond used the Spirit Forge Factory skill as his consciousness arrived in arge dark hall with a skully maw with a whirlpool in its mouth at the end and exotic weapon bs on both sides of the wall. Almond''s Spirit Pocket had 99 normal monsters'' Spirits and 1 Floor Boss spirit. ''I have to earn a lot of gold if I want to unlock the other guaranteed forge options,'' Almond thought as he looked at the big screen above the skully maw showing the requirements. ''What if I sell my Spirit Items at a cheaper price? I can essentially make thousands of spirit items as long as I have spirits. I can extend durations of good items and keep other items'' duration to 3 days¡­even if I sell them cheap, I''ll earn a lot of gold coins.'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Well, no harm in trying. My items are pretty good, better than normal items, so they''ll sell for sure.'' Almond directly put 99 Spirits in the Maw''s whirlpool, keeping only the Floor Boss spirit. ''Now, time to check the new guaranteed function and the weapon bs.'' Chapter 86: Lair of the Orc Bandit King Trokka, Density Value Almond went to a weapon b on the wall¡ªa Broad Sword b. As he touched it, a dreamy, cloudy, dark green-bordered screen appeared before his eyes. [Broad Sword b] 1. Craft a random Broad Sword. 2. Use the Guaranteed Rare-grade Forge option. Almond chose 2nd option, and the screen changed while an additional nk screen appeared beside the original one. [Broad Sword b] - Design: ¡ª> Create your desired design of the broad sword on the nk screen. - Rare-grade Guarantee Forge: [Up to 3 Spirits as ingredients] ¡ª> Sacrifice 10 Umon-grade items for a Low-tier Rare-grade result. [0/10]. ¡ª> Sacrifice 15 Umon-grade items for a Mid-tier Rare-grade result. [0/15]. ¡ª> Sacrifice 20 Umon-grade items for a High-tier Rare-grade result. [0/20]. "So I can design a sword in that nk screen, huh? Neat," Almond was kind of excited. Swords could really be exotic with myriad designs, from their de''s width, length, and curvature to the de''s shape itself. "That said, I can use spirit items as a sacrifice, right?" Almond muttered. "It''d be bullshit if I needed to get normal items for sacrifices." Almond took out a Spirit Item¡ªssze Shield and attempted to add it as a sacrificial item. The count increased by 1! ''Noice.'' ¡­ Five minutester, the trionded in a restricted area of the city. The dungeon door had opened just yesterday, so it still had white-border around its gate. The road was blocked since the door was in the middle of it. There were two middle-aged men standing guard there. Seeing the aircraftnding nearby, they knew the Adventurers who were supposed to enter had arrived. "Please sign this." "Only three of you are going in?" the second man asked. "Yeah, us three are enough," Almond smiled. Almond signed on the paper before he nodded at them and entered, followed by Julian and Roken. "Why did they send only three Gold-rank Adventurers after reading the dungeon''s density value?" "Rx, one of them must be a peak Gold-rank Adventurer veteran if they only sent three here." "I see¡­" ¡­ [You have entered the Lair of the Orc Bandit King Trokka] The group found themselves inside a huge hall with floating purple and orange lights after entering. "It''s a structure-type dungeon, huh?" Julian raised his eyebrows. "The final boss must be at the very top." "This looks like a big castle," Roken said as he looked around before stopping at the stairs. "There''s only one way." "You both have rare-grade weapons, right?" Almond asked. "Yeah." "Good," Almond wore his Lethal Fang Boots, Snow Hide Cloak, and his Polen Tiger''s belt at his waist. He took out five other items and attached them to the belt in miniature form with the belt''s effect¡ªShimmering Trap x 1, Shimmering Spine Spears x 3, and Moonlight Crystal x 1. "Woah, what''s that?" Roken blinked. "Cool item." Almond smiled and took out more items, "Here, take them." "This is called the White Pn Charm Ring. It has a magic shield skill and an illusion skill with a 10% chance to charm the target. Charm won''t work on monsters here since they are gold-ranked, but the shield will be helpful since it scales based on your stats." Roken took the ring and wore it. "Nice." "This is for you," Almond handed over two small orbs to Julian. "They are Wispy Illusion Bombs. They''ll confuse monsters and cloud their vision, even if their effect is lowered against gold-rank monsters. Use them when required." "Got it." "Let''s go," Almond said as he started walking while Julian and Roken followed him. "Aren''t you going to use your summons?" Roken asked, confused. "Nope. No need," Almond chuckled as he unsheathed his Sword of Wildered from his back. "This is enough. I want to improve mybat ability this way. I can explore more possibilities on how to use my body and sword when I fight against monsters who each use different methods and styles. And another reason is that I can freely use my swords on them so that I can conjure more ideas, unlike on humans during training where I can''t kill them." ''Is that how geniuses think?'' Julian thought, a bit speechless. The trio climbed up the stairs and faced a big, wide door at the end. "We''ll likely face monsters inside, with some sort of challenge," Julian said as he was ready with his sword. Roken also gripped his big hammer tightly, his body packed in metal chain armor. Both of them had worn Rare-grade armor, boots, gloves, and a couple of rings, so they were ready for this dungeon. "Almond, you don''t have any armor, or you are not wearing one?" Julian asked with a frown. "Not wearing one," Almond walked forward and touched the door. "I don''t need it because I won''t get hit." "Get ready, I''m opening it." Saying that, Almond pushed the door with a palm attack as he activated his Physical Enchantment. *Boom!* The wide door flung open and crashed into a couple of monsters. [You have entered the First Area¡ªHungry Pit. Defeat the 50 Pin-Furred Wolves within 5 minutes for challengepletion.] But there was no light inside except for the glowing green eyes and the slightly glowing red fur of the monsters.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Shit, it''s a dark area," Roken cursed. "I hate those." "Welp, I didn''t think I would get to use this so fast," Almond chuckled as he threw the Moonlight Crystal cube on the ceiling of the floor. The monsters were already growling and looking at them. The cube lightened up the whole room as everyone saw the first section of the dungeon. There was a wall just twenty meters away with a door on it, and in this twenty meters of space were roughly fifty strange monsters resembling a mix of wolves and porcupines. The wolf-type body had spikes on their fur, and they glowed menacingly. Their levels ranged from 5 to 20. [Pin-furred Wolves] -Rank: Gold -Level: 14 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 55|Health: 65|Stamina: 55] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 55|Focus: 45|Perception: 65] "So many at once in a single ce? Fuck, they won''t shoot those spikes, right?" Roken gulped as he took out his tower shield. "I''m going into defensive mode, guys. You all handle them." *Awooo!* "I think the strategy here was to open the open slowly, let out a few of them outside, and close the door again or we are supposed to have more people here," Julian said as he gripped his sword tightly. ''We''ll have to waste a few Mana bottles already to kill this many at once, or we''ll get overwhelmed unless Almond summons.'' *Swoosh* s, Almond directly dashed inside. He briefly vanished from their vision as he crossed past four wolves. In the next second, all four of those wolves were sliced cleanly into two as they vanished into motes, leaving behind four Magic Crystals. The wolves focused on him, but Almond was dancing on the battlefield. The spike attacks of the wolves either missed, or he destroyed some with his sword as he cleanly sliced off wolves one by one. At this moment, Julian fully realized that he wouldn''t be a match for Almond even if Almond didn''t use his summons. "Bro, is it just me, or does Almond have higher stats than us?" Roken muttered. "Way higher," Julian said. "We have over 50 points in all stats and close to 100 with perks from the items we are wearing, but Almond has more than us, or at least close." "But I can''t fight like him," Julian narrowed his eyes as he continued. "He knows exactly what to do in the next second, one second early. The way he uses his Focus Field is better. He is directing this battlefield solely to let his sword meet the flesh of these wolves ruthlessly and precisely." Chapter 87: Senses Unleashed "I don''t think we need to go in there, right?" Roken put down his shield on the ground and put his chin on top, watching Almond butchering the Pin-Furred Wolves. "He''s certainly having fun, so let''s just observe," Julian said, his eyes intent on Almond. He was analyzing Almond as best as he could to learn. As a swordsman, he was aware of foundations. His foundation of properly shing the sword was established after he swung his sword over a hundred thousand times. But Almond was appearing way past his level in his eyes. ''I know the cold truth¡­that talent exists,'' Julian clenched his fist. ''Someone just progresses way faster in some things. But I don''t believe that those without talent cannot reach their level.'' "I will reach his level." Something was getting aze. It was on the verge of lighting up an inferno. But whether Julian would be able to light it up¡­only the future would tell. ¡­ "That was fun!" Almond breathed out as he put his sword back into the sheath. The whole room was sparkling with magic crystals scattered on the floor. He stored all the Spirits. He kept 10 Pin-Furred Spirits in his pocket while throwing the rest of them into Spirit Forge Factory to be made into random items. "Almond, what''s your status? You said you would show us, right?" Roken spoke with puppy eyes as he walked towards Almond. "You only need some fur on you, then you would look exactly like a bear," Almondughed seeing Roken''s face. [Challengeplete.] [Congrattions. You have been awarded a Strength Fruit.] "Strength Fruit? Not bad," Julian remarked, ncing at the vibrant notification suspended in the air. Almond inspected the fruit andughed as he threw the fruit towards Julian. "Take it." "What?" Julian was dumbfounded as he caught the fruit.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "It just increases Strength stat by two points. It''s meh," Almond turned around and stretched his arms. "Anyway, let''s continue." He used his Mana, controlling it to attract the magic crystals as they flew toward him and he put them into his storage pouch. "Bro, you serious?" Roken shouted as he followed behind. "The chance for a Stat boosting item as a reward to appear in Dungeon Challenges is freaking 5% or less." "That''s sad," Almond sighed as he waved his hand. "Anyway, here''s the reason why I don''t need it." Almond shared his Spirit Devour skill''s detail and his status with them. Julian and Roken saw the skill''s details first. As they read it, their footsteps stopped, and their eyes went wide, practically going off-screen. "What the fuck?" "SS-rank skill¡­" Then they saw his status and realized why Almond''s stats were so high. Almond arrived in front of the door and put his palm over it, "Hurry up, I am opening this door." *Boom!* "Wait, don''t you want to recover?" Julian snapped out and dashed ahead. ''He extensively used Mana and stamina in that intense battle for three minutes to kill those fifty wolves. He should be exhausted.'' "Don''t worry, I recover fast." "Bro, what is the rank of your c-" Roken''s mouth suddenly shut, and footsteps stopped as he saw the scenery past the door that Almond sted open. [You have entered the second section, barracks of the Orc Bandit Warriors.] Almond thought it would be a room, but the scenery in front of him was as big as two and a half football grounds with wooden walls and tents, along with over a hundred Bandit Orc Warriors or more¡­as he couldn''t see everything from there. "We are fucked," Roken muttered. [Orc Bandit Warrior] -Rank: Gold. -Level: 24. Their levels ranged from 10 to 30. Even Julian''s face formed sweat beads. He quickly finished eating the fruit before saying, "Almond, did you check the density value of the dungeon? That''s an important indication to determine if a dungeon has sections with a huge number of monsters congested into one rtively smaller ce, such as this room and that area over there." As he finished speaking, a bead of sweat fell off his face. "How high is the dungeon''s density value, Almond?" "Density value? Yeah, I think it was around 1380," Almond said as he saw the group of Orc Warriors several meters away turning to him. Meanwhile, hearing the number, Julian and Roken trembled. "Almond, get back fast!" Julian shouted as he snapped out quickly. There was a membrane at the door, indicating that monsters inside couldn''t see them unless they entered the area, but Almond was already inside while Julian and Roken were still in the first section. One of the orcs suddenly roared, initiating the battle. As a result, the membrane turned red. Those inside wouldn''t be able to exit now. "We should go," Roken dashed inside with a determined expression, jumping andnding right in front of Almond with his shield ready to block. "Bro, summon your monsters!" Julian also blitzed inside like lightning, swinging his broad sword as he consumed 15% of Mana to use one of his strongest skills as a glowering wind sh projectile ten meters long shot forward. The Orc Bandit Warriors couldn''t do anything on time as the sh cut the whole group in half. "Nice," Almond chuckled as he stood in a sword stance with his sword raised to his eye level and pointing at another group rushing at them. A wide grin stretched on his face as he said, "But don''t worry. The numbers don''t matter when you can dance all over them." "Unleash your senses, boys." *Swoosh!* Almond vanished from his post, using only Physical Enchantment and nothing else. Only exerting his physical body appropriately, he jumped and turned upside down while in the air, his position calcted. ''Yes, I should try this interesting method.'' Almond''s sword point released a neon glowing blue thread of Mana, wellpressed and condensed, as he quickly wrapped it once around the five Orc Warriors with his Mana control. *Chriii!* ''I should name this Sword Thread.'' Almond''s momentum remained fast as his jump continued while the five Orc Warriors were sliced. Hended in the middle of another group of Orcs before crouching low and swinging his sword as a beautiful wavy trail of blue briefly appeared around him. *sh!* In the next second, all five orcs were sliced without any resistance. Almond was moving way faster than their perception could follow. This was not just fast in terms of speed. He was double of their speed and triple with Physical Enchantment ording to stat difference. But the problem was Almond''s unconventional way of moving around and swinging his sword. More and more Orcs were rushing at Almond, but they couldn''t predict or follow his way of attacks and moving. It was too much random for them to hit Almond. Those that tried to attack either hit their own, met the air, or, in rare cases, met with a swift retaliation from Almond. Julia and Roken faced a rtively lower number of Orc Bandits since most of them were aggroed by Almond. Roken gulped and quietly took out a cam-recorder as he stuck it on his shoulder. "I gotta capture this, Julian. Like, look at that fucking monster." "Watch out!" Julian kicked the injured Orc''s club that was about to hit Roken from behind. "Finish off your enemies properly first, idiot." But even as Julian said that, his eyes couldn''t help but go over to Almond. ''He is not using Focus Field¡­or any protection measure against such a huge number of monsters¡­.what the hell?!'' "Roar!" Julian''s eyes shed a hint of irritation as he turned to the Orc. "Roken, you just focus on buffing me with your skill and recording, and you better record him properly! I''ll handle the Orcsing our way." "Roger!" Roken grinned. Chapter 88: Almonds Business While Almond and Lily had gone into the dungeon, Rudra had also gone into a red-bordered A-rank Dungeon. Alone, of course. He exited after 7 hours. The moment he left, his wristwatch rang with a notification. "Hmm?" Rudra raised his eyebrows. It was a video link to an Eyetube Video, the biggest video sharing and live stream tform. [A mysterious silver-rank trampling all over 1300+ DV B-rank dungeon.] The video had a boastful title with the initial video screen showing. Dungeon Result of Lair of Orc Bandit King Trokka. First Area: 50 Pin-Furred Wolves annihted within 3 minutes. Second Area: 200 Orc Bandit Warriors were decimated within 24 minutes. Third Area: 30 Elite Orc Bandit toons ruined within 54 minutes. Final Boss Area: Orc Bandit King Trokka¡ªone shot. The video was just 10 minutes long, but it showed key parts, showing off the good moves. Admiral Rudra started watching the video and immediately knew it was Almond. He watched to see how Almond was doing. He nodded as he watched the fight in the first. When he watched him fight in the second area, Admiral Rudra smacked his lips, thinking how fast he was growing inbat proficiency. And when he watched the third area''s fight, he was silent. Something clicked in him as his expression changed. He called someone and spoke with stern urgency, "Take down this video from Eyetube. Fast!" He then called Almond. ¡­ It was a bit over 4 o''clock in the evening. Almond''s group had exited the Dungeon three hours ago. Lily''s dungeon was a biome-type with a bigger size with less Density Value as those required more time to clear due to dungeon size. They had exited just an hour ago. Both groups had met up at a ce to eat. Almond was famished as he had physically pushed himself for thrill and challenge in the dungeon, and others were hungry. Admiral Rudra''s call arrived just as the food arrived. Almond simply nodded with a ''Mhmm'' and said ''Yes'' on the phone, as he didn''t talk much.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om [Rudra: Almond, what you showed in that video is easily discernable to top experts, especially those in the dark that I talked about. Don''t show too much talent to them, and if you do, tell your friend to do it properly, like¡­] The talksted for roughly four minutes before Almond wryly smiled and turned off the wristwatch connection. "What did he say?" Lily asked. "Well, it''s about the video. He said it''s fine to upload, but make sure that the video doesn''t get any hints that make it connect to me. Julian was visible once, and both of your voices, too. Those could be used to discern that it was me in the video even though my face was censoredpletely." "Ohh¡­" Roken''s neck shrank. "Did Admiral reprimend you?" "Nah, he just told me to tell you to censor the video properly. It''s taken down, but you can upload after removing the hints that reveal your and my identity." "So your identity must not be exposed through the video, huh?" Julian raised his eyebrows. "Why such a secrecy?" "I can''t tell," Almond shook his head. "As a matter of fact, this is a precaution because there''s not much information at hand for that particr subject in the first ce." "I see, since there''s not much information in the first ce, it''s better to be careful from the start," Lily nodded. "Admira Rudra must believe in his hunch or whatever that makes him want to set this precaution." "Yeah," Almond nodded, his gaze on the food as he sniffed slowly, taking in the fragrance."Anyway, let''s start eating. After that, I need to open a business with everyone''s help." ¡­ The group returned to Almond''s courtyard vi after eating and sat down on the couches, watching Almond in the spacious spot in the hall. "Here''s our products." Almond waved his hand as items started pouring out from a ck portal, forming piles. Aside from devouring a Spirit of each monster species and officially getting his stats to the limit of Silver rank, Almond had used the rest of the Spirits to craft spirit items. Pin-Furred Wolves gave cross-bows that conjure and shoot exploding arrows of me attribute and a throwable-type item¡ªSpike Bomb, that bursts into exploding spikes upon impact. Orc Bandit Warriors gave medium and heavy armor and various kinds of melee weapons like swords, clubs, hammers, and such. The third area had toons that consisted of Orc Bandit Mages, Assassins, Warriors, Tanks, and Support, so spirit items from them were of a wide variety. Naturally, Almond saved the Dungeon Boss''s Soul. "Out of four hundred and eighteen items here, roughly half of them are Low-tier Rare-grade. The rest of them are umon-grade." Julian and Roken were dumbfounded. "Hoho, that''s a big loot, Almond. So you want to sell them, eh?" Natalia rubbed her chin. "This can legit work. We are getting rich with this." "True," Lily nodded. "If we sell them cheap and reasonable, they''ll sell like hotcakes even if they are not permanent because your items have good effects." "Come on, it''s time to inspect them and set the prices for each batch of items. We''ll think about how to sell them after deciding appropriate prices." Lily and Natalia arrived at the pile and started working. "Let''s separate the piles into the batches of the same items first. We''ll put a price tag on each batch." Julian and Roken looked at each other as they swallowed hard. They knew Almond had one more crazy ss skill, and they were dying to learn more about it. As if Almond read their thoughts, he sent them the skill''s details and said, "Here''s the skill responsible for these items. Read it and then join here." ¡­ After creating several smaller piles of the same items and putting their price tags. "Bro, if we sell all of these items, then you''ll get roughly 2 million Gold coins!" Roken excitedly said, "And this is your product from just one Dungeon run!" Almond grinned, "I am seeing hope of unlocking my skill''s options early now. So, how are we going to sell these times efficiently? Any suggestions?" Chapter 89: Silverbird Services, Natalias Examination Julian showed three fingers as he said, "Three ways. First, we can set up our own website portal and advertise it in various media to get customers. Second, we tie up with GAA and Earth Union and use its resources to reach customers quickly, but we might have to adjust the price and cut we get from the sales. Third, we can use Silverbird Services, and I personally rmend the third option." "Julian is right. I say we go with Silverbird Services," Roken nodded. "They are a growing delivery service tform of 17th Rank Guild¡ªSilverbird Tree Guild. They''ve bred and trained magical birds called Silverlight Birds from the 8th Floor. These little skitters are monsters with no offensive capabilities but have a super fast speed and can phase through physical things with their skill. They deliver things all around the world." "Oh, I''ve heard of them a few times," Almond nodded. "So, how does this service work?" "We can upload the list of items we want to sell to their website after making an ount. They''ll only take delivery fees and no additional cut from sales, so they are getting favorites for new sellers who want to sell their products. But we''ll have to coordinate when the birdse here to take the goods, so we need to hire someone to work 8 hours a day," Roken answered as he had learned about their services to sell his products from Runic cksmith ss. "I have someone in mind," Almond smiled as he thought of Alfred. "More people have started focusing on production-type sub-sses," Julian said. "Alchemist and cksmiths are inrge numbers, but other exotic sub-sses are also popping up. There''s a Tattoo Master in the 2nd Rank ckstar Guild who can paint a tattoo on your body to give you a significant physical boost along with a unique skill rted to the tattoo." "I''ve heard about him," Lily nodded. "And he is just one. I bet there are other weird sub-sses." "That said, I wonder what we''ll get as our sub-sses?" Natalia wondered and then shrugged. "But we need to reach Gold rank for that, and it''ll take time." "Next month," Almond grinned. "We are going to clear two floors or maybe three floors next month and reach Gold-rank. We have twenty-two days until the new 1st cycle of the Labyrinth starts, so we are going to train heavily for these 22 days andplete our specialized sses." "Anyway," Almond continued with a wave of his hand and summoned Alfred. "We will use Silverbirds Services. How about we contact them right now and set up the business? Alfred here will oversee the goods and coordinate during the eight hours every day when the birdse here to take the products." "Let''s do this," Roken grinned. "Almond, you should call them since it''s your business. I am sending you the number." ¡­ Two hourster, everything was set up with the Silverbird Services. Alfred understood the instruction, and Almond nned to let him handle this courtyard as the head butler. There was no need to put him back in the pocket anymore. And along with the Wolfw Gauntlets at his waist, the property also had Spectral Wolves as solid guard dogs. Julian and Roken left after Almond told them he would apany them to training a dayter since he was going to be busy for the next 24 hours. "Almond, I have to leave for now. Teacher Aria wants me there for some training," Lily sighed. "And my exam was dyed in the morning, so I am going to take it now," Natalia said, her fist clenched. "I did everything I could, so it''s time to show them my power." "Then go," Almond smiled. "I also need toplete my current specialized ss quest of using skill insight and creating my 2nd ss skill, so I''ll be meditating for the next 24 hours." "Good, then I''ll properly discuss with teacher Aria about my terms," Lily nodded with a resolved expression. "Did she take any problem with you living here?" Almond raised his eyebrows. Natalia snickered and answered in Lily''s stead, "Lady Aria thinks that Lily will focus less on training and important things if she''s with you." "And she is just very wrong," Lily snorted. Almond grabbed Lily''s waist and pulled her as he smiled, "She is wrong indeed. Come, spar with me for an hour. I got some new moves to show, so let''s get some pointers, and then you can go prove her wrong." Lily''s eyes sparkled. "Wonderful. I also got some new moves. Let''s go, darling~" "Damn," Natalia stomped her feet. "I have to be there at the guild in ten minutes to take my exam." "Take my aircraft," Almond touched his wristwatch. "I''ve given temporary ess to you." "Woohoo, alright. Smell yater, but make sure to shower after you finish sparring." Natalia left, leaving Almond and Lily''s ears a bit red before they burst outughing as they remembered their time in the shower room yesterday. ¡­ Natalia went to take the examination. "Where''s Lily?" Lady Aria asked, frowning. "She is at Almond''s ce, training. She''ll return after an hour," Natalia said as she cupped her fist. "I am ready for my examination." "Alright, let''s go." The examination was simr to thebat evaluation Almond had. But instead of stages, Natalia faced waves of monsters one by one that increased in power with each wave. The result required to enter the Guild as its main member was to clear five waves without any break in between except for 30 seconds of gap between each wave. But Natalia''s performance sessfully rocked Lady Aria''s boat. ''She still has Mana?'' Lady Aria''s eyes glinted. ''Her movements are also better than before. Her Flute magic attacks are more precise and powerful. Did she learn how they work on her own? Her improvement is fast.'' "Who is she, Lady Aria?" A man in his fifties with a brown beard and long brown hair asked as he appeared beside Lady Aria, his eyes on Natalia, who was fighting twenty meters ahead in the hall.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Brian Earthcross¡ªa top 15 Global Rank adventurer and 3rd most powerful in the League of Firefly. "Brian? What brings you here?" Lady Aria nced at him but then continued to watch Aria and said, "Anyway, she is a new rookie who just needs a bit of polishing to shine and be a super rookie. Her Combat Style ispletely different thanks to her Specialied ss, so if she can develop with that ss as the center focus, she''ll be a powerful asset in the near future." "Are those instruments also buffing her?" Brian asked as his eyes glinted. "Yes, all four instruments, including the flute she is wielding, are buffing her constantly." Brian frowned, "Am I wrong or the timer indicates that she has been fighting for over fifteen minutes now?" "She has been fighting for fifteen minutes, and yes, her Mana recovery is abnormally high. She already had high Mana recovery due to her specialized ss, but this is more than that. This wasn''t the casest time I saw her, so she got some kind of improvement in the past 24 hours." Brian smacked his lips, "That''s a lot of Mana and high recovery for a newbie Silver-rank. Not to mention how it drastically increases herbat power due to the nature of her ss skills I am seeing. Are you going to take her in as your student?" "I''ve already taken her, but she is more than I expected her to be," Lady Aria smiled. "We might be getting our 3rd Super Rookie." "Eh? What''s her ss rank?" "Her primary ss is B-rank, but her Specialized ss is SS-rank." "What?!" Brian was dumbfounded. "And you didn''t find it important to tell me and others that we have someone with an SS-rank specialized ss?" "Yeah." "¡­" Chapter 90: Duncan Silvester [#KingDog: Holy shit, how is he moving around like that?] [#Sky11: His movements are crazy. And I think that cloak is partly responsible for it.] [#Urrr @Sky11: What do you mean? That item has a skill that makes him move like that?] [#Sky11 @Urrr: Absolutely. Check the 1:39 part of the video. It shines briefly there, and then his speed increases, and the amount of time he floats around. I am guessing it has some gravity-defying effect, but he only uses it when necessary since it seems to remain active only for a minute or two I guess. Anyway, that doesn''t change the fact that he is a monster inbat.] [#BurningFighter009 @Sky11: His boots are also aiding him in speed and jump, I am guessing. But he is able to coordinate his movements very well. I for one can''t move like him even though I can fight those Gold-rank monsters.] [#Lolno: Holy cow, that guy is killing those monsters as if he is killing flies. I think the video title is fake. He''s definitely not a silver-rank Adventurer.] [#Nun001: That''s obvious for all to see, but he is pretty good nheless. I wonder if he''ll appear in the Rising Star Tournament?] [#SwordGod: This man is a true monster of the sword. I would love to spar with him.] [#Keerrrra @SwordGod: Damn, it''s SwordGod himself! I am learning a lot about sword training thanks to your videos. And if you say he is a true monster, then how does he farepared to you, senior?] [#DumDoll @SwordGod: When are you going to reveal your identity, senior? We are tired of seeing a scarecrow bucket hiding your face. Are you a renowned Adventurer or what? There are many theories painting you as some top adventurers who use Sword, so when''s the grand reveal from yourself, senior?] [#SwordGod @Keerrrra: Compared to me? I''m afraid he has a lot to learn, but if I can get his identity, I might extend an invitation to him.] [#PurpleNight @SwordGod: You''ve never invited anyone to your mysterious abode in nature''s embrace, senior. Nobody knows where you record your sword training videos, but you are going to invite him? That''s unprecendent.] [#RoarHero @PurpleNight: Yeah, it''s pretty crazy. Senior SwordGod has never invited anyone to his video, but he wants to do it this time¡­ I guess that guy in the video is really that good.] Roken had re-uploaded the video with extra censorship after leaving Almond''s house that evening. The video only focused on Almond, his face blurred, and items were slightly altered. The original noises were reced with some badass music, and there was no hint of other people in the video. The video was gaining views at above-average speed, slowly blowing up. There were some people who felt like they had seen that guy in the video. These people were those who had seen Almond in the Fairy Mountain. And they only felt that because of the Snow Hide Cloak and White Pn Tiger Belt that he had worn. But no matter how hard they tried to remember his face, they couldn''t. Almond''s innate talent¡ªHeir of Oblivion, was ying its part as his impression on others was easily forgotten¡­unless it was on people he considered important. ¡­ Somewhere in the northern mountains of the globe, a man in his sixties sat cross-legged on a rock facing a small waterfall ten meters away from him. In front of him floated a table and cup with the control of his Mana as indicated by a faint lustrious border around the items. A hologram was also projected from the table''s center, disying the video of Almond with his face blurred. "You got something good, young man," the man spoke with his eyes glinting in light. "I have to find you." Caressing his beard with one hand while nodding as he watched the video, his eyes glinted as he contacted someone using his customm wristwatch like the ones GAA members had. It had a unique design different from GAA wristwatches, indicating that he was part of a different organization. He indeed was, but not part of an organization. Instead, he was the head of a renowned family. Duncan Silvester¡ªthe head of the Duncan Family, renowned in martial arts, mainly sword mastery. The Duncan family wasparable to the Ryugiri Family in terms of sword mastery. In terms of swordy, these two families had dominated the field globally even before the Grimworld Tutorial descended. [Duncan Silvester: Son, I am sending you a video link. I want you to find the Adventurer in the video. Make sure to inform me immediatly once you find him instead of taking any unnecessary actions.] [Duncan Roy: Understood. Also, have you thought about Master Rishi''s proposal?] [Duncan Silvester: I''ve thought about it and I might agree if more of the old monsters join. Rudra''s involvement is also important, but he hasn''t answered yet.] [Duncan Roy: Admiral Rudra might reject the proposal, but his absence won''t affect the oue if the rest of the powerhouses join.] [Duncan Silvester: That''s true, but his opinion matters.] [Duncan Roy: Understood. I''ll contact you once I make progress with your task.] Duncan Silvester contacted Admiral Rudra afterward. [Rudra: It''s rare for you to call me. What''s the matter?] [Silvester: Have you seen that video of a young man with genius swordy?] [Rudra:¡­don''t.] Admiral Rudra rubbed his temples. [Silvester: Oho? You seem to know him. That''s wonderful.] [Rudra: Don''t poke your nose in this. Stay away from him. He doesn''t need your influence.] [Silvester: I am sad you are treating an old friend like that. I''ve put my son onto it, so he''ll find him sooner orter, so let''s just save our time and resources, shall we? I won''t meddle much, I just want him to spar against my grandson.] [Rudra: Your wish will be granted. He''ll participate in the Rising Star Tournament.] [Silvester: Cough, and I also want to spar with him.] [Rudra: How about you spar with me?] [Silvester:¡­] [Rudra: Yeah, I figured.] [Silvester: I just want to see him up close and sh the swords. The video is shortened and edited, so I can''t see his full brilliance. But he is a wild one, that''s for sure. I can refine him, you know?] [Rudra: No need. He''ll be able to refine himself.] [Silvester: You should know that leaving some geniuses alone could also destroy them if not properly guided. You haven''t forgotten about Nina, right?] [Rudra: He is different and¡­fine. I''ll take him to you, but not anytime soon. It''ll be after the Rising Star Tournament.] [Silvester: Great! And Rudra, make sure that old bastard from the Ryugiri family doesn''t sniff him out. He''ll want to do the same as me once he sees that video. In fact, he doesn''t have a male grandson, so I bet he''ll be more thirsty for this guy.] [Rudra:¡­I should take down the video again.] [Silvester: Bahahaha, no need. It''s fine. Only I and that old bastard can discern his genius sword from that video. The others might think he is a wild sword fighter with cool moves, that''s all. It helps that the video is shortened and edited, not to mention that it''ll spread as a fake video due to its title.]n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om [Rudra: Mhmm. Anyway, is that all?] [Silvester: There''s one more thing. It''s about Rishi''s Proposal.] Chapter 91: Dungeon: Delliah’s Meadow at the Horizon’s End (1/2) [Silvester: What do you think about his proposal?] [Rudra: That''s dated for the month after next, and I won''t answer until a monthter. I am going to sniff in darker ces, and if I am right in my suspicion, I am going to do my best to prevent you all from triggering the Floor Boss. If those old bastards die, we are going to have a big loss of power. We don''t know what''s going to happen in the future, so we have to be prepared.] [Silvester: Sniff in darker ces, huh? Do you think your suspicion will prove true at those ces?] [Rudra: That''s my current best bet.] [Silvester: Are you going alone?] [Rudra: I can''t afford to take anyone with me.] [Silvester: Want me toe? If you are really right, then don''t you think going alone might be dangerous even for you?] After a second of silence, Admiral Rudra replied. [Rudra: Alright. I''ll tell you when I am going. Be ready.] ¡­ Almond had entered meditation and used his specialized ss quest''s skill insight at 10 o''clock yesterday night, and he had just woken up after spending 24 hours. "Wee back, Master." The pearly charming voice belonged to a beautiful girl in her twenties with a forest-themed maid outfit. "Don''t tell me you didn''t move at all after I summoned you?" Almond wryly smiled. He had summoned Dark Pope Benedict and Forest Maid Sylvia as guards before he entered meditation. "I simply stayed here as your guard since there didn''t arise any need for me to move," Sylvia smiled. "I see. Well, just rx now and follow your desire. You canze around, tend garden, or train. Just keep your mind active and running, okay?" "As you wish, Master. Then may I go to the garden? I wish to explore something there," Sylvia said with twinkling eyes. Almond grinned, "Go." ''Nice, they are thinking,'' Almond internally nodded in satisfaction. He wanted his sentient summons to grow more and be more intelligent. They were already a new soul, a new kind of species with intelligence, so if they could grow their consciousness and be more intelligent, they would be able to self-develop their powers, like how Adventurers start introspecting their skills and how magic works to improve and create skills once their Perception and Focus cross past 50 points. It wasn''t easy, and it usually took multiple months to even years to develop a powerful skill, but these Spirit Wraiths had high stats, and their existence was based on their power. If they became more intelligent, Almond felt they could develop their powers further. Almond went outside and saw that Alfred and Dark Pope Benedict were hanging around on the ground. Sensing Almond''s presence, Alfred promptly bowed and said, "Master, while you were aware, the products have been sold." "How many?" "All of them." Almond was taken aback, "All of them?!" "Yes." Almond used his wristwatch to check this ount bnce, and he was dumbfounded. 2.02 million gold coins after deducting the delivery charges. "I might have gotten a very good business in my hand," Almond muttered. "My lord, now that you''re awake, are there any instructions for me?" Dark Pope asked as he nced at Sylvia, who was humming cheerfully and tending to the garden, sowing seeds she created and watering them. "Hmm, nothing in particr. Do whatever you want, and if you want a sparring partner, I can summon Ashkar." "Oh, that is interesting, my lord. I would love to do that." ¡­ Almond stayed with his summons for half an hour. Alfred was roaming around the three buildings, cleaning and adjusting them. He also told Alfred to do anything like cleaning and stuff. Almond granted his summons ess to Television and the inte as well so they could learn more about them. Afterward, he contacted Lily and found out that she and Natalia were somewhere on a hidden ind in the sea with Lady Aria for extensive training, and they would return after a day. After talking with her, Almond decided to do some fighting and training to get stronger as well. He had a new skill that he wanted to test and also finally introspect his ss skills and learn how the magic worked since he had reached 200 in Perception and Focus. With those two stats that high, Almond was eager to learn more about magic and the construction of skills. Contacting Marshal Lopol, he first asked for a blue-bordered B-rank Dungeon. ¡­ [You have entered the Delliah''s Meadow at the Horizon''s End] As Almond stepped into the meadow, the sheer vastness of thendscape stretched endlessly before him. A lush field of vibrant, otherworldly flowers nketed the ground, glowing faintly in the perpetual twilight. The horizon seemed both near and impossibly far, bathed in warm hues of gold and pink as if caught in an eternal sunset. Wisps of light flittedzily through the air, their trails sparkling faintly, while the soothing hum of magic resonated faintly beneath Almond''s feet. ''Damn, this dungeon is amazing,'' Almond felt amazed at the scenery. Yet, this serene beauty felt¡­strange. The meadow seemed alive, watching, its tranquility masking an undercurrent of danger. As Almond moved forward, distinct areas began to show up. ''Those must be the monsters'' locations.'' The nearest one was a de. A dense grove of silver trees spread there. Their mirrored leaves reflected the twilight sky, creating a disorienting array of light. Faint whispers echoed through the de, drawing intruders deeper into its heart. [You have entered the dungeon''s first area¡ªWhisperlight de] As Almond entered and walked past a few trees, he saw two fairy-like monsters dancing in an empty patch of ground with beautiful designs carved on the surrounding trees'' trunks. One blue and one pink. Male and Female. Both fairy-like monsters held some weird wooden instruments in their hands as their crystal blue and red eyes glowered at Almond upon seeing him. [Luby Sylph¡ªAdam] -Rank: Goldn/o/vel/b//in dot c//om -Level: 47 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 74 | Health: 68 | Stamina: 54] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 78 | Focus: 70 | Perception: 72] The other was Luby Sylph¡ªEve, who also had simr stats. ''Time to see if my fiddling in the skill works or not.'' Chapter 92: Dungeon: Delliah’s Meadow at the Horizon’s End (2/2) Almond¡¯s eyes mystically glowed deep within with an ethereal blue-gold hue as he used his Riftveil Eyes. ¡¯Unveil those monsters for me.¡¯ [Luby Sylphs are ethereal creatures with an all-rounder skill set cloaked in flowing silver, and their haunting melodies sap strength and will. They can summon Meadow Wisps, glowing orbs that act as catalysts for their variety of skills. They should be avoided.] The Sylphs summoned ten orbs as they nketed towards Almond. ¡¯Damn, right off the bat, huh?¡¯ Almond promptly used Fortification, Strength Boost, and Focus Field, along with using Weapon Enfold on his sword. His body blurred as he exerted his strength to jump high, avoiding the orbs and creating a significant distance of over a hundred meters quickly. From above, he waved his sword, pouring 200 Mana and using the sword¡¯s engraved skill¡ªWild de. (Active) Wild de: Unleashes a sh-projectile that deals damage based on your Strength and Mana consumption. The sh gets stronger the more it travels, up to 500 meters for a +200% bonus in damage. Almond had scanned the sword and already perceived its engraved skill rune when he studied it to use Weapon Enfold on it. And as a result, he had already learned how to influence the skill with his Mana. Almond made the sh longer in length and thinner, adjusting it while its core magic effect of absorbing atmospheric power to enhance itself based on distance remained working. ¡¯Splitter.¡¯ The sh traveled at sonic speed and sliced both Luby Sylphs before the sh splintered and shredded both of them further. Deader than dead. Absorbing their lingering Spirits, Almond continued in the forest and encountered another pair of Luby Sylph. Almond was basically ying with them. With his Focus Field that was aided by his 200+ Perception and Focus, nothing at this level could even remotely touch him. After killing ten pairs of Luby Sylphs, he threw their spirits into Spirit Forge Factory. ¡¯The Density Value of this dungeon was 773, so I should get a good amount of monster spirits.¡¯ He asked for the highest density value dungeon in B-rank blue-border and got this. Based on pure numbers, he got a bit over 400 Spirits in the previous Dungeon, which had a 1300+ density value, so he should get roughly 200 in this dungeon. Almond continued and cleared the three areas one by one leisurely, not going all out but just using enough and exercising his proficiency in handling Mana while improving his Mana techniques. Finally, he reached the boss area after over two hours. The dungeon was big, and Almond took his time walking when moving to the new area, soaking in the scenery and drowning his brain to explore the usage of his new ss skill¡ªEspada Ad Grimveil (L). n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond knew he had created something crazy, but this skill heprehended during skill insight enlightenment required him to explore it more to unlock its effects. And¡­the fun he was having while doing it had made him enter into a zone, a state of mind where his entire being flowed in the perfect condition to explore the skill. Your next chapter is on NovelBin.C?m Arriving at the boss area, Almond took out his sword, his aura subtle and serene. His almond eyes gleamed with silver-white spark, an indication of his new skill, Espada Ad Grimveil. [You have entered Sweetbell¡¯s Horizon Edge. Challenge triggered. Defeat the boss within 1 minute for a Golden Chest, 2 minutes for a Silver Chest, or 3 minutes for a Bronze Chest.] In front of Almond was a circr arena of grassy ground surrounded by flowers and crystals. Roughly a hundred meters away from Almond, the boss stood at the center of this arena. It was a majestic centaur with crystal-scaled armor, looking as if the crystals had grown from its body. It wielded ance spear in his hand and a bow around his shoulder. [Sweetbell¡¯s Caretaker¡ªCentaur Tel Loste] -Rank: Gold. -Level: 70. -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 160|Health: 500|Stamina: 120] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 300|Focus: 150|Perception: 150] The moment the boss turned to Almond and roared, Almond made his move. A pulse of ethereal sphere expanded from Almond with him as the center. It expanded 150 meters radius, covering the boss. Espada Ad Grimveil! ¡¯Sever,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as a sh formed in the air right behind the boss, and instantly, the sh and his body switched ces. The Boss saw the sh suddenly appearing in ce of Almond and shot at it, its speed breakneck. Centaur was barely able to respond with a hurried attack, but something strange happened. The sh passed through its weapon, severing it in half, and expanded into six shes that proceeded to slice the centaur into pieces as its body separated. But its vitality didn¡¯t reduce at all. The centaur looked visibly confused. It could feel its entire body, but it was separated into pieces! ¡¯Gravity, cut off.¡¯ Almond¡¯s mana was consumed as he severed gravity in this domain by half twice. The severed parts of thence and centaur suddenly lost bnce as they floated in the air. In the next second, Almond teleported again with the method of severing and discing space in his domain and arrived in front of a severed part of the centaur that exposed its power core. Without further ado, Almond drove his de into it, forcing a cry out of the centaur as all of its body parts wreathed, its vitality reducing rapidly. Almond twisted his sword and shattered the core, destroying the dungeon boss as it turned into motes and vanished, leaving behind a big magic crystal, a Spirit, and a Golden chest. Capturing the spirit and putting magic crystal and golden chest into his storage pouch, Almond faced the beautiful and otherworldy starry scenery at this Horizon¡¯s edge and sat down cross-legged before closing his eyes. [Espada Ad Grimveil] -Type: Domain. -Rank: Legendary -Cost: ¡ª> 1% Mana per second to maintain the domain to the range of 200 meters radius. ¡ª> Exercising powers in the domain costs additional Mana. -Effect: Chapter 93: Espada Ad Grimveil [Espada Ad Grimveil] -Type: Domain. -Rank: Legendary -Cost: ¡ª> 1% Mana per second to maintain the domain to the range of 200 meters radius. ¡ª> Exercising powers in the domain costs additional Mana. -Effect: ¡ª> Within the domain of Grimveil, you are the all-severing rift. There is nothing you cannot cut and connect. Within the domain of Grimveil, you are the all-perceiving eyes. There is nothing you cannot unveil. -Explored Techniques: n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om 1¡ªRift Discement: Severe a space and disce it. 2¡ªSpatial Severing: Sever the space while maintaining a connection between severed space or disce the connections. 3¡ªAbsolute Severing: Sunder everything you are able to perceive. This skill was a power that Almond deemed batshit crazy and activated his neurons in hyper mode, giving him a sort of high as if he was a god within the domain of this skill. Almond wanted his 2nd ss skill to be of powerful offense but also to have moreprehensive powers that included the aspects of his ss, and Espada Ad Grimveil was the result of his enlightenment for 24 hours in the Skill Insight session. He also improved his ss¡¯s Legendary Quirk¡ªRiftveil Eyes since he gained more understanding of his specialized ss. He explored the skill¡¯s power and created three techniques so far, and they felt enough for now. At the moment, he was exploring the mysterious phenomenon of ¡¯skill room¡¯ as he termed it, to learn more about his primary ss¡¯s powers and skills. He also nned to learn the new S-rank skills from the skill book. This dungeon was otherworldly and serene. Almond found it good for meditation, especially at this Horizon¡¯s edge. ¡¯Let¡¯s check the Spirit Explosion first. I want to modify it a bit.¡¯ Inside the skill room, he could see three sections. One section belonged to his primary ss. The second one belonged to his specialized ss. The third one belonged to ssless skills. Each section had unique semi-metallic-looking runes with entric patterns that formed otherworldly symbols¡ªthey were skill runes containing the mechanism of the skills. Items also had engraved skill runes within them that gave them their magical effects. Only those with Perceptive and Focus above 50 could begin to find them. Naturally, Almond could not wrap his head around how skill runes formed yet. He didn¡¯t witness the process of one forming. But learning the Skills from the skill book would allow him to witness one. But even though he couldn¡¯t create skill runes, he could explore one and fiddle with it inside, as he did with the Wild de skill rune in his sword. Since his Primary ss had predefined skill runes that could get affected automatically by his performance and stats increase in Perception and Focus, Almond wanted to affect them actively. Almond was soon absorbed in learning and exploring. Two hours passed by in the blink of an eye as Almond made a proper summary of the skill runes¡¯ structure based on his interpretation and his experiments with them. From his understanding, the skill runes were purely made of Mana in condensed, stasis form in a way that would allow it to channel one¡¯s Mana and transform it ording to the skill rune¡¯s internal structure and manifest its power. A Skill Rune had three sections. Design Section. Core Section. Execution Section. From what he learned, the design section acted like a blueprint of the skill. If someone filled the Design section of a skill rune, but the other two sections were empty, then the skill rune would be useless. It wouldn¡¯t do anything at all except dispersing infused Mana. It determined: 1-Shape and Motion: How the skill appears or behaves for any type of skill, be it defensive, attack, buff, or any other. (e.g., the shape of a ball to fill it with fire energy, a sh-shape, simple sparks, or aura visibility.). 2-Trigger Mechanism: Determines how the skill is activated, such as verbalmands, gestures, or pure thought. 3-Range and Area of Effect: Specify the effective reach of the skill (single target, AoE, or self-cast). This part wasn¡¯t hard. It was just design, nothing of substance, without the core section and execution section. The next part was the tricky one¡ªThe core section. It was the heart of a skill rune. It defined the skill¡¯s attribute alignment, power source, and intensity. To create this section of a skill rune, a person must have ¡¯sufficient¡¯ Mana control ording to the effect they desire. This section determined mainly three things: 1¡ªAttribute alignment: Fire, water, wind, etc, or any perceived magical phenomenon with an attribute. 2¡ªPower source: determines the ratio of mana potency vs. control. An overbnced ratio causes explosive burst effects, while a bnced ratio yields precise and sustained effects. 3¡ªAmplification nodes: small sub-runes embedded in the core to increase the potency or refine the Mana energy¡¯s output. Example of Core section: ¡ªA me-shaped core with amplification nodes arranged symmetrically would channel fire energy in a controlled burst¡ªSpewing constant mes from one¡¯s hand or conjuring a flower that constantly rains pollen with some kind of effect. ¡ªA jagged, chaotic infusion pattern might result in wild, unpredictable elemental discharges. If the desired result was just an explosion, this would work. There were also ways tobine the two and make it such that it would be in a controlled motion at first and then burst, much like how Almond had already done that with his pure control inside Espada Ad Grimveil, where he splintered his single sh into six shes. Enjoy exclusive chapters from NovelBin.C?m The third section¡ªExecution Section. This section governed how the Mana exited the rune, whether through the body or manifest within the sensible range of the user to interact with the environment or target. This section determined: 1¡ªDuration: Whether the skill is instantaneous, channeled, or persistent based on work done in the core section to dictate it. 2¡ªAftereffects: Attribute effects, Residual damage, buffs, debuffs, or environmental changes caused by the skill based on the skill¡¯s core section structure. 3¡ªEfficiency: Awork section connecting all the above that determines the Mana cost and stamina drain rtive to the skill¡¯s various parameters and post-execution impact. After making a summary of the skill creation¡¯s mechanism, Almond decided to create a simple skill rune based on a new technique he had recently created¡ªSword Thread. Chapter 94: Creating Skill Rune Sword Thread¡ªIt was a finely condensed Mana given a sharp edge with his exceptional control that highly excelled when it came to some particr areas, like a sword, for example. To create the skill based on Sword Thread, Almond first designed it to make the Sword String appear like a spring-shape as he wanted it directly wrapped around a target upon manifestation. He kept the trigger mechanism as his thoughtmand. Uponmand, the skill rune would absorb his Mana ording to his desired amount based on his skill execution. The core function was simple for this skill. He didn''t have any knowledge of how to give a proper attribute to his Mana yet as he reckoned he would need to learn Mana Transmutation to give different properties, elemental or non, to give to his Mana in this section. He created ten nodes in a spring shape ovepping his visual of the spring shape he created in the design section and kept the power source bnced so that the entire string would have a constant flow of power to maintain its sharpness ording to the design. Lastly, he set the Execution section. He set the channeled duration ording to how he set up the core section. The spring sword thread would remain active as long as he fed the skill his Mana. The aftereffect was nothing else aside from damage ording to the skill''s effect on the target. He didn''t know how to fill up the skill rune''s core section with attribute powers, so this skill didn''t have any buff, debuff, or additional effect to bring out aside from pure damage. Efficiency was determined automatically based on the above things. But he could change it by changing the above parts of the skill to determine which part of the skill would get more Mana and potency. But his skill wasn''t anythingplicated, so there was nothing to change. He could change the thread''s width and length, but he wanted to keep it his current design for now and see how it would go first. ''Now, let''s see if it actually works or not.'' Almond got up and moved towards a nearby crystal grown a meter long from the ground and roughly half a meter in thickness. He gavemand to that skill rune. Almond''s mind was instantly connected to the skill rune, bringing back the familiar feeling of having it in his control. In the next second, a precise 4.7-meter length of sword thread in a spring shape materialized around the crystal in an even fashion from its head to bottom. It is tightly wrapped around it, its edges embedded inside. ''Damn, that took 231 Mana?'' Almond was speechless. He saw that the sword thread around the crystal was dispersing in the next second instead of shattering the crystal by gripping it. ''Ok¡­so it was a failure.'' But Almond was grinning because he knew exactly why it didn''t work. ''Using the skill once actually gave me full insight on what I need to do in the skill rune to make it work properly. I should first create a random crude skill simply using my Mana and determine parameters from it to input in the skill rune. Yes, this should work.'' Almond spent the next half an hour refining the skill rune thoroughly. The result surprised him. The skill cost lowered to 120 Mana, and it instantly shattered the crystal. He knew he could improve further, but he was satisfied with this result. Serpentcoil Thread de¡ªafter naming this skill rune, Almond pulled his mind out of this subject. He took out the skill book¡ªLightning Dragon Skillset. ''It''s time to learn this shit. I am definitely excited to have some shy cool skill and how I might be able to delve into getting some lightning affinity to use it as an attribute.'' The requirement to delve into Mana Transmutation was having 200 Perception and Focus. Almond had exactly 200 Perceptions and Focus on his own, not including the bonus stats from the items'' perks he equipped. Almond opened the book and turned to the first page. After a few seconds, he couldn''t help but wryly smile. ''I somewhat expected this, especially considering that this is an S-rank skill set, but still¡­well, I can''t say I am not a bit thrilled to try this.'' The first page''s most important content was straightforward. ¡ªThe best way to familiarize and affiliate yourself with lightning is to get struck by it with Fortification activated and powered just enough to make it shatter and feel the lightning with your senses and the resonance it invokes when struck to your Mana. Almond had seen videos of Adventurers training in extreme environments, natural or unnatural, to invoke affinities. Those who had gotten skill books with elemental attributes always tried this type of method. ''Well, now where do I find a ce with constant lightning?'' ''Wait, there ought to be a dungeon with lightning theme!'' Almond didn''t linger inside this dungeon anymore and left. After contacting Marshal Lopol, he immediately asked him for a dungeon that had a lightning theme.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond bet that a lightning-themed dungeon would have a lot of lightning since it would have a lot of lightning attribute aspects as a whole! Lightning-attributed monsters, lightning biome, lightning materials, and such. If he was in some small guild, it would be hard to find such heavily elemental dungeons. But he was in GAA! [Marshal Lopol: I just checked. There''s no lightning-elemental dungeon in our city. But there''s one roughly a thousand kilometers away, in the Thunderbird City. That city has naturally lightning alignment, so lightning-elemental dungeons spawn there more. There are two identified there right now.] [Almond: That''s awesome. So which one is mine?] [Marshal Lopol: None. One is an A-rank dungeon that''s scheduled to be cleared by several top 20 guilds together. The other is a B-rank, and it is golden-bordered already. It''s scheduled to be cleared tomorrow by Thunderbird guild because it''s in their territory.] [Almond: Damn. Is there a way for me to enter that B-rank dungeon somehow? It''s really important for me.] It indeed was. The S-rank skill book was an absolutely legendary item in terms of rarity. If he learned those two skills, he was sure to get lightning affinity, and he would be able to master Lightning Mana Transmutation! Almond wanted to enter that dungeon at all costs. Chapter 95: Thunderbird City Dungeon, Familiar Face [Marshal Lopol: Well, it won''t be hard at all. We can just pay for an entry cost. But¡­sending you alone with strangers inside a dungeon, don''t you feel the risk?] Almond thought hard. Did he feel at risk after being surrounded by his crazy summons, with his stats already surpassing the adventurers who would enter the same dungeon with him? Nope. He had Admiral Rudra''s protection item, and he also had his own trump card. The point of revealing some information was to hide something more important. He wasn''t going to tell anyone else about his Legendary ss''s skill, not even Julian or Roken. That knowledge would be confined to a small sphere and wouldn''t grow any further. It wasn''t about trust. It was about keeping the information from spreading in a simple sense. Admiral Rudra had told him to keep a tight lid on his Legendary ss''s information. But he could show his primary ss, in turn, to make it his main attraction point if there was going to be one out in the light eventually. So he was ready. [Almond: Well, if you feel I would be at risk, then how about sending a guard or two with me? I''m sure Admiral Rudra wouldn''t mind paying for two people extra.] [Marshal Lopol: Alright, I''ll inform the Branch Master about this. She will make a positive decision in light of you having Admiral Rudra''s stamp, but the two peopleing with you would be the ones I select. Julian and Roken won''t go there. They are not strong enough.] [Almond: No problem. I aming there in half an hour and will leave for Thunderbird City at your arrangements.] ''I wonder if I can get my summons to my pocket no matter the distance?'' Almond wondered and tried. He had a faint connection with his summons, so he tried to put Infernal Knight into his pocket, and it surprisingly worked. ''Interesting, so the distance doesn''t matter when I want to recall my spirit wraiths.'' Almond still returned to his house. He put everyone except for Alfred in his pocket and left the house in Alfred''s care. ¡­ A funny coincidence. Almond was about to enter that dungeon tomorrow to get lightning affinity and learn the skills. Meanwhile, the reason Lady Aria took Lily to that hidden ind was for Lily to experience the darkness and let her acquire darkness affinity. As someone on the 7th rank of the Global Leaderboard, Lady Aria was strong, suffice to say. But her dangerousness was masked by her rank for general people. If someone asked veteran adventurers about who was the most dangerous Adventurer on the global leaderboard, everyone would have the same answer¡ªLady Aria of Crimson Shadow. She was someone who had mastered the art of assassination on a new level. Her skill set, her both sses, and her entire being augmented her role as an assassin. The ind where she took Lily was a special one. It had a strong alignment with darkness, and this was also where she improved. Natalia apanied them for other training, but she was alone at a beautiful river stream with glowing flowers. On the other hand, Lily and Lady Aria were below the river stream in a hidden underground area for their special training. This area had an underground water stream where Lily and Lady Aria sat. It was illuminated by strange dark purple crystals and flora that oozed out shadowy energy and ck hues. "What are you thinking? Your mind is not inplete darkness yet. Permeate your senses into the darkness here." Lily''s eyes twitched as she heard Lady Aria''s voice. "I was thinking about Almond." Lady Aria sighed, "What do you want to do?" "Nothing. I will continue to live with him, and you have to agree." Lady Aria''s expression became stern, "If you continue to be this stubborn, I''ll have no choice but to revoke this mentorship." Not flinching at all, Lily replied while looking straight at her, "Fine." "¡­" Lady Aria sighed, "Are you serious? You want to forgo this mentorship for some boy?" "Are you serious? You want me to forget someone I love for some mentorship?" "¡­" "Fine, fine," Lady Aria snorted. "Since you''ve praised him so much, then I''ll approve as long as he performs well in the Rising Star Tournament?" "He defeated Xavier, and you think it''s not enough?" Lily pouted. "That brat is nothing much," Lady Aria snorted. "Even you are better than him, so winning against Xavier doesn''t count. And you are not telling me about his ss skills and other things as well, so I''ll have to see him fight in the Rising Star Tournament." "Fine, but I will still live with him until the tournament starts," Lily firmly said. "As for his result in the tournament, I have no doubt he''ll take the first rank, humph." "¡­Alright, I got it. Now, close your eyes and focus. You told him you would return after a day, but that''s not the deal we have. You will only return once you grasp the darkness attribute. Since you said you would do that in one day, then keep your word." "Watch me," Lily closed her eyes and focused. ¡­ It was already almost 2 o'' clock in the morning when Almond arrived at the GAA. The sky waspletely dark, and the jet was ready to depart. The two other people going with him were Level 100 Gold-rank Adventurers Nikki and Anton. Both of them were in their mid-twenties and members of the same party. Everything was arranged, so the trio departed at 2:20 and arrived at the GAA branch in Thunderbird City half an hourter.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The dungeon raid was supposed to start at 7 in the morning, so Almond decided to sleep in the dorms at the GAA branch. ¡­ Northern Mountain peak area, Thunderbird City. A group of six Adventurers, all above Gold level 80, were gathered near the Dungeon Door. "Leader, are we seriously going to have three extras in this raid? What the hell?" "Are they going to take items and stuff or just going along with us?" "They might being for some lighting affinity training." "Do we have their profiles?" The leader sighed, "Give me a break. I''ll answer your questions one by one, so listen. They paid for the slots, so they will take the rewards they earn. We''ll move with the contribution system in ce." "Tsk¡­" "Don''t tsk. Things have changed, so earn your rewards. We are six, and they are just three. It won''t be hard." The leader paused for a second before continuing, "And they are indeeding here because one of them wants some lightning affinity training. I don''t have their profiles, but we''ll be meeting them soon." Just as he finished speaking, the aircraft arrived on the mountain and flew towards them. The group saw three people jumping off the aircraft andnding nearby. Almond looked at the group as he walked towards them and was surprised to see a familiar face, "Henry?" "Huh, you know him, leader?" asked the orange-haired girl standing beside Henry as she blinked in surprise. Meanwhile, Henry was shocked. ''This guy¡­'' Meanwhile, a few of Henry''s party members narrowed their eyes. ''Is he the one whose poster we saw?'' ''Damn¡­he is definitely that one, and Henry''s reaction says it all.'' Chapter 96 Dungeon: Blitzercrow’s Thunder Land Chapter 96 Dungeon: Blitzercrow¡¯s Thunder Land The two GAA members also didn''t expect Almond to find someone he knew. Well, that made things certainly easy because they knew they''d be facing some annoyance from this guild courtesy of them crashing into their raid. s, they didn''t know they might be facing more than just annoyance now. "I¡­wasn''t expecting to see you here," Henry wryly smiled. "But¡­" his eyes showed confusion and disbelief as he asked, "Shouldn''t you be silver-rank still? Don''t tell me you reached Gold rank?" "Haha, I am still Silver-rank, of course," Almond chuckled as he stretched his hand. "How''s things been since then?" "Not damaging," Henry shook hands, a grateful smile on his face. He also magic whispered. ''Thanks to your leniency, nothing bad happened, but you here¡­might bring trouble to you.'' Almond captured a hint of distress in his eyes. Henry''s party members were curious, so everyone introduced each other, but Henry didn''t speak much about their encounter and just said that they met on the first floor this month when he went as a Knight. However, everyone figured out everything. It was well-known in the guild that the vice-guild leader''s son was brutally beaten up on the first floor by a party headed by the student of Lady Aria. The faulty in him, so they couldn''t openly hold her ountable. But that didn''t mean the grudge was settled. The vice-guild leader and his son both held grudges, especially Zoren. He had made posters of Natalia, Lily, Almond, and Alfred from his memories and wanted to find more information about others aside from Lily. So, the guild members knew about them. "Now that everyone knows each other by name, at least, let us start the raid," Henry said as he turned to the portal door. The Thunderbird guild group went inside first, followed by Almond, Nikki, and Anton. [You have entered the dungeon: Blitzercrow''s Thunder Land.] The starting area was Thunder Hills. Past it, they could see lightning crackling tall trees with dark clouds in the sky that chain reacted with trees. Most of this lightning naturally had lower intensity and power than actual lightning. They were a product of Mana''s transformation with lightning elements of proportional amount. The monsters were gathered at various parts of the hills, so the party started moving towards the first hill, filled with grass and some trees, housed by Lighting Horn Rhinos from level 70 to level 85. [Lightning Horn Rhino] -Rank: Gold -Level: 80 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 165|Health: 200|Stamina: 150] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 200|Focus: 150|Perception: 150] "You better stay safe and back, silver-rank. It''s already too much that someone at your level was even allowed to enter a gold-bordered B-rank dungeon," said a short, dark-brown-haired man named Krag. "It''s fine, you don''t have to worry about me," Almond responded carefreely. "Just do your thing, and I''ll do mine." "Yeah, but don''t intervene in our fights, or you''ll put us in trouble," the yellow-haired girl chimed in as she pointed her staff high, intending to use a skill on a herd of seven Lightning Horn Rhinos ahead. The other five spread around and moved forward at her action. The Tank of the group provoked the Rhinos and moved in a different direction as the yellow-haired girl cast multiple buffs on him. The others became ready to nk and hurl their attack skills on the Rhinos. Henry didn''t move from his position and adopted a stance of watching. "You''re not going to fight?" Almond raised his eyebrows. "Nah. I am mainly here as an observer for this party. I''ll only intervene in an emergency." "Gotcha," Almond said before summoning Infernal Knight Ashkar, Starlight Beast, and Chimera Crystalist. All three were bigger in terms of size among his summons and could cover his left, right, and behind. "They aren''t strong enough to fight monsters here from the stats," Henry frowned. "Yeah, I don''t want them to fight here," Almond chuckled. "I''m just letting them out to get them some air. By the way, we are going ahead because I want some lightning strikes in that forest." "Just you all?" Henry frowned and informed. "This dungeon has a density value of 533, so there will be more monsters in that lightning forest." "Yeah, no worries. We''ll be fine. I got two strong guards with me," Almond grinned. "¡­" "¡­" Nikki and Anton were slightly speechless. He was really treating them as his bodyguards, though that was the purpose, but still. "Alright, move as you wish then," Henry nodded. The Thunderbird group had already killed a Rhino when Almond was leading his monsters past them with Nikki and Anton. And that was when Starlight Beast reacted. The beast turned to the magic crystal dropped by the Rhino and conveyed its thoughts to Almond. Chimera Crystalise also conveyed the same thing. ''Eh? You want to eat it?'' Almond paused. The reason he summoned Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalist was that both of them had a lightning affinity. Chimera Crystalist had lightning skills, and although Starlight BEast didn''t have pure lightning skills, it also had affinity because there were a few monster spirits with lightning attributes in the Spirit Kodoku session that birthed it. "Can we kill a group of Lightning Horn Rhinos?" Almond turned to Nikkin and Anton, "I would appreciate your help." "Sure, we can, but I heard Marshal saying that the dungeon won''t pose a threat to you. What does he mean by that?" Anton asked. "By that, he probably means this," Almond took out a random Rare-grade Mid-tier spirit sword that he had crafted yesterday and didn''t sell for delivery. He hadn''t worn any of the equipment that he wore when he went to the dungeon with Julian and Roken. Turning to the group of four Rhinos twenty meters to his right, Almond promptly kicked the ground as he went full throttle on his Mana techniques. Strength Boost level 10. Fortification level 5. Focus Field level 7. Body Enfold level 4. Weapon Enfold level 7. He had drastically improved his Mana techniques level during the past two dungeon raids. *Swoosh!* Nikki and Anton saw Almond shing off a Rhino into two at the start as he dashed past the group. Both of them were shocked at that disy, but it was just the beginning. In the next second, they saw one Rhino''s head suddenly wrapped by faintly neon-glowing white-blue thread¡­that instantly sliced its head into bs. The other two Rhino''s horns crackled with lightning as two horn-shaped projectiles conjured and shot toward him. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond jumped even without looking back and somersaulted above the Rhino while waving his sword from above, slicing one into three with two swift shes andnding on the other before piercing his sword into its head. ''What''s with that swift coordination of his moves?'' Anton was dumbfounded. "His reflexes are crazy. It feels like he has way higher perception than what his level suggests," Nikki muttered. "I guess that''s one of the reasons why Marshal didn''t show us his status profile. Henry, who also watched everything, had his jaw dropped to the ground. ''What the fuck? How is he a silver-rank? I knew he was strong on the first floor, far stronger than what his level indicated, but what the fuck is this?'' Momentster, the Thunderbird guild had also finished off the seven Rhinos and looked in Almond''s direction, hearing the slightmotion of battle there. "Did he just kill those three Rhinos?" "Are you an idiot? How can he kill them when he''s a silver level 10 brat?" "No, seriously. I think he killed them. And only he is there. The other two who are Gold rank are not even close." "Let''s ask Henry. Chapter 97: Spirit Wraiths Growth Mechanism, Training In Dungeon (1/3) "Yeah, he killed them. Don''t judge him by his rank and level, that''s all I can say," Henry wryly smiled as he saw Almond. The other party members turned silent in disbelief upon hearing the confirmation. They watched Almond going ahead after two of his summons ate the magic crystals. "If he is that strong, then he must be proficient in Mana techniques, and his sses must also be crazy powerful¡­" ''Not just that, but these people won''t understand his martial prowess with the sword,'' Henry thought. ¡­ "Don''t you want to eat the magic crystals, Ashkar?" Almond curiously asked. "Not unless they have fire attribute, my lord," Ashkar replied, his voice deep and slightly grating. "Got it. I want to know how they benefit you all," Almond grinned as he asked Chimera Crystalist and Starlight Beast. "Did you finish digesting them? What did you get by eating those?" Starlight Beast released sparks from its snout as it replied with the thought that it felt stronger. Chimera Crystalist''s floating giant crystal body with entric patterns and four crystals that separately flew to both sides glinted along with its quartz-shaped eye as it conveyed its thought to Almond. Almond checked their status and was dumbfounded. ''They are able to get stronger by absorbing magic crystals?!'' Their stats had slightly increased! ''I get stats by eating spirits, and my spirit wraiths get stats by eating magic crystals¡­'' "Did your summons get powerful by eating magic crystals?" Nikki asked, her bushy brown eyebrows matching her hair raised. "Yeah," Almond nodded at her. "It''s not strange," Anton said. "Some summons do get stats by eating magic crystals dropped by monsters. Some summons require materials or other resources rted to their attributes. All in all, most of the summons have some kind of growth mechanism. You can figure them out and make your summons stronger." "Interesting," Almond grinned. "Then I guess I have to start feeding my summons the good stuff." "Change of ns," Almond continued with a smile. "Could you two hunt some monsters for me in the forest, please? Meanwhile, I''ll attract some lightning from the sky to temper myself." "Be careful of the lightning from those clouds," Nikki said. "Drink mana potion promptly when it''s lower because lightning strikes are unpredictable and you won''t be able to dodge since you will be in a meditative state." "Understood," Almond nodded as he exerted his physical strength after activating his Mana techniques and jumped high, kicking the trees'' branches while going up. Most of the trees were a couple hundred meters tall. The lightning from the clouds above periodically struck them, setting off a chain of lightning effect in the air and through trees. The hundreds of Thunder Blitz Monkeys in this area were spread out, but the atmospheric lightninging from clouds that eventually struck them seemed to charge them up. Their fur glowed up as if getting a power boost. "Let''s not attract more monkeys from afar," Anton said as he took out a strange gauntlet with a long metallic drill embedded in it in his right hand while his left hand only had a glove. Nikki appeared to be a mage from her outfit and the wand in her hand. "That brat haspletely left the monsters around here for us," Nikki saw Almond standing at the very top of a tree and struck by lightning as his Fortification shattered, getting a mild lightning shock throughout his body. Two monkeys were going up to attack him, and he didn''t even bother doing anything as if he was expecting them to take care of the trouble going his way. "Let''s just do our job. We got to enter a gold-bordered dungeon thanks to him anyway," Anton chuckled as he jumped like a rocket, swiftly appearing on the same level as the monkeys before he pierced his drill into one, crackling with blue lightning, and kicked the other one down. Nikki was about to be surrounded by nine other monkeys of levels 86 to 90, but she appeared carefree as she waved her hand, and faint purple lightning crackled around her. Ten nail-shaped (wood nail) flickering lightning projectiles materialized around her before surging forward and piercing into the ten monkeys, including the one that Anton sent down. In the next second, all ten monkeys burst out with purple lightning that tore their flesh and burned their blood with high intensity, giving them intense lightning damage as they were electrocuted, their vitality dropping to 0%. Although these monsters were empowered by the lightning, too much lightning into them actually worked adversely because they were not elemental creatures if it was a pure elemental creature, that lightning-attributed attack would have done way lower damage. Marshal Lopol sent Nikki and Anton with Almond precisely because both of them had a lightning affinity, and they had gained it via training. Being peak Gold-rank adventurers, they were not weak and had cleared gold-bordered B-rank dungeons before. "Come on, eat them," Nikki said with a chuckle as she saw a drooling Starlight Beast who was just looking at the magic crystals. "Grrr¡­" Starlight Beast nodded before eating them. Chimera Crystalist also joined in the feast. Infernal Knight was suddenly attacked and suffered some damage without being able to attack the monkey properly with his sword, but Anton had jumped down by that time and finished it off. "Be careful. They are twice as strong in terms of base stats, so you''ll have difficulty," Anton said to Infernal Knight, his eyes curious. ''This one can speak, so it must be intelligent.'' "I am grateful for thine help," Infernal Knight''s voice rumbled out. "However, I would request you to allow one monkey to fight me. I shall duel." Antonughed, "Sure."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalist positioned themselves around Infernal Knight after eating five magic crystals each, ready to assist in case more than one monkey entered the fray. Anton saw that these summons could coordinate with each other, and his interest in them grew even stronger. ''Adding to the summons I saw in the video when he fought in the League of Firefly''s guild base, he already has several strong pets...his ss must be very strong.'' He speedily vanished from his location with a strong dash towards a monkey and kicked it towards Infernal. "Enjoy your duel." ¡­ Ten minutester, the Thunderbird Guild''s party had cleared all Lightning Horn Rhinos in the first area and arrived in the forest''s periphery. Seeing Almond getting struck by lightning in the sky and his summons getting yed around by Nikki and Anton in a 2v3 battle, they were a bit speechless. "He''s really getting struck by lightning in a B-rank dungeon¡­what are his stats exactly?" "Let''s take a short break here since there are no Thunder Blitz Monkeys around here," Henry said as he sat down at the periphery. La, the oranged-haired girl, sat nearby and looked at Almond, "Leader, you wanna tell us more about him? Why''s he so strong for a silver-rank newbie?" "I don''t know. All I know is that he''s strong," Henry wryly smiled. "And Admiral Rudra is his backer." "You mean the Admiral Rudra?" "Damn." "It looks like he is a Super Rookie of GAA who is unknown for now. But if he participates in the Rising Star Tournament and disys his power, he''ll get a strong backing," said Luke, the light brown-haired guy in the party, while his eyes glinted as he fell into thought. ''I informed Zoren about this guy, but it looks like things won''t be that easy. He can forget about beating him up, let alone making him beg if he got Admiral Rudra at his back.'' ''But should I inform him about this information?'' Luke''s eyes nastily shone. ''It''ll be more interesting if things develop further¡­let''s just hope hees here with some strong adventurers from the guild to make things interesting.'' Chapter 98: Lightning Elemental Mastery, Training In Dungeon (2/3) Whenever lightning struck his fortified Mana on his body and shattered it, Almond could feel the essence of lightning due to his connection to his Mana. His mana acted like a medium of sorts that conveyed the power of lightning. It was like a wild signal that was up to him to interpret andprehend. And then, when the lightning pass through his body after shattering his defense, his body itself imprinted the power of lightning. It was up to him to recognize and understand its impact. To perceive his entire body''s reaction and lightning''s effect on his flesh and blood. Generally, the biggest starting obstacle is staying focused enough to perceive the lightning''s nature and essence amidst pain. But, owing to Almond''s tireless and arduous self-training in Physical Enhancement that reflected his desperation and determination both before he entered the Labyrinth, his capacity for enduring pain had reached remarkable heights. One could also keep Fortification stronger to prevent it from shattering, but that would diminish the ''feedback'' of the lightning elements. It was clearly written to immerse body and mind both in the lightning. His mind connected to his Mana, which was immersed in lightning when it struck his Fortification. And his body experienced lightning''s essence when it struck his body and spread. Almond had forgotten about the pain and was immersed in feeling the lightning''s attributes, its essence. He was in it until a monotone voice of the Labyrinth rang in his head. [Congrattions. You have acquired a skill¡ª(D) Lightning Elemental Mastery.] Almond opened his eyes and grinned, "Awesome."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om [Lightning Elemental Mastery] -Skill rank: D (Next rank progress: 2%) ¡ª> you can attract lightning elements in the atmosphere to transform your Mana and give it lightning''s attributes. -Effects when applying lightning attributes. ¡ª1. Bonus Lightning elemental damage: 20% potency of your Mana. ¡ª2. Shock potency: 13% chance¡ªBriefly disrupts the target''s actions, causing a minor loss in movement and reaction speed. ¡ª3. Paralyse potency: 14% chance¡ªImmobilizes the target, rendering them unable to act. ''There''s stronger lightning in the next area. I gotta go there and train,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he looked at the mountain with unnatural dark clouds covering it all around, crackling with golden lightning. It was also a big area in size since the mountain was 2-3 kilometers wide at the base and roughly 400 metersrge peak seven kilometers high. Although the density value of this dungeon was medium, the dungeon''s border had turned golden. It was considered the highest level because turning ck meant the dungeon would break shortly, with no way of preventing the dungeon break even if people entered inside. "How long was I up there for?" Almond asked as he descended. "Half an hour," Anton answered before raising an eyebrow, "You want to move to a more intense lightning area?" "Yep," Almond smiled. "Come on, buddies. Let''s go towards that mountain," Almond jumped on the Starlight Beast''s back and sat cross-legged with leisure. "I''ll recover fully in the meanwhile." He also checked the status of his pets and nodded in satisfaction. ''It looks like they''ll eventually hit the stat limit of the rank. It''d be great if I could do that to all my spirit wraiths.'' Almond had made his Dark Pope Benedict hit the limit in Mana stat, and due to his extra 10% Mana passive trait because of his body, he had 110 Mana. He also didn''t need to rely on his physical body due to his shadow physique and skill set, so in terms of overall power, Dark Pope was currently the ''deadliest.'' But the rest of his summons hadn''t hit the limit in the stats yet. Seeing how the stats grew in Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalist, each magic crystal of gold-rank monsters gave them 1-5 random stat points. ''I have ess to dungeons without limit, so I can start this grind,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. Almond made a mental note to list all of his Spirit Wraiths'' core attributes and powers, then gave it to Marshal Lopol to find suitable dungeons! As the party arrived at the mountain base, Almond jumped off the Starlight Beast and took out some items. ¡ªLightning Static Field g x 2 (Rare). ¡ªThunderst Spear x 2 (Umon) ¡ªLightning Charge Armor x 2 (Rare) ¡ªThunderblitz Bombs x 8 (Umon) These items were from 4 Lightning Horn Rhinos and ten Thunder Blitz Monkeys since he had captured their Spirits. He didn''t capture other spirits of monsters the group may have killed since he was immersed in the training. "Use these items when necessary. I''ve shared the details, so take a look." Rikki and Anton were surprised but also curious. "What''s with this effect: It can boost all lightning elements within the field for the user with lightning affinity to use to charge their skill?" Nikki was dumbfounded as she read Lightning Static Field g. "This armor is quite powerful, especially its effect. It boosts our physical stats by 20% if we can charge it with a bit of lightning or get struck by lightning damage. Damn," Anton murmured. "But they got 3 days of existent duration, huh? So they disappear after three days?" Niiki blinked. Both of them could feel that these items looked a bit familiar, as their theme resembled the Lightning Horn Rhino and Thunder Blitz Monkeys. "Yep. They disappear, but I can extend their duration," Almond smiled. He didn''t reveal how, but it would be enough to let them know that he could increase it. "If your ss can create items like this¡­it''s pretty powerful," Anton''s eyes glinted. "Is this your primary ss?" "Indeed," Almond smiled. "This and summons are from it." "Create items and get summons¡­" Nikki and Anton looked at each other, feeling speechless and envious both. It was a goddamn powerful ss! "Anyway, let''s continue moving, I want to train," Almond said as he looked at the mountain, eager to put a theory into practice to increase his speed of gaining lightning mastery. ''It''s a bit dangerous, as the book said, but it''s a method. Since it''s a method, it''s worth trying.'' Almond internally snorted. ''I have good control, can be patient, and remain focused. I won''t mess up.'' It was just a¡ªDeath if not careful¡ªtype method. He should try it at least¡­while being careful. Chapter 99: Training In the Dungeon (3/3), Gamble’s High Returns Almond¡¯s group stopped roughly one kilometer up in the mountain at a good spot with a thick patch of dark clouds raining lightning above a big river¡¯s path flowing through the mountain. The lighting was more intense and strong in this area, perfect for his new challenge. He summoned Forest Maid Sylvia and Dark Pope to help him since this would be a bit dangerous. These two had support skills and healing skills, so he summoned them to heal him when necessary. Nikki and Anton could feel that Almond wanted to do something particr. They had already given their knowledge to Almond about how they practiced in lightning to acquire affinity with it, and he followed it as well. But when they saw Almond¡¯s fortification appearing as he got ready to take on the lightning of this area, they frowned. "Why did he make such a thin Fortification and evenyered Body Enfold on top?" Anton asked. "Do you know anything about that, Nikki?" "No idea," Nikki muttered as she slightly shook her head. "But¡­why so weak?" "We have to stop him!" Anton¡¯s expression changed, but before he could do anything, a pale yellow lightning bolt struck him. *Crackle!* Almond¡¯s thin Fortification shattered instantly as the influx of lightning struck his body. For a brief moment, Nikki and Anton saw Almond¡¯s whole body lighting up as if the lightning purposefully spread everywhere in his body. And then¡­his breathing stopped. The duo was horrified as they instantly dashed him. But Dark Pope and Forest Maid had already made their move, using their skills on Almond to heal his burnt body. Almond had also cut off his own distraction in half and other aspects of his mind using his grimde to converge his mental capacity fully on focus intensity, adaptability, and mental rity. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "He is breathing," Nikki bit her lips, but she trembled as she figured out what he did. "I know what he did. And why he is unconscious right now." "So you figured it out," Anton said, his expression grave. "This bastard focused his consciousness on his Body Enfold, and heightened his connection with mana to only focus on the lightning. "That way, he felt lightning¡¯s pure essence striking his consciousness when it hit him with his Body Aura activated, and he made sure that the lightning would spread throughout his body¡­" Nikki clenched her fist. "Does he have a death wish? Will he even wake up now?" Dark Pope and Forest Maid looked at each other, shocked. Infernal Knight, Starlight Beast, and Crystalist also gathered together. "Our lord died? Bullshit," Infernal Knight¡¯s speech crossed over generations as he cursed out loud. The influence of the show he watched yesterday on TV showed up. "Rx, youngds," Dark Pope said with a chuckle. "If our lord died, we would vanish, but we are still here, so he is alive." "Master is alive," Forest Maid said with a serious expression and nodded, her eyes on Almond as she continued to heal him slowly and use her buff on him to affect his psyche. "That¡¯s true¡­" Anton nodded as he looked at the summons. The summons still in existence meant that Almond was still alive. "What was he nning, pulling a stunt like this?" Nikki was annoyed. "His mind, especially his consciousness, must have received a strong shock. Is that how he wanted to immerse his mind in lightning? Damn this guy!" Anton sighed. He couldn¡¯t help but agree that Almond was reckless, but a part of him also wanted to see the result of this reckless method. ¡¯Is he even able to sense or understand anything right now?¡¯ Anton felt doubtful as he looked at Almond on the ground,pletely still. Indeed, Almond actually felt death up close. Everything turned nk for him, bringing him the familiar feeling that he had right before he awakened his new ss. A nasty presence started eating up his consciousness as well. He felt like just turning off everything and entering the darkness. Until a sh of world destruction appeared. Until he saw Lily, Natalia, and other familiar faces. That was when Almond¡¯s consciousness ignited again. He remembered his task and his mind felt clear. The world around him appeared different, but all he saw was lightning. At first, he saw blue lightning as it crackled through the clouds and struck below the water. His mind churned, and the scenery he was seeing changed. A golden lightning tore through the clouds and struck him. The golden lightning surged through his body like a flood of pure energy, lighting up his vision with blinding intensity. For a split second, he thought he would be consumed, but instead, his consciousness surged forward. His mind bathed in it along with his body. He felt the very essence of lightning touching his soul. It didn¡¯t feel like an external force anymore; it was an intrinsic part of him, flowing through every fiber of his being. He felt the surges of energy as part of his own rhythm, as though the lightning had be a living entity within his veins. It wasn¡¯t just raw destructive power; it was a force of creation and transformation, vibrating at frequencies that resonated with his thoughts. It was as if he was learning to be the lightning and Almond didn¡¯t stop this. He let himself carry on this feeling. The scenery around him changed. He imaged a world of lightning as it crackled around him. Colorful lightning painted the sky, humoring his thoughts. They all struck him in this dreamscape. His body trembled under the intensity, but he was no longer afraid. He was no longer just a passive recipient of the force; he was one with it. He could feel the intricate patterns of the electrical flows around him and inside him as if his mind had tapped into the primal pulse of the world itself. Almond lost himself in this ecstasy of turning into lighting, bing its essence. Fast. Intense. Bright. Electrical. Unpredictable. Tearing and riding through the Air. Thunderingly loud. Attractive, Maic. Almond felt it all. The world around him was alive with lightning, pulsing in waves of vibrant colors as each bolt of lightning was like a stroke of divine power painting across the sky. The earth itself seemed to hum in resonance with the storm he painted, as though the very fabric of reality was shaped by this force. It wasn¡¯t just the sensation of lightning anymore; it was a full immersion, an understanding of it as a living, breathing entity. It was the world of lighting. He was fully focused on this sensation, his mind now fully attuned to the lightning. No longer were the lightning strikes chaotic and uncontroble. He could sense their paths, their timing, their essence. He knew the moment a surge of power would crackle through the air before it happened as if he could predict the flow of energy itself. Every spark, every current, was like a voice speaking directly to him, offering its knowledge, its guidance. Almond understood. He could feel it in his bones. The thunder roared louder, as though the sky itself was acknowledging his transformation, and in that moment, Almond¡¯s connection to the lightning deepened even further¡ªit was now part of his soul. He could control it, mold it as if his very thoughts shaped and applied the properties of the lightning. Hemanded it, he dominated it. [Congrattions. By using your own power to aid you in this paramount task bearing a fatal risk, you braved through it and triggered a state of mind that allowed you to acquire a deep insight into the way of Lightning.] [Your Lightning Elemental Mastery has reached S rank.] Chapter 100: State of Singular Focus "It¡¯s been half an hour," Nikki muttered. "He is just breathing, nothing else." Anton had a frown on his face as he scanned Almond, "Should we take him out of the dungeon and check-up at the GAA branch here? He might be in aa." "Umm, I think Master is fine," Sylvia said as she tilted her head. "He is not in aa, at least. He is active. His soul is." "Indeed," Infernal Knight nodded with his arms crossed. "Lord is fine, bwahaha. It¡¯s only a matter of time before he wakes up," Benedictughed, appearing carefree. And it was then that something strange happened. A strong electrical aura and pulse spread out of Almond. The thunder in the sky above this part rumbled as the dark clouds gathered above, crackling with lightning. "This¡­" Nikki was shocked to feel such a pure lightning aura oozing out of Almond. "He¡¯s attracting lightning elements," Anton blinked as he took a few steps back away from Almond. "Get away from him. It¡¯s going to rain lightning with how the lightning elements in the atmosphere are behaving here." Just as he finished speaking, a pale yellow shining lightning bolt shed and struck Almond. But strangely, that lightning shattered into electrical sparks, forming a strange field around him. Almond¡¯s eyes opened as more and more lightning bolts struck him, one every second as he floated up, his body crackling with lightning. It coursed through his blood, bones, and flesh without hurting him. "This feels crazy good," Almond said, his eyes flickering with electric current. It was like he gained a new pair of lenses to watch the world, tailored to discovering the world of lightning. "This can¡¯t be," Nikki was dumbfounded as she uttered in disbelief. "Don¡¯t tell me you reached S-rank? This phenomenon¡­I am sure it appears only when someone reaches S-rank in an elemental mastery." Anton muttered, his face incredulous, "How? How can you reach S-rank this fast? We¡¯ve been training for two years periodically and only reached freaking A-rank lightning mastery." "I don¡¯t know," Almond shrugged as he smiled and deactivated the lightning attraction that was automatically turned on. "This was honestly unexpected," he chuckled as hended on the ground. "I did a gamble, and it paid off." He wasn¡¯t going to reveal that he had adjusted his psyche using his specialized ss power to enhance his Focus intensity before gambling on this dangerous method, and it worked wonders¡ªgiving him a sort of enlightenment of lightning that he induced onto himself by dancing between life and death. "Anyway, how long was I out for?" Almond asked as he looked at his Lightning Elemental Mastery. [Lightning Elemental Mastery] n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om [-Skill rank: S (Next rank progress: 18%)] ? You can transmute your Mana into lightning and give it lightning¡¯s properties. You have total control over your lighting and high control over atmospheric lightning-attributed phenomena. [-Variant(s)] ? Golden Haze Lightning¡ª[23%/100%] [-Effects when applying lightning attributes] ?1. Lightning Elemental potency scaling with your Mana: 100%. ?2. Shock potency¡ªS-grade ?3. Paralyse potency¡ªS-grade. ?4. Electromaism. ?5. Lightning Psychophysiology. "You were nked away for roughly half an hour," Nikki said, her eyes glinting. "Can you tell us the method you¡¯ve applied?" "We will pay for it if you don¡¯t want to give it for free," Anton followed up, his expression somber. "Valuable information is often sold at a price." Both of them felt that Almond had used some kind of method to cheat death after pulling that crazy stunt of getting his mind and body deeply assaulted by the lightning, a powerful magic lightning nheless. The golden lightning of this dungeon was a variant, stronger than normal lightning, with some hidden effect that most probably only the boss of this dungeon properly wielded. "I can tell you the method I¡¯ve used, but it¡¯s honestly very dangerous," Almond wryly smiled. "I took on the danger because of two things. First, I was confident in my psyche to handle the influx of lightning¡¯s essence into my body and mind. Second, the source of my confidence, which was the ss skill that I can only use on myself. I used it to increase my chances of sess. That¡¯s how I used this dangerous method to my advantage." "Of course, I wasn¡¯t expecting to get such a big progress," Almond added with a chuckle. "This was a big surprise. ording to the notification, I entered a state of getting deep insight into the way of lightning." Nikki and Anton were surprised but also finally understood why Almond seeded. "Boldness paired preparation that pulled luck on your side and resulted in this, huh?" Anton shook his head as he wryly smiled. "We definitely can¡¯t replicate this even if we want to and try the same method." "True, but I can share an important insight that I realized today," Almond faintly smiled. "An insight to enter a state where your ¡¯performance¡¯ reaches its peak. A state in which things became easier for you to understand and execute." Nikki and Anton were instantly curious. But it was not just them¡ªAlmond¡¯s summons were also curious and became attentive. "What is it, Master?" Sylvia curiously asked. "I decided to name it the state of Singr Focus," Almond grinned. "I have pinpointed out the condition required to enter this state, though that doesn¡¯t make it any easier." "Of course, you may think I¡¯m crazy, and that¡¯s fine, but this is my stance on this state." "Say it already," Nikki rolled her eyes. Almondughed and nodded, "Alright, so here it is. This state can be achieved when there¡¯s a tough obstacle in front of you that you need to believe you can ovee. A challenge to rile up your mind, but also a challenge that is within the realm of possibility for you to aplish. You must have adequate tools and skills at your disposal to believe this. Deluding yourself won¡¯t work." "This challenge must also give you stress and fear, a threat of death or death-like devastation. A steep consequence for failing the challenge," Almond narrowed his eyes. "In my case, it was death, the most primal cause of stress and fear." ¡¯Experiencing twice already, I want to try it again¡­which may indicate there¡¯s something wrong with me,¡¯ Almond internally ruefully smiled. ¡¯I better calm down and stabilize myself before diving into this dangerous realm again.¡¯ Almond continued his exnation, "So, in simple words, the key to entering this state of Singr focus is the bnce between the thrill and fear of the challenge you have designated. Abandon all other thoughts, all distractions, and everything else aside from your singr focus ofpleting this challenge." Nikki and Anton were dazed. It was like they understood what he meant, but it felt absurd. Seeing their expressions, Almondughed and said, "There¡¯s a reward, and there¡¯s death. Move on this fine thread and dance." "That said, I hope Thunderbird group hasn¡¯t defeated the boss yet," Almond cracked his neck as his eyes flickered with lightning. "I want to have a duel with the boss and y with lightning in this dungeon more." After reading that Lightning Variant in the status, he was eager to reach 100% in it and unlock the Golden Haze Lightning! And he wouldn¡¯t get the chance again because this dungeon would disappear 24 hours after defeating its final boss! Chapter 101: Zoren Enters "They should be on the mountain peak by now. Since this is a golden-bordered dungeon, there will be two or more side bosses aside from the final boss," Nikki said as she looked up. "I also want to try lightning at the peak of this mountain, so let''s go," Almond grinned. He put away all of his other summons in his spirit pocket except for Starlight Beast and jumped on it. "Starlight, I am going to do some lightning infusion in you to increase your physical body''s prowess," Almond grinned as he patted its back. "We''ll move like lightning. Are you ready?" "Rawr!" Almond used lighting to rile up Starlight Beast''s physiology, increasing its speed and power ording to the amount of Mana he consumed. *Zoom!* The Starlight Beast''s mind and body both sped up literally as it ran up on the mountain, crackling with lightning. Nikki and Anton followed up, barely keeping up with Starlight Beast''s speed despite them having higher stats. "Reaching S-rank, now he can use lightning in more magical ways," Nikki wryly smiled as she ryed to Anton using Magic Whisper. "There''s not much we know about him, but it doesn''t feel overboard anymore that he''s getting special treatment with the backing of Admiral Rudra," Anton replied as he watched the duo moving. "He is something." ¡­ When they arrived at the peak of the mountain, the Thunderbird Group was in the middle of fighting against the side boss of the dungeon. It was a giant Thunder Panther¡ªfast and deadly. Henry didn''t meddle in the battle as usual, but the five Thunderbird members were having slight trouble with the boss because of its speed. The Panther could move quickly and also turn into a lightning zap to inflict attack and move. Their tank was almost severely injured, saved only thanks to the buff and timely healing, or he would''ve been severely wounded. The party was more on a defensive move while trying to hit Panther with their skills and proper strategy. Using feints and pincer attacks, the party continued their sh for three minutes before the Lightning Panther was finally yed. "So-so¡­their teamwork isn''t that good," Nikki muttered. "Their skills are sloppy. They need a more rigorous training." Anton nodded in agreement while Henry could only smile wryly as he knew Nikki was right. "Can you call your party to rest here?" Almond said as he watched towards the center of the peak where the party and panther had fought a battle. "I need to do something there." Almond looked up and saw that the dark clouds were thicker in there. They were dropping lightning strikes on the ground at the center for some unknown reason, but Almond wanted the golden lightning that streaked through that patch of cloud. Henry called the party members to his side before they sat down to rest and recover. "What''s up with him, Henry?" Krag asked he saw Almond looking up at the clouds after standing in the center. But right as he asked, thunder rumbled greatly, and a lightning strike struck Almond, startling the heck out of Thunderbird''s party. "What the fuck?!" "He''s dead, right?" The dusk and smoke were overshadowed by flickering lightning that prevented them from seeing Almond, but a few secondster, they saw he was unscathed, including his outfit. And then, they saw him sit down cross-legged as lightning strikes hit him every other second before defusing into sparks and dancing around him for a short time before dispersing. Even Henry was dumbfounded. After a short discussion of Almond''s current activity with Nikki and Anton, the Thunderbird people realized what a monster Almond was. ''H-How powerful is he? I hope Zoren brought a tinum rank adventurer with him just to be safe¡­'' thought Luke, who had informed Zoren about Almond and was likely almost reaching the Dungeon with Thunderbird guild members for revenge. ''But he is a silver-rank level 10 in the end, right? Not even the strongest of Super Rookies in silver-rank can do much against peak Gold-rank Adventurers.'' The party was numb after minutes of watching Almond. They simply recovered and rested for twenty minutes before finally getting up to move again. The next area was a hignd with big giant trees and small water bodies scattered amidst trees. It was also the final area of the dungeon, roughly four kilometers away from this mountain''s base. They had ascended the mountain from the south, so they moved to descend in the north in the direction of the next area. Ten minutes after the Thunderbird group left, Almond also stood up. [Golden Haze Lightning: 43%/100%] ''I guess this is the most I can progress here,'' Almond looked in the north to see the giant trees and stronger lightning in the sky in the next area. ''That''s where I''ll reach 100%.'' "Are you done?" Nikki and Anton walked towards him with Starlight Beast. "We have to hurry," Almond turned to the duo and jumped on Starlight Beast. "I forgot to tell them not to fight the dungeon boss." "No worries, they''d need an hour more before finally engaging the boss," Anton smiled. "We can catch up with them," Nikki said as her aura surged and purple lightning crackled around her before forming into a pair of wings. "Woah, you can fly?" Almond''s eyes sparkled. ''I gotta create a lightning wing skill!'' "I can fly, but actively flying consumes more Mana," Nikki smiled. "But this ce is abundant with lightning elements, so It won''t be a problem." Anton also crackled up a pair of blue-lightning wings as he said with a faint smile, "See you in the next area." Both of them flew off the mountain''s edge. Almond wanted to try creating wings, but he had no time to waste time. "Let''s go, buddy, full throttle," Almond grinned as he buffed Starlight Beast with lighting. *Roarr!* ¡­ After catching up with the Thunderbird Guild group, Almond ryed to them about his n to fight the Dungeon Boss alone. Naturally, they didn''t mind it. In their mind, if Almond wanted to court death, they wouldn''t stop him. After telling them this, Almond, Nikki, and Anton separated from the Thunderbird group to fight monsters in this area. Almond wanted to try out new things with Mana Techniques since he had reached S-rank in Lightning Elemental Mastery. The first of which was enhancing his Body Enfold technique. Body Enfold increased one''s every stat at the cost of constant mana consumption. Almond gave lightning''s attribute¡ªits aspect of speed, rity, and intensity to his Body Enfold and empowered himself further. It was hard to maintain a Lightning-style Body Enfold at first, but he did it sessfully after a few tries. Having acquired Lighting Psychophysiology due to reaching S-rank in lightning mastery, Almond could use lightning not just in an attacking way but to figure out how it affected and interacted with his mind and body, which would allow him to create buff-type skills as well. Almond also used Electromaism, and it was easier than he thought. He could control his sword without touching it, though it consumed Mana per second. All in all, Almond explored and killed the monsters in this area while exploring his newfound power. Only two types of monsters were found in this area¡ªThunder Scaled Hogs in the woods and Lightning Thorn Fish from the multitude of ponds. Lightning Horn Fish appeared to be able to observe a certain range outside of their ponds, likely due to the lightning elements infused in this area. Passing by any pond at five meters or less distance would prompt attacks from the lightning Horn Fish¡ªa fast and deadly lightning attack from their horn. Almond found this ce to be a good practice spot to try various things, and it was big, so there was nock of monsters. Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalist just followed and ate magic crystals that Almond''s killings dropped. "Almond, what''s up with your recovery? You drank a very low amount of Mana potions during the past hour, while we''ve drank doubled at least, even though we are more efficient with our Mana," Anton curiously asked. "Yeah, I have a kind of high recovery," Almond answered with a chuckle without turning back to look at them. "It seems that we are finally at the end of this area." At the end of this ind was a single huge tree with thick greenery. It was one kilometer tall with big branches and thick foliage. Lightning crackled dangerously at the very top, though they couldn''t observe what was above from the bottom. In the middle, they could see a point where the branches interacted strangely, creating a sort of wooden ground. [You have entered Gyrogia''s Thunder Tree Nest.] Not too far from them, Thunderbird guild''s group also stood there, looking up. "Well, let''s start climbing," Almond crouched and stretched his legs one by one before his body crackled with lightning as he used a Lightning-style Body Enfold. He sent Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalist inside the pocket.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "See you in that middle area. That''s where the second side boss is likely located," Nikki waved her hand with a smile before she flew up. Anton nodded at him and also followed up. The Thunderbird group was envious to see them with the wings and easily going up. "Urgh, this tree is conducting lightning strongly," the yellow-haired support role girl in the group cried out as she was shocked upon touching the trunk. "We have to spend more mana than we thought to climb this." Meanwhile, they saw Almond suddenly turning into a lightning stream as he began streaking over the tree''s t trunk, leaving the Thunderbird group in a dumbfounded state. ¡­ Meanwhile, two peak Gold-ranked adventurers entered with a silver-rank level 10, Zoren. Zoren had left when he was level 5, but he had entered the 2nd cycle with a big party to reach level 10. "Brother Thamus, take out your Thunder Sparrow, and let''s go!" Zoren said with an angry grin. "I want to see him beat up as soon as possible!" Chapter 102: Dominating Gold-rank Adventurers (1/2) "Zoren, we can''t just gang up on those people of GAA," Thamus said as he rolled his mustache. "Our guild will get in trouble if we do that." Thamus was a twenty-three-year-old Adventurer belonging to Thunderbird Guild¡ªGold level 100. He was considered one of their strongest in gold-rank with his double A-rank sses and A-rank Lightning Elemental Mastery. "But there''s one way," said Romez, the adventurer around the same age as Thamus. "We can challenge him to a duel if you want to see him beat up, but the condition is that he must ept." Zoren pulled a long face, "Why can''t we just beat him up?! I got fucked up badly, but I can''t do anything?" "That''s the problem, kid," Thamus grinned. "Why don''t you go and beat him yourself? If you do that, there won''t be much trouble, but we are seniors. If we beat him without any reason or rhythm because you said so, then you will get in trouble along with our guild." "Indeed," Romez added. "If he had joined just some random guild, then it wouldn''t be a problem if we beat him up, but he is a member of GAA. Unless you bribe some higher-up in GAA to keep out the trouble, you can''t go around beating their people." "Fine, I''ll provoke him," Zoren said with a nasty grin. "I have a good idea." ¡­ [Sparkwing Scarab]¡ªSide-boss. -Rank: Gold. -Level: 100 ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 190|Health: 195|Stamina: 185] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 205|Focus: 195|Perception: 180] It was a giant beetle five meters long with menacing golden lightning-sparking wings pping while its wing case opened up and pulsed with a glow as if charging up. It released three arcs of lightning to make sure that at least one of them would hit Almond. But Almond simply took on one head-on with his Lightning-style Fortification¡ªwith lightning-resistance as a bonus, activated. Lightning diffused into his body as he felt the Golden Haze Lightning''s power. Almond stood leisurely with his hand on his chin, his expression thoughtful. Sparkwing Scarab screeched and readied its w as it charged up and extended with razor-sharp des. It attacked Almond, wanting to tear him into pieces. Almond''s feet crackled with arcs of lightning as he jumped and dodged, his movements sharp and precise. He floated upside-down, effortlessly suspended in the air, his body held aloft by electromaic pulses drawn from the crackling energy that surged through the tree. The lightning arced around him, conducting through the air to maintain his position, allowing him to defy gravity with a seamless bnce of power and control. ''I need a stronger and purer version of Golden Haze lightning¡­ this beetle is not enough.'' His body flickered as he pulled himself towards the corner where the group had gathered and was watching him for the past few minutes. They were sitting ducks watching a show while feeling a mix of disbelief and awe. "You can go ahead and kill it. I''ve wasted a lot of its Mana, so it should be easy to kill it." The thunderbird party simply nodded and went to fight the beetle without saying anything. They had seen too many abnormalities on him that they were numb. ''His mana is not exhausted yet, but that beetle might exhaust its Mana soon¡­'' Henry was speechless. ''It''s not like he would have more Mana than the boss¡­what a strange young man.'' Only If he knew that Almond actually had more Mana than the boss, and his Mana recovery was possibly the highest one among all Adventurers thanks to his SS and Legendary rank sses along with his innate talent that doubled his Mana recovery¡­ "Are you going up ahead to fight the final boss?" Henry asked. "Yeah, after a few minutes," Almond nodded. As he finished speaking, his eyes caught something ahead as he saw a lightning-crackling bird flying towards them from a distance. "Huh? Someone''sing here." Henry, Nikki, and Anton turned around upon hearing him and were surprised. "Did someone enter the dungeon? But the guards should have arrived shortly after we entered to secure it," Henry frowned. "Don''t tell me it''s a dungeon break-in?" Anton''s expression turned somber. "Impossible," Henry shook his head. "The mountain outside and the surrounding area is under our guild''s surveince. Other people can''t break in." "So they must be from the Thunderbird guild," Nikkin raised her eyebrows. They arrived soon, and when they were some tens of meters away, Almond recognized the face on him while Henry''s expression changed drastically. ''Why is he here?'' "Interesting development," Almond muttered as a smile hung on his face. The sparrownded on the branch''s edge some meters away before the three people jumped off and walked towards them.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "What are you doing here?" Henry asked, his brows furrowed. "Shut up," Zoren spat. "Just stand silently and don''t say anything from now on." Henry clenched his fist, his anger bubbling, but he didn''t talk back. ''If he is here to cause trouble, things will escte way more¡­'' He sent Magic Whisper to Thamus and Romez, telling them that troubling the GAA members here would cost the guild dearly. ''Rx, Henry. We won''t be at fault if Zoren can provoke his enemy first.'' ''No, you don''t understa-.'' ''Henry, just watch.'' "Yo, do you remember me?" Zoren hatefully looked at Almond as he stopped two meters away from him. "I don''t remember every trash I see on the road, " Almond replied, his lips nted as he made a face as if he was unsure. Nikki and Anton were startled at the sudden aggression on Almond''s part. ''Do you have some problem with this guy?'' ''Do you have a beef with this guy?'' Both of them, Magic Whispered to Almond, asking him simr questions. ''Yeah. And I''ll deal with this. You two just watch.'' Meanwhile, Zoren almost blew his top upon hearing Almond, but he came here with a n andposed himself. "You may not remember me, but I remember you. How are those two bitches doing?" Zoren sneered. Almond narrowed his eyes and didn''t respond. He just looked at Zoren dead in his eyes. Thamus and Romez looked at Zoren, feeling awkward on his behalf. "Humph, I can''t touch that ck-haired bitch, but I swear I will teach that other bitch a hard lesson in the future," Zoren licked his lips. "Just like the one I taught to a hoe in my guild a few days ago." "Are you done barking?" Almond smiled, albeit it was a frigid, cold smile. "Your n is trash, just like you. But I''ll humor you out of my own desire to teach you a lesson you''ll never forget." In the next second, Almond suddenly moved and pped Zoren. *Pat!* A couple of his teeth flew as he spit blood and fell on the ground like a ragdoll before he cried out, "BASTARD! Kill him! Kill him!" "¡­" Thamus and Romez looked at each other before looking at Almond, Nikki, and Anton. ''This is bad. We are evenly matched at best,'' Thamus was speechless. "Take him away, you two," Henry said, his expression grave. "No, no, not yet," Almond said as he kicked Zoren in his stomach, this time provoking a reaction from Thamus and Romez as they moved. Romez picked up Zoren while Thamus stood before Almond, a curved sword in his hand, "Chill, little brother. You''re going too far." However, he was surprised that Nikki and Anton didn''t move or do anything. Seeing his gaze, Almond grinned as his eyes flickered with lightning, "You came here to fight, so fight is what you''ll get." In the next second, Thamus saw Almond''s body blurring. ''Fast!'' He turned around and timely saw Almond kicking Zoren as he flew like a ragdoll. "You¡­" Romez pointed his hand at Almond, conjuring two wind orbs as they struck Almond. However, they snuffed out after simply touching his Fortification coating. "Huh?" Romez was dumbfounded. "¡­" Almond was speechless. "Thanks for the consideration, but treat me as if you are fighting a peak Gold-rank adventurer." After saying that, he disappeared and moved towards Zoren again before kicking him again. He didn''t hit Zoren too strongly, but also not too lightly. "Fuck!" Thamus cursed as he snapped out and seriously attacked Almond, his sword and body crackling with lightning as he used a skill to buff himself after using Physical Enchantments and Focus Field. ''Use Focus Field. This guy is fast,'' Thamus said to Romez. ''His stats are way higher than his rank and level indicates.'' "Arghhh!" "Urughh¡­Blerrh!" Zoren felt his world spinning. He only felt pain and nothing else. "Stop!" Thamus shed Almond, but only he saw sparks flying before his hand was deflected strongly, almost making him lose the sword. ''What the fuck?!'' Romez took out his staff and used his ss skill¡ªFrost Mist, unleashing a mist toward Almond with the intention of freezing him. Almond grinned as he released a burst of lightning by transmuting 100 Mana into lighting. The lightning traveled through the mist, destroying it and also electrifying Romez. Simple elemental skills vs. elemental attacks from someone who had acquired an Elemental master had a big difference in potency. In an equal power sh, the former was no match for thetter. Moreover, lightning interacted with mist and conducted with it, so even though Almond used his lightning crudely, it overpowered Zoren''s B-rank ss skill, which was¡­well, merely B-rank in Almond''s eyes. *Smash!* Almond kicked Zoren again, making him fly in the air, this time right after he nullified Romez''s mist skill. Thamus hissed as he went full focus and released his ss skill as a cross-shaped red lightning sh shot toward Almond¡­who dodged it leisurely as he jumped and pped Zoren''s face, smacking him down from the air. "Damn it," Romez attacked again. "What the fuck¡­" Thamus fought while suppressing his disbelief and shock. A brutal yetical scene ensued. Thamus and Romez solely focused on attacking Almond, but neither of them could hit him properly. Meanwhile, Almond simply pped and smacked Zoren around the spacious branch. Chapter 103: Dominating Gold-rank Adventurers (2/2) The Thunderbird group had finished off the beetle shortly and saw the scene as their jaw dropped on the floor after realizing what the heck was happening. ''What the fuck?'' Luke''s neck shrank like a turtle as he felt goosebumps rising. ''That bastard Zoren, who did he mess with?'' Henry, Anton, and Nikki were long dumbfounded and just watched nkly as Almond yed around with those two Gold-rank adventurers who were at the same level as them while also beating up Zoren.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om From Bronze level 1 to Silver level 30 would an adventurer 117 unassigned stat points. And then breaking through to Gold rank and reaching level 100 from level 0 would an additional 300 unassigned stat points. A total of 417 unassigned stat points. Not including other bonus stat points one could get from items in Labyrinth and dungeons and from their ss perks, these Gold rank level 100 adventurers were far weaker than Almond in terms of stats. Not to mention that Almond had 200 in Perception and Focus thanks to his Legendary ss''s perk, making his Force Field way stronger than theirs. But if that wasn''t enough, Almond was a sword prodigy who could use it masterfully as a weapon of great versatility, and people who used swords against him were prone to getting seen through by his prodigal way of seeing things as he easily spotted weak spots of Thamus and nullified his sword moves. He could see through their moves, react faster than them with his Force Field, and easily render their attacks and strategy useless, resulting in this situation of him ying with these two gold level 100 adventurers while he beat up Zoren around like a ragdoll. "Stop, stop!" Thamus breathed out as he stopped and shouted, his face red. Fighting and trying hard to hit Almond without any sess resulted in him spending more and more stamina, so he was already tired. He could feel his strikes and moves getting worse and worse as he continued with this futility of fighting Almond, so he snapped and stopped. Romez was in a simr situation. But Almond didn''t even look at them as usual. However, he also stopped since he didn''t need to move anymore as he didn''t sense any attacksing his way. "Heal him, he just got knocked out with thatst p," Almond said as he continued to look at Zoren, whose face was totally like a pig with his ps while his body was aching at all ces. Henry quickly arrived there and used a healing potion on Zoren, pouring it on his body. Zoren''s eyes opened, but the moment he saw Almond, he screamed and moved back, dragging his ass as if he saw a ghost. Almond''s eyes glinted deep within as a ghastly, dreamy de shed through. "Zoren, you will never ever trouble anyone again out of malice." Zoren''s courage¡ªcut in half thrice. Permanently. "You will never ever show your ugly and naked desire on people weaker in status and power than you." Zoren''s mental fortitude¡ªcut in half thrice. Permanently. "From now on, you will focus on doing good deeds and helping others. And if you don''t do that¡­I swear to your god, I will skin you alive." Zoren''s Apathy¡ªcut in half thrice. Permanently. This resulted in his empathy growing automatically. But his fear of Almond also reached new heights. His mind became a mess as Almond''s words rang inside after the innate attributes of his character were forcefully adjusted. He screamed while grabbing his hair and suddenly lost consciousness right there and then. *Gulp* Some of them swallowed hard witnessing this, while some frowned, but all felt a chill crawling down their back. "Is there a way to contact outside from inside the dungeon?" Almond asked as he turned around to look at Thamus and Romez. "N-No," Romez shook his head. "Then stay here," Almond narrowed his eyes as he summoned all of his Spirit Wraiths. "Nikki, Anton, I am going up to y with the boss. Immediately inform me if they try to run out of the dungeon. I''vemanded my summons to attack them if they try to escape." Almond turned to the Thunderbird party below level 100 and said, "Start climbing up. I won''t kill the boss, so you can take the kill and reward." The group quickly scurried away and started climbing the tree further. Almond then turned to Thamus and Romez as he continued. "I am stopping you from leaving because I don''t want Thunderbird guild''s people storming here," Almond icily smiled. "I am not confident in fighting against veteran tinum adventurers yet, so things can get ugly with emotions in heat, especially if Zoren''s father gets the news. So don''t you dare run out outside, or I''ll kill you all first, and trust me¡­I can." "My summons here are immortal as long as I am alive. And they might look weak in stats, but they have powerful skills, and some of them won''t go down before killing a few of you." "You heard that right,ds," Dark Pope crackled loudly. "We have a death wish, but the question is, do you?" *Neighh!!* Infernal Knight''s horse, Agramon, neighed loudly as mes rose around them in intensity. "Not all are like you two," Forest Maid Sylvia rolled her eyes before she turned to Thamus and Rozen, "But my friends are right. You may want to think..umm, thirty times before going against our master''s orders." As she spoke, Forest Maid Sylvia rooted herself on the branch, transforming into her Forest Queen form using her S-rank¡ªForest''s Blessing. The other spirit wraiths also locked on them, ready to pounce on them. Even if their stats were weaker, the seven of them still gave an intimidating presence, not to mention that their appearance was already intimidating and scary. Dead silence ensued. Even Henry forgot what he was going to say, while Nikki and Anton could only look at each other in shock. ''Who is Almond?'' ''He is Almond¡­'' ''¡­'' "We got it!" Thamus said as he deeply breathed and looked at Almond. "We won''t do anything foolish." Romez quickly nodded while sweating bullets. Chapter 104: Golden Haze Lightning, Leaving the Dungeon [Bonus Chapter] At the top of the giant tree, the leaves were strangely shaped to make it like the ground, with natural leaf patterns that crackled with lightning. The Final Boss was a powerful monster¡ªBlitzerking Thunder Eagle. With all of its stats above 200+, it was a formidable boss monster of sizable body mass and physique attuned to Golden Haze Lightning. Almond fought with it defensively, his focus not on attacking it but taking on its pure Golden Haze Lightning and understanding it through the fight. The Thunderbird group obediently sat cross-legged at the corner as they watched Almond making the Blitzerking Thunder Eagle dance around him. He took on the pure lightning attacks of the boss as per wish with his Fortification and Body Enfold activated while avoiding the rest like its w and wing-swooping attack. A few minutes into the battle, the fight became even more on Almond''s factor as if he understood its attacking patterns andpletely dominated the boss monster without hurting it too much. "I got an idea," Zaia, the orange-haired girl, suddenly said. "How about we bet all our money on him in the Rising Star Tournament right when it starts when the odds are low for unknown adventurers?" "Yeah, we can bet on him taking the first rank in the silver bracket right off the bat when the tournament starts. We''ll be rich." "We gotta start farming in dungeons and gather more gold coins then." "That aside, I think our guild hit a solid steel te this time," Krag said with a weak smile. "Zoren is over. His father will snap seeing him in that condition, and the matter will be big, but nothing''s gonna happen to Almond." "To be honest," Zaia pursed her lips. "I think Zoren had iting, and he deserves it. Several junior girls in the guildined to me about him, but what could I do? Tell on his father? Both are cut from the same cloth, damn it." "Someone here might not think the same," Krag said as he turned to Luke, who was silent all the while, only watching Almond fighting against the boss alone with ease, the same boss monster that could give them big trouble if they weren''t careful. "Hey, Luke. I saw you using your wristwatch before we entered the dungeon. Tell me, did you tell Zoren about him?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The other three also looked at Luke. "Yeah, I did, "Luke resigned and partly raised both of his hands before putting them on his knees, his head down. "And I don''t think what I did was wrong. I''m just using opportunities to get some support and little favors from those in power at the ce we work." "And fuck Zoren," he added as he looked ahead and continued to watch Almond. "It''s not like I support him or anything. He''s just good at getting used by someone like me, so I fawn over him and got good stuff from the guild. Anyway, it seems Almond is done, so we are up." The others turned to Almond and saw him looking at him as he walked towards them. The Blitzerking Thunder Eagle swooped at him from behind after pping its wing and releasing golden lightning arcs, but Almond smoothly side-stepped to dodge one and jumped high to dodge another. His high jump also took into consideration its swoop attack, so he dodged it easily as well before he kicked the air after using lightning currents to form an electromaic field, pushing his speed as he swiftly crossed thirty meters and appeared shortly away from the Thunderbird group. "Finish it off," Almond said as he turned around and sat down cross-legged. "¡­" *Shrill!* The giant eagle angrily shrilled, intending to attack Almond again, who so disrespectfully ignored it and sat down with his eyes closed. But the Thunderbird group quickly scrambled together as theyunched their skills and began fighting it. Tank and fighter attracted its attention while the support buffed them. One mage used a control-type skill to bind the Eagle''s wings as its flight was disturbed, while the other Mage swiftly attacked with a pure offense-type skill. Meanwhile, Almond was closing in on his goal of acquiring Golden Haze Lightning. By the time Thunderbird group finished off the boss, Almond had reached his goal. [Congrattions. You have acquired a lightning elemental variant¡ªGolden Haze Lightning.] [Golden Haze Lightning] -This variant''s potency will be affected by your lightning elemental mastery. -Variant effects: ¡ª> 30% stronger Lightning potency. ¡ª> Golden Haze attribute: purifies harmful effects, destroys negative effects, and increases the potency of healing processes. ''So my lightning power is 30% stronger,'' Almond''s eyes flickered with lightning, but this time, it was a hazy golden lightning. ''On top of that, it now has purifying effects, so I guess it should be able to remove status effects like bleed, burn, and other stuff. ''Power to destroy negative effects¡­sounds simr to purifying harmful effects, but I guess the word y changes things. Maybe it destroys anything considered ''negative''? I''ll have to experiment with this lightning a lot,'' Almond grinned, excited. ''Thest is pretty much self-exnatory. Damn, this lightning variant is awesome.'' Almond saw that the Thunderbird group had also killed the boss and was looking at the items they had gotten from its treasure chest. After taking the boss''s Spirit, he said, "You all can take your time. We are leaving." The group quickly turned to him, but Almond was already gone. Arriving in the middle battlefield of the tree, Almond looked at Thamus and Romez as he icily smiled, "We are leaving now, but you will leave after an hour, got it?" The duo quickly nodded. "And I have a message for Zoren''s father. Make sure he gets it properly¡ªIf he has a problem with me beating his son senseless, then he canin to Admiral Rudra. I''m sure he will be pleased tounch a full investigation and find all the dark dirt you''ve gathered." After saying that, Almond waved his hands as his Spirit Wraiths turned into flickering lights and vanished. "Let''s go," Almond nodded at Nikki and Anton. ¡­ After Almond, Nikki, and Anton left, Thamus spoke, "Did you record everything, Romez?" "Yeah, but are we really going to add on trouble?" Romez was clearly hesitant. "What are you two talking about?" Henry frowned. "Don''t make things worse, please. Almond has the backing of Admiral Rudra, and Zoren isn''t exactly in the right. The guild will suffer." "We aren''t doing anything, Henry," Thamus shook his head. "We''ll just hand over this recording to the vice-guild leader. It''s up to him to decide what to do." He looked at the fainted Zoren and added, "Anyway, we are supposed to wait for an hour, so let''s try to wake this idiot up." ¡­ [A/N: This is a bonus chapter for reaching 100 powerstones this week. The second weekly bonus chapter''s requirement is reaching 100 golden tickets, and the third weekly bonus chapter''s requirement is one big gift (only one big gift = one chapter, no more chaps even if more giftse. Tbh, I am not expecting big gifts, nor do I want to pressure cuz I feel it''s a waste of money in my view, but whatever, multiple views exist, so here is the chart of weekly bonus chapters requirement] Chapter 105: Thunderbird Guilds Stance, Whispers in Dark After leaving the dungeon, Almond, Nikki, and Anton returned to the GAA branch in Thunderbird City and then promptly departed in the private jet of GAA, returning to Firefly City in half an hour.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om On the way to his beautiful and aesthetic courtyard, Almond stopped by a fancy restaurant to eat and made a task list of things he wanted to aplish before the Rising Star Tournament started. 1¡ªMaster the Lightning Dragon skill set. 2¡ªCome up with a good name and disposition for his 9th spirit wraith that was long ready to be summoned. 3¡ªCombine 1st Floor Boss spirit with 19 Dungeon bosses'' spirits. 4¡ªUnlock the Guaranteed Super-rank forge option. The restaurant was a tree-house type, and he had a corner table with nice wind and weather, so he chilled there while thinking about some things and also talked to Admiral Rudra about everything that happened in the dungeon since he happened to pick up his call this time. He called him on the way to Firefly City, but some kind of signal problem appeared instead, indicating that he was in a dungeon or some other area that blocked signals. It was 7 p.m. in the evening when Almond finally returned to his courtyard as he spent a few hours at the restaurant eating slowly and making ns. He let out all of his summons to chill and rx in the courtyard, giving them freedom with some rules like not breaking things. He also took out Spirit Items that he forged. He got more rare-grade items this time because the monsters were high-level gold-rank ones. Alfred knew how to use the website and submit the items, so Almond put him on that work to let Silverbird Services know that he had a new batch of items for sale. ''Since I am still freshly filled with lightning, I should at least try to finish creating the skill runes of Lightning Dragon skills today,'' Almond nodded to himself. ''But before that, I need to bathe.'' Almond took a shower and wore afy white robe before he arrived outside and started training to learn the Lightning Dragon skills. ording to the book, he had gained Lightning Elemental Mastery and even reached S-rank, so he would be able to follow the steps and learn both skills rather quickly. -Skill 1: Lightning Tailwhip (S) ¡ªEffect: Conjures a lightning dragon tail anywhere within 10 meters of the user to deal devastating lightning-attribute damage. Causes shock and paralysis. -Skill 2: Voltron Edge (S) ¡ªEffect: Infuses a melee-type weapon with crackling lightning energy, increasing the weapon''s damage significantly and granting lightning-attribute to all attacks released through the weapon. Almond nned to modify these skills a bit in his way since he had knowledge of skill rune structure by now and also Lightning element''s variant to y with! ¡­ Meanwhile, there was an emergency meeting being held in the Thunderbird guild. Only the guild''s leader, vice-leader, and executives attended the meeting. They watched Almond''s recording through Romez''s lenses¡ªfrom when Zoren and the other two arrived on the giant''s tree middle-field and tried to provoke Almond. It didn''t show them everything that happened in a clear sense since the camera was on Romez''s center, but it was a great shock to them to see Romez and Thamus losing in 2v1 and Almond beating up Zoren while ying with them. "Is he another freak of a super rookie like Lin Yuan?" Thunderbird leader Kalen frowned. He had blue spiky hair and was a handsome-looking man in his thirties, though it was ruined by his current frustrated expression. He also wanted a super rookie in his guild, but nobody had an S-rank ss, while those known to possess one were snatched by top guilds. "Lin Yuan is no longer a silver-rank Super rookie as he ascended to gold-rank this month. But this kid''s way of fighting indeed reminds me of Lin Yuan," an executive woman with rose hair said. "But Lin Yuan''s primary ss is Martialist Ironfang, S-rank. This kid, on the other hand, has a summon-type ss¡ªpresumably S-rank. I don''t think he''s got a good hand with that, to be honest. He has talent in fighting, so if he got a fighter-type ss, that would''ve made him way stronger," said the bulky, short-haired Executive. *Thap!!* A man looking in his forties suddenly mmed his hand on the table, causing everyone to look at him as he took a sharp breath and said, "Can we move onto the main topic now? My son has gone insane! He is totally different now because of this bastard! Skip to thest part!" "Rx, vice-leader," Thunderbird leader Kalen said as his expression turned slightly t. "Let''s continue watching. We''ll reach the end soon." They soon reached the end of the video and saw how Almond threatened Zoren, who then screamed and fainted. "Vice-leader Zolen, are you saying that this kid''s threat worked on Zoren?" Executive Le raised her eyebrows. Zolen''s teeth ground hard as he slowly nodded, anger erupting within him, "Zoren ispletely different now. He behaves scared all the time and doesn''t even look at anyone in the eyes! Kalen, I want you to send this video footage to Earth Union and bring that bastard on trial!" "That''s not a good idea," Thunderbird leader Kalen frowned. "We have much more to lose if we do that. I''m sorry, but I won''t let you do that. Your son isn''t exactly a saint, and we all know that. His mistake was getting over his head because of you." "I agree with leader Kalen. That kid, Almond, was it? He has the backing of Admiral Rudra. If that old manes here and decides to get all just and fair, our guild will suffer." Zolen pped the table again, his voice hoarse, "Am I supposed to just take this and move on?! Am I supposed to watch my son rot like that from now on?! What if your children or someone you love is in his ce?!" "Look, vice-leader Zolen," Kalen calmly said. "You''ve contributed to the guild, and the guild has also helped you. But this is a guild, not your house, which your son has been thinking it was your house. If you want to take action and involve Earth Union to bring Almond on trial, then do so, but do not involve Thunderbird Guild." Silence ensued as the Executives realized what Kalen meant. Zolen looked at Kalen, his eyes trembling and anger bubbling within them. "If you win," Kalen continued as he sighed. "If youe out of this victorious, you''ll get your position back, but if not¡­well, you should know what will happen to you if you lose in the official trial. Admiral Rudra will have his eyes on you." Zolen didn''t say anything and stood up before leaving the meeting room. ¡­ Where the dark waters rule over thend and ck winds whisper to each other, "Rudra was sniffing around in our area at Flogeron City." "That bastard might find out our identities if he sniffs too much." "What did the Emissory of Hollowstar say regarding the next move?" "The 5th day of the next month, right when the Rising Star Tournament has proceeded halfway. That''s the biggest spectacle since all adventurers will be watching and many participating in them. That is when we strike." "Who is going in then? I heard that entering the Labyrinth forcefully while it is closed will result in death." "What do people of our world know? We''ve never entered because we couldn''t, but Hollowstar Emissory knows. We will be able to enter using Void-breach stone. Putting it over a Labyrinth gate would forcefully keep it open for 2 days." "So we only have 2 days to prepare everything and trigger the Floor Boss? If so, most of us will have to enter together." "That''s right. I am not entering unless at least 20 of us enter." "Not twenty, but everyone. Every single tinum-rank adventurer affiliated with us will enter for this goal." "But what will be the result after this goal is aplished? Did Emissory of Hollowstar say anything, Darius?" "Just know that if we want to rule the world, then many people need to die. Let the hiding old monsters and top guilds sacrifice themselves to defeat the Floor Boss. Whether they seed or not, we will be set." "And I hope nobody suddenly gets any funny ideas. All of us have received powers and benefits from the Hollowstar Emissory, so prevent any foolish ideas from popping into your head, or there won''t be any head left on your shoulders." ¡­ Almond first learned the skill execution by following the steps in the book--how to control Mana and how to control lightning''s attributes in a way such that it would bring out the intended skill''s design and effects. Afterward, he moved to forming skill runes, in which he fiddled with them a bit. By the time he was done with skill runes, it was midnight. Almond was exhausted then because it was a long day. His mind needed rest, especially after the stunt pulled in the Labyrinth. When he hit the bed, his consciousness drifted into a deep sleep in mere seconds. When he opened his eyes, it was ten in the morning. Feeling fully refreshed and raring to move his body, Almond went outside after washing his face and started some heavy and intense physical training while listening to the news via his wristwatch. Julian and Roken arrived half an hourter as Almond had called them right after waking up. Once they arrived, he also told them to join in the training. "We aren''t doing normal training here. Use your Mana to make your body heavy, and then train. Once we are done, I''ll give you some important swordy points, Julian. As for you," Almond looked at Roken and grinned. "I''ll have you train in your side-ss mastery." "With pleasure, young master Almond," Roken broadly smiled. *** The following text isn''t counted towards the chapter price because I published the chapter first and then added the text (as the price doesn''t change once the chapter is published). Please read below regarding the book''s first event :) ¡ª[Event: 9th Spirit Wraith]¡ª -Basically, Almond has yet to decide the name, disposition, and personality of the 9th Spirit Wraith, as it is a sentient, humanoid one. Below are the "attributes" of the 9th Spirit Wraith, so I will allow one reader to give their desired suggestion regarding the disposition, personality, and name of this spirit wraith (and one skill also if they want to) -This one reader will be the one who has the highest contribution among fans¡ªcurrent no.1 is Joseph_Akiyama. This event willst until the end of 22nd November. Whoever has the highest contribution by then will win.] ¡ª[9th Spirit Wraith''s attributes]: Mainly Ice and Light as all boss monsters and smaller monsters in the creation of this Spirit Wraith were from the area that had Ice and light-attributed monsters. Chapter 106: Trial, Lilys Situation "Straighten up. Your sh is not perfect." Julian was simply shing downward, a straight vertical chop. Almond was right beside him, doing the same motion with his sword. "Your sword is not united with your body." Every time Almond chopped his sword, a faint vertical slit would form on the ground despite a meter of distance between the sword and the ground. Julian''s sword was simply pushing away air. "Hmmm, you''re not doing it properly. Alright, close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Forget about your body and perceive your sword with your other senses. While perceiving your sword, feel the air and world around you as you sh it." Julian nodded and did as told. After he shed twice, Almond asked, "What did you feel?"n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Pain in my inverse side of the elbow and¡­feeling how easy it is to sh the air." "Chopping in the air will make your body unstable at the micro-level. You have to feel that closely. Feel your body and get in tune with your sword. You have to understand your sword to use it properly. Its weight, its de, and how it cuts the air." "When I swing my sword, I do not cut the air. I use it. I can''t exin properly, but it has something to do with your body and the sword''s unity. For now, you''ll just have to continue chopping until you feel something and get the hang of what I am trying to say." "No worries, I won''t stop until I seed," Julian firmly said as he continued chopping. "Even if I have to chop a thousand times or a hundred thousand times." "Good, continue. When you feel sluggish, meditate to recover and then continue." "My lord, I also want to join," Infernal Knight walked towards Almond and knelt on one knee with his sword stabbed on the ground. "Please allow me." Almond was surprised but pleasantly. He chuckled and replied, "Of course, go ahead. You both can practice together." ''If Ashkar learns swordy, he''ll be even stronger.'' Ashkar had a sword, but he wasn''t as proficient in a sword as Alfred or him or even Julian. He used his sword as a catalyst to attack and unleash his skills. It was a part of his body. Almond had inspected it, and it was synched with Ashkar''s stats since it was made with his own essence. Ashkar also started chopping downward, practicing alongside Julian. Sylvia was tending the garden as usual while Chimera Frank and Chimera Viperfiend were having a starring contest at the beach. The moment Viperfiend blinked, Frank beat the shit out of Viperfiend until its vitality dropped to 1%. Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalist were also at the beach and fighting each other. The three Chimeras and Starlight Beast weren''t intelligent enough, so what they were doing was following Almond''smands. He had basically told them to fight each other with some extra details, like making a starring contest and no-skill fighting. They were allowed to use Mana but not use their skills. He wanted them to develop Mana transmutation properly since they were attuned to attributes and could improve further. Lastly, Alfred and Benedict sat at a table in the open ground near the pile of spirit items. A silverbird would arrive every several minutes to take items and fly away for delivery. Almond then went around the courtyard and arrived at the backyard where Roken was mming his hammer on a magical anvil conjured by his sub-sses skill¡ªRunic cksmith. "Let''s go, Roken. Show me a professional cksmith who can use Super-rank materials and make a badass sword for me." ¡­ Almond and Roken went to a private forge run by a 48-year-old tinum-rank Adventurer. With gaps of roughly a year between each floor of the Labyrinth opening, people had a lot more time on their hands. Some people focused on side sses, while some focused on honing theirbat further. Artoren Baskil was someone who focused on his side of the ss like many others. He would simply reach a maximum level when a new floor opened and then focus back on his smithing and improving his side ss. He was one of the few who had made his side-ss reach S-rank from A-rank and could handle Epic-rank materials, which were very rare toe by. Epic-rank materials only became slightly more essible in various reward drops from the 10th floor of the Labyrinth as the Labyrinth above the 5th floor was very vast, with triggerable challenges and quest generations. As such, not many cksmiths could handle Epic-rank materials yet. The fee to forge his Super-rank sword turned around to be 7 million gold coins. Fortunately, he had just enough with the additional sales of his spirit items this morning. It was quite clear that his items were getting famous. Silverbird Services was also marketing its channel to its customers because this service earned both ways. It charged delivery from the seller and also from the buyers. Almond also put up a request to let Roken watch him forge his item so he could learn more about cksmithing, but the old man straight-up advertised his basic cksmithing ss costing 5 million gold coins. The new generations could already decide what they wanted for their side-ss in a way. By practicing cksmithing, alchemy, dancing, cooking, or anything else, they would get the option of choosing a side ss rted to what they practiced. Leaving the forge, Almond looked at the sky and cracked his fingers on his neck, "Well, time to earn some more money. I need to buy trash-tier Super-rank items, and that''s going to cost a lot." "Are we going to dungeons?" Roken''s eyes shone. "Yeah, and you can keep rare-rank or lower-rank the materials we get from them to practice your smithing," Almond got into his aircraft and contacted Marshal Lopol. [Marshal Lopol: Let me speak first. I was about to contact you because I just got a notice from Earth Union. You have to be present for a trial tomorrow morning at 10 p.m. Admiral Rudra will be there, so get here tonight at midnight sharp to depart.] [Almond: is this about me beating Zoren?] [Marshal Lopol: Who else? Zoren''s father sent a video here and also sent the same video in the Earth Union. It starts with you pping Zoren down and beating him brutally while deflecting the other two Adventurers. It ends with your threat that paints a bad picture for you. Zoren''s psychological condition is bad, so Earth Union won''t use skills or items that force out truths on him. He''ll be present there, and I also saw his condition¡­things will look bad for you. You''ll have to fight the trial with proof and justification on your end. But Admiral Rudra will be present, so I''m sure he''ll do something since GAA is in charge of punishing Adventurers.] [Almond: It seems that you are angry. But rx. You said he''ll be present there, right? Perfect. I''ll nail both father and son with solid evidence regarding their heinous acts. You rx and give me a list of¡­ten B-grade dungeons for now. I would prefer them to be golden-bordered, but I''ll take red-bordered ones as well.] ''Tomorrow, I''ll get a human spirit for my next creation. There''s no way I wouldn''t add a human spirit along with the Floor Boss''s spirit,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''And a veteran like Zoren''s father will be perfect.'' The Earth Union was responsible for overseeing trials, courts, and other legal matters for all citizens, not just Adventurers. However, the GAA operated exclusively for Adventurers, and only its enforcer department had the authority to administer punishment. He had an idea that could prove Zoren and his father guilty because he knew for a fact that both of them were pieces of trash when he peeked into Zoren''s mind and saw his attributes in detail. Almond knew what Zoren got was from his father. [Marshal Lopol: Ten dungeons? Fine. I am sending you a list after an hour.] After he finished talking with Marshal Lopol, Roken immediately asked him, "What happened, bro?" "Nothing much. Just some conflict that I''ll resolve tomorrow," Almond chuckled. "Anyway, it''s time to return and continue training." But just as Almond flew up, another call came in. ''Natalia?'' Almond blinked and received it. [Natalia: I miss you sooooo much¡­said Lily yesterday.] [Almond: Hahaha. Nice one. So, why didn''t she call?] [Natalia: She can''t call, which is why I am calling you to tell you about her condition. Lady Aria was doing some hardcore training with Lily for the Darkness element, and then they entered a dungeon on the ind. But when they came out, Lily was shut down. Lady Aria said it''s simr to when we used skill insight and were gone for 24 hours.] Almond was surprised. [Almond: So she entered an enlightenment state?! That''s wonderful.] [Natalia: Yeah, enlightenment state. Anyway, it seems that we won''t be returning until Lily wakes up.] [Almond: Got it. Take your time. We gotta get strong, after all. How is your training?] [Natalia: Very good¡­.not! I also want to get an elemental affinity, but Lady Aria said we''ll have to go to another ce for mine. Hehe, Lily got the Darkness element, but I am going for the Light element. My primary ss is Light element-ish in a way. Of course, I have one more surprise, but that''s a secret for now.] [Almond: Nice. Well, all the best and train hard. Good luck.] [Natalia: You aren''t hanging out with other girls behind Lily''s back, right?] [Almond:¡­I am hanging up.] Almond cut off the call with a wry smile as he heard Natalia''s snicker from the other side and began driving. Chapter 107 Aura Cloak, Powerful Lightning Dragon Skill set After returning to the courtyard, Almond started training on his Mana techniques as he wanted to improve them further.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om He could improve them further because he had enough stats, mainly Perception and Focus, and his Mana control was high enough to do so. He practiced Fortification and its lesser version, Mana Shroud, which didn''t give toughness but just erased his presence stemming from his body and mana auras. It wasn''t a useful technique during the battle as it was only used to sneak around, but even then, people using Focus Field would discover them. But it was a must to practice Mana Shroud because there exited a higher stage of this technique¡ªthe 2nd stage, Aura Cloak, and it was something that could hide within someone''s Focus Field as well. It was tough because Aura Cloak required a perfect understanding of one''s surroundings to change one''s aura to match the atmosphere or any object one would use for hiding oneself. Suppose Person A hid inside thick bushes while using Mana Shroud. But if Person B used Focus Field, Person A would be discovered. But Aura Cloak would change one''s aura to match that of the bushes, so it wouldn''t appear in the visuals provided by Focus Field. Of course, naked eyes would be able to see the person even with Aura Cloak, but not within the vision provided by Focus Field! This technique could be used during battles as it was considered very strong. Adventurers greatly relied on their Focus Field because they could discover someone even from their blind spots, but with Aura Cloak, the blind spots would work again. The requirement to learn Aura Cloak was 200 Perception and Focus because it involved a principle of Mana transmutation on a surface level. It wasn''t about giving properties to their Mana to change and transform it but borrowing an object or atmosphere''s aura to blend into their Mana so that it would be indistinguishable in someone''s Focus Field. This required high perception and focus to actually study and observe the object''s and atmosphere''s aura and apply it to their Mana, but it was a technique worth having. It was powerful. Almond practiced Mana shroud for a while before he used Focus Field to observe the surrounding''s aura. With his 200 Perception and Focus, he could observe all that was affected by Mana and nature much more clearly. Their aura had a pattern, and he just had to replicate it and apply it to his mana, though it was easier said than done. But he had advanced experience with this because he could use the Elemental Mimicry technique of¡ªMana Transmutation to give lightning''s properties to his Mana and transform it thanks to his Lightning Elemental Mastery. What he had to do here was simpler, but he had to learn to observe and implement the aura of objects and atmosphere first. Almond continued to train in this, which made him closer to level 1 of Aura Shroud and also improved his Focus Field since this training required constant usage of it. A few hourster, Almond changed his training to Fortification, Body Enfold, and Weapon Enfold. His progress was unstoppable. It was like he had to read a page once, and he could remember everything. He just had to train once properly, and he could level up in these three techniques. ''Fuck it, I''ll train until night and reach level 10 in stage 1 of these techniques.'' Almond was absorbed in training, and so were Julian and Ashkar. Julian had more of shutting down his mind and only just chopped his sword physically, without using Mana or anything. It was a pure, primal training of chopping, and he put his mind on Almond''s words. Once his right arm becamepletely numb and filled with pain, he switched to his left arm and continued to chop. Ashkar was doing the same. Just chopping. Alfred was doing his job while Benedict had gone to the beach to fight with Starlight Beast and the other three. Sylvia was in her own world, but it seemed that her garden was getting bigger and more exotic¡­ Meanwhile, Roken was once again smashing hammers. Almond had given him rare-grade and umon-grade materials gained from his first two dungeons, so he had plenty of training to do. When the clock hit 9 o''clock, Almond sessfully hit level 10 in the techniques as the profile on his wristwatch updated, along with his profile in the restricted Database that only Admiral Rudra could ess. ¡ª Stage 1 Strength Boost level 10: +100% Strength stat. Enjoy new tales from empire ¡ª Stage 1 Focus Field Level 10: 100 meters radius. ¡ª Stage 1 Fortification level 10: +100% toughness (overall defense of his body and durability of the Fortified armor on the body) ¡ª Stage 1 Body Enfold level 10: +100% overall boost / 100 minutes. ¡ª Stage 1 Weapon Enfold level 10: +100% extra damage/defense. Almond saw that he still had time, so he decided to practice his new skills. ''Wish I had a tough sparring partner¡­'' Almond looked around, but everyone was weaker than him except for the training dummies. They were freaking tough. Almond stood ten meters away and focused on the central dummy. ''Lightning Tailwhip.'' *Crackle!* A thick dragon tail projectile made up of golden lightning appeared, fully in Almond''s control. It moved, tearing through the air at a breakneck speed, enough to crash the sound barrier with a loud boom before it struck the dummy. A swift explosion urred, loud and crackling. The dummy was sizzling with golden electric currents as the aftermath before electricity was gradually absorbed by the earth. That was a 100 Mana cost Lightning Tailwhip skill execution. In the next second, Almond''s eyes flickered again as three dragon tails appeared, striking all three dummies at the same time as loud explosions urred. ''Perfect. This skill has high push-power, along with shock and paralys¡­'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''And this skill is perfect to pair with Spirit Explosion for abo.'' Spirit Explosion had a dy of 1 second, and 1 second was enough for strong Adventurers to move 1 meter, it was very easy. Spirit Explosion was very powerful, especially if it triggered special effects. But 1 second was a pitfall¡­until Lightning Tailwhip came into the picture. One p from the Lightning Tailwhip damage, shock, and paralyze + stacked attack of Spirit Explosions = a recipe for one shot. Since he could materialize Lightning Tailwhip anywhere within 10 meters, he could essentially push his enemies toward him or away from him! It could pair very well with basicbat, like seizing an opportunity to make a follow-up strike after disorienting and paralyzing the opponent. ''Voltron Edge.'' Almond took out his sword and used Voltron Edge as slick yet chaotic cracklings of lightning coated around his sword. ''Weapon Enfold.'' The sword''s aura was now golden instead of the usual blue of Mana as Almond had given Lightning-style to his Weapon Enfold. Weapon Enfold and Body Enfold consumed more Mana, but their boost was major inbat¡ªa direct 100% boost of one''s overall stats and one''s weapon power. Giving Lightning-style to his Weapon Enfold gave it bonus lightning damage ording to Mana consumed, and it was further boosted by 30% due to Golden Haze lightning''s effect. Almond cut himself on his arm, but the lightning didn''t damage him, nor did it interfere with his self-healing process. Instead, it actually increased his healing speed after the sword''s cut. ''Noice.'' Looking ahead, Almond grinned and waved his sword, using Wild de skill. Giving Lightning-style to his Weapon Enfold wouldn''t give lightning-attribute to skills released through it. However, Voltron Edge was a different matter! The arc of Wild sh was beautiful and deadly golden, crackling with pure lightning! The sh struck the dummy. *Boom! Crackle!* At that, Almond put his first mark on the tough dummy. Chapter 108 Trial (1/2) Almond arrived at the GAA branch at the same time and departed to Sillor City, where the headquarters of the Earth Union was situated. After arriving at their headquarters and entering the ground floor''s hall, Almond spotted Admiral Rudra sitting on a public longue chair like a nobody. As if sensing his gaze, Admiral Rudra turned off the hologram and looked at him. In the next second, he was already in front of Almond without disturbing air or anything. "Are you sleepy?" "Not really," Almond shook his head. "Let''s take a walk then." "Sure." The duo left and began walking towards the left area, where a decorative garden was built with benches and a fountain in the center after leaving the hall. "Let''s hear an update on your improvement first." Almond smiled and stretched his arm halfway, his palm upward as a perfect orb of golden lightning manifested, crackling and sizzling the air. Admiral Rudra showed visible surprise. Almond told him about his adventures in the dungeon and how he managed to acquire Lightning elemental mastery to S-rank along with the lightning element variant¡ªGolden Haze Lightning. Then they talked about what Almond nned to do the next few days and other things. "You''re doing good. Keep it up," Admiral Rudra smiled. "It won''t be long before you''re caught up to us. Jenkin Roid held the fastest record this year of reaching tinum rank within 1 year and 16 days, but you''ll surpass that and catch up to us faster." "How''s it going on the 10th Floor?" Almond curiously asked. "It''s very big. Three times the size of the 9th Floor." ''Every tenth floor is an important one, after all. The 10th floor will likely transform once cleared,'' Almond thought. He had fuzzy memories, but he was sure that every tenth floor became a sort of hub or something and transformed. "But the problem is that I am having bad feelings," Admiral Rudra sighed. "It''s gnawing my mind that something is going to happen because of those people in the dark." Find your next read on empire Almond raised his eyebrows, "Did you get some clues or anything about them?" "Yeah, yesterday," Admiral Rudra nodded. "A seemingly ordinary warehouse in Folgeron city''s dark zone. That ce gave off creeps in my senses. I felt some sickly presence there, though it was empty. But I believe in my hunch. I am going tomorrow to other dark zones with a friend to investigate." "But I just can''t shake off the feeling that something bad will happen, so I am not doing anything aside from finding them and clearing up this feeling," Admiral Rudra''s eyes coldly glinted. "Even if it means I have to bring some destruction and attract danger." "Well, you do what you want to do, Admiral," Almond grinned. "Destroy them." "For now, I''ll destroy you. Come, let''s spar and see how much better you got." "Sparring with me for real, old man? Let''s go!" "Old man? *Cracks knuckles* I''ll teach you how an old man fights." ¡­ Trial Room #1.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Five people of varying ages, two men and three women, from mid-thirties to sixties, sat on judge seats facing a small podium ten meters away from them in the center of the room. To the left of the audience seats sat Zoren and his father, Zolen. Right as the clock hit 10 a.m., the big door opened as Almond and Admiral Rudra walked in. "Almond Crowshade. Stand at the podium, please." Zoren winced and trembled, muttering that he was scared as he saw Almond and snuggled into Zolen. Zolen''s eyes were bloodshot as he looked at Almond and felt his son''s condition. "You will pay for this, brat!" The youngest judge, the beautiful woman with silver hair¡ªSelena Lock, nced at the father-son duo and curtly spoke, "Do not speak unless given permission, Mr. Zolen." But she wasn''t just a judge. She was also the daughter of the Earth Union''s president and a frontline adventurer. She wasn''t on the leaderboard as she hadn''t participated in previous rankings, but she would participate in the Rising Star Tournament''s end section that would determine the new rankings of tinum rank adventurers. "I apologize," Zolen said as he took a deep breath and turned back to Almond, his gaze hateful. Admiral Rudra walked to the right side''s audience seats and sat down, his back straight and arms crossed. Turning his head to the judges, he nodded at the oldest member of the judging panel, who was also ady¡ªA beautiful olddy in her sixties with gray hair and a serene expression. Thedy nodded back at Admiral Rudra with a calm smile before the one sitting in the center¡ªA man in a ck suit with short ck hair and wearing rectangle rims spoke, "The trial shall start now." "So, Mr. Almond. You have been charged with attempted murder, uwful assault, and deliberate psychotic damage to the victim. Would you care to state the reasons that led you to do that?" "I couldn''t bear to see a piece of trash like-" "Please be mindful of yournguage," admonished the thirddy, who was in her forties with short, curly, pale red hair. "Ahem," Almond cleared his throat before he spoke again, "I couldn''t bear to see a deplorable, heinous, repugnant, degenerate, wretched of a human being like Zoren act likews were beneath him, so I had to take action and stop his atrocities that¡­his father was also a part of." "W-what nonsense are you spouting?!" Zolen shouted. "Silence, Mr. Zolen." "And Almond, can you tell us and provide us some proof of Zoren''s so-called deplorable acts?" asked the man with brown hair in his forties, wearing a formal robe, his expression t. "Of course," Almond nodded, his expression turning sharp, his eyes narrowing. "I met him for the first time this month on the Labyrinth''s 1st floor. He tried to capture my female friend and even used magic cuffs on her. He wanted to sexually assault her, but we stopped him." "We can verify the truth of this matter if you are willing to use Truth Seeking Orb or another method to verify the truth," Selena said before she paused and added, "But that is a different matter to this one. Do you have any more allegations to make?" "He bragged that he destroyed a girl''s life. It should be on the video, but I suppose the one you all saw wasn''t aplete one," Almond smiled. Zolen raised his hand, his expression bubbling with anger, along with a vile glint in his eyes. "Speak, Mr. Zolen." Chapter 109 Trial (2/2), Admiral Rurdras Swag [Bonus Chapter] "He is lying! And even if my son did brag, it was just a brag to rile him up for provocation! There is no proof that my son did any of that!" It was a crafty move. After all, Zoren wouldn''t be subjected to Truth Seeking Orb or other methods to bring out truth due to his current mental condition. "Oh, I have a solid proof," Almond smiled. The judges looked at him. "What solid proof?" the oldestdy judge blinked. "A confession. I am also not aware of everything, but Zoren will confess truthfully," Almond''s eyes glinted as he turned to Zoren. "Zoren, did you destroy a girl''s life? Tell everyone the truth while looking at the judges. You are a good man now, right? Be honest." Zoren trembled and stood up, his eyes looking at the judges, but before he could speak, Zolen grabbed him and stood up with a shout, "This is bull shit!" "He is manipting my son with his threat. He already destroyed my son''s psyche with his beating and threat. This is not ethical at all!" The judge in the suit looked at Almond and coldly said, "Mr. Almond. You are not in a position to threaten the victim further." "You are only making things worse for yourself. Bring out some solid proofs," added the curly red-haireddy. Almond blinked, "I''m sure that after he confesses, we can investigate and get the truth of the matter as a whole. Why are you stopping Zoren from doing that? I am not manipting him or anything." "You are out of your mi-" the ck-haired judge''s speech stopped midway as everyone felt an overbearing pressure descending on them. Admiral Rudra stood up and walked towards the center as he faced the judge, "Judges, your job is to judge. So stick to it. I makews and rules regarding Adventurers, and I am the main investigator of this matter." "Do you understand?" Admiral Rudra narrowed his eyes. "Zoren will confess, and based on his confession, the investigation will proceed to find the truth. And if the truth is that Zoren did destroy a girl''s life for his entertainment and details of his crimes, then Almond''s action will be justified as a Special Hunter of GAA appointed by me." "Admiral, even for you, this is going overboard," the old man said with a frown. "The victim is not in the right condition to speak, so his statement and confession are inva-" "Paul," Admiral Rudra looked at him, his eyes deadpan. "Zoren will confess, and an investigation will beunched based on that. Do you understand my words, or are they entering an ear and going out of another?" The judges could feel their backs bing sweaty. Almond was grinning from ear to ear internally, ''Way to go, old man!'' Turning to Zoren, Admiral''s eyes suddenly flickered, ''Bastard.'' He vanished and grabbed Zolen''s by his neck. "What were you doing to your son? Make him unable to speak?" Zolen felt his whole body heating up and binding in a strange power as Admiral Rudra grabbed him. His eyes filled with fear as he shouted, "Help!" Admiral Rudra smacked him on the ground while all judges except for the oldestdy stood up. "This is not the right conduc-" Admiral Rudra''s one nce silenced the ck-haired man in the suit as sweat beads formed on his forehead. "Sit down," he spoke as the four judges sat down, feeling powerless. As the judges sat down, Almond cleared his throat and said, "Zoren, please confess the truth." Zoren nodded as he swallowed, his eyes on the judge. "I-I¡­There was this twenty-year-old girl who had joined the guild. She didn''t have parents, so she was an easy target. I invited her and drugged her before my father took her to our secret house in the mountain behind the guild base. She had a little sister too, but she could be a variable, so my father also took her there." "W-we kept them for a few days before he told me not toe. He disposed of them both, or maybe he kept them? I don''t know. It''s been twenty days since Ist went there." Almond was dumbfounded. ''Fucking hell, these two motherfucking pieces of trash!'' Admiral Rudra suddenly punched Zolen''s back, breaking his spine as Zolen cried out in horrifying pain. "What are you doing, Admiral?!" Paul frowned. "You said that the investigation will happen first." "Paul, if you speak one more word, I will bury you here," Admiral Rudra stood up and adjusted his tie before taking a deep breath. *Bam!* In the next second, his foot smashed Zolen''s head into the floor and Zolen stopped moving. The judges trembled while the oldestdy judge simply sighed. "Rudra, I can understand your anger, but please refrain from any more violence here. I believe that Zoren has confessed truthfully, and it will be taken as a legitimate confession. His eyes say it all, but investigation must happen, and proof must be brought to light here for this confession to be validated." "Almond," Selena continued afterward, "You are a free man until the investigation is finished. The trial is dismissed and a new trial will begin based on the investigation''s result. Admiral Rudra, please inform us once the investigation is finished." ¡­ Admiral Rudra made some calls and sent people to investigate the so-called secret house after getting its address from Zoren. The matter was in Admiral Rudra''s hand now. "Admiral, I want him dead," Almond said, his eyes icy and wrathful. "Father and son, both of them must be executed for what they did, and I''m sure that girl wasn''t their first victim." "They will be executed," Admiral Rurdra nodded. "Zolen is already half-dead. I was tempted to kill him, but I sent him into aa for now until we got the proof. If I had killed him there, the Earth Union would have be a pain in my ass and undermined my authority using the fact that I killed someone before getting proof." "I have a small request," Almond coughed. "I want to be present at their execution." "Is it rted to your ss?" Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Yeah," Almond smiled. "So, please. Let me be present." "Fine." Chapter 110 Speed-Running Dungeons [Bonus Chapter] Almond returned back to Firefly City and soon arrived at his courtyard. Julian had arrived there early in the morning and was practicing the sword chopping. His bare upper body with lean muscles was sweating, his eyes focused on just a single move. Almond also heard ng~ng~ as he went inside the house after greeting Julian. ''So that loaf is also here. Good,'' Almond smiled. After he showered and ordered breakfast, he called Julian and Roken inside to eat. "We are going to dungeons after I sleep for a bit. Julian, swing your sword in a way I''ve told you, but against real flesh this time." Julian nodded, determined burning in his eyes. He wanted to get better! "Roken, you will focus on gathering drops," Almond said with a grin. "I am going to speed run the dungeon because the n is to clear twelve dungeons that are in this city''s territory in the surroundings." Both of them almost choked on the food. "What? Twelve dungeons in a row?" Roken was dumbfounded. "That''s going to make your body and mind scream in exhaustion," Julian frowned. "Let me worry about that," Almond ferociously smiled. "Because I am not stopping before we clear those twelve dungeons. A little bit of madness is necessary in pursuit of power. I''ll leave some monsters for you in each dungeon, Julian, so you can y with them and hone your swordy." ¡­N?v(el)B\\jnn Almond wanted to clear as many dungeons as possible until the 1st of December for two reasons. First, the dungeons were versatile, he wanted to feed his summons the magic crystals to increase their stats. Second, he wanted as many Spirits as possible to create spirit items to gather gold coins as he wanted to buy 50 Super-rank items to sacrifice and unlock guaranteed Super-rank forge option. After eating, Almond took a short nap of two hours while Julian also rested so he could train in the dungeons. Two hourster, Almond, Julian, and Roken arrived at a Dungeon door on the ocean that wasn''t too far from the beach. It was a water and blood attributed dungeon, so Benedict could benefit from monsters'' magic crystals. Chimera Viperfiend and Chimera Frank were the most versatile in terms of attributes, but that also meant that they needed more magic crystals to get stat points. After entering, Almond took out his Sword of Wildered and wore his usual items¡ªPn Tiger Belt, Lethal Fang Boots, and Snow Hide Cloak. "Roken, don''t miss any magic crystals, and try to find the magic crystal vein of this dungeon on the way." "Got it." "Julian, just focus on honing your swordy to get the feeling I mentioned and reach that level. Infernal Knight and Alfred will apany you." Julian nodded. Almond then looked ahead at the sparkling greennd littered with water bodies and rainbows. "Let''s start." *Swoosh!* Strength Boost, Focus Field, Lightning-style Fortification! He didn''t use Body Enfold as he wanted to save some Mana as he didn''t need Body Enfold to one-shot kill monsters of B-rank dungeons. Dashing in, Almond jumped the nearest small pond after cutting off two Hammerfish monsters that jumped on him. Inside, he saw that there was a passage and five more monsters. ''Well, well, water is my alley here,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he discharged electricity worth 200 Mana, damaging and paralyzing all monsters. Afterward, he swam while tearing the water and fish alike as he entered through the passage and saw more passages. ''So the whole area is awork of underground water systems, huh? Interesting.'' Roken jumped into the water and collected magic crystals into the storage pouch behind Almond. Julian went to thend area and fought with monsters of thend alongside Infernal Knight and Alfred. Alfred acted as a support, staying behind and using skills as his stats were considerably weaker. Infernal Knight was also weaker, but hisbat prowess was still powerful paired with his mount, Agramon. Since this dungeon had a density value of 378, the monsters'' number wasn''t high, and it was a red-bordered dungeon, so the monsters were below Gold level 70. Almond cleared the entire dungeon within 1 hour and 28 minutes. He could do it faster, but it was slightlyrge, and water made it difficult in terms of exploring and getting to monsters. Nevertheless, the party gained a lot of Magic crystals, umon and rare-grade items, and materials as rewards. The total number of monsters, including boss monsters, was 197. He threw all Spirits into Spirit Factory Forge right as he got them and saved the boss spirit in the spirit pocket. After exiting the dungeon, Almond nodded at the guards standing on the water tform, "The magic vein''s location is marked. Go ahead and contact GAA to send the miners." Taking out his aircraft from the storage ring, Almond, Julian, and Roken left, onwards to the next dungeon. 18 hourster¡­ "I''m dead¡­" Roken slumped on the ground as they reached the courtyard. "We really cleared twelve dungeons in a row," Julian muttered as he also sat down, his whole body aching. ncing at Almond, he saw Almond summoning all of his pets and dumbed over two thousand spirit items on the ground before lying on the ground and closing his eyes. He didn''t even speak anything and just fell asleep in a second as exhaustion kicked in strongly after getting home. ''He fought ten times, no, more than ten times than me,'' Julian swallowed hard. ''His body and mind must be exhausted beyond reason.'' He knew because, in thest three dungeons, Almond wasn''t speaking much. He simply fought, fought, and fought. "Master, I have a perfect bed for you," Sylvia whispered as magical vines gently grabbed Almond and took him toward the garden she had made. Sylvia created afortable bed made of flowers with a soothing and calming vibe before putting Almond on it. "You all, if you make any sound, I am going to bury you in my garden," Sylvia said as she snorted at others. "Especially you, Starlight and Benedict. You two are too noisy." "Let''s go,ds! Time to hit the beach and let our lord get some precious rest." Aside from Alfred, the rest of the spirit wraiths went to the beach. Alfred took out aptop from the inside and started registering the spirit items on the Silverbird Services website. Roken was already sleeping after he hit the ground, and Julian also decided to just sleep there and then. It was an afternoon of the next day since they had spent 18 hours just clearing dungeons. And then, a couple of hourster when the sun was going down, an aircraft arrived at the courtyard and dropped off Lily and Natalia. "It''s good to be home," Natali grinned. But the duo was immediately startled as they entered the gate and saw the courtyard. "Wee home," Alfred bowed. "Please refrain from too much noise as Master is sleeping. He had just cleared twelve dungeons non-stop, so his exhaustion is at its peak." "Twelve dungeons?" Natalia was dumbfounded, but then snorted, "Well, twelve C-rank dungeons ain''t much for him." "He cleared B-rank dungeons, Miss Natalia," Alfred wryly smiled. "¡­" Lily walked towards Almond in the garden and smiled, her hand delicately caressing his cheek. After giving him a gentle kiss on his lips, she said, "Natalia, let''s get freshen up. We are going to the dungeons after eating. I am quite raring to exercise my newfound powers and improve." "¡­" Chapter 111 Rising Star Tournament (1) 1st December, Year WB 10. The Rising Star Tournament had officially begun. The tournamentmittee was made up of the leaders of the top ten guilds, GAA, and Earth Union. The total number of Silver-rank Adventurers who registered reached 113,202 by thest day of November. It was a big number. To eliminate the majority of them, the tournamentmittee came up with a mass test. The participants were gathered at arge open ground with several aircraft flying above, recording the participants and streaming live for the people of the world. Almond, Lily, and Natalia were also among them. "Almond, do you know what''s it gonna be?" Natalia asked. "No idea," Almond shook his head. "I went to GAA two days ago and asked Admiral about the first round, but he didn''t know since he is not a part of themittee." "They''d need to eliminate a lot of people. There are too many Silver ranks to hold in the grand arena set up for this tournament," Lily said. Suddenly, a sharp sound spread from the sky as everyone looked up and saw a giant screen materializing. A person also floated above them while his figure was clearly visible on the screen for everyone to see. Spiky yellow hair, chad-jawline, and a goofy vibe. He was a rather famous Adventurer, ranked 19th on the Global Leaderboard¡ªGto Shen, a member of the Proximax Guild, the current no.1 guild. He was also an Adventurer with most subscribers to his channel as he live-streamed many of his dungeon raids. "Participants! Wee to the Rising Star Tournament. I know you all bear hope and desire to get recognition and rewards, but you are too many for now, so we need to shave off the numbers until only 100 of you remain." "¡­" "I think this was where you all get heated up and shout, you know? I heard a few of you, though, so it''s fine. Let''s move on! The first round is simple. You need to remain standing!" Right as he finished speaking, all participants felt a slight pressure from above and a pull from below.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "That''s right! You''re all standing within a massive magic formation crafted by some of the finest experts¡ªmyself included, of course. The rules are simple: stay on your feet! To pass this round, you must be one of thest hundred remaining standing!" "The pressure will increase every 10 seconds, so you won''t have much time to adjust! Be thest among the one hundred standing and win!" As he finished speaking, the pressure increased as round 1 officially began. Everyone managed to hold on for a solid two minutes, but soon after, they began to fall one by one, like dominoes. Using skills was allowed, and using techniques was allowed. But as the pressure increased, their control wavered, and their Mana consumption increased. During the next minute, 90% of the participants fell. "That''s a rather good ideaing from you, Nat," Almondmented in surprise as he saw Natalia using soft sound waves around her that mitigated the pressure from her. "Humph, it was I who managed to get affinity on a Sound element by myself," Natalia snorted, nose raised pridefully. "I am awesome." Indeed, Natalia had actually managed to get two affinities. D-rank Light elemental mastery with the help of Lady Aria and C-rank Sound elemental mastery by herself. It appeared that she was naturally talented for Sound element thanks to her specialized ss. On the other hand, Lily was doing fine as well, her eyes closed in focus as she was only using Fortification to keep her body stiff and straight, but half a minute, she used darkness-style Body Enfold at a low cost/low effectiveness to absorb the pressure and mitigating it away from her. She had a high natural affinity with Darkness, so her progress regarding the Darkness attribute was smooth from the start. But she entered the Darkness-attributed dungeon with Lady Aria and trained there, she naturally triggered the enlightenment state due to her affinity and hard work. Almond created conditions and forcefully acquired the insight despite not having a natural Lightning affinity and reached S-rank in it. On the other hand, Lily naturally had the affinity, so when she entered enlightenment state, she reached S-rank in Darkness elemental mastery as well. Enjoy new chapters from empire Darkness had multiple strong properties due to its characteristics, and it was considered one of the more powerful elements. It could absorb Light, just like how Light could erase Darkness. But on top of that, Darkness could absorb energies, strength, and even emotions, at higher mastery. If the Light element''s properties could strengthen and empower, then Darkness could absorb and weaken. Aside from that, Darkness users could manipte shadows as well. It also had properties to bring out deception and illusion in mental regards, bringing fear and terror, mostly negativity, just like how the Light element could create deception and illusion in physical regard and cleanse things of negativity. Although Lily didn''t have a Darkness Variant like how Almond got a Lightning Variant, her mastery of Darkness was still S-rank, making her way stronger than other Silver-rank Adventurers here. By now, five minutes had passed by and only around two-hundred participants remained standing. But most of them were also wobbly, on the verge of kneeling. At one part of the ground was Xavier, his fiery eyes on Almond. ''I won''t go down before defeating you, Almond!'' There were other notable figures standing with rtive ease just like Almond, Lily, and Natalia¡ªthe so-called Super Rookies. In the end, participants were dropping fast and in the next thirty seconds, over a hundred of them dropped on the ground, leaving the one hundred winners standing. Round 1 for the Silver-rank bracket was over. "Congrattions to the winners! You can take some rest if you want to and watch the Gold-rank Adventurers'' first round or leave in the flying ships departing every ten minutes. Your first day at the tournament is officially over along with the first round!" "Let''s leave. We can watch round 1 from home anyway," Almond said as the group began walking towards the temporary airship station. "I also want to get thest seven Super-rank items to sacrifice. The sales were good yesterday, and this morning, I was getting notifications, so everything''s sold by now." "I am still feeling mentally sore because of you," Natalia snorted. "You clear dungeons, and Lily also insists on clearing dungeons and taking me with her. Gaahh!" "But you got stronger, so it''s worth it," Lily grinned. "Anyway, we won''t be training today and just chill, okay?" "We better just chill!" *** [A/N: The winner of the event is Nick_Kendall :) Give your preferences for the 9th Spirit Wraith in thement section.] Chapter 112 Rising Star Tournament (2), Whispers in the Dark Fortunately, this venue for round 1 wasn''t too far from the Firefly City. The trio returned after two hours and freshened up before sitting in the living hall on the couches and started TV to watch Round 1 of Gold-rank Adventurers. Roken didn''t bother participating because he knew he wouldn''t qualify for the round 2, so he was training his smithing in the backyard. Almond ordered snacks and drinks as well while his summons were enjoying outdoor activities. ''I have plenty of time today, so I should finalize my 9th summon and start the cooking process of the 10th summon in Spirit Kodoku.'' "Babe, you ordered food?" Lily arrived with wet hair and a simple two-piece outfit¡ªshorts and a baggy t-shirt as she snuggled beside Almond. "Yeah." Natalia jumped on another couch and said, "I hope you didn''t forget my special Veggie Patties." "I didn''t. Anyway, the round 1 has started. It''s different from ours," Almond smiled. "Eh? Are they in a dungeon?" "Yep. Their round is a race. The first one hundred Adventurers to reach the end of the dungeon win, but this dungeon has some extreme climate, so they''ll have a lot of obstacles." "This is fun," Lily''s eyes sparkled. "Wish we had this in our first round." "No thanks," Natalia rolled her eyes. "Pussy," Lily snorted. "That I am," Natalia smugly smiled. "¡­" ¡­ The trio watched the TV while Almond was cooking up his 9th spirit wraith. [Wintersun Lady Nyssara] -Disposition: Nobledy knight. Calctive and cold mostly, but shifts friendly and exuberant around trustworthy people. She revels in fighting with her unique knightly grace of a mage and sculpting, her main weapon being a war hammer and a hand fan. Almond thought of a backstory about her in his mind after that and then finally summoned the spirit wraith from the Spirit Kodoku pocket. Lily and Natalia felt something and soon saw sparks materialize in front of them, blocking the TV. The sparks formed an icydy almost six feet tall with a gorgeous long dress adorned with crystal blue and golden embroidery, a noble hat on her head, and a handfan in her hand, which had symbols of the hammer in its folds. "Wee home, Nyssara," Almond smiled. "Woah, your new summon? She looks awesome," Natalia eximed. "She is gorgeous," Lily blinked. "Master," Nyssara smiled widely. [Wintersun Lady Nyssara] -Rank: Silver -Level: 10 -Stats: 57 unassigned points. ¡ª Physical: ? [Strength: 50 | Health: 50 | Stamina: 50] ¡ª Mental: ? [Mana: 65 | Focus: 70 | Perception: 55 ] -Skills: ¡ª Ice and Light Mastery (S) ¡ª Luminous Squall (S) ¡ª Frostbound Radiance (S) ¡ª cial Light Nova (A) ¡ª Shimmering Ice Veil (A) ¡ª Arctic Dawn (A) ¡ª Crystal Halo (A) ¡ª Radiant Ice Prism (S) ¡ª Winterbind Chains (A) -Quirk(s): ¡ª Crystal Sculptor: Nysarra loved to sculpt as she had an ice affinity from childhood. This hobby turned deadly as she learned to sculpt weapons with her ice and fuel them with light. Nyssara can create crystal weapons with low durability that boost her skills and imbue her skills into them, though they are destroyed upon use. Crystal Armory [0/10]. ¡ª Knight''s Cold Grace: As she was trained by her powerful knight father to excel on the battlefield with the calctive shortest path and merciless eradication of the enemy, Nyssara gains Cold Tempest of the Battlefield status during fights, in which her stats increase by 5% per the number of enemies within her radar, stacking up to 50% of the increase, and her movement speed doubles upon reaching maximum stacks. "Another one," Natalia was speechless. "So powerful!" "Ice and Light, huh¡­nice," Lily''s eyes sparkled. "Her backstory gave her solid quirks." "Yep," Almond grinned. "These quirks are really good. I gotta think of another solid backstory for my next spirit wraith. Anyway, Nyssara, why don''t you go out and meet with your fellow spirit wraiths?" "You can also do other things, anything you want, like sculpting to create your weapons." Nyssara''s eyes sparkled as she excitedly said, "Thank you, master. I will go meet with the others and make their sculptures and yours, too." "And may I kill the enemies if I find them?" Nyssara''s vibe changed as she spoke, her already icy eyes turning frigid cold. Almond wryly smiled, "There won''t be enemies here, but don''t kill anyone or hurt anyone even if you find them suspicious. Just report to me." "Understood," Nyssara smiled and bowed as she grabbed both sides of her dress. "Then I shall take my leave, Master." ¡­ "Hi, I am Nyssara, nice to meet you," Nyssara greeted Sylvia with a smile. "Is this your garden? It''s so beautiful." Sylvia blinked and shook hands at this new frostydy. She could feel the same connection as she had with other summons, so she knew Nyssara was the same as her.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Smiling, Sylvia said, "Hello, I am Sylvia. Nice to meet you." "Can I call you Syl?" "Hehe, sure. Then I will call you Nys." "Of course, I''d be happy. Now, I will go meet others, and then I will have my garden next to yours. A crystal garden filled with crystal sculptures." "Ohh¡­you can do that? Then make a statue of Master in my gardenter." "Alright, deal." Nyssara went to the others and greeted them one by one. ¡­ A day passed by with fun and joy for the spirit wraiths while Almond, Lily, and Natalia just chilled the entire day. However, the whispers in the dark at some ces in the world were active again. "Tournament has started. How is the informationing along?" Enjoy new chapters from empire "I got information from the Proximax Guild master about the 10th Floor''syout." "Same, Rudra''s son is rather close with my daughter after finding that she was pregnant with his child. I met him yesterday and found things I didn''t find myself on the 10th Floor." "Wilmort Family''s head might get suspicious of me, so I am not probing him further. He is powerful and trusts his guts like Rudra, so I am distancing my family dealings with them and himself." "But maintain your rtionship with him cordially, or you''ll attract more suspicion." "I got¡­" The voices exchanged information they had gotten from top guilds and other forces for their preparation 4 dayster. "Emissary had given us information, but we still needed more. Now, it''ll be easier for us to fulfill the requirement and make it such that the Floor Boss is triggered the moment 15th November arrives and Labyrinth opens. You all, don''t mess up and stay low. We need to enter together to seed fast and without endangering ourselves on the floor." *** [A/N: Give me reviews Q_Q, once we get 10 reviews, I''ll drop a bonus chapter!] Chapter 113 Rising Star Tournament (3), Almond vs Jian 2nd December. Reljord City. It was the top 10 biggest city, and also where the current no.1 guild''s base was located. The tournamentmittee had built a massive arena on the t in at this city''s southern outskirt. Just the battleground of the arena was 400 meters in radius, with eight big screens in the air facing eight directions for the audience to watch. There were four floated tforms on the battlefield that some frontline Adventurers built a few minutes ago using their Earth elemental masteries and a bigger tform in the center where the 2nd round was going to take ce. Due to the arena''s massive size, the number of seats reached 500,000, and it was already fully packed with the audience waiting for round 2 to start. The underground below the battleground was a big hall where the one hundred participants had gathered. Round 2 was simple. The one hundred participants would gather atop the central floating tform wearing a special badge on their bodies. The badge would absorb damage dealt to them to a certain extent and then break. Any and all kinds of items, including their skills, were prohibited in this round. If used, the badge would detect it and disqualify them. In this round, the participants must purely fight using their Mana techniques andbat ability. This information was on themittee''s front page so that participants would train hard. The ones to push for this round were Admiral Rudra and some other top Adventurers because they wanted Adventurers to be truly powerful instead of just relying on their ss skills. Only when they were physically dexterous and developedbat sense would they excel and survive. The one hundred participants would fight in an all-out brawl until 50 of them were eliminated. The 50 losers in this round would fight five-minute-long battles with each other on the other four smaller tforms to determine their ranking from 51st to 100th of the new Rising Star Leaderboard''s silver bracket. Round 2 started, and it was over within 10 minutes as 50 of them were eliminated. Almond, Lily, and Natalia naturally advanced to the next round. The tournamentmittee then showed the rules of Round 3 on the screen, letting the audience know how it would progress. [Structure]: ¡ª 50 Participants are divided into ten groups, each consisting of 5 contestants. Within their groups, each participant will duel every other member in one-on-one battles. [Rules]: ¡ªEach duel willst a maximum of 5 minutes. ¡ªVictory will awarded if one opponent''s badge absorbs enough damage and glows, voluntarily conceds, or if the time limit expires, in which case a panel of judges will dere a winner based on performance metrics (offense, defense, strategy). ¡ªEvery victory will earn the participant 2 points, while a draw awards 1 point to bothpetitors. [Oue]: ¡ªThe top 2 scorers from each group will advance to the next quarterfinals, creating a pool of 20 participants who will go home and wait for the next round to be held tomorrow. ¡ªMeanwhile, the remaining 30 would fight ranking battles to determine their ranking from 21st to 50th. Almond was in Group 2, Lily was in Group 5, and Natalia was in Group 9. The central battlefield was dedicated to each group periodically to determine the two winners from them. Group 1 finished their battles within 28 minutes as two people advanced, one of them was a Super Rookie that Almond had defeated before¡ªXavier. "Ladies and gentlemen, Group 1 has finished battle, and we have our two winners advancing to the quarterfinals! Xavier the Piercing Light, and Amir the Tempest Gale! I hope I am not too bad in my title game!" The audience erupted in cheers. Amir snorted, his blue hair faintly shining in the sunlight, "I don''t like that title." Xavier rolled his eyes, "It''s perfectly suitable." Xavier, Amir, and three others from Group 1 went down via the floating stone elevator while another lift went upward parallel to them, containing five people from Group 2. Xavier''s gaze was on them, and he eyed Almond, who also happened to see him. ''I will defeat you.'' Almond had a carefree smile that slightly widened upon seeing Xavier''s gaze. "Now, let us wee the Group 2!" The audience erupted again, with many shouting a participant''s name. "Jian! Jian! Jian!" Gto looked at the white-blue hair pretty boy whose name many were chanting. "We have the super rookie from ckstar Guild in this group¡ªJian Ranford, who is also said to be one of the favorites for rank 1 position!" "However!" Gto''s gaze went to Almond before he grinned at the camera. "We have a dark horse here who has the record of defeating Xavier¡ªAlmond Crowshade!" The majority of the audience wasn''t aware of him, but there were some who were, as the people erupted in mixed talk. Jian looked at Almond and indifferently said, "Don''t waste your energy against me if you want to pass this round." Almond wryly smiled. This guy was as haughty as he was when he saw him on the TV. But he didn''t want to waste his breath on someone he could easily defeat. "Sorry, you three unknown ones. We have no info on you, but this is your stage to shine, so all the best!" Gto said as he looked at the other three¡ªtwo girls and one boy in theirte teens, one year older than Almond and Jian. They were Silver level 30, like Jian. "¡­" Without further ado, the five of them stood at the corner of the tform before Gto looked at his wristwatch''s hologram that matched the first two names of the group. "And we have our first battle''s participants here! Hahaha, pleasee to the center, Jian Randford!" Jian walked to the center calmly. "And the one who will be fighting him is¡­.Almond Crowshade! The most exciting battle of the group will start right off the bat!" The audience erupted into cheers, eager to the fight. Gto looked at the duo and asked, "What weapons do you two use? You are not allowed to use any items, but themittee will provide you withmon-grade weapons." "A sword." "Gauntlets." Gto took out twomon-rank in weapons of their choice and handed them. Jian had worn a loose ck karate-like robe due to his skill and his badge was on the right side of the shoulder. Almond had worn a long ck trench coat with a high cor and slim-fitting ck pants paired with matching ck boots, maintaining a streamlined and elegant silhouette. As soon as he held the sword and entered the front-sword-holding stance, he gave off a sharp andmanding presence. "Almond, since you are a summoner, you can summon your pets right now if you want to," Gto said. "No need," Almond shook his head. A digital countdown of 10 seconds appeared in the middle as both of them stood at a distance of 10 meters between them. "Huh? You think you will defeat me without using your summons?" Almond blinked and smiled, "Indeed. I have my specialized ss as well, which is not rted to the summons." "Humph, suit yourself," Jian coldly snorted. Almond simply smiled in response and seeing that, Jian narrowed his eyes, his aura turning wild. ''I''ll one-shot you right off the bat, so you won''t be able to summon your pets even if you want toter.'' As soon as the countdown hit zero, Jian''s body suddenly became twice as big and bulky muscled as he used his S-rank specialized ss skill while already dashing towards Almond with crimson glowing fists as he used another skill. ''Not even using Fortification and Aura Enfolds?'' Almond was speechless. ''So arrogant¡­he thinks he can one-shot me.'' Enjoy more content from empire But it was understandable as Almond saw that Jian was very fast and given his current physique and status boost he got with his skills, very powerful too. It was no wonder he was arrogant. ''Too bad your opponent is me,'' Almond''s eyes glinted with a flicker of lightning. He dashed and dodged past Jian''s iing assault while his sword crackling in lightning swung a simple horizontal sh. *Beep!* Jian''s expression turned to disbelief as he heard the beep sound from his badge and saw that it glowed, signifying that the duel was over as he lost. All eight screens showed the exchange and the arena turned silent for a few seconds before erupting into crazy loud cheers. "T-This¡­" Jian stammered. "No way¡­" "And we have the winner of the first battle! Almond Crowshade! That was amazing!" Gto shouted. ''Bwahaha, that Jian kid dug his own grave. If he had used Fortification and Body Enfold at least, that sh wouldn''t have defeated him.'' Jian also realized the same, and it increased his frustration to no end. "Let''s look at the exchange in slow motion,dies and gentlemen!" The screen showed the exchange between them in slow motion, which was what people wanted to see more. And it showed how simple and precise Almond''s movement and sh were. Lily who was in the underground hall couldn''t help but chuckle, "Almond is being naughty." "Eh? Why?" Natalia asked. "He held back and attacked with just enough power to make the badge beep. This will make that haughty brat think that he lost because he was careless." "Oh¡­well, that bastard deserves it," Natalia snorted. "He is too arrogant." A long dark violet-haired girl not too far from them raised her eyebrows, "That was a beautiful sh." She wore a slender silver-whiteyered frock outfit with a blue rose design and white leggings. Her figure was slender and ample in the feminine area, her beauty on par with Lily''s. Kira Ryugiri¡ªeighteen years old. The youngest heir of the Ryugiri n and one of the favorites for the rank 1 position. "So-so,"mented another eighteen-year-old with silver-blond hair not too far from her¡ªNoah Duncan, the youngest heir of the Duncan n and likewise one of the favorites for rank 1 position. "So-so?" Kira turned to him and softly chuckled with a mocking tone, "You mean better than your sh, right?" "Better than my?" Noahughed out loud and shook his head, refraining frommenting further.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Natalia and Lily obviously saw their exchange as Lily''s eyes sparked with mes. ''This bitch better not have any ideas on Almond.'' "Lily, those two talk as if they are better than Almond in swordy. Is that true?" Natalia tilted her head. "I mean, those two are famous, but still¡­" "Nah, Almond wipes the floor with them," Lily sneered. "But before that, I''ll wipe the floor with them. At least against Noah since he is in the same group as me." "Kira is in my group," Natalia wryly smiled. "Well, two people pass, so I hope I pass." "Be confident," Lily pped her butt. "One more p, please." "¡­" ... Group 2''s battles were over as each one of them fought with one another. Almond had the highest points and Jian had the second highest points, so both of them qualified for the next round. Chapter 114 Rising Star Tournament (4), Lily vs Noah Group 3 went up on the stage and finished their battles within 24 minutes. The winners were Ron Lexus¡ªSilver 30 and Jemma Regan¡ªSilver 30. Both of them were considered super rookies due to their primary S-rank ss and specialized S-rank ss, along with powerful performance. Group 4''s winners were Anya Fuego¡ªSilver 30 And Ka Reqins¡ªSilver 30. Anya Fuego was a super rookie of rank 5th guild¡ªSilverfang Guild, one of the favorites for the rank one spot. And then came Group 5''s turn. Lily and the other four walked out from the underground elevator. "Hello, Miss Lily," Noah said with a dashing yet polite smile as he stretched his hand at her for a handshake. "Let''s have a good fight." Lily looked at him and tly asked, instead of shaking hands, "What do you think about Almond Crowshade?" Noah blinked, his hand flinching, "Not bad, I guess? I can defeat him, though." ''Wait, I remember that he and this girl were standing together¡­'' Noah took his hand back as he thought. "You can''t defeat him," Lily scoffed before she coldly chuckled. "And yeah, let''s have a good fight." Lily already didn''t like Noah because he looked down on Almond, and she nned topletely defeat Noah. The group arrived on the stage. Gto did the hype and introduction of Noah and Lily before the battles began. But Noah and Lily''s battle turned out to be thest one this time. Both of them won against the other three participants. "Are you two fully recovered?" Gto asked. Noah and Lily nodded as they walked to the center and stood with 10 meters of distance between them. The countdown hologram appeared in the center as both of them stood with stances after Gto gave themmon-rank weapons. Lily wielded a curved dagger, and Noah wielded a greatsword as both stood with their respectivebat stances. Noah stood with his sword hilt raised to his eye level, pointing at Lily. Lily stood with her dagger diagonally in front of her, pointing downward, but its de facing the front. The moment the countdown hit 0, both of them used their Mana techniques. Strength Boost. Focus Field. Fortification with their styles. Noah used Metal-style fortification as a metallic aura coated his body, while Lily had a shadowy aura. Stay updated with empire ''Shadow-style Fortification? It means she''s at least at A-rank elemental mastery,'' Noah''s eyes glinted. ''But I am at S-rank.'' Noah''s sword glowed with a gray sheen, his aura increasing. "You may make your move first." Lily''s eyes coldly glinted, her dagger that only had ck me superimposed with three more unique energies. Warlock Enchant: Dreadspire Elements! Lily waved her dagger without moving, but it entered a shadowy slit that emerged from Noah''s shadow and sliced his feet as a nging sound rang. "You''ll need a stronger atta-" Noah suddenly stopped speaking as he felt something, his expression turning somber. He immediately waved his sword, releasing a shining gray metallic sh at Lily before dashing forward.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Lily suddenly vanished, turning into a shadow as she appeared behind Noah, her dagger making three quick shes, intensifying the debuffs of her four Dreadspire elements! ''Damn it! What are these crazy debuffs?!'' Noah could feel his stamina and mana draining, his speed decreasing, and his Fortification that was supposed to be super tough but also corroding! Without hesitation, he went all out, using his SS-rank skill¡ªIronstorm Gale. Hundreds of tiny metallic des stormed around him before shooting towards Lily one by one. However, Lily used her 2nd specialized ss skill¡ªDreadspire Herald, SSS-rank! It was a super powerful skill that directly consumed 50% of her vitality while giving her Dreadspire Heart status! Lily suddenly turned intoplete darkness, her ckbat dress covered by a badass outfit of darkness. As an indication that her Dreadspire Elements were activated, patterns of ming dark red, shining dark green, gleaming dark brown, and dark blue appeared on her superimposed darkness outfit. [Dreadspire Mantle] -Skill Rank: SSS -Activation type: Toggle. -Cost: 20% Vitality at once and then 1% vitality per second while active. Doesn''t cost 20% vitality again if it''s activated within 1 minute of deactivating. -Effect(s): ¡ªThe user summons the essence of the Dreadspire Herald, a spectral avatar of darkness that embodies overwhelming power and dread, turning the user into a symbol of destruction and terror as the user activates the Dreadspire Heart and abilities that unlock with it. ¡ª[Dreadspire Heart]¡ª -Grants the user Dreadspire Essence equal to 100 + 50% of Health stat and three abilities. Grants 1 Dreadspire Essence per 1% vitality recovered while this skill is active. ¡ª1. Dreadspire Dominion: radiates an aura of oppressive darkness in a 30-meter radius, reducing physical attack power, magic power, and defense of everyone or anything within by 15% while inflicting [Terror], causing their reaction time to slow down by 15%. The user''s vitality recovers by 15% of the damage dealt to enemies within this range. Cost: 1 Dreadspire Essence per second. ¡ª2. Herald''s Dark Well (passive): Absorbs 20% of all damage done to the user, effectively reducing all damage done to the user by 20%. Upon reaching the limit of absorption, the ability turns active for the user, allowing the user to use Dreadstrike: release all absorbed damage in a pin-point location of 1x1 meters within the user''s sensing range, but this attack is of pure darkness attribute in the shape of tendrils. Cost: 1 Dreadspire Essence per second and 20 Dreadspire Essence to use Dreadstrike. This ability resets instantly once Dreadstrike is used. ¡ª3. Dreadspire Herald (passive): If Dreadspire Elements are active, the user can freely conjure and shape projectiles of all four Dreadspire Elements within Dreadspire Dominion at the cost of Mana or Dreadspire Essence. Since Lily had her first specialized ss skill activated, she created a barrier of Gloombound Earth in front of her using 30 Dreadspire Essence to block all iing attacks while she conjured five des of Darkened me, Withered Wind, and Curseweaved Water above her at the cost of 20 Mana per de as she conjured fifteen des, costing a total of 300 Mana. Her vitality was already halfway, which increased her Dreadspire Elements'' potency further! Noah was already within her Dreadspire Dominion''s range, so his attacks lowered in potency. Moreover, he was already debuffed from the shadow-drifted attack that Lily struck at the start. ''Damn it!'' Noah tried to dodge and defend, but he could only block eleven des even when using his Ironstorm Gale''s des and consuming all of his Mana. The remaining four des struck him, destroying his tough Metal-style Fortification and striking him as a beep sound rang, indicating that he would have died if it wasn''t for the badge. The arena was silent as everyone was dazed at the terrific disy of power, especially from Lily! But then it erupted into a loud cheer for her as everyone was absolutely thrilled to witness Lily''s power! "And the winner is Lily Darkwood! What an absolute treat of a battle!" Almond grinned, "I experienced her skill, so I know that Noah won''t forget this battle ever." "Yeah, her skill is seriously scary and powerful," Natalia wryly smiled. On the tform, Lily deactivated her skill as she returned to her normal form and walked towards Noah, who stood up, still feeling rattled from the battle. "You¡­are powerful, especially those skills," Noah wryly smiled. "You called Almond''s swordy so-so, right?" Lily''s eyes glinted as she used Magic Whisper to tell him, ''Here''s an interesting fact. I didn''t go all out here, but even when I go all out, I can''t defeat Almond even if he suppresses his stats to the same level as me and only uses his sword-based magic attacks that you can''t even imagine, so you can forget about ever defeating him.'' ''The only one on par with him will be me.'' Noah was stunned upon hearing that as Lily walked past him. "Miss Lily, that was a terrific disy of power, so everyone is curious about your ss. Would you like to give out its name and rank? Or only name so I can make a better title?" "Dreadspire Warlock." The audience heard and erupted in discussion regarding the name. "Ladies and gentlemen! Let us wee the newest Super Rookie, Lily the Dreadspire Harbinger!" Lily used Magic Whisper, rying to Gto, ''You better give Almond Crowshade a good title after seeing his next match.'' ''Hoho, youngdy, you seem to be rooting for him, eh? Well, the title is only given to the powerful ones. He defeated Jian, but Jian was careless, and the match was over swiftly.'' Lily didn''t bother with him anymore and walked towards the stone elevator. ¡­ A/N: take a look at the author''s note to refresh your memories :] Chapter 115 Rising Star Tournament (5), Natalia vs Kira Group 6''s battles finished, and a dark horse emerged in this group. A silver level 10 won the battles against three others and even defeated the Super Rookie that was in the group. Maya Himdar¡ªa light brown-skinned girl with dark blue wavy hair. She was six feet tall and a natural beauty, awakened in the previous month like Almond, Lily, and Natalia. Nobody knew about her ss ranks, but she appeared to have ice elemental mastery and water elemental mastery. The super rookie of the group¡ªEliara Venholm Silver level 30, from the 4th rank Irond Guild, came in 2nd ce as Maya defeated her. Group 7''s winners were both Super Rookies of the group. They were from the 9th rank Lightstrike guild and 11th rank Shadowforge guild, respectively. Finn Arelion ¡ª Silver 30 Mira Nilok ¡ª Silver 30 In the next group, one more dark horse arose, defeating another Super Rookie despite being Silver level 10 as he had awakened the previous month. Marcus Venath, a tall chap with broad-shoulders and a square face with ck-brownish hair and blue eyes. Enjoy more content from empire Apparently, he wasn''t affiliated with any guild or family yet like Maya, so both of them were like a tasty piece of meat for the top forces to grab. The super rookie who lost to Marcus was Talia Graves, from the prestigious Graves family, who was well-versed in guny as a former military-heavy family and had found a unique usage of Mana to create magic firearms. Their specialized sses also had a theme that screamed gun-based mages. Unfortunately, Marcus was a tanky warrior type with some good moves and skills matching that as he defeated Talia and emerged as a dark horse. The two advanced to the next round, and then finally came the Group 9''s battles. The group''s first match started with Natalia facing the best of the group and one of the favorites Super Rookie¡ªKira Ryugiri! As Gto asked what weapons they wanted, Kira asked for a katana, and Natalia summoned her instruments as 50% of her Maximum Mana was locked, while her Mana recovery drastically increased as a result. "This will be my weapon," Natalia said as she grabbed the Chaosbound Flute. "A summoner, eh? Alright. Good luck." Kira curiously looked at the four instruments as she stood in a stance, "That''s a very interesting ss. Could I get its name, please?" "Chaosbound Serenador," Natalia grinned. "My specialized ss. Cool, right?" "Very cool," Kira nodded while smiling as she stood in a creative katana stance of her family called the Crescent Moon stance¡ªshe held the sword in an arc-like shape to unleash smooth, wide cuts that mimic a crescent moon''s curve. "Let''s have fun." The countdown began. Lily looked at Kira''s stance and asked Almond, "What do you think about her sword stance?" "An interesting stance. It seemed to be used to keep an adequate distance from the target and use the katana''s maximum range for shallow cuts, based on how her feet are positioned, to keep her speed consistent and allow for multiple rapid shes or swift counterattacks and guards. It feels like an all-rounder stance, special stance." Lily turned to him with a wry smile, "You can read that much?" Almond chuckled, "Well, I just imagined myself in that stance with that katana, and I could explore its possibilities. It''s a fun stance, especially with Weapon Enfold and other skills that allow for projectile or extended magic shes. I would say it''s a very refined stance as long as her footwork is properly synergized with it." "I see¡­" Lily looked at Kira and also imagined herself in Kira''s ce while holding the Katana. "Hmm¡­.this gives me ideas on how to use my daggers¡­and I might want a new pair of unique daggers now, long and less curved," she muttered as her eyes glinted. "Oh, you''re visioning it good. Imagining and putting it into practice is a good way to improve and innovate. I do that all the time."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Mhmm," Lily nodded. The battle between Natalia and Kira began. Natalia''s all three instruments activated as they started their orchestra. The Chaosbound Drums began drumming as she had set its consumption at 10 Mana per second. It increased her physical Strength and reduced the target''s physical strength in equal amounts, scaling based on her maximum Mana. Right now, she could reduce enemies'' Strength stat by 9 and increase hers by 9 per 10 Mana consumption per second. The Chaosbound Cello started singing as well, with a Mana consumption of 5 per second, increasing the potency of her skills, basically making her Mana stronger so her Mana techniques and any magic-based attacks became stronger, making them 5% more potent. The Chaosbound Piano started dishing out melodies in ears and curvy shes in the air towards Kira. The shape of these attacks was decided by Natalia, with Mana consumption set at 10 Mana per second. Kira faced the batches of three sound shesing at her each second, but she calmly destroyed them with her katana shes, sometimes even taking two with a single sh. Natalia only waited for three seconds before she also started ying her flute, going all out. The flute released a spherical-shaped pale golden projectile with a glowing ck center point, super fast and precise, it arrived in front of Kira, making her eyes flicker as she finally moved, taking a backstep while shing horizontally. *Boom!* The flute''s attack exploded in a small area with strong potency. ''Powerful,'' Kira''s eyes flickered in excitement as she finally attacked, releasing a starry blue sh at Natalia before her figure blurred as she used a movement-type skill. Natalia deliberated, suspended three flute-based attacks in front of her, and exploded, destroying her iing sh and obscuring her view briefly. Kira''s Focus Field could still observe her, but she suddenly saw two identical auras in her field. Two Natalias holding flutes appeared, and both released the same type of flute attacks toward Kira. Natalia''s Primary ss''s skill Mirage Clone had reached A-rank because it was upgraded with a level-up boon. Its Mana cost increased, but it could now mimic her attacks at 80% potency for the duration it was active. "What a battle!" Gto shouted, and the audience cheered as both Kira and Natalia fought intensely, destroying each other''s attacks. Kira was swift and precise, exuding proficiency and appearing to have the upper hand as she was pushing Natalia despite herrge number of chaotic attacks. But it was going evenly thanks to Natalia''s kit of having insane Mana recovery that allowed her to make up for herck ofbat ability against Kira. ''Fun,'' Kira stopped her dash, her eyes shining, and her aura surged as she suddenly dodged a wave of attack with a movement skill and shed her katana four times in an insane motion speed as if she suddenly elerated, which was the result of her S-rank skill¡ªSword Bending Motion, Ryugiri n''s most prized learnable skill. Two horizontal shes and two vertical shes, enchanted with her water attribute in a masterful way as those shes had high-speed sharpened water motion that increased the attacks'' sharpness to a whole new level. She also buffed herself with her specialized ss skill, increasing the attacks'' speed and power further. Natalia wanted to dodge as she and her clone moved in different directions while she determinedly aimed her attacks from Piano and Flute on Kira. s, Natalia didn''t have enough speed, and these four shes superimposed on each other to create a board of tic-tac-toe wasrge enough to cover herself and her clone both. Natalia didn''t have any movement-type skill, and this attack required a powerful one to even be able to dodge. The attack struck Natalia and her clone. She failed to dodge, and her clone was also destroyed. The beep sound rang, but it was just one sound. There were two sounds because Natalia''s wide and multiple attacks from her Flute and Piano also struck Kira at the right time, not giving Kira a chance to dodge. The battle ended in a draw. "Wonderful battle, Natalia Lorzach and Kira Ryugiri! I can''t believe it resulted in a draw!" The audience erupted in a loud ruckus as they watched another intense battle and the emergence of a new dark horse! Almond wryly smiled, "Kira''sst attack would''ve rendered her sound attacks useless and cut past them even if she tried to defend herself¡­Well, that was a good decision on her part to go all out on Kira instead of defending herself."'' Lily had a happy smile on her face as she nodded, "She didn''t lose. But I must say, the Mana Crystalline yed a big part. If it wasn''t for that, she would''ve exhausted her Mana faster and lost." "Yep. She needs to practice and hone herbat style further," Almond nodded. "And she needs a powerful movement skill." On the tform, Kira walked towards Natalia while grinning, "Good Battle, Natalia." Natalia got up and rubbed her stomach, "damn, I thought I was gonna die." Looking at Kira, she responded with a wry smile, "I wasn''t expecting to win, but I didn''t want to lose. Good battle, indeed." "Your flute attacks were dreadfully precise and fast," Kira smiled as she stretched her hand. "You must have practiced a lot to learn this new style based on your ss." "Yep, but yours were even more scary," Natalia rolled her eyes as she shook hands. "I had to use three of my attacks to destroy one of yours. But I''ll get better at my style and defeat you!" "I''ll wait for the rematch," Kira smiled. "Wonderful battle, lovelydies! A round of apuse for Kira the Crescent Stormde and Natalia the Chaos Symphony!" Chapter 116 Rising Star Tournament (6), Julians Turn Emma Ziken¡ª Silver 30 Adrian Reben¡ª Silver 30 These two were the winners of Group 10''s battle. Both of them were super rookies. Emma belonged to the 6th rank Steelheart Guild, and Adrian Reben belonged to the prestigious Reben family, whose members believed themselves to be descendants of diators and were known to be very proficient in sword and shield mastery, with their specialized ss often resulting in bolstering this specialty. With the 3rd round finishing, the winners could either go home or watch the ranking battles happening today. There would be a one-day break for the twenty Silver-rank participants as the spotlight would shift to the Gold-rank Adventurers tomorrow, who would face their second and third rounds ofbat to determine the top 80 rankings in a simrpetitive format as today. The gold-rank Adventurers had a more intense first round, so they needed a one-day break. Almond, Lily, and Natalia left as they didn''t stay for the ranking matches. Upon returning to the courtyard, Alfred weed them while Julian was already swinging his sword in a chopping motion. He didn''t look at the trio and just said, "Congrattions," as he continued to chop the sword with focus and eyes closed. Beside him, Ashkar was doing the same. Sylvia and Nyssara were in their respective green garden and crystal garden, one tending to flora and another one sculpting weapons. The other spirit wraiths were at the beach, fighting and training. Almond had gotten permission to get them onto the seas, so they would go there, explore, and fight sea monsters that asionally wound up nearby. Since there were ships there that monitored the ocean''s situation, Almond ordered his spirit wraiths to prevent harming them and other Adventurers if they encountered them. Roken had started training after he finished watching their battles on the TV. ¡­ "Let''s spar, darling~ I didn''t have enough today," Lily smiled eagerly, wanting to fight Almond and practice some of the ideas. "Same," Almond smiled. He suppressed his stats, and both of them grabbed crystal weapons from the weapon rack made by Nyssara. These crystal weapons were umon-grade with low durability, making them perfect practice weapons to increase their proficiency. Moreover, Both of them suppressed their stats to 30 in all because fighting with limited prowess during spar allowed them to creatively innovate new moves to bypass and break the limitations while also allowing them to technically go all out because with their stats suppressed, they couldn''t hurt each other''s Fortification, preventing injuries. "I am going to do solo training and will sneak attack on you two periodically, sounds good, right?" Natalia grinned. "Then we''ll alsounch sneak attacks on you while you are training," Almondughed. "It''ll help you improve." "Good idea, Almond. We should do that," Lily chuckled. "Humph, fine! I''ll be ready." ¡­ The next day, when Almond woke up next to Lily''s soft bosom with a notification that said that his new Spirit Wraith was ready. It had 1st floor''s Floor Boss spirit, Zolen''s spirit, and 18 boss spirits of dungeons, all belonging to golden-colored bordered B-rank dungeons. But Almond ignored the notification as he didn''t want to think up its disposition, name, and backstory. Snuggling his head, he closed his eyes again and fell asleep as Lily also moved in her sleep and tightened her arms around him. An hourter, both of them woke up and had breakfast that Alfred and Natalia prepared. It was 10 o''clock, so Julian was already at the arena in the Reljord city. The trio ate food while watching the 2nd round. Julian passed without worry as he was proficient in Mana techniques, more than average adventurers his age. Since the Gold-rank bracket allowed up to people of 30 years of age, they had some powerful Adventurers with refinedbat styles honed over the years. Fortunately, Julian managed to enter the 3rd round. "Will he win, Almond?" Natalia curiously asked. "He''s going to bloom," Almond smiled. Roken blinked, "Bloom? How? I was busy with my own thing, but he only practiced just one thing for a week straight, right?" "Did something happen to him? Like some sort of awakening?" Lily asked as she raised her eyebrows. Almond chuckled and shook his head. "He didn''t awaken anything yet, but¡­" Almond''s eyes glinted. "He should awaken something. That''s the feeling I got, and he also told me that he was getting to something, which was why he just continued with that singr practice of chopping. Well, I hope he does bloom." "Eh, he ising up on the tform," Natalia blinked. "So he is in Group 1," Roken wryly smiled. "Guess we''ll find out soon." Gto announced the first match, and it also turned out to be between Julian and a Gold-rank Super Rookie who was 20 years old, the same age as Julian. Floyd Banister, the level 50 Adventurer with S-rank primary ss. He was also a famous silver-rank Super Rookie six months ago. "Damn, bro''s first match is against someone who had defeated him brutally before," Roken winced. "Look at Julian, he doesn''t appear disturbed," Almond said. "He is the most serene he has ever been in his life." "True¡­" Roken blinked and nodded as he observed Julian. Floyd asked for an Ax, while Julian asked for a Heavy sword. As the countdown reached zero, both of them activated their Mana techniques. Strength Boost. Fortification. Focus Field. Body Enfold. There wasn''t a point in using Weapon Enfold to increase Mana consumption. Body Enfold was more important to increase their overall stats. Julian had a slight edge in terms of Mana Techniques as his Body Enfold and Focus Field were a bit better, but not enough to make up for the difference in stats and ss skills. Having a Warrior ss, Floyd had a boost in his body stats, and his good-timed skill projectiles were a problem for Julian as he was losing bouts of shes, barely defending himself. Roken was on tethers, "This isn''t looking good¡­" "Just watch," Natalia snorted. Lily and Almond watched with focus. Julian''s sword was deflecting attacks, even if barely. Neither of them were properly hit by one another. Whenever Julian got a chance to attack, he would chop his heavy sword, which would make Floyd push back slightly and give Julian a chance to prepare for the uing assault. Your adventure continues at empire Floyd was getting annoyed because this was a guy he had already defeated before.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ''Fucking bastard, it''s time to finish this,'' Floyd''s eyes glinted as his Ax suddenly glowed red, lit aze in mes before throwing it at Julian while he also dashed forward, his fist also aze for a follow-up attack as he used his skills, not intending to give Julian a chance to do anything this time. Julian saw the iing attack, and his aura shifted. ''No more losing,'' Julian''s eyes glinted as he used his primary ss''s skill¡ªHeavilist Dash: dashing forward while increasing his weapon''s weight ording to the distance traveled. Julian suddenly dashed forward, dodging past the iing ming Ax Throw while his heavy sword was held high with both hands, ready to chop down. His A-rank ss¡ªHeavy Swordsman, allowed him to use heavy swords with rtive ease and granted bonus attack power when wielding heavy swords, boosted his Strength and Stamina with a passive ss skill, andstly, had a Dash-Attack type ss skill. His specialized ss was more on the magic side because he was a bit disappointed in his A-rank ss and wanted some better skills, but due to his conflicting views in the process, his Specialized ss''s rank dropped to B in the final evaluation from the initial S-rank. It gave him two skills total¡ªme Sword wrapped his sword in mes, granting bonus fire-attributed damage, and a projectile skill¡ªme Sword''s Descent, conjuring flexible pure me sword of his desired size. But the specialized ss''s development was wholly dependent on the Adventurer¡­as disyed by Julian in thest moment of this battle. Floyd was startled because Julian''s dash foiled his n, but that didn''t matter as he improvised as his eyes glinted, intending to dodge the attack and then strike Julian to nab the victory. But something suddenly happened. A heavy pressure descended on Floyd as the tform slightly cracked under his feet. Floyd felt every finger of his body paralyzing under the heavy sword, his eyes reflecting it,ing down like a heavenly punishment. ''What?!'' Julian chopped downward, striking his head as a loud st of air pushed shockwaves around him while Floyd was smashed on the ground. All of the damage was absorbed by the badge before it loudly beeped. But that wasn''t all, Julian floated in the air as a heavy transparent ck aura burst out of him. The cheering arena burst out in a loud ruckus upon witnessing this phenomenon! "OH MY GOD!" Gto eximed loudly, his voice booming from the loudspeakers. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is a rare phenomenon! Julian Sarhain is undergoing some sort of awakening!" Chapter 117 Rising Star Tournament (7), Legacy Roll [Congrattions, your primary ss has evolved to S-rank: Heavilist Swordweaver] [Congrattions, you have proven yourself worthy of receiving a legacy roll qualification. To qualify for activating the legacy roll, you mustplete the following quests within a certain limit. Uponpletion, your Specialized ss will undergo a mutation based on the legacy you get from the legacy roll.] [Legacy Roll Quest] -Objectives: ¡ª>Kill 100 monsters 10 levels higher than your level within three days from now on. (0/100). ¡ª>Kill 10 monsters 20 levels higher than your level within ten days from now on. (0/10). ¡ª>Participate in a floor boss battle on Floor 6 and result in victory within 2 months from now on. (0/1). -Rewards: ¡ª>Legacy Roll: Allows you to roll for a random legacy based on one of the people who has cleared the Grimworld Tutorial by clearing the 30th Floor. Julian''s awakening was over as he stopped floating, and the strange aura vanished. He read everything from the notifications he got as he involuntarily trembled. Gto was asking him something, but Julian''s ears weren''t registering anything. All he felt was that the hard work he had been doing for years paid off, and he wasn''t about to give up now. This was the new start! ''I willplete the quests and get the legacy and get powerful!'' Julian''s eyes burned brightly as he clenched his fists. "It appears that our dark horse is absorbed in reading the notifications, hahaha! I wonder if he will share some of the juice with us." Julian took a deep breath and turned to Gto, answering with a straight expression that betrayed a hint of a smile, "My primary ss evolved, that''s all. The name''s Heavilist Swordweaver." "And there it is!" Gto shouted. "A round of apuse for Julian the Heavilist Edge!" ¡­ "Damn, bro did it!" Roken cheered and pped his thigh. "He fucking did it!" "So his primary ss is now S-rank? Damn," Natalia muttered. "My primary ss is B-rank¡­.I also want to evolve it." "Then train like Julian. He chopped his sword until his muscles broke, and he bled internally daily," Almond smiled. "But you will have to find the training yourself. Julian''s primary ss was based on heavy swords, and he had been training for a long time and had umted experience. The training I gave him became a catalyst, and his determination became the fuse that bloomed him." Lily nodded, "he had been working too hard for thest seven days. Almond''s presence pushed him to reach there, but it was his own hard work." Read thetest on empire "I am going back to training now!" Roken stood up, his expression firm. "I am going to pound my hammer until my arm breaks down." "Don''t just pound aimlessly, but the main thing is your focus," Almond narrowed his eyes. "Your focus should be on your goal while you hammer down. Focus on getting better, regardless of what it does to you. Julian trained in absolute focus to get the feeling that I described to him, regardless of what it did to it. So, what will you do now?" Roken was at a loss. He thought hard for half a minute before saying, "Umm, I should learn more about cksmithing and then focus on my ss''s workings and improve?" "Slow but correct," Almond smiled. "That''s right. You have enough money saved, so go to that cksmith and pay for the tuition to learn more." "Got it! I am going right now!" Roken left after drinking his soda can, determined to get better at cksmithing and forge sessful items. As he left, Lily curiously asked, "Is Roken''s sub-ss good? What unique thing does his items have?" "Runes," Almond smiled. "He can imbue a skill from the materials he uses into an item, and he can do that with already crafted items as well as his own creations. There are more effects to the Runic Inscription skill of his ss, but he has to explore it on his own." "It''s an A-rank subss," Natalia nodded. "It gotta be powerful." ¡­ After Julian returned three hourster, he showed the notifications to Almond as it contained a valuable piece of information. The Grimworld Tutorial''s end¡ªthe 30th floor was thest floor. Almond didn''t know what would happen after that, but just knowing that the 30th floor was thest floor was valuable information. He also sent a message to Admiral Rudra about this information. "So, twenty floors more, huh?" Natalia blinked. "I wonder what will happen once we clear it. Will we get some kind of huge reward or something?" "It says we are currently in a Grimworld''s Tutorial¡­then whates after the tutorial?" Lily narrowed her eyes. "The main game, right?" "Something big will happen, but we can''t be sure," Almond smiled, his eyes fiery deep within, "We just have to clear this tutorial and find out the answer ourselves." "Almond, I need a dungeon," Julian said, his expression firm. "GAA might send me with a party to a B-rank dungeon based on my performance, but I want to go into one with you. I am at the Gold level 42, so I want a Gold-bordered dungeon andplete the first quest." "Sorry, Lily, I''ll be taking him for a few hours if you don''t mind." "Actually, the four of us should go together," Almond smiled. "I''ve talked to Admiral Rudra about allowing Lily and Natalia to enter with us. As long as they don''t take anything from within, they can enter." Lily''s eyes lit up. She could finally fight together with Almond again. "That''s great, darling." "Hoho, it has been a while," Natalia caressed her nonexistent beard with a sagely expression, "Time to teach the young ones about dungeons." "Stop, it''s cringe," Almond snickered. "I forgive you, my child." "¡­" "Alright, let''s bolt without wasting more time," Almond began walking towards the open garage where his aircraft was parked. ¡­ Julian cleared the first task of his quest and reached halfway for his second in the dungeon. His evolved ss granted him one more skill while evolving his original ss skills, making hisbat arsenal stronger. With correct movement posture and a single chop, Julian''s heavy sword could one-shot kill the gold-rank monsters at level 70 unless they had more defensive traits. But he didn''t want to confine himself to just this, which was why he requested Almond toe with him. He wanted to observe Almond more now that he had reached a new stage in swordy. After returning from the dungeon, the group went to eat and then trained for some hours until the night before eating again and sleeping like logs. 4th December''s clock hit 10 in the morning, and it was time for the twenty silver-rank winners to fight and contend for the top 10 spot. "Ladies and gentlemen, the time hase! Please wee our little rising monsters!" The central tform was bigger as it was modified, and the other four floating tforms had vanished from the battleground. The tform was now square and white with ck check patterns. It was 150 meters in length, quite huge to give more freedom and space for thrilling battles. "In this round, the twenty of you will pick up a stick from this ss," Gto said with a grin, his face and the ss reflected in huge screens for the audience to see. The ss was not transparent, and it was also covered, only showing the tips of the sticks, so nobody could see their numbers at the stick''s end. "These are ten pairs of sticks, so it will decide who you will fight. The winners will qualify for the next round, earning the top 10 spot, and the losers will fight the ranking matches to decide their ranks from 11th to 20th." "Without further ado, let''s begin." The twenty silver ranks stood in a row based on their previous group winnings on the tform as Gto arrived before the first in line¡ªXavier Rozerf. Picking up his stick and seeing its number B-4, Xavier prayed with his fist clenched and eyes fiery, ''Almond, you better pick A-4 and match with me because I will defeat you this time!'' A big hologram screen appeared, showing Xavier''s face and B-4 below him. There was an icon next to him, empty, waiting for the person to pick A-4 to stick and match with him. Gto moved to the second in the row¡ªAmir Lake, who pulled an A-9 stick. Next, it was Almond''s turn. He grabbed a stick and pulled it before looking at its end. A-2. Xavier was looking at the big hologram and clenched his fist as he saw Almond''s number. ''Damn it.'' But who could tell him that by not matching with Almond, he at least got a chance to enter the top 10? ''Almond, my boy, you better show something good this time because yesterday, your girlfriend told me that I better give you a good title,'' Gto grinned as he Magic Whispered to Almond. Faintly smiled, Almond replied, ''Well then, you better do some mental gymnastics for my title because what I''ll show might just overload your brain.'' ''Hahahaha, that''s some big words, alright. I am looking forward to the fight,d. You better not disappoint.'' ¡­ Everyone pulled up the sticks, and the matchings were confirmed. -Match 1 ¡ªXavier Rozerf (B-4) vs. Ka Reqins (A-4) -Match 2 ¡ªAmir Lake (A-9) vs. Emma Ziken (B-9) -Match 3 ¡ªAlmond Crowshade (A-2) vs. Marcus Venath (B-2) -Match 4 ¡ªJian Ranford (B-6) vs. Maya Himdar (A-6) -Match 5 ¡ªRon Lexus (A-3) vs. Adrian Reben (B-3) -Match 6 ¡ªJemma Regan (B-7) vs. Finn Arelion (A-7) -Match 7 ¡ªAnya Fuego (A-1) vs. Mira Nilok (B-1) -Match 8 ¡ªLily Darkwood (B-5) vs. Talia Graves (A-5) -Match 9n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ¡ªNoah Duncan (A-8) vs. Kira Ryugiri (B-8) -Match 10 ¡ªEliara Venholm (B-10) vs. Natalia Varzach (A-10) Chapter 118 Rising Star Tournament (8) Match 1 Xavier the Piercing Light vs. Ka the Beast Spirit. Ka Reqins was from a humble background. She had awakened an S-rank primary ss¡ªWildbloom Druid, and an A-rank specialized ss¡ªNature''s Warrior. She had worked hard to improve after getting recruited by the 7th rank Azure Veil Guild. The match began as Ka transformed into a ming bird, using her primary ss''s skill¡ªSpirit Possession: zing Phoenix. It gave her the ability to fly as a phoenix, fire-attribute to her attacks, and control me to a certain extent with Mana consumption per second and a gauge: Phoenix Drive [100/100], which she could use instead of Mana to unleash fire-based attacks of her desire. Once it emptied, she would revert to human. Transforming into a five-meter-long me phoenix with a wingspan of ten meters, she flew up and formed ten small fireballs, shooting at Xavier one by one while flying around. Your journey continues at empire Xavier dodged with dreadful precise and good footwork, his speed fast as he boosted himself using his ss skill¡ªLight Feather Steps. After dodging the ninth fireball, Xavier captured Ka, slowing down slightly as she seemed to prepare another barrage of attacks, and that was when he attacked. A piercing light beam unleashed from his rapier, his signature most powerful attack. Ka barely dodged it, and her attack formation canceled, but Xavier didn''t give her any more chance as he unleashed two more precise, piercing light beams. One of them squarely struck her, but her aura changed swiftly as she used her ss skill¡ªSpirit Possession: Geostorm Turtle. *Boom!* She dropped to the ground with a loud bang while unleashing a sandstorm in a big area, obstructing Xavier''s view. s, a stronger, more powerful beam prated through the storm and struck right on the turtle''s head, defeating her as her badge rang, signifying her loss. Xavier advanced to the top 10 position, eyeing Almond as he walked to the row of winners after Gto announced his victory and told him to stand on the other side of the tform. Match 2 began shortly. Amir the Tempest Gale vs. Emma the Toxin Mist. Both of them had an S-rank Primary ss and an A-rank specialized ss. Amir had wind elemental mastery, and Emma had a unique poison-attribute thanks to her primary ss. Amir used a spear, and Emma used a bow without arrows as she could create arrows using her Mana and buff them with her ss skill, making them poisoned. Amir closed in on Emma immediately, intending to use his ss skills in close range, but Emma also used her ss skill right off the bat, creating a ck-purple mist in 50 50-meter area. Both of their Focus Field was activated so they could observe each other. Amir was slowed down, and his vision was impaired, along with a reduction in his movement. But that was nullified as he increased his speed using his specialized ss skill and his wind elemental mastery. Two arrows came zooming at him, which he destroyed while he spun his spear, boosting it with wind energy. *Swoosh!* A powerful gale blew around him, blowing away the poisonous mist and clearing the area. Clicking her tongue, Emma didn''t waste Mana on this as she released two more arrows along with a ss skill that conjured a python-sized snake''s projectile with venomous fangs. Amir spun his spear again and also used his ss skill,bining the two as he unleashed a vertical vortex of wind gleaming with power. It destroyed the arrows and entangled the python, resulting in mutual destruction. Emma escaped while releasing arrows, maintaining the distance. Both of them destroyed each other''s attack and ran around the tform trying to hit each other, but the win went to Emma in the end as Amir consumed his Mana earlier, and Emma cunningly set a poisonous trap for him while exposing herself to an attack. Amir took the bait and ate the loss. "And the winner is Emma the Toxin Mist!" The audience cheered loudly at the battle that ended after an intense struggle between the duo. "Now, let us wee the two dark horses who matched against each other! Almond Crowshade and Marcus Venath!" Both of them moved to the center of the tform, maintaining 20 meters of distance between them as per the rules of this round. Gto handed out a sword and a shield to Marcus while giving a sword to Almond. "You may summon your pets this time, Almond. Everyone here has watched your fight against Xavier, so the audience is in much anticipation to see them." Almond smiled and stretched his hand forward, "Come out my spirit wraiths." Almond made a show by conjuring four fancy magic circles in the air, two to his left and two to his right. To his left, Dark Pope Benedict and Infernal Knight materialized, while to his right, Chimera Crystalist and Starlight Beast appeared. Gto sensed their auras, and he waspletely dumbfounded. The audience burst out in uproar as they saw the badass summons exploding in intense discussion regarding their appearance and wondering about their powers. ''Thed was right¡­what the fuck?'' Gto''s eyes glinted as he measured their auras using his skill. ''They are damn powerful!'' Even Marcus was sweating even before the fight began. ''What the fuck?'' "Oi, we seem to have be a spectacle here," Benedict spoke as he looked around. "We are on the TV, Ben. Focus," Ashkar spoke as he materialized his giant infernal sword and made a pose by stabbing it on the ground beside him and crossing his arms. Starlight Beast and Chimera Crystalists looked around, their bodies sparking. "Oh my," Kira''s eyes shone. "Those summons feel powerful and cool!" "Hehe, you don''t know anything yet," Natalia grinned and said as she was standing right beside Kira. The other participants were also startled. They had seen the video, but seeing them up close and sensing their auras gave them real tension. "Well! The summons look great, but let us witness their powers now!" The countdown hologram appeared in the center. Almond smiled at Marcus and asked, "Choose your opponent. I am not bragging, but if all of them attacked at once, you don''t have a chance to win." Marcus swallowed and looked at the summons. But then took a deep breath as the countdown neared zero and said, "I won''t choose. You may fight as you see fit." Almond raised his eyebrows before he nodded, a faint smile on his face, "Alright. Crystalist, go." The countdown hit 0, and Crystalist floated forward, its four floating quarts of crystals gleaming with blue electricity and giving off the unique geo-crystal light of its Earth/crystal-attribute. Marcus buffed himself and activated his Mana techniques before dashing forward, starting the battle.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ''Prism Bolt Barrage,'' Almondmanded. Prism Bolt Barrage (A): Fires a flurry of crystal projectiles charged with lightning, dealing explosive area damage. Marcus saw the glittering crystals scattering towards him, and he instantly used a defensive skill. ''Not bad,'' Almond internally nodded. ''He reacted very fast, with no hesitation at all.'' It wasn''t a fluke that this Silver level 10 dark horse won against a silver level 30 Super Rookie. The copper-colored bulwark barrier protected Marcus from the bombard, but his expression didn''t look good. ''What the hell? That attack drained over 30% of my Mana!'' His barrier was unbreakable, but its Mana consumption was rtive to the attack it blocked. At that moment, he realized that there really wasn''t anyone among them who could defeat Almond and his four summons. But he didn''t intend to give up without fighting! ''diator''s Rush! Titan sh!'' Chapter 119 Rising Star Tournament (9), Almond vs Marcus, Hailstorm Herald ''diator''s Rush! Titan sh!'' Using two skills, Marcusunched swiftly towards Almond while ignoring Crystalist. Marcus''s dash was powerful, creating a fiery ming-brown aura around him, while his sword also suddenly became bigger and stronger, using Weapon Enfold to make it even more powerful on top of the ss skill he used. Hisbo skill produced greater power as his dash-by-strike was about to hit Almond with a sonic boom. It was truly a refined movebining his two skills for a powerful one-shot move. Almond was impressed. He almost wanted to sh his swords against his but refrained. Crystalist was already in the act of using the skills at a perfect time.N?v(el)B\\jnn Shatterstorm Field (S) + Static Bind (C) Right in front of Almond, a lightning-crackling square field of a 10-meter radius manifested with visible sparkling cyan wind making a square shape while crackling with lightning. Marcus was right in its center when the field manifested in his dashing motion toward Almond. Simultaneously, the Static Bind (C) activated as bright, sparkling yellow crystal-made chains wrapped around Marucs. Despite being a C-rank skill, it was significantly boosted when used within Shatterstorm Field. The moment it bound Marcus, he was forcefully stopped in his tracks with maic force and an intense shock that rendered his momentum to aplete halt and ceased his entire body''s function at once. Those were the effects of the skill as Marcus was rendered away, before the lightning damage was absorbed by the badge, it beeped loudly. Crystalist dispersed its skill. Everything went ording to the moment when Almond saw that fighting spirit in Marcus'' eyes, even after Crystalist''s attack shaved over 30% of his Mana. At that, Almond had given themand for this set of skills half a second before Marcus activated his skills. And when the next second waspleted, it was over. "And it''s overrrrrrr??!" Gto was shocked and also thrilled. ''Such powerful summons when he''s silver level 10?! Damn!'' The audience cheered loudly in uproar, everyone excited at the fancy disy of skills, especially the Crystalist''s attack that finished the match briefly after it began. This was also the moment when all silver-rank challengers here felt a rise in pressure for the first rank. Marcus got up, rattled but most of all thrilled. "You are crazy powerful." ''Just one summon is this powerful, but I clearly know the others are more powerful, especially those two humanoid ones!'' His eyes glowed in yearning and admiration, but most of all, a rise in fighting spirit! Almond raised his eyebrows, his Riftveil eyes gleaming as he sensed a magical shift up in Marcus. ''That''s an innate talent¡­or a trait?'' "And the winner is Almond the Fantastic Summoner!" ''What?!'' Almond looked at Gto, dumbfounded at his shitty title. ''Are you kidding me?!'' he directly ryed to Gto via Magic Whisper. ''Opsie, I just blurted out what came into my mind first. Sorry, bud. Live it with me for a while, hahaha!'' The audience roared in excitement as they were in a thrilling state due to all the noise and shouts, especially from the young adult generation and ''boys'' of all ages. "¡­" "Please move to the winner line, Almond the Fantastic Summoner." ''Almond, let''s talkter. I have a proposal or, rather, a request.'' Marcus said as he moved to the losers'' line. Almond was surprised, but he replied carefreely, ''Sure.'' Match 4 Jian the Warring Berserker vs. Maya the Hailstorm Ranger. One was a silver level 30 Super Rookie, and another was a silver level 10 Dark Horse who defeated one of the Super Rookies favored for rank 1 spot, Eliara Venholm, from the 4th rank Irond Guild. Maya didn''t use a provided weapon, but she had her unique weapons manifested from her primary ss, much like how Natalia had her instruments from her specialized ss. cial Drop Slingshot. Aquafrost Long Bow. Rimetide Knife. Hailspring Revolvers. As the battle began with the countdown hitting zero, Jian didn''t hold back on anything this time and properly used his Mana techniques¡ªFortification, Body Enfold, and Strength Boost at full throttle along with his ss skills. His body became twice as big with solid muscles, tattoos appearing on his body, and his fist wrapped in orange mes with a red hue. With two self-enhancing skills boosting him, Jian directly dashed using a movement skill as he wanted to finish the battle instantly. But Maya appeared unnaturally unfazed, her right arm stretched ahead with a pistol in her hand, standing diagonally. *Pew* A semi-silent bullet shot from the pistol along with a hazy strange yet control misty aura extending to iing Jian. The bullet struck him when he was just two meters away from Maya. Maya depleted 70% of her maximum Mana with that single bullet. She had wasted no time in using Mana techniques at all and instead used her ss skills, two self-buffs, while her mastery of Ice and Water elements enhanced her attack-type ss skill¡ªAbsolute Zero Rounds (S) Jian was firmly frozen in his steps, bing a popsicle down to his leaking aura that also solidified in ice. "Frozen Coffin," Maya muttered, the name she came up withbining her skills and using her Ice and Water mastery to enchant this one bullet of Absolute Zero Rounds, making it capable of instantly freezing everyone by freezing them in a block of ice. This worked with the bullet water''s attribute focusing on increasing moisture and water within the user''s body to a high level and then ice''s power freezing it with a boosted elemental reaction between ice and water, resulting in an instant popsicle of anyone struck by it. Almond was actually impressed as he saw that attack. ''Both elemental mastery are probably at B. Is she naturally attuned to water and ice with such a close affinity?'' Maya disyed an impressive fight in defeating the favored super rookie in the previous round, but nobody expected this instant kill attack of hers. "And the winner is Maya the Hailstorm Herald!" Gto changed her title, his shout infused with thrill! Nobody had expected such a result and the audience was all for it as an uproar rang as the dark horse showed a dominating attack! Jian thawed out as the badge had absorbed the damage and the attack''s effect dispersed. He stood nk, digesting his loss with a slightly ashen expression. Maya moved to the winner''s line as Gto gestured to her with a congrattion. The second dark horse made a spot in the top 10 by defeating a favorite for the first rank! Jian, the most active in the media failed to live up to his hype in both matches. Soon, the Match 5 began without further ado. Chapter 120 Rising Star Tournament (10), Round Finished, Top 10 Match 5 Ron the Geocrusher Fighter vs. Adrian the zing Ravager. Both of them were considered super rookies due to their primary S-rank ss and specialized S-rank ss, along with powerful performance. Ron was from the 8th rank Crimson Aegis guild, and Adrian was from the prestigious and powerful Reben family, famous for their hand-to-handbat style, which was now refined to a new level with their signature n skill¡ªGeoheart Suit (S), learnable if one had Earth elemental mastery. As the battle began, Adrian was wrapped up in an Earth-attributed semi-crystalized suit around his body. Ron had asked for a chakram weapon, so he used it, enhancing it with me-style Weapon Enfold as he had Fire elemental mastery. Ron was able to duplicate his Chakram into three more ones appearing as real as the original one, and their impact also seemed real as they crashed into the barrier Adrian erected for the defense. ''Dune Trap.'' Adrian used his skill, Dune Trap as he defended himself from Ron''s attack. Ron suddenly felt the earth beneath him binding him and turning sandy, forcing him to jump. ''Fuck,'' Ron knew he would be attacked, so he also unleashed a long-range ss skill¡ªPyrostic Bomb. A round bomb-themed orb shot at Adrian as he jumped, but Adrian enriched his Geoheart Suit and continued with his n as he attacked Ron right as he became airborne from the jump. Gence Strike¡ªQuad style!n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Four big spiky semi-crystal earthnces from four directions shot at Ron as Adrian''s finishing move worked, sessfully striking Ron while he was in the air and ringing his badge. Match 6 Jemma the Waterloom Haze vs. Finn the Thundering Might. Jemma was already known to have an S-rank Primary ss and an S-rank specialized. She was a Super Rookie belonging to the 10th rank Dusk Rain guild. Finn was from the guild ranked one above it¡ª9th rank Lightstrike Guild. Jemma was mainly a mage, using projectile skills and her refined movement skills to use unleashed water-attribute attacks, be they defensive, attack, or debuffing. Both of her sses were mage-type and mainly water and mist-attributed. Finn had lightning elemental mastery and used a giant hammer that came with his specialized ss, mainly lightning, but he also had some good projectile skills. After an intense battle of two minutes, Finn emerged victorious. Match 7 Anya the Silverbolt Whip vs Mira the Silent Shadow. Anya Fuego was a super rookie of rank 5th guild¡ªSilverfang Guild, one of the favorites for the rank one spot. She had no elemental mastery, but her S-rank primary ss¡ªDominion Whipmaster, and A-rank specialized ss¡ªStar Predator, were powerful. She had disyed a powerful performance and was one of the favorites for the rank 1 spot, herbat style being dynamic and powerful. Mira Nilok was an assassin-type with dark elemental mastery, but mainly the shadow attribute of it as she wasn''t at as high rank as Lily. The battle began with Mira vanishing and ten shadowy daggers shooting at Anya. But Anya''s whip crackled silverly as she whipped in the air, crashing a silver slit that forcefully absorbed all the daggers, nullifying Mira''s attack. Her eyes glinted silver as well, easily finding Mira because her specialized ss¡ªStar Predator, was tailored for hunting, and assassins already had a disadvantage against her. Anya''s whipping resulted in silver crackling projectiles that shed with Mira''s dagger and her skill projectiles, but Mira was shortly overwhelmed by Anya dominating the pace and finishing the battle within half a minute. Match 8 Lily the Dreadspire Harbinger vs Talia the Spellbound Gunslinger. The audience was fully excited for this match, but only because they wanted to see Lily in action. But Talia had lost against Marcus despite being the heir of the famous gunslinger expert¡ªGraves family, so she was extra determined to clutch the victory. s, the match ended and resulted in the expected oue¡ªLily won withplete domination! Dreadspire Warlock was too powerful in her hands! An assassin with overpowering debuffs and attacks! She walked to the winner line at the tform''s edge and stood beside Almond while the 9th Match began between two sword experts. Noah the Dreadsteel Swordsman vs Kira the Crescent Stormde! "Gto did dirty by giving you that title," Lily said with a pout. "I think it''s my fault. I told him to give you a good title with a despotic tone, and he deliberately gave you a bad one." Almond chuckled and gently rubbed her hand, "Nah. It''s my fault because I also taunted him, saying that he would need to do mental gymnastics for my title." "Well, he''ll have to change my title by the end of today''s matches," Almond grinned. "Who do you think will win?" Lily asked as she observed the intense sh of sword skills between Kira and Noah. "Depends, but with the way things are going, Kira will nab the victory unless Duncan improvises his sword style and predictable moveset," Almond said as he watched the battles. "Not to mention that Ryugiri n''s Sword Bending Motion is quite powerful." "Duncan family has a focus on self-power up and absolute stances of attack and defense, so he indeed needs to show a higher mastery and better swordy since they are roughly equally matched in stats," Lily nodded. Noah, wrapped in his steel-style Fortitude, was dishing out sword-sh projectiles and defending against Kira''s attacks in equilibrium. Meanwhile, Kira was progressively changing her attack patterns due to her flexible style. Both of them destroyed and nullified each other''s attacks. Duncan let himself get hit a few times in shallow ways as his metal-style Fortitude absorbed the damage. He dished out a powerful and cunning attack after letting himself get hit, but Kira managed to avoid it barely and gained the upper hand with the counterattack, finishing off the battle. "I win this time," Kira grinned. "Yeah, yeah," Duncan rolled his eyes. "Thatst move was good, but he failed," Almond wryly smiled, his head shaking. "He didn''t consider the possibility of failure to hit Kira. Mindset is very important during battle to bring out more possibilities." "Serves him right," Lily snorted. Gto announced the winner as Noah walked back to the loser''s line with an ashen face that he tried to hide and keep a carefree smile on his face. ''Focusing on appearance more¡­he is on the wrong path,'' Almond narrowed his eyes as he observed Noah. ''It''s fine to show the expression of defeat and frustration, but he is suppressing them and killing his own spirit¡­'' It was different from Julian, who showed his expression and frustration truly and used it to fuel himself, and Marcus, whose defeat fueled his fighting spirit and spirit of getting better. On the other hand, Noah dismissed his loss by telling himself this was just a spar in the end and not a real battle, lowering the importance of defeat and dousing his own spirit of improvement. Silvester Duncan, who sat on the VIP seat in boxes, also fumed as he watched the battle. "There, your grandson sucks. I am not bragging, but he is a far cry from Almond when ites to swordy." Rudra tlymented. "Have you been paying attention to him or not?" "That brat is going train with me until the Labyrinth opens without a break!" Silvester snorted. "I''ve been toox and gave him too much freedomst month just because he won against her a month ago." Rudra smiled and said, "If you want to shatter his arrogance, then I have a better way. If you train him now, then he''ll only get more arrogant after improving a bit." Silvester raised his eyebrows and turned to his friend, "You mean Almond? That¡­is not a bad idea, but I am afraid he will lose his confidence even more after that. Almond''s genius in the sword is terrifying." Rudra snorted, "Weak. Are Duncan family''s heirs raised with such a weak mentality that they would lose confidence upon seeing a better sword? Even if he can never attain that level, the spirit and desire of reaching that level must never be lost." Seeing Silvester hesitant, Rudra added, "Fine, no need to let him do sparring matches with Almond. I have a better candidate." "Who?" Silvester blinked. "Is there someone even better than Almond?" "No," Rudra shook his head, "But he is a better candidate to pair with Noah. He is a gold-rank adventurer in GAA who triggered an awakening here yesterday." "His sword was not bad, but worse than Noah," Silvester frowned. "How is he a better candidate?" "Julian was training with Almond, under his subtle guidance, and he improved tremendously because his thirst and desire to reach a high level never waned despite his bad sses," Rudra''s eyes glinted. "Julian has entered a phase of rapid improvement in terms of his swordy." As if he understood, Silvester''s eyes shone. "If Noah practices with Julian, he will see how Julian improves, and he will also get affected by him. Good idea, indeed. That Julian brat is a perfect candidate, alright. Both will improve fast." "Then I''ll send him to your family," Rudra smiled. "Make sure you teach him everything, including your family''s techniques and the main skill. This price is nothingpared to shaping up your heir''s psyche and improvement." "Of course," Silvesterughed. "He will get the chance to learn them." On the other hand, the final match also ended when these duo ended their discussion. Natalia the Chaos Symphony vs Eliara the Steel Fortress. Eliara was a super rookie and favorite for rank 1 from 4th rank Irond Guild. She was an off-tank, having metal elemental mastery and being a warrior with defensive and offensive powers. Natalia fought hard, but Eliara''sbat expertise and overall arsenal of power overwhelmed Natalia in the end, as the battle ended within a minute. Eliara knew that Natalia had high Mana based on her previous fight, so she had nned beforehand to go all out midway when given the opportunity since Natalia didn''t have a good movement skill and herbat ability wasn''t that refined. "Aw, look at her," Almond chuckled as he saw Natalia walking back to the loser''s line with a downcast expression. "But she did good. She has less training time and experience than others here, so she just needs to spend more time in training." "Mhm," Lily nodded with a smile. "She wasn''t expecting to reach this high, but now she is disappointed, haha. I guess she will train even harder now." "And with that,dies and gentlemen, we have finished this round!" The audience cheered loudly, chanting the names of their favorite contestants, resulting in a chaotic, cheery uproar. "We are going to have a longer schedule today, so sit tight and get some food during this break! After half an hour, the ranking battles to determine the 11th to 20th rank begin, and then the semi-final round to determine the top 5 will start!" "My dear little rising stars, we have a feast for you during this break, go and enjoy. It''s prepared in the underground hall." Almond looked at these Adventurers yearning to be stronger and had an idea. ''I''ll announce this to them after I enter the top 5. It will fire up their minds more that way, haha.'' As everyone got onto two stone elevators and descended into the hall, Almond was immediately approached by two people. Marcus and Kira. Chapter 121 Rising Star Tournament (11), Surprising Feast, Semi-Finals As Marcus and Kira approached Almond, a senior Adventurer who was already in the hall built a wooden table for twenty of them and said, "Sit here, the mystic food will being soon. It''ll recover you fully and get you to the best condition before the next round begins." "Let''s sit and talk," Almond said as he walked towards the table. Natalia took up the corner seat while Lily and Almond sat beside each other, with Marucs and Kira sitting across them. "So, what I wanted to request was, how about Ie with you to the 2nd floor?" Marcus asked, looking at Almond with a grin. "The four of us are at silver level 10, anyway." "I don''t mind," Almond smiled. "But you''ll have to follow my schedule and help meplete it if you want to join me." Maya, who was sitting next to Kira, quipped in as she looked at Almond, "Sorry to interrupt, but can I partake in this meeting? I am interested in your schedule. You have powerful pets on top of being a strongbatant yourself. I am assuming you will trigger the floor boss, so I want to participate." "I feel the odd one out as a silver level 30 here," Kira said, her elbows on the table and hands on her cheeks. "Anyway, you finish the discussion first, I''ll wait for my turn." "You won''t feel that after listening to our schedule," Natalia snickered. "Well," Almond smiled. "I do want some people to speed up my work. For starters, here''s the schedule. On the 15th of December, when thebyrinth opens, I want to clear the 2nd floor by the end of that day by triggering the Floor Boss." "Move to the 3rd floor and also clear it by triggering the Floor Boss as soon as possible. I am going to continue until I clear the 5th floor this month alone, which means I will be entering the Labyrinth on its 2nd cycle as well." Lily and Natalia knew about the n, so they did not react, but the others were dumbfounded. Continue your journey on empire "You serious?" Kira blinked. "Absolutely," Lily tly smiled. "So you want to make multiple groups that focus on going to the important areas to get Floor Boss triggering items for you?" Maya raised her eyebrows. "Sounds good. I am in." "Me too," Marcus grinned. "Sound fun. I haven''t fought the Floor Boss on the first floor, but I do want to fight them on the other floors if possible." "Then I guess I''ll also have a chance to fight the Floor Boss when you alle to the 4th floor," Kira grinned. "But everyone here at silver level 30 will enter, and they n to trigger the Floor Boss as well." "Good, you can do it on the first cycle," Almond nodded. "Because it''ll be 18th December when we enter the 4th floor, which means it''d be the second cycle of the Labyrinth, and we''ll be able to trigger it again." Ron, who sat beside Almond and was hearing them,ughed, "Sounds good on paper, but you want to clear three floors in three days and not just want to pass the floor but trigger their floor bosses and defeat them? Sounds unrealistic. We cleared two floors the previous month but didn''t trigger the floor boss. It''s faster this way." "It doesn''t concern you whether we can do it or not," Lily tly said.N?v(el)B\\jnn At that moment, the waiters arrived with lid-covered dishes arrived, and put them on the table one by one. Gto also arrived with them and said, "Rising stars, this food is enriching, made by the adventurers with mastery in their chef-rted subsses. They will increase your stats based on how you absorb them but know that this is a one-time opportunity. Stat-increasing food only works once, so better digest it and absorb its power properly." Everyone was surprised. The waiters opened the lid, and all twenty dishes in front of the participants were the same¡ªA steak with a thin leaf wrapped around it and meat juice leaking out from the cracks on the leaf. "This steak is your first dish of this feast. It will increase your Health by up to 5 stat points if you manage to fully absorb its effect. Use Mana, process the food''s energy as you eat it, and digest it properly." Gto grinned and added, "Five more dishes will arrive one by one, each one increasing one of the remaining five stats up to 5 points depending on how you absorb it. Now, go ahead and start digging this one." ¡­ Everyone was careful as to how to eat the food, aside from Almond, who already had his stats peaked for the silver rank. After finishing the steak, Gto told them to focus on absorption, so everyone had their eyes closed as their Health stats increased. A few minutester, the effect was fully absorbed, and most of them increased their Health stat by four while a few of them increased it by 5. The next batch of dishes arrived, with the effect of increasing their Mana¡ªa soup bowl. Everyone was focusing on the important food now, and nobody was talking much. It was very important, after all. "Almond, you are eating a bit too leisurely, you sure you got five stat points from the steak?" Gto raised his eyebrows as he saw Almond finishing the soup and leaning back on the chair. "Yep. Absorbed it fully and got 5 Health points," Almond waved his hand and burped. "The soup is also nice, very delicious." "If you say so..." Gto wryly smiled. ''The kid''s too carefree. Look at others, everyone is focused on getting the most out of this one-time opportunity.'' Gto felt Almond was lying about getting full stats, but it didn''t concern him enough to care. It was Almond''s loss, not his. Half an hourter, everyone finished all six dishes and got a boost in their status except for Almond. Afterward, Gto determined who would fight whom in the next round based on sticks again before it was finally time to start the next round for the winners. "Ladies and gentlemen! It is finally time to start the round that will determine the top 5! The match has been decided, and here are the match-ups!" The center hologram in the sky and the other eight holograms showed the match-ups. Match-1 -Xavier Rozerf vs. Emma Ziken. Match-2 -Almond Crowshade vs. Maya Himdar. Match-3 -Ron Lexus vs. Finn Arelion. Match-4 -Anya Fuego vs. Lily Darkwood. Match-5 -Kira Ryugi vs. Eliara Venholm. ¡­ The first match began without further ado as Xavier, the Piercing Light, and Emma, the Toxin Mist, arrived at the center of the tform. ''All or nothing,'' Xavier''s eyes were focused, and his expression extremely resolute. As soon as the match began, Emma used her usual tactic of using her ss skill to create a thick toxin mist area of 50 meters radius, covering Xavier, who was 20 meters away from her. But Xavier hadunched his attack as well, going all out with a single attack right from the start¡ªA super fast piercing golden light tore through the mist and directly struck Emma, who failed to dodge it or defend. *Beep!* The arena was silent briefly before huge cheers erupted at the instant defeat of Emma! "And this is it for the first match!" Gto shouted. "Xavier the Piercing Light wins!" *** [A/N: Yo, dear readers. Did you know that if this book gets 4 more reviews, I''ll publish a bonus chap, which means two more chaps today if the goal is met today? xD] Chapter 122 Rising Star Tournament (12), Top 5 Seats Almond and Maya walked towards the center as Xavier went on to stand at the winner''s corner, and Emma went to his opposite, the northwest corner. "Almond, the fantastic summoner, please make a show. The audience is excited for your summons!" Almond wryly smiled and summoned his Spirit Wraiths¡ªInfernal Knight Ashkar, Dark Pope Benedict, Starlight Beast, and recing Crystalist since it had fought yesterday. Wintersun Lady Nyssara! "Woah, woah, woah, the Fantastic Summoner has graced us with a new summon, a beauty no less!" As Nyssara appeared and processed the ongoing event, her hand fan transformed into a crystal shining gray ted hammer with icy patterns as it smashed into the ground beside her, while her graceful dress transformed into a crystal knight armor dress with a gray metallic color and icy patterns. The dress had a badass gray semi-metallic crystal long skirt and a thin crystal visor covering her eyes. "I smell a battlefield, Master," Nyssara spoke, a visible cold wave oozing out from her. The audience went absolutely bonkers as the screen showed her entrance, erupting in huge uproar. "This guy has crazy good-looking summons!" "Fuck, I am envious!" "She is so cool!" "I want a summoner-type ss!" Maya looked at Nyssara, feeling an ardent desire to face her as she summoned one of her ss-based weapons¡ªcial Drop Slingshot. Almond smiled, "You two would be a good match." "Well, let us start the countdown without further ado!" Gto shouted as the countdown appeared between the duo. ''Nyssara, your hammer is powerful, and you learned how to wield it properly. Fight on your own and keep in mind the training we had.'' Read exclusive adventures at empire Maya was focused, not a trace of smugness in her. Only a serious and dignified air hung around her as if she was ready to give her all in this battle. The countdown hit zero, and she instantly released a slingshot attack aimed at Almond. A strawberry-sized icy ball shot, breaking the sound barrier. *Smash!* Nyssara swung her arm, smashing her hammer to block it as it burst into an icy mist. Maya wanted to freeze that mist and debuff Nyssara, but before she could do that, Nyssara''s moving hammer that smashed her attack wasn''t just for defending. It instantly unleashed an icy spear that forcefully disrupted and used her attack''s icy mist to bolster her spear. Maya attempted to dodge without hesitation and seeded, her weapon already changed as she now wielded two revolvers. Both went for Almond. Nyssara''s eyes coldly gleamed. Luminous Squall¡ªS-rank skill! A dreadful storm descended on the tform, covering 100 meters of area. The storm consisted of attributes of light, ice, and water. Maya instantly started freezing, ice forming all around her body at once. Her speed drastically lowered, along with her chances of victory because of this skill. Meanwhile, Almond and other summons started gaining resistance to ice and an ethereal icy armor around them. This skill consumed Mana per second after an initial cost of 10% of her maximum mana. Within this storm, her speed drastically increases along with her other synergizing skills'' power. ''I can''t waste my Mana on resisting this. I have to finish her off before she finishes me,'' Maya began shooting without stopping. She used ss skill-generated empowered bullets and two buff skills, one from each ss, as she consumed 70% of her Mana. ''Good decision,'' Almond nodded. Good decision, but it made no difference to the final oue. Nyssara had already used another skill after Luminous Squall, a skill synergizing heavily with it, bringing out the ultimate offense. Prism icy crystals manifested around her, glowing with dreadful beauty. Radiant Ice Prism (S). Those crystals unleashedser-based attacks, precisely hitting all bullets. Maya emptied all 12 bullets in pairs of two, each half a second, but during these few seconds of confrontation, Nyssara nullified all of her bullets with her icy-lightser bullets. But that was not all. Nyssara had more crystals, and they began shooting at Maya while she dashed forward with her Hammer. Maya used a skill, breaking free from all the ice and making a focused run. She wanted to escape from this storm''s range. But her heart dropped shortly as she noticed that the storm was moving with Nyssara. ''Fuck.'' Her Focus Field discovered iing attacks as she jumped while her weapon changed, and she turned around midair, pulling the string of her Aquafrost Longbow. The gleaming arrow shot at Nyssara was a mere 5 meters away from her, already in a jumping motion to reach Maya. ''You can''t dodge this,'' Maya''s eyes glinted. But her expression changed in the next moment. Nyssara''s hammer struck the arrow, shattering it into a burst of icy mist while she spun midair using the sting impact and moved forward by releasing a burst of ice from her back. Maya'' wanted to move, but she could only think about moving instead of actually moving because¡­it was toote. Nyssara''s heel kick struck Maya on her head, shooting her down on the floor. But before she could do anything, the floor erupted in a big icy spike, with Mayapletely frozen inside it. Nyssaranded right at that time, gracefully yet deadly as her hammer swung right on Maya''s head as she descended, striking ruthlessly without the slightest hesitation. *Boom!* The crystal shattered, and Maya was sted down to the ground. The badge absorbed the entirety of the damage as a loud beep rang. *Uproar!* The audience burst out in uproar while Gto was wide-eyed as he shouted, "DAYUM! Ladies and gentlemen¡­dayum!!"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Wow," Kira''s eyes sparkled. "That summons looks like she has some goodbat sense. It''spletely different from the only skill show of his previous summon." "And she seems as intelligent as normal humans. Maybe all of his humanoid summons are intelligent and capable of good growth and learning. That''s¡­honestly crazy powerful," Marcus muttered. "Hehe, Almond has trained his humanoid summons inbat. They are pretty good, with theirbat style revolving around their powerful skills," Natalia grinned. "And trust me¡­Almond is a damn goodbat trainer." On the tform''s inner area, Maya stood up while still feeling slightly wobbly as she shook her head. Gto used some kind of skill to make her stable before looking at Almond and using Magic Whisper, ''Lad, this summons of yours was quite powerful. Are the other two humanoid summons the same?'' ''Of course,'' Almond replied. ''They are trainable, and I''ve taught them, so you need to change my title. I am not just a Fantastic Summoner.'' "Good fight," Maya stood up and nodded at Nyssara and Almond, "I look forward to our next meeting." After saying that, she walked towards the loser''s corner. "And the winner is Almond the Fantastic Summoner! Can''t wait to see his next match, right?!" The audience cheered loudly. ¡­ Match 3 began shortly. Ron the Geocrusher Fighter vs. Finn the Thundering Might. Both warrior-type and close-range fighters. Their battle was intense, a sh between Earth and Lightning. One used earthen gauntlets, and another used a thundering hammer. But in the end, Ron clutched the victory. The disadvantage lightning-element had against Earth yed a part, but that was no excuse because it was a matter of getting hit strongly or hitting strongly first. After their battle, Match 4 began soon. Anya the Silverbolt Whip vs. Lily the Dreadspire Harbinger. Anya tried her hardest, but Lily simply overwhelmed her. The best bet was to keep out of Lily''s Dreadspire Mantle''s range, but that was impossible given Lily''s primary ss¡ªPhantom Thief, which gave her a powerful dash and increased speed. She only used the Phantom Dance skill of her Primary ss while using Dreadspire Mantle and Warlock Enchant: Dreadspire Elements. Phantom Dance increased her speed drastically while also giving her a powerful dash trigger. Itsted for 1 minute, and during this minute, there was no way for anyone to escape Lily. Combining this with her Dreadspire Mantle that scared everyone within 10 meters of her, lowering their reaction speed and their attack and defense, it was over. Anya could only attack once, which failed, and then Lily overwhelmed her, finishing the battle within 13 seconds. Judging from the audience''s reaction, she became no less popr than Almond''s arsenal of summons because of her powerful vibe and visually delightful skills. As she went to stand by Almond, Gto called for thest match of the round. Kira the Crescent Stormde vs. Eliara the Steel Fortress. One was a katana user and a high-speed lightbatant with a focus on offense and movement aided by A-rank Water elemental mastery and a rich arsenal ofbat prowess with the katana and sword-based skills. The other was a warrior type using a spear and a shield with B-rank Metal elemental mastery, with a focus on both offense and defense. Everyone expected an intense sh between them, but Kira decided otherwise. The battle was over shortly after it began. Kira''s sh projectiles overwhelmed Eliara, preventing her from attacking and forcing her to defend. But she couldn''t defend enough. The round showed a clear and distinct difference between everyone''s prowess. "And there we have our top five Silver-rank adventurers! And among them will emerge the most powerful Silver rank adventurer, the one to grace the throne of the silver bracket of Rising Star Leaderboard!" "Without further ado, we shall start the battle of the top 1 spot right away. My little rising stars, use the potions and recover your Mana and Stamina," Gto handed over the potions to the top 5. On the loser''s corner, the five who lost could only watch while sitting cross-legged and observing the next round for the throne. "I''ll take the first spot," Xavier said as he turned to Almond, his eyes firm. Lily leaned ahead a bit and looked at Xavier, "Seriously, you can''t. It''s impossible." Xavier''s face flushed before he snorted, "We''ll see." Lily rolled her eyes. "There''s a fine line between delusion and confidence, but this line seems to be blurry for you." Gto coughed, attracting their attention while the holograms also showed him facing the winners from a side angle. "Now that you all recovered fully, let me exin the final round." Chapter 123 Rising Star Tournament (13), Final Round "The final round is extensive. The five of you will fight each other, and your ranks will be determined based on the points. Victory will give you two points, draw will give one point, and losing will result in a deduction of one point." "The matches have been arranged by us already this time, so let us start without further ado. Pleasee forward, Xavier and Ron!" Amidst the cheers of the audience, both of them arrived at the center of the tform, standing with 20 meters of distance between them. The countdown appeared, and both contestants became ready to sh. Xavier with his rapier and Ron in his geo-crystal suit and gauntlets. Their battle began with Xavier unleashing a piercing beam that Ron deflected with a crystal-round shield. "Your beams won''t work," Ron grinned and punched in Xavier''s direction right as a square crystal cube materialized. "You think I only have beams?" Xavier snorted and snapped his finger, creating a triangle of light that blocked the cube, resulting in mutual destruction. Ron tore through the smoke, his fist aimed at Xavier''s head. Xavier dodged by moving his head while stabbing his rapier, enchanted with light elemental power and his ss skill. Ron grinned and didn''t bother dodging or blocking it. Instead, he simply continued with his other hand, throwing his punch at Xavier''s head. Xavier''s eyes flickered as he used a movement-type skill. His feet glittered, and he jumped back while reluctantly canceling his stab attack. But even as he jumped back, he wanted to continue his attack, so he consumed more mana and shifted his stab attack to a long-range one, trying to aim at Ron''s face, which was unprotected by the geo-crystal suit. Ron reacted barely in time to dodge it since Xavier''sst-moment attack shift wasn''t as precise. In the next second, both of them shed against each other with their projectile skills before Ron closed in again. The intense battle was exciting for the audience to watch as both went for each other''s throats. Ron didn''t care to defend himself from Xavier''s attack and made sure that he would continue with his flurry of attacks. After all, the most vulnerable moment was when one was attacking because, during the act of attacking, one wouldn''t be able to defend properly. Using that tactic, Ron precisely went for deadly attacks while remaining close to Xavier when Xavier attacked, forcing Xavier to alter his patterns and movement. They managed to hit shallow attacks on each other a few times, shaving away their Fortifications'' durability, but it was up to them on how they used their remaining Mana. Ron dominated the pace of the battle from the start and managed to continue with it as hended a powerful punch enchanted with his ss skill and knuckles glittering with crystal spikes. The situation got bad for Xavier as he lost his Fortificationpletely, and he couldn''t afford to use it again due to low Mana. Both of them were low on Mana, but Xavier only had one chance to make aeback. He gambled and managed tond his attack on Ron, but unfortunately, it wasn''t enough to clutch the victory, and Ron''s sly punch struck Xavier, who had lost his Fortification as everyone witnessed the oue of the battle. "And the victory goes to Ron the Geocrusher Fighter!" Xavier cursed under his breath, frustration clearly visible in his eyes as he got up. "I guess you focused too much on one style," Ronughed. "Humph, you just had more resistance to my attacks and could deflect my main attack means because of elemental synergy," Xavier snorted, "But even that won''t help you against me next time." "Yeah, yeah, we''ll see." Gto told Xavier to stand at another corner while giving Ron a pill, "Here, eat this and recover fully because you will continue your matches until you finish fighting the other three and finalize your points." "I am ready," Ron grinned as he smashed his fists together before taking the pill and eating it. "So, who is my next opponent?" "Almond Crowshade, please enter the stage." ''Damn, this is going to be tough,'' Ron thought as he saw Almonding to the center area. Almond summoned only Starlight Beast this time instead of making a show of summoning four spirit wraiths. As soon as the battle began, Ron used a ss skill and made a powerful and quick dash toward Almond while his gauntlets extended with crystal spikes. ''I can shift my attacks midway, so if his summons block me, I''ll rain my attacks on it and finish it off as fast as possible.'' s, it was good to think optimistically, but it also required the ability to back that up. Starlight Beast simply used Cosmic Pulse (S), shifting the gravity within a 50-meter radius, increasing the gravity.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Ron instantly stumbled midway through his dash and rolled forward. ''Wtf!'' "Roar!" *Crackle! Boom!* Before Ron could get up and stabilize himself, Starlight Beast dashed forward using Meteore Rush (A) and headbutted Ron strongly,unching him into the air while shifting Cosmic Pulse to lower the gravity instead of increasing it. Ron was in the air, and he hurriedly tried to use a skill. His Fortification was shattered with that head-butt, so he knew if he got one more solid attack, it would be over. s, he wanted to use Fortification again first to make himself safe, but before he could do that, Starlight Beast''s mouth was aimed at Ron, who was in the air, pulsing with power. Celestial Roar (A) It unleashed a powerful roar with ring waves crackling with lightning as a thundering sound reverberated. Ron was struck by this shockwave-type attack, shattering his Geo-crystal suit and dealing more than enough damage that the badge absorbed everything as it rang. "And once again, Almond wins the match without moving an inch!" *Uproar!* "That beast is majestic as fuck!" "It''s based on a lion and looks so freaking cool! That roar was pure delight to hear!" "Fuck! Bro is a one-man party with his crazy summons!" Almond won, and he went to stand beside Xavier while Ron ate a pill and got ready for his next match. Unfortunately, he lost against Lily. Finally, in hisst match¡­ he lost against Kira as well. Ron''s total points: -1. ''Fuck, am I going to be ranked 5th?'' Ron thought as he walked towards the southwest corner. But then came Xavier''s turn to finish his three matches. He lost against Lily and Kira as his points reached -3. Ron became hopeful. ''Lose one more, and I''ll be ranked 4th. Hahaha, you have no chance against Almond.'' Xavier had a lot of pressure on himself. ''Should I provoke him to fight himself instead of using his summons?'' ''No, I can''t do that. I don''t want to sound like a loser,'' Xavier clenched his fist as he saw Almonding to face him. ''I''ll fight with my all, whatever it may result in!'' Almond summoned Chimera Frank, the most terrifying and scary-looking monster among his Spirit Wraiths. Four legs, four pairs of big crystalized thin wings with colorful patterns, three tails with de-like tip parts, a different variety of two horns on all three heads¡ªone lion-like head, one Beaver-like head, and the third being a mix of fairy and harpy head, leaning towards human-style face just like those two boss monsters. "And there it is! Almond revealed his 6th summon! A hideous and terrifying-looking chimera! Holy hell!" ''Are you fucking kidding me?'' Xavier gulped. Even he felt like losing a few points of confidence seeing that monster. "Dayum," Ron muttered. "It looks simr to that White King Manticore, but only scarier." "Without further ado, let us start the battle!" One minuteter, Xavier was lying on the ground, holding back his frustration so that he wouldn''t scream. ''I lost all matches¡­'' "And we have our winner of the match, once again winning with utmost leisure as nobody has managed to get even close to him! The next one to fight the matches will be Almond, so I guess a new title is due, right?!" The audience cheered loudly. Many shouting Fantastic Summoner, but even more, agreeing for a new badass title. "You better give a good title this time," Lily muttered. "True," Kira chuckled. Almond turned to Gto, blinking in little anticipation. "Ahem," Gto cleared his throat, "With his summons that dominates the arena, he has established his absolute prowess here! The one-man army, the ringmaster who has never gone all out with his summons yet achieved effortless victories! Almond the Arena Overlord" "Now, let us witness his remaining two battles and see if he lives up to the title!" Kira moved to the stage to fight Almond, clearly excited. "Now, what will he summon this time?!" Gto shouted, eager to see another summon''s power, just like everyone else. "Well, no summon this time," Almond smiled as he stretched his hand towards Gto, "Give me a sword¡­hmm, a heavy sword will do." "Heavy sword against my quick Katana? Strange, but¡­" Kira blinked, but unlike having doubts like others, she was filled with anticipation and grinned. "I guess you are going to show me something interesting. I am excited." "I told someone I would show my heavy sword here against another one proficient in the sword, so this is a good chance," Almond said as he grabbed themon-rank heavy sword Gto gave him. Julian was among the audience and watching him, his eyes bing absolutely focused because Almond was using the Heavy Sword for him to observe. Lily was also excited, ''Show them some cool moves, darling.'' "Woah, woah, woah! Almond is really going to fight Kira with a heavy sword instead of using his summons! This is a twist we didn''t expect, but I am all for it! Let us start the match!" The countdown appeared between them while the audience quieted down, filled with anticipation, doubts, and assumptions. Chapter 124 Rising Star Tournament (14), Almond vs. Kira, Last Battle Almond stood as he leisurely held the Heavy Sword with one hand. As the countdown hit zero, both of them were ready with their preparation. Almond, with his Lightning-style Body Enfold and lightning-style Weapon Enfold. He didn''t use Fortification and also suppressed his stats to the same level as Kira after measuring her with his Riftveil Eyes. ''I am ready to explore the sword more and get inspired,'' Almond''s eyes glinted, clearly thrilled to observe Kira''s moves and swordy up close, especially the Sword Bending Motion. Kira acted fast, with her Weapon Enfold, Body Enfold, and Fortification in Water-style activated as a beautiful yet deadly watery aura shaped around her. She used Sword Bending Motion right off the bat and unleashed five sword sh projectiles from her Katana, all shes being her attack-type ss skill boosted by another ss skill. This was clearly her strongest attack so far with such a breakneck speed. Kira was going all out right from the start! But Almond waved his heavy sword, crackling with lightning only once with such a timing that all five shes, which were a minor distance apart from each other anding with sly trajectories, struck his heavy sword''s de during that single swing and nullified each of them. Kira''s eyes sparkled, and so did a few other figures watching the fight. Silvester literally jumped, "That brat countered multiple attacks released through Sword Bending Motion just like that?" Rudra chuckled, "I am not impressed by this anymore after I sparred with him several days ago." Almond walked towards Kira with his sword resting on his shoulder, "Continue your attack." ''That sword bending motion is a powerful skill. If I can learn it¡­'' Almond''s eyes glinted, his entire focus had shifted and aligned with a goal. Kira''s figure blurred as she dashed at Almond with a watery stream around her and Katana''s de vibrating with water coating. *Swoosh!* Stopping exactly 2 meters away from Almond, her Katana swung in her Crescent Moon stance.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The katana''s tip was aimed such that it would sh at his throat precisely, only 1 centimeter of its tip, and that was enough to unleash her skill through it and deal powerful damage. s, Almond''s sword blocked it. But it was just a start. Kira''s hand motion flowed as if guided by a powerful force. A second sh, from left to right, and then immediately and instantly, a third sh formed as her hand moved from right to left at unnatural speed. Almond''s eyes glinted, ''A pre-decided trajectory created by mana¡­'' Meanwhile, to her attack response, Almond simply waved and held his sword vertically while moving back slightly, perfectly parrying Kira''s dual attacks. But Almond knew that wasn''t all. Kira''s first attack disyed her current mastery of Sword Bending Motion as she had woven her hand at unnatural speed five times in one second. Kira moved back and shed horizontally at the area before a wave of water formed and burst toward Almond and prepared for a powerful attack as her eyes glinted. ''Six bending motion.'' Almond was unbothered by the wave as he held his ground and discharged lightning to st away water from himself. His eyes were only focused on Kira''s movement and her aura, his advanced Focus Field observing the Mana''s movement. Since he had reached Stage 2 of Focus Field faster, thanks to his high stats in Perception and Focus, he could now clearly observe one''s Mana flow, inside and outside, aside from the increased range of his field and efficient consumption. He could do one more thing at stage 2, but that wasn''t required here. Almond saw a flow of mana in a zig-zag pattern around Kira''s hands as her sword and hand bent, following the zig-zag patterns within a single second and unleashing six shes with minor differences. Kira''s eyes shed a hint of pain, but that was overshadowed by her thrill. The six shes glowed powerfully with cutting water edge, striking towards Almond right after he discharged lightning to keep his ground and keep away water''s force. Almond''s eyes shed a hint of a smile, ''Well, I should show the heavy sword''s swordy, too.'' He had already held the sword with its de''s wide t part facing Kira and swung it in a timely manner as her six shes were about to strike him. Almond''s thought process was exactly two seconds faster than whatever physical movement he could observe with his eyes and Focus Field. So he could prepare two seconds ''ahead'' in a sense, as long as he could form a prediction of iing attack by seeing through the attack. Despite his suppressed stats to make things interesting, Almond had seen through her attack and disyed the power of his heavy sword as he swung it hard, generating a wider physical force that he enriched with lightning energy by using Mana. Kira''s six swings and six shes¡­were entirely destroyed by a single swing of his heavy sword, which also pushed Kira away as she had to quickly dodge due to lightning crackling at her with Almond''s intentions. ''His lightning elemental mastery is high! Higher than my A-rank water!'' Kira''s pupils shrank. She could recognize that because she couldn''t make a simr elemental application with her water element that Almond just did because shecked that level of control over water! "Golden lightning! Almond''s elemental mastery over lightning is not only high, but he also has a variant, and he is holding his own in swordy against the heir of the Ryugiri n! Mindblowing!" "Let''s continue," Almond said, his eyes eager. He wanted to see Sword Bending Motion one more clearly. Kira''s aura surged as she consumed half of her remaining Mana to make her Katana more powerful before dashing at Almond again. Almond saw a simr mana flow appearing around her hands and knew it wasing. ''This is myst chance¡­I am going all out!'' Stopping two meters away from Almond again in her Crescent Moon stance, Kira shed her sword glittering with water element as she used an attack thatbined her attack-type ss skill¡ªSplitting Water sh (S), and an attack technique using her Sword Bending Motion. Crescent Moons of Deep Blue! Kira swung her sword four times, but these four times were executed most powerfully as her sh projectiles formed a visual of two crescent moons facing each other as if they peeled from her katana, while her katana''s tip aimed in such a way that if it struck him, it would sh off both of his arms and head from his neck. This was a deadly two-fold attack. Her Katana physically attacked Almond while the act of her swinging katana and using a technique in tandem with her skill masterfully executed that projectile attack as well. A super-fast two-pronged attack! The experts watching were highly impressed as they watched this deadly sword art. ''You really learn awesome things by observing others,'' Almond was internally grinning from ear to ear, his hand already in a swinging motion. Mana flowed around his hand and elerated, forcefully bending his hand that was already at maximum physically exerted speed to go even faster, beyond the limit of what was possible¡ªSword Bending Motion: Two Bendings! Left to right and right to left immediately while Almond felt a crack in his bones. The first swing left to right deflected Kira''s melee katana attack. The second swing, surging with lightning, destroyed the Crescent Moons of Deep Blue in an intense sh. Kira was thrown away due to the impact brought by heavy swords two shes, while Almond was also pushed back slightly. ''Fuck,'' Almond quickly used Mana to fix his bones temporarily. *Beep* Kira''s badge rang because Almond''s attack also aimed lightning tendrils traveling through the air that struck Kira when Almond swung his sword, and he had infused considerable Mana for that lightning, which destroyed Kira''s Fortification and damaged her enough that the badge rang after absorbing its damage. "You¡­" Kira swiftly got up, her eyes glinting as she Magic Whispered, ''Did you just use Sword Bending Motion?'' ''I did, but I missed a step or two, I guess,'' Almond chuckled. ''But I am inspired. I''ll have to research properlyter because I have an idea to create a skill.'' "And he freaking did it! He defeated Kira the Crescent Stormde with his sword alone! Whaatttt!" The audience went bonkers, and Gto only boosted the hype. "HOLY HELL!" "What the fuck is wrong with him?! Aren''t summoners supposed to be weak inbat?!" "That''s only in the video games, dumbahh!" "Who can defeat this, bro?! No one!" "I am a fan now! This guy is invincible in silver rank!" ''Hey, Almond, tell me your ss names already, and I might give you a new title,'' Gto asked while grinning. ''Spirit Dealer and Riftveil Grimde.'' ''I must say,d, you are quite talented. Better keep this up and catch up to us, hahaha.'' "Now, without further ado, we shall start the final match of Almond the Grimde Overlord! If he wins this match, the throne of strongest silver-rank shall belong to him!" "Against him is Lily the Dreadspire Harbinger, who is no less intimidating than her opponent! Both of them have won every match against others so far, so it is time to decide the champion of this tournament!" "Are you ready?!" The audience broke out in huge cheers for both of them as Gto announced the start of the match after giving Almond a pill to recover his Mana and Stamina. Lily grinned. "Let''s have some fun, darling~" "As you wish, mydy," Almond smiled. The uproar increased even more as their exchange was visible to everyone! "Damn, are they dating or what?!" "No way, right?!" "All hail the perfect couple!" "So I don''t have a chance to be Almond''s girlfriend?" "Pff¡­quit dreaming." Gtoughed and said, "Let us witness the battle between the couple before their breakup!" Lily and Almond looked at Gto. "Eh, I''m just joking. Don''t look at me like that. Look, the countdown is at zero!" Chapter 125 Rising Star Tournament (15/15), Hollowstar Group Lily and Almond could fight the most spectacr battle of this tournament, but they didn''t care to give it to the audience. They had fought by going all-out multiple times, and there was no need to show all of their cards here. Almond also didn''t need rewards, which were permanent stat-increasing items. He wanted to give the first spot to Lily, but Lily tly rejected it. She would ept the reward items from him, but not the first spot that she didn''t earn. As such, they fought seriously, but in their limitation and purely based onbat ability with their weapons and move-set. Almond won as expected, but their battlested for two minutes because they were in their sparring-learning mode, and it was still a delight for the audience and certainly the most spectacr battle for the silver-rank bracket. VIP booth of Proximax Guild. A neatlybed, ck-haired middle-aged man stood with his hands on a sword''s hilt that was stabbed in front of him. It was a ck sword with dark green and dark red cracky patterns. Guild leader of Proximax¡ªLiam Sunbreak, and Rank 1 in Global Adventurer Leaderboard. The other seven people, three women and four men in this booth, all held a simr kind of vibe as if they were a military unit with the utmost respect and trust towards their leader. "I suppose there are a few gems worth inviting," said a blond-haired woman with a long ponytail style, looking in her thirties, wearing an office secretary suit. "It''s been a few months since we allowed anyone in," Liam nodded, his thin beard as jet ck as his hair. "But there are a few worth inviting this time." "Who will it be, leader?" a red-haired slim man looking in histe twenties said with a grin, his teeth slightly spiky and vibeical. But there lurked a sea of blood behind his crimson eye. Zyger Joy¡ªa rtively young adventurer who made a spot in the top 20 of the Global leaderboard. "Aside from the top five, send invitations to Maya, Marcus, and Anya, and¡­Noah." "Leader, could we get Natalia too? I believe she has the spirit to do better," a slim ck-haired girl in herte twenties said. "Of course, unless you have nned to give the 10th slot to someone else." Liam rubbed his beard before he faintly smiled, "I was saving the 10th in case we find someer this month. But you are right. Send one to Natalia as well." On the other hand, League of Firefly''s VIP booth was more lively. "That kid''s powerful. Lily will only grow stronger staying by his side," Executive Ken said with a grin as he nced at Aria, who sat on a couch watching the screen.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "It''s disappointing that we couldn''t recruit someone like him, but nevertheless, it won''t hurt to have Lily maintain her rtionship with him," the leader of the guild spoke¡ªshe was a fiery oranged-haired woman with a hot figure in her thirties, wearing a white, military-inspired outfit with a mini-skirt and leggings, with a sleek and formal aesthetic,plemented by ck ents on her sleeves and waist. 2nd rank Global Leaderboard ¡ª Quinn Firefly. "I suppose I can''t deny that after seeing how she has improved when training with him for the past week," Aria nodded. "But that Almond is quite powerful. Aside from his strong ss, hisbat sense is off the chartspared to others of his age," Executive James said as he lit up a cigarette. "Should I try to poach him?" "Don''t do that unless you want Admiral Rudra toe and have tea with you." "Fair point. I''ll steer clear of him." Meanwhile, a guild ranked 14th in the Guild Leaderboard was having a mourning. Thunderbird Guild VIP booth. The case of Zolen and his son hit them hard even though they weren''t partners in that duo''s deed. The media storm fucked their Guild''s reputation, and their recruitment was already reduced, with many canceling their application. "We have to mend our wounds," Thunderbird leader Kalen said as he narrowed his eyes and looked at the screen, watching Almond. "The best way is to have a favorable opinion from someone famous. For the younger generation that is toe, it would be the new and rising Adventurers." "What''s the n, leader?" "Although I want to make the Guild appear in a better light, we need toy low for now and inspect our guild thoroughly. I don''t want another case like that, sick fuck Zolen. I am going tounch an investigation, and everyone will cooperate, you all too. It''s not strange to have a skeleton or two in the closet, be it due to circumstances or dire situations, but I won''t tolerate going as low as Zolen. So, If you have skeletons in your closet, you better clean them now." ¡­ Since the top 5 ranking was solidified, Gto announced the rewards they were going to get. Rank 1 got a set of consumable items¡ªPower Fruits (A) that could increase all six stats by 15-20. Rank 2 got a set of Power Fruits (B) that could increase all six stats by 10-15. Rank 3, 4, and 5 got a set of Power Fruits (C) that could increase all six stats by up to 10. Rank 6th to 10th would get a set of Power Fruits (D) that could increase all six stats by up to 5. From the 11th to the 20th, the rewards changed to two consumable items that randomly increased one''s stats by up to 20 each. So, they could gain up to 40 stat points. Power Fruits were the product of the 10th Floor, from a hidden area where the mysterious tree grew that bore fruits to increase stats. It was discovered recently by GAA, or more precisely, it was Admiral Rudra who discovered it, so they decided to distribute them this way. The downside was that these fruits only worked once. After eating a set of fruit from the tree of each rank, the fruits wouldn''t give any more stats. The tree''s fruit-bearing cycle was monthly, so GAA could harvest the fruits every month. It had been three months since they had the tree, and since each cycle gave 10-15 sets of fruits of different ranks, they had gathered quite a haul. If a Guild had found that location first, they would have taken it for themselves and monopolized it. It could also spark wars between the guilds, after all, such a mysterious tree with stat increasing fruits was a huge boon. After the top 5 got the fruits, the battles to determine the 6th to 20th ranking began. Natalia grabbed the 15th spot, sitting borderline at the top 15, and got two consumable pills with the effect of randomly increasing her stats by up to 40 points total after using both pills. The Silver-bracket''s Rising Star Tournament was officially over with that, along with today''s schedule. Everyone began leaving, mostly in airships. ¡­ The next day arrived, beginning the 5th of December and the quarter-final round for the Gold-rank Adventurers. But while the whole world was watching the tournament, "They" made their move ording to their schedule. In a remote location at the southern pole where no one was living, a group of 30 people in the same ck cloaks with hazy white and blue patterns arrived, each cloak also had a strange symbol of a spiral with an eye in the middle. They arrived at a Labyrinth Gate that was slightly buried in snow and cleaned the area. "It''s time, brethren. We have seen the other world, and we have seen what powers Hollowstar can give us. It''s time to shake this game board and make new rules." "Once our n seeds and this world gets thrown into chaos, Hollowstar''s forces will help this world and take it under their banner," the leader spoke with fervor. "In that new world, we will be the rulers!" Your next chapter is on empire After the speech, he walked in front of the closed Labyrinth gate and stabbed a mysterious glowing dagger into its stone wall. Cracks spread from the point where the dagger was stabbed, glowing violet, purple, and blue. After a few seconds, a small area of the gate shattered, revealing a familiar whirlpool. The dagger disintegrated afterward. "We have 48 hours for this operation, but we will stick to our projected simtion andplete the tasks within 38 hours. We''ll likely face some difficulties, but if we do everything as we devised, we''ll seed within 48 hours and exit safely." "Form a chain!" The leader extended his hand towards one behind him, and he extended his hand to another. All 30 people made physical contact so that they would all arrive at the same Safety Zone. "Group 1, you''ll go to the Red Fall Area and retrieve the item as soon as possible!" "Group 2, you''ll finish your task at Duskwraith Grove in half an hour before moving to the Hunting Bell Forest!" "Group 3 will focus on finding the most important items. I''ll be moving solo toplete the other task. Stay in thework andmunicate properly. If you face any trouble, ask for help immediately." "And most importantly, don''t let the cloaks get damaged! They are durable but not unbreakable. Make sure they are protected by your Mana because if your cloak is damaged, a Rule Enforcer will awaken and find you. Your death will be certain after that, ording to Hollowstar Emissary." After arriving in the safety zone resembling a small old town waiting to be revived, the thirty of them split into three groups as the leader barked orders. They soon teleported to other safety zones by paying Gold Coins and going to the safety zones near the locations where their objectives were located. As for the leader, he also teleported and arrived at a safety zone at a river''s bank. He summoned a giant ck crow with glowing violet feathers and patterns before mounting on it and flying away. ''Rudra, I hope you''ll like the present we are preparing for this world.'' Chapter 126 Until the Labyrinth Opens (1/2) The first thing on December 5th Morning, Lily and Natalia ate the items that increased their stats and processed them. Almond also gave his fruit set to Lily, but it wouldn''t work on her since she had already eaten the same rank of fruit set. As such, it went to Natalia, who benefitted from a big boost in stats, gaining a total of 133 stat points by eating six fruits and two pills. [Natalia Lorzach] -Adventurer rank: Silver. -Level: 10 -ss: Mirage Witch (B). -Sp.ss: Chaosbound Serenador (SS). -Vitality: [100%/100%]. -Mana: [1300/1300]. -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 49 | Health: 45 | Stamina: 41] -Mental ?[Mana: 68 (+68) | Focus: 42 | Perception: 41] "The status is looking good now with better numbers," Almond smiled. He turned to Lily and said, "You both are close in stats now." [Lily] -Adventurer rank: Silver. -Level: 10 -ss: Phantom Thief (S) -Sp.ss: Dreadspire Warlock (SSS) -[Vitality: 100%] -[Mana: 650/650] -Stats: ?[Strength: 65 | Health: 40 | Stamina: 39] ?[Mana: 69 | Focus: 40 | Perception: 43] "Let''s finish eating and watching Julian''s match now. I want to train after that," Natalia said as she went to the kitchen to bring the food. Almond and Lily went to sit at the table and turned on the TV. Your journey continues on empire The matches had just begun, and the second battle was ongoing. The trio soon finished eating and watched as Julian made his way into the top 50. Julian was training the whole day yesterday, improving hisbat style and modifying it based on the massive improvement he had. He had gotten insight into using his heavy sword in a new way thanks to Almond and, even more so, synergizing it better with his evolved ss. Julian''s overallbat power improved drastically. The trio stopped watching after Julian lost. They didn''t watch his ranking battles and began training.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Meanwhile, Julian''s journey ended in the top 50 as he achieved 44th rank after fighting his ranking battles. But Julian did beat that arrogant Doman who used to win against him in the GAA training field. As for the final result, the top 10 were the prodigious ones who were in their early twenties and awakened in thest three years. Up until one year and eight months ago, the strongest powerhouse was at the peak of the Gold rank. The front liners had just defeated Floor 8''s boss and unlocked the 9th floor, opening doors to the tinum-rank advancement. Naturally, this increased the number of tinum-rank drastically, and they were still increasing as Gold-rank Adventurers were increasing in numbers as the door to Gold-rank had been opened 5 years ago. By now, the number of tinum-rank Adventurers had reached around five hundred thousand, even if not all of them were focused inbat. As such, the current highest number of Gold-rank were young adults in their twenties and more talented on average due to the world shifting its focus onbat, opening dojos and academies to prepare a new generation for the Labyrinth and the age of Adventurers. ¡­ The following days passed by in peace and anticipation. The Rising Star Tournament waspletely finished on the 10th of December, creating a new ranking for the Silver, Gold, and tinum rank Adventurers under certain age limits: 25 for Silver, 30 for Gold, and 30 for tinum. Of course, the Global Adventurer Leaderboard was still separate as it offered no rewards and only fame, while the Rising Star Leaderboard was to support a new generation of Adventurers. The age limit was wider this time, but the next tournament 3 monthster would have a narrower age limit, with 30 for tinum, 25 for Gold, and 20 for Silver because there were already many young Adventurers who awakened in the past two years reaching tinum rank, especially the talented with high-rank sses. And a new wave of the more prodigious batch was rapidly in development, led by none other than Almond. He didn''t pay much attention to the tournament after the 5th day, in fact, almost no one on the silver leaderboard of Rising Stars did. Almond, Lily, and Natalia only trained, improving various aspects of theirbat style and arsenal. Marcus and Maya joined them on 6th December and continued training with them daily. Kira had also been in touch since the tournament, as everyone had exchanged contact. She wanted to join them, but her family strictly prohibited her from doing that for a special training of her own. Julian had disappeared on the 7th as he had gotten Rudra''s favor in light of his budding talent and the burning resolve he showed to get strong. He was sent to the Duncan Family Estate. But he didn''t know it was Almond''s idea the first time. Julian could benefit a lot more and gain more knowledge on the sword if he trained at Duncans, who had a heritage and proper knowledge of the sword. Almond knew he was good at the sword and maybe a god at the sword if he was bold, but it wasn''t something he could teach to others. The way he improved wasn''t systematic or step-by-step. He was on a journey to explore his sword constantly, and he wasn''t going to stop anytime soon. As such, while in this state, he couldn''t afford to teach others to improve them beneficially. But his presence in practice and a few critical words made with his observation still guided those around him as everyone trained daily. Almond had put his entire focus on improving his Mana techniques first. He wanted to reach stage 2 in all techniques because he could, given his crazy high stats. It was a clear untapped potential that he could tap fast and gain a big boost in power. Lily, Natalia, Maya, and Marcus also sparred against Spirit Wraiths, who had higher stats and more skills. In group battles of 4 vs 4, the four of them lost more than they won, but both sides were getting better and better each day. On the 10th of December, Almond finally reached the second stage in Strength Boost, Fortification, Focus Field, and Aura Enfold, which almost made him twice as strong in a sense and more in an overall sense. Although this made everyone''s jaw drop, including Rudra''s, Almond knew it was given. His Mana control was high naturally as if he was very attuned to it, and this was even more prevalent with his 200 points in Perception and Focus. The boost these stage 2 of Mana techniques provided could make someone significantly powerful, but that significance was more significant for Almond than it was for average adventurers. Chapter 127 Until the Labyrinth Opens (2/2) Stage 2 Strength Boost now increased his Strength to 150% at level 10, a whole 50% bonus. With his mana recovery, he could perpetually keep this technique activated, but simply a 50% boost in strength wasn''t all that stage 2 offered, of course. With Mana being highly in sync with his physical body during Physical Enchantment at Stage 2, he could now consume Stamina at an increased rate for a short-term boost in physical attacks, like making certain parts of his body highly stronger, up 100% stronger. This meant that if he punched with his 100 Strength stat, it would be boosted to the power of 350 Strength stat if he used his Stage 2 Strength Boost to full power. The cost of stamina-to-strength conversion for the short-term boost of extra 100% Strength varied depending on the mastery and control of Mana. For instance, Julian had also reached Stage 2 of Body Strength a month ago, but to acquire that 100% extra boost in Strength on a certain part of his body for an explosive move or attack, he had to consume 28% of his maximum stamina. But Almond had reached the ideal conversion rate. 10% of Stamina consumption = 100% of strength Boost for 2 seconds on a certain body part. This was the highest possible for Stage 2 Strength Boost. Stay tuned with empire Fortification Stage 2 also did a simr job but tailored for its effect. Fortification was creating awork of Chakra points using Mana to connect them all and leak out Mana evenly around the body to provide an ethereal coating around the user that would remain for a few minutes, granting a natural skin-tight barrier that would absorb damage and protect the user. While in Fortification, one''s entire body would be tougher, internally and externally, thanks to a mana-empowered chakrawork.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om This skin-tight barrier also had a certain resistance to physical and magic attacks, but it could be strong if one could use elemental style on it. Stage 2 of Fortification was about evolving that skin-tight barrier, which was possible only after one reached a certain level of Mana control. At Stage 2, the skin-tight barrier would be highly transparent and make it look invisible, unlike in Stage 1 where one could easily recognize it due to the blue color. This thinner, transparent version of the Fortification barrier could only be achieved with pressured mana leaking, the crux of Stage 2. For that, one must flow mana through the Manawork instead of just creating thiswork by connecting chakra points. After a single cycle of flow in thework to make the Mana more condensed and thin, this Stage 2 of the Fortification barrier woulde into existence¡ªa barrier 100% more powerful than before and also capable of being highly attuned to any elements, making it ideal for using elemental-styles on it. Elemental-style Stage 2 Fortification could be a generator of refined elemental energy to boost skills by converting the flowing Mana from the chakrawork into elemental energy instead of using normal Mana from their Mana pool. Stage 2 Focus Field''s specialty was extending one''s sense in a narrower field but limitless distance, only limited by one''s Mana consumption¡ªLinear Eye mode. The default Focus Field was a dome of sense around the user, allowing the user to observe everything in 360 degrees, but it had a certain limit to its range. On the other hand, Linear Eye mode was like a string. This string had a range of sensing everything within a certain meters of its radius. This string could be extended as long as one had Mana. Using it, one could observe what was happening 1 kilometer away as the string acted like eyes, but it gave a limited field of vision to the user, less than normal human vision. Still, Focus Field could turn into an excellent scouting move at Stage 2. Lastly, Aura Enfold. Stage 2 Aura Enfold was a whole lot of new dishes. Almond wanted to cook it as soon as possible because the second stage of Body Enfold and Weapon Enfold opened a whole new perspective tobat. Battle Art¡ªthe art ofbat synthesized by using one''s everybat aspect: abination of Skills, elemental mastery, physical movement mastery, andbat techniques to deliver the masterpiece art of theirbat style. But before that, it was time to learn a new skill. The day of Labyrinth opening was approaching with only 5 days remaining. All five of them had their specialized ss ongoing. Marcus and Maya were on the same quest as Almond, Lily, and Natalia. All of them have gained 2 ss skills so far, so it was time to use their next skill insight and get the 3rd ss. But since it would knock them out for 24 hours, everyone decided to do it turn by turn. ¡­ On the 14th of December, after everyone finished breakfast, they went outside for training as usual. Aside from Almond, the others had finished creating their third specialized ss skill. And today, it was Almond''s turn. "Alright, I am entering meditation now. See you after 24 hours," Almond waved his hand as he walked towards Grimlord''s Garden, as named by Sylvia and Nyssara. Theybined their garden into one several days ago and were improving it whenever they didn''t train with others. They ultimately created an aesthetically beautiful and highly pleasing garden disying the artistry of greenery and crystals, with a meditative open pavilion built in the center. Almond sat inside cross-legged and entered meditation as he used his skill insight. ''I''ve created my first battle art, I''ve improved my skills andbat style. Now, I desire a skill that can give me a new flow in mybat.'' ''I''ll make myself supremely powerful because no amount of power is enough if I want to change the destinies dictated by others.'' Almond lit up his burning desire as he drove himself into the pit of darkness to create his new ss skill. Labyrinth was opening tomorrow, and with his new skilling into the y, Almond wished to rumble across the Grand Abyss Labyrinth like he owned it all! Chapter 128 Emergency Alert, Second Floor of the Labyrinth (1) 16th December. It was early in the morning, but thousands of people were gathered at all four Labyrinth Gates located in the Firefly City. Frostar City was small, but this city was big, so there was a traffic control structure built around the Labyrinth gates to control the flow of people wanting to enter the Labyrinth on the first day. At one of the four gates near the League of Firefly guild, Almond''s group was in the huge hall built to contain the gate. The hall had a few hundred people, but thousands more were waiting outside.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om The guild basically had a VIP entry, as their members would be the first ones to enter. There were roughly a hundred of them in the hall, along with a few other smaller guilds, GAA members, and other forces. Xavier was also there with his party of silver level 30 Adventurers, asionally ncing in Almond''s direction direction while talking with others. Almond''s group was at the front of the gate in the hall, along with parties of League of Firefly and two GAA parties. "Kill as few monsters as possible," Almond said. "Your goal is to get the floor boss trigger items only and keep your level as low as possible. The target time is to reach the Floor Boss chamber of this 2nd Floor within 5 hours." "I can''t wait," Marcus grinned. ording to the n, Almond''s party would enter as three groups. Group 1: Marcus, Maya, and Chimera Frank. Group 2: Lily, Natalia, and Starlight Beast. Group 3: Almond. Chimera Frank and Starlight Beast could also act as mounts for them to travel fast through the Labyrinth. Almond gave them to speed up the tasks. "If we kill the Floor boss while being lower level, we''ll get even better rewards, right?" Maya asked. "Well, that''s how it should work," Natalia said with a nod. "You guys are seriously nning to do that?" Almond, Lily, and others turned to voice''s direction and saw a grouping their way. It was the group of Gold-rank Adventurers from League of Firefly¡ªRyker, Sam, and their friends. "Well, that''s the n," Almond smiled. A few more people just arrived at the gate, the big shots of the League of Firefly guild. Lady Aria moved like a cloaked shadow and arrived before Almond''s group, "Lily, Natalia, make sure to use Mana techniques and physical moves along with skills. Don''t just rely on skills." "We know," Natalia cheekily smiled. "We also know you are telling us to do that so that we can create our battle artter." Lady Aria raised her eyebrows and nodded, "Well, since you know, then focus on it. Especially you, Natalia." "Greetings, senior Aria," Ryker and his group greeted Lady Aria respectfully. Lady Aria simply nodded at them and swept her nce at Almond and others before nodding, "All the best." The clock also hit 7 o''clock shortly, and the gate finally opened. The silver-ranks groups were supposed to enter first, and everyone was familiar with the procedure, so the group lined up ording to their party number. A minuteter, Almond''s party also entered. Maintaining physical contact with another person would make both of them spawn at the same starting location, so parties entered while holding their hands. A few minutester, however, all tinum-rank adventurers who were gathered in the hall suddenly received notification in their wristwatches as they beeped loudly. "What?" "How is that possible?!" "What the fuck¡­" ¡­ Admiral Rudra stood with a grave expression on his face as he looked at the Labyrinth Gate. The GAA hadunched their Arcane Eyes into all floors by letting their Adventurers carry them inside and activating them. But when the tinum-rank Adventurers who were supposed to enter the 10th Floor with Arcane Eyes entered, the safety zones were disabled, and all of them received a notification that the Floor Boss had been awakened and¡­.no one could leave until it was defeated. One of them instantly died in an attack from the Floor Boss. The entire floor had been transformed, and its glimpse was visible through an Arcane Eye before it was destroyed. Admiral Rudra immediatelymanded his IT department to send emergency alerts to every tinum-rank Adventurer through their wristwatches. [Do not enter the 10th Floor! The Floor Boss has been triggered unexpectedly! Do not enter the 10th Floor!] The Adventurers were shocked at this alert, but some decided to be stupid and didn''t believe as they entered. Now, it was up to them how long they could survive with the Floor Boss roaming around. ¡­ GAA headquarters, inside the Labyrinth Gate chamber that GAA built around the gate located within their headquarters'' area. "This is definitely their doing," Admiral Rudra muttered, his fist clenched. "This is bad." "Dad, what do we do now?" Aryan asked, his expression somber. "24 hourster, we''ll get the usual countdown. Most of the front liners haven''t reached the maximum level yet, so if we fight the Floor Boss, many will die, unlike the 5th Floor boss, this one is the 10th Floor boss¡­this thing must be crazy powerful." Find your next read at empire "Contact every tinum-rank Adventurer who has reached the 10th Floor. We need to hold an emergency meeting. I''ll contact the old monsters and gather them. They have probably reached maximum tinum rank like me and you since they were entering the 10th Floor on the Labyrith''s 2nd and 3rd cycle the previous month." After saying that, Admiral Rudra turned to a woman in her forties, "Sarah, prepare drones to carry every single Arcane Eye we have. We need to send them to the 10th Floor and get visuals on the Floor Boss." "Which criminal to use? We only have eight bastards at tinum-rank, and only two of them have reached the 10th Floor." "Get Jonen." The Labyrinth Gate would take people to any floor they desired after clearing the said floors. But robots and such things couldn''t enter on their own. They had to be carried inside by Adventurers. GAA had criminals locked up, and two of them had reached the 10th Floor, so it was better to use them to send the drones with Arcane Eyes inside. The arrangement was prepared swiftly as a bulky man with big muscles arrived, his hands cuffed and eyes hazy as if he was not in his own control. Indeed, he was manipted by Sarah with her specialized SSS-rank ss¡ª Doom Conduction Martitis. Around his arms, neck, and legs were chains extending towards ten floating drones around him, each Drone holding one or two Arcane Eyes, a mystical round crystal object pulsing with dreamy blue sparks. "Sending in," Sarah spoke, her eyes glinting as she manipted Jonen. ¡­ The world outside was reeling in shock among the tinum-rank adventurers, and the news also spread to the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Almond and the party, along with everyone who has entered inside, had no idea about it. But they didn''t need to know as their goal was only one¡ªfight, win, progress. Second Floor of the Labyrinth¡ªa fully underground area with caverns, chambers, underground rivers, and deep-earth forests! Almond had shared his detailed map with his party before entering, so everyone knew where they were the moment they appeared. "I am at the northeast starting area, huh? Nice," Almond put away the parchment and summoned his spirit wraiths. "Everyone, kill all monsters you encounter and collect any resources you see. I''ll lead you all, so follow my trail." Chapter 129 Second Floor of the Labyrinth (2) Almond moved out of the cave with his spirit wraiths and arrived in the first area¡ªthe Cavern of Passing Light. A strange dark cavern with moving lumps of soil. The monsters here were Luminsoil Moles, ranging from Silver level 11 to Silver level 15. Almond told his spirit wraiths to scatter and kill all the monsters. Meanwhile, he leisurely walked toward the exit of this cavern while collecting the spirits of monsters his summons were killing. Ten minutester, all Luminsoil Moles in this area were killed, a total of 68. Naturally, all the spirits were turning into Spirit Items in the Spirit Forge Factory. "Master, who won?" Nyssara asked. "I won, obviously," Infernal Knight crossed his arms as mes burst from his nostrils. "Actually, the winner is Ben," Almond chuckled. "He killed 21 monsters." "Better luck next time,ds," Dark Pope put on his round ck hat and winked at them. "Master, I found these at that corner, behind the wall. They seemed to have grown within the soil," Sylvia arrived, her vines around her holding four ck crystals with glowing white light inside them. "Nice, they are Spellfuel Crystals. They grow randomly on this floor and can be used to supercharge Mana to increase our skill''s overall power and effects," Almond waved his hand, getting the crystals towards him as Sylvia removed them from her vine wrap. "They expire in 1 hour after we unearth them, and there''s no way of stopping it, so well, we''ll just use them," Almond put the crystals on his empty Polen Tiger''s Belt. "Let''s go. Onwards to the next area." ¡­ Lily and Natalia also arrived at their first monster-filled cavern-type area after exiting the starting area. They killed all the monsters swiftly with Starlight Beast without breaking a sweat. "We are at the southern starting area, so our route is Glowveil Hollow area, then to Chasm of Echoes to grab the item there and move to the Floor Boss area," Lily said as she looked at the map. "Five hours, huh? Yeah, we''ll do this." "Chasm of Echoes¡­there are monsters with sound-type attacks there," Nataliab blinked and grinned. "Alright, let''s pass through Glowveil Hollow fast and spend more time in the Chams of Echoes. I might improve my sound mastery there." "Good idea," Lily jumped on the Starlight Beast. "Get on. Let''s move." "Roar!* Starlight Beast entered the passage right-side passage per Lily''s instruction, moving towards the next area¡ªGlowveil Hollow. Your next chapter is on empire On the other hand, Marcus, Maya, and Chimera Frank also cleared out their first area¡ªFanged Garden, after leaving the starting area. They were in the eastern area of the floor, so they also determined their route ordingly after looking at the map. The Floor Boss triggering items were in the inner areas, so all three groups skipped the major regions. There was no point in wasting time there. But this floor was a sprawling underground world, a vast cavernwork filled with bioluminescent flora, deep chasms, subterranean rivers, and hostile terrain, so everyone had to move at a proper pace. Two hourster, Almond arrived at Duskmire Falls, an inner area with a majestic waterfall flowing into an undergroundgoon where a secret entrance was located. "This area is so beautiful," Sylvia said with sparkly eyes as she looked at the bio-luminous nts, crystals, the giant waterfall, and ck terrain. "It''s just as dangerous, but not for us," Almond said as he walked out of the passage and looked at the giant waterfall a hundred meters away from a huge hole fifty meters high. The terrain was going upward towards the high ground of this cavern, which was also the most spacious part of this area and where the monsters were located. "Let''s go. The item we need to find will require somebor work after we kill all monsters in this area." The monsters in this area were of two types, both ranging from Silver level 15 to 20. 1. Crystalbane Revenant¡ªhumanoid-type with attributes of crystal and water. 2. Brinescale Warden¡ªA fish-like humanoid monster with a giant metallic right hand the size of its body. They had attributes of water, metal, and crystals. The boss of this area was called Brinescale King, Silver level 20. Well, Infernal Knight Ashkar soloed the boss at the end, defeating it spectacrly using both techniques he learned and skills despite having lower stat points than the boss. "Good work, everyone. Now, the item we want is somewhere here, but its location is different every month, each cycle." Almond said as he floated above by maizing all the metal worn on his body and controlling it with lightning as it faintly crackled around him. "There is a pattern on this ground, and it pulses every two seconds. The pulses are broken but patterned. Read the pattern, and it will guide us to the item we need." "I''ll find it faster than anyone," Sylvia cheekily said. Almond smiled, "Whoever finds the item first gets to eat the whole batch of Limtos candies." "Sorry,ds. I am taking that bucket of candies," Dark Pope turned into his shadow form and floated up, observing the ground. Nyssara sat on a frost-throne after extending it tens of meters high off the ground using ice. Sylvia did something simr, using vines and wood. Ashkar simply burst out with mes and floated using me''s propulsion from his feet, standing in the air with his arms crossed. Chimera Viperfiend walked toward Almond and sat down. "Yeah, you rx," Almond chuckled and also sat down before using his Spirit Forge Factory. ''Time to cook¡­or craft? Well, same thing.'' Almond selected the Light Armor b and began designing his armor. After designing it, Almond selected the ingredient spirits. [Light Armor b] - Design: ¡ª> Create your desired design of the broad sword on the nk screen.N?v(el)B\\jnn - Super-grade Guarantee Forge: Add 3 Ingredient spirits. ¡ª 1. ckbolt Crab Spirit (Gold level 100 Dungeon Boss). ¡ª 2. Moltenfang Lucent Leopard (Gold level 100 Dungeon Boss). ¡ª 3. Umbros Steel T-rex (Gold level 100 Dungeon Boss). - [Select the Sacrifice] ¡ª> Sacrifice 10 Rare-grade items for a Low-tier Super-grade result. [0/10]. ¡ª> Sacrifice 15 Rare-grade items for a Mid-tier Super-grade result. [0/15]. ¡ª> Sacrifice 20 Rare-grade items for a High-tier Super-grade result. [0/20]. ''Let''s get this on,'' Almond grinned, putting 20 Rare-grade items as a sacrifice. ''I want items that can act as a set. There should be a way to include that concept in my Spirit Forge Factory.'' ''Putting the same ingredients in the creation of other items sounds like it would make a set possible, but I am using Boss Monsters'' Spirits, and there''s no second Boss monster of the same kind¡­'' Almond thought as he saw the crafting of his High-quality Super-grade item beginning. A countdown of 31 minutes also appeared. ''How do I make a set of items that use different ingredients in their creation?'' Almond walked towards another b and selected it. After designing the item, he selected ingredients. [Heavy Sword b] - Design: ¡ª> Create your desired design of the broad sword on the nk screen. - Super-grade Guarantee Forge: Add 3 Ingredient spirits. ¡ª 1. Thunderbolt Horned Beast (Gold level 100 Dungeon Boss). ¡ª 2. ssbound cklight Tyrant (Gold level 100 Dungeon Boss). ¡ª 3. Golden Molten Lizardking (Gold level 100 Dungeon Boss). ''To make this item consider a set with that armor¡­well, my ss is kinda weird in this case, so I''ll try the mysterious way,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''The names.'' Chapter 130: Second Floor of the Labyrinth (3), Floor Boss Chamber ¡¯If I name the items simr topose them into a set, will that give me a set bonus if I wear all items?¡¯ Almond wondered as he pressed the b slot inside, beginning the crafting of his weapon. ¡¯Well, I¡¯ll find out soon. I did use monster spirits with matching attributes, not all but a couple at least, so that might help.¡¯ Both of his items¡¯ ingredients had Lightning, Metal, and Crystal attributed monsters. He still had 18 Dungeon Boss spirits, and among them, two of them had a Lightning attribute within theirposition, two had a Metal attribute, and one had a Crystal attribute. So, in a sense, he could make two more items with matching attributes in their ingredients. He went on to make the next two items to include in the set. One was a solid helmet with a face-wide visor, and the fourth item was wings. Several new item bs had manifested since he got new types of items in the random crafting sessions. Wings was one of them. He designed the wings to be suitable to his armor, hoping that it would integrate with the armor. He had included lean and fancy light metal gloves and boots in the design of his full-body light armor, so there wasn¡¯t a need to craft them. ¡¯Well, time to wait for the results now,¡¯ Almond opened his eyes and looked at his summons, who were busy solving the riddle of patterns. "Take your time. We are ahead of the schedule anyway," Almond said as hey on the floor with his palms cushioning his head. Closing his eyes, he began researching his skill runes, the advanced ones like S-rank and above. ¡­ Chasm of Echoes. This cavern had strange ck holes on its walls and two passages, one that Lily, Natalia, and Starlight Beast used to arrive in this area, and the second one being the exit they would use to leave. The ck holes on this huge cavern¡¯s walls asionally released sound waves that would disturb theplex water streams that upied half of this area, sshing water around. The monsters in this location were Sonic Crust Frogs Silver level 15 to 20. They lived in water but could fight on the ground. This was one of the toughest areas in terms of terrain style and monsters on this second floor. The water streams were strong, so falling into one would definitely give one a terrible experience, and if swarmed by attacks from the frogs in the water, one could easily arrive at death¡¯s door. But Starlight Beast¡¯s skill set made things very easy. Lily and Natalia arrived at a rtively wider ground space at the center of this area and got off the Starlight Beast¡¯s back as Sonic Crust Frogs started jumping out of the water streams to attack them. Some of themunched their long-range skills¡ªSonic Rings. Dodging the rings, Lily told Starlight Beast to use its skill¡ªCosmic Pulse (S) and lower the gravity in its range. "Let¡¯s dance," Lily grinned as she vanished with high-speed movement thanks to lower gravity and her skill as she sliced three Frogs in a jiffy. Natalia also summoned her instruments and started ying flute tounch attacks. They killed until no more monsters jumped out of the water streams, killing a total of 174 monsters over the duration of one hour. Since the area was huge and the water streamwork was spread out, it took time for some of the monsters to reach the water streams around the ground where the party was standing. "When will ite?" Natalia sighed, tired of waiting. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "It shoulde. Anyway, don¡¯tin to me, we can only wait unless you want to go into the water and search," Lily snorted. They were waiting for the Treasured-Sack Sonic Crust Frog. This was a frog that woulde out of the water on its own or if one went inside theplex water stream system of this area to search it. That frog was important because killing it would grant them the item required to trigger the Floor Boss. While the duo here waited for the Treasured Sack Sonic Crust Frog, Marcus, and Maya were in the inner area¡ªEboncoil Maze. This maze had monsters in pathways, and its walls were ck with glowing moss of different colors, pulsing as if alive. It¡¯d been an hour, but they hadn¡¯t reached their destination yet. To get the item, they had to simply reach the center of the maze, kill the Field Boss there, and get the item as a drop. It was pretty straightforward to get the item, but¡­not so straightforward to get there. ¡­ A total of four hours passed by since everyone entered the second Floor. Most of the Adventurers were in the major areas since they were vast and needed steady progress, with more rewards avable in the Major Areas. Meanwhile, Almond had cleared two inner areas and got two special items required for Floor Boss Triggering. He finally arrived at the Floor Boss chamber with one hour still left. This chamber was a big hall with a pitch-ck surface, beautiful light braziers, and decorations, but contrasting this was a ruined ceiling high above with crystal stctites, blurred paintings on the high wall, and corroded hanging ornaments. The bottom half and upper half of this chamber created a distinct contrast in the sense of time. One looked brand new, while the other looked like it was ruined in the long passage of time. Almond walked towards the center with his spirits. Looking at the crystal stctites above, he thought about destroying them but then rejected the notion. Those stctites were not just for show. The Floor Boss could empower itself by using those crystals once its vitality hits 50% or below. But Almond didn¡¯t want to destroy that advantage. He was also still at Silver level 10 because he hadn¡¯t touched a single monster, let alone killed one. "You all go and explore the Major Area I told you about by going back. Find resources and items, kill monsters as you like, but don¡¯t kill Adventurers," Almond said as he turned to his summons. "You can freely roam this floor, but connect your vision to me if you see any conflicts or nasty people." "Nasty people like the ones you told us about, got it," Infernal Knight Ashkar nodded. "Do we kill them first and share our vision, or share our vision and then kill them?" "Share the vision first," Almond wryly smiled. "Understood." "Bro wanted to kill them first," Benedictughed. "Well, off I go now, boss. See you allter." The other summons also followed him towards the passage they used toe here, returning to the previous area. There were three passages in that area, one leading to a Major Area and the other two leading to smaller inner areas. All of them went into the Major Area¡ªCascading Obsidian Town. Meanwhile, Almond rubbed his hands and sat down before essing the Spirit Kodoku. Your adventure continues at empire The new Spirit Wraith was still inside and needed the name and disposition to manifest fully. His other summons had reached Silver level 20, and he wasn¡¯t going to let them fight the Floor Boss. Almond didn¡¯t know the rank and level of this new Spirit Wraith. He wouldn¡¯t know until hepleted it. But it had one Floor Boss spirit, 1 Human Spirit of tinum-rank Adventurer, and 18 Gold-rank Boss Monsters of Dungeon, so it could be anything. ¡¯Time to unravel you, whom I name¡­Crimson Skylord Galvaren!¡¯ Chapter 131: Second Floor of the Labyrinth (4), Crimson Skylord Galvaren *ng!* *Boom!* Almond¡¯s sword shed against Galvaren¡¯s, sending bursts of golden lightning and crimson-ck energy into the air, their power creating violent shockwaves with each impact. "Good!" Almond grinned as he gripped his heavy broadsword, its de crackling with arcs of golden lightning that danced fiercely along its edge. He stood firm, sweat beading on his brow as the oppressive heat radiating from Galvaren bore down on him. The air between them shimmered with elemental tension¡ªfire and lightning preparing to collide. Ten meters ahead stood Galvaren. He was a towering humanoid monster whose semi-armored body was covered in jagged, molten-ck scales streaked with glowing crimson veins. His massive, leathery wings extended from his back, trailing smoke and embers with every movement, slicing through the air like fiery scythes. In his wed hands rested a colossal, broken, heavy sword, its jagged edges glowing faintly with infernal energy. The sheer force of his swings carved molten trenches into the ground, each strike more devastating than thest. Galvaren kicked off the ground, his wings propelling him forward with explosive speed. Almond met him mid-charge, their weapons colliding in a deafening ng that lit up the battlefield with sparks and aura sts. "Not bad, but you gotta give me more than that," Almond grinned as he masterfully swung his Super-grade sword¡ªLightning Crownsun Edge, the one hemissioned using the Super-rank material, Thunderstone Trotto Shard. This wide, heavy sword crackled with lightning as Almond swung it, its strange wooden handle with patterns of golden vine carrying the sun shining sharply. A powerful force unleashed from it as Almond struck his sword, instantly disarming Galvaner as his broken heavy sword streaked away, striking the wall 200 meters away with a defeating sound as the surrounding wall melted, turningva. ¡¯Sword Bending Motion¡¯ In the next second, Almond¡¯s sword swiftly struck Galvaner thrice on his chest, reducing his vitality to 0%. "Now, get real," Almond grinned as he moved back. Galvaner¡¯s trait was about to kick in. Galvaren¡¯s glowing red eyes burned with unrelenting rage, his wed hands bursting out in crimson ck mes as his sword materialized in his hand, its broken de bingplete. The sword was the size of his own 3-meter-tall body, itspleted form evoking awe and dread. Gripping his de tightly, Galvaner bellowed in frustration as mes burst out of his molten, cracked skin. Horn-like protrusions crowned his head, radiating a regal aura, while his wings red and thinned out, appearing more devilish and refined,pleting his fearsome appearance as the Crimson Skylord. Leaping high into the air, Galvaren raised his sword overhead, molten energy with ck ink trailing from its jagged edge. With a deafening roar, he brought it down in a sweeping arc, aiming to cleave Almond in two. Almond sidestepped just in time, the fiery strike carving a molten fissure into the earth where he had been standing moments before. Without hesitation, Almond counterattacked, his broadsword humming with electric fury as he lunged forward, unleashing a lightning-infused sh that crackled through the air. The blow connected, sparks and shards of molten scale erupting from Galvaren¡¯s torso. The Crimson Skylord roared in pain but retaliated immediately, swinging a spiked gauntlet in a brutal backhand that caught Almond mid-dash. The force sent Almond skidding across the ground, dirt and debris flying in his wake. "Hahahaha, how was that, Master?!" Galvaren bellowed, smoke rising from his searing scales. His wings unfurled, creating a wave of heat as he hovered just above the ground, his molten-ck body radiating destructive power. Almond groaned but smirked, nting his sword into the ground to pull himself upright. "Not bad, Skylord," he taunted, golden lightning sparking along his arms. "But I¡¯m just getting started." And in the next second, Almond proceeded topletely dominate Galvaner for two minutes straight. "I am in awe¡­master¡­" *Thud!* Gvner slumped on the ground, his eyes flickering and hazy. "That was fun," Almond sat down as he focused on stabilizing his breathing. ¡¯Finally got an evenly matching sparring partner.¡¯ Even enough to let him explore his sword and evenly enough to give him some challenge due to having higher stats than him. [Crimson Skylord Galvaren] Backstory: Galvaren was as kind and warmhearted as his strength, which wasuded as the strongest. He was the most powerful king of the Infernal Sky Kingdom until it was destroyed by the demonic army. He fought for days and nights against the Demonic Commanders until thest drop of his blood. Dead amidst despair, the king rose from his death at the will of his subjects. He could hear them, see them, feel them, for all of them wanted vengeance. Resurrected and awakened, Galveren annihted the entire Demonic Army and bound himself to the dead kingdom, swearing to eternally protect it. Rank: Gold Level: 100 Stats: ¡ª Physical: ? [Strength: 200 | Health: 200 | Stamina: 200] ¡ª Mental: ? [Mana: 200 | Focus: 200 | Perception: 200] Skills: ¡ª Bloodwing Frenzy (A) ¡ª Crimson Dive Bomb (S) ¡ª Hellfire Lightning Skycrown (S) ¡ª Winged Havoc (A) ¡ª Abyssal Sky Rend (A) ¡ª Infernal Bloodbolt Cyclone (S) ¡ª zing Wrath sh (A) ¡ª Doomcall Memory (SS) ¡ª Raging Eruption (A) ¡ª Emberstorm Pouch (S) ¡ª Quirk(s): ¡ª Infernal Skylord: As Galvaren¡¯s health decreases, its strength and speed increase significantly. While airborne, Galvaren gains enhanced agility and generates more firepower the faster he is. ¡ª A King¡¯s Vengence: Upon death, establish the ethereal superimposition of the destroyed Infernal Sky kingdom in a 100-500 meters radius of a circr zone, with no limit of upward distance. Within this zone, Galvaren¡¯s stats are boosted by 100%, and all of his skills are enchanted with bonus effects. His stamina consumption is zero within this zone, allowing him to physically fight without stopping for an hour, even without Mana. Duration: 1 hour. 1 activation per day. Almond looked at Galvaren and thought, ¡¯Floor Boss spirit definitely yed a big part in making Galvaren this skilled fighter.¡¯ The Spirit of Floor Boss was more simr to a human spirit than a monster¡¯s spirit. That boss was a berserker, and Galvaren had inherited that fighting style, along with its signature broken heavy sword. Of course, he also created a backstory that vibed with Floor Boss¡¯s image, one of the reasons this Spirit Wraith acquired a sword, like how Ben, Ashkar, and Nyssara had their innate weapons rted to what he mentioned in their backstory. "Galvaren, show me your sword." Galvaren threw his sword while still lying on the ground, and itnded a meter away from Almond¡¯s right side. Touching the sword, Almond inspected it. ¡¯It¡¯s the same type of weapon as the other three,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯I¡¯ll have to upgrade their weapons eventually, so I should find out how.¡¯ "Almond, is that the new summon?" "Woah, dreadful handsome-ugly mix kingly berserker? Am I correct?" Almond chuckled as he got up and turned to the duo, "You sure took your time." "That golden frog took its sweet time," Lily rolled her eyes. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "We didn¡¯t want to bother finding it in the stream, so while waiting, Lily was helping me with sound element training. The ck holes in that cavern are pretty useful since they release sound elemental rings." "Nice, did you progress?" Almond blinked as he asked Natalia. "Nope, but I feel like I¡¯ll improve after I return. A bit of training and meditation will help me reach the next rank," Natalia grinned. "What about the other two?" Lily asked as she took out a card and added. "I¡¯ll contact them." "No need." A voice trail trailed out from the entrance to this hall as Marcus and Maya arrived while riding on Chimera Frank. "Did you notice anything?" Almond asked as he turned to Lily. "No sound on the floor," Lily pointed her palm on the floor and sted pure mana energy after condensing it into an orb. The floor broke, but no sound was produced. "That is indeed weird," Maya nodded as she walked towards them after jumping off Chimera Frank¡¯s back. "No, it is weird because this wasn¡¯t the case before," Almond frowned and turned to the central magic circle. "Well, the items are here, and this happened when you two were here¡­" "There¡¯s mist at the entrance now," Lily narrowed her eyes. "It wasn¡¯t there before." Almond paused and turned to the entrance, "Alright, now this is something that doesn¡¯t happen. I¡¯m sure of it." "Did we trigger some kind of condition then?" Marcus raised his eyebrows. "I am getting creeped out now," Natalia felt cringed. "Whatever that case is, there¡¯s only one thing we can do and should do," Almond turned back to the magic circle and continued walking. "It¡¯s time to summon the Floor Boss." Everyone walked towards the magic circle as they put the items on it. [Your party is qualified for Heroic Challenge mode. Do you wish to proceed with the Floor Boss fight in the Heroic Challenge mode?] [Note: In the Heroic challenge mode, you cannot exit the Floor Boss chamber until you defeat the Boss. Either you win, or you die.] "Is this for real?" Marcus swallowed. "First time hearing this." "Same," Maya nodded. "Well, same for me," Natalia said with a dumbfounded expression. "What the shit?" Almond and Lily looked at each other. [Two people from your party have agreed. All party members must agree to start the Heroic Challenge mode.] Maya blinked, and as she looked at Almond and Lily, "You two have heard about this?" "Nope." Both Lily and Almond replied simultaneously while shaking their heads. "But you still want to do it?" "Yep." Both of them nodded while smiling. "Alright," Maya nodded, her face turning severe, but her eyes held a hint of excitement nheless. "Let¡¯s fucking do this then," Marcus grinned. [Four members have agreed. One left.] "Goddamn it," Natalia sighed. "Y¡¯all will be the death of me." "Wait, did I just give myself a death g? Alright, I¡¯m out." "¡­" [The Floor Boss is spawning. You have 1 minute to prepare. You are not allowed to leave anymore.] Experience new tales on empire Chapter 132 Second Floor of the Labyrinth (5/5), Radiant Grimlord Set "We only have one minute, and this challenge is going to be tough. Be prepared," Almond said as he took out a pile of one-time-use items. "That''s 76 items. Put them in your pouches and use them as you wish without holding back." Almond wasn''t nning to summon his Spirit Wraiths during the boss fight, but the n changed as this turned into a Heroic Challenge mode. He summoned everyone and also took out his newly crafted high-tier Super-grade set¡ªRadiant Grimlord Set. The others quickly put the one-time-use items in their pouches, and when they saw Almond, they were taken aback. "What''s that bad-fucking-ass armor and sword?" Natalia blurted out. "You look like a warrior god or something." Lily''s eyes sparkled, "This is wonderful, darling. Is it your spirit item set you said you nned to make?" Marcus and Maya were also dumbfounded and in awe as they looked at the full-body armor set. Indeed, Almond looked like an imposing warrior enveloped in dark armor, its texture giving it an ancient theme, but the full face visor-like mask with v-shape and his ck hair ring upward gave a futuristic look. The jagged, angr armor, primarily ck, streaked with glowing, molten crystal golden lines that resemble fissures of intense energy, faint but distinct looking. A quartz-shaped pale golden crystal was embedded in the chest''s center. The armor radiated both intimidation and elegance. The pauldrons were red outward in sharp and curved, the right one upward and longer in size while the left curving downward and slightly shorter. At his back were some elegantly shaped golden crystal spikes, which suddenly glowed and transformed into a pair of draconic-style wings, ck texture with golden crystal border and patterns. "Damn!!" Marcus made a stank face. "What is this monstrosity of an armor set, brother Almond? You can even fly with that?!" "I want one¡­." Maya muttered. Almond smiled behind his visor and stretched his arm. The arm gloves were heavily ted, ending in w-like gauntlets that radiated a faint golden glow, while the part from elbow to his shoulder showed a smooth yet jet-ck fabric covering his body as it was covered by the armor. "Here''s the final addition," Almond chuckled as a bright glow appeared, weing a badass, heavy, broad sword with a fully pale golden-crystalized de and ck handle. [A/N: Yeah, the new cover of this book is basically Almond in his Radiant Grimlord Set :D] "Show us the damn stats. There''s only twenty seconds left," Natalia eagerly said. Almondughed and shared the set''s status. [Radiant Grimlord Sword] -Type: Heavy Sword. -Duration: [5 days] -Grade: [Super/High]. -Attack: 500 + [200% of user''s Strength] -Perks(s): ¡ª> +30 Strength, +30 Stamina, +20 Focus, +20 Perception. -Set Bonus: ¡ª> (4-set Effect): Each strike of this sword causes a destruction-type debuff on things or people hit, equal to 5% of the original strike''s power. (Destructive-type debuff drags any and all types of repairing or recovery effects and reduces their effectiveness.) -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Toggle) Grimlight Thunderstone Blessing: Coats the sword with Grimlight Thunder. All attacks are boosted by 50% of their original output with Lightning, Light, and Earth-attributed hybrid damage. Cost: 1% Mana per second. ¡ª> (Passive) Radiant Aurelion Enchant: All elemental resistance increases by 50% while the sword is equipped. The weight of the sword can be freely adjusted by the user from 1 kg to 10,000 KG. ¡ª> (Active) Doom sh: Consume 100 - unlimited Mana depending on your Mana control to unleash a highly condensed sh with destructive-attribute, dealing destruction-type damage. Cooldown: no. ¡ª> (Active) sma Reactron: Anything or anyone struck by this sword''s de is marked with sma Reactron, stacking up to five marks. The user can consume 10% of maximum Mana to activate the marks for a high-intensity Lightning-me sma st and inflict Burning and Shock debuffs. Cooldown: no. "What a crazy sword!" Marcus shouted. "Fuck." "Look at the armor," Maya muttered. [Radiant Grimlord Armor] -Type: Full Body Light Armor. -Duration: [5 days] -Grade: [Super/High]. -Phy. & Mag. Defense: 750 + [150% of user''s Physical stats]. -Perk(s): ¡ª> +60 Health, +20 Stamina, +20 Mana. -Set Bonus: ¡ª> (4-set Effect): Grants additional stat¡ªall elemental resistance: 200. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Passive) Aegis of Grimlight: Increases all resistances (physical, elemental, and status effects) by 60% before affecting the user. Deactivates if the Armor''s durability goes below 30%. ¡ª> (Auto) Reactive Grim Barrier: Automatically generates a Lightning-Metal-Magma-Water hybrid whirling-type barrier of a 10-meter radius around the user when struck by an attack. Cost: 100 Mana. Cooldown: 30 seconds. This auto effect can be deactivated and turned active-type if desired. ¡ª> (Active) Radiant Fortress: For 10 seconds, absorb a certain amount of damage depending on iing attacks'' potency and turn it into destructive-type damage spear projectiles back at the enemies. Cost: 20% of max mana. Cooldown: 2 minutes. ¡ª> (Toggle) Grimlord''s Radiance: Emit an aura that decreases the Strength and Stamina of all enemies within a 20-meter radius by 20% while increasing the same stats for allies. Cost: 2% Mana per second. "Holy shit," Marcus murmured under his breath. [Radiant Grimlord Wings] -Type: Wing Attachment. -Duration: [5 days] -Grade: [Super/High]. -Mobility Boost: +200% bonus movement speed of your original speed in flight, +150% dodging speed in air. -Perk(s): ¡ª> +40 Perception, +40 Focus, +20 Stamina. -Set Bonus: ¡ª> (4-set Effect): Erases air resistance when flying. -Effect(s):n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡ª> (Toggle) Celestial Grimflight: Grants flight with unparalleled maneuverability. Stores kic energy instead of transferring outward automatically into the wings to boost the next physical move''s power. Cost: 1% Mana per second. ¡ª> (Active) Thunderstorm Barrage: While airborne, release a rain of lightning bolts over a 30-meter radius, dealing Lightning, Light, and Wind hybrid damage. Consumes 10% of Maximum Mana per use. Cooldown: 30 seconds. ¡ª> (Active) Radiant Gale Shield: Generates a wind-based shield while in flight, reducing ranged damage by 50% and reflecting away projectiles if possible. Cost: 100 to 500 Mana per use. Cooldown: 5 minutes. ¡ª> (Active) Chaotic Tempest Dive: Dive at high velocity toward a target, dealing [500% to ???% of user''s Strength based on total dive distance and speed + Destructive-type damage ording to Mana consumed] on impact. Dealing devastating damage and releasing a shockwave that staggers enemies within a certain distance depending on the above factors. Cooldown: 1 hour. Note: Beware of your limit, as using this skill at a fairly high distance and then impacting could result in severe injuries or even instant death if the user is not strong enough. [Radiant Grimlord Visor-Helm] -Type: Headgear. -Duration: [5 days] -Grade: [Super/High]. -Perk(s): ¡ª> +40 Focus, +30 Perception, +30 Mana. -Set Bonus: ¡ª> (4-set Effect): Increases potency of everything that is Lightning and Earth-type by 30%. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Passive) Grimlord Vision: Grants enhanced perception, allowing the user to detect hidden enemies, traps, and weaknesses in structures or opponents within a 100-meter radius. ¡ª> (Toggle) Aurelion Halo: Surrounds the user''s head with a glowing, radiant halo, increasing all allies'' Focus and Perception by +20 within a 30-meter radius. Cost: 1% Mana per second. ¡ª> (Active) Radiant Judgment Beam: Fires a condensed beam of energy from the helm''s visor, dealing Destructive-type damage. Cost: 10% Mana. Cooldown: 1 minute. ¡ª> (Passive) Elemental Vision: Allows the user to see all basic elements'' flow clearly and distinctly. "I didn''t know you could make such powerful items, damn!" Marcus was tongue-tied. "True, this is¡­.amazing," Maya stared at Almond with hot eyes. "I would like tomission a set if possible, please. These items have better effectspared to most other Super-grade items." "Same!" Natalia raised her hand. "We''ll roll a dice to set the order on who gets a set first." "What is Destructive-type damage?" Lily asked. Everyone spoke almost simultaneously as the time was running out. "Yeah, I am also curious about the Destructive-type damage," Maya nodded. "Same," Marcus'' eyes glowered. "I asked the same thing and got an answer from the Labyrinth," Almond said with a chuckle before he answered them. "Apparently, destructive-type damage forms when a skill''s structure has five elements or more synergized. Such attacks also apply status effects rted to the elements, but it depends on the skill''s quality." "I''ve seen that, but only once on a Legendary-grade staff weapon, as its information was disclosed within GAA''s high brass roughly a month ago," Lily said. "There was an active effect in that item that throws an attack of destructive-type damage." "Damn, so the 10th Floor has a chance to drop Legendary items? Awesome," Marcus appeared excited. "People were talking about it, but it was only rumors so far until you confirmed it." "But isn''t it crazy that Almond''s Super-grade items have such effects?" Natalia clicked her tongue, amazed. "That''s op, although he needs to maintain both the duration and durability of the items." [The Floor Boss has spawned.] Enjoy more content from empire *Swoosh!* Everyone turned to the magic circle as a powerful aura gushed out, pushing everyone back slightly as the floor boss made an entry. [Defeat the Heroic Challenge Floor Boss¡ªRuined Lord Kizalor of Meltizaar. All the best, brave adventurers.] The 10-meter-tall humanoid floor boss wielded two giant obsidian curved swords, wearing only the ornamented loincloth and braces on his arms. His bare bronze-skinned upper body was carved with ck tattoos of ferocious tigers and terrifying snakes. He had a murky dark blue and bronze aura flowing around him, his fairly long ck hair also floated upward. "F-Fuck¡­" The first thing everyone did was to inspect its status. And when they saw it, everyone''s heartbeat rate drastically increased. Its oppressive aura made everyone feel as if they were facing an enemy that could utterly destroy them. And...that wasn''t necessarily false because just based on its status, this heroic challenge floor boss of the second floor infused a hint of fear and seed of doubt into everyone as if daring them to question their chances of survival¡­daring them all except for Almond. [Ruined Lord Kizalor of Meltizaar] -Rank: Special -Type: Heroic Spirit -Stats: Chapter 133 Vs. Ruined Lord Kizalor of Meltizaar (1/2) [Ruined Lord Kizalor of Meltizaar] -Rank: Special -Type: Heroic Spirit -Vitality: [100% / 100%] -Mana: [20,000 / 20,000] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 500 | Health: 2500 | Stamina: 1000] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 2000 | Focus: 500 | Perception: 500] ''Maintain distance and make long-range attacks. Lily, don''t jump in the fight yet and observe the boss''s movements first.'' They were 30 meters away from the boss, but he roared and made a long leap, both of his swords ring with dark blue energy painted with an inky aura. Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Divine Divider''s Harvest.'' Instantly, the Boss''s Strength was reduced by¡­not half, but 35%. ''It resisted¡­'' *ng!* Almond''s Super-rank heavy swords shed against Kizalor''s swords. "Roar!" Kizalor''s knee, bursting with his signature dark blue-ck ink energy, immediately aimed for Almond after their sh. Almond''s eyes sparkled with thrill as he flew like a torrental wind, easily dodging the attack while using Sword Bending Motion, striking Kizalor thrice with his full power. His foundational strength: 100 + 200 from Boss + 100 of Body Enfold + 100 of Strength boost + 150 additional Strength at the cost of 20% of his Stamina by empowering his arms and chest = It was an attack of 650 Strength! *BOOM!* -9% Vitality. Kizalor shot back like a loose cannonball, striking the hall''s wall 200 meters away, marking him with sma Reactron''s one stack, and permanently shaving away 3% of his max vitality, making it unrecoverable due to the effect of the sword giving it destructive-type debuff. ''He blocked it,'' Almond blinked as he flew up whilemanding his summons to attack Kizalor. ''His perception and focus are high, he read¡­my attack and was prepared to block the moment I dodged.'' Lily, Natalia, Maya, and Marcus were far away, so they made a dash and neared while preparing to aim their attacks once an opportunity arrived. "Don''t be careless here, everyone! This boss is dangerous!" *Swoosh!* Sending this Magic Whisper to everyone, Almond''s figure streaked as he moved like a blur, crackling with lightning as he met Kizalor mid-air he also jumped and streaked fast in the air. Find exclusive stories on empire *sh! ng!* Grimlight Thunderstone Blessing!¡ªAll attacks are boosted by 50% of their original output with Lightning, Light, and Earth-attributed hybrid damage. Cost: 1% Mana per second. "Fuck, I can''t fight in close range, it''s impossible," Marcus took out a bow and a quiver filled with arrows from his storage pouch. "I can''t even see their movements properly¡­" "This shit ain''t for us," Natalia swallowed. "Almond triggered this heroic challenge because he is a freaking monster." Lily also took out her bow as she knew that going in there to fight between Almond and Kizalor would instead decrease their chance of winning. Almond won another bout after several shes of the sword, sending Kizalor to the ground as a small crater formed. But immediately rebounding, Kizalor suddenly flowed like a raging water filled with an inky aura towards Lily and others! Almond''s pupil drastically shrank, his entire figure vibrating as he empowered his wings and zoomed. (Toggle) Celestial Grimflight: Grants flight with unparalleled maneuverability. Stores kic energy instead of transferring outward automatically into the wings to boost the next physical move''s power. Cost: 1% Mana per second. And with 120 meters of distance between him and Lily''s group where Kizalor was going, Almond activated his wing''s effect¡ªChaotic Tempest Dive! In that instant, a loud sonic boom like no other sted. Amlond''s body already absorbed a powerful shock from his full-powered three shes at his current strength of 650, which his body wasn''t supposed to handle, but with his Stage 2 Fortification and Body Enfold, he prevented damage. But¡­he wasn''t about toe out unscathed after this Chaotic Tempest Dive¡ªDive at high velocity toward a target, dealing [500% to ???% of user''s Strength based on total dive distance and speed + Destructive-type damage ording to Mana consumed] on impact. *BOOOOM!* -57% vitality. "ARRRGHHH!" Kizalor roared as his body parts sted away, his vitality dropping below 50%! [Your vitality is dangerously low.] ''Fuck, I expected it, but this hits crazily.'' Spirit Syringe! Almond''s vitality and Mana filled to the brim! He had roughly calcted intuitively based on the shock he received from those three shes and limited his flight speed to prevent himself from dying as a result of this attack. Meanwhile, Lily and others were sted away due to the shockwave impact of the Chaotic Tempest Dive. But they quickly got up and started hurling their attacks at Kizalor, who was entering phase 2. Almond was fully recovered, but his mind was fucked due to that attack as it was still ins rattling shock, requiring him to concentrate briefly. "I am seriously scared to death," Natalia''s hair stood on end as she hurled empowered basic attacks from her flute. She also finally buffed Almond, as he was within range now. Maya also buffed Almond as she had a buff-type skill from her primary ss. Lily, on the other hand, was in preparation. Darkness and crimson energy whirled around as her vitality reduced drastically. She was preparing to use her 3rd specialized ss skill¡ªVoidless Sunderer, a pure single attack type. Almond recovered after three seconds and saw Kizalor rearranging and bing smaller, along with his swords, fiery blue and inky ck aura wildly flowing around him. But Almond''s expression became more somber despite Kizalor''s size reduction. A small humanoid was far more dangerous than a giant beast. Moreover, this Heroic Spirit-type Floor Boss was even fighting in a high martial realm. In the second bout, it took Almond 5 seconds of multiple shes beforending a sword attack on him. Kizalore was able to react and meet both of his swords head-on for five seconds and, negating his attacks! Almond''s eyes glinted as a grin uncontrobly stretched across his face. ''He is more proficient in dual-wielding than me¡­isn''t that wonderful?!'' Kizalor roared as both of his swords floated in front of him while the long-range attacks of Natalia, Marcus, and Maya were blocked by the aura barrier releasing from his sword. ''Attack him!'' Almond''s spirit wraith, each one unleashed their full-powered attacks, blocking Kizalor''s recovery as much as possible. Kizalor''s maximum vitality was ''destroyed'' by 26% total with that dive attack, so it could at most recover 74% of its vitality, but the spirit wraiths'' full-powered attacks prevented it from reaching that, stopping Kizalor at 63% of his max health. ''Get inside,'' Almond sent all of his summons inside. They were exhausted, and he didn''t have Mana in spare for them. He also needed Spirit Syringes for himself, as this fight wasn''t as easy as he initially assumed despite his advantages. Kizalor made his move, pping both of his hands as 100 meters wide and giant magic water waves with ink-ck sharks flooded towards Almond, Lily, and others who were in one direction. Marcus and Maya showed visible panic as they quickly used their defensive skills. Natalia also freaked out. This attack generated suffocation of death within them. But Lily was unwavering, her focus solely on preparing her attack. Her eyes reflected Almond and her trust in him because she knew none of their defensive skills, aside from Almond''s, could save them from this iing devastating AOE attack.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ''It''s a pure magic attack.'' Almond''s figure blurred as he arrived in front of the group, using multiple item effects. It was time to take a defensive stand. Chapter 134 Vs. Ruined Lord Kizalor of Meltizaar (2/2), Tremendous Feat This iing attack was full power of this phase 2 boss, as stealing his Strength had no impact on it. ''I''ll steal his Mana.'' Almond''s visor-helm and armor faintly glowed as he activated his final two toggle-type item skills. ¡ªAurelion Halo: Surrounds the user''s head with a glowing, radiant halo, increasing all allies'' Focus and Perception by +20 within a 30-meter radius. Cost: 1% Mana per second. And, ¡ªRadiant Fortress: For 10 seconds, absorb a certain amount of damage depending on iing attacks'' potency and turn it into destructive-type damage spear projectiles back at the enemies. Cost: 20% of max mana. The tsunami struck the multiple barriers, and that was when Almond felt the terrible impact. ''Fuck.'' Marcus and Maya''s defensive skills were destroyed instantly. Almond''s defensive skills absorbed the damage of powerful waves while releasing spears at the ck-ink sharks that attacked his barriers constantly, but the rebound spears released from the Radiant Fortress barrier also constantly killed the sharks. "This is crazy," Marcus was dumbfounded. Everyone knew they''d died without Almond''s defenses. This heroic challenge turned out to be way out of their league! They at least needed the same level of item set as Almond''s to even participate in the battle properly! This unceasing tsunami attack against Almond''s defensive effects drained a lot of his Mana, almost dropping below 90%, but Almond also shifted his Divine Divider''s Harvest, putting in more willpower this time as he roared, diving Kizalor''s Mana and absorbing it! "One attack each," Almond spoke. "We finish him." "Let''s go," Lily whispered, crimson-ck cracks gleaming all over her body. The wave attack was over as Kizalor roared and jumped, wrapped in a fiery dark blue aura with wild inkshes around his body and swords. Almond met him head-on with his dual heavy swords, injecting a Spirit Syringe into himself and Lily. ''Sacrifice more of your blood, Lily. Kizalor''s defense is tougher now. We need both of our full-powered attacks, as powerful as possible.'' Almond conversed with Lily using Magic Whisper. ''We only have one chance. If we fail, we could lose some lives.'' ''I''ll be ready, darling.'' Lily was dashing at high speed as Almond and Kizalor were 60 meters away, empowering her attack more as she sacrificed the recovered Vitality. *Crack¡­* The high-quality, rare-grade dagger in her hand cracked as she had used 80% of her Mana + 80% another after she recovered just now. Seeing Almond and Kizalor shing at insane speed, with Almond using Lightning to the fullest to get an advantage on the shes, Lily circled around the two, building her pace and waiting for the opportunity, her eyes pupils stilled as she entered a highly concentrated state. Experience more tales on empire Kizalor was even faster and stronger in phase 2, but Almond was using his high Lightning mastery and sword attacks to shave Kizalor''s vitality slowly and remain on par in the shes. Shock and Paralyse effects were drastically reduced, but it still worked enough to give him an advantage over the shes despite his slightly slower speed and senses. Kizalor suddenly moved back at a sonic speed, acquiring 50 meters of distance to use a skill, but Almond was precisely waiting for this moment! Espada Ad Grimveil! Rift Discement!¡ªSevere a space and disce it. As Kizalor raised both of his swords, about to unleash the skill, Almond arrived behind him and used another technique. Absolute Severing!¡ª Sunder everything you can perceive. *sh!* Kizalor''s arms flew, disarmed and armless! Lily arrived right below him, her single dagger filled with cracks glinting brightly as she zoomed upward as if a ck star were shooting up, stabbing it into Kizalor. All four of her Dreadspire Elements enveloped Kizalor while a devastating corroding attack thrust into him. Crimson-ck cracks formed around his back belly where the dagger struck as Lily''s third specialized ss skill impacted. Voidless Sunderer: Deals devastating darkness-attribute and blood-attribute damage with rapid corrosion and break effect. Cost: 10% of maximum vitality + ??% of Vitality as a sacrifice to increase the skill''s overall potency. *BOOOM!* Kizalor''s back cracked into nothingness, devoured by darkness. -22% vitality! Kizalor roared,pletely immobilized, but his will undaunted as his aura red, unleashing orbs to chaotically attack them. But Almond wasn''t about to back down as his new full-powered attack was prepared! Almond''s speed drastically increased as he rotated his body at high speed, turning into a lightning tornado of a wingless dragon shape. Everyone was ck-jawed. ''Do it,'' Lily''s eyes sparkled, surging with the thrill of witnessing that attack again, in a new glory. ''Fuck, that''s way bigger than what he showed us two days ago!'' Natalia was tongue-tied. ''Wings,'' Maya''s eyes widened. ''The addition of wings upgraded that battle art technique.'' It happened in a second. Kizalor was trying to regain his bearing and wildly unleashing projectiles to buy time, but the Rising Dragon made of lightning, now with the addition of wind attribute turning into a fearsome storm dragon thanks to his wings, was like a golden terror of sky. In addition, Almond had also used his fourth Spirit Syringe to recover Mana and used 80% of it to entirely empower Rising Dragon with Golden Haze Lightning. This Rising Dragon, created by his magic control and body movement, was a living skill formation executed live by using all usable skills, item effects, and physical prowess to manifest an art of one''sbat¡ªknown as one''s Battle Art technique. And this was Almond''s offense-type Battle Art Technique¡ªRising Dragon''s Roar! *Crackle! Booom!* The giant dragon struck Kizalor, and upon impact, the dragon shrank drastically at insane speed while enveloping Kizalor in a hellish golden storm. Kizalor''s body burned and turned sma before vanishing as the entirety of the attack impacted him. Almond fell on the floor, his entire body battered and broken, his consciousness also flickering. ''I pushed too much¡­'' Hisst spirit syringe wobbly manifested and twerked towards him before stabbing him. "Almond!" Lily rushed towards him and quickly took out potions. "We won¡­" Marcus muttered. "Only because of Almond," Mayaposed her breathing, still feeling rattled. "This is clearly not for random Silver rank adventurers. We need superior gear like him, skills, and stats to even get a chance to fight." "Yeah, who the hell put such tough challenges on the second floor?" Nataliay on the floor, feeling relief. "I seriously saw death during that tsunami. Thanks, Almond. You destroyed my death g." Almond got up and wearily smiled, feeling heavily exhausted. He exerted himself beyond his limit three times, and even though he recovered fully because it was his willing self-destruction to execute those skills, the exhaustion still settled inside. Memories also flooded his mind or rather unsealed. He didn''t pay heed to it for now since he was in mental strain. "And here ites," Lily said as the magic circle vanished and a portal manifested in its ce. [Congrattions! You have achieved a tremendous feat by defeating a Heroic Challenge Floor Boss of the second floor¡ªRuined Lord Kizalor of Meltizaar!] [Along with the challengepletion reward, an additional reward is in the process of generating based on the performance.] [You have defeated this Ruined Lord Kizalor within 1 minute and 3 seconds. Your party has ced 4th rank in the Grimworld Heroic Challenge Leaderboard - Heroic Spirit Floor 2 Section. Please name your party.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Marcus blinked and uttered, "Holy shit." "We are going to be so rich¡­in power!" Natalia eximed. "Let''s fucking go." "Let''s decide the party time now. The reward''s not here yet," Maya said, appearing eager and excited. "I suggest Heroic Adventurers." "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" "That¡­was unexpecteding from you," Almond smiled. Chapter 135 Rewards & Rest (1/2) After throwing some suggestions around, the party decided to go with the name¡ªGrim Breakers. It was Almond''s suggestion, with the reasoning behind the name being that they were going to defeat this Grimworld''s Tutorial and rise above whatevery ahead of it. Afterward, they got ess to this leaderboard within their status as a new tab appeared at the end. [Grimworld Heroic Challenge Leaderboard¡ªFloor 2] Rank 1¡ª Zioneer Guild Party (20 people) Korrade. Rank 2¡ª Lightless Radiance (20 people) Abvesule. Rank 3¡ª Rolling Waves (13 people) Mestsea. Rank 4¡ª Grim Breakers (5 people) Earth. Rank 5¡ª Heavenly Dragons (21 people) ¡ªBlue Star. Rank 6... The theory of there having no other lifeform in the universe aside from them waspletely debunked ten years ago with the appearance of Labyrinth, but seeing the leaderboard that showed others still made everyone feel a mix of awe, surprise, and anticipation. "I think we are the only ones who actually know the official names of others out there," Natalia grinned. "So our party is at 4th rank on a universal scale? Damn!" Marcus was visibly excited. Maya blinked, "I wonder if we''ll get any rewards for getting on the leaderboard?" "True, it would be good if we get some rewards," Lily nodded. "Actually, I got something for us," Almond wryly smiled. "Since I am the party leader, there''s another option for me called Party Mailbox. There''s a reward chest there for getting the 4th rank on this leaderboard." Almond took out the reward chest. "Nice! I''ll open it," Natalia grinned. "But you are in average luck period right now," Lily raised her eyebrows. "You still need two months more to regain the above-average luck." "What are you talking about?" Marcus scratched his head. "You guys are talking as if you can control luck," Maya raised her eyebrows. "Well, Natalia can, to a certain extent," Almond chuckled. "Anyway, let''s roll a dice to decide. The highest number wins." Almond used some Mana and controlled it, condensing it to make a mana dice. After everyone rolled it, Maya and Natalia came to a tie as both rolled six. They rolled the dice again, and this time, Maya won. "Well, there you go, your consumed luck showed its effect," Lily chuckled. "Humph, but I am still luckier than average peeps." Almond pushed the big reward chest towards Maya, who rubbed her hands briefly before pressing the button on the fancy sci-fi magic-themed reward chest. [Congrattions. All party members are given a random rank of stat-boosting fruit set.] "Let''s go!" Natalia cheered. "We get random fruit set despite getting 4th rank on the leaderboard? Tsk," Lily shook her head. "I was expecting some skills scroll, talent awakening, and such type of reward." "Well, this isn''t bad," Marcus was grinning from ear to ear. "And I got freaking A-rank fruit set." "I got a B-rank fruit set," Maya said, a small pout forming on her face. "I got C-rank¡­" Natalia''s face fell as she checked her fruit set''s rank. "Whatever," Lily took out her fruits and started eating. "Damn, you got A-rank fruits. Of course, it''s whatever for you," Natalia rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Almond could only sigh. ''One of the most important types of reward is kinda useless for me.'' ''But what will happen if I upgrade my Spirit Devour skill further? It''s at SS-rank right now, and once it reaches SSS-rank, surely it''ll do more than just allow me to eat spirits and get stats.'' He had reached Silver level 20, the limit of Floor 2, at once after defeating Kizalor, so he gained two level-up boons. And both of them had skill options! He also had one more level-up boon stored, which he wasn''t going to use anytime soon since it didn''t have the skill option. "Almond, what about your fruits?" Natalia asked as she made a puppy face after eating her fruits. "I got C-rank fruits, so you should take pity and give your fruits to me." "Damn," Marcus muttered while looking at Natalia. "You know these fruits are literally invaluable." "Huh?" Almond suddenly eximed, his expression bbergasted. "I got some strange fruits." He took out his fruits, six in total, each one a dreamy golden, sparkling with energetic blue and red patterns on its surface. Everyone was surprised. They didn''t look like normal stat-increasing fruits! "Share," Lily said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Almond nodded as he shared the fruits'' status. [X Factor fruit] -Rank: Special. -Effect: Eating the fruit will permanently increase a stat desired by the user by 20 and store 1 Potential codex within the user''s body. -Potential Codex: This codex will be consumed if the user is on the verge of achieving any kind of breakthrough after hard work, sessfully making the user break through their hurdles, whatever those hurdles may be. Note: Once eaten, the user won''t be able to store another Potential Codex for one year. Enjoy more content from empire "So this is the real reward for the 4th rank, huh?" Natalia rubbed her chin. "Getting 4th rank may have given us higher chances to get this type of fruit, and well, I got them." Almond put them inside and smiled. "I can''t benefit from eating one right now, so I''ll save it forter. And I may give a few away since eating more than one is not beneficial." Saving those fruits to eat one each year would be stupid. With the way he was growing, Almond reckoned he would reach the frontlines within a few months. [The Floor Boss subjugation rewards are generated. Congrattions on acquiring the Heroic Challenge Floor Boss reward chest.] [Contibution Ranking and additional Rewards] Rank 1: Almond ¡ª MVP Reward Chest. Rank 2: Lily ¡ª 2 x Epic Item Boxes, 2 x Random High-ranking skill scrolls, 2 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Tickets. Rank 3: Natalia ¡ª 2 x Epic Item Boxes, 1 x Random high-ranking skill scroll, 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. Rank 4: Maya ¡ª 1 x Epic Item Box, 1 x Super-rank item box, 1 x Random high-ranking skill scroll, 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. Rank 5: Marcus ¡ª 1 x Epic Item Box, 1 x Random high-ranking skill scroll, 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. [The additional rewards are stored in the temporary storage essible from your status window, which is shown as the [Storage] tab.] Everyone was excited as they read the notifications. They took out their items and started opening them as the temporary storage tab vanished. Almond also opened his MVP reward chest and got a bunch of notifications. "Truly worthy of MVP Reward chest," Almond was grinning from ear to ear as he saw the rewards he got from the chest. 1 x Random Legendary rank Ore type material.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om 1 x Random Legendary rank herb type resource. 1 x Skill Upgrade card. 2 x High-ranking skill scrolls. 1 x Random Epic essory. 1 x Random Epic Weapon. 1 x Random Epic Armor. 1 x Random Epic Item. 5 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Tickets. ''This is crazy! One more skill upgrade card. With that, I have two skill upgrade cards and two skill options,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''I should use skill options first and see how it goes. But whatever the case, I want my Spirit Devour to reach SSS rank and what bes of it at that rank.'' Chapter 136 Rewards & Rest (2/2) Chapter 136 Rewards & Rest (2/2) "Woah, you got legendary-rank stuff," Marcus''s eyes widened as he looked at Almond''s rewards. "But nobody can handle that yet," Maya wryly smiled. "Though I heard the top guilds and GAA are training their top cksmiths to handle them since they''ve gotten Legendary materials from the 10th Floor." "This is crazy! Almond, you can make Epic-rank items for us now," Natalia grinned. "We''ll give ours to you for sacrifice, and you can unlock the Epic-rank forge option." "That''d be awesome," Almond nodded and said thoughtfully. "But we got these items on the second floor, so we can use them on the 3rd floor when usually, nobody can use Epic-rank items on the 3rd floor or even 4th floor since there''s no chance of getting those there." "And on that point, I have a spection," Lily said as she nced over the rewards everyone got. "We got Epic-rank items from the second floor because we defeated this Heroic Challenge Floor Boss, which means we would''ve gotten Super-rank items and other rewards if we had defeated the first floor''s Heroic Challenge Floor Boss." "Concordant Ratio! That makes sense!" Almond''s eyes shone. "If each of us had Super-rank items and more preparation, this boss fight wouldn''t be as hard as we had." "And with these Epic rank items, we''ll be able to fight against 3rd Floor''s Heroic Challenge boss properly," Lily grinned, her eyes sparkling. "And the floor bosses like those would get harder and harder overall as we climb, so we''ll have to prepare better." "We''ll seriously need some heavy preparation for the third floor''s Heroic Challenge," Marcus swallowed. "Almond saved our asses this time, but¡­we shouldn''t do this again without heavy preparation." "True," Maya nodded. "I want to defeat more Heroic Challenge bosses, and we should consider increasing our party for that. The other parties in the leaderboard had more members, which shows the real difficulty." "But Almond reduced that difficulty for us," Lily smiled. Almond rubbed his nose with a modest smile, "Well, what can I say? I''m just good." "Good? More like God," Natalia rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you''re too strong for someone your level." "Your primary ss is already strong, but your specialized ss is also crazy, I know. Although you haven''t shown us much about it or told us its rank, I''m sure it''s SSS rank or higher," Marcus grinned. "Mhmm, I feel like it''s the main reason why you were able to remain equal during the second phase''s shing. The boss got stronger, but your strength was still on par, or more like you were higher in the first phase and became on par in the second phase," Maya nodded, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Almond. "I will join GAA. I want to be in your party." Almond faintly smiled, "Good decision." "So you will reject ckstar Guild''s offer, huh?" Natalia grinned. "That''d be interesting." Among other guilds that wanted to recruit Maya, the most powerful one was the 2nd rank ckstar Guild. "I am also going to reject Irond guild''s offer," Marcus grinned and saluted at Almond. "I don''t need anyone else but brother Almond. I''ll be in your party forever, leader!" "In case that, soldier, hand over all your rewards," Almond said with a serious expression. "If I use them, I''ll be more powerful and lead you to greater heights." "Err¡­.for real?" Marcus scratched the back of his head. Almondughed, "I''m just joking. Anyway, this ce is just fine. The portal isn''t going to close, so let''s finish our resting period here and then move to the 3rd Floor." "That''s a good idea. Let''s organize our rewards and properly power up ourselves as we rest," Lily nodded. "Oh yeah, I got skill options in both level-up boons I got," Almond grinned. "What about you all?" "One." "One." "One." "Tsk, I also got one." "Well, moving on, let''s finish camping first and then open the floor boss clearing reward chest," Almond rubbed his hands. "I am clearly more lucky, so it''s my turn." n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "Or do we roll dice again?" "Dice." "Dice." "Dice." "Dice." Almond wryly smiled, "Alright. We''ll normalize the dice to decide on reward opening from now on." With a burst of sparks, the reward chest spewed out five orbs containing various rewards. 09:55 "Only until I get my luck back," Natalia said as she swung her hair arrogantly. After everyone put their small camps in a circr position around a bonfire, Natalia went to open the big reward chest since she had won the dicepetition. With a burst of sparks, the reward chest spewed out five orbs containing various rewards. 1 x Epic-rank Equipment Set. 3 x Adventurer''s Essential Selection Reward Chest. 1 x S-rank Mystery Box. 1 x Epic-rank one-time use item. 4 x Instant-learning Skill bs. "Awesome rewards," Natalia grinned. "Now gimme that Mystery Box." "Dice," Marcus. "Dice," Almond. "Dice," Maya. "Dice," Lily. Natalia pouted. Everyone rolled the dice, and Lily won this time. "Finally, my first random opening," with visible excitement in her eyes, Lily opened the mystery box. It burst open, and a single orb came out. "Is that¡­" Maya blinked. "An egg?" Everyone squinted their eyes as they inspected the thing inside. [Winged Tyrant''s Egg] -Detail: The egg of a magical beast with an Epic-rank bloodline. -Hatching progress: 0%. "Based on its name, it''s a flying magic beast. That''s awesome," Marcus said. "True. Many Adventurers have gotten eggs and cool beast pets, hehe. We''ll finally have one as well," Natalia grinned. "Let''s check the selection chest now," Lily said as she put the egg in the storage pouch. "We''ll find the egg''s hatching requirementter after leaving." "Yep," Almond nodded as he grabbed a selection chest. [Adventurer''s Essential Selection Reward Chest] -Please choose one of the options from below. 1¡ªAdventurer''s Magic Tent. 2¡ªAdventurer''s Storage Ring. 3¡ªAdventurer''s Repair Powder Pouch. 4¡ªAdventurer''s Consumable Assortment. "We have three, so we can pick three of those if all reward chests have the same options," Maya said. "They all have the same options," Almond said as he selected Magic Tent from this chest. "Repair Powder Pouch seems to be a thing that repairs items, so we don''t need it." "Yeah," Lily nodded. "Even if we use Epic-rank items all day, their durability won''t get much lower even against gold-rank monsters." Almond proceeded to select Storage Ring and Consumable Assortment from the other two selection chests. Everyone stood up to check out the Magic Tent first, and it turned out to be a crazily cool item. First, it looked small from the outside, but it was as big as a big room inside, at least 100 meters square. Second, it had in-built Magic Formations to allow for three effects. ¡ª1. Invisibility. It could turn invisible to the naked eye, mask smell, and seal off magic aura at no cost for 8 hours daily. ¡ª2. It could attach to any surface, create a t floor, and adjust its shape and size ording to the user. ¡ª3. Temperature adjustment. Lastly, the tent was absolutely aesthetic looking, both from the outside and inside. It was made with some kind of fabric, colored maroon with medieval-style royal patterns. There was a bedroom, a toilet, a cupboard, a stove, a dressing table with a mirror, a storage box, and utensils already inside, decorated and ready. But their tents were already prepared, so Almond put this tent away in the storage ring, which he wore on his finger. It had a blue gemstone with gray-gold metal carved with ck criss-cross patterns. The consumable assortment was 10 x Healing Potions, 10 x Mana recovery Potions, 10 x Stamina recovery potions, and 10 x Positive Potions. Apparently, poof potions gave random buffs upon consumption. However, the most important thing in this reward chest turned out to be instant-learning skill bs. Everyone had gotten skill scrolls, but learning skills from them required training and practice. However, using a skill b could instantly form that skill scroll''s skill rune within their skill room. (In case you forgot, the skill room, as termed by Almond, is a mysterious space within everyone that one could ess upon reaching 50 Perception and Focus.] Everyone had opened their higher-ranking skill scrolls and got random skills ranging from B to SS rank. Almond had nock of skills for now, and he didn''t want to instantly learn the skills, so he decided to power up the others since there were only four instant-learning skill bs. While everyone learned their new skills using the skill bs, Almond opened his level-up boon windows. It was time to select the two skill options, to either get a new primary ss skill or upgrade one of the existing ones. Chapter 137 Distribution Complete, Moving to the Third Floor Chapter 137 Distribution Complete, Moving to the Third Floor Almond selected the first skill option from one of the two level-up boon windows. [Congrattions, your ss skill¡ªSpirit Syringe has been upgraded to SS-rank.] ''Mhmm, let''s see what it got,'' Almond opened the skill''s status panel. [Spirit Syringe] -Rank: SS -Type: Off-Support. -Cost: 10% of maximum stamina. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Absorb 10% of the user''s stamina to conjure a Spirit Syringe, which can absorb the Vitality and Mana of a target up to 100% of the user''s Vitality and Mana. You can store up to 5 Spirit Syringe. ¡ª> Syringes can be used to recover vitality and mana and, additionally, give a 20% all-stat boost for 1 minute. ''A buff?'' Almond''s eyes shone. ''20% boost to all stats is awesome.'' Almond was satisfied with that upgrade. Moving on, he selected Skill Option from the other level-up boon panel. [Congrattions, your ss skill¡ªSpirit Explosion, has been upgraded to SS rank.] ''Oh¡­'' Almond was a bit disappointed. Although Spirit Explosion was a very powerful skill, no doubt, he was using up Spirits to craft items mostly. He also had some Spirits Stored inside the pocket that needed to be saved, like the Dungeon Boss spirits, this Heroic Challenge boss spirit, and the other bosses he defeated on the way to here on the second floor. ''100 slots are totally not enough anymore,'' Almond wryly smiled. ''I need to upgrade Spirit Pocket and Spirit Absorption, both with the skill upgrade cards, but not yet. I''m going to level up more. Surely, I''ll get at least a couple more Skill options as I level up to Gold level 100 this month.'' ''Anyway, let me see what new effect Spirit Explosion got.'' [Spirit Explosion] -Rank: SS -Type: Offense. -Cost: 1 Spirit per Spirit Explosion. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Anywhere within 50 meters of yourself, you can ce a spirit and make it explode. The damage is determined by the stats of the spirit''s owner before death. There''s a chance for the explosion to turn special, granting it effects rted to the memories of the spirit based on the powers its owner wielded. ¡ª> Spirit Nuke: You can stack spirits and store them in a special space essible through this skill. The stacked spirit will take time but eventually condense and create a Spirit Nuke. You can stack up to 100 spirits and can only store 1 Spirit Nuke at a time. ''Spirit Nuke?!'' Almond was startled and also thrilled. ''That sounds powerful. I have to keep one in store in case of an emergency.'' He didn''t have any spirits to spare since he turned all he got from the second floor into items, aside from boss spirits. ''Should I use a skill upgrade card to upgrade Spirit Devour now or wait?'' Almond contemted. ''I don''t need stats yet, and I am also crafting items since I''ll need a lot to craft Epic-grade itemster as each craft of an Epic-rank would require 20 Super-grade items.'' ''I can start stocking items right now in my Spirit Forge Factory. Using Umon-grade items to craft Rare-grade and Rare-grade items to craft Super-grades,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. He wasn''t going to unlock the Epic-grade forge option yet since everyone could use their Epic-rank items to progress faster on the third floor. ''Yeah, I''ll save the skill upgrade cards for now.'' Almond looked at others and said, "Let''s finish eating. We''ll distribute the items and whatnot before beginning our adventure after resting." The four of them were immersed in checking out the new S-rank and SS-rank skills they just learned using the Instant-learning skill b. Maya had gotten an SS-rank skill from her high-ranking skill scroll, while the other three had gotten an S-rank skill. "Yeah, let''s finish eating. Help me cook," Natalia said right before her stomach rumbled and everyone burst outughing. But everyone was indeed very hungry after their five hours of rush on this second floor. "Almond, you rest," Lily said as she turned to Almond and gently pushed his chest toy him down in the tent, "You pushed yourself too hard three times in the fight." "I''ll take up on that offer," Almond weakly smiled. "I''m mentally and physically aching all over even though I''m fully healed." ¡­ The food was cooked as soon as they had bought meat and other ingredients. After eating, everyone immediately fell asleep inside the tents. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Lily and Almond were in one tent, while the other three had their individual tents. Time passed, and Almond automatically woke up six hourster, fully recovered. The others had woken up an hour or half an hour earlier and had freshened up. They were testing out their new skills and items, but after Almond woke up, everyone gathered around at the camp and drank herb tea before discussing item distribution. The total items they had gotten after opening Epic-rank boxes were as follows: 1. zing Duskpiercer Bow ¡ª Low-tier Epic-grade. 2. Chainmail of Crimson Requiem ¡ª Low-tier Epic-grade. 3. Circlet of Starfrost Wisp ¡ª Low-tier Epic-grade. 4. Inbound Geomancer''s Boots ¡ª Low-tier Epic-grade. 5. Wrathful Wood Titan''s Ne ¡ª Low-tier Epic-grade. 6. Ring of the Shattered Edge ¡ª Medium-tier Epic-grade. The Epic-rank item boxes that everyone got from the bonus rewards based on their contribution yielded those six items. Unlike maximum valued items that Almond could craft, these items weren''t like that. Their effects appeared a bit worse than Almond''s high-tier Super-grade equipment set! However, the most important thing was the perk each of them gave. Each of those Epic-grade items gave everyone roughly 120 stat points. "After seeing Almond''s spirit items, I am not interested in these," Marcus wryly smiled. "We definitely want the Epic-rank items you create." "True," Maya nodded. "But these items are enough for us to roll over the third floor easily. Just the stat boost they gave us by using just one is good enough until we reach the third floor''s Heroic Challenge." "Then let''s finish the third floor quickly with all the power-ups we have," Lily said with a sharp smile. "After that, we''ll meet familiar faces on the 4th Floor. We can increase our party by a couple of people then." "Yeah, let''s distribute the items and move," Almond said as he first took out the Epic-rank set from the Floor Boss chest. "The set is also of low-grade Epic-rank, but it''s power and aligned with Earth-attribute and gives set bonus, so Marcus would be able to utilize it better." "Woohoo! Thanks, leader!" Marcus said while grinning from ear to ear. "What about the other four items? Are they random?" Natalia asked. "Yeah, " Almond nodded as he took out the other four random Epic-rank items he got from his MVP reward chest. "The weapon I got from the random weapon box is a bit unorthodox, but so I''ll use it. I''m interested in it," Almond said as he grabbed the bronze-ded metallic Chakram with crystal patterns on its surface at the periphery. The chakram floated up and started spinning. "Woah, that looks dangerous. It''s spinning fast, too," Marcus eximed. "I can control it like this, but it cost Mana per second. But I''m just going to stick with throwing it and then getting it back to me using Mana to keep low consumption," Almond smiled. "This can be a good flexible long-range attack weapon." "Moving on, the other three Epic grade items are also of mid-tier like this one¡ªA mage robe aligned with light attribute." "That''s mine," Natalia raised her hand. "A ring that boosts water and ice attributes, granting some effects." Maya''s eyes glowed, "Could I get to use that, please?" She had mastery of both Ice and Water elements, so this essory item was perfect for her. "Yep. It''s yours. Thest one is a pair of gloves, boosting the darkness element and increasing the attack speed of the hand," Almond smiled and handed the gloves to Lily. "They are yours." "Damn, the Epic items you got from your MVP reward chest are pretty good, and all of them are medium-tier," Natalia grinned as she wore the white robe with golden and blue embroidery design with tiny crystal patterns. "Oh yeah, people. What do we do about our roulette tickets?" Marcus asked. "Save," Almond said. "Yep, we''ll save those," Lily nodded. "We are going to get more tickets as he clears the heroic challenge floor boss, so it would be better if we use themter." Maya blinked and asked, "You sound like you''ve used one before." "We did," Natalia chuckled. "They give pretty good rewards, very good in fact, but only if we are lucky. That''s why it''s better to save them for now and open in bulkter." "Let''s distribute the remaining six items and start moving," Almond said as he waved his hand, and items floated up and went to everyone. Lily got the zing Duskpiercer Bow since she was good with the bow. Chainmail of Crimson Requiem also went to Lily for better protection, and since it was blood-attributed, it matched with Lily, who had Blood-attributed specialized ss. She couldn''t use the element, but it at least matched and boosted her blood recovery. Circlet of Starfrost Wisp went to Maya since it was an ice-attribute. It was headgear and gave one defense-type and two buff-type effects. Marcus got the Inbound Geomancer''s Boots as they matched him. Wrathful Wood Titan''s Ne went to Natalia. Nobody had wood or natural-rted attributes, but this ne gave defense, buff, and an attack-type effect. Ring of the Shattered Edge, the only medium-tier Epic-rank items from those boxes, went to Almond as he kept it. It was a pure-offense enhancing ring, best suitable to him. And with that, everyone got up and put their tents into the storage pouches before finally leaving through a portal. Maya and Marcus went inside first while riding on Chimera Frank. Afterward, Lily and Natalia went together after mounting on Starlight Beast. Lastly, Almond entered, his eyes already disying a thirst for action after the short rest. Meanwhile, the situation outside that people in the Labyrinth weren''t aware of yet was very tense. The meeting had begun five hours ago with all important people gathering, and it was still ongoing, though it was time to make some decisions to move about resolving the situation. Chapter 138: The Meeting GAA headquarters, inside a big hall. The tables were in a circr formation with threeyers. The outermost and one inner ring were for the heads of the top 100 families and top 100 guild leaders. Find your next read at empire The core ring table was for the top 10 strongest family heads and top 10 guild leaders. And in the centermost middle ring sat seventeen old people, eighteen if including Rudra, mostly above 50 and 60 years old. They were the so-called old monsters¡ªpeople who were very proficient inbat and martial arts before the Labyrinth descended and became very powerful with their wisdom and insight as they grasped the magic and learned more about it faster than others. Five meters above the center ring were also four screens that disyed the Floor Boss via Arcane Eyes sent inside. "The main advantage we have is that the 10th Floor isrge, and even though it went through major changes due to the Floor Boss spawning, it¡¯s still bigger than the 9th floor. Should we make multiple teams to fight the boss turn by turn, using all of our powers at once to deal damage?" "Hit and run tactics per team? Sounds good, but the problem is that not many of those present here canst long against that boss unless we have some people who can keep it upied." "That boss is a giant humanoid-type lizard, walking on two legs, wielding a giant curved heavy sword for melee and a bow for long-range attacks. We only saw its bow attack once, but can I ask who can dodge or block that arrow attack aside from those seniors?" "Its speed is faster. Even if we can perceive its movements using Focus Field, it would be hard to dodge or keep up our movement with it." "Why did this 10th floor¡¯s floor Boss have to be a humanoid one? Sigh." The old monsters weren¡¯t speaking for thest hour and were just watching the Floor boss while listening to others. But Rudra finally spoke as he got up, "Alright, I have decided." The hall turned silent as all types of discussion stopped. "We can all agree that this situation is dire, and if we fail to resolve it in one try, we are going to have some serious problems and unrepairable damage." Everyone nodded. "So I want all of you, especially the top guilds and families, to bring out their full support. And by support, I mean the Magic Artifacts, Legendary items, and valuable one-time-use items. Only by giving our all efforts can we ensure that we will win and keep casualty low." "And I know," Rudra¡¯s eyes turned sharp and cold, his aura permeating the hall. "I know for sure we have some rats here that know exactly why we have this situation. They are the ones responsible for this situation, along with the rats that hide in the underworld." Rudra¡¯s Focus Field was expanded, and he was watching and sensing everyone¡¯s aura and fluctuation to see what reaction his words brought out from people. "Rudra-kun, you are strongest among us and the only one who can contend with that Floor Boss head-on with your skill set and arsenal of techniques. The risk for you is higher than usual this time. Therefore, I will part with my n¡¯s artifact¡ªYata No Kagami," a white-haired old man said while caressing his short beard. Everyone was shocked. Yata No Kagami was a famous mirror possessed by the old monster Shiro-sen of the Shimazu n--one of the top 20 families. Even though it wasn¡¯t a top 10 family due to its small size and less appearance on the outside, Shiro-sen was a bonafide veteran, one of the strongest old monsters. There had been instances of ancient heirlooms or artifacts of the past suddenly transforming and gaining power. There were not many such instances, but each artifact possessed unique and powerful effects. Yata No Kagami was a round mirror, and it was used along with two other artifacts on the 6th floor crisis where adventurers had died, and the Floor Boss was undefeated for over 24 hours, putting the world at a big risk. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om What everyone saw that day was how that mirror absorbed a whole AOE skill of the Floor Boss and turned it into a poisonous beam back at the boss. ording to the rumors, it had a cooldown of one month before being used again, but nobody was sure aside from the ones who had used the mirror. "Tsk, alright, take my Hermes¡¯ Winged Sandles. You¡¯ll need them again if you are going to court death against a floor boss," said a gray-haired man in a loose robe¡ªTheo Gabris, the old monster from the Gabris family, one of the top ten families. Rudra rolled his eyes, "You keep them. And you three, too." Rudra looked at the other three old monsters who had artifacts. "I am not going go head-on alone this time. I want support, a solid one." As he said this, he magic whispered to them, ¡¯You old coots better agree without drama. There are rats here, and there will be rats when we fight the floor boss as well. I don¡¯t want to expose my back when I am focused against the floor boss.¡¯ "Anyway, moving on, let me start with something important. We are not going to fight the floor boss as soon as possible. We are going fight it after we are sufficiently prepared," Rudra said as he narrowed his eyes. "It¡¯s time to enter the S-grade dungeons." "On that note, Admiral, one S-grade dungeon also appeared in my guild¡¯s territory," spoke Liam Sunbreak, the guild leader of the current rank 1 Proximax Guild. The first S-grade Dungeon appeared after the 10th Floor of the Labyrinth was essed. It¡¯s been over three months since then, so more were bound to spawn, albeit at a very low rate. Rudra nodded at Liam and swept his nce at others, "I want locations of all S-grade dungeon doors. Do not withhold this information because it is important. No guild or family alone is capable of clearing them right now without the help of the strongest people here, and this Floor Boss fight will be dyed by 24 hours for sure, which will make the dungeons fill up their border gauge faster." "We don¡¯t want any S-grade dungeon to have a dungeon break, as that would result in massive destruction. I am also going to use the new satellites we haveunched along with Tower of Arcane to sweep the whole for the S-grade dungeon doors." "So, you better disclose the location now, or I will personally hold a grudge and doubt about you forever," Admiral Rudra finished speaking, making many breaks into cold sweat. In the following minute, a total of six S-grade dungeon doors were reported, four by the guilds and two by some families. "Good. Aside from these six, we have six more S-grade dungeon doors that we know of," Admira Rudra nodded. "We will make twelve strongest parties and dive into those dungeons. The goal is to get valuable rewards from them to increase our chances against the 10th Floor¡¯s floor boss." "S-grade dungeon could give us legendary items since A-rank dungeons did not, so this is indeed the best course of action to handle the matter," said Silvester Duncan with a nod. "If there¡¯s a Legendary sword, I would love to use one." "If there¡¯s a legendary sword, then it is I who should use it," said Arata Ryugiri, the old monster from the Ryugiri n¡ªone of the top 10 families. "Alright, stop it right here," Rudra snorted. "It¡¯s time to create twelve teams properly to clear those dungeons. We must decide the teams within half an hour, so let¡¯s get started." [A/N: Btw, please give points to Almond in the character sheet for the character event :D Oh and Almond and Lily both have new character illustrations.] Chapter 139: Third Floor of the Labyrinth (1/2) The third floor of the Labyrinth was a single building but utterly vast and ancient with a mix of gothic, medieval, and fantasy aesthetics, featuring multi-tiered sections, secret passages, and ominous architecture designed to challenge adventurers with its scale, traps, and monster cements. The level ceiling of this floor was Silver level 30. Thisbyrinth floor had eight starting areas outside the castle that faced the drawbridges to lead people inside towards different parts of the castle on the ground area. The huge castle¡¯s perimeters were measured to be roughly a hundred kilometers in radius, and the castle¡¯s height was 30 kilometers, with the floor boss zone situated at the top. "Third floor¡¯s castle¡­I had a harder timeying out this one in the magic map," Almond muttered as he looked at the vast, ancient structure¡¯s one side and began walking towards the drawbridge. Behind him was nothing but darkness that showed thebyrinth floor¡¯s border. At the edge of the drawbridge was the gate leading inside the castle. There were two broken pedestals at the end of the bridge that held gargoyle statues that usually attacked Adventurers, but people who had entered this floor had destroyed those monsters. As he entered inside, Almond saw a big stretch of garden with wild trees and nts. ¡¯So I am at the Garden of Regret,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted, and he began making his route in the mind. The good thing about thisbyrinth was that the requirement to spawn the floor boss was easier. The items were on the section right below the floor boss zone. One had to defeat the Four Knights of the Apocalypse in four different halls to get the items. "Everyone, it¡¯s time to start another party and enjoy," Almond summoned his Spirit Wraiths, except for Starlight Beast and Chimera Frank, who were with the other two groups. "Follow me and destroy everything." ¡­ Lily, Natalia, and Starlight Beast arrived in the ballroom hall on the ground floor as their first area. Inside this huge hall stretching several hundred meters all around, one could see vanishing walls that blinked into existence every few seconds everywhere and monsters that looked like humanoid mannequins dancing around. "Oh no, I don¡¯t like these monsters," Natalia pouted. "They are too creepy." "Just kill them," Lily said with a grin as she stretched an arrow from her zing Duskpiercer, conjuring a dark orange med arrow that she enchanted with her Dreadspire Element: Darkened me. *Swoosh!* Everywhere it pierced through spread mes within 10 meters of it, which was the effect of the bow, lighting up all monsters on fire before exploding after crossing 180 meters due to a wall flickering into existence. "Let¡¯s go, Starlight Beast. Destroy everything." "Roar!" Lily and Natalia, along with Starlight Beast, carved through the ballroom monsters with destructive efficiency. Natalia, wielding her new Starfrost Robe, unleashed a spell storm of freezing winds and celestial sts along with her instruments ringing loudly. She had enough mana to use the effects of her new items leisurely while also using her specialized ss¡¯s skill. Lily switched between the bow and dagger while fighting, her daggers unleashing arcs of shes to kill monsters in short range while her arrows erupted in brilliant explosions, clearing paths amidst the chaos. Experience new stories on empire Starlight Beast supported them by charging through groups of enemies, its radiant ws and celestial aura annihting everything in its path. Reaching the Grand Stairwell, they encountered a Mini-Boss, the Spectral Dancer, who teleported and attacked with high-speed shes. Natalia¡¯s precise timing with Celestial Songstorm, her new SS-rank specialized skill, locked it in ce long enough for Lily to pierce its core. They continued ording to the route as there wasn¡¯t any need to choose direction here, but to decide which area to skip past while climbing the higher sections of the castle. Each floor of this castle was vast and had multiple small areas filled with monsters for people to kill and get challenge rewards, but only one small area on each floor had stairs to climb upward. The stair areas were special as they respawned the monsters every hour, while the other areas remained empty for three days after getting cleared. The goal was to climb the castle efficiently without wasting time on random areas and ultimately reach the Quartet za, the 30th floor section of the castle, the area right below the Floor Boss Zone, where everyone would meet up. ¡­ Marcus and Maya arrived on the second floor of the castle of the southeast zone after passing through the Dining Hall of Terror. On the second floor, they chose to enter the Hall of Eclipses, as this small area had stairs to climb upward. They progressed swiftly through the Hall of Eclipses, a sprawling chamber filled with moving shadowy orbs that acted as both obstacles and traps. The orbs emitted bursts of dark energy, forcing them to dodge while fighting Shadow Stalkers, spectral creatures that materialized unpredictably. Chimera Frank had no threat against the orbs, so it was raining destruction and clearing the path while Marcus and Maya moved behind it, fighting against ambushes of Shadow Stalkers and killing them. They soon cleared the hall and arrived at the stairs leading upward. ¡­ The castle had 30 floor sections, with the 31st being the Floor Boss Zone. Each floor section was huge, stretching a hundred kilometers in radius, but it was parted into eightrge areas and became maze-like due to theplexyout. But each floor section had roughly ten small areas for people to kill monsters, totaling 300 small areas. As such, with there being many people on thisbyrinth floor, there was a higher chance of encounters due to theyout of the castle. Most of the people were taking an easy and careful approach, resting after clearing a few small areas on a castle floor¡¯s section and then climbing. Each floor section had multiple areas, so it was either firste, first serve or a tense conflict if someone wanted to upy. Almond and the others didn¡¯t encounter anyone until 4 hourster when they arrived at the 20th floor sections and above. But nobody wanted beef with him or others. Almond was alone, but not so alone with his spirit wraiths. Lily, Natalia, and Starlight Beast had no problem, as nobody wanted to mess with them as well. However, when Marcus and Maya arrived on the 27th floor section¡¯s stair area, they encountered a big group of Ebonw Guild¡ªranked 18th. They had just cleared this stair area and were resting when Maya and Marcus entered the hall with Chimera Frank. n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om At first, they were surprised, but they just continued moving as their goal was to simply climb the stairs. "Those two are from that tournament, eh?" "Yeah, but why are they here? Did they clear the second floor already?" "Hey, look at their items! Am I going insane, or is it showing Epic grade to me?" "Fuck, you are right!" Marcus and Maya couldn¡¯t hear them, but they could see they were discussing. "They won¡¯t have any ideas on us, right?" Marcus whispered to Maya using Magic Whisper. "Not unless they want to court death," Maya¡¯s eyes turned frosty. "Hey, fellow adventurers. Maya, and Marcus, right?" The two people got up and arrived before them, while the other twelve people also got up and walked, clearly blocking the path to the stairs. "Are we seeing things, or do you two really have Epic-rank items?" "Yeah, could we take a look and inspect it in detail? I¡¯m really curious about their status." "Grrr¡­" Chimera Frank growled, its wings expanding. The Ebonw guild group moved a step back as they took out their weapons. "Hey, get that beast in control. We don¡¯t want needless fight." Maya and Marcus looked at them, feeling their ill gazes. ¡¯What do we do, Maya? Attack promptly or y along for a bit and escape swiftly?¡¯ Chapter 140 Third Floor of the Labyrinth (2/2) "Move out of the way," Maya said with a t, cold expression as she used her specialized ss skill, conjuring a Riptide Knife in one hand and a Hailspring Revolver in another. "Growl!" As if resonating with Maya''s action, Chimera Frank growled more dangerously this time, its three heads'' mouths opening, sparkling with magical energies. Marcus grinned ferociously as his Epic-rank equipment set gleamed, using its effect that released a faint geo-brown aura, increasing defenses and resistance to magic for allies. He crouched slightly while holding a sword and shield as if ready to pounce into their group. "You sure you want to fight against the twelve of us?" the leader of the group, a dark blond-haired man, said as he narrowed his eyes, his ck hammer gleaming with red, cracked patterns. "You don''t know your capabilities, nor ours," Marcus spat on the ground as he spoke. "Move out or die." "There''s really only one oue if we fight," Maya indifferently said, "You all will die, and the three of us will survive. There''s no doubt about this in my mind. What about you all?" The air around this part was very tense, with Ebonw Guild''s group having mixed feelings. The leader and a few others had tight expressions, but the others were faltering. They were mostly scared of Chimera Frank, that massive monster who had higher stats than them. Adding on to the fact that Marcus and Maya had Epic-rank items that increased their stats above them, and who knows what kind of effects they had, which didn''t help boost their confidence even though they outnumbered them vastly. ''Leader, we shouldn''t sh.'' ''Yeah, it''s not worth it if we lose our lives.'' ''Even if we win by chance, many of us would die.'' ''I won''t fight, leader Kareem. Sorry.'' Kareem''s eyes glinted, a mixture of greed and hesitation. ''It''s goddamn Epic-rank items, you fools!'' A silence descended as the tension still hung in the air. ''If I attack, then they will attack us¡­and it will eventually lead to a big fight,'' Kareem thought, his eyes darting around Maya, Marcus, and Chimera Frank. ''As long as I survive in the end, I''ll benefit.'' ''I''ll make a move and turn defensive.'' He sensed Maya''s gaze on himself and grinned ruthlessly as he looked at her and swung his hammer. "Die!" His aura burst out as he used a skill, causing a ck burning stone to conjure in front of him as his swinging hammer struck it andunched it like a bullet toward Chimera Frank. But right as his hammer struck that stone, Maya''s revolver also shot a bullet while her Epic-rank circlet faintly shone. The moment Kareem''s hammer struck that stone, he was frozenpletely and shattered. It happened too fast, and what Kareen expected didn''t happen. Chimera Frank simply waved one of its wings and blocked that attack that barely reduced a bit of its vitality. "We don''t want to fight!" "That''s right! We said no to leader Kareem!" The other people quickly moved out of the way while shouting. "Well, that was easy," Marcus wryly smiled as he broke his stance and stood properly. "Was that your first kill, Maya?" "He wanted to kill us, and even his own party members, just to get the Epic-rank items," Maya narrowed her eyes. "I didn''t want to spare someone like him." "Fair." ¡­ Marcus and Maya continued. It took everyone 3 hours to reach the Quartet za. Almond was faster, but he had moved leisurely again without killing any monsters. The za, located directly below the Floor Boss Zone, was an expansive circr area surrounded by four colossal gates, each adorned with symbols of the Four Knights of the Apocalypse: Famine, War, Pestilence, and Death. In the center stood a glowing pedestal indicating where the boss summoning items were to be ced after defeating the Knights. As the groups converged, they took a moment to catch their breath and rest for ten minutes while admiring the ominous architecture. The air was thick with magically influenced omen hanging in the air, and the faint hum of thebyrinth''s energy resonated all around at low frequency, creating a tense vibe. "I want the spirits of these four bosses, so we''ll be killing these bosses one by one with me," Almond said. "Gotcha, so which one''s the first?" Natalia asked. "Let''s start with death," Marcus grinned. "Any is fine," Lily said. Maya began walking towards the gate, symbolizing the Knight of Death. "Let''s go then." Then, Almond watched Lily, Natalia, Maya, and Marcus fight the boss for half a minute as they defeated it. After storing the spirit, the group moved to the next boss. They had to recover a bit, so it took ten minutes for the group to be done with all four knights of the apocalypse. "I think it would be a good idea to use the spirits of these four bosses to craft an item set," Almond rubbed his chin. "Yep. One of these spirits as an ingredient for each equipment. This would probably push for the items toe out in a set." "That sounds good and something I can use," Lily blinked. "True. These four knights of apocalypse bosses had darkness element''s attributes, so an equipment set made from them would pair perfectly with you," Maya nodded. "I agree. And now that we''re done with all four bosses and got an item, we should prepare for another Heroic Challenge," Marcus said as he sat down. The others also sat down, making a circle. "I''ve been creating items as soon as I get spirits. So far, I have crafted 58 low-tier super-rank items by sacrificing all items I''ve crafted," Almond said. "To craft a high-tier Epic-rank set, I''d need 80 super-rank items." Crafting a low-tier super-rank item only required the sacrifice of 5 rare-rank items, so Almond managed to craft many super-rank items for sacrifice. "So that''s not enough for an epic set," Natalia blinked. "Well, we are sufficiently geared, and you are also overpowered, so we should be able to defeat the Heroic Challenge Boss of this floor, right?" "We are bettered geared this time, but that doesn''t mean there''s no risk," Maya said as she looked at Almond and Lily. "Right?" "The only one who is at no risk of getting killed by one attack aside from me is Marcus," Almond said with a nod. "The epic-rank set he is wearing is highly defensive and matches his Earth elemental mastery." "Indeed," Lily nodded as she nced at Natalia and Maya, "The three of us are at risk of being killed with a slight mistake or carelessness."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "What do we do then?" Marcus scratched his head. "Honestly, I think we should prepare more and think ourselves luckier during the second floor''s heroic challenge." "Almond will know," Lily turned to Almond. "It''s your decision to make because you are the strongest among us and also the real shot at killing the boss." Almond nodded, "I have an idea. We have to make a strategy, a foolproof one. An ultimatebo of skills from all of us, so I can use my two ultimate attack moves." "Two? One is Rising Dragon''s Roar, which requires at least 90% of your maximum Mana and Stamina, right? So what is the other one?" Maya asked, her eyes curious. The others were also curious. Chapter 141 Preparation "A nuke of pure devastation," Almond grinned. "But tond it effectively, the boss needs to be immobilized. The previous Heroic Boss, Kizalor, could easily dodge, reposition, or counter with a defensive skill within the one-second dy this attack requires. It''s safe to assume this boss will be just as capable, if not more, so I can''t afford to waste it carelessly because we''d only have one chance. I can''t use this attack again in a short time even if I have all recovery items in the world." Everyone was surprised. They didn''t know Almond had such a skill. "Is that attack a new effect of your spirit explosion? I guess it must have upgraded from the level-up boon skill option," Lily said. "Yep. So let''s start brainstorming with a bit of practice, "Almond smiled as he summoned his current strongest spirit wraith¡ªCrimson Skylord Galvaren. "I can give my all and try to freeze the boss," Maya said. "But for that to work on a Heroic boss with such high stats, I''d need to weave a good move." "Same," Natalia nodded. "I can do two things. I can use my specialized ss''s third skill, which has a powerful stun effect. I can also use Action Mirage to copy Maya''s skill of freezing, but my skill is pretty good, I think." "Alright. And Maya, Nyssara will join you in your attack to boost its freezing power," Almond nodded as he stood up. "Let''s work on this." Turning to Galvaren, he said, "Galvaren, you will fight these two. Don''t hold back, but don''t kill them." Galvaren grinned at Maya and Natalia as he conjured his broken, heavy sword. "Bring it on,dies." Maya and Natalia nced at each other before jumping back several meters away, activating Fortification and Body Enfold. Maya also used Weapon Enfold as she conjured her Hailspring Revolvers and empowered both guns. Galvaren jumped with a fiery aura, his wings zing. Maya''s bullets shot at him, but Galvaren used Abyssal Sky Rend (A), shing his broken sword that created a molten ck obsidian sh, destroying her bullets and promptly using another skill¡ªCrimson Dive Bomb (S) towards Maya. ''Shit!'' Maya canceled her another attack, and as her circlet of Starfrost wisp shone. Natalia used her third specialized ss skill¡ªCelestial Songstress, as all four of her instruments glowed and buzzed, unleashing waves of sounds based on Natalia''s desired frequency as it affected the stun''s effectiveness. Galvaren''s dive bomb shattered Maya, but only her icy afterimage while she appeared ten meters away. The epic item''s effect saved her from that attack, or she would''ve been terribly injured.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Meanwhile, the moment after Galvaren dive-bombed, Natalia''s skill struck him. Galvaren didn''t have a defensive skill, but he tried to destroy the waves of Celestial Songstress, albeit he failed as the waves continued and stunned him as these waves had the attribute of passing through enhanced in them. They were sound-based and required a proper defense to block. Maya took this chance as she went into the motion of pulling string while her Aquafrost bow materialized starting from the string. *Swoosh!* The bow had the highest freezing chance, and she gave it her all, consuming 70% of her maximum Mana to bolster it with her ice elemental mastery. Galvaren swung his sword to strike the arrow, but it still exploded and burst into a thick, freezing mist that froze him. But Galvaren''s body burst out in mes just half a secondter as he took to the skies and roared. "I''m just getting started,dies!" Almond injected Spirit Syringes into both Natalia and Maya, recovering them so they could continue. Maya and Natalia were surprised as their stats also increased by 20%, though the notification said that it was only for a minute. They continued fighting as Galvaren was very strong. "I have a stun-like skill, but it won''t work on a floor boss. It''s a melee-type one where I can enchant my shield and bash into the opponent''s head to give a concussion and stun," Marcus said. "Your job is to defend and buff, Marcus. Keep your mana for that instead of attacks." "Gotcha." "I''ll summon my Dreadspire Elementals," Lily said while watching Maya and Natalia duking it out with Galvaren. "They are pure elementals and will debuff the boss. After summoning them, I''ll work on the Voidless Sunderer so you can nail your attacks at the highest potency." "Good," Almond nodded. "Brother Almond, you also shed off Kizalore''s arms like a knife chopping through butter, so technically, you can also disable the boss, right?" Marcus asked as he blinked curiously. "Yes, but I want the number one spot in the leaderboard for us," Almond grinned as his eyes glinted. "So we will work towards finishing off the boss in one shot, onebo. No need to let the boss ess his phase two." Marcus was dumbfounded, "We can do that?" Lily raised her eyebrows as she guessed something since she knew about Almond''s legendary ss skills and his third skill of the ss that he had yet to use. "We will do that," Almond nodded. "That''s why I want Maya and Natalia to up their game and create a solid control-type attackbo that can immobilize the boss for at least one second." "Alright, stop," Almond shouted as pped loudly. "You two. Sit down in meditation and perceive your skill room. Maya, you check out your strongest freezing skill''s skill rune and fiddle with it to increase freezing power. You should also learn how to utilize the freezing attribute of your ice element more so you can empower the freeze. Use the water element''s property to bolster the freeze. I''m sure you''lle up with something since you have mastery over both elements." "Natalia, your skill is more powerful because it''s hard to block, and it stuns the body and mind both with those chaotic sound frequencies. The problem is that your skill is wider. Make it morepact and targetted so the stun and overall effectiveness is enhanced." "Arigatou, sensei!" Natalia nodded as she cupped her fist and sat down, causing Marcus tough and others to smile. Maya also nodded and sat down in meditation. "Almond, I''ll spar with Galvaren. Recovery him, please," Lily said, appearing eager and filled with anticipation. "You are going to fill up the syringes, anyway, right?" "Bwahaha, I like that spirit, youngdy." Galvarenughed, eager to fight as well. "Why does she usually know what you''re about to do?" Marcus scratched his head. "Because he is my darling," Lily said as she winked at Almond. Almond chuckled and recovered Galvaren. He then summoned Ashkar, Benedict, Nyssara, and Sylvia. "You four, attack Lily with your long-range attacks, and Marcus, your job is to deflect and defend against these attacks to protect her. You have higher stats than these four, so exercise your body to its full extent and refine yourbat style in a way that allows you to defend against attacks properly and quickly." "Aye, aye, captain. This sounds super fun!" "We will waste no more than an hour here, so do your training with full focus." As everyone began their training in this empty hall, Almond went down to fill up his spirit syringes. He returned shortly after sucking several monsters in one of the 29th floor''s sections, filling up his five spirit syringe. Chapter 142 Unveiled Catastrophe Almond didn''t kill the monsters and just sucked them with the syringe. If they were any weaker, they would''ve died with the spirit syringes, but fortunately, they didn''t. He wanted to remain 10 levels lower than the Heroic Challenge boss to get better rewards. After returning to the Quartet za, Almond sat down and looked at the third skill of his specialized ss. His first skill ¡ª Divine Divider''s Harvest was not an offense-type skill. It was a utility type. He could divide attributes and use them on himself. His second skill ¡ª Espada Ad Grimveil also wasn''t an offense-type but a super support-type with his explored techniques within this domain. 1¡ªRift Discement: Severe a space and disce it. 2¡ªSpatial Severing: Sever the space while maintaining a connection between severed space or disce the connections. 3¡ªAbsolute Severing: Sunder everything you are able to perceive. Stay connected with empire But they didn''t deal direct damage, not even the Absolute Severing, because even though he could sunder everything with it, it was only that. It didn''t reduce vitality or deal damage; it just sundered the target aimed by him from the target''s body space while severing the connection between severed parts. As such, he thought about this third skill after creating the 4th technique to use in the Espada Ad Grimveil. He could perceive space within this domain of Grimveil, and he wanted to sever itpletely to create a sh-shaped rift in space, but also make it such that it wouldn''t screw everything due to its powerful suction force. They also disappeared quickly as space mended itself, and he couldn''t prevent it without wasting mana. So, he learned the connection aspect of his ss and attained a better understanding of it, allowing him to create the 4th technique¡ªVoidbound Rift. He could create rifts of space, and he connected their exits with each other, so it was like there were no rifts in his domain at all. They were there physically and visually, but their effects weren''t affecting the material ne because it was directly going out in the spatial ne. He could make them appear behind a target and make their exits face the target, which even though wouldn''t suck the target inside because the maximum size of rift he could create was less than half a meter, and people could also resist it using their skill and mana to escape. It was just that, a suction force. As such, Almond wanted to deal actual powerful damage, so he created his third specialized ss skill to make up for that, which offensively uses Voidbound Rifts¡­.in a highly freaking offensive way! The idea was to explore the concept of his Rift and Veil in a raw way. To epass the voidbound rifts, to superimpose them, and then turn them into a spatial de of absolute destruction. He could also enchant it with his Golden Haze Lightning, making it more powerful. And most importantly, he could prepare for this attack beforehand while in his domain, and recover his Mana before using it. In short, this attack could unleash the culmination of the Riftveil Grimde''s severing and connecting power into a single, devastating attack as the skill condenses severed space and voidbound rifts into a destructive void entity¡ªa cataclysmic rift de. And named this skill¡ªUnveiled Catastrophe. [Unveiled Catastroph] -Rank: Legendary -Cost: Temporarily reducing Perception and Focus by 20% due to strain and deactivating Espada Ad Grimveil for one hour + 50% of maximum Mana. -Phase 1: Void Veil. ¡ª> Condenses all severed space connections and spatial rifts within the domain into a single point within a Void Veil. -Phase 2: Catastrophic Strike. ¡ª> The Void Veil transforms into a de shaped by the user. The de''s power is increased proportionally to the amount of space severed and the number of Voidbound Rifts condensed within Void Veil during Phase 1. The power of the de can cut through both physical and ethereal entities, dealing pure destructive void damage. This Unveiled Catastrophe skill was the embodiment of devastation, turning the delicate art of spatial severing and connecting within his Espada Ad Grimveil into a weapon of pure destruction. Itbined his ability to perceive and manipte space with pure offensive force, creating a spectacle of unparalleled annihtion. But Almond needed to be careful because he had tried to use this one time, and it was hard to control, especially in Phase 2. He could increase the de''s size up to no limit, as it was based on the amount of space he severed and the number of Voidbound Rifts, though he could only use this skill within the domain of his Espada Ad Grimveil so that ultimately decided the maximum limit. Naturally, condensing the de to make it smaller increased its power even more, though it also made it harder to control than it already was. Carelessness during this skill could actually lead to his own death. That was how powerful this skill was. So Almond needed to practice it, but only in his mind, in a mini version by using the principles of this skill. Since he created the skill, he knew the principles behind it. He expanded his Espada Ad Grimveil 20 meters around him and created six Voidbound Rifts, each one 2 centimeters long, and connected their exits to each other. The pitch ck rends in the shape of eyes looked ominous, even though they were small. Almond had wondered where they led to and had tried to send a string of his Force Field inside, but it was instantly severed, and he got a stinging headache briefly. Shaking his head, he didn''t think about the mystery of the void in the spatialyer and continued with his control practice. An hour passed by swiftly as everyone was fully absorbed in the training. Maya and Natalia showed their improved skills and they worked pretty well this time,pletely locking Galvaren for over two seconds at the cost of their entire Mana pool. Marcus also got better at using his item set''s effects more efficiently and properly for maximum defense. Lily improved everything of hersbat-rted as Galvaren was a tough fighter.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om And so, the preparations were done. After checking out everyone''s improved state, Almond told them to take five minutes of meditation to recover fully before the group finally ced the items on the four pedestals. [Your party is qualified for Heroic Challenge mode. Do you wish to proceed with the Heroic Challenge Floor Boss fight?] As everyone got the notification, something else also appeared¡ªa magical stair leading towards a door that appeared at the end of the stairs mid-air. Everyone was ready and answered the notification, filled with thrill, tension, and excitement. [All party members have agreed. Please proceed to the stairs and enter the floor boss zone. From hereon, you are not allowed to leave thebyrinth until you defeat the Heroic Challenge boss.] As everyone climbed the stairs and entered through the dreamy door, they arrived on open ground, a vast concrete terrace with a hazy crimson moon in the sky. [The heroic challenge boss will spawn in 1 minute.] Almond summoned his spirit wraiths. It was time to absolutely crush the floor boss ording to the n¡­.or so everyone hoped. Chapter 143 Heroic Challenge Floor Boss of Third Floor (1/2) "Everyone, hold onto your powers until mymand. Nyssara, coordinate with Maya''s freezing skill." "Understood," Nyssara nodded as she opened her hand fan and walked towards Maya. Almond adorned his badass Radiant Grimlord Set and only held one sword instead of two this time. Lily also used her second specialized ss skill¡ªDreadspire Call, right off the bat and used it on Chimera Viperfiend to fill up the gauge. [Dreadspire Call] -Skill rank: SSS -Type: Toggle. -Cost: 0.5% to n% of Blood every second. -Effect: ¡ª> While the skill is active, all attacks of the user, be they magical or physical or both, can drain the vitality of the target based on damage and fill up the gauge of Dreadspire Call. The higher the activation cost, the stronger the vitality drain. You can also channel drained vitality to another target. ¡ª> Dreadspire Call-[0/100]: Once filled up, the user can call upon a Dreadspire Elemental to aid inbat. Once summoned, the gauge resets. These elementals have the same stats as the user. You can summon up to four at once. ¡ª> Dreadspire Elementals: 1. Lupine of Darkened me, 2. Roc of Withered Wind, 3. Whale of Curseweaved Water, 4. Golem of Gloombound Earth. When the countdown hit 20 seconds, Almond used Espada Ad Grimveil, as an ethereal domain appeared with a range of 200 meters radius. His eyes shed as Voidbound Rifts started forming in the domain, looking menacing as if tens of eyes of some mysterious omen were watching everyone. Meanwhile, Lily also filled up the gauge once and summoned the Golem of Gloombound Earth. The n was to use the Golem of Gloombound Earth, whose main power was to slow the movement speed and action speed of the target with its Dreadspire elemental power. Maya and Nyssara were already in sync as they were conjuring an orb of ice and water bybining their power. Maya was using her Aquafrost Bow, pulling its string as an arrow had formed, and an ice-elemental orb with a water stream around it was conjured in front of the arrow''s point. Nyssara was keeping it in control alongside Maya while boosting its power, more specifically, the freezing attribute. Natalia was also ready with her instruments summoned, her expression determined and focused. She wanted to generate the strongest melody of her instrument and release it in apact and condensed manner guided by her flute to aim it perfectly. Marcus was ready to defend and also activated his buff-type skills, one from his primary ss that boosted everyone''s Strength and Health by 20%, and the effects from the Epic-rank set he wore to bolster defense and resistance against debuffs. The countdown hit 0, and everyone''s pupils shrank as they focused on the tornado of sparkling green wind and dark red mes. It dispersed just as fast as it formed as a tall 10-foot-tall individual made an appearance, wearing an aesthetic light robe and holding a ck staff with a crystal ball on top. [Archmage Verenoor of Lochbale Castle] -Rank: Special -Type: Heroic Spirit -Vitality: [100% / 100%] -Mana: [30,000 / 30,000] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 400 | Health: 4000 | Stamina: 1000] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 3000 | Focus: 700 | Perception: 700] "Maya and Natalia, wait for the chance to guarantee hit your control attacks because I''ll make that chance," Almond said as his aura burst out, and he vanished and directly used Absolute Sunderer in a vertical sh, intending to split Verenoor into two." Almond also teleported Golem of Gloombound Earth with him, but ten meters away from Verenoor. The moment Almond teleported behind Verenoor, a powerful gust of wind threw him away. But Almond was ready, his hawklike senses in his Focus Field finding the perfect chance to slightly disable the boss so that Maya and Natalia could strike him. Lily was already preparing to use her Voidless Sunderer, waiting for the chance. A spirit syringe was floating beside her for her to use to empower the attack further. Meanwhile, Verenoor thumped his staff on the ground the moment after pushing Almond away as strange dark red clouds with sparkling green streams formed above him. "What''s that?" Natalia muttered. But everyone got their answer soon as the clouds suddenly released arrows at everyone, one for each one! Marcus immediatly roared as he activated his full-powered defensive skill along with the set''s effect to defend Lily, Maya, Natalia, and the spirit wraiths. Sylvia also used her most powerful defensive skill, adding to the protection. Almondmanded the remaining spirit wraiths to grab Verenoor''s attention. ''Attack!'' Verenoor saw the summons iing and thumped his staff on the ground again, conjuring a dreadful tiger and a turtle made of dark red me and sparkling green winds. Almond halved Verenoor''s perception by half and took it for himself, gaining a major boost himself and slowing down Vereneroon''s reaction speed and decision-making speed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Attacking at the perfect chance, Almond intended to split Verenoor into two this time. *Swoosh!* Maya and Natalia were tense and waiting, observing the situation. Lily was sacrificing her vitality fast and used the spirit syringe. Only ten seconds have passed so far. Almond shed, his Absolute Severing enchanting his sword shed Verenoor. But instead of seeing him splitting into two, the turtle got split instead. ''Fuck, damage and effect transfer?!'' Natalia and Maya were about to let loose their attacks but greatly held back upon seeing that the attack didn''t go as intended. ''Fuck, I almost shot my skill,'' Natalia stomped on the ground. Maya wryly smiled, sweat beads forming on her face even though she was literally using ice-powered skills. The situation was highly tense because this boss was a freaking mage, and that meant everyone was in danger. Verenoor''s cloud above unleashed arrows on the spirit wraiths, especially Galveren, who was annoying Verenoor and had destroyed Verenoor''s tiger. The spirit wraiths couldn''t dodge or defend against those destructive arrows as they got sted into oblivion. Stay connected with empire Benedict, Infernal Knight, and Galvaren remained alive with their trait and gave their all, attacking Verenoor again with stronger strength while Almond gathered one more chance as he timely used Absolute Severing. Benedict''s Fallen Angel used darkness skill to blind and debuff Verenoor, slowing him down further, along with Lily''s Golem of Gloombound Earth, who was keeping Verenoor stuck to the ground, slowing his action and movement speed, though Verenoor wasn''t moving at all. The chance had appeared again, so Almond made his move. Chapter 144 Heroic Challenge Floor Boss of Third Floor (2/2) Galvaren, Benedict, and Infernal Knight knew Almond needed a split-second window, so they gave it their all. Benedict conjured tentacles of darkness, binding Verenoor, though those tentacles burned instantly, Infernal Knight and Galvarennded their strongest attacks on Verenoor during that time, forcing Verenoor to make a move against them. And taking that chance, Almond made his move. ''You are not escaping this time, you tricky mage!'' Almond''s eyes were resolved as he teleported again and unleashed Absolute Severing again while preparing to inject a spirit syringe into him since using this third Absolute Severing made his Mana reach below 20%. *sh!* Verenoor got split into two, his eyes showing clear confusion as he could feel both parts of his body but not the connection between them. He thumped his staff held by his right side body on the ground, conjuring a powerful tornado of dark red mes, instantly killing Infernal Knight, Dark Pope, and Sky Lord. Almond also quickly used Radiant Fortress because this was a crazy, powerful attack that could burn him to death swiftly. Lily and others were safe as they were out of the range of this attack. They couldn''t see Almond but knew he was safe as they saw the Voidbound Rifts vanish, meaning that Almond had used Phase 1 of his Unveiled Catastrophe! Maya and Natalia were ready to make a move the instant tornado vanished, and it happened shortly as Verenoor faced Almond, the clouds above him unleashing arrows at Almond. And right at that moment, Maya unleashed her fully empowered arrow that was further boosted by Nyssara. It streaked swiftly with a boom and struck Verenoor, freezing him into a popsicle with sharpened ice extending outward all over. However, right before that arrow had struck him, Almond, who had a crazy high perception at the moment, unleashed Phase 2!N?v(el)B\\jnn A pitch-ck de horizontal shot at Verenoor, who was frozen, splitting him again, but this time, it was an annihting split! *sh!* Almond wanted to finish the battle with this attack if possible, so he had aimed the de at the upper body, intending to pulverize Verenoor''s head, but as if sensing threat even in a frozen state, the clouds above him churned as a sparkling stream of wind forcefully pushed the sh to strike into his lower-half. If Almond had higher stats, this wouldn''t have happened, but Verenoor consumed a ton of his Mana to do that, resisting that de''s power and forcefully using his wind to push it. It happened in a split second, but the Catastrophic Strike missed its mark, though it still entirely ate up the bottom half of Verenoor. -58% Vitality! Stay connected through empire But it wasn''t over yet! Lily arrived, unleashing her Voidless Sunderer and shattering the ice, reducing Verenoor''s vitality by 13%. Right before the ice shattered with Lily''s attack, Natalia was also ready and used her skill, Celestial Songstress, as her flute released a circr football-sized ring with a golden border because it was also buffed by her light attribute. It was super fast, even faster than Maya''s arrow, and struck Verenoor, paralyzing and stunning his body and mind as he stopped as if time stopped for him. Right at that moment, Almond ced his Spirit Nuke between the two halves of Verenoor''s upper body at perfect timing! "One," Almond''s eyes shed. "Two." *BOOOOOOOOOOM!* The st shot Almond and Lily away, who were close, while an exotic spectacle of utterly chaotic explosion urred¡ª100 spirits, all condensed, and many of them triggering their special effects! "Damn!" Marcus shouted with a stank face as the shockwave hit him and everyone. "Crazy," Maya muttered. "It''s really a nuke." "Let''s fucking go!" Natalia shouted with a red face, excited as the notification rang! [Congrattions! You have achieved a tremendous feat by defeating a Heroic Challenge Floor Boss of the third floor¡ªArchmage Verenoor of Lochbale Castle!] [Along with the challengepletion reward, an additional reward is in the process of generating based on the performance.] [You have defeated this Archmage Verenoor in 29 seconds. Your party¡ªGrim Breakers has ced 1st rank in the Grimworld Heroic Challenge Leaderboard - Heroic Spirit Floor 3 Section.] [You are granted 10 million gold coins each and 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket for getting the first rank on the leaderboard.] "Yes!" Almond clenched his fist as hey on the floor while feeling a headache. He hadn''t pushed his body, but he had pushed his mind past the limit this time. Taking Verenoor''s 350 Perception was the best idea and was the crux that allowed him to sessfully split him, thus creating the chance that led the party to this result. But doing that had also strained his mind, especially after he used his Unveiled Catastroph''s Phase 2. "I want to sleep¡­" Almond muttered as his eyelids got heavy. He quickly stored the Heroic Boss''s spirit, and he instantly fell asleep after removing his armor as it vanished and entered his storage ring. Lily walked towards him while drinking a healing potion and sat down, putting his head on herp. "His head is very hot," Lily blinked and looked at Maya and others who were walking towards him. "Master," Nyssara and Sylvia arrived quickly. "Cool his head," Lily said as she looked at Nyssara, who quickly nodded and released a gentle icy wave. "Although we had a few unexpected bumps, Brother Almond created that chance in the end," Marcusughed. "We should let him rest." "Yep. Let''s start camping and cooking," Natalia said with a grin. "Almond can eat something when he wakes up." Maya nodded. Almond woke up after merely one hour, feeling refreshed and greater than ever. [You have reached silver level 30. Please check your Advancement quest. [Rank Advancement Quest] -Task: ¡ª> Kill 10 Gold rank monsters. Almond saw a tent over his head with Lily smiling at him. "Are you feeling good?" she asked. "Yep," Almond got up and sat beside her as he smiled. His nose slightly twitched as he smelled a delicious fragrance. "You woke up at a perfect time. The feast is prepared, captain." Meanwhile, Almond was still getting notifications as he had woken up. But he ignored them for now as his stomach rumbled, "Yeah, I am famished. Let''s eat." Chapter 145 Rudras Scheme (1/2) "We checked the individual rewards we got based on contribution," Natalia said after chewing the meatball. "We got mid-tier Epic-rank items this time." "But they won''t be a match to your Epic-rank items, so¡­" Marcus coughed and drank a ss of buttermilk. "Man, I love this buttermilk." "But instead of skill scrolls, the four of us got a universal skill-upgrade card this time," Maya said before she dipped the meatball into some sauce and took a bite. "You got one card or two?" Lily curiously asked Almond. Almond checked the notification. [Contibution Ranking and additional Rewards] Rank 1: Almond ¡ª MVP Reward Chest. Rank 2: Lily ¡ª 2 x Epic Item Boxes, 1 x universal skill-upgrade card, 2 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Tickets. Rank 3: Natalia ¡ª 2 x Epic Item Boxes, 1 x universal skill-upgrade card, 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. Rank 4: Maya ¡ª 1 x Epic Item Box, 1 x Super-rank item box, 1 x universal skill-upgrade card, 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. Rank 5: Marcus ¡ª 1 x Epic Item Box, 1 x universal skill-upgrade card, 1 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Ticket. "Oh yeah, I''ll have to open the box to check my reward," Almond wryly smiled. "I''ll do thatter." "Mhmm, let''s finish eating first," Lily nodded. Almond looked at the status of his spirits while eating and sacrificed some normal monsters'' spirits he had saved to revive his Spirit Wraiths earlier. He could revive them cost-free after 24 hours, but he could also summon them after an hour by sacrificing a spirit. He had enabled this mechanism after inspecting his primary ss'' skill runes and the fundamental use of Spirits that his primary ss''s source could collect. Almond couldn''t help but feel that his Primary ss hid immense potential and that this ss was also rted to his innate talent¡ªHeir of Oblivion. ''Universal skill card is awesome. That makes three upgrade cards,'' Almond thought as he ate a few veggies. Remembering another thing, he eagerly opened the level-up boon tabs. "Yo, did you all get a skill option?" Almond asked. "I got one," Lily said. "I got none," Natalia pouted. "I got one," Marcus grinned. "I got none," Maya disappointedly shook her head. Almond sighed, "I got none this time." "You were lucky enough to get two in thest ten level-ups," Natalia rolled her eyes. "Lily and Marcus got lucky and also got one this time, so they are the same as you now. Tsk." "By the way, how long are we resting this time?" Lily blinked. "We''ve told Kira to hold off on the 4th floor''s floor boss fight, but there are others who won''t let her hold off for long." "It''s not even been a day, so I doubt they''ve reached the floor boss zone yet," Natalia snorted. "Nope," Almond shook his head. "They might have reached there. They aren''t interested in item drops from field bosses and other challenge rewards on the 4th floor''s special areas. Their aim is to progress fast, so it won''t be strange if they are at the floor boss zone right now." "Damn, then we need to hurry, no?" Marcus eximed and started eating fast. "Bwe habve tu get det flo-" "Stop," Maya rolled her eyes as she interrupted him. "Eat first. But yeah, if they defeat the floor boss, would we be able to trigger Heroic Challenge during thebyrinth''s first cycle?" "That''s indeed a question," Lily wryly smiled. "Let''s finish eating fast and hurry to the 4th-floor boss zone," Almond said with a severe expression. "I don''t want to miss out on the 4th floor''s heroic boss. The rewards are better as we go higher floors, so we need the 4th floor''s rewards if we want to defeat the 5th floor''s heroic challenge boss." "We''ll open the Leaderboard Party Reward box, your MVP reward chest, and Heroic Floor Boss reward chest in front of them," Natalia grinned. "It''s going to be fun to see their reaction. Marcus quickly nodded with a stuffed mouth, "Les fuging g-cough, cough." "¡­" ¡­ The group quickly finished eating and moved to the 4th floor together as everyone rode on the Starlight Beast''s back and entered through the portal. As the group rushed towards the floor boss zone of the 4th floor. Thisbyrinth floor was the most exotic so far in terms ofyout because it was a 200-kilometer radius of the ocean with inds that moved. There was a pattern to these inds as they were positioned circrly, with the centermost ind having the floor boss zone. Continue your journey on empire This floor had 50 starting areas, which were fifty inds at the periphery of thebyrinth floor. These fifty inds moved clockwise on the sea. Crossing through the spawning ships at every ind, one could enter outer-ring inds and they moved anti-clockwise, their number reaching 25 inds.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Moving further towards the center after riding on a ship, adventurers would arrive at inner-area inds, a total of 10 inds. And in the middle of these 10 inds that rotated clockwise was thergest ind. The floor boss zone was at the center of thisrgest ind. Almond put away Starlight Beast and summoned Chimera Frank. "Let''s go. We are flying there," Almond jumped on Chimera Frank''s back and others also quickly followed. After all, it was faster to fly instead of moving through the ind, getting to the ship, crossing the sea, and repeating this to reach the center ind. And on the way, Almond finally scoured through his newly unsealed memories as he knew something very important had just been revealed to him. ¡­ While Almond and others had arrived at the 4th floor, the situation outside was progressing properly. The twelve strongest teams of Adventurers, each one having one or two old monsters, had entered the S-grade dungeons. These S-grade dungeons also had different colored borders, so it was important to make teams based on that. Fortunately, there was only one gold-bordered S-grade dungeon. The others were either Red, Blue or White. But Rudra had a big n hidden within, and he had only ryed this to the old monsters in each party. Chapter 146 Rudras Scheme (2/2), Catching the Rats The ones to go into the toughest gold-bordered S-grade dungeon¡ªForest of the Dead were as follows, from strongest to weakest members of the party. Rudra Deva, Dn Makana, Zauna Okoro, and Christina Lafayette were in the old monster category. Makana, Lafayette, and Okoro families were also the top 10 families, and they were the old heads. The total number of people in this party was eighteen. The other notable figures in the party were the Guild Leader of Proximax Guild¡ªLiam Sunbreak, the Guild Leader of 5th rank Silverfang Guild¡ªDamian Silverfang, and Lady Aria of the League of Firefly guild. There were two red-bordered S-grade dungeons, which were just one level below gold-bordered, so those two also warranted stronger parties than others. All in all, the twelve parties departed and entered the S-grade dungeons in different parts of the world, but¡­there was more to this than met the eyes. As Rudra''s party arrived in the dungeon, Rudra turned around to face everyone. The other three old monsters, Dn, Zauna, and Christina, walked and stood beside him as they faced the rest of the party. "Before we proceed, we have something to do," Rudra said as his eyes swept across them before stopping on the Guild Leader of the 20th rank guild¡ªIronthorn Guild, Menek Combart. Dn pointed his index finger at Menek as it eerily glowed with volcanicva matter and formed a tiny dot. "What is going on?" Liam frowned. "Everyone aside from Menek,e and stand beside us," Zauna inly said as her shamanic staff, which had a strange snake''s head and two different-colored pearly eyes, appeared in her hand. Everyone sweated heavily as that cursed staff appeared. It was a relic of the Okoro n that turned magical a few years ago, and they had seen its power first-hand during the 7th Floor''s Floor Boss fight. "What is the meaning of this, Admiral Rudra?" Menek frowned while sweating bullets, looking confused. "What did I do?" Christina''s wand flickered with hazy red and gold patterns as she also pointed it at Manek and smiled. "Don''t be nervous. If you''ve done nothing, then you don''t have to worry about anything." "Here''s the question, Menek. Where were you from the 5th December to the 7th December?" Rudra asked with a deadpan expression as he stood with his arms crossed, aura heavy. Simply standing like that made him look more intimidating than the other three old monsters who had pointed their weapons at Menek. "Answer carefully." ¡­ In the red-bordered S-grade dungeon¡ªUtopia of Entanglement.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om When the party entered inside, a simr scene happened. Arjun Maheshwari, Hiroshi Ryugiri, and Bianca Moretti, the three old monsters from the top 10 families, confronted the family head of a less-renowned top 50 family¡ªJakaal Carter. ¡­ In another red-bordered S-grade Dungeon¡ªCascading Light Grove, the same thing happened. This party also had three old monsters¡ª Bran Gabris, James Smith, and Rafael Chavez. The Gabris and Smith families were in the top 10, while the Chavez family was in the top 20. However, in terms of overall strength, old monster Rafael was stronger, as thebat powers of old monsters were not rted to their family''s power. They also pointed out a member of the party--the guild leader of the 23rd rank Rosysky Guild, Khawa Ayaz. "Khawa, where were you from the 5th of December to the 7th of December?" asked the ckstar Guild leader, Ruyi Hexing, as she pointed her ck meteor longsword at Khawa. ¡­ "I was just at the guild, Admiral. I wanted toe watch the tournament, but there was an A-rank dungeon turning ck-bordered. I had to go," Menek said with a weak smile. "I have a proof as well." "Is that so? So you were in the dungeon for two whole days?" Rudra raised his eyebrows. "Yes," Menek nodded. "I got an opportunity and insight, so I wanted to get my Wood elemental mastery to S-rank." Dn and the other two asked random questions, ording to Rudra''s n, while Rudra was not just watching Menek, but the others as well. He had included four people in this party he was suspicious about, with his gut telling him that they were the "bad" ones responsible for the unexinable incidents. The meeting held at the GAA was not just about resolving the 10th Floor''s situation, but also pulling out the rats. Explore more adventures at empire He had admonished the "rats" many times during the meeting, and revealed his suspicions to everyone, and how he thought they were responsible for the Labyrinth. Everything he did was to get a reaction out of those people and observe everyone in the meeting with his highest mastery of the Focus Field and his senses. Whenever he got suspicious, he contacted his men in GAA to investigate using their Arcane Tower and other methods, especially since he had noticed some leaders of families and guilds vanishing for two days, from 5th to 7th December. His guts told him there was something wrong. As such, he made a list in his head and came up with a n for clearing S-grade dungeons. This was a reasonable step in order to defeat the 10th floor Floor Boss with lower casualty and higher chance, as well as a good opportunity to pull out the rats. And as Menek was being asked the questions, he was observing other people in the party. Their eyes, their vibe, gave out a clear indication of what they were feeling. Moreover, one of them made a fatal mistake. That one person¡­the family head of a top 50 family, Arwa Fadelin, used Magic Whisper to contact the other three people in the party. And at that, he observed the three people''s expressions and confirmed it. He immediatly Magic Whispered to Dn, Zauna, and Christina. ''Apprehend the Fedelin family head, Hassan family head, and that Lunarcrest Guild leader. Disable thempletely.'' In the next second, Rudra and the other three made a move abruptly. No one expected it, not even the rats, so they were caught quickly. One of them was bound by snakes and instantly poisoned as he waspletely paralyzed. The other two were smacked on the ground and bound with control-type skills used by Dn and Christina. Chapter 147 Memories Rudra had suspicions about a total of 12 people present in the meeting. He included four in his party, three in the second and third parties that were going for the red-bordered dungeons, and the remaining two in the fourth and fifth parties. The fourth party heading for the blue-bordered dungeon had Silvester Duncan and the League of Firefly Guild leader¡ªQuinn Firefly, and Aryan Deva, the third rank Adventurer in Global Leaderboard. They pulled out the rat that Admiral Rudra had put in their party and disabled him sessfully. Thest rat was on the fifth party, which was headed by old monster dimir Kravchenko of the top 10 family and 4th-rank Irond guild master¡ªZayd Khalid. The Khalid family was also a top 20 family, though Zayd wasn''t rted to them. They pulled out the rat by ying mind tricks and each old monster was experienced enough in terms of perceptiveness and finding out lies. As such, all 12 rats that Rudra had selected were confirmed to be the culprit. They were not killed because they were needed to get more information, but they were disabled and imprisoned with various skills. Only after that, do these five parties begin clearing out the dungeons. Meanwhile, the other seven parties in the seven dungeons were clearing the dungeon. A-rank Dugeons had tinum-rank monsters of up to tinum level 150, which was the maximum level cap for tinum rank. But S-rank dungeons had Epic-rank monsters. The difficulty was crazy high, but fortunately, these S-rank dungeons were just the initial ones and didn''t have that high of a density value. Even the toughest one that Rudra''s party entered had a density value of 238. Moreover, each party had an old monster, and each old monster had a powerful item or two because these old monsters had focused on exploring the 10th Floor and were the highest leveled among all, as well as acquiring a Legendary item or two each. Some of them also had Relic-turned-Artifacts, which were like trump cards of the highest level due to their overwhelming effects. Without these old monsters, it''d been impossible to clear the S-grade dungeons. ¡­ ''So that''s the case¡­'' Almond pped his thigh loudly. "Damn!" "What happened?" Lily was startled as she turned to look at him to her left. "Nothing," Almond shook his head and wryly smiled. "I just thought of something about a skill." ''I will tell you about this secret, but not now,'' Almond internally sighed. "Nice try, but it''s fine. I''ll wait for you to tell me the truth," Lily smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder. Almond weakly smiled. He forgot about Lily''s senses. "Sorry," Almond turned his head and kissed her on the lips before saying, "I''ll tell youter." It''d be really weird if he told them that he was getting his past life memories after clearing each floor.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Maya and Marcus looked away upon seeing Almond kissing Lily as they were sitting behind the duo. Their eyes moved to look at each other at the same time coincidently, and they both became embarrassed, quickly moving their eyes away. "Yo, I sense something spicy here," Natalia suddenly said with a mischievous smile as she dragged her ass between them and looked at them one by one. "Feelings hots for each other, eh? I wouldn''t be surprised." "Mind your own business, you imp," Maya rolled her eyes. "That''s right," Marcus said with a somber expression and looked at the inds. "Look at these inds, they are so beautiful." "Just like Maya, right?" "Yeah," Marcus answered Natalia in the flow, but then suddenly his eyes widened, "No, I mean yea, but I mean-" "Hahahahahhaa," Natalia burst outughing, extracting her entertainment out of others'' misery. Lily and Almond could only wryly smile as they experienced Natalia''s antics firsthand. Maya''s ears turned red, but she looked away and was silent. "Goddamnit!" Marcus clenched his fist with a red face. "I''ll remember this, Natawitch." "Hahaha, that''s such a bad name for an insult," Nataliaughed even more. "Try better next time, Mr. Mucus." ¡­ ''So phase 1 will start once the 10th floor is cleared. That''s going to be such a massive change,'' Almond was internally very excited as he looked through his past life''s memories. Apparently, once the 10th Floor is cleared, something called Phase 1 will begin. The 10th Floor would undergo a massive change and would be a hub of events as it would have a huge safe area in the middle while the monsters and other dangerous areas would be pushed to the periphery. The floor boss zone would be located in the center, and unlike other floors where people could enter the next floor without defeating Floor Boss once it was defeated by other people, everyone would need to defeat this floor boss in order to enter the 11th floor. There would be monthly events on the 10th Floor with a leaderboard to give rewards every month. But that was not all. The main thing was the Phase 1''s options. A massive world-scale event would start out of multiple options that the Grand Abyss Labyrinth would decide purely based on luck. Your adventure continues at empire In his previous world, that world-scale event was the Grimworld Streaming Event, where people could enter special dungeons that people of others could also ess. Their runs would be streamed across multiple worlds that had the same Grimworld Streaming Event in their Phase 1, and the participants would get points. Apparently, these points were given by the audience. Participants would get rewards based on points, and there was also poprity ranking. But that world-scale event wasn''t kind or rewarding to all because, during each run, the person with the lowest points would be thrown into a dangerous solo dungeon where 99% of people always died. Almond didn''t know what kind of world-scale event would appear once the 10th Floor of this Earth was cleared, but he knew it was bound to change the game board of this world. Clenching his fist, Almond''s eyes showed a fiery ze, ''Whatever it is, I have to rise fast and above all. My previous world was destroyed on the 30th floor, but this will not happen again.'' Chapter 148 Super Rookies Gathers Again The group crossed 100 kilometers in twenty minutes as Almondmanded Chimera Frank to fly at full speed while he also charged its body with his Golden Haze lightning''s attribute buff that charged its cells and body properly, increasing its overall stats. Even normal lightning was good in this regard as it was not only a power of destruction, but handling at high realm, it could charge life and empower it. Golden Haze Lightning had extra attributes due to being variant, so it buffed more. "There they are," Lily said as she saw a group of people standing at the floor boss spawning circle in a 200-meter-diameter open ground surrounded by thick trees. Everyone looked up as the Chimera Frank slowed down and descended. All the super rookies were gathered below along with their party members. Xavier the Piercing Light Ka the Beast Spirit Emma the Toxic Mist Amir the Tempest Gale Jian the Warring Berserker Ron the Geocrusher Fighter Adrian the zing Ravager Finn the Thundering Might Jemma the Waterloom Haze Anya the Silverbolt Whip Mira the Silent Shadow Talia the Spellbound Gunslinger Kira the Crescent Stormde Noah the Dreadsteel Swordsman Eliara the Steel Fortress They were grouped into two parts. One wanted to spawn the floor boss and finish it, while the other part wanted to wait for Almond and others. Almond and the others expected Kira would be alone, but they were surprised to see Xavier, Ka, Noah, Mira, Anya, and Amir standing beside Kira. "You''re finally here!" Kira said with a wry smile. "Sorry, we arete," Almond faintly smiled. "But when you find out why we werete, you all are going to piss your pants!" Natalia shouted with a huge snort. "¡­" "¡­" "Humph, I can''t believe we really waited, tsk," Jian clicked his tongue. However, a few others curiously noticed their equipment and inspected it. They got its name and rank beside the names, making their eyes widen. A few of them rubbed their eyes and checked again. "Why the heck do you all have Epic-rank items?! And how can you equip them here?" Amir asked with a dumbfounded expression. Kira blinked as she inspected their items and got shocked, "What the fuck?" "Holy shit, you all have Epic-rank items¡­." "But how?" Anya blinked as she asked curiously. "I can''t wrap my head around this." Almond, Lily, and others walked towards them before Almond directly took out the Heroic Challenge Reward Chest in the middle of both groups. Seeing the big reward chest, everyone inspected it, further confused by its name. "Heroic Challenge?" "The fuck''s a Heroic Challenge?" Jian muttered. "What did you all stumble upon?" "We didn''t stumble upon it, kid," Natalia snorted. "We qualified for it, and earned it." "Not us, but Almond," Marcus jabbed at her. "We are in the same team right now!" Natalia kicked Marcus. "And that team is everyone who hates the fake guts of that Jian kid." "You¡­" Jian''s face turned red. "Alright, stop," Lily calmly said. "Let''s focus on the matter at hand." "So, what''s the deal with this?" Kira asked as she looked at Almond. "In short words, it''s a reward you get in a life and death battle," Almond smiled. "And a party has to qualify for this battle, only then will it appear." "Though the only one qualified in our party was Almond, so it appeared for us in the second floor''s Floor Boss zone," Maya said. "Floor Boss zone?" Finn raised his eyebrows. "So this challenge appears here?" Noah blinked, his eyes on Almond. Noah had a different bearing than thest time everyone saw him. He had been training with Julian in his n, and he had heard about Almond from Julian''s mouth. ''I improved with Julian, who improved thanks to Almond. And now, he even discovered something like a Heroic challenge¡­'' Noah thought, feeling oppression and difort, but also an eptance that Almond was better than him and if he wanted to improve further, he had to keep his mindset right. "For now, only we can initiate this Heroic Challenge," Lily said as she nced at everyone. "We are nning to add some members, but not every one of you will get that chance, you will have to qualify for it." "But before doing that, let''s open the reward chest," Almond smiled. "This reward chest is from the third floor''s Heroic Challenge Boss we defeated." But just as he was about to open it, he paused, "One second. Did you all kill monsters on this ind?" "Nope," Kira shook her head. "We killed in other inds and reached a maxed level, so everyone directly arrived here with their party one by one."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Each super rookie was with a party of four or five, so the number here was high, though it was expected since they were going to fight the Floor Boss. Unlike Almond and his summons, who were uber-powerful and could solo clear normal Floor Bosses, they needed a bigger number. "So you didn''t clear monsters on this ind?" Almond''s eyes shone. "Good." Waving his hand, he summoned Viperfiend, Benedict, Sylvia, Crystalist, Starlight, Ashkar, Nyssara, and Galvaren. They appeared in front of Almond, their aura imposing. The super rookies all sucked a breath of cold air one way or another as they watched Almond''s summons again, finally seeing the ones they hadn''t seen before. Especially at the sight of Galvaren, who looked the most menacing and dominating with a broken heavy sword and a pair of folded draconic wings. "Damn. He has so many summons?!" "That broken sword dude is freaking gold-rank?Wtf" "That''s cheating¡­.he can use gold-rank summon on lower floors." "Fuck." While the super rookies and other people muttered to themselves, Almondmanded his spirit wraiths, "I have a task for you all." Galvaren knelt on one knee and said, "Pleasemand us, master." "I want you all to capture monsters on this ind. Don''t kill them just bring them here. Galvaren and Frank will focus on bringing them here since they can fly while the rest of you will pack them up." "Sounds fun," Infernal Knight Ashkar nodded as his horse Agramon loudly neighed. "I wished to refine my sword, so this is a good opportunity to fight while limiting myself. Thank you, Master." "Master, there''s a mysterious phenomenon of nature on this ind," Sylvia said as her eyes sparkled. "I can sense it. It''s underground." Chapter 149 Third Floors Heroic Challenge Boss Slaying Reward Chest "Underground?" Talia blinked, confused. "There''s no underground area on this ind¡­at least not discovered yet." "So, he got a secret area thanks to his summon just like that?" Eliara was slightly speechless. Almond was also surprised. He smiled and said, "Well then, you can go search for it, Sylvia. The rest of you, move out and bring me the monsters. I need spirits." Galvaren and Frank flew up while the others vanished in different directions. "Now, we can open the chest," Almond said as he pressed on the chest. "Wait!!" Natalia shouted. "We haven''t decided who will open it." "Fair point," Marcus stared at Almond. "Dice," Maya smiled. "Dice," Lily chuckled. "Umu," Natalia nodded with a smug smile. "I saved the day." Almond wryly smiled and conjured a Dice with Mana. "Hey, I will also participate," Kira''s eyes sparkled. "After all, I held them back." "Nope, not in this," Natalia snorted. "This is what we earned, and we almost died, you know?" "Not we, but Almond, who bore the risks," Marcus jabbed at Natalia again. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, only we will roll the dice, you roll away," Natalia rolled her eyes. "Tsk, fine. But I''ll have you know my luck is good," Kira pouted. Natalia sneered, "Oh, girl. You''re in for a surprise. But for now, let''s roll the dice. Gimme dat, Almond." Almond rolled the dice first on the reward chest and got three. "Guess I''m not opening it." One by one, everyone rolled the dice, and Marcus won this time. "Hahaha, finally, it''s my turn," Marcusughed as he walked towards the reward chest. "So much drama, just open it," Jian snorted. "Ignore the salty kid, everyone." Marcus rubbed his palm and opened the chest as it spewed out a bunch of orbs containing rewards and a window panel with a list of rewards. ¡ª Epic-rank Equipment set (Mid-tier). ¡ª 100 million gold coins. ¡ª Random Artifact Box.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om ¡ª 2 x S-rank Mystery Boxes. ¡ª 2 x Epic-rank one-time use items. ¡ª 5 x Insight Stones. "Holy shit! We got something very juicy this time," Marcus''s eyes widened as he found the orb containing Insight Stones. "These stones are freaking best things, I can tell." ''100 mill gold coins are good too,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''We need to gather gold coins because they''ll be very useful when the system shops open on the 10th Floor once it''s cleared.'' "Two Mystery boxes this time, huh? I wonder what we''ll get from them this time," Lily muttered. Almond touched the orb with gold coins and put all the coins inside his storage ring. "We got three one-time use Epic-rank items now. They''ll be useful in an emergency," Maya said. "Keep these two to yourself as well, Almond." "Yeah," Almond also put them in his storage ring along with the insight stones. "I''ll put these stones away as well. We aren''t going to be able to use them now anyway." "Let''s open this. I want to see what''s the so-called Artifact," Lily said as she picked up the orb containing the random artifact box. "Let''s dice for it," Natalia snorted. "I''ll win this time. Meanwhile, the rest of the super rookies and other people were ck-jawed as they saw the rewards. "Epic-fucking-rank SET?! What the fuck?" Amir muttered, feeling envy and excitement both. ''I have to join their party!'' "This is crazy," Noah muttered, dumbfounded. "Such good rewards from the third floor?" He was more and more curious about the Heroic Challenge. "Getting such rewards, it makes sense that the Heroic Challenge is something hard," Kira nodded with a wry smile. "I won this time," Natalia grinned as everyone finished rolling the dice. But before opening the mystery box, she grinned at Kira and said, "Who said that this is the only reward chest we got from Heroic Challenge?" "Whatever difficulty you are thinking in your head, it''s more difficult than that," Maya nodded. "Yep," Marcus nodded with a grin as he looked at the nearby super rookies, "Almond''s all summons die during the battle, and he has to fight with a high risk of instant death with slight carelessness. But only he can afford to fight the boss. Without him, Heroic Challenge Floor Boss is practically impossible to defeat, and even if we seed, most of us would be dead." "Is it that difficult?" Anya frowned. "You''ll know if you are chosen to be in our party," Lily said. "I got this Handfan Artifact, but¡­" Natalia asked, her expression confused as she looked at the beautiful fan from the Artifact Box she opened. Everyone inspected it and was startled. "Can''t inspect it," Kira blinked. "Same," Noah nodded. "It requires 500 Perception to inspect it and unseal it, it says," Amir scratched his head. "The fuck, when will you all reach that stat number?" "It''s simr to the stone we got from roulette," Lily raised her eyebrows as she picked up the fan from Natalia. "But this requires 500 preceptions to inspect instead of 1000." "Here, put it away," Lily handed it to Almond and winked at him. ''You''ll be able to unseal it soon.'' ''Yep,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he smiled and put the fan away. ''I just need to use Divine Divider''s Harvest on the Heroic Boss of this floor and steal his Perception. I''ll reach above 500 easily.'' Natalia then proceeded to open the two Mystery Boxes since the dice rolled this time were for all three boxes to save time. She opened the first Mystery Box and got a Random high-rank skill scroll. "High-rank? How high is that? Fuck, it''s A to S!" Discover more stories at empire "The fuck, these rewards are damn good!" While people spoke, Natalia opened the second mystery box, which spewed out a mysterious crystal. Everyone inspected it and was more shocked than before. [Wind Elemental Crystal (S-Rank)] -Activation: ¡ª> Infusing Mana in the crystal will activate it, and it will disappear after 5 hours. -Use: ¡ª> Meditating while touching the crystal will allow you to feel the wind element in a pure sense, allowing a user with affinity to awaken the Wind Elemental Mastery or those who have already awakened it to increase their mastery further. -Note: The progress depends on individuals. Amir, who had the Wind elemental mastery, had his eyes glowing as he inspected it. He swallowed hard and said, "B-Brother Almond, I want to buy that crystal." ''Wind, huh?'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he became contemtive for a moment. "Sorry," Almond wryly smiled as he grabbed the crystal. "But I actually want to awaken wind elemental mastery myself. It''s very suitable with my Lightning mastery because both synergize very well." There was one more reward chest, his MVP reward chess and it could give more items, like the elemental stones, but he didn''t n to open it yet. Hearing Almond''s answer, Amir sighed and nodded, "Understandable. But¡­I am determined to join your party now. Tell me what I have to do." "Same," Noah nodded with a serious expression. "Hey, I am already in, right?" Kira asked with a pout. "I would like to join as well," Ka said, her voice meek as she raised her hand."Me too," Jemma the Waterloom Haze said as her tall figure matched her sharp face and expression, looking all determined. Everyone wanted to join except for Jian, who didn''t say anything. Chapter 150 Recruitment "But you said you won''t be bringing everyone with you, right? How will you choose?" Adrian asked. "We won''t stop if you want toe and die because we can''t protect everyone," Lily tly said and turned to Almond, "What''s the n?" Almond thought for a second and got an idea. At the same time, Galvaren and Frank arrived while carrying a huge chunk of ice with tens of monsters frozen inside and dropped them on the empty ground nearby. "Wait a second," Almond said as he turned to the chunks of ice and pointed his finger at them. *Crackle!* A burst of lightning crackled from this finger and zipped through the ice blocks, electrocuting all monsters. [Congrattions. You havepleted Rank Advancement Quest. You can now level up from 0 to 100 as a Gold-rank adventurer.] Naturally, the level limit of this 4th floor wasn''t Gold level 100, but it was merely Gold level 10. "You all kill the next batches andplete your Rank Advancement," Almond said to his teammates as he absorbed the 38 spirits. Lily and others nodded. "Now, moving to the party recruitment," Almond turned to face the super rookies. "Lily will evaluate you all based on yourbat ability. In short, you all will fight each other." Almond had decided that instead of just recruiting one or two, it''d be better to make a solid team for a higher sess chance. "But you will not choose everyone, right?" Jian narrowed his eyes. "Then what about those who were not chosen? Can we still fight the normal floor boss during this cycle?" "No idea," Almond shook his head and added with a carefree smile, "But once we enter the Heroic Challenge boss mode, you can try to see if you are able to spawn a normal floor boss. If you can''t seed, then I''ll give you all some good Super-rank items that you can use on the 5th floor." "You should know that Super-rank items will make things easier on the 5th Floor, and the 5th floor has good challenge spots that give juicy rewards." "I''m fine with that," Finn nodded. "Let''s start right away. We''ve waited enough." "Yeah," Amir said, eager to disy his prowess. "Lily, I leave to it you," Almond said as she patted her back. "I am going to do tranquil meditation to recover. I need to rest my mind a bit." "Yeah, you didn''t rest enough for how you''ve fought in thest Heroic Challenge." ¡­ As such, the grand recruitment process began, and even Jian joined it in the end. The other party members of these Super Rookies didn''t join since they had no chance to be recruited. They had lower rank sses, not enough mastery of Mana techniques, and lowerbat ability. Almond wasn''tpletely immersed in rest initially as he paid little attention outside to absorb the Spirits of monsters. He had already dumped those 38 spirits into his Spirit Forge Factory, and he needed more to reach the required amount of spirit items to create an Epic-rank set. Half an hourter, Almond had put roughly 324 spirits into the factory, and the first batch of 38 spirits were done transforming into items. Since the spirits were gold-rank monsters, he got more rare-grade items out of them. ''Good, this should be enough to craft remaining super-rank items so I can craft an Epic-rank set and more to give out to these people.'' Almondmanded his summons to join in the recruitment process, with Galvaren being round 2 as per Lily''s suggestion. Lily had fought against Galvaren, so she knew he was powerfulbat-ability-wise. She would observe how others fare against him and select members based on that. Meanwhile, Almond took out his Magic Tent and entered inside before jumping on the bed and dozed off. He needed to be in tip-top condition if he wanted to fight the Heroic Challenge boss. ¡­ Two hours passed by, and the selection was finally over. The super rookies lined up before Lily. "Galvaren, give me your suggestions," Lily said. "Call out the ones that you feel are adequate." "Mhmm," Galvaren swept his nce at the super rookies before saying, "Kira, the swordswoman." "Yey," Kira grinned with a victory gesture.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om "Come here, Kira," Lily said with a nod. "You pass." "Noah, the swordsman," Galvaren said. "Yes, you pass," Lily nodded. "But only because you have Metal elemental mastery. Your sword attacks are useless, so just focus on defending us." "¡­" Noah. He calmly walked towards them with a wry smile and stood beside Kira. "Ka, the druid girl," Galvaren looked at Ka. "Yes, you''ll be a good asset to the party. You pass," Lily nodded. Ka''s cheeks flushed with excitement as she bowed, "Thank you." Experience tales at empire "Girl, you have some contrasting personalities," Natalia wryly smiled as Ka arrived and stood beside her. "You''re fierce when you transform into beast spirits but so meek in real life." "Ummm, I don''t know¡­" Ka shyly said. "The gunslinger Talia was good," Galvaren said after thinking for a bit. "And yeah, that''s all that felt adequate to me, mdy." Lily nodded and looked at the remaining ones. "Eliara the Steel Fortress, you pass. We''d also need your defense. You''ll work together with Noah." "Yes," Eliara clenched her fist and grinned. She walked towards Lily and stood nearby. "Finn, Ron, and Adrian, sorry, but you won''t be joining us. Yourbat style will sh with Almond''s style and mine. Close-range against Heroic Floor Boss is ying with death, and you three are mostly close-rangebatants that couldn''t counter Galvaren''s attacks." "Jian, you have a death resistance of 2 seconds, so you can live at 0% vitality, but yourbat is not refined enough. You''re relying too much on both your sses'' raw power thates from their skills." "Jemma the Waterloom Haze, you pass. Your water elemental mastery and your skill set will boost our controlbo." "Xavier, pass. You have a prative long-range ultimate attack that can be useful." "Amir, we need your speed-buffs and wind enchants. They''ll be useful to Almond, but just so you know, you''re not a qualifiedbatant. You need to improve." Amir wryly smiled, "Yes, I will work hard. Thank you." "Emma, the same applies to you. We need your dangerous debuffs so you''ll join." "Phew, well, as long as I can participate," Emma grinned. "Mira and Anya, you two are good, but yourbat style without Epic-rank gears will put you in danger, and we won''t have enough defense while you use your whip-based and close-range attacks. Heroic Challenge Floor Bosses are smaller in size. They are not giants like normal floor bosses. They are humanoids and have higher intelligence andbat style, which is why even though you all can fight against normal floor bosses, it''d be highly dangerous against Heroic Challenge Floor Boss without Epic-rank equipment." "And unfortunately, we don''t have enough Epic-rank items to gear you all up." ¡­ The party was ready. The remaining people could go to the 5th floor for now. Almond also woke up a few minutester and contacted Lily to collect Epic-rank items from Natalia, Maya, and Marcus before entering the Magic Tent. It was time to unlock the Epic-rank forge option and create some good Epic-rank items, including a Set. Before doing what Almond said, Lily told the super-rookies who didn''t qualify to enter the party that they could either wait for an hour to see if they could fight the normal floor boss or they could continue to the 5th Floor and Almond would still give them Super-rank items usable on the 5th Floor onceter after they finish Heroic Challenge enter there. Chapter 151 Sylvias Fortune She also told them they could get a chance to enter the party next time for the 5th Floor''s Heroic Challenge as they would have more leverage by then, giving them hope, though not a guaranteed one. After discussing briefly, the remaining super rookies decided to move on as they entered the 5th Floor. Lily then collected Epic-rank items from Natalia, Maya, and Marcus. "You three, tell them about our experience with the previous two Heroic Floor Bosses and also teach them about our style ofbat during the fights. That will be our foundational strategy, revolving around Almond''s final attacks and creating opportunities." "Gotcha." "Hehe, I can''t wait to see the result of boss Almond''s cooking session," Marcus grinned from ear to ear as he knew some cool items were on their way toe into existence. "Ahem, by the way, we actually entered a universal leaderboard," Maya said with a brief excitement in her eyes as she mentioned it. "Universal? Woah!" Kira''s eyes shone. "That sounds like-" "Crap, don''t tell me it is what I think it is?" Amir''s jaw dropped. "I think it is what you think it is," Kira grinned. "So, there are more worlds out there, and they have a simr situation as us." "Can you show us that leaderboard?" Talia asked as her eyes sparkled. "I knew there had to be more worlds out there." "Here," Marcus said as he shared the second floor''s leaderboard first. "Just so you know, our party is a pretty high-ranking one," Natalia said with a high nose, looking fully prideful. She quickly nced at Marcus and added, "Of course, it''s mostly because of Almond, I know." As the super rookies looked at the leaderboard and talked about the Heroic Challenge experience, Jemma, Ka, Noah, and even Xavier also had a shift in their state of mind, mostly filled with anticipation and excitement of the unknown challenge and rewards that woulde with it. ¡­ On the other hand, Sylvia had called for some backup twenty minutes ago as she had found that hidden area under the ground, ventured inside alone, and encountered a boss. She couldn''t defeat the boss alone, so she called for backup by sending her thoughts to other Spirits since all spirits shared a mysterious connection with each other. Benedict, Nyssara, Starlight Beast, and Crystalist went to help her, while Galvaren and Ashkar stayed as they continued to spar with the super rookies. Sylvia and others defeated the boss and ventured further into a cave entrance that the boss was blocking. Entering inside, Sylvia finally found the source of nature''s power she was sensing. The cavern was small, entirely barren, except for a small patch of greenery in the center. On that greenery was a small tree, barely 3 meters tall. Its leaves were light green with mysterious dark green patterns, and its branches were hazy brown with golden patterns. Sylvia''s eyes sparkled with excitement. Although they were spirit wraiths, they were intelligent and a new kind of lifeform in a way, with their own souls birthed by Almond''s Spirit Dealer ss''s source power. They could see the tree''s detail in a window like other things when they briefly watched it. [Tree of Verdant Path] -Rank: Special. -Effects: ¡ª> Training under the tree will calm the mind, allowing it to enter a deep focus state and clearing distracting and negative thoughts. ¡ª> The tree bears the pure essence of nature. It could awaken Flora Elemental Mastery and increaseprehension of Flora Element for those who have already awakened it. [A/N: Wood/Nature canceled. From now on, it''s called Flora element as it is perfectly suitable.] "Let''s call Master," Benedict said as he contacted Almond through the spirit link. ¡­ Almond had finished sacrificing 5 Epic items and unlocked his option. He was just designing his new armor set''s first item¡ªthe sword when he received Benedict''s message. "It seems Sylvia found something good," Almond turned to Lily. "Let''s go check it out." "Alright." They emerged from the tent and saw the super rookies training. "We''ll be back soon. You all continue." Lily and Almond sped up as they dashed into the woods. Almond knew the general direction of this summons, so the duo soon arrived at the underground passage''s entrance, where Benedict was waiting for them. They soon arrived at the tree and were shocked upon reading its description. "So there was this treasure here all along, and nobody found it?" Lily wryly smiled. Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Someone must have found it in my previous life but kept it private.'' He had a feeling that it was that one guild in the top 10 specializing in Flora element, as many members of that guild had Flora elemental mastery. "Umm, Master¡­" Sylvia rubbed her fingers as she looked at Almond hesitantly. "Yes?" Almond turned to Sylvia. Seeing her bodynguage, he added with a smile. "Say what''s on your mind." "I¡­want to eat this tree." "Eat?" Lily and Almond looked at each other before turning to the tree and Sylvia. "Mhmm," Sylvia nodded. "I feel like if I absorb this tree, I will get more powerful. But of course, the tree''s effects are very good and it can benefit many peop-" "Absorb it," Almond grinned. "You absorbing this tree will bring more benefit to us I believe. Who knows, you might be able to have simr effects as this tree?" Sylvia became uber excited as her face flushed, "Thank you so much, Master!" "You got lucky,ss," Benedictughed. "I feel you will benefit greatly by absorbing this tree." Lily nodded and was also curious about the result, "That said, how long will it take you to absorb this tree, Sylvia?" "That¡­I can''t estimate properly," Sylvia shook her head after a short pause. "No worries. Just start now and then give us a rough estimate. We are still here for roughly an hour because I need to craft my items." "Okie!" Sylvia nodded with determination and sat down beneath the tree. In the next second, mysterious vines emerged from the ground around her as her roots connected with the tree''s roots while the vines epassed the tree, weaving like braids and ultimately turning into a sphere with Sylvia inside it. It pulsed with a hazy green hue every second. Almond shortly got a message from Sylvia who was inside the sphere of vines she weaved, telling him that she would be done within an hour or around an hour. Everyone left the cavern after that. Almond alsopletely closed the hidden path that led to this area just to be safe. He didn''t want anyone stumbling here by luck and ruining it for Sylvia since there were still many people on this 4th floor and who knows if someone entered this central ind with their party since one day had passed by already. After returning, Lily, Benedict, and others joined in the training and sparring while Almond went inside the Magic Tent to continue with his Epic-rank set cooking session.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om He first selected the four bs and designed their parts. A sword. A full body armor. A helmet. A pair of boots. Once he finished the design, Almond took out the boss spirits in his arsenal. ''Now, how should I cook this?'' Almond looked at the spirits, his eyes gleaming as he began brainstorming to put the bestbination of spirits. Chapter 152: Almond’s Plan Gold Rank level 100 Spirits: ¡ª Mountain w Lion. ¡ª Beehive of Crimson Destruction. ¡ª Shadowbolt Thunder Python. ¡ª Frostme Stone Direwolf. ¡ª Verdant Sky Serpent. ¡ª Obsidian Razorback Gori. ¡ª Dark Storm Falcon. ¡ª Emberthorn Lava Basilisk. ¡ª Crystalvine Violet Stag. ¡ª Shadow Wraith Scorpion. ¡ª Nightmare Parade Fox. Labyrinth Boss Spirits: ¡ª Four Knights of the Apocalypse. ¡ª ck Sun Librarian. ¡ª Gildart of Dark Waters. ¡ª Doom Crawler Centipede. ¡ª Cursed Centaur of Northern Temple. ¡ª Frostmourne Sentinel. ¡ª Lament of the Midnight Harp. ¡ª Shardmother, the Crystal Gnoll. ¡ª Soulbound Widow, the Chaosweaver Arachnid. ¡ª Stonheart Gargoyl of Golden Obsidian. ¡ª Nightbane Crossbow Champion. ¡ª Darkrose of the Cursed Gardener. After brainstorming for a minute, Almond began making the items. ¡¯Lily wanted to use a long sword, so let¡¯s start with it.¡¯ [Long Sword b] - Design: { Completed } - Epic-grade Guarantee Forge: Add 3 Ingredient spirits. ¡ª 1. Death Knight of the Apocalypse. ¡ª 2. Crystalvine Violet Stag. ¡ª 3. Shadowbolt Thunder Python. *** [Light Armor b] - Design: { Completed } - Epic-grade Guarantee Forge: Add 3 Ingredient spirits. ¡ª 1. War Knight of the Apocalypse. ¡ª 2. Cursed Centaur of Northern Temple. ¡ª 3. Lament of Midnight Harp. *** [Armored Boots b] - Design: { Completed } - Epic-grade Guarantee Forge: Add 3 Ingredient spirits. ¡ª 1. Famine Knight of the Apocalypse. ¡ª 2. Dark Storm Falcon. ¡ª 3. ck Sun Librarian. ¡¯I hope this pair of boots works as I intend to,¡¯ Almond thought as he looked at the boot¡¯s design. He had added small wings to the boots as he wanted a new method of flying. He had crafted a pair of Wings in a previous Radiant Grimlord Set, but this time, he decided to try something different. Wings at the back would maneuver and move so that one could turn swiftly and fly fast. It¡¯d be the same with the boots, except that one would turn faster because the wings would be at their feet. The legs would turn first, and if one put pushing forces ordingly, the boot-wings could be a better way of flight-typebat than wings at his back. Moving on, he also finished thest b. [Helmet b] - Design: { Completed } - Epic-grade Guarantee Forge: Add 3 Ingredient spirits. ¡ª 1. Conquest Knight of the Apocalypse. ¡ª 2. Nightmare Parade Fox. ¡ª 3. Soulbound Widow, the Chaosweaver Arachnid. ¡¯I¡¯ll name this set as¡­Grimlord Apocalypse Set,¡¯ Almond thought and nodded to himself with a smile. ¡¯Yep, this is good.¡¯ But Almond wasn¡¯t done that. ¡¯This is a chance to start building a brand,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes cunningly glinted. ¡¯Gold coins are going to be more valuable, and I would need a lot of them to buy the good stuff from the Labyrinth shops.¡¯ He also had an idea he had discussed with Admiral Rudra. It was about creating a special division in the GAA for him. He would add people to that division based on his judgment, which he could measure properly thanks to his Riftveil Eyes. This would be his special team revolving around him to explore thebyrinth and clear, tough challenges. It¡¯d also be his force because he could only do so much alone, especially since theing times were going to be harder with all the world-scale changes. If he wanted to make sure that things didn¡¯t go haywire like in hisst life, he had to be always ready and above others in terms of strength and influence. ¡¯I want to catch up to the big shots fast,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes burned with desire and resolve. Rolling his sleeves, he cleared his head and focused on the current task. He had sacrificed 80 super-rank items so far to create his set, but he still had 31 more. With that, he could create six low-tier Epic-rank items or three mid-tier Epic-rank items. ¡¯It¡¯d be better if I create six armors. Six Epic-rank armors mean more effects in the y by six people, which would help a lot in the defense area¡¯ Almond really didn¡¯t want to risk it more this time. He had brushed past death in thest Heroic Challenge, and although he liked the rush and thrill that came with danger, which elevated him to higherbat senses, he wasn¡¯t irrational. To dive into the danger, he needed to be sufficiently prepared. Getting up, he left the Magic Tent and shouted, "Everyone, pause for a moment and gather here, it¡¯s time to gear you all up." "Gear us up?" Marcus¡¯s eyes glinted. "Let¡¯s fucking go!" Everyone soon gathered. "I am going to create Epic-rank armors, low-tier ones. But they¡¯ll have powerful effects, even more powerful than normal high-tier Epic-rank items you see out there," Almond said. "What? For real?" Amir¡¯s eyes bulged out. "You can craft such powerful gears?" "Yes," Almond waved his hand as he revealed the details of his Radiant Grimlord Set. "Inspect these four items." Kira, Ka, Eliara, Jemma, Talia, Xavier, Amir, and Noah inspected the items eagerly. And soon, they were shocked and eximed, a few of them cursing out loud in disbelief. N?v(el)B\\jnn "These are so awesome, Almond," Kira¡¯s eyes shone. "The effects are even more powerful than some of the Epic-rank items¡¯ effects I¡¯ve seen." "Yeah, the effects of that armor are better than my dad¡¯s Epic-rank armor," Talia muttered. "What the fuck¡­" "Wait, they got the Duration in that¡­" Jemma blinked and lookd at Almond. "So you¡¯re the one selling those temporary items on the Silverbird Website! I actually bought some when I went to dungeons several days ago!" "Me too," Eliara nodded, dazed. "But these effects are so good." "I¡¯ve checked that seller, too," Noah nodded and looked at Almond, "So it was you¡­is this your specialized ss or primary ss?" "Primary," Almond smiled. "So powerful," Ka¡¯s eyes sparkled. "But howe your items have such powerful effects?" Kira curiously asked. "Any specific reason you¡¯ve figured out?" Almond faintly smiled, "The main ingredients of my items are the monsters I kill. You can say that their effects are more powerful because they are synthesized through Boss Monsters¡¯ powers that I use as ingredients." "That¡¯s so cool, man!" Amir said with visible envy. "You¡¯ve got an amazing primary ss." "Hehe, Captain Almond is going to craft Epic-rank items for us now. I can¡¯t wait," Marcus grinned as he looked at Almond. "I am getting one, right?" "I am going to craft six Epic-rank full body armors. I have normal Epic-rank items as well, which I will temporarily give some of you, but for my Spirit Items that I create, I¡¯m going to prioritize the close-rangebatant so we can defend each other using armors¡¯ effects in case." Almond said, his eyes narrowed, "We have to have each other¡¯s back during the fight because one carelessness and one strike of the Heroic Boss without defense will wipe us out." Chapter 153: MVP Chest, Surprising Reward "Now," Almond continued as he swept his nce at everyone. "Lily and Marcus are getting an armor each. The remaining four will go to Kira, Noah, Eliara, and...." Almond turned to Ka and asked, "Ka, what other spirits you can transform into?" Kayle thought for a moment and said, "If you want defense and support at the frontline, I can transform into Warden Griffon, which I recently got after the skill was upgraded. This Warden Griffon can parry projectiles and melee attacks both with one of its skills and also give a buff and can attack. Its main elements are Wind and Metal." "Parry?" Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. "Show me." "Okay," Ka nodded, slightly feeling thrilled to show Almond her power as if wanting to impress him. She transformed into Warden Griffon, a steely gray-brown winged griffon with shining brown fur, dreadful steel ws, and a predatory eagle head. Almond took out his Super-rank sword, Lightning Crownsun Edge. Kira and Noah immediately became focused as they observed Almond. Both of them had trained within their family walls after the tournament ended under the strongest of their families¡ªHiroshi Ryugiri and Silvester Duncan. Both of those old monsters had told them to watch Almond at any given opportunity to observe his swordy and learn anything they could. "Are you ready?" Almond asked as he stood as if he was standing casually, the sword in his hand hanging at a side pointing downward, but he was still instinctively and actively in recognition of his position in a stance to release the perfect sh possible in this style. "Yes," Ka¡¯s voice rang out from the Griffon¡¯s mouth as it floated fifteen meters off the ground and twenty meters away from Almond. At Ka¡¯s answer, Almond swung his sword from bottom to top in an arc as it was wrapped in Lightning-style Weapon Enfold. The slick golden sh with faint flickering lightning that was perfectly woven shot at Ka. Ka¡¯s wings magically glowed as they moved at a blurry and unnatural speed dictated by her wind. Almond¡¯s sword sh struck and went wide as it got parried and sted five meters away instead. "Interesting," Almond raised his eyebrows. "That Griffon¡¯s wind is special, a variant one. It forcefully led the sh away and prevented it from detonating, too. That¡¯s a very good parry skill." "Yes!" The griffon¡¯s eagle head nodded quickly in excitement. "It can parry anything!" "Good," Almond smiled. "I¡¯ll go and make the armors now. You all continue." As soon as Almond went back to the tent, Kira and Noah dashed to the ce where Almond was standing. Both of them looked at Almond¡¯s footprints and saw his feet had dug into the ground slightly, but the surrounding ground of those footprints had not even a slight crack. "Hehe, I was right," Kira snickered. "I told you, Almond is a freak. Even that swing was a masterful one. You need to get better at observing if you want to learn. You¡¯re onlycking this one thing." Noah was somber. "How? How can he just align his whole body for the sake of a perfect sh exerting high strength at any moment? The speed at which he moved his hand was supported by his body and didn¡¯t even vibrate the surrounding part of the ground around his feet despite the power and speed he used. Everything was contributed to that sh, no energy wasted¡­" "Well, "Kira patted his back with a smile, "Keep calm and mind open. We will watch him, train, and learn." They both turned around and saw Xavier staring at them, startling them both. "Why are you sneaking up on us using Mana Shroud?" Kira rolled her eyes. "I was listening and didn¡¯t want to disturb you," Xavier said as he nced at Almond¡¯s foot spirits. "Rapier is my main weapon, and it¡¯s a bit different than other swords as it¡¯s mostly piece attacks. I wonder if Almond knows about piercing styles for rapier¡­" Noah shrugged, "I don¡¯t know." Kira grinned and said, "Well, you¡¯ll have to ask him and find out." "I will do thatter," Xavier nodded with a serious expression. "I want to get stronger and more refined in my style, like him." "Yeah, we all want to do that. But for now, let¡¯s spar," Kira said as she walked towards the group and shouted, "Lily, Mr. Galvaren! Let¡¯s spar in a high-speed weapon-only battle!" Noah and Xavier looked at each other. "Spar?" "Yeah." ¡­ After Almond entered the Magic Tent, he first created the six armors¡¯ designs and put them into production. He didn¡¯t have enough boss spirits to put in all three ingredient slots for all six items, but he put one or two in each and then used other normal spirits he had saved for the 3rd ingredient slot. Once he was done with that, Almond took out his MVP reward chest and Party Ranking Reward chest for reaching Rank 1 in the Grimworld leaderboard of the 3rd Labyrinth Floor. "Time to open this," Almond opened the MVP chest with anticipation. A bunch of orbs spewed out containing various items. n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Almond looked at the window containing the list of rewards he got. 1 x Random Legendary Ore Material. 1 x Random Legendary Herb. 1 x Universal Skill-upgrade card. 1 x Advanced Skill Scroll. 1 x Epic-rank Gear Set (Mid-tier). 5 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Tickets. ¡¯It¡¯s simr to the second floor¡¯s MVP reward chest except that I got a set this time instead of four individual items. Good, I can sell it to someone in the party for tons of Gold coins,¡¯ Almond grinned. ¡¯And what¡¯s with the Advanced Skill Scroll?¡¯ Almond curiously picked up the orb that contained the scroll. The previous skill scrolls everyone got were High-ranking skill scrolls. He got two of them in the previous MVP chest, but this one was different and should be better, as he only got one. [Advanced Skill Scroll] -Rank: Special. -Effect: ¡ª> Upon opening the scroll, a random growth-type skill is generated on it. It could either be an Active skill or a Passive skill. ¡ª> To learn the skill, the user must infuse Mana into the scroll, which would send the consciousness inside in a special dimensional andplete the training tailored training to learn the skill. ¡ª> The skill¡¯s starting rank will be determined based on the training result. ¡¯Holy shit,¡¯ Almond was honestly surprised as he read the detail of this item. It was absolutely awesome! ¡¯The big thing is that this skill scroll has a chance to give passive skill as well,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. Passive skills were way harder to get, and getting a high-ranking one meant a considerable boost in one¡¯s power. Though it also depended on the effect of the skill, the passive skills were considered important since they worked "passively" without consumption of Mana and could give surprising powers and boosts. Almond really hoped to get a passive skill from this scroll. ¡¯Wait, should I keep this until Natalia regains her luck and let her open it?¡¯ ¡¯It¡¯d take two months though¡­¡¯ Almond sighed. He thought for a moment and decided that he didn¡¯t want to wait that long. ¡¯If I got this scroll in the 3rd floor¡¯s MVP reward chest, then there¡¯s a high chance I¡¯ll get it again.¡¯ Looking at the scroll, he decided to open it! ¡¯Please give me a passive skill, goddess of fortune.¡¯ Almond prayed internally as he opened the scroll. [Congrattions, you have¡­. Chapter 154 Epic Trove [Congrattions, you have acquired the passive skill¡ªWhispering Knowledge.] [This Advanced Skill Scroll containing Whispering Knowledge is bound to you. No one else but you can open, see, and ess its content.] [To unbind, let the scroll absorb a drop of your blood.] Almond looked at the scroll, but he couldn''t find out the effect of the skill. Infusing the Mana, Almond''s mind arrived in a mysterious ce. He was on top of a serene mountain peak, a pond nearby with a patch of verdant greenery to its left, and a hard ground to its right. [Do you wish to start the Training Session for the skill¡ªWhispering Knowledge? Note that once you begin, you will not be able to leave for 24 hours. The tailored training will only happen once and not again.] ''No,'' Almond rejected right away. He didn''t want to start it right now since the training''s result determined the initial ranking of this Passive skill. But this ce was indeed good. Almond''s mind was feeling refreshed. He decided to stick around for a while before he finally left. ''Advanced Skill Scroll. What a good item,'' Almond smiled. ''It gives growth-type skills that are learnable in a unique way. I''ll learn this after getting out of the Labyrinth.'' He put away the scroll into his storage ring and took out thest reward chest. Party ranking chest! ''We took the first rank on the leaderboard, so this should give some good rewards,'' Almond rubbed his hand in anticipation and opened the chest. He believed it wouldn''t change the content of the chest no matter who opened it, so he didn''t bother inviting others for Dice rolling. The moment he opened the chest by pressing the button, it gave out the same type of notification as it did when thest party chest was opened. [Congrattions. All party members are given an Advanced Skill Scroll each.] ''The fuck?'' Almond was dumbfounded. But then he felt that it was well deserved. After all, they ced Rank 1 in the leaderboard! Lily, Natalia, Maya, and Marcus also got the notification as they were startled outside. A few secondster, they entered the Magic Tent one by one and gathered with excitement as they read the scroll''s effects on the way. Although everyone opened the scrolls, they couldn''t learn the skills right away, so Almond kept their scrolls in his storage ring. The storage pouch might get lost since it just hung at the waist, but the Storage Ring was on his finger and wouldn''t get lost easily. "By the way, do you all want to eat the X-Factory fruit now orter? Eating one will allow you to add 20 points to any one stat and give you the Potential Codex. In my opinion, it''s not wise to eat the fruit carelessly." "Why?" Marcus asked, curious about Almond''s reasoning. "The main benefit of the fruit is Potential Codex," Almond smiled. "It can let us achieve a breakthrough in anything, but we can''t control how this Potential Codex is used. You might also use it up on a less important breakthrough." "That''s true," Maya blinked. Lily nodded and said, "Yeah, then we should save the fruit. We can eat it when we want to break through for an important power-up." "Like reaching S-rank mastery in an element!" Natalia grinned. "I''ve decided. I''ll use mine after I reach A-rank Sound Elemental Mastery." "Yeah, that''s honestly a good idea," Marcus grinned. "Alright, we save it for now." "Good. Now, putting this aside, let''s distribute the Epic-rank items," Almond smiled and waved his hand as he disyed the list he had created of Epic-rank items they had gotten so far. "I''ve sacrificed 10 Epic-rank items, all the ones we got from the Second Floor''s rewards except for the one-time use item and the low-tier Epic-rank Set that Marcus was wearing to unlock the Epic Forge option. The remaining Epic-rank items we have are disyed in the list." [Contribution Rewards] Lily: ¡ª 2 x Epic Item Boxes (From the 3rd Floor) Natalia: ¡ª 2 x Epic Item Boxes (From the 3rd Floor) Maya: ¡ª 1 x Epic Item Box (From the 3rd Floor) Marcus: ¡ª 1 x Epic Item Box (From the 3rd Floor) [MVP chest] Second MVP Chest (the 3rd Floor): ¡ª1 x Epic-rank Gear Set (Mid-tier) [Floor Boss Chest (2nd Floor)]: ¡ª 1 x Epic-rank Equipment Set (Low-tier). ¡ª 1 x Epic-rank One-Time Use Item [Floor Boss Chest (the 3rd Floor)]: ¡ª 1 x Epic-rank Equipment Set (Mid-tier) ¡ª 2 x Epic-rank One-Time Use Items "So it''s finally time to open these boxes," Natalia grinned. "Yeah, but no need to roll dice for these. Those 3rd Floor Epic Item boxes will give us Mid-tier Epic items anyway, so just open them." Everyone opened the boxes, and everything before Almond made a list. ¡ª Moonstrider Greaves (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Starblossom Circlet (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Verdantwind Cloak (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Ironspine Pauldrons (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Silken Ember Tunic (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Oathbound Gauntlets (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Eclipsed Horizon Set (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª Ashen Earthcaller Set (Low-tier Epic) ¡ª Frostheart Bastion Set (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª One-time Use: Elixir of Skyborne Reflexes (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª One-time Use: Crystal of Arcane Storm (Mid-tier Epic) ¡ª One-time Use: Sigil of the Guardian me (Low-tier Epic). "Including my Radiant Grimlord Set, we have a total of four sets," Almond smiled. "Four people will be fully equipped." "Let''s just go out and decide who will get which things based on attributes and stuff," Lily said. "Yeah, let''s go," Almond nodded. ¡­ Everyone stood around in a circle with the bunch of Epic items neatly ced in the center. Amir gulped. "What a trove of treasure." "You are getting to use these items temporarily only. You can buy them if you want to since I''m nning to sell them anyway." "Now," Almond continued, "Marcus, you''ll continue to use Ashen Earthcaller Set. Only you have Earth elemental mastery among us, so you can utilize this set better. You will use Sigil of Guardian me right away. ording to that one-time use item''s effect, it can supercharge the user who used it with me element and also summon a me guardian for protection for 1 minute. You can work with the guardian for better defenses since you''re the only defender with the backliners." "You don''t want to save one-time use items and only use them for emergencies?" Noah raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, I thought we could use them only when required," Talia nodded. "Nope," Almond shook his head, his golden eyes narrowing to a fierce gleam. "We are not saving anything. I want this raid to be sessful and swift. I want to focus on attacking only, and you all need to focus on your roles. I want to finish this boss as soon as possible to get the first rank in the Grimworld leaderboard." Lily also sharply smiled as she added, "That''s right. You all better give your all." "Of course," Kira grinned. "So what am I getting?" "Let''s distribute based on elemental mastery first, starting with-" Almond suddenly paused as he got the notification of the Grimlord Apocalypse Set. Taking it out, he showed it to everyone, "And here''s the new and best Epic rank set. Grimlord Apocalypse Set. And six more Epic full-body armor pieces areing soon." "A long sword?" Maya raised her eyebrows. "Didn''t you say you were going to make the set for Lily?" "Of course, it''s mine," Lily smiled, "But the long sword is better against the Heroic Bosses, so I told him to use the long sword b. It''s not like I have to get pure technical with the boss, and I can y with long swords just as good as my daggers." "Oh¡­" "That''s awesome then," Marcus nodded. Almond chuckled and said, "I''ve checked the Mid-tier Epic rank Eclipsed Horizon Set and it''s actually perfect for me. It''s not a lightning attribute, but its effects are suitable for my style." "Anyway, moving on, let''s distribute the remaining sets first," Almond continued as he waved his hand and used Mana to pick up the Frostheart Bastion Set. "This set is ice and metal attributed, and we don''t have anyone who has both in person, so Noah will use them since he has a Metal element and he is joining the frontline as an off-tank with Eliara." Noah nodded, his expression serious. A brief hesitation shed before he said, "I''ll make it worth your trust in my abilities." "Good," Almond faintly smiled and turned to the Radiant Grimlord Set. "This set is stronger than other Epic-rank sets aside from the Grimlord Apocalypse set in terms of effects. The only other who uses the sword proficiently is Kira, so you''ll use it." "Woah, that''s awesome," Kira was thrilled and grinned. "Well, I get to use the set you wore before. I wonder if it smells like you." "Woah, woah, calm down." Natalia''s eyebrows shot up as her reaction was the fastest. "I will because I feel a pair of predator''s eyes on myself," Kira mischievously snickered as she winked at Lily. Lily wryly smiled. Amir, Eliara, Ka, Jemma, Xavier, and Talia nced at each other as they exchanged some words with Magic Whisper. [Amir: You think Kira has hots for Almond?]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om [Talia: You bet your ass she does.] [Ka: Poor Kira¡­] [Jemma: She knows herself, which is why she is not doing anything. But to be honest, I can''t me her.] [Eliara: Noah, what do you think?] [Noah: I think I need a new sword.] [Amira: Bro dodging a su-] "Amir, you''ll take this Verdantwind Cloak. You better utilize it well since it has a good wind-attribute passive effect. Make the backliners flying and in the move, every one of them," Almond said as he handed the cloak to Amir. Amir read the item and blinked, "So I''m kind of like a driver who buffs and supports, eh? Fine by me. I got some good ss skills in store for this role." "Ka, the Silken Ember Tunic is yours. Read the effects and you''ll know." "Okie, thank you," Ka smiled, her cheeks slightly puffing. "Hmm, we got a pair of Oathbound Gauntlets, but none of them is a hand-to-handbatant," Almond rubbed his chin, but then he got an idea as his eyes shone. Chapter 155 Preparation Done, Onwards to the Heroic Challenge "This pair of gauntlets has a pretty good effect. One of the backliners can use them on me or someone else in an emergency. Using these gauntlets won''t diminish yourbat style even if you don''t use it for attacking in any way," Almon said. "Check the effects and see who is willing to take them." "Damn, they got some high attack power!" Amir eximed. "True. I guess we can let Adrian use them in the next floor''s Heroic Challenge," Xavier nodded. "With such effects, he would be able to serve as an off-tank warrior." [Oathbound Gauntlets] -Type: Heavy Gauntlets. -Rank: [Epic/Mid] -Attack: 1400 [+230% of user''s Strength] -Perk(s): ¡ª> +50 Strength, +70 Health, +30 Focus. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Passive) Oathbound Enchant: Boost a targetted ally with any two of your stats, applied 100%. The targetted ally must be within your sight. ¡ª> (Active) Double Team: Swap positions with a targetted ally. Cooldown: 1 minute. Cost: 100 Mana. ¡ª> (Active) Receiving the Favor: You are boosted by two stats of the ally targetted by Oathbound Enchant for 1 minute. Cost: 10% of maximum Mana. Cooldown: 2 minutes. "Wow, this is pretty sick," Marcus blinked as he eximed. "Considering Almond''s stats, whoever wears this will get a big boost." "With this item worn by a backline, if the Heroic Boss someone infiltrated the backlines, I can swap positions to counter or attack," Almond smiled. "Then this should be given to someone who can cast long-range control attacks," Lily said with a glint in her eyes. "Suppose the Heroic Boss suddenly arrived at the backliners. The person who equips this item can swap with Almond and also release a control-type attack on the boss from long-range." "That narrows our list," Kira grinned. "We have three people with control powers. Natalia, Jemma, and Maya, but Maya is a better choice, I guess." "Yeah," Almond nodded in agreement. "Maya, these are yours. You also have experience of how unpredictable those Heroic Bosses can be, so you can react properly as well." "Thanks," Maya smiled. Almond nodded and continued, "Moving on, Starblossom Circlet only has two effects, but they are a defensive effect and a healing effect. Eliara, you take it." "Next, Moonstrider Greaves are water-elemental. This item has a speeding passive effect and a speeding active effect that also buffs an attack. Kira, it''s yours." "Awesome," Kira smiled as she took the greaves. "Ironspine Pauldrons. Eliara, you''ll use them as they are Metal attributes." Noah already had a set of Metal and Ice elements, so Almond decided to give the pauldrons to Eliara. "Jemma, you''ll get one of the spirit armor that''s in the making, and also keep this Crystal of Arcane Storm. It''s an offense-control type one-time use item, generating a multi-elemental storm of wind, lightning, and water. When you use it, boost it with your water elemental power and skill since it would slow and significantly weigh the boss inside. Use it when given the opportunity right away." "Gotcha," Jemma nodded. "Talia and Xavier, you two will also get armor, but no other items as we are out of stock, but I am going to gear you all up with random Super-rank items I got with my ss." "Who''s gonna use Elixir of Skyborne Reflexes?" Natalia curiously asked. "It''s a pretty sick potion since it increases speed and reflexes by 50% while giving the ability to step on air for one minute." "I''ll use it, of course," Almond grinned. "I don''t have a flying method with Eclipsed Horizon Set, so I''d need that to up my game, and that potion will provide me the very good flying-esque method." "Sounds good," Lily nodded. "And now that we have distributed these items. Let''s use their effects and familiarize ourselves with them." ¡­ Ten minutes passed by as everyone checked out the various effects of all items and practiced with the Spirit Wraiths. Almond also took out the remaining Super-rank items, numbering five to be exact¡ªArmor, a pistol, boots, a cloak, and a one-time-use item¡ªA spear that can destroy any projectilepletely. The six low-tier Epic armors were also ready, and he gave them to Jemma, Amir, Xavier, Ka, Natalia, and Talia. The Super-grade armor went to Jemma, the pistol went to Talia, the cloak went to Amir, and the spear went to Marcus to use for defense in case a powerful projectile came their way. Shortly after that, Sylvia also told Almond that she was done and would reach there in a few minutes. When Sylvia arrived, everyone was shocked! She looked more human-like and extremely beautiful, not to mention that her stats and power increased! All Spirit Wraiths who were in Silver rank had broken through to Gold rank, so they could now go above 100 points in each stat, but Sylvia already reached 150 in all stats after absorbing that tree. She received a new Trait called Mother of Nature, which increasesprehension of Flora element and gathers Flora element power around her more! She could enter a new mode with this trait, turning into a tree to increase healing, calm her mind, and help focus on everyone around her! She didn''t get any skills, but she felt she could awaken a skillter by training. With Sylvia''s return, it was finally time to begin the challenge. Everyone gathered in the circle as Kira put the items in the magic circle. [Your Party is qualified for Heroic Challenge Mode. Do you wish to proceed?] "Everyone, just say yes to this question in your mind," Almond said. [Everyone in the party has agreed. From hereon, you are not allowed to leave the Labyrinth beforepleting the challenge.] The ground shook slightly before the magic circle split open, revealing a hazy portal. [Please enter the portal to begin the challenge.]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "So we can''t even leave anymore, eh? Damn, that''s brutal," Amir muttered. "It''s do or die," Lily sharply grinned. "Either you win against the Heroic Boss, or you die trying." The first-timers suddenly felt the pressure slightly increasing. "Keep your mind clear, don''t panic, and fucking make a move when necessary," Almond spoke in a stern voice. "Don''t mess up. Remember, messing up means death." Kira, Noah, and others somberly nodded. "Let''s go." Everyone entered the crack one by one, arriving in a huge dark hall with dim lights and low visibility. Almond had a strong bad feeling when he entered this hall and saw how it had low visibility and dim lights. Chapter 156 Fourth Floor Heroic Challenge Boss (1/3) ''If the boss is assassin-type¡­'' Almond''s heartbeat quickened. [You have one minute to prepare. The Heroic Challenge Boss will spawn after one minute.] "Everyone!" Almond shouted, snapping everyone out of the reverie of watching this hall as they turned to Almond. "Listen to me carefully. Those in charge of control, get ready with your attacks. Noah, Kira, and Eliara, when the Heroic Boss appears, do whatever you can do to cage it from outside the Arcane Storm. With Lily and I, the five of us will surround it and keep it at bay. Ka, keep flying around the backliners in your Griffon form and get ready to parry any sudden attacks." "You sound urgent?" Kira blinked. The others also noted the urgency and trepidation in Almond. "My guts are also churning," Lily narrowed her eyes. "This Heroic Boss could get very annoying if it''s an assassin-type. The chance of death significantly increases. We fought with a warrior and a mage¡­so it wouldn''t be strange if this Heroic Boss is an assassin." "Exactly," Almond nodded. "Fuck," Natalia cursed as her lips trembled. "A heroic boss of assassin role?! We gotta kill it fast!" Marcus and Maya also nodded, their expressions grave. Almond continued speaking, making a slight change in the strategy, "We have to make our move fast, and we only have one chance. I failed to strike three times properly against Verenoor, but that cannot happen again here, or some of us will die! We are more in numbers, so Noah, Kira, Eliara, and Jemma, hurl your skills and item effects right off the bat when the boss is in the Arcane Storm." Almond waved his hand as he summoned his Spirit Wraiths. Lily started using her skill on Viperfiend to fill up her Dreadspire Call''s gauge to summon the Gloombound Earth Golem. "Galvaren, Ashkar, Starlight, Crystalist, and Benedict, you five will support Noah, Kira, Eliara, and Jemma as they hurl their attacks. Go into the Arcane Storm that Jemma will create and do whatever you can to keep the Boss there." "Amir, your role is different. You''re no longer a support driver, but you will also empower the Arcane Storm with your wind-based skills and use your item''s effects on us instead. Keep your focus on us and the boss''s attack only. Don''t think about attacking the boss, as that will distract you." "Roger!" "Sylvia,e to me and Lily at the frontline. Work with Lily''s golem and keep the boss rooted if possible. Your second trait will also recover our Mana, and your new third trait will help keep our mind cool."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Understood, Master," Sylvia nodded. "Nyssara, you will work with Maya as usual. Make the best freezing shot together." Maya and Nysarra nodded. "Marcus, your job is the same." "Talia and Xavier, you only have offensive skills, but don''t use them and waste your Mana. Just use the armors'' effects properly and your ss buff skill if you have any." "I have a debuff skill that can cause blindness," Xavier said. "I have one that can increase the action speed of everyone around me by 50% for 10 seconds," Talia said. Almond''s eyes glinted. "Stay at the backline and use it only if I am within the range." "That''s all. But we don''t know what will happen, so improvise and make good decisions, please." When only thirty seconds were left to the countdown, Almond turned to the magic circle at the center of the floor and walked towards it as he activated Espada Ad Grimveil. Kira, Ka, and others who hadn''t seen this power were surprised as they saw eye-shaped cracks appear around him within a 200-meter radius. "Woah, what''s that?" Amir eximed. "We don''t have time for questions now. Just watch and focus on the fight," Lily said as she followed Almond with her Gloombound Earth Golem. "Let''s go." With her Grimlord Apocalypse Set, Lily was ready to go all out right off the bat with its powerful debuff effects and rein down on the boss right away with a boost from her S-rank Darkness elemental mastery. Kira, Noah, Amir, and Eliara followed her as they went towards the circle where the boss would spawn. Jemma stood in mid-range with Talia slightly behind her, and behind Talia was the backline of Ka, Maya, and Natalia. Nyssara was with Maya while Sylvia, Dark Pope, Crimson Skylord, Starlight Beast, Crystalist, and Infernal Knight joined Almond and others at the frontline. Maya targeted Almond for the Oathbound Enchant passive effect, boosting Almond''s Focus and Perception as per his n. She also nned to use Almond''s Mana and Focus to boost herself when using her main control-type attack with Nysarra. When the countdown neared 0, everyone used their items'' buff effects. Almond drank the Elixir of Skybord Reflexes while Marcus used Sigil of the Guardian me as a big ming bird appeared and supercharged Marcus with me element. Everyone activated their Focus Field as this became necessary due to the low lighting in this hall, which meant their Mana would constantly drain, so they had to be on their toes when using active effects or skills and using potions quickly in an emergency. Almond''s five Spirit Syringes also floated. Lily didn''t have to use one this time since Sylvia was healing Lily while she sacrificed her blood for the Golem summoning. [The Heroic Challenge Floor Boss¡ªShourded des Ervagus of Evernight Domain.] When everyone heard the name, they knew it was the goddamn assassin-type heroic Boss. A hazy storm of darkness appeared in the magic circle as the floor boss spawned. ''Jemma, don''t be in a hurry and observe first before using the Crystal of Arcane Storm,'' Maya said to Jemma as she could see that Jemma was a bit nervous from behind based on her bodynguage. As the hazy storm of darkness subsided, everyone saw a faint figure of a two-meter-tall humanoid wearing a mask and a ck robe with embroidery design, his hands holding two long curvy daggers. But as Almond and others were about to attack, Ervagus vanished like a mist. Almond was fastest as his Focus Field captured the boss appearing at the backline. ''No!'' Ervagus appeared right behind Natalia like a death reaper, ready to cut her down. Chapter 157 Fourth Floor Heroic Challenge Boss (2/3) ''No!'' Almond''s mind stirred into action immediately as he used Rift Discement, recing the space where Natalia was standing with his as he appeared right in front of Ervagus, who was swinging his des down. It consumed more Mana, but he had to do it. At the same time, he had also used Divine Divider''s Might to reduce Ervagus'' 1000 strength by half. The backliners'' defense was high since Marcus had activated all field effects and buffs, and Almond could also sh his sword instead of getting attacked. But in this tense situation, a mishap happened. Maya also used body swap with Almond a little after Almond appeared there, causing both of their bodies to swap positions. Almond''s pupils shrank. He could see Ervagus two meters away instead of just one meter this time, so that didn''t change anything. His sword shed ahead with Sword Bending Motion, his veins popping and his speed blinding as he had stolen Ervagus'' Strength stat. Ervagus, sensing the iing danger from Almond, changed his attack trajectory midway masterfully and met Almond''s sword. *Boom!* Both of them instantly shot tens of meters away as Almond overpowered Ervagus. Their swords shed swiftly, but Almond was severelycking in Perception and Focus against Ervagus. Having dual-wielding daggers meant Ervagus dished out more attacks. At the end of the two seconds of high-speed shes that required Almond''s full focus, Ervagus struck right at the slight gap in his armor, at a part of his arm that wasn''t covered, and shed it as his arm flew off. The Elixir of Skyborne Reflexes already helped him during this, as he saved his neck from flying a second ago. But during those two seconds of shes between Almond and Ervagus, everyone had also made their moves. Sylvia burst out with her full power, not holding back the slightest for Almond as tens of vines burst out of the ground right around Ervagus, binding him. ck mes red from Ervagus'' body, burning the vines, but before he could escape, Lily''s Gloombound Earth Golem arrived in a gloomy brown stream of elemental energy and drowned Ervagus, slowing down his movement speed and action speed. Since Natalia was safe and sound, she was aiming for Ervagus after Almond reced her position and instantly shot her Celestial Songstress skill, stunning the Heroic Boss upon seeing that Ervagus was briefly stopped. With that powerful stun in ce, Eliara, Kira, and Noah unleashed their items'' effects and attacked, drowning the heroic boss in colorful bursts of powers, during which Almond injected Spirit Syringe into himself andpletely healed, his arm regrowing. Jemma was about to throw the Arcane Storm potion, and Almond''s Spirit wraiths were also about to jump after that, but everyone sensed Ervagus vanishing from their Focus Field. And this time, he didn''t appear again so soon as before while the darkness in the hall suddenly increased. "Where is he?!" "Fuck." "Drink Mana potions while we have time!" Ervagus'' vitality was down by only 7% even after Kira, Eliara, and Noah emptied their Mana pools, so they hurriedly chugged Mana potions. Lily was preparing for her attack, so she didn''t make a move but also kept her focus in the Focus Field like others to instantly detect if Ervagus appeared behind anyone. Almond had the highest sensing power because, with thebination of his Focus Field and domain of his Espada Ad Grimveil, nothing could escape him. ''Control-types, get ready. Observe and shoot. Don''t shoot all at once. Maya, Nyssara, you''re first. Our chance ising,'' Almond''s eyes glinted sharply as he was prepared and sent his voice to everyone via Magic Whisper. ''The moment I sense Ervagus''s presence, I must slice him into pieces with Absolute Severing paired with Sword Bending Motion for more pieces of his body.'' His Absolute Severing was like a top-tier control-type attack in a way, as it dealt no damage but sliced their body parts'' spaces away from each other, severing their connections to each other, but the person with consciousness and mind could still feel their body parts attached while not physically attached, making them disjointed. Everyone was waiting in anticipation mixed with dread for Ervagus to appear. One second.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Two seconds. And something flickered. Right behind Maya and Nyssara, Ervagus emerged from the ground like a death reaper, but this time, he was already in attacking motion. Almond was already in motion, but this time, he would bete! Nyssara had to make a split-instant decision as she self-destructed herself while creating a crude wall of ice between her and Maya to keep her protected from the explosion. She couldn''t do more than that in such a short time. ''Master! Get him!'' The burst of the icy explosion that Nysarra did froze Ervagus briefly, and Almond appeared, veins all over his body popping as he roared, his arms swinging at an insane speed. Sword Bending Motion! Absolute Severing! Six shes! Six pieces of Ervagus! Maya went stumbling several meters, but others were ready. Jemma was an ultra reader as she was also waiting for Ervagus to appear and instantly used the Crystal of Arcane Storm. The burst of storm twenty meters high and ten meters wide formed around Almond and Ervagus. Galvaren, Ashkar, Benedict, Starlight Beast, and Frank jumped in at the moment, bursting out with their full power and using their highest-ranked skills. Benedict, who had S-rank in shadow mastery, solely focused on not letting Ervagus escape through the darkness again. Almond jumped out of the Arcane Storm, stepping into the air with the effects of the Elixir. ''100 Voidbound Rifts,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he had formed 100 rifts and began phase 1 as all of them converged. Maya got hold of herself and began building her attack as she pulled the string of her bow again, ready to freeze Ervagus at a moment''s opportunity. Arcane Storm was getting fueled by Amir and Jemma, so it was very strong. If any one of them entered without defense, they would die shortly. Everyone observed the chaotic battle happening inside the storm. This battlefield was only for Spirit Wraiths because even if they died, they wouldn''t die for real. Inside the storm, All spirit wraiths were attacking Ervagus, but Ervagus was deflecting all of their attacks while shing them even though he was into pieces. His body parts were protected by ck energies while his severed arms defended his body parts by deflecting iing attacks with his glowing ck daggers. Meanwhile, Sylvia remained in a position where her traits could affect everyone, healing, recovering mana, and calming everyone with her second and third traits. And everyone finally saw Ervagus'' status this time as they could catch a breath and inspect him. [Shrouded des Ervagus] -Rank: Special -Type: Heroic Spirits. -Vitality: [100% / 100%] -Mana: [50,000 / 50,000] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 1000 | Health: 5000 | Stamina: 5000] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 5000 | Focus: 1000 | Perception: 1000] Almond''s eyes glinted as he used Divine Divider''s Harvest, halving Ervagus'' Perception and harvesting it for himself before taking out the hand fan Artifact they had gotten. [Quetzal''s Windgod Handfan] -Rank: Special -Tier: 1 (Higher tiered Artifacts can ignore/resist/disce effects of lower tiered Artifacts). -Effect: ¡ª> Quetzal''s Domain: Turn 200 diameter meters of area in a domain of raging winds, a paradise for wind users to fuel their wind-attributed skills. All wind-attributed skills inside the domain are boosted by 50% and can be further boosted based on control. Cost: 10,000 Mana. ¡ª> Windgod''s Fury: Blow a powerful gust of wind 10 to 100 meters wide at the speed of 1000 kilometers per hour for a stretch of 2 kilometers, forcefully blowing everything away. ''Alright, this is useless in this fight.'' Putting it away, Almond focused on the fight. Ervagus''s aura surged swiftly as he seemed to make a big move within the Arcane Storm as it started darkening, overwhelming other elements of the storm. Chapter 158 Fourth Floor Heroic Challenge Boss (3/3) His own Perception 200 + Harvested 500 + 175 from the Epic-rank set he wore. This set was Perception-based, as it was the highest numbered stat among other stats in four items'' perks. Eclipsed Horizon Set was a space-attributed set, and even though not all of its effects warranted their uses, the passive set effects of all four items¡ªSpatial Awareness, Spatial Momentum, Horizon Reach, and Eclipsed Space boosted his use of the techniques of his Espada Ad Grimveil, making it perfect for him. Phase 1 of his Unveiled Catastrophe was ready, as a dreadful ck sphere of Void Veil appeared, epassing all 100 Voidbound Rifts and power of space he severed so far with other techniques. The Arcane Storm darkened as everyone observed what was happening inside with their Focus Fields. Even though Ervagus'' body parts were severed into six pieces, his hands holding the des were deflecting iing attacks and protecting his body. But he still lost 7.4% of his vitality before he eventually pieced his body together, connecting them with shadow energy, and he began spinning. And he spun fast. Shadowy ck des began unleashing from the spinning Ervagus, striking everyone and destroying the Arcane Storm''s flow as well. Since the des also pierced through the storm, everyone had to dodge them in case a few came their way. Starlight Beast, Frank, and Viperfiend died, while Galvaren, Ashkar, and Benedict began their round two. Ashkar roared in a wrathful manner as his horse Agramon died, boosting his stats by 50%. Benedict revived as a ck fallen angel appeared, holding a golden sword with ck spots. Galvaren transformed the field around him as his stats were boosted by 100%, going on a rampage as an ethereal field of a destroyed kingdom appeared around him, covering a 200-meter radius of the area. But Ervagus was just as dangerous, if not more, as he appeared more like an abomination with his body parts threaded with ck energy. Benedict lost his control over the shadow as Ervagus wrestled it away and thenrge ck shes formed around Ervgagus, striking Galvaren, Benedict and his fallen angel, and Ashkar, one-shotting them. But thanks to their efforts, the team was prepared! Almond knew they would die soon, so he also entered phase two as the Void Veil transformed, and ovepped his sword this time instead of creating a de itself, looking more refined with his higher control, thanks to the set and the boosted perception, but mainly thanks to the Epic set he wore. Now everyone was waiting to see who would Ervagus target with his shadow drifting. Ervgus vanished from the storm and everyone was fully focused in their Focus Field. But something crazy happened. Ervagus appeared, but¡­not just one Ervagus, not two. Instead, an Ervagus appeared behind each one of them! Everyone was shocked and terrified. All except for Almond because he knew not all of them were true Ervagus. He sensed the real one, who appeared behind himself! ''Defend Maya! And Maya, you attack the one behind me! Freeze!'' Almond ryed this message only to Maya, Eliara, and Noah. Thetter two because they were right beside Maya at the moment. Eliara and Noah used theirbo defense. Eliara conjured a metal bunker around them with a vertical window for Maya to shoot the arrow in front of her while Noah enchanted the bunker further. Ka dodged the strike because she went to parry the attack for Natalia with her skill in her Griffon form. Kira and Amir protected Lily as Kira used the Radiant Fortress of Radiant Grimlord Set as Lily was charging her attack. Amir and Lily were struck by attacks and got injured, but not as high with the items they wore, and because the true Ervagus didn''t attack them. Sylvia quickly went to tend to their injuries before they got worse. Marcus defended himself, Jemma, and Talia as he was near them, using his defensive skill, Geostar Dome, and using his set''s effects with the remaining Mana, consuming it all. Meanwhile, the true Ervagus who appeared right behind Almond intended to cut Almond into pieces because Ervagus sensed that Almond was the most threatening at the moment. But that was Ervagus'' first mistake¡­and alsost. It was the best decision on his part, but also the worst. But Lily, with her High-tier Epic rank set of darkness attributed that Almond crafted, appeared right behind the true Ervagus from his own shadows she had also sensed the true one thanks to her S-rank Darkness Elemental Mastery. She could practically see which one had the highest essence of darkness and targeted it. Appearing behind Ervagus, she struck him with her full-powered Voidless Sunderer. Almond''s lips stretched a grin, ''Wonderful, babe.'' He disced the space around himself, instantly facing Ervagus instead of turning around physically as it would waste time, even if it was in milliseconds. Phase 2! Void Catastrophic Strike. *BOOOM!* Right as Almond had used that attack, he also sent Lily away since she could get hurt and also released the control he had over the space struck to Ervagus'' body pieces, making him whole again purposely. Thanks to Lily drastically reducing Ervagus'' defense and that darkness shroud that seemed to have given him defense, Almond''s Void Catastrophic Strike took a whopping 68% of Ervagus'' vitality! The terrifying void de intended to destroy Ervaguspletely, but Ervagus still managed to move and save himself. Almond had shed vertically this time, intending to split him into two and finish him off with a fatal positioned attack, but that didn''t work as Ervagus dodged at thest moment. Ervagus wanted to dodge the entire body, but he couldn''t do that fast enough.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om However, the damage done was already insane as the lower half of his body horizontally had vanished! And for the next part, Maya and Natalia were both ready! As well as Xavier who couldn''t do anything until now. He only had one armor he got from Almond, and it had a solid one-target defensive effect ofpletely nullifying an attack, so he was safe and ready to unleash an attack. Xavier''s attack came first as it was pure light-type, fastest. He stabbed his rapier and it released a blinding white-golden light, consuming all of his Mana. This attack was offensive and debuff type both, as people struck by it would only seeplete brightness in their vision and other senses. *Swoosh!* Natalia''s stun came second as it was the second fastest. The sound ring jolted Ervagus as he was stunned. He couldn''t enter Phase 2 Boss as it was interrupted and the Vitality he was healing also stopped. Almond ced the Spirit Nuke right above Ervagus'' head while his eyes glinted, ''''The fucker was healing? But this bit won''t help.'' Maya''s arrow came whistling with a boom right as Almond ced the spirit nuke, freezing Ervaguspletely while he was stunned. One second passed by. *BOOOOOOM!* Absolute cinema nuke. [Congrattions. Your party has sessfully defeated the fourth-floor Heroic Challenge boss¡ªShrouded des Ervagus.] [Along with the challengepletion reward, an additional reward is in the process of generating based on the performance and contribution of the party members.] [You have defeated Shourded des Ervagus in 37 seconds. Your party¡ªGrim Breakers, has ced 1st rank in the Grimworld Heroic Challenge Leaderboard - Heroic Spirit Floor 4 Section.] "It''s o-ver?" Jemma uttered, adrenaline rush still present in her. Marcus groaned and sat down. He nced at the me bird and cursed, "Useless shit. How can it defend if it can''t react to Ervagus'' speed." Eliara removed the bunker, as she, Natalia, and Noah emerged, red-faced and with messed up expressions due to a high adrenaline rush. Everyone was in a high adrenaline rush. Their heartbeats were graduallying down, but the speed had peaked when everyone sensed multiple Ervagus'', one appearing behind each of them, and how they fought for their lives by giving their everything. Sylvia also heaved a sigh of relief and reported to Almond, ''Master, if the fight hadsted longer, Amir would''ve probably died. The clones most likely had darkness poisonous attributes in their attacks even if they were not powerful since my healing was prevented and the dark power was destroying Amir''s organs.'' ''Is he okay?'' ''Yeah,pletely okay now that Ervagus is gone. My healings are working.'' ''Good job, Sylvia.'' "Everyone, gather up in the middle! It''s time to rest," Almond said as he sat down, his brain already buzzing and aching. He had maintained control of his Espada Ad Grimveil longer and used the techniques more times in this fight than the previous Heroic Bosses, so the stress on his mind was also more intense. "I waspletely useless," Talia muttered as she walked alongside Jemma towards Almond. "Like I was any useful," Xavier sighed. Jemma weakly smiled as she heard them, "It was the same for me." "But you had a role to y at least," Talia rolled her eyes. "Don''t beat over it too much," Marcus casually said as he arrived nearby. "Even if you attacked, it wouldn''t hurt the boss much. Talia''s job was to buff Almond''s action speed, and she did it at the start. If it wasn''t for that, Almond would have lost more than just an arm during that sh." Natalia and Ka caught up to them from behind before Natalia said, "Yeah, this boss was freaky. We didn''t expect it would be an assassin before we entered this hall anyway." Lily walked from the south since Almond had teleported her there and joined the group as she said "That''s right. Against an assassin who teleports like that and attacks individually, it''s hard to coordinate individual attacks all at once. Arcane Storm worked, but we couldn''t risk going inside as it was the stage for Almond''s summons, and we got plenty of time to prepare and recover with potions thanks to them." "True," Noah muttered as he, Eliara, and Maya arrived from the north and everyone walked towards Almond who was lying on the ground several meters away. "Almond''s summons did that job, but what''s with his crazy skills¡­" "Yeah, those were insane," Talia nodded as she looked at Almond. "Without Almond, this would be impossible," Kira arrived with Sylvia as she said with a wry smile. Amir was carried by Sylvia''s vines since he was unconscious. "Is he fine?" Ka asked in concern as she saw Amir''s pale face. "Yeah, he is fine. He''s just recovering," Sylvia nodded. "I am getting better already," Eliara blinked as she turned to Sylvia. "It''s your power." "Yes," Sylvia smiled. Everyone was indeed calming down as their minor injuries were getting healed along with their Mana. As the party gathered at Almond''s location, he got up while rubbing his temples, "I''m going to rest. You all set up the camps and stuff. My mind''s buzzing with the heavy control I exerted." Saying that, he took out the magic tent as it expanded and he entered inside before calmly lying on the bed. Chapter 159 Global Announcement, Rewards (1/2) Outside, Rudra and the other old monsters had finished the S-grade dungeons and sessfully earned one or two Legendary items. The gold-bordered Dungeon that Rudra and the team cleared earned them a total of 4 Legendary items, one being a one-time-use item. After exiting the dungeons, the first thing everyone did was to gather the rats in the GAA headquarters. It was time to extract information out of them first and foremost if they wanted to clear the 10th Floor''s Floor Boss without additional risks. The interrogation of the rats was over just as the first day of the first cycle had passed. Everyone on the Earth received a notification. [The 10th Floor''s Floor boss hasn''t been defeated yet after 24 hours. 50% of the dungeons all over the world will start progressing faster toward dungeon break.] [Statistic: If the floor boss hasn''t been defeated 24 hours from now on, a total of 68 Dungeons of different grades will break and spill onto the world. Good luck, adventurers.] Everyone in the world got the announcement, and it was bound to raise panic among the public. While the public figures who usually talked in the media worked to ensure the public, the real yers were preparing for the battle. All guilds and other organizations were gathering the potions and items for the boss raid. It was scheduled to begin after 8 hours. Meanwhile, the interrogation of the rats was sessful as they got some names, but all of them were people of the underworld. The criminal adventurers didn''t appear in public and usually hid in their own domains. Rudra raided some ces with other old monsters after getting information, but unfortunately, they couldn''t nab anyone as they found no one. Naturally, they still nned to try, otherwise, they''d have to be cautious of them while fighting the 10th Floor''s Floor boss. ¡­ On the other hand, Almond woke up briefly when the rewards appeared ten minutester. [Contribution ranking and additional rewards] Rank 1¡ªAlmond. -> MVP reward chest. Rank 2¡ª Lily Darkwood. -> 2 x Legendary item box, 1 x Legendary Weapon selection box, 1 x Legendary Armor selection box, 2 x GAL Roulette Ticket, 1 x Insight Scroll (20Hr). Rank 3¡ªNatalia/Maya -> 2 x Legendary item box, 1 x Legendary Weapon selection box, 2 x GAL roulette ticket, 1 x Insight scroll (20Hr). Rank 4¡ªKira/Noah/Eliara -> 1 x Legendary item box 1 x Epic Gear Set (high-tier), 2 x GAL roulette ticket, 1 x Insight scroll (10Hr). Rank 5¡ªMarcus/Jemma/Amir -> 1 x Epic Gear Set (High-tier), 2 x GAL roulette ticket, 1 x Insight scroll (10Hr). Rank 6¡ªTalia/Xavier/Ka -> 1 x Epic Gear Set (high-tier), 1 x GAL roulette ticket, 1 x Insight scroll (5Hr.) "Crap, we got legendary items?!" Marcus eximed with a shout. "People just started getting legendary items on the 10th floor, and we are already getting them? What the fuck?" Talia muttered before she wryly smiled. "Well, I''m only getting one, but it''s understandable." "This is awesome," Eliara excitedly said as she looked at the list of rewards.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "I also got it," Kira blinked. "Everyone got a set of rewards disyed in the ranks." "Yeah, it''s not like we got 1 legendary box among us, but one each," Noah grinned. "The rewards are so awesome." "And this is not even everything. There''s the Floor Boss ying reward chest, too!" Ka''s cheeks puffed. "I wonder what we will get from it." Everyone was visibly excited. "Don''t be too excited," Natalia snorted. "Getting legendary items from this heroic boss means that the 5th Floor''s Heroic Boss is going to be a crazy asshole." "That''s right," Lily said as she turned to Almond, who appeared to be in deep thought. Almond''s eyes briefly flickered as he said, "We are not going to rush to the 5th Floor''s heroic boss. Since we''ve reached Gold-rank, I need to farm a lot of things, and we all need to prepare better. Even though we were a lot, this didn''t go as well as I expected." Shaking his head, Almond continued, "This can''t go on." Everyone turned silent. They realized that most of this fight was carried by Almond, and only with his insane damage did they win. It was clear if this party attempted this raid without Almond, even with a few more people, they would''ve died 100%. "On the 5th floor, Only Lily will join me. The rest of you can team up however you want and get better. We will meet at the Floor boss area near the end of the first cycle." Everyone was surprised. Lily was also surprised, but she didn''t mind as she smiled. Instead, she was rather thrilled. Almond was on a solo adventure on all the floors so far, but now they would be together. "So we will spend the next one day and a half adventuring on the 5th Floor and exploring it?" Maya raised her eyebrows, her eyes glinting. "Good. Fine by me." "The 5th floor is 500 kilometers in radius. It''s very big, and people still find new challenge spots every now and then, so yeah," Kira nodded with a grin. "It''s a good idea. Let''s get better." "Before opening the floor boss''s chest, I would like to say something," Marcus said as he raised his hand. "Although that chest is to be shared amongst everyone, only Almond will decide who gets what and if he wants to give anything at all. You alright with that, boss?" Almond blinked as he turned to Marcus and smiled, his expression sharp, "Of course. And if you want to keep the Epic items that I''ve lent you all, you can pay me in gold coins once we leave." "I''ll keep it," Noah said as he looked at his Frostheart Bastion set. "I''ll pay for this set once we get out." "Same," Marcus grinned. "I''ll gather enough gold coins to pay. Maya, you''re with me, right?" "Hohoho, of course, she is with you," Natalia took an opportunity to immediately make things awkward between them. But Maya didn''t give in and simply rolled her eyes as she replied to Marcus, "Yeah, we are familiar with each other''sbat style enough, so it''s better." "What about the Radiant Grimlord Set I am wearing?" Kira asked. "It has 5 days of duration, so I can keep using it, but how much do I pay?" "Pay me the same as a high-tier Epic-rank set''s price," Almond smiled. "I''ll increase its duration to 100 dayster." "Nice! But of course, I''llmission another setter of a water-attribute," Kira grinned. "I''ll craft a set for everyone, but just know that their price will be higher." "I''ll pay it, no matter the price," Xavier said with a firm nod. "Same," Amir said with a grin. The others also nodded. "Now, let''s continue with the reward opening," Almond said as he conjured a dice. "For this Heroic Floor Boss ying chest, we''ll roll the dice." He conjured a big, unique hexagonal dice with 20 small triangle surfaces all over it and also conjured a mana board to roll the dice on instead of doing it on the ground. "This is a unique dice with 20 sides. We''ll roll it on this board. The one who rolls the highest number wins. Let''s start," Almond said and started with his turn. Chapter 160 Rewards (2/2), Plans In the end, Talia was the only one who rolled 20 right after Natalia rolled 19. "Tsk. But this is only a matter of time," Natalia hurrumped. "Sure, but this one''s mine," Talia grinned and opened the chest as a bunch of orbs spewed out containing different items, along with a hologram containing the list of rewards. ¡ª 500 Million gold coins. ¡ª 1 x Legendary-rank Gear Set (Low-tier) ¡ª 1 x Legendary-rank one-time use item (low-tier) ¡ª 1 x Epic-rank Gear set (High-tier) ¡ª 2 x Epic-rank one-time use item (high-tier) ¡ª 1 x Random Artifact Box (Tier-2) ¡ª 1 x SS-rank Mystery Box. ¡ª 10 x Insight Stones. "Holy crap!" "We are getting a legendary-rank set already?!" "I don''t think anyone has a freaking Legendary set even outside!" Everyone was shocked and pleasantly surprised as they read the list of items. "Putting aside other things, let me distribute the Insight Stones," Almond said as he waved his hand and grabbed the orb containing ten Insight Stones. "These stones are good, but their benefits depend on the user," Almond said as he made the ten stones float in the air. "Inspect them." [Insight Stone] -Rank: Special. -Effect: Infusing the Mana in the stone will send the user''s consciousness into a mysterious dimension with a specific phenomenon. If the user manages to get an insight into that phenomenon, they may benefit greatly. "So this is not anything that guarantees a benefit, huh? Interesting," Kira muttered as she read the effect. "You have five more from the chest you opened in front of everyone if I remember correctly," Eliara said. "Yeah," Almond nodded. "That makes a total of 15 stones, so I''ll give one to each of you. And I have a suggestion, which I''m not sure if it will work, but there''s no harm in trying it. When using this stone, think of something rted to what you want to improve or just imagine something you desire regarding power, skill, or technique. Who knows, the stone might create a phenomenon rted to that?" "Woah, that''s an interesting idea. I will try it," Ka said with shining eyes. "I really want to learn Flora elemental mastery since it''s suitable with my primary ss." "Yep," Xavier nodded. "That sounds good." Everyone was already thinking about what they wanted to do with the stone as Almond handed out the Insight stones. "Alright, now moving on, let''s open other random boxes," Almond said as he grabbed the orbs containing the SS-rank Mystery Box and Random Artifact box. Everyone rolled the dice again to decide who would open it. Natalia won the unboxing of Mystery Box, while Ka won the unboxing of Random Artifact. The Mystery Box gave an SSS-rank Skill Learning Chance stone, a one-time-use item.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om [Skill Learning Chance Stone] -Rank: SSS -Effect: Infusing the Mana in the stone will send the user''s mind into a phenomenon that disys a random SSS-rank skill for 10 hours. "A chance indeed. I''m going to keep this stone," Almond said as he put it inside his storage ring. Next, Ka opened the Random Artifact box, and it spewed out a dark green feather with fiery orange patterns. [Dark Renegade Phoenix Feather] -Type: Artifact. -Tier: 2 -Use: one-time use. -Effect: This feather can be used on a dead body, intact or in pieces, to revive the fallen under some conditions. ¡ª> 1. If the feather is used on the fallen who had died for more than 24 hours, it will revive the fallen only temporarily for 24 hours and also boost the fallen''s overall stats by 50% for the duration. ¡ª> 2. If the feather is used on the fallen who had died for less than 24 hours, it will make aplete revival of the fallen, giving them life once more and also boost their overall stats by 50% for 1 hour. "This is amazing," Lily''s eyes glinted. "Yeah," Almond nodded. "That''s freaking broken!" Marcus shouted. "A revival item¡­" Kira blinked. "It''s said that the Patel family has a lotus who can do the same, which is why they retreated to a secret location nobody knows since they''ve been attacked a few times by underworld forces who covet their artifact." "I heard it wasn''t just the underworld, but some a few other renowned families too who helped them in the dark," Talia''s eyes glinted. "Well, it''s just a talk, nobody knows for sure because of no evidence." "Ahem," Lily coughed loudly as everyone looked at her, and her smile that looked icy, "I''m sure everyone understands how secret works. The information about this artifact better not go into the ears of anyone not present here." "That''s right," Almond narrowed his eyes. "If that happened, I''d be very disappointed." Everyone couldn''t help but wryly smile. Almond had already checked everyone''s important attributes with his Riftveil Eyes periodically before they entered this area, so he knew that they weren''t such types, but people''s desires and thinking could change based on circumstances, though he believed none of the people present here were foolish enough to disregard him. He had shown plenty of his power and potential, enough for them to understand that following him was the greatest benefit and opportunity they could ever have. "I''ll be keeping the Legendary and Epic set, and also the one-time use items. I will distribute them when we meet at the 5th Floor''s floor boss area, but until then, we all don''t need any extra power to explore the 5th Floor. It would just reduce the difficulty and make you reliant on them, which would hamper your real progress instead." "True," Maya nodded, her eyes determined, "In fact, I don''t want any items, even the ones I have right now." She took out the Oathbound Gauntlets and gave them to Almond, "I''ll explore the 5th floor with nothing but my skills andbat ability." Seeing her, everyone decided to do the same because it was true. If they wanted to get better and perform better in the next Heroic Challenge, they better improve their overallbat ability and their own skills. "That''s very good," Almond smiled as he took all the items. "Now, I''ll open the party chest that we for taking the first rank in the 4th floor Grimworld leaderboard. It will give each of you some kind of reward into temporary storage, which you can ess in your status with a new tab." "There''s something like that too?" Talia was dumbfounded. "Damn, we are getting so much riches with Heroic Challenge." "Hehe, that''s why it''s better to follow Almond," Natalia cheekily said. "Low effort, high reward." "And a high chance of death," Lily added with a smile. Everyone weakly smiled. Almond proceeded to open the Party chest as everyone heard a notification. [Congrattions. Each member of the party has received a supreme quality assortment of potions and 1 x Advanced Skill Scroll.] "This scroll again! Let''s fucking go!" Marcus was excited, but rightfully so. "It''s so good, I wish we could use it right away," Natalia pouted. "But we can''t. Sad." "True," Maya said while smiling. "But I don''t mind. I''ll use my two scrolls once we exit." "What''s so special about this scroll?" Noah curiously muttered as he inspected the scroll. The others also did the same after taking out the scroll from their temporary storage. [Advanced Skill Scroll] -Rank: Special. -Effect: ¡ª> Upon opening the scroll, a random growth-type skill is generated on it. It could either be an Active skill or a Passive skill. ¡ª> To learn the skill, the user must infuse Mana into the scroll, which would send the consciousness inside in a special dimensional andplete the training tailored to learn the skill. ¡ª> The skill''s starting rank will be determined based on the training result. Reading the effect, everyone was dumbfounded as well as excited. "Or hold on, how about I use it right now?" Marcus said as he looked at Almond as if asking for his advice. "The five of us, two each, and I am willing to use one to see how long the trainingsts. You are going to rest here for seven or eight, anyway, right?" "I am, but I''m leaving you behind after I wake up if you aren''t done by then," Almond said with a heartless smile. "I''m not wasting time needlessly." "Fair enough," Marcus nodded with a firm expression. "I don''t mind, and so I am going to start right away." Marcus walked a few meters away and sat down cross-legged. "Well, thanks for bing our experimental pig," Natalia snickered. Marcus''s lips twitched, but he didn''t respond and used the scroll right away as his consciousness drifted away. Almond chuckled and said, "Sylvia, transform into the Mother of Nature Tree. Might as well give him a boost since he is using the scroll." "Yes, master," Sylvia smiled. "Alright, I''ve decided!" Amir said as he thumped his chest. "I''ll join brother Marcus. Even if you are gone by then, we''ll enter the 5th Floor together with an awesome skill in our arsenal." "That''s not a bad idea," Almond nodded. "I will start Heroic Boss Challenge 1 one hour before 1st cycle''s end, which means¡­.we have thirty-five hours until I start." "Almond," Xavier said as he frowned, "What if a party started a boss fight before that?" Almond almost forgot about that as he wryly smiled, "That''s true, we have to do something about it." "Indeed," Lily agreed as she nced at others. "I say a few of you can leave shortly after recovering here and grab one of the items required for floor boss spawning. We only need to keep one to prevent others from spawning the floor boss." "I''m going to rest for a couple of hours first," Almond said as he turned around and waved his hand, "You all make food and decide who will go after eating." Chapter 161 Entering the 5th Floor, Frontliners Raid Party As Almond fell asleep, he dreamed more of his memories that returned since he cleared the 4th floor after defeating the Heroic Challenge boss. As he woke up two hourster, Almond had a clear memory of his past life up to the 10th Floor. He sorted the memories and first took note of important challenge spots and secret locations on the 5th floor. ''I''ll sleep again after eating.'' Almond was hungry. He left the tent and saw that everyone was resting after eating under the big tree that Sylvia had be. Lily and a few others were in meditative rest sitting cross-legged while others were sleeping normally resting at the tree''s trunk. Lily woke up as she sensed something and opened her eyes. "Do you want to eat? The food is ready. I''ll heat it up." "Yeah, thanks." Almond sat down near the bonfire, and Lily got up and began heating the food over the fire. "Did you decide which ones are going to get a floor boss spawning item?" "Yeah. Xavier, Talia, and Noah. These three will go ahead and get the item." "I''ll send Galvaren with them just in case to make sure the item''s not lost in any way." "Good idea." ¡­ After Almond finished eating, he wore the Radiant Grimlord set since it had wings and flew into the portal from which everyone entered, returning to the 4th Floor. He returned shortly after killing a small group of me-tailed zing Monkeys, getting a total of 12 Spirits. He sacrificed eight spirits to respawn his spirit wraiths, and when he returned, Xavier, Ka, Talia, and Noah had also woken up, having had enough rest. They went into the portal leading to the 5th floor with Galvaren, beginning their journey. After he told Natalia to take a Spirit Wraith with them once their parties were formed, he went back to sleep. Lily also joined him for cuddling and sweet dreams as she also wanted to sleep properly. The duo was going to leave together on the 5th floor since their party was fixed. As for others, they started leaving a few hourster after making up their parties.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Party 1 that left early: Xavier, Talia, Noah, and Galvaren. Party 2: Ka, Maya, Jemma, and Chimera Frank. Party 3: Natalia, Kira, Eliara, and Starlight Beast. Those two parties picked the Spirit Wraith wisely as they could ride on those beast-like spirits, making their traveling faster across the Labyrinth floor. Marcus and Amir were still in skill training as they had used their Advanced Skill Scroll. Time passed as seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours¡­ Almond and Lily slept for six hours before waking up. Almond and Lily freshened up and packed up the Magic Tent, preparing to leave. The time remaining to reach the 5th Floor''s floor boss area was 26 hours. "Sylvia, apany these two on the 5th Floor once they wake up." The big tree lightly swayed as Sylvia''s voice rang out, "Understood, Master. See youter." "See youter," Almond smiled. ¡­ On the one hand, Almond and Lily began their journey into the 5th floor, and on the other hand, the frontline adventurers were prepared and ready to enter the 10th Floor to defeat the floor boss. The lineup this time was the most powerful ever. Rudra Deva ¡ª The Strongest. Silvester Duncan ¡ª Master in swords, broad swords. Hiroshi Ryugiri ¡ª Master in swords, Katana. Arjun Maheshwari ¡ª Master of me and Light, most potent and fastest firepower. Theo Gabris ¡ª Long-range multi-elementalbat style. Paloma Vasquez ¡ª Beast Tamer, Strongest Druid. James Smith ¡ª Master cksmith with the most potent magitech-based energy weapons. Liang Zhou ¡ª Kung Fu-based Techniques, all-rounder. Viktor Volkov ¡ª Highest brute strength Axe warrior and ice master. Bianca Moretti ¡ª Master Assassin, long & short range both. Zauna Okoro ¡ª Master Sorcerer of debuff and control. Dn Makana ¡ª Volcanic Master, Terrain shifter. Christina Lafayette ¡ª Master supporter, healing, and buffing. Rafael Chavez ¡ª Poison Master, strategic warfare. Aamir Khalid ¡ª Sand and Wind Master, all-rounder spear master. Annika Von Richter ¡ª Highest research in mecha-based Magitech, masterbatant. Shiro-sen Shimazu ¡ª Master Mage of Curse-based skills and highest ocr power. Aarav Patel ¡ª Strongest defense and barriers. Only these eighteen people had reached level 150 in tinum rank, all of them were old monsters. There were other notable figures from other prestigious families, among which was Alexander Graves, the master gunslinger and military tactician, who was Talia''s father, the head of the Graves family. Ioan Reben, the master hand-based and Earth elementalbatant. He was Adrian''s father, the head of the Reben family. There were other family heads of influential and strong families who had reached a high level in tinum rank, but none had reached level 150 yet since leveling took longer as one''s level increased. Aside from them, the guild leaders of top guilds and other top-ranking adventurers who had reached high levels in tinum rank had joined the raid party. All in all, a total of 107 people who were top of the top, the most powerful ones, were ready to risk their lives against the 10th Floor''s Floor Boss. Potions, one-time-use items, Lots of Epic-rank weapons, armors, essories, 16 Legendary items, and 7 ancient artifacts. The big raid party entered the Labyrinth Gate at the GAA headquarters and entered the 10th Floor, which had undergone a huge change temporarily due to the Floor Boss''s appearance. "We are the furthest from the Floor Boss currently, but with its size and speed, we have roughly ten minutes to fifteen minutes before we are forced into the battle," Rudra shouted as he flew up using the Hermes'' Winged Sandals and faced the big group. "Remember, if we lose, our loved ones outside will have no chance of survival! This is ourst stand!" As Rudra gave his speech to boost the morale, the Floor Boss far away stirred into action. It was 100 meters tall, semi-humanoid with draconic scales and wings. It had a beastly wyvern head and four draconic wings. Two of those wings were de-like ones working as high-speed shers. It had gray and shining dark blue colored scales, its dragon head menacing with hazy crimson eyes. The boss released a sound from its mouth that was a mix of roaring and screeching as it took off to the skies and flew toward the raid party. Chapter 162 Raid Battle, Hollowstar Emissary *Scraaaaaaaaa!* The raid party heard the loud, jarring sound and turned in its direction as they watched the massive floor boss flying at them. [Dreadnaught Wyvern Warrior]¡ªFloor Boss. -Rank: Special. -Stats: -Vitality: [100% / 100%] -Mana: [500,000 / 500,000] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 3500 | Health: 50,000 | Stamina: 50,000] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 50,000 | Focus: 3000 | Perception: 2500] The wyvern warrior dived towards the group, intending to just m into them as the scales all over its body glowed. The old monsters immediately used their skills! A bunch of debuffs, control skills, and a huge shield-shaped projectile conjured over the party by Aarav Patel, along with a bunch of other shields from other Adventurers. *BOOOM!* Just as the boss mmed into the barrier and was stopped, Rudra, Silvester, and Hiroshi attacked. Rudra''s fist glittered with dimensional blue color, his mana techniques of the highest realm as the cracked aura around fists blurred and fissured the surrounding space.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Rudra shot like a rocket with the Hermes'' Winged Sandles and punched the boss monster''s head, mming it away while Silvester and Hiroshi unleashed their de shes. Viktor Volkov''s axe struck the boss''s right-wing, freezing it while Aamir Khalid unleashed a spear assault of synergized Sand and Wind technique on its left wing. This close-range assault shaved away a total of 7% of the vitality of the boss. Rudra''s fist showed real stars to the boss, boosted by buffs on the debuffed boss as the Wyvern Warrior was mmed on the ground. Taking that chance, the long-range attackers unleashed entirely of their Mana into their strongest skills while the close-range attackers distanced themselves lest they get caught in the bombardment. James Smith conjured a giant sma cannon as it beamed at the monster. Bianca Morreti, who was floating with a pitch-ck sniper rifle, aimed her shot at the Boss''s head. Liang Zhou conjured a wingless lightning dragon that unleashed its fury. Theo Gabris conjured a meteorite made of multiple elements for an explosive impact and st. Rafael Chaves conjured a magical snake, poisoning the boss. Annika Von Richter released all attack modes of her Mech, such as explosions of bombs and missiles. The others also unleashed their attacks, but the strongest attack belonged to the one wielding the pure offensive, the strongest ancient artifact used by the master of Light and Fire. Arjun Maheshvari pulled the bowstring of his ancient artifact, the Surya Astra Bow, unleashing a destructive, fiery arrow that alone dealt enough damage to shave away 9% of the boss'' vitality. *Roar!!!* The Wyvern Warrior roared loudly as it jumped up, recovering from all the debuff and using its own skills as it flew up and spun while positioning its wings. The defense masters immediately conjured shields against them, but this time they weren''t enough against this powerful assault. More debuffs and, this time, control skills were unleashed to stop the boss while Rudra and others quickly tried to defend themselves since they were closest to the attack. All of them were moderately injured despite having Legendary gears and the boss being debuffed again. The healers, led by Christina Lafayette, quickly yed their role to heal the injured. The Wyvern Warrior abruptly stopped spinning and showed insane speed as it maneuvered in the sky and attacked Arjun, targetting him for the infernal burning damage it was dealt that reduced its healing power. Shiro-sen and a few others from guilds were on the lookout for additional troubles, and they did spot them¡ªThe rats! Shiro-sen had very powerful ocr skills, allowing him to see everything clearly and spot hidden energy flows. Liam and a few other guild leaders were informed by Shiro-sen. Dn Makana, the old monster, made his move to block these rats as he changed the surrounding terrains when Shiro-sen shared with him the location of the rats. A total of 22 rats. All of them were blocked by spiking walls and pitfalls filled with Magma before they could approach the raid party. Liam and other guild masters made their moves after that, doubling down on the rats. Meanwhile, Rudra and other old monsters were managing to contend against the Floor Boss thanks to the artifacts and Legendary items they had farmed by going into the S-grade dungeons. ''Keep it up! The Floor Boss has entered its Second Phase now, but we just need one round of bombardment!'' Rudra ryed to the people with his advanced Magic Whisper, his thoughts entering into everyone''s head. ''Buff Arjun and James fully! Bianca, Aria, and the other defense reducersunch your prative darkness attacks after we m down the boss again!'' ''We will finish off this fast! No one must die!'' Everyone roared and fought with their all! But nobody knew that a pair of mysterious eyes was observing everything from afar. ''Useless rats. They are subdued even before doing anything. But these eighteen people are quite powerful. Their mastery of mana in their respective areas is heightened, allowing them to wield powerful skills with wless modifications done to them.'' ''With how things are going, they will defeat this boss, especially because these useless rats failed in their task.'' The pair of dreamy dark violet eyes showed a hint of annoyance. ''It appears that I''ll have to send some of my soldiers to this world physically and have them lead these rats. Useless as they are, they are the only ones on the side of Hollowstar here.'' ''But this battle must not end with zero losses...'' The pair of eyes flickered briefly, affecting one of the rats. All the rats have gotten a mark of Hollowstar, which granted them 10% bonus stats and allowed them to wield a unique power of Hollowstar, but it was actually a way for this emissary to control them and, if needed, use them. Darius Vresvekov, one of the most brutal criminals pre-world break, produced drugs and firearms, distributing them to small countries. He was buried in the magma with earth covering him, like other rats, as all they could do was defend themselves because Dn and Shiro-sen were pressuring them with a few others, preventing them from breaking out. But Darius suddenly felt an intense headache, on the verge of losing his control. However, his mind went nk in the next second as his entire body''s outer texture was painted pitch-ck. Glowing gray star-like spots appeared all over his body along with two horns on his head. His body size increased by twice as he burst out of the ground, screeching jarringly like a monster! Chapter 163 Intense Battle! *BOOOM!* The strange humanoid monster that Darius turned into suddenly raised both of his hands, gathering a flickering ck energy that turned into an orb with sparkling gray spots. Shiro-sen had informed others that one of the rats charged out and shared his vision, so Liam and the others quickly made their moves. Old monster Dn kept control of his terrain shifting, keeping the other rats at bay while also helping as magma pythons shot out from the hole Darius crawled out from, wrapping around him. However, the pythons had no effect on Darius! ''Careful! Don''t get close!'' Dn quickly ryed this to Liam and others about what he sensed through the reaction from his Pythons. ''His life force and energy arepletely vtile! He could self-destruct and take you with him!'' ''Attack the orb he is gathering!'' Shiro-sen ryed as he sensed upsetting power from that orb. ''We need more defense.'' He nced at the other battlefield where Rudra and others were fighting against the phase 2 monster. The healers were constantly healing the frontline fighters while long-range attackers were attacking, but the Wyvern Warrior was faster, and some projectiles couldn''t even hit it. It was hard to m it down, but Rudra and other fighters on the frontline were giving their all to m the boss in the intense shes. ''Rudra, if you can make sure that the Wyvern doesn''t use arge area attack, I will use the Yata no Kagami because there''s one strange rat here who is a big threat to the backliners.'' Rudra was fully focused, and hearing Shiro-sen''s words, he simply replied, ''Do what must be done!'' On the other hand, Liam and others hurled their long-range skills after hearing a warning from Dn, but all of their attacks couldn''t budge the strange humanoid ck monster that Darius had be. The orb Darius was gathering became bigger and bigger as it absorbed the iing attacks and attacks thatnded on his body. "Damn it! Why are our attacks not working?" Liam cursed. "What the fuck is that even?" "What do we do, Elder Shiro? Found any weakness?" Shiro-sen gritted his teeth, his eyes straining and glowing more as he pushed the nature of his skill to discover something more from that rat than what he was already seeing. ''What is that power?! There has to be a weakness!'' The entire body of Darius and that orb he was making both looked the same. Same appearance, same texture, and same energy. ''What if the mirror also fails to block it?'' Shiro-sen had a weird feeling as he thought and immediatly shifted his mindset, changing the strategy. ''If stopping him doesn''t work, then we''ll send him away from here!'' Shiro-sen''s eyes glinted. He quickly told Liam and others to focus on other rats since they were going to be released, while he told Dn to cover Darius in a chunk of earth and hurl him as far as possible. Without hesitation, Dn released his control of the terrain he had shifted and, instead, shifted the ground around Darius and manipted it to cover Dariuspletely into a sphere. Roaring loudly, Dn hurled the sphere into an arc with his full power, intending to send it as far as possible. And this was the best way to deal with this threat because Darius wasn''t conscious. He was justmanded and forcefully in a bind with his mind corrupted. The Emissary who was watching clicked his tongue as he saw the earthen sphere hurling away. If he was in Darius'' control, he would''ve actively forced Darius to hurl the attack prematurely, but unfortunately, he couldn''t interfere that much. The mark only corrupted the individual to work on a destructive impulse with a linear process selected by the individual himself, using the Hollowstar''s power as the entire person and its energy would transform into Hollowstar essence like how Darius turned pitch ck with gray sparks all over. Fortunately, Shiro-sen''s quick-witted shift in tactics saved the use of Yata no Kagami because he judged that Darius, who had turned into a strange monster, wasn''t capable of reasoning or sound actions based on what he sensed. Liam and others became busy as they fought with other rats, preventing getting close while old monster Dn chugged potions as he went back to capturing the rats again. On the other hand, Wyvern Warrior reached below 30% of its vitality, and all of the debuffs on it cleansed with its power again as it soared into the sky at a breakneck speed after unleashing a ck gust of whirling wind that hurled away Rudra, Silvester, Hiroshi, Viktor, Rafael, Aamir, and Liang. These seven old monsters were fighting in close range to keep the boss upied so far, but the ck gust of wind threw them away. Rudra recovered with quickest and made a move. If he didn''t, things could get very ugly. A dimensional blue avatar rose from him as he roared, and giant energy hands grabbed the Wyvern Warrior that had turned into a sharp drill. Arjun timely unleashed another powerful arrow while James unleashed a photon beam after chugging potions. Only these two could unleash pin-point long-range attacks without hurting Rudra, so their attacks managed to disrupt the drill. Rudra received a powerful shock and injuries as he spewed out blood, having been forced to entirely bear the burden of that attack. But only he could do that. ''Rudra, go and recover fast!'' Aamir said. ''We''ll destroy that bastard''s wings now!'' Victory roared. Silvester and Hiroshi were first to sh their des, with veins popping all over their body as the attacks of Arjun and James had disrupted Wyvern Warrior by breaking it from its drilling form. It was momentarily disjointed, so both swordsmen targetted a flying-wing each, intending to cut it. And to make that sessful, the others prevented the boss from recovering.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Victor''s giant icy axe with blood patterns all overnded on its left de-wing while Aamir''s spear unleashed a vertical sparkling tornado of condensed sand and wind to the right de-wing. All four wings of Wyvern Warrior were struck, but it wasn''t over. Rafael, who was using multiple weapons that were enchanted by his powerful poisons, entirely emptied his arsenal of attacks because it was time. *Screeeeeeee!* Wyvern Warrior roared as all of its wings received massive destruction, its scales getting destroyed with various attacks. Christina focused on healing Rudra while other supports also did the same, as well as buffing the frontlines to enhance their attacks. Meanwhile, the rest of the attackers, led by old monsters Bianca, Annika, and Theo, unleashed their attacks right on the Wyvern Warrior''s chest and head that were exposed. Zauna used her cursed Shamanic staff artifact to ce a curse that increased pain and damage received on the Wyvern, while others who had powerful debuff and control skills also doubled down. This was thest bombardment of attacks to finish off the boss! Arjun and James once again unleashed their attacks after recovering their Mana with potions, their eyes already bloodshot with all the exertion of power. *Roarrr!!* Wyvern Warrior roared as its wings were riddled with holes and cuts, its vitality rapidly reducing. But it stopped at 1%, and then its vitality reached 2% as it began recovering. "No, not anymore!" Rudra jumped as the earth cracked, fist glittering with a ssy aura cracking the space. The blue-transparent destructive fistnded right on the Wyvern Warrior''s head! *BOOOM!* Chapter 164 5th Floor, Telling Lily 5th Floor¡ªMaximum level: Gold level 50. The 5th Floor was a multi-biome floor, and the main enemies were the tribes of powerful humanoid-type monsters ruling the four core areas. Each of these areas also held the special item required for the floor boss spawning. zing Leon Tribe: Ruling over the molten canyons and ashden deserts, these leonine beasts boasted manes of living me and guarded their territory fiercely. Frosthart Cyclopes: Dwelling in the cial expanse of jagged ice cliffs, these single-eyed giants wielded colossal clubs infused with frost magic. Tough and strong. Tempestcall Tengus: Dwelling in the cial expanse of ice cliffs in the storm-swept peaks, these savage Tenjus nested among dangerous spires of rocks. Their forces of gale winds and crackling lightning made them formidable as they possessed relentless offense. Verdantfang Minotaurs: Deep within mist-shrouded jungles, hulking, horned warriors prowl amidst ancient ruins overgrown by vines. Their druidic bond with the earth grants them incredible physical might and regenerative abilities. These four areas were core territories, thergest ones on this floor as each one stretched 300 kilometers in area and upied four sides as they bordered each other with the floor boss area in the center, but that was not all. To reach any one of those four territories, Adventurers had to go through different outer areas stretching 100 kilometers on all sides. The secret areas and challenges were in those four areas, so Almond and Lily rushed through the outer area. They were riding on Argamon, the infernal equine of Ashkar, while Ashkar was in the spirit pocket. They shortly arrived at their first area¡ªthe ruins of Nexite city. It sprawled with monsters called Nexite Vermins, who had mixed attributes of darkness and earth. The duo rushed past it while killing monsters. Almond gained the stats by absorbing all four types of Nexite Vermins'' spirits. They killed over fifty monsters each while rushing through, so Almond gained roughly a hundred spirit items in the production. He was also going to put 100 spirits in Spirit Nuke slots, but not the spirits of Nexite Vermins. For that, he nned to add the spirits of more powerful monsters to make the nuke more powerful. The duo continued on the horse, rushing through a forest filled with different monsters and a hill area over the next three hours as they crossed 100 kilometers. They killed hundreds of monsters, and Almond''s stats also went over 150 each, though the duo''s levels hadn''t maxed out to the limit of this floor yet since monsters above Gold level 40 only started in the core territories. When they were less than 10 kilometers from entering the Tempestcall Tengus'' territory, Almond''s eyes glinted as he slowed down. They entered a small, strange forest area with charred ck trees with glowing red patterns as if blood. ''This is the area¡­it should be just a bit ahead now,'' Almond thought as he felt familiarity. From his recently gained memories, there was a special challenge in a secret area somewhere here that could benefit them greatly. And Almond also took this chance toe clean, even if he felt a bit nervous about it. "Lily, there''s a secret area right before we enter the territory of Tempestcall Tengus, and there''s a special challenge there. If we seed, we can earn something that''d give us a good boost." "Oh? What is that?" Lily blinked as she turned around on the horse and faced Almond, putting her arms around his neck while smiling. Almond put his arms around her waist, his expression in, but his eyes hinting wryness, "That one is not a repeatable challenge like most others." Without stopping, he added, "And I don''t know if anyone has managed to find that area or not yet." "But I know exactly where that area is." Lily''s eyes fluttered as she blinked a few times, "So¡­darling, I feel you said all that just so I can ask you, how do you know about that area?" Something clicked in her, and she added, "Is this about the lie you told me and said that you would tell me the secretter?" "Yes," Almond''s in expression broke into a dry smile as he nodded. Lily''s eyes sparkled in curiosity, "So, how do you know about that area?" "Because¡­I have memories of it. I have memories of a party that found that secret area and disclosed its details to me." A hint of confusion appeared in Lily''s eyes, "But you just said you don''t know if anyone has found that area or not." "Yes," Almond coughed. "At least, I don''t know if that happened in this world yet."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Lily''s eyes momentarily stilled as if she was confirming whether the words she heard were correct before speaking, "This world? Wait¡­this world?" Almond nodded, his expression turning serious. "Yes. I''ve been gaining memories of my past life each time I clear a floor. So far, the floors have been the same as they were in my past life, and I have memories of up to the 10th floor clearly, and some other information." "Wha¡­really?" Lily asked, but then she remembered something, and her eyes glinted. "No wonder¡­no wonder you behaved strangely when you held the sword first and how you were getting better faster with it. It''s rted, right?" "Yep," Almond wryly chuckled. "I was a very good swordsman in my past life, and I improved and got strong fast, reaching the 30th Floor. I don''t know about my journey as I haven''t regained all memories, but I know something terrible happened that destroyed my world, and I was thest one standing after I somehow defeated the 30th Floor boss." "It''s all hazy except for the memories I gained so far. Oh yeah, the Heroic Challenge is new. I haven''t heard about it in my past life from the memories I gained so far." "That is¡­" Lily''s dreamy dark blue eyes glittered. "Amazing! That means you have a big advantage in terms of information and other stuff! That''s awesome, darling!" "Well, yeah," Almond smiled. "I wanted to tell you this, and I felt this was a good chance." Lily suddenly nted her lips on him before grinning and saying, "Well then, thank you for telling me this sooner rather thanter. Now, my darling, we shall take full advantage of your advantage, haha. Tell me about the secret area we are headed to at the moment. What''s the juicy reward to get from there?" Chapter 165 Secret Challenge Area Almond told Lily about the secret area''s rewards as the duo continued, with Almond leading Argamon in the direction of the secret area. "You said you reached the 30th floor fast, right? How old were you?" Lily curiously asked. "Twenty-fourplete when I reached there, I think. But I''d need more memories to confirm." "Cool," Lily smiled. "Would you have felt weird if I was an old man?" Almond asked with a chuckle. "I''d have felt a bit weird briefly, but that wouldn''t have changed anything about our current status, my daarling~" Lily smiled and kissed him. ¡­ They arrived near the end of this forest soon and saw an Icy Mountain''s base, which marked the beginning of Tempestcall Tengu''s area. The secret area was buried in the snow and hard to detect unless one dug through it. But there was a hint there on the icy stones in the surroundings.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om There were no monsters here, so there was no chance of fighting, but the party that was friends with Almond''s party had a conflict with another party and mistakenly destroyed a particr icy stone. Upon its destruction, that hidden passage deep within the snow was revealed. This escted the conflict, and it resulted in the annihtion of the enemy party, while four out of six members of the party that belonged to Almond''s friend also died. That friend had told Almond about it, and then those two survivors joined Almond''s party and entered this area. Almond told the entire story about how this was discovered to Lily. "So where''s that stone? You haven''t seen it, so we have to destroy all the stones here, right?" Lily asked as he looked at the icy stones at the base. "Yeah, the passage was here, so let''s destroy the icy stones here." The duo began destroying the stones, and in just a few minutes, they triggered the secret passage''s opening. The cave entrance appeared at the mountain''s base. Before entering, Almond summoned Infernal Knight, Dark Pope, Nyssara, and Viperfiend. "Once we enter, close this entrance with snow and you all explore this forest in the west and east directions, kill monsters, and level up. When you reach Gold level 40, wait here for us." "Understood, my lord. Good luck in your journey." ¡­ Lily and Almond entered the cavern, with Lily appearing a bit thrilled. "We''ll be doing our first challenge," Lily smiled. "We''ve skipped all repeatable challenges on other floors and rushed, but I guess you want to do them now." "Yep. The challenges from the 2nd floor to the 4th floor aren''t much, but from the 5th floor onwards, some challenges give interesting rewards. Of course, we''ll only aim for the one-time challenges. Repeatable challenges aren''t worth it unless we are talking about the ones that appear on the 9th floor and onward. They give stat-boosting fruits." "Haha, I am excited since you have all the information up to the 10th Floor now and will get more info after you clear more floors," Lily said with a giddy grin. Repeatable challenges didn''t mean that one person could do it multiple times. It means that even if one party or personpleted it, it would stay open for other people toplete and get rewards. However, one-time challenges were different. Once a party or a person cleared it, it would disappear. However, their difficulty was also high, and it often forced some conditions onto the challengers. But their rewards were super extraordinary and mystical, more often than not, they were not physical rewards but mystical stuff. The one Almond and Lily entered gave a reward called Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power. They couldn''t take it with them, but this forge would appear there, and both of them could use it one time each¡­for something wonderful. As Almond and Lily entered the cavern and walked thirty meters into the passage that curved after fifteen meters, they arrived inside a cavern with icicle stctites on the ceiling thirty meters high. At the center of this cavern was a solid stone circr tform with entric patterns carved over it. As the duo arrived there and stood on the tform, a magical window with a misty orange-ck aura appeared in front of them, disying texts. [Here lies the challenge of Delfer Tol'' Zemek, the master of weapon arts.] -Requirement: Gold-rank. -Task: Defeat Delfer Tol'' Zemek''s Avatar. -Applied Conditions: ¡ª> All ss skills will be sealed. ¡ª> Your skills that can be released through your weapons or enchanting the weapon will work, but the other skills will be sealed. ¡ª> Equipment and items are prohibited. But you can choose a weapon from the challenge. ¡ª> The difficulty will go up depending on the number of party members. -Reward(s): ¡ª> One use of Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power to each party member. Almond''s eyes trembled as the brutal memories of this challenge surfaced in his mind, his heartbeat racing. Lily sensed it and grabbed his hand, and she managed to understand why he felt that way as well after reading the third applied condition. "The eight of us entered here in my past life¡­" Almond muttered as he had calmed down and sighed. "And only I left this cave alive. It was also then that I decided that I wouldn''t team up with anyone and trained like a maniac alone, getting stronger on my own. I only maintained rtions with seniors to learn and get stronger." "I will not leave you alone," Lily looked at him with resolve, her grip on his hand tightening. "That will never happen." Almond gently smiled and nodded, "I believe you. I believe in your talent and potential." "And I''ll make sure that your trust in me is not in vain," Lily said, her eyes zing with maddening resolve, "I will keep up with you even if that means I have to go through hells and purgatories." Almond felt his heart aze at her words as he grinned and couldn''t hold himself from kissing her passionately. Both of them were drowned in the fiery passion of promise until they ran out of breath a few minutester. "Let''s start the challenge now," Almond said as he took a deep breath. "But darling, you lit a fire in me with that kissing session that will require you to douse it¡­" Lily said as she licked her lips, her right hand sliding down as it touched Almond''s crotch area, "Look, you''re also stiff¡­" Without saying anything, Almond popped out Magic Tent from his storage ring and carried Lily inside. ¡­ Twenty minutester, the duo emerged in new adventurer clothes and began the challenge. Chapter 166 Delfer Tol Zemen, the Master of Weapon Arts [You have epted the challenge. Please select the weapon of your choice. You can also use verbalmands to design your weapon with the help of your Mana. The challenge will generate it for you.] Almond began to design a badass heavy sword: 7 inches thick at the base, tapering gradually till its point, and its de curved slightly. Lily, on the other hand, opted for a long-curved dagger, slick and sharp for precision and agility. Once the two hadpleted their designs, a notification prompted them to confirm their weapon designs. They approved, and soon their creations materialized before them. [Heavy ck Sword] -Rank: Special -Durability: ¡ª -Attack: 100% of the user''s Strength. Lily''s dagger featured some simr stats, as neither of these weapons possessed an extra attack or effect bonuses. [Now that you have acquired your weapon, the avatar of Delfer Tol'' Zemen will manifest in a minute. Please prepare yourselves.] After the notification, Almond turned to Lily, his tone serious. "Lily, this guy is a weapon master, and he is crazily good in overallbat. I''m sure that we won''t face much difficulty, but we can learn a lot from him. Let''s fight with that mindset." "Gotcha. But we will have to rely on our Mana techniques, right?" "Without a doubt. We will need to use every one of them to contend against him evenly and also have a slight advantage that would let us defeat him. Beheading him will end the fight, but don''t take my words literally. We will have to give the best of ourselves to win¡ªthis is pure martialbat with weapons, no fancy skills." Lily nodded, her expression somber, "Understood." With that, both of them began consuming Mana and used the Mana techniques so that they could recover most of their lost mana once Delfer''s avatar appeared. Strength Boost ¡ª 100 Mana, 1-minute duration. Almond''s Strength Boost stood at Stage 2 level 10, tripling his Strength, bringing it to 450. On the other hand, Lily''s Strength Boost had reached the same, but her Strength stood at 121 after assigning all the stat points she had gained so far and from the fruits she ate. Lily''s current stats were as follows: ?[Strength: 121 | Health: 113 | Stamina: 112] ?[Mana: 112 | Focus: 115 | Perception: 115] Almond''s Focus Field was at Stage 2 level 7, but it would offer little advantage since thebat area was small, and the function of Stage 2 Focus Field had no use here. Nheless, his heightened perception and reaction speed within the Focus Field was higher than Lily, who had Stage 2 level 2 Focus Field. But since Focus Field consumed Mana every second, they nned not to activate it right away. Fortification ¡ª 100 Mana, 1-minute duration. Almond''s Fortification was at Stage 2 level 9, boosting his overall physical toughness and magic resistance by 190%. It would form a transparent barrier sticking to his clothes, protecting him from a decent amount of damage. Lily''s Fortification was at Stage 2 level 3, increasing her overall toughness and resistance by 130%. Body Enfold¡ª100 Mana per minute. Almond''s Body Enfold was at Stage 2 level 7, which enhanced the overall stats and performance of his body by 170%. Lily''s Body Enfold was at Stage 2 level 1, granting her overall stats and body performance an increase of 110%. Weapon Enfold¡ª100 Mana per minute. Almond''s Weapon Enfold was at Stage 2, level 10, amplifying the damage done by his weapon by 200%. Lily''s Weapon Enfold was at Stage 2 level 4, increasing the damage dealt from her Weapon by 140%. But despite their preparations, the two were focused on synchronizing with their new weapons. They knew that it was crucial to master the connection before the countdown ended. They carefully scanned the weapon and memorized every detail of its structure. Only then could they properly activate Weapon Enfold on it. Their synchronizationpleted with just five seconds left on the countdown. The moment the challenge began and Delfer''s avatar materialized, both Almond and Lily stylized their Mana techniques, channeling their respective elements. Almond''s Fortification, Body Enfold, and Weapon Enfold shimmered with golden haze lightning, consuming an additional 150 Mana per minute. In addition to that, to amplify his power further, Almond used a skill¡ªVoltron Edge (S): a skill that infused a melee-type weapon with crackling lightning energy, increasing the damage dealt by the weapon significantly and imbibing lightning-attribute to all attacks released through the weapon. Lily mirrored his actions, channeling her Darkness element. However, unlike Almond, she didn''t have a skill like Voltron Edge to enhance her attacks further. On the other hand, Delfer''s avatar stood before them, resembling a middle-aged man with an obscure face, d in in light clothing and holding a spear. "Wait," Almond said, stopping Lily as she was about to take the initiative. [The challenge has started. Good luck.] Delfer''s avatar bowed, sping his fist before assuming a passive stance, his spear held steady as if inviting them to attack. "So, we get to make the first move, huh?" Lily raised an eyebrow. "Yep, but I doubt he will wait forever," Almond smiled, his legs slightly stretched, his sword gripped firmly in his right hand while his left hand remained empty but not useless. "You dive inter while I''ll make the first move. You have a dagger, so you are an assassin," Almond nced at her. "This is an opportunity for you to learn, so observe closely, look for an opening and strike when the opportunity presents itself." "Gotcha," Lily nodded. With that, Almond dashed forward like a gust of wind. His sword arched upward in a diagonal sh while letting his body flow as if he were going to use the momentum to spin after the sh. Delfer''s spear moved, but he didn''t use it to block Almond''s attack. Instead, he took a step back to get out of Almond''s sword''s range while his spear lurched forward, menacingly aiming for Almond''s heart. But Almond, intending to dance with his sword from the very beginning, had anticipated Delfer to dodge. His sword swung diagonally upward, and his body flowed along with it, spinning and dodging the spear while his left hand which was stretched straight and balled into a fist, went squarely to Delfer''s head, intending to punch him. Lily''s eyes literally sparkled as she couldn''t help but get captivated by the seamless flow of attack from Almond. To move along with a sword while coordinating was already tough, yet he was using a heavy sword to fuel momentum for his body and for his next move! It was indeed a marvelously beautiful experience to watch Almond fight with his sword. But when Delfer managed to squarely block that unexpected fist with his empty arm which appeared vertically at his face, it soon made Lily realize that this challenge was indeed going to be tough. Without hesitation, Delfer''s spear swung horizontally, intending to hit Almond''s waist. Almond, however, reacted instinctively after failing his fist attack and grabbed Delfer''s hand and used it as leverage to lift himself off the ground. With a sudden burst of strength, Almond flipped himself upside down, his body suspended right above Delfer. Delfer nced upward, his usually deadpan expression flickering with a faint smile stretching on his face. *Zaaap!* Golden electricity surged out of Almond, shocking Delfer. Yet, it failed to paralyze him¡ªDelfer was immune to all debuffs except for pure physical disability inflicted on him by the challengers. And all of that had happened in one full second. In the blink of an eye, Delfer retaliated by moving his arm the next moment and throwing Almond away. While Almondnded on his feet, Delfer dashed forward, his spear thrusting like a striking snake at breakneck speed.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Almond reacted in time, his eyes glinting with focus as he met the attack with a powerful swing of his sword and speedily struck just below the spear''s de. *Crack!* The spear snapped. Seizing the moment, Lily''s eyes glinted as she darted forward like a shadow, her dagger slicing through the air, aiming to cut Delfer''s neck. Almond moved in tandem, using Sword Bending Motion, intending to swiftly cut Delfer cleanly. But Delfer was prepared. A dagger materialized in his left hand and a longsword in his right, both weapons deflecting Almond''s and Lily''s attack with chilling precision, before he kicked Lily away and redirected his focus on Almond. ''Be careful. He hasn''t used his Weapon Arts yet. Always go with the mindset that your attack will fail against him.'' ''Understood.'' The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 167 Thrilling Battle! Delfer''s dagger and longsword glimmered, translucent mana swirling around them. He stepped forward with eerie calm, shifting his weight in a seamless flow. Almond and Lily spread out, both keenly aware that this was only the beginning of a far more challenging duel. Delfer''s longsword swept out in a sideways arc, releasing a razor-sharp crescent of pale green energy. Almond raised his heavy sword, lightning crackling along its broad surface. Steel met mana in a thunderous sh, sparks flying off in all directions. The impact shook Almond''s shoulders as he felt a surge of strange shock from Delfer''s technique. Even with his Mana-infused body, blocking such a strike left his arms momentarily numb as the impact seemed to purposely spread onto his arms. Almond''s eyes glinted as he made sure to remember everything about that attack because that technique of dispersing Mana upon sh in that vibrating way to numb the target''s arms was awesome! If he was alone, he would''ve received a followed-up kick or attack, and he would''ve been forced to use his legs to kick and create distance, but there was Lily, who darted in from Delfer''s nk, her dark-tinged dagger aimed at the avatar''s ribs. Quick as a whip, Delfer pivoted. The dagger in his left hand ignited with crackling mana. He unleashed a stabbing thrust that morphed into a wide sh mid-motion. A swirl of ghostly shapes¡ªa lunging tiger''s w, faintly visible in the greenish aura¡ªripped across the air between him and Lily. Lily''s eyes widened. She twisted her torso just in time, the projected tiger w brushing past her with enough force to carve out a chunk of the floor. The shockwave rattled her stance. She skidded back, heart hammering. Weapon Art¡ªone of the categories of Combat Arts. It was to actively control Mana through their weapon, giving them shapes and formations to unleash devastating and flexible attacks. "Lily, keep weaving around him!" Almond barked, focusing on steadying his trembling arms. Lily nodded. Darkness flickered on her de as she rushed at Delfer again, feinting high and then cutting low. Almond used that diversion to dash from the other side. His sword thrummed with golden lightning, arcs dancing in rapid pulses. Delfer''s mouth quirked into the faintest smile. He flung his dagger overhead, swirling mana around the longsword. This time, the energy blossomed into a serpentine silhouette: a wingless dragon''s head formed from swirling emerald light. As he shed horizontally, the dragon''s jaws snapped open, releasing a ferocious roar that manifested as a shockwave of raw mana. A st of force erupted out in a conical arc, forcing both Almond and Lily to brace themselves. Almond nted his heavy sword on the ground, sparks of lightning zing around its surface to anchor him. Lily crouched low, dagger held diagonally, wreathed in shadows. Even so, both slid backward several feet under the dragon''s roar. Dust and debris whipped up around them. ''Darling, this guy has so many weapon arts!'' ''Yeah, they are our biggest challenges, but also a source of inspiration for us. We are evenly matched, so let''s continue and finish this off with our own weapon art!'' ''We''ll finish this battle with our own weapon art during this battle. Let our mind and body drown in the thrill of this fight and do it!'' Almond''s eyes glinted along with his maniac smile that stretched across his face. He dashed forward while swinging heavily and crouched midway as he slid, his sword aiming to cut Delfer in half from his waist. Delfer jumped, turning upside down with the momentum of swinging his sword vertically downward to cut Almond, but Almond arched his sword-held hand upward, causing the sword''s point to stab into the ground. The sudden halt in momentum lurched him upward as well, but he was low on the ground while Delfer was high. Delfer''s attack failed while the heel of Almond''s feet aimed at the avatar''s head, forcing him to change his sword''s attack. Precisely at that moment, Lily swooped in from Delfer''s nk,unching herself off the ground while thrusting her dagger. Delfer''s eyes glinted. He loosened the strength he exerted in his hand that held the sword and used Almond''s kick''s power that struck his sword to let himself spin and deflect Lily''s dagger while dodging it. But this time, Lily was prepared and was expecting her attack to fail. Without hesitation, she used her other hand to grab Delfer''s neck before he could get away, as it was within her reach. This battle was tough for her as she took time to adapt after losing her Phantom''s Sixth Sense¡ªher primary ss''s passive skill, but now she was fully adapted! Feeling the situation going awry, Delfer moved his wrist masterfully, throwing the dagger towards Lily''s head, forcing Lily to let go of his neck. But Almond vanished from his radar. Aura Cloak! Almond used the second stage of Mana Shroud¡ªAura Cloak, which could hide his aura and presence from all senses, even within Focus Field, by integrating them into the surroundings, except for physical visuals provided by the naked eyes. Delfer''s Focus Field couldn''t sense Almond at all, and his eyes couldn''t see him as he wasn''t facing Almond! However, the instinctual danger he felt was enough to make him reach an instant decision in order to save himself from unexpected attacks. Delfer simply used his sword to strike downward while letting it go as his palm pushed the sword''s handle. The force sent him upward as he dodged Almond''s sword sh without seeing or sensing it. He simply created a wide gap and removed himself from potential attacking angels by going several meters high! Lily and Almond looked up and saw Delfer grinning as his hands materialized a hammer. Mana red around it in a fiery orange aura as he spun mid-air once before slightly stretching his arms right when the hammer pointed downwards, masterfully creating a downward momentum. He shot down like a rocket as his hammer struck the ground, causing a whirling force to shoot in all directions as he used another Weapon Art, pushing Lily and Almond away in the west and east, respectively! ''Crazy!'' Lily''s eyes trembled, but excitement also surged in them as she witnessed and partook in such a high level of martialbat. Delfer shortened his hammer while materializing a short sword in his other hand, shing against Almond''s onught of smooth yet heavy and fast sword blows. Lily asionally swooped in while imagining and designing a weapon art in her mind to execute. But they had to end it fast as their Mana was lowering, and one minute was about to end. Almond managed to kick away Delfer''s sword and immediately followed up without stopping, his eyes crackling with golden lightning. His figure blurred, and he used Sword Bending Motion, intending on dishing out a Weapon Art himself. Almond didn''t think about failing or seeding in executing this. He just did and moved with the intention ofunching this art. His sword shed horizontally once with full power, unleashing a sh projectile crackling with golden lightning and spinning while moving his sword upward in a split second. When he faced Delfer again after that swift spin, he did by using the principle of Sword Bending Motion to make it quick, his sword was already in a vertical position as he shed, not once, not twice, but four times in quick session with Sword Bending Motion, creating a "W" shaped projectile, covering arge area while it also faintly showed a wolf bearing its fangs in that shape. Weapon Art: Wolven Maw Surge! It was his first time attempting this weapon art that he just visualized and executed, and he seeded as he was in the zone, absorbed in the battle! Delfer had no way topletely dodge it at the speed at which Almond attacked. Delfer had just got up after his previous hammer swing, and his other hand was disarmed by Almond''s kick, thanks to Lily''s intervention. As such, Delfer simply used the Weapon Art of his hammer for an AOE attack to sh against Almond''s Weapon Art, smashing the hammer downward. However, Lily also made her move at the same time, whipping out a trail of darkness from Delfer''s own shadow, sly and slithering as it wrapped around Delfer''s hand, intending to prevent him from smashing the hammer or at least slowing or disorienting the execution! But that was not all! Lilyunched herself towards Delfer, her dagger glinting with darkness as she infused Mana, attempting to use a Weapon Art herself! Delfer was already hampered by that whip of darkness, and sensing iing Lily, as her dagger wrapped in a darkness that whirled around it like a drill, he had to do something to defend against both attacks. s, that simply wasn''t possible as he could only brace himself by making minor adjustments, arching his body and putting weight on his upper body as he forcefully continued with the hammer strike by breaking Lily''s darkness whip while back kicking with his right leg like a horse to hit Lily with a longer reach than her dagger to attack her first before her dagger struck him. But Lily''s eyes danced with excitement as she always kept in her mind that Delfer would fail her attack, and this weapon art also epted that ideally. It wasn''t a short-range drilling attack from her dagger! Instead, she let go of her dagger, and itunched like a rocket while maneuvering around, going straight toward the Avatar''s crotch area! Almond''s Weapon Art and Delfer''s Weapon Art shed, resulting in an explosion while Lily''s dagger pierced through Delfer and drilled out from his throat! Delfer''s vitality zeroed in instantly as the sh ended.N?v(el)B\\jnn [Congrattions, you have seeded inpleting the challenge.] Find exclusive stories on empire Chapter 168 Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power As they won the challenge and got the notification, the center of the tform started trembling, and entric patterns appeared over it, glowingvatic red and golden. The patterns spread and soon formed a circle withplicated markings inside. Almond and Lily moved away from there as they got another notification. [The Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power is being summoned. Please move away from the center of the tform.] The entric circle glowed, and a structure gradually emerged. A triangle-shaped header with metallic texture and gold-ted patterns, but as the entire structure emerged, it looked like a strange mix of anvil and an altar, which had three circr slots on it. The material was shining metallic ck with gold ted andvatic patterns, looking fancy and otherworldly. Almond and Lily stood before it as a misty ck window panel with golden words appeared in a holographic manner above this mysterious object. [Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power] -Mode: Weapon Art. -Details: ¡ª> Infuse 1 Mana to activate the Synthesis Forge. ¡ª> Create any three skill runes of your choice and put them on the three empty slots for the synthesis of a Weapon Art Token based on those three skills and an extra bit from your desire and inspiration. ¡ª> You may use the token and enter a mysterious realm to learn the Weapon Art. "I''ll go first," Almond said, visibly excited for this reward. In his previous life, he went through the same thing, but his heart was heavy at that time as everyone aside from him had died. The Weapon Art he had acquired at that time became his most powerful move and a cornerstone of his rapid rise in his past life. Almond infused 1 Mana into the forge as it activated, and a window popped up in front of him from the object, asking him for the weapon base of the Weapon Art he wanted. Almond wrote [Sword] in the nk space before it vanished, and the three empty slots slightly glimmered.N?v(el)B\\jnn [Please proceed with slotting the skill runes.] Almond closed his eyes, his mind drifting into his past life''s memories. He wanted to add an S-rank skill from his past life into one slot first. He had acquired the A-rank ss Vegabond Swordsman as his primary ss, and for his specialized ss, he had an SS-rank ss called Zenithpath Swordmaster. The skill he wanted to add was his only SSS-rank ss skill of Zenithpath Swordmaster at that time that he had created in enlightenment at this exact ce by using thest skill insight of his specialized quest. Sword of Impermanence¡ªSSS rank, buff-type skill. It had the entirety of his joy and sadness within it. The joy he remembered with his parents when he was small, even though it was short, the void it created in him after they passed away, and how that void was slowly filled by his friends, but then all of them died during this challenge in front of him. By imbuing the concept of impermanence, nothing was permanent in front of his sh. Upon using this buff-type skill, his sword shes could ignore defense and break everything, be it an illusion or magical construct like other skills'' effects. Almond also remembered that important part in the construction of a skill rune that he had discovered when he created this skill. He remembered that since he gained the memories of his past life. That part of the skill creation was¡­concept infusion. Sword of Impermanence was a concept-based constructed skill. He had epted the lonesome concept of impermanence andprehended it, which resulted in the creation of the Sword of Impermanence. But as Almond was re-creating this skill, he suddenly paused. His thoughts were not the same as before. His desire was the same, but his fire was bigger. He could make it better! ''I refuse to believe in the utterness of impermanence! It is not absolute,'' Almond''s eyes zed. ''My sword will not be a part of impermanence, but it must be the carrier of it!'' ''My sword must remain eternal. It must remain evesting even if everything turns to void!'' ''My de must cut through the void and stand alone in the sea of impermanence!'' ''For eternity, it will stand!'' In the eternal darkness with everything gradually dissolving in it in his mindscape that disyed the concept of Impermanence, a single sword manifested, floated, radiantly glowing in regal gold. The destruction of the world surrounding it, the unthinkable powers, and monsters that fueled this sea of impermanence attacked his sword, but it resisted. It glowed radiantly, resisting the evergrowing impermanence. It glowed radiantly, evesting, eternal, undying! ''My sword is the¡­. Sword of Imperishable Zenith!'' In front of Almond, a mystical round rune manifested. A ck rune with dark gold patterns glowed and wiggled towards a single bright golden sword etched in its center. [Congrattions. You have created a buff-type Legendary-rank skill¡ªSword of Imperishable Zenith, on your own.] [You are the first one to create a Legendary-rank skill in your world. Your name is etched onto the Grimworld Leaderboard of Legendary Realm.] [You have acquired 1000 Grim Fame.] Almond blinked a few times as he read the notifications. "What happened?" Lily asked as she sensed a change in Almond as he was no longer in focus. Experience new tales on empire "Well¡­here, you can see it yourself." Almond shared the notification with Lily, causing her eyes to gradually widened before she blurted, "What the fuck¡­" "How?!" Lily asked, her eyes brilliantly sparkling as she looked at Almond with excitement. "Well¡­" Almond rubbed his nose as he proceeded to tell her about how he created Sword of Impermanence and now when he shifted his mindset and inspired himself, gaining enlightenment of sorts. "This is so cool, darling!" Lily was thrilled like never before. "Concept Infusion¡­so this is a part that also affects skill creations. I have to keep this in mind from now on." "Yep. As long as we properlyprehend a concept and are able to imbue it, it will affect the skill creation when we use Skill Insight of our specialized ss quest, and also the resulting effect when we create skill runes in the future." "I am going to think of something since I also have a concept in my mind and I want to test it," Lily grinned as her eyes glimmered. Excited, she sat down on the ground cross-legged. "Tell me when you''re done." She closed her eyes and entered meditation. "Alright," Almond smiled and turned to the Synthesis Forge. Looking at the two empty skill rune slots, Almond rubbed his chin, thinking of suitable skills to imbue in them. But while thinking of that, his mind also wandered off as he realized the impact of this information. People didn''t know about all the details regarding how to create skills. The Labyrinth didn''t give any such information, but old monsters were bound to discover it sooner orter. And they had solid concepts and philosophies that they could shape and wield, creating superb skills. He was sure the old monsters could do better given their long life experience and how they were already more attuned to Mana than most others, especially Admiral Rudra. The old monsters would be able to create some crazy skills for sure. ''I should tell him about thister, and we can also brainstorm together,'' Almond thought. He nced at Lily and nodded. ''Lily is smart and also talented as she shapes her style herself.'' Chapter 169 Last Slot, Opening MVP Chest Almond focused back on the current task. He chose to use Rising Dragon''s Roar as the second skill rune. It wasn''t a skill but abat art he had created, but he could turn it into a skill rune. After creating the skill rune, he embedded it into the second slot. ''Now, what should I do for the third one¡­'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''I want a weapon art that can be a goodmon attacking method with my sword. I want it to be flexible. Not just one pattern type of attack, but a variety I can weave and unleash myself.'' Weapon Art was usually flexible because the user actively wielded and controlled them. Channeling Mana into their weapons, weaving it, and unleashing a powerful, unpredictable, and fancy attack akin to a skill. Combat Art was using the entire body, some skills, and movements to execute a powerful attack, like how Almond flies up and moves like lightning with a dragon''s avatar around him that holds and builds up power depending on his Mana consumption before unleashing a burst of lightning force in from his sword when using Rising Dragon''s Roar, enveloping target into a maelstrom of golden lightning with countless de projectiles storming inside and shredding the target. Weapon Art was a bit different as that allowed users to instantly release an attack from one''s weapons during intense fights. So Almond wanted something with variety in it as he wanted to unleash different types of attacks from this one weapon art. The sword thread that Almond had created was a type of Weapon Art, albeit a low-level one. He had also created his first skill rune based on that weapon art¡ªSerpentcoil Thread de, which could wrap the sharp and flexible sword thread around a target in a spring shape, slicing and dicing weaker targets instantly. (Ch.94 for reference). But this time, Almond wanted some cool projectile-type attacks from this weapon art. ''Sword of Imperishable Zenith should give the raw power effects to this Weapon Art since it''s a buff-type skill. Rising Dragon''s Roar will give it sufficient practicality about the projectile bursts and variety given its entire process and final attack, so what do I need for the third one?'' ''Voltron Edge is too simple. It''s just enchantment buff.'' ''Lightning Dragon''s Tail can manifest anywhere within a certain range and deal burst damage with high push-back impact power, but¡­.no, not this.'' ''Hmmm¡­'' Almond looked at the list of his ss skills. ¡ªSprit Pocket/Spirit Kodoku (SS) ¡ªSpirit Explosion/Spirit Nuke (SS) ¡ªSpirit Devour (SS) ¡ªSpirit Forge Factory (SSS) ¡ªSpirit Syringe (SS) ¡ªDivine Divider''s Harvest (L) ¡ªEspada Ad Grimveil (L) ¡ªUnveiled Catastrophe (L) ''Let me see what I get from my high-ranking skill scrolls. Given my current high stats and my brain, I might be able to learn a skill fast as long as it''s at SSS rank or below. I''ve yet to open my new MVP chest as well. I should open all possibilities first, and if I don''t find anything good, I can go with Divine Divider''s Harvest or Espada Ad Grimveil.'' Almond had acquired two High-ranking skill scrolls from the 2nd Floor''s MVP Reward chest. He hadn''t opened them yet, so he started with them. He got two high-ranking skill scrolls from the 2nd floor''s MVP chest and 1 Advanced skill scroll from the 3rd floor''s MVP chest, and he had two more Advanced skill scrolls from the party chest for cing first rank in the 3rd floor and 4th floor''s Grimworld Leaderboard. He had already opened his second and third Advanced skill scrolls, but the growth-type skills he got from them weren''t suitable for the weapon art he desired. If they were, he would''ve held off on using this Synthesis Forge and would''ve definitely spent 24 hours learning a skill from them before doing this. Shaking his head, Almond began as he opened the first high-ranking skill scroll. It glowed before texts and information appeared on it of an S-rank skill. Aqua Nova Halcyon: Forms a spiraling jet of crystalline water that swirls around the caster, then explodes outward in a rejuvenating burst, healing allies while knocking back enemies. The caster can target allies and enemies with intention using their Focus Field, and the area of effect can be erged depending on Mana consumption. ''Interesting. So, the outward burst is the same but affects allies and enemies differently, healing allies while damaging and knocking away enemies. It can be useful when a party is getting swarmed upon by monsters from all sides.'' ''But not suitable for the Weapon Art I desire. Next.'' Almond opened the second skill scroll and got an SS-rank skill. ''These high-ranking skill scrolls are crazy too¡­'' Almond was tempted to learn this SS-rank skill, but for elemental skills of S-rank and above from these scrolls, people needed to meet some requirements to learn them, as they required elemental mastery to be able to weave skills of this level ofplexity. He didn''t have Water elemental mastery, so even if he followed the steps and created the skill rune, he wouldn''t be able to execute Aqua Nova Halcyon. And this SS-rank skill was the same¡ªInfernal Maw: Summons a fiery fissure beneath targets, snapping shut with scorching teeth of magma. Magma elemental mastery was hard to learn and acquire mastery from scratch since it was an advanced element. He would need a Magma elemental stone or have mastery over Fire and Earth both to then acquire mastery over the Magma element. ''Alright, let''s open the MVP chest of the 4th Floor,'' Almond took out the MVP chest, his anticipation growing. It was time to find out the riches of his third MVP chest. The chest burst open with colorful sparks, and orbs spewed out along with the list of rewards. 2 x Random Legendary Ore Material. 2 x Random Legendary Herb. 1 x Legendary-rank Gear Set (low-tier) 1 x Elemental Insight Selection b. 1 x Instant Learning High-ranking Skill Stone. 5 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Tickets. ''Two new types of rewards,'' Almond''s eyes shone, and he quickly checked them. [Elemental Insight Selection b] -Rank: Special. -Details:N?v(el)B\\jnn ¡ª> Activating the b by infusing Mana will show you five random elements to choose from. [0.1% chance for Exotic Element to appear in the list of options.] ¡ª> Upon choosing an element, the b will transform into the selected elemental b. Afterward, you can infuse Mana again into the b and let your consciousness drift into the dimension of the selected element for 24 hours, granting you an opportunity to acquire elemental mastery of the element. -Warning Note: ¡ª> Exotic Elements are way harder toprehend and can drive people into a state of unique madness if overwhelmed forever. It is advisable that only those who have awakened their Soul and transcended may choose this option, and even then, they must proceed cautiously. ''Holy crap¡­'' Almond was dumbfounded. ''More new information! Soul Awakening, huh, I wonder what that is¡­'' ''But whatever it is, I can''t hope to achieve it anytime soon, I feel.'' Enjoy more content from empire Almond didn''t want to ignore the warning note, so even if he triggered that 0.1% chance and got an Exotic Element in the options, he wasn''t going to choose it. Almond put this b and everything into his storage ring except for the Instant Learning High-ranking Skill Stone. [Instant Learning High-ranking Skill Stone] -Rank: Special -Details: ¡ª> Infusing the Mana in the stone will transform the stone into a random high-ranking skill rune, which you can instantly learn. ¡ª> If the skills require elemental mastery and youck rted elemental mastery, you will still be able to execute the skill in its default state, though you won''t be able to modify or execute it at a higher power. He had never gotten a skill stone before, and it appeared that it was something that could allow one to learn the skill instantly, just like using that Instant-learning skill b his party had acquired in the 2nd Floor''s heroic boss ying chest. The only difference was that the Instant learning skill b was like a slot in which they could put any skill scroll and instantly learn the skill by getting its knowledge, but that still required elemental mastery if the skill was elemental to execute it. ''Not bad, let''s see what I get,'' Almond infused Mana into the skill stone. The stone glowed and transformed into a translucent stone with bubbling gray mist whirling inside. [Dire Mist Dispersion] -Rank: SS -Elements: Mist, Darkness. -Effect: The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 170 Resulting Weapon Art, Phase 1 Begins [Dire Mist Dispersion] -Rank: SS -Elements: Mist, Darkness. -Cost: 10,000 Mana for a full sack. -Effect: ¡ª> Build a mystical sack within your body that produces Dire Mist. The mist has highly corrosive and defense-melting properties. You can unleash it in any way you like from any part of your body. ¡ª> Depending on your mastery of Mist and Darkness elements, you may control the output of mist in a condensed and more powerful manner in any way you deem fit. ''Hmmm, this skill is awesome but useless for me. My Sword of Imperishable Zenith does a better job at this.'' Almond sighed. It seemed that he didn''t get any good stuff after all. But he already had the n to sell these skills. They were practically priceless, so auctioning them would get him a lot of gold coins. And he wasn''t going to add a skill if it didn''t contribute to his weapon art as much as his Legendary skill in the first ce. ''I have two normal skill upgrade cards that only upgrade ssless skills and one universal skill upgrade card that upgrades all skills, including my ss skills,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Should I use the universal one on one of my Legendary skills?'' Almond thought, but only for a moment before he took out the card and used it, intending to use it on his Espada Ad Grimveil. However, instead of the skill getting upgraded, he got a notification. [You still have three skill insights remaining from the Specialized ss quest. You must create three more ss skills and establish the source of your specialized ss first before you are able to affect it with external influence like skill upgrade cards.] ''Oh¡­that''s true, I have to do this. The next skills I want to create are passive and trigger-type skills, but since I have less idea of how they are made, I have to research,'' Almond wryly smiled. ''I don''t have memories rted to this yet, but Lily said that there''s data about this in GAA. We''ll have to approach Admiral Rudra once we leave for many things, including this.'' Lily had already created four ss skills, but since her specialized ss was SSS-rank, she got a total of 5 skill insights instead of 6 like Almond. She was only left with one now, which she nned to save until she figured out how to get a passive skill as a result, as she and Almond had discussed this. ''Now then, since I can''t upgrade my Legendary ss skill¡­'' Almond was about to create the skill rune of Espada Ad Grimveil, but then he suddenly got an idea. ''What if I use Spirit Forge Factory¡­'' Almond''s eyes glimmered, his curiosity rising. ''What will my weapon art result in if I use that in the 3rd slot?'' ''Fuck it, I want to use that in the third slot.'' Almond focused and sent his consciousness into his skill room as he started copying the skill rune of Spirit Forge Factory. This was the only skill that screamed "variety" here, and he used it on the third slot for that sole word that is associated with Spirit Forge Factory. Almond was done after a couple of minutes and slotted the skill rune. The Synthesis Forge glowed, and all three slots glowed as they physically moved and conjoined into one before melting inside the metallic chamber. A few secondster, a single slot appeared with a mysterious dark silver token carved with entric sharp golden patterns, a sword in the middle, and dreamypis blue waves oozing out from it. It pulsed and glowed faintly as it floated up from the slot. Almond grabbed the token and inspected it. [Unfettered de Mayhem] -Type: Weapon Art. -Rank: Undecided. -Progress: 0%. -Details: ¡ª> Use the token, send your consciousness to the dimension where your own ideal self is using this weapon art, and learn it. ''Let''s go!'' Almond grinned, thrilled at the name of this art. It sounded powerful! And the good thing about this token was that it wasn''t limited or anything. It was forever his, and he could use it any number of times and eventually learn the weapon art! "Babe, I''m done. It''s your turn now," Almond said as he saw the Synthesis Forge returning to normal with three empty slots. Lily opened her eyes, her eyes twinkling. "I am ready." ¡­ Meanwhile, big changes and announcements were urring outside. People inside the Labyrinth didn''t know about that, but Phase 1 for their world had begun! [Congrattions on clearing the 10th Floor!] [All adventurers will be forcefully acquitted from the 10th Floor within 1 hour.] [And for the next twenty-four hours, the 10th floor will be inessible. Once the ess is resumed, a random monthly event for your world will start.] [Your world is now entering Phase 1 of the Grimworld Tutorial.] As everyone got these notifications, a mystical screen appeared in front of everyone with a title [ Phase 1] when thest notification rang and appeared in their heads. [Phase 1 Selection will begin after 10 minutes. Read the details below.] ¡ª> Phase 1 is the elevation of your world to the next stage of the tutorial in order to make your world more powerful overall and bring out more potential in individuals. ¡ª> When the five-minute countdown is over, a random Phase 1 Mode will descend onto your world while connecting your world to another world, one or more, forpetition who will also take part in this mode. ¡ª> Your world may receive damage and life loss if your performance is not good enough. You will bepeting against another world, one or more, depending on the mode you get from Phase 1. ¡ª> Good luck in your endeavors. The entire globe was abuzz with this information, with people showing various reactions. The old monsters and other adventurers emerged from the Labyrinth gradually and also got the same notifications and this panel in their minds as they read everything. "Crap¡­" All of them were dumbfounded, but there was unmistakenly a hint of excitement within them along with other emotions, especially the old monsters who desired to carve their path to power in their styles. "Rudra, it seems that the world is going to be more hectic than ever," James wryly smiled, hiding a glint of thrill within his eyes, "It seems that I have to up my game in the magitech energy weapons and also start creating defensive items. Mister Aarav Patel, we need to coborate because I''d love to research your Lotus Pendant Artifact. Please don''t reject me anymore."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "I ept, but no homo," Aarav chuckled. "And first, you must send me the research data of your weapons. After that, we''ll set up a joint research center and share all the results we get." "Well, since you are willing toe out of your secret base, we''ll do that." "If our world can interact with other worlds after this phase 1 begins, does that mean that people can travel from one world to another?" Paloma blinked. "I am kind of looking forward to that," Viktor grinned. "But we are enemies as it will be apetition, the survival of the fittest," Arjun narrowed his eyes as fiery lights glinted in them. "We have to be careful." Caressing his gray beard, Rafael nodded, "Indeed. The rats are definitely affiliated with some otherworldy power with the way they vanished." "Each one of them had a strange mark and right before they vanished, I saw all of them materializing the same cloak," Shiro-sen''s eyes glinted. "They belong to an organization, not from our world." "Well, that confirms Rudra''s suspicions," Silvester nodded. [Phase 1 Selection is starting¡­] In front of everyone, a screen appeared with a single slot that disyed various symbols indicating the different modes. They shifted rapidly and gradually slowed down before stopping. [Your world will wee the mode¡ªBattlefield of the Mightiest, shared with three other worlds, one of which has a Grimworld Tutorial ongoing and has just cleared the 10th floor like your world, and the other two worlds being non-human worlds inhabited by Draconians and Elves, respectively, who will wee their unique Grimworld Tutorial different from yours, beginning with this battlefield.] [The hub of this Battlefield is an extradimensional world where each participant world is given its base territories and can interact with one another with non-violencew established. This hub can be essed from a new function that will appear in your status window.] [Only Adventurers at Gold rank and above can enter the hub and participate in the Battlefield of the Mightiest.] [The Battlefield of the Mightiest will open on 1st January WB 11, exactly after the Labyrinth closes and the new month begins.] [The rules and other information of this mode will be avable once the adventurers enter the hub. Please be prepared until then and train as much as you can.] Chapter 171 Spirit Devour Reaches SSS-rank!, Encounter Meanwhile, the adventurers inside the Labyrinth were still busy with their adventures, unaware of the events transpiring outside, but it was only a matter of time as this was the third day and everyone would leave after 21 hours. "By the way, I have a darkness elemental skill, and you can instantly learn it, too," Almond said as he took out the Dire Mist Dispersion skill stone. Lily took the skill stone and inspected it. Reading the details, her eyes glinted, "This is good. With my darkness mastery, I should be able to coat it around my weapon and other skills to make it more lethal, too." "Yeah," Almond nodded. "You would need Mist elemental mastery for full control, but having Darkness at S-rank should give you that much control over it. Anyway, you should try it." "Yeah," Lily grinned, "And I will use this skill as one of the three bases for the weapon art." "Good." Lily was done after some minutes and also got her Weapon Art, called Raven''s Umbral Cascade. As they were done, the duo left the cave and arrived outside, where Ashkar, Benedict, Nyssara, and Viperfiend were already waiting as they had reached Gold level 40. "There are two more limited challenge areas, but they just give Epic-rank essory items, and they are at the other part of the floor, so we won''t bother going there," Almond said. "Yeah, that''s fine. But you can sell the information to otherster," Lily smiled. "Yep, that''s the n. Those essories of Epic-rank on this floor will be useful forever for future generations, so their value will be high. I''ll take 20% of the total value of the items people get in exchange for selling it," Almond grinned. "Nice, that''s perfect." "Mhmm, for now, I want to kill a variety of monsters and reach the maximum stats limit of Gold rank as soon as possible," Almond looked at the mountain ahead, "The territory ahead is two hundred kilometers long until we reach the floor boss area. We''ll maintain pace and kill monsters so that we can reach there after 10 hours." "15 hours? Oh, wait, yes. We need to rest for the remaining time so that we are in the best condition to fight the Heroic Boss." "Yep. We have roughly 20 hours to reach there ording to the deadline I set for everyone." "Let''s hope those two can also catch up, or they will miss the opportunity," Lily chuckled as she remembered about Marcus and Amir, who were in meditation to learn their new skills from Advanced Skill Scroll. Almond shrugged and turned to the mountain, "Let''s go. If I remember correctly, we''ll encounter Thunder Lycon Wolves and other beasts on the mountain, and then we''ll encounter the Tempestcall Tengus after descending the mountain." "Ashkar, give us your horse. And the rest of you, keep up with us and spread out. If you want to kill monsters, kill them within 200 meters of my position so I can absorb their spirits." "Roger," Benedict grinned and vanished like a shadow, going ahead. Ashkar conjured a pair of my wings and also flew up. Nyssara snorted, "Always in a hurry, those two. Anyway, we''ll be going ahead, Master, and get to work so you don''t have to kill them." "Thanks, and take Viperfiend with you," Almond smiled. They knew he didn''t want to level up anymore and stay at Gold level 40 until reaching the Floor Boss. Nyssara nced at the fatty Viprfiend and rolled her eyes. Snapping her finger, she created an icy carriage and said, "Get on." Viperfiend nkly sat down on the icy carriage. Having no proper intelligence like others, it easily obeyed other Spirits'' orders as per Almond''smand. Nyssara also sat down on the carriage at the front before controlling it as it slid up towards the mountain while creating an icy path. This territory was her domain because the mountain was icy, and the entire territory of Tempestcall Tengus had a high amount of both ice and lightning elements. Meanwhile, Almond and Lily jumped on Agramon as it neighed loudly and rushed forward. "Let''s hope this level-up boon''s skill option upgrades my Spirit Pocket or Spirit Devour," Almond said as he opened the only level-up boon that had skill open. Leveling from Gold level 10 to Gold level 40 gave him and Lily a total of six level-up boons. But out of them, Almond got only one, which had the skill option, while Lily got two this time.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Lily had used the two skill options already. One upgraded her Phantom''s Plunder skill to SS rank, while the other gave her a new primary ss skill, a passive one¡ªPhantom''s Veil (S). "Well, good luck," Lily said with a chuckle and turned to him before kissing his cheek, "This should give you the luck boost." "Thank you very much," Almond grinned. "Now I''ll definitely get what I desire." At that, Almond used the skill option. [Congrattions, your primary ss skill¡ªSpirit Devour of SS-rank has been upgraded to SSS-rank.] "Let''s fucking go!" "Which one got upgraded?" Lily asked, her eyes sparkling. "My bet is on Spirit Devour." "You are correct," Almond grinned and shared the new skill with her as both of them looked at it. [Spirit Devour] -Rank: SSS -Effect(s): ¡ª> Devour a spirit stored within your spirit pocket to acquire permanent stats. There''s a limit to gaining stats from the spirits of the same species. If your foundational stats have reached the lifeform rank limit and you devour a spirit, you will gain bonus stats equivalent to 50% of the devoured spirit''s original stats for 1 hour. The chance of Spirit Plunder will also increase slightly. ¡ª> Spirit Plunder: There''s a small chance that you will trigger Spirit Plunder, allowing you to steal a skill, talent, or other aspects from a devoured Spirit. "Oh my god¡­"Lily''s mouth was wide open as she read the skill details. "Damn, this is awesome!" Almond was excited despite knowing that this skill was bound to be powerful! "Darling, what if you ate the spirit of a Heroic Boss after reaching the stat limit of Gold rank?!" Lily''s eyes shone. "You''ll be giga powerful!" Almond sucked in a breath, getting goosebumps just thinking about getting 50% of those massive stats to himself. "This is a solid trump card," Almond muttered as his eyes glinted. "I have to save a powerful spirit or two with me all the time, just in case. And let''s keep this between the two of us. Admiral Rudra told me that there are evil forces outside, so it''s better to keep such trump cards to ourselves lest they make us use them first before revealing their true hand." "True," Lily nodded. Almond had also saved all of his unassigned points so far because he didn''t need to use them when he could get stats from Spirit. As such, he deemed it better to save all the unassigned stat points gained from leveling up! He already had a whooping 190 unassigned stat points so far! ¡­ While Almond and Lily entered the Tempestcall Tengus'' territory, Xavier, Talia, Noah, and Galvaren, who had entered the earliest, encountered another party in the Infernal Pce of the territory of zing Leon Tribe. The main boss, zing Leon King, was defeated by them, but then this party arrived. "The super rookies, huh? You all reached here quite fast." "Who is that monster with you? Damn." Noah narrowed his eyes as he immediately recognized some of the individuals, "Since when did the house of Fei and Tuskin start working together?" The opposing party of 12 people belonged to two prestigious families, the House of Fei and the Tuskin Family. They were top 30 families in terms of influence and power, and each of them had several tinum-rank Adventurers along with a few frontline ones who had participated in the 10th-floor raid. "Well, we started working together after entering here," Raymon Tuskin said with a grin as his half-ck half-green hair crackled with lightning. "Anyway, since you got the special item, then it''s fine. Let''s go and summon the floor boss." "Nope," Xavier tly rejected with a deadpan expression, "The floor boss will not be summoned until 20 more hours pass. You can either wait or move to the next floor." "Huh? Are you serious?" Hua Fei narrowed her eyes. "The other three groups already have the special items and are going to the floor boss area. What the fuck do you mean by nope?" "Nope, means nope. Did you hit your head or something?" Galvaren snorted. "Perhaps you should watch Television more." "¡­" "Whose monster is this?" Hua''s face darkened. "I am your daddy''s monster, who is my lord. His name is Almond Crowshade," Galvaren crossed his arms as his majestic draconic wings unfurled and his broken sword floated to his right side before him. "Now, roll away or get shredded beneath my de. The choice is yours." Noah, Xavier, and Talia exchanged nces while weakly smiling upon hearing Galvaren''s words. Chapter 172 Galvaren Keeping the Item Safe The group of twelve immediately got worked upon hearing Galvaren''s words. "You better keep this pet''s mouth shut if you don''t want to waste your trip here," Raymon Tuskin coldly said as he looked at Noah. They were twelve of them, and a random monster was looking down on them and pissing them off. Backing down obviously didn''t sit well with them. "Boss, let''s beat them up," one of the men in his early twenties said. "It''s fine as long as we don''t kill them, heh." "You should think twice before thinking you can beat us," Talia snorted as she took out her dual revolvers, her eyes with fiery sparks as she turned on her toggle-type ss skill¡ªzing Ammo Charge. ''I wasn''t useful in Heroic raid, but I am not going to lose to these riff-raffs,'' Talia''s expression was cold as she aimed her pistols at them. Noah and Xavier also got into a stance as the situation could get tense if one of them suddenly decided to attack. They heard them, and they didn''t want to get beaten and get held back here. But suddenly, Galvaren''s aura heated as he walked ahead and stopped before the group of twelve. "I was assigned to this group to make sure the special items don''tnd in another party''s hands until my lord arrives at the floor boss area after 20 hours." Galvaren grabbed his broken sword, his nostrils ring up and his body producing a molten-obsidian exoskeleton, his first defense-type skill that he awakened recently. Galvaren had gathered enough experience from Almond himself and knowledge about skills due to being intelligent. So after fighting intensely and sparring against others, especially in the Heroic Boss fights, he had improved and awakened a new skill¡ªSkylord Molten Exoskeleton (SS). "I alone will fight against all of you. Bring it on. I shall not kill you, but I shall cut a limb from each of you to make sure you do not have ideas about the special item in our possession. This is my word." Hua Fei took out two long daggers as they lit up with faint purple-ck mes. "It seems that I''ll have to remind you about the gap between us, new super rookies." Hua Fei was the previous super rookie of silver rank and also ranked top 3. She had a me element and a variant of it, which was the main source of her strength since she had S-rank me mastery due to having a high affinity with it. "Hua Fei, I know you are strong and can probably defeat us in one vs one battle," Noah calmly said as he sheated his sword. "But the one you are looking down on is enough to defeat all twelve of you." "Galvaren wanted that since the start," Xavier wryly smiled as he could clearly feel Galvaren''s excitement. All of them had sparred with Galvaren many times, so they knew his nature. "Yeah, defeat him first," Talia sneered and put away her pistols. "I appreciate your thoughtfulness," Galvaren grinned as he turned his head to the trio. He turned back and floated off the ground with just heat radiating from his wings. "Now, shall we start?" "Kill this cocky pet!" In the next second, however, Galvaren vanished from their sight and radar as a burst of infernal mes unleashed from his wings, and he flew five meters high in a second! "Shit!" Noah cursed, his body already moving. Xavier and Talia immediately reacted and dashed away as well. ''He fucking used two of those skills at the same time! Is he trying to kill them?!'' Crimson Dive Bomb (S) Hellfire Lightning Skycrown (S) One was the ultimate crazy dive bomb attack, resulting in crazy destruction in an area of 100 meters radius with heavy magma and me damage in a burst manner. A literal explosion of high lethality. Meanwhile, Hellfire Lightning Skycrown added to that skill since it was a buff type skill, adding Hellfire Lightning, a special variant frombined elements lightning and fire, which increased the damage even more! *BOOM!* Galvaren dropped right in the middle of the group! All of them tried in their own way during the one-and-a-half second they got after the initial surprise. Some used defensive skills, and some used escape, while one of them used a huge barrier skill, and another used individual shields as everyone received a bubble-shaped barrier around them. But all of those were shattered. Except for a few, most of them got moderately injured. Galvaren obviously didn''t give them any chance. Right after dropping, he zoomed towards Raymon and Hua, who were rtively better than others, his broken sword extending with crimson infernal ck edge. Hua Fei''s daggers shed against his sword as she swiftly guarded, and just as she was about to use a skill to win the bout, Galvaren''s kick came hurling with infernal mes, interrupting her. "Too slow! Bwahahahah!" Raymon roared as an avatar of a wild war boar with earthen armor draped over him, and he crashed towards Galvaren, cracking earth and shaking the pce.N?v(el)B\\jnn ''Wonderful!'' Galvaren turned to him, his aura bursting out as he immediately swung his sword, exerting his full strength. The ground beneath him shattered, and debris literally melted and turnedva as his sword swung forward, illuminating the area around him. zing Wrath sh (A) boosted by Hellfire Lightning Skycrown + Emberstone Pouch (S) as his sword absorbed allvatic power and mes and burst as his sword struck the giant tusks of the Wild War Boar Raymon. *BOOM!* Along with a loud explosion and a powerful shockwave, Galvaren was pushed back several meters. But on the other hand, Raymon flew back like a bullet and smashed into the pce wall, embedding a meter inside the thick wall! Galvaren roared and zoomed in, sweeping past two meters and destroying their legs beforending at two others. Both of their eyes could only erge, and they quickly used skills in panic, but Galvaren''s decisive attacks helplessly rendered them in the same state as the previous two. Despaired, Disabled, Defeated. "I''m kind of d Almondmanded him not to go serious enough to hurt us during our sparring," Talia wryly smiled. "Can''t disagree," Xavier wryly smiled. Noah nodded as he watched Galvaren utterly disorienting their formation and disabling them one by one. They didn''t know what hit them from the start. ''He lives up to his quirks and backstory. Starting with a dive bomb to split up them and using his created advantage snowball on them.'' "Let''s make sure this ends right now," Noah said as he vanished from his spot and pointed his sword at the defeated Hua Fei who failed her first attack against Galvaren and got her right leg destroyed. "How can a summon be so powerful?!" "Damn it!" "Fuck, it hurts! Give me a healing potion! I don''t have any left since I used myst on the previous fight!" Galvaren floated in the sky after and immediately entered a passive state to recover his Mana, "You are defeated once, and I know you can recover with potions. But it''d be wise to ept your defeat now and cease resistance lest I get lethal with you all." "That''s right," Noah pointed his sword at Hua Fei. "Don''t make any more trouble." "The special item is ours," Xavier said to Raymon as his rapier glinted with light gold, "Move onto the next floor because we will only summon the floor boss after 20 hours." *Click* Talia''s revolvers'' barrels spun as they clicked, her guns ring up. "Take your potions and items. Galvaren, if they don''t take them out within the next three seconds, we can assume that they want to resist and fight us." "We will heal you after you give us the potions, so take them out," she added. "Fair enough," Galvaren nodded as he pointed his sword down. "You heard thedy. Be quick." Chapter 173 Blazing Trail Increases Hua Fei and Raymon Tuskin epted defeat, giving up their potions. After healing them, Noah, Xavier, Talia, and Galvaren left, roaming around different ces, hoping to find a hidden area or challenge before the deadline. Meanwhile, Almond and Lily leisurely coursed through the Tempestcall Tengus'' territory. Almond''s spirit wraiths made sure to kill monsters within 200 meters of Almond so he could absorb their spirits. He made sure to absorb new ones thrice to increase his stats as much as possible while putting rest in the Spirit Forge factory. They also encountered monsters, but Lily dealt with them as Almond didn''t want to get more EXP and stay at level 40. They nned to cover as much area filled with monsters as possible and arrive at the floor boss area right after 15 hours. Almond had the route in his mind, and he also included a secret area on the way, which had a lot of monsters gathered, much like White Pn''s Lair. He also kept the spirits of some monsters who were pure offensive, sending them into Spirit Nuke''s pocket. As they descended the mountain, they started to encounter various types of Tengus, a mix of ice and lightning elements. The Tengus had role-based variations like warrior Tengus, mage Tengus, assassin Tengus, and priest Tengus, and there were also more variations depending on the different areas in thisrge territory, so there was nock of variety here, not to mention the other beast-type monsters that Tengus tamed. Almond and others passed through areas one by one at a constant pace. With his high recovery of Mana and Stamina both, he recovered his Spirit Wraiths since he wasn''t using any energy, not even for walking as he was riding Agramon. His only job was to focus on collecting spirits, absorbing them, and maintaining production in his Spirit Forge Factory. Almond needed to sacrifice 5 Legendary items to unlock the guaranteed Legendary forge option, which he was going to do because he wanted to make a Legendary gear set of high quality for himself. And for that, he''d need a shit ton of Spirit items as a sacrifice¡ªa total of 80 Epic-rank items. Even if they were low-tier, he''d also need 400 Super-rank items of low-tier, which meant he would need 2000 Rare-rank items. Fortunately, he was only getting Rare-rank items as a result of bulk random crafting from these Gold-rank monsters'' spirits on this floor and also had a 20% chance to get a Super-rank item, so ording to his calction, he would have enough for one Legendary high-quality set after 15 hours. ¡­ Time passed as seconds turned into minutes, and minutes into hours¡­ Fifteen hours passed by as Almond and Lily arrived at the Floor Boss area with the Spirit Wraiths. They were the first ones to arrive, but shortly after half an hour, Party 3 also arrived¡ªNatalia, Kira, Eliara, and Starlight Beast. And another half an hourter, Xavier, Noah, Talia, and Galvaren also arrived, but they had one more person with them! "You think I would continue to the next floor after hearing that you wereing here?" Almond chuckled and walked towards the party as he stretched his hand, "Wee to the party." Julian faintly smiled. "I''ll show you my improvements." "You better do," Almond grinned. "So, you really stayed on this floor for two days? You were close to hitting Gold level 50 and could move on pretty early, no?" "Well, I was with the GAA party, as you know, and you might not know, but GAA has pretty good secret spots noted down, especially thanks to Admiral Rudra. We nned toplete some of them in all four areas during these two days before moving on to the 6th floor and leveling as much as we could on the third day." "But," Julian wryly smiled as he paused briefly before continuing, "Doman and other bastards yed dirty in item distribution. I''m pretty sure it''s because he couldn''t win against me anymore, but he was the party leader, and others sided with him." "And I also knew that you would be rushing the floors, so I decided to stay on the floor and wait here in the floor boss area, but on my way here, after I cleared an area of monsters, I encountered Noah''s party, so I joined them after he told me about the Heroic Challenge."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Noah and Julian had trained together for a while before the Rising Star Tournament began. Julian''s rapid rise began from there, and Noah came to have genuine respect for Julian because of the way he worked so hard. Since Almond bloomed Julian''s potential at first, Julian''s training session with Noah was a rapid progression in Julian''s skills and techniques. Julian''s swordy in his unique style became solid enough to be on par with Noah''s in just a week, which was why Noah gained respect for Julian. ¡­ Now that all three parties gathered, Almond took out his Magic Tent while others also camped in their tents and created a bonfire. "When will those twoe? ording to the deadline, we are going to start the Heroic Challenge after seven hours, right?" Natalia asked before rolling her eyes. "I wouldn''t be surprised if they missed the deadline." "It depends on how fast theyplete their training in the dimension of their Advanced skill scroll," Almond said. "Let''s hope they finish it fast, but if they don''t reach here in time, I''ll summon back Sylvia." "Of course," Kira ruefully smiled. "Sylvia''s healing and defense are very important for us. We''d have serious injuries and even fatality if not for her." "Yeah," Jemma nodded. "It''s great that you can call her back from another floor," Maya nodded. Meanwhile, the two people in question were indeed still in the training. But one of them stirred soon after an hour. Marcus opened his eyes before a zap of excitement coursed through them and was visible throughout his body. His pupils were dted, goosebumps rose, and cells trembled. A faint mechanical hum rang within his chest as though a delicate piece of clockwork sprang into motion. A subtle glow¡ªbrass, copper, or even a tempered crimson¡ªappeared beneath Marcus''s skin at the heart''s center, radiating a warm and fervent aura. It pulsed, mirroring his heartbeat and excitement. Marcus Venath, a youngster from a humble abode, decided to strive for an adolescent desire that stemmed from heroic tales of a certain individual, all but for one reason¡ªthe person he was following and the ze he radiated. [Congrattions. You havepleted the training of your growth-type toggle skill¡ªGeoprime General''s Halo.] [Based on your training session, you have achievedmendable results. Training Score: SSS-9483.] [The training score also shows the starting rank of your skill and the potential you have explored so far. Acquiring a 10,000+ score would have given you an L rank, but better luck next time.] [Congrattions on awakening your innate talent¡ªIronheart Engine (L) You have ovee your fear in pursuit of epic greatness, the adolescent desire you suppressed that stemmed from your grandfather''s heroic tales. May you seed in striving for greatness.] [Ironheart Engine] -For you, who ignited your aspiration of achieving greatness that stemmed from your childhood aspiration blooming from heroic legends passed down through family lore. When you finally embraced these dreams with matching efforts during your training, the Ironheart Engine was forged within you¡ªan imperishable wellspring of resilience and vitality. -Rank: L Chapter 174 Marcus Power Up, Legendary Unboxing and Sacrifice [Ironheart Engine] -For you, who ignited your aspiration of achieving greatness that stemmed from your childhood aspiration blooming from heroic legends passed down through family lore. When you finally embraced these dreams with matching efforts during your training, the Ironheart Engine was forged within you¡ªan imperishable wellspring of resilience and vitality. -Rank: L -Ironheart Force: [10,000/10,000] ¡ª> 1000 per hour recovery. -Effect: ¡ª> Resilient Core: The Ironheart Engine grants extraordinary stamina and fortitude. Physical exertion and mental strain that would break most individuals be manageable. This ensures prolongedbat readiness, the ability to withstand intense training, and resilience against mind-affecting forces. +50% Health, +50 Stamina, +50% Health and Stamina recovery. ¡ª> Adaptive Energy Flow: The engine draws upon the user''s inner resolve, converting emotional strength and determination into a form of spiritual fuel known as Ironheart Force. This force can be harnessed to power certain abilities, augment physical prowess, or even restore vigor after heavy exertions. ¡ª> Overdrive State: When Ironheart Force reaches 0, the user can use the Ironheart Engine to enter an "Overdrive" mode. In this state, the user temporarily gains heightened senses, increased strength, and elerated healing. The price is a recovery ban of Ironheart Force for 10 hours. Marcus looked at his awakened talent''s effects, and his excitement reached boundless. He got up and roared loudly in tion and exhration. ''I can perform way better with this! You all just watch me get the second-best contribution rank in the next raid!'' Marcus grinned widely. ''Especially with this new skill, I can help everyone!'' [Geoprime General''s Halo] -Rank: SSS -Type: Toggle. -Cost: 1% Mana per second. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Allies designated within 100 meters of yourself will receive an Imaginary Geoprime Armor that reduces all Physical damage by 20% and Magical damage by 10% before hitting them. ¡ª> Allies who agree to be part of the halo will bind with each other, allowing you to redirect all forms of injuries and damage among each other. The shared injury and damage are automatically reduced by 10% before the transfer urs. ¡ª> During the activation period of the skill, all the damage reduction that urred will umte in your designated item shield. Its limit is determined by your endurance of mental strain. Once it reaches the limit, you may fire a Geoprime Beam from your shield to deal pure impactful Earth-attrited damage with a powerful push-back effect and easy disintegration of the surrounding environment like rocks, nts, trees, etcetera. "I''ll be the greatest general and lead the party to victory!" Marcus clenched his fist. "Congrattions, Marcus. I sense some wonderful power within you," Sylvia''s mystical humanoid figure appeared ethereally from pure Mana affected by flora attribute, giving it a dreamy green sparkling texture and hues. She smiled and said, "Keep my master safe, okay?" "Sure, I will!" Marcusughed. He looked at Amir and said, "I don''t know when he will wake up, so I''m going ahead." Grinning, he added, "I''ll be fine even if I go alone now. Nothing can stop me from reaching the 5th floor''s floor boss area before the deadline. Oh yeah, how long do I have?" "You have six hours." Marcus blinked before he cracked his neck and stretched his legs. "Alright, I''m going ahead. Youe with Amirter." "Godspeed," Sylvia lightly chuckled as Marcus dashed through the portal. He arrived in the starting area, but Marcus continued in the general direction as he knew where to go after seeing the surroundings briefly. ¡­ By now, the other super rookies had also arrived--Emma, Jian, Ron, Adrian, Anya, Finn and Mira. Almond had no qualms about adding them to the party now that there were tons of Epic-rank items and gear sets, especially ones from the 4th floor''s rewards. It wasn''t long before only two hours were left until the deadline and three hours until the opening of exit portals, indicating the end of the Labyrinth''s first cycle. The exit portals stayed open for five hours, but the bosses and monsters would reset and grow stronger immediately once the second cycle of the Labyrinth began three hourster. At the floor boss area, Almond finished resting for some hours and just woke up. It was time to start crafting his Legendary Gear Set and then get to distributing the items since he was hoarding everyone''s items. The total number of Legendary items in his storage Ring reached around twenty, a crazy number. Even frontline adventurers outside didn''t have many Legendary items. ''Let''s sort this out and begin,'' Almond cracked his knuckles before sitting cross-legged and started opening the legendary item boxes and other legendary stuff. The rewards'' ranking in those boxes was pre-determined, so there wasn''t any need for roll dicing. The item itself could be different, but it wasn''t as important. Any legendary item would be important and they were going to be sacrificed for spirit items anyway, soon or sooner. Almond first opened the Legendary Gear Set he got from his MVP chest. ''Yaksha''s Crimson Rampage Set, huh? Yeah, this is for Lily.'' Almond decided to quickly open everything and make a solid list before deciding which to sacrifice and which ones to distribute. He was aware of everyone''s strengths and skills by now, and it would be better if he did this alone to save time and synergize the distribution better since the team revolved around his ystyle and strategy. From MVP Reward Chest: ¡ª> Yaksha''s Crimson Rampage Set (Legendary Gear Set, Low-tier) Rank 2 Lily''s 2 Legendary Item Boxes, 1 Legendary Weapon Selection Box, 1 Legendary Armor Selection Box: ¡ª> Shadowsong Amulet (From Item Box) ¡ª> Phoenixme Gauntlet (From Item Box) ¡ª> Nightfall Edge (From Weapon Selection Box) ¡ª> Seraphic Aegis te (From Armor Selection Box) [Rank 3 Natalia & Maya''s Legendary Items (6 total: 3 each)] Natalia''s Items: ¡ª> Thunderleaf Cloak (From Item Box)n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ¡ª> Runeforge Quill (From Item Box) ¡ª> Abyssal Whisper Wand (From Weapon Selection Box) Maya''s Items: ¡ª> Srre Orb (From Item Box) ¡ª> Jadeheart Talisman- one-time use (From Item Box) ¡ª> Starseer Staff (From Weapon Selection Box) [Kira, Noah, and Eliara''s Legendary Items (3 total: 1 each)] Kira''s Item: ¡ª> Frostbite Fang Hairpin (From Item Box) Noah''s Item: ¡ª> Ironroot Helmet (From Item Box) Eliara''s Item: ¡ª> Galechime Bells (From Item Box) [From the Heroic Floor Boss ying Chest (2 total)] ¡ª> Lunar Hunt Set (Legendary Gear Set, Low-tier) ¡ª> Aurora Dragonfire sk (Legendary One-Time Use Item, Low-tier) As he read all the items'' descriptions, he knew which five to sacrifice to unlock his Legendary Forge option. Chapter 175 Marcus Arrives With Uninvited Guests, Distribution The five legendary items Almond chose to sacrifice were¡ªSeraphic Aegis te, Thunderleaf Cloak, Ironroot Helmet, Runeforge Quill, and Srre Orb. He was a bit tempted to just sacrifice the two one-time-use Legendary items, but their effects were too useful and could help greatly against the heroic boss despite being one-time, so he kept them both. Everyone also acquired a high-tier Epic-rank set in contribution ranking reward, so aside from the two people who would get to wear the Legendary-rank sets, the others would get solid Epic-rank sets. ''Now then, let''s start.'' After unlocking the Legendary Forge Option, Almond began crafting without further ado. The ingredients were all ready, so he just needed to choose the bs and put them in production. He used a heavy broad sword for the weapon part, and he used the three strongest lightning-attributed Tengus'' spirits as ingredients for this. For the full-body sleek armor, he used three defensive-type monsters'' spirits. For the boots, he used three spirits of wind-type and lightning-type Tengus. He also made the boots flying-oriented as he didn''t want to create wings. If he could fly with boots and gain speed both, he''d have an extra slot in a way, allowing him to craft the 4th item of the set to be more useful. As such, he decided to be a bit creative in the process of his set creation and made 4th item an essory with a special mechanism in the description in his mind when putting it in production. He could only hope it included that type of effect he desired since he couldn''t set it himself. Once he was done here, he went outside and saw that everyone was sparring against each other and his spirit wraiths since they finished resting. "Everyone! Gather here for a moment. I am going to distribute the items." "So it''s time!" "Hehe, I wonder who will get to use the Legendary gear sets." "So it''s Almond who decides who wears what?" "Yeah." As everyone walked towards him, Almond suddenly sensed something through the ground and atmosphere as he looked back.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ''Hmm?'' An invisible snake-like white trail released from his forehead as he used the second stage of Focus Field in that direction and soon saw a figure rushing towards them. It was Marcus, and he wasn''t alone. Marcus, who felt the familiar Focus Field aura of Almond, immediately shouted, "Help!" Behind was one Wandering-type Boss and a bunch of monsters of different types! ''It seems that he rushed here, and all monsters that usually followed a target without restriction came here with him,'' Almond chuckled. ''Well, that''s good. I''d get some extra spirits to put into Spirit Pocket.'' The others also sensed something by now due to the sound and vibration as Marcus got close to his entourage of monsters. "It''s Marcus," Almond turned to the group as his figure crackled with lightning, zapping the air around him. He maized himself and floated. "Stay here, I''ll be back." He vanished in the next moment with a st, breaking the sound barrier while a random Epic-rank sword appeared in his hand. Marcus saw a sh of golden lightning shooting at him. His pupils contracted as he saw Almond''s visage in it. He pressed breaks in his legs and turned around at his fastest, just at the moment to see Almond swinging his sword horizontally. Almond''s eyes sparkled with golden flicker as he swung the sword, consuming 500 Mana and just briefly activated his Espada Ad Grimveil skill as his domain expanded and he targeted all monsters. As he swung the sword, a flickering de projectile appeared in front of the Wandering Boss and 54 other monsters, all varying in size ording to their physique, aimed at their limbs. *sh!* The entire area stilled for a moment before a long, crisp, slicing sound cut through the tension. Almond''s sword stroke unleashed a de of crackling energy that passed through the horde as if guided by a precise, unerring will. In a perfect lining, the surrounding foliage, rocky outcroppings, the Wandering Two-headed Cyclopes Boss, and other monsters seemed to pause¡ªthen their limbs began to slide apart while cutting the surroundings as the des proceeded ahead. Every monster struck by the attack waspletely paralyzed, their flesh sizzling with lightning. "Kill them and level up. You are still not Gold level 50 yet." Marcus heard the voice and grinned as he saw Almond turning around and putting away his sword, "Thanks a lot, boss!" Marcus jumped high as a giant golden-brown sword manifested in his hand as he used his specialized ss skill. "Woohoo!" *sh!* And finished off the Wandering Boss first. Almond looked at his status, specifically at the EXP bar. ''I''ll reach Level 43 since I helped, but that''s fine, I guess. The rewards from Heroic Bosses don''t seem to be impacted by levels.'' He knew killing Field Bosses and other floor bosses while having lower levels increased the chance of item drops, but Heroic Bosses weren''t affected by that. Instead, their rewards were affected by overall performance and timing. Still, he didn''t want to level up as he didn''t need to since he had already reached the maximum foundational stats possible for Gold rank. -Stats: 199 unassigned points. ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 200 | Health: 200 | Stamina: 200] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 200 (+300) | Focus: 200 (+200) | Perception: 200 (+200) ] ¡ªWill: 100. ¡­ After everyone gathered, Almond began distributing the items. "Let''s start with the Legendary Gear sets," Almond smiled as he took out the two sets first. "This Yaksha''s Crimson Rampage Set will go to Lily. The weapon of this set is like a fusion between sword, dagger, and cleaver. It has blood element and vitality recovering effect based on attacks, so it suits Lily." Everyone nodded. "Damn, you all really got a solid Legendary gear set," Ron said as he gulped, inspecting the set. Adrian, Jian Finn, Emma, Anya, and Mira¡ªthe super rookies who had yet to fight a Heroic Boss, felt all excited inside as they inspected the Legendary Gear set. "The next Legendary Gear set is called Lunar Hunt Set. It has a slender sword in it, and it''s a light-armored set. Since it is also based on the Water attribute, Kira would be able to use it best." "Wow, awesome!" Kira''s eyes sparkled as she inspected the beautiful yet imposing gear set. "It got some powerful effects! And the gear set bonus actually increases my Water elemental mastery and gives me 2000 extra Mana? Damn." Everyone was envious. Each legendary item gave crazy good bonus stats in their perks, ranging from 200 to 250 total bonus stat points for low-tier Legendary items. "Next is this Shadowsong Amulet. This item boosts the user''s shadow-attributed skills'' effects by 50% passively and also grants an active effect that boosts the next shadow-attributed offense-type skill by 100% with a one-minute cooldown. However, its third effect is most powerful with one day of cooldown." Everyone inspected the amulet and saw its third effect. "Interesting. So if the user receives a fatal attack that could kill them, this amulet protects them and keeps their vitality at 10% while allowing them to turn into Shadow Phantom for 10 seconds," Lily raised her eyebrows. "Shadow Phantom status is op!" "Yeah, it makes the user unaffected by all physical and magical attacks for 10 seconds¡­" "Give it to Mira," Lily said as she looked at Mira. "She is the only one aside from me who has Darkness elemental mastery, and I don''t really need this amulet." "Really?!" Mira was startled. Being the second darkness elemental user and assassin in the group, she expected to get items passed down from Lily but wasn''t expecting a solid Legendary item. "Good," Almond smiled as he nodded at Lily. The amulet flew from his hand and went towards Mira. "Thank you so much," Mira''s cheeks flushed as she bowed. The other new super rookies felt super envious. "Next is Phoenixme Gauntlet," Almond said as he took out a pair of red-golden badass-looking gauntlets. ''Gauntlets!'' Adrian''s eyes instantly glimmered. As someone who used gauntlets with his family, specialized in close-range hand-stylebat, and his specialized ss also bolstered this specialty, he really wanted to use those Legendary gauntlets! ''Crap, even my father doesn''t have a Legendary rank gauntlet,'' Adrian gulped. "We only have one person who can use gauntlets, and his attacks are impactful with good push-back, armor break, and heavily disabling and interrupting humanoid-type monsters, so this weapon will belong to him." The gauntlets flew toward Adrian, his excitement clearly visible. "T-Thank you, Almond." "I want you to be useful because of your specialty," Almond said, his voice firm and sharp. "Against beastly monsters and other big monsters, your specialty is less effective, but against humanoid monsters, it''s very useful, and Heroic Bosses are all humanoid." "Forget about defending yourself and focus on cracking joints and interrupting the boss''s attacks in close range. I want you to coordinate with me, and that''s why I''ll also give you a one-time item that will buff you and make you very evasive and defensive." Almond took out Jadeheart Talisman, the one-time-use item. "Activating this Talisman will increase your action speed and movement speed by 200% for 30 seconds and create a Jade Heart that will save you from one fatal attack." Almond nced at others and said, "You all already know that we n to finish off the boss as fast as possible, and it will be no different this time. We will use everything we got within 30 seconds and seize the victory." Everyone was determined, their fist clenched. ''I will show you all this time in this Heroic Challenge,'' Jian gritted his teeth. ''I am not going to get looked down anymore!'' "Next legendary item is a weapon, the Abyssal Whisper Wand¡­ The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 176 The Remaining Three Items Abyssal Whisper Wand went to Natalia. It was opened from the Legendary box she got, and it was Sound element aligned. Lily''s legendary boxes also gave her two Darkness-attributed items, so it appeared that contribution-ranking rewards had a chance to give items suitable to the winners'' attributes, but this wasn''t 100% the case. The next legendary item he took out was Nightfall Edge, a slender, long, snake-curved dagger that he chose from Lily''s Weapon Selection box. He gave it to Lily for a duel, wielding it along with her gear set''s weapon. It was a powerful darkness-element weapon, which could boost all of her attacks and had some interesting effects, not to mention that it increased Perception by 100, Focus by 70, and Strength by 50. The next legendary item he took out was Starseer Staff. It was light-attributed, but it only had one effect on that element. The other effects were more of buff and defense. But it had a good boost in magic attack and +150 Focus, +60 Perception in perk. The other most important Mage in the group got this weapon¡ªMaya and this item was what Almond selected from her Weapon Selection Box in the first ce. Next was Frostbite Fang Hairpin. Almond also gave it to Maya for obvious reasons, as it boosted elemental effects of Icy attributes by 100% and also had an effect with a one-hour cooldown that could create a Frozen Coffin on a target, a control-type effect. Afterward, he took out Galechime Bells, a wind-attributed item that was not the equipment but a normal item akin to an artifact that required the user to hold it in one hand to use its effects.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om Holding the bell, the user can use its effects. One effect decreased the weight of everyone designated as allies, the same as the wind in the present atmosphere, and gave them the ability to sense wind and ride through it for 30 seconds. The second effect boosted the user''s next Wind-attributed skill by 100%. The third effect gave a wind barrier to the designated ally with the power to absorb an attack and forcefully scatter it away from the user. Normally, Almond would''ve given it to Amir, but he wasn''t here, so it went to Anya. He then took out thest legendary item, which was a one-time-use¡ªAurora Dragonfire sk. This potion was a consumable, Legendary-ranked one. Drinking this potion would give the user ess to Aurora Dragonfire, a variant of Fire element, and temporarily gives the same mastery as S-rank me elemental mastery for 1 minute. The only one in the party with me elemental mastery was Adrian. The first one-time-use item was his, and the second one also went to him after Almond thought about it since Adrian was the only one with me elemental mastery. Since Adrian was going to coordinate with him, it was better to boost him as much as possible, and having ess to Aurora Dragonfire me would increase all of his attacks much more, making them more powerful and also adding extra effect. This variant of me element had the intimidation and power of a dragon, as its name implied. It already increases the me element''s power by 100%, but on top of that, all impact-type effects were boosted by 50% and would give Aurora Dragonfire scales all over the user''s body for the duration, increasing me resistance and physical resistance by 200%. As all legendary items were distributed, it was time to gear up the super rookies who didn''t get any items. There were a total of four new Epic-rank Gear sets of high-tier, giving a good amount of stat points and effects, along with the old Epic-rank sets and Almond''s own two sets, one being a high-tier Super-rank set, which was equivalent to Epic-rank ones in terms of effects even if not in terms of bonus stat perks. The other was the Grimlord Apocalypse Set, a high-tier Epic-rank set. Almond distributed them ordingly, but just as he finished, he sensed Sylvia''s presence. Shortly afterward, Sylvia emerged from the ground nearby as vines drilled out along with a cocoon-type case made from braided vines, from which Amir emerged. "I''m here!" Sylvia, having evolved greatly because of the special-rank resource tree she absorbed, had her affinity with nature increased significantly, with her Flora elemental mastery exceeding S-rank already. She knew the general direction of her Master''s presence, so she traveled through Earth using her Flora''s power by using the established nature on this floor. She crossed three hundred kilometers in just an hour while bypassing trouble locations and obstruction from monsters. "We have less than two hours before we start our battle. Use your item effects that have a cooldown of less than two hours and familiarize yourself with them." Almond''s eyes glinted as he added with a grin, "But before that, let''s convince the three other parties observing us to give up on their special items." They only had a single floor boss summoning special item. The other three were in the hands of parties who were nearby observing them. They couldn''t summon the floor boss with just three items, after all. "Come out, there''s no need to hide anymore," Almond spoke, his voice reverberating far and wide, enhanced by his Mana. A subtle hush fell across the clearing. The atmosphere was charged, as though the forest around them held its breath, listening for a response. Almond stood calmly, lightning dancing along his fingertips, Lily at his side with her new Nightfall Edge humming softly with dark energy. The rest of their team spread out in a subtle defensive perimeter, taking silent cues from Almond''s stance and tone. It didn''t take long. From behind the towering roots of a half-uprooted tree, a party of five emerged, their weapons lowered but not sheathed. Their leader was a tall man with sharp eyes and a stern frown. They were members of the first-ranked Proximax Guild. "Ah, so you knew we were here," the leader said, voice tinged with cautious respect. He nced about, noting the aura of power Almond''s group projected. From the opposite side, a second group revealed themselves: four individuals d in uniform crimson garb, hoods pulled back to show serious faces. Their posture hinted at discipline¡ªa party belonging to the 7th-ranked Guild, Azure Veil. One of them, a woman with braided hair and a feathered cor looked at Almond, her aura unwavering. And finally, from a rise in the terrain where a massive stone b jutted forth, the third-party appeared. They were fewer in number¡ªjust three, but their presence was intense. One bore a heavy polearm crackling faintly with runes, another hovered just off the ground, arms crossed, and thest fiddled with a vial of strange liquid. They said nothing, but their narrowed eyes spoke volumes. These three were members of one of the top 10 families¡ªthe Zhou n. "Good," Almond said, letting his voice carry. He scanned the three groups, ensuring he had everyone''s attention. "We know each of you possesses one of the special items required to summon the floor boss. We have one ourselves. There should be four total." He held up a small, rune-etched disc for a moment, letting the others see it gleam in the filtered sunlight. "Now, the best possible oue here for you would be you giving us the remaining three items," Almond smiled. Chapter 177 Sneak Peek At the 5th Floors Heroic Boss, Clear Warning "Is that so?" one of the nameless characters spicily responded upon hearing Almond''s words. Lily stepped forward, her stance poised and her dagger glinting, "We''re not interested in petty fights or dragging this out. Hand over the items." ''Darling, do we want to present some benefits to them to make them give up the items, like your spirit items?'' ''Yeah, it''s a slight effort on my part anyway. If they give up easily, then fine. If not-'' Almond''s smile turned chilling. ''We can grab the items from them forcefully.'' A whisper ran through the gathered groups. Some members of the three parties seemed tense, as though ready to vanish into the woonds at a moment''s notice, while others looked curious or calcting. "Don''t think about escaping with the items out of spite," Lily coldly said. "You''ll lose your limbs for nothing." "You all are onto something crazy here. You somehow have legendary and Epic items in bulk, so why don''t we just fight the floor boss together?" The three parties were feeling waves of shock as they could see the items'' ranks, and that shock was naturally apanied by a hint of greed. "Not possible," Almond tly said. "We are going to do something different called Heroic Challenge. It''s a significantly stronger version of Floor Boss, and a party must reach some qualification to trigger it." "How about we join you then?" Lyndia, the dark blue-haired woman who was the leader of the Azure Veil guild, asked, her eyes filled with doubt and caution. "Do you see our items?" Natalia snorted. "Even with that, the chance of dying in Heroic Challenge is higher than regr floor boss." "I won''t stop you from participating," Almond calmly said, "but our party will not support you, and know that there''s a 99% chance that most of you will die." "Bullshit." "Yeah, who are you fooling?" Almond narrowed his eyes. "Give us the special items, and I''ll show you. Instead of the floor boss spawning here, a portal door will spawn, leading to the Heroic Challenge mode." The three parties seemed to converse with each other. They were vastly outnumbered, so fighting against Almond''s group was definitely not a wise move. The leaders of the three parties reached a consensus quickly as all three special items flew toward Almond. "Fine, do it. Let''s see if a special portal really opens. If you spawn the regr floor boss, we''ll attack it because we want the rewards, and it''ll be based on contribution," Brynjar said, the leader of the Proximax guild''s party. "And if you open the portal of the so-called Heroic Challenge¡­we''ll decide whether we enter or not at that time," Yuxin Zhou said tly, still feeling doubt. Almond waved his hand as all four keys flew toward the floor boss summoning tform with entric ancient carvings. [Your party is qualified for the Heroic Challenge Mode. All party members must agree to ept the challenge.] "Did you all get any notification?" Noah asked as he looked at the three parties. The leaders appeared confused. "Notification just now? Nope." "We didn''t get any notification." Almond told everyone to agree and said, "Let''s just show them the portal. We will enterter anyway." Everyone nodded and responded to the notification. [All party members have epted the challenge.] The tform slightly shook before mystical stairs of ten steps appeared in its center with a magical fancy blue and pink door at thest step. "Holy¡­it''s true." "Howe none of the people triggered something like this before?" The three parties were shocked, while Almond and others got one more notification. [From hereon, your party is prohibited from leaving this floor until the Heroic Challenge Boss is defeated. All the best.] Almond directly shared the notification with the three parties. "As you can see, this is how it works." "Now, you may try to enter that door and court death. I will not stop you. But it''s my sincere suggestion that you don''t do that," he added. The leaders of the three parties looked at each other. Yuxin Zhou said, "Brynjar, why don''t you send one of your puppets inside and check it out for us?"N?v(el)B\\jnn "Yeah, that''s a good idea, leader Brynjar." "Alright," Brynjar nodded as his eyes glinted dark pink before a joker-like puppet manifested, holding two shivs in its hands¡ªhis physique reaching a bit over a meter, his face painting a full sad expression. This was Brynjar''s S-rank specialized ss¡ªPuppeteer Stringweaver. The joker puppet climbed the stairs as per Brynjar''smand and entered through the door-like portal. Brynjar could see everything that his puppet saw as he found himself in a small meadow with a magical pond in the center. "The whole area is barely 300 meters in diameter. There''s a pond in the center, but I don''t see the bo-" Brynjar suddenly paused before his eyes flickered. "I got a notification. A countdown of one minute before the boss appears." Almond raised his eyebrows, ''A pond? The previous heroic challenge areas were rtively simple, but this one seems different.'' "What kind of area is it?" Lily asked. She also knew it was better to get early information about the area. "It''s an uneven meadow of short grass and some glowing nts, but despite being green, they have magical dark pink patterns and give off a dark pink glow," Brynjar answered as he curiously looked around the area through his puppet''s eyes. "Geez, that already sounds troublesome," Natalia wryly smiled. "Yeah, thest boss was a pain in the ass, but we shouldn''t expect less from this bastard," Marcus nodded, his eyes fired up as he grinned, "But no matter who he is, I''ve got you all protected!" "A meadow and magical flowers¡­" Ka muttered. "They could be a part of the boss''s strength." "True," Kira nodded thoughtfully. "We should destroy them just in case." "Nah, we should observe first and then act ordingly. Who knows what kind of mechanism and role they y?" Xavier rubbed his chin. Eliara didn''t know whether tough or cry, "This already sounds troublesome even though we haven''t entered inside. Frankly, I''m a bit scared, given the previous experience." "We all are," Talia weakly smiled but clenched her fist, "But I want to fight." "It appeared. The Heroic Spirit boss¡­w-what the fuck with its stats?!" Brynjal eximed, shocked. Brynjar''s eyes suddenly flickered unevenly before he shut his eyes tightly, "My puppet is dead." "What kind of boss was it? How strong?" Lyndia asked. "How did it look?" Yuxin followed up with another question. Brynjar opened his eyes, and they showed a clear dread. "As you both know, my puppet of sadness is pretty sturdy and also takes 50% reduced damage of all kinds as long as he holds both of its shiv daggers¡­but I couldn''t even see the boss'' attack properly before it died." Taking a deep breath, Brynjar''s expression was somber as he added, "I inspected it and saw its status for a brief moment, but I remember the numbers. Its strength was at 2000, and other stats were also very high, its Mana was 7000. This boss is crazy!" "And it was a humanoid boss that wasn''t that tall, just a bit taller than a regr human!" The members of three parties and the other two leaders were dumbfounded, even feeling disbelief. "A humanoid boss of that size with those stats?!" "Holy crap, what''s with this Heroic Boss?!" "Nah, I am not fighting it, brother Yuxin. We should back out on this one." "Yeah, let''s just do the floor advancement trial instead and go to the next floor." "Ahem," Almond coughed as the sound drowned other voices, getting everyone''s attention, "Now that you know what you''re dealing with, the choice is yours." "I don''t have a choice anymore," Brynjar frowned. "I just got a notification that I can''t leave the floor before the Heroic Challenge Boss is defeated. I tried to activate the trial, but it was rejected. Do you all have the same condition?" "Of course," Jemma wryly smiled. "Yeah, it''s either we die or we kill the Heroic Boss. We can''t exit," Xavier nodded. "Now that we''ve satisfied your curiosity, you must excuse us," Almond calmly said. "We have to do some sparring and practice before we enter that door after two hours. You all stay at the corner and make your decision." Pausing briefly, Almond added, "Frankly, It''d leave a bad taste in my mouth if you all enter and die, but I don''t mind if we have some meatshields that can attract the Heroic Boss'' attention if you ignore the warning and still enter." Turning around, he swept his nce at others, "Now, let''s start our sparring session. It''s you all versus my spirit wraiths and I. Let''s familiarize ourselves with items'' effects and our usual strategy that emphasizes control and disability. Give your all." "Yes!" "Aye, aye, captain!" "Roger!" Chapter 178 Grave Situation Almond and others began their practice session while the other three parties discussed internally. "I''m not letting my party participate in that," Brynjar calmly said as he hade to a decision already. "The way my puppet died still gives me chills. It''s simply too powerful. The floor boss usually has high Health and Mana only, while other stats are rtively low so that we can tank damage and match with its movement and skills." "But this Heroic Boss?" Brynjar shook his head. "I couldn''t see anything clearly, and even if I was present there physically and used Focus Field, I wouldn''t be able to react properly." "So that''s why they said that even with their crazy high-ranking gears, they still have a chance of dying¡­" Yuxin frowned. "The rewards they got are practically impossible to get on these lower floors unless they did something no one knew, which is this Heroic Challenge mode," Lyndia narrowed her eyes. "It means the rewards of this Heroic Boss are something we can''t even imagine because who knows what else they''ve gotten aside from items." "I can''t find a realistic approach to defeat that Heroic floor boss just based on its stats," Brynjar wryly said. "And it''s a humanoid boss, which means it''s more intelligent, and its skills would be crazy powerful as well. Yeah, no." "Leader, look at them fighting. What the fuck¡­" "That Almond rookie who took rank 1 in the Rising Star is a freak! Nobody has been able to touch him with any skill yet!" "I can''t follow their movements properly. All of their stats are boosted by those Epic and legendary items." ''They freaking have gear sets!"N?v(el)B\\jnn "Those summons are also crazy! He alone is enough to wipe out the normal floor boss with his summons¡­" "¡­" "Yeah, no. That guy is going to get very strong, wtf¡­" "GAA will get another monstrous powerhouse, and that too very soon, based on his progress speed," Yuxin muttered while watching the battle. "Yeah, he led this group to the 5th floor already, and all of them have crazy items on top of that," Lyndia nodded as she looked at Almond. "So, what''s your decision?" Brynjal asked while his gaze was on the ongoingbat. "You can see their power, but even then, it''s going to be tough for them. It''s clear from this practice and their expressions." "Boss, that strongest guy, Almond, also had a somber face despite that level ofbat power¡­yeah, we should sit out from this one." They could indeed see the power of the whole group, especially Almond and some of his spirit wraiths, but what they were watching wasn''t even the full power of Almond. Almond wasn''t using his Espada Ad Grimveil to its full potential because that would be overkill even in practice. He simply didn''t need to use any domain techniques of that skill. Regardless, the three parties came to a sound decision, and not wanting to disturb the practice session, they began leaving one by one, activating their floor advancement trial toplete it and moving to the next floor instead of participating in the Heroic Challenge Floor boss fight. Everyone disappeared soon as only Brynjal remained. He watched for a while until Almond and others took a break after ten minutes. "Can I join?" Brynjal asked as he approached Almond. "My puppets might be useful in attracting the boss'' attention. Some are agile, some are tanky, and all of them can have a taunt aura that forces a target to go after that." Almond blinked, ''A forceful taunt? That''s wonderful.'' "That actually sounds good, don''t you think?" Lily turned to Almond. "Yeah," Almond nodded. "Come on, join us, and show me what you got." ¡­ Time passed, and everyone practiced for over two hours and only stopped when only thirty minutes remained until the first cycle''s end. There was no second chance for this Heroic challenge, and the n was to kill the boss as soon as possible, preferably in thirty seconds. Everyone rested for twenty minutes before it was finally time. "Drink the supreme-quality potions we got from the party chest once we enter. Don''t any of you dare to think about saving it," Almond said as he nced at others. "And share it with the ones that don''t have it." Almond also took out a set of potions and gave it to Brynjal. The Supreme quality assortment of potions they got from first rank party chest was absolutely essential because of their buffs. Each one got three sets of potions, with a single set containing eight potions. Six of them were stat-boosting potions for each stat, boosting one''s Strength, Health, Stamina, Mana, Perception, and Focus by 50% for 1 minute. The other two in the set were Complete Recovery Health Potion and Arcane Mana Boost Potion. Complete Recovery Health Potion could heal all injuries, remove all harmful effects, and even recover organs and limbs as long as the person''s brain wasn''t dead. Arcane Mana Boost Potion could recover Mana to full and also increase Mana recovery by 500% for 30 seconds. As such, Almond made sure that everyone got a set of these eight potions each. "Drink all potions when 10 seconds are left until the boss''s appearance," Almond said before turning to the stairs and adorning his high-quality Legendary Gear set. "Let''s go." Almond was slightly more confident ofpleting this raid sessfully without casualty because of this gear set. "Wait," Lily suddenly said, her eyes glinting as she thought of a problem. "We know that the Heroic boss usually takes one minute before it spawns, but¡­" Turning to Brynjal, she continued, "Brynjal''s puppet entered before, and it was spawned after a minute. What if the boss is now just waiting for us?" Hearing Lily''s words, the ones who had fought with the previous Heroic Bosses felt a chill crawling down their back. "T-That shouldn''t be the case, right?" Talia asked, stammering as she weakly smiled. Xavier gulped and said, "I have a bad feeling." "Me too," Natalia bit her lips, her forehead sweating. But she wasn''t alone, as all others except for the first-timers were sweating. Almond turned to Brynjal and said, his expression more somber than ever before, "Send a puppet inside. We have to see what''s going on inside." ''This heroic challenge area was also different than previous ones with the meadow and pond¡­Please, please, I hope the boss has returned,'' Almond prayed internally as Brynjal sent his puppet inside. However, a few moments afterward, everyone saw Brynjal''s expression changing drastically before his eyes flickered as he closed them. And his expression only grew graver. "The area¡­. it changed," Brynjal was sweating harder than anyone now, his voice trembling. "T-The meadow is overgrown. The p-nts are big, and the boss¡­h-he is there in the middle." "Floating while sitting cross-legged, with his wooden staff beside him." "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Amir muttered. "What do we do now?" Maya asked as her expression was pale. "Boss," Marcus turned to Almond, his fists clenched. ''We can do it still!'' Everyone was looking at Almond. "We can''t do anything else," Almond frowned. "We can never leave unless we defeat that Heroic Spirit, so we have to do this." "We have less than ten minutes before the cycle ends," Lily informed, her expression grave. "D-Don''t tell me the Heroic Boss will also get stronger on the second cycle?!" Jemma stuttered, her eyes filled with fear. "Hell no!" "If we wait, then we''ll never defeat the boss during this month, and the Labyrinth will close after twelve days! What will happen then?" "We have to kill the boss who is prepared to receive us," Jian frowned. "There''s not much choice here. Let''s do it." "The fuck do you know about it?" Amir muttered. "I almost died on the previous floor." "That''s true, but¡­" "Fuck." "We have to do this, but the chance of dying inside is higher now¡­" "Goddamn it! It''s all because we had to show those three parties the goddamn heroic boss," Xavier frowned. Everyone was feeling fear. The stress was getting them, and panic was settling in. Seeing their status, those who hadn''t yet witnessed the power of a Heroic Boss were also affected. ''Darling,'' Lily looked at him. ''We have to do this. Calm them down first.'' "Calm down, everyone," Almond said as he took a deep breath andposed himself, his gaze turning sharp and bright. Almond pierced his Legendary golden sword on the ground, his aura exploding. "Five minutes. Listen to me and get ready. We are changing our strategy slightly on how we enter inside and make a move. Listen! We will do this! We are getting out of the Labyrinth today after defeating the Heroic Boss!" "And that''s final!" The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 179 Improvising Completed, Shamanic Druid Melameron of Wandering Cursed Meadow (1) "I''ll go in first and sh with the boss," Almond said. "With this gear set and my skill, I am not confident of at least not getting hit or getting one-shotted by this Heroic Boss." Almond had a 200 Strength stat, which could go up to 1000 just with his Mana techniques¡ªStrength Boost and Body Enfold both gave a 200% boost each.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om The other stats could go up 600 because he had been naturally gaining levels in his Mana techniques along with his memories. His expertise had reached Stage 2 level 10 in all techniques. So Body Enfold boosted all stats by 200% at Stage 2 level 10. With his Perception and Focus further adding 100% from his ss perk, those two could reach 800. And his Legendary Gear set of high-tier, which he named Golden Ruin Grimlord Set, gave him tons of stat points from its perks¡ªeach of the four items gave him 400 stat points, the maximum possible from high-tier legendary items. Legendary Low-tier items could give anywhere between 200-250. Mid-tier items could give anywhere between 250-300. High-tier items could give anywhere between 300-400. And since he crafted his gears in Spirit Forge Factory with high-tier options, he got a full 400 from all four items. His current status with items equipped looked something like this: -Strength: 200 (+420) | With Mana Techniques +800 -Health: 200 (+215) | With M.Ts +400 -Stamina: 200 (+200) | With M.Ts +400 -Mana: 200 (+300) (+90) | With M.Ts +400 -Focus: 200 (+200) (+145) | With M.Ts +400 -Perception: 200 (+200) (+130) | With M.Ts +400 -Will: 100. The Legendary Gear sets'' items gave more Strength stat overall, reaching 420 in bonus from the perks. And along with benefits from his high-tier Legendary items'' effects, Almond was feeling good. He just needed to divide the boss''s Perception and harvest it to keep up with it while remaining careful and shing properly so that others could prepare andunch their strategy. "Look at my status. Boss has only 200 Strength above mine," Almond''s expression was ferocious and confident. "Do you think he can stand a chance against me?" Everyone looked at his status and gulped. There was too much power packed in Almond at the moment! And it definitely gave a surge of confidence to them, especially since they knew that Almond was a freak of nature when it came to using swordys. They had just finished the practice session with him, so they knew it. Only Lily could barely keep up with him even though his stats were close to theirs and he was outnumbered, but even so, nobody managed to peg him down even a single step during thebat. "We can do this shit, yeah!" Marcus clenched his fist as he growled. "I have my new talent, which is at Legendary rank, so I will join you, boss. We''ll go together at the start, so we will have more defense overall." Almond faintly smiled and nodded, "Good. We''ll go together. And after me will enter Sylvia, Lily, and Mira." "Lily and Mira can reduce their presence significantly with their darkness element''s attributes and move through the overgrown meadow. Their attacks will also affect the meadow most in case we have to destroy the magical flowers and nts that Brynjal saw." "I said in case because before you two do that, I want Sylvia to make a move," Almond looked at Sylvia. "If you can take control of the Meadow or prevent those magical floras from harming us and use them for your own benefit, I want you to do it." Sylvia''s expression was determined, "I will do my best to make that possible, Master!" Almond nodded and looked at the others, "Afterward, the ones to enter will be Julian, Kira, Eliara, Noah, Ron, Adrian, Jian, Finn, and Xavier. You all are close to medium-rangebatants, and your first job is to use your buff skills and then hit the impactful or control skills to the boss or some other troubles, if there are any, like a flora monster. I can''t be sure, I''m just saying based on this boss'' theme." Almond then looked at Amir, Ka, and others, "One second after they enter, Emma, Amir, Talia, and Ka enter. You four have good buff skills. Emma, you will use poison buff on my weapon since it''s only a single target. Amir and Talia, you will use your skills to increase all close-range fighters'' movement and action speed. Ka, you are more versatile with your druid skills, so act ordingly. Your absolute parry is to be used instantly if you see someone in danger. Don''t observe and act. Observe, predict, and act. When your prediction is based on observation that collects data in your mind, it is often true." "Understood." The four of them nodded. "Lastly," Almond looked at Maya, Natalia, and Brynjal. "Maya and Natalia, you will enter and immediately start preparing your powerful control attacks. Nyssara, you will tag with Maya as usual." "If Brynjal''s forceful taunt is as useful as I think, then that''ll be our chance," Almond looked at Brynjal. "No need to save puppets. Use every puppet you have and give them a forceful taunt." "Got it," Brynjal nodded. "And you all," Almond looked at his Spirit Wraiths with a grin. "When the Boss is getting taunted, I want you all to jump on him with everything you got and buy as much time as you can." "We shall die spectacrly," Galvaren said with a wide grin. "As usual," Benedict smiled as his eyes lit up with fighting spirit. "I have improved somewhat, so I will use my darkness to its full power to bind the boss." "We will not disappoint you, my lord," Ashkar knelt on one knee. "Your faith in us will not be in vain." "Roar!!" Starlight Beast loudly roared. "Less than six minutes left," Lily said. "Let''s go! Enter with an interval of one to two seconds!" Almond walked the stairs with Marcus following right behind him. Sylvia walked behind next, and others also walked up as the stairs were wide and pretty big. Almond and Marcus chugged the potions, boosting their stats by 50%, though this 50% only applied to their foundational stats and boosts from their ss perks. "Active the Mana techniques here," Almond said as he activated his Mana techniques. Marcus nodded as he did the same. "Let''s go," Almond entered through the door, arriving inside the Heroic Challenge Area with a greeting from the Grand Abyss Labyrinth. [Defeat the Shamanic Druid Mmeron of Wandering Cursed Meadow. Good luck.] Chapter 180 Shamanic Druid Melameron of Wandering Cursed Meadow (2) Almond entered inside and immediately spotted Mmeron, who floated at the center exactly 200 meters away from him. At that moment, his eyes flickered and stilled, his expression became t. The only thing that remained was cold calctiveness and reign over his body. In the next blink, he appeared right before Mmeron, his sword and hands blurring, his eyes flickering with a dreamy white glow. Sword Bending Motion. Six shes. Divine Divider''s Harvest¡ªPerception. The first five shes were blocked by a hazy green sparkling barrier that flickered into existence around Mmeron before Almond heard "Ayo." A thin yet wide wooden shield blocked the sixth strike. "Marvelous." Almond was briefly stunned, ''This one can fucking talk?'' But, of course, his body didn''t stop. Two spiky vines in drilling motions shot at him from both sides. Almond whirled on the top, shredding away them for half a second before moving as five green orbs shot at him from Mmeron''s fingers. Marcus stood nearby, boosting Almond with his skills and items'' effects. Various flora monsters sprung up from the meadow. "Fuck!" Marcus cursed and nced behind. ''Sylvia, hope you can stop them.'' From behind, Sylvia had also entered and rooted herself on the ground, sensing the meadow and exerting her control. The various flora monsters and other vines that were also attacking Almond suddenly stopped, giving a muchrger room to Almond. ''It worked!'' Almond''s eyes glinted. He eyed Mmeron, whose eyes seemed to be looking at Sylvia. "Eyes on me, druid!" "Troublesome brat, hahahaha. Well, since that''s the case, then allow me to change the game," Mmeron looked at Almond, his eyes clearly showing excitement. The meadow suddenly started withering while Mron''s robe and staff started glowing as mysterious patterns appeared. Lily and Mira became free from their initial roles as well, along with Sylvia. ''I''ll join Master and support him!'' Lily nodded while she also began using her Dreadspire Call, wanting to summon Lupine of Darkened me to bolster her attack. ''The boss added extrayers of defense and power to himself by retracting this cursed meadow. Mira, use your darkness skill to slow or debuff him in any way while staying hidden,'' Lily said to Mira. ''Got it.'' Meanwhile, Almond took this chance as he saw Mmeron was preparing something after retracting his cursed meadow. He unleashed three rapid golden sword shes, but they suddenly turned dark green and withered away before reaching Mmeron. Almond blinked. "Such normal attacks won''t reach me anymore, kiddo. Try some solidbat and weapon arts, hahaha." Almond''s pupils contracted as he saw high-speed, thin wooden splintersing at him from all directions out of nowhere as Mmeron used a skill. Danger bells rang heavily in his mind, instantly judging that he couldn''t afford to get hit by them as they were likely highly poisonous. At the same time, the closebatants Kira and others also entered, rushing towards Almond while activating their buff skills, be it targeting-type or aura-type, that affected everyone within a certain range. Meanwhile, Almond''s expression was t and cold in response to the iing rain of sharp, poisonous splinters. His eyes flickered once, and he reced the space he was at with Mmeron''s space, swapping them right before the splinters were about to hit him. "Hohoho, wonderful, wonderful!" Mmeron was struck by his own splinters, but they lost colors instantly as if he absorbed their poison back into himself. The strange wooden exoskeleton that appeared around his body like armor after the cursed meadow vanished seemed to have increased his defense and given him some powers. ''Emma''s poison likely won''t work, but she should use this chance to bolster her poisons.'' Meanwhile, the other close-range attackers arrived andunched their attacks. Taking this chance, Almond started preparing as Voidbound Rifts started appearing all over his domain. ''I''d better make 200 this time instead of 100,'' his eyes glinted. And he also devoured a spirit of the Wandering Boss, increasing all of his stats by 400! At this point, his Strenght and Perception were higher than the boss''s! If everything went ording to the new n, this could be their most sessful raid! Meanwhile, the first one to attack from closebatants was Jian, who had turned into a giant berserker and jumped like a wild beast at breakneck, pouncing at Mmeron. Mmeron flicked his finger,unching spikes at Jian as a greeting right at his face and also as a means to kill him. One hit in the head, and he would die. However, Jian was wearing a high-tier Epic-rank gear set, just like other close-range fighters. He used one of its effects barely on time, as a dark pink rubbery shield appeared in front of him. The moment the spikes touched the shield, they bounced back while Jian''s whole body turned red, and he continued with his momentum akin to a rocket toward Mmeron. *BOOM!* He crashed into a shield, causing a sh of annoyance to appear in Mmeron''s eyes as he pushed back despite the shield due to speed + power impact. But in the next moment, a giant wooden punch struck Jian, and he smacked onto the ground like a rocket while spitting blood. [You have suffered internal shock damage, and poison force is invading your nerves. Your movement speed is reduced by 50%] ''Fuck.'' Meanwhile, Mmeron saw Almond getting away from him and decided to deal with these antsing his way. Kira, Eliara, Noah, Ron, Adrian, Finn, and Xavierunched themselves in a flurry of attacks right after Jian''s attempt, wanting to keep the boss as busy as possible and destroy that outer exoskeleton. All of them were fully geared, and Marcus was defending everyone with his SSS-rank skill and enhancing it fully with his Ironheart Force to make it even more powerful. Everyone within 100 meters of himself received an Imaginary Geoprime Armor that reduces all Physical damage by 20% and Magical damage by 10% before hitting them. With Ironheart Force consumption per second, the effects doubled. This was the reason why Jian wasn''t severely injured. Meanwhile, Kira was the first one to unleash a flurry of shes while also using the active effect of her Legendary Gear Set''s Lunar Hunt sword that enchanted her next attacks to give the blessing of Lunar Aqua Splice, increasing the shing pration of her attacks by 200% if her sh-type attacks were of water-element! Mmeron conjured giant wooden palms in front of him as his palms stretched forward while he alsounched another skill as a wooden avatar started manifesting from his back with ten arms. Each hand of that arm had a different type of magical wooden weapon enchanted with poisons.N?v(el)B\\jnn Kira''s attacks shed the defensive palms, but two of Mmeron''s hands destroyed them while a hammer aimed for Kira''s head, fully intending to kill her. Kira quickly used the effect of her armor as sparkling water started streaming around her in a sphere. The hammer struck, and it burst open, smashing her away, but she wasn''t as injured as Jian. However, she was somehow mystically poisoned. But the chain assault of the closebatants had just begun! Right as Kira was smacked away, Noah and Eliaraunched their steelbo attacks next while using their Epic weapons'' effects. ''Bring it on, brats!'' Mmeron''s words andugh forcefully entered everyone''s ears, fully intending to receive their attacks and kill them! Chapter 181 Shamanic Druid Melameron of Wandering Cursed Meadow (3/3), The Last Words Eliara and Noah''s initial steep shes were blocked by wooden weapons armed by the avatar while Mmeron''s staff conjured snake-like vines with stingers toward them. Eliara formed her iron fortress mid-air while also releasing a spiky metal orb that sted and released rustic metallic shards with corrosive effects. Mmeron protected himself with a shield while his wooden shield, held by one of his avatar''s hands, swept at Noah and Eliara at a super speed while they were mid-air. The shield had poisonced spikes on its surface. But Ron arrived and unleashed his specialized ss skill, Infernal Chakrams, to attack the shield, giving Noah and Eliara just enough time to get away. Behind Ron, Xavier finished charging his strongest light-piercing rapier as a burst of golden beam shot at Mmeron, aimed right at his head. ''Little brats.'' Mmeron quickly conjured a glinting dark pink flower shield in front of him with a slick, hazy, mirror-like surface in the shape of a sunflower. The piercing lightser struck it and was absorbed inside as the sunflower glowed and released the beam back. Ka, in her majestic griffon form, swooped in like a hawk with her shining wings, deflecting theser in a timely manner. Thest twobatants in line¡ªFinn and Adrian¡ªalsounched their attacks. Finn''s Thunder Hammer of his high-tier Epic-rank set and the set effects that boosted his lightning elemental mastery allowed him to gain lightning speed for a brief moment as he arrived above Mmeron, his hammer aimed at the boss'' head. Adrian was thest one in the chain of attacks, and he aimed for the joints and neck of Mmeron with his Legendary rank Phoenixme Gauntlets. He had also consumed both one-time-use legendary items, making him the second strongest after Almond at the moment. In response, Mmeron''s wooden hands holding sword and spear went for Finn, both going for Finn at an obvious weak point. If Finn continued, both weapons would pierce him, one at his face and one at his chest. The chest had defense, but the face didn''t have any defense. Meanwhile, the other eight aimed at Adrian, but Adrian''s fiery eyes and his body wreathed in the Aurora Dragonfire didn''t back down. He used his strongest specialized ss skill, Impact of a Million Smash, as both of his fists wrapped in Phoenixme Gauntlets burst out with giant fist projectiles buffed by Aurora Dragonfire and other buffs. *BOOOM!* The powerful impact shattered and burned away all wooden weapons while Mmeron was smashed on the ground due to pure impact. His exoskeleton cracked, on the verge of shattering. *Swoosh!* A powerful gust of wind swept past everyone and struck Finn, saving him as Amir used the Tier-1 Artifact that Almond had given him¡ªQuetzal''s Windgod Handfan. Julian did better as he used the wind and his new swordy with Heavy Sword to curve himself, dodging the iing attack while also managing to unleash the strongest sh projectile empowered by his specialized ss skill toward Mmeron''s vines, preventing the vines from pulling him out of the wind gust wave. A domain of wind formed, allowing Amir to control the wind as he pleased and move others to save them while also increasing everyone''s movement and action speed. Talia instead went towards Almond as her buff-skill''s range was shorter, and she had to make sure Almond was buffed. Amir didn''t stop and used the second effect of the Artifact towards the boss as a massive wave of wind gusts impacted Mmeron, keeping him on the ground since Adrian''s powerful attack had already smashed him down. "Very good, hahahaha!" Mmeronughed, still unscratched, as his vitality was at 100%. His staff on the ground pulsed as heughed, and it vanished into the ground before giant mushrooms with big mouths on top of them suddenly sprung up near everyone. However, Almond''s spirit wraiths pounced on Mmeron before he could try to get away from the wind gusts'' zone. Dark Popeshed out with shadow whips, binding all limbs, and Mira also poured all of her Mana to strengthen those darkness-elemental bindings. Galvaren roared and dive-bombed Mmeron, shattering the ten wooden hands of his avatar that formed a defensive wall. But everyone else started feeling foggy and dizzy as mushrooms burst out with poisonous gas. Still, Brynjal made sure to put all four of his puppets at the fight so that Almond''s spirit wraiths could keep Mmeron busy. Sylvia rooted herself and put her entire focus on controlling it. Emma also did the same, targeting the poison with her specialized ss''s poison-type skill and storing it away in her Exotic Poison Pouch skill as much as possible. Sylvia turned into a giant tree, absorbing all the poisons, but everyone was not only feeling debuffs but also their vitality was rapidly reducing. Jemma also used her widespread recovery and cleansing skills to support everyone as her water trails spread out. ''Use both Potions! It''s time!'' Almond also used Spirit Syringe on himself to boost his stats further. With no other choice, everyone first used the Supreme quality Complete Recovery Potions as they recovered fully, and all debuffs were removed. They also drank the Arcane Mana recovery potion. And then entered the surprise elements that Mmeron didn''t know and the best bet to finish off the Heroic Boss. Nyssara, Maya, and Natalia. Jemma also boosted Maya''s iciness by adding her water elemental power. Almond was also finished with his preparation, and so was Lily with her highly lethal Lupin of Darkened me and her Voidless Sunderer attack from both of her Legendary weapons! The Spirit Wraiths didn''t care about their lives and made sure that Mmeron was fully focused on them. Unlike the previous Heroic Bosses, this one was more intelligent, but he didn''t know about Maya and Natalia yet because they just entered while the previous bosses all knew about them. If Mmeron also knew about the n or figured it out, it could indeed falter, but since Maya and Natalia had just entered the challenge area, he didn''t know! Both gals entered fully prepared, especially Maya, whose arrow was nocked and ready, pulsing and whirling with ice elements boosted and jointly controlled by Nysarra! ''Natalia, go first!'' Almond''s voice entered her ears. Natalia had already pushed her instruments towards the boss as they rang and provided buffs, so upon hearing Almond''smand, she immediatelyunched her skill¡ªCelestial Songstress from her flute. The ring of sound struck all spirit wraiths, passing through them and stunning them while also striking Mmeron, stunning him. Almond arrived right behind Mmeron, activating Phase Two of Unveiled Catastrophe. Stunnedpletely, Mmeron couldn''t do anything as the dreadful catastrophic sh arrived. But as if Mmeron''s staff had its own mind, it sprung up from the ground, shining menacingly to block the strike. s, this was a pure destructive-type attack. The staff instantly broke, but the brief time it brought recovered Mmeron just enough to save his neck as he jumped. The catastrophic sh struck his waist and disintegrated it along with everything below. -68% vitality in just one attack!N?v(el)B\\jnn ''Holy crap, brat! Awesome attack!'' His attention on Almond was hyper, but then his eyes shed, and he turned in another direction. ''Shit.'' Maya''s arrow came hurling, piercing, and zooming. It was toote when he noticed it as it burst with a freezing wave towards him. Almond already knew since he gave themand to Maya at a perfect time by taking into consideration that Mmeron might save his neck from his catastrophic sh. As such, he put Spirit Nuke right before Mmeron was frozen into an iceblock. 1 second. *BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!* ''My job is to take lives even if I don''t want to. Don''t hold it against me if you see me in the future, brat. Good luck, and I hope you can save them.'' And then, the mushrooms exploded with lethal poison¡­while the notification of thempleting the Heroic Challenge also rang. Almond''s pupils shrank to the size of a needle as a scene of pure terror unfolded before him. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 182 The All-Seeing Eyes, The All-Severing Blade (1) The moment mushrooms exploded and filled the area with poison, everyone was instantly affected, including Almond. Almond could feel his nerves getting affected first, paralyzing him, but before it could affect him fully, he took out a Supreme-quality healing potion and chugged it, recovering himself. Like him, a few others also managed to do that. Lily, Maya, Marcus, Natalia, Kira, Noah, Jemma, and Talia were the only ones who managed to recover.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om ''Give potions to others! Fast!'' Lily immediately said to others. ''No, we have to remove the poison from this area! Almond!'' ''I got it!'' Almond''s world was slowed down, and he was already working on the solution. His pupils had contracted to the extreme while his Espada Ad Grimveil was expanded to fully, forcefully. ''Damn it!'' The skill wasn''t working properly because after using Unveiled Catastrophe, he wasn''t supposed to use it. But here he was, trying to forcefully and purely using his own understanding to maintain it because he wanted to create small slits all over the area for just enough time to extract all the poison gas! Sylvia''s roots were injected into everyone by now as she was also trying her best to eject poison from everyone. Almond''s eyes were bloodshot as they still flickered with silver, trying to use Espada Ad Grimveil''s techniques even though the domain couldn''t be established properly. ''Slice the space, damn it!'' His ss source wasn''t helping him, and he didn''t have space elemental mastery to be able to do that without Espada Ad Grimveil. Lily and others who recovered quickly distributed potions to people nearest to them, but there was a big problem. The total number of supreme quality recovery potions they had was thirty-nine since everyone who participated in the previous heroic challenge got three each. Out of 39 Supreme quality recovery potions, 23 were already used up during the time when the mushroom''s mouths spewed out poison fog. 16 remained in the storage pouch of people who had participated in the previous heroic floor boss. Almond, Lily, Maya, Marcus, Natalia, Kira, Noah, Jemma, and Talia used the potions, while Amir, Eliara, Ka, and Xavier couldn''t use theirs. Ka was in her griffon form, flying. When the poison took effect on her with a nearby mushroom exploding, she fell hard on the ground, reverted to her human form, and couldn''t move anymore. The same thing happened with Amir, who was flying around on his wind. Xavier was in the process of releasing aser beam, so when his nerves froze, he injured himself. Eliara was right beside a mushroom, so when it exploded, she suffered more and was paralyzed swiftly, losing consciousness. As such, Lily and others quickly took out potions from the storage pouches of Amir, Eliara, Ka, and Xavier, recovering them. But now, only three potions remained, and they were hurriedly given to Julian, Adrian, and Mira, who were nearby. Everyone who drank the Supreme quality potion was fine and seemed to have resistance against poison. Lily discovered it firsthand, so she immediately told Sylvia to focus on only those affected¡ªJian, Ron, Finn, Anya, and Brynjal. "Amir, keep the poison gas away from them!" "On it!" "We are immune to the poison, but only temporarily!" "The portal to the next floor has opened! You all leave," Lily said to others. "Amir and Jemma, you two stay to support." Suddenly, everyone heard a loud, broken roar and turned in the sound''s direction as they saw Almond''s aura unstable and his bloodshot eyes tearing blood. He was trying to feel, sense, and tear away the space based on his familiarity with Espada Ad Grimveil, trying to grasp the power he had been using with the ss''s source. ''I CAN DO IT!'' ''GRASP IT. FOCUS, AND FUCKING DO IT!'' His brain buzzed as he singrly focused on enacting the phenomenon of controlling space as he usually did within his domain of Espada Ad Grimveil. Almond''s Perception and Focus were also lowered, but he didn''t give up. In the next moment, his eyes burst as blood gushed out due to straining his Riftveil Eyes, trying to see through the spaceyer and cutting it. But it wasn''t over! Almond still forced himself to drown in the feeling of controlling the space. His Riftveil Eyes were still activated, sensing everything via his Force Field. ''Rip it open!'' ''I can cut everything!'' ''There is nothing my de cannot ovee!'' ''CUT IT!'' Almond''s arm blurred as he swung his sword. And in that swing, a burst of rity assaulted his mind. ''I have to protect others!'' A wave of aura passed through as the Mana he just covered by chugging the Arcane Mana recovery potion vanished, reducing by 90%. As the power from his de swept outward, the space cracked open above in the meadow, revealing terrifying eye-shaped pitch-ck rends. At the same time, every single person, including his Spirit Wraith, was covered in a hazy ck-silver bubble that Almond created. The powerful suction force from the ck rends above sucked in all the poison, nts, and debris while everyone within the bubble stayed on the ground. In just a couple of seconds, all traces of poison, along with remnants of exploded giant mushrooms, were devoured by the ck rends. [You are very close to making the connection with elements of space.] Ignoring the notification, Almond stood up and walked towards Lily and others who had lined up Emma, Jian, Ron, Finn, Anya, and Brynjal in a row with Sylvia tending to them, trying to extract poison from them, but their vitality was still reducing steadily as she could only slow it down a bit. Emma was better off as her specialized ss and primary ss were both poison and flora-rted. "Master¡­" Sylvia spoke out in concern, seeing Almond''s bloodied face that resulted from his destroyed eyes. "Keep tending to them," Almond said to Sylvia while he observed Emma, Jian, Ron, Finn, Anya, and Brynjal with his Riftveil Eyes'' power via Focus Field. ''I have to save them,'' Almond''s hand gripped his sword, but he couldn''t observe the poison with his Riftveil Eyes, not to mention cutting off everything harmful while keeping them alive. "Almond," Lily got up and quickly took out a healing potion before putting it at his lips. It was a powerful potion that they had gotten from one of the previous heroic challenge''s party chests, but it wasn''t supreme quality, so it had no effect on the poison of this power. Still, it could regenerate Almond''s eyes. "What do we do¡­ T-This poison is too powerful," Eliara said, her face scaredly pale as she looked at them. "There''s still 3 minutes until the exit portal appears¡­" "They won''t survive until then. Damn, that bastard boss!" Marcus smashed his shield on the ground. Everyone was fearing for their fellow adventurers'' lives. The parents of these kids were not expecting them to discover something like Heroic Challenge and dance with death, but here they were, and the news of their death was going to be devastating. Some of them already thought there wasn''t any chance of saving them, but only four people had yet to give up. Lily, Natalia, Julian, and Almond himself who was fully focused on the six individuals. Chapter 183 The All-Seeing Eyes, The All-Severing Blade (2) [A/N: I made minor mistakes regarding the names in the previous chapters but edited them. I also added three action sequences that I missed in chapter 181¡ªJemma''s water empowering Maya''s ice to give more mass and effect to freezing arrow, Julian''s strongest single attack sh that prevented the boss'' vines from pulling him out of wind gust wave, and Brynjal''s puppets taunting the Boss during the onught of spirit wraiths to keep the boss down and busy as much as possible. Truly sorry, readers. T-T.] ***** "Almond, you can do it!" Natalia shouted, suddenly making everyone quiet as they looked at Almond. "I know you can!" "Everyone, quiet down and let him focus," Lily said, her eyes intensely on Almond, filled with 100% trust in him. ''Darling, if there''s one person who I believe to be a genius, it''s you.'' ''If there''s one person who I believe to be the most hardworking and put in crazy efforts regardless of pain or difficulty, it''s you.'' ''If you set your eyes on something, nothing can stop you. No power in this universe must stop you from achieving the result you desire and your work for it.'' ''Breakthrough your limit and show me your brilliance so that I can also strive for my brilliance by standing right beside you.'' ''I believe you, darling, the one with the de that can cut everything,'' Lily smiled. Almond looked at Lily as he heard her words and clenched his sword''s handle tightly as he nodded. His mind turned serene, and his focus heightened. Raising his legendary golden sword, he pointed it at Ron and others. ''My de is the one that must be able to cut everything.'' ''My eyes are the light that must see through everything.'' Almond focused, putting his entire understanding of his specialized ss''s concept, expanding andprehending it to strain his Riftveil Eyes. ''For my de to cut everything, my eyes must see through everything.'' Almond''s eyes glowed brightly with a golden hue as a faint glittering golden trail oozed out from them. ''See through their entire attributes.'' ''See through the poison.'' ''See through their status effect, the debuffs affecting them.'' ''They are all harmful attributes.'' Almond''s vision shifted as a new world of observation superimposed on his eyes. He could see various spots, all darkened, withering, and eating away at their organs and vitality. ''See through harmful attributes, target them¡­'' Almond''s aura surged. ''And cut them!'' Almond swung his de horizontally as an ethereal golden de shot out and struck everyone except for Emma. The bodies of Jian, Ron, Finn, Anya, and Brynjal jolted slightly before a dark greenish mist was expelled from them. Sylvia acted quickly and absorbed it, purifying it with her powers. Emma was writhing in pain with muffled cries because she wasn''t unconscious. "Why not Emma, Almond? Quickly heal her," Ka anxiously said. "Yeah, She looks like she''s in so much pain." Almond''s vision was blurry as his figure swayed, but Lily quickly supported him. ''Shit¡­I can''t¡­'' Almond was unable to even form thoughts properly as his willpower waspletely drained with that sh that cut away all harmful effects from Ron, Jian, Finn, Anya, and Brynjal. "Almond? What happened?" "Shit, he pushed himself too much," Marcus frowned. "Emma is fighting still¡­.what do we do?" "Two minutes until the exit portal opens." Almond stayed strong and took a deep breath as he didn''t let himself fall unconscious. Looking at Emma, he sent a Magic Whisper, ''Emma, focus and try to ignore pain. You are at an important threshold that can make you powerful. Don''t let the poison beat you. Instead, tame this poison, and you will be way more powerful!'' ''You can do it, just like I did! This is your opportunity, so don''t miss it!'' ''Urghh¡­'' Almond felt an intense headache as his vision blurred. "Arghhh!" Emma screamed briefly before shutting her mouth. Her fingers dug into the ground as she grabbed it. "I..am¡­fine," Emma spoke with muffled hisses. "L-Leave me alone¡­" Emma then closed her eyes, heeding Almond''s advice because she desired more power and also knew that this was an opportunity for her.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om "Don''t disturb her," Almond groggily said as his heady on Lily''s bosom. "And I need to sleep immediately." After saying that, he stopped putting up and just gave up, causing him to go unconscious. Lily touched Almond''s ring and took out the Magic Tent before carrying him inside. The others watched Emma in silence, praying for her. Ron, Jian, Finn, Anya, and Brynjal soon woke up as they regained consciousness,pletely recovered. After knowing that Almond saved them, they felt incredibly grateful because when they were poisoned, they could feel death right in front of them, ready to eat them away. Jian had aplicated expression he had Death resistance thanks to his ss, but it was only for 2 seconds. And even if he lived two seconds extra while poisoned, he would still die because the poison was still in him. "What happened to Almond? Where is he?" Finn asked. Lily emerged from the tent right as Finn asked and answered, "He is fine. He needs to rest to recover because the way he removed your poison and all the harmful effects that the poison brought onto you is very hard, and it strained his mind too much." "He won''t have anysting problems, right?" Brynjal frowned. "Please, I won''t be able to bear it if he took a bad fall by saving us. I entered with you, knowing full well there''d be a chance of death. I am the son of one of the Executives of Proximax guild, and I will do my everything to recover him." "That''s right," Ron nodded. "I don''t have any big backing, but I will ask my guild." "Me too," Anya clenched her fist. "¡­Same," Jian said as he looked at Lily and nodded, his expression firm. "My mother is also one of the executives of the ckstar guild. This favor of saving my life will not go unpaid." "That better be the case," Natalia snorted. "Alright, now let''s hush down, everyone," Kira said, her eyes on Emma. "Let her fight the poison and win." Emma''s body was dark green and ck, glowing at some ces even, and with the way it trembled, it was obvious that she was feeling terrible pain. But she had a specialized ss called Venomshade Witch of S-rank with a focus on poison-type skills. Right now, her mind buzzed with Almond''s words that were filled with conviction. The short sh of attacks Almond had with the Boss when she entered and then subsequent half a minute told her the true massive power Almond held within his grasp. All of them were mere ants in front of the boss, except for Almond. And someone like that told her that she can do it! "She¡­she is recovering," Sylvia eximed, feeling excitement herself as she saw Emma''s status bing better and sensing her energies. "What happened?" "Emma is¡­she is devouring the poison and making it her own!" "Look, her vitality just rose!" Everyone saw her getting better and finally heaved a sigh of relief. At that, Emma became the next one to set foot in Almond''s trailze. Chapter 184 The All-Seeing Eyes, The All-Severing Blade (3/3), Contribution Rewards Emma was getting better, and in the next five minutes, her vitality reached 100% while the poison''s effectspletely vanished. [Congrattions, you have awakened an innate talent by enduring, fighting, and conquering the powerful poison of Shamanic Druid Mmeron.] Emma opened her eyes, feeling perfectly healthy. Ka hugged her with teary eyes, huping as she said, "You really had us worried." Ka had the option to give herst Supreme quality healing potion to either Emma or Julian, but she gave it to Julian instead because Emma was a poison expert and had a higher chance of survival. So she was really d that Emma survived. "Well, I benefitted from this trouble," Emma said with a big smile as she shared her awakened innate talent with everyone. "Take a look, everyone." [Myriad Poison Physique] -Type: Innate Talent. -Rank: Legendary -Effect: ¡ª> You can absorb all poisons of legendary rank or lower and nullify their effects. ¡ª> You can synthesize myriad types of poison in your body based on the poisons you have absorbed. ¡ª> You can convert poison into your vitality. "Holy crap!" "A legendary innate talent of poison¡­" "This is insane!" "Emma just became a whole lot scary with this¡­image being a poison master." "Congrattions," Lily smiled, feeling d but also a bit envious. ''I also want something at Legendary rank¡­'' Everyone was indeed envious, not just Lily. "A poison expert of legendary rank¡­.that''s scary, alright. Emma, your Steelheart Guild will feed you all sorts of poisons," Ron chuckled. "We gotta be careful around her, guys," Amirughed, but suddenly, he started choking, his face turning pale. "W-Wha¡­I-I am poisoned¡­" Everyone was shocked. But in the next moment, Amir''s expression changed as heughed, "I''m just joking." Emma''s face flushed as she said, "Who is with me in beating this bastard up?" "Let''s beat him," Natalia snickered. "Alright, alright, the exit portal is here, but we are just waiting for rewards. We''ll exit once they appear and won''t distribute them right now," Lily said as everyone looked at her. "That''s right. I''ll take the floor boss reward chest for now, and only Almond can ess the party chest, but he is deep in sleep. From the heroic floor boss''s chest, it''ll be up to him on what he will distribute, got it?" "That''s how it should be," Marcus nodded with a serious expression. "All damage was done by him, and with the way he fought and powered up, there''s really no need for this big of a party for him if he wants to defeat the Heroic Boss." "It does feel like I''m leeching off him," Anya weakly smiled. "I agree," Noah nodded. "This was my second heroic challenge with him, and it just shows my unnecessary existence in this party. The contribution rewards and Almond being able to make his special items are more than enough for us based on how little most of us contribute to the fight." "Maya and Natalia are the main yers, while Lily does her job to reduce the boss'' defense the most so Almond''s attacks can finish off the challenge. The rest are extras," Kira wryly smiled. "Everyone," Lily said as she swept her nce at everyone, "You all contributed, and it''s true that we''ve beaten Heroic Challenge with a way lower number before. But Almond included all of you to make sure Maya and Natalia''s control skills can strike the boss, just like how Adrian''s attack smashed him on the ground, and Julian''s quick action prevented him from getting out of Amir''s timely wind gust wave so that the spirit wraiths could rampage on him." Pausing a bit, she continued. "It''s true that we all can''t contribute equally, but we are doing what we can, and that increases our chance of victory while lowering the chance of casualty, which was all thanks to Marcus this time," Lily''s eyes turned sharp. "So if you want to continue to the next heroic floor bosses, make sure to hone your expertise, a set of moves that can contribute to the fight significantly." Everyone felt the heat upon hearing Lily''s words, their determination ignited more than ever. And right after that, the notifications rang. [The rewards have been generated.] [You have defeated Shamanic Druid Mmeron within 36 seconds. Your party has ced 1st rank in the Grimworld Heroic Challenge Leaderboard - Floor 5 Section. Congrattions.] [The rewards based on contribution have been generated.] Everyone eagerly and excitedly looked at the window disying the ranking and juicy rewards. [Contribution ranking rewards] Rank 1: Almond ¡ª> MVP chest. Rank 2: Lily/Marcus. ¡ª>1 x Legendary Gear Set (Mid-tier) ¡ª>1 x Legendary y b box (High-tier) ¡ª>1 x Elemental Imprint Selection box(SSS). ¡ª>3 x GAL roulette tickets. Rank 3: Natalia/Maya. ¡ª>1 x Legendary Gear Set (Mid-tier) ¡ª>1 x Legendary y b box (Mid-tier) ¡ª>1 x Elemental Imprint Selection box (SS). ¡ª>2 x GAL roulette tickets. Rank 4: Adrian/Julian/Amir/Jemma/Brynjal. ¡ª>1 x Legendary Gear Set (low-tier) ¡ª>1 x Legendary y b box (mid-tier) ¡ª>1 x Elemental Imprint Selection box (S) ¡ª>2 x GAL roulette tickets. Rank 5: Kira/Talia/Noah/Eliara/Ka/Mira/Xavier. ¡ª>1 x Legendary Gear set (low-tier) ¡ª>1 x Legendary y b box (low-tier) ¡ª>1 x Elemental Imprint Selection box (A) ¡ª>1 x GAL roulette ticket. Rank 6: Jian/Ron/Emma/Finn/Anya. ¡ª>1 x Legendary Gear Set (low-tier) ¡ª>1 x Elemental Imprint Selection box (A). ¡ª>1 x GAL roulette ticket. "Let''s fucking go, I''m second rank!" Marcus shouted with excitement. "You deserve it. Your new talent and skill prevented deaths and severe injuries that may have caused us to use our Supreme quality potions," Maya smiled. "True, and if we had used up more, we''d have been in big trouble with that poison attack since even Almond would''ve failed to extract poison from more than five people," Lily nodded. "Congrats, big guy. Now you can propose to Maya," Natalia snickered. "You¡­" Marcus''s face flushed while Maya pretended to look at her rewards immediately. She muttered, "This Elemental Imprint is a new thing." "Even us on thest rank got a Legendary gear set?" Ron said with a dumbfounded expression as he snapped out of the reverie that the ranking rewards sent him. "That''s well over worth it considering our contribution was shit! It''s a freaking legendary-gear set!" Turning to Jian and others, he added, "No offense." "There''s no denying the truth," Emma said, her face turning determined, "But I won''t stay at thest rank next time." "That''s right," Anya clenched her fists. "By the way, I used the Grand Abyss Labyrinth roulette ticket, and I got nothing," Xavier wryly smiled. "What, you got nothing? Damn, Let me try," Finn said as he also eagerly opened his first-ever GAL ticket. "My luck is pretty good in gambling, so I might get something good, haha." "This Elemental Imprint Box is awesome, guys! Check it out," Natalia eximed as she checked this new item. "Yeah," Maya nodded. "It''s the most valuable item this time." "The exit portal will stay open for five hours anyway, how about we camp for a bit, eat, and open the rewards?" Marcus said with a grin, "Since we are leaving, I want to open all the GAL tickets I''ve gathered." "Same," Maya nodded, her eyes disying excitement. "So we are going to have a party, but without including the leader ?" Kira crossed her arms as she cutely snorted. But then she grinned and added, "Well, we can have a real party with Almond outside, the one with drinks and a fun ce." "Great idea!" Talia grinned. "I know a fun ce in Duchender City." "I also know about one in Sandss City." "We are from different cities, so we''ll decide the ceter. For now, let''s start camping and preparing for food," Lily said. "I want Almond to eat something good after he wakes up because he''d be super hungry." "The wife has spoken! Everyone, let''s get to work," Natalia cheekily grinned. ¡­ Everyone camped and prepared for a feast with everything that was left in their storage bags. After cooking and eating an hourter, everyone opened their various rewards, sharing their legendary gear set and items and using the Grand Abyss Labyrinth Tickets. Unfortunately, nobody got anything ground-breaking. Natalia got the most valuable item from using up her tickets¡ªa universal skill upgrade card. Some got tier-1 Artifact, some got S-rank skill, and some got Epic-rank items, though nobody got any Legendary items. Lily didn''t open her tickets because she wanted to do it with Almond. Time passed, and everyone left when two hours remained until the exit portal''s disappearance. Lily also sent away Natalia, Marcus, and Maya, the OG team that entered together. She waited beside Almond to let him rest as much as possible. If he didn''t wake up, then she would take him out of Labyrinth in thest five minutes. But Almond woke up when half an hour was left until the exit portal''s disappearance. His stomach immediately rumbled. "Phew, now I''m feeling better," Almond rubbed his temples and saw Lily as he smiled. "Good morning. I guess we are still in the heroic boss area."N?v(el)B\\jnn "We still have half an hour until the exit portal disappears," Lily nodded with a smile. "Wait here, I''ll heat the food and bring it here. We made some good food dishes since Emma and Ron turned out to be real good at cooking." "Awesome. Thanks, honey." As Lily went outside, Almond looked at some new changes that he was feeling. And to know it properly, he directly opened the notifications waiting to be opened for hours. [Congrattions. Your Riftveil Eyes has been evolved into All-Seeing Eyes.] [Congrattions. Your Riftveil Grimde ss has acquired an energy source called Severance, which can be used to execute a new quirk of your ss¡ªthe All-Severing de.] The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 185 Arcane Champions of Eternal Will ''So the All-Seeing eyes can allow me to view anything I desire but consume my willpower just like previous Riftveil Eyes, and All-Severing de can sever anything in any way that I observe with my All-Seeing Eyes at the cost of willpower.'' ''Wait, wtf, my Will just doubled¡­'''' Almond thought as he looked at his ss details, his thrilled eyes dancing with excitement. [Riftveil Grimde] -ss rank: Legendary -ss Perk: +100% Perception, +100% Focus, +200 Will. -Legendary Quirk(s): All-Seeing Eyes, All-Severing de. -ss skill(s): ¡ª> 1. Divine Divider''s Harvest. ¡ª> 2. Espada Ad Grimveil. ¡ª> 3. Unveiled Catastrophe. Lily arrived with food, and seeing Almond''s expression, she knew he must have gained something fruitful based on hisst move that extracted the poison. "You broke through something, right? My bet is your Riftveil eyes," Lily grinned as she walked and put the food te containing five dishes on the table." "Not that just," Almond said, his smile reaching his eyes. "I got another legendary quirk called All-Severing de. Here, take a look at the quirks." Lily''s eyes twinkled as she read the quirks. "All-Seeing Eyes and All-Severing de¡­d-darling, this pair just sounds so cool and powerful!" Lily couldn''t help but be excited herself as she read the quirks. The fire in her to reach Almond''s side on the same level just burned brighter and brighter. "This is seriously awesome!" Lily jumped on the bed, hugging Almond and kissing him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om Then, both of them proceeded to kiss for a few minutes in zing passion before Almond''s stomach made one big rumble that ended it. As they sat at the table and Almond started eating, he said, "There''s one more notification. Let''s take a look." Almond opened thest notification as the message box opened, with words and a fancy leaderboard, startling both of them. "What the¡­" "This¡­" Both of them were purely shocked as they read the content. "This is crazy," Lily muttered. "And that Battlefield of the Mightiest¡­is that what you told me about regarding phase 1?" "Yeah, that seems to be the case," Almond nodded, his mind stirring with multiple thoughts as he read thest part. ''It seems that the frontline party cleared the 10th floor.'' "We''ll get all notifications about this once we leave," Almond said, as he knew that most of the global notifications didn''t pass to Adventurers inside the Labyrinth to prevent disturbing them in case they were in a heated battle or tense situation. "I see, it seems that we are going to have a very¡­very thrilling time ahead," Lily muttered as her excitement reached new heights reading therge wall of sub-notifications. ''I will enter this ranking, and I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you¡­no matter what!'' [Regardless of your ss''s source, the All-Seeing Eyes and All-Severing des are now branded into your soul, for you have manifested them by your will.] [You have forced your will onto the world and your own soul to achieve a tremendous result for your desire. You have touched the nexus of Arcane with your desire for power with your will.] [You have broken the will barrier that weighs down on everyone''s soul.] [Congrattions. You are the 437th person to enter the Arcane Champions of Eternal Will leaderboard. Not everyone who breaks their will barrier can enter this leaderboard, as only those who have ardent desire and matching will to attain power can enter here.] [You are currently the 137th person who is alive among the 437 people on the leaderboard.] [You are now marked by the ####''s Will.] [Obligation information protocol activating due to detecting three other rank holders of Arcane Champions of Eternal Will who you wille into contact with in the future.] [Obligation information: Your phase 1 mode is The Battlefield of the Mightiest with three other worlds. It has been detected that each of those worlds contains a rank holder of Arcane Champions of Eternal Wills.] [By the grace of ####, it has been established that if you kill another Arcane Champion of Eternal Wills, you are rewarded with ####''s Touch.] ¡­ Cyberterra. This upied by humans also recently cleared the 10th Floor of the Grand Abyss Labyrinth the past month, but this world''s Phase 1 was yet to be decided for a whole month until just recently. When the Earth cleared the 10th Floor, their phase 1 announcement finally came. Many adventurers of this world eagerly waited for the Battlefield of the Mightiest to start. And among those adventurers, there was one called Neo Elvergarde. Atop a snowy mountain far away from the colorful cyber cities, a gray-ck metallic pavilion stood at its peak with nano-lights that painted vibrant wooden scenery across the entire pavilion that looked hyper-realistic with anyone inside the pavilion feeling as if they were in the spring season with greenery everywhere, a pond in front of them, and a vibrant forest. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire Inside his pavilion''s main hall, a single individual sat. He had a slim build and a long ck beard. Half of his right-side body was fully robotic with nanotech mixed with magic. Despite appearing to be in his forties, Neo Elvergarde was an old man in his eighties. "So there''s one more now¡­" Neo caressed his beard as the strange nano metallic patterns in his right eye flickered, changing the entire theme of the pavilion as it now looked like he was in a dense forest with a waterfall nearby. "It appears that greater waves are bound to rise." A faint smile hung on his lips as he closed his eyes. ¡­ But away from these 100 ns and other dragons, on the ck peak of a lonely mountain, a majestic dragon with shining ck scales and dark silver patternsy sleeping. There was not a single scale in its body that didn''t have a scar on it. Some scars still appeared to be sizzling, glowing the magic as they were forever his to bear. He was a defective dragon. He was abandoned by all, hunted by all, and cursed by all. Yet, he lived. The most powerful of Draconians failed to tame him, and the most powerful of the dragons failed to kill him. He was the Disaster Dragon, Kexell the Cursed Vagabond. With their world invaded by a Grimworld Tower that demanded they enter or ept death, Kexell eagerly awaited the opportunity brought by the Battlefield of the Mightiest to rule this world and more! "One more huh?" Kexell''s right eye briefly opened. His snouts gusted out a mist of ck wind as he muttered, "One more to eat." And went back to sleep. ¡­ This, popted by a collection of elven races and ruled by five Elven Empires, weed their own Grand Abyss Tower like Draconians. In the Empire of Midnight Elves, an individual sat below a strange tree that stood out from the rest. The other trees behind were green and other light colors, but this one was entirely ck with glowing purple and white patterns, making it look like the universe itself. The Midnight Elf sitting below this tree looked in his forties, with a handsome and lean physique with his bare, natural ck upper body carved with beastly tattoos. Zanathriel Umbraaris Midnight, the king of the Midnight Empire. He briefly opened his eyes as some notifications greeted him. But his eyes withheld any reactions as he closed them two secondster. ¡­ "Well done, Almond. Well done!" the overseer appeared highly thrilled as she saw Almond achieving the breakthrough. "Now you''ve finally made it worth the effort that made me arrange this Battlefield for the Mightiest." On one side, she was also getting a barrage of notifications, but all those notifications contained curses and admonishing from some mysterious people. But shepletely ignored all those messages. "You better not die in theing waves, Almond¡­I will be very upset if you do that, so don''t take too long to awaken." Chapter 186 Talk with Admiral Rudra, Mail After returning from the Labyrinth, the first thing Almond and Lily did was to take a rxing bath in the big bathtub before tucking inside a nket. They soon fell asleep after reading the notifications about the 10th floor''s clearing and phase 1. Almond had already slept for a bit over four hours, so he woke up after another four hours of good sleep. Waking up, he let Lily continue sleeping before going downstairs. It was evening when he looked outside the window, the clock had just hit 5 p.m. "Master, do you want to eat something?" Alfred asked as he walked towards Almond. "Mhmm, yeah, but you don''t need to make it. Order something." "As you wish." Almond went outside and saw all of his Spirit Wraiths were doing their things. Some were at the beach fighting while Sylvia and Nyssara were in the garden, making it bigger and more mysterious. "Calm down girls. You''ve made it bigger than the house already," Almond said with a wry smile. "Nuh-uh, Master. We are not done yet," Nyssara said as she and Sylvia flew out of the big garden. "Yep, we are nning to make a majestic castle for you," Sylvia grinned. "Oh? Then I''m looking forward to it." "Yep, you do that."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om "We''ll give you a surprise, hehe." Almond then went to check up on the others who were either ying around or training. Thinking of something, Almond took out a skill scroll of an SS-rank skill¡ªInfernal Maw. "Galvaren, take this skill, scroll, and see if you can learn it." Galvaren took the skill scroll and blinked with interest. "This looks good, my lord. I shall learn and master it." "Good," Almond smiled. "Boss, do you have anything for us?" Benedict asked with a grin. Ashkar also looked at him with an eager expression. "Not yet, but I''ll be sure to give you once I find some." Find more chapters on empire "Roar!" Starlight Beast nudged his head at Almond, conveying its thoughts. "You want to y? Haha, alright." Of course, by y, Starlight meant an all-out battle to get some smacking from Almond. Almond hung around them and yed tag, albeit it was brutal enough that normal people or average gold-rank adventurers might die if they participated. Almond stopped when the food arrived twenty minutester and went to eat at the open dining crystal pavilion outside that Nyssara created over a week ago. The television was also set up outside long so that others could watch. After all, Galvaren was pretty big, while Starlight Beast and Chimera Frank also watched it while resting, even if they didn''t understand much of it. So Almond had ordered a big screen and made a setup outside over a week ago. After eating, he went back inside and turned on his wristwatch. He already had messages from Admiral Rudra, so he called him directly. A few secondster, a hologram rose up, revealing Admiral Rudra in his iconic suit and beard. "You brat, you really had one hell of a journey in the Labyrinth this time." Almond chuckled, "It seems that you received news from various guilds and families of the Legendary and Epic items." "I''ve gotten information, yeah. Those brats returning with such items and the things they said about Heroic Challenges are not public, and only the forces behind the kids that entered with you know about it, but it won''t be long before it spreads to others." Admiral Rudra blinked and added, "But one thing still remains unclear. What''s the condition for triggering it?" Almond faintly smiled, "The condition is me." Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows, "So you must be present to get the invitation for the Heroic Challenge?" "Yep." "That''s good," Admiral Rudra nodded. "Do you want to sell those? Now is the time if you want to." "Naturally, I want, and I want an auction specifically for the items Epic and Legendary items I have," Almond grinned. "I have a lot of them. And the items that those kids went to take with them are also mine. With the Battlefield of the Mightiest opening after twelve days, I want to sell these items as soon as possible to get gold coins from everyone''s coffers." Rudra''s eyes glinted as he understood everything since he knew about Almond''s spirit forge factory and grinned, "Pocketing those kids under you was a great decision indeed. But are you sure they won''t spill some of your secrets?" Almond narrowed his eyes, "They don''t know anything in detail, and the fatal w of my items is also apparent as they are reliant on me replenishing their durabilities and durations. But my items are superior, and the rewards from Heroic Challenges are great. These pieces of equipment are least valuable, actually." "No wonder¡­." Admiral Rudra wryly smiled. "That old bastard Silvester was mad that his grandson wasn''t telling him about everything and saying that it was his promise to Almond." Almondughed and nodded, "That''s right. If they want to continue to participate in Heroic Challenges and earn the juicy rewards, they need me." "Good, very good. None of them will cross you, it seems." "Even if they do, I don''t care," Almond ferociously smiled. "I have gotten very valuable and fruitful rewards that I will absorb in the following days. No one will have any idea about my overallbat power and tricks up my sleeve." Admiral Rudra smiled and nodded, "No need to tell me either. Keep them to yourself and only inform me when it''s necessary. Now, onto the main topic, there will be a meeting after seven days. The topic of Heroic Challenges will also be brought up there since it''d have been spread by then." "And I want you to participate in that meeting. The meeting is about the 10th Floor''s new sanctuary area, the monthly event, and Battlefield of the Mightiest." "Monthly event¡­" Almond muttered. "I suppose it is starting after seven days." Admiral Rudra''s eyes flickered, appearing surprised, "How do you know? This information is only given once you enter the 10th Floor''s sanctuary area. Don''t tell me you went to stroll there already?" "Nope," Almond shook his head and smiled. "I told you I have a secret. It''s rted to that. I will tell you when the timees." "Fine, I''ll wait," Admiral Rudra nodded. "Since you''ve just returned, I''m sure you want to rest and take it easy for a day. I''ve increased security around that courtyard already because of the new information about the Heroic Challenge with you being in its center. You also be careful because the rats are still out there, and they have annoying means to invade and escape now. Truly like rats." "Gotcha," Almond nodded before a grin spread on his face, thinking about his next spirit wraith project, "It seems that I''ll have to make a powerful Spirit Wraith from one of the Heroic Boss'' spirits. Anyway, Admiral, thanks for the heads up. I''ll contact youter when the items are gathered, so please prepare for a grand auction." "Yeah, leave that to me," Admiralughed. "We have to make sure to reduce the gold coffers of some of those guilds and families." "Indeed." After cutting off the call, Almond wrote a mail. [Dear adventurer, this is a party invitation from your one and only leader. The time and date are tomorrow at noon in the courtyard of Almond Crowshade. Make sure that you alle with every Epic and Legendary item you''ve got during our little adventure if you want a tailor-made high-tier Legendary gear set.] Almond sent the mail to everyone who has participated in the Heroic Challenges. He deliberately put emphasis on ''leader'' and ''tailor-made'' to make the points of position and promise of power clear. If they wanted to truly get strong and reach greater heights, they must follow him with an ardent desire! Chapter 187 Spirit Wraith Hex! "Now, let''s start sorting out the real rewards and decide what to use first," Almond rubbed his palms as his eyes glinted, releasing a Mana thread that went into this storage ring. In the next second, various items spewed out andy on his table. Dark Renegade Phoenix Feather. Insight Stones: 4 Gold: 600 mill. Roulette Ticket: 15 Legendary Ore: 4 Legendary Herb: 4 Skill upgrade card: 2 Universal skill upgrade card: 1 X-Factor Fruits: 5 Advanced Skill scroll: 3 Elemental Insight Selection b: 1 Unfettered de Mayhem Weapon Art Token. Explore more at empire And Almond hadn''t even included any rewards he got from Floor 5 yet. ''There''s the Sub-ss quest as well, but no need to hurry for that,'' Almond thought as he looked at the ''+'' sign on the ss tab. It appears when an adventurer breaks through to Gold-rank. But Almond didn''t want to do anything regarding that until he finished absorbing all the powers he had gained so far and consolidated himself. ''I''ll open the Floor Boss Chest, my MVP chest, and party chest tomorrow in front of everyone to give them a boost,'' Almond grinned. If they saw him getting good rewards, they''d be adamant about staying with him for more Heroic Bosses and more rewards. Down the line, they''d be loyal to him and be a force that could help him in greater fights because he knew one person ultimately could only do so much in the grand scheme of things. Especially now that the Battlefield of the Mightiest would descend upon them soon. ''There are three worlds and three monsters in them¡­it''s safe to assume that they are way stronger than the current me,'' Almond clenched fists. ''I have to catch up and get stronger!'' ''I have to build a solid arsenal ofbat power.'' He looked at the two Level-up boons that he got after reaching Gold level 50 and checked them out. ''Please, give me a skill option in one of them.'' Almond opened them. A secondter, his eyes glittered, ''Let''s fucking go!!'' Skill option appeared in one level-up boon! ''I have to make all of my skills reach SSS rank, only then can I acquire the requirements to make the ss upgrade to SSS rank,'' Almond thought as he selected the skill option. Admira Rudra had told him how to reveal the requirement for primary sses to upgrade. The straight way was making all skills of the primary rank upgrade to one rank above the primary ss''s rank. Another was triggering special conditions, but this option wasn''t a surefire one, so all adventurers'' primary ss upgraded ranks via the first method because people could also upgrade their skills without a skill upgrade card or skill option from level-up boon, but it required study and training of their ss powers.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om Almond was ahead because, unlike others, his Primary ss was directly at SS-rank. Once he upgraded all of his primary ss skills to SSS rank, he would be able to evolve his primary ss! [Congrattions. Your skill¡ªSpirit Pocket (SS)¡ªhas been upgraded to SSS rank.] Almond jumped! "YES!" He really prayed to get this skill to upgrade first because it was his most important skill, and it happened! Almond excitedly opened the upgraded skill''s details. [Spirit Pocket] -Rank: SSS -Effect: ¡ª> Pull spirits within your vision and store them¡ª[4/1000] ¡ª> Pocket: Spirit Kodoku¡ªAdd spirits to this special pocket where they would devour each other until thest one surviving has devoured others and evolved into a Spirit Wraith¡ª[0/20] ¡ª> Spirit Wraith Hex: You canbine two Spirit Wraiths and modify their attributes to consolidate their power source and evolution path. Cost: 1000 Spirits. ''Holy shit!'' Almond was dumbfounded and then thrilled as he thought about the Spirit Wraith Hex! ''This is fucking awesome! Now I know exactly what I need to do,'' Almond''s eyes sharply glinted. ''And I''d need Admiral Rudra''s help.'' He didn''t wait and directly called. "Sorry for calling you again so soon, but I have one more request, Admiral." "You look hyper and serious. It seems that this one is very important." "And very hard," Almond added. "Since the 10th floor is cleared, I''m sure a batch of S-rank dungeon gates have spawned." "And more will spawn in the following fifteen days." "It seems that you somehow know about this, too," Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows. "That''s right. Five new dungeon doors with high energy readings were detected in the past five hours. They are all S-rank." "I want all of them," Almond directly stated with a severe expression. "I absolutely need all of them." "You brat¡­" Admiral Rudra was speechless. "Only one spawned in our territory. The other four are already heavily possessed by old monsters with guilds plus families backing them because all of them want to dip in." "But I don''t want their possessions," Almond said as he rubbed his chin. "I want to go in first, and it''s fine if theye in. Yeah, this should be easy." "That¡­wouldn''t be hard," Admiral Rudra slowly nodded. "But we''d have to pay some kind of price. If you have any cards that you want to put on the table, tell me now." Almond''s expression turned thoughtful, his pupils appearing distanced as he began thinking. ''The card that will be revealed soon is my power to craft Legendary gears with limitations.'' "Admiral, I want to know the impact of an ability that will have on our world," Almond said as he took out his Legendary Golden Sword and shared its status with Admiral Rudra. "A High-tier Legendary sword, and it''s a part of a set?!" Admiral Rudra was dumbfounded at this sudden bomb from Almond. He knew Almond could craft items, but this brat was already crafting Legendary items, and that too of high-tier?! "What the hell?" Almond wryly smiled, "Yeah, so I can craft these Legendary gears, and since it will be revealed soon, I need to know ho-" "Say no more," Admira Rudra said as his hand caressed his beard, but his eyes glinted withpis blue hue, and his expression turned cunningly sharp as if he was cooking up the best way to keep Almond''s safe while also utilizing this card for his and everyone''s greatest benefit. "One thing is for sure: you revealing this card will attract nasty attention to yourself. The rats have shown otherworldly power that can heavily threaten us, and they are out there. I don''t know, and I cannot predict how they will take action once they find out about this card of yours." "But I will make moves and prepare, thinking that they will try their best to either kill you or, more possibly, abduct you. So we have to construct something good and release information that minimizes the impact of your card once it''s revealed." "That¡­is absolutely correct," Almond already felt that he was in good hands upon seeing the Admiral''s expression and his words. ''He is cooking something, alright.'' ''But I should properly give the ingredients first, so he can work on the dish. If he knows my current level ofbat power, he will have a better idea of how to proceed.'' ''And on top of that, I''ll have my new hidden cards. The first will be my Weapon Art. I know that is going to be my main ystyle once I learn it. The next is my new Spirit Wraith, and the use of Spirit Wraith Hex.'' ''Let''s do this.'' Chapter 188 Mail 2.0 "Admiral, I''m sure you would be able to make ns if you can urately know my current power." "That would help a lot, brat. How are you going to do that?" "The best way for you to see me at my best is my fight with the Heroic Bosses. I can directly send you my visual memory of first person perceptive using a simple Mana technique of imprinting memory into a Memory Slip." "What?" Admiral Rudra was surprised. This was the new information that was unlocked after Almond defeated the 5th Floor''s boss! In his world, someone had created a mana technique that couldpletely imprint one''s memory into it and allow another to experience it as if they were there. It required 200 Perception and 200 Focus to learn it, and Almond knew the method! He just had to practice and learn it. "Memory Slip is a mana technique that canpletely imprint one''s memory into a magic slip created with mana and allow someone else to view it as if they were there. I know the method, so I''ll start learning it right away. I''ll call you again when I''m done." "How long will it take? Can you make an estimate?" "Hmmm¡­personally, I have confidence in learning this within 2 hours based on its method, though I haven''t begun yet, so I can''t be sure." Admiral Rudra grinned and said, "Alright, write down the method and mail it to me." Almondughed, "You want topete?" Experience tales at empire "Good thing you already know me, brat. Now, hurry up. I have a feeling this is going to explore more possibilities for me." Almond suddenly realized something as an anticipatory glint passed through his eyes, ''Admiral Rudra already has the highest knowledge in handling Mana, and his control is also given. He fucking founded the Mana techniques himself from broken knowledge!'' And now, he would gain how to fiddle Mana with one''s deep mind in a new way! This was bound to make this old monster glean something extra and progress in his way! "Alright, I''m sending you the method as soon as I write it now," Almond grinned. "It''ll take a few minutes at most." "Great. I''m waiting." After cutting off the call, Almond waved his hand as he conjured a magic page and also conjured a magic pen. Almond''s control and proficiency in Mana were high enough to make objects with magic aspects via his will. And his will was 200! Almond knew that 200 was something of a limit in Will, just like how 100 was, and he broke through it. The reason why he thought this was simple and straightforward. When he gained +100 will in his ss perk, the will stat only showed 100. That was unnatural because he had to have a certain number in the Will before this +100 arrived. But that wasn''t the case. 100 was the limit, and then there was something called Will Barrier. He broke it and achieved the level of 200 Will! He confirmed because his All-Seeing Eyes could see hidden stats of someone''s status. Lily''s will was 89. He saw it. But he didn''t want to tell this to anyone because he felt that knowing one''s will number before it reached 100 might make people, especially Lily, do something very risky. He wanted Lily to move at the pace she was creating herself and didn''t want this 89 to show her. The power of will affected Mana, and he found this out the moment he first used Mana after waking up.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om His control was smoothest ever, and Mana not only bent but transformed. He¡­achieved Mana Transmutation of the highest level in a sense. It was on the same level as Admiral Rudra''s, but he was stronger because his powerful will affected Mana more strongly. It did more than just transmutation because of his 200 Will! If willed, the Mana could have properties of paper. But Almond, with his 200 Will, could give magic properties to his result! Magic properties that he could feel, experience, and act in his mind could apply to that piece of paper! That was why the piece of paper looked like an ancient scroll while the pen in his hand transformed into an aesthetic quill with dreamy ck ink. He finished writing down the method of Memory Slip and rolled it up as a mysterious locking pattern appeared with a seal on it. And suddenly, he pped it in his hands. The scroll turned into a tiny digital mail icon. ''The wristwatch uses mana conductivity signals from arcane towers ced all over. Since they use Mana signals to travel, I should be able to send this to Admiral Rudra in a digital mail-like manner.'' Almond activated his wristwatch and tried to ce it inside. "Eh? It didn''t work." Blinking, Almond activated his All-Seeing Eyes, dissecting the structure of the wristwatch and how mana signals worked. ''Oh, it''s the magic frequencies. That makes sense. Everything has frequencies of multiple levels. Mana also has its frequencies, but in a way greater variety than anything else since it''s the most flexible and versatile energy source.'' ''Well, I know this one now,'' Almond grinned as he sessfully ced his magic mail into the wristwatch and sent the mail to Admiral Rudra with the following text: [Admiral, to ess scroll, you need to use your mana. I''m sure you will figure it out. The scroll also has a lock. A little puzzle I created. I''m sure you will solve it as well. :) Consider this a handicap forpeting against a junior. I''ll be starting now.] ¡­ Admiral Ruldra received the mail, and he quickly opened it, but reading the text, heughed. Five minutester, Admiral Rudra cursed under his breath, "What the fuck is this, brat? My mana isn''t able to interact with it." Rubbing his temples, he activated his Focus Field and began a deep dive. ''Can''t believe that brat is able to do something like this. It looks like this will take more than minutes, tsk.'' Chapter 190 Priority, Elemental Insight Selection Slab A dimensional crystalpis blue punch. The punch wasn''t a solid matter. It wasn''t a crystal elemental power. It just appeared ethereal with a micro-ssy crystal texture that made it look dimensionally mysterious. This punch struck Almond''s Unveiled Catastrophe¡ªthe overpowering destructive void sh and¡­ *Crack...Shatter!* The catastrophic sh was shattered like a ss shattered by an elephant''s stomp. "Damn, this too?!" Almond clicked his tongue. "The power of your Sorcery Breaker is crazy." "You brat¡­" Admiral Rudra wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You made me go serious with that shit. I have more stats and mastery in everything, so of course, I can shatter that attack too, that was given in my view, but this attack of yours is fucking crazy." "And your stat stealing power on top of that¡­yeah, I know now exactly how to n our game board." Almondughed, "Well, I''m d to make you serious, even for a short time." Admiral Rudra snorted, "I''ll have to up my game, or you''ll surpass me soon. Don''t worry, I''m getting my specialized ss to Legendary rank before the Battlefield opens. My entire focus is on that." "What?! That''s cheating!" "Cheating, my ass," Admiral Rudra rolled his eyes. "Don''t you ever say that word in front of me, you brat. Your progress and sses are basically like cheating." "Cough¡­I acknowledge that." ¡­ Admiral Rudra didn''t stay for long and left on his private jet after taking it out of his storage ring. It was almost 10 PM now, and Natalia had also returned from the League of Firefly guild. Lily had woken up an hour ago and was chilling at the moment, waiting for Almond, so the trio could eat once Natalia and Alfred finished cooking with the delicious and high-quality stuff Admiral Rudra gave them. After the trio finished eating, they couldn''t just continue to rx. Tomorrow was the party, so they didn''t want to enter any deep training or use items like Advanced Skill scrolls, insight stones, elemental imprint, or elemental insight b, which could send them into training for a day or more. They nned to begin the full dive training session after tomorrow''s party. As such, Lily and Natalia began training to increase the level of their Mana techniques since their stats had increased, and they could progress further. Almond, on the other hand, contacted Roken to find out about his cksmithing status. The good news was that Roken''s full focus on cksmithing helped him a lot. Roken told him that he was at an important phase of making a major breakthrough in his Runic cksmith items, and it was rted to his specialty of the ss, the Runes. Almond sent him 10 million gold coins directly even though Roken didn''t ask for any, but Almond knew that this path required money to progress faster because materials to experiment on didn''te free. Roken gratefully epted that and became more fired up, vowing to make the breakthrough soon and surprising Almond. Cutting off the call, Almond thought while smiling, ''That''s right. If you can use your Runic Enchantments on my spirit items, our items will be more powerful!'' Almond was aware of crazy products created by top families, particrly the Patel family and Smith family. Their items were more like one-time use and essories, weapons, and such individualist items. They were powerful, no doubt, way more than his because they had entire research teams and resources to make fundamental progress. But he could create items with sets! The equipments! No other cksmith had created sets as powerful as his, not to mention that only he could currently craft legendary items in a sense. Admiral Rudra had told him about the artifacts as well and how they had be a source of great knowledge and research, but he wasn''t in the same market. Almond aimed to be an exclusive supplier that could only produce a limited amount of items, and all of them depended on him to make them continue to exist. ''But before spreading this to others, I will gear up my spirits,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''If I have an army of strong subordinatespletely loyal to me, I''d have more protection from nefarious eyes.'' ''Admiral will make sure I get to participate in S-rank dungeons for spirits. Farming dungeons won''t take long, but I only have seven days for now until the meeting and monthly event that will start, and then seven days more until the Battlefield of the Mightiest starts.'' Experience tales at empire ''I have to make priorities.'' Almond looked at the list of important items that could make him powerful by training. ¡ª Insight Stone x 2 (two others given to Lily and Natalia) ¡ª Elemental Insight Selection b x 1 ¡ª Elemental Imprint Selection Box (L) x 1 ¡ª Growth type skill from Advanced skill scroll: Whispering Knowledge. ¡ª Growth type skill from Advanced skill scroll: Waves of Frostheart Ocean. ¡ª Growth type skill from Advanced skill scroll: Chrono Pulse of Radiant Heart. ¡ª Unfettered de Mayhem Weapon Art Token. Since Admiral was here, Almond had already opened his MVP chest to show him some stuff. From it, he got the following items, including the Elemental Imprint Selection Box (L). ¡ª 3 x Random Legendary Ore Materials. ¡ª 3 x Random Legendary Herbs. ¡ª Legendary-rank Gear Set (High-tier). ¡ª 1 x Legendary y b Box (High-tier). ¡ª 1 x Instant Learning Role-based Skill Selection Box (SSS). ¡ª 5 x Grand Abyss Labyrinth Roulette Tickets. ''Since I already opened the MVP here, I can open the 20 Labyrinth tickets in the party. That''d be more fun given the randomness of it and a chance to get something wonderful.'' ''Now, to prioritize what to learn¡­.'' Almond knew what he had to do. ''The most important one is Unfettered de Mayhem Weapon Art. The next most important that will boost my power are the Elemental Insight Selection b and Elemental Imprint Selection Box (L). ''I have to make a choice now,'' Almond opened the Elemental Insight Selection b. This b could give him five options of elements, and he could select one to get an insight into it. There was a 0.01% chance to get Exotic Element as well, but he didn''t want it right now anyway since he wouldn''t be able to learn it anytime soon. [Elemental Insight Selection b] -Details: Each option of element here is a variant one, but whether you can acquire the variant version''s source within 24 hours depends on the user. ¡ª Ice of Burning Blizzard ¡ª ¡ª Sand of Vibrant Wave ¡ªN?v(el)B\\jnn ¡ª Stone of Dancing Mirage ¡ª ¡ª Wind of Lunar Tide ¡ª ¡ª me of Velvet Spark ¡ª ''I have to think ahead if I want to decide what to choose from this¡­'' The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone! Chapter 191 Choosing Element, Instant Learning Role-Based Skill Selection Box ''Lightning can interact with Ice properly and can produce interesting effects.'' ''Not much with Sand or Stone, which is basically Earth element, but Lightning can do very well with Wind element, which I already nned to learn.'' ''But I have other things which can let me learn Wind element since I only want it to increase the applications my lightning can do with it, so I have to keep my options open,'' Almond narrowed his eyes. ''me of Velvet Spark¡­.me and lightning can be a super offensivebo, creating an intense smic reaction that''s more powerful than the offense of me and lightning in a sense¡­'' ''However, I now have more possibilities to explore thanks to my Mana maniption entering a new realm. If I can apply magical properties to something I created with elemental energy and properly synergize with it with the properties, I can make some useful skills that can enhance mybat power.'' Almond''s creative brain was juicing as he was getting ideas. ''Rubber¡­sticity that never breaks and can bounce off everything, if I can apply this to two carpets made of Sand of Vibrant Wave and make an orb capable of storing energy and remain condensed between two and make it reach light speed with constant bounce between two of those carpet, what will happen?'' ''What if I make that orb of lightning? It would surely reach true light speed while bouncing off in between, so what kind of result and reaction would this have? This sounds dangerous but also exciting if I can somehow harness and use that level of power for myself,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. He liked sticity and if the best element to apply this on out of those five would be Sand of Vibrant Wave.@@novelbin@@ He also liked the ring to the name, ''Vibrant Wave,'' as he felt this Sand element variant could have some interesting characteristics. ''Moreover, ording to the basic characteristics of Sand and Lightning, both can create some good effects¡­'' Almond began his imagination based on information. ''In real life, lightning strikes on Sand, Soil, or Rock can create fulgurite, a natural ss-like tube¡­but with magic involved, the possibilities and powers of this synergy increase,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''I might be able to create an instantaneous solid and powerful ss-like structure that can be both offensive and defensive if I shoot formative lightning through formative sand element constructs.'' ''Moreover, I can charge sands too, and they can stick to anything as well, basically delivering constant electric shocks and applying other debuffs and also buffs in case of my Golden Haze Lightning¡­A storm of sand charged by lightning sounds nice¡­'' ''Even if Sand is the best conductor of lightning in nature, if I can use lightning to transform Sand into thin fment-like ss, these ''threads'' I make can serve as a conduit inrge areas¡­this is a possible magic formation to enhance, attack, and defend in arge area where I spread these ss threads¡­'' ''And wait, I can also make unique ss structures that can concentrate and re-direct lightning to basically shoot crazyser attacks!'' Almond was imagining a lot of things that he could do as his excitement rose. ''And I have to get the variant version¡­who knows what else this Sand of Vibrant Waves can do once I start experimenting!'' Without further ado, he selected Sand of Vibrant Wave from the options. ''I will have 24 hours in a dimension made of this Sand of Vibrant Wave¡­I''ll do this first after tomorrow''s party.'' Almond then took out the Instant Learning Role-Based Skill Selection Box and opened it. It also had options to choose from. [Instant Learning Role-Based Skill Selection Box] -Detail: You can choose which type of skill you want from the fifteen random options, and based on your selection, you will get a random SSS-rank skill of that type. -Options: 1. Offensive-type / Direct Damage 2. Offensive-type / Damage over Time (DoT) 3. Defensive-type / Damage Reflection 4. Support-type / Beneficial Aura-type 5. Debuff-type / Resource Drain (e.g., Mana Burn) 6. Healing-type / AoE Healing 7. Control-type / Mind Affecting 8. Control-type / Physical Disability 9. Utility-type / Environment Interaction 10. Transformation-type / Self-Targetting. 11. Buff-type / Self-Immunity (e.g., Elemental resistance, knock-back resistance) 12. Stealth-type / Elemental 13. Crafting-type / Enchanting 14. Mobility-type / Random 15. Summoning-type / Construct Conjuration. ''Interesting¡­but let''s put away the unnecessary types. I have my own offense, and I don''t want defense. Beneficial Aura type can be useful since I have my spirit wraiths, but I don''t want it.'' Continue your journey on empire ''Debuff-type with resource drain? Heh, I have Divine Divider''s Harvest already.'' ''Healing, I don''t need to waste Mana on that.'' ''Mind affecting control type¡­this one is marked, alright. Next is Physical Disability¡­nah. I don''t need to physically disable someone when I can physically shred anyone.'' ''Utility-type that can interact with environment¡­this sounds interesting. Marked.'' ''And transformation but on the self? It does sound cool if I can transform it into something cool, but nah. I might not be able to use my sword after whatever transformation.'' ''Don''t want buff-type.'' ''Stealth type, but it''s elemental. So, I guess it''s like turning into water, or earth or simr stuff. Meh, I can already do it with my lightning.'' ''Crafting-type¡­and it''s even enchantment, which I guess would be like putting some kind of enchant on a crafted item. Alright, marked.'' ''As for thest one, nah. I already have the best summoning type. This might be something different than summoning monsters, but I don''t need it.'' Almond looked at the options he marked. - Crafting-type / Enchantment - Control-type / Mind affecting - Utility-type / Environment Interaction ''Now, the skill will be SSS-rank, so it''s got to be very powerful. I have to choose wisely,'' Almond rubbed his chin. He thought about what each type of those skills could bring him and elevate his overall power purely based on their type and that extra information disyed. And ultimately, he went with the control-type / Mind affecting for simple reasons. He could already affect his target''s minds by seeing their attributes with his All-Seeing Eyes and reducing them as he pleases with his All-Severing de at the cost of his willpower. So, adding this control-type effect that instead cost Mana had a high potential to make him powerful by using less willpower to affect small reductions and adding this skill, whatever it may be, to enhance its effect and state of the target''s mind more. ''And this skill should be something no one finds about,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. After all, this would be his solid, hidden trump card that could help him against almost all dangerous situations against other people, including people from the other three worlds, as he believed the powerful individuals would obviously be more of a threat than Labyrinth monsters. ''Let''s see what I get,'' Almond selected the option, and a notification rang while the box produced a white quartz crystal with entric micro faint red and blue patterns inside. [Congrattion. You have acquired an SSS-rank skill¡ªSubtle Art of Memory Grafting.] Almond raised his eyebrows in surprise, looking at the name, his interest rising. [Subtle Art of Memory Grafting] -Rank: SSS -Cost: Depends on usage. -Details: This skill is activated as a temporary state of connecting minds. The target must be unconscious to perform this skill. -Effect: ¡ª> Chapter 192 Elemental Imprint, Sorting Completed -Effect: ¡ª> You can view the target''s memories as you dive into their mindscape. ¡ª> You can imnt convincing false memories into your target while you are inside the target''s mindscape. ''Holy shit¡­'' Almond was dumbfounded as he looked at the crystal. ''And this is an instant learnable skill¡­'' *Crack..* Almond infused Mana into the crystal as it shattered and turned into dreamy motes that burst into the space between his eyebrows. A pool of knowledge entered his mind, perfectly imbuing the understanding of the skill and forming a new skill rune in his skill room. The knowledge he got from this skill directly on what concept and with what technicality mana should affect the mind also benefitted him greatly just by having this knowledge! ''Awesome.'' Now that Almond had learned the skill, he took out the Elemental Imprint Selection Box (L) he got from the 5th Floor''s MVP chest from the rank 1 contribution reward. [Elemental Imprint Selection Box] -Rank: Legendary -Detail: You can select one imprint from the options. This elemental imprint is a tattoo containingprehension knowledge of an element. It activates upon infusing Mana and sends your mind into an elemental world of the selected element. This imprint will stay with you until you have reached Legendary-rank Mastery of the selected element. -Options: 1. Lightning elemental imprint. 2. Steam elemental imprint 3. Gravity elemental imprint 4. Flora elemental imprint 5. Wind elemental imprint 6. Water elemental imprint 7. Crystal elemental imprint 8. Noctolith elemental imprint 9. Ice elemental imprint 10. Lumeir elemental Imprint ''Damn, so many Advanced elements,'' Almond was surprised at the big list. ''I guess this is a legendary-rank reward for a reason.'' Explore stories on empire ''Now, what to choose?'' Almond rubbed his chin. ''My Lightning elemental mastery is already close to SS rank. I''ll get there soon. But this imprint will stay with me until I reach Legendary rank elemental mastery¡­I don''t know what kind of benefit SS, SSS, and Legendary will have since S rank mastery seemed to have covered every application.'' Almond looked at this current Lightning mastery to confirm it. [Lightning Elemental Mastery] [-Skill rank: S (Next rank progress: 71%)] ? You can transmute your Mana into lightning and give it lightning''s properties. You have total control over your lighting and high control over atmospheric lightning-attributed phenomena. [-Effects when applying lightning attributes] ?1. Bonus Lightning elemental damage: 100% potency of your Mana. ?2. Shock potency: 100% chance¡ªDisrupts the target''s actions, causing a loss in movement and reaction speed. ?3. Paralyse potency: 100% chance¡ªImmobilizes the target, rendering them unable to act. ?4. Electromaism: You can control electromaic fields, allowing you to manipte conductive metal objects via your lightning, create conductive metal or magnates by discharging electrical currents through metal, generate electrical pulses, and disrupt or enhance electronic devices. Your lightning interacts with both living beings and machines, giving you the ability to control metal or create electromaic barriers. ?5. Lightning Psychophysiology: Your physiology and psychology can be affected by your lightning''s attributes. ''Maybe SS rank increased the bonus lightning damage? Whatever the case, I have to choose the imprint wisely since having it will make it reach Legendary rank mastery in an element faster with daily training.'' Almond focused on Lumeir Imprint to get information and found out that it was an Advanced element made from abination of Light + Wind. ''This Noctolith element is also interesting¡­I wonder what it could do since it''s abination of Darkness + Earth?'' Shaking his head, Almond looked at the list. ''This is not about satiating my curiosity, but selecting an elemental imprint that I can learn faster and how It enhances mybat power greater than others.'' ''Lumeir it is. I wanted to obtain Wind since Wind and Lightning have great synergies, and I can do that experiment to achieve the highest speed possible and do much more,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Speed is king in battle, after all. But Lumeir is Wind + Light. An advanced element! This is the best option.'' ''Moreover, achieving mastery in Lumeir means I''ll be able to achieve individual mastery of both Wind and Light eventually!'' Having decided, Almond selected the Lumeir elemental imprint and immediately pped it on himself, activating it. It was going to be his until he reached Legendary-rank mastery in the Lumeir element! ''Good, everything regarding the training is settled now. First, I will start learning Unfettered de Mayhem Weapon Art.''@@novelbin@@ ''Next will be spending 24 hours in the Sand of Vibrant Wave, but¡­'' Almond got an idea. He took out his two Insight Stones. ''Yep, this is it.'' [Insight Stone] -Rank: Special -Effect: Infusing the Mana in the stone will send the user''s consciousness into a mysterious dimension with a specific phenomenon. If the user manages to get an insight into that phenomenon, they may benefit greatly. ''This thing is not random even if it appears so in detail,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''If I think of a specific phenomenon when activating this, the mysterious dimension that I get might get influenced by my desire and thought.'' ''If so, I have to test this first. If I can use Insight Stone to get insight on Sand element, and then use Sand of Vibrant Wave insight b, I''ll have a higher chance of acquiring mastery on this variant.'' After all, he was only going to get 24 hours of time to attain mastery of the beginner level. It was too short of a time. So if he gained some knowledge and insight on the Sand element beforehand, he''d be able to learn andprehend that variant sand in its dimension faster!'' ''It''s decided. I''ll use Insight Stones before diving in for Sand of Vibrant Wave.'' ''Afterward, I''ll enter training of the Advanced Skill Scroll for the growth type skill, Whispering Knowledge. This is too esoteric sounding, I have to learn it.'' ''As for the other two skills¡­'' Almond got up and went outside. He gave Waves of Frostheart Ocean an advanced skill scroll to Nyssara. "Wow, master! Thank you for giving me this chance!" Nyssara''s eyes lit up at the prospect of gaining new power to help her master more! "The good thing is that you will definitely learn this skill as long as you eventuallyplete the training it gives you. But the important thing is to learn it with focus and with higher insight to get the starting rank of this skill as high as possible, along with its potential," Almond exined. Nyssara nodded somberly in understanding, "I got it, master. I will not disappoint you." Almond smiled and patted her head, "I''ll be satisfied with your result, whatever it is. I know you''ll do your best." Nyssara''s face puffed and reddened as she felt great joy and pride. ''I am going to do my absolute best and surprise you, master!'' Afterward, Almond sat down in the open pavilion in a thoughtful expression with a scroll dancing above his palm. "Now, what to do about this¡­The skill''s name is Chrono Pulse of Radiant Heart," Almond sighed. The name was annoying to him because he could make several possible effects of this skill based on its name, and it could be any one of his guesses or none and could be something entirely different. ''Chrono Pulse¡­It should be about Time, and it could be in multiple ways, but Radiant Heart¡­. sounds conceptual but also some element, or it could be just either one.'' ''Should I just learn it then instead of giving it to others? Or should I use it as one of the important eye-starer, grand finale items in the auction?'' ''No, I don''t want this skill tond in a random person''s pocket.'' After a few minutes, Almond stood up, ''Fuck it. I''ll hold on to it and learn it myself if I can squeeze it within my schedule.'' "Alright, everyone. It''s night, and I''m not sleepy, so it''s time to get onto some heavy training," Almond cracked his knuckle and flew towards the beach. "Just ten minutes, Master! This show is about to end," Galvaren shouted. "Get your ass here right now." "Roger! I''ll watch itter from the Inte." "Stop cking, Ren. You''ll get abandoned by Master if you do so," Benedict snickered. "True, true," Sylvia nodded while giggling. "You better pick up the pace, Ren, or I''ll outpace you." "Fairy has spoken. She is very strong now, and very arrogant," Nyssara rolled her eyes. "Just wait, I got a skill from the master, so I''m going to get stronger than you lot." "Foolish brats," Galvaren haughtily said with an aloof expression. "There is no chance of any of you beating me one-on-one." "Here Ie, my lord!" Galvaren rumbled as dive-bombed straight towards Almond. Chapter 193 Make Your Decision and Set Your Path The next morning, Almond and Lily woke up, and by now, they werepletely recovered in both body and mind¡­of course, since they had a few hours of passionate funst night before sleeping. Everyone had arrived by noon since the party start time was that, though many had already arrived earlier. But it officially began right at noon as everyone cheered with sses filled to the brim with cocktails. Nobody took Marcus for a cocktail maker, but the guy turned out to be a bartender and a fairly skilled one at that, even though he wasn''t at a pro level. Everyone sat at the big table and talked about things regarding their guilds'' reactions and other stuff. A bit after that, Almond rang his ss and infused mana in the waves, attracting everyone''s attention, "Now, I''m thinking of talking about something important." "But before that, let''s open the rewards," Almond grinned and took out the 5th Floor Heroic Floor Boss ying Chest! Just looking at its ancient dark golden design with futuristic colored patterns and its size made everyone''s anticipation rise high while surging a passive excitement within them. Almond opened the chest without further ado. ¡ª 1 billion Gold coins. ¡ª Legendary rank gear set (High tier) ¡ª Legendary rank gear set (Medium tier) ¡ª 1 x Mystery Box (SSS) ¡ª Random Artifact Box (Tier-3) ¡ª 1 x Universal skill upgrade card. ¡ª 5 x Random Legendary Consumable item boxes. ¡ª 10 x Random resource boxes. ¡ª 15 x Insight Stones. "Holy grail in smokes!" Ron uttered with a dumbfounded expression. "Crazy fucking rewards as always," Maya nodded calmly, but she was full-on excited like everyone else. "Damn¡­" "If I can get that universal skill upgrade card-" Amir licked his lips. "Dream on," Lily rolled her eyes."It belongs to only one among us, and everyone knows who." "Of course, of course. I was just joking. A peasant can still dream," Amir weakly smiled. While everyone was still reeling in the shock and excitement of seeing the rewards, Almond directly opened the party chest as everyone heard a notification in their mind with a detail panel. [Congrattions, every member of the party has acquired the following items: ¡ª 1 x Advanced Skill Scroll. ¡ª 1 x Assortments of Supreme-quality Potions. ¡ª 1000 Heroic Points. ( To spend on Grimworld Heroic Shop that will be avable after everypletion of Heroic Challenge). ¡ª 1 x Random Mystery Box. "Damn, there''s a Heroic Shop opening next?" Marcus eximed. "There has to be fucking awesome items in there!" "For sure," Noah nodded with a grin. "And we got Advanced skill scroll." "Yeah, I am super stoked to learn the skill I got from my Advanced scroll," Taliaughed. "From the name, it sounds awesome already." "Yeah, if we can get it to SS-rank or SSS-rank like Marcus and Amir, we''ll get an awesome skill that can grow faster than our other skills since it''s growth type." "True, but frankly, I want passive-type skills since it also has a chance to give that." "Same. I want a passive skill." Explore hidden tales at empire ''Holy crap¡­'' Jian internally felt waves as he got the rewards, though he didn''t speak or show much on the outside. "I already opened my MVP Reward box, but let''s just say that I don''t want its content to show to everyone," Almond grinned, "Though I don''t mind showing it next, and on that note, I have an announcement to make." Everyone quickly turned silent and looked at him as Almond''s eyes narrowed and his lips arched with a certain sharpness. Seeing his smile, they felt a strange pressure. "First, is there anyone who would like to leave the party?" Seeing them looking at him, Almond started with a question but followed up immediately as he added. "Because from now on, we are going to be a proper party with some rules that I absolutely want everyone to obey." Everyone''s eyes glinted differently upon hearing his words. "Listen to the rules first and then make your decision," Almond waved his hand as a dreamy blue chart with condensed golden words appeared, the rules that he had already made beforehand. "The first rule is that everyone will sign a spirit contract." Spirit Contract was something Almond spent the morning to noon creating based on the research of his primary ss, the powers of his specialized ss, and the knowledge he acquired from Subtle Art of Memory Grafting. "The contract is very simple. Anything that you see, hear, feel, or learn, any information I deem to be kept secret while you are with me, must not be disclosed to anyone other than the party members of Grim Breakers." "The price of breaking this contract is a steep one, as breaking this contract means you have betrayed me," Almond narrowed his eyes, having a certain iciness in them that everyone could feel. "If anyone breaks the rules, including the details or mention of the contract to anyone, your memories will be jumbled forcefully, some memories of your time with Grim Breakers'' party will be deleted, and your mind will be greatly affected¡­including your life because I will not see kindly to this betrayal." Some gulped, some felt a chill, some were shocked, and some remained calm, like Julian, Marcus, Maya, Natalia, and Lily, who already knew about the contract and had signed it. Of course, Almond didn''t n to ever reveal his cards to any of them, nor use them during Heroic Boss fights, as he wanted to make sure he and his party yed them properly and calctively at the fastest speed possible. "The rules are as follows," Almond continued, "The first is signing the contract, and the second is that distribution of items belongs solely to me. You may keep the rewards you get from contribution ranking and party chest, but everything else is decided by me. This means I may reward some particr party members for their exceptional performance or growth." "The third one applies to me, which is that I provide my spirit items to everyone in the party and maintain them. As such, everyone in the party of Grim Breakers will always have the best possible equipment of the highest tier, like Legendary-rank gear sets of high quality, as you already know my capability in this regard." "The fourth rule is to work hard and improve alongside everyone! If I deem you not worthy of being in the party, I will remove the memories of some important things neatly and send you away." "That''s all." Naturally, Almond didn''t need to remove any memories. In fact, he would rather leave them with the memories so that they could act as a false mirage of his capabilities when, in fact, he had more. But he put this as a kind of intimidating factor and a resolve checker. If they felt doubts regarding themselves, his rules, his contract, or him andcked the resolve to pursue power with him, he didn''t need them. "I''ll sign the contract. Give me one," Emma said, snapping everyone out of their reveries as their eyes shifted from the rule board toward her.@@novelbin@@ "I want to get powerful, and these rules don''t bother me because I have no reason to betray you," Emma said, her eyes fiery. "I''ll sign it." *Snap* Almond snapped his finger, consuming his Mana as a spirit contract conjured before her. "Infuse your mana. You will feel a rune and magic formation appearing in your source space, which I''m sure you all are able to see now with your current Perception and Focus." Emma signed without hesitation and felt something as she peeked into her source space. "Done." "I''ve already signed, but give me one. We''ll sign it again together," Marcus said with a grin. "Yeah," Maya nodded. "Yep, that''s better," Natalia chuckled as she nced at others. "Ya''ll better think carefully, alright?" Almond faintly smiled. *Snap* A contract appeared in front of Julian, Marcus, Maya, Natalia, and Lily, and they quickly signed it by infusing their Mana inside. "Now, you unpolished gems of adventurers," Almond said as he rested his chin on his hands, his eyes sweeping across their faces. "Make your decision and set your path." Chapter 194 Dice Rolling Boxes Opening Party "I''ll sign," Kira said immediately after Almond finished speaking. "I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by staying in this party." "Me too!" Ka said with a determined expression. "Give me one, brother. We going to rise high," Amir grinned. "I will sign," Noah solemnly nodded. "Bring it on," Xavier clenched his fist. "This path is the best one for my future." One by one, everyone else said that their resolve was firm, and they had no other intention to jeopardize their rtionship for a better future. Except for one. Brynjal sighed and said, "I would''ve definitely signed this if not for the party I already have and my guild. I cannot hide the information I gain, so I will be breaking the contract even if I sign right now." Almond nodded, his smile calm, "Understandable. Your taunting puppets will be missed, but nothing can be done about it." "I feel a slight regret to be missing out on this," Brynjal wryly smiled. "Hopefully, we can also try to trigger the Heroic Challenge soon enough. The other guilds and families will be trying to do it already, given that some of them already know now, and this information will spread." "Indeed," Almond chuckled with a faint smile, "And I wish good luck to them." He then waved his hands as he kept some items on the table while putting away a gold coin pouch containing 1 billion gold coins, gear sets, uni-skill upgrade cards, and insight stones. "Now then, let''s resume our party by opening these random boxes. Let''s start with the SSS-rank Mystery box." "Dice!" Natalia shouted with a big grin. "Dice," Marcusughed. "Dice indeed," Lily nodded with a faint smile. "Awesome, I can finally take part in this now," Kira cheekily said with a grin, her eyes on boxes, "I''ll open one of these with my luck, hopefully." It was up to luck if they could get a chance to open something, but everyone was eager to do so to a certain extent. "Alright, let''s start," Almond conjured a rather big dice, this time with 50 numbered triangles. "This will automatically stand on a single triangle and show the result on the topmost triangle across it." He was already utilizing and getting familiar with the way to affect mana and give it magical properties with rules set by his control. Everyone rolled dice one by one as they got away from the table and stood in a circle with boxes in the middle. The one to win this round was unexpectedly Jian Ranford. "Damn, didn''t take this kid to be the lucky one," Natalia immediately snorted. "Humph, I am lucky," Jian said, but everyone could see he was happy to win. "Alright, open it," Almond lightly twirled his finger as the Mystery Box flew towards him. Pressing the button, the mystery box burst with colorful sparks before revealing a miniature model of a beautiful yet cool and aesthetic crystal-metallic ship mix of wooden design akin to a pirate ship, but withrge wings attached horizontally at the sides instead of sails like in normal ships. "Fuck, don''t tell me it''s a f-" Finn bit his tongue. "A fucking flying ship!" Ron finished his sentence. "Holy crap, it looks awesome!" "How big is it?" "This is crazy¡­" Almond waved his hand as he took the ship model from the ground and threw it high in the air before activating it by infusing Mana. It erged in the sky, bing over a hundred meters long with roughly fifty meters of beautiful magic blue wingspan with silver crystal and wooden structure bordered around it.@@novelbin@@ "Holy shit¡­" "And it''s an SSS-rank frigging ship." "Yeah, I wonder what kind of awesome features it has¡­" Everyone was dumbfounded and also thrilled because they would get to ride on this shit. It looked crazy luxurious and, frankly, the best-looking flying ship out there. The other guilds and families had their own flying ships, and some had even gotten as rewards from Labyrinth or Dungeons, but there wasn''t an SSS-rank flying ship so far! This flying ship was bound to make waves once it made its public appearance! ''I guess we got our permanent ride for the 10th floor and above as they are very vast. The battlefield might be big as well, so this will be useful there,'' Almond thought, and he was more excited about what else this ship could offer. "Alright, we''ll explore this ship and its featurester," Almond smiled as he shrank the ship and put it inside his storage ring. "Let''s continue with the random box opening for now." But just as he rolled his dice and got 17 numbers, he got Admiral Rudra''s message in private chat. He passed on the dice to Lily and opened the chat. [Rudra: Before riding around that airship,e to the GAA headquarters with it. Our research team willpletely scan and print its external and internal structural details for research purposes to find new magitech from it.] [Almond: You already found out about it? I guess you have eyes active around here.] [Rudra: Duh, of course. I told you I''d increased security, and the appearance of that big ship immediately rmed it, so I got notified by the Astra AI. Anyway, since we are chatting, here''s another piece of news: I''ve already talked with others about S-rank dungeons. Two more spawned today, and one is in our territory while the other one is in Proximax Guild''s territory, so I''ll contact them soon as well.] [Almond: Awesome! Also, I hope to get the schedule of when they are going to enter so that I can be prepared.] [Rudra: Alright. I''ll make sure the schedule is spread enough so that you can go into all five of them one by one.] [Almond: Wonderful. Thanks a lot. As for the flying ship. You can send someone here to take it. I don''t want to bothering there since I''ll be busy powering up with the resources I''ve got.] [Rudra: Alright, someone will be there in two hours.] Admiral Rudra went offline. ''Fast as always,'' Almond wryly smiled. "Let''s fucking go, I won!" Anya said with a grin. "Oof, I was short of just one point," Natalia clicked her tongue. "Q-Q, my turn when?" Kira. "We have many things to open, so chill." "So what am I opening?" Anya said as she looked at Almond. "Random Artifact Box of Tier-3," Almond said as he sent the box to her, his eyes filled with anticipation. "Let''s see what we get from this." Thest thing they got from an artifact box was an extremely valuable one-time-use Artifact that could revive someone. Anya opened it, and a futuristic-looking orb with blue and dark violet patterns popped out of the box. Everyone quickly inspected it, but before they could see its information, Almond snatched the artifact and stored it in his storage ring. "Nuh-uh," Almond shook his head with a yful smile, "No one is seeing its effect. I''ll decide when to share it and when to use it." "Fair enough," Marcus nodded with a grin as he understood. "Yep," Lily also nodded. Enjoy new stories from empire "So the two big boxes are opened already. We are left with small fry boxes now," Natalia clicked her tongue. "Well, the five legendary consumable item boxes are quite valuable. They are legendary, after all," Xavier said. "True," Adrian nodded with a grin. "I used two consumable-type items, so I know. The power is awesome enough to let you beat Heroic Boss'' attacks and smack him down." "Yeah, yeah, stop braggings. It was thanks to the items only," Amir rolled his eyes. "I smell something burning," Adrian snickered in response. "Alright, alright, time to open the Legendary consumable." The party was already fun, with all the random boxes opening by rolling the big dice. In the end, they rolled dice for each legendary consumable item box opening separately to decide five winners, opening them one by one as they got the following legendary consumable items with fairly powerful temporary effects: 1¡ªAstral Beast Ancestral Surge Vial: Increases the user''s all physical attributes by 300% and the user''s physical size ording to the overall physical stats for 1 minute. Physical attacks gain powerful knock-back potency. After the effect wears off, the user is physically exhausted to the limit. 2¡ªSoulme zing Talisman: pping this talisman on a weapon will give the Soulme Burn effect to all attacks released through the weapon for 1 minute. Soulme Burn: Burns the target''s vitality by 1% per second while nullifying recovery for 5 seconds. Can stack up to five times on a target. 3¡ªIn the next chapter. Chapter 195 Party Over 3¡ªSeraph''s Divine Tear: Boosts the user''s all healing and recovering skills'' effects by 200%, and all healing-type skills gain Divine Cleanse, removing all types of negative status effects with every heal or recovery. Duration: 1 minute. After the duration is over, the user will be mentally exhausted and have significantly reduced Mana recovery for ten minutes. 4¡ªRune of Transcendent Veil: Activating with this rune will make the user absolute invisibility to eyes and all senses, absolute intangibility to pass through physical or magical phenomena, and absolute shifting to move anywhere your visionys upon instantly¡­for 1 minute. Once the effect wears off, the user will be put to sleep for 1 hour. 5¡ªGourd of Chronus Laias Emberwine: Drinking this wine causes the user''s perception of time to elerate. During the effect, the user can rewind time over his body up to 5 seconds back, such as rewinding an injured part to make it like it wasn''t injured at all. The gourd contains 10 ml of wine, and it is rmended to drink only 1 ml at most. Drinking more might cause the user''s mind to enter Temporal Madness. Once the effect wears off, the user''s perception of time is distorted, and their mind bes sluggish. Almond didn''t show thest two consumable items after he saw that the first three were very powerful and could be trump cards. He directly snatched thest two legendary consumable items once Mira and Finn opened them since they had won those two rounds. While others were rolling dice for the next ten resource boxes, Almond had finished reading the effects of thest two items, and he was absolutely stoked. ''Both are crazily awesome and useful. That rune can be useful to investigate something, and its best use is to use it in the Battlefield of the Mightiest at a crucial time.'' ''As for that wine¡­it''s a perfect buff for me to win any fights,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Moreover, it has ten uses total. Freaking awesome.'' Meanwhile, the party continued as Natalia won the first round of Random Resource Box opening. She opened the box and got a Banana, her expression twisting, "What the fuck? Does it want me to put this banana in my ass? I was expecting something better, tsk." "¡­" "¡­" "¡­"@@novelbin@@ Some boys even gulped since Natalia''s figure was fairly plump at the right ces, and her words made their imaginations run wild for a moment. "It increases Stamina by 5 points. Not bad," Lily said as she inspected the Banana. "Alright, if the rewards from these resource boxes are small like this, the one who wins to open the box can eat whatever they get from the box," Almond said before turning to Natalia and smiling, "Shove it up your ass-I mean mouth." "Hahahaha," "Pfff¡­" Everyone burst outughing. Natalia was unfazed as she simply smirked and ate the banana after peeling, "Yummy." The next round for the second random resource box began soon. In the end, all ten resource boxes contained fruits that gave a random number of stats. Almond also won a box opening, and the Apple he got had the highest stat-increasing boost¡ª20 points in Strength. None other got 20 stat-point increment fruit in other boxes. But Almond didn''t need that fruit, so he gave it to Lily. Afterward, everyone ate and drank for a while, some even bing wasted with drunkness. "Almond! I will surpass you!" Jian shouted with a red face as he shattered his ss on the ground. "No, you will not! I will do that!" Noah''s drunk face was stern as he drew his sword. "I¡­will surpass *burp*, too." Xavier howled. "Geez, these guys have no control. Dumbasses. *Hup* Come on,dies, why don''t you all undress, and we get all hanky-panky, hehe. It''ll be fun." "¡­Natalia, you''re drunk as fuck right now. Do you even know what you''re saying?" Kira was speechless. "Stop undressing, Ka! OMG!" "You too, Talia!" "Kira, stop them." *BOOM!* "What are you looking at, you rascals!" "Don''t attack them, Eliara!" Find exclusive stories on empire "Everyone is drunk except for me," Emma chugged another ss as she sat at the table and watched theedy unfolding before her. "Alcohol effect is automatically absorbed by my Innate physique¡­I don''t know if I should feel happy or sad." "Well, It''s time to make them sober," Lily wryly said and turned to Emma, "Why don''t you remove their alcohol effects from them? You can do that, right?" "True, that should be possible if she can utilize her powers," Almond nodded, his eyes curious. "If you can understand all types of poisons that enter you, then it''s imperative that you understand their structure and their anti-body, which you already automatically produce since poison does not affect you." Emma''s eyes glinted as she stood up, "I''ll try." After several minutes of using her Mana to create anti-drunkness and giving her Mana that property, she injected everyone with Mana Needles she created, draining everyone''s drunkness out of them. Then, a series of embarrassment andughter urred in the group before Almond made everyone sit at the table as he wanted to announce something before they left. "We will go to the 6th Floor''s Heroic Boss challenge in its 4th cycle on 27th December." Everyone was dumbfounded while Almond continued. "We have nine days, so make sure all of you be powerful enough instead of wasting time on stupid and useless things." "Wait, boss. Are we going to fight against a stronger version of Heroic Boss since we are going on the 4th cycle? Isn''t that dangerous?" Marcus scratched his head. "It''s not," Almond faintly smiled. "I''ve already confirmed by asking thebyrinth about it. Although it doesn''t always answer, it sometimes does, and I got an answer to this question. Heroic Challenge is unaffected by the Labyrinth''s cycles. The difficulty remains the same." Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and felt thrilled at this news. Afterward, everyone had some simple snacks and talked for a bit as they booked their tickets and started leaving one by one after saying farewell. The partysted for over five hours as it was six o'' clock in the evening when everyone finally left. Chapter 196 New Difficulty, Meeting "Yoshaa! Everyone''s gone, and we have nothing else to do. It''s time to start training!" Natalia said as she eagerly took out one of her Advanced skill scrolls. "I''m gonna learn this light-elemental skill called Nexus of Aurus Light!" "You start, we''lle here after a bit," Lily said before turning to Almond and grabbing his arms, squeezing it with her breasts. "Come on, darling, let''s spend an hour in the bedroom¡­all this party and drinking made me excited a bit." Almondughed as he grabbed her ass and squeezed it, "As you wish, my queen." ¡­ After spending a bit over an hour in the bedroom, both of them finished showering and came down to sit in the training pavilion on the Castle of Bloomshard Aurora''s highest sixth floor, which was open and roofless. Although Sylvia and Nyssara were still developing the castle, they had almost finished a hollow structure and made a big balcony on the 6th floor with a beautiful pavilion for meditation. It had a high tier of flowers bloomed by Sylvia that had a calming and focused effect on Mind, and also a tree of her own quirk that increased everyone''s focus within its range. Natalia was already deep in the dimension of her Advanced Skill Scroll, focusing on its training inside to learn it. Lily also took out an Advanced Skill Scroll to learn a skill¡ªUmbral Shards, a passive skill! She was most excited about it and felt that it would boost herbat power significantly. Meanwhile, Almond took out his Unfettered de Mayhem Weapon Art Token. ''Time to finally learn this,'' Almond clenched the token in his fist. ''Everyone, make sure no one suspiciouses near our house and get ready to activate formations in case you notice something.'' ''Roger, my lord! Anyoneing here with ill intention will taste my broken sword.'' ''We will not miss anything. Please be assured and train without worry, master.'' Almond smiled and infused his Mana in the token, entering a mysterious dimension atop a mountain peak with grassy ground and sunny weather in the sky. In front of him was a clone looking exactly the same as him, wielding a in wooden sword with a slightly curved de part. [Wee to the training dimension of your Unfettered de Mayhem Weapon Art. Your clone here has the same stats as you and knows the weapon artpletely up to five stages.] [The token will vanish once you have learned the five stages. Afterward, you may develop this Weapon Art''s further stages based on your potential, knowledge,prehension, and technique.] [Level 1: During the first level of the training, the clone will only use the first stage of Unfettered de Mayhem¡ªSpiraling Execution de.] [Observe, Understand, Learn, and Conquer. All the best.] "Bring it on," Almond said with a grin as he conjured a wooden sword by thinking. He saw a faint flicker over the clone''s body, and in the next moment, he was watching the world upside down. ''What the fuck? Did I just get beheaded?'' Almond was dumbfounded. His body vanished, and he appeared again intact, ready for the second round. ''Shit''s going to be hard¡­'' thought Almond as his head flew once again. ¡­ The night flew by, and the morning of 19th December arrived. Almond stopped his training at noon after spending 17 hours training against his clone. And in all of those hours, he only managed to make one extra move just one time. Sitting nkly as hey on the floor and looking at the clouds, Almond let the feeling and fact sink in that the weapon art he got was absolutely crazy and would take more time than he initially thought. ''Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power¡­it cooked my one newest Legendary skill I created myself, the powerful Rising Dragon''s Roarbat art that uses up all of my strength and stamina for an ultimate attack I designed, and the damn Spirit Forge Factory that I added for exotic factor¡­'' ''It may have cooked too powerful of a Weapon Art.'' ''The fact that the clone uses my All-Seeing Eyes and All-Severing de to cut two of my stats differently each time to mine and perform a different type of spiraling attack with the ultimate result being my head flying¡­and I am always slower one in the bouts. ''I am missing something fatal. We have the same stats, the same everything, but it is utilizing something better than I to reach that level of speed¡­'' ''What the fuck is it?'' He suddenly activated the token again and went inside. Two hourster, he opened his eyes, "Fuck." Almond got up and saw that it was 2 p.m. He went downstairs and ordered some food. ''I''ll have to take my mind to something else for now.'' ''Alright, that''s it. I''ll start my training of the advanced skill scroll¡ªWhispering Knowledge.'' ¡­ Meanwhile, Admiral Rudra was in a meeting that had been ongoing for two hours. In front of him were all old monsters, heads of families, top business organizations, Earth Union heads, and top guilds. Thest topic of the meeting was an auction house, and it had been ongoing for half an hour. "Rudra, everyone is in the census now. We all know that Almond''s party had amassed quite a lot of powerful items and other resources. We will decide its date once we get the list of items getting on the auction." "Yeah. Depending on the number of items you are bringing, we can measure its size and scope and decide if we want to include more sellers." "Indeed, the Patel n and my Smith family''s joint research center had already made a quick breakthrough on its first day this morning. If we have five more days, we will be able to produce an essential item for adventurers that would increase theirbat power and survival chances." "I heard you two were holed up for a whole day and a half in the newb," Rudra chuckled. "I am looking forward to that product. Alright, I''ll bring the list of items by tonight and send it to everyone." "Alright, we''ll talk tomorrow morning and set up everything, including the auction date." Soon, most of the holograms vanished. Only five of them remained. "So, what''s the holdup?" Silvester asked while picking his nose. "We will decide the entry of your S-rank dungeons now," Rudra said with a somber expression. "I won''t take no for an answer. This is very important to me." "It seems that brat of yours wants to feed himself as soon as possible," Liang Zhou said as he caressed his beard. "The dungeon gate at my territory has turned red. I''ll send the parties involved with my family and build my party. You can send your brat tomorrow. I''ll let you set the time." "Then I''ll inform you what time he''lle tomorrow." "Old Liang is taking the first turn, so we don''t need to decide for the next one right now," Paloma Vasquez said. "We''ll continue this in the next meeting." "Yes, Admiral Rudra. See you at the next meeting," Proximax guild leader nodded. Your next chapter is on empire "Alright. Meeting adjourned." Admiral Rudra turned around as his throne-like seat moved to the middle of the hall as it became more spacious. "Astral, prepare my soup and start up the training system." "Understood." After giving themand, he contacted Almond. "Alright, brat, let''s see what things are you putting up for the auctions." Unaware of the shockwaves he was going to receive regarding the items Almond wanted to sell, Admiral Rudra dialed up and said, as the call connected. "Alright, brat. The auction is finalized. Now, I need the list of items you are putting up for sale in the auction, and we''ll decide the date tomorrow."@@novelbin@@ Chapter 197 Auction Items, Whispering Knowledge Hearing Admiral''s words, Almond nodded, "Alright, let me count and make a list. I''m also adding all Epic-rank items we''ve got from rewards, not only Legendary ones." ''Let''s see, the rewards we got so far are...'' Epic item boxes: 12 Epic essory: 1 Epic Weapon: 1 Epic Armor: 1 Epic Item: 1 Epic Set: 1 (Low-tier) Epic Set: 2 (Mid-tier) Epic Set: 4 (High-tier) Legendary item boxes: 5 Legendary weapon: 2 Legendary armor: 1 Legendary set: 5 (Low-tier) Legendary set: 3 (Mid-tier) Legendary set: 2 (High-tier) ''I sacrificed ten Epic items and five legendary, and I am not giving any of my spirit items for now, so...'' "Alright, I''ve finished counting. So, I have a total of 6 individual Epic rank items, one Low-tier Epic set, two Mid-tier Epic sets, and four High-tier Epic sets." "What? So many sets?" Admiral Rudra raised an eyebrow. "And there are four high-tier Epic sets¡­good. What''s next?" Almond grinned and continued, "Three Legendary items, you can check the rank yourself once I give them to you. And¡­.five low-tier Legendary sets-" "What?! Five legendary sets?" Admiral Rudra''s eyes widened. "Chill, there''s more. Three mid-tier Legendary sets and two High-tier Legendary sets." "Already have Mid-tier and high-tier of legendary sets¡­" Admiral Rudra was fully dumbfounded. He wasn''t expecting that at all! "There are more things aside from equipment," Almond smiled. "There''s one skill stone which can instantly teach one the skill contained within it to the user. The skill stone has an SS-rank skill called Scorpian Terror Sting." Almond had gotten this skill stone from the Random Mystery box he opened, which everyone got when he opened Party Chest. "Crap¡­the rewards you are getting from that Heroic Challenge are crazy," Admiral Rudra''s eyes twitched. "And this is nothing based on what you showed me from your MVP chest. Alright, I''m joining the 11th Floor''s Heroic Challenge. I''m sure you''ll catch up before we clear it." "Of course," Almond grinned. "I can''t wait till I catch up and we fight the boss together. That''s going to be fun." "Mhm, now putting that aside, what you are giving for this auction is the biggest treasure trove our world has seen so far." "Wait, there''s more." Admiral Rudra''s lips twitched slightly. "Ah, no, this is not rted to auction," Almond chuckled. "I have a magic beast''s egg, so I want to hatch it. I wonder if you know any professional high-level tamer who can do that? By the way, this beast egg has an Epic-rank Bloodline." Almond showed the egg''s status to Admiral Rudra. [Winged Tyrant''s Egg] -Detail: The egg of a magical beast with an Epic-rank bloodline. -Hatching progress: 0%. "Interesting. And this beast seems to be flying-type from its name," Admiral Rudra was surprised to see the egg''s details. "Only around four or five others had gotten an Epic-rank beast egg so far. Did you get this from Floor Boss ying chest?" "Yeah, I got it from the mystery box that the second floor''s Heroic boss ying chest gave." "Alright, I know someone who can hatch any beasts and might even evolve them in the process. She will handle this egg," Admiral Rudra smiled. "Oh? There''s someone who can do that?" Almond startled. To evolve a beast was no easy feat, not to mention evolving it during the hatching process. "Indeed. She is Paloma Vasquez, the old monster and head of the Vasquez family. And it won''t be long before her main pet reaches Legendary rank. She still has three other Epic-rank pets, out of them, she evolved two from Silver and Gold to tinum throughout the years." "Dang, she is a powerful beast tamer," Almond grinned. "Then I am looking forward to my pet once it hatches." "Sort out your items to be auctioned and the egg. I''m sending Aryan there in a few hours. Give the stuff to him." "Actually, wait. No need to send anyone. Since I was able to send that scroll through the digital magicwork via mail, and a storage pouch stores items in a confined space, what if I turn that storage pouch into transferrable mail as I did with the scroll and send you?" Admiral Rudra''s forehead showed ck lines, "You can experiment with just one item in a storage pouch first, so don''t use the pouch containing all of those epic and legendary items as an experiment. If it''s lost in the digital realm, you would lose a lot of money." Almond wryly smiled, "Yeah, I''ll try with another storage pouch first before trying to send it to you via mail. Alright, bye, and wait for the result." Almond started experimenting with a storage pouch and tried to send it to Admiral Rudra, seeding after half an hour. Looking at the storage pouch in his mail, he infused Mana and did it the same way he did to interact with the scroll, and it popped out. "He really did it..." [Admiral Rudra: Alright, brat. Send the storage pouch with auction items this time. I''ll recieve it.] Almond didn''t waste time and sent the storage pouch with items, the one skill stone, and the magic beast egg.@@novelbin@@ Admiral Rudra''s video call came as a hologram popped up. "I got the pouch. Now, let''s talk about your entry into the S-rank dungeon. It''s set to be tomorrow, but you have to choose the time to enter right now so I can ry it to the Zhou n." Almond rubbed his chin, ''I am going to spend time learning whispering knowledge, and I don''t know how long it will take. It''s almost 3 o''clock afternoon right now, so¡­.'' "Alright, let''s set it for tomorrow at 7 p.m." "So after twenty-eight hours? Alright." Experience new tales on empire Admiral Rudra nodded and went offline. Almond didn''t waste any more time as he had finished eating and went back to the Castle. Sitting beside Lily on the meditation mattress, he took out the Advanced Skill of Whispering Knowledge and dived in. ¡­ ''What the fuck?'' Almond wryly smiled. [The first training stage to learn Whispering Knowledge is to read these 10,000 books of random information and pass a test that will ask you 100 random questions regarding information in the 10,000 books.] ''Whispering Knowledge is a passive skill¡­.and this first stage might take a lot of time already.'' Almond remembered Marcus taking around 19 hours to finish the training stages and learn his skill from the Advanced Skill Scroll, starting its rank with SSS. Amir took a few more hours toplete training, but his starting skill rank was SS. Advanced Skill Scroll didn''t have a limit on how long it could take one to learn, so there wasn''t a hurry, but Almond wanted to finish it fast and also do it profoundly. ''Alright, let''s start reading,'' Almond sat down at the table as his mind avatar appeared in a library. He spread Mana strings and pulled out tens of books before putting them on the table and started reading them. Opening a book, the page flipped with his control without touching them, his pupils flickered quickly. With such high Perception and Focus, he could easily read everything swiftly, imprint what he saw into his mind like a photographic memory, and derive information to store in his mind from that memory. He read several pages in a single second and soon finished a book before a speechless expression appeared on his face. ''The fuck did I just read?'' He looked at the cover page and saw the title. [The Ten Ducks Who Went Through Nirvana and Became Bards.] ''Well, shit. It looks like I am reading exotic stories in this library.'' Chapter 198 Lily and Natalias New Skills, Meeting of Rats December 20th, the clock hit 7 p.m., and Natalia''s eyes opened as the Advanced Skill Scroll in her hand vanished. She finished learning the Light elemental skill--Nexus of Aurus Light! ''This is an awesome skill! I''m going to be op! Not to mention, the training inside increased my light elemental mastery. Advanced Skill Scroll is freaking amazing!'' She was hopeful because her Light elemental Mastery reached close to the peak of A-rank during the training, and she was close to breaking through to S-rank! The training that Advanced Skill Scroll gave her significantly helped her in regards to increasing her Light mastery! Natalia was excited and quickly opened her training result, wanting to see what starting rank she got for this skill. [Nexus of Aurus Light] -Type: Active (Growth-type) -Rank: SSS -Cost: 20% of Maximum Mana. Additional Mana to infuse Light energy in the Nexus. -Aurus Light: [0/100,000] -Details: ¡ª> Using the skill, manifest a Nexus that gathers and stores light energy from your own Mana and also from lightness and brightness in the surrounding atmosphere to generate Aurus Light. You can then use Nexus to release Aurus Light effects from your body, with gestures and intent aimed at targets visible in your sensing range. ¡ªEffect(s): ¡ª> Aurus Lightburn Pierce: Unleashes a fast, piercing burning beam to any target within your sensing range, dealing damage based on Aurus Light consumed to release this. ¡ªAurus Light Healing Beam: Unleashes a pure positive healing beam that expells harmful energies from an individual and heal their wounds, external or internal.@@novelbin@@ "Holy fucking light, let''s fucking go!" Natalia squealed in excitement and quickly used the skill as a mystical and aesthetic-looking nexus of semi-crystal and semi-energy based appeared with a golden crystal spinning at its center. It was already gathering light energy as it was brightening up, and Natalia could see the gauge filling up! "The sun can fill it up fast, huh? Awesome!" Natalia could see it was the sun''s effect! Natalia gestured her fingers to make her hand look like a pistole and aimed at Dark Pope, who was at the beach sitting on a chair with his dark wisps patrolling the northeast side. She moved her hand a bit and aimed at one of his dark wisps. "Bam." An intense power of light coursed through Natalia''s body as she consumed 1000 Aurus Light from the Nexus instantly before the Aurus Lightburn Pierce released it from her finger. "Ouch! Hey,ss. Why are you destroying my puppies?" "Hehe, just testing out my skill," Natalia replied in Magic Whisper. "How was it?" "Pretty good, though not powerful enough." "Of course, I just used 1% of its power," Natalia snorted. "And I can heal and attack both." She was technically right. 1000 Aurus Light was 1% of the total amount of Aurus Light the Nexus could store. "Ayo, then it''s a very good skill. Nice gain,ss. But don''t kill my dark puppies. I''m connected to them, so I feel pain." "I can heal you with my Aurus Light Healing Beam, want me to do it?" "¡­" Natalia burst outughing, "I''m just joking. Alright, I won''t disturb you anymore. Thanks for guarding us, Ben." "Aye." Your journey continues with empire ¡­ Natalia went downstairs to eat since she was "hungry as fuck"¡ª Her words, not mine. After eating, she directly fell asleep on the sofa. An hourter, Lily was also done with her training as her Advanced skill scroll vanished. ''Yes!'' Lily''s eyes glinted, feeling thrilled as she looked at her new passive skill. [Umbral Shards] -Type: Passive (Growth-type) -Rank: SSS -Cost: ¡ª -Umbral Shards: [0/10] -Details: Any dark-type skills you use will generate Umbral Shards, up to 10. -Effect(s): ¡ª> You can infuse an Umbral Shard in any of your skills that deal damage, increasing its dark-attributed effects by 50%, damage by 50%, and prative power by 50%. "Perfect addition to enhance mybat power," Lily grinned. Turning to Almond, she saw that he had an Advanced Skill scroll in his hand. ''Did he finish his Weapon Art training?'' Lily blinked. ''I also have to start my weapon art training now.'' ''But first, I need to eat.'' Kissing Almond on his cheek, she wished him good luck and got up before jumping down gracefully and entering the house. After ordering and eating something, she also slept on a different big sofa like Natalia as she began snoring swiftly. ¡­. Both of them woke up four to five hourster, one after another, freshened up and continued training. Natalia used an Insight Stone, hoping the stone would produce a sound power-rted dimension and send her mind there so she could increase her Sound elemental mastery. She found herself in andless world, filled with the phenomenon of different colored lights taking the shape of monsters, beasts, and other things she had never seen before and the waves they produced. ''What the hell is this? Is it a dimension mix of Light and Sound powers ?'' Natalia was surprised, and then her expression turned determined. ''I have only 24 hours. I have to gain as much insight as I can from this!'' Meanwhile, Lily finally began training on her Weapon Art¡ªUmbral Reaper''s Shadowy Gloom. She arrived in a nightscape of absolute darkness, with the only source of brightness being the gloomy purple, violet, orange, and blue hues of neon lights produced by gloomy nts in the meadow. [The token will vanish once you have learned the three stages of your Weapon Art. Afterward, you may develop this Weapon Art''s further stages based on your potential, knowledge,prehension, and technique.] [Level 1: During the first level of the training, the clone will only use the first stage of Umbral Reaper''s Shadowy Gloom¡ªDance of Gloomy Reaper.] [Observe, Understand, Learn, and Conquer. All the best.] ''Where is my clone?'' Lily frowned. But in the next second, she found darkness overwhelming her before she felt her mind avatar cutting into five pieces. ''W-What the fuck?'' And thus began Lily''s turn to endure torturous deaths like Almond in this training. Although her Weapon Art was obviously not as powerful as Almond''s since it was based on three SSS-rank skills, the Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power did cook something powerful from those three for her with extremely high difficulty. ¡­ Meanwhile, the scattered rats of the underworld finally gathered once again at the call of Hollowstar Emissory. "Emissory said that this meeting is very important and we are to receive an important guest." "Tsk, who is it, I wonder?" "It''d be better if the emissary could rope in one of the old monsters." "That''s almost impossible unless the emissary can coerce one of them." "Silence, he is here." In the dark hall, all twenty-one individuals wore the same ck cloak with hazy white and blue patterns and a strange symbol of a spiral with an eye in the middle at the center. In the center of the table, the emissary''s visage appeared, looking hazy and slightly blurry. "My subordinate will arrive on this in twelve hours. He will crash into the inhabited frozen tundra. Before GAA or Earth Unions detects him, you are to receive him and get him into hiding." "What?! You mean he ising from outer space?" Everyone was shocked. They thought the emissary was going rope in a new powerful individual, but they werepletely wrong! "That''s right. He is riding on a small meteoroid, and the expected arrival is eleven hours and fifty-three minutes." "But there are GAA and Earth Union satellites equipped with new magitech weapons that work to destroy iing meteoroids now," one of the rats spoke with a frown. "No worries. This meteoroid is special, and it won''t be detected until it enters the Earth''s atmosphere, and by then, it''ll be toote. It will crash, so get ready and move out now." Hearing the sternness in the voice, everyone replied in unison, "Understood!" Chapter 199 Envelop, Meteoroid Incoming 21st December, 7 in the morning. [The third and final stage of the training is for you to feel and grasp the intent of any medium that contains knowledge. There are carved stones, tablets, scrolls, books, symbolguage carved tforms, and everything else you see in this hall.]@@novelbin@@ [Do not touch them. You must feel their intent, hear their whispers, and grasp their knowledge. Depending on your performance during this stage, the starting rank of your passive skill¡ªWhispering Knowledge¡ªwill be determined as this stage is the most important.] ''What the actual fuck?'' Almond was dumbfounded. ¡­ Meanwhile, the grand meeting once again began as Rudra sat in his chair with a huge screen in front of him with small sections, each showing the top guild leaders, old monsters, and other top heads of families and organizations. "The auction list is here. I won''t publicize the effects of items, but only their appearance, name, and rank." "That''s better. We don''t want anyone to find their effects after buying them." "That''s right." "I''d also buy some for research if they catch the eye." "Indeed. The legendary items are quiteplex and have much knowledge in them that we can extract in regards to mana applications and crafting." Admiral Rudra saw everyone''s expression and internally snickered. He knew their jaws would drop once they saw the list of items. "That said, I think we should start the auction on 25th December, morning," Viktor Volkov said while caressing his thick beard. "I agree," Bianca Moretti nodded. "The monthly event of the Labyrinth is going to be announced and start on the 25th, we''ll likely get the notification at seven in the morning. Once the auction concludes and some of us are armed with new legendary items that Rudra promised to put on the auction, we''ll be able to perform better in whatever event the Labyrinth throws at us." "Indeed. Rudra, you told me there''d be a Legendary sword," Silvester grinned. "I''m gonna buy." "You have no chance unless there''s two of them," Hiroshi Ryugiri calmly quipped in. "Dream on, old fart." "Just stating a fact." "Alright, here''s the list. You all take a look first," Rudra posted the list, seeing the duo begin to bicker. Everyone''s eyes went to the panel with a list of items, their names, appearance, and rank. And in the next second, everyone''s eyes flickered with surprise and shock. "Old man, so many items?!" Aryan was dumbfounded. "Admiral Rudra, this number of Legendary Gear sets¡­ it''s crazy¡­" "An SS-rank skill stone that can let someone learn the skill instantly?" "That''s big!" "It seems that Heroic Challenge''s rewards are way more than what we initially assumed." "If this is on the sale, then what else rewards they must have gotten? Every single person''s mind was shifted to the Heroic Challenge from the list because that was the one thing that produced these powerful, high-ranking items and much more that ate away at their curiosity and ignited their desire and greed to have the same. What other kinds of rewards does Heroic Challenge give? Some of them already knew about Advanced Skill Scrolls because of other party members who showed it to their guild and n after returning. "A party of my n tried something yesterday, but they couldn''t invoke that Heroic challenge on the 7th Floor," Theo Gabris said while shaking his head before saying a faint smile. "Rudra, how about you disclose the information on how to invoke that challenge to me privately, considering our old friendship?" "Indeed, it''s better if more people can seed in getting rewards and bing powerful," Lemur Peng said with a sharp grin. "This information should be public." Lemur Peng ran one of the biggestpanies of adventurer products like potions and items and adventurer training centers through different cities. Thepany ran with the backing of five top 30 families, three guilds of the top 20, and the 9th rank Lightstrike Guild. "I have to agree with Lemur, Admiral Rudra," Ruyi Hexing, the leader of the 2nd rank ckstar, said with a faint smile. "We would greatly appreciate the information." More people spoke in agreement, as all of them wanted to eat the bountiful cake that was Heroic Challenge. "I hear you all," Admiral Rudra nodded calmly, his expression deadpan. "As of the moment, only Almond''s party receives the invitation to Heroic Challenge. Some of your members are in his party, as you know, as well." "But brats also don''t know. They just know it appears because of Almond." "Indeed, we wish to know what he did to receive the Heroic Challenge option." Admiral Rudra conjured an envelope with his Mana and showed it to everyone, "This envelope contains the information." Everyone''s eyes focused on it. "But you just produced it with your Mana¡­" "¡­" "Indeed," Admiral Rudra nodded. "It''s empty for now, but this envelope will be presented as an item to buy in the auction. Inside this will be the information on conditions required to receive the Heroic Challenge invitation." "Damn, you crafty bastard. You want to y that game?" "Admiral, why don''t you just share it?" Rudra crushed the envelope as it scattered and smiled, "You can buy it and then release the information to the public." "Since you all talked about generosity on how we should share the information, I''m sure one of you big-hearted fellows will buy it and release the information." "¡­" "¡­" "Alright, the meeting is adjourned. The auction building will be constructed in two days by GAA in Firefly City''s northwest ocean bay. You all do whatever publicity you can and get sellers if you want to. We''ll discuss this in tomorrow''s meeting." ¡­ Admiral Rudra turned off the monitor as he got up. "Astra, show me the research progress on Almond''s flying ship. How is it going?" "Very well. I''ve made a rough blueprint of the ship and am now adding the structural and formative details as per the research team''s progress in analyzing its magic formation, engine, and function runes. In my estimation, we will extract all details in the next 19 hours." "Good. Make sure the team gets enough rest and energy. It''s fine if it takes a bit more time." "Understood." But just as he was about to begin his daily training session, an rm rang, apanied by Astra AI''s voice. "Admiral, a meteoroid impact just entered our earth''s mesosphere. It''sing down at 71 kilometers per second, and it will crash in the Frozen Tundra sector in approximately 62 seconds based on atmospheric factors and the high surface of Frozen Tundra." "The meteoroid will survive based on its size and crudely estimated structure definition and result in a meteorite of some unique material." "The impact is going to break the frozen tundra and affect the ocean belt of the. I''ve started calction of tsunami chances at coastal areas and other factors that could affect poption due to weather." Experience new stories on empire "We couldn''t detect thising in?" Rudra frowned. "Yes, we couldn''t, Admiral. This has never happened before." "Something''s wrong." Rudra''s guts churned. "Scan it, photo it. I want all the details since it entered the atmosphere." There was no chance of stopping that meteoroid from crashing because Frozen Tundra was one of the highly affected areas by magic, and its atmosphere was dangerous enough. Sending even the closest guild there would take an hour. Meanwhile, the rats had already arrived at the Frozen Tundra and were at a certain mountain digging holes to find something ording to the emissary''s instruction. Chapter 200 Lerkeion Wir Denekan Meanwhile, the rats stood 5 kilometers away from the point of impact that the emissary urately told them. "Found it!" One of the rats finally dug out a box from a snowy mountain''s peak that the Hollowstar Emissary told directed them. "How did he send a box like this here?" "Who knows what kind of powers he has¡­he is sending a subordinate with a meteor, so it wouldn''t be strange if he delivered this box here undetected somehow." "Alright, open it. Let''s see what kind of escape route he gave." The rat who found it opened the box, and everyone looked inside, finding a miniature model of a flying ship¡ªpitch ck with hazy purple and violet patterns, with the same symbol of a spiral with an eye in the middle on its wings. "So this is our ride to get out of here, huh?" "T-This¡­it''s an SSS-rank flying ship!" "This must be fast and powerful, both given it''s an SSS-rank." "Activate it fast, and let''s go inside. I am freezing here. "Yeah, the magical cold here is still affecting us despite the cloak. It''s fucking passing through my barrier." "The meteoroid is near!" "Wait, why is it turning towards us?! It was supposed to strike five kilometers away!" "What the fuck?!" "Get inside the ship, fast!" *BOOOM!* Everyone felt a powerful impact while the ship was automatically covered in a hazy violet-ck barrier before the impact. It flew away as the mountain shattered by the impact, and destruction ensued in the surroundings, which also negated the earlier calctions done by Astra AI. The airship stabilized in the air a couple of kilometers away from the impact, with everyone inside rattled. "Hey, we are missing someone!" "Who are we missing?" "I don''t see Abbas." "Bastard, I''m here." "Fuck, it''s Andre! I don''t see him." "He''s not here." "Is he dead?" "Definitely dead if he couldn''t get inside in time." *Thud!!* Suddenly, everyone felt a powerful pressure descending on them. "Hey, insects! Come out and greet your new leader." Everyone frowned at the rude and condescending tone. They felt bad but only felt bad and nothing else as they hurriedly arrived on the ship''s deck. However, the figure in front of them wasn''t what they expected. ''He isn''t a human.'' ''What the fuck is that monster?'' ''Emissary didn''t say we were weing a demon¡­'' ''Is he a demon?''@@novelbin@@ Eight feet tall, the bulky, muscled figure in front of them had a bronze and obsidian ck-colored skin texture, a pair of rising horns curved at the top part leaning forward, and a scary face with a wide grin at his shining bronze teeth. He wore a dark gold metallic armor chest te and braces around his arms and legs while a long alligator-type tail extended from behind, approximately two meters long. "I am Lerkeion Wir Denekan. Address me as Captain Lerke with respect." Stay updated through empire Lerkeion''s eyes sharpened, glowing faint ck with bronze patterns as he continued, "Insects! I''ve assessed you, and I am not satisfied. Before I begin to follow my lord''smand, you will go through training under me and evolve into decent dogs from maggots!" "Let''s go. Bring me to your hideout." A powerful aura gushed out from him, causing everyone to fall over the deck as their knees weakened. "WHERE''S YOUR RESPONSE?!" "A-Aye aye, captain Lerke! Everyone else quickly followed. "AYE AYE CAPTAIN LERKE!" "Danis, start the ship!" As the ship began flying, Leikeron stood at its notch as if overlooking this world, his expression thoughtful. ''The restrictions arrived,'' Leikeron''s stats were suppressed. ''So the highest rank here is tinum for now. But the 11th floor opened, so the front liners here will soon reach Epic-rank. Good. It won''t be fun crushing insects otherwise.'' Suddenly, a small semi-biological device in his ears vibrated. "Yes, my lord. I have safely arrived, and they will be soon notified of my presence." [Hollowstar Emissary: Good. Make sure you keep ying with them with lesser risks to yourself. I want you to be a continuous menace.] "Everything shall happen as you instructed." [Hollowstar Emissary: Our force has prated the other three worlds that are participating in Battlefield of the Mightiest. The one who rolls the dominion first will be promoted to Commander. All the best.] Lerkeion ruthlessly grinned, "I will make this world fall over its knees in theing phase 1 and make sure they lose first before the other three. That is my promise." ¡­ Admiral Rudra looked at the huge screen as Astra''s voice rang. "Admiral, here are all visuals as enhanced as possible I got from the meteoid." "As you can see, there''s someone on that meteoroid. He has embedded half of his body inside, and from the readings, this meteoroid was in control of this individual." "What in the¡­." Admiral Rudra felt shock and also danger. Someone, not human, just entered their while riding on a meteoroid. He had a strong gut-twisting feeling that this individual was rted to the rats. At first, he wanted to rush there to investigate, but going there recklessly was not wise. ''Outerspace¡­ traveling there while staying on that meteoroid. To do this requires great physical strength and a great reserve of Mana,'' Rudra frowned. ''That individual is stronger than me.'' ''And so against everyone else.'' Suddenly, every single adventurer who was conscious received a notification. [A foreign individual has entered your world. Restrictions have been ced. If any foreigner arrives in your world, their strength will be restricted to the same rank as the strongest 100 individuals on your.] "It seems that everyone knows now," Admiral Rudra caressed his beard in deep thought. "With how the rats are hiding, it''d be hard to find this individual once they go into hiding." "Astra, ry to the news stations that GAA is investigating this matter. People don''t need to worry." "Understood. Also, the meteoroid changed its direction unnaturally due to that individual. However, thanks to that, the damage will not spread far, and the ocean belt won''t be as affected." "Noted. Send some drones there and give us the footage of resulted situation. Also, contact party number A1." "It''s time to schedule a stroll into the 11th floor." Upon receiving themand, Astra contacted party number A1, whose members were none other than four other old monsters¡ªArjun, Zauna, Silvester, and Hiroshi. Chapter 201 Difficult Training, Deadline ''This is unreal.'' ''This cannot be real.'' Almondy on the floor, his senses retracting as he finished the 10th round of individually scanning and focusing on each medium of knowledge present in this hall. There were 1000 of them! But he couldn''t invoke the so-called intent from any one of them. ''Why is this so hard? Or maybe Ipleted the training already? I can just leave, right?'' [You have yet to meet the minimum requirement to acquire this skill. Would you still like to leave?] ''Goddamn it!'' *Smash!* Almond smashed both of his fists and jumped up. ''I can do it! There''s nothing I cannot do!'' Time passed, and Almond continued to try. Only one hour remained until 7 of the evening. At 7, he has to be present at the Zhou n''s territory to enter the S-rank dungeon. ''Fuck this skill,'' Almond sat down and crossed his arms. ''I have to leave.'' [You have yet to meet the minimum requirement to acquire this skill. Would you still like to leave?] "¡­" Looking at the question in front of him, Almond''s fingers dug into his mind avatar''s arms, great frustration filling him up. ''Hey, Grimworld Tutorial! What''s wrong with this training?! Why can''t I learn it?'' A gentle breeze blew by in the serene silence. No response. ''Fuck you. I want to learn this! Why is this skill so hard?'' [The default lowest rank of this skill is Legendary. You have yet to meet the requirement to make this passive skill yours.] Almond was surprised to get an answer, but a secondter, his expression turned nk, ''that''s it?'' ''Tell me more!'' Almond felt like going insane. He wanted to learn this skill! He didn''t want to believe he couldn''t learn this! He believed that he would learn anything if he put his whole mind and focus to it! ''Damn it!'' "Speak to me, you¡­you random knowledge!" Almond muttered heavily as he saw every single one of the knowledge mediums in his focus field. His eyes burned with frustration, anger, and, most of all, an intense focus. ''I don''t have time? So fucking what? I am not giving this up!'' ''Whisper to me your knowledge! You must! You will!'' ¡­ In the Zhou n''s territory, the Red Fox Jungle. This jungle of thick nt life had a distinct characteristic of being¡ªRed. The trees, the leaves, and even the fruits that grew here always had patterns, designs, and spots of different hues of red color, and asionally, theughter and howls of foxes would echo inrge areas. Hence the name Red Fox Jungle. In the southeast area of this jungle, there was a fancy portal gate with a red border leading to the S-rank dungeon. The figures present at this gate were all-powerful tinum-rank Adventurers. Among the ten people, there were three old monsters. Admiral Rudra. Liang Zhou. Bianca Moretti. The other seven were also prominent figures, at least six of them. Damian Silverfang, the guild master of the 5th rank Silverfang Guild. Level 150 tinum. An old man in his sixties with a in white martial outfit. Ray Drumell Silverfang, the vice-guild master. Level 148 tinum. A man in his forties with an air of a calm mountain. Experience tales with empire Alexander Graves, head of the Graves family. Level 150 tinum. Cassandra Graves, the wife of Alexander Graves. Level 150 tinum. Parents of Talia. The couple were in their modern cow-boy type outfits with revolvers at their waists. Sun Zhou, the son of Liang Zhou¡ªLevel 149 tinum. Gun Zhou, the daughter of Liang Zhou¡ªLevel 149 tinum. The twin siblings hit half a century in age a year ago. They grew up together, trained together, and lived with their families together. Two together could make any run for their lives inbat, even most of the old monsters. The only thing that could separate this duo was death and nothing else. Valentina Moretti, the granddaughter of Bianca Moretti¡ªLevel 57 tinum, 23 years old. Her outfit looked strikingly simr to her grandma''s, wearing the same skin-tight assassin-ish outfits with a cloak that would asionally flutter in the wind and reveal their package of smoking-hot figures with loaded assets at the front and back. "Rudra, ten minutes remain until the deadline. Almond isn''t here yet," Bianca nced at Rudra. "He wille. Wait." "I''m bored," Valentina said with a dazed expression as she sat on a rock, her eyes on the sky. But she suddenly shut her eyes and prayed. "That''s a third shooting star. I wish he woulde soon." ''What do you think, sister? I''m certain she is an artificial human based on a cartoon character.'' ''She has been staring at the sky since she arrived, and her expressions¡­yeah, I''m now convinced.'' ''She is the same age as your daughter, you rascals. And if you want to bull shit out of boredom, don''t include me in your conversation,'' Liang Zhou snorted, sending a mind shock to his son and daughter. "What''s going on, Rudra? Just tell us so we can know," Liang said. ''This brat¡­I also sent my fastest ride there. When are you arriving?!'' Rudra nced at his wristwatch. [Rudra: is he still in training?] [Alfred:¡­He is.] [Rudra: Can you nudge him?] [Alfred: I will not. I apologize.] Rudra''s right eye twitched. Rudra''s chat was connected to Alfred online for the past half an hour. Every time he asked Alfred to nudge Almond, he got the same reply. "Alright, I''ll tell you why he iste," Rudra suddenly said as sighed. "You all know about the Advanced Skill Scroll by now. He is in one, training to learn the skill." "Anya used one," Damian said with a nod. "She finished learning a skill after 19 hours. It was an SS-rank skill." Anya was the super rookie of his guild and also his direct student, so he was aware of her progress as he was nurturing her. "And this training is generally finished in 24 hours ording to information from others I got," Bianca said as she narrowed her eyes. "I''m sure Almond also knew about it." "It''s been well over 24 hours since he started training," Rudra calmly replied. "But he knows about the deadline and is not leaving the training realm of that scroll even though he can," Bianca said, making Rudra speechless. ''You darn Morettis¡­'' "As always, you are up to date on information," Rudra snorted, his tone turning rough. "That''s right. He can leave. He knows the time, but he isn''t leaving."@@novelbin@@ "He thinks we will wait for him," Sun Zhou said with a loudugh. "I like his attitude." "Well, will we wait?" Gun Zhou smiled. Chapter 202 S-rank Dungeon: Hell of Trampling Tyrant "I will," Alexander faintly smiled. "My daughter greatly admires him."@@novelbin@@ "Indeed, we will wait," Cassandra smiled. "I am willing to wait," Damian caressed his beard while he nodded, a smile dancing on his lips. "He is making our guild''s Anya stronger." "Mhmm," Ray Drumrell nodded. "Well, I guess we are waiting now," Rudra chuckled. "Tsk. Alright, get up, old fool. It''s been a while since we yed our cat and mouse game," Biana suddenly said as her aura rose, darkness slithered out of her and darkened an area around her. Her slick and sexy ck skin-tight dress flickered as a metallic coatingyered over it, and a fancy mystic sniper rifle appeared in her hands. *Crackle* "Alright," Rudra grinned. But suddenly, Rudra received a beep and looked at his wristwatch. There was only one message from Alfred. [Master Almond opened his eyes.] "Alright, he ising." Valentina pouted, "Just as it was getting good, he decided to ruin it. Very bad timing." "You wanted to see us fight that much,ss?" Rudra wryly smiled. Valentina''s eyes sparkled. "Yes, of course!" "Then tell me, who would''ve won if we fought?" Rudra asked with a smile. Valentina grinned, "You, of course!" "There you go, your granddaughter announced the result." Bianca rolled her eyes before turning to Valentina, "You brat, you want to be like your cool grandma and even copy mepletely, but you think I can''t win? Humph." "Ow,e on, Nonna." Valentina vanished into the shadows and appeared behind Bianca, hugging her and snuggling into her hair, "I love you, you know. You are super cool and powerful, that''s why I want to be like you. Hehe, don''t worry, I will defeat Rudra Gramps on behalf of you." Everyone immediately had a wry smile upon hearing her words. Liang Zhou burst outughing instead as he said, "Bianca, your granddaughter is one step ahead of you." "These young ones sure have great confidence in them," Damian heartilyughed. "I like it." "Well, that''s true," Rudra said with a grin, "Butss, you have to surpass someone younger than you first." "Mhm?" Valentina blinked, her head tilting. "You think Almond is stronger than me?" "Come on, that''s too much," Bianca rolled her eyes. She didn''t believe her monster of a granddaughter was weaker than a brat who just be an Adventurer recently. Not just her, but no one else could believe Rudra''s words. Valentina was one of the strongest of the younger generation. Aside from Arjun''s son, who snatched the 78th rank in the Top 100 Global Leaderboard, Valentina was the only other youngster under the age of 25 who grabbed a spot in the Top 100 Global Leaderboard, ranking herself at 83rd. In short, these two were stronger than even some veteran adventurers and adventurers of higher level. This was the reason why Valentina could apany the top frontline adventurer in an S-rank dungeon. As such, no one believed that Almond could be stronger than Valentina. However, Rudra maintained his smile, his words full of confidence and trust, "He is stronger than you. And well, you can witness it yourself." "I heard he has powerful summons," Ray nodded. "An individual like him with highbat ability along with his summons can be very troublesome indeed." "We''ll see, humph," Valetina cutely snorted and vanished as she appeared back on the rock from darkness over it. Continue reading stories on empire ''It can''t be, right?'' Sun Zhou blinked. ''Maybe it''s right?'' Gun blinked back. ''Old man seems confident.'' ''Could be right,'' Liang Zhou caressed his beard. Five minutester, everyone saw a familiar pitch-ck mobile jet with devilish wings. "Looks like he is here," Alexander smiled. Almond jumped out of the jet after it stopped while the Jet also vanished as it went inside his storage ring. Landing several meters away, Almond walked towards them like a ghost, looking slow but cutting over a meter every step. "Phew, I guess I''m notte," Almond smiled as he turned away from his wristwatch and looked at the party. "It''s exactly seven." "¡­" "Alright, let us enter now without wasting any more time," Rudra suddenly said as he entered inside. A gust of speechlessness blew past everyone as Almond rushed in behind Rudra and entered. "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" "The brat is even more shameless than me," Sun Zhouughed and entered inside. ¡­ S-rank Dungeon¡ªHell of Trampling Tyrant. "So this is an S-rank dungeon?" Almond looked at the exotic scenery ahead of him from a cliff at the dungeon''s edge. Behind him was just darkness that signified the border of this dungeon, and at the front wasnd littered with cracks that burst out glittering blue and gold liquid. The liquid would randomly be solidified, creating exotic crystal structures that didn''t make heads or tails, though sometimes resembled familiar things, both mundane and extraordinary. The others also arrived. "That looks like a turtle, don''t you think?" Valentine said as she walked and stopped beside Amond, looking at a particr structure. Almond turned to her and saw her looking at him. "Your eyes are like topaz," Valentine blinked. "They would a pretty ne." ''Valentine Moretti,'' Almond raised his eyebrows. ''She was famous briefly during her debut but then didn''t appear in public much until thest Rising Star Tournament.'' "The monsters seem to be in that area with a huge amount of crystal structures," Sun pointed his ck staff with golden patterns at the area two hundred meters away. "This is a red-bordered S-rank dungeon, so I guess we will be facing monsters above Epic level 50 at least," Damian said as he caressed his bears. "Don''t be careless, you two." It was clear he was saying it to Almond and Valentina. "Fighting in that area seems annoying," Bianca took out a big ck longbow and pulled the string, materializing a ck arrow with a dark blue me aura extending from it. "Better to let the monsters out instead of us going inside. *Swoosh!* Her arrow struck the massive crystal structure that was 500 meters wide and just as tall, with multiple holes andplex passageways. ''Damn,'' Almond felt a chill crawling down his back, just feeling the power of that arrow. ''What is it gonna do?'' Almond watched, his anticipation peaking. Chapter 203 Partying With Front-liners and Old Monsters (1/3) The ce where the arrow struck turned ck before tendrils of darkness started spreading. In just a few seconds, the entire massive crystal structure of blue and gold was covered with thin tendrils of ck that suddenly glittered brightly before *Crackkkkk!* A huge, shrilling, and cracking sound urred as the entire structure suddenly cracked loudly before bursting open. The entire thing shattered with a loud bang while giant scorpions poured out in waves, numbering roughly a hundred. "Party starts," Valentina grinned and nced at Almond. "Let''s see who kills most." "Sure," Almond smiled as he summoned Galvaren and Sylvia. "These are Epic-rank monsters. Don''t be careless, brats," Rudra said before his legs pumped, and he jumped,nding directly in the middle of the group as several of the scorpions took to the skies with a powerful smash that whirled out waves of ssy, cracked blue aura. The others also dashed ahead, except for Bianca, Valentina, and Almond. Bianca switched out to her sniper rifle while Valentina took out a bow.@@novelbin@@ "Galvaren and Sylvia, go." Galvaren was equipped with the Grimlord Apocalypse Set, while Sylvia didn''t have any, but she was in herbat form with vines and wood forming an exoskeleton around her. When Sylvia entered the fray, her quirks immediately benefitted everyone. ''The scorpions are pretty strong. It''s been a while since I saw Epic-rank monsters,'' Almond thought with a smile. [Hell Vein Scorpion] -Rank: Epic -Level: 55 -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 455|Health: 510|Stamina: 420] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 430|Focus: 420|Perception: 420] Each one was three meters tall and five meters long, not including the size of its curved long tail with a dreadful sting. ''Galvaren, proceed to one-shot them in a chain. I will be reducing your targets'' vitality so you can do it.'' ''Eat that line of four scorpions first,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he halved four scorpions'' Health instantly as an unseen ethereal de passed through them. Galvaren smashed his sword into the ground and used thetest skill he learned himself¡ªInfernal Maw! A huge fissure of Lava extended from the sword straight below four scorpions before it surged like a long maw and snapped shut with a sh¡ªA loud explosion rang, shattering all four scorpions as their magic cores rolled up. Epic and higher-ranked monsters had magic cores instead of magic crystals. The cores looked perfectly round with condensed magic power, blue and gold mixed energy whirling inside. "Wow, your summon can one shot? And he is wearing a high-tier Epic armor set too¡­how envious," Valentina blinked rapidly a few times in shock as she also released an arrow that pierced through a scorpion before striking another. Both monsters turned ck before melting, leaving behind their magic cores. ''That was not all,'' Bianca narrowed her eyes as she shot a bullet from her rifle before ncing at Almond. ''This brat did something from here.'' Her bullet pierced through five scorpions straight before exploring on the sixth one. Meanwhile, Rudra and Liang were one-shotting the monsters as well. One used cracked ss-like mana that could break all magic, while another used fists of lighting that unleashed lightning dragons and infernal tigers. Damian Silverfang looked like he was taking a stroll, wiggling around monsters while his fist lightly struck each of them, making them slow or, rather, heavy as they couldn''t move once he struck them. His hits also reduced their defense as cracks would spread from the point of impact. Following Damian, Vice guild master Ray would hit them with his w gauntlets, finishing them off. Alexander and Cassandra would release powerful bullets one by one on each monster, every shot aimed at their head. It appeared as if Alexander embedded a special bullet inside, and Cassandra followed up with her shot next, which resulted in theplete demolition of scorpions from intense,pact explosions. Sun Zhou used a staff, and Gun Zhou used a handfan. Sun was mostly using a Weapon Art, imbued with fire and wind elements, while Gun''s attacks had lightning and water elements. Both of them caused just as much destruction as Rudra and Liang, if not more. Bianca and Valentine used a rifle and bow, respectively, to kill the monsters from afar and cancel attacks of monsters with their precise and timely attacks. Galvaren and Sylvia worked closely to finish off the monsters that Almond weakened as he simply stood with his hands behind his back, only observing. Reducing the attributes of these monsters wasn''t affecting him in the slightest anymore. ''It seems that I don''t consume willpower anymore when ites to reducing these monsters'' attributes. Nice.'' In just a couple of minutes, all Hell Vein Scorpions were dead and Almond also had an absolute treat watching these powerful Adventurers fight, especially the three old monsters. Damian Silverfang was also powerful, though he didn''t show much of his moves, but Almond had a feeling he was close to the old monsters'' level in some areas. ''And a good haul of Spirits. Yum.'' Almond sucked all spirits and started their production in Spirit Forge Factory, while Liang Zhou kept all magic cores. Continue your journey with empire Since the dungeon was in his n''s territory, he''d keep all magic cores. "James and Aarav will give me a good deal for these," Liang chuckled. "Magic Cores are rare for now, and they contain much more refined energy." "You better sell me half of them," Rudra snorted. "Don''t forget that GAA has given you good deals before." "Tsk, fine. But I''ll sell them to you at the same price as I sell to that duo." "No problem." ¡­ The party passed through two more exotic areas, with the same blue and gold liquid creating exotic structures, but only bigger ones. They took a rest afterpleting both areas. "Hey, why aren''t you doing anything?" Bianca asked with slight annoyance. "What do you mean?" Almond blinked. "Admiral Rudra said you are more powerful than her, so she wants apetition," Damian said with a light smile. "But you haven''t made a move yourself yet, or maybe you did." "He did?" Sun raised his left eyebrow. "Did he?" Gun raised her right eyebrow. "He did," Liang''s eyes glinted. "But they were unseen moves." "Indeed," Bianca nodded as she nced at Almond, "He can weaken monsters." ''She figured it out,'' Almond could only wryly smile as he said to Admiral Rudra. ''It was bound to happen,'' Admiral Rudra said. ''It''s better if they see the effect but can''t figure out the rule or power behind it. She only knows you can weaken them, not that you can harvest them, and that too without Mana. You''ve greatly improved in maintaining your aura and hiding your stats. Good.'' ''Haha, yes. If I don''t want anyone to see my stats, they can''t,'' Almond replied before his eyes glinted with curiosity as he internally thought. ''Well, I can''t say the same for others if I want to check them out.'' Before Almond could proceed with his curiosity, Valentine continued with her demand, "I want to see you fight!" Clicking her tongue, she added, "Aren''t you an expert in swords? Why don''t you use it?" Almond chuckled and replied, "Didn''t feel the need to use it so far." "Humph, I admit I would have a tough time against you with your summons, but I need to see you fight," Valentine said as she rolled her eyes. "Fight with your sword next time." "I''ll think about it." Hearing that response, Valentina could only ground her teeth as she turned her head away. "Annoying." ''Well, I''m also curious, brat,'' Liang Zhou thought as he smiled and opened his mouth. "Read the next chapter." Chapter 204 Partying With Front-liners and Old Monsters (2/3), Measuring Scale of All-Seeing Eyes "I would like to see you fighting as well," Liang said as he caressed his beard while looking at Almond with a smile. "Give this old man some face and use your sword to satiate our curiosity." "He can fight next time," Admiral Rudra said with a nod as he nced at Almond. ''You can show everything except for your ultimate attacks.'' ''Everything?'' Almond blinked. ''Show them now, so they may get an idea, which will be a false idea in the near future, given your increasing arsenal of powers. Showing them your actions is not revealing your powers, it''s setting up a visual for them that may turn into an illusion.'' Enjoy new stories from empire ''Sounds good,'' Almond grinned. In the end, everyone was curious to see thebat power of this Gold-rank adventurer who was on everyone''s tongue these days. "It seems we''ll finally see why our daughter admires you so much," Alexanderughed. Cassandra chuckled and added, "We heard your heroic actions from Talia''s mouth, but seeing is a different experience after all." "Indeed. I am filled with anticipation," Damina smiled. "Anya praised your sword to the heavens, saying no one is your match in close range." "A maiden in love would say that," Gun snickered. "A maiden in love may see things through an enhanced lens," Sun nodded sagely. Almond wryly smiled. "Well, I am not that strong as those two said. I still have a lot to learn watching you all fight just now." ''And I learned indeed,'' Almond internally grinned. Then a glint passed through his eyes as he internally thought while lingering his attention on Bianca and Liang. ''I should check out these old monsters now that I have a chance.'' ''I can at least check one attribute of these two old monsters without feeling any stress. They got above 100 Will, but lower than 150 anyway.'' ''I''ve checked out others, and only those twin siblings are a bit crazy. Valentina is an artist, living her pace life and doesn''t care about others too much regarding what they think about her.'' ''Talia''s parents are chill and good. They have positive character attributes like Guild leader Damian and Vice Guild leader Ray.'' Almond believed the old monsters were good at heart and had broader minds, given their rtionship with Admiral Rudra, and Admiral Rudra was a scary judge of character despite not having All-Seeing Eyes like him. So, he was mainly curious about their Intuition, Ego Strength, and Sense of Justice. Moreover, the way he saw attributes alsopletely changed since his Riftveil Eyes became All-Seeing Eyes. Instead of numbers from 0/100, he would see a scale with three sections and gaps between them. The needle could point at "Bad" at the left, "Zen" at the middle, and "Extreme" at the right side. From his understanding, "Zen" was best, as it meant perfect and in harmony with that attribute. He checked Bianca''s Intuition, and it was at Zen, with one point leaning towards Bad. ''So her intuition is perfect, but she rejects it sometimes and seeks to confirm it through logical pieces¡­interesting.'' He checked her Sense of Justice, and it was at the "Zen" but with half a point leaning towards "Extreme." ''She is like Admiral Rudra¡­'' Meanwhile, he saw that Elder Liang''s needlepoint leaned towards "Bad" from "Zen" with one point in Sense of Justice. ''Maybe there''s something that can affect his sense of justice and make it lower, but it''s proper most of the time.'' Almond could understand. A drastic change in the situation and the influx of negative emotion because of some tragedy could skewer one''s everything. ''Both of their Ego Strengths are Zen, at perfect, huh? It''s the same as Admiral Rudra,'' Almond blinked. [Ego Strength: Bnce between humility and self-respect, affecting pride, resilience, and interpersonal harmony.] ''Yeah, this attribute is indeed an important one when ites to improving oneself. Only this attribute will enhance someone regardless of their mentality towards morality, empathy, and other things.'' Almond noticed that aside from these three old monsters and Damian Silverfang, everyone else had unstable Ego Strength. The Graves couple were still better off, but the rest were unstable. "Alright, it''s time to move. We''ve rested enough." Almond got up, feeling good after checking out everyone secretly and learning more. The party moved ahead soon as everyone had recovered during twenty minutes of break. They soon arrived at a sea of dual-colored moltenva that looked the same as the glittering blue and gold liquid.@@novelbin@@ But half a kilometer away, they could see a massive pce reaching a kilometer high and just as wide. It sparkled, looking luxurious and majestic. "It looks like our Trampling King is in that pce," Gun said as she opened her hand fan and waved it, conjuring a watery dragon crackling with lightning. But as it flew and entered the territory of the exoticva sea, four different monsters, crystalized and looking like exotic fish and snakes, attacked it. The dragon was destroyed instantly. "Check the range," Liang said. "Right." Gun conjured another dragon, this time, it flew roughly four hundred meters in the sky. However, everyone suddenly felt tremors as the sea bubbled and surged. "Woah?" Valentina blinked. "Something''sing up from the sea," Alexander raised his eyebrows. "A mini-boss, perhaps?" Cassandra guessed, but her revolvers glinted brightly. *Ssh...Ssh¡­Ssh¡­* Not one, not two, not three, but¡­seven giant snake heads attached to a single body akin to a turtle with spikes emerged from the ocean. [Seven-Headed Spikaran] -Rank: Epic (Boss-type) -Level: 100 -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 1200|Health: 2010|Stamina: 945] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 2000|Focus: 1030|Perception: 1030] Its seven heads hung over five hundred meters high due to their long necks, and all of them looked over at the party before opening their mouths as atmospheric pressure increased and a powerful aura gushed out of it. Everyone''s expression changed. "One ultimate attack iing," Sun said. "Get behind me," Rudra grunted as his fists glowed. Everyone quickly moved, leaving the iing attack to Admiral Rudra¡­except for Almond who decided to make a move to make things easier. Chapter 205 Partying With Front-liners and Old Monsters (3/3) Almond''s eyes glinted as he halved the Boss monster''s Perception. ''Divine Divider''s Harvest.'' The seven heads burst out withsers that conjoined halfway and enhanced into a thicker, more powerful version ofser that shot at the party blindingly fast. Meanwhile, Admiral Rudra smashed his fists together as a semi-ssy blue sphere expanded from him, covering the whole group. *BOOM!* Theser struck and scattered into motes upon impact, unable to breach the barrier. But Almond reducing its Perception actually lowered that boss monster''s skill''s rank, making its execution weaker. Nevertheless, Almond could feel that even if he didn''t cut off the boss monster''s Perception, the barrier would still block it. ''It seems that my willpower is not affected when I halve the mini-boss monster''s stats, too. Good. Next testing on the Dungeon Boss.'' "I''ll stop its action, you two strike it," Liang said as a crackling blue aura surged from him, and his fists glowed. His magic aura shot up into the sky, forming a dark cloud above the boss monster that crackled with lightning and silhouettes of roaring wingless dragons. In the next second, seven dragons burst out of the clouds and struck the seven heads. Right after that, Bianca aimed her rifle at it and used some kind of skill that created something dark to the leftmost side and right-most right in the same line as the boss monster. Almond saw those things and raised his eyebrows. ''They look like dark mirrors¡­is it her skill?'' Just as Almond identified the mirrors, Bianca pulled the trigger. Her rifle glimmered with purple and blue patterns, unleashing a ck drilling bullet spiraled by a purple and blue thread vortex. At the same time, the dark mirrors also unleashed the same bullet, piercing through the seven giant heads that were stunned by Liang Zhou''s attack. All three bullets formed "T" together, hitting each other at the same time in the middle head. *BOOOM!* Seven heads exploded while the middle three heads entirely vanished, obliterated. ''Holy hell¡­What kind of attack was that? A powerful weapon art andbat art for sure!'' Almond''s eyes sparkled as he could see she executed multiple things for this single powerful attack. ''Her Dark elemental Mastery is well beyond S rank for sure with a powerful variant, and she has to have more, just like Admiral Rudra,'' Almond rubbed his nose. ''Old monsters have a way higher depth of power and proficiencies indeed.'' But Almond knew Admiral Rudra was a different beast entirely, even from other old monsters. He was half a step into a realm that none of the old monsters had even seen yet. ''He might be the first one to awaken and alsoplete his exotic element since he is already defining it purely with his masteries and proficiency of Mana and elements.''@@novelbin@@ That blue-ssy dimensional energy that looked as if exotic shapes of geometry stuck together that Admiral Rudra wielded was scary, to say the least, since it had entirely obliterated his Catastrophic Strike, not just because it was more powerful and had more energy, but it even broke the destructive and void power. Almond''s eyes glinted. ''And one thing is for sure now that I know that something like ''Intent'' exists thanks to Whispering Knowledge skill training. These old monsters haveprehended some kinds of ''Intents'' that are boosting theirbat powers to a new level, especially Admiral Rudra. That barrier had it, and the attack that destroyed my Catastrophic Strike also had it.'' "Get on, everyone. I got the Magic Core, so it''s time to move in that pce and beat the final boss," Liang Zhou returned on his huge flying wingless dragon after taking the Magic Core of that boss monster. Everyone jumped on it as the dragon streaked towards the pce. "You better fight with a sword this time and show us how good you are since Rudra Grams praised you, humph," Valentina snuffed up her nose with a stank expression. "Don''t be boring." "Sure, just don''t be discouraged," Almond snickered. "Bwahaha, I like your confidence. I''m waiting to be surprised," Sunughed. "I don''t like to give surprises," Almond smiled. "I only give a shock." Continue your adventure at empire The dragonnded outside the pce gates on the exotic transparent crystal ground with glittering blue and goldva flowing beneath it. As the party walked towards the pce gates, two statues of bulky blue-gold crystal humanoids wielding axes cracked and moved. Everyone paused. Their bodies had vein-like patterns that streamed glitteringva liquid mix of blue and gold, extending even to their weapons. A strange barrier extended from the two, creating a big box of 100 meters square. [Only two people will be allowed to enter the box to fight. Defeat the Trampling Helix Guard and Gain ess to the Pce.] [Trampling Helix Guard] -Rank: Epic -Level 100 -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 700|Health: 700|Stamina: 550] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 700|Focus: 550|Perception: 550 ] "Two monsters. Good enough for you two to test yourbat power," Admiral Rudra smiled. "Good idea," Liang nodded. Bianca''s eyes flickered as if she was analyzing something before she nodded, "Go, Valentina." "Nice," Valentina grinned as she turned to Almond. "Come, wear your armor set." "I won''t need it," Almond chuckled as he walked inside the box and took out his legendary gear set''s sword. "This sword is enough." Everyone inspected the sword, and their eyes widened in shock. [Aurelion Grimlord Sword] -Rank: Legendary/ High-Tier. They couldn''t see more details, but seeing that it was a high-tier legendary, everyone felt shocked. Valentina was dumbfounded and asked, "How much stat boost does it give you?" "This sword gives me only one stat boost¡ªStrength," Almond faintly smiled and didn''t even turn his head towards the iing Trampling Helix Guard, who roared and dashed towards him. But in the next moment, everyone saw a sh of golden lines as Almond''s arm blurred intensely. ''Sword Bending Motion?'' Liang squinted his eyes. Bianca raised their eyebrows. ''But it looks a bit different.'' In that instant, ten golden shes crackling with lightning formed in the air before striking the Trampling Helix Guard. *sh* The monster was sliced into pieces and scattered, only its Magic Core remained. "What the¡­" Everyone was dumbfounded, except for Admiral Rudra who simply smirked. Chapter 206 S-rank Dungeons Boss, Valentina Moretti After entering the pce, the party arrived in a huge hall with roughly a hundred crystal goblins wielding a variety of weapons. All of them were Epic-rank level 100 - level 150. Rudra and Liang jumped in first to attract their attention and rattle their formations. The others followed and started raining high-speed destruction on them while Valentina and Bianca stayed at the back and helped the party by killing and saving them members from surprise attacks. Almond joined in this time with Galvaren and Sylvia.@@novelbin@@ With his Perception that wasn''t any lower than others except for old monsters, Almondbat prowess and hisbat ability revealed themselves to everyone. A single step, a single sh, and heads would roll as he one-shotted the Epic rank monsters with apparent ease. ''These are nothingpared to the aura, power, and abilities disyed by Heroic Bosses,'' Almond wryly smiled. Normal monsters felt too easy to kill because after fighting in high-stack, highly focused battles against Heroic Bosses, Almond''sbat ability''s starting level went up a few notches. Even though these Goblins were fast and their attacks were sly, Almond carefreely nullified them either with his sword or by dodging away, his steps like silent ghosts and precise as he moved from one ce to another while slicing heads, sometimes horizontally, sometimes vertically. "It looks like you''re indeed no match for him, dear," Bianca suddenly said as only a few Goblins remained. "He has already reached a peak of 2nd stage in all Mana techniques, and hisbat ability is a notch above you." Bianca''s eyes glinted, "This kid is a beast." Valentina had a grin on her face and stars in her eyes as she heard, "He is awesome. And also handsome and powerful. Umu, I choose him." "And he has a girlfriend," Bianca nced at her granddaughter. Valentina pouted before she widely grinned, "So what? I like him, so I''ll make my move." *Snap!* An arrow streaked forward from her bow, going right in front of Almond with a few inches of distance between it and his face before striking the Trampling Goblin a meter behind it. Almond turned to her and saw Valentine winking at him, causing him to wryly smile and turn his head away as his figure blurred forward with a lightning zap, his slicing two Goblings. "Lass, don''t be forceful against him," Bianca said as she rolled her eyes. "If he tells you to back off, then do it. And you are four years older than him." "Doesn''t matter, it''s just four years," Valentina snorted. "He is the most suitable to be my husband, hehe. Don''t you think the same, Nonna?" "No, I don''t think the same," Bianca side-eyed her granddaughter, "It''s suitable only when both people think it''s suitable. Just don''t make trouble, alright?" "Fine, fine. Anyway, the Goblins are gone. Time to move ahead." ¡­ The party killed a few hundred monsters and also finished resting in the next hour as they finally arrived at the Dungeon Boss Area. Almond didn''t show much of his powers as there wasn''t a need to do so. He only used his sword, Mana techniques, and hisbat style. He mainly fought in synergy with Galvaren and Sylvia, carefreely killing monsters, storing spirits, and injecting Spirit Syringes into monsters and the trio to fight hordes. But those were enough for others to judge hisbat power, which they knew would only grow stronger. ''This S-rank Dungeon was pretty good in terms of density value. I got over five hundred normal monster spirits and two Mini-Boss Spirits.'' As Almong checked his production, Admiral Rudra pushed the giant fancy door, opening it and revealing the Dungeon Boss area. The boss inside had a simr blue-gold crystallized structure, but he looked like a giant Centaur fifty meters tall, wielding a bow and a horn that hung at its waist. [Trampling Tyrant Keratora] -Rank: Epic -Level: 200 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical ?[Strength: 2500|Health: 3510|Stamina: 2420] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 2500|Focus: 2500|Perception: 2000] "That''s so powerful!" Valentina''s eyes rippled with shock. ''Half of its stats higher than Mmeron,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''Its Health, Mana, and Perception are lower than Mmeron. And well, this boss is not intelligent like Heroic Spirit Boss.'' "You two should stay out of this boss fight," Gun said as she looked at Almond and Valentina. "Eh? But I can just attack from afar," Valentina tilted her head. "You can''t do that without being a target," Damian nodded as he squinted his eyes and flicked his finger forward as an energy bead shot forward, striking the semi-transparent field that was two meters away from them. The field also epassed this boss area that was 500 meters in radius, a huge tform surrounded by moltenva of blue and gold. The energy bead struck the field, and it vaporized. "Stay outside, this is dangerous," Bianca said. "This boss has a bow, so he can target anyone, and that would be instant given this dungeon boss'' stats. You won''t be able to react to its attack, let alone defend or dodge." "Indeed, you two stay outside," Liang said as he walked forward with his hands behind his back, his body surging with lightning as everyone heard faint crackling. Over his body, a lightning-armor with dark blue and jade green lightning appeared while his fists formed dragon ws. Sun and Gun followed him as their get-up changed into metallic armor sets of ancient eastern warriors'' design. "We''ll stay on the off-support role," Alexander said before he nodded at his wife, and both of them walked inside as their outfit changed, adorning themselves with light-leather armor set of Epic-rank. "This will be fun," Damian chuckled as a mercury-white silver armor coated his body while covering his fists into gauntlets as he looked like an ancient yet futuristic fighter. Ray Drumrell also dressed up simrly as he followed inside. Biana also entered, but Rudra turned to Almond and asked, "Do you want to partake in this, Almond?" Everyone''s ears twitched as they turned to Rudra. Meanwhile, Trampling Tyrant suddenly pulled its bowstring. Alexander and Cassandra immediately reacted, both of them unloaded two spiraling wind bullets that were specialized for interruption each as they precisely struck the boss, two on its bowstring and two on its finger, canceling the Boss'' attack. "Nah, it''s fine. But I''ll send my two summons inside. They''ll be useful," Almond smiled as he summoned Galvaren and Sylvia. "Go." Rudra nodded and also jumped inside as the boss had already started trampling towards them, wrapped in a fiery golden-blue energy vortex as it dashed towards them. But halfway, it suddenly made a sharp right turn and elerated by 50% perception. Then it took one more sharp turn, facing the party, and abruptly paused, causing a loud st to ring while five energy-based silhouettes looking exactly like it burst forward at blinding speed. Valentina couldn''t even see anything about how it happened, but the adventurers inside reacted and got away in time before unloading their assaults, using buffs and other skills. Valentina stood beside Almond with a few inches of distance, purposefully brushing his shoulder with hers, "You''re pretty good, Almond." "Thanks, you too," Almond replied without turning his head, his focus on the battle as he wanted to absorb everything he saw. "I like you. How about we start dating and get to know each other." "No," Almond tly replied without looking at her. Valentina pouted, and a mischievous glint passed through her eyes. "I have something here, Almond. Can you please tell me what it is?" Almond was a bit annoyed because he was giving clear hints that he wasn''t interested. He decided to tell her clearly as he turned his head, but suddenly, Valentina moved and pecked her lips on his. *Swoosh* Almond instantly distanced himself two meters away and frowned, "You¡­" "It''s just a kiss," Valentina rolled her eyes. "Chill. Just wanted to check your lips." "Look, I get that you are very beautiful and sexy. Yeah, very nice figure. But I love someone else, and I am hers forever. You won''t even appear in my dreams, I promise. So please, don''t do that again. "¡­" Read new chapters at empire Chapter 207 Natalia—"Very interesting conversation between couple." Almond remained a little indifferent towards Valentina as they left the dungeon. He talked with others and became familiar with them. Checking out as well, he knew they were not troublesome people unless the situation changed something for them. He also realized these old monsters were the most stable powerhouses, but their values and principles were also solid. Affecting those could affect them greatly. As Bianca and Valentina departed in their small but slick, jet-like airship, Bianca immediately asked, "What happened between you two? His vibe towards you changed after the boss fight." "Nothing much, just a minor thing," Valentina carefreely said as she walked towards thefy sofa andy down. However, Bianca wasn''t about to let her off the hook as she sternly spoke, "Speak, what did you pull on him?" "I just gave him a surprise kiss on his lips. He didn''t like it much, I guess. Said he wouldn''t even dream of me," Valentina rolled her eyes. "But it''s fine." "Look, Valentina," Bianca said, her expression turning somber. "That kid is in a phase that is very active and developing. He is in the process of solidifying his disposition towards others. He is not an innocent boy who just turned eighteen. There''s already blood in his hands." "Woah, that''s awesome. Who did he kill? But if he is free, then that means Admiral Rudra deemed his skill was justified, I guess?" "That''s not the point here," Bianca sighed, but her vibe became even more pressuring as Valentina felt goosebumps and quickly sat up. "Do not provoke him by breaching his boundaries. He rejected you, so ept it and forget about him." "Fine, fine, I got it," Valentinaid down again and opened her wristwatch, watching the news as she muttered, "But I doubt there is someone else like him¡­sad." Bianca snorted and didn''t say anything as she went to the sofa in front of the dashboard and sat down as she started flying manually. ¡­ Almond arrived at the courtyard, his mind upied a single thing all this while. ''I should tell her what happened, right?'' ''Or since there''s nothing, and it was her who made a move, it''s fine?'' It was 11 in the night, and Lily was just sitting in the courtyard. It was clear she was waiting for him. "You returned," Lily smiled and arrived in front of him in a blink, emerging from his shadow as her hands wrapped around his waist. "How was the S-rank dungeon?" "Pretty good. The Epic-rank monsters weren''t that bad," Almond smiled and kissed her. "I''m envious. You must have seen Admiral Rudra and other frontline powers, right? How powerful was the boss?" "Tell me and show me everything," Lily took him to the open pavilion with an eager expression, as she wanted to know about his experience and see thebat power of old monsters. Almond looked at her as he sat down across her, with a table between them. Looking at the empty ss on the table, he said to Alfred, who just arrived to greet him, "Alfred, get some wine, please." "Right away, Master." "You seem off," Lily suddenly said as Alfred left, her eyes narrowing. "Something is bothering you." ''I should tell her. What if some boy kissed her like that, and she hid it? I would hate it. ''Since another girl touched my lips that belonged to Lily, I must tell her. My love is like this, so I should expect the same.'' "I have to confess something." "What?" "A girl kissed me." *Pat* Almond felt his world bing extra clear as his right cheek stung from Lily''s p. The rity came in like lightning as he nodded at Lily and said, "I would have reacted the same." Lily leaned forward and rested her arms on the table, her eyes sharpening, "Was she more powerful than you?" "No." "If a boy less powerful than me was around, I would never let that happen. You let that happen, which is why I pped you." Almond blinked. ''I could have dodged indeed, but I failed to predict she would do something like that¡­'' However, he could feel that Lily indeed wouldn''t let something like that happen to her based on her personality and conduct.@@novelbin@@ "I deserved that p," Almond nodded. Lily faintly smiled, "Now, tell me. How did you react?" "I instantly backed off, and-" Almond suddenly paused and shook his head. "I should show you instead." Waving his hand, Almond conjured a screen that disyed his memories from his perspective. Lily saw Valentina in front of her and raised her eyebrows. Hearing Almond''s words, her smile widened. "I like that response. You are mine forever, and I am yours forever." "Yes," Almond grinned. "Then tell me, what would you have done to someone who forcefully kissed me, touching my lips that are yours?" Find adventures on empire "Kill him," Almond reflexively said with a fiery glint in his eyes, but then he calmed down. However, the desire to kill that person didn''t diminish. Lily fell into thought and nodded, "Mhmm, I would have killed him right there and then if I could. How dare he do that." "But I think that''s too much¡­right?" Lily tilted her head. "What do you think?" "Yeah¡­" Almond nodded and understood that it was too much. But in that scenario, his killing intent towards such a person couldn''t go down. ''Am I very ruthless? No, not generally¡­.but I feel like being ruthless towards that someone if he did that to Lily¡­'' "What if I still want to kill him?" Lily said as her eyes shed disgust. "I can''t shake the idea of not killing him after he did something like that. My hate towards that bitch who kissed you is increasing when I think about it." "Say, darling, would you feel like killing him in my situation?" Lily stared at Almond. Almond sighed and nodded, "Yeah." One was feeling more irritation now, and another was feeling conflicted. Watching the two was Natalia who suddenly pped her hands and emerged from the shadows with Benedict. "Ben told me you two were being kind of serious, so I told him to sneak up, and wow," Natalia walked towards them. "Very interesting conversation between couple." "¡­" "¡­" Sitting in front of them, Natalia grinned, "Allow me to help." Chapter 208 Conclusion of Thoughts, Blood "So that''s what happened," Natalia smiled as she finished watching Almond''s interaction with Valentina. Natalia demanded to watch all interaction, and Lily also got interested and shifted her irritation to a level down, so Almond showed them the interaction." The duo looked at Natalia, waiting for her to speak. Clearing her thoughts, Natalia smiled and said, "Well, it''s pretty understandable that girls would have hots for Almond once they get to know hisbat power plus appearance. Deadlybo for girls these days." "Still," She snorted and continued. "This Valentina is a piece of work. To steal a kiss like that. Almond also didn''t show any signs of being interested in her, but she was at her own pace and was dripping for him." "¡­" "¡­" "Anyway, so yeah, killing her is still a no-no, shit will get serious." "Of course," Almond wryly smiled. "Yeah," Lily nodded. "But I am satisfied to know that we both would harbor killing intent towards such a person. If we were in awless world, we would kill for each other." Almond nodded as he leaned back and breathed in relief, "Yeah, this is good. I would have killed if it was awless world, but there won''t be a second for her now that she got my clear answer." "Geez, you think she will still make a move after you burned her like that with your response?" Natalia snickered. "Normally, I wouldn''t think so, but this Valentina," Almond frowned. "She is a fucking oddball. Like¡­well, like Lily, but not like her at the same time, if you know what I mean." "Oh¡­yeah, I got it. So she has a screw loose," Natalia nodded. "Understandable." "You think I have a screw loose?" Lily harrumphed. "Yes! Isn''t that great?!" Natalia burst outughing and quickly ran away. "Wait, you little bitch!" Almond looked at the duo and smiled. Cracking his neck, he soony down on the bench as he looked at the sky. "Gotta make sure something like this doesn''t happen again. I don''t want to kill for something like that, but I likely will if a situation like that urred, and¡­" "¡­I will willingly do that despite knowing it''s not just." Almond sighed. Lily suddenly arrived above him from the pir''s shadow andy on his chest with a smile and kissed him. "Indeed, darling. Let''s make sure a situation like that does not arise." "Well, the current question is," Almond grabbed her buttcheeks and pressed them as he grinned, "Do you want to arise in our bedroom or not?" "You don''t need to ask when doing a great deed." Using Espada Ad Grimveil, Almond teleported with Lily to their bedroom on the second floor as a passionate battle soon began between the duo. ¡­ 22nd December, morning seven o'' clock. Almond and Lily woke up within an hour''s interval. They had talked about their Weapon Artsst night and learned that both of them had a hard time in the training. It was clear that mastering even the first stage of their Weapon Art could take an indefinite amount of time. Almond''s trip to the S-rank dungeon also confirmed something for him. Power of Intent. He could feel that power of Intent from all three old monsters, Damian, and even faint traces of it in others except for Valentina. He possessed one, the intent of his Whispering Knowledge passive skill, so he could tell. Although he hadn''t mastered that intent, he managed to get a whisper of knowledge from one medium, and thatpleted the training as he acquired the Legendary passive skill. He also confirmed that his Weapon Art contained an intent, or rather the first stage of his weapon art containing an intent that he had to grasp before he could learn it. Almond shared this with Lily, and she felt the same after listening to him. As such, both decided to put the Weapon Art to learn forter. There were other things to learn first. Lily had two insight stones, two more Advanced scrolls, and one insight scroll of 20Hr and Elemental Imprint (SSS) Almond also had two insight stones, and he had yet to open thest Advanced skill scroll he got from the party chest. Aside from that, he had an Elemental insight selection b and Elemental Imprint(SSS). As such, the duo decided to focus on their Elemental Imprint next. Almond had chosen the Lumeir element, But Lily was still undecided because of the tough choice. She confided to Almond about this, and heughed. "Didn''t you focus on the Imprint''s option to get more information about the Advanced elements?" Lily had finalized two options. First¡ªGloomire element. Second¡ªBlood element. "I can do that?" Lily was startled. "I didn''t know. I wanted Blood, but no one has Blood elemental mastery, so I was leaning towards Gloomire since it sounds interesting." "True, not a single person has Blood elemental mastery in this world as far as we know, but I had one in my previous life''s world, and I have memories," Almond smiled. "But first, focus on the elements to see what these two Advanced elements are made of." Lily nodded and quickly focused on the imprint''s option, willing to get more information. In the next second, the additional information appeared. "So Gloomire element is a mix of Darkness and Water." "But Blood¡­" Lily was astonished! "That''s right. Blood element is crazily powerful," Almond grinned. "Because it is abination of Water plus Life element!" "I didn''t know Life was an element," Lily muttered while her eyes began to shine brightly. "Life element should be powerful, so this is awesome! Blood element might be crazy, right, darling?" "Indeed it is," Almond smiled. "It''s perfect for you. Lucky for you, I was a bit close with that Blood Elemental expert, and he was one of the most powerful ones out there, if not the most." "From what I know, Blood Element can get very powerful. It can be the toughest, sharpest, and mostbustible fuel energy out there, not to mention other esoteric powers of Blood element that I don''t know in detail myself. Only you will know once you reach a higher level in it." "It has the power of great vitality characteristic of Life element and abundance of Water. Now imagine all other attributes of these two elementsbining into one."@@novelbin@@ Lily was thrilled just thinking about it. "Blood it is! Let''s start training now," Lily grinned. "Since we are allowed to use our Elemental Imprints indefinitely until we reach its limit, we''ll stop training after 24 hours." "Good. Then let''s wake up tomorrow morning." Chapter 209 Training, Training, Trouble? While Almond and Lily were absorbed in their Elemental Imprint, the other Grim Breakers were also training and only training so they could get stronger. Elemental Imprint was everyone''s main focus, especially after seeing its options and knowing that it would stay with them until they properly used it up. Almond had Legendary-rank Elemental Imprint while Lily and Marcus had SSS-rank Elemental Imprints, and these Imprints were going to stay with them until they reached the rank of elemental mastery based on the Imprints'' ranks. Natalia and Maya had SS-rank Imprints, so they could master whatever element they chose in their imprint up to SS equivalent-rank. Adrian, Julian, Amir, Jemma, and Brynjal had acquired S-rank imprints. Kira, Talia, Noah, Eliara, Ka, Mira, Xavier, Ron, Emma, Finn, and Anya had acquired A-rank imprints. Most of them were using their Imprints to acquire mastery over a new Element first since they didn''t have much more than that aside from Advanced Skill Scrolls. Julian, Emma, Anya, Mira, Adrian, Finn, Ron, and Jian only had one Advanced Skill Scroll, while the others had at least two, with Marcus, Maya, Natalia, and Lily having three and Almond having acquired four of them total. Marcus, Maya, Natalia, and Lily had high-ranking skill scrolls as well from their earlier Heroic Floor Boss rewards, but since they were mostly S/SS-rank and were not suitable, they sold those scrolls, except for one they had learned instantly using the Instant-Learning skill bs they had gotten once. Marcus and Maya sold their scrolls in GAA, gaining tens of millions of Gold coins due to the rarity and value of those high-ranking scrolls, while Lily and Natalia had sold them in the League of Firefly guild. Everyone also had one Insight Stone each, except for Almond, Lilly, and Natalia, who had two each, which they could use to get insight into a random but possibly desired phenomenon of magic for 24 hours. ¡­ Almond and Lily woke up on 23rd December around seven in the morning with no result from their training. But no result didn''t mean they didn''t progress. They were stoked after waking up because both of them could feel they were very close to awakening their bond with a new element. They ate, showered, and went to sleep. Natalia didn''t train in Elemental Imprint but used her second Advanced skill scroll to learn a skill called Angel Wings of Aurora. It had been over twenty-four hours, but she hadn''t woken up yet. Six hourster when Almond and Lily finished their sleeping, Natalia was still in the dimension produced by the scroll. "It seems that this one is hard for her," Almond wryly smiled. "Well, she will seed if she is determined," Lily smiled. "Yeah, let''s resume our training. Let''s see who awakens their mastery first," Almond grinned. "Sure, but this bout is mine to win, darling~" "We''ll see, haha." Both of them sat down nearby in the open pavilion with mattresses made of unique leaves by Sylvia. There were also her flowers at the corners that enriched their psyche and produced a calming and peaceful atmosphere paired with the cool chilliness produced by the icy crystal structure. Nyssara also had worked hard to create special ice imbued with Light elements'' positive properties for this structure, which was called Revtion Pavilion as named by Sylvia and Nyssara, and it was at the very top of the Castle of Bloomshard. The castle was also on the verge ofpletion. Only a bit of internal decoration and design was left. From the outside, it was perfectlyplete¡ªa majestic yet aesthetic and beautiful structure with seven floors, an exotic castle thatbined the aesthetics of middle-aged and oriental design but used beautiful ice crystals and different woods as its foundation. The tall round tower at its center, which reached 400 meters high, was the Garden of Meditation, with an array of the highest-quality flowers, trees, and nts Sylvia could grow and beautiful crystal structures for decoration made by Nyssara. The Revtion Pavilion was there in this Garden of Meditation, where Natalia, Almond, and Lily were training. Their eyes were closed, and their minds were in different dimensions. Five hours passed by since Almond and Lily resumed their Elemental Imprint training. And for Natalia, 35 hours had passed by. But her eyes twitched slightly, and they finally opened with a colorful radiance in them. Her expression shifted from one deadpan to scrunchy as she leaned back andy on the floor, "Goddamn, it took so long!" *Grrr¡­.* "Fuck¡­my body is screaming for energy, and my mind feel like it''s getting pounded with a giant hammer," Natalia felt like crying. Training for that skill drained a lot of her mental power, and she wanted to sleep right away due to the sudden headache assaulting her after she opened her eyes, but she also wanted to eat first. "Syl¡­please give me some fruit or anything," Natalia tiredly called out. She could now feel the effects of these flowers and pavilion even more clearly because they were helping her greatly in subduing the pain and keeping her calm. Upon hearing Natalia''s call, Sylvia soon arrived in a sapling form resembling her appearance from vines that were produced from nearby flowers. "I can grow special fruits that can recover one''s health and mind''s exhaustion and give a boost to one''s Focus after exploring my Quirk, but I only got one so far." "I will not give it to you, so I''ll call Alfred to cook something fast and bring it to you." "¡­Fine." Food soon arrived after ten minutes, and Natalia quickly ate it before sleeping right there and then. Three hourster, when it was 4 p.m., Lily''s eyes opened before a misty crimson aura oozed out of her body. "Yes!" Lily grinned upon seeing that Almond was still in meditation. "Hehe, I told you, darling. I''d win this bout." Lily stood up as dimly glinting blood emerged from her finger. She could increase her Blood by consuming Mana, but the most exciting thing was that her Blood also got a boost from her physical body. The stronger her physical attributes, the more potential her Blood could get and the more vitality it could generate upon her Mana consumption. ''I am only at D-rank mastery right now, but I will make this my focus now!'' Lily''s eyes turned fiery as she clenched her fist. ''Blood element will significantly boost my power.''@@novelbin@@ ''I will fight alongside you,'' Lily resolved and vowed as she looked at Almond.'' It won''t be long, darling.'' ''I won''t let myself stay behind for long!'' The atmosphere around her formed from her magic vibrated with a fiery aura as if responding to her will while the floating blood glowed. Lily blinked as she calmed herself down shortly and got up, stretching her arms and body. "Looks like she finished training and slept here after eating," Lily wryly smiled, seeing Natalia. Thinking of something, Lily jumped off the Garden''s edge andnded on the ground as she muttered, "I should order some energetic food since Almond will also wake up soon for the second S-rank Dungeon raid that''s starting after two hours." *Beep* Suddenly, her wristwatch beeped. It was a message from Mira. Seeing the content, Lily''s brows furrowed closely, "What the hell?" A sh of anger passed through her eyes as she fell into thought, ''What should I do?'' ''Do I contact GAA? But will they intervene in this matter?'' ''Damn it! This is a tricky matter, but...something must be done,'' Lily''s eyes glinted. ''Darling, wake up soon.'' Chapter 210 Miras Injustice, Sky Empress Erseinan Almond opened his eyes as he blinked a few times, feeling a brand new source of power within him as wind and light in the atmosphere resonated with him. Looking at the watch, he saw that he still had over an hour until the deadline to reach the S-rank dungeon. "It seems Lily finished before me," Almond wryly smiled and got up. Looking at Natalia sleeping like a log nearby, Almond activated Espada Ad Grimveil and teleported Natalia into her bedroom. Lily felt Almond''s domain and sent him Magic Whisper from inside the hall, "Almond, we have a bit of trouble to handle." Almond teleported and appeared in the hall. His nose twitched, and he breathed the aroma in bliss, "Can we eat this food first?" "Yeah, start eating. I''m almost done, so I''ll tell you the matter," Lily ate herst few meatballs and got up to wash her hands before she returned and sat back across Almond at the dining table. Activating her wristwatch, she showed Mira''s message to Almond and said, "Mira lost her Elemental Imprint." Almond gulped the sd he just chewed and blinked, "Lost it?" He read the message, and his expression changed as his eyes turned icy, "Wtf¡­I didn''t expect a guild leader would do something like this." "Yeah," Lily nodded and sighed, "What should we do? Personally, I want to help, but I can''t find a way to do that." Almond frowned and quickly started eating, "Let me eat fast, and then we are going there." "Alright, you listen to what I found about the situation so far after calling her." "Tell me," Almond nodded and continued eating. ¡­ 11th rank Shadowforge Guild. The guild was situated atop a hill with multiple buildings all over it in Yemrai City. In the inner area of the guild was a residential area, and in that residential area''s luxurious section, Mira sat at the pond''s edge outside her house. Her legs halfway dipped in the calm water, unmoving. "Sniff¡­" Mira wiped her nose before a teardrop fell into the pond, creating a small ripple. She was sad, angry, and helpless. Sad because she lost her Elemental Imprint. Angry because the one who took it was the guild master. Frustrated because she couldn''t do anything about it. *Steps* A figure arrived behind her from the wooden gate, a slender woman with a long ck ponytail, "Are you still crying?" She arrived beside Mira as the sun highlighted her brownish-dark skin and beautiful face, but seeing Mira, she couldn''t help but sigh and pat her head. "You can''t mop around like this. He will not give back the Imprint. If you had kept it hidden instead, this wouldn''t have happened." "How would I know someone of his status would do something like this?" Mira snapped, her fist clenched. "Why is he so shameless, elder sister Merinda?" "Shss¡­." Merinda weakly smiled, "That item is pretty amazing. Given the options it gave, the guild master didn''t suppress his desire and threw away his shame to get that Vaylith Element. Who knew an element like that mix of Darkness and Wind existed?" "I wanted it," Mira ground her teeth, her eyes tearing up. "We almost died in that boss fight. Everyone worked hard and got that reward, but he took it!" Merinda turned silent, but she only felt helplessness. ''Unless many top powerhouses condemn guild master Brenol, he won''t give up¡­moreover, he already used it, so it might not even transfer.'' "I asked for help, and Lily said she would do something about it once Almond wakes up," Mira said as a brief hope appeared in her eyes. ''What can they do?'' Merinda sighed but didn''t say anything.@@novelbin@@ ¡­ "So that''s what happened." Almond and Lily waited as they watched Admiral Rudra nodding and entering a thoughtful expression after listening to Mira''s situation. "Elemental Imprint is an invaluable resource, something that no amount of money can justify its value," Almond somberly said. "And she got that item by risking her life by participating in the Heroic Challenge. Everyone was at the death''s door there." "And now, some worthless idiot wants to take it without doing anything?" Lily snorted. "This should not happen." "Old man, you do something, or I am going there with my spirit wraiths," Almond said with a determined expression. "I won''t let my party members receive an injustice like that. We risked our lives for that reward, and I won''t let anyone else take it away." "Calm down, I can understand your feeling," Admiral Rudra said with a nod, and shortly, a glint passed through his eyes as he sharply smiled, "Have you checked out your SSS-rank Airship''s features?" Almond shook his head. "Not yet. I just put it away after you returned it. Didn''t have time." "Get on it and reach the Shadowforge Guild''s headquarters. I''ll meet you there in half an hour. The S-rank Dungeon isn''t far from there, so we''ll go there after finishing this matter." "Yes," Lily grinned. "Thank you, Rudra Gramps." "That aside, you should go meet your parents. Dagon wasining that his daughter forgot him after finding a man." Almond wryly smiled while Lilyughed and said, "We''ll go thereter." "Mhmm, now get on your ship. Let''s give your party member the justice she deserves." ¡­ Almond took out the SSS-rank flying ship before he teleported himself and Lily atop its deck. "It''s seriously awesome," Lily said as she looked around the spacious deck. "Is that fancy metallic cabin its control room?" "Yeah, it''s pretty big." The ship was 50 meters wide, not including the length of its wings, and 100 meters long, and looked like the most semi-futuristic and magical to ever be constructed. "Let''s see what it got," Almond inspected the ship, and Lily did the same. As they read the status and reached the list of its features, both of them were stunned and eximed simultaneously at the amazing functions of this ship. "Wow¡­" "This is amazing¡­" [Airship: Sky Empress Erseinan] -Rank: SSS Chapter 211 Awesome Airship!, Arriving at the Shadowforge Guild [Airship: Sky Empress Erseinan] -Rank: SSS -Engine Fuel: [98%/100%] ¡ª> Requires Magic crystals/Magic Cores to refill. -Barrier Reserve: [97%/100%] ¡ª> Requires Magic crystals/magic cores to refill. -Top Speed: 2000 meters per second. -Features: ¡ªArcane Flight: Reduce air and atmospheric resistance by 50% when flying. ¡ªSkyward Barrier: Generates a spherical barrier around the ship to protect it from attacks. Consumes barrier energy reserve. ¡ªErseinan Rail Cannons: Unleashes devastating sma energy orbs. Cost: 3-5% of fuel or barrier reserve per shot. ¡ªSky Pulse: Send out a pulse that travels up to 1000 kilometers around the ship and map out a 3D geographic hologram of the area. ¡ªSky Trek Boost: Increase the speed by 100% at double the consumption of engine energy. After reading its functions, Almond and Lily went inside the control room, which was the size of their bedroom. The wide dashboard had big buttons with more in-built features. A steering wheel and hologram with an AI that responded to the ship''s owner, who was Almond. There was also a capsule lift at the side that could send them to any other room or hall on the ship''s second and third floors. Almond started the ship, and after crossing a thousand kilometers in the direction of Yemrai city, he used Sky Pulse and created a map as Yemprai City was 749 kilometers away. Almond put it on self-pilot as he and Lily went to check out the internal structure of the ship. Both of them were stunned to see how luxurious it was! Everywhere they went, they saw fancy maroon carpets, flower vases, curtains, chandeliers, and strange paintings on walls. All rooms, halls, and kitchen had furniture and everything! There were a total of ten adequately spacious rooms and two medium-sized halls. A kitchen with all utensils present and a big refrigerator! There was also a swimming pool that could open on the deck with a single button from the control room''s dashboard. While the duo was busy checking out the ship, it had already arrived at the Shadowforge Guild and hovered above its headquarters. Meanwhile, some flying adventurers and others who saw the ship flying captured its photo were spreading it. It wasn''t long before some news channels in the Firefly City and a few other cities already started showing photos of the airship. Back at the Shadowforge Guild, the guild leader, vice leader, and executives were rmed due to this unknown airship hovering above them and soon sent a loud magic speaker warning to move away, or they wouldunch their attacks on the ship. Almond and Lily arrived on the deck from the control room, showing themselves to the five executives who floated around the ship with different wings made from their Mana. With the presence of magic in the atmosphere and proficiency in Mana control with high Mental stats, all tinum-rank could fly with wings, though these wings would prove to be inefficient and crude if used inbat. To fly duringbat, one required a proper wing-type flying skill or other flying-type skills. As these five executives floated, they faced Almond and Lily, who walked at the deck''s edge. They immediately recognized the duo as they were famous thanks to the Rising Star Tournament. Meanwhile, Almond''s talk was heavy in all guilds and families due to the Heroic Challenge''s information and uing auction. "What are you doing here?" one of the executives with red hair and pale skin asked as he frowned. Despite the question, all executives immediately guessed the reason. After all, the guild master had taken away Mira''s Elemental Imprint and held a meeting after that to show it to everyone and tell them how beneficial it would be if he used it instead of Mira. Naturally, none of them objected to the decision, even though some of them felt that it wasn''t the right thing to do. "Before I answer that, could you wait for a bit? One more person ising here," Almond said with a deadpan smile. "Who?" another executive questioned, a woman with a plump figure and dark-blond hair asked. But before Almond could answer, everyone heard a faint sound closing in and turned in its direction as they saw a familiar jet zooming towards them. Admiral Rudra''s jet stopped some distance away from the airship before he flew out and put his jet into this storage ring. Upon seeing him, all executives gulped as each one became slightly nervous. ''Guild Master is going to have some trouble.'' ''Indeed.'' ''I just informed him of Admiral Rudra''s arrival, and he told me to tell Admiral that he is not here¡­'' ''¡­'' ''What should I do?''@@novelbin@@ Admiral Rudra snorted as he arrived and faced the executives while flying without any wings. However, his posture with his arms crossed and his expression made everyone''s heart weak. "You should know why I am here. Tell me where that bastard Kremin is." "Let me lead you to our guild master. He is in his courtyard." "¡­" Naturally, none of the executives had any thoughts of fooling Admiral Rudra. Almond and Lily followed them after Almond turned the ship miniature and put it away. ¡­ ''Fuck,'' Guild Master Kremin internally cursed as he sensed iing auras. He was a man in his mid-forties with a rather muscled build and a 6''1 frame with a bald head and dark peach skin. Explore more at empire "Wearing that robe and these flowers¡­were you going to use that Elemental Imprint, Kremin?" Admiral Rudra said before snorting as he narrowed his eyes. "How can you take away the fortuitous chance acquired by younger generations?" Kremin forced out a smile that looked uglier than someone''s crying as he said, "I understand what I did wasn''t the right thing, but I am nning to pay her properly." "Give it back to her," Almond said with an icy expression. "We earned that reward by risking our lives. She earned it! Don''t you have any shame despite being this older? Shameless." ''Let me see if he has any darkness in him. Old bastard, I am going to dig deep in you, so better pray you don''t have any skeleton in the closet,'' Almond thought as his eyes flickered deep within with a faint silvery-gold hue. "You¡­" Kremir''s face turned red, getting lectured by a brat. He frowned and said, "Didn''t your parents teach you how to talk to elders?" "Didn''t yours teach you how not to behave like a fool?" Lily coldly snorted. "It seems living this long didn''t help your case either. You''re a shame to all guild masters out there." Her words made Kremirs'' eyes bubble with anger while all executives felt their eyes twitching. ''Kids these days¡­'' Chapter 212 Concluding the Matter With a Bang In the Internet Kremir wanted to blow his top and be angry at Almond and Lily, but his eyes darted to Admiral Rudra as heposed himself and said, "They can''t talk to me like this, Admiral." "They can," Admiral Rudra''s eyes distanced as he coldly said. A focused pressure oozed from him and directed onto Kremin, causing Kremin to start sweating as he felt as if he was in death''s grasp. "Someone like you is not fit to be the guild master. I am going to mention this in our meeting tomorrow, so start finding a recement. You can stay in your own guild and train, but I am going to put an eye out here to monitor you." Kremir''s expression turned as ugly as it could. "This is my guild''s matter, Admiral. Why must you be involved like this?" "Moreover, I''ve already used the Imprint," Kremin showed the back of his palm as everyone saw this Elemental Imprint''s round symbol with entric ck curvy lines inside as if the wind. "I can''t remove this and give it to someone else now." "You bastard," Almond cursed under his breath, feeling pissed. How could he just take away such an invaluable resource that Mira earned after entering HIS party?! ''I am going kill this old fool when I can, I swear,'' Lily angrily cursed and ryed this to Almond.@@novelbin@@ Meanwhile, Admiral Rudra frowned and coldly said, "You are a real piece of trash, Kremin. And you asked why I must intervene? I am themander of GAA! In case you forgot its full form, it''s the Global Adventurers Association. I don''t want someone like you to be at the head of a guild. Your conduct is vile." Narrowing his eyes, Admiral Rudra added, "You won''t get scot-free after pulling something like this. I''m going to make sure your petty and vile action wille to light in public and the meeting tomorrow." Find your next read on empire Almond had also finished assessing Kremin, and indeed, from how the scale of All-Seeing Eyes showed some of the attributes, Almond was sure this guy had a skeleton or two in his closet. Narrowing his eyes, he suddenly said, "I can remove that imprint from him. Admiral, hold him." "What? Stop spouting bullshit," Kremin frowned, but then his expression drastically changed as Admiral Rudra''s judgment chains of his signature ssy blue energy wrapped around him. "Are you going to let him make a move on me, Admiral?!" Kremin shouted with an ugly expression. "Shut up," Admiral Rudra indifferently replied and also sealed his mouth before turning to Almond. "Do it." The Executives saw Kremin looking at them with popping-out eyes, telling them to stop him, but all of them had various helpless expressions. They didn''t want to offend Admiral Rudra by outright making a move to save their guild master, just like everybody on this. Moreover, it was clear that this was a losing case now that the Admiral was here, and he intended to speak about this in the meeting. On the other hand, Almond wasted no time. Just as Admiral Rudra bound him, Almond''s fiery eyes shed with a glittering golden de that materialized outside in his hand. Everyone felt a chill crawling in their back, looking at the sword. *sh!* The sword made a sh, physically cutting off Kremin''s hand and also cutting off the connection he had with the Elemental Imprint. Kremin released a muffled groan as his eyes turned bloodshot, his mouth still stuffed. "Admiral, we are going to give this to Mira. Let''s go, Lily. I know where she is." The duo left to give Mira good news and return the resource that rightfully belonged to her. "Listen carefully, Kremin," Admiral Rudra narrowed his eyes, his voice low but utterly cold, "Rein in your greed and ugly emotions. If you want to get strong and get resources, earn them yourself, or at least don''t take them from your own guild members, especially the younger generation. You foolish bastard." All Executives internally nodded in agreement. "And you all," Admiral Rudra turned to them, causing everyone to take a step back. "You just let him do something like that? Can''t you fucking object and send some senses in him, tell him that he shouldn''t do that? You are darn Executives of this guild! You thought it wouldn''t be worth offending your guild master over this, right?!" Everyone started sweating buckets. "T-This won''t happen again, Admiral." "Yes, Admiral. I promise something like this will not happen again." Everyone quickly replied, giving their promises and resolve. "One of you be a guild master of this guild and start handling its matter. If I see you cking and making a mess like this fool, I won''t spare you." The Executives quickly nodded. Admiral Rudra turned to Kremin, but this time, he sent his advanced Magic Whisper, rying his words into Kremin''s mind. ''Listen carefully, Kremin. I am going to keep an eye on you. You must be angry and pissed, so your mind must be producing hate. But know this,'' Admiral Rudra''s eyes icily glinted. ''If you did anything even remotely foolish, I am going end your life as soon as possible before you can do any damage to innocents.'' Kremin''s eyes and body trembled as he felt a clear threat to his death. ''Understood?'' Kremin quickly nodded his head multiple times. The people were gathering here, especially the other high-ranking officials below Executives. Admiral Rudra nced at the Executives and said, "Go calm themotion outside." Almond and Lily didn''t have to go far, and to avoid people, he directly teleported into Mira''s residential area. Seeing them, Mira was overjoyed, but Almond directly showed her the Elemental Imprint, making her stunned. "T-This¡­" Mira''s eyes quickly turned watery as she started tearing and dashed forward, hugging both of them. "Thank you, thank you so much! You are the best!" "Alright, alright," Lily smiled as she patted her back. "Now use the Imprint, ande with us." "Yep, you aren''t going to stay here any longer," Almond said, giving the Imprint to Mira as she backed up and wiped her tears. "Not here?" Mira sniffed and asked after activating the Imprint. "Yep, you are now a member of GAA. Screw this guild," Lily snorted and grabbed her hand. "Let''s go." ¡­ The trio arrived back at the courtyard and told Admiral Rudra about taking Mira and making her a part of GAA, of Almond''s official party, like with Julian and Roken. "Of course. I nned to do that in the first ce," Admiral Rudra nodded. Kremin was still bound with chains, and his mouth was sealed. Mira looked at him and quickly looked away, feeling a bit scared. "Kremin, remember my words," Admiral Rudra said with a cold snort before releasing the constraints. Then, with a snap of his finger, his ssy blue aura carried Almond, Lily, and Mira like the wind as they flew up. Almond popped out his airship, and everyonended on its deck. "We are going to the S-rank dungeon now, right?" Almond asked with a grin. "Let''s just take Lily and Mira with us. With my summons and their own experience against Heroic Boss, there won''t be any problem as long as they don''t fight and just observe." "Yeah, it''s fine if they can just observe. The party this time is also stronger, and there is someone else who has powerful, tamed magic beasts," Admiral Rudra smiled. "Let''s go. Everyone should be there already." "Yes! Thanks, Mira. If it wasn''t for you, I couldn''t have gotten into an S-rank dungeon so soon," Lily chuckled. "I really want to see the powers of top adventurers." "Me too," Mira nodded as her eyes sparkled. "Let''s go to the control room to set the destination and start moving, Admiral. Where is it?" "It''s in the Hofensof City, the home of the Vasquez Dynasty. Your pet egg is also there in Paloma''s care." "Oh, that''s awesome." "Darling, can you pop out those fancy chairs on the deck from the control room?" "Sure." Almond and Admiral Rudra went inside the control room and set the destination first. Afterward, Admiral Rudra did something with his wristwatch as he said, "That fool needs to be taught a lesson and consequences." Almond looked at him and heard his next words, which made himugh. "Astra, did you record everything that happened in Kremin''s courtyard?" "Yes, Admiral." "Good, now release it on the Inte under Phantom Officer''s ount." Almond was dumbfounded. "You are the Phantom Officer?" Almond knew that this Phantom Officer was a very famous ount on Eyetube that posted videos as if they were secretly filmed, exposing people''s darkness and crimes urring before GAA or some other force would swoop in to stop them. "Technically, it''s Astra AI," Admiral Rudra chuckled. "But with Arcane Tower and Astra''sbination, we can ess any digital medium here and use magitech satellite recorders as well, and editing seamlessly to make it look like someone secretly filmed everything." "Damn, that''s awesome!" ¡­ [Breaking news! The Phantom Officer strikes again! This time, we even have Admiral Rudra on the screen!] [Guild master of Shadowforge Guild created a new low, snatching rewards from his own guild''s members.] [Super Rookie Almond''s words resonate with many, embodying the image of an ideal party leader.] Chapter 213 Sanctuary Area & Labyrinth Monthly Event (1) S-rank Dungeon¡ªXarath''s Womb. This dungeon was one of the strangest dungeons everyone ever saw. It was red-bordered yesterday when they decided to enter in today''s evening, but it had turned gold-bordered two hours ago before everyone had arrived at the location. The dungeon structure seemed to be a living entity, and everyone was in that semi-alive biological ce with caverns, strange fleshy monsters with neo-glowing colors from their internals, liquid pools, and pathways.@@novelbin@@ The monsters were highly corrosive and had unpredictability to their powers, with most of them having self-explosion upon their death that would deal potent corrosive and acid damage. Your adventure continues at empire Fortunately, the number of total old monsters in the group was four, including Admiral Rudra, along with eight other frontline Adventurers. Things were smooth, and Sylvia''s buffs were praised by everyone due to how much she healed, recovered mana constantly, and cleansed them of the corrosive and other simr effects. The space was slightly restricted, so Almond only summoned two spirit wraiths this time¡ªSylvia for support and Benedict, who didn''t need space because he lived in shadows and darkness. His job was to detect everything around them so that Almond, Lily, and Mira could stay cautious and kill monsters. As such, Almond stayed with those two all the time with his summons and only killed asionally when unexpected monsters popped out since the party dealt the rest. Lily''s wish was fulfilled as she was stoked watching old monsters'' and other frontline adventurers live in battle. The boss battle was especially intense because everyone went out, and Almond also helped with his Divine Divider''s Harvest so that Admiral Rudra could finish it off at the end with ease. Despite the terrible atmosphere and structure of the dungeon, the four hours of adventure inside Xarath''s Womb went rather smoothly. Almond gained the Dungeon Boss spirit¡ªXarath''s Heir: Epic level 300, and he could wait to gather more Epic-rank boss monster spirits so that he could make his next Spirit Wraith centered around a Heroic Boss spirit. Almond, Lily, and Mira returned to the Castle of Bloomshard at 1 a.m. on the 25th, starting the next day as the Grimworld Tutorial would give notification of the monthly event at 7 a.m., and after that, the biggest auction ever would start three hourster. Entering the castle, Mira''s jaw dropped obviously, but Almond and Lily were also dumbfounded. "So that''s why you told us this is now our main residence?" Almond blinked as he saw the unique yet aesthetic furniture and design of the hall, stairs, decorations, sofas, and everything, as every single thing of the castle was artistically crafted by Nyssara and Sylvia''s own ice crystal and wood. Every piece of furniture had exotic wood woven through and around the crystal structure, making a unique type of theme matching the castle itself. The crystals and wood with energy produced from Sylvia''s flora heart powered the castle, giving matching and colorful lights. The hall was mostly pale golden brown, with everything faintly shining in a calm vibe instead of bright. After the trio finished touring around the castle, the food had arrived and everyone sat down to dine. Almond and Lily were in training and then went to the Dungeon, so both of them wanted to get some sleep since the day was going to be exciting with the news of the monthly event. The new sanctuary area that formed on the 10th Floor would also open, and that was going to be a world-shifter because it was a residential area, as well as the new and biggest hub for Adventurers of all ranks since everyone would be able to enter there regardless of their rank, including newly awakened Adventurers. Almond wanted to seize some important benefits as he already had information in advance about the 10th Floor''s sanctuary area from his past life''s memories. He already had information up to the 15th Floor as he had recovered memories up to that point after clearing the 5th Floor. The castle had plenty of rooms in its six whole floors, so Mira got herself a room. As such, everyone went to sleep while Natalia was already asleep and woke up at 3 a.m. Natalia was bored and didn''t want to do any deep training because of the event notification arriving four hourster, so she trained inbat with spirit wraiths. Almond and Lily woke up at 6 a.m while Mira woke shortly afterward. Everyone freshened up and sat in the Garden of Peace at the top of the castle with tea and coffee served by Alfred while watching the news channels and other media from their wristwatches. Among a few hot topics, one was none other than Shadowforge Guild''s receiving mud from the public because of the guild master''s conduct. "Five minutes," Natalia closed the hologram from her wristwatch and took a sip from her teacup. "I wonder what kind of event will start¡­" "True," Mira nodded as she blinked. "I just hope we can also participate in it, and not only tinum-rank adventurers." "What are you thinking, Almond?" Lily asked as she saw Almond''s thoughtful expression with his hand still holding his teacup in the air near his face. Hearing Lily''s words, Almond''s eyes flickered as his mind returned to the table and looked at her with a wry smile, "I''m thinking about how I will get to kill sixteen more Epic-rank dungeon bosses. I have six days only. After that, the battlefield will open, and I want to enter there without dy." "So I was resetting the priorities in my mind," Almond put the cup down. "You all have insight scrolls of 20 hours and less, while I have a rather better version of it¡ªElemental Selection b, from which I''ve chosen Sand of Vibrant Wave." "Sounds cool," Mira nodded. "That sounds like a sound with sand," Natalia chuckled. "Vibrant Wave. I have to say a Sand elemental variant like that got to be powerful." "Yep, and I only have 24 hours to learn, just one chance," Almond wryly smiled. "So I will use Insight Stone before using that to increase my chance. Using these two would at least eat 24 hours, and more if I got the wrong phenomenon in the first Insight Stone, in which case, I''ll have to use the second Insight Stone." "72 hours," Lily nodded. "That''s three days gone. And in the other four days, you will have to participate in 16 S-rank dungeons. How many are there so far?" "Admiral Rudra is keeping me up to date with that, so I know there are already fifteen S-rank dungeons, most being white-bordered since a few are popping up every day. Once I am done with this, I''ll also begin customized production of everyone''s Legendary gear set since I''d have heaps and heaps of items by then, along with mini-boss spirits to use as three-set ingredients for items." Almond sighed and added, "The problem is that even if I am willing to run multiple dungeons together, I can''t go alone because multiple parties have dibs in each of those Dungeons." "That''s a problem indeed," Lily wryly smiled. "Tsk, they should just let us enter if they don''t want to rush," Natalia clicked her tongue. "We can clear them with you as our frontline adventurer, heh, that''d be enough." "True," Mira nodded with a smile. "Almond is strong enough, and Lily can make things easier." "I''ll have to talk about this, but I absolutely will need to clear that number of dungeons before the Battlefield of the Mightiest starts," Almond''s eyes glinted as he firmly said. [Adventurers of Earth, congrattions once again on entering Phase 1 of Grimworld Tutorial by clearing the 10th Floor.] [The 10th Floor''s Sanctuary Area has opened, and with it will begin the default first monthly event that will decide your special territory in the sanctuary¡ªa home of mystery and magic, a territory to disy your power and prestige across other worlds under the shade of Grimworld Tutorial.] Chapter 214 Sanctuary Area & Labyrinth Monthly Event (2), Territory Tiers [This monthly event will remain active until the next month''s Labyrinth opens. The event details are as follows:] [The Sanctuary Area of the 10th Floor is now open to every Adventurer. The area spans 500 kilometers in radius, and it has five tiers sections, with the most valuable section being in the center of this area and the ground rising high from the periphery to the core of this area.] [Each section has a different size of territories with benefits and features depending on the tiers. For now, every single territory will have a blue field around them with a magic lock symbol on it.] [An individual can touch the field and initiate a challenge. Multiple individuals can initiate a challenge in one territory as well. The individual with the highest score in the challenge will own that territory.] [This event willst until the end of this month, and the highest scorer in each territory challenge will own that territory forever. However, Adventurers will be able to buy a Territory Challenge Token from Labyrinth Shop that will allow them to challenge the territory owner for a 1v1 duel, allowing the winner to own the territory.] [Please read the details of the five tiers as disyed below. And note that this sanctuary area will get an upgrade each time you clear a floor, meaning all territories might get a new feature or benefit per floor cleared.] [Tier-5 Section: Peasant Territories] -Small territories, grass pathways, wandering Labyrinth Vendors. -Elevation: up to 50 meters higher than the surrounding Labyrinth area. -Total number of Peasant Territories in this section: 200. -[Benefit(s):] ¡ª> D-rank Magic Veil: The mana density and atmosphere in Peasant Territories are purer and better than the outside world, helping adventurers in both meditation and training. -[Feature(s):] ¡ª> Herb Garden (2-plot slots): A dimensional garden with ten fixed soil slots on which you can grow 2 nts of your choice by nting their seeds or other catalysts. The growth rate of these 2 nts will be 200% higher than normal. *** [Tier-4 Section¡ª>Commoner Territories] -Slightly bigger territories, cobblestone pathways, semi-structures, Labyrinth Markets. -Elevation: up to 50 meters higher ground than the Tier-5 Section area.] -Total number of Common Territories in this section: 150. -[Benefit(s):]@@novelbin@@ ¡ª> C-rank Magic Veil: The mana density and atmosphere in Commoner Territories are good, helping adventurers in both meditation and training. -[Feature(s):] ¡ª> Herb Garden (4-plot slots): A dimensional garden with ten fixed soil slots on which you can grow 4 nts of your choice by nting their seeds or other catalysts. The growth rate of these 4 nts will be 200% higher than normal. *** [Tier-3 Section: Noble Territories] -Moderately sized territories, concentre stone pathways, Labyrinth Town, Markets, and everything constructed except for empty territories. -Elevation: up to 100 meters higher ground than the Tier-5 section area. -Total number of Common Territories in this section: 100. -[Benefit(s):] ¡ª> B-rank Magic Veil: The mana density and atmosphere in Noble Territories are great, helping adventurers in both meditation and training. ¡ª> Healing Water Source: The water sources in this territory can help recover wounds faster. The water will only work on people included in the resident list of a territory by the owner. The water will turn normal if taken out of the Sanctuary Area. -[Feature(s):] ¡ª> Herb Garden (6-plot slots): A dimensional garden with ten fixed soil slots on which you can grow 4 nts of your choice by nting their seeds or other catalysts. The growth rate of these 6 nts will be 200% higher than normal. *** [Tier-2 Section: Dukedom Territories] -Large area territories, polished marble pathways, markets, well-developed infrastructure, and enchanting surroundings. -Elevation: Up to 300 meters higher than the Tier-5 section area for territories nearing the Throne section border, offering amanding view of the 10th Floor and enhanced atmospheric conditions. -Total number of Dukedom territories: 50. -[Benefit(s):] ¡ª> A-rank Magic Veil: The mana density and atmosphere in Dukedom Territories are wonderful, helping adventurers in both meditation and training. ¡ª> Enchanting Water: The water sources in this territory can help recover wounds faster than Healing Water and can cleanse negative status effects. The water will only work on people included in the resident list of a territory by the owner. The water will turn normal if taken out of the Sanctuary Area. -[Feature(s):] ¡ª> Herb Garden (8-plot slots): A dimensional garden with ten fixed soil slots on which you can grow 4 nts of your choice by nting their seeds or other catalysts. The growth rate of these 6 nts will be 200% higher than normal. ¡ª> Personal Teleporter: You and other official residents of territories designated by owners can teleport to territories from outside via a new function from your status window with just a thought. The teleport process takes 3 seconds, and it can be interrupted. *** [Tier-1 Section: Throne Territories.] -Each territory in this section is unique and ced at different wonders of geographical areas in this section. A town exists for the gathering hub and markets separately with structure and aura of elegance and majesty, with runestone pathways, and mana-rich atmosphere in the entire section. -Elevation: 500 to 1000 meters higher depending on territories, offering exceptional atmosphere and the best view of the Labyrinth''s 10th Floor. -Total number of Throne Territories in this section: 25. -[Benefit(s):] ¡ª> S-rank Magic Veil: The mana density and atmosphere in Throne Territories are exceptional, helping adventurers in both meditation and training. ¡ª> Divine Cleanse Water: The water source here can heal, reduce exhaustion, and cleanse negative status effects, even if lethal. The water will only work on people included in the resident list of a territory by the owner. The water will turn normal if taken out of the Sanctuary Area. ¡ª> Arcane Phenomena: asionally produces magic phenomenon at random ces that may be an exceptional resource for residents here to acquire, of course, viapetition. [-Feature(s):] ¡ª> Personal Teleporter: You and other official residents of this territory can teleport to your territory from outside via a new function from your status window with just a thought. The teleport process takes 3 seconds, and it can be interrupted. ¡ª> Herb Garden (10-slot): A dimensional garden with ten fixed soil slots on which you can grow 10 nts of your choice by nting their seeds or other catalysts. The growth rate of these 10 nts will be 200% higher than normal. Natalia, Lily, and Mira read up to this and were shocked, especially after reading the Tier-1 Section! "Yo, this is crazy awesome," Natalia excitedly said. "Almond, tell me we gonna grab a Throne Territory for ourselves." "We have to," Lily said as she turned to Almond, only to get surprised. "Huh? Where did he go?" "He was here just now¡­." Mira blinked. "Wait, don''t tell me," Natalia looked at Lily and burst outughing. Stay tuned with empire "Yeah, he went inside the Labyrinth''s 10th Floor to grab a Throne Territory," Lily wryly smiled. "It''s an individual challenge, so we don''t need to go, I guess," Natalia cheekily smiled. "Almond can put a crazy high score so none others can break it, and we''ll get the territory." "But there are only 25 of them¡­" Mira said as her expression turned doubtful. "We saw thebat powers of those frontline adventurers yesterday¡­especially those old monsters. I''m sure each of them will want a Throne Territory for themselves, and other top guild leaders too¡­" "Eh¡­I haven''t seen their powers, but Almond''s pretty crazy already, not to mention he has his little broken entourage of spirit wraiths. I don''t think others would be able to break whatever score record he set in whatever type of challenge there is," Natalia said as she shrugged and turned to Lily, "Right?" "It''s going to be difficult for sure," Lily muttered, but her eyes fiercely glinted as she grinned, "But Almond went there to grab a Throne Territory, and I believe he will seed. Not to mention that we still have five more days, and that means he will get even stronger as days pass." "Let''s go inside and take a look," Natalia grinned as she stood up. "I want to see this Sanctuary area." "Yeah, let''s go," Lily nodded. Chapter 215 Sanctuary Area & Labyrinth Monthly Event (3), Devouring Mountain Wail Entering the Labyrinth gate, Lily, Mira, and Natalia selected the option to enter the 10th Floor that became avable for them and arrived at the periphery of the Sanctuary Area. "Woah!" "Holy shit." Mira and Natalia immediately eximed because the scenery in front of them was crazy. The Sanctuary Area was over 500 kilometers in radius, and it was on higher groundpared to the base ground of the 10th Floor. Although they couldn''t see everything correctly from their position, just the area they could see, the vast in of grass with a faint magical atmosphere and cobblestone pathways that shone with early morning''s dim brightness, was wonderful. Stay tuned with empire "We have to cross over two hundred and fifty kilometers to reach the Tier-1 section," Lily smiled. "Let''s go. Well, run at a constant pace and check out this area." Meanwhile, Almond was close to reaching the Tier-1 area, and he was already sensing an aura ahead of him. ''That''s an old monster for sure,'' Almond thought as he moved in his lightning elemental form, streaking forward, and soon saw a wyvern flying ahead of him. The figure atop was ady in her fifties with a peaceful and carefree vibe. She turned around to look at Almond and smiled, her voice trailing into Almond''s ears, "Oi brat, are you thinking about grabbing a Throne Territory yourself?" She was none other than Paloma Vasquez, the one who was hatching Almond''s Winged Tyrant egg. "I will," Almond replied with a grin as he increased his speed and zoomed forward with a burst, arriving at the same level as her. "You look confident, which means you didn''t show everything you had in the dungeon," Paloma chuckled. "Well, good luck. I think I like that grove, so I''m going for it." Paloma slowed down, and Almond also did as he looked at the grove, a huge hollow tree at the center of a 5-kilometer Throne Territory Field. ''That''s Enchanted Viridescent Grove¡­she is a druid and tamer, so that''s a perfect ce for her, alright.'' The territory had short grass and trees growing in it, with a waterfalling down from another territory slightly higher than it to its right. Looking at other throne territories locked around the field with big magic lock symbols on them, Almond confirmed, ''Yeah, this section is also exactly as it was in the sanctuary area in my previous life''s 10th Floor.'' The throne territory section was full of exotic territories with different biomes like snowy, windy,vatic, forest, and water bodies within every five-kilometer radius, and it was also established naturally as terrains, mountains, rivers, forests, hills, and everything else connected to each other seamlessly. Each territory border also had several kilometers of unupied areas around it, creating a sort of unnatural yet magically fitting pathways to travel across this Tier-1 section because once the 25 individuals be owners of the territories here, nobody could invade each other''s area without permission, nor flying above it. Everyone required permission to enter owned territories'' borders. ¡­ Almond sped up as he confirmed because he already knew which territory he wanted. He also felt a few more auras on the way, all belonging to the old monsters. ''That''s it,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he grinned upon seeing a small mountain with a 5-kilometer radius base, with its peak being the second highest. The other highest surface belonged to the Hanging Void Cliff, one-kilometer northwest of this mountain''s border. It was a cliff that emerged from a void gap at the center of this Throne territory section, and from its top, one could overlook the entire 10th floor. There was a magnificent pce on that huge cliff. It was 1 square kilometer in area in its 5-kilometer radius territory. The grand pce of the intricate design was constructed from luminous obsidian and reinforced with shimmering runic carvings that pulsed faintly with arcane energy, seamlessly blending natural elegance and architectural brilliance as if it grew naturally from the cliff itself. The towering spires of the pce pierced the sky, their tips glowing faintly in hues of silver and violet. The rest of the area around the pce was empty, allowing the owner to freely modify it and build whatever they wanted upon it. But this territory at the center of the cliff merely upied 20% of the cliff''s area because surrounding the pce was a vibrant town with the same material theme and design as the pce. The town was vast, spanning the entire cliff that was 25 kilometers in area. It was filled with wonders like a big structured market with empty patches to construct shops and other things, a residential area, zas, gardens, halls, a resort-like water-body area, and then patches of emptynds for Adventurers to build something there. This city was the only pre-built city of the Tier-1 section and also the most luxurious one. It was also where the other Adventurers from different worlds would first arrive to Adventure together during some monthly events or pure visits. As such, this Obsidian Void Pce Territory on the Hanging Void Cliff was obviously the best one, but Almond wasn''t going to aim for it. Because it was impossible. The challenge of that territory was the toughest one, and he wasn''t strong enough to put in a proper score even if he tried it. ''But I''ll take this one,'' Almond arrived at the mountain''s border and touched the translucent blue field. [Do you wish to ept the challenge of the Mountain of Radiant Zenith?] Almond''s eyes danced with excitement as he epted it. He might not be confident in getting the best score in many other territories here since his opponents would be old monsters and other top powerhouses, but he was fairly confident in making this Mountain of Radiant Zenith his because of its challenge¡ªDevouring Mountain Wail! [Devouring Mountain Wail] -Challenge: ¡ª> Kill every single monster on the mountain as fast as possible. The faster you kill and reach the peak, the higher the score. Almond vanished from his spot and arrived in a unique dimension with the same mountain in front of him, but the surroundings were dark, and the sky was night. The only thing that was bright was the umbral dark radiance of the mountain, littered with myriad monsters, each one in Epic-rank. "Sylvia, Nyssara, just focus on recovering my Health and Mana with your energy. Touch no monster. No one within 200 meters wille near us," Almondmanded after summoning Sylvia and Nyssara. "Understood." Almond grabbed his sword and took a deep breath as his eyes turned utterly serene. ''Keep the eyes the same as that clone in the Weapon Art training¡­same breathing, same vibe, and¡­ perceive the intent.'' Almond''s mind reyed the thousands of deaths he suffered at the hands of his clone and recalled every death. He opened his eyes a minuteter as they hazily glinted in a golden hue. ''Remember everything, and go, kill every single monster in a single sh,'' Almond told himself as his senses overlooked the hungry, glittered mountain ahead and dashed into the challenge of Devouring Mountain Wail. Colorful lights and colorful eyes, His senses marked where each predatory. Loud roars and screeching wails, Echoing through the night''s veils. He grinned at the challenge, his heart aze, This was his arena, his proving phase. Lightning coursed through his veins like fire, As he dashed into the storm, his will grew higher.@@novelbin@@ From the base of the mountain, monsters emerged, Beasts and specters, in darkness submerged. Scaled wyverns with crimson breath, Shadow wolves that danced with death. The first strike came, a talon sharp, A beast lunged forth, its growl rang harsh. Almond dodged, his sword shed, Striking back as lightning shed. Colorful lights and colorful eyes, Marked his foes in cunning disguise. Loud roars and screeching wails, Told tales of the hunter that left devastating trails. As he climbed, the threats grew dire, The air now crackled with arcane fire. Phantom serpents and wraiths took flight, Testing his skill in the heart of night. Each monster fell beneath his might, Lightning shed, splitting the night. His strikes were precise, his shes unbound, For every foe in, his prowess was crowned. Colorful lights and colorful eyes, Dimmed with each predator''s demise. Loud roars and screeching wails, onest foe remained, his de ready to entail. At the mountain''s crown, he went to im his throne, Beneath the gaze of eyes like obsidian stone. Facing the finale, an umbral tiger with wings, Its fate written with his de''s single swing. Colorful lights and colorful eyes, Now, nothing but memories under darkened skies. Loud roars and screeching wails, Were silenced by the one who prevailed. Chapter 216 Sanctuary Area & Labyrinth Monthly Event (4/4), Rescheduling [Challenge Completed] [Time taken to kill all monsters: 2 minutes and 45 seconds.] [Score: 784,390] ''Mhmm,'' Almond looked at the timing and score and shook his head. ''Nah, if an old monster tried this, they would pass me. But I did this challenge to improve myself as I wanted to fight with a particr mindset.'' ''I''ll have to try with some of my Spirit Wraiths next time¡­once I have powered up myself as much as possible,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. Not all Spirit wraiths would be able to fight in this challenge because all monsters on this challenge of Devouring Mountain Wail were Epic rank, and there were roughly a thousand. The thing was, the challenge would "slightly" change every time someone made an attempt¡ªnew monsters, new cements, but the same number of monsters. The only ones who would be able to aid him in fighting without dragging his speed were Galvaren, Sylvia, Nyssara, Benedict, and Ashkar, and he would have to give them armor sets to be able to affect the Epic-rank monsters properly with their skills since they were only in Gold-rank with way lower stats. They were too weak. Almond looked at the blue field as he returned back from the challenge dimension and thought, ''If Galvaren and other humanoid spirit wraiths can learn to use Mana techniques, they will get very strong.'' Almond''s eyes glinted, ''Maybe they can? But their physiology ispletely different, so the methods that we humans use won''t work on them.'' ''I''ll have to look into this, but not now,'' Almond opened his status window and saw the exit portal option. ''Good thing we can leave and enter anytime,'' Almond wryly smiled as he left. Almond knew everyone could enter the Sanctuary Area anytime through Labyrinth Gates, with the entry point being the periphery area, and also exit anytime via status, returning to the gate from which they entered. But there were exceptions, like when Labyrinth imposed restrictions during Floor Boss or other things. During Floor Boss fights on thetest floors or some kind of event, the Labyrinth would forcefully kick out everyone from the Sanctuary Area and close it. That had happened in his past life, so Almond was sure it would also happen here when such times arrived. ¡­ After returning to the courtyard, he saw that Lily and the other two were gone, so he knew they had gone to check out the Sanctuary Area. Arriving in the Revtion Pavilion, Almond sat down cross-legged and took out an Insight Stone. ''The next S-rank dungeon raid is in Proximax guild''s territory, and it''s starting tonight. If I use this, I won''t be able to participate.'' ''But there are more S-rank dungeons anyway¡­ugh, fuck it.'' Almond dialed up Admiral Rudra, but then he rubbed his face on his forehead, ''stupid me. He must be in the Sanctuary Area challenging that Pce territory.'' But he didn''t want to stay idle, so he got up and was about to solo train with his sword by visualization. However, just as he descended, he got a call from Julian. [Almond: What''s up? How''s the training going?] [Julian: I just woke up from using the Advanced skill scroll and saw the Event. I''m going to use Insight Stone now since that''s the only other resource I have left. I called to ask if you knew how to use this stone properly or if you figured out something about it.] [Almond: What do you want to use it for?] [Julian: Maybe to get an element? I have A-rank mastery over the Fire element. I just broke through it naturally from B to A two days ago, and the element I chose from my Elemental Imprint is Inferno, which is abination of Wind plus Fire.] [Almond: Yeah, that''s best for you to increase your overall power. But hold onto your Insight Stone for now.] [Julian: Hold onto it for now¡­you mean I should use it once Iplete thest quest of my Legacy Roll?] [Almond: Exactly.] [Julian: So, two days it is. Alright, see youter. I''m going to train as much as I can until then and improve in Inferno Elemental Mastery.] Julian''sst quest to get his Legacy Roll was defeating the 6th Floor''s Floor boss. ''Once Julian uses his Legacy Roll, he''s going to get very powerful for sure,'' Almond thought with a nod. ''Though I don''t know what exactly it does, but its description was powerful. Maybe he might get a new specialized ss because his current one is bad.'' Julian was improving rapidly in overallbat ability, his talent was blooming, especially after his Primary ss upgraded to S-rank during the tournament, but hecked a strong specialized ss that could be another source of power to explore for himself. His upgraded primary ss was S-rank¡ª Heavilist Swordweaver, but he had messed up in building his specialized ss sightly, only getting a B-rank ss: Sword ve, due to his mental state and different ideas during his second specialized ss quest. So, this Legacy roll was going to switch it up for him. ¡­ An hourter, while Almond was still solo training, Lily, Natalia, and Mira returned. "Hey, Almond, which ce did you pick for us?" Natalia asked as she went into the Revtion pavilion. "I''m also curious," Lily nodded. Meanwhile, Mira gulped upon seeing Almond''s bare upper body with lean, shredded muscles and glittering with sweat. ''No, no¡­'' Mira quickly moved her gaze to his eyes, "There were so many cool territories there in the Throne section, right?" "Yeah, the one I chose for us is Mountain of Radiant Zenith," Almond grinned. "Oh, that one," Lily blinked and nodded as she grinned upon remembering the mountain, "Alright, I am satisfied with that." "But will you be able to keep the best score on it?" Natalia cheekily said, "You gotta work hard since someone might cross that score." "Some old monster already broke my time, don''t know who." Almond wryly smiled. "I got a notification half an hour ago that someone broke my record. I cleared it within 2 minutes and 45 seconds, but the new record is 1 minute and 42 seconds." "That''s a big gap," Mira weakly smiled. "Oi, you can break it in the next five days, right?" Natalia snorted. "He will," Lily grinned. "Indeed, I will," Almond grinned. Stay tuned to empire Both of them knew about their Weapon Art''s power, so the moment they learned it, theirbat power was going to go up a new realm. "Anyway, wh-" *Ring* Almond suddenly got a call, interrupting him, but it was a call he was waiting for. [Rudra: What''s up, brat? I heard you were in the Throne section, haha. You want a ce for yourself there?] Almond grinned. [Almond: I want, and I''ll take one for sure. But that aside, I called you earlier to tell you that I won''t enter today''s S-rank dungeon raid. In fact, I won''t be free until the Labyrinth''s fourth cycle ends, so you can cancel my entry in those days.] [Rudra: Alright. But you said you absolutely need those, so¡­] [Almond: Yep, I need them, and that''s why I have to clear sixteen S-rank dungeons in thest three days or four if we include 28th December''s entire day of this month.] [Rudra:¡­.and you want me to arrange sixteen S-rank dungeon raids from 28th to 31st December?] [Almond: Yes. How possible does this sound?] [Rudra: Very impossible. But GAA has 4 S-rank Dungeons already, and I''ll keep them and others that spawn in our territory for you as long as I can, but for others¡­you need to show something worthy to convince them to raid multiple S-rank Dungeons daily ording to your schedule on thest days of this month.] [Almond: I''ll think of something once my party returns after finishing the 6th Floor Heroic Challenge. For now, I''ll be goingpletely off to train.] [Rudra: Not joining your own auction?] [Almond: Nope. Waste of time. Just send me the money, haha.] "Ladies, are you all joining the auction or training?" Almond asked Lily and others after cutting off the call.@@novelbin@@ "Training of course," Lily cracked her neck and sat cross-legged on the mattress properly before taking out an Insight Stone. "True, our Heroic Raid is in two days, we gotta be prepared," Natalia grinned and sat down as well. Mira clenched her fist, determined, "I will master the Vaylith element and get powerful!" "Good," Almond nodded. "I''m going to shower and return here." "Shower? Wait, I''ming," Lily vanished and emerged from Almond''s shadow with an enchanting smile as she caressed her finger on his chest. "Now, we can go." Almond grinned and used Espada Ad Grimveil, vanishing from the Garden of Peace and arriving in their luxurious bathroom in the castle. "Humph, rabbits in heat," Natalia snorted. "Anyway, we should start, Mira." "R-Right." Chapter 217 Captain Lerkeion the Menace Jezar City¡ªone of the smallest cities in the southwest of the globe, situated beside a desert and an ocean on two sides. It had barely 100,000 people in it. "Good, this city is indeed small enough for us to properly start the formation." Larke and 25 other figures in hoods and cloaks arrived at the city''s central za. The number of total rats increased by a few. "How long before the auction starts?" Lerke asked as he turned to rats, his arms crossed. "One hour, sir." Nearby, the two city enforcers saw the hooded figures and frowned as they approached them. "Who are you?" "Show your faces and ID, please." Lerke turned to the duo and removed his hood before grinning at them. His eyes glowed, and a bronze-ck neo-beam unleashed. Both GAA enforcers were equipped with magic shield devices and reinforced uniforms that could block a few attacks from Gold-rank Adventurers. However, the beams struck them in a moment, entirely vaporizing their upper bodies, leaving only legs that fell. People screamed, and soon, everyone was running away, the za in chaos. "Go and nt the formation crystals," Lerke didn''t heed the public and said to the rats. "Yes, sir." Twenty out of twenty-five rats vanished. ''Damn, are we really doing this?'' ''No other choice. But this idea isn''t bad.'' ''True, he said he was going to be a menace, and this idea aligns.'' ''What if we die?!'' ''We can escape with this cloak the moment we sense danger. Captain Lerke also said that.'' ''We''ll be fine. Let''s trust Captain Lerke and his ability.'' Lerke finished looking around and turned to the remaining five rats as he nodded. "One of you, go get me something that can let me talk to the authorities of this world, and the rest of you prepare the Hollowstar Bomb here." ¡­ Admiral Rudra was at the auction in Firefly City with the auction items in his storage rings¡ªthe safest ce on Earth. In the room backstage, he was talking with others via wristwatch as the VIP public was entering and sitting in their booths. The auction stadium was huge, with 5000 normal seats and 100 VIP booths. It was also going to be broadcast live for the general public for hype and entertainment due to the nature of the items. After all, the items weren''t going to be fully disclosed as only their detail panel and appearance would be shown. With Admiral Rudra''s power, he could deny everyone''s inspection by creating a simple magic field around the items to block them. *Beep* [Emergency Alert, Admiral. There is an anomaly urring in the Jezar city. I just found two people dead and the city in chaos as the people you call rats and another powerful non-human humanoid entered there.] "What?" Amidral Rudra frowned. "Why are they there?" [Ten strange energy sources are surrounding the city.] "Don''t tell me," Admiral Rudra stood up, his expression turning grave. ''If they are pulling that kind of stunt, then¡­'' "Astra, jam all types of signals around the city. Don''t let them contact the outside world. Iste the entire city." [Understood.] "Damn it," Admiral Rudra cursed under his breath as he vanished from the room and sent an emergency message to other old monsters and top guild leaders right away. All of their wristwatches beeped with a red envelope that indicated the highest level of emergency. ¡­ Ten minutes passed by, and Lerke irritately said, "What do you mean you can''t connect to anything?!" "Leave it," Lerke snorted with a cold glint in his eyes and flew up, passing through the barrier. Looking above, he narrowed his eyes and boomed, his magically enchanted voice ringing far and wide to tens of kilometers. "I know you can see me, perhaps even hear my words! Yournguage was easy, after all. It took me one second to learn it." "So listen, and listen very carefully, you insects!" At the same time, the old monsters and other top leaders who were gathered in the makeshift hall at the Auction''s underground were watching Lerke and listening to his words as Astra AI aired it. "It looks like our n to dy stops here," James Smith said as his eyes sharply glinted. "Our prototype weapon is ready tounch as well," Aarav Patel grunted as he mmed his hand on the table, his voice cold, "We should use it on him right now while he is out of the barrier with maximum power. I don''t care if it''s destroyed. We''ll rebuild it."@@novelbin@@ James'' eyes twitched. "We can use more esoteric and discreet methods, too." "The best thing to do is to let me snipe him and send my Shadow Cards there." "No, that object floating at the center reeks of danger. It looks like a bomb, and it may be more powerful than we can estimate." "Indeed. They''ve already shown strange means to escape and a unique energy. We have to proceed cautiously." "Keeping that city hostage means he wants something." "I have a bad feeling regarding that." Enjoy new adventures from empire "Silence!" Rudra said, his voice stern. "Listen to him. He activated that bomb." Everyone had their eyes on the screen, so they knew as well, their focus shifting as they heard grave news. In the screen, Lerke''s demonic grin widened as a palpitating ck orb with sparkling violet and purple energy stream spiraled around it. "That''s right! In just one second, this entire city will vanish. It will disappear along with every living being in it!" "If you think I am joking, then here''s a teaser!" Lerke suddenly pointed his arm in a random direction, unleashing a molten bronze orb from his palm towards a big building 50 floors high. GAA branch! *BOOM!* A devastating st urred, covering a 2-kilometer radius area in a thick, murky, pulsing bronze with a red hue. "This bastard!" "Damn it!" Some at the table became furious, while some turned utterly cold. The st''s phenomenon subsided, and all that remained in the area was a crater. "This was just a teaser!" Astra Ai shifted the focus back to Lerke. "So talk to me right now, or this city will vanish! You have 10 seconds!" Everyone looked at Rudra, as only he couldmand Astra AI. But the table was silent because everyone knew that the most furious person in the hall was none other than him. An incident like this happened only once, five years ago, and everyone saw a demon at that time because a few hundred people were murdered. Since then, every criminal became a rat, moving only in sewers and not daring to make any big waves lest the asura, the demon, catch them. Because then, only hell awaited. But now, a threat that no one could foresee arrived and caused a big loss. Who knew how many people died in that 2-kilometer radius of area? "Astra, project me there." One of the many satellites orbiting the Earth, one of which was positioned right above Jezar city, pulsed slightly and moved. The city''s magic waves pulsed before an object embedded itself on the ground several meters away from Larke. It expanded from a cube to a te before a few colorful dots pulsed along with Mana before a hologram expanded on it, showing Admiral Rudra on a screen with a different background from the one in the hall. Everyone knew he was hiding their faces to prevent Lerke from seeing them so that they could move about with their best means. "I can hear you," Admiral Rudra said as his voice rang out from the device. Lerke loudlyughed, hearing his voice, and nodded, "Good. Now, listen. If you want to save this city and its tens of thousands of poption from getting erased, give me all the items you are going to auction today and the people on this list." When everyone saw the list created with Mana that vividly showed photos of the top 10 Super Rookies, everyone''s expression changed. "It looks like this is going to be a long fucking day," Proximax Guild leader grunted with a grave expression, his words resonating with everyone. Admiral Rudra''s expression was t as he replied to Lerke, "Give us some realistic demands. We want our people safe, so you will not get any kids on that list." Many tensed up, but the old monsters knew Rudra was doing it correctly. This was a negotiation and it had to be carried with a backbone and a strong tone. The enemy had a demand and a hostage of big magnitude concerning tens of thousands of lives, and only Rudra could talk with enough backbone and words infused with his aura to level the enemy. Lerke grinned, "You have half an hour. Full the demands and save this city." "No, that will not happen." A quick and deadpan reply followed as soon as Lerke finished, Rudra''s words made many in the hall sweaty. "I will not sacrifice my own to save another one of my own," Admiral Rudra tly said, his eyes icy as they bore onto Lerke''s eyes through the screen, "I want everyone safe." "If anything happens to anyone else in that city, I will hunt you down and scatter you into molecules. This is a promise to myself." "You will only get items or my undying grudge." Despite not being physically in front of him, Lerke could feel the indomitable spirit that crossed that carried from Rudra''s words and eyes, infused with his ego. "Hahahahah! I like you, human! A very good specimen!" Lerkeughed in gusto. "You will live! You will live to serve the Hollowstar, but that is a thing of another day. For now," Lerke licked his rocky lips as sparks flew and the vein cracks on his body pulsed with dark gold, "Give me one person on that list and the auction items in ten minutes." "Otherwise, this city is going to vanish. This is a promise to myself." Chapter 218 Plan (1/2) "No time to waste," Rudra said as his nce swept at everyone before stopping at the guild leader of League of Firefly, "Tell Executive Ken to get ready. We are going to need his teleportation." "I want everyone ready in five minutes, with everything you have. We are going to hit them as hard as we can and rescue everyone." "And our priority is taking care of that bomb first and foremost. Those whose Artifacts are not on cooldown, get ready to use them," Admiral Rudra finished speaking as he stood up, his veins popping out and squirming as blood rushed fast. "We got them right in our pocket, and you might as well give us some useful Legendary items with some effects that can help us in this situation," Silvester said. "Yeah, that''s a good idea. Give us something useful until we solve this situation." "Alright. I can do that." ¡­ ''Damn, we really threatened them and reached this point¡­'' ''How will they respond?'' ''We are asking for legendary items and that super rookie Almond¡­'' ''I just can''t believe demon Rudra will agree to this meekly. They are going to do something for sure.'' ''Fuck, I''m really scared of dying. We''ve hit a crazy nerve this time. All old monsters and top powerhouses must be furious.'' ''Yeah, we might not even be able to escape¡­'' Lerke''s right hand was on the armrest of the throne he created with his strange bronze-fiery metallic elemental energy, and his left hand rested beneath his chin as his eyes narrowed at the five rats before him. "You insects, are you scared?" The rats trembled but truthfully nodded their heads. "Do you know why I did this?" The rats nced at each other before two of them spoke one by one. "To get the legendary items and weaken them so they can''t perform well once the battlefield of the Mightiest starts?" "To dispose of the younger generation adventurer so they don''t grow powerful, ultimately losing in the Battlefield event?" "Idiots!" Lerke grunted and leaned back on his throne, his nose ring mes before he spoke, "My main aim to do this is to glean into the psyche of this world''s top powerhouses." "I want to see their capabilities at their limit and how they will respond to this, especially that man I saw on the screen," Lerke''s eyes glinted as he continued, "For us, our priority is keeping ourselves safe, not the destruction of this stupid town, those legendary items, or those young ants." ''He called someone Man for the first time...'' ''But Rudra is a fucking demon, not a man.''@@novelbin@@ "So you are not going to destroy this town with that bomb?" One of the rats curiously asked. Lerke sneered in response as he eyed the device in front of him. However, he didn''t speak anything out loud. ''Whether I destroy this town or not is up to the top powerhouses of this world,'' Lerke thought, his eyes shing cunningly. ''Based on their powers, trump cards, and means that I find, I''ll have to decide.'' ''If they are capable of hunting me down, we have to keep the damage minimum lest they arepletely provoked,'' Lerke clenched his fist as he remembered his order. His aim was to be a menace and live. Death was not an option from his Hollowstar Lord. Lerke''s lips curved as he grinned, "but I do wonder if there''s any insect here on par with me at my state when I was tinum-rank." Due to restrictions from the Grimworld Turotial, his rank was down to tinum level 150. He currently had the same powers and stats as he had when he was tinum level 150. But his real rank was Mythical Level 300! ¡­ One minute remained until the deadline. "If they don''te in one minute, I am going to bomb the town," Lerke carefreely said as his voice rang into every rat''s ears, "Use your cloak and escape when I say "Run" as I will activate the bomb one second after that." "Understood, Captain Lerke!" However, a few seconds after that, the hologram appeared once again, showing Admiral Rudra. "The person you asked for and the items are outside the town. Now deactivate the bomb and finish the deal." After saying this, the hologram vanished. Lerke''s eyes glinted as he flew up before narrowing his eyes at the town''s entrance since there was only one proper side from which people could enter the town. "Captain Lerke, I see him. There''s a storage pouch hanging at his waist, so the items must be there." Lerke''s eyes were narrowed and unmoved as he went back down and looked at the hologram from the device. ''So, they gave up this easily? This doesn''t match what the rats say, so they must have a n.'' Outside the town, the one that looked exactly like Almond was not Almond at all. Instead, it was Admiral Rudra himself who used an ancient artifact of Morreti House¡ªFaceless Mask. As long as anything biological of a target is put into the mask and activated, a person can wear the mask and look exactly the same, down to the aura itself. Read exclusive chapters at empire Admiral Rudra had Almond''s blood and hair, so here he was in the guise of Almond. As for the hologram, it was all Astral Ai who projected Admiral Rudra and replied like him. Not too far from the town, ten of the old monsters were hidden just one kilometer away behind the mountainous area of the town. Along with those seven old monsters were the League of Firefly guild''s leader¡ªQuinn Firefly, and Executive Ken. This was Team 1¡ªtheir job was to dispose of the bomb once Ken brought it to them. The other old monsters and top powerhouses were in another direction¡ªTeam 2, whose job was to enter once the gap formed in the barrier and save the poption. All of them were waiting to make their moves. Lerke, who finished thinking, nced at the bomb but didn''t deactivate it. ''Do they want to y a longer game? Well, let''s see what you have nned.'' Instead, hemanded the rat positioned at the entrance, "Open a door-sized gap and let him in." "Yes, sir." Chapter 219 Plan (2/2), Rudra vs Lerke Admiral Rudra, disguised as Almond, saw a rather familiar figure arrive at the city''s entrance gate, and his eyes gleamed coldly deep within. ''Libero of Blood w¡­Alright, I''m taking you with me, alive or dead.'' The n also included the capture of at least one rat so they could check their cloak and get into one''s mind for more information about the so-called "Hollowstar", the new alien that invaded their and other things. As a small gap opened in the barrier, Libero shouted, "Hey, bastard! Come inside, quick!" The moment that gap opened, Admiral Rudra first used the second and third stages of his Focus Field as a straight line of invisible thread went inside, directly toward the za. The second stage could let one sense everything in a narrower linear range¡ªknown as a Focus Line, with the advantage being that one could extend it far away instead of in the dome-like shape sensing range when using the Focus Field. Adding the third stage''s specialty in that the Focus Line could allow one to branch out, making the threads multiple and giving different vision sections, as well as camouging Focus Lines to prevent anyone from detecting it. However, only Admiral Rudra could camouge his Focus Lines. The others could branch out their Focus Lines but couldn''t camouge it, not even other old monsters. Moreover, Lerke''s Focus Field was closed as he was instead using a Focus Line to observe the city''s gate since his Focus Field wasn''t enough to cover the entire city. As such, Admiral Rudra had already made his move, and the n started. ''Setup done. Get in, Ken.'' Admiral Rudra walked through the barrier, and when he passed by Libero, he suddenly grabbed Libero''s neck and clenched his fist as a blue aura burst out before yanking his hand up. *Shratch!* Libero''s head separated from the shoulder, and both parts vanished as Admiral Rudra sent them inside his storage ring. He also threw the storage pouch hanging at his waist after doing something inside at the formation crystal near him. At the same time as Admiral Rudra made his move, which obviously caused Lerke''s pupils to shrink with surprise, another thing happened. Executive Ken teleported inside with his skill right beside a Focus Line near the Hollowstar Bomb as set up by Admiral Rudra. Teleporting inside while the barrier covered the city wasn''t possible, but once Admiral Rudra entered inside and activated Executive Ken''s Space Mark, he could teleport. Lerke''s reaction was fast as he saw Ken covered in silvery membrane energy touching the Bomb. *Zaap!* His eyes burst withser, but right as it was about to touch him, Ken vanished¡­along with the bomb. And right after that, Lerke felt danger bells ringing as he turned his head, only to see a ssy blue punch streaking at him from above! *BOOOM!* Admiral Rudra arrived and used the effect of a Legendary item¡ªAegis Starheaven Chestte and a device of the Patel n as two different barriers formed, covering 50 meters radius of the za¡ªone big cubic barrier and another an icy gold round barrier. Lerke burst out of the ground and hovered a meter above the ground with a wide grin as he looked at Rudra, "You are that guy on the screen. Wonderful. The disguise you used must be a Mythical Artifact." Right as he finished speaking, the storage pouch that Admiral Rudra threw at the formation crystal exploded, destroying it as a gap in the barrier formed, and team 2 poured in to save the city''s poption. Hearing that explosion, Admiral Rudra returned to his original appearance as he put the mask away and shed his fists together, his expression utterly cold, "Your bomb is gone." "My people are here to save this city." "And¡­" Admiral Rudra''s body suddenly burst out with a crackling ssy blue aura as he cracked his knuckles, "You are stuck with me here." *Swoosh!* Admiral Rudra vanished from his spot and appeared beside Lerke, his punch aimed at Lerke''s head. Lerke blocked his left arm with sparkling bronze energy thickening around his arm. Looking at how his power was breaking down, Lerke''s eyes shed, "Interesting!" Admiral Rudra''s eyes flickered before his limbs blurred, striking Lerke five times in a single instance with his right hand and right leg. Those five strikes were fast and differently timed in microseconds with his control such that when their full impactnded, all of them were affected at the same time with a converging burst. Lerke shot back like a rocket with dents on his body that oozed his molten bronze blood. Explore more adventures at empire Admiral Rudra frowned. He was expecting five holes and the explosion of his body because he didn''t hold back in the slightest andunched one of his most powerful weapon art¡ªFive Resonance Destructive Strikes. At that moment, his alertness increased as the creature in front of him felt threatening. "Not bad, not bad at all." Lerke burst out of the ground, his eight feet tall imposing figure hovering above the ground. The wounds on his cracked bronze and obsidian ck skin healed automatically. His curved horns moved as if alive, their points bending as they turned to face forward from downward. "Let''s have some fun." His wide grin revealed bronze teeth as he removed his broken gold metallic armor and threw it to the side. At the same time, his two-meter alligator-like tail swayed menacingly in a fiery blur, shattering his armor with such impact and instantaneous heat burst that it melted entirely in a strike. The hot liquid form of his shattered armor suddenly turned devastating bullets as they shot at Admiral Rudra. He timely shed his palms forward as they formed a circr barrier in front of him.@@novelbin@@ His feet dug into the ground at the impact of those ten bullets before they suddenly exploded, breaking the shield and sting Admiral Rudra away. "You can break down things pretty well, and that too with minimum energy. You have my praise," Lerke licked his lips as sparks flew again, and his tail mmed into the ground. "But I guess it doesn''t work on instantaneous explosive bursts." Admiral Rudra emerged from rubbles, and seeing him caused Lerke''s eyes to flicker with surprise. Admiral Rudra dusted off as the dust subsided with a slight movement from his hand. "Yeah, it doesn''t work on those," he said as his eyes bore onto Lerke''s, "So what?" In the next moment, Admiral Rudra vanished, and the entire city trembled as if a powerful wave shook everything just from the movement that affected the ground under his feet. Lerke''s pupils shrank to the size of a needle, and his muscles twitched. *Chriiii¡­* And his muscles stiffed. Looking below, he saw a fist that seemed to emerge at the center of his chest from his back, pulsing with crackling ssy blue energy that made it difficult to look past despite it looking translucent. In that one moment that he looked at the fist that pierced him, Lerke knew he would be in trouble, so he made his move as his body glowed and cracks formed all over his body. Admiral Rudra felt intense danger and didn''t stop his next move, but at the same time, as his fist pulsed out his Molecule Breaker Pulse, Lerke''s body exploded as violent air pressure formed within the barrier, destroying the surroundings into powder. A powerful and intensely burning shockwave bore through Rudra''s entire body, burning every part of his body as he crashed into the barrier that was damaged by the same shockwave, shattering it instantly as only the circr barrier remained. Admiral Rudra sputtered blood from all pores of his body, but his Mana applications and passive skills set into motion as his injuries swiftly healed. "This bastard¡­" Admiral Rudra''s expression turned somber as he wiped the blood off his mouth because, looking at the phenomenon in front of him, the alien bastard definitely did not kill himself with that self-destructive move! Chapter 220 Last Vorrakan, Vorrak Moltenforge Sovereign Lerke''s body indeed exploded, and that too into bits, but a glistering molten bronze core floated in front of Admiral Rudra as he got up. "This bastard¡­" Without warning, Admiral Rudra pointed his finger and unleashed an attack, a spiraling blue beam with red and golden ssy hues. He wanted to destroy that core. But as if it had its own mind, the core dodged and unleashed a beam at Admiral Rudra, forcing him to dodge. "Impressive, human." The core churned with power, and in the blink of an eye, Lerke''s physical body formed with the core once again hidden. "You made me use half of my emergency power with that unexpectedly fast and deadlyst attack," Lerke grinned. "If I didn''t self-destruct in time, my core would have been heavily damaged. This gives me chills, hahahaha! I like it!" "But I guess you can''t perform such feats constantly, or you would have been able to destroy my core just now." Rudra cracked his neck, and his face broke into a grin for the first time, "I heard you all can mysteriously escape pretty fast. You better do that now because you won''t get a chanceter." "For rats such as you lot, you must have your own dimensional sewers, I presume." Seeing the vein patterns over Lerke''s body changing and his vibe shifting, Rudra added, "It seems that I hit a nerve." Lerke''s tail burst before a fiery flickering afterimages formed as he moved. A punch arrived from his left, but Rudra''s fist squarely struck it back. The shockwave and impact explosion sted everything but themselves as the torrent of their fists and kicks manifested a symphony of destruction within the barrier. Their figures moved around, unleashingshes of their shockwaves as the whole barrier constantly trembled. Several figures appeared around the barrier. "That¡­he is using his Asura Combat Art," Silvester''s pupils shrank with grave shock, and other old monsters'' expressions also turned somber. They were watching Rudra going all out, but the monster against him was evenly matching. If either one of them fought one vs one against Rudra, they wouldn''tst a full 10 seconds. Only a few couldst that long, while many others wouldst even lower in the shes of overallbat power. Watching the fight in the barrier told them that the alien was no ordinary being as ten seconds soon passed by. But even if this seemed evenly matched, Lerke''s heart was rippling with shock. ''This man has mastered the art of mana weaving to molecule level in his body¡­such mastery of body with his level of mana weaving¡­'' *Crack¡­Crackkk* The barrier started cracking due to the destructive energyshes. However, most of it belonged to Lerke. Admiral Rudra appeared like a lone shining blue bubble with distorted red and golden shattered ss hue around him in the small areapared to the thick molten bronze waves and storms that spread around and affected the barrier most. ''I am losing more energy than him,'' Lerke''s expression was now a mix of thrill and somberness. ''With such finesse of hisbat art, he''llst longer.'' Rudra''s expression was utterly still as his fists and kicks matched his, but the most pressing issue was his tail, which he looked out for most, and Lerke also knew that. A single mistake could be fatal to either of them. "Rudra is winning," Shiro-sen calmly said, his eyes faintly glimmering. Explore more stories with empire The one who sees the beyond. Every single one present believed his words instantly as their focus shifted. "Strengthen the barrier," Arjun said as he waved his hand, conjuring a streaming fiery ze with golden sparksid like stars, which quicklyyered over the Patel n''s barrier. "I''ll speed up the evacuation." As the old monsters strengthened the barrier, a loud explosion urred two secondster as the barrier''s cracks suddenly increased. *BOOM!* Lerke was sted and struck the barrier, his body releasing intense steam and glistering bronze sparks while a hole at the right side of his stomach poured out molten blood before he spit some out from his mouth, Admiral Rudra''s breathing was heavy, and he didn''t follow up as he cooled down and stabilized himself. The Legendary armor was long shattered because Lerke''s power seemed to affect items heavily as the durability rapidly reached 0. ''I guess I am paying for that armor,'' Rudra thought as he pressed the right side of his nostril and snorted out ck blood from the other. "I''m not done yet," Rudra cracked his fist and charged up as a syringe under his belt injected Mana potion''s content, recovering him. Lerke got up as his wounds recovered swiftly, the vein patterns all over his body reducing drastically as his body''s glow dimmed. But his grin was wider, and his eyes sinister, "You let your armor get destroyed, but your clothes are barely affected." "You¡­you are formidable human to have reached such a realm in a symphony of body and mana." Lerke started pping. Rudra narrowed his eyes, ''What is he ying at?'' A bad feeling began to surge up in him. "But do you know why I call you all insects," Lerke''s giant body began to crack away as if shading his armor. The pieces flew out and melted into a golden-bronze liquid that condensed into strings. "Insects is a very apt description of you, humans," Lerke, now a slick six-foot-tall figure with coal ck skin, pulsed with micro-sized molten orange patterns. "Because your blood is low quality, your flesh is weak, and your soul asleep." The strings moved and stered themselves on Lerke''s new figure, painting him a strange humanoid with two long curved horns and a lean, muscled physique with a long and sharp coat covering his figure. "Allow me to introduce myself¡ªI am Lerkeion Wir Denekan¡ªDenekan n''s 78th head of Gerrath Demon Empire. I am thest of my Vorrakan Demon Race, but in my soul flows the blood of my ancestors as my Bloodline¡ªVorrak Moltenforge Sovereign awakens for this opportunity." Lerkeion floated as a dangerous aura pulsed out from him in a visible wave of molten bronze with ck and golden sparks, putting cracks in the entire barrier despite the enchantments done on it. "For the power you have shown me, I will respect it by going all out, fighting with my race''s honor on the line," Lerkeion''s left arm stretched at Rudra as it transformed formed into a long eldritch bow with an eye-splitting open at its center and his right hand melted into an arrow which he nocked it on the bowstring, pulling his arm. "The rats here called you a demon," Lerke grinned, his now smoother skin forming a wider smile, but more sinister. "Surprise, you all are going to see a true demon now." At that moment, every single old monster outside felt a clear threat of death. If they were feeling it despite being outside the barrier, they could only imagine the dread of power that Lerke oozed out right in front of Rudra. "Fuck¡­" "Rudra!" "Get ready to attack," Arjun said as he transformed into hisbat form, his bow artifact in his hand and an arrow manifesting as he pulled the string as a zing me storm whirled around. Ten meters around him instantly turned intova and then glowing golden sparks as if vaporating theva itself. "Get rid of this barrier!" Viktor roared. He stood beside Arjun and had an exact opposite field of power as snowstorms wreathed around him with his giant axe, he raised it high and gathered its power. Both of them directly went all out, reading their strongest single-target attack toy waste to that demon. The others also got ready swiftly while the barrier also dispersed as Aarav Patel deactivated it.@@novelbin@@ Lerke looked around at the change of situation, but his momentarypse was taken advantage of by Rudra as he burst out with his full power again, flickering right behind Lerke''s head as his fist shot forward like a space-cracking drill. However, Lerke, with even faster speed, reacted by kicking at an absurd speed as a fiery sh unleashed simply with his kick motion while the physical hit sent Rudra down into a cracker as he spit blood, his eyes trembled. He sprung up reactively as if like a cornered beast and vanished several meters away before his healing and recovery began. ''I can''t carelessly attack him.'' The feeling of death just now was infinitely close to him. "Truly marvelous," Lerke focused back to Rudra while the old monsters who faced the random sh that widened out of Lerke''s leg swing barely dodged it. "However, it seems that things areing to an end now," Lerke grinned as he saw the seventeen figures around him, all eyeing him like hungry beasts ready to obliterate him with their all. But the only reason they weren''t moving was because of his arrow that pointed at Rudra. "You are not escaping here," Rudra grunted before his shirt burst away and muscles strengthened a godly avatar with a simr physique as him but five meters big manifested out from him, matching his movements. "So this is the pinnacle of your art," Lerke nodded as he looked at the avatar. "Aplete symphony of magic and the physical manifestation of your bodily energy." "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Rudrashed out at the old monsters. "ATTACK HIM!" ''Shut up, Rudra.'' ''Old coot, don''t make meugh.'' ''We are saving your ass and you want to be a hero?'' All of them replied with magic whispers and didn''t dare to move a muscle as they were entirely focused on Lerke. Lerke also knew that he was very close to death despite him using his Bloodline power. "You all are good," Lerkeughed out loud but didn''t move his arms, his arrow still pointed at Rudra. "You seriously believe you can survive my attack, while I sincerely believe this would destroy you." "And your friends here think the same." "And perhaps you think it''s fine for you to die or get a permanent injury¡­" Lerke narrowed his eyes, grin widening. "Well, that would be sincerely pitiful." "I am going to have fun destroying you a lot and so, we shall sh again the next time we meet. The 11th Floor is opened, and so is the gate to the Epic rank lifeform." Right as Lerke finished speaking, a ck cloak wrapped around him with a starry stream of purple and violet before he vanished. "You insects better reach Epic rank fast and try to enrich your blood so I can have some decent fun as well as meal, haha hahaha¡­'' His voice rang in the air along with his heartlessughter after he left, putting a heavy stone onto everyone''s heart. Chapter 221 Disaster Averted, Rats Captured, Auction Finished "Idiots," Rudra clenched his fist as he looked at approaching old monsters, "That was the best chance to kill him." Some rolled their eyes, some snorted, and some just ignored his words as if they already knew his temperament. "You think there won''t be another chance like that?" Hiroshi said as he sheathed his katana. "There will be," Rudra''s eyes coldly glinted. "If not me, then someone else." "Then that''s all that matters," Arjun smiled. Rudra sighed and changed the topic, "Anyway, how''s the status?" "We got two rats, but the others seemed to have vanished the moment they saw us entering." "The people are also fine. We''ll let them out of the Painting of Serene Spring soon now that the threats are gone." "We should get back to the auction now. The rats have gone into hiding, so the only chance to find them is through the two we captured." "Leave it to the specialists among us," James nodded as he nced at Shiro-sen, Bianca, and Zauna. "I''m sure you three can dig out everything from them." "We''ll do our best." Rudra nodded, "Let''s go. I want information fast so I can ry it to Astra and tighten the security. If they appear in any city next time with their signature strange teleportation, I want Astra to detect them as soon as possible." ¡­ Meanwhile, the rats were already in their dark hall. Some had escaped from that city as soon as they heard the explosion, while some instantly scurried away, sensing auras of old monsters. "We lost three rats- err, I mean three idiots. Given those old fools, they''ll crack open their heads and find everything they can from their brains." "We have to notify Captain Lerke." "But damn, he really fought with Rudra¡­" "I wonder what happened¡­" "Yeah, I''m dying to know as well." But suddenly, everyone felt a suffocating pressure as another aura appeared in the dark hall, which soon lit up with molten glowing embers. Everyone turned in the same direction and saw Lerkeion in his true form as they felt shocked and dreaded. Despite not looking hideous, this true form of Captain Lerke produced a newfound dread in them. Their hearts wildly began beating as fear enveloped them. "Good job escaping in time," Lerke nodded as he nced at the rats. "Unfortunately, one died, and the other two idiots with stupid curiosity chose death, it seems." "C-Captain Lerke, what happened back there?" "Did you achieve your goal?" Lerke conjured a sleek molten bronze throne with ck patterns and sat down, resting his chin on his right hand after resting his elbow on the armrest. His eyes became serene and calctive, his pupils like a spiky-bordered bronze sun.@@novelbin@@ Nobody spoke anymore as the intent oozing out from Lerke told them he wanted them to be silent. "That one warrior called Rudra is strong enough to be my entertainment, but he, with that other bunch, might be my death if I''m not careful. The bunch has a versatile means." Lerke knew that if he waited there longer or made a slight mistake, he would''ve died with the joint assault from those old monsters. "Each of them has a strong foundation and has created their path towards their potential," Lerke narrowed his eyes. "They are also close-knit. None of them was willing to take the risk knowing my arrow was pointed at Rudra." "It seems they have high trust in Rudra and his capabilities," Lerke grinned. "Losing him might trigger a bad chain reaction." "You are absolutely right, Captain Lerke." "Indeed, Rudra''s death would please many hiding in the dark, and his presence also acts as a bnce between all top forces." "Yeah, they stay tamed because of him." Lerk straightened up on his throne, causing everyone to tremble as they shut up. "You lot are very useless insects. But now that I have gleaned into the psyche of your world''s leaders, we can start our training in a real sense." "Rejoice," Lerke smiled, albeit it felt sinister to every single rat. "Rejoice because I will evolve you from insects to demons. And for that, you all need to train earnestly so that the next time you see those powerhouses, you won''t need to run." Discover exclusive tales on empire "You can bite them and even tear their flesh before running." ''But we still gonna run, in the end, huh?'' ''I''m running faster either way unless I can really be stronger.'' ''True, there''s no way I am fighting old monsters.'' "Let''s go," Lerke got up. "We are going to find a new hideout, away from any kind of human poption." ¡­ The auction began smoothly after a dy of an hour, and one item was canceled since Lerke destroyed it. Itsted for three hours, including a thirty-minute break. The Legendary items, especially the sets, were not many that every top force could get them. It was about who could spend more money. In the end, The seven Epic-rank sets, with four of them being high-tier, were sold first as top guilds and families snatched them. Two individual Legendary weapons¡ªTundral Bloodvine Axe (Mid-tier) and Wyrmfury Skyburn Staff (Low-tier), were sold to old monster Viktor, who wanted a legendary axe and 8th rank Crimson Aegis Guild''s leader who wanted the staff. The only individual Legendary Armor was destroyed by Lerke, so it was canceled, which left the auction with 10 Legendary sets. Five low-tier sets, three Mid-tier sets, and two High-tier sets. Although everyone wanted the sets, they also had to be wise when buying them. Each set had its specialty and attributes, so the old monsters and guild leaders who felt that they could use a certain set with matching attributes to bring out more power didn''t hold back in buying them. The Epic-rank items'' general price could reach up to a billion gold coins when they had just started to appear, and these days, they roughly sold for a hundred million to multiple hundreds of millions depending on the items. As for the Legendary sets¡­even the low-tier sets were sold for around ten billion. The most expensive set was the High-tier Legendary-rank Draconic Ghostwalker Warden gear set¡ªsold for 32 billion gold coins, and the one who brought it was none other than GAA. All in all, Almond earned a whooping 132 billion gold coins after cutting off a percentage of it as an overall tax for the preparation of the auction and other things. And everyone who bought the items wasted no time in testing them out as they arranged to enter the S-rank dungeons in their territories and thoroughly test out their new might. Chapter 222 Ω [ Omega of the Horizon ] Ω In a pitch-ck darkness that never ended, something akin to a gate that looked like ¦¸y as if a natural part of the absolute darkness. It was as if this golden gate was absorbing the never-ending darkness. And within this mysterious dimension were pieces of scattered consciousnesses trying toe together and formplete consciousness. ''This¡­.Euak¡­'' ''Noa¡­I am¡­sword¡­'' ''Flower¡­Lily¡­Almond¡­'' ''I¡­am¡­Almond? Milk¡­'' ''Amond milk¡­suger¡­you¡­'' ''Mother¡­?'' The scattered consciousness indeed belonged to Almond, and this dimension was none other than the random phenomenon his consciousness got sent into upon using his first Insight Stone. It had been six hours, but Almond''s consciousness still wasn''t together. He was in a state where his sense of existence was flickering.@@novelbin@@ And after six hours of continuous struggle, he finally managed to put some pieces together as he least found his name. The person known as Almond Crowshade formed as he remembered the face of his mother that he saw when he was barely two years old. He could never remember it, but when he saw it just now, he knew it was his mother and the words she spoke before entering the Labyrinth that he couldn''t understand at that time, but now, as they rang, he understood. As his consciousness pieces rejoined, a deeply buried memory, as if unearthed from his very soul, yed. A woman with exact eyes as his¡ªbeautiful golden almond as if a topaz crystal in the eyes itself¡ªshe was smiling with trembling lips, her tears falling, yet her eyes full of love and hope towards him. The notification was there, a strange one with unrecognizable words¡ªstrange symbolic, runic letters. Read new chapters at empire He couldn''t recognize it. "My s-son¡­" her eyes trembled as they poured out more tears, her voice shaky. "I am truly sorry¡­.your mother is a coward¡­.I-I can''t ept this devil''s hand for you¡­I am a bad mother¡­" "Sorry¡­I am a bad mother who can''t protect you¡­I am choosing to ept death instead of epting this deal¡­I wanted to s-see you grow up, y with you¡­really, I wanted to do a lot of things¡­I can do that if I ept this, b-but this bad mother loves your father too much to ept this¡­." "I''m sorry¡­I can''t live as someone else''s¡­Sorry, my son¡­" Her sobbing increased briefly, but she tried to calm herself, her teary eyes filling with love towards Almond. "But you will not be like me. N-Never." "Don''t ever give up, Almond, and l-live long," her hand caressed Almond''s cheeks as she wiped away her tears and Almond''s as well. "If you evere to know about the reason for choosing my death¡­will you forgive me?" Shaking her head, she lovingly smiled as her tears stopped, her face looked as if glowing, radiating warmth that made baby Almond stop crying, reaching out to her as if he could feel his mother was going away. "Mama¡­Maamaa." "Almond, my son¡­live strong and never give up on yourself¡­I hope you live to your fullest." Almond saw another person beside her, a rather fat woman who was also crying as she took baby Almond from his mother. ''What is this¡­I thought she died in the Labyrinth¡­what''s going on?'' Almond focused on the notification, but he couldn''t grasp it as it was in strangenguage. ''What is it?!'' Almond''s mother looked at the hologram notification as her finger reached out to a red-colored option with an unrecognizable letter on it. ''Wait! What did you reject, mother? What devil''s hand?!'' Almond had a feeling he might never see this scene again, and he wanted to know! Who the hell took his parents away?! He wanted to know! ''That notification¡­.wait, mother!'' Almond saw her hand pressing it, but at thest moment, he heard a whisper, and some letters changed into English. [Devil Rosseramon #$%#¡­.] ''Devil Rosseramon¡­'' Almond''s mind reverberated the name as darkness overtook him, but he gathered his sense of self and consciousness together. His eyesid upon the golden ¦¸ gate, and he suddenly felt nothingness, the connections with his thoughts ceasing, but only for a brief moment as he regained himself. ''What the fuck is this?'' Almond thought, not daring to focus on the phenomenon ahead. When he sensed it, that gate appeared so close to him that he felt like less than an ant in front of its size, and it was about to swallow him. But when he didn''t focus on it, the same golden ¦¸ gate appeared far away, still, suspending in the pitch-ck darkness. ''Omega of the Horizon¡­'' Almond remembered what he heard when he used the Insight Stone. ''So I didn''t get sand and waves phenomenon dimension, but got this¡­'' ''Clearly, this is something way above my level,'' Almond opened his senses again and looked at the symbol directly, the scenery changing instantly as he appeared infinitely close to it. Almond looked at it, and it appeared like a maw, ready to devour him to his entirety. An irresistible and overwhelming fear infused him as he backed again, closing his senses. ''What kind of crazy phenomenon this Insight Stone gave me? Omega of the Horizon¡­wtf¡­'' Almond was dumbfounded. The moment his mind avatar arrived here, it was shattered. Almond knew only his will kept him together, his stubbornness never to give up. Otherwise, he would have automatically broken out of the Insight Stone, wasting it. But he stayed here, got his mind shattered, and found a hazy memory but a clear name¡ªDevil Rosseramon. ''Mother¡­'' Almond didn''t think he could feel something like this¡ªa desire to know about his parents that was killed long ago. All he knew was that his parents died when the Labyrinth arrived. ''I thought I wouldn''t remember, but I guess I can,'' Almond thought, and the vivid memory yed again. ''The woman who took me from my mother must have died as well¡­but the orphanage where I grew up never knew my parents'' name. ording to Grandma Sophie, she only knew my name because of a nametag¡­'' ''Mother¡­.father¡­'' Almond''s will set aze as a new ardent desire grew in him. ''Labyrinth descended, but my parents didn''t die like others¡­'' Almond decided and promised himself. ''Devil Rosseramon, whoever you are, you are the one responsible for my mother''s death! I will find you, and find my parent''s names from your mouth, and erase you!'' Almond opened his eyes as he looked at the golden ¦¸ gate, hisplete focus pouring into it as his perception changed again, appearing right in front of Omega of the Horizon. ''To get one step closer, I''ll have to grasp this phenomenon, even if notpletely, I must benefit and progress in some way,'' Almond''s determined drove into this phenomenon as the overwhelming fear ofplete death, as if his existence, its memories, and meaning would cease to exist. He automatically lost his focus as if his deepest instincts ran away from it, not daring to sense the golden ¦¸ gate further. However¡­ ''Eighteen hours.'' Alomnd''s will grew stubborn. His focus aimed at it again! But his fear drove away his entire existence again, the deepest survival instincts that suppressed his will! It wanted to defeat him! He resisted! And...his consciousness scattered away, as the fear drove his mind to self-destruct! But this time, he rejoined within ten seconds, his consciousnessplete, his will roaring! ''Fuck you!'' ''Whatever you are, you will never defeat me!'' Giving up was not an option! Whatever fear that even brought out a reaction of absolute survival from the deepest instincts of his soul itself¡­he was going to ovee it! Chapter 223 Nothing or Something? Omega of the Horizon.@@novelbin@@ Almond''s consciousness stood before it, his entire focus on it, his mind still. The fear was churning, but he now had absolute control over his consciousness. No deepest instincts could drive him away from this. At the moment, Almond hadpletely forgotten how much time was left until this phenomenon ended for him. All he wanted to do was understand this Omega of the Horizon¡ªsomething, anything, even a little bit about its fundamentals. The absolute darkness and the golden ¦¸ gate. What did they entail? What did they mean? Almond had suppressed the fear after who knows how long, and now he was receiving and perceiving the phenomenon. He was epting it, whatever it was, and as he did that, other things started leaving. The first to vanish was his name and then everyone else''s names in his memories. The more he epted this, the more he lost everything else, but Almond''s will was stubbornly clinging onto this. The churning fear was crying at the bay of his soul as his consciousness stayed still and fearless, watching the Omega of the Horizon. Only the will remained his, and his desire to ovee this Omega of the Horizon and make it his. But then¡­everything went nk. The memories returned, and the state in which his consciousness stilled broke. His eyes opened as he saw a bright sky with clouds above a shining ocean. 26th December, 8:23 a.m. 24 hours passed by since he and Lily used their Insight Stone. "It''s over¡­" Almond sighed and fell back on the mattress as he blinked, remembering the phenomenon. "Omega of the Horizon¡­" Nearby, Lily opened her eyes and also heard his words. "You got a phenomenon of that name, eh? Sounds interesting. I got into a dimension called Twilight Star Canopy. I wanted something rted to Blood, but welp," Lily wryly smiled. "Did you gain anything from it? Like any insight that awakened something new or progress in your existing powers'' aspects?" "Not directly, but I did get some ideas, and I feel like I''ll be able to make a powerful skill and progress in Darkness elemental mastery," Lily smiled. "I see¡­" Almond nodded. "You did manage to get insight into some stuff and understand it." "What about you?" Lily curiously asked. "Omega of the Horizon sounds sick. What type of dimension it was?" Almond weakly smiled, "The moment I arrived there, my consciousness was scattered. It took me six hours to find my sense of self andplete my consciousness. I did find something interesting regarding my past as well. I''ll tell youter." "As for the phenomenon," Almond looked ahead in the sky. "It was a symbol of hazy yet glowing and slick gate omega." Explore stories at empire Almond created the symbol with his Mana. "This symbol was the only bright thing. Everything else in the dimension was absolute darkness. Pitch ck darkness." Lily blinked as she imagined and muttered with a nod, "Damn, that''s a crazy phenomenon dimension, alright." "I feel like whatever I perceived is gone. All I feel is emptiness." Almond sighed. "I wonder what kind of phenomenon it is?" [Omega of the Horizon is an X-rated phenomenon.] Almond blinked upon seeing the notification. "Lily, I just got a notification from the Grimworld Tutorial¡­it says Omega of the Horizon is an X-rank phenomenon." "Eh?" Lily was surprised. "Let me ask." Lily asked, and she also got the notification! "So Twilight Star Canopy is a Mythical-rank phenomenon¡­" Almond was thrilled and asked, "How can I see the Omege of the Horizon again?" [There''s a very low chance of getting the same phenomenon from an Insight Stone, especially an X-rank one. To see the Omega of the Horizon again, you mustplete the Grimworld Tutorial and get ess to #### Shop.] "Holy shit¡­" Almond was dumbfounded as he actually got an answer. "What does it say?" Lily asked, her eyes sparkling as it was clear that Almond had an answer. "Here, take a look." Almond directly shared the notification with her. "Sigh, I feel sad I didn''t gain anything," Almond wryly smiled. "Tomorrow, we are going for our 6th Floor''s heroic challenge. I can either use one more Insight Stone, hoping to increase my chances ofprehending Sand of Vibrant Wavester, or directly use the Elemental b toprehend Sand of Vibrant Waves, which, if I seed, will make me powerful and increase our chances toplete the heroic challenge more safely." "Mhmmm, we can still take a break of 1 hour, so let''s cool out," Lily said after thinking for a moment and smiled. "Let''s eat something. Natalia and Mira are not here, so they must be in the castle''s living hall. Hopefully, they got some food since they must have woken up roughly half an hour earlier than us." Almond nodded and got up, "Alright." Lily also got up as Almond grabbed her hand and used Espada Ad Grimveil to teleport down in the hall, but the moment he activated the domain, he was shocked. "T-This¡­" His golden eyes flickered rapidly, his pupils erged as they covered over half of his irises. The things he was perceiving in his domain were entirely different than before! It was as if an entirely newyer had appeared, pitch-ck darkness, an absolute void, and everything else was on its surface. Moreover, the range of his domain before he used Insight Stone was at 400 meters radius maximum due to his current Perception stat, but at the moment¡­it was a whopping 4000 meters! He could sense and see everything within 4 4-kilometer radius! Almond saw theyer of void in his domain and felt control over it like never before. He made a sh in the sky with a flicker of his eyes as he consumed Mana, and it appeared¡ªten meters wide, a pitch-ck void rift. It was only one. He didn''t make another one to make them connected because, usually, creating a single void rift would produce a powerful suction force that could be dangerous. However, he only produced one this time, and it was within his absolute control! ''Something in me has changed. I have a new kind of perception, but I can''t pinpoint it. However, I have it, so my skills are affected, and I can see the result¡­'' "This¡­Almond, you only created one voidbound rift," Lily was startled. She knew about Almond''s powers, so she was surprised and then overjoyed. "So you did benefit from Omega of the Horizon! Congrats, darling~" Chapter 224 Terrifying Power, Warning Lily went down to get food while Almond began exploring his improvements and found what exactly he had gained from the Omega of the Horizon.@@novelbin@@ He was observing the new perception unfolding before him in his Espada Ad Grimveil domain. ''So my mana consumption, which is always halved, is now further reduced when I use space-rted powers¡­'' Almond suddenly frowned as a question emerged in his mind, ''But is it really the case that those skills are affected because they are space-rted? No, no¡­there is something deeper behind it. Something else¡­'' ''What is space? By definition, it is a three-dimensional area that contains everything within it: objects, atmosphere, appearance, events, and from our perspective, it even contains time. But this is aided by the gravity of the celestial object that is¡­'' ''Space outside the is a vacuum, no air, but there, space is affected by radiations of everything like the sun, distant stars, and various other phenomena urring everywhere. Space naturally bends and gets affected by everything it contains¡­.'' ''But that ce, Omega of the Horizon...it must be something way deeper than just Space I know. I gleaned into it, so I can feel it¡­this absolute voidyer that feels like a source of space and also something else¡­'' ''The way I lost my sense of time and started to forget everything¡­the way that darkness, that space of nothingness, and golden gate¡­'' ''Now that I think about it, the golden omega gate was something else entirely, but all I felt was that it enhanced the darkness, which is why I got the feeling of getting devoured by it when I focused on it and found myself in front of it¡­'' ''But I never managed to glean much into the golden omega itself¡­what it is? What does it represent? Breaking it down, it was shaped as Omega, which means Final, End, the Extreme part¡­but there could be a more arcanic meaning to it, too. And next, what does that golden color on it represent?'' ''A golden omega symbol suspending in absolute pitch ck darkness¡­'' Almond could feel that he didn''t even reach 1% progress in terms of understanding that phenomenon. But whatever he perceived there had boosted a part of his mind in a way that boosted his space-rted powers and gave him something. His control of space within Espada Ad Grimveil increased. His consumption of everything space-rted decreased. All effects of his space-rted powers increased drastically. He gained a new type of perception that allowed him to see ayer that contained even the space he could perceive previously. He called thisyer¡ªthe Void Canvas. Almond weirdly thought of Canvas when he was thinking of what to call it. It felt unnatural, but he something thought of that word and produced some theories, and based on that, he decided that Void Canvas was the most apt description of it. It felt just like when he directly gained S-rank Lightning elemental mastery...all of his lightning-based powers get boosted by 100% based on Mana consumption. Gaining elemental mastery boosts the skill significantly based on its rank. Suppose someone consumed 100 Mana and fired an arrow that dealt 100 damage. Now, if the same 100 mana cost arrow turned into a me arrow with S-rank Fire elemental mastery, then it would deal 200 damage. Same mana cost but a 100% damage boost. This was the power of an S-rank elemental mastery. It was lower for A-rank, B-rank, and so on, but 100% for S-rank. However, the boost of effects Almond measured went way past that! If it was a 100% boost, then based on his perception, his Espada Ad Grimveil''s range should have increased to merely 800 meters radius. But it increased freaking 4000 meters radius! That was a boost of 900%! He could make 900%rger rifts of void without losing control! He could teleport anywhere within a 4000-meter radius instantly at an insignificant mana cost. Continue your adventure at empire And now, most crazy of all¡­his eyes¡ªhis physical visual sense, and his consciousness, his divine sense that could go outside to feel more than just physical using Mana A.K.A Focus Field¡­were affected by whatever he gained as well! His sensory and visual range of everything was boosted by 900%! His Focus Field was 400 meters radius, and this technique''s range depended on his Perception stat, Focus stat, and mana consumption! It freaking increased to 4000 meters radius! No one had it! No one! Because to reach that size of Focus Field would require 4000 Perception and Focus! Without legendary items, the old monsters could, at most, have 2000 Perception and Focus based on his inspections of old monsters so far in two S-rank dungeons. They had skills or techniques or something else that boosted those for them. Whatever it was, none of them broke past the 2000 mark without legendary items. ''With such a big boost, what is the power of my Catastrophic Strike if I go all out at my current state?'' Almond felt goosebumps just imagining it since he had measured how much he boosted himself. ''But why the fuck I got boosted like this so much, but not a single notification on anything?'' ''With such a boost, I should have Space elemental mastery awakened right now¡­'' Almond felt weird and slightly annoyed. But when he thought about how this could be possible, his mind went to his innate talent. ''Fuck¡­'' Almond''s brain churned as he thought of something and felt even more goosebumps than before. ''So my X-rank Trait allowed me to break past something¡­that I shouldn''t possibly have¡­and I still don''t have it, but I broke past it something, and that power boosted my space-rted powers so much¡­clearly¡­space is just a single aspect of it¡­'' ''Whatever power this is, space is just a part of it, and that''s why it got boosted, which is why I didn''t gain a mastery of it. I may have just touched the surface of this power¡­'' Almond wanted that power and didn''t want to be defeated. His tenacity was in full drive there, and his X-rank trait''s effect obtained it for him! It broke past the limit of something that shouldn''t be obtainable, and whatever that something was, it affected his space powers, boosting it. ''The 6th floor''s heroic challenge might turn out to be the easiest so far¡­'' Almond grinned just thinking about it. ''But for now, let''s look at the voidyer¡­'' Almond focused back on his domain, the voidyer particrly. The outer space of this universe was included in thatyer, which was why he gained control over it, even though it was affected by whatever outside affected it. No more suction force could breach into his domain because of the voidyer. ''What is in thatyer exactly?'' Almond went deeper inside and suddenly felt goosebumps. ''W-What the fuck is this energy?'' His mana instantly vaporized when he manifested a bit of it. It was his ownyer, in his control, but his mana was instantly obliterated by that energy. ''This¡­.the voidyer is suppressing, no¡­ rather the voidyer is containing even the effects and space of outer space and that energy¡­'' ''What if I let a little bit of it out of the voidyer into my domain?'' Almond shook his head, feeling goosebumps rising all over his body when he thought about how that energy destroyed his Mana. That energy was entirely out of his control. [Warning. Potential world-disaster detected. You have produced an idea that is dangerous enough to destroy your, creating a disaster.] [From now on, you will not be able to breach your voidyer to let out that energy into this material ne lest it is destroyed, as this energy is not meant to be released into this material ne.] "¡­" Chapter 225 One Day Left, Runic Blacksmith Blooms! Almond wryly smiled and deactivated the domain. He knew everything there was to know for now. ''I''m sure another main reason why I am able to connect and make this power boost me is due to my will, due to me being an Arcane Champion of Eternal Will¡­Without my strong will and its desire towards arcane, I wouldn''t have been able to glean into that Omega of the Horizon at all¡­'' ''If I got this opportunity, it is safe to say that the other three Arcane Champions of Eternal Will must have extraordinarybat power as well¡­'' Almond narrowed his eyes, ''Battlefield of the Mightiest is surely going to be the most challenging for our world.'' And he was also filled with anticipation about it as well as getting prepared for it. The food arrived as Lily sent him a Magic Whisper. He teleported down the hall and arrived at the dining table. Meanwhile, Natalia and Mira returned to the Revtion Pavilion to begin their new training session as they had finished taking a break for eating, defecating, and freshening up after 24 hours of non-stop meditation. Natalia''s first use of Insight Stone was lucky since she got a dimension with both Sound and Light elemental phenomena. She had almost reached the peak of A-rank in Light elemental mastery after using her second Advanced skill scroll and learning Nexus of Aurus Light skill from it. As such, the insights she gained from the dimension that Insight Stone gave her pushed her to reach 100% progress in A-rank Light elemental Mastery, while her Sound Elemental Mastery reached 100% in B-rank. She just needed just a bit more insight on both and she could break through in both masteries! And to break through in one of those with a guarantee, she had a perfect item! "I am going to use my Insight Scroll now," Natalia said with a grin as she and Mira entered the pavilion and sat down. "Insight scroll?" Mira blinked. "Yep. All of us except Almond got Insight Scroll on the 4th floor''s contribution ranking reward. The scroll lets us choose an element and gives us a chance to get insight into it in the same manner as the insight stone." "Oh¡­but why didn''t Almond get it?" Natalia rolled her eyes, "He got something way better in his MVP reward chest. It''s called the Elemental Insight Selection b. He gets to choose a variant element, and can stay in its dimension for twenty-four hours." "I see¡­" Mira wryly smiled. "As expected of the MVP." "Well, Lily, Maya, and I got 20-hour insight scrolls, so we can stay there for 20 hours while Kira and others who were with us got 10-hour and 5-hour scrolls based on their ranks, heh. Let''s hope they can get insights to improve themselves in those short hours." Seeing the scroll in Natalia''s hand, Mira''s eyes sparkled, "It''s so cool that we get these rewards. I really want to get more of those." "Get good, keep up with us to stay in the Grim Breakers, and you shall get them," Natalia chuckled. "I chose Light elemental mastery since I''m close to breakthrough, and reach S-rank in it. I can''t wait to turn into light elemental form and improve my skills, too." "Alright, let''s start," Natalia closed her eyes and used the scroll as she had already selected the Light element option. ''I will keep up!'' Mira''s eyes zed with determination as she also activated her Elemental Imprint and continued toprehend the Advanced element born of Darkness and Wind¡ªVaylith! ''I have reached C-rank in it¡­I must make more progress!'' ¡­ Lily and Almond finished eating, cleaned their bowels, and freshened up before going back up and continuing with their training. Sleeping was skipped as they nned to sleep after finishing this session so that when they woke up, it would be time to enter the Labyrinth''s 6th floor for its heroic challenge. Lily didn''t get what she wanted from her first Insight Stone, and she decided to save the second forter. As such, she used her Insight Scroll and decided to get Insight into Darkness. The first Insight Stone gave her insights into darkness and made her reach the peak of S-rank in darkness elemental mastery. With the use of the scroll which allowed her to choose to get insight into the Darkness element, she hoped to break through to the next rank after S-rank and reach the same level of darkness mastery as her teacher¡ªAria of Crimson Shadow. As for Almond, he wasn''t worried about the Heroic Challenge anymore after finding out just how massive of a boost he got, so he decided to take it easy with Sand of Vibrant Wave and chose to gamble once more on his second andst Insight Stone. ''Let''s hope I get a Sand rted phenomenon this time,'' Almond prayed internally as he finally used the stone. ¡­ Every member of Grimbreaker was training hard as only a day remained until the 6th floor''s heroic challenge. On the other hand, a certain someone finally finished his closed-door training and a new man emerged, literally. Roken had lost weight and became a lot slimmer, or rather condensed with muscles, as he left the Crafting House of Artoren Baskil, one of the leading cksmiths who could craft High-tier Epic-rank items. Since this middle-aged man chose to stay independent and craft at his own pace, he didn''t have as many resources as guilds, but he was talented nheless since almost all top forces wanted to recruit him, but he instead taught uing cksmiths with his sses and crafted custom items for adventurers. And Roken was learning from him for two weeks with intense focus. With the extra money from Almond over a week ago, he was training non-stop with the sole goal of exploring his sub-ss and gaining mastery over his Runic cksmith ss''s powers. ''Hehe, I am going to give him a shock!'' Roken thought as he entered the taxi and scanned his wristwatch on the scanner to give the address. "Home."@@novelbin@@ "You seem to be in a good mood, young man." "I am, I am, sir! Haha, you can say I''ll be able to contribute to our world more now, haha." Looking at the detail panel of his sub-ss, Roken was indeed in a very jolly mood, especially looking at the perks he got after his ss upgraded to S-rank from A-rank, and a new skill¡ªRunic Wheel! [Runic cksmith] -Details: A cksmith who can create mysterious runes of powers to be slotted into items. The items this cksmith creates can have multiple runes depending on the crafting proficiency. Read exclusive content at empire -Type: Sub-ss. -Rank: S -Perks: ¡ª> Runic Artisan: You can summon your Runic Hammer, Runic Anvil, and Runic Furnace. ¡ª> Strength and Health +100% when wielding a hammer. -Skills: ¡ª> Runic Extraction: Extract an aspect of your choice from an item into a Crafting Rune, but destroy the item. ¡ª> Rune Call: You can use the magic crystal or core of a monster to produce two Runes or more from it that have an effect rted to the monster whose magic crystal/core you used. Destroys the core after the use. ¡ª> Rune Infusion: You can infuse your Runes into an item. You can infuse multiple of them into items you create depending on the slots you manage to form. As for other items, you can only infuse one rune or two at most depending on your control and affinity of the rune with the item at the cost of its durability. The more you try on items not yours, the higher the consumption of durability, eventually destroying the item at once in trying to infuse more runes. ¡ª> Wheel of Ascending Runes: You can summon a wheel with six slots, in which you can put six runes of the same rank, and acquire a random rune of one rank higher. His existing three skills also improved slightly since he could only randomly extract an aspect before, but now, he could choose what to extract! It was the same with the other two skills as they improved in functionality. ''Almond must have a lot of magic crystals since he had farmed shit ton of dungeons before¡­hopefully, he didn''t sell them all.'' Chapter 226 6th Floor 27th December, It was almost 5 a.m. when Lily and Natalia finished their 20-hour training session on Insight Scroll. In the end, Natalia broke through to S-rank Light elemental mastery and Lily entered the new realm of darkness elemental mastery. The first thing they did was go to sleep because they hadn''t slept for two days and there was plenty of time before the deadline. Meanwhile, Almond was in the world of a random phenomenon dimension produced from his second Insight Stone. He did desire to acquire sand or vibration wave-rted dimensions by chanting their words and praying as he used the Insight Stone. And fortunately, this insight Stone wasn''tpletely wasted in that regard. Almond was in a world of ruins. A destroyed world with every single structure made of strange colorful slick stones as if they were just materialization of Mana. Their colors changed constantly as the entire world released myriad kinds of vibrations. The mana stones, in particr, released vibrations that shed against each other and shattered, their particles moving and affecting everything in the world, creating structures that vibrated, shattering other ruins, forming valleys and mountains, and even creating towns, and architecting cities when those vibrations responded to Almond. Almond spent all his time traveling around, feeling the vibrations, learning about them, and evening to release vibrations to influence them randomly while trying to understand how everything in this dimension was happening. In the end, 24 hours passed by as Almond''s eyes opened.@@novelbin@@ ''Interesting¡­they say everything in the world has vibrations, natural objects, and machines, everything has a natural frequency, while even living being''s cells vibrate in harmony all the time.'' Almond crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he nodded to himself, ''Now I can say it clearly¡­Admiral Rudra''s power of breaking everything is rted to vibrations. His ss may have a deep concept rted to vibrations or frequencies, and he has unearthed his ss and learned this himself at a good level, increasing his proficiency and mastery greatly.'' ''Once his ss breakthrough to Legendary rank¡­the same rank as my specialized ss, he will certainly be more powerful as all of his ss skills will upgrade to a new ceiling that he will explore and reach given enough time.'' Almond released some Mana and controlled it over his palm, releasing vibrations from it, but to do that, he had to control the mana at a micro level. His eyes observed the Mana, breaking its energy structure down with his All-Seeing Eyes, but despite being able to observe it, he couldn''t control the Mana at that deep of a level. And that''s when he realized that Admiral Rudra had frigging reached that level. ''The footage I got yesterday that showed everything that happened on the 25th December¡­yeah, that demon also said that Admiral Rudra had achieved a high mastery in it worthy of his respect.'' ''That may be why his efficiency of Mana is so crazy high. And he might have some kind of innate talent as well.'' Looking at the Mana he materialized into stone and tried to control it at its micro-structure to release vibrations, Almond knew this would take practice and intense focus paired with hard work. ''Well, this Insight Stone greatly helped me understand vibrations, so I reckon I would have an easier time when I use Elemental b of Sand of Vibrant Waves,'' Almond grinned. He wanted to use it right now, but there was a schedule he had to attend that he made himself. Almond got up and looked at Mira who was in meditation, her expression looked as if she was in an intense fight, her eyebrows sharp and her face determined. Her aura was darkened and any wind that flowed around her turned ck with a dark green hue. ''Haha, it looks like she is working hard for this advanced element Vaylith. Very good.'' Almond didn''t linger there any longer as he teleported in the hall. Natalia and Lily were sleeping, and he also went to sleep. He saw Roken''s message before sleeping and told him to meet up with Julian. He didn''t mind adding him to the party since he could protect everyone easily with his current level ofbat power. And Roken had cleared the 5th Floor with the trial path with another party and could enter the 6th floor. Shortly afterward, Mira also finished her training with excitement in her eyes as she made a breakthrough, but she didn''tst long enough to move and directly fell asleep there on the Revtion Pavilion''s mattress. She had been training in only her Vaylith Element for two days, and the power of Elemental Imprint, paired with the affinity and determination she disyed indeed bore a tasty fruit for her as she reached A-rank mastery in Vaylith element! The other super rookies were also mostly focused on their Elemental Imprint since they had exhausted their other resources long ago since most of them didn''t have much to begin with. Everyone progressed satisfactorily, while some went beyond their own expectations. Your journey continues at empire 27th December 11:59 p.m. Two hours left until the end of the 4th Cycle. On 28th December at 2 a.m., the exit portals would open and remain open until 7 a.m. Naturally, the whole party was rather perplexed because the supposed time to enter the Labyrinth at first was 6 hours before the cycle''s end so they could reach the Floor boss area in time. However, Almond dyed it, saying we would reach it easily without exining. As the party arrived at the Labyrinth gate, the watchmen of GAA and League of Firefly keeping watch there in shifts were surprised to see a party of young Adventurers entering on the 4th Cycle. "You all seem raring to enter now of all time, eh? I know you young ones are rather talented as we''ve watched you in the Tournament, but you do know the number of monsters is four times and their stats are 40% strongerpared to the first cycle, right?" Almond chuckled and nodded, "Of course, we know. The watchman of GAAughed and said, "You are the party that discovered andpleted the Heroic Challenges, right? We heard the rewards there are great, haha. I''m sure a party as strong as you won''t have to fear anything about it." "Yep," Natalia grinned. "We are strong." "Alright, alright, go and take care of yourselves. Don''t be reckless." At that, the party entered the Labyrinth''s 6th Floor, arriving in a vast grasnd with living clouds and mists the entire floor spanned 600 kilometers in radius, but a 200-kilometer radius from the center was a whole new world, or rather, a ruined world, a civilization of a race called Fissaroo. This 200-kilometer radius area had structures made of crystals and water, and the floor boss area was at the center, in the Prison of Cloudsoar. "So, how are we going to get to the center in just two hours?" Kira blinked as she curiously asked. Everyone else also looked at Almond, who faintly smiled with a carefree vibe. "Safe to say, this will be the first use of our party rule. Whatever you see and listen now, must not be disclosed outside." Everyone became curious. "These two bitches didn''t even tell me about it yet," Natalia snorted. Only Lily knew about Almond''s boost in space powers, and they had kept it suspense from even Natalia. "Take out your maps," Almond said as he cleared his throat. Everyone took out the map. "Take note of the area¡ªRinging Snake Grasnd. It''s 15 kilometers away from here and one of the areas with many monsters. You all will kill monsters there and reach Gold level 60 for 30 stat points." "We are killing monsters when we only have 2 hours until the deadline?!" Marcus said in a hoarse voice. "We are wasting time even now," Jian snorted. And then, everyone saw Almond raise his hand before snapping his finger. In the next second, everyone felt the atmosphere turning colder and the scenery changing as they found themselves amidst the wiggling grass butterflies releasing colorful mists ranging from Gold level 51 to Gold level 55, attacking everyone. Everyone panicked and shouted in shock, but before they could do anything, Almond snapped his finger again. The scenery changed again as they found themselves in an area with giants made of clouds with grass wrapped around them. "Fuck." "What''s going on?!" "Almond, you-" Everyone vanished in the next second again. When they appeared in a damp forest with multi-tailed vine monkeys, Almond teleported everyone once again and arrived on a cliff. "Alright, we are here. The scenery you see ahead over a kilometer away is the Ringing Snake Grasnd," Almond grinned. "We''ve crossed 15 kilometers." "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" Chapter 227 Swift Adventure, and Cooking Everyone fought in the Ringing Snake snd area, which had a variety of snake-like monsters in high numbers, reaching roughly 1000 throughout the area, all of them ranging from Gold level 55 to 60. The number was way higher than usual due to this being the 4th cycle. Everyone except for Almond was scattered individually across the area, fighting alone, which was obviously dangerous. However, whenever someone was about to be ganged up by monsters and about to get into danger, they would vanish from their spot and appear a few meters away. Because a few hundred meters above at the center, Almond floated leisurely, watching everyone, assessing theirbat power, and simply teleporting them if they were about to be in danger as monsters were more and also had higher stats while none of them were wearing any armor because Almond hadn''t made them yet, and they had given away what they already acquired from rewards.@@novelbin@@ At first, they were in disbelief as to how they were going to clear the 6th Floor without items, but now, everyone was excitedly fighting the monsters with their full power, showcasing their improvedbat power to Almond. ''Not bad, everyone greatly improved. The rewards from Heroic Challenges are indeed life-changing.'' Everyone''s elemental mastery had increased, their skills were refined, and most of them had done morebat training with their newfound improvements as theirbat ability was a notch higher. The people around them were most surprised by their training because these super rookies had improved more than ever in everything in such a short time, and all of them were also hyped in their training like never before. Everyone leveled up quickly as leveling was fast in higher Labyrinth Cycles as Adventurers gained more experience. The drops were also frequent as Almond instantly collected them by directly putting them inside his storage ring. Since everything within his domain was his range of applications, it was as if he touching the items without touching them physically. Almond let them fight for a full ten minutes even though everyone had reached level 60 before that. The max level of this Floor reached Gold 70, so Almond made the next stop directly in the inner area, crossing 250 kilometers in five minutes. The mana consumption was scarily low when it came to using space-rted powers. His Innate Talent Heir of Oblivion already halved consumption of Mana in everything, while doubling his recovery speed. On top of that, his natural Mana recovery speed is in the equation from his sses and his 200 Mana stats. As such, Almond didn''t run out of Mana despite crossing 250 kilometers thanks to his faster recovery and less consumption. The party killed monsters in the new area with monsters ranging from gold level 61 to 65 for ten minutes. And then spent another ten minutes 200 kilometers away, at the area called Cemetery of Ghastly Mists¡ªMonster level ranging from gold level 66 to 70 as this area was near the floor boss spawning area. While everyone was fighting in the Cemetery of Ghastly Mists, Almond sent his Spirit Wraiths to kill the special bosses and acquire the special items drops for floor boss summoning. Although Almond was away from his Spirit Wraiths since they had to go out of his domain''s range, which was a 4-kilometer radius, Almond could sense their direction, so he would teleport there quickly and grab the boss''s spirits and items before returning. Almond sent all spirits into Spirit Forge Factory except for the boss-type ones. He was also cooking a different type of Spirit Nuke since he deemed it unnecessary to use for a long while with his currentbat power. As such, in each area where everyone killed monsters, he specifically collected particr types of spirits as if to create an art of explosion with a clear goal, sending only them into Spirit Nuke''s 100 spirit slots. ording to Almond''s recent inspection of his primary ss''s source and skill runes of this ss''s skills, Spirit Nuke could be more than just a random explosion of 100 spirits condensed. This was the reason why he was experimenting with creating his next Spirit Nuke. For that, he also randomly wasted 100 spirits and released two arranged Spirit Nukes to observe their effects. Everyone was confused hearing the loud explosions, but Almond just told them he was experimenting. He didn''t waste 100 more spirits on the third one as he had a fair idea of where to proceed, and started cooking a proper prototype, but he had no more spirits as it was time for the main event. But there were still over fifty minutes left until the cycle ended, Almond told everyone to rest for twenty minutes while he was racking his brain on a different matter that was of utmost importance. ''The next three days, I will have to clear as many S-rank dungeons as possible¡­'' Almond leaned at the tree''s trunk that Sylvia had transformed into, his expression bitter and amused both, ''I told Admiral that I had a way to convince the parties who had these S-rank dungeon doors in their territories, but the fact is I haven''t thought of anything.'' He felt a slight headache thinking about it and he had toe up with something pretty fast. ''How can I convince them to do dungeon raid with me without revealing too much about me, prevent myself from losing out in the deals, while also satisfying them?'' Continue your adventure with empire ''Admiral Rudra now strictly told me not to reveal too much about me because of that demon Lerkeion¡­From what I saw, I stand no chance against him alone, and these rats have strange means of escaping and appearing, so I can''t put myself in such an obvious danger,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''And most importantly, the Bloodlines.'' Almond already knew about Bloodlines, and it was a pretty good advantage to bolster the force of his and the people he trusted. Only he knew about the 11th Floor''s best locations. The floors from 11th and onwards, which were considered the next phase of floors, had some very good mystical locations that gave quests and good rewards, not to mention the secret challenge locations of those floors, just like the one that gave rewards on the same level as Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power. ''It''s time to tell Admiral about my secret so I can tell him some important information regarding Bloodlines,'' Almond''s eyes shed with an ambitious glean. ''The sanctuary area, the battlefield¡­if I want the future to be on my side, I''ll have to make moves to change this game board and be a king of it.'' Chapter 228 Heroic Challenge: Leviathan of Pearl Belly The break time was over. The party gathered at the glowing magic circle and responded to the notification that was waiting for them. Everyone in the party agreed, epting the Heroic Challenge prompt as a staircase appeared leading to a door. As the party entered and arrived at the other side, they were surprised to see the drastic shift in the Heroic Challenge area. "What the fuck?" Natalia spluttered as she looked up, her eyes popping out. Not just her, but everyone''s surprise also shifted to shock. The party was at a cliff-off sort and thirty meters away from them was a stream of waterfall that flowed from above, with no end in sight, even Almond. ''So it''s over four kilometers high? Damn.'' The width of the waterfall was also stupidly two hundred meters wide, and the other side across the cliff there was just darkness, marking the end of this area. It was both a dangerous yet beautiful sight, especially with the floating stone tforms that suspended at various spots alongside the waterfall, littered across the air close to the waterfall. [The heroic challenge of the 6th floor now begins¡ªthe Leviathan of Pearl Belly.] [Task 1] -Objective: ¡ª> Climb the waterfall using the stone tforms to reach the top. Beware of danger. Falling off will increase gravity by 100 on yourself, resulting in falling to death. -Rewards: ¡ª> Divine Boon Selector (Active until the Heroic Challenge is finished) Almond teleported everyone near the edge, just twenty meters away from the waterfall flowing to their left from the sky. They looked over the edge and gulped. Your journey continues on empire "If we fall, we are indeed falling to death. Wtf?" Marcus muttered.@@novelbin@@ "There have to be some traps on those stone tforms," Mira dryly smiled. "After all, this is a Heroic Challenge." "Though this won''t be hard with Almond''s teleports-" Julian said before turning to Almond,"-we should still check out the stone tforms. Your spirit wraiths can help in that." "Yep," Almond waved his hand and summoned Sylvia. "Syl, can you summon a few of your ntlings?" Sylvia summoned three ntlings and Almond directly teleported them to the top of a stone tform ten meters above. The moment they arrived on it, the stone tforms produced vines and bound them before throwing them off. "¡­" "¡­" "Those vines should be easy to handle. We can just destroy them first, but other tforms must have different traps as we go higher," Lily said. "Well, we can just check them as we go." "Yep," Almond smiled and snapped his finger as everyone''s expression changed. They quickly became alert with their weapons out and Mana rushing with the activation of Mana techniques. The vines emerged around everyone, ten for each as they went for their limbs to disable them. However, Almond''s eyes shed as every single vine was instantly severed at the same time. Everyone remained alert, but they didn''t spawn again so everyone rxed. "Great." "Almond, just how powerful are you right now?" Kira speechlessly asked. Everyone had the same question. "Not much, just a little bit," Almondughed and turned to Sylvia. "Summon a few more, Syl. I am going to send them to the further stone tform in my range, so we can cross arge distance." Shortly, Almond sent the ntings on a stone tform nobody else could see due to the shorter range of their focus fields. Seeing that three explosions ravaged the ntlings made Almond speechless. ''The hell¡­that means everyone must have individual barriers around them to protect them arriving on that tform.'' "How''s that tform, boss?" Adrian asked. "Is it explosions?" Roken asked. "That would be nasty." "Well, they are explosions," Almond chuckled. "Brace yourself. Use your barriers and defensive skills. We are going there in five¡­four..." Everyone speechlessly started to prepare hearing his countdown because they had a feeling he was really going to go there at his pace. Meanwhile, Almond''s eyes glinted while he did the countdown, creating a rather peculiar spatialyer around everyone by severing the spaceyer around them and connecting them to voidbound rifts. ''This should be interesting. With the Void Layer now in my control, I can cut the spaceyer as I please, and the space here is different than the space I feel on Earth¡­ Maybe once I am able to differentiate the space and able to see its structure, I will be able to awaken Space elemental mastery. I can''t manipte the space for now, I am only able to cut it and connect it, but with space elemental mastery, it will open new, wonderful applications,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''I have to awaken the space mastery.'' "Zero," Almond said as the countdown ended, and he teleported as everyone arrived on the stone tform almost four kilometers high. ''If this works as I intend, the explosions shouldn''t affect them unless the magic of the explosion itself negates the spaceyer, like passing through it.'' *Boom¡­boom¡­boom¡­boom¡­boom¡­* A series of explosions rang around everyone, but a secondter, everyone was dumbfounded to see all the smoke and energy magically getting sucked away. Almond felt pressure on his connection, his heart racing. ''Damn, so it pressures me like this. If I lose the connection due to that level of impact, either physical or magical, the space would revert to default, erasing my work.'' "What the fuck?" Finn eximed. "My super skill was wasted," Marcus said, his jaw dropped. "Is this you, Almond?" Maya turned to Almond. "It has to be this monster," Xavier wryly smiled. Everyone looked at them, and Almond snapped out of his thoughts as he nodded at them. "Yeah, I was trying something, and it worked. Anyway, we''ve arrived. The top is just one kilometer away now." "But what was that thing? It''s very powerful," Anya curiously asked before adding with a grin, "Like, if it has such a magical defense that can suck away attacks like this, you gotta name it." Nobody could see Almond''s spatial art because Almond affected the spaceyer from inside the Void Layer, unlike before when he cut it from outside, which was basically making void rifts. But now, he was above the spaceyer, so he could prevent voidbound rifts from appearing and simply reconnecting one point of space to another by cutting them¡ªThis was his new way of teleporting swiftly, unlike before when he reced space from two points, but he was sure the real teleport done with space elemental master was different than both of his methods. ''That said, with how I am doing this, I should make a new series of skills,'' Almond grinned and said, "Alright, I got the name. This skill will be the first one in my Spatial Craft series¡ªDevouring Veil." "Noice, that''s a cool-ass name, boss." "Indeed." Everyone couldn''t help but agree. "Now, let''s see whaty ahead for us now," Almond chuckled and snapped his finger, teleporting everyone to the top as they arrived over the stone tform that was suspended at the very top. Almond used Devouring Veil again, but there were no traps on it since nothing happened. Looking ahead, everyone looked at the grand scenery of a beautiful, vast ocean with small inds roughly 30 to 50 meters big littered all over it, growing nothing some small grass and flowers. [Task 1pleted. Please choose your temporary Divine Boon.] Everyone saw a panel appearing in front of them containing a list of five boons. When they looked at the options and the kind of boons, everyone was dumbfounded, including Almond because the divine boons were utterly ridiculous, reality-breaking, and batshit crazy... Next chapter. (?????) Chapter 229: Pearl King Leviathan (1/2) [Divine Boons] 1. All of your sword projectiles travel at double speed. 2. Your Spirit Explosions brings out special effects with a 100% guarantee. 3. Your body size bes 500% bigger and your body structure bes 500% stronger. 4. Your sword bes 500% heavier in mass, but you only feel weight ording to your adjustments at will. 5. Your Spirit Wraiths can only use one skill, but that one skill is 500% stronger. @@novelbin@@ ¡¯What kind of hell awaits us if we are getting these types of boons? Or the challenge ispletely different?¡¯ "What kind of crazy powers are these?" "Yeah, what the hell." "But if we are getting options to select one power of this level, then whatever challenge ahead is must be nuts¡­" "Whatever it is, we are doing it," Lily said in a stern and resolved voice as her nce swept past the group before adding, "We are the only ones who can do it." Almond smiled as his carefree voice rang out, "And we will take rank 1 in the leaderboard as usual." Everyone was fired up with Lily¡¯s and Almond¡¯s words! "That¡¯s right! We are fucking rank 1 party in the entire universe!" "Hahaha, now I am excited to see what¡¯sing for us." The party turned in high spirits as everyone was affected, even Jian, as everyone started looking at their boons to make their selections. ¡¯One skill only, but 500% more potent in every way,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he suddenly said, "Everyone! Share your boons with each other and check them out. Given how crazy these powers are, we can actually create some powerfulbos." "And given how powerful these boons can make us, I¡¯m pretty sure whatever we¡¯ll be facing can not be insta-killed with a singlebo like we¡¯ve been doing." "Maximize your specialities withbos." Everyone¡¯s eyes shone as they realized the true potential of the boons, and they immediately began to explore that potential. After five minutes, grim breakers had finished selecting the boons, causing the second task to appear. [You will proceed to Task 2 uponnding on one of those small inds.] [Task 2¡ªThe final showdown] -Objective(s): ¡ª> Attack the Pearl King Leviathan and survive for 1 minute. ¡ª> Reach 1,000,000 score. -Reward(s): ¡ª> Party contribution ranking reward. ¡ª> Heroic Reward Chest based on Score. -Penalty: ¡ª> Failure to reach a 1,000,000 score will result in activation of Executioner¡¯s Headhunt. [Executioner¡¯s Headhunt means that your party will have to designate one of your party members as a ¡¯Sacrificial Sheep¡¯ to be executed within 5 minutes or random 3 people will be executed.] "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" Everyone was silent even after reading everything as if digesting just the actual fuck they read. Almond¡¯sugh broke the silence as he said, "This is interesting. Grim breakers, just know that we are easily crossing that score and surviving this." Natalia loudly snorted. "Indeed. We are fucking crossing that score with Almond. Nobody can stop us." "We are ready for whateveres in front of us," Lily clenched her daggers tightly, hazy dark wisps and threads dancing around her in tune with her anticipation and thrill. "Indeed. Let¡¯s fuck whatever that¡¯sing for us," Marcus grinned. "Hell yeah," Amir shouted with a red face, pumping himself up. "I¡¯m not scared, you are!" "Hahaha, don¡¯t soil your pants now," Ronughed. "Well then, everyone, let us proceed," Almond grinned with the same excitement as he was looking forward to this new type of heroic challenge. Snapping his finger, he teleported everyone to one of the inds at the center of the ocean. Although this looked like an ocean, it was not boundless as Almond could feel the borders just around a 5-kilometer radius. And he was right when his domain captured more area of the ocean after arriving on the ind. "The ocean isn¡¯t big. Only the visual is big," Almond informed everyone. "They really know how to scare us then," Jemma wryly smiled. "If such a big ocean was our battleground for this task, it would be crazy." "True," Talia nodded. "And Leviathan seems like it¡¯s going to be that giant sea monster we¡¯ve read in fantasy books." "Let¡¯s see how¡¯s this one," Finn grinned as lightning crackled around his figure. "I can¡¯t wait to try mybo with Amir and Noah." "Something¡¯sing," Almond suddenly said as he could feel movement two kilometers deep into this ocean, and with his domain being like a sphere, he could observe the creature. His eyes flickered as he created a screen for everyone using Mana ryed what he was seeing there. "This is the Pearl King Leviathan." Everyone saw the huge 200-meter-long snake-like creature with shining dark green and blue scales, and giant wing-like fins on both sides of its dreadful head. Two giant fangs rested outside, and an array of deadly teeth inside as it opened its mouth to devour a bunch of fish. Continue reading at empire It moved zig zag across the ocean, taking time to arrive on the surface. [Countdown starts now. All the best, heroic adventurers.] [1:00] [0:59] Everyone heard the sweet monotone voice and knew it wasing. *Ssh!* Pearl King Leviathan emerged half a kilometer away from their ind, its head facing them as it let out a loud screech, sting a gust of wind towards them as the surrounding ocean whipped out wave upon waves. Grim Breakers had activated their Body Enfold and Fortification while Marcus also activated his SSS-rank defensive skill¡ªGeoprime General¡¯s Halo.1 Everyone watched Pearl King Leviathan¡¯s status while getting ready for impact as its mouth opened and energy gathered. [Pearl King Leviathan] -Rank: Special -Type: Cataclysmal Spirit -Vitality: [100% / 100%] -Mana: [500,000 / 500,000] -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 5000 | Health: 500,000 | Stamina: 500,000] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 50,000 | Focus: 3000 | Perception: 3000] *Shrill!* Pearl King unleashed a thick dark blue beam whirling with murky green spirals at the party, causing everyone to produce goosebumps as they reflected the beam for only half a second before it struck them and blinded everything. [Geoprime General¡¯s Halo] -Rank: SSS -Type: Toggle -Cost: 1% Mana/sec Effects: --> Allies within 100m gain Geoprime Armor: -20% Physical DMG, -10% Magical DMG. --> Bound allies share injuries/damage (-10% reduction pre-transfer). --> Damage reduction umtes in the equipped shield, which fires Geoprime Beam, dealing pure Earth DMG with pushback and disintegration. Chapter 230: Pearl King Leviathan (2/2) Giga Devouring Veil Almond¡¯s defense absorbed the beam¡¯s power for a full 1.5 seconds before it broke, and the remaining beam thatsted for 0.5 seconds struck the group, but everyone wasn¡¯t injured with stacked defenses from those with defense skills and Marcus¡¯s Geoprime General¡¯s Halo skill that buffed everyone, which was further boosted by his Talent¡¯s Ironheart Force, making its effect double. The long-range attackers were preparing as well, so they began their assault shortly with adrenaline rushing in them as nobody was hurt from that beam attack! Almond was nning to hold back at first and let his teammates attack, but he wasn¡¯t expecting the Heroic Challenge to change its ways, so he decided to join the attack right off the bat. "Start!" Almond grinned as the group already knew what to do. He also used Spirit Syringe on himself to boost his stats by 20%. @@novelbin@@ Pearl King Leviathan went into the water, but it was approaching them and would likely destroy their ind. Usually, the party would need to relocate, but Almond magic whispered to everyone not to worry and continue with their assault prep. ¡¯Time to add a new skill in the Spatial Craft series,¡¯ Almond grinned as his eyes flickered with an imperishable golden gleam while a hazy crown formed on his head and a golden sword ovepped his Legendary golden sword. Legendary skill¡ªSword of Imperishable Zenith! [Sword of Imperishable Zenith] -Rank: Legendary -Type: Buff -Duration: 1 minute. -Cost: 50% of your maximum mana, and then exhaustion of will that affects your mental power depending on the level of attacks you unleash. Be aware of your exhaustion as you might lose consciousness instantly upon reaching your threshold. -Cooldown: 1 hour. -Effect(s): ¡ª> All of your sword-rted attacks ignore 100% resistance, defense, blocks, physical structure, magical structure, or influences until they strike the designated target within your range. Note: skills, beings, and powers of Mythical-rank can resist the effect depending on their capabilities. ¡ª> All of your sword-rted attacks have 100% extra piercing power, shing power, and speed. Almond had already buffed himself with Spirit Syringe, boosting his stats by 20%, and the buffs from Talia and Amir were already activated on everyone. A secondter, the Pearl King Leviathan arrived beside their ind as its finn glowed, its intention clear: crashing on their small ind. But right before that could happen, Almond teleported everyone to another ind and waved his sword at the Leviathan that emerged. As he swung his sword in a horizontal arc with the aim to cut off Leviathan¡¯s head, a ck void gnash formed in front of him that shaped into a de before crackling with golden lightning as he consumed 90% of his remaining Mana to empower it with his Golden Haze Lightning. The 10-meter wide ck-golden sh streaked at the speed Almond himself couldn¡¯t perceive fully and instantly struck the Pearl King. Explore more at empire ¡¯Damn! Selecting the boon that doubles the speed of my sword projectiles makes it impossible for anyone to dodge and its attack power also increases!¡¯ The eight-meter thick neck area was sliced off as its head flew while the sky brightened with numbers. 384,290! Everyone couldn¡¯t see the number because they were also in the process of unleashing their attacks, and the sight of its head flying shocked them. However, there was no stopping theirbos, and the boss also wasn¡¯t dead just because its head flew as that attack merely reduced 4% of its vitality! ¡¯Gotta think of a good name for this sh,¡¯ Almond blinked. Maya, Jemma, and Nyssara were the first ones to unleash theirbo attack after Almond¡¯s attack struck. Boosted by Maya¡¯s Ice-booster Boon and Jemma¡¯s Water-booster boon, the arrow that streaked with Nyssara¡¯s buff and extra ice boost struck the giant Pearl King, freezing its entire body along that was above the water along with the surface of the ocean in the surroundings. Right after that, a series ofbo attacks struck the Leviathan consecutively. Combo attack of Amir, Finn, and Noah: Voltaic Sandrazor Spiral. Amir conjured a storm of sand and wind with his upgraded Wind Mastery that reached S-rank thanks to Insight Stone, and the B-rank Sand elemental mastery he acquired from his Elemental Imprint. He emptied his entire mana to create this spiral of sand and wind, pairing it with his specialized ss skill, Wind Tornado¡¯s Fury. Finn unleashed his specialized ss skill¡ªNeobolt Charge, which could infuse lightning charges into non-living objects and empower them, giving them lightning¡¯s attributes. He had selected the boon that enhanced his Neobolt Charge skill by 500%. Noah used his specialized ss skill, Festival of Steel Armament, conjuring 785 steel des by consuming all of his mana. He had selected the Boon that empowered his Festival of Steel Armament by 500%, increasing the parameters of all steel armaments he created. This caused the entire storm of wind and sand to have a dreadful reaction with the Neobolt Charge and those 785 steel des, synergizing a sparkling storm that crackled with lightning as each particle of sand and de was empowered while the wind carried the lightning through its currents along with des with their control, as they whirled around in the storm. At the same time, anotherbo attack struck the boss within the span of half a second from Kira, Talia, and Eliara, who had also made significant progress in their elemental mastery, especially Kira and Eliara, who reached S-rank in Water and Metal, while Talia progressed her me mastery to A-rank and awakened Magma elemental mastery, reaching B-rank. Kira¡¯s boon: her specialized ss skill Epassing Water de, which had the power to store other energies to a certain threshold on hold before releasing the de was boosted by 500%. Within that skill, Eliara and Talia mixed their skills, empowered by their boons. Eliara, with her 500% stronger Reactive Metal Shards that she usually used to create bombs or defenses, now infused into Epassing Water de as their energies synergized to create a liquid metal while Talia¡¯s 500% stronger Gunpower Burst increased the exploding power of her bullets now added explosiveness to this attack. Combo Attack: Single sh of Grand Burst! This and Voltaic Sandrazor Spiral both struck the giant body of Pearl King before the sky brightened again and everyone saw big numbers. 1,148,390! It was the total score so all threebo attacks after Almond¡¯s attack contributed to over 700k of score! Chapter 231: Transformation, Grim Breakers’ Assault Voltaic Sandrazor Spiral stormed around the frozen body, shredding its scales and electrifying it all over while the Single sh of Grand Burst exploded, sting chunks of its flesh. However, Pearl King Leviathan shattered the ice around the ocean and the remaining part of its body before it glowed, pulsing with power. From the surrounding ocean, watery pearls started forming that soon became bigger and bigger, numbering exactly 100 as Almond counted with instant observation via his domain. "What¡¯s going on?" "Something¡¯s happening, and it¡¯s rted to the boss." "What is this snake-bitch doing now? I¡¯m having a bad feeling." "Same¡­" Everyone looked at the pearls and glowing body of Leviathan. The others didn¡¯t attack seeing this phenomenon and those who had already attacked chugged mana potions to recover. Almond looked at the countdown and saw that fifteen seconds had passed by. They still needed to survive for forty-five seconds more. As such, seeing the strange phenomenon happening, Almond waved his sword again, unleashing the same type of attack that he hadn¡¯t named yet after chugging Mana¡¯s potion as he wanted to disrupt it. ¡¯Thest one stung my mind a bit, but that gave me a rough idea of how much power I should pack in my attacks tost long enough for one minute to take advantage of the buff,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as his sh struck the boss. Shockingly, the attack didn¡¯t injure the boss at all, and no updated score appeared in the sky. Instead, Almond noticed one of the one hundred pearls shattering. The boss was still glowing as one more second passed by, and then something strange happened. The boss shattered into mixed-colored sparks of dark blue and dark green while the 99 pearls flew and surrounded the ind where the party was staying. Almond acted with pre-cautious and teleported the group to another ind. Meanwhile, the pearls around their previous ind cracked as 99 small versions of leviathans appeared, each one ten to thirty meters long, clearly having varying levels of pearls, but generally of three categories as per Almond¡¯s observation. "It looks like we¡¯ll have to deal with the herd," Lily¡¯s eyes glinted with a hazy, dim, dark green glow as the withered wind danced around her. ¡¯This is a good time. Hard and dangerous enough to make me dance on death¡¯s thread.¡¯ Everyone saw the small versions of Leviathan traveling towards their ind at a fast speed. ¡¯Amir, use the artifact!¡¯ Almond used a magic whisper. ¡¯Lift everyone.¡¯ Amir immediately took out the artifact and activated it, turning arge area around into the domain wind as he waved his hand and lifted everyone on waves of wind. "Everyone, it¡¯s time to attack and kill as many as we can! Close-range attackers, if you fall into the water, I¡¯ll teleport you, so don¡¯t worry about that." Hearing Almond¡¯s words, everyone was fired up. @@novelbin@@ "It¡¯s our turn," Adrian grinned as he smashed his fists together and adorned his newly modified signature skill¡ªMoltenheart Suit. Experience tales with empire His fist became giant and rocky with cracks glowing in neonvatic-red, and his body was also covered in a solidbat suit. He was an anomaly who awakened me element, unlike members of his Reben n, who specialized in unarmedbat with Earth element as their main, but during his two-week training, he also awakened Earth element, reaching A-rank, while alsoprehending Magma element Advance element synergized from Earth and Fire, with the help of Elemental Imprint. The boon he selected was making his fists five times heavier while marking a target with Echoing Impact for 3 seconds, allowing him to activate the mark to deal the same damage as he dealt within those 3 seconds again. He kicked the air and shot toward one of therge-ss leviathans, attacking it with both of his fists while unleashing a burst of me from his feet to boost his feet. The other Leviathan who arrived nearby opened their mouths and unleashed either beams or bullets toward the party. Almond defended with his Devouring Veil while a couple of duos were ready with theirbo attacks. Defending these attacks caused scores to appear in the sky as the score constantly as per defended attacks. Meanwhile, the others prepared their attacks. The first to attack was anotherbo, made by a duo this time instead of a trio¡ªRon and Anya. Ron conjured ten infernal chakrams using his S.C. Skill¡ªInfernal Chakrams, which was also evolved thanks to the boon he selected, upgrading them into Demonic Infernal Chakrams with increased burning power and applying Nether Burn for 5 seconds. Thebo into this was Anya¡¯s Silverstar Razors¡ªsmall des that attached to the foundational structure around his chakram. Anya¡¯s S-rank specialized ss, Star Predator, was rather strange as it was rted to space and hunting, giving her some peculiar skills. Silverstar Razors were the product of her S.C. skill¡ªSilverstar Mercury, which conjured a unique, radiant liquid imbued with cosmic energy. This liquid could be shaped into any design Anya envisioned, with a distinct, ss-rted power tied to her Star Predator specialization developed into her creation. The boon she selected enhanced Silverstar Mercuary so that it now developed two random unique powers into whatever design she created while enhancing those two powers significantly. Silverstar Razors¡ªthe des shebined with Ron¡¯s Demonic Infernal Chakras acquired two powers: 1. Target-Tracking. 2. Melting Poison. The ten chakrams flew ten different Leviathans, and three of the monsters tried to dodge, but there was no escaping as the chakrams struck and spun in their flesh, shredding their scales and bones. Anya¡¯s Silverstar Razors melted and seeped into the targets, turning into poison that dealt corrosive damage to their internal The scores shed in the sky constantly. Xavier unleashed destructive light beams solo as he wasn¡¯t in anybo, and solo was best with hisbat style. Ka had transformed into a Petalfiend Ivy Spirit¡ªa giant monster flower with poisonous pollen and de-leaf attacksced with poison. This skill was also boosted by a boon to make its powers more powerful. Emma was infusing the dangerous poisons that were further boosted by the boon she selected into de leaves released by Ka that attacked other Leviathans that wereing around the ind¡¯s other side. Julian, Jian, and Mira who were close range and had nobo went to another area of the ind twenty meters away, attacking the Leviathans. Jian became a giant and jumped on injured Leviathans to rip them apart with his w-like hands and used his skill¡ªFlesh Explosion, to throw them and explode on other Leviathans. Mira was like an assassin whose shadow freely traveled across the ocean using her S.C. Skill¡ªShadow Shift. The boon she selected nullified all consumption of Shadow Shift while removing cooldown, so she could teleport constantly through darkness and shadows. The de attacks she inflicted were also empowered by her newly learned Vaylith Element, a mix of Wind and Darkness that made her attacks more lethal with corroding defense and faster just with the normal effect of Vaylith element. Meanwhile, Julian¡¯s heavy sword packed enough power to deform and cut Leviathansing near while deflecting their attacks with his primary ss that evolved into Heavilist Swordweaver at the Tournament and blooming talent with training that allowed him to master his new ss skill to a high degree¡ªHeavilist Flow: Increasing weight of his sword, and transferring that weight to his attacks at double the amount. The boon he selected increased transferred weight by 10 times, making each swing of his sword devastating. Roken was enjoying the battle while just providing only one boost to everyone from his C-rank primary ss¡¯s buff-type skill¡ªSteady Aura: Increasing everyone¡¯s body coordination by 10% and keeping their forms 20% more stable. But more than all of them, Lily was the one who truly began a dance of death over the Leviathans... Chapter 232: Final Stand, Raid End Everyone suddenly saw the surrounding ocean turning dark with chilling dark green wind whistling ominously¡ªone of the four Dreadspire Element, Withered Wind, and also the one she boosted with the boon she selected, enhancing its characteristics¡¯ potency by 500%. Unlike Mira, who had to use skill to travel through shadows and darkness, Lily easily teleported through the darkness she created with her SS-rank Darkness elemental mastery. Her daggers carved gloomily glowing ¡¯X¡¯ on Leviathans¡¯ bodies before they glowed and withered their flesh while shing further as the carvings turned into solid X-shaped energy des. She appeared from darkness lingering over Leviathans one by one, leaving an ¡¯X¡¯ mark on their bodies that would deal dreadfully focused damage, prating their scales, skins, and flesh. This technique was something she derived from her Weapon Art: Umbral Reaper¡¯s Shadowy Gloom¡¯s first stage. Although she hadn¡¯t learned her weapon art¡¯s first stage¡ªDance of Gloomy Reaper, the experience of dying hundreds of times at her clone¡¯s dagger under this first stage while observing and understanding it gave enough chemicals to her brain, which reacted once she broke through to SS-rank in Darkness elemental mastery, hence creating this move¡ªX of Dreadspire, which had four types of attacks with trigger-based effects, one for each Dreadspire element. X of Withered Wind was the first style she tried here after visualizing this concept and only training in it briefly before entering the Labyrinth, but her SS-rank Darkness mastery made it all the easier for her to make this move. The first ten Leviathans she struck were heavily injured, but none died. Nobody could kill them in one shot except for Almond, who didn¡¯t focus on the attack at the moment and instead was cooking a stronger attack. However, the next ten Leviathans at the back that Lily marked with X-rank were shed into four pieces swiftly as she empowered with them Umbral Shards! (Click me)1 The scores skyrocketed with everyone¡¯s efforts, be it attack, defense, and support. Fighting and holding on against these many Leviathans of Small, Medium, and Large variants was consuming time while everyone was steadily performing with only a few hups that Almond prevented from affecting the party. When the countdown reached 0:20, over half of the Leviathans had died, but the remaining ones glowed and turned into motes before gathering into a giant pearl in the next two seconds. Everyone quickly chugged potions while those who fell into the water due to sudden shift were teleported by Almond along with the entire party as he relocated to a new ind. "New form!" Marcus shouted. "Get ready!" Noah somberly nodded. "I¡¯ll bring out my new gun, which can kill and heal both," Natalia grinned as she used her newly acquired growth-type skill¡ªNexus of Aurora Light! (Click me)1 Everyone was getting ready when they saw the giant pearl emerging with not one, not two, but three frigging-headed Leviathan this time. Almond summoned his remaining spirit wraiths for the final burst to give their all. When the countdown hit 0:15 as the boss wasted 5 seconds in transformation again, its three heads screeched loudly, dispersing Lily¡¯s dark area while summoning dark clouds in the sky. "Looks like we¡¯ll have to give equal focus to defense this time," Marcus muttered. "My defender¡¯s instincts are telling me this shit is annoying." *Crackle!* Dark green and dark blue lightning danced in the clouds all over while the new three-headed Pearl King Leviathan dived into the ocean. "Ka, Eliara, Noah, Jian, and Jemma, pour your focus on support and defense with your skills. Only my defense alone might not help us, especially because nobody except for Lily, Natalia, and I have armor sets." As soon as Almond finished speaking, the countdown was at 0:10 and the first lightning bolt streaked at the group with terrifying speed. It struck in the middle of the group, destroying Almond¡¯s Devouring Veil while rattling everyone with powerful shockwaves, injuring those closest to the impact, but Marcus¡¯s Geoprime General¡¯s Halo shared the damage while reducing it. Almond could block itpletely, but he also wanted to focus on preparing his next attack and didn¡¯t want to exhaust himself just for defending, so he adjusted ordingly. Meanwhile, Natalia with her Nexus of Aurus Light, Sylvia with her massive support, Jemma with her cleansing effect and healing, Ka with her healing from Nine Purestar Doe form healing, and Starlight Beast with his Twilight Regeneration healed everyone quickly since the damage was shared. Chimera Crystalist and Nyssara focused on defense upon Almond¡¯smand as an icy crystal coating appeared over everyone, which Chimera Crystalist empowered further. Four more lightning bolts swiftly struck in the next four seconds, but the defense and recovery kept up the group¡¯s vitality as well as increasing their adrenaline rush at witnessing such dangerous attacks up close and surviving. When only five seconds were left, the Pearl King Leviathan emerged from right below their ind, shattering it into pieces. Almond was aware of its movements and had already teleported everyone to another ind. Enjoy new tales from empire Maya unleashed her freezing arrow immediately which she was preparing, while Amir, Emma, Talia, and Xavier who had no business in defending or healing unleashed their long-range attacks. But right before their attacks could strike, Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest! Halving its Strength and adding it to his own! Almond immediately swung his sword, using Sword Bending Motion and unleashing three strikes of pure devastation¡ªtwo horizontal and one vertical sh, all three gleaming ck with entric golden patterns weaved through it, and despite releasing this attackter, his triple shes struck first as all three heads opened up dreadful gnashes, splitting its middle-head into two as it hanged while cutting almost 90% of its neck-area on all three upper bodies. The total score jumped from 2,329,504 to 3,874,200 with this attack! And then struck the other attacks as the score increased by approximately 300k. Alfred, Galvaren, Dark Pope, Infernal Knight, Chimera Frank, and Viperfiend attacked with their strongest moves by emptying their Mana reserves, while Natalia also joined by releasing beams from Nexus, emptying her Mana as the score was increased by almost 100k from assaults of spirit wraiths and Natalia. The boss was regenerating fast while three more lightning bolts struck in thest three seconds, causing many to groan in pain as injuries were inflicted and damage was shared. But everyone¡¯s eyes went to the countdown after thest lightning bolt as it reached 0:00! [Congrattions Grim Breakers. You have sessfullypleted the Heroic Challenge¡ªLeviathan of Pearl Belly with a ster performance.] [Your party, Grim Breakers, ranks 1st in the Grimworld leaderboard of 6th Floor¡¯s Heroic Challenge with your score surpassing the previous 1st rank party by 398,506. Congrattions.] [The rewards will be generated shortly. You can rest or look at the Heroic Shop in the meantime.] "Hahaha, we did it again!" "Rank one!" "Let¡¯s fucking go!" "We really fucking did this without equipment aside from weapons or extra items¡­" "We did it, that¡¯s all that matters, boys." "Although Almond is MVP, as always, this time, he shouldn¡¯t be MVP. Instead, he should be the MGP! The Most Godly yer!" @@novelbin@@ "Indeed, Brother Amir is preaching truth, hahaha." Everyone cheered with excitement while Lily and Almond smiled as they looked at the party going crazy with the win. [Umbral Shards] -Type: Passive (Growth-type) -Rank: SSS -Cost: ¡ª -Umbral Shards: [0/10] -Details: Any dark-type skills you use will generate Umbral Shards, up to 10. -Effect(s): ¡ª> You can infuse an Umbral Shard in any of your skills that deal damage, increasing its dark-attributed effects by 50%, damage by 50%, and prative power by 50%. [Nexus of Aurus Light] -Type: Active (Growth-type) -Rank: SSS -Cost: 20% of Maximum Mana. Additional Mana to infuse Light energy in the Nexus. -Aurus Light: [0/100,000] -Details: ¡ª> Using the skill, manifest a Nexus that gathers and stores light energy from your own Mana and also from lightness and brightness in the surrounding atmosphere to generate Aurus Light. You can then use Nexus to release Aurus Light effects from your body, with gestures and intent aimed at targets visible in your sensing range. ¡ªEffect(s): ¡ª> Aurus Lightburn Pierce: Unleashes a fast, piercing burning beam to any target within your sensing range, dealing damage based on Aurus Light consumed to release this. ¡ªAurus Light Healing Beam: Unleashes a pure positive healing beam that expells harmful energies from an individual and heal their wounds, external or internal. Chapter 233: Shocking Rewards At the shore of the ocean where a river flowed the huge waterfall, there appeared a magical store at the riverbank. "Let¡¯s check out the store first," Almond said and teleported everyone there. When they looked at the store, an interface appeared in front of them disying six item sections inside. [ Grimworld Heroic Shop ] 1. Extra Divine Boon Selection In the next Heroic Challenge you attempt. ¡ª 500 Heroic Points. 2. Growth-type Random Skill Scroll (S to SSS) ¡ª 500 Heroic Points. 3. Insight Stone x 1 ¡ª 1000 Heroic Points. 4. One-attempt ess to one of the Eternal Power devices ¡ª 2000 Heroic Points. 5. Universal skill upgrade card x 1 ¡ª 1500 Heroic Points. 6. Mystery Box x 1 ¡ª 500 Heroic Points. [Note]: Items in the 2nd to 6th slots can be rerolled at the cost of 100 Heroic Points. The new options would only appear for the one who paid to reroll.] "Does everyone have the same options?" Almond asked as he projected his shop¡¯s items outward on a Mana screen. "Yeah, I got the same options," Ron said. "Me too," Amir nodded. "It seems we all got the same options, but we can change them by paying 100 Heroic Points," Noah raised his eyebrows. "100 is too much. Wish it was lower." "If there are more options, then the next heroic shop will have different options," Jemma said as she blinked. "I won¡¯t waste points on rerolling." "Yeah, that should be the case, so I am also not rerolling," Eliara nodded. "I can¡¯t decide what to buy," Ka tilted her head as she looked at the screen. "I am low-key tempted to buy Mystery Box," Kira dryly smiled and said, "But if I get trash from it, I¡¯ll cry." "Tsk, tsk, only I can buy it," Natalia smugly said as she bought the Mystery Box without hesitation. "It¡¯s been over a month, so a month¡¯s worth of my luck is already recovered." "Eh? What are you talking about?" Anya, nearby, confusedly asked. "Haha, nothing. It¡¯s secret," Natalia chuckled. "Everyone," Almond suddenly said, attracting everyone¡¯s attention. "Don¡¯t buy anything above 500 points yet, or don¡¯t buy anything at all until we get our rewards. If we get more points thanst time, we must buy an extra boon selection." "True," Lily nodded in agreement as she understood Almond¡¯s concern. "There are bigger parties than us in the leaderboard, and if a few of those entire parties bought extra boon selection, their score would be very high." "That makes sense," Xavier nodded. "Rank 1 party rewards are great, and they will be better and better in higher floors, so getting first rank is important." Everyone decided to hold off buying anything and rest while waiting for rewards. Five minutester, the notifications started popping up. [Congrattions, by crossing the 3 million score on this Heroic Challenge, you have achieved a new milestone in this pool of Grimworld Tutorials¡ªReward: Heroic challenge new milestone reward chest.] A big and fancy treasure chest looking straight out of a videogame with sci-fi and magic-themed design appeared above and slowly floated down as everyone made way. "Damn, this looks sick. My hands can¡¯t wait to open it," Natalia grinned. "Yeah, yeah, in your dreams. We are about to roll for this," Marcus snorted. "Of course, we gotta roll for this," Almond chuckled. "Almond said it, now we are going to roll," Kira said as she made a face at Natalia with her tongue out. "Tsk tsk, I am going to win that too, so I am opening this in the end." The next notification arrived and everyone was once again focused on it. Explore stories on empire [The ranking and rewards based on contribution are generated.] [Contribution ranking and reward] Rank 1: Almond ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - L - Godly y x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - L - Godly Grinder x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - L - Heroic Lobby Card x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - L - Storage Ring x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - L - Fruit-set x 1 ¡ª> Heroic Points: +1500 Rank 2: Lily/Marcus ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SSS - Godly y x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SSS - Godly Grinder x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SSS - Heroic Lobby Card x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SSS - Storage Ring x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SSS - Fruit-set x 1 @@novelbin@@ ¡ª> Heroic Points: +1000 Rank 3: Natalia/Maya/Julian/Emma ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SS - Godly y x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SS - Godly Grinder x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SS - Heroic Lobby Card x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SSS - Storage Ring x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SSS - Fruit-set x 1 ¡ª> Heroic Points: +700 Rank 4: Adrian/Noah/Kira/Mira/Jian/Amir ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SS - Godly y x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SS - Godly Grinder x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - SS - Heroic Lobby Card x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SS - Storage Ring x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SS - Fruit-set x 1 ¡ª> Heroic Points: +600 Rank 5: Talia/Eliara/Ka/Xavier/Ron/Anya ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - S - Godly y x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - S - Godly Grinder x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - S - Heroic Lobby Card x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SS - Storage Ring x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - SS - Fruit-set x 1 ¡ª> Heroic Points: +500 Rank 6: Roken ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - S - Godly y x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - S - Godly Grinder x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Heroic Debute - S - Heroic Lobby Card x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - S - Storage Ring x 1 ¡ª> Adventurer¡¯s Essentials - S - Fruit-set x 1 ¡ª> Heroic Points: +300 "What the fuck?" "The rewards are he different," Finn goofilyughed. "They look interesting, I¡¯m reading that Heroic Lobby card first." "I am already checking out, and what the holy smokes is this Heroic Lobby Card!?" Marcus shouted as he read the card¡¯s details. "We can fucking go to a lobby where other parties from other worlds gather!" "Crap! That¡¯s awesome!" "There has to be some sort of activity and other things there!" "Duh, of course." "We are getting strong with these fruits! SS-rank fruit set gives me 30 point increase in all fucking stats," Amir maniacallyughed as he read the fruit set. "Fuck." "Then what is the effect of SSS-rank, and Almond¡¯s Legendary fruits?!" Everyone¡¯s eyes focused on Almond. Almond¡¯s eyes shifted from the detail panel of Godly y as he felt their gazes and smiled, "Let me check them first. If they only give stats and nothing else, I¡¯ll distribute." "Let¡¯s fucking go!" Natalia cheered. "Look at her cheering as if she¡¯s already getting one," Marcus snickered. "Don¡¯t be a hater. You¡¯ll go bald faster." "¡­" Meanwhile, Almond who looked at the fruit¡¯s details had his lip arching as he faintly smiled, "Interesting." Natalia gulped and said, "Tell me there ain¡¯t any bullshit extra effect on those fruits." Almond mysteriously smiled, "Check it yourself." Saying that, he shared the legendary fruits¡¯ details with everyone on the screen. [ Adventurer¡¯s Legendary Essential Fruits ] -Rank: Legendary Chapter 234: Adventurer’s Debute [ Adventurer¡¯s Legendary Essential Fruit Set ] -Rank: Legendary -Content: Six fruits. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Each fruit gives +50 points to a specific stat, covering all six fruits ¡ª> Leveling experience gained increased by 50% until tinum level 150. "Well, it seems that I won¡¯t have use of these fruits," Almond chuckled. "I will distribute themter." "Anyway, we have the same rewards but of different rankings, so let¡¯s see the difference," Almond waved his hand as he projected details of his other items. [Legendary Godly y] -Rank: L -Description: ¡ª> A magical y that can be shaped ording to the user¡¯s mind via an interface. You can create any type of item using it, and it will have Growth-type characteristics, allowing you to upgrade it viapletion of Upgrade-Quest. May whatever you create be a long part of your journey so that it may develop a spirit of your experience. -Effect: ¡ª> The item you create will have a starting rank of Legendary rank or equivalent ranks in case you acquire a different type of item. "Almost the same as SSS Godly y except for the starting rank of what I make will be High-tier Epic-rank or equivalent," Lily nodded. "If SSS Godly y gives high-tier Epic rank, then SS must be medium-tier Epic rank, and S must be low-tier Epic rank," Ron said and sighed. "Sad." "It¡¯s a bummer about getting low rank at the start, but we can upgrade the items, so it¡¯s fine," Xavier smiled. "Just get a better rank in contribution," Jian snorted. "Geez, look at you getting arrogant just because you are not in thest rank bracket this time," Talia rolled her eyes. "I am always arrogant,st rank or not," Jian sneered. Ignoring them, Kira thoughtfully said, "Thatst line can be a hint." "I was thinking the same," Maya nodded. "It is definitely a hint," Lily¡¯s eyes shed. "It¡¯s hinting that the item we create from this may have some hidden potential." "Yep, and it can onlye to fruition if it bes a solid part of our adventurers and gain experience," Almond nodded, his eyes glinting, "We have to take care of the item we create from this. We might not get something like this Godly y again." Everyone nodded. "Now, let¡¯s see the next one," Almond waved his hand showing the detail of Godly Grinder. [Legendary Godly Grinder] -Rank: L -Description: ¡ª> A rune of untold potential, this Godly Grinder can be used to insert a skill rune of your choice. The inserted skill will be growth-type, and using the skill will gradually give you insights about its aspects, allowing you to glean into powers, upgrade the skill, and may even help you in achieving other breakthroughs depending on your capabilities. -Effect: ¡ª> Any single skill of Legendary rank and below can be inserted. -Duration: 1 month upon activation. Afterward, it will vanish. "This is very interesting," Almond rubbed his chin. "Very good item. How¡¯s this one for you all?" "SSS Godly Grinder runs for 20 days long and can only insert SSS-rank or lower skill," Lily raised her eyebrows. "SS Godly Grinder runs for 15 days," Julian said as he looked at his reward. "S-rank one runs for 10 days," Ka said, feeling a bit despondent ¡¯My contribution rank is lower this time¡­sigh, I have to do more in a short time in the next challenge. I wasn¡¯t fast and attentive enough when there was a chance to contribute in the second phase.¡¯ "Alright, onto the next one," Almond shifted to Heroic Lobby Card. "That one is interesting," Marcus grinned. [Heroic Lobby Card] -Rank: Legendary -Effect(s): ¡ª> A customized legendary Adventurer title for the holder. ¡ª> Can be used to enter Grimworld Heroic Lobby. ¡ª> Highest Priority in Challenge invitations. "You have an extra effect. That highest priority one," Lily blinked. "And for the SSS card, the title is Epic Adventurer, but ours are not customized." "Unfair," Marcus clicked his tongue. "SS rank card also has only two effects, and the title is Renowned Adventurer," Kira said. "S rank also has two effects, and the title is Acimed Adventurer," Eliara said with a shrug. "Well, better than nothing." @@novelbin@@ "Almond¡¯s card confirms that there are indeed some interesting activities to do in that Grimworld Heroic Lobby," Lily¡¯s eyes twinkled as she said with a smile, "Well, we can check it out at our leisureter." "Yep," Almond nodded. "I¡¯ll be busy until the battlefield opens." "That¡¯s right, the boss needs to craft our cool-ass customized gear sets," Marcusughed. "Good luck, boss." "True, we can¡¯t wait," Kira smiled. "I know you need S-rank dungeons, and I¡¯ve already told my gramps to let you enter our two S-rank Dungeons. The second just appeared yesterday." "We all should do that," Noah said with a nod. "Many of you who are in guilds and ns have at least one S-rank dungeon." "I can do that," Talia rubbed her nose while smiling. "My position in the guild is way better now thanks to the rewards I got that made me stronger." "Same here, haha," Amirughed. "I¡¯ll tell the guild leader when we get an S-rank Dungeon in our territory." The others also voiced their willingness to help. "We have an S-rank Dungeon in our guild¡¯s territory," Jian said with a stoic face. "I¡¯ll make sure you can enter." Almond smiled, "Thanks." Thest item was the Storage Ring, and they just had differences in size ording to their ranks. Almond got the biggest, and Roken got the smallest, but even the smallest ring that Roken had was actually a top-tier storage ring on Earth because it was bigger than the biggest storage pouch or ring made so far. It had 10 football field size of area. Meanwhile, Almond¡¯s storage ring was ten times bigger than the S-rank one. Afterward, Almond opened the party chest to see exactly how many total Heroic Points everyone would have at the end since it was the only other thing that could give it aside from the ones they got from contribution ranking reward. [Congrattions. Every party member gets the following reward from the Rank-1 party chest opened by the leader:] ¡ª> Heroic Points x 1000. ¡ª> Insight Stone x 1. ¡ª> Assortment of Supreme Potions. "Wow, we got those potions again." "Let¡¯s go! We finally got these fucking super potions!" Discover exclusive tales on empire "Calm your tits, Nat." "You small dick, peanut-sized poop-brained fatty." Eliara rolled her eyes and said, "Let¡¯s keep this Pg-13, alright?" "Anyway, it¡¯s time to roll the dice and open this big juicy booty," Amir licked his lips looking at the big reward chest. "You..." "I-I meant bounty, not booty! My tongue slipped." Chapter 235: Unboxing Rewards After everyone rolled the dice, the one who won was unexpectedly Roken. "Damn, I¡¯m really opening this?" Roken scratched the back of his head while grinning. "Come on, old man. Hurry up," Natalia snorted. "Whaa¡­I am just four years older¡­" "Kk, just hurry up now." Others couldn¡¯t help but chuckle since Natalia lost by one point only. Roken rolled 49, and she rolled 48. "Open it," Almond nodded at Roken. "As you wish, young master Almond," Rokenughed. The patterns on the chest glowed as Roken opened it. It opened and burst out with a bunch of colorful orbs and a hologram panel showing everyone the list of rewards. [Heroic Challenge New Milestone Reward Chest] ¡ª 5 Billon gold coins. ¡ª 1 x Legendary rank Gear Set (High tier) ¡ª 1 x Random Artifact Box (Tier-4) ¡ª 2 x Mystery Box (SSS) ¡ª 10 x Adventurer¡¯s Lucky Debute Boxes. ¡ª 15 x Resource Boxes (Ingredient-type) ¡ª 20 x Time-Chamber Capsules (Tier-1) @@novelbin@@ "Yeah, alright, looks like we got new shit from this box, too." Marcus nodded, his eyes reflecting the excitement he felt. "So many boxes to open. Let¡¯s open the random boxes right now," Natalia grinned. "Except for this one," Almond grabbed the orb containing the Tier-4 Artifact Box and put it inside his storage ring. "As for the Legendary gear set, I¡¯ll sell it." "Will you distribute the gold coins you get from it?" Jemma asked as she side-eyed him. "Nope." "Got it," Jemma nodded with a wry smile. "The rule was indeed such that anything we get aside from contribution rewards is yours to handle and distribute." "Yep," Almond smiled. "However, I will distribute the 5 billion gold coins among us. Let me do that right now." "We are 22 people total, so 227 million gold coins to each of us." "Holy crap!" Roken shouted with glowing eyes. "So much." "Old man, you¡¯ll st your pants if you hear the number of gold coins Almond has in his other storage ring," Natalia sneered. "I know, I know¡­I don¡¯t even want to know how much he got from the auction," Roken said with a derpy face. "Yeah, never mind." Almond finished distributing the gold coins, giving 227 million gold coins to each of them as they stored them inside their new storage rings. "Alright, let¡¯s open the Mystery Box now," Lily said as she rolled the dice first. "I¡¯m not getting anything anyway, so I¡¯ll start." She rolled the dice as it traveled for a few meters before stopping. Everyone looked at the number above and was dumbfounded. 50. The highest number on the dice. "Sheesh, you¡¯re such a hypocrite," Natalia clicked her tongue before waving her hand as she whipped out a sound wave from its other side, pushing the big dice towards her and grabbing it before saying, "I am also rolling 50, so we can each open a Mystery box." Dice rolled. 49. "Hahaha, I don¡¯t know what to say, Nat. Are you lucky or unlucky?" Kira said with augh. "Damn it!" "Alright, my turn," Emma nearby said as she grabbed the Dice. Soon, everyone rolled the dice, but aside from Lily, Roken also rolled 50. "Old man is on a roll," Finn chuckled. "Damn, juniors have no respect these days," Roken grumbled as he grabbed a Mystery box as well. Lily opened the box first and got an Insight Scroll x 1 (24h). Meanwhile, Roken popped out an energy drink can. Everyone curiously inspected it. [Hyper Activity Energy Drink] -Rank: SSS -Duration: 1 hour. -Effect(s): ¡ª> Your brain processes at 50% higher proficiency, enhancing a certain part of it to achieve swift reaction and decision-making for the optimal result you envision. ¡ª> Exhaustion of Stamina is reduced by 50%. "Not bad, I¡¯ll take it," Almond said as he grabbed the energy drink. "Something like this can be a trump card because a 50% boost in the brain process would make me very strong." "Or might explode your already hyper-driving brain too," Natalia rolled her eyes. Lily chuckled, "That¡¯s true, darling. Better hold your horses after drinking it." ¡¯Or you can spend that energy doing some other activity with me,¡¯ Lily winked as she Magic Whispered. ¡¯That¡¯s a very good idea, Madam Lily~¡¯ "And keep the scroll, Lily. You can use itter," Almond said before he looked at the 10 x Adventurer¡¯s Lucky Debute Boxes in the orb. "These are new boxes. The ten people with the highest numbers will open them. Let¡¯s roll," Natalia said with a grin. "Yeah, that works," Almond nodded. Everyone rolled and the ten winners opened the boxes one by one. The first box opened by Xavier actually gave a skill-upgrade card (SSS), allowing one to upgrade a non-ss skill to SSS from SS. This got everyone¡¯s hopes high before the second one that Ron opened¡ªand it turned out empty. The third box popped out a potion vial with magical ck spiraling liquid. Upon inspection, everyone learned that the potion was a throwable one that could create a 20-meter radius area of a dreadful ck spiral to trap the enemies and confuse their senses and perception with gravity pull at the center. The fourth box turned out empty, but the fifth box brought an item worth the "lucky" word of the box. It was a freaking Advance scroll. "I¡¯ll distribute this ording to the new distribution system," Almond said with a smile. "Wait, what¡¯s that new system?" Natalia asked in surprise. "I¡¯ll make er, haha." "Tsk." "Anyway, it¡¯s my turn, so I¡¯ll open it," Almond said as he opened the sixth box. A burst of magical confetti shot out of the box before an item flew out while glowing. An orb with a ck and white fish swimming inside, its eyes glowing golden. [Fortunate-Misfortune Fish] -Rank: Special -Requirement: Bound to an individual by dropping a drop of blood inside the bowl. -Effect: ¡ª> Stores fortune and misfortune for a month. ¡ª> Afterward, you can feed the fish some Mana and have it transform. ¡ª> If it transforms into a white fish, you¡¯ll have +10 Lucky for 1 month. If it turns ck, you¡¯ll have -10 Lucky for 1 month. "Well¡­I guess it¡¯s worth using it," Almond shrugged. "If I get bad luck, I can use Nat as a shield to ward it off." "Good idea," Lily chuckled. "Tsk, as if you are not using my luck already." "Yeah, yeah, we get it," Marcus rolled his eyes. "Let¡¯s open the next one now. Noah, go on." Noah nodded as he grabbed the box and opened it. However, it turned out to be empty. Anya opened the eighth box, and it also freaking turned out to be empty, making everyone roll their eyes. The ninth box was opened by Jian and popped a Legendary-rank Consumable item, which Almond took as it could be a trump card. Almond didn¡¯t want to use some resources like that in Heroic Challenge anymore because the Battlefield was opening soon, and it was going to be way more unpredictable in an obvious way considering it was going to be a big and long event, so he wanted to keep some items that could change situations. Next, Maya opened thest tenth box, which was fortunately not empty. Your journey continues on empire [Runic Armstrong Wrist Brace] -Rank: Special -Condition: These braces only work when the user is not inbat. -Effect: ¡ª> Increase the strength of arms by half of the weight held in the hands. The increase is kilogram-based, not stat-based. "Roken, you can keep these braces," Almond gave the pair of Wrist Braces to Roken since this seemed to be made for those who work in heavy workshops, like cksmiths. "Wow, they are perfect. Now I can increase the weight of my Runic Hammer," Roken¡¯s eyes shone. "With this, I¡¯ll actually be able to pound Epic-rank materials, and that with less effort." "Yeah, you have to practice a lot. Once I finish crafting my gear sets at the end of the month, you have to enchant them all." "Yes, boss!" The resource boxes were different this time. The ones they got from the 5th Floor¡¯s rewards gave them stat-increasing resources, but the ones in these boxes were more like ore materials, herbs, flowers, crystals, and so on. They had different uses, so Almond kept all those in his storage ring to use themter, especially Herbs and other flora-type items that Sylvia could use to enrich her arsenal of nature. And finally, Almond took the orb containing the new items¡ªTime-Chamber Capsules. "Well¡­now these are very, very tempting, and two people will not get it," Almond said as he read the details before also allowing others to see it. "Check it out." [Time-Chamber Capsule] -Rank: Special -Effect: ¡ª> Chapter 236: Julian’s Legacy Roll, Perfect Chip [Time-Chamber Capsule] -Rank: Special -Duration: 3 days of your world. -Effect: ¡ª> Using a capsule by infusing Mana into it will teleport you to a Time Chamber where the time flows twice as slowlypared to the time of your world. ¡ª> You can use the capsule anytime and exit anytime. -Note: ¡ª> You cannot enter while having other items¡¯ effects on you, nor can you use any items in the Time Chamber, e.g., Skill scrolls, Advanced Skill scrolls, Insight Stones, and such will not work while you are inside the Time Chamber. This item was indeed awesome, and everyone wanted one. But there were only 20 capsules and 22 people. After thinking for a moment, Almond said, "Actually, I¡¯ll keep them to myself. I will give them to others as I see fit." "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" "For real, boss?" Talia asked with puppy eyes. "For real, for real," Almond chuckled. @@novelbin@@ Everyone wryly smiled. "Well, we¡¯ll get more of these, so don¡¯t worry. The reason I am saving these is to use them at crucial times. Gold rankers can also enter the battlefield, and we don¡¯t know what kind of battles there will be inside, so I will give this to those who need it and can contribute more," Almond faintly smiled. "That sounds good," Marcus nodded. "Now that we are done, buy the items from Heroic Shop or save them, and then let¡¯s leave. I have so much more to do," Almond weakly smiled. " ¡­ After everyone entered the exit portal and returned to Earth, the group went to Almond¡¯s courtyard first and waited for their pick-up rides before leaving one by one. Julian and Roken stayed because Almond told them. The courtyard¡¯s guest house was unused, and he wanted to create a solid workshop for Roken as he had finished his sses and it was time to get real with the self-crafting training. He already told Nyssara and Sylvia to make a solid smithy with Roken after tearing down the guesthouse. The main courtyard mansion was already empty since Almond, Lily, Natalia, and Mira were living in the castle, and it was big enough so Almond also assigned a room to Julian and Roken. Julian was done with his Legacy Roll quest, so after arriving in the outside pavilion with Almond, he used it while sharing it with him. "Go, let¡¯s see what you get," Almond said, his eyes curious as he was eager to know what this would give to Julian while he was also thinking of a scheme to make his ne to fruition about raiding S-rank dungeons. An interface with a lever attached to the rolling machine with one rectangle section appeared. Julian pulled the lever as per the instruction he got and the section started flickering with mysterious and cool symbols. They flickered fast but then gradually slowed down before finally stopping on a symbol with a big purple sword pattered with ck esoteric markings, and a pair of dashing muscled arms holding its handle with both hands, arched in a way that made it look like a downward sh of devastation. [Congrattions, you have acquired the Legacy of Direlord¡¯s Demolishing Sword] [Direlord¡¯s Demolishing Sword will rece your specialized ss. Proceed?] Julian pressed on [Yes] calmly as he felt his A-rank specialized ss source getting deleted from him before a new, stronger source reced it. [Congrattions, you will now walk the path of the dooming legacy. Bypleting the quest and learning the legacy gradually, you must deviate and make your path bloom by creating skills unique to yourself, different from the legacy skills. If you fail to deviate two times, the legacy and specialized ss will be removed.] Julian shared this with Almond, who raised his eyebrows and nodded, "Well, this makes sense. You better work hard and get creative when ites to this." "Yeah," Julian nodded before he tapped the interface as it vanished and checked out the ss. Explore more stories at empire [Direlord¡¯s Demolishing Sword] \\_Rank: ??? (Undetermined Legacy) \\_ss Perk: ¡ª> +100% Strength while wielding a sword. ¡ª> Stamina consumption halved while wielding a sword. ¡ª> +50% Focus. \\_ss Skills: 1. Direlord¡¯s Demolishing Swing (SSS) 2. Direlord¡¯s Sword Tremors (SSS) 3. Dire Deflection Wave Art (L) 4. ¡ª (Deviated Skill Slot) "Interesting. You have a Legendary skill now." "But there¡¯s a problem," Julian frowned as he saw a red blipping notification and opened it. [You must hone your physique to be able to unleash the ss skills of the Direlord¡¯s Demolish Sword ss. Please finish the following task to achieve the ideal body:] Task List: ¡ª> Eat 100 KG protein daily for 15 days. ¡ª> 100 push-ups with a 10-ton weight on your back in one sitting daily for 15 days. ¡ª> 10,000 push-ups with a 10-ton weight on your back in one sitting. (0/1) ¡ª> Weight lift a 50-ton sword and swing it 100 times daily for 15 days. ¡ª> Weight lift a 50-ton sword and swing it 1000 times in one sitting. (0/1) ¡ª> Reach max level in Bone Tethering Condensation (The method has been sent to your mind) Reward: ¡ª ss skills unsealing. Almondughed looking at this and said, "Well, get ready to bust your ass. Roken can make those big weighted normal-sized swords with his runes, so you are covered in that." "As for the method, send it to me," Almond grinned."As expected of a Legacy. That method looks like something useful, and a perfect chip I can use to bargain." "For your S-rank Dungeon raids?" Julian chuckled. "Alright, if it helps you." "Here, write on this," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he crafted a magic scroll. "How are you able to use Mana to create such things?" Julian was speechless as he grabbed the scroll. "Well, let¡¯s just say that my control and influence over Mana is way higher than normal people," Almond smiled. "You might reach there too, but I can¡¯t tell when." "Tsk, I¡¯ll reach there sooner, just wait," Julian said while writing down, his eyes resolved. "I am not going ck for even a second I breathe." "That¡¯s the spirit," Almond grinned. After Julian finished writing down the method, Almond took a look at it, and his eyes shone. "Bruh, what the fuck?! That result you wrote, is it real?" Julian nodded while grinning, "d I made you surprised, haha." "This is awesome!" The Bone Tethering Condensation method turned out to be freaking op! Once someone reached the maximum level, which was level 10, in it, one could awaken an innate talent rted to bones! "This is too valuable just to be given away," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. "That¡¯s why, you can simply erase the levels, and just give them the first three levels or something," Julian grinned. "Every three levels is a major quirk development, so that¡¯ll work." "That¡¯s true, but I¡¯ll give them the first level only. Even the first level gives an innate trait that permanently boosts their Strength by 10%, so that¡¯s enough...unless someone sees through it," Almond cheekily said. "¡­well, yeah, that is certainly not false. A permanent 10% boost in strength is not small," Julian nodded. "Anyway, do as you see fit with it. I¡¯ll go tell Roken to craft me some heavy swords and a heavy object and start my training." "Yeah, go. I¡¯m also going after contacting Admiral Rudra," Almond said as his eyes glinted with a grin still on his face. "It¡¯s time to hold a meeting with seniors." "Good luck with that." Julian left while Almond¡¯s call connected to Admiral Rudra who soon picked it up. Looking at his hologram, Almond saw that he was with a few people in the meeting, talking to someone to his right. A secondter, he turned to Almond and said, "Alright, brat, tell me, have you finished thinking of a scheme?" "A perfect scheme with a juicy chip," Almond smiled. "What is it?" Admiral Rudra asked as he formed a barrier around him. "Nah, I¡¯ll keep you in surprise. For now, can you gather all leaders who have an S-rank dungeon in their territory for a live meeting?" "They won¡¯t reject considering you are someone who sold so many legendary items as long as I say you have something more interesting than that." "Go ahead, because this is certainly way more interesting than that," Almond grinned. "I guess I¡¯ll hold onto my curiosity for now," Admiral Rudra smiled and nodded. "I¡¯ll contact them asap and give you a meeting time." "As soon as possible, please. I want to start raiding dungeons." "Kk, you¡¯re really behaving like my grandson." Almondughed, "Just consider me one, I don¡¯t mind." "As if I am not considering you as a grandson already," Admiral Rudra rolled his eyes and smiled. "Alright, I¡¯m cutting off. Wait for the news." "Thanks a lot, gramps!" ¡­ Almond went to shower with Lily afterward as she waited. After an hour of passionate activity in the bathroom, Lily began training with Natalia and Mira while Almond waited on the balcony for Admiral¡¯s call. Five minutester, a message arrived. [Admiral: Everyone is on a shared live call with me. Receive my call, and the meeting will start.] [Almond: Damn, your efficiency is terrific, gramps. Alright, let¡¯s begin.] Chapter 237: Conference [Rudra: Now that you know how to bargain, I¡¯ve gathered the top 15 guild leaders, families, and other allied forces for this call. So rope them in and secure future dungeons as well. You will need a solid bargaining chip to secure not only raids for now but future raids as well. Anyways, ept the call, and show us what you¡¯ve got.] Almond got some tips from Admiral Rudra on how to proceed with this and shortly got his call a few secondster, which he promptly epted. Almond saw many old monsters and guild leaders with their eyes on him as he connected to the conference video call. "Hello, seniors. Sorry for taking your time like this. I¡¯ve only met some of you, but all of you know me already." Almond smiled with a hint of cheekiness and said, "I¡¯ll cut to the chase. I need to clear sixteen S-rank Dungeons before the battlefield of the mightiest opens." "This activity is important to make myself and my party members significantly stronger," Almond emphasized the ¡¯significantly¡¯ part as he spoke. "That doesn¡¯t matter," Viktor said as he dismissively waved his hand. "What can you offer to make it worth our while?" "Ahem, I¡¯ll arrange my guild¡¯s S-rank Dungeon for you," the ckstar Guild leader Ruyi Hexing said with a smile as her lipsticked lips made a charming arc. "My elder sister¡¯s son Jian, who is in your party, was rather forceful about this, so well, even if you can¡¯t convince me, I can arrange the dungeon raid ording to your schedule." "One S-rank dungeon spawned in my guild¡¯s territory yesterday, so I¡¯ll do the same," Damian Silverfang nodded with a faint smile. "Anya persistently told me the S-rank dungeon is important to you and the party, haha." "Same with me," the 9th-rank Lightstrike Guild¡¯s leader, a brown-bearded middle-aged man, said with a loudugh. "Finn has improved a lot, and I do hope he gets stronger. Just don¡¯t take him away from my guild, hahaha." Almondughed in response before another person spoke, this time an old monster. "You brat, I¡¯m giving you my family¡¯s S-rank dungeon, but I have a different condition," Silverfang said with a grin. "Put my dungeon in your schedule. As for the condition, I¡¯ll tell you when you get here." "Same from me," Hiroshi Ryugiri nodded with a faint smile. "Just do a small thing for me, and you got the dungeon." Afterward, the Reben family head, Ioan Reben who had an S-rank dungeon also said he would agree as his son had told them of its importance. Crimson Aegis Guild leader also agreed as his guild¡¯s super rookie Ron requested him. @@novelbin@@ Of course, Almond knew this would happen because the super rookies had called their guilds and families who had S-rank dungeons about this while waiting in his courtyard, so he knew what all of them said. And he knew all of them tried their best ording to their position in their respective guilds or families. But he still had to put the chip out. "Well, you still need more dungeons, lil Almond," Shiro-sen nodded as he smiled while caressing his head. "And we also heard you got something interesting for us." Almond chuckled and waved his hand, disying digital-sparkling golden letters made with his Golden Haze Lightning energy in front of the screen for everyone to see. [Bone Tethering Condensation] "Bone Tethering Condensation¡­" Arjun Maheshwari raised his eyebrows. "Sounds like some kind of method." "It¡¯s a very good method," Almond grinned. "It can give a permanent boost upon learning it." "Spill us the info about this already, kid," Paloma chuckled. Almond cleared his throat and smiled, "Learning this method can permanently increase Strength by 10% and make your bones faster recovering and tougher naturally." "Is that so?" Liang Zhou narrowed his eyes. "Show us the method in detail, we¡¯ll be able to verify it." "Indeed," Shiro-sen nodded. "If it can indeed increase Strength by 10% permanently, then it is indeed good," Steelheart guild master nodded with a chuckle, "Well, I was going to let you have my guild¡¯s S-rank Dungeon¡¯s schedule because of Eliara¡¯s plea, but we¡¯ll still take this." "Of course, of course," Almond said he quickly nodded with a smile. "I¡¯m nning to share this with every one of you in exchange for letting me have a run in your Dungeons, current and future. I don¡¯t want any items from your dungeon or any magic cores or crystals. I just want to kill monsters and hone myself." "And so," Almond paused as he waved his hand, writing the details of the first level of Bone Tethering Condensation. Everyone looked at the text with details on how to use Mana in a way such that it can be infused into structures of bone, and then enrich its marrow and flow from foundational to permanently improve their blood¡¯s power and bone¡¯s strength, acquiring a permanent 10% boost in Strength uponpletion. Some of the guild leaders and other leaders had their eyes glinting as they immediately tried to follow the method and seeded in letting their Mana enter their bone after controlling Mana and manipting it as said in the method. Someone suddenly shouted and everyone looked at each other¡¯s screen. "What happened, little Jim?" Shiro-sen asked with a chuckle as he looked at Jim Torren, the guild leader of the 13th-rank Verdant Pact guild. "I was fast, but senior Shiro still caught my embarrassment," Jin wryly smiled. "I hurt myself in one of my bones as I tried that second step regarding tethering the bone tissues." "Anyway, Almond, I do not have an S-rank Dungeon in my territory, but I¡¯ll notify you through Amir when we get one," Jin smiled. "Understood," Almond nodded. "Back to the topic, the method seems legit, and you¡¯ve already shown us its details, so Admiral will send you the list of S-rank dungeons and you send him the schedule, so we can be prepared," Ruyi said with a smile. Meanwhile, Admiral Rudra¡¯s eyes flickered, ¡¯So this is the chip...and since he said he got a better surprise for me, it¡¯s obvious what it is.¡¯ Explore more stories with empire Shaking his head, he faintly smiled, ¡¯You can fool most people here, but a few of those old monsters will notice that there¡¯s more to this method than what you¡¯ve shown.¡¯ ¡¯Now, will they expose it or keep it to themselves so they can talk to you about it personally is up to them,¡¯ Admiral Rudra thought as he waited calmly, watching everyone¡¯s reactions. Chapter 238 Dungeon Raids (1/2) "This is indeed a good method," Arjun smiled. "It seems that we''ll have to discuss this method when youe here for two of my S-rank Dungeons, Almond." As expected by Admiral Rudra, the first old monster revealed himself, but not the secret of the method.@@novelbin@@ ''Arjun noticed, but he didn''t reveal anything,'' Rudra internally chuckled. "Not bad, this chip is indeed enough for what you want right now," Shiro-sen smilingly nodded. "If you have anything else you want, don''t hesitate to tell me." ''This old coot was the first one to know about it, I''m sure,'' Admiral smiled. ''And he didn''t reveal it. Now, the other few rascals also better hide it.'' In the next few seconds, Admiral Rudra got a few messages from old monsters, and he burst outughing, startling everyone in the video conference, but a few of those who sent the messages wryly smiled at his reaction. "What happened, Admiral?" League of Firefly guild leader asked as she blinked. "I''m sure someone sent him a funny joke," Shiro-sen chuckled. "Anyway, can we consider this matter concluded then?" Everyone voiced their agreement with a nod. "Almond, see youter." "Put my dungeon on the early list, brat." "Mine too, but it has to be earlier than this old fart Silvester." Almond smiled and said, "I''ll be visiting you twost. Thank you, seniors, see you all soon." After saying that, he left the conference call while making themugh at his response while other old monsters made fun of Silvester and Hiroshi before leaving. Admiral Rudra sent Almond the list of S-rank Dungeons numbering a total of 24 since some of the S-rank Dungeons were being cleared daily otherwise the number would be way more. Almond wasted no time as the list he got was detailed with each dungeon''s density value and current border color. Admiral Rudra also told him to schedule golden and red-bordered dungeons first. ''It''s already 4 a.m. in the morning, so I have the whole 28th of December, and then the 29th, 30th, and 31st,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''I am going to clear as many as I can.'' He started making 28th December''s schedule, putting five dungeons in all, all of them being gold-bordered and they were the only gold-bordered dungeons in the list. After making the list, he directly sent this to Admiral Rudra. And he directly sent them to the five people who had those dungeons. Arjun Maheshwari, Maheshwari n. Theo Gabris, Gabris family. Annika Von Ricther, Von Ricther family. Quinn Firefly, League of Firefly guild. Liam Sunbreak, Proximax Guild. [Almond: Admiral, I am going to the Maheshwari n''s location in ten minutes. Please notify them.] [Rudra: Alright. Also, are you going on your big ship? It''s better you go with it to make your impression since the ship''s existence is revealed to many already and it''s better to show it to the people of our world.] [Almond: Got it.] Afterward, Almond went to the beach where his Spirit Wraiths, Lily, Natalia, and Mira, were doingbat training. After notifying them about his departure, Almond promptly summoned his ship and got onboard he waved his hand at Lily with a chuckle, "I''ll be homete today, honey. See ya." Lily cutely snorted and said in a joking tone, "Humph, finish work fast ande home early, darling~ I''ll give you a present box with myself in it." ¡­ Almond soon arrived at the Maheswari n and met up with old monster Arjun, his two sons and two daughters who were married, and his grandsons. But after a brief introduction, elder Arjun''s team was ready to enter along with himself. S-rank Dungeon¡ªKairagon of Mighty Kingdom. The Kairagon of Mighty Kingdom was a colossal ruin; its past grandeur was now twisted into a fortress of hostility. The party appeared in front of massive stone gates that led to a winding path lined with spectral banners that rippled in the unnatural wind. The path was patrolled by armored humanoid monsters¡ªghostly knights whose spectral des emitted an eerie hum with dark green and dark red glows. [Mighty Spectral Knight] -Rank: Epic -Level: 100 Experience tales with empire -Stats: -Physical: ?[Strength: 900|Health: 1500|Stamina: 1545] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 1500|Focus: 1050|Perception: 1050] "These knights are almost as strong as mini-boss in that other S-rank Dungeon I went," Almond blinked. "Hey, don''t tell me you''re scared already," Preeti Maheshwari said with a chuckle. She was the daughter of Arjun''s youngest sister and a Super Rookie once upon a time, who was now one of the youngest tinum-rank Adventurers. Although she didn''t have a rank in the top 100 like the other two young tinum rankers¡ªValentina and Arjun''s oldest grandson, who is considered the strongest man under the age of 25. Almond was about to reply to Preeti, but elder Arjun suddenly asked him a surprising question, "Almond, can you handle these knights on your own?" The other eight members of the party were startled. "n head, isn''t he just a gold-rank Adventurer? How can he hope to kill all of them?" a middle-aged man asked with a frown. "Nope, you just need to watch if he says yes now," Arjun chuckled as he looked at Almond with a faint smile. "Can you or not?" "Well¡­." Almond said as he cracked his neck and walked towards the gates with the path ahead of it littered with around 100 Mighty Spectral Knights in a narrow alley. The other two sides of the pathways werepletely dark, meaning the dungeon ended there, so falling would mean death. At the end of this path was a huge gate withrge and wide walls¡ªthe entry into the next area of this Kingdom-based Dungeon. ''I had to show my power because I wanted to clear the dungeons fast, so I might as well show a bit as I nned.'' Almond took out his legendary sword and used his Espada Ad Grimveil, but shrank its size to just 50 meters in radius. He didn''t want to reveal that he could expand it to a whopping 4000 meters in radius. If not others, senior Arjun would be able to sense the presence of his domain. And he did indeed as his eyes flickered upon seeing Almond using the skill. "Well, I can kill all of them, though I''d need to rest a bit after that," Almond said with a grin hidden from them since his back was facing them. "Well then, go ahead and show us," Arjun smiled. Chapter 239 Dungeon Raids (2/2) Almond walked towards the gates with his sword under the gaze of elder Arjun and others. The moment he stepped past the open gates leading into the bridge path, the spectral knights turned from aimless and facing the east and west to pointing their swords at the south towards Almond. "They will attack¡­" "Will he really be alright?" "W-" The third person''s words stuck in his own mouth as he suddenly saw Almond vanishing and five heads rolling as the five Spectral Knights who were about to dash at Almond with a skill just died. None of them could actually see what happened except for elder Arjun, whose eyes clearly sparkled. ''Space-rted powers and master stroke of his sword.'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he saw five other knights swinging their swords, releasing jade-green sh projectiles. However, Almond vanished again while showing off as all five sh projectiles were sliced with an invisible de before five more knights'' heads rolled. ''Severance de is a perfect name alright,'' Almond grinned as he felt how easily he was cutting off these tough monsters with his space condensed-space severing de. A powerful and speedy shield bash immediately alerted Almond, who simply narrowed his eyes, and in that split second, he had a burst of golden electricity flickered under his feet as he made a low-angle dash before cutting off the spectral knight from below, bypassing the tough shield skill and killing him. And then, Almond continued as he moved like a blur as heads rolled and bodies sliced before vanishing while he put their Spirits into his Spirit Forge Factory. ''Proficiencies of all Mana techniques are high, his control is way higher than average tinum Adventurers, and most of all, hisbat sense is terrific. He doesn''t look like a random eighteen-year-old teenager with no parents or backing. Instead, it''s like he trained for many years with mana and sword under someone to be this good,'' Arjun thought before wryly smiling as he thought of his grandson. ''This kid is indeed monstrous. It seems my grandson is no longer the strongest under the age of 25.'' "The fuck, he killed all of them in less than five fucking minutes!" "Crazy¡­is that kid really eighteen years old, n head?" "Fuck his age, I am just wondering how he is so powerful as a gold-rank adventurer to kill these spectral knights like they are nothing. None of my skills except for the top ones can insta-kill these spectral knights and I am tinum adventurer¡­" "My weapon art is strong, but I can''t kill many like this¡­what''s with that monstrous kid?" "The thing, I can''t see clearly how he is killing them¡­" "Yeah, can you tell us how he is doing it, Arjun uncle?" Arjun faintly smiled as he saw Almond waving at them on the other side of the bridge. "Let''s go and cross the bridge. I''ll show you." As he walked forward, his eyes flickered and a magical mana screen appeared in the front that reflected Almond''s earlier fight from senior Arjun''s view with an extra color in it¡ªfiery orange. "The fiery orange thin shes and threads you asionally see are what Almond uses. Since they can sh through these Epic-rank monsters easily, it has to be a very powerful weapon art with skills at SSS-rank or¡­higher perhaps." "Higher than SSS rank?!" "Is there even a rank of that?" "There is indeed, and it''s called L for Legendary," Arjun nodded. "It''s not widespread yet, but people will know about it eventually." "Damn, if he got Legendary skill then it makes sense I guess¡­" "If those fiery orange shes are his, he is not even releasing them from his sword!" "Yeah, Almond was using the newly developed offense-type move of his domain¡ªSpatial Craft series: Severance de, but without enchanting it Golden Haze Lightning so it wasn''t visible like when it was when he dealt that final attack on the Pearl King Leviathan. Only elder Arjun could see it with his high perception and better Focus Line. The group watched Almond''s fight again but with rity this time. "So how strong is he actually?" "I would say he can easily enter the top 100 Global Adventurers rank if he wants to," Arjun said with a chuckle. "¡­" "¡­" Find more chapters on empire Almond saw the group approaching, but the way they looked at him was vastly different than before. "Let''s finish this dungeon fast," Almond said with a smile. "I still want to finish four more dungeons before the next day''s sun rises." ¡­ With Almond''s insistence and his highbat power, he made sure to clear this S-rank Dungeon in approximately two hours. Two hours per S-rank Dungeon was his ideal timing, and he wanted to maintain that unless the dungeon was problematic and bigger than usual with some strange structures like Xarath''s Womb.@@novelbin@@ As he left, Almond counted the loot. ''584 Spirits of normal monsters, which will trante to more than half of them being Epic-rank items and the other half being Rare-rank. I kept several special spirits of normal monsters to use as ingredients for custom gear sets. And three mini-bosses, and one big boss who was a humanoid, though not intelligent are also perfect ingredients for some of the party members'' gear sets.'' Almond was grinning from ear to ear as he flew towards Gabris''s family''s territory for his next S-rank dungeon. Killing Epic-rank monsters and using their Spirits yielded higher-ranked spirit items, so he did not worry aboutcking resources for legendary gear sets. He was going to make one for every party member and each of his Spirit Wraiths, including the new Spirit Wraith based on Heroic Spirit, which he would make once he cleared fifteen more dungeons! ¡­ Time passed as Almond finished the Gabris family''s S-rank dungeon in two hours again before visiting the Von Richter family and clearing their S-rank Dungeon. When he went to the Proximax guild next, the guild leader took him for a short walk at the back of the main headquarters building where a mountain soon began and a magic formation covered a small, strange ck temple-like structure at the base of the mountain. Almond was instantly startled as soon as he looked at it because he had seen a simr structure in his past life. ''This is the same structure that the Rotetin n had in my past life''s world¡­it''s said to make someone powerful, but I don''t know how,'' Almond''s eyes flickered. [The ck Will Temple] -Rank: Special ording to his knowledge, the Rotetin n of his past life''s world would sell their monthly quota in a special auction held only for this spot each month. ''No wonder this guild rose to be number one¡­'' "This temple appeared in this location automatically and I decided to hide it and get this territory for myself to create a guild," Liam said with a faint smile. "Entering inside will put you through a trial. If you win, you will get something, and if you lose, you will lose nothing." "So are you saying I can enter there?" Almond blinked at the guild leader, his eyes showing excitement. "Usually, we would select multiple young adventurers every month and then have them go through a test for us. Based on that, we would select one of them and allow an entry inside the temple. "But to answer the question, yes," Liam chuckled. "You can enter there. This month is ending soon, and only one person can enter every month, and the same person cannot enter twice. So, find some time this month once your dungeon rush is over." "Awesome!" Almondughed. "Thank you so much, senior Liam." Chapter 240 30th December Almond cleared the Proximax guild''s S-rank dungeon which had the highest density value out of others, and got 869 normal Spirits, 4 mini-boss, and 1 big dungeon boss. Lastly, he went to League of Firefly''s base and cleared their S-rank dungeon with their raid team and guild leader in two hours as well. Everyone found out his strength, but only what he showed, and he only showed Severance de and nothing else. ''They must be seeing in a new light after seeing mybat power properly,'' Almond internally chuckled. ''Good. Let''s keep it this way.'' After returning, he saw that Lily was in deep meditation while holding her Weapon Art Token, indicating she was in the training realm of her Weapon Art. Natalia and Mira were not present, Almond knew their whereabouts as Natalia had sent him a message an hour ago saying she was visiting the Grimworld Heroic Lobby with Mira using their Heroic Lobby cards. Almond was tired, so he nned to sleep after sending the schedule of the next 10 dungeons to Admiral Rudra, but seeing Alfred, he had an idea. ''The kingdom dungeon had humanoid monsters¡­yep, that''s perfect.'' Almond used all three mini-boss spirits and the floor boss spirit of the Dungeon¡ªKairagon of Mighty Kingdom, along with 16 other spirits from different dungeons inside his Spirit Kodoku pocket and then went to sleep. Eight hourster, he woke up with the notification of his newest Spirit Wraith. Since it didn''t have any intelligent spirit, there was no step of creating personality and backstory. Almond summoned the spirit and saw a humanoid monster in copper-ck full-body armor, wielding a sword and shield, along with a big g, which disyed a symbol bearing an upside-down tree, with its roots'' ends holding dark gold skulls. ''Well, I don''t need to name you since you are going to be assimted into Alfred soon,'' Almond smiled and summoned Alfred as he vanished from the garden and arrived in the bedroom. "Alfred, it''s time for you to get a big upgrade." Alfred was confused, but he nodded nheless, "As you wish, Master. What do I need to do?" "I don''t know what''s going to happen to you, but make sure that you stay true to yourself," Almond said with a faint smile before waving his hand as Alfred and the new spirit wraith vanished. Spirit Wraith Hex! A mysterious copper tform with two ss containers manifested in miniature form with green, ck, and golden mist sprawling out of the tform. Two ss containers were filled to the brim with golden-green-red mixed energy as it sparkled with multiple colors¡ªAlfred and the new spirit wraith were in these containers. There was a timer on the top of the tform formed with golden-green mist, indicating the time required for the Spirit Wraith Hex toplete. ''48 hours, eh?'' Almond looked at the timer. ''The skill said I could modify, though it seems I can''t do it now, but after this process ispleted.'' Almond freshened up, ate breakfast, and directly began dungeon-clearing rush. There was no time to waste as he wanted to finish this as soon as possible so he could visit that temple and make progress in learning his weapon art if possible before the Battlefield. ¡­ 30th December, 7 p.m. Every member of Grim Breaker was present in the castle''s Garden of Peace as Almond had told them to gather at this time yesterday. "Was he doing Dungeons all day every day?" Kira asked. "Yeah, even now, he is still in thest dungeon and that would be his 31st S-rank Dungeon," Lily wryly smiled. "Damn!" "Monster." "But if he cleared way more than he needed, he will get tons of Legendary gear sets¡­" "And now Spirit wraiths." "Crap." "He will indeed crap pants of his enemies in the event, lol." "He is going to be a nightmare in the Battlefield of the Mightiest, hahaha. Only one day left till it opens." "I can''t wait for my legendary gear set, hehe. Y''all, listen. We gotta make more contributions than all other Gold-rank adventurers!" "That''s given, heh." "That said, did you all use your Godly y yet or not?" "I didn''t." Read exclusive adventures at empire "Same. I am thinking hard about it, though I''ll make it before the battlefield opens." "I was thinking the same." "I¡­made mine." "Woah, Kayle you made it? Show it already,ss." The party went into a jolly mood as some of them who used their Godly y showed their items. Ten minutester, everyone felt a slight shockwave as the big ship returned. Almond emerged from it before the ship vanished and he teleported in the garden. "I was a bitte since there was a Labyrinth Gate there, and I decided to put on a new score in the Throne Territory I want," Almond smiled as he walked towards Lily and sat beside her on the sofa. "Anyway, I have everyone''s custom gears ready," Almond grinned as he waved his hand and the entire garden glowed colorfully! 21 Legendary Gear Sets! 84 Legendary items in total! Each set glowed with a specific set of elements, types, and styles, suitable to each party member! "I am just showing you these because they are not fully ready yet," Almond grinned as he turned to Roken. "Roken, are you ready?" Roken stood up and thumped his chest with his fist with an intensely wild expression. "I am ready! I am going make each of this legendary items more powerful with my runic arc!" "Good, take this and start. Don''t stop until you''ve finished all of them." Roken blinked, "Wait really?" "Nah, just just joking. But do it before the battlefield opens." "Roger!" "Now, I am going to sleep. You all enjoy. I still have more things to do." Almond went to sleep right away. When he woke up, the result of Spirit Wraith Hex was also ready. Almond was highly excited about this and immediately opened it.@@novelbin@@ [The Spirit Wraith Hex has finished its process. Please select the attributes for the new Spirit Wraith in the Specific Section] Chapter 241 Alfreds Evolution [Specific Section has the following options to add to the evolved Spirit Wraith and determine its new specifications.] As Almond read this, a few windows appeared with options. [Please choose the core skill.] 1. Primplex Elemental Art. 2. Battlefiend General Art. 3. King''s Faith Sword Art. Almond blinked.@@novelbin@@ ''Damn.'' ''Now, what do I choose?'' Almond narrowed his eyes as he considered the three options, but after his usual method of dissecting words and finding meanings to determine the potential, he found the third option to have the highest potential. ''King''s Faith Sword Art. I''m sure you won''t disappoint me,'' Almond grinned as he selected the third option. Afterward, it was time to choose the next specification. [Please choose the evolution path] 1. Commanding King''s Faith Path 2. Renegade King''s de Path 3. Avenger King''s Vengence Path. ''Evolution path, huh? Hmm¡­'' Almond looked at the options, contemting the choices. After a minute, he decided on the first option. [Please choose the skill tree of the selected evolution path] 1. Sovereign''s Aegis Doctrine 2. Dominion''s de Discipline 3. Imperial Warbound Master Almond grinned as he read the skill tree names. ''Choosing the spirits of the dungeon''s boss and mini-bosses was perfect for Alfred''s evolution.'' Almond didn''t have to think too deeply about these options as Imperial Warbound Master was the best choice in his view. As he finished the final selection of the Specific Section, Almond found his connection with Alfred again and immediately summoned him. A faint gold and white mist formed as Alfred made his appearance, with a simr face but looking slightly younger, a ck butler outfit but with golden iid imperial patterns as a majestic vibe oozed out of him. Find exclusive stories on empire There were two shining crystal rings on each of his index fingers, one red crystal and one ck crystal, one having a sword and a shield symbol, while the other one having an upside-down tree symbol with golden skulls on its roots. [Alfred the King''s Imperial Warbound Butler] -Rank: Gold -Level: 100 -Trait: ¡ª> King''s Order: One order can be issued as a King''s Order, activating its effect for 8 hours. Whilepleting the King''s Order, Alfred''s stats get a 100% boost, and he can revive once. ¡ª 24 hours cooldown. ¡ª> King''s Warbound Commander (passive): When fighting alongside Almond Crowshade, both receive a 10% boost in stats. -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 200|Health: 200|Stamina: 200] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 200|Focus: 200|Perception: 200] -Skill Tree: ¡ª> King''s Faith Sword Art (SSS) ¡ª> Imperial Warbound Battlefront (SSS) -Skills: ¡ª> me Maniption (B) ¡ª> Sword Mastery (SS) ¡ª> Commanding Sword Wave (S) ¡ª> Imperial Healing Beam (S) ¡ª> Warbound Barrier (S) ¡ª> Imperial me Lance (S) ¡ª> me Rage (A) ''So some of his previous skills got deleted, some got upgraded, and he got a few new ones as well brand new traits,'' Almond grinned as he read the traits. ''Awesome.'' Almond saw there was a ''+'' sign beside the skill tree tab, and opened it. [Skill Tree¡ªImperial Warbound Master] 1. King''s Faith Sword Art (SSS) 2. Imperial Warbound Battlefront (SSS) 3. Undeveloped ¡ª Experience required to begin development: [0/10,000]. ''Eh? What kind of experience does he need? If it''s fighting and war, he will get that kind of experience soon,'' Almond blinked, his eyes showing anticipation. ''One day left until the Battlefield of the Mightiest opens.'' "At yourmand, my lord," Alfred said as he bowed on one knee. "You remember everything you''ve been doing before this evolution, right?" "I do, my lord." "Hahaha, then go and do whatever you want. I''ll call when I need you." "As you wish, my lord." Alfred left, and Almond freshened up before leaving for Proximax Guild to enter the ck Will Temple. He arrived there shortly on his mini Redhawk aircraft, but he sneakily expanded his domain and cut through 4 kilometers often to cut the distance quickly and save time. After informing guild leader Liam, Almond was soon received by an executive he was familiar with¡ªGto Shen, the one who yed anchor in the Rising Star Tournament and gave titles to super rookies. "Long time no see, kid. I knew you would make big waves," Gto said with a boisterousugh as he pped Almond''s shoulder. Almond smiled and nodded as he greeted him. Both of them immediately left for the ck Will Temple. Crossing the barrier, Gto said, "Go and touch the door. It will give you a confirmation prompt with options. Choose the one you like." "Alright," Almond nodded as he walked towards the temple door and touched it, causing it to glow eerily ck and dark gold as patterns over it lit up. [Please select the trial difficulty] 1. Easy ¡ª Hell Mountain Ascendence ¡ª> A boost in stats depending on performance. ¡ª> Awakening of innate talent (D-B) uponpleting the trial with a 100%pletion rate. 2. Hard ¡ª Wandering In ck Infernus ¡ª> A boost in stats depending on performance. ¡ª> Awakening of innate talent (A-S) uponpleting the trial with a 100%pletion rate. 3. Hell ¡ª Underworld City Dominion. ¡ª> A boost in stats depending on performance. ¡ª> Awakening of innate talent (SS-L) uponpleting the trial with a 100%pletion rate. Almond''s eyes widened as he saw this. ''One person can only enter this once¡­'' Almond clenched his fist and grinned. ''There''s no need to think.'' But he didn''t ept directly and turned to Gto. "How long does it take to finish Hell difficulty trial?" Gto rubbed his chin, "Out of 13 Guild Executives, only seven of thempleted the Hell difficulty trial, and each one took a different amount of time. I got an SS rank in Innate Talent, and it took me 4 months toplete it." "What?" Almond was perplexed. "Haha," Gtoughed, and said, "Naturally, it was merely four minutes for the outside world. That''s how big of a time dtion effect there is." "Say it first," Almond wryly smiled, "Anyway, who took the longest then? I''m curious." "That would naturally be guild master Liam. Only he knows what rank of talent he got, but he took ten minutes in the outside world, which means 10 months inside." ''Ten months inside¡­what kind of trial is this? Moreover, talent can only be awakened if we get a 100%pletion rate in the trial, which means what rank of talent we awaken will depend on performance,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he turned back to the door. "Alright, I am going in." Almond chose the Hell difficulty and vanished. Chapter 242 Hell Difficulty—Trial of Underworld City Dominion (1/2) After one second of absolute darkness, Almond found himself in an alley. An alley with unbearable stench, filled with trash. And among those trash was him, lying on a trash heap with his face buried in it. ''FUCKING HELL.'' Almond sprung up from it, his face warped in misery, but he suddenly felt pain all over his body and fell down again. [Wee to the trial of Underworld City Dominion. From hereon, your stats, skills, innate talents, and other power sources in your source space are sealed.] [Take a look at your new profile and begin your dominion. Survive, rise, and dominate until you attain one of the eight positions of an Underworld King, which would mark 100%pletion of the trial. Dying will end the trial.] [Almond Crowshade] -Rank: Trash [ 0/10 kills to rank up.]. -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 5 | Health: 5 | Stamina: 8] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 7 | Focus: 10 | Perception: 10] -Skills: ¡ª> Extraction: You can choose one of the skills of a person you kill. ¡ª Can only be used once per month. Almond stood up again, this time slowly while adjusting to his new, weaker, and painful body. He looked at his arms and legs as he weakly smiled, ''I''m as weak as a thin strand of hair.'' At least, that''s what he felt after degrading to such weak stats. He was about to take a deep breath, but changed his mind and quickly hurried out of the trash alley. What greeted him outside was a bustling city street with big buildings, giving steam-cyberpunk feels as Almond saw structures, buildings, the technology of shops, and people of various races, some not even looking humanoid yet wearing clothes. ''Humans, elves, dwarves, and strange aliens¡­what the fuck is this Underworld City? Is it real or made up by the ck Will Temple? I should have asked how this trial started for everyone. If it was the same, then this is an imaginary world.'' Almond started walking in a random direction on the pedestrian footpath while cars and other strange vehicles moved over the road. ''My mana maniption is same at the same level as before,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he let the mana dance around his finger. ''But I can''t use my Golden Haze Lightning¡­'' ''I have intact memories, so mybat ability will work. I just need a sword,'' Almond nced around while walking. "Shit, you stinking bastard. Get away." Almond was suddenly kicked from behind on his legs as he fell and saw a big man with a coat covering his fleshy body wiggling out four long arms. He saw the man turning to him, opening his ugly mouth with two big fangs outside, and spitting at him before saying, "Go get a bath at the river, piece of trash." ''Fucking hell,'' Almond internally cursed and got up. Ignoring the pain, he continued walking before stopping at a rather shabby shop with an old man sitting on a chair and reading a digital newspaper. Almond asked the old man about the location of the river and headed there. "Fuck," Almond touched the water and it was freezing cold.@@novelbin@@ But after taking a deep breath, he jumped in without hesitation. After washing himself, he looked around and asked around forbor work to settle himself a shelter. After two hours of non-stop begging, a restaurant owner hired him as a second cleaner. He asked for some food first since he was hungry, but he got pped and told to work instead. After working for three hours, his shift ended and he finally got food. After eating, he continued working for three more hours before he got a wage of six hours¡ª6 gold coins. The restaurant was closed, and he got to sleep in the worker''s chamber in the basement of the restaurant with three others on a crude mattress on the floor. ''I have to be an Underworld King, and my only skill is extremely vital for that. I have to kill someone strong, someone with a super useful skill.'' ''This restaurant is a good ce to start. It''s rather famous, and I saw a few people who got VIP treatment from the owner. I have to gather more information about this city''s social structure and forces.'' ''This trial is going to be the longest short trial,'' Almond wryly smiled and closed his eyes as he shut off his mind and fell asleep. For the next three days, Almond behaved like a curious and hardworking young chap as he appeared eighteen years old here as well and gathered sufficient surface information regarding the physical and social structure, as well as big forces of this Underworld City. Aside from the eight Underworld Kings that lived in the inner zone of the city, there were 50 Underworld Dukes who ruled various parts of the outer section. There was now or rules here as everything was dictated by the rulers. Almond was in an area ruled by Underworld Duke Leitar Kel Zinom¡ªAn alien with an octopus head with tentacles instead of a beard, and a big muscr humanoid frame with green-ck rough skin. Almond saw a person going berserk after using some kind of substance just a street away, killing several pedestrians before Leitar''s subordinates arrived and killed him. Leitar had three main subordinates, and one of them daily visited the restaurant where Almond worked¡ªJemsil Rocket, a monkey-humanoid with a slick vest holding two fancy sci-fi pistoles with green and red neon-liquid patterns. That was Almond''s target, his intended first kill. For the next three days, Almond used his free time to roam the city and find out more about it, while also looking out for his main objective¡ªpoison. The only way to kill someone like Jemsil Rocket was by mixing poison in his food. But he didn''t want to be traced, so buying poison from someone was out of options. He couldn''t afford to trust anyone here. What if the person who sold him the poison ratted him out or after identifying the poison, it was traced back to that seller and Leitar made him talk? There was no other safer option aside from making a lethal poison himself and using it. As such, he was visiting ces where people dealt with chemicals and herbs, like alchemists. After trying at many ces, he became friends with a rather despondent alchemist with an unsessful business as his products were not as appealing as others. Talk no jutsu worked against this alchemist as Almond at first greeted him by daily visiting him, bing familiar, helping out asionally, and cheering him for his efforts. His--Emotional Support Ego Stroking n¡ªworked as he intended and he got a gateway to getting information about making poison. Two weeks passed by in total as Almond was making progress with the alchemist and also bing an obedient and hard worker in the restaurant. His image in the owner''s eyes got good, and he got permission to use the kitchen to cook food after the restaurant closed as he told the owner he was aspiring to be a chef. One more week passed by as Almond slowly cooked to make a stable, tasty dish to add to the menu while refining his poison with the help of the alchemist, who didn''t even know he was helping Almond kill Jemsil Rocket. If he knew, that Alchemist would definitely puke a liter of blood. Finally, as his first month came to an end in this city, Almond was ready to enact his first execution. Everything depended on this n that was risky yet highly rewarding. Explore hidden tales at empire ''One month of living like an insect, and preparing all this¡­'' Almond''s eyes fiery glimmered as hey on his mattress. ''Tomorrow is the day I take the first step in my dominion of this city.'' Chapter 243 Hell Difficulty—Trial of Underworld City Dominion (2/2) While Almond was spending months inside, Gto was waiting outside for him. Shortly, another figure appeared near the temple before a question echoed at Gto. "How long has it been?" Gtoughed as he turned to the owner of the voice. "It''s been five minutes so far, boss." "Five minutes, eh? Then he must have reached that point by now," Liam faintly smiled. ''Let''s see what you aplish there, Almond.'' ¡­ After toiling for five months, and brushing past deaths many times, Almond was finally going to sit on one of the thrones of the Underworld Kings. Underworld City, Hall of Kings. The Hall of Kings was dimly lit, casting long shadows over the ancient obsidian table that stretched across the center of the grand chamber. Each throne exuded an aura of power, adorned with intricate carvings that reflected the essence of its upant. At the head sat Valithar Duskshade, the Elven King of Shadows, his violet eyes sharp and calcting. Cloaked in ck and silver, his presence was cold andmanding. Beside him lounged Garrok the Ravager, the Orc King of Carnage. His battle-scarred armor and bloodstained axe spoke volumes of his brutal reputation. Therrin Ironbeard, the Dwarven King of Ingenuity, sat amidst mechanical contraptions. His mechanical arms and glowing devices showcased his mastery of technology and magic. Opposite them, Maeltris Threefold, the Beastly Tri-King, loomed with three animalistic heads¡ªlion, serpent, and jackal¡ªembodying primal strength and cunning. Next was Lyrintha Auric, the Gilded Queen of Ruin, her gem-encrusted body radiating a regal but dangerous allure. At the far end sat Vrex Whitefang, the Rat King of Secrets. Small and wiry, his sharp red eyes hinted at a mind steeped in maniption. Finally, Kendrick Vale, the Human King of Chains, was shrouded in a dark cloak, the faint rattle of chains his only apaniment. The Kings sat in tense silence, their eyes shifting to the empty throne at the far end of the table. The air in the hall grew heavy with anticipation as murmurs of curiosity filled the void. "Where is the neer?" Garrok growled, his deep voice reverberating through the chamber. "I''d rather test his strength than waste time waiting." "Patience, Ravager," Valithar said, his voice as smooth as silk. "If he managed to im one of the eight thrones, he must have earned it. Let us see what this¡­ Almond Crowshade is made of." As if on cue, the heavy doors at the entrance of the hall creaked open, revealing a figure cloaked in shadow. A chilling gust swept through the chamber, extinguishing half the torches and sending ripples of unease through the Kings. Almond Crowshade stepped into the room, his steps deliberate and his posture exuding confidence. His attire was a mix of sleek ck leather armor and a dark, flowing coat that billowed dramatically with each stride. His eyes, glowing faintly with a golden hue, seemed to pierce through the dim light, radiating a quiet but undeniable authority. In his right hand, he carried a sleek ck de etched with glowing crimson runes, humming faintly with suppressed energy. Almond paused just before the obsidian table, his gaze sweeping over the assembled Kings. Then, with a faint smirk, he spoke, his voice calm yet resonating with the weight of his newfound power. Stay tuned to empire "Apologies for the dy," Almond said, his toneced with a subtle challenge. "I had to ensure my entry was¡­ memorable." The Kings exchanged nces, some with amusement, others with annoyance. But one thing was clear¡ªAlmond Crowshade was no mere pretender. "Take your seat, Crowshade," Valithar said, motioning toward the empty throne. "Let us see if you truly belong among us¡­ or if you are destined to be dethroned." Almond''s smirk deepened as he moved to im his ce at the table. As he sat, the torches in the room red back to life, casting an ominous glow over the chamber. Just as he sat on the throne, a notification appeared in his mind, causing his eyes to flicker with surprise. [You have achieved a 100%pletion rate. You can now eitherplete the trial here and guarantee an S-rank awakening of innate talent or continue your journey and reach a new height in this city, changing its order and structure and bing its new emperor to achieve the best awakening.] ''Wonderful¡­'' Almond''s eyes glinted.@@novelbin@@ "Almond Crowshade, you may have be one of us, but there is someone out there above all of us," Valithar calmly said as he gazed upon Almond keenly. "The one that dictates the ultimate fate in this city." "You may have gained the throne by defeating Harak and uprooting his faction, but that doesn''t mean we acknowledge you," Vale voiced out as soon as Valithar finished speaking, his eyes narrowing at Almond. "To truly be an Underworld King, you must visit the one who dictates this city¡ªUnderworld Emperor Abysm." Therrinughed with gusto as the dwarf caressed his thick beard and said, "For your information, the entire city is built upon the body of Emperor Abysm." The dwarf demonically grinned at Almond as he said, "To gain our respect while making us acknowledge you as our equal, you must visit Emperor Abysm and return with his seal of approval." ''Are they scheming or what?'' Almond internally frowned. He had reached this step with his unbending iron will supporting his cold and calctive steps that made him progress each month with a suitable skill as he selected targets while raising his position, and uprooted an entire Underworld King along with his faction. He could tell whether these seven Underworld Kings were serious or not, and it seemed former as he looked at them. "Here''s the location," Lyrintha, the female alien made of stone and crystal, said as she waved her hand as a small crystal manifested and flew towards Almond. "Infuse Mana, and you''ll find the map." "Go and return with the seal. Otherwise-" Gaorrok wildly grinned as he crushed the meat in his hand along with the bone, "-I will crush you." Almond formed a deadpan smile on his face as he swept his nce at everyone. ''Well, I guess It''s time to change the game.'' He came holding his sword in his hand not just to show off but to establish that he usually held his sword in his hand. However, the real reason was that he wanted to take the initiative if anything happened or if he decided to make a move. And he did decide after reading the notification of this trial because he was going to continue and be Underworld Emperor! *sh! sh* A mind-numbing hum rang in the hall as two wide shes blindingly streaked from under the table Almond swung his sword and a ''V'' shaped sh unleashed instantly at Valithar Duskshade. In that split second, Valithar''s body split into pieces as the ''V'' sh cut him, along with the hall, as it extended outward, creating a V-shaped gap in the structure as lights invaded the dimly lit hall. Everyone was dumbfounded at the bold move and sudden lethal attack on Valitha, killing an underworld king. But before they could recover, darkness descended in the hall as Almond selected the most powerful skill in Valithar''s possession¡ªRuler of Darkness. This skill was also the best one that would help me escape because he wasn''t powerful enough to entangle with multiple Underworld Kings at the same time. He only managed to kill Valithar because of the sudden-unexpected-attack tactic. Now, with Valitha''s skill in his possession, he could easily escape from here and start his steps towards the new goal¡ªUnderworld Emperor! "Underworld Kings! Do everything in your power to stop me, but you will still fail, so make sure you provide me enough difficulty to make me enjoy this hell, hahaha!" Almond''s words echoed before hisugh reverberated briefly. The darkness soon vanished and the Underworld Kings looked at each other with mixed expressions, but all of them had one emotion inmon¡ªwrath towards Almond. ¡­ "It''s been ten minutes," Gto muttered. "Ten months inside. Boss, that''s the same as you." Liam nodded, his expressionplicated as he muttered, "Underworld Emperor Abysm¡­I was close yet far." "Does that mean you got SSS-rank talent?" Gto blinked. "Come on, it''s been years, and you''ve never shown your talent to anyone." Liam had acquired the talent long ago, and nobody had seen his power before his ascension as the guild leader, so the guild executives knew about his powers and specialties, but not his SSS-rank talent in detail. "You don''t need to know," Liam dismissed Gto as he faintly smiled, "Admiral Rudra told me not to reveal it to anyone. As his former student, and ording to recent events, I''ll keep a lid on this information, especially because it needs to be kept secret." Gto shrugged, "Well, it''s fine. I killed this curiosity long ago. But now¡­" "Turning to the temple," Gto grinned. "I am eager to find out what this little fellow gains from this." Two more minutes passed by before the temple faintly shone. Gto and Liam''s eyes flickered as they saw it, their anticipation rising visibly. "He is finally here," Gto grinned. Liam simply nodded and soon saw the temple door opening, revealing a whirlpool from which Almond walked out, his eyes unfocused as if he was looking at the air, but they contained a hint of thrill as it was clear he was reading the notification of his trialpletion and reward. Chapter 244 Legend Unfolds Legend Felling Valithar, the Ruler of Night, Almond''s de became the city''s blight. His sword, once hidden, now a dragon''s roar, With a viper''s cunning¡ªlethal to the core. Patience coiled like a predator''s snare, Waiting, watching, with an iron stare. But when the strike came, oh, it was fire, A blinding storm, chaos to inspire! Through streets drenched in crimson and fear, Almond tread where none would dare. The weak bowed low, the strong met death, Each victory crowned with a whispered breath: "No rat is he, but a shadowed king, Enjoy exclusive content from empire A de that cuts through everything!" Yet the throne of Kings was not his end, For higher still, his will would ascend! The Emperor loomed, deep in the stone, Abysm, the beast that imed the throne. Almond honed his sword to a deadly gleam, Sharpened by blood, by shadow, by dream. His will unbroken, his fury a tide, He faced the beast with the madness inside. Their sh was thunder, the abyss did quake, Each strike a promise, each swing a stake. The city trembled, its heart ame, As Sword met w in a deadly game. Then came the thrust that sealed the night, Abysm fell to the Sword of Unparralled Might. Thend itself seemed to groan and sigh, As Almond rose to im the sky. From rat to ruler, his legend was spun, The shadows embraced their chosen son. With a de in hand, he imed his throne! The city trembled, and the streets bellowed!: "Hail! All Hail the Unparalleled Sword Emperor''s name!" ¡­ ''Damn, this is crazy¡­'' Almond''s eyes contained lights of thrill as he read the evaluation of his trial, the result. [You havepleted the trial of Underworld City Dominion at maximum score.] [You are a solid sword that is eternally shapeless, yet the sharpest.] [You are like a deadly snake who grew mighty dragon''s wings and ws, with no less zing mes in your jaws.] [Your patience has no end, and your focus is unbent.] [With your eyes and your de, you see through everything, cut through anything.] [Legend unfolds Legend. For your legendary tale, a new legend shall be forged with the decree from ck Will Temple.] [A Dragon of Mystic, A Master of Sword¡ªthe golden dragon born with a snake tail that transforms into a sword with unparalleled might. His eyes capture the weakness of hearts, and his de cuts through his enemies with the sharpest strikes. Born with cunning and patience, this dragon prides his hunt.] [Rygaroth the deborn¡ªThis dragon shall be born in the Mystic Dragon World. If fate wishes, your lives persist, you two may meet.] ''A dragon born from my tale?'' Almond''s eyes sparkled. ''Holy shit. I want to meet that dragon.'' "Hey, hey, you''re totally absorbed, eh?" Almond blinked as his eyes shifted focus away from the notifications. "It appears that your trial went very sessful," Liam faintly smiled. "That''s right," Gto grinned. "Your eyes were shining just now, haha. Come on, tell us, what you got?" Almondughed, "Well, you caught me." "But let me read first," Almond grinned. "I''ll decide if I want to show or not after that." He turned to look at thest notification on the list while Gto and Liam were briefly surprised. ''Boss, his behavior changed, but¡­'' ''Indeed, I''m more impressed with how his behavior is stillrgely in his control, but it''s also clear that he exposed his position just now,'' Liam chuckled. ''Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, I know he can wipe the floor with me if he gets serious since you told us that he wasn''t serious in the S-rank dungeon we went in together, but just now, he gave off that vibe¡­'' ''You are right in your thinking, Gto,'' Liam smiled. ''Almond may have grown very strong in these 12 minutes, which were 12 months for him. This time dtion is already one of the biggest rewards, and him spending a year there means hisbat ability and his potential with the sword may have bloomed to a new level.'' ''Damn,'' Gto''s eyes glinted. ''This brat spent a year there, this monster¡­how strong is he now? Could it be stronger than you too?'' Liam nced at him. ''Haha, I''m just joking,'' Gto scratched his head. Liam shook his head and let out a wry smile. ''I strongly suspect he is stronger than me based on several factors, but the biggest one is Admiral Rudra''s behavior, and well, the vibe he gave off just now.'' ''Boss, you aren''t jealous, right? Almond seems to be the favorite of Admiral Rudra, after all,'' Gto snickered. ''It seems that you need some extra training. We are going to the mountain after half an hour. Get ready.'' Gto''s face paled. "Alright, I''ve decided," Almond said and cleared his throat as he smiled and cupped his fist, "I apologize, but I won''t be showing you the innate talent I awakened." "Yeah, yeah, that''s fine. But can you tell us its rank?" Gto asked as he blinked in curiosity. Almond chuckled and waved his hand, showing the two lines. [Rygaroth''s Reign] -Rank: Legendary. ''Although it''s one rank lower than my other innate talent, it''s still freaking awesome.'' "Alright, seniors. I''ll be taking my leave now. Thank you so much for letting me use this temple." "See you on the 1st of January when the battlefield opens," Liam nodded. ¡­ Almond returned home and ordered some food. Everyone else was training, and he was about to do the same after eating.@@novelbin@@ ''ck Will Temple was awesome, it''s sad I can only enter once,'' Almond sighed and took out his sword before swinging it gently three times and creating a small whirlpool of winds purely with the timing of swings and matching it with winds frequency. ''The twelve months I got were awesome, wish I could stay there longer,'' Almond sighed again. Almond actually wanted to stay there longer and even thought of dying his ns, but when the eleventh month passed by, the Underworld Emperor''s humanoid form arrived in the city, and Almond also got a notification that he only had one month toplete his dominion. Reluctantly, he trained harder and focused only on his sword for the final battle. Despite having twelve skills, his most powerful arsenal was still his sword, and how he created sword arts on his own with his advanced control of Mana and proficiency, along with his increasing level of swordy. Almond also suspected that no one actually had skills that could defeat Underworld Emperor Abysm because he was truly too strong for skills possessed by people as one''s own unique power arsenal was necessary, like how each Underworld King was strong, not because of their skills but the power they developed. The trial was about making oneself stronger, standing out, and developing their own power to a high level in the intense struggle in the ruthless Underworld City. The extracted skills each month were merely a stepping stone and support for survival while bing stronger. ''Should I start training my Weapon Art until the battlefield starts or use the Elemental b first since it''s pretty much guaranteed I''ll awaken Sand of Vibrant Wave.'' ''Hmmm, I can learn the first stage of the Weapon Art as I am sure I''ll be able to grasp the intent of the first stage and learn it, but I have to be focused for a long, and it could take a few days, which I don''t have right now.'' ''I have about 24 hours, depending on when the Grimworld''s Tutorial makes the announcements are Battlefield of the Mightiest on January 1st. My score in the Throne Territory is set, and I doubt anyone can surpass it, so that''s done as well.'' ''Alright, it''s decided. Acquiring Sand of Vibrant Wave will boost my overallbat power a lot in an all-rounder way, and that could help me a lot in whatever things we have to do on the battlefield event,'' Almond made his decision and took out the Elemental b. Infusing Mana into it, his consciousness soon drifted away into a unique dimension of Sand of Vibrant Wave. Lily and other super rookies were also training on their own in anticipation of the Battlefield of the Mightiest. Julian waspleting his exercising tasks to unseal his new specialized ss skills, giving his all to unlock them as fast as possible. Roken was imprinting runes on everyone''s gear sets, making them stronger. Almond had already put his new Spirit Wraith in production before he went for the ck Will Temple, so it was only a matter of time before a new Spirit Wraith was born¡ªcentralized on the Heroic Spirit Shamanic Druid Mmeron of the Wandering Cursed Meadow! 1 Heroic Spirit x 1 Human Spirit x 18 Epic-rank level 200 Dungeon Boss Spirits! The result was bound to be amazing. Chapter 245 Lerkeions Assault While the general public was waiting for the new year to celebrate another year they thrived in this new world, the adventurers among them also had other things to look forward to¡ªthe result of the Territory Event and the beginning of the Battlefield of the Mightiest at the same time! It was past eleven o''clock at night, and the 31st of December was about to be over. The super rookies were gathered in the courtyard wearing their new pristine legendary gear sets, waiting for whatever opened up first, battlefield or sanctuary area. "Is Almond not done yet?" "He will be soon." "Just two minutes left, guys." "Fuck, I can''t wait." "Same, I want to use these damn skills against Gold rankers from other worlds!" "You might also die, mofo." "You''ll die before me then." While the party was hyped for the clock to hit midnight, a certain figure loomed nearby, bypassing all the surveince. ''So this is the ce where the little bastards are gathered,'' Lerkeion''s eyes glinted coldly as a nasty smile yed on his lips. ''I only said I would fight you all when you reach Epic rank. I didn''t say I wasn''t going to kill others.'' Lerkeion infiltrated here alone, his aim only one¡ªbing a menace for this world as ordered. And his next n in doing that was to kill these young generation super rookies who made a name for themselves, mainly their leader. ''What was his name?'' Lerkaion frowned. ''I swear I fucking read it.'' ''Whatever, he is but an insect.'' From a violet fissure under the sea, Lerkeion emerged with a blue cube in his hand as the cloak covering him vanished. Meanwhile, Almond opened his eyes they sparkled with golden motes. In the next second, a sparkling stream of golden sands whirled around him. ''Awesome!'' The sands condensed into swords before Almond infused lightning as they crackled with sparks before turning ssy with Almond controlling the elemental reaction between lightning and sand. ''Once I vibrate them and-'' Almond was suddenly interrupted as he sensed a flux of energy. His eyes captured a giant barrier suddenly covering a 2-kilometer radius of the area. At the same time, a dreadful presence burst out, causing all super rookies to feel like puking as they panicked. ''Who is it?'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he used Espada Ad Grimveil and vanished, appearing right in front of the presence 200 meters away from the courtyard at the beach. ''This guy¡­'' Almond''s pupils shrank. ''Lerkeion.'' Lerkeion was surprised as Almond appeared before him, "So you are him. Oh, I remember your name now, Almond Crowshade." Almond''s eyes flickered as he saw others approaching and quickly used Magic Whisper, telling them to stay there whilemanding his spirit wraiths to protect them. "Don''t worry, insect," Lerkeion cracked his knuckles and neck, "Nobody can breach this barrier easily, so I have plenty of time to kill all of you." "Go on, get ready and prepare all you want for ten seconds," Lerkeion grinned as he crossed his bulky arms and floated five meters across Almond. "I''ll let you make the first move." A Spirit Syringe manifested and pierced Almond as he boosted his stats by 20% while his golden legendary sword appeared in his hand.@@novelbin@@ Roken had his new Legendary Gear set so he would have to make do with this legendary sword. Almond''s expression was focused yet his eyes flickered with a hint of savageness as he floated with a simple stance holding his sword forward in his right hand while his left hand''s palm whirled with mana for quick execution of other things as required. All-Seeing Eyes! ''His stats are all at 400, plus the bonuses I am seeing¡­'' Almond''s eyes flickered, and without hesitation, he swung his sword. "Let''s dance, alien," Almond grinned. Four shes hazily crackling with golden lightning drifted through space and struck Lerkeion without any warning. Spatial Craft: Severance de! Lerkeion''s pupils shrank drastically, ''What?!'' Before he could react to that attack, his body was sliced into four pieces cleanly. Almond''s eyes pupils sparkled again as he doubled down, conjuring 100 small and thin Severance des to slice and dice Lerkeion. ''Found it!'' Almond''s eyes finally detected the tiny core that was hidden and his Severance de aimed there. But before that could happen, it gushed out with power, destroying his de while all flesh and blood gathered instantly as Lerkeion transformed into his true form, unleashing his Bloodline power. "You¡­" Lerkeion''s expression was somber as he immediately waved his hand, causing a giant w to sweep at Almond. "You must die." Almond''s eyes flickered as a whirling barrier formed around him, enchanted with golden sand and crackling lightning within a 2-meter radius around him. The ws struck and suddenly entered into a sh as sparks of energy flew while his ws ever so slowly neared. However, Almond''s expression was calm, and his eyes thrilled. ''It worked!'' "You¡­" Lerkeion''s heart was beating wildly at the moment as the patterns on his body pulsed, his aura bursting. Looking at the barrier, and sensing how it was blocking his attack, waves of shock were coursing through him. Your journey continues with empire ''How is this possible?! Themand he has over space is strange! He is not using space matter, but the space matter of this ne is in his control.'' His ws were nearing Almond, and he could feel them! But it was like there was an infinite amount of distance being ''reced'' constantly while that charged stream of golden sands whirled at once loop and slowed down his attack further while shaving it away! "You need to die," Lerkeion spoke with utter somberness as pointed his finger at Almond. A sudden, despair-inducing ck beam shot at Almond from his finger, and two long curved horns, created a thick triangle beam with absolute destructiveness. Almond''s arm blurred as he shed, his eyes serenely cold, gleaming golden-silver. Absolute Severance. The beam split into two before entering two portals beside Almond that emerged right behind Lerkeion. Lerkeion dodged as his figure blurred and appeared a meter above, two menacing eldritch thick des appearing in his hands, with demonic eyes on their handles. "Swords? Nice," Almond grinned as his figure vanished, teleporting right above Lerkeion with his downward sh in motion. Lerkeion quickly put both swords upward before he felt a force as if the entire world impacted him, nullifying his resistance as he smashed down into the ocean. Sword of Imperishable Zenith! *Ssh!* An arrow shot out from the ocean right at Almond, who cleanly split that arrow into two by swinging his sword, while also applying his newly created ¡ªInfinite Space Layer technique on it. However, the arrow was far more powerful than the w as his spaceyering speed couldn''t keep up and got pierced through, but he knew that could happen based on the power he perceived with his eyes, so his legendary sword was also aimed precisely as it sliced the arrow into two after its power was shaved away by Infinite Space Layer. Lerkeion immediately felt palpitation when his prized arrow actually got nullified. Emerging from the sea, the bow transformed into two thick swords again before shing them at Almond and executing an X-shaped sh projectile before quickly chugging Mana''s potion. However, his hands clearly trembled as Almond destroyed his attack again with a sh of his own. Chapter 246 Battlefield of the Mightiest Opens! ''That arrow and this sh both held almost 50% of my maximum mana each!'' Lerkeion''s eyes trembled. ''Why does he move space of such quantity and yet doesn''t get drained!?'' "Hey, is that all you got?" Almond blinked as he injected Spirit Syringe to recover his Mana swiftly before saying. "I mean, I know I am kind of strongest in terms of raw power right now because of my strange boost in space powers, but I expected more from you." Lerkeion''s expression darkened, not making any move and instead staying cautious, ''I can''t defeat him even with my stats doubling in my true form from bloodline''s boost.'' "I am tempted to go all out and kill you, but it''s clear that others would soon show up here," Lerkeion put away his weapon, his eyes glinting, "Consider yourself spared this time." Almondughed, "Are you joking?" His sword which was slightly cracked due to splitting that arrow glimmered as golden sands crackling with lightning coated around it and produced a ssy texture, sharpening and enchanting its de. It was clear that Almond didn''t n to end the battle just yet. The atmosphere was tense, but Lerkeion made the first move. Almond''s eyes glinted as he vanished with this hand already in motion! A violet fissure appeared behind Lerkeion, intending to escape, but Almond, sensing that, teleported right behind the fissure, his sword shredding the fissure away before striking Lerkeion! Lerkeion''s Focus Field also sensed something behind him, and his eyes shook, "No, you bastard!" ''I have to get away!'' Lerkeon wanted to get away, but he suddenly felt drastic weakness in his senses!@@novelbin@@ Divine Divider''s Harvest! Perception¡ªcut into half! Almond''s sword unleashed a golden sh projectile that reached Lerkeion quickly before he could dodge, shing his chest before Almond shrank space, and his physical sword sh also struck Lerkeion before he could do anything! ''HOW?!'' Lerkeion''s eyes showed terror as darkness suddenly surrounded him. "Get out of my," Almond''s eyes glinted as the impact shot Lerkeion right into a space crack he formed! As soon as Lerkeion vanished, he closed the space. The barrier also shattered immediately after that, and Almond''s wristwatch suddenly started ringing. "It seems all contact and connection was cut off while that barrier was present," Almond blinked and saw that he had several messages and calls from Admiral. He video-called him as his hologram soon sprung up from his wristwatch. "What''s going on there, Almond?! All surveince there was suddenly cut off, and a barrier was blocking the area. Was it your new space-rted skill or something else?" "It was Lerkeion," Almond chuckled. "He came here to kill us." "What?!" "No worries, though. I think he won''t be bothering us for a while," Almond smiled. Admiral Rudra raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?" "I sent him into outer space, though I don''t know where," Almond grinned. "I wanted to send him somewhere else, where he would have definitely died, but unfortunately, I can''t ess that ce yet." Almond did try opening the voidyer passively so that he could send Lerkeion there, but it just wasn''t possible. "You''re not joking, right?" Admiral Rudra asked with a weird expression. "Well, you can halve Lerkeion''s stats, and you have many tricks up your sleeve, so it''s not impossible¡­" "Nope, it''s not impossible," Almond smiled. "I''m pretty strong now, haha." "Almond, what happened here?!" "That was the alien bastard, right?!" Lily and Natalia asked first as the whole group arrived at the shore. "Everything''s fine," Almondughed. "I sent the alien bastard back to drifting in space." "Admiral, see you soon if the battlefield opens." Admiral Rudra nodded, "Five seconds." "Four!" Marcus shouted. "Three!" "Two!" "One!" The clock hit midnight as the 1st of January descended on the Earth. Right as the whole world celebrated the new year, a world announcement rang in everyone''s ears, along with window panels. [Battlefield of the Mightiest now opens. Everyone at Gold rank and above can enter the Battlefield Hub and look at the battlefield''s map, and current territories of each world.] [As the battlefield has opened for adventurers to explore and im, the first War Event will begin after 10 hours¡ªWar of the Wildered Tribes.] [War of the Wildered Tribes] -Participant rank: Gold. -Number of Participants from each world: 50. ¡ªRules: 1. Each world''s gold-rank adventurer may vie for a spot during the next ten hours by creating high scores in the War Participating Challenge. The one with the highest score will be the leader. 2. The 50 participants from each world will have a territory at four different ces in the Region of Wildered, where 20 tribes are situated. Each world must ally with a tribe, form alliances, and ultimately be thest one standing. 3. The event will end only when people of one world remain and conquer the Region of Wildered. Enjoy new adventures from empire 4. People exit and leave from their world to the Region of Wildered at will, with teleportation taking 3 seconds of dy. 5. Surrending is allowed. Once you surrender, you will be expelled from the War and may not enter again. Reading everything, the super rookies were dumbfounded, and then other emotions settled in, but mainly excitement! "Holy shit!" Amir shouted. "The first war is for us," Lily muttered, her eyes thrilled. "But that third rule¡­that means we will either win or die once we enter?" "That''s...right." "But who can defeat us with boss Almond on our side? This is going to be too easy for us," Adrianughed. "Let''s enter now," Almond said as he saw the new option in the status window. "It''s time to check out the battlefield hub." Almond entered first, and then Lily before everyone else also disappeared. A secondter, everyone found themselves on a massive za stretching several kilometers in radius! The za had four sections, each one a kilometer square with its transparent surface having different colored linings¡ªck, Blue, Red, and Golden. The tform where people of Earth appeared had golden linings. Thousands and thousands of people appeared on this tform as adventurers at Gold rank and above began entering the hub. Behind his tform stretched a wide road and a massive fancy building looking sci-fi with a metallic structure, and colorful lighting at different parts. "Holy shit, look below guys!" Everyone looked below and saw a massive square t world. Everyone could make out clouds and mountains, as it was clear that the massive continent below them was a world! Everyone who entered soon heard a voice in their heads. [What you are seeing below is the battlefield. It is 20,000 kilometers square area, and each of the world''s first bases starts at a different corner of the world.] [The battlefield awaits your presence. Enter, war, and conquer.] Almond looked at other sides and saw people from other worlds as well. ''So many dragons?'' ''And what are those, cyborgs? That world seems to be very high-tech.'' ''And elves, eh?'' People began moving to the big building to see what was inside. The old monsters and various leaders were the first ones to go there as they began exploring this hub. "Boss, let''s go in!" "Almond, let''s go check out the building." Almond chuckled and snapped his finger, teleporting his party there swiftly. Even he couldn''t wait to check it out! Chapter 247 Territory Entering inside, people found out that the huge structure was a big fancy za. The central hall had a big map of the battlefield, with four ces marked at four corners of the map, representing the four worlds Earth, Cyberterra, Empyreandrake, and Eldoren. Some people were already throwing their skills and attacks, but none of those would work as everything just passed by them. Battlefield Hub za had a huge hall, cafeterias, empty shops and blocks with prices attached, and various other structures. It was like a mini city''s central business and luxury district. And everyone could buy the plots there to put their shops or whatever! But the cost was not in gold coins. Instead, it was something called Battlefield Points. As for how or what to do to earn those points, there was nothing written about it except for just one thing [ Enter, War, Conquer] It was clear that there was only one ce where everyone could earn points¡ªThe battlefield. There was only one indication ofpetitiveness in the hall, and it was the giant leaderboard. [ Earth ] ¡ª 0 Cumtive Battlefield points. [ Cyberterra ] ¡ª 0 Cumtive Battlefield points. [ Empyreandrake ] ¡ª 0 Cumtive Battlefield points. [ Eldoren ] ¡ª 0 Cumtive Battlefield points. Everyone could enter the battlefield and people soon vanished one by one, arriving at the bases of their respective worlds.@@novelbin@@ Almond and others arrived in a huge emptynd with nothing on it, and behind them was a horizon of endless clouds. "That''s the border," Almond said as he raised his eyebrows. "Interesting." "What if we fall?" Natalia curiously asked. "Guess there''s only one way to find out," Marcus snickered. "Are we supposed to just build stuff here?" Suddenly, everyone feltpelled to look up in the sky as a magical effect affected everyone except a few. Almond only got notified as the mental effectpletely failed to affect him due to his high will. But he still looked there and saw elder Arjun floating with a bright yet lookable sun above him, it appeared real yet dreamy. ''Interesting skill,'' Almond blinked. ''An illusion, mental interference type, but it''s kept to cause no harm right now. What if he turns this on the offensive?'' Almond could only imagine how this skill could affect arge number of people if Elder Arjun turned on its true power. He could resist because of his high will, but most of the people would be affected. "Everyone, please gather at one side. We are going to build our base here in a minute." Everyone quickly and orderly moved away at the corner, those who could fly floated in the air while the rest stayed on the ground. In the center, only the old monsters remained. Even other guild leaders moved away. "The base is a 2-kilometer radius big, and then the forest starts, so let''s build within the inner 1-kilometer radius first," Rudra said before his eyes flickered and soon a blueprint appeared in front of everyone on the mana screen. "A warmand pce, training grounds, and these motel pirs connecting each other with wooden houses on top of them in the sky?" Silvester rolled his eyes. "Youe with weird shit every time." "Let''s start already. I know I have the most work to do, as always," Dn Makana snorted as blocks of walls made with the best stones formed. "You''re wrong, I also have the same amount of work," James chuckled as he coated the walls with strange ck-gray metal, but they suddenly changed colors and inner structure, surprising everyone. "Bastard, don''t tell me you broke through?" Annika shouted. "My metal is superior to yours now, Anni," James grinned. "This is the Legendary-rank Nano-metal." "Stop grinning, your wrinkly face is ugly." "Congrats, James. It seems you were the seventh one to reach Legendary rank in something." "Interestingly, I actually sensed the presence of a more powerful metal in the za¡­It vanished quickly though." Everyone''s eyes flickered hearing that. "Are you sure or just a hunch?" "Pretty sure," James said with a calm nod. "We can find out more about our enemiester. For now, let''s finish this," Shiro-sen said as he waved his hand, using wind to draw the skeleton structure on the ground. And then, everyone saw the most awesome spectacle of magic. All eighteen old monsters were in different positions and all of them burst out with different elemental energies. They saw energies solidifying into beautiful structures of metal, wood, stone, and more. In just five minutes, a magnificent base formed over thend of a 1-kilometer radius, containing a warmand center akin to a big pce, training grounds plots, warehouses, and living quarters up in the sky branching from tall solid molten pirs, with every fourth pir being a taller watchtower. "The rest is a camping area. Make your little camps yourself if you want to stay here," Rudra faced the adventurers as he said, his voice loud, "The forest may have dangers, so do not go out. We will go first and create a live map of which area is safe or not. Until then, don''t wander off away from our base here." Admiral Rudra also Magic Whispered to tens of people. The vice-guild leaders and other figures of GAA started leading people to build the rest of the base while the old monsters, top 20 guild leaders, and top family heads joined in a manawork of Rudra where they could Magic Whisper to each other. Less than 100 people were gathered to explore the forests and find out whaty ahead, though Almond already knew quite a lot by using Espada Ad Grimveil and covering a 4-kilometer radius. ''This could quickly be very troublesome,'' Almond frowned as he saw a location at the very end of his range, just some area, but he sensed multiple powerful presences in that area. ''They are at Epic rank lifeform,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. [Rudra: Almond,e here. You''ll join in the exploration.] Almond suddenly got Admira Rudra''s message. [Almond: Good idea, because I have something to share with you. There are people with pig-head and humanoid bodies living in something like a town four kilometers in the northwest.] [Rudra: Yeah, Shiro-sen informed us just now.] [Almond: Eh? His Focus Line can go for 4 kilometers?] [Rudra: He has a skill that can let him observe from afar, but my Focus Line range is longest still, at 3.4 kilometers right now, though now that I broke through to Epic-rank, It''ll increase. Anyway, hurry on, we have to interact with those hog-headed people.] Almond left after telling Lily and others to go do the War Participating Challenge and put their scores to enter the first War Event starting after ten hours. The big group split into three, with each group having at least five old monsters in the numbers. But first, everyone went to the town in the northwest as that was the only anomaly nearest to them within a 5-kilometer area. However, when the whole group arrived there, two guards with powerful aura holding a pike and a sword approached them. Almond''s eyes glinted as he saw through their attributes and status. ''So the race is called Pyga. They are intelligent species, and have the same stat limit of lifeform ranks as humans.'' ''But that means they are strong,'' Almond tried to see through their sses with his All-Seeing eyes and seeded with a minor headache. ''So they have sses too¡­'' "Halt!" one of the guards shouted, pointing his big dark pink palm at the huge group. "Otherworlders! Read the next chapter!" Chapter 248 Pygathor Kingdom, King Gunther Pygathor "Otherworlders! Only the ten strongest among you will be allowed entry into our Pygathor kingdom." "The ten of you must prove yourself worthy to get your kingdom to be our ally and allow entry for the rest. If you fail, kindly leave and do not bother us again, or we will attack your base." Indeed, the territory they thought of as a town actually turned out to be a small kingdom that stretched 5 kilometers long alongside a mountain range, with roughly 100k poption of Pygas. Admiral Rudra turned around to face others as he was at the forefront and said, "Shiro-sen, Arjun, Silvester, James, Theo, Liang, Bianca, Aarav, and Almond. The ten of us are going in. The rest of you explore other ces, but stay within 5 kilometers from here." The guards made way as they gestured with their hands for the ten of them to enter. "Who is that brat?" one of the guild leaders suddenly asked as he scratched his head. "Did you hit your head or something?" old monster Viktor looked at him with a weird expression. "I swear, I forgot his name and other things," said the guild leader of the 19th rank Sunforge Brotherhood Guild as he wryly smiled. "It''s alright. Don''t feel too much regarding why Almond was chosen by Admiral Rudra. There''s no bias in that as he is chosen purely due to his skills," the Proximax Guild leader said in a clear and crisp voice. "Now, let us proceed to explore other areas." "It''s a good thing you all humans at least have a chain ofmand," one of the guardsughed. "It''s wise to obey your superiors when they are more powerful, hence we only allow the ten strongest to enter." "Do you mean this isn''t your first time dealing with otherworlders?" Guild leader Ruyi Hexing of ckstar Guild blinked as she asked with a charming face, her big eyes showing curiosity. It was clear that she also used a skill, albeit on herself, and not the guards as she appeared highlypelling and attractive. "This is indeed not our first time, but-" Suddenly, the guard glitched andughed, "It''s a good thing you all humans at least have a chain ofmand. It''s wise to obey your superiors when they are more powerful, hence we only allow the ten strongest to enter." The guard repeated himself again as if time had reversed, and the question Ruyi asked didn''t exist in the first ce. Everyone was surprised. ''Ask them about what this world is to them,'' old monster Zauna magic whispered to guild leader Ruyi. ''Ask them if they know about other kingdoms and some prominent ces.'' ¡­ Meanwhile, Rudra, Almond, and eight others were led into the castle at the center of the kingdom. The average people here were all silver-rank. Even the few kids they saw were at silver-rank. [Almond: They have bloodlines. It seems they are born as silver-rank lifeforms right off the bat.] [Shiro-sen: He is right.] [Silvester: How did you find that out, brat?] [Almond: Secret.] [Bianca: Your eye power is indeed powerful. I highly suspect it''s at Legendary rank.] [Shiro-sen: No doubt there, haha.] [Arjun: Almond, how is your progress in Bone Tethering Condensation?] [Almond: I haven''t started yet. Was too busy.] [Hiroshi: Brat, you didn''t give me an answer yet.] [Almond: Senior Hiroshi, I gave it already. I can''t...be your grandson-inw.] [Silvester: Stop pestering him, old coot.] [Hiroshi: Tsk.] [James: Almond, I have a small matter to discuss, so do find some timeter.] [Rudra: We are entering. Let''s cease conversations for now.] The group arrived in the pce hall and saw a giant four-meter-tall muscr Pyga sitting atop a throne wearing a chest te and braces in his arms, his appearance less like a king, but more like a warrior ready to fight anytime. "Wee to my kingdom, humans. I am Gunther Pygathor, the King of this Pygathor Kingdom," Gunther spoke, his voice rumblingly loud as he grinned after speaking. Almond''s eyes glinted faintly as he saw his status, feeling powerful pressure on him. [Gunther Pygathor] -Rank: Epic -Level: 200. -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 800 (+800) | Health: 800 (+800) | Stamina: 800 (+400) ] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 800 (+400) | Focus: 800 | Perception: 800 ] ''Damn, he maximized his stats of Epic-rank lifeform?'' Almond''s pupils shrank. ''This guy must be crazily powerful.'' "Do not fear me, kid," Gunther said with augh as he looked at Almond. "It''s rather impressive to be able to pierce my flesh with your eyes." ''What?'' Almond was surprised. ''He could feel me checking him out? Did he sense my intent or the wavelength of the All-Seeing Eyes leading to me?'' "Humans, your worry is unfounded as I will not attack you all first unless you be hostile to us," Gunther said as he swept a nce at the ten of them. "But my kingdom prides itself in our powerful physical bodies and physicalbat arts. To be our ally, you must prove yourselves worthy." Gunther got off his throne and appeared in front of them like a silent wind, standing five meters across them, "The ten of you must show me a move each. Attack me with your best shot and impress this king." "If I am satisfied, this kingdom shall ally with you." Right as Gunther finished speaking, the ten of them got a notification. [Make Your Choice!] -Option 1: ¡ª> Task: Agreeing with Gunther Pygathor and impressing him by showing him the moves. ¡ª> Reward: 1000 cumtive Battlefield points, 1000 Battlefield points to each of you. -Option 2: ¡ª> Task: Refuse and dere war on the Pygathor Kingdom. ¡ª> Reward: Winning the war will grant you 10,000 cumtive battlefield points.@@novelbin@@ [Rudra: Our choice is clear.] [Theo: Option one is best because we may get more opportunities to earn cumtive points through them.] [Shiro-sen: Indeed.] The group made their choice clear and began. Before they could decide who would go first, Gunther said with a grin, "Weakest among you will go first." "Hiroshi, go," Silvester quickly said with a dignified expression. Hiroshi almost cursed him but maintained hisposure and said, "King Pygathor told us to send our weakest, not strongest." "Bwahahaha, I see you all have a good rivalry," Pygathor said with augh. "Then, allow me to choose the weakest among you based on my instincts." "No problem," Rudra inly nodded. "Go ahead." "I choose¡­you!" Chapter 249 Test of Might (1/2) [A/N: In chapter 247, James showed his Legendary metal, and the following dialogue revealed he was the fourth one to have reached Legendary rank in something. Correction: Not fourth, but seventh. *** "I choose¡­you. You are first, show me what you got." Everyone traced King Gunther''s finger and saw it pointing at Theo Gabris, the old monster with four high-ranking elemental mastery above S-rank, possessing a highly synergizing elementalbat style of a mage. The old monsters'' expressions became weird while Admiral Rudra wryly smiled. "So I am the weakest among the ten of us?" Theo asked with a weak smile. "ording to my instincts, indeed," Gunther said with a grin. "Ahem, shouldn''t it be me?" Almond asked with a cough. Gunther blinked as he looked at Almond and narrowed his eyes, "Are you joking? Every fiber of my being feels threatened by you more than others here." All the old monsters looked at Almond with an even weirder expression. Seeing them, Gunther blinked and said, "Perhaps, you all are not aware of this young adventurer'' capabilities¡­well, nor I am, so I am eager to find out. You''ll be thest." [Silvester: Brat, it seems that you got a lot more up your sleeve than you''re letting out, hahaha.] [Aarav: So you are strongest among us, eh? Interesting.] [Almond: This king must be confused, it''s just his instincts speaking, haha.] [Bianca: Instincts are rather reliable in our profession, especially if they are honed with experience, much like this King Gunther.] [Theo: Brat, you better show us something good when it''s your turn, hahaha.] Theo walked forward after saying in the manawork, his body, beard, and hair glowing with colorful hues as his aura surged. "Shoot," Gunther said as he crossed his arms. Theo spread his arms as both of his palms whirled with two different powers¡ªAn icy cold energy and a fiery hot energy. Afterward, he conjoined his palms with the first two fingers straightened and others bent as if gesturing a ''gun''. Both opposite temperature energies synergized and created a dark purple energy that condensed into an orb before his hands, pulsing out destructiveness. Almond''s eyes glinted, ''Damn, that''s powerful. He achieved a destruction attribute on his own by bncing thebination of specifically using hot and cold of his fire and water.'' "Interesting," Gunther grinned as his skin turned faint ssy red. "Here ites," Theo said before unleashing the orb. It instantly struck Gunther, creating a loud st as the smoke of dark purple covered the area. "Wonderful! That hit me good, alright!" A loudugh rumbled as the smoke scattered and everyone saw Gunther again with a circr mark on his chest where the orb had struck. But the mark quickly healed in front of them. [James: Well, well¡­.I was expecting more damage on him from Theo''s full-powered attack, but it seems this King Gunther''s skin is quite tough.] [Liang: He used a skill that increased his defenses drastically. His physical body is his greatest weapon.] "You are next,e here," Gunther said as he pointed at Aarav. Aarav wryly smiled as he walked forward while saying, "Don''t be disappointed by my attack. I specialize in defense." ''Well, I have some tricks, but I can''t use them without setting my barriers to absorb damages, and this king just wants me to attack,'' Aarav thought about what to do since most of his weapon arts and attacks were based on defense-first and then switching to attack. "No worries, shoot your strongest attack," Gunther said with a nod. Aarav set up three half-circr mystic blue barriers like a shield in front of him before they turned red as he used a skill. From behind the barrier, he used another specialized ss skill as a magical cannon manifested around his right arm, made purely of mana and no elemental energy. But he made it elemental with his fire elemental mastery by enchanting it and released an attack consuming all of his remaining Mana. The cannon unleashed a spherical attack that struck the barrier, but the moment it touched it, the barrier shattered while the sphere became bigger and more powerful! The same thing happened with the next two barriers shattering and empowering the attack instantly before it finally struck King Gunther. An explosion urred, cracking the floor and blowing powerful gusts of wind, but King Gunther stood absolutely still, only his feet dragging back due to the powerful explosion. "Mhmm, good. Although your attack was less powerful than the previous one, you got some interesting tricks," Gunther said with a grin. "Barrier master, eh? That''s going to be helpful in our conquest." [Bianca: It seems that he knows what this battlefield is about.] [Rudra: That seems to be the case. Allying with the kingdom is indeed the best option to get more information about this battlefield.] "Next, your turn," King Gunther pointed at James. "Tsk, knew it would be me next." James walked forward as his legendary metal conjured into a huge two-meter fancy hand cannon extending from his right arm. It was his specialized ss''s skill that further evolved with his modifications. The cannon''s patterns glimmered before James consumed all of his Mana and unleashed aser beam that dealt constant sma-element damage, the advanced element made of Fire and Lightning, boosted by his legendary nanometal''s adaptive power that enhanced the attack by boosting sma element''s attributes further. King Gunther was pushed back a meter as he blocked the constantser impact and damage, which wasn''t really working on him as theser couldn''t break past the red faint energy coating around his body. "Mhmm, not bad," King Gunther nodded. James wryly smiled. ''I guess my attack was also weaker than Theo''s attack.'' His Legendary nano-metal was not exactly offensive, but adaptive as it depended on his capabilities to bring out its potential. He had just acquired this, so he hadn''t had time to utilize it better yet. "Next, your turn," King Gunther pointed at Liang. Liang unleashed his heavenly lightning dragon battle art with his destructive dual variant lightning, dark blue and jade green, forming a rather majestic wingless dragon with mixed colors as it rained down on King Gunther for an absolute destructive attack. "Wonderful," Gunther said with a grin. "That was a good battle art." "Next, you, show your move," Gunther said as he pointed at Bianca. Bianca calmly walked forward before darkness spread around her. From within, five pulsing ck daggers shot toward King Gunther as she consumed all of her Mana on executing her battle art¡ªFive Daggers of Corroding Death. Each dagger struck at apparent weak spots on King Gunther, making cracks in his defensive red coating. "Wonderful!" King Guntherughed as he recovered swiftly. "A fearsome assassin move indeed. Getting struck by this unexpectedly could cause trouble given the damage and debuffs you inflicted." "Next, you," King Gunther pointed at Hiroshi. "Hah," Silvester grinned. "I am stronger than you, old coot, now it''s clear."@@novelbin@@ Hiroshi snorted and walked forward as he looked at King Gunther with a serious expression, "Can you evaluate who got the strongest attack move between the two of us?" King Guntherughed and nodded, "Sounds good. I shall be the judge for that." Chapter 250 Test of Might (2/2) Old monster Hiroshi bent his knees and spread his legs slightly as he grounded himself in a stance with his right hand grabbing the katana''s handle, ready to draw it. A burst of powerful yet calm aura of water floated around him along with a gentle yet sharp breeze whirling. "This is my strongest single-target attack," Hiroshi said as the veins all over his body popped, exerting his physical strength to the highest and using all of his Mana. And then the aura suddenly turned pink like cherry blossom, with its motes akin to petals as they stormed around him. ''Intent!'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''He is using some kind of intent! The cherry blossom theme is entirely due to his intent. How did he achieve this?'' In the next second, Hiroshi drew his katana and shed diagonally twice, forming a perfect ''X'' with millions of tiny des flowing in that projectile. ''He didn''t use this intent-based attack before in the S-rank Dungeon at his ce,'' Almond blinked. The attack stormed around Gunther in a wild yet graceful manner, attacking him from all sides as cracks appeared all over his red coating. "So this old coot got strongerst I saw him," Silvester grinned. "Well, it wouldn''t be fun otherwise." "Impressive weapon art," Gunther nodded with a grin as his coating recovered. Silvester moved forward as he said, "I''m next, I know." Guntherughed, "Show me what you got, swordsman." Silvester held his sword in front of him with both of his hands before it became three meters long and thinner with a wider de before patterns appeared all over it and glowed as a powerful gray metal aura pulsed out of it. me and Metal conjoined in an unnatural synergy, empowering the sword as it glimmered with potent power. ''Intent,'' Almond narrowed his eyes. ''He has intent as well, but it''s different from elder Hiroshi''s one¡­'' Silvester shed downward as a glinting gray-metal de struck King Gunther first before the sword physically struck in the same trajectory, causing the ground to crack beneath Gunther''s feet while also cracking his red coating as it reached his flesh and forming a mark. ''What kind of intent is that? Sharpness?'' Almond blinked. ''Intents are such mysterious things, it seems that it''s impossible to predict the power of someone''s intent entirely.'' ''All old monsters have intents or are in the midst of actualizing those intents¡­'' "Hahaha, very good attack," King Guntherughed as the dust settled and everyone saw the sh mark recovering. "Well, I would say in terms of overall attack power, the cherry blossom sword was more powerful, but against me, the sharp sh attack was more effective." "Tsk." "Tsk." Both clicked their tongues at the same time and nced at each other. "Hahaha, now the next one," Gunther said as he licked his lips and turned to Shiro-sen "You next." Shiro-sen wasn''t pure offense-oriented style as he had more debuff and control type build, so he used his battle art that aimed at King Gunther''s weakness with his ghostly blue variant fire element and variant wind element that he hadprehended from a Dungeon. His attack was still powerful, breaking King Gunther''s guard and injuring him. Next, It was elder Arjun''s turn, who boasted the highest firepower and raw damage among other old monsters. He manifested a fiery golden orange bow he created as the first step of his weapon art before pulling its string as the floor around him began melting. The other old monsters covered themselves in fortification to prevent the heat from affecting them. ''This intent is more powerful,'' Almond narrowed his eyes. ''But what the heck is it? Heat? Melting?'' Elder Arjun released the arrow as it instantly struck King Gunther, sting his red coating instantly before making a deep hole in his chest before the arrow''s power subsided. The ground around him already melted due to the arrow''s power. "Ouch, that was awesome," King Guntherughed. "And you got quite a powerful anti-healing, eh? I have to drink a potion now." He took out a potion and drank it before his woundpletely healed. "Next, your turn," King Gunther looked at Admiral Rudra with a wide grin, "Honestly, you feel strongest out of all, but the kid gives me strange goosebumps. I can''t decide, so you''lle first since I''ve already decided the kid would attackst." Admiral Rudra''s arms pumped as he revved his physical body while calmly walking a few steps before stopping. A ssy blue dimensional aura enveloped him before his fists gathered his sorcery breaker energy along with pure constructed mana to fuel it further with his mastery. A hazy majestic avatar five meters big resembling his upper body''s half manifested behind him with powerful glinting fists. ''He is really going to go with his strongest attack,'' Almond wryly smiled. ''That''s going to hurt this King for sure.'' "Impressive, impressive!" King Gunther''s eyes shone as he observed Admiral Rurdra''s stats. "What''s the name of your move?" "I like to name my battle art simple," Rudra smiled. "I call this Absolute Breaking Fist Art." "Here ites." *BOOM!* The ground cracked as he kicked his feet and dashed with his full power, gathering momentum and instantly reaching King Gunther as his punch struck King Gunther. *Smash!* The red coating all over King Gunther''s body instantly shattered before Rudra''s fist struck his skin, causing it to crack and burst out blood as a big hole formed before King Gunther was shot back like a bullet, but he abruptly stopped before crashing into the wall as a powerful aura burst out of him, followed by his loudughter. "Amazing, wonderful! That was a magnificent attack," King Guntherughed as he chugged a potion again "I am already willing to ally with your kingdom, but I must experience one more attack." Looking at Almond, King Gunther said with a grin, "Come on, young man. Show me what you got." ''Sorry, but I am not going to show you my best move, what if you identally die?'' Almond internally rolled his eyes. ''But I guess this is a good opportunity.'' Almond walked forward with a nod as he conjured a sword with his Sand of Vibrant Wave before he synergized it with his lightning, empowering it, and solidifying crystals over it. "What a strange sword. There''s no edge to it," Hiroshi raised his eyebrows. "It''s just to empower the attack I release from this makeshift sword," Almond smiled. "Basically, this sword is just a medium for my main attack." ''They already know about my domain, albeit that it''s not as small as they think and they don''t know what I can do within it, so I can use it,'' Almond blinked as his eyes glinted, and an invisible domain expanded from him, though other old monsters could see its outline. ''My Sand elemental mastery is only at C-rank, but that still gives 40% bonus sand elemental damage.'' Almond adjusted the distribution of 1000 Mana for 70% for Lightning and 30% for Sand element as he conjured his sword. The damage bonus from the lightning element was higher since it was at S-rank elemental mastery, meaning the 700 Mana he transformed into lightning was as strong as an attack of 1400 Mana due to a 100% bonus damage boost from S-rank mastery. Meanwhile, the 300 mana he transformed into Sand was as strong as an attack of 420 Mana. The synergy between them was basicallybining their attributes, A.K.A the elemental effects to include in his next.@@novelbin@@ Almond''s eyes glinted as he spent the remaining 90% of his Mana to conjure a Severance de within his makeshift sword and 10% Mana to shape a sh-projectile as he swung his sword, causing a destructive golden-sparkling sh that vibrated faintly at insane speed. ''This might be too much as well, but whatever, he won''t die from this,'' Almond internally thought as he unleashed his sh. As the sh struck him, King Gunther''s pupils shrank, ''Crap.'' His red coating was shed away before the sh cut deep through his chest, even severing his bones as he grunted in pain. King Gunther''s aura surged as he burst out with a powerful red aura, using some kind of skill as he began recovering wounds before chugging a potion. The old monsters were dumbfounded as they saw the effect of Almond''s attack! Chapter 251 War Participating Trial The old monsters were dumbfounded to the max as they witnessed the power of Almond''s attack.@@novelbin@@ ''That may not be my strongest move, but that was still my strongest attack,'' Almond blinked. ''As expected, this King Gunther must have a Legendary-rank talent to have such defense and fast recovery.'' ''If he knows martial arts and knows how to utilize his power best, he must also have some powerful attacks.'' While he was thinking, the other old monsters were bombarding him. [Silvester: Brat, what the fuck was that?] [Bianca: Space, that was space element, what''s your rank of Space elemental mastery?] [Liang: Space, Lightning, and Sand, that space also felt like a variant given how different it waspared to space we know¡­is that really the case, brat?] [Hiroshi: It appears that you are already stronger than most of us old folks.] [Shiro-sen: That seems to be the case, haha.] [Almond: Not at all, seniors. I am stillcking when ites to some areas.] [Arjun: It''s fine, you cheeky brat. You don''t need to humble brag.] [James: Haha, exactly. It seems that we have to include you in our gathering so we can also learn a thing or two from you.] [Aarav: Sounds good, do grace us with your presence when we have our next gathering, haha.] [Almond: I would love that because I do want to learn many things from you all.] "That was a magnificently powerful attack!" King Gunther said with a grin. "Though I am sure that wasn''t your strongest attack. Itcked the danger my instincts feel from you, so you must have another hand." ''Shut up, already,'' Almond wryly smiled. The old monsters side-eyed Almond upon hearing King Gunther''s words. "Anyway, wee to the Pygathor Kingdom! Your people are wee here anytime. And since this is warring time, we shall begin our first meeting at your time. I''m sure you must be eager to learn more, so we will give you all the information about this battlefield and whatever we know about other forces." King Gunther grinned as he mmed his right palm on his left arm, producing a thundering sound as heughed and said, "Let us conquer this battlefield together." [Congrattions, the ten of you are rewarded with 1000 battlefield points, and your Earth has acquired 1000 cumtive battlefield points.] "We want to hold the meeting as soon as possible, so how long will it take you to prepare?" Admiral Rudra asked. "Hmmm, then I''d need two hours." "Good. Then we will return after two hours." As the group left the pce, Admiral Rudra decided to drop a bomb. [Rudra: I was going to inform you all of this, but now is a good time as any. Lerkeion, the demon, is gone. Almond defeated him when he came to attack Almond and his party in the courtyard.] "¡­" "¡­" "Is he dead?" Shiro-sen asked. "Not dead, but I sent him to outer space. No idea when he will return, but next time hees, he''ll be dead for sure," Almond grinned. "Also, Ahem, can I get information shared in the meetingter? Because I don''t want to attend it." "No problem. You go do whatever you want and tell us if you find something on this battlefield," Admiral Rudra nodded. "Thanks," Almond grinned. He opened his status and exited the battlefield, arriving in the central hall of the Battlefield Hub. ''It seems they are still in the War Participating Trial,'' Almond assumed as he failed to contact Lily and others, his wristwatch telling the signals didn''t reach their wristwatches. He also decided to enter as there was already an option about it in his status. Every gold-rank Adventurer got this option, so everyone could participate, but only the top 50 best scorers in the trial would get to participate in the War Event. Almond was curious who the other Gold-rank adventurers would be aside from his Grim Breakers party. ''One thing is for sure, the chance of dying will be higher in the war event than in the Labyrinth. Let''s hope there isn''t someone like me in the other three worlds,'' Almond thought with a wry expression and pressed the button in his status as he vanished. Almond found himself in a vast grassy in with a jolly sun in the sky and afortable breeze dancing in the air. [Wee to the War Participating Trial.] [Past this grassy in is a barren battlefield where Herejol Ox Tribe and Viperfang Tiger Tribe are battling, each with 10,000 warriors. Your job is to side with the third party, Blood-Horned Rabbit Tribe, with 5000 warriors and participate in the war, acquiring scores based on the number of warriors you kill from both sides.] [Good luck.] Almond suddenly saw an army of lean-muscled humanoid rabbits manifesting in front of him, with blood-red horns, holding different weapons, and wearing a variety of armor. "Warriors! Kill!" The leader of the Blood-Horned Rabbit Tribe shouted two simple words before dashing forward, descending the grassy in of high ground to participate in the battle 2 kilometers away. The leader was tinum-rank level 150 while the rest of the warriors were Gold-rank level 100. Almond saw them rushing ahead and blinked, teleporting right above the barren battlefield where Ox and Tiger tribes had just begun their sh. ''So it''s going to be a chaotic battle, eh?'' Almond thought, and his eyes glinted. ''ording to the notification, the score is based on my kills of those two tribes¡­well then, I should be able to end this fast.'' Almond stretched his arms half, still slightly bent at his elbows while his palms surged with ck-silver energy that transformed into two chakrams. Pouring all of his 5000 Mana into them, both chakrams erged while getting properly condensed, able to house Almond''s following executions. ''Severance Chakrams sounds good,'' Almond grinned. Injecting a Spirit Syringe into himself, he fully recovered his Mana while his stats got a boost as he proceeded to empower the 10-meter radiusrge chakrams further. He then proceeded to enchant these chakrams, transmuting 4000 Mana into Golden Haze Lightning and 1000 Mana into Sand of Vibrant Wave as the chakrams became sparklingly golden. This time, Almond shaped the sharp ss that resulted from the synergy of Sand and Lightning into tiny des, condensing them as des while vibrating them as much as possible with his control to increase their sharpness. *Buzz¡­.* The air and space itself cracked as the chakrams spun so blindingly fast that they looked slow to normal eyes. ''I should make this into a proper skill. With skill construct, I should be able to increase its spinning speed even higher, not to mention I can instantly cast it once I create its skill rune,'' Almond thought as he looked at the deadly chakrams floating above. Almond then looked at the big battlefield. East and west sides had mixed forces of Ox and Tiger tribes fighting each other while both tribe''s other portion at the south began fighting against the Rabbit tribe''s warriors. Without further ado, he threw the chakrams, one at the east and one at the west, architecting a bloody massacre as both tribes'' warriors were shredded instantly wherever the chakrams passed by. Almond floated above, controlling the chakrams and killing the warriors akin to using an eraser to wipe the canvas clean of chaos. The chakrams spun with unnatural precision, arcs of blood tracing their deadly paths through the battlefield. Warriors fell in waves, their cries drowned by the relentless hum of the spinning chakrams. Chapter 252 Leaderboard, Using the Rewards "What the fuck is that score?" "Impossible." A young man with nano-cyber eyes glinting with dark blue energy frowned as he looked at the overall leaderboard of the War Participating Trial. [War Participating Leaderboard] - Rank 1: Almond ¡ª 388,195 score. - Rank 2: Leo ¡ª 97,489 - Rank 3: Drake Missadro ¡ª 53,499 - Rank 4¡­ Leo had just finished the trial, and his score was highest with a big gap between his and the second ranker''s score, but this new guy Almond just caused an uproar in all four worlds. "Crazy, did he really kill most of the 20,000 warriors from both tribes? What the fuck. How many did you kill, Leo?" Leo narrowed his eyes and answered, "Based on how the score was calcted, you only need to say that he killed 90% of warriors from both tribes, given that score." "What? You mean he killed 18,000 warriors on his own?!" "Bwahahah, Almond is strongest!" "You cyborgs, elves, and dragons better run when you see him in the war event, haha." The other gold-rank adventurers in the hub immediately started taunting the people of the other three worlds. And soon, a war of words and cuss began, along with attacking each other but their attacks just phased through and vanished shortly. Almond returned to the hub and saw the chaos, but didn''t bother with it. Looking at the leaderboard, Lily wasn''t in the top 10, but Marcus, Maya, and others were already in the top 50, which means Lily was still in the trial. ''With her currentbat power and her style, how much score would she get?'' Almond blinked. ''Lily''s Blood and Shadow elements together are quite nasty, after all, not to mention how hard she was working recently to make progress in her weapon art.'' ''She must be taking her time to kill as many as possible without dying.'' Almond didn''t die as he just killed all the other warriors, but for other Gold-rankers their trial would end the moment they died, not to mention that they couldn''t use potions in the trial to recover. Just as he was thinking, the leaderboard flickered. -Rank 2: Lily ¡ª 112,490. The public once againunched an uproar as Lily took the second spot! "Holy crap, ain''t we like the strongest?!" "Hahaha, we are winning this war." Almond''s domain was expanded, so he quickly found Lily after she emerged and teleported beside her. "Congrats," Almond smiled. Lily turned to him and grinned as she put her arms around his shoulder, "If you are first, and the second must be me, and no one else." However, her expression fell shortly after she spoke.@@novelbin@@ Almond blinked and looked at the leaderboard with his domain without turning around and wryly smiled. - Rank 2: Leveraum El ¡ª 128,403 "I am going back," Lily said with a severe expression. "I will learn the first stage of my Weapon Art before the war event begins. I just need a slight push, and I''ll break through." Almond kissed her and smiled before taking out one of the X-factor fruits. "I guess it''s time to use this. You''ve umted enough experience and potential, so eat this and bloom." "This¡­" Lily''s eyes turned fiery! "This is perfect, darling! I am going now, see youter!" She pecked Almond''s lips and vanished, returning to Earth with the fruit. She was training in her Weapon Art daily, while Almond had only entered the training once, so he was far behind in that progress. ''I have to use my Godly Grinder and Godly y, and I guess it''s time I also use X-Factor fruit once I make a bit more progress in the Weapon Art.'' Almond went back to the battlefield since he was curious about it and went for solo exploration. Everything was bare within his domain of Espada Ad Grimveil, so he could observe and sense everything within 4 kilometers of himself. After teleporting quickly to cross 100 kilometers past the Pygathor Kingdom, Almond indeed found many anomalies. Some mystical hidden spots with high magical readers, small tribes of Epic-rank powerhouses, areas with powerful monsters, all being Epic-rank, and so on. But just as he traveled to 1000 kilometers, he started seeing tribes with Legendary-rank powerhouses, a variety of biomes with areas having Legendary-rank monsters, and other anomalies of magical phenomenons! ''What the fuck?'' Almond was dumbfounded. He suddenly felt like a being had detected him, feeling as if someone just observed him, and he immediately teleported four kilometers back and then teleported again. ''If the other three worlds are at different corners of this battlefield, then it''s going to take a lot of time before we meet considering the vastness of this battlefield and the dangers in it,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. He just went 1000 kilometers ahead, and Legendary-rank lifeforms began appearing, so it was clear that this battlefield that stretched 20,000 kilometers square had dangers beyond recognition for the four worlds at their current level. ''It''s safe to assume the majority of battlefield points will be granted from War Events. The first event is for Gold-rankers, but the second would be for tinum-rank¡­'' Almond could feel it despite the unknown distance¡­the other three Arcane Champions of Eternal Will. ''I have to hit tinum rank before the next War event starts. Hopefully, this War Eventsts for at least 15 days.'' The new month had begun, and the Labyrinth was closed for the first fifteen days. It would only open on the 16th of January. Almond wanted to hit tinum rank and clear up to the 10th Floor before this month ended, regaining all of his memories and getting as powerful as possible. Otherwise, the loss of life for veteran tinum-rank Adventurers in the next War Event could reduce their''s overall power by a lot. ''Admiral Rudra is very close to hitting 200 Will¡­once he hits that, he is going to be a new beast, but something like Will is hard to increase without some kind of strong catalyst¡­'' Shaking his head, Almond stopped thinking about the future and returned to the Hub before exiting and returning to Earth. Marcus and others had also returned as they were sparring against each other and his spirit wraiths since they had been in self-istion training for many days, improving. So, it was time to consolidate theirbat ability with the newfound progress. Almond went to the Garden of Peace and took out the Godly Grinder first. ''Hmm, my Godly Grinder can allow me to insert Skill Rune of a Legendary skill, but which one should I put?'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he found the answer quickly. Espada Ad Grimveil! This Legendary skill was his strongest, and it was boosted by his strange development in the Omega of the Horizon, boosting all of his space-rted powers by 900%! There was no need to think as he acted to insert the skill rune of Espada Ad Grimveil into the Godly Grinder1. [You should not use this skill rune in the Godly Grinder, as this Legendary skill is of your specialized ss and is already Growth-type, with you having a high understanding of it already. This would be considered a waste of Godly Grinder, but the choice is up to you.] Almond blinked. ''Well¡­that''s not exactly wrong.'' ''And I still have three more Skill Insights from my specialized ss quests¡­'' Almond rubbed his temples. ''Yeah, I need to explore more of my specialized ss. For now, it''s heavily towards just space and Divine Divider''s Harvest that debuffs others and buffs me, but Riftveil Grimde can do much more!'' Almond put away the Godly Grinder, intending to use itter, and took out the mystical golden-brown rectangle b of strange material¡ªGodly y1. ''Now, time to make the best sword ever,'' Almond looked at the Godly y and grinned. [A/N: Event Time.] -> Suggest me the Name, Title, backstory, and personality of the uing Spirit Wraith in thements :D -> I will create a roulette with participants who wrote the suggestions in the Comments here and on Discord. The lucky one will get chosen. [Legendary Godly Grinder] -Rank: L -Description: ¡ª> A rune of untold potential, this Godly Grinder can be used to insert a skill rune of your choice. The inserted skill will be growth-type, and using the skill will gradually give you insights about its aspects, allowing you to glean into powers, upgrade the skill, and may even help you in achieving other breakthroughs depending on your capabilities. -Effect: ¡ª> Any single skill of Legendary rank and below can be inserted. -Duration: 1 month upon activation. Afterward, it will vanish. [Legendary Goldly y] -Rank: L -Description: ¡ª> A magical y that can be shaped ording to the user''s mind via an interface. You can create any type of item using it, and it will have Growth-type characteristics, allowing you to upgrade it viapletion of Upgrade-Quest. May whatever you create be a long part of your journey so that it may develop a spirit of your experience. -Effect: ¡ª> The item you create will have a starting rank of Legendary rank or equivalent ranks in case you acquire a different type of item. Chapter 253 Godly Clay, Flow States Infusing Mana in the Godly y, Almond got several small window boxes to shape his desired item''s aspects and attributes. ''I''ll decide the nameter. Let me first design its form.'' Almond rubbed his palms and drove both index fingers into the design window panel, drawing the sword with his own hand. ''Hmm, this is going to be a growth-type weapon, so it will be cool if this sword can change its form,'' Almong grinned. ''But I can''t draw two forms in one frame¡­'' Almond looked at the drawing window and thought for a moment before deciding to try something. He wanted at least two types of swords. One, a heavy broad sword with a 1-meter wide de at its base from the handle before slowly shrinking towards the upper point. With such a big and wide-ded sword, he could exert and transfer more of his physical strength in his swings. Another form would be a long, slightly curved sword at the top with an ultra-thin de part. Such thin de-part could break earlier, but Almond wanted this sword form not to sh physically, but for harnessing and unleashing de projectiles¡ªlong-range attacks. So, one form to physically and brutally ughter his targets in close range, and another to erase them from afar. Almond drew both swords'' forms and designed them with a badass theme and patterns, both swords'' handles had a vertical eye with ? symbols blooming around their pupils, simr to the pattern that he noticed would appear in his eyes when he actively used his All-Seeing Eyes. He could also color the swords, so he made des golden like his eyes with dark gold coating and patterns carved on the des and handles. Once he was done with the design, Almond moved to the second window¡ªAttributes. He chose Space, Light, Lightning, Sand, and Wind. ''I have yet to awaken Wind Elemental mastery, but I''ll awaken it soon once I use that Wind Elemental crystal1 I got.'' Almond was done with the attributes panel and proceeded with the Perk panel. ''So I can choose the stats boost perk I want, eh? Awesome.'' Almond decided to distribute the perk boost by fifty-fifty for Strength and Perception. Thest one was the Effect panel, but he couldn''t choose the effects. Instead, he could choose which type of the four effects he wanted. Almond chose one passive type, one active type, one toggle type, and one trigger type. ''Done.'' Almond finalized his Godly y selections and got a notification while the y began shining brightly before transforming into a big heavy broad-ded sword, absolutely magnificent yet oozing out savageness as if it was going to eat everything due to the teeth-like patterns Almond had designed at the edges of its de. [Congrattions, please name your weapon.] ''The name will be¡­Lord Grimde!'' [Lord Grimde] -Level: 1 -Upgrade Conditions: Not yet revealed. -Type: 2 forms [ Heavy Broad & Long Curved ] -Rank: Legendary / High-tier -Attack: 5000 + [ 300% of user''s Strength] -Perk(s): ¡ª> +200 Strength, +200 Perception. ¡ª> All Space, Light, Lightning, Sand, and Wind-attributed attacks through this sword gain a 50% damage boost. -Effect(s): ¡ª> (Passive) ¡ª> (Active) ¡ª> (Toggle) ¡ª> (Trigger)@@novelbin@@ "Eh? Where are the effects?" Almond raised his eyebrows as he mumbled. [The effects will be generated after you gain experience while using this sword and level it up.] Find more to read at empire "Oh¡­Well, that sounds good. But this sword got a crazy attack. 5000 is max the legendary high-tier can get, and 300% is also the highest adaptive boost for legendary weapons," Almond grinned and thought, ''If I had this sword when I was fighting Lerkeion, I might have been able to deal a killing blow before he vanished.'' After he was done with the Godly y, Almond went to check up on Roken who had already resumed his work after taking a brief look at the Battlefield Hub. "I''ll be done in two hours!" Roken said as he smashed his mystical Runic Hamer on a shield. "Only two sets left." "Awesome," Almond grinned. He didn''t disturb him further and left while deciding what to do for the next 8 hours. ''Skill Insight needs 24 hours, so I can''t use it now. I''ll create my ss skills after checking out the War Event. Insight Stone needs the same amount of time, I can try spending time in Weapon Art, but eight hours is too short for any progress¡­'' ''I can use Wind Elemental Crystal since it''s five hours-meditation or I can start training in Flow States since Admiral Rudra already gave me the method for it.'' Almond looked at the information on the two Flow States and fell into thought. There were two Flow States as created by Admiral Rudra. First, Overdrive. Second, Overload. He called these two states as trump cards because of how they worked. The problem was that these were too difficult to learn. Even among the old monsters, only a few had managed to seed, while others still regrly tried to master them in their free time. Flow State¡ªOverdrive: This required at least 5000 Mana, and Almond had reached that number already. In simple words, it was about using 5000 Mana and infusing them equally in every part of one''s body in a perfect flow, in a loop. This Mana was not to be consumed as one must drink Mana potion and recover their Mana pool to execute skills and other moves. This flow of 5000 Mana coursing through their body would cause a lot of strain, and even give pain, but once one properly seeded in flowing this mana perfectly, achieving harmony of this mana with their body, this flowing mana would suddenly vanish, and incorporate into every fiber of their body, drastically empowering for 1 minute. During this 1 minute, all other Mana techniques like Strength Boost, Focus Field, Fortification, Body Enfold, and Weapon Enfold, would be boosted by 100%! This was the reason why Admiral Rudra was able to take a beating from Lerkeion and even smack him. But when Larkeion entered his true form, Admiral Rudra''s one minute was up, and other old monsters knew he was a bit weak, which was why they all reacted that way to make a stalemate. [Wind Elemental Crystal (S-Rank)] -Activation: ¡ª> Infusing Mana in the crystal will activate it, and it will disappear after 5 hours. -Use: ¡ª> Meditating while touching the crystal will allow you to feel the wind element in a pure sense, allowing a user with affinity to awaken the Wind Elemental Mastery or those who have already awakened it to increase their mastery further. -Note: The progress depends on individuals. Chapter 254 Elemental Masteries, War Begins! As for the other flow state¡ªOverload, it was kind of the opposite of Overdrive in how it worked, and it required even higher control of Mana than in Overdrive. In simple terms, it was basically chugging a Mana potion while still having full Mana in one''s Mana pool. With exceedingly excess Mana in one''s Mana pool, the mana would be vtile, and it could severely injure them as well. But as long as one retained control, the Mana would turn violet from blue, increasing in potency by 100%! Suppose Almond had a capacity of 5000 mana, and he added 5000 More before trying to enter Flow State¡ªOverload and even seeded. That would make his skills and whatever moves he used that consumed this 10,000 violet and violently potent Mana in his Mana pool extremely powerful! Overdrive strained one''s body, making them exhausted after usage, and requiring 24 hours before using it again. Meanwhile, using Overload strained one''s Mana pool, nullifying external Mana recovery for a few hours and requiring 24 hours of break before using it again. Admiral Rudra was most proficient in these Flow States, but even he couldn''t use both at the same time and after one flow State, he needed at least an hour before using the other flow state. ¡­ After thinking, Almond decided to use Wind Elemental Crystal in the Revtion Pavilion. Five hours passed by in the blink of an eye, and Almond opened his eyes with a cyan-green aura whirling around him. ''Damn, I knew I had a bit of affinity with Wind. Not as high as Lighting, but it still reached B-rank directly!'' [Wind Elemental Mastery] -Rank: B (Next rank progress: 13%)@@novelbin@@ ? You can transmute your Mana into Wind and give it Wind''s properties. You have high control over your Wind and moderate control over atmospheric lightning-attributed phenomena. [-Effects when applying Wind attributes] ?1. Bonus Wind elemental Potency: 60% potency of your Mana. ?2. Air Current Maniption: You can create, control, and enhance air currents. This allows you to: ¡ªAmplify your movement speed and agility by riding or manipting the wind. ¡ªRender ranged attacks ineffective by creating air barriers or turbulence. ¡ªSilence your movements by suppressing sound waves in the air. ¡ªRedirect projectiles or weaken enemy attacks by altering the air''s trajectory. ?3. Aerokic Constructs: Shape the wind into solid constructs such as des, shields, or barriers. These constructs are highly versatile and can be used for attack, defense, or utility purposes, such as creating tforms or lifting objects. ''This will make the progress I do in my Lumeir element easier,'' Almond grinned as he looked at his Elemental Imprint. ''Maybe I might be able to awaken it in the next three hours?'' Almond liked the thought, and he decided to activate his Elemental Imprint as his mind drifted into the dimension of Lumeir. While Almond was meditating, the Grimworld Tutorial made an announcement about the monthly event. Everyone got a notification with long lists of every owner of the territories in the Sanctuary Area. Almond was at the top, numbering third as he sessfully acquired the Mountain of Radiant Zenith throne territory. The number one territory was still ownerless as nobody got a passing score in that. Many adventurers who returned from the Battlefield started exploring and moving in their territories with new personal [Teleport] functions appearing for Dukedom and Throne-territory owners and higher, while normal teleport for the rest. The starting phase of the battlefield was mostly about exploring and learning and it was clear that this event was going to be a longsting one so there wasn''t any need for any kind of rush unless the situation required it. The meeting of Admiral Rudra and others in the Pygathor kingdom also revealed what Almond found on his own. To the northwest was the Pygathor Kingdom, and to the northeast 200 kilometers away was another small Kingdom and many tribes. However, one bombshell dropped in the Battlefield Hub''s hall due to the change in the leaderboard of cumtive Battlefield Points. [Main Leaderboard] - Empyradrake: 10,000 Battlefield points. - Earth: 1000 Battlefield points. - Cyberterra: 0 points. Stay tuned with empire - Eldoren: 0 points. Admiral Rudra also suspected that the other twos were doing the simr like trying to take control over the kingdoms near their territory, which was why their points were still 0! Because if they became allies like them, their points would also be 1000 like them. ¡­ Almond opened his eyes as three hours passed by, and the mystical hazy-golden green wind whirled around him. The particles of wind glittered with light as the Light and Wind elementals were two in one, bringing out new characteristics and potential! [Lumeir Elemental Mastery] -Rank: C (Next rank progress: 47%) ? You can transmute your Mana into Lumeir and give it Lumeir''s properties. You have moderate control over Light and Wind, and over atmospheric phenomena rted to both elements. [-Effects when applying Lumeir attributes] ?1. Bonus Lumeir elemental damage: 40% potency of your Mana. ?2. Lightwave Resonance: Channel Lumeir to generate powerful pulses and waves. ¡ªThese waves can disrupt enemy magic and enhance ally spells by supercharging them with luminous energy. ¡ªCan be used to heal allies by creating a soothing, radiant breeze. ''Awesome! This element can buff and heal both,'' Almond grinned. ''This would be the perfectbo with my Golden Haze Lightning.'' "Almond, it''s time." Lily opened her eyes as she was also done with her training, a radiantly ck aura with thin red hazy threads weaving around her as they shaped into daggers. "Intent!" Almond shouted as he instantly felt the presence of an intent from Lily. "Yep, It''s an intent of Shadowpierce," Lily grinned, her eyes glinting excitedly. "Let''s go, darling. The war is on, and I can''t wait to show off." Almondughed and nodded, "Same. Let''s go." He saw that others were also there, waiting for him and Lily. Almond waved his hand, putting his Spirit Wraiths in his pocket and teleporting below with Lily. "Everyone, it''s time to go!" Chapter 255 War of Wildered Tribes The fifty Gold-rank adventurers who were chosen as participants for the war event got an option to enter. Almond, Lily, Natalia, and other Grim Breakers used it, and it arrived on a stone tform at the center of a rather barren ground.@@novelbin@@ [War of Wildered Tribes] ¡ª> The 50 participants from each world will have a territory at four different ces in the Region of Wildered, where 20 tribes are situated. Each world must ally with a tribe, form alliances, and ultimately be thest one standing. ¡ª> The event will end only when people of one world remain and conquer the Region of Wildered. ¡ª> People can exit and leave from their world to the Region of Wildered at will, with teleportation taking 3 seconds of dy. ¡ª> Surrending is allowed. Once you surrender, you will be expelled from the War and may not enter again. "What are those colorful pirs of light?" "There are twenty of them." "Eh? Maybe they represent the 20 tribes and their location?" "I wonder how powerful the tribes are." "We have to scout and gather information first." Almond floated up and cleared his throat, releasing enhanced sound to attract everyone''s attention. "This area is our territory, and we''d need a base, so half of you will stay here and build our base while the other half wille with me to scout ahead and ally with a tribe," Almond swept his nce at everyone as he continued, "I want everyone to listen to me and do what I say. If you have ideas, you can speak, but there are no ideas without information, so for now, we''ll do this." Among the fifty gold-rank adventurers aside from Grim Breakers, Almond saw some familiar faces as well, like Brynjal from Proximax guild, Lin Yuan of ckstar Guild, Ryker from League of Firefly whom Almond met when he first went to visit Lily there, and other top-level 100 Gold-rank Adventurers who used to be super-rookies of Silver-rank. Only the top 50 scorers of Gold-rank were chosen, so everyone here was the strongest in the Gold-rank bracket. "My party has the best gears, as you all can see, so we will head out to scout and get ourselves an ally first. Meanwhile, the rest of you, please build the base here." "No problem," Brynjal nodded. "We''ll build the base." ¡­ Almond found nothing in the first four-kilometer radius, so he moved to the nearest pir of the light. Although the pir of white-ish bronze light was visible, Almond was surprised that he had to cross 50 kilometers before finally reaching there. Four humanoids, one bull, one cow, and two oxen guards stopped the group, but all of them began sweating bullets shortly before one of them said something to a crystal, and a loud horn started ringing in the tribe''s area that stretched a 1.2-kilometer radius. It was like a small town with a tall wall border around it with six gates in different directions. "Did we scare them?" Nataliaughed. "Lol, all twenty of us have legendary-rank gear sets, and these guards are just Gold-rank. Of course, they''d be scared." "Why are you saying Lol? Not even el-o-el, but lol?" "We used to say lol in our academy, it sounded funny and we just got used to using it, lol," Finn grinned. "¡­" "What do we do now, boss?" "Are we fighting?" Suddenly, everyone got a notification. [Make Your Choice] 1. Fight against the tribe, and subjugate them. ¡ªReward: 10,000 cumtive points to your world, and 10,000 points to the fifty of you. Or 2. Ally with the tribe by gaining their trust. ¡ªReward: 5000 cumtive points to your world, and 1000 points to the fifty of you. [Only the Leader can make the choice.] Note: Each tribe can awaken its Guardian Deity once when they feel the grave danger to their tribe. The Guardian Deity stays active for 1 minute, indestructible. Each Guardian Deity is powerful akin to a top Legendary-rank boss, and can only be contended properly by another Guardian Deity. "Yeah, no, we are not fighting," Almond said to the party before his eyes flickered and he shouted, "We are not here to fight!" His voice was boosted by wind and light and drifted to each corner of the tribe with the space wave he spread. Almond was already seeing many of the tribesmening, battle-ready, but his voice made them halt before they looked at their leader, a four-meter-tall giant ck bull with explosive muscles and golden horns. tinum rank level 150. The tribe leader made a jump, crossing arge distance as hended right before Almond, ten meters across from him. "If you are not here to fight, then what are you here for?" Almond smiled and said, "We are here to be your ally." "Our ally?" the bull narrowed his eyes. "Do you know what it means to be our ally?" "I don''t know," Almond shook his head, "But I am willing to listen and understand." The ck bull raised his eyebrows as he looked at Almond''s expression and nodded, "There is an area called Swamp of the One Tooth thirty kilometers to the southwest. A beast of great might live there." "My Avantana Tribe''s ultimate weapon needs the remaining one tooth of that beast to make itplete, so if you can brave danger to kill that powerful beast and bring us its one tooth, we will trust you and be your ally." Everyone was surprised and then excited. After all, killing powerful monsters was their specialty! Your next read is at empire "We will bring you that monster''s remaining tooth," Almond grinned. "Just wait." Turning around, he faced the Grim Breakers and said, "You all stay here. I''ll go quickly and bring the tooth." "Wha¡­" "Come on, boss." Lily blinked, waiting for Almond to give the reason. "Chix, " Almond chuckled and waved his hand as he summoned his Spirit Wraiths. "I sensed a few deep magic readings with a natural magic veil covering some areas on the way here, so you all split into four teams and go check them out." "I''ve created the map of the area we''ve crossed so far in 3D, and here are the five spots I detected." Almond waved his hand as he distributed the map. All of them found this interesting and were eager to check those spots out, so after splitting spirit wraiths into four groups, they left. Almond also started teleporting swiftly to the southwest and soon arrived at the iconic swamp surrounded by a thick forest stretching 500 meters on all sides. The swamp was 60 meters radius and a slightly oval shape with a powerful presence inside. Almond blinked as his All-Seeing Eyes prated through the magical swamp and observed the beast. A dragon-like beast, its body d in thick, dark green scales reminiscent of dried, withered leaves. Its broad, heavy wings appeared utterly incapable of flight, weighed down by its massive, bloated belly and dumpy, ungainly frame. The creature''s head, though draconic in essence, bore a distinct, grotesque charm. A single, oversized white fang jutted outward prominently while its counterparty shattered. ''So that''s the fang I need,'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''And a juicy spirit as well.'' [Agate Fanged Earth Dragon] -Rank: Epic -Bloodline: Agate Dragon King (L) -Level: 200 -Stats: ¡ªPhysical: ?[Strength: 4000 | Health: 8,600 | Stamina: 6800 ] ¡ªMental: ?[Mana: 10,000 | Focus: 3700 | Perception: 4100 ] ''Very strong.'' Almond grinned, ''But I am stronger.'' It was as if his fighting spirit jolted the dragon, causing it to open its eyes as the whole swamp began shaking. A deep gurgling vibration rang before the swamp burst out, covering over twenty meters of the area as the thick dark green water shot at Almond while the dragon surfaced half of its body out of the swamp, eyeing him as if looking at its prey. Chapter 256 Almond VS Agate Fanged Earth Dragon Almond knew this wasn''t going to be easy, but he was excited nheless because he knew one thing, he wouldn''t die. Using the raining wave of swamp water as a curtain, the dragon attacked Almond. However, Almond instantly captured the dragon''s attack as his All-Seeing Eyes could see through the energy readings of the dragon and instantly teleported away before it even released the attack. A moment after that, a mud bullet exploded there, sting out shockwaves. Almond activated his Mana techniques, boosting his stats, defense, and attack. Stage 2 level 10 Strength Boost: +200% Strength. Stage 2 level 10 Body Enfold: All stats +200%. Stage 2 level 10 Fortification: +200% toughness and durability barrier equal to 200% of original vitality. And it didn''t take much for Almond to study his new weapon with his All-Seeing eyes as he managed to sessfully use Weapon Enfold on it as well, increasing its Attack by 200%! Meanwhile, the spirit Legendary-gear set he created looked simplest, but it was the strongest. The set consisted of four items. (Basically, the current cover''s Almond) First, a thick ck cored T-shirt with a slightly wide V-neckline, granting physical and magic defense. This granted +200 Stamina, +200 Health in perk, and had defensive effects. Second, a golden arm guard adorning his dominant right arm, increasing physical and magic defense, same as the T-shirt, and granting +200 Strength and +200 Mana as perks. It had four effects: two active types, one passive type that increased his Strength rtive to his speed, and one trigger type. Third, ck trousers with the same defensive values as the other two. +200 Focus and +200 Perception in perks, with effects pertaining to defense and movement. Andstly, a belt at his waist with simr defensive values as the other three items while giving a boost of +200 Focus and +200 Mana. The set bonus in each item was the cherry on top, as each one gave an elemental boost. The ingredients and spirits he used were of Lightning, Wind, and Light attributes, so he got a boost for these three elements. +100% for Lightning, and 50% for the other two. There wasn''t a space-elemental monster, so he couldn''t get space-boost, though he didn''t need it in the first ce. On top of that, the sword he created with Godly y also granted him +200 Strength and +200 Perception in perk! With these five items and Mana techniques, Almond''s stats looked like this: Enjoy new stories from empire -Strength: 600 + 800 from Mana Techniques. -Health: 400 + 400 from M.Ts. -Stamina: 400 + 400 from M.Ts. -Mana: 900 + 400 from M.Ts. -Focus: 800 + 400 from M.Ts. -Perception: 800 + 400 from M.Ts. -Will: 200. If he punched that dragon physically without using additional Mana to use some kind of martial move, which he didn''t have, his 1400 Strength wouldn''t even budge him. However, with the Legendary sword with 300% scaling on the attack, a single normal swing of his sword would get boosted by 300%, meaning it would be an attack of 4200 Strength + 500 extra from the sword''s t 5000 attack power since 5000 Attack power equaled to 500 Strength stat. But what if he used Severance de of 2000 Mana by shaping and condensing space into a sh and executed it with power from this swing? *sh!* Almond did exactly that, as the pitch-ck sh purely made of condensed space struck the dragon''s mouth right as it was about to release another attack. The sh struck its mouth at the same time as it unleashed its attack, causing both attacks to sh and st at its mouth as the dragon screeched painfully. -21% vitality!@@novelbin@@ The impact cracked its fang since Almond had aimed the sh such that it would hit the fang mainly, but it didn''t break yet while the few cracks that appeared also healed. Meanwhile, the swamp began shaking as the dragon became angry. Pirs of thick swamp water rose all over before all of them unleashed ghastly brown-green bullets at Almond from all sides. ''Damn, not bad.'' If it was any other Gold rank, they would have died in that mass AOE attack because Almond could see that the dragon consumed a whopping 20% of its Mana in that attack, which was equal to 20,000 Mana, and it covered all directions, andrge height as well. However, Almond simply vanished as he teleported, appearing right inside the swamp, below the dragon within a spatial barrier that prevented the water from touching him. *Crackle!* He immediately shed again while injecting a Spirit Syringe to recover his Mana as the dragon''s destroyer tail streaked at him inside the swamp. This time, he didn''t hold back at all. Harvesting 50% of its Strength, Almond made a clean sh, intending to split the dragon into two vertically. This sh was Severance de again, but this time, it was 4000 Mana powerful, and with his Mana pool increasing with all the perks and Mana techniques, he dumped the rest of his 90% Mana on elemental enchants. Golden Haze Lightning¡ª2000 Mana! Lumeir ¡ª 1000 Mana, boosting its speed dramatically and buffing the attack power! Sand of Vibrant Wave ¡ª 1000 Mana, drastically boosting pration power! This Severance de was the properly strongest one, and it instantly struck the dragon, beginning to split it instantly while the powerful electric discharge paralyzed the dragon as three elements synergized and wreaked havoc inside its body. However, the sh was abruptly exhausted when it split the dragon halfway, at its chest. -49% vitality! The difference in power between his pure-space attack and the rest was big. The normal Severance de worth 2000 Mana shaved 21% of vitality, while this second attack which had 4000 Mana worth Severance de, and 4000 mana worth of three other element synergy boosts, dealt 49% damage, which was just 27% more than t This meant that 90% of the damage came from pure Severance de, and that was due to the crazy space boost he had. Of course, the attack could do more if it wasn''t squashed by newfound power surging within the dragon as Almond sensed. He felt something and quickly teleported out of the swamp while injecting one Spirit Syringe into his recovery and another into the Dragon for a refill. The dragon''s vitality dropped below 50%, but it began healing as a powerful aura gushed out of it. ''Bloodline power?'' Almond narrowed his eyes as his All-Seeing Eyes detected a surge of energy and power within the dragon. Almond suddenly felt danger and quickly vanished, teleporting away. At his previous spot, a ghastly muddy maw just mped and exploded with utter devastation in apact manner. The swamp burst out with water due to the explosion, and the dragon finally emerged from it, flying up. ''Damn,'' Almond felt goosebumps sensing the attack power of that maw-mp-explosion skill. ''I might be able to defend against it with my Devouring Veil, but with that sudden burst power, it would shatter, and I would get hit, which would injure me slightly, I guess.'' Suddenly, two more hazy maws appeared to his side, mping down while the dragon above him opened its mouth, standby. Almond teleported to a new location, and the Dragon immediately unleashed a devastating linear beam at him. ''I can read you easily, you lizard,'' Almond internally rolled his eyes as he knew this would happen, so he was ready for another instant teleport without any dy and dodged the attack while swinging his sword. He appeared right above the dragon, his swing in motion, intending to finish it off. Sword of Imperishable Zenith! With this skill''s buff activated, it was over even for this Dragon who boosted himself with his Bloodline power! He unleashed the power of Serveance de, simr to thest one, but this time, everything happened in a sh. The dragon reacted swiftly, its massive tailshing out in a desperate attempt to strike Almond. Yet, in a sh, Almond''s sh cleaved through its form with ruthless precision. The dragon''s body split cleanly into two halves, which began to plummet to the ground as its vitality dropped to 0%, the light fading from its once-fiery eyes. Almond''s eyes glinted as an invisible space de cut off its fang now that the dragon couldn''t support it any longer and began teleporting back to the Avantana Tribe. Chapter 257 Dance of Gloomy Reaper "What?!" "He really brought that terrifying dragon''s tooth!" "Moooo!!!" The Avantana Tribe was shocked and disbelief as they saw the giant tooth floating above Almond. The Tribe Leader''s eyes trembled as he looked at the tooth. He soon snapped out of his reverie and knelt on one knee towards Almond. "You have my utmost respect, human warrior. Please, bestow us that tooth, and you have our tribe''s trust and alliance." Almond smiled as the tooth flew toward the ck bull, who respectfully raised his hands and palms open. The toothnded on his hands, and the bull looked at it emotionally before standing up and nodding at Almond. "May I know your name?" "Almond." "Come in, brave warrior Almond. I, Bassara Avantana, wee you to my tribe." The other warriors cheered and roared in excitement as their tribe was going to get powerful with their ultimate weapon beingpleted and gaining new trustworthy allies! ¡­ The Tribe Leader sent the tooth to cksmiths toplete the tribal weapon before taking Almond to the tribe chief''s pce. After talking with the chief, Almond found out that all tribes were at war, intending to conquer each other and unify this Region of Wildered. The reason for this war was a legend of Wildered¡ªwhen the entire region is unified under one banner, this region will return to its ancestralnd, in a bigger world. Experience tales with empire For now, this region stretching 600 kilometers in diameter was like a pocket world with nothing but darkness at its borders. After talking and getting information, Almond made some ns with the Tribe leader and also decided to make a teleport gate to connect the tribe with their base. Since it wasn''t a legitimate teleportation gate with proper formation and space matter that could be powered by magic stones, Almond had to refill its energy himself. Fortunately, he could make itst for 30 hours before needing to power it again. After making a gate there, Almond returned to the base and built the gate there. He informed the people building the base that the teleport gate led to their new ally¡ªAvantana Tribe and also told them the information about this War. Afterward, Almond went to visit the four groups one by one. The five suspicious spots with high magic readings indeed had something good. ¡­ Party 1 was the shortest but most powerful as it consisted of Lily, Natalia, Marcus, Anya, and Alfred investigating the Hidden Canyon with a magical river that flowed on both sides, ultimately staying in the belt of the canyon without flowing out of it. Its water was also magical, and they could feel a powerful presence inside the river. Everyone''s Focus Line couldn''t enter the river, making it impossible for them to detect, but Lily empowered her Focus Line with her Shadowpierce Intent, forcefully prating through it. So far, Lily could prate anywhere where a shadow or darkness was present. And this wasn''t the normal type of pration where she had to break something in order to enter, but ethereal. Wherever there was shadow or darkness, she could pierce there or pierce out of there. The river had darkness inside and also shadow, so her Focus Line easily went inside. There, she observed a giant snake slithering inside. ''There''s one more thing¡­'' Lily''s eyes glinted. ''The snake is protecting it.''@@novelbin@@ Suddenly, she saw the snake looking at her and knew it was time. *Ssh!* The giant snake burst out of the water, its length over a hundred meters and five meters of thickness with four deadly fangs at its mouth. "Damn, it''s an Epic-rank boss!" "Nice, let''s kill it." However, Lily suddenly said, "Don''t do anything." "I will kill it on my own." "What? But all of its stats are 2000!" Natalia was speechless. "You sure you won''t die, girl?" "I won''t," Lily narrowed her eyes at the snake as her daggers lit up with Dreadspire Elements¡ªckened me and Withered Wind. "Just watch." Adorning her slick and sexy full-body ck assassin gear set, Lily streaked across the sky like a shadow and abruptly vanished halfway as she did a shadow drift and appeared behind the snake. She already activated another of her specialized ss skills¡ªDreadspire Mantle1 as a fancy ck cloak-looking ethereal manifested behind her. Dreadspire Dominion! [Dreadspire Dominion: Radiates an aura of oppressive darkness in a 30-meter radius, reducing physical attack power, magic power, and defense of everyone or anything within by 15% while inflicting [Terror], causing their reaction time to slow down by 15%. The user''s vitality recovers by 15% of the damage dealt to enemies within this range. Cost: 1 Dreadspire Essence per second.] Weapon Art¡ªUmbral Reaper''s Shadowy Gloom, first stage: Dance of Gloomy Reaper! Lily''s figure turned shadowy while both daggers in her hand that were enchanted and buff razored through the snake as she moved blindingly around its body, cutting it. Each cut produced a de within the snake''s body with shadowpierce intent, cutting outward from inside. The power of this first stage was devastating as each of her attacks was counted as two, and it was already highly prative, but turned more potent and corrosive with Dreadspire Dominion as blood poured from the snake as she ripped apart the tough exterior of this Epic-rank boss monster! The snake mmed into the water as it was getting significantly damaged, but Lily vanished like a shadow and drifted from its shadow into the water before continuing. All the blood that she bled out from the snake gathered as she controlled it and transformed it into chains to bind the snake! It was the blood of the snake, and it was further empowered with Lily''s Blood element, on top of that, Lily''s gauge was filled with attacks from Dance of Gloomy Reaper Art, so she also summoned Gloombound Golem,pletely binding the snake in the water! Inside the water, Lily continued with her dance after chugging a potion and sacrificing half of her vitality to empower herself further. *Hiss!!* The snake poured poison into the water and controlled its waves to shake Lily off its body and stop her fromcerating it. However, Lily turnedpletely elemental with the psychophysiology of her darkness element, and darkness couldn''t be affected by poison! More so when her darkness elemental mastery was at Epic rank! Her glinting daggers continued as she wielded them while being a stream of dark shadow whoseshes held the dagger, her Dance of Gloomy Reaper shredding the boss without pause! [Dreadspire Mantle] -Skill Rank: SSS -Activation type: Toggle. -Cost: 20% Vitality at once and then 1% vitality per second while active. Doesn''t cost 20% vitality again if it''s activated within 1 minute of deactivating. -Effect(s): ¡ªThe user summons the essence of the Dreadspire Mantle, a spectral avatar of darkness that embodies overwhelming power and dread, turning the user into a symbol of destruction and terror as the user activates the Dreadspire Heart and abilities that unlock with it. ¡ª[Dreadspire Heart]¡ª -Grants the user Dreadspire Essence equal to 100 + 50% of Health stat and three abilities. Grants 1 Dreadspire Essence per 1% vitality recovered while this skill is active. ¡ª1. Dreadspire Dominion. ¡ª2. Dark Well (passive) ¡ª3. Dreadspire Herald (passive) Chapter 258: One More Natalia and others were getting worried as they couldn¡¯t observe anything from outside. Alfred jumped in to check out the situation, but by then, the snake was close to death. Its entire body wascerated, both externally and internally, from top to bottom! Lily returned to her human form as she finished off the snake, feeling dizzy and blurry as she pushed herself to the extreme with this and exhausted herself. But she suddenly vanished from the water and appeared in the sky, feeling a familiar touch on her back and legs as she found herself getting princess carried by her prince. Almond smiled at her when her eyes saw him and said, "That was an amazing disy, babe." "You watched everything?" Lily blinked. "Yep," Almond chuckled. "Dance of Gloomy Reaper is very powerful. Unblockable damage, internal strike per external strike, not to mention the corrosiveness and vital burning damage from your dreadspire elements." Lily grinned as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him before saying, "I want to see your weapon art¡¯s first stage, so better learn it fast. X-factor fruit helped a lot in this given how Iprehended Shadowpierce thanks to it." "Haha, I will do that once we return. Now, let¡¯s see the thing that snake was protecting." Almond¡¯s eyes shed as he observed it. "A strange blue tree, very small, and bearing a single fruit with dark blue swirling and wavy patterns¡­interesting." Almond cut off the fruit and surprisingly, the tree instantly withered after that. "So that¡¯s the thing, eh?" Lily saw the fruit appearing in front of Almond and blinked. [Aqualine Fruit] -Rank: Special -Description: A fruit containing variant water elemental essence. It may be beneficial to water elemental users or beasts. "Interesting. Maybe I¡¯ll give this to Nyssara," Almond smiled. "Good idea. Anyway, let¡¯s go below. They are confused and don¡¯t know where I went," Lily chuckled as she saw Natalia and others stumped. ¡­ After gathering with others below, Almond took them to the other four spots one by one. Two groups were already done with killing the monsters at their spots, though there wasn¡¯t a boss monster like in the canyon, but a horde of special monsters that protected different things. In total, the five spots gave the following things: 1. Aqualine Fruit 2. Mysterious stone tablet with strange symbols. 3. A mysticalva-crystal flower. 4. A mysterious Egg. Returning to their base, it was steadily getting constructed after the border walls were done. The Grim Breakers joined in to help since Almond told them to rx while he began deciphering the mysterious stone tablet with his passive legendary skill¡ªWhispering Knowledge. ¡¯I have to make progress in this, so I can trante the rest of the words from that notification that my mother got,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡­ Meanwhile, the other three worlds in the same region were also developing steadily as each one allied themselves with a tribe. Empyradrake¡¯s Base, "What¡¯s the n now, leader Lefnier? I personally think we should urge the Klokan Tribe tounch an attack on another Tribe and make it under us." "That¡¯s stupid, you dumb lizard. We don¡¯t want our allied tribe and enemy tribe to use their Guardian Deity awakening. For now, go find another tribe. We¡¯ll ally ourselves with two Tribes before making other moves." The other two worlds had simr ideas as they wanted to get allied with more tribes first. Almond¡¯s n was also simr, but instead of just two, he wanted to get as many ally tribes as possible before making any move. As such, he had already told the Avantana Tribe during the meeting to send an envoy to another tribe that was 36 kilometers away. ¡­ An hourter, Almond finally managed to decipher the mysterious stone tablet as it whispered to him. [Guardian Deity Tablet: Call to Zanadan] -Rank: Special. -Effect: Continue your saga on empire @@novelbin@@ ¡ª> Call Guardian Deity Zanadan for 10 seconds. [Warning: You are not allowed to use this item even though you unsealed it.] ¡¯What?¡¯ Almond was dumbfounded. ¡¯Then what do I do with it?¡¯ [By giving this to a tribe with a damaged Guardian Deity, you can earn cumtive battlefield points.] ¡¯And also trust,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯That¡¯s another ally.¡¯ Looking at the tablet, he grinned, ¡¯Even if we aren¡¯t allowed to use it, it already helped me make progress in Whispering Knowledge, and can be used as an expensive gift to earn points and trust. Three birds with one stone.¡¯ Almond teleported near the portal and entered inside. The base was built, so many adventurers were exploring the tribe and meeting with people there. Some were training, and some were exploring nearby ces. Almond arrived at the pce and waited there with the tribe chief for the envoy. One hour had already passed since he went, and the whole trip was barely that amount, so the envoy returned after a few minutes of waiting. "Chief, the Pan tribe said that they would ally with us if we can solve their problem." "What problem?" "They didn¡¯t tell me that," the envoy cowdy shook her head. "It seems that they want us to go there," Almond smiled and stood up. "I¡¯ll go and visit, and fix their problem if possible." "If you want to do that, sure," Chief Bassara nodded. Almond left and arrived at the Pan tribe in a matter of minutes by constantly teleporting. Pan Tribe had lion-headed humans, but all of them were pink lions. Various shades of pink skin and hair. Their figures were slender yet shredded with natural muscles and their average height appeared seven feet tall. "What problem do you want me to fix?" Almond asked their chief right off the bat. "Our tribe has deep animosity with the Serpensha Tribe, and we have regr scuffles at Forest of Seeds, where both of our tribes go to harvest food and resources. This morning, they seemed to have prepared an ambush at our side secretly, and captured my tribe¡¯s people," the tribal chief clenched his fist. "They took a few young cubs of my tribe and five other people." "What they are asking for is this tribe¡¯s Guardian Deity statue, but we can¡¯t do that because if we give it to them, they will attack this tribe." Almond raised his eyebrows, "So you want me to save your people?" Chapter 259 First Encounter [Bonus Chapter] "That''s right, and time is of the essence. They gave our tribe one day to deliver the statue." "If you can really bring back my people, this tribe will be your loyal ally in conquering this region." "Interesting," Almond smiled. "Tell me, where is the Serpensha tribe?" Find more chapters on empire "It''s 43 kilometers northeast from here." "Gotcha. Wait for the good news." Almond left and went in the said direction, quickly teleporting constantly until he saw the tribe within his domain''s range. This tribe had jade-stone structures, mostly ck and green. Almond had hidden himself within a spaceyer,pletely turning himself invisible to others as he basically exited from the dimension. However, the mana drain was quite high despite his powerful mana regeneration and reduced mana consumption. It was costing him 55 Mana per second. ''I guess it requires this much mana to preserve my body in thisyer and keep me parallel to the material ne. ''Still, space elemental masters can indeed be fearsome assassins with this type of invisibility.'' Almond infiltrated the tribe and soon found the location where the snake-humanoid Serpensha tribe imprisoned the people of the Pan Tribe. ''Just cuffs that disrupt Mana flow, preventing them from using skills, and imprisoning formation, eh?'' Almond blinked and forcefully teleported the captives as a loud siren began ringing. However, Almond quickly scurried away.@@novelbin@@ ''Too easy. Now, we have two tribes in alliance, but wait¡­'' Almond fell into thought. ''Hmmm, after returning these people back to the Pan Tribe, I should make an official visit here.'' The people of the Pan tribe were shocked and panicked, as they didn''t know what was happening. However, Almond appeared out of invisible and calmed them down while exining them about their situation and his deal with their tribe. "Thank you for saving us!" "Thank you, human warrior." ¡­ After Almond dropped them off, Almond went to the Serpensha Tribe again. This time, he went to one of their front gates and was stopped by the guards. "I wish to seek an audience with your tribe''s chief." "For what?" "Alliance, so that we can defeat other tribes and unify this region under one banner." "Wait here." Shortly afterward, Almond saw the tribe chief, a white-scaled humanoid with ck hair on its serpent head, wearing a light-weight metal armor. ''Damn, a snake with hair.'' Suddenly, Almond''s eyes flickered as he felt several powerful presences entering within the range of his domain. ''Elves! But what''s with this variety?'' ''And they areing here¡­'' Almond''s eyes glinted. First contact with people of one of the three worlds and their rtionship was already established as enemies! "Human, I am in a bad mood, so you better choose your words wisely," the tribe chief coldly said as he stopped at 5 meters away from Almond. Almond raised his eyebrows. ''Well, the source of your bad mood is none other than me, and I don''t care.'' "Some people areing here to attack your tribe. They are elves." "What?!" the tribe chief frowned. "Why would they attack us?" "Because they like snake soup and other dishes made from snakes." "Hiss!!" "How dare you!" "Not him, idiot, it''s the elves." "How dare those elves think about eating us?!" The guards and other people that came with the chief fumed with fury. Almond internally snickered. ''Good, they are riled up.'' "Look, they areing, riding on that big bird!" Almond pointed at the sky to his left. Everyone looked there and indeed saw a huge bird over fifty meters long with a wingspan of over a hundred meters. On it, Almond saw five elves, all of them Gold level 100, but had different races within the elves. Two were dark elves, two were normal-looking elves with smooth peach skin, and thest one was a red-skinned elf. "Why are they looking at us?" "Huh? Isn''t that a human?" "He must be from Earth!" "Kill him," the male dark elf withvish leather armor coldly said as he immediately conjured his bow and aimed an arrow at Almond. "Attack them!" the tribe chief angrily barked seeing that, while the dark elf also shot an arrow that streaked with spiraling ck energy around it with dark green stripes. Almond leisurely waved his hand, devouring the arrow when it was halfway by conjuring Devouring Veil on itsing trajectory. The Serpensha Tribe people began hurling long-range attacks at them as the bird paused when it was two hundred meters away while staying three hundred meters in the sky. "Fuck, that tribe must be allied with that human." "What do we do?" The barriers blocked the attacks while the elves discussed what to do. The leader was the dark elf who shot an arrow, and he quickly came to a decision with an icy glint in his eyes, "Nesha, you got your kingdom''s artifact with you, right?" The red-skinned elf with a slender and busty figure raised her eyebrows upon hearing him. "It has a cooldown of three days. Should we really use it right now, El?" "Yeah, I don''t think we need to use that, El." Leveraum El¡ªthe strongest gold-ranker of the Eldoren world. He was also the Midnight Empire''s archduke''s son. The one to do the 128,403 score in the war participating trial shortly after Lily and took her spot. Naturally, the rankings had changed more after that, and the second spot belonged to a draconite powerhouse with a 153,200 score after that, but that didn''t matter anymore. "Use it," Leveraum said. "Rain destruction on them. We aren''t leaving without doing anything now that we''ve seen some enemies." Almond was watching them, not making any move, but he didn''t intend to let them escape now that they were here. Suddenly, he saw the red-skinned elf taking out a strange red-metal torch carved with ck patterns and dark red me lighting up brightly. ''What''s that?'' Almond narrowed his eyes, using his All-Seeing Eyes. [Cursed messe Torche] -Type: Artifact -Tier: 4 -Effect: ¡ª> Unleashes a catastrophic sea of mes within a 200-meter radius that uses everything it touches as fuel to burn more intensely. ''Fuck, an Artifact of Tier-4?'' Almond was dumbfounded. The red-skinned elf infused mana in it, but Almond immediately acted, vanishing and arriving right above the group. "Nope, you are not using that." The elves looked up, shocked. A golden dragon was diving as Almond used Rising Dragon''s Roar battle art, but instead of normal lightning des like before, the storm of des whirling its formation was a storm of tiny severance des enchanted with other elements! However, the ne worn by Leveraum El suddenly glowed as a powerful barrier encased the entire bird, blocking the attack. *BOOM!* The bird plummeted with the impact, but the barrier stood strong. ''The fuck, another artifact?'' "Use it now, Nesha!" El barked at the red-skinned elf, who pointed the torch at the tribe. A thumb-sized red dot manifested at the center of the tribe where she aimed, which started pouring out mes. "You must be Almond," El looked at Almond and icily grinned, "Your attack must be something if it forced my artifact to activate on its own." "Now, you can either follow us to get killed or scram." Almond floated above the barrier and looked at them before ncing at the pouring mes in the tribe and panicking Serpensha people. He knew his attacks wouldn''t be able to breach this barrier, not unless it deactivated. Almond looked at Leveraum El and smiled, albeit very frostily, "Next time I see you, I''ll cut you into one million parts." After saying that, he vanished, teleporting the pouring mes at the water source 3.7 kilometers to the northwest. Chapter 260: A Devastating Attack From Almond On the Tribe [Bonus Chapter] "That bastard has space elemental powers." "He¡¯s gonna be a pain in the ass." "We have to make a solid n to kill him or it¡¯ll be hard." @@novelbin@@ "Nobody could get even close to his score in the war participating trial¡­I think we should try to kill this guy here. If he bes stronger, it¡¯s gonna be a problem." "Humph, no one can beat the Emperor of Midnight Empire," El snorted before he turned to the Forest-Elves siblings, "Let¡¯s go. Get the bird to return before the barrier deactivates. We can¡¯t handle him right with just us." Almond continued to observe the group until they left his range of 4 kilometers and saw that the barrier was still maintained till they left. ¡¯It must be based on duration, but to have a Tier-5 defensive artifact¡­it must be on the same level as the Patel n¡¯s defensive lotus artifact.¡¯ Almond redirected the mes, and fortunately, the damage to the tribe was minimal with no one dying and only some structure razing due to some amount of me that poured down before Almond began redirecting it. The dot poured out mes for thirty-four seconds before stopping. ¡¯I didn¡¯t get full details of those artifacts even with my All-Seeing Eyes. I guess I need to rank up, to get the eyes to see through stronger stuff.¡¯ "Thank you for helping us," the snake tribe bowed while cupping his fist. "If it wasn¡¯t for you, those mes would have caused so much destruction and loss for us." ¡¯This tribe and the Pan tribe are enemies, so I¡¯ll make a different alliance for this,¡¯ Almond internally grinned. "I can protect your tribe, and we can also work together to unify thisnd," Almond smiled. "What do you say, want to form an alliance?" "You had no reason to help us, yet you did. So, I see no reason to reject this offer, mighty human." The tribe chief extended his hand with a smile. Almondughed and shook hands as he nodded, "Good decision. From now on, don¡¯t bother with the Pan tribe. I will handle them. You save your energy and stay defensive." "I am also going to build a portal here and connect it to another at my base, so me and my people cane here in case of emergency." "That¡¯s fantastic," the tribe chief nodded with shining eyes. "But our scuffle with the Pan Tribe won¡¯t end since both of us have to visit the Forest of Seeds." "Hmmm¡­" Almond thought for a moment and said, "Then do you know any other ce with resources?" "There is one, but it belongs to Hawkfrey Tribe. It¡¯s farther than Forest of Seeds for us, and it¡¯s a mountain instead of a forest, which is more advantageous to the Hawkfrey Tribe." "Hawkfrey Triebe, eh?" Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as he smiled, "I¡¯ll go and check it out first." ¡­ Almond flew toward the direction of the Hawkfrey Tribe as pointed by the Serpensha tribe chief, and soon arrived there. However, he saw that there were three wyverns floating above the tribe. Inspecting further in, Almond saw fifteen Draconites, humanoids with draconic features, in the pce at a table. "It seems that someone is observing me," A handsome draconite with shining purple-gold scales suddenly muttered as his eyes flickered. "What happened, Veirat?" Almond could also hear the words and immediatly narrowed his eyes hearing the name ¡¯Veirat¡¯ because it belonged to the second ranker who scored 153k points in War Participating Trial. ¡¯If Hawkfrey Tribe is already allied with the Empyradrake¡¯s people, then I don¡¯t need to hold back,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. He was three kilometers away from the tribe, so if he attacked from here, they wouldn¡¯t even know what hit them, and who hit them. ¡¯The resourceful mountain must be that mountain in the east. Let me see if there are Hawkfreys there first.¡¯ After teleporting once, the mountain came under his radar, and indeed, he actually found a whole troop of Hawkfrey Tribesmen, numbering over twenty. *sh!* Almond killed them instantly and stored their spirits. Afterward, he aimed his sword in the Hawkfrey Tribe¡¯s direction he was still roughly three kilometers away from it. ¡¯Mhmm, If I can design the structure further like this, then the sh will get bigger and bigger the more it travels by absorbing space,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯I should try.¡¯ ¡­ "It¡¯s gone, but I¡¯m sure someone was observing us. Otherwise, my third eye wouldn¡¯t react," Veirat said with conviction as the third eye on his forehead shone with a purple spark in its pupil. "If my tribe¡¯s Hawk Towers didn¡¯t detect anything, then this can¡¯t be Nossel Tribe¡¯s scout," Hawkfrey tribe chief frowned. "It must be someone better." "Veirat, I send the wyverns to patrol. We¡¯ll see if we can find anything." "They won¡¯t find anything. Unlike other items, I myself failed to detect the gaze or read its intention. Only my reaction and that¡¯s how I knew," Veirat narrowed his eyes. "This enemy is powerful." Suddenly, his expression changed, and so did the expression of the Hawkfrey Tribe Chief as both of them looked in the same direction. A huge sh 50 meters wide streaked at their tribes, shing their gates, destroying houses, and splitting Hawkfrey tribesmen before it was stopped at the table in the pce, held by quick barriers from the tribe chief, Varait, and one more Draconite who reacted quickly. But their barriers shattered almost instantly as two Draconites died before another barrier sprung up and stopped the sh, albeit only for briefly, as it continued a few centimeters before it was stopped by a Legendary item¡¯s effect that Veirat had used, which took a second to fully activate. "Noo! Sillcia!" "Damn it! Who was it?!" "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" "My tribe," Hawkfrey tribe chief¡¯s lips trembled as he saw the devastation brought by that attack in his tribe, causing his eyes to turn red. Meanwhile, Almond got a notification of acquiring 2000 Battlefield points personally for killing two people of Empyradrake. ¡¯Allying with a tribe gives 5000 cumtive points, so we earned 15k already.¡¯ Almond checked out the leaderboard. [Main Leaderboard] - Empyradrake: 28,000 Battlefield points. - Earth: 17,000 Battlefield points. Stay tuned for updates on empire - Cyberterra: 25,000 points. - Eldoren: 16,000 points. ¡¯Huh? How the fuck Cyberterra reach 25k? Don¡¯t tell me they also defeated a kingdom and subjugated it on the battlefield. If so, then this means they also allied with three tribes here on top of that.¡¯ ¡¯And we got 1000 points more. Probably someone got it for us on the battlefield.¡¯ ¡¯Well, the leaderboard will shift greatly once the wars between tribes begin here,¡¯ Almond grinned, thrilled to wreak havoc and win. ¡¯Our first attack will be on the Hawkfrey Tribe.¡¯ ¡¯But we have to be careful. For now, I should send the groups to check out some of the other spots I found, and ally with more tribes in the southwest and southeast.¡¯ Almond looked at the pirs of light in the southwest and southeast that he hadn¡¯t visited yet, but first, he created a portal and connected it with the portal at the base to directly cross over 200 kilometers instead of constantly crossing 4 kilometers per second. "Everyone, gather up!" Chapter 261: Double Encounters "Everyone, gather up! It¡¯s time to move." "Where are we moving, boss?" "Is it time to attack on others?" "Haha, let¡¯s go!" Almond gestured with his palm for everyone to quiet down and said, "As you can see from the cumtive points we got, we have three allies now, but we need two more at least. There are also some hidden spots, so all forty-nine of you must split into four big teams and explore the ces." @@novelbin@@ "I got the map here, and my spirit wraiths will also apany each group so I can observe your situation through their eyes. Meanwhile, I¡¯m fast at traveling, so I¡¯ll focus on getting two more tribes to our side." "Are you all ready?" Almond asked as he distributed the maps to everyone with a wave of his hand, creating fancy 3D maps with his advanced maniption of Mana. "We are ready, boss!" "There are eight spots total in such a big area¡­this is going to take time." "I am raring to go. Let¡¯s form the groups." Almond suddenly said in a loud voice, "By the way, a certain number of Grim Breakers will join each group to make each group strong and bnce out." "Almond, even your spirit wraiths got legendary gear sets, so do you got any spare legendary items to use temporarily?" Brynjal asked with a dry chuckle. "Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have," Almond wryly smiled. "We¡¯ll earn them in Heroic Challenge once thebyrinth opens," Lin Yuan said with a grin. "The Heroic challenge triggering method was revealed to everyone after Earth Union brought the information in the auction." "Good luck," Almond smiled. ¡¯In the first ce, I gave that information, but I¡¯m not even sure if the condition is really defeating a normal floor boss alone, defeating it within one minute, or just reaching a certain level ofbat power within a certain rank.¡¯ Almond had ryed all three of those methods, so people will have to try them all to see if they can really get an invitation to the Heroic Challenge. "Anyway, you all depart after making groups. I¡¯ll be moving ahead." Lily nodded at him and magic whispered, "Be careful." "You too," Almond replied with a chuckle. "Don¡¯t be reckless." ¡­ Almond flew toward the eastern pir of neon-maroon light first and teleported for roughly a hundred kilometers before the tribe appeared under his 4-kilometer radius radar. It was a tribe of humanoid felines like, panthers, leopards, and cheetas. He talked with the tribe, wanting to get allied, and got the task of either giving them the deity calling stone tablet or guardian deity statue of another tribe so they could repair their own guardian deity statue by sacrificing another. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire Almond directly took out the stone tablet, shocking the tribe leader, who was a lean-muscled golden panther. He gave the stone tablet and earned another ally. As usual, he also created a portal leading to their base. Afterward, he talked with the tribe chief to get any information he could and returned to the base through the portal. The other tribe was in the west, so Almond¡¯s space drifted in that icy blue pir¡¯s direction. That tribe belonged to strange humanoid people with a variety of butterfly wings, and they called themselves Baelfers, their tribe name Baelfer. Almond proposed the alliance. However, the tribe leader of this Baelfer tribe looked at them as if sizing him up and said, "Are you alone?" "Yes," Almond nodded. "Hmm, our tribe is willing to ally itself with another force, but a group of humans arrived here half an hour ago proposing the same thing." Almond¡¯s eyes glinted, ¡¯A group of humans? The only other humans aside from us are people of Cyberterra.¡¯ "I will give you the same task as them. Whoever brings us the Heart of Lagoon from the mystical spirit beast¡ªMepis Lagoon Fae, will be our ally." "Where can I find it?" Almond directly asked. "The undergroundke of Mepis Lagoon in the northeast twenty-three kilometers from here. One has to go into a mountain as the path to underground is through the cavern and passages found on the mountain, leading down. ¡¯I don¡¯t need to find the path,¡¯ Almond internally thought before telling the tribe leader that he would bring the so-called Heart of Lagoon, and vanished as he quickly started teleporting. Within half a minute, he arrived at the mountain, his eyes glinting as his radar scanned the mountain and soon found the caverns and passages. He teleported inside before finding the way to the understanding in his radar and once again teleported directly into the underground area where he also found twelve other presences. The group appeared in their twenties, wearing slick cyber-punk high-tech type full-body armor and wielding different weapons as they moved in this area to find theke of Mepis Lagoon. ¡¯I should sneak attack since I can and deal damage to that team,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as he scanned them. Surprisingly, he found two people with maximized stats at gold-rank. One of them was a pink-is blond-haired girl looking in her early twenties, and another was a brown-haired man in his mid-twenties. Although the best call would be to sneak attack first, Almond didn¡¯t feel like doing that. ¡¯Show me what you got. Your power, talents, and capabilities. Then I will crush you.¡¯ His eyes glinted as he grinned and vanished, appearing right in front of the group. The group of twelve people were startled and immediately pointed their weapons at Almond, their energies revving. Almond saw a spiraling spear hurling at him, crackling with indigo lightning and blinked as a small Severance de split it, destroying the attack. "Why in such a hurry?" Almond smiled. "Are you Almond?" the pinkish blond-haired girl with a slender and hot figure asked as she aimed her fancy dual-wielding guns at Almond. "I am indeed him, and I am dering a battle here," Almond smiled as he cracked his index finger, causing a barrier to form within a 50-meter radius. "The only way to leave is by killing me." "I¡¯m sure that¡¯s not the only way to leave, but we¡¯ll fulfill your wish," the girl said with an icy grin as she nced at the brown-haired man. ¡¯Leo, we gotta go all out and finish this fast.¡¯ Leo¡¯s eyes flickered with indigo lightning as he said, "Team, engage with maximum potency and obliterate the target." "Wait," Almond muttered, but shots were already fired, forcing him to teleport away. ¡¯Another group is under attack,¡¯ Almond saw through Sylvia¡¯s eyes upon gaining her signal. It appeared that the group she was in encountered a group of draconians. ¡¯Disrupt the space, Nelson! Make sure he can¡¯t teleport.¡¯ Almond suddenly felt wobbly and felt shocked. ¡¯The fuck? I can¡¯t teleport.¡¯ The space within the barrier became strange to him as he couldn¡¯t teleport anymore. And he didn¡¯t have space elemental mastery yet, so it was even more difficult to teleport now. Several long-range attacks were also hurled at him, followed by iing two people, one of them being Leo who dashed with his swords suddenly glowing bigger, aiming at his head. Almond used Devouring Veil to neutralize the long-range attacks before his Lord Grimde appeared in his hand in its slender form and cut at Leo and another guy who came smashing down from above with his hammer, masterfully deflecting both of them as they shot back like bullets. "No teleport? No problem," Almond grinned as he pointed his sword at them. "In one minute, you will be sliced and diced." Chapter 262: Overwhelming "Humph, you will pay for your arrogance," the pink-ish blond-haired girl said as she aimed both her guns at Almond, their barrels sticking against each other. *Zaap!* A blindingly fast beam was unleashed at Almond, who simply transformed into lightning, dodging and streaking forward with his full power. Sword of Imperishable Zenith! Sword Bending Motion! He counter-attacked two people on the way who tried to attack him, his sword enchanted with elements and empowered him with Severance deyer hummed death as his shes diced both people through their armor in the blink of an eye while he already appeared in front of the girl with guns. *sh!* She barely reacted in time to conjure a shield in front as the impact sent her away instead, sparing her life. "Bastard!" "He killed Mezra and Rolin! "Kill him!" Almond was bombarded with attacks instantly while he felt a focused pair of eyes, but he was stronger, faster, and tougher! Almond easily deflected attacks as he streaked in golden lightning again, materializing between a pair who were buffing others and unleashing long-range magic attacks. ¡¯No!¡¯ ¡¯Fuck, he is too fast!¡¯ The man and woman felt their heart turning cold when they sensed Almond in their Focus Field right between them. *sh!* Almond finished them off, his attacks unblocked, undefendable, and undeflectable for the duration of the skill Sword of Imperishable Zenith! ¡¯Leo, we can¡¯t defeat him!¡¯ ¡¯Use artifact and escape!¡¯ ¡¯Let me try one time! Trap him! This fucker already kill four, damn it!¡¯ Leo roared, bursting out with full power as he also streaked as lightning with his S-rank Lightning Elemental Mastery¡¯s effect. Almond felt magic waves as several skills activated. He quickly dashed away, and in his previous location, a crystal prison emerged from the ground. But even if he dodged that, he suddenly found his legs bound by ck tentacles. Almond sensed two more skills activating as vines and ice formed around him, while Leo with his ultimate attack was streaking at him with six smic lightning orbs floating around him. Almond remained calm, his domain capturing everything as he serenely waved his sword. Sword Bending Motion¡ªTwelve Slshes. In an instant, twelve shes of Severance des burst out in different directions. Out of all, six of them went towards Leo. Leo directly felt death as his senses captured the shes. ¡¯Damn it!¡¯ He shot the six lighting orbs forward without the slightest hesitation to trigger an explosion against the shes while he conjured a barrier using a skill, and a device for maximum protection. *BOOM!* Meanwhile, the other shes obliterated the dark tentacles, vines, and Ice stream. ¡¯Leo!¡¯ ¡¯Fuck, fuck!¡¯ ¡¯Where did he go?!¡¯ *sh!* *sh!* Two more died, and right after that, the pinkish-blond-haired girl put away her weapons and tapped at her wrists. ¡¯Leo, let¡¯s go!¡¯ She magic whispered to Leo and everyone. Almond went to his next target, but suddenly, the remaining six people vanished, disappearing instantly. Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as he observed the change in space. ¡¯They teleported, a fairly long one.¡¯ ¡¯Cyberterra, eh? You all got some nice advance-tech items. Their armor also had the same toughness as Legendary-rank items. That Leo¡¯s barrier also managed to nullify my Severance des¡¯ remaining power and kept him safe as he only suffered moderatecerations from residue.¡¯ ¡¯Tsk, the dead bodies are also gone.¡¯ If he had taken the bodies, he could have had ess to new tech and other information after scanning their bodies. ¡¯Next time, I have to put them in the storage ring. For now, I should quickly go.¡¯ @@novelbin@@ Almond wanted to get the Heart of Lagoon, but Sylvia¡¯s group with Marcus, Amir, Talia, Noah, and Jian along with other gold rankers was in trouble. He quickly started making a teleport gate here so that he could return here fast instead of traveling long distances. Meanwhile, the group was holding off against the ten Draconians and their five pet dragons of Gold rank by staying defensive mostly, mainly thanks to Marcus and Sylvia. The draconian bombarded them with attacks while taking on asional counter-attacks from Noah, Talia, Amir, and others and exchanging various skills, but it was clear that the Draconians were slowly overwhelming the group. The moment Marcus¡¯ skill ended, people would start dying. ¡¯What do we do?!¡¯ ¡¯Marcus, how long do we have?!¡¯ ¡¯Is anyoneing? Fuck, I¡¯m scared. It¡¯s like waiting on a chopping board right now. They are not stopping their attacks!¡¯ ¡¯Sylvia told me Almond ising.¡¯ ¡¯Ten seconds until I empty my Ironheart Force,¡¯ Marcus informed with a grave expression. The draconian were surprised at the toughness. "Cockroaches, stop struggling. There¡¯s no escaping for you." "Give them a big one, guys." The attacks suddenly decreased in intensity, so Noah, Talia, Amir, and others quicklyunched their attacks. Sylvia, Marcus, and a few others quickly chugged potions and continued focused on buffing, healing, and protecting. The enemies were getting injured as well, but no one had died so far with everyone recovering with items and skills. "They are making a big move!" "What the fuck is that giant orb?" "Hell!" "Five seconds until Marcus¡¯ skill dies. If that attack dropped after that¡­" Suddenly, everyone saw a long and wide sh appearing, pitch ck with a silvery hue, cutting that attack condensed by five draconians, causing it to explode. Almond arrived by connecting to the coordinates of Sylvia¡¯s location and doing a long-range teleport, shifting his location of space directly here. The draconians stopped and looked at Almond. "Let¡¯s go!" "Almond is here!" Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire "Time to fuck them!" ¡¯Their attention is on him after he destroyed their attacks. Let¡¯s recover before the fight continues,¡¯ Noah ryed to everyone. Meanwhile, the leader who was a dragon-scaled humanoid of crimson and yellow scales with a fancy warrior-ish full-body scaled armor narrowed his eyes at Almond. "Are you Almond?" he asked, eyes glinting with clear caution. ¡¯That level of attack, and he seems casual. If it¡¯s not that Almond of rank 1, then Earth may have two powerful gold rankers.¡¯ "Well, I am indeed Almond. Anyway, let¡¯s continue the party," Almond grinned and vanished, appearing right behind the guy while his sword swung back. *Chree!* ¡¯What?!¡¯ "The leader just got cleaved or what?!" "Fuck, attack him!" Chapter 263: Ultimate Threat [Bonus Chapter] The leader draconian was cut into two halves as he smashed down, forming a small crater. Meanwhile, the other draconians immediately began attacking Almond. Almond leisurely drifted through space, dodging all attacks before bursting out two Severance Chakrams. Both chakrams sliced through their five dragons, cutting them into pieces before other Draconians attacked the chakrams and destroyed them. However, Almond killed two more Draconians as they couldn¡¯t even see himing. Even without his Sword of Imperishable Zenith skill activated, he was still doomingly lethal to these gold-rankers. The leader Draconian that Almond split into two didn¡¯t die as he generated, his eyes filled with dread. ¡¯I have to inform the leader Zoltrend about this bastard!¡¯ ¡¯Everyone, escape! Crush the stones, and go!¡¯ After rying this to his team, the crimson-yellow draconian took out a stone and crushed it. It burst out with silvery energy that instantly wrapped him up before vanishing. Almond blinked as he killed one more, but the rest suddenly vanished. ¡¯Every world got some interesting new things. We have to get them all.¡¯ "Are you all fine?" Almond teleported below and asked as he looked at the group. "Yeah, nobody is dead at least." "But those lizards really escaped as if they saw a ghost after Almond arrived." "Yeah, those bastards were being so arrogant before that." "I am going to fucking cook and eat one of them, I swear," Marcus snorted. Almond chuckled "Good job staying alive, and good work, Sylvia and Starlight." "Rawr!" "Thank you, Master." Almond overlooked the area with his domain and said, "The magic-rich area is near. Since I am here, let¡¯s go and take whatever that¡¯s there. After that, I¡¯ll send you all home by making a portal." The group had exhausted their strongest of skills which had cooled down in hours, so theirbat power wasn¡¯t at peak anyway, so he could go to thatke of Mepis Lagoon after helping here in case there was a strong monster in this area. ¡­ @@novelbin@@ A few hours passed as Almond and other groups finished their tasks and returned. Almond also made the Baelfer Tribe an ally by defeating the spirit beast. Physical attacks didn¡¯t work on it, and it also took less damage from everything, but it wasn¡¯t strong enough to hurt Almond, so he dealt with it easily and brought its heart to the tribe. ¡¯Twenty tribes, four worlds. Equally divided, that¡¯s five tribes to each world. We have five allies, but if I can take one more, we would have more leverage.¡¯ As such, Almond decided to reach for one more tribe, and hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t be like Hakwfrey Tribe which already allied itself with Draconians. On the other hand, the people of the other three worlds were all discussing Almond. A group from each of the three worlds had an encounter with Almond and suffered at his hands. They knew the horrors he could bring to them. Cyberterra Base. "What do we do, Leo? That bastard is simply too powerful." "So what? He is just one anyway and you all were not prepared. In front of Artifacts¡¯ effects, even he will have to bow." "We can also use Guardian Deities to deal with him if he attacks. We just have to focus hard on him during battles." "There are other two worlds as well. We will also have to worry about them." "Urgh, this is so annoying. If we can just kill that bastard Almond, things would get easier. At least the other two worlds don¡¯t have a monster like him." ¡­ Eldoren Base "El, that one guy forced us to use two artifacts in just a brief meeting. Your defensive artifact also has a cooldown of two days." "Yeah, that Almond guy is dangerous. We have to deal with him first." "With his space powers, Guardian Deities won¡¯t help since he can just escape even if one of our ally tribes uses it when he attacks." "I think we should return to Eldoren, and ask for that artifact." "That artifact? Are you talking about Umbral Spear Cross?" "Yeah. We use it and kill him. Then we won¡¯t need to stress about him in this war event." "The idea is good, but thoughts behind it arecking. Do you think they will give us such a powerful artifact? If we lose it by chance, we will get killed even if we survive." "Don¡¯t forget, we have other two worlds to worry about as well." "El, do you got any idea?" A short silence descended before El finally spoke, "The best way to go about this is eliminating the people of Earth first, especially Almond, by working together with the other two worlds." "What? Will they even agree to this? Even if we trust them, what if they backstab us?" "I think El is right. Once the people from the other two worlds encounter Almond, they will agree." "True, we should work together and eliminate Earth first. Afterward, the three of us canpete for the win." "Alright, go out in groups, each with ten or more members, and search for the other two world¡¯s people." "What do we tell them?" "Just tell them straight that we want to work together to deal with Earth and Almond first." ¡­ Empyradrake Base. "That fucking maggot killed Millia! Roar!!" "Lord Jron is going be pissed¡­" "Pissed? He is going to fucking rain destruction." "This is bad. That human is fucking powerful." "His sh felt like nothing could stop it. My defense melted and it just cut me into two. If it wasn¡¯t for my innate talent of regeneration and my timely use of the item¡¯s healing, I¡¯d be dead right now." "Also, I sensed something strange in him. It was a whiff of a dragon." "Huh? But he is a human. What is draconic about him?" "I have no idea. It¡¯s just the feeling I got." "My specialized debuff skillspletely failed against him. It felt like his mind was unending sea, and my power just washed up inside and vanished¡­" "Yeah, I also tried to use a mental-interference skill on him, but couldn¡¯t do anything. He simply cut Jeffer while I could only crush the stone and escape." "We have to use a powerful Artifact on him and make a solid n to finish him off." "He got teleport." "¡­" "What do we do about that mother fucker, Zoltrend? It¡¯s annoying. We won¡¯t win this as long as that human is there." "How about we work together with the other two worlds?" Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire "Are you stupid?" "No, she is actually right," Zoltrend narrowed his eyes. "Go and find the people of Eldoren and Cyberterra. We have to eliminate the Earth¡¯s people, especially that Almond, first and foremost." "And if any group encounters him, just escape fast and always keep ¡¯I Surrender¡¯ words close to your mind, so you can exit from this event. It¡¯s better than dying." ¡­ Almond¡¯s endeavor wasn¡¯t fruitful this time, as the tribe he made contact with was already allied with the elves of the Eldoren world. But he didn¡¯t give up and continued searching. He didn¡¯t believe that the other three worlds allied themselves with five tribes each. s, in the end, he had to believe that they really did ally themselves with five tribes each before two more tribes he checked in different directions out were also already allied with other worlds. ¡¯If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯llunch our first attack after making preparations,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯We¡¯ll defeat Hawkfrey Tribe and take over it.¡¯ He could still search for more as there was a chance that a tribe or two had yet to ally itself with others, but Almond didn¡¯t want to waste more time on that and returned. Chapter 264: First Battle (1) [Bonus Chapter] The groups were still exploring some spots, and Almond asionally observed them through his spirit wraiths¡¯ eyes. They¡¯d be done exploring the remaining spots in approximately two hours. Meanwhile, Almond went to the Serpensha Tribe first. "What? We areunching an attack on Hawkfrey Tribe after some hours?" "Yeah," Almomd nodded. "I am going to make a portal nearby that tribe, and four other tribes will also join in the attack." "Seeing such a big attack, they will immediately summon their Guardian Deity," the Serpensha tribe chief frowned. "And without one of us summoning a Guardian Deity there, we will get wiped out." Almond narrowed his eyes as they flickered, "We won¡¯t summon a Guardian Deity. This battle, we¡¯ll win it without using it." "What? Impossible," Serpensha tribe chief spluttered in disbelief, shaking his head constantly. "That¡¯s suicide." "I will handle their Guardian Deity," Almond said calmly as he looked into the tribe chief¡¯s eyes. "I can." "You start preparing your warriors and supplies," Almond stood up. "And stay on standby." After saying that, he teleported away, vanishing. "Chief, are we sure about this?" "Yeah, he says he can handle Guardian Deity, but what if he can¡¯t?" "And how can he just leave like that aftermanding us? He already thinks he is above us, humph." @@novelbin@@ The Tribe Chief was silent for a few seconds as the calm intensity and power in Almond¡¯s eyes that bore down on him was still fresh. "Start preparing," the tribe chief said. "We¡¯ll see how he handles their Guardian Deity. If he can¡¯t, then we can summon ours. Hawkfrey Tribe is nearest to us, so we will take over them anyway." "But after we use our Guardian Deity, we¡¯ll really have to stay allied with this human until the end. We¡¯d lose our one-time summoning, so we won¡¯t fare well if another tribe attacks us." "The time hase," Serpensha tribe chief¡¯s eyes glinted. "This war will rage on and end soon, but we are making the first move towards victory." "So go and prepare, we are winning this!" ¡­ Afterward, Almond went to the Avantana Tribe of cows, bulls, and oxen, telling them to prepare their warriors. They didn¡¯t have any problem and were raring instead. They also asked whether they¡¯d have to summon their Guardian Deity, but Almond told them the same thing as he did to the Serpensha Tribe. He then went to the Pan Tribe of slender pink-ish lion people and did the same, urging them to prepare for an all-out attack. Then he went to the tribe of leopards, cheetahs, and panthers¡ªFelimore Tribe, and got them to start preparing as well. Their Guardian Deity was fixed thanks to Almond, so they were at first worried Almond wanted them to use it and it wasn¡¯t prepared yet, but Almond told them clearly about his ns, giving them relief. Lastly, he went to the Baelfer tribe, the people with a variety of butterfly wings. They also agreed to war and began preparing. ¡¯One hour¡­¡¯ Almond saw the groups were returning, but they¡¯d take over an hour without his teleport, so he brought them all back to the base fast, saving time. "Rest for an hour, recover, eat, and prepare," Almond loudly said, looking at everyone. "We areunching our first attack on a tribe." "Boss, we are hungry after all this while and we didn¡¯t bring food here." "Yeah, same." As such, Almond left the war and returned to Earth. He updated Admiral Rudra about the war situation and also asked for food from GAA. Thirty minutester, the GAA finished preparing a lot of high-ranking food with buffs as the Admiral handed him the storage ring containing it. Almond returned and everyone ate before preparing their supplies like potions and one-time-use items. The recent research by old monsters James and Aarav resulted in some useful protects like a skin-tight energy barrier and energy shields and barriers with upper limits reaching to defend against at least one or two Epic-rank attacks and transferring the damage entirely into the structure for destruction to keep the users safe. Though Almond felt itcked inparison to the barrier device he saw from people of Cyberterra, it was better than nothing. Grim Breakers had top-notch Legendary gear sets enchanted with Roken¡¯s runes that further boosted their basic defensive values and added some elemental perks suitable to them, but they still felt on par with others since all three worlds¡¯ people also had powerful gears and items. ¡¯Empyradrake¡­let¡¯s see how respond,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. "Almond, what¡¯s the n?" Lily sat down beside him and asked. "The best oue is to make them surrender, so we can have one more tribe in our alliance or rather, under our alliance." "Mhmm," Lily nodded. "And they won¡¯t surrender as long as they have their guardian deity, right?" "Yep. But I will keep it entangled for one minute. It¡¯s just a matter of one minute," Almond said before he thought about the draconians. "The problem will be the Draconians. They will target me while I entangle with the Guardian deity." "I am not threatened by their skills, but If they use an Artifact that can trap me or disable me, things will turn nasty." Lily frowned, "You got any countermeasure for that?" Almond grinned and took out a futuristic-looking blue orb, as well as a pair of golden sandals with wings. "Hermes¡¯ Winged Sandles?!" Lily was startled. "Yep. I told Admiral Rudra I needed something that could get me out of any situation when I went there to get food, and this Artifact is best for that. He borrowed it from the Gabris family and gave it to me." "As for this orb, this is the Tier-3 Artifact we got from the 5th Floor¡¯s reward," Almond grinned. "I hid its information from everyone, but it¡¯s super useful." [Temporal Reset Orb] -Type: Buff/Recovery -Tier: 3 -Effect: ¡ª> Upon use, rewind the time on the user¡¯s body from 1 second to 10 seconds back. -Cooldown: 2 days. "This¡­" Lily¡¯s eyes glinted. "So if you get heavily debuffed or affected by something powerful, you can simply use this and make it such that you were never affected." "Exactly. And Hermes¡¯ Winged Sandles will get me out of any imprisonment if they use some kind of trapping artifact on me." "Awesome," Lily grinned. "But I will also focus on you, so I can know the enemies who will focus on you and take them out sneakily." Explore new worlds at NovelBin.C?m "Yep, that¡¯d be perfect. Remain hidden from others, and make fatal strikes," Almond smiled, his eyes aze with thrill. "Let¡¯s win this." Chapter 265: First Battle (2/2), Conquered Roughly four kilometers away from the Hawkfrey Tribe, in a thin forest at a hilly area. Almond finished constructing six portals, each one three meters in diameter. He sent a thought message to his spirit wraiths, telling them toe through the portal as Lily, Grim Breakers, and other gold rankers began emerging from one of the six portals. "Standby there fifteen meters away. Others will being soon," Almond waved his hand after speaking, sending a tiny mana string into the other five portals. The string arrived at the five tribes through the portals where the tribe chiefs were waiting with their armies. The strings shattered before Almond¡¯s voice rang out, telling them to enter. Soon, all five armies gathered in the forest, standing at five different spots. Continue your saga on NovelBin.C?m Avantana Tribe had 322 gold rank warriors and one tinum rank at max level¡ªtheir tribe chief, Bassara Avantana. Pan Tribe had 313 gold rank warriors and one level 150 tinum rank¡ªtheir tribe chief, Mordekus Pan. Serpensha Tribe had 309 gold rank warriors, and their peak tinum-rank tribe chief¡ªVesse Serpensha. Felimore Tribe had 336 feline warriors, with their tinum rank panther chief¡ªKsh Felimore. Lastly, the Baelfer Tribe had 302 warriors under the tinum rank chief¡ªKeliaz Baelfer. After talking with tribe leaders, Almond teleported everyone two kilometers further, atop a small mountain. Almond observed the Hawkfrey Tribe using his domain, detecting their warriors and Draconians if there were any. ¡¯There are two Draconians only. I guess they are just staying there so they can stay in contact with their base and give reports for anything.¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted, ¡¯If we can win without letting the Hawkfrey tribe use their Guardian Deity, that would be ideal.¡¯ Turning to the tribe chiefs and his party, Almond said, "It¡¯s time. I will teleport us right at the tribe¡¯s barracks. Fight their warriors, and don¡¯t kill them if possible. Disable them and impair them, making them unable to continue fighting. We are five times more than them, so this should be easy." "Why aren¡¯t we killing them?" Serpensha Tribe Chief raised his eyebrows. "Hawkfrey Tribe will be our alliance¡¯s subject. We still have more wars to fight, so the more warriors we conquer along with tribes, the better." "Ready your buffs and skills. We will overwhelm them." Everyone nodded. Almond then turned to Emma and said, "Emma, I want a strong paralyzing poison, which can also disrupt their mana to prevent them from using it. Can you get something like that?" "Paralyse and mana interference. Yep, I can do that. Give me two minutes." Two minutester, Emma finished creating the poison with her specialized ss as liquid enough to fill a small vial floated. Almond told Nyssara to create a crystal vial with her elemental mastery to contain the poison. After enchanting his sword with this poison, Almond put the remaining poison into the vial. Before he teleported the army, Almond went alone and shed both Draconians first, poisoning them and then sealing them within a spatial bubble. If he killed them, and someone their deaths could be sensed or detected, then the draconian would find out about this attack, which he wanted to prevent from happening until their alliance conquered this tribe. After quickly dealing with the two draconians, Almondunched his full-powered strike on Hawkfrey Tribe¡¯s chief after teleporting right behind him in his pce, instantly shredding him into pieces with an attack consuming all of his Mana at his full power. Although he could spare other warriors, killing the chief was important to make the tribe kneel. After dealing with the tribe chief and taking the deity statue from him, Almond sessfully prevented the tribe from summoning their guardian deity. Something like this wasn¡¯t possible for others. The tribe chiefs were strong. They were peak tinum-rank powerhouses with high elemental mastery, powerful skills, and talents. Simply one-shotting them by sneaking up like that wasn¡¯t possible for any other gold-ranker except for Almond who was an anomaly with his overpowered arsenal of powers. Afterward, Almond teleported the army right in the middle of the tribe as a huge battle began, and also ended swiftly. "Your tribe chief is dead! Surrender now and you all will live for a new future or die here!" Almond shouted as he floated in the sky, overlooking the three hundred gold-rank warriors who were surrounded by five armies and fifty adventurers in shiny armor and weapons. Almond showed them their tribe chief¡¯s head, and all the flying hawkfrey members and those on the ground felt their hearts tremble as they began shouting and crying. The sound of weapons dropping echoed all around as it was clear that they couldn¡¯t fight any longer and chose to surrender. Almond then killed the two Draconians and told the five tribes to station 50 of their warriors here. @@novelbin@@ He also told the gold-rank adventurers to stay in the Hawkfrey tribe here until further instructions. Now that Earth conquered another¡¯s tribe, the score shifted, which also told everyone that they conquered another tribe. [Main Leaderboard] - Earth: 28,500 cumtive battlefield points. - Empyradrake: 28,000 cumtive b.points. - Cyberterra: 25,000 cumtive b.points. - Eldoren: 16,000 cumtive b.points. They had 17k cumtive points previously, so they got 10,000 cumtive points by conquering this tribe. As for 1,500 points more, those were from something done in the Battlefield where frontline adventurers did something to earn them. With the change in score, the other three worlds knew that Earth attacked a tribe belonging to one of them. All three of them sent people outside first to check who died as they indeed had the means to detect deaths. People on Earth also had the means to detect it, albeit not efficiently as only the Okoro n of shamans could make a life slip, so Almond assumed the other worlds had them as well. The draconians especially had a powerful detection as the two that died had parents, and with the dragon bloodline resonance, they knew their children had died. ¡­ Somewhere on a mountain, five people from each of the three worlds had gathered, facing each other at a table. They had contacted each other an hour ago and decided on a ce of meeting regarding Almond and Earth, so they were in the middle of it when the score changed. "It¡¯s my tribe¡­" Zoltrend clenched his fist. "I just got a report that two of my people died. I had stationed them at Hawkfrey Tribe, which means that Earth conquered it." Hearing that, the other gold-rankers immediatly began chattering, feeling annoyed, anxious, and angry amongst other things. "They are fucking fast!" "It¡¯s all because of that one bastard." "Yeah, that asshole has space master, and he is freakishly strong." "If his space mastery is high and he has portals and other applications, this war bes easy for him," Leo narrowed his eyes. "Teleporting saves a lot of time, so he is already ahead of us in terms of everything regarding this region¡¯s geography and war preparations." "It seems that working together to eliminate him is indeed the best option. Otherwise, Earth will pick us up one by one and win this event," El coldly said. "That must not happen." He looked at the other two and said, "We are all enemies and we will kill each other. I will personally go all out in eliminating you two, but before that¡­let¡¯s finish off that human Almond and weaken his force by working together." "Let¡¯s n," Zoltrend snorted, his nostrils and eyes bursting with violet mes. "He must die." Chapter 266: Solo Conquering, Attack from the Enemies The things from other magic-rich spots were so-so as they were mostly resources at the level of Epic-rank. However, Almond did find another thing with weird symbols andnguage. It was a one-time use item of control type. He enriched his Whispering Knowledge with it by deciphering its symbols andnguage, getting one step closer. Afterward, he went in search of the next tribe to conquer. Almond first made a list of which other tribes were near the Earth¡¯s allied tribes before deciding to target the Hualea Tribe. Upon inspection, Almond found out that it was allied with the Elves as he saw two elves stationed there. Just as Almond was about to return after finishing the inspection, he had a thought, ¡¯I don¡¯t really need whole armies, I think. How about I just go in, kill the tribe leader, snatch the statue again, and conquer it?¡¯ Almond looked at the tribe within his domain as he floated thoughtfully. ¡¯I am strong enough to do that, after all.¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted and he vanished, teleporting right behind the two elves who were sitting cross-legged in the garden, in meditation. After a single sh with Emma¡¯s poison on both, he sealed them within a spatial bubble. Right after that, he teleported to the training ground where the tribe chief of these Hualea people with four arms and crocodile-like heads overlooked the training of his warriors. Almond floated above, his presencepletely masked. ¡¯How vulnerable¡­¡¯ Almond thought with a wry smile as he looked at his prey. In the next moment, he dived down from 100 meters high in the sky, his sword enchanted with his elements in different proportions, based on Severance de, and his Sword of Imperishable Zenith activated. *sh!* Everyone heard an atmospheric tearing sound, jarring, and then a loud rumble immediately as Almond¡¯s sword split the tribe chief into two. "What happened?!" "NOOO!" "Chief!" "Y-You¡­who are you!?" Everyone was shocked. Almond stood there beside the dead body as he took out the storage ring from the tribe chief¡¯s finger and peeked inside. ¡¯Nice, the statue is there.¡¯ Almond looked ahead, his nce sweeping at the warriors. The aura wildly releasing from him, from his arsenal of powers and mostly his overbearing will was so oppressive that none of the warriors dared toe forward and attack Almond. The fear filled them entirely. He killed their strongest warrior instantly and now stood there nonchntly. The guts of these warriors died at that scene. "Your tribe chief is dead," Almond calmly said. "The two elves are also dead." "And you all have one option. Surrender and be a tribe under my alliance. I will unite this whole region and end this war. More people don¡¯t need to die." "But," Almond narrowed his eyes, causing everyone to take a step back at his sharp gaze and killing intent bursting out of him, "Refuse and I willy waste to this tribe,pletely." *Thud¡­* *Thud¡­* One by one, knees began to fall as the warriors surrendered. Their tribe chief, their strongest warrior, was dead. Their guardian deity statue was snatched. They could feel that refusal would kill a lot of their people, their families, and everyone in the tribe. Some of the warriors looked at those who surrendered as they bit their lips and clenched their fists hard enough to bleed. Even those who felt defiant lost their drive seeing others as they knelt. Themotions attracted other warriors as more people arrived. "What¡¯s going on?!" @@novelbin@@ "What are y- chief?!" "C-Chief is dead¡­" Almond stood there, in silence. He looked at them and sat down on a crystal-ss golden throne he created with lightning and sand elemental reaction. "Mourn, cry, ore at me if you want to kill me and die. But, the result will not change." ¡­ Almond made a tribe-wide announcement after all the warriors surrendered and then he killed the two elves he had sealed, gaining 2000 battlefield points. Meanwhile, the main leaderboard changed as Earth acquired 10,000 cumtive battlefield points. Almond didn¡¯t stop and continued with this method, intending to conquer more tribes this way. While he chose his next target, the people of all four worlds were dumbfounded. However, the other three worlds had already decided to work together and they didn¡¯t take long tounch their attack. Since the Hawkfrey Tribe was conquered, and the people of Empyradrake knew its location, they decided tounch their attacks on the Hawkfrey Tribe. At the Sorrenal Tribe allied with Cyberterra, the three big groups were gathered, 30 people from each world, so a total of 90 Gold-rank adventurers from Empyradrake, Cyberterra, and Eldoren. "That bastard conquered one more tribe!" "Whose tribe is it?" "Fucking hell. Should we still attack Hawkfrey Tribe?" The people of the three worlds standing in groups started talking while the three leaders sat frowning as they looked at the leaderboard. "Fuck it," Zoltrend spat. "It doesn¡¯t matter which tribe he conquered. For now, we have gathered our men here, and we are ready. Let¡¯sunch an attack on Hawkfrey Tribe and kill everyone there." "Even if he is not there, we will kill other people of Earth. When hees there, we will lock him in with our preparation, that¡¯s all." Leo and El thought only for a moment before nodding. "Alright, let¡¯s do this," El said. "We brought a total of 850 warriors from our nearest allied tribes, plus the ny of us. That should be enough to obliterate them swiftly," Leo narrowed his eyes. "ording to the Cyber Eyes I sent, the Hwakfrey Tribe currently houses 550 warriors in total. 300 from Hawkfrey, and the rest are mixed warriors of five other tribes." "What about the gold rankers of Earth?" Zoltrend asked. "There are roughly thirty of them there. Around twenty of them have solid legendary gear sets of high-tier. They are tough, but we can still overpower them since we brought our best gold rankers as well," Leo answered as his right cyber-eye flickered. "We just need to save our artifacts for the main target." "And if Hawkfrey Tribe uses the Guardian Deity, I will use the Guardian Deity of Rodern Tribe I brought," El said as he put the statue on the table. The trio looked at each other and nodded as they stood up. "Everyone! It¡¯s time to move!" Although these three forces joined together, they obviously didn¡¯t reveal their own cards fully. Each one of them only revealed one artifact. One control type from Cyberterra, one attack type from Empyradrake, and one debuff type from Eldoren. After all, they were only allies temporarily, and they still nned to attack each other, so showing all of their cards was stupid. ¡­ At the Hawkfrey Tribe, the Grim Breakers and ten others were doing different things. Some were training, some were meditating, and some were sparring against each other or warriors. Almond¡¯s Spirit Wraiths were also there. Stay updated through NovelBin.C?m Nyssara and Sylvia were working on a magic formation together while others were hanging out with warriors. Suddenly, Sylvia who could sense things muchrger radius thanks to her Forest¡¯s Blessing and her little nature spies as well as the watch towers of the tribe detected movement from a direction. ¡¯Attack? I have to inform the master fast!¡¯ Sylvia quickly sent a thought message to Almond with their spirit connections. Three big flying ships of different types, vibes, and designs were flying towards them. Hawkfrey Tribe had pretty good watch towers and detection because they could fly and fly greatly because of their racial talents, but Almond was their nightmare because he teleported right into their tribe. But now, they detected the iing movement from roughly two kilometers away in the sky. "WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!" Chapter 267: 3 vs 1 War (1/2) "This time, we¡¯ll activate the guardian deity statue right off the bat!" the new tribe leader of Hawkfrey Tribe shouted and took out the palm-sized statue of a majestic eagle. Meanwhile, Lily, Natalia, Grim Breakers, and other gold rankers gathered outside the tribe along with the warriors, looking at the iing army. "Fuck, three ships?!" "They look vastly different from each other¡­" "Don¡¯t tell me the other three worlds are fucking working together against us?!" "Shit!" "We need Almond here asap!" "He is on the way." ¡­ "Fuck." Almond cursed, his words causing the naturally armored-skin warriors with long-nose-like armadillos to tremble. A few warriors were dead nearby, and their tribe chief was also dead. He was just about his mid-speech when he got Sylvia¡¯s message. "You all, make your tribe understand that it¡¯s now allied to a different force," Almond stood up from his throne, his eyes shing with silver as he began creating a portal. "From now on, you are under my rule, and if you stay obedient, you¡¯ll have a future," Almond continued speaking while creating the portal. "Now go and make your tribe realize that it¡¯s allied to a different force, and your tribe chief is dead. And make sure to elect a new tribe chief from among yourselves." The warriors saw a portal forming after Almond finished speaking. "I am going for now, but I will return soon," Almond swept his nce at the warriors before stepping through the portal. On the other side of the portal that was a kilometer away from the tribe, Almond arrived and saw two giant beasts shing in the sky¡ªa majestic hawk with variant lightning and wind against an elephant with three trunks. Meanwhile, a war had just broken out on the ground. Almond saw three people floating away. His domain could capture a 4-kilometer area so he could see them, but the enemies didn¡¯t know he had arrived. Without further ado, Almond made his presence known by waving his hand, unleashing an Expotent Severance de that increased in size as it traveled by taking space, aimed at the three most powerful aura of three people who were floating a few meters off the ground as the army they brought finally shed against Hawkfrey Tribe and fifty warriors from other five tribes. *Swoosh!* "What the fuck is that?" "Fuck, dodge!" The sh streaked away after a destructive trail before Almond saw their focus on him. The gold rankers of Earth also knew he was here after watching that sh and became fired up. ¡¯The enemy gold rankers areing to you. There are over eighty of them,¡¯ Almond ryed to his fellow adventurers. ¡¯If you are about to die, quickly think of surrendering so you can exit. Don¡¯t die for nothing.¡¯ ¡¯Alfred, protect our people and kill the enemy. This is King¡¯s Order.¡¯ After rying his message, Almond teleported and arrived in front of the three enemy leaders, floating ten meters away from them. They finally saw Almond close, and they didn¡¯t hesitate in making their move. "So you are the one," Zoltrend¡¯s scales glinted, and his aura surged as he immediatelyunched at Almond with his full power while wing. A dreadful violet lightning w projectile arrived at Almond followed by Zoltrend¡¯s physical attack, but Almond simply shed the projectile and in the same movement, he finished a spin tounch a spinning kick right before Zoltrend could w his face. *Smash!* Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as quickly swung backward, his sword glinting as it struck a dark elf who screamingly shot away as his ambush failed. Right after that, Almond found his limbs and ankles bound by a sizzling dark gold whip with blue vein-like patterns. Discover stories at NovelBin.C?m "Got him!" Leo said as he used his control-type artifact to bind Almond. Almond saw attacks from other powerhouses aside from their leaders as he saw seven more people, some elves, some draconians, and some high-tech humansunching their attacks at him. ¡¯Nice,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as his feet suddenly grew golden wings. His figure glowed in the micro before he just phased out of the whips that bound his limbs and vanished. "What?!" "What the fuck just happened?!" "He has an artifact!" *sh!* This time, Almond was like a death reaper. He unleashed ten shes of Severance de after using his Mana techniques and Spirit Syringe, holding back nothing. The shes drifted through space and appeared right behind the three leaders and seven others. ¡¯Now that they are here, they must die,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes coldly shone as seven of them just died, while the three leaders indeed lived by using their items¡¯ effect as well as skills. They were cut above the rest. But not above Almond. *Swoosh!* @@novelbin@@ Almond teleported behind Zoltrend and shed. Zoltrend reacted barely in time to block, but it wasn¡¯t fast enough as the arms he barely erected to block were cut off while he was shot on the ground and smashed. Almond wanted to teleport again, but the space suddenly became familiarly wobbly, preventing the teleportation. ¡¯Cyberterra¡¯s space disruptor,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted and he burst with golden lightning, transforming and streaking at Leo. Leo¡¯s pupils shrank with dread, but he quickly reacted, using a skill as a strange spherical field materialized around him. Almond¡¯s sh streaked first and struck the spherical field. The moment it struck, the field exploded and pushed Leo away, keeping him away from the deadly attack that he knew he would fail to blockpletely and could result in instant incapacitation. Moreover, an electromaic wave struck Almond in a counter-attack from Leo¡¯s field, making him briefly sluggish. ¡¯The fuck is this defensive counter-skill?¡¯ Almond felt some jolts, but nothing too harmful for this gear set. But even in that brief time, Leveraum El used his artifact, a scepter, at the opportunity as a ghastly ck mist with green and red sparks enveloped Almond, debuffing him. [Your senses are disabled for 1 minute.] [Your recovery is halved for 1 minute.] [Your physical stats will decrease by 50% for 1 minute.] "Take this!" Zoltrend roared, his head adorning a majestic draconic helmet, an artifact. It crackled with red and violet lightning as he unleashed it on Almond as a destructive draconic maw made of those lightnings mped on Almond. However, that brief sh of light from his artifact¡¯s attack illuminated Almond and showed a grin on his lips, causing a chill to crawl down his back. ¡¯No way he was smiling. I must be seeing things.¡¯ *Crackle BOOM!* The artifact¡¯s power was absolute as the draconic maw mped and sted dreadfully. It was a Tier-3 offense-type artifact that killed an Epic-rank boss instantly. "He should be dead," Leo said as he narrowed his eyes, looking at the st area swirling with magical smoke and energies. But suddenly, everyone heard a faint rumble and saw a sh of light. *sh!* Zoltrend and El turned their heads in the same dimension, their hearts racing. El¡¯s eyes turned bloodshot with desperation and disbelief. Zoltrend¡¯s pupils shrank, and his figure trembled. Leo had a vertical slit going on from top to bottom and behind him was Almond who was revealed as Leo¡¯s body split into two and fell. Almond smiled at them, which caused their hearts to turn cold as they just couldn¡¯tprehend how Almond survived that artifact¡¯s attack, even seemedpletely fine and killed Leo. ¡¯You two must die as well.¡¯ Chapter 268: 3 vs 1 War (2/2) ¡¯He is not debuffed anymore¡­how?!¡¯ El internally screamed. ¡¯He shouldn¡¯t be able to cleanse off the artifact¡¯s debuffs!¡¯ ¡¯His vitality is perfectly fine,¡¯ Zoltrend clenched his fist, his blood boiling. Almond didn¡¯t chit-chat with them and activated Sword of Imperishable Zenith since it was finally off its cooldown. "It¡¯s time to die," Almond uttered with a chilling smile and vanished, teleporting again now that the device Leo used to disrupt space was no longer working as Almond destroyed it. Both Zoltrend and Leo became alert, but they couldn¡¯t even know what happened before the pain hit them, and their bodies sliced as Almond floated between them. However, El¡¯s body pieces suddenly vanished as he seemed to have surrendered right before he got sliced and diced. Unfortunately, he was dead still as only his body pieces returned to the hub. Meanwhile, Zoltrend looked at Almond as his eyes seemed alive despite being cut into pieces, but he wasn¡¯t long for this world and it was just the final me. "H-How?" Zoltrend asked, dying to know, literally, how did Almond survive his artifact¡¯s attack. "You got some nice vitality power," Almond blinked and smiled, "As for your question, I think you should die without knowing that." "You¡­" Zoltrend¡¯s eyes lost light as he met his end as well. As for how Almond survived, it was pretty simple. The debuff affected him within 0.8 seconds, and Zoltrend¡¯s destructive lightning maw from his artifact hit him shortly afterward. But Almond had time to do two things one thing ensured his survival. First, he quickly used the time-rewind artifact to nullify the debuff, preventing it from ever affecting him. Second, Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest. Target: the Elephant Guardian Deity. Both Guardian Deities were indestructible as they only nullified each other¡¯s attack and physically pounded each other in the sky. Even though their vitality wasn¡¯t reducing, they had 10,000 in each of their stats! As such, Almond gained 5000 Health and 5000 Strength by using Divine Divider¡¯s Harvest to halve the Strength and Health of the elephant Guardian Deity and unleashed swordy around him, slicing in all sides to create gaps with Absolute Severance and reduce damage as much as possible. The result? He remained perfectly fine. On the other hand, the Grim Breakers were doing good against the enemies. His Spirit Wraiths had great synergy with them as well, and with the Grim Breakers¡¯bos and improvedbat style aided by the top-notch Legendary gear, none of them had died. Lily was within the enemy¡¯s rank along with Mira, both of them wreaking havoc alongside Dark Pope Benedict by moving through shadows. The enemy also had four shadow users, but three were killed and thest one escaped. Natalia focused on buffing more and disrupting enemies, creating opportunities with Maya. Marcus focused on defense with Sylvia and Eliara while the rest of the Grim Breakers worked together to shred the enemy formations. Xavier unleashed preciseser attacks from long-range, Ka ran around the enemies in her Nine Purestar Doe form, giving buffs to allies and debuff to enemies. Emma enchanted all the weapons with her poison and unleashed deadly poison arrows on enemies who were winning against her allies, turning tables. Amir used his wind-based attacks to focus on deflecting projectiles and also attacking to disrupt movements. Discover exclusive tales at NovelBin.C?m Jian chaotically smashed into enemy formations, bing an unpredictable force with his berserker power as it was his specialty. Ron targeted those flying with his ming chakrams, going fully offensive under Sylvia¡¯s defensive umbre with Xavier. Jemma, Anya, and Talia were also the same as Ron and Xanvier, supporting other allies with perfectbos and synergy. Jemma worked with Maya and Nyssara most, while Anya worked by supporting frontliners and nullifying attacks with her spatial-rted ss powers. Talia was using her specialized ss pistoles to attack. With her sharp precision, she never missed, and attacked weak points of the enemy¡¯s attacks to make them fail and even sted a head by seizing an opportunity. Adrian and Finn stayed near the supports with Infernal Knight to focus on defending from sneak attacks. Kira with her nimble and fast sword, Noah with his steel storm of swords, and Julian with his heavy sword and new ss powers he unlocked by finishing the tasks wreaked havoc. The three of them were at the frontline, attracting the attention of enemies alongside Galvaren, Alfred, Starlight Beast, and Chimera Frank. Chimera Viperfiend died fast trying to save someone by tanking an attack, so it wasn¡¯t there, unfortunately. The other gold rankers of Earth were dumbfounded to see such a terrifying synergy of teamwork, though the battle demanded their attention, and they adjusted ordingly, supporting Grim Breakers and attacking with full force. The enemies got picked off quickly and they were already at the same number as them despite being outnumbered at first. Of course, some gold rankers came close to death, so they surrendered and vanished. One, unfortunately, died as well, who was an adventurer from the 6th rank Steelheart Guild. But the curtain fell as the enemy found out that their leaders died after Almond joined the fray and instantly shredded four people¡ªtwo Draconians, one elf, and one Cyber-human. "Fuck! Run!" "Our leaders died!" Some of them who tried to run were hunted quickly as Lily emerged from their shadows, her daggers danced eerily before their heads rolled. A few others were picked off by Julian, Kira, Noah, and Adrian. Suddenly, they started vanishing as they realized escaping wasn¡¯t an option. The enemy surrendered and vanished quickly. The enemy tribe members surrendered, but both sides suffered heavy losses there, dwindling their numbers by half. "Good work, everyone." Everyone saw Almond and cheered loudly, their adrenaline rush still going strong. "We fucked them up!" "Hahahhaha, we won this war!" "Damn, I knew we were powerful when we are together, hahaha." "You guys are crazy." "Yeah, crazy teamwork." "Heh, of course. Ever since heroic raids, we¡¯ve been practicing together a lot of fucking times, hahaha." "Wait, guys! One of us died!" "What?! Who?!" "Shit!" Everyone turned silent as Sylvia¡¯s vines brought the person in the middle. "Luke¡­" Brynjal¡¯s lips trembled. "He was my friend and a rival." @@novelbin@@ Luke¡¯s body had three holes and his right arm burned to a crisp. "Rest in peace," Almond said as he sped his hand and grabbed Luke¡¯s spirit. "You didn¡¯t need to die, but your death won¡¯t be in vain." He also took the spirits of everyone else who died. "Take him back," Almond nodded at Brynjal. Brynjal and two others took Luke¡¯s body and exited this region, returning to Earth. "Everyone, this was a monumental victory and has sealed our win of this event," Almond said as he looked at everyone and stretched his fist forward, "We won." "We won!" "We won!" Everyone roared in response as they stretched their arms, hands balled into fists! "Let¡¯s clean up the battlefield now." The guardian deities had vanished since they only stayed for a minute. The Hawkfrey Tribes began capturing people of other tribes as they surrendered, imprisoning them to decide their fateter. The three ships stayed there for Almond to collect as it put them in his storage ring and then just sat above the tower, watching everyone working. "Almond, did you expect them to work together against us?" Lily arrived there and asked. Almond faintly smiled, "I did. I wanted that to happen, which was why I was eager to encounter them and show them the difference between me and them." "But I wasn¡¯t expecting someone to die," Almond sighed. "Not your fault. You told us to surrender, but he failed to do that in time," Lily shrugged. "Anyway, let¡¯s go out for a bit. We aren¡¯t in a hurry anymore." "Yeah." Chapter 269: Aftermath, Hollowstar’s Change of Plans Eldoren, Midnight Empire, Leveraum Dukedome. "Noooo!!" A middle-aged man with blond hair and dark skin roared as the air trembled, decorations turned into dust in the hall, and everything shook like an earthquake. @@novelbin@@ "My son!" The Archduke cried in anguish at his son¡¯s death. "Father¡­" A young man looking in his twenties stood at the entrance of the hall, his eyes reflecting the agonized figure of his father. "He was cut into pieces, Vel! Your brother¡­" the Archduke arrived before his elder son, eyes bloodshot, almost maddening. "His pieces¡­" Vel bit his lips and kept his hands behind his back as they clenched tightly. "I found out who killed him, father. The culprit is from Earth, and we can avenge him by invading them and killing that human called Almond. The ones who managed to escape told us about him." "Revenge, yes. Whoever killed your brother, my son¡­.they must die." Vel firmly nodded, his eyes glinting red with wrath. "We have to collect one million battlefield points and buy an item called Invasion Compass for someone to invade. For now, the Emperor has called us and others who lost their sons and daughters. Pleasepose yourself ande. We have to finish thest rites of El." ¡­ In the Empyradrake and Cyberterra worlds, people grieved as they lost their young ones. And all of them knew that the culprit was Almond and his name was spreading far and wide from those who escaped by surrendering. Meanwhile, Almond was enjoying a passionate time with Lily after returning and leaving everything in the hands of his spirit wraiths, grim breakers, and other gold rankers. The next morning at 5 a.m. Almond and Lily woke up one by one and went to the war event to check out the situation. The other twos didn¡¯t make any move and appeared quiet. All three of them had roughly fifteen people remaining each, and they even lost their leaders, and artifacts they had, so they were depressed and demoralized and didn¡¯t bear any hope of winning. Almond didn¡¯t n to participate in the war anymore as he could use that time to train, get stronger, and finish some other matters. However, he did help by spending two hours roaming around and creating portals. Earth had seven tribes under them and six deity statues. They also had more powerhouses than the other three¡¯s allies. Of course, if the enemy continued to work together, they still had a higher number, but that didn¡¯t matter because their alliance was shaky after the big loss they had. Almond set up five portals at five hidden locations and nearly two kilometers of these locations were areas of enemy tribes. After doing that, he just told the gold rankers to invade as they liked and conquer the tribes. Lily became their newmander because she was witty and sharp when it came to the war as well, and immediately routed the first tribe within an hour by going all out and using the Avantana tribe¡¯s guardian deity statue. That tribe was allied to Cyberterra, and one person stationed there escaped by surrendering. Enjoy new stories from NovelBin.C?m Meanwhile, Almond didn¡¯t bother with the war event anymore and returned. He reported to the Admiral about everything and also handed over the three flying ships he got along with the Hermes¡¯ Winged Sandles that he had borrowed. Afterward, Almond returned to his castle and started moving it to his new territory in the sanctuary area. His territory, Mountain of Radiant Zenith, was magic-rich, and it could also grow ten nts fast with powerful growth as it was a Throne-tier territory. He set up the personal teleporter designation, which could take him right to the GAA headquarters from this throne territory. ¡¯As for the nts, once we¡¯ve conquered more tribes, I¡¯ll recall Sylvia and Nyssara so they can tend to this territory.¡¯ Almond arrived in the Garden of Peace, all alone in the entire mountain and castle. Without wasting any more time, he sat down cross-legged in the Revtion Pavilion and activated his Weapon Art Token after eating the X-Factor fruit. ¡¯Let¡¯s finish this. The experience I gained in that trial for 10 months with my sword will be helpful. I will learn this art¡¯s first stage in the next 24 hours by grasping its intent!¡¯ ¡­ On a meteorite streaking through space, within its center, a familiar figurey, protected within a violet and ck film. Lerkeion. "I apologize, my lord. The Earth has a powerful warrior with terrifying mastery in space and a sword. He sent me far away from Earth by creating a void, throwing me away at random coordinates." In front of Lerkeion was a hologram showing a hooded figure. "This is strange," the figure said. "These four worlds participating in phase 1 like this is not a coincidence. An overseer may have interfered to make these four worldspete against each other." "Each of the other three worlds has an Arcane champion of Eternal will, and they already suppressed our forces in their worlds, but now, this Earth we were eyeing also turned out to have one such champion." Lerkeion was silent as he just listened, feeling the frustration in his lord¡¯s voice. "There¡¯s no other choice. Hollowstar is hungry, and we need to feed it a rich. We can¡¯t wait for one of them to fail in the Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial before devouring it. We have to act now." Lerkeion¡¯s pupils shrank, "You mean¡­are you going to disrupt the Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial?" "Each of those four worlds has an arcane champion. They are sufficiently disruptors, but their presence almost guarantees that their world will pass the tutorial. So, we are out of options now." "But if we make a big move, the overseer will be able to stop us, no?" Lerkeion asked, frowning. "This is but a game of entertainment for the lords of Grimworld," the hooded figure¡¯s voice turned serene, devoid of previous frustration. "I will make arrangements and then observe these four worlds. Depending on their progression and development, we will choose one and disrupt it, bringing chaos over it. The masters won¡¯t care as long as the champions survive and ascend." "As for you, go back to the headquarters and prepare for your ascension. You¡¯ve stayed in the universeyer enough. It¡¯s time to move to the Grimworld." "As you wish, my lord," Lerkeion said, his eyes dancing with excitement. ¡¯Finally, I can go up!¡¯ Chapter 270: Unfettered Blade Mayhem’s first stage--Spiraling Execution Blade Twenty hours had passed by since Almond was training in the dimension of his weapon art token. He stood with his sword held. In front of him, Almond¡¯s clone stood in the same position. They were already shing against each other in silence, their eyes reflected des that otherwise were invisible to observe physically. The des bent and spiraled around beneath them, with their center point right under their feet, on the ground, but still, neither of them moved. The spiral was only visible in each other eyes as they increased in size, shing against each other eventually. If it was Almond of twenty hours ago, his head would have rolled, beheaded. But now, he had grasped the intent behind his clone¡¯s de and finally knew why his head always turned upside down after getting cut by his clone. Almond¡¯s eyes shed, and he made the move, his physical body vanishing along the lines of spirals just like his clone before both of them shed their shed, their position meeting at the lines of spirals that interacted with each other. Unfettered de Mayhem¡¯s first stage¡ªSpiraling Execution de. A dreadful phenomenon urred with their sh of attacks. Two vertical spirals with golden edges flickered into existence as their swords shed, the sharp edges of the spirals cutting each other. @@novelbin@@ But this time, Almond let go of his sword immediately after the sh, letting off his strength as the clone suddenly got pushed forward to find resistance vanishing while Almond went past him, his hand formed into a chop aimed at the clone¡¯s neck. As his chop brushed at the clone¡¯s neck, a dark gold spiral bloomed, spinning intensely just for a second as it grew several meters while shredding around its neck as the clone¡¯s head flew up and rotated upside down. [Congrattions, you have sessfully and wlessly learned the first stage of Unfettered de Mayhem¡ªSpiraling Execution de.] Almond stood there, soaking in sess as he closed his eyes. Around him, a faint dark golden spiral materialized, storming and rotating with its dreadful edge that never seemed to wane as it only grew sharper. ¡¯Intent of Spiral Edge¡­.an edge that produces from a single point and grows into a spiral with its ever-increasing sharpness. The tougher the target, therger the spiral, and sharper its edge.¡¯ Almond opened his eyes as they whirled with a shiny golden spiral with sword-like de edges he could feel the power of this intent within his grasp, under the rule of his thoughts. ¡¯Spiraling Execution de¡­.perfect name,¡¯ Almond grinned. Spiraling Execution de was a moveposed of three steps, requiring great physical exertion and mana control. Spiral Edge intent didn¡¯t only have its ever-increasing sharpness but also had movement influencing power. The first step was establishing a huge spiral with him as the center. This was possible with just a thought as he hadprehended the Spiral Edge intent. A spiral had its origin point, and from there, Almond could move to its line. The greater the physical exertion, the faster and blindingly he would move. This was the reason why the clone would initially vanish in front of him, and then attack him from the side or behind as his head would roll. It was because he was within the clone¡¯s spiral range! Movement on the spiral¡¯s lines was absurdly fast, and that was how he couldn¡¯t react or catch up, but he managed to react after grasping the intent after the first twelve hours and eventually defeated the clone after eight hours of observing, understanding, and learning. ¡¯This intent is awesome,¡¯ Almond looked at the Spiral beneath them, and suddenly, he vanished, moving twenty meters away at the end of the spiral. The spiral was always moving, renewing from its center point, and with physical exertion, he could move on the lines of spirals as if he were teleporting. Not to mention that it was Spiral Edge! Its main power was its sharp edge! ¡¯If I enchant this attack with elements and Severance de, it¡¯s fucking over,¡¯ Almond blinked. ¡¯I have to see how it fares against other old monsters.¡¯ ¡¯And Intents doesn¡¯t consume any Mana, though it does seem to consume mental stamina.¡¯ ¡¯Intents¡­it¡¯s a power of thoughts. A thought turned reality,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯So a strong thought of someone turned real with real effects much like this strange Spiral Edge.¡¯ ¡¯I suppose the cores of Spiral Edge intent are movement and sharpness. A single attack, and from it, a spiral of sharpest edges would bloom, cutting through anyone.¡¯ ¡¯The pration power of this attack is the highest I¡¯ve ever seen. I have to see how this fares against weapon arts of old monsters now.¡¯ Almond exited the training space and opened his eyes before using the teleport function as he left the Sanctuary Area and arrived at the GAA headquarters. From there, he used his status¡¯s battlefield function and arrived on the battlefield. The big shots and old monsters had turned the battlefield into their new homes as they were securing their base and strengthening it as much as possible with high magi-tech and every possible preparation. They were also exploring the areas, and their fruits also bore as they found several Epic-rank resources and also earned cumtive battlefield points. ¡­ "Haha, bring it on, kid. Show us what you got." "You finally decided toe face us, haha. Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t hold back." "So, who is going first?" Almond looked at Hiroshi and Silvester who stood five meters away from each other, facing him with grins while holding wooden swords. ¡¯Damn, I have to choose who first now¡­¡¯ Almond wryly smiled. "Cough, how about this?" Almond smiled as he thought of something and stood in stance as his wooden sword pointed upward and leaned forward. "I will attack both of you. The nature of this attack allows me to strike at everyone within the range almost immediately with barely a micro-second difference between each target." "Interesting. Alright, go ahead," Silvester nodded. "Fine by me," Hiroshi nodded. "Please stay alert," Almond grinned. "This weapon art¡¯s first stage is no joke. Even though I will be using minimum stamina and mana required for its execution, its intent is quite strong and lethal." Both of them nodded, their eyes showing a gleam as Almond also felt intent oozing out of them. ¡¯Nice.¡¯ "Here, Ie," Almond said and suddenly, both Silvester and Hiroshi felt a certain pressure on them. ¡¯The brat got quite a sword pressure. It seems we are within his intent¡¯s range,¡¯ Silvester¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡¯Yeah, it feels quite nasty. I can feel its power within a 30-meter radius,¡¯ Hiroshi nodded, his focus on Almond. ¡¯Interesting intent,¡¯ Silvester grinned. Suddenly, both of them saw Almond vanishing and their necks turning cold. If someone yed it in slow motion, Almond traveled circrly on his spiral¡¯s edges from its point of origin, and due to its rather long distance, the gathered momentum and power behind his sh was immense. His wooden sword¡¯s edge aimed at the old monster Silvester and Hiroshi¡¯s neck and both of their swords also timely shed against Almond with their full power to defend against it. Almond was already past them, but the spiral blooming out when his sword struck their swords destroyed their swords, shredding before a line appeared around their necks. "Crap," Silvester muttered as he rubbed his neck, his Fortification shattered at thest moment. The same happened with Hiroshi as both of them looked at each other and then turned around to look at Almond who was smiling at them. "How the heck did you learn this level of weapon art?" "Yeah, you didn¡¯t create it, right? I won¡¯t believe that." Almond coughed and dryly chuckled, "Yeah, well, I didn¡¯t create it. But something else created it. A device called Synthesis Forge of Eternal Power that you may encounter as a reward bypleting hidden challenges in the Labyrinth." "So, how was it?" Almond asked as he rubbed his nose while smiling. "It was stronger than the weapon arts we created, that¡¯s for sure," Elder Silvester weakly smiled. "Indeed. And what¡¯s the name of intent youprehended?" Elder Hiroshi curiously asked. "It¡¯s called Spiral Edge." Both old monsters muttered their names, their eyes glinting. "That¡¯s an interesting name for an intent." "What about you two?" Almond blinked. "I am curious about your Intents." "Mine is Cherryblossom Shard," Elder Hiroshi said with a smile. "The one I grasped and use in my attacks is called Steller Cut," Elder Silvester grinned. "Nice, they sound cool." "Intents are all-powerful, but the attack you executed and how you used your intent was interesting. Compared to that, it felt like we only used half of the power of our intents in designing our attacks," Elder Hiroshi said thoughtfully. "Indeed, it seems we got much to learn, haha. Thanks, brat. I got solid insight with this," Elder Silvesterughed. "d to be of help," Almond chuckled. "Now, I¡¯ll go and leave you two be. It¡¯s time that I finish my sub-ss quests and awaken it." Chapter 271: Subclass Awakening, Where The Fuck Am I?! After returning to Earth, Almond teleported back to his castle in the Sanctuary Area using the teleporter function of his territory. Sitting cross-legged, he opened his status and pressed the + mark beside [sses] with his mind by focusing. [Sub-ss building initiated] [Based on your experiences so far, here is your first question to determine your subss.] [What do you like among the three options given?] 1. Utopia where people live peacefully. 2. A world where strong rules and people bloom when opportunity meets determination. 3. A harsh staircase of truth that leads you to the revtion of all that is. ¡¯Interesting¡­¡¯ Almond blinked as he read all three options and made his choice. ¡¯I¡¯ll go with the third option.¡¯ [Next question: If you were a young man at the crossroads of choosing your future, what would you choose?] 1. A schr who seeks to learn and spread knowledge. 2. A pioneer who seeks discoveries. 3. A farmer who seeks to build a family and live peacefully. Almond didn¡¯t have to contemte this as well because he had his answer ready after reading the options. ¡¯A pioneer who seeks discoveries.¡¯ [Third question: What do you value most among these options?] 1. Power. 2. Knowledge. 3. Family. 4. Fame. 5. Peace. Enjoy exclusive chapters from NovelBin.C?m ¡¯Knowledge is everything. With it, I can get the other four,¡¯ Almond smiled and chose the 2nd option without hesitation. [Based on your responses, you are given these five options for your subss¡¯s suffix. Please choose one.] 1. Artisan 2. Oracle 3. Aligner 4. Keymaker 5. Molder Almond raised his eyebrows. ¡¯These options are interesting. Artisan and Oracle, I can understand. But Aligner¡­the word can be the one who aligns. The one who put things into correct order. The one who gives support to someone, or something I guess¡­¡¯ ¡¯Keymaker sounds pretty straightforward. The one who makes keys. But what kinda keys? I guess the prefix will determine.¡¯ ¡¯And Molder¡­¡¯ Almond rubbed his chin. ¡¯Aligner, Keymaker, and Molder¡­I am going to choose one from these three, but which one?¡¯ After noting to a decision in five seconds, Almond got an idea. ¡¯I guess I¡¯ll leave this to luck.¡¯ Almond created a dice with six sides and rolled it. The dice rolled and stopped, showing ¡¯4¡¯ on the surface. Almond looked at the 4th option and grinned, ¡¯Keymaker it is.¡¯ [Now, onto the final selection, the prefix of your Keymaker.] [Due to your mental foundation being way higher than average and your high potential, as well as with the questions you answered, your subss will be at Legendary rank or higher. Here are the options for the prefix. Please choose one.] 1. Dimensional 2. Seeker 3. Runestone 4. Sanctum 5. Resonance ¡¯Dimensional Keymaker, Seeker Keymaker, Runestone Keymaker, Sanctum Keymaker, and Resonance Keymaker.¡¯ Almond fell into a thoughtful state. ¡¯Dimensional Keymaker sounds cool, and Seeker Keymaker sounds interesting. The other three don¡¯t pique my interest¡­hmm, ording to my feelings, Seeker Keymaker has more potential than the other four.¡¯ Almond rubbed his chin, ¡¯the other four seem to be on the same level in terms of potential I feel, but Seeker sounds like it epasses more than others and feels bigger¡­¡¯ Almond made his decision and selected Seeker. [Congrattions. You have awakened your subss¡ªSeeker Keymaker (M)] @@novelbin@@ ¡¯M?¡¯ Almond blinked twice, his eyes shaking. ¡¯No fucking way, right?¡¯ He quickly expanded his subss. [Seeker Keymaker] -Rank: Mythical. -Skill(s) 1. Seeker Key: Creates a key that leads to that which you seek the most (1 month cooldown) 2. Fabrication Key: Creates a key and designate an area. You can enter that area from anywhere using the key. You can make up to 3 Fabrication Keys. 3. Unlocking Key: If something or anything is determined to be locked by you, you may be able to create a key with enough knowledge and unlock it. 4. nk Key: You can create nk keys that can be designated to doors that already exist. Using the key, you can go past the door you have designated. You can have up to five nk Keys. ¡¯Woah¡­what kinda subss is this?¡¯ Almond was surprised as he read the skills. ¡¯Let¡¯s see what Seeker Key does,¡¯ Almond curiously used the skill. There wasn¡¯t any cost written, but his entire mana and stamina was drained to zero, and his mind also felt a sudden exhaustion as if he was focused on a task for a whole day and got mentally tired. ¡¯The fuck¡­¡¯ Almond wryly smiled as hey on his back, feeling mysteriously tired, and looked at the ceiling of the pavilion, but soon, hazy, colorful sparks and streams appeared thatbined and materialized a ssy key, giving different colored hues each second. He grabbed the key and felt its cold and soothing surface. But Almond didn¡¯t use the key right away and put it away before falling asleep. Making this key exhausted his mind, so he needed some rest to recover. Shortly after an hour, Almond woke up feeling refreshed and recovered as he stood up. Taking out the key, he activated it by infusing mana. The key shone and released strange energy that soon created a door with material that looked the same as the key¡¯s material. The key turned into dust and vanished as the door fully materialized. Almond looked at the door, feeling strange palpitation, but also excitement. ¡¯A key leading to something that I seek the most.¡¯ ¡¯Let¡¯s see where it takes me.¡¯ Almond opened the door and saw a slowly moving whirlpool of strange darkness. Without further ado, Almond stepped inside. The door briefly glowed after Almond vanished and then scattered away. On the other side, Almond found himself in a cavern with purple, red, and yellow crystals growing out. The sound of the axe hitting the crystals constantly echoed as Almond saw people¡ªhumans, dwarves, elves, demons, and others mining the crystals using pitch-ck metal pickaxes. ¡¯This¡­¡¯ Almond swept his nce as his All-Seeing eyes looked through these people. But as he saw through him, Almond received a great shock. ¡¯W-Wh¡­what?!¡¯ Almond¡¯s pupils dted to the extreme, and his heartbeat raced. Sweat beads began forming as his eyes reflected fear of the unknown. Because each of these people working here had stats above 10,000! Each one¡¯s every single stat ranged from 10k to 15k! If one of them identally swung a pickaxe at him without his notice, he would fucking die! And these people, numbering thirty-two in this cavern, were mining crystals. ¡¯Where the fuck am I?!¡¯ "Hey!" Almond saw a voice booming as it hit his face, causing him to fall. He looked up and saw a six-foot man covered from head to toe in full ck armor with red patterns floating above him. "Grab the pickaxe and start mining! What the fuck are you gawking around?" Almond felt absolute death hovering above him. Even if he could fight the miners who had crazy high stats, this one¡­this one in the armor was beyond him. Adapting quickly, Almond got up fast and bowed. "I-I apologi-" "Wait, you¡­who are you?" the man descended, interrupting Almond, and walked towards him. The helmet¡¯s eyeholes were covered with strange ck ss as they glimmered like eyes, looking maroon in color. "You are not on the list. How did you enter here?" Almond weakly smiled and said, "Would you believe me if I said I also don¡¯t know? I just arrived here, but I don¡¯t know how." Almond didn¡¯t know if the man was frowning behind his helmet or not, but the glint in those eyeholes increased in intensity by a notch. "Follow me," the man said after two seconds of silence and turned around. "Yes, sir." Almond followed the man while feeling his mind fucked. ¡¯Where the fuck am I?! I did not seek this!¡¯ ¡¯Hello, Grimworld Tutorial? Can I get some answers?¡¯ ¡¯Status.¡¯ Almond¡¯s pupil shrank as he saw some options graying out. For instance, he couldn¡¯t use the teleporter function of his Sanctuary. He also couldn¡¯t use the Battlefield Hub tab that could send him there. He tried to connect with his Spirit Wraiths but failed. He tried to recall them to him but also failed. ¡¯My ss skills¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s heart skipped a bit as he saw his entire primary ss turning gray! He inspected deep inside and saw that his primary ss source was snuffed with ethereal chains around it as if it were locked, but notpletely as he could see his new Spirit Wraith still in development. However, his specialized ss source was still there, as well as his subss source. ¡¯What the fuck is going on? Seriously, I need to find my location,¡¯ Almond looked ahead as he exited the cavern and arrived outside. He looked up first to see the sky but saw that the sky was ck with various huge, colorful patterns, tiny and hazy. A glowing celestial object like the sun also shone, giving light to thisnd. But despite its presence, only it glowed brightly in the sky while giving light. The rest of the sky was still dark and filled with patterns. ¡¯This is unscientific¡­¡¯ The cave entrance seemed to be on a mountain based on the geography Almond sensed with his Espada Ad Grimveil, which strangely shrank to just a 400-meter radius instead of 4 kilometers. But 400 meters was enough to see that he was on a mountain based on the surroundings. The woods were cleared ahead of the cave entrance, and there was a huge camp ahead with fancy tents, wooden structures, and empty grounds with a small number of people. Most of them were in armor like the one Almond was following as they were talking or training, but he saw some people of different races wearing rags like the miners in the cavern. "Come in." The man spoke without turning around as he entered the biggest wooden structure in the camp that was like a two-story wooden building with the wideness of a mansion. "Yes, sir." Almond gulped andposed himself as he entered, his fist clenched. ¡¯Wherever I am, I am balls deep in shit where my chance of death is high and control over my own life is utterly low.¡¯ ¡¯But whatever this ce is, I have to survive and return.¡¯ Chapter 272: Madam Ruby Inside the tent was bright with the light from windows and floating dim crystals illuminating it. Almond saw a table near the end and the tent was as big as a room with more doors inside that didn¡¯t match the tent¡¯s size from outside. On a couch at a side sat a figure covered in a red hood. The figure appeared to be of a woman with her dress highlighting her ample bosom and long dark blue hair cascading down her shoulders. "Commander, I found this kid in the cavern. He says he doesn¡¯t know how he arrived there." The figure behind the table had luxurious blue-white armor, clearly a person of higher status and power than the one that brought Almond inside. ¡¯These two¡­¡¯ Almond internally gulped. The hooded figure and the man behind the table felt simply too powerful as he gazed at them. "You go back," the man spoke to the soldier, who promptly left before looking at Almond, his eyes glinting behind the helmet. ¡¯Weak blood, unawakened soul...how did someone like him appear here?¡¯ "Where are you from?" ¡¯Questions¡­¡¯ Almond made his move quickly. "I am from¡­I can¡¯t remember," Almond¡¯s eyes shook as appeared to be struggling. "I can¡¯t remember anything." He severed his own memory temporarily before answering, making his words truthful. He didn¡¯t want to speak anything of substance. Remaining unknown was best until he figured out this location and his situation because nothing was in his control except for what he chose to reveal about himself to others. "What¡¯s your name?" "Almond," Almond answered. "Almond Crowshade." "Haha¡­" The woman chuckled softly and stood up. Themander looked at her, a strange look in his eyes. "Madam, is he perhaps the reason for your visit here?" ¡¯Huh? That shouldn¡¯t be possible¡­¡¯ Almond blinked and turned to her, but he couldn¡¯t feel any feedback from her even when using his All-Seeing Eyes. It was the same with themander. "Of course not, but I would like you to hand him to me. He is clearly very young and stumbled here unknowingly. Someone like him shouldn¡¯t be here, so I¡¯ll take him back and find out more about him." "If that¡¯s what you want, I have no objection. Are you leaving right away?" "Yes," the woman began walking towards the exit and nced at Almond as his eyes met her ruby eyes. "Follow me, kid." Almond nodded, his expression confused but calm as he followed her. Themander narrowed his eyes as he saw them leaving, ¡¯A boy appearing out of nowhere in the cavern, and her visit here.¡¯ ¡¯Madam Ruby, this is not a coincidence for you, right?¡¯ ¡­ Following the woman, Almond entered a sleek wooden-metal airship with sails and fin-shaped wings she took out with a wave of her hand. "Sit." She sat down at a table on the deck as the ship automatically began flying and gestured for Almond to sit in front of her. Almond sat down without question and looked at her clearly as she removed her hood. She appeared to be in her thirties with glossy red lips and dark blue hair, with a perfect figure and height that was a few centimeters taller than him. "My name is Ruby Cledensic. You may address me as Madam Ruby." "Madam Ruby," Almond nodded. ¡¯Wait, is that sheughed when hearing my name? Since her name is also based on her eye color.¡¯ "So, Almond. Put a hand on this so I can evaluate you and then decide your worth," Madam Ruby said with a smile as she took out a strange silver tablet with entric markings and patterns. She put it on the table and slid it a bit towards Almond. "You are intelligent. You are at a ce far away from your home. A ce you have deemed very dangerous, which is rightfully so, for you," Madam Ruby looked straight into his eyes. "You must have questions, and I will give you the right to ask them and give you answers as well." "So, put your hand on it, and show me your worth." "My worth¡­" Almond muttered as he looked at the tablet and put his right hand on it without hesitation. The tablet briefly shone before it sprang with magical blue motes that formed a screen and showed his status. However, he couldn¡¯t understand the symbols and letters it showed. ¡¯So my current Whispering Knowledge is not enough to trante this¡­¡¯ "Delightful," Madam Ruby¡¯s eyes faintly sparkled. ¡¯Eighteen years old, but packed withtent potential. A gem unearthed, a star waiting to brighten.¡¯ ¡¯Huh?¡¯ Almond looked at Madam Ruby as she had a pleased smile on her face while looking at the screen. In the next second, the screen vanished along with the tablet from under Almond¡¯s hands while Madam Ruby¡¯s eyes pierced his. "You are worth my while, Almond. I will answer your questions, but before that, allow me to let you understand your situation." Madam Ruby stood up and Almond also stood up against his will by some kind of power. Both of them flew up and arrived on the balcony, if one could call it that, on top of one of the two wooden pirs on the ship. "You see that city?" Almond looked ahead at the big, colorful city with exotic buildings, floating small inds, and flying vehicles, giving both olden and futuristic vibes. "It¡¯s beautiful," Almond said with a nod. "That city is called Crimson Umbre, and it is mine. I am its ruler. Whatever I say is the final verdict in this city." Almond turned to her and saw her looking at him as she smiled and spoke the words that made Almond¡¯s heart tremble. "And you¡­belong to me. Your freedom is my whim, and your life is mine to dictate. You are intelligent enough to understand and ept that, right?" Almond took a deep breath,posing himself as he smiled, albeit weakly, and nodded, "I understand." "You do not understand, yet." Madam Ruby¡¯s eyes gleamed as they bore into him. Read exclusive adventures at NovelBin.C?m "You still have ideas that make you think you can leave. I don¡¯t know what powers and abilities you have. I know you are hiding things about yourself." "But you will tell me all that soon because your only way out is showing your worth to me and increasing your value," Madam Ruby patted his head and smiled. "Now, you can ask me anything you want and I will answer. After each question you ask and I answer, I will ask you and you will answer me, truthfully." Almond looked at her, feeling her eyes as if they burst out with chains, binding himpletely. ¡¯Well¡­I certainly fucking did not seek to get dominated by an older woman, so why the fuck am I here?!¡¯ Almond sighed and nodded. "I understand." "Good." Madam Ruby floated down, taking Almond with her as the ship slowly descended on one of the floating inds above the city that housed a huge fancy crystal-metallic pce. They arrived at the pce¡¯s door as guards with over 10k in stats as Almond inspected opened it. To his left in the big garden were ten people, looking young like Almond, as they were training physical sparring. Upon inspecting them, Almond gulped because all of them also had over 10k in stats. But suddenly, the status that he usually perceived blurred and bent before turning entirely unrecognized. ¡¯The fuck?¡¯ ¡¯Wait, could it be that the stats and powers perceived here are different than what I¡¯ve been perceiving? That must be why that evaluation tablet showed something, but I couldn¡¯t perceive it. Evaluation means she knows about my stats¡­and maybe she found more.¡¯ As he entered inside and arrived in the hall, Madam Ruby told him to sit on the couch and she also sat across himfortably, putting one leg over another with a meter-radius round ss table in the middle on which a servant put two sses of juice. "Drink and then ask me your first question." @@novelbin@@ The ss juice floated towards him. Almond grabbed it and chugged it entirely. ¡¯Orange and pineapple? Nice.¡¯ After finishing the ss, he put it down and cleared his thoughts before opening his mouth. "So, Madam Ruby, my first question is a series of questions. Where am I? Where is this city? What world is this? Where is this world?" Almond asked. "Yeah, that¡¯s it for the first question. Where exactly am I in the reality?" Chapter 273: Grimworld Madam Ruby chuckled upon hearing Almond and answered, "You are in the Crimson Umbre City, one of the four cities on this Cloudban Expanse." Continue your saga on NovelBin.C?m "This Cloudban Expanse is a ne of existence, one of many, connected to the secondyer of Grimworld. And you, whose soul and geno gates are fundamentally unawakened and weak, are from the firstyer of the Grimworld." "So here is my question, how did you arrive here?" Almond absorbed the information. ¡¯Secondyer of grimworld? Geno gates? I need to know more. But I¡¯ll have to answer first¡­truthfully.¡¯ "I used a skill that produced a door. I went inside and arrived in that cavern." "Interesting," Madam Ruby smiled. "As someone who has been ying in the Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial, you must have skills and power sources you earned through it. Young as you are, the ze within you is brighter. Anyway, ask your question." ¡¯So she knows about the Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial¡­This is a chance,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes shone. "I want to know more about Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial. Why is it happening? And what is Grimworld?" "Seeing is better, so let¡¯s watch it," Madam Ruby waved her hand as magical motes, not of Mana, but something else, manifested and conjured into a meter-tall tree with its peak hidden in the mist, and above the mist was nothing. "This tree is the Grimworld." The tree was lush and thick with leaves, dreamy and magical, and extended tendrils that connected to bubbles, thousands of bubbles from bottom to top until the area covered by the mist at the top. "The tendrils from the trunk are connected to these bubbles. They are t and oval. All bubbles in the area are considered to be in the firstyer, and each bubble is a universe. Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial descends in thisyer ons with poption and pushes them for evolution and entertainment. The entertainment part is for the people of the thirdyer, the upper half of the tree¡¯s upper half. " "Look above," Madam Ruby pointed upward. "The more round bubbles that are connected to the tendrils extending from branches are nes of existence, like this Cloudban Expanse. We are in the secondyer." Suddenly, seven thrones appeared at the top, right below the mist area of the tree. "And these seven thrones are supposed to be the strongest entities of the Grimworld, and they are given the most authority by the Grimworld. The people who sit on those thrones change, but thest change was many, many years ago, I don¡¯t know how many. Don¡¯t ask me about them because I know nothing except that the Grimworld is for them to rule, and they set up thews and rules for every ne of existence in the secondyer and thirdyer." "Lastly, I don¡¯t know if this tree has been in existence forever or if it appeared and connected itself to these bubbles, the realities. People have theories, but that¡¯s it." Almond released a breath, his eyes showing amazement. "This is crazy." His eyes went to those thrones, and they lit up. ¡¯That¡¯s the ce. That¡¯s where I must reach.¡¯ "Yes, everyone wants to go there. Well, everyone who bears the hope of living and getting stronger," Madam Ruby smiled, "Including myself. But for who knows how long, the thrones have never changed their owners, except for in the ancient texts and olden sayings." "I see¡­" Almond nodded as he looked at the tree. Madam Ruby¡¯s eyes flickered as the magical hologram vanished. "Now, my question. Do you want to return to your world?" Almond¡¯s pupils shrank as he looked at her and answered without hesitation, "Yes." "So there are people there you care for. Understandable." "Can you help me return?" Madam Ruby chuckled and got up, "I can, but whether I will or not, is up to you." @@novelbin@@ Almond got up and said with a serious expression, his tone determined, "What do I need to do?" ¡¯One month. Even if she doesn¡¯t help me return earlier, I can return after a month by using the Seeker Key again because what I seek most now is to return.¡¯ "Come with me. You have potential, but you have to make it bloom if you want to survive here." Madam Ruby walked towards the stairs, and Almond followed as she continued speaking, "The first step is knowing about the fundamentals. I am going to tutor you about the basics and then send you to an academy. As long as you survive in that academy for fifteen days, I will let you return." "Survive for fifteen days?" Almond frowned. "Is it dangerous?" "Well, yes. It is dangerous. But if you can¡¯t survive, then it means that¡¯s all there is to your worth." Almond weakly smiled upon hearing that and followed her as they arrived in a small garden. She sat on a chair and told Almond to sit on the grass in front of her, cross-legged. "Magic," Madam Ruby snapped her fingers as a wisp of me danced on her index finger. "Tell me, what do you know about magic?" "Magic¡­" Almond snapped his finger, causing golden lightning to crackle above his hand as it shaped into a snake and then the dragon. "Magic is, well, manipting Mana and influencing with powers I control like this golden haze lightning." "What is Mana?" Madam Ruby asked with a smile. "Mana is a type of magical energy, I guess." "But what I use is not mana, and you can see that." Almond nodded as his eyes flickered. "It¡¯s different, but I see characteristics of Mana in that." "Correct, because this energy is Prana. Grimworld releases Prana into the second and thirdyers. The firstyer has nothing, but via the Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial, it creates power sources, and fills the worlds with a weaker version of Prana, which is Mana." "Prana cannot exist in the firstyer as it¡¯s powerful enough to break the fundamentals there. This is one of the reasons I believe that Grimworld wasn¡¯t here forever. The tree arrived here and began ruling it all." Almond nodded. "Now, I will put you through a test, a trial of sorts. This is to awaken your soul because if you want to survive here, you have to grasp Prana, and you can only grasp Prana if your soul is awakened." Chapter 274: Creepy Trial "So, how long will this trial to awaken my soul take?" Almond asked. "Half a day? One day? It depends on you. The trial¡¯s sole purpose is to push your soul to awaken. You will enter hell, and you will fight without giving up. Your will is strong, so it¡¯s just a matter of time before you win and open your eyes to the new scenery you will see with your soul awakened." Madam Ruby pointed her finger at Almond as a dreamy white string emerged and extended towards Almond¡¯s forehead. Explore more at NovelBin.C?m "Off you go." Almond nodded, and then the string entered his head. ... Gloomy flowers colored red, purple, yellow, and blue lit up the forest. With the visibility from the flowers¡¯ lights, Almond saw ck trees that looked like they were made of tar. ¡¯Huh? I can¡¯t use my skills? Wait, I can¡¯t use Mana at all. I can¡¯t feel it,¡¯ Almond frowned. ¡¯What kind of trial is this?¡¯ *Rustle¡­* ¡¯What was that?¡¯ Almond turned around as he heard the rustling sound behind him, but nothing was there. Suddenly, something seemed to bind his feet and he fell before getting dragged away. "Fuck, fuck," Almond cursed as he struggled up while getting dragged and saw a ck vine dragging his feet. He saw the vineing from a ghastly dim orange inferno with ck liquid whirling, at a tree¡¯s base tens of meters away. ¡¯No, not there!¡¯ He struggled to break the vine by moving his leg and putting strength in it. His hands dug into the ground which soon resulted in his nails getting broken, bleeding, and fingers mutting. But he couldn¡¯t stop himself. ¡¯Stop!¡¯ Almond endured the pain and entirely tried to dig his hands inside and grounded his leg to slow down. Suddenly, he saw a wooden stick going past him and quickly reacted as he grabbed it. Getting up with his teeth grinding, Almond¡¯s eyes focused as he shed towards the vine. "CUT OFF!" His perfect swing, apanied by his will, turned the stick into a sharp de as it cut off the vine and he finally stopped, just a mere two meters away from the creepy inferno phenomenon. Almond dragged himself back before standing and taking a deep breath while the inferno whirlpool vanished, turning into motes and disappearing. "The fuck was that?" Almond sighed and looked at his hands as they trembled, feeling burning and stinging pain. He could even see bits of his bones exposed on his fingers and it was hellishly painful. @@novelbin@@ But such a pain wouldn¡¯t affect his normal functionality, his will was strong. ¡¯I have to get out,¡¯ Almond looked around, but everywhere was the same, so he picked a random direction based on his gut and began moving. He kept the wooden stick as it was his only weapon and walked cautiously while focusing on noticing the danger like that vine. Ten minutes passed by, but Almond didn¡¯t encounter anything. After moving for another ten minutes, Almond saw the end of the forest and the outline of a town based on the lighting from it. His eyes lit up and he increased his speed, but thest ck tar tree suddenly glowed eerily before it wiggled and formed a mouth on its trunk that grinned at him. Almond stopped, feeling goosebumps. "What the fuck¡­" His grip on the stick tightened and his eyes focused, ready to fight. Suddenly, the mouth widened and something shot out of it straight toward Almond. Almond swung his stick without hesitation as it shed against whatever the thing was, but he was pushed down while something scratched his shoulder, even making a crack in the bone as he fell down. But he quickly got up and turned around, holding the stick that was now broken and shortened. Almond saw the thing, and it was a ck tar wolf, except that its mouth opened like a goddamn flower with spiraling teeth all around it. ¡¯Am I in a fucking horror movie?¡¯ *Greeee¡­.* The creature made a creepy sound as it slowly walked as if circling, its six eyes with crimson glow looking at him. Almond¡¯s heart raced like never before as he felt profound danger of death even though this wasn¡¯t supposed to be real. ¡¯Wait, is this real or did she really send me here?¡¯ The moment Almond produced that doubt, his fear increased and his heart pounded quickly. ¡¯I am not fucking dying here!¡¯ Almond¡¯s grip tightened, his expression twisted slightly, bing ferocious as he red at the creature. "You creepy shit," Almond muttered, his eyes intense and focused on the creature. "Come here and die." *Swoosh!* The creature pounced at him with its mouth widening enough to devour him whole, but Almond dashed and ducked before shing the branch at a perfect angle to behead the creature. *sh!* *Duch..* The head fell and plopped as the creature turned into a puddle of tar while the ck tar tree that produced it also vanished. "Haah¡­haah¡­" Almond took a few breaths and calmed himself before walking out of the forest. "I feel as weak as shit, damn it." Almond reckoned his stats were like 10 in all, no Mana, no skills, no nothing except for his knowledge, ability, functioning mind, and will to refuse to give up against whatever fucked up things he¡¯d encounter. "Well, let¡¯s go to the town first." *Grr¡­* "Great, so I also feel hungry here. Should¡¯ve gotten some berries from that creepy forest¡­or actually no," Almond wryly smiled as he turned around, but was taken aback and almost fell upon seeing the scenery. The ck forest¡­was gone. There was nothing there except for the ins of grass and ground, not a single fucking tree. "Fuck this shit," Almond turned back to the town, but then his heart turned cold. The town¡­had vanished. "It was just there¡­a couple hundred meters away," Almond muttered under his breath as there was nothing in front of him. Just in ground and a night sky with the moon giving dim illumination of night. Almond closed his eyes and took a deep breath as nothing was making sense. But when he opened his eyes again, he found himself right in front of the town¡¯s gate, with a guard staring right at him just several inches away. This startled him, and he fell on his butt. ¡¯Fuck, fuck, fuck.¡¯ "Are you okay, kiddo? You¡¯ve been nk for a minute now." Almond looked at the guard and slowly nodded, "I am fine. "You need to get treated fast. Those fingers look nasty and painful," the other guard said with an ufortable expression. He turned to the town and pointed his finger before saying, "There¡¯s a clinic on the second main street. Go and help yourself." "Ye-cough, yeah," Almond nodded, feeling a scratch in his throat as he coughed again. Almond walked and arrived on the second main street before finding the clinic that looked like a witch¡¯s abode, with flowers and vines outside around the dome-like front structure. The door was open and a few were sat on the couch inside. But as soon as he entered, the four people of varying ages looked at him and smiled before scattering away. "Come in. It appears that you¡¯ve stumbled somewhere you shouldn¡¯t have." A voice echoed from the inside, past a door. Almond gulped, feeling trepidation, but walked towards the door nheless because that voice sounded like it knew about the trial. ¡¯Fuck it.¡¯ Almond opened the door. Chapter 275: Paradise of Nightmares Almond opened the door and saw an old woman with messy gray hair sitting on a cushion behind a small table, with candles illuminating the tiny room. "Sit." Almond took a deep breath. ¡¯No point in wasting time feeling things I don¡¯t need to feel.¡¯ ¡¯Nothing can scare me, nothing can make me give up.¡¯ Almond sat down on the cushion and nodded at her. "So, where am I?" "You are in the Paradise of Nightmares. A type of dimension where only souls can go in." "So my soul is here?" Almond frowned. "What if I die here?" "You don¡¯t know?" the old woman blinked and smiled. "Well, if you die here, you¡¯re deadpletely, into void, out of existence. Your soul bes a negligible nourishment for the Grimworld." ¡¯She sent my fucking soul here!?¡¯ Almond felt anger as he clenched his fist, ignoring the increasing pain from his fingers as he did so. "But you will not die if you die here. Whoever sent you set up an anchor point outside, so if you die here, your soul will return." "Oh¡­" Almond sighed in relief. "Alright, that¡¯s better." ¡¯But why don¡¯t you tell me everything at once?¡¯ Almond internally rolled his eyes. "But if you die here, you will still sustain damage to your soul." "¡­" Almond blinked and smiled as he remained calm and asked the important question, "How do I leave here? Or rather, how do I leave here after awakening my soul?" "So that¡¯s what you are here for. A rather extreme measure to awaken your soul, I¡¯d say, but this method is indeed fast and impactful." The old woman chuckled as she finished speaking and added, "As for how to awaken your soul, it¡¯s simple. Just walk, encounter the nightmares, ovee them, and survive until you find yourself back home." "That¡¯s it?" Almond frowned. "Indeed. Each nightmare you ovee makes you stronger, and you must find and utilize the strength of your soul. Let me give you a tip," the old woman grinned. "Truth. Seek the truth of your soul and ignite a desire to the extreme. Soul awakening in the Paradise of Nightmares will give you something more than just a soul awakening." "So, good luck, young man." "Thank you," Almond nodded and stood up before bowing and turning around to leave. However, when he opened the exit door, the scenery thaty in front of him was not of the town. But of a red sea. An ocean of blood. ck stones floated like tiny inds, but he couldn¡¯t see the end of the ocean. Almond was taken aback, but he was ready for anything, and he meant anything. Taking a step forward, he stood on the first stone tform, with the stick in his hand, but the pain was strangely gone. He saw his fingers and everything was healed. His hunger was gone as well. ¡¯Thanks, granny. Now, I¡¯ll go and severe this fucking nightmare into two to make a path for myself.¡¯ At that, Almond jumped and arrived on the second stone tform. *Ssh¡­ssh!* Four bloody tentacles burst out of the crimson ocean blindingly fast before dragging him into the sea, turning his world red. His left hand grabbed the stone¡¯s edge, but the rest of his body below was dragged by the tentacles. But with a single swing and a primal roar, Almond severed all of them and climbed up. His eyes fiery, his gaze unwavering, and his will unstoppable. ¡¯My de is my desire. Nothing can stop it, for it can severe everything!¡¯ Almond continued. His eyes birthed a spiritual glow, fearless and unfettered, as his will ignited the desire he ardently believed that nothing could stop him. And so, he jumped again and moved. He cut the throes and terror wide, Upon the crimson sea of tide. Where nightmares swirled in waters red, And whispered doom with every tread. ck stones drifted, frail and thin, Each step swirls darkness to grin. From depths unknown, the tendrils rose, Their twisted dance of deadly throes. They coiled and grasped to drag him deep, But Almond¡¯s de would never sleep. A single arc¡ªthe sea was torn, The severed limbsy limp, forlorn. Yet silence hummed, the air grew tight, The nightmare shifted in the night. A city loomed in fractured light, Its twisted spires a jagged blight. Faceless figures, grim and pale, Drifted forth with voiceless wails. "Turn back," they mouthed in warped dismay, Their hollow eyes led minds astray. But Almond swung, his de held true, For lies and fear were nothing new. With severing will, he cut their chains, And watched them fade like ghostly rain. The city crumbled, shadows fled, Yet still the nightmare twisted red. A barren field, a sky blood-bright, With endless doors that warped his sight. @@novelbin@@ One stood open¡ªgold and vast, Yet every step erased the past. His fingers blurred, his feet unwound, As time itself began to drown. "Walk forward, die. Turn back, decay. Forget yourself, or lose your way." Your next chapter is on NovelBin.C?m The voice was grand, yet Almond grinned, "Forgetting means the nightmare wins." sh! Severe! Rip apart! mes surged high in spectral hue, Gold and silver, white and blue. The shattered dark, the broken chains, A roaring fire within his veins. His body burned, his mind ran wild, Yet through the storm, he only smiled. The weight was gone, the nightmare undone, His soul stood bare, as bright as the sun. Light unfurled from wounds once deep, The severed past he would not keep. For those who sever, those who rise, Shape their fate with open eyes. Almond stood, his will set free, A de of self¡ªhis rity. No dream, no fear, no god, no chain, Could ever im his soul again. ¡­ "What¡¯s going on? Where is Almond?" Rudra frowned. "It¡¯s been a day since he made an appearance." "His Spirit Wraiths also can¡¯t sense his location," Lily said, her voiceced with worry. "Damn, what the hell happened¡­" Natalia muttered. The three of them were on the Mountain of Radiant Zenith, Almond¡¯s territory in the Sanctuary Area. Almond had added all Grim Breakers, including Julian and Roken, and Admiral Rudra as the residents of his territory so they could enter. Thest thing Admiral Rudra knew was that Almond arrived here after sparring with old man Hiroshi and Silvester. "This is troubling," Admiral Rudra rubbed his temples. "Astra had searched the entire, and there¡¯s no sight of him anywhere." "Maybe he used some kind of item and went into a different dimension or something?" Natalia blinked. "I mean, he got some rewards and things even we don¡¯t know." "Wait, that Broken Myth Bead, did he unlock it or not?" Lily frowned and then shook her head. "No, I think he didn¡¯t unlock it yet. He¡¯d have told me." "What are you talking about?" Admiral Rudra asked. "It¡¯s something I got from the mystery box, I think, right?" Natalia turned to Lily. "Yeah," Lily nodded. "We used a roulette ticket, and it gave us a ck box after the needle stopped at [Random] section. Then you opened the box, which had the Broken Myth Bead. It¡¯s an item that requires 1000 Perception to inspect." "Broke Myth Bead," Admiral Rudra¡¯s brows furrowed. "Well, so we are ultimately not sure of where he went and it could be anywhere." "That sounds about right, yeah," Natalia wryly smiled. Lily took a deep breath and decided as she said, "It seems we can¡¯t do anything about this except for waiting. I am going back to the region of wildered and finish the war event." "I¡¯m sure he will return, safe and sound," Lily clenched her fist. "Until then, let¡¯s wrap up the war with victory and continue training because wherever he is, he isn¡¯t stopping his progress." "Yep," Natalia grinned. "Alright, you two go do your things. I¡¯ll do what I can, though waiting is the only option it seems." Chapter 276: This New Status Looks Weird Almond opened his eyes. "Wee back," Madam Ruby said with a smile. "How long I was out for?" Almond asked as he blinked, feeling something more than usual. He could see flickering white motes with hazy golden hues to them, appearing and vanishing. "Eight hours and that¡¯s impressive." "Eight hours only?" Almond raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "I don¡¯t know how long I spent in the Paradise of Nightmares. The concept of time I spent there is blurry." "That¡¯s normal. What matters is that you¡¯ve awakened your soul magnificently and even gained a Soul Trait, which you will eventually discover in the Academy once you get more familiar with the new path of power you¡¯ve stepped on." Almond looked around, blinking and focusing, "I sense something new." Madam Ruby stood up and said, "That¡¯s alright. But your time here is up. I am going to send you to the Academy. Survive for fifteen days, and you can go home." Almond frowned as he stood up and asked, "Won¡¯t you tell me more about the Academy?" "That won¡¯t be necessary. You¡¯ll know everything there is to know soon." Madam Ruby smiled and waved her hand. A ring on her third finger glowed before a mysterious ck door manifested with golden, red, and blue wooden patterns. "Introspect yourself and get familiar with your awakened soul while you¡¯re on your way to the academy. Goodbye," Madam Ruby smiled as the door opened and gestured for Almond to enter. Almond knew he wouldn¡¯t get answers from her, so he just nodded inly and entered through the door. On the other side, he saw a small room with a big window showing fast-flowing colorful neon lights. The room had two big couches facing each other and two people, both looking young in theirte teens. One ck-haired girl looking out of the window and another was a boy with dark blond hair. "VIP door? Nice going," the boy said with a grin. "Come, sit here." The girl nced at Almond briefly before turning back to look out of the window where it was just flowing colorful neon lights. ¡¯Nice. I can get more information here,¡¯ Almond thought as he sat down and greeted the boy with a smile. @@novelbin@@ "Hi, I am Almond." "I am Zek, nice to meet you," Zek said before grinning slyly, "So, brother Almond, who is your patron? To directly enter this moving train, you must be a VIP." "VIP? Far from it," Almond wryly smiled. "Anyway, so we are all going to an academy, right? Can you tell me more about it?" "What? You don¡¯t know anything and you¡¯re here?" Zek was dumbfounded. The girl also nced at Almond again for a second before turning back to the window. "The one who sent me here didn¡¯t tell me anything, unfortunately." "Well, we are going to Starry Horizon Academy, which has existed since, well, forever. Hmm, where do I start¡­alright, yeah, so basically anyone can go to this academy as long as they manage to reach there. Usually, it¡¯s a bit hard to reach there, but a big organization created these trains that can travel to the academy, making it easier for people to go there." "Now, about the academy, the people who teach there are immortals. They only exist in the academy, and they have all sorts of knowledge and everything. And you can stay in the academy as long as you¡­can." Almond blinked, "As long as I can, huh." ¡¯She also told me to survive, so that academy gotta be dangerous.¡¯ Zek grinned and said, "The academy can make you strong, but everyone can only enter there once in their lifetime, and only people below 50 years or above 1000 years can enter." Almond raised his eyebrows. ¡¯People below 50 years or above 1000 years¡­that¡¯s a bit strange, but whatever.¡¯ "Anyway, you seem a bit strange, Almond. I don¡¯t sense any bloodline from you. Either that or you¡¯re very good at hiding your bloodline aurapletely." ¡¯I don¡¯t have a bloodline, but I can see you two have it,¡¯ Almond internally sighed. He couldn¡¯t see their stats anymore as it was all in entric symbols and metric, but he could feel they were more powerful than him in terms of stats. "Well, I don¡¯t have a Bloodline at all," Almond answered truthfully to see the reaction. "Eh? No bloodline? Did you perhaps ascend from the firstyer?" Zek¡¯s eyes shone as he asked. The girl turned to him with a blink, clearly curious. "Yeah, I ascended up from the firstyer," Almond nodded with a smile. "Still, having no bloodline is strange, but don¡¯t worry. You can get a Bloodline at the academy if you are capable," Zek grinned. "I also want to change my Bloodline and get a better one. That¡¯s one of the many things I want to do after going to the academy." "That¡¯s good to hear," Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯Well, since I am going to a mysterious academy, I might as well grasp this opportunity.¡¯ "So, brother Almond, do you mind if I inspect you?" Zek asked with a grin as he took out a monocle with a magical lens from the aura it gave off. "Sure, and can you also show me my status?" "Alright." Zek infused Prana in the device and inspected Almond. Shortly, his jaw dropped to the ground as he eximed, "What?!" "Ain¡¯t no way you are this weak. And you don¡¯t have Prana sea, and your soul sea is small like you just awakened it¡­" Zek was speechless. ¡¯But my will is more powerful than yours,¡¯ Almond internally rolled his eyes. The only stat he could clearly see of others was their wills, though he couldn¡¯t see Madam Ruby¡¯s will, which indicated that her will was likely stronger than his. "Show me," Almond said. Zek coughed and snapped his finger as energy motes manifested and formed into a screen in front of Almond. "Here¡¯s your status, brother Almond." [Almond] -Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Ability Power: F Your next chapter is on NovelBin.C?m -Prana Sea: 0 -Soul Sea: 10 -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 20 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 40 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 10 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: ¡ª ¡¯Well, fuck¡­this new status looks weird,¡¯ Almond blinked. ¡¯It looks like I¡¯ll have much to learn at the academy.¡¯ Suddenly, he felt something in his primary ss source. The new Spirit Wraith just finished forming, waiting for Almond to give a name, personality, and backstory toplete its birth. Chapter 277: Meliora the Elixir of Chaos, Answers "So how long until we reach there?" Almond asked. "I think one hour or maybe two left," Zek answered with uncertainty. "One hour and twenty minutes maximum," the girl spoke without turning her head. "I see," Almond nodded and leaned back on the couch as he closed his eyes. "Well, I¡¯d like to getfortable and rest a bit in the meantime, so excuse me." "Sure," Zek chuckled. "I was about to practice my Prana Art anyway." ¡¯I¡¯ll find out about thatter in the academy,¡¯ Almond told himself and stopped himself from asking Zek about it. For now, he focused on new changes after his soul awakened. He could see something unlocking within him, and his consciousness reached there as he focused on that. It was a sea of utter darkness, but there was a small pond with glistering water in the middle of this expanse. And above that pond was a miniature figure looking exactly like him, sitting cross-legged, eyes closed. Almond exerted his control, and the water moved, flowing out of the pond and moving around with his thoughts. ¡¯This strange energy must be rted to my soul. That new status showed 10 beside Soul Sea, so this is something I can increase, which means this is something I can use. For what?¡¯ Almond thought. ¡¯I guess I¡¯ll find out at the academy.¡¯ ¡¯Now, let¡¯s finish up the new spirit wraith. Its core is Fallen Druid Mmeron, as his spirit was strongest, so this wraith will be geared towards alchemy and druid-based power more. The additional spirits I added had a variety of powers, and the spirit of that assassin criminal who had poison and dark-rted power, so¡­¡¯ Almond fell into thought and five minutester, he decided everything. [Name: Meliora the Elixir of Chaos] [Disposition: Mad Scientist] [Backstory: She was a kind and aspiring alchemist who longed to be better and help her vige. But after going to the capital to learn more, the rich and influential peers who envied her talent in alchemy made her life hell. In the end, to prevent her from participating in the royalpetition where her talents could be appreciated, the vile ones harmed her vige, forcing her to go back. Upon returning, she found her parents dead, poisoned, and the whole vige sick. Descending into madness due to the hellish year she experienced that ended with the death of her loved ones, Meliora¡¯s talents bloomed. Going unorthodox, she not only created potions that could heal and help but also spread chaos. She became the alchemist of doom on the path to vengeance, and all that came her way to stop her became just another ingredient for her potions of chaos.] ¡¯Yep, looks good.¡¯ Almond wasn¡¯t about to summon her here, but the spirit wraith waspleted as he transported her from Spirit Kodoku into the Spirit Wraith¡¯s pocket. ¡¯Now, what do I do to spend the remaining hour?¡¯ Almond thought, and suddenly, a strange jolt shook him and images began shing in his mind. ¡¯T-This¡­¡¯ Almond was shocked. He was getting his memories back! All of it, until he reached the 30th Floor and the world ended! He had already gotten more than half of his memories after he cleared the 6th floor, but now, all of it wasing at once. Almond rubbed his temples as the influx of information subsided and he felt serene after ten minutes. ¡¯It seems that whatever that mysterious figure did just got undone. It must be because my soul awakened, which broke whatever she did and unlocked all my memories at once.¡¯ Almond opened his eyes and was once again surprised. He could now feel and see Prana very clearly! Almond grabbed it with his hand and infused it. In that moment, his flesh, and his cells energized, giving it a boost. He tried to transmute it into his golden haze lightning, and it also worked. ¡¯My control of it is not as good as Mana, but this Prana is significantly more powerful. Well, that¡¯s expected since Mana is just an offshoot of Prana.¡¯ Almond then tried to absorb it in his body. ¡¯That new status had Prana Sea and its value was zero. It must be like Mana Pool.¡¯ Almond tried to find Prana Sea, but he couldn¡¯t find it. It wasn¡¯t like his soul sea and it also wasn¡¯t in his Source Space where his Mana pool was located. The Prana he absorbed into his source space also dispersed automatically, unable to be contained. ¡¯Zek mentioned Prana Art, so it could be that absorbing Prana in the Prana Sea must be rted to Prana Art.¡¯ Almond stopped ying with Prana and focused on a different topic¡ªhis arsenal of items and chances of power-ups. ¡¯Now, let¡¯s see what I have left and what I need to do eventually.¡¯ ¡¯The first thing is creating three more skills for my specialized ss. I have to finish them.¡¯ ¡¯Second, I have two normal skill upgrade cards, and one universal skill upgrade card left. That reminded me since I can only use normal skill upgrade cards on ssless skills, what if I use it on my Legendary skill Sword of Imperishable Zenith?¡¯ Almond took out the skill upgrade card and infused Mana, but suddenly, the Prana in the atmosphere attacked it and scattered it away. ¡¯What the fuck?¡¯ Almond was dumbfounded. ¡¯Fuck me.¡¯ "What was that?" the girl turned to Almond. "Was it from Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial?" Almond blinked, surprised. "How do you know?" "I¡¯ve seen that phenomenon before. Anyway, just take note that the rewards you got from Grimworld¡¯s Tutorial that can help you power up by skipping conventional training will vanish if you take them out here. They can only work and exist on the firstyer." "I see¡­" Almond dryly smiled. ¡¯Damn, a skill upgrade card just got deleted.¡¯ The girl turned away after speaking her piece, indicating that she desired no further conversation. Almond focused back on his task. ¡¯Alright, putting aside skill upgrade cards, I guess I also can¡¯t take out that remaining Advance Skill Scroll I have, right? I wanted to learn that Chrono Pulse of Radiant Heart skill¡­¡¯ Almond sighed. He had fifteen days in the academy he knew nothing about, and from the words of Zek and Madam Ruby, it was dangerous, so he wanted some new skills. ¡¯Maybe the Advanced skill scroll can be taken out? After all, it¡¯s not a direct power-up that can skip training, but we have to learn it in a dimension¡­¡¯ @@novelbin@@ "Um, do you know about skill scrolls? I have an Advanced Skill scroll that can be used to send one¡¯s mind into another dimension where we have to finish training stages to learn a skill. I suppose I can take it out, right?" Almond asked. He nced at Zek, but it appeared that he was too focused on his Prana Art and had shut himself in meditation as Prana gently whirled around him and went into his body slowly. Read exclusive content at NovelBin.C?m On the other hand, the girl turned to Almond upon hearing his question and shook her head, "I don¡¯t know. I¡¯d say it won¡¯t vanish given the description you gave, but I am not sure. However, you can ask this question in the academy, and you will get a confident answer. The academy has a feature, which you wille to know once you get there. Using that feature, you can get answers to any questions." After saying that, she turned back to watch outside. "I see, thanks." Almond then checked out other things, and among them was Broken Myth Bead. ¡¯I forgot to inspect this¡­Hmm, but now I can see the status of these two with my All-Seeing Eyes. Should I hack Zek¡¯s Perception to boost mine, and inspect it?¡¯ ¡¯Nah, screw it. What if it gets deleted too? I better wait till I get to the academy since it seems I¡¯d be able to get all answers there.¡¯ Chapter 278: Starry Horizon Academy The train stopped at the exact time the girl said it would. Outside the window, Almond could see a part of the grand structure that was part of the mysterious Starry Horizon Academy. The cabin¡¯s door opened, but it looked strange like it was a portal. The girl went in first like a wind and vanished. "Go on, brother Almond. It¡¯s an entrance ceremony for us since we are here for the first time," Zek grinned. "Looking forward to it," Almond smiled as he entered through the door and arrived in a huge ground facing the massive obsidian ck structure with colorful structural additions, decorations, and carvings. Thousands of other people were on the same huge ground. Zek appeared nearby as well and more people were arriving from the trains that everyone could see high up, stationed in the sky without rails. There were three sun-like celestial objects high in the sky that gave light, and the wind was gentle and cool. Almond breathed, feeling all of his cells energized. It wasn¡¯t long before the trains started moving and soon vanished as they traveled at the speed of light or perhaps, even faster. "That girl in our cabin was a returnee, so she is not here. The returnees go to a different ground. So everyone here is a first-timer," Zek informed. "I see," Almond nodded. Suddenly, everyone heard a voiceing from above and looked up. "Wee, aspirers, to the Starry Horizon Academy." A figure floated above of a middle-aged man with a kind yet overbearing smile, wearing a long white robe with dark gold and blue patterns. He had a thick, curvy white mustache and a beard that enhanced the overbearing vibe from him. "I am the head counselor of the academy, and you may address me as Counselor Maroon. Everyone will be evaluated on the basic spectrum and parameters first, which will also determine your sses. The entrance ceremony will begin tomorrow with the show of the top 10 new students with the highest scores in the evaluation, who will also be getting some rewards," Maroon smiled. "The rewards will remain a surprise. Now, without further ado, proceed towards the magic gates, where you will automatically arrive in a private room for the evaluation." Right before the big academy doors, a huge magic gate manifested, stretching 100 meters wide for the ease of entering for arge number of students. Counselor Maroon vanished while the students began moving. "See youter, brother Almond. Good luck with the evaluation." "You too." Almond entered and arrived in a rather normal room with a couch, table, and a rectangr standing mirror. @@novelbin@@ "Wee to the starry academy, kiddo." A rather muscr voice reached his ears from a creature. "Hi," Almond blinked as he looked at the ck cat with blue gem eyes, sitting above the mirror. The cat licked his paw before saying, "Stand in front of the mirror. Let¡¯s see what assets you got first." Almond nodded and walked in front of the mirror. The mirror faintly glowed before it wobbled and then details appeared on it. [Almond Crowshade] -Awakened Elemental Sources: ¡ª> Golden Haze Lightning (S) ¡ª> Lumeir (C) ¡ª> Wind (B) ¡ª> Light (C) ¡ª> Sand of Vibrant Wave (C) ¡ª> Pseudo-Space (-) ¡ª> Pseudo-Void (-) -Acquired Power Source: ¡ª> Spirit Dealer (SS) ¡ª> Riftveil Grimde (Legendary) ¡ª> Seeker Keymaker (Mythical) -Innate Talents: ¡ª> Heir of Oblivion (Mythical/???) ¡ª> Rygaroth¡¯s Reign (Legendary) -Lifeform Proficiencies: ¡ª> Mana (Tier-1 / Level 9) ¡ª> Body (Tier-1 / Level 5 ) ¡ª> Mind (Tier-2 / level 1 ) ¡ª> Soul (Tier-1 / Level 1) ¡ª> Will (Tier-2 / Level 10) "Well, well, aren¡¯t you a bag of surprises?" Explore more at NovelBin.C?m Almond didn¡¯t even realize when the cat appeared on his shoulder and was looking at the mirror. "You shouldn¡¯t be here, but you¡¯re here. I suppose that is thanks to the Seeker Keymaker. Grimworld does like to give surprises to some lower lifeforms, I must say." ¡¯Damn, this cat knows everything.¡¯ "Indeed, I know." "¡­" The cat moved and floated in front of his face, looking at his eyes. "You are rather interesting, boy. Well then, let¡¯s move to check yourbat ability now." "What weapon do you want?" "Sword." "Alright," the cat¡¯s eyes glinted before a wooden sword appeared, floating beside the cat. "Don¡¯t touch it yet." Almond blinked and stopped himself. "Touching the sword will send you to a different ce. You will only be able to use Prana and¡­let me adjust something in you." *Crack¡­* Almond heard a cracking out of his body and frowned. "Good, I¡¯ve destroyed all skill runes you got. Now, you can go." "Wait, what?!" Almond quickly looked inside his source space and his heart turned cold. Every single fucking skill rune got destroyed! Theyy there in the skill room, cracked. ¡¯No fucking way! My passive skills too! I needed it!¡¯ Almond felt a surge of anger. "Hold your horses, son." The cat pped his head, forcefully bending his mind as his attention forcefully shifted to it and his anger vanished. ¡¯What the fuck?! How powerful is this cat?!¡¯ "I am supremely powerful, the most powerful existence in this academy because I am the academy itself. Your imagination and mind severelyck the capabilities toprehend my power, so do not bother." "¡­" "Your skill runes are broken, but they haven¡¯t vanished. Your first task in the academy will be to regain your skills naturally using Prana. Forget about skills and skill runes. They no longer exist. They are products only for the firstyer." Almond was surprised, "Then what are the products ofbat here?" "Your ability to wield Prana. Your ability to execute Prana in your way with your assets. You will create abilities. Passive abilities, active abilities. They are fundamentally and exceptionally different than skills. Skills would be something you naturally execute within your ability usage. Yourbat ability will entirely change, bing a notch higher because that¡¯s how everyone fights on the second and thirdyers." "Oh¡­" Almond¡¯s eyes shone. It would be wrong to say that he wasn¡¯t excited about this. Deep down, he was thrilled that he was here. "Now, touch the sword and show me yourbat talent." "Yes, sir." Almond grinned and touched the sword. Chapter 279: Fatal Challenge Rumbleheim¡ªthe world of raw, primal fighting for people of myriad races. Mortal Region Outskirts, Mir¡¯s Arena. Almond appeared in a shabby room with a wooden bench and a loud rumble and uproar ringing from outside. "Where am I?" Almond muttered. He saw a closed door and began moving towards it, but suddenly, the ck cat appeared before his face. "You are going to fight someone in ten minutes. Only one weapon is allowed in the fight, and no other items, so don¡¯t use anything else." Almond raised an eyebrow, "So I am here physically, in one of the worlds of the secondyer?" "Indeed, the world¡¯s name is Rumbleheim. A perfect ce to evaluate yourbat ability andbat will." The catnded on his shoulder and licked his paws before adding, "Use your eyes to learn during the fights and apply it." "Learn what?" "Use of Prana. You can¡¯t store it yet, but you can use the abundant Prana that¡¯s in the atmosphere. Your strong will canplement this process, so exert your will over Prana. Try it here. Use the ten minutes you got." "Alright," Almond focused and exerted his will over the Prana and it indeed bent. "Infuse it in the sword to observe the first proper use of it," the cat instructed upon seeing Almond controlling Prana. @@novelbin@@ Almond did as told and infused Prana in the sword. The wooden sword sucked it and suddenly lit up in gentle icy blue mes. ¡¯This¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes flickered as his All-Seeing Eyes observed the sword and found a strange symbolic letter within the sword. ¡¯There¡¯s no formation or magical structure like skill runes, but this symbolic letter is responsible for this me enchant on the sword, but it¡¯s just carved inside the wooden sword¡­¡¯ "You saw it, good. You can win the first battle with pure techniques if you have talent in yourbat, but If you can¡¯t figure out how that symbol is formed and its underlying principle on your own, you are going to lose the second fight." The cat smirked and added, "If you lose the second fight, you¡¯re dead, I won¡¯t revive you. But if you win the second fight, I will revive you if you die in the next fights." Almond frowned, "For real?" "Absolutely. Did you enter the academy without knowing that people die like flies here? You saw thousands of people, right? Well, many of them can start over with their souls returning with the backing they have, but many don¡¯t, like you, so they just die and their soul washes up for new life somewhere. All in all, only a small number of people graduate each year, and the graduation requirement is simple. You only need to stay alive for a year in the academy. Of course, you can also take leaves and return, or leave forever by choice if you fear the challenges of the academy." "I can send you back right now if you want to." Almond gripped the sword tightly and grinned, "Nope, I am staying." "Good, then here¡¯s the grand tip. Prana is an energy that is affected by one¡¯s mind and one¡¯s thoughts, but most importantly, by one¡¯s will. There¡¯s a limit, but you will have to find it and y within it. The principle of limit is the same everywhere. Two people with different strengths fight, but the winner is not the one with higher strength, but the one who utilizes the strength most proficiently to bring out more power." The cat vanished after saying that. ¡¯That¡¯s true,¡¯ Almond smiled, feeling excited. But he calmed down and took a deep breath before focusing on the symbolic letter. Although he would¡¯ve liked more information, he wasn¡¯t opposed to the idea of self-exploration as it was fun. ¡¯Time to break it down.¡¯ He could feel there was a mystery to this symbol, and he was going to uncover it. ¡¯First, the symbol is made of Prana, but it¡¯s simr to transmutation. So Prana has been turned into something else when this symbol was carved onto the wood¡­¡¯ While Almond was observing and feeling the symbol, the mes on the sword suddenly dimmed and vanished. ¡¯Wait, these blue mes¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted as he observed the mes. He infused more Prana in the sword, and the blue me enchantment¡¯s intensity returned. He tried to add more Prana, but its intensity didn¡¯t increase further. Instead, the excess Prana just dispersed. ¡¯The enchantment stays active for one minute, and the usage of Prana is 100 motes if I count it as per my observation. Adding more won¡¯t help as 100 is the limit of this sword, or rather this symbol.¡¯ ¡¯The mes will vanish after all 100 Prana is used up¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯The symbol is the main thing. It¡¯s turning the Prana into this me and I have to figure out how it works.¡¯ ¡¯The cat said Prana is affected by one¡¯s mind and one¡¯s thoughts.¡¯ Almond grabbed 100 Prana motes in his hand, and exerted his will over it, wanting to turn it into liquified Prana. The 100 Prana motes actually turned into dreamy golden liquid, which he shaped into a small bead. ¡¯Exert my asset over it¡­¡¯ *Shrrr¡­* The bead of prana began changing. It was half-backed at first, but then itpletely turned into a tiny elemental tornado of his Sand of Vibrant Waves. However, it automatically dispersed two secondster even though it was in his control. He formed a tiny tornado again and actively tried to keep it in shape, but it still dispersed away after two seconds. ¡¯Why? It feels like itcks an anchor point to remain in my control¡­¡¯ Almond thought and soon figured it out as he focused on the symbol. ¡¯Yep, this is the key.¡¯ ¡¯For the blue mes, this symbol is the anchor point to keep this enchant active and as that cat said, I have to figure out its underlying principle.¡¯ Suddenly, the room¡¯s door opened, and a red orc woman covering just her chest and bottom with ck embroidered cloths entered. "So, you¡¯re the next one, eh? Come on, boy. It¡¯s your turn." After saying that, she turned around and began walking. Almond quickly followed her and walked through a small passage before arriving in a small hall with an entrance to the arena. He could hear people cheering, chanting the name "Mad Shark" and saw his opponent as he faced the entrance. "What¡¯s your name?" ¡¯Maybe I should use a cool name here.¡¯ Stay connected via NovelBin.C?m "The name¡¯s de King." "¡­" The orc woman blinked. Almond smiled. The womanughed and said, "Well, de King it is. Now, kill your opponent to win or die." pping his back, she added with a grin, "Good luck." Almond felt a jolt in his body and shock to his organs with the p and weakly smiled. ¡¯Fucking everyone is strong here.¡¯ In the arena, a dwarf floating on a round-shield-like device weed Almond, his voice resounding throughout the Colosseum battleground, "And herees the next opponent of Mad Shark. Oyaa, this one chap has a rather overbearing name." "Let us wee, the de King!" The audience, numbering thousands, erupted in uproar, though most of them were booing and telling Mad Shark to eat him alive. ¡¯Damn, they are hungry here,¡¯ Almond looked around while walking in the battleground, which was roughly 200 meters diameter in size. "Oi, kiddo. Did you separate from your parents and stumbled here?" Mad Shark asked with a ruthless grin. The audience burst intoughter. ¡¯Mad Shark, eh? Yeah, suitable,¡¯ Almond thought as he looked at his opponent. A stubby humanoid shark beastfolk with small legs, a big bulky muscled middle-frame, and a shark-head with sharp jagged teeth. His weapon of choice was gauntlets. [Mad Shark] -Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Ability Power: D+ -Prana Sea: 10 -Soul Sea: 10 -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 40 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 30 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 10 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 20 ¡¯His stats are a bit higher than mine, but my Mental Constituion is higher. I wish I knew more about these new stats, but whatever. I can use assets with Prana, so this won¡¯t be hard with this difference.¡¯ "I am not lost," Almond responded to Mad Shark¡¯s taunt with a smile. "My dogs were carving some seafood, and I heard there was Mad Shark here, so I thought I¡¯de here to slice it and grill it." "Ooooo¡­" The audience¡¯s reaction was stanky with manyughing. Mad Shark¡¯s eyes twitched, and this clearly stung him as he expressed anger. Smashing his gauntlets and causing sparks to fly, he said with a ruthless glint in his eyes, "I am going to eat you alive." Almond pointed his wooden sword at him, a carefree smile on his face, "Come and die." Chapter 280: Wielding Prana Mad Shark broke into a dash after hearing Almond, but halfway, his dash elerated drastically as he crossed the 50 meters in an instant, his right fist aiming at Almond¡¯s head. ¡¯He used Prana in his body to enhance his speed.¡¯ Almond guarded with his sword but didn¡¯t put power into his guard for blocking. Rather, he put power in redirection as he pressed his right foot to jump and let Mad Shark¡¯s power push him. @@novelbin@@ Almond was flung upward powerfully, but calmlynded fifty meters back as if the attack had no effect. ¡¯The art of redirection is awesome. d I sparred with those two old perverts,¡¯ Almond grinned. "Not bad, brat. To even parry away the impact and use my own force to help yourself," Mad Shark licked his lips. "It¡¯ll be worth eating you." "Shut up ande," Almond grinned. ¡¯So I can analyze you and learn.¡¯ Mad Shark¡¯s aura surged as Almond saw Prana flowing in his body, increasing his Body constitution to 80. He dashed again and punched mid-air as Prana whirled around his fist before transforming into a watery vertical tornado that shot at Almond while Mad Shark vanished, seemingly entering the tornado. ¡¯That¡­¡¯ Almond¡¯s All-Seeing Eyes saw the whole process and his eyes shone. ¡¯What the fuck?¡¯ *Swoosh!* Suddenly, a blue punch projectile shot out from the tornado at a blinding speed. Almond moved slightly as it streaked past him with a mere distance of a few inches before crashing into the barrier that protected the audience. Right after that, two more punches came while the Tornado moved around Almond like a snake as Mad Shark¡¯s voice rang out, "What happened? Can¡¯t fight back?" "de King barely dodged and defended himself again! But Mad Shark is relentless in his assault! He is closing in!" Almond was surrounded by the constantly moving tornado from which Mad Shark shot out projectiles of punches at irregr intervals, mostly attacking with two to three punches from different angles since he was circting one round around Almond per second. Almond constantly moved and deflected the attacks. He couldn¡¯t use anything right now except for his five senses, physical prowess, and this sword given to him by the cat, which was quite sturdy and powerful given how it didn¡¯t break despite shing against Mad Shark¡¯s punches. ¡¯Prana is obeying hismands, but with a process. It feels like a sequence,¡¯ Almond thought as his All-Seeing Eyes extracted all information he could from Mad Shark, but he was feeling pressure increasing each second. One punch brushed at his left arm and cheek, leaving a trail of blood. ¡¯This is so flexible. Mana can never achieve this.¡¯ "Mad Shark is closing in! He is overwhelming de King while ying with him! And he got bruised by a punch again! Read exclusive content at NovelBin.C?m Mad Shark was closing in while moving around Almond, reducing the distance so Almond was getting less and less time to react. But Almond was calm and focused on how Mad Shark was using Prana, feeling it and understanding it. ¡¯Anchor point is the sequence¡­a process, so the sword¡¯s symbol is a processor,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯If that¡¯s the case, then I have to feed Prana aplete sequence of a process I desire and create a processor for it.¡¯ ¡¯This¡­is way easier than executing a skill,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯I have to enhance myself first. Mana techniques work because Mana automatically empowers our bodies. We just need to guide it properly for that result, but Prana is different.¡¯ Almond dodged again while suddenly absorbing arge amount of Prana within his body. ¡¯I can¡¯t make a processor right now, so it won¡¯t remain active, but I can activate it for two seconds at least.¡¯ Almond¡¯s body faintly glowed. ¡¯A logical process, a sequence of actions.¡¯ ¡¯I can see my cells with my All-Seeing Eyes, so enhancing them with Golden Haze Lightning would do the work.¡¯ "You¡¯re making a move?" Mad Shark¡¯sughter came and suddenly, five punches streaked at Almond from different directions. Almond quickly moved, swinging his sword to deflect one, and using its force to get pushed as he dodged others, but one punch projectile was on its way. ¡¯You think I can¡¯t predict your moves after seeing you canceling my attacks so many times?!¡¯ Mad Shark sneered. ¡¯It¡¯s time to die, brat.¡¯ Almond swung his sword while trying to move mid-air, but he wasn¡¯tpletely sessful as the punch projectile bit off a chunk of his flesh at his stomach¡¯s right corner. ¡¯Activate.¡¯ In the next second, however, Almond¡¯s entire body crackled with golden electricity as he streaked towards Mad Shark¡¯s tornado like a lightning bolt, his sword in motion. *sh!* A loud thunderp rang as the tornado scattered while Mad Shark fell t on his face on the ground,pletely silent, while Almond appeared five meters behind him. ¡¯Oof, I got injured,¡¯ Almond covered his wound with his hand as golden haze lightning began to flicker as he grinned. ¡¯But I figured out how to use Prana and it excites me to no end.¡¯ Meanwhile, the arena was silent, watching unmoving Mad Shark with bated breath. *Plop* But a trail of blood began to highlight at the middle of the Mad Shark¡¯s head till the end part between his legs before¡­he split into two as his two parts plopped to the sides, soon forming a puddle of blood. "The Mad Shark is down!" the dwarf roared as he floated before Almond. The audience burst into uproar. "de King is the winner! Congrats!" "Holy crap, he sliced Mad Shark into two!" "Damn, I wasn¡¯t expecting that!" "Self-enhancement with his lightning apanied by a masterful stroke of his sword did the deed." On the other there, the dwarf grinned at Almond and said into his ears, "You can go back now and rest. Your next fight will start after half an hour." Almond nodded and began walking back. "Do you want a healing potion? Wouldn¡¯t cost much for contestants." *Crackle¡­* Just as the dwarf finished speaking, golden haze lightning entered his wound from his hand as he finished the activation sequence of restoring his cells using the attributes of his Golden Haze Lightning and fed this process he created to Prana. "No need, it¡¯s all healed," Almond responded without turning back as the wound began healing swiftly. ¡¯Thirty minutes? Sweet. I can figure out the symbol soon, and once I do that, I¡¯ll be able to create abilities like it,¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes sparkled with thrill as his walking pace increased. Chapter 281: Abilities Just as Almond returned to his room, the cat appeared in front of him. "Congrats, Almond. As expected, you won the first battle," the cat said, its eyes smiling. "As a reward, I¡¯ll give you the first lesson, so you can win the second battle. Of course, only if you learn the lesson properly and apply it." Almond curiously blinked and smiled, "I am all ears." "You imagine a step-by-step process for a desired result and feed it to Prana. That¡¯s good. But now, you have to create a processor of your activation sequence. Visualize the information of your process, shape it, and establish its execution." "Miracle is magic, but magic is simply an act of executing your creativity. For example¡­" the cat¡¯s eyes glowed before they released circr waves towards Almond of different frequencies. The waves hit Almond as his vision turned wobbly, and his braingged before he puked out a ck substance. "This was an Active Ability called Purifying Oscition. Prana was merely fuel for this activation sequence that stemmed from its processor, unlike what you did, which was transforming Prana. Remember, you are not using Mana anymore. What you are using is something greater, something that only needs to act as fuel to execute the process you created in a processor." "Prana will execute your sequence based on a process, and this process must be in a processor for execution, like the symbol within this wooden sword. Remember, creating a sequence means you can control every single part of your process, from tiny to massive, and Prana will execute it, something which Mana can¡¯t do." Almond¡¯s eyes shone. "It seems you know what to do now," the catughed. "Figure out the symbol, the processor to know how to create one and regain some of your skills as superior abilities within thirty minutes because your next battle is going to be very hard." "Yes, sir!" Almond excitedly grinned and sat down cross-legged, entering full-focused mode. The cat¡¯s eyes glinted as he watched Almond with amusement. ¡¯You forcefully wielded Prana by calling it from the Labyrinth¡¯s core structure before, bent it utterly to your will, and executed a devastating attack that obliterated an opponent far stronger than you.¡¯ ¡¯If you could do that at that time, you can do much more now.¡¯ The cat was talking about Almond¡¯s first life as he had read Almond¡¯s whole life by peeking into his mind and soul, which was one of the reasons he took this approach with Almond to explore and develop him during this evaluation. Almond didn¡¯t have basic knowledge of Prana like others, but teaching Almond about it in self-exploring and learning was more beneficial to him, and also faster given hisprehension. ¡¯I didn¡¯t tell you an important thing, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll figure it out. Give me some surprises, kiddo. I am expecting them,¡¯ the cat grinned and vanished. Explore stories on NovelBin.C?m ¡­ ¡¯A sequence is a series of logic I create in my mind for a process I desire. This symbol¡­I understand now!¡¯ ¡¯Let¡¯s start with Espada Ad Grimveil. I want it back, better than ever, and with this new knowledge, I should be able to make it better than before. I can add functions within my own domain!¡¯ Almond was uber-excited and immediately began. ¡¯First, the domain would be a 100-meter radius in size. Its structure is spatial, ovepping with the ne¡¯s space around me. Once this asset is established, I can control space within it.¡¯ ¡¯Let¡¯s create a processor for this domain first.¡¯ Almond visualizes the logic of his Espada Ad Grimveil, which he already knew since he was the one who created it in the skill insight dimension. This was also why his specialized ss wasn¡¯t locked while his Primary ss was semi-locked. But now, all of his skill runes had been destroyed by the cat, so he had to regain his skills in the form of abilities. ¡¯No wonder people call them abilities. It¡¯s because we create the processors ourselves with our own structure and sequence of logic based on our ability to wield Prana and our assets.¡¯ In front of Almond, a cubic symbol formed in the air by burning Prana as fuel to establish the process of Espada Ad Grimveil. ¡¯With this domain, I am the all-severing rift. There is nothing I cannot cut and connect....sequence established. Within the domain, I am the all-perceiving eyes. There is nothing I cannot unveil¡­sequence established.¡¯ ¡¯The logic was really simple. Everything within the domain is contaminated by space that is within my control, and my will exerts it. This whole ss scales based on my will more than anything, so¡­¡¯ A field expanded from Almond, covering the room. ¡¯Time to add a new process¡­the sequence of Severance de. A de-shaped folded space of utter thinness. Prana will actualize it once it enters the processor. But not enough, I have to add more assets in the Severance de to make it powerful.¡¯ ¡¯Golden Haze lightning¡¯s electrical discharge for an intense, high voltage current. It must stay tame until it makes contact for burst release to increase the destructiveness and extreme heat.¡¯ ¡¯Unpredictability of lightning¡­.for this, I¡¯ll have to add Lumeir in the equation. But rather than putting it in the Severance de¡¯s sequence, how about I spread it in my domain?¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes shone. ¡¯That way, Severance de can be enhanced any time, and with the nature of lightning I gave it, it can travel through air unpredictably instead of just singr direction!¡¯ In the room, cyan golden motes flickered before Almond released Severance de by absorbing Prana. He wasn¡¯t using the processor he was building, but the same method as he used in the battle to test out the sequence. Severance de came into existence, but it looked different, flickering unstably. It had a hazy de, but its shape was like a lightning tendril. A slick lightning tendril with edges. ¡¯Refine its shape. Make it like a snake, slicker, smoother, and sharper! Prana is a game of particles of any size. It can be shaped the way I want.¡¯ *Shree!* The flexible de is like a t digital golden light. It moved like a snake around the room, blindingly fast! Unpredictable and deadly! ¡¯Crap, this needs a new name!¡¯ ¡¯Everything I create from now will need a new name!¡¯ *Zap!* The flexible de struck the bench, cutting it into two before it streaked away. Almon was supplying it to Prana constantly but stopped as it dispersed. ¡¯Let¡¯s add it to this processor. The name of this ability will be¡­Arbitrary Viper: Golden Edge. I¡¯ll give it a snake-like visual on its surface.¡¯ Almond added the sequence of this ability in the processor of Espada Ad Grimveil, as this was something only able to be used while Espada Ad Grimveil was activated. ¡¯I have to add one more attack sequence since I have a visual idea of it,¡¯ Almond grinned. ¡¯Arbitrary Wyrm: Sand Fang.¡¯ @@novelbin@@ ¡¯Sand of Vibrant Wave is strong, very strong. It has destructive properties that can break down things if I use its attributes properly. Not only that, I can make a solid defensive structure with it as well.¡¯ ¡¯Whether I want to break tough defenses or create tough defenses, this asset is perfect. Itcks the speed of lightning, but that Mad Shark used Prana to elerate somehow. eleration is not an elemental asset but a catalyst¡ªan amplifier of kic force. If Prana can even do that, then it¡¯s indeed vastly superior to Mana.¡¯ ¡¯Whatever sequence and logic I vision, Prana can actualize it ording to the process I desire¡­as long as it is structured as a sequence and not a jumble.¡¯ ¡¯Fucking hell, this is fun! I¡¯ll create as many abilities as I can. After finishing Artibrary Wyrm: Sand Fang, I¡¯ll at least have to create a movement-type ability and a solid defense-type one with not just my assets but more creative logic for the next fight.¡¯ Chapter 282: Garo the Maestro of Myriad Arts Four symbols floated in front of him. One was way moreplex than the other three because it had multiple activation sequences in it. The symbols automatically took shape and formed once he constructed the processor with Prana. He didn¡¯t even design the symbol or anything. It was an artistic symbolic form of his ability that Prana itself created. ¡¯The only problem is I have to absorb Prana from the atmosphere since I can¡¯t store any yet.¡¯ ¡¯With the cost of these abilities as it is, I have to constantly absorb Prana to fuel them. That would require a bit of my attention¡­wait.¡¯ Almond¡¯s eyes glinted. ¡¯What if I create an ability, a process that constantly absorbs Prana with my body as a medium?¡¯ ¡¯Before I learn how to form and fill my Prana sea, I should use this.¡¯ ¡¯I only have four minutes, but it should be enough. This isn¡¯tplicated.¡¯ ¡¯Logical sequence. I can set my pores as entrance and create a suction force within the body to absorb it and let it be circr or create a suction field in my body specified to absorb Prana from outside. Once Prana is in my body, I can redirect it and even use it to activate the psychophysiology form of my golden haze lighting for movement force-kic powered attacks.¡¯ Teleporting wouldn¡¯t gather kic energy, but moving fast would increase his power in terms of attacks, and he¡¯d need more power because he wasn¡¯t exactly the strongest here in terms of raw power, unlike on Earth. ¡¯Wait, wait, no way¡­¡¯ Almond suddenly felt a sh of lightning. ¡¯Kic force¡­that¡¯s how Mad Shark elerated now that I run that image of him doing it, but¡­how? It wasn¡¯t enhancing his body to increase speed. Instead, he increased his speed by amplifying the kic energy on him,¡¯ Almond frowned. ¡¯He increased the rate of change of his velocity drastically¡­¡¯ @@novelbin@@ ¡¯Urgh, I don¡¯t have time for that. I first need to create the absorption ability, a passive one, that constantly maintains Prana motes in my body.¡¯ Three minutester, Almond was done and absorbed Prana. ¡¯So the limit of my body is 4,000 Prana motes? It¡¯s not a fully physical energy, but it seems to take something as a scale. Interesting. I can¡¯t seem to add even a single mote of Prana more.¡¯ ¡¯But 4,000 Prana is more than enough as long as I maintain that amount in my body by constantly absorbing Prana, though it does feel a bit ufortable like I¡¯ve overeaten.¡¯ "de King, it¡¯s time." Almond turned to the door and nodded at the orc woman. He vanished from his spot and appeared in front of her before saying. "Let¡¯s go." "Woah, teleport? That¡¯s awesome," the orc woman was surprised. "Is it elemental or technical?" "What do you mean?" Almond blinked. "Technical?" The orc womanughed at his question and began walking, "You¡¯re joking, right?" Almond was at a loss with that response and scratched his head. "Well, I am not joking." This time, the orc woman felt at a loss and wryly smiled, "If you haveprehended any theories of teleport and can replicate theirponents in your sequence to create a catalyst, you can teleport. Or you can make your own logical process of teleport and create a catalyst that can execute it as long as your logic is able to work in targetted space. Why you don¡¯t know such a simple thing? You didn¡¯t study Practicality of Prana?" Almond wryly smiled, "Well, I kind of just heard about Prana recently and only recently started using it since I just ascended here from the firstyer." The orc woman paused and turned to him, blinking with surprise. "I didn¡¯t realize you were an ascender, but ascenders are not this weak¡­how strange." "Yeah, I kind of arrived here identally." "Well, strange happens all the time, it¡¯s natural," the orc womanughed and continued walking. "I¡¯ll tell you about it since it¡¯s important you understand it even if it¡¯s basic. So, elements have inherent attributes like their traits and characteristics. You master them, so you can use those elemental attributes and apply them, but catalytic is creating a trait based on the action that you figured out. In short, if you can create a logical sequence of action that can transfer your position from one ce to another and teleport, that¡¯s called technical, but if you use space element¡¯s attributes, which you can easily understand andprehend thanks to your mastery, that¡¯s elemental." "Action¡­" Almond¡¯s eyes shone. ¡¯That¡¯s what Mad Shark did!¡¯ ¡¯Holy shit, if I can create sequences for actions¡­that¡¯s it. Mad Shark created a catalytic process that transformed the structure of his tornado into a forceful, speedy movement by increasing its kic energy rapidly, and then he rode into it like it was his vehicle so he could move around me rapidly while closing in as something he set automatically while he unleashed attacks on me.¡¯ "Anyway, your next opponent easily outsses Mad Shark," the orc woman said as she nced back at him with a grin. "Mad Shark used assets of elements, and he hadn¡¯t developed that many catalysts, thus, his abilities were limited in number and nature. But your next opponent is very entric and powerful, known as Garo the Maestro of Myriad Arts." "Oh? Can you tell me more about him?" Almond asked. ¡¯It¡¯s better to get some information about my opponent.¡¯ "Well, he is a peak mortal who only fights and refuses to break through. He¡¯s been in the Mortal Region for over a decade now and doesn¡¯t move up. He always uses new sets of abilities in every fight, and all of his abilities are top-notch because they are a proper mix of technical and elemental, and¡­he has never lost even once." Almond was startled. "Never lost?" "Here we are. Good luck and have fun," the orc woman said with an amused smile on her face. Almond arrived at the wide entrance into the battleground and gulped. ¡¯He has never lost? Why the fuck that cat sent me to fight someone like that?¡¯ ¡¯He isn¡¯t here yet,¡¯ Almond didn¡¯t see him on the battleground. "Herees the de King! Although we all know the result of the battle, this will be yet another exciting fight for us from Master Garo." The audience cheered! ¡¯What?¡¯ Almond stared at the dwarf who just grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up in response to his stare. ¡¯What the fuck do you mean?!¡¯ Chapter 283 Ate Crap From Cat ''These fuckers know I am going die for certain?'' Almond tightened his grip on the sword. ''Fucking hell¡­'' He may be talented and powerful, prodigious even. But he didn''t think of himself as arrogant enough to beat someone titled like Garo, the Maestro of Myriad Arts, someone who was fighting here for over ten fucking years. ''That cat just sent me to death, but I ain''t gonna die,'' Almond gripped his sword while a sweat bead formed on his forehead. ''Anyway, surrendering is possible, right? But I never saw the dwarf or that orc woman mention it. In a previous fight, she only told me to kill my opponent to win or die¡­.'' "Ladies and gentlemen, let us wee the legend, Gaaaaro! The Maestro of Myriad Arts" Almond looked ahead and saw a figureing out of the opposite battlefield entrance over a hundred meters away. The screens all around in the sky showed his figure in rity for everyone as the audience erupted in loud cheers. A man¡­looking in his sixties and walking with a rather in red-wood staff with simple dark gold patterns. ''A human?'' Almond blinked, his eyes activating All-Seeing Eyes. ''Yeah, no. I can''t see anything,'' Almond began sweating more. ''If All-Seeing Eyes doesn''t work, Divine Divider''s Harvest wouldn''t help¡­'' Suddenly, he heard the cat''s voice in his mind. ''Good luck, boy. Have fun, and don''t surrender. You are forbidden from surrendering.'' His voice faded away with a chuckle that sounded like he was very much entertained, while Almond felt exactly the opposite of that. "A fine warrior, I see." Garo spoke as he suddenly appeared twenty meters across Almond in the blink of an eye, smiling serenely at him. ''Of course, he can teleport!'' Almond felt like crying. ''And fuck that cat, I am going to surrender.'' However, the moment he thought of surrendering, that notion forcefully vanished. "I-" Almond''s mouth forcefully stopped the moment he thought of uttering "Surrender". It was as if someone had taken that part of thought away, rendering him unable to speak. ''I told you that it''s forbidden. You can''t override it, so fight and do your best.'' The cat''s voice rang in his mind.@@novelbin@@ "It seems you are rather nervous," Garo blinked, appearing surprised. "Of course I am. Why would I not fear death?" Almond stood in a stance with a weary smile before taking a deep breath andposing himself. ''But I have no intention of backing away without giving my all since there''s no other choice.'' "Death?" Garo was taken aback before chuckling while the audience also reacted surprisingly. "Brat, you haven''t heard about Master Garo?" the dwarf floated beside him on his shield-dist, his expression weird. "He never kills anyone." Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire "W-what?" Almond''s face turned nk. ''Tsk, I guess the fun''s over now.'' The cat''s voice rang in his mind, sounding disappointed. ''Y-Y-You¡­'' Almond felt his mind fucked while his face turned red outside with a multitude of emotions changing his expression and showing his eyes. "de King, you okay? Your face looks like you ate shit." "I fucking ate it!" Almond snapped and sighed, shaking his head. "That damn cat made me swallow it whole." "Anyway, thanks for telling me that." "No problem," the dwarf grinned before channeling his next words loudly, "Ladies and gents, it appears that de King thought he was going to die! Bwahahaha." The audience burst outughing, causing Almond to roll his eyes. Taking a breath, he readied himself and erased the fucked up part from his mind. ''I am going to remember this prank and will return it to you tenfold in the future, I swear.'' ''But for now, I am going to have a fun battle with this senior.'' "Sorry," Almond said stood holding his sword with one hand as a field expanded from him. Grinning, he said, "I am ready now." Garo nodded with a smile and gestured with his left hand at Almond, "Come, show me what you got." Almond''s eyes flickered as he infused 500 Prana and executed Arbitrary Wyrm: Sand Fang. A draconic maw with four fangs appeared right above Garo, mping on him as air burst and a loud st rang. A crystalline formatted barrier protected Garo. "Swift teleport for projectiles? Interesting in how you are doing this. But piercing focused strike with traits of Sand for cohesiveness and enhanced lethality with vibrations. Not bad, but it needs some work. There''s a big scope of growth for your Sand and attack patterns." Right as he finished speaking, Almond''s Arbitrary Wyrn began freezing and shattered. "And ice is the perfect counter for your sand," Garo smiled. ''That''s true. If he immobilizes all sand and its vibrations, it bes less potent, and the vibration-affiliated cohesion also copses with the absolute stillness of Ice''s nature,'' Almond blinked. ''Then how about this!'' Almond''s eyes flickered with golden lightning. At the same time, he also made a dash forward, his sword held forward. *Crackle!* Arbitrary Viper: Golden Edge! Garo saw a slick, t, almost 2D Digital-like golden snake streaking at him with blinding speed from the left. In response, a brown-golden earth ball materializes with spikes over it to block the viper, but it streaked like lightning unpredictably. Almond swung his sword as he arrived two meters from Garo. The sword not only lit up with blue me but also with a hazy-brown ssy coating that crackled with lightning as he had added another symbol on it to enchant it further with his assets. However, right as he swung his sword, he vanished and appeared to Garo''s left, while the Golden Edge had streaked behind Garo, both striking at him at the same time. However, the earth-spike ball still blocked the lightning. The lightning was forcefully absorbed as the ball crackled with lightning and released from its spike, dispersing. Meanwhile, Almond''s frontal attack-turned-ambush was also blocked with Garo''s stick. Almond saw movement as Garo had also moved his leg intending to kick him. ''I can dodge.'' However, that kick suddenly blurred and instantly struck him as if it elerated crazily. *Boom!* The kick was packed with explosive power as he was shot up like a shooting star and smashed into the barrier five hundred meters high, spitting blood. ''Holy fuck!'' Chapter 284 Shock & Knowledge Almond reacted quickly after crashing into the barrier and teleported ten meters behind Garo before turning into humanoid lightning while his sword electromaised and floated beside him. ''This old man has the same stats as me!'' Almond realized this after taking the kick and seeing through the principle behind it. This old man had suppressed his stats to be on the same number as his!@@novelbin@@ ''But take this!'' *Zap!* Just as Almond was a meter away from Garo, Garo turned to him like a ghost with his mouth open, but Almond teleported instantly as he knew Garo would be able to react, arriving to his left, his sword slicing at Garo''s head. However, Garo scattered like a mirage and his voice rang from behind Almond. "Not bad." *Brzzzzzz* Almond was hit by a powerful and condensed wave of sound that oscited from Garo''s mouth, instantly scattering Almond''s lightning body as he had no path due to no ionized air, and oscited waves broke him down while pushing him back like a Giga super sonic giant hand''s p. *Boom!* Almond struck the barrier with a pool of blood sttering around him, all bone broken, all organs punctured. His mind was buzzing, and his consciousness was rattled, not to mention that his vitality hit bottom as his entire body was damaged right down to cells¡­and he was seeing death. Darkness enveloped him, and his function ceased before he could think of doing anything, but only for one second as suddenly, a warm stream of energy filled him, made his pain vanish, and healed his wounds. "That was a good match, kid. Come back after studying and reaching peak mortal, and we''ll have some real fun " Almond opened his eyes and saw Garo standing before him with a smile. But he couldn''t remain awake any longer and fainted. ¡­ An hourter, Almond woke up inside the special room in the academy, sleeping on the couch. "Good morning." Almond got up and sighed. "How long was I sleeping?" Experience exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire "An hour. Thatst attack of Garo was nasty, but you forced him to do that because of your attack. Not bad. I would like you to awaken space elemental mastery fast, but we have to take things step by step since you are here." "Wait, so is mybat evaluation over?" Almond asked in doubt. "Yep, it''s over. Now, you may address me as Big D." "¡­" The cat''s eyes narrowed, "I am serious." "Okay, Big D," Almond tly replied with a nod. "Prana Sea," Big D said while licking his paws and side-ncing at Almond. "I suppose you want to form it first." Almond''s eyes glinted in response. "Sit down cross-legged and send your consciousness into your soul sea." Almond did as told. "You see your soul avatar sitting in the middle, right? Send your consciousness inside it." ''Interesting,'' Almond''s eyes shone as the world he perceived changed. His soul avatar moved and flew around as his consciousness merged with it. From here, he could see everything happening outside. It was as if he suddenly had two concurrently active brains. "Once you can learn to split your consciousness, and send one into your soul avatar, you can even move your body and do everything instead of just essing your body''s function while stationed like now." ''So Soul Avatar is basically a Soul Body like the physical body.'' "Yep. And your Prana sea can only be formed in your soul body. This means that from now on, development in Soul is necessary to increase your capabilities of Prana." ''Awesome,'' Almond''s soul body grinned. ''So, what do I need to do to form Prana Sea?'' "Absorb Prana. Now you are in your soul body, so absorb prana through it instead of your physical body." Almond did as told and Prana gushed into his soul body like a torrent. Previously white-sih, the soul body turned dreamy golden, fully filled with Prana to the brim! But then as if a natural reaction, something started happening without Almond doing anything. "Prana naturally reacts to Soul, and this is the result you get from it." ''T-This¡­'' Almond could see Prana changing his soul body! The soul sea, which was more like a small pond, churned and moved with a naturalmand from his soul without his input, mixing with Prana inside his soul body. Soon, a disk whirlpool formed within his soul body, hazy golden and faintly glowing. "Prana turns liquified here, so you can have it in arger quantity and also better use it for your abilities. Congrats, your Prana Sea is formed." "This is 10,000 Prana!" Almond''s eyes shone. "It''s a lot, but my soul sea is empty now¡­" "Of course. You can absorb outside Prana to refill, but it requires soul energy consumption. Your soul energy''s sole purpose is to refine the prana into liquid and store it in the Prana sea." Almond understood. "My Soul Sea has a value of 10, I saw it in my status. I suppose this is rted to the limit of my Prana sea." "Yep. If you want to increase your Prana Sea''s capacity, you need to increase your soul sea and to do that, you need to make your soul powerful via the training of Soul Art." "There are different ranks of Soul Arts and different varieties of them. You will be given standard Soul Art of this academy, but you can buy better ones with Academy Pointster." "For now, you must want to learn about the new stats, I suppose." Almond''s eyes brightened, "Yes! I want to know about them in detail, and I also want to know theplete power structure because I know after fighting Elder Garo that there''s more to abilities and shit than you told me." Big D meawedzily and floated towards the mirror. "Come here, let''s start." [Almond] -Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Ability Power: F -Prana Sea: 10 -Soul Sea: 10 -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 20 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 40 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 10 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: ¡ª "Lifeform rank. It''s the rank of your body, mind, and soul as one bound by Arcane. You are at mortal rank in this regard, and the peak of mortal rank is 1000 points in those four stats." "1000?" Almond frowned. "1000 in Body Constituion is basically 10,000 in Strength, Health, and Stamina, right? That''s way higher than Mythical-rank''s limit inyer one¡­" "The firstyer''s Grimworld Tutorials, eh?" Big D snorted. "They put limits, but they also help you. Mana can also empower your body directly, hence you can use Mana techniques, not to mention tons of skills. But there should be people who know how to design training to increase their stats. That''s a must to clear Grimworld''s Tutorial because simply stats from leveling won''t help." "True," Almond nodded. "Some individuals also be exceptional, like you," Big D grinned. "But you are not exceptional here yet. You have to work hard to set new exceptions here." "That I will," Almond grinned. "But I am returning after 15 days, so it''s no problem." "Huh?" Big D''s face suddenly showed confusion. "Huh?" Almond blinked, his face still smiling. "Huh?" Big D narrowed his eyes. "Who said you are leaving after fifteen days?" "Huh?" Almond blinked, his smile breaking. "I¡­That, Madam Ruby, told me¡­I need to survive for fifteen days here and then I can leave¡­" "You can''t go to the firstyer now. Grimworld won''t allow that." "Stop joking," Almondughed and suddenly turned somber. "Please tell me it''s a joke." "Why would I joke about that," Big D rolled his eyes and pped Almond''s face with his tail. "You are never going back to the firstyer now, even if you use the same method you used toe here." "Seeker Keymaker, right? It won''t make a key leading back to the firstyer." *Thakaa..Smash* Almond flipped the table with a shout, shattering it. "No fucking way!" *p* A p struck his cheek, forcing him to look at the cat. "Calm down. I can understand what you''re feeling right now. You have people you care about below, and they need you, right?" Almond''s eyes were red. "But don''t worry, that littless Ruby didn''t lie to you. You can''t go there, sure. But¡­you can send a clone there, which can use all of your powers, but they would be restricted by Grimworld based on the top 100 highest-ranked adventurers of your world." Almond plopped like a balloon, and his eyes regained hope, "I-I can do that?!" "If you can learn a clone ability, sure." "I will learn it," Almond clenched his fist. "Then you are going to have to work hard a lot, so now, let''s get back to the main topic." "Focus back at the mirror." Almond nodded. "Ability Power is how much upper limit potency you can bring out of your Prana." After saying that, Big D sat down on Almond''s shoulder and pointed at the mirror. "Release your strongest attack into the mirror, using 1000 Prana." Almond did as told, unleashing Arbitrary Viper: Golden Edge of 1000 Prana cost. The lightning-edgy snake vanished into the mirror and it didn''t even budge. Bit magical ripples formed in the mirror briefly before words appeared. Ability Power: D+ "Not bad. And know that this didn''t measure the attack power of your ability, but how much potency you brought out of your Prana with your ability or rather, your magic sequence of this attack." "Oh, so it''s like¡­my pure technical skill measurement, eh?" Almond blinked. "Ability Power¡­" "That also includes the benefits of your assets," Big D nced at him. "Each ability has a different ability power to it. This one has a D+, but your other abilities must have different ones. For instance, use that maw attack." Almond quickly used it. Arbitrary Wyrm: Sand Fang. Ability Power: D "Interesting¡­" Chapter 285 Learning About New Things "So how much Ability power a Mortal can have, like peak Mortal lifeform?" Almond curiously asked. "Ability Power is the effective utilization of Prana through the sum of your assets + creativity in logic + imagination poured into your magic sequences. There''s no fixed maximum limit to it, even for the Mortal Rank lifeform. Let me exin the stats first, then we''ll get back to ability power and abilities itself." "Oh yes, the stats. I guess they would fill up the hole I am feeling about abilities," Almond nodded as he looked at his stats. -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 20 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 40 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 10 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: ¡ª "Body Constitution refers to your overall physical capabilities. I don''t need to tell you how this affects yourbat power. Those who utilize their bodies better can bring out more power despite having the same stats." "The new thing for you to learn is that our bodies create secrets," Big D grinned. "And we have to uncover them." "Body create secrets?" Almond blinked, his eyes curious. "That sounds rather cool." "Evolution is wonderful and one of the original secrets, like the soul. That''s why many people obsess over it. Our physical form that births and grows can be just as ethereal as our souls and minds." "With that said, you must know how genes have information about one''s past and instructions. They direct how your body will grow and adapt. They erase and renew, incorporating something, deleting something, with each generation." "But what can you tell me about the genes of the first ever lifeform?" Almond fell into thought. "If we can change and adapt because of externalities, then the first ever genes must be extremely minimalistic and highly versatile. They would absorb information about the world around them and grow to adapt to it extremely fast and efficiently to ensure their survival and evolution." "Good, that''s correct. Now, I''ll tell you that we can get fresh new evolutionary cells with highly powerful, highly versatile genes¡­by opening the secrets of our body." Almond''s eyes shone. "Frankly, that sounds cool. What are those secrets?" "Geno Gates." "Eh? I feel like I''ve heard that before," Almond tried to remember and soon recalled it. "Oh yeah, Madam Ruby mentioned it, but just in passing and not as a subject, though I''ve been curious about it." "Acquiring a Bloodline automatically opens your first Geno Gate because it sockets the bloodline and provides it with unknown potential. Everyone with Bloodline is capable of growing it further or well, devolving it if they mess up." "But some open their first Geno Gate on their own, mostly automatically, once they reach Tier-1 level 10 proficiency of their Body and begin to develop their own Bloodlines. This first bloodline would be based on their assets and their overall experience of life." "Tier 1 level 10? I saw this mirror showing me that I am already at Tier 1 level 5 in body proficiency!" Almond eximed. "I am close." "Indeed," Big D nodded. "Now that you found that out, we''ll continue about Body Constituionter when you reach that point. Next, it''s time to know about Mental constitution." Almond nodded. "Look at the mirror." The mirror suddenly showedplex symbols and patterns. "By definition, the Mental Constitution represents the upper limit of your cognitive acuity, focus, and mental resilience. It affects reaction times, problem-solving, level of perception, and execution of magical sequences to create or learn abilities. What thinking you produce by seeing these symbols and patterns would be different from another. No two individuals would understand and perceive this entire thing the same." "I understand. However, you only said Execution, but not creation?" Almond raised his eyebrows. "I mean, we create abilities based on our mental capabilities, right?" Big D smirked. "Let''s move to the next stat for now. Once we reach the Arcane constitution, you''ll understand." Almond suddenly had a deja vu, and it reminded him of that moment when he found out that this cat was pranking him about his second fight, that he would need to win it or die forever, and making him feel hopeless by introducing old monster Garo''s capabilities. ''That orc woman couldn''t have been in cahoots with Big D, right? Urgh, whatever. It''s over, but I am going to remember this and pull one hell of a prank on this cat, even if I do that after years.'' ''Good luck with that,'' Big D whispered into his mind. "¡­" "Soul Constitution reflects the size of your Soul Sea, as well as your soul body''s capacity, which means it also dictates the size of your Prana Sea that resides within your soul body" "Yeah, I get that. And if I want to increase soul constitution, I''ll have to train in Soul Arts." Big D nodded as he jumped on Almond''s head and sat while looking at the mirror. "Now, the most juicy stat, Arcane Constitution. Look at the mirror." "I already am." The mirror rippled like water as the random symbols and patterns vanished, reced by a board of his assets, and this time, they were more than before. "This¡­" Almond was surprised. "First, forget everything I told you about how to create abilities because that''s not how you are going to do it." "What?" Almond frowned. "That''s a joke, right?" "I mean, don''t forget everything. The principles will be the same, but the way you will create them will change once you build your Arcane Board, which is dictated by your Arcane Constitution." "Are you saying this board in the mirror is my Arcane Board?" Almond asked, appearing confused as he looked at the mirror. "What are these numbers?" [Almond Crowshade] -Elemental Assets: ¡ª> Golden Haze Lightning (S): 10 ¡ª> Lumeir (C): 4 ¡ª> Wind (B): 6 ¡ª> Light (C): 4@@novelbin@@ ¡ª> Sand of Vibrant Wave (C): 4 ¡ª> Pseudo Space: 92 ¡ª> Pseudo Void: 0.1 -Imaginary Assets: ¡ª> Intent¡ªSpiral Edge: 48 -Applied Knowledge Asset: ¡ª> Body: 59 ¡ª> Mind: 118 Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire ¡ª> Soul: 1 -Technical Assets: ¡ª> Lightning-Air Particle Drift: ¡ª "First, that single technical asset is just something I added there. It''s that thing you did with your Golden Edge, allowing that de to move erratically while maintaining its lightning speed to keep increasing kic energy. Technical Assets can''t be measured in numbers here because they bring out different amounts of potency from Prana based on which abilities they are being used on." "And on that note, these numbers beside your assets represent their power of utilizing Prana and how much potency your abilities could get out of Prana if you were to utilize the said asset." "For instance, if you release a Lightning de costing 1000 Prana and release a Sand de of 1000 Prana, the Lightning de would be way superior purely in terms of potency because your mastery of Lightning is higher, hence it is attuned with Prana more." Almond nodded, "Yeah, I get that. It''s like if Prana went into my magic sequence based on the Lightning element, Prana would feel happier and party more wildly than it would in my magic sequence based on the Sand element." "That''s a rather weird way to put it, but it''s somewhat urate," Big D nodded. "So what is Arcane Constitution? Basically, it epasses the other three things¡ªBody, Mind, and Soul, and, in addition, the utilization of your assets by your way in the Arcane Board." "Arcane Board?" Almond blinked. "I suppose this thing is the reason why you told me to forget about the way I created my abilities." "Indeed," Big D nodded sagely. "Arcane Board is your canvas, but not just any canvas, it''s like aputer canvas. You don''t just draw on it, but create apps, A.K.A, the abilities, by directly using your assets like tools with your processes to create magic sequences." "The principles will be the same, but the stage and scope will berger," Big D added with a grin. "To get your Arcane Board, you need some values in Arcane Constitution." "And to get Arcane Constitution, you have to build it." "Build it?" Almond raised his eyebrows and looked up at the cat. "How?" Big D pped his forehead and pointed ahead. "Look at the mirror." The mirror rippled and suddenly showed aplex humanoid structure with magical power that the moment Almond saw it, it appeared in his mind in 5D, able to view his body in severalyers and stages down to his genes and atoms. "Holy shit¡­Wait, this is my body." "Correct," Big D nodded. "I told you, Arcane is mysterious, and so is Arcane Constitution because it is yours, something you must build. Use your refined liquified Prana and create a body." "But not just any random body. You must create a body that is intricately connected with your physical body, your mind, and your soul." Almond''s lips twitched and asked, "Am I supposed to figure that out myself by just looking at this crazy 5D detailed image of my body?" "I would love to have you figure it out on your own, but let''s not waste time like that. It''s not hard with instructions." "Oh, please do," Almond smiled. "I don''t want to waste time as well." "Humu," Big D smiled as he floated in front of Almond''s face. "Just solve a simple puzzle in that image in your body, and it will give you the method of awakening your Arcane Constitution." "¡­" "Good luck." After saying that, Big D vanished. "Wait, what?" Almond shouted. "Don''t disappear like that. What is the puzzle? There''s a gazillion amount of detail in that 5D image, so what is the puzzle? What am I to fucking solve?" "Hello?" "¡­" Almond''s face turned red, but there was no use raging on his own. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused on that image. ''It''s my body, so I should be familiar with everything that''s mine. I think Big D wants me topletely analyze and see everything about my body, mind, and soul, and thenpare it with this image.'' ''But this image is so fucking detailed, it even shows every single of my darn cell in thestyer, not to mention the brain and that wobbly spaceyer in the brain part, is that supposed to be my mental scape?'' Almond sighed. ''This is going to take time.'' Chapter 286 Lily Inside the evaluation room, Almond, who was floating cross-legged in the center, opened his eyes. His eyes were utterly calm and serene, but a secondter, an inferno of frustration. "Ten fucking days, and I barely reached 50% percent progress¡­" Almond felt like raining punches on himself, but that would be unproductive. "I have to be faster, damn it!" Almond sighed, his head plopping down. ''Lily¡­'' ''How is everyone doing in war event? I hope things are fine there.'' ''Lily must miss me, right? I miss her too¡­I wonder what she and others are doing¡­'' "Miss your girl, boy?" Big D appeared above Almond''s shoulder and patted his head with his tail. "I do." "Well, then let''s see what she is doing." ¡­ Although Almond''s assaults gave the Earth an upper hand in the War Event, the other three tribe''s remaining forces surprisingly joined together even better, even forming a proper alliance with all of their tribes in it! Things became hardcore, but Lily and Grim Breakers were superior inbat ability and gearspared to even the remaining enemy forces. The old monsters and the research center led by James and Aarav also helped by supplying them with new products that could gather intelligence from far away ces, most notably¡ª Vector Drone Eye, capable of traveling at a maximum speed of 2000 meters per second and capturing a 360-degree view of not just physical things, but magical phenomenon through lens akin to a tinum-rank adventurer''s Focus Field''s detail transparency. Aside from those high-magi-tech products, there was other help from old monsters'' expertise in giving training to the participants of this important event and another special item-supplying support from other forces, including GAA. They suppressed the enemy and continued conquering tribes with ruthless precision led by none other than Lily. During these ten days, with no news of Almond, Lily didn''t do anything but focus entirely on getting stronger and not just winning the event but dominating it. Because Almond would have done it, but he wasn''t here. So, it was her job as well as her desire to achieve that domination. Lily had decided this after the first day of Almond''s disappearance and poured her entire focus on getting stronger and achieving that type of victory despite the enemy bing more cohesive, thus outnumbering them. And she did that¡­while dancing on the edge of madness. She spent the next 12 hours trainingpletely alone before entering the War Event andunching a swift assault with the rest of the members after three hours of preparation and strategizing after gathering information. In thebat against the Eldoran world''s elves, Lily enveloped them in the dance of gloomy reaper and obliterated them alone. One vs four, all dead. She broke through in terms of her specialized ss skills, removing conditions and restrictions and making the Dreadspire Elements her own, modifying skills because sheprehended them, just like how Almondprehended his Espada Ad Grimveil and created Unveiled Catastrophepletely on his own. She could summon the Dreadspire Elements with her blood with new technicalities she formed herself in the skill rune. With her mastery of Blood, she could summon all four Dreadspire Elements at once by giving her own blood or giving enemies blood, and the more blood she gave, the more powerful they would get, in terms of magical power and size, both. After achieving this domination, Lily spent the next 24 hours creating the final skill of her specialized ss by using herst skill insight. People would forget their high of entering that magical realm of skill insight dimension where their logic could form quickly and manifest their imagination based on their understanding of ss and desire on what type of skill they want to create, designing it, experimenting, and doing all that with their consciousness in trans of this process. Almond also didn''t remember it, but he could see more than others with his eyes, so heprehended the skills in his own wayter, understanding them, and thus, was able to modify Divine Divider''s Harvest. This affected his perception, and in the next skill, insight creation, he created a unique skill like Espada Ad Grimveil, a domain of unknown potential in which he could create techniques based on his increasing understanding and knowledge. And then, he used third skill insight, in which despite being in trans, he was designing the entire Unveiled Catastrophe''s full process with an active consciousness, understanding and remembering everything even after it was over. That was when he made his ss his own. And Lily, as she spent these 24 hours... did the same. Almond''s specialized ss had aspects of nihilism, space attributes, mystic connections, and severance based on his understanding of the "Riftveil Grimde" name. On the other hand, Lily''s specialized ss had aspects of mystic sorcery, summoning, hybrid elements, darkness attributes, and blood attributes. In a state of skill insight where higher understanding was essible to them, higher knowledge, and high activation of one''s consciousness with a singr focus on the powers of their ss source, their consciousness could gain insights into these powers because their ss source'' given by the Grimworld, had a most pure and original source of these powers. Almond reached out to that with utter tenacity and desire of his burning will and understood his ss. And by chance, that trip in the Omega of the Horizon triggered that understanding to a new level, a high level that his consciousness couldn''t understand, but his subconsciousness managed to do that, and stubborn will fought against that dread, thus breaking through to the barrier and reaching 200 will¡ªall of these reflected as his entrance into the leaderboard of Arcane Champions of Eternal Wills, as he ''developed'' affinity with void forcefully and boosted his space power from subconscious understanding that engraved in him as simply natural talent of space. On the other hand, Lily, after herst skill insight session in which she gained an understanding of the entirety of her ss, just hit the 100-will barrier. Aftering out of the skill insight state, she didn''t even sleep and directly went to the War Event. Her skills became superior and efficient, and herbat was rapidly refining during fights. Her Darkness Elemental Mastery had long broken through from S-rank and reached Epic-rank, but it was increasing fast right alongside her Blood elemental Mastery. She gained a significant understanding of these two elements in thetest skill session, so she was in a fast growth period, which could end anytime. But Lily... she spent ten hours after exiting the 24-hour skill insight session warring, fighting, and conquering two tribes, working even others to their bones, but this time, she didn''t let even a single enemy escape. A domain of darkness would loom the moment her presence entered within a 200-meter radius, and there was no escape from it. Her 5th specialized skill required only her blood, which was replenishable in multiple ways, thus increasing herbat power drastically. Dome of Crimson Twilight. Everyone inside would first have their blood contaminated with Dreadspire Nightmare, an effect produced from negative properties of the darkness element, like corrosion, mental interference, curse, and a multitude of debuffs. But the effect Lily created was merely an illusion. However, it was no simple illusion. Instead, it was a nightmare that would show them their deaths in the way they feared most, while other debuffs would weaken them. And before they could do anything about it, either Lily''s daggers or the fangs of her Lupin of Darknend me would have either sliced, diced them, or devoured them. But this was just the beginning of the madness that Lily purposefully chose to walk into. During the next seven days, Lily only slept for two days, and her schedule was different each day, but one thing was constant¡ªshe would trainpletely alone for 12 hours daily after the everyday meeting with Grim Breakers and others to strategize their next move. After 12 hours of daily training, she would spend the next 10 hours warring and fighting in the War event, exploring maps and fighting with other challenging foes, and if there was nothing to do to finish these 10 hours of fighting, she would go to dungeons. On the 10th day, Lily broke through to the Legendary rank of her Darkness elemental mastery and reached S-rank in Blood elemental mastery,prehended the second stage of her Weapon Art, refined her specialized ss skills to as high as she could, and¡­became so powerful with the newbat style that average tinum-rank adventurer was no match for her, and she came even close to beat her mentor, the rank 7 Global leaderboard adventurer, Aria of Crimson Shadow. To the people of the other three worlds, she came to be known as Lily the Dreadspire Reaper. But the event was over, and she won spectacrly, earning maximum points by conquering all tribes and killing almost every enemy participant of the other three worlds. The rewards were about to be obtained as per the announcement from Grimworld Tutorial, but Lily was there, in the peace garden, looking at the sky. "I know you are fine, Almond. I know, so I will not worry about you. I will just get strong because I know you are doing the same." "But I miss you..." ¡­ "Lily..." Almond saw her looking at him in the mirror, feeling his chest tighten and a lump in his throat while his eyes became watery. He really wanted to go there and hug her right now. "Both are having a simr reaction at the same time. Ho ho ho, I like this holistic situation. You two are intimately connected on a scale of the highest degree that you two forged on your own. I''ve seen people like you," Big D grinned. "You two are lucky like others, but more exceptional than the most."@@novelbin@@ "Work hard, boy, and don''t worry about her. She has a fire that is intimately connected to you as her sole desire, and that fire is brighter than your fire." Almond nodded. He saw Lily going away as Natalia came to call her and took a deep breath as he closed his eyes. "Time to solve your puzzle and form my Arcane Constitution. Give me a deadline," Almond said with stubborn and fiery eyes as he looked at Big D. "I like that," Big Dughed. "Alright, finish this task in three days." Continue reading on My Virtual Library Empire "¡­" "Consider yourself a failure if you can''t do that because, with your specs, you should be able to form your Arcane Constitution by the end of the third day from now on." Almond clenched his fist and closed his eyes. "Consider it done." Chapter 287 Arcane Constitution (1/3) Almond finished reading his entire body down to the information in cells and genes with his All-Seeing Eyes,paring it with the ethereal body provided by Big D in the next 28 hours andpleted the puzzle. The method for forming the Arcane Constitution emerged from the part where the puzzle was solved in the ethereal body. Almond read it and finished assembling it after one and a half days. "That was fast, boy. I am impressed. You went and done it quicker than my expectation." "Piece of cake." Almond smiled, but his eyes had no light. *Thud* "But this was something I could expect," Big D said as he looked at the fainted Almond and covered him in a barrier. "Tenacity, eh? This one''s scary. Your will to never give up on something you decide provides tremendous power to your arcane eidos and allows you to break limits like no other." One minuteter, the bubble burst silently and scattered into micro-droplets that dispersed. Almond got up and stretched his arms, groaning a bit in thefort he was feeling. "Damn, that was a good slumber," Almond stood up, feeling refreshed. "How long was I out for, Big D?" "One minute here, but you slept for 12 hours." "Eh? Wait, that reminds me, what''s the time flow difference betweenyer two andyer one?" "Hmm? There''s no difference. Time flows are the same in all threeyers, but time flow can be changed in separate spaces, like pocket dimensions. You must know because Grimworld''s Tutorial rewards you with some things like that." "The insight stones, skill scrolls, imprint, and stuff send us to different dimensions with no time flow difference, but we got Time-Chamber Capsules which send us to time chamber where time flow is different, but while we are there, we can''t use insight stones, skill scrolls, and this kind of stuff." "Of course, because after using Time-Chamber Capsule, you are already not in the main framework of Grimworld, and pocket dimensions of various elements and powers are also not in the main framework. Both have separate time domains. Your body will experience more time since it''d be in a time capsule''s dimension where it''s set for time to flow slower, but your consciousness would be in an insight stone''s dimension where time flows the same as the main framework of the Grimworld." "I see... so there''s no way to train in the mysterious dimensions to learning the power with slower time-flowpared to the main framework." Almond felt a bit disappointed. "Indeed, unless the Grimworld decided to set the time slower in a dimension for you, but even if this doesn''t happen, people have created alternate ways, and you will experience them in this academy," Big D grinned. "You can train in chaotic spaces filled with powers for you toprehend, should you be capable of it, with time-flow difference as big as 100 to 1. One day in the real framework but 100 days in the chaotic dimension."@@novelbin@@ "So those dimensions with powers are called chaotic dimensions?" Almond blinked. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire "Indeed. They are chaotic, as you may have seen, but byprehending their nature and order, we make them ours. We nt a source of their origin in us, in order." Almond nodded, "Gotcha. So, let''s talk about the main topic now. I created my Arcane Frame, so where''s the Arcane Board?" "You learned to observe your arcane eidos with the task I gave you. Arcane Eidos is aplete body of information about the interconnections of your physical body, mind, and soul in a single structure. By reading your Arcane Eidos and connecting the Arcane spots to each other, you created the Arcane Constitution." "Yes," Almond grinned. A tail p hit his cheek. "But it was a half-ass work. Look, this is your Arcane Constitution''s value, which represents its power." -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 20 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 40 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 10 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 64 "Hey, isn''t that high?" Almond pouted. Another tail p struck his cheek. "¡­" "It''s not high for you. Based on your fundamental-applied assets, your Arcane Constitution should be at the very least 106. Arcane Constitution is important because that''s the end game for your abilities'' upper ceiling. Your Arcane Constitution decides the maximum potency of your abilities." "Okay, but what fundamental-applied assets?" Almond frowned. "This," Big D pointed at the mirror, it appears. "The number means how power you can derive from Prana if you use possible application of your body, mind, soul, and will." -Fundamental-Applied Assets: ¡ª> Body: 91 ¡ª> Mind: 118 ¡ª> Soul: 10 ¡ª> Will: 200 "Your Arcane constitution should at least reach an average number of sum of these four, or higher. Preferably, yours should be higher than 106." "Well..." Almond raised an eyebrow before grinning. "I''ll have to work harder and unveil my arcane eidos more, I guess." "You have to create. Understand your Arcane Eidos and create more technical assets!" Big D said before a familiar leaderboard suddenly popped before Almond, an ethereal and powerful frame of magic, overflowing with the concept of mystery. -Almond Crowshade¡ª137th. "You are currently the 137th person who has his name on the leaderboard of Arcane Champions of Eternal Will. There are gazillion people and worlds, tiny, small, big, in the entire Grimworld, but the Grimworld''s most mysterious natural power created this leaderboard, and it doesn''t just favor anyone, as you can see." Almond gulped and nodded. ''I''m pretty badass, I know.'' "You can use something only these 137 people can use, and that is,manding the arcane." "Commanding the arcane... so what exactly is arcane? You said Arcane is mysterious, so how do Imand it?" Almond curiously asked. "And by the way, I know this seems like a very rare thing, but there are three more Arcane Champions on the firstyer, and all three of their worlds are in contest with my world." "That''s a crazy coincidence, right?" "What?" Big D was dumbfounded and then deeply frowned. ''Cat frowning looks horrible.'' "That''s not a coincidence. Something must be happening above the thirdyer. Without a big shot''s support, supervisors can''t do that," Big D''s eyes glinted. "Not to mention that some Hollowstar freaks are trying to destroy our world," Almond added as he rolled his eyes. "I really need to send my clone and be in its control so I can help there." Big D shook his head. "I wish I knew more, but we of the secondyer can''t do anything about the firstyer. The firstyer is in control of the Girmworld''s seven thrones, and this Grimworld tutorial is their creation, so it is run by people of the thirdyer." Chapter 288 Arcane Constitution (2/3) "But your information is helpful. If there are three more Arcane Championsing up, then things will be interesting here." "Not if they kill each other," Almond scoffed. "Or I kill them." "Arcane champions don''t die easily. Anyway, Hollowstar is dangerous, but is still not that active in the firstyer, though they are breaching there more recently..." Big D paused and narrowed his eyes, appearing ominous before continuing. "However, Hollowstar organization on the second and thirdyer is a different matter altogether." "Are they very powerful?" Almond blinked, feeling influenced by the ominous voice of the cat, and whispered. "How powerful?" "They are the most powerful singr organization that pulls crazy stunts and disasters. They have means and powerpletely different than others. They don''t use Prana, but something else as their energy source, which can devour wild Prana and overwhelm it; hence, their top executives literally eat whole dimensions and worlds unless resisted by us, of course. But they cause tragedies at many ces concurrently, in different worlds, and are a pain in the ass." "Damn," Almond gulped. "Sounds horrible." "Yeah, damn them," Big D nodded, feeling annoyed as he recalled something. "They piss me off." "Anyway, they make powerful monsters and disasters. Their sole goal is to devour the worlds, and I think their ultimate goal is the destruction of Grimworld Tree." "Now that you know some things, get back and make your Arcane Constitution better. It must reach at least 106." "Wait, can you tell me something?" Almond said, his expression somber. "Am I the only student who hasn''t entered the actual academy yet? I mean, I''ve been here for days!" "Duh, of course. You are an ill-prepared student, so I have to prepare you first, and you are also a bit special," Big D grinned. "This world is a game, and yers are ying it. The rest of the people are just leaves, flowing with the wind produced by the moves that yers make." "You are also a leaf, but I suppose you want to be a yer, right?"@@novelbin@@ Almond narrowed his eyes as they ignited with argent ze. "Of course, I want to be a yer." "Then you must break the rules set by other yers and break the limits, in which you specialize. Grimworld wants you to be a yer, and you have other invoked potential yers as well. However, all of these may sound good, but to get that actual sweetness, you have to work hard and enrich your experience while surviving in a world where death is constant, so you always have to be prepared, not just to defeat your enemies, but to also escape, hide, and conceal yourself against danger." "Tomorrow, you go to another world for some work, and you identally brush shoulders with someone who is way more powerful than you, and he just decides to kill you." "..." Almond was speechless. "Does that happen?" "Of course, it happens. People kill insects all the time. Even when insects don''t do anything, they just kill them, either identally or because they are mad for something that happened. People keep animals as livestock to eat and think nothing because they are at the top of the food chain." "Just like that, you might be considered an insect and get killed, and it''d be on you." "¡­" Big D pped Almond with its tail and turned around before a portal opened and began walking towards it. "I am a yer, that littless Ruby is striving to be a yer, and you potential to be a yer. That''s why I am preparing you, so that we may mutually benefit each other because there are yers more powerful than us." Before disappearing into the portal, Big D turned to Almond and smiled, "We should live to enjoy and to enjoy it, we must constantly be powerful until there''s no peak climb, and I don''t mind having somepanions in this journey." Almond''s eyes zed with determination, and he nodded. "Whatchu nodding for? You are totally not yet worthy; in fact, you are very far from it. Arcane Champions can be powerful as they hold immense potential, but more of them are dead than alive right now, so get your ass back to work." "..." The cat disappeared. "Wait, you didn''t tell me what the fuck is Arcane?!" Suddenly, Big D''s voice rang in Almond''s ears. ''Arcane is the source of all that is potentially possible in the Grimworld. If you think that a certain power or a certain motion of action exists and forms its logic on your own, then it shalle to existence by none other than Arcane. Feed it your will and logic, and it''s your tomand.'' "¡­" ¡­ Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire Almond continued making pathways to connect to the ''Arcane spots'' he discovered in his Arcane Eidos by finding those spots, which are filled with information, and connecting them to each other. Whenever he connected these spots to each other in his Arcane Eidos, its result was directly reflected in his body, mind, and soul, as he could see something akin to ethereal and magic pathways forming and superimposing this trinity structure with his Arcane Eidos, which then highlights a new scenery¡ªa golden humanoid form of his with shining pathways...which was his Arcane Constitution. ''Arcane Constitution decides the upper limit potency of my abilities, eh? Yeah, I have to reach 106. Wait, no. I have to cross 106,'' Almond''s eyes zed. ''I''ll show that cat.'' Almond checked his stats after two hours and saw that his Arcane Constitution reached 74! ''Slow! I need to be faster!'' ''Got one.'' ''And...wait, what? Did I just see a spot of information forming?'' ''This...is information on the motion of vibration in granr synthesized nano-type projectiles of Sand Element. I was just thinking about it to upgrade my Sand Fang since the previous spot had information on how to use granr-structured shapes with different vibration waves that I created when making Sand Fang ability...'' Almond''s eyes opened, filled with shock. "My Arcane Eidos just created it now based on my thinking!" "That was fast." Big D appeared in front of Almond, patting Almond''s head with his tail. "Yep, youmanded Arcane there subconsciously. It created that new spot of power in the constitution for you because youmanded Arcane to create a new technical asset youprehended." Chapter 289 Arcane Constitution (3/3) "Usually, people would need a longer process to create their technical assets, but you, who canmand Arcane, can create technical assets faster and also do other things faster, like understanding magic information, elements, and arcane phenomenons." Big D snorted and continued, "You earned this powerful boon because of the sum of your hard work in life along with the tenacity and effort you showed in that Omega of the Horizon''s dimension. This boon¡­only responds to hard work and matching will. This is why many Arcane Champions are dead. They were chosen, but they failed to live up to their potential and were killed by their enemies who may or may not be other arcane champions." "I won''t back down from working hard," Almond clenched his fist. "Watch me cross 106." "Then create and explore your potential. Garo said your abilities were crude, and that was because you were not efficient in the asset-application of your abilities, and youcked technical assets to make them powerful. Imagine, create, and form them so you can increase your Arcane Constitution. Make as many as you can in the next two days because the grace period I set for you will be over by then." "So I am entering Academy after this is over?" Almond''s eyes shone. "The first thing I want to learn is clone ability, please." "That''s up to your hard work and results, boy. Good luck." Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire With that, Big D disappeared. ''With this process, I am doing right now about forming Arcane Constitution, creating abilities with my current assets will be extremely easy even though I don''t know how it''s done in Arcane Board.'' Indeed. Almond was exploring everything possible that could be done by him, so he was already getting ideas on creating top-notch abilities. He also realized why Garo was so powerful and was known as Garo of Myriad Arts. ''With so many attributes and powers of my assets, I can make top-notch abilities of each type, so Garo must have a crazy amount of assets, allowing him to create new abilities in every new battle.'' ''The way he used sound and vibration was also entirely opposite of mine. I used vibrations for the break-down effect, but he used it to create an air-tight force wave with tremendous impact push that could send a shockwave through targets and do internal damage.'' ''He must have used thatst attack that defeated me deliberately to show me different ways to use my Sand of Vibrant Wave, but it was also a perfect counter to lightning at that time.'' ''Crazy monster,'' Almond''s eyes burned. ''I will reach his level and surpass him.''@@novelbin@@ And then Almond went back to training with such a focus that he didn''t move a single muscle until the rm clock rang in the room that two days passed by. Almond was jolted awake and saw Big D in front of him with an rm clock ringing loudly and buzzing in his ears. *Smack* A vibrating air palm shot at the clock, but it passed by it instead. However, in the next second, the cloak turned into powder and fell. Big D whistled, "Not bad. See, a single technical asset can instantly be turned into a sequence with your control alone, with a moment of thought, thanks to Arcane Constitution." "Congrats. I can see that you progressed high, higher than what I expected." *Thud¡­* Almond fell on the floor forward, his face smashing with a bang, darkness covering his mind for a deep slumber. "But I expected this." Big D grinned and covered Almond in a bubble again. One minuteter, Almond''s eyes twitched as he woke up, and the bubble burst. "I feel great." Almond got up, feeling refreshed andfortable with no hint of the mountainous exhaustion that he had felt before he got knocked out. When that rm bell rang, his focus state shattered, and he felt all the exhaustion hitting him in a condensed manner, knocking him out. "How''s my Arcane Consitution? Let''s see," Almond grinned as he turned to the mirror. "Honestly, I am a bit nervous because I wasn''t aware of anything. All I was doing was exploring all possible possibilities and forming it." Big Dughed in response and said, "I like that." "And here you go." -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 20 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 40 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 10 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 148 "Your Arcane Constitution has a potency of 140 circuits now. That''s how much you developed your Arcane Eidos. You are powerful enough topletely kill yourself if you make a mistake when executing a magic sequence. Congrattions." "Thanks," Almond grinned, which broke soon. "Wait, what did you say?" Big D floated and sat on his shoulder as the mirror rippled and showed a strange, hazy golden body like a blueprint, but with less detail and moreyers with 140 spots highlighted and connected to each other. "You know the work you did in your Arcane Eidos created these circuits in your Arcane constitution, and I told you that the Arcane Constitution decides the upper limit potency of your abilities. Well, it''s because of these circuits and pathways that connect them to each other." "They are the pathways of power. When your Prana flows through them, it bes more potent, and when a magic sequence fueled by Prana flows through them, your ability bes more potent." Almond''s eyes shone. "Awesome. I am powerful." "Now, manifesting Arcane Board is simple. Superimpose your Arcane Eidos with the Arcane Constitution. A body of information that you know and all possible assetsyered with a body of circuits that can actualize the assets and give them power." "Superimposing these two will manifest the Arcane Board, in which you will create abilities." Almond was excited. He couldn''t wait and immediately superimposed the two. In the next second, his mindscape manifested a giant magical 5D board with all of his assets floating and pathways for him to experiment with their creation! "I give you five hours to improve and create more abilities. It should be easy now, but don''t execute abilities with a high amount of Prana when you create them, especially the self-enchanting ones." "Gotcha," Almond grinned. "By the way, can you tell me about Garo''s Arcane Constitution before I start?" Big D smirked and said, "Garo''s Arcane Constitution is in thousands, roughly above five thousand, despite being a peak mortal. Well, increasing stats of the Body, Mental, and Soul Constitution increases possibilities to explore in Arcane Eidos, which in turn increases the Arcane Constitution, so don''t worry. You have just started. Finish setting up yourbat arsenal in five hours because you are going into the academy''s first event." "Your first dive into danger, but should you survive, I will give you a chance to learn the clone ability." "Alright!" Almond''s eyes lit up. "I''m pumped up now!" Almond closed his eyes and entered his mindscape as he became his dance of creation in the Arcane Board. ''Oh, being in control of my soul avatar speed it up? Awesome. But that darn cat didn''t tell me about it.'' Big D''s snicker rang in his mind. ''I knew you would figure it out, so I didn''t. Anyway, good luck, and make sure you create good stuff. Don''t embarrass me and your sponsor that littless Ruby because she will also be watching the event.'' Chapter 290 Academys Newbie Survival Event Five hours passed by in the blink of an eye and Big D returned, snapping Almond out of his ability production session. "It''s time. Let''s go." Almond opened his eyes, but he was no longer in the room. Instead, he found himself in the night sky. "What the hell is that?" Almond''s eyes were filled with amazement as he saw a huge theatre structure with a poption of hundreds of thousands sitting and facing a giant rectangr screen in front of them 100 meters away. Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire "They are the audience who wants to entertain themselves, and many of them are also parents, friends, and rtives to the thousands of participants." "Thousands?" Almond was taken aback. "This seems to be a rather big event. What do I have to do?" Suddenly, fireworks shot into the sky and painted it beautifully. The giant screen suddenly disyed people, but in thousands of small segregated sections on it, each disyed a person at a different ce in some kind of wilderness. "It''s time to go, and you''ll know what to do once you''re there. All the best. And by the way, if you want the clone ability, you''ll need to get into the top 10." Before Almond could say anything in response, Big D''s tail pped his cheek, and he found himself near a riverbank in the forest under the night sky illuminated by three hazy moons¡ªBlue, white, and light pink. *nk* A magical wristband device automatically formed in his hand, and a voice sounded in his mind, along with an image. [Academy''s Newbie Survival Event has started, and you are the 4938th Participant. Survive for 10 days, earn points, and climb ranks for better rewards. The dorms will also be allocated based on the ranking and can only be challenged to change every three months.] [All the best, Almond Crowshade. The academy wishes you good luck.] Almond blinked. [Almond Crowshade] -Points: 0 -Rank: 4938th - Tabs - ''Item box? Seems like this wristband has spatial storage, which means we can collect things from this world, I suppose.'' Almond looked around. Everywhere were trees and greenery. ''It looks like I am in a thick jungle, but I also saw some people in different biomes on the screen right before that cat sent me here.'' Almond started walking in the direction of the river''s flow. *Shrush¡­* Some bushes rustled ahead, and the area looked suspicious since it had particrly thick and big bushes. ''Espada Ad Grimveil.'' *Swoosh!* Suddenly, two things shot out of the bushes straight toward Almond. ''Red rabbits with knives?'' Almond blinked and activated an ability sequence to be executed in his domain. Destruction de Series: Orb of Obliteration¡ªan active pure-offense area-of-attack sequence with a coreponent being what he called his Spatial Nano Armory Asset. Just as the rabbits reached two meters away from Almond, two dreamy spheres enveloped both of them. Those dreamy spheres, however, had 100 to 100,000 nanometer-sized des made of electric-charged crystal, but conducted to each other and formed utterly thin des by condensing, now refined to maximum with Almond''s new assets that perfectly synergize elemental reaction between lightning and sand, creating ssy des with utter sharpness and capable of conducting in lightning while buffed by Lumeir, giving it ultimate speed and lethality¡ªall of that condensed and perfected inside the de-shaped coating made of severance de''s structure, a transferable and powerful spatial container to condense this idea of his. The sphere briefly glowed golden, but in that single second, 150,000 nano-des utterly shredded both things inside before vanishing, resulting in two blood puddles two meters away from Almond. ''Covering a target of one meter in size and obliterating it in that pattern drains more Prana than I assumed. But I overkilled it anyway. If I can transfer a smaller sphere directly near a certain part of my target''s body, it can obliterate that part, and that would finish the job as well, yep.'' The wristband sent a beep in his mind, along with a notification. [You have killed two Crimson Knives Rabbits. +2 points.] "So this is how you earn points. The event''s theme is survival for ten days, so I guess the danger will increase gradually until it peaks on the 10th day," Almond muttered as he continued walking. "Points should also increase with danger, I suppose." "Alright, this event is interesting." Almond grinned, feeling excited. ¡­ "Meow¡­" Madam Ruby, who sat in the VIP booth at the top sections of the venue, suddenly heard a cat''s meow and smiled. Big D sat down on her shoulder and yawned before looking at the screen showing Almond. "Master, that was a rather good move, right?" Madam Ruby said. "His eyes allow him to interact with the smallest things, andbining it with his lightning''s electromaic aspect with light, yeah, he did create a rather interesting and lethal technical asset." "That''s highly lethal in terms of pration, and his sand only boosts that." Madam Ruby nodded. "And with his space powers, those des only get more lethal. Was creating that asset your idea? Because I feel like it''s very optimized. I''m afraid the Ability Power of that sequence is already at A-rank." "A+ rank," Big Dzily said before adding, "And I didn''t help in anything except for pushing him and exining basics. Whatever assets you will see are all that he came up with by using various aspects of his elemental arsenal, the use of his rather unique Intent, and his ideas." Big D pped Madam Ruby''s cheek and said in a pleased tone. "The boy you brought is worth our time and effort." "I am very d to hear that." Madam Ruby smiled, appearing very jolly. "Don''t spoil more of him to me, Master. I want to watch him as he shows his abilities." ¡­ Almond encountered more Crimson Knives Rabbits in the next half an hour, but he killed all of them physically with a wooden sword instead of using Prana and continued. ''I became way more powerful in terms ofbat power and arsenal, but one thing changed,'' Almond sighed as he got out of the forest and saw a big green hignd in with me-horned bull-like monsters with crystal patterns on their bodies roaming and grazing.'' Almond''s eyes flickered. ''Their stats are higher than mine, except for Arcane Constitution.'' [Infernal Crystal Bull] -Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Ability Power (AP): D+ -Prana Sea: 50 -Soul Sea: 30 -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 38 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 28 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 30 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 25 ''That reminds me that I am curious about the AP of my current abilities.'' Almond blinked as he watched the bulls and retreated behind a tree. ''Now then, how should I move about?'' Almond looked at his Prana Sea and fell into thought. ''I still have my Soul Sea filled so I can recover my Prana Sea once fully, but after that, it''d need me an hour to recover my Soul Sea fully.'' ''My mythical rank talent recovers my stamina and health, but don''t recover Prana. Big D, you better be right about my innate talent adapting soon.'' On Earth, he nevercked Mana, so his powerful attacks and movements could be spammed in a way. However, most of his Primary ss was sealed, and his Mythical-rank talent wasn''t speeding his soul energy recovery, which was a must to refine wild Prana into a liquified one. Moreover, his abilities were a bit draining, so he couldn''t use them all the time, which was why he only used wild Prana for some self-enchanting sequence and physically killed 32 Crimson Knives Rabbits in the past half an hour. ''As far my eyes can see, there are over a hundred bulls. Mhmmm, I guess it''s time to form a strategy as well as a new sequence,'' Almond grinned. ''Yep. Time to execute that idea into a proper ability.'' ¡­ "Wait, you didn''t give him the basic soul art yet?!" Madam Ruby eximed and frowned. "How is he going to keep up with others then? With basic soul art, he can at least recover his Prana faster." "I also didn''t give him any Prana Art yet," Big Dzily said. "¡­" Madam Ruby was speechless. "Is that what you meant by pushing him?" "He is the type that learns and blooms when pushed to limits," Big D grinned. "Some of his powers need to evolve." Madam Ruby turned to Almond, a weak smile forming on her face. "He is going to get¡­fucked. I have no other way to say this. You fucked him, Master. He won''t even survive the third day now." "Now, now, hold your horses,ss. Just watch, and you will know," Big D''s crystal eyes glinted as he watched Almond forming a barrier with wild Prana around him and entering a focused state. "Abilities fueled by wild Prana aren''t as strong because wild Prana can''t be empowered by one''s Arcane Constitution. But what if his Arcane Constitution is powerful,pared to the top participants of this event, his abilities are already strong, and he can create new abilities in jiffies, and he is someone who can wrestle away control of wild Prana from any ce and make it his?" "W-What?" Madam Ruby''s eyes trembled, and she turned to Big D, her eyes intense. "Don''t tell me..." "He is an Arcane Champion, but keep this a secret for now."@@novelbin@@ Madam Ruby stood up in shock, her eyes looking at Almond turning very hot. "I only thought his will was highpared to people his age, and send his tremendously high affinity with space and talents of sword and innate talent from memories I read, but I didn''t know he was also an Arcane Champion..." "I wish I could read his memoriespletely like you, Master." Madam Ruby sat down andposed herself, but the glint in her eyes didn''t wane. "You still have a long way to go before you can break Grimworld''s encryptions that hide notifications and other Girmworld Tutorial-rted information from people of otheryers." "Anyway, it looks like Almond finished his strategy and cooking a new magic sequence." Big D grinned as he saw Almond entering the hignd filled with Infernal Crystal Bulls. "Let''s see how he goes about this." Chapter 291 Survival (1) Almond emerged from behind the tree and began walking towards the hignds with over a hundred Infernal Crystal Bulls separated into small groups spread throughout the area. But he was ready. ''Ten should be enough, and the cost is 1000 Prana, 100 for each. Wild Prana is enough to execute this.'' The moment Almond absorbed wild prana, the bulls closest to him noticed him. The seven bulls rushed at him with their fiery horns burning brighter and body-enhancing. But suddenly, a ping-pong ball-sized spherical light emerged from Almond''s forehead, glowing in constantly changing prismatic colors. That ball of light shot at the Bulls and suddenly changed direction. Surprisingly, the bulls started chasing the ball of the light. Almond continued walking as he released nine more balls of light and kept one ball of light hovering above him. These balls of light began leading the groups of bulls around the ins. The scenery surprised many as people began focusing on Almond''s screen. "How interesting," Madam Ruby blinked. "What''s going on?" Big D narrowed his eyes and grinned. "It seems he is already utilizing his capabilities. If I am correct, to the bulls, those balls of light look like Almond himself." "Mental-inference type magic?" Madam Ruby raised her eyebrows. "So he is making use of his All-Seeing Eyes to affect the bulls with a sequence containing his image that makes them see the balls of light he designed for him." "To him, seeing the mental structure of bulls is easy with his All-Seeing Eyes, so creating a magic sequence specifically affects them is possible," Big D chuckled. "He cooked, alright. This also consumes way less Prana, but its effectiveness is deadly." Madam Ruby nodded. "But that''s not all¡­" Big D''s eyes glinted. "What do you mean?" "Just watch." Meanwhile, Almond was walking leisurely as his ten balls of light under his control finished his master n. Half of the bulls were rushing from left to right, chasing five balls of light. And the other half of the bulls were rushing from right to left, chasing the other five balls of light. Almond continued walking as he saw both hordes approaching each other about to crash into each other soon and making his task of killing them as easy as waving his hand. "Holy crap!" "That dude... how did he do that?" "These bulls shouldn''t be this stupid! They are just going mega crash!" Madam Ruby also frowned. "These bulls still have a certain level of intelligence, so they shouldn''t be crashing like this. Can''t they see that?" Big Dughed and said, "That brat robbed them of their reasons. Looks like he revived and refined his specialized ss'' skills into abilities. Well, that''s obviously the first thing he did." *BOOM!* The burning horns and charging powers of two groups of bulls smashed into each other, creating an infernal devastation. Almond watched explosions and destruction going off, dumbfounded. "These damn bulls¡­.they got quite an offensive power, alright." Expanding his domain briefly, Almond targeted the bulls that survived and destroyed their brains with small des. Almond''s rank instantly shot up to 18th in the leaderboard! [Almond Crowshade] -Points: 238 -Rank: 18th - Tabs - ''Looks like bulls gave 2 points per kill, unlike the rabbits. Nice.'' ¡­ "Master, what do you mean robbed of their reasons?" Madam Ruby curiously asked. "He literally robbed certain attributes of their intelligence, and pairing it with mental interference-type magic makes it lethal. This is the power of his natural assets that Grimworld gave him, and heprehended them¡ªhis specialized ss. It''s quite powerful and has high potential if he can master its source. But for now, he can forcefully alter a person''s mental attributes, physical attributes, and everything he can see with his All-Seeing Eyes as long as his will is higher than the target. It''s a pure conceptual-based ability." "¡­" Madam Ruby looked at Almond on the screen, feeling speechless. "I told him I wasn''t interested in his boons from Grimworld Tutorial, but I suppose he wrestled away quite powerful assets from Grimworld." "It''s not his until hepletely makes it his." Big D narrowed his eyes. "His specialized ss is half conceptual and half element. If he wants to make that ss source his, he needs toprehend both the conceptual part of his ss and the elemental part." "The Elemental part is easy since he made a lot of progress in it thanks to some lucky encounters and him working hard in those opportunities, but the conceptual part will take time." Madam Ruby nced at Big D and asked, "Does he know about the erosion?" "He has time, no worries. I''m sure he will grasp everything before erosion hits him." Erosion was something all ascenders experienced after one year of leaving the firstyer. They were given sources of power like sses from Grimworld itself based on their decisions, mindset, hard work, and other things, but those sources wouldn''t be theirs unless they made them. Many ascenders fail toprehend and make the sources their own, so they lose the power to wield the abilities that used the assets belonging to those sources after Grimworld''s erosion hits them and removes their sources. No more freebies, no more easy lunch. If one wants something, one must fight for it. If one wants a resource significant to one''s progress, one must be prepared to die for it. This was the basic principle for the people at High-Mortal lifeform rank, and it became ruthless as one ranked up to higher lifeforms due to the harshness of acquiring resources for further power-ups. ¡­ Almond walked for three hours more and killed many monsters with trickery and power, keeping his consumption low and maintaining his pace of moving and killing monsters. However, his rank went down gradually. After a total of five hours in this event, he was at 47th rank and hadn''t moved from this rank in the past half an hour. Explore stories at My Virtual Library Empire He also further refined some abilities and created some new ones while further mastering his main abilities. Two more hours passed by, and Almond decided to sit and camp because he was hungry and wanted to rest a bit. He took out his magic camp, lit up a fire, and started cooking meat from the monsters he killed.@@novelbin@@ ''My arsenal of abilities is looking nice.'' Almond smiled as he grabbed the bone and bit on the chunk of meat while looking at the list of his abilities. ''Arbitrary Viper and Wyrm reached a new level in lethality after I added the Nano-de mechanism as their foundational structure.'' Suddenly, Almond was surprised as the wristwatch beeped. [Ability measurement function has been added by the higher authority.] [Kiddo, survive these ten days and enrich yourbat power. But if you want to enter the top 10, you''ll have to grasp the source of your primary ss. Make it yours and win.] Almond blinked. ''Big D?'' Suddenly, a list of his abilities appeared, but with their Ability Power measured. However, only the ones he used in the past seven hours were measured. [Destruction de Series] -> Orb of Obliteration [Ability Power: A+] -> Arbitrary Viper: Erasure Edge [Ability Power: A] -> Arbitrary Wyrm: Dismantle Fang [Ability Power: A] -> Voidde Catastrophe [Ability Power: ?] [Espada Ad Grimveil Series] -> Espada Ad Grimveil [Ability Power: S+] -> Spatial Discement: Swap [Ability Power: A] -> Spatial Transfer: Teleport [Ability Power: A] -> Spatial Rend: Voidrift [Ability Power: ??] -> Spatial Channels [Ability Power: B] [Others] -> Optical Illusion [Ability Power: C+] -> Lumeir Lightning Flow [Ability Power: A+] -> Divine Divider''s Harvest [Ability Power: S] *Rustle...* Suddenly, Almond heard something and immediately used his domain as he detected someone roughly fifty meters behind him. "Come out! I can see you!" Chapter 292 Survival (2) Almond saw the person nearing after he shouted and soon heard a voice entering his ears. "Rx, I am not here to fight." A gust of wind flew past Almond before a figure appeared in front of Almond. A young man looking in histe teens appeared with shoulder-length green hair and wearing a long, noble-like robe while holding a wooden twig. Almond saw a name hovering above the person thanks to his wristband as they were all connected to a single system belonging to this academy. "Hi, I am Malin Rockter." Malin smiled and stretched his hand for a handshake. Almond blinked and stretched his hand with a nod, "I am Almond Crowshade." Malin''s smile suddenly turned ruthless as six sharp objects covered with fiery green aura shot at Almond, three from his left and three from his right. "Please die." However, the six objects curved past Almond with uncanny precision. The cluster approaching from his left swept in front of him before sharply veering to the right, while the group on his right slipped behind him and then turned leftpletely avoiding him as if the path leading to him had been deliberately blocked. "So killing others is allowed, and I suppose we can take their points, eh?" Almond smiled. Malin''s expression changed, but their hands were joined in a handshake, and Almond gave a surge of lightning directly into Malin''s body, paralyzing him as he fell on the ground, twitching. "H-How¡­" Malin asked while feeling pain and resisting paralysis, but he couldn''t flow Prana into his Arcane Constitution. ''This is impossible! What kind of paralyze is this...'' He saw Almond''s eyes glinting and knew he was doing something as this wasn''t just an effect of paralysis. "You..." Almond smiled and nodded, "Yes, YOU are at my mercy right now." ''Wait, we can work together. I can see that you have some powerful set of abilities.''@@novelbin@@ Almond raised an eyebrow. "But you are weak. Your Arcane Constitution is just 73." ''What, how can you see it?'' Malin''s eyes widened. ''I can see everything there is to you, and more if I want to, but that would turn this ugly real quick, so don''t make me do that,'' Almond said as he nced directly into Malin''s eyes. Malin stared at Almond, half-scared and half-hopeful. ''What do I need to do to keep myself alive? Also, let''s talk like this because we are being observed, and lip-reading is very easy.'' Almond removed the paralyze and said, "Sit." Malin sat down nearby, facing the fire before his stomach made a gurgling sound. "Eat," Almond said. "Thanks." ''Now, if there''s no other way to transfer your points to me without killing you, then I''ll kill you after I finish eating. I need points because I must reach the top 10 in this event.'' "..." Malin stared at Almond and then took a bite before sighing. ''There is a way to transfer points. If I surrender right now after my sh with you, my points will automatically go to you, and I can also send them to you willingly.'' ''Good. Do it now.'' Almond received points, and his rank reached 16th. "Nice." Almond nodded as he finished a meat b and even ate the crunchy bone before grilling another over the fire. ''Tell me, can people revive if they die by some means?'' Malin blinked as he looked at Almond like he was stupid, but he quickly changed his expression and politely exined. ''Yes, it is possible. Awakened souls can be anchored so they can be recalled before they go into Grimworld Tree''s cycle. Not everyone here has the privilege of getting revived as it requires a High-Mortal to revive a Mortal, and so on, as well as a pre-defined anchor prepared by your patron powerhouse who is supposed to revive you.'' Almond was surprised. ''Interesting. You can revive as many times as possible as long as you have adequate backing and power, eh?'' ''But you need to start over in a new body, and new bodies are expensive. Moreover, only one organization can make perfectly new bodies for souls, while those who can''t afford to get the new bodies settle puppets that artisans craft and sell.'' ''And don''t forget that Soul can be destroyed too. If your enemy targets your soul, it''s over. But we don''t need to worry about that here.'' ''Why?'' Almond frowned. ''Can''t people here target soul as well?'' ''Of course not. Mortals don''t have the means to touch the souls of others, nor do we have the attack methods to hurt other souls.'' ''I see...'' Almond''s eyes glinted. ''I can see your soul, but I can''t attack it, eh?'' Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire ''What? You can see it?'' Malin yelped. Almond fell into thought and didn''t respond as he knew what he was able to do wasn''t something other Mortals could do. ''My All-Seeing Eyes works on people more powerful than me, as long as their will is lower than mine. This guy''s body, soul, and mental stats are around 100, but his Arcane Constitution is lower...'' Almond looked at Malin and asked, ''Can you tell me about the strongest people in this survival event? I want to know their stats, just rough estimates.'' ''There are a few newbie monsters in this year''s batch. A few of them have Arcane Constitution above 150, and the top ones are closing in towards 200, I heard. As for their other stats, they are above 100 obviously.'' Almond blinked. ''That doesn''t sound bad...'' ''But you are crazy. You wield space powers.'' Malin looked at Almond. ''And some other mysterious powers that I can''t figure out. I''m sure that there is something other than paralysis that prevented me from using my Prana.'' ''Yeah, and I am not going to tell you about it,'' Almond said before finishing thest meat b and leaning back after putting his palms on the ground behind him. *Burp* All-Seeing Eyes and All-Severing de had long be his natural powers, working based on his will when he broke through his will barrier and entered the Arcane Champion leaderboard. These two powers were much like innate talents but belonged to his will instead as they didn''t consume Prana but his will and mental stamina. "What now?" Malin asked as he looked at Almond, hesitant. "Can I go now?" "Nope, you are going to be my helper along with my summon," Almond grinned as suddenly, an ominous green, red, blue, and gold aura of clouds burst above Almond, scaring Malin as he jumped back. "What the fuck?" Chapter 293 Survival (3) Soon, a woman appeared beside Almond as the clouds conjoined. Her face was concealed by a shadowy veil, but her dark green eyes were very much visible and intimidating. Her long ck robes flowed with an eerie grace, blending the aura of an alchemist with the regal power of a witch. At her waist, a belt of colorful potions swayed, each round vial containing a different color and strange patterns of glimmering liquid. She held a staff in her right hand whose head appeared like a chaotic beast''s maw with sharp teeth. "Master." Meliora turned to Almond and knelt on one knee. "You can rx, Maliora." Almond smiled and looked at her stats. ''I can''t make any more Spirit Wraiths until I make the ss source mine, but I can summon the one already made.'' [Meliora, the Elixir of Chaos] -Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Ability Power: ¡ª -Prana Sea: 0 -Soul Sea: 0 -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 330 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 354 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 0 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 0 ''Well¡­She got Body and Mental constitution this high thanks to Fallen Druid Mmeron''s spirit, but the other two are empty...can she use the skills she got?'' Meliora got up and stood beside Almond before staring at Malin. Malin gulped as he looked at Almond and then at the mysterious figure beside him, his eyes darting between the two. ''A summon?!'' "You areing with me." Almond turned to Malin and smiled. "It''s clear that I need to work rather hard if I want to enter the top 10, so you will help me do that in exchange for sparing your life." "Got it?" Malin quickly nodded. "I''ll help. Basically, I give you the points I earn, right?" "Exactly. Now, let''s go. Time to resume the journey." However, Almond suddenly felt Meliora''s aura turning unstable. "Urgh¡­" Meliora grunted in pain, and she suddenly fell. ck spots started appearing over her, looking terrifying as Almond got a bad feeling about this. ''Quick, boy! Put her away!'' Almond heard Big D''s voice and immediately put Meliora into Spirit Pocket. The only thing he could ess was Spirit Pocket''s spirit storage. ''What happened, Big D? Can you tell me?'' Big D''s image suddenly appeared in his mind, wearing round sses and a stick in his paw. ''Come here with your avatar.'' Almond appeared, and Big D pped his head with the stick. ''You were about to lose your summon permanently. Your summon is a product of your primary ss''s mechanism, its source power. It''s not something you made yourself, but given by Grimworld Tutorial''s system, so her appearance made Erosion hit her.'' Almond felt sad. ''This can''t be happening. I want my summons here, safe and sound.'' ''Then make the ss source yours. I can see that this ss is rather special because a mighty being is responsible for its appearance and it is rted to your innate talent, Heir of Oblivion.'' Big D looked at Almond with a somber expression, ''Oblivion, the Maw of Forgotten. One of the Mystery Seven.'' Almond''s eyes shone. ''Sounds cool.'' ''Yeah, but you just hit yourself with an axe. Your Primary ss is going to get hit by Erosion sooner rather thanter. Boy, hurry up and make it yours, or you will lose that ss and everything rted to it.'' ''What?! How long have I got before it vanishes?'' Almond asked, his eyes showing clear panic. ''Fuck, this can''t be happening.'' ''I don''t know. Maybe five days? Ten days? A month? I don''t know, but it''s going to be soon,'' Big D somberly said. ''So well¡­Good luck.'' Almond opened his eyes, and his expression was nk. "What happened?" Malin asked, confused. ''No, no, no, no, I won''t let my primary ss get fucking deleted!'' Almond stood up, his fist clenched tightly.@@novelbin@@ He turned to Malin, his eyes burning intensely. "W-What?" Malina took a step back, scared by Almond''s eyes and current vibe. "Is there a way to transfer refined Prana from one person to another?" "Eh? I mean, yeah. I can give Prana to you from my Prana sea," Malin quickly nodded, not willing to antagonize Almond. ''His whole vibe changed. He seems...desperate? Yeah, I shouldn''t stress him or he might fucking kill me.'' "Good, your job from now on is simple. You will provide me with Prana and recover it as soon as you can so you can provide the Prana again. Now, let''s go. We have a lot of things to do." Pausing a bit, Almond said as he looked at Malin, "If you know information about monsters or people, tell me." "There is a powerful monster four kilometers to the north from here. It''s a special monster that gives significantly more points, but it''s very powerful and needs some seriously goodbat power as well as strategy to beat it. Two people died to it in front of me, so I didn''t bother challenging it and escaped." "Good, that''s our target. Let''s go." "¡­" ¡­ The duo arrived at the edge of a wide valley and saw a two-headed ck bird with sharp and glistering dark red feathers with yellow and ck patterns. It was sleeping under a giant tree, and both of its heads had different colored jewels on their foreheads, one red and one yellow. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire "So that''s the one, eh?" Almond narrowed his eyes, using his All-Seeing Eyes topletely scan the monster''s structure and gain information. ''From head to tail, it''s roughly 40 meters long, but its wings are long, reaching almost 100 meters of wingspan. Let''s go deeper...'' Almond scanned its internal source space, soul sea, and such. ''That structure... yeah, it''s the beast''s bloodline source, but this one has a thread of five stranded structure.. could it be that the potency of one''s bloodline is determined by the strands?'' "Twin-Headed Darkin Peakcock has a bloodline with attributes of Darkness and Wind, and it specializes in corrosive and curse abilities from what I observed before I ran, but it definitely got more up its sleeve," Malin said, his expression somber. "I still think we shouldn''t challenge it." Chapter 294 Survival (4), Voidblade Catastrophe "Darkness and Wind? Which means it must have advanced element Vaylith, which is abination of those two," Almond said. "Yeah, definitely," Malin nodded. "That''s why its wind projectiles and other attacks are dangerous. They give debuffs and apply corrosion easily. Just look at its stats with your wristband. I don''t know about your stats, but I am not a match against it." Almond looked at the stats that his wristband scanned. [Twin-Headed Darkin Peakcock] -Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Bloodline: Mortal-7 -Ability Power: S -Prana Sea: 102@@novelbin@@ -Soul Sea: 85 -Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 120 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 108 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 85 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 103 "This will be fun," Almond grinned. "Fun?" Malin weakly smiled. "It has the Ability Power of S. Do you even have any ability with the Ability Power of A?" Almond nced at Malin. "W-What?" "Shut up and do as I say." "Ok¡­Okay. What do I need to do?" Almond stood at the edge and looked down at the sleeping bird. ''The bird is within the range of my domain, and I have the ability to test as well. Yep, time to use Voidde Catastrophe.'' Voidde Catastrophe was basically the improved version of his Legendary specialized ss skill, Unveiled Catastrophe. Unveiled Catastrophe had two phases. One phase where he converges all severed space connections and Voidbound Rifts into a singr point called Void Veil, creating an energy of pure destruction-attribute by condensing space and Phase 2 was shaping the Void Veil into a de, with its potency increased in proportion to the amount of severed space and voidbound rifts he condensed. But Voidde Catastrophe didn''t have to go through such steps, and Almond could bring more power thanks to this new power system of using assets to form magic sequences. He could finish the entire process of two steps in a single second. "Get behind me and provide me with Prana," Almond said as he stood while holding a wooden branch that he had shaped into a sword. The sword suddenly nked hazily as a transparent ck spatial de superimposed on it. In the next second, that spatial de became bigger as Almond poured all 10,000 Prana, he had to execute a magic sequence. The sword intensely nked with wildly moving silver spatial aura, but it soon came under control and became slick. Its length reached 130 meters long as Almond held it upward. "Give me 10,000 Prana," Almond said. "Man, that bird will sense you soon if you use something like this at it," Malin said as he provided 10,000 Prana to Almond. "It won''t for now. I am not aiming my attacking intent at it yet, but I know it will react the moment I aim at it." Almond narrowed his eyes. "However, it won''t be able to block this, so just do as I fucking say." Soon, the de began filling up with golden sparks and glistering wind-carrying sand that whirled in a specific pattern inside the space of this 130-meter-long de as Almond spent another 10,000 Prana. The whirling stopped shortly, and the energies inside settled, forming dark semi-crystalized energy nano des that formed a solid internal structure by connecting with each other ording to Almond''s design to increase pration power. At this moment, the people outside noticed that Almond was going to fight a special monster for more points, and people began talking about it. Malin looked at the sword and gulped. ''Fucking hell¡­what is he doing?'' "10,000 More," Almond said. "What? More?" Malin was taken back. "You sure you''re not gonna kill us instead? What if you can''t control this?" An invisible p struck Malin as Almond used wild Prana to create a spatial p. "I can beat you while controlling this, so just do as I say," Almond said, annoyed. "I am just powering this up as much as I can." ''I fucking don''t have big enough Prana Sea, that''s all,'' Almond internally sighed. Malin had 58 in Prana Sea, which means he had 58,000 refined Prana. Five times more than Almond''s. But there was a limit to using so much Prana at once into their Arcane Constitution because if one failed to control their execution, it would blow up in their Arcane Constitution and damage them or even cause death. Almond''s Arcane Constitution was way higher. If his Body Constitution was the same number as his Arcane Constitution, he could still survive, but if he fucked up with his current stats, he would die. However, Almond had confidence in remaining in control. He was an Arcane Champion. There was no one else with higher control of magic in general than him in this event. Using thest batch of 10,000 Prana, Almond activated his domain as a hundred Voidbound Rifts suddenly flickered into existence before converging over his sword like pitch-ck ink. "Fuck¡­" Malin cursed in shock. ''What kind of space shit is he pulling?'' Soon, the long-ass sword began to shrink andpress. From 130 meters long, it graduallypressed and condensed into a 2-meter-long sword with a de almost half a meter wide. ''Okay, I have to hurry.'' Almond''s hands trembled as the power designed and added into this Voidde Catastrophe was absurd. "Give me Prana," Almond said. ''I need some more to act.'' Malin quickly gave as he put his hand on Almond''s back again, albeit it was trembling this time because of the sword. ''Fucking hell¡­.If he loses control of that sword, we are fucked¡­Please, don''t fuck up.'' People outside were also dumbfounded. "He sure likes to y with danger," Madam Ruby wryly smiled. Enjoy exclusive adventures from My Virtual Library Empire "That has be his subconscious calling. This brat is usually cautious, but bes like this sometimes from what I saw in his memories," Big D grinned. "But that''s the spirit someone like him should have. You don''t break limits without dancing with death." "But that attack is quite powerful." Madam Ruby narrowed her eyes. "Just watch," Big D chuckled. Almond was ready as he got 10,000 Prana in reserve. ''Time to die, bird.'' Almond moved his sword in front of him as he got into a stance. In the next second, he vanished and appeared right in front of the bird, between its head. The bird opened its eyes on both heads, and its automated barrier formed while its aura surged. ''Linear eleration Sequence, activate.'' Almond''s eyes flickered. Malin and every audience member saw a single, bright silvery ck gleam shing in an instant from between its head to the end of its tail. Almond was floating behind its tail, and the superimposed sword over his wooden sword was gone. After a moment of tranquil silence, a hum resounded along with a shockwave from the bird and in the next instant, an uncountable number of des burst out of its body, shredding itpletely. One could see an imaginary spiral covering the bird if they were perceptive enough, but the camera couldn''t capture that, and Malin wasn''t capable enough. However, Big D was observed from both the camera and from inside the event''s dimension. Almond floated above the bird as he had teleported there right before the shockwave spread, a satisfied expression on his face. ''Nanodes of 100,000 nanometers packed with power are more potent, and they can form the stream of des to act with my Spiral Edge intent better.'' The bird was shredded till only its blood was left, with the rest of the body turning into fluid. ''An utter catastrophe indeed,'' Almond grinned. Malin''s jaw dropped to the ground while the audience rumbled in uproar. "One shot?!" "But what the fuck was that?" "I didn''t know we had one more person with space power in this batch, and he seems quite powerful. This is going to be interesting." Chapter 295: Survival (5) ¡¯Let¡¯s see its Ability Power. I have poured my everything into this one ability for ultimate offense, so it gotta be highest among others I got.¡¯ Almond essed his wristband and checked the Voidde Catastrophe¡¯s Ability Power measured by the device. -> Voidde Catastrophe [Ability Power: SSS] ¡¯Noice. And my rank...¡¯ [Almond Crowshade] -Points: 538 -Rank: 11th - Tabs - ¡¯I got 300 points for killing that bird? Awesome! Alright, I know what I need to do now.¡¯ Almond teleported in front of Malin and said, "We are done here." Manlin snapped out of his reverie upon seeing Almond appearing out of nowhere and screamed before falling on his butt. "Get your shit together. We have to find a ce to recover our soul seas," Almond snorted. "R-Right." @@novelbin@@ Malin stood up and began following Almond with questions in his mind, like who the fuck was this guy? ¡¯He used an attack of that level with such a huge amount of Prana... yeah, his control must be highest among the other participants, that¡¯s for sure. I don¡¯t know his stats, but his bodily aura is weaker than mine, and I don¡¯t sense bloodline in him, which means...¡¯ Malin gulped. ¡¯He must have created some powerful technical assets to create sequences that resulted in that level of attack. I am curious about its Ability Power.¡¯ "Give me ten thousand Prana. You must have twenty thousand in your Prana Sea anyway." "Right away, boss Almond." Almond raised an eyebrow at the tone change of Malin but didn¡¯tment on that. After receiving Prana, Almond expanded his domain as much as he could, which was a 1-kilometer radius range at the heavy expense of 100 Prana per second. But Almond found a spot and teleported him and Malin in the cavern on the mountain. They were already at the border of a different area where snow was falling, with small mountains and hills with greenery covered in snow with icy ponds,kes, and other things in the area. After entering the cavern, Almond sat cross-legged and began recovering his Soul Sea and Prana Sea. The moment his soul sea recovers from soul energy, he would use it to refine wild prana and refill his Prana Sea. Stay tuned with NovelBin.C?m Once he filled his Prana Sea fully, he filled his soul sea entirely before opening his eyes. "How long will you take to recover both seaspletely?" "Just five more minutes, boss." ¡¯Five minutes, huh? I took ten minutes to recover both fully, and he needs just five more to recover his seas, which are five times bigger than mine,¡¯ Almond sighed. Almond was tempted to ask about Malin¡¯s soul art, which was most likely the general soul art every new student gets from the academy, but he didn¡¯t ask for it as he didn¡¯t have time to learn. "We are staying here for an hour, so get rest after recovery." "Eh? Why?" "You don¡¯t need to know." "Roger. And know that I am your true ally now, boss. If you want me to do something, I¡¯ll do it." Almond turned to him, feeling weird at Malin¡¯s servitude. "Why?" Malin grinned and said, "I¡¯ll be honest. You are a promising student in the academy, and for my survival, I¡¯d like to swear allegiance to you." "Suit yourself," Almond dismissively said before closing his eyes and entering full focus. He had to understand the principles of his primary ss, or he would lose all those juicy skills and, most importantly, his summons. ¡¯That must not happen.¡¯ Almond didn¡¯t feel this desperate before. The cat told him his primary ss could vanish at any time, so his priority has changed to making his primary ss sourcepletely his. Inside his source power, he delved his consciousness into his primary ss¡¯s source to understand its principles and powers. ¡¯Spirits... they are theplete information body containing memories and experience of a target that died. Suppose Grimworld¡¯s power supported it and created spirits of beings that died within a certain range of my presence, but for me to actively achieve that, what do I need to do?¡¯ ¡¯What is the sequence that Grimworld created for that skill to work?¡¯ ¡¯The answer is in this ss source, and I have to grasp it.¡¯ Almond dived into the broken skill runes, and with his All-Seeing Eyes, he began deciphering it while feeling the primary ss¡¯s source. An hour passed by, and soon, an rm clock rang that Almond had set in his mind by creating a simple magic sequence. Opening his eyes, he looked at his rank and saw that it dropped to 15th. "Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s time to hunt monsters." "Finally." Malin got up and began stretching. "Well, I also trained in my Prana Art for an hour and got a wee bit powerful by increasing my Prana Sea by a point." "Your job is to give me Prana when I say. As long as you do that, I am good, you alive." "Roger." The duo continued roaming and killing monsters for several hours before resting again. [Almond Crowshade] -Points: 1238 -Rank: 13th - Tabs - ¡¯Not enough. I am killing monsters fast and also using Malin¡¯s Prana sea, but there are others who are finding and killing monsters faster.¡¯ Almond sat down cross-legged on arge tree¡¯s wide branch, which was their resting area. "How long are we staying here for, an hour?" Malin asked. "Two hours," Almond said before closing his eyes. Almond dived into his ss source again. It was a space made of colorful particles, chaotically moving and streaming around. The majority of the colors that glowed were ck, green, and red. Almond could feel something akin to an Intent in this space and some specific power that acted in these streams of particles. ¡¯I need to look deeper...¡¯ Almond observed the particles and tried to observe them deeper, to uncover what they did and their power. But the moment he did that and seeded, darkness enveloped Almond, and a pair of eyes lit up, giant and looking at him. The outline of a beastly face appeared, and its mouth opened, showing a dreadful whirlpool about to devour everything. Almond¡¯s eyes shot open with heavy breathing and sweat all over his face. ¡¯What the fuck was that? Was that my primary ss¡¯s origin or what? It kind of looked simr to the maw whirlpool in Spirit Forge Factory that eats spirit and spews out items, but this one was several times more terrifying.¡¯ Almond looked around and saw that Malin was nowhere to be found. ¡¯Did he escape?¡¯ Almond narrowed his eyes. ¡¯Too bad, you can¡¯t escape.¡¯ Almond had marked Malin with something that would show his traces in space after he opened Espada Ad Grimveil¡¯s domain. And by tracing those traces, he would easily find Malin, even if he had to spend a bit of Prana to teleport and use the domain because it was worth it. Malin was his reservoir of energy, and without him, it would have been hard to reach the top 10, given that he was also spending timeprehending his primary ss¡¯s source. However, just as Almond was about to open his domain, he felt a presence in the sky and saw Malin dropping down from the sky andnding on the branch. "Sup, boss. It¡¯s been only half an hour. You done already?" "No. Where did you go?" "I went to get some fruits and veggies. Since we are resting, I might as well cook something with meat instead of just eating meat only." Almond nodded, "Alright, continue." After saying that, he went back to focus on his primary ss. Chapter 296 Survival (6), Figuring Out Puzzle 24 hours have passed by since the Academy''s Newbie Survival Event began. Therge stadium had everything for the audience, from eating to sleeping to shitting. Everyone was hyped for day 2 of the event as monsters became a bit stronger, and more special monsters were added. Almond was in many people''s attention because of his feats and staying in the top 15 out of thousands of participants. Still, roughly five hundred people were eliminated on the first day. Half of them were eliminated by surrendering, and the other half died. Continue reading stories on My Virtual Library Empire Whether those who died had the backing of a stronger powerhouse and had their anchored or not, only they knew. ¡­ Almond looked at the dead Four-Armed Fiery Ape and had his hand pointed at it. ''Come on!'' A strange aura oozed out and appeared as if pulled by Almond''s hand, but in the end, that aura scattered away. ''The soul left¡­I only have 30 seconds before I lose the chance.'' "Boss, I found the special monster. It just spawned on that ground." Almond and Malin were at the edge of the snowy area, with the beginning of barrennd bordering this area on this side. Since they descended from a mountain range, the barren-hot and sand-ish area was at low ground with barren hills, mountains, and valleys in their view. But there was something else visible, and it was an oasis. The only area with greenery and water. "Is it in that oasis?" Almond looked at the oasis that was far away. He could only see it vaguely, so he sent Malin to check it out. Malin had high elemental mastery in wind attribute, at Epic rank, and his Bloodline was also geared towards wind, so he could travel fast, fly, and scout with his Windy Sparrows. This was also the reason he escaped that bird, as he had some solid escaping abilities. "Yeah, the special monster is there. And it''s powerful," Malin said with a somber expression. "We would need a solid strategy to deal with it." "Then we''lle up with one." Almond narrowed his eyes and locked onto the Oasis. "Let''s go. That''s our next destination." "You are going to one-shot it again like you did that bird? If that''s the n, it won''t work." "I''ll see what I can do, but one thing is certain, and that is me killing that monster." Almond clenched his fist. On the way to the Oasis, Almond killed a bunch of monsters, and right before the area where the big Oasis began, they encountered a monster horde of over a hundred Crust ted Bears of Earth and Metal attribute. Almond walked into the territory of the bears, walking one step at a time as his aura surged. A gray snake with golden scales, almost digital-like with a neon-color scheme manifested. One couldn''t see it from just a nce, but the snake was made up of nano des with the thickness of a strand of hair, which was 100,000 nanometers. Almond refined this ability to optimize its sharpness to the maximum, and its sole goal was to be able to cut through anything with the principle assets of Severance de and Absolute Severing added. Even Lightning, Sand, and Lumeir elements'' attributes were geared towards assets to increase sharpness and movement speed. Since he remade the entire ability''s sequence and structure, he also changed its name from Golden Edge to Erasure Edge. Arbitrary Viper: Erasure Edge. Almond consumed 3000 Prana per snake as three snakes floated around him. The biggest advantage of this system was that previously, he could only use those space-rted abilities within his Espada Ad Grimveil domain, which allowed for severance and connections of anything within, hence enabling him to create techniques and skills like Absolute Severance and Severance de. But now, each minor power he had was a separate asset that he could use to create a sequence as long as he understood them, and since he understood the entirety of his ss, he wasn''t bound by previous restrictions. ''Go.'' Almond''s eyes flickered as the three snakes shot forward, leaving a faint golden trail in the air. Just briefly opening his domain would consume merely 10 Prana, so Almond did that briefly and enveloped a group of eight bears within a misty particle gas made of Lumeir. The three Arbitrary Vipers shot at them, and the bears were strong enough to react, but with Lumeir''s particle gas, their movement became entric and fast. Much like how light bends through refractions, the Lumeir Particle Gas acted as a refraction point for the snakes. During that point, the snakes would actually achieve their maximum speed, which was terrifyingly one-third of light speed, which was 100,000 kilometers per second. And in that one second, the snakes moved blindingly, cutting all eight bears into pieces. Almond was always refining his abilities with improved assets that his Arbiterary Viper: Erasure Edge reached S+ rank in Ability Power. It started at C+, reached A, and now it was at S+. Almond opened his domain briefly again and spread Lumeir Particle Gas around the remaining bears before redirecting his Artbitary Snakes at them. Meanwhile, he walked in front of the pile of dead bears and pointed his hand at them.@@novelbin@@ Closing his eyes, Almond recalled the power he felt and the concept he formed behind it. If he was right, he would seed in creating the Spirit of that bear. He had thirty seconds only as the soul would leave afterward and that would leave the process of creating Spirit unfinished. ''Spirit is the product of a being''s life experience. I have to extract it as a whole, from its body, its soul, its blood, its flesh. Everything it knew it experienced and more.'' The strange whiteish aura was getting pulled into Almond''s palm again, albeit unstably. ''Come on! There''s no other way aside from that. This is the full concept of Spirits!'' *Snap* The connection broke, and Almond failed. ''I am missing something, and I know what it is, but do I really need to figure that out just to get Spirits?'' Almond frowned. ''Alright, let''s think again. The spirits may have memories, but howe other skills of my ss replicate their powers in the forms of Item and Spirit Wraiths?'' ''My Spirit Wraiths have a variety of attributes and powers, and the new one has an even higher level of masteries.... my ss doesn''t have all attributes, but it still makes them from spirits.'' ''Which means... the spirit must not just contain memories and experience, but something that can allow for my ss skills to reproduce their power...'' Almond rubbed his temples. Chapter 297 Survival (7), Puzzle Piece Found ''Everything revolves around the concept of being able to get a damn Spirit, which I can''t. I needplete information of a being, right down to its understanding of powers.'' ''I needplete information of their powers, not just memories and experience.'' ''Wait...'' Almond''s eyes suddenly lit up. ''Complete information of powers... there''s one ce where there isplete information of all powers and everything!'' "Arcane Eidos!" Malin was walking towards Almond after storing the meat of bears and was startled at the sudden shout. "What happened, Boss?" "Nothing, but we aren''t fighting the special monster for now," Almond said and opened his domain briefly. After finding a big tree at the periphery of the Oasis, he said. "We need to rest a bit." ''I have to figure out how to scan someone else'' Arcane Eidos with my All-Seeing Eyes. Only then will I be able to get a Spirit of beings I kill.'' Almond knew that Grimworld was working behind the scenes to produce spirits for him, even for the monsters that he didn''t kill. After he got his ss, it just produced spirits for him, thanks to his ss source. But that wasn''t possible anymore. From now on, he would have to be present and actively create a Spirit of dead beings. After arriving on the tree branch and sitting cross-legged, Almond closed his eyes, his brain going hyperdrive. Once he figured out thisst piece of the puzzle, he nned to create a passive ability with a sequence that would absorb a Spirit of beings he kills. And the reason Almond postponed the special monster''s hunting was none other than wanting its Spirit. "Why is that guy always wasting time meditating? He is at 16th rank now." "But he is powerful. His abilities are so powerful." "Those snakes are crazy fast. They would match Benito''s offensive abilities in terms of speed. What do you say?" "Benito is the second rank, with not much difference from the first rank. This Almond guy isn''t a match for him." "The new bet was him reaching the top 10 with some nice odds, and I put all my money on it. I hope he reaches there." "Pfff, your money''s gone." The audience was watching Almond and judging him, much like other participants. Meanwhile, Madam Ruby in the VIP booth said upon seeing Almond entering, meditating again. "It appears that he figured out something. But will it impact his ranking andbat power?" "Impact?" Big Dughed. "I don''t know how close he is to figuring out his primary ss, but I know what kind of ss it is and its origin, which belongs to none other than Oblivion, The Forgotten Maw. Once he grasps this ss in its true essence..." "Well, even I don''t know how it will impact him. Oblivion is far stronger than the likes of me." "Oblivion..." Madam Ruby muttered. "I am kind of envious of people on the firstyer. They are observed by beings of the thirdyer and get powers freely." "And they die easily, and they need to clear Grimworld''s Tutorial to make their world ascend to the secondyer." Big D rolled his eyes. "And most of them fail to grasp the power they''ve been given theirs, so they need to learn and train a lot aftering here." "True, not everyone is like this little monster," Madam Ruby chuckled as she looked at Almond. "I can''t wait to see his growth spurt once he truly enters the academy."@@novelbin@@ "That said, I sent a clone of me down there to his world," Big D said, his expression thoughtful. "It was caught by the external overseer after it passed through theyer, so I couldn''t enter into his world, but I talked with that bald overseer and found something interesting." "What?" Madam Ruby asked as she blinked, curious. "The internal overseer of Almond''s world was the one that set up the phase 1 event where the other three worlds also have Arcane Champions. It''s because of some kind of betting between big shots that those four worlds out of thousands of others connected to each other to create shes of four Arcane Champions." "That aside, Hollowstar is doing its best to eat those worlds as per that External Overseer''s words, and they are nning to make a move sooner on Almond''s world since they found out he has been absent for many days." Madam Ruby frowned and sighed. "A small part of me wishes that Hollowstar seeds because it would only fuel Almond''s growth as he is not the one to be depressed and lose will." "But that would be too cruel," Madam Ruby shook her head. "He had lost everything before and still fought before getting this new beautiful life with people that he cherishes." Big D pped Madam Ruby''s head and said, "Almond may not lose his will even if his world is destroyed again, but if that happened, he would change forever, and even if that change makes him reach new heights, it wouldn''t be a good tale to tell." "If he failed to protect his world," Big D narrowed his eyes and added. "I will kill him." Madam Ruby was shocked. "Why?" "Because I fear that he would create more loss for others after losing everything in his path to power." Madam Ruby turned silent. "Is it because of his affinity with Void? Do you think he will be a disaster like Marco? Almond isn''t like him." "I know. Marco was a scum and he brought down billions with his rampage. I lost my friends, family, and everything that year. I only regret trusting him, and I won''t make the same mistake," Big D sighed. "Almond needs to protect his world and those he loves. He loses them, he will lose the good in him in his path to power and be like Marco in a way." Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire "Well¡­I think he would forge new connections and won''t turn ruthless like Marco, but I think it''s wrong to assume how one would turn out," Madam Ruby wryly smiled. "Anyway, do we have any means to help?" "Ultimately, it''d be up to him because only he can sh against other Arcane Champions, but I am thinking..." Big D said, his cat eyes appearing deep in thought while watching Almond on the screen. Chapter 298 Survival (8), Spirit! Half an hourter, Almond opened his eyes as they glimmered with a hazy white-green spark that had shining ck borders. ''I got it¡­'' ''The full concept behind the creation of Spirit.'' Almond stood up, prompting Malin to look at him. "Are we done, boss?" Almond nodded as he looked in the direction leading deeper into the oasis, "It''s time to hunt the monster." "Let''s go!" Malin said with a grin and conjured a wind bird. "I''ve put a tracker on it, so I know where its location is." ¡­ In the northwest of the oasis was a beautifulke surrounded by ample trees. A creature glistening with metallic silver fur and four arms was swimming in theke. It had blood-red patterns on its silver fur and a red crystallized horn on its forehead. Sanguine Silverite Kong¡ªSpecial Monster. [1000 points] "This gori is pretty powerful. And the most tricky thing is that he got some space elemental powers," Malin somberly said. "Boss, it''d be hard to sneak up on this bastard." Almond looked at the monster from over two hundred meters away while standing on a tree''s branch and scanned it. [Sanguine Silverite Kong] Lifeform Rank: Mortal -Ability Power: S+ Prana Sea: 112Soul Sea: 104Stats: ¡ª Body Constitution: 121 ¡ª Mental Constitution: 94 ¡ª Soul Constitution: 104 ¡ª Arcane Constitution: 92 "Even if it has space powers, it can''t escape me, nor can it catch me," Almond said before his eyes flickered and a dreamy thread emerged from his back and flew towards Malin. "You know your job. Make sure you provide the Prana swiftly." The thread was something Almond created several hours ago to transfer Prana from Malin to himself over the long distance. Malin grabbed the thread and nodded. "Gotcha." Almond vanished as he teleported afterward, appearing right above Sanguine Silverite Kong while a humming draconic maw manifested half above water and half below water, intending to bite down on the gori with its vibrating prative set of fangs. If Arbitrary Viper: Erasure Edge was most optimized to slice up enemies, then Arbitrary Wyrm: Dismantle Fang was fully optimized to break down enemies and pierce tough defenses. s, the maw snapped shut, but Sanguine Silverite Kong vanished and appeared above Almond, its palms joined together and glowing as the gori smacked down on Almond. Almond''s eyes flickered in an instant. Spatial Discement: Swap. Ssh Kong''s attack hit the waters as it sshed, with Almond swapping his position with it. At the same time, he swung his hand that held the wooden sword after elerating to the max with Lumeir Lightning Flow. Lumeir Lightning Flow was turning a part of his body or his entire body into a unique elemental state utilizing Lightning and Lumeir elements in which he could achieve the maximum speed of 112,340 kilometers per second, but the problem was he couldn''t keep up in this form for long, and pressure on his body also umted fast, so he was still optimizing it and could only use it for a few seconds before needing to take a break for half a minute or up to a minute.@@novelbin@@ His body and mental constitution weren''t powerful enough to keep running that ability. But it was reliable as his tree branch sword flowed like a snake at blinding speed while enchanted with small-powered Voidde Catastrophe. sh! sh! Despite its tough exterior, Sangine Silverite Kong lost its four arms and also took a deep gash into its chest. The only reason it wasn''t sliced into pieces was that it reacted fast to Almond''s attack to prevent the fatal wounds and also attacked Almond with one of its abilities as Almond suddenly got forcefully pulled towards a ck orb with a silvery border fifty meters high. ''Gravity?'' Almond blinked, and then his eyes shone. ''This is wonderful. I can learn it properly by seeing this monster''s ability.'' Roar! The angry gori who was wounded roared as its body glowed, and it regenerated its arm. The patterns on its body also glowed as it used its bloodline power. ''Give me Prana.'' Almond''s eyes flickered as he took the opportunity of this gori using its ability and emptied his remaining prana in creating four orbs of obliteration, two at its two legs and the other two at its shoulder. The attack erased everything covered within the orbs as Kong lost its legs and shoulder before issuing another painful growl. Madder than ever, it unleashed its ability as four silvery spinning disks with red patterns shot at Almond. Almond was back to full prana after unleashing his attacks as Malin provided it. He nned to dodge the sharp spinning disks, but danger bells rang in his mind, and he decided to teleport. ''Each disk has a gravitational pull? Damn,'' Almond''s eyes glinted as he also scanned this ability. Those disks were indeed dangerous because they had a type of gravitational pull that would pull the target towards it and also let itself get pulled towards the target! Dodging them at close proximity would mean doom! The people watching the fight also realized that Almond was deliberately lengthening the fight. "Why is he doing that? If that wasn''t a gori but a person, he''d have died for pulling shit like holding back." Your next read awaits at My Virtual Library Empire "Yeah, he''s stupid. If he makes a single mistake, he''d die with his weak-ass body." "I think he wants to study the monster''s abilities." The audience had mixed feelings about Almond due to his antics, but they all knew that he was the dark horse of this event and looked forward to watching him survive more days. Almond finished off the Sanguine Silverite Kong after exhausting Malin''sst 10,000 Prana. He saw the monster''s abilities and also learned much. Left with roughly four thousand Mana, both of them were empty. But it was time for the main thing. Almond teleported himself and the Kong''s body under a tree a bit away from theke and pointed his hand at it. His eyes shone with a hazy white-green spark with ck borders as he activated the sequence he created to create a spirit of a recently dead target. Prana burst out of his hand and entered into the gori''s body. A secondter, Almond''s hand turned into a w as he made a pulling motion. Swoosh From the gori''s body, a palm-sized wisp pulled up and floated with the avatar of the gori visible inside in a sleeping form. The moment he looked at the structure and information within this first bona fide spirit he created, a new world opened up to him, and he knew it at that time¡­that it wouldn''t be long before hepletely figured out his primary ss. After all, the core power of his ss was Spirits. Everything revolved around what to do to the spirits to get the desired products¡ªspirit items, spirit explosions, spirit wraiths, and spirit syringes. Almond waved his hand and put the Spirit inside the Spirit Pocket. He had figured out Spirit Pocket, so he unlocked it and recreated a new Spirit Pocket with a 5000 limit. ''Let''s get this done.'' Almond clenched his fist, his eyes aze with thrill as he couldn''t wait to begin meditating. Teleporting back to Malin, he said, "Secure the area. We are meditating here." "What? Again so soon?" Malin was surprised. "Yeah, it''s time to¡­evolve," Almond grinned. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes before diving deep into meditation. Chapter 299 Survivor (9), Spirit Dealer Grasped "Is he mad?!" "Yo, it''s over for him." "Seriously, fuck this guy. I am going to lose my money now." "Ten minutes left till the third day starts." "This bastard dropped to 57th." "Wake up!" The audience was going mad as it neared the end of the second day. Almond had been in meditation ever since he defeated Sanguine Silverite Kong. With no activity on gathering points, his rank dropped significantly, and the audience who wanted him to wake up continued to wait for hours. Those who put money on him were especially mad, but none of that was Almond''s concern as he was weaving together something no one was ready for. Arcane was obeying him and his mind was working at a transcendental level as he put together the power of Spirit Dealer whilst expanding it to new heights. While Almond was in his singr focus state, Malin was chilling nearby, eating and training, and asionally going for swimming ys in theke. He didn''t care when Almond continued because he had already lost. Only the top 100 would get rewards, and he was at the bottom as the only survivor with zero points. Whistling as he swam on bareback, Malin grinned upon seeing Almond meditating on the tree. "Meditating this long¡­boss is cooking something I know and it''s rted to the strange things he had been doing after killing monsters." "Hehe, I can''t wait to see what he brings out next." Malin was feeling good inside. This new student was clearly a cut above the rest, and in the ruthless world of this academy, students had to form groups to survive longer. Seeing Almond and noticing his potential, Malin decided to stick with Almond and be his trusted. *Ssh* "La¡­" Malin sang and began swimming like a fish, making the audience outside speechless. "I shall~ Be the strongest underling~ of the Mad Nut Almond~¡­" "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" "¡­" ¡­ When only a minute was left until the beginning of the third day and overhaul of monsters, Almond''s eyes opened. Standing up, he opened his domain and teleported himself and Malin who was swimming in theke away a few times to find a horde of monsters, and arrived at a group of over two hundred Crystal Dune Scorpions. The third day had begun when he arrived here, increasing the number of monsters as well as their stats slightly. A thread pierced Malin while he floated dumbfounded, supported by a spatial box Almond created. "Provide Prana," Almond said before he vanished. Enchanting his sword to the max with his special nanodes made from abination of all his elements¡ªLightning, Sand, Lumeir, Space, he flew like an unpredictable bolt of lightning with Lumeir Lightning Flow. In a single second at the speed of 100,000 kilometers per second, Almond killed one hundred scorpions with his swords. Due to the sheer pressure and speed of his strikes, their cut-off pieces were flung simultaneously, painting thendscape with their blood and gore. Almond wed his hand in the sky as he targetted the 100 dead bodies while their souls were still anchored and activated the sequence of creating spirits, scanning their Arcane Eidos, and superimposing it in blueprint structures of their body, mind, and soul before copying them and creating a spirit with his Prana. The cost was fixed at 10 Prana per creation of a Spirit. But now¡­he wielded them in their ultimate capabilities. The hundred spirits glowed and exploded with a simple trigger and adjustment in their structure with his mind that required no Prana. Each spirit exploded with a sharp burst of tiny spikes that shot everywhere, activating the special explosion in every single one of the spirits. Not only that, Almond also designed the special explosion himself. Within the spirit, which had every detail of its owner in detail due to copying of their Arcane Eidos, Almond could adjust everything of a Spirit at his will. And this wasn''t all. Almond pulled the new 100 spirits that resulted from the deaths of remaining one hundred scorpions and stretched his hands forward and palm open. ''Prana!'' Malin immediately provided Prana. In the next second, a terrifying maw whirling with green, red, blue, and ck mes manifested. It stretched a 5-meter radius in a circle, shocking Malin and everyone who was watching his screen. Almond sent the hundred spirits into the maw as it burned intensely, bursting with colorful me sparks. Five secondster, one hundred shining dark brown orbs with dark green and ck patterns that resemebled the scoprion''s appereance emerged from the whirlpool. "What the fuck?" Malin blinked. The audience outside was shocked and wondered what those orbs were. s, nobody but Almond knew what these were. [Crystal Burst Bomb] -Type: One-time-use Item. -Effect: ¡ª> Explodes with crystal shrapnels. High pration, vitality burning poison, high pain. This window was something Almond created as a systematic sequence. It only had information he knew. He knew their powers, their abilities, and everything and so, he could design this bomb-type''s structure by operating in the spirits, creating a desired product as an oue. "Next," Almond muttered as he put the hundred bombs away and waved his hand. "Come out, Meliora the Elixir of Chaos." Meliora appeared with her body still having the strange spots.@@novelbin@@ But Almond pointed his hand at her and infused his Prana. Maliora breathed with closed eyes as her painful expression vanished, reced withfort. The spots vanished and she becameplete, her appearance regal yet wild, her aura eerily graceful. "Thank you, Master." "Stand still. I need toplete you." Almond''s eyes flickered while his hands unleashed ten threads that entered Meliora''s body. "M-master¡­" Meliora flinched, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she felt an intense wave of itchyfort. It was like inches appeared in her body, but Almond scratched them and spread a wave offort. However, Almond was in focus. ''Conciousness-based Soul constructionpleted.'' ''Arcane Eidos constructionpleted.'' ''Soul Avatar formationpleted.'' ''Meliora, follow my instruction.'' ''Y-Yes, Master.'' Five minutester, a powerful aura suddenly gushed out of Meliora. Her eyes released light and her body was shining while Almond''s threads were inside her source space. ''Good. Now let''s start converting your skills into abilities. I''ll help, so it won''t take long.'' ''Thank you, Master.'' Ten minutester, Almond was done as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. ''Assemble the Spirit Wraith Creating Sequence.'' He gained the final data he wanted toplete his ss¡ªCreating Spirit Wraiths with a system of the secondyer, with their artificial soul awakened, Soul Sea formed, Prana Sea formed, Arcane Eidos formed, Arcane Constitution formed, and Arcane Board formed. ''Completed.'' Almond opened his eyes with a reserved yet excited smile forming on his face. Explore hidden tales at My Virtual Library Empire [Congrattions, Ascender] *Swoosh!* Almond was suddenly pulled into absolute darkness while for people outside, he appeared to be inside an obscure sphere of darkness. [You have sessfully made Spirit Dealer ss source your own bypletely understanding it and bing capable of improving the skills.] [Grimworldmends you for achieving this result before losing the chance and gives you an Ability Art Medal.] [May you explore more about this source of power and evolve it.] The darkness vanished, and Almond saw the desert again. "Master, are you alright?" "Yeah, I''m fine." Almond smiled and teleported beside Malin with Meliora. "Wear your clothes. We are going to have a long hunt." Looking at his rank, Almond cracked his neck. "I dropped hard, but now, we aren''t stopping before hitting the top 10." The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!