《Healing System》


 Stats, skills explanation

    <h4>Chapter -2: Stats, skills exnation</h4>


    -Stats


    HP - Health points determine how much health you have, it goes down in the case of injury or sickness HP regen = END


    MP - Magic points determine how much mana you have, it goes down when you use certain skills MP regen = INT


    STR - Strength determines the power behind your attacks


    END - Endurance determines your health and stamina, conversion rate is 1:5 to HP (5 END 25 HP)


    AGI -Agility determines your general speed and dexterity


    INT - Intellect Improves mental acuity and increases MP, conversion rate is 1:5 to MP (5 INT 25MP)


    CHA - Charisma determines how the opposite sex sees you


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    -Skills


    Rarities: Apply to everything in this novel


    [Common] [Umon] [Rare] [Epic] [Unique] [Legendary] [Ultimate]


    Common skills can go up to lvl 10


    Umon skills can go up to lvl 25


    Rare skills can go up to lvl 50


    Epic skills can go up to lvl 75


    Unique skills have no limit, making them essentially god like if high leveled


    Legendary skills can go up to lvl 100


    Ultimate skills only have 1 level, but they are considered the strongest as they are special skills

 *SPOILERS* DON鈥橳 READ BEFORE Chapter 53

    <h4>Chapter -1: *SPOILERS* DON''T READ BEFORE Chapter 53</h4>


    There are 4 types of Mana cores.


    They are located in the Heart, Brain, Lower abdomen, Spine


    Heart: Mage Core: It provides an increased cirction of mana in exchange for poor physical capabilities. The core is mostly used by pure mages.


    Brain: Mind Core: It provides an increased level of intelligence and information processing, it is simr to the Mage Core as it also reduces Physical capabilities, however, it also has less mana than the one in the Heart. It is mostly used by mages which use the Mind to fight, illusions, mind control, etc..


    Lower Abdomen: Dantian Core: It highly increases Physical capability in exchange for a small mana pool. The core is mostly used by pure physical fighters, Swordsmen, Brawlers, Tanks, etc.


    Spine: Flow Core: It increases Physical capability and mana, it highly increases reaction speed and casting speed. It is considered a special core due to the low amount of people being efficient Hybrid fighters. Meaning they use Magical and Physical ability to fight close range and long range.


    The reason the others don''t use the Flow core is because it requires a certain grade of mana to even be able to harness it.


    To tier up Flow Core: Once a certain amount of mana umtes a thread will form, you must slowly weave it upwards and you will reach the next tier.


    To tier up Mage Core: Once a certain amount of mana umtes in their hearts, a magic circle will appear, you must use it to enhance your Heart and you will reach the next tier. (The magic circles are random and they can''t be passed down from others.)


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    To tier up Mind Core: Once a certain amount of mana umtes in the brain, a veil will appear and one must assimte with it to reach the next tier. The veil acts as a sort of emotional gate keep to make the Mind Core user more stable in tense situations.


    To tier up Dantian Core: Once a certain amount of mana umtes in the lower abdomen, it will unleash it all at once and you must absorb the mana back into the core to reach the next tier. It acts as more powerful refinement, therefore if you are not strong enough you could die.


    Skills and affinity rank


    <strong><i>[Beginner] [Basic] [Intermediate] [Advanced] [Superior] [Elite] [Supreme] </i></strong>


    The skills are categorized into tiers and grades.


    All the way from F- to S


    F- F F+ ; E- E E+ ; D- D D+ ; C- C C+ ; B- B B+ ; A- A A+ ; S


    S is considered the pinnacle of the stat reached in that particr tier, once you tier up, your stats will go back to F- though your strength will not diminish, you will continue to grow stronger.


    It is most optimal to first maximize the stats before Tiering up as the potential stat loss could be considered crucial in the future.


    Finally Mana Purity, it acts as a spell enhancement. If your mana purity is at 10% you will have a 10% increase in the effectiveness of all your spells. The number can go above 100%


    <strong>SPOILERS BELOW CH 64</strong>


    Skills


    <strong><i>+---+


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>[Herald of Light] [Advanced] [Passive]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># 250% increase in casting speed, 500% for Light affinity based spells</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>[Eyes of The Healer] [Intermediate] [Passive]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># See the ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Beginner] [Passive]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Increases STR by 1 Minor Rank when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Discipline [Basic] [Passive]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Mental magic has a 20% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 20% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Purify [Intermediate] [Active] </i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>*Cost: 5% MP</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>*Radius: 200 Meters</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Physical Enhancement [Beginner] [Active]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Increase all stats by 1 Minor Rank</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>*Upkeep: >1% MP/S</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Sword of Light [Basic] [Active]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Summon 1 or multiple swords containing the Light affinity.</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>*Cost: >1% MP/S</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active]</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i># Feel the mana of everything and everyone in an area around you.</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>*Cost: >1% MP/S


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> # Create a protective barrier around yourself or others, absorbing 40% HP damage until broken. Alternate to healing mode to heal 30% of total HP. Able to cast an outer shield which can be used to parry attacks.


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> *Shielding Mode Cost: 5% MP


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> *Healing Mode Cost: 3% MP


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> *Outer Shield Mode: 1% MP, Refunded if parried or blocked sessfully


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> A miniature sword that condenses and masks its mana. Has high defense pration with considerable killing power.


    </i></strong></i></strong>


    <strong><i><strong><i> *Cost: 5% MP</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    </i></strong>


    <strong><i> A/N: let me know if I forgot something!</i></strong><strong><i>                </i></strong>

 Chapter 1: Beginning Anew

    <h4>Chapter 1: Beginning Anew</h4>


    A lone manid on the cold wet ground in an alleyway.


    Blood was dripping down and mixing with the already dirty water.


    The man tried to stand up, however he soon noticed he couldn''t. His legs were broken with bones sticking right out of them, truly a gruesome sight.


    What was worse though, is that no matter how much the man tried to scream, nothing came out.


    He was a mute, though not exactly the conventional type of mute.


    He once was on a job, it was a high priority case, he had to protect an arab prince.


    The man was a sniper, ex military now a mercenary.


    Though he failed, and quite miserably at that.


    The killer was one of the prince''s people, his closest aide.


    For that reason, the man did not pay attention to that particr person, which resulted in what happened next..


    Through the scope of his sniper, he saw the prince being stabbed through the heart, and the assant quickly being riddled with holes by the bodyguards that were right next to him.


    The man was shocked, though if you looked closely, fear was evident on his face.


    Not because he failed, but what woulde after.


    Once the man came back to his employer, he was met with a gun to his head and was knocked out.


    When he woke up, he could no longer speak. The doctors said his vocal cords had been damaged beyond repair, making him a mute for life.


    Ever since that day, he turned to a life of an alcoholic. Squandering all of his funds on all types of illegal substances as well as prostitutes.


    Though that too was short lived, as one of the prostitutes he had hired was the sister of a mob boss.


    Being thrown out of a window and losing his consciousness what greeted him when he awoke were his broken legs.


    The man''s name was Michael, a former veteran mercenary turned alcoholic.


    ''Fuuuuckk'' Michael eximed in his mind whilst crawling out of the alleyway.


    However as he did so, one of his leg bones that were sticking out caught on to something, tearing his flesh open further.


    ''This fucking day can''t get any better can it'' Michael thought whilst picking up an empty bottle and throwing it at a nearby wall.


    Michael flipped over andid t on his back, trying to crawl further, but not being able to.


    The momentary adrenaline had run out, Michael''s entire body had been paralyzed.


    ''That bitch...'' Michael thought while thinking of the prostitute he had hired tonight. She was beautiful, but it seemed his fate had been settled the moment she walked through his doors.


    Thinking back on it. Michael gave off a hobo impression, that might have been the reason why she called her brother.


    ''Fucking tank that guy was, picked me up and threw me out of the window with a single hand'' Michael couldn''t help but chuckle in his mind at the irony of the situation. The woman went to the bathroom and a couple of minutester his door had been flung open with multiple peopleing in.


    In the very middle was the mob boss, tall and fat, also not really a signnguage expert so it probably looked like Michael was affiliated with some sort of gang to him.


    ''That aside.. I''m fucked aren''t I'' Barely moving his head from side to side, Michael finally realized the gravity of his situation.


    He was too far from a visible street, if only he was able to crawl further behind the corner, he would see the street bustling with people.


    If only he had his voice this wouldn''t have been a problem in the first ce.


    Michael threw the bottle at the wall a couple of minutes ago, yet no one showed up to check up on him.


    The blood loss was starting to catch up to him, rendering him sleepy.


    Michael sped his shaking hands and appeared to be praying.


    ''Oh great heavens or what fucking not, bless me with a thunderbolt to end my suffering'' He expressed genuinely, before cing his hands down and looking up at the sky.


    It was dark. There were no stars as he was in a city, just pure loneliness to apany him in his death.


    ''I wonder how my family is doing'' Michael thought back to the family he abandoned after losing his voice and bing an alcoholic.


    He was an only child, with only his father still being alive. His mother died from a lung disease whilst he was deployed.


    Michael''s father tried reaching out to him many times, but he couldn''t muster up the courage to show himself, since the start, he held himself as a failure, both as a mercenary, and a son.


    As the light in Michael''s eyes slowly dimmed, he expressed for thest time, to seemingly no one in particr ''I am sorry.''


    He was not able to hear anything anymore and prepared to close his eyes for thest time when all of a sudden something appeared in front of him.


    It was some kind of blue hologram that read, <i>Do you wish to start anew?</i>


    There were two options, Yes and No, written right below that sentence.


    Michael thought he was hallucinating. As he tried to reach with his hands to press Yes, but he no longer could, the only thing he was able to do at the moment was see and think.


    Michael focused on the word <i>Yes, </i>and as he did so his vision turned ck, with his thoughts quickly halting.


    After an uncertain amount of time, Michael once again opened his eyes, though what greeted him was an unfamiliar environment.


    ''Where the fuck am I now?'' Michael thought as he started looking around.


    Around him were a bunch of empty bunk beds, neatly folded nkets on each one of them.


    All of a sudden, Michael''s thoughts were interrupted by a raging headache.


    ''Arghh what now!'' Michael grasped his head with his hands and tried not to let out any sound.


    Though that proved to not work as through gritted teeth a single word escaped "Shit.."


    Michael was surprised, even the headache seemed to momentarily not matter.


    "...I can talk?" As those words left Michael''s mouth, he once again lost consciousness.


    Michael found himself in a pitch ck space, with some sort of movie screen in front of him, scenes ying at a very fast speed. Though for some reason he was able to understand them, or more like remember them.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The scenes continued to y and after only a few minutes, they were finished.


    At the end of it all appeared a single word ''<i>System''</i>


    As Michael was about to utter that word, he was flung back into the real world, back into the orphanage where he had lived since he was 2.


    ''This makes no sense, I had parents and I didn''t grow up in an orphanage'' Michael thought whilst contemting something, before looking back to the bunk beds and muttering.


    "System"


    The silence was loud, Michael had a slightly embarrassed expression on his face.


    ''I knew this was stupid'' Michael expressed whilst hiding away his embarrassment.


    Though his doubt was short lived, as in the next moment he heard a voice.


    <i>Greetings host, you have finally recovered.</i>


    The voicepletely startled Michael as he jumped up and fell out of his bunk bed.


    <strong><i>Thud</i></strong>


    Landing straight on his ass..


    "Who are you!?" Michael shouted whilst looking around frantically, though not being able to see anything.


    <i>Calm down host, I am not your enemy.</i>


    The voice didn''t seem to be audible, it was inside of Michael''s mind.


    Taking a few deep breaths and looking around a few more times Michael asked kindly "I said who the fuck are you!"


    The voice seemed unperturbed as it answered.


    <i>I am the system that was bound to your soul, I am one of the perks for those who wished to start anew.</i>


    ''Start anew? That thing I saw before I died?'' Michael contemted for a little while before asking another question "What is a system?"


    The voice seemed pleased with Michael''s change in attitude, as it began exining.


    <i>A system is a type of helping mechanism for those who are from different worlds. In your particr case, I am a bit different. I have sentience, meaning I am much stronger than my predecessors, as they were all just robot like machines serving the host with automatic function.</i>


    It was a lot to take in for Michael, this all seemed strange, yet he couldn''t deny the fact that it was possible as his memories included tidbits of some weird things happening.


    Be it people shooting out fire from their hands, splitting trees in half with but a simple hand gesture and many more things.


    Michael had many questions, but he still had to organize his thoughts so he asked the one question that was lingering in the front of his mind "What is with these memories I have? Why can I suddenly recall them even though they are not my own?"


    <i>Once you were reincarnated, your soul was in an unstable condition, so I was forced to seal your memories away until you had recovered them yourself, if I hadn''t, you would have died again.</i>


    <i>And don''t worry, this body, these memories, are your own. You were born into this body and the memories you gained were just what this body had experienced in thest 8 years.</i>


    Michael was fairly satisfied with the answer and nodded, it would exin him starting to remember all of the memories clearer and clearer as the minutes go by.


    <i>Anyways, host you are up and you are well, I will exin more about this world after you get a good night''s rest, oh and say ''Status''</i>


    Michael was slightly worried, thinking another system was going to pop out of nowhere, but nheless still listened to it, he had nothing to lose anyway.


    "Status"


    All of a sudden a blue hologram appeared in front of Michael''s eyes, just way bigger thanst time.


    <strong>+---+</strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 8 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 0 [0/100 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles</i></strong>:


    <strong><i>-Born anew [Unique] [Temporary]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases experience gain by 50% until level 10</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 110/110</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 150/150</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 4</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 2</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 2</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 10</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 5</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 4] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 4% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Heal [Level 0] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target / Restore 50 HP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25 MP</i></strong>


    <strong>+---+</strong>


    Michael looked in wonder, the status disyed all of his current physical abilities, even the skills he had in his past life.


    However something did irk him a little.


    Michael said out loud, specifically to the system "Why am I a healer?"


    The system replied patiently.


    <i>Your path was chosen based on how you lived your past life, healer just so happened to be what you got.</i>


    Michael''s brow twitched as he was left a little confused and shouted "How I lived my past life? I fucking killed people why would I be given a ss like this!"


    <i>Yes, but you also protected them. The way your path was chosen did not necessarily have anything to do with what you did, it was more what you thought while doing it.</i>


    The system went on to exin.


    <i>If you killed people and enjoyed doing it, your ss would have been something way different than it is now. In your case, you killed yes, however, regret was present in each of your kills, if things could have turned out differently you wanted to save them.</i>


    The system kept quiet for a little while then spoke into Michael''s mind once again.


    <i>Isn''t that why you couldn''t take the shot that day? You hesitated and someone else paid the price.</i>


    Michael was taken aback, he didn''t think the system knew so much about him.


    "So what if I did..no point dwelling on the past."


    <i>That is indeed so.</i>


    Michael stood up and walked back to his bunk bed lying back down and asking another question "So what now? Where do I go from here."


    <i>Your body is still fatigued, before you recovered, it had caught a cold, it''s better if you go back to sleep, tomorrow I will tell you what you need to know.</i>


    The system gave a reply that didn''t quite satisfy Michael''s current curiosity, though he didn''t argue against it.


    And closing his eyes, went to sleep..


    <strong>*</strong>


    <strong>A/N: If you have any questions in this or future Chapters, don''t hesitate to ask. I reply to most if not allments.</strong>


    <strong>A quick little heads up though. The mc is not going to primarily be a healer, he will be a hybrid fighter using all sorts of weapons made out of mana.</strong>


    <strong>The FL has already been introduced, more about her will be exploredter on. And yes, It is no-harem.</strong>

 Chapter 2: Healer

    <h4>Chapter 2: Healer</h4>


    The sun was shining high in the sky and Michael had just woken up.


    As he looked around, he saw a few children leaving their bunk beds and heading towards the main hall.


    Michael could feel a little buzzing in his ears, because of the sudden influx of the memories he received. Though it would go away soon.


    He got off his bunk bed and walked up to the window, observing the city of Amara from the orphanage.


    There were many high rise buildings, they looked way more modern than his previous world. Same with all the other stuff like cars, regr housing, even clothing.


    It all looked simple, yet very convenient. that was due to magic being present, and beingbined in unison with the already existing technology. The results were something his old world was a couple hundred years away from achieving.


    Michael nced behind him to check if there were any kids left and asked the system a question "I''m up, you going to tell me anything now?"


    After a few moments of silence, the system replied.


    <i>Go get food first, you are in a child''s body so you need to eat a lot.</i>


    The answer made Michael''s brow twitch and he clenched his hands. Seemingly out of anger, but decided to not argue as he was a tiny bit hungry.


    He walked out of his room and took the stairs down to the cafeteria. Along the way, he saw many familiar faces, though none of them were his friends. Just people he hade to know due to circumstances.


    By this point Michael''s memories were essentiallybined, the buzz in his ears had disappeared a few moments ago.


    He arrived at the cafeteria and went up to get his breakfast, a woman named Hilda was the chef of this joint, and her food from what he remembers was delicious.


    The woman gave him a gentle smile and handed him a te of food. It was just simple eggs, sausages and bread, however, due to Hilda being a good cook, it was delicious nheless.


    Michael sat down by the window and ate his food, recalling his memories to see if maybe he knew anyone aside from Hilda.


    But by the time he finished his food, the only person he could remember besides Hilda was Reba. She was the person who brought Michael in when he was little. She was now the head of the orphanage.


    Michael nced out of the window and murmured quietly "So?"


    <i>Host wipe your mouth first. There is a napkin to your right.</i>


    "Are you fucking serious" Michael expressed whilst looking around to see if anybody heard him. he quickly took the napkin and wiped his mouth.


    He then turned back to the window and quietly whispered "Happy?"


    <i>Very much so host. Now then, since your memories seem to be fully back, we can start with leveling you up, and your healing capabilities as well.</i>


    Michael didn''t take his eyes away from the window and asked in a confused manner "You really like talking in riddles don''t you? Just tell me what I have to do."


    The system as always didn''t pay any attention to Michael''s rudeness.


    <i>Certainly, to level up your skills, you must use them for their purpose. In your case, you have to heal others to receive experience, which in turn will level both your skills and you up, simple right?</i>


    Michael nodded and asked "How many times do I have to heal somebody to level up my skills?"


    As he said those words the blue hologram appeared and he panned straight to the Heal skill.


    <strong>+--+</strong>


    <strong><i>Heal [Level 0 0/100 EXP] [Common] [Active] </i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target / Restore 50 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25 MP</i></strong>


    <strong>+--+</strong>


    Michael noticed that the required amount of experience appeared now. When he checked it earlier, it wasn''t there.


    <i>You need to get 100 experience in total to level up your skill to level 1. As I said earlier, heal those who are injured and you will receive experience.</i>


    <i>The amount of experience you get is determined by your ss and your Heal skill. Normally you would get 10 XP for each injury you heal, though because of your title that increases experience gain, you will get 15 XP.</i>


    Michael thought for a little while and asked again "So I get 15 experience when I heal someone and it goes to both my skill and my general level?"


    <i>Yes, that is the perk of the Healer ss. Most sses have fixed ratios, though that does not apply to Healer as it is considered a difficult ss to level upter on.</i>


    <i>But then again with your proficiency in weapons and hand to handbat, you will be able to gain experience from both healing and killing dungeon monsters.</i>


    Michael was startled for a moment but quicklyposed himself to not look too suspicious to the others in the cafeteria "Dungeon monsters? You mean those nasty things that appear out of nowhere?"


    Michael knew a little bit about them. Though just surface knowledge, nothing too in depth, his body was still that of a kid''s after all.


    <i>They are called dungeon monsters because theye out of dungeons, but yes they are nasty and most of them deserve to die.</i>


    Michael could feel a little malice from the system. It was directed towards the dungeon monsters.


    Though he was still just a child. He won''t be battling dungeon monsters for a while.


    "Ouch" a sound was heard from behind Michael, it was some kid that fell down and bruised his knee.


    The system immediately reacted.


    <i>Chop chop host get to healing.</i>


    Though Michael hesitated for a moment and asked the system "Won''t it be bad if I am found out to be awakened?"


    The awakened referred to those who had obtained their sses.


    <i>It''s fine, some younger awakeners detailed that they had caught some kind of cold a couple of days prior to their awakening, and look at the timing, so did you.</i>


    Michael thought for a moment and stood up. Walking up to the kid who was holding his bruised knee, which was slightly bleeding.


    However as he got closer he remembered something that he might have overlooked "How do I use the Heal skill?"


    The system quickly gave a reply.


    <i>Just look at the kid and stretch out your hand, then say Heal. The max distance should be around 10 meters or so.</i>


    Michael''s fists once again clenched as he looked up to seemingly no one "So you are telling me I could have just healed him from my seat, thank you system" The sarcasm was palpable.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    <i>It''s toote to go back anyways everyone is already looking at you, just man up and do it already.</i>


    Michael arrived by the kid and crouched down. He couldn''t remember the child''s name, though that did not matter.


    Stretching out his hand Michael looked focused "Heal"


    Once he said those words, a yellow energy momentarily enveloped the child, and the bruise on his knee disappeared like it had never even been there in the first ce.


    <strong><i>[Heal +15 EXP]</i></strong>


    A silent ding could be heard in his head as he saw the blue hologram appear in front of him, stating that he had increased his experience.


    However that was not the only thing silent, as the entire cafeteria was as well.


    Most kids didn''t know what happened, they knew what magic was and what the awakened were, however, most of them had never seen one use their skills before.


    However that was not the case for the adults present, as Hilda got out from her post in the kitchen and walked towards Michael.


    Her past gentle smile had been reced by a serious look as Hilda instructed "Come with me Michael, we are going to see Reba."


    Michael didn''t think he would meet Reba again until his birthday, though it was still a couple of months away.


    But the chance had presented itself. The affection that Michael felt was simr to what he felt when he remembered his mother.


    And now he was going to meet his mother figure in this world, Michael looked up at Hilda and nodded "Okay."


    Navigating the halls in silence, they eventually arrived in front of a door that had the words ''Reba'' written over it.


    Hilda proceeded to walk to the door and open it abruptly, once she did, Michael was able to see Reba.


    She was sitting at her desk, with a stack of papers in front of her. Though if you looked closely, you could tell she wasn''t actually awake, but sleeping whilst sitting at her desk.


    Hilda walked up to the desk and mmed down her hand.


    <i>Bang</i>


    It startled Reba as she waved her hands around and knocked all the documents down to the ground.


    Michael was left speechless, from his memories he always saw Reba as someone without ws, aplete professional. However it appears that was not the case.


    Reba looked at Hilda with a red face, embarrassed "H-Hilda.. what are you doing here?"


    She then turned towards Michael and her embarrassed expression grew further "Michael..."


    All the while Michael was still standing stunned.


    Hilda interrupted Reba''s self pity and regret act that she was about to start pulling off and pointed towards Michael "The boy awakened."


    Those simple words were enough to snap Reba back to her professional self. She quicklyposed herself and looked towards Michael.


    Michael''s heart was beating fast, He was excited to see Reba as she was like a mother to him, and they were not able to see each other frequently due to her being the head of the orphanage.


    Reba nced at Michael, then back to Hilda and asked in a serious voice "Is that the truth?"


    Hilda nodded and turned towards Michael "Show her boy."


    Michael didn''t know if his abilities would work even if the target was not injured, but he tried nheless "Heal"


    The Heal was directed towards Reba, though as she was not injured in the slightest, he didn''t gain any experience.


    But that was beside the point, as the yellow light from before still appeared and enveloped Reba, beforepletely disappearing into nothingness.


    Reba widened her eyes and then started scrambling for something in her drawer. Pulling out some sort of crystal and handing it to Michael "ce your hands on this and use your skill again."


    Michael nodded and did as he was told, then out of nowhere a hologram appeared, simr to his, but this time it was visible to everyone.


    <strong><i>-+-</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 8</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 0</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-+-</i></strong>


    It disyed a fraction of the information that he was privy to.


    The system''s voice suddenly resounded in Michael''s mind.


    <i>That''s a mana stone embedded with inspection magic.</i>


    Michael nodded and looked back at Reba and Hilda, they were both wearing shocked expressions.


    That was until Reba got out of her seat and walked towards Michael, suddenly hugging him "Congrattions, Michael."


    Michael had the instinctive urge to hug her back, and so he did.


    The hugsted for a couple of seconds before both of them departed from one another. Reba then started exining a few things to Michael "Since you are now an awakened, once you turn 12 you will be admitted into the Awakeners academy. Until then you are with us" Reba finished off with a warm smile.


    Michael smiled softly and looked at both Hilda and Reba before saying "Thank you."


    Reba nodded happily and said "You can go back now Michael, we will help you develop your skills in a better suited environment" She then picked up a piece of paper from the shelf next to her and stamped her seal on it.


    Michael was slightly puzzled by her actions, but awaited patiently, and after a few seconds, Reba gave the stamped paper to Michael.


    She went down to pick up the documents she dropped earlier. But not before telling Michael "Take that to the orphanage''s recovery center, you will be one of the healers and from there you can develop your skills further."


    Michael was going to say thank you, but he felt like he said that enough, so he just simply nodded and walked out of Reba''s office.


    His direction being, the orphanage''s recovery center..

 Chapter 3: Recovery Center

    <h4>Chapter 3: Recovery Center</h4>


    Shortly after Michael left, Reba turned to Hilda, and with a serious expression instructed "Report this to Reinhardt, don''t leave anything out."


    Hilda, whose expression turned nk,pletely devoid of emotion, nodded at Reba "Yes miss" and disappeared into the shadows. Not even making a single sound.


    Reba returned to her seat and flicked her finger, suddenly all the fallen documents floated back to her desk.


    Sighing, she thought ''Why did you have to awaken now..''


    The orphanage was the only one in the entire city, yet it was big enough to house all of the orphans and still have room left over.


    Though just because it was watched over by the higher ups, did not mean corruption was impossible.


    Reba had been brainwashed. Ever since she was young, her ambition was to be the head of the orphanage, though that was not entirely her will..


    Once she became the orphanage''s head, her brainwashing slightly wavered, and due to that, her powers were able to dispel itpletely.


    Her mind was like a nk canvas. All she knows and remembers revolves around the orphanage. She didn''t know who cast the mind control on her, the only clue she has is the person named Reinhardt.


    Hilda was one of Reinhardt''s people, so Reba could not avoid reporting Michael''s awakening to him.


    She is close to finally meeting up with him, and when she does..she will kill him.


    Rocking back on her chair she thought ''I don''t know if I can protect you Michael..''


    Reba loved the kids, but it was more of a superficial type of love. Deep down, she wanted to free herself from the clutches of whoever was lurking in the shadows.


    Though there was one kid in particr whosepany she enjoyed the most, it was Michael. 6 years ago she found him sprawled out on the sidewalk, he was heavily malnourished so she took him in.


    Ever since then, their bond has gotten stronger.


    But now..it was being tested. By the misfortune that she has yet topletely erase...


    <strong><i>-----</i></strong>


    Michael was outside, walking to the recovery center. Along the way, he saw multiple kids and even some adults.


    Michael grew a bit curious so he mumbled a question to the system "Is it really going to be this easy to level up? All I did was heal a bruise."


    <i>You can only get experience from the same person once per day. However with the number of people in this orphanage, it definitely won''t be hard to level up. And yes, as long as the person lost even a singr unit of HP, healing him would give you EXP.</i>


    Michael pondered for a moment, before asking another question "What happens when I reach level 10?"


    <i>You will gain a new skill. Every 10 levels you get a random skill that is attributed to your ss.</i>


    "Right, ss, is it going to always staymon?" Michael followed along with yet another question.


    <i>You will be able to increase its rarity and effects once you reach Level 50. After that, every 50 levels you are going to be evaluated and given a task toplete in order to increase the rarity of your ss further.</i>


    "I see, thank you" Michael expressed politely and continued walking towards the recovery center, already seeing the outline of the building.


    After a couple more minutes of walking, he finally arrived and stepped inside the building. it looked like a simple hospital, though magic was involved, making it way better than the hospitals of his previous world.


    Walking up to the register, Michael was greeted by a neatly dressed receptionist who asked to see his identification.


    Michael passed over the piece of paper that Reba gave him, immediately earning a look of understanding from the receptionist.


    The receptionist started dialing a number and told someone toe, signaling for Michael to sit down and wait.


    Michael did just that. He found himself afortable seat and sat down, preparing to wait for hours, hospitals tend to be like that most of the time he thought.


    However he did not have to wait long. As 5 minutester, A person wearing a doctor''s coat appeared and walked towards Michael, before stretching out his hand and introducing himself "Hello Michael, my name is Salus, I am the head healer of this facility,e with me."


    Michael shook the man''s hand and followed him. Going inside of an elevator and arriving on the 4th floor, where they walked further until they reached Salus''s office.


    The office was spacious, with all sorts ofb equipment lying around, the desk beingpletely spotless, a stark contrast to Reba''s desk.


    Salus pointed at the seat near the table and told Michael to sit down, while he himself went behind the desk and sat down on hisfortable office chair.


    Salus looked Michael up and down and then asked "Why do you want to join the recovery center?"


    Michael was taken aback a little. He had expected to be questioned, but he did not expect this kind of a first question, there are certainly wrong answers.


    If Michael were to say ''I only want to level up my skills'', he would undoubtedly get kicked out.


    Michael decided to formte his inner desire into a more favorable anwser "I want to improve my healing skills in order to save more people."


    The answer was something that Salus did not expect toe out of an 8 year olds mouth. He was expecting something childish, but this was anything but.


    Salus looked at Michael and asked "Are you nning on attending the academy?"


    Michael simply nodded "Yes."


    Salus seemed satisfied. He took out some kind of marble ball out of his pocket and handed it to Michael.


    Holding the marble ball in his hands, Michael couldn''t help but sh a confused look. What was he supposed to do with this?


    Salus noticed his confused gaze and chuckled "Put it up to your clothes."


    Michael did just that, and his current regr clothing turned into a coat, simr to the one the head healer in front of him was wearing.


    His clothes seemed to have merged with whatever that marble was, though there was a single odd pin, located near his wrist.


    Michael tried lightly pulling it out, and surprisingly it worked. The white coat disappeared into the pin, and once again became a marble. His previous clothing reappearing.


    Salus looked amused and asked Michael "Do you want to start working today?"


    Michael was about to say yes, but he had just remembered something "Am I going to get paid?"


    That sentence shocked Salus a little. Though it was only natural to ask something like that given the circumstances "We provide food and other necessities, the pay is based on the tips your patients might give you, this gives everyone an incentive to try harder."


    ''Stingy'' Michael thought. Though he didn''t express it aloud, at least he had the potential to get paid at all.


    He was d Salus didn''t take offense to his question. It might have seemed a little insensitive, given the fact that Michael did say he wanted to improve his skills to save more people.


    ''Though tips in a hospital? Seemed unlikely'' Michael thought.


    Salus stood up and walked to the door, before turning to Michael and saying "Put on the coat"


    Michael did just that and followed after Salus. Going back down to the 1st floor of the recovery center.


    Along the way many people stared at Michael, all of them sporting a curious expression.


    They finally arrived in front of a room that had ''Emergency Room 3'' written on it.


    Inside the room were a couple of patients. Some with broken bones, others with horrid expressions on their faces.


    Salus turned to Michael and instructed "Watch me, afterwards you will try."


    He walked up to a patient with a broken leg and cast a healing spell, though unlike Michael, whose heal covered the entire body, Salus''s only covered the broken portion of the leg.


    Before Michael''s eyes, the bone popped back into ce, then quickly mended itself together, finally the area which the bone had popped out from was healed, looking like it was never injured in the first ce.


    Salus turned towards Michael and asked "Any questions?"


    Michael nodded "Why did you only target the area where the bone was broken?"


    Salus quickly exined in detail "Using mana to heal the whole body is wasteful. As a healer you must conserve as much as possible, you will be dealing with patients for most of the day after all."


    He then pointed toward another person with a broken leg before saying "Try."


    <i>Host, whenever you say Heal, focus on the part of the body you wish to heal, it will generate a new skill.</i>


    Michael nodded at both Salus and the system. He thought the only way you could acquire new skills was through the random pull the system talked about that happens every 10 levels. Though it appears Michael was wrong.


    He walked up to the patient and focused on the broken leg, then said "Heal."


    As he did so, the light covered the entire body of the man with a broken leg, however, it quickly concentrated on the part Michael was focusing on.


    <i>-DING</i>


    A bell rang out in Michael''s ears and once again a familiar blue interface appeared in front of his eyes.


    <strong><i>[Focus Heal +15 EXP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[New Skill Generated] [Bonus: +1 INT]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Focus Heal [Level 0 15/100 EXP] [Common] [Active] </i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target''s injuries in the area focused / Restore 50 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 15 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    Michael looked a bit stunned. He knew that the skill would be generated, but a question arose along with it. Though before he could ask it, the system answered, as if already knowing what Michael wanted to ask.


    <i>Yes, this is the power of the system, even if you focus on that area you still restore 50 HP, meaning you now have a cheaper full body Heal with the same effectiveness. Congrattions.</i>


    Salus walked up to the man who had just been healed and eximed "Wow Michael, you are a prodigy!"


    The men with the now healed legs left the emergency room after thanking both the healers. Neither of them tipped even a single cent though.


    Salus gestured for Michael to pay attention, as he now moved towards the people who didn''t have any visible injuries.


    Salus walked up to one of them and asked "What seems to be troubling you?"


    The patient pointed at his neck. There seemed to be a little bump on it "This appeared over a week ago, only recently am I starting to feel pain."


    Nodding and closely examining the bump Salus turned back toward Michael and exined "This is a cyst. They appear when regr humans are exposed to too much mana. They could appear anywhere on the body and are dangerous if left alone."


    Salus then pointed his finger at the cyst and used a focused heal on it, suddenly the cyst erged and popped. Michael expected pus toe out, but nothing did, it just disappeared.


    Michael was instructed to try the same thing on another patient, and so he did, sessfully.


    <strong><i>[Focus Heal +15 EXP]</i></strong>


    Salus once again praised Michael for his prowess and exined his role in this room "From here on out, you are in charge of Emergency Room 3''s healing. Most patients thate here can be treated with simple healing magic, much like the ones currently here."


    He then went on to say "When I determine that your healing skills are up to par, you will be moved to Emergency Room 2, and if you are qualified, maybe even Emergency Room 1."


    Michael kept nodding, this was a great opportunity for him to level up. Though he was still left a little salty ''Tch a big shot better give me a tip'' he grumbled.


    <i>Host, while I don''t expect you to be a monk, please refrain from being shameless.</i>


    Michael ignored the system''s words and went around healing the others. There were 5 people left, injuries ranging from deep cuts to broken bones, and even a single patient with yet another cyst.


    By then Salus had already left after informing Michael that he is to work for only 4 hours a day. From 1PM to 5PM, currently it was 1:30PM so he still had some work left to do.


    After healing all of them Michael was left with 5 blue holographic boxes in front of him. Though as he focused on them, they allbined into one.


    <strong><i>[Focus Heal +75 EXP] </i></strong>


    Michael thought that it was finally about time he leveled up his skills, though no message came.


    <i>Host, until you reach level 10, you have to level up manually. To do that you must go into your status and press the little plus button next to the skills you want to level up. The same goes for your general level.</i>


    Michael nodded, looked around to make sure that no one else was in the room, and whispered "Status"


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 8 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 0 [120/100 EXP] (+) </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Born anew [Unique] [Temporary]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases experience gain by 50% until level 10</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 110/110 / Regen 2 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 0/155 / Regen 11 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 4</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 2</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 2</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 10 -> 11</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 5</i></strong>


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    <strong><i>-Skills</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 0/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 4 0/2000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 4% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Heal [Level 0 15/100 EXP] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target / Restore 50 HP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Focus Heal [Level 0 105/100 EXP] (+) [Common] [Active] </i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target''s injuries in the area focused / Restore 50 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 15 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    Michael noticed that even more options were added to the system, such as health and mana regeneration. Previously he was not able to see it, now he could.


    Hovering his finger right above the <strong><i>(+) </i></strong>button, Michael pressed it and a louder than normal ding followed.


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>[Level up! 0->1 20/1000 EXP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Health and Magic Points fully restored]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[5 Unassigned Stat points obtained]</i></strong>


    Michael then pressed on the other <strong><i>(+)</i></strong>


    -DING


    <strong><i>[Skill: Focus Heal Level up! 0->1 5/500 EXP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Restore 50->60 HP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[1 Unassigned Stat point obtained]</i></strong>

 Chapter 4: Training

    <h4>Chapter 4: Training</h4>


    Michael looked over what he received and saw that he now had 6 unassigned stat points.


    <i>Host, I highly rmend you put those points into INT. Not only will it give you more mana, you will also be able to think clearer. It is a hidden effect that shines the best out of all of them.</i>


    Michael reached out his hand and put all of his unassigned stat points into INT.


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP 155/155 -> 185/185</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 11->17</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    At this point, Michael stopped trying to argue with the system. So far every single thing that it told him was helpful.


    A couple of seconds passed, and it felt as though his mind had indeed gotten clearer as if he had just woken up from a good night''s sleep.


    Michael was not sure what to do now, the room was empty, with only the hospital like beds filling it, as well as a single chair right next to a desk of sorts.


    He decided to walk towards it. Beats standing and waiting for patients to arrive.


    On the desk sat a lone mirror, Michael stared into it and froze. Ever sinceing to this world, he had not once thought about his appearance, and to say he was handsome was an understatement.


    Golden yellow eyes akin to crystals, pure ck glossy hair, he was fairly short and skinny. Though from the memories that Michael recalled, he found out he had been malnourished in the past.


    Due to that, his eating habits suffered, which in turn made him eat less. More so, the portions he ate were not enough to feed an 8 year old child.


    Thinking back on it, the food Michael received in the cafeteria was in a very small portion. Guess Hilda already knew about his previous condition.


    ''Though since I have reincarnated, I will have to make some small adjustments'' Michael thought with determination.


    Suddenly the door swung open and a patient was carried in by some nurses. It was a young girl, probably one from the orphanage.


    The nurses exined the situation to Michael. It seemed they were already informed about the adjustments so he didn''t need to exin himself.


    They ced the young girl down on one of the hospital beds, afterwards, they walked right out.


    The girl had a broken wrist and a bruised elbow. Nothing a little healing spell couldn''t fix.


    Michael walked up to her whilst she was lying down in pain. Tears still streaming down even after the nurses gave her painkillers.


    ''She looks pitiful'' Michael thought before he focused on her wrist and used his skill "Focus Heal"


    The golden light enveloped her wrist. If Michael was a normal healer, he would have needed to cast it one more time. However, due to the system, his heals were way better.


    <strong><i>[Focus Heal +15 EXP]</i></strong>


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The girl''s tears stopped trickling down and she fell asleep. Her wrist and elbow back in perfect shape.


    Michael turned towards the system and addressed some of his concerns with a bit of worry on his face "About the EXP, it increased from 100 to 1000, is it always going to increase by 10 times now?"


    <i>No, Level 0 was like a ceholder to get you ustomed to the interface. The normal leveling starts from Level 1, with each Level the EXP needed will increase by 1000. It is the same for skills but instead of 1000, the increments will be 500.</i>


    Michael did some math in his head before gasping from shock "You are telling me to reach level 10 I need to heal over 2000 fucking people?"


    <i>That is correct host.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but ask "Is there a faster way?"


    <i>As of right now, no. Once you start going to dungeons, you will gain experience from the monsters killed, even if you did not kill them directly. As long as the person who killed it received a heal from you, you will gain experience.</i>


    That arose a thought in Michael''s mind. Why not try going to a dungeon now, if he could find someone to go with, he could just soak the experience.


    Though it seemed the system realized what he was thinking.


    <i>Don''t even think about it. At your current level even walking around in a dungeon would be difficult, let alone facing a monster. You would die from just the mere pressure it emitted, that is how weak you are.</i>


    The system didn''t hold anything back, though Michael couldn''t deny what it said. He was acting a little arrogant.


    <i>Host, if you reach Level 20 and enter the academy, you will have an opportunity to go to a dungeon. The reason I said Level 20 was because by then I hope you realize your role as a healer.</i>


    ''Level 20 in 4 years.. that seems tough'' Michael thought, but it didn''t seem impossible.


    He didn''t let the system''sments disturb him too much. He knew he was a healer, and not a mercenary anymore.


    Even if Michael had some of his former skills, they would not be enough to bridge the gap between his fellow peers.


    <i>After you finish your work here, we will be doing some training. Be prepared.</i>


    ''Training?'' Michael wondered. Is he going to practice his healing spells?


    <strong>-----</strong>


    The hours passed and his work day was finally done. Since the girl, only 3 other patients arrived,ting him a bit of EXP.


    <strong><i>[Focus Heal +45 EXP]</i></strong>


    In total, today he earned 180 EXP, 165 of which went into his Focus Heal spell.


    Michael sighed ''Any progress is some progress.''


    Michael walked out of Emergency Room 3 and walked to the receptionist. He didn''t quite know how to clock out.


    Though upon arriving, he was told everything was already settled, the head doctor had his eye on him.


    Michael didn''t mind. After all, if he could prove hispetence, he would move to Emergency Room 2. Which had many more patients with all kinds of injuries and ailments.


    Michael walked out of the recovery center and was prepared to walk back and eat histe lunch, though the system stopped him.


    <i>Host, go to the training field, you can have your lunchter with your dinner.</i>


    "Why?" Michael asked a bit puzzled


    <i>I told you that you were going to be training. That training includes running and lifting weights.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but clench his fists harder. He thought he would be training his spells, not his body "Is that necessary?"


    <i>Host, you are weak, frail, slow, and more. Do not expect to do well if your body is that of a slug. Also, it is the perfect time for you to gain some extra stat points.</i>


    Thatst bit perked Michael''s ears up ''Stat points?'' the system didn''t mention anything about this earlier "borate."


    <i>Yes, if you do a certain activity, you will get stat points ordingly. if you run you get AGI, if you exhaust yourself you get END, if you lift heavy weights you gain STR. As for INT and CHA, the stat points are a bit harder toe by regrly.</i>


    Michael thought back to the time he first used Focus Heal, he received +1 INT as a bonus. Was that what the system meant?


    <i>Expect your endurance to be tested to the limits. This will not be light exercise.</i>


    A shiver went down Michael''s spine ''This system is the devil.''


    Walking to the side, what greeted Michael''s eyes was a stadium and a makeshift open gym. Simr to the ones that he usually used to see on beaches.


    <i>Host, let''s start off by running. Run 10ps around the stadium.</i>


    "Are you crazy!?" Michael eximed, not caring if anyone heard him. He was a bit tired after all this walking, how could he run 10ps?


    <i>You don''t want to run 10ps? Fine, walk 100 then. It''s your loss.</i>


    "If I walk 100 I''m not going to be done until tomorrow.." Michael expressed his unwillingness further.


    <i>Host, I am not telling you to run at full speed. Jog, just get it done, you will be surprised.</i>


    Michael unwillingly walked to the stadium, a few people staring at him. Though he ignored their gazes.


    "All I have to do is jog 10ps?" Michael asked for confirmation.


    <i>Yes.</i>


    And upon receiving it, he started to jog. Though his pace was slow, very slow.


    After around 3 minutes he had run his firstp, eachp being 400 meters.


    Michael was gasping for air, seemingly already tired from the minuscule amount of running he did.


    Jog or not, it seemed it was too difficult for Michael. And he still had 9ps left.


    Though before he was about to protest. In front of his eyes appeared the familiar blue hologram.


    <strong><i>[+1 END]</i></strong>


    It was sudden. He double checked and his stats really did increase. His END went from 2 to 3, he could feel some fatigue go away. Maybe enough to jog yet anotherp.


    And so he did, he ran anotherp, and then another. Though on the 4th one, he was once again swamped, gasping for air yet still trying to persevere.


    As his knees started buckling, the blue interface appeared again in front of Michael.


    <strong><i>[+1 AGI] [+1 END]</i></strong>


    This time not only his endurance increased, but also his agility, and he noticed the effects immediately.


    Michael''s previous slow jogging turned a little bit faster, only noticeable if you were paying attention. He was yet again invigorated, finishing the rest of theps.


    By the end, Michael was sprawled out on the ground. The increase in points was barely enough to get him by. The only reason he was able to finish all 10ps was because he received another stat point during the 8thp.


    <strong><i>[+1 END]</i></strong>


    ''Finally'' Michael thought as he was lying down, gasping for air.


    <i>4 stat points in total, not bad host. Take a 5 minute break and head over to the open gym area.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but grumble. Though the progress was undeniable, his stamina noticeably improved.


    At the outdoor gym, there were only a couple of people. They were all bodybuilders so they didn''t pay that much attention to Michael.


    <i>Host, the best way for the current you to get stronger is to deadlift.</i>


    Michael whispered so no one could hear him "Isn''t it better to train all my muscles?"


    <i>If you didn''t have me then yes. However it doesn''t matter if you train other muscles, your strength is bnced because of the STR stat. If you train your body and get a STR point, it will be like you trained everything at once.</i>


    ''Gotcha..'' Michael nodded and proceeded to pick up a straight bar with no weights.


    As Michael was about to start, the system interrupted him.


    <i>What do you think you are doing? Put 20kg on each side.</i>


    Michael knew it wasing, though isn''t 40kg too much? He weighed around 20kg himself, double his body weight as the first time lifting seemed a bit much.


    <i>Host, for a veteran you sure are a wuss.</i>


    Michael''s brow twitched and he went to put on the weights on each side, then tried lifting the bar.


    Picking it up, he noticed it wasn''t as bad as he thought. It was heavy sure, but not to the point where he would struggle too much.


    <i>Hmm, host put another 20kg on each side.</i>


    ''I just had to jinx it'' Michael sighed as he went to put on the extra weights.


    Finally, Michael was struggling, it was taking him everything he had just to lift the bar once.


    <i>Perfect, do this until you gain 2 STR stat points.</i>


    ''Devil..'' Michael thought before continuing.

 Chapter 5: A Year

    <h4>Chapter 5: A Year</h4>


    One yearter..


    Michael was doing what he usually does. Sit at his desk and wait for patients to arrive.


    Though this particr day was special.


    Michael stared nkly into the mirror and muttered "Status"


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 9 [9000/9000 EXP] (+) </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Born anew [Unique] [Temporary]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases experience gain by 50% until level 10</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 340/340 / Regen 48 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 520/545 / Regen 89 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 4 -> 40</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 2 -> 48</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 2 -> 37</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 17 -> 89</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 5 -> 6</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 0/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 7 250/3500 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 7% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Heal [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target / Restore 150 HP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Focus Heal [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Active] </i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal the target''s injuries in the area focused / Restore 150 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 15 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    Michael had gotten an extra 5 Unassigned stat points each once he maxed out both of his healing skills. That coupled with the single point he got per a skill level up,ted him quite the sum.


    Due to his intense training, he was able to level up Discipline 3 times. Gaining 3 stat points.


    He also invested all the points that he received from leveling up thus far into INT. bringing his total to 89.


    The other stats stopped growing as much. At first, the growth rate was rapid, butter on, it took a week to even see a single stat point appear. Even that was not guaranteed.


    <i>Congrattions, you finally reached Level 10. All you have to do is click the button now.</i>


    Over the past year, Michael did nothing but work, train, eat and sleep. That was his entire day''s regimen.


    It was akin to torture. But Michael persevered and is now looking at his results proudly.


    The rtionship between Michael and the system was simr to that of brothers. Though Michael was the younger brother.


    He noticed that the system''s personality is very simr to his. And when he raised a question about it, the system told Michael that a piece of its sentience contained some of his memories.


    He was quite shocked to hear that. But it did exin why the system knew so much about him.


    ''Anyways'' Michael turned back to the system interface and focused on the plus sign next to his level, then clicked it.


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>[Level up! 9->10 0/10000 EXP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Health and Magic Points fully restored]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[5 Unassigned Stat points obtained]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Milestone reached! +10 to all stats]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[HP and MP Ratio readjusted 1:5->1:6]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[New System Functions added]</i></strong>


    Michael was assaulted by a wall of text. But before he could rejoice that it was over, another sound rang in his ears.


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Random Healer Skill generated]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 0 0/100] [Rare] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify the target, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 100MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    ''Curing all diseases and illnesses?'' Michael thought. It seemed a little overpowered.


    <i>That is correct, because it is overpowered.</i>


    ''Bastard, now you can hear my thoughts!?'' Michael eximed in his mind, he didn''t expect this development.


    <i>That is one of the new functions yes. Though the best one of them all is </i><strong><i>[Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    ''Oh? Can I Merge my shooting and hand to handbat skills? I don''t use them anyways.''


    <i>No, the skills not only have to be the same rarity. They also need to be active skills, since you can''t merge passive skills. The skill levels need to be maxed out as well.</i>


    ''That''s a bummer.''


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    <i>Well look on the bright side, you no longer have to say your skills out loud like some idiot, all you have to do is just think about them and they will manifest.</i>


    ''It''s not my fault this system handicapped me'' Michael shrugged.


    <i>The only one handicapped was you when you started training. Now gobine your healing skills.</i>


    ''Fuck off'' Michael thought before turning on his status interface and clicking on<strong><i> [Skill Merging] </i></strong>


    A window popped up and showed only 2 skills that he could merge<strong><i> [Heal]</i></strong> and <strong><i>[Focus heal]</i></strong>


    Michael selected both of them and a button appeared asking whether he wished to proceed. He clicked yes and instantly heard a sound.


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>[Skills merged, generating new skill]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 0 0/100] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 500 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    <strong>+--+</strong>


    Michael''s eyes widened in shock ''500HP!?''


    <i>That is certainly more than I thought myself. This is closer to being a Rare rank skill. Though I guess the only reason it''s not is because it is just a simple heal in the end.</i>


    ''Maybe'' Michael thought while shrugging. He didn''t really care, he would merge this skill with another one if he were to obtain a second Umon ranked active skill.


    <i>Go check out your status screen. I already used the stat points.</i>


    Michael nodded, and out of habit said "Status"


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 10 [0/10000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>None</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 448/448 / Regen 58 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 724/724 / Regen 104 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 40 -> 50</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 48 -> 58</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 37 -> 47</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 89 -> 104</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 6 -> 16</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 0/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 7 250/3500 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 7% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 0 0/100] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 500 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 0 0/100] [Rare] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify the target, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 100MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    ''So are you now just going to put every single stat point I earn into INT?'' Michael asked the system with a smile that seemed to not portray his inner feelings.


    <i>Pretty much, yes.</i>


    ''So my opinion is not needed anymore?''


    <i>No? I am only distributing your stat points. I am still going to ask you for your opinion before leveling up.</i>


    ''Whatever..''


    Michael noticed his working hours were over. He walked to the reception and clocked out, before starting to walk towards the stadium where he usually trained.


    It has be a habit of his. At some point down the line, he started going there willingly.


    Though as he was walking there. A woman came up to him and stepped in front of him.


    She had a nk expression on her face, one thatcked emotion "Reba wishes to see you."


    With those words, she left.


    ''That was a bit strange'' Michael thought but nheless headed towards Reba''s office.


    <i>She was under some kind of mind affecting spell.</i>


    ''Can''t I use Purify on her to remove it then?'' Michael wondered.


    <i>It won''t work. She was afflicted with magic, and for that you would need something that could dispel said magic. But you don''t have that.</i>


    ''I see.''


    After a couple minutes of walking, Michael finally arrived in front of Reba''s office. As he was about to open the door, Hilda appeared and opened it for him, then proceeded to follow him inside.


    <i>She is also brainwashed.</i>


    At the system''s nonchntment, Michael visibly flinched.


    "Is something the matter Michael?" Hilda asked.


    "It''s nothing.."


    ''Could you at least try to give me a heads up!?'' Michael eximed at the system.


    <i>My bad.</i>


    ''Your bad my ass, you waited to tell me didn''t you'' Michael asked. But it seemed the system chose to ignore him.


    "Thank you foring Michael" Reba said whilst standing up and going around the stacks of paper on the floor.


    She then turned to Hilda and told her to wait outside, and she did just that.


    Afterwards, she pointed towards a chair filled with dozens of paper stacks and used her powers to lift the paper away "Sit down."


    Michael maneuvered around all of the paper on the ground. It was way worse thanst time, almost as if she hadn''t done paperwork for a whole year.


    "Why was I called?"


    "There has been a little situation..though before that, ce your hand on this again" Reba said as she pulled out the device that showed people''s levels.


    cing his hand on it, the hologram appeared.


    <strong><i>-+-</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 10</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-+-</i></strong>


    Reba''s face turned to one of shock, his level increased by so much in just a year. She knew that it was difficult to level up at the start, especially as a healer.


    Clearing her throat "Perfect, Michael how would you like to apany a party that is going to go hunt monsters?"


    Michael lightly tilted his head "In a dungeon?"


    Reba lightly shook her head with a small smile "Nope, there are a couple of monsters that escaped a dungeon. They are not very strong so the government is using them as practice dummies."


    She continued "That is why I thought you might be interested. It is better to get to know the real world earlier."


    Michael decided not to immediately ept, but first think about it.


    In his own opinion, he felt like he had grown quite a lot. But he has never once used his newfound skills or physical abilities anywhere outside of work or training.


    As a former veteran, he had a lot of field experience. He has seen many people die, and he took some lives himself so he was not worried about freezing.


    <i>You should go.</i>


    The system''s voice rang out in Michael''s head. Ever since the system reminded him of how weak he was, he never thought it would actively tell him to go into danger.


    <i>Don''t overthink it. Trust in the training you went through. You are strong enough to keep up with adults, you seem to forget that most people only awaken once they are 10. You have a headstart above everyone, and you still have to reach Level 20 to go into dungeons. I do not go back on my word.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but feel slightly warm inside. They had many disagreements and arguments, but in the end, they were still like friends or brothers.


    He turned towards Reba and said "I will go."


    "Great! I wille pick you up in a week, oh and here" Reba pulled some sort of key card out of her pocket.


    "These are the keys to your new room, I was going to give them to you on your birthday, but I was a little busy, sorry" She looked down apologetically.


    ''A new room..'' Michael thought. Feeling relieved that he no longer had to sleep in a bunk bed with the other children all around him. It was getting quite tiring, mentally.


    "Thank you.." he expressed his genuine thanks.


    "It''s no problem, you can go now, call Hilda in once you leave" Reba said before standing up and walking back to her chair. Hiding behind the paperwork on her desk.


    Michael nodded and said his goodbyes, before walking out of the office and heading towards his new room.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Hilda walked up and around the stack of papers on the desk. Arriving in front of Reba "Miss, why did you do that?"


    Reba looked up at her and spoke in a low voice "I had to do that to meet Reinhardt no? What difference does it make if you were there or not?"


    Hilda stared back at her expressionlessly "I suppose it doesn''t matter. What level was the boy?"


    "He was level 6. Quite the fast speed for a healer."


    "I see, did you tell him about the monsters?"


    "Yes, he agreed" Reba put on a smile that didn''t quite seem genuine. She then continued "Was this all necessary though?"


    Hilda shed a cold look at her "Do not question orders from above."


    She then proceeded to disappear into the shadows. Once again not letting out a single sound.


    Reba stared at the wall before sighing.


    ''Reinhardt thinks of others as tools, he is nning on mind controlling Michael'' she thought.


    Over thest year, she conversed more and more with him and was able to determine the type of person he was.


    ''Maniptive, sadistic, crazy..''


    During one of their conversations, he was talking about magic affecting the brain to do another''s bidding.


    She steered the conversation in a way she could gain some information. And found out he was involved in her brainwashing.


    He didn''t bother with her even after telling her she was brainwashed. He was sure she was still under his control.


    ''He is mysterious, his goals are unknown, but the fact that he ordered me to send Michael on this monster hunt, means he ns to do something'' Reba surmised.


    ''That is when I will confront him..''

 Chapter 6: Ivory Robe

    <h4>Chapter 6: Ivory Robe</h4>


    Michaelid on his new king sized bed. The room was as big as a t, and it was covered in luxurious and expensive items.


    ''Even this bed was worth a couple thousand dors'' he thought whilst continuing to mindlesslyy on top of it.


    It''s been a week now, and today Reba was supposed toe pick him up.


    <i>You have not trained in a week.</i>


    ''So? I wouldn''t see much progress anyways'' Michael thought absentmindedly.


    <i>You seem to forget that every single stat point you earn makes you more powerful, and as a healer you really need them. While it may have taken you a year to reach level 10 and it is considered fast for a healer, the people who awaken as Damage dealers are going to catch up within months.</i>


    Michael furrowed his brows, expressing his doubt ''Months? Isn''t that a little short? I was working every day for the past year and was just barely able to level up.''


    <i>You have to actively heal others to gain EXP. The Damage dealer sses have to just swing a stick around and they get EXP. As for the Tanks, they just have to get hit in order to earn EXP.</i>


    ''That is a bit stupid..''


    <i>Life is not fair. By now you should know that the best.</i>


    Michael chuckled ''Yeah I guess you are right.''


    As Michael was talking to the system about random things, he heard a knock on his door. He walked up and opened it.


    It wasn''t Reba. It was some sort of woman dressed as a maid.


    She took out some sort of box and handed it to him. Not saying a single word.


    ''Brainwashed?'' Michael wondered.


    <i>Nope, that was just what a normal maid is like.</i>


    Michael shrugged and walked back to his bed, the neat box in hand.


    Upon opening it he saw there was some sort of robe. It was full white in color, with strange patterns etched onto the fabric of it.


    <i>Put it on, it''s equipment.</i>


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Equipment?'' Michael thought, before he followed the system''s advice. When he put it on, the interface shone.


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ivory Robe [Umon]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+50 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+50 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+10 INT</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increase the range of skills by 10 meters</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    ''What the..'' Michael was greatly surprised. He didn''t expect there to be equipment that could raise one''s stats.


    He quickly checked his status and saw it really did increase.


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 448/448->498/498 [+50] / Regen 58 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 724/724->834/834 [+50] / Regen 114 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 104->114 [+10]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    It said that the range of his skills also increased by 10 meters. It essentially doubled his existing range to a now whopping 20 meters.


    <i>Don''t get too excited, this is on the lower end of the Umon rarity. There are many much better than this. Besides that, check the note.</i>


    Michael looked a bit puzzled but checked inside of the box and noticed there was a sticky note glued to the side.


    He tore it off and started reading it.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Hope you like this gift P.S you never know what can go wrong during monster hunts, be on guard -Reba


    <strong>-----</strong>


    ''That''s sweet..'' He couldn''t help but express. Before crumpling the note and throwing it back into the box.


    As he was about to go enjoy his extended rest, someone knocked on the door again.


    He went up and opened it and what met his eyes was Hilda.


    "Let''s go" she said and turned around walking to the front of the academy.


    Michael followed her, though his unease was just barely contained. He didn''t know who brainwashed her or why. But ever since finding that out, he saw the cafeteria cook in a new light.


    As they were walking Michael received many strange looks, the robe he was wearing was not shy, but still enough to attract attention.


    They arrived at the entrance of the orphanage and stopped.


    Hilda turned towards Michael and said "Wait here, someone wille to pick you up shortly" She then proceeded to walk back to the cafeteria, leaving Michael alone.


    He felt like a kid, needing to be picked up by everyone. Well, technically he was still a kid right now..


    Shortly after, a man in a ck suit came through the orphanage''s entrance. Holding some kind of picture in his hands.


    He looked around until his gaze finallynded on Michael "Hello, my name is Ron, I will be your driver."


    With that simple greeting, they went out of the orphanage. A luxurious ck sedan was parked right in front of them.


    ''Wow, am I now a big shot?'' Michael whistled to himself.


    <i>Yeah, a big shot that has not received a single tip in a year.</i>


    ''Shut up.''


    Michael sat inside of the car and noticed the seats were incrediblyfy. Would be a shame if they weren''t, the car was worth a kidney at the very least.


    Ron was quiet the whole drive there. He hadn''t spoken a single word since his introduction.


    But Michael didn''t mind it, he was not fond of small talk with strangers. He was quite reserved back in his previous life.


    He had friends, but they were those he met during his time serving the country. After he was discharged he didn''t make many new friends. A bit of a mental scar had formed from watching his friends die.


    ''It seemed I was the same in this life too'' Michael chuckled inwardly.


    Before Michael regained his memories, the only person he could call his ''friend'' was Reba. And even then she was nowhere near his age.


    ''I don''t pity myself, I am still young so I can make friends, eventually..''


    <i>I am your friend, aren''t I?</i>


    ''You are'' While Michael was a bit preupied thinking. He forgot about his closest friend, the system.


    After a couple of hours of driving, they finally arrived at a forest clearing. There were a bunch of cars already parked here.


    "We are here" Ron said as he got out of the car and opened the door for Michael.


    He didn''t really know where to go. It seemed like Reba glossed over some details.


    He saw someone get out of their car and walk towards a person wearing a suit. They showed their ID and were let through.


    ''ID? I don''t fucking have anything like that'' Michael expressed while slightly panicking.


    <i>Just go, worst case scenario they will justugh at you for being a forgetful idiot. Good luck.</i>


    ''Thank you system'' Michael couldn''t help but cuss under his breath.


    He walked up to the person in a suit and said "Hello, I don''t have an ID but my name should be listed? I am Michael."


    The man''s professional facade slightly crumbled, but he was able to regain hisposure "This is not a ce for kids."


    ''I knew this would happen'' Michael sighed and exined "Sir, check for my name please, my party is waiting inside."


    Michael was spouting bullshit, he didn''t know who was in his party or when they were supposed to arrive.


    The man looked around and saw that there weren''t any more people behind Michael, so he walked to the side into his little booth and opened his clipboard.


    He flipped the pages until he found a person named Michael.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Michael


    Age:9


    ss: Healer


    Affiliation: Amara orphanage


    <strong>-----</strong>


    The man was slightly shocked, it was a kid who awakened way earlier than the others.


    He walked back to Michael and gave him a note with A-7 written on it "Go straight ahead and find the person in charge, he will show you where you have to go."


    Michael simply nodded and took the note, before walking towards the empty forest.


    Eventually, he saw an area that was closed off. There was a person standing in front of it.


    Michael walked up to him and showed him the the note, and was led to an empty area. Just as he was about to question the man, the surroundings switched. The forest clearing was gone and what reced it was a bustling base of operations.


    There were many people running around carrying all sorts of stuff. Be it machine parts or weapons.


    The man that led him here pointed towards a tent with A-7 written over it and afterward walked out, disappearing.


    <i>Spatial magic most likely, someone pretty high leveled created this field.</i>


    ''What''s it for though, are they trying to hide something?'' Michael thought.


    <i>It''s obviously for protection. This location is a secret and only those in the know are here.</i>


    ''Protection from what? Do you think anyone is going to raid this ce?''


    <i>There is a dungeon in the very middle, even if it is low level, it is still valuable.</i>


    After a bit of debating Michael arrived at the tent and went inside of it. It was way bigger than it looked.


    And it was empty.


    Michael thought while sighing ''Thank god he didn''t call me out on my bullshit.''


    Though the person that gave Michael the note did realize he was lying but chose to ignore it.


    Michael found afortable seat and waited for his supposed party members to arrive. The only things in this tent were chairs and a table, possibly for strategic meetings, or rest.


    After waiting for 20 minutes, a man walked in whilst talking on his phone and sat down on one of the chairs, not even paying attention to Michael at all.


    The man was tall and muscr, he had a massive shield on his back and a short sword on his waist.


    ''So that''s the tank'' Michael concluded.


    He then asked the system ''So when you said Tanks need to be hit in order to get EXP. Does that apply even if they are using a shield to block it?''


    <i>Yes, as long as they absorb some of the impact into their bodies, it counts.</i>


    ''I see'' Michael nodded.


    Shortly after, 2 men walked in. Long swords stashed away on their waists.


    ''The damage dealers..'' Michael thought.


    They sat down on one of the chairs and began talking amongst themselves. It seemed like they were already acquainted with one another.


    So far everyone has ignored Michael, only sparing him a single nce.


    However he was not surprised. They were all over the age of 20, with him looking like a slightly buff toddler.


    After a whole year of training, he had gotten slightly taller. Now reaching 150cm in height, impressive for someone his age.


    Lastly, a woman arrived. She had blonde hair and pointy ears with a bow on her back. ''Is she cosying?''


    <i>That''s an elf.</i>


    ''You mean the elves from fantasy books? Are there dwarves too then?'' Michael asked the system in excitement.


    <i>Probably.</i>


    But was turned down by a short response.


    As the elf sat down sat down, everyone became quiet. Even the guy who was on his phone hung up and put it away.


    Everyone looked each other up and down and started introducing themselves.


    The 2 with long swords were the first to talk.


    "Paul, Swordsman."


    "Zane, Swordsman."


    Up next was the tank. After getting off his phone, he seemed like a pretty nice guy. Though Michael knew appearances could be misleading.


    "Eric, Tank."


    Afterwards was the elf.


    "Joanna, Archer."


    Now the only person who was left was Michael. Everyone stared at him with mixed expressions. Some with doubt, others with curiosity.


    "Michael, Healer."

 Chapter 7: Disturbance

    <h4>Chapter 7: Disturbance</h4>


    No one took their eyes off Michael. Everyone was still staring at him.


    That was until Eric spoke up "Kid, our lives are in your hands, are you prepared for that?"


    Michael stared back into his eyes and anwsered with a serious expression "I wouldn''t be here if I wasn''t."


    Eric''s gaze didn''t waver "Then do you have experience? Have you ever even seen a monster before?"


    ''I can see where he ising from, no answer I give will satisfy him'' Michael sighed.


    "I don''t have any experience, and no, I have never seen a monster" he decided to be forward with him.


    Ericughed slightly "So you are some rich kid that somehow managed to get invited here, I see."


    "I am an orphan."


    Those words silenced Eric''sughter.


    "I see, sorry."


    Even after taunting Michael, it seemed he still had some basic morals at the very least.


    "It''s fine." Michael shrugged


    Joanna was next to speak "So how old are you anyway, you look 14."


    "I am 9" Michael felt helpless, there was no way for him to prove his credibility.


    Everyone''s eyes widened and they looked at each other, not saying a word.


    Eric stood up and walked up to Michael saying "Listen, your role is going to be simple, just heal us when we are injured, and in turn, we will protect you from the monsters in front."


    Michael absentmindedly nodded, he already knew that, the system informed him about it.


    Eric then began exining the n, it seemed he wanted to be the party leader and no one had a reason to object.


    He showed Michael and the others the formation they were going to be using, Michael at the very back, to his side was Joanna, closer to the front were the 2 swordsmen andstly the tank, in the very front.


    Eric then proceeded to take out some shabby piece of paper and showed it to everyone. It had the description of the monsters they were going to face.


    They looked exactly like werewolves, the only difference being the color of their fur, which was a dark shade of red.


    He then exined that they were a new type of species, having skills that the other werewolves did not have.


    One such skill was shooting balls of fire from their mouth. However after reading the information fully, the weakness was clearly evident.


    It takes those werewolves 3 seconds to finish casting their fireball, which in turn gives us 3 whole seconds of time to kill them while their guard is down.


    After making sure everyone was briefed fully, they went out of the tent and started walking to one of the bigger buildings in the area.


    As much as Michael wanted to ask them questions, he held himself back, not wanting to anger his teammates further.


    <i>Why do you even care about what they think? You won''t see them after this hunt anyway.</i>


    Michael started exining ''They already dislike me because of my age, if I add fuel to the fire by being an annoying 9 year old, I wouldn''t be surprised if they just leave the party altogether.''


    <i>Hmm, that could indeed happen, I am the only one who can handle your annoying questions. </i>


    ''Sure sure'' Michael started ignoring the system while following the others.


    They arrived in front of the building and Eric walked up to talk to one of the guards, showing the identification he received from one of the higher ups.


    The guard merely looked at Eric''s face and waved his hand, signaling for the party to go past.


    Michael and the others went inside of the building. Walking along the halls they saw many doors, with all sorts of letters and numbers written on them.


    They eventually arrived at a particr door that had A-7 written on it.


    Eric pulled out some sort of keycard and put it up to the door.


    <i>Click</i>


    And it was unlocked, just like that.


    Eric suddenly spoke "We are here everybody, don''t forget what we discussed."


    ''Do we just go through that door then?'' Michael thought.


    <i>Yes, but something seems wrong, be on your guard.</i>


    ''Something seems wrong?'' Michael immediately became more alert.


    Though the same could not be said for the others, everyone, aside from Joanna, was way tooid back, as if they were going on a stroll.


    ''Reba did mention that the monsters were fairly weak, so I can see why they might be a little carefree.''


    Everyone stepped through the door and they were immediately transported to a grassy area, surrounded by a dense forest, nothing like where they just were.


    Michael was expecting to just fight in a training room against the monsters, but as he looked around, he noticed the faces of everyone present.


    They were shocked, instantly going on guard and drawing their weapons.


    <i>Spatial disturbance, someone relocated the coordinates of whatever was supposed to be through that door to some other ce.</i>


    ''Bad feeling huh? I should listen to you more'' Michael sarcastically said before focusing, this situation could be dangerous.


    Eric instructed "Proceed as nned, stay in formation."


    "Why should we listen to you huh!? Do you even know where we are?" Zane spoke in a delinquent like voice.


    Joanna gave him a side eye and drew her bow, nocking an arrow and aiming it at him she said with a small smile "Will you go with us or not?"


    She only meant that as provocation, however, Zane took it personally, he drew his sword and started running towards her, Paul tried stopping him, but due to his halfhearted effort, he couldn''t.


    Joanna''s eyes slightly widened in shock, drawing back her bow even further.


    Since they were all rtively close to one another Eric stepped in front of them and aimed his shield toward Zane, getting ready to block his attack.


    He shouted "Stop it Zane! Let''s talk this through!"


    But it seemed it was for naught as Zane swung his longsword at Eric, who was blocking Joanna.


    <i>-ng</i>


    Zane''s sword bounced back and Eric was pushed off bnce by the sheer force of the attack.


    That was when Joanna stopped hesitating and shot her arrow, aiming for one of Zane''s legs.


    Though just as she released the arrow and sent it flying, it was blocked, by a longsword.


    The perpetrator being none other than Paul.


    "Bitch how dare you shoot an arrow at my brother!"


    All the while Michael was just standing off to the side, watching this spectacle unfold.


    ''Just what the fuck is happening? Are they brainwashed or something?''


    <i>No, there are some really arrogant people in this world, A rich family and an easy life, see where that gets you.</i>


    ''Surely not all rich people are this bad, right?'' Michael couldn''t help but shudder.


    <i>Definitely not all of them, however, there are enough to make up a minority.</i>


    ''That sure is something, though I suppose it was simr in my old world as well'' Michael couldn''t help but reminisce about the past.


    The fight was still going on with both Zane and Paul attacking Eric and Joanna, though none had yet to sustain an injury.


    Michael walked up to them and tried to reason with them, with bullshit of course "Everyone stop! I heard some sort of sounding from the forest!"


    As those words rang in the air, thebat seemingly stopped, everyone returning to being fully alert as if the battle just then had not happened at all.


    Eric dusted himself off and asked "Which direction did you hear it from?"


    Michael thought for a moment and pointed in a random direction "That way."


    Their guards still seemed to be up, hostility clearly present in the air.


    Eric walked toward the direction Michael pointed at, not even giving instructions anymore.


    Though they were not needed, everyone stuck to their original positions anyway now that the little squabble had ended.


    Michael asked the system ''How strong were they?''


    <i>Level 30-40ish, pretty weak for their age though.</i>


    ''Only level 40? You said my ss''s rarity will increase every 50 levels, just how long is that going to take'' He asked with curiosity.


    <i>I never said it would be fast, I only told you what was possible.</i>


    Michael just soaked in the information, realizing he might not be able to level up his Healer ss as fast as he thought.


    The group continued walking in one direction but even after walking for several minutes, not a single sound could be heard.


    Though as it seemed Michael''s bullshit was going to catch up to him, he felt something and turned towards the left, though it seemed he was not the only one who felt something, as the others did as well.


    There were a pair of lifeless ck eyes staring at them, seemingly not moving at all.


    Though everyone could feel it, they knew that whatever that was, it was dangerous.


    Michael''s heart started beating faster, and his palms were beginning to sweat, the pressure that thing was emitting was intense.


    <i>What did I say about you not being able to stand the pressure of an actual dungeon monster?</i>


    ''If you are trying to tell me I told you so, then you can kindly fuck off'' Michael answered, the bit of banter slightly calming him down.


    As the system''s words finally settled in, Michael''s eyes once again widened.


    <i>Yes, you are in a dungeon, one above your party''s level.</i>


    ''Shit, does that mean we are pretty much dead?'' Michael said while tightly clenching his fists, still not breaking eye contact with the monster.


    <i>Not necessarily, if you work as a team you might make it out alive.</i>


    Michael''s brow twitched ''Might?''


    <i>Yes, this is the only monster close to you, I can''t feel any others.</i>


    ''Do you know what that thing is then?'' Michael asked the system with a tinge of hope.


    <i>No, but its powers are rted to illusions, what you are seeing now is not real, the monster is somewhere else.</i>


    ''Yeah? Where is it?'' Michael pushed for answers.


    <i>Figure it out yourself, you are acting like a little child, how do you expect to grow if all you do is rely on me?</i>


    ''But isn''t the situation dangerous? One wrong move and I could die'' Michael said, his confidence slightly wavering.


    Though no reply came, and Michael felt all alone again, with the only people by his side, being the party members whom he didn''t even know that well.


    ''Focus'' Michael took deep breaths to regain hisposure and finally took his eyes away from the illusion.


    Though he was immediately startled upon looking towards his party, Zane and Joanna were dead.


    Their bodies lifelessly lying on the ground, their necks twisted at impossible angles.


    ''How could this happen?'' Michael started thinking in overdrive, frantically looking around, trying to find the monster that did this.


    Eventually, he tried something, as ast ditch resort, he used Greater Heal on the dead bodies.


    Normally you don''t instantly die when your neck breaks, it takes a few minutes for you to actually die.


    Michael knew this, and that was why he tried his luck on this unrealistic idea.


    As the light enveloped them, 2 blue boxes appeared in front of him,bining into a singr box.


    <strong><i>[Greater Heal +100 EXP]</i></strong>


    ''100? Besides that, it worked?'' Michael looked on in wonder, watching their terribly twisted necksing back into ce, and color slowly returning to their bodies.


    However another problem arose, and that being the 2 people he just healed.


    They were not waking up.


    Meanwhile, the others were still in a trance, even as Michael tried pushing and talking to them, they did not react in the slightest.


    <i>-Haa</i>


    All of a sudden Michael heard someone breathe behind him, though as he quickly turned around, no one was there.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    Turning back around at that sound, he saw Paul with bloodshot eyes, and his skull split open, brain matter flowing out.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael did not hesitate and quickly casted his Greater Heal on him


    <strong><i>[Greater Heal +50 EXP]</i></strong>


    Paul quickly reverted back to his previous condition, however, something was strange, something was different.


    Paul turned towards Michael, his eyes nk, an eerie smile, hanging on his face "Michael.."


    The voice was different.


    "What''s wrong Michael?"


    The eyes, giving away his inner madness, a smile that seemed to not go away even as he spoke.


    Michael took a few steps back and cautiously looked straight into Paul''s eyes before saying "Who are you?"

 Chapter 8: The Monster

    <h4>Chapter 8: The Monster</h4>


    The silence was loud..


    Paul did not say a single word after Michael''s question. Whatever it was, it knew it had been found out.


    "Ha..hahahaha" Paul''sughter erupted, the sound more akin to a shriek than augh.


    "Was it that obvious?" He said, barely containing hisugh.


    All the while Michael just stared at him, not quite sure what to do, he was aware that whoever that was, it was not Paul.


    ''The monster?'' Michael thought while thinking back on the system''s words.


    ''A monster who uses illusions.''


    Was that even possible? What he was seeing now looked nothing like the illusion earlier, it felt real.


    Though as real as it may be, it had not moved once, the most it had managed to do so far was move its head, with its ever present eerie smile and nk eyes.


    Michael''s thoughts were interrupted by Paul''s contorted voice.


    "Are you scared?" The voice echoed in the seemingly quiet forest.


    Though Michael was surprisingly calm, staring back into Paul''s nk eyes.


    Michael saw something, a figure in the corner of his eyes, it had a tall and slender body, yet its face only contained a single red eye in the very middle.


    It hid amongst the trees, you would not be able to notice it unless you paid really close attention.


    The figure was not moving, it seemed it was cautious of being found out by Michael.


    And he was going to use that to his advantage, Michael pretended to stumble and began his little act.


    "P-please don''t hurt me!" he let out and noticed the mysterious figure moving closer.


    All the while Paul''s smile widened further "Don''t be afraid, I am not going to hurt you."


    Michael picked up a rock and threw it straight at Paul,nding right on his face, though even with that, the smile didn''t seem to disappear at all.


    In fact, it was growing even wider.


    ''Why is that fucking thing moving so slow'' Michael eximed in his mind, still keeping sight of the figure in the corner of his eyes.


    It was close now, only a few meters away, inching ever so closer.


    Suddenly it stopped, just as it was nearly next to Michael. Paul''s voice resounded out, the smile finally disappearing from his face "Hmm? You are not afraid?"


    Michael took this chance to charge straight at the figure, catching it off guard.


    Its singr red eye widened, it tried moving back but it was toote.


    <i>-Bam</i>


    Michael''s punch connected with its red eye.


    "Aaaaaah" the creature''s shrill contorted scream rang out.


    All of a sudden a dozen of all different kinds of eyes appeared around Michael, staring at him with Malice, though he ignored them, this monster''s illusions were ineffective on Michael.


    <i>-Bam</i>


    Michael punched it in the face.


    <i>-Bam</i>


    Again.


    <i>-Bam</i>


    And again.


    Eventually, it started waving its hands, looking as if it was weaving something, when all of a sudden Michael could hear somethinging at him from behind.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    Bones were breaking and twisting, and all the while Paul charged straight at Michael, his eyes lifeless, his body in shambles.


    He ran up to Michael and swung his longsword diagonally, aiming to sever Michael''s head.


    Though he was unsessful, no matter how strong a person was, if he couldn''t control his strength he was nothing but a mindless brute.


    Michael didn''t even need to dodge the attack, it was so far off from his head that it was nearlyughable.


    It seemed the monster couldn''t control Paul''s body as it wanted to, its red eye showing traces of panic.


    Paul continued to swing his sword, but it was always either too far away, or close but not close enough, as if a toddler picked up a sword for the first time.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    Another crack could be heard, followed by,


    <i>-Thud</i>


    Paul''s body falling down, finally breaking apart, and dropping his Longsword close to Michael.


    Michael punched the monster in the face one more time before grabbing the longsword, and stabbing it right into its singr red eye.


    Instantly, 2 separate blue boxes flooded Michael''s vision.


    <strong><i>[Mind Stalker [Level 50] Killed! +10000 EXP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Generating New Title!]</i></strong>


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong>Ruthless Combatant</strong>


    <strong># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    Michael had received a new title and a level up from merely killing a single monster.


    ''10000 EXP in minutes when it took me several months to get it while healing..tragic'' Michael couldn''t help but grumble.


    <i>Congrattions, you killed it.</i>


    ''Yeah I killed it, no fucking thanks to you!'' Michael eximed at the system.


    <i>Rx, you saw how weak it was, besides, you have a skill that negates some mental magic, it was enough because the monster used most of its power on the others, he used very little on you, so you were able to easily dispel it.</i>


    ''A heads up would have been really nice, besides that, why was it so weak anyway? It said it was level 50'' Michael grumbled and asked the system curiously.


    <i>Chalk it up to luck, you just so happened to meet a monster that fully relied on its magic powers, those being rted to the mind.</i>


    ''Right, but aren''t his physical abilities supposed to be stronger? It felt like I was brawling with a child'' Michael asked.


    <i>Its physical capabilities were in the level 15-20 area, It seemed like it had never fought before in its life, hence why it panicked so much.</i>


    <i>Don''t let it get to your head, you were lucky.</i>


    Michael nodded, he knew he was lucky, if only the monster did not underestimate him because of his age, if it was even a little bit good at closebat, he would have died.


    Michael stood up and looked down on the monster, after its death it had shrunk to the size of a little doll.


    As for Paul, he was already beyond saving, Michael cast his Greater Heal twice on him, but there was no response, the golden light merely enveloping him, before disappearingpletely.


    ''Pity'' Michael thought, Paul was arrogant and trashy, but he was a decent swordsman, for what it was worth.


    Michael then raised a question to the system ''Why am I getting 50 EXP now after using my Greater Heal?''


    <i>The higher the rarity of your skill, the more EXP you get when using it, anyways go check your status, you leveled up.</i>


    Michael nodded and opened the status interface.


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 11 [150/11000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ruthless Combatant</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 416/498 [+50] / Regen 58 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 770/870 [+50] / Regen 120 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 50</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 58</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 47</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 114->120 [+10]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 16</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 971/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 7 800/3500 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 7% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 1 50/500 EXP] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 500 -> 600HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 0 0/100 EXP] [Rare] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify the target, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 100MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    Aside from shooting mastery, most of Michael''s skills received a boost in experience.


    He also noticed that he managed to take a little bit of damage, though he could not feel any different, nheless, he still used a Greater Heal on himself.


    Sadly he didn''t receive any EXP from that, but it was whatever, he could always heal others in the recovery center now that his skill gives more EXP.


    He thought it was finally about time he asked for a promotion, to Emergency Room 2.


    Ever since the first time he healed, his progress increased by leaps and bounds, he was now confident in not being a burden but an asset.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Though in reality he just wants to earn more EXP.


    <i>You are bing a little shameless.</i>


    Michael ignored the system''s snarkyment


    It seemed he was also able to Heal people as long as they didn''t instantly die, which was the reason why Joanna and Zane were still alive.


    Michael turned to his party members, or well what was left of them anyway.


    Joanna and Zane had yet to wake up, as for Eric? He was still staring into nothingness.


    What was he supposed to do now though, his teammates were out ofmission, and this dungeon was still uncharted territory for him. He did not know a single thing about dungeons, aside from that they were dangerous for the current him.


    <i>Just stay here, eventually, someone wille and find you, probably.</i>


    ''Probably? You really know your stuff don''t you?'' Michael said sarcastically.


    But he started waiting nheless, the alternatives were too dangerous to attempt alone.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    After Michael left the orphanage, Reba trailed him, wanting to find out what Reinhardt''s n was.


    Though as she went on, nothing out of the ordinary happened, aside from her, she couldn''t feel any other people looking for Michael.


    ''Strange..'' She thought as she managed to sneak into the facility, following Michael through the halls, she noticed something was amiss, though couldn''t quite put her finger on it.


    Michael''s group went through the door, she wanted to wait for a little bit and then go through herself, she couldn''t risk one of the people supervising their party to be a traitor working for Reinhardt.


    After a couple of minutes of waiting she went through the door, expecting to be in a training room, however, she was not.


    A white room that seemed endless at a nce, and a single note ced on the ground in front of her.


    She raised her guard and picked up the note, reading it.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    d you made it Reba, Hilda told me about your change of heart, you didn''t really think you could escape from us, did you? Besides that, you betrayed the cult, so I hope you enjoy this little room I prepared just for you. You will be in here for a while -Reinhardt


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Reading the note, her expression contorted, she ripped up the note and began using her Telekic skill, trying to destroy wherever she found herself in.


    Though even as a Level 120, she couldn''t make the white walls budge an inch.


    ''I am trapped'' the realisation dawned upon her.


    Reba ran to one side, then another, trying to escape this white room, however, no matter how much she ran around, the exit was nowhere in sight.


    She once again walked back to the very middle, where the ripped up note was supposed to beying on the floor.


    However, as she got there, she noticed the ripped up note was gone, reced by a new one.


    She picked it up out of frustration and read it, though there was only a single line.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    You can''t escape.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    It was written with a red color, as opposed to the earlier note written with ck.


    As she flipped over the note to see if there was anything else, she felt a bit of prickle in her thumb.


    It was a small cut.


    Taking a nce at the edge of the note, she saw a drop of blood, her blood.


    ''A paper cut?'' Reba thought as her heartbeat rapidly sped up, realizing what this room actually was.


    It was a sealed dimension, particrly one that restrains the abilities of another.


    Even the strongest awakened could fall into this room, as the moment they are inside, they return to being normal humans without powers.


    ''No..'' despair finally kicked in, she was confident in her strength, however now that she waspletely powerless?


    The only choice she had left was to wait, either to be let out or for her to somehow find a way out, which was highly unlikely.


    Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground, hands shaking to the point where she could no longer hold the note.


    ''What was I thinking..'' Reba thought with a defeated expression. She rushed into the unknown, not expecting her enemies to be so well prepared.


    Now all that was left to her were her thoughts, and white all around her.


    ''I am sorry Michael..''

 Chapter 9: Decision

    <h4>Chapter 9: Decision</h4>


    ''No one ising'' Michael thought while sighing.


    <i>You are being impatient, just wait a bit longer.</i>


    Michael scoffed at thatment ''Impatient? I have been waiting here in the same ce for thest 16 hours.''


    He then stood up and chuckled ''Is someone angry because they were wrong?''


    <i>No, you are just being impatient.</i>


    ''Sure.''


    Michael walked over to his fellow teammates, not noticing any difference in their conditions. He tried healing them a couple of times in the hopes of them waking up, however, that turned out to just be a waste of MP.


    As for Eric..He was as still as a statue, the illusion in which he got caught up in seemed too strong.


    After killing that monster, Michael picked up Paul''s body and dragged it a fair distance away, burying it, he didn''t want this incident traced back to him.


    In the off chance that his family begins snooping around, he doesn''t want to get caught in the crossfire, even if he was still a kid, they would not discriminate.


    Michael stuck the sword into the monster''s corpse, or what was left of it anyway.


    He can''t avoid being suspected, he just hopes they redirect their anger towards the monster and particrly the government.


    It was their territory that this incident happened in after all.


    Michael took some of Eric''s food that he had stashed in his pockets, it was an MRE.


    ''They still look the same even when magic is involved'' Michael couldn''t help but chuckle at that thought.


    After finishing it all and drinking the already preheated tea, he was finally ready to set out.


    But before that ''Hey, how does one even leave a dungeon?''


    <i>Kill the boss monster, or just simply walk through the portal you came from, monsters can''t leave the dungeons unless there are special circumstances involved.</i>


    ''And those special circumstances are?''


    <i>If the boss monster bes too strong, the dungeon will try to get rid of it to create bnce, though that never turns out the way it was intended, all of the monsters run out and go on a rampage instead.</i>


    ''The dungeon will try to get rid of it? Is it alive?'' Michael seemed a bit confused.


    <i>No, it''s simr to the previous systems I mentioned. No sentience, they were just following a line of code, those rules basically apply to dungeons as well.</i>


    Michael''s eyes slightly widened ''So does that mean that a dungeon could be sentient just like you?''


    There was a moment of silence after Michael asked that question, though the system soon answered.


    <i>It is not impossible..</i>


    ''That would be interesting to see, though I doubt it would go well, anyways, care to tell me where the entrance to this dungeon is?'' Michael walked around, looting his sleeping teammates, though none of them had anything valuable except the MRE''s which he dly took.


    <i>I can''t feel it, we are either too far or..</i>


    ''Or?'' Michael seemed a bit impatient, the system was clearly trying to rile him up


    <i>The dungeon is closed.</i>


    At those words Michael froze ''You mean the dungeon is not open? How is that possible if we were here?''


    <i>If one is powerful enough they can open and close dungeons themselves, in this case, the person could have set these coordinates and then left before closing the dungeon.</i>


    ''So that bullshit about being rescued was a lie?'' Michael clenched his fists.


    <i>Not exactly, if that same persones back you would be saved no?</i>


    ''So now you are gambling with my life..you are unbelievable'' Michael was speechless, after calling him shameless it goes and does this?


    Furthermore ''Did you maybe consider the fact that the person might be an enemy?''


    <i>Oh it''s most definitely an enemy, however, if it wanted to kill you, that person could have set the coordinates right in front of the boss monster, yet they didn''t.</i>


    Michael thought for a moment ''You do have a point, but still, I don''t like leaving my life up to chance, you should know that if you have seen my memories.''


    <i>I hope you are aware that the only way you stand a chance against that boss is if you and your party were all together, and even then the boss would need tock experience, which unless it is aplete newborn, is generally impossible.</i>


    Michael knew that, but what other choice did he have, he was at a stalemate.


    ''What level is the boss?''


    <i>Since its underling was Level 50, the boss should be at the very least in the high 90''s, maybe even the early 100''s.</i>


    ''Fuck..so if I fight it, I''ll die, if I stay here, I also likely die, awesome'' Michael couldn''t help butugh to himself, finding the situation he was in amusing.


    ''Is there no other way?''


    <i>There is one way, however, you won''t like it.</i>


    Michael''s expression lit up slightly ''What is it?''


    <i>Sacrifice your teammates to the boss monster, it will absorb a portion of their strength, in theory, it should open up the dungeon, even if only temporarily.</i>


    Michael was left shocked and speechless, it sounded wrong, however what other choice did he have left?


    He couldn''t believe he was considering this offer.


    ''Do you know where the boss monster is?''


    <i>Yes, it is a few kilometers north, this is a pretty big dungeon, and don''t worry, I can''t feel any of of those Mind Stalkers anywhere near here.</i>


    Michael looked over to his teammates, but looked at Zane in particr. ''Is one enough?''


    <i>It would have to do, though you would need to be prepared to run at full speed, the portal would not be up for long.</i>


    ''And the portal will be where exactly?'' Michael couldn''t help but ask, it seemed the system glossed over it.


    <i>The same ce where you arrived, coincidence? I think not.</i>


    ''That does seem a little convenient..'' Michael was a little suspicious, though he had too little information to be sure of anything.


    He picked up all of his teammates, ripping a piece of cloth off of Eric''s expensive looking jacket, he tied all of their legs together and started pulling them towards the entrance, where the portal would appear.


    ''What guarantee do I have that the boss monster would not just decide to kill me?''


    <i>It would view the sacrifice as an offering to it, therefore leaving the giver alone, this happens in other dungeons too, however, it only works if the boss monster is not low leveled, the higher level it is, the more self aware it bes.</i>


    ''I see'' Michael replied as he continued dragging his teammates, already seeing the grass clearing.


    He put them down and untied their legs, then walked up to Zane and picked him up.


    Michael was conflicted, he would have never done this in the past, even if it meant him dying. However now, he was determined, even if his morals began crashing down.


    The world is different, why should he stay the same?


    He was not blindly just, he wouldn''t die for a person he just met, especially one that would most likely backstab him at his earliest convenience.


    <i>Don''t trouble yourself with human garbage. Your path will be filled with thorns, don''t let a single inconvenience break you.</i>


    ''Thank you'' the system cheered Michael on, and that made this decision less burdensome.


    With Zane hunched over his shoulder, he began walking towards the boss monster, proceeding with the reckless and unsure n, though he had no better alternative.


    As Michael was walking, he saw something in the distance, it was an area that waspletely t, yet in the very middle was a throne.


    It looked extremely ominous, but Michael decided to trust in the system.


    Once he stepped foot onto the t area, a sudden pressure descended on him.


    His knees began shaking, yet he walked forward, nearing the throne that was facing the other side.


    A figure stood up, it looked like a Mind Stalker, however instead of a single red eye, it had 2, and its body shape resembled that of a human''s, much different than the one he met earlier.


    Michael met its eyes and for a moment lost focus, the only thing on his mind was the monster''s red eyes.


    <i>Get yourself together, it had not even cast an illusion.</i>


    The system''s voice snapped Michael out of his stupor, regaining his focus.


    Though the monster was already in front of Michael, its red eyes expressed a hint of curiosity.


    "Here, for you" Michael tossed Zane down on the floor and prepared to run, however, something strange happened.


    In a distorted voice, the creature said "For me?" Then looked down towards the sleeping Zane.


    <i>Don''t think anything stupid, that thing can read your mind.</i>


    Michael flinched but heeded the system''s warning "Yes, for you, in return I would like for you to let me leave."


    The monster tilted its head to the side "Why leave?"


    Michael could feel his heartbeat rapidly quickening "So I could bring you more sacrifices, obviously."


    The creature nodded and put its arm on Zane''s body "I see."


    With those words the monster''s body morphed, turning into a gassy like state and going inside of Zane.


    <i>Unlike the other one, this one can fully possess a person''s body.</i>


    The previously sleeping Zane''s body started twitching momentarily before itpletely stopped and he stood up "This human is pretty trashy, I can see why you wanted to sacrifice him to me."


    Then its eyes narrowed, the previously blue eyes of Zane''s turning Red "However I dislike being lied to the most, tell me your reason, and I will decide if I wish to spare you or not."


    The previous child like persona of the monster was gone, reced by one of absolute authority.


    <i>It fooled us.. I couldn''t tell because I was still too weak, however, that monster is no ordinary boss monster, it''s an ancient of its race, their levels are in the high 200''s, I am sorry, it was my blunder.</i>


    The system apologized to Michael in a solemn manner, though he could not afford to vent out his frustrations at it, he didn''t want to risk the monster reading his mind.


    He decided to be honest, bullshitting won''t work in a situation like this.


    "I want to get out of this dungeon, however, there is no entrance portal or anything of the sort, we randomly got teleported here, the rest are out ofmission and I am the only one still able to stand..


    "That''s why I need your help, you are strong right? Can you open up the portal?"


    Michael was being unreasonable, though he felt like if he told lies, he would die instantly.


    The monster, now inhibiting Zane''s body remained quiet, however, the silence did notst long "I see, however, I don''t think I can help you" it pointed at the t area around them "If I leave this area, my body will likely disintegrate."


    Michael asked out of curiosity "Why? Are you bound here?"


    The monster slightly chuckled "Something like that, there is something inside of my body that reacts when I get close to the edge, it''s not made out of magic so I can''t dispel it either."


    <i>I can''t feel anything, though I might be wrong, use your Purify skill on it, maybe it''s some type of disease made for the ancient monsters.</i>


    Michael looked up at the monster who was still inside Zane''s body and said "I am a healer, if you show me your body I could check it out."


    Though all that did was spark a wave ofughter from it "You are funny, a weak being such as yourself thinks he can cure someone like me?"


    Michael noticed its eyes, they had a glimmer of hope, betraying the tone of voice the monster was taking right now.


    "So? can I?" He decided to ask one more time


    The monster stoppedughing and exited Zane''s body, reappearing in its previous form "Very well, I shall indulge your curiosity"


    Michael walked up to it and first used his Greater heal


    <strong><i>[Greater Heal +50 EXP]</i></strong>


    He then looked up at the monster and asked "Anything different?"


    The monster replied with a simple shake of its head, it was ineffective.


    Michael then used Purify, a green light enveloping the red eyed monster.


    <strong><i>[Purify +250 EXP]</i></strong>


    <i>Wow this ability is indeed impressive, even at level 0. From what I can tell, every 5 levels in this skill will reduce its mana cost by 10 MP, meaning at max level it will cost no MP at all, pretty neat.</i>


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael took the system''s words in and asked the monster once again "Anything?"


    As he looked up into its eyes, he could see them change color, from red to blue to yellow to white andstly to purple.


    It seemed its eye color changed because of Michael, though he did not know what that entailed.


    The monster looked down at Michael, and then at its own hands "It worked.."


    It then looked at Michael with calm eyes "My name is Meph, thank you for this human, I will repay this debt someday."


    The monster introduced himself as Meph and after doing so went back into Zane''s body, this time instantly.


    It turned to Michael "What is your name?"


    Michael''s rapidly beating heart settled and he answered "My name is Michael" sounding a little stiff.


    Meph noticed it and waved his hand "Rx, I am not going to hurt you Michael, I will be borrowing this person''s body However."


    He then started walking to the edge of the t area, and upon arriving, hesitantly stepped forward, and out.


    Meph then turned to Michael and said "Let''s go"


    Michael nodded and followed after him, walking to where the portal was supposed to be.


    Along the way, they didn''t speak to each other much, Meph looked like he had a lot on his mind and Michael did not want to bother him.


    Arriving at the grassy area, Michael saw his two teammates still sprawled out, one unconscious, the other still stuck in the illusion.


    Meph turned to Michael and asked "Are these your party members?"


    "Yes, we got teleported here together, though they are a bit out of it right now."


    Meph chuckled at Michael''sment then walked up to a seemingly random area and raised his hand.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    A sound came out from the air in front of him, though as it intensified, it looked like the air around Meph had shattered as if it was all made out of ss.


    Then all of a sudden, a blue glow appeared, signifying the portal being open.


    Michael picked up his 2 teammates and walked up to Meph, preparing to leave, though his curiosity got the best of him and he asked him a question.


    "How were you trapped in this ce anyway?"


    Meph put his hand on his chin and looked to be thinking.


    "I don''t remember, I only remember that it was because of some sort of human with a weird name, Rainkart? Something like that, it was a long time ago.."


    Michael regretted bringing that up, as he noticed that he had spoiled the mood, however, he did gain a bit of information.


    Meph nodded at Michael and went through the portal.


    Michael took onest look behind him and followed right after.


    ''It''s finally over''

 Chapter 10: A Nice Swim

    <h4>Chapter 10: A Nice Swim</h4>


    ''Another forest?'' Michael couldn''t help but raise his brow.


    After going through the portal all of them arrived at a forest, though this one didn''t look like it was part of the dungeon.


    <i>Yes, you are outside, though there aren''t any cities in at least a 10 kilometer radius, I can''t feel any further.</i>


    Michael nodded and took a look at Meph, he seemed to be rather rxed for someone who had been trapped in a dungeon for a while.


    "So what do you n on doing now, with you finally being free and all."


    "Probably live in this body for a while, it seemed to be quite rich" Meph answered in a nonchnt manner.


    "So do you like have all of his memories?"


    "Yes, Zane Brennan, 22 years old, spoiled and rich young master" Meph held back hisugh as he recalled some other details.


    "I see, I guess his personality that I saw was just the tip of the iceberg, anyway, do you know where a city is? I can''t seem to find any near us" Michael exined. He was now prettyfortable with Meph, he seemed like a nice guy.


    "Hold on" Meph said and closed his eyes, then suddenly opened them with a surprised expression.


    "So uhh..we are on an ind."


    ''Shit..'' Michael couldn''t help but cuss his luck, how was he supposed to swim back to another continent?


    <i>This might be a good training opportunity.</i>


    A shiver went down his spine ''Don''t even think about it.''


    <i>Why? Are you nning on building a boat and capsizing in the middle of the ocean? You sure are confident.</i>


    ''No, maybe Meph has a way out of this'' Michael thought with a spark of hope in his eyes and asked Meph, though the answer was not what he had hoped.


    "Hm? No, I deal in magic surrounding the mind, my physical prowess is not that great."


    "Then do you maybe have an idea on how we are supposed to get out of here?"


    Meph thought for a second and answered "Nope, we can swim back though, we are not that far away fromnd, maybe 100 kilometers or so?"


    ''I am doomed..'' Michael couldn''t help but let out a sigh and look towards his two out ofmission party members.


    "What about them? Aftering this far I don''t really want to leave them here."


    Meph tilted his head slightly "Why? I thought you said that you didn''t know them?"


    "I don''t, but it would be a shame for them to die as well, more me would fall onto me if you and I were the only ones to return" Michael exined.


    "I see, well I already dispelled the illusion on that buff guy back in the dungeon, though I guess his mind is too scarred as he is not regaining control of his body" Meph said, then pointed towards Joanna.


    "As for the girl, she is in aatose like state, from what I can see of Zane''s memories she died, but was brought back to life miraculously." He then nced at Michael and shed a small smile, proceeding to walk in one direction.


    "You have your secrets, I have mine, unless you just really like to talk to yourself" Meph added with a chuckle.


    All the while Michael remained silent and followed Meph, his two teammates on his shoulders.


    After about 2 hours of constant walking, they could finally see the trees disappearing, and recing them was a vast ocean, expanding everywhere the eyes could see.


    "We are here" Meph said, looking straight at the ocean.


    Thend and water connected seamlessly, it looked quite magical.


    Michael finally dropped his teammates onto the ground, he was no longer sure what to do, he didn''t want to abandon them, but if he chose to take them with him, he could quite literally drown.


    Meph looked at Michael and sighed, he then raised his hand, expending a small wave of mana and enveloping both Eric and Joanna.


    All of a sudden they started moving, albeit a tad bit roughly.


    "I''ll take them with us, though if they drown along the way it''s not my fault" Meph expressed and moved them closer to the ocean.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "Thank you."


    <i>So you resulted to swimming, I pray you don''t drown, though the stat gain from this is going to be massive.</i>


    Michael clenched his fists tightly, thest time he trained, he ran 100ps, which is roughly 40 kilometers, though now he had to do double that, even a tad bit more than double.


    Not only is he going to get exhausted faster, but due to the waves he might even drown.


    ''Fuck this'' Michael took a step into the water, it was cold, despite it being summertime.


    Meph chuckled "Alright follow along now, don''t worry if you start drowning I will save you, I don''t want my benefactor dying so soon."


    "Sure.."


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Back in the dungeon.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    The air suddenly shattered, however instead of a portal appearing, a tall man walked out of the cracks.


    He had a mask on his face, however his long golden hair could not be hidden.


    The man took a step and immediately disappeared, appearing right in front of the now empty throne.


    His expression was unknown, however a slight trembling of his hands could be seen.


    He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny white cube, cing it on the empty throne.


    "Reba, Reba. You skimped out on a few details didn''t you?" He spoke to the white cube.


    "A simple healer you said? What a joke. Though If I can get him on our side, our n would fast forward a few decades"


    The man turned around and walked forward, his steps not making any sound, however he suddenly stopped and pulled out a tiny note and a pen.


    He wrote something down and walked back to the throne, cing the note on top of the white cube.


    The note sunk into the white cube as if the cube was made out of water.


    "I am extending your punishment Reba, I have to handle some business now, goodbye."


    Saying those words he took a step and disappeared, appearing back at the ce where the crack in the air remained and walked through it, the crack slowly closing behind him.


    The only thing left in this dungeon was the white cube,ying on the throne.


    All alone.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    <i>-Gurgle</i>


    "Oh whoops" Meph quickly turned around and pulled Michael above the water.


    "Hey we are almost there, just a few kilometers to go, hey can you hear me" Meph smacked Michael on the head.


    "Wai-<i>cough</i> are you trying to fucking kill me!" Michael shouted at Meph, though he received no reaction, as if this wasn''t the first time that this had happened.


    <i>Why don''t you keep yourself above water next time, this is your 15th time nearly drowning.</i>


    ''Whose smart idea was it to swim this far again? Oh wait, it was yours!'' Michael eximed at the system''sment, trying to stay afloat.


    <i>Well, Meph had the same idea didn''t he? Besides, the amount of stats you got is pretty impressive.</i>


    ''Do you think I care about that? I will have you know that if I escaped the dungeon with the original n, I would have starved to death, or better yet, drowned to death.''


    <i>Don''t let what ifs dictate your path going forward, persevere and live another day.</i>


    ''You and your philosophical bullshit, did you look deeper into my memories?'' Michael asked and tried following after Meph, but ended up getting water all the way up his nose.


    <i>You had an interesting childhood, I mean who else would read a whole book on philosophy and talk about it in their school''sedy club?</i>


    ''H-hey! Don''t look that far back, focus on my military days, I was quite impressive back then!'' Michael eximed, his ears slightly turning red.


    <i>Oh yeah? What about that time you slipped and fell in front of your whole squad? And more than once might I add.</i>


    The system continued annoying Michael with his worst moments during the time he served in the military.


    Michael joined the military as soon as he finished high school and served until he was 27.


    The reason he was discharged was due to his mother dying, he was not able to visit her because he was not in the country.


    Due to the fear that it might happen again, this time with his father, he quit and became a mercenary under one of hismanding officer''s contacts.


    The man never introduced himself, however, every time Michael did not perform up to par, he received a punishment.


    Those punishments ranged anywhere from pay cuts, to him being beat up.


    The only reason Michael did not quit was because the pay was great, he was able to retire his father after only 2 years of working as a mercenary.


    However the ''incident'' happened in his 3rd year of working as a mercenary, and ever since then, he became an alcoholic and someone who used all kinds of drugs.


    He was not happy with himself, but taking all of those substances made his pain go away.


    That was until he died, at the fine age of 30.


    <i>Oh and that time when yo-</i>


    ''Shut up my head is about to explode'' Michael grumbled while swimming.


    Though as he looked forward, he was finally able to see something, it was some sort of building in the distance.


    Meph looked at him and said "We finally made it, speed up or something, this body''s got to eat"


    The waves were no longer as strong as before, swimming became easier for Michael, even if he was still fatigued.


    "Right.."


    After another 20 minutes of swimming they finally arrived, in front of them was a massive city, with tall buildings reaching into the sky.


    They swam up to adder and Meph made Eric and Joanna go first, their bodies did not look too great, but because of Michael''s healing and Meph''s ability to control them, they were still alive.


    They all climbed up thedder and saw the bustling city in front of them.


    Unlike the city Michael lived in previously, this one looked more advanced, all types of cars were driving around, some really fancy looking, others even hovering above the ground.


    Though in the small moment Michael and Meph took to enjoy the sights, police sirens sounded, seemingly heading towards them.


    Meph turned to look at Michael with a confident smile on his face "Don''t worry, this body is somewhat of a big shot"


    "Right..then you can vouch for my identity, I don''t have an ID on me" Michael replied whilst squeezing the water out of his clothes.


    Meph slightly flinched and looked around inside of his pockets "ID? R-right ID.." then turned to Michael, sporting a silly grin "It seems like I lost it."


    "..." Michael was speechless.


    The police finally arrived and they cautiously stepped out of their cars, walking towards Meph and Michael, as well as the 2 others lying on the ground behind them.


    One of the policemen pulled out a pair of cuffs and held them to the side.


    "What were you doing with those people and the kid?" He asked, his gaze on Meph.


    Those words seemed to shock Meph a little, though he quickly recovered hisposure, his expression beaming with confidence "Do not worry, I did notmit any nefarious crimes today, they are my friends."


    Though the policeman did not seem convinced and walked towards Meph "No crimesmitted today? You are under arrest until we can identify you."


    He ced the cuffs on Meph''s hands and turned towards Michael with a kind smile "Are you okay kid? Come with us for now, we will get you back home."


    Michael did not refuse and walked with the man, as he did, he nced at Meph and saw his sour expression.


    The policeman led Michael into the police car and sat him down in the back.


    A few minutester sirens were heard once again, this time however they were the paramedics. There were 2 emergency vehicles and Michael saw 2 people step out of them, both wearing a white coat with a cross on its back.


    ''The healers?'' Michael thought.


    They walked up to Eric and Joanna, before examining them and picking them up, taking them back to the emergency vehicles.


    <i>This is another opportunity for you to gain EXP, make sure to tell the police you are a healer, that way they might send you to the hospital.</i>


    ''Won''t I get sent back to the orphanage instead though?'' Michael asked the system.


    <i>Yeah? Who said there isn''t an orphanage in this city as well? They might just take you there instead.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but agree, it was highly likely that''s going to be the case ''I guess this is going to take a while..''

 Chapter 11: City

    <h4>Chapter 11: City</h4>


    "You are free to go kid."


    ''Finally..'' Michael sighed. He had been in questioning for thest 3 hours.


    The questions he was asked were simple, something along the lines of ''Did that man hurt you?'' ''Where are your parents?''


    It seemed they were hell bent on Meph being a criminal, the way he acted gave that impression at the very least.


    However his case will obviously get dismissed once they find out the body''s identity.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    After Michael sat through the boring questioning, he went out of the police station and headed over to the hospital, the buildings were not that far apart.


    The hospital was at least a couple of timesrger than the recovery center in his orphanage, he wouldn''t be surprised if this was the only one in the city.


    But it was not, wherever this ce is located, is more advanced than his previous city.


    By earth''s standards, the ce he used to live in could be considered very modern, however, the city he found himself in now was the definition of modern.


    Flying cars, skyscrapers reaching the sky, holograms strewn around, ads ying and showcasing all sorts of never before seen stuff.


    However, one thing had caught his eye in the many advertisements he saw.


    It was a weird device that looked eerily simr to his previous world''s VR headsets, however as the ad kept ying, it seemed like the person had been transported into another world, his body and all his senses were the same however.


    The person suddenly started using skills, creating fireballs and sending them in random directions.


    It then panned to the person fighting inside of what looked like a dungeon, however as he fought and was shed, no blood came out, however, his body soon turned to particles.


    The product was called ''Vivum''s VR Headset.''


    However, the next thing greatly shocked Michael.


    ''50.000 fucking dors? Are they out of their god damn mind?'' he grumbled with a sour expression. It looked interesting but he didn''t have a single cent to his name.


    <i>Hm.. that could be interesting, you should get one before you go back.</i>


    ''Well, who knows how much the ferry costs to travel to another continent..''


    Michael was currently in the Artios continent, with his old one being Neutus.


    There is one more continent, Daor, and it is located in the very far south, people avoid it because the monsters there are unbelievably powerful, oftentimes taking raid teams weeks to even hunt a single pack.


    Raid teams refer to a partyrger than 10 people.


    The 3 continents were considered mega continents, one of them would be the size of his previous world''s 3 biggest continentsbined.


    What made continental travel so dangerous however, was the fact that flying monsters could attack in the sky, and if you were to go by ship, a massive sea serpent could eat it in a single bite.


    Michael did not know of any alternatives yet, though he was hoping to discover some during his stay here.


    He walked inside of the hospital and noticed some kind of booth in front of him, it seemed the reception was automated by a robot.


    ''So now I am definitely going to have the normal hospital experience..'' Michael thought back to the time he had to wait 14 hours just to get redirected to another sector.


    Michael went up to the booth and a hologram screen popped up, there were many options but he selected Doctor Consultation.


    Suddenly a ticket appeared out of the booth, it read,


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Doctor Bryan


    Room : 302


    Position in queue : 743rd


    ETA : 6 weeks


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Michael stared at the ticket, his expression crumbling ''Fuck...''


    <i>Can''t you just go in through the entrance anyway? Act your age and it might work.</i>


    ''And if they escort me back to the police? I think the streets are cozier than the police station''s cells.''


    <i>Well then go do something, or just find another hospital, a shabbier one.</i>


    ''Would there even be a shabby hospital in this city?''


    <i>A grain of rice can be f-</i>


    Michael quickly interjected ''Alright alright, I''ll go look around if anything I''ll walk back to the police station, get admitted into this city''s orphanage or whatnot.''


    The police said they would find Michael after the questioning was done, he wasn''t sure how, but he was not curious enough to ask.


    <i>They casted a detection spell on you, as long as you are in the city, they can find you.</i>


    ''That seems like a little much no?'' Michael wondered. A detection spell on a mere child? What was he, a criminal?


    <i>An unknown child from another continent randomly swims ashore, I wonder?</i>


    Michael flinched ''That does sound weird doesn''t it?''


    <i>Genius.</i>


    Michael shrugged and started walking. The streets were clean, extremely so.


    The people that walked around didn''t pay Michael a single nce either, even when he was wearing his odd looking robe.


    There were bridges and tunnels for the people to walk across the streets.


    Michael also noticed that despite all this modernity, there were also people setting up food stalls and all sorts of other stuff that he remembers from his old world.


    He didn''t know where he was going, he could have asked for directions from others, however, he wanted to enjoy the view, it''s not every day you get to see a city like this.


    Supermalls upon supermalls, all kinds of delicious food.


    A rich person''s paradise.


    After about 2 hours of aimless walking, Michael found a bench and sat down.


    <i>So how about you ask for directions now?</i>


    ''I will let me just take a quick break'' Michael said as he gotfortable, even the benches werefy.


    <i>What? Are you tired after not doing anything since you got here?</i>


    ''You seem to forget that I entered the dungeon around 2 to 3 days ago, and I have not slept once yet, so yes, I am tired''


    <i>Just sleep on the bench then, you are homeless right now, after all, so act the part.</i>


    ''Fuck off'' Michael grumbled and decided to check out his status, he saw a few blue boxes appear when he was swimming, but he had no time to check them out.


    ''Status''


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 11 [550/11000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ruthless Combatant</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 576/576 [+50] / Regen 71 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 876/876 [+50] / Regen 121 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 50 -> 56</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 58 -> 71</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 47 -> 51</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 120 -> 121 [+10]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 16 -> 17</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 971/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 7 1000/3500 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 7% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 1 200/500 EXP] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 600 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 1 150/500 EXP] [Rare] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify the target, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 100MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    Michael was left shocked, if he was going by his previous pace, this kind of stat increase would have taken at least a couple of months, though he was able to achieve this in a day of swimming?


    <i>Don''t try to use normal logic, this world and your body are both different, fundamentally and all.</i>


    ''I understand that, but should they still go up this fast?'' Michael couldn''t help but ask, it was unnaturally unnatural even by his standards.


    <i>You trained with such intensity where you could die, your adrenaline was at its peak and so was your focus, do you seriously think that and runningps around a stadium are the same? Don''t be foolish.</i>


    Michael frowned, but decided to not argue with the system ''Right..also why am I not getting any EXP towards my normal level when my passive skill EXP increases?''


    <i>As unbnced as the system already is, if that was a thing, your level would increase too fast at the start, oh and you would have neglected your healing skills as well.</i>


    ''Why are you so sassy today?'' Michael asked while smirking. Though the answer he received was a little unexpected.


    <i>I am preparing you for your next interaction, there were a couple of people following you since you got here-oh there they are.</i>


    As the system said that, a single person with shabby clothing walked towards Michael, before kneeling down and bowing.


    "O child of the gods, please bestow upon us your blessing!"


    ''What?''


    <i>y along with him, you might get some money so act magnanimous or something.</i>


    Michael inwardly sighed, he didn''t want to be a fraud, but he also didn''t want to sleep on the streets.


    He stood up and walked up to the bowing old man, trying to stand him up "Get up sir, there is no need to bow in my presence, what troubles you?"


    <i>Bullshit skill generated, rarity Legendary.</i>


    ''Are you out of your mind? Also did you just cuss?'' Michael asked, showing slight surprise at the fact that the system swore, ever since first meeting it, it had never cussed once.


    However the system chose to ignore Michael, leaving him to deal with the still bowing man.


    "No! How could I stand in front of someone of your caliber!" The old man dismissed Michael and went back to bowing.


    "Sir, stand up, if you don''t then I will leave." Those words seemed to startle the man as he immediately stood up.


    "Speak" Michael demanded in an authoritative tone, not acting like a 9 year old child at all.


    "Y-yes..the healer we had in the slums disappeared, and now there is no one to help us.." The man exined, looking with puppy dog eyes at Michael.


    ''I can see where he is going with this..''


    "So you want me to be the healer in charge of the slums? What''s in it for me?" Michael asked. He would go, however if they want him to heal the slums for absolutely free, then...


    The man flinched slightly "O-oh..we gave the previous healer offerings, mostly money in exchange for his help, would that be okay?" he looked at Michael with hopeful eyes.


    ''Good enough for me'' Michael shed a small smile, however in the eyes of the the man, he looked like a smiling angel of hope.


    "That would have to suffice, lead the way"


    That cheered the man up and he started walking, with Michael right behind him.


    They walked for a couple of minutes before going down into what looked like the subway station, though it appeared abandoned.


    ''Am I about to get robbed?'' Michael couldn''t help but think. It did seem a little suspicious, especially when the man said the slums needed his help, yet took him to a subway station.


    They walked down the stairs and jumped onto the tracks, moving even further forward.


    After another couple minutes of walking, Michael began seeing some lights around the corner and instinctively flinched, he thought it was an iing train.


    However, the old man did not seem phased as he kept moving forward, turning a corner to the left.


    Michael was right behind him, and the moment he turned the corner, his eyes widened.


    He stood on what appeared to be a cliff with shabby stairs leading down to on the left.


    However that was not what shocked him.


    In front of him was an underground city, one that seemed to span tens of kilometers wide. Though most of the buildings were in tatters, it looked like some sort of battle happened here.


    The old man turned back to Michael with a small yet sad smile "Wee to the Vivum slums."

 Chapter 12: Plague

    <h4>Chapter 12: gue</h4>


    The old man led Michael down into the city, letting him enjoy the view, even if it was a bit unsightly.


    Looking around, he could see a bunch of lights in the air, it reminded him of a night sky.


    Though the lights seemed to illuminate the entire city below.


    ''How does a ce like this even exist? And how does the city above ground not crumble down into here'' Michael wondered. It felt like a whole different city altogether, yet they were right beside each other.


    <i>There is probably some sort of barrier holding it together, that would exin why the detection magic disappeared.</i>


    ''It did? When?''


    <i>The moment you took a step down the stairs.</i>


    ''I see, well if anything I will still have to get out and go to the police station to get my ID made'' When Michael was being questioned they asked for his ID, he obviously didn''t have one, luckily they offered to make him one for free.


    <i>I have an ominous feeling again.</i>


    Michael flinched ''What now?'' he knew better than to not trust the system''s hunches.


    <i>Ever since the police station something felt amiss, I can''t quite understand what, but I feel like you shouldy low for a while.</i>


    ''Well I n on staying here for a bit, so it works out.'' Michael nodded and finally reached the ground, the descent took a solid 5 minutes.


    As Michael finally approached the city, all kinds of people gathered around, making a path for him as if he were some kind of royal.


    Most of them had proper clothes, well proper enough to be worn. It seemed the old man was the only one who had ripped clothes.


    The old man led Michael to some sort of church, which had an angel statue right in front of it.


    Surprising as it was, the church was a stark contrast to the city around it. It was clean, and the statue outside was even shining.


    The bright lights in the underground sky highlighted the beauty of it all.


    The old man turned around and pulled a key out of his pocket, handing it over to Michael.


    The old man exined "This is the ce where you will be staying, I promise it is much better than the others around you."


    He then resumed walking, heading to a nearby building right next to the church.


    Michael followed along, arriving right in front of the building and stopping.


    The old man suddenly turned to him with a grave expression "Steel yourself..the inside is the reason why I was so desperate to find a healer."


    Michael nodded and opened the door, what greeted his eyes was a small room, however, the stench was god awful, if he hadn''t gone through worse during his time in the military, he would have vomited his guts out.


    <i>There is miasma in the air, it won''t affect you much, however, the others would suffer, close the door.</i>


    ''Alright'' Michael took onest nce at the old man, then closed the door and turned on the lights.


    He then saw 6 beds and 5 individuals lying on them, all of them had some sort of pained expression.


    Michael walked closer to one of them and noticed some sort of lymph node on their neck, and a tad bit of darkening around the wrist.


    It took Michael a couple of seconds to deduce what this could be. He was not a medical expert, however, he did study quite a bit of history back in the day.


    ''The ck Death'' Michael thought, his expression bing more and more serious.


    He walked up to one of the people who had the bestplexion, it was a girl "Can you talk?"


    "Y-yes.." She replied weakly.


    Michael nced around and turned back to her "I am asking just in case, but were there originally 6 people here?"


    She seemed a bit confused for a moment, however, her eyes soon widened in realization


    That reaction was all that Michael needed to know, he walked around the room and used Purify and Greater Heal on all of them, then told everyone to quickly get out of the building.


    <strong><i>[Purify +1250 EXP] [Greater Heal +250 EXP]</i></strong>


    The only thing left in this building was the miasma, he wasn''t sure if Purify could get rid of it, but he tried nheless.


    He held out his hand and used Purify just a bit in front of his palm, immediately the air became more pure, and the dreary atmosphere was gone, like it had never been here in the first ce.


    <strong><i>[Purify +250 EXP] </i></strong>


    ''It worked!'' Michael thought happily. It seemed the only thing left now was to find thest person before he managed to infect everyone else.


    However that was just wishful thinking..he had 170 MP left and if he infects one more person it''s going to be an epidemic he couldn''t stop.


    Michael walked out of the building and noticed no one was around, even the old man was gone.


    He quickly walked back to the church, however even then, it waspletely empty, just a few minutes ago there were a bunch of people gathered there.


    ''Hey, can you feel anything?'' Michael asked the system.


    ''Are you seriously doing this shit again?''


    The system was quiet, much like when he had to deal with the monster in the dungeon.


    ''You really know when to pick your timing don''t you?'' Michael berated for thest time. Then decided to get to work, he had to find the 6th person who had the gue.


    He walked to where he hade from and was shocked, in a bad way.


    The people who had been missing were all standing there, listening to the old man with tattered clothes. He stood on some sort of makeshift wooden podium, looking extremely happy.


    ''Fuck how am I supposed to find them now!?'' Michael scanned the crowd, looking for rashes, dark spots, or literally anything that could be an indicator to help him.


    He looked around. He then walked into the crowd, they didn''t even know he was there, even though they greeted him like some sort of noble just earlier.


    Much less the fact that if he were to shout and exin the situation to them, he would run the risk of the person with the gue escaping.


    Knowing a person would run out and endanger others, Michael was pretty sure they would not turn themselves in willingly.


    He was lost, he needed to find the person, though he was sure by now someone else had been infected.


    With his MP on the lower side, it''s over.


    ''If only I could see who it is..'' Michael let out a defeated sigh. However, it seemed not all hope was lost, as in the next moment...


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>[Conditions Met : Skill Unlocked] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Unnamed] [Level MAX] [Unique] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># See the HP, ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.</i></strong>


    <i>-DING</i>


    <strong><i>[Please name your skill]</i></strong>


    Everything happened so fast he couldn''t believe it. All of a sudden red bars appeared above all of the people in front of him, some disying extra symbols.


    The message telling him to name his skill was still in front of his eyes, moving along wherever he moved his head.


    ''Fuck, I don''t know? Eyes of The Healer or something'' Michael thought in his mind, not paying much thought to the naming process, he couldn''t care less about it at the moment.


    -<i>DING </i>


    <strong><i>[Your skill has been named] [+5 INT]</i></strong>


    He gained an extra 5 INT, which meant he now had enough MP to cast Purify twice.


    Michael quickly pushed through the crowd, moving to the podium and jumping on top of it.


    The old man seemed shocked, he didn''t expect their savior toe by so suddenly "What brings you he-"


    "Quiet" Michael said to the man, his childlike voice exhibiting authority.


    Suddenly, the surroundings turned quiet, the people staring at Michael with mixed expressions.


    Many with awe, reverence, confusion and then there were some with caution, unwarranted caution.


    However, Michael''s current expression was grim, extremely so.


    He noticed a veryrge chunk of people that had a ck glob attached to their health bar.


    There was very little he could do, however as he was losing all hope, an idea sparked into his head.


    He had used Purify on the air before, couldn''t he try that again? Worst case scenario it won''t work.


    He had nothing to lose so he got down from the podium and instructed "Everyone! Get around me I will cast upon you my blessing"


    He felt like that was the only way to get them toe, he was already pretending to be some sort of holy healer, he might as well act the part.


    The people quickly huddled over to him, everyone standing and awaiting the blessing, some even got down on their knees and started praying.


    There were roughly 350 people, most of them being infected.


    ''If I take into ount that my heal skill has a range of 10 meters, my robe adding another 10.. I hope Purify follows the same principles...'' Michael thought before extending his hand into the air.


    ''Purify''


    All of a sudden a green light expanded out from Michael''s palm, enveloping all the people around him.


    Gasps could be heard from all around, however, what drew Michael''s attention was something in the air.


    Hundreds of blue boxes appeared and slowly startedbining into one box, right in front of Michael''s eyes.


    <strong><i>[Purify +66500 EXP]</i></strong>


    <i>-DING </i>


    <strong><i>[Skill Evolved] [Purify [Rare ->Epic] [+10 INT]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 17 150/8500 EXP] [Epic] [Active]</i></strong>


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    <strong><i># Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 70MP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Radius: 65 Meters</i></strong>


    <i>What...</i>


    ''Now you talk bastard? Level 20 by the time I go to the academy? Yeah right'' Michael held back his excitement. An unbelievable amount of EXP justnded on his te, and this was only his first day in the city.


    He quickly turned to the old man, who now had a shocked expression on his face. Then right after immediately kneeled and started praying while looking at Michael.


    "O great gift of the heavens, we thank you!" As soon as he said that, the others followed along and did the same.


    ''These people are quite the religious bunch'' Michael couldn''t help but chuckle inwardly, he was definitely not used to being revered by somebody.


    From a third person perspective, it looked like a bunch of fanatics were praying to a handsome kid wearing a white robe, it was ridiculous.


    Though Michael couldn''t help but show a small smile ''It didn''t feel too bad.''


    "How many more people are in this city?" He asked the old man


    "N-not that many. Many of the houses beyond a certain point are now ruins. If I were to make an estimate I would say there are around 20000 people living in the slums."


    Michael''s heart immediately started racing faster. He knew he shouldn''t wish the gue upon anyone, but he did hope there would be a few more people to gain EXP from.


    <i>You really are shameless...</i>


    ''You are one to talk'' Michael shot back while scoffing. He then looked back at the old man.


    "Would it be possible for you to gather as many people as you can tomorrow? I wish to bless all the citizens of the slums."


    The man thought for a moment "..That would be possible. I will arrange it so they alle to the church where you will be staying."


    Michael nodded back at the man and then looked over to the other citizens.


    "I will be going to the church, see you all tomorrow" and with those words, Michael began walking back.


    ''Why were you so surprised?'' Michael decided to tease the system a little. He still didn''t forgive it for going silent on him again.


    <i>I didn''t expect you to evolve the skill like that, even I myself was not aware of such a possibility with a simple Rare skill.</i>


    ''It''s Epic now''


    <i>Yes, that was what surprised me, it is not incredibly rare for a skill to evolve and change a bit. However, evolving the rarity? Definitely not ordinary.</i>


    Michaelughed a bit at the system''s confusion before finally arriving back at the church.


    He unlocked the doors and prepared to go in, however he suddenly heard another voice in his head, it was not the system.


    <strong><i>Yo, it''s Meph, I don''t know what you did prior to meeting me, however, the police said you don''t exist and are now searching for you.</i></strong>


    Michael was immediately startled ''What are you talking about?''


    <strong><i>I got some information out of one of them and they said a person going by Michael does not exist, you were not even in the orphanage''s database.</i></strong>


    ''How can that be?'' Michael thought, confusion clearly present in his expression.


    <strong><i>Who knows, you don''t exist. Oh and better yet that Reba girl you were telling me about? She is no longer the headmaster of the orphanage, no one knows where she disappeared to.</i></strong>


    ''...What?''

 Chapter 13: Isolation

    <h4>Chapter 13: Istion</h4>


    Michael''s heart was racing fast. He couldn''t understand what had happened. First he vanishes from all the records, and then Reba disappears?


    He had many doubts, but very little anwsers. He was going to stay in the slums for a little while longer, the police proceedings would surely take up way too much time.


    <strong><i>I don''t know where you are staying right now, however I can just barely feel your mana. Stay there, wait for me to finish with the legal issues and then you cane back out.</i></strong>


    Michael did not know how to how to react to this situation at all. The one and only person he trusted was gone without a trace, no one knows if she is even still alive.


    ''Alright..Please tell me if somethinges up'' Michael told Meph and went inside the church.


    He had expected it to look like any normal church, however there were no seats or pedestals, only a statue of the angel from outside.


    Michael noticed a name carved onto the bottom part of the statue, it read ''Gabriel''


    ''Hey system, are the gods and angels from my previous world connected here?'' He couldn''t help but ask. He remembers reading about them, and so far he had met a few beings that were simr.


    Michael was not sure, but Meph might be Mephisto from his previous world''s folklore.


    He had some simrities, like affecting the mind, meaning emotions. Aswell as the name, Meph, it didn''t seem like he was trying to hide it either.


    But s he could be wrong, from what he has seen so far, Meph was nothing like the portrayals of him in folklore.


    However in the off chance that he was right, that means that the gods of all types of mythologies and folklores exist in this world.


    <i>I can''t tell you that.</i>


    ''Why not?'' Michael asked with curiosity.


    <i>You are too weak to know about that type of information, don''t pry into the inner workings of this world, it is too soon.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but sigh ''So they do exist.. that could be bad.''


    He then walked to the side where a door stood, opening it, he saw a cozy little room, with food already prepared for him.


    It had all the necessities, afy bed, kitchen, toilet and a shower.


    And all of it was for free, just because he was being treated as the symbol of hope by the people.


    ''Hey, how important is it for me to go to the academy? With my current pace couldn''t I just level up and do dungeons or something?'' He asked the system.


    <i>This world has special conditions in which you can enter dungeons, one of them being a diploma, specifically an academy graduation certificate.</i>


    ''And the others?''


    <i>You would need to be invited by the higher ups, much like what happened before the dungeon. You were allowed to kill the monsters that came out of it, but not allowed to go inside the dungeon.</i>


    ''Isn''t that a bit stupid though? The rich and famous can get stronger quicker.''


    <i>That is the point, however do not worry, everyone awakens different sses, some might be rarer than others, but in the end the one who knows how to use their abilities best is the one who is going toe out on top.</i>


    Michael pondered for a moment ''I am amon ss, are you telling me there are those who awaken as epic or even legendary?''


    <i>Yes, you were given a little handicap because you can grow infinitely stronger, that is the reason why you started out as amon ss.</i>


    The system paused for a moment, before resuming the exnation.


    <i>As you know, all the sses are grouped into the 3 categories, Tank, Damage Dealer, Healer. There is also a 4th category that is more prominent in raids, Support.</i>


    <i>Support refers to those who have skills that can buff the party.</i>


    <i>Now then, back on topic. The rarity of your ss determines your future, the more rare your ss, the stronger your abilities can get.</i>


    <i>sses can also be passed down via the bloodline, even sometimes mutating the ss and making it even stronger.</i>


    <i>However the others can''t evolve their sses freely, you are the only one who can do that, so don''t get discouraged.</i>


    All the while Michael listened attentively, he never asked the system to exin in detail about it, he was not that interested in the past.


    Though now it seemed crucial, as he will need to be aware of stuff like this in the future.


    The system''s words and advice, followed by the news of his previous life being brought down, made him finally make up his mind.


    ''Hey system, there are academies on this continent aswell right?'' He asked, finally steeling his resolve.


    <i>From what I gather yes, there are a few, even one in this city actually.</i>


    ''Good..'' Michael lied down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, during the system''s exnation he finished all of his food.


    And now he had made up his mind, he will not be going back to his previous home. He will enroll into the academy here.


    Michael will wait for Meph to clear all suspicion of him, and then return, get citizenship, and apply to the academy once he is 12.


    It seemed like a fool proof n, he only had to spend a couple of years in an unknown city, not depressing at all.


    <i>It''s a good idea, besides, someone most likely tried getting rid of you with that dungeon stunt after all.</i>


    ''That is true'' Michael replied and closed his eyes. Seemingly trying to finally get some sleep in.


    <i>Are you not going to check your status?</i>


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Tomorrow..''


    <strong>-----</strong>


    The next day.


    <i>Hey wake up already, did you go deaf or something?</i>


    The system kept annoying Michael, trying to get him to finally wake up.


    There was a lot of sounding from outside of the church, whether it be people talking, orughing, it all added up and made Michael''s morning that much worse.


    ''Why in the fuck are they here so early!? Did I even sleep for 6 hours?'' Michael thought groggily as he got up from the bed and walked outside of his room.


    At the very least they had not entered the church yet, if they had, then Michael didn''t know how he would react, the noise was already loud enough.


    He walked up to the entrance of the church and opened its doors, a massive horde of people appearing in his vision.


    Some noticed him and quieted down, the others however were still loudly chatting to one another.


    The old man from before walked up to Michael "Hello holy one, I have brought as many people as I could, not everyone came though."


    "It is alright, I will bless those who dide." Michael said and began walking towards the angel statue.


    He arrived and stood in the very middle, the people around him slightly backing away and sping their hands, beginning their prayers.


    Michael raised one of his hands in the sky and casted Purify. All people in a fairly vast radius were enveloped by a green glow.


    <strong><i>[Purify +115000 EXP]</i></strong>


    Out of the thousands of people gathered here, a couple hundred had caught the gue.


    Michael hid his smile, this amount of EXP was enough to reach level 20 and him a new skill.


    <i>I will hold off on the level up to 20 until you are done with this crowd.</i>


    ''Sure'' Michael simply nodded. He didn''t know what kind of differences would arise, so it''s best to be a little cautious.


    Most of the people around him kneeled, and prayed, even those who were left standing had their eyes wide open, shocked by what had just happened.


    Michael put on a warm smile on his face and navigated around the people back to his church, meeting the old man along the way.


    "I knew I had a good eye, you are a blessing to us all!" The old man wiped away the tearsing out of his eyes.


    "What is your name old man?" Michael decided to finally ask him, he seemed like apetent individual.


    "Alfred, sir" He replied, straightening his posture.


    ''Even his name sounds trustworthy'' Michael held back his chuckle and walked back into the church. Leaving Alfred and the others to their prayers.


    Closing the doors of the church, Michael walked up to the statue of Gabriel and sat down close to it.


    <i>I am curious about something, are you nning on bing some sort of human humidifier?</i>


    Michael''s brows lightly twitched ''What bullshit are you spouting now?''


    <i>You walk around and purify the air, I think my analogy is not that far off?</i>


    ''You are so funny'' Michaelughed to himself sarcastically.


    ''Anyways, level me up to 20 already, I will check my status afterwards.


    <i>Sure.</i>


    <strong><i>[Level up! 19->20 48800/20000 EXP]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Health and Magic Points fully restored]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[5 Unassigned Stat points obtained]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Milestone reached! +10 to all stats]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[HP and MP Ratio readjusted 1:6->1:7]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Random Healer Skill generated]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shield [Level 0 0/100 EXP] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Cast an invisible shield around the target''s body. Absorb 500 HP worth of damage</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 50 MP</i></strong>


    Michael looked over everything he got, it was a big improvement in stats, however he was a bit disappointed he didn''t get any new system upgrades.


    The skill was alright at best too, nothing too special.


    <i>No that skill is very good, unlike your other skills that give EXP the moment u cast them, this skill only provides the EXP after the shield is broken. From what I can see once it breaks u get EXP in proportion to the damage absorbed.</i>


    ''Oh that seems pretty good, I canbine it with Greater Healter too, it works out in the end'' Michael replied, seemingly a little disinterested.


    <i>In case you arecking a bit of eyesight, the skill does not have a duration, that means it will stay on until it breaks.</i>


    ''Huh? So I can just cast it on random people and then reap the benefits for doing absolutely nothing?''


    <i>Your shamelessness is showing, but yes, that is how it works.</i>


    Michael couldn''t help but sh a silly smile, it seemed everything was going his way, well besides the few hups here and there.


    ''Status''


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 22 [7800/22000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ruthless Combatant</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 717/717 [+50] / Regen 81 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 1739/1739 [+50] / Regen 227 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 56 -> 66</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 71 -> 81</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 51 -> 61</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 121 -> 227 [+10]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 17 -> 27</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Eyes of The Healer] [Level MAX] [Unique] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># See the HP, ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 971/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 7 1000/3500 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 7% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 1 450/500 EXP] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 500 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 27 7650/13500 EXP] [Epic] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 50MP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Radius: 75 Meters</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shield [Level 0 0/100 EXP] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Cast an invisible shield around the target''s body. Absorb 500 HP worth of damage</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 50 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    ''Wow, my INT basically doubled, the level of Purify is also not something to scoff at'' Michael thought proudly to himself. His level and skills rose so much in the span of 2 days, it was quite frankly unheard of.


    ''Are all healers like this?''


    <i>Yes and no. The way the others level up depends on their stats, the higher they are the higher the level. They increase way easier than yours as well, however your stat increases make you feel the difference instantly.</i>


    <i>Your level is fixed due to the system, if it wasn''t, then it would show that you are in the 30''s range. Your stats have grown a lot.</i>


    The system paused for a moment, giving Michael a second to take in thepliment.


    <i>The EXP you gain is the same for others, except they can''t feel it. Every time they do something a little bit of EXP piles up, if they kill monsters then even more so. Eventually leading to them obtaining skills associated with their ss, just like you.</i>


    <i>As you have already seen, they are measured by those devices, simr to the one Reba used.</i>


    <i>So if someone were to use a skill like yours, at best, they would receive a new skill.</i>


    ''I see, thanks for being my wiki as always'' Michael chuckled a tiny bit and stood up.


    <i>Wiki...</i>


    Michael still had some stuff left to do, as per his role in the slums, he must act as a healer.


    He walked up to the doors of the church and held the handles, it was time to open up and get to work.

 Chapter 14: Awakened ID

    <h4>Chapter 14: Awakened ID</h4>


    A few weeks had passed since Michael reached level 22 and started living in the slums.


    His day to day life consisted of waking up, eating, opening the church, blessing and or healing everyone andstly, closing up. Just to repeat it all again the next day.


    He didn''t have anywhere to go outside of the church, he tried walking around but the gazes he got were a bit too overwhelming.


    Besides that, there was not much to see, just regr housing with a pub or two on a street, really typical.


    Michael was currently sitting on a makeshift chair he made for himself, it was situated by the Statue of Gabriel inside of the church.


    He spent most of his time here, so he thought thatfort should be on his agenda. Next to him was the old man, Alfred.


    Michael asked Alfred about the situation surrounding the awakened, and why none were healers.


    However the answer he received was a bit odd.


    "Being a healer is rare, and most that awaken as healers leave to the upper city to fulfill their dreams." Alfred exined with a sad smile.


    That answer did seem a little odd, his ss was Common rarity, how was it any rare at all?


    "Most of us awaken as simple warriors, it is almost like a curse in all of our bloodlines."


    <i>It could be possible, don''t tell him that though, he might get depressed.</i>


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system ''Got it.''


    "What ss are you then?" He asked Alfred with slight curiosity, if he were to guess, then he''d say it was warrior.


    "Oh I am a Monk"


    Michael''s lips trembled a little bit ''A monk? Seriously?''


    The man had a full head of hair, even if it was gray. Though with his figure he could be considered a Monk, he was really skinny.


    ''Judging by his ripped clothing maybe he was not materialistic at all?'' Michael couldn''t help but think, his previous world''s stereotypes clearly showing.


    <strong><i>Michael, it''s done, you are safe toe out, all you have to do is show up at the police station and get your ID done.</i></strong>


    A voice suddenly resounded in Michael''s head, it was Meph.


    ''That didn''t take as long as I thought, how did you do it?'' Michael wondered.


    <strong><i>When all else failed I told them you were a healer, you should have seen their faces.</i></strong>


    Meph''sughter resounded inside of his head.


    Though Michael didn''t seem too happy ''Arent''t they going to force me to work for them now or something?''


    <strong><i>That''s what I thought too so I read that person''s mind, turns out healers are just really needed in society and they would try their best to recruit you, willingly of course.</i></strong>


    ''Alright should I head over now then?''


    <strong><i>It''s better if you do yes, I am still here for now.</i></strong>


    Michael was slightly puzzled ''For now?''


    <strong><i>Yes haha, this body''s family ising to pick me up, we will not see each other frequently after that, but do remember, I pay back my debts.</i></strong>


    Michael knew something like this was going to happen. Zane''s family was rich to the point where they had a say in politics, so it''s no surprise they could travel to another continent freely.


    He turned to Alfred who looked slightly confused because of the sudden silence "I will be going up to the city, be back before nightfall."


    Alfred was a little shocked as his eyes widened "Are you leaving us?"


    "No, I am going to go on a stroll, don''t worry, I n on staying here for a bit longer."


    Michael was indeed nning to stay here, and for quite a while at that. His EXP gain in the slums was insane.


    Every day peoplee with all sorts ofints and Michael uses his heal or purify on them, then right after casts his shield, just for the extra measure.


    Though for a city of 20000, only 5-6 peoplee daily, it''s a bit sad but still, his daily EXP gaines out to an average of 1000 per day, when all he has to do is treat them in a minute.


    Because of that, he was now at level 23, sadly out of all his skills, Shield hadn''t gained a single bit of EXP yet.


    Michael headed out of the city, going up the stairs and back the way he got here from.


    The light of the sun was blinding, he felt like some sort of rat that came out of hiding, well that was what he did.


    The moment he stepped foot onto the city sidewalk, sirens resounded from behind him, a police car driving right towards him.


    ''Did he sell me out or something?'' Michael couldn''t help but think.


    However that was not the case, as a police officer got out of the vehicle and walked up to Michael, greeting him politely and showing him to police car.


    He followed along and got into the back, it didn''t seem like he was being detained, more like escorted.


    After a few minutes of quiet driving he finally arrived at the police station and he saw Meph outside, waiting with a smirk.


    "Meph, what are you doing?" Michael couldn''t help but ask cautiously.


    e let''s go inside"


    Michael followed along and saw something strange, Meph was telling police officers what to do, seemingly giving out orders as if he was some sort of boss.


    ''So something did happen'' He thought.


    They arrived in front of an office, it was amanding officer, and the moment he saw us, he instantly stood up and greeted Meph.


    "Nothing you said?" Michael asked Meph in a tantly suspicious voice.


    "Ehh it''s nothing much, my family just made a kind donation is all" he let out a tiny chuckle.


    Michael rolled his eyes and proceeded to talk with themanding officer, it seemed because of Meph''s influence, he could make his ID straight away.


    No one asked any questions, Michael received some sort of card and was told to put a drop of his own blood on it, and the moment he did, a few rows of sentences appeared.


    <strong>-----</strong>


    <strong><i>Awakened Identification Document</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 9 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 23</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Affiliation: City of Vivum</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-----</i></strong>


    Themanding officer''s eyes widened, it''s not every day he saw a 9 year old who was level 23.


    "Young man, would you be interested in joining the police force as a stand by healer?" The man couldn''t help but ask.


    Michael thought for a moment, considering it a bit "Sorry, due to where I am currently living, being on stand by is impossible."


    "The slums right? If you join us we could provide you with housing and all other stuff you might need, we would even cover the entrance cost for the academy if you wished to go." The officer tried bargaining with Michael. The terms were not bad by any means.


    ''Entrance cost?'' Michael''s brows twitched upon hearing that. He was not aware of any entrance cost.


    "That sounds amazing, however I can''t leave the slums alone, there are no healers there besides me, if I leave all of the citizens there will all die." Michael exined.


    "So if we can find a recement in your stead, would you join us?"


    "..I would consider it, however for now I n on staying in the slums for another year at least, no exceptions."


    Michael didn''t want to leave the slums on a bad note, if he could help them before leaving, then that''s what he''ll do.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Themanding officer nodded, still maintaining his professional disposition "I see, then I wish to hear from you in a year."


    As Michael stood up to leave he was called once again.


    "I almost forgot, if you want to update the information on your ID card, pour another drop of your blood on it"


    With those words Michael left the police station, walking side by side with Meph to the inner parts of the city.


    "So you are leaving huh?"


    "Awh..are you sad that I''m leaving? That''s how it is though, we will meet again some day." Meph replied in a teasing manner.


    Michael rolled his eyes "Have the others woken up yet?" He was referring to Eric and Joanna.


    However Meph just slightly shook his head "No sign of that happening any time soon, though I was asked to bring them along back to the other continent, apparently they are quite important."


    Michael was not surprised, they too were invited to hunt, that meant they were as important as Zane.


    All of a sudden a bunch of luxurious floating cars arrived and some butlers stepped out of them, followed by a woman with dark brown hair and blue eyes.


    Michael saw Meph''s smile twitch a little and he started walking towards the woman.


    "Hello..Mother."


    Her smile widened and she hugged him, while Meph hugged her back.


    Michael could see a little bit of a sour expression forming on his face, though no one else seemed to notice.


    "Zane do you know how worried I was!? You and your brother just up and disappeared!" She startedining to him in motherly fashion. Though a bit of redness was visible around her eyes.


    "Mother, Paul is dead" Upon hearing those words, she instantly broke down into tears, it seemed she already had a hunch that''s what might have happened.


    Michael nodded at Meph and started walking back to the slums. He didn''t want to hear this depressing family reunion stuff any longer, there will be a time when he would see Meph again.


    Clenching his fists Michael showed determination, to get stronger, to explore this uncharted world further.


    He used to be a simple mercenary, but now he is a fantasy healer, curing all diseases and illnesses. It was quiteical, however he had to change.


    He had to grow stronger, if this world is as bizarre as he imagines, then if hegs behind, he could be killed at any moment.


    ''You said I needed to understand my role as a healer correct?''


    <i>Yes? Just heal others and stay ba-what are you thinking?</i>


    The system seemed a little shocked upon seeing Michael''s idea.


    ''Is it that strange, I mean, I was a proficient shooter back in my world, it was good enough to even generate a skill here, added to the fact that I used to be a sniper, what is the problem?''


    <i>You, a healer, nning on using guns in conjunction with your healing? Have the slums rotted your brain?</i>


    Michael shed a small smile ''Again, what is wrong with that?''


    <i>How is that going to work with your statposition? Someone who uses guns must be fast, with your agility you are just above average for your level.</i>


    Michael nodded ''And you said all I had to do was run to improve it.''


    <i>Fine..your INT is high enough for now, until level 30 I will put all the stat points you get into AGI.</i>


    ''d we are on the same page'' Michael couldn''t help but let out a wide smile, already climbing down the stairs that led to the slums.


    The citizens were surprised to see him, most didn''t expect him toe back.


    Michael walked through the streets and back into his church.


    It waspletely empty, with only the statue of Gabriel and hisfortable chair in sight.


    ''3 years.. just 3 more years until the academy.''

 Chapter 15: Police

    <h4>Chapter 15: Police</h4>


    Michael was currently running around the slums, he doesn''t even remember how manyps it has been.


    <strong><i>[+1 AGI]</i></strong>


    The blue hologram finally made him stop, his face clearly showing signs of fatigue.


    <i>That only took 90ps around the city, not too bad.</i>


    Michael scoffed at thatment ''Yeah right, I can barely feel my legs.''


    He had been doing this for thest 2 years, running around improving his agility.


    He was going to join the police force a year ago, however it seemed no healer wanted to be sent down to the slums.


    Ever since a year and a half ago, people stoppeding to his little church, he would usually see 2 people at most per week.


    It seemed due to his presence, the people''s health had recovered to the point where the only people who came to the church, were those with a bruise or a cut.


    It was pretty insignificant and the money he earned from donations was not that much, he found out the academy entrance fee was 30.000 dors, and he was 10.000 short.


    Michael was not too worried though, he still had at least half a year until the academy officially started, and by then he would have enough, hopefully.


    Michael wiped off the sweat from his forehead and stretched, before going back to his church and sitting down on his newfortable sofa.


    One of the people donated it, he didn''t expect it to be sofy though.


    ''Status''


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 11 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 35 [500/35000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ruthless Combatant</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 1310/1310 [+50] / Regen 145 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 2230/2230 [+50] / Regen 260 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 66 -> 85</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 81 -> 145</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 61 -> 225</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 227 -> 260 [+10]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 27 -> 40</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Eyes of The Healer] [Level MAX] [Unique] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># See the HP, ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 5 971/2500 EXP] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 5% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 10 50/5000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has a 10% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 25 MAX] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 600->3000 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 35 1000/17500 EXP] [Epic] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 30MP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Radius: 85 Meters</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shield [Level 8 0/4000 EXP] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Cast an invisible shield around the target''s body. Absorb 4000 HP worth of damage</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 400 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Infuse [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increase target''s HP by 100</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Duration: 1 Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    Leveling up to 30ted Michael the Infuse skill, it was Common andpared to others, not that great.


    The system told him his ss could acquire support skills, and the skill he got was one of them.


    Besides that, his level increased by quite a lot, his skills have also seen a pretty massive increase, it took him a long time to level Greater Heal up to 25, however in the end, it was all worth it, as it now healed 3000 HP


    Which quite frankly, was a massive amount.


    After Michael got more used to his Unique skill Eyes of the Healer, he was able to see the numerical amounts of HP of other people.


    For those in the slums it ranged anywhere from 120 HP all the way up to 700 HP, so to say his heals were a bit overpowered was an understatement.


    His Shield skill increased the HP absorbed by 500 per level, at level 8 he was able to absorb 4000 HP worth of damage, however the mana costs became quite big, many times higher than his other skills.


    His HP and MP ratios readjusted as well, it seemed every 10 levels the ratio would go up by 1, his current stats were quite impressive for his level.


    <i>Your stats are in the high level 40''s range, if you were to fight that monster from before again, his illusion wouldn''t even work on you anymore.</i>


    ''That''s good to hear, am I finally ready for dungeons?'' Michael wondered and made some food for himself, he was nning on finally leaving this ce.


    <i>You could, but I rmend doing so with a party, you never know what could happen.</i>


    ''That''s true'' Michael agreed with the system. He was not arrogant enough to believe he could do the job of a full party by himself.


    Michael went into his room and put the money he had gathered in a bag, he was going to create a bank ount.


    And to do that he will finally join the police force, even if only temporarily.


    The slums havee a long way, in the 2 years since he got here, the water quality improved, the food improved, and basically everything went through a drastic change.


    He finally packed all 20.000 dors into a bag and walked out of the church, locking it behind him.


    Michael walked to the city center, where Alfred was now acting as the mayor. After tidying up his appearance, he looked quite reliable.


    He stepped into a fancy building and went up the stairs, arriving before a door and flinging it open, not minding his manners.


    In the room was Alfred, sitting behind a stack of papers, ever since assuming the role of mayor, he started taking things very seriously.


    He noticed Michael and looked at him for a little while, his eyes showing understanding. He clenched his fists "Is it time?"


    Michael had already informed Alfred a whole year ago that he would be leaving. Therefore no shock was evident on his face, only understanding.


    Michael walked up to the desk and ced the key to the church on top of it "That is right, farewell Alfred."


    He had grown attached to these people, that''s why over the years he made sure to ce a Shield on every single one of them.


    Alfred''s small smile looked a bit sad "I see.. thank you for all that you have done for us."


    Michael waved and turned around, walking out of the building and back to the stairs leading up to the upper city.


    He didn''t want to make this goodbye more emotional than it should be, he has done everything he could for the people of the slums, the rest they can manage by themselves.


    He walked out of the subway and entered the streets, sunlight hitting his eyes like a sharp dagger.


    He rarely went out into the city, his eyes had be a little unustomed to the sun.


    Michael looked a bit odd to the bystanders, after all, he was holding a massive bag with 20.000 dors inside.


    His current n was to join the police force, and if he could get them to pay for his entrance cost to the academy, he would be happy.


    As Michael walked down the streets, he suddenly heard sirens right behind him.


    It seemed the police were here to escort him again.


    ''I thought it was because of Meph, but maybe not?'' He couldn''t help but think.


    He was driven to the police station and led to themander''s office. It was the same guy asst time, after a bit of back and forth talking a couple of months ago, Michael found out his name was Gareth.


    He greeted Michael with a big smile "Wee, are you finally ready to join us?"


    Michael had told him that he would get in contact soon since his duties in the slums wereing to an end.


    "Yes, are the terms still the same as before?"


    "Of course, we will pay the entrance cost and provide you with a ce to stay."


    Gareth then nced at Michael''s back, or more specifically, at the bag he was holding.


    "What do you have in that bag?"


    Michael casually replied "Just some money, can you help me make a bank ount and deposit it?"


    Gareth sighed "Sure.. since this is the first time, I will deal with the taxes as an employment bonus, so how much money is in there?"


    "Not that much, only 20.000 dors" Michael shrugged.


    "Not that much? That is like 4 months of my sry" Gareth looked a bit shocked that a kid so young could earn so much money.


    "Was it all from the slums?" He couldn''t help but ask.


    Michael simply nodded. He wanted to get this done quickly so he could go spend it. It was time for him to buy a gun.


    Though as Michael thought that, he immediately face palmed ''Who the fuck is going to sell guns to an 11 year old..''


    <i>Keeping up your reputation as a genius I see.</i>


    ''Shut up'' Michael then turned back to Gareth, he needed one more favor. "Sorry if I am asking too much but could you help me buy a gun?"


    <i>Nice wording.</i>


    Gareth was once again left shocked, a kid wanted to buy a weapon, seriously?


    "Sorry but I can''t do that, that would be highly against thew, I could even lose my position."


    Michael expected something like this, it was too good to be true, he could have just asked Alfred to buy him one, but now would be quite an awkward time toe back.


    "Though if you wait until the academy starts, you will be provided with any weapon of your choice."


    At those words, Michael''s expression slightly lit up. He just had to be patient and he could save 20.000 Dors, not too bad.


    Gareth then continued "Leave the bag here, I will create a bank ount under your name and deposit the money, don''t worry I won''t steal anything." He finished with a chuckle.


    "Alright, when should Ie back to get the credit card?"


    "Don''t worry about that, once you go outside you will be escorted to your new ce, I will bring everything there myself" Gareth exined.


    Michael agreed and chatted a bit more about his responsibilities as a stand by healer, and then left, going to his new home.


    The drive was fairly long, taking nearly an hour, however, the longer the ride went on, the more luxurious the housing became.


    The car eventually stopped in front of a modern looking house. It was not big by any means, however, it looked really expensive.


    Michael did not know on whose authority he was able to live like this, however he didn''t question it.


    He went inside the house and saw it had a kitchen, 3 bedrooms and 2 toilets, A bit too much for him alone.


    Michael gotfortable, made some food and sat on the sofa in the living room.


    After a couple of hours, the doorbell rang, and upon opening the door he saw it was Gareth, holding a small handbag.


    "Here you are, inside is your credit card and a cell phone, I added an extra 1000 dors as your allowance, hope you don''t mind."


    A cell phone, Michael had nearly forgotten about them, and every time he came out to talk to Gareth, he always just walked to the police station or was picked up and driven there.


    ''But an allowance? Damn, I am actually going to get paid.'' Michael chuckled inwardly. It reminded him of his time back in the recovery center, where even after a whole year, he hadn''t earned a single cent.


    He took the handbag and invited Gareth inside, however he refused as he was technically still on duty.


    Before Gareth left, he informed Michael "Keep the cellphone on at all times, it''s going to be what we use to contact you, along with that you will also be provided a personal driver."


    "I see, thank you Gareth" And with those words, Michael went back to the sofa, preparing to binge watch a few movies.


    <i>Don''t let your guard down, they are watching you like hawks.</i>


    ''Who? The police?''


    <i>Yes and some other forces, it seems you attracted quite a lot of attentiontely.</i>


    Michael recast his Shield skill on himself, just to be safe, and resumed watching the movie.


    He had a gut feeling work might call him in sooner than expected...

 Chapter 16: Emergency

    <h4>Chapter 16: Emergency</h4>


    <i>-Ring</i>


    ''Seriously?''


    <i>There goes your cking off.</i>


    Not even 2 hours had passed since he received the cell phone, and he was already being called in to work.


    Michael groggily paused his movie and answered the call "Hello?"


    "There is an emergency, we need your healing as soon as possible" A female voice resounded.


    "Okay? Where am I supposed to go?"


    "A driver should be there already, go outside" With those words she hung up the call.


    ''Well that was a bit rude'' Michael grumbled to himself before getting dressed and heading out.


    Parked outside was some sort of supercar Michael didn''t know the brand of. The driver reminded him of the one who drove him to the dungeon, back in the other continent.


    No small talk was exchanged, Michael got in and then they started driving, incredibly fast.


    ''Holy shit this is definitely not legal" He couldn''t help but think to himself. The speed reminded him of the bullet train from his previous world, but since this world has awakeners, they can drive that machinery as if it''s no problem.


    The drive only took a couple of minutes and Michael arrived right in front of some sort of convenience store, where a bunch of police cars were gathered.


    Unlike the previous driver who had opened Michael''s door, this one did not. He paid it no mind however.


    He walked up to a random police officer and introduced himself "Hello I am Michael, the stand by healer. I was called in for an emergency."


    The officer immediately looked relieved and exined the situation to Michael.


    There was a simple robbery, however, some police trainees got hurt, if not for their constitution, they would have already died long ago.


    Michael was expected to simply provide any aid he could, whether it be stabilizing their conditions or something simr.


    Though he was obviously going to do a lot more than that, it wasn''t difficult by any means.


    ''Their HP is at 5% this is pretty serious'' Michael thought as he focused a little harder, trying to see their numerical HP amount.


    He was left slightly shocked ''Trainees? They have 1000 total HP, that''s nearly as much as mine'' he quickly scanned the hp amounts of the other officers.


    ''2000... 2400.. what the fuck?''


    <i>Their stats are pretty high, though remember, stat calctions are different for you and them.</i>


    ''I understand, but what is their level then?''


    <i>Hmm.. around 80?</i>


    ''God.. you really have to exin the power systems, this different stat stuff does not make sense'' Michael sighed and began healing the other trainees on the ground.


    Since his Greater Heal skill was maxed out, he no longer received any EXP from it, not even to his main level.


    <i>Is it that difficult to understand? If their total stats, minus charisma, reach a threshold, their level increases.</i>


    Michael shot back at the system ''Yeah and what are those thresholds? Are you just trying to confuse me with your bad exnations?''


    <i>Ugh.. you are just too stupid to understand. Let''s say everyone starts at Level 0, with barely any stats. They would need to reach 20 total stats to raise their level to 1, and that same amount continues on for as long as they can level up.</i>


    <i>So if you were level 10, yourbined stats would be 200, 50 means 1000, and I am pretty sure you are not stupid enough to not understand the rest yes?</i>


    ''Huh, so my stats and the stats of those simr to my level are pretty much the same?'' Michael thought. He had a fairly bnced sum of stats currently.


    <i>As I saidst time, you feel the effects of your stats better, if I were to put it intoparison, let''s say you and someone else have 100 AGI. You can use 100% of that at all times, whereas another would find it straining.</i>


    <i>You increase the limit through hard work, but so do they. However as I also mentioned previously, due to them straining more, their stats rise faster.</i>


    <i>Tobat the potential imbnce you are given stat points from both skills and your level ups. Your HP and MP ratios are also being adjusted, they are much higher than someone at your level. Anyway, what I mean is, don''t ck off or you will fall behind.</i>


    Michael took that information in and finished healing thest trainee, there were 7 in total, that were now back to peak condition.


    However, they still remained passed out, possibly due to the blood loss earlier.


    "Wow you are amazing, no wonder the higher ups advertised you as some golden child" One of the police officers said whileughing.


    ''Golden child? Really?''


    As Michael was about to rejoice in the fact that work was over, his cell phone rang once again.


    "There is an emergency, we need your healing as soon as possible" a different voice thanst time resounded, though it was still a woman''s voice.


    Michael sighed "Sure I am on my way.."


    He had been sighing a lot these past few days.


    The driver from before didn''t wander off anywhere, the moment Michael got into the car, they once again sped to another location.


    It didn''t take long for Michael to arrive, it was now a bank, and it seemed hostages were trapped inside.


    As Michael was about to introduce himself to a random officer, he saw Gareth, and walked up to him instead.


    It seemed he noticed him as Michael received a nod from him.


    "Michael, be ready to act at any moment, we don''t know when the robbers n to make their next move" Gareth said in a serious voice.


    Michael pondered for a moment before an idea came to his head "How many hostages are there?"


    "There are only 3, the others managed to escape."


    ''Only 3 hostages inside of a bank? Must be shit robbers then'' Michael couldn''t help but inwardly scoff.


    "I see, can you send me in then? I have a skill that can save the hostages."


    Gareth''s eyes slightly widened "You can save the hostages?"


    "Yes, just send me in and give me something to signal you with, the moment I do, you rush in" Michael told him his simple n.


    He was obviously going to use Shield on the hostages, he already had one on himself, so the mana costs were still within reason.


    He would have a couple hundred MP left after casting, and he highly doubted the robbers would deal 4000 damage before the police managed to detain them.


    Gareth began to think, taking a few seconds to calcte the risks "How confident are you?"


    Michael replied without hesitation "Trust me"


    That seemed enough for Gareth as he simply nodded and gave Michael some sort of device shaped like a button.


    "Press that once you finished doing what you need to, I am putting my reputation on the line here, make sure to not die." His voice the most serious it has ever been since Michael met him.


    "Of course"


    Michael then walked towards the entrance to of the bank with his arms held up in the air, signifying surrender.


    He saw 2 robbers approach the entrance and quickly open the door, grabbing Michael and throwing him inside.


    ''Aren''t they pretty weak?'' As he was flung he noticed their strength was verycking.


    <i>Yeah they are not strong, however they have something up their sleeve.</i>


    ''And I guess you are not going to tell me what that is?''


    <i>Nope.</i>


    Michael grumbled and sat down, making himselffortable.


    He looked around and saw the 3 hostages, there was a single man, a woman and a child.


    These robbers had no weapons, probably just some skills they were confident in, even without Shield Michael could rescue them.


    Though it was better to be safe than sorry, he began casting his Shield skill, enveloping all 3 of the hostages in an invisible light.


    Michael waited for a little while to make sure there were only 2 robbers and not more, before finally standing up and stretching his back.


    He pressed the button Gareth had given him, and ran at the unsuspecting robbers.


    n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael was really fast now, in preparation for his future position/fighting style, his agility had increased by a lot.


    He quickly punched one of the robbers in the guts, sending him flying straight into a wall.


    Michael went all out on the punch, he was a healer anyway, if needed he would just heal him back to full health and knock him out again.


    The second robber seemed to notice what was going on, however for some reason he had fear in his eyes.


    And the next moment Michael found out why, as the robber pulled out some sort of switch and flipped it, quickly pressing the button.


    ''Shi-''


    <i>-Boooooooom</i>


    <strong>-----</strong>


    Gareth was standing by his car, talking with his fellow police officers.


    Though he was not simply idling by, in fact, he was monitoring the entire situation through a hidden camera he nted on Michael.


    That being the button, once pressed, it could scan the surroundings and transmit the view back to hisputer.


    Michael seemed to stand up and stretch his back ''What is he doing?''


    He then noticed him running straight at the robbers and punching one right in the guts, sending him flying.


    Gareth''s eyes widened ''Wasn''t he a healer?''


    His speed was impressive, way beyond any healer he had seen anyway.


    A level 35 healer, to think he even managed to level up more than 10 times in 2 years, for someone who had never done dungeons, it was an unbelievable achievement.


    The reason the higher ups were interested in him was because of his age, he had a lot of potential as a healer if raised correctly.


    Gareth did not like that angle of theirs so he suggested an approach that granted Michael freedom once he goes to the academy.


    And it worked, they epted and he was allowed to go through with the recruitment.


    As the years went by he had gotten along quite nicely with the kid, he didn''t seem his age at all.


    Frankly, talking with him felt as if he was with someone his own age. Though he chuckled at that thought, no way was that possible.


    Gareth thought it had something to do with why he apparently did not exist, however upon snooping around, he could not find anything out.


    ''Anyways..that kick was pretty strong, and his speed is something else entirely, the other robber will be dealt with the same.'' With those thoughts Gareth sighed in relief.


    However the one small moment he looked away from hisputer, all hell was let loose.


    <i>-Boooooooom </i>


    It startled him out of his thoughts and he began rushing around, protecting the civilians from the iing debris.


    ''Fuck...''


    The explosion was big enough to send the bank entrance flying.


    Since the police officers were all fairly decent level awakened, they easily dealt with it.


    There was one problem however, Michael and the hostages. ''They are dead..''


    Gareth''s mind was filled with regret, he knew better than to entrust something this serious to a child.


    And that got several people killed.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    Suddenly breaking sounds intensified from the already demolished building.


    However Gareth quickly realised that did not make sense, as he stood up and walked to the copsed entrance.


    <i>-Crack</i>


    The bricks in front of him cracked and he saw a familiar face.


    ''Michael?''


    <strong>-----</strong>


    ''Ughh that fucking stings'' Michael rubbed his arms which were slightly red, and quickly cast a heal on himself, returning back to normal color.


    ''That bastard blew himself up'' he thought while staring at the pile of dried blood on the ground.


    Michael had cast a shield on the 2 robbers in thest moments before the explosion, however his shield could not hold out the damage one of them took.


    The debris had not buried the hostages, they all had terrified expressions on their faces, with the child''s crying being the only reminder that they were still somehow alive.


    Michael walked up to where the other robber should have been and removed the debris.


    There was a man who, apart from his upper body, had lost all his limbs.


    It seemed Michael''s shield saved his life, though he couldn''t stop his limbs from being crushed by the debris that weighed several tons.


    His shield skill was not that strong.


    Nevertheless, he cast a greater heal on him and his wounds closed up, Michael half expected his limbs to grow back, but Greater Heal in the end, was just an umon ranked skill.


    He picked up the remaining robber who had long lost consciousness and started digging, his punches shattering the bricks blocking the entrance.


    The hostages were right behind him, huddling ever so close to his small back.


    Finally, he broke the final bricks blocking his path, and upon doing so, saw a familiar face.


    It was Gareth.


    Michael put on a small smile and waved "Miss me?"

 Chapter 17: Dungeon Collapse

    <h4>Chapter 17: Dungeon Copse</h4>


    "Is this report true?"


    "Yes" Gareth replied with a straightened posture.


    He was currently discussing the previous situation with the higher ups.


    After Michael came back alive out of the copsed building, hostages behind him, it left quite an impression on everyone present.


    And that was the same for the higher ups, they too were extremely impressed by his performance.


    1 casualty and it was only the robber who had blown himself up. Not a massive loss to society by any means.


    It has been a couple of days since that incident. However, they were unable to extract any information out of the remaining robber.


    No one knew their intentions or why they nned on blowing themselves up. The only option they had was to wait until someone specializing in mind magic came around.


    People with skills like that are a rare find, and currently none were in Vivum City.


    The higher ups began talking amongst themselves, leaving Gareth standing alone awkwardly.


    "We have decided to re-evaluate Michael, from this point on, only send him on emergency requests that are high profile, something his expertise warrants. Our other healers arepetent enough to deal with other issues" A man with a massive gray beard suddenly dered. He was one of the few justicemittee founders.


    "Understood" Gareth quickly turned around and left.


    After this incident, the public started painting Michael as some sort of an angel, there are pictures of him floating around from when he came out of the bank.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However that also brought some new issues.


    Gareth clenched his fists as he was walking back to his car ''Saint candidate.''


    It meant one became an object of reverence, like a paragon of the goddess''s will, though most people knew that was bullshit.


    The position gave many benefits, however in exchange,pletely got rid of freedom for the to be Saint.


    It was the kind of role that the public thrusts upon you, something that is tied to your name like an achievement.


    And because of that, the government watched the Saint like a hawk, trying to do whatever they could in order to make him seem more holy.


    ''Fanatics'' A lot of government officials believed in higher powers, one of them being the Goddess Sophia.


    The one whose will the saint allegedly carried.


    Though knowing Michael''s personality, he will probably manage to avoid that position, that''s what Gareth hoped anyway.


    It was time to call Michael and tell him about the new arrangements, he will surely like the new schedule..


    <strong>-----</strong>


    <i>It''s obviously the woman.</i>


    ''Why would it be the woman? Out of everyone, the man was the most suspicious, I mean just look at his eyes.''


    Michael was currently watching a drama, that was mostly what he did during his time off, considering it was incredibly limited.


    <i>Your deductive skills are not great, watch, it''s going to be the woma-</i>


    <i>-Ring</i>


    ''Oh fuck off, a 20 minute break since this morning? What kind of stand by position is this!'' Michael eximed in his mind. He was being overworked, even by his standards.


    Walking over to the phone he picked it up and walked outside, seemingly already dressed for work.


    "Hello yes I am on my way" Michael said as he reached for the end call button.


    Though a voice quickly interjected "Wait, it''s me."


    "Gareth? What''s the asion?" It was the first time he has received a call from him ever since he was hired.


    "The higher ups have changed your role, you are now only going to be called in for more serious stuff."


    Michael''s eyes lit up "Does that mean I can finally watch my movies in peace?"


    Though Gareth only slightly chuckled "Maybe, however on that note, you are needed at one of the sites, good luck."


    Michael stared at the ended call with a nk expression, then only a few secondster, his driver arrived.


    ''I hate this job..''


    The drive took just a few minutes, at the speed they were going at, it was not hard to get around the city.


    The city had a poption of 40 million people, so to say that it wasn''t spacious enough, would be a lie.


    Upon arriving Michael''s eyes slightly widened ''Monsters?''


    There was a portal right in the middle of the street, with police surrounding it and killing off some green monsters that wereing out.


    <i>I guess this does qualify for something more serious?</i>


    ''Well it''s better than having to drive across the city to heal a single individual'' Michael shrugged and walked up to a cop, introducing himself.


    "Great, Michael, stay behind us, you will be needed if the worst case scenario happens, and as things are going, it might indeed happen" The officer exined, earning a lot of confusion from Michael.


    "What''s worse than a dungeon break? Monsters were alreadying out."


    The officer pointed at the portal, specifically the small ever expanding cracks around it.


    "A dungeon break happens once the boss monster bes too strong, however, there is one stage above that, aplete dungeon copse"


    "In the case of a copse, all the energy of the dungeon gets absorbed into the boss monster, making it incredibly strong."


    He then pointed back at Michael "That''s where youe in, this will likely be a battle of attrition, so your heals will be extremely helpful"


    ''I see, that could indeed be a big problem'' Michael noticed the cracks around the portal slowly expanding.


    "I will try to be of help" However the moment those words came out of his mouth, the colors around him changed.


    The hollow modern streets were suddenly enveloped in a vibrant shade, traveling for who knows how far.


    And the pressure Michael felt was immense, it all came from the dungeon.


    The cracks around the portal intensified and with a final stretch, shattered.


    It looked anti climactic, there was no sound, no anything. However, Michael knew better than to let his guard down.


    And he was right, as the next moment the Portal lit up, its former blue shade expanding in the range of the vibrance, turning the entire area into a blue domain.


    <i>Be careful, this might get a little dangerous.</i>


    ''No shit sherlock'' Michael was able to feel the intensity, pulsing from the portal, as if someone, or something was walking up to it.


    Michael looked around and saw the police officers with their mouths open, trying tomunicate, however, no words came out, or more like he just couldn''t hear it.


    No one could.


    The pulsing intensified, seemingly getting even closer. It made Michael''s heart race even faster than before.


    Was it fear? He didn''t know.


    Though he knew that whatever wasing, will be really strong.


    A couple of seconds passed and the pulsing seemed to slow down, before finally disappearing.


    As that happened, the vibrance traveled back into the portal, as if nothing ever happened.


    "Everybody! Get into positions, it''sing!" One of the police officers shouted and pulled out a bow from seemingly nowhere, and so did the others.


    Staffs, shields, swords, any weapon he could imagine was brought out, with all of them seamlessly getting into positions, waiting for the boss monster toe out.


    <i>This is going to be simr to a raid, however, you are the only healer, pay close attention to your allies, if they die it will be on your hands.</i>


    Michael merely nodded and stepped to the very back, preparing to heal the others.


    The only item he had was the robe Reba had given him, though it was slightly torn already, looking like it wouldn''tst that much longer.


    It will have to do, for at least this one more battle.


    Suddenly Michael saw a foot appear from out of the portal, it was way bigger than even 5 police officersbined.


    "Troll!" One of the policemen shouted.


    <i>As you can see by its foot, trolls were just bigger and stronger goblins, the green monsters you saw earlier.</i>


    Michael took that information in and mentally prepared himself, the battle was about to begin.


    Finally, the troll''s fully dark green body came into full view, it looked a bit funnying out of the small portal, as its size was many times that of anyone he had ever seen in his life.


    "Fire!" Upon those words, a volley of all sorts of spells, arrows, and gunfire wasunched, heading straight for the troll.


    Michael stepped to the side to get a better view of the others and upon noticing the 3 tanks wielding shields, he cast Infuse as well as his very own Shield skill on them.


    The battle had finally started..


    The mages kept sending spells at the troll and the other ranged sses kept firing their arrows and bullets,nding right on the troll''s body.


    Every time their quivers or magazines ran out, a recement materialized itself out of nowhere, allowing them to continue their onught of ranged fire.


    The troll had no weapons, only its body, however, every single punch or kick sent shockwaves through the air.


    The close range damage dealers were very cautious, only attacking once the tanks blocked a blow.


    With Michael''s Shield skill stacked with their already resilient bodies, the tanks were not taking any damage, and neither was anyone else.


    Every time a hit was tond on one of them, an invisible barrier repelled the troll''s attacks.


    Though he knew this was not going tost long, all of these people had their HP in the 3000 or above range, the tanks even higher. However, the troll''s HP was not even visible.


    Michael guessed their levels were in the 120''s, this was probably an elite team of the police force.


    The battle continued on and so far there weren''t any casualties. Everyone looked strong andpetent so Michael was not too worried about anyone messing up.


    As the troll looked like it was finally about to fall, its skin suddenly turnedpletely red, the same with its eyes.


    One of the tanks stepped back and shouted "Phase 2!" Making everyone but the ranged damage dealers back away.


    It seemed the troll had enraged, increasing its damage at the cost of sanity, not like it was very smart to begin with though.


    All of the swordsmen backed off, leaving the grouped up tanks together.


    Michael was going to recast Shield but remembered it increased in mana cost significantly, if he were to cast it on the tanks again, then he would have no more mana left.


    That''s why instead of that, he began waiting for his chance to heal them, paying close attention to their HP with his Eyes of the Healer skill.


    As the troll hit one of the tank''s shield''s, he was pushed back a few meters, with blood dripping down from his mouth.


    ''That one hit, even when blocked, dealt 30% of his HP..'' Michael thought with slightly widened eyes as he cast a Greater Heal on the tank, enveloping him in a golden light.


    There were no external injuries, only internal, therefore they were healed in an instant, even the tank was surprised by the speed.


    With that, the battle was pretty straightforward, the tanks did their best to block the troll''s attacks, trying to wait out his enrage.


    And it was working, the damage done by the long range dealers was starting to show, as the troll''s eyes were already burnt to a crisp, only swinging his arms by instinct.


    The tanks quickly rushed in and pushed it down, the close range damage dealers immediately running in and stabbing it from all directions.


    Until finally its hands fell on the ground, with the troll taking rough breaths.


    However even that didn''tst long, as in the next moment a barrage of all kinds of projectilesnded on its body, riddling it with holes.


    <strong><i>[ [Assist] Great Troll [Level 150] Killed! +15000 EXP ]</i></strong>


    Michael stared at the message for a second ''Hey why did I only get 15000 EXP when I got 10000 from killing something that was level 50?''


    <i>That''s normal, you got 10% of its total EXP. The others got the other 10%, when you kill a monster you can only get 20% of its EXP.</i>


    Michael looked a little puzzled ''They get 10% EXP split between all of them? Doesn''t that mean they barely get anything?''


    <i>Yes, that''s why it is difficult for everyone besides you to gain new skills. However don''t worry, the EXP split does not apply for healers, no matter how many are in a party, all of them would get 10% of the monster''s level''s EXP.</i>


    ''So what if there were 20 healers in a party?'' Michael asked out of curiosity.


    <i>Then they all would get 10%, nothing changes, don''t ask me where the EXPes from though, I don''t know myself.</i>


    ''I see, well thanks for the exnation at least'' With a nod he turned back to the police officers, who for some reason had wide smiles on their faces, staring right at him.


    ''Oh boy.. this is going to be an annoying talk...''

 Chapter 18: Saint

    <h4>Chapter 18: Saint</h4>


    One of the tanks walked up to Michael "That was amazing! I didn''t know healers couldpletely negate damage."


    Michael was currently dealing with a bombardment of questions and praises, he was not used to stuff like this.


    Back in the military, all he got was a simple ''Good job'' and it felt like enough for him.


    Now though, he couldn''t hide a smile that crept onto his face.


    <i>-Ring </i>


    ''Seriously?'' Michael''s eyes showed clear annoyance, the others also realized what the call meant and gave him their condolences, before leaving to clean up the mess.


    "Hello?" Michael asked in an irritated tone.


    "Hello Michael, you have been chosen for the Saint position, please head to the government headquarters as soon as you can" And with that, the call ended.


    ''The fuck is a Saint?''


    <i>From what I gathered, it''s a ceholder position, however...</i>


    ''Spit it out already I don''t have all day'' Michael impatiently said.


    <i>You do have all day.. but besides that, you can use the position to extort the government, since they would hold you in very high regard.</i>


    Michael let out a small chuckle ''Extort the government? You sure have changed.''


    <i>I am serious, they will try to use you and monitor you, use that to your advantage and get something out of them.</i>


    Michael nodded and walked back to his car, and without needing to say anything to the driver, sped off.


    ''I will keep your advice in mind.''


    <i>-Ring</i>


    The phone rang out once again, Michael picked up and didn''t even bother saying anything, he was tired of the constant calling.


    "Hey Michael, did the government call you yet?" Gareth''s voice rang out.


    "Yup, I am driving there right now, they offered me the Saint''s position"


    Gareth''s shocked voice rang out through the phone "You have been chosen!? Already? Listen..they have ulterior motives, for your own sake, be careful."


    "Sure sure" Michael replied absentmindedly, he already knew what needed to be known.


    They chatted about work a little bit after that, it seemed ever since Michael''s ''promotion'' Gareth had a lot of work to deal with.


    It was mostly rted to the other Healers, the police force did not have many, that is why they usually cooperated with one of the city hospitals, which were always packed full of healers.


    The drive was a little longer than usual, Michael saw the modern buildings from before switching to expensive mansions and all sorts of facilities.


    They all had something inmon however, it was all made for the awakened.


    Weapons, armor, and even some kind of essory shops were present.


    And the all the equipment looked unordinary, clearly made with some type of skill.


    There were hovercraft flying around everywhere, carrying out boxes from the shops, possibly some kind of expensive delivery service.


    However Michael didn''t care for that at the moment, as he was nning out what to ask from the government.


    He finally arrived in front of a massive building, the size towering up into the clouds.


    It looked extremely intricate as if every single piece was made entirely by hand. Though if this was really government headquarters, then it wouldn''t be that surprising.


    Walking up a small flight of stairs, Michael arrived in front of a huge ck door, it seemed there were no handles or anything of the sort attached.


    In the next moment however, a green light descended from above and enveloped Michael, though as quickly as it came, it disappeared.


    It slightly startled Michael, it felt as though he was being watched by thousands of eyes. Though he knew that was likely not the case here.


    <i>Some kind of recognition magicbined with technology, pretty impressive.</i>


    The system exined to Michael, and suddenly the ck door disappeared, recing it was an elevator.


    ''What an odd choice to ce an elevator at the very entrance'' Michael thought as he walked inside it.


    As he turned around he noticed there weren''t any buttons to press, he was justpletely isted in the elevator, with the entrance already having closed.


    The whole elevator was made out of some kind of see through material, simr to ss but not quite the same texture.


    Michael looked around but couldn''t see anything, for a moment he even thought the elevator had malfunctioned.


    Though the darkness didn''tst for long, as he suddenly felt like he was moving, the sight making his eyes widen.


    All around him were a bunch of offices, stretching out for as far as the eyes could see.


    People were stationed in each one and every one he could see, some of them even looked straight at him.


    Suddenly the view changed again.


    ''Is that a fucking city?'' Michael eximed upon the sight.


    One moment he was in an office like space, the next, he was overlooking some kind of medieval city.


    Though what caught his attention were the people, walking around like nothing strange was happening, as if Michael was not in the sky overlooking them.


    He once again changed locations, this time he was in an ocean, a monster covering his entire view.


    It looked like a giant octopus. Though it seemed that it took notice of Michael as it suddenly raised one of its tentacles and swiped at him with ridiculous speed.


    Michael flinched and braced for impact, however it never came.


    Looking around, he found himself back in a dark space, simr to the one he was in when he had just entered the elevator.


    ''What the fuck was that about?''


    <i>No clue, the only thing I am aware of though is that spatial magic was used to transport you, as for the other things? No clue.</i>


    Even the system didn''t understand. It seemed whatever technology the government had, was many decades ahead of the rest of the city.


    While on one of his emergency requests, he had to go up into some sort of an expensive looking apartmentplex, it was fairly spacious, mostly everything in this city was.


    Though nothing of what he saw there evenes close to what he had just witnessed.


    ''Magic and technology huh'' Michael thought to himself. He found this whole situation ridiculous yet very interesting at the same time.


    He knew the government was just trying to show a few of their cards to him, however he couldn''t help but feel impressed by what he saw.


    After a couple minutes of waiting, the elevator door finally opened, a spacious hall in front of him.


    Some kind of woman approached him and without saying anything, handed him a note, before walking right off.


    ''All maids are indeed the same'' Michael couldn''t help but chuckle to himself.


    The note only had a few things written on it, and they were the number of a room which Michael guessed he had to go to.


    He walked along the hall until he finally arrived in front of a room numbered 101. He knocked a few times on the door and opened it.


    What greeted his sight were 12 people sitting together in front of a round table. Their ages and sizes varying.


    Some were fairly young, while others unironically looked to be on their death bed.


    Though Michael knew better than to make fun of anyone present here, they were one of the most important people on this continent.


    There were many cities, though only a few as technologically advanced as Vivum, making it the most valuable amongst its peers.


    A woman suddenly stood up, green hair flowing down to her waist. She looked to be the youngest of them all, however Michael noticed something interesting.


    ''She is an elf'' He concluded as he nced at her long pointy ears.


    "Hello Michael" She said with a soft smile.


    Michael stared back into her Emerald colored eyes, she was beautiful, tops the list of any woman he had seen so far.


    "d to be invited" Michael expressed in a confident tone. If he was going to extort them, he must not look like a pushover.


    The woman slightly chuckled "It''s great you are not nervous, we are not here to harm you after all."


    "So why am I here, is it to simply to ept the Saint position?" Michael asked, trying to probe their intentions.


    Though the woman was a little more straightforward than he had expected "Yes, don''t think too deeply of it, all Saint candidates go through something like this."


    Though the word ''candidates'' resounded in his mind "So is there some kind of test I have to pass?"


    The woman once again chuckled, finding Michael''s way of talking amusing "Yes, you just have to demonstrate some of your skills, nothing more than that."


    "Why?" Michael tilted his head with a small tinge of confusion. He thought he would be just some sort of figurehead anyway.


    "We need someone who can make it seem as though a miracle is happening, the reason why you are here was because some skills you showed fit our needs" She replied,cking a bit of emotion in her voice.


    "So do you just want me to cast my skills on you or what?"


    "Not on me, cast it on him" She pointed to a buff bald man, he looked as bulky as some of the bodybuilders from his old world.


    Though he didn''t know how to exin better to them, so he just cast Shield on him.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I cast one of my skills, you can hit him and a portion of the damage will be negated" Michael exined to the people around the table.


    The woman stood up and waved her hand in the air, suddenly the bald man next to Michael was sent flying straight into a wall.


    ''What just happened?'' He couldn''t follow that attack at all.


    She then walked around the table and picked up the now passed out man, her eyes slightly widened in surprise.


    The force she used was enough to put a hole through the man''s abdomen, however, the only thing she saw was a single small bruise.


    "A portion you said? Itpletely negated my attack!" She eximed in an excited tone.


    "Hey, what else can you do?"


    Michael looked around the room and focused on a single old man who looked the frailest of them all, his eyes unfocused. Though just like the rest of the people here, his numerical HP was invisible.


    Michael was still able to spot something right below the old man''s HP, it was a blueish green symbol, and if he were to guess, it meant poison.


    Michael walked up to the old man and stared at him for a moment, before casting Purify.


    A blue box appeared but he quickly got rid of it with his mind, staring down at the old man.


    The woman walked up behind Michael and stared at him, sporting a confused expression.


    However, that onlysted for a moment as the old man nced up at Michael and spoke "Boy..what did you do?"


    All of a sudden Michael could hear the chairs squeaking as everyone in the room immediately stood up, their expressions filled with shock.


    The most affected of them all was the woman right next to Michael, as she reached out with her shaking hand and grabbed a hold of the old man''s face.


    "F-father?" She spoke, her voice trembling.


    "Amanda.." At his words, she immediately hugged him and started bawling her eyes out.


    Michael just stood there, unsure of what to say or do, though he didn''t have to wait long to find out.


    One of the people from the round table came up to him and told him to wait outside for a moment.


    Michael simply nodded, he didn''t exactly want to ruin a family reunion.


    Walking out of the room he sat down and gotfortable, trying to hide the smile that was creeping up on his face.


    He was now given the perfect card to y in order to ask for anything he could ever want.


    Obviously, he wasn''t nning on asking for something unreasonable, just something that would make his life a little easier.


    <i>You seem happy.</i>


    Michael slightly chuckled ''Of course..''


    ''After all..I am about to extort the most powerful people on the continent.''

 Chapter 19: Benefits

    <h4>Chapter 19: Benefits</h4>


    ''I am a bit curious, why did they react like that when all I did was cure some sort of ailment, can''t the other healers do that?'' Michael wondered as he stared at the closed door, waiting to be invited back in.


    <i>Your purify skill cures all diseases and ailments, however the closest the others can get to it would be a partial cure, or even something like a cure for all known basic diseases.</i>


    ''So mine quite literally cures all and every disease, that is more overpowered than I had thought.''


    Michael was getting a little bored of waiting, it has been nearly an hour since he was told to wait outside.


    And yet there was no sign of them inviting him back in, he couldn''t even hear any sounds inside of the room, as if it was fully soundproof.


    Though if it''s the government, they probably ced all sorts of barriers to keep the sound froming out.


    ''Do you think they would grant me ess to the dungeons?'' Michael couldn''t help but ask. It was one of the ideas he had hoped coulde true.


    <i>It is likely that you will be able to, however I doubt you will gain full ess to the dungeons, probably only a few based on your level.</i>


    ''Isn''t that still good though? I could just go level up my skills freely''


    Michael had thought of something interesting, his Shield skill was leveling up nearly every time he uses it, then why couldn''t he just use it on a weak monster?


    Just cast Shield and make it break himself, that would still grant him the EXP.


    If he did that his skills would skyrocket, especially his Shield skill, it would not take him long at all to max out and he could finallybine it with his Greater Heal skill.


    Thebination would either produce one of the most overpowered skills he had, or something he could not even use.


    Shield had the downside of increasing mana cost per level, if that were to happen to his new skill too, it would be considered a dud.


    Michael had tried creating skills simr to how he created Focus Heal back in the recovery center, however he was not able to.


    The system told him he couldn''t simply recreate the same skills like before, unlike before certain conditions must be met.


    <i>Something akin to enlightenment, where you realise how to use the different skill by yourself even before it is created by the system.</i>


    <i>However there are exceptions, some skills are able to evolve, in your situation, even increase in rank.</i>


    That might exin his Purify evolving instead of bing a separate area of effect skill.


    "Come in" A voice came out through the opened door in front of him.


    He was a little lost in thought so he didn''t see anyone open it, though that did not matter as he stood up and walked right in.


    The mood in the room was strange, though he guessed this little reunion was long overdue.


    The elf woman, Amanda, stood up and walked over to Michael, extending her hand for a handshake.


    Michael simply epted, he understood Amanda''s intentions, why she was thanking him, her eyes were still a little red after all.


    "Thank you"


    "It''s no problem, I assume I got the position?" Michael calmnly replied whilst shaking her hand.


    Amanda smiled, her sincere expression clearly visible "Of course, sit down, let''s talk terms" She brought out a chair out of seemingly nowhere, simr to how the policemen got their quivers and magazines.


    He forgot to ask the system about what it wasst time since he was a little preupied, now though he will indulge in his curiosity.


    <i>Its a spatial storage bag, it''s like a normal bag except its space is expanded many times.</i>


    ''Is this more on the spatial magic side or technological?'' He couldn''t help but ask.


    <i>Hmm.. I can''t tell exactly, however what I am sure of is that both are included, which one is used more I can''t tell.</i>


    ''I see'' Michael replied before sitting down by the round table, about to begin his extor- negotiations.


    The old man from before stared at Michael with a small smile, however he didn''t say a single word.


    Amanda cleared her throat "Alright, so as you might already be aware, we need someone to act as a Saint for the people, this position requires you to act dignified and show a miracle once or twice a month."


    She then took out a piece of paper from her spatial bag "If you hold up your part of the deal, you will be rewarded with 10000 dors monthly as well as quarters in the finest part of the city, right next to the academy.


    ''The academy is in this ce? I sure hope it''s not also in this building.''


    Michael kept a straight face as he lightly tilted his head "I see, is that it?"


    That seemed to startle Amanda a little bit "What do you mean?"


    Though unlike her, the old man startedughing, a stark contrast to his previous lifeless self.


    "Boy, you sure have guts." He said through stifledughter.


    Michael could see the glow in the man''s eyes insensifying, he had green eyes, though unlike Amanda, he did not have pointy ears.


    ''So he really is the father huh, I''ll be damned'' Michael thought while looking at the old man.


    All the while Amanda remained silent, it seemed she was still not used to her father talking, who knows how long she had been waiting for him to get better.


    Suddenly the old man''sughter died down and instead his whole body changed, as if morphing.


    The once barely alive looking man now turned into someone almost as young as his daughter.


    However what surprised Michael the most were his ck horns, they were protruding from the sides of his head, his now flowing white hair failing to hide them.


    "My name is Fafnir, would you like to take a guess as to what I am?" His calm voice suddenly resounded all around Michael.


    The pressure contained enough force to scramble his thoughts, making his next words something he might regret.


    "A goat?" Though as soon as the words came out, the atmosphere around him turned chilly.


    <i>A goat? Really? If you took one good look at him you would notice he is a dragon, good job. It was fun knowing you.</i>


    ''Fuck..I didn''t mean to blurt that out.''


    Though as Michael was preparing to lose his head, Fafnir''s loudughter resounded throughout the room once again.


    "Ahaha..close, I am in fact a dragon, and one of the founders of this city."


    The other people around the table looked shocked, both at Michael''s anwser and Fafnir''s response.


    The dragon they heard about was said to be arrogant and fearsome, someone who would inspire worship from those around it.


    Though what was this? Laughing after being called a goat?


    Even Amanda couldn''t hide her surprise, the father she remembers was always strict with her, the only person he acted normally around was her mother.


    Who had sadly passed away a long time ago.


    Ever since that day, father was never the same, eventually leading to him falling sick from a disease rted to his dragon heart.


    Amanda tried calling all sorts of healers, however none were able to do anything, even the best healer she could contact was only able to relieve the pain her father suffered.


    And now a child, a simple child, was able to cure something even the best healers on the continent could not.


    All the while Michael was just standing there, listening to the dragonugh, not really sure whether to apologise or not, that might even make the situation worse.


    Eventually theughter stopped and Fafnir gazed back at Michael "I will grant you one wish, it is seperate from the reward you are currently seeking, so feel free to ask away."


    ''A reasonable dragon, nice.''


    "Right, then can I get permission to enter dungeons?" Michael said while looking at Amanda, though her reply was stern.


    "No, though we could offer you a level 20 dungeon, you are still not ready for the other dungeons."


    ''Good enough for now''


    "That is fine, would it also be possible to gain some type of clearance? I want to be able to buy stuff the adults can, such as weapons and armor." Michael asked as he tugged at his tattered robe.


    Amanda thought for a moment before replying "You get something simr like that once you enter the academy, however it can be done, pass me your ID"


    Michael did as he was told and noticed Amanda biting her finger, a drop of blood falling right onto his ID card.


    And suddenly its colors changed, the once fully ck ID now turned golden, with a single streak of ck right above his name.


    "There, also, now you are able to use your credit card with just your ID, I am a bit surprised the police force cheaped out on that" Amanda said as she gave Michael his ID back.


    ''It does feel a little different'' he thought, holding it in his hands.


    Amanda slightly chuckled "Update it, they taught you that at the very least right?"


    She was a little disappointed with the police force, someone like Michael was with them and they were taking the cheap way out?


    Biting his finger, a few droplets of blood fell on the ID card, updating his status.


    <strong><i>-----</i></strong>


    <strong><i>*GOLD*</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Awakened Identification Document</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Saint Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 11 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 36</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Affilitation: City of Vivum</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-----</i></strong>


    Michael''s brows twitched a little "Saint Michael?"


    "Yes that is now your new name, you also don''t have to work in the police station anymore, we will call you whenever something requiring your attentiones up." Amanda exined patiently.


    "Right, will I still be considered a Saint even in the academy?"


    "Of course, just make sure to not do anything incriminating in the next 4 months until the academy, even if we can bail you out, the word would still undoubtedly spread"


    Michael nodded and put the ID card in his pocket, it was likely time to head out.


    "Aren''t you forgetting something" Fafnir''s voice suddenly rang out.


    ''Oh right.. the wish or whatever''


    Michael shrugged "I don''t have anything I want to wish for at the moment."


    Fafnir just stared at Michael, trying to gouge his intentions. However there was nothing to see, he was not hiding any agenda.


    "Very well, the next time we see each other, you better have something in mind." With those words Fafnir slumped down into his chair and closed his eyes.


    ''Did he just fall asleep?''


    <i>Yes.. after reawakening his powers, he became drowsy. Dragons tend to be like that.</i>


    "You are free to go, one of the personnel downstairs will take you to your new residence." Amanda said with a sigh, walking up to Fafnir and picking him up.


    Michael took that as his que to leave, and so he did.


    ''Tell me something, you said dragons tend to be like that. For some reason I get the feeling you were talking from experience, am I wrong?


    <i>I can''t tell you that, all I will say is that your memories are not the only ones I have, snip your curiosity in the bud till you are stronger.</i>


    The system turned Michael down, though it did give him some insight. It meant the System knew more than it let on, even if it feigned ignorance sometimes.


    Michael got into the elevator and this time immediately appeared at the bottom, no fancy stuff happening likest time.


    There was a single vehicle parked in front of the headquarters, it was the same one he was being driven around in previously.


    ''So my driver is government personnel, huh. I guess that means the reason I could live sovishly was indeed because of them.'' Michael chuckled inwardly and got in, driving as fast as always.


    He arrived in front of some sort of 3 story vi, a stark contrast to his previous small modern house.


    Michael walked up to it and was immediately scanned with a green light, simr to the government headquarters entrance.


    He saw something strange, or more like someone. There was a man neatly dressed in a suit, bowing slighty in Michael''s direction.


    "Greetings young Saint, I am the head butler Xavier, it is an honor to meet you."


    Michael''s calm expression slightly faltered ''My very own butler? Holy shit?''


    <i>You have officially became somewhat of a big shot, congrattions.</i>


    ''Why thank you.''


    Xavier led Michael around the entire vi, there were more than 8 rooms and 3 bathrooms, andst but not least a massive kitchen with his very own cook.


    There was some sort of cinema room as well, something Michael greatly appreciated.


    Lastly, they arrived in front of the master bedroom, situated on the top most floor.


    It was spatious as one would expect, with windows overlooking the whole inner district of the city.


    Ever since arriving here, he saw the stark contrast of technology as opposed to the part of the city he was staying in previously.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Through his main window he able to see a massive school like building, it stretched on for hundreds of meters and took up arge amount of space.


    It was the academy, which Michael will be attending in 4 months.


    He found himself lying on the massivefortable bed, all the stuff that has happened today made him extremely tired, both physically and mentally.


    ''By the time the academy starts, I need to reach at least level 40, double the system''s previous estimations.''


    And Michael will be doing so by going to the dungeon Amanda gave him.


    Taking a nce at his phone, its location was fairly close to his new home. It was time to max out the Shield skill.

 Chapter 20: Inauguration

    <h4>Chapter 20: Inauguration</h4>


    "This is delicious"


    Michael had been trying out all sorts of new dishes ever since he woke up.


    The chef was able to cook up anything, he even had a menu. It felt as though he was in an actual top of the line restaurant.


    Michael had called Gareth to let him know of how it went, and that he would no longer be a part of the police force.


    He took it surprisingly well, Michael expected him to try convincing him to stay, however, his new role had all the benefits he could ever want.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael thought of asking for more than what he had, but he didn''t want to be too shameless. He felt like a dungeon and some kind of clearance was enough of a reward for him.


    Added to the fact that he still had the dragon to grant him a single wish, though Michael had not yet decided what to ask for.


    There is a lot of stuff he could think of but nothing that he wanted or needed at the current moment.


    Michael finished thest of his dish, which was a pizza, and stood up, walking straight out of the vi.


    The dungeon was only a few streets away so he didn''t really need a driver or anything like that.


    Besides, it''s a good time to check out the surroundings.


    Michael was located in some sort of neighborhood where he could see many vis, some even bigger than his own.


    ''Guess this will be for the rich academy kids'' He concluded. There of course could be people who just live here for the view, though Michael thought it was unlikely.


    There didn''t exist anything like status in this world, However, there were all sorts of families and bloodlines that could be seen as superior to others. Hence why Zane was acting so arrogant.


    But s, money is the deciding factor, your bloodline could be that of a dragon, but if you were dirt poor, it didn''t mean anything. Money gives the strong arrogance, and the weak hope.


    It reminded him much of the slums, if only they had enough money to hire a decent healer, their health would not have deteriorated as much as it did.


    <i>Life is unfair, deal with it already and go to the dungeon.</i>


    ''Alright'' Michael replied while shrugging. The weapon and armor stores were a bit far away, though it wouldn''t feel far if he drove there.


    However he nned to walk today, check out the dungeon and level up his Shield skill to the max.


    The MP cost is a little bit high now, at a whopping 750 just to cast it once. The amount it absorbed made it worth it, but just casting it once drained more than 1/3 of his total mana.


    If he were to level up his skill, he wouldn''t be able to cast it for the 3rd time without taking a break.


    So this might take a few days..


    <i>It will all be worth it in the end, a rare rank skill, as you have seen, is far better than one can imagine.</i>


    ''True..with a simple Rare rank skill I was able to cure all diseases, it''s honestly ridiculous'' Michael continued walking towards a small park area where a few government buildings stood, sporting a massive ''V'' Logo.


    It stood for Vivum, they were not very thoughtful whening up with their branding.


    Michael arrived in front of some sort of guard and showed him his ID immediately bring escorted into a tent.


    Much like thest time he was escorted, his vision switched and he appeared in front of a little camp that had set up around a small portal.


    Everyone just looked at Michael and nodded, it seemed they too had been informed about him prior. It''s good not needing to introduce one''s self more than necessary.


    One of them walked up to Michael and introduced himself "Hello the name''s Park, my team and I will deal with any problems if they were to arise" It was another tall buff dude, Michael''s been seeing so many of them these past few days.


    "Sure, can I go in now?"


    "Almost, give us just a second" saying that Park turned around and walked into the dungeon. After a couple of minutes, he finally came back out, a small goblin in hand.


    He proceeded to ce some sort of a cor on the monster and then pulled out his phone "Hmm Level 12, you are good to go."


    With a nod Michael walked into the portal, the space around him distorting.


    On the other side was a vige, or more like a camp, he could see goblins running around.


    Michael was currently on a little hill where the goblins could not see him.


    He saw one that was pretty close to the hill so he snuck up behind it and grabbed it by the throat.


    Michael''s stats were much higher than the goblins, therefore all it could do was il its arms around, trying to scream. Though he made sure it couldn''t.


    Taking the goblin a fair distance away from the camp Michael released the goblin and cast a Shield on it, preparing to fight it.


    The goblin''s body suddenly twisted and it started running at Michael, its fingers shaped like ws.


    It wasn''t difficult to dodge, he just simply moved to the side and kicked it in the head.


    Though as that happened his kick was bounced off, it felt as though he had hit arge pool of water.


    The hit clearly didn''t go through, the HP absorbed was currently at 7500, so he didn''t expect it to break immediately.


    Unlike Amands, he was not abat ss or anything of the sort, just a simple healer who was fast.


    ''Why didn''t I buy a gun..'' Michael kept weaving around the slow attacks of the goblin, this was going to be an unnecessarily long fight.


    <i>It''s fine, your hand to handbat skill is leveling up decently fast, since it''smon you should be done with it by the time your Shield skill reaches max level.</i>


    ''Is that so.. alright'' Michael decided to hold off on the guns for now, however, he hoped that once he reached level 50 and increased the rarity of his ss, he would get some type ofbat skill.


    <i>That is highly unlikely, though keep dreaming.</i>


    ''Fuck you too..''


    <strong>-----</strong>


    1 weekter.


    Thest goblin finally plopped onto the ground, Michael standing above it with a bored expression.


    A whole week of punching a water ball, until eventually it popped and the goblin died in a single hit, that''s what it felt like to him anyway.


    It was so annoying and Michael was d it finally came to an end.


    ''Status''


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Saint Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 11 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 39 [30850/39000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ruthless Combatant</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 1334/1334 [+50] / Regen 148 HP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 2566/2566 [+50] / Regen 302 MP Per Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 85 -> 90</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 145 -> 148</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 225 -> 226</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 260->302 [+10]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 40</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Eyes of The Healer] [Level MAX] [Unique] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># See the HP, ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 10% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 11 200/5000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has an 11% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Greater Heal [Level 25 MAX] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal your target / Restore 3000 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 20 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 35 1250/17500 EXP] [Epic] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 30MP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Radius: 85 Meters</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shield [Level 25 MAX] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Cast an invisible shield around the target''s body. Absorb 12500 HP worth of damage</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 1250 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Infuse [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increase target''s HP by 100</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Duration: 1 Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    He was nearly level 40, just a bit more EXP and he will reach it, ever sinceing to the dungeon he only focused on killing goblins that were separated.


    That was in order to level up his skills, though even then, he received anywhere from 2000 all the way up to 3000 EXP from a single kill.


    Michael focused on the INT stat again after he was satisfied with his AGI, and it finally broke through into the 300''s.


    He maxed out Shield and hand to handbat, though he didn''t receive any bonuses from thetter.


    However, it was finally time tobine his 2 skills. Michael clicked on Skill Merging and selected Greater Heal and Shield, then pressed yes once again to confirm.


    And just likest time...


    <i>-Ding</i>


    <strong><i>[Skills merged, generating new skill]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shield of Nourishment [Level 0 0/100 EXP] [Rare] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal 5000 HP and apply a 5000 HP shield. Once broken heal for the amount Shielded.</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 10MP</i></strong>


    Michael was surprised because of the skill''s description, it not only was overpowered, the mana cost became something he no longer had to pay attention to.


    Though his surprise turned into curiosity ''Hey what happens to the people I had cast my Shield skill on? Will it disappear now that the skill is gone?''


    <i>No, it will still be there, the same amount of HP absorbed at the moment of the cast. You will however not earn any EXP from it anymore.</i>


    ''I see, that''s a relief then''


    Michael made his way out of the dungeon and back home, ording to Amanda, today was supposed to be his inauguration and it is happening in a few hours.


    He would love to stay and reach level 40, it would honestly not even take that long. Though he just didn''t quite want to do that yet.


    He will do it after the ceremony, once he bes an official Saint in the eyes of the public.


    Michael still had 4 whole months to level up after all.


    <i>Did I forget to mention that you don''t gain EXP from dungeons that are 20 levels below you?</i>


    Michael froze in ce and eximed ''You tell me this shit now!?''


    <i>What''s the problem? You were going to find it out once you reached Level 40 anyway.</i>


    ''Then what about my skills? Can I still level them up at the very least?''


    <i>Skills yes, however as I mentioned, it will not go towards your actual level.</i>


    Michael sighed and got into the shower, preparing himself for the inauguration.


    He put on some sort of robe that looked simr to his ivory robe, though it was not a type of equipment, just a simple ornamental robe.


    The hours passed and it was finally time to go, he went outside, dressed like some sort of priest.


    ''I look ridiculous..''


    <i>You do but hey, for the people.</i>


    ''Yeah..'' Michael got into the car and sped, he was not informed of where he was going, his driver was however.


    The drive took Michael to the other side of the inner district he was currently living inside of, there he saw a church.


    Just like how there was the statue of Gabriel in the slums, there was also an even bigger statue of the Goddess Sophia.


    He stepped out of the car and walked towards Amanda, she was waiting just in front of the statue.


    "So? How does it feel? You are about to be the city''s renowned Saint." Amanda said while chuckling.


    "Feels like any normal day..so how is this going to work?"


    Amanda pulled out some sort of chalice and grabbed a water bottle out of her spatial bag, filling the chalice up till it was full.


    "The cameras will start rolling soon, stand in front of the statue and drink this."


    Michael stared nkly at the fancy chalice in his hands, he expected something more than simple water.


    "Is that all?"


    Amanda let out a small smile "Yep, just make sure to drink it all, I will do the speech part."


    Michael nodded and stood right in front of the statue, holding the chalice in his hands.


    ''What a holy Saint I am..''


    <i>It could be worse, she could hav- yeah no I don''t think it could be worse.</i>


    ''Thanks for the support.''


    Out of nowhere, a small camera appeared and Amanda immediately straightened her posture "Hello citizens of Vivum, today is a very special day. Goddess Sophia had personally descended down from the heavens and selected a Saint!"


    The camera panned to Michael awkwardly holding the chalice in front of the massive statue.


    "This is a never before seen urrence! The Goddess who we thought had abandoned us, was actually with us this whole time!" A single tear fell from Amanda''s eye.


    "That is why, I, the leader of the entire Vivum City, have personallye out to witness the new Saint consume the Goddess''s essence, the holy water!''


    The camera no longer had Amanda in its vision, so she signaled Michael to drink up.


    ''Why do I feel more embarrassed than her, she spat such bullshit in the name of the gods...'' Michael held back a sigh and drank the ''holy water'' out of the chalice.


    He finished and held the now empty chalice in front of the camera, which quickly panned back to Amanda.


    "I introduce to you all...Saint Michael!" Amanda eximed and suddenly the camera disappeared. Her expression immediately turning sour.


    Michael was speechless, he didn''t even know what to say.


    He thought he was someone who was good at bullshitting, but Amanda..she was on another level.


    She turned to him and tried putting on a smile but failed "You can return now, your Saintly duties will begin at the start of summer, in exactly 1 month."


    Michael absentmindedly nodded "Right, can you tell me what I will need to do?"


    "It will range anywhere from finding lost cats to healing elderly people, don''t worry it''s not too taxing."


    Now Michael was left even more speechless. He was expecting to go into dungeons and fight for the city or something, not saving lost cats.


    It was time to return now, his life would be a lot more boring than he thought, at least until he got into the academy anyway.


    <i>Just saying, but unless someone was born with a diamond spoon in their mouth, the highest level out of all the other kids you see will be 25, because of that, you will be doing low level dungeons for at least the first few months.</i>


    The system dropped another bombshell on Michael.


    ''Fuck..''

 Chapter 21: Interlude: Academy

    <h4>Chapter 21: Interlude: Academy</h4>


    The day the academy officially starts.


    Michael was currently wearing a fully white robe, it seemed as per his role, all his clothing was now white.


    The old Ivory Robe was gone, now reced with a new one that looked nearly identical.


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Saint''s Robe [Replica] [Rare]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+500 HP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+250 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+50 INT</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+50 CHA</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Emit a faint glow of radiance</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Reduce initial MP cost of skills by 25 MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increase the range of skills by 50 meters</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+--+</i></strong>


    The stat increase was massive, way more than the umon rarity version.


    It also had an affix that Michael was extremely surprised to see, that being the initial cost of skills reducement.


    As his Shield of Nourishment skill leveled up, its mana cost increased by 5 per level instead of 50.


    It was significantly harder to level up than the other Shield skill, as it only gave 200 EXP per cast if it healed someone, if the person was full HP he wouldn''t get anything, he would only get the EXP if the shield breaks.


    Besides that, Michael was currently still stuck at level 40, in the past 4 months he barely made any progress.


    He turned to the side and looked at himself in the mirror ''Status''


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Name: Saint Michael</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Age: 12 years old</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Race: Human</i></strong>


    <strong><i>ss: Healer [Common]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Level 40 [5000/40000 EXP] </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Titles:</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Ruthless Combatant</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Stats</i></strong>


    <strong><i>HP: 2040/2040 [+500] / Regen 160 HP Per Hour {1:9}</i></strong>


    <strong><i>MP: 3806/3806 [+250] / Regen 384 MP Per Hour {1:9}</i></strong>


    <strong><i>STR: 90->100</i></strong>


    <strong><i>END: 148->160</i></strong>


    <strong><i>AGI: 226->231</i></strong>


    <strong><i>INT: 302->384 [+50]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>CHA: 40->100 [+50]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>-Skills / [Skill Merging]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>[Eyes of The Healer] [Level MAX] [Unique] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># See the HP, ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Hand to handbat [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increases STR by 10% when fighting using only your hands</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Discipline [Level 11 300/5000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Mental magic has an 11% reduced effect on you</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shooting mastery [Level 6 0/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Purify [Level 35 1250/17500 EXP] [Epic] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 30MP </i></strong>


    <strong><i>Radius: 85 Meters</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Infuse [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increase target''s HP by 100</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 25MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Duration: 1 Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Shield of Nourishment [Level 14 2000/7000 EXP] [Rare] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Heal 7800 HP and apply a 7800 HP shield. Once broken heal for the amount Shielded.</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 80MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Wind Buff [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Increase the target''s AGI by 10</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost:25MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Duration: 1 Hour</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+---+</i></strong>


    Michael''s level might have stagnated but his stats did not.


    He pressed on Skill Merging, selecting Infuse and Wind Buff, it was a skill he had gotten upon reaching level 40.


    It was extremely easy to max out, much pike Infuse, all he had to do was cast it on someone and he got EXP, now though it was time to say goodbye to these 2 skills.


    <i>-Ding</i>


    <strong><i>[Skills merged, generating new skill]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Blessing of stats [Level 0 0/100] [Umon] [Active]</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Increase all stats by 25</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Cost: 100MP</i></strong>


    <strong><i>Duration: = INT -> 384 Minutes </i></strong>


    ''A solid support skill, one I can keep cast on me forever, neat.'' Michael put on a small smile. Even if he didn''t level up as much as he wanted, he was still able to be much stronger.


    Michael also tried buying a weapon, however, the prices shocked him.


    For amon sniper rifle, you had to pay 15.000 dors, for an umon 100.000 dors and it even got more crazy starting from rare, the price even going up into the millions.


    He was better off just getting a weapon for free from the academy.


    ''I am a bit curious, are my heals really anything special? From all the healers I have seen over these past few months, it looked like they were able to heal wounds in an instant as well.''


    <i>You heal HP, they heal wounds, simr but different.</i>


    ''How so?''


    <i>All beings have HP if it drops to 0 they die, however as long as their HP is at least 1, you can Heal them back to full health.</i>


    <i>As for the other healers, they can heal injuries, however, if they are fatal, there is nothing they can do.</i>


    <i>For example, your heals back in the dungeon where you met Meph, the wounds on Joanna and Zane were fatal, yet you were able to heal them. It will continue being so until you meet the stronger beings, as thews of stats don''t apply to them.</i>


    Michael smirked ''Oh am I finally strong enough to hear about them?''


    <i>Not even close, I am merely giving you an example because you met one of them, Fafnir, by system standards his level would be in the 1000''s range, and that was when he was weakened.</i>


    ''Huh? How am I supposed to catch up to them then?'' The system''s words did not make sense to Michael.


    <i>I can''t tell you, however at some point down the line, you will realize it yourself, after all, the system is only a helping mechanism.. temporarily.</i>


    Those words made Michael''s eyes widen even further ''temporarily!?''


    <i>Once you reach level 200, you will understand.</i>


    ''Hey you can''t leave me on a cliffhanger like that, tell me!'' Michael tried calling out to the system but was ignored.


    Michael looked around in annoyance and picked up his ID card, heading out the academy.


    As a Saint, he was given special admission, meaning he did not need to pass any sort of entrance exam, something the others had to dost week.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Even so, Michael didn''t have anything better to do, so he decided to snoop around and see what they were up to.


    Walking outside, he saw his driver, still the same one after all this time, yet he didn''t even know his name.


    ''I don''t think we even talked once'' Michael sighed and got into the car, speeding off straight to the academy.


    Upon arriving he noticed a bunch of cars, some fancy, others not so much.


    He walked up to the academy and walked right in.


    The receptionist immediately noticed him and jumped up "What an honor it is to meet you young Saint."


    Ever since his introduction as the Saint, Michael was recognized by the public constantly, hence why he stopped going out as much, it became a bother.


    "Hello, can I get some directions to where I have to go?" Michael asked, wearing a kind smile.


    The robe increased his charisma by 50, bringing it to a total of 100, to say he was considered a top notch model, is an understatement.


    He didn''t look his age either, if someone were to look at him without knowing who Michael was, they would think he was 16.


    The receptionist slightly blushed and led Michael into some sort of ssroom, with ''Elite'' written on the door.


    He waved the receptionist goodbye and walked right, there were 19 people seated and a strict looking female teacher standing on a small podium.


    She had her brown hair in a bun, and was short, even shorter than Michael, but s, he had grown quite a lot in these past few years sinceing to this world.


    Upon seeing Michael, the teacher''s green eyes narrowed "You arete, sit down."


    "Sorry" Michael replied and looked for an empty seat and he quickly found one.


    He was right next to some scrawny looking kid with sses.


    Looking around the ssroom he saw there were 10 girls and 10 boys in total, an even distribution.


    "Alright ss, today we will be doing introductions, lessons will start tomorrow" The teacher said and sat down on the podium.


    "My name is Lena, I am a level 180 Fire Mage, as well as your new homeroom teacher."


    She then pointed at a student furthest from the left, it seemed she wanted everyone to go in order.


    And they did, however only a few had caught Michael''s eye.


    "Elizabeth, Level 22, Swordswoman" A kind looking girl with short red hair and blue eyes spoke.


    "Chloe, Level 26, Space Mage" nk expression, long white hair and crimson red eyes. Michael couldn''t read her at all.


    "Kevin, Level 27, prefer not to say" another nonchnt kid, pitch ck hair and blue colored eyes. This guy looked strong, Michael just couldn''t put his finger on why.


    The others didn''t catch his interest, these 3 were by far the most powerful looking, and they were the only ones above level 20.


    ''Diamond spoon you said?'' Michael couldn''t help but tease.


    <i>Noment.</i>


    It was finally Michael''s turn to introduce himself, though everyone was already staring at them, no surprise that they knew him.


    "Michael, Level 40, Healer." Those words seemed to shock everyone present, it even startled the teacher herself, but she quicklyposed herself.


    "G-good, it is a pleasure to meet all of you, I hope we can all get along."


    The teacher, Lena, proceeded to exin what they would be doing starting tomorrow.


    Training, a fight against the teachers and or other students in order to improve your skills.


    For healers like Michael, it won''t be beneficial, however, he could always better improve himself.


    Learning, the program will go over basic lessons such as maths and physics, in ce of chemistry there is alchemy and of course magic theory. It will go over the most efficient use of your skills.


    And finally, actualbat, the students will be taken to dungeons and experience realbat, though that part won''t really be a big problem for Michael.


    After Lena finished exining, everyone was free to go back home.


    ''The first day in school is always like this.''


    <i>I can see that, though why were you acting so arrogant there, you know they are all children right?</i>


    ''Obviously, however, do you seriously think no one would pick a fight with me if I was a Saint? It''s better to antagonize them all to see who could be a potential ally.''


    <i>Did those 3 meet your expectations then, o holy being?</i>


    Michael''s brow twitched ''They did.. don''t call me that again by the way, it sounds creepy when you say it.''


    <i>...</i>


    Since Michael didn''t have anything else to do he went back to trying some new snacks the chef prepared, the academy will finally actually start tomorrow.

 Chapter 22: First Day

    <h4>Chapter 22: First Day</h4>


    <i>Oh good, you are finally up.</i>


    Michael groggily turned around in the bed, he ate so much food he didn''t even remember how he got to his bed.


    He is thankful to the system, because of it he can''t get fat, his physique remains the same no matter what.


    Be it eating or working out, he will always have a slim body, However, he doesn''t mind, it is convenient inbat.


    <i>Right, if I were you I would go to the academy, being 20 minuteste is not the best example for a Saint.</i>


    Michael immediately shot up from out of bed and dressed up as fast as he could ''Fucker, why didn''t you wake me up!?''


    <i>sphemy, how could I bother the holy Saint in his slumber.</i>


    ''You..'' Michael was getting annoyed at the system but decided to let it go for now.


    Quickly heading out and calling his driver, he got to the academy in just 5 minutes since he woke up.


    However, he noticed something strange, the clock was still at 7:45 AM, meaning he was in fact, too early.


    ''I hate you.'' Michael spat at the system and headed inside, greeting the same receptionist as yesterday.


    He arrived inside of his ssroom and noticed that aside from a few kids, it was practically empty.


    Michael gazed upon those who were looking at him and shed a friendly smile.


    However as he assumed the day before, there were a few scowling at him.


    ''Are they forgetting I am level 40?'' Michael thought as he found his seat and sat down.


    The levels of everyone present was under 20, Michael did not understand their thought process at all.


    A bit of time passed and the bell finally rang, all 20 students were already present, however, the teacher was nowhere to be seen.


    "Hey Saint, do you think you are special?" Some arrogant kid stood up and began walking toward Michael.


    "Who are you again?" Michael asked in a confused tone. He didn''t forget, he just wanted to damage the kid''s ego.


    "Ugh.. It''s Tony, you better remember my name as I will be the next Saint!" He shouted at Michael, it was more like a challenge than a bullying attempt.


    Tony is a Healer, a very low leveled one at that.


    Michael did not pay much attention to them in general, however, he did make sure to remember their names, which mighte in handy someday.


    "Okay Tony, anything else?" Michael said with a small chuckle.


    "No.." It seemed he didn''t have much of a spine, just enough to antagonize someone but not back it up.


    On the way back to his table he received a fewughs, it seemed ss clown number 1 was identified.


    The waiting further resumed, no one really tried messing with him anymore, as Michael was not one to give the reactions they expected.


    "Umm..Saint?" A voice resounded on Michael''s side, it was the scrawny kid who sat next to him.


    "Yes, Liam?"


    He looked a bit shocked that Michael remembered his name "I want to thank you.."


    Michael was a bit confused though, however, the more he looked at Liam''s face, the more he felt like he could remember something.


    That was until it finally clicked "Is your mom okay?"


    Liam put on a wide smile "Yes, thanks to you."


    When Michael was still a healer in the slums, he came across a few kids who reached out and begged for help, Liam was one of them.


    One day as he was about to lock the church, Liam appeared with tears in his eyes. He exined that his mother was sick and couldn''te to receive a blessing.


    Michael was not just going to simply watch and wait until she died so he went there and healed her, casting a purify on both Liam and his mother.


    ''It seemed he somehow managed to save enough money to enroll, good for him'' Michael had a faint smile on his face while reminiscing.


    The teacher, Lena, finally arrived "Sorry for beingte,e with me, we are going to pick out some new weapons"


    <i>Are you still nning on getting a sniper?</i>


    ''Yeah it''s what I am mostfortable with, do you think I shouldn''t?''


    <i>No, I just wanted to make sure you didn''t change your mind, the path of a healer is still open you know.</i>


    ''No thanks.''


    Michael and the others arrived at a training facility with some sort of a massiveputer on the side.


    Lena walked up to it and began typing something, eventually a holographic interface appeared on the side of theputer.


    "Go 1 by 1, type in the name of the weapon you want and you will get it."


    As her words finished, everyone gathered in a line and started selecting their weapons.


    Michael wasst so he was able to observe the weapons everyone picked out.


    However, his smile cracked a little at the weapon Chloe had chosen, it was a massive scythe.


    She was the only one abnormal, the others all picked normal weapons.


    It was finally Michael''s turn so he walked to theputer and typed in Sniper Rifle, he didn''t know which one he wanted yet and they were all umon rarity.


    If he focused he was able to see the stats of the weapon, others were not able to.


    Scrolling down, he saw an interesting one, it was called sma ster, quite childish, however, its damage was anything but that.


    Michael selected that one and it appeared out of thin air,nding right into his hands.


    <strong><i>sma ster [Umon]</i></strong>


    <strong><i>+20 AGI</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Damage = AGI x 3 (x5 if critical shot)</i></strong>


    <strong><i># No bullet drop off</i></strong>


    <strong><i># Consume 100 mana per shot instead of bullets</i></strong>


    It quite frankly looked better than most sniper rifles he saw in the shops, even rivaling Rare rarity weapons.


    Michael was happy with this find and turned around, noticing everyone''s weird expressions directed at him.


    Lena came up to him "Are you sure you got the right one? Don''t you want a staff?" Her tone was one of confusion.


    Michael nodded "This is what I want, staff will be useless forbat anyway."


    "You do understand you are a healer, not a damage dealer right?" She asked, her skepticism clearly visible.


    "As I said, yes, I got what I wanted" Michael replied in a firm tone. He didn''t know what it was but ever since first seeing him, she acted annoyed with every single thing he did.


    Lena waved him off and told everyone to return to the ssroom, the lessons are officially going to start.


    ss started and they began learning math, thenter physics, it was pretty easy, the math was not that different from his old world.


    The physics, however, were a bit tricky, though he quickly got the hang of it.


    <i>The power of the INT stat is showing, what did I tell you, cool right?</i>


    ''It''s weird but I don''t mind'' Michael never felt the effect as prominently as he did now, it felt like his brain was digesting the information before he could even finish reading it.


    It helped him learn faster, however, the process just didn''t feel right.


    Next up came history and Michael was sweating buckets. He was d there were no quizzes today because if there were, he would have been screwed.


    Enhanced learning speed and memory don''t mean anything if you hadn''t even learned any history about this world or continent in the first ce.


    Everything Lena was teaching currently was new information.


    The tidbits of knowledge he had came from the system, however, they were fairly negligent, as it only covered where the continents were located on the map and which one was the most dangerous.


    As the lesson finally ended, he felt exhausted, mentally.


    <i>Hmm.. it''s pretty easy to understand, I don''t see why you are whining.</i>


    ''It is easy, however, imagine your brain absorbing information and all you can do is wait for it to digest.''


    Unlike math and physics, learning history felt especially ufortable, however, in the end, he did acquire the knowledge he heard.


    The next lesson was magic theory, apparently, alchemy is only once per week, and it is on thest work day.


    Magic theory felt like he was reading a book for toddlers, it didn''t give him any insight whatsoever.


    The book stated that if you heal enough your heals get stronger!


    ''No shit'' Michael kept flipping the pages, however, nothing of interest showed up.


    Lena was also standing out for this one, just sitting on her phone and ncing at us from time to time.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The book had Beginner Magic Implementation written on it so it was no surprise Michael did not learn anything.


    He was no magic genius by any means, he didn''t even know how to control mana, but if even he found this book useless, he wondered what the rest of his ssmates think.


    The lessons were finally over, history being Michael''s arch nemesis.


    Lena informed everyone that tomorrow they would be heading out for sparring, and next week a dungeon.


    She also said something about clubs, though Michael was not sure if he even wanted to join one.


    Michael picked up his sma ster and headed to the goblin dungeon he owned, it was time to test out how powerful it was.

 Chapter 23: Curiosity

    <h4>Chapter 23: Curiosity</h4>


    Michael walked into the dungeon portal as normal, the guards stationed around it were no longer there.


    The only reason they watched over Michael was that in the off chance a dungeon break were to happen, however, that was not the case.


    The goblin''s levels didn''t change at all in thest 4 months, the highest being level 18, even then that was considered low.


    Michael was able to deal with them fairly easily even without weapons, now with his new sniper rifle, he wouldn''t even need to move from the portal.


    He took it out of his pocket and unfolded it, the technology sure was something else.


    Looking down at the vige of goblins, he noticed there were not that many left, at first it seemed like they were respawning, however, the numbers were clearly much lower than before.


    <i>The dungeon has reached the end of its life, it will soon close.</i>


    ''I see..well owning the dungeon for thest 4 months still brought me a nice increase in stats.'' Michael shrugged and looked through his scope, finding a goblin singled out from the rest.


    He pressed the trigger and saw the goblin''s head blow up.


    ''Holy shit.. it''s soundless.'' Michael took a look at his sniper. The moment he pressed the trigger and fired, the goblin instantly died, no sound was heard.


    <i>You are shooting pure mana, added to the fact that you have a passive skill that increases bullet velocity, in return, it travels pretty fast.</i>


    Michael gazed at his status and saw the EXP for shooting mastery increase by 100.


    ''How does the damage work? I know it says my AGI x 3, however, the damage I dealt appeared to be much higher than that, even if I did hit a vital spot.'' He questioned.


    <i>You deal that amount of damage if the opponent manages to somehow block your attack, if you aim for the head and it gets blocked, you would deal AGI x 5 damage. If it connects it is an instant kill.</i>


    ''Does that apply to higher levels too?''


    <i>No, at some point your sniper will be useless, just use it until then.</i>


    Michael looked through his scope and began shooting the rest of the goblins ''What do you mean useless? Aren''t there legendary sniper rifles? Won''t they be enough?''


    <i>They will be very situational, the people over level 200 have their ways of negating those kinds of attacks.</i>


    ''You keep mentioning stuff that will happen once I reach level 200, will there be a different kind of power system or something'' Michael chuckled as he continued sniping the goblins.


    However, he did not receive a response.


    ''Seriously!? Come on tell me!'' Michael shouted at the system in his mind.


    <i>You are being annoying, fine.. there is a thing called a Mana Core starting from level 200.</i>


    ''Mana core? Then are levels no longer a thing past level 200?'' Michael was extremely confused. He believed this system and levels were something he would have all the time.


    <i>That is correct, there are stages to the mana core, however, don''t worry, you will still have a status screen disying some information, though as I said previously, levels and EXP will no longer be a thing. Don''t stress about that now though, just keep doing your thing.</i>


    Michael stopped shooting the goblins and sat down, sniper by his side.


    He had a lot of questions now, for example, why has no one mentioned this? Even more, where are all the level 200 individuals?


    The only ones he knew were definitely above level 200 were Meph, Amanda, and Fafnir. He didn''t know about any others, as if they did not exist.


    Meph was sealed in a dungeon and Fafnir was greatly weakened, Amanda, however, lookedpletely normal, so it didn''t seem like they couldn''t be here.


    But where was everyone else?


    Michael stood up and walked out of the dungeon and went back to the academy, specifically, to the library.


    The academy appeared to bepletely empty, with only one or two students walking around the spacious halls, even then, they were Michael''s seniors.


    There were a total of 4 years, if you graduate then you get a diploma you can use in order to enter dungeons, which if Michael yed his cards right, he could get permission a bit sooner.


    Walking inside of the library he noticed quite a few people, however, none paid attention to Michael, only sparing him a few nces.


    ''It seemed even the kids knew the title of Saint was bullshit'' Michael inwardly chuckled and looked around the book aisle.


    He searched for books rted to the awakened, Michael wanted to find out what exactly happens when you reach level 200.


    However, as the minutes turned into hours, he was not able to find a single book that had what he was looking for.


    ''I don''t understand..there are clearly awakened which are in the level 200s, why is there not a single thing written about the mana cores'' Michael was beginning to get frustrated.


    He wasted his time looking for books yet he was not able to find anything.


    He noticed a few of his ssmates sat together, one of them being Tony, who appeared to be immersed in reading.


    Michael put on his saintly smile and walked toward him, he had nothing to lose from asking so he might as well do it.


    "Hello Tony, what are you reading?" Michael sat right in front of him.


    Tony''s eyes widened slightly, then he started ring at Michael "What do you want?"


    "I am a bit curious about something, do you know what mana cores are?"


    "The what cores? I don''t so stop bothering me" Tony shooed him away and continued reading his book.


    ''Thought so'' Michael stood up with a sigh and was prepared to look for a little longer.


    "Why are you interested in that?" A voice resounded behind him and he turned around, meeting Kevin''s suspicious gaze.


    "No reason, just curious"


    Kevin walked closer to Michael "You are curious about government secrets? You sure are an interesting Saint."


    Michael''s eyes lit up "I take it you know about it then, can you tell me?"


    Though he was met with a swift refusal "Of course not" saying that, Kevin walked away.


    However, Michael was not discouraged, he had his first lead. The system wouldn''t tell him and he couldn''t just ask Amanda as he was not allowed to contact her unless there was an emergency.


    And his curiosity is certainly not an emergency.


    ''Can you give me a hint?''


    <i>No, also that kid was lying, even if his family did have people with mana cores, they would not share it with him, trust me on that one.</i>


    ''Why? It sounded like he did know something though.''


    <i>He didn''t because it''s a secret, now shut up and go do something proactive.</i>


    ''Right..''


    Michael couldn''t help his curiosity, however, he would hold it back for now. His main goal is to reach level 50 and increase the rarity of his ss.


    He walked out of the library, practically wasting all his time.


    As he had nothing left to do he went back home, tomorrow he would be sparring.


    This whole day today was a rollercoaster for Michael, first, he gets a good weapon, then finds out it will bepletely useless in the future.


    And then mana cores? Stages? He wanted to level up fast, however, he knew he couldn''t, at least not at the current moment.


    Michael decided to head back to the dungeon to continue his target practice but just as he got there he noticed a crew of people surrounding the portal.


    He was a bit confused so he approached one of them "What''s happening?"


    The man turned around and flinched "S-Saint!"


    ''Fanatic number 73 found..''


    <i>At least he doesn''t wish to harm you, so what if he is not alright in the head?</i>


    Michael ignored the system and asked his question again, finally snapping the man out of his trance.


    "Yes Saint, the dungeon appears to be mutating" The man replied with an admiring look.


    ''What''s that?'' Michael asked the system.


    <i>Hmm, you got lucky, the dungeon''s level is increasing.</i>


    Michael clenched his fists, just as he thought his progress was about to slow down, a path once again opened.


    However, as he was celebrating inwardly, a sudden pressure descended.


    It felt just like the dungeon copse but it was noting from the dungeon, instead, it wasing from behind him.


    Turning around, he noticed a few people, the one who caught his eye, however, was Amanda.


    It seemed the opportunity to meet her had arisen.


    She cleared her throat and spoke "Everyone, get out. This is a government matter." Her voice was low, but loud enough for the people to hear it.


    They all scattered, with only a few guards remaining, as well as Michael.


    Amanda walked up to Michael and told him to follow her.


    They approached the portal that was slightly getting bigger, its color changing rapidly.


    "I am sorry but we have to take this dungeon back."


    Michael was startled "What do you mean? Did you not gift it to me?"


    Amanda just simply shrugged "I did, however, I did specify you were not ready for higher level dungeons."


    "So what? This is still my dungeon, higher level or not" He was not backing down. On the off chance that his whining works, that''s great, however, if it didn''t, he at least wanted to get something out of it.


    "You can have another dungeon, same level as this one, how about that?" She proposed.


    All that did was earn a scoff from Michael "What am I supposed to do with a low level dungeon? I am not getting any stronger from them."


    Amanda let out a sigh "I don''t want the Saint to die in a puny dungeon."


    "I am level 40 now, I am by no means aplete weakling" Michael protested back at her.


    Turning to look at Michael, she raised her hand.


    All of a sudden he found himself embedded into a wall, seemingly in an instant ''The fuck?''


    In a mere moment, she managed to send him flying fast enough to not even notice the surroundings change.


    She suddenly appeared in front of him and raised her hand once more, however, Michael was prepared.


    He quickly pulled out his sniper and automatically unfolded it, shooting a mana bullet right into her foot.


    However, just as it seemed like it was about to connect, the bullet disappeared, he didn''t even feel it connect.


    ''How am I supposed to beat her.." Michael thought as he looked around for any openings, but was unable to find a single one.


    Amanda smirked at him "So what now? You took a hit and exhausted your trump card, if I was serious you would have been dead already."


    "I am known for being a bit resilient" Michael didn''t give up and pointed the sniper right at her, shooting 3 bullets consecutively in 3 different spots, all aiming for the vitals.


    However, just like with the previous shot, the bullets did not connect and disappeared.


    "See? You are now nothing but a punching bag" With those words Amanda closed in once again, raising her hand and sending Michael flying, however this time he was able to feel the propulsion.


    ''Was she using gravity or some sort of maic maniption, what is this?'' He shed a confused look, the system was not exining anything either.


    Michael noticed his Shield of Nourishment was about to break, so he recast it on himself, preparing for another round.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As he raised his sniper, preparing to once again attempt to shoot her, Amanda waved her hand and the sniper disappeared from his hands,nding a couple of meters from him on the ground.


    "You have yet to prove me wrong, you are a healer, how do you expect to defend yourself if the situation bes dangerous? Tell me." She shot a re at Michael, testing his conviction.


    However, he just stood there, unsure of how to reply.


    Michael couldn''t refute her because she was right, she might be way higher level than him, but what would happen if his sniper were to no longer work?


    He was looking for answers, though none came to mind, so he just stood there, unsure of how to reply.


    <i>I will remind you in case you forgot, the system is a helping mechanism for thoseing from other worlds, once they learn everything there is to learn, it will no longer be needed, think. How would the others use their skills?</i>


    The system finally spoke, advising Michael, and providing a bit of rity.


    However, as he tried weaving all kinds of spells, nothing happened, it felt like a spell was forming but it suddenly stopped. He was too reliant on the system.


    He felt as if he could do it if he had more practice, however, as things currently stood, he was defenseless, just like Amanda said.


    Michael looked directly into her eyes "Give me a month to prove myself, after that let''s renegotiate"


    He was met with a smirk "Would you ask for time during a battle too?"


    Those words caught Michael off guard, though she did have a point.


    Amanda stared at him, until she finally let out a smallugh "Alright alright, a month. If you can prove your skills in a month, I will let you go into higher level dungeons."


    She walked up to him and gave him a piece of paper "For now, take this, it''s a low level dungeon, hone your skills, I will be waiting."


    Michael didn''t look too disheartened, he just nodded and epted it, however, he still had a single question he wanted to ask "What is a mana core?"


    That question greatly startled Amanda as she stared back into Michael''s eyes "Do not mention it in public ever, am I clear?"


    "Sure, can you tell me what it is though?" He continued to pester.


    However, she just shook her head "I am bound by an oath, everyone who reaches level 200 is, if I reveal that information I will die."


    ''Damn just what is going on in the world once you reach level 200'' Michael thought and departed from his now former dungeon.


    All this high level stuff, and yet he has sses tomorrow.


    It was alreadyte, so it was about time Michael headed back home, starting from tomorrow he would learn to use mana properly.

 Chapter 24: Spar

    "Alright everyone, gather in pairs, as for you Michael stand back, your level is a bit too high"


    Michael and the others were currently gathered inside the training center where he got his sniper.


    After yesterday¡¯s events, he wasn¡¯t sure of what kind of position he wanted to take. He is proficient in guny, snipers especially.


    However, if they were useless in this world, what was the point in satisfying his fantasy?


    He would still use guns for now, as at his current level they were still incredibly good.


    Michael stood back and watched the others group into pairs, getting ready to fight, however, there was one person who was staring directly at him.


    It was Kevin.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He walked up to the teacher and told her something, right after that she walked up to me.


    "Do you want to fight Kevin? He does not mind the level difference."


    Michael nced at Lena and nodded. He didn¡¯t have anything better to do anyway.


    They both walked up to the arena and got into their stances, Michael was obviously not going to use his sniper rifle here, and neither was anyone else.


    This was purebat with no weapons, so he could still use his skills.


    With Michael¡¯s current buffs and the Shield of Nourishment skill, he was practically unbeatable for those under level 50.


    But at the same time, he did not have any attack skills either, making him just a normal guy with above average stats.


    Michael was the first to start off the spar, he ran at Kevin and tried performing a leg sweep.


    That, however, didn¡¯t go as nned, as in the next moment, darkness descended. Michael was not able to see or feel anything, the only thing he could still do was hear.


    Even then, it didn¡¯t prove to be of much use as Kevin¡¯s footsteps werepletely silent.


    However, Michael had somewhat of a cheat skill, that being Eyes of the Healer. While he couldn¡¯t directly see Kevin, he could still see the HP bar right above his head.


    As Michael turned directly towards Kevin, it startled him, causing him to cast another skill on Michael which binded his movement.


    The difference in stats was instantly seen as with a small jerk of his foot, Michael was able to escape the shackles of darkness, albeit not intentionally.


    Kevin decided to finally face Michael head on, as he began throwing punches everywhere on Michael¡¯s body, however, every time he did so, it felt as if a water barrier blocked his punch.


    Michael took this chance while Kevin was still rtively close to him and punched straight at his face.


    As the punch was about to connect Kevin once again used his power of shadows, nullifying Michael¡¯s attack, albeit not exactlypletely.


    Kevin was pushed back a few meters and Michael still had his shield up, even if he couldn¡¯t see or feel, from what he could tell the spar was still in his favor.


    ¡¯If only I had some kind of a skill that could remove magic, simr to my Purify..¡¯ Michael thought with slight annoyance, if he wasn¡¯t able to see Kevin¡¯s HP bar, he would have lost in the first few seconds.


    The spar continued in the same direction, Kevin attacked, Michael absorbed and hit back, however, none of his attacksnded yet.


    With the way this duel was going, it was likely going to be a draw.


    Whatever skill Kevin was using, messed up Michael¡¯s senses enough to make the fight equal.


    Michael recast the Shield of Nourishment skill on himself every few minutes just to be safe.


    After a couple more minutes, Lena¡¯s voice resounded "That¡¯s enough, you guys are each other¡¯s counters, this spar is a draw."


    At her words, Michael¡¯s vision returned, as well as his sense of feeling. His body felt a little numb, possibly due to overexertion.


    He nced at Kevin and saw his face a little roughed up, it seemed even as he was able to negate Michael¡¯s attacks, the damage slowly built up.


    He had a sour expression on his face and walked away.


    ¡¯Does this guy hate me or something?¡¯ Michael thought. It¡¯s been twice now that he just walked away from him.


    I wouldn¡¯t be surprised.


    ¡¯I didn¡¯t ask for your opinion¡¯ Michael shot back and sat down, watching the other spars finish up.


    He paid the most attention to Chloe and Elizabeth, those 2 girls had impressive skills.


    Elizabeth, while only being a simple swordswoman, was able to cut apart magic and attack at very high speeds, with her hands no less.


    Michael could only wonder what happens when she uses a sword.


    Next up was Chloe and she was especially amazing. She could appear behind her opponent and attack them, or quite literally create a gash in the air and block an attack.


    Safe to say, the people Michael took an interest in, were exceptional, even by his current standards.


    Cutting magic, teleporting? Those 2 were definitely people he wanted in his party.


    And then there was Kevin, he couldn¡¯t gouge his skills as he was quite literally unable to see or feel anything the entire fight.


    If he had to guess, it¡¯s either something rted to mind magic, however, he was not 100% sure.


    After about an hour of sparring, they were all exhausted.


    Lena pped her hands a few times to get everyone¡¯s attention "That is enough, everyone head back to ss, I still have a few things to discuss with you all."


    Michael was the first to leave, he was by no means tired, the numbness he felt earlier had gone away pretty fast.


    Navigating through the halls, he was able to see quite a lot of people there, it seemed it was break time for others as well.


    He walked past the group of people, only some paying attention to him, others seemed disinterested.


    ¡¯How are the adults so fanatical about the Saint but the kids don¡¯t even acknowledge my existence¡¯ Michael thought with a small frown.


    He didn¡¯t exactly mind it that much, he just didn¡¯t understand why they were all ignoring him.


    He arrived at ss and waited a couple of minutes for the others to arrive, followed by Lena herself.


    Everyone took their seats and Lena began exining.


    "The thing I wanted to tell you all is rted to the clubs, starting this year, every single person in the academy must be a part of a club, no exceptions."


    She proceeded to walk around and give us a few stacks of paper with all different kinds of clubs written down.


    Michael read through them all, however, didn¡¯t notice any that were too outstanding.


    Just as he was about to pick a random one, his eyesnded on the ¡¯Mana Control¡¯ club.


    The description said they were people who didn¡¯t think skills mattered so they began attempting to manipte mana.


    However, from what Michael could see, they were not sessful. Not passing a single inspection of progress.


    They would also be closed down if no one joined them this year, which thankfully for them, Michael intended to sign up.


    He scribbled his name right next to the Mana Control club and gave the piece of paper back to Lena.


    She nced at the paper, her eyes slightly narrowing "Are you sure?"


    Michael nodded and she took the paper back to the podium, cing it on her makeshift desk.


    After a couple more minutes, everyone had already finished handing their papers in.


    "Good, I will inform the clubs of your choices, you can go there tomorrow after sses are finished. You can go now" Lena picked up the stack of papers and carried it out through the door.


    Michael stayed behind for a moment, he wanted to try channeling mana after everyone left.


    However, one person stayed, it was Chloe.


    Michael paid no mind to her, she was just reading some sort of book with a bored expression.


    ¡¯Any tips?¡¯ He asked the system and tried manipting mana.


    Focus on the feeling you get when you cast a skill, I won¡¯t give you any more freebies until you show progress.


    Michael put on a smile on his face ¡¯I didn¡¯t expect you to actually help, thank you.¡¯


    Michael began casting skills on himself, trying to feel some kind of a connection, however, no matter how much he tried, he couldn¡¯t feel a thing.


    An hourter and one empty mana poolter, he was still unable to feel anything.


    ¡¯Are you sure your advice is not some kind of a scam? I have been trying for thest hour and I couldn¡¯t feel a thing.¡¯ Michaelined to the system.


    It is not my fault you are stupid, just keep trying until you get it.


    Michael took a deep breath and calmed down, he was not going to let the system irritate him further.


    He decided to try a little bit more, just after recovering a bit of his mana.


    His current mana regeneration rate was at 384 points per hour, which meant he could cast Purify every 5 minutes, it was his cheapest skill after all.


    And so he did, for the next couple of hours, until eventually he passed out on his desk.


    -----


    ¡¯Ugh.. fuck¡¯ Michael opened his eyes, a massive headache assaulting him.


    Congrattions, it took 13 mana exhaustions to finally knock you out.


    ¡¯What are you even talking about¡¯ Michael said as he stood up from his chair, noticing it was already dark outside.


    As he looked around the ssroom, he noticed something was on his back, it was some kind of a nket.


    ¡¯Did Lenae back? How sweet of her¡¯ Michael thought and headed back home, his driver waiting for him as always.


    You were pretty close to getting it, a few more weeks and you might finally be able to control mana.


    ¡¯Right..about that, what happens when I do, will it register as some kind of a skill?¡¯


    No, it¡¯s one of the prerequisites of obtaining a mana core, therefore it won¡¯t count as a skill. Furthermore, getting skills will be exponentially harder once you reach level 200, so make sure tobine everything you can and get the highest rarity skills.


    ¡¯Sure, that¡¯s what I nned on doing anyway, I still have 14 more skills I can gain andbining them should earn me at least a couple of legendary skills¡¯ Michael expressed his thoughts and leaned back in the back seat.


    He was nning on practicing mana control for the entire night.

 Chapter 25: Club

    Michael¡¯s lessons had ended and he was now standing in front of his clubroom door.


    He was bored out of his mind, he didn¡¯t even need to learn anything as his brain automatically captured everything, he just had to listen.


    Michael just hoped this club wasn¡¯t aplete dud, he had not made any progress in his mana control sessions, even after spending the entire night practicing.


    The door to the clubroom looked shabby, it seemed this particr club did not receive any funding.


    But Michael wasn¡¯t one to judge based on appearances.. he just hoped he wasn¡¯tpletely off the mark.


    Opening the door, what greeted his eyes was a desk split into two and a single girl sleeping in between it.


    "..." Michael was left speechless. Just where did he go wrong?


    "Hello?" He walked up to her, however, she was unresponsive, still soundly sleeping.


    ¡¯Do I just wait then?¡¯ Michael was not sure what to do, Lena did say she informed every club about the new members ¡¯So did this girl not get the memo?¡¯


    He decided to just simply look around the clubroom, there was a bunch of paper with scribbles on it.


    ¡¯How to control mana? : nk, what is mana? : nk. Is this really a mana control club?¡¯ Michael was getting mixed feelings about this, every single assignment he had picked up thus far was nk.


    Not a single bit of progress was written down, what was he supposed to do now? Leave?


    Just as he was rethinking his choices he felt something fly at him so he immediately stepped to the side.


    However, he was not able to fully dodge it and the impact made him slide back straight into the clubroom wall.


    The perpetrator was the girl "What do you think you are doing trying to steal my research!?" She shouted at Michael and began sending more colorless spells at him.


    Since he could fully see them now, he was able to dodge them, however, he couldn¡¯t quite tell what kind of magic she was using.


    "Stop I am the new club member!" Michael shouted as he kept dodging her attacks.


    She didn¡¯t seem to hear what he said, so Michael decided to defend himself, he cast Shield of Nourishment on the girl and punched her as hard as he could.


    The impact sent her flying, stumbling over the pieces of paper strewn across the ground. His skill blocked out the damagepletely.


    "Ugh..you fucking bastard.." She said through gritted teeth.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael sighed "Stop.. I joined your club."


    Those words seemed to have worked as she finally stopped her attacks, looking at Michael with a confused expression.


    "Are you stupid? Why would you join?"


    Michael¡¯s smile twitched ¡¯She really does not have a filter huh.¡¯


    "I am curious about how to control mana, I need it for something important you see" Michael exined, however, her confused expression did not disappear.


    He noticed she had quite the peculiar appearance, ck hair and ck eyes, with some kind of white stars in them, something Michael had not seen before.


    "Whatever, the name¡¯s ire, clean this shit up I¡¯ll be right back" She pointed to the broken table and left the clubroom.


    Michael was left stunned in ce, what was he? Some sort of a vacuum cleaner?


    Get back to workckey number 1.


    ¡¯Lackey my ass, I am sure she is not always like this...¡¯ Michael replied with a tinge of doubt and began dismantling the table.


    He finished pretty fast so he decided to organize the scribbled paper that was all around the room.


    As he was picking them up and sorting them by the amount of scribbling done, he stumbled upon something.


    ¡¯What are skills? : Catalysts.¡¯


    Michael found this interesting so he put it to the side, when ire gets back he will ask her about it.


    He finally finished sorting everything and realized that most of what was written was garbage, some things not even rted to mana control at all.


    As he was looking around the now clean ssroom, he let out a sigh ¡¯Am I really making a good choice here?¡¯


    The door was flung open and ire walked back in, some lunch she brought from the cafeteria in her hand.


    Taking a nce around the room, her gaze finallynded on Michael "Good job, sit down or whatever I have to debrief you."


    Michael looked around and didn¡¯t find any chairs to sit on, however, as he turned to look at ire, she had already found a seat on the ground.


    He decided to humor her and sat down on the ground as well, just a bit in front of her.


    Michael waited as she slowly finished her food, before throwing the tray to the side.


    "Alright, so first tell me what you know about this club."


    "It focuses on how to control mana?" Michael replied in an unsure manner. He didn¡¯t know much besides that.


    "Yeah, that¡¯s basically it, though I didn¡¯t make much progress by myself, for some reason no one else wanted to join the club" She exined with a slightly sour expression before continuing.


    "But I was able to figure out just a tad bit, enough to not get the clubpletely disbanded."


    Michael nodded and listened along.


    "However, due to theck of members because of this new rule they implemented, it was almost disbanded, thanks for joining" ire shed a small smile at him.


    ¡¯So someone who chases the unknown and others find itpletely crazy, seems to check out.¡¯


    The people think skills are all there is, most don¡¯t question anything. I am allowed to guide you along the right path but not give you straightforward answers, at least not right now.


    Michael snickered back ¡¯Yeah, just for you to disappear when I am close to figuring something out."


    ire suddenly stood up, a smirk on her face "Anyway, that¡¯s that, since you are now a part of the club, I will teach you how to control mana."


    Michael looked a little confused "I thought you said you only knew a bit?"


    "Well yes, I can only control attributeless mana, as you probably could tell from earlier" She said as a small colorless me appeared in her palm.


    Noticing Michael¡¯s expression she exined "As I said, attributeless, meaning while it may look like a fire, it is not, it doesn¡¯t burn anything neither is it hot, it is simply a shape that is easier to control, at least for me." She wriggled the fire into the shape of a dog.


    ¡¯Amazing..¡¯ Michael couldn¡¯t help but think. It really was amazing, something like that would definitely not be counted as a skill.


    ire then made the fire disappear and looked straight into Michael¡¯s eyes "Whenever you use a skill, where does the mana to use ite from?"


    "I don¡¯t know" Michael replied with a shrug. He couldn¡¯t find that out even after extensive practice.


    ire just simply sighed "Of course you don¡¯t, look, use a skill but focus on a part of your body, for example your brain or even your heart."


    Michael ignored her look of disapproval and tried doing what she told him, casting Purify and focusing on a single part of his body.


    And surprisingly, there was finally some sort of movement, albeit very little.


    Seeing the shocked expression on Michael¡¯s face, ireughed "See? Cool right?"


    Michael could feel some sort of flow of mana around his heart, every single time he cast Purify, a little bit of the flow gets cut off, however, he could see it slowly being replenished.


    ¡¯So this is where my mana was all along, in my heart..¡¯ The revtion brought yet another round of excitement, he was one step closer to achieving his current goal.


    He turned to ire "So how do I use this?"


    However, that earned a small smile from her as she walked back to the entrance of the clubroom "Figure it out yourself" and walked out of it, leaving Michael all alone.


    ¡¯I forgot to ask about the catalyst thing..¡¯ Michael let out a sigh.


    ¡¯So? This is it then?¡¯ He asked the system for confirmation, however, no response came.


    ¡¯You should know silence is also an answer¡¯ Michael scoffed and got up, heading back home, he still had to head by the new dungeon he got.


    It might help him learn to use mana.


    After he finished everything he wanted to do, he went to the dungeon, unlike the other one that was close, this one was fairly far, walking to it would take a few hours, thankfully he had a driver.


    Arriving at the dungeon location, he went through the same protocol asst time, they go in and capture a monster, check its level and finally let Michael go in.


    The mobs this time around were level 12-13, the dungeon being evaluated as Level 20 was due to the boss monster, its influence carries on to its underlings as well.


    Hence why Michael does not earn EXP from them, if only the boss was higher leveled...


    The monsters this time around were giant rats, something Michael did not enjoy seeing.


    He stowed away his sniper, keeping it for emergencies, today he was nning to focus on mana control, he wants to finally be able to project it outwards.


    ¡¯Time to get to work.¡¯

 Chapter 26: Mana

    Michael has been killing rats for thest 3 hours, every time it seemed like he was close to doing something, the mana cut off.


    ¡¯This is so fucking frustrating¡¯ He eximed as he kicked a rat, making it stter against the wall.


    ¡¯No EXP, No progress.. this is something else.¡¯ Michael could use Shield of Nourishment on the rats, however, due to the sheer number of them, he decided against it.


    He will have his time to level it up eventually.


    The only skill he was currently using, Blessing of Stats, didn¡¯t take much mana and he was able to upkeep it for the entire day.


    Since the skill was constantly active, he could feel it enveloping his heart, even after the mana had been used.


    He wasn¡¯t quite sure which path he was supposed to follow, so he tried both, however, neither earned him any sess.


    A rat jumped at Michael and he began trying to channel the mana, sending a kick right at the rat.


    Once again, just a simple kick.


    ¡¯I don¡¯t understand..what am I missing?¡¯ He got closer to figuring it out, but yet was still fairly far away.


    ¡¯System?¡¯


    Don¡¯t even think about it.


    Michael clicked his tongue and continued fighting the rats until finally, something odd happened.


    As he was trying to control the mana flow around his heart, it suddenly cut off a small chunk, enveloping his leg in a colorless wave of mana.


    The kick connected with a few rats and they immediately popped, their innards sttering all around, some even nearlynding on Michael.


    However, he instinctively dodged them, he was not nning on stinking of rat guts.


    Michael looked a bit startled, the amount of mana he used was not a lot, however, the damage he dealt was something else.


    It was as if he shot them with his sniper, except it was his leg, just with mana around it.


    He tried to recreate the process and seeded, enveloping both his legs in the colorless mana.


    Walking around he noticed his speed increased, same going for power, his kicks could easily kill anyone below his level and most definitely inflict damage to those above him.


    ¡¯This is still not enough though..¡¯ Michael rposed himself, he knew this little bit of progress was not enough to prove himself to Amanda.


    The amount of mana it drained while he only had it enveloped around his legs was negligent, the only time he felt some kind of an actual drain happened during his kicks.


    It was not anything major, however, with enough kicks, it could definitely run out.


    Michael kept going around and killing rats, he found it oddly satisfying.


    He tried enveloping his arms, then right after his entire body in the colorless mana and it actually worked.


    His entire body was incredibly fast now, even his thinking was much faster, making the rats surrounding him look much slower than they actually were.


    However, it was much easier to process the information than he thought, all thanks to his INT stat if he were to guess.


    He kept going until he eventually got tired, his mana was still above 40% but his stamina seemed a bit more drained than usual.


    Michael concluded that this spike in power came with all sorts of energy drains, not only mana.


    ¡¯So? Going to talk to me now?¡¯


    Sure, you did achieve something so I can now tell you a bit about it.


    The system did a dramatic pause which as per usual, pissed Michael off.


    What you did is called Physical Enhancement, it is one of the applications of mana.


    ¡¯Physical Enhancement huh..then what is the thing ire did called?¡¯


    Mana Projection, however, as you might have seen, you both have no attributes in your mana. Skills allow you to use attributes. While you don¡¯t have a mana core, you can only use the colorless and attributeless mana.


    However don¡¯t be discouraged, attributeless mana has the property of Form, meaning you can shape it however you want.


    ¡¯So I can¡¯t do any light magic or something attacks then?¡¯


    Once you learn to use Mana Projection you will be able to use the colorless mana to attack, while it may not be as strong as its attribute counterpart, it is still much stronger than you think.


    Michael looked in deep thought before widening his eyes in a sudden realization.


    ¡¯I know you might not answer me but, are sses and skills really what they are said to be? Or are they attributes hidden behind fancy words?¡¯ He asked, his heartbeat rapidly increasing.


    And just as he thought, the system¡¯s reply never came.


    Michael¡¯s thoughts spiraled ¡¯What are the rarities for then? Why did I have a hidden Unique skill? Are the skills even going to exist after I reach level 200?¡¯


    He kept obliterating the rats as he finally stopped ¡¯Hey system.¡¯


    Looking into the air at seemingly nothing ¡¯Are my healing capabilities really because of the system?¡¯


    Yet once again, he was met withplete silence.


    Michael took a deep breath and walked towards the rat boss monster, it would respawn anyway so he could kill it as much as he wanted to.


    The fight was not hard, the rat was massive and fast, though not fast enough for Michael as he could easily dodge and stter it in a single hit.


    However he did not do so, he used it as a punching bag to get his thoughts which were in turmoil, back into shape.


    He still had many questions, such as, if the levels and other things didn¡¯t matter, how were they calcted?


    They were obviously able to track them, but ever since he found out the system might not always be truthful, he was beginning to have some doubts.


    As he was slightly lost in thought, the rat boss suddenly exploded, getting all sorts of disgusting things on Michael¡¯s robe.


    ¡¯Fuck off..¡¯ Cleaning it was such a pain. Equipment requires someone to have the skills to clean it, thankfully he had someone in his vi for that.


    Most clothing equipment have some sort of a cleaning function and so does Michael¡¯s, however, he was pretty positive the rat guts wouldn¡¯t just magically disappear from his body.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    He wrapped it up, killing the remaining rats on his way out. It will take a week for the dungeon to reset, in that time he will have to somehow learn to use Mana Projection.


    Walking out of the dungeon he noticed the guards on standby waving at him, as he thought, his reputation as the Saint worked only on the adults...


    Suddenly one of the guards walked up to him and handed him a phone and not saying anything else.


    "Hello?"


    "Your Saintly duties are calling, get to the government headquarters fast" Amanda¡¯s voice rang out and afterwards she immediately hung up.


    ¡¯Sure, yes I am on my way¡¯ Michael sighed and got into his car and took off his robe, he did not want to be seen in public wearing rat guts.


    Amanda always did this, she just called, told him what to do and hung up. He couldn¡¯tin either because she was the head of the city, better yet, she was the daughter of that strong dragon.


    Michael did not want to get burnt to a crisp by a dragon¡¯s breath or something, he watched way too many movies in his previous world about it.


    Arriving in front of the government headquarters, Michael saw Amanda and some other dude he didn¡¯t know, though he looked like some sort of a swordsman.


    Walking up to them Michael put on his Saintly smile, more so to annoy Amanda than act the part "Hello, I am Saint Michael, it is a pleasure to meet you."


    Amanda¡¯s brow twitched "Cut the bullshit, there are no cameras here."


    "Sure" Michael straightened his posture and looked on with his bored expression "So what¡¯s up?"


    She pointed at the man beside her "This is Shingen, a swordsman from the mountains."


    Michael nodded at him and received a nod back.


    Amanda continued "Since we are trying to form some bonds, you will go into a dungeon with Shingen, there will be cameras so try not to do something stupid."


    It seemed she was nning to use the Saint and Goddess Sophia as some sort of a bridge to form bonds, but Michael could agree that it was pretty clever.


    Amanda looked him up and down "Where is your robe?"


    "In the car. A big rat exploded and got its guts all over me" Michael replied, shedding a single tear dramatically.


    "Right.." She quickly dialed a number and called someone down from headquarters.


    Some kind of a woman dressed in ab coat came out of the elevator and walked up to Amanda, then right after to the car.


    A few minutester she brought out the robe that previously had rat guts all over it, however, now it was sparkling clean.


    She ced it on top of the car and headed back inside.


    "Alright get dressed, you will be going in the next hour, get along..or something" Amanda exined and walked away.


    Michael looked at Shingen "Hello?" However, he merely received a nod in response.


    ¡¯Not much of a talker are you..¡¯

 Chapter 27: Duo

    Michael finished all his preparation, though not like there were many anyway.


    He simply put on his robe and cast Shield of Nourishment and Blessing of Stats on both himself and Shingen.


    He tried talking to him a little but to no avail, he did murmur under his breath from time to time, however, Michael could not understand what he said.


    His expression was nk, not showing much interest in what Michael was doing, just tapping his sword¡¯s scabbard from time to time.


    ¡¯So I am going into an unknown dungeon with a sketchy guy, awesome¡¯ Michael expressed sarcastically.


    Ever since the questioning earlier, the system was silent, not talking to him at all. He was not sure if it was offended or if Michael just overstepped his bounds.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    From what he knew, while the system did have sentience, it also had a set of rules it had to follow, Michael was not sure if by realizing what he should not have actually messed something up.


    However, as unsure as the future may be, he at least hoped the system was his ally, not his foe.


    "Hope you two got acquainted, time to move" Amanda said after suddenly appearing, camera in her hand.


    Noticing Michael¡¯s smile cracking and him straightening his posture, she chuckled "It¡¯s not on yet, I will turn it on before the dungeon."


    Michael nodded and followed after Amanda, heading into what appeared to be her personalized car, much more fancy looking than his.


    Shingen followed along as well, not showing much of a reaction to Amanda¡¯s appearance.


    The moment Michael got into the car, the windows tinted, making it so no one could see who was inside.


    Amanda handed Michael a document, it had the dungeon¡¯s details on it.


    ¡¯Level 80 Wolf dungeon? That sounds like a lot of EXP¡¯ He thought, a small grin forming on his face.


    The document detailed the monsters, which in this case were Wolves, albeit not regr ones, they were the kind that were enhanced by magic, making them incredibly fast.


    Amanda had only made the party a duo, a veteran swordsman Shingen and the so proimed messenger of the goddess, Michael.


    Given the fact that Michael was allowed to go into a dungeon that was twice his level, he assumed Shingen was quite the fighter.


    If he wasn¡¯t..well he could just run away, what are they going to do? Ridicule him? The Saint merely heard his goddess calling so he had to return this instant.


    Michael chuckled to himself, he found his own stupid ideas a bit funny, maybe he was finally going crazy.


    He did not have the novelty to enjoy such avish life back then, he couldn¡¯t allow himself to.


    The line of work Michael was a part of, he nned on taking it into his 40¡¯s maybe even 50¡¯s, by then things might have changed.


    ¡¯Toote for that now though¡¯ He didn¡¯t regret it, not that much anyway. Michael knew he left his father arge sum of money, even if at the cost of his own life.


    "We are here" Amanda¡¯s voice rang out, interrupting his thoughts.


    He hadn¡¯t paid much attention to his surroundings since he got into the car, he was now located in some sort of a forest, a blue portal right in front of him.


    "Why is it so empty?" Michael asked as he looked around, not seeing the usual fortification set up.


    "It appeared only recently, today in fact, we are currently preparing the supplies needed for the dungeon" Amanda exined.


    She went on to mention that the level of the dungeon determines what supplies the government uses to set up camp.


    There were materials that could withstand attacks from powerful monsters. Added to the fact that a few fairly high leveled people would also be stationed here.


    Safe to say, the monsters were noting through.


    Michael listened to Amanda exin all the other basic stuff that he already knew and finally, she attached the camera onto his shoulder.


    "It¡¯s going to start recording in 30 seconds, you should go now"


    Michael nodded and turned to Shingen "Alright, let¡¯s go" The two of them immediately entering the dungeon.


    Right off the bat, Michael felt uneasy, the air around him felt ominous, though he couldn¡¯t quite figure out the reason why.


    It seemed Shingen noticed too as he unsheated his sword, getting into a stance.


    "Hey, we sh-"


    A sudden zipped past Michael, interrupting his speech and startling him.


    He was not able to see what happened, however, his shield absorbed whatever hit came at him.


    Michael turned to Shingen and noticed blood on his sword, followed by the corpse of a wolf.


    ¡¯Damn he killed it instantly, I wasn¡¯t even able to see anything.¡¯ Michael thought while turning around, noticing a few pairs of eyes watching them.


    He did what he should have done earlier, use Physical Enhancement, he also took out his sma ster that was stowed away in the robe¡¯s pocket and unfolded it.


    That seemed to shock Shingen as his eyes slightly widened at the white color surrounding Michael.


    "You..how do you know that" He asked Michael, stepping in front of him and preparing for the wolves attack.


    As Michael was about to tell him to mind his own business, he heard a click on his shoulder, signifying the start of the recording.


    However, his thoughts quickly halted as a sound came from the camera "Live recording started"


    ¡¯Amanda.. you fu..¡¯ Michael calmed down by taking a deep breath.


    If this was not live, anything he would say could be cut in post production, now? He actually had to act as a Saint.


    Michael turned to look at Shingen with a straight face "This? Are you talking about the Saintly aura that has been bestowed upon me by the Goddess Sophia herself?"


    Shingen looked at him as if he were special and simply shrugged his shoulders, returning to his usual nk look.


    Michael knew he was acting ridiculous, frankly, he was d the camera could not fully see his face, else they would see him trying his best to not cringe.


    As he was somewhat rxed due to his bullshit, the wolves finally jumped in, their speed something Michael could only barely see, yet notpletely react to.


    They dashed at him and he swerved to the side, the wolves only slightly grazing him, albeit if he did not have his skill up, he would have been split into two.


    The speed granted by Physical Enhancement was immense, it felt as if his stats nearly doubled, however, the system did not show it.


    Michael quickly turned around and shot his sniper at them, even with his current speed, he was barely able to see the bullet travel.


    However, that was not the case for the wolves, as the one he was aiming for suddenly became much faster, dodging the bulletpletely.


    ¡¯Right, so it¡¯s useless..great¡¯ Michael folded the sniper and put it back into his pocket.


    Even if the damage he could deal with it was massive, what¡¯s the point if he can¡¯t hit his target?


    ¡¯A bad matchup¡¯


    If he was any other ss, he would not be able to do anything here, however, as a healer he could just stand back and watch others do the work.


    Shingen¡¯s skills were impressive, he had not seen someone wield the sword before, but the speed and sheer destructiveness each swing of his did, sent shivers down Michael¡¯s spine.


    ¡¯If only I could do that..¡¯ He thought bitterly. While he did enjoy being a healer, he felt as though his heart was calling for battle.


    He tried following that feeling by fighting the wolves, however, they were much faster than him, and he was not able to evennd a single hit.


    Even when only counter attacking, the moment a kick or a fist is about to connect with the skull of a wolf, it dodges.


    It felt as though they were just ying around with him, not noticing the fact that Shingen had nearly ughtered their entire pack.


    As thest few wolves dashed at Michael once again, their heads were suddenly lopped off, sending a stream of blood right at Michael.


    Specifically, his robe.


    ¡¯Motherfucker I just got this cleaned!¡¯ He eximed while ring at Shingen, though only receiving a nod.


    ¡¯This guy..he was doing it on purpose¡¯ Realization struck Michael, this guy was trying to piss him off.


    Michael decided he would remember this and looked at the corpses around him, before turning to the blue holograms that immediately turned into one.


    [ [Assist] x17 Wind Wolf [Level 70] Killed! +119000 EXP]


    1 Pack of Wolves and he was able to level up 3 times, it seemed he might reach level 50 sooner than he thought.


    Maybe.


    ¡¯Oh, are you finally back?¡¯ Michael was a bit surprised to hear the system¡¯s voice inside of his head again, even when he asked for it, it never replied.


    Yes, now that it¡¯s over, did you seriously try using your sniper against Wind Wolves? Are you perchance stupid?


    Michael ignored the system¡¯s squabbling, even if it was not long since hest heard its voice, it was still nice to hear.


    He chuckled to himself ¡¯Yeah yeah, fuck off.¡¯

 Chapter 28: Duo (2)

    "Shingen, can you please kill these wolves a bit further away from me?"


    Michael was currently standing right in front of a dead wolf, its head lopped off.


    However, the reason he was irritated was because Shingen only killed the wolves once they got close enough to him.


    For that reason, he was currently drenched in blood from head to toe.


    Aren¡¯t you fast enough to dodge the blood though?


    Michael¡¯s brow twitched ¡¯Did you not see what happened when I tried? He literally swung his sword again, speeding up the blood flying at me¡¯


    That is true.


    ¡¯...¡¯


    They have been walking around the forestry area that seemed to mimic the one outside the dungeon.


    However, besides the first pack of wolves they ran into, they only found wolves that were by themselves.


    Michael found it odd, from what he remembers, the wolves always travel in packs, was that some kind of a lie?


    He was not sure, but he didn¡¯t feel too threatened, his healing coupled with Shingen¡¯s might, made quite thebo.


    All of a sudden, the color of the grass changed, it seemed to get lighter.


    It reminded Michael of something..dungeon copse.


    ¡¯But how is that possible?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help but think. From what he knew, the dungeon could either break or copse.


    However, he figured copsing was extremely rare, yet here it was, happening to a newly opened dungeon.


    Have you forgotten?


    ¡¯Forgot what?¡¯ Michael was slightly puzzled.


    Think back to the time you were in the dungeon you met Meph in, that¡¯s as big of a hint I can give you, I don¡¯t want you to get any stupider.


    ¡¯Hmm..¡¯ Michael thought for a moment while ncing around at Shingen, he was trying to talk but his voice could not be heard.


    All of a sudden Michael¡¯s eyes widened, he seemed toe to a realization.


    ¡¯Dungeons can be closed but still operating..is that what happened here?¡¯ The timing felt a little off for Michael, though he couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on why.


    A dungeon opens and it operates as per usual, then if the boss monster grows strong enough, a dungeon break happens.


    However, why or even how do the copses happen?


    As Michael was deep in thought, he noticed the colors being further distorted, their vibrance seeping into the surroundings and mixing with it.


    ¡¯This is different¡¯ he noticed, unlike when he was outside of the dungeon, where the vibrance mimicked the color of the portal, the whole dungeon was currently a mesh of colors.


    Distorting, changing, some even disappearing, turning white.


    The pressure Michael was currently feeling, was miles above what he felt on the outside.


    It kept getting stronger as the dungeon further deteriorated.


    Michael turned to look at Shingen and noticed the expression on his face, it was grim, he could even see his hands slightly shaking.


    Michael looked at his own hands and they were too, yet he didn¡¯t even notice.


    ¡¯Odds on me surviving?¡¯ He asked the system sarcastically, yet he was hopeful of the answer being positive.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Hm, low, the others can¡¯t enter the dungeon and you yourself can¡¯t leave, you either walk out with the boss monster or of course, kill it.


    ¡¯Is there some kind of a catch?¡¯


    Since the dungeon is its natural habitat, it gets a bit of a strength boost, on top of already being incredibly strong.


    Michael now too shared a grim expression ¡¯What about the outside? The camera is live right now so shouldn¡¯t they be trying to somehow open the dungeon?¡¯


    I told you, it¡¯s not possible, once dungeons copse, the inner protocol enters maximum defense, meaning that whatever attack is thrown at them, they will be able to block it until the boss monster exits the dungeon.


    ¡¯Fuck..¡¯


    Michael looked around and saw most of the colors had already disappeared, only a white void was left with Michael and Shingen standing side by side.


    They were not able tomunicate, yet they both knew what they had to do and that was to somehow beat the boss monster.


    However, no matter where they looked, it was nowhere to be seen. The only thing they saw were the colors, which had been drained prior, gathering in the sky.


    It looked like a massive sphere, glowing, swirling every single color imaginable.


    All of a sudden Michael felt a chill run down his spine and he dodged to the side, followed by a sharp pain in one of his arms.


    He took a nce at his left arm and noticed blood pouring down his shoulder, his hand cleanly severed on the ground beneath him.


    ¡¯Wha-¡¯


    Just as he was about to exim again, Shingen dashed towards Michael and blocked something.


    At least Michael thought he did, no sound was heard but a bit of blood was dripping down from Shingen¡¯s mouth.


    Michael quickly cast Shield of Nourishment on the both of them, albeit he began feeling a sharp pain where his left arm used to be.


    Focus, forget about the arm, it will grow backter.


    ¡¯Grow back? What am I, a fucking lizard now!?¡¯ Michael eximed, venting his frustrations out on the system.


    Michael took notice of the thing in the sky, which now started taking shape, the colors warped and twisted, forming a wolf.


    ¡¯A massive fucking wolf¡¯


    It was much bigger than the others he saw, frankly, it was strange even trying topare them, besides the body shape, nothing else looked simr.


    The wolf descended down and opened its eyes, they were a hollow ck color, a stark contrast to its fur, which had a dominant green, with the other many colors only serving as highlights on its fur.


    It looked menacing, Michael was not exactly sure how he can get out of this alive, however, if there was one person he could put his trust in currently, then it would be Shingen.


    The previous shaking seemed to have disappeared, yet his grim expression still remained.


    All of a sudden, the other colors except green flowed into the wolf¡¯s eyes, seeping into them and adding a glow.


    The pressure from before had lessened, though Michael knew it definitely did not grow weaker, if anything, it might have gotten stronger.


    Its eyes were now mesmerizing, however, Shingen did not wait to admire them, dashing at the wolf with insane speed.


    shing his sword down, it appeared to have missed, though in reality, it went through the wolf.


    ¡¯Was it that easy?¡¯ Michael looked a bit confused, that was until the wolf disappeared from his vision, followed by Shingen who also disappeared.


    As Michael was about to question his sanity, he suddenly felt a prick on his cheek, upon touching it with his remaining arm, he noticed blood was dripping down.


    ¡¯Fuck.. they are fighting and yet I can¡¯t even see them¡¯ Michael felt helpless.


    Even with his INT now reaching 400 points, coupled with his buff skill and Physical Enhancement, he was still not able to see even a single trace of them.


    They were just moving way too fast..


    ¡¯Any tips?¡¯


    Hm? Oh.. Don¡¯t die I guess?


    Michael¡¯s brow twitched, he regretted asking the system for advice. Like it would even know what to do in this situation.


    This felt suffocating, not only were wounds appearing all over his body randomly, the white space felt odd by itself.


    It was quiet, he had no arm and he could die at any moment.


    ¡¯Fucking great.¡¯


    Michael was thankful for his high mana pool, he still had roughly half of his mana left, though the rate at which he was currently casting Shield of Nourishment, he doubted it wouldst longer than 10 minutes.


    He looked at his hand and saw that out of the small stump, an arm was very slowly growing back.


    He didn¡¯t think his heals could regrow limbs yet, but perhaps they could?


    Your limbs, not others. Plus it would have been a lot faster if you had taken the arm off of the ground and ced it on your stump, it would have healed in mere moments.


    ¡¯Thanks for the heads up, I¡¯ll remember that next time my head is lopped off¡¯


    Michael realized the space around him was crackling and just for a mere moment, he was able to see Shingen again.


    He was shing with the boss monster, both of them with heavy injuries.


    However, Michael did not dawdle in that small moment as he cast his Shield of Nourishment on Shingen, healing him for a massive sum.


    Just as fast, they both vanished.


    ¡¯Hey system, do you have some sort of a recording function?¡¯ He asked absentmindedly.


    What? No?


    ¡¯Pity¡¯ Michael clicked his tongue, he was maybe hoping to get the system to record some movies for him and y them in his mind.


    He would prefer not to carry aptop around all the time after all.


    Have they finally managed to damage your brain? I am not some sort of a DVD yer.


    Michael rolled his eyes and looked around, waves of blood sttering all around him, However, this time it was not his blood.


    ¡¯It seems the fight ising to an end..¡¯

 Chapter 29: Duo (3)

    The crackling around Michael intensified, from time to time he was even able to catch a glimpse of their figures.


    The shes were fast and fierce, he was not able to cast his Shield of Nourishment in time.


    Shingen didn¡¯t look great, however, the wolf monster was not faring any better, from what Michael could see, it had even lost an eye.


    Blood kept sttering all around him, some evennding right on him. It made Michael think that Shingen was doing this on purpose.


    ¡¯There is no way right?¡¯ He had some doubts but decided to suck it up, he can clean himself upter.


    After a couple of minutes, the crackling stopped with the wolf¡¯s headnding right in front of Michael.


    [ [Assist] Wolf of ??? [Level ???] Killed! +100 EXP]


    [In-ERROR]


    ¡¯What?¡¯ Michael stared confused at the message, it was about to spell something out but immediately got interrupted.


    The same goes for the level of the wolf and the EXP he received, it did not add up at all.


    ¡¯System?¡¯ He asked, hoping for an answer, though it never came.


    However, as he was about to brush it off as some bullshit the system pulled from time to time, a red hologram appeared right in front of his eyes.


    [EMERGENCY PROTOCOL ACTIVATED]


    All of a sudden, a bunch of red boxes appeared in his vision, disying all sorts of texts and information he could not even understand.


    And just like that, the hologramsbined into a single one.


    [Level requirement not met, disengaging emergency protocol]


    With that, the hologram¡¯s red color slowly faded, being reced with the usual blue.


    Michael was momentarily dazed, before quickly turning to Shingen, the sight making his eyes widen.


    There was a gash spanning all the way from the neck to his abdomen, it looked fatal. It didn¡¯t look like he would remain conscious for long either.


    Michael quickly attempted casting Shield of Nourishment, however, he was not able to get the skill to go through.


    He could use Physical Enhancement, though it seemed every single skill of his, was unable to be cast.


    It felt as if a wall was blocking them, the only skills he still had were the passive skills which do not require mana to use.


    ¡¯His HP is way too low..¡¯ Michael thought with a grim look as he picked him up princess style, he was not sure if Shingen would live.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    His hand had managed to finally grow back, so carrying him would pose no issues.


    Shortly after the boss monster was killed, the portal reappeared, adding a blue color to this infinite world of white.


    It gave Michael the creeps just being here, he felt as if he was losing his mind, as if something or someone was watching him.


    Though a few nces around assured Michael otherwise, there was nothing.


    Using Physical enhancement, he quickly dashed through the portal, Shingen in his hands.


    -----


    Shortly before the dungeon copse began.


    Amanda was sitting by in her car, enjoying a nice pint of lemonade, she was not a huge fan of alcohol.


    She was watching the action happen through the livestream she set up.


    Amanda chuckled to herself, she could only imagine the look on Michael¡¯s face.


    ¡¯Serves you right¡¯ She nodded to herself. Lately, Michael has been acting shamelessly and neglecting his duties outside of her requests.


    Amanda heard that he was acting smug in the academy, far from the holy persona he should be taking.


    She understood that he was still a kid, even if he didn¡¯t particrly act like one, having this much power would definitely get to one¡¯s head.


    ¡¯Though what is with this action? He is keeping up with the wolves and his healing is even better¡¯ Amanda couldn¡¯t help but acknowledge him. After their little conflict not so long ago, she expected him to calm his ego.


    Yet instead, he strived to be stronger, and he did, incredibly fast at that.


    As Amanda was about to take another sip of her lemonade, her eyes widened.


    ¡¯What the fuck?¡¯ She got out of her car and tried running into the portal, however, she was bounced back, not being able to enter it.


    She nced at her phone, specifically the stream, which was now offline.


    She clenched her fists and saw the vibrance overtaking the surroundings, the pressureing from the dungeon way above what it should be.


    "God fucking damn it!" Amanda eximed as she began punching the portal, but to no avail, it was not budging in the slightest.


    She eventually gave up, noticing that no matter what she did, the situation was no longer in her hands.


    The only hope she had was Shingen, he was the only one to volunteer for this dungeon and he was one of the stronger ones she had met.


    Not as strong as her father though, she only saw him fight a couple of times, however, it was so overwhelming she was not able to gauge his strength.


    Even the level detectors didn¡¯t work on him, well not like it worked on her anyway.


    The devices were not meant to measure those who have experienced an actual awakening.


    Shaking away her stray thoughts, she began dialing numbers, calling all the top brass to the dungeon, they had to prepare for the worst.


    ¡¯It was not a long time we knew each other Michael, it is regrettable to see you depart so soon¡¯ Amanda thought with a tinge of regret.


    He served his role well, he had also managed to cure her father, a debt she has yet to fully repay.


    But she knew.. it was impossible for Michael to survive in there, once the white realm takes over, cmity descends.


    The boss monsters get significantly stronger inside of copsed dungeons, that¡¯s because they be named, granting them immense power.


    The moment they go through the portal and into the outside world, they lose their names, returning to just slightly stronger boss monsters.


    That is why, a mere level 40 can¡¯t survive against something of that caliber, the sheer pressure alone would kill him.


    Amanda sighed ¡¯Back to the drawing board I guess...¡¯


    She got back to her car and helplessly sat down, taking a sip of her lemonade.


    ¡¯This is going to take a while..¡¯


    The seconds turned into minutes, however, as she was about to call someone again, the vibrance disappeared, instantly putting her on high alert.


    ¡¯Already?¡¯ She was slightly confused, she understood there was some time dtion inside of a copsed dungeon, however, for it to be over in under 5 minutes was insane.


    Amanda took a pair of gloves out of her pocket and got into a fighting stance, she was certain they had already perished.


    ¡¯Shingen was not enough huh..pity¡¯ It would set her talks with the people in the mountains back quite a lot, it might even lead to war.


    He did die under her protection, even if the situation turned out like that..


    The pressure the dungeon emitted had grown fiercer, though she couldn¡¯t tell if she imagined it, but it was not that much stronger than before.


    Yes, it was strong, but not to the point where a being like that would get weakened this much.


    ¡¯Something¡¯s off¡¯ She became even more alert, though as her senses were screaming at her, something odd came out of the portal.


    Instead of the boss monster, it was Michael, carrying Shingen..like a princess.


    As much as Amanda wanted to question what had happened, she noticed the wounds on Shingen¡¯s body and immediately froze.


    They were fatal, his organs were showing, his arteries split apart. If he wasn¡¯t an awakened, he would long be dead.


    However, suddenly something happened that seemed so unreal, she could not believe it even after seeing it.


    Michael¡¯s golden glow enveloped Shingen and immediately, his wounds began to close up, even the most fatal looking injury closed instantly.


    Color returned to Shingen¡¯s face and he no longer looked so pale.


    He was enveloped by a golden glow a couple more times, now looking as if he was simply asleep with no injuries or scratches in sight.


    Amanda¡¯s eyes remained widened "You are alive..?"


    -----


    ¡¯Hm? Did this woman seriously think I would die with someone like Shingen with me? Tough luck I guess¡¯ Michael snickered to himself.


    "Yup, can I get a raise?"


    Though Amanda¡¯s shocked expression instantly turned into a frown "No."


    Even after these circumstances, she did not want to raise his initial pay, else he would start spending erratically.


    "Don¡¯t worry though, you will be greatlypensated, I give you my word" Amanda said in a serious tone.


    It had caught Michael off guard a little, all this happened in a single day, he didn¡¯t know how long he was in that white space for, though it felt like hours, he had lost track after 20 minutes.


    All he did was focus on healing himself with the right timing, asionally even sliding Shingen a heal or two, though with the speed they were moving at, it was pretty difficult.


    No surprise there, anyway what did you do? I lost connection to you for some time.


    Michael was slightly puzzled by the system¡¯s words ¡¯What do you mean?¡¯


    After the boss died all went ck for me, I couldn¡¯t hear your thoughts or even see anything, only when you exited the dungeon was I back.


    Michael fell into thought, he had a few suspicions about why that happened, so he thought about them to let the system know.


    That..the former seems the most likely.. you most likely tried forcefully unlocking a feature of the system, albeit way too early..


    Michael noticed the system was hiding something once again, however, he didn¡¯t bother questioning it or else it would just go missing for the next couple of hours again.


    He turned to Amanda "Sooo..how big is thepensation?"

 Chapter 30: Aftermath

    Michael left the forested area with a smile on his face.


    He left Shingen to Amanda and the other people who arrived.


    However, the reason for his happiness was currently in his hands.


    ¡¯A one time use nk check, Amanda sure is stingy.¡¯


    She gave him a check that he could use to buy anything he wanted with a 1 million dor limit.


    The downside was, he could only use it once.


    If he were to buy candy that costs 2 dors, the nk check would be used up.


    But in the end, he didn¡¯t protest, a million dors is still a million dors, even if the economy differs greatly from his previous world.


    He could buy gear for himself, though he was not sure what he wanted yet, nothing that he needed urgently at least.


    Michael walked out of the forest and called his driver, he arrived as fast as usual.


    He rxed in the back seat and looked at his status, a lot has happened since thest time he had checked it.


    +---+


    Name: Saint Michael


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Age: 12 years old


    Race: Human


    ss: Healer [Common]


    Level 44 [43100/44000 EXP]


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your damage by 10% when facing enemies at least 30 levels above you


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 2040/2040 [+500] / Regen 160 HP Per Hour {1:9}


    MP: 235/4310 [+250] / Regen 440 MP Per Hour {1:9}


    STR: 100 -> 130 (+30)


    END: 160 -> 190 (+30)


    AGI: 231 -> 261 (+30)


    INT: 384 -> 440 [+50] (+30)


    CHA: 100 -> 130 [+50] (+30)


    -Skills / [Skill Merging]


    [Eyes of The Healer] [Level MAX] [Unique] [Passive]


    # See the HP, ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.


    Hand to handbat [Level 10 MAX] [Common] [Passive]


    # Increases STR by 10% when fighting using only your hands


    Discipline [Level 12 300/5000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]


    # Mental magic has an 12% reduced effect on you


    Shooting mastery [Level 6 2000/3000 EXP] [Umon] [Passive]


    # Any kind of projectile has a 6% increase in velocity


    Purify [Level 35 1250/17500 EXP] [Epic] [Active]


    # Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses


    Cost: 30MP


    Radius: 85 Meters


    Shield of Nourishment [Level 15 1000/7500 EXP] [Rare] [Active]


    # Heal 8000 HP and apply a 8000 HP shield. Once broken heal for the amount Shielded.


    Cost: 85MP


    Blessing of stats [Level 5 0/2500] [Umon] [Active]


    # Increase all stats by 30


    Cost: 100MP


    Duration: = INT -> 440 Minutes


    +---+


    Michael quickly skimmed through his status screen, only nodding in satisfaction.


    His stats rose by quite a lot and since Blessing of stats is like a permanent skill for him, it also began showing up in the stats screen.


    As Michael was about to close his status, the system¡¯s voice rang out inside his head.


    Check your titles.


    He looked a bit confused, so he scrolled back up and saw something strange.


    ¡¯Why is it all question marks?¡¯


    There was a title that simply disyed ???, he couldn¡¯t click on it neither could he gain any information on it.


    Don¡¯t worry about that for now, you got it way earlier than you should have.


    Michael¡¯s brows furrowed ¡¯Of course you know what it is and yet again, you won¡¯t tell me.¡¯


    Pretty much, just know that it is going to be helpful in the feature, as for now, the title is inactive, hence you can¡¯t see any information on it.


    ¡¯Yeah whatever..¡¯


    -----


    It was now the next day, as Michael was walking inside of the school.


    However, unlike the usual indifferent gazes, people actually paid attention to him, some even wearing admiring expressions.


    He walked the halls and got to his ssroom, upon opening the door, what greeted his eyes were his ssmates, who unlike usual, were all here early.


    Due to Amanda¡¯s nagging, he was forced to go early since he usually arrivedte.


    ¡¯A Saint must maintain be disciplined she said¡¯ Michael rolled his eyes and sat down in his seat.


    Surprisingly, the first person to approach him was Kevin, wearing a confused expression for some reason.


    "You were supposed to die..how are you here?"


    Michael¡¯s saintly smile slightly cracked, ncing at Kevin with an annoyed look.


    "What? You wanted me to die there?"


    Kevin didn¡¯t pay attention to Michael¡¯s words and began murmuring under his breath "This does not m-"


    However, at that moment, Lena walked into the ssroom, her face sporting a grim look.


    "Everyone, I have some news, due to the recent incident, our dungeon expedition next week is dyed, they have to reevaluate all the active dungeons"


    Michael was even more pissed off now ¡¯So now I have to attend the academy for the theory, seriously?¡¯


    He had looked forward to the dungeon expedition, as it would not be as boring as what he was currently doing, which was..nothing.


    Added on to the fact that besides sparring, the rest of the lessons were boring. Because his INT stat was so high, he learned everything instantly and was able to put all the knowledge to immediate use.


    Magic theory was tomorrow, though he doubted it would provide him any help, the skills he used did not need any kind of buffs, they were already at maximum efficiency.


    As the glum silence hung in the air, Lena suddenly smiled.


    "However do not fret, as instead of dungeons, we will be going on an excursion instead!"


    She then continued "There are a lot of cities and viges on this continent, one of those viges requested our help dealing with the monsters."


    The monsters usuallye out of dungeons, however, there are many who are born and bred outside of them, no one knows when they got the capability to live outside, but all that mattered now was that they could.


    And ording to Lena, they were terrorizing nearby viges.


    Michael was relieved ¡¯That¡¯s at least something..¡¯ He was expecting pure boredom for the next month.


    Though here it was, the excursion.


    The lessons quickly passed as Michael finally mastered the art of sleeping with his eyes open.


    Ever since getting used to absorbing the information, he was now able to do it subconsciously.


    It was as if he had a pair of earphones in his ears sting information while he was asleep.


    Quite frankly, that is the second impressive thing he learned after being admitted into the academy.


    The first being mana control.


    Michael was only able to use physical enhancement, however, he felt as if he was close to something.


    Every time he attempted to stretch the mana outside of his body, a little bit of it did, however, the rest disconnected from his mana flowpletely.


    The mana consumption was massive, to form a fist sized glob of mana costs him 20% of his total mana.


    From what he guessed, it was due to his poor control, he was not so stupid as to not notice the flow being cut off.


    Michael decided he would ask ire about this when lessons ended, there were only a couple of them left, as well as the sparring lesson.


    He fell back asleep with his eyes open, to others it looked like he was diligently paying attention to Lena, however, she had not said a word in quite some time yet he was still staring.


    Everyone chose to ignore him, it¡¯s not like this was the first time Michael acted strange.


    -----


    The lessons finally ended, the spars were not anything special either.


    The same 3 people who had caught his eye a while ago were still the most impressive out of the bunch.


    If he were to estimate who was the strongest of the 3, he would guess it¡¯s Elizabeth or ire.


    They had not sparred against each other yet but their prowess was incredibly impressive nheless.


    As for Kevin, he was just slightly below them, he was fast and strong, his skills were fairly interesting too, it looked like some kind of shadow maniption.


    Though Michael was confident he wouldn¡¯t lose to him in a fight, others definitely would.


    He was not strong but his skills were incredibly versatile, while others focused on pure speed and strength, he opted for a more calctedbat approach.


    Michael respected it, but that was about it.


    He didn¡¯t really like the kid if he was honest, Kevin managed to piss him off every single time he talked.


    Come on, he¡¯s just a kid.


    ¡¯An extremely annoying kid.. don¡¯t even try to make him look normal, we both know he wasn¡¯t.¡¯


    Michael had pieced a little picture of Kevin in his mind.


    He had knowledge of the mana cores, which meant he was definitely someone important.


    Yet there was that earlier interaction that still irked him a little.


    The conclusion Michael came to was ¡¯Definitely a chuuni..¡¯


    Those thoughts even sent shivers down his spine.


    Michael left the training center and headed for his club room, along the way spotting a bunch of people who still had those weird expressions on their faces.


    He didn¡¯t particrly hate it, but to say he liked being the center of attention constantly.. was not something he enjoyed.


    Opening the club room door abruptly, he was met with a sleeping ire, who likest time, was asleep in her own wreckage.


    ¡¯Chairs this time huh..I wonder how she even falls asleep like that.¡¯

 Chapter 31: Encounter

    It was now the following week.


    Michael had spent most of his time practicing mana control and the progress he made was considerable.


    If the fist sized blob of mana used to cost 20% of his total mana, now it only cost 10%.


    He lowered the cost by half, he was quite happy with that.


    But s, it was not even close to being put into practice.


    ire had been pretty surprised when he told her about Physical Enhancement, she didn¡¯t expect him to achieve it so quickly.


    As for mana projection? She did not give Michael any tips, she seemed to want to keep everything to herself.


    However her interest could definitely not be hidden, Michael assumed if he finally realizes how to use mana projection properly, she would teach him what she knew.


    He regretted asking for a nk check, the sum was nice and all but maybe he could have asked Amanda for something more.


    Maybe a mana controlling lesson from her?


    Michael shook his head at that thought ¡¯That bullshit oath would probably prevent her from saying anything anyway..¡¯


    The oath only applies to those who don¡¯t have mana cores, it¡¯s not as restrictive as you might think.


    ¡¯I mean what if someone identally blurts it out and some child hears it? Do they just die then?¡¯ Michael scoffed. To say it was not restrictive was an interesting take, the price is quite literally your life.


    Overhearing is not somethingmon, if it does happen, the oath binds itself to the person who heard it. It¡¯s practically the same, they would lose their life if they talked about it openly.


    ¡¯Yeah all this oath stuff sounds like a big pile of shit, does that mean someone will tell me about the mana core once I reach level 200?¡¯


    Maybe, maybe not.


    Michael was a bit surprised ¡¯Since you answered I assume that¡¯s not the case?¡¯


    And he was met with silence, though that did not discourage Michael as he finally found a way to get some information out of the system.


    It looked like it wasn¡¯t against sharing information indirectly, Michael was happy to know that.


    Anyway..it was time for the excursion.


    Michael had been in the ssroom waiting patiently for the others to arrive.


    ¡¯Going early sucks..¡¯ He sighed to himself. There were only a handful of kids gathered, Lena wasn¡¯t even here yet.


    Michael was just staring at the door and Kevin walked in, earlier than usual.


    ¡¯Why is he looking at me again? Don¡¯t tell me..¡¯ Shivers ran down Michael¡¯s spine as he suddenly stood up and walked towards Kevin.


    "Can we talk?"


    Kevin stared in silence for a moment before nodding "Sure."


    Michael nudged with his chin towards the ssroom door, signaling for them to talk privately.


    And they did just that, the lesson won¡¯t start for at least the next 20 minutes.


    Walking over to a quiet corner, Michael suddenly turned around, his saintly smile no longer present.


    "What is your problem?"


    "What do you mean?" Kevin acted like he didn¡¯t know what Michael was talking about.


    "You know very well what I mean, you are like some creepy stalker, can¡¯t you just fu- back off?" Michael almost cussed, if Amanda found out she would definitely give him an earful.


    Kevin shed a small smile and murmured under his breath "You are still the same.."


    However, Michael heard that, he focused on having Physical Enhancement up as long as he could, at this point keeping it up for the whole day was possible as long as he was not fighting.


    "Still the same? What, you think you know me?" Michael asked in an annoyed tone.


    However, Kevin¡¯s unexpected answer shocked him.


    "On the contrary, I do and no I am not a stalker" Kevin said in a smug tone before continuing.


    "You used to live in the Amara orphanage where you suddenly awakened at the age of 8"


    "You started working in the hospital and finally reached level 5, where you finally got the opportunity to move up thedder"


    "Though that didn¡¯t go as nned, your transport vehicle was attacked and you were taken hostage, eventually being trafficked to this continent." Kevin finally looked up at Michael with a smirk, however, he was met with a disgusted look.


    ¡¯Is this kid having some sort of fantasies about me?¡¯


    "Hey, look, I don¡¯t know what is wrong with your head, quite frankly even as a Saint I can¡¯t do anything. The only part you got right was the orphanage, after that your story strayed off."


    Kevin had a puzzled yet wary look "Don¡¯t you have that system thingy? Are you really him?"


    As soon as those words finished, a fist flew right at Kevin¡¯s face. He tried blocking it with his shadow skill, however, with Michael¡¯s Physical Enhancement, it was futile.


    -Crack


    Kevin¡¯s nose caved in and blood started pouring down his face, the impact even reaching his brain, dazing him and making him fall to the ground, holding his broken nose.


    A slight chuckle escaped Kevin¡¯s mouth "Yeah, you are the same."


    Though Michael was staring down at him, debating what he should do.


    Michael¡¯s first instinctive thought was to punch him in the face, he never nned on keeping the system a close secret, however, he also did not n on revealing it to anyone this soon.


    Yet Kevin knew about it.


    "Who the fuck are you!?" Michael eximed and picked up Kevin by the cor.


    "Rx, I am a long time buddy of yours, well not of the current you I guess."


    "A long time buddy? I am 12 years old you imbecile" Michael proceeded to tighten his grip on the cor.


    However, the next words made Michael freeze "I regressed, you and I were friends, though I noticed you are a lot different from the Michael I knew, that begs the question. Who exactly are you?"


    ¡¯Regression? I can see that being possible since I reincarnated but..why is he saying I am different from the former Michael, I don¡¯t think turning back time should change me. System?¡¯ He asked the system for answers, however, not expecting to get any.


    I.. don¡¯t know...


    He did and did not get an answer, it left him even more clueless, the system knew a lot, yet nothing of what is happening now?


    As Michael was in deep thought while holding Kevin by the cor, he suddenly heard a bunch of steps and voices heading in their direction.


    He quickly cast a heal on Kevin and put him down on the ground.


    The people arrived around the corner and saw the both of them just standing, Michael¡¯s saintly smile radiated like the morning sun.


    They didn¡¯t pay attention to Kevin, who still had blood all over his face.


    Michael kept his smile and whispered "Don¡¯t pull any bullshit, I have an image to maintain."


    He was met with a shrug from Kevin "We can talk during the excursion."


    They both acted like their usual selves and headed back to the ssroom.


    Michael did not pay attention to the time, once he arrived he noticed everyone already gathered, with Lena staring daggers at the both of them.


    ¡¯Fuck..I amte.¡¯ Michael held back the urge to facepalm and sat down in his seat.


    Lena cleared her throat "Now that we are all here, I can start the rundown of what we will be doing, as well as the monsters we will be facing."


    Michael justzily listened to her exnation, it was the in old stay in groups, no causing havoc and how could anyone forget, no having fun.


    She didn¡¯t exactly imply that, but he could surmise from all her rules, Lena wanted them to take this seriously, as if they were doing an actual assignment.


    He couldn¡¯t me her, everyone would be facing real monsters, something most had yet to face.


    That was what the dungeons were for, but due to Michael¡¯s incident, they were closed down until further notice.


    The monsters were grizzly bears, most under level 20, nothing noteworthy of note.


    They were just strong but slow monsters, a perfect fight for a low level group.


    The ss had a few tanks, yet only 2 healers, Michael and Tony so the group dispositions were not going to be very fair.


    As Michael was about to begin enjoying his chance at a warmup Lena once again spoke.


    "Oh and Michael, you are too high leveled so you will sit the fighting out. You can only step in if there is an emergency, if you break that rule I will deduct your grade" She finished in a stern voice.


    ¡¯Why is this world against me...¡¯


    His chance to talk to Kevin greatly diminished, he will mostly be fighting the monsters anyway.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Don¡¯t worry, I am also trying to make sense of the situation, some pieces of the puzzle are slowlying together.


    The system informed him and he simply nodded.


    Lena finally finished exining the rest and they finally went outside.


    ¡¯Woah¡¯


    In front of everyone¡¯s eyes, was a very long floating limousine, definitely big enough to fit at least 50 people.


    Lena turned to the ss "Shall we?"


    ¡¯At least it¡¯s a floating limo..¡¯ Michael couldn¡¯t hide his smirk. He had never been inside of a limousine, it would be a first.


    Control your facial expression, everyone is looking at you like you are some sort of a pervert.

 Chapter 32: Rest?

    A/N: Sorry for theck of chapters, was buying parts and fixing up my pc.


    *


    The outskirts were surprisingly modest, Michael expected them to look simr to Vivum, yet they were nowhere close to his expectations.


    There were wooden cabins and a bunch of people walking all around, the vige and the city were not that far apart in that matter, it was incredibly lively.


    Michael looked over to Kevin who had been sleeping this entire ride, he expected to get some answers, yet was not able to do so without acting suspicious around others.


    He didn¡¯t want any bad rumors starting.


    Michael didn¡¯t know how he was his so proimed friend in the past..or the future? He didn¡¯t quite understand how this time stuff worked yet.


    How could he be any different from the past Michael that Kevin knew?


    It didn¡¯t seem like he was lying, but the story did not add up at all.


    ¡¯What is this time paradox bullshit¡¯


    The car finally stopped, everyone got out and gathered together in their own premade groups.


    Lena had given each person a note with a number written on it, that was how the groups were determined.


    Michael of course didn¡¯t get anything, he was supposed to justy back and not do anything at all.


    Guess your wish of beingzy is being fulfilled congrattions.


    ¡¯Lazy? You think I want to bezy? There is literally nothing for me to do¡¯ Michael shot back at the system, not realizing it was just toying with him.


    The usual excuse, not surprising.


    ¡¯Kindly fuck off¡¯ Michael said and walked in a random direction, Lena told him he could do anything he wanted as long as it was not helping the others.


    As his steps turned many, he eventually arrived in front of an inn, it seemed he instinctually came here.


    Michael looked at the inn with a sour expression and walked inside.


    Looking around, he saw only a handful of people, however, they were all a bunch of drunkards.


    That made Michael¡¯s expression worsen further, he was reminded of himself after the incident happened.


    The bartender noticed Michael and seemed slightly surprised, it was not every day someone so young stumbles inside of an inn with such a reputation.


    "What would you like young man?"


    Michael sat down and acted like himself, he didn¡¯t see the need of putting up his Saintly facade this far away from the city.


    "Could you tell me a little bit about this vige?"


    The bartender shed an understanding look "You are not from around here, are you? You must be one of the awakened we called in for help, thank you very much foring" He added with a touch of gratitude and continued.


    "As you may already know, due to the sheer amount of viges that exist, we are referred to by numbers, our vige is numbered 362."


    Michael simply nodded, he did hear about it but thought it was a joke, it seemed a bit inhumane, treating viges like some sort of ntations, at least it seemed like that anyway.


    "Our vige is known for our farmers, due to the environment the people were born in, most awakened with the skills to grow crops, even enhance them." The bartender exined with great pride.


    "However, at some point monsters flocked to our small vige, destroying the crops we worked so hard to nt. It was strange because they never attacked the people, they merely acted as an inconvenience"


    "Some awakened that did have some fighting capabilities fought with them, even killed a few. Though as they killed and killed, the numbers did not decrease, in fact, they increased greatly"


    "For every monster in, a couple more appeared, the same pattern continues even till this day, yet no one knows why"


    ¡¯Bears don¡¯t sound like a passive bunch, yet they do not attack anyone and only steal crops? Really?¡¯ Michael found it a bit hard to believe, but it would seem counterproductive to lie.


    "I see, is there anything I could help with? I am separated from the other groups, I am also a tad bit stronger than them" He tried squeezing out any kind of task he could, he really was that bored.


    The bartender looked to be in thought for a moment "Well there is something" He gestured for Michael to get closer.


    "You see, there is another issue that is not rted to monsters, there are a few bandits hiding away somewhere in the forest. They attack merchants entering and leaving the vige" He whispered.


    ¡¯Feels just like my mercenary days¡¯ Michael chuckled inwardly. He understood where this conversation was going.


    "So you want me to kill them?"


    The atmosphere suddenly became quiet, the drunkards from before stoppedughing and looked towards Michael and the bartender.


    "Yes, I want you to kill them" The bartender replied, a small smile creeping up his face.


    Creepy.


    ¡¯It¡¯s natural¡¯ Michael sighed. Once a certain point of desperation has been reached, a person only sees one path, that being to get rid of the problem, roots and all.


    "Alright" Michael replied and stood up, walking out of the inn.


    The drunkards acknowledged him with nods, not like he wanted their approval anyway.


    He expected some kind of a secret bear hunting request, bandits were not something on his agenda, but regardless, an activity is an activity.


    Killing people for enjoyment? Had you done this before, you would have definitely not gotten the healer ss.


    ¡¯I don¡¯t enjoy killing anybody, however, filth like those bandits do not deserve to live¡¯


    Are you god to decide that?


    Michael scoffed ¡¯Don¡¯t give me that religious bullshit, I am no angel, neither am I someone pure evil, I am me.¡¯


    And youck conviction.


    ¡¯How so?¡¯


    You are only doing this because you are bored, even if you say you want to kill them since they are trash human beings, deep down you know it¡¯s truly not because of that.


    ¡¯So what? Do you want me to have some grandiose reason for every single thing I do? I am bored and herees a bunch of human filth to vent my boredom on.¡¯ Michael shot back. He didn¡¯t believe he was being heartless, he simply saw too many evil things happen in his previous world.


    Then came this world, his personality started to warp. Whether it was in a good or a bad direction, he didn¡¯t know.


    What do they call it back in your old world? Chuuni? The world is not ck and white, find your path before this excursion is over, if not, I will not allow you to gain any more levels.


    The system¡¯s voice resounded in his head and shocked him ¡¯Why are you on my ass because of this?¡¯


    You are bing trash.


    Michael was going to refute but held himself back.


    He tried ignoring what the system said, but it did irk him a little, he knew he changed but why did that make him trash?


    He epted a request to kill bandits, isn¡¯t that doing a good thing?


    Michael walked into the woods, following some man made paths, he hoped this request was easier than it sounded, he didn¡¯t want to look around the entirety of the forest.


    After walking for a bit, the path abruptly ended, in front of him were just a bunch of trees, no bandits in sight.


    ¡¯Of course, it wouldn¡¯t be so easy."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 33: Temple

    The forest was massive, so much so, that Michael was not able to find a single one of his ssmates, let alone the bandits.


    No monsters either...


    ¡¯Did I get lost?¡¯ Michael was seriously starting to consider that.


    He had been walking around for thest 3 hours, yet he could not find anything, no traces either.


    Though as he had lost all hope and prepared to head back, he noticed something far off in the distance.


    The outline looked like some sort of a temple, however Michael was notpletely sure.


    As suspicious as it might have looked, he still decided to investigate.


    You see something suspicious and walk towards it?


    ¡¯Yes¡¯ Michael got tired of arguing with the system, in the time he was looking for the bandits, it had nonstop been annoying him.


    How immature of you.


    Michael rolled his eyes and finally arrived at the temple, it looked massive from a distance, however now that he was here, it didn¡¯t seem as big.


    He couldn¡¯t help but feel like something was wrong, though it wouldn¡¯t really surprise him, why would a temple be out in the middle of the forest?


    As he approached the steps of the temple, he suddenly appeared at the very top, right in front of a stone door.


    It startled him, however, he still proceeded forward, cing his hand on the door.


    The moment he did so, he was once again transported, this time, however, it was in a ce he could not recognize, it looked way too spacious to be the inside of this small temple.


    Though with the amount of magic he had seen thus far, it might not be that impossible.


    Looking around, all Michael could see was small embers of me, covering as far as the eyes could see, with but a single ce lit up, where he was currently standing.


    "Wee" A voice startled Michael as it resounded right behind him.


    Quickly turning around he saw a woman sitting on a throne, however, he couldn¡¯t make out her appearance. It reminded him of his past encounter with Meph.


    ¡¯Fuck.. another one of these beings that defy all logic? Just great, why couldn¡¯t it be some sort of a treasure trove instead?¡¯


    "Another one? who else have you met?" The woman questioned with a small chuckle.


    ¡¯You can read my mind?¡¯ Michael was a bit surprised, could all high level beings read minds?


    No, you are just unlucky.


    "Oh, you also have someone else inside your mind? Fascinating" The woman¡¯s words cut through Michael¡¯s thoughts as she suddenly stood up and walked towards him.


    She ced her hand on Michael¡¯s head, he couldn¡¯t move a muscle to avoid it, it seemed strange as he didn¡¯t even feel any pressure.


    "Hmm... what sort of a parasite is this?" She seemed a bit confused.


    All of a sudden, Michael felt a sharp pain inside of his head, however, just as fast as it came, it went away.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    The invisible pressure seemed to go away as he could now move around, swatting her hand away from his head.


    "Who are you?" He said without showing too much hostility, he didn¡¯t want to die by being arrogant.


    Though as he looked up at her, he saw long flowing golden hair, her green eyes looked like crystals.


    She was beautiful.


    "My name is Freya, the goddess currently inhabiting this temple" She said with a small smile and pointed at him mischievously "And you are?"


    "Michael, you said you are a goddess?" Michael asked suspiciously. He had a feeling gods and other beings existed, however, Freya herself? That seemed a bit far fetched.


    Freya chuckled and sat down on her throne, looking back at Michael "I get why you might be suspicious, after all, you are much like him in that matter."


    Michael tilted his head in confusion "What do you mean?"


    "You are inheriting his legacy yet you don¡¯t know? I guess that parasite has not told you anything at all..Tell me, why do you think you were chosen?" Freya asked, her voiceced with seriousness.


    All the while Michael was trying to process what she was even talking about.


    ¡¯Inheriting whose legacy? And chosen? Is she referring to the time back in the alley?¡¯


    Freya seemed a bit surprised "You have not even gone through a single trial yet?"


    "No..I have no clue what you are talking about" Michael replied honestly.


    "I see,e here for a moment" She said, gesturing for him to get closer.


    He saw no reason to resist, it might be the first time he will get some answers.


    The system hid a lot more from Michael than he initially thought. He was inheriting someone¡¯s legacy? Since when?


    Once Freya¡¯s hand touched Michael¡¯s forehead, his vision went nk for a moment, then suddenly he found himself standing on some sort of a grass field, a stark contrast to where he had just been.


    ¡¯Where am I...¡¯ He looked around, seeing a small city in the distance, for some reason Michael, didn¡¯t question it at all and went straight towards it.


    It felt odd, he didn¡¯t hesitate at all in his steps, his body felt weird as well, as if it was not his own, however, Michael merely chuckled at that thought.


    He arrived quickly and seemingly walked right to the very center.


    The city waspletely empty as far as the eyes could see, there were houses, but it felt lifeless.


    As he was engrossed in looking around, his head suddenly turned to the distant sky, it was getting darker, quickly.


    Soon the darknesspletely engulfed the city, Michael still did not understand what was happening but decided to just look around, however, the moment he tried doing so, something stopped him and instead, he moved towards the source of the darkness.


    ¡¯I can¡¯t willingly move my body, well that¡¯s fucking great, hey system you there?¡¯ Michael asked while involuntarily walking towards the ominous darkness.


    However, no response came.


    ¡¯Did the parasite refer to you?¡¯ He did feel a bit sour that the system up and disappeared, though maybe it was always meant to be, the system did start acting a little strange ever since he started attending the academy.


    ¡¯No point in dwelling on that, I will find out soon anyway¡¯ He thought as he finally stopped, in front of him was some sort of a ck tree, spreading the darkness from its leaves.


    Every time a leaf fell, the sky got darker.


    As he was thinking about what to do, his body once again moved on its own, heading straight for the tree.


    Michael tried resisting as much as he could, however, it was to no avail as he had no control over his body.


    His handnded on the bark of the tree and suddenly, a portion of the darkness seeped into his arm, however, it didn¡¯t feel like it was doing anything, it was definitely not moving anymore.


    The body suddenly started emitting a glow, much like his physical enhancement, except this time it was a golden yellow color surrounding him.


    Michael pulled his hand away from the tree and sent a wave of mana at the darkness.


    ¡¯Mana Projection?¡¯ He wondered as he watched this scene unfold, the wave of mana he just cast looked eerily simr to his Purify skill, the only difference being the color.


    However, it did the same job, just way faster.


    The moment mana came into contact with the tree, it expanded instantly and the darkness faded away as if it was never there in the first ce.


    The darkness covering the sky also scattered, revealing a bright golden sun.


    ¡¯Why was it so big?¡¯ Michael wondered as he stared at it, the size of the sun was abnormal.


    Though he soon found out why, as in the next moment, an eye appeared in ce of the sun, it had a golden color, much like his own eyes.


    You are not supposed to be here.


    With those words, Michael¡¯s vision once again nked out, he found himself back in front of Freya who had a smile on her face.


    "So? Did you meet him?" She asked expectantly.


    "I saw some giant eye, it told me I was not supposed to be there or whatever"


    "Huh? Why.." She sounded both shocked and confused.


    Michael took a nce around and saw that the surroundings had changed, the fire embers had disappeared, he was now in an actual temple.


    White decor, all sorts of statues, and the single throne on which Freya sat upon.


    "Can I ask what you want from me exactly? I don¡¯t understand why you even brought me here or why you showed me whatever that was."


    Freya turned to look at Michael with a serious look "Would you like to get stronger?"


    His ears immediately perked up "You suggest training me?"


    "Yes, I am going to stay in this ce for another 2 years, since I won¡¯t be doing much, I could train you to be stronger, what do you say?" She asked while tapping her fingers on the throne.


    ¡¯2 years.. that¡¯s a long time¡¯ Michael thought as he tried seeking the system¡¯s opinion, but s it never came.


    Freya noticed Michael¡¯s hesitation and reassured him "You don¡¯t have to worry about the time outside of this ce, I can make it so the 2 years equals to 2 days on the outside."


    "I see...I will take you up on that offer then."

 Chapter 34: Training

    It had been a day since Michael had arrived at the temple.


    Freya told him to look around a bit but not stray too far, apparently there was another domain pretty close by.


    She needed to get some stuff prepared to train Michael, he was not sure what, but it couldn¡¯t be that bad.


    From the hints she gave him, he assumed that the person she mentioned whose inheritance Michael is a part of is quite literally himself.


    Freya hadplimented him and said he looked just like he used to, which greatly confused Michael, but he was not so stupid as to not see the patterns.


    The skills, the big eye in the sky, it looked just like his.


    After Freya did something to him when he had just arrived, the system¡¯s voice seemed to disappear, however, his status was still there, albeit nothing had changed since thest time.


    Michael nced around and headed in a random direction, the temple now was quite massive and he didn¡¯t really have anything else to do anyway.


    There were no people around, only different kinds of statues, most of which had no faces.


    Except for a single one, which looked exactly like Freya, her features were perfectly detailed.


    ¡¯I wonder..why is she even here?¡¯


    "Are you curious?" A voice startled Michael out of his thoughts.


    It was Freya, she had some sort of an orb in her hand.


    "This is an affinity orb, ce your hand on it and channel some mana, you should be able to do that right?" She asked and handed him the orb.


    "Can you stop reading my thoughts?" Michael said in a slightly irritated tone and proceeded to channel his mana into the orb, even if he was not proficient in mana projection, he could do this much at the very least.


    He was not expecting much, after all his current form of mana had no affinity, it was just pure mana.


    However, a golden glow had assaulted his eyes, it spread out around the temple and eventually made the affinity orb crack before it finally sumbed and turned to dust.


    It startled Michael, not only the light but the speed at which his mana had traveled at, it was many times faster than before. The efficiency seemed heightened as well.


    "I knew it" A small chuckle came from Freya.


    Michael rolled his eyes "Mind filling me in?"


    "The parasite I removed was limiting your abilities, you are wee by the way" She stated in a proud manner as she pulled out another orb.


    "This one will help you channel your mana better, use it as much as you can"


    Michael took it and tried using using, however, the moment he did, he felt most of his mana draining in an instant.


    He immediately began feeling dizzy, much like when he first passed out from mana exhaustion, though he was sure he did not use all of his mana, so why?


    "Your mana was refined and sent back into you, oh sorry, didn¡¯t mean to read your thoughts again" She said apologetically.


    Michael ignored it and questioned "What does refining mana mean?"


    "Your mana passes into the orb and makes it more concentrated, meaning, your mana bes denser, hence stronger. If you do it diligently, you will see a big improvement in the strength of your skills. Also..stop relying on that parasite¡¯s trick." She exined and finished off in a slightly annoyed manner.


    Michael shrugged and pocketed the mana refining orb, he would use itter as it felt like he would pass out any second now.


    He still did not understand why Freya called the system a parasite, however, the increase in mana cirction sure was abnormal and Michael couldn¡¯t deny that it might have been due to her removing it.


    As he was about to ask her if she had anything else to say, Freya once again pulled out an orb, though it looked a bit different than the others.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    She smiled and handed it to him "This one is the Orb of Trials, it would act as the trials you were not able to take because of that parasite."


    ¡¯Damn she really hates the system doesn¡¯t she¡¯ He chuckled inwardly and picked it up, looking all over it and noticing a single button present.


    "You will have to channel some mana into it and press that button, however do that once your mana has recovered, if you try that as you are currently, you might die" Freya warned and turned around.


    "Follow me."


    Michael went along with her and they came back to the throne room and walked right behind it.


    There was some sort of a door right behind the throne, Freya opened it and there was a staircase leading downwards.


    He didn¡¯t question it, it did not seem like Freya wanted to do anything to harm him..hopefully.


    They went down it and arrived in front of some sort of a fountain which had a single statue in the very middle, it was faceless just like the rest, however, it had a beautiful pair of wings.


    For some reason, Michael felt familiarity with it, though he couldn¡¯t pinpoint the reason why.


    Freya sat by the fountain and gestured for him to get closer. "Whenever you are about to use the Orb of Trials, do it here, trust me."


    "I see, thank you" Michael replied dryly, he didn¡¯t know how to express gratitude when it was this one sided.


    She put on a gentle smile and turned to the faceless statue "The reason I invited you to the temple was to extend my thanks to your predecessor, you two are nearly identical even after all this time..."


    "Am I not him? But like from the future or something?" Michael pushed for answers, trying to incite a reaction of some sort, he wanted to confirm his theory.


    However, no such confirmation came, her expression remained the same, her smile not lessening at all.


    He couldn¡¯t take the silence as a guarantee, however, those words did trigger something in what he assumed to be her oath, making her unable to speak about it.


    Freya suddenly stood up and put on a serious face "We havepany, stay here and don¡¯te out, even better, whenever you recover your mana go straight into a trial, I will tell you when it¡¯s safe toe back up"


    With those words she vanished out of sight, leaving a small crack in space which quickly closed itself.


    Michael had a confused look on his face, however, he believed it finally made some sense to him.


    Freya was defending this temple from someone or something, he just did not know what.


    He didn¡¯t worry about it too much, not like he could anyway, he was just a simple awakened, meanwhile, she was a full fledged goddess.


    Even if Michael did not fully understand the weight of that title, he knew it held significant authority as well as strength.


    He fiddled around with the orb in his hands, he noticed his mana had not run out that much, it just felt like he did, if he had to guess, his mana was nearly full.


    ¡¯It¡¯s probably about time I use the orb isn¡¯t it?¡¯ He thought as he held it with the single button present.


    And while channeling his mana, pressed it.

 Chapter 35: The First Trial

    The moment Michael pressed the button, he was transported to a whole new area, much like he saw the weird tree.


    ¡¯Where am I this time?¡¯ He thought as he moved his limbs around, feeling relieved he was not being controlled likest time.


    As the surroundings became clearer, he noticed he was located in some sort of a city, however, it looked fairly medieval, nothing like what the cities in either of his worlds looked like.


    Eventually, people started appearing in his vision, it felt magical as one moment they were not there and in the next they were.


    Suddenly a blue hologram appeared in front of his eyes, it looked familiar to his system, however, upon closer look, he noticed it was not.


    [First Trial: Trial of War | Completion reward: +5% Synchronization]


    ¡¯War? And what does it mean by synchronization?¡¯ He thought as he nced around himself.


    There were many people scattered all around, elderly, adults and even children, all of them had smiles on their faces.


    Even the asional guard he saw lookedpletely rxed ¡¯How was this trial rted to war in any way?¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help but think.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    In the corner of his vision he noticed a few people that seemed a bit out of the ordinary.


    They were dressed in weird clothing and had full sets of armor equipped, if anything they looked qualified to be the guards.


    ¡¯Maybe they are the actual guards?¡¯ Michael wondered as he walked towards them, there were only 4 of them, however, they all looked rather fearsome.


    As he finally approached them, standing just in front of them, a thought appeared in his head ¡¯What exactly am I supposed to ask them? Even though I am 12, I look like I have already gone through puberty..¡¯


    As Michael was debating how to use his age and ignorance to his advantage, the only man in the group spoke up.


    "Whatcha doing kid, are ye lost?"


    ¡¯He¡¯s short..¡¯ Michael thought while maintaining his smile "Yes..this city is a bit big after all" He ended with a chuckle.


    The man didn¡¯t seem amused as he raised his eyebrow "Well ain¡¯t you an idiot, head in that direction, the adventurer¡¯s guild will help you find your way" He said, pointing towards a building that Michael had not seen earlier.


    It had Adventurer¡¯s Guild written on it, just like the man said.


    Michael quickly nodded and thanked the man before heading straight towards the building.


    ¡¯It was definitely not there thest time I checked.. did it also appear like the rest of the people?¡¯ He wondered as he approached the building and walked inside of it.


    The inside looked like just any inn, people were huddled around drinking and eating, however, not only was there a bartender, but there was also some kind of a receptionist wearing professional clothing.


    Before heading over to ask anything, he decided to take a look around the ce, it seemed pretty spacious for a simple inn.


    As his gazended on an irregr looking wooden wall, he saw a multitude of posters.


    Michael grew curious so he decided to walk towards them, seeing a bunch of all sorts of requests written down.


    {Find my stupid cheating husband -F- Reward: 2 Copper}


    {Find my lost cat -F- Reward: 5 Copper}


    Michael chuckled at some of the requests, though he noticed some that were more serious, one in particr had caught his eye.


    {Reinforce the city walls -D- Reward: 1 Silver}


    It seemed like the only request that was linked to his trial, he would have counted it off as mere coincidence, however, too much irregr stuff has happened since he arrived here.


    Michael looked around and saw a few sentences carved into the wood, it said if one wanted to ept a quest, they needed to take it to the receptionist.


    And he did just that, he ripped it off of the wall and walked over to her, cing the crumpled paper on the desk.


    "Hello, I would like to ept this quest" He sounded stiff as usual.


    "Sure, provide your ID" The receptionist replied in an uninterested manner.


    ¡¯Of course there would be something like that...¡¯ Michael sighed inwardly, he knew he couldn¡¯t just go up and show his Vivum ID, it wouldn¡¯t slide in a world like this.


    "Sorry..I don¡¯t have anything like that."


    The receptionist looked him in the eyes and sighed, taking the quest poster and shoving it under the table "Go make one then."


    ¡¯Why is everyone so rude" Michael thought, seeing some sort of a pattern here. "And how do I do that?"


    "Here" The receptionist threw a small metal te at him "Inject your mana into it, if you can¡¯t, then just go away."


    Michael ignored her and proceeded to channel his mana into the metal te, making it light up with a golden color, much like the orb earlier.


    However, it did not shatter this time, it held on, turning a portion of the metal into a golden color.


    The receptionist immediately ran over and frantically bowed "I apologize sir!"


    She then stood straight and gestured for Michael to follow her.


    ¡¯No reason not to, I still have to figure out how toplete this war trial anyway¡¯


    They went to the back, and up a flight of stairs, arriving right in front of a door that had Guildmaster written on it.


    She seemed to not show any courtesy as she kicked the door and barged into his offices.


    "Lyra..What the fuck are you doing!" The man was startled out of his sleep and began scolding her.


    However, she was adamant, all words going in one ear and out the other as she began recalling the situation that had just transpired a few minutes ago.


    The Guildmaster¡¯s anger quickly diminished as he looked at Michael with wide eyes.


    "Young man, I apologize for the receptionist¡¯s rudeness earlier, please sit down" He gestured towards thefy looking sofa.


    "Sure" Michael let bygones be bygones, he believed this world was fake anyway and making enemies would only add to his troubles.


    "Young man, could I take a look at the Adventurer¡¯s ID?" The Guildmaster asked politely and Michael handed it over to him.


    He examined it for a moment and copsed into his chair, seemingly exhausted after not doing anything at all.


    Though as quickly as he copsed, he instantly got up, regaining hisposure.


    "It is a pleasure to meet a royal such as yourself, please excuse the shabby state of my office"


    ¡¯Royal? What?¡¯ Michael was confused, however, it did not seem like the Guildmaster would borate further.


    He decided to suck it up and bullshit his way into information, as always.


    "Be at ease, could you tell me a bit about the situation outside of the city? Any conflicts or abnormal happenings are what I want to know" Michael said in an authoritative voice.


    Both Lyra and the Guildmaster flinched at the sudden change of tone, though they quickly began to act, one looking around the room for any information, while the other informed Michael of some conflicts that urred.


    However, it wasn¡¯t anything that interested Michael, they were simple fights that broke out or someone stole something minor.


    "Can you tell me about the request I tried taking earlier then?" At those words, the Guildmaster seemed confused as he went to ask the searching Lyra about it.


    She widened her eyes and quickly ran back to her desk before bringing the poster back and giving it to him.


    ¡¯Is this really a fake world?¡¯ Michael began having some doubts, everything and everyone seemed realistic enough to be mistaken for actual people, maybe because they were?


    The Guildmaster¡¯s eyes widened as he turned to Michael with a serious look.


    "This is..."

 Chapter 36: The First Trial (2)

    "This is nothing special, a part of the city walls was a little brittle is all" The Guildmaster chuckled, cutting the growing intensity in half.


    "Right..Can I still ept that quest anyway? I need to check something out"


    At Michael¡¯s words, he was handed another piece of paper containing the location of the wall that needed to be reinforced.


    "Also take this, just in case" He also gave Michael his ID back, which for some reason now disyed the letter S on it.


    "The magic te reacts like that once it detects either a strong individual or somebody with royal blood, hence why you received the highest rank possible" The Guildmaster added before heading back to his chair.


    ¡¯Oh so F is the lowest with S being the highest, that¡¯s a neat little system¡¯ He thought as he nced at the request he picked up earlier, it was D ranked.


    Michael didn¡¯t hang around for any longer than he should have, Lyra, the receptionist was still searching for anything rted to conflict, whereas the Guildmaster seemed to go back to sleep.


    ¡¯Now not only am I a Saint, but also a Royal..¡¯ He couldn¡¯t hold back the chuckle that escaped as he walked out of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and headed straight for the designated wall.


    Along the way, he saw a few people that looked simr to the ones he saw when he had first arrived, weird outfits and all.


    Though with adventuring being a thing, it was not that odd anymore, some people just have strange preferences is all.


    He noticed something strange that had been happening ever since he first arrived here.


    Contrary to the trial itself, it was incredibly peaceful, if the prompt didn¡¯t say there would be a war, he wouldn¡¯t have even thought about it at all.


    He couldn¡¯t rule out the possibility of there being some sort of an inside war within the city itself, there were many other forms of war besides full on ughtering each other.


    However, for all the hints he was given thus far, he assumed there would be a battle involved, it was more of a hunch, but he still trusted himself.


    After the system¡¯s voice disappeared and he began being able to use mana more freely and efficiently, it felt like his mind had be clearer, as if it was no longer influenced by any external force.


    Which ording to Freya, was the system itself.


    Michael finally arrived at the wall and he couldn¡¯t help but admit ¡¯It looks like shit.¡¯


    There was a massive hole in the very middle with all the bricks scattered around the ground.


    This was definitely the clue he was looking for.


    Michael noticed a person picking up some bricks andying them down inside of the copsed hole.


    He walked up to him and introduced himself "Hello I am Michael, I came here after epting the request to reinforce the wall..what happened here?"


    "Take a brick and piss off to the other side, I am working here" The man said as he waved Michael away.


    ¡¯Alright..fuck being nice.¡¯


    "Old man, I asked what happened here, didn¡¯t I?" Michael said as he took the brick out of the man¡¯s hands, earning an annoyed expression from him in return.


    "I don¡¯t know, a beast attacked or something, now give it back or I¡¯ll shove a brick up your arse" The old man held out his hand, waiting for the brick to be returned.


    Michael sighed and gave it back, going up to the hole in the wall and jumping through it, he was not going to do some menialbor when he had other stuff to do.


    In front of him was a tndscape, the grass seemed to have been burnt away, the smoky odor still hitting his nose.


    ¡¯Just what is going on?¡¯ Michael could notprehend what was happening, one side was a peaceful city, the other, a charred battlefield.


    Whatever this trial was, he assumed the answery on the side of the empty battlefield, so he took a step forward onto the charred grass.


    Immediately, he felt a difference in the air around him, the formerly smoky odor turned out to actually be warm as he could feel the air surrounding him heating up.


    It was not anything that threatened his life, however, it was certainly something to take note of.


    As he began stepping forward and walking away from the city wall, he began feeling a little dizzy, it was not the dizziness that he felt when his mana had been exhausted, it was more like as if he had been hit on the head by something.


    Michael¡¯s vision began to blur more and more the further he went, even his sense of bnce had been impaired, to others it would look like he was some sort of a cripple.


    He eventually stopped, it felt like his head would burst if he took another step forward.


    Turning around and ncing at the city wall ¡¯Around 50 meters?¡¯


    Michael had been tracking each step along the way, he thought it mighte in handy to know the limit of whatever this world was.


    He could not see any further ahead as his vision was way too blurry at this point, so he decided to go back to the wall, tracking his steps backwards as well.


    ¡¯Much better¡¯ He took a deep breath as he no longer felt like he was being suffocated.


    The surrounding heat, however, began increasing in intensity, it was considerably hotter than before, so Michael did not bother dawdling and jumped back through the hole in the wall.


    As soon as he did so, he saw a brick flying straight at his face, which he swatted away.


    "I hope you know that what you just did can get me in huge trouble, get lost already" The old man grumbled and picked up another brick, preparing to throw it at Michael.


    However, before heunched it, the ground shook and knocked him down.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael resisted the shaking and looked around, noticing that not only the ground but also the already unstable wall had begun shaking.


    ¡¯Shit..is it finally starting?¡¯ As Michael thought that, the wall began crumbling and disappearing, revealing a grassy area that had been an ashen wastnd just a moment ago.


    All of a sudden, a bunch of infantrymen appeared and marched right onto the grassy area, setting down some kind of g Michael could not see the symbol of.


    It was blurry.


    A person bumped into him and walked to the very front of the small army, he then began to talk but Michael once again could not hear anything.


    It was bing a bit unsettling, no matter where he looked, past the city walls no sound came out, everyone walking around seemed lifeless yet they moved with purpose.


    Michael did not know why he was getting so emotional over what basically appeared to be a game, it was not like they were real anyway.


    However, deep down, he knew he was lying to himself, even after his mind had gotten clearer, he was still dishonest, back then and even now.


    Suddenly, everyone stopped, the world turning gray for just a mere moment as in front of Michael¡¯s eyes appeared a now red colored hologram.


    [First Trial: Trial of War-Phase 2 Initiated]

 Chapter 37: The First Trial (3)

    ¡¯Phase 2..¡¯ Michael¡¯s expression hardened as he looked around himself, the world once again in motion.


    "Adventurer, stop dozing off and get in formation!" A voice startled him out of his thoughts, the man who seemed to be the leader was shouting at him.


    The leader kept barking out orders at every single one of the people present, it seemed that not only were the guards involved but also the adventurers too.


    Michael found a spot in the formation that had no one present and awaited further instruction.


    He noticed some familiar faces too, the Guildmaster from before was present as well and the first adventurers he met were here too.


    "Listen here! The goblins have finally decided to attack us! They are coveting our riches, so don¡¯t hold back and kill them all!" The leader¡¯s voice resounded, encouraging everyone present to do whatever they wanted.


    ¡¯Goblins? As in those level 13-15 monsters? There is no way this trial is going to be this simple.¡¯ Michael thought with a frown when suddenly the ground began shaking.


    In the distance, he saw frail looking goblins marching at a steady pace.


    However, the sheer number of how many there were sent a shiver down Michael¡¯s spine, there were at the very least a couple of thousand.


    Ever since the wall broke down, the surroundings shifted in a way that Michael could see further than 50 meters, if he had to guess, the ashennd he saw earlier was more like a hint for what was toe.


    He would think about this scenario a bitter, currently, he had some things to deal with first.


    Michael began focusing and channeling his mana faster, however, as he was doing so he noticed something off, his Blessing of Stats skill had been disabled.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡¯Fuck.. don¡¯t tell me¡¯ He began trying to cast all of his skills in order but none of them seemed to work, the mana was just not flowing out as it should have.


    Physical Enhancement still worked, so he assumed it had something to do with the system itself, though he had hoped something like this would happenter, rather than now when he most needed it.


    Meanwhile, Mana Projection was the only long range ability he had, better yet, he didn¡¯t even know how to use it properly, before today the only thing he knew how to do was form blobs of mana.


    Michael tried doing that again and it formed instantly, this time, however, he was able to freely control the shape and the mana drain was not asrge as before, it really did feel like some shackles were lifted.


    The downside? He was struggling to use his system skills now.


    As the Goblins¡¯ approach neared, adventurers were the first to make their moves, meanwhile, the guards acted as more of a ranged unit, providing cover fire with their bows.


    ¡¯This is the second war I have participated in already¡¯ Michael chuckled as he also began forming colorless Mana Spears in the air and running towards the Goblins.


    He would have used his sniper, but at this point, he no longer felt like it suited his way of fighting, it was more of a weapon he would use for covert battles maybe, though not something like a full scale war.


    The enemymander was not even visible, all the goblins looked the exact same, so all he would be doing was wasting his mana on fodder when he could just practice his Mana Projection instead.


    Michael quickly arrived at the front lines, he noticed the others were not that strong, in the standard of levels, they would be around level 50.


    However, they were more than strong enough to deal with measly goblins and so was Michael.


    He got into closer range and began hurling his Mana Spears right at them, making the goblins¡¯ bodies explode on the slightest impact.


    His uracy was not that great yet as it was his first time trying something like this out, however he quickly adjusted to it, as well as the speed.


    Even though active skills did not work, passives did, there was a single passive which had some things missing however, it was Eyes of the Healer.


    He could no longer see the HP amount of the people around him, however, he could roughly feel their strength, and if one of them had an illness, his brain took note of that as well.


    Michael honestly preferred it that way as it was not a massive strain to his eyes, he was just d the other skills worked as intended.


    One of them was Shooting Mastery, as it provided him the extra speed that applied to all projectiles, those directly created from his mana seemed to count as well.


    Dodging the iing goblins, Michael set up a barrier around himself,bining Physical Enhancement and Mana Projection, he strengthened his body and made the outeryer spiky.


    It looked ridiculous, however, it got the job done, every single time a goblin got near him andnded a hit, the goblin would instantly get recoiled back with half its body missing.


    ¡¯This is so satisfying¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help but think as he kept sending the Mana Spears at the goblins, each hit piercing and killing multiple in its wake.


    But he was the only one sharing this sentiment, as a scream suddenly resounded from his side.


    "AAAAAAAH!" It was a man who had a bunch of goblins on top of him, it seemed like they were trying to eat him alive, hence the screaming.


    Michael quickly reacted and sent a Mana Spear in the man¡¯s direction piercing multiple goblins and giving him slight leeway to free himself from their clutches.


    ¡¯Oh..shit¡¯ He had noticed the state of the man, while he was able to escape their clutches, his guts were spilling out, it did not seem like he wouldst any longer.


    ¡¯Come on..why can¡¯t my healing fucking work¡¯ Michael eximed in a frustrated tone. Just yesterday he was considered a Saint, his healing abilities seemed unparalleled, yet here he was, powerless in the face of his ipetence.


    He had relied too much on the system and therefore he was not able to cast any of the skills he could previously.


    The only thing he managed to do with his so called training, was the create a branch of abilities that were different from his skills, yet they both relied on the same source of energy, mana.


    Yet he never thought a day like this woulde, he did not practice casting the skills on his own.


    The only skill that he managed to somewhat replicate, was Blessing of Stats, something he had no use for currently.


    ¡¯Fuck...¡¯


    Michael watched as the man bled out and finally stopped struggling, the surrounding goblins jumping on him and feasting on his flesh.


    As they were doing that, they all suddenly exploded, with the body right below them suffering the same fate, they were all engulfed in a colorless mass of mana.


    ¡¯Rest in peace..even if you are not real¡¯ Michael thought with a conflicted look as he began clearing out the goblins in a wider area.


    And after a bit more fighting, it was finally over or so it seemed, however, he still had a bad feeling about this, even if there were a couple of casualties, could this even be considered a war?


    It was more like a one sided ughter.


    He didn¡¯t have to wait for long to get his answer, as the ground once again began rumbling, this time with much more intensity.


    ¡¯I just had to jinx it...¡¯

 Chapter 38: The First Trial (4)

    Freya stood amidst the rubble where a temple previously stood, in front of her was an equally bewitching woman who had long ck hair and eyes that seemed to see through everything in the world.


    "Lilith, to what do I owe this visit?"


    However, it seemed she was not keen to talk as she sent a barrage of darkness straight at Freya, attempting to pierce through her and potentially kill her.


    But the moment the darkness was about to reach her, it suddenly dispersed, sending a miniature shockwave that spread across the already copsed temple.


    It seemed she was going for total chaos, normally Freya would have responded in kind but she did not mind this little bit of destruction, after all, she could just as easily repair everything that had been done.


    "You bitch! How dare you invite that heathen into this realm!? Have youpletely lost your mind?" Lilith shouted, expressing her disdain and disapproval.


    However, she was met with with no reply as Freya continued looking at her, acting as if she was overreacting.


    Lilith shook in anger before taking a deep breath and finally calming down, trying to reason with Freya further "You know better than I do what would happen if he regains his memories."


    "I do."


    "And yet you still allow him to make a return, you are dooming the hierarchy of all the realms for what? Love? Admiration? Blind belief?" Lilith tried but failed to hide her hatred for the both of them.


    Freya¡¯s brow twitched as she crossed he arms "Have you always been the jealous type?"


    Her words were met with yet another bolt of shadows which this time had more power behind them,pletely obliterating what remained of the temple except for the throne.


    "I see you are still the annoying bitch you always were" Lilith¡¯s eyes widened as she nced at the throne.


    "You even showed him the statue of recollection...I don¡¯t even know anymore"


    The mana in the air intensified as she began crushing the entire domain, however, no matter how much strength she used, the throne and the room below it were left untouched.


    She kept increasing the pressure, hoping something would happen, however, Freya decided it was time to stop her antics.


    "That¡¯s enough" Those words cut through the pressure that she was emitting and stopped Lilith in her tracks.


    Even if they were beings whose titles were the same, the disparity in their strength was clearly evident.


    She then emitted a golden glow that spread across the entire temple domain, reconstructing it at a rapid pace.


    The previous debris that had remained even after the destruction scattered, returning back to her body in the form of small particles.


    Her mana was used as the building basis, it was not a big expenditure so Freya did not mind, however, she still seemed a bit annoyed.


    "Are you done throwing your childish tantrums now? Can you get out?"


    Lilith stared at her, retracting the mana she had outstretched and put on a massive grin "Only if you promise me I can meet him the next time Ie here."


    "So that was your motive.. swear an oath you won¡¯t harm him then, show your sincerity" Freya was not going to let someone like her meet Michael without reassurance of his safety.


    She was expecting some hesitation, however, Lilith¡¯s reply was fast "Sure, I swear on my mana that I won¡¯t harm him the next time we meet. Good enough?"


    As her words finished, she was momentarily engulfed by her own magic, however, as quickly as it came, it went away just as fast.


    "Thanks bi-Freya, see ya" With that, she went into the ground, specifically, into her own shadow, leaving Freya speechless.


    "Michael, take your time with the trial.. for both our sakes."


    -----


    ¡¯What is with these goblins, they are wearing armor now¡¯ Michael sighed as he looked at the sight in front of him.


    There were more and more goblinsing with every new wave, the moment he finished killing them all, soon after, more came and they were much stronger.


    It has been 3 waves in total now and it didn¡¯t seem like it would stop any time soon, in fact, it might get even more difficult to fight them.


    His mana control had gotten even better, it felt like barely 1% of his mana was being used every single time he cast his makeshift spells, better yet, they were incredibly powerful. Enjoy new chapters from §Þ??


    He was able to make miniature colorless swords, it seemed that and the Mana Spears were the easiest for him to use, they also provided the highest degree of destruction out of everything he had tried thus far.


    Though It was a pity he was not able to use healing magic currently, it would havee in really handy in these past few hours.


    The amount of people that died in front of Michael had surpassed double digits, even with his help, he couldn¡¯tpensate for theck of skills the others possessed.


    He saves someone, just for them to drop their sword and get stabbed by goblins, the city guards were truly pathetic.


    On the other side, adventurers were the ones letting others rest, if Michael had to estimate, 1 adventurer equaled to at least 5 city guards, the gap was huge.


    Even then, due to the strength of the goblins, no one was having a lot of trouble, it seemed like simple target practice for most, Michael included.


    He was currently killing thest batch of goblins, their armor was not able to hold back the sheer force of Michael¡¯s spells, causing them to deal devastating damage and instantly killing them.


    ¡¯What¡¯s next? goblins with swords and shields?¡¯ Michael scoffed and took this chance to rest a little bit, his mana was still at roughly 60%, the amount he usedpared to the amount he regained was basically harmonized by now.


    He only wished he could use the light magic as he did before, even when he purified the tree, he was being controlled, however, it was still his body.


    It just didn¡¯t make sense to him, didn¡¯t he need a mana core to be able to use his affinities? How did the person in Michael¡¯s body use it then?


    ¡¯s, the more I learn, the less I know but I guess I do have 2 years to find some information out of Freya¡¯ He nodded to himself as he looked at the far off distance, he saw a few figures, around 20 in total.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    They were goblins, looking just like the rest, however, for some reason, Michael felt an odd sense of dangering from them.


    Each one of them had dual short swords and a full set of steel armor, definitely more decked out than the others.


    Michael decided to test the waters, his uracy had gotten much better than when he first started.


    Shooting arge Mana Spear with formidable speed, expecting to pierce and kill them just like the rest of the goblins he had met thus far.


    However, the sight that greeted him had left him speechless.


    The goblin whom the Mana Spear was directed at, raised its short sword and shed the air in front of him, cutting the spear into two.


    ¡¯Fuck.¡¯

 Chapter 39: The First Trial (5)

    Michael had cast yet another spell at the goblins but he was met with the same result, his spell was cutpletely in half.


    ¡¯What the fuck do I do now?¡¯ He thought as an idea finally sparked in his mind, he had not used it in a while but he hoped it would nheless save the day.


    Taking the sniper out of his pocket, Michael quickly unfolded it and aimed for one of the goblins before pulling the trigger.


    He had half expected it to not work again, however, instead of cleanly slicing the mana in half, this time it pushed the goblin back a few meters and seemed to damage his swords as well.


    ¡¯Concentrated mana..¡¯ Michael had remembered what Freya told him, about that little mana refining orb, if he diligently used it, his mana itself would be many times stronger.


    The people around Michael saw the scene unfold with widened eyes, they didn¡¯t even know what kind of weapon he used, yet it was able to do.. that.


    "The Goblin Generals are approaching, everyone, don¡¯t let your guards down!" The leader shouted right behind Michael, making sure to grab the attention of all the people present.


    Michael¡¯s expression hardened ¡¯Goblin Generals.. so the leader is not here after all.¡¯


    He began shooting with his sniper constantly, however, the mana drain was starting to slowly add up which irked him a little bit, if only he had been better at using mana.


    The goblins suddenly stopped when they were just around 50 meters away from the small army, they held out their swords which were raised in the air.


    It seemed like they were shouting something, however, Michael was not able to hear it.


    But it did not seem to be the same case for others, as some looked mortified, while others now had grave expressions.


    Whatever those goblins said, demoralized the army for some reason.


    As the atmosphere became much more intense, the leader started running at them for some reason, sword in hand and all.


    ¡¯What is he doing?¡¯ Michael thought with a confused look, while he was good atmanding others, his battle power was nowhere near Michael¡¯s, much less the goblins.


    And he was right, as the moment the leader got within a few meters of one of the goblins, his head was sent flying off into the distance, another sh, his body was cut into a few more pieces.


    The sight was gross, enough so to make the few individuals who could see everything clearly, vomit.


    Even Michael did not like the sight in the slightest, the goblins had something coated on the dual swords which made the shes they inflicted rot their opponents.


    ¡¯Crude fucking animals¡¯ Michael began feeling an unknown rage building up inside of him, it felt familiar, however, the emotions were a bit alien.


    But even if they were, he could agree with them, these monsters are ruthless and unforgiving, they eat humans and kill the innocent.


    Even with Michael¡¯s resolution, he was still not sure how to deal with all of them, he believed he could take on maybe 2 or 3 at once, however, 20? No chance.


    His mana control was a bit better in closerbat as he could couple it with the military fighting style that he had learned in his past life.


    Michael decided to finally approach, the other adventurers doing the same with careful steps, everyone present was weaker than the goblins standing in front of them.


    The goblins reacted as well, taking slow steps to meet the others in the middle, he could see many mocking grins on their ugly faces.


    Once they were all within 10 meters of each other, Michael acted and sent Mana Spears flying at the few in the middle, creating a hole in their formation.


    From this distance, he was able to push the goblins back slightly, enough for others to capitalize on this small chance.


    And he too, decided to go in, scattering mana particles all around his body to redirect any sudden sword strike that could potentiallye.


    For some reason, the goblins seemed uninterested, while he was trying to hit them, they focusedpletely on defense, not attacking him at all.


    Your next journey awaits at §Þ??


    He knew they were strong, even with his current power, they were at most equal, so why were they holding back?


    Michael kept barraging them with his attacks, some evennding and creating small gashes on their bodies, however, they healed them incredibly fast.


    He turned to look at the others and his eyes widened in shock.


    Many were lying dead on the ground, the others stood with cut off limbs that had started rotting, effectively sealing their fates.


    ¡¯Fuck¡¯ He understood what their n was, stall him while they deal with the others.


    The goblins nced at Michael and smirked, before finallyunching an attack.


    The swords traveled at a speed he could still react to, he ducked under them and noticed another pair of dual swords traveling at his side.


    He jumped up and kicked the t edge of one of the swords, momentarily knocking one of them off bnce, enough for him to deal a blow.


    A bunch of colorless thin swords appeared out of thin air and traveled at the goblin¡¯s body, piercing through his body effectively killing it.


    Or so he thought, however, he missed the vitals, even with literal holes in its body, it was still able to survive as long as he could regenerate.


    ¡¯The heart or the brain..¡¯ He concluded that if he didn¡¯t go for any of those, winning this fight would be incredibly difficult.


    "Keeee!" A screech resounded from behind him, one of the goblins looked infuriated as it charged at him.


    Michael preferred to not get hit, he was not sure if his passive healing capabilities were enough to ignore whatever rot they were inflicting.


    Therefore he diligently dodged the attacks to the best of his abilities, his previous life¡¯sbat ability shining bright.


    He dodged, he kicked and sent Swords of Mana at them, however, he couldn¡¯t hit their vitals for some reason.


    One of them was pierced in what seemed to be the heart but it did not die, it did not even stumble back.


    ¡¯Are their organs somewhere else?¡¯ Michael had a thought as he continued dodging the onught of attacks from the now 4 goblins.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Some of the stronger adventurers gathered in parties and managed to ward off a few of the goblins, strength in numbers sure was great.


    He just wished there was someone like that to assist him, he could hold them back, but dealing actual fatal blows seemed impossible.


    That was until one of his Swords of Mana missed and hit the very middle of a goblin¡¯s abdomen, making some kind of a popping sound.


    Immediately, the goblin staggered and fell to the ground lifeless, it seemed he managed to somehow hit a vital spot, one that killed them nearly instantaneously.


    Michael couldn¡¯t hide the grin that began forming, startling the surrounding goblins.


    The tables have turned, he now had a way to actually kill them.


    However, as he momentarily let down his guard, he got nicked in the leg by one of the swords, causing a sharp pain to travel across his entire body.


    The surrounding tissue had begun darkening, albeit at a slower pace than for the others, the pain nheless, was excruciating.


    Michael¡¯s arms shook a little as he attempted to cast purify or even heal out of instinct, however, nothing happened.


    The goblins began approaching him while the rot was slowly spreading in all directions, his expression turning serious.


    ¡¯I have to finish this fast.¡¯

 Chapter 40: The First Trial (6)

    Michael went on the offensive, there were now 6 goblins in total, the strength of whom easily surpassed any level 80 that he knew of, much stronger than the wolves he fought.


    Their abilities were bnced between power and strength, making them really formidable, for him to go toe to toe with them was quite the feat, especially since ording to the system, his level was still around 44.


    But by now he realized that it was extremely inurate, even without active skills, his mana control made him fight at the level of those who were at least level 90-100.


    Even the stats did not seem to change him that much, at first, the differences were incredibly noticeable, but now, it was not as prominent.


    His system/status seemed to be frozen and his stats were outdated, it just did not feel right.


    However, he had other problems at hand to deal with currently, as the goblins kept swinging their swords at him and he continued to counterattack, killing at least one per sh.


    Even then, the rot had already spread from his calf and fully covered everything up until the knee.


    His speed had been decreasing for a while now, every single time he took a step, a sharp pain assaulted him.


    There were 13 goblins left by now, the numbers on the human side took a massive nose dive, most of the guards were either sitting limbless or already dead.


    The only ones standing were the adventurers and even their numbers had drastically decreased, only a few parties remained.


    A goblin had swung his dual swords aiming for Michael¡¯s head, followed by another goblin aiming for his back.


    ¡¯Shit¡¯ He was in a precarious situation, he couldn¡¯t dodge one and the other and his only choice was to take the attacks head on, however, he still had something he wanted to try, worst case scenario he just gets stabbed, no pressure.


    Michael summoned a colorless shield and jumped backwards, colliding with the swords and using the momentum tounch himself into safety.


    It worked and he managed to avoid the attacks, however, the safety he looked for was nowhere near him as hended right next to 3 goblins who already had their swords in motion, aiming for his vitals.


    ¡¯Think.. what can fucking help me¡¯ Michael immediately thought back to his healing, the golden glow it emitted, but he just couldn¡¯t replicate it no matter how hard he tried.


    During this battle, he tried many times to imagine the golden light enveloping his mana, though each time he thought he had gotten closer, the mana came out colorless, like always...


    As the attacks were about to connect, Michael cast a bunch of miniature Swords of Mana, aiming for a shotgun attack, hoping at the very least, a single sword would connect with their bodies and kill them.


    "Fuck off!" He let loose the miniature swords flying in a massive cone right in front of him, colliding with the goblin swords, disrupting their path and making their attacks miss him.


    Michael¡¯s attacks were not sessful either, the moment he cast that spell, the 3 goblins twisted their bodies in a way that would reduce the chances of him hitting their vitals.


    Even if they looked stupid, they had good instincts, he could admit at least that much.


    The onught of attacks stopped for some reason, Michael noticed they were all looking in one direction, it was where they hade from earlier.


    He took this chance to y dirty and cast his Swords of Mana right at the idling goblins, prating 3 of their abdomens and effectively killing them.


    The other 3 were more alert, so they were able to dodge his attacks.


    All of a sudden, an oppressive pressure bore down on all of them, goblins included.


    The city¡¯s army stopped fighting as they found it difficult to move and the goblins kneeled on the ground, facing in the direction of the iing pressure.


    Michael also looked on in the direction the goblins were staring in and noticed a goblin that had a full set of armor covering his entire body, not a single gap could be seen.


    It was holding a greatsword that was at least twice the size of its body.


    Read new adventures at §Þ??


    ¡¯The leader is finally here eh?¡¯ Michael thought with a serious expression and cast his Mana Spear through the 3 kneeling goblins, they did not even try to dodge it and were impaled.


    ¡¯Fucking fanatics¡¯ He noticed his mana was at barely 20% now, it seemed around 2% regenerated each minute, definitely not enough to deal with whatever that thing was.


    The adventurers beheaded the remaining goblins as well, if he had to guess, it was just testing the waters with the generals, reducing the numbers so it wouldn¡¯t take so long to kill the rest.


    Azy ruler or a tyrant, not much of a difference between the two, the only thing that mattered was that the goblin leader is strong.


    Michael was not going to waste time as he began walking towards it, if he waited any longer his leg would fully be rotted, it is a miracle it was still only at the thigh.


    Others who had been shed, had their bodies rotted within a couple of seconds, they couldn¡¯t even finish screaming before they died.


    ¡¯The perks of being a healer I suppose¡¯ Michael thought with doubt, if healer was a ceholder, an affinity, then what was the true nature behind his abnormal abilities?


    The system clearly lied about it being responsible for most of Michael¡¯s sess, his heals were better than other people¡¯s and his regeneration was abnormal enough to regrow a lost limb.


    ¡¯Oh well... I¡¯ll ask Freya¡¯ He thought nonchntly as he began casting Swords of Mana, preparing to fight the goblin leader who seemed way out of his league, not like he had a choice anyway.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, as that was happening, the world once again turned gray, time slowed down as his injuries quickly healed.


    [First Trial: Trial of War-Phase 3 Initiated]


    The red hologram shed in front of his eyes and quickly disappeared, his vision shifting as he appeared behind the city walls once again, the amount of people around him could be counted on his two hands.


    ¡¯We shouldn¡¯t have lost that many..¡¯ Michael thought as he looked around, seeing some familiar faces, most of whom sat in the back lines.


    There was a staircase leading up to the top of the wall, it was previously copsed but now it has once again returned, the hole in it no longer there.


    He walked up the stairs and arrived at the very top of the wall, overlooking the previous battlefield.


    Michael¡¯s eyes widened ¡¯Fuck...¡¯


    The entire ground was dyed red, bodies scattered all around, a massive scar on the ground in the area where Michael stood just before the world turned gray.


    The bodies of the goblins he killed were still there and the bodies of the people he saw die did not disappear either, it¡¯s as if he moved forward in time to after the battle was over.


    However, there was still some stuff amiss, such as, where is the goblin leader?


    No one in this entire city could kill it even if they all gathered together, his level ording to Michael¡¯s estimates was around 160, double that of the goblin generals.


    Levels were a great way to estimate strength, well, until he figures something new out anyway.


    Phase 3 had begun and he had no clue what it was about, Phase 1 was like an introduction to the city, with a teaser to phase 2.


    Phase 2 was some sort of a monster wave that had 5 waves in total, with the boss monster appearing in the very final one.


    However, he noticed that something was amiss, in Phase 1 he saw the ground that was charred, however, after Phase 2, that had not yet happened.


    ¡¯What kind of bullshit am I going to face now?¡¯

 Chapter 41: The First Trial (7)

    Michael had gone down the wall and walked back into the city, specifically, back to the adventurer¡¯s guild.


    He expected it to have a depressing atmosphere, with the amount of losses they just incurred after all, however, it did not differ in the slightest.


    Lyra saw him and waved at him, signaling for him to go upstairs to meet the Guildmaster.


    He did just that and arrived right in his office, staring at the man sleeping as per usual.


    ¡¯How are they not affected at all?¡¯ Michael couldn¡¯t help but think, everyone was acting so nonchntly even after what had just transpired not too long ago.


    "Wake up" Hemanded, to which the Guildmaster ignored, continuing his slumber.


    ¡¯...¡¯


    Michael knocked a few times on the table, trying to wake him up further, however, it was to no avail.


    He proceeded to shake him and yell in his ear, yet nothing ¡¯The fuck? Is he dead?¡¯ Checking his pulse he saw the Guildmaster was still alive, just unresponsive.


    Looking around the room, he decided to check if maybe he found some information and ced it somewhere Michael could find if needed, however, there was nothing, it¡¯s as if the Guildmaster and Lyra did not even try searching for it.


    ¡¯Did my progress get canceled out? Or are they just ipetent?¡¯ Michael thought as it did not make much sense to him, wouldn¡¯t they have something, even if it was not useless?


    Yet there waspletely nothing, so Michael decided to head back downstairs, leaving the Guildmaster alone.


    ¡¯Not the first time someone has failed me¡¯ A sigh escaped his mouth as he turned the corner and saw the other people sprawled on the ground, everyone had fallen unconscious, even Lyra.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Michael realized this was no longer aughing matter as this was no longer a coincidence, the matter at hand had be something unpredictable.


    He ran out of the adventurer¡¯s guild and saw people copsing to the ground, some kind of energy traveling across the street.


    Normally it would be invisible, however, due to Michael¡¯s different kind of Eyes of The Healer, he was able to see it.


    Following after it, he noticed it wasn¡¯t sentient, it was more like a gassy mass that traveled across the street, bumping into buildings and changing directions.


    Looking around, he could feel many more scattered around the streets, affecting the unsuspecting citizens.


    ¡¯Interesting¡¯ Michael nced around and decided to run back to the wall, maybe another hint would appear.


    However, it was all the same, the blood on the ground had not disappeared, the fire or whatever that was supposed toe, hadn¡¯t.


    He was lost, unsure of what to do or where to go, however, those thoughts did not linger for long, as in the distance, he could see some sort of me appearing, it was inside of the city.


    Michael picked up his pace and headed over there to check what was going on, passing by the individuals who were unconscious and finally arrived in front of what seemed to be a fire pir.


    No buildings were ame, only the pir stood, the fire increasing in intensity, its height nearly reaching the sky.


    Suddenly, more me pirs began appearing all around the city at set distances from one another, it looked oddly symmetrical.


    An ominous feeling lingered in the air as the mes rose in sky one by one, lighting up the clouds in a deep red color.


    [First Trial: Trial of War - Phase 3 Final Objective: Survive]


    [9:59]


    [9:58]


    The moment the red hologram descended, a timer appeared counting down the time.


    ¡¯Survive for 10 minutes? Holy shit?¡¯ He thought as he nced at the clouds that were aplete scarlet color now.


    Suddenly, a bunch of fireballs descended from the sky,nding all over the city, some even near Michael.


    The destruction it emitted was many times stronger than his own spells, the moment a fireball touched upon the ground, it created a crater and a massive explosion, sending waves of me outwards.


    The unconscious individuals were not spared, the mes did not discriminate against anyone.


    However, Michael grew a bit more uneasy, while it might seem destructive and all, it was rtively slow, meaning not exactly difficult to dodge out of the way.


    Coupled with a Mana Shield he learned to make bybining Mana Projection and Physical Enhancement, most of the damage was negated.


    [6:36]


    A few minutes had passed of him dodging them basically effortlessly ¡¯This was even easier than the previous phase¡¯ Michael thought with a chuckle.


    It was a pity he couldn¡¯t save any of the people, even if he did, where would he go with them? He assumed after 10 minutes this whole ce would have been destroyed.


    "Aren¡¯t you a cheeky human.." A voice resounded from his side as he was not paying attention to his surroundings that much.


    Michael turned towards it and saw a short armored figure holding a greatsword, it was the goblin from before.


    He immediately put his guard up and red at it "What do you want."


    Michael assumed it did not want to fight as it had the perfect chance to strike him down while his guard was down.


    "Hm.. Human, how are you alive? I thought I killed you" It said in a questioning tone.


    ¡¯Kill me? News to me¡¯ He chuckled inwardly and was about to respond when he suddenly remembered something.


    The previous battlefield, the massive scar on the ground...


    ¡¯I did not die, however, something did happen there.. I need answers¡¯ He thought with a serious expression as he dodged yet another fireball.


    "Was the fight that memorable?" Michael teased the goblin leader while also preparing himself for battle.


    However, the goblin leader merely scoffed at him "Memorable? You ran in like an idiot trying to punch me, so I just shed you in half." It waved around its massive greatsword, gesturing a downwards sh.


    ¡¯Yeah, that¡¯s definitely not me¡¯


    It would take half a brain to do something so stupid after witnessing the goblin¡¯s power, running in fist first was thest thing he would do.


    [3:42]


    As the clock continued ticking down, Michael noticed something strange about the goblin leader, its yfulness from before had disappeared, reced with nothingness.


    It raised its massive greatsword and shed towards him, annihting everything in its path.


    Except Michael, who had been preparing for something like this to happen so he was able to react, albeit the pressure was still immense.


    If it wasn¡¯t such a half hearted sh, he might not have been able to dodge it at all.


    "What¡¯s wrong? You got bored of standing still?" Michael taunted the goblin leader, trying to check if it was still all there in the head.


    However, no response came, it just kept on shing at him with attacks thatcked the power he boasted.


    A few Swords of Mana flew right at the goblin, however, it did a small but fast movement, reflecting all the swords back into the ground, evenunching some back at Michael which he swiftly dodged.


    [0:14]


    The battle had dragged on for a little while, eventually, the sky parted and a red sun appeared, emitting unparalleled heat, it reminded him of the time he saw the ashen ground back in Phase 1, the increasing heat was simr.


    [0:06]


    The goblin was still swinging his sword around, trying to hit Michael, however, it seemed to not even try anymore, purposely missing some swings.


    They had traveled across the entire city while fighting and arrived back at the wall that Michael had been to the most, the one which was broken at first, then copsed, then once again repaired.


    [0:00]


    As the timer finally ran out, the goblin¡¯s movements halted, before its previous self returned "How did I get here?"


    [First Trial: Trial of War - Complete]


    This time a blue hologram appeared telling Michael he had finished the trial, however, for some reason he was not going back to the temple.


    The goblin leader nced at him and pulled his greatsword back, then suddenly, thrusting it towards Michael.


    He couldn¡¯t react to it, he couldn¡¯t even see the motion of the thrust, however, it seemed the one it was aiming for was not Michael, but the wall slightly beside him.


    Turning around, he saw a massive hole that had pierced it clean through, looking the same as when he first saw it.


    ¡¯Oh..¡¯ He eximed as the surroundings began to heat up to the point where his skin was sizzling.


    The goblin whistled to him and took off its helmet, showcasing gray skin.


    However, what was most disturbing, was the fact that the thing he assumed was the goblin leader, in actuality, was some kind of a faceless being, simr to the statues he had seen back in the temple.


    "Who the fu-" As Michael was about to kindly ask the ¡¯Goblin¡¯ a question, he was finally teleported away, back to the temple.

 Chapter 42: Memory Fragment

    ¡¯That was a fun trial¡¯ Michael thought as he suddenly began drowning.


    The moment he was teleported back, hended in the fountain, it looked shallow from the outside, however, he couldn¡¯t see the depth of it from the inside.


    He was pretty deep down, thank god he could swim.


    Michael swam back up and climbed out of the fountain,nding on his ass, then proceeding toy down on his back.


    ¡¯So much for a warm wee.¡¯


    His mana capacity was near rock bottom after the fight with the goblin leader or whatever that thing was.


    His stamina was also not looking so good, he wanted to fall asleep right away.


    However, he couldn¡¯t, there was something he had to do before then.


    And that was epting the reward forpleting the trial.


    [First Trial: Trial of War - Reward: Synchronization +5%]


    The part where it said Synchronization was glowing brighter than the rest, almost as if signifying he had to interact with it.


    And so he did, he pressed on the glowing letters and another hologram popup appeared right below it, however, he was not able to view it as his eyes suddenly lost focus, making him drift into sleep nearly instantaneously.


    He opened his eyes again and was met with some sort of a battlefield, it looked eerily simr to the one he was in mere moments ago.


    ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me I am back again..¡¯ Michael thought and tried moving, however, he was not able to.


    It was the same as in the time with the tree, it felt ufortable being in your own body yet not being able to control it at all.


    "Michael stop moping about ande get the bags" A voice resounded from behind him, it was the short man he first met when he got here.


    "Coming!" Michael eximed and straddled along the road, nearly tripping on a small rock that was on the ground.


    ¡¯I can feel everything he¡¯s feeling, why is this guy such a pussy..¡¯ Thinking that, he decided to observe the happenings further.


    This was the same city and the same people, he could recognize most of them at just a simple nce.


    The events yed out the same, he went to the adventurer¡¯s guild, this time, however, with the people he met.


    This Michael already had an adventurer¡¯s ID, the only difference being that the golden color was not there and the rank was C, not S.


    ¡¯Why am I seeing these memories?¡¯


    They were assigned a quest to guard the city wall as there had been an increase in beast activitytely, something which the real Michael had not.


    ¡¯The events yed out in a different order, everything eventuallying together, I guess this was the correct order¡¯ He thought as he watched them stand by on the wall, nearly falling asleep from the boredom.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "Zack, can I really be an A-rank adventurer?" This Michael asked the short man in a naive tone, showcasing his childish nature.


    Their age was the same, this one just acted more like it.


    "Yes of course, just keep carrying our bags until then, got it?" Zack replied in a mocking tone and continued cking off, giving Michael the task of looking over the wall while he cked off.


    ¡¯No wonder I didn¡¯t like that guy¡¯


    This Michael felt satisfaction every time he was validated by others, truly a pathetic sight.


    However, as he was looking off in the distance, he saw an iing horde of goblins, there were not that many of them, maybe 100 in total, a stark contrast to what Michael had to face in his trials.


    "G-Guys! Goblins!" This Michael screamed as loud as he could, attracting the attention of both his party and the guards below him.


    After that, the guards and adventurers gathered together, going out of the city gate and around towards the iing goblins.


    They all looked rather rxed, the number wasn¡¯t anything that could threaten them and in the end, they were just simple goblins.


    This Michael walked high, brimming with arrogance, however, it did notst long as a weight bore onto him, a bag hadnded right on his shoulders.


    "Carry this, alright? I promise you will be a high ranking adventurer very soon, maybe even tomorrow" Zack said as he unsheathed a pair of daggers from his waist and pushed Michael to the back.


    ¡¯Oho? Is he finally feeling doubt?¡¯


    Michael dug his nails into his palm, drawing blood.


    However, he still held himself back, his naivety excusing the injustice he was going through.


    The battle was effortless, they did not suffer a single casualty where as the goblins werepletely wiped out.


    Zack took the lead in the fight, earning himself a bit of a reputation.


    And then there was Michael, standing in the very back with all sorts of bags all around him, he was the designated bag boy.


    However, all of a sudden, he heard an explosion behind him, what greeted his sight was half of the city ame.


    ¡¯That¡¯s somewhat simr, no fire pirs though¡¯


    It was all starting toe together, however, some things seemed overly exaggerated, the amount of goblins and the fire which seemed not too difficult to put out.


    He was feeling the fear and panic that this Michael was going through, he could understand why, after all, unlike him, he was still a child.


    ¡¯What even is the message I¡¯m supposed to get here¡¯ He thought as the guards and adventurers finally put out the fires across the city.


    ¡¯A different Michael, simr to what Kevin told me, maybe this one is who he was talking about?¡¯


    The adventurers uncovered who was responsible for the fires, it was a group of fanatics who believed fire was the gateway to heaven.


    When all seemed peaceful, the ground suddenly shook and an inaudible vibration caused Michael¡¯s eardrums to burst.


    ¡¯Pain, confusion, fear and what else? oh, even more fear¡¯ The only thing Michael understood about this synchronization so far was that there was more of him in what he only assumed was the past.


    The Goblin leader from before had pierced through the city walls with his army of several dozen armored goblins, not as many as there were in his trial though.


    However, the result was the same, the adventurers and guards perished without even putting up a fair fight, the strength of the goblin leader was the same even now.


    This Michael¡¯s fear overpowered him, seeing his panions¡¯ get brutally killed in front of him made him run away in cowardice, hiding himself under a bunch of rubble.


    "Please.. please" His sobs rang out, if he was trying to stay hidden and quiet, he was doing a very bad job.


    He was not found and the goblins finished their destruction, lighting the entire city on fire and eventually walking away.


    ¡¯So this is when it happens..¡¯


    Michael stood up and ran after the goblins into the grassy field, specifically for the leader.


    And just as it had exined, a downwards sh was all it took to split him in half, thankfully he couldn¡¯t feel the pain at that moment, Michael didn¡¯t even want to imagine what being cut in half would feel like.


    His vision shifted and went dark, however, it seemed he hadn¡¯te back to the temple yet, he was still located somewhere in the previous Michael¡¯s memories.


    "A dud, this makes it 812, at least this one wasn¡¯t a fallen" A genderless voice resounded as Michael regained some feeling of his body eventually opening his eyes.


    "Hm? You are conscious?"


    In front of his eyes was a single figure which had no face, or nothing he could see anyway.


    Everything around it was a blur, he couldn¡¯t even identify its body features.


    As Michael was about to try speaking, the Michael that had just died spoke first "W-Where am I?" His voice wasced with shock.


    He had died just a moment ago, he was sure of it.


    "You are home, well, not exactly, you are not fit to return here yet" It chuckled and pulled some sort of a strange object out of thin air and ced it on top of Michael¡¯s head.


    "Hopefully the next one does better than you" With those words Michael began feeling dizzy, however, what happened next shocked both of the Michaels.


    Just before he lost consciousness he saw a familiar message, which this time, did not give him the option to choose.


    [Do you wish to start anew?]

 Chapter 43: Who?

    Michael groggily opened his eyes and he was back in the temple, for real this time.


    He still had a massive headache, no surprise though, after all, he technically did just die.


    Albeit he couldn¡¯t feel it, the other Michael¡¯s thoughts were enough of a gander at the pain, never again.


    But he assumed this wouldn¡¯t be the first time something like this happens, this was only 5% of the synchronization and there was 95% remaining.


    He was lying down on his back and looking at the room¡¯s ceiling, he now noticed there were all sorts of scriptures he could not read.


    ¡¯So synchronization meant memories, the memories my other selves experienced and I guess the trials are some sort of distorted outlook on what really happened inside them?¡¯ Michael came to some conclusions, it looked highly likely that¡¯s what was happening.


    However, thest part was incredibly strange, some strange being who said that was Michael¡¯s home or was supposed to be his home anyway.


    And better yet, he ced the system inside him.


    ¡¯Too confusing..¡¯ He didn¡¯t have a single clue on who the being could be, but was he a friend or foe?


    After removing the ¡¯parasite¡¯ Michael¡¯s capabilities greatly increased, however, it did help him quite a lot at the start.


    ¡¯Who fucking knows at this point¡¯ He sighed and stood up, noticing Freya sitting by the fountain.


    She waved at him "How are you feeling?"


    "Like shit"


    Freya chuckled and raised her hand, enveloping Michael in a golden glow, removing the exhaustion he had suffered previously.


    "So how was it, do you remember anything?"


    Michael thought for a moment and decided to recall the events that had happened, making sure to mention the being that he saw at the very end.


    She looked deep in thought "Hm... were there any more of them?"


    "No" Michael shook his head.


    "So it¡¯s not them.. honestly, I am not sure who it is, I would need to look into it further" She said and stood up, signaling for Michael to follow her upstairs.


    ¡¯Them?¡¯


    Freya sat down on the throne and gotfortable "Those trials are something you can do only once a year, there are 10 of them in total."


    "Right.. are all of them going to be this freaky?" Michael questioned and sat down on the ground.


    "Yes, that¡¯s how they are, other people go through something simr, you are just a tad bit different" She said with a wink.


    ¡¯Makes sense.. it would be strange if others relived their past lives every single time they did something like this¡¯


    "Is there any way to use my mana with an affinity, so far the only thing I am able to do is manifest colorless mana, nothing else really."


    "You are not that far away from being able to use it, just keep refining your mana and eventually, the answer wille to you naturally" She exined.


    "Do you mean the mana core? Will it just form by itself?"


    "As I said, you will understand eventually"


    Michael sighed and proceeded to ask more stuff about the world, however, he only received vague answers for most things.


    One such thing was this world they were in currently, it was a different ne than where Vivum was located.


    There were domains where other beings as powerful as Freya dwelled, she didn¡¯t go into detail that much though.


    As the little questionnaire finally finished and Michael was about to head back to his room, she mentioned something odd.


    "Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there will be a little guest visiting sometime in the future, try not to antagonize her, she is a bit of a short fuse"


    He absentmindedly nodded and went out of the throne room, making his way back to the massive room she had assigned him.


    Freya said she would train him, however, until then, he had to refine his mana and finish the second trial.


    If it was anything like the first, he imagined it would not be so fun.


    She also gave him some sort of a book with an alphabet that matched some of the scriptures he saw back in the fountain room.


    Michael sighed ¡¯I always sucked at learning newnguages¡¯ Even back in his previous world, he only knew 2nguages, the second one he picked up while serving in the military.


    The school also taught anguage, however, for some reason he was not able to learn it no matter how hard he studied.


    Hence why he was currently anxiously holding the book, his confidence was not incredibly high.


    However, as he was about to open it and learn it, a familiar sound resounded.


    -Ding


    [System Update Complete]


    Miss me?


    ¡¯What¡¯s up parasite¡¯ Michael ced the book down and smirked.


    Who are you calling a parasite.. oh.. I remember now.


    The system¡¯s voice quieted down, before finally speaking up again.


    That was not me.


    ¡¯What are you talking about now, who else could it be?¡¯ He scoffed at its words.


    The day before you entered the academy, I told you I would be going through an update, don¡¯t you remember?


    Its voice wasced with confusion, the same went for Michael.


    ¡¯What bullshit are you spouting, you didn¡¯t tell me anything.¡¯


    Hm.. I see, you don¡¯t have any memory of that day at all, however, you finished the trial all by yourself? My how you have grown.


    ¡¯And from what I heard, you should have told me about these little trials quite a while ago?¡¯ Michael was still not convinced, who knew if this parasite was lying or not.


    Stop calling me a parasite, I was going to tell you after you learned how to use Physical Enhancement and Mana Projection, who knew you would learn them so fast though.


    As Michael was about to interject, it interrupted him.


    And don¡¯t even think you should have known this earlier, you would have died in the trial if I told you, you are quite the hot headed idiot after all.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡¯You do know that if you just told me I couldn¡¯t use skills in there, I would not have tried going there?¡¯


    Sure sure, anyway, Freya removed the system error, it formed a quarter of my own sentience and tried recing me while I was gone, it sucked though as you could see, it was not even able to readjust your abilities correctly.


    Michael listened attentively and it finally started making sense now, however, he still had one more question to ask.


    ¡¯Who or what was that thing that I saw in the fragmented memories?¡¯


    I don¡¯t know who that being is, however, it seemed to hold a higher position than the seven Archangels, I assume you can piece the rest together.


    ¡¯God?¡¯ Michael was shocked, god was responsible for this?


    Not quite the absolute being but yeah it was someone high up on thedder.


    ¡¯I see, well shit¡¯ So he now had literal gods to worry about.


    ¡¯What about the memories, do they mean anything aside from thest part?¡¯


    It¡¯s more so to showcase what you were like at your lowest points in the past, that world existed and you were a part of it, albeit not for long. Still, take it as a lesson, the more trials youplete, the more the puzzle will solve itself.


    ¡¯Sure, anyway it¡¯s about time I prepare for the second trial, isn¡¯t it? I assume it would be much more difficult than the first one¡¯


    The difficulty varies based on the type of trial, however, yes, it would not be as easy as the one you just had, just keep on training, I will fix your status before the second trial starts.


    ¡¯Sure.¡¯

 Chapter 44: The Second Trial

    Michael was lying down on top of his bed, reading the alphabet and trying to learn that newnguage, his progress was surprisingly fast.


    Compared to his previous world, the progress was in fact really great, the only reason it was taking this long was because thenguage was moreplex than others.


    So much so that while he was able to memorize the entire alphabet he was still finding it difficult to speak it or read it properly.


    That¡¯s even with the assistance of his INT stat, it felt strange actually learning for once.


    It has been a year by now, Michael¡¯s daily routine was mana refinement, learning thenguage and from time to time, meeting up with Freya to talk about random stuff.


    He found it easy to talk to her, as if they knew each other at some point, which the way things were unfolding, was highly likely.


    The visitor she mentioned did not show up either, maybe they forgot?


    I can¡¯t fix the status screen, it¡¯s frozen, however, your stats are increasing, get your mana core already.


    ¡¯It sure would be nice if I had someone by my side that could, well, I don¡¯t know, give me some answers?¡¯ Michael scoffed back at the system.


    The only hints it gave him across the year since it came back, was to keep refining his mana and he would figure it out.


    Basically the same thing Freya said.


    Michael couldn¡¯t understand why the system couldn¡¯t tell him, it¡¯s not like it was alive, would it die if it broke the oath, was it even under oath?


    I am, the memories I have are from people who all had mana cores, not including you of course.


    ¡¯So? Why can¡¯t you tell me exactly?¡¯


    Oaths can kill any being, even if god himself broke an oath, he would be killed, doesn¡¯t matter if I don¡¯t have a body, I can still die.


    ¡¯Wow, who invented the oaths then if they can even kill gods?¡¯ Michael thought in wonder.


    The beings before gods most likely, no one really knows.


    ¡¯Like primordials or something?¡¯


    As I said, no one knows.


    Michael shrugged and went back to reading, however, a wave of mana erupted from his pocket, specifically the pocket in which the orb of trials was located.


    The button that was pressed down all this time, came back up, signifying that today was the day he could enter the trials once more.


    He immediately got off the bed and headed for the fountain room, he was going to tell Freya, however, she was not in her throne room.


    It was strange since that¡¯s where he always found her, but since she wasn¡¯t there, he couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    Michael arrived in front of the fountain and sat down just a bit in front of it, before pressing the button and once again being transported to an unknown ce.


    It was dark.. too dark.


    He tried opening his eyes, however, it was to no avail, it felt as if he was blind.


    He clenched his fists ¡¯System?¡¯


    I am here, it says Trial of Sense, guess you are blind for now.


    ¡¯Can you see anything then?¡¯


    No, I am the same as you, I can feel around myself though, the mana is pretty rich in this area.


    Michael understood what it meant and began spreading his mana around himself, it slowly connected with the mana and he could feel roughly 50 meters around himself.


    ¡¯Woah.. it¡¯s much better than I thought¡¯ Michael learned this type of application while he was messing around back in the temple.


    The system and Freya told him about the possibilities, which quite frankly, were nearly endless.


    Enhancement, Projection, Detection,bining all of them leads to even morebinations.


    Yet, he felt there was more than that and that was why he was so excited to learn about it.


    As he used Detection, he was able to perceive the surroundings as if he had eyes, the mana acted as his own limbs.


    He could touch and feel everything in a certain radius and what caught his eye was the fact that he was in some sort of a trap room.


    There were sharp spears all around and all sorts of other booby traps on the ground.


    Michael picked a direction and walked forward, neatly avoiding the traps.


    ¡¯This seems a bit easier than the other one no?¡¯


    Say that after being in here for longer than a minute, traps aren¡¯t the only thing you will face.


    n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ¡¯Bummer..¡¯


    He navigated the traps and appeared in some sort of an open room, it did not seem like there were any traps here.


    As he was taking the next few steps forward, he suddenly couldn¡¯t hear anything.


    ¡¯Don¡¯t tell me..¡¯


    Yes, first your sight, now your hearing, I don¡¯t need to tell you what¡¯s next do I?


    ¡¯God.. I fucking hate this trial already¡¯ Even with the mana, not seeing or hearing puts him at a big disadvantage, the only reason he was able to deal with Kevinst time was because he could see his HP still.


    Though he guessed something like that wouldn¡¯t be happening anymore.


    And here he was, slowly losing his senses until what, he doesn¡¯t even know he still exists?


    ¡¯Since this is most likely some memory fragment, just who the hell experienced this?¡¯ He thought.


    The memories seemed overexaggerated, thest trial was anyway, was this how the past Michael saw the world?


    ¡¯I can assume he was blind, but the other senses as well? I am not so sure about that.¡¯


    Watch out.


    As the system¡¯s warning reached Michael, a massive figure suddenly appeared in his Detection range.


    It felt like some kind of a massive werewolf, its speed was definitely impressive.


    However, for the current Michael, it was a walk in the park.


    The moment it was within 10 meters of him, a Sword of Mana manifested and flew straight through the werewolf¡¯s head, killing it in an instant.


    If Michael had to guess, his current prowess was just below the goblin leader he met previously.


    Safe to say, the progress he had made was considerable.


    He believed that he could finally prove to Amanda that he was ready to take on higher level dungeons, by now he was considered strong, in Vivum at least.


    However, from the conversations with Freya, he realized that there was a world outside of the one he was in, one that was much bigger and housed many more strong people.


    It was an exciting thought, he didn¡¯t know when his desire to be strong ignited, but, it was currently his main driving factor.


    Once he bes strong enough, he can decide what he wishes to do moving forwards.


    And for that, he needed to finish the trials and awaken his mana core.


    Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself now, more pups iing.


    ¡¯Sure¡¯ He twisted his body around and shot out a few Swords of Mana which all hit vitals, immediately killing the monsters.


    It has be his favorite ability, there was also Mana Spears that he used from time to time, however, he felt they were not as effective and satisfying.


    The swords were fast and deadly, they also cost barely any mana to cast, it was the perfect ability.


    After finally finishing up, he noticed another change, he could not smell or taste anymore.


    ¡¯2 at once?¡¯ He was slightly shocked.


    The trial adjusts the difficulty based on your abilities, so far you have been annihting the monsters, what did you expect?


    Michael nodded, slightly nervous ¡¯Isn¡¯t touch next?¡¯

 Chapter 45: The Second Trial (2)

    The fighting was simr to the goblin waves, the werewolves kepting much stronger than the previous ones.


    However, it was still no issue for Michael, he believed that until he lost his sense of touch, he could still perform at nearly full power.


    He knew it was merely a matter of time though, it was inevitable, yet he was not prepared for it in the slightest.


    He could currently feel everything, the connection stayed the same even through mana, however, when that disappears, won¡¯t he just die?


    ¡¯Can I really do this?¡¯


    Who knows, if you can¡¯t you will die, hope that helps.


    Michael¡¯s expression soured ¡¯Yeah..¡¯


    He was not any closer to achieving this so called mana core, he was getting stronger, but aside from his mana growing stronger, nothing else happened.


    Your mana concentration is high, trust me, all of it is not for naught.


    Michael nodded and prepared for the next wave of monsters, this time they had sharper ws, but still not durable enough to survive a sword through the skull.


    As he was waiting for more monsters to appear, he was pleasantly surprised to find out he was teleported to a different location.


    He felt dirt right below his feet, a relieving notion as that meant he had not yet lost his sense of touch.


    Michael sensed a road nearby and headed towards it, there appeared to be a few people there.


    They had swords but he couldn¡¯t tell if they were hostile or not, he just hoped they think of him as some passerby cripple and take him along.


    They don¡¯t appear to be friendly.


    As the system¡¯s words resounded, Michael saw one of the people drawing their bow andunching an arrow at Michael.


    ¡¯So be it¡¯ He summoned a Mana Shield and began casting his Swords of Mana, however, in that short moment, he lost all feeling, his Detection felt as if he was in the middle of the air, it was all empty.


    Everything he felt just moments ago disappeared, the only thing left now, were his thoughts.


    ¡¯Shit.. it just had to happen now¡¯ Michael did not hold back as he began casting spells in the direction of the people he felt just mere moments ago.


    He kept casting until roughly 20% of his mana was used up, he did that just to be safe.


    ¡¯Did I get them?¡¯ He wondered, it would be strange if they were still alive after the barrage he had just unleashed.


    Your HP is decreasing, there is still someone remaining.


    Michael was shocked, he had removed his Mana Shield the moment he lost control of his sense of touch, it was a bit hard to control after all.


    Trying to step back as far as he could, he sent a few swords which traveled in a horizontal line, he didn¡¯t want to risk trying to do it around himself.


    If he did, he would most likely be left in two pieces.


    ¡¯All good?¡¯


    Yes, well probably, your HP is not decreasing anymore at the very least, I can¡¯t see or feel anything either.


    ¡¯Well it¡¯s fine, probably¡¯ Michael thought as the reality of the situation finally dawned on him.


    He was able to react because he still knew they were there, if not, then he might have died from his own spell.


    ¡¯This feels so.. ufortable¡¯ He thought as the only thing he could do was think, if not for the system¡¯s help in notifying him about his HP decreasing, it might have gone bad.


    He attempted to walk in one direction, or he thought he was walking anyway, he didn¡¯t even know if he was standing right now.


    Your HP decreased again, though it wasn¡¯t by a big amount, you probably hit a tree or something.


    ¡¯Wow.. this trial really is something else, what am I supposed to learn here exactly?¡¯ He felt like he was being tortured instead of tested.


    Michael didn¡¯t know how long this had been going on, his perception of time had been a tad bit distorted ¡¯System?¡¯


    3 hours.. no 4 or maybe 5? 6.. I don¡¯t know.


    He face palmed, or well at least hoped he did.


    ¡¯I don¡¯t even know anymore...¡¯ Michael tried sensing the mana and just barely seeded, he had struggled quite a lot to get this far.


    However, now he was able to at the very least sense his body, and what do you know? He was sideways, definitely not standing.


    ¡¯Why was it so hard to sense my mana?¡¯


    You were looking for something in a world where mana was rich, your mana did not differ from that of the surroundings, you did a good job finding it, now you only have to learn to sense other people.


    ¡¯Sounds easier said than done..¡¯ He tried standing up, however, he leaned and fell once again, it felt like he was a newborn again.


    It felt impossible to tell apart up and down, he just kept trying until he could finally stand, took only a few minutes to do so.


    Your HP decreased by a decent amount, you are being attacked.


    Michael instantly reacted and raised his hand, creating multiple Swords of Mana around it and sending it all around himself, almost as if he was shooting a machine gun.


    There are more. Experience new tales on NovelBin.C?m


    He cast a Mana Shield around himself and waited for an attack tond, ready to counterattack at any moment.


    A sword impacted his knee and he immediately shot a sword of light in that direction, possibly killing the person or monster behind that attack.


    ¡¯This is pretty easy¡¯ Michael thought as he began this little minigame, no attack came from the same direction and even if it did, he was prepared to shoot back.


    However, the more he fought, the more his uneasiness grew.


    That was until the attacks ceased, it appeared he managed to kill everyone present.


    So I have good news and bad news for you, which do you want to hear first?


    He was a bit surprised ¡¯What? Good, I guess?¡¯


    So the good news is, this trial was short and that battle just then was the end of it, you will soon be teleported out.


    ¡¯Okay?¡¯


    Now as for the bad news... you just massacred an entire city of innocents or at least that¡¯s what just happened ording to the notification.


    ¡¯Huh?¡¯ Michael¡¯s heart began racing faster, hispletion objective was to kill an entire city? That¡¯s impossible.


    However, the more he thought, the more he came to a realization.


    Since the start of the trial, he was being conditioned for battle, any kind of an attack thrown at him made him react in kind.


    He must have stumbled into a city somehow and the guards tried to stop him because he looked suspicious.


    ¡¯Fuck.¡¯


    Michael was yed by the trial, now he didn¡¯t even know if this was the correct way toplete it, he just hoped that the synchronization would provide him some more rity.


    All of a sudden, every single one of his senses returned, one by one in the order they disappeared.


    First, his Sight, in front of himy a bunch of people that werepletely mutted, if someone told him a human did this, he would not believe it.


    Second, His Hearing, it sounded as if a river was flowing, however, it was all blood.


    Third and fourth, Smell and Taste, the smell was horrid, it seemed he fought for longer than he thought as the smell of dposition reached his nose, he could also taste blood in his mouth, doubtful if it was even his.


    Andstly, Touch, he could finally feel everything again, his Detection was still up but just as quickly was turned off, for just a moment he felt everything, literally everything.


    As he was about to throw up, he was teleported out, back into the temple.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 46: Fallen

    The moment Michael appeared at the temple, he immediately puked his guts out, even with all the experience he had amassed thus far, the sight was still disgusting.


    Pull yourself together, those people were not real.


    ¡¯Not real? They looked fucking real!¡¯ He eximed with a hand over his mouth, stopping himself from vomiting further.


    [Second Trial: Trial of Sense - Reward: Synchronization +10%]


    In the corner of his eyes, thepletion notification arrived and he immediately clicked on it, beats trying to fight the urge to vomit.


    Michael¡¯s vision shifted and he once again found himself in someone¡¯s body, however, unlike his previous thoughts the person was not blind or impaired in any way.


    "Hey system, could you give me a quest or something already? My level has been the same for 2 weeks now" A cheerful voice came out of the body, it was still Michael, just a bit older.


    Negative host, you have reached the quest limit for the current month, Suggestion, kill monsters.


    The voice of the system resounded inside his head it felt strange hearing it so emotionless.


    ¡¯So this is the nonsentient system huh¡¯


    Michael pouted and proceeded to kill the nearby wolves, he was using a pair of daggers tond swift but deadly attacks.


    ¡¯This one is not a coward like the other one, though why is the synchronization 10%?¡¯


    He jumped up and spun,nding a killing blow on 4 of the wolves by slicing their necks.


    The moment he finished the fight, he wiped the blood of his daggers and sheathed them, walking back to the supposed city in the distance.


    "The hero is back!" The bunch of citizens greeted him along the way, carving a wide smile on his face.


    ¡¯Hero?¡¯


    Michael walked back to his home and looked around, making sure no one was nearby.


    "So I can finally attempt the Ascension huh, this is my second one already" He looked on with nostalgia.


    Host, you are not ready.


    "What do you mean? I am level 200 and people hold me as some sort of a hero, aren¡¯t I strong enough?"


    ¡¯He¡¯s level 200? We are almost the same strength though?¡¯


    You are not, host, the previous one tested your conviction and you nearly failed, this one will be many times more difficult.


    Michael scoffed "Your standards are just too high,e on, trust me!"


    ¡¯He overestimates himself, I don¡¯t know what the trial is about, but if judging strength wise, he is pretty weak¡¯


    He opened the system interface and clicked on the Ascension button, it was the only thing that was not hidden from the onlooking Michael, the other stats were invisible.


    Host, stop.


    The system attempted to stop him, however, this version of Michael did not listen at all and proceeded straight into the Ascension.


    He disappeared from his room and appeared in front of a white door, on the left he could see another door, however, it was pure ck.


    ¡¯Hm? Why is he hesitating?¡¯


    "Hey system what¡¯s that?" His eyes looked a bit dazed, as if he was under some sort of a mind control spell.


    However, it did not seem to be the case, something else was at y, the onlooking Michael just couldn¡¯t tell what.


    "System?" He kept calling out but no reply ever came.


    The glowing of the white door intensified, however, so did the darkness of the ck door.


    He felt allure like no other and started walking towards it, seemingly with his mind already made up. Stay updated through NovelBin.C?m


    The onlooking Michael felt a wave of emotions that hit him suddenly ¡¯Greed, Pride.. Wrath?¡¯


    It seemed like the doors represented his desires and he was sumbing to them.


    Michael¡¯s smile widened as he grasped the knob of the door, twisting it.


    The surroundings once again shifted and he was back inside of his room, the previous wide smile still present on his face.


    "Haha.."


    Host...


    He cracked his fingers and looked back on his status screen, instead of the usual blue, it was now a deep red.


    What have you done?


    The system¡¯s voice, even though emotionless, felt as if it was genuinely confused and angry.


    "What do you mean? I chose MY path" As his words dawned, his strength grew exponentially, he felt as if he could do anything now.


    You failed, you are ipatible.


    At the system¡¯s hollow words, a notification appeared in front of his eyes.


    [Inheritance Revoked, Locking status]


    "Huh? What the fuck are you doing!?" Michael eximed at the system, his strength which was increasing rapidly, suddenly stopped.


    ¡¯He haspletely lost his shit.¡¯


    "Hey!" He kept calling out to the system, however, no answer came.


    Michael stormed out of his house and frantically looked around, noticing a bunch of people staring at him with reference.


    But unlike before, he seemed pissed off, his expression even scared a few of the people present.


    "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!"


    "H-Hero" One of the people closest to him called out in a shocked expression.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Michael turned to the one calling him and out of reflex, drew his daggers.


    And the moment he did, people began screaming and running around in fear.


    However, for some reason, the screams sounded oddly soothing to him, as if a song was being yed into his ears.


    He wanted more.


    Michael took a deep breath and ran forward, slicing someone¡¯s throat open.


    "Fuck, why did I do that? I can¡¯t hear him scream now!" Heughed and approached another person.


    He kept killing and killing, each kill more obscure than the rest, his main objective was to make someone scream as loud as they could.


    However, the screaming eventually stopped.


    Michael looked around himself with a confused expression, corpses strewn all over the floor.


    "Where did everyone go?"


    ¡¯...¡¯


    [You are being hunted]


    A notification resounded as he ignored it and proceeded to walk around the entire city, looking for any signs of life.


    "How?" His expression soured, it seemed the reality of what he did finally dawned on him.


    ¡¯Fucking psychopath¡¯


    [You are being hunted]


    The notification resounded again, this time he took a nce but just for a moment, he deemed it insignificant.


    "My mana core didn¡¯t form because of that fucking system, why did it have to lock my stats" He eximed in anger at seemingly no one.


    Just as his thoughts finished, an eerie feeling enveloped him.


    [??? Descended]


    "My... how unsightly" He heard a voice from right above him.


    Turning towards it, he saw a winged figure, it wore a white robe and had golden hair streaming down to its waist.


    "Who ar-"


    "Quiet."


    The figure silenced Michael and floated down just in front of him, holding eye contact.


    He couldn¡¯t tell what the eye color of the figure was, it seemed as though he was looking at a mirror.


    The figure sighed "This makes it what, 6411 now? Why are so many of you bing Fallen.."


    Michael tried speaking, however, no words came out.


    Something did happen though, his mind began getting clearer, reying his earlier actions with a rational mind.


    A tear streamed down his face, to which the figure replied with a smile.


    "I will do you the courtesy of introducing myself, I am Raguel, one of the seven archangels and I am here to carry out your punishment."


    At his words, Michael¡¯s body morphed and he turned to dust which was scattering in the wind.


    However, the onlooking Michael was still there, if only for a moment, though it was enough to overhear something interesting.


    "When will you be whole.. your absence... is not something we are used to" The figure said with a sad expression and disappeared the same mysterious way it first appeared.


    Silence ensued and Michael awaited to be brought back to the temple, but all of a sudden a wave of emotions startled him.


    ¡¯He¡¯s still alive?¡¯


    He could roughly feel this Michael¡¯s emotions, even after he was apparently killed, it seemed something else happened instead.


    ¡¯A cruel punishment for a cruel person.. it is fitting¡¯ And with that thought, he was finally teleported back, once againnding in the fountain.


    At least you know how to swim.


    ¡¯Shut up.¡¯

 Chapter 47: Mishap

    Michael got out of the fountain and headed up the stairs to the throne room, unlike before, Freya was not waiting for him.


    ¡¯So archangels huh, system did you see what happened?¡¯


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    I saw your memories, yes that appears to be an actual archangel and the one¡¯s body you were inside of, was that of somebody possessed by sin, hence why it is called a Fallen.


    ¡¯I see.. well, it was a bit haunting, can something like that happen to me too?¡¯ He was a bit worried about the Ascension, while that particr Michael was not the strongest, he thought his will was decent at the very least.


    Don¡¯t underestimate your personality, something like that wouldn¡¯t even make you bat an eye.


    Michael¡¯s brow twitched "What is that supposed to mean?"


    The system chose to ignore him, that was until he asked a question that was lingering on his mind.


    ¡¯Can you seal my status just as easily as the other system?¡¯


    No, certain conditions have to be met, however, due to the speed at which you are bing stronger, the locking of status wouldn¡¯t really work, it only works for those whose strength is under level 200, you are at around level 150 strength wise.


    ¡¯Level 150 huh, am I the only one growing this fast?¡¯


    You are a bit different than others, however, the others should start picking up on mana control, even if it is unconventional for those under level 200, some people are born exceptional, there is also that regressor friend of yours.


    ¡¯True¡¯ Michael looked around the throne room and did not see anyone at all, what seemed the most strange was that the throne itself was a little bit dusty, as if a lot of time had passed.


    But it did not make sense to him, he was sure only a maximum of 2 days had passed, he would have died from starvation or something if it were longer.


    Well... you don¡¯t exactly feel hunger in the trials..


    ¡¯Shit...¡¯ Has his perception of time dwindled that much? It seemed impossible.


    He tried thinking back to the trial, specifically to the synchronization, maybe the Michael who was still alive even after being turned to dust, spent an eternity like that.


    Maybe that¡¯s why the time was so distorted. Enjoy new adventures from NovelBin.C?m


    It¡¯s possible, they are based on the feelings of the other Michaels, your observations were correct.


    He nodded and proceeded to walk into every single room, trying to find a hint as to where Freya had disappeared to.


    Michael eventually found a note, honestly, the first thing he should have checked should have been his room.


    He picked it up and read it, his expression turning sour.


    -----


    It seems you got the short end of the stick, it has been a year since you disappeared. I am not able to keep the time dted while I am not here. I did make it so the time stops in the fountain room, in exchange, the flow of time outside will be the same as in here. By the time youe out, a maximum of 2 years would have passed outside. Sit on the throne and you cane back.


    -----


    ¡¯Oh..¡¯


    Oh.


    Both Michael and the system had simr reactions, it seemed his so called 2 day training didn¡¯t really go as nned.


    He didn¡¯t even get to meet the guest she mentioned, well that¡¯s besides the point by now, he had to return immediately.


    Walking up to the throne, he dusted it off and sat down, his vision shifting back to where he first entered the temple, there was a forest..


    Which for some reason, had most of its trees cut down.


    ¡¯Can you cross reference my memories and figure out if this is actually the ce?¡¯ He asked the system.


    Just a moment.. Yes, this area is the same, well minus the trees.


    Michael sighed and headed towards the deforested area, there was a little road there leading to what he assumed was the vige.


    His getup was still the same as it was 2 years ago, however, he didn¡¯t assume anyone would recognize him though.


    He eventually arrived back at the vige, it looked livelier than before it seemed his ssmates dealt with the monsters surrounding it.


    Michael went back to the inn he had been to the first time he arrived to the vige.


    The bartender was busy dealing with the drunkards so he didn¡¯t see him arrive.


    Sitting down on a stool, Michael waited for him to finish up, a few people were ncing in his direction, it was notmon to dress like some sort of a priest in a vige such as this.


    "What can I get yo-" The bartender absentmindedly asked before finally taking a nce at the person in front of him.


    "You.. you were still alive?" He seemed to be shocked, after his disappearance, many assumed he had died.


    Michael shrugged and put on a small smile "Surprise?"


    "Surprise my arse, you have a bounty on your head like no other" The bartender snickered as he picked up some kind of a marble and crushed it.


    Suddenly, a bunch of people ran through the doors of the inn, arriving right in front of Michael.


    A single person, in particr, stood out, he seemed like the mayor of this vige.


    "Are you Michael?" He asked, still a bit unsure, the bounty had his face all over it, however, it seemed too good to be true.


    Michael decided to show rather than tell, he cast purify in a wide area and its range seemed to have increased even if the status was broken.


    The green light enveloped everyone present as they widened their eyes, this was really the former Saint.


    "Come with me" The mayor gestured to follow.


    They headed to what appeared to be the vige mayor¡¯s residence, it was quite spaciouspared to the rest of the houses around it.


    The inside was oddly luxurious, Michael even wondered if this so called mayor might have been the corrupted type, however, he was not one to worry about such things at the current moment, everyone had their own circumstances.


    Sitting down, the mayor picked up some sort of a phone and dialed a number, the other side picking up nearly instantly.


    "This better be an emergency, I told you not to call this number for random reasons, I am not giving you more money" An annoyed voice rang out from the other side.


    ¡¯Is that Amanda..?¡¯ She sounded a bit.. well, like herself if he was being honest.


    "Of course it¡¯s an emergency you hag, I found your Saint" As his rude words descended, Amanda turned silent, not even minding the hagment.


    ¡¯Looks like they are friends, probably¡¯ Michael chuckled to himself.


    You seemed to miss the part where it¡¯s not a missing person report but a bounty.


    He flinched ¡¯Oh.. I mean, it can¡¯t be that bad right? I am.. was the Saint.¡¯


    I apud your optimism.


    After a solid minute of silence Amanda, finally spoke again "Is that bastard with you right now?"


    "He is."


    "I am on my way" With that, she ended the call.


    For some reason, the mayor looked at Michael with pity.


    ¡¯...It will be fine.. right?¡¯

 Chapter 48: Return

    "Hi?" He had expected Amanda to take at least a few hours to arrive, but it hadn¡¯t even been 5 minutes.


    And here she was, right in front of him, wearing a massive disapproving frown.


    She raised her hand and an invisible string of mana appeared, flying at Michael with unbelievable speed, this was the fastest attack he had seen so far.


    However, it wasn¡¯t something he couldn¡¯t react to, his mana sensitivity and general capabilities had increased to abnormal levels.


    It also seemed she wasn¡¯t going all out, Amanda was clearly way above level 200, if she really did use her full strength, he wouldn¡¯t stand a chance.


    Casting a Mana Shield, he redirected the attack to the side, creating a narrow fissure in the ground that spanned just a few meters.


    Her brows twitched as she sent another attack, aiming for his arm, it was many times stronger than the previous one.


    ¡¯I don¡¯t think she¡¯s happy to see me¡¯ Michael created a bunch of shields andyered them on top of one another, strengthening his defense while also beginning to cast his Swords of Mana.


    This little squabble was on a standstill, Amanda was gauging his strength while also swatting away his strongest attacks as if they were nothing.


    Suddenly, she changed her approach, opting for a close range battle.


    Appearing right in front of Michael, she struck him on his side, even after using his Mana Shield, it caused him considerable damage.


    But yet again, he was no longer in the trials, even if his status screen was frozen, his previous skills still existed.


    Combining Mana Shield with Shield of Nourishment, his defenses were nearly imprable.


    Amanda noticed this and chuckled, sending an attack that Michael could not even react to, sending him flying off into a nearby building.


    "Kuh.. hey calm down already" he waved his hands in front of him, trying to calm her down, she seemed to using a lot more strength than he would have liked.


    Her attacks did not stop, every single one of them broke all of his shields, needing to recast them after every single sh.


    If he didn¡¯t he felt as if any one of them would kill him.


    ¡¯But she wouldn¡¯t go that far, right? She is just expressing her frustration.¡¯


    Well, I don¡¯t know about you, but she seems pretty serious, I don¡¯t think she will stop until you are heavily injured, good luck.


    ¡¯Yeah yeah, whatever¡¯ He still felt helpless in front of her, while he did put up a fight earlier, now he was just being tossed around like some kind of a toy.


    Michael tried something new, casting multiple Swords of Light and splitting them into many fragmented pieces, if he had to guess, there were more than 400 miniature swords.


    Each of which, had the same amount of mana as the rest, making them small but deadly, even if she swats away most of them, the mana dispersion will enhance the remaining ones.


    This is a kind of spell he thought of while doing absolutely nothing back in the temple, he got bored of reading the alphabet and the trials were on cooldown.


    He forgot the book back at the temple, however, he had already memorized all of its contents, he just had toprehend them.


    Amanda did as he predicted, she attempted to swat away the swords, but the remaining ones pushed her back.


    "Hm.." She backed off for the first time since the beginning and rubbed her wrist, it had a small cut.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Though just as quickly, it healed itself.


    "Good enough" She nodded and walked up to him, this time without any sort of hostility.


    Continue reading stories on NovelBin.C?m


    However, he was still on guard, Amanda was pretty unpredictable at times.


    "Where have you been?" She asked calmly.


    "Would you believe me if I told you I was in a different world" Michael replied teasingly.


    He was met with a frown "That would make sense at the very least, you were gone for 2 years, everyone thought you died."


    Michael shrugged in response, he was not going to exin every single thing that happened, she wouldn¡¯t understand anyway.


    They exchanged in some formalities and she told him a bit of what had happened during the time he was gone.


    The slums were recognized as an individual city, his ssmate Tony became the Saint and better yet, Amanda put a bounty on his head, she thought he had betrayed the government.


    That shocked him a little, while he did understand his role as a Saint, him leaving unannounced called for a dead or alive bounty, quite frankly, it seemed stupid.


    He also found out that a few of his ssmates died, there were dungeon incidents that urred in the 2nd year, everyone thought the troubles had passed after a single year of peace.


    They were wrong.


    "So what do you want to do, act dead like a worthless rat? Or would you like toe back to the academy? It is starting next week." Amanda asked seriously.


    "What level dungeons are they doing currently?"


    She thought for a moment before replying "Since your ss is considered elite, they were doing level 70 dungeons with some of the more impressive ones even doing level 100 dungeons."


    Well, you can finally level up, it would be helpful to do them as they would help you achieve your mana core faster.


    ¡¯Fair enough, it¡¯s not like I have an objective besides getting a mana core, I can¡¯t really enter dungeons legally anyway, I don¡¯t want to be branded as a criminal.¡¯


    "So uhh.. my Saint title how abo-"


    He was swiftly interrupted "No. You failed in your duties, I am only extending courtesy to you because you were a former Saint, nothing more."


    ¡¯Ouch.¡¯


    "What about the higher level dungeon bet we had 2 years ago, is that still on the table?" Michael asked with hope, his golden spoons disappearing with each sentence she spoke.


    She seemed in thought for a moment "Hm.. you did grow considerably stronger, I could arrange something simr, don¡¯t even think of getting an individual dungeon."


    ¡¯At least that¡¯s something..¡¯


    "It¡¯s time to head back, I can¡¯t leave my post alone for long, let¡¯s go." She pointed at a car that had just arrived, it seemed she went ahead of it.


    Michael looked around and checked his pockets, making sure he didn¡¯t forget anything else.


    ¡¯Mana refining orb.. check, orb of trials.. here, my sniper... fuck¡¯ He sighed, even if he didn¡¯t use it anymore, it was still worth quite a lot.


    All that INT and you forget stuff, I am surprised you didn¡¯t forget those orbs.


    ¡¯Yeah.. it was not on my mind at the moment, I think I left it tucked away on the bed.¡¯


    "Are you asleep?" Amanda called out to Michael with an impatient tone, it seemed he was a little lost in thought.


    He ignored her rude remark and went back to the car, the driver was the same one who had driven him all this time.


    It was time to head back to Vivum City.


    Michael suddenly remembered something "Hey... Is my house still.. well, you know.. mine?"


    "Of course not, it was never yours in the first ce, you can stay in the academy dorms" Amanda replied with a scoff.


    Guess you are no longer a big shot.


    ¡¯..Yeah¡¯

 Chapter 49: Homeless Saint

    They traveled back to the city, it took roughly 20 minutes to drive all the way back, the perks of a bullet train like car, just a tad bit faster though.


    Amanda told him she would make the preparations so he could attend the academy again, he couldn¡¯t just waltz back in after being gone for 2 years.


    The surroundings of the outer city seemed to change a bit, the Vivum Virtual Reality thing appeared to be the top dog of the market.


    Michael asked her about it and she said it was some sort of a technological breakthrough, however, it seemed like she knew more than she let on.


    He wasn¡¯t one to pry though, it did not seem like they were on the best of terms, he felt that if he hadn¡¯t healed her father, she would have killed him the moment she saw him.


    Amanda told him that the bounty on his head will be rescinded, else he would have been hunted down while walking on the street, definitely not something he wanted to go through.


    They finally arrived at the inner part of the city and headed straight for the government building, everything there still looked the same as 2 years ago.


    "I rmend staying low for a bit, I need to prepare extra because of your return, I don¡¯t want the current Saint to get thrown under the bus" She said and went inside the building, leaving Michael standing by himself.


    ¡¯So where do I go now? It¡¯s not like I have a house anymore¡¯


    Can¡¯t you just rent something? Didn¡¯t you get enough funds from being a Saint? Even if it was for only a little while.


    I guess you are right, Michael pulled out the ID card he had kept in his pocket all this time, unlike his sniper, he didn¡¯t take this one out even once.


    However, as he inspected it, his expression crumbled further.


    ¡¯0 fucking dors? Are you serious?¡¯ He clicked on it and it disyed a mini hologram of the transactions.


    They were all directed to all sorts of charity funding organizations.


    He was shaking in disbelief, not only was he homeless, he was also broke.


    Yikes.


    As he was debating on what to do, Michael remembered he still had connections with the slums, even if they became a separate city, the people should mostly be the same.


    Walking up to the car he got inside of it, however, the driver shed him a confused look.


    ¡¯Oh right¡¯


    "To the slums" Michael said naturally, like he used to do 2 years ago.


    Much to his surprise, the driver shook his head "No can do, you are no longer the Saint and I am no longer your driver."


    It just keeps getting worse huh.


    "I-I see.." He got out of the car, he needed to walk now, the distance from the government headquarters to the subway leading to the slums was at the very least a 10 hour walk.


    Why would you walk? Just run.


    ¡¯Oh right, I am as fast as a car now¡¯ Michael face palmed, even after all the time he had spent in this world, his thinking still strayed back to his previous world.


    He took onest look at the headquarters and began sprinting, looking like a blur to normal people and an idiot to slightly stronger people.


    After 2 hours, he finally arrived at the entrance to the slums and to say he was a bit shocked was an understatement.


    The previous entrance which was a run down subway station, turned into what appeared an elegant pair of stairs that lead into an esctor leading in the direction of the slums.


    ¡¯Wow.. they sure went all out¡¯ He thought, if they became an independent city, this was the least they could do.


    The barrier which blocked detection had been strengthened somehow, It would be near impossible to sense someone all the way from the upper city, even if Meph tried.


    ¡¯Yeah that seems to be the case, I can feel mana all around.¡¯ Michael nced around him while standing on the esctor, it seemed the intensified mana acted as some kind of an EMP.


    Well, even the slums need privacy.


    The esctor turned the corner and the slums were in full sight.


    ¡¯Holy shit, they did this in 2 years?¡¯ Michael was absolutely shocked by what greeted his eyes.


    The city that previously looked like some kind of a ruin, now, didn¡¯t even have a single building that looked run down.


    In fact, he could even call this a proper city, one that was equivalent to the top cities he had been to in his previous world.


    And all of that in merely 2 years, it was simply unbelievable.


    The staircase from before was reced with a massive staircase that looked newly remodeled, by the side there was also the esctor that connected with the stairs and headed downwards.


    ¡¯How does this work though? You cane down but you can¡¯t go back up¡¯ He noticed the esctor only traveling in one direction.


    Turn around.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael tilted his head and did just that, all of a sudden, the esctor¡¯s trajectory changed, it was now heading back to where he came from.


    Magic and science, what a lovely concept.


    ¡¯Yeah.. I can¡¯t believe something this simple is so convenient¡¯ He was impressed, however, he got his stuff together and took the esctor down to the new underground city.


    There were a bunch of people running around, they all looked healthy, just like when Michael left.


    That put a warm smile on his face, it seemed his efforts were not for nothing.


    Of course, take pride in your aplishments, but don¡¯t take them for granted.


    He understood what the system was referring to and simply nodded, already in front of the mayor¡¯s building where Alfred dwelled.


    Some people who noticed him had shocked expressions, some even bowing down and praying, murmuring that the Saint had returned.


    Michael merely chuckled at that, even after his supposed death, the reverence did not die down in the slightest.


    ¡¯Good luck Amanda¡¯ He snickered, not causing trouble his first day back would be too strange.


    He walked up to Alfred¡¯s office, along the way, none of the guards attempted to stop him, they all seemed to recognize who he was.


    Opening the door abruptly, what greeted Michael¡¯s sight was a bunch of documents strewn around the entire room.


    ¡¯it is even worse than Reba¡¯s¡¯ He thought with a sour expression, he still didn¡¯t have any clues about her, he didn¡¯t have any contact information at the time, so he didn¡¯t even exchange numbers with Meph or any of his former party members.


    Well not like he could have anyway, they were in aa.


    Stay connected through NovelBin.C?m


    "Get out, I am busy" Alfred¡¯s tired voice rang out from the desk fortified in documents, he couldn¡¯t even be seen.


    However, upon not receiving a single reply and having the door still open, he stood up irritated "Hey! Do you even know how ha-"


    His words were cut short as he noticed the figure in front of him.


    "Michael?" Alfred asked with a trembling voice.


    ¡¯He is still the same¡¯


    "Sup, miss me?"

 Chapter 50: Gratitude

    "I thought you died!" Alfred went up to Michael and hugged him, tears streaming down his face.


    "Come on.. don¡¯t get my white robe dirty.." Readtest chapters at NovelBin.C?m


    However, as he said that, he noticed the very bottom of his robe dyed in red, presumably from the previous trial.


    ¡¯Gross..¡¯ Even with his experience, this continued exposure to gore left a bad taste in his mouth.


    Alfred backed away and wiped his tears "What brings you to our humble city?"


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ¡¯Ah.. here it is.¡¯


    "You see.. while I was perceived as dead.. I might have lost all my wealth..."


    Alfred¡¯s expression remained the same, a smile still hanging on his face "Why didn¡¯t you say so in the first ce, if you need a ce to stay, this city will greet you with open arms."


    He walked back to his desk and took a key out of the cupboard, it was the key to the church "Here, we did some renovations there, however, I can assure you, you won¡¯t be left disappointed."


    Michael didn¡¯t know how to react, to some extent, he expected them to wave him away, that¡¯s the human nature he was used to back in his previous world.


    However, nothing like that happened, his delusions were wrong and he couldn¡¯t see the people for what they actually were.


    And that was grateful.


    The doubt settling within Michael had disappeared as he took the key out of Alfred¡¯s hand.


    "Thank you.."


    "No, thank you" Alfred shed a smile and went back to his duties.


    ¡¯...¡¯


    He silently walked out of the building and headed to the church, the crowd of people had increased exponentially, however, they all made a path for him.


    What¡¯s with the silence, are you about to cry or something?


    ¡¯What are you talking about? No, I am just seeing the people in a different light now, I used to see them as human bags of EXP but now it¡¯s different.¡¯


    You are finally being honest with yourself, it¡¯s a step in the right direction.


    It had been a while since hest got the system¡¯s approval.


    Michael finally arrived in front of the church, it seemed.. bigger, more than twice the size he had seenst time.


    The people once again opened the path for him, he unlocked it and went inside, locking it right behind him.


    He didn¡¯t want to deal with his former Saint duties at the current moment, all he wanted to do was wash up and sleep.


    The inside looked like a church from his previous world, with the room where he lived being hidden to the side.


    One thing that remained from the past was the statue ¡¯Gabriel.. Archangel Gabriel, was it a coincidence I came here?¡¯


    Surprisingly, I think it indeed was a coincidence.


    The system didn¡¯t sound that convincing as it seemed like it didn¡¯t know anything either.


    ¡¯Right..¡¯


    Michael went into his room and ate, showed and got into bed, getting his long awaited nap.


    -----


    Wake up.


    Michael tossed around in his bed, it was still asfortable as he remembered.


    I said wake up, you have a guest.


    ¡¯You should have started with that, your voice is like an annoying mosquito in the morning¡¯ He groggily got up out of the bed and put on his clothing before heading to the front of the church.


    Mosquito? Not my fault your deafness carried over from the second trial.


    Michael rolled his eyes and unlocked the church, in front of it were many people, but only one stood out.


    It was Kevin, the person he least expected to see at the moment.


    "You.." His eyes widened upon seeing Michael.


    ¡¯He still looks like he has a punchable face¡¯


    "Come in" He gestured for Kevin toe inside the church, he preferred to talk when there wasn¡¯t a massive crowd around looking at him as if he was some holy being.


    Michael shed a small smile and waved at the people around the church, waiting for Kevin to get inside so he could close the door.


    As they both went inside, he was about to close the door, he noticed another one of his ssmates, Liam, there was also someone with familiar red hair in the crowd, however, he couldn¡¯t see the face of that person.


    He nodded at Liam and closed the door behind him.


    "How are you still alive?"


    "Shut up, you sound like a broken record, sit down anywhere you like" Michael¡¯s fake facade was gone, reced with the usual dislike for Kevin, he was not sure how they could have been friends.


    "I am serious.. you are way too different from the Michael I knew" He snickered and sat down on the sofa that was still right by the statue.


    ¡¯That¡¯s my sofa..¡¯ Michael sighed and sat at one of the seats at the very front, they were surprisinglyfortable.


    "You had 2 years to debate whether I was the Michael you knew and you still hadn¡¯t figured it out?"


    "Try regressing and your best friend being a different person than you used to know" He replied in a helpless tone.


    ¡¯Is he in denial?¡¯


    Well, put yourself in his shoes, would you not feel strange talking to your friend who had be apletely different person?


    "I understand where you areing from, but drop it, I am not the Michael from your memories and I have no clue who you are" Michael gave him a reality check, he wanted to dispel the delusions Kevin was putting himself through.


    "But how.." He suddenly paused, his eyes widening as he murmured "Did the demon have something to do with this?"


    Michael overheard it "What demon?"


    "The one who had killed me.." Kevin dropped this piece of knowledge nonchntly as if it did not mean anything.


    "You got killed by a demon..?"


    He shrugged "Yeah, it was too strong, the only thing I recall besides my death was his name, for some reason, I can¡¯t remember how he looked."


    ¡¯Strange..¡¯


    "His name is Astaroth, one of the princes of hell, I can¡¯t remember anything else sadly" Kevin rubbed his forehead a bit.


    Well, you were not wrong about something being wrong with his head at the very least.


    Michael held back augh ¡¯This is not the time..¡¯


    "I see, well that sucks, sorry you died."


    Kevin smiled slightly "Of course, thankfully I got another chance at revenge."


    ¡¯So he is driven by revenge, not a bad goal I guess¡¯ As his thoughts came to an end, a question arose inside his mind.


    "How did I die?"


    "You didn¡¯t, I didn¡¯t tell you I would be fighting Astaroth, so you lived at least longer than I had" He chuckled at the thought.


    "Do you remember how you regressed then? Anything at all?" Michael felt as if that information could help him, since from what he understood, his situation is oddly simr to Kevin¡¯s.


    "Nope, I fought, I died, I woke up back in my bed back in this world, even my family is still alive." A warm smile appeared on his face as he finished exining.


    ¡¯No dice huh..¡¯


    Michael thought of asking about mana cores but quickly shot that thought down, oaths exist.


    "Well, I am going to go clear my mind, see you next time I guess" Kevin stood up and walked past Michael, stopping just in front of the door.


    "A high level dungeon break will happen soon after the academy year begins, it¡¯s as if that ce is some sort of a trouble ma" He chuckled "Will you be there?"


    Michael nodded "Yes"


    "Good" With that, Kevin left, leaving Michael by himself to his own thoughts.


    ¡¯A dungeon break huh..¡¯ He got up and stretched himself, preparing to open the church up to everyone.


    ¡¯It¡¯s about time I dust off my healing skills¡¯

 Chapter 51: Mana Core

    ¡¯That was exhausting¡¯ Michael expressed as he sat back down on his bed.


    For thest 4 days, the only thing he had been doing was healing others, however, for some reason, most of them came to the church just to see him.


    Most did not even require healing assistance.


    He couldn¡¯t tell how much EXP he got as he stopped receiving notifications about it but the system did assure him the EXP was going towards something.


    He felt relieved and at the same time a bit concerned, Kevin seemed strong, possibly in the early level 120, he used his knowledge of the past well.


    That also means he has gotten new skills, some of which might be better than Michael¡¯s.


    He was not a jealous person, he just did not want to be very far behind.


    ¡¯Any updates on the status?¡¯


    Work in progress, I told you.


    ¡¯Yeah, but not even a single bit of good news? You called that parasite ipetent, yet here you are.¡¯ He said with a snicker.


    I will have you know, I could connect your skills with your mana pool and fix the system, however, you wouldn¡¯t be able to use the affinity you have until you get a Mana Core.


    Michael seemed a bit surprised ¡¯What do you mean?¡¯


    Your heart is pumping out mana without an affinity, the skills are connected to something even deeper than that, however, the connection was severed the moment you learned how to control mana, I assume the process felt a bit.. forceful.


    ¡¯It did..¡¯ He recalled his struggles of first learning mana control, he had even passed out once.


    Achieving Physical Enhancement felt as if he broke through a dam, it was sudden and violent, however, the gains he received in that particr moment were huge.


    ¡¯So the only way is to get a Mana Core huh..¡¯ He thought with a bitter expression, he had hoped this wouldn¡¯t put him that far behind others.


    Well look on the bright side, once everything recalibrates, you will be getting a bunch of new skills and since you figured out how to use mana, you wouldn¡¯t need to level them anymore, they would immediately bump up to the MAX level.


    Michael gasped ¡¯Does that mean I canbine my skills into legendary rarity?¡¯


    But as soon as he thought that, another issue arose ¡¯Doesn¡¯t that mean I won¡¯t be getting any more stat points?¡¯


    You will be able tobine them yes, and no, stat points will also be recalibrated, you will be getting something different as a reward. Discover exclusive content at NovelBin.C?m


    ¡¯Is that so..¡¯ He felt a bit disappointed, however, he was sure the system knew what it was doing.


    Laying down and looking up at the ceiling Michael had a nk look ¡¯So what happens to you once I end up getting a Mana Core, didn¡¯t you say you would disappear?¡¯


    Nothing much, I would still be there to help you, however, my range of abilities would not be that useful anymore, I would still be able to automate some stuff for you though.


    ¡¯That¡¯s a relief, here I thought you might disappearpletely.¡¯


    No, that was more so to make you rely on me less, you were like an adult baby back then.


    Michael¡¯s expression hardened as he turned in his bed ¡¯Shut up.¡¯


    What, am I wrong?


    He decided to ignore the system for now, he wanted to finally take a nap, this day had been as exhausting as the rest.


    He was a bit surprised how he managed to work here for more than a year withoutining ¡¯Is it the people?¡¯


    Michael didn¡¯t feel that overwhelmed before, now, however, the stares were making him a tad bit ufortable.


    Just as he was about to close his eyes and fall asleep, a loud knock resounded on the church¡¯s door.


    ¡¯Seriously..¡¯ He got up groggily, he had gotten sofortable in his bed, yet his rest was cut short.


    Opening the door, what greeted his eyes was a familiar individual, one he did not expect to see down here in the slums.


    "Amanda, to what do I owe this visit?" Michael put on his Saintly smile, trying his best to rile her up.


    However, she ignored his antics "You are needed back at the council, why did you turn off your phone.."


    Ignoring thest part ¡¯Needed at the council? Does she mean at that round table meeting?¡¯ He thought with a puzzled expression, why would he be needed there anyway? It¡¯s not like he was the Saint anymore.


    "Don¡¯t think too much about it, my father wishes to talk to you in private." She said nonchntly and gestured for him to get a move on.


    ¡¯Fafnir wants to see me? Is it because of the wish?¡¯ Michael quickly locked the door behind him and followed after Amanda.


    As the only way toe down and up from the slums was the subway station, they couldn¡¯t get the car down there.


    ¡¯She mentioned phone, isn¡¯t the barrier like an EMP?¡¯ He thought back to his previous observation.


    An EMP for Mana, not for technology, it¡¯s an intricate design.


    The system added as he finally reached the car, heading straight for the government headquarters building.


    Stepping into the elevator, they immediately appeared at the very top where the round table was located.


    Walking up to the room, Amanda nodded at him and walked away.


    ¡¯So it¡¯s a 1 on 1 meeting? I still hadn¡¯t decided what I wanted though..¡¯ Michael thought with a small frown as he opened the door in front of him, Fafnir sitting down in one of the morefier looking chairs.


    ¡¯He¡¯s drooling..¡¯ He noticed that the supposed dragon was asleep.


    However, he suddenly sprang up to his feet and walked up to Michael, his expression a bit tense.


    "I have somewhere to be human, tell me your wish already" He said in an impatient tone.


    ¡¯Did he wait for me all these years? Whoops..¡¯ Michael felt a bit guilty, from what he read in the books, dragons tend to be a little impatient.


    A little? I am surprised he didn¡¯t just kill you straight up.


    ¡¯Well, that would be a bit unreasonable..¡¯


    "Alright, can you teach me how to form a Mana Core?" Michael asked, not even trying to hide his greed, he knew Fafnir couldn¡¯t do something like that anyway.


    However, the next words greatly shocked him "Very well, sit down."


    ¡¯Huh? System?¡¯


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    I am not sure.. I can¡¯t think a of workaround...


    Even the system was not sure of what Fafnir was about to do, breaking the Oath results to death, was he nning on dying?


    Nheless, Michael sat down on the floor as Fafnir sat right behind him.


    "Human, what kind of a battle style do you have?"


    Michael thought for a moment "I am a healer, however, my offensive magic is pretty strong too, I amfortable with Close range and mid-long range battles as well."


    "Show me" Fafnir gestured for Michael to show his spells, he got ready to stand up but was stopped.


    "Show me while sitting on the ground" He said and ced his hand over Michael¡¯s head.


    ¡¯What is he doing?¡¯


    Just do what he says, I think I understand where he was going with this.


    Michael nodded and began casting his attack magic one by one, followed by a few Mana Shields to add variety andstly, Shield of Nourishment which he had cast on himself.


    He had Physical Enhancement on at all times, so he was sure Fafnir would notice as well.


    "Hm... I see" Fafnir suddenly stood up and picked Michael up by the head.


    "I need you to use up every single bit of mana you have."


    ¡¯Won¡¯t I pass out again though?¡¯


    You passed outst time because you didn¡¯t have any training in using it, now you do, trust him, you will be surprised.


    Michael nodded and began using skill after skill.


    ¡¯This better be worth it.¡¯

 Chapter 52: Mana Core (2)

    Are you alright?


    ¡¯Does it look like I am alright?¡¯


    Michael was currently lying on the ground, struggling to even breathe properly, he used up all of his mana and now, he couldn¡¯t move a muscle.


    "Good enough" Fafnir once again picked him up and sat him down.


    "I will start."


    As those words rang out, Michael¡¯s body waspletely paralyzed, he could feel some strange pressure moving all around his body, however, he couldn¡¯t resist it or interact with it in the slightest.


    It stopped his mana from regenerating, every single time that pressure came into contact with it, his mana disappeared.


    Michael gritted his teeth, even if he was paralyzed, he could still feel the overwhelming pain assaulting him.


    All of a sudden, the pressure halted and began concentrating in his spine, his mana which had been disappearing earlier, suddenly began flowing around his spine, seeping inside of it slowly.


    The pain Michael was going through made him not be able to think clearly, he couldn¡¯t even hear the words the System was telling him.


    ¡¯Guhhh... this is fucking torture!¡¯ he eximed, nearly passing out, however, a sudden jolt of pressure forced him back awake.


    Forcing himself to endure this, he noticed a single golden thread appearing at the bottom of his spine, traveling all the way to the top.


    It felt as though a sharp knife was cutting him open with every single second that passed, the pain was only growing worse.


    All of a sudden, the golden line finally reached the very top of his spine and he could no longer feel the connection of mana within his heart.


    It made him panic a little bit, for all he knew, something went wrong.


    However, that seemed to not be the case as in the next moment, all the pain suddenly stopped, as if what he just gone through was nothing but a dream.


    But it wasn¡¯t, the mana that had been actively swirling around his heart, was not there anymore, the only thing remaining was a smallyer of colorless mana that he had cast around his heart.


    That was to prevent him from dying in a single hit.


    Good job, you endured it.


    Michael scoffed ¡¯Yeah? Then why can¡¯t I move huh?¡¯ he attempted to move his arms, however, it was to no avail.


    He looked out of the window and noticed it was already bright outside, when he came here it had just be dark.


    ¡¯How long was I at it for..?¡¯


    As his body still felt paralyzed, he heard a sound from behind him, it was Fafnir, for some reason, he seemed deep in thought.


    "I didn¡¯t expect the core to form so cleanly.. you really are something else aren¡¯t you?" He grinned widely.


    I can finally recalibrate your status, it should be ready by the time you start the academy, don¡¯t bother me unless you are dying or something.


    The system remarked rudely, causing Michael¡¯s brow to twitch ¡¯Suit yourself.¡¯


    Taking a nce at Fafnir "So.. what just happened?"


    "I tried something and it worked, no need to thank me" He replied proudly.


    Thought those words caused Michael to be a little confused "What do you mean by that?"


    "Well, I saw your healing skills are pretty solid, so I thought you would survive the forceful Mana Core forming, I had never tried it before but you seemed desperate.. It was also a wish so I couldn¡¯t refuse either" Fafnir put on an innocent smile.


    However, Michael was not as amused ¡¯Did he just gamble with my life?¡¯


    Explore stories on NovelBin.C?m


    "Hey, it wasn¡¯t that dangerous, I had your mana under my control, worse case scenario you would have been paralyzed for a few days, nothing too serious" Heughed loudly.


    Just as he was about to question the dragon¡¯s intelligence, he was interrupted.


    Fafnir looked at him with a serious expression, a stark contrast to his previous antics "I deemed you perfect for a Flow core, it has the qualities of enhancing your speed, whether it be physical or mana rted" He stopped for a moment then continued.


    "With it, you can intertwine both types of fighting into a single battle style, hence why it is called the Flow Core. This is also the core that I have." Fafnir huffed proudly.


    "You canbine your spells, causing even greater destruction.."


    ¡¯That sounded a little bit ominous.¡¯


    Michael nodded to everything Fafnir said "How do I.. I don¡¯t know.. Level it up?"


    He was met with a chuckle "Once you get ustomed to using it you will understand, although our cores are the same, our paths are not."


    ¡¯Fair enough.. The system would probably exin anyway..¡¯


    Michael finally regained some ounce of control over his body, being able to stand up on his feet, albeit still a little wobbly.


    I said I was going to go but your doubt is annoying me.


    ¡¯What now..¡¯


    The reason he asked you to drain your mana out was that he wanted to perfectly assimte with your body, He could then form a Mana Core as if it was his own.. It¡¯s a genius idea.


    ¡¯Oh.. that does sound prettyplex¡¯ Michael had to agree that it was definitely impressive.


    However, it didn¡¯t change the fact that it was dangerous.


    ¡¯Can you tell me about the other types of cores then?¡¯


    No, I am busy.


    Michael sighed ¡¯Sure, whatever.¡¯


    Turning to Fafnir who was just standing by the side, staring at him "Thank you, if not for you, I would have been stuck."


    "No problem human, don¡¯t go bber about the cores, you are now under an oath" He warned Michael before sitting back down in his chair, falling asleep nearly instantly.


    ¡¯The oath.. I didn¡¯t even feel anything like that.¡¯


    Nheless, Michael did not want to overstay his wee, so he went out of the room and down the elevator.


    He expected to see Amanda, however, she was nowhere to be seen, the same going for the other workers, the entire building seemed empty.


    Walking right outside, he saw the driver from before.


    They made eye contact and the driver shook his head.


    ¡¯So they drive me here but won¡¯t drive me back.. the government is a bunch of cheapskates.¡¯


    Michael could imagine Amandaughing at him, maybe it was her way of revenge for all themotion he had caused back in the slums.


    After all, the previous Saint returned while there was already one in position, it was bound to create great controversy.


    Some might even begin questioning their Goddess Sophia.


    ¡¯Well.. not like I care¡¯ He stretched a bit and began running back to the slums, he couldn¡¯t wait until he moved into the academy dorms, this workout was not something he wanted to do.


    Especially after what he just went through.


    The moment he thought about it, a sharp pain traveled across his spine ¡¯It still hurts..¡¯


    Arriving back at the slums, he noticed there weren¡¯t a lot of people outside, it was after all, still morning.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It took a bit longer than before to run back, the mana which he had used to previously enhance himself, was currently flowing through the spine and into all of his nerves.


    He was still not used to this so he messed up the output, making him run out of mana in the middle of his run.


    ¡¯I am back though.. that¡¯s all that matters.¡¯


    Michael walked back to his church and was prepared to go back to sleep, however, a massive crowd of people was gathered.


    "Oh! It¡¯s the Saint!" They all cheered.


    A sour expression appeared on Michael¡¯s face as he noticed that he might not be able to go back to sleep after all.


    ¡¯2 Days straight of work.. Fuck¡¯

 Chapter 53: The New Status

    A/N: Please refer to the new auxiliary chapter for tiers, stats and types of mana cores. Also after this chapter, I will no longer be writing every single skill in detail, I will put that in auxiliary also.


    *


    It is done.


    Upon hearing those words, Michael immediately jumped out of bed, almost tumbling to the ground.


    ¡¯I thought you wouldn¡¯t make it, the academy is in 6 hours¡¯ He expressed a sigh of relief and called out for the status


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Mana Purity: 14%


    Mana Core: Flow


    Mana Core Rank: Tier 1


    -:- 0% Progress to next Tier -:-


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you


    * Being of Light


    # Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity based spells by 25%


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP: 100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [C+]


    END: Tier 1 [B-]


    AGI: Tier 1 [B]


    INT: Tier 1 [B+]


    CHA: Tier 1 [D+]


    -Skills / [Skill Merging]


    [Herald of Light] [Advanced] [Passive]


    # 250% increase in casting speed, 500% for Light affinity based spells


    Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]


    # See the ailments, illnesses, curses, and any kind of mind magic of those in your field of vision.


    Hand to handbat [Beginner] [Passive]


    # Increases STR by 1 Minor Rank when fighting using only your hands


    Discipline [Basic] [Passive]


    # Mental magic has a 20% reduced effect on you


    Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]


    # Any kind of projectile has a 20% increase in velocity


    Purify [Intermediate] [Active]


    # Purify everyone and everything around you, curing all diseases and illnesses


    Cost: 5% MP


    Radius: 200 Meters


    Shield of Nourishment [Basic] [Active]


    # Heal 20% HP and apply a 20% HP shield. Heal 10% after shield is broken.


    Cost: 2% MP


    Physical Enhancement [Beginner] [Active]


    # Increase all stats by 1 Minor Rank


    Upkeep: >1% MP/S


    Sword of Light [Basic] [Active]


    # Summon 1 or multiple swords containing the Light affinity.


    Cost: >1% MP/S


    Shield of Light [Basic] [Active]


    # Summon 1 or multiple shields containing the Light affinity


    Cost >1% MP/S


    Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active]


    # Feel the mana of everything and everyone in an area around you.


    Cost: >1% MP/S


    +---+


    Michael¡¯s smile twitched slightly ¡¯System..? Where are the skills you told me about?¡¯


    Well.. to unlock certain abilities.. I had to sacrifice them.


    The system¡¯s nonchnt words made him widen his eyes in disbelief ¡¯Are you fucking kidding me? Just how many skills did you sacrifice!?¡¯


    Hm.. All but 1? I only left Herald of Light since it looked to be something you would want, the others would havebined into bad skills anyway.


    ¡¯You are unbelievable..¡¯


    Michael nced at his new status a few more times, not understanding half of the things on there.


    However, one thing made a frown appear on his face.


    ¡¯Did my healing skills get worse?¡¯


    As I have told you, all your skills were readjusted for the future, you might think of it as worse for now, however, you would understand that it is much better for you.


    ¡¯Yeah? Do tell me how exactly? I would need to cast my Shield of Nourishment 5 times to heal someone back to full health, does that seem good to you?¡¯


    If you think your 8000 HP heals would work on those who have a Mana core, then you are wrong. The HP amounts can no longer be put into numbers once you are strong enough, percentages are the only way.


    Michael was still not convinced but it¡¯s not like he could do anything anyway so he merely nodded ¡¯If you say so.¡¯


    He didn¡¯t know how to feel, while he did grow significantly stronger, the loss of the skills felt like a big blow to him, even if most of them could not be used practically, some could bebined into better skills.


    ¡¯So how do I increase my mana core tier?¡¯


    Do you remember the feeling of the thread moving from your lower spine to the upper spine?


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    Michael slightly shivered ¡¯How could I not.. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever forget that pain.¡¯


    Whatever, you need to absorb mana and slowly weave it upwards, once you reach the very top, your tier will increase, simple right?


    ¡¯Are you telling me I have to go through the same pain again?¡¯


    Of course not, this process usually takes longer than a few hours, you were in pain because your mana core thread was forcefully stretched out.


    ¡¯Fair enough, so I just have to what.. absorb mana into my spine?¡¯


    Yes, to the very bottom of your spine, once a certain amount umtes, you will see the mana thread forming, after that, you just have to absorb more and weave it upwards.


    ¡¯Alright.¡¯


    Michael stretched a bit and began walking towards the academy, it was still in 6 hours but he didn¡¯t really have anything better to do, he had already informed Alfred about him leaving again.


    The system exined some details regarding the mana cores and his new stat calctions and although it confused him, it was a bit better than not knowing anything at all.


    Along the way, Michael tested out his skills, shooting them high up in the air, his casting speed was indeed many times faster.


    It seemed his title added a small bonus to it as well, he had assumed it was only to general power, however, he was wrong.


    His casting speed was currently 525% faster than what it should have been,bined with his Flow core, he assumed it was at the very least double that.


    That made most of his spells instant cast, his spells cast even before he finished his thoughts of casting them, it was definitely something he was satisfied with.


    Michael tried asking the system about what kind of abilities it unlocked after sacrificing his hard earned skills, however, it refused to answer him.


    I will tell you when it¡¯s necessary, for now, just quiet down and use your skills or whatever.


    ¡¯Why are you treating me like some sort of a child?¡¯ Michael grumbled and arrived at the inner city, he still had roughly 1 hour to spare before the academy started.


    He was addicted to casting his new spells, a thought was all it took tounch a destructive sword flying incredibly fast into the sky, he believed that no matter what he did, he had abative advantage against most of his peers.


    As he slowly made his way to the academy, he noticed something something in one of the stores, it was a clock, disying the time.


    ¡¯8:20..¡¯ Michael looked on nkly.


    ¡¯I amte again.¡¯


    As a sigh escaped his mouth, he picked up the pace and ran with his full speed towards the academy.


    He felt reborn, although he was still not at 100% since the mana core forming was pretty rough, he was many times stronger than he had been previously.


    It was like night and day.


    He ran inside the academy, zipping past the receptionist who barely even managed to react to his speed.


    ¡¯8:24..¡¯ Michael thought in relief before suddenly halting.


    ¡¯I am not the Saint anymore.. will she let my bullshit pass?¡¯


    What? Afraid you will be expelled the first day youe back?


    ¡¯...¡¯ He took a deep breath and stepped forward, pushing open the ssroom door.

 Chapter 54: Party

    As the ssroom door swung open, everyone immediately turned to look at the culprit, that being Michael.


    The moment they noticed, most of them had shocked expressions, seemingly finding it hard to believe that he was still alive after all this time.


    "You arete" Lena¡¯s irritated voice rang out from the podium, she had a small scar on her chin now, something she definitely did not have thest time he had seen her.


    "Sorry.." Michael expressed and sat down, he was d she was in a forgiving mood, else he would most certainly be put into detention.


    He nced around the entire ss and frowned, clenching his fists tightly.


    ¡¯A few died? There were 11 left, with me being back we were now at 12 in total, far behind the previous 20 students.¡¯


    Such is life, they were either too weak or too unlucky to had died.


    ¡¯I suppose you are right, it¡¯s a pity they died so young though..¡¯


    He noticed the seat right next to Liam was still open and that¡¯s where he decided to sit.


    Liam seemed to change quite a lot, his previous nerdyplexion long gone, Michael felt like he could finally be taken seriously now.


    As for the others, Tony was still staring daggers at him, Kevin and Elizabeth did not show a reaction and finally Chloe, she was surprisingly one of the people with shocked looks.


    It was hard to understand why, it¡¯s not like they even knew each other, quite frankly, he did not have any friends aside from Kevin, yet even then, it was a one sided friendship.


    ¡¯Even after hearing his story, I still don¡¯t like him..¡¯ Experience more tales on NovelBin.C?m


    Although Kevin tried to hide it, he seemed way too arrogant, even his interactions with ssmates from time to time made it seem like he was trying to act superior to them.


    Michael hated those types of people more than anything.


    "Now that everyone is finally here, I can start the exnation" Lena sighed while holding her forehead, it seemed she was still tired of Michael¡¯s tardiness.


    "The first year consisted of training you. The second of honing you. And now, this year you will finally be put to the test, whether you are worthy of going out into the world to fight monsters."


    ¡¯Likest year wasn¡¯t dangerous enough.. they are now going to make the kids fight alone, aren¡¯t they?¡¯


    "Since all of you make up 12 people, make groups of 4, they will be your party until the end of the year" Lena instructed and sat down on the podium.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The moment Michael stood up, Kevin instantly approached him, a small smile on his face.


    "Yo" And with those words, leaned back on the window sill, trying his best not to let the smugness show.


    ¡¯This guy is shameless¡¯ Michael couldn¡¯t help but sigh, however, as much as he didn¡¯t like Kevin, he was definitely someone he wanted in his party.


    Minus his personality, his skills and experience are worth a fortune.


    Michael could see Tony walking around the entire ssroom, talking to people and trying to get them over to his party.


    Yet for some reason, most of them ignored him, even shing looks of disgust at him.


    ¡¯What did he do this time?¡¯


    Liam stood up and walked up to Tony, trying to cheer him up and eventually agreeing to join his party, it seemed the two of them became friends over thest 2 years.


    ¡¯A delinquent and a nerd, what an oddbo¡¯ Michael shrugged, it¡¯s not like he wanted to invite Liam anyway, from what he saw of his skills in the spars, he was not someone he wished to leave his back to.


    He noticed a few people ncing his way, Chloe and Elizabeth, coincidentally, neither of them had a party yet.


    Michael got out of his seat and walked up to Chloe first as her seat was a bit closer to him.


    "Wanna join my party?" He asked t out, he felt like she might be a straightforward person, hence he didn¡¯t try any sweet talk.


    Chloe simply nodded without saying anything, a sign of eptance that put a smile on Michael¡¯s face.


    ¡¯2 powerful people in my party, only Elizabeth was left¡¯ He thought and walked up to her seat next.


    She wore a nk expression or so it appeared that way to others, however, to Michael, it was a bit different.


    ¡¯Those eyes.. they are just like mine.¡¯


    Her expression might have been nk but her eyes portrayed her inner greed, she is the type of person to want to get something out of an arrangement.


    "Do you want to join our party?" Michael asked nicely, to which, Elizabeth quickly shot him down.


    "Nope."


    "Suit yourself." He shrugged and started walking away, preparing to head in the direction of some random ssmate whose abilities he remembered being one of the weakest.


    However, just as he expected.


    "Wait" Elizabeth stood up from her chair and in a slightly trembling voice said "I will join your party.."


    ¡¯This easy? Here I thought she would be more stubborn.¡¯ He chuckled inwardly, he expected her to y this little not caring charade of hers a little longer.


    "I see.. but I already picked out the next member of our party though?" Michael teased and began walking again.


    "You.." She jumped over the table and sent a kick his way, to which he summoned a small Shield of Light in the blink of an eye,pletely blocking her attack and sending her flying through all of the desks and seats in the ssroom.


    ¡¯Uhh..?¡¯ He was a bit confused by what just happened, all he did was cast a simple shield, yet it looked like some sort of an attack spell.


    Spells are at their most powerful once they are just formed, what you did just now is called a Magic Parry, pairing that with one of the Light affinity¡¯s inherent traits, Reflection, and your current boost in skills, you basically attacked her with more than 2 times the power of her own kick.


    ¡¯Holy shit..? Isn¡¯t that a bit overpowered?¡¯ Michael finally realized a portion of his strength.


    He initially thought the Flow core was not that special, however, he now felt like if he had any other core, what he did just now could not be replicated.


    The sheer speed was unfathomable, a mere thought at the correct moment couldpletely turn the tide of a battle, it was simply insane.


    ¡¯But why did she have to try kicking me that hard?¡¯


    Michael walked up to her, she seemed a little dazed so he cast a Shield of Nourishment to heal her, making her finally stand up.


    He turned to Lena and was met with a re ¡¯Whoops?¡¯


    Elizabeth finally stood up and looked at Michael with her eyes slightly widened.


    Just as she was about to say something she was interrupted.


    "You can join, just don¡¯t attack me or whatever, it¡¯s not very nice" Michael chuckled and walked back to his seat, not taking responsibility for the damage he had caused.


    ¡¯It¡¯s her fault anyway, she was the one who kicked me.. I just defended myself¡¯ He nced at the damage and felt a trickle of sweat drop down his neck.


    If that is your way of defense, then good luck paying off the damage.


    Those words made Michael flinch ¡¯I am still broke..¡¯


    He looked around, noticing that aside from the chaos he had just caused, everyone managed to join a party.


    Lena finally stood up "Good, I will now tell you your objective..."

 Chapter 55: Assignment

    "You all mustplete a request, it will be assigned by the academy and the difficulty will be determined by your level" Lena exined.


    ¡¯That seems simple enough, though how does my mana core trante to level?¡¯


    It doesn¡¯t, the detector won¡¯t pick anything up, it will just say you are level 200 or something, it can¡¯t go past that.


    Stay tuned to NovelBin.C?m


    Michael nodded, it made sense if he thought about it, Mana Cores were not something he heard about a lot in the world, if the devices could detect them, it would have been a different case entirely.


    Lena gave out a level detection device to each and every single person present, waiting patiently for the results.


    ¡¯Hm..¡¯ Michael ced his hand on it and just as he expected, it disyed a flickering Level 200.


    He handed it back to Lena and sat back down in his seat, noticing a shocked expression appearing on her face.


    The others gave their detection devices back, however, none managed to get the same reaction out of her, only Michael¡¯s level surprised her.


    She handled them all and sorted through a stack of papers she had right beside her, pulling out 3 documents in particr.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Lena gestured for each of the parties toe pick the documents up one by one.


    ¡¯Level 400 in total / Maximum Difficulty Assignment¡¯ Michael nced at the words written in bold and showed a slight smile.


    Just as he was about to open the document up, he was swiftly interrupted by a chilly pressure directed at him, it was Lena.


    "Don¡¯t open it alone, do it with everyone present. On that note, everyone get out of the ssroom" She pointed at the door and waved her hand.


    The others had sour expressions as they immediately began staring at Michael with betrayed expressions.


    However, the displeasure did notst long as everyone eventually got out of the ssroom, 2 parties heading for the cafeteria, meanwhile Michael¡¯s party was walking out of the academy.


    ¡¯She didn¡¯t specify if we had to be inside or outside, it should be fine..¡¯ He thought as he led his other party members to a nearby cafe.


    However, he remembered something the moment he entered the cafe and it was that he waspletely broke, not a single dor to his name.


    Michael looked at his party members who had been silent since the ssroom and gestured for them to sit down by a table.


    A nearby waiter came up to them, wearing a professional expression "What would you like to order?"


    "Soup, extra sour cream" Elizabeth was the first one to speak up, followed by Kevin "I¡¯ll have 3 cups of coffee, you can choose which, I trust your rmendation."


    A shiver went down Michael¡¯s spine ¡¯Is he trying to act cool?¡¯


    He took notice of the glint in his eyes, he could see shamelessness, or maybe it was just Michael not liking Kevin, nobody knew.


    "I will have the cookies then" Chloe finally spoke up.


    The waiter nodded and finished writing down their orders, all their gazesnding on Michael "And you?"


    "I will have water.. or bread, whichever is free" He said, masking his inner embarrassment with a poker face.


    Even the waiter seemed a bit dazed for a moment "Sir.. they are both free."


    "Good, I¡¯ll get both then."


    The waiter looked at Michael for a few moments before writing down the final order and walking away.


    Your ears are a little red.


    ¡¯Shut up..¡¯ He nced back at his party members who all except for Kevin did not seem to care that much.


    "Do not worry o previous Saint, the heavens will bless your water and bread" Kevin said as he shed an imaginary tear, failing to hide the massive smirk forming on his face.


    ¡¯This guy is going to have a field day with my misfortune..¡¯


    "Would you like to receive a Saintly punch perhaps?" Michael waved his fist around sarcastically.


    Suddenly, Elizabeth mmed her hand down on the table, startling Chloe who appeared to have dozed off.


    "Stop acting like children, show us what kind of an assignment we got already."


    "Fine.." Michael rolled his eyes and pulled the document back out, cing it right in the very middle of the table.


    Elizabeth didn¡¯t waste time and immediately grabbed it, opening it up and reading it out.


    "You are tasked with escorting an armored vehicle to its destination..? The vehicle holds high value inmates who could prove to be a massive threat if they manage to escape.. what is this!" Herposure lessened more and more with each sentence she read.


    "Why are we getting a mere escorting assignment!? Aren¡¯t we at level 400bined huh?" Elizabeth threw the document, embedding it cleanly into a wall.


    ¡¯Did she just embed paper into a brick wall.. alright¡¯ Michael was a bit impressed by that, however, he had to agree with her thoughts.


    An escort for someone with our power.. something was not adding up.


    However, Michael had to defuse the situation somehow, an assignment was an assignment "So.. what level are you guys now?"


    "122" Elizabeth was once again the very first to reply, though this time it was because of frustration.


    "138" A proud and arrogant voice rang out, it was obviously Kevin, he didn¡¯t even try to hide it anymore.


    "131" Chloe was the veryst to reply as always, Michael noticed that for some reason, she seemed a little distracted, dozing off from time to time as well, it seemed unusual.


    ¡¯Well what do I know, maybe she just hadn¡¯t slept in a while.¡¯


    Michael nodded his head a few times, registering that Kevin was now the strongest of the 3, with Elizabeth falling behind by quite a few levels.


    However, he could not help but admit that it was impressive, as talented as the other 2 were, she was still able topete with them at a simr level of skill.


    And that was due to the hard work she put into her swordsmanship.


    Michael had not seen it in quite a while, but he could only imagine how good she was by now.


    "What about you?" Kevin rxed in his chair holding one of the coffees the waiter ced down.


    "Level 200? I think?" At those words, the others immediately fell silent, their eyes widened in surprise.


    But there was one person who had a grave expression on their face, it was Kevin "Did you form it already?"


    ¡¯Does he mean the mana core?" Michael thought for a moment and gave a slight nod, earning a long sigh from Kevin.


    "You are something else man.. definitely not the same as the oth- never mind.."


    ¡¯He was about to say other one huh.. how much longer is he going to tryparing the two of us?¡¯


    Michael had given up on that thought, it was nothing new, Kevin was still as delusional as always.


    Just as Elizabeth and Chloe were about to barrage him with questions, he immediately changed the topic "The assignment is in a week, what do you guys think about practicing our teamwork in a dungeon, it doesn¡¯t hurt to be safe."


    They backed away, sulking a bit that they could not get their questions answered.


    However, no oneined, everyone was in agreement.


    "Good, then shall we start tomorrow then?"


    "Why not today?" Elizabeth was of course the one to interject, she seemed to be the impatient type.


    "..Or today... Is that fine with everyone else?"


    Upon receiving nods of confirmation, Michael stood up and picked up the bread that was on the table, putting it into his pocket.


    "Let¡¯s go."

 Chapter 56: Good Party

    ¡¯What is with these people?¡¯ Michael was currently standing in the very back, watching the 3 others kill lizard monsters.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    They had no form of teamwork, quite frankly, they were stealing each other¡¯s kills and nearly injuring one another.


    He had to heal Elizabeth twice because she kept trying to race Kevin for a kill and got a cut or two.


    Meanwhile, Chloe, she was the fastest of the 3, she could disappear and reappear anywhere within the dungeon due to her spatial magic.


    However, Michael still could not see how they got this far with ¡¯teamwork¡¯ like theirs.


    Strength.


    ¡¯Sure, they are strong, but let¡¯s say a stronger opponent attacks them, what are they going to do then?¡¯


    Run.


    ¡¯...¡¯ Michael sighed at the system¡¯sment, it seemed like it was finding this situation equally as bad as him.


    While he could attack and stabilize their formation, he thought there was no point, these mobs were mere level 60¡¯s, something he could kill all of them with a simple Sword of Light.


    After leaving the cafe, they headed straight back to Lena to ask for a dungeon, it seemed like under the teacher¡¯s supervision, they could enter any dungeon they liked.


    Of course, it had to not be way too high of a level, she could not afford any more student casualties or else the Elite ss would be disbanded.


    ¡¯On that note..¡¯ Michael turned back to Elizabeth and Kevin, who were just about to collide with one another and cast Shield of Nourishment, he didn¡¯t want the magic parry incident to happen again, not right now anyway.


    They bumped into each other and kept going, killing the lizard monster with both of their shes.


    Kevin opted out of using a weapon, he could manipte his shadows in any way he wanted to.


    ¡¯Say.. did they go through ascension or whatever? I sure didn¡¯t..¡¯ Michael thought while looking over to make sure they didn¡¯t identally aim for each other¡¯s necks.


    You skipped both of them, you should be getting one every 100 levels, now your next one will be once you achieve the next tier, which from what you can see, will not be very soon. But yes, they went through something simr.


    He nced at his status and saw the t 0%, it made his brow twitch but it was not like he had a mana core for long, it hadn¡¯t even fully stabilized yet. Enjoy exclusive content from NovelBin.C?m


    Get over it, you will have a chance to increase it faster once you begin traveling, for your first objective, go to the Daor continent.


    ¡¯You mean that super dangerous continent? Anything special there?¡¯


    There are a few gateways to other realms, it¡¯s an interesting ce in which more than a few worlds are connected, though this world¡¯s humans think it¡¯s some kind of a monster hotspot.


    Michael tilted his head ¡¯Isn¡¯t it though?¡¯


    No, if all of the monsters came from the other worlds, this particr world would have been long eradicated, the only thinging through are strays which are not exactly the strongest.


    He thought back to the history lessons he had barely paid attention to, however, from what he recalls, it took raid parties weeks to kill even one.


    ¡¯Then are the people who have mana cores in those other worlds?¡¯


    Yes.


    ¡¯I see..¡¯ Michael cast yet another Shield of Nourishment on Elizabeth and Kevin, the previous one seemed to have broken.


    ¡¯Why are the people who have mana cores still in this world then? Isn¡¯t it more beneficial to travel to another one?¡¯


    It is, some have certain circumstances why they can¡¯t or won¡¯t, some might be exiled, others are just caring for their families, as you might notice with Amanda.


    Michael nodded, in exchange for getting stronger, she kept her sick father safe, it was pretty admirable.


    From what he gathered, the other realms/worlds are dangerous, quite frankly, he wasn¡¯t sure if he could do much if he went there, however, he would have to as his journey just started.


    "Guys.. I think that¡¯s enough" Michael finally interjected, from his very keen observations, he was able to tell that this party is absolutely hopeless.


    Teamwork was not in their vocabry, the only one that he might be able to work around was Chloe because she was more of a solo fighter, the others were too but just worse.


    "What do you mean? The boss monster is literally in front of us" Elizabeth grumbled and pointed at the massive lizard that stood tall, spear in hand.


    Michael nced at her with a nk expression and sent 3 Swords of Light, 2 aiming for the boss monster¡¯s heart, thest one for its brain.


    It was not able to dodge in time due to the sheer difference in speed and skill, so it simply folded backwards lifelessly.


    "What boss monster?"


    "Pft.." Kevin almost let hisugh slip as he headed back towards the portal, Chloe following right behind him.


    Meanwhile, Elizabeth stood rooted on the spot, not knowing what to say to his antics.


    "Cat got your tongue?" Michael snickered and headed out of the portal, leaving her behind.


    He saw Kevin standing by on his phone and walked up to him, whispering quietly "Is the dungeon break you were talking about going to happen during our escort assignment?"


    He shook his head, signaling no and went back to browsing his phone, not paying any more attention to Michael.


    ¡¯Wow, finally not being annoying? About time¡¯ He was satisfied, it seemed Kevin might have finally gotten over denial phase.


    Chloe was sitting by the side, eating some kind of a sandwich, he was not sure how she managed to get that here.


    However, just as he thought that, a small crack appeared in the air and out came yet another sandwich.


    ¡¯Oh right.. spatial storage or whatever¡¯ He looked at it with interest but noticed it seemed a bit different.


    Usually the items just up and appear, these ones came out of a little crack in space.


    ¡¯Will I ever get such an ability..¡¯ He felt a little bit jealous because of how convenient it seemed.


    It¡¯s possible, however, don¡¯t expect it to happen any time soon, you are still fairly weak in the grand scheme of things.


    ¡¯I know that.¡¯ Just as Michael finished talking with the system, Elizabeth finally came out, a small frown still hanging on her face.


    She nced at him and her frown deepened for a moment, before walking to Chloe and beginning to talk about something he could not quite hear.


    ¡¯How do I make this party more.. party-like?¡¯ Michael was in deep thought, as hopeless as they were, he wanted to at the very least, make them semi-functional as a party.


    He called out for them, especially singling out Kevin and Elizabeth "You two.. need to get your shit together, as for Chloe, try to fight around them for now."


    They seemed a bit surprised that he cussed, however, he was no longer the Saint, why should he hold his thoughts back?


    "What do you mean? I can clearly kill the monsters on my own but he keeps trying to steal my kills!" Elizabeth eximed in frustration while sending a re at Kevin.


    To which he simply shrugged "You are the one who is stealing my kills."


    ¡¯...What did I sign myself up for?¡¯

 Chapter 57: Escort

    It was finally the day, they were about to head out and officially start their assignment.


    However, Michael was currently busy writing a test that he hadn''t even studied for.


    ''How was I supposed to know they revise what they learned every year.. and why exactly did I not get excluded'' Michael grumbled and kept marking down the answers.


    While it was certainly difficult, it wasn''t exactly something he couldn''t solve.


    The way his brain worked was, he referenced the question to other simr questions he had inside of his brain and out came some kind of an answer.


    Whether that works or not, he would find out after the test was finally graded.


    ''She really doesn''t like me huh..'' During the test, he noticed Elizabeth ncing at him from time to time with a frown.


    He didn''t understand what caused such animosity between them.. maybe it''s because of the way he made them practice their teamwork?


    ''It couldn''t have been that bad though right..?'' He made them switch positions and only act if one of them was in danger.


    It did not work.


    Chloe was the only one who followed through most of the time, however, even then, her solo battle style could not be hidden at all.


    As for the other 2.. Michael lost all hope.


    No matter what kind of a strategy he tried employing with them, it always failed.


    Their thirst for kills was too strong, they keptpeting with one another.


    ''I guess that exins why Elizabeth was so close in level to them.. She goes around straining herself to get kills'' He concluded.


    Kevin was obviously stronger than her, however, she tried her best to keep up with him.


    And Chloe.. Was just Chloe.. Nothing out of the ordinary was wrong with her, she could work in a team.


    Or so he hoped.


    The test finally ended and Michael gave his paper first, trying to avoid eye contact with Lena as much as possible while heading for the ssroom exit.


    He sessfully made it out and headed outside, he told the others to meet up outside after the test was finished.


    Frankly, he was one of thest people to leave, those who finished earlier could go do whatever they wanted.


    And that just so happened to be all 3 of his party members.


    "You arete.." Elizabeth was the first one to talk as always.


    "I am notte, you are just early.." He ignored her as a vehicle began approaching them.


    They were supposed to be picked up right after the test ended, Elizabeth was just being pissy about it as per usual.


    They all got in the car and were driven to some remote area, in front of them was a massive armored van.


    The strangest part was that Michael could feel a very faint trace of mana from the people inside of it.


    All of them definitely had mana cores, but just like him, they didn''t seem that far advanced.


    There were only 4 of them, if Michael caught them off guard, he could possibly kill them all, that''s how confident he was in his current abilities.


    His mana core seemed to have be more stable over the course of the week, he felt like he could finally output 100% of his total strength.


    However, he hoped he didn''t need to, it was supposed to be a simple escorting assignment anyways.


    A burly man came up to them and began exining their task.


    "The 4 of you will be inside of the van, you need to ensure that they don''t pull anything funny, if they do, tap this button twice" He pointed at a watch on his hand that had a single button in the very middle.


    He then proceeded to give each one of Michael''s party a watch, it felt weightless.


    ''Hopefully, this one isn''t a dud like the one back in the bank.''


    That one was a tracking device, this one is a device that would notify the other side ording to thebination, which in this case are the 2 taps he was talking about.


    ''That one was a tracking device? Fucking Gareth..'' Michael was speechless, he hadn''t talked to him in ages, but even when he had, nothing about a tracking device was mentioned.


    For all he knew, the button was just malfunctioning.


    Everyone put on and adjusted the watches given, then proceeded to follow the burly man inside of the van.


    ''I don''t understand why we have to guard them from the inside, if they got out my party members would be in danger.'' Michael thought about it and questioned the man leading them.


    "Don''t worry about that, there will be an extra 2 people on board with you, they are pretty strong themselves" He finished off with a smirk and opened the back doors of the van.


    And just like he felt earlier, 4 people were seated in some kind of thick cuffs, it seemed to be restricting all of their movement as they didn''t even move their heads to meet Michael''s eyes.


    ''The 2 others that man talked about aren''t here yet..'' He noticed and sat down right in the middle of the 2 strongest inmates.


    Michael did that so he could feel the mana better, if they began circting it, he could immediately immobilize them.


    As for the 2 weaker ones? He believed his party could at the very least handle one.


    Even if their suppression wears off, they would momentarily be weakened.


    At least that''s what he hoped, even up close, he could feel very faint mana flowing from the 4 inmates, must have meant it was sealed somehow.


    You are right, the cuffs do act as a suppressant, they restrict both their physical abilities as well as most of their mana.


    ''Neat little item.. would not want something like that on my hands ever.''


    All of them finally sat down, theplete and total silence was a bit unnerving, however, it was better than the chaos that could potentially ensue.


    One of the inmates began staring at Michael, his eyes werepletely nk, it reminded him of something.


    Michael channeled some mana into his eyes, enhancing the effect of Eyes of The Healer.


    ''I was right.. he is mind controlled'' He observed and turned to look at the other ones, they too seemed to have some sort of mind control ced on them.


    What troubled him was that he didn''t know whether this was ced by friend or foe.


    "Can you speak?" Michael asked the one who was still directly staring at him.


    However, he waspletely ignored, instead, the other inmate right next to him began staring at Michael as well with the same nk eyes.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''What a freak show.. System, can I dispel it somehow?''


    You would have to refine purify a little more to be able to do that, if you tried recklessly weaving the mana, you would most likely free them instead with their mind control still intact.


    ''Pity.. well let''s just hope there won''t be any incidents..''


    After a couple more minutes of waiting, the 2 people the burly man talked about finally arrived.


    However, Michael''s expression was serious as he looked at one of them in particr.


    ''He is mind controlled as well..''


    Seems whoever did this, can y around with emotions pretty well, if you didn''t have experience dealing with mind-controlled individuals and you did not have that skill, even you would have not noticed a difference.


    Michael had to admit it was right, they bypassed the stronger individuals he had seen earlier, slipping into the crowd as if they were not literally mind-controlled.


    ''At least the other one is fine.. if a battle were to ensue, our odds of winning would be much higher.''


    The armored van buckled a little bit and began finally moving, their escort assignment had finally begun.

 Chapter 58: Escort (2)

    "So how''d ya kids manage to get this gig anyway?" The person who was not mind-controlled finally spoke up.


    They had been sitting in silence for at least a couple of hours, even Elizabeth who usually runs her mouth was quiet.


    Everyone felt equally as ufortable, well except for Kevin, who was still idly swiping on his phone.


    Michael spoke up since the others did not seem keen on talking "It was an assignment directly from the academy."


    "Is that so? Do you know who these people are?" The man pointed at the inmates, who by now, were all staring at Michael with their unnerving nk eyes.


    "No, we were only informed that they were high-value inmates, that''s all"


    "High value? That''s pretty urate, all 4 of themmitted horrid acts that no human should ever even think about."


    The air grew chilly as the man looked at all 4 of the inmates with disgust, it seemed that whatever they did, was worse than Michael had imagined.


    "I see... good riddance then"


    The man nodded and the silence once again returned, it seemed he was just bored and wanted to strike up a conversation.


    ''I don''t m-hm?'' He noticed another gaze and saw the second guard who was mind-controlled, looking at him, that made 5 in total now.


    ''Are they going to pull some shit soon? They arepletely ignoring the others, Chloe was even peacefully dozing off..''


    I can''t feel any fluctuations, it seems like they are simply observing you.


    ''Why would they observe me? Aren''t they mind-controlled intopleting a task and that''s all?'' Michael was a bit confused by the system''s words.


    Yes, and you are an obstacle to their n, if they have a chance, they will attempt to kill you, so yeah, don''t let your guard down.


    ''How annoying..'' Michael recast Shield of Nourishment on each of his party members, as well as the only guard that was not mind-controlled.


    Kevin stopped scrolling through his phone and looked directly at him, it seemed he noticed something was wrong.


    Michael shook his head slightly and gestured with his hand to back down, he didn''t want to start a fight just yet.


    ''I wonder if we are close.. too bad this van doesn''t have any windows'' The ominous feeling continued growing until finally, something out of the ordinary happened.


    The once steady road turned bumpy, it was enough to move them around the van and even made Chloe finally stop dozing off.


    Michael turned to the only guard that was not mind-controlled, seeing a confused expression on his face "Tell me.. was a road like this supposed to appear?"


    Just as the man was about to speak up, the armored van suddenly stopped, sending the cuffed inmates flying to the very front.


    ''Feel anything now?''


    It''s an ambush.


    The system''s voice descended and Michael immediately reacted, sending multiple Swords of Light right at the mind-controlled guard.


    He was not able to react and was pierced through all of his vitals, this one was not extremely strong, just barely stronger than his 3 party members.


    However, strength in number was a thing, even if Michael could potentially kill them all, there''s always a worst-case scenario in which he can''t.


    The man tried moving around his limbs but failing, it seemed like some sort of a marite with its strings cut off.


    And then finally, all movement ceased as its eyes regained a bit of color before he finally copsed, his body lying lifeless.


    ''Did he regain control at the very end..?''


    Michael looked on confused, however, the stares of everyone present were starting to be ufortable.


    Especially the other guard''s who just witnessed his friend suddenly die.


    He stood up and shouted "You fuc-" But was interrupted by the very back being opened up, a bunch of people appearing in their line of sight.


    Kevin was the first one to react, sending out a wave of shadow, absorbing a few of the people and turning them into his underlings.


    The enemies were switched with their own shadows, it looked freaky but the effectiveness was great.


    It was an ability he had shown Michael a few times, he said that currently, it was only temporary, however, in the future, he would be able to control others for as long as he wanted to.


    Immediately, they began shing at each other and missing, it seemed Kevin got the weakest of the bunch.


    "Tch" He clicked his tongue and made half of the bodies appear out of their own shadows, slicing their own throats.


    Michael was not idling by either as he instructed Elizabeth to guard the inmates with the guard, she was the least versatile out of the bunch, he didn''t want to risk her dying from an unknown attack.


    Chloe and Kevin on the other hand, had great survivability, even if the worstes, they can easily escape.


    But just to be safe, he instructed them to not stray too far away from the armored van, as much as he trusted in their capabilities, the 4 inmates were still people with mana cores.


    Elizabeth alone would not be enough to defend against them all.


    ''Please act as a team this time..'' Michael put his hopes on them and got out of the van, unleashing a torrent of swords, prating everyone in his sight.


    He looked around and noticed they somehow ended up on a mountain, the driver must have been mind-controlled as well if he managed to drive smoothly enough to mask going up a mountain.


    It was the first time he saw snow in this world, it didn''t snow in his previous continent and Vivum had some sort of a field blocking it fromnding on the ground.


    ''Would have been a really beautiful sight..'' He sighed and looked at the pools of blood scattered all around the snow.


    It looked like they were close to the peak, he could see the very peak not too far away.


    And he could also feel someone stronger than the people around him currently, it was at least someone as strong as Michael himself.


    ''Is that the mastermind?'' Just as he thought that, the presence disappeared, it seemed whoever it was, realized he had been found.


    ''Still.. he''s probably at the very peak'' Michael thought and nced around, another wave of people began rushing at him.


    They were pretty low-leveled, it seemed half of them might even be simple civilians.


    The highest level out of all of the ones he had killed so far, was probably around level 60.


    Casting Swords of Light a few times, he killed more of them, from what he could see, none of them were mind-controlled or brainwashed, they were rushing at him of their own volition.


    It made the kills not feel as impactful, however, it still made him ufortable.


    ''It''s like some sort of a cult..'' No matter how many of them he killed, more kepting.


    "Kevin" He called out to him while he was fending off the others with his army of shadow-possessed cultists.


    "What''s up?" Kevin asked calmly, it seemed the sight before him did not phase him in the slightest.


    "I am going to go up the mountain to deal with the person behind this, keep the others safe, alright?"


    As much as he didn''t like Kevin, his skills were the real deal.


    There was Chloe as well, however, she seemed to not be in the best condition, she was holding back.


    If this was her from the dungeon, she would have gone in and killed most of these cultists, instead, she was sitting by the van, not using her spatial affinity at all.


    ''Elizabeth seems to be at least doing her job'' He noticed her holding a sword up to their necks.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael finally decided to go up, he trusted his unorthodox party to handle themselves and prioritize the inmates'' lives, even as unexpected as this situation was, they could stillplete the assignment.


    Be careful, the one up there is a bit stronger than you.


    ''Don''t worry, I am not going to be careless.''

 Chapter 59: Escort (3)

    "You are finally here" A man wearing an odd-looking ck robe spoke.


    ''So this is him?''


    Michael was at the very top of the mountain and the only person in front of him was this oddly dressed man, he couldn''t see his face clearly for some reason.


    "Not the talkative type? That''s fine.. you will die soon anyways" The man chuckled and a transparent barrier appeared around him, it looked like a magic shield.


    ''It does not look as strong as mine though..'' Michael kept observing him, it did not seem like he was as big of a powerhouse as he thought, but nheless, he would not let his guard down.


    The man stepped forward and with lightning speed and took out a sword from his robe, appearing right in front of Michael.


    He attempted to sh him in half, however, it did not work, Michael cast his Shield of Light at the veryst moment, effectively parrying the attack.


    But unlike the time he parried Elizabeth''s attack, this guy did not suffer that much damage.


    ''He weakened his attack at the very end.. smart.'' Michael couldn''t help but admit that despitecking magical skills, he more than made up for it with experience.


    However, Michael was no pushover either, just as the man headed in for another attack, he summoned a single Sword of Light, discing the sword''s trajectory to gauge his reaction.


    He wanted to use this battle as practice, he hadn''t had the chance to test out his full capabilities ever since he obtained a Mana Core, but now was the perfect time.


    The sword didn''t bounce back as much as Michael would have liked, if he had gone for a second attack, it would have missed.


    ''Well, too bad for him, I could send out hundreds of Light swords, they barely use up my mana anyway'' He snickered and continued sending attacks one by one targeting different vitals each time.


    From what he could tell, the man had a Dantian Core, at first it seemed like he was a mage due to his outfit, but it appeared he was not.


    ''What''s the word.. hard work and talent? I don''t even know which category this guy falls into'' Michael definitely found the man strong, however, that was about it, his experience made him a decent fighter but not the best of swordsmen.


    He felt like even Elizabeth had better swordsmanship, that''s hard work right there.


    The battle went on like a stalemate, Michael did not attempt to go for his vitals as he was just testing out his skills.


    Meanwhile, the man was trying his hardest to kill Michael, aiming for his heart and neck with each blow or so it seemed anyway.


    He backed off and put on a wide smirk "Shall we start the real fight then?"


    The moment his words fell, he unsheathed another sword he had been hiding inside of his robe.


    ''He was a dual wielder? I''ll be damned'' Michael finally began taking this fight seriously, the pressure the man began emitting was many times that of earlier.


    He actually felt threatened, even after the massive strength increase, there was always someone stronger.


    Told you not to underestimate him, you could have just tried ending the fight early, now it''s down to pure skill, which quite frankly, he beats you in that aspect.


    ''I know'' A frown appeared on his face as he cast a few Shields of Light and recast Shield of Nourishment.


    A week went by and he didn''t really take one thing into ount, he couldbine the 2 skills.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Too much was on his mind and the system didn''t remind him either, now was not the time to do that though, if he did, he could potentially lose the fight if the skill came out not the way he wanted it to.


    Don''t me me for it, had you actually thought about it, you would have realized you could do it.


    ''Yeah right, you forgot as well didn''t you?'' Michael sighed and summoned a few Swords of Light preparing for battle.


    All this time, the man patiently waited, he could not see his expression but for some reason, it felt like he was amused.


    "Are you finally ready?"


    Michael replied with a few Swords of Light to catch him off guard while he cast the other ones high in the sky.


    However, as he thought his n was going great, he felt a few of his shieldyers break, turning around he saw the man with the 2 swords.


    ''The fuck?'' He quickly nced back and noticed the man was still standing where he was earlier, yet for some reason, there were 2 of him now?


    The mana he felt from both of them was the same, however, he noticed one of them had less mana than the other.


    It was the one who had been stationary all this time.


    ''So he is some kind of an assassin type huh.. how annoying'' He stared at what he thought was the man, but suddenly, his mana halved and he became stationary once more.


    ''He''s doing it again'' Michael used his Detection skill and tried locating where the man was, however, no matter where he looked, he could not find him.


    That was until anotheryer of his shields broke and the moment it did, Michael sent an onught of Swords of Light, piercing the man''s body.


    He was not naive enough to think he might have killed him right then and there, as the mana from the other bodies did not disappear, it seemed to have replenished instead.


    ''So he creates some kind of mana clones that restore the mana he spent on them when they die..? That seems bullshit'' Michael thought with a frown and shot his Swords of Light at both of the remaining bodies.


    One was pierced, the other one blocked, however, that was enough to notice some kind of an irregrity.


    The reaction time was slow, the first one seemed to have tried to block the attack but was not able to, the moment it died, the second one managed to react in time.


    ''I am not fighting the main body, am I?'' Michael finally came to this conclusion and spread out his Detection as far as he could.


    He felt a faint trace of mana spread around the entire peak of the mountain, with one area in particr being more dense than the other ones.


    Looking directly at that location, he did not see anyone, however, the faint trace of mana he felt earlier trembled before going back to normal.


    ''Found you.''


    Michael pretended to cast a Shield of Light, however, in reality, he lined up the Swords of Light that were still high in the sky towards the location where the man was located.


    And with a mere downwards hand gesture, they all flew down simultaneously, turning that particr area into a death zone.


    The swords ran down for a solid 5 seconds before they stopped, the mana consumption from this attack was 10% surprisingly.


    "The fuck are you made of?" The man who somehow survived that attack appeared beside Michael, his clothes torn, revealing his peculiar appearance.


    Completely white hair and eyes, it seemed unnatural, he looked pretty young too.


    "Surprised you dodged that, you sure are a slippery one aren''t you?" Michael smirked at him and began casting his Swords of Light.


    ''The fight finally begins..''

 Chapter 60: Escort (4)

    [Kevin''s POV]


    ''He just up and leaves huh, some things don''t change, do they..'' Kevin reminisced about the past and controlled his shadow puppets to do his bidding.


    The battle was by no means difficult, they were all pretty weak.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Gazing up at the very top of the mountain he could feel an enormous amount of mana being unleashed.


    It was so much that he could even feel it down here and so could the others.


    ''Just who is he fighting?'' Kevin thought with a frown, capturing more and more people with his shadows due to them being distracted by the mana pressure.


    By now, he had most of the people under his control, he let Chloe deal with some of them while shing a smirk at Elizabeth.


    As boring as this battle was, she was still apetitive person at heart, seeing her rival dominating the battlefield while she was guarding 4 immobile inmates, made her eyes shake with rage.


    ''Pft.. she''s funny'' Kevin nced around him, most of the cultists had already died, however, what troubled him the most was the fact that this battle did not happen in his memories.


    Back when he was in the academy, Michael was just barely qualified for the Elite ss, even then, he was the weakest of the bunch.


    Nothing had changed as the years went by, he was just a slightly above-average healer.


    It all changed in the 4th year when all of a sudden, he began improving at drastic speed, by the end of the year, even catching up to Kevin, that''s when they became friends.


    ''3rd year.. ourbined levels were under 400... I suppose it made sense why we didn''t get this particr assignment'' Kevin thought with a small smile.


    The party remained the same for the most part, Michael was not there back then either, it was the current Saint, Tony and he was not very high leveled.


    ''He''s a scumbag in both worlds as well..''


    Just as those thoughts finished, a wave of mana bore down on all of the people present, it seemed like the fight up there wasing to an end.


    However, he didn''t have time to celebrate as in the next moment, he heard a cracking sound, followed by Elizabeth flying past him.


    The armored van slightly distorted, revealing 4 of the inmates who for some reason, now had white eyes and long white hair.


    Kevin looked on with a serious expression ''Are they.. members of the Evangelist?''


    They existed even in the past, however, their roots were too deep in society as at any moment, someone could turn into an Evangelist.


    ''Disgusting dogs..'' Kevin took a deep breath and prepared to fight them.


    Chloe also came up to him and stood a bit behind him, with her style of battle, she could potentially take one of them out.


    However, Kevin was not too optimistic, after all, he could feel that every single one of them had a Mana Core, they were basically the peak of this particr world.


    He could only rejoice in the fact that in exchange for power, they give their sanity and rationale up to the demons which their poweres from.


    That is the case for most of the Evangelists however, Priests and above can control those said demons, borrowing their power without a cost.


    "Liz, you alright?" He turned to the limping Elizabeth and called her a pet name which made her brow twitch in annoyance.


    "Don''t call me that.. I am fine, I only dislocated my knee" She said as she started wiggling it around, eventually popping it back into ce and standing straight.


    "Good, listen, we can''t win this fight, we have to head over to Michael, he''s the only one who can defeat them" Kevin said, not taking his eyes away from the 4 inmates who were staring at him with their creepy nk white eyes.


    He noticed the guard from earlier in one of their hands, his body torn apart, only the agonizing look of pain remained.


    ''...'' Kevin began moving at a safe distance with the 2 girls behind him, trying not to make too much movement as that would likely cause them to attack.


    ''They are like rabid dogs..''


    He noticed the mana intensity spiking at the very top of the mountain before it finally disappeared entirely.


    However, that was enough to startle the 4 inmates as they immediately began running to the peak,pletely ignoring the 3 people in front of them.


    ''Well.. Sorry Michael, good luck...''


    -----


    [Michael''s POV]


    ''Fuck you.''


    He wiped the blood off of his face, it took him all he had and half of his mana to deal with this annoying swordsman.


    Every single time he sent a Sword of Light, he was met with a block and counterattack, even as he sent hundreds of them like earlier, for some reason, the man was left unscathed.


    That was until Michael went close range and began unleashing all sorts of attacks, be it Swords of Light or simple meleebat, it seemed to get the job done.


    He also figured out how the man managed to block his attacks, as the Swords of Light approached him, a ck color enveloped his swords for just a mere moment, dispelling Michael''s mana.


    However, it seemed to have a cooldown of some sort, he was still getting injured despite having that ability.


    Michael guessed he could only do it once every 10 seconds.


    That was nothing to Michael as he could attack thousands of times in 10 seconds.


    ''d that''s over with'' Michael finally stood up from the ground, the caved-in face of the man lying right below him.


    Past a certain point, it became hard to converse with him and his attacks became wilder, maybe that''s why the fight didn''tst any longer.


    Good job, you killed him.


    ''Thanks..'' Michael dusted himself off and noticed his robe had been ripped up.


    Don''t worry about the equipment in this world anymore, none of them will give you any buffs.


    ''Is that so.. I kind of liked this robe though...'' He sighed and suddenly straightened his back.


    A few strong presences were heading his way.


    ''Did the 4 inmates escape? What about my party?'' Michael quickly spread out his Detection and heaved a sigh of relief after finding out they were safe and moving towards him.


    He began stretching, however, as he was doing so, he noticed the hair of the man he had just killed turning a ck color, the whitepletely disappearing.


    ''Too bad I can''t see his eyes, maybe they changed color too'' Michael snickered as he finally saw the 4 inmates in the distance.


    They did not seem nearly as strong as the one he had just fought, however, as they had Mana Cores, they were to not be underestimated by any means.


    The moment they were only around 30 meters away from him, Michael began casting Swords of Light before sending them at incredible speeds towards them.


    From the battle he just had, the deadliness and speed of his skills increased further.


    However, his brow twitched as he noticed their appearance, it was the same as the man''s he just killed.


    And just as expected, the Swords of Light approached them and their bodies were enveloped in a ck aura, dispelling Michael''s attackpletely.


    ''...''

 Chapter 61: Escort (5)

    Michael saw them running at him like brutes, only reacting once he shot his Swords of Light at them.


    It seemed the quantity did not matter as for some reason, they were able to keep the ck aura around them enabled for longer.


    That, coupled with a shorter cooldown, basically made them nearly immune to Michael''s attacks.


    ''This is a bit bullshit no?'' He asked the system and recast Shield of Nourishment on himself, he was going to save Shield of Light for parries as he thought they might just work.


    Yes, well, they are unstable, using that power makes the body suffer and eventually copse, the only reason they are fine is because they lost their minds.


    ''So they will only give up once they run out of juice huh.. seems simple enough'' Michael nodded and began casting Swords of Light at intervals, trying to get them to use the ck aura as frequently as he could.


    He had already noticed theirck of intelligence, making this a simple battle of attrition.


    However, the fact that they could so easily block his attacks annoyed him, ording to the system he had the highest grade of Light affinity, yet he wasn''t able to pierce through some mana-dispelling barrier?


    You are overconfident, these people are borrowing power from a greater being, technically, it is he who is dispelling your attacks, not them.


    ''As I thought, bullshit'' Michael nodded to himself and prepared to cast more of his Swords of Light when he suddenly began feeling a tad bit dizzy.


    ''Shit.. my mana is almost out'' He hadn''t paid much attention to it all this time since the consumption was not great, however, it finally added up.


    At most, he had 5% mana remaining, definitely not enough to deal with these guys from range.


    That''s why, Michael decided to scrap his idea of running and charged straight at them, using a tiny portion of his mana to push the others away, making it a temporary 1 on 1.


    The man was as creepy as earlier and he was also the weakest of the 4.


    He mindlessly threw a punch, his fist covered in that ck aura, however, Michael was currently not using mana externally, he was merely enhancing himself.


    That is why, he easily dodged the attack and hit the man with one of his own, aiming to w off his neck.


    He managed to make contact and rip out the man''s throat but even then, he didn''t see any signs of stopping.


    This way of fighting startled Michael, he never fought an opponent that could survive with a fatal injury.


    However, he could tell that it had some effect, as blood poured out and his neck twisted backwards, his skin slowly turning purple.


    ''Fucking brute'' Michael kicked him away and shed with the other 3, the one he just fought seemed to be getting slower and slower by the second.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was not long before he finally copses.


    The others didn''t seem that much different, just stronger, making it difficult for him to pull the same stunt he did with the other one.


    It did not stop him from trying, but the moment he did, one of them dashed at a speed that made it hard for Michael to pull his hand back in time, resulting in his arm being crushed by pure force.


    He tried pulling the arm back, however, no matter how hard he pulled, it wouldn''t budge.


    ''Fuck..'' He took a deep breath and cut his own arm off, the one who had grabbed it earlier still holding it.


    His arm began regrowing at a speed that was faster thanst time, he expected it to be fully grown out in a couple of minutes.


    But every minute mattered, they would not wait for his arm to grow back either.


    ''2% of my mana is left, one is dead, one is slightly injured and the others were fairly fine.. this is not looking good.'' Michael looked around with a grave expression.


    They did get a bit slower since the start of the fight, however, so did Michael, it was truly a battle of attrition now and he was losing.


    ''A barrier-piercing attack.. how can I make that fucking work..'' He thought and began channeling his mana, creating an extremely slender sword that seemed nearly invisible to the naked eye.


    Michael keptpressing it, until only a portion of its original mana was left.


    And finally, he sent it forward, like an invisible dagger, flying at the strongest of the inmates.


    The ck aura around the man glowed brightly, however, instead of the small impact that should have happened, Michael''s attackpletely passed through the barrier, creating a small hole where the man''s heart was.


    ''Hah.. the barrier did not see it as an attack due to the low amount of mana it had.. I am a genius'' A smile appeared on Michael''s face but it onlysted a moment, as that attack cost nearly all of his remaining mana.


    ''Though it does not matter, they are finally here'' He nced behind the inmates and saw his party members quickly approaching.


    Chloe disappeared and reappeared behind one of them, slicing straight into his back before being flung to the side by the sheer amount of mana he had unleashed at that moment.


    Kevin caught her with his shadows and approached the inmates, a small vortex of shadows swirling inside of his palm.


    All of a sudden, a shadow materialized by his side and he finally sent the swirling vortex, aiming for Michael.


    ''The fuck?'' As he was thinking of dodging, he noticed the look on Kevin''s face, it screamed to trust him.


    And as much as he did not like him, he decided to put his trust in him, this situation was pretty bad already anyway.


    The vortex hit Michael and his view suddenly changed, he switched ces with the shadow Kevin had summoned just a moment ago.


    "How are you holding up?" He asked Michael and nced at his arm which was slowly regenerating.


    The others seemed to notice it too and had bewildered expressions.


    "Out of mana, stall for a couple of minutes and I can finish them off" Michael exined and stepped to the very back of the party, slowly preparing the barrier-piercing Sword of Light he had cast earlier.


    All 3 of them nodded, it was surprising to see Elizabeth so quiet, he expected her to start nagging him the moment she saw him.


    Michael chuckled inwardly and saw Chloe dash in, disappearing and reappearing behind one of the inmates once again,nding a clean slice on his back.


    She was aiming for the neck, but their instincts were good enough to evade deadly blows.


    Elizabeth readied her stance and began walking up, her sword slightly by the side.


    One of the inmates noticed her slow approach and dashed towards her, aiming to kill her in one blow.


    However, as he was just in front of her, he suddenly stopped, a shadow tentacle bound his foot.


    She took this chance to deal a blow, but just like with Chloe, it evaded the moment her attack was about tond in a fatal area.


    ''So they really can work as a party'' Michael smiled to himself as he raised his arm slightly, due to the surrounding mana being so thick from the fight, he was able to regain his mana a tad bit faster.


    "Move!" He shouted and they immediately backed away, Chloe teleported back, while Elizabeth was switched with a shadow.


    Michael lined the attack up and just like earlier, pierced both of the inmates through the heart, ending their life swiftly.


    He looked at all of their bodies and noticed their hair had returned to the color he saw back in the armored van, their eyes too.


    However, he didn''t have much time to admire it as his knees buckled, he finally ran out of mana and fought the urge to not pass out.


    ''That was a tough fight..''

 Chapter 62: Escort (6)

    "Put me down."


    "No."


    "..Put me down."


    "No."


    Michael was currently suspended in the air via Kevin''s shadow, he could not move for at least a couple more minutes, that is until he enough of his mana.


    ''This guy..'' He was speechless, he was being treated like some sort of baggage.


    Turning to the side, he saw Elizabeth wearing a massive smirk, it seemed her mood had be better the moment Michael became incapacitated.


    ''She really likes seeing me suffer huh..''


    "So where exactly are we?" Michael asked as he looked around, they were pretty high up the mountain, just a bit above the clouds.


    Kevin noticed him regaining enough mana to break his shadow control and released him, dropping him onto the snowy ground.


    "Far.. The driver was in on it so he floored it, too bad that van was military grade, else we would have noticed something was before it was toote."


    Michael sighed and stood up off of the ground, tripping Kevin with a Shield of Light at his feet.


    "Far or not, we technically failed our assignment, let''s get back so I am not assumed dead again."


    "Stop it you two, who cares about the assignment anyway" Elizbeth butted in between the both of them before they started fighting.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    They grumbled and made their way back to the van, hopeful that it still worked, however, upon arriving they all had nk expressions.


    The one most confused was Michael "Why.. Where did it go?"


    Trail marks were visible, they appeared to be heading towards the right side, where a steep drop down the mountain awaited.


    ''God damn it..''


    "So our ride is gone, anyone have any ideas?" He asked turning to the others, however, just like him, they seemed to not know what to do.


    That was until Chloe finally spoke up after being silent all this time "I can take us down the mountain with my abilities.."


    Everyone immediately turned towards her with widened eyes "You can teleport multiple people!?"


    "Yes.. though it consumes almost all of my mana to do so, I can at the very least speed up our journey" She replied in a shy voice.


    Due to her being a space mage, her detection skills stretch further than yours, too bad she was half asleep or else you would have noticed that something was wrong earlier.


    ''Yeah..''


    "That''s great, when can you teleport us down?"


    "I can do it now, you guys just need to be closer to me." Chloe exined and summoned some kind of a spatial barrier that had a radius of a few meters around her.


    ''Is that it?'' He walked up into it and felt a strange energy engulf him, the gravity felt distorted as well, some parts of his body were heavy while the others, not so much.


    The rest of the party approached her too, getting within range.


    And the moment they did, their surroundings suddenly shifted, they all found themselves in an area that barely had any snow, even a bit of grass.


    Chloe''s knees buckled and she almost copsed, however, Michael caught her just in time.


    "Thanks.." She stood back up and straightened her back, looking at the sight before them.


    ''Damn.. how high up were we?'' Michael looked at the mountain in front of him, he could not even see the top as it was above the clouds.


    It seemed pretty steep, he could not imagine how the armored van even managed to get all the way up there.


    Even then, the impressive one was Chloe as she managed to take all of them down the mountain, saving a couple hours of travel.


    It would have been more annoying than difficult to get down, the terrain was not favorable in the slightest.


    Michael looked down where the grassy ins began and saw a city in the distance.


    However, from its size, he guessed it was most likely a vige instead.


    They all walked towards the vige together and upon arriving, were stopped by frail looking guards.


    "S-Stop!" One of them shouted, clearly startled by the appearance of the 4 people in front of him.


    Elizabeth stepped up first as she looked the least disheveled out of the bunch, with Michael practically looking like a hobo now.


    "Hello, could you please let us pass? We are lost" She asked with a never before seen kind expression that sent shivers down Michael''s spine.


    However, to the guards, she looked like an angel "O-Of course" They immediately stepped aside.


    ''Are they naive?'' Michael wondered as they didn''t even check for IDs or anything of the like.


    They did check, just not with any ordinary method.


    But contrary to his beliefs, they were in fact monitoring the 4 of them with something he could not quite feel.


    Michael and the rest passed by them and headed to a building that had a sign with ''Association'' written on it.


    It seemed that was how they were getting these kinds of assignments, he just hadn''t paid much attention to the inner workings before.


    However, the others seemed aware of it, that''s all that counted.


    ''It does seem familiar..'' He noticed the simrities between the Association and the Adventurer''s Guild as the inside looked eerily simr.


    But instead of pieces of paper being stuck to the wall, there was some kind of a holographic interface that disyed all of the requests people had given out.


    They were not here to take a request though, instead, they headed straight for what appeared to be some kind of a receptionist, even if they were not dressed as one.


    Upon noticing the group approaching they put on a small smile "How could I help you?"


    "Send a pickup request to Vivum Academy, they will understand why" Elizabeth said nonchntly and sat down on one of thefy seats by the reception.


    "Pardon? Uh- Okay.." The receptionist seemed a little confused but listened nheless, they had badges indicating that they were indeed from that Academy.


    The rest of the party sat down as well, Michael finally getting a bit of rest, his mana had recovered by nearly 20% now.


    ''This day was something else..'' He sighed and closed his eyes, however, a sudden scream interrupted his attempt at sleep.


    "Please! Is anyone a healer!? My daughter is injured!" A woman ran through the entrance of the association with a young girl in her arms.


    She seemed to be bleeding out of her nose and ears, definitely no simple injury.


    ''Well, there goes my sleep..'' Michael stood up and walked up to the mother and daughter duo, casting Shield of Nourishment 5 times in total to get her back to full health.


    After hees back, he will finallybine his skills and also figure out how to cast a heal with just his mana alone, he thought it would be more efficient that way.


    The mother cried in happiness upon seeing her daughter visibly getting better, thanking Michael from the bottom of her heart.


    He simply waved with a smile, going back to hisfortable seat and lying down.


    "I guess you can still be a Saint when you want to huh?" Kevin''s voice rang out with a chuckle.


    Michael scoffed and sarcastically remarked "You think?"


    He did not want to deal with Kevin''s bullshit right now, he was too tired and he just used up another 10% of his mana, making thest hour of progresspletely disappear.


    At least you did a good deed.


    ''I suppose..''

 Chapter 63: Escort (7)

    "Wake up" Kevin said and began shaking the sleeping Michael awake, a grave look on his face.


    "What''s wrong?" Michael pushed him away and groggily got up, it felt like he had slept for at least a couple of hours, better than nothing at all.


    "We can''t get in contact with Vivum"


    ''Hm?'' He seemed a little confused, they couldn''t get in contact with such a massive city?


    Before Michael was about to ask further questions, the receptionist from before walked up to them, informing them of what was happening.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "It seems the mountain is at it again, it''s blocking the connection needed to reach Vivum, something must have happened up there.."


    ''Something happened? Yeah.. Us'' Michael sighed and looked at the others, they too were wearing understanding expressions.


    "How long will it take for the connection to reestablish?"


    The receptionist thought for a couple of moments "Not sure,st time something like this happened, it took a couple of days, though the time could vary."


    "I see..."


    ''So we have to find something to do for a couple of days huh.. maybe a few requests?''


    Michael was curious about them so he asked the receptionist "Do we need anything else besides an ID to ept those requests?"


    "No, an ID is sufficient."


    ''Good'' He nodded to himself and headed over to the holographic interface, checking out all of the requests.


    His party seemed a bit surprised, they expected Michael toze around, however, here he was, actively searching for work.


    The requests had minimum levels, some of which even reached in the hundreds, though they were rted to monster subjugation.


    There were also some that were a bit menial, it reminded Michael of the time back in the first trial.


    ''Catch a cat.. pft'' He found it oddly funny for some reason and continued scrolling through the requests, looking for a certain type he wanted to ept.


    Just as he began scrolling once again, Kevin walked up to him and pressed on the hologram, disying a list of categories.


    "You are like an old man that doesn''t know how technology works.." He snickered and walked back to the others.


    ''...'' Michael was speechless as he looked at the disyed categories, pressing on the Escort category.


    He thought that maybe, by traveling to another nearby vige, he could save a lot of time.


    ''Escort a VIP around the vige.. No.. Escort a VVIP to a nightclub.. ?'' The more he looked, the more he waspelled to think all of the escort requests were a dud, so far none of them seemed like simple protection requests.


    But he guessed since the people were VIPs, they could get away with putting a request in the wrong category so it would get more attention.


    Just as he thought all hope was lost, he finally stumbled upon a request that he was looking for, it was some kind of a truck of goods traveling to a faraway vige.


    Michael obviously didn''t want to go all the way there, thankfully, it seemed that it would stop at every vige along the way, which was exactly what he wanted.


    ''Too bad it''s not heading towards Vivum but away from it.. we are pretty far out already'' He thought with a small frown but nheless, decided to ept the request.


    The process was simple, he had to fill in his information and the person behind this request would reach out via the Association.


    He told the others about it and they eagerly signed up, it seemed none of them were eager to spend their days here doing nothing, waiting for the connection to stabilize.


    After finally filling out the request forms, they headed out of the association, the receptionist told them to check in tomorrow to see if they were contacted.


    The vige seemed lively and the mountain they just came down from could be seen in the distance, this ce looked oddly peaceful.


    "So Michael, where do you n on staying the night?" Elizabeth suddenly walked up to him and asked with a small smirk on her face.


    ''She''s doing it again..'' He sighed and thought about it for a moment.


    He had no money to his name and there was definitely no way to get it fast, well, unless he borrowed it from others.


    Why don''t you ept one of the easy requests, a few of them might be enough to let you stay the night somewhere.


    ''Have you seen the rewards? 5 dors, what am I supposed to do with 5 dors?'' He doubted that spending the night would be that cheap, while this was a vige, it wasn''t exactly run down.


    And to add to that, there were no visible inns or anything of the sort, it was way different than the previous vige he was in.


    Well.. just ask Kevin then.


    Michael shrugged and turned towards his party, noticing the annoyed expression on Elizabeth''s face, after all, he had just ignored her antics.


    "Hey Kevin?"


    "Need money?" Kevin instantly understood his intentions.


    "Yup" Michael shamelessly replied and was met with a sigh.


    Just as Kevin was about to lend him some money, Chloe spoke up.


    "My family owns a building in this city, you guys can stay there for free.."


    The entire party once again turned towards her with surprised expressions, it seemed as if she had an answer to all of their problems.


    However, in this case, only Michael had a problem, nheless, they were all equally grateful, no one likes spending money if they can get a better deal, which in this case, was for free.


    "Thanks Chloe" Everyone thanked her and she simply nodded, her ears turning a little red due to her being the center of attention.


    She quickly turned around and began leading the rest to the hotel and upon arriving, they couldn''t help but widen their eyes.


    ''So.. the massive building I saw from before was a hotel huh.. her family''s hotel..'' Michael began questioning life, how could someone be so rich?


    The others had simr looks, with Elizabeth sharing the exact same expression as him.


    Chloe walked through the front doors and was greeted by all of the attendants who were walking around the first floor.


    ''Damn.. we have a real big shot in our party..''


    See, that''s what you should aspire to do before you leave this world, get a lot of money.


    Michael tilted his head ''Aren''t you greedy..''


    The system and he bantered for a bit while following an attendant who was leading him to the room where he would be staying for tonight.


    Opening the door, a room the size of an entire floor greeted his eyes, he was getting the rich person treatment.


    He waved at his party and went inside, lying down on thefortable bed.


    ''I wonder how my stats are looking after the fight?'' Michael wondered and called up his status


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]


    Mana Purity: 14% -> 16%


    Mana Core: Flow


    Mana Core Rank: Tier 1


    -:- 1% Progress to next Tier -:-


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you


    * Being of Light


    # Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity based spells by 25%


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 67/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP: 11/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [C+]


    END: Tier 1 [B-]


    AGI: Tier 1 [B] -> [B+]


    INT: Tier 1 [B+] -> [A-]


    CHA: Tier 1 [D+]


    -Skills / [Skill Merging]


    Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive]


    Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Hand to handbat [Beginner] [Passive]


    Discipline [Basic] [Passive]


    Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]


    Purify [Intermediate] [Active]


    Shield of Nourishment [Basic] [Active]


    Physical Enhancement [Beginner] [Active]


    Sword of Light [Basic] [Active]


    Shield of Light [Basic] [Active]


    Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active]


    +---+


    ''Hm.. decent improvement, it''s time tobine some skills...''

 Chapter 64: Skill Merge

    Remember, while you canbine skills of the same rarities, you can''tbine offensive and defensive skills together, it would make a jumbled up mess.


    ''I understand'' Michael nodded to himself and beganbining.


    The first skills he wanted tobine were Shield of Nourishment and Shield of Light as he believed his defenses were currently a bitcking.


    [Skills merged, generating new skill]


    Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    # Create a protective barrier around yourself or others, absorbing 40% HP damage until broken. Alternate to healing mode to heal 30% of total HP. Able to cast an outer shield which can be used to parry attacks.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    *Shielding Mode Cost: 5% MP


    *Healing Mode Cost: 3% MP


    *Outer Shield Mode: 1% MP, Refunded if parried or blocked sessfully


    ''No ding? But still.. what a good skill..'' Michael was in awe at the options of the skill, it really didbine both of his skills and upgrade them greatly while also keeping most of the options intact.


    However, the longer he looked at the skill, a sudden question arose ''Say.. the 40% absorption, is it their HP?''


    No, the Shield absorbs damage equal to 40% of your total HP which is many times higher than normal, basically, if you were to cast a Shield on anyone under level 200, they would receive a very high HP shield that wouldn''t break even if you hit it a few times.


    ''Huh? Just how high is my HP?'' He wondered, was 40% of his total HP really that muchpared to others?


    Remember the 1:5, 1:6 scaling to your HP and MP? It is still happening but it''s not exactly written in your status, just like before, it will increase the stronger you get, specifically, every single time you increase in Tier.


    ''Well, shit.. I guess my skills are a little better than I had thought'' Michael chuckled and was prepared tobine Purify and his new skill, but noticed he couldn''t.


    It required 3 skills instead of the usual 2, he still could notbine passive skills with active skills, so he had to hold off on this for now.


    There was also the Veil of Detection skill which was in another category of its own, so he couldn''tbine it with anything either.


    ''Hey, the skill I used to kill those inmates, why isn''t it up here?'' Michael wondered as he kept scrolling around his status interface, not seeing anything new pop up.


    He remembered the system saying that one mustprehend how to use an ability first before it turns into a skill.


    And that was exactly what he did earlier, he condensed the mana into a small sword, reducing its detectability but greatly increasing prative power.


    Hm.. You are right, give me a moment to check it out.


    After a few minutes ofplete silence, a familiar sound resounded in his ears, one he was supposed to hear earlier but didn''t.


    -Ding


    [New Skill Generated]


    Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    A miniature sword that condenses and masks its mana. Has high defense pration with considerable killing power.


    *Cost: 5% MP


    A smile appeared on his face for just a moment before his gazended on the rank of the skill.


    ''I can''tbine it..'' Michael attempted to drag the skills in there and it did not work.


    He also triedbining with the other intermediate skills he obtained, however, it was also to no avail.


    ''Well fuck.. at least the skill appeared'' He sighed and gotfortable on the bed, though no matter how much he rolled around, he couldn''t fall asleep.


    ''Hey, why is my spear ability not recognized as a skill?'' Michael absentmindedly asked the system.


    They are the same as your Swords of Light, meaning they don''t count as an individual skill.


    ''I see, then can you tell me a bit about my stats? Some of them increased after the battle.''


    You overexerted your mana as well as dodged most of their attacks, even if your arm got cut off at the end, you still pushed yourself to the limits.


    Michael''s expression turned into a frown, it was good that it managed to heal before they entered the city, but losing an arm did not feelfortable in the slightest.


    ''So the best way to increase your stats is to just fight stronger opponents?''


    Pretty much.


    ''Pretty straightforward eh.. say, can you tell me what kind of system abilities you unlocked by sacrificing my hard earned skills?''


    I will once you go back to the city, this ce is not really the best for that.


    ''Stingy as always'' Michael grumbled and stood up, going out of his room and leaving the hotel, contrary to his earlier battle, he was not sleepy at all.


    Yet it was already night time and he had nothing else to do except walk around aimlessly.


    Despite it being nighttime, people were still actively running around with smiles on their faces.


    It looked peaceful.. just like the city in his trials did.


    He felt a bit paranoid, the previous Michael''s memories were pretty emotional as he had some attachments with the people of that city.


    However, he would not sumb to these memories, even if they were technically his, he only viewed them from a third person point of view.


    The same went with that Fallen who had ughtered his entire city.


    While he did feel the emotion of rage and regret from the Fallen, it was not to a point where it would influence him, maybe that''s just because of the low synchronization, Michael did not know.


    ''I should have just tried falling asleep..'' He sighed and continued walking around, trying to tire himself out.


    But that seemed to not work as he eventually ended up in front of the Association''s building which was still open.


    Going inside, Michael noticed that it was pretty lively, when they had first got here it was pretty empty but now it felt like a true Adventurer''s Guild.


    However, the moment his thoughts finished, he suddenly halted, a frown appearing on his face.


    ''System? What the fuck was that?''


    What do you mean?


    ''You know exactly what I mean, why are his emotions bleeding into mine?'' He asked and turned around from the people, hiding his frustrated look.


    Don''t worry about it, the memories are just slowly being assimted within you, the Association brought back memories, hence why the assimtion quickened.


    ''So what? When it finally assimtes, what happens?''


    Nothing bad if that''s what you are worried about, you will simply remember their memories, their battle styles and all other stuff that only benefits you.


    Just as Michael prepared to ask another question, the system interrupted him.


    No, you will remain who you are, you will not lose sight of who you are either.


    Michael was silent, finally removing the frown from his face, albeit his worries did not disappear, after all, he remembered what happened at the end of both of those memories.


    And that was, the number of people that came before him, The coward was 812th and the Fallen was 6411th.


    That raises the question, will he remember all those thousands of memories? It seemed like it could negatively impact him.


    You will remember eventually, once your synchronizationpletes, however, until then, worry about yourself first, the past stays in the past, it won''t bite you or hurt you, the same goes for the memories, once you get stronger, I will be able to filter the bad ones out.


    ''I see.. Thanks for the reassurance I guess'' Michael thanked the system while still harboring some doubt.


    He walked up to the hologram and began scrolling through all the requests, before his eyes finallynded on one in particr, making a small smile appear on his face.


    ''Ooh.. a find the cat request for 6 dors, this one might be a bit special.''

 Chapter 65: Brat

    ''This is delicious..'' Michael eximed as he stuffed a whole slice of pizza inside his mouth, he hadpletely forgotten the taste of pizza.


    Thest time he ate one, was when he still lived in luxury and had a private chef all to himself.


    However, he was not able to enjoy it for long as he could see his party approaching the Association building.


    All the while he was close by, inside a restaurant, eating a cheese pizza.


    Michael was sad to leave it there as he just started, but he didn''t want to leave a bad first impression.


    ''Fuck.. why didn''t I buy it to go.. there''s also a massive line so I can''t really ask for them to put it in a box'' He sighed and picked up 2 slices, heading out to the Association building.


    Over the course of the entire night, he found a grand total of 7 cats, earning him roughly 35 dors, enough to buy 2 whole pizzas.


    Even the receptionist was surprised since not many take those types of requests, however, there is always that one person who did.


    He caught up to his party and saw Kevin looking at him with a frown "Where have you been?"


    Michael ignored him and stuffed thest slice of pizza inside his mouth, watching as the receptionist walked closer to them.


    "The one who put up the request has contacted you, he is in the room over there" The receptionist said and pointed towards a door located at the other side of the building.


    Everyone nodded and walked towards the room, opening the door and seeing 2 people inside.


    An elderly man and some young looking girl were in front of them, the man had a longsword on his back.


    ''A swordsman.. He looks pretty old to still be fighting though'' Michael gazed at him up and down, no matter how he looked at it, this seemed a little strange.


    Just as they were about to introduce themselves, the girl stood up and crossed her arms "How dare you bete?"


    ''..A brat.''


    "Do you think your payment will remain the same after this discourtesy?" She kept rambling on, scolding them as if they were a couple of hourste.


    When in reality, they were here early.


    Elizabeth''s brow twitched and she spoke up before anyone could stop her "What the fuck is your problem?"


    ''Well... Shit'' Michael and Kevin facepalmed, while Chloe had her mouth wide open, seemingly shocked at how the entire situation was unfolding.


    "You.. You!" The girl seemed shocked as well, backing away and gesturing for the man to stand up and draw his sword at them.


    However, he just simply sighed and stood up, walking up to them "I am sorry about that, my name is Torin and she is Selene.. the one overseeing this escort request."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Michael could see the apologetic expression clearly stered on his face.


    ''So the brat is our boss for now'' He couldn''t help but look around to see what the others were thinking, but they too had mixed expressions.


    "I see, it''s a pleasure to meet you both" Michael decided to put on the Saint act like before, he even got a new white robe from one of the people whose cat he saved.


    He no longer looked as shabby as before.


    But his little act seemed to not work on Selene as a scowl appeared on her face, clearly expressing her displeasure with the 4 of them.


    ''How can someone be like this? She was rude first?'' He thought for a moment when something popped up in his head.


    The system once exined how most of the rich children were.. special and it seemed she was too.


    Torin nodded at his attempt and began exining the contents of the request since Selene refused to do it.


    Long story short, they were just supposed to protect the truck at all costs as it contained some expensive materials that were being transported across a few viges.


    Selene took up this mantle as a show of respect for her family, yet it seemed she was still too used to being treated like a princess.


    And here was Elizabeth, constantly trying to piss her off.


    Michael honestly found it funny but at the same time, he had hoped this girl wouldn''t take all these words to heart, he didn''t want to antagonize a rich family.


    Even if he was considered decently strong, it was only in this world, if someone strong was exiled from another world and came here, Michael would be squashed like a bug.


    Or so he thought, he hadn''t met any beings like that besides Fafnir and even then, he didn''t act anything like the noble dragon he portrayed himself to be.


    There was Amanda too but he couldn''t quite gauge her strength, though he doubted she was stronger than Fafnir.


    They quickly got the dealings finished and checked back in with the receptionist, confirming the start of the request.


    "Michael, can you go calm her down?" Kevin turned to him with a helpless expression.


    By her, he referred to Elizabeth who was still fighting with Selene, from the side, they looked like two good friends.


    However, "For a rich girl, you sure are an idiot, didn''t your parents hire a private tutor for you or something?"


    "You.." By now, Selene was speechless, she didn''t know how to deal with someone so vulgar.


    "What''s wrong, are yo-"


    "Stop already" Michael interjected between them, interrupting Elizabeth as she was probably going to continue hurling insults.


    "Aren''t you a humble Saint?" She snickered and backed away, he was surprised it was that easy to get her to stop.


    Turning to Selene, he noticed her eyes which were shaking as if she was about to cry.


    Michael didn''t bother to appease her, she would get over it anyway.


    They eventually arrived in front of a truck that looked the same as the ones from his previous world, the key difference was that it looked slightly longer than he remembered.


    As they approached the front of the truck, they saw extra side doors, like those of a fire truck.


    "You guys get in there, we will be in the very front" Torin opened the doors for them and gestured to get in.


    And after everyone was finally seated, the truck started moving.


    The destination was some kind of a vige that had simr architecture to the one they just left.


    Michael was silent, trying to observe Torin as he appeared to have let his guard downpletely.


    From what he managed to find out, he was around level 60, not exactly the highest of levels for someone that age.


    ''Hey system, can you tell me what is the highest Tier someone has reached in this world?'' Michael questioned, he was going to be sitting idly by for the next 6 hours at the very least, better to have a conversation with someone.


    Not sure, probably the very peak of Tier 2, the amount of mana needed does not exist in this world, meaning you can''t exactly Tier up unless you travel to another world.


    ''Then what about the monsters? Do they also follow the same rule of Tiers?''


    In this world, you will only find monsters that have Mana Cores once you go to the Daor continent, until then, most will be fairly high leveled, but nothing you can''t handle.


    ''I see.. well, that''s something at least.. though the monster I saw in the copsed dungeon was definitely one with a Mana Core, right?'' He thought back to the time he was inside a dungeon with Shingen.


    Yes, both him and the wolf boss monster had Mana Cores, they weren''t extremely strong though, probably around the peak of Tier 1?


    ''So not much stronger than the current me then?''


    They are stronger but you are quite versatile, if you have all of your mana, you might even be able to take one of them down, though don''t get too overconfident.


    ''Sure sure'' Michael nodded to himself, seeing his party either on their phones or asleep, well it was mostly Chloe who was asleep all the time, the others not so much.


    He chuckled and closed his eyes as well, his fatigue finally catching up to him.


    ''Wake me up if you feel anything strange.''


    I am not your rm clock.

 Chapter 66: Dream

    "Where am I?" Michael looked around with a confused look, just a few moments ago he was talking with the system before falling asleep.


    Now here he was, standing inside some strange ce, a vast expanse of nothingness all around him.


    He tried walking and the moment he did, he heard a crunching sound beneath his feet, it was getting louder and louder as he walked forward.


    All of a sudden, a bunch of mirrors appeared out of the ground, the amount he could definitely not count.


    Wherever he looked, he saw mirrors, surprisingly, not a single one was the same shape or size as the other.


    Michael found it odd and mysterious, yet for some reason, he couldn''t help but approach one of them.


    The single mirror looked incredibly normal as opposed to the rest of the mirrors, however, he felt like it resonated with him.


    Just as he approached it and ced his hand on top of it, every single mirror in the room disappeared, except for the one in front of him.


    Michael did not take his eyes away from it, instead, he looked further, it felt like his Eyes of The Healer passive skill was being activated, albeit more naturally.


    He kept staring into the mirror and eventually, something stared back at him.


    It looked like an older man, almost identical to Michael, however, he had golden hair, not ck.


    ''Who is this guy..?'' Just as he wondered that the man in the mirror made a small gesture thatpletely startled Michael.


    ''He moved?''


    The man in the mirror suddenly made eye contact with Michael and all of a sudden, a small smile appeared on his face as he began moving his mouth.


    However, it was silent, although he was trying to talk, his words were not going through.


    "I can''t hear you.." Michael said aloud, hoping his words reached him.


    And surprisingly, they did, as in the next moment he suddenly stopped trying to talk, resorting to scribbling something on the mirror instead.


    ''It''s thatnguage from the temple..'' Michael began paying full attention, trying to understand it fully.


    However, the sentence wasn''t as long as he thought, the man in the mirror just kept repeating it but nheless, it was enough to stir up Michael''s curiosity.


    "What do you mean I am thest one?"


    The man smiled and began writing on the mirror once again.


    ''You were once one of the first, now you are the veryst'' Michael noted down and frowned.


    "Can''t you be a bit more specific?"


    The man appeared to sigh and began jolting down a short sentence.


    ''Last Pureblood Archangel.''


    Those words seemed to startle Michael a little bit, while he knew he was rted to some higher power, he didn''t expect he himself to be the higher power.


    Just as Michael was about to ask a few more questions, the strange world he found himself in began to shake uncontrobly and cracks began appearing on the mirror.


    The man noticed this too and just before the mirror finally broke, waved at Michael with a small smile.


    ''...Last Pureblood Archangel huh..'' He thought to himself as the world around him slowly began cracking, simr to how a dungeon copse happened.


    However, he was not able to see what happened next as he suddenly jolted awake, finding himself back in the truck.


    ''What a strange dream..'' Michael thought to himself, absentmindedly sitting while his party members were still on their phones.


    But no matter how much time has passed, the memories of what had just happened did not disappear, in fact, it felt as if they were engraved inside his mind.


    ''System?''


    What?


    ''What do you mean what? Check my memories'' Michael asked the system to hurry up as he wanted to know whether it knew more about this than him.


    What are you talking about? You fell asleep and the next moment woke up, I understand if you struggle to sleep, it''s only natural while on a journey.


    ''...It can''t see those memories?'' He was a bit confused at this oue, this is the first time the system was not able to see something inside his mind.


    Did you.. hit your head?


    The system seemed to express genuine concern which slightly pissed Michael off.


    ''Nevermind..''


    He guessed that if the system couldn''t see those memories, meant that it shouldn''t see them or at least that''s the hunch he had.


    If the timees when he finds out more about the system besides what he knew from the trials, then he might just exin what happened in his memories.


    Michael sighed and sat back down, he once again lost the urge to sleep, the only option he had was to sit through this entire ride to the next vige.


    And that''s what he did, simply ncing out of the window and enjoying the passing view until they finally arrived.


    Along the way there surprisingly weren''t any disturbances, he had expected to at the very least see a monster or two, however, it waspletely empty.


    Even those cultists he saw from before, he was expecting to encounter at least one of them as well, after all, he killed 5 people from their not so little cult.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Especially since they all had Mana Cores, he doubted that they werepletely worthless, he definitely angered somebody with those actions.


    Stepping out of the truck, the entire party made their way to the Association''s building, despite the vige looking a bit shabbier than the previous one, the buildings were ced in an oddly simr way.


    As they were walking, a thought popped into Michael''s head as he turned to Chloe.


    "Hey, does your family also have a hotel here?"


    She nced at him for a moment then pointed at a wide building in the distance, causing Michael and the rest of the party to sigh.


    They walked into the Association''s building and headed straight to the receptionist, exining the same thing they had to the previous one.


    The conversation was quick and they were told to stand by for a moment while he attempted to contact Vivum.


    However, only after about 5 minutes, the receptionist came back, a small frown on his face.


    "Sorry.. there is some kind of a disturbance, we can''t get in contact with Vivum."


    ''Again? There''s no way it''s the mountain this time..'' Michael thought, while the vige was indeed further away from Vivum, it was nowhere close to that mountain from before.


    "Do you know when you will be able to contact them?" Elizabeth snickered with a sour expression.


    "I am sorry.. we don''t."


    Michael decided to stand up and head back to the truck, the others following right behind him.


    "Something is not right.." Kevin walked up to him and said in a cautious voice.


    "Really? What gives you that impression?"


    His eyebrows twitched upon Michael''s sarcasticment, however, before their argument began to escte, Elizabeth stepped in front of them once again.


    "Wait until we are back in Vivum to fight, you guys are being annoying."


    ''Says you'' He rolled his eyes and noticed the truck had still not begun moving, meaning they had time to get on the ride heading for the next vige.


    Michael sent Kevin to go talk to Torin while he headed back inside the Truck with the others.


    "Hey.. Why do you still pretend to act like a Saint?" Elizabeth''s voice rang out from the side, she had a serious expression on her face for some reason.


    "Maybe because I am a nice guy?"


    His reply was met with a scoff "A nice guy? You? Don''t kid yourself, give me an answer or I''ll keep bothering you."


    ''Unreasonable as always'' Michael sighed and looked straight into her eyes.


    "What do you think I gain by acting strong? Being strong means people fear you, by acting nice I give off the impression of a weakling" He replied nonchntly.


    However, Elizabeth did not seem convinced "So you do it just for the sake of it? Do you really expect me to believe that?"


    Michael walked up to her and suddenly summoned a bunch of Swords of Light, circling around her neck.


    "Of course it''s bullshit, I only do it because I can" He finished off with augh he had been holding in since the start of the conversation.


    The Swords of Light dematerialized and only Elizabeth was left, a scowl clearly stered on her face.


    "I don''t like you.."

 Chapter 67: Incident

    Torin was nice enough to ept them back, after all, he didn''t believe he was strong enough to defend the supplies all on his own.


    And since Selene was from a rich family, payment was not a problem, even if she didn''t exactly like them, having an extra pair of hands could never hurt.


    The ride to the next vige did not take as long as the previous one, it took only around 2 hours, all the while Michael simply stared out of the window.


    He realized how beautiful the world was, as none of this scenery even came close in his previous world.


    Lustrous mountains, clear skies and what stood out the most was the mana he saw flowing around, it had all kinds of different colors, making the sight incredibly beautiful.


    Just like before, they arrived and headed straight for the Association''s building, asking the receptionist to contact Vivum.


    But yet again, they were met with bad news, so far 3 out of 3 viges were not able to contact the massive city, it simply did not make sense to him.


    However, he could not imagine what could have happened, he doubted the city managed to be overrun or attacked, the amount of strong people there could defend against anything.


    There was also Amanda and Fafnir, the 2 of them made up for most of the power of the entire city, it definitely would not be able to fall.


    The only conclusion Michael hade to, was that this issue was on their side, whatever was happening, revolved around them.


    He had no leads as to what it could be or who it could be, the likely suspect would be those cultists he fought, however, with Chloe around, it would be difficult for them to go unnoticed.


    Michael triedparing his Detection with hers and found out that she could see roughly 3 times more than he could, what a boon that space of affinity of hers was.


    He wondered how strong she would be once she obtains a Mana Core, same goes for Kevin as well, the two of them would be powerhouses.


    But there was also Elizabeth, who aside from being a swordswoman, she didn''t show any special affinity.


    The only thing she had going for her was her hard work and swordsmanship.


    ''Well.. I hope it works out'' Michael thought, he honestly didn''t want to see someone like her be forgotten, she was incredibly strong for someone her age.


    However, she was also starting to be as annoying as Kevin.


    ''Almost..''


    They once again headed back to the truck, bringing the news of their failure to contact their city.


    And once again, with the permission of Torin, they were allowed to apany them to the next vige.


    Torin had mentioned that they would be stopping in 2 more viges, 2 more chances to contact Vivum before they had to think of another way back.


    The ride was once again short, with the receptionist''s answer being the same, by now, they began to have little hope in the next trip being the one.


    Kevin went up to Torin and without even a word spoken, they were allowed to apany them to thest vige.


    This trip was by far the longest, it took them around 13 hours to get there, Michael even took a small nap.


    However, what greeted their sight was not a vige, but a huge charred wastnd.


    In the distance, he could see a few embers of fire that were yet to be fully put out, the ones responsible for this clearly had done it not too long ago.


    ''Savages..'' Michael noticed a few burnt corpses strewn around, some even being dismembered.


    He turned to his party and they too had conflicted looks, meanwhile, Torin was covering Selene''s eyes, protecting her from the sight that was before them all.


    No one had anything to say, there was not much one would even say in this situation, it was something beyond their wildest expectations after all.


    All of a sudden Chloe turned her head in a single direction and shouted "There is somebody there!"


    Michael immediately dashed as fast as he could, beginning to feel the people she talked about.


    They numbered at least 20 and were at least level 100.


    He appeared right in front of them and noticed their shabby clothing with daggers on their waists and booze in their hands.


    They seemed to notice him as well as some of them even beganughing at him, one of the bigger guys even stepped up.


    "How did ye survive brat?"


    All the while Michael stared at them, finally understanding the big picture.


    Their daggers had blood on them some of which looked pretty fresh, they had multiple barrels, some of which didn''t even look like booze.


    Instead, it was most likely something mmable.


    ''I see...'' Michael sighed and closed his eyes, feeling the mana of all 20 individuals present.


    And with a mere thought, pierced every single one of their heads, not leaving a single one alive.


    His party finally arrived and looked at the blood pouring out of their bodies, staining the grass further.


    They took a few looks around and understood why Michael did what he had done, these people were most likely the culprits behind this incident.


    However, no matter how much he thought about it, something didn''t add up.


    ''How could someone so weak be able to overtake an entire vige.. System?''


    Well it''s because they were most likely not alone, while the viges certainly were not as strong as the cities, they had more than enough manpower to defend against a few bandits, even if they were level 100.


    ''Can you feel anyone then? Aren''t your senses a bit better than Chloe''s?'' He asked while leading the party back to the truck inplete silence.


    I can feel a faint remnant of mana, whoever did this most likely had a Mana Core and judging by the mana signature, it matches that strong cultist you fought.


    Michael frowned ''So it''s them again.. fuck.''N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He turned to Kevin, the supposed regressor "Do you know anything about those cultists?"


    That question seemed to make his eyes widen a bit in understanding "Are you saying they were the ones responsible for this?"


    Michael nodded and was met with a serious look from Kevin.


    "They are called Evangelists and as you said, they are cultists worshipping some kind of a demon."


    He paused for a moment then continued.


    "..They likely took some sacrifices from this vige and burned the rest down..."


    ''Sacrifices, are demons summoned by sacrificing someone?''


    Yes.


    Michael''s expression hardened and he looked directly into Kevin''s eyes.


    "The 5 we killed, could they have been trying to replenish what was lost?"


    He was met with a nod before Kevin turned and walked up to Torin, not wanting to talk about this any longer.


    Elizabeth and Chloe were just simply standing by, listening to the conversation with disgusted expressions.


    ''System, do you know anything about the Evangelists?''


    After they were mentioned, I acquired some information about them, ording to the rankings, you killed 1 Priest and 5 heretics, the others were just cannon fodder.


    ''So that swordsman was a Priest huh.. is he considered weak on the food chain?''


    Yes, it goes Cannon fodder, Heretics, Priests, Bishops, Arch-Bishops, Apostles, Numbered Seats and finally, The Founder.


    Michael looked at the charred city in front of him ''They are much stronger than the Priest, aren''t they.''


    Much stronger, the weakest Bishop is Tier 3.


    ''Fuck.. I can''t even imagine what the Founder is like then.'' He sighed and turned around, heading back into the truck.


    Even if they reached their destination, they would have to return somewhere.


    That''s when they will try to find a way back.


    His whole party had conflicted looks now, especially Elizabeth, he didn''t expect her to be the most affected out of all of them.


    Yet there she was, her hands shaking...


    ''This will likely not be the first time something like this happens..''

 Chapter 68: Mansion

    Torin turned to Michael and his party, gesturing that they finally arrived.


    Since thest vige they were heading to was destroyed, they had no choice but to head back and report the results.


    And that''s exactly what Selene went to do, she looked a bit anxious as she stepped out of the truck and headed towards what appeared to be a massive mansion.


    ''Holy shit.. it''s like 3 times bigger than what I had'' Michael admired the sight in front of him and then remembered they also had a rich kid among them, that being Chloe.


    "I am not sure what you kids are nning on doing, I can try getting in contact with Vivum, for all that''s going to do though..'' Torin grumbled and left the truck as well, following after Selene.


    "Hey, Kevin?"


    "Yes?"


    "That ''incident'' you warned me about back in the slums, exactly when was it supposed to happen?" Michael questioned, trying to confirm his hunch.


    Kevin looked back into his eyes "It should be another week, that''s at least how it wasst time" He said out loud, confusing Chloe and Elizabeth who were sitting next to them.


    "Right, where was it?"


    "..In the city?" Kevin answered in a confused tone before his eyes widened.


    "You don''t think..."


    Although Michael simply nodded at him, that was exactly what he was thinking.


    Back when he was stuck inside of a dungeon, the connection to the outside waspletely severed, the same went both times.


    However, this situation is supposed to be a dungeon break, not a copse, he was notpletely sure if the scale affected it in a simr way.


    But that''s the only conclusion he hade to, nothing else made sense.


    You might be right, after all, his knowledge of the future could becking, since as you might have realized, some things are indeed different.


    ''Do you mean to say that it could actually be a dungeon copse instead of a dungeon break?'' Michael thought and realized it might be possible.


    While the general knowledge Kevin shared was correct, it deviated a bit from the actual reality.


    ''What a shitty time for something like this to happen..'' Michael sighed and watched as Torin approached them, his expression didn''t seem like it bore any good news.


    "Nothing" He said with a shrug.


    Michael got out of the car, the others following after him.


    "How far away is Vivum?"


    Torin thought for a moment before replying "With our fastest transport, we could get you there in maybe a day? A tad bit longer perhaps."


    That confused Michael a tad bit, while they did drive around the viges quite a lot, in the very end they arrived at the mansion that was only a few hours away from the mountain they found themselves on earlier.


    ''I am sure we were inside the armored van for only a couple of hours, how are we so far away?''


    The others shared the same thoughts as it did not really make sense, unless one of those Evangelists did something, however, he doubted they could pull something like that off.


    Especially if they only had Tier 1''s on standby.


    "I see, could we use that transport then? We really need to get back to Vivum" Michael pleaded with Torin.


    "You would need to talk to the head of the house for that, Selene will be done shortly, after that, you can try your luck."


    For some reason, Torin''s voice didn''t sound convincing.


    ''The head of the house must be a bit interesting, It would exin how hey managed to raise a daughter like.. that'' A shiver went down his spine as he thought about the blind arrogance she showed.


    Torin led them inside the mansion, it had all sorts of luxurious items strewn around, even a chair made out of gold.


    "That seems a bit unnecessary.." Elizabeth snickered, looking at all of the useless items that were covered in jewels.


    Just as they approached a massive door, Selene walked out with tears in her eyes, ignoring thempletely.


    ''A father who makes his daughter cry.. We are dead.''


    "Well, you are free to go in now, I''ll be going after Selene now" Torin said and departed.


    The party went inside and were met with a stern looking man who currently had a frown stered on his face.


    And upon noticing them his frown grew deeper.


    "Were you the ones who bullied my daughter?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Fuck.'' Michael was about to facepalm but stopped himself, paying close attention to the man, specifically to his mana.


    ''It''s as if he has a Mana Core.. but he doesn''t, is this what it feels like to be close to forming a Mana Core?'' He wondered.


    Yes, he will reach it soon, judging by where most of the mana was forming, it will be a Dantian Core.


    ''Interesting..'' Michael seemed to understand and stopped paying attention to the man''s mana.


    He nced at Elizabeth and smirked, making her flinch.


    "No sir, it was only her.." He faked an apologetic look and pointed towards her.


    However, the expected reaction did note "I see... Thank you girl." The man said with gratitude.


    ''What?'' Michael seemed confused and the man continued further.


    "Selene needed a little bit of toughening up, once again, thank you."


    He then suddenly sat up straight, his previous fatherly expression gone "What do you kids need?"


    Kevin stepped up and began exining the entire situation, how they couldn''t contact Vivum even after all this time.


    The man listened attentively "I see, so you want to use the fastest vehicle I have then?"


    "That''s right" Kevin nodded back at him.


    "Very well, I''ll assign you transport, however, in exchange, I need you to do something for me" A sly smile appeared on the man''s face.


    ''Of course, it wouldn''t be so simple..''


    Kevin''s brow twitched "And what is that exactly?"


    Just as his words finished, the man suddenly mmed down a map on the table, it looked like a rough sketch of some kind of an outline.


    "This is?" Everyone was equally confused at what this was, for all they knew, the head of the house would ask them to clean his mansion''s tunnels, it certainly looked like that on the map anyway.


    "It''s a dungeon map, it opened not so far away and we would like to monopolize it before the government catches on" The man said with a straight face.


    ''Tax evasion... no wonder he is so rich'' Michael chuckled inwardly and listened on.


    "What I want you to do is, clear it, simple as that, I would handle the rest."


    Kevin tilted his head "Is that it?"


    The man smiled slightly "That is it."


    However, Michael had an ominous feeling so he walked up to the man "Why can''t you clear it?"


    He clearly had enough strength to clear it and if the dungeon was close by, then why not head over and do it himself?


    "I can''t kill the boss monster..." The man replied and his expression turned sour.


    "You can''t kill it? With your strength?" Michael was even more sure the man was trying to bullshit them.


    "No... You see, the boss is.. different, only one person can attempt it, the rest stay outside of the boss room."


    Michael raised his brow "Different?"


    "Yes.. once I entered the boss room, I saw my daughter standing there... I couldn''t fight her so I ran away" The man looked down at the ground in what appeared to be shame.


    ''He does know that it''s not real right?''


    "So is that all? When can we go?" Michael decided to just ept his offer, he was confident in dealing with this quickly.


    "Thank you" The man expressed his thanks and stood up, leading them out the back door.


    The moment they walked out of the mansion, a blue portal was right in front of their eyes.


    Michael looked at the man who now had a poker face "So by not far, you meant right outside?"


    "Yes."


    ''..Well, at least we won''t have to travel far...''

 Chapter 69: Mimic

    The party of 4 entered the dungeon and what greeted their sight was a dimly lit corridor and a small yet annoying rattling noise assaulting their ears.


    Michael could see a few spider like creatures, it made a shiver run down his spine as he was not a very big fan of them.


    And neither was Elizabeth as it seemed her hand holding the sword was slightly trembling.


    "What¡¯s wrong Elizabeth, scared of a few spiders?" He couldn¡¯t help but tease even though he himself was a bit spooked.


    The others looked at them with pitiful expressions and began killing the spiders, it seemed they were not as affected as the two of them were.


    Kevin and Chloe dealt with them swiftly, the spiders were very low level, akin to even goblins, perhaps even a tad bit weaker.


    But Michael had to keep in mind that the boss would likely be a bit troublesome.


    From what he gathered, it most likely was some kind of a monster that dealt with emotions, much like the first monster he had faced in this world.


    It would show him an illusion, a loved one perhaps, maybe even his father?


    But Michael was not stupid, he knew the past was behind him.


    He talked with the group and they mutually agreed that Michael would be the one dealing with the boss monster.


    "Kevin, what¡¯s with the look?" Michael nced at him and saw a conflicted expression.


    "I think I have heard about a monster like this before.. it¡¯s a mimic" Kevin said and began exining.


    "They are monsters who eitherpletely copy an individual or someone they love, they are annoying creatures because they can perfectly copy you, albeit for a pretty short time."


    ¡¯So am I basically going to be fighting myself then? That sounds pretty interesting¡¯ Michael thought with a raised brow.


    It would be an interesting experience, fighting against himself after all.


    "It¡¯s alright, I got this" He reassured Kevin and they began moving deeper into the dungeon, following the map straight to the boss room.


    As he was walking, an idea suddenly sprung into his head ¡¯System, what are the chances of me fighting one of my past selves?¡¯


    Hm... Not sure, but it is certainly a possibility.


    The reason this thought sprang into his mind was because of the encounter he had in his dream, he was not sure if the mimic could see it, but if it could then it wouldn¡¯t end well for Michael.


    Though that was for the future him to handle, he had all of his HP and MP at a maximum, he had new skills that could even pierce defenses.


    Even if he fought himself, he was confident in not losing.


    As a massive door finally greeted their sight, Michael stepped up and walked towards it, cing his hand on top of it.


    However, it did not seem to budge, he channeled some mana and tried again, surprisingly, the massive door slowly creaked open.


    He turned to his party and nodded before heading inside the boss room with the door closing right behind him.


    ¡¯It¡¯s quiet..¡¯


    Michael looked around and saw torches being lit, eventually revealing the ce he was in.


    It was an arena of sorts, a circr one at that.


    However, what caught his eye was the weird blob in the very middle, it seemed like some kind of a slime.


    But as he approached it, the blob began morphing, its body expanding and eventually taking shape to look simr to Michael.


    However, just as the being finished transforming, it suddenly popped, its slimy body flying in all sorts of directions.


    Just as Michael was about to rejoice at the fact that the battle ended without him having to do anything, the blob once again came together, this time much faster.


    And much to his surprise, turned into the same figure he had seen in his dream, the older golden haired Michael who he had seen in the mirror, was now standing right in front of him.


    "Can you hear me now?" He tried talking, his voice a little choppy as he attempted to readjust it.


    "I can" Michael replied skeptically and watched as a halo appeared above the man¡¯s head.


    ¡¯System, you still there?¡¯ He attempted to call out to the system who ever since entering the boss room, remained quiet.


    And that did not change, he did not get any kind of a reply from it.


    "It¡¯s no use trying to contact it, you won¡¯t need it anyway" The man said and reached out for the halo, shrinking it and putting it into his pocket.


    He noticed Michael¡¯s perplexed look and chuckled "Don¡¯t worry about it, I don¡¯t want to have an unfair advantage against you."


    Michael watched as the man began cracking his knuckles and suddenly made a few Swords of Light manifest.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡¯Is he serio-¡¯ As he was thinking that, he felt a few more Swords of Light appear from behind him, flying towards him at immense speed.


    He protected himself with Aegis of Light, while at the same time attempting to dodge, however, as he was in the midst of a movement, the presence of all the Swords of Light disappeared.


    And in the next moment, he felt a sharp paining from his arms and legs.


    Looking over, he noticed there were fist sized holes, like those he himself made with Piercing Light.


    However, in the next moment, a golden light enveloped him, healing him and making his previous injuriespletely disappear.


    The man looked at him with a small smile and once again, summoned a few Swords of Light, this time a bit less than before.


    Michael attempted to counterattack this time, casting Swords of Light to deflect the attacksing at him.


    As he sent his own Piercing Light towards the man, before reaching him, it suddenly felt difficult to control.


    And in the next moment, he felt another hole appear on his body, this time it was in his abdomen.


    ¡¯Did he just reflect my fucking Piercing Light spell?¡¯ Michael groaned while bearing with the pain.


    "You seem a little distracted, what¡¯s wrong Michael?" The man walked up to him and healed his injuries once again.


    Michael ignored the man¡¯s words and attempted his strategy again, this time preparing to parry anything that came at him.


    He could feel a Piercing Light spell approaching him and he waited for just the right moment, before using the Parry Mode on Aegis of Light.


    However, to his surprise, the spell stopped right at that very moment, before continuing forward and making another hole in his abdomen.


    ¡¯I can¡¯t reach him neither can I defend against him..¡¯ Michael cast a heal on himself a few times, patching up his own injuries before attempting to rush at the man again.


    This time, a normal looking Sword of Light appeared, heading towards him at a rtively slow speed, something he could either dodge or block, it did not look strong at all.


    However, the closer it got, the more he felt that something was off.


    ¡¯It feels just like a normal Sword of Light, sure as hell looks like one too... so what¡¯s going on?¡¯ He kept paying attention to it.


    Casting a few shields in front of him, he prepared for the small impact, but it never came.


    The Sword of Light slowly traveled through all of his shields, not even making contact with them, before finally arriving in front of Michael and cutting his arm off.


    He looked at the man in front of him with shock.


    ¡¯Just who the fuck am I fighting?¡¯

 Chapter 70: Mimic (2)

    "Why do you keep trying the same thing, can''t you see it''s not working?"


    "Well, what do you expect me to do!?" Michael snapped back at the man and stood up, his arm dangling by the side.


    The golden haired man sighed and healed him once again, before looking straight at his eyes and casting yet another slow but powerful Sword of Light.


    ''5th one is the charm..'' He readied himself and began interweaving the shields while also casting his own Swords of Light, trying to make the mana fluctuate so it could get dispelled.


    From what he found out, the spell he was using only bes deadly once it reaches Michael, until then, it''s a slow sword that was traveling through all of his spells.


    But Michael knew that it was impossible topletely make the spell ignore all his shields, at least that''s the conclusion he came to.


    The spell approached his shields and he began bombarding it with his very own spells, however, to no one''s surprise, it still went through everything and pierced his body once again.


    "It''s been 5 attempts now, you sure you want to continue?" The man walked up with a smile and healed him.


    "I would love it if you just told me how it works, you are testing me aren''t you?"


    "I won''t and yes, I am testing you"


    ''Just what is he doing for it to pass through all of my spells like that?'' Michael could not figure it out no matter how much he tried.


    There must be some trace of mana, that kind of spell wouldn''t work without mana.


    As he thought about it more and more, his eyes suddenly widened as he turned to the golden haired man "Again."


    The man shrugged and walked backwards before once again casting his slow spell.


    However, this time Michael was prepared, he understood that for this spell to function, there must be some kind of a mana signature, wherever it may be.


    He began casting a few shields around himself just in case and used his Detection skill to the maximum, covering the entire arena.


    The golden haired man seemed to notice this as he raised his eyebrow, making the spell fly a tad bit faster.


    All the while, Michael was monitoring the entire arena, his guess was correct as he couldn''t feel any manaing from the Sword of Light.


    Instead, it was located somewhere else.


    And that somewhere was right behind him, moving at the same pace as the sword, slowly approaching his body.


    Michael grinned and cast a shield directly on that approaching signature of mana.


    However, to his surprise, he was still hit, his arm plopping to the ground.


    He looked at the golden haired man with with wide eyes "Did you just do that on purpose?"


    "You surprised me a little bit, I didn''t expect you to figure it out" The man chuckled and healed Michael again.


    "Yeah? So in the moment of surprise, you decided to cut off my arm?"


    "Pretty much."


    Michael sighed and stood up, standing a few meters away from the man.


    "So now what?"


    The golden haired man raised his arm and it looked like it had begun to deteriorate "Fight me."


    With those words, the whole arena was suddenly covered in an array of swords, all aiming towards Michael.


    ''Fuck.''


    The spells all approached him at a very fast speed, however, once they got in a certain range of him, the speeds suddenly shifted, each one of the Swords now traveling at a speed different than the other.


    That meant Michael could not parry them all, he had no choice but to use a Shield to block all of the attacks.


    However, his expression turned sour the moment he noticed a few of the swords, they had no mana.


    ''Is he crazy?'' Michael cast shields all over the hidden Piercing Light spells, making them fracture and dissipate.


    Had this been an actual Piercing Light spell, not one used as a sneak attack while the Sword of Light traveled at him, then he might have lost here.


    However, he was lucky the spell was significantly weakened.


    A few spells managed to make it through and hit Michael but he still had enough mana to heal himself, as long as the injury didn''t instantly kill him, he could live.


    Those thoughts continued as the barrages became even faster, the golden haired man''s hand and at least half of his body was now gone.


    But the smile did not leave his face, it looked as if he was proud.


    Given the nature of the spells he was being hit with, he had no choice but to defend, any attempt at a counterattack would get him killed.


    As the onught of spells seemed to nearly overwhelm Michael, the attacks finally stopped.


    He turned to the golden haired man and he saw the Halo from before floating right above his head.


    "I rmend you use all your heals for this one" He said with a casual tone and sent a wave of mana right out of the Halo.


    At first, Michael did not feel anything, he thought that Halo must have malfunctioned or something.


    However, as the seconds passed, the surrounding gravity began increasing, it felt incredibly heavy.


    Even moving his head began getting difficult.


    But the pressure did not cease, instead, it increased, making his bones start cracking, causing him immense pain.


    However, due to the increase in gravity, he could not even move his mouth to scream, he could only try to endure it while casting heals on himself, just barely keeping himself upright.


    As his eyes began closing, he noticed a golden light expanding outwards, covering the entire arena.


    And then, a calm, yet authoritative voice rang out amidst all of the silence "Sanctuary."


    At those words, Michael finally lost consciousness, not able to endure the pain any longer.


    -----


    Are you still alive?


    ''What do you think?'' Michael was sprawled out on the ground, his limbs bent and twisted.


    He was not sure for how long he had passed out, however, since his party had not entered yet, it was probably not for long.


    ''Where were you?'' He asked the system, a tinge of annoyance present in his tone.


    Not sure, it seemed I had been disconnected from you for a couple of moments, only recently did Ie back.


    ''Nice timing.'' Michael said sarcastically and used thest of his mana to heal himself, just barely having enough.


    He stood up and looked around, the entire arena looked.. cleaner.


    As if the battle had not just happened, more so, all the blood he had spilled was nowhere to be seen either.


    It looked the same as when he had just gotten there.


    However, his gazended on something that was definitely not there when he first arrived.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    And that was the Halo which the golden haired man was wearing, at the start and at the end of the battle.


    He went up to it and picked it up, surprisingly, a notification appeared right in front of his eyes.


    [+5% Synchronization]


    As he was about to show his confusion, another notification came, this one a bit more serious than before.


    [20% Synchronization reached, Would you like to enter the Halls of Reflection?]


    [Yes/No]


    Michael looked confused ''What is this?''


    One of the processes of making you remember your past, you got it a bit earlier than anticipated, however, don''t ept it yet, wait till you are back and have a lot of free time.


    ''A lot of free time huh..'' He thought and noticed the massive arena doors opening, he quickly shrunk down the Halo and put it into his pocket, hiding it from his party.


    They all looked bewildered upon seeing his appearance, while he was not visibly injured, the dried blood and tattered clothes were a clear indication of a tough battle.


    ''Guess I''ll have to bullshit my way out of this...''

 Chapter 71: Legacy Piece

    "So the boss monster.. melted your clothes?" Kevin asked for reassurance with his brow raised.


    "Yup."


    "And the dried blood, you are telling us that it''s not even yours?" He looked at the spots that were clearly dyed red, pretty much Michael''s entire body was red from blood.


    "Exactly."


    Kevin was about to say something but stopped himself, heaving a sigh, he turned around and left.


    The same went for Elizabeth and Chloe, they looked at him with a weird look and walked away, leaving him on the ground,pletely out of mana.


    ''Why do all my fights end with me running out of mana...'' Michael grumbled and slowly began standing up.


    It felt as if he built a bit of an immunity to the fatigue one felt once they ran out of mana.


    However, that did not mean he was fully immune, his head was still throbbing in pain.


    The fight from earlier was still engraved in his mind, the golden haired man was an incredible fighter, if he had truly gone all out, Michael would not have stood a chance.


    But despite that, he had learned a lot, even if he got absolutely destroyed, he managed toprehend the skill the other him used.


    And because of that,


    -Ding


    [New Skill Generated]


    Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive]


    # You canbine and mirror two or more skills, choosing which one is fake and which one is not.


    Michael looked at it with widened eyes ''It''s a passive skill?''


    It looked pretty broken for a mere intermediate passive skill as well, he assumed it would fit into the Advanced rank at the very least.


    But he won''tin, a good passive skill will go a long way.


    He then took out the Halo out of his pocket ''And then there is this.''


    Michael did not know what to do with it, so he simply decided to put it on his head.


    The moment he did, it simply plopped down on top of his head, he expected it to levitate or something, but it did not.


    ''I knew it was stupid to try... it''s probably broken'' He sighed to himself and attempted to lift it off his head.


    However, to his surprise, it was noting off, he was able to lift it above his head just a bit but it felt as if it was locked in ce, not moving any further.


    He let it go and it started levitating just as he expected earlier.


    Suddenly, a sharp pain spread through his head once more, many times sharper than before, making him nearly pass out once again.


    But as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared just as fast, instead, a golden notification appeared right in front of his eyes.


    [1/5 Pieces of the Legacy have been collected]


    [Cost of all skills reduced by 50%]


    Michael''s eyes were shaking as he looked at the reward he had gotten, it practically answered his prayers, making his skills half the cost.


    It meant he no longer had to worry about the mana costs while fighting, well not as much anyway.


    He nced at his status for a moment and saw Physical Enhancement ''System, can you move it into the passive skills category? I mean, I have it on all the time and it doesn''t even appear in the system as a buff, plus with this reward, it won''t use any mana anyways.''


    I''ll try, I can''t promise you that it will work though.


    Michael proceeded to sit back down and wait, he still had to figure out how to hide the Halo from others.


    And at the same time, his party could ry that wepleted our end of the deal, it was turn for the head of the house toplete his.


    A few minutes passed and the system''s voice rang out.


    I managed to do it, even the rank of the skill increased.


    ''It increased?'' Michael raised an eyebrow and opened his status, his eyes widening upon seeing the rank of the skill.


    Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive]


    # Increase all stats by 1 Minor Rank


    ''Why did it jump up by 2 whole ranks when it was just a Beginner ranked skill at the start?''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It cost mana to use, meaning it was inferior, now, the skill has reached its true capabilities.


    ''Well.. that''s a good haul, anyways, what do I do about this Halo? Can I take it off or hide it somehow?''


    I can''t analyze it, you must get stronger, however, can''t you just wear a hat or something?


    ''Are you serious?'' Michael ignored the system''s antics and began ying around with the Halo, moving it a small distance away from his head.


    However, even as he pulled it away further and further, it kept returning back to where it originally was.


    ''Fuck, do I have to actually start wearing a hat now?'' Michael started honestly considering it but in the next moment, another golden notification descended.


    [Crown of Arch-Angel Michael] [Soulbound]


    # Teaches a new skill every single time you Tier up.


    *Next Skill: Sanctuary


    ''Oh it''s an item... that gives skills..? What an interesting Halo this is'' Michael yed around with it a bit more before finally letting it float above his head.


    It seemed he couldn''t make it go away no matter what he tried.


    ''Though the crown of an Arch-Angel huh... I wonder why they are called crowns? It certainly doesn''t look like one'' He thought to himself and finally stood up, heading out of the dungeon and meeting up with his group.


    For some reason, they chose to wait for him, well he did make them wait only 10 minutes.


    But judging from Elizabeth''s visible scowl, he might have taken a bit longer.


    "Took you long enough.." Kevin sighed and started walking back to the mansion.


    And so did the others, which slightly confused Michael.


    ''Can they not see it?'' He thought as he began touching the top of his head, still feeling the Halo floating up there.


    ''Weird.. but that works out.''


    Michael and the others arrived in front of the head of the house''s room and let themselves in, finding the man asleep on the sofa.


    As they were about to wake him up, they noticed another person in the room, Selene, who appeared to be handling the paperwork.


    "The transport has already been prepared, thank you for the help" She said in a tone that did not seem anything like her previous self.


    "Thanks?" Michael blurted out and headed to the very front of the mansion, his eyes widening upon noticing the ''transport'' Selene mentioned.


    It looked like a military grade helicopter, Michael had been in one of these when he was serving and they were extremely fast.


    Now that begged the question, even with this amount of speed, it would take them a day to get back to Vivum?


    ''It would be faster to just head to another city altogether..''


    From what he learned back in the first year of the academy, there are 10 major cities on this continent, with them being in the one at the very edge of the continent.


    But even then, it was still likely the strongest out of all the cities, even if by a small margin.


    Michael knew that was only on paper since there were people like Fafnir and Amanda.


    It was highly likely that beings of simr power were dwelling in the other cities as well.


    Though that was for him to find out in the future, the only thing he was interested in wasing back to Vivum.


    The party headed inside the helicopter and sat down on thefortable seats, with Michael still wearing his tattered clothes with the addition of a Halo.


    ''It was a pretty bountiful assignment.. even if we did fail.''

 Chapter 72: Change

    [Reba¡¯s POV]


    ¡¯...¡¯


    ¡¯...¡¯


    ¡¯How long has it been?¡¯


    "Let me out..." Reba weakly said, the white room making her voice echo.


    She did not know how much time had passed, a few years? A decade? Her perception of time had long gone.


    And the notes.. she kept receiving notes from Reinhardt.


    She did not know what his goal was, he mostly asked about how she was doing.


    Reba didn¡¯t even bother reading them past a certain point, immediately ripping them up the moment a note appeared.


    However, today was a bit different, for some reason, she was not able to rip the note apart no matter how hard she tried.


    ¡¯It¡¯s definitely made out of paper¡¯ She examined it and tried ripping it again but was unsessful.


    She sighed and decided to indulge upon his whims, reading the indestructible note.


    -----


    I will be picking you up shortly, get ready.


    -----


    ¡¯Picking me up? Is he finally going to let me out of this ce?¡¯ She thought with a tinge of hope but it was quickly extinguished.


    ¡¯Yeah right... like I would be free after all this time..¡¯


    Over the course of time, her emotions seemed to dissipate, only mirroring who she once was.


    That¡¯s why despite this situation and the hopelessness she ¡¯felt¡¯, her expression never changed even once, it remained nk.


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    She stood up and waited, not moving even an inch, she found it fun to remain silent because, past a certain point, she would forget all of her troubles.


    Reba found sce in that,plete silence, as if you do not exist, just viewing the world from an outsider perspective.


    It was calming, it was liberating.


    And the best part? She regained her powers, however, getting out still proved to be impossible.


    She twisted the space around herself making it shatter but even then, it did not lead to anywhere.


    So Reba stopped trying, what was the point anyway?


    Just as she was about to practice her powers again, a deep crack in space appeared, much different from her miniature cracks.


    And out walked a man with golden hair andpletely white eyes, he looked captivating.


    But she knew better than anyone that Reinhardt¡¯s appearance did not mirror his personality.


    He nced at her and put on a small smile "You have grown in these past couple of years, Reba."


    For some reason, the hate she felt all this time, was no longer present, she simply felt.. empty.


    However, one question still remained inside her hollow mind after all this time.


    "How is Michael?"


    Reinhardt did not seem surprised, so he instantly replied "Good, actually, he recently managed to kill one of our lower executives in this world, that¡¯s quite an achievement."


    "I see" Reba nodded and continued staring into his white eyes, unsure of what she wanted to do moving further.


    She guessed that the best course of action was to follow him, was there anything left for her after all this time anyway?


    "Anyways, drink this" He took out a ss from a small gap in space and handed it to her, it was some sort of a red liquid.


    ¡¯Blood?¡¯ She thought with a slightly amused look, was he trying to make her drink blood?


    "It¡¯s not blood if that was what you were thinking" He chuckled and gestured for her to drink up.


    However, she was still skeptical, after all, she remembers hating this man in front of her.


    "Why would I drink this?" She tilted the ss, pouring its contents on the ground.


    But instead of the liquid falling and hitting the ground, it suddenly reappeared back into her ss through a crack in space.


    Reinhardt looked at her with the same small smile, however, she felt like it housed a bit of anger this time.


    "Drink it."


    ¡¯Hm...¡¯ Reba picked up the ss and began drinking it, not seeing any way out of this.


    The red liquid tasted surprisingly good, it was like a perfectly aged wine.


    However, her sight momentarily darkened, causing her to get slightly startled.


    But in just a few moments, she was able to see again, the sight before her causing her previously expressionless face to twitch.


    "What did you do?" She waved her hand through her hair which had now changed colors, it turnedpletely white.


    Reinhardt suddenly made a crack in space and a mirror came out,nding right below her, showcasing her pure white eyes.


    She nced at him with a weary look but was met with a massive crack in space, with him gesturing for her to follow.


    And she did just that, going through the crack, appearing in some sort of a ruined area, with an abnormal looking night sky.


    There were stars, however, they seemed way too close, almost as if she were to reach out for them, she could touch one.


    ncing around she began seeing a multitude of people, some looking the same as her, while the others looked more like Reinhardt.


    The golden hair and white eyes looked creepy yet at the same time captivating, she still could not understand why.


    They walked through the ruins and arrived in front of a being who had been gazing at the stars above, seemingly lost in them.


    But the moment they got closer, he turned to them, his piercing golden eyes and flowing golden hair giving her a sense of familiarity.


    He gazed at her for a mere moment beforending his gaze on Reinhardt.


    "Asmodeus.. Is this it?" He asked with a neutral tone that seemed to contain a tad bit of disappointment.


    ¡¯Reinhardt is Asmodeus?¡¯


    "Well, what did you expect? A candidate like her does not appear very often" Heined while grumbling.


    The man did not linger on the topic, slightly rolling his eyes "I suppose not, I take it you will train her?"


    "Of course."


    ¡¯Just who are these people?¡¯ Reba was confused by what was happening in front of her.


    However, as her thoughts finished, the angelic looking man turned to her, his eyes felt like they were piercing right through her soul.


    "You do not have to worry about who we are, all you need to know is that you are now a part of the Evangelists and will remain as such until you die" He dered with a resolute voice before nodding at Asmodeus.


    He took it as a signal and proceeded to create another crack in space, albeit this one was a lot smaller than his previous one.


    But nheless, he signaled for Reba to go in.


    She refused at first, however, he was not nning on ying around, sending the already opened crack towards her, engulfing her and making her disappear.


    Reba reappeared in some sort of a facility, much like the ones she used to see back in her world, however, the key difference was the surroundings.


    Dried blood was covering the ground, it seemed like it would never wash away.


    But before she couldin at the sight, a door opened in front of her, revealing another white haired, white eyed man, staring at her emotionlessly.


    "Are you the new recruit?" He asked her, impatience was clearly audible in his tone.


    Reba tilted her head and nodded "I guess?"


    And upon those words, was immediately flung by the arm inside of the room, revealing a few more simrly looking people.


    However, the amount of blood nearly made her puke, it was like a fountain, these people were all bleeding from all sorts of wounds.


    The man who pushed her walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder with some metallic item, it was a de.


    She turned around and met his sadistic smile.


    "Wee to the Evangelists."

 Chapter 73: Vivum

    [Michael¡¯s POV]


    ¡¯They weren¡¯t kidding when they said this trip would take a day..¡¯


    What do you expect? These continents are many timesrger than the ones of your world.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ¡¯I mean yeah, but, how are there so many viges?¡¯


    Over the course of the entire flight, Michael counted at the very least 80 viges and they were all of simr size to one another.


    Better yet, the view was beautiful and there were all sorts of canyons and mountains, despite the technological advancement, nature was unaffected.


    ¡¯Well for the most part..¡¯ He thought while thinking back on the mana he felt permeating all the surroundings.


    He could guess it did change something, maybe that¡¯s why the continents were so big?


    ¡¯Anyways..¡¯ Michael looked around himself, noticing the others had snoozed off already, with only him still being awake.


    He also noticed that his Halo couldn¡¯t interact with the surroundings, only he could touch it, besides that, it went through everything it came into contact with.


    That made his life a little bit easier and plus the benefits it provided, this trip was worth it.


    In the distance, he could finally see a few skyscrapers, it meant Vivum was just a couple of minutes away.


    Despite his previous conclusions, Vivum appeared to be fine, at least from a distance.


    But the closer they got, the more he noticed that the city was untouched, it looked like just another regr day.


    ¡¯So the problem was on our side... but what?¡¯ He was now truly confused but decided to let it go, debating the unknown would get him nowhere.


    They signaled for the pilot tond near the Academy and he did, dropping the 4 of them off in the massive courtyard before flying away.


    Michael turned to Kevin "What¡¯s the time right now?"


    He checked his phone and then pointed it at Michael, showcasing the time which showed 7:00 AM, meaning they still had time before ss.


    However, as those thoughts entered his mind, he felt a presence appear and head directly for him at a speed that he could simply describe as monstrous.


    Before the impact happened, he created a Shield, parrying the full brunt of the attack and sending it back to the one who had done this.


    The person was sent flying for a bit before halting in mid air, stopping themselves from flying any further.


    They levitated for a bit,nding in front of Michael with widened eyes.


    "You.. already?"


    "Nice to see you too, Amanda" He rolled his eyes at her antics, she seemed to attack him every single time they met, he was just able to catch her off guard this time.


    "Where have you all been? You suddenly disappeared during the assignment, what happened?" She asked in a slightly worried voice.


    Michael sighed and turned to Elizabeth, gesturing for her to exin.


    He thought she seemed too lively these past couple of days, she could deal with the aftermath while they go do whatever they wanted.


    However, much to his surprise, Amanda stopped her and turned to Michael "No, I want to hear it from you, follow me" With those words she started walking backwards, a car appearing just like the time he came back.


    ¡¯She jumped out again...¡¯ He chuckled inwardly and waved to his party before finally heading right after her, entering the car and driving to the headquarters inplete silence.


    The elevator ride upwards was also the same, for some reason she seemed to be a tad bit irritated.


    They entered the room with the round table and it waspletely empty, it was just the two of them there.


    She went around and sat on the chair meant for the leader, while gesturing for him to choose any seat he liked.


    Michael nced at her with suspicion "So... did we need to head all the way back here? You know I have sses right?"


    She simply chuckled "sses? You really think I care about something like that?"


    "Why not? It¡¯s always good to know more" Michael tried joking around with her but upon taking another look at her, noticed the serious expression on her face.


    "Did my father help you create that Mana Core?"


    "He did..?"


    "Did he tell you about anything else?"


    Michael looked back to that time and he remembered Fafnir falling asleep immediately after helping him "No."


    She sighed andid back on her chair "I see, he does tend to forget important things sometimes.."


    "I guess..? Was I supposed to be informed of something?" He asked in a slightly confused tone.


    "Yes.. You see, this world is only one of many, with others being hidden in other realms. This world is also one of the weakest, hence why you don¡¯t see many people with Mana Cores running around, it¡¯s just not that advanced" Amanda exined while rocking back and forth in her chair.


    "Not that advanced? Does technological advancement not count?"


    "Technologically, we have some grounds, however, power wise as I said, we are pretty weak." She answered patiently before continuing her earlier exnation.


    "Luckily for us, we just so happen to have a portal leading to another realm inside of this building."


    ¡¯Huh?¡¯


    "You might have seen it, back when we were showing you around, it was a medievalnd, not as technologically advanced, but the strength of the individuals there was nothing short of formidable."


    Michael thought about what she said and his eyes suddenly widened.


    When he first entered the elevator, he remembers seeing some kind of a medieval city right below him, it looked strange but he didn¡¯t put much thought into it.


    The thought that it was a different world entirely didn¡¯t even cross his mind, he still did not know about that back then.


    Amanda smiled upon seeing his expression "You might have heard of the new, well kind of a new thing that Vivum has released, VR.


    "I did hear about it.."


    "We were able to connect that world with this one, the people who buy the Vivum VR can enter that realm any time they like" She said with a nonchnt expression.


    However, Michael was left even more shocked ¡¯Did she just say they connected the worlds? How is that even possible?¡¯


    "That world had a weak portal and it needed an anchor, it was the ce where my father and I lived at first, we only came across this world by mere coincidence and due to that, it was not extremely hard to tie the two of them together."


    ¡¯So she came from that world..? It¡¯s making less and less sense as she keeps talking..¡¯ Michael sighed and continued listening.


    "It works via mana projection, the VR is simply a massive amplifier that sends out a portion of the individual¡¯s mana straight into that world, allowing them to control it from here like some kind of an avatar, pretty cool, right?" She chuckled sarcastically.


    "Y-yeah.." Michael was absolutely speechless.


    "Now then, that brings me to my next topic, would you like to enter that world normally? Not through an avatar but with your actual body."


    He thought for a moment and nodded, this seemed too good to be true, however, he was not one to pass up such an opportunity to get stronger.


    "Good, I will have everything ready by next week, you can go now" She gestured for him to get out.


    Michael got up and headed out, it seemed that she didn¡¯t really care about what happened to them during the assignment after finding out about his Mana Core.


    He didn¡¯t mind it though, with strengthes opportunity.


    Walking to the elevator and heading down, he was on his way to the academy.


    However, as he finally arrived, he noticed a clock on the wall, right above the receptionist¡¯s desk, it said 8:10 AM.


    ¡¯Damn it...¡¯

 Chapter 74: A New Realm

    It has been a week now and unlike what Kevin had predicted, no dungeon break happened.


    Michael had been eagerly waiting for it too, it was the perfect chance to see how much stronger he had gotten ever since he came back.


    No chance to do that though, he also failed to make a pure healing spell, he just couldn''t figure out how to heal someone instead of harming them.


    He kept trying to envision a heal while focusing on the wounds he inflicted on himself, yet even then, it did not work.


    However, today was the day, it was finally time to head to the realm Amanda mentioned.


    All he had to do was wait for the call and he would go.


    The academy was as boring as before, Lena had been given a rundown by the others of what happened.


    And because of that, now even assignments are being postponed, just like the dungeonsst time.


    ''What a shitty academy..'' Michael couldn''t help but express, every single time he has been out so far, an incident happened, of course, the temple one was mostly his fault.


    He also realized that his club had been disbanded and ire was nowhere to be seen, she most likely graduated while he was stuck in the temple.


    But besides that, he awaited patiently in his new dorm room which was unsurprisingly small, for such a big school, one would assume it would have big dorms too.


    s, he was wrong, at least it had all the necessities he would need.


    Just as he was starting to grow impatient, his phone rang and he immediately picked it up.


    "Get over to the headquarters, I have to do a little debrief before you go" Amanda said and hung up, not giving him any time to respond.


    ''Sure..'' He got up and headed out, he didn''t really want to go to ss today so he skipped and was waiting for the call.


    But now that it''s here, he could finally move forward, Kevin and the others are still fairly weak, he could not take them with him.


    If only Fafnir could do to others what he did to him, it would give him some reassurance in a tough fight.


    But he was nowhere to be seen, Michael thought maybe he went to explore the world, after all, being immobile for that long would cause one to get bored.


    As Michael was walking while lost in his thoughts, he finally arrived at the headquarters and stepped into the elevator.


    It closed and he waited to be brought to the very top, however, the darkness persisted for a longer time than usual.


    And suddenly, he found himself on a grassy in with Amanda standing in front of him with her back turned, overlooking the sight below them.


    He walked up to her and looked down, being left breathless upon the sight.


    When he first saw this world back in the elevator, he thought it was just a simple medieval world much like his dream.


    Then he found out that it housed strong people, it made him a bit excited at the prospect of a medieval world with strong opponents he could practice against.


    However, the view in front of him did not align with any of his previous thoughts, it just simply felt unreal.


    There were inds in the sky that each varied in size but due to the sheer number of them, they were hard to ignore.


    He also saw mountains that reached incredibly high, looking as if only a small quarter of their true size was visible before they pierced the clouds.


    This world was bigger and certainly more unique, his world looked incredibly simple inparison.


    Aftering out of his stupor, he noticed that they were currently standing on one of those floating inds.


    Amanda turned to him with a small smirk "Surprised?"


    "What do you think?" He rolled his eyes at her words and continued to look around, it definitely did not look like the same world.


    He could even see houses a few on the floating inds.


    "Stop dawdling around,e" She pointed behind him and upon turning around, he saw quite a few buildings, almost as if they were in a city or a town of sorts.


    Amanda started leading him through the streets while exining what he couldn''t do.


    "Don''t stray too far off into the mountains, and by no means, tell the natives of thisnd about you being from another world, they are a curious bunch.." She said in a slightly sour tone that seemed to indicate a past grievance.


    "Is that all?" Michael asked impatiently, it seemed like this talk could have been finished a lot faster.


    Amanda noticed his impatience and stopped in ce, sending a small re in his direction "Yes, don''t get into too much trouble and try not to kill too many people, some are from our world."


    "Okay."


    ''I''ll try not to..''


    She gave him a little map depicting the surroundingnd, it had some areas marked off with a red cross.


    He assumed those areas were the dangerous parts she had talked about, it was in his best interest not to go there.


    ''Anyways.. I forgot to ask how strong the people here actually are'' Michael looked around and took note of the people in this town, they appeared to be from his world.


    ''Not the natives'' He nced at the map and saw a town not too far away, an hour''s walk at most.


    And that''s what he did, heading for the nearby town to gauge the strength of its residents.


    Amanda had mentioned that he was only allowed to be here for 2 weeks at a time, that was because apparently, the mana in this ce could negatively affect him if he stayed too long.


    But from what Michael felt, it was many times denser than his world, he felt like his spells could contain more power.


    ''System, what Tier could I reach in this world?''


    I don''t know, Fafnir seemed very high tier while Amanda was not so low herself, so I can''t give you an estimate.


    Michael nodded before another thought popped into his head ''I see... Can people break through their worlds'' limits and Tier up many more times than they should be able to?''


    There are rare asions of that happening yes, however, I highly doubt that was the case for Fafnir and Amanda, their tiers are way too high for this realm.


    ''So are you saying she lied to me when she said she was from here?''


    I won''t imply anything, but yes, that is probably what happened.


    ''Is that so..'' Michael grumbled and began heading for the next town,


    There were small pathways that connected the floating inds, they were pretty narrow but rather safe to walk on.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He would have run to the next town, however, he wanted to take in the sight, the sun shining through the clouds looked incredibly calming.


    Why do you keep acting like an old man?


    ''Well, I was quite old before I died, wasn''t I?'' He walked onto the next ind, seeing a few houses and walking past them, the town was much further away.


    He still wondered why there were no towns in his world, there were only viges and cities, the people refused to acknowledge them as towns, even if they were much bigger than them.


    ''What a bunch of weirdos..'' Michael sighed and kept crossing the pathways between the inds before finally arriving in front of a town.


    And immediately, he could feel the mana from the outside, making his eyes widen slightly ''None of them are weak..''


    He felt that no one was below Level 50, even the children running around were at the very least that level.


    There were also those who had Mana Cores, quite a lot of them to be exact.


    Furthermore, he felt like a lot of them were stronger than him, at least mana wise.


    ''System, can I raise my progress towards the next Tier faster here somehow?''


    Yes, but first make sure to find a ce where no one would bother you, the abilities I unlocked would take up a bit of your time, possibly all 2 of your allowed weeks here.


    ''Would it be worth it?''


    Certainly.


    Michael made up his mind and nodded, he visited this town just to gauge their levels after all, he had no reason to stay here.


    ''It''s time to go sightseeing.''

 Chapter 75: Barren

    Michael walked around the inds, looking for a quiet ce, however, it seemed that no matter where he went, there were always people around.


    The areas where there was no one were way too open, he wasn''t sure what he had to do yet but he assumed that it would require some privacy.


    You are not wrong, just find any ce where no one would bother you, why don''t you just go to the bottom?


    Michael seemed a bit puzzled and walked to the edge of the ind, looking down but not seeing the ground.


    ''I am not above the clouds and I can see mountains, but I can''t see the ground, do you seriously think something is down there?''


    Why wouldn''t there be? Have you ever thought that you might just be a little high up, this is the same world as the one you saw that city after all.


    ''You are right..'' He contemted for a moment and looked around, trying to find any way to get down.


    However, nothing was in sight, all the inds were connected with no pathway leading down.


    But just as he was about to give up, he remembered the map Amanda gave him, it contained a good amount of information.


    He took it out and stared deeply at it, finally finding some kind of a hint.


    ''Most of the mountains were crossed off, but there is one not too far away that wasn''t..'' Michael put the map back in his pocket and started heading in that direction.


    After walking for a few minutes, he noticed that the mountains did not seem like they were getting any closer, perhaps being even bigger than he initially thought.


    However, he began seeing a mountain in the distance that did not seem as big as the others, it did not pierce the sky and it looked just barely tall enough to reach the floating inds.


    ''Is that mountain small or are the others just too big?'' He kept walking towards it.


    And upon arriving just before the mountain, he realized his assumption was incorrect, the mountain was by no means small.


    He nced around and looked at a town not too far away ''Just how do these people breathe up so high in the air?''


    Michael thought that even as strong as they were, it would still prove difficult to remain at this altitude for long.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    I am feeling a lot of mana from inside of the mountain, it was most likely what caused it to grow to such proportions.


    ''That would make sense..'' He jumped down,nding on the very top of the mountain, it was a pretty small drop and it would not require much effort to get back up.


    Michael began sliding down, trying to keep his bnce by using mana, however, that onlysted for a few seconds before he lost control and started tumbling down the entire mountain, his shield absorbing most of the damage.


    ''Well.. at least I will get down easier'' He sighed and resigned himself to his fate, watching as the inds above him slowly started disappearing.


    Afternding on some sort of a ledge, he recast a shield on himself and stood up, looking down on what was below him.


    A barrennd greeted him, contrary to the greenery above, it looked terrible.


    There were no cities in sight either, just a few scraps and nts from time to time, even if they werepletely withered.


    ''System, do you have some kind of a GPS function?'' He asked and started descending again, this time carefully.


    I do, do you want me to mark this mountain on the map?


    Michael tilted his head in confusion ''You are going to mark it on the map?''


    Just as his wordsnded, a blue screen appeared in front of him, copying all of the details of the map Amanda had given him but with extra detail and more areas.


    He ced his hand on it and it zoomed in a little, providing a better view of the surroundings, he was being shown as a green dot.


    ''Could you always do this? Because you know.. it would have been really useful a couple of weeks ago..'' Michael grumbled, it would have been useful when they were lost.


    No, only recently did I unlock an ability like this, I have alsopiled the maps of your world.


    ''Ohh.. you are finally going to rank up from being a Wikipedia, nice'' Michael chuckled and finallynded on the barrennd.


    ...I can also assist you in battle now.


    ''Oh? What do you mean?''


    I can remotely cast your skills and that map you see, it shows you all hostiles in a certain area around you.


    Michael''s eyes widened as he remembered the system telling him something about automation quite a while ago, it appeared today was that day.


    ''So.. Can you cast my spells at full efficiency?''


    Yes, I use you like a catalyst of mana and in turn, I can cast your skills as we are tied together, if a tough opponentes along, you would be at least twice as efficient as before.


    A small smile appeared on his face but as he was about to enjoy this little power up, the system shot him down.


    Of course, there are downsides. Since I am using you like a catalyst, the mana costs of the skills I cast are significantly increased, I will only be using Aegis of Light for the most part as it can restore mana upon sessful block or parry.


    ''Way to ruin my mood'' Michael sighed and continued walking forward, zooming in on the map and seeing the ground level where he currently stood.


    The map was separated into the sky inds and the ground level, he tried zooming more in or out but there was nothing.


    He was able to see some kind of a settlement and a thought popped into his head ''The data of the areas are live right?''


    They are, when you get closer you should start seeing some people on the map.


    ''I see, well I''m going to head there then, not too far behind it is some kind of a grassynd, I''ll try to find a ce to stay there.''


    Suit yourself.


    Michael decided to pick up his pace, there was nothing around him that could make him want to admire the surroundings.


    Upon getting roughly 5 kilometers away from the settlement, he was able to see some dots on the map, they varied in color.


    A lot of them were green while a few were red or even yellow.


    ''Wasn''t your detection range a bit higher?'' He asked with curiosity.


    That''s how much I can actually feel and transmit live, anything above that would provide quite a massive dy as the mana travels pretty slowly over these types of distances, even if the mana is denser than on your world.


    ''Hm? How does that work? Shouldn''t denser mana mean you can use more of it? Why would the detection range remain the same?''


    Denser mana does not help with Detection, it in fact hinders it, I can bypass it but you can''t, so be happy with what you have.


    ''Sure.. though why are the red dots growing in number?'' Michael looked at the map and sped up his pace, he felt like something was wrong.


    The green dots became dimmer before disappearing, meanwhile, the yellow dots began slowly changing to red.


    ''What''s happening?''


    A fight, hurry up if you want to save at least a couple of people.


    Michael began running at full speed, casting Swords of Light and sending them into the sky above him.


    ''Shit.. there''s trouble wherever I go..''

 Chapter 76: Settlement

    ''What the fuck are they doing..?''


    In front of his eyes were a handful of people, however, they were all red dots with only a single green dot remaining.


    That was not what shocked him though, it was the fact that the red dotted people were in fact not people at all.


    They were some kind of humanoid monsters that appeared to be munching on the humans they killed, it was definitely not a beautiful sight.


    Even at his full speed, he wasn''t able to get here in time, the whole settlement was filled with civilians and close to nobatants.


    And then there were these monsters, who even at their weakest, seemed to be in the high Level 180s with some even having Mana Cores.


    However, Michael was not exactly worried, he might have been in trouble if they fought when he first created his Mana Core, but now, they were simply stupid monsters that were slightly powerful.


    He cast a shield and a heal on the remaining human who appeared to be in pain, his expression immediately softened before finally passing out.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The monsters tried scratching at the man, however, the shieldpletely negated their attacks, causing them to scream in frustration before lunging at Michael.


    He decided to test out the system''s capabilities, more so the speed at which it can react, he wanted to make sure he could trust it to have his back.


    Just before the humanoid monster connected their sharp nails against his body, a small shield appeared, the size of a nail.


    However, that did not matter as it was able topletely negate the attack while also blowing off the monster''s arm, sending it flying high into the air.


    ''Damn, that was nearly perfect'' Michael whistled and continued watching the monsters, the strongest of them had weary looks.


    What do you mean nearly perfect? It was perfect.


    The system snickered at him in a gloating tone.


    But the weakest ones seemed to not care as they dashed at him with full speed, ws stretched out, ready to kill him.


    There were multiple this time, he was not sure if the system would be able to handle them so he adjusted his body, preparing himself to dash away in the case of them piercing his defenses.


    The system swiftly reacted, casting a shield right in front of their attacks before they even managed to get close to him, sending them backwards.


    Michael widened his eyes upon that realization ''You can intercept their attacks like that as well?''


    Yes, but they are not as powerful as the ones closest to your body.


    He nodded and nced at the monsters the system had just blown away, they still had their arms attached, however, their fingers appeared to be broken.


    Just as he thought that, the previously broken fingers quickly mended themselves, making popping sounds while the monsters slightly groaned.


    ''That healing ability is a bit insane..''


    Michael did not know what kind of monsters they were, however, their healing was certainly no joke.


    If he had topare them to another monster, it would be like a troll, just one the size of Michael himself.


    Their strength was fairly sufficient as well, definitely enough to make even him have troubles if he were to fight with his strength alone.


    But that was only because he hadn''t focused on strength in the slightest, it was basically his lowest stat.


    Well, besides charm, he was not sure why it wasn''t going up.


    I wonder why.


    ''Shut up..'' Michael sighed and waved his hand down, finally getting tired of this charade.


    Suddenly, the whole sky was reced by a golden color, the Swords of Light raining down on each of the monsters.


    They attempted to dodge but were unsessful, most being instantly killed.


    However, there was a single one that was still somehow alive.


    Michael walked up to it and summoned a Sword of Light, holding it in his hands before shing down.


    But something unexpected happened, making his expression turn sour


    "W-Wait!" The monster screamed, its bloody body shaking while it stared at him.


    "You can talk?" He asked in an unsure tone, for all he knew, it could have been some kind of a mimic, talking monsters were not exactlymon.


    There was Meph, but he was not exactly sure if he could be categorized as a Monster, he did look one, but he didn''t act like one.


    "Y-Yes.. p-please spare me..." The monster begged for its life while blood was pouring out of its mouth.


    ''What a shitty situation'' Michael grumbled and put his Sword of Light away.


    "What are you?"


    "I-I am a s-shadow.."


    Michael tilted his head in confusion "A shadow?"


    "Y-Yes, wee from the people who have died, a portion of their souls were separated and we inhabited them" It said while its eyes were beginning to slowly blur.


    Are you nning on saving it?


    ''Are you an idiot? Of course not'' Michael shot back before looking down at the monster with cold eyes.


    "Why do you deserve to live?"


    The monster seemed startled by his question "W-Why? I-I..." it kept trying to speak but it couldn''t find the words.


    It knew better than anyone that what it was doing, was absolutely wrong and undeserving of life.


    "Can''t find the words?"


    Michael kept looking down at the monster as it was stammering, trying to think of any sort of an excuse to be kept alive.


    "You make me sick"


    With those words, Michael resummoned his Sword of Light and sent it right at the monster''s heart.


    As much as the monster did not deserve to live, he would not prolong its suffering for his own entertainment.


    He wiped off some of the blood that managed to end up on his clothes and looked at the only alive human left.


    ''What it said about being a shadow, was it the truth?'' He asked the system.


    In a way, they actually appear once an undead reaches Tier 1, they cast out some former impurities, that being their shadows.


    ''And the shadows can get as strong as the undeads?''


    They can''t go above Tier 1, however, the sheer number of how many there were,pensated for that.


    Michael looked around and noticed around 22 monster corpses, it seemed the system was right.


    He massacred a small pack of them, well he was still a bitte.


    At least you saved one.


    ''At least I saved one...''


    Michael walked up to the still unconscious human who upon closer nce, appeared to be a child.


    He could see a bit of dried blood around his waist, the monsters must have bitten him.


    The more he looked, the more he began disliking these monsters.


    Too bad it was a type that never goes away, they were like parasites.


    When there are humans, there are also undead, and when there are undead, there are also shadows.


    He picked up the child by the cor, tossing him over his shoulder.


    Michael was not really sure what to do with him but it beats leaving him alone, if he finds a settlement he could take him there.


    ''But there doesn''t appear to be anything nearby..'' He thought while ncing at the map, the settlement that had just existed, was raised to the ground by the monsters and Michael''s Sword of Light attack.


    The closest town was back up in the floating inds, however, it was easier getting down than climbing up, it would take him quite a while to do that.


    Even longer while he was carrying the child.


    Michael walked around the monsters and out of the settlement, choosing a location that seemed deste enough to not be bothered.


    He took a nce at the child on his shoulder and sighed.


    ''Guess you are with me for now...''

 Chapter 77: Safe

    It seemed like the child would not wake up, Michael had been walking for thest 2 hours, trying to get to this grassy location he found on the map.


    And yet, all this child was doing, was grumbling and tossing around on his shoulder, not looking like he would wake up soon enough.


    Or that''s at least how it seemed on the outside, however, Michael still had some memories from his time at the orphanage, he could tell a few irregrities apart.


    "Should I just leave this kid here? It''s not like he wants to wake up anyway, my shoulder is starting to hurt" Michael said in a slightly sarcastic tone.


    However, to the child, it seemed like it was about to be abandoned again so he quickly sprang up from his shoulder, almost falling head first to the ground.


    You could have used better wording for that you know...


    ''Mincing words won''t bring his family back to life, I don''t want this kid to lose himself to his own delusions.''


    "Are you alright kid?" Michael held him by the foot, mere centimeters off of the ground.


    Just as he was about to put him down on the ground, the kid started crying, holding his arms around his eyes while the tears fell onto the ground.


    ''...'' Michael decided to give him his time, slowly rotating him so he doesn''t feel dizzy and putting him on the trunk of a nearby tree.


    He had not arrived at the grassy ins yet, however, the trees remained, albeit, they were all withered away, just barely standing.


    This barrenndcked water, the sun was shining for most of the day as well, it must be like torture.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Howe the floating inds aren''t casting a shadow of the sun?'' He thought while making some distance between himself and the kid, he didn''t want him to feel afraid.


    After all, Michael still had a bunch of dried blood on his clothing.


    Not sure why there are no shadows, probably for the same reason you can''t see the floating inds from all the way down here.


    He nced at the mountain he hade down from and could just barely see the very peak.


    There was nothing else around it, as if those inds never existed in the first ce.


    ''I guess the humans of the ground level do not even attempt to climb to those heights, what would one achieve besides glory?'' He thought to himself with a bitter expression.


    He knew the world was unfair, frankly, the barrens had it the worst.


    The city he had seen back then was lively, the people looked happy and certainly not malnourished orcking anything in any way.


    Yet, a simple nce at this kid could tell someone that he had been mistreated and not fed.


    Such is life, there are some worlds that are even harsher, where the weather is so hot, if you were to go there as you are now, you would melt in an instant.


    ''Are you referring to hell?''


    No, hell is even hotter than that, I am just referring to a slightly higher realm than what you are used to seeing.


    Michael shrugged and nced back at the kid, by now he had already finished crying, wiping the tears away from the corner of his eyes.


    "What''s your name?" He asked the kid in a gentle tone, trying to not seem frightening.


    "..Orin" The kid huped in the middle of his word, however, Michael ignored it.


    "I see, my name is Michael."


    Michael did know how to deal with kids to a certain degree, however, he had never dealt with a kid who was on the verge of mentally breaking apart.


    He thought for a moment before asking the kid "Would you like to apany me for a little while? Until we find you a ce to stay..?"


    The kid gazed at him with slightly hollow eyes and nodded, continuing to wipe away the nonexistent tears.


    "Stop doing that" Michael walked up and flicked the kid''s arms away from his eyes, they were starting to get bruised for all the rubbing.


    However, that seemed to set something off inside the kid, as he once again began bawling his eyes out.


    You said you were good with kids?


    Michael tried keeping a straight face and ignoring the system''sment, however, he couldn''t help but let out a sigh.


    ''I guess I should have been a bit more gentle with him..''


    You think?


    After another couple of minutes, the kid finally stopped crying, it seemed as if he ran out of tears.


    "Sorry about that, can you please not rub your eyes? You are hurting yourself.." Michael said with a small smile and healed the kid, causing a golden light to envelop him for just a moment.


    Orin''s gaze remained fixed on his own hands, they were previously tattered, but, now they were silky smooth.


    As if all that hardship he had gone through moments ago was all but a dream.


    Orin put his hands down, finally listening to Michael''s nagging.


    "Good, look, there is a cool ce close to here, follow me there and after that, we can go searching, deal?" Michael pointed at the far off distance, there was a tinge of green just barely visible.


    A small glint appeared in Orin''s eyes that definitely did not escape Michael''s gaze, causing a faint smile to appear on his face.


    ''How about that?''


    It was better, at least he''s not that afraid of you now.


    Michael felt proud of this little aplishment, in the grand scheme of things, it did not seem like much, but at the current moment, he was happy.


    "You are safe for as long as you are with me, don''t worry" He added for extra reassurance and started walking towards the greenery.


    Orin was right behind him, his steps were a bit slower than Michael''s so he had to slow down to match their pace.


    Michael tried striking up a conversation, however, besides the time Orin told him his name, he had not talked since.


    He took a nce at his map, making sure there were no hostiles around him.


    However, a yellow dot appeared in front of him, it was only one, however, Michael felt a bit uneasy.


    ''System, what exactly does yellow mean?'' He knew green meant they were good, while red meant they were evil, was yellow something in between?


    They are individuals who do not choose a side, they killed both monsters and humans and under certain circumstances, they could either change to red or green.


    ''So wait, what happened back in the settlement? I swear I saw them turning red but in the end, they still died..?'' Michael asked with a tinge of confusion.


    They thought that siding with the monsters would guarantee their survival, why else do you think some of those people died in more humane ways than the others.


    Looking back on it, he could remember seeing sword wounds on some of the dead, he just didn''t exactly pay attention to it in that moment.


    ''So, should I try to attack whoever that yellow dot is?''


    From what I can see, don''t, just try to pass by peacefully.


    He could sense a bit of unease in the system''s voice, he assumed that meant the yellow dot was someone strong.


    And upon arriving near the forest, he saw a lone woman sitting on a rock, staring at the sky.


    She noticed him and locked her gaze with his.


    Her green eyes mirroring the forest in front of them, she looked quite enchanting.


    But nheless, Michael chose to not antagonize her, so he just simply walked forward, ignoring her attempt to taunt him.


    He walked past her and into the forest, neither of them saying a single word to one another.


    Meanwhile, Orin was just walking by his side, not paying any attention to the surroundings, nearly tripping on a few pebbles on the ground.


    ''That felt.. disturbing'' With those thoughts, he walked further in eventually arriving in front of a small grassy area with a cave by the side.


    Michael took a deep breath and settled down, he saw a few red dots on the map, he assumed they were either monsters or food.


    ''I can eat monsters right..?'' He asked the system for confirmation.


    Do you know how to cook them?


    ''I can learn..?

 Chapter 78: Odd Woman

    How does it taste?


    Michael could not answer in time before he puked everything on the ground, this made it 4 inedible monsters.


    They all looked fairly beast like, however, none of them tasted good after being cooked up.


    Orin went to sleep in the cave as well, the surroundings were pretty safe and so was the cave.


    There was one problem though, that problem was in the shape of a yellow dot not too far away from him.


    ''Why is she stalking me?'' A shiver ran down his spine as he attempted to hunt yet another monster, this one looked like a pig.


    He cut off its head and brought it back to the cave where he had set up a makeshift campfire that he could try cooking the food on.


    Water was not a big issue either as inside the cave was a small pond which he used Purify on, making the water drinkable.


    He tried doing the same with the monster meat, but none turned out good at all.


    ''System, what am I doing wrong, can''t you teach me how to cook these things?'' Heined while preparing the pig looking monster for cooking.


    How would I know how to cook? While I do know a lot of things, you were not exactly known for cooking.. ever.


    ''Right.. about that, how many of my previous selves can you feel?''


    Hm.. I can''t give you an urate number, however, there are quite a lot, that doesn''t mean I can ess their memories though, only bits and pieces.


    Michael sighed and put away his Sword of Light which he used to butcher the pig monster. ''What about the 2 from the trial, did neither of them know how to cook either?''


    Nope, as I said, you were a bad cook in all of your lives.


    ''Well.. that is not great to hear, do you have anyone else''s memories stashed away inside you? Someone who knew how to cook?''


    No, you already figured out that I only hold the memories of your past selves, why do you expect me to have anyone else?


    ''I don''t know? Maybe because of that being who put you inside my head?''


    What are you on about? Did you see anyone appear before you died?


    Michael looked back for a moment before shaking his head.


    Exactly, I don''t have any other memories and that''s final, if you need cooking advice, go ask that child or even the woman who has been stalking you for thest hour.


    Michael''s brow twitched as he heard the system''sment, it sounded ridiculous but it might not be that bad of an idea.


    If they were to fight, he doubted that he could win, she looked pretty strong.


    As for Orin, it did not seem like cooking food was on his mind at all.


    ''How much stronger is she than me?'' He asked and put the pig monster to the side, skewering it on a few Swords of Light to prevent it from lying on the ground.


    She is a Tier 2, early at that, but still, don''t face her unless you really have to, you might seriously die this time.


    Just as Michael began contemting his decisions, he saw a red dot appear on the map but before he could react, it swiftly disappeared.


    ''She killed it...'' He noticed her yellow dot had moved at a very high speed, instantly killing the red dot that had been approaching them.


    He also noticed that she went right back to observing him while standingpletely still.


    Michael found her to be quite odd, it didn''t seem like she had any hostile intentions, however, her actions were something he could not predict.


    ''Oh, whatever..'' He decided to walk in her direction, a helping hand would be greatly appreciated.


    She noticed him approaching and stepped back, mirroring the speed at which he was walking towards her.


    Michael sped up, yet so did she, seemingly running away from him.


    He eventually gave up and started walking back, while also paying attention to the map, seeing her following right after him.


    The surroundings made it very annoying to run after her, there were too many tree vines in the way.


    It was also not a very good idea to stray too far away from the cave, after all, he didn''t want to make Orin feel like he had been abandoned.


    "If you can hear me, can youe help me with cooking? I can''t figure out how to cook the meat from the monsters of this forest." He said with a shout, the echo sending it much further and reaching her.


    However, she still refused toe to him, she was so eagerly staring at him back at the entrance, yet she wouldn''t even approach him now.


    ''Just what is wrong with her?''


    He walked back to the cave and cut off one of the legs of the pig monster before putting it over a fire and slowly cooking it.


    It was a long process, he didn''t exactly know how to make the fire burn stronger and it seemed there was some kind of a limit, possibly due to the mana.


    After nearly 20 minutes of waiting, it finally looked cooked.


    And the best of all, it actually looked edible, though so did hisst 4 dishes, yet when he bit into them, Michael was left with disappointment.


    Michael.


    The moment the system''s voice resounded in his ears, he took a nce at the map, realizing the yellow dot was now directly in front of him.


    She was staring down at him, specifically, at the food he had just cooked.


    Michael tilted his head and broke off a small piece, holding it in his outstretched hand.


    "Want some?"


    She took it out of his hands before he could even react, if she had gone for the kill there, he would have certainly died.


    Now that she was up close to him, he took another nce at her eyes, however, he was left a bit dumbfounded.


    When he first saw her, she had green eyes, now, however, they were a silver color and even her hair that he previously did not pay attention to was fully ck, just like his.


    "What''s your name?" He asked, not taking his eyes away from hers.


    "..Astraea" She replied in a quiet voice while taking a few bites out of the cooked piece of pork he had given her.


    For some reason, upon hearing her name, his heart began beating faster. Taking a nce at her appearance once again, he was met with a sharp headache.


    A flood of memories appeared inside of his mind, they were of her, however, not one of the memories held any semnce of friendship or anything of the sort.


    In fact, he remembered only seeing her from a distance, nothing more. He hadn''t even talked to her at all.


    Yet at the same time, his heartbeat was now slowing down and he even found it starting to get a little hard to breathe.


    Michael was not sure what kind of emotions these were, he had never felt anything like this even back in his original world before he died.


    However, whatever they were, regret was clearly present, almost triumphing above all the other emotions he felt.


    ''System?'' He asked as he looked away from her eyes, staring into the fire.


    Not sure.. she seems like someone you were connected to in one of your lives.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''How is that possible though? Even if I could remember her eventually, why did she make the memories resurface?''


    From what I can gauge, those memories are incredibly old, even older than the ones from your first trial, perhaps it was the actual Michael''s memories?


    As the system kept rambling, Michael grew even more confused.


    "Sorry for asking, but how old are you?" He blurted out before realizing what he said, causing him to inwardly facepalm.


    Astraea''s eyes narrowed and she took a slightly more aggressive bite "I am 19, why? Do I look younger?"


    ''Quite the opposite actually..'' A cold sweat ran down his spine as more questions began appearing in his mind, however, the system quickly interjected.


    She is likely just like you, a person with fragmented memories of their past.


    Michael turned to stare at her again, not quite believing the system''s statement, it seemed too absurd.


    "My name is Michael."


    He expected some sort of reaction simr to his, however, she merely nodded and continued eating, almost finishing the whole leg of the pig monster.


    Michael sighed and looked at his empty hand.


    ''She stole it...''

 Chapter 79: Cold

    ''She is still staring at me..''


    It had already turned dark, with the 3 of them sitting around the campfire inside of the cave.


    Orin seemed to be in a bit better mood, definitely much better than when he found him.


    As for Astraea? She was still a mystery to him.


    The only thing Michael knew was that she was somehow connected to him, even going as far as to make him remember a fragmented memory from his distant past.


    However, unlike him, Astraea did not seem that affected by his presence, though her stares were a little much at times.


    Michael decided to be upfront with her, trying to gauge her intentions "Why do you keep staring at me?"


    "I don''t know" She replied with a shrug and continued staring, her silver eyes not showing much emotion at all.


    He sighed and decided to let it go, it only slightly bothered him anyway.


    And it was also time for him to attempt the so called training the system mentioned so many times.


    Michael left the protection of Orin to her as he went a tad bit deeper into the cave, eventually reaching a spot where a single beam of moonlight illuminated the ground.


    Sit down there, it''s perfect.


    He was a bit confused but nheless, decided to go through with it, sitting down and seeing the beam of moonlight shining down right on top of him.


    From where he sat, it genuinely looked like he was in fact sitting in front of the moon, he didn''t understand how such a small amount of moonlight could cause an effect like this.


    ''What now?''


    Alright, hold on for just a moment.


    Michael grew a bit more confused at the system''sment, however, he soon sprang up from the illuminated ce as his shields had been instantly pierced.


    What confused him was that he did not take actual damage, the dots depicting Astraea and Orin were still in the very front of the cave.


    ''What did you just do?'' He asked in a weary voice, failing to grasp the intentions of the system.


    Rx, sit back down and just persevere, trust me on this.


    ''Trust you on this? If you don''t tell me what''s going on, I will be going back'' Michael said in annoyance and began slowly walking back to the very front.


    However, the system quickly interjected and stopped him.


    You are so difficult to deal with, look, I am heightening your senses to the very maximum, meaning the rate at which you absorb mana will increase, the downside is that you will feel the element more intensely... than usual?


    ''You don''t sound very convincing..''


    Look, if you want to increase the rate at which you gain progress for the next Tier, do this, it''s currently the fastest way possible.


    Michael nced around one more time and began walking back to the beam of moonlight, eventually sitting down and awaiting further instructions.


    However, none came, instead, he began feeling incredibly cold, the intensity increasing by the second.


    ''Is this what you meant?'' Michael asked with a frown, enduring the ever increasing coldness.


    It was not enough to deal damage to him, however, he could feel his senses being overtaken.


    But as he thought that, the coldness suddenly increased by many times and his eardrums felt as if they had burst from the loud pitch noise that was ringing inside them.


    Though even as the coldness grew, his expression still remained sour.


    ''How long will it take for my hearing toe back?''


    Like 5 seconds? That is, after you finish this little session.


    Michael clicked his tongue and continued bearing with the cold, his body slowly turning pale while some parts even turned slightly purple.


    He did not like this feeling, however, if it meant he could get stronger just a little faster, it was all worth it in the end.


    Just as he was beginning to slowly lose his sight, a sudden wave of mana appeared within his body, many times purer and more concentrated than before.


    Michael took this chance to try bringing it to the bottom of his spine, that''s where his threads started anyway.


    ''Do I try absorbing the mana into a certain part of the spine? Or does it not matter?'' He hesitatingly asked for confirmation as he did not want to waste this pure mana.


    It doesn''t matter, in the end, once you have enough, you will definitely feel it.


    Michael nodded and went through with it, sending all of the gathered mana into any part of his spine that he could.


    After a couple of minutes of doing this, his skin was now fully blue, even slightly turning ck.


    ''How much longer do you want me to keep going?" Michael asked with shallow breaths as it had gotten pretty hard to function normally.


    He couldn''t understand why this was so cold, how did the single beam of moonlight cause him to feel such coldness?


    Aren''t you getting a lot of mana though? What''s the issue? If anything, I can cast a few heals on you, it should lively you up.


    Michael''s brow twitched as he was speechless at the system''sment, it wasn''t wrong, but that did not mean he exactly enjoyed having frostbite across his entire body.


    He was not sure how much mana he managed to absorb so far, however, the amount was certainly considerable, much greater than what he usually absorbs on a day to day basis.


    When he walks around, a small bit of mana always umtes, if he fights then the mana released into the atmosphere slowly gets assimted with him.


    Michael tried moving his arms but was not able to, the only way for him to survive, was to cast a few heals on himself.


    And even then, this cold sensation would certainly not go away for quite a while.


    ''Do other people also do it like this?'' He asked, wondering about the process of how others absorb mana.


    There are certain techniques that help you with the absorption process, most are derived from what you are currently doing though, a lot of the people of ancient times were wusses, they were afraid of getting hurt.


    ''I don''t think they were afraid, they were just not exactly suicidal'' Michael chuckled, finding the irony quite funny.


    ''So, then what about the people who get a Mana Core and don''t know what to do with it, do they get some kind of a technique provided for them?''


    If they make it to the right world, sure, it''s all luck based.


    ''How do some get stronger regardless then?'' He was a bit confused, he doubted a lot of people had these kinds of techniques.


    They fight, it''s the most natural of all the methods, evening close to the one you are using right now, though, some people are gifted enough to figure out a technique on their own, not a very big majority though.


    ''I see, that''s pretty interesting..'' Michael''s words trailed off as he began losing consciousness.


    However, a golden light enveloped him a few times, making hispletely frostbitten skin, return to its usual color.


    ''That was not great..'' Michael shivered and backed away from the moonlight, he wanted to rest for a little while before trying that again.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But as he was finally trying to rx, another thought sprung into his mind, causing him to unconsciously gulp.


    ''Say.. There is moonlight... Does that mean I will have to train under sunlight as well?''


    Oh, you caught on, exactly, you will train during the day and during the night, it''s pretty efficient.


    ''Fuck... of course it is huh..'' He exhaled a cold breath.


    Michael expected to rest for at least an hour, however, after merely 5 minutes, the system spoke up again.


    Alright, that''s enough rest for now, get back under the moonlight.


    ''...''

 Chapter 80 Similar

    Michael was currently lying by the fire, the system forced him to ''train'' for thest 4 hours, to say he looked horrible was an understatement.


    That, added to the fact that he was being stared at by now 2 people, made him pretty ufortable.


    Since he was bored and didn''t really have anything else to do at the moment, he decided to try talking with Astraea.


    However, he didn''t exactly know what kind of a question to ask, he was not very well versed in this world''s happenings.


    Michael didn''t want to sound too strange while asking her questions, he wanted to get to know her a bit while also learning a bit about this world.


    As he was contemting what to ask her, she suddenly walked up to him and sat down beside him, staring into his eyes before darting to the very top of his head.


    "Can I try it on?" Astraea asked as she was trying to take off the floating halo from his head.


    ''..System?'' Michael was extremely confused now, why could she see it?


    How would I know?


    "How long have you been able to see it?" He asked, trying to seek some confirmation.


    She gave up trying to take it off and with a pouting expression, walked back to the other side of the fire and sat back down.


    "Since the start" She replied as her silver eyes were still locked onto his.


    ''I guess that''s why she is staring so much, she likes the halo..'' Michael chuckled inwardly before giving up, he didn''t know how to even begin a conversation with her.


    Astraea had been an anomaly since the first time he met her, she was by no means normal.


    The memories she made him remember, the halo that only he could see.


    From what he understood, they were very deeply connected in the past, even if the memories he had of her were iplete.


    "Astraea, do you ever feel like there is something you need to remember but can''t?" He asked while lying down by the fire, his body finally did not feel cold anymore.


    Michael looked up at her to meet her eyes and for some reason, they seemed a bit unfocused for a moment before finally regaining rity.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    She tilted her head to the side "No?"


    However, the unfocused eyes were a bit of a giveaway for him, he knew something was up, he just didn''t exactly know how to get her to remember.


    Michael could not see any sort of status effect on her with his Eyes of the Healer skill, so it was definitely something different.


    The more he got to know her, even if it was extremely little, it provided him with somefort.


    Soothing the inner regret his past self had endured seemed difficult, yet easy at the same time.


    Michael just wished he could finally unlock all of his memories, he would love to get to know her more.


    "I see... don''t you have somewhere to be though? Why would you stick around with us?" He asked with a small tinge of curiosity.


    However, he was met with silence, it did not seem like she wanted to answer his question


    Michael assumed she had a home or a family to return to, maybe they wouldn''t be simr in this regard as well.


    ''System, how many times did I have a family? Besides the one I had in my previously world.''


    Not sure, I can''t see that deeply, but from what little I can see, you were always an orphan.


    ''Aren''t I technically an archangel? Isn''t God something like my father?'' He inwardly chuckled while taking a nce at Astraea''s expression.


    He didn''t know if he imagined it, but it looked like a small frown had been present for just a moment.


    If you are referring to how archangels were born, they just came into existence, simr to god, making him like your stepfather in a way..


    The system trailed off at the very end, drawing a confused look out of Michael.


    ''What''s wrong?''


    Well... God is dead, I can tell you that much, not sure who is in charge now, however, it''s definitely not him.


    ''Oh...'' Michael''s eyes slightly widened in shock as he rolled around, turning his back to the 2 people around the campfire. Stay updated with empire


    ''How do you know he''s dead?''


    I can feel it.


    ''That''s pretty vague.. but whatever.''


    As he was lost in his conversation with the system, Astraea suddenly spoke up.


    "Have we met before?"


    Upon hearing those words, he immediately turned back around and stared into her confused looking eyes.


    ''So she is actually just like me.. damn.''


    Michael did not know how to reply to this question, technically, they have met before, but just not exactly recently...


    Just tell her how it is, if anything, it is in your best interests to make her regain her memory.


    ''I guess..'' Michael agreed and nodded at her, confirming her thoughts.


    She looked to be in thought for a moment, her eyes turning slightly unfocused "I see."


    With those words, Astraea turned around and lied down, finally taking her eyes away from him.


    It seemed like his confirmation did have some kind of an impact as it was the first time she willingly looked away from him.


    Michael turned to Orin and noticed he was already fast asleep, with only him remaining awake.


    He thought of sleeping, however, after what happened earlier, he was not exactly in the best of moods.


    Sleep was definitely not on his mind.


    He decided to get up and walk outside, maybe explore a little bit.


    It was also about time he checked his status, it''s been a while since hest did so.


    ''Status''


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]


    Mana Purity: 16% -> 21


    Mana Core: Flow


    Mana Core Rank: Tier 1


    -:- 6% Progress to next Tier -:-


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you


    * Being of Light


    # Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity based spells by 25%


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 87/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP: 62/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [C+]


    END: Tier 1 [B-] -> [B]


    AGI: Tier 1 [B+]


    INT: Tier 1 [A-] -> [A]


    CHA: Tier 1 [D+] -> [C-]


    -Skills / [Skill Merging]


    Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive]


    Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Hand-to-handbat [Beginner] [Passive]


    Discipline [Basic] [Passive]


    Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]


    Purify [Intermediate] [Active]


    Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    Sword of Light [Basic] [Active]


    Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active]


    +---+


    ''5% huh.. 4 hours of torture turned out to be worth only 5%...'' Michael couldn''t help but feel a little disappointed at the progress.


    People usually take a couple of days to get that if they were to constantly be fighting, this is good progress.


    ''Yeah.. will I be training under the sun as well?''


    Of course.


    Michael rolled his eyes and took another nce at his status, a few of the stats went up and mana purity did as well.


    However, he was curious about one thing in particr ''I am technically an archangel right?''


    I guess?


    ''Then why does it still say that I am a human?''


    Do you think your body could handle the bloodline of an archangel? It is still a few Tiers away and even then, it would take a while to get the most out of it, it is considered one of the strongest in the universe after all.


    ''I see...'' Michael grumbled a little before standing up and heading outside of the cave.


    He wouldn''t sleep tonight and likely the next night after that, the sunlight would likely hurt more than the cold did.


    Yeah, you are right, it will hurt like hell.


    Michael ignored the system''s snarkyment and headed out into the forest, quite a few red dots were present on his map.


    But there was also something strange, among them was a single yellow dot, it did not make much sense as it was in the middle of all the other ones.


    At first, he thought they were fighting, however, the red dots were not moving at all.


    ''Can you feel anything off?''


    It''s some kind of a leader type monster, not sure exactly, you would need to get closer.


    ''How strong is it?'' Michael asked and slowly made his way over, not trying to wake the others behind him.


    A bit stronger than that fanatic you faced on top of the mountain, it''s a good target dummy if you decide to fight it.


    Michael began summoning his Swords of Light and sent them into the sky, as a form of insurance in case the battle goes south.


    ''I see..''

 Chapter 81 Monster

    Michael headed over to a somewhat hilly area, specifically where all of the red dots were.


    He made sure no one was following him, he wanted to deal with this all by himself.


    However, upon approaching the area, he was met with monsters that looked simr to shadows, though were not exactly them.


    They are Undead if I were to guess, I don''t understand why they were here right now, they usually go around in wastnds like the one you were in.


    ''Maybe they are trying to get some more friends?'' Michael thought and walked up, he had spent 10% of his total mana summoning a bunch of Swords of Light and sending them into the sky.


    If he didn''t have his MP cost reduction, he would have spent 20%, it was truly convenient.


    Some of the Undead noticed him and began approaching, they looked considerably weak, their bodies decrepit.


    However, what was most alerting was that he could not see the supposed yellow dot, it was there on his map, but nowhere in front of him.


    Michael stretched out his hand and cast small Swords of Light, if he guessed correctly, the Light affinity was considered strong against any of the Undead.


    But nheless, his shields were up and the system would take care of the parrying, he had nothing to worry about at the current moment.


    An Undead dashed at him with wonky steps, it was definitely not a Tier 1, he wouldn''t even need to inspect it with mana to tell.


    That was because it still had a shadow.


    Michael sent a small Sword of Light directly at the Undead''s head, creating a massive hole that destroyed its entire face.


    The attack was weaker since it was much smaller and contained way less mana, for it to do that, it meant his affinity really was no joke.


    A group of Undead dashed towards him again, however, before they could even get within 5 meters of him, they were instantly killed, massive holes riddled all over their bodies.


    "Isn''t it about time you came out?" Michael looked at the general area where the yellow dot was supposed to be, trying to draw it out.


    But even then, it did not appear.


    He understood that it might be an ally but it was significantly more likely that it''s a foe.


    Who would be a leader type monster while also hanging around a group of Undead?


    The only thing that Michael could think of was Liches, though that was just his childhood talking, he was not sure if they even existed.


    But, from what he had seen so far over the course of his few years in this world, he could surmise that it was highly likely.


    Michael finally finished off thest of the Undead, they were all weak, none even reaching Tier 1, most were in the high level 100s, but even then, they were just way too weak for him to have any trouble.


    ''Can you locate it?'' He asked the system, noticing the yellow dot slowly moving around on the map.


    I don''t mean to question your intelligence-well, I kind of do, if he is not on the ground and not in the sky, where else could he be?


    Michael''s brow twitched at thatment as he focused his mana into his eyes, making sure that it was not invisible.


    After a little sweep of the area and also a bit of checking the sky, it was clear.


    ''It''s underground..''


    Ding ding, 5 points to INT.


    ''You know I don''t have stat points anymore right?'' Michael rolled his eyes at the system''s sarcasticment and summoned a bigger Sword of Light, expending 2% of his mana.


    He immediately sent it down, using it as some kind of a shovel, trying his best to dig as deep as he could.


    Yet after only 2 attempts, he dug into something, it felt like he had hit wood and stopped.


    Michael used Sword of Light to move all the nearby dirt to the side, he wanted to see what he stumbled upon.


    Hmm... a coffin, Vampire perhaps?


    He shrugged and created a smaller Sword of Light and slightly stabbed it into the coffin, cutting around it and opening it up.


    Michael would have tried opening it normally, however, it seemed sealed shut, no amount of force could open it.


    Well, except a Sword of Light apparently as he was easily able to pierce through the wooden exterior.


    Upon opening it, he saw a man lying down there, Michael assumed he was dead for a moment, however, a breath or two escaped the man''s mouth once in a while.


    Coupled with the fact that he saw the yellow dot on the map, he was right in front of it.


    He was not sure what to do exactly, while the man seemed strong, he was currently asleep, making it an easy kill if he were to go for it.


    However, he stopped himself, for some reason, the man reminded him of Chloe, at least the hair, he hadn''t seen many white haired individuals except her so far.


    He couldn''t bring himself to kill him, even if he did, what was the point? It was a yellow dot, meaning that he was practically neutral.


    ''So is he the leader type monster or whatever?''


    No, he is just as strong as him, his mana is simr as well.


    ''Are Vampires counted as Undead?'' He asked and slowly lifted the coffin with his swords, bringing it out of the hole he had created.


    They are like a mix between Demons and the Undead, so in a way, yes. Stay tuned to empire


    Michael nodded but he couldn''t hold back his curiosity ''Is it true that vampires can''t go out while the sun is out? Oh and do they need to be invited to enter someone''s home?''


    What are you? A teenage girl? No, Vampires can do whatever they want, the only limitation was that they could only eat and drink blood as it increased their power, without it, they would be too weak to survive.


    He ignored the system''s rude remark ''So, can they still eat normal food? If they n to be weak I mean.''


    Technically, yes.


    ''I see'' Michael stared at the open coffin, unsure of what to do now, he tried waking the man up, however, he was mainly unresponsive.


    The only vital sign was that he was breathing.


    Michael took a good look at him, his expression growing more and more puzzled by the moment.


    ''They really do look alike.. the shade of their skin, their hair.. system, is Chloe a Vampire?''


    Who knows? If you had used your mana detection on her like you do on your enemies, you might have found it out.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He sighed as he understood what the system meant, when he sees an opponent, he gauges their strength, meaning he sends his mana to interact with the opponent''s mana.


    And as for people that he''s familiar with, he just sends a wave of mana to make sure they are there, not checking any deeper than that.


    Michael looked back and decided to try injecting mana directly into the man, maybe by stimting his mana flow, it would wake him up.


    Definitely beats not trying anything at all, he didn''t want to take him to the cave, but at the same time, he didn''t just want to leave him here.


    He went through all of this trouble to save the man, it would be a bit of a waste to just leave him here.


    For all he knew, the Undead woulde back and collect him, that was probably what they were trying to do initially.


    Just as Michael ced his hand on the Vampire''s forehead, he was immediately sent flying into a nearby tree, crashing through it and a few others.


    ''Uhh.. system?'' He looked back at the coffin with a shocked expression, if he hadn''t had a shield on at that moment, he would have been pierced through.


    And even then, whatever that attack was, it broke through his defenses, leaving a small cut on his shoulder.


    Hm... the hibernation appears to have reduced his strength quite a bit, now that he has woken up, it''s in a bit of a frenzy, just dodge until he gets a grip of himself, most Vampires are not evil creatures.


    Michael was about to argue but another fast attack was sent his way, forcing him to dodge to the side, just barely evading it.


    ''Easy for you to say.''

 Chapter 82 Monster (2)

    The frenzied Vampire kept sending some kind of bolts at Michael; he couldn''t tell what they were due to the speed.


    However, after many times of dodging them, he noticed they were a dark red color, looking exactly like blood.


    ''Do they use blood to attack?'' He asked the system and created 3 shields andyered them in front of him, preparing for the next attack toe.


    For the most part yes, stronger ones can use affinities though.


    ''I see.. well, that''s not great...'' Michael eximed as the attack broke through his shields and went through his shoulder.


    The Vampire was still inside of the coffin; the power behind those attacks did not seem like it came from a person who had lost his mind.


    They were all coordinated, some evenbining into one to prate Michael''s defenses more efficiently.


    He was beginning to find it hard to dodge and block; better yet, he could see the Vampire gripping the sides of the cut-open coffin, seemingly trying to get out.


    ''How much longer do I have to endure?'' Michael asked as he was debating whether to send down all of his Swords of Light at the vampire; he didn''t want to kill it, but if it came down to it, he would.


    These frenzied statesst depending on the Tier of the Vampire; since it was most likely a Tier 1, it would be around 10 minutes.


    ''Fuck... are all Vampires so unreasonable?''


    You tried waking it up before it was time; you were the one being unreasonable.


    ''And you couldn''t tell me that before I tried waking it up!?'' Michael eximed at the system and felt the pressure around him increase greatly.


    This was the strongest opponent he had faced up to date; in a real battle anyway, Amanda was still much stronger.


    ''Can''t you parry its attack at least once?''


    What do you think I have been doing this whole time? Those little injuries you have are due to me redirecting the attack to a different area; all of them were aiming for your vitals.


    ''Aha..''


    Suddenly, the Vampire shot up out of its coffin, sitting up straight, its eyes glued on Michael.


    They were pure red, simr to Chloe''s but more.. savage.


    It made his hands shake a tad bit; he was not sure if it was due to the pressure or the potential for him to die here.


    Nheless, he won''t die, not again.


    ''System, are you sure the Vampire was originally Tier 1?''


    I am sure.


    Upon receiving the system''s confirmation, Michael decided to take up on the offensive, he clearly could not block its attacks, but at least with a close-range battle, he could prevent it from using those deadly blood attacks.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Or that''s what he hoped for anyway, if anything, he could send down all of his Swords of Light; even a frenzied Vampire would not survive.


    Its attack power might have increased greatly; however, its defense was that of a Tier 1.


    Michael prepared for battle, covering himself in as many shields as he could before dashing forward.


    However, to his surprise, the Vampire disappeared from his vision and he could feel a sudden burst of mana appear from his side.


    He attempted to dodge, yet was too slow, resulting in the attack piercing through his abdomen, a small hole appearing with blood pouring down.


    ''It just barely missed my vitals...'' Michael''s expression hardened, a bit higher, and he would have certainly died; he was not sure if even his healing capabilities would save him.


    He shot out a Sword of Light, aiming for the vampire; however, it dodged it without much effort, sending a bolt of blood in the form of a spear right at Michael.


    ''Fuck this'' Michael resolved himself to not bother with this nonsense and waved his hand downwards, the sky suddenly lighting up in a golden light.


    And before the Vampire could react, hundreds, if not thousands, of Swords of Light flew towards it.


    The vampire attempted to dodge; however, it was not sessful, with some attacksnding and causing huge gashes to appear on its body.


    However, much to Michael''s surprise, those injuries were quickly healing, almost like when he casts his healing on someone, it was way too fast.


    Vampires tend to have very high regenerative abilities; it would be even faster had it not been fighting against someone using the Light affinity; its demon and undead side suffer greatly from it.


    ''Well, it doesn''t seem like it would slow down..'' Michael observed and waved his hand down again, sending another batch of Swords of Light flying right at the vampire.


    But this time, the number was greatly increased, same with the speed, the vampire had no choice but to pay attention to the attacks,pletely ignoring Michael.


    That gave him the opportunity to attack back, the tides have turned due to his hidden attack, equaling out the strength difference just a tad bit.


    Michael used his mirroring passive to hide Piercing Light and sent it at the vampire''s heart.


    He was unable to use it with an extremely high number of Swords of Light, he was a bit far from that level.


    The golden haired him managed to make it look so easy.


    Just as the vampire dodged the barrage of Swords of Light raining down on him, it noticed a single Sword of Light flying towards it.


    It did not seem bothered as it simply tried swatting the attack away; however, it passed through its hand, and suddenly, a massive hole appeared in the very middle of its body.


    ''That was rather easy huh..'' Michael thought to himself as he noticed the vampire slowly falling down to the ground, slowly dispersing into the wind.


    He wished for this fight to not happen, but he did not want to risk dying; he could not see himself surviving for 10 minutes; it was hard to survive for even 2.


    All of a sudden, some of the ck particles that appeared when the vampire began dispersing flew over to Michael before being absorbed into his body.


    He looked around for a moment, not understanding what just happened.


    ''System?''


    Hmm...


    -Ding


    [Curse of the dying Vampire]


    # All nearby vampires can tell that you have in their kin.


    Duration: 4 weeks


    ''Oh..'' Michael looked on at the notification that just appeared and facepalmed.


    ''It would look pretty bad if I were to approach Chloe with this thing on huh...''


    Well, there are rogue vampires, plus, just because they are the same race, doesn''t mean they hold affection for one another, this one was not even from the same world.


    ''I see.. that makes sense'' Michael nodded and nced at his map again. He saw a familiar yellow dot watching him from not too far away.


    It was Astraea.


    Yet a question remained lingering inside of his mind ''How did this Vampire even appear here with the horde of undead, I was looking at the map quite frequently..''


    You were and so was I, it appeared around 10 minutes before you saw it yourself, I am not sure how it got there, it definitely was not there the entire time.


    ''Can hibernating vampires mask their presence? Like make it so even the map could not spot them'' Michael asked hisst question and headed over to where Astraea had been hiding.


    I don''t know if that''s possible, but nothing else could exin what happened, maybe?


    ''Who knows..'' He shrugged and appeared in front of Astraea who had been silently watching him.


    "Nice fight" She said with a thumbs up.


    Michael was speechless at her casual reaction "...Thanks?"

 Chapter 83 Sunlight

    ''She seems a bit weird..'' Michael walked in the very front with her behind him.


    It seems like she had observed the whole fight and had a pretty casual reaction to his abilities.


    "Astr-" Michael turned back to her but immediately stopped talking, her eyes were once again unfocused.


    ''...'' He decided to continue walking, whatever was happening, he couldn''t do anything about it.


    The best he can do is be himself, she is asking more questions now after all, even if they were vague, it was progress.


    Michael could tell that a small piece of her memories started returning, same with his, however, he hadn''t really gotten any new ones ever since thest time.


    Though even if there were no new memories, the ones he could remember had be clearer, and the surroundings had even be more vivid.


    And they were strange to say the least, he could see the sky, yet they were not on the ground, it was an odd ce.


    There were a couple more people there, but he couldn''t see their faces, he couldn''t even properly judge their height or appearance, it seemed to be morphing.


    However, Astraea was still standing there, looking at the almost empty sky, there was a single golden star there.


    That was where his memories ended, him looking at her and her staring at the golden star above.


    He couldn''tprehend these memories, they were not like those of his trials, they did not tell a story.


    Just a simple fragmented memory meaning nothing, but at the same time meaning everything.


    They remained walking in silence until they finally arrived back at the cave with Orin still sleeping soundly.


    It did not seem like much time had passed, yet the sun was beginning toe up, a small light shining down into the cave.


    Yet what caught his eyes the most was Astraea, particrly her silver eyes, which were still directly staring at him.


    ''She is so confusing..'' Michael scratched his head and picked up thest piece of the pig monster he had left, chopping it up and cooking it.


    By the time he was finished, the sun managed toe up to a decent point in the sky.


    However, he was not excited, because he knew what awaited him.


    Don''t worry, you still have an hour or two left before that. Enjoy your little moment of peace.


    ''No need to sound like some sort of superviin...'' Michael took a few bites out of the pig''s leg, he had already split the rest with Astraea and Orin.


    But it did not seem like Orin wanted to wake up, he was just rolling around in the makeshift leaf bed that did not seemfortable at all.


    Michael assumed that he just enjoyed the feeling of nature, who knows what a kid who had never seen the outside world could be thinking.


    They all finished eating and Michael took a nce at his map, making sure that there were no abnormalities this time around.


    Right after that, he went ahead and told the others to not bother him for a little while.


    Michael couldn''t think of any excuses for Astraea who had been looking at him suspiciously, but in the end, she gave in, taking Orin outside into the forest.


    It seemed like he wanted to walk around a bit, he was still not talking to anyone though.


    ''Are you sure I can''t just go outside..?'' Michael asked the system and stood in front of the beam of light in the very back of the cave.


    Last time it was moonlight, now it''s sunlight.


    It''s convenient, plus I doubt you would want the others to hear you scream.


    ''Scream? You think I will scream?'' Michael tilted his head and sat down, under the light.


    You seem to regard yourself rather highly for someone who had to use cheap tricks to win against a mere vampire.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Michael shrugged ''Cheap tricks? They are a part of my abilities, if anything, the vampire used his frenzy as an unfair trick, I just made the fight more fair.''


    Right.


    Just as the system''s disapproving voice rang out, his body began heating up rapidly, with sweat already trickling down as if it were raining.


    ''Isn''t this a bit too fast?'' Michael asked as he felt like the cold was way more bearable at the start than the heat.


    Added to the fact that it was increasing almost exponentially with each moment that passed, did not give him much confidence.


    "Krhh" A small groan escaped his mouth as the temperature began getting a little unbearable for him.


    It''s been 12 seconds, you will be at this for at least 4 hours, why are you already groaning?


    Michael''s eyes widened at the system''s remark, there was no way he couldst that long.


    However, just as he was about toin, the temperature once again increased, making it hard to breathe.


    ''System, heal me now'' Michael said in a serious tone while looking at his status.


    His HP was decreasing at an extremely rapid pace, so much so that if a few more seconds passed, he would most certainly die.


    Hold on a little longer. You have to make the best use of this situation.


    ''Fuck your situation, heal me or I am going to die!'' He was starting to slightly panic as his health was close to single digits.


    Yet even as it went down to 8%, 6%, 3%, and 2%, Michael did not feel like he was about to get healed.


    However, the moment his HP touched upon the 1% threshold, it suddenly shot back up to 31% causing him to regain some of his fading senses.


    ''Are you fucking crazy?'' Michael eximed at the system, he almost died just now.


    If only he could cast a heal by himself, however, due to his senses bing extremely sensitive, he was not able to properly control his mana.


    Rx, I won''t let you die. Plus, look at the progress, your mana purity went up a little bit, and your Mana Core progress has almost increased by 1%. A few more hours of this and you will have gained a lot.


    ''Fuck you, I am not doing this for hours, I will run out of mana in less than an hour.


    Due to the system not being able to utilize his mana to the fullest, the consumption of his heal was 6% MP, whereas if he were to use it himself, it would only be 1.5%.


    Meaning, the system used 4 times more MP than he does, it''s not very efficient.


    So what? The more you do this, the more immunity you will build up to it. I believe you canst a full minute this time.


    ''I hate you..'' Michael eximed and began feeling the heat all over his body again.


    This time, however, it wasn''t as severe, it felt bearable.


    Or so he thought, but after 20 seconds, he began feeling suffocated and his HP began plummeting once again, reaching single digits before he was healed again.


    33 seconds, not bad.


    Michael snickered and took this time to heal himself back to full HP, 31% did not feel great.


    He went again and this time, he definitelysted longer.


    However, the system''s next words made his expression sour.


    39 seconds, a small improvement.


    ''How is that even possible? Didn''t I start from full HP?''


    The heat does not stop increasing just because your HP is higher, you would havested 35 seconds had you not healed yourself back to full. Now stop wasting your mana and go again.


    ''...'' Michael took a deep, exhausted breath and continued this tortur-training until eventually, a familiar sound resounded in his ears.


    -Ding


    [New Skill Generated]


    Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    # You take 15% less damage from anything rted to heat.

 Chapter 84 Sunlight (2)

    ''Oh..'' Michael stared at the notification with widened eyes. He didn''t expect to receive a passive skill from something like this.


    He took in the cold for a longer period of time, yet he didn''t get anything, so he thought that it just might not be possible.


    Yet, here it is, a skill that can reduce his suffering by a whopping 15%, it is definitely good.


    And if he could also get one rted to the cold, he would feel at ease.


    However, as he was enjoying his little victory, the system''s voice rang out.


    Why are you so happy? I will just increase the intensity by 15%.


    ''Come on... aren''t I suffering enough already?'' Michael asked with slight frustration, it really was getting tough to bear.


    His skin was still steaming, the burn marks hadn''t gone away either.


    While you might be suffering the same amount, your mana sensitivity increases by an extra 15%, it''s good, the only downside is that you will feel a bit more pain than usual.


    ''A bit more pain? You said 15% though?'' Michael asked in confusion.


    Well... It''s a trial and error process, let''s just see how long you can endure shall we?


    ''What bullshi-'' As Michael was about to cuss out the system, his senses were once again enhanced and his skin began to sizzle immediately.


    Oh, that might be a little too much.


    At the system''s words, his skin stopped sizzling, instead, it gradually began getting hotter, simr to how he first started.


    ''You did that on fucking purpose!'' Michael eximed in frustration as he was beginning to feel the effects of both his passive skill and the increase in heat.


    The passive skill made it so a certain threshold of heat gets converted into a cooling sensation, which made it a little more bearable.


    However, as he was at the 50 second mark, he began seeing his skin melting, it happened way too fast for him to process.


    He red at seemingly nothing, however, his gaze was directed at the system, he knew it saw him.


    Whoops.


    ''...'' Michael ignored it and saw his skin being enveloped by a golden light, but just as he was about to rx for a couple of minutes, the heat came back again.


    ''Hey! Timeout!''


    Why? You still have a decent amount of mana left.


    ''No shit, but can''t you see that I am literally dying here?'' Michael referred to his breathing, he was not able to catch his breath ever since the 30 second mark.


    And after his skin began melting, his breath exhausted further.


    Yet he did not scream, for some reason, while it did hurt, the most he would let out was a groan.


    But he could not say that it felt pleasant; It was many times worse than the coldness and it definitely was something he would rather not do.


    However, it was the perfect time to get stronger, he had no worries and no obligations, only free time.


    And from what he saw while looking at the map, this world was massive, even bigger than his own.


    The training continued until he finally ran out of mana, finally plopping down onto the ground behind him, sweat covering his entire body.


    He stood up and noticed something concerning, it was his clothes, which looked like they were glued and burned on the ground from the heat he emitted.


    It seemed like he subconsciously took them off while he was undergoing his training.


    He quickly checked the map to make sure no one was around, he saw Astraea and Orin a few kilometers away from the cave.


    Michael heaved a sigh of relief and pondered his choices, he certainly couldn''t wear these clothes, yet making clothes out of rocks didn''t exactly sound exciting either.


    ''System, is it possible to make some kind of armor out of light?''


    Well, yes, but just so you know, you currently have only 2% of your mana remaining.


    Michael''s brow twitched as he had to check for himself and it appeared like it was the truth, he really was out of mana.


    However, he was not discouraged, he still had some ideas he came up with.


    ''Is it really not possible to solidify the mana like I do with Swords of Light? Can''t I just create a thinyer of mana around myself and make it solid?''


    It could work if you knew what you were doing, I wish you luck though.


    ''Aren''t you going to help me?''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Why should I? You are the one standing naked here, deal with it yourself.


    Michael was left speechless, the system was being as unreasonable as always, he just hoped it woulde through for him this one time.


    However, he made sure not to panic, he still had a bit of time before the two came back and he could think of something in that time.


    Or so he hoped, though putting his earlier idea into practice looked to be a bit more difficult than he had anticipated.


    Just weaving the mana around while having it connected to his body did not drain it, he used that as leverage to surround his whole body with it.


    Yet even then, some of the mana came back into his body, refusing to stay outside of it.


    He was at a loss, the little bit of progress he thought he had made was proving to not be sufficient.


    ''What can I do...'' Michael tried envisioning his armor simr to how he did the swords.


    It was easy to form them, it almost felt natural to him, therefore he never questioned the process.


    He summoned a singr Sword of Light, trying to figure out the process of how he molded the mana to solidify.


    It took him a few tries, but he eventually narrowed it down, it was an interesting process.


    The mana started out like a thick fog, simr to how it was floating around his body.


    However, the foggy mana quickly got injected with a denser amount of mana, it felt like arge amount, yet it never left his body, it only ignited the already existing mana, causing the fog to shape and turn into his most used skill, Sword of Light.


    The dense mana appeared to being from the single Mana Thread he had, while he thought he was already using it to its full extent, it seemed he was slightly wrong. Continue your adventure at empire


    There was an outeryer and an inneryer of the thread, the mana he was trying to use appeared to being from the outer part.


    And the denser mana, from the inner part.


    The output seemed stronger while the capacity seemed lesser, it was a fair trade off, yet it seemed like it was a necessity to fuel his skills.


    Without it, they would not form.


    Michael tried tinkering around with it and noticed that it was fairly easy, however, due to him being rtively inexperienced at controlling it, he became dizzy immediately.


    He calmed himself down and tried again, covering himself in a thinyer of mana before injecting a very small amount of the denser mana into it.


    And the moment he did, a thin yet visibleyer of mana appeared around him shaped into the form of clothing, hiding his entire body.


    It seemed stic enough to be mistaken for actual clothing, well besides the fact that it looked like a golden colored suit.


    He could admit that while it did look strange, it was certainly better than not having any clothes at all.


    Now that he was able to utilize this part of his mana, it seemed like his repertoire increased significantly. Over theing days, he would try making a healing skill.


    ''Why does this not count as a skill?'' Michael asked the system as he did find it a little odd.


    If you infused more mana, and I mean, much more mana, you would have gotten it, as your current clothing stands, if you get attacked even once, those clothes are dispersing, be careful.


    ''Oh..'' Michael looked himself up and down and nodded with a satisfied look.


    The day is still young, regain some of your mana and we can continue, after all, you wouldn''t want to waste time doing nothing, would you?


    ''Aha..'' Michael let out an exhausted breath and went back to the front of the cave, noticing Astraea and Orin in the distance.


    She seemed to be carrying a pig monster in one hand while holding Orin''s hand with the other.


    ''Guess I won''t have to look for food..''

 Chapter 85 Attack

    [Kevin''s POV]


    ''4 days..'' Kevin thought as he walked inside of the ssroom. It''s been 4 days since hest saw Michael.


    It was strange considering while he would always bete, he would never skip sspletely.


    Even if he found it as boring as him, Kevin felt like he wouldn''t do that.


    ''Lena isn''t saying anything either'' He nced at her and sat down in his seat, the lesson would begin shortly.


    He had been training with mana controltely, his strength had risen a fair deal.


    It was difficult as he believed it was impossible for anyone to do at the early levels, only in the 150 level range could someone finally control their mana.


    Yet he was able to do it now, both by enhancing himself and by projecting the mana outwards.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The same went with Chloe, he felt like she improved a little too fast, for all he knew, she might also be a regressor.


    But after countless times of giving hints and her failing to notice them, Kevin dismissed that idea.


    He took a nce at Elizabeth and she red back at him, they spared nearly every day now and she always lost.


    ''She doesn''t quit though'' Kevin nodded to himself as her progress is almost as good as theirs and they were considered quite the gifted bunch.


    Of course, there was a monster called Michael, but he was not exactly normal.


    The lessons continued and for some reason, Kevin grew a bit weary.


    It seemed like a normal day, yet he couldn''t shake off the feeling that something might be wrong.


    The ssroom was lively, while the outside was deathly quiet.


    His unease intensified as he went outside of the academy to train, he found the res and envy of others quite a bother.


    Was it his fault that he was better than them?


    As he walked to a nearby facility, one that seemedpletely empty except for the workers, he noticed Elizabeth had been tailing him.


    Kevin sighed and turned towards her, casting the Shadow Stop skill, which made the target''s body stop in ce.


    There were the negatives of it costing a lot of mana at the start, yet due to his proficiency in both lives, he was able to figure out a way to make it less costly.


    It was a temporary skill and it onlysted a few seconds, however, despite it being so simple, it was one of his most favorite skills.


    Making others his shadows and forcing them to fight for him was his favorite.


    "I told you not to follow me" Kevin walked up to her, a faint hint of annoyance in his tone.


    Elizabeth tried moving around, breaking free from the skill, however, she was not able to.


    "Let me go" She red at him further, causing his brows to furrow.


    "You are being a little unreasonable don''t you think? You stalk me, then start demanding for things" Kevinined and released her from the skill, making her almost fall to the ground.


    "You said we would train together" Elizabeth said, her re getting more and more intense.


    Kevin''s eyes momentarily widened before heposed himself.


    ''I forgot..''


    "However, just as he was about to start thinking of an excuse, the ground began rumbling, causing the entire building to shake.


    Kevin was confused for a mere moment before he understood what was happening.


    ''It''s a bit dyed, but it''s finally here'' He went outside and saw a portal the size of a building appear near the academy.


    From what he remembered, this certain event should have happened weeks ago, he was not sure why there was such a massive dy.


    Yet, his worries intensified as the size of the portal only increased, it had been bigger than his initial expectations, but now, it was at least twice the size of what it was in the past.


    "Is that... a dungeon?" Elizabeth asked with a confused look as she watched the ever expanding portal slowly move to the sky.


    ''What the fuck..?'' Kevin was even more shocked now, first the size, now the deviation, it was nothing like the past.


    He could see people running away from it in fear, some even stumbling and falling onto the ground.


    The dungeon portal was now fully in the sky and it finally stopped expanding, instead, it began pulsing out energy, which made Kevin''s breathing a little rougher.


    Taking a nce at Elizabeth, he saw she had the same problems as well, however, it seemed like they were more prominent as she began trembling with her breathing being even rougher than his.


    "We should g-" Kevin was suddenly interrupted by a massive gust of mana that pushed him back a few meters, even throwing Elizabeth a fair distance before she managed to catch herself with her sword.


    He looked at the portal and saw a few, maybe 10, red blobs started slowly descending from the sky.


    They looked normal at first nce, however, upon taking a closer look, Kevin could see the sheer amount of mana inside of them.


    ''Fuck.. they are mana bombs'' He contemted on what to do, while they were descending rather slowly, by the time he walked back to the academy, they would have already hit the ground.


    He had time to escape and little to no time to help the others.


    The only person that he could take with him at the moment was Elizabeth, whose shaking appeared to be intensifying.


    "Hey, are you alright?'' He asked her, waving his hand in front of her face.


    Elizabeth''s brow twitched as her trembling stopped for a moment, swatting away his hand "Yeah, don''t do that again by the way."


    "Fine" Kevin shrugged and looked onwards at the falling mana bombs, there appeared to be some people casting spells at them, trying to slow them down.


    However, they were unsessful as the bombs seemed to resist their manapletely.


    He could see the police force running at him and going past, not even warning them to evacuate, that''s how panicked most were.


    Could he have stopped this from happening? Maybe.


    Would he risk revealing his hidden identity to others? Definitely not.


    Even if he did warn the others about this potentially happening, most would think that he was insane, while abnormal stuff wasmon, foresight was certainly not.


    There have been people who imed to have foresight in the past, however, they were all deemed crazy and thus ignored.


    Kevin watched as some strong individuals jumped into the sky, grabbing some of the mana bombs and redirecting them.


    They were not strong enough topletely neutralize them it seemed, as they began flying everywhere but the academy.


    Most were directed towards a few open spaces inside the inner part of the city, however, a few couldn''t help but fall in the direction of where some people were located.


    Kevin looked up even higher and noticed something, one of those bombs was heading directly at him.


    As he was prepared to switch ces with his shadow, he remembered that he was not alone, Elizabeth was standing still and looked at the iing mana bomb, seemingly frozen in fear.


    ''Fuck... What''s wrong with her? One moment she is badass, the next she is aplete wimp'' Kevin face palmed and felt around for his shadows, he noticed he only had a single one.


    Meaning, he could only switch one person and leave the other to fend for themselves. Your next read is at empire


    He was conflicted, he never thought he would need more than one shadow to escape while in the city, yet here he was.


    ''I should just leave...'' Kevin began enveloping himself in his own shadow, however, halfway through he stopped.


    ''...'' He couldn''t take away his eyes from Elizabeth''s expression, just seeing it made his stomach churn.


    "Elizabeth" He called out to her but was met with no response.


    "Elizbeth!" At his shout, she managed to finally snap out of it, looking directly at him.


    And the moment she did, he cast a swirling vortex, enveloping her and, in her ce, a shadow appeared, mirroring Kevin''s experience.


    It was still impossible for him to make shadows travel through other shadows, so he was not able to attach one to Elizabeth, if he could, they would both be safe.


    He took a deep breath and looked up, the mana bomb was almost nearly 100 meters away, its velocity constantly increasing.


    Kevin didn''t waste any time and began running in what appeared to be a safe location, however, if they really were mana bombs, he couldn''t be 100% sure that he would be safe.


    ''I am going to regret this, aren''t I...''

 Chapter 86 Attack (2)

    Kevin ran and ran, however, no matter how much further he had gotten, he could still feel that he was within its st range.


    These bombs were like mini nukes, essentially a normal bomb but enhanced with mana, it meant that whoever did this had someone on their side who had this kind of skill.


    It was not extremely rare, it was just rare for people to use it in a way like this, it was vile and inhumane.


    Kevin sped himself up and saw a type of metro system leading downwards, that was his best bet, he could protect himself from the rubble but not the explosion itself.


    He doubted it would extend downwards, it would be pretty troublesome if it did..


    However, the metro system seemed deep enough and it also had some sort of shafts, it wasn''t abandoned but it was certainly empty due to the situation.


    As the seconds passed and he ran down deeper and deeper, he began getting a little confused at the depth of this metro, it was certainly abnormal.


    ''What is this..?'' As he was wondering that, the ground finally shook, signifying that the mana bomb finallynded.


    The shaking was way more intense than he imagined and it looked like the st was slowly heading towards him.


    He copsed the tunnel behind him, he made his shadow run in the direction of the academy, it should reach it in a couple of minutes, until then, he had to somehow survive.


    As he was walking and getting deeper, the railing finally ended, ahead of him was just a simple tunnel that traveled for as long as the eye could see.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Kevin could feel the heating from behind him, the only reason he was not panicking was that the shadow he sent out was still alive, as long as his shadows didn''t materialize, they were practically immortal.


    What was most strange about this situation was that the ground hadn''t stopped shaking yet, he assumed that the bombs were deadly, but for them to be this deadly? It seemed overkill.


    As his steps grew louder and louder, the ground eventually began to feel hollow, it was definitely not normal considering just a few moments ago, it was perfectly solid.


    He tried walking forward and noticed that the pathway ahead was not as hollow as the previous area he passed through.


    Kevin couldn''t hide his curiosity so he walked back and tapped a few times, causing a small crack to appear in the tunnel''s ground.


    He crouched down and ripped apart the hollow flooring and saw a small manhole that had adder leading downwards.


    His senses were screaming at him to stop and turn back, however, he let his curiosity get the best of him, after all, it was starting to get difficult to breathe as there was no oxygen in these tunnels.


    Kevin cursed himself for blocking it off but justified it as him not having any other choice.


    Death by fire seemed more grueling, he definitely did not want to experience it.


    He climbed down thedder and was met with a small room, a single white door in front of him.


    ''Not ominous at all..'' Kevin thought to himself as he approached the door and attempted to open it.


    Much to his surprise, it was already open, all it needed was a little push.


    He felt the heat growing more intense, it probably bypassed the parts he copsed.


    Kevin quickly got inside of the room and closed the door behind him, finally being able to breathe normally.


    However, as he looked around inside, he was a little shocked, it looked like some kind ofboratory.


    However, it seemed abandoned, some vials were broken and thrown all over the ce, he was surprised that he was even able to breathe there.


    From what he could tell, this was old, the venttion should have been clogged by now, yet it wasn''t.


    He paced around the room and noticed some strange symbols that appeared to be some kind of a runguage.


    Kevin never bothered to learn it as Michael was the one who liked learning othernguages, he left them all to him.


    ''I should have at least got the basics down'' He sighed in helplessness and pocketed the notes on which the symbols were drawn on.


    Thenguage did seem a little familiar to him, however, he was still not able to understand it in the slightest.


    He noticed more notes, however, they were all either ripped apart or basically unreadable due to the amount of time that had passed.


    Nheless, he pocketed them, who knows what kind of information he could extract if he somehow manages to read the text.


    Continue your adventure at empire


    If anything, he would get Michael to do it, he used to love learning, Kevin assumed that maybe that one part of his didn''t change at all.


    ''I hope..''


    He checked theb a bit more thoroughly as he would soon be going back to the academy, his shadow was fairly close.


    However, the moment he crouched under one of the tables, he saw something strange.


    It looked like a giant white feather and it was enclosed inside of a ss case, seemingly being preserved.


    ''Everything else is broken but this isn''t?'' Kevin looked at it suspiciously, the feather looked a bit too big to belong to a bird, unless it was some kind of a mutated bird he was not aware of.


    But he believed he was good at identifying monsters, enough to know that this did not belong to one, at least not one he had ever seen in either of his lives anyway.


    The ss case did not have anything written on it, however, upon a closer look, he noticed it was covered in mana.


    ''Preservation magic?'' He guessed and took it with him, covering it with his shadows and tying it down to his body, the feather looked valuable.


    Besides that, he could not see anything else noteworthy inside of theboratory, no more notes, nothing, just simple wreckage that he could not bother to check through.


    Kevin felt that his shadow had finally reached the entrance to the academy and he quickly switched ces with it, appearing right in front of the academy.


    "Ugh" The first thing that he noticed upon arriving here was the smell, it reeked of burnt corpses, he regretted eating earlier as he felt as if he would vomit all of his food out.


    Added on top of that, the air felt warm and it was slightly difficult to breathe.


    Kevin turned to look around him and his eyes widened, the entire sky was either ck or gray and he could see many fires out in the distance.


    There were not a lot of people around him as most were likely inside the academy since it was much safer than where he was currently.


    He couldn''t see clearly, yet a few figures looked like they were in the sky, some fighting while others simply staring, not doing anything.


    And for a moment, it seemed like his eyes connected with one of the beings up there, and immediately an incredibly strong pressure engulfed him, nearly making him kneel.


    However, it onlysted for a moment, as in the next, he instinctively retreated backwards, heading straight for the academy.


    ''...I''ll just wait inside.''

 Chapter 87 Attack (3)

    [Amanda''s POV]


    It was just a regr day where all she had to do was sit around and pretend to work, yet for some reason, she felt that the mana was a bit more active than usual.


    Amanda had met up with her father a few days ago and told him about her decision to send Michael to the other world.


    Even though it was for a short duration, she believed he could make good use of it.


    ''I wonder where someone like him came from..'' Amanda leaned back in her chair further, thinking about the abnormality that was Michael.


    Ever since he first arrived in the city, he stirred up the people and the government, they were pretty reliant on him because he was a Saint and not a stupid one at that.


    Though after he disappeared, she found a recement, that being Tony, a terrible healer and not exactly a great person, but with enough intimidation, even idiots can be tamed.


    She was a bit shocked at how her father reacted to the news though, it seemed he was quite fond of Michael, when he first disappeared and reappeared, his energy was at its peak.


    But for some reason, he seemed a bit worried after she told him about Michael being sent to another world for a short duration.


    That''s why he also headed there after him. It seemed like a bit of an overkill, but it''s not like her father had anything to do at the moment, his position has been stripped due to the passage of time.


    The only thing that remained was his strength, as ever since being healed, it slowly returned, he was nearly at the peak he once reached.


    As Amanda was lost in her thoughts, nearly falling asleep, she suddenly couldn''t feel anything from the outside.


    She usually had her senses expanded over the whole city, yet at the current moment, that connection was severed seamlessly.


    ''...'' Amanda didn''t waste any time and smashed through the window behind her, freefalling out of the building before stopping herself in the middle of the air.


    A few individuals appeared and all of a sudden, a transparent ck dome appeared around them,pletely blocking off the view from inside the dome.


    All she could see were 3 people who seemed abnormally strong for being of this realm, it wouldn''t take a genius to deduce that they were not from here.


    The 3 of them looked a bit odd upon closer look, their skin color was different, they all had a deep crimson shade and they werepletely bald,


    However, the most surprising feature of them all was the single ck horn on their heads and a single pale white dot on their forehead that did not stand out as much.


    But nheless, she believed it was important, unless they just had some kind of birth defect.


    ''Hm...'' Amanda stared at them intently and tried sensing their Tier, however, it seemed like they were hiding it thoroughly.


    She herself was a Tier 6, however, it didn''t seem like they were that far off either, maybe Tier 5?


    There were a total of 20 known Tiers, with her father achieving a pretty high Tier, not exactly at the very top, but still considered strong amongst many.


    However, ording to him, there were many beings that could not be fathomed, where even Tiers did not do their strength justice.


    Amanda was young at the time, so she thought he was bluffing, dismissing the potential of someone or something like that existing.


    Discover more content at empire


    But as she grew older, the possibility seemed more and more possible, she had been to the other realms and saw many strong beings, some of which even rivaled her father in terms of strength.


    Nheless, it was not the time for her to worry about them, there were enemies in front of her that had to be eliminated.


    However, as the stalemate grew longer and longer, the ck dome suddenly began shaking, causing her to feel slightly uneasy as some of the mana from outside the dome had leaked inside.


    ''Something is happening..'' She concluded and gazed at the weird looking people, from their appearance, she could assume they were some kind of demons.


    Amanda had never been to hell or any demonic region, however, from the texts she has read, most of the demons looked simr, with the high ranking ones possessing special features.


    Taking another nce at them, she deduced that they were definitely not high otherwise, they would not enjoy being bald.


    She suddenly raised her hand, forming a small wind de that kept condensing before disappearing.


    However, it only looked like that to the naked eye, as in the next moment the 3 demons got into position and blocked her attack.


    ''Annoying..'' Sheined and looked at their solid defense, if they weren''t together, she could kill them pretty easily.


    Amanda summoned a few more invisible wind des and spoke "Why are you doing this?"


    She was not expecting to receive a response, however, one of them quickly replied "Where is the child of shadows?"


    "Child of shadows? What are you even talking about?" She asked and thought about who it could be.


    ''Michael..? No.. he uses light.. then...'' Amanda stopped as she finally figured out who they might be talking about.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was one of the more promising academy students, he is as strong as the teachers and could definitely create a Mana Core within the next few years.


    "His name is Kevin, hand him over and we will spare the city" One of the demons said while maintaining their defensive stance.


    It seemed like they were notpletely stupid, they knew that if they went on the offensive, they would most likely perish.


    The strength difference grew wider with each new Tier an individual achieved, they could not win even if they tried.


    "You would spare the city? How? By stalling until I exhaust myself?" Amanda taunted and enhanced herself with the wind, quickly reappearing behind one of them and shed,ing into contact with their triple defense once again.


    She stepped back and frowned, a dark green mana began enveloping her beforebining with her wind des.


    "Block this"


    At Amanda''s words and the slightly confused expression of the demons, a single wind de emerged, its color was dark green and it did not seem that ominous.


    They attempted to block it the same way, however, much to their surprise, the attack was not as simple as it looked.


    On the outside, it looked like a darker colored wind de, but once it reached them, specifically their defenses, it began melting their skin.


    ''Finally some progress'' She sighed and cast a few more of them, these demons were truly a bothersome bunch.


    Not strong, but not exactly weak either, in the very middle, beingpletely annoying.


    This was the ability from her father''s side, it turned her mana into the Poison affinity, it was pretty rare to have more than one but due to her bloodline, she had both wind and poison.


    Amanda did not like using it often as she still hadn''t mastered itpletely yet, the mana consumption was way too high.


    ''Though it did get the job done'' She stared at the demons who had shocked expressions stered on their faces while their bodies were slowly melting until eventually, they were dead.


    The fight hadn''t taken that long, only a few minutes, it would have been much faster if they hadn''t been so resilient, even with her poison, it took them longer than it should have to melt.


    As thest of their bodies disappeared, the dome finally fell and what greeted her eyes was the sight of multiple mushrooms and fires all over the inner part of the city.


    She could vaguely tell from inside the dome that something was happening, as the fight had been going on, the demons were looking around for something.


    And it seemed like one of them did find something, however, shortly after, Amanda killed all of them.


    A few of the buildings fell, the citizens were screaming for help, it wasplete chaos.


    She could also see some kind of imp looking monsters all over the ground, they were all low level but the sheer amount of them was certainly troublesome.


    Amanda breathed out a deep sigh and descended from the sky.


    She was technically the leader of this city, and as one, she would protect its citizens.


    ''This is what I get for dozing off...''

 Chapter 88 Heading out

    [Michael''s POV]


    He was currently sitting under the sunny sky, it had been 5 whole days since he got here and the improvements were pretty drastic.


    To start it off, he now had a whole 40% progress towards the next tier, he felt significantly more powerful.


    It had gotten a bit difficult to increase his progress past a certain point, the system told him that it was only natural, his mana core was expanding and providing room for more mana to seep in.


    Added on to the fact that he finally received a skill from his cold exposure.


    Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    # You take 15% less damage from anything rted to the cold.


    It was nearly identical to the Heat Resistance passive skill, he just wished he could finallybine passive skills so he could get something good from this.


    ''Anyway..'' Michael stood up and waved off the heat that wasing from out of his body, it was way hotter than training in the cave, however, it was also more efficient.


    However, he decided it was time to finally leave, he was satisfied with the progress.


    Michael felt like if he were to train his remaining days here, he would, at maximum, increase it by another 15%.


    While it did seem like a lot, it would require him to be under direct moonlight or sunlight for many hours at a time.


    And quite frankly, he had grown a bit tired of it, he needed a break.


    Although he was being fully healed each time, the sensations never faded. Find more to read at empire


    Come on, do more.


    ''Fuck off, I have been at it for 5 days straight, I deserve a break too'' Michael said with a tired sigh and walked back to the cave, noticing Astraea preparing some kind of a meal.


    He looked forward to it, she tried cooking while he was training and surprisingly, it tasted delicious.


    Ever since then, she took up the duty of cooking the food, it was not like she had anything better to do.


    Orin still wasn''t out of his sulking phase, the conversations they shared were minimal and Michael did not try pressing him to change.


    Things like loss take time to heal, rushing him would only cause the scars to further affect Orin in the future.


    And as for Astraea, she seemed to be in deep thought most of the time, they were not talking much either.


    However, every time they did, Astraea showed more and more emotion, it looked like whatever memories were bottled up down inside her mind, were slowly resurfacing.


    ''Too bad I am not regaining anything'' Michael grumbled. He only had one memory of her, yet she seemed to be regaining more and more.


    It was strange, she wasn''t an open book either, he couldn''t exactly gauge her current personality, the only conclusion he coulde to was that she was overly curious.


    Michael walked up to the two of them and sat down, grabbing a piece of food before announcing "We are going to be leaving soon."


    Orin''s eyes seemed to light up while Astraea remained passive.


    "What will you do?" Michael asked Astraea, so far she had been apanying them, however, he was not sure what her ns moving forward were.


    For all he knew, she might have been a little lonely and wanted somepany while in the forest.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, if she was anything like how he observed then...


    "I will go with you" She said with a faint smile while staring into his eyes.


    Despite the usual look, her gaze looked warmer than he was used to, it even made his heart skip a beat.


    "Good... let''s see" Michael nodded and turned to the map, it looked like there was some sort of a city not too far away.


    But still, even if it wasn''t far by his standards, Orin was with them, he didn''t want to make the kid winded by traveling at very high speeds.


    Unlike the people up in the sky inds, Orin was weak, he couldn''t even feel his mana but if he were to guess, he was likely under level 10.


    Michael finally picked the destination and stood up "Astraea, are you sure you want to go with us?"


    "I want to go with you" She proimed and stood up with Orin by her side.


    They seemed to get pretty close over thest few days, maybe he saw her as some sort of a mother figure.


    She was, after all, making food and taking care of him, maybe that was a way for him to relieve his grief, by indulging in further delusion.


    But he wasn''t going to stop him, once they took him to the city, Orin would be taken care of and he could finally go back.


    ''I wonder when Amanda is going to call me.. shit'' Michael thought for a moment before freezing.


    He had forgotten all about his phone, it wasn''t military grade or anything of the sort so it must have melted along with his other clothing.


    The one thing he was d about was that he didn''t take the orbs he had gotten back at the temple, if he were to lose one of them it would have been bad.


    No, it wouldn''t have, the trials are connected to the system and the orb you used for concentrating your mana, you have been subconsciously doing it already, it was meant to be more of a beginner tool.


    ''Oh.. that''s good to know'' Michael felt relieved, but at the same time pissed, the phone he hadsted him for several years, even if he couldn''t use it much in the temple, it was still working.


    And it also had every single important contact he could think of, safe to say, Amanda would give him an earful.


    They didn''t waste any time and packed up whatever they had, which wasn''t much and headed for the city, it would take nearly a day of walking at their current pace.


    Astraea suddenly sped up and walked beside him with Orin in the very back.


    She looked forward, not making eye contact with Michael and said "Mik-Michael, do you remember when we met?"


    ''Is this some sort of a trick question?'' Michael thought for a moment beforeing to a realization, she must have remembered much deeper into the past than he could imagine.


    However, he doesn''t exactly know the answer to that question, he knew when they met this time though.


    "Nearly a week ago right in front of the forest, why?" He said while acting slightly oblivious.


    Her eyes became unfocused for just a moment before they returned to their usual clear silvery color "It''s nothing.."


    Michael could tell that she was a little upset, but what could he do? It was not like he could remember anything else.


    ''System, any tips?''


    Increase your synchronization rate.


    ''Do you remember what happenedst time? I don''t even know for how many years I was gone and it did not feel longer than a few hours, if Freya hadn''t cast that time stopping spell, I would have been screwed.''


    Time won''t pass if you do the trials directly through the system, that orb was only an imitation and my capabilities are the real deal, don''t worry about it.


    Michael paced forward while trying to hold a poker face ''You telling me to not worry about it, makes me worry about it more..''

 Chapter 89 Trouble On The Road

    ''...Again?'' Michael stared with widened eyes at the sight in front of him.


    A bunch of undead, less thanst time, however, they appeared to be a little bit stronger.


    It seemed like Astraea had noticed them as well, they were still a distance away, but they were heading straight for them.


    Before Michael could say anything, a small ck thread escaped from Astraea''s fingertips and headed straight for the iing undead.


    And in just a moment, they disappeared from the map.


    Michael''s eyes widened at the sight ''The hell was that?''


    Hmm... A special affinity of some sort, I can''t quite figure out what it is but she has at least two affinities.


    ''2 affinities? I thought you could only have one..?''


    Well, it''s mostly luck or because of a bloodline, I don''t have much information about Archangels besides the surface knowledge, I can''t assure you that you might have more, but there is certainly a chance.


    ''I don''t know.. they are written as some sort of beings of light, I doubt they have anything else going for them..'' Michael thought while looking at Astraea''s back.


    She went forward with Orin as if nothing happened, yet he had felt that those undeads were are the very least in the middle of Tier 1.


    Safe to say, they were fairly strong.


    Beings of light or not, they wouldn''t be called Archangels if they were the same as the other angels.


    ''I guess you are right..''


    As the group walked on, they finally got out of the forest, a small pathway was visible ahead, branching out in several directions.


    Michael nced at his map and made sure to follow the correct road.


    The others all led back to the forest for some reason, it seemed a bit strange but he was not one to nitpick medieval happenings.


    ''Well.. medieval might be a stretch'' He thought and remembered the people he saw back in the sky inds, they were organized and strong, technology would just be a quality boon for them.


    Orin seemed pretty calm ever since he left the forest, he expected the t surroundings to remind him of bad times, yet he seemed unphased.


    They followed along the road and came across a few buildings that looked abandoned, it almost seemed like they had gone through some type of catastrophe.


    The windows werepletely shattered and the houses were tilted in an unnatural way, it would fall under different circumstances, but for some reason, they aren''t.


    Michael was not sure why he was paying this much attention to simple architecture failures.


    You are not wrong to think that, the houses have very faint traces of mana.


    ''Huh?'' He stopped for a moment and focused more mana into his eyes, finally noticing what the system told him about.


    The houses were entirely covered in some sort of mana that he couldn''t quite gauge fully.


    Astraea stared at him with a confused look as she watched him walk up to one of the houses and ce his hand on the broken down wooden door.


    What are you doing?


    ''Give me a moment..'' Michael said as he slowly channeled his mana into the door, however, nothing happened.


    But he was not discouraged, as he began channeling the mana of his inner mana core and surprisingly, something did happen,


    Much like how he willed his mana to take shape, the faint mana surrounding the entire house solidified, the bent houses immediately turning normal.


    What was most surprising was that the windows which were previously broken, began repairing themselves.


    Until eventually, the house looked as good as new.


    While Michael expected something to happen, at most, he assumed the mana was going to solidify and destroy the housepletely, not fully repair it.


    ''Systempedia, you got any leads?''


    While he did say that sarcastically and was not expecting a serious answer, he was definitely not expecting total silence.


    ''You do know something, don''t you?'' Michael asked in a frustrated tone, however, the system quickly replied, its tone a bit off.


    Your journey continues with empire


    Shut up for a moment, I am trying to cross reference this to something, if it is what I think it is then you should probably head back.


    ''Tell me.''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    The system remained quiet for a moment before it replied.


    It might be a rift, it is simr to a dungeon but it''s more dangerous as instead of a small area, it''s like a whole different world filled with strong monsters.


    Michael tilted his head in confusion ''And this so called rift influenced these houses how exactly?''


    It forms by absorbing a lot of mana from the surroundings, it might have umted the mana of everything around here, causing the houses to get caught in the process.


    ''But you are not 100% sure?'' He asked for confirmation.


    I am 99% sure, I am just checking to see if thest 1% adds up.


    ''Well, good luck..'' Michael decided to leave it at that and went back to his group, earning a faint smile from Astraea.


    He didn''t know what might have been the cause for that smile, but he didn''t dislike looking at it.


    ''She is such a mystery...'' Michael sighed and rechecked his map, making sure they were really going on the right track, before turning his attention to the party.


    "Let''s keep going."


    They began walking once again while checking out the surroundings, even though it was fairly t, there were a bunch of beautiful white flowers scattered across the fields.


    Michael turned to look at Astraea for a moment before quickly looking away.


    ''Why am I avoiding her gaze...'' He thought before the system''s voice once again resounded inside his mind.


    Done, well, not really, I couldn''t figure out thest 1% no matter how much I tried.


    ''Then do you know what might be the cause for that 1%?''


    Hmm... yes, you see, the reason these two worldsbined with each other was because their mana matched a certain wavelength and a rift formed, however, instead of it leading into a world with dangerous monsters, it created a pathway from one world to another.


    ''I see... so on the off chance that it doesn''t connect to a dangerous location, it would connect to a different world entirely?'' Michael wondered, it seemed a bit too abnormal.


    Pretty much, the mana is being absorbed and a rift should form soon, whether it would be a different world or not, I am not sure.


    Michael listened intently before a thought popped into his head ''Say.. can you artificially speed it up? Like, provide your own mana?''


    Technically, you could, however, it must be mana that is the result of a fight, normal mana is pure, chaotic mana is what makes the absorption possible.


    ''What if someone has that type of chaotic mana as a result of their affinity?'' Michael dug deeper.


    That... yes, I see.. that''s the 1% I was looking for, I was only searching for natural causes, no wonder I couldn''te up with anything.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system and noticed a small city in the distance, it did not look as grand as Vivum, however, it was definitely not simple.


    Anyways, it takes ages for the rifts to open, just do what you want to do, you have been training for 5 days and walking for 1 and you still have 8 days of freedom before Amandaes.


    ''Oh.. right'' He face palmed as he almost forgot about her, he had to prepare enough so as not to go over the deadline, she was busy doing nothing, so she would definitely be strict with him.


    Michael nodded at the two behind him and proceeded to walk in the direction of the city, he just hoped his 8 rxing days stay rxing, he would prefer to not fight anyone.


    ''But knowing my luck.. it''s a bit unlikely..''

 Chapter 90 Redmere Orphanage

    Michael and the others finally arrived at the city, the walk did not take long as Orin''s mood became better upon seeing other people walking towards the city.


    It was great that he finally stopped sulking, Michael did not know what he would do if it continued like this even when he reached the city.


    They went inside the city without trouble, surprisingly, there weren''t any guards around, a safety mechanism might still be in ce somewhere.


    However, as he looked around, Michael could not feel anything at all, there wasn''t any grand barrier awaiting them, it seemed like the city had some other way of dealing with thieves.


    Michael proceeded to walk up to a random man and got their attention "Hello, could you redirect me to an orphanage?"


    The man looked up at him with his eyebrows raised "The heck is an orphanage kiddo? If you are looking for a pub, it''s that way" He said and pointed at the direction they just came from.


    ''Why is everyone so unreasonable?'' Michael grumbled to himself, this reminded him of the trial, every single person he met so far was either crazy or rude.


    Michael nced at Astraea and noticed she was ring at the man, however, the moment she saw him, her gaze returned to normal, not bearing any malice like she had just now.


    ''Can she read my mind..?'' He thought as a shiver ran down his spine.


    No.


    ''I didn''t mean it literally..''


    Michael inwardly facepalmed and turned back to the man.


    He was about to intimidate him, however, he noticed an ailment on the man, it was some kind of disease rted to the eyes.


    It would certainly exin him not exactly looking at Michael''s eyes, more so, his forehead.


    ''...I keep forgetting that I am also a healer'' Michael raised his arm and cast purify as well as a heal on the man, causing his eyes to regain rity.


    "W-What?" The man jumped up in surprise at the fact that he could now see clearly.


    Michael stared at him, not saying anything, clearly trying to imply that he wanted answers, not questions.


    "R-Right, the orphanage, it is by the adventurer''s guild.. that way" The man finally pointed in an actual direction and Michael left with his group, not saying anything.


    Good deed, nice.


    ''Yeah, wish I was so noble.. though why wasn''t he healed if only his eyes were the problem, aren''t there healers in this world?'' Michael wondered as they finally approached the orphanage.


    When the man said ''by the adventurer''s guild'', he lied, it was nowhere near, he was just d that his senses were stretched out to the max.


    And he also had the map, from the moment he stepped foot inside of the city, information slowly started appearing, it now disyed the location of everything, including the name of the city.


    It was Redmere, a pretty ominous name for such a lively city, nheless, an orphanage was an orphanage and Orin did not seem too against it either.


    If there was a way for Michael to take him along, he would, however, taking a frail child that high up could potentially kill him, he didn''t want to risk that.


    Plus, he doubted this would be hisst time in this world, he could alwayse back and visit him if he wanted, if he ran, he could get here within a few hours.


    Michael entered the orphanage and saw a few kids running around as well as the nannies, they all seemed cheery and rtively happy.


    Because of that, a small smile appeared on Michael''s face as he approached one of the nannies, exining Orin''s situation to her.


    She seemed shocked and stared at him with pity and tears in her eyes, Michael found it interesting that someone was willing to show so muchpassion for another.


    ''But I guess I am only alive because Reba saved me...'' He thought back to the past that he faintly remembered, it felt like most of his memories before he came to the body slowly went away.


    ''Not like there was that much anyway..''


    "Pleasee with me to meet the matron" The nanny said to Michael and the others.


    "Lead the way."


    ''System, just in case, but is anything off?'' He asked for rification, with his luck, he never knew what could happen.


    Nothing yet, though the matron or whatever has strange mana, I am not sure if she is human.


    ''Good to know''


    They headed down the hallways, passing by a few other nannies and kids, until eventually, they arrived in front of the matron''s door.


    Michael could immediately understand what the system meant, while the difference was faint, it was certainly there.


    The door opened by itself and he immediately met the matron''s deep red eyes and flowing white hair.


    Astraea let out a small ck thread out of her finger tips and it sped straight at the matron, however, much to everyone''s shock, before the thread could reach her, it was cut.


    "Calm down Astraea" Michael said to her and she nodded back at him.


    The matron dramatically raised her hands, as if gesturing surrender "You don''t have to be so cautious, I mean you no harm."


    ''How does she look ording to you?'' He asked the system and looked at her, trying to gauge her intentions.


    Rtively safe, well, besides being nearly Tier 3, just don''t recklessly fight her and the week might pass without issues.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Really good advice...''


    Michael remained cautious and asked "What is someone like you doing as the matron of an orphanage?"


    However, much to his surprise, she shot back "And what might you be doing going around killing vampires?"


    Although she said that in a threatening tone, he did not feel any malice.


    "It tried to kill me, so I killed it, now mind answering my question?"


    The matron seemed to be staring intently at Michael, that was until another thread shot past him and headed directly for the matron.


    However, just like before, the thread was severed before it even reached her.


    "Calm down girl, as I had already stated, I am not going to harm any of you or anyone at all for that matter."


    "...Don''t try anything funny" Astraea said and sat down in a chair by the side, she was averting Michael''s gaze. Experience tales at empire


    ''What''s with her today?''


    Maybe she got a violent portion of her memories back? Who knows at this point, my knowledge does not include womanly matters.


    ''No shit''


    She pointed at the nanny who had been standing by and shaking in her boots "Go back, nothing happened."


    Just as her wordsnded, the nanny, almost looking like a marite, walked out of the room, her previous look of fear and confusion gone, reced withpletely nk eyes.


    Michael was slightly startled as he noticed the mind controlling ailment on her, but it was a bit unusual, it looked like it would run out soon.


    And it did. The moment she exited the room, her expression returned back to normal and she gave them a small smile before departing.


    ''So vampires can control minds now?''


    To a certain extent, yes, but don''t worry, it''s pretty wed, your passive skill Discipline would negate it as it requires the target''s mind to be weak, yours can''t be weakened past a certain threshold so it would not work.


    ''Huh? Does that apply to all mind control type magic that could affect me?''


    No, you can still be affected if the target excels specifically in that field, this vampire clearly does not.


    ''I see..'' Michael returned his gaze back to the matron and met her deep red eyes.


    She pointed at the seat in front of her and moved it back with a thin line of blood.


    "Let''s talk, shall we?"

 Chapter 91 Redmere Orphanage (2)

    Michael sat down on the chair opposite to her and looked at her suspiciously, even if she wasn''t exactly evil, she just mind controlled someone in front of him.


    How could he not be cautious about that? What if she does this to everyone shees across, what if the only reason she became the matron was because of her inherent vampiric abilities?


    You are thinking too much about this, as she said, talk it out.


    ''Right..''


    As Michael was about to start asking questions, the matron spoke first.


    "My name is Lily, and you are?"


    "Michael, that''s Astraea, andstly, Orin" Michael introduced himself and the others in order.


    Lily finally took a breath of relief, she appreciated not having to fight over a misunderstanding.


    "I am the matron because I was selected to be as such, the higher ups already knew I was a vampire" She exined to ease Michael''s doubt.


    However, he was not convinced ''That sounds like bullshit.''


    "So out of all the people in this entire city, they chose a vampire?"


    "Exactly" She nodded absentmindedly, perhaps avoiding orpletely not understanding his question.


    However, he knew better than anyone that there was some deeper secret behind it, he could see it in her eyes.


    But it seemed like she could not talk about it.


    ''Anyway to check if someone is under an oath?'' He asked for the system''s advice, it would help confirm his suspicions


    Not really, oaths are made on the soul, you can''t see or feel that far yet.


    ''I see...'' Michael turned his gaze back to Lily.


    "Are there more like you? Vampires I mean."


    "Yes, though not a lot, we are seen as a threat by most" Lily replied with a solemn look and proceeded to exin in further detail.


    "You see... vampires have been portrayed by humans as some sort of bloodsuckers when in reality, we are just yet another race" She paused for a moment and continued.


    "That being said, some hold malice against us because we are part demon, part undead, we hold demonic powers as well as very long life spans, we pretty much can''t die from normal means."


    Michael could see the proud expression on Lily''s face, although they were hated, she seemed to be satisfied of what she was.


    However, the next words that came out of her mind shocked him as he didn''t expect this kind of development.


    "We, the vampires, wrote stories about ourselves at the start, trying to paint ourselves as just another race, yet the humans from the distant past were more evil than now, they stole our texts and published them." Explore new worlds at empire


    ''Oh.. I can see what she means by portrayed as bloodsuckers, they most likely changed to content of the stories.''


    That''s right, I have some knowledge regarding the past and some of the stories she is talking about, only a very small amount reached the light, yet it wasn''t able to make their situation any better.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael listened as she exined more about the vampires and how most of them don''t mean harm.


    The ones who do, suffered great prejudice under the humans and came to hate everyone, which coupled with their inherent bloodlust, proved to further damage their image.


    "Now then.. the vampire you killed, did it actually attack you first?" Lily asked with a tinge of doubt, even if most vampires weren''t exactly friendly with one another, a member of their race dying still made them cautious.


    Especially if the person in front of them was the one who did it.


    Michael thought for a moment before replying "I tried waking it-him up and he attacked me, I wasn''t confident in holding on until it calmed down so I had no choice but to kill i-him."


    She listened along with a neutral look, before nodding in understanding.


    "I see.. I can understand how someone as weak as you could not defend against a frenzied vampire.."


    Although she said that matter of factly, Michael felt as though she tried deliberately insulting him.


    And Astraea, thought so too apparently as she began standing up and stretching out her fingertips, however, Michael''s gaze calmed her down.


    "I apologize, if there was anything I could have done besides that, I would have, however, the undead made me pretty alert." He exined without thinking too much about it.


    However, her eyes widened in fury and the pressure in the room suddenly increased.


    "The undead? What do you mean?" She said in a threatening tone, making Michael unable to move.


    It felt as though his own blood was being controlled to freeze him in ce, it was unpleasant.


    However, he was not going to be intimidated, as he summoned a small shield behind her head and smacked her with it, causing her fierce expression to crumble.


    She did try sending a small amount of blood to intercept it, but due to the system''s parrying and her weak attack, he was able to pass by and connect his little attack.


    He didn''t mean any harm by it and she seemed to notice it too, as her eyes softened and she sighed.


    "Sorry about that, I lost myposure" Lily said and created tiny lines of blood to deflect Astraea''s thread attacks.


    "Astraea..." Michael facepalmed and turned his gaze back to Lily.


    "I found undead above the buried vampire, not sure what they were trying to do though." He exined and noticed the expression on her face turn sour.


    ''Does she know something about this..?''


    "They have been appearing all around the world randomly, those vampires are in cahoots with the undead, it''s been like this for many years now." She said while holding her forehead in frustration.


    ''Appeared? That''s exactly what happened back at the forest as well..'' Michael thought with suspicion and waited for her to borate.


    "All vampires are fundamentally the same, however, some are born and raised under.. different circumstances, those being among the undead or demons tend to be evil."


    As Michael noticed she was starting to gloss over the appearing part, he interjected "Could you tell me more about what you mean by appearing?"


    Lily looked back at him with slight confusion "You don''t know who the Lost are?" Her tone indicated clear suspicion.


    ''No clue..'' Michael couldn''t help but express some difort, Amanda warned him against telling others about his world.


    And it seemed like prettymon knowledge if she was reacting like this.


    "I.. forgot?" Michael said with a straight face as no excuse came to mind.


    "..." Lily was speechless but decided to exin anyway.


    "The Lost are those who suddenly appear out of nowhere, that is the only thing known about them, hence why it''s random, no one knows why that was happening..."


    "One moment they aren''t there, and the next they are, you can immediately feel them if you have your mana perception extended around you, but sometimes they can bypass it."


    "Though for a vampire to be lost... is certainly unusual, along with the undead at that.." She contemted out loud while Michael was simply paying attention to her.


    But she simply began repeating the words, trying to make sense of them, yet to him, it looked odd.


    ''Has she gone crazy?'' Michael thought with a raised eyebrow.


    As he saw that her stupor was not going away, he decided to simply introduce Orin, Lily did not seem like a bad person, at least not that he could tell.


    Michael got her attention and recalled how he found Orin and what happened after that, mentioning roughly where he found the vampire as well.


    "Yeah it''s no problem... here" She handed him a piece of paper to sign.


    ''Hmm..? Oh right'' Michael understood that Orin was most likely illiterate, so he wrote down all of the information about him that he knew and handed the paper back to her.


    Lily didn''t even give it a nce as she put it back on the shelf behind her and looked back at Michael.


    "I will be staying here for quite some time, if you need anything, don''t hesitate to visit."


    ''Hmm.. the conversation was pretty simple, though I expected to get a bit more out of it..'' Michael sighed inwardly and patted Orin''s head before heading out with Astraea.


    Just before he exited, Lily spoke up "Michael, friendly adviceing from a fellow vampire, but watch your back in this city, some might not be as reasonable as I was."


    "I''ll keep that in mind.." Michael gave Orin onest nce and finally left.


    His destination, the adventurer''s guild.

 Chapter 92 Adventurers Guild

    Michael and Astraea walked to the adventurer''s guild in silence, he was not sure if he imagined it, but it appeared like she was mad at him.


    Though he couldn''t recall what he had done to wrong her, they barely even spoke.


    Even upon arriving at the guild, she refused to talk, he even tried striking up a small conversation, but he was ignored.


    ''System.. can you analyze what I did wrong?''


    Hmm... I can''t find any problems, she might just be mad at someone else instead, maybe the vampiredy, would exin why they were fighting constantly.


    ''Could be..'' Michael replied with some doubt, he wished he had more memories back so he could remember Astraea, it did not feel good to be the only one in the dark.


    Well, look on the bright side, once you reach Tier 2, you can go through Ascension, you might gain some insight there.


    ''Does it work simrly to the trials?''


    Yes, though it shouldn''t be that grueling, it usually ys out a scene from your past... Never mind, it will probably be difficult.


    ''Wow.. thanks for the pep talk'' Michael rolled his eyes and walked up to the receptionist.


    The guild looked pretty much the same as the others he had seen before, for some reason they all followed along with the same style.


    "Hello, how could I help the two of you?" The receptionist spoke and Michael exined that he wanted to ept a quest of sorts.


    They were asked to provide some basic information about them before heading out to some type of examination site which seemed to have some target dummies strewn around everywhere.


    ''Why do I feel like the test from the trial was a bit more... straightforward?'' Michael wondered and the system quickly replied.


    It measured your mana, not yourbat skills, this one is the opposite, however, if you show you have talent with mana, it works just as well.


    ''Oh yeah.. that''s true.''


    Michael and Astraea were asked to show off their abilities while the receptionist gave their information to the examiner.


    "Michael, 14..? .. you go first, attack that dummy" The man pointed at a target dummy that seemed to be the most worn out of them all.


    He judged Michael based on his age, even when he didn''t exactly look it.


    Due to the stats he acquired when he first got here, his rate of growth had increased by a lot, obviously not to the point of him bing an old man faster.


    But it was enough to make him push past puberty and quite a while ago, he assumed it happened during his time in the temple.


    Even his voice had gotten deeper, he just hadn''t noticed at the time since he really didn''t have many people to talk to aside from Freya.


    Michael nodded at the examiner and walked up to the dummy, summoning a single Sword of Light and shing it down.


    It appeared like nothing happened, however, in the next moment, the dummy was perfectly split in half.


    He turned around to notice the examiner''s shocked expression and walked back next to Astraea.


    "R-Right, good job Michael, that was impressive. Next.. Astraea, you do the same but on this dummy." He pointed at a target dummy that looked a bit sturdier than Michael''s.


    And without even moving from her spot, she cut it in half, simrly to Michael.


    ''I just barely saw it..'' Michael sighed and watched the examiner drop their documents before quickly bending over to pick them up.


    "Y-You two pass, take this" The examiner handed the both of them green empty ques.


    "Head back to the receptionist with these, I wish I could give you a higher rank, but this is the most I can do, sorry" The examiner apologized and gave their documents back with a little stamp on them.


    "Thank you" Michael said and along with Astraea, headed back to the reception to finalize their Adventurer IDs.


    The receptionist seemed surprised upon seeing the color as it was definitely notmon for people to get something like that just from the test alone.


    ''Do you have the adventurer rankings for this world?'' He asked the system as the receptionist began filling out the documents with random stuff he couldn''t care less about.


    It goes from F to A, there is also an S rank but it''s very umon in this world. You got rank C, it''s considered the maximum you can get from the very start.


    ''Surprised they are just giving the ranks out like it''s nothing, I expected more tests toe, can just anyone get C rank then?'' Michael thought about it as destroying the target dummy was pretty easy.


    He doubted that he would have struggled with the one Astraea destroyed either.


    "There you go, all done" The receptionist took their documents but instead gave back the ques which were now containing both of their names.


    And right below them, the clear italic


    C Rank,


    it didn''t feel so bad, every single time he did adventurer stuff, it brought him excitement.


    "Can we start picking out the requests right away?" Michael asked the receptionist as he looked at the wall that contained all of the requests.


    Just like in his trial, they were all embedded in a wooden wall, being held up by miniature knives.


    The receptionist began exining with a small smile "Of course, just make sure the requests you are going to take don''t go 2 ranks above yours, the highest request you are allowed to take is B rank."


    ''Fair enough.'' Michael nodded at the receptionist and headed straight for the wall of requests.


    They all seemed pretty straightforward, the animal searching ones even made him chuckle a bit.


    However, as he kept looking through them all, he noticed that none fit his usual style, most of them were pretty simple.


    And surprisingly, there were barely any monster subjugation requests, the little ones there were, all belonged to the D rank or below category.


    Michael did want to rx, however, by ughtering monsters that could not even see his attacks, he would not grow.


    Even while cking off, he wanted to improve his skills.


    Michael finally gave up on finding something good and resigned himself to his fate ''It''s a dud.. where are the cat finding requests...''


    However, a small tug on his sleeve made him turn around, it was Astraea and she was holding up one of the requests in her hand.


    "Let''s do this one" She said and gave him the paper, letting him read it.


    ''F rank..?'' Michael looked back at Astraea with a tinge of doubt which made her eyebrows twitch.


    "Read it fully" She said while pinching his arm.


    Michael would have considered it yful had she not been much stronger than him, she could probably swing him around with that little pinch.


    "Fine.." He agreed and she loosened up, staring at him with expectation.


    ''House rebuilding request.. really?'' Michael thought as his doubt had not disappeared in the slightest.


    However, as he continued reading, his eyes widened.


    ''My items are randomly disappearing and my house looks twisted, can someonee fix it, I will pay with beer.''


    It sounded stupid to those who didn''t know anything, however, luckily, Michael managed to encounter a simr situation as this on his travels.


    The rift.


    ''Yeah.. in the city, at that, it sounds pretty serious'' Michael handed the request back to Astraea and nodded.


    That small gesture made a wide smile appear on her face before she quickly went to the receptionist and epted it.


    ''So the rift is dangerous right?''


    Right.


    ''But if it''s another world entirely, then it''s not?''


    If someone from that world is forcibly trying to enter this one, I can assure you that they don''t have the greatest of intentions.


    Michael watched as Astraea walked back to him with the request stamped and rolled up.


    She ryed what the receptionist told her, there wasn''t much information, just the general location of the request and of course, the prize of beer forpletion.


    ''I want to vomit just thinking about beer...'' Michael shivered and referenced the location to his map.


    He did that pretty quickly as the system managed to perfect its abilities further.


    ''Say.. the training, was that what you were referring to when you told me I would need to be alone and a have lot of free time?''


    Yes, however, there is another portion that you still have yet to do, it is a bit different and it would be best if the others do not know about it for now.


    ''Why? Can''t you just tell me then? What''s with the suspense..''


    All I am going to say is that it will be simr but different, in the end, it will produce the same result, that is, making you stronger.


    ''Fair enough..'' Michael sighed and followed after Astraea who went ahead.


    ''Why is she so fast...''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 93 Rift Activity

    ''So this is the ce?''


    The both of them were currently standing in front of the house which looked rtively normal.


    That was until he fully focused on it, only then did Michael notice the mana surrounding it.


    "Are you chaps here for a drink?" An old man walked out of the house with a bottle of beer in both of his hands.


    ''I see.. there have been people who came here before but left since they thought the man was just crazy.''


    "Are you the owner and the one behind the request?" Michael asked just to make sure, maybe this was some kind of an inn type house where people waddle in to get drunk.


    The man seemed a bit shocked to hear his words as his eyes widened slightly, putting away the alcohol gently onto the ground.


    "It''s been 3 years since thest person came, d they didn''t take down the request" The manughed out loud and walked over to Michael, extending his hand.


    "Please fix my fucking house this time."


    ''..What a spirited old man'' Michael put on a small smile and shook his hand.


    He did the same with Astraea and told the both of them toe inside.


    It looked pretty modest on the inside, no one would be able to tell that this man was likely an alcoholic.


    He took them to the living room and Michael noticed that it was the only room in which the mana was concentrated.


    Even without focusing, it was pretty obvious, after all, some of the items on the shelves were shaking heavily.


    "See what I got to deal with? And those guild fuckers keep telling me I got bugs in my house" The old manined and took down a vase from the very top shelf.


    "Look" He showed Michael and Astraea the inside, besides the nt, there were indeed no bugs.


    "Anyway, you kiddos want tea or something? I got alcohol too but I am low on it right now.. yeah pick between tea and water" The man said shamelessly and awaited their response.


    "Tea" Michael and Astraea said at the same time.


    The man nodded with a thumbs up and headed to the kitchen to prepare the tea, leaving the two of them alone in the living room.


    "Do you feel it?" Michael asked her as he extended his mana into the air, interacting with the disturbance.


    Though it simply swatted away his mana, either dissipating it orpletely ignoring it.


    Astraea tried using her threads to cut through whatever this mana was, however, she wasn''t able to either.


    ''Should I just solidify it..? Though this looks a bit different..'' Michael paid more attention to it, the concentration of mana seemed simr to the outside, it was just muchrger.


    And at the same time, it did not have a form, most of it was floating in the air and only a small part was interacting with the surrounding items.


    I am not sure if you should, it might or might not destroy this man''s entire house and that''s only the best possible oue.


    ''What''s the worst?''


    You open a miniature rift in this area, destroying much more than the house.


    Michael''s eyes widened ''But isn''t this going to open some time in the future anyway?''


    Precisely, the chaotic mana can''t be dispelled no matter what anyone tries, it has been forming for many years, possibly even decades.


    ''That''s not very reassuring, is there any way I can just close it before it, you know, destroys half the city?'' Michael asked, this is where he would leave Orin, he didn''t want any lethal loose ends.


    Suddenly, his Halo lit up the entire room, enclosing both him and Astraea in a ball of light.


    ''What the fuck is happening?'' He asked as he could feel the mana growing wild right outside the ball of light.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It wasn''t see through so he wasn''t exactly sure what was going on, but he assumed it was the worst case scenario, he was just being protected by the Halo.


    Well, I have good news and bad news.


    Michael recalled thest time the system said something like that and a shiver went down his spine.


    ''Tell me the ba- good news first.''


    Certainly, the city is fine.


    Michael expected a bit of a lengthier response, but now that meant that the bad news heavily outweighed the good news.


    The bad news is... well.. you got sucked into the rift.


    ''Fuck.''


    Michael tried stretching out his mana to somehow bypass the light barrier, however, it seemed to be futile.


    Don''t try, it''s the only thing protecting you from being ripped apart.


    ''Am I still not on the other side?''


    No, though you are close, just wait a few more minutes and the barrier will probably dispel itself.


    Michael couldn''t help but facepalm, while he was sort of considering attempting to go inside the rift, he was not going to go through with it.


    Yet here he was, probably traveling to his death, with Astraea.


    "..Michael?" She called out, confusion was clearly visible on her face.


    ''Well...'' Michael decided to tell her everything he knew about the rifts and what was happening to them right now.


    And as he finished, a frown formed on her face.


    "Do you know how we can get out?"


    ''System?'' He quickly asked.


    There should be a small rift in the area where you will appear, all you have to do is go through it and you will be back where you just were.


    Michael ryed what he just heard and all of a sudden the ball of light shook with cracks slowly appearing on it.


    ''That doesn''t sound too difficult... why do people not have much information regarding the rifts?''


    Oh, right, the small rift onlysts for 5 days, if you can''t find it until then, you will be stuck here forever.


    ''Do you mind starting off with that next time!?'' Michael eximed as thest of the cracks finally came together before breaking apart and revealing an area covered in snow.


    They couldn''t see far, even with their senses and mana spread out, it was a dud, the fog surrounding seemed like it was blocking anything and everything.


    As Michael was pondering his next move, he suddenly sensed a wave of mana approaching him, however, before he had time to react, Astraea cut it apart and sent it all around them.


    It was a fireball, odd to see despite the current weather they were in.


    However, what was the most strange was that the fire did not melt the snow, instead, it got put out upon impact.


    "Focus!" Astraea tapped his shoulder and blocked another attacking for them, it was beyond the fog and they couldn''t urately tell the direction as whoever was doing this, kept moving around.


    Nimbly at that, it almost seemed like there were multiple people, however, the attack always contained the same amount of strength, not changing in the least.


    Michael sighed at his terrible luck and cast Aegis of Light on both of them, shielding them from the iing hits.


    ''System, go parry them for Astraea as well'' He instructed and summoned hundreds of Swords of Light, all of them circling around the two of them.


    "Come out,st chance" Michael said calmly and for a moment, the attacks stopped.


    However, it seemed like all it was trying to do was charge up an even stronger attack, sending a massive ball of fire straight at them.


    ''So be it...''

 Chapter 94 Rift Activity (2)

    The massive fireball flew towards them, however, the moment it got close, Michael redirected it to the side with the help of Astraea who had greatly slowed down the attack.


    Just like the other fireballs, it connected with the ground and simply evaporated, not leaving even a single trace.


    Michael saw more of them appear and fly towards them and he decided it was finally time to use his Swords of Light.


    Stretching out his hands, he sent the attack all around the two of them, aiming to kill whoever was attacking them first.


    But much to Michael''s surprise, the attacks felt as if they were not traveling anywhere, only being lost in the dense fog.


    That, coupled with the approaching fireballs, confirmed his suspicions.


    ''System, what''s up with that fog'' Michael asked as he created a few shields around himself and Astraea while also still attempting to use his Swords of Light to prate the fog.


    You are in some kind of a formation, there are 2 ways to leave it, either brute force it out, or kill the caster.


    ''What''s a formation?''


    Think of it as a barrier that has a trap installed inside of it, the one who cast it can most likely see you clearly, hence the rtively urate attacks.


    Michael groaned out of frustration as the attacks were starting to get really annoying and repetitive.


    The one behind this did not seem too strong, maybe a little stronger than Michael, but definitely weaker than Astraea.


    But what made it such an annoying fight was their inability to do anything, Astraea was too preupied with splitting all of the attacks so Michael could redirect them.


    She could likely do it all by herself, however, he thought the mana drain would be quite massive.


    But they had to do something, else they were just sitting ducks, waiting to be eventually overpowered by the fireballs.


    And for that, Michael decided on brute forcing it, it would not prove troublesome for someone like Astraea to destroy a barrier 1 Tier below her.


    Or so he hoped "Astraea, I will hold off the attacks on my own for a moment, can you target a part of the fog with all your power? We could open it up if you do that." He exined and was met with a nod.


    Astraea stepped behind Michael and put both of her hands together, manifesting the threads like usual, however, this time they seemed to be made out of pure mana.


    The attacks came for them and Michael stacked his shields on top of one another, blocking the attack with only a few of his shields breaking.


    He turned around and noticed Astraea''s silvery eyes glowing, the threads of mana floating around her had greatly changed form, now fully solidified back into threads, however, now they were a different color.


    Instead of the usual ck, they were now pure silver and just from one look alone, he could tell the amount of power within them had exponentially increased.


    Michael blocked a few more fireballs and stepped back, not obstructing her view anymore.


    And that''s when it happened. Astraea simply stretched out her fingertips and silence immediately ensued.


    He couldn''t see the threads leave her, neither could he see what just happened.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was hard to process, however, as he looked towards one particr direction, he saw a very small hole in the fog, prating it all the way through.


    Michael could see her stagger a little bit, but before she fell, he caught her, standing her upright.


    "...Did I get it?" She asked in an exhausted voice, it seemed like she really did use all of her power for that one attack.


    ''That.. was something'' He was still a bit shocked, he couldn''t see anything or hear anything, in a mere moment she managed to break through the barrier.


    Better yet, the fireballs had stopped, she might have hit the one behind this too.


    Michael cast a few heals on her to relieve her exhaustion, he was not able to help restore her mana, but making her feel better was something he could certainly do.


    Before all of this, he was a healer after all.


    As he was in the middle of healing her, the fog suddenly began dispersing and they were finally able to see where they were.


    And more importantly, who had attacked them.


    Taking a look around, Michael noticed that they were currently on some sort of a mountain, he could see a few caves to the side and more importantly, the very peak.


    As for the thing that attacked them, it looked like some kind of red skeleton, though now it had a huge hole in its head from where Astraea had attacked it.


    It''s a Fire Wraith, odd to see it in a snowy area, they mostly roam around volcanoes.


    Michael nodded and looked around more, trying to spot anything that could be of use to the both of them.


    They, after all, had to get back within 5 days or they would be stuck here forever.


    He was just d that due to his training, he was not feeling the cold anymore, back in his world when he fought on the mountain he felt a bit chilly.


    And up here was considerably colder, yet he was fine, Astraea was too.


    Michael opened his map, trying to check if there would be anything, however, except the location mapped around them from the system''s perception, nothing else was there.


    What do you expect? It''s a rift, I have no clue where you are.


    ''Yeah, yeah, get to work on figuring that out.. anyway, where is the small rift you were talking about? Am I supposed to see it on the map?''


    No, I can only map out the general area, the mana from the snow and the surroundings is actively distorting my perception.


    Michael took another nce at the map and noticed many of the areas being nk as if filled in with random details.


    ''I see..''


    Michael looked to a nearby cave and signaled for Astraea to follow him.


    It was best for them to rest up, especially for her since all of her mana was practically gone.


    Added to the fact that this ce was unpredictable, he couldn''t see any dots indicating whether there were other monsters or not.


    The only thing he could see was the two of them.


    Michael smiled a little upon seeing the colors, they were both green, her color finally changed from the neutral yellow she had when he first met her.


    They walked inside one of the caves, it was rtively small, however, it was warm, a stark contrast to the coldness outside.


    Michael learned how to manipte the mana to make clothing, so he decided to make the both of them a warm golden coat.


    He had grown attached to the golden clothing he made, it suited his looks and it provided the same amount offort as normal clothing. Find adventures at empire


    And while neither of them felt the cold, it wasforting as the golden clothing made it feel like you were rxed.


    Michael did not know if it was a cebo, but nheless, he enjoyed it and it seemed like so did Astraea as she had a small smile on her face.


    "Astraea" He called out to her and she turned to look at his eyes.


    "Could you tell me a bit about yourself? I feel like we don''t know anything about each other" Michael asked with hesitation, he was not sure if she would ept sharing stories with him.


    But much to his surprise, she nodded.


    "Okay.."

 Chapter 95 Astraea

    On a cold dark night, a little girl was wandering about, her clothes inplete tatters.


    However, despite her appearance, she seemed unbothered by it, passing through the crowds of people until she finally arrived in front of the theater she always visited.


    The performance took ce once a week, and she had always attended for as long as she could remember.


    It was an outdoor type of theater performance, a few people were gathered to watch it, it was mostly the same people over and over again.


    However, each time she came here, there were less and less of them.


    But nheless, she continued to attend, as if entranced by the performance.


    ''It''s starting'' She looked on and her eyes lit up, a small smile appearing on her face.


    The curtains lifted to reveal two small toy figurines, a demon and an angel.


    Every single time she saw them, her heartbeat sped up, she did not know why, but she chased after that feeling, it made her empty self feel whole.


    The story portrayed a rivalry between the two figurines, they were named Astraea and Michael.


    ''Astraea...'' The little girl looked on, this particr figurine was portrayed as pure evil while the other, as some kind of a holy being of judgement.


    Yet deep down, she felt like this story was twisted, it did not make sense even as she heard it multiple times.


    However, that did not stop her from continuing to watch the performance, even though the figurines were shapeless, with only horns and wings stered onto them. She found the performance to be immersive.


    One figurine had two horns on its head, while the other had four pairs of wings.


    Her smile had not disappeared throughout the entire performance, in fact, she was the most eager out of all the people gathered.


    And like all good things, they muste to an end eventually.


    The performance ended, and unlike thest hundreds of times she watched it, something was different.


    And the other people seemed to notice it too, most of them wore sad expressions on their faces.


    However, the little girl could not understand what was going on. Why was the voice actor behind the figurines noting out?


    He always came out to greet the others and he always patted her head, but now there was only silence.


    The others began walking away, leaving the lone girl standing by and waiting for the man toe out and pat her on the head.


    Yet even as the seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, nothing happened.


    The figurines had not even been moved, they were still standing by one another.


    And the close proximity made her heart race once again, how could the two of them ever be enemies?


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    They looked perfect together.


    The little girl looked around, trying to see if anyone was around, and then quickly pocketed the two figurines before running away.


    She ran and ran, the smile not disappearing from her pale face, she finally had the two things that made her life less miserable.


    "Astraea... Michael.." The little girl kept repeating the figurines names as she finally got exhausted and plopped down near the alley where she had been staying since she could remember.


    She looked down on the puddle of water by the side and saw her own reflection. Her ck hair and silvery eyes were being clearly reflected.


    But the more she stared, the deeper her trance became.


    And in the next moment, she felt her spine begin to tingle, it was mild at first, however, it soon turned to something unbearable.


    She could not even scream since her throat hurt from the cold, her consciousness did not fade either so she was feeling all of the pain.


    It made her mind nk out, however, that onlysted for a moment, as the next, she noticed one of the figurines fall to the ground and break in half.


    The little girl looked on with tears flowing out of her eyes like waterfalls at her inability to do anything but endure the pain.


    Soon, the pain began dying down and she finally looked around herself, taking her eyes away from the broken figurine lying on the ground.


    She was left speechless by the sight in front of her, the once cozy little alley turned into nothing but rubble that surrounded everything around her.


    However, she could not care less about that as she reached her little hands for the figurine on the ground, trying to reattach the two parts.


    But she failed, instead, she identally broke off the wings and the head, her strength shouldn''t have been enough to do that.


    Yet as she stared at the broken figurine, she couldn''t help but let out a muffled cry.


    "Michael..."


    She remained quietly crying for a few moments before checking up on the remaining figurine in her pocket, it was still safe.


    However, upon taking it out, she noticed the two horns had broken off, but she was not as sad, at least it was intact.


    But now that everything had finally set in, she began to panic at the sight around her. She was not sure how she managed to survive.


    Initially, she thought that someone purposely dropped a bunch of rocks on her, it wouldn''t have been the first time someone tried that.


    However, that was not the case, as she could see the buildings right above her perfectly cut in half with some people even looking down from them.


    ''What happened..?'' The little girl looked confused as she put the broken figurine of Michael and Astraea inside her pocket and climbed her way out of the rubble, eventuallying out of the alley.


    But much to her surprise, the surroundings were not fairing any better, she could see a bunch of things cut in half, whether it was buildings or carriages, nothing was spared.


    And as she looked around, a look of horror appeared on her face.


    In front of her were some of the people who used to watch the small performance with her.


    However, now they were not whole, their bodies dismembered as if by some kind of demon.


    The little girl trembled in ce before running away, she could not bear the sight of whoever had done this.


    Due to her moment of panic, she didn''t really see that there were people in front of her, so she bumped into them, causing them to fall to the ground lifeless.


    Yet she was not paying attention to that, all she wanted to do was run away, run away from the horror that she had just witnessed.


    Not only were her figurines ruined, but also the people she had known for a long time died.


    ''No... Michael.. Astraea.. what should I do..?'' She kept repeating those words inside of her mind as she finally reached her destination.


    That was the little outdoor theater that she watched every week, yet for some reason, the atmosphere around it was not what it used to be.


    There were 2 words stered on a small sign in the very front, yet she couldn''t read them because she never learned how to.


    However, a man who had been passing by saw her and approached her.


    "It says closed indefinitely, kiddo, meaning it won''t be open anymore, too bad, apparently they ran out of funding."


    However, the little girl showed no reaction, instead, she looked at the sign with nk eyes.


    ''..Closed forever?''N?v(el)B\\jnn

 Chapter 96 Astraea (2)

    ''Closed..''


    ''Forever..?''


    The little girl still could not believe what she was seeing in front of her eyes.


    ''Why... Astraea.. Michael.. why is this happening?'' She fiddled with the figurines inside of her pockets and noticed that Michael''s figurine had crumbled further.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The man from before left quite a while ago, the only one left was the little girl in what seemed to be a now empty street.


    She could hear some shouts and screams in the far off distance, however, she did not care anymore, it did not concern her.


    Just as the little girl was about to pull out the two figurines, she heard a voice from her side.


    "You caused quite the stir, haven''t you?" It was another woman dressed in fully ck clothing.


    "Hello, miss?" The little girl kept up her etiquette, even though she was homeless, she made sure to learn from others how to be kind.


    Especially to those older than you as this woman looked to be in herte 30''s.


    "Name''s Evelyn, what do you think ofing with me?" The woman ignored the little girl''s kindness and offered her a deal she would find difficult to refuse.


    Evelyn looked fairly wealthy, her blue eyes shining like the stars in the night sky.


    ''Oh.. it''s already time for bed'' The little girl thought, however, she soon noticed some irregrities.


    ''I don''t feel cold anymore?'' She checked around her entire body, making sure that everything was intact.


    The little girl dismissed her own confusion and looked back at Evelyn "Miss, I am sorry, but, why would Ie with you?"


    She found it quite strange, she always came around here and no one wanted to take her in.


    So why now?


    However, the next words that came out of Evelyn''s mouth sounded cold "What choice do you have?"


    ''What?'' The little girl stepped back as a bad feeling started welling up inside her chest.


    "No, no, you seem to have misunderstood" The woman chuckled and pointed behind the little girl.


    And upon turning around, she saw a bunch of guards running around, screaming and looking for something, or maybe even someone.


    "They are looking for you."


    The little girl turned back to Evelyn with a confused expression clearly stered on her face "Why?"


    "Hm? Do you not remember what you did?" It was the woman''s turn to be confused.


    ''..What I did?'' The little girl grasped the two figurines tighter, further crushing Michael.


    However, she was not able to notice at the moment, she was too preupied trying to make sense of this situation.


    Evelyn sighed and walked up to the little girl before crouching down.


    "You killed them."


    ''I... Killed them?'' Those words made her heart race as she grasped the figurines even tighter, hearing a small crunch.


    "I was walking by when I saw a bunch of threads appear out of nowhere and then out of nowhere, heads fell in front of me, color me surprised when I realized you were the one behind it."


    Evelyn sounded proud instead of terrified which further confused the little girl.


    "W-What do you want from me!" The little girl began stepping back rapidly.


    However, even she herself was surprised by the speed at which she was stepping back, it seemed impossible for her frail body.


    Evelyn just watched on silently, an ever-growing smile on her face.


    The little girl began running around at speeds she was previously not capable of running, it made her feel excited.


    ''Michael, Astraea, are you seeing this?'' She stopped and excitedly pulled the two figurines out of her pocket.


    And the moment she did, her previous mood waspletely ruined, despair was starting to kick in.


    The figurine of Michael had managed topletely turn to dust, meanwhile, the figurine of Astraea was perfectly fine.


    It seemed strange how that was even possible considering they were in the same pocket.


    However, even though one survived, the other did not.


    ''Michael...'' She sniffed, tears slowly welling up in her eyes.


    "Girl... stop.. I will get you more of those figurines if you want any, all you have to do ise with me." The woman said while stretching out her hand.


    She was on the verge of tears, but the thought of once again having Michael back by her side, made her stop thinking.


    "Okay.." She grabbed the woman''s hand and suddenly, they were no longer in front of the theater.


    Instead, they were in front of some sort of mansion, much bigger than anything the little girl had ever seen.


    Evelyn took the both of them inside and sat the little girl down on afortable chair, however, despite her fatigue, she did not want to sleep.


    "Girl, I will make you those figurines, in exchange, won''t you assist me with some personal matters?" Evelyn said with a small smile.


    ''Figurines..'' The little girl absentmindedly nodded, ignoring the part where she was basically signing off her freedom.


    "Good, very good!" Evelyn startedughing hysterically, her previous mask had fallen off, now it was the real her.


    "I will train you well, I will make sure to put your skills to good use..." She said ominously, but to the little girl, it sounded like a pretty good deal.


    She gets to have her friends back and all she had to do was work around the house? Who wouldn''t take this deal?


    "Anyway, girl... no, what should I call you? It''s getting a bit annoying to keep calling you ''girl'' " Evelyn''s hystericalughter stopped as she put on her previous mask.


    ''Name..? I don''t have one..'' No one had ever given her a name, she was alone for as long as she could remember.


    The only friends she had were the two figurines.


    Michael and... "Astraea" She said out loud without even noticing.


    "Astraea? What a beautiful name" Evelyn started nodding before calling out for one of the maids toe by.


    "Get Astraea here some new clothes and draw her a hot bath" She said and the maids quickly got to work.


    ''Astraea... I am.. huh?'' The little girl suddenly became wobbly, her head felt as if it was splitting apart.


    The pain wasn''t as bad as she felt back in the alley, however, it was still no joke.


    However, she could not tell what was going on this time, the pain felt senseless.


    And soon after, it quickly disappeared, with the little girl now staring directly at Evelyn''s eyes.


    ''Greed?'' A thought went through her mind before her eyes widened.


    It felt like someone else was inside of her mind, but she did not dislike that feeling, it didn''t exactly feel foreign.


    Instead, it felt familiar, it brought her peace.


    However, that peace was short lived as in the next second, another burst of pain shot through her head, and this time, she could see some memories appear in her mind.


    They were little and barely noticeable, however, to her broken mind, they were like clear pictures she could finally cling to.


    And in some of those pictures, she saw herself, or more specifically, an older version of herself.


    She was standing somewhere in a ce that seemed nearly unidentifiable.


    And right next to her was a man whose face she could not see, however, the emotions were strong enough to be felt.


    Love, obsession, and all kinds of other emotions that she could feel.


    And the only other thing besides the memories that she had gotten was a name.


    It was a name that she was ever so familiar with.


    ''Michael...'' The little girl called out in her mind as she looked at the man in front of her older self.


    However, much to her surprise, the man disappeared, with only her older self remaining, now staring directly at her.


    The longer she stared, the more memories she gained, they contained experiences, knowledge, and much more she could put to use.


    But as she was starting to get immersed, her older figure disappeared, reced with an empty and nk space.


    However, unlike before, she now had some of the memories to fill the nk space, memories that were now hers.


    The memories reyed her childhood, it was simr to hers, yet it deviated in some paths, giving different oues.


    Yet, at the very end, everything aligned, Astraea was the little girl, and the little girl was Astraea.


    However, before she could finish watching the rest of these new memories, the maids walked in with a bunch of clothes, cing them down on the table in front of her.


    Evelyn smirked "Take your pick, Astraea.."

 Chapter 97 Astraea (3)

    It had been a week now since she first arrived at Evelyn''s mansion.


    Her room was massive and the food she ate was way better than the bread others gave her.


    ''Mana..'' Astraea looked at her hands, ever since attaining those memories, she learned to wield it, albeit slightly.


    She also understood that what happened to her seemed to be a bit abnormal.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Normally, one goes through a long process of obtaining enough mana, then they finally form their mana core.


    However, in her case, shepletely skipped that and now had a Tier 1 mana core, which from what she could tell from her memories, had never happened before, she was the only one who this happened to.


    That, added to the fact that the memories contained how she used to fight, it was a battle style utilizing threads, something that she was able to conjure up now.


    The memories also began assimting inside of her mind, most of them were normal, providing rity and how her older self lived.


    She still couldn''t believe that she was Astraea, the one whose story she had heard so many times.


    And finally, she could confirm, it was false, the person behind the performance did not know what they were talking about.


    ''She... I was not evil'' Astraea pouted and finally arrived in front of a door.


    Apparently, her training was supposed to start today and Evelyn would be there to oversee it.


    She was quite confident in herself and her ability to use the mana, while she wasn''t exactly the best, she was definitely not the worst.


    Opening the door, a man wearing fully ck tight clothing greeted her eyes and on the very side, Evelyn, who was sitting down on afortable chair, sipping some kind of drink.


    The training grounds were fairly spacious, the sun was visible high above, it seemed to be the outdoor type of field.


    "It took you a long time to get here, Astraea, were you in the kitchen again?" Evelyn asked as her gaze was directed towards the crumbs on Astraea''s mouth.


    "No..." She wiped her mouth, she might have taken a cookie or two on her way to training.


    Evelyn just simply stared at her, sipping the drink before gesturing something to the man dressed in ck.


    And the moment she did so, the man disappeared from Astraea''s vision, her unheightened senses slightly tingling.


    But she couldn''t react, she knew how to in theory, but her body was just not fully adjusted yet.


    ''Wher-'' Her thoughts were interrupted as her body was mmed into a wall, her consciousness slightly fading.


    "Jared, I told you to go easy on her" Evelyn said in a threatening tone before throwing her drink right at the back of Jared''s head.


    "Sorry mistress..." He replied and wiped away the shattered ss before heading over to Astraea and lifting her up.


    However, upon seeing her eyes, both he and Evelyn were left surprised.


    They held deep malice, such malice that would note from a mere child.


    ''I''ll kill you...'' Astraea''s eyes began glowing a radiant silver before threads started appearing all around her, the pure ck color was dominating the surroundings.


    The threads did not seem sharp and were quite visible, however, Jared''s senses were screaming at him to not go near her for now.


    ''I''ll kill y-...'' Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted as she saw the sun high above.


    It seemed to remind her of something, a memory dwelling in her heart.


    ''Michael..''


    However, as Astraea was lost in her thoughts, a kicknded on her abdomen, this time it was much weaker, to the point where it seemed like a joke.


    Evelyn noticed this and said with a scoff "Jared, that is too weak, can''t you find something in the very middle?"


    "Yes mistress" He eximed and sent out another attack, it was much weaker than his first, but at the same time, much stronger than thest.


    However, Astraea was able to react this time, dodging with small steps to the side.


    But just as she let her arrogance get to her, another strike came down,nding on her shoulder and knocking her down.


    "Ow.." Astraea grasped her shoulder with a few tears in her eyes, even if she had the memories of her older self, it would take a while for them to fully assimte.


    For now, she was just a young girl with an adult''s memories, that''s it.


    "Mistress, are you sure about this?" Jared turned to Evelyn with a hesitant look, while his profession dealt withbat, hurting children did not exactly put a smile on his face.


    "She will be one of you in the future, if you don''t want a burden, train her well."


    ''What are they talking about?'' Astraea was a bit confused at the interaction, at first she did think that her job would be around the house.


    However, she was not as naive as she was a week ago, she could realize Evelyn''s hidden intentions.


    Her mind just couldn''t quite figure out what, the man was abatant, was she going to be some sort of a mercenary?


    While she was lost in her thoughts, the two of them finally finished discussing their matters.


    "Astraea" Evelyn called out to her to get her attention.


    "Don''t stop training with this man until he acknowledges you, alright?" She said in a kind voice, a stark contrast to her earlier tone.


    "Okay?" Astraea simply nodded, she did want to grow stronger, if by fighting him she could, then that would be ideal.


    "Good, I wish you luck."


    -----


    Astraea was now 15, her so called training was finally finished as she managed to kill Jared.


    ording to him, that was the only way to make him acknowledge her.


    ''What an idiot'' She thought with a frown, her older self''s memories finally assimted within her, it happened a few years ago.


    And when it did, her strength had begun growing rapidly, evening close to beating Jared once or twice.


    However, her previous thoughts of this little side job being a mercenary job were now long gone.


    They were training her to be an assassin.


    But she was no idiot, nor was she naive, if she didn''t want to do something, she wouldn''t.


    Astraea turned to the side, ring at a certain pir in the distance "You cane out now."


    "How did you know?" Jared came out with a small chuckle, his head that she lopped clean off was now intact.


    And the body on the ground was still there, it seemed like he used some kind of cloning ability.


    "Your mana reeks, it''s not very hard to notice you" Astraea said in a neutral tone. Although this man was a good assassin, her senses were better.


    "Ouch" He sarcastically held his heart as if what she just said hurt him.


    Astraea rolled her eyes and was about to speak up, but in the next moment, the doors of the training ground opened.


    And a person who she hadn''t seen in a long time finally arrived, it was Evelyn.


    Due to her having some duties to attend to, she was not always present at the mansion.


    Thest time they met was 2 years ago.


    She nced at Astraea then turned her gaze to Jared "I assume she is ready now?"


    "Yes, mistress."


    Evelyn''s smile beamed up as she began walking over to Astraea "Long time no see, are you up for a mission?"


    ''A mission? I will have to go kill somebody?'' Her eyebrows twitched as she did not exactly want to do anything that went against her moral code.


    "Don''t worry about the small details, all you have to know is that the person who you are tasked with eliminating is a scumbag who exploits other''s weaknesses" Evelyn said in a serious tone and took out a small document, handing it over to Astraea.


    She read it over and nodded, her face filled with disgust ''This definitely fits the type of person I don''t mind killing..''


    "When can I set out?"


    Evelyn looked over to Jared and nodded, before turning her gaze back onto her.


    "Now."

 Chapter 98: Astraea (4)

    A/N: Trigger warning. You might find the scenes a bit disturbing.


    *


    ¡¯Is this really the ce?¡¯ Astraea frowned while staring at what was below her.


    A brothel, she was told to go as soon as possible so she did not waste any time, despite it being day, she was confident in killing someone like... that.


    ¡¯Rowan, 28, scumbag, dead or alive (preferably dead)¡¯ She read over the request a bit more and sighed.


    The other details that were written down were too disturbing to even read out loud.


    Evelyn herself was disgusted, and that said a lot considering she was the leader of this little assassin group, she must have seen far worse.


    Astraea had learned how to disguise herself, one of the tricks she liked the most was changing her eye color, even people she used to know failed to recognize her.


    It made little sense how a small posture change and different eye color could make that big of a difference, but she was not going to question it, it worked, that¡¯s all that mattered.


    She changed her eye color to blue, ones that looked nearly identical to Evelyn¡¯s and hopped onto the roof of the brothel.


    Even if she wasn¡¯t exactly known around here, if someone managed to catch a glimpse of her, it would be easier to throw them off.


    After all, it was her first mission ever, she wasn¡¯t exactly a seasoned professional.


    Jared, however, was. He only taught Astraea the basics of assassination, such as where to aim to kill somebody and how to hide if needed.


    From what she gathered, he was at the very peak of Tier 1, nearly Tier 2, not exactly a huge powerhouse but due to his technique, he was quite formidable.


    However, Astraea was the bane of all assassins, she could simply cover the area around her in threads, if someone steps on any one of them, their legs get cut off.


    She stretched out her mana and tried finding the man called Rowan, though her senses picked up quite a lot more, sending shivers down her spine.


    But eventually, she found him, he was surprisingly alone lying down on the coach of the middle floors.


    Astraea used mana to make herself stick to the buildings, that¡¯s yet another trick Jared had taught her.


    She did not feel anyone tracking her so she slowly removed the frame of the window using her threads, carefully cutting it apart and cing it down on the ground.


    Jumping in, she reced it, sewing the window frame up with her threads so no one felt the breezeing in.


    Astraea took another look with her senses and Rowan was still lying down, the whole floor aside from him waspletely empty.


    It felt too perfect, but she wasn¡¯t going toin.


    She silently walked up to him and noticed the stench of alcoholing off of him, it was overwhelming.


    ¡¯Disgusting..¡¯ She used mana to cover up her nose, the smell was making her want to vomit.


    Astraea continued looking at the man with a slightly confused expression.


    ¡¯How does someone so weak manage to be so evil?¡¯


    Rowan was much weaker than her when she first attained her mana core, it felt like a small push would be enough to kill him.


    ¡¯What goes through that little head of yours?¡¯ Astraea summoned her threads and gently wrapped them around his neck.


    She began slowly tightening them and the man suddenly opened up his arms, iling around like some kind of fish.


    "P-P-Leas-e" He said with bated breaths as his entire face began turning purple


    "Please? Really?" Astraea couldn¡¯t help but let out a small chuckle at the man¡¯s begging.


    After everything he has done, he wants to be spared?


    "Could you tell me why you did all those horrible things?" Astraea asked with mild amusement, she was going to kill him anyway, she just wanted to figure out where he gets this kind of gall.


    Continue reading at empire


    She released the threads just enough for him to be able to speak.


    "You bitch! Do you even know who I am? I will have you beheaded!" Rowan began shouting at her while attempting to stand up but failing.


    "Answer my question" Astraea said in a stern voice as she wrapped her threads around his legs a bit tighter, finally drawing blood.


    "How dare you order me around!" He attempted to swing his fist at her but just as it was about to reach, she split his hand into two parts.


    Astraea wanted him to experience the pain he inflicted upon others, her thoughts were the same as her older self.


    Bad people must be punished.


    "AAAAH!" Rowan began screaming and thrashing around, trying to hold his split-into-two hand together.


    ¡¯Is this really all that he amounts to?¡¯ She watched him in silence as the supposed scumbag who ruined other people¡¯s lives was now a simple ant under her feet.


    "Do you even know what you did wrong?" Astraea asked but the man was too preupied with his hand to hear what she was saying.


    ¡¯How useless..¡¯ She used her threads to zip up his arm, returning it to its former condition.


    N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Jared taught her some first aid and she was able to implement them in a way that suited her style.


    "Can you talk now?"


    Rowan turned to look at her with a frightened expression, he was no longer throwing out any more threats.


    "W-What do you want from me!?" He shouted while trembling, the pain he felt a moment ago was still vivid inside of his mind.


    "Tell me, what do you think you did wrong?" Astraea asked with herst bit of patience.


    Rowan seemed bewildered by the question as if it was his first time considering what he had done wrong.


    "I drank too much alcohol?" He said with a small frown, however, a sudden jolt of paining from his left leg made him panic again.


    Rowan looked down and saw it had been cut off cleanly at the knee.


    "Wrong" Astraea said in a threatening tone and lowered one of her five fingers.


    "Bitch! I don¡¯t know okay!? I jus-" His protests were cut short as pain spread throughout his other leg.


    Astraea lowered another finger "Wrong."


    "Hey what the fu-!" Rowan was not able to finish his sentence as one of his arms plopped down onto the ground.


    And with that, only 2 fingers remained raised "Wrong."


    Rowan now only had his single arm remaining, the one which she first cut into, however, she seemed to have removed the threads, opening it back up.


    "AAAAAAAH!" The pain was intensified due to his already present injuries.


    ¡¯I think that¡¯s enough..¡¯ Astraea sighed at the sight, she might have gone a little too far.


    "I hope you are not so trashy in your next life."


    With those words, she tightened the invisible thread around his neck, decapitating him.


    Astraea did not linger for long as she went out the same way she came in, through the window.


    She jumped out and climbed back up to the rooftop as that was where Jared told her to meet him after the mission was finished.


    He didn¡¯te with Astraea since he wanted her to have a bit more in-depth experience.


    "I see you had your fun?" He asked with a raised eyebrow while staring at her blue eyes and the blood-covered ck clothing.


    "Not really" She shrugged. The man was a scumbag through and through, it was impossible to even reason with him.


    It felt just like breaking a target dummy, well, with the added blood of course.


    ¡¯Michael.. I wonder what you would think of me now?¡¯ Astraea thought while looking at the sun above.


    Every time she did that, she felt rxed, it felt as though her memories were getting clearer and clearer.


    "Anyways, this is the first of many missions, I hope you are up for them" Jared chuckled and patted her on the shoulder before jumping down the building and disappearing into thin air.


    ¡¯First of many huh...? I wonder how long will I want to keep doing this...¡¯

 Chapter 99: Astraea (5)

    "Happy birthday."


    Astraea stared at the cake with the number 17 sitting atop of it, she had officially been doing assassin work for thest 2 years now.


    This made it a total of 7 years since she had first arrived at this mansion as well.


    However, for some reason, she had a bad feeling this time, unlike her previous birthdays, Evelyn was currently present.


    And to add to that fact, she was the only one.


    Usually, there were some maids and other servants, sometimes even Jared swung by to wish her a happy birthday.


    But this time, the moment she woke up, Evelyn sent the maids toe get her.


    And that¡¯s where she currently was, in Evelyn¡¯s office, with a small cake in front of her.


    "What¡¯s the asion?" Astraea asked while eyeing the cake, it had a small and barely noticeableyer of mana inside of it.


    ¡¯Is she trying to poison me? Is this some sort of a prank?¡¯ Your next chapter awaits on empire


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "I want you toplete a special mission for me, you think you can do that?" Evelyn said while maintaining her smile.


    The mood looked pretty warm to an outsider, however, to Astraea, something felt wrong.


    "What is it?" She went straight to the point, holding herself back from eating the cake, she loved sweets after all.


    But, putting that aside, the cake contained something she definitely did not want to put in her body.


    Evelyn smirked and passed her a document, it contained some kind of a seal she had never seen before.


    Astraea suspiciously picked it up and read through it, her frown deepening as she read on.


    "You do remember what kind of missions I take right? This is not for me" She passed the document back, as the years went by, her moralpass hadn¡¯t cracked for even a moment.


    She would brutally kill the scumbags and murderers, it was not that she enjoyed it, Astraea just hoped that by doing so, she could send a message.


    A message stating that she was always watching them.


    But even after this, there were bound to be helpless idiots who slipped through the cracks and did continued on with their bad deeds.


    But it never went unnoticed, she came around and killed them just like the rest.


    Evelyn frowned as she looked at the document in front of her "Do you not understand that you are nothing more than a hired gun? All you have to do is ept the request and go through with it."


    "No, I already told you multiple times that I would never ept any requests like that, and I am going to hold true to my word" Astraea shot back and turned around, heading for the door.


    However, a sudden chill ran down her spine as she felt an intense cold creep up her neck.


    "Is that really your answer?" Evelyn¡¯s emotionless voice came from right behind her, she managed to stand up and appear without her even noticing.


    ¡¯This woman..¡¯ Astraea sighed, she remembered a fair share of unreasonable people her older self had encountered.


    She finally snapped "Listen... You want me to ughter an orphanage, and for what? So some rich kid¡¯s funding goes away? Are you taking me for some kind of monster?"


    The mission requestee was some VIP ording to the document, and from what Astraea could tell, that person had some kind of rtionship with Evelyn.


    Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be acting like this, even though Evelyn was not the softest tool in the shed, she protected her own.


    Astraea was one of her own, yet she was currently being forced to ept this ridiculous mission.


    Evelyn had remained quiet during her outburst, however, the pressure she emitted kept increasing, before it suddenly dispersed.


    "Astraea... the client personally requested you, the power they wield over our organization is too great for either of us to refuse..." She said in a grave tone before continuing.


    "So I will give you two choices. The first, ept the mission andplete it to the best of your abilities."


    Astraea immediately shook her head at those words, not even waiting to hear the second choice.


    However, Evelyn ignored her "The second choice is for you to leave the organization and be hunted down. With my power, I could stall for at most a day.. That is all."


    ¡¯Oh..¡¯ Astraea¡¯s eyes widened at her words. Even though she knew there wouldn¡¯t be a good oue, she certainly did not expect to be hunted down.


    "Can¡¯t Jared ept the mission.. or anyone else from the group..?" Astraea asked with a tinge of hope, after all, she had grown attached to this little deviant assassin family of hers.


    On the outside, they were an organization, on the inside, however, they were a small group of 10 people in total.


    And she considered all of them family, Evelyn included.


    "Astraea... please make your choice."


    ¡¯...Damn it¡¯ She wished there was some kind of situation inside of her mind, one that could get her out of his predicament.


    However, ever since a few years ago, she stopped regaining memories, even looking up at the sun barely worked, it would take her a whole month to recall just a simple fragment.


    ¡¯Michael... where are you?¡¯


    As she was lost in her thoughts, the expression on Evelyn¡¯s face shifted to one of surprise and she quickly instructed Astraea.


    "Run! Don¡¯t think ofing back here or I will kill you myself!" She shouted, and suddenly, the building began shaking.


    Evelyn used her mana to make a massive hole in the wall and grasped Astraea, using her full force to throw her as hard as she could, not saying any other final words.


    "Wai-" The surroundings began shifting around Astraea, she still had not grasped how strong Evelyn was, however, for her to use this much strength so precisely, she had to be very strong.


    She flew for a solid 30 seconds before eventually crashing into a mountain, in the distance she could still see the city where she had stayed all of these years.


    And suddenly, a few small fiery mushroom clouds began towering into the sky, they were spread out across the entire city.


    Or so it seemed anyway, but they were alling from the fake assassin branches Evelyn had set up.


    Astraea¡¯s eyes began hurting from the amount of mana she had infused into them, zooming in tens of kilometers was quite taxing, even for her.


    ¡¯Why... who? Who did this?¡¯ She was shocked to the core, it all happened so fast, one moment she was ¡¯celebrating¡¯ her birthday, and the next, she was watching everything burn before her.


    "Evelyn..." Astraea called out, she was on the verge of tears, however, a sudden wave of mana startled her out of her thoughts.


    It came from the city and it was definitely not friendly, she could clearly feel the malice.


    Her instincts immediately kicked in, using her threads and the mountain as a slingshot, she sted away, moving even further from the city.


    The presence she felt had begun disappearing the further away she got, and eventually, it was fully gone.


    Astraea made the threads around herself turn into a little glider, making her able to fly for a short distance.


    Below her was a grassy in, but she didn¡¯t exactly know where she was going, after all, she was not a massive fan of learning.


    It was a pain learning to read and write, the other lessons besides math hadn¡¯t really stuck with her either.


    But now she was starting to regret not even trying to learn, some knowledge was better than none.


    Astraea took onest nce behind her, the mountain was now very far away, she could barely see it.


    ¡¯I wille back...¡¯ She said resolutely before returning to flight, she could use her mana to propel herself upwards.


    However, the expenditure was a bit too high for her liking, she would only do it a few more times, she was not sure where she was going after all.


    But as she thought that, an idea popped inside of her mind as Astraea suddenly positioned herself towards the sun, flying in its direction.


    She put one of her hands into her pocket and grasped a single wooden figurine, one that she pestered Evelyn for over a year to make.


    ¡¯Guide me.. Michael...¡¯

 Chapter 100 Frost Giants

    "And after that... I just roamed around, trying to get stronger, that was until I met you" Astraea finished off while pointing at Michael.


    He had listened to her entire story, not expecting her to go into so much detail.


    However, she did, and he felt like shit.


    ''That was a lot more depressing than I had thought... jokes on me for thinking that people like us would be normal'' Michael snickered to himself.


    Comes in a package I suppose, if she hadn''t been delusional, her memories might have note back.


    ''She did say only a small portion of them came back.. but it''s still something...''


    "What about you?" Astraea fiddled around with the warm coat he had made for her.


    Michael chuckled in response "Me? I believe my story isn''t as interesting as yours."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''Though what am I supposed to tell her.. She told me everything, to someone she barely knew...''


    Can''t really say ''barely'', because.. you know..


    ''True..''


    She put on a big smile "It''s fine, my mana still hasn''t recovered, so we have time."


    Michael looked at her and pondered, was it really alright for him to tell her something like that?


    It looked like she trusted him a lot, it seemed unconditional and blind, but it was her delusions that made her so aware of him.


    Andter on, those delusions turned out to be the truth, her mind was just filling in the gaps from the memories.


    ''Well, screw it, not like there would be any other person I would tell this to...'' Michael sighed and proceeded to tell her how his life went before he arrived in this world.


    He talked about his loving family and his time serving, he skipped out on the drugs and alcohol he used in his final years of life, it was a shameful thing to remember.


    Michael wanted to keep those particr memories in the past, he wouldn''t want Astraea to see him in a such a way.


    He changed the story of how he died, instead of dying gruesomely in an alley, he told her that he died after a car hit him.


    It was a bit of a pain exining what cars were, considering the world they were currently in didn''t have them, but nheless, the story went on.


    He told her about his time back at the orphanage and a little bit about the system, not providing a bunch of details about it since he didn''t know much himself.


    The journey, the slums, his time as a Saint, the temple and finally, this world they were both in, he told her all about it.


    The story about his past life was not exactly exciting, the most fun he had was during his time serving, after that, it was pretty much boring.


    And the trials, he didn''t exactly know how to exin them, so he told her that he regains a portion of his memories uponpletion of said trial.


    Astraea''s expression changed a bunch of times during the course of his exnation, yet she didn''t seem surprised, it was more of pity at times and happiness when he seeded.


    "And that''s about it.. it was a coincidence that we met.." Michael finished his exnation and checked on her mana, it was pretty much back to full.


    "A coincidence? I wouldn''t be so sure" She added and stood up, it was about time for them to search for the portal.


    He was a bit surprised she didn''t ask any more questions, his story seemed the most weird out of both of theirs, since essentially, he had many more lives.


    It wouldn''t be that surprising if she chose to not believe him, but she did.


    ''Yeah.. I don''t know what else it could have been if not a coincidence...'' Michael chuckled to himself and stood up, walking out of the small cave.


    The weather had gotten worse, if before it was considered slightly chilly, it was now very cold, to the point where even he began feeling it.


    And that''s happening despite his cold resistance and warm clothing.


    Michael nced at Astraea and noticed she was in a simr situation, although she wasn''t shivering nearly as much as him.


    As he was thinking that, he saw some movement in the far off distance, he wasn''t sure if it was a bird or something else.


    However, he was certain something was indeed there.


    "Astraea.." He turned to her and noticed her already readying her threads as if she felt something too.


    But no matter where he looked, there was nothing, that small amount of movement was all he could see.


    His map was not picking anything up either and his senses were even more useless.


    Explore stories at empire


    ''System?'' He tried calling out and was met with an immediate answer.


    Do not move. Do not even think of moving, stand still, now.


    ''What''s the deal?'' Michael asked but nheless, proceeded to follow the system''s instructions after also rying them to Astraea.


    He had told her about some of the knowledge that he shared and that it was due to the system''s help.


    Remember when I said that the rift could take you anywhere and those ces could and most likely would be dangerous?


    ''Yes?''


    Well... you are in one of the more dangerous regions, Jotunheim.


    Michael''s eyes immediately widened upon hearing the system''s words ''Fuck.. do you mean thend of the giants?''


    Precisely, the thing you thought was a bird was nothing more than a fledgling giant, it seems to be looking for something in this particr area.


    ''Are the giants.. friendly?'' Michael asked with a tinge of hope as fighting a literal giant was definitely not on his agenda.


    They are friendly only if you are invited by them, however, if you happen to identally break into their world, then...


    ''Fuck me... so not only do we have to find the portal, but we also have to avoid being squashed by the giants?''


    Pretty much, most of them walk in their human forms as being extremely tall has its downsides, but the one you saw might just be a curious one.


    ''Could I... beat it?'' Michael asked another question and saw movement happening in the far off distance again, this time it seemed a lot closer.


    You might be able to scratch it if you attacked it with all your might, this is one of the higher worlds, even their weakest were at the very least Tier 6.


    ''Nice pep talk.. though what should I do now?''


    Well, my advice would be to stay still and wait it out, however, you only have 5 days... yeah, I have no idea.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system and saw even more movement happening in the distance, he could now see the figure, albeit slightly.


    It had what appeared to be leather armor and its skin waspletely blue, the same color as its hair.


    "Astraea.. do you have any presence masking techniques you could maybe share?"


    She heard his voice and slowly turned her head around "I do.. but for us topletely erase our presence, we would need topletely get rid of our mana and put it inside of our cores."


    As Michael was about to speak up, she interjected "Without mana, we would freeze to death in an instant, it''s the only reason we are still alive right now."


    ''Shit... it just keeps getting worse and worse'' Michael sighed and nced at the giant that was previously in the distance.


    Now, however, it was overlooking them, he didn''t even notice when it had gotten so close.


    Michael and Astraea were looking directly at it, and it seemed like it knew that they were there as well.


    ''Fuck..''


    Look on the bright side, it can''t get any worse than this.


    As the system''s words fell, Michael began seeing more movement behind the massive giant, and surprisingly two more giants appeared.


    Or... maybe it can...


    ''...''

 Chapter 101 Frost Giants (2)

    Calm down.


    ''What do you mean calm down? There are 3 of them in front of us!'' Michael was currently suppressing the urge to use all of his mana to summon a massive Sword of Light.


    Maybe that would at least give them time to escape, he wasn''t sure exactly how strong a Tier 6 was, but the difference shouldn''t be that vast.


    ''Right?''


    Wrong, they could get rid of this entire mountain with a wave of their hands, well maybe not this one in particr, the terrain of Jotunheim is strengthened heavily by mana.


    ''Doesn''t really sound like something that benefits us though.. has a genius idea maybe popped into your mind, Systempedia?'' Michael teased despite the situation he was in.


    You.. are special... give me a moment. Don''t do anything stupid.


    Michael shrugged and returned his gaze to the giants, they didn''t seem that hostile at a nce, they were just staring down at the two of them.


    "Astraea.. don''t attack them okay?" He walked up slowly beside her.


    "Obviously..." She let out an exhausted sigh, they hadn''t even fought them yet, and both of them were already tired.


    The standstill continued as the giants looked at them with curiosity, even crouching down to get a better angle.


    ''System...''


    Despite the system''s previous words, the giants did not seem that hostile, at least, they were not trying to kill them.


    Michael took in a deep, cold breath and spoke up "Hello?"


    At his words, the giants immediately stepped back in surprise, their movements causing the entire mountain to shake.


    What did I tell you about not doing anything stupid...


    ''And what should I have done if they, I don''t know, decided to step on us? Remain quiet?'' Michael shot back and noticed the giants once againing near them.


    Well, it wouldn''t havee to that.


    Michael began ignoring the system as it was not sure what to do either, just trying to buy time for some opportunity to arise so it could im it as its doing.


    One of the giants stretched out their hand and started slowly bringing their pinky finger towards Michael.


    He was expecting to be crushed, however, it stopped just a few meters away from him.


    Michael took a nce at Astraea and she seemed just as confused as he was.


    Nheless, the giant wanted something and since Michael didn''t have any better ideas, he walked up and put his whole hand on the giant''s finger.


    And immediately, it retracted its whole hand before speaking some kind of words to the other giants.


    Michael could not understand thenguage, but it did seem simr to something he once learned.


    Some words were the same and better yet, the pronunciation was too.


    It seems like theirnguage does indeed share some simrities with the one you learned back in the temple, do you want me to analyze it?


    ''Analyze it? Yes?'' Michael was a bit confused by the system''s question, since when could it analyzenguages?


    However, in the next moment, he was slowly able to understand their words, it felt unreal, as if what they were saying previously was being tranted in real time.


    But hearing them talk didn''t give him much of a reassurance, since the topics were a bit.. strange.


    "Edible? Maybe?"


    "They looked like the sea urchins we eat, so indeed.. I vote yes"


    "Come on... it can speak, doesn''t that make it just like us? I vote no"


    The two giants who voted amongst each other turned to the remaining one who hadn''t.


    "Rigurd, eat or no eat?"


    The giant named Rigurd seemed deep in thought for a moment before a massive smile appeared on his face "Eat!"


    All the while, Michael was standing by speechlessly ''Hold on... what the fuck are they talking about?''


    ording to my Systempedia insight, I think they might be trying to eat you.


    Michael''s eyebrow twitched ''You think?''


    However, as he was arguing with the system, the giant who voted no stepped up and suddenly, its size began drastically decreasing, until eventually, it was just a tad bit taller than Michael.


    "Bug, can you understand me?" The giant began approaching him, the pressure it was giving off was simr to Amanda''s, just a little greater.


    It ced its hands on Michael''s cor and began lifting him up, and spinning him around.


    "S-Stop!" He quickly said and expended a small amount of mana to create a tiny explosion around himself.


    "Hm?" The giant suddenly stopped and held Michael right in front of its face, confusion clearly present.


    "You can speak ournguage?"


    "I can.. can you put me down now?" Michael said in the nicest way he could as he noticed Astraea ring at the giant in front of him.


    If history repeats itself and she attacks it, then death would be certain.


    It seemed like the other giants heard the conversation as their size rapidly decreased and they walked up to Michael.


    "Are you food?"


    Michael quickly shook his head and shot back "No, neither is she"


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    "Oh..." The two giants seemed a bit disappointed upon hearing that.


    This is an interesting development... maybe the giants'' behavior changed as time passed?


    ''Were they previously violent or something?'' Michael wondered, he did see some of that savageness in the two hungry giants, however, they seemed young, even though they were taller than him.


    Giants were once as arrogant as dragons. I can recall a small memory fragment of an interaction from one of your previous lives, you offended a giant and were sentenced to die by being frozen inside of a mountain, how unique..


    ''That sounds.. terrifying'' He held himself back from showing any visible emotion as he didn''t want to trigger the giants in front of him.


    "Say bugs, what are your names?" The first giant that came down to Michael asked.


    "I am Michael... she''s Astraea" He introduced himself and Astraea, she seemed too preupied with holding herself back from attacking the giant.


    "Good, the two of you wille with us." The giant announced and suddenly grew in size before picking up both Michael and Astraea.


    "Hey w-" Michael didn''t have time to protest as they suddenly began moving at incredible speeds, to the point where the surroundings began shifting from mountains, to grasnds, to volcanoes and then once again, back to mountains.


    However, these mountains seemed a bit different than the rest, and that''s because there was some kind of city carved into the side of it.


    ''No... this whole mountain is a city'' Michael looked on with widened eyes as the several kilometer tall mountain was full of holes and he could see all sorts of people gathered there.


    But considering that the giants were taking them here, that meant these people were also giants.


    ''System, are there any humans in this realm?'' Michael asked as he found it quite interesting.


    None that would be living here willingly, they are either visitors, warriors or better yet, prisoners.


    As Michael was about to start asking more questions, the system interrupted him.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Don''t forget that you only have 5 days, after that, you will be stuck here forever.


    ''Didn''t you say there were warriors and visitors here from time to time?'' Michael raised his eyebrow and questioned.


    He understood that the situation was pretty grave, however, he didn''t exactly know how to deal with it without being killed identally by a giant.


    The situation would have been much more bearable had it only been those Wraiths, yet, now it waspletely out of his hands.


    You are neither of them, you are more like a prisoner now.


    ''Well.. shit...'' Michael sighed in helplessness and let the giant take him up the mountain, until eventually they arrived at the very peak.


    It was not as cold as the previous mountain, however, by no means was it warm.


    There was a little house, one that seemed to belong to their leader.


    The giant dropped Michael and Astraea to the ground, however, they managed to avoid falling t on their faces.


    "Go inside bugs, introduce yourselves" The giant walked up and opened the door, inside stood a single blue skinned man, cooking up some food.


    Without turning around, he said "Lart, what''s the ocass-" But his words stopped as he suddenly turned around, the pressure crushing the te of food in his hands.


    His sharp rended on Michael.


    "You..."

 Chapter 102: Frost Giants (3)

    "You fucker! You were alive!" The old giant ran up to Michael and jabbed him in the abdomen.


    It was a fairly weak attack, even by his standards, however, it still managed to puncture his inner organs.


    "Oh, whoops, you can heal that, can¡¯t you?" The old giant said whileughing in a hearthy matter, seemingly finding the current situation hrious.


    Michael, however, was confused, he cast a heal on himself to fix his injuries and stared at the giant in front of him.


    "Do I know you?" He asked tly, if it was one of the people he had met in the past, it would be a bit troublesome for him to remember them.


    After all, he still had 8 more trials remaining and so far, he only remembers 2 of his many lives.


    The system was trying its best to remember the rest, however, it was fairly unsessful. There are times when it regains a memory or two, but it¡¯s usually something regarding the situation.


    "Know me? I am Thrym, the kid you met way back when?" The old giant replied in a confused manner, yet its expression remained firm.


    ¡¯System, that ring a bell?¡¯


    Not exactly, most of the memories regarding giants are of you dying to them, none of which feature this person.


    ¡¯He mentioned a kid, perhaps try looking for that?¡¯ Michael held his smile so Thrym wouldn¡¯t notice that anything was off.


    Enjoy new tales from empire


    Astraea remained surprisingly calm, he expected her to attack Thrym the moment heid a hand on him.


    But, it appears in times of need, she can indeed keep herposure.


    As Michael was thinking that, the system¡¯s urgent voice resounded.


    Got something.


    ¡¯Yeah? Tell me.¡¯


    It¡¯s better if I just show you..


    Michael was confused for a moment, before his vision suddenly shifted and he found himself on a simr looking mountain, however, this time it was empty.


    No holes covered the mountain, it looked natural, as if the giants neverid their hands on it.


    ¡¯Not in control of my own body again huh.. though am I in the sky?¡¯ He suddenly thought as all he could do was gaze at the mountain, and it was certainly not from the bottom, more like the very middle.


    Michael could tell that his feet were not touching the ground either.


    His eyes suddenly darted to his own arm, and therey a single blue kid, it seemed like he was injured.


    Michael brought him to the very top of the mountain and ced him down, quickly building a small house with his mana.


    ¡¯That technique.. what the hell¡¯ He noticed that what took him visualization and intense focus, was done in a mere millisecond by this person.


    A golden light enveloped the child, quickly returning him to full health.


    Michael was surprised, not because the kid got healed, but because he felt how this person did it, the mana flow and everything.


    ¡¯I can probably replicate it.. the concept is the same as making clothing, I have to use the inner part of my mana to interact with the other individual¡¯s body, avoiding all of their mana in the process, else I would solidify it..¡¯ He was fascinated by the sudden gain.


    As Michael was reying that certain scene in his mind, the man spoke up in a hoarse voice "Thrym, wake up."


    "Noo!" Thrym rolled around on the cold snow, acting like an absolute child.


    Michael rolled his eyes and kicked the bbering idiot who was on the ground "Dude.. you are 24."


    Upon hearing those words, Thrym stopped rolling on the ground and froze up, returning to his normal size, only slightly taller than Michael.


    "You are a buzzkill as always.."


    "And you don¡¯t act your age, what¡¯s wrong with you nowadays? Do youck attention?"


    ¡¯Damn.. they seem like friends but at the same time.. it seemed like I was Thrym¡¯s father or something¡¯ Michael grimaced at that thought and continued listening to their interaction.


    They talked about random things and he managed to figure out some personal stuff about Thrym.


    At this current moment, he was only a member of the Frost Giant n, however, he was also a potential sessor to be the head of the entire n.


    A big shot in his own way, but it seemed like so was the current Michael as he was bossing the said big shot around.


    However, as the conversation suddenly turned into a brawl, Michael noticed something strange.


    ¡¯Are those the wings..?¡¯ He could see a pair of wings, ones that Thrym was trying to pull out from his back.


    But, just as he put more force into it, Michael used some kind of repulsion attack to knock Thrym out.


    "Gosh.. you act like such a child sometimes" He said and his vision once again shifted, returning back to the small hut on top of the mountain and Thrym staring at him with an excited yet confused expression.


    ¡¯Well... here goes nothing..¡¯


    Michael quickly cleared his throat and began speaking "Thrym! You looked just like when you were a kid, how are you?"


    He tried to sound exactly like the previous Michael and for a moment, he thought it worked.


    However, "I am not an idiot boy, I know that isn¡¯t the actual you, you are but a fragment of his" Thrym said with a chuckle, seemingly finding this situation hrious.


    But hisughter quickly stopped, reced with a serious expression "Though, how do you remember that? That was way too long ago for a mere fragment to remember.¡¯


    "Who knows, anyways.. are you going to spare us?" Michael went straight to the point. Knowing Thrym¡¯s personality, that was his best course of action.


    It was highly likely that he would be spared, after all, even if he was not exactly the Michael he knew, he was still his ¡¯fragment¡¯.


    However, the next words left him speechless "Only if you can beat me in a fight"


    "You.. are you joking?"


    Thrym shook his head "I am dead serious, let¡¯s meet where we usually spar... oh right" He face palmed, remembering the fact that this wasn¡¯t the Michael he knew.


    Just as Michael was about to protest, he was picked up and flung outside at a ridiculous speed, rolling a few times in the air to stabilize himself, he finallynded on some sort of a tform.


    ¡¯How far did he fucking throw me!?¡¯ Michael eximed as it did not feel that far, yet he could see the mountain he was just on in the far off distance.


    "You are rather sturdy for a fragment" Thrym¡¯s voice resounded behind him.


    He had a small gauntlet on his hands, it seemed like he was some kind of brawler type.


    Michael sneered and sent a Sword of Light at him, though it was easily deflected.


    "Stop calling me a fragment, you brute."


    n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    That seemed to anger Thrym as he suddenly dropped his gauntlets onto the ground and said in a mocking tone "I won¡¯t be holding back, are you ready, fragment?"


    Michael couldn¡¯t understand why he was so frustrated with the giant in front of him, it was very uncharacteristic of him.


    It seemed like his emotions were being influenced, though the system promised him that it wouldn¡¯t happen.


    It¡¯s only temporary, I forcefully reawakened those memories for you, so you felt the full brunt of them. Rest assured, the emotions will fade with due time.


    ¡¯They better..¡¯


    "What¡¯s wrong, are you scared little fragment?" Thrym taunted once more, however, a swift mirrored Sword of Light attack hit his side.


    Michael tried, but failed to suppress hisughter.


    "How¡¯s that for you, brute?"


    "..Fuck you."

 Chapter 103 Frost Giants (4)

    Michael prepared himself for the fight as it was now officially going to start.


    He was obviously not as strong as Thrym, nowhere near in fact, he just hoped that when he said he wouldn''t be holding back, he actually would, and a lot, preferably.


    ''How strong is he?'' He asked the system and prepared his shields.


    He looks like a newly appointed king, so around Tier 10 is fair? Might be stronger for all I know, it''s hard to determine when you are so weak.


    ''What''s me being weak have anything to do with this?''


    I use your general stats for perception, if you get stronger, I get stronger.


    ''Well, shit'' Michael cussed under his breath and watched as Thrym began walking towards him slowly.


    But although it might have looked like it was slow, the steps felt hollow, as if he was both there and not there at the same time.


    "Psst, I''m behind you" Michael heard a voice behind him and immediately turned around, however, he quickly noticed that no one was there.


    And before he could react, he was sent flying into a nearby rock, puncturing his lungs from the sheer force of the impact.


    ''Guaah.. fuck'' Michael tried holding himself up while healing his injuries, however, just as he thought he was in the clear, he was met with a fist heading straight for his head.


    But just as it was about to connect, it stopped in front of him.


    Thrym walked up and sent a small flick to Michael''s arm,pletely shattering all of the bones in it.


    "How are you so weak? I am barely using the strength of a Tier 2, yet you can''t even dodge my attacks.." He sounded pretty disappointed.


    ''System, did you even try parrying his attacks?''


    Of course, he was using the strength of someone in the very middle of Tier 2. The strength difference was obviously too vast for you to ovee.


    ''Of course it was...'' Michael sneered and looked at Thrym directly in the eyes.


    "Why don''t you use the same amount of strength as me? Or are you scared?" He taunted and was expecting to be punched again.


    However, much to his surprise, Thrym''s mana suddenly became a lot weaker than before, it now seemed like he was around the same strength as Michael.


    You are right, in fact, he is a bit weaker than you now, try not to lose.


    ''I won''t...'' Michael focused up and healed his injuries, the mana costs were barely noticeable so he still had plenty remaining.


    Just like before, Thrym started walking up to him, however, this time, he was able to feel the mana perfectly around himself.


    ''Interesting...''


    The technique Thrym used was simr to his mirroring technique, except he was doing it with his whole body.


    But it wouldn''t work a second time, Michael knew how this technique worked, even if it was slightly different.


    The mana seemed equally adjusted as if Thrym could switch between the bodies at will, simrly to that Evangelist he fought on top of the mountain.


    Michael wasted no time and sent two Swords of Light at both of the bodies at once, attempting to slice clean through them.


    However, just before it reached both of them, one disappeared and the other''s mana waspletely restored, easily blocking the attack.


    "Tch.. this ability doesn''t work with such a shit amount of mana" Thrym grumbled and proceeded to stop using his skill altogether.


    "Sounds to me like you are just shit with using the mana" Michael shot back and prepared many more Swords of Light, sending some into the sky for a surprise attack.


    That attack always turned the tide, so he didn''t doubt that it would help him a ton once again.


    Before Michael could react, Thrym appeared right in front of him, throwing an extremely fast jab right at his face.


    ''I thought he wouldn''t use strength above Tier 1?'' Michael frowned while just barely dodging the attack.


    The power behind it was simr to the attacks he endured earlier, just a tad bit weaker.


    Speed wise, he was only able to dodge because he was prepared and even then, if Thrym decided to get a second hit in, Michael would surely be hit.


    But he didn''t, instead, he stepped back "Oho, you dodged that attack but couldn''t dodge the others? You sure are an interesting fragment."


    Michael''s brow twitched as he sent a few mirrored swords behind Thrym, trying to catch him off guard.


    But s, this time he was prepared.


    ''This fight is a literal stalemate...'' He sighed from exhaustion, he wasn''t tired per se, just frustrated at the progress.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Even if the strength Thrym used was simr to his own, the fight hadn''t moved in the slightest.


    "I got an idea fragment, how about a single attack, one where we put our all into it?" Thrym suddenly suggested, catching Michael off guard.


    "You know that you are only limited to using the same strength as me right?" Michael asked for rification, he was not keen on getting blown to bits by a Tier 10 attack.


    "Of course... I always keep my word" Thrym said with a smirk before a massive vortex of ice began forming around his arm.


    Yeah, that''s at least Tier 2.


    ''I don''t need you to tell me that...''


    Michael pondered for a moment on what to do, while he did have some offensive skills, none of them were super destructive.


    Even if hebined all of them he doubted that it would make the difference between a Tier 1 skill and a Tier 2 skill.


    I''ll give you a hint since I am feeling generous, there is unused mana in the air.


    ''Unused mana in the air..?'' Michael thought about it for a moment before focusing.


    The system was right, there was quite a lot of mana surrounding him, even more the higher he looked.


    As if the further away they were from the ground, the more dense the mana became.


    Michael had an idea, but he wasn''t exactly sure how to implement it, so he decided to look around himself.


    Thrym seemed pretty rxed, not really paying him any mind.


    ''Snow..'' He thought as he suddenly noticed something behind Thrym.


    Continue reading at empire


    A lone snowball, due to the pressureing from his attack, it began rolling on the ground, increasing its mass drastically before falling off the mountain.


    ''That''s it!'' Michael finally got what he needed, the final piece of the puzzle.


    At first, he triedbining Sword of Light with Piercing Light, however, it seemed pretty hopeless.


    The Piercing Light skill was not very good at absorbing mana, while Sword of Light was.


    Michael looked up into the sky, towards where he sent all of his swords and he beganbining them, eventually turning them into a single massive Sword of Light.


    However, he was not finished, there was still one thing left to do before he could call it a sessful skill.


    And that was, to break it.


    Michael injected as much outer mana as he could until the sword felt unstable, and when it did, he waved his hand down and cut the connection.


    Are you crazy?


    ''What?'' He thought while looking at his shaky hand, he must have exhausted at the very least 80% of his total mana.


    But in the next moment, he noticed what the system meant, a sudden pressure descended on everyone present, and in the far off sky, there was a single golden light.


    As if it were the sun.


    Michael felt excited, but it onlysted for a few seconds before a small frown appeared on his face.


    The attack would hit Thrym, but at the same time, it would hit him as well, maybe the others in the distance too.


    Yeah, you just made a nuke, congrattions genius.


    ''Fuck'' He expressed as a sudden sound met his ears.


    -Ding

 Chapter 104 Frost Giants (5)

    -Ding


    [New Skill Generated]


    Heavenly Judgement [Advanced] [Active]


    # Summon a Sword from the heavens that absorbs all of the mana it encounters, delivering a deadly attack capable of wiping out an entire army. Radius is determined by the mana absorbed.


    *Cost: 75% MP


    *Cooldown: 1 Day


    Michael stared at the system notification with nk eyes, the Sword of Light still descending in the background.


    ''System... capable of wiping out an entire army..?'' He still couldn''t believe it, he had done it identally, but it seemed like he managed to really create some sort of a killing weapon.


    As I said, it''s like your old world''s equivalent of a nuke, it''s definitely a powerful attack, more than enough to contest with a Tier 2 attack and it would only grow stronger as you yourself get stronger.


    ''Well yeah, but won''t I get caught in the attack too..? It''s kind of counterproductive, don''t you think?''


    Well, I wonder which genius decided it was a good idea to create such an attack without prior knowledge of how mana absorption works?


    ''Sc-Whatever.. Do you think I can block it?''


    Nope.


    Michael sighed and nced at Thrym who was staring at him with widened eyes.


    "Fragment... are you trying to scorch my mountain?"


    ''Scorch..? Wouldn''t a nuke be enough topletely blow this ce to bits?'' Michael thought with a confused look as he saw Thrym dispelling his attack and jumping into the sky.


    Did you forget when I said that thendscape is strengthened by mana? That applies to everything, be it snow or the mountain itself, hence why that Wraith couldn''t do anything to the snow with its fire.


    Just as Michael was about to speak up, the system once again interrupted him.


    Don''t think anything stupid, scorching a mountain of such a world is a feat on its own, be proud of yourself.


    Experience tales with empire


    ''Sure..'' Michael could feel a tinge of sarcasming from the system, but nheless, chose to ignore it.


    However, as he looked at the sky, he froze.


    The massive Sword of Light which contained the vtile mana, was now being held in Thrym''s hands and being swung around like some sort of toy.


    "Whatcha think? Does swordsmanship suit me?" He suddenly said and swung the massive sword downwards, the mana expanding at rapid speeds and heading for Michael''s head.


    He barely had enough time to duck, and when he did, he realized his left hand felt weird, and upon taking a nce at it, he noticed it waspletely gone, with not even a single blood stain in sight.


    ''Do people find cutting off my arms funny or something?'' Michael''s'' brows twitched as his regenerative factor kicked in, due to the system''s training under the sunlight and moonlight, it had gotten faster.


    He could see his limb being regrown at a visible pace, and in just a few more seconds, it was finally whole again.


    Michael looked back up and saw Thrym still having fun swinging around the now dissipating sword, until eventually it fully dispersed, the destructive mana fully gone.


    "So, did you have fun?" Thrym suddenly asked as hended right beside him.


    "Before or after you cut off my arm? What would you have done if I had been crippled for life?" Michaelined and sarcastically swung around his regrown arm.


    "Hm? I did that because it''s you, even if you are a fragment, u looked prettypetent."


    As Michael was about to speak up, Thrym suddenly grabbed him by the cor and threw him again, this time back to the mountain they were on originally.


    He was not able tond as smoothly asst time, partially due to the fact that he was a bit fatigued from the attack he just cast.


    But just as he thought he was about to crash into another rock, Astraea suddenly caught him with her threads, bringing him closer and checking on his condition.


    She had a concerned look on her face, even after knowing who or what Michael was.


    "I''m okay, you don''t need to worry" He reassured her and waited for Thrym toe, however, it seemed like he was already back inside of his little house.


    Michael walked right in and sat down by the table, picking up a piece of bread he saw lying around "So, did I pass your test?"


    "Did you beat me?"


    "No..?"


    "So what makes you think that you could go back?" Thrym asked while stirring the pot of what appeared to be soup.


    "I didn''t win, but I didn''t lose either, you just stopped the fight of your own volition, if anything, you were the one who lost" Michael shot back and dug into the bread, it was surprisingly tasty.


    "I stopped the fight because you were about to copse.." He turned around and grinned "d you like the bread, I prepared it for the rats, make sure to leave some for them too."


    ''...'' Michael immediately stopped eating and put the bread onto the table, his appetite was ruined.


    "Pft.. I am just kidding, eat this instead" Thrym suddenly brought down the pot he was stirring earlier, it was indeed some kind of soup.


    ''Potato soup?'' He was a bit confused about how that worked, from what he noticed, the whole area around them was a frozennd.


    Even though potatoes could grow in slightly cool areas, they would for sure not grow on a mountain like this.


    But nheless, Michael epted the kindness and dug in, he also noticed that Thrym brought a bowl to Astraea and the three giants that were huddled around.


    ''His personality is shit... but he''s not exactly a bad guy.''


    After Thrym finished handing out the bowls, he sat down right in front of Michael and started eating the soup as well.


    "Listen.. Thrym, Astraea and I were brought here because of a rift, we have 4 more days to find the exit or we will be stuck here for a long time..'' Michael tried reasoning with him, however, he was ignored.


    They ate in silence, until finally, both of them finished their bowls, cing them to the side.


    "Fragment, what is it that you remember exactly?" Thrym asked while not even directly looking at him, instead, looking to the side with a frown.


    Michael tilted his head "Could you be more specific?"


    "Do you remember how you came to this world the first time, how you met me, anything like that?"


    "I don''t" Michael merely shook his head, he didn''t exactly want to sugarcoat it and flood him with false hope.


    Thrym remained silent, not speaking any more words.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''System, are you able to tell how old those memories are?''


    Not exactly, but the giants are known for their lifespans, some could even potentially live up to an Eon.


    ''The fuck..? Isn''t an Eon like a billion years?'' Michael was genuinely shocked, he was expecting maybe a few thousand years, but definitely not something ranging between millions and billions of years.


    Yes, though that amount of time seems incredible to humans who had never been exposed to mana, those who were, however, can live an incredible amount of time as well.


    ''Yeah? Then what about me? Since I have a mana core, shouldn''t I live for a decent amount of time as well?''


    Yes and no, you see, even if the bloodline has not fully awakened within you, it''s still there. And all I can tell you is that most Archangels don''t have lifespans, they are practically immortal.


    ''Oh..'' Michael expressed and was about to ask another question to Thrym, however, an oppressive pressure suddenly descended on all of the people present.


    It managed to make even Thrym shake a bit, even if it was mild, that was not something Michael expected to see.


    As for him, he couldn''t even move.


    "So the visitor finally decided to show up..." Thrym stood up and walked outside, heading in the direction of the powerful pressure.


    But a sudden noise made Michael flinch, it sounded as though it was a dragon''s roar, though he wasn''t sure.


    "Fragment, stay here for a moment, I will deal with this peacefully.. probably" Thrym said with a cracking smile and sat down on a nearby rock, awaiting for the individual to arrive.


    Michael was just barely able to turn his head, and upon doing so, he noticed someone he definitely had not expected to see.


    "That''s..."

 Chapter 105 Frost Giants (6)

    The massive green dragon with ck horns came into view and immediatelynded in front of Thrym.


    "Hello little guy, I''d like Michael back, so do step aside now" The dragon said and suddenly began transforming into what appeared to be a human form, one that had long white hair and the familiar ck goat shaped horns.


    ''Fafnir..? What''s he doing here?''


    "What business do you have with my guest?" Thrym didn''t back down and stood his ground against the pressure Fafnir was emitting.


    It seemed like Fafnir was much stronger than Thrym, Michael wasn''t sure by how much, but the gap was definitely not little.


    "How dare you question my intentions?"


    "I am not... it''s just not every day I personally ept a guest, you know how it is, don''t you?" Thrym said with a small smile, as if there was a deeper meaning behind his words.


    "I don''t, now are you going to step aside or should I make you?"


    The two powerhouses kept bbering amongst themselves, chatting nonsense that Michael could not understand.


    He could finally move again, the pressure seemed to dissipate quite a great deal.


    And as it did, he finally took notice of the surroundings.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The entire mountain was shaking, albeit slightly, however, the entire peak where they were all currently at, seemed distorted.


    Whatever Fafnir was doing, it was influencing the surroundings, as if his mere words were enough to twist the space around him.


    Astraea had long went beside Michael, she escaped from the clutches of the pressure a bit earlier than he had, she was a bit stronger after all.


    "Are you okay?" She went up to him and asked, a worried expression stered on her face.


    Michael was confused for a moment, but suddenly, he saw a stream of red appear over his eyes, heading down his face and falling onto the wooden ground.


    ''..What happened?'' He was a bit confused, he definitely healed up right before casting his Heavenly Judgement.


    And even then, his passive regenerative factor was enough to heal any external injury he suffered.


    When Fafnir appeared your HP decreased by 20% from just his pressure alone, from what I can tell, he might have blown your eyes up, they just regenerated way too quickly for you to notice.


    Michael shivered upon hearing that, he lost his eyes just from the pressure alone? That seemed unbelievable.


    As he was lost in his thoughts, Fafnir suddenly appeared in front of him, seemingly having already finished talking with Thrym.


    "Long time no see kid, how you been?" He said nonchntly as if they were the best of pals.


    Yet, aside from meeting him twice, Michael couldn''t really say that they knew each other that well.


    Quite frankly, he was not sure if being associated with a temperamental dragon was in his best interests.


    But nheless, he nodded, keeping the act up.


    After all, as much as this ce could provide opportunities for him, it was not exactly pleasant, the cold was slowly getting to him. Your journey continues on empire


    The house was not heated up either, most of the cold went through, he was surprised that Thrym was able to cook the food up here, much less light a fire.


    Training... with this mana density you might be able to increase your mana core progress by leaps and bounds.


    Michael took a nce at his status and noticed that he was currently at 40% progress towards the next tier, with only 60% remaining and he would reach Tier 2.


    However, he had some doubts, after all, he had been training via sunlight and moonlight, such a direct approach to the cold could potentially kill him.


    Don''t worry about freezing to death, let''s just wait a bit longer till your mana is fully restored, I can at the very least try my best to keep you alive.


    Michael rolled his eyes ''Very reassuring...''


    But he was honestly considering it, there were a still a few days left until he had to go back to his world.


    Going back now would feel like a waste and if Fafnir was able to enter the rift somehow, he likely had a way out too.


    The two of them chatted a bit, Fafnir was simply asking him how he had been, the sort of stuff Michael would expect to hear from his rtive he hadn''t seen in a long time.


    It felt kind of strange, after all, he didn''t have anyone left in this world.


    Reba was nowhere to be seen, for all he knew, she was dead and he could not do anything about it.


    As for his father? He is likely still well, he was a resilient one, rarely even bing sick.


    Michael smiled a bit while thinking of the past, they were good memories, but at the same time, they were ones he wished to bury deep inside his mind.


    He doesn''t want to be haunted by his past, the way he left his father was way too... abrupt.


    "Michael?" Fafnir called him out of his thoughts.


    "Sorry... spaced out for a moment.."


    "That''s fine, anyway, are you ready to head out?" He announced and stretched out his hand, his green wings appearing from his back even while he was still in human form.


    "Actually... could I stay here for a couple more days? There''s something I need to do before I go" Michael said with determination.


    He decided he would go through with the training, it was too good of a chance to pass up.


    Though he was not exactly sure what to expect, the moonlight felt pretty cold past a certain point, how would the actual cold feel?


    Fafnir looked to be contemting for a moment before speaking up "Hmm... that''s fine, there''s something I have to do here anyways, I''ll be back in 3 days, will that be enough time for you?"


    "Yes" Michael nodded with a small smile, he was beginning to think the system and the books he read were wrong about dragons, Fafnir was just way too nice.


    He watched as Fafnir turned around and headed over to Thrym, picking him up by the cor and suddenly flying away.


    ''Uhh...?'' Michael was pretty confused, though it seemed like he was not the only one as the giants around him were too.


    Dragons like to fight... a lot.


    ''I see...'' He sighed to himself and looked at Astraea who had been staring at him this entire time.


    Her eyes seemed a bit unfocused, she was most likely regaining a memory or two.


    Michael moved around and noticed she was not tracking him with her eyes, she really did seem like in some sort of trance.


    He decided to just leave her be, creating a warm coat with what little mana he had left, he ced it on her shoulders before heading outside.


    "Do you guys have like a cave or something I could use for training?" Michael turned to one of the giants, the only one who seemed the smartest of the three.


    Also, the only one who didn''t want to eat him.


    "Hm? Sure?" He gestured with his hands to follow him and Michael did just that.


    They went behind the mountain and there was some kind of a little staircase that led inside of the mountain.


    It seemed way more spacious than he initially anticipated, the mountain didn''t exactly look that big from the outside.


    But he was mistaken.


    There were all sorts of giants gathered there, all of whom were thankfully in their human forms.


    All around him were a bunch of little houses, some made from wood, others carved directly into the walls, with only wooden doors being visible from where he was.


    Eventually, they arrived at what Michael assumed was the middle part of the mountain, there was a single door leading to the side and it was much bigger than the previous doors.


    "You cane out whenever you want, it seems like you are the guest of our leader so we will treat you as such, if you need anything, inject mana into the odd colored wall, I''lle get you" The giant exined and began walking away.


    "Hmm..." Michael stared directly at the giant door.


    ''Now how exactly am I supposed to open this?''

 Chapter 106 Training Room

    Do you not see the door handle? I am sure I healed your eyes again though?


    ''Are you...'' Michael took a deep breath, refraining himself from bashing the system for the 10th time today.


    He assumed the giants didn''t exactly have a hard time opening the door, after all, they were called giants for a reason.


    However, he, himself, was not exactly the tallest person alive, his height should be around 185cm, and this door was certainly not made for him.


    Even while he was standing up straight, he only amounted to 1/10 of the size of the door, he was like an ant inparison.


    The giants most likely had to partially transform in order to open it themselves, a full transformation would make them as big as the entire mountain after all.


    Just try pushing it open?


    ''The door has a handle.. why would pushing it do anything..'' Michael sighed at the system''s stupidity but decided to try it anyway.


    He ced his hand on the door and gave it a little push, not expecting anything to happen.


    However, much to his surprise, the door opened just as easily as a normal door despite its grand size.


    Told you so.


    ''Fuck off...'' Michael kindly dismissed the system and headed inside, he couldn''t see any light from the outside.


    But he could just wait inside for his mana to be fully restored, then he could cast a few swords of light to provide some kind of light source.


    However, the moment he stepped into the room, the door closed right behind him, leaving him inplete darkness.


    Hmm...


    ''What?'' Michael asked the system as it seemed like it caught onto something.


    With practically the little bit of mana he had, he couldn''t even tell what was around him.


    It reminded him of the time he first arrived in this strange ce, his sensespletely overshadowed by the mist.


    And it was the same now, except instead of the mist, there was darkness.


    Michael decided to use a bit of his mana to create a single sword of light, he overestimated its cost, even as he barely had anything left, he couldn''t feel it being used in the slightest.


    That gave him an idea, however, just as he was about to ask the system about it, he was interrupted. Stay updated with empire


    It won''t work.


    ''Why not? You were able to turn physical enhancement into a passive skill.''


    It was something that gave a t bonus, your swords of light, even though they take a very small amount of mana to cast, you are able to cast thousands of them. It is not possible for me to make a skill like that free as it doesn''t exactly have a limit.


    ''That sucks.. but whatever'' Michael shrugged it off, it would have been too good to be true anyways.


    He looked around while waving the few swords of light he had summoned, however, he couldn''t see anything at all.


    The swords illuminated a few meters around him, leaving the rest of the area in pure darkness.


    Michael didn''t feel any malicious intenting from the darkness, it felt like it was some kind of a protective barrier instead.


    ''..But from who?'' He wondered when suddenly, the light of his swords began dimming before eventually, itpletely disappeared, leaving him inplete darkness once more.


    ''...'' He decided to remain quiet, not moving a single muscle.


    The darkness seems to be blocking out most of the sound, you just look stupid right now.


    Michael proceeded to ignore the system''s words and continue listening, waiting for even the slightest bit of sound to reach his ears.


    And after just a few more seconds, he heard an extremely quiet step, one he wouldn''t have noticed if he had not been paying attention, he might have missed it.


    He immediately summoned a sword of light and dashed towards the step, instantly shing down without even making sure what it was.


    And the moment he did, he felt his sword connecting with something, something that he could not quite see.


    No blood had been spilled, yet it seemed like whatever that creature was, it was knocked back quite a fair distance away from him. It skidded across the ground before disappearing into the darkness once more.


    This is perfect.


    Michael was slightly startled by the system''s statement and as he was about to question it, his senses suddenly heightened.


    He could feel the cold simrly to how he had back in the cave with the moonlight, however, this time it was a bit more intense.


    ''You fucking bastard!? Are you trying to get me killed?'' He was slightly panicking because he was not used to fighting with such heightened senses.


    Every time he took a step, it sounded as though someone rang a bell directly inside of his ears, it hurt a fair deal.


    But much to no one''s surprise, his pain didn''tst long as his eardrums burst once again, leaving him temporarily deaf.


    ''Stop this shit or I''m actually going to die!'' Michael eximed at the system, the cold was bearable, however, the senses were increased far too much for his own liking.


    Bear with it, trust me. What''s better than absorbing mana directly while also fighting someone? Nothing.


    ''Fuck you...'' Michael stopped all his fiddling around and remainedpletely still, eventually, his hearing came back.


    However, unlikest time where he could just barely hear the footsteps, this time, they were loud, much too loud for his liking.


    But nheless, it made it a bit easier for him to find the creature, kicking off, he arrived right in front of it with his eardrums once again in tatters.


    The sword once again connected and the creature retreated, however, unlike thest time, he could hear it breathe.


    And its breathing was shallow as if it had just received a fatal wound.


    Michael definitely felt like he looked silly, every time he moved, his eardrums burst, he had to stop like a statue in order to even fight.


    He still found it rather difficult to control the mana while in this heightened state, so he couldn''t cover his ears with anything to protect them from the sound.


    And the system wasn''t kind enough to exclude hearing from the list of senses it enhanced.


    However, as he was focused on the breathing, he noticed yet another pair of footsteps, ones right behind the creature he just fought.


    And much to his surprise, one of them let out a squeal before its body fell to the ground.


    Michael didn''t need to be a genius to know that the one who was killed was definitely not the one who had just arrived.


    He stood incredibly still, waiting for the strange invisible creature toe at him.


    But it didn''t, instead, its footsteps got further and further away, until eventually, Michael could not hear it anymore.


    He let out a deep sigh and sat down, moving around felt painful and the feeling of constantly having his eardrums burst was not pleasant in the slightest.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''You fucker... what were you thinking?'' Michael asked the system with genuine curiosity, it seemed way too random for it to spring up something this dangerous upon him.


    Rx... it wasn''t that dangerous.. that creature you hit a few times was another Wraith, probably one associated with darkness.


    He felt like it skimped out on a few details so he urged it to speak up ''And is that all?''


    As for the other one... I am not really sure, who knows what these giants keep in their training rooms.


    ''...You said most of your memories are fragments from mine and the past me''s memories, right?'' Michael asked with a nk look.


    Essentially..?


    ''Was I ever... you know.. some kind of a gambler?''


    Of course, many times in fact, but that''s besides the point. Go on an absorb the surrounding mana, it is quite dense so you can restore it a bit faster. After that, I will increase your sensitivity.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system''sment and gotfortable.


    ''Sure... keep watch for whatever that thing was..''


    You would be able to feel it yourself, but okay.

 Chapter 107 Training Room (2)

    See? Progress.


    ''Progress my ass..'' Michael stood up, his body creaking from the pain he just went through.


    The system didn''t go as far as to make it extremely cold, mainly because he was not full on mana.


    Nheless, he did make significant progress, a session thatsted only an hour brought his progress up by 2%.


    And he wasn''t even going all out with the training, he could only imagine how much mana he would gain by utilizing the surroundings.


    However, it was pretty dangerous, after all, he was not exactly alone in this ce.


    On your six.


    Upon hearing those words, he immediately turned around, as if by instinct, but much to his surprise, no one was there.


    Just kidding, ease up already.


    ''You... unbelievable'' Michael was left speechless by the system''s antics, it chooses the worst times to be sarcastic.


    It was way too cold for him to think straight, he just wished more of his mana returned.


    Even with the density in the air, he was only able to restore 16% of his total mana after a whole hour.


    ''So what now?'' He asked the system as he was not too keen on exploring whatever this ce was.


    Get over your fear of exploration, just go find the wall that the giant was talking about, it would be much safer to train there, don''t you think?


    ''You are right, but where am I even supposed to go, I kind of lost track of where the entrance was..'' Michael groaned at that thought, he was kind of lost.


    But just as he thought he was about to be wandering for hours, he remembered one of the newer system functions.


    ''Show me the map.''


    How am I supposed to map anything out when I don''t even know where we are? But yeah, I did keep a trace of your steps ever since you entered the room.


    ''Then stop being sassy'' Michael rolled his eyes and looked at the map, walking back to where he first came from.


    And much to his surprise, there was nothing but fog.


    ''Good job, you fooled me well''


    ..I traced it correctly though? The entrance must have moved.


    Michael proceeded to ignore the system until he figured something out since clearly, it was of no help.


    He tried making a dent or even a scratch on the ground to leave a sign of him being there previously, however, it was extremely durable.


    It was like trying to scratch metal with a napkin, he couldn''t leave even a single mark.


    This whole ce felt strange, ever since entering it, not once had he let his guard down.


    Michael couldn''t feel it, but he could definitely tell that he was being watched.


    It would be strange for him not to be watched, after all, if there was one monster, there would be more.


    A decent observation, though I suggest you move a bit to the left.


    ''Hm? Why?'' He ignored the system''s warning and walked forward, stepping on something squishy.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Yet the moment it came in contact with his foot, it exploded like some sort of balloon.


    However, as it did, a sudden chill ran down his spine, not because it was cold but because he could feel some sort of bloodlust.


    The direction was something he was not able to tell, but whatever it was, it was now mad because of whatever Michael stepped in.


    Told you, anyways, run.


    Michael did not need to hear it twice as he began running in one direction, however, the bloodlust he felt earlier was now more pronounced, almost like it was in front of him.


    But it was not, he couldn''t hear a step or any sort of sound.


    It felt eerie, even if he couldn''t hear anything previously, he was now not even able to hear the static in his ears.


    ''Too fucking quiet..'' Michael felt an ominous feeling well up inside his chest as he continued running.


    However, even as he ran and ran, he ended up in the same ce, stepping on some kind of small balloon again, making it pop.


    It kept happening until he eventually decided to stop, he was clearly not progressing by running, if anything, it only made whatever was watching him angrier.


    "Come out" He decided to try his luck but nothing happened.


    Or so he thought, however, in the next moment, a piece of snow fell on top of his head, barely feeling like much.


    Even so, that was enough for Michael to understand the current situation.


    He looked up, seeing a few small red dots a pretty far distance away.


    And as he did so, one of them dimmed before falling down,nding right in front of him.


    Michael finally managed to see what it was, however, his expression did not turn for the better, instead, he felt even more uneasy now.


    ''A sac... a massive fucking spider sac..'' He held it up with one hand, feeling the twitching inside.


    ''This is a spider sac right?''


    Yeah.


    Michael had always been terrified of spiders, as tough as he thought he was, spiders were the only weakness he had.


    It was an irrational fear he thought he had ovee after bing much stronger in this world, however, it seemed some fear remained.


    ''I fucking hate spiders..'' He crushed the sac in his hand, earning another surge of bloodlust.


    As that happened, he saw the small red spider sacs above him twitch a little, as if it had reacted to his provocation.


    The spider is up there.


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    ''No shit, I can tell that much as well'' Michael snickered as he continued staring at the still-trembling red dots.


    No, I mean, I can feel it up there, it''s about to pounce on you so be more on guard.


    He flinched and recast Shield of Aegis on himself while also summoning shields all around himself.


    They didn''t take up too much mana so he cast as many as he could before his MP hit 10%, he didn''t want to exhaust himself before the fight even began.


    It''s-


    However, before the system was even able to finish its words, he reacted by dashing to the side with all his might, just barely dodging the attack.


    But even if he did, Michael noticed that the so called spider was also invisible, he could hear its footsteps but that was all.


    ''What the fuck is wrong with this training room?'' He cast the Piercing Light skill, aiming directly at the immobile creature.


    And much to his surprise, his attack connected and it pierced the spider. It let out a shriek before all sound faded.


    ''That''s it?'' He was slightly confused at the oue, it seemed like a fast creature and definitely not strong either.


    But it wasn''t able to dodge a single attack of his? Something did not make sense.


    However, as those thoughts continued, he heard a small pair of footsteps, ones that did not sound like they belonged to a monster.


    They felt human, they felt.. familiar.


    But he couldn''t make them out before the figure stopped not too far away from him, standing in silence.


    He began feeling uneasy, after all, the thing in front of him seemed much stronger than the rest.


    Hmm... well, I think it''s about time for you to know where you were.


    ''What are you talking about?''


    You see, the creatures in this room are not exactly real, instead, they are...

 Chapter 108 Training Room (3)

    The system was not able to finish its words as the creature suddenly lunged at him with small but fast steps.


    He could urately trace it by using sound, it was a neat trick he was happy he had picked up.


    The creature was around his height, maybe a little shorter but nheless, it was not to be underestimated.


    Michael met it in the middle and struck with his Sword of Light, attempting to sh through it just like he did with the rest.


    However, the hit merely bounced off, as if it was reflected.


    "Ha..haha" An ominous hoarseugh resounded from the creature as it dashed at Michael once again.


    ''Did it just use a shield..?'' Michael thought with a frown as he dodged its attack.


    It did seem stronger earlier, but it was rather weak now that he began fighting it.


    Its moves were fast but not deadly, it felt way too odd.


    Michael waited for the correct moment and struck in the middle of its attack, piercing its hollow body.


    And just like with the rest of the invisible creatures, itpletely disappeared after being killed.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''Was that the same thing that killed the first monster?'' He asked the system as he resummoned a few swords of light, illuminating a bit around himself.


    Well, since it didn''t let me finishst time, I''ll tell you now, the creatures are not real, they are mere illusions. Explore stories at empire


    ''What do you mean by illusions? Aren''t they supposed to be... you know, not interactable?'' He wondered as he clearly felt his attacks connect.


    And theugh, it was definitely not fake.


    Good illusions tend to do that, but anyway, it feeds off of your fear, I guess the first one was the fear of the unknown? Would exin why they were all invisible.


    ''I see...'' Michael thought back to his fear of spiders as well, it added up a bit.


    However, thest one still didn''t make sense to him, what exactly was it?


    It didn''t fit in the context of his wears, who could that person be?


    Don''t forget that you have the memories of the other people too, so don''t be surprised if some unexpected surprises arise.


    ''Maybe'' He shrugged and decided to walk again, if it was going to give him fights based off of his fears, then he couldn''t really prepare for it.


    He himself was not afraid of many things, as for the other''s memories? He was not sure, he hadn''t touched them since assimting with them.


    Michael decided to put that on his agenda, after all, even though both of them were not exactly strong or smart, they could still provide some knowledge for him.


    The knowledge that coulde in handy.


    He continued walking, encountering a few of the invisible creatures, however, most of them did not prove a challenge.


    There was one fight in particr that had been a tad bit troublesome, it was against some squishy small monster.


    Even before he heard it, a shiver ran down his spine, killing it wasn''t exactly difficult, it was just time consuming.


    Every time he cut it apart, it regenerated into multiple new pieces. And he didn''t exactly have a way to deal with something like that.


    He had his swords of light but they do not exactly affect arge area.


    As for his Heavenly Judgement? Well..


    It was on cooldown. Quite frankly, it would have been the first skill he used once he realized what kind of a situation he was in.


    Michael thought that maybe, just maybe, the darkness would be swallowed up by his sword and he could somehow steer it far away.


    However, knowing his luck, it would have not gone so well.


    For your own sake, don''t use that skill until you figure out how mana absorption works else you are actually going to nuke an entire city back home.


    ''You don''t have to tell me that...'' He grumbled and suddenly collided with a wall, falling back t on his ass.


    Nice one.


    ''Fuck off.. I didn''t see it'' Michael rolled his eyes and stood up, there really was some kind of a wall in front of him.


    He decided to touch it, the giant said that he woulde rescue Michael if he did.


    And in all honesty, he wasn''t too keen on staying in this ce much longer, he was barely getting stronger with the added bonus of feeling like shit because of constant adrenaline.


    He never knew when a monster could pop out and try to end his life, even the weak can kill the strong with a surprise attack.


    ''Nothing is happening'' He held his hand on the wall for a few moments but s, it just felt like touching a cold rock.


    However, the moment he took his hand away from the wall, it lit up, shining a bright hue across a good portion of the room.


    It was blinding, he couldn''t help but close his eyes and back away a fair distance, until eventually he opened his eyes.


    And by no means had he expected to see a small pir with a giant light on the very top, illuminating the darkness around him.


    It seemed like some kind of lighthouse, though he didn''t quite understand the purpose of it.


    Looks like a safe zone, guess u won''t have to worry about constantly being on guard after all.


    ''...'' Michael decided to ignore the system and stare at the massive light on the top of the pir and noticed a faint trace of mana.


    It was separated into 4 different directions, all of whom were on the opposite sides of this lighthouse.


    He assumed it wanted him to follow them, after all, he was not exactly sure how he needed to get to this ''wall'' the giant talked about.


    For all he knew, it didn''t even exist, and the giant would swoop in just before he died or something.


    You are pretty optimistic, but look, my advice is to actually restore your mana this time before going out, you still have 3 days left after all.


    ''You are right..'' Michael sighed and walked up to the strange pir lighthouse and sat down right beside it.


    However, before he could have time to rx, he suddenly felt his senses expanding, and once again, the cold was returning.


    But this time, it was much more pronounced, it was extremely cold. He couldn''t understand why the system was doing this since he only had roughly 20% of his total mana remaining, it would not be a good training session by any means.


    Don''t worry, just sit still...


    The system added and Michael began feeling a little bit warm, albeit the cold had not dissipated in the slightest.


    But it was no longer unbearable, in fact, he began feeling a little rxed.


    However, as heid back down, he noticed the light above him slightly dimming and at the same time, his mana rapidly returning.


    In just a few moments, he managed to not only restore all of his mana, but also increase his mana core progress.


    It went up from 42% to a t 50%, the difference might not have been that massive, however, the 8% difference seemed like his mana capacity increased by nearly double what it had been just a moment ago.


    There''s a lower stage, middle stage, and finally, the upper stage. Lower is considered anything under 50%, Middle is from 50% to 90%, and upper is everything above 90%. All those milestones increase your strength by quite a decent amount.


    ''So do I tier up instantly after I reach 100%?'' He asked with curiosity as all of his fatigue seemed to have faded away.


    You will reach 100% and then go through the hassle of forming the new mana thread, only then can you reach the next tier.


    As Michael took a deep breath and was prepared to once again rx for a moment, the system suddenly interjected.


    There is still 2% progress worth of mana stored inside that light, I hope you are ready for some training.


    And before he could protest, his entire body froze up, halting any and all movement, before he began feeling an immense cold rushing through his veins.


    Endure for as long as you can, good luck!


    ''...''

 Chapter 109 Training Room (4)

    ''That was tiring'' Michael exhaled a cold breath and stood back up, the light of the pir had disappeared quite a while ago.


    But even then, the little lights that were scattered in different directions remained, still shining as bright as ever.


    And it was finally time to check his status, his progress in all aspects was pretty considerable.


    ''Status''


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]


    Mana Purity: 73%


    Mana Core: Flow


    Mana Core Rank: Tier 1


    -:- 52% Progress to next Tier -:-


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you


    * Being of Light


    # Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity-based spells by 25%


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 37/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP: 95/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [C+] -> [B-]


    END: Tier 1 [B] -> [A]


    AGI: Tier 1 [B+] -> [A-]


    INT: Tier 1 [A] -> [A+]


    CHA: Tier 1 [C-] -> [C]


    -


    Skills / [Skill Merging]


    Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive]


    Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Hand-to-handbat [Beginner] [Passive]


    Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]


    Discipline [Basic] [Passive]


    Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Purify [Intermediate] [Active]


    Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]


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    Sword of Light [Basic] [Active]


    Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]N?v(el)B\\jnn


    Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active]


    Heavenly Judgement [Advanced] [Active]


    +---+


    Michael stared at his status with satisfaction, he was halfway to the next tier, and it hadn''t even been an extremely long time since he obtained the mana core.


    He doubted that many could contest with his speed, after all, not everyone has opportunities that allow them to befriend a dragon and travel to a whole different world.


    But he didn''t let it get to his head, after all, he hadn''t explored even 1% of the possibilities avable to him.


    Michael had not even left his world, as the two worlds were in a way connected, his journey would officially start once he left through those portals on the Daor continent.


    He would ask Amanda for some assistance to get a higher lead, however, he knew his helping hands must stop eventually.


    And he wanted it to happen the moment he came back.


    He expected to live a normal life at first, going to the academy and acquiring some good friendships, however, each time he took one step forward, he took two steps backward.


    The cycle did not seem like it would end, he doubted the academy even had anything left to offer him, his strength had already far surpassed those of his peers and most likely the teachers.


    ''Is this fate? A life full of unpredictability?''


    Would you be surprised if someone was controlling fate in order to make the Archangel return just a bit faster?


    ''With all the shit I''ve been through thus far? Not really..''


    Well, chin up. From what I can tell, once you reach Tier 2, a lot of the system capabilities will be unlocked, and you will also be able to utilize the bonuses from skill gains. It had been locked due to your strength being insufficient, however, the seal is slowly lifting.


    ''Good to know'' Michael proceeded to stretch and head to the next pir, he didn''t quite trust the mapping in this area as he had already gotten lost multiple times.


    However, as he turned around after walking quite a fair distance away, he was still able to see the lights from afar, one of them even being directly above him, notifying him that he had gone the wrong way.


    He turned a bit to the side and immediately noticed the light shine in front of him, leading him to where he had to go.


    Had he not been so lost in his thoughts, he might have been able to see it a bit sooner.


    Surprisingly, the path was fairly calm, only a few creatures appeared, and they were pretty weak, not requiring a lot of effort for him to deal with them.


    But as easy as it was, he knew that at the very end, something would definitely happen, it all felt like a huge buildup to it.


    The powerup, the testing¡ªit reminded him of the time he fought the golden-haired Michael, but this time it seemed more uncoordinated.


    This time, it was definitely not his own trial that he was going to go through, but someone else''s.


    Michael finally arrived in front of another pir, and just like with thest one, the system subjected him to a moment of tortu-training.


    His gains were the same asst time, he absorbed all of the light on the very top of the pir and gained yet another 10% progress, bringing it up to a grand total of 62%


    The mana purity had also grown quite a lot ever since he first started working on it, he couldn''t feel the differences at first, but with every single training session and every single fight right after, he could most certainly feel the difference then.


    His swords were sharper, his mana formed quicker, it was a great boon, and from what the system had mentioned, it did not have a limit, meaning it could go as high as he wanted it to.


    The only reason it was synchronized with his mana core progress was because he didn''t have any alternatives for increasing its purity at the current moment.


    Don''t question how you get the boons, just make sure you are strong enough to deal with what happens after you collect them all.


    ''You are right..'' Michael watched as the light dimmed, until finally, it wentpletely out, signifying that he had sessfully collected all that he needed to in this location.


    He looked up, expecting there to be a light leading him once again, however, much to his surprise, there was nothing, darkness was all around him once more.


    And as he was not paying attention, an attacknded on his body, sending him hurtling back into the pir, tilting it over and causing it to crash to the ground with a thunderous boom.


    ''...Parry it?'' Michael sighed at the system and stood back up, the attack was mostly negated by his shields, all he felt was a small bump.


    However, as he looked up at what hit him, he was left a bit surprised. He could finally see the weird creatures.


    And they were definitely not monsters, they looked exactly like humans, ones he does not remember meeting at all.


    The one in front of him was some kind of a woman, she looked like she had some sort of a grudge against him.


    Strength-wise, she was much weaker than him, just like the rest of the ones he killed previously, all they had was the element of surprise.


    But now that it was gone, they were nothing but standing ducks.


    Michael waved his hand and a sword immediately pierced the woman''s neck, ending her life swiftly.


    Now that he didn''t have to worry about the invisibility, he could use his incredible casting time to his advantage, making him quite the killing machine.


    But it was a bit strange, killing someone just a bit weaker than him felt way too... easy?


    He could have done it with his eyes closed, if he wanted to, he could have simply dodged, yet his instincts were no longer screaming at him to dodge.


    ''Did you do something?'' Michael asked the system suspiciously.


    How could I have done something to your instincts? You literally got beaten up every single time since you came to this world. Your strength has grown too much, and so have your expectations for your opponents.


    ''So you are telling me I got that much stronger without realizing it to the point where I don''t see anyone stronger than me as a threat...?'' He didn''t seem convinced.


    I am not going to exin every little detail to you about how your own mind works, listen, you got stronger and your instincts will return to normal eventually, presumably once you get used to fighting those simr in strength to you.


    ''Hm..'' Michael seemed deep in thought before a sh of light appeared in the corner of his vision, leading him to yet another pir.


    ''Time to get a move on.. I can''t wait to meet the one behind this.''

 Chapter 110 Training Room (5)

    Michael brushed the dust off of his clothing, he was finally at thest pir after collecting the other two along the way.


    82% progress towards the next tier, it was massive.


    Added on to the fact that his mana purity finally crossed the 100% threshold, reaching 103%, his mana had been amplified by a great deal.


    Yet, as he stood in front of thest pir, he was not exactly feeling confident, after all, whatever awaited him afterwards, was definitely going to be troublesome.


    He had also noticed that his halo had begun glowing, albeit faintly, it was still enough for him to be concerned.


    Michael was now able to instantly kill those of simr strength to him, however, those who were stronger, would most likely pose a greater challenge than he could anticipate.


    Stop worrying about it already and sit down, I will help you absorb the remaining 10%.


    ''Fine..'' He grumbled and sat down, quickly absorbing the light of the pir, the speed was much faster than the first time he had done it.


    And in just 20 seconds, he was able to fully absorb it, pushing himself into the upper level of his own tier, only 8% were remaining until he could finally


    He also noticed that he was finally able to push his INT stat into the S category, and he could instantly feel the difference.


    The world felt slower and his mana felt much easier to control, it honestly felt unreal, but as the seconds passed, he adjusted to it very quickly.


    ''Hmm..'' Michael attempted to summon a single sword of light but it seemed way too easy, so he opted to summon at the very least a hundred of them.


    And to his surprise, there was no strain or anything of the sort, just like his other skill usage attempts, it felt effortless.


    The mana drain wasn''t huge either, 2.5% to summon 100 swords of light, that was quite the feat.


    ''I could definitely u-oh..'' As Michael was about to begin gloating to the system, the light of the pir reignited, this time, however, it was a pale blue color.


    He could see the rest of the pirs in the distance and they too were lit up, casting a bright light that seemed to be directing him to go to the very middle.


    ''This is a bit ominous..'' Michael thought and proceeded to follow the light, until eventually, he ended up in front of some sort of arena.


    It looked like a massive b of stone in the middle of nowhere, however, that was not enough for him to let his guard down.


    After all, there was a single man sitting on a chair in the very middle.


    Middle of Tier 2 from what I can tell.


    He nodded and walked up to and on to the arena, arriving right in front of the man, who, upon closer look, seemed to resemble him quite a lot.


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    ''For fu-'' As Michael was about to inwardly cuss at his own trials, the man spoke up.


    "Stop whining like a bitc-h.. fuck" The man attempted to sound intimidating, however, he bit his own tongue.


    ''...''


    He''s not you, he only resembles the current you, that''s about it, his appearance might be a bit different in reality had this ce been a little less.. weird.


    He listened to the system''s words and continued staring at the man who seemed to be trying to hide away from his embarrassing little act.


    "So... were you the one who was helping me?"


    "That''s right, you whimp I was tasked to.. steel your resolve?" The man began talking while staring directly at Michael''s eyes and his mana, confusion growing with each word he spoke.


    "You..? You are not the one I was told about" He took out some sort of notepad from his pocket, it seemed prettyical given his previous impression.


    Michael raised his brow "And who were you told about exactly?"


    "Some kid who was supposed to be thest of something, one of the higher-ups asked me to train his resolve.. but you are not him, are you?" The man red at Michael as a hint of bloodlust slowly crept up his spine.


    ''System?'' Michael backed off a little bit as he was not sure what kind of abilities the man in front of him had.


    Coupled with the fact that this fight seemed to be one big misunderstanding.


    I have no clue if I am being honest, though by whimp I would assume he''s referring to one of your previous selves. However, that wouldn''t make much sense considering he was indeed told that someone woulde.. in this timeline.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael thought for a moment before he furrowed his brows, he had a hunch that his thoughts were correct.


    ''What are the odds that I reced the previous Michael? The one Kevin talked about.''


    That''s impossible, I was with you when you first came to this world and I was there when I sealed your memories until your condition stabilized, it''s highly unlikely for something like that to happen.


    ''Is it not? I mean, you were corrupted once, weren''t you?'' Michael nced at the man in front of him who was slowly taking out a pair of daggers from his waist.


    It seemed like he had already made up his mind.


    Are you saying that the Michael who Kevin knew was in actuality you with sealed memories..? Listen... The case where someone took overst time was because I relinquished control for a mere moment.


    The system paused for a moment before once again continuing, this time its voice was filled with doubt.


    Though... I did have to do the same when I was forced to seal your memories.


    ''Time paradox bullshit perhaps, on that note, how was I even chosen? Do you remember that much at least?''


    No, I can only remember your previous life, I only gained sentience once you were transported to the other world.


    ''I guess neither of us knows shit then..'' Michael took a deep breath and spoke once again, trying to probe the man''s personality.


    "I am not sure who you were looking for, however, don''t you think some courtesy is in order, after all, you treated me so well with all of those gifts."


    However, the man finally drew his daggers and held them right in front of himself "You are nothing but a thief masking as the chosen one, I will cull you where you stand."


    "Right, sure, but before you do that, can you tell me what you meant by the higher-ups? Who are they exactly?" Michael tried getting some information out of the man, besides, he was not sure who were his allies at this point.


    "Hah.. You imposter. You don''t even know about them..." The man seemed riled up as he finally dashed towards him, aiming straight for his neck.


    But with the system''s assistance, and his newfound strength, he was able to deflect the attack while also sending one of his own.


    He started off slow, only casting around 10 swords of light and trying to impale the man.


    However, the attacks were easily blocked, it seemed like the man was definitely not to be taken lightly.


    Need I remind you he''s a Tier 2? One in the middle stages at that, don''t let down your guard and fight with care, I''ll handle the dangerous attacks.


    Michael cast a barrage of mirrored swords of light and watched with a small frown as the man deflected them all.


    ''Sure..''

 Chapter 111 Training Room (6)

    ''This guy is so annoying to fight'' Michael exhaled a painful breath as he backed away and cast his piercing light skill at the man.


    And much like his other skills, it was blocked or redirected, Michael was not sure how the man did it, after all, the skill was pretty difficult to detect.


    But not to him apparently as he kept on deflecting them and closing in on Michael, hitting him with pretty heavy blows despite only using daggers.


    He had the system to thank for the parrying, he didn''t have to worry about it at all, the only thing he needed to focus on was attacking and not getting his head cut off.


    ''I don''t suppose Heavenly Judgement is off cooldown?'' He asked with annoyance as the fight didn''t seem to be going anywhere.


    His mana was limited, he couldn''t say the same for the man''s physical abilities as they seemed to be much better than his own.


    However, everyone had limits, even if it didn''t look like they did.


    ''Don''t block the next non vital attack, I want to try something'' He informed the system and proceeded to fight as per usual.


    But unlike before, he showed more openings, he wanted the man to take advantage of them and hit him.


    Michael''s reasoning was pretty simple, if the man could block the attacks with his daggers, would he still be able to do the same without them?


    The attack came but it didn''t seem like the man would fall for his cheap trick, most of his attacks were still directed at the vitals.


    ''Guh.. fuck'' One of those attacks managed to graze him, albeit slightly, but even then, it was enough to blow out one of his lungs.


    However, his passive regeneration mended his injury very quickly.


    It seemed like using heals on himself was no longer necessary unless they were fatal or more serious in nature.


    He didn''t know if he could mend a pierced-through heart or even a split into two body, however, he was willing to bet that he could.


    The man once again attacked, but this time, his daggers were heading for Michael''s arm, seemingly in an attempt to cut it off.


    ''This fucker...'' He was d at the fact that the attack wasn''t heading for his vitals, however, it was heading towards his arm.


    It seemed like everyone''s go-to method of injuring someone was cutting off an arm or two, he just had to experience it multiple times himself.


    The system didn''t parry it and let it connect, however, just as it embedded itself into his arm, he shut it tight with a shield, holding it in ce.


    That seemed to throw the man off a little bit as he had a look of surprise on his face.


    He tried taking out the dagger but it seemed as though it was stuck inside of his arm, Michael made sure of that.


    With only a single dagger remaining, his chances of winning grew by a lot.


    Michael backed away and cast a few shields in front of himself, blocking off the man''s approach while also beginning to summon hundreds, if not thousands of swords, which were all heading towards the single-daggered man.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He attempted to replicate Heavenly Judgement, however, there seemed to be some kind of a rejection that made it impossible for him to finish the skill.


    Safety mechanism against your own stupidity, thank meter. Stay connected via empire


    ''...'' Michael ignored the system''s words and stared at the man who now seemed to show a hint of struggle.


    However, he knew better than anyone, that he hadn''t used his affinity yet.


    The entire fight, he only used his daggers and a little bit of mana and not a single skill from what Michael could tell.


    ''Unless... deflection was his skill..'' He thought for a moment but dismissed that idea, it seemed too far-fetched.


    A single sword connected with the man''s thigh, throwing him a bit off bnce before he let out an inaudible shout, one that seemed like a high-pitched shriek to Michael''s ears.


    However, it seemed to have broken all of the iing swords of light.


    It also managed to push Michael back slightly, it was now his turn to show surprise.


    ''What was that?''


    The wind affinity perhaps, it seems like he is going down the path of sound... It means he uses sound to fight.


    ''So as long as I can''t hear him, I''m fine?'' Michael asked for confirmation as he was considering his choices.


    The vibrations would still affect your brain.. however, I could focus all your defensive capabilities on it, making you pretty much immune to his affinity.


    ''That seems pretty simple.. is there a catch?''


    Yes, I would need to seal off your hearing for a bit, that is, until you finish the fight.


    Michael looked in thought for a moment before nodding ''Do it.''


    And the moment he said that, his hearingpletely disappeared and the system''s outer shields did too.


    I said full focus. Be careful.


    The system warned him and Michael turned to look back at the man.


    His appearance looked a little haggard, it seemed that his little shriek was not able topletely destroy all of the swords as there were holes clearly visible in his body.


    However, the fight was much more bnced now.


    Michael could see the man saying something and then his expression turning to one of confusion, then right after, shock.


    It seemed like he figured out what Michael had done and decided to take the fight up front once again.


    ''He doesn''t have a lot of life left..'' He thought as his eyes of the healer skill overlooked the man, there was a little me that was growing weaker by the moment.


    He assumed that was the man''s life force, it would definitely coincide with the injuries he took.


    Michael took one step forward, baiting the man into a defensive stance, and in that one little moment, he sent a bunch of swords directed at the man''s feet.


    The man dodged by jumping upwards, however, Michael was prepared for that, as in the next moment, an invisible sword cut off the man''s hand which was holding the dagger.


    All this time, he was preparing a single piercing light, and in the very end, he managed to seed with his surprise attack.


    The man looked at Michael in terror as he caught his own hand and pried it open, taking the dagger out and attempting to swing at him once more.


    However, it was to no avail, as the hand managed to be lopped off as well, it was much way easier for Michael to take advantage of this fight now that he had made the man panic.


    And all that was left, was to finish it.


    However, he still wanted answers. Who exactly were these higher-ups? And why was this man tasked with ''toughening'' him up?


    ''System, is there any way for you to safely let me talk with him while also protecting my brain?'' He asked as he stared at the man who was shaking and seemingly preparing to run away.


    I can interpret the words he speaks and ry them in your mind, just ask your questions.


    ''Alright.'' Michael walked up to him and kicked him in the stomach, hurtling him down on his back.


    "Who are you and who are your so-called higher-ups?" He asked away and saw the man mumble something.


    Fuck you, impostor.


    Michael stared at the man for a moment and sighed. He dealt with these kinds of people back in his time in the military.


    And every single time, they remained quiet, the devoted cultist type.


    "I see.." Michael waved his hand and turned around, hearing a plop on the ground as the system had restored his hearing.


    Well, that was pretty unproductive.


    ''Yup..'' Michael proceeded to walk off of the arena and sit down on the veryst step, acting like some sort of a chair.


    ''So what now?''

 Chapter 112 Training Room (7)

    So? How do you feel fighting someone who is a tier higher than you?


    ''Honestly? Not as hard as I expected it to be'' Michael answered truthfully while lying down on thest step of the arena.


    The fight might have been harder had the matchup been a bit different, since in this case, Michaelpletely countered his opponent.


    He even had a buff where his stats slightly rise when he faces an opponent a tier higher than him.


    At least you know. Don''t let this little win get to your head.. anyways, go back to check up on him, the illusion should have been dispelled by now.


    Michael nodded and stood back up, walking back to the man he had just killed and much to his surprise, he no longer looked identical to him.


    Instead, he looked in, way too in, it was one of those people with not memorable appearances.


    It did not look like he had any remarkable features either as Michael spent a few minutes inspecting him.


    ''Maybe on the arms..?'' He thought as he turned to one of the severed arms in the distance and walked up to it, picking it up.


    And once again, nothing out of the ordinary besides a pale white dot which he did not pay much attention to, it might have been some kind of birthmark.


    But just as he was thinking that, the system''s voice resounded and it seemed to hold some hint of urgency.


    It''s the symbol of hell.


    ''Hell? What do you mean?'' He asked in a confused manner, after all, what does a supposed Archangel have to do with hell?


    There are a few types of people thate from hell, some who came out willingly, and those who were sent out for a purpose, effectively possessing the soul of another being, that white dot right there is the indicator of possession.


    Michael stared at the dot and rotated the arm around, checking for any other irregrities, however, there were none.


    ''Are you sure?''


    I am 100% sure, as for what their purpose is with you, I don''t exactly know, after all, from the memories I can recall of your interactions with hell, not a single one of them is positive.


    ''Huh.. what a shitfest, I have to deal with fanatics and now even with the being of hell, my life sure is eventful huh..'' Michael chuckled at the situation, it seemed like he would not catch a break anytime soon.


    And in that same matter another ominous feeling arose, followed by a question ''So did I kill him or only the body?''


    Only the body, sadly, your attacks are not able to damage souls yet.


    ''So I can expect him to report everything that has happened to the people who sent him over?''


    Exactly. But look on the bright side, you have a motive for growing stronger much faster, since if you fall behind, you will be killed.


    Michael rolled his eyes and threw the man''s arm back onto the ground, he had gained all the information he needed.


    The daggers were thrown by the side and Michael decided to walk up to them and pick them up, they seemed to be of pretty decent quality.


    And much to his surprise, the modifiers appeared upon picking the two daggers up.


    Scarlet Surge [Umon]


    # Attacks using this dagger cause the opponent''s blood to clot and slightly inhibit mana flow.


    # Able to create a predictive field around yourself, assisting you in blocking attacks.


    Michael stared at it with widened eyes, the options were certainly very good, however, one thing confused him.


    ''What''s with the quality? Umon for something like this?''


    After you acquired a mana core, the system went through a full recalibration, item rarity did as well, the previous sniper you had would not even fall into themon category, it would be considered trash instead.


    ''Huh.. Interesting'' Michael picked up both of the daggers and swung them around, he had learned some techniques back in the military, but he was not the biggest fan of dagger fighting.


    He was thinking of giving it to one of his ssmates or maybe even Astraea.


    However, he doubted that she would ept, after all, she fights just like him, using her own mana to create all sorts of different offensive spells.


    Maybe give it to Kevin in exchange for some information rting to hell? He did mention fighting one of their princes after all.


    ''That''s a pretty good idea'' Michael agreed instantly and hung the daggers on his waist before looking all around himself.


    The darkness had disappeared, reced with a big empty room.


    He expected to see the pirs but it seemed like they had disappeared as well, it might have just been one big illusion.


    And he could finally see the wall that giant was talking about, odd colored was definitely urate.


    It had different shades of the same color blue as well as yellow and other kinds of colors, it did not make much sense to him.


    The system was not saying anything either, he assumed it did not know anything as well.


    ''Is there anything more I can gain from this room?'' He asked the system as he took a look at his status once again.


    The fight against that man made his progress rise by another 2%, bringing it up to a total of 94%, he was nearly there.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    No, the dense mana dispersed shortly after you killed the man, now it''s nothing but a simple training room, however, that does not mean you can''t gain some progress, after all, the cold is perfect.


    ''Sure..'' Michael sat down and made himselffortable, after all, since there would not be any more dangerous situations happening, the system would not be holding back in the slightest.


    Ready?


    He nodded at the system''s words and in the next moment, he felt his eyes freezing up and shortly after, he lost his vision.


    ''Isn''t this much colder thanst time?'' He asked with a frown as he could feel his whole body stiffening up, he was slowly losing control of it.


    It''s fine, you still have a decent amount of mana left, remember, I''ll heal you.


    ''...Fine''


    -----


    3 dayster.


    "Huuu...'' Michael let out a cold breath, all this time, he had only focused on absorbing the mana and nothing else.


    That''s why, his progress shot up to 99%, he felt like only a small nudge was left until he finally reached 100%.


    Just keep doing what you were doing and soon enough, you will reach it. Your speed is already faster than most of your past selves, some took years to even reach half, whereas you took what, almost two weeks?


    ''I suppose'' Michael chuckled and stood up, using mana to remake his clothing as the previous pair turned into icicles, it seemed like even mana was able to get frozen.


    ''So that''s it then?'' He asked for confirmation as he began walking towards the wall in the distance.


    That''s it, time for you to go back to your own world.


    He nodded and ced his hand on the wall, injecting a bit of mana into it.


    Immediately, the ground shook as the massive door from earlier opened, he tried opening it during the few days he spent training, however, he was not able to.


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    It seemed like the wall in front of him was some sort of key.


    Michael walked out of the room and noticed the other giants acting the same, it appeared that Fafnir had not done anything drastic.


    He went back to the very peak and noticed the surroundings which were a tad bit twisted, almost as if a fight had broken out.


    However, upon closer look, he realized that the marks resembled those that Astraea usually made, ones that were sharp and precise.


    As he arrived right in front of the house, he felt a surge of mana from inside, it seemed much stronger than the man''s he had faced earlier.


    And the moment he opened the door, quite an interesting sight greeted him.


    "Astraea..?"

 Chapter 113 Returning

    "Astraea... what are you doing?"


    She was sitting on the ground and seemingly drawing something, he could not exactly tell what it was since she was not the greatest of drawers, however, there was a short text that caught his eye.


    But it seemed like it was not rted to thenguage he had learned back in the temple, the one in front of him seemed simr but different at the same time.


    She appeared to be startled as he jumped up and quickly used her threads to get rid of the writing on the ground "M-Michael.. you are back."


    ''What''s with her?'' He raised his brow at the sight, she was usually the calm and collected type, but now she was acting like he saw something he should not have.


    Though his eyes quickly widened upon sensing her mana, just before he left, she was at the lower stage, but now, it seemed like she was about to reach the upper stage.


    ''Just what happened..?'' Michael was pretty confused, here he thought his progress was fast, yet here she was, nearly doubling his efforts in the same amount of time.


    However, he won''t judge, maybe something happened in those three days that he was gone that made her get stronger rapidly.


    But he assumed it would not hurt to ask "How did you get so much stronger?"


    And he was met with a small smile, her previous startled lookpletely gone "It''s a secret."


    ''Of course it is..'' He sighed but then suddenly a thought came up in his mind, one that he could not help but debate while he was training.


    "I am going to go back to my world soon... do you want toe with me?"


    Astraea''s eyes widened, as if she had not expected him to bring that up, but she quicklyposed herself and shook her head.


    "I am sorry.. I still have some unfinished business I have to deal with." She said apologetically.


    The business she was referring to was most likely her life before meeting him, more specifically, the ambush that had happened which caused her to run away.


    It seemed like she was working hard on figuring it out and he did not want to be the one to stop her from doing so.


    However, as he was about to drop that topic, she once again spoke up "But.. when we meet again.. I''ll go with you, it''s a promise" She held up her pinky finger right in front of him.


    Michael stared at her for a moment and nodded, epting her gesture and finalizing the pinky promise.


    "Do you want my help with the ''business?'' " He asked just in case, he did not know when he would return to this world again.


    "No.. It''s my battle, I want to avenge my family by myself" She said with a determined look.


    ''I see...'' Michael could not refuse her, yet it did not feel good to let her go just like that, he just hoped that the pinky promise would hold up, as insignificant as it was.


    Suddenly, an impatient voice came from right beside them "Are you two done already?"


    Michael turned and noticed Fafnir holding a passed-out Thrym by the cor.


    ''Damn... he does not look okay..'' He nced at Thrym and noticed a bunch of bruises and even a popped-out bone, And then there was Fafnir, he seemed perfectly fine.


    "We are ready.." Michael said as he let go of Astraea''s pinky and walked up to Fafnir who now had a small smile on his face.


    "Good, hey you, take him" Fafnir threw Thrym at a nearby giant and without even waiting for an answer, grabbed both Michael''s and Astraea''s cors, immediately disappearing from the mountain.


    ''I can''t see anything...'' Michael thought as his eyes were being bombarded by the wind, it seemed like the speed at which they were moving was far too fast for him to handle.


    In the next moment, they arrived in front of some kind of distortion in space and just as Michael was about to speak, both he and Astraea were thrown into the distortion.


    He closed his eyes and the moment he opened them back up, he saw the familiar house the two of them had been checking out just before they were transported into the rift.


    And along with them, Fafnir came too, walking out of the rift calmly and once again picking up the two of them by their cors.


    "Can you stop doing that?" Michael grumbled as his vision once again began shifting, until finally, he appeared right in front of a much bigger rift, one that seemed to be on one of the floating inds.


    "Girl, are youing with or should I drop you off elsewhere?" Fafnir suddenly asked and she exined her destination, it seemed like she wanted to be taken to a city near the one where she had been raised.


    Astraea waved at Michael before being picked up by the cor and disappearing.


    ''Bye..'' He waved at the empty air, and in the next moment, Fafnir reappeared.


    "I am surprised you managed to end up in a rift, someone''s been going around causing cracks in space, be d you ended up in the little people''s realm, or else you might have really died" Fafnir scolded and began walking to the rift.


    ''Little people?'' Michael raised his brow and followed after Fafnir. However, he did have a little question that had been on his mind for a while.


    "How did you know I was in a rift?"


    "Hm? I was following after you. I decided to get some food but then you just disappeared suddenly, so I had no choice but to go find you" He said nonchntly and stepped through the rift, leaving a puzzled Michael behind.


    A stalking dragon, your future is not looking so bright.


    Michael ignored the system''sment and sighed ''So he saw everything huh.. system, how much of the training you put me through is supposed to be secret?''


    It doesn''t look that strange to onlookers, more so a dragon who had probably lived for several millennia if not much longer, he looks to be some kind of ancient dragon after all.


    ''Fair enough'' Michael decided it was finally time to go through the rift and so he did. The journey was not as bad as the first time he had gone through it, his halo had protected him.


    But now, it was a smooth process, so he just simply closed his eyes and waited for the weird sensation of mana interacting with him to disappear until eventually, he reopened his eyes.


    And much to his and Fafnir''s surprise, the sight in front of them was not what they expected.


    Dark clouds surrounded them and the smell of smoke did not fail to enter their noses, however, coupled with that was the smell of blood.


    They were currently in some kind of area in the inner part of the city, it looked pretty secretive yet at the same time pretty open, it seemed like this was where they were hiding the rift.


    He was not exactly sure how no one had found out about it yet.


    Fafnir did not waste any time and kicked the space in front of them, creating a massive hole that tore through everything in its path.


    And what finally greeted their eyes, were a bunch of ruined buildings and all sorts of corpses flung around the streets.


    Huh...


    ''What the fuck?''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om

 Chapter 114 Flying

    "Fafnir, are we in the right ce?" Michael expressed his doubt, he just could not believe that the sight in front of him was Vivum.


    This is Vivum and before you think anything stupid, this is the correct timeline. Time flows the same in both worlds.


    ''Fuck... what the fuck happened then?'' Michael walked forward onto the street as Fafnir was not answering him, as if frozen in ce.


    He could see the corpses of humans scattered around, some burned while the others pierced cleanly through.


    Yet there were a few little goblin-like creatures scattered around the ground as well, though their color was a bit different, instead of the usual green, it was red.


    Added on to the fact that they had miniature horns and a tail, they were most certainly not goblins.


    They are Imps, clumps of the chaotic mana from hell who acquired sentience. Yet even then, they are seen as nothing but trash, though it seems like they were enough to deal with the civilians.


    ''Hell again...'' Michael frowned and walked up to one of the imps to inspect its body.


    And just like the system said, they were nothing but clumps of mana, however, he was a bit curious why they were not dissipating, after all, weren''t they dead?


    Their mana lingers for quite some time unless someone makes sure to get rid of it personally, though judging by the state of the city, there wasn''t exactly someone with free time to do the job.


    ''I see...'' Michael proceeded to summon a single sword of light and sent it directly down at the imp and immediately, its horrid form disappeared, the mana scattering in the air and heading downwards.


    "That was kind of you" He heard Fafnir''s voice from behind him, and upon turning around, he saw him holding an imp, it was still alive.


    Michael raised his brow "Why don''t you just kill it? It''s not going to give you information anyways."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure..." Fafnir said and suddenly covered the imp in his own mana, before seemingly absorbing it into himself.


    ''What is he doing?''N?v(el)B\\jnn


    He did not need to wait long to find out as Fafnir spoke once again "Hmm... they were summoned from the capital of hell... what a bunch of idiots.." He sounded a bit conflicted.


    Just as Michael was about to ask another question, he was interrupted "Go find your friends or something, I have to deal with some stuff" With those words, Fafnir disappeared into thin air, leaving Michael alone again.


    ''Aha.. alright'' Michael sighed and proceeded to scale a nearby building, he realized that he could use mana to hold himself onto all kinds of surfaces.


    And as he finally climbed to the very top, he saw the entire inner part of Vivum. ''Ruins'' was definitely an understatement.


    There were areas that housed massive craters, ones that seemed to wipe out quite a fair chunk of the city and take a few buildings along with them.


    The buildings which were not affected by the sts were slightly tilted, as if the aftershock still managed to affect the structural integrity of all those buildings.


    Michael nced to the side and frowned, the academy looked extremely roughed up, as if half of it had fallen and the rest was protected by some kind of barrier.


    As for the government headquarters? They were the least affected building in the inner part of the city.


    He was just d that it did not seem like any harm came to the outer part of Vivum.


    After all, he held the slums quite dear to his heart, he wouldn''t want them to suddenly get bombed.


    ''I guess it''s time I head back to the academy... I wonder if I amte?'' Michael chuckled at his horrible joke, trying to make this shitty situation less shitty.


    You are in factte, by a whole hour at that, you should get moving.


    It seemed like the system went along with his banter.


    However, as he was about to drop down and run over to the academy, he suddenly asked ''Do you think I could make a glider or something?''


    Well... you can survive the fall if you do end up failing, so I''d say go ahead and try.


    Michael smiled and began using his mana to create another pair of clothing, however, this time it was not regr clothing, it was more like a wingsuit, one that perfectly fit him.


    That looks stupid, why don''t you try using your swords to fly instead?


    ''No? How am I even meant to bnce on top.. oh'' He facepalmed as he realized he could just use the mana to glue himself onto a sword.


    Michael quickly discarded the wingsuit and summoned a slightlyrger sword of light than normal.


    He stepped onto the sword and it was shaking a fair deal, though he assumed that was only normal considering he had never done something like this before.


    It took him a few minutes to stabilize properly, even with the usage of mana, it proved to be a bit difficult, however, in the end, he got the hang of it and was able to move around on top of it.


    But flying still seemed to be a bit out of hisfort range, maybe he would try this some other time.


    Stop being a wuss.


    However, at the system''s words, the sword suddenly began levitating right above the building as it flew a bit to the side, exposing him to a couple hundred-meter drop if he were to fall.


    ''You can control it..? Also, are you fucking crazy?'' Michael began wobbling on top of it, finding it difficult to control, but as his wobbling continued, he noticed something off.


    ''Are you moving the sword on purpose?'' He asked the system in a frustrated tone as he noticed a few irregrities in the mana surrounding the sword.


    As soon as he mentioned that, the shaking stopped and he was able to bnce on the sword without issue, even slightly walking around on top of it without it moving even a little bit.


    Well, you caught me, but I was not tampering with it, I was helping you stabilize on top of it. Since you are a wuss, you oveplicated the process a tad bit, but hey, it''s fine now, you can go to the academy.


    ''...'' Michael was speechless at the system''s exnation.


    Nheless, he decided to move the sword slowly, and much to his surprise, he was stuck on top of it perfectly.


    He sped it up until the wind made it hard for him to breathe.


    Nice going genius, you are not in the city anymore.


    Michael turned around and noticed he had flown quite a far distance, the city was now in the far off distance.


    ''Whoops...'' He chuckled, finding flying a bit fun.


    He proceeded to fly at a high speed back towards the inner part of the city and then towards the academy.


    As he was right above the academy, Michael saw a of couple people outside, he could even recognize a few of them.


    ''Lena, Chloe, Liam, Kevin..'' A frown formed on his face as he began looking around more intently, focusing on the entire area below him.


    However, there was still someone missing, a loud and annoying person.


    ''Where''s Elizabeth..?''

 Chapter 115 The Saint

    Michael floated down from the sky and dropped onto the ground, startling everyone present.


    At a closer look, it seemed like some were even wearing some kind of a gas mask, presumably to protect their lungs from the polluted air.


    He did not understand why they needed to do that though, after all, weren''t they awakened just like him?


    Your body and abilities are different, if they are exposed to the toxic gasses for long, they would see a decline in their abilities.


    ''I see..'' He walked up to the surprised Lena and passed by her, there was nothing he wanted to talk to her about.


    However, there was one person he wanted to talk to, and that was Kevin.


    "Michael..?"


    "Sup, where is she?" Michael got straight to the point as he did not want to do these little word games which did nothing but waste time.


    "Right... she is safe.. kind of" Kevin replied hesitatingly, as if hiding something.


    But, Michael caught on "Tell me."


    "You see.. she is safe, but.. she suffered some injuries."


    Michael raised his brow at Kevin''s words. Did he forget that he was standing right in front of a healer?


    Just as he was about to point that out, Kevin spoke once again "I know what you are thinking, but she does not have a simple injury, it''s more like a curse. Can you cure curses?"


    He was a bit caught off guard by thatment, hepletely abandoned Purify as he deemed it good enough, but now that it hade to this, could he somehow do it?


    ''System, any way for me to cure a curse?''


    However, the moment he asked that, one of the people present fell to the ground, breathing out heavy breaths, and soon after, a couple more followed.


    The people who noticed this did not seem too bothered, heading over to the fallen people and picking them up, taking them back into the academy.


    You should really start using Eyes of the Healer like a passive skill, I don''t understand why you have it off most of the time.


    At the system''sment, he frowned and imbued mana into his eyes, Immediately, he was able to notice what it was talking about.


    Every single person present had some sort of ck blob attached to their mana.


    He stared at one of the people who had one of the bigger blobs and it seemed like it was moving, until eventually, it disappeared.


    However, the person was not fine, instead, they fell to the ground like the previous batch.


    ''Is this what Kevin meant by cursed?''


    Yes, the residual demonic mana seemed to infect all the people present.. well, except for Kevin, he seems to be doing just fine.


    Michael nced at him for a moment and noticed he was indeed fine, in fact, it almost seemed like the ck blobs of the other people were reacting to him.


    However, he was not able to confirm his suspicions as more people began falling, it seemed like an extremely dire situation.


    ''System, can I or can I not upgrade my Purify?'' He asked for thest time since the system seemed to gloss over his earlier question.


    Yes, it''s pretty simple. Just cast Purify while also channeling your inner mana, it should be a bit more effective, it might even cure these curses. After all, the light affinity can deal with most if not all ailments.


    ''Hmm..'' Michael listened attentively and decided to test it out, it did not seem that difficult.


    He walked up to one of the people who was about to pass out and cast Purify while mirroring the mana flow with his inner mana.


    Immediately, the person was surrounded by a golden color and soon after, the ck blob disappearedpletely.


    The person seemed startled and so did the others around Michael, no one expected the curse to be lifted so easily, not even Kevin.


    ''...That''s it?'' He was a bit conflicted by how easy it was to cure this so called curse.


    That is indeed it, told you it was easy.


    ''Yeah'' Michael nodded, however, a sudden thought sprang up to his mind as he turned to the shocked Kevin.


    "Where''s Tony?"


    "..." He was met with silence, Kevin was just standing there scratching his chin as if he did not want to talk about it.


    But Michael wanted answers, Tony was the Saint who reced him after all, even if he was deemed ipetent by others, he still had an image to uphold.


    "Kevin?" He asked again, urging for an answer.


    And finally, Kevin sighed deeply and began exining "The city went to shit and that bastard tried fleeing, I caught him and forced him to heal the injured, but.." His tone kept growing more and more irritated with every word he spoke.


    "While I was busy transporting the injured, he ran away, he somehow dispelled my shadows so I can''t even find him anymore."


    Michael listened with a frown, it seemed like the moment he left the city alone, it had gone to shit.


    "I see.. I will deal with him when I find him.. anyway, could you tell me what exactly happened while I was gone?"


    Kevin nodded and began recalling the events that led up to what they were currently seeing.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    The bombs, the demons, the battles afterwards.


    It all happened so fast, none of them expected to have to deal with something like that, that was especially so for Kevin.


    ording to his timeline, there should have been a massive dungeon break which did result in some casualties, but nothing extremely severe to the point where an entire city was put at risk.


    The imps were not much to Michael, but to the others, they did prove to be a bit of a challenge.


    From what he could tell, Kevin and Chloe had gotten much stronger, not Tier 1 yet, but very close.


    However, it seemed like Chloe was avoiding him, which confirmed his previous suspicions of her most likely being rted to the vampires.


    Though that talk woulde muchter, he had other stuff he needed to deal with now.


    The range of his Purify was pretty massive, coupled with the fact that he could use it in an area, which proved to be quite an asset.


    Michael raised a single hand and cast Purify into the air while also channeling his own mana.


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    Immediately, a golden glow began emitting from his hand and spreading across the entire area around him, covering most if not all of the people present.


    Those who had fallen to the ground due to the curse seemed to regain consciousness as well, quickly jolting onto their feet and staring at Michael with wide eyes.


    He had barely used any mana, yet he managed to cure so many people.


    However, he noticed something strange as his Purify enveloped Kevin, there was some kind of a reaction to his mana.


    It almost seemed like his spell was cast back onto him, though he doubted that was possible, after all, Kevin uses shadows, not light.


    However, as he focused more and more, the connection only grew stronger, it wasing from one of the shadows around him.


    Kevin seemed to notice the strange look Michael was giving him as he stepped back a bit.


    "Kevin, what do you have there..?"

 Chapter 116 A Feather

    "..What do you mean?" Kevin replied cautiously as he was not sure what Michael was referring to, though by his gaze alone, he could tell it was not something trivial.


    "Let me rephrase: Did you pick something up recently? Something that... I don''t know, has some special light-based effects?"


    His eyes widened upon hearing that and he immediately took out something odd-looking from one of his shadows, it looked like some kind of ss cage with a feather inside.


    Discover exclusive tales on empire


    "...Is this a joke?" Michael red at him, he could not feel anything from the feather in front of him, if anything, it seemed like any ordinary pigeon feather.


    "I understand that you might have acquired some kind of strange hobby, but.." As he was about to berate Kevin, a small, almost unnoticeable wave of mana escaped from the feather.


    However, it did not go unnoticed by Michael, he was fairly sensitive to light-affinity mana by now.


    "You can have it, I don''t really know what to do with it anyway" Kevin threw the ss cage at Michael with seemingly no care.


    "Thanks..."


    ''System.. what is this?''


    It''s a feather.


    ''No shit, whose feather?'' He rolled his eyes at the system''s untimely sarcasm.


    I can''t tell, however, you can absorb this feather from what I can see, what effects would it give? Beats me.


    ''How do I absorb it? Same as with the pir''s light?'' He questioned as he held the ss cage closer to his chest.


    Pretty much, yes. But it would be best if you did so when no one was around, the density seems a bit higher than the light from the pirs.


    ''Sure'' Michael nodded and made a pocket out of mana in his clothing, storing the feather safely.


    Now that he figured out the little matter regarding the strange energy, it was time for him to take up the healer''s mantle.


    After all, who else would do it? Tony was nowhere to be seen, though if Michael did see him, he would have to teach him some manners.


    Michael nodded at Kevin and turned back to Lena who had not even said hello to him, he believed that she held some sort of resentment for him.


    But no matter how much he thought, he could not recall wronging her at any time, beingte to her lessons was definitely not enough to cause this kind of conflict or so he hoped at least.


    "Take me to where the unconscious people are, also, if youe across any injured, take them to me as well."


    "Are you ordering me around?"


    Michael raised his brow "Yes? Do you not want to help the injured?"


    "That''s... fine" She grumbled at Michael''s shameless straightforwardness and signaled for a nearby student toe to her.


    "Show him where they are" With those words, she proceeded to head into the city.


    Michael did see some people lying around when he was flying, some even seemed alive. He just hoped her baseless grudge would not inhibit her morals.


    The student led him into the academy and then down a flight of stairs, which he does not remember seeing before.


    In front of him was a door, one that was slightly open, revealing the inside.


    The room looked like some kind of a hallway of hospital beds, it was like a miniature hospital in of itself.


    However, there were not many doctors to attend to the patients from what he could tell.


    There were some white-robed individuals, ones that he remembers seeing once he first entered the city.


    But they looked exhausted, some of them even passed out.


    And upon closer look, Michael noticed that they too had caught the curse, although the spreading was much slower than on the other people he had seen.


    ''I guess they are healers for a reason.. actual healers'' He acknowledged their efforts, even if they had not managed to cure the curse, they were at the very least able to minimize any other kind of damage the people might have suffered.


    Well, that''s how you would have been, a normal healer; your pace and decision-making were something that not even I could have expected.


    ''What do you mean?''


    When you first got to this world, I had a n prepared for you. You be a healer, slowly level up until it is finally time for you to be introduced to mana control. But as you might have already noticed, you skipped everything and went straight for the big guns.


    ''Well, jokes on you I guess? Are you sure that n was prepared by you or the so-called time paradox you?'' Michael wondered as he could not be sure, after all, these past few weeks had made him question quite a lot of things.


    Hmm... There was a n in ce the moment you regained your memories; however, it was a bit different than the one I attempted to lead you on. Had you followed the other one, simr circumstances might have happened like they did to the other Michael.


    ''You mean I get kidnapped or something?''


    Precisely, though even with my n, a lot of irregrities arose. You were not supposed to encounter Meph, neither were you supposed to be on this continent, but I guess fate steered you in this direction.


    ''I guess it did, didn''t it?'' Michael chuckled and walked to the very middle of the room.


    The healers that took notice of him had widened eyes for just a moment, before a rxed sigh escaped their mouths.


    Michael stood in the very middle of the room and raised his arm, once again covering every single person present with his enhanced Purify,pletely ridding them of the curse.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    However, unlike the previous people, not all of them immediately woke up, it seemed like the fatigue they suffered was a bit too great.


    Just as Michael was about to turn around, he spotted an individual who managed to sit up straight, it was quite a familiar face.


    ''Look who we have here..'' He grinned as he began walking towards the person.


    "Tony, how have you been?" Michael asked with a small smile, which did not mirror his inner intentions.


    "You..? Huh? Why are you here?" Tony seemed surprised to see him, yet his expression turned more sour by the second.


    "Why are you interrupting the Saint''s rest?" He said in a t disregarding tone, which caused Michael''s smile to slightly twitch.


    The healers around him seemed to hear that too, as they tried their best not tough; however, some chuckles could not be held back.


    ''Is this guy an idiot?'' Michael genuinely wondered at Tony''s shamelessness.


    He abandoned the people and ran away, yet here he was,fortably lying in a bed after being cured by Michael.


    "Why are you just standing there? Piss off and let me rest."


    ''Alright.. system, any creative ideas on how to deal with him?''


    Cut off his tongue, maybe? That seems pretty original. Or you could always just kill him, not like the world will miss someone like him.


    ''Hmm... I can''t just kill him, he is still the Saint in name, even if he was utter trash..'' Michael debated on the punishment, however, the doors of the room suddenly swung open.


    And just like many of his previous encounters, a powerful kick flew towards him at a speed he could just barely react to.


    Michael blocked the attack and carefully maneuvered around the patients so as to not injure them.


    ''She is always so... hotheaded..'' Michael sighed at the woman in front of him.


    "Do you always have to make an entrance, Amanda?"

 Chapter 117 Another Inauguration?

    "Shut up, you came back a little earlier than you were supposed to, where''s father?" Amanda crossed her arms and stared at him.


    But as she did so, her eyes slightly widened once again "You are almost Tier 2... what are you made of?"


    "..Surprise? I was stuck somewhere, and your father came to get me. That''s about it. As for where he went after we came back? I don''t know." Michael replied honestly, he knew she did not have the best of tempers around here.


    "I see.."


    Amanda stood still for a moment, as if thinking about something, that was until her gazended on Tony. Continue reading at empire


    She walked up to him with a nk expression and ced a single finger on his forehead.


    "How would you rate your performance during this time of crisis?" She said in an eerily emotionless voice, which caused a shiver to go down Michael''s spine.


    Tony seemed startled as he replied in a shaky voice "M-Miss Amanda? I-I tried doing my best.."


    However, it seemed like Amanda was not buying it, if even the students knew about what he had done, how could she not know?


    After all, Tony was personally assigned to his position by none other than Amanda herself.


    Just as Michael was about to step up and say something, Tony''s head was sted to bits, but before the blood could spill onto the other patients, it pooled into a single small ball before disappearing.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''...Damn.'' Michael couldn''t help but gulp at the sudden development.


    However, every single patient around them seemed unbothered, almost as if they were relieved at what had just happened.


    Amanda sighed and turned back around to face Michael "How do you feel about bing a Saint for the second time?"


    "What are my benefits?" He went straight to business, putting the incident that had just happened behind him.


    "Same as before, just much more money, how about it?"


    "Do you think I am some sort of idiot?" Michael quickly shot back, his strength was nearly at Tier 2, yet she wanted to hold him down with just a bit more money.


    Either she was trying to be unreasonable, or she was just testing his intelligence.


    "Fine... what do you want?"


    ''Hmm...'' Michael thought for a moment, however, he had already nned out what he wanted to ask.


    "Give me unlimited ess to that world, oh, and don''t expect me to stay in this city for long, I will be heading out pretty soon."


    Michael had been thinking about it ever since reaching the first tier, what was the point of him staying in Vivum any longer?


    All that he was doing was hindering his own progress and the rate at which he was improving. He needed to move to a much stronger world.


    However, he still had some things left to do before then, namely, finding out more information about hell and maybeing back to his previous continent.


    There was Meph whom he wanted to meet before heading out, he had a few things to ask regarding his imprisonment.


    After all, so far everything seemed to fall into ce much too perfectly, there was a high chance that whoever imprisoned Meph, was also connected to him in a way.


    As for Reba, he did not even know where to start, however, it would not hurt to swing by the orphanage, maybe he could even pick up some sort of lead where she could have gone?


    There were other things that he could do, but they were all pretty low on his importance list.


    Michael watched as Amanda debated his demands with a frown on her face before nodding at him hesitatingly.


    "Fine, bastard... but while you are here, you must do your duties to the best of your abilities, unlike that trash from earlier" She said in a stern voice and began heading out, however, she stopped in the doorframe and turned back to him.


    "There will be a ceremony in an hour, don''t bete" With those words, she left, leaving him speechless.


    ''Another ceremony..? Is that really necessary?''


    The people want a hero, or just someone to rely on in dire situations. Tony was a pretty bad example, but you, on the other hand, are the perfect candidate. You not only have a great reputation but also exceptional healing abilities.


    ''I know, I just don''t understand why the ceremony is necessary to portray that, just make an emergency announcement or something.''


    A ceremony will provide a bigger impact than a simple emergency notice, just go through with it, not like you have to do anything. Remember thest time?


    ''True..'' Michael nodded. The system was not wrong in the fact that he did not need to do muchst time.


    All he had to do was stand there and drink out of some sort of cup filled to the brim with water.


    ''Anyway..'' Michael cast purify on himself, and immediately, the curse he had acquired upon killing the vampire had vanished.


    It was strange that his Purify was not being upgraded to a higher rank, after all, the skill was pretty solid now.


    When you dispel someone who is afflicted with mind control, that should do the trick; Even if you can technically dispel it, without doing so directly, I suppose it does not count.


    ''This has never happened before, though?''


    There is a first for everything, deal with it.


    ''...''


    Michael proceeded to walk around the entire room and heal those who seemed a bit injured, he had quite a bit of mana to spare after all, flying did not consume anything at all since he was only using the swords of light, nothing else.


    He felt a bit of pity for the healers, it seemed like they were tirelessly working ever since this incident first happened.


    The casualties were in the thousands, maybe even much more, after all, massive bombs were quite literally dropped onto the city.


    And to think, it only happened due to unfortunate timing, if only Fafnir had still been in Vivum, something like this would have never been allowed to happen.


    Don''t dwell on what could have been.


    ''I am not, I just think the timing was a bit too perfect'' Michael replied to the system as he finally finished healing the rest of the people in the room.


    Creating a perfect healing spell still seemed a bit difficult, however, by casting Aegis of Light''s healing mode and slightly amplifying the mana, he could heal most of the people fully.


    It was a neat trick and he felt like he would be able to do it to everyone around him, however, the mana cost seemed to increase exponentially as he tried healing more than one person.


    As it was right now, he could still bear with it. After amplifying it, the mana cost decreased a tad bit, more than double if he had to guess.


    He could not find out the exact amount as in the system''s status screen, it disyed that it was >1% now, a pretty good adjustment.


    Sadly, he could not enhance hisbat skills like that, it would be too overpowered considering they were already pretty destructive and their mana costs were negligent.


    As he was lost in his thoughts, a voice resounded behind him, it was a woman dressed in a healer''s robe "Saint Michael?"


    "Yes?"


    "Miss Amanda said to be on time... You are about to bete.."


    ''Oh.. shit'' Michael thanked the woman and headed outside of the academy. He summoned a single sword of light and got on top of it, immediately taking off into the sky.


    However, there was one problem.


    ''She did not tell me where I was supposed to go...''

 Chapter 118 Another Inauguration? (2)

    Did you forget?


    At the system''s words, an extremely detailed map appeared.


    It had all sorts of dots scattered around, be it green, yellow or even red.


    The map also included a 3D view that he could zoom into, it was extremely convenient, it was like a birdseye view.


    ''Now where are you..'' Michael focused on the map, he could almost make out the details of some individuals.


    Added on to the fact that if he zoomed in enough, he could roughly feel their mana, it would not be hard to spot Amanda considering she is one of the strongest people in the entire city.


    First was Fafnir, of course, but it did not seem like he was currently in the city.


    After a few seconds of searching, Michael finally found her, and much to his surprise, she was at the church at which he was first dered a Saint.


    He had assumed that the church had fallen, after all, a bomb dropped right beside it, wouldn''t be surprising if it had been caught in the st after all.


    But as Michael flew over there, he saw the whole church as well as its courtyardpletely intact, as if a barrier had blocked the stpletely.


    He floated down andnded right in front of Amanda who seemed to not mind him being nearlyte.


    "Change into this" She tossed a white robe that seemed simr to the saintly robe he wore at his previous inauguration.


    And like the old one, it was nothing special either, just a simple piece of cloth.


    Michael tossed it on himself, his golden mana clothing did not make him feel ufortable even with the extrayers he had put on.


    "Alright, what now?" He asked and suddenly, Amanda took out a camera that had a red light shining on the very edge.


    It meant that she already started recording, better yet, his clothes were all wrinkly and he still had a bit of dried blood on his face.


    But nheless, Michael smiled at the camera, waiting for Amanda to start talking.


    However, even after a few seconds passed, she had not begun talking, only looking at him with a small mischievous grin.


    ''This woman...'' He inwardly apuded her shamelessness, but on the outside, he was quite pissed.


    He was apparently expected to provide some kind of speech, and the icing on the cake was, he was never good at speeches.


    Even back in school, he had memorized them perfectly, yet when it was time to actually do the speech, his brain went nk.


    Safe to say, public speaking was never his forte, much so in front of the entire city.


    Nheless, he began speaking what was on his mind "Err... Hello everyone, some of you might know me from before, I am the previous Saint."


    Michael took a deep breath and continued "Due to the current circumstances, the goddess has summoned me to act on her behalf, to restore this city to what it was andbat the remaining demons."


    ''Fuck... what else do I say..?''


    "Anywa- For that reason, I am back as the official Saint for an indefinite amount of time, please put your worries at ease" He finished and Amanda immediately cut off the camera.


    "Nice, it was not live, but nheless, valiant speech" She gave him a thumbs up.


    Nice one Amanda.


    ''Why are you on her side..?'' Michael sighed at both of their antics and took off the white robe, he preferred his mana clothing over the regr stuff.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "You are so funny, is there anything else? Or can I go now?" He asked impatiently, he wanted to absorb the feather already as Tier 2 was just around the corner.


    There was also the talk he wanted to have with Kevin regarding hell, but that could wait. The same could be said about the conversation with Chloe too, however, it was not that important.


    After all, his interest in vampires was minimal, he did not even know they existed until just a few weeks ago.


    "You can go, also, there will be an event held at the academy in a week, it''s important so make sure to attend." She said and began walking to the side.


    Much to his surprise, the driver who had always apanied her was still alive.


    Amanda got into the car and drove away, she was not that hung up on goodbyes it seemed.


    But he did not mind, after all, he now had a bit of time to himself.


    Michael decided to head back to the academy, he wanted to absorb the feather right away.


    However, as he got closer and closer, his expression turned sour.


    Conveniently, a certain part of the academy was sted to bits which so happened to be where his dorm was located.


    So once again, he was homeless.


    Maybe it is time to cash in the check?


    ''What ch- oh..'' He hadpletely forgotten about the million-dor check Amanda had given him after the dungeon incident.


    He could have cashed it inst time, but he was d he did not, after all, the slums weed him with open arms.


    However, he wanted some peace, if he decided to go absorb the feather in the slums, there would be quite a lot of people trying to bother him.


    ''Wait..'' He suddenly froze as he looked at the rubble which had been his room previously.


    The mana refining orb was in there but probably not anymore, it looked fragile already, yet a whole building fell on top of it.


    ''Fuck.. system, is it still there?'' Michael asked with a tinge of hope, maybe it was not broken and he could recover it.


    It''s gone. I can feel the faint fragments of mana from it. Oh, and I don''t want this to weigh on your conscience, but the reason this part of the dorms exploded was because the orb interacted with the demonic mana, causing an explosion of its own that decimated... Well, you can see how much.


    ''...That''s just great, so how am I supposed to refine my mana now?''


    Reach Tier 2, you will get a pretty big power up and maybe even a method to increase it, but don''t worry, you will find a way to refine it soon.


    Michael raised his brow at the system''s crypticment and proceeded to head to the government headquarters.


    He did not know where his check went, but Amanda could probably write him a new one.


    No one stopped him as he headed up the elevator and into the round table room, where Amanda was currently napping.


    But upon noticing him, she shot a re at him "Miss me already? What do you want?"


    "I want to cash in that check from before" Michael said confidently but her next response made him speechless.


    "It''s expired."


    "..What?"


    "I said it''s expired, do you seriously think a million-dor check wouldst years without expiring?"


    ''...'' Michael just stared at her nkly.


    "Can''t you.. you know, unexpire it? As a token of gratitude for the Sainting back?"


    "...Just tell me what you need instead, if the budget is not too high, I''ll get it for you, as for the check, the city is not currently able to provide just anyone with a million dors to spend" Amanda exined patiently, it seemed like she could do at least that much for a Saint. Find your next adventure on empire


    "Good enough.. Alright, get me..."

 Chapter 119 Anomaly

    ''Woah... this is massive''


    Michael was currently in some sort of penthouse situated in the outer part of the city.


    While it was not as luxurious as the ones in the inner part, the sheer amount of money kind of closed the distance.


    However, the only reason he was allowed to stay here was because Amanda had let him.


    She said it was her personal guest house, rich people''s stuff Michael could not quite understand but nheless, he appreciated it.


    And now, it was time for him to absorb the special feather.


    He took the ss cage out of his little pocket and ced it on the desk in front of him, inspecting the feather a bit more closely.


    However, besides the mana it was radiating, it did not feel that special, he could definitely see himself mistaking it for a regr feather.


    Take it out and sit down already. How much time are you nning on wasting dawdling around the room?


    ''Fine..'' Michael snickered and twisted the ss cage open.


    However, the moment he did so, it felt like the time around him froze, the feather was suspended in the air just in front of him and the TV that he had been watching was now stuck on one scene.


    ''System?'' He called out, but did not receive an answer.


    ''Well, isn''t this a little familiar...'' Michael thought and suddenly, the feather began emitting a faint golden aura while slowly floating towards him.


    "Do you wish to go down this path?" A voice resounded, however, he could not tell from where.


    But as realization dawned upon him, he turned back to the feather in front of him ''No fucking way is a feather talking to me.''


    ''Unless.. it is?'' Michael reached out to the feather and it backed away slightly, not letting his arm reach it.


    "Do you wish to go down this path?" The voice, which he assumed was the feather in front of him, spoke out again.


    "What path?" He asked, not expecting a response, however, the feather flew over to him and stopped just in front of his face.


    "Seraphim."


    Upon hearing those words, a sharp headache assaulted him and just as quickly, went away. He had obtained a few memories.


    The influx of memories was little, however, they definitely seemed important. Important enough for even the system to recognize them as such.


    [+5% Synchronization]


    But just as he was about to rejoice at that fact, another message plopped down in front of his eyes, it was golden in color.


    [25% Synchronization Reached: Entering -> Halls of Reflection]


    Michael attempted to scramble to his feet and cancel it, but the moment he was about to touch the golden panel, his hand went through it instead.


    And just like that, his vision shifted, and he found himself in some sort of dark room with eerie chandeliers covering the ceiling.


    He was sitting by a table, seemingly alone, but his silence was soon interrupted by an ear-piercing noise.


    -Ding


    [ERROR] Discover stories at empire


    The noise made him scrunch up, it was way too loud, almost as if someone detonated a grenade inside of his ear.


    However, as he gathered himself and looked up, he saw apletely red status screen in front of him that disyed a strange message.


    [RECOMPILING ANOMALY, PLEASE WAIT]


    ''What the fuck is happening?'' Michael looked around himself, the surroundings still seemed eerily quiet, he almost thought that they were frozen in time.


    But upon a closer look, he noticed they were not, a grandfather clock was situated on the ground and it was constantly making noise, he just could not hear it earlier.


    ''System?'' He attempted to call out again, but no response came, it seemed like he would really be doing this alone.


    Michael did not know what went wrong, he was nning to go to the Halls of Reflection after hitting Tier 2. However, it seemed like his ns were pushed forward a tad bit.


    As he was debating his next course of action, the loud noise once again assaulted his ears.


    -Ding


    [Halls of Reflection Difficulty Readjusted]n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    [1:1 Difficulty Set | Realistic Depiction of Events Initiated]


    After thosest few messages appeared, silence once again returned, however, Michael felt a bit uneasy.


    The system had not told him a bunch about whatever these Halls of Reflection were, he thought he could ask it just before he was about to enter.


    Though the difficulty might prove to be a bit of a challenge, from what he could tell, it was a 1:1 replica of the original events of whatever memory he was about to rey.


    Coupled with the fact that his knowledge regarding the Seraphim might have been the reason why the Anomaly happened in the first ce, he was not feeling exactly confident.


    Even in his memories, the Seraphim were portrayed as mighty beings who stood on the same level as god, there were not a lot of them, but each one could destroy an entire gxy in just a mere moment.


    He even remembers one of those beings patting his head, it was pretty silly, but that''s where his memories ended.


    All Michael managed to find out was a bit of history regarding them and a bit of a gander at their strength. He could not remember any names, maybe he did not know any in the first ce.


    From what he knew of Archangels, Michael was one of the more important ones, however, the books never described an encounter between him and the Seraphim.


    ''So.. what''s the n now?'' He instinctively talked in his mind, as if seeking the system''s opinion, however, no reply ever came.


    Michael looked around the empty room and table before kicking back and standing upright.


    The room looked oddly abandoned yet at the same time, he could tell someone was living there.


    Dust was scattered everywhere, yet a few ces werepletely spotless, those being, his seat, and the seat right in front of him.


    But despite that, he could not feel anyone in the house.


    Michael was d that his skills worked at the very least, if he had gone in prior to obtaining a mana core, he might have struggled a bit.


    But now that his skills were all mostly connected, it was no problem at all.


    He decided to head outside of the room, not like he would gain any more information from it, he had already scouted it to the best of his abilities.


    It was a pity that the map was not avable, he would need to learn how to use it simrly to the system once he gets back.


    However, just as he approached the door and opened it, instead of the hallway, what greeted his eyes was a field of grass.


    ''What the..'' He let go of the door handle and went into the grassy field, the air around him felt a little suffocating.


    It was almost like the mana was way too overwhelming for the current him.


    ''1:1 difficulty my ass..'' He grumbled and turned back around, there was another door he had seen in the room previously, maybe that would take him into the hallway.


    However, just as he turned around, he noticed something strange.


    The door and the room that had been there just mere moments ago, was now nowhere to be seen, as if it vanished while he had his back turned against it.


    And as that happened, the mana in the surroundings slowly began to grow denser, causing him to feel slightly overwhelmed.


    ''This isn''t how I expected my evening to go..''

 Chapter 120 Halls of Reflection

    ''Fuck...'' Michael gritted through the pain of his insides seemingly being crushed, however, as time went on, his body began adjusting.


    He was slowly getting used to the pressure, although that did not mean that he was okay, it still felt suffocating.


    But suddenly, the pressure disappeared, it almost seemed like it was not there in the first ce, but he knew better than to think that.


    Illusions were one thing; whatever that pressure was, was something else entirely.


    However, as he was lost in his thoughts and the difort he felt, an annoyed voice resounded from right in front of him "Are you going to get up already?"


    Michael looked upwards just to notice a very short man, he could almost call him a dwarf, yet he was just tall enough to not bebeled as one.


    The strange part was, Michael knew the dwarf somehow "..Toad?"


    "I told you not to call me that you fucking pigeon!" The dwarf began pouting as he got closer to Michael and hit him on the head.


    It was a fairly weak attack, he did not even attempt to dodge it or negate it; level-wise, the dwarf would be around level 40.


    If Michael wanted to, he could swat him away like an actual toad, but of course, he would not do that.


    However, the situation still seemed a bit strange, almost as if he was gaining memories the longer he interacted with the surroundings.


    They did not return instantly, returning almost as if they were fragments, bits of deja vu.


    "Say.. Toad, or rather, Baldor, could you remind me where we are exactly?" Michael asked with a kind smile.


    From what he could gather, they were really good friends, asking stupid stuff would not throw the dwarf off.


    Baldor stared at him like he was some sort of an idiot "Hm? Pigeon, have you gone senile?"


    However, Michael just stared back into his eyes, seeking an actual answer.


    "You are serious... We are in the garden, those two fuckers keep breaking thews of this ce, so we were sent down to screw their heads on straight" Baldor exined with only a tinge of patience.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Garden? Those two?'' Michael raised an eyebrow at the development, he had some thoughts on where he could be just from those indicators.


    Well, and the fact that he was technically an archangel, it would not be surprising for him to be associated with the beginning of everything.


    He decided to try ying along, if his suspicions were correct, then...


    "Which one broke the rules this time? Could you remind me?"


    "The same one as per usual. Eve decided to eat another nectar, I believe the world tree can''t hold on much longer.. Maybe this is fate?"


    ''Garden of Eden... well, aren''t I in a tricky location..'' Michael grumbled inwardly, there were a lot of stories and theories that were rted to this particr ce.


    To find out that it actually existed all along seemed a bit unreal, even after all he had encountered so far, this situation seemed like a bit of a stretch.


    He was a bit confused, why was this part of his memories? And why exactly was this noteworthy enough to be included in whatever the Halls of Reflection were?


    "Huh.. her again? Seems like she never learns.." Michael chuckled and patted the dwarf on the head, and the moment he did so, his body froze.


    "You..." Baldor was shaking from anger as he red in his direction.


    He had done it out of habit, or he thinks he did at least, it felt natural.


    "Sorry, I needed a handrest for a moment" Michael added and began walking forward, the elevation increased in one particr direction, he assumed that was where the garden actually was.


    But just as he began walking forward, the ground shook slightly, it was barely enough for most to notice, however, for Michael, it was definitely not difficult.


    He turned around to look at Baldor and saw him just standing there with wide eyes before quickly dashing in the opposite direction of where Michael was going.


    ''Guess up was not the way..'' He sighed and proceeded to run after Baldor, although it was a bit difficult.


    Michael was surprised at the speed of the dwarf, he looked extremely weak, yet what he was seeing now did not add up.


    It was a struggle for Michael to even follow his afterimage, he was just d that they were heading in a straight line, if the path had been a bit different, then he would have been lost long ago.


    However, he was not sure if he imagined it, but his speed was a little faster than usual.


    As they were running, arge tree appeared in the distance, it was so big in fact that Michael was unsure how he had not seen it earlier.


    And strangely enough, it looked like it was radiating some sort of weird type of energy. It was not mana, but close enough to be considered as such.


    The only reason Michael was sure it was not mana was because of his encounter with the rifts, it released the same type of energy.


    The energy of chaos, it was simr, but on a different wavelength.


    He could interact with it by using his inner mana, but it felt more like a chemical reaction than anything else.


    Baldor had already arrived by the entrance of the garden and was waiting for Michael with an impatient look on his face.


    "Pigeon-shit, you sure enjoyed taking your time, didn''t you?"


    "Why would I rush over..? She already ate the nectar, didn''t she?" Michael tried excusing hisck of speed with logical reasoning.


    "Well, no shit. That''s where wee in to y to reset what she had done" Baldor walked up to him and smacked him on the head again.


    This time, however, the force behind his smack was muchrger than before.


    It almost felt like he had been smacked by a Tier 1 individual.


    But for some reason, it did not hurt as much as he thought it would, almost as if he had gotten stronger.


    ''No way right..?'' Michael chuckled at his thoughts and cast a single sword of light.


    The cast time was pretty much instant, he could not tell the difference from that alone, so instead, he decided to send the sword into the ground.


    And upon doing so, he was left a bit speechless ''Uhh...? Did I do that?''


    All he did was cast an ordinary sword of light like he had done all this time, however, the effects were a bit much.


    His previous attack would have simply cut into the ground and dug deep, but instead, a small crater appeared. From a half-assed attack nheless.


    Even a little bit of excess mana was left floating around, signifying the destructiveness of the simple sword of light attack.


    Staring at the crater, he could not help but think ''What if I cast Heavenly Judgement..''


    However, he quickly stopped that thought, it was in the back of his mind and he preferred not to need to use it unless absolutely necessary. Discover hidden tales at empire


    There was also the fact that he did not know how to replicate the attack properly, after all, he had only used it once, and it was by ident.


    As he was lost in his thoughts, Baldor''s annoyed voice resounded from in front of him.


    "Are you done ying around? Let''s go."


    "Right.."

 Chapter 121 Halls of Reflection (2)

    "So, how do we reset it again.. same as usual?" Michael asked as he followed after Baldor.


    The surroundings were a bit strange, there was a gate separating the outside from the inside, yet appearance-wise, it looked the exact same as the outside.


    "Sort of, Adonai ordered us to evaluate the two subjects onest time and make a decision" Baldor replied absentmindedly as the two of them continued walking towards the massive tree.


    ''Adonai..?''


    As they were walking, all sorts of buildings began shifting into sight all around the both of them, they all looked rather unique, however, they all had something inmon.


    And that was the architecture, it looked dated, but at the same time, there were some modern-looking buildings that Michael couldpare to those currently in Vivum.


    There were also buildings that he could not evenprehend, they looked like massive clusters of a bunch of little particles glued together with mana.


    ''Hmm..?'' As he looked deeper into one of them, he could see some semnce of a room, it waspacted inside one of those small particles.


    However, it suddenly disappeared from his vision, followed by a slight pain on top of his head.


    Baldor used his fast speed to smack him again, he could not even react this time.


    "Get your head out of your ass, please. It''s your turn to talk with them."


    Michael froze for a moment "..Can''t you do it this one time? I''ll buy you a drink...?"


    However, he was sternly denied "Fat chance, pigeon. I am not falling for that again."


    "Fine.."


    The two of them finally arrived at the base of the massive tree and right in front of it, was a massive gazebo.


    It was covered in all sorts of nts, giving off the impression that it is in tune with nature.


    But as Michael looked closer, he could notice the previous technology imbedded in the walls of the gazebo, it was minimal, but it was still there nheless.


    And he could also feel two individuals, one a man, and the other, a woman.


    The mana they were exuding was by far the highest he had ever felt. He could not urately determine Amanda''s or Fafnir''s mana so Michael assumed that these two individuals were just a bit weaker.


    But they were still strong enough to instantly kill him if they wanted to, at least the previous him.


    Michael was currently strengthened, he was not sure how it happened, but a little power-up was always nice to have, even if it was temporary.


    Baldor nudged him with his elbow "Go in, don''t fuck this up, pigeon."


    ''I don''t even know what I''m supposed to ask them..'' Michael sighed and patted Baldor on the head before quickly dashing inside, just barely avoiding another p on the head.


    The moment he went inside, the two individuals met his gaze. However, both of their eyes seemed nk, as if they were notpletely there.


    Both of them stood up and bowed in his direction "We greet the Angel-in-training."


    Their robotic voices made a shiver go down his spine, it felt unnerving.


    "At ease.." He replied naturally, as if the new memories were filling up what he hadcked.


    Michael cleared his throat and began improvising "So, what happened this time, Eve?"


    "Pattern 506, she repeated the same action four times in a row now" Eve replied in a robotic, emotionless voice.


    However, he raised an eyebrow instead ''Why is she talking in third person?''


    "Describe the action" Michael instructed, trying to make sense of this peculiar situation.


    "Yes sir. Eve, model 1059-B65, sumbed to emotional overload, leading to her synapses frying."


    "Is that it?" Michael asked as the dwarf did mention something about a nectar. He assumed it was the forbidden fruit the books mentioned.


    However, much to his surprise there was nothing else to note "That is it sir."


    He was a bit too curious to let it pass, however "And the nectar?"


    "Consumed sir, Eve will be remodeled very soon."


    Michael rubbed his forehead, seemingly not understanding any bit of what this ''Eve'' in front of him was saying.


    She was a robot, or something simr for that matter. A being thatcked emotions, a perfect lifeform.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    ''...?'' He froze as he noticed what he had just thought.


    Those words certainly did not depict his thinking, if anything, he believed imperfections are what makes individuals perfect.


    Yet, those memories came like some sort of a stream, and just like the rest of the memories, they assimted with his mind perfectly.


    Michael decided to put his inner conflict on hold and he turned to the other person who had just been nkly bowing.


    "Do you have anything to report.. Adam?"


    "No." He replied in a cold voice that did not depict his previous emotionless self.


    And Michael noticed it, the cold voice was very uncharacteristic of these supposed robots.


    "Are you sure?" He asked Adam again.


    But all he received was silence.


    However, just as Michael was about to question Eve about what was going on, Adam suddenly spoke up.


    "What... is our purpose?"


    Michael was confused for just a moment, as in the next, another memory resurfaced.


    ''Just to die..?'' He thought to himself, as it seemed a bit cruel and nonsensical. He did not even want to express it out loud.


    Out of the two of them, Adam seemed the most... aware. Eve looked like some hollow shell of what she could have been.


    Michael walked up to him and stood right in front of him "What do you think your purpose is?"


    He was once again met with silence, yet, he knew that Adam was genuinely considering his question.


    After all, his eyes, although mostly nk, showed a small reaction, one that did not fail to escape Michael''s perception.


    "...I believe our purpose is to be alive." Adam finally replied, his cold almost emotionless voice had a tinge of conviction riddled within it.


    Michael simply nodded at him "borate."


    "Yes.. We have been here since the first light, living without specific purpose... are we not meant to find a way to be alive?"


    "What do you think being alive means?" Michael asked patiently, the conversation was unpleasant, but he could at the very least act humanely.


    "Thinking.. seeing... feeling with our own skin, not this lump of ss" Adam suddenly tapped his arms together and one part of them shattered slightly.


    But just as quickly, it regenerated back, as if nothing ever happened.


    However, Michael noticed something odd in the way Adam began speaking.


    "We want to be like you... the angels. You all have flesh, so why can''t we?" Adam began walking towards him, his movements like those of a marite.


    "I-I-" He began speaking, his expression more defined than before.


    But the moment he got near Michael, he lifelessly dropped to the ground.


    However, he began speaking once more, in a voice that was simr to Eve''s


    "Adam, Model 1059-B65, authority breach, subject terminated."


    Michael watched it with a nk look as the body once again stood up as if nothing ever happened.


    And just like Eve, Adam now also had an emotionless, detached look.


    ''...What the fuck did I just witness..?''

 Chapter 122 Halls of Reflection (3)

    Michael stared at the two beings in silence, seemingly unsure of how to proceed from the current predicament.


    It seemed like the two beings had a consciousness. But whatever happened to them was beyond him.


    ''Subjects, models..'' He contemted in his head and began walking around the room.


    And the two once again tracked his movements with their emotionless eyes, it looked quite freaky, but if they were robots, then it was pretty understandable.


    Michael decided to be upfront about his concerns, whether this whole situation was real or not, he did not care.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Who created you?"


    "Adonai" The two replied in unison.


    "..Who''s Adonai?"


    "The one above all" They once again replied with their emotionless voices.


    Discover hidden tales at empire


    It seemed like getting a straight answer out of them was a bit of a stretch.


    But from what he could gather, this Adonai might be the name of god, quite frankly, he did not even know god had a name.


    He assumed Baldor would know a lot more, but if this was all a simtion, he might hide the information from him, just like the two of them were currently doing.


    ''Maybe I am not asking the right questions..'' He sighed and turned his gaze back onto them.


    "What was your original goal, the reason for your creation?"


    "Adonai is conducting tests for a new species he had in mind, we are the representation of his progress."


    Michael raised his brow ''Adam and Eve before the actual Adam and Eve..? Is that even possible?''


    However, as his fruitless discussions continued, Baldor suddenly entered the gazebo with a conflicted expression.


    "They are here."


    "They?" He could not help but ask, he hated being left in the dark to this extent.


    Especially so because the memories he had been obtaining up until recently hadpletely stagnated.


    "The other pigeons, who else?" Baldor replied and walked up to Michael, grabbing him by his wrist and leading him outside.


    And the moment he stepped out of the gazebo, a few golden-haired individuals were in front of him, three to be exact.


    All of them had wings, wings which were much more sophisticated than Michael''s.


    His were still lodged inside his back, the most he could do was feel them.


    One of the angels hovered down andnded right in front of Michael.


    "Trainee, any anomalies this time?" The angel pointed with his chin at the gazebo where Adam and Eve were located.


    Michael''s memories were stirring, and he could only see one answer. It felt fanatical, as if he could not defy them.


    However, he did not know whether it was because this was all a simtion or something else entirely, but, he was able to resist.


    He did not know whatsting effects his decision would incite, but it was worth a shot. After all, the previous him said yes; what would happen if he said no?


    Maybe this was what the trial was all about? To test his will?


    He hardened his expression and looked straight into the angel''s golden eyes.


    "Nothing, as per usual."


    The angel stared at him for a moment, as if making sure that this information was correct.


    Michael could feel a wave of mana go inside of him and wrap around his heart, he did not try to dispel it since it did not feel dangerous in the slightest.


    It just seemed like the angel decided to check if he was lying... directly.


    The mana surrounding his heart quickly dissipated and the angel did not even say a single word before backing away, floating back to the other two angels in the sky.


    And with a single nce back at Michael, all three of them disappeared from his vision.


    It almost seemed like they used some kind of teleportation, simr to Chloe''s abilities.


    But it seemed more...plete?


    Michael shrugged off his confusion and turned back to the gazebo, however, Baldor''s widened eyes caught his attention.


    "What''s wrong?" He asked. Was there someone elseing?


    "You... you lied.."


    "Hm? You could tell?" Michael raised his brow, even if he did not sound the most convincing, he made sure to control his heartbeat and everything else that could indicate that he was lying.


    But as he was expecting to get an answer from Baldor, he was struck in the abdomen and sent flying right beside the gazebo, just barely stopping himself from crashing into it.


    ''Ugh..'' Michael clutched the lower part of his abdomen, even through a shield he always had on, the attack pierced clean through.


    But thankfully, his passive healing capabilities were enhanced even further in this trial, healing his injury only took a few moments.


    "What were you fucking thinking!?" Baldor screamed at him from a distance.


    Michael was a bit frustrated at the attack but decided to let it go, from what he could recall, he had done something simr to Baldor before, just on a bit bigger scale.


    "Calm down Toad, don''t you think those two were a bit interesting? To the point where it would be quite amusing to see how they would turn out if given enough time." He tried reasoning with Baldor using what little logic he coulde up with.


    "Is that why you decided to piss off the Angels of Truth?"


    ''Oh..'' Michael was speechless at Baldor''sment.


    "I heard your conversation with one of the subjects inside and from what I could tell, they are being born from mere emotions" Baldor slowly began walking up to him again.


    "So now tell me, what would happen if these two beings who were supposed to be the epitome of perfect, turned imperfect?"


    Michael furrowed his brows at Baldor "And what exactly are we? You are acting upon frustration and I am acting upon my whims. What separates us from these so-called imperfect beings?"


    "You... you don''t understand, do you?" Baldor finally closed the distance between himself and Michael.


    "Why? Can''t answer me because I''m right?" Michael taunted.


    "We are whole, we are pure. We were born from the grace of Adonis. Those... things... were not. If they were to be reborn as they currently are now, they would be the pr opposites of both you and me."


    Michael tilted his head a bit, seeing the direction in which this conversation was heading into "Are you implying the creation of a new race that is born purely from emotions?"


    It sounded familiar to him, as if he had been down this path before, but from what he could see of his memories, that did not seem to be the case.


    "Michael, you are making a big mistake here" Baldor proceeded to tug the belt on his waist, pulling out a single rapier from out of nowhere.


    "Baldor..." Michael''s heart ached at the fact that he would have to fight his friend for seemingly no reason.


    He saw his own reflection from the de of the rapier, and he looked nearly identical to the man he had fought back in the arena inside the dungeon.


    Golden hair and golden eyes were a bit too majestic for his liking. He looked the exact same as the three angels that arrived earlier.


    "So be it.." Michael got into a stance and began summoning his swords of light, the mana cost was negligent to the point where even after summoning thousands of them, not even 1% had been used.


    However, as he was about to begin fighting, Baldor shed at the air right beside him, and suddenly, arge pool of blood emerged from seemingly nowhere.


    But in the next moment, two angels appeared, both seemed to have been beheaded by Baldor''s sh. His previous dwarven appearance had disappeared, reced with a pair of wings and simrly golden-colored hair and eyes.


    He turned to Michael with a massive grin "You didn''t think I''d let you do stupid shit on your own, did you?"

 Chapter 123 Halls of Reflection (4)

    "Baldor.. you idiot" Michael could not help but chuckle at his antics, the memories which had previously stagnated, began returning.


    Their friendship was deep-rooted, to the point where it seemed like they were friends ever since the two of them could walk.


    They lived in a city surrounded by technology and it was situated somewhere in the sky with all kinds of different angels flying around.


    There were also some big blobs with wings that looked absolutely disgusting, but Michael ignored them, after all, he did not know the importance of the memory he had received.


    But that was all, a little insight into his childhood, a childhood inside of a city in the sky.


    He did not have many friends, he could count them all on one hand, however, most of them had disappeared after he became an angel-in-training along with Baldor.


    Michael could not recall the specifics of how that came to be, it almost seemed like there was some sort of academy; however, he was notpletely sure.


    After all, he only had bits of more important memories rather than something whole.


    As he was lost in thought, Baldor walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder with his rapier, before suddenly swinging it to the side and once again drawing blood.


    Another angel fell just like that.


    "Baldor, is there no way for us to avoid... you know, killing them?" Michael asked as he cast a shield on both himself and Baldor.


    "They don''t die, idiot. They will be back in like a week."


    "Oh.. right." Michael nodded at him, taking in the information he did not know at all. It seemed like these angels were an immortal bunch.


    He could feel a line of mana heading towards him from quite a distance away, yet he was easily able to track it.


    The moment the line got near him, he cast a sword of light, and immediately, he heard a small pop, followed by the body of one of the angels falling onto the ground, headless.


    They were moving extremely fast, but it seemed like his firepower was a bit superior to theirs.


    All of a sudden, a wave of mana began being emitted from the gazebo where Adam and Eve had been staying. He did not go to check, as it did not seem ominous at all, it almost seemed like they were slowly regaining their strength instead.


    Since Michael had already decided to see through his previous decision to the end, he would do it, defend the duo from the iing angels.


    But he did not understand one thing, why exactly were they fighting? They knew that Michael lied, but he doubted that they knew about the emotions the two beings possessed.


    Michael could not help but think that there was another motive for them to attack.


    He decided to test his theory, waiting for a singr golden line to approach him, before he cut slightly above where he did previously.


    That resulted in a figure skidding past him with their wings cut off at the stem, the person seemed to be in pain, but Michael did not care as he walked up to the figure and picked it up by its golden hair.


    "Tell me, why are you attacking us?" He asked and stared at the figure who did not seem to be listening to him at all.


    Michael turned to Baldor to see if maybe he could extract some answers from the angel, however, he noticed him fighting and winning against four of them at once.


    Suddenly, the angel who he was holding began iling around and shouting "You dare lie!"


    It was quite a sight, and Michael could not help but wince at this behavior, so far the only people he encountered were fanatics.


    The evangelists and now even the angels, it seemed like a shitty pattern that he would love to get rid of.


    But at the very least, the angel seemed more sane in the head than the evangelists, the angel actually seemed to understand what it was doing so Michael decided to try taking advantage of that.


    "What did I lie about?" He asked once again while using his mana to hold down the iling angel.


    But once again, the angel just kept repeating the same things over and over again, not even responding to any of his questions.


    Michael thought that they were a bit different from the evangelists, but maybe not.


    He tightened his grip and crushed the angel''s head before heading over to assist Baldor.


    The fight did notst long as the only thing he had to do was cast a single sword of light to kill one angel. They were way too weak, the only strength they had was their speed.


    However, Michael could not help but think that whatever this group was, were only the scouting party, there was no way the angels he heard so much about in stories and all sorts of books this weak.


    And he did not need to wait much longer to find out, as shortly after the two of them finished off thest angel, a grand presence descended onto the both of them, rendering them motionless.


    "Michael, Baldor, why are the two of you testing the limits of your authority?" A voice resounded from right above them.


    Michael turned to look upwards and noticed a single figure, one that had six fiery red wingsing out of its back and a radiant halo on their head.


    ''The Seraphim...'' He continued staring at the figure, from what he knew, they were extremely busy beings who watched over the affairs of many worlds at once.


    Added to the fact that they were also the protectors of heaven, it was extremely rare to see them out and about.


    But considering the importance of Adam and Eve, he assumed it was pretty justified to see an equally important figure appear before the two of them.


    The Seraphim waved their hand, and suddenly, the gazebo by the side waspletely revealed.


    The two figures, Adam and Eve, were in some sort of ck cocoons, still radiating incredible mana that even managed to slightly suffocate Michael.


    But like previously, he slowly adjusted to the pressure and kept staring at both the Seraphim and the cocoons. Stay tuned to empire


    They seemed to not only radiate mana but also some type of other energy, the energy of chaos, which he was a little bit familiar with.


    "Good job" The Seraphim suddenly said to both Michael and Baldor, causing confused expressions to appear on their faces.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    However, their confusion did notst long as all of a sudden, the Seraphim appeared right in front of the two of them and grabbed Baldor by the head, taking him back to the cocoons in which Adam and Eve were residing.


    ''What is it doing..?'' Michael stared at it with a tinge of caution, ever since the Seraphim arrived, he had a pretty ominous feeling.


    They were righteous beings, ones that embodied god''s will, however, this one seemed a bit different. This one had greed in its eyes.


    It held Baldor right beside the two cocoons and Michael could see the chaotic energy slowly entering his body, corrupting the existing mana of light.


    And suddenly, Baldor''s body began emitting an ominous mana that seemed to affect the surroundings, Michael included.


    But before he could protect himself against the mana, it disappeared and Baldor plopped down onto the ground, seemingly lifeless.


    Yet the mana he had been radiating just a moment ago was still present, in fact, it was still increasing.


    As he was paying attention to his friend, the two cocoons opened up, revealing the two figures whose appearance did not mirror the one he had seen before.


    ''What the...''

 Chapter 124 Halls of Reflection (5)

    "Perfect..." The Seraphim''s low voice resounded, sending a chill down Michael''s spine.


    Adam and Eve, the previously normal-looking individuals turned into something... different.


    Eve now had pitch ck hair streaming down to her waist and eyes that he could not quite see the depth too, as if they were mystical.


    And as for Adam? He looked identical to Baldor and he even had some of Michael''s features as well, it seemed like whatever happened turned him into some sort of angel.


    Or so he concluded, but the energy Michael could feeling from him was nothing like the angels''; it was ominous, it was chaotic.


    Lastly, there was Baldor, whose mana had long lost its golden shade and it had now turned into the same ominous property much like the two others.


    Michael could do nothing but watch as his friend was being changed right before him into something he could no longer recognize.


    "Baldor..?" He called out, seeking confirmation for his inner turbulence.


    However, The Seraphim''s voice filled with anger resounded "Silence, pup."


    And the moment it did, he could no longer feel his body, it was the same as when the Seraphim first arrived.


    He managed to free himself earlier but he was too weak to take advantage of that fact.


    Michael''s inner conflict grew as the memories began rapidly returning and for some reason, they were ovepping with what he was seeing currently.


    However, there was one difference, Baldor was not present in his memories.


    It seemed like he disappeared just before the Seraphim appeared, but he could not quite tell where he had gone.


    Just as Michael was preparing ast-ditch effort to somehow break free, Baldor nced at him for a moment and shed a small yet hollow smile.


    In the very next moment, Baldor raised his rapier and shed his own neck, severing it.


    ''Baldor...'' Michael stared at his friend''s severed head, not even able to call out his name due to the pressure.


    However, The Seraphim seemed amused as it walked up to Baldor and kicked his corpse "Hmm... you are still self aware."


    ''What the fuck... is this even a real Seraphim?'' Michael wondered with anger and hatred clearly present in his eyes.


    But before anything else could happen, Adam stretched out his hand and suddenly, an odd colored mana enveloped Baldor.


    It held some of the golden characteristics, yet at the same time, it was crackling with an ominous ck color, until finally, it mixed together and formed some sort of murky golden color.


    However, as it enveloped Baldor, it began doing something strange. The blood vessels, which were cleanly cut off, began regrowing and reattaching themselves to his head.


    And suddenly, the moment it was all finished, Baldor''s head slid back into ce and he shot up from the ground while breathing out heavy breaths.


    ''He was revived..?'' Michael continued watching as it looked the exact same as when he healed the people in his first ever dungeon, those who had their necks broken.


    But he doubted that he could reattach a severed head just like that, it seemed like quite an intricate process, weaving all those blood vessels together, it seemed quite difficult.


    Adam, however, was still wearing a nk expression, despite his transformation, it did not look like he found that action difficult at all.


    However, as Michael focused on the mana Adam and Eve were emitting, he was a bit confused. It reminded him of the mana the imps from Vivum had.


    The imps had much weaker mana, but he could still feel simrities between them and the people in front of him.


    Even Baldor felt the same, thankfully, after his head had been severed, the rise in chaotic power halted. Maybe he could still somehow return to how he was before all of this happened?


    "Oh? You are an interesting one, aren''t you?" The Seraphim once again picked Baldor up and this time, it fully crushed his head.


    But this time, unlike Adam, It was Eve who began healing him, however, her mana was much darker, the golden shade could barely be seen.


    Until it finallybined and formed a nearly ck-colored mana with just a little bit of golden mixed into it.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Nheless, it had the same effect as Adam''s mana as it managed topletely restore Baldor to his previous self.


    But his expression was filled with horror, after all, he had just died twice.


    "You are quite the fascinating creature, you turned almost as perfect as them" The Seraphim chuckled under its breath and patted Baldor''s head.


    However, it was not a normal pat as his head once again exploded, but this time, Baldor did not need any healing to reassemble himself as it only took a few moments for him to look as good as new.


    Michael stared at him with both anger and regret as the Seraphim kept crushing his head just for him to heal back up again, faster and faster each time.


    That was until, Baldor finally copsed onto the ground, the expression of pure despair on his face was clearly present.


    And yet, Michael could not do anything, all he could do was stand by and watch as the supposed Seraphim kept on torturing his friend.


    But eventually, it stopped and with a sigh, walked right up to Michael.


    "So, little pup, what should I do with you?" The Seraphim wiggled its fingers and made Michael levitate into the air while also slightly twisting his limbs, just enough to dislocate them but not to break them.


    Michael could feel a fair deal of pain, but maybe because of the adrenaline or something else entirely, hepletely ignored it and locked eyes with the Seraphim who had a slightly confused expression on its face.


    "Hmm... you are also a bit strange.. who are yo-" The Seraphim''s words froze as the entire world around them seemed toe to a stop.


    And then, a loud noise traveled through Michael''s ears once again.


    -Ding


    [ERROR]


    [RECOMPILING ANOMALY, PLEASE WAIT]


    Michael watched as The Seraphim retraced its step just before it had started walking towards him.


    It almost seemed as if time had begun rewinding, it was an incredibly strange experience. The pain he felt just a few moments ago disappeared, he even forgot what the pain felt like.


    But aside from that, his memories of the events just a moment ago remained engraved inside of his mind.


    [DO NOT LOOK INTO THE SERAPHIM''S EYES]


    Michael saw a message appear before it once again disappeared and the time around them began flowing once more.


    The Seraphim began walking towards him and once again made him levitate in the air "So, little pup, what should I do with you?"


    ''Don''t look into its eyes..'' He thought with all his might as it was starting to be a bit painful to bear this torture.


    Yet, when he imagined what Baldor felt, he thought of himself as a wuss forining about dislocated joints.


    Michael tried his best to avoid eye contact and it seemed like he seeded as the Seraphim got bored of levitating him around as it suddenly flicked its finger to the side.


    ''Huh..?'' He could not understand what happened, but he was now looking at his own back.


    "You are worthless" The Seraphim kicked Michael who was lying nearly lifeless on the ground and proceeded to walk back to Adam and Eve, as well as the unconscious Baldor.


    Michael felt like he was dying, he fully expected his passive regenerative abilities to be enough to heal him back up, however, it seemed like whatever attack the Seraphim had done, was imbued with too much mana for him to get rid of.


    It was almost felt like he was trapped. Trapped in agony until he loses consciousness.


    He could just barely see the Seraphim pat both Adam and Eve on their heads, causing them to go unconscious and making them levitate in front of it.


    It did the same with Baldor, but since he was already passed out, knocking him out was unnecessary.


    A portal appeared right in front of the Seraphim and just before it entered through it, Michael could hear it mutter a few words.


    "Adam, Eve.. Hmm... who should you be?" It ced Baldor on the ground upright, as if he was some kind of walking stick.


    Michael could suddenly hear very loudughter that nearly exploded his eardrums.


    "I know... you will be Cane" However, it suddenly stopped and sighed.


    "Or Cain... I don''t want my underlingsughing at you" With those words, the Seraphim went through the portal, leaving Michael all alone and dying.


    But just as he thought he was really going to die, a familiar golden-haired figure entered his sight, walking up to him and touching his halo, making him feel just a little bit rejuvenated.


    He could see a small smile on the man''s face, one that he hated to see previously.


    "You don''t look so well,st Archangel."

 Chapter 125 Halls of Reflection (6)

    Michael''s neck began healing at a rapid pace as he could finally readjust it into its normal position.


    And as he did so, he stared at the man in front of him, it was the golden-haired man from the arena, the person who he got his halo from.


    "Why are you here?" Michael suddenly asked as he stood up, almost tumbling due to his previous state.


    "Why do you think? You would have died if I had note, the difficulty was certainly no joke" The golden-haired man said and shrugged while walking towards the destroyed gazebo.


    Michael decided to silently follow after him, he could not disagree that without his help, he might have really died.


    As the two of them finally arrived at the destroyed gazebo, the man bent down and picked up a tiny fragment off of the ground, it was a murky golden color, simr to the mana Adam had used.


    The man looked it up and down before crushing it in his hands and sighing "Want to know something?" The man asked as he returned his gaze back to Michael.


    "..Sure?"


    "You see, I wanted you to tell the angels about Adam, I tried really hard to get that through to you, but it seems that you are just like me" The man said with a small smile.


    However, Michael''s eyes widened, the voices he heard, ones telling him to do the opposite of what he had done, looked like it was the doing of the man before him.


    "Just who are you?" He could not help but ask, they met twice now... or more perhaps, it was hard to tell, maybe he was always there, influencing some of Michael''s past actions.


    The man chuckled and suddenly disappeared from Michael''s vision, he could no longer feel his mana anymore.


    However, a voice suddenly resounded inside his mind, one that he recognized all too well.


    I wonder?


    "You.." He was speechless, he had suspected it to a certain degree, but he could never confirm his suspicions.


    Well, I didn''t want to hold your hand all along the way, but yeah, I have been watching all along, that Seraphim noticed me previously, so I had to use the Halls of Reflection to turn back time a bit.


    The system said and once again appeared right in front of him.


    "But s, the oue was the same as before, a pity, I really wanted to see what would have happened if you told the angels about him."


    Michael sighed and brought his hand up to his forehead "So.. what are you exactly? A system, or me from the past?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    There were still a few irregrities, such as the vision he had back in the fragmented memory from his first trial. Who was the person who imnted the so-called system into him?


    "I am both you and the system. As for your other concern, it should be the other Archangels, I can assure you, they are on your side."


    However, Michael raised his brow at the response "Why are you saying ''should''?"


    "The first fragment was most likely Uriel, as for the second one, it was one of the newer Archangels, Raguel, who as you remember, had actually introduced himself."


    The system paused for a moment and then continued.


    "As for why I am saying should, that''s because you are an anomaly, all of the previous Michaels were handpicked because they were rted to the original in a way. You, however, are different; you were chosen by someone while I was hibernating."


    "And you have no clue who that was?" Michael asked as he absorbed the knowledge regarding his selection, even if there was not a lot of information regarding it.


    He still had many questions, but if the system was actually him and knew everything, he could always ask themter.


    "The only clue I have is that whoever it was, was trying to corrupt both you and me, after all, just as the academy started, I was reced until the little girl freed you from whatever that parasite was" The system chuckled while talking about Freya, it seemed like there were some prior connections between them.


    Michael simply nodded, it did make sense, the Michael that Kevin had known was what the current him was supposed to be if things had gone as they should have.


    But maybe because of Kevin''s regression or some other factors entirely, his fate had been altered.


    "Anyways, Michael, you can call me whatever you''d like, System, Michael, Mikhail, it does not matter, it is nice to formally meet you." With those words, the systemically bowed.


    "Likewise... so could you tell me something while we are still in this Halls of Reflection thingy, what exactly am I here for and why have you never taken over the other Michaels? Don''t you want to live?" He asked with a tinge of curiosity.


    The system shed a small smile that seemed a bit hollow and disappeared once again.


    I have lived for thousands of eons, I have experienced everything there was to experience, even death. My only wish is for Heaven to have anotherpetent ruler, if he could be simr to me, even better.


    ''Do you think I want to rule over Heaven?'' He raised his brow at the system''s exnation.


    A ruler must be strong and.. well, obviously not stupid. You have the qualities to be the perfect ruler. Oh and before you say you don''t want it, the benefits you get from being the ruler of Heaven are quite bountiful, after all, since God is dead and the Seraphim are scattered across the universe, you would be the most important person there.


    ''...'' Michael was left speechless at the system''s attempt to bribe him, however, another question suddenly arose.


    ''What was that feather?''


    Hmm... it''s Gabriel''s from what I saw. You can harness the strength of the Seraphim if you cultivate your wings with the feathers of the Archangels. That does not mean you would be an actual Seraphim though, only a halfling, but nheless, it''s a good boon you should ept.


    ''Fair enough'' He shrugged and turned around, in front of him was a golden portal.


    ''Is this the end of the Halls of Reflection?'' Michael asked the system for confirmation.


    Yes, it is a ce where I can directly show you important memories and past events that could prove helpful to you in the future, just take it as yet another boon you can indulge in once every couple of months.


    ''Why not sooner? Is there a cooldown like with the trials?''


    No, I just can''t break thews of space and time that frequently, after all, I am currently powerless.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the ''powerless'' being who managed to turn back time and proceeded to walk through the portal.


    [Halls of Reflection: Act 1 Complete]


    He saw a golden message appear the moment he returned back to his room, it signaled the end of his little unexpected outing.


    There were many questions remaining, like who was the Seraphim who did that and how did Adam and Eve y any significance in his future?


    Michael immediately felt a lot weaker, it seemed like the power gain was only temporary and it was now back to what it was just before he entered.


    He stared at the floating feather in front of him as the familiar voice once again resounded "Do you wish to go down this path?"


    And without doubt, he epted.


    "Yes."

 Chapter 126 Tier 2

    A/N: Read the author''s note at the very end.


    *


    The moment Michael uttered those words, the feather disappeared from in front of his eyes and suddenly, he could feel a sharp pain traveling up his back.


    He immediately fell to the ground as it felt like he had beenpletely paralyzed, the pain, however, was still growing and getting more intense.


    Endure, It won''t take much longer.


    ''Easy for you to say'' Michael shot back while attempting to roll on the ground. It was an annoying type of pain, as if an itch you could not quite scratch.


    Stop being a pussy, it''s just a little bit of pain.


    ''Ha? So you are now dropping the formalitiespletely?''


    What''s the point in formalities? I nearly exposed myself once in the past, and now that we are on the same page, it doesn''t matter.


    Michael grumbled and remembered the one time the system broke character, he had not thought much of it at the time since he thought it was due to his own influence.


    But if it was like that, then how about the dungeon and other stuff he had encountered? The system could have definitely prevented it.


    Obviously, I could have, but I deemed Meph an ally, not a foe. As for the others, they also proved to be of no threat to you. The real challenges will begin once you finally leave this world and head to one of the less charted worlds.


    Michael took deep breaths and began slowly standing up once again, the pain was slowly starting to fade ''On the Daor continent, right?''


    Yes, there should be quite a wide selection of worlds there.. Or so I have been told, Gabriel was not much of a talker.


    ''Your Archangel friend?'' Michael asked as he began stretching, his body felt stiff all over.


    Yes, the one whose statue you first saw, as well as the one whose feather you just took in. He is quite the spiritedd, what do they call them nowadays..? Oh right, a tsundere.


    A shiver went down his spine, it reminded him of Kevin before he knew of his actual identity.


    ''So he is from this world then? What about you?'' He asked with a tinge of curiosity.


    I am the only Archangel who had been born right after God himself, the others were selected, hence why I was a pureblood, and apparently, so are you.


    ''I see..'' Michael finished stretching and decided to take a look at his status, and upon opening it, he noticed that there were a couple of new options added, however, what really caught his eye was the Progress bar as it disyed 100%, meaning he could finally Tier up.


    Most of his stats were also S ranked besides Charisma and Strength, which, for some reason, were both stuck at A and B- rank respectively.


    I guess that little bit of excess energy was enough. Alright, sit down, I will weave the thread for you.


    He listened and sat down on a nearby sofa ''You sure I can''t just do it myself?''


    As soon as he said that, a soothing feeling began rising up from the bottom of his spine, it felt simr to how he first obtained the mana core, just a lot less painful.


    I would have if your light affinity was below Supreme rank, however, since it isn''t, I don''t want you risking your life for nothing. The first people to figure out how to weave their mana core threads did it through trial and error. They wasted a lot of time and a lot of mana, since every time you fail at weaving the core, your mana drastically decreases.


    Michael''s eyes widened at that exnation ''Is that only for people who have a Supreme-ranked affinity?''


    Sort of, the higher ranked the affinity was, the more intricate the weaving process became, it only increased in difficulty since you have a Flow core, one wrong move and you might just be paralyzed for a few months.


    ''...Just weave the thread already'' Michael sighed and rxed on the sofa, letting the system finish what it was already doing.


    He expected there to be some sort of reaction or something simr when Tier''ing up, however, it was pretty in.


    All that was different from the average day was that he could feel his strength steadily increasing.


    Michael was unable to check his own status during the weaving process, it seemed like the system had locked him from doing so.


    And finally, the weaving process was finished, the strength of his mana increased by leaps and bounds, his Mana Purity nearly doubled as well.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But most importantly, the halo above his head began shining a bright golden light.


    It slowly enveloped him and he could feel a surge of information entering his brain, assimting with his already existing memories.


    -Ding


    [Archangel Michael''s Signature Skill Acquired: Sanctuary]


    Sanctuary [Superior] [Active]


    # A domain of light that you can control freely. Doubles the casting time and power of all your existing Light-affinity skills while inside the domain.


    *Cost: 50% MP


    *Radius: 100 Meters around the caster


    *Duration: 1 Minute


    *Cooldown: 1 Week


    Michael stared at the new skill in wonder, it looked incredibly powerful. It said he could control the domain freely, which means he could increase the gravity just like the system did against him or even do more incredible stuff while inside.


    However, the cooldown of a week threw him off a bit, he had hoped it was a skill he could just use constantly, after all, his chances of winning any fight greatly increased with this new skill.


    The Cost, Duration and Cooldown will decrease the stronger you get, after all, it wasn''t my signature skill for no reason. As for the Radius, it will double every single time you Tier up. Anyways, go check out your new status.


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]


    Mana Purity: 73->200%


    Mana Core: Flow


    Mana Core Rank: Tier 1 -> Tier 2


    -:- 0% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Seraphim Progress: 1/7


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you


    * Being of Light


    # Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity-based spells by 25%


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 100/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP: 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [A] (728) -> Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 828}


    END: Tier 1 [S-] (843) -> Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 943}


    AGI: Tier 1 [S-] (820) -> Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 920}


    INT: Tier 1 [S+] (1000) -> Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 1100}


    CHA: Tier 1 [B-] (502) -> Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 602}


    -


    Skills / [Skill Merging] / [Skill Sacrifice]


    Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive]


    Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]


    Hand-to-handbat [Beginner] [Passive]


    Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive]


    Discipline [Basic] [Passive]


    Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Sanctuary [Superior] [Active] (NEW)


    Heavenly Judgement [Advanced] [Active]


    Purify [Intermediate] [Active]


    Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]


    Sword of Light [Basic] [Active]


    Veil of Detection [Basic] [Active]


    +---+


    ''Oh shit..''


    -----


    A/N:


    I added the S- and S+ ranks to better fit the story, as for the stats themselves, they are below, more about them will be exined in the next chapter.


    Let me know if I should make a separate auxiliary chapter for the new status/stat calction!


    Oh, and the reason he started off at F not F- is because of his Physical Enhancement skill which boosted all of his stats by 1 minor rank.


    F- 50-99 | F 100-149 | F+ 150-199 | D- 200-249 | D 250-299 | D+ 300-349 | C- 350-399 | C 400-449 | C+ 450-499 | B- 500-549 | B 550-599 | B+ 600-649 | A- 650-699 | A 700-749 | A+ 750-799 | S- 800-849 | S 850-899 | S+ 900-1000MAX

 Chapter 127 Talk

    You got quite a few good boons, didn''t you?


    The system teased Michael a bit but he was too busy staring at his updated status.


    The mana purity shot up all the way to 200%, it was at 121% just a few moments ago, his strength really was no joke now, or so he hoped at the very least.


    Yes, you are a tad bit stronger than the average newly ascended Tier 2, but just slightly, don''t get ahead of yourself.


    Michael attempted to cast a sword of light and he did not expect it to appear as fast as it did, it managed to even startle him a bit.


    His previous casting speed was already incredibly fast, but now, it was much faster, he doubted that anyone would be able to react to his attacks. Frankly, it seemed a bit too overpowered.


    ''System, what are those numbers near the stats? Am I finally getting the good old stat numbers back?'' Michael asked as he stopped ying around with his newfound casting speed. He would test out the destructiveness a bitter, he did not want topletely destroy Amanda''s apartment just yet.


    Sort of, the numbers are categorized into ranks based on their amount; for example, F- would be from 50 stat points to 99, F, from 100 to 149 and so on until you reach the maximum, which is 1000 or S+. The total willbine all of the previous tiers and add them up, obviously, the bigger the number, the better.


    ''50 Stat points for F-? Is there a rank prior to that?''


    No, you tier up and are automatically given 50 points for each stat, you got 100 because of your skill, Physical Enhancement.


    ''Fair enough.. are these stats the same as before, as in, before I received a mana core?''


    Not exactly, the calctions are different and these stats are a bit easier to increase. Even INT, the stat that should boost your mental acuity, can be increased by merely casting spells. You have a very fast casting speed, one that looks abnormal to others, without the INT stat to bnce it out, you would not even be able to cast a single spell sessfully.


    Michael nodded in understanding, he had not paid much attention to his INT stat, or more like how the others react to him in battle, maybe that was because he rarely fought someone equal to him.


    ''So INT is the easiest stat to level up then, and CHA is the hardest?'' He asked onest time for confirmation.


    For you, yes, it should be the opposite, you get CHA stat points just from people finding you attractive, but since you don''t really interact with others that much, the stat does not rise.


    ''...'' Michael was left speechless, was he not a Saint previously? Should that not have increased his CHA by quite a lot?


    Sexual attraction Michael. The people who were worshipping you as a Saint merely found you to be cute-looking, a mascot of sorts. The CHA stat is simr to the bewitching ability of demons, it''s a wonder I was able to acquire it too, though I guess I did look a bit ster...


    And he was once again left speechless, it sucked beings in such a young body, even if by now he looked nearly 20, when he was a Saint, Michael still looked fairly young.


    His charisma stat did rise quite a bit from his time in the other world, he just wondered why.


    Isn''t it obvious? You are like eye candy for Astraea.


    Michael sat back down on the sofa and turned on the TV while slowly processing what the system had just said.


    ''I thought she was staring at me with curiosity..'' He sighed and slumped further into the sofa.


    Nope, but I don''t me you, I was the same. I didn''t know she liked me up until my death.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''...How did you die?'' Michael asked with curiosity, he no longer felt as energetic as he did previously. It seemed like the charisma talks and Astraea had drained him of his energy a tad bit.


    I fell into a trap and had a couple of artificially created ck holes made of mana copse onto me, I don''t really remember much after that though.


    ''So do you remember the very first Michael... Or I guess the second one right after you?''


    He was the pr opposite of me, an absolute pussy who ran away from every single battle that came his way, added on to the fact that he sided with the demons, I can''t say I have a very good impression of him.


    Michael chuckled ''That does not sound very fun..''


    Of course it isn''t! Imagine watching and not being able to do anything to stop someone like that, someone who was allegedly carrying your legacy. I won''t get into the details, but, Uriel made a countermeasure for that, you might remember it from the second trial.


    ''I do'' He nodded and proceeded to think for a moment before asking yet another question ''Do you remember how you first began reincarnating as the system or whatever?''


    I vaguely remember it. One of the Seraphim managed to retrieve my soul right after I died and handed it over to the Archangels. After that, my soul was forged into that little blob you saw in the first trial, or that''s what I gathered anyway. My memory has grown foggy of those times.


    Michael could tell that the system was hiding something, but he could not really force the information out of it, as insensitive and cautious as he was, he would respect the boundaries.


    Right, enough of that depressing stuff, let''s go back to Astraea. What do you think about her?


    ''That''s a bit of a change, no..? But... She does seem unique.. and my heart always beats oddly fast when I am around her, though I assume that''s because of your influence?'' He questioned the system.


    No, I have not interfered with your emotions in the slightest, the only thing I showed you was the memory of how the two of us first met. She is not the same individual as she was before, I can assure you that much, I could barely recognize her.


    ''She seemed pretty urately depicted ording to the memories though?'' Michael tilted his head at the system''sment.


    Your brain is filling in those memories, just as her brain is filling in the memories of you. You are two different people entirely. The only connection you two have to your previous selves is the bits of memories that keep appearing, almost as if deja vu.


    ''So are you telling me she still likes me even though I am not you?'' Michael began switching the TV channels a bit anxiously.


    Even in his past life, he never settled down. He did go on a few dates with some girls, but it never led to anything where he could develop any romantic interest.


    That''s right, I am d you feel that way though. At the very least, you are not following my footsteps in one category.


    ''Right...'' Michael took a deep breath and looked at his status once again. There was one more new option that he forgot to ask the system about.


    ''What is Skill Sacrifice?''

 Chapter 128 Skill Sacrifice

    It''s one of the perks I exchanged many of your skills for. With it''s abilities, you can bypass a lot of the restrictions ced on your power growth. Skill Sacrifice makes it so you can choose one or more skills to sacrifice, and in exchange, you can power up a skill of your choosing.


    ''That sounds pretty overpowered but is it worth it? Isn''t Skill Merging still better?'' Michael wondered, after all, skill merging produced a higher rank skill than the ones he used to merge together with.


    But at the same time, he knew that enhancing his already existing skills would be very useful, as normally, they can only be upgraded under special circumstances.


    Well, you kind of answered your own question, didn''t you? But yes, both are equally as good but I would say Skill Sacrifice is a little better since there is no defined limit to how much you can enhance a single skill.


    ''I see... that is pretty interesting then, can I test it out now?'' Michael asked while opening his status and clicking on the Skill Sacrifice button.


    Why ask me if you are going to do it anyway... Do keep in mind though, the skills you sacrifice will not reappear and will not get stronger. For example, if you sacrifice Sword of Light, it would no longer show up as a skill, but since you had prior experience of using it, you would still be able to do it.


    ''So kind of like my mana clothing ability then?''


    Yes, the same skill can only be registered once. When it is gone, it can no longere back to the system, so choose wisely which skill you want to either merge or sacrifice.


    Michael nodded and looked back at the Skill Sacrifice window, it looked nearly identical to the Skill Merging one, but the order was a bit reversed.


    He needed to select a skill to enhance and then right after, a skill to sacrifice.


    It seemed like he could enhance both passive and active skills, it was definitely a great thing.


    However, as that thought came to mind, he quickly exited out of the Skill Sacrifice window and opened up Skill Merging, but despite his high expectations, he was left disappointed.


    Michael expected to be able tobine passive skills, yet it seemed like enhancing them was the most he could do at the current moment.


    Don''t worry too much, you will have a bunch of skills in the future, it would be the perfect time to merge them then.


    He ignored the system''s words and opened the Skill Sacrifice menu back up and debated on which skill to enhance.


    It seemed like he could only enhance the already existing skill with other skills that were of the same rank, pretty much just like with Skill Merging.


    Michael thought about it for a moment and noticed that there was only one clear choice, and that was to enhance the Sword of Light skill.


    All of the other skills proved to be quite useful and it would be best if he held onto them for a while longer.


    As for the skill he decided to sacrifice, It was Veil of Detection, the skill he practically never used because he already managed to passively feel the mana around him, practically the same as what the skill was supposed to do.


    Michael had asked the system about it previously and why it had not turned into a passive skill, but it just gave him someckluster response about how there was already a simr skill to it or whatever.


    It''s notckluster, you just don''t know how to use Eyes of The Healer yet. When you figure that out, your life will get much easier than it is now, trust me.


    ''Right right, I''ll do thatter, first, I need to enhance this skill'' Michael said and pressed the sacrifice button, a bright blue light instantly shing in front of his eyes, momentarily blinding him.


    But once it was finished, what greeted his eyes was...


    Sword of Light [Beginner] [Active]


    #Summon 1 or multiple swords containing the Light affinity.


    *Cost: >1% MP/S


    The same-looking Sword of Light skill, its description had not even changed, the only thing that did was the rarity, as it only went up from Basic to Beginner.


    Michael slumped back even further on the sofa ''Is this some sort of joke?'' He could not believe that this was what he got from the supposed Skill Sacrifice.


    The system had made him think that it would be special, yet it was pretty underwhelming.


    Your impatience is your greatest w. The skill did get enhanced, maybe you would have found it out if you used it?


    ''The description is the same though?'' Michael stood up off of the ground and listened to the system''s words even though he was a tad bit doubtful.


    He summoned a single Sword of Light and much to his surprise, it seemed like it had gotten sharper. It seemed like the cost had been reduced by a fair deal too.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael just could not understand why it was not in the description, would have saved him a minute of sulking.


    As I have already said, there are limitations, one way to bypass them is to not update the new status description. The skill''s power had increased by at the very least two times, hence why it might seem sharper to you.


    ''You talk about limits, but aren''t you the Archangel Michael yourself, the one who had been turned into a system, why would there be limits?'' Michael asked as he walked back to the sofa. He pretty much finished all he wanted to do.


    The feather had been absorbed and he could see it in the status screen, besides that, he could not even feel that it was even inside of his body.


    I had one too many negative encounters with the other Michael''s for there to not be a limit. I imposed it myself and made it practically impossible to remove... As for the feather, just think of it as a resident inside of your own body until you awaken your bloodline.


    ''Oh.. sorry for bringing back bad memories..'' Michael apologized, he could tell from the system''s previous and current tone that it did not like talking about those particr times.


    It''s fine, you will get to experience those memories in the future as well, I am just giving you a heads-up that they won''t be pretty. Anyways... I think it''s time for you to go visit Kevin. Or are you nning onzing around until that academy event?


    Michael''s hand which had been reaching for the TV remote, froze ''Ha? Of course not, I''ll go'' He stood back up and walked towards the door.


    ''How big is the map range now?'' He asked as he headed down the elevator and after telling the receptionist that he would be checking out, he casually summoned a single sword of light and flew into into sky.


    Hmm? I can feel around 30 kilometers around you now, the halo had unsealed a bit of my own strength as well. I can also use it as a catalyst now, just make sure to channel mana into it when you are not doing anything, it stores up and I''ll use it if an emergency arises.


    ''Sure'' Michael nodded, and a map appeared right in front of his face, disying the entire area of Inner Vivum.


    He looked around for a few moments, looking for one area in particr.


    Michael had looked all around the entire hospital and could not find Elizabeth, but if she could be anywhere, it would be right next to Kevin.


    After a bit more searching, he finally found Kevin''s mana signature, and it was weak, however, what surprised him the most was the fact that there were quite a lot of red dots surrounding him.


    And as he suspected, just a few meters away from Kevin, there was also another mana signature he could feel, and even from this distance, he could tell that it was Elizabeth and that she had really been cursed.


    You should go, Kevin is having some trouble with the imps it seems like. Oh and do try to find out more information from him, the Michael he talked about is not part of my memories.


    ''And you couldn''t tell me this sooner?'' Michael''s eyebrow twitched at the system''sment, but before they could argue further, he felt a lot of mana be unleashed from where Kevin currently was.


    It was not the normal kind of mana, instead, it was the chaotic kind he felt from the imps as well as Adam and Eve... and well, Baldor.


    They are summoning a demon, hurry up already.


    Michael sighed and began flying as fast as he could towards Kevin and Elizabeth.


    ''I know.''

 Chapter 129 Demon

    It did not take long for Michael to arrive and the sight before him sent a chill down his spine.


    There were heaps of demonic corpse, most of which exuded that nasty chaotic aura and seeped together with the surroundings.


    For some reason, ever since first feeling that type of mana, he hated it. Michael assumed that maybe it was the opposite of his light affinity or something.


    Darkness is the opposite to light, chaos is a bit different. You don''t have to worry about the specifics for now though, just go deal with the little shits down there already.


    ''Right'' Michael nodded and nced a bit to the side. There was a giant circle that radiated chaotic mana and there were a bunch of imps gathered all around it.


    ''Is that where they are summoning the demon from?'' Michael asked as he slowly made his way down, from what he could feel, there was no demon yet, as if no connection had been established.


    The chaotic mana earlier was most likely from the ce where the little imps were trying to summon the demon from.


    But it did feel a bit strange, whereas the imps had mana that was just a tiny bit simr to Adam and Eve''s, the ce on the other side of the magic circle radiated mana that felt as if he standing right before them all over again.


    It''s the demonic realm where most, if not all demons reside, it is only natural for you to feel familiarity since the demons are like the children of Adam and Eve, or more like only Adam, the bastard was able to create demons just from his mana alone. Meanwhile, Eve was not too keen on it, so she just handled the logistical affairs.


    Michael listened attentively to the new information, it seemed like the imps, demons and Adam were more deeply connected than he had anticipated.


    But there was still one question in his mind ''What about Baldor?''


    Cain is his name now, I have met him and he is not the same person as the one you saw in the Halls of Reflection. He is just like those demons, except, he is practically immortal, even I couldn''t kill him.


    ''...I see'' Michael waved his hand effortlessly and every single imp before his eyes had their heads pierced. Due to the light affinity, he immediately purified them, no corpses made from mana were remaining.


    However, the magic circle had not died down yet, in fact, it seemed like it had grown stronger. The chaotic mana became even more chaotic after the deaths of the imps.


    And then, another wave of that wretched mana assaulted him, but this time, he could feel a presence behind it, it was not just pure chaotic mana anymore.


    There was an individual who was sending out that mana and whoever it was, their strength was leaps and bounds above Michael''s.


    ''System..? Shouldn''t I just take the two and run? There''s no way I can kill something like that.''


    Demons can''t physically enter lower worlds, this one would be sending like a puppet made out of mana, one that was simr to the imps. There are special circumstances where they can, but it''s more of a descent, meaning it is limited.


    ''Hmm... so do I just wait for it to appear? Can''t I.. you know? Stop it?'' Michael wondered and walked around the magic circle, there were all sorts of engravings around it that he could not quite understand.


    But nheless, he felt like he could disrupt it since the engravings were glowing and radiating a tiny amount of mana, meaning, in theory, he could possibly disrupt it.


    You can, and quite easily at that, however, it would be better for you to fight the demon to get more ustomed to their style of fighting. You will be encountering quite a lot of them in the future since you are like my sessor and all.


    ''What is the point though? Isn''t the demon going to be severely weakened anyway?'' He could not understand the reason behind the system''s insistence. If this puppet demon was simr to the imps, couldn''t he just simply kill it with a wave of his hand?


    Demons are different from imps. Even if they are extremely weakened and are puppets, theirbat style as well as physical endurance more than makes up for theck of strength.


    ''If you say so..'' Michael sighed and sat down on his sword, just slightly above the ground.


    Look, don''t feel too discouraged, I am doing this for a reason, alright?


    ''Right right, of course you are'' He rolled his eyes and began forming a small couch out of the swords, using his mana clothing ability as if he were making some sort of mattress.


    ...You could just go check up on Kevin and Elizabeth instead.


    Michael nced to the side a bit and saw Kevin who had fallen to the ground right next to Elizabeth. All things considered, he was not injured, only exhausted.


    He cast purify on Elizabeth and then a couple of heals on the two of them just in case.


    Just as he had done so, he turned back around and noticed the chaotic mana intensifying further and condensing a small figure right in the very middle of the magic circle.


    The figure slowly began forming its own body, shaping into that of a humanoid, yet it had a pair of ck horns and its skin was a light shade of red.


    There were also two pale white dots on the demon''s head, but Michael did not pay much attention to that.


    Hmm... be on guard against this one.


    Michael tilted his head at the system''s words and locked eyes with the demon, its eyes were a dark golden color. It did not feel very pleasant to look at for some reason.


    He gauged the demon''s strength and it seemed to be around Michael''s, Lower Tier 2.


    Yet the chaotic mana it released felt a bit odd, as if there was more to it, a different kind of mana thatpletely drowned out the chaos.


    Demonic mana, the more pureblood a demon is, the more chaos its mana contains.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''I see'' Michael began walking up to the demon, he made sure his shields were up so he would not get killed instantly.


    He arrived right in front of it and it did not seem to react to his presence, that was until another burst of mana shot through the magic circle and engulfed the demonic puppet.


    Immediately, the pressure increased by many folds, as if the being he felt through the magic circle was right before him, however, he knew that was not the case. Its strength remained the same, Lower Tier 2.


    However, the demon tilted its head and suddenly began talking "You remind me of those pigeons; are you a descendant of theirs?" Its tone held no visible malice.


    Michael could tell that it did not ask that question with mere curiosity, it was more of a confirmation.


    But nheless, he had not nned on talking it out with the demon anyway, he nned on letting it go through the magic circle and then, killing it.


    "And If I am?"

 Chapter 130 Demon (2)

    "Well, aren''t you funny?" The demonughed at Michael''s response.


    However, itsugh quickly faded, reced with a serious expression, a stark contrast from its easygoing self just mere moments ago.


    Now it was just staring at Michael in silence with clear malice in its eyes.


    I don''t think you need an expert to tell you that you managed to piss off the demon, yes?


    ''No shit.'' Michael did not back down and continued holding eye contact with the demon before him, but he could not quite tell what the system was talking about, it felt like just a stronger imp in all aspects.


    Its body looked like it was made out of pure mana, however, there were a few ces where there was a bit more mana than normal.


    And the system further confirmed his suspicions.


    They have a core in their bodies, if you find it and destroy it, the puppet dies. The same applies to demons, but if you manage to destroy a demon''s core, you can kill it fully.


    ''So they are practically immortal until you destroy that core?'' Michael asked and backed away from the demon, he could feel the slight rise in mana around him.


    It seemed like the fight would begin soon.


    Yes, they are immortal until you destroy the core, there are ways of sealing demons to get rid of them as well, but it is not as conventional as just killing them straight up.


    ''No surprise there, it''s less trouble to just destroy the core'' Michael thought and suddenly, the demon moved.


    Its speed was definitely not fast enough for him to have trouble, so he simply cast a few swords of light, interrupting the demon''s momentum.


    However, much to his surprise, the demon did not stop, instead, it let the swords pierce through his body all the way through.


    But, despite Michael''s confusion and confidence, the demon''s body immediately began healing up, the fist-sized holes being patched up faster than he could even process.


    And before he knew it, the demon''s attack connected with his shielders, shattering them.


    Michael was sent hurtling backwards, however, he managed to catch himself with the use of his flying capabilities.


    There was a little bit of blood trickling down from his mouth, it seemed like the demon''s attack managed to hit a vital organ, through his shields no less.


    ''Did he concentrate all of the mana into a single point?'' He thought, the punch was pretty straightforward at a nce, but since he had been focusing a fair deal, he managed to find out that all the mana around the demon''s fist condensed itself and shot out the moment its fist connected with his shield.


    The system could most likely turn the tides of the battle, but he preferred to get some hands-on experience himself. After all, it would not be very helpful to him if the system parried and blocked most of the demon''s attacks.


    That''s the spirit, but yes, they are pretty tricky foes, especially if they are the same strength as you, often times it would result in a loss.


    ''Well, I don''t n on losing'' Michael stared at the demon, who had a mocking grin on its face.


    "Is that all you can muster?" It spoke as it began walking towards him with slow but mana-enhanced steps, as if it could leap at him with full force at any moment.


    And it did, before Michael could taunt the demon further, it dashed at him with its full speed once again.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But this time, he was a bit more prepared.


    Michael summoned a multyered shield that would prevent the demon from breaking through all of it at once.


    He stacked multiple small shields together, the mana cost was pretty negligent now so he could afford to do that much at the very least.


    The oue? A shield with extremely high durability. Even though it had not been recognized as a system skill, it seemed incredibly powerful.


    The demon''s attack once again connected with his shield, however, unlike before, when it shattered, this time, the attack was reflected, using the demon''s momentum to send it towards the side.


    Even without the system''s assistance, parrying attacks was not the most difficult thing in the world for him, after all, his INT stat was incredibly high, so high to the point where if he focused hard enough, most attacks seemed like they were in slow motion.


    And even if his body could not react to the attacks, his skills could. His casting time was slightly faster than his perception, ensuring that as long as he could sense the attack, his skills would always activate in time.


    It even managed to startle the demon right before him, it seemed like it did not expect such a strong shield considering it easily pierced through Michael''s first shield.


    Michael couldn''t help but let out a small chuckle at the sight of the demon before him, it felt oddly satisfying seeing it in disarray.


    "What''s wrong? Is that all you can muster" Michael taunted and suddenly, he was once again sent hurtling back, the attack this time was much faster than the others, just a tad bit weaker.


    "Silence." The demon eximed as it once again dashed at him.


    But Michael did not even need to cast the multyered shield, the little amount of mana that it was now using, was not enough to pierce through even his normal shield, let alone the much stronger version.


    It did seem like it was trying to concentrate its attack to pierce it, but maybe because of the amount of mana or some other factors entirely, it was not able to.


    The onught of the fast but weak attacks continued, until eventually, the demon backed away with a frustrated frown on its face.


    All this time, Michael was trying to pinpoint the exact location of the demon''s core. He could feel that there was more mana in certain areas, but upon closer look, it just turned out to be something else entirely, mostly just massive lumps of mana.


    He tried using the Eyes of The Healer, but it proved a bit too effective, once he activated it, the only thing he could see was a murky purple energy, not the demon''s body. It would be a bit difficult to fight like that so he decided not to use it.


    However, now that they were a few meters apart and neither one of them was attacking, Michael decided to use it once again.


    Immediately, a single white light appeared in the very center of the demon''s abdomen, it was moving around. The light was slowly moving around across its entire body, the head, the arms, the legs and it kept repeating in that cycle.


    ''How did I not see it before?'' Michael was a bit confused, if the light was so prominent, how did he not spot it earlier?


    You were not focused enough, but now you are. If you had used it before the fight even started, you could have easily killed the demon with your first attack.


    ''But isn''t this a bit too simple?'' He wondered. If all it took was a single moment of concentration to spot the demon''s weak spot, how was this supposed to be a challenge?


    It is simple because you have my skill, the All-Seeing Eyes, which you inconveniently named Eyes of The Healer. Also, it was not meant to be a challenge, more like practice, this demon does have peculiar abilities, but maybe because of its arrogance, it refuses to use them.


    But as the system''s words dawned, the demon''s horns began glowing an ominous ck color, and the mana it was emitting seemed like it had doubled.


    Its body began getting covered in all sorts of engravings, simr to the ones he had seen previously on the magic circle.


    Safe to say, whatever the system just said, came back to bite him in the ass.


    Michael stared at the transformation with a nk look on his face and facepalmed.


    ''Nice timing...''

 Chapter 131 Demon (3)

    Michael stared at the transformation in silence. Could he stop it? Probably. Would he? No.


    It might seem selfish of him to do such a thing. After all, without them going all out, the surrounding buildings had already fallen¡ªonly some were standing, albeit barely.


    But did it even matter anymore? The entire city was in ruins anyway, and there were no living civilians anywhere near him. It was a total wastnd even before he had arrived.


    Well, Amanda will chew you out for damaging her city, you sure you want to go down that path?


    Michael shivered upon hearing the system''s words, but upon taking a look around him, he already knew he was going to receive an earful.


    He turned his gaze back to the demon, who had still not finished its transformation. Its strength did not seem like it was growing at all; it honestly seemed like all it was doing was buying time.


    "Are you done?" Michael asked and sent a single sword of light right at the demon. Surprisingly, it dissipated upon impact.


    It reminded him of the evangelist priest he had fought up on the mountain, as well as the couple of others. They all had simr spell-nullifying abilities.


    However, he was no expert. Maybe there was more than one ability that looked nearly the exact same¡ªwho knows?


    After a few more moments of waiting, the demon finally finished its transformation. Quite frankly, its appearance did not change much since the very start of the transformation.


    Its strength, however, did spike up by quite a lot. If Michael had to guess, the demon likely broke through and was currently around the middle levels of Tier 2. It seemed a bit unreal.


    But from what he could tell, its strength was finite. Every single move it made drained a bit of it, meaning it would be a battle of attrition.


    That''s right, you could either run around and wait for the demon to gas itself out, or... You could go ahead and kill it while it''s strengthened. Which will you choose, I wonder?


    ''You say that, but it can probably pierce through every single shield I have. It would be a tough fight, especially if it used that mana-nullifying ability again. I would not be able to kill it if it did,'' Michaelined but nheless took a defensive stance.


    After all, running away while also making sure Kevin and Elizabeth were safe would not be the easiest task to aplish.


    Not everyone can be saved; sacrifices must be made. In this case, however, you stand a fair chance of winning against the demon. You just have to kill it before it kills you. Pretty simple, I''d say.


    ''Yup, very sim¡ª'' Michael''s sarcastic words were cut off by a dark ball heading straight for him at an extremely fast speed.


    He did not waste any time and summoned up his multi-shield. He could feel at a single nce that whatever that dark ball was, a simple shield would not be able to stop it.N?v(el)B\\jnn


    And his assumption was correct, as the moment the ball connected with his shields, most of them shattered.


    The attack counted as a block, thankfully, meaning he still had most of his mana left.


    There were three choices he could opt for currently. The first: Heavenly Judgement, and focus on protecting Kevin and Elizabeth.


    The second: try his hand at beating the demon by himself with no extra power-ups. Definitely not an impossible task, just a bit dangerous.


    Andstly, Sanctuary, his newest skill, which couldpletely turn the tide of the battle at the cost of merely 50% of his total mana. He was not sure whether the skill really cost that much, or if his mana capacity just wasn''t increasing.


    He certainly remembers feeling it expand back in the training room, but maybe he was mistaken.


    The capacity is being changed out for spell enhancement, also known as mana purity. It perfectly suits your current battle style. After all, you don''t really have a wide variety of spells at the current moment. I hope after this battle, you y around with your own abilities a bit more, as the possibilities are nearly endless.


    ''I see, and yeah, sure, I still have roughly a week to burn until that academy thingy or whatever,'' Michael agreed with the system. He had been relying on swords of light to be his main attack spell.


    While it was not necessarily bad, it would be more beneficial for him tobine Piercing Light or something simr with it, but s, the rarities differ, so it was impossible for him to currentlybine the two of them.


    Mirage of Light was also something he just instinctively used, but most of his opponents up to date had figured it out. It was just an ability he used on the side; maybe it would show its strength the stronger his abilities grew.


    Michael could imagine casting Heavenly Judgement with the Mirage of Light skill. It would certainly be a unique experience.


    But as he thought that, he froze. ''Wait a moment... system, is that possible?''


    Theoretically, yes, but due to the high amount of mana Heavenly Judgement emits, you would need to find a way to suppress it to not make it too obvious. The simplest way would be for you to learn how mana absorption works. Right, put that on your agenda as well.


    ''Sure...'' Michael sighed and nced at the demon. Its dark golden eyes were emitting a faint but ominous glow.


    However, as he began trying to move, he realized something was blocking him, and upon looking down, he noticed a pair of purple tentacles holding onto both of his legs, rendering his movements fruitless.


    Michael quickly cast a sword of light to destroy those tentacles. However, it was toote, as in the next moment, three dark balls were quickly heading in his direction.


    He could not dodge, and he doubted he could block all three of them, but nheless, he had to try.


    Tens of multiyered shields appeared in front of him, acting as one massive shield against the iing attacks.


    The dark balls seemed to hit the shield, however, they dissipated just before they managed to connect with the shield. It seemed a bit too abnormal.


    In the next moment, his suspicions were confirmed as the system''s voice resounded inside his mind.


    Above you.


    Upon hearing those words, he immediately turned his head upwards, and what greeted his sight was a massive purple blob that was slowly but steadily floating down towards him.


    The mana it emitted seemed a bit too much, to the point where he wondered how he had not managed to see or feel it previously.


    It was simr in energy to his Divine Judgement, though of course a bit weaker.


    But nheless, it was impossible for him to escape his predicament. The only remaining choice he had left was the choice he should have made from the start.


    He dragged out the fight too much, ying around with the demon while it was trying to kill him the entire time. It was not like he would never face a demon again.


    A blunder, one that happened because he wanted to fight a demon fair and square.


    Even in stories back in his old world, he read that demons could never be trusted. It was foolish of him to expect a fair fight in the first ce.


    Good that you know, now use that skill already.


    Michael nodded and looked upwards, his halo slightly shining and covering the entire area around him in his own mana, as if feeling his intent.


    He took a deep breath and muttered.


    "Sanctuary."

 Chapter 132 Demon (4)

    As soon as those words left his mouth, the area his mana had previously epassed turned golden. It was like one massive barrier stretching out from him to a radius of 100 meters.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael felt his mana reduce drastically but ignored it. After all, within this massive golden barrier, he could control everything.


    From the movement of mana to how oxygen, gravity, space, and even time worked, it was as if he were the god of the entire domain.


    Because you are. Don''t meddle with space and time yet, they are the few interestingws that should be best explored once you are a bit more experienced in the usage of mana. The others you can use freely though.


    ''Gotcha..'' Michael nodded and stared at the massive purple blob above him. It was practically within his domain now¡ªat least part of it anyway.


    He could likely wave it away with a few spells, but he wanted to try something a bit more interesting.


    There were so many different possibilities. One such possibility was mana nullification. The domain seemed to operate based on his imagination, so in theory, it should work.


    The air weaved around him as if ignoring his presence. The intoxicating power he hadn''t had just moments ago was now in his hands.


    But nheless, he waved off that strange feeling of greed and imagined the massive blob above him dissipating by making its mana go rampant.


    And much to his surprise, his ideas flowed out in real-time. What he had imagined did indeed happen.


    The purple blob twisted and disappeared into seemingly nothing, leaving behind only a few mana particles that his domain absorbed.


    Surprisingly, once it did, he felt a bit of his mana restore, which gave him another idea. Could he simply imagine mana flowing into him and fully restoring it?


    But upon trying, he was unsessful. As broken as this skill seemed, it still had some logical limitations. However, if there was a source of mana, like the massive purple blob, he could siphon it. He just had to imagine the mana dissipating and refilling his reserves or substituting the excess mana for a shield of his own. The possibilities were endless.


    He just had to think of the mana dissipating and refilling his own reserves, or even substituting that excess mana for a shield of his own, the possibilities were truly endless.


    Michael couldn''t help but smile. It really was an overpowered skill, and to think there were still two tiers above it.


    While he was lost in thought, the system''s voice resounded.


    You sure are ambiguous, though keep that imagination at bay for now. The skill will end in 20 seconds, so it''s best if you finish the fight fast; you never know what might happen if you drag it on again.


    ''Oh right..'' Michael realized he had been wasting time brainstorming, even though a frozen demon was right beside him.


    The demon had a frightened expression on its face and was trembling slightly¡ªa stark contrast to its previously proud and confident demeanor.


    Michael summoned a bunch of swords of light and surrounded himself, leaving just enough space for his eyes to see the demon.


    Suddenly, with a mere thought, he swapped positions. He appeared where the demon had stood moments ago, and the demon was now inside the cocoon of swords.


    The system had warned him not to mess with thews of space, but for something so minor, he assumed it would be fine. After all, his only intention was to switch ces¡ªnothing more, nothing less.


    He could have ended the fight with less effort, but he wanted to experiment. Too bad the duration was short and the cooldown was a whole week.


    With a clench of his hands, the swords pierced the shocked demon. Michael aimed everywhere; its core was definitely not safe.


    And he was right. In the next moment, he felt the demon''s mana dissipating at a much faster rate. It seemed its core held all its mana, and now that it was destroyed, the demon was putting up itsst struggle.


    However, much to the demon''s horror, Michael imagined the dissipating mana flowing into him, restoring his reserves at the same rate it depleted for the demon.


    The demon attempted to dash at him, using its remaining mana to slice him in half, but the gravity around it increased so much that it copsed to its knees.


    All the while, Michael stared at it expressionlessly. How could a skill like this even exist? He found it hard to believe he wouldn''t be able to kill higher-tier foes with Sanctuary.


    It has its drawbacks. Also, higher-tier beings are resistant to lower-tier mana. While it might challenge them, most would shrug it off. Even removing oxygen wouldn''t work; they could just use mana to breathe. Unless you''re equally strong or stronger, you can''t disrupt their mana.


    ''Drawbacks?'' Michael wondered, absorbing the information about the skill.


    It was overpowered, but against stronger foes, its efficiency would drop. Still, it meant that as long as someone was of equal strength and the skill wasn''t on cooldown, he could almost certainly win.


    He approached the demon, whose demonic mana had nearly run out. The dark golden light was fading from its eyes.


    "Anyst words?" he asked. Maybe it would tell him something interesting¡ªit looked like it would die before his skill ended anyway.


    Much to his surprise, the demon beganughing, trying to hold itself back to speak. "Ha... You really are a unique specimen. I can''t wait for you toe to the demonic realm." With those words, its body slowly deteriorated.


    Michael raised a brow in confusion. "Why would I go there, exactly?"


    "All you pigeon shits go there eventually. Don''t worry, though. I''ll prepare a grand wee for when you do," it said with an ominous smile before its body turned to dust.


    It''s right. I''m not sure if it''s fate or something else, but we angels always end up in the demonic realm at least once. I''ve been there hundreds, if not thousands of times. Someone had to dwindle their numbers, so I volunteered.


    ''Is that so'' Michael thought, ignoring the system as it rambled about its past and how many demons it had killed. It was chatty now¡ªso much so that he wished there was a mute button. Still, it often gave good information.


    As the system rambled on, the skill ended, and a sharp headache assaulted him, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.


    There''s a drawback, as I said. The more special and creative the ability, the more it reflects onto you. While that spatial switch didn''t seem serious, it''s one of the reasons you''re in so much pain now. Don''t worry¡ªonce you get used to the skill and its limits, the pain will fade.


    He nodded absentmindedly, holding his dizzy head. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kevin beginning to move as if about to stand.


    Michael sent a wave of mana, picked Kevin up, and floated him over to where the demon had died, dropping him there.


    ''I guess now''s as good a time as ever to ask him some questions..''

 Chapter 133 Demon (5)

    "Wake up." Michael twisted Kevin''s body around in the air, flipping it over several times until he finally woke up.


    Kevin was definitely conscious; it just seemed like he waszy and didn''t want to wake up.


    "Fine... stop." He finally decided to drop the sleeping charade and used his shadows to stop himself in midair.


    ''Hmm.. he got stronger again'' Michael noticed. Upon inspecting Kevin''s mana, he saw that his strength had increased to the point where all he probably needed to do was form a mana core. The speed of his progress was a bit too fast, even by Michael''s estimations.


    He assumed that if Fafnir hadn''t helped him, the two of them would be on a simr level of strength by now. But s, he had taken the opportunity and gained much more than he could have ever asked for.


    Even if Kevin formed his core, he would still be no match for him.


    Michael decided to put his cards on the table early. He took out the daggers he had received from the man possessed by a demon from hell.


    However, as he thought that, a bit of confusion arose in his mind ''What''s the difference between the demonic realm and hell...?''


    Hell is inside the demonic realm. It''s like a continent, you could say. Each continent has its ownws and rulers. The demon you killed just now and the one back then are both associated with hell.


    ''Oh.. that makes sense'' Michael nodded inwardly and ced the daggers on the floor right beside Kevin.


    He still found it a bit hard to stand; his head was ringing, and soothing it with healing didn''t really help either. It was probably something that would just go away on its own. After all, it would be a bit too overpowered if a simple heal could wash away the pain caused by a skill of that caliber.


    Kevin looked at the daggers with a raised brow. "Are those for me? What am I supposed to do with them? I don''t use weapons."


    It was an answer Michael half-expected. After all, Kevin used mana just like he did. Michael himself would consider using a weapon if it met his standards. These daggers, however, were just some throwaway weapons he would thrust upon anyone he met.


    But if Kevin didn''t want them, he could always give them to Chloe. The option of blood clotting might strengthen her vampiric abilities, as he was fairly certain she was some kind of vampire.


    One that controlled space. Maybe a special bloodline? He might ask her when the time came.


    "So you don''t want them, then?" Michael asked, levitating the daggers into the air and making them circle around the both of them.


    "No, you can have them." Kevin shook his head and sat downfortably on the ground. "So what do you want?"


    Michael chuckled at his words. "What makes you think I want something?"


    "Just a hunch." Kevin said with a shrug.


    "Well, you''re right. I do need some information from you." He fiddled with the daggers, which were flying all around in the air.


    It felt quite odd to control them. It almost seemed like he was training his mana in the process.


    "Say... what can you tell me about hell?" Michael asked directly, noticing Kevin flinch.


    "...It''s a wastnd filled to the brim with demons, a ce I would much rather never go back to. But... I need to kill Astaroth."


    Michael listened and nodded. However, he already knew these things. It would be more beneficial if Kevin told him something regarding the power systems of hell.


    "I killed a man who had a pale white dot on his hand, as well as the demon just now, though it had two dots. What do you know about them?"


    As those words fell, Michael could see Kevin''s expression sour. It seemed he would finally gain some new information.


    Michael could ask the system about it, but since he was already here, he might as well ask Kevin. However, if he lied, the system would most definitely tell the truth.


    "Those dots represent your rank in hell... A single dot means you''re an underling, just slightly above an imp. Two dots mean you''re a regr demon, one who can enve the single dots. Three dots, you''re practically a noble and can rule your own domain. Four dots, you''re in charge of an entire continent. There are ten four-dotted individuals in total," Kevin exined, taking a deep breath.


    "Lastly... five dots mean you''re the king of all demons, the strongest demon alive. Their hierarchy is purely based on strength. Not just anyone can be a demon king or any other kind of dotted individual."


    "There are some demons who decline their positions, mostly single dots, since serving a higher-ranked individual allows you to grow stronger much faster." Kevin finally finished his exnation, his sour expression unchanged.


    Michael couldn''t help but ask, even though he already knew the answer. He just wanted to make sure. "How many dots did Astaroth have?"


    "Three... he was one of the stronger demons too. I thought I stood a chance against him, but as the fight went on, I realized he was toying with me from the start..." Kevin''s voice grew quiet, malice clear in his tone.


    "I see... so the demons'' hierarchy is based on dots. Howical." Michael chuckled at their creativity, but nheless, he still felt cautious in his heart.


    If there were only five different dots, the strength disparity must be immense, considering there were twenty tiers in total.


    Evangelists, demons¡ªso many different hostile enemies¡ªand he hadn''t even left his world yet. It was really a wonder how his luck brought him so many encounters with such beings.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''Anyway.. system, was what he said the truth?'' Michael asked. He could never be too certain.


    Yeah, every bit of it is urate. However, Astaroth is a four-dot, not a three-dot. I remember him from a few of the past Michaels who died in hell. He used to be a trickster¡ªa strong one at that. Kevin really didn''t stand a chance. To guard an entire continent, one''s strength must be at least Tier 12, maybe even higher.


    ''Have none of my previous selves met the demon king?'' He wondered.


    Nope, none of your previous selvessted long enough to evene close to the demon king''s strength.


    ''I see..'' Michael took a deep breath and stood up. His dizziness had finally faded.


    He patted Kevin on the shoulder and walked toward Elizabeth.


    Shortly after, Kevin followed him. It seemed like she was about to wake up as well, as she was rolling around on the ground groggily.


    Michael stopped a few meters away from her. However, Kevin kept walking and crouched down right in front of her.


    "..Liz?" Kevin said, his voice shaky.


    ''Liz..? Did I miss something'' Michael raised his brow at the pet name.


    However, what happened next made his eyes widenpletely.


    Elizabeth shot up from the ground and hugged Kevin tightly. It seemed like she was saying something to him, but Michael''s mind had already gonepletely nk.


    ''Uhh... I was gone for what.. a week, right?''


    Roughly.


    ''Right... then how did they be so close in just a week!?''

 Chapter 134 Practice

    A/N: Only 2 chapters today; I will do a mass release for priv in a week or two; I have to get some things sorted first, sorry!


    *


    Michael felt awkward standing there, watching the two of them hug it out, seemingly not stopping any time soon.


    "I am d the two of you are fine... See you in a week?" he added but was once again ignored.


    It seemed like he was not very wee in their little reunion, so Michael took the hint and walked away. He had better things to do anyway.


    And those things are?


    ''Probably watch some TV, maybe?'' He nodded to himself in confirmation; it did not seem like a bad pastime.


    However, once those thoughts ended, he remembered the system''s advice. It had highly rmended that he test out his skills and their limits.


    Good, you are notpletely hopeless. There are a few open spaces around here


    The system said. Suddenly, a few pulsating markers began appearing on the map beside him. Several areas were highlighted¡ªthose with the least amount of people.


    Or the highest amount of red dots. It wouldn''t hurt him to pass by and kill a few of them, after all. His mana was fully restored thanks to his usage of the


    Sanctuary


    skill.


    By far, it was his most overpowered skill yet. It was just a pity that the cooldown was so long; otherwise, he would be using it in most of his encounters.


    There was


    Divine Judgement


    as well, but besides its destructiveness, the mana cost was way too high. He would only use it if he coupled it with the


    Sanctuary


    skill; maybe then he could negate the damage to himself while also maximizing the damage to the opponent.


    Too many possibilities¡ªand his luck was off the charts as well. If he had not gone up in Tier and gotten then/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Sanctuary


    skill, the fight against the demon would have been much more difficult.


    It was a pleasant coincidence, one that Michael was d had happened. After all, he probably wouldn''t have yed around with the demon like he did, resulting in that purple blob falling on him.


    But now that it had happened once, he would make sure it never happened again.


    Michael flew around the inner part of Vivum until, eventually, hended in a pretty open space where no civilians were anywhere near him. The only things around him were a few imps.


    It was interesting how the people had not gotten rid of them yet. After all, there were many strong individuals in the city, some of whom even had mana cores.


    The amount was certainly notrge¡ªonly a few people in the crowd¡ªand most of them were unsurprisingly wearing the government''s uniform: a professional suit that did not seempatible with battle at all.


    Maybe it really was ipatible. After all, the imps were still lurking around the city.


    Michael cast a single


    Sword of Light


    and made it fly through every single imp in the vicinity. It was decent practice since, if he went too fast, he would lose control of the sword. If he went too slow, well, it wouldn''t kill anybody.


    It was a bit difficult to bnce, considering the speed and casting time of his skills were extremely fast¡ªto the point where it was easier to just do simple straight-line casts.


    But if he wanted to improve his mana-controlling abilities, it would be best to first control his most-used spell.


    The attempts were not bad. He was able to skewer a few imps on his first try, albeit they were not exactly far apart.


    On the second try, he was even able to rotate the sword a full 180 degrees and strike another imp right behind him. He was getting better and better at it the more he tried.


    But s, there were not an infinite number of imps. In just a few short minutes, he had killed most of them already.


    Besides gaining a tad bit more control over his


    swords of light,


    he did not feel that much different. However, he still had quite a lot of time to spare for his so-called training.


    Do you want to try the other part of the training I mentioned? It''s not as painful as direct absorption, but nheless, its effects are nearly identical.


    Michael raised his brow at thatment. ''Here?'' He was a bit cautious because, while there were no people around, he never knew when someone woulde.


    And if he was paralyzed by pain like with the other type of training, it would prove quite troublesome.


    You won''t be paralyzed. Probably.


    ''You don''t sound very convincing...'' Michael snickered and made his way to the ttest part of the area he was currently in. Whatever the system was nning, it would be best to be prepared for everything.


    All of a sudden, a voice resounded from behind him. It sounded very simr to his own, and upon turning around, he noticed it was the system in its human form.


    "You are misunderstanding me. Also, while I am in this form, call me Mikhail."


    Michael sighed at the sight of him smirking. "Sure, sy¡ªMikhail. What do you have in mind, then?"


    "Nothing serious, just a little spar, is all." With those words, Mikhail stretched out his hand, and the halo on top of Michael''s head began shaking uncontrobly until, finally, it started levitating in front of them.


    "Insert half of your mana into it. I don''t really have much mana of my own, so I need you to split your reserves with me," Mikhail said and pointed at the halo, which was emitting a faint golden glow.


    Michael didn''t think too much of it, so he agreed. He walked up to the halo and ced his hand on top of it. Immediately, exactly half of his mana was extracted, and the golden glow intensified.


    That was until Mikhail walked up to the halo and took it, cing it right on top of his head.


    The strength difference did not seem thatrge. If anything, Michael was even a tad bit stronger, mana-wise.


    But he knew that his strength did not mean anything against Mikhail, as he quite literally had billions upon billions of years of experience. Hisbat prowess was obviously much, much higher than Michael''s.


    "So how are we going to do this?" Michael asked. He would obviously lose in a battle, but it seemed like that was where the situation was heading.


    "I am going to teach you how to control your mana better. All you have to do is pay attention and survive. Simple, right?"


    A shiver went down Michael''s spine as he saw the small smile on Mikhail''s face. Without wasting any time, he summoned a bunch of multyered shields to defend himself.


    However, that seemed to not work, as in the next moment, he felt pain in his left hand. Upon looking at it, he noticed that it was destroyed right at the elbow. It was so fast and precise that he could not even tell when it had happened.


    By now, his regeneration was much faster than before. It only took him a few moments to regrow a limb from seemingly nothing. The fact that it hurt remained, though.


    "So how long are you going to spar with me?" Michael stared at Mikhail, who had not moved a single muscle since his arm got obliterated.


    However, the next words made his expression sour.


    "Isn''t it obvious? You have a week of free time. Therefore, we will spend a week training."


    ''...Fuck.''

 Chapter 135 Tournament?

    A whole week had passed, and during that time, Michael''s control over his shields had drastically improved.


    That was mostly due to the fact that his entire training consisted of being beaten up, while asionally sending out an attack of his own.


    But obviously, none of his attacks connected, and Mikhail kept bombarding him with all sorts of attacks.


    However, it was not all fruitless. After all, his passive regenerative capabilities had grown by leaps and bounds. The number of times his limbs had been cut off was definitely in the triple digits by now.


    Added to the fact that he had learned how to concentrate the mana of his shields into certain parts, coupled with his multyered shields, it was quite abination.


    The concentration made it so a single shield became fortified. If he did it on many shields stacked together, the amount of fortification increased by many folds.


    He felt like hisbative abilities had increased as well, though he just hadn''t had much time to test them since, until a few moments ago, he and Mikhail had been sparring.


    Only when there was an hour left before the academy did they stop, giving Michael some time to rest.


    Michael was just told to be there¡ªnothing more, nothing less.


    However, knowing Amanda, she would most likely give him some diabolical task under the pretense of him being the city''s only Saint.


    But s, he was exhausted. The amount of sleep he had gotten during the whole week wasughable. He was starting to think he might not have slept at all but instead only imagined sleeping.


    All he could remember was being beaten up.


    However, now that his misery had ended, at least for the next hour, he could rx.


    Do you want me toe back out? An hour of training doesn''t sound too bad.


    Michael flinched and rubbed his forehead. ''No... It''s alright,'' he replied and decided to check his status. He wasn''t expecting much of an increase, but nheless, it was as good a time as any to check it out.


    ''Status.''


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]


    Mana Purity: 200%->204%


    Mana Core: Flow


    Mana Core Rank: Tier 2


    -:- 4% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Seraphim Progress: 1/7n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    -Titles:


    * Ruthless Combatant


    # Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you


    * Being of Light


    # Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity-based spells by 25%


    * ???


    -Stats


    HP: 100/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP: 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 828} -> Tier 2 [F] (129) {Total = 857}


    END: Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 943} -> Tier 2 [D-] (202) {Total = 1045}


    AGI: Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 920} -> Tier 2 [F] (140) {Total = 960}


    INT: Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 1100} -> Tier 2 [D-] (238) {Total = 1328}


    CHA: Tier 2 [F] (100) {Total = 602}-> Tier 2 [F] (105) {Total = 607}


    -


    Skills / [Skill Merging] / [Skill Sacrifice]


    Passive Skills: Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive] ; Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive] ;


    Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive] ;


    Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]


    ; Hand-to-handbat [Beginner] [Passive] ; Shooting mastery [Beginner] [Passive] ;


    Discipline [Basic] [Passive] ; Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive] ; Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive] ;


    Active Skills: Sanctuary [Superior] [Active] ;


    Heavenly Judgement [Advanced] [Active] ;


    Purify [Intermediate] [Active] ;


    Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active] ; Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active] ;


    Sword of Light [Beginner] [Active]


    ;


    +---+


    ''Nice little upgrades,'' Michael nodded in satisfaction. His


    END


    and


    INT


    stats had risen quite a lot, while


    CHA


    was nearly identical to what it had been a week ago.


    He felt quite salty about it, but it wasn''t like he could do anything. After all, he didn''t want to chase the affection of many women; he wasn''t that kind of guy.


    But even then, an increase of only 5 total


    CHA


    stats felt a bit odd.


    ''System, are you doing this?'' He asked with suspicion.


    Of course not. I can''t change your stats as I please. The only thing I would be able to do is tobine or sacrifice a skill, which, without your permission or certain circumstances, I would not do.


    ''Hmm...'' Michael was still a bit suspicious, but he let it go nheless. He felt like his


    CHA


    stat was a bit inurate.


    A bit self-centered, aren''t you?


    He ignored the system''s teasing and made himself a new pair of clothes.


    No matter what clothes other people gave him, his mana-created ones were still the best.


    Michael thought it might be interesting to work on a suit of armor for himself in the future, though for now, he could continue relying on his shields.


    His healing skill had not shown any progress, sadly. No matter what he tried, he still couldn''t figure out how to get the perfect heal.


    He sat around, contemting different ideas until it was finally time to head to the academy.


    His clothes looked decent, and he did not look dirty either. It seemed his clothing had a function of removing any excess dirt or stains, for that matter.


    It was a pity they couldn''t also repair themselves; it would save him a bit of time. Maybe in the future, he could figure something out, though.


    Michael decided to wrap up his rest, summon a sword of light, and fly straight to the academy at a speed that seemed a lot faster than usual.


    Normally, he kept his flying speed a bit slow since he still had trouble controlling it. But now, he could go much faster with the same amount of control.


    He finally arrived and noticed that only a few people were gathered¡ªthose from his ss, more specifically.


    Lena was sitting on a bench by the side, talking to a few ssmates, while Chloe, Kevin, and Elizabeth were discussing something among themselves.


    Michael immediately moved in their direction. They were basically the only people he somewhat talked to.


    There was Liam as well, but he wasn''t very talkative. The reason they were acquainted in the first ce was because Michael had saved his mother in the slums.


    As he got closer to the three of them, he overheard something about some kind of tournament. He was definitely notte, so how had he not heard about it?


    "Oh, Michael, I was wondering where you went" Kevin noticed him and said with a faint smile.


    ''Sure you were..'' Michael simply nodded at him and nced at Elizabeth, who, as always, was ring at him.


    And then finally, Chloe, who by now no longer avoided eye contact with him since he had already managed to remove the curse the vampire had ced on him.


    The two of them exchanged nods of mutual understanding. Michael was obviously not going to point out the fact that she was a vampire in front of the whole ss.


    ...Or what was left of it, anyway. He could count eight people, including himself. The rest were gone¡ªmost likely dead.


    Michael sighed and nced toward the academy entrance. It seemed like whatever he hade for was finally starting.


    There was a small podium, and on top of it stood Amanda, wearing oddly luxurious and fancy clothes.


    She took a nce around at his ssmates, pausing for a bit longer when her gaze reached his. Nheless, she did not act out.


    Instead, she cleared her throat and began speaking.


    "You might already be aware of why we all gathered today. If not, then let me remind you," Amanda paused while shooting a nce at Michael.


    "A tournament between the academies is scheduled to happen in a few days. Regardless of circumstances, we have to attend. That is why I need five candidates."


    She once again nced around the entire ss and continued, "Which of you would like to participate?"

 Chapter 136 Tournament? (2)

    "An academy tournament? And she wants me to participate? Is she that desperate to win?" Michael could not help but think. After all, his strength had reached Tier 2, and she had most likely noticed it by now.


    It would be stranger if she hadn''t; her strength was much higher than his.


    He was not against participating, but he assumed it would look bad for Vivum if they ended up destroying all theirpetitors. They might even get the wrong idea and think he was some sort of instructor; all sorts of misunderstandings could arise.


    But he didn''t really have anything else to do, so he decided to go through with it regardless.


    The participants were pretty obvious: Michael, Chloe, Elizabeth, and Kevin. As for thest one? He had no clue.


    Liam was a good candidate. Despite his looks, he was a close-range fighter¡ªa brawler at that.


    His physique had undergone quite a big change as well. It reminded Michael of the people from the gym back in his first orphanage. Those guys were definitely buff, and now Liam was too.


    There were some other candidates; however, they did not stand out as much.


    After a bit of time passed, Amanda cleared her throat and spoke up again. "From your enthusiasm, I see most of you are eager. However, while I observed you, I picked out the five who will be going to the tournament."


    ''While you observed us? As if you didn''t already have your ideal candidates in mind'' Michael scoffed at her bullshit and continued to listen as she began calling out names.


    "Kevin, Elizabeth, Michael, Chloe, andstly, E," she announced, waiting for everyone''s cheers.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    However, no one cheered. That was because no one knew who E was.


    ''Who the fuck is E?'' Michael was clearly confused. He had memorized the names of everyone in his ss, and not a single one of them was named E.


    But just as their confusion grew more apparent, a figure walked out from behind Amanda and stood among them.


    She looked ordinary¡ªbrown hair and brown eyes¡ªnothing stood out.


    To the others, anyway. Michael could tell that she had a Tier 1 mana core¡ªnot amon sight for someone so young.


    Probably some kind of setup. You know how Amanda is. She''s most likely nting that girl to watch over you. While she''s young, she''s not as young as she looks. I can tell you that much at least.


    ''Why would she order someone to keep watch on us..? Aren''t I here?'' Michael was a bit skeptical but nheless nodded at the girl, receiving a nod back.


    They all stood together and waited for Amanda to speak again, instructing them on what to do next.


    "Right. d you all got acquainted. The rest of you who have not been chosen can go back. The same applies to you as well, Lena. I will take over from here," Amanda instructed, and the students began to disperse.


    Lena looked a bit hesitant but nheless went back into the academy. Even though arge part of it was destroyed, it seemed she still had obligations to attend to.


    "As for the five of you,e with me," Amanda said and walked off the podium. The familiar car and driver stood by the side. The car was spacious enough to fit all of them inside.


    Michael could sense another individual in the car, someone with a mana core who was at least Tier 1.


    So many individuals who would be considered powerful were gathered, and yet the world was still mostly unaware of them.


    That just means the oath is working. Nothing to be surprised about.


    Michael shrugged at the system''sment and got inside the car. For some reason, the atmosphere felt a little tense.


    However, the strangest thing was that the person inside the car looked exactly like him¡ªto the point where it felt like he was staring into a mirror.


    "This is your recement, Michael," Amanda''s voice rang out from behind him, causing further confusion.


    "What are you talking about?"


    "You and I are going to be doing something different. While these five participate in the tournament, we will be uprooting a certain scheme that has been brought to my attention," she exined as the car suddenly began moving.


    He was too in the dark to make any assumptions, so he simply nodded back at her.


    ''This is a bit sketchy, no?''


    Yeah, seems uncharacteristic for Amanda to seek your help when she''s probably one of the strongest people in this world. But who knows? Maybe there''s some secret agenda that requires your help.


    ''Must be it...''


    Michael chatted with the system a little more as Amanda did not go into further details.


    The ride, aside from the asional bickering between Kevin and Elizabeth, was rtively quiet. Due to the tinted windows, Michael could not see where they were headed.


    Not that it mattered; he had the system¡ªmore specifically, the map. It showed they were heading southwest from Vivum.


    The only city in that direction was rion. Its size was just slightlyrger than Vivum''s, but it was not as technologically advanced.


    That didn''t mean they were primitive. Instead, they focused most of their research on magic and how to implement it into daily life. Their buildings might look as modern¡ªif not more modern¡ªthan Vivum''s.


    Nheless, the journey would take a few more hours. The continent was massive, and even though rion was the closest city to Vivum, it was still far by Michael''s standards.


    He found it fascinating that the person in the car felt like his double¡ªjust a little weaker.


    ''I wonder if he also has the light affinity...'' M Michael tried to gauge the person''s mana signature with his Eyes of the Healer. However, it didn''t work, as Amanda suddenly stepped in front of him.


    "Don''t do that. Keep your curiosity in check," she said in a threatening tone, shooting him a small re before sitting back down.


    ''...Yeah, something is definitely up.''


    I agree.


    -----


    After a few hours of driving, Michael could tell they were close¡ªonly a few kilometers remained until they reached the city.


    Everyone else was busy on their phones. Michael, uninterested, decided to practice his mana instead.


    He cast a few Swords of Light and made them follow alongside the car, performing all sorts of turns, even killing a few monsters in the far-off distance.


    While his control hadn''t improved as much as it did with the imps, his range had increased significantly. He could now control all the Swords of Light within a 10-kilometer radius.


    Finally, rion appeared on his 30-kilometer map. At first, it looked rtively normal. However, the aerial view of the city was shocking.


    There were so many green dots that he could barely make out the buildings.


    As expected, a few red dots were mixed in. Finding them in such arge crowd would be difficult.


    After a few more minutes, the car stopped, and the driver got out to open the door.


    The moment Michael stepped out, his eyes widened.


    There were all sorts of buildings¡ªeven towers¡ªscattered across the skyline. All radiated massive amounts of mana. If Michael used his Eyes of the Healer, the only thing he''d see would be mana.


    But that wasn''t all. The city had a ground floor as well¡ªspacious, with only a few nearby houses. However, in the far distance, Michael could see many more using his map.


    All the buildings had mana engravings. It almost felt like the rift situation all over again. However, everything was stable, meaning nothing would form.


    The city reminded him of Japan. He had visited a couples of cities a few times during his mercenary days, loving its architecture. Seeing a simr aesthetic here was heartwarming.


    Even the people wore traditional-looking clothing, many in yukatas, typically worn during sumer festivals.


    The battle between academies is like a festival as well. It happens every two years. If you decide to stay in this world for some reason and attend the academy''s fourth year, you might be able to participate.


    ''No, it''s fine, I''ll just do the little side mission with Amanda and get going'' Michael decided, noticing Amanda moving forward with the others following her.


    ''Guess I will go along as well...''

 Chapter 137 Before The Tournament

    Amanda seemed like she knew quite a fair deal about this city already; she led everyone towards some hotels and even struck up a few conversations along the way.


    He didn''t expect her to be a social butterfly outside of Vivum, but she was unusual from the start, so it wasn''t that surprising.


    The people of rion were rtively weak; most adults had not even reached level 20, and so far, he could only feel roughly 6 more people who had Mana Cores, and that was after scanning around the whole city.


    Michael was aware that there were methods of masking one''s mana; however, he assumed it would not be that conventional in this world. After all, it was considered a lower world.


    The run-ins with powerful beings were coincidences, or so he liked to think anyway. He doubted that fate would y around with his life like that. But, having a rough guess of the powers people above Tier 10 possessed, it might actually be the case.


    Maybe even the being who wanted to corrupt him¡ªperhaps he was the one who caused his life to shift in such a way.


    After they were settled in their hotels, it was time to move again. Amanda had mentioned something about meeting a mutual acquaintance, though Michael was not really sure who she was talking about.


    ''Fafnir maybe?''


    Not quite, it is someone you might have gone to a dungeon with and almost died.


    ''..Shingen?''


    Yup, it appears that he lives between rion and Vivum. I could feel some people who were hiding their presence near a few particr mountains we passed by. Most of them were swordsmen, just like him.


    ''Were they strong?'' Michael asked. He could not feel those people himself or even see them on the map.


    They have some kind of technique that converts mana into physical power. It''s not bad. If you are a pure physical fighter, then it''s perfect. Most of them are not Tier 1''s yet, but their bodies are basically perfect for assimting with the Dantian Core. So, in short, yes, for their current level, they are strong.


    ''Very short answer.'' He scoffed and followed along. They headed to some sort of private za. It seemed strange to see an area that did not have people, considering the city was currently packed to the brim.


    But nheless, even his map made it clear the ce was empty. At most, he could see 20 scattered dots, 18 of which were green, and the remaining 2 were red.


    ''Is this the scheme she wants uncovered?'' Michael could not help but think as they arrived next to some sort of glowing pir.


    Amanda nced at everyone behind her and announced, "Come closer, we will be transported in a moment."


    Everyone listened to her words and huddled closer. She ced her hand on the pir, and suddenly, they began descending downwards at a rapid speed.


    It was like an elevator, one that was going directly into the ground. He could feel the tform below him being held up with Mana alone.


    Michael could also feel a little breezeing up at him; he assumed that the affinity of the mana was wind.


    As he turned to look above, he noticed that they hadn''t descended as much as he thought. It felt like hundreds of meters, but from the looks of it, it was no more than 10 meters.


    ''System?'' Michael asked out of curiosity.


    It''s some kind of mana tunneling, something simr to the wormhole theory, just not as perfect.


    He raised his brow at the exnation. ''You mean two spaces connected across long distances?''


    Something like that. If you don''t understand, just think of it as spatial magic. It is simr in a way, so you would not be exactly wrong.


    As he was about to speak to the system again, arge wave of mana washed over him, and in the very next moment, disappeared.


    Michael was a bit confused, but as he looked upwards, searching for the hole from which he hade down, he saw a ceiling a couple of hundred meters up.


    It really was a strange depiction of the wormhole theory, definitely not what he was expecting.


    Nheless, upon taking a few looks around, he noticed that they were in some sort of cave.


    The cave gave off a simr impression as the slums of Vivum, just on a muchrger scale.


    Taking a nce at his map, he could see a city not too far away, many people were gathered there.


    However, even further inside of the city, there were the 20 people he had felt earlier. They were all gathered in some sort ofrge building at the highest part of the city; it almost looked like a cathedral.


    They were fairly separated when he had seen them above ground, but now they were practically all right next to each other.


    Amanda led them forward, and eventually, they arrived at what appeared to be a cliffside overlooking the entire city below them.


    There was a mountain passage on the right of them that led directly down to the city. It was a bit more fancy-looking than the slums, at least.


    As for the city? It looked almost identical to the upper part. He could feel mana all around; it just gave off a bit of a medieval feeling, much more than the architecture up top.


    Medieval-looking Japanese architecture did not sound too bad, though.


    They followed the mountain passage down to the city and were greeted by a few people who acted as tour guides.


    It seemed like Amanda had not been down here before, as her eyes were showing traces of amusement every single time she saw something interesting.


    But that brought up the question: What was this ce? If she had been to rion before but not the underground part, then when exactly had ite to be?


    Michael had assumed that Amanda was pretty old; she was an elf after all. From his knowledge of elves, he knew they lived for a couple of thousand years. If she was the daughter of a dragon, perhaps even longer.


    She is not that old. From what I can tell, she is still around 700-800 years old, hard to tell with elves since they look the same no matter how old they are.


    His eyes widened upon hearing that, and he took a quick nce at Amanda. She definitely did not look like a grandma.


    "What?" She asked with a trace of annoyance.


    "Nothing..." Michael answered and looked away. It was strange seeing someone so... old look so young.


    She even acted like a teenager at times. Looks can definitely be deceiving...n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After a couple of minutes of walking, their little tour finally ended, and they arrived in front of some fancy restaurant that would definitely cost thousands to even get on the reservation list.


    However, Amanda casually walked in and showed the waiter her ID, and immediately, she was escorted to a luxurious table.


    Michael and the others tried walking after her, as they had done thus far, but much to their surprise, the waiter stopped them.


    "The miss told me to inform you all that you can do whatever you want until the tournament and that you know where your hotel rooms are. Good luck," the waiter ryed and walked back to his post.


    Michael and the others were equally as stunned; she just went ahead and ditched them.


    Better yet, he had not even cashed in his 1 million dors yet. He had be the Saint, but there were still no opportunities to do any Saintly work.


    Meaning, he was currently broke.


    As he was busy solving his inner conflict, he noticed the others scattering. Kevin and Elizabeth went somewhere together, Michael''s double and E went their separate ways as well.


    And as for Chloe? She walked inside the restaurant, showed her ID, received a shocked expression from the waiter, and was led to an even more luxurious table than Amanda''s.


    ''...'' He was speechless at the turn of events.


    ''Is there an adventurer''s guild or something simr?'' Michael asked the system. He would make sure to take a tough request to earn a lot of money; being broke due to circumstance was bing a little tiring.


    Yes, there appears to be some sort of guild, the Association or whatever, simr to the one you encountered back in those viges.


    Michael nodded, his next destination was clear.


    ''Perfect.''

 Chapter 138 Before The Tournament (2)

    "Is this it...?"n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Michael had headed back to the upper part of the city the same way he had gone down, via the spatial elevator.


    And now, he was standing right in front of a massive building. It seemed like a gigantic castle.


    Better yet, it had the word "Association" carved into the walls and highlighted with some sort of glowing white substance. It was surprisingly not mana. He guessed the little bit of technology they had was used to make other things look pleasing to the eyes.


    Michael went inside and was greeted by a long waiting queue. There were a bunch of people standing in different kinds of lines, all of them awaiting their turn.


    "Do I seriously have to wait here...?"


    The lines were a bit longer than he thought. They seemed to spiral up the stairs and onto the second floor, meaning the receptionist was no longer down here.


    That also meant he was essentially going to be wasting all of his time, and better yet, he could not do anything about it.


    There had to have been some kind of VIP system, but from what he saw, no one had passed him in line. Surprisingly, everyone was pretty calm, and none were venting their frustrations at the waiting time.


    Not a great time to arrive in this city, I suppose. The others are likely also short on funding, else they would not all be gathered here waiting patiently in the lines.


    ''Probably...'' Michael nced to the side. It really did look like some sort of castle; it almost made him think he might have entered the wrong ce.


    The procedure also seemed a tad different. He was expecting to see the requests stered all over the walls, yet there was nothing like that to be seen here.


    Instead, he could see people going down the stairs with little ques in their hands, all of which were a different color. A couple were gray, others orange, some even green.


    He assumed it had something to do with their strength or maybe even the request type, but he could not be sure. After all, he knew nothing and now had to wait for God knows how long.


    Just practice your skills on the side, no? It''s not like anyone would notice your usage of mana. There is not a single person with a Mana Core here.


    Michael nced around for a moment and used


    Eyes of The Healer,


    making sure that what the system had said was urate.


    After confirming it, he sent out a few extremely slim swords of light outside, making sure no one saw them or even detected them.


    ''Good...'' Michael nodded to himself. It did not prove too difficult, almost like the lower-leveled people were not even able to tell that he used a skill. But for that, he could thank his extremely fast casting speed.


    ''Is


    Sanctuary


    off cooldown yet?'' he asked the system and walked forward every couple of minutes, making sure his spot in line did not get taken. At the same time, he was controlling the swords around the entire outside of the building.


    A few more hours. Though besides that, what do you n on doing after this whole event? Are you going to visit that old continent of yours or go straight for the other worlds?


    Michael thought for a moment and responded, ''Honestly? I''m thinking of paying a short visit to Meph and then probably heading out... As for Astraea, I am still weaker than her, and from her story, the people she will be going up against are very strong...''


    So you want to get stronger first and thene back? That is not a bad n. But then what?


    ''What do you mean?''


    After you get strong and help her, whates after?


    Michael flinched upon hearing the slyness in the system''s voice and decided to ignore it. It was starting to get some strange ideas.


    After several hours of waiting and very unproductive training, it was finally his turn to speak with the receptionist.


    The second floor was a bit more spacious than the first. It almost made the first floor seem useless, which, from what he could tell so far, was indeed the case.


    It was just a ce where you could sit down after a tiring day and rx¡ªdefinitely not while there were hundreds of people present, though.


    The receptionist stared at him for a moment and pulled out some sort of orb. It was emitting a tiny amount of mana¡ªmana whose property he could not recognize.


    It almost looked like it was artificially made. ''That''s impossible... right?''


    Technically, it is possible. Imagine the mana people exude when they fight; if the properties sh, it would cancel each other out, and the excess mana would be possible to contain, even if only temporarily... But...


    ''But?''


    They managed to harness it more fluidly than the people of my time. It is quite fascinating. That device will most likely scan your mana. Odds are, it will break. But who knows? Maybe it can detect those with Mana Cores?


    Michael nodded and ced his hand on top of the orb. Immediately, he could feel it pulsating, and a very small amount of mana was traveling up his arm.


    As it reached the very top of his arm, the mana split at the shoulder and headed in three different directions. One thread of mana was heading for his brain, another for his heart, and the final one for his abdomen.


    He immediately understood what it was ying at; it was trying to search for Mana Cores in those particr areas. However, he did not have that kind of Mana Core.


    Instead, it was something a bit more special¡ªa core located in the spine, the


    Flow Core.


    The mana kept swirling around, looking for any core in sight, nearly enveloping his entire body in the search¡ªall but the spine.


    Until finally, the search was over, and the receptionist took the orb back and ced it under the table, a bored look on his face.


    "Choose a request..." he said, handing Michael a tablet. It had a simr technological outline as in the viges. There were different categories, and the one he was most interested in currently was monster subjugation.


    Michael clicked on it, and after a few seconds of loading, it disyed arge list. At the very top,


    1854 Results


    was written, meaning he would be here for a while.


    There is a filter option on the left. Click it and sort it by difficulty.


    ''..Oh right.'' He followed the system''s words and found the difficulty setting. It made him feel like an old man, not knowing how technology worked.


    ''Hmm...


    Wolf King? Basilisk King?''


    Michael thought while browsing the selection. All of the rewards were in the multimillion-dor range. However, all of the requests were grayed out.


    The only ones avable were simple requests, like taking down a group of goblins or some kind of dungeon subjugation¡ªa low-leveled one at that.


    Michael nced at the receptionist, who had been patiently waiting by the side, and asked, "Why are these requests grayed out?"


    "They are for the special kind of powerful people. Sorry, you don''t qualify." He was met with a swift and fast refusal.


    ''So the requirement was for me to have a Mana Core, really...'' He sighed and summoned a single sword of light right in front of the receptionist, flying it all around the association building.


    He made it glow and even dim, split in half, and reassemble. Finally done with his little performance, he returned his gaze to the receptionist, who was now staring at him with wide eyes.


    "One moment..." the receptionist said and quickly ran towards a door not too far away from the desk.


    Michael could not help but grin at the sight.


    ''Much better...''

 Chapter 139 Before The Tournament (3)

    After a few short minutes of waiting, the receptionist came back, followed by a burly and intimidating man.


    Yet it seemed like all his strength and muscles were for show, as he was barely level 50.


    ''Why are the people in this city so weak...?'' Michael could not help but express as he walked closer to the receptionist''s counter.


    I wouldn''t be so sure.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you, youngd. The name''s Rowan. I am the leader of this branch," the burly man said as he stretched his arm out, asking for a handshake.


    Michael nced at the man once again, a bit cautious because of the system''s words, but nheless, also stretched out his hand, epting the handshake.


    "Michael."


    "Good! It is nice to meet you." Rowan shook his hand enthusiastically before pulling him in a bit closer and whispering something only he could hear. "We should probably continue this conversation in my office, don''t you think?" he said and ended the handshake, opening the little makeshift door for Michael to walk through.


    "Sure," Michael agreed and followed along. It would not be the best of ideas to discuss things regarding the mana core in front of many people. After all, he was under oath.


    And the strangest part was, the man was also hiding his strength. When he went in for a handshake, his level began fluctuating from 48 to 52, and once the handshake was finished, it stabilized back on 50.


    ''How is everyone I meet able to hide their mana...?'' He sighed at his unfortunate encounters. It would be really great if the system gave him a hint on how to hide it himself, but s, it only helped him asionally.


    The other kind of help included training¡ªor more like beating him up until he acquires some knowledge on how to defend against the system''s attack. And once he finally does that, the system increases its training intensity.


    Stop whining about it. You did get stronger, no?


    ''Yeah, yeah,'' Michael ignored the system and followed after Rowan. They went through the door right next to the reception and headed up a flight of stairs.


    Along the way, he could see multiple floors, all of which had long hallways followed by many rooms. That continued until they reached the 5th floor, where there was only a single door with the name


    Rowan


    written on it.


    The two of them went inside, and the moment they stepped through the door, Michael could feel some sort of barrier around the entire room. It seemed like it was blocking out the sound since inside, there was some kind of contraption running.


    ''It''s so loud,'' he couldn''t help but express as he used mana to plug his ears. There was some device that was pumping out sound waves directly at the two of them.


    Michael nced at Rowan and noticed he waspletely fine, and as the seconds passed, the sound started to fade until finally, it seemed like it was barely even there.


    "This little thing is what provides us that perfect noise cancetion. It''s impossible for the others to hear anything from the outside, and if someone without a mana core dares to go inside, they would pass out from the noise," Rowan said in a proud tone and sat down at his desk.


    It only had a few documentsying around. There was aputer on the table, so that was probably where most of the information was being stored anyway.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Aside from that, the room looked pretty normal for someone who looked like they lived in a castle. It almost seemed like a slightly more convenient office room. But that was probably Rowan''s intention in the first ce; it''s not like he slept here... probably.


    However, just as he thought that, a sofa by the window caught his eye. It had an interesting feature. ''...Is that a foldable sofa?'' His suspicions were further confirmed when Rowan noticed his gaze.


    "I treat the office like a pce. I sleep here, I eat here, I work here, andstly..." Rowan stopped himself and let out a cough. "Anyway, what brings you into the city, Michael?"


    Michael quickly nced at the map, making sure the person in front of him was a green dot¡ªand he was. However, just in case, he wanted to be 100% sure.


    He''s clear. Just don''t tell him about your ns with Amanda.


    ''No shit.''


    "I came to participate in the academy tournament, but until then, I have some time to spare, so I was thinking of picking up a few requests," Michael exined briefly. He did not want to go too much into detail.


    "You are a student?" Rowan said with a raised brow, seemingly unable to believe the fact that someone like him even existed among the students.


    However, instead of further exining himself, Michael showed him his Vivum ID, which clearly disyed his affiliations as well as status.


    Amanda was a bit annoying, but at the very least, she got things done. Aftering back from training with the system, he saw his ID card on the table, which had been updated back to what it had been when he was still the Saint.


    It was a pity the status screen no longer recognized


    Saint


    as a surname. It was a pretty nice addition to have; it boosted his confidence just a little bit.


    "Oho, so you are the Saint. It is a pleasure to meet someone of your stature," Rowanically bowed, to which Michael simply ignored. He was cringing on the inside.


    However, right after bowing, Rowan spoke up again, this time in a serious voice. "You said you wanted a request, right? How does eliminating a pair of cultists sound?"


    "Which cultists?" Michael''s eyes narrowed. If they were who he thought they were, then he would ept without a doubt.


    And the answer he received was in line with his expectations. "Some white-haired folks that go around kidnapping people. We captured a few, but they always just killed themselves¡ªa shallow-minded bunch. However, we might have gotten a lead on their headquarters."


    "I see. I ept the request," Michael replied in a quick but steady tone, trying to mask his willingness to go on this request sooner.


    Ever since finding out about the Demons and Evangelists, he had been wanting to find out more information about them. The system was holding back quite a lot, and he did not pry either; otherwise, it would just go quiet again.


    However, since the chance presented itself at such a perfect time, he would not dare refuse.


    "Good. I knew you were the man for the job," Rowan said with a small smile as he stood up off of his desk and headed to a nearby file cab. Upon opening it, he pulled out some kind of phone that looked a bit too outdated.


    He walked up to Michael and handed him the phone. Despite its appearance, it looked rather sturdy. Better yet, it was infused with mana.


    "You can turn it on by injecting your mana," Rowan added before he went behind his desk and sat down.


    Michael did as he was told, and suddenly, a golden hologram appeared right before his eyes. It disyed some kind of structure that had many hallways, as if it were an ant nest. However, as he began reading the information right by the side, he realized that this was the building Rowan had been talking about.


    ''Cultist Base Camp #16, huh...'' He read the description of the entire structure, and after finally finishing it, he looked up at Rowan.


    "When can I go?" he asked and noticed Rowan looking at the watch on his watch before returning his gaze to Michael.


    "Now."

 Chapter 140 Before The Tournament (4)

    Michael headed straight for the very center of the city. ording to the information he had read, the Evangelist''s base was somewhere in clear sight.


    He was alone, thankfully. It was best if no one else saw what he was about to do; after all, Michael was definitely not nning on sparing any of those cultists.


    However, he ran into a few problems along the way during his search. He knew exactly where their base was, but the number of people in the area certainly did not help his case.


    There were a couple of red dots here and there, but upon tracking down those people, he noticed they were definitely not cultists. They didn''t even look remotely intimidating.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    That was why he could not kill them; to outsiders, it would seem like he had killed innocents. Michael definitely did not have the spare time to take these people into custody. All he wanted to do was kill the cultists and help Amanda with whatever scheme she was talking about.


    ''Though... what if I do something like this...?'' Michael had a thought as he walked behind a group of red-dotted individuals¡ªor so they appeared ording to the map.


    However, as he took a nce with his Eyes of The Healer, he spotted that their mana was a bit congested, as if they had forcefully practiced it.


    That wasn''t entirely wrong¡ªsomeone had forcefully manipted their mana to increase their strength. The result? A monstrosity inside their bodies.


    Michael raised a brow at the system''s words. ''What monstrosity?''


    But just as he asked that, he noticed something in their brains, hearts, and abdomens. There was a ck mass in each, radiating a faint amount of energy that connected to the congested mana in their veins, making it more swollen.


    None of them even flinched. He could only imagine the pain they were going through, but besides that...


    ''Are those mana cores...?''


    In a way, they are, but the energy inside them is limited. However much there is now, it will run out with each use of their mana. And no, those cores are not made from normal mana; they are likely made with the mana of a regr demon


    ''Of course they are...'' Michael let out a sigh. It was not surprising that everywhere he went, he was entangled with either demons or cultists. Enjoy more content from empire


    But now he was even more certain about what he nned to do. He wasn''t sure if it would work, but he would give it a shot.


    He conjured three golden jackets and floated them over to the group, dropping the jackets right onto their shoulders.


    They seemed a bit confused for a moment. However, before they were able to take the golden clothing off, Michael shot a Piercing Light sword straight through all of their hearts.


    Just as they were about to drop to the ground, he used his mana to tighten the jackets around them and began levitating them to the side where the fewest people were gathered, practically an empty alleyway.


    TThe other bystanders did not pay much attention. No one saw him cast his skill, and they were too busy focusing on the floating structures to notice the three individuals who were hovering slightly off the ground, their heads propped up by the jackets'' cors.


    I thought you wouldn''t interfere with them?


    ''I wasn''t going to, but since they were right in front of me, I couldn''t resist. I might just do a little cleanup after this request is over.'' Michael shrugged. It was inconvenient, but he did have some time to spare before the academy tournament¡ªwhenever that was anyway.


    Amanda would probably find him. After all, he wasn''t going to participate, at least ording to her. That meant he could let loose until then.


    Michael levitated the bodies further into the alley and then nced behind him, making sure there were no more people.


    After confirming it was clear, he dropped the three dead individuals to the ground while dispelling the clothing he had made. As he did so, streams of blood began seeping from their bodies.


    However, Michael was too busy admiring his mana clothing ability. ''Oho, liquid absorption too...''


    Get rid of them already.


    ''Yeah, about that... Is there anywhere I could dump them?'' he asked, scratching his head. Throwing them into a dumpster was an option, but panic would arise if someone found them. There were different ways to get rid of them... but none seemed well-suited for the area he was in.


    Hmm... I suppose I should give you a hint. Light reflection, it''s a simple hint and an even easier solution. If you take more than 10 seconds, you''re an idiot.


    ''No... I understand what you mean.'' Michael rolled his eyes at the system''s words. It was referring to a sr death ray¡ªone he could use by reflecting light directly onto the bodies of the three dead people seated by the wall.


    Thankfully, the sun was conveniently stationed right above him, meaning he could easily try it. The only problem was that he didn''t know how to create a mirror. The closest thing he had was his shield.


    Don''t overthink it.


    ''...'' He stared at the three individuals but could note up with anything; none of his skills could reflect sunlight. ''Don''t overthink it?''


    You don''t need an extremely oveplicated solution for an easy problem. You can weave and solidify mana however you like, no?


    Michael thought for a moment, sighed, and summoned a b of light. Instantly, he could see it perfectly reflecting the sunlight above him. It was directed at a building, but he hadn''t paid much attention to it.


    Just as he was about to direct the sunlight onto the three bodies, he froze in ce and dispelled the b of light. The roof of the building that the sunlight had touched now had a giant hole in it, with magma flowing down andnding right next to him.


    ''Fuck... fuck.'' Michael was stressing out. That damage would definitely not go unnoticed, and if he tried to direct the sunlight onto the three bodies, he would likely take the whole building down with them.


    "You are hopeless," came a voice from behind him. It was the system¡ªnow Mikhail, in its human form.


    Mikhail walked up to the group by the wall and summoned three bs of light. "Watch and learn." With those words, the bs were infused with mana. The sunlight immediately descended onto one before traveling to another.


    What happened next made Michael''s eyes widen. The second bounce of light enveloped the three individuals perfectly, melting them down to atoms in moments, before hitting thest b and traveling back upwards.


    Mikhail smirked at him and disappeared, his voice once again resounding in Michael''s mind as the system.


    That''s how you do it. Better remember it.


    ''Yeah...'' Michael was still speechless. It wasn''t every day he got to witness such lethal skills. A single beam of sunlight had pierced a building''s roof and melted people in moments.


    But he didn''t have much time to dwell on his thoughts, as for a single second, he saw tens¡ªif not hundreds¡ªof red dots in a building not far away. Just as quickly, they all disappeared, leaving only a few mixed with green.


    Zooming in for a closer look, he realized it was the same building he was supposed to go to¡ªthe base of the Evangelists.


    Michael immediately summoned his sword of light and stepped onto it, flying straight to the top of the building. He would kill them nheless, but maybe he could get some information out of them while he was at it.


    As he thought that, he noticed someone sitting on the rooftop, smoking a cigarette without a care in the world. Much like the previous cultists he had encountered, his hair was pure white, and his mana seemed abnormal¡ªjust like the group of three Michael had killed minutes earlier.


    ''Found you...''

 Chapter 141 Before The Tournament (5)

    Before the white-haired cultist could react, Michael enveloped him with mana clothing and restricted his movement. This was possible only because he had reinforced the clothing with extra mana.


    Michael looked around, just in case there were more people he hadn''t noticed. However, it was clear. The same went for the map¡ªthe closest person to the two of them was a few floors down and most definitely not heading to the roof.


    The white-haired, white-eyed evangelist squirmed on the ground, trying to escape. But s, it was impossible. He was weak, and Michael had reinforced the clothing with 5% of his total mana, meaning that unless the cultist had a mana core or was about to form one, he wouldn''t be able to escape.


    ''Hmm...'' Michael could feel a bit of energying from the man, quickly dispersing. It reminded him of the mana-dispelling energy he had encountered back on the mountain. Experience new stories on empire


    But it raised a question: they knew they were being watched, so why were a few of them stupid enough toe to the roof?


    ''No wonder Rowan found their location. They''re not the best at hiding, it seems. He chuckled to himself and brought the cultist closer, close enough to hear his mumbling.


    "Sup, mind telling me how long this base has been operating?" Michael asked, slightly loosening the grip of his mana clothing to let the cultist speak.


    However, as expected, there were no answers¡ªno more mumbling, either. Instead, all he received was a dead-eyed stare.


    ''Those white eyes do seem a bit unnerving when you''re up close, huh...''


    Well, of course. That''s because he''s trying to charm you.


    ''...'' Michael stared nkly at the cultist. After focusing for a bit, he could indeed feel some mana concentrated in the cultist''s eyes.


    Don''t do what I think you are about to do...


    ''I''ll just try once. If it doesn''t work out, no problem.'' He shrugged with a smirk and infused mana into his eyes, much like he did with


    Eyes of The Healer,


    but this time he tried mimicking the pattern of the man before him.


    To his surprise, he suddenly heard a familiar noise in his ears.


    -Ding


    [New Skill Generated]


    Charm [Beginner] [Active]


    # Charm the target into doing your bidding. Extremely effective against weak targets. Ineffective against the strong.


    *Cost: <1% MP/S


    ...You got lucky.


    ''Oh shit... of course this gets recognized as a skill, but my mana clothing doesn''t'' He sighed and ignored the system. He nced at the evangelist in front of him and without even waiting for a moment, Michael used his new skill, Charm.


    He felt the threads of his mana core connect with his eyes, and suddenly, the world before him shifted to a different shade. What was more surprising was that he could see the evangelist''s heart, with a number floating above it.


    ''40? 44, 47, 43... oh... it''s the heart rate.'' Michael immediately understood what was happening. The new skill was for charming, so it made sense he could see the target''s heart and heart rate.


    But despite this, he didn''t need to do much. All Michael had to do was stare into the cultist''s eyes and wait for the charm to kick in. Finally, it did.


    The cultist''s heart rate rapidly increased, nearly reaching 100 BPM before settling around 90 BPM. Nheless, Michael could now feel a connection between them¡ªone he could sever at any moment.


    I guess your


    CHA


    stat is finally going to see some improvement; congrattions.


    ''...Fuck off.'' A shiver crept up his spine as he stared at the fixated cultist. Now, it was time to get some answers.


    "How long has the base been operating in this city?"


    "17 Days 6 Hours 49 Minutes 17 Seconds... 18 Seconds... 19 Seco-" As the cultist began counting upwards, Michael interjected.


    "Okay, okay, shut up." At his words, silence ensued once more. After a brief pause, Michael asked another question.


    "Why have you set up a base here anyway. What is your goal?"


    Once again, the answer came instantly. "I am just cannon fodder. I was tasked with protecting the emergence of a new Bishop. I don''t know anything else... sir."


    ''A Bishop? Doesn''t that mean a Tier 3 being is on the way? System, didn''t you say reaching Tier 3 was impossible in this world?''


    Conventionally, no. But have you seen these people? They''re probably harnessing outside energy to propel themselves into a new tier altogether. I can sense a room at the very bottom of the building that is blocking my senses. My guess is that''s where the Bishop is located.


    ''I see.'' Michael nced at the cultist, who stared at him with lewd eyes, and snapped his neck. It was a convenient skill, but it also felt strange controlling someone like that.


    ''Should probably only use it when I am trying to get some information...'' He decided and began making his way toward the lower floors. Disposing of the body wasn''t necessary; he nned to bring the whole building down afterward anyway.


    Along the way, he encountered a few of the Evangelist cultists, most of whom did not pose a threat to him. From what he gathered, all the people in this building, aside from the supposed Bishop at the very bottom, were cannon fodder¡ªthe weakest of the weak.


    But he found it a bitedic. After all, the amount of strength they had was enough to overthrow most, if not all, viges¡ªmaybe even a city if they got the timing just right.


    As he got closer and closer to the room, likely located in the basement, he finally encountered a few stronger enemies. They were most likely heretics or priests, much like the people he had faced on the mountain. Their techniques were not anything special, mainly relying on speed.


    But speed against him was futile. Even if he was at the same tier as them, he could easily deal with them. Now that he was a tier higher, they were practically moving in slow motion. A simple cast of


    Sword of Light


    was enough to deal with them.


    It seemed like they came from that room¡ªthat''s what his map was telling him, anyway. A new dot appeared on the map every few minutes, and as he twisted and zoomed in on the map, he could see a whole cubic area that was apletely ck shade, not letting him peer into it any further.


    As he got closer and closer, the number of cultists that came at him increased. It was to the point where he wondered howrge that room actually was.


    But just like with the rest, he mowed them down, controlling several


    Swords of Light


    at once and decapitating each and every one of them. There were mages; however, due to his much higher strength, his swords were able to easily pierce through their spells andnd fatal attacks.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    It was a wonder how none of them used that mana-dispelling ability, but he would not question it. His life was much easier if he could kill them without any kind of resistance. After all, these Evangelists were pure evil, even going as far as sacrificing other humans for their own gain.


    Michael was no righteous hero. However, when he was right in front of the root of the problem, it did not hurt to fix it.


    He finally killed the remaining cultists and could not feel any more approaching, but as he gazed at the map, he noticed there were still four remaining. All of them were standing right by the room he was heading for.


    And their strength? Nearly identical to his. All four of them were Tier 2.


    Just deal with them without using up all your cards. There''s still a Bishop waiting for you.


    He nodded and walked forward until finally, he reached an ominous-looking open room with a massive box in the very middle and four people standing right in front of it, staring daggers at him.


    Before he could take a look around, one of them fired a spell right at him, to which he simply used his shield to reflect it to the side.


    The three others immediately went ahead and closed the distance between them, pulling out all sorts of weapons and shing directly at him.


    Michael scoffed at them and readied himself, summoning a bunch of shields to protect himself, as well as an immense amount of


    Swords of Light


    , stretching out as far as the eye could see.


    Damn, they didn''t even say hello. They sure are devoted.


    ''...''

 Chapter 142 Before The Tournament (6)

    Michael kept being barraged by spells, even though he had many shields up and plenty of swords to cover him. Due to their peculiar abilities, he was not able to counterattack much.


    The previous group had not been able to dispel his spells, but these guys managed to do so quite easily. Each time a sword of light was about tond on their bodies, they used a thinyer of dark energy to deflect the attacks to the side. Some were even trying to redirect the attacks in a way that would hit him as well.


    But thanks to his shields, he was at least able to manage that much. The only other option he had to attack them was


    Piercing Light Readtest stories on empire


    , but it seemed they could negate most of the damage. His old strategies proved ineffective, and the only other skills he had to deal with them were much too deadly to use this early on.


    Michael evaded the mage''s spell and the attacks of two close-range cultists while keeping an eye on thest one, who had been targeting his blind spots, seemingly trying to end the fight in one strike.


    But that proved ineffective; each time an attack headed for Michael''s vitals, the system would redirect or parry itpletely. He could handle the attacks on his own, but since he needed to preserve most of his strength for the next fight, he opted to let the system assist him.


    ''Still... this is not getting any easier...'' he thought, as theirbined attacks nearly struck him. Over time, their coordination improved, as though they had never fought together before.


    After a few more exchanges, an opportunity finally opened up. Michael used his


    Mirage of Light


    coupled with


    Piercing Light


    tounch an attack at the mage. He had been trying to do that since the start of the fight, but their numbers allowed them to easily detect and block his attempts.


    Adding to the problem was the fact that the mana density inside the ck room was starting to affect the surroundings, which was not a good sign.


    Michael weaved through an attack and struck one of the nearby cultists with his fist,nding a square blow to their chest that caved it in momentarily. However, their healing abilities were simr to those of demons, and the cultist healed almost instantly.


    Michael controlled the


    Piercing LightN?v(el)B\\jnn


    skill he had previouslyunched, positioning it near the mage. He nned to bring it down the moment the mage began casting a spell, leaving little opportunity for it to be blocked.


    After all, casters¡ªunless they were like him¡ªhad the weakness of casting time. During that period, they had to focus entirely on the spell, leaving thempletely vulnerable to external attacks.


    He was just d the others hadn''t noticed his n, not even the mage.


    Mirage of Light


    wasn''t entirely useless, it seemed; in tough situations like this, it could be a deciding factor.


    Michael was certain that after killing the mage, taking down the rest of them would not be as difficult. It would probably take at most five minutes. But s, he didn''t have that much time, as the mana inside the ck room continued to grow denser.


    They were fighting very close to the room, so he could feel every single mana fluctuation. It was fortunate that the strange room was extremely spacious, or else he would have been cornered and injured long ago.


    ''It really is ominous... a massive ck box in the middle of an open room, almost like some sort of arena...''


    The cultist had isted themselves inside that box, absorbing all the mana from the surroundings¡ªin this case, the entire city above.


    Michael evaded a few more attacks as another thought urred to him. ''...Doesn''t that mean I''m helping a Bishop be born?''


    If things had gone as they should have, the Bishop would have emerged during the academy tournament. But because of his influence, he might have inadvertently sped up the process significantly.


    You are, but so what? You either deal with the root of the problem now or wait until that Bishop emerges and wipes out the entire city while you''re busy elsewhere.


    ''Yeah... I suppose you are right.'' Michael grumbled and parried an attack. At that same moment, the opportunity he had been waiting for finally appeared.


    The mage began casting a spell that seemed to be water-based. It appeared the cultist intended to slow him down or bind him in ce. Earth-based magic could have worked just as well.


    However, as the spell formed, frost began to appear, encasing the water until it turned to ice. This was his moment to strike.


    Michael acted as if he was being pushed back more than usual, prompting the close-range cultists to grow overconfident. That was until he suddenly brought his hand down, and the spell that had been forming vanished.


    The cultists turned back in shock to find their mage lying headless on the ground. Seizing the moment, Michael decapitated another cultist while they were still stunned.


    Despite their inhumanity, the cultists disyed an unusual level of care for each other. Michael could even see some of them shaking with anger. But why? Did they expect to take innocent lives and face no consequences?


    He couldn''tprehend their thought process, but it didn''t matter. He wasmitted to killing them all.


    As the remaining two cultists snapped out of their stupor, they charged at Michael, shouting insults he ignored. Their attack patterns became predictable to the point where they asionally struck each other.


    Michael evaded their attacks and sighed deeply. He hadn''t used much mana during this fight. Though it might have seemed difficult at a nce, he had been much stronger than them from the start, even with their numerical advantage.


    ''Guess that''s enough...'' He summoned a single sword of light and held it with both hands, as though wielding a real de.


    As an attack came toward him, he shed through it instead of blocking it with his shields. The cultist''s arm was split in two, followed by a clean decapitation.


    Only one cultist remained. Unlike moments before, when the cultist attacked with confidence and mockery, they were now frozen in fear, waiting to be killed.


    But just as Michael prepared to grant the cultist''s wish, the mana radiating from the ck box surged dramatically. The oppressive energy around it intensified, forcing him to stop.


    The cultist''s despair turned to envy as they bowed toward the ck box. What happened next caught Michaelpletely off guard.


    The cultist stabbed their hand into their own abdomen and pulled out a small bead with two ck threads attached. With a single clench, the bead shattered, releasing a surge of mana into the atmosphere.


    But the mana didn''t dissipate. Instead, it was drawn into the ck room, further amplifying the oppressive energy.


    Slowly, the pressure began to subside, reced by a single door manifesting on the ck box. In the next moment, Michael saw the handle turn, revealing a figure that slowly made its way out of the room.


    It was a woman withpletely white hair and eyes, staring at him like he was some sort of insect.


    ''... I have a bad feeling about this.''

 Chapter 143 Before The Tournament (7)

    The two held eye contact; however, Michael could not help but feel uneasy. It seemed like even if he used all his trump cards, the battle might still end with him losing.


    Despite this being a newly ascended Bishop, her strength was still great¡ªTier 3. She was practically a whole tier above him now.


    But there had to be some loopholes. Can one really gain such strength without a price, especially when their mana was tainted by those dark threads?


    ''And so is hers... huh?'' Michael inspected the woman before him, and to his surprise, her threads were not pure ck like the others. Instead, they held a faint silvery color that he could not quite grasp the depth of.


    There was also something else off. The woman gave him a sense of familiarity, but he could not remember meeting her anywhere.


    She did not immediately attack him. Instead, she walked up to the four cultist corpses and picked a few of them up, levitating them just a bit off the ground. A small frown seemed to form on her face, but just as quickly, it disappeared as she returned her gaze to him.


    "That was cruel," she said with a pout and sent an annoyed re at him, as if she were some sort of child.


    Michael raised a brow at that reaction. "Cruel? Do you even know what kind of group you are a part of?" he questioned with clear disdain.


    It seemedical¡ªan Evangelist telling someone they were cruel. Especially when they sacrificed innocents for power, he could not understand it.


    "You killed them; that makes you cruel." The woman began reasoning with him using her own logic.


    ''Is she a child?'' Michael could not help but think upon hearing her words.


    However, chatting time was over. He could not let someone as dangerous as her leave the building; God knows what kind of damage she would inflict with that childish personality.


    As she had her back turned towards him, Michael cast


    Piercing Light


    , which hurtled at an incredible speed towards her. However, to his surprise, the skill had no effect. The ck aurapletely negated his attack and dissipated it without her even having to turn around.


    For some reason, she seemed hesitant to attack him, though he might have imagined it. Perhaps there was some sort of fatigue from whatever ritual she had performed earlier.


    The system was unusually quiet, too. Michael had expected it to start giving advice the moment the woman appeared, but s, nothing happened.


    He checked the status screen and noticed that


    Sanctuary


    was finally off cooldown. It was the perfect time to use it.


    However, just as he was about to act, arge amount of mana gripped him and smashed him into the ground, slightly cracking it. It was not painful, so he stood up shortly after, not suffering a single injury.


    ''She attacked halfheartedly? Is she actually some naive child the cultists raised?'' Michael was starting to get really confused by her actions.


    "I am Aurora. What is your name?" She turned back around and randomly introduced herself.


    ''...'' His speechlessness did notst long as he decided to y along while devising a strategy to deal with her. "Michael. Say, why are you here?"


    ''Would


    Sanctuary


    even be enough for her...?''


    "Ah... Michael, I had a dog named Michael. His fur was the same color as your hair," she said with a chuckle, ignoring his question and heading towards the exit, seemingly uninterested in him further.


    But just before she left, he summoned a massive shield and pushed her back¡ªor that was the n, anyway. He only managed to push her a few meters.


    Aurora turned around and tilted her head at him. "What are you doing, Michael? I thought we were friends now... why are you stopping me?"


    He noticed that her words were bing more coherent, as was her tone. Just a few minutes ago, she had a childish voice and personality. Now, however, it was a mix of bothbined with something else entirely.


    Almost like whatever ritual she had undergone momentarily messed with her mind.


    But now that her actual personality seemed to be returning, it didn''t spell good news for him.


    ''This whole situation has been fucked up ever since she came out... just who is this girl?'' He looked at her pure white eyes again, but this time, they held a faint malice.


    Just as he was about to speak, Michael noticed her plop her four cultist "friends" onto the ground and begin walking toward him. Her steps were much more confident and serious than before.


    Unlike the previous naive moments where she questioned him andughed at seemingly nothing, this time, she did not hesitate. She used some kind of invisible spell that sent him hurtling backward.


    Michael just barely reacted, casting a multiyered shield on himself in thest moment. And even then, a nce at his status screen revealed 20% of his total HP shaved off in that one exchange.


    ''...This is a little dangerous, no?'' He thought sarcastically and cast a heal on himself, immediately restoring his HP to full.


    You should be very careful. That attack was more like a test. She is not yet used to her newfound strength. My advice is to end this as fast as you can.


    Michael nodded at the system, which had finally decided to speak. His current n was to wait for her to approach and cast


    Sanctuary


    . He needed the upper hand in their next exchange because it was almost guaranteed that, at full strength, she could kill him in a single hit.


    Of course, that was only the case if he didn''t use shields.


    Once again, she began walking toward him, her hand already outstretched, gathering a massive amount of mana in her palm. An attack was forming, and the only way he could block it was with


    Sanctuary


    . Without waiting any further, he used it.


    "Sanctuary."


    Just like before, the halo lit up, expanding its golden glow across a 100-meter radius, covering the entire room they were in.


    And, crucially, covering Aurora, whose brows were furrowed in annoyance and confusion. She must have noticed her mana was not flowing as it normally did.


    While he could notpletely inhibit the mana flow of someone stronger than himself, he could at least slow it.


    Michael already felt the limits of the skill. It was as if the mana around Aurora had a will of its own, making it incredibly difficult to control.


    The only reason he had defeated the demon earlier so easily was because their strength was simr; there hadn''t been as many limitations.


    He sighed and began draining the remaining mana from the atmosphere, restoring his own mana pool in mere moments before meeting Aurora''s re again.


    ''Should I just use


    Heavenly Judgment


    ...?'' Michael had a stray thought, his imagination running dry.


    Yeah, drop a nuke under the city. What could go wrong?


    ''Oh... right.'' He inwardly facepalmed and began twisting the mana in the air, making it unstable. This, in turn, made it more difficult for Aurora to use her strange abilities.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    But one thing was clear.


    ''This will not be an easy fight...''

 Chapter 144 Before The Tournament (8)

    Despite Michael''s expectations, the fight had turned into an absolute stalemate, and that had been the case for thest 20 seconds.


    Whenever he tried anything fancy, such as exploding the mana surrounding her, it never worked; the skill was not that effective after all.


    However, he had a feeling that the more imaginative stuff could work. At the same time, though, it was incredibly dangerous.


    Michael had an idea: changing her mana affinity entirely. But even as he merely formed that thought, a massive headache assaulted him.


    Tooplex for your current self. Try something less... suicidal.


    ''Yeah, and what might that be?'' he shot back and propelled himself to the side, evading Aurora''s attack.


    They had been previously invisible; however, due to Sanctuary and his imagination, he made her mana an entirely different color, making it much easier to spot and dodge.


    But nheless, there was no definite way to win¡ªat least none that he had any idea of.


    ''Thirty seconds... and yet I don''t even know what kind of magic she is even using.'' Michael sighed to himself as the fight was definitely heading toward his loss.


    From his observations, she gathered mana in the air and then used it to affect the surroundings, much like telekinesis. ''Telekinesis... could that really be it?''


    Michael was not exactly sure how to deal with telekics, especially those who were much stronger than him. Interrupting mana flow clearly had not worked as intended; it only slowed her down.


    But... how can I disrupt her mind instead...?


    Just as he thought that, an idea popped into his mind. With roughly 25 seconds remaining, it seemed extremely feasible.


    He surrounded himself with a lot of mana before disappearing; the first step of his n was to go invisible. If she did not have anyone to direct her focus on, then it would be much easier to deal with her.


    Then came the next idea, which was much easier than he had anticipated: to overload her mind with all sorts of sounds. Those he only needed to imagine, and Sanctuary would do the rest. The same applied to her vision as well¡ªhe made a bunch of shing lights appear.


    The only reason he assumed it would be effective was because of the amount of mana they used, which, quite frankly, was not a lot. However, their effect was noticeable right away.


    Aurora''s casting time and the general strength of her mana decreased drastically. At the same time, she was wobbling side to side.


    But the one thing that caught his eye was her appearance. Her white hair began ring and changing colors¡ªit shifted to mostly gold but quickly changed back as her expressions alternated between normal and crazed.


    Until finally, they wentpletely nk, and she stopped moving entirely. Instead, her unfocused eyes were looking straight at him, giving off an ominous feel.


    Yet at the same time, he no longer felt any malice; for that matter, he could not feel anything at all.


    Michael stepped out of invisibility and cautiously approached her. ''Did I break her?'' It was not his intention to shatter her mindpletely, but now that it had happened, he could do nothing about it.


    Her mind is fine¡ªwell, kind of. Check for yourself.


    He tilted his head and infused more mana into his eyes. Even though


    Eyes of the Healer


    was supposed to be a passive skill, its effects only showed once he manually activated them. Strange skill, but nheless very effective.


    As he gazed at Aurora with his skill fully active, he noticed a mistpletely blood-red¡ªcovering her entire body. The mist was most visible inside her head, specifically her brain.


    The mist kept disappearing and reappearing, the cycle continuing for God knows how long.


    But one thing was certain: whoever this Aurora girl was, she was under the effects of mind control or something even worse.


    The only upside to this situation was that Michael had a lot of healing skills. Even if his main focus was not healing anymore, one of those skills, which would be perfect for this situation, was


    Purify.


    ''II have to hurry, though... the fog is starting to take over her mind once again.''


    He walked up to her while she was busy nkly staring into his eyes and ced a hand on her forehead before casting


    Purify.


    Much to his surprise, he felt a wave of resistance, and it was enough to dispel his skill. However, that was only the case because he had not used the effects of Sanctuary. He could enhance his


    Purify


    skill by many times.


    And that was what he did, focusing all the surrounding mana into his palm and enhancing the effects of


    Purify.


    A sharp headache assaulted him, much different from what he had feltst time, yet he continued.


    There might be a bit of a proble¡ª


    [ERROR]


    [SKILL CALIBRATION UNAVAILABLE¡ªSKILL GENERATION ACTIVE]


    Purify [Superior] [Active]


    # Purify every single ailment as well as soothe the soul, healing it in the process.


    *Cost: 20% MP


    *Radius: 1000 MetersN?v(el)B\\jnn


    Michael nced at the message before him with widened eyes. He had expected the skill to finally receive its long-awaited rank-up, but he did not expect it to skip the Advanced rank entirely and jump straight to Superior.


    Added to that, the skill now imed it healed the soul. It seemed quite interesting. Too bad he did not know much about the soul, but nheless, it would most likely prove to be convenient in the future.


    Good job¡ªyou broke the system again. Don''t use any ground-breaking skills until I fix it.


    ''Alright,'' Michael nodded and turned back to Aurora, who was now staring at him with widened eyes. The mist enveloping her hadpletely disappeared, and now he could see clear silver threads coursing around her brain.


    ''The Mind Core, huh? Not surprising, I suppose. She does use telekinesis or something simr to that anyway... but what''s up with her?''


    "Aurora? Can you hear me?" Her eyes twitched every single time he spoke a word.


    But instead of replying, she pushed him back. The force was enough to crush him; however, just before he hit the wall, she stopped him and ced him down, watching him from a distance.


    "S-Sorry about that, Michael. Could you tell me where I am exactly?" she asked in a low tone, her voicepletely different from before.


    It reminded him of a single person, one he had not seen in a long time. But he could not make assumptions yet¡ªthere was no proof. The two lookedpletely different as well, from their appearances to their personalities and abilities. It could not be her.


    ''...Right?'' He sought confirmation from the system but received no reply; it was, after all, fixing the error he had identally caused.


    "Say... Aurora, is that your actual name?"


    He was expecting a refusal, but all he got in response was silence and a shake of the head, signifying that her name was not actually Aurora.


    The unease was present in the air, making both of them tense. However, it was not the malicious kind of tension but more like nervousness.


    As Michael was looking at her, she suddenly opened her mouth and spoke, her voice clear and soothing.


    "You were always a sharp kid..." she said with a shaky voice, trying to hide it with a small chuckle.


    However, Michael''s mind was in turmoil, and his heart beat like never before. She was thest person he expected to encounter, and yet, here she was, standing in front of him with a different appearance.


    "Reba...?"

 Chapter 145 Before The Tournament (9)

    "Reba...? Is that you?" Michael asked, his heart practically beating out of his chest.


    The room felt as if it was shaking. His Sanctuary skill had already run out, so it was probably the headache that came right after, but he decided to ignore it. The person in front of him was more important.


    The only core memories he had of this world before he arrived in his current body were those of the previous Michael''s time with Reba. They were practically inseparable until he had to go live with the others.


    However, it was not because she hated him or anything¡ªmore like the work she was doing had been taking up most of her time; therefore, she could not give him as much attention as one would expect. Even if the current Michael would not mind, the previous one was a child with a child''s brain.


    It was only natural he would have developed some attachment issues, but nheless, there were enough good times for him to hold her dear in his heart. The memories, after all, were connected, and so were the emotions the previous Michael felt.


    But now that he was in front of her again, a strange feeling welled up in his chest. It was foreign, yet at the same time familiar. If he had to make an assumption, it was the child Michael''s emotions influencing him this strongly.


    "Reba, that is you, right?" he asked once again as she looked down at the ground, not even meeting his eyes anymore. It was almost like her previous sentence had taken out all of the energy she had.


    Michael infused more mana into his eyes, making sure she was not under the effects of mind control again¡ªor at least, that was what he assumed the mist had been.


    He slowly began walking towards her. She finally stopped using mana to repel him backward; however, the fact that his head felt like it was splitting in half did not help his case in the slightest. If another fight broke out, he would not be able to react to her abilities and would most likely die.


    After all, the system was doing maintenance, and he felt like a zombie.


    "Reba... how have you been?" Michael asked as he arrived right before her, standing just a few meters away. Her hands were shaking even more than his own.


    It was definitely an unexpected reunion. For all he knew, she was most likely dead.


    "Sorry... give me a moment," Reba finally spoke up and stretched out her shaking hand in front of him, stopping him from approaching any closer.


    She gripped her forehead. It was likely that some degree of pain was still present inside her mind. After all, even if he had dispelled the mind control, the attacks he used to get her to that point had not been pleasant.


    Even he would have been affected by the mental attacks he had done to her. It was definitely no joke.


    But nheless, he gathered himself and summoned a single Sword of Light. cing a piece of puffy clothing on it, he sat down. Any more, and it seemed like he would actually fall unconscious.


    The headache was being resisted through sheer shock, it seemed. Any other fight, and he would have been rolling on the ground.


    After a few minutes of waiting, she finally spoke up once again, looking at him with herpletely white eyes. "Sorry for attacking you... I was not myself earlier."


    Michael waved away her apology; it was unnecessary. "It''s fine; I know you were not in control of yourself at that time."


    "Still... I attacked you. But besides that... where are we?" Reba asked as she looked around the entire massive room. The ck box in the very middle had shattered sometime during their fight. Even Michael did not know when that happened exactly.


    "We are in rion, under the city as well. I was chasing a lead about a few cultists, and that led me here."


    "rion? We are still on Verdusk?" She seemed confused, and so was Michael.


    "Uh... we are in rion, yes... but what do you mean by Verdusk?" From what he was aware, there were only three continents, none of which were Verdusk.


    There was Artios, Neutus, andstly Daor¡ªthe one where he was going to be heading after he finished with all of his affairs.


    Luckily, there were not that many left. He was curious about what the other worlds had to offer besides the other world he had already experienced. Would they be much different or practically the same?


    "I was just in Alphos, and now I am back here...? How?" Reba began mumbling under her breath with words that did not make sense to him.


    However, that was until he realized¡ªwhat if she was not talking about continents or cities? What if she was talking about worlds, and Verdusk was the one they were currently on?


    She finally stopped mumbling and returned her gaze to him with an apologetic expression on her face. "Ah... about that... oh right, you have a mana core, so it''s fine to tell you." She scrambled for her words. She seemed just as clumsy as the time he had seen her back in her office when he first awakened.


    "Verdusk is the world we are currently on. It is the lowest-level world out in the universe. Most of these types of worlds usually have weak beings, those who at max can reach Tier 2." Reba paused and waited for him to digest the information, just like she used to do before, and then continued.


    "Alphos is a low-level world, one tier higher than Verdusk. But nheless, the power difference is pretty significant. People there can reach Tier 5, some even Tier 6 if they are lucky. There are a bunch more tiers; however, I have not been in any of those worlds yet. Apparently, the pressure would harm me..." She scratched her head with an embarrassed expression.


    ''She is as aloof as ever.'' Michael smiled at her antics. The exnation went in line with what he assumed, but it just put into perspective how weak he really was.


    While he was sure his progress was immense, in the grand scheme of things, he was only strong in his world. The moment he goes to a low-level world, his struggles would once again resume¡ªof being one of the weakest people there.


    However, he did have a lot of trump cards, most of which could most definitely bridge the gap. He just had to improve himself until then. And to do that, he would need to go back to the basics.


    But now that all of the sweet talk was out of the way, it was time to ask the actual questions. "I see... Reba, what happened to you?"


    At his words, her cheery atmosphere disappeared, followed by a gloomy look. He knew it was a bit insensitive to ask, but he wanted to know¡ªhe had to know.


    "I got trapped inside of a closed dungeon by Reinhardt... I think? He was one of the main powerhouses of the Evangelist, so he took me in and made me more powerful... though I wish he hadn''t. Their leader is scary..." she said with a slight shiver, and Michael merely nodded. It was a good start; he could always ask more questionster.


    However, what she said next nearly made him choke in shock.


    "I think he goes by Adam? Weird name, but he is extremely powerful. I thought you two looked alike at first, but his hair is golden. Only your eyes are the same."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    ''The Evangelists are being led by Adam...? Fuck.''

 Chapter 146 Before The Tournament (10)

    ''System, did you hear that shit?'' Michael was a bit conflicted. While he had not met Adam in this reality, he had seen a glimpse of him back then.


    Due to his own power-up, he was not able to see the actual strength of Adam back then, but if it was eons ago, it would be safe to assume his strength had reached the pinnacle by now.


    That also meant that fighting him was not in Michael''s best interest, considering he would be facing the leader of the Evangelists, as well as someone he supposedly knew in the past; it would not be a great encounter.


    "Err... Reba, do you know anything else, perhaps? Such as why exactly you were taken in the first ce?" Michael questioned her once again since it seemed like she would begin rambling about random stuff.


    "Not really. I remember looking for you and then being trapped in that dungeon. After that, I kind of just got recruited, and since I had no other option¡ªrather than join or die¡ªI did." Reba shrugged with her little exnation; it seemed like she did not know anything either.


    "Right... I think we sh¡ª" The moment Michael began talking, the ground shook as the walls around them began getting covered in all sorts of webbings, slowly cracking the structure itself.


    If they did not get out soon, the whole building would copse onto them.


    But before Michael could do anything or inform her of his escape n, she twisted her hand, and suddenly, the whole roof sted into the sky, revealing a bunch of all kinds of different structures floating around in the sky. The screams in the distance were quite prevalent.


    He could tell no one had died, even though they were under the city; the location was remote enough for people not to be walking around constantly.


    However, Reba''s disregard and emotionless look while doing so caught him off guard a little.


    "Could you have not done it a bit more... discreetly?"


    "Why? Verdusk is bound to fall soon anyway," she replied without going into detail and began flying upwards, right through the massive hole she had created.


    Michael sighed at the sight and proceeded to create a mask of sorts; he would not want to reveal his identity to possible passersby. ''What''s with her...''


    Summoning a single sword of light, he followed right after her. Who knew where she nned on going?


    But it felt a bit odd, though. They had not met in such a long time, yet she looked very calm about it, as if her previous shaking was all a ruse. However, Michael attributed it to the emotional trauma and mind control she had experienced.


    Still, in the back of his mind, he kept it as a possibility that Reba might be hiding something from him.


    Done, I see you talked it out already.


    ''Did we though?'' Michael shot back and followed after her as she flew to the very top of the Evangelists'' base.


    His n had been to demolish it as well, just a bit more carefully and not as shy.


    Looking at the map, he could see hundreds, if not thousands, of people gathering around. There were no red dots, which was strange, but maybe they did not want to risk being noticed by the more powerful.


    However, there was one concerning presence headed over at a speed much faster than anyone else''s. It was Amanda.


    The twonded on the roof of the building as it slowly began leaning. It seemed like Reba had managed to crumble the foundations as well. Her power was definitely impressive despite how simple it looked.


    "Michael, why are you still in Verdusk?" she asked out of nowhere.


    "Hm? I have some business to attend to here, though I will go to a different world soon."


    "I see... Go to Aldion. It''s a low-level world that the Evangelists have not yet branched out to; only Priests and Bishops are there."


    "And how am I supposed to know which one is Aldion?"


    "You will understand once you get there. It is not a popr world, so many people look down on it. However, there are a lot of interesting things you can discover there, some of which might even benefit you," Reba replied patiently and stretched out her hands, reinforcing the falling building for just a little while longer.


    Michael remained quiet, instead looking down at the wreckage below. Reba was practically holding up the entire building with her abilities alone. Telekinesis seemed a bit overpowered.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    ''Know anything about Aldion?'' he asked the system.


    Nope. It is likely a newly integrated world. None of the previous Michaels went to that world, and neither did Gabriel.


    ''So it''s basically unchartednds then? Won''t it be dangerous?''


    There is a settlement period for new worlds in which their level of strength gets confirmed by the higher powers. Only then can a world earn its level. In this case, it is a low-level world. That means the higher powers already set foot there. You don''t have anything to worry about... probably.


    ''I see...'' Michael once again returned to silence, admiring the view before it finally got interrupted; after all, Amanda was nearly here.


    As the silence continued, he suddenly had a question pop into his mind. "Reba, will you stay in this world?"


    And he received a reply instantly, without her even turning around to face him. "Verdusk is not an ideal world. It is corrupted by both the Demons and the Evangelists. After all, unless you have a mana core or have really keen senses, you can''t feel anything off about us."


    As Reba''s wordsnded, her hair color suddenly changed, and she turned back toward him, her eyes green instead of pure white.


    "This appearance is like a canvas; we can modify it as much as we like, down to even the bone structure. However, that is only for covert missions. I have only done it once and once only since it was too painful," she said nonchntly with her usual aloofness.


    "So what are you going to be doing then? Don''t tell me you will try to infiltrate them...?" Michael asked with a small frown. He could see her doing something stupid like that.


    "No, I learned my lesson. I want to grow stronger until I can finally take my revenge. Cunningness only works if you are strong. Either way, assassination would not work on any of the Evangelist higher-ups."


    However, just as Michael was about to reply, another voice resounded from the side, startling the both of them.


    "Then why don''t youe with me? I can provide a safe ce for you. In exchange, I will need the information you are hiding."


    He turned around just to see Amanda sitting on the very ledge. It was hard to tell when she got there. From what he noticed on his map, she was moving rather slowly and would not get here until only a few momentster, yet here she was.


    "Before you try to deny it, I heard the whole conversation ever since the two of you got up here. No point in lying," she said with her usual strict tone that left no room for negotiation.


    Well, be d she is not straight-up killing Reba. Evangelists have acquired quite the reputation. Aside from getting more information out of them, most are just killed on sight. It has been like this for a while, and honestly, it is a good method.


    "So what do you say, birdie? Would you like to join me? Or do you prefer dying instead?"

 Chapter 147 Before The Tournament (11)

    "Excuse me?" Reba seemed shocked at the rudeness, but the re Amanda had been giving off ever since appearing made her keep her thoughts to herself.


    "You heard me, cultist. I''m only giving you a choice because you''re rted to Michael. If not, I would have killed you earlier."


    ''Amanda is being a bit insensitive, I would say,'' Michael thought as he listened to the two converse. Their discussions ranged from arguments to disagreements, repeating endlessly with seemingly no middle ground.


    Amanda was convinced Reba had secrets she was hiding¡ªwhich, in truth, so did Michael. However, the way they were going about it seemed wrong¡ªnot like mature adults, but like two squabbling children.


    It felt like the headache he had just gotten rid of wasing back. It sure was tough dealing with two hot-headed women...


    Look on the bright side, uhh... Yeah, I don''t know. Maybe try convincing Amanda to send Reba to the world you were in previously? It''d be a good idea to get the two of them to meet early on.


    Michael listened to the system''s antics with a confused look. ''What do you mean?''


    The lovely Astraea and your adoptive mother meeting up, of course. What else?


    ''You... are special.'' Michael was speechless at the system''sment. It was jumping the gun a bit too quickly.


    But he could admit¡ªReba going to that world would be beneficial for her. After all, it wasn''t the lowest-level world, meaning it was better than Verdusk.


    At the same time, he wouldn''t have to worry about Astraea being killed if Reba stayed by her side and helped her; it would put him much more at ease.


    As Michael tuned back into the conversation, he noticed they still hadn''t reached an agreement. Reba didn''t like Amanda''s attitude, and Amanda didn''t like the fact that Reba was a cultist, even if it wasn''t by her own choice.


    He couldn''t help but sigh and finally step in. Despite having no stake in the conversation, he figured it would be great if he could get things moving. What good would staying here for the next couple of hours arguing do?


    "Amanda... please calm down for a moment. You too, Reba," he said, and for a single moment, a peaceful quiet descended.


    However, it didn''tst long. Just as he was about to speak again, the two of them went back to arguing about seemingly nothing new.


    ''Thoughts?'' he helplessly asked the system.


    Probably best if you just get out of here. People are taking pictures, and those in the flying structures are most likely videotaping this live. You''re the saint, so it wouldn''t look great if you''re seen mingling with an Evangelist. Amanda can be written off as striking a deal. So yeah, in my opinion, go. They won''t kill each other... most likely.


    ''You don''t sound very convinced yourself, though.''


    Well, because I''m not. I don''t know what''s going on inside their brains. All I can tell you is how the public would see this. And from what you can already see¡ªand hear¡ªtheir conversation is going to be a stalemate for at least half an hour more.


    ''I guess you''re right...'' He nced to the side and noticed they were still bickering.


    Michael decided to hide his appearance further. Even with a mask, there was no guarantee no one would recognize him just by his stature alone.


    He used his mana clothing ability to create extremely baggy garments¡ªso baggy that people couldn''t even tell where his limbs were.


    At the same time, he made it long enough to stand on top of his sword, creating the illusion that he was taller than he actually was.


    The two women nced at him in confusion for a moment before resuming their not-so-heated discussion that had yet to reach a climax.


    Michael didn''t bother saying goodbye. He simply floated down and headed straight into a valley. After making sure no one followed him, he removed the baggy clothing and conjured afortable golden suit with a bit of a ck outline.


    He tried implementing colors in his mana, but it only half-worked¡ªthe coloring was uneven and all over the ce.


    Despite that, the golden suit made him look like a rich youngd with entric taste in clothing.


    After tidying himself up, Michael headed straight for the Association''s building. He had technicallypleted the request, even if there were some hups at the end.


    But he wanted to receive the payment quickly. Who knew when the two women would finish their conversation ande find him? After all his hard work, he wanted a bit of free time.


    You killed some cultists. Very hard work there.


    ''Yeah, and I used Sanctuary too. It took a lot out of me. I just want to go rx and have a bee¡ª... some lunch.'' Michael nearly slipped up. Despite how much time had passed, old habits died hard, it seemed.


    Only a few other Michaels drank themselves to death. Technically, you''re one of them too.


    ''...I''m not going to drink; I misspoke, is all.'' He sighed as he arrived at the Association.


    There weren''t as many people crowding around as before; themotion had worked in his favor.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    He headed up the flight of empty stairs until he finally arrived at the reception desk, which was surprisingly vacant. The door leading to Rowan''s office was slightly opened.


    Michael took it as a sign to enter. Despite the field blocking sound from escaping, he sensed Rowan inside.


    Taking another look around with his senses, he noticed the receptionist was somewhere in a room with a massive telescope that radiated a faint amount of mana through the walls.


    Michael ignored it and went straight to Rowan''s office. Without knocking, he opened the door. Rowan''s expression was a stark contrast to the city''s current situation.


    Rowan stood up and immediately headed toward him. "Michael, boy! You''re my golden goose!" He tried handing Michael a bottle of booze, which Michael ignored.


    "Care to borate?"


    "The stunt you pulled has forced the government to use more resources. That means we''re going to be employed," Rowan said, his voice growing more excited.


    "You know what that means, don''t you? Money! A lot of money!" he shouted,ughing so loudly it felt like sandpaper scraping inside Michael''s ears. But Michael let him have his moment¡ªRowan still owed him payment, after all.


    When theughter died down, Michael finally spoke. "Rowan, I''d like my payment on this card." He handed over his updated Vivum card. ording to Amanda, it worked internationally, so it would be functional on any continent.


    "Hmm? Sure,d. Give me just a moment." Rowan took the card eagerly and walked over to hisputer, typing in all sorts of numbers.


    Michael thought he saw Rowan enter one too many zeroes but waited patiently nheless.


    After a few moments, Rowan handed the card back to Michael. "There you go. The payment should arrive soon," he said, stretching out a hand for a handshake. Michael epted.


    "Pleasure doing business with you, Saint."


    Michael smirked and nodded. "Likewise."


    They chatted briefly until Michael felt his ID card vibrate, indicating the payment had gone through.


    When he clicked on the card and saw the numbers, his eyes widened.


    "This is...?"

 Chapter 148 Before The Tournament (12)

    [Amanda''s POV]


    "He finally left... He sure is an idiot, huh?" Amanda chuckled and stopped arguing with Reba.


    The two had already talked it out inside their minds before Amanda had even arrived. The only reason they acted as they did was to get Michael to leave.


    There were a couple of reasons why, but the most important was the fact that if he stayed, she would not be able to find out certain bits of information.


    It was great that Reba had decided to cooperate. Amanda had been thinking of killing her on the spot despite her being rted to Michael.


    "He tends to get that stubbornness from me, probably."


    ''Two idiots then,'' Amanda thought but kept it to herself. If she wanted Reba''s full cooperation, she had to at least provide some courtesy, even if she was an Evangelist.


    "Let''s move elsewhere, shall we?" she gestured as several helicopters began circling all around them. It was not going to be in their best interests to have an important conversation on top of the rooftop.


    Reba nodded back and suddenly, raising her hands, sent what remained of the building straight at Amanda while actively surrounding them both with the debris.


    "You couldn''t, you know... throw a rock instead?" Amandained. However, there was not a single scratch on her body. There would need to be at least a couple hundred more buildings made out of the highest-quality material to even pierce her skin.


    The y fight was not dangerous to either of them, but on the outside, it seemed like chaos was being unleashed.


    From time to time, a massive wave of mana escaped, sending most of the helicopters down to the ground.


    ''She''s really good at controlling her mana, though... for a Tier 3 at least,'' Amanda could not help but acknowledge upon witnessing the sight.


    Just before the helicopters crashed, Reba took the people out of them and moved them to a safe, isted ce in just a mere moment, giving off the impression that there were casualties, which in turn caused people to panic.


    And she was right. As soon as that happened, many of the people on the ground began scattering, heading further and further from their little fight. Only those who had a fair amount of strength¡ªenough to dodge the iing rubble¡ªdecided to stay.


    But nheless, that got rid of most of the people present, and the ones left did not have enough power to spy on a Tier 6 and a Tier 3.


    "Speak," Amanda decided to start the conversation first. There were quite a few interesting things she''d heard about the Evangelists earlier.


    "Sure, I said I would cooperate." Reba dusted herself off and continued:


    "I have not been told much, but from what I can tell, their objective is simply to cause as much chaos as possible. It sounds stupid, but it has been working. Most worlds out there are wary of them all. And you know what''s funny? The strongest of the Evangelists have never moved before because if they did, entire worlds would fall from their presence alone."


    ''It''s pretty obvious they would be strong, and I highly doubt they only do this for chaos. There has to be some greater end goal...''


    "Continue."


    "The Evangelists usually upy government positions. I would not be surprised if your own city had an issue with them," Reba exined.


    Upon hearing those words, a question arose in Amanda''s mind. ''Are the demons rted to the Evangelists in some way?''


    There had been a few indications that proved her point. However, due to insufficient evidence, she could never find out 100%.


    Another thing was, Amanda already knew who the traitor was. She monitored her main government personnel, meaning that no matter what they did or when they did it, she would find out about it eventually.


    "Hmm... Honestly? There is a connection. However, it''s more like contractees. Some even befriend a demon to get a contract with it in order to use its strength. I am not so sure if there is anything else besides that."


    ''That adds up... kind of.''


    Amanda was aware of how their power structure worked¡ªor at least vaguely.


    They borrowed power from the demons in exchange for their sanity. However, with a bit of strength, that gets taken care of, and their contract no longer affects the psyche of the Evangelist.


    "What is the point in borrowing their power in the first ce? A quick increase in strength does not sound very appealing to most. Well, unless you are a cultist, I suppose."


    Reba thought for a moment before replying, "It''s not power, but their essence. Demons, by default, reject the world, and the world rejects them; they don''t belong." She paused before continuing:n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "The effects of those rejections are what the Evangelists are aiming for. Once you get a contract with a demon, you can use its essence. That means you essentially ignore thews of the world for a moment."


    As she said that, she suddenly stretched out her arm and summoned a ckyer of skin, which radiated a faint amount of mana.


    However, it was not normal mana. It seemed much denser and stronger, as well as more ominous.


    "Is that the demon''s essence you were talking about?" Amanda asked with a raised brow.


    "Exactly. Shoot an attack at me... and do hold back, please."


    "Sure."


    With those words, Amanda sent a powerful wind de, directed right at Reba''s arm, which was covered in that ominous-looking ckyer of skin.


    Despite the strength behind the attack, which was roughly the same level as Reba''s strength, she managed to fend it off with a punch.


    It seemed like her spell began dissipating upon touching that ckyer of skin. And with the extra force behind the punch, her attack waspletely nullified.


    ''Interesting... I have never seen something like that, even after how long I''ve been in this world... Trouble seems to orbit Michael all the time, though,'' she thought as she sighed inwardly.


    "Yeah, this takes a bit of time to recharge, but it is very effective at turning the tides of battle. It doesn''t work on skills stronger than the user as well, kind of the only limitation it has besides a cooldown," Reba added as the ckyer of skin began cracking until finally, it vanishedpletely.


    "It seems so. That is good enough for now. You said that you had no ns of staying in Verdusk, correct?" Amanda asked. She had a ce in mind where she could watch over her without worry.


    There was also her father, Fafnir, who could find out any other details she might have missed. After all, he was mostly sleeping these days, meaning he had a lot of spare time.


    "I was nning to head to a low-level world and hide for a while. Why?"


    "That''s perfect then. What do you say about entering Asterisk? It is a world back in the city I rule over. I have a portal, and I could let you inside. All I ask of you in exchange is to watch over the sky ind residents. What do you say?"


    Amanda did not sound very convincing, but nheless, Reba steadily epted; it was not like she had any safer alternatives.


    "Hmm... Alright, but I expect not to be monitored constantly. I do like to have some privacy as well, you know. After all, I don''t remember thest time I was freely walking around instead of being forced to kill random people."


    "That''s a deal then. Change your appearance for now; we will be doing a little covert operation. We just need to go fetch Michael, and we can start," Amanda dered with a small smile and turned in the direction where he currently was.


    However, upon noticing what he was doing, her expression cracked.


    Michael was leisurely walking around the streets and entering all sorts of restaurants, ones that were incredibly expensive, some of which she would not dare waste money on.


    Yet each time he went in and out of the restaurants, he looked fuller and fuller.


    ''...Is he really an idiot?''


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 149 Scheme

    [Michael''s POV]


    ''Rowan sure did not disappoint, now did he?'' Michael asked the system with a smirk as he took a bite of amb chop, one that seemed to be covered in gold and infused with mana, giving it a richer taste.


    Yeah, I didn''t expect him to give you 13 million for a simplemission like that. I guess the amount of money he''ll make from the government will be astronomical.


    ''I don''t care; 13 million is a lot more than I ever had in either of my lives,'' he said as he moved on to another dish. It was a several-meter-long fish covered in a bubbly substance that also contained mana, emitting a tantalizing aroma.


    Without hesitation, he took a bite, the extremely refined texture melting in his mouth.


    ''God, I love being rich.''


    However, his dining did notst long as he sensed two powerful mana signatures approaching. One was Amanda, while the other was definitely Reba. It seemed like they had finally made up.


    He had honestly expected it to take much longer, considering it looked like they wouldn''t stop fighting any time soon just before he left.


    The two women entered the restaurant, and he quickly sped up his pace, finishing the rest of the fish in mere moments, even using mana to help him eat faster.


    "Michael..." Reba''s voice resounded from behind him, sounding a bit disappointed. He couldn''t me her; after all, he hadn''t shared this delicious dish with her.


    I don''t think that''s why she''s mad.


    ''No shit.''


    Amanda walked up to his table and sat directly across from him before announcing in a low voice, "Finish your food already. The little excursion I mentioned is happening soon."


    ''Oh, right... That''s why I came here in the first ce, isn''t it?'' The food had momentarily made Michael forget, but he quickly gathered his wits and wiped his mouth, finally finishing the delicious yet expensive meal.


    The two women had been arguing for an hour, and in that time, he managed to visit 14 restaurants. This was hisst one. Altogether, he had spent nearly 1 million out of the 13 million. The incredibly delicious food was very expensive.


    But nheless, he allowed himself to splurge a little. After all, until just a few hours ago, he had beenpletely broke, eating whatever the academy fed him. The food in this world was much better than what he''d had at the academy as well.


    It seemed that, despite their funding, acquiring good cooks was a challenge.


    "Are we heading out now?" Michael asked, and Amanda immediately nodded, standing up and walking out of the restaurant.


    He had already paid for everything in advance, so he simply followed her, with Reba in tow.


    Reba had once again changed her appearance, now looking very in with brown hair and brown eyes¡ªdefinitely not someone you''d remember in a crowded city like this.


    "How do you feel?" he asked with a worried tone.


    Reba smiled in response and walked beside him, ruffling his hair with her hand. "I''m fine. You don''t have to worry so much about me. I''m stronger than you, after all."


    "If you say so." Michael shrugged, though he would definitely not stop worrying.


    However, one thing made his concerns grow. The Evangelist was mostly an unknown. There were many powerful people there, some of whom could potentially do something sinister.


    Such as sending an operative down and monitoring her from a distance, trying to extract as much information as possible.


    It seemed usible. After all, most of the other Evangelists were not mind-controlled. Only she was.


    But at the end of the day, if Reba was really going along with Amanda, that meant she was likely heading to the other world. And he couldn''t forget about Fafnir. He was like the guardian of Vivum, even if he failedst time.


    Michael followed Amanda until they eventually ended up back at the elevator leading to another part of the city. It seemed obvious who they were going to meet.


    As the three of them stood on the elevator, descending, he noticed Reba''s hair and eye color were shifting, almost like a rainbow. However, she didn''t seem affected beyond that.


    She uses a very small amount of mana to disguise herself. It''s hard for most people to detect, but since the amount is so low, any distortion could disrupt it.


    ''I see.'' Michael nced at her once more before the elevator finally arrived on the other side.


    "Reba, fix your hair..." he said with a sigh. Her hair color remained the same rainbow hue it had been in the elevator, though it was no longer fluctuating.


    "Oh..." She grabbed a strand of her hair and noticed the mess. Immediately, a small wave of mana swept over her body, and her appearance returned to what it had been previously.


    "Don''t act suspicious. Just keep walking until we reach the cathedral," Amanda said, walking towards the city without even looking back.


    "Alright. Say, are the others participating in that tournament or whatever?" he asked, following her.


    "No. Thanks to your little stunt, they postponed the tournament by a couple of days. Look on the bright side¡ªyou canpete against the children." She snickered at him. It was obvious she found it funny that he would attend such a minor tournament.


    After all, most third-year students, even the talented ones, had yet to form their own mana cores.


    Despite that, Michael had high hopes. Even if he wasn''t as enthusiastic as he wanted to be, he might see something interesting¡ªsomething that could inspire a skill or two.


    Or you could just practice mana control or absorption. Didn''t you already have an idea of how it worked?


    ''I thought I did, but when I tried it out, I nearly blew my hand off...'' Michael sighed. He hade up with a theory on how to perform mana absorption at a basic level. However, a problem arose when he tested it.


    It seemed simple¡ªchannel a spell and leave it iplete. Provide just enough mana to almost form it, but not fully¡ª99% instead of 100%.


    The idea was that the 99% acted as a starting line for surrounding mana. The moment that mana interacted with the spell, it would increase in size rapidly, bypassing its previously set limits.


    However, at some point, it became difficult to control. The mana kept increasing, disrupting his flow until it finally exploded right in front of him.


    Safe to say, if he hadn''t had a shield ready, he likely would''ve lost his arm... again.


    But he could tell he was close. He just needed to find the exact limit of his control, thenplete the spell by adding the remaining 1%. The absorbed mana would apply arge amplification, potentially allowing him to replicate Heavenly Judgment or even make it a viablebat skill.


    They walked through the city, catching a few nces here and there. His appearance stood out since he was supposed to be an eye-catching Saint, promoting Vivum''s traditions.


    It didn''t help that they were probably going to attempt an assassination. At least, that was the conclusion Michael had reached.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    Finally, they arrived near the cathedral. Immediately, he noticed two red dots scrambling on his map, eventually joining the other green dots.


    Reba put on another disguise, changing her hair and eye color to pure ck before heading toward the cathedral''s side.


    Amanda turned to him and began exining. "I already debriefed Reba. Don''t worry. As for you, your main task is to act as bait. We need to locate the traitors first. After that, leave the rest to me."


    Michael simply nodded, taking onest nce at his map. For some reason, one of the red dots seemed familiar, though he couldn''t quite identify their mana.


    Still, he had an ominous feeling.


    ''It couldn''t be him... Right?''

 Chapter 150 Scheme (2)

    "So, all I have to do is lure out the traitors, then?" Michael confirmed his objective. If that was the case, he had alreadypleted it.


    "It is. There are a few I have in mind, but I can''t say for certain. That''s why I need you to go inside and make theme out of their own will. You can do that, can''t you?"


    "Yeah. Should I head out now, or are there any other things I need to keep in mind?" he asked onest time. It didn''t hurt to be cautious.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    After all, the people in that cathedral looked decently strong. Maybe not as strong as him, but if they were important enough to be gathered there, it meant they had some tricks up their sleeves.


    Even if they didn''t, it would still be good to know. Amanda had likely been preparing for this for quite some time now. It wouldn''t be very fun if he just gave away the details straight up.


    He''d also have a moment to bond with Reba, since most likely, after all this was over, they wouldn''t be seeing each other for a long time. She would be heading to another world, and so would he.


    Amanda rummaged in her pocket before finally pulling out a pamphlet and handing it over to him. "You can head inside now. Make sure to keep up your Saint persona." With those words, she vanished before his eyes. He couldn''t even tell which direction she had disappeared to.


    Nheless, Michael nced at the pamphlet she had given him and opened it, revealing a bunch of rough sketches detailing what appeared to be the inside of the cathedral.


    ''Can you integrate this as a mini-map?'' he asked the system. It would be very convenient if he didn''t need to carry the pamphlet around.


    Just a second.


    With those words, the map that had been detailing the entire city disappeared, reced by the map of the cathedral. It seemed to be of much better quality than the one on the pamphlet. It even included information on some rooms.


    There weren''t many, though; for the most part, it seemed to be one massive hall. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed a few oddities¡ªtwo basements.


    One was located at the very back of the cathedral, while the other was directly below where all 20 of the dots were gathered.


    What made these basements strange was that, while he could see inside the second one¡ªor at least roughly¡ªthe one where the 20 people were gathered waspletely closed off. It reminded him of what he had experienced previously: the ck box where he found Reba.


    That, coupled with the fact that he now knew the Evangelists could change their appearances, led him to suspect that perhaps the two red dots were part of their not-so-little group.


    Besides that, it was time to head over. Michael was still unsure how to get them toe out. He could simply tell Amanda who it was and be done with it, but where was the fun in that?


    It would be a waste to ruin the preparation, after all.


    Michael opted to go inside. There were a few people gathered around¡ªsome chatting with friends, others wandering and admiring the massive cathedral in its entirety.


    He wasn''t particrly interested. Quite frankly, the cathedrals back in his world looked nearly the same, if not better. While these looked fancy and modern, they felt soulless, as if built purely as tourist attractions.


    He walked straight through the massive door leading inside. In the distance, he could see a few people taking pictures of the interior, and even farther ahead were the 20 people he''d seen on the map.


    They were all seated at a round table, simr to the one he''d seen back in Vivum, yet this one had engravings on it, radiating a faint trace of mana.


    It didn''t escape his perception. After all, he had grown much stronger than before and also had the system''s help.


    A few of the people around the round table nced at him but quickly looked away. It was a nce of curiosity rather than anything else. He did look quite fancy in his golden robes, and being a Saint added to the impression.


    However, Michael was equally curious about who the people were. He made his way closer while taking a few looks around the cathedral.


    There were numerous paintings, most of which depicted people he didn''t recognize. ording to the writings beneath them, they seemed to be legends.


    ''Mathew Rafford... do you know him?'' he asked the system as he nced at one painting in particr¡ªa man holding a giant greatsword over his shoulder.


    Kind of. He wasn''t exactly a legend or anything like that. He was a farmer. There used to be a story about a farmer carrying a massive scythe. His name was Matthew as well.


    Michael took another nce at the painting. The man was clearly holding a greatsword. ''That doesn''t look like a scythe to me.''


    Obviously not. Do you think people would react as dramatically to the legend if he was holding a massive scythe? They''d think he was some kind of grim reaper. Whereas a sword portrays him as a historical hero. Who could protest? Everyone from that era is dead anyway.


    ''True...''


    As he got closer, he could finally see their faces clearly. He didn''t recognize most of them, but one person, in particr, caught his eye.


    ''Just as I thought...'' Michael sighed in realization. One of the red dots was someone he had previously been acquainted with.


    ''So it really is Shingen then, huh.''


    It was unpleasant knowing someone he had trusted turned out to be a traitor, but that was all it was¡ªunpleasantness.


    He didn''t know Shingen well. Now, he''d have to kill him.


    Don''t jump the gun yet. Let Amanda and Reba do their own thing. All you have to do is act and make the two red dots out themselves..


    Michael nced at the other red dot. It was a woman dressed in ck. Unlike Shingen, who appeared normal on the outside, she was a walking red g.


    She clearly didn''t know how to mask her mana well. The energy of a Tier 1 radiated from her without him even needing to focus. Added to that, her mana signature resembled that of an Evangelist, making it hard to ignore.


    As for Shingen, Michael had thought he was stronger before. Now that he had a good look at him, he could sense the energy of an Upper Tier 1.


    ''I thought he was stronger, to be honest,'' Michael remarked.


    It''s only natural; not everyone''s strength jumps up by leaps and bounds within a few months.


    ''I guess... Are you sure he is not hiding any strength?''


    He isn''t.


    Michael nodded and began making his way to the round table. There were many important people there, though he didn''t recognize any of them.


    Despite that, he needed to draw out Shingen and hispanion. And what better way to do that than to get on their nerves?


    As he approached, the woman in ck stood up and greeted him. "Wee, Saint, to the rion Cathedral. I hope your stay here is pleasant."


    Michael''s brow twitched at her. She spoke so ndly and emotionlessly that it might have been better if she hadn''t greeted him at all.


    Nheless, he had to put his n into motion.


    "Thank you. I didn''t expect a greeting from someone with your experience."


    As those wordsnded, the entire round table fell silent.


    Did you just call her old?


    ''Yup.''

 Chapter 151 Scheme (3)

    So, you think calling her old lives up to your reputation as a Saint?


    ''You seem to be forgetting that I am only 14 in this body,'' Michael shot back, continuing to smile at the woman before him, as well as the rest of the people gathered around the round table.


    She was frozen in ce; however, the aura she was giving off seemed oddly malicious, and all of it was directed toward him.


    ''It was that easy to get a reaction out of her? This might be easier than I thought.''


    "Sorry we did not greet you earlier; we were having a little meeting, you see..." An old man stood up and apologized. He had a modest appearance, yet not such modest strength; he was stronger than Michael, at least mana core tier-wise. The old man''s mana core progress was much higher than his.


    But if it came down to a real battle, mana core progress would not matter, as Michael was simply too strong for his own tier.


    From the way the old man carried himself, it seemed like he was the one in charge of this whole charade¡ªpossibly even one of the leaders of the entire city.


    The others were all decently strong as well, many stronger than even Shingen. It was a wonder how he had managed to infiltrate this far with baggage like that woman by his side.


    ''Unless... they are not on the same side.'' He had a fleeting thought, but it seemed unlikely; after all, how could there be two traitors from twopletely different organizations?


    But as he paid more and more attention to their mana, he could tell that it waspletely different. The woman seemed like a disguised Evangelist, while Shingen seemed normal. If he didn''t have a map to tell him about his alignment, he would have never guessed he was evil.


    However, a question sprang to his mind: How do you determine if someone is evil or not? It was a lingering thought previously, but now he was a bit more interested in the method.


    I am the Archangel Michael. Do you think I don''t have my ways to determine whether a person is evil or not?


    ''I don''t doubt that, but is there some sort of method? Or do you just have some kind of feeling?'' Michael had grown curious at the system''s remark.


    My ways are going to remain a secret for now, as they are quite versatile in their own right. However, if you end up mastering Eyes of the Healer, you would see a simr effect to what I am doing.


    ''I see... So, in the end, it alles back to that skill.'' He sighed and returned his gaze to the round table.


    Michael had forgotten to ept the old man''s greeting, so he was currently just standing upright, looking a bit silly. But, despite that, it was betterte than never.


    "Pay it no mind. I am the one who should be sorry for butting in," Michael said with a small chuckle, his Saintly tone clearly present.


    It seemed like that was enough to make the people forget how he had taunted that woman earlier, as they all began standing up one by one and greeting him.


    In turn, he epted their greetings and was offered a ce to sit. It was a bit unexpected, as he had thought of simply going back and lurking around them somewhere, but it worked out in the end.


    Even better was the fact that he was seated right between the woman in ck and Shingen. Both of them had sour expressions for some reason.


    ''I know I taunted the woman, but what''s up with Shingen? Did I say something?'' Michael wondered. From what he could recall, in no way had he taunted him.


    But the two of them did look very close¡ªso close, in fact, that he felt a bit ufortable sitting between them.


    Nheless, he had to suck it up and bear with it. After all, his objective was to make them mad, and if they were already agitated? Even better.


    All of the 20 people were currently seated around the table in silence. However, the old man who had greeted Michael earlier pulled something out of his pocket. It turned out to be some sort of metal disc.


    As that happened, the area around them grew denser, simr to how he had felt inside Rowan''s room. It seemed like they had cast some sort of barrier to stop sound from escaping.


    However, there seemed to be one more thing added to that, as the barrier looked a bit tinted if viewed from a certain angle.


    ''So, it can even block out vision, huh. Looks pretty convenient,'' he thought, returning his gaze to the disc on the table.


    The old man let out a small pulse of mana directed straight at the disc. The moment it connected, the disc began glowing, and a blue hologram suddenly formed.


    It was, in a way, simr to what he had seen when he picked up that outdated-looking phone¡ªa mini hologram had also popped up.


    However,paring that to what he was currently seeing was like night and day. The details were much more prominent, and the overall rity was far better.


    The only difference was that it did not disy any kind of structure. Instead, there was a long line of text that he would rather not read.


    Even though his INT stat was beyond normal, reading all of that would still take a while.


    But much to his surprise, the system''s voice resounded with great news.


    I can save a copy of it. You can read itter.


    As those wordsnded, an extremely faint pulse of mana radiated out from his crown that seemed to go unnoticed by everyone present. It enveloped the hologram and, in the next moment, disappeared.


    Done, you can check it outter.


    ''Thanks for that,'' Michael thanked the system and returned his attention to the old man, as it seemed like he was about to begin speaking.


    "I assume you all managed to brief yourselves on the situation?" The old man''s voice was a stark contrast to the kind tone he had heard earlier. It sounded authoritative.


    All of the people present nodded their heads, with the exception of Michael. The old man once again continued.


    "Good. Does anyone have something to add to that?" he asked, his voice cryptic, possibly trying to hide some information from Michael, clearly not expecting him to read the giant wall of text on the hologram.


    One of the people present raised their hand, and the old man immediately gave them permission to speak.


    It was a man¡ªone who appeared to be the weakest of everyone currently present. Nheless, he was still considered strong in the eyes of many.


    "Sir Reginald, I believe the calctions of the next area hit are a bit off." The man pulled out a piece of paper and passed it over to the old man.


    ''Reginald, huh... Wasn''t one of the legends named Reginald?'' Michael thought, observing what was written on the paper. There were a bunch of calctions, most of which he could memorize instantly.


    Probably a descendant of the legend Reginald. ording to my information, he was quite the excellent knight for his time.


    ''I see... interesting.''


    The old man, Reginald, looked over the contents of the paper, and a frown began appearing on his face as he read on.


    "Are you certain of this?" He asked.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    And the man who had given him the calctions immediately responded, "Yes, sir. I referenced old data and noticed a pattern. The gate would open right in the middle of the upper city..."


    The two then began discussing the calctions, ensuring they were urate, even seeking help from other roundtable members.


    As for Michael, he was currently sorting out his thoughts while preparing his next move.


    ''A gate? That''s like a dungeon, right?'' he wondered, catching the term as the man let it slip.


    Yes, it''s just another name. From the information I saved, it details the past happenings and the current estimations of destruction for this uing gate. The destruction could be counted as a cmity for this city... very intriguing.


    ''Right...'' Michael nodded and took a nce at the two traitors beside him.


    ''But I still have to deal with them first.''

 Chapter 152 Scheme (4)

    "Hey, Shingen, long time no see." Michael decided to talk to him. Now was as good a time as any to try to pry something out of him.


    "...Indeed," he replied in his usual untalkative manner; it was not very surprising.


    Nheless, Michael had to do something. The atmosphere surrounding the two traitors did not give him much of a chance to engage in small talk.


    "I see you healed up well since the dungeon."


    "Indeed."


    ''...This is the driest conversation I have ever had sinceing to this world.'' Michael sighed in exasperation.


    The others were still discussing the matter regarding the gate, and only a few people were sitting by, none of whom were paying attention to the three of them. This meant Michael could do something a little bold.


    "So who''s the woman?" As those words fell, he could immediately see a change in Shingen''s expression. Although it was very minute, barely even noticeable, it did not escape his sight.


    "She is part of the roundtable, just like I am," Shingen replied patiently. It seemed like his first thought regarding the question steered toward another path¡ªa more personal one, perhaps.


    His heart is racing oddly fast. Seems like you are on the right track.


    ''You can hear that?''


    So would you if you infused mana into your ears.


    Michael raised his brow and tried it out. Surprisingly, he could indeed tell Shingen''s heartbeat was much faster than it should normally be. It seemed like the perfect method for getting something out of someone. That also meant that he could finally make use of the cultists¡ªeven if they didn''t answer, they would still react to his words.


    "I see, you two seem pretty close for colleagues," Michael said sarcastically with a chuckle. Yet again, Shingen''s heartbeat increased for a moment until it finally settled down again.


    "We all sit together in a room all day; it''s only natural to be friendly with one another," Shingen replied once more, trying to mask his unease at the questions regarding the woman.


    But s, it could not escape Michael''s perception. It was like adding fuel to a fire.


    "She seems a bit hotheaded to be a part of this table, though. Don''t you think so as well?"


    Even though that question seemed innocent at a nce, it was not received well by either Shingen or the woman. She had heard their whole conversation, after all.


    Michael could feel a tinge of maliceing at him from both sides, yet he chose to ignore it, instead smiling to himself.


    He was not very good at provoking people, but it seemed like slowly, he would get a reaction out of one of them¡ªmost probably the woman first.


    That was why he decided to redirect his attention to her instead. Shingen had yet to reply, after all, probably dismissing that question of his as something an immature child would say¡ªnot even worthy of a response.


    Michael nced to his other side at the woman, who, for just a moment, was staring daggers at him. But as the two of them met eyes, she returned toplete neutrality¡ªalmost like she was not a traitor and did not want to kill him.


    "Sorry about earlier. I did not mean to call you old. Oh, sorry, I did it again," Michael said slowly while holding eye contact with her. It was clear he had said that on purpose, and since she was looking directly into his eyes, she could tell that as well.


    But s, they were around a bunch of people, most of whom were not paying attention to them. However, if a situation were to arise, they would step in.


    And who would they help other than him¡ªthe 14-year-old Saint from Vivum? It really was a cruel world... for the Evangelists, of course.


    "It''s alright," she said through gritted teeth. It was really a wonder how she had not given her identity away yet.


    The Evangelists are likely wary of you by default; your Light affinity mana grows stronger by the day. Let''s just say I might have instilled a bit of a generational fear in them. It''s only natural for them to also be cautious of you as well... or, you know, more irritated towards you.


    ''Oh... well, that''s pretty convenient, huh?'' Michael couldn''t help but praise the system. Something it had done who knows when came back to be quite the convenient boon for him.


    ''Maybe it is finally time to put the nail in the coffin?''n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    As Michael thought that, an idea popped into his mind¡ªone he had wanted to use from the very start. But now, it was the perfect time.


    The two of them held eye contact until he let out a smirk and cast his newest skill, Charm.


    Immediately, her eyes began softening up, ncing at him with reverence, and the connection between the two grew incredibly strong.


    It seemed like his Charm worked best on women; no surprise there.


    Michael noticed that their connection was strong enough to the point where he could order her around without even talking, and that''s exactly what he did.


    ''Speak your true thoughts.''


    As he made his first order, a sudden shout startled all of the people present. "You fucking brat!"


    Even though she said that in an ominous tone, she was still staring at him with reverence. Despite that, her words garnered enough attention.


    The one most surprised by this outburst was Shingen. He was staring at her with widened eyes and a rapidly beating heart. It was beating even faster than when Michael had asked those questions earlier.


    But who wouldn''t be nervous? After all, she was currently putting their whole facade and mission¡ªwhatever that may be¡ªin jeopardy.


    However, no one could stop her from talking¡ªwell, with the exception of Michael.


    "How dare you speak to me like that? Do you think anyone gives a shit if you are some sort of Saint from a city half the continent away? I would rather k¡ª"


    Her words were suddenly interrupted as Shingen quickly dashed behind her and covered her mouth.


    ''Is he stupid?'' Michael thought. He could have just stayed put and let her fall, yet he went out and pretty much doomed himself along with her.


    The suspicion would naturally fall onto him as well.


    Nheless, now that the two of them were right next to each other, he could finally take the next step in his n.


    ''Kill him.''


    The moment he ordered the woman, her eyes shed with a hint of refusal, but because of the sheer difference in strength between Michael and her, she was not able to refuse.


    She twisted her head and suddenly summoned a pure ck rapier, immediately aiming for Shingen''s throat.


    However, he managed to dodge it, just barely. Michael remembered him for his extremely fast speed. It seemed like not much had changed since then.


    But with the addition of the current exchange, the whole room fell silent. Some remained quiet due to the shock of what had just happened, while others simply out of pity for what was about to happen to them.


    The woman kept trying to kill Shingen until finally, a sudden wave of pressure stopped her. It was Reginald.


    Michael inwardly smiled and dispelled his Charm on her, immediately freeing her from his clutches.


    Her eyes cleared up, yet she was unable to speak due to the pressure Reginald emitted. It was authoritative and definitely determined to end her at any moment.


    I would normally not praise you for such acts since they are pretty vile, but good job; the Evangelists deserve all that ising to them.


    ''I know, right?''


    Reginald began walking up to the two of them, stopping right in front of the frozen woman.


    "What do you think you are doing?"

 Chapter 153 Scheme (5)

    Reginald''s cold tone sent shivers down everyone''s spine, with the exception of Michael. It seemed like he had infused his own voice with mana.


    ''Infuse mana with my voice, huh... now that''s a skill idea.'' He smiled in response; there were a couple of applications he could try, some of which would likely improve his power by a lot.


    What if, by infusing a certain word with a meaning, he would be able to bring that meaning to life? It definitely seemed like a possibility. After all, Reginald infused his voice with mana and made others feel his pressure more intensively.


    It''s a good ability to learn indeed, but focus on mana absorption first; once you master that, everything else will be much easier.


    ''Sure.'' Michael nodded and nced back at Reginald; he had been standing there in silence while looking down on the woman.


    Meanwhile, Shingen was trying his best to remain calm, but his shaking hands were most likely noticed by each person present.


    "Do you think you can do whatever you want here, Mira? The only reason you are here in the first ce is because your family is very influential," Reginald said in a cold tone, causing her to shake, though Michael could not tell whether it was in anger or in fear.


    After all, he was the one who put her in this situation, and if he knew any better, it was likely she knew that someone controlled her.


    The pressure dissipated, and she was finally able to move her body again, which meant she could also speak.


    However, the words that came out of her mouth sounded like nothing but nonsense to everyone present. "That was not me! The Saint was controlling me!" she shouted and pointed right at Michael.


    ''Quite the usation.'' He whistled inwardly and pretended to look confused.


    "What? I apologized for calling you old, and then you freaked out. How did I control you?" His voice sounded as if he was talking down to a child, which caused her to grow even more infuriated.


    But before she was about to act out once again, Reginald spoke up. "I did hear you apologizing to her. Quite frankly, I was paying attention to the whole situation ever since you taunted her," he said usingly but did not proceed further.


    Michael just shrugged in response. Even if he did taunt her, so what? Did it warrant that kind of reaction from her?


    "Nheless, Mira, please head out for the day. I will be having a talk with you at ater date. As for you, Shingen, sit back down," Reginald ordered and walked back to his seat.


    ''Honestly expected a bit harsher of a punishment, too bad though.'' Michael sighed and watched as the woman, Mira, stood in ce, trembling in anger.


    And then there was Shingen, who silently walked back to his seat and sat down. His heartbeat was still as fast as ever, though it seemed like it was slowly decreasing.


    ''I guess he feels relieved there were no further actions, but well, I am sorry to say, you will not be seeing Mira anymore.''


    If he was correct, after she left the cathedral to head back to wherever she was supposed to go, Reba or Amanda would catch her and interrogate her since it was extremely likely one of them was watching the entire situation from afar.


    And if they did, that meant they figured out she was one of the traitors. They might have even picked up on Shingen being one too.


    Though as the quiet once again returned to the roundtable, the mana from right below him began growing much more intense, as if it was stirring and getting nearer.


    However, as soon as he tried figuring out what that was, the manapletely disappeared as though it was never there in the first ce.


    ''Strange... System, did you sense anything?''


    There is something in the basement.


    ''Hmm...'' Michael nodded and took that into mind. He had forgotten that there was a basement directly under them. It was certainly unusual.


    But still, the mana he felt down there was pretty dense. He could not even imagine what could be down there. Quite frankly, he would rather not find out at all.


    Mira took onest nce at both him and Shingen and began leaving, not even ncing at the other people gathered around the roundtable.


    As she approached the barrier, she passed directly through it without any resistance, and as she did, her figure began slowly fading away due to the tint of the barrier.


    Reginald pped his hands once to get everyone''s attention. "Now that the disturbance has disappeared, let''s continue our discussion, shall we?" He shot a small nce at Shingen before returning to the paper, which still had a bunch of calctions left to confirm.


    And now, there were only Michael and Shingen left, sitting right next to each other.


    Since he now knew that Reginald was listening to them, he decided to not be as bold as before. Just slightly irritating Shingen would be enough.


    "What a crazy woman, huh? Told you she was hotheaded."N?v(el)B\\jnn


    However, no response came. Shingen was simply staring at the calctions and the hologram in front of him,pletely ignoring Michael.


    ''Should I use Charm again? No... that would be too suspicious if they both lose control of themselves. What to do... what to do?'' He thought for a moment. It felt like a minigame, one where all he had to do was piss someone off and his cleanup crew¡ªAmanda and Reba¡ªwould deal with the rest.


    "It was funny, honestly. To think that Mira would act so high and mighty despite not bringing anything to the table besides her family. Things like these work much differently in Vivum." Michael disrespected the roundtable a bit, but no one took it to mind. They knew that it was the truth.


    I am surprised they are letting you get away with saying stuff like that. Is it because you are a Saint?


    ''That, or because I am still young... You also can''t get rid of the possibility of Amanda telling Reginald about her n. Maybe that''s why I am being let off so easily.''


    Michael took a nce at Shingen, and he could feel a bit of maliceing off of him. Even if it was contained, it did not manage to go unnoticed.


    It was such a cat-and-mouse game, to the point where he considered just using Charm again, but this time less noticeably.


    And that''s exactly what he did. Casting yet another Charm, Shingen was immediately affected, though there was a bit of a struggle. If he were topare between him and Mira, she was a bit easier to control.


    But nheless, now that Shingen was under his control and the connection was strong enough to give an order through his mind, it was time to finish his little mission.


    ''Stop breathing until you pass out.''


    As the order came through, Shingen emotionlessly stopped breathing. However, as the minutes passed, nothing happened.


    That was until Michael realized he forgot to mention something. ''Stop using mana...''


    At those words, Shingen''s face began turning red, until finally, he slumped in his own chair, to the surprise of everyone present.


    Everyone, except for Reginald, who stared directly at Michael with a conflicted look but then proceeded to nod, confirming his earlier suspicions.


    ''So he was in on the n then, good.'' Michael subtly nodded back and checked up on Shingen, before announcing, "Looks like he had a panic attack, I think it would be best if I took him out of here. Any objections?"


    Before anyone could protest, Reginald spoke up. "Go ahead; I will look forward to the next time we see each other, Saint."


    ''Perfect... probably. I should have done this from the very start, but I guess I did learn a few interesting things.'' He thought and picked up Shingen by the cor before walking out of the barrier and out of the cathedral.


    Thankfully, no one tried stopping him, so he managed to make his way outside, until he eventually walked back to the spot where Amanda had first informed him of everything.


    There, he saw two women standing, Reba and Amanda. However, there was also a disfigured body lying on the ground. He didn''t need to guess who that could be, as a rapier was embedded into a nearby wall, the same one Mira had.


    Amanda noticed him and instructed, "Drop him on the ground, I have a few questions to ask him."


    Michael did as he was told and awaited to see what would happen. However, the two women were simply staring at him.


    "Head back to the hotel, the tournament was rescheduled for tomorrow, you can''t bete." Amanda said and walked up to Shingen before picking him up and bringing him inside a nearby house.


    ''Hmm...''


    Michael nced at Reba and hesitatingly said, "See youter?"


    She merely smiled at him and waved back, not saying anything, to which Michael could only sigh. It seemed like they would likely not meet again.


    ''Well, nothing I can do... It would be very counterproductive to take her along with me on my journey after all.''


    You seem to be forgetting that you will meet her again in the future; just be stronger until you reunite with both your adoptive mother and, well, Astraea too.


    ''...Yeah.''

 Chapter 154 Academy Tournament

    After Michael had finished all he needed to do and said his goodbyes to Reba, he headed back to the hotel and slumped into his bed. It really had been a tiring day.


    He didn''t even remember how fast he fell asleep; one second, he was on the bed, and the next, he was staring at the sun outside.


    Yet, as always, a concern arose in his mind, one he was much too familiar with.


    ''Aren''t I fuckingte again?'' He shot up from his bed and created another golden robe out of his mana, one a bit fancier than his previous one.


    He wasn''t sure when he had to arrive at the tournament, but it must have been before the sun was literally in the very middle of the sky.


    Better yet, there was another problem.


    ''And where exactly is this tournamen even located?'' He didn''t remember seeing any kind of arena while strolling around town, nor did he see one on the map either.


    A lot of the people are gathering towards the northernmost part of the city. That''s probably where it is. You should get moving¡ªI can feel quite a lot of vibrations even from here, meaning it has already likely started..


    ''Awesome.'' Michael sarcastically replied to his not-so-working rm clock and jumped out of the window before catching himself with a Sword of Light. Immediately, he sped off toward the north, where he could feel the most people gathered.


    It seemed like everyone who was currently in the city was at that event, as the streets were practically empty. It would have been a massacre had Reba gotten out without her senses intact.


    He wondered how the ''conversation'' went. It would be a miracle if Shingen remained alive when even Mira ended up as a dismembered corpse.


    It was pretty disgusting, but that was the fate of anyone who became an Evangelist and stayed there willingly.


    So far, only Reba had suffered under the effects of mind control. As for Mira, she was perfectly sane¡ªMichael had even double-checked to make sure.


    After several minutes of flying, he could see an arena in the distance, and the amount of mana he felt from there was intense. There were tens of thousands of people, if not hundreds of thousands, all gathered in one spot.


    Michael had to turn off his map; he couldn''t see anything. There were way too many green and red dots, making it impossible to tell where anything was.


    Even when he zoomed in, it was still hard to see.


    But besides that, his focus was on the tournament itself. He didn''t know exactly how much he had missed, but he could put the me on his group.


    After all, they were all in the same hotel¡ªthey could have easily woken him up.


    Michael flew right over the entire arena, making sure to stay mostly out of sight so no one noticed him. From above, he could see the entire arena, and in the very middle of it was Elizabeth, fighting¡ªand surprisingly losing.


    She was going up against another sword wielder. It was some guy who seemed the same age as her, yet his swordsmanship was a tad bit better than hers, causing most of their exchanges to go in his favor.


    ''Damn, she really is going to lose, huh? I wonder how the others did though.'' Michael thought with a small smile. It would be funny to see her lose and then confront her afterward to piss her off even more.


    Ascension is avable, by the way.


    ''Oh? I thought Halls of Reflection acted as an Ascension?'' Michael tilted his head and frowned at what he saw below him as Elizabeth started to gain the upper hand.


    It''s my own way of showing you the past. Ascension would let you confront yourself. Trials are simr, but they only show you what happens in the past, and you rey it with some minor differences based on the delusions of the one whose life event you are reying.


    ''I see. How long can I postpone the Ascension?'' He didn''t want to do it yet; there were still a few things left to handle before he could rx.


    Two weeks maximum. After that, you will be forcefully taken inside. I won''t tell you more about it; just keep in mind that you''ll have to try and not half-ass it. The challenge is unknown even to me.


    ''Don''t worry, I''m not corrupted like those others you saw before.'' Michael assured the system.


    Really? You seemed nearly identical to a demon yesterday with that usage of Charm and all.


    ''The only reason I used Charm was because it was the best skill to do the job. Did you expect me to summon a sword of light and tap him on the shoulder to knock him out?''


    Never mind...


    Michael scoffed at the system and began hovering down. To his dismay, Elizabeth had won the fight, though it was incredibly close.


    Hended and tried to avoid garnering attention, but it was a bit difficult considering the number of people around the arena; cheers naturally resounded.


    His golden robe fluttered in the wind, and he had his usual saintly smile stered on his face. Yet there was one person who was unhappy to see him: Elizabeth.


    Instead of heading straight for her to congratte her, he found Kevin in the crowd and floated toward him. Kevin was in a little barrack by the side of the tform where Elizabeth had fought.


    "Sup."


    "You''rete... again." Kevin let out a sigh and signaled for Michael to sit down on the free chair next to him.


    ''I wonder where Chloe is?'' Michael thought as he ignored Kevin and sat down. He wasn''t sure of the tournament format or what kind of events it had. The only thing he could surmise was that, at least currently, a dueling bracket was going on.


    "Did my turn happen already?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Yeah, yesterday." Kevin replied, dropping a bombshell.


    ''Hm? What? I thought the academy tournament was today?'' Michael was confused by Kevin''s words. ording to Amanda, it was definitely today.


    Yet the next words from the system made him speechless.


    You slept through the whole of yesterday and half of today too. It did start when Amanda told you it would, but you were asleep.


    ''Again... Why did no one wake me up?''


    They tried; so did I. The fatigue from the fighting and especially the overuse of Sanctuary made you quite exhausted.


    ''...Well, shit.'' Michael sighed and slumped back in his chair. It seemed like he wouldn''t participate in the tournament after all.


    However, Kevin spoke up again. "Don''t worry about it; you''re up next, actually. Your double won the fight yesterday and is on standby somewhere. We don''t really talk much."


    "You could have told me that earlier..." Michael said and sat up, nearly forgetting that he was in front of so many people. He still had his image of a Saint to maintain, even in another city.


    He noticed Elizabeth walking down the stairs, staring at Kevin whilepletely ignoring him. It was nice, though a question did arise.


    "Where''s Chloe?"


    Kevin took his eyes off Elizabeth and chuckled at Michael''sment. "Oh right, I forgot you didn''t get the memo. It''s a free-for-all duelpetition, something to get the people excited, and your next opponent is none other than Chloe herself. Good luck."


    ''Hmm... well, that''s interesting.''


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 155 Academy Tournament (2)

    ''I guess I didn''t miss much if the free-for-all tournament is still happening,'' Michael thought to himself as he looked around. It was pretty unusual for there to be such a tournament before the actual event


    After all, you were technically revealing your abilities to your opponents early on. It might seem a little counterintuitive, but nheless, at least he wasn''t thatte.


    However, fighting Chloe was definitely not on his bucket list. Even if she was a vampire, she was also his friend, kind of.


    Even though he was acquainted with all three of them, he did not know much about any of them, with the exception of Kevin, of course.


    He had at least shared the fact that he was a regressor, one who was a friend of his apparently¡ªthe friend of the previous owner of this body, the one he was supposed to be had things turned out a bit differently.


    Michael decided to wait patiently until his name got called up; meanwhile, Kevin and Elizabeth were chatting amongst themselves,pletely ignoring him.


    With how close the two were, he assumed that Elizabeth was Kevin''s girlfriend in the future. Otherwise, it would be a bit strange for the two of them to be this close.


    After a bit of waiting, he could see the announcer stepping on stage, or what he assumed to be the announcer anyway. It was a man in a tuxedo holding a microphone in his hand.


    His strength was also not the greatest¡ªlevel 60 by his previous standards. There were not that many people with mana cores either. Kevin was nearly there, and he had a core forming in his heart, it seemed like.


    It added up, considering his main style of fighting was using the shadows to do peculiar things such as taking over another''s body or blending in with them as well, providing ease of movement.


    ''He would probably benefit from the Flow core, though, no?'' He asked the system.


    Remember what I told you about mana affinities and their rankings; his is like a lesser shadow affinity instead of the whole thing, making it around Advanced rank. As for when he awakens to his full affinity, at most, it would be Superior. It is not that special since Darkness, which starts off at Elite and even goes up to Supreme, is the one right above it, to which I doubt he qualifies for.


    ''That seems unfortunate, but looking at it from another angle, isn''t he special if he managed toe back from the future?''


    Yes, though I don''t know much about time travel. I used to be able to stop time and even reverse it, though there was a limit. As for traveling back months and even years, I can''t see myself ever being capable of that. It is more likely that something else was at y.


    ''Hmm...'' Michael thought of that possibility, but due to his limited knowledge of how the world worked, he could not figure much out.


    The only theory he coulde up with was if he was sent back in time naturally, without any other power being in y. But that seemed extremely unlikely.


    As he was lost in thought, his name was suddenly called by the announcer from earlier, and immediately, he began walking up onto the tform.


    It would be a pretty meaningless fight if he used his full strength, so he would attempt to limit it to Chloe''s.


    The cheers all around resounded around him. It seemed like he left quite an impression on them after his earlier entrance; they didn''t even cheer much when Chloe walked up.


    Out of all the students present, or at least the ones he could feel, there were two in total that had mana cores; obviously, both of them were merely Tier 1. Their rate of progress was not as fast as his.


    Nheless, he still had a small smile on his face, as one of the two students who had a mana core was Chloe, surprisingly. What was even more surprising, however, was the fact that she had a Flow core, just like his own, meaning her affinity was especially high ranked.@@novelbin@@


    He remembered seeing her just slightly behind Kevin before they left for this city, yet here she was, already past him.


    Michael couldn''t help but pity Elizabeth; she was still roughly Level 170 in strength, her rivals passing by her. It was likely that by the time they got halfway toward Tier 2 was when she would awaken.


    She will blossom once she reaches Tier 1. She is a bit of a strange one, to think their bloodline was this diluted.


    ''Whose bloodline?''


    It''s a secret. But you''ll probably find out once she reaches Tier 1, well, if you don''t leave the world before then, of course.


    ''...'' Michael sighed at the system''s remark and nced at Chloe. For some reason, she seemed a bit distanttely.


    While he did understand that they were not exactly the best of friends, they were not even talking at all.


    It also seemed like she was pretty eager to fight him, considering he could already feel the space distorting slightly around her.


    At first nce, it seemed like her affinity for space was much better than his mere Supreme ranked Light affinity, though for some, he couldn''t even understand why it was Supreme ranked in the first ce.


    It''s because you have the affinity of the first light, just like I used to. The stronger you get, the more the effects will be seen. After all, do you seriously think that you can absorb energy from the surroundings without the help of such an affinity?


    The system paused for a moment before continuing.


    Light exists everywhere, and you can extract the essence of it from everything in the surroundings. Even things such as the cold are changed to light because the concept of First Light is extremely broad. It is cold, it is hot, and everything in between. In the future, you will awaken an ability with that concept. Mine was Time; you will either get the same or somethingpletely different.


    Michael listened on in confusion. Most of what the system said did not make any sense to him; however, it still raised his spirits. It seemed like the Light affinity he had was much more special than he initially thought.


    "Are the two of you ready?" The announcer asked through his microphone. It was incredibly loud since it was no normal microphone¡ªmore like a megaphone instead.


    "I am."


    "Yes."


    Both Michael and Chloe answered, and immediately, the announcer backed away until finally, he was far enough from the two of them to not get caught in the crossfire.


    Right after, he took the microphone up to his mouth and enthusiastically announced, "Begin!"


    The moment he did, Michael saw Chloe vanish right before his eyes, and suddenly, he could feel a presence from right behind him. It was an attack that he could not even see, but nheless, he dashed backward, dodging it.


    But he was left a bit surprised after finding out that his shield had been shattered. After all, even though he was trying his best to limit his strength, the power of his skills remained the same.


    Even though Aegis of Light did not scale that well with his mana purity, like, for example, Sword of Light, his shields should have still been enhanced a fair deal.


    That meant that whatever attack she had just cast was incredibly strong¡ªmuch stronger than he initially anticipated.


    Michael smirked to himself and readied several Swords of Light all around him.


    ''I guess this will be a little interesting after all?''

 Chapter 156 Academy Tournament (3)

    "Are you mad at me?" Michael asked with a smirk, dodging another invisible attack from behind him.


    Chloe was oddly targeting his vitals. Of course, he wouldn''t die because of his healing capabilities, but still, it felt strange.


    The only reason he said that out loud was that he was sure she could hear him. The possibility that she might not even be in the same realm as him didn''t cross his mind.


    But he was no expert in space-affinity-rted stuff or anything like that. He was just a simple Light affinity user who used it to kill his opponents or, well, heal them instead.


    However, in the current situation, without using his full strength, he was at a bit of a stalemate.


    Each time she attacked, he blocked, negating most of the damage the attack inflicted and restoring the mana used, which, in turn, made the fight drag on a little while.


    Especially since she did not use anything other than whatever her little hide-and-attack skill was.


    But since she wasn''t nning oning out, he would make her.


    He memorized the patterns of her attacks, and the moment she appeared once again, he used Piercing Light to strike her in the leg.


    Although it felt like he had connected, it was definitely not with her leg. Instead, as he turned around, he saw his skill impacting some kind of fissure in the air, one that seemedpletely colorless.


    It seemed like she used something simr to his shields to block the attack. He was honestly surprised she even managed to spot it in the first ce. After all, even some higher-tier individuals were unable to.


    But then again, her perception was much greater than anyone he knew.


    Michael could see sweat trickling down her forehead as he sent several more attacks. Although she managed to block them, it wasn''t with ease.


    He could slow down his skills, but their strength remained the same¡ªthe only courtesy he would offer while limiting his abilities, as he wasn''t sure how topletely restrain his total output.@@novelbin@@


    Nheless, it at least made the fight fairer. He was going to win anyway.


    But just as he thought that, he felt a sharp pain assaulting him,ing from his abdomen. Upon looking down, he saw a little spatial fissure there, circling all around the area she attacked, being dyed red with his blood.


    A wound so small wouldn''t normally hurt, but whatever she did made the tissue around the fissure keep twisting and ripping. Had thatnded anywhere else, it would have been a real problem.


    Michael simply cast a heal on himself, immediately alleviating a bit of the pain, but due to his moment of carelessness, he forgot about Chloe.


    He quickly flicked his head toward her and saw her standing in the air. It seemed like she was standing on nothing, but upon closer inspection, it was another invisible spatial fissure, much like the ones she had been using so far.


    She looked down at him emotionlessly, though he could see a small tug at her lips, indicating she found the situation amusing.


    "Having fun up there?" Michael teased as he cast his fourth heal on himself; the fissure hadn''t gone away after the first heal, only shrunk. It was a really troublesome skill.


    "Maybe..." she said with a shrug, trying to hide her forming smile, before disappearing again.


    As he was about to speak again, he suddenly felt an invisible force of mana appear right in front of him, traveling at incredible speed.


    However, just before it reached him, he used his shield to parry it. Michael was unsure of her location, but his parry should have, at the very least, stopped her momentum.


    ''Fighting against someone with space affinity is such a pain... he snickered inwardly.'' While he didn''t mind letting her vent her frustrations, it would be nice to know why she was mad at him in the first ce.


    The only thing he could think of was the time he killed a vampire and had its curse ced on him. Beyond that, he couldn''t recall doing anything to wrong her.


    Maybe she likes you?


    Michael raised a brow at the system''sment. ''Why would she like me? Also, you should know better than anyone that I''m not interested in her.''


    After all, when he was around her, he didn''t feel anything. Well, except amusement, but that was more in a friendly way. He didn''t have any feelings toward her, and he highly doubted she did either.


    Are you sure?


    ''Do you consider yourself a dating expert? Because based on the advice you''ve given me so far, you''re a shit advisor.''


    Hmm... point taken.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system and expanded his mana all around him. It was worth a shot to try something new.


    The way Chloe used her mana, especially the fissures, led him to believe they were chunks of unformed mana. Yet, because of her affinity, they were still solid.


    It was a strange phenomenon, but his suspicions stemmed from previous experiences with such mana, especially during testing.


    Michael waited patiently for her to attack, and when she did, he expanded his inner mana outward, creating a thin protectiveyer around himself.


    The fissure approached rapidly, and the moment it came into contact with his inner mana, it solidified fully, revealing a disfigured purple shard that seemed far more powerful than her previous attacks.


    "What is this?" Michael''s curiosity got the best of him as he reached out and touched it.


    Despite expecting something magical, nothing happened¡ªit was just a fancy-looking shard.


    But as he looked away, he noticed the arena around him waspletely silent¡ªa stark contrast to the deafening cheers from moments ago.


    As he was about to ask the system what had happened, the shard suddenly shattered, and cheers once again resounded as if nothing had changed.


    What the...


    His confusion was interrupted by another attack from Chloe. However, due to his momentary loss of focus, he used too much strength in his Sword of Light,pletely catching her off guard and stabbing through her leg.


    ''Shit.'' Michael sighed at his carelessness and approached her to heal the injury. However, she suddenly cast another fissure aimed at his arm.


    He was speechless at yet another attempt to lop his arm off. Without hesitation, he enveloped the fissure with his own mana, overpowering it and dissolving it.


    Chloe stared wide-eyed before plopping to the ground, exhausted and in pain.


    Luckily for her, he was the Saint. What better chance than now to show off his healing abilities?


    Michael approached cautiously, ensuring she wouldn''t try anything. When he was close enough, he began casting Aegis of Light, using its healing function.


    He could have healed her from afar, but it looked more "holy" to do it up close. ''Better for the cameras too...'' he thought with a small smile as Chloe''s injury healed visibly.


    In seconds, the hole waspletely sealed without even a scar¡ªa perfect heal befitting his image as the Saint.


    "That was a good fight. You''ve gotten much stronger," Michael praised as he noticed the announcer approaching.


    Chloe scoffed. "If it was such a good fight, why didn''t you try?"


    "Obviously because I''m stronger? What do you think?" he replied, confused.


    The fight would''ve ended in moments if he had used all his capabilities. What would''ve been the point?


    "..." Her expression turned glum as she looked down.


    ''...What did I do this time?''


    I misjudged. She doesn''t like you. She sees you as a rival, and when your rival doesn''t try and looks down on your abilities, it feels pretty shitty. Trust me, I know that feeling.


    ''Well... shit.'' Michael facepalmed. Had he known, he would''ve gone all out from the start.


    The announcer finally reached them, standing in the center and speaking into his microphone. "The winner is Saint Michael!"


    Cheers erupted again, but the fight had ended on a sour note. His earlier satisfaction hadpletely vanished.


    "We''ll take a short ten-minute break to prepare for the next round. Please excuse us!" the announcer said.


    Only then did Michael notice the tform around them, covered in cracks and massive holes he hadn''t even realized appeared during their fight.


    ''...I don''t have to pay for that... right?''

 Chapter 158 Prelude To Chaos

    "Begin!" the announcer shouted into his microphone as he backed away further and further from the two who were about to fight.


    However, despite the fight having started, neither of them moved a muscle. They were simply staring at one another, both with res of malice.


    Michael decided to speak up, breaking the short moment of silence. "Do you think I won''t kill you?"


    His voice was not loud enough for either the announcer or the crowd to pick up. It was only meant to be heard by Jax¡ªor other individuals who had mana cores. Though they would likely not step in, as, in the end, this was a tournament, and Jax had not done anything yet.


    "Hmm... you would kill an innocent person? Would a so-called ''Saint'' really do that?" Jax replied with a scoff. He knew exactly what he was doing, and that was holding Michael hostage by using himself.


    ''He was also hiding his strength... Are all demons at least Tier 2?'' Michael thought with a frown. At first, it seemed like Jax was a mere Tier 1, simr to Chloe, but now that he had a good look at him, it was clear he was hiding his strength.


    It was such a convenient ability to throw people off. He wished there was a bit of free time to learn it. However, with all that had been going on, that seemed impossible.


    Nheless, he could not continue with the stalemate. The cheers had been decreasing with each passing second, and even the announcer was getting concerned.


    Therefore, Michael decided to dash in, not using his full speed. There were a lot of problems with the current situation, ones that he would rather not have to deal with.


    For example, if he killed the demon before him, what guaranteed there were no other demons present who could wipe out the remaining people?


    It was apletely unwinnable situation. However, the fact that they had not killed anyone yet meant they wanted something.


    Jax evaded his feeble attempt at an attack and proceeded to use his full strength to hit Michael on the jaw with his knee. However, just before his kneended, the attack waspletely parried with ast-moment shield, sending him sliding back a few meters.


    It was the least Michael could do¡ªat least make it look like he had the upper hand so no one would suspect anything.


    But still, the problem of civilian hostages remained, and he could not do anything about it.


    However, there was one person¡ªor rather, one thing¡ªthat could: the system.


    ''Could you tell someone to begin evacuating the civilians?'' he asked while throwing another weak attack right at Jax. He was as weak as the previous demon. They usually only proved to be an issue once they transformed, but if he did, Michael would kill him on the spot.


    I could. However, what makes you think evacuating them would solve anything? Do you not understand that you and everyone here are surrounded? I already told you before¡ªyou can''t save everyone.


    ''So you want me to let them die then? Is that your grand idea? Weren''t you some paragon of righteousness?'' Michael snapped back at the system while shooting a re directly at Jax. He was the main culprit, after all.


    I saved far more people than you can ever imagine, yet even I was unable to save everyone. You should get that childish ideal out of your mind. Therefore, look, I''ll show you what the result of denial would do. Who do you want me to inform?


    Michael took a deep breath and sent a re at Jax. ''Amanda, Reba if you can, and might as well tell Kevin and the rest of my group about it too.''


    Can''t reach Amanda or Reba. I can tell the others, though.


    Upon hearing those words, he was immediately startled. ''The fuck? Where are they?''


    Not anywhere near, from what I can feel. Amanda is either in the lower part of the city or not even inside its boundaries. Same for Reba. Both of them have been gone ever since you left the underground.


    ''...Do you think something happened to them?'' he asked with a small frown. If the two of them were not here, then his chances of winning were really slim to none.


    I did tell you this would be hopeless. But anyways, I will tell Kevin and the rest. Good luck.


    As the system said that, the quiet once again returned. Jax was merely staring at him with a mocking grin, as if he had already won.


    But until then, Michael had to buy some time. "Say, what exactly is your n here?"


    "My n? Care to take a guess?" Jax replied teasingly, letting out a bit of his demonic mana to showcase his intentions.


    However, Michael remained unamused as he noticed Kevin stand up and begin using his shadows all around the arena. Meanwhile, Chloe used her spatial magic to teleport around, seemingly unnoticed by others.


    Lastly, Elizabeth proceeded to simply use her strength and speed to escort the civilians.


    "Don''t you think that''s a little nd?" Michael asked while sending a rtively fast Sword of Light at him. However, Jax didn''t reply.


    Explore more at empire


    He was curious why all demons sought destruction. ''...Aren''t there any good demons?''


    As he thought that, Astraea popped up in his mind again. It was no time to be thinking about her, even if she was the only supposed good demon he knew.


    However, as he was staring at Kevin, he suddenly noticed something off: his pace had slowed down quite a lot. The same went for Chloe and Elizabeth too; they both looked much slower than before.


    ''How are they tired already? It has only been a few minutes...'' Michael felt a bit disappointed in them. However, upon closer inspection, he noticed a few people following after them, even shing from time to time.


    It was great that no civilians were harmed, but their strength had taken quite a nosedive because of the added action.


    But just as he turned back around to face Jax, he noticed a massive, unnatural frown stered all over his face.


    That, added to the fact that Jax was also staring in the direction of where Kevin was currently roaming through, was not the greatest.


    Immediately, Michael could feel a bit of a disturbance right above him. Unlikest time, he was able to sense it and this time, perhaps even stop it.


    There was a small purple dot forming in the air, increasing in size with each pulse, seemingly sucking the mana out of the surroundings and fueling itself, simrly to how his Divine Judgement Skill worked.@@novelbin@@


    As that thought finished, however, he immediately got an idea.


    Michael sent out his Swords of Light at maximum casting speed,pletely catching Jax off guard andpletely shattering his core. Despite the other demon taking a while to die, Jax''s body began fading nearly instantly.


    Gasps resounded all across the arena because no one expected the Saint to kill an innocent person. However, if not for him, they would all already be dead.


    But that was only the start of the problem.


    Michael quickly flew up to where the purple blob was forming. Since it no longer had anyone to control it, it would continue expanding endlessly.


    That was, unless he used his inner mana toplete the spell. If it was that weak, he could definitely do something about it. Only then could he finally focus his attention on the other possible demons in the crowd.


    However, as he neared the purple blob and enthusiastically began imbuing his inner mana, he felt a rejection¡ªone where his mana traveled inwards but never reached the destination. Instead, it was almost like it was being dissolved.


    He kept trying over and over again, until finally, he noticed his efforts had all been going in vain. None of the mana was connecting.


    ''What the fuck is the problem?'' Michael let out a frustrated breath and began attempting to destroy the purple blob with all of his skills, but yet again, he failed.


    The demonic mana was too strong, and it felt like all his swords were doing was fueling the me instead of extinguishing it.


    You see? One wrong move, and now there is nothing you can do.


    ''Why is it not working?''


    Isn''t it obvious? Demonic mana and normal mana don''t mix, it workedst time because of the Sanctuary skill. Also, I did tell you this would happen, didn''t I?


    Michael stared at the ever-growing purple blob with a nk look on his face before turning his gaze downwards, at the civilians and his friends who were still close by. Some even seemed to be affected by the purple blob, their bodies twisting and tangling unnaturally.


    There was nothing he could do. He was out of ideas.


    ''...Fuck.''

 Chapter 160 Prelude to Chaos (3)

    [Kevin''s POV]


    Kevin, this is me, Michael. The one in front of me is a demon. I need you to evacuate the civilians while I stall it.


    ''Telepathy?'' Kevin widened his eyes in surprise. However, he noticed that Elizabeth and Chloe had simr reactions, except they were a bit more startled than him.


    It was not his first time seeing telepathy after all.


    As the seconds passed, he finally processed what had been said,pletely ignoring the fact that Michael used telepathy.


    Kevin immediately acted, summoning a bunch of shadow soldiers¡ªones he had collected over a few dozen battles thus far, some of which he had even acquired in secret.


    He was able to make the shadow soldiers carry the civilians away at a decently fast pace, taking them out a fair distance away from the arena.


    It was not all smooth sailing, as he noticed a few of his shadow soldiers disappearing from time to time. Upon taking a closer look at the situation, he saw a few white-haired individuals running around and killing people.


    ''Evangelists...'' His face soured as he switched ces with one of his shadow soldiers, the one closest to a group of the Evangelists.@@novelbin@@


    Immediately, he sent out a wave of shadow from his fingertips, acting as a de and severing the necks of a few of them.


    Despite that, the rest did not even react to him killing theirpanions. In fact, they did not even turn to look at him. Instead, they continued killing the surrounding people, who were by now all in a panic.


    Kevin swiftly dealt with the remaining ones at his side and took a nce toward the right. Chloe and Elizabeth seemed to be going through exactly what he was currently.


    As he gazed down at Michael and Jax, who were talking about something and lightheartedly fighting, he suddenly got a bad feeling.


    In the very next moment, his eyes locked with Jax''s, and immediately, Kevin felt a shiver run down his spine.


    It was not because of the gaze. Instead, it was because of what was right above them: a small purple dot that radiated enough mana to engulf them, and yet, it was still only the size of a fist.


    Nheless, it was growing at a pace that would be troublesome very quickly.


    ''The Violet Cataclysm... I didn''t think I would see it again.'' Kevin looked on with a serious expression.


    It was the signature skill of demons. It was incredibly powerful; however, it was a one-time use because, right after usage, their bodies got obliterated and their demonic core exploded.


    Due to that amount of damage, they were unable to create another body in any world until they were healed, which usually took a few years to even decades.


    However, since it was a skill used solely for destruction, it was rtively easy to stop for anyone at least in the middle part of Tier 3. The problem was, no one in this world, aside from a select few individuals, had reached that power level.


    Simply because it was impossible. Even back in the past, he had only managed to reach Tier 2 before hitting a bottleneck and having to switch worlds. It was inevitable.


    Read new chapters at empire


    But the problem was, this event had not happened in the past; there should have been a dungeon break instead. Yet now, there was an even bigger issue.


    Kevin still had a bad feeling in his chest. However, he could not do anything about it. He was way too weak; he did not even have a mana core yet.


    ''Good luck, Mic¡ª'' His thoughts were interrupted by yet another voice inside his mind. It was the same one from earlier.


    Change of ns. Get out and take the rest of the group with you. The people can''t be saved from an attack of this caliber, and I can''t stop it either.


    Kevin''s heart dropped immediately upon hearing those words. It meant that Michael could not stop The Violet Cataclysm. He had held some hope that he might be able to, but it was too much to ask after all.


    "Elizabeth! Chloe! We need to go!" he shouted and got their attention. They too had grave expressions on their faces.


    Kevin began transporting the people at a much faster rate while also taking a nce at the arena. There, he noticed Michael using his signature sword skill. However, he could not even see it being cast. In just a moment, it was able to kill the demon who could have wiped out the entire city on his own.


    And yet, once he saw Michael fly up into the sky and right in front of the now slightlyrger purple ball, attempting to do something, it did not work.


    Kevin watched as the purple blob kept being enveloped with golden mana, yet nothing worked in the end.


    And then he saw Michael''s expression. It was one of pure hopelessness.


    ''Yeah... fuck. It is time to go.'' Kevin decided and nced around. Chloe seemed to listen to the advice, but Elizabeth, as per usual, seemed to be acting like an idiot, not recognizing the actual danger of the situation.


    Thankfully, he was still nearby, and unlikest time, he was prepared for a catastrophic situation such as this one.


    Switching ces with his shadow and appearing right behind Elizabeth, he embraced her and immediately sunk back into his shadow.


    He had set a few of them to be on standby a few kilometers away from the city, so no matter what happened, the two would be safe.


    After all... ''I don''t want to lose you again...''


    He had thought his feelings for her had disappeared after all the time that had passed. However, the incident in Vivum had brought them all back again.


    The two of them emerged from the shadows, and he could see the angry, pouting expression stered all over Elizabeth''s face, as if ming him for taking her away.


    "Why? Did you not see what was happening there!?" she shouted at him with her usual stubbornness and tried heading back to the city that was in the distance.


    However, Kevin merely stared at her. He could feel the demonic mana in the air, and it was growing denser. He did not even want to imagine what the arena¡ªor, in fact, the entire city¡ªlooked like.


    He had seen the effects of the Violet Cataclysm firsthand, and each time it came into contact with something, it never failed to cause destruction.


    A true cataclysm, much like its name.


    Suddenly, the dense mana disappeared. For a moment, he even thought Michael had managed to stop it. However, the next thing he saw made his expression even more grim.


    A massive purple mushroom cloud emerged as it reached the sky, covering it in its color.


    Just as he remembered, the following purple raindrops fell onto the ground, causing even further mayhem.


    After roughly half a minute, he was able to feel the earth shaking and an extremely dense gust of wind shooting past him, nearly knocking both him and Elizabeth off bnce.


    It felt as if his skin was being pricked by needles, onespletely made out of that disgusting demonic mana he remembered oh so well.


    Kevin turned toward Elizabeth and noticed her shaking, just like that time back then. But this time, it was even more serious. If he had not been there, she would have died.


    He was relieved. However, at the same time, he was angry¡ªangry at the fact that the demons had stooped so low as to cooperate with the Evangelists and even destroy a city full of people.


    "Elizabeth... let''s go..." He pinched her arm, trying to get her attention, but once again, she was lost in thought,pletely ignoring him.


    Kevin sighed and nced back at the city. He might have imagined it, but a certain part of the sky held an oddly bright golden light. Nheless, he still gave his condolences.


    But there was one more matter at hand, one that he had faced himself in the past. It was regret for something he was unable to control.


    ''I hope you don''t me yourself for this, Michael...'' Kevin tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder again, but she was still frozen, whether it was in fear or denial, he was not sure.


    The city and the people inside it did not matter to him in the slightest, he only cared for those closest to him. That was why he was not as affected as her.


    So if he had no choice but to escape, he would do so in a heartbeat, just like he did mere moments ago.


    Therefore, letting out a deep sigh, he apologized inwardly and picked her up by the cor; it was time for him to begin traveling to a ce he had not been to in a while.


    The same ce where he had spent the most time before finally leaving for the other worlds.


    Elizabeth seemed to snap out of it for a moment as she began trying to kick him yfully, but he simply ignored her antics. She was still in a bit of shock, after all.


    ''I hope we cross paths in the future, Michael...''

 Chapter 161 Cleanup

    [Michael''s POV]


    The explosion resounded and covered the entire world before him in purple. It was a miracle he was still able to breathe; after all, he had underestimated the radius of the explosion.


    Even though he was roughly 10 kilometers away from the arena, he was still hit by the explosion, which even melted off some of his skin.


    Thankfully, his healing capabilities dealt with that without him needing to expend too much mana¡ªnot like he had much to spare after all the golden shield domes he created for the citizens.


    ''How many survivors?'' Michael asked the system hesitantly; he did not want to open up the map himself.


    Do you want me to sugarcoat it?


    ''Of course not.''


    Hmm... not a lot, then. The people that were pretty far away managed to survive because of those domes you made. As for those closer... well, they were not as lucky.


    ''So hundreds of thousands of people died... just like that?'' He was still stunned by the situation, finding it hard to believe that this many lives could be snuffed out so swiftly.


    People die, Michael. All of them had families and people to care for them, but due to the actions of a few groups, their lives were cut short. The reality never gets easier, but it is something you need toe to terms with.


    Michael listened to the system''s words quietly, taking a few more nces around him.


    The city, which had been lively moments ago, was now nothing but a wastnd covered in purple puddles.


    As for the structures in the sky, some were embedded into the ground, while others werepletely decimated uponing into contact with the purple mana.


    There were still some purple raindrops falling from the sky, causing a chain of explosions that set the purple puddles ame, causing massive fire-like pirs to shoot into the sky before once again crashing down onto the ground.


    Chaos¡ªthat was the only word to describe it. Pure chaos that he could not even fullyprehend at the moment.


    Michael took a deep breath and finally opened up his map. It was time to see it for himself.


    As he did that, the now up-to-date map disyed apletely purple, ruinousndscape. There were a few dots, but it was nowhere close to what it had been just moments prior.


    Surprisingly, not a single red-dotted individual was around; they had either died in the explosions or simply run away.


    Their n was to stir chaos between Vivum and rion, yet now that most people were dead, was there any point?


    Those who could still fight would definitely not exceed double digits. He was unsure of what had be of the underground city since it was in a different ce altogether; it might have remained unaffected.


    Nheless, the number of regr people left was not a lot, still in the thousands; however, most of them were on the brink of death, while some were fairly unscathed.


    But that did not mean much; if they stepped outside, the toxic air would kill them.


    Michael was immune to such things, so he waspletely unscathed; however, a wave of conflict hit him.


    It would be impossible to save them all¡ªhe knew that¡ªbut it still felt unpleasant.


    He hovered down to the nearest shield dome before him and stopped slightly in front of it.


    Michael had thought up an idea, one that made it so healing multiple people at once was not as taxing as doing it directly.


    Usually, if it were to cost 1% of his mana to heal a single person, it would cost 2% if there was another near him. It kept doubling until his mana pool would bepletely drained.


    However, with this new method, he created a source for the mana to travel through, that being the barrier.


    In theory, it should work, as all those standing on it would be inflicted with the same type of heal.


    Michael ced his hands on the dome and immediately cast Aegis of Light, using the healing mode.


    As he did that, he could see the golden-colored mana interact with the barrier, and instead of dissipating, it began traveling across it, enveloping it entirely in a golden hue.


    He had made the ground also act as a barrier; therefore, the mana traveled all around until finally, it stopped and the hue began disappearing.


    However, it was not a failure. From outside of the barrier, he could see a few people darting up in surprise, while those who were previously on the brink of death had now returned to a stable condition.


    Michael put on a small smile and cast his heal a couple more times, making sure that even those who were practically 1% were now at 100%.


    It did not use as much mana as he expected; it was as if he was only healing a single person, yet he just healed hundreds at once.


    But he was a bit confused because no blue notification came for such a great achievement. ''Am I not going to get a skill for that?''


    It would not make sense if it was a skill since you arebining two different skills and using a bit of an interesting strategy to make it work. However, as for the barrier, it might get registered as a skill if you improve its effects.


    ''Wouldn''t something like a healing barrier work, though?'' He questioned once again, this time more out of curiosity.


    I guess you would have to find out after improving the barrier, then. Also, what do you n on doing now? I felt that Kevin left with Elizabeth somewhere; it did not seem like they were heading back to the academy. As for Chloe, she disappeared shortly before the explosion happened, though I doubt she is returning as well. Find more to read on empire


    Michael was in deep thought for a moment before answering, ''I mean, what can I do? I am not going to stay here and care for each person individually; that''s the job of those who were too busy worrying about the dungeon to actually pay attention to what was going on in the city.''


    That''s a pretty big assumption. What makes you think they were remaining idle? If a situation arose where even Amanda had been held back, it is likely very serious. But yes, I agree with your decision; just heal those who you can and use Purify to make the air less toxic. At the very least, they could try going to a nearby vige.


    ''Oh right... Purify could work. I forgot about it for a moment.'' He sighed to himself and took onest nce at the barrier before him.@@novelbin@@


    There were still roughly four barriers remaining, those that had people in them. The remaining, as the system had said, all died.


    Of course, there were still some golden domes that had a very small number of people in them, but by the time he would get to them, it would be toote.


    Therefore, he made the difficult decision of prioritizing those closest to him, effectively making the others'' lives be forfeit.


    But it was a decision he could live with; it was his first time experiencing such horrors, and he highly doubted it would be thest.


    You are right to think that. This world does not have nearly as many people as the others; deaths happening in the millions are quite amon urrence.


    ''Still...'' Michael did not know how to answer the system. While he did not consider himself a righteous man or even a hero of sorts, having civilians killed around him for no reason in particr left a bad taste in his mouth.


    He put that aside for now; instead, he had a bit of work left to do.

 Chapter 162 Cleanup (2)

    Pace yourself. You never know what could happen.


    ''I know.'' Michael stretched a little. The system had warned him because he was practically out of mana after finishing the healing.


    He thought about leaving those in the faraway domes to die. However, some still seemed pretty healthy, even if others weren''t so much. Therefore, he had made his way there as well, healing a couple more domes.


    That was the least he could do before disappearing. After all, with nothing left to do besides going back to Vivum or elsewhere entirely, he would likely choose elsewhere.


    He had nned to leave right aftering back from this trip, but now that the opportunity presented itself, he would do it a bit sooner.


    From rion, he could either head straight down to Daor or make his way over to Neutus, though it would take much longer than he would like.


    Obviously, he was still interested in talking to Meph, but he was growing hesitant. So many things had happened over thest couple of years that he wasn''t even sure what he wanted to ask him.


    But there was one question he was particrly curious about¡ªthe one regarding Reinhardt. It was a mysterious being that seemed to be behind both Reba''s disappearance and Meph''s imprisonment.


    You have a bit of time. Why rush? Besides, it''s best if youplete the ascension before moving to a different world.


    ''I know I have time, but I don''t want to fall behind Astraea and Reba that much...'' Michael shrugged it off. He was nning on doing the ascension soon; it would give him a little power-up, perhaps.


    Michael finally heaved a sigh of relief after looking at his map. No more people were dying, and there were quite a few green dots left. What would the people who had their homes destroyed do? He didn''t know.


    With merely 4% of his mana remaining, he felt a bit powerless. It would be a real disaster if someone attacked him, but thankfully, that was not the case.


    However, his work was not yet over, as he still needed to use Purify. ording to the status, its range was 1,000 meters in all directions, meaning he would need to cast it at least four to five times to epass all of the domes that had people inside them.


    It was not an insanely difficult task. The only problem was that the mana had to regenerate quite a lot since it required 20% of his total MP per cast.


    The demonic mana scattered around wasn''t helping either. Instead, it felt as though his mana was recovering even slower than before.


    However, before he could make any assumptions, the system gave him an answer.


    While you are unaffected by any ailments demonic mana might cause, it is interacting with the preexisting mana in the air and tainting it, reducing its effectiveness in increasing the speed of your mana regeneration.


    ''So if I purify an area around me, will that get rid of it?'' he asked. His purification made it so that no diseases could enter an area; it was like effectively locking it away.


    It was a pity it didn''t work as well on people. He still had to use Purify on them a couple more times.


    Yes, it would restore the regr 10% per hour speed instead of the current 5%.@@novelbin@@


    ''What if I just fly high into the sky?'' Michael asked but then facepalmed. One nce was enough to notice that the sky above them was still a purple color. It was likely even worse up there than it was down here.


    Genius. Just head to the outskirts; it will only take you a couple of minutes, and you can wait for your mana to be restored there.


    Michael nodded. It was his next course of action anyway.


    He took one more nce at the domes and began flying away to a nearby forest. The explosion stretched out across the entire city and a bit beyond it, almost as if it were perfectly nned.


    But he was not certain whether or not the demons and evangelists had his interference in mind. Michael assumed that the amount of destruction the demon wanted to unleash was not as great as what had just happened.


    Nheless, he found an area that seemed the least affected by the surrounding purple radiation.


    Michael sat down on a nearby rock, one that still had a bit of heat from the explosion. He didn''t mind it; his mana was flowing decently well here, and he didn''t want to go out too far.


    Because on the off chance that the demons came back, he wouldn''t hesitate to strike them down again.


    For now, his focus remained on recovering his mana until he had enough to use his Purify skill at least more than once.


    ''Tell me if anyone is approaching.'' Michael stated and closed his eyes. However, a sudden jolt of pain startled him out of his meditation-type focus.


    It was his way of rxing his mind. It even felt like he was restoring mana a bit quicker, but it was likely a cebo.


    But that wasn''t the issue right now. Instead, it was the pain he felt that began increasing. It felt as if his skin were burning.


    ''System... are you doing this?'' he asked while enduring the ever-increasing pain.


    Yup. You''ll get mana at least twice as fast this way. Isn''t it a good boon that you also train while you''re at it? Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire


    ''And do you seriously think this is the right time for that!?'' Michael eximed. While he would appreciate the added speed bonus, the added pain was not something he wanted right now.


    It''s good to steel yourself. Also, don''t worry about the mana usage to heal you. I managed to absorb quite a bit of mana into the halo by refining that wretched mana.


    ''So you can do it without the Sanctuary skill then?'' he asked with suspicion clear in his tone.


    I was able to collect the excess. I still can''t refine it while it''s forming. And of course I can do it. It''s me.


    Michael shrugged off the system''s arrogance. It was only a suspicion. He doubted the system would screw him over to the point where it would force him to watch a whole city die just for experience.


    Hmm? Do you take me for some sort of demon? If I could have saved them, I would have done so from the start. Their trap was well-prepared, and it even dated back to the time when you were roaming the viges with your group.


    ''...What do you mean?''


    I did some analyzing and figured out that Jax, the demon, had a very recognizable mana pattern, at least for me. Remember when the entire vige was ughtered? There was some energy in the air that seemed to be caused by the summoning of a demon.


    ''So... that was him then?'' Michael''s expression soured. It was all nned, and he walked right into the middle of it.


    Yes. In the case of this being a lowest-level world, only three demons can be active at a time. You killed two, while thest is pretty tame.


    He thought for a moment before his eyes widened in realization.


    ''Meph...? I thought he was some kind of monster hybrid?''


    You could consider him that. I still don''t have enough information regarding him, but his origins are definitely from the demonic realm. As for how he made it here, I have no clue.


    ''Hmm...'' Michael thought for a moment. However, the searing pain, which had stopped briefly, came back once again.


    Now now, no time for goofing around. We won''t stop until your mana reaches 100%.


    He twitched in pain as the intensity suddenly spiked, causing him to lose control of his body and spasm on the ground.


    ''...Fuck you.''

 Chapter 164 The Matter On The Other Side

    [Amanda''s POV]


    "A dud, just like the rest," she said with a sigh while pacing around the room slowly.


    "Your questions are just bad. Why don''t you formte them in a way where even an idiot could understand?" Reba''s voice rang out from the side; she was sitting near a table, sipping on coffee they had bought earlier.


    Amanda rolled her eyes at the sight. "Why don''t you do it, then?"


    However, she was met with a wave of the cup. "Can''t you see I''m drinking?"


    "Unbelievable..."


    Find more to read at empire


    Amanda held herself back from arguing with Reba for the sixth time today and decided to clean the chair she had just used to torture one of the people affiliated with the Evangelist.


    So far, she had not managed to extract much info. It was almost like most of these Evangelists were brainwashed.


    But some did talk and spew a few tidbits of information, some of which had led her here in the first ce, along with Michael and now Reba.


    The two of them got along pretty well. Or so that was how it was until they began talking to one another. Twopletely contradicting personalities¡ªnot the greatest ofbos.


    However, Reba was also someone Amanda could trust, even if they did not know each other so well.


    Though, when it came to stuff rting tobat and, well, torture, their personalities did not differ that much.


    Amanda turned towards her and pointed at the body on the carpet, the body of the Evangelist. "Can you clean it up like earlier?"


    She was met with the sound of the ss being ced down, and suddenly, the body began morphing until finally, itpletely disappeared from the room, not even leaving a single stain behind.


    ''Creepy ability... but effective,'' she noted again and proceeded outside.


    However, as she did that, she took a nce at her watch, which suddenly sprang up a small hologram, disying exactly what Michael saw.


    "Oh! Let me see too!" Reba immediately ran up to her and watched as well, with an enthusiastic expression stered all over her face.


    ''She''s like a fangirl...'' Amanda rolled her eyes and watched the scene in silence.


    Michael taunted a woman she knew pretty well. It was one of the suspects on her little list.


    Then, for some reason, he also began taunting Shingen. Out of everyone, he seemed the least likely to be a traitor.


    Nheless, she continued watching on with furrowed brows, until eventually, something odd happened, something that could not escape her senses.


    A faint trace of demonic mana appeared in the cathedral, and in the next moment, she noticed that the woman, Mira, had begun acting strange.


    However, the look in her eyes told Amanda all she needed to know. Although she was not that experienced with Evangelists, she had a decent knowledge of demons and how their abilities worked.


    ''Char¡ª''


    Her thought was interrupted by Reba''s sudden remark. "Did she just get charmed?"@@novelbin@@


    "You know about demonic charming?" Amanda asked with widened eyes.


    "Hm? Of course. I have seen many demons on the different worlds I was on. Not all of them are upied by humans, you know?" she replied matter-of-factly.


    "You mean like a world filled with only demons?"


    Reba seemed in thought for a moment. "Well... I don''t remember seeing one like that, but I do remember one where most of the continents were overrun by demons, while the others were run by the Evangelists."


    Amanda listened on, seemingly getting sidetracked, until Mira began spouting all sorts of nonsense and started attacking Shingen.


    However, before everything could get out of hand, Reginald stepped up and began scolding her, seemingly prepared to kill her despite the influence her family held.


    But Amanda could not let that happen. Instead, she immediately used telepathy to speak directly into his mind.


    ''Don''t do anything; let her go for now. She is mine.'' At those words, she could see Reginald flinch for a moment before backing off and sending Mira out.


    "Reba."


    "On it," Reba quickly replied and disappeared, and in just a couple of minutes, reappeared back with Mira, who had all her limbs broken and her mouth closed shut with telekinesis.


    "There, she seemed pretty feisty," she added before tossing Mira over to Amanda.


    However, she did not attempt to catch her, instead letting her fall onto the ground like a rag.


    "I think it''s your turn to get some information out of her. I''ll deal with the other one," Amanda said and pulled up the hologram, which disyed what Michael was doing.


    All the while, Reba grumbled and went inside the building.


    The surroundings once again became quiet as she watched Michael taunt Shingen this time. Yet after a few moments, another wave of demonic mana escaped. Just like Mira, Shingen seemed to start acting strange, until finally, he passed out.


    ''...He is the cause of that demonic mana?'' Amanda stared at the hologram with suspicion as Michael began carrying Shingen out of the cathedral and back to where she was.


    It was abnormal for a human to use demonic mana. If one could, that usually meant they were a demon. However, she had seen Michael''s healing firsthand. It was practically impossible for one to have both mana and demonic mana at the same time.


    Light contradicts that type of energy, yet she could not refute the ring evidence that he was indeed the one behind the charming.


    ''What did you do, Michael?'' She waited patiently as the door swung open from behind her. It was Reba.


    She was holding Mira in the air like some sort of puppet, with her limbs bent and twisted to the sides and a wide-eyed expression stered all over her face, signifying that she did not die pleasantly.


    "Dud," Reba announced and tossed her to the side. They were nning on heading out soon anyway, and they couldn''t just eradicate her body. Mira was an important individual, after all.


    Making aplete disappearance would be more difficult than straight-up killing her and leaving her to be, which is what the two prompted doing.


    Reba yed around with the rapier for a little while until finally, she got bored and stuck it into a wall. It seemed like she got startled upon noticing that Michael was not too far away.


    "Klutz," Amanda remarked with a straight face without even turning to look at her.


    "Shut up."


    The two continued to wait in silence as Michael finally approached them with Shingen, who he had held by the cor.


    ''...'' Amanda sighed inwardly and instructed him, "Drop him on the ground. I have a few questions to ask him."


    He did as she said and dropped him onto the ground.


    She nodded to herself and walked up to Shingen before announcing, "Head back to the hotel. The tournament was rescheduled for tomorrow; you can''t bete."


    With those words, she took Shingen inside the building, letting Reba and him have their little talk. It was unlikely they would meet anytime soon after all of this was over.


    Amanda ced him on the bloody chair, which Reba seemed to have forgotten to clean, and spoke up, "Why are you acting as though you are asleep? Do you take me for some kind of idiot?"


    However, the next thing that happened sent a shiver down her spine. For the first time in centuries, she felt fear.


    Shingen opened his eyes to reveal a bunch of glowing orbs that were floating in them, each symbolizing a different colored eye, some even looking oddly unnatural.


    But at the same time, it felt terrifying. Each different eye she gazed at had a different kind of energy. Some were weaker, while some were so strong she could not even tell their limit.


    It was the first time in her entire life that she had seen anything like this. It felt unnerving. The more she stared, the more her legs trembled in fear¡ªin sheer powerlessness.


    However, looking past her fear, she felt something else. It was curiosity. All this time, she thought she was feeling malice, but it seemed like she was wrong.


    "Who, no... What are you?"


    Shingen¡ªthe being¡ªstared directly into her eyes with the hundreds, if not thousands, of his own eyes and smiled.


    She could not tell the intention behind the smile. It seemed nk, but at the same time, it was not.


    But as Amanda was growing more and more weary, the being finally spoke up. Each word it spoke sent chills down her spine, not because of its voice, but because of what it had said.


    "Greetings, daughter of Dragon Monarch Fafnir and The Goddess of War Athena," it said as a maniacal smile began forming on its face. Suddenly, an unfamiliar green energy began emanating from its body.


    "The Eldritch beings send their regards," it said in a low tone, and before Amanda could even process what was happening, Shingen''s body began turning red until finally, his eyes came out of their sockets and floated right above her, looking straight down at her.


    Just as she was about to send a windde, however, the two eyes containing hundreds, if not thousands, of other eyes began expanding to the point where they managed to break the roof above her, and even then, the expansion did not seem like it would be stopping any time soon.


    Suddenly, the expansion stopped, and out of the two massive eyes came out a bunch of miniature eyes that were the size of multiple cars stacked together.


    And when she locked her eyes with one of them, Amanda felt the familiar fear she had felt just moments prior.


    "What... the fuck?"

 Chapter 167 The Matter On The Other Side (4)

    "Pardoth."


    "...Dragon Monarch." Pardothically bowed with a small smirk.


    ''Hmm...'' Fafnir ignored his antics and turned to look at Amanda, and her friend as well.


    They were safe¡ªfor the most part¡ªbut he raised a brow upon seeing that her friend was an Evangelist through and through.


    Nheless, he could ask her about thatter. He had to deal with the tentacle bastard before him, the one who had been bothering him since he could remember.


    "Can''t get to me, so you go for my daughter?" Fafnir asked patiently while secretly preparing an attack, one he had used to defeat a few other Eldritch beings.


    The only downside to the attack was the fact that it took a long time to charge up, and, well, it took quite a toll on him, just like before.


    Pardoth lightly chuckled and waved his arm, creating a throne madepletely out of tentacles before sitting on it. "You should know why I had to resort to this, no?"


    "How would I know?" Fafnir merely shrugged, trying to buy some extra time. His attack was not very noticeable unless someone knew of it beforehand.


    In this case, Pardoth was a being who held great envy against him. It did not help that he was very powerful; he was almost the same strength as him.


    They were rivals in the past, but at some point, the Eldritch realm became corrupted, and along with it, so did Pardoth''s personality. From a kind monster came the pr opposite.


    Ever since then, he had been infatuated with Fafnir and tried his hardest to kill him. However, that proved unsessful. Not even once had he managed to win a fight.


    ''Sixteen battles in seventeen billion years... seems like we are following the same pattern.'' Fafnir smiled inwardly and breathed out a shallow breath. The attack was finally finished.


    The only problem was, Fafnir was slightly weaker. Having not done anything in thest millennia had put a little cog in his power, causing it to stagnate.


    ''Middle Tier 15... and he''s almost Tier 16. This is going to be a bit troublesome.'' Fafnir snickered to himself and suddenly spread out his wings.


    They radiated a luminance that was unfamiliar andpletely different from his previous self. They released a certain pressure, one that could only harm the Eldritch beings. He was prepared¡ªor so he would like to think.


    However, Pardoth showed no reaction. He only stared at Fafnir and his wings, which were emitting a slightly repulsive green pressure.@@novelbin@@


    With a raised brow, he stated, "Do you seriously think using the same old tricks would work on me?" Enjoy more content from empire


    As those words descended, the pressureing off Fafnir''s wings vanished, and instead, it traveled toward one of the nearby tentacles, strengthening it for a moment before it became overloaded andbusted.


    But Fafnir was not discouraged. That disy was merely a decoy, as his actual attack was something else entirely.


    Infusing the corrosive and bubbling mana inside his throat, he spoke, "Stand."


    The moment he said that, Pardoth froze for a moment and, with an amused smile, stood up, shaking a little due to the resistance.


    "Dragon tongue? And you''re infusing it with Eldritch magic? You sure have stooped low." Pardoth whistled before covering himself in a murky green energy, dispelling the control Fafnir had over him, and sitting back down on his tentacle chair.


    He looked right at Fafnir and added with a sinister smile, "You see... while you were busy moping around, I was steadily observing your past battles, especially those against other Eldritch beings. Did you really expect me toe unprepared?"


    "Die." Fafnir once again tried using his Dragon Tongue, a racial ability of the dragons, one that every single member of his race possessed.


    It made it so that his words held mana that produced the effect of whatever word he had said.


    However, just like before, it had no effect. Instead, a nearby tentacle once again exploded.


    ''Yeah. This really is troublesome.'' Fafnir grimaced inwardly. While these beings were naturally strong, the one before him was especially so.


    He was not the strongest, but he was nearly there.


    "Pardoth, why have youe?" Fafnir finally decided to ask. He had a slight suspicion of what it could be, but he would rather not hear it currently.


    As those thoughts formed, he nced at his daughter for a moment. ''Especially Amanda...''


    However, the next words confirmed his grim suspicions: "Is it not obvious? You hid her using our powers, and instead of paying the price, you ran away."


    Fafnir immediately shot back with a frown. "I did pay the price. If you were watching me all this time, then you know."


    "Oh, are you talking about that little disease the pigeon healed? I don''t care about that; you did not pay the ultimate price," Pardoth replied before standing up and beginning to head toward him, floating into the sky with the use of his tentacles, as if wings.


    "I quote: I, Dragon Monarch Fafnir, pledge to give up my mana core in exchange for saving Athena. Does that ring a bell?"


    ''...'' Fafnir''s frown deepened upon hearing that. He could see Amanda''s expression changing each time a word was spoken.


    It was obvious that he remembered the pledge he had made not too long ago. However, as he sent her away to another realm, he fell ill to a disease that affected his dragon heart.


    Whether it be bad luck or a simple y of fate, he was bound to die. That was until Michael saved him.


    A stray angel, one that seemed to not realize his own potential. It was his first time interacting with an angel who held no arrogance. Sure makes them more likable when they don''t threaten to impose an edict on you.


    However, he realized that along with the weight of his dragon heart illness, the pledge disappeared as well. But along with that, it also severed his connection to the Eldritch realm.


    It was both a blessing and a curse. He never knew when someone from out there woulde and collect his debt.


    But he no longer needed to wonder, as the debt collector was right in front of him¡ªPardoth, his old friend.


    And now, his enemy.


    "I ask you for thest time: will you pay your debts, or do you want to do this the hard way in such a fragile realm?" Pardoth asked with a nk look and swiped his finger in the air, creating a miniature fissure that closed almost immediately.


    If they were to go all out, the fight would most likely copse the realm, as well as influence the world outside¡ªthe world of Verdusk.


    But Fafnir''s mind was set, and so was his n before even getting here.


    Taking a nce at Amanda, who had been looking at him with furrowed brows ever since hearing about Athena, her own mother, Fafnir used a simr technique to how he got into this space in the first ce.


    Sensing the destination of mana, visualizing it, and projecting himself there. It was a difficult concept, one he was only barely able to figure out after spending a quarter of his lifespan learning.


    But just like with every other ability that had some kind of downside, it consumed massive amounts of mana.


    However, he was willing to use it, and so he did.


    Fafnir sent out his mana and covered both Amanda and her friend with it. Suddenly, he cut off that piece of mana from himself before projecting it to another ce entirely.


    That ce being the world connected to Vivum, the world where he first met Athena and also the same ce where he watched Amanda grow up.


    Pardoth watched the entire situation without interrupting, until finally, a sigh escaped his mouth. "I see, so we are doing this after all."


    "We are." Fafnir turned back to face him and nodded resolutely.


    "You won''t win," Pardoth stated and began summoning all the tentacles in the area toward him, absorbing them.


    Fafnir merely shrugged, and suddenly, a massive pure ck greatsword appeared out of the air, one that contained enough power to twist the space around it.


    He grasped it and shot his usual confident smirk toward Pardoth.


    "I guess we will find out, won''t we?"

 Chapter 169 Back

    [Michael''s POV]


    ''This is it, right?'' Michael asked as he hovered above a mass ofnd.


    He had been flying for days, and only now was he able to see any bits of civilization. Even when he used the map, all he could see was the blue sea around him.


    But he still had the lingering fear that he had ended up on some massive deserted ind instead of a continent.


    Press the zoom-out button...


    As the system''s wordsnded, he facepalmed. He had forgotten such a thing even existed, but upon trying to find it, he couldn''t.


    ''...Where is it?'' he asked while flying a bit higher. He wouldn''t want to be detected by any people present.


    It is in the top-right corner. Your perception in these kinds of situations makes me question whether or not you are some old man in disguise.


    ''I am not that old.'' Michael snickered back and pressed the miniature "-" button at the top-right. Immediately, the map before him zoomed out.


    It disyed all three of the continents, with him being exactly on the bottom-most half of Neutus. It was a jagged area, and it did not seem to have any other cities around it.


    For how technologically advanced the world was, he assumed they would have turned this ce into a dock of sorts, but currently, it was nothing but an extremely t grassy area.


    It was a bit ominous how quiet it was; it was not even that quiet while he was flying above the ocean.


    Nheless, he checked other nearby areas and found out that while this continent was supposed to be simr to Vivum, it barely had any viges, only a couple of major cities.


    Amara, the city his orphanage was located in, was quite a distance away. It would roughly take a day or two to get there, even if he flew at full speed.


    However, that was not his objective right now. He wanted to head straight towards Meph, but it proved to be a little troublesome.


    ''Zane Brennan, right? Can you find where the Brennan family lives?'' Michael asked the system.@@novelbin@@


    There are 194 Brennan families, 24 of which have a child by the name of Zane. Give me a moment; I will try narrowing it down by his personality.


    Just as the system''s words finished, it once again turned quiet, leaving Michael to wander in his own thoughts.


    ''This continent doesn''t seem that well maintained,'' he observed and flew just below the clouds.


    It was practically abandoned. Only grass was in sight; not even animals were anywhere nearby.


    Back in the Artios continent, each location he visited was extremely lively, if not by humans, then by animals.


    Yet here, it left a lot to be desired.


    Nheless, Michael wanted to try to get a move on. It might take a little while before the system matches the correct person.


    ''Can''t you check for his mother instead?''


    She doesn''t exist. Oh, that''s actually a good idea. I''ll search for those without mothers... narrowed it down to 8.


    Michael tilted his brow at thement; he had seen Zane''s mother upfront. She was most certainly not dead.


    But if they were so rich as to fake medical records and even their death, then it would make sense.


    He slowly began moving until finally, he elerated to his maximum speed. Over the course of this little journey, his control over mana had gotten even greater, meaning he was much faster now.


    After just a couple of minutes of flying, the system''s voice once again resounded.


    Found him. He''s in a city called Ryadro... Weird name. Not too far away, though.


    Michael nodded in appreciation and proceeded to zoom out his map once more, trying to find Ryadro until finally, he found it.


    He raised a brow upon seeing the architecture¡ªor more like, what was surrounding the city. There were a bunch of walls spanning hundreds of meters, heading all around the entire city. It also had multipleyers, as if it was trying to defend itself from something.


    Seems like the city is very prone to monster attacks. However, in thest couple of years, there were hardly any. I wonder why?


    Michael scoffed and immediately thought of Meph as the culprit.


    However, now that he had the information he needed, he decided to speed up his pace. The city was surprisingly close, only three hours of flying away.


    Do you n on taking him along with you?


    He was a bit confused by the system''s random question. ''No? Why would I?''


    Just wanted to make sure. Being around a demon for too long might reflect its personality onto you. I doubt you would be very affected, though.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system''s remark and sarcastically replied, ''You are so funny...''


    The two bickered amongst each other while flying without interruptions, and after a few hours, he finally arrived.


    Below him was the so-called Ryadro ''city.'' However, it looked like some kind of a massive castle surrounded by walls instead. He could not see a single normal building aside from it.


    ''They have quite a lot of money, I''d say,'' Michael whistled to himself and rechecked the map. On it, there were a surprisinglyrge number of green dots, followed by only three yellow dots and a single red one.


    If he were to guess, then the red one was likely Meph. It seemed like while he was nice at first nce, in reality, he was still evil. Stay updated through empire


    It also seemed like he was still stronger than Michael. He could not tell by how much, but just gazing at the manaing from the red dot caused shivers to run down his spine.


    As far as he remembered, Meph was someone who most likely had the mind core, meaning his physical strength was not so great.


    Even then, the oppressive nature was intense; if the two of them fought, he would lose without putting up much of a fight, the gap was evident.


    Michael took a deep breath and began floating downwards. Just as he entered the city''s proximity, a voice resounded in his mind, and it was not the system.


    Long time no see... Hmm? You got much stronger, didn''t you?


    As those words resounded, he could see a being forming right beside him. It barely held any mana¡ªlikely an illusion¡ªbut it portrayed a figure he knew all too well; it was Meph.


    ''I wonder if he can still read my min-'' Michael thought but was immediately interrupted.


    No, I can''t read your mind.


    He tilted his head with a furrowed brow. ''You just did, though?''


    I didn''t.


    ''...'' Michael was speechless at Meph''s attempt atedy. The system had informed him previously that it would be impossible to read his thoughts.


    So that meant that currently, he was just guessing.


    Yeah, yeah. I know you missed me.


    Michael stared at the illusion in silence as it began monologuing inside his mind, trying to read his thoughts, until finally, Meph decided to take one nce at him and realized he had been caught.


    ...Whoops?


    "Yeah, nice to see you are doing well," Michael snickered.


    Hahaha, I am doing well indeed. These people are quite the religious bunch, so when I fulfilled some of their wishes, they built me a castle!


    "I see. Can we talk for a moment? I have some questions I''d like to ask you." Michael went straight to the point, and for a moment, the voice inside his mind halted.


    However, it quickly resumed once again, the yfulness from earlier gone.


    Come, you know where I am.

 Chapter 171 Meph (2)

    Michael proceeded to tell him everything he knew about the Evangelists. It wasn''t hard for him to do¡ªit seemed like a necessity.


    Also, having such a strong entity as Meph on his side was quite the boon. If he could make him fight alongside him, then his chances of winning against them would grow higher.


    However, during the exnation, Meph''s expression was not great, to say the least. It looked like he was forcing himself to hear what Michael had to say.


    But at the same time, he was the one who asked, so Michael naturally indulged.


    And after a couple of minutes:


    "That''s about all I know; do with that information what you please," Michael stated, observing the nk look on Meph''s face, which wasn''t getting any better.


    ''If his experiences were so traumatic, why even ask about Reinhardt in the first ce?''


    He''s both here and not here at the same time. It''s like he split himself into many little pieces and sent them across the world, almost as if they were looking for something. That something was likely Reinhardt.


    ''He ns to end it all now?'' Michael thought skeptically. ''From what I have heard of Reinhardt, he''s someone who is extremely powerful and maniptive. I don''t doubt that he has prepared some kind of countermeasure already.''


    Maybe, but can you stop him? Meph is stronger than he was when youst saw him. He was greatly weakened at the time, and now, it''s almost all back. I don''t remember who this Reinhardt is, but if he is one of the ancient beings from eons ago, then it would naturally be a difficult fight.


    ''One that Meph is too emotional to win, I''d say,'' Michael remarked, staring back at Meph''s red eyes. They glowed faintly in the dimly lit room, the light giving off a fierce pressure.


    However, since it was not directed toward him, he just waited for Meph toe back to his senses so he could ask more questions.


    But just as he thought the conversation with the system was over, it spoke up once again.


    You underestimate beings of that caliber. Most who get that strong forego their emotions. Since he said Reinhardt used a precious individual to defeat him, that one fluke would not be present again. He would be at full strength and more.


    ''Fair enough,'' Michael shrugged and decided to look out of the window; Meph''s little introspection would take a while.


    Just as he did that, however, he saw the clouds in the distance rumbling with thunder, seemingly as far as the eye could see. Despite that, the thunder never struck down, merely swirling around in the clouds as though they were some kind of ocean.


    ''Affecting the environment without even trying, huh... I guess I have been underestimating the new reality I found myself in, even after what happened a few days ago,'' Michael thought to himself. Then suddenly, he turned his head toward Meph. The previous form of Zane was gone, reced by the ck mass he had seen back in the dungeon.


    With a raised brow, he asked, "What are you doing?"


    "I have to go," Meph stated and headed toward the window, not borating further.


    However, the moment he was about to jump out of it, he halted and turned his gaze back onto Michael. His previously nk red eyes were now filled to the brim with determination.


    "Look, I can''t answer your questions now, and I also can''t go with you to the other worlds, if that''s what you were getting at. I am a wanted man¡ªa kill-on-sight in most cases," Meph said before adding, "But I can give you a bone. I do owe you one¡ªor I suppose, two now." He chuckled and began slowly walking toward Michael.


    ''Should be fine, right?'' Michael thought. There did not seem to be any maliceing from Meph.


    He could see the clouds out of the window, which were now back to their clear state, the thunder from before seemingly vanished into nothingness.


    Meph approached him despite that and, upon arriving, stretched out his hand before saying, "Since I believe we would be meeting in the future, I will give you some information. Do with it as you wish."


    As he said that, he quickly tapped his finger on Michael''s forehead and a little bit of mana was released. However, immediately after that, Meph waved and jumped straight through the window, leaving him all alone.


    ''That was a bit anticlimactic...?'' he thought, but just as he began thinking Meph did that to mess with him, his vision began turning dark against his control.


    Michael was still conscious, but the world around him began feeling a bit distant, until finally, his vision wentpletely dark.


    ''System...?'' he called out.


    He''s showing you a memory¡ªor, well, memories. You just need to sit back and watch.


    As the system''s words dawned, his vision began gaining a bit of rity, the darkness being reced with all sorts of colors that eventually weaved themselves into a pair of images.


    But just as he thought he would be watching some kind of slideshow, the images began mirroring themselves, turning into a scene that showcased a single person¡ªa red-eyed man with long, flowing ck hair. He was wearing a massive smile on his face, almost as if eager for something.


    Michael stared on, but suddenly, his vision began traveling toward the projection before him, until finally, itbined with what the man was currently seeing.@@novelbin@@


    And that was some kind ofndscape¡ªone that was a mix between barren and fertile. There was a small desert on one side, while at the same time, crops were growing in it¡ªsome of which even looked like carrots or tomatoes.


    However, the one thing that caught Michael''s attention was the sky. It was crimson through and through, with only a few clouds floating about, which were also red, just a tad brighter shade, highlighting their peculiarity.


    And finally, the sun or moon¡ªMichael couldn''t tell. It was crescent-shaped and giving off a bit of light. It seemed to work as both a sun and a moon at the same time.


    It''s artificial. Just quiet down and watch. This memory dates back to the age after the fourth batch of primordials was born. That means your little friend here is basically as old as the universe itself. Still, in my eyes, he''s a child.


    ''Okay, okay, shut up now. I am watching,'' Michael interjected before the system could begin its inner monologuing; they usually took a while, so it was better to stop them as soon as he could.


    The person, who he assumed to be Meph, seemed to be walking somewhere. There was a little wooden hut in the distance.


    Michael felt it a bit off-putting, since he was looking directly into Meph''s memories, feeling everything he had felt during this particr moment.


    What also caught his attention was the mana. It felt strange, as though it was some kind ofbination between mana and demonic mana, but from what he was aware of, that was practically impossible.


    However, Meph was using it at will. He swept a bit of it toward the desert where the crops were growing, and immediately, they grew to full size before sprouting the nearby crops around themselves, creating a chain reaction that went on for several hundred meters, producing all sorts of vegetables¡ªeven some Michael didn''t recognize.


    Emotions of love and admiration surged within Meph, and they were clearly transmitted toward Michael, causing him to feel conflicted.


    ''How does someone go from being seemingly a saint to practically a demon? System, is this the demonic realm?'' he wondered.


    Not exactly. The demonic realm appeared muchter. I was not even an archangel at the time this was happening. But yeah, I had a few years of experience under my belt¡ªI was pretty strong.


    Michael rolled his eyes, regretting even asking. However, as Meph approached the wooden hut that was previously in the distance, Michael could feel a very faint tinge of manaing from it.


    As he twisted the doorknob, he saw a being unfamiliar to Michael, unsurprisingly.


    It was some kind of child¡ªone with short ck hair and eyes that felt as though they were staring through his very soul.


    But that did not seem to be the case for Meph, as he grew even more joyful upon seeing her and walked up to her, picking her up and lifting her into the air.


    "You didn''t use mana, did you, Lilith?" Meph asked teasingly, to which the little girl innocently swung her head side to side, denying the ims. Discover hidden tales at empire


    Hmm... well, shit.


    Michael was startled by the system''s suddenment and asked, ''What? Is something wrong?''


    It''s nothing... Just keep watching. You might see something interesting soon.

 Chapter 173 Meph (4)

    The two beings appeared in apletely cked-out space, slightly illuminated by the color of their own mana.


    However, the two did not have trouble seeing in the darkness; Meph made sure of that.


    But the fact that his confusion was evident didn''t change. In fact, it grew even greater.


    Experience tales at empire


    Ever since he first interacted with the intruder, there had been something off with him¡ªfirst the regeneration, and now, his adaptation.


    The space they were currently in was supposed to restrict most, if not all, movement while simultaneously slowly shredding the body. Meph was immune because it was an extension of his chaos; however, that should not have been the case for the intruder.


    Like before, he was merely staring at Meph with a smile¡ªone that felt both ominous and creepy.


    "You really have a lot up your sleeve, don''t you?" Meph remarked before suddenly appearing behind the intruder and slicing his body in two, not even waiting for a response.


    However, just like before, the man regenerated and fought back, his attack extremely slow to someone like Meph.


    Just like before, he shed at him, severing his head, even infusing chaos into his strikes, but the intruder was not dying.


    That really made him think¡ªcould it be some sort of immortality?


    So far, the theory of immortality had been debated for eons, but there were no such beings in the cosmos. Yes, they lived long, but they could still die from injuries¡ªMeph included.


    Wielding a power such as chaos did not grant him any benefits aside from having control over many elements as well as mana. By now, he did not care that much about strength.


    But now that he was in front of such an opponent, one who couldn''t die, it was a bit humbling.


    Meph sliced the intruder into thousands of pieces before using chaos to eradicate him. However, he came back once again, from seemingly nothing, and fought back.


    Noticing the fight was not going anywhere, Meph decided to speak up. "What do you want?"


    "The child. Our organization has a use for her. Kindly hand her over. How''s that sound?" the man replied and began walking toward him. However, before he could take another step, his head once again exploded.


    ''His organization, huh?'' Meph stared at the regenerating head with clear malice.


    "I might consider it if you tell me about your little group. Better to get to know each other, don''t you think?" he said while trying to influence the man''s emotions, attempting to break his mind into giving him answers.


    However, he was unsessful as the man locked eyes with him, and suddenly, Meph was pushed back, a trickle of blood running down from his eyes.


    "I am not here to y around. Give me the child, or I shall end you," the intruder stated before slowly walking toward him.


    The energy he was currently emitting was a stark contrast to what Meph had seen just a few moments ago.


    It was interacting with the surrounding space, twisting it and opening up little spatial pockets that showcased the house where Lilith was currently staying.


    The problem, however, was the fact that she was currently trying to use mana. It meant that if they hadn''t already noticed her presence, they would now.


    ''I need to get her out of here...'' Meph thought with a grim look. While he previously had the upper hand, now it was an unpredictable battle.


    However, he had just the perfect ability to buy some time.


    Twisting the surrounding space, hepressed it all onto the intruder, momentarily freezing him in ce, as if in a time bubble.


    Meph used that little moment to exit the space and closed it behind him, before making the mana even more unstable, which would make it many times more difficult to escape and even catch up to them.


    He quickly ran into the wooden hut and saw Lilith, who was conjuring a little water ball in the air. Upon noticing him, she immediately stopped and shed an innocent smile.


    ''...I really need to send you out somewhere so you be more mature.'' Meph let out a sigh. She was a child when he first took her in, but now, she was a grown woman, yet she still acted childish.


    But he could only me himself. He was too easy on her, always letting her have her way. That was probably the reason why her form was that of a child; she did not want to grow up.


    "Lily, we have to go, okay?" he said patiently while creating a colorful crack in the air, one that led them to a ce he had prepared just in case.


    She tilted her head for a moment, not understanding what he meant. But upon seeing the colors across the crack that looked like some sort of portal, she immediately followed through.


    While that was happening, Meph was cautiously feeling out the mana behind him, and to his surprise, the intruder was breaking out much faster than he had anticipated.


    Only a few more seconds, and he would be out.


    Nheless, since Lilith went through the portal, he could cause some mayhem on this side.


    He was fond of his people. However, the situation called for desperate measures¡ªones where he had no room to hesitate.


    Meph controlled the mana in the air, while at the same time weaving demonic mana into it, producing the perfect bnce, which was his signature ability, Chaos Maniption.


    A few shockwaves began expanding from his body, starting as nothing but small gusts of wind that just barely shook the ground, then growing into catastrophic-level terraforming, felling the surrounding mountains and making them copse onto some cities.


    But that was not the end, as he nned to go all the way.@@novelbin@@


    Using Chaos Maniption, he greatly increased the intensity of the shockwaves until finally, they began creating a chain reaction with the regr mana and demonic mana in the air, making it either implode on itself or boost its prowess.


    Nheless, he seeded in doing what he wanted to do, and that was to destroy the entire world. It would be any second now, as the ground was cracking beneath his feet, revealing the magma that wasbined with chaos, further enhancing its lethality.


    However, just as he was about to leave, he saw the intruder finally get out of the spatial fissure he created earlier, sporting a few injuries that healed at a pace visible to the naked eye.


    But one more thing was visible, and that was the sour expression forming on the intruder''s face as he spoke. "Remember, Mephisto. You can''t escape me or the organization." With those words, he dashed toward him, but before he could even reach Meph, the core of the world started pulling him downward.


    The pull of gravity was something that Meph could barely avoid himself, but even then, it was best to get out of there quickly, which he did as he watched his little farm fall, thend cracking apart, andstly, the distant screams of the now-previous inhabitants of this world.


    A world that fell by necessity.


    Meph said his final goodbyes by speeding up the process; he did not want these people dying in pain, after all.


    As he sent thest bit of chaos downward, he left through the very portal he created. Upon arriving, it was a world simr to the one he was just in. The farm was the same, and so were the surroundings.


    He walked toward the wooden hut in the distance¡ªthe same hut he was supposed to end up in, but due to the spatial disturbance on the other side, he was thrown off course just a little bit.


    Nheless, as he passed by his farm, he used chaos to make it grow just a tad bit faster, but due to what happened moments prior, he was unable to control his strength, causing the crops to grow more than they should have.


    Upon approaching the wooden hut and opening the door, he saw Lilith sitting on the ground and ying around with the toys, despite the fact that mere moments ago, she was using a very little amount of mana.


    Meph let out a sigh as he spoke. "You didn''t use mana, did you, Lilith?" to which she merely responded by swinging her head side to side.


    He let out a faint smile. However, it did not contain the previous luster he felt; it was one of hopelessness at himself for continuing to allow her to do such things like using mana.


    But s, he couldn''t find it in his heart to say no as he walked up to Lilith and patted her on the head.


    ''I wonder... How long can I keep doing this?''

 Chapter 174 Meph (5)

    "Lilith, you didn''t use mana, did you?" he asked, his tone containing traces of exhaustion.


    He had lost track of how many times he had been through this same scenario. The intruder came, Meph failed to stop him, and they repeated the cycle.


    But his exhaustion continued umting, whereas the intruder''s didn''t seem to go down in the slightest. The boon of immortality, or some other technique¡ªhe did not know.


    However, there were some changes during all of these scenarios. One was the fact that Lilith had now learned how to properly control mana. She had also grown a bit, looking like the average healthy teen.


    Of course, the biggest change was, "Yup, I made a fountain this time!" Lilith eximed with a cheeryugh before running up to Meph and hugging him.


    At some point, he stopped disallowing her to use mana; instead, he encouraged it. If she was going to use it anyway, why not learn how to do so faster?


    It did not change anything in the grand scheme of things. The intruder still found them, and over the course of many battles, Meph was finally able to find out his name.


    ''Reinhardt... like some sort of knight in shining armor. Too bad he is some kind of chimera instead,'' he thought while whistling to himself. If all went the same as it did previously, Reinhardt should show up in the next minute.


    "Lilith, we will have to travel again soon. Did you finish up what you were doing?" Meph asked in a kind tone. No matter how bad it got, he would still not hand her over.


    But just as she was about to reply, a sharp wave of mana headed for their wooden hut. Before it could connect, Meph blocked it and went outside, creating a bunch of barriers to protect Lilith.


    In front of him was Reinhardt, looking a bit more beat up than usual. It would be surprising if he wasn''t¡ªthey had been doing this for at least a couple of centuries, after all.


    Meph nced at him up and down before asking with a straight face, "Tea?"


    "...Fuck off," Reinhardt replied with a scoff before swiftly shing in the air and creating a miniature fissure, simr to the one Meph created, but many times weaker.


    ''Hmm... so he''s finally learned how to do it, huh? Not chaos, but it is very close,'' Meph thought while observing the fissure. It did look very simr, but it did not seem like it was made through thebination of mana and demonic mana¡ªmore like sheer strengthbined with mana.@@novelbin@@


    As surprising as it was, Meph was now losing in physical bouts against Reinhardt. He couldn''t tell if it was due to the exhaustion or if the seemingly immortal person was growing exponentially stronger after each fight.


    Nheless, his objective remained the same, and that was to stall.


    However, despite both of their expectations, a sudden surge of mana came from behind them. It was nothing too special¡ªmuch weaker than their own.


    The purity seemed extremely high, much higher than Meph had ever seen in his entire lifespan, as if whoever was using the mana was made from mana itself.


    It was hard to distinguish, but the issue was that the person behind that surge of mana was Lilith. It seemed like she had begun training once again, but this time, a breakthrough happened.


    Meph could only me himself since he did not exin to her what was happening this whole time, mostly keeping her in the dark.


    She did not know that the world was being destroyed or that they were being attacked. The only thing she knew was that he was going in and out of the house constantly, creating colorful portals in the living room.


    Now, he was going to have an even bigger problem than he anticipated.


    Reinhardt also seemed to recognize that fact. With an rmed look, he started attacking Meph using all sorts of techniques he had picked up along the way.


    It seemed like his natural affinity was Light, but after all of their exchanges, it changed, turning into something like a space-and-light hybrid¡ªwhich, in turn, made Meph just a little cautious.


    He was not immortal like Reinhardt, and at the same time, he had limited mana, which by now was almost at rock bottom.


    Meph dodged an iing attack that was moving at the speed of light. But just as he thought he was safe, a crack appeared in the space behind him, and then another in front of him.


    Due to the unpredictable nature of the attack, he was unable to dodge, and it went straight through his mana core, which was located in his heart. As it did so, the surrounding organs exploded in the process.


    "Ugh..." Meph groaned in pain before using a decent amount of mana to heal his injuries. Chaos could heal, but it did not work as well when using it on himself. He was better off speeding up his natural regeneration instead.


    But as he was doing that, another attack flew toward him, and then another. They allnded, causing him to fall to his knees. The exhaustion was finally starting to show.


    "That stupid child..." Reinhardt eximed in annoyance as he walked past Meph and toward the wooden hut. However, before he could take another step, Meph impaled him with an invisible spear before throwing him aside.


    Obviously, that did not do much besides buying time, but that was his goal after all. It always had been.


    Enjoy new stories from empire


    But it did not even manage to buy him more than a second. In the next, Meph was slowly starting to lose consciousness. The hit to his mana core was massive. The only reason he was still alive was because of the chaos he infused; it kept him alive, but it did not stop the inevitable drain of his mana core.


    The only thing Meph could think at that moment was to save Lilith. However, he had already exhausted all of his options, and he was unsure when "they" would arrive.


    Sending her back to a mirror world would not do much, as Reinhardt would simply find her after killing him and take her away.


    Just as his worries were reaching an all-time high, Reinhardt appeared before Meph and looked directly down at him. The strange part was, he was not attacking.


    Instead, there was a certain swirling white cube in his grasp. It contained the familiar mana of chaos; however, it was a tad bit different. It felt ominous, as though the mana was not naturally obtained.


    Staring directly at it, Meph could feel a foreboding sensation, one that seemed as though it was sucking him in.


    Reinhardt started bringing it closer to Meph, but just as the cube was about to touch him, the sky above them shone a golden light that covered everything in their vision.


    The shocking part was, the light was entirely made out of mana, meaning that whatever or whoever was doing this had extremely formidable strength.


    Reinhardt loosened his grip slightly, causing the white cube to fall on top of Meph, distorting his body and seemingly pulling him inside.


    But before he fully lost sight of what was happening, he could see a single man floating in the sky. He had long, radiant golden hair and eyes akin to crystals, as well as a pair of pure white wings that seemed like they were covering the entire sky above them.


    With a glimpse at that being, Meph''s vision turnedpletely dark, while his consciousness quickly faded. But before it did, one word manifested upon seeing the angelic being above them, and that was:


    ''Terrifying...''


    With those thoughts, he saw a small sh of bright white light. However, before he could process it, he lost consciousness.


    The air grew stale, and the memory ended, just like that, leaving the previously watching Michael both enlightened and conflicted.


    Enlightened because of the chaos energy that he had felt firsthand, and conflicted because of Reinhardt''s prowess as well as the angel he saw, which looked eerily familiar to the one he already knew.


    Michael red at seemingly nothing before expressing out loud, "I thought you said you didn''t know anything about either of them?"

 Chapter 175 Rising Tide

    [Michael''s POV]


    "You knew all along, didn''t you?" Michael asked the system, who had been quiet throughout the entire sequence of memories.


    They had spent a couple of hours watching them, and besides the interesting sequence of events as well as the time loop Meph had put himself in, he managed to obtain some information rting to Chaos energy.


    While it was a memory, it was extremely detailed and direct, simrly to how he watched the people after his trials were finished.


    Michael could tell he was a little too weak to try anything thatplex out; however, it was a good thing to have in his arsenal. Visiting Meph was not a waste of time after all.


    However, the issue at hand was the fact that the system was hiding some things away from him, especially the fact that it knew Meph and Reinhardt previously.


    I don''t know either of them, I only remember the kid... You know what? The next time you go into the Halls of Reflection, you can experience what happened yourself, right after Meph''s memories cut out.


    ''That doesn''t answer my question. Did you know the two of them?'' Michael pushed for answers; he didn''t like when the system dodged him like this.


    I didn''t know their names, I barely even saw Meph; he just looked like a malformed bulb lying on the ground. For all I knew, it was a demon. I couldn''t investigate either since that thing who was apparently Reinhardt began attacking me.


    ''And?''


    And I won. I destroyed him, purified him, and once again destroyed him for good measure. Do you think I am some sort of amateur? The system shot back with an usatory tone.


    However, Michael did not back down. ''Really? If you weren''t an amateur, Reinhardt would be dead right now, but s, he is walking around safe and sound.''


    No, I am certain the person called Reinhardt is dead; the one from Meph''s memories was dealt with swiftly by yours truly. The person going around iming that he is Reinhardt is lying, that''s one thing I am 100% sure of.


    ''...Now that poses a bit of a problem, no?'' Michael grumbled to himself.


    If it really was the case that the person who was iming to be Reinhardt was in actuality not him, then it wouldplicate things a lot.


    That would mean that he was able to use that identity and get away with it for eons.


    Which also meant he was at least as old or even older than the previous Reinhardt.


    The current one was a part of the Evangelists, so that could mean he was also affiliated with them previously.


    ''Uh... fuck...'' Michael sighed as his brain was starting to hurt. He hadn''t even met the guy personally, yet he was already seeming like a massive problem in the future.


    Someone of unknown origins, yet at the same time, the power to back them up.


    I don''t think you have the luxury to worry about someone of his caliber. Plus, if he wanted to kill you, he would have done it long ago. If he has been snooping around Reba, that means he was likely aware of you as well.


    ''That is true.'' Discover more stories at empire


    Michael proceeded to stretch and look around; he was back in the room where he talked with Meph. Unfortunately, though, he was long gone.


    However, he could see a note ced on the ground, and on it was written,


    -----


    I told the servants about you. You can rx for as long as you''d like. I''m not sure when I''ll be back, so you are temporarily inmand of the castle. When you decide to leave, give this note to a man named Alpher. He''ll take care of the affairs while the both of us are gone. May we meet again in the future, Michael.


    -----


    ''Hmm... pretty straightforward.'' Michael thought to himself as he pocketed the note.


    Since he did not have to worry about anything while he was here, it might actually be time to do the Ascension the system was talking about.


    After all, he was in fact on a timer.


    ''Would it be possible to do the Ascension right now?'' He asked the system patiently while mentally preparing himself for what was toe.


    Now? I mean, you could, yes, but are you sure that you are ready?


    Michael tilted his head at that response. ''Do you think I''m not ready?''


    You are still conflicted because of the city incident, I can feel that. At the same time, your greed for power is also present. The Ascension would likely be simr to the one Michael from the second trial went through. It is not as easy as it looks, and if you hesitate, you will be culled.


    ''You mean an archangel wille down to kill me?''


    Precisely.@@novelbin@@


    Michael debated his options for a moment before quickly deciding to go through with it. He had nned to do so since the very start; a little bit of turmoil won''t spoil his goals.


    Those goals being to finally get to another world, one in which he could gain sufficient power, and then move up again, until finally, he was strong enough to face people like Reinhardt.


    I see, well... I can''t stop you; or more like, won''t stop you. I wish you luck, the Ascension will start in 10 seconds.


    As the system''s wordsnded, Michael could feel the surrounding mana start revolving around him, gathering as though he was in the very middle of a storm.


    ''So suddenly?'' He couldn''t help but think. He thought there were some extra preparations that needed to be done, yet here he was, already starting the trial.


    The seconds passed, and it felt like he was about to pass out again. However, before he did, he heard the system''s voice again.


    Friendly tip, looks can be deceiving. Good luck.


    With that, Michael''s vision blurred, before he suddenly found himself in a room, one that was the exact same as the one he saw back in the memories of the second trial''s Michael.


    He nced around, trying to see if there was some kind of trick behind it, but there didn''t appear to be.


    Two doors, two choices.


    As he saw the two doors, however, he began to understand what the previous Michael felt, and what the system had in mind.


    One seemed to exude infinite power, even if it was merely a trick, while the other seemed like any ordinary door, having nothing to show for it.


    Picking it would seem like a waste, one that he might not have even picked had he not seen the memories.


    But s, the choice was clear, all he had to do was walk towards the simple looking door. That''s it.


    However, as he began instinctually walking towards it, he suddenly froze, noticing that his body was not listening to him.


    As that was happening, a miniature status window appeared in the periphery of his vision, disying a single sentence.


    [Choose your path.]


    Michael nced at it for a moment before waving the message away and going forward; his decision would not be influenced, all he wanted to do was get this over with so he could move on.


    But moving forward proved difficult, as each and every single step of his felt as though he was walking up an insurmountable hill, each step harder than thest.


    That was until finally, he reached the door, standing only a couple of meters away from it.


    The problem was, he could not get closer, not in the slightest. His body was not listening to him anymore. Even as he tried infusing mana into himself, it did not work.


    He was bing frustrated at the fact that the choice was so obvious, yet felt so unreachable.


    ''Why...?'' Michael thought with a sour look as he tried approaching once more, but to no avail.


    However, as all hope seemed to be lost, he saw something, something much further off in the distance behind the two doors.


    It was a third door, one that radiated the same powerful energy as the one he shouldn''t open by any means, while at the same time, giving off the casual feel as the door he was currently in front of.


    He locked his eyes with it and immediately stepped forward, the heaviness and resistance from earlierpletely gone. If he wanted to, he could open the door he was aiming for just a moment ago.


    But that was no longer his intention.


    Michael steeled himself and started walking over, until finally, he reached the strange door without much difficulty.


    Without hesitation, he ced his hand on it and pushed it open. However, what greeted his eyes were a pair of system messages, ones that made his eyes widen.


    ''What the...?''

 Chapter 178 Rising Tide (4)

    "You alright?" Michael asked as he flew beside Mikhail.


    The air was pretty stale, and the mana was getting a bit distorted around him. However, that onlysted for a moment before he disappeared.


    And immediately, an angry voice was heard inside Michael''s head.


    This is bullshit.


    ''...Maybe they are busy?'' He tried to lighten up the situation. However, that seemed to only put fuel into the fire.


    Busy? Busyyy? Do you even know who I am? What right do you think they have to be busy? It hasn''t even been that long since thest time I saw them, only a couple of million years. How could they just up and disappear like that?


    ''Calm down...'' Michael sighed in exasperation. While the situation was dire, the system was acting a little bit too childish.


    Shut up... Look, I will put this in your previous world terms so your stupid brain can understand. Imagine you create apany and retire, only to find out the ones you left yourpany to took all your wealth and threw you under the bus!


    ''Don''t you think they might have seen the situation is not as bad as it seemed? After all, I did not turn into a demon.''


    You are being hunted means you are being hunted. Is that so hard to understand? In most cases, an angeles down to get you. In my case, or I suppose, our case, one of the archangels should havee down and dealt with the situation ordingly.


    Michael rolled his eyes at the system and proceeded to p his wings upwards, making him elerate at an unbelievable speed, until finally, he found himself above the clouds.


    Now that he finally had a chance to cool down and take a look at his progress, he noticed that his changes were immense.


    First of all, his actual mana capacity had increased. He did not know how that was possible, but now, it was at least four times what it was previously.


    The same went for most of his stats. He could only assume that was the case because of the pain he had experienced.


    As for the locked affinities, he would not bother with them currently. Although they were locked, ording to the system, he was already using wings made out of the Origin affinity, whatever that was.


    He could hear the system mumbling inside his head and decided to interject. ''Stop moping around already. What''s done is done, no? Instead, why don''t you tell me about the Origin affinity?''


    Figure it out yourself. It''s not that difficult to understand. Besides that, I think you''ve done all you came here to do. It''s about time you head out.


    ''...I suppose.'' Michael shrugged it off and flew back down into the room. Looking for the note he had seen earlier, to his surprise, it was lying on the ground perfectly intact.


    He was told to take it to some man named Alpher, and that''s exactly what he was going to do.


    The door opened with a squeak as the few servants huddled not too far away jumped in surprise. It seemed like they were not expecting to see him.


    Or it could have also been due to his appearance. He had not learned how to fold the wings yet.


    As for his clothes made out of mana, they had a couple of colors mixed in, the main ones being golden, ck, andstly, white.


    Nheless, Michael asked around, trying to get some information on Alpher, and after just a few minutes, someone was able to lead him in the right direction.


    Checking the map in ordance with the information he had received, he headed straight toward one of the yellow dots he had seen earlier. It seemed like that person was the strongest in the castle aside from Meph.


    However, he was still no match for Michael.


    Quickly arriving in front of a luxurious-looking door, Michael slid the note under the door and headed out. There wasn''t any point in interacting with the man. He would not meet him again anyway.@@novelbin@@


    ''Where to...'' Michael thought as he seamlessly made his way out of the castle. Despite the fact that he had wings, at most, people were just surprised and shortly after stopped paying any attention to him.


    He had done most of what he nned on doing before leaving Verdusk. This continent did not hold many memories either, aside from his time back in the orphanage.


    Even then, those memories were only special because Reba was there. Now, however, he was unsure of where she went along with Amanda.


    But now, it was finally time to let go and actually go wherever he wanted to, unburdened by responsibility.


    Reba had managed to convince you to go to Aldion, so you can scrap "the wherever you wanted to go" part.


    ''Right...'' Michael facepalmed and flew back into the sky. It was more preferable that way. The sun was still shining brightly while the clouds acted as some sort of cover, making him less likely to be detected by some unwanted guests.


    It also served as a protective cover against those who wanted to expose the Saint. If they saw he had ck wings now, they would have a field day calling him a demon.


    He sighed inwardly, and while looking at the map, flew south, heading straight for the Daor continent.


    The uneasy feeling had still not gone away. He was just d that he was able to brush it off easier than he expected. After all, if an archangel were to descend and not listen to the system, he would be dead, scattered to dust like the previous Michael.


    Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. Your journey continues with empire


    Nheless, the pace at which he was flying was many times faster than his speed on the sword. Coupled with the fact that he was barely using any mana, it made it seem pretty overpowered.


    But as he thought that, his curiosity peaked, and suddenly, he infused a small amount of mana from his spine into his wings.


    It seemed like his flying had sped up by at least twice the speed, but considering the amount of mana used, he was not satisfied.


    Michael kept infusing more and more until finally, the air around him started ripping his skin to pieces, causing him to immediately slow down.


    All the while, he had not paid attention to the map, and upon taking a nce at it, he noticed that Daor was not that far away.


    He managed to shorten the time of travel by days with his little trick. In exchange, he used 10% of his mana. It seemed like his mana had managed to regenerate quite a bit during the time he was hunted, since it was currently at 24%.


    It might not seem like a lot, but considering the fact that it had increased, made his jaw drop in awe. Had it been the same him the day prior, the flight over here would have cost around 40% of his total mana.


    You sure are enjoying yourself. Anomaly.


    Michael''s brows twitched at thatment as he shot back, ''Oh? You finally stopped whining?''


    I''ll have you know, once someone is being hunted, they are logged into a certain system, meaning no matter where they go, an angel would always find them.


    ''Did you miss the part where it said hunt stopped?'' He asked as he slightly sped up his pace toward the continent. He was extremely close now.


    There was a small settlement right beside the ocean, and that''s exactly where he was going.


    You still popped up into the system. Once someone checks it out, they will stop at nothing to find you.


    ''And I assume you would be there to help me out, right?'' He asked matter-of-factly.


    I wonder...?


    ''...'' Michael ignored the system''s teasing as he finally managed to catch a glimpse of the city he had seen on the map.


    It wasn''t massive, neither was it small. An average-looking city that, at a nce, did not seem to have anything special about it.


    No fancy technology like Vivum, and certainly no floating castles like the rion, or well, the previous rion.


    Hended a few kilometers away from the city, just so no one questions him, while at the same time, making a massive cloak that would make it look like he had massive greatswords on his back, instead of the ck wings.


    With that, he headed inside, his objective being to find the portal to Aldion.

 Chapter 180 In Search (2)

    ''This is... not how they looked on their map?'' Michael looked on with widened eyes.


    The system''s map disyed the entire continent; however, the locations that had been marked with glyphs were instead less scattered and focused in single areas.


    What was most surprising, however, was the fact that there were multiple blue dots scattered around the entire continent, some of which were much bigger than the others.


    ''System, are these...?''


    Portals. Those that lead into pocket worlds, also known as smaller worlds.


    ''That''s a thing?'' Michael grumbled. The different world talk had already been a headache, and now he had to deal with these so-called pocket worlds.


    They are basically closed-off dungeons that you can open if you are in the right spot. Most are probably branching out from the much bigger portals.


    ''And you can see them how exactly?''


    The glyphs that you couldn''t read were just stored information. All I had to do was dpile it, which did not take that long. Anyway, I think it''s time to look for Aldion, no?


    Michael sighed inwardly and darted around the system''s map. The continent was by no means small. Added to the fact that it now had an extra couple of hundred portals to explore was not exactly in his book of saving time.


    Nheless, he began flying towards the nearest portal, one that emanated the most energy, possibly one of the six main portals the woman was talking about.


    However, as he got closer and closer, he noticed the energy in the air distorting, simrly to how it was with the rift, just a bit more stable.


    As for the little portals that were clearly present on the map, he could barely feel them. It merely seemed like some lingering mana instead of a portal, possibly why no one had found them yet.


    But that was not his objective; it was to find Aldion. The only problem was, he did not even know where to start.


    Reba had said that he would know once he saw it, but so far, everything looked practically the same.


    After a few minutes of flying, he finally arrived right above the supposed main portal, and upon descending down, he furrowed his brows.


    There was indeed a portal there, one that seemed around 10 meters in diameter. However, that was not what had stood out.


    Instead, it was the monsters that wereing out of it and beginning to tunnel underground, even copsing some of the nearby snow into what appeared to be a massive underground cave system.


    The monsters looked like worms, but just much, muchrger than one would be used to seeing.


    They were a deep purple in color and were aggressively tearing apart the ground while, at the same time, sharing the resources they found with the other worms before taking them back through the portal.


    ''...This isn''t Aldion, right?'' he asked, just to be sure.


    Nope, this is Lhara, I think? There are many worm worlds like these. Most have the same name, so it''s hard to tell.


    ''Yeah... this is pretty disgusting,'' Michael thought while ncing downwards once again. The worms were eating each other and growing muchrger than before.


    ''I''ll just move on for now...''


    With that, he decided to fly to the next one. It was a bit further, but since his mana had been restoring itself at a decently fast pace, he was able to use his flying speed boost to arrive there within minutes.


    And upon doing so, a simr sight greeted him. This time, however, there were orcs, ones that were of simr size or evenrger than the portal itself.


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    But aside from fighting each other, they too were not what he was looking for.


    Michael felt a bit frustrated but nheless went to the next one and then to the next until finally, he had visited all six of the main portals.


    The only thing he felt at the moment was disappointment. None of them were Aldion. Worse, he was still unsure how he was supposed to know which one it would be.


    However, as all seemed hopeless, he suddenly felt a tiny amount of mana reach him.


    He thought nothing of it for a moment, that was until his eyes widened in realization.


    Ever since the third portal he visited, he had been feeling this same pulse of manaing right at him.


    It wasing from under the ground, quite a fair distance away. He was only able to feel it due to his newfound mana sensitivity. He had the weird Ascension to thank.


    Nheless, with the little bit of knowledge he acquired, he headed straight down to the ground, and uponnding, he immediately felt the pulse much stronger than before.


    ''If only Inded earlier... I might have felt it then,'' he thought with a bit of regret as he tried locating the source of the pulsations.


    After a few moments, he was able to narrow it down to the north¡ªthe only open space he could see on the map.


    Also the only ce that did not have a single portal around it.


    Without waiting further, Michael flew back into the air, heading straight north towards the mana pulsations, which, as he got closer, began increasing in intensity.


    Until finally, he arrived, and what greeted his eyes was a massive snowy chasm, expanding as far as the eye could see.


    He thought he was in the wrong ce for a moment, but the mana pulsations were much stronger than what he had felt earlier, and this time, they were traveling through the air.


    That meant that what he was looking for was located inside of the chasm before him.


    ''System, can you map it out?'' Michael asked as he slowly made his way inside. The mana was much denser than outside.


    Not urately, but I can try, the system replied, and all of a sudden, the map updated. However, it was much more distorted than he thought.


    In fact, even when zoomed in, it was hard to tell what he was looking at.


    Raising his brow, he asked in a sarcastic tone, ''Is this the best you can do?''


    Genius, try using Eyes of The Healer.


    Michael looked amused at the system''s dodging but nheless decided to try it out.


    However, as he did so, a bright blue light invaded his eyes. It felt as though they were being gouged out. Therefore, he immediately stopped using the skill.


    But to his surprise, the damage was already done, and he couldn''t see. That was until he cast a heal on himself, restoring his eyes to what they were just a moment ago.


    Pfft... Idiot.


    ''...'' Michael was speechless at the system''s remark. He did not expect the mana to be this dense to the point where it even managed to destroy his eyes.


    Anyways, to answer your earlier question, I can, but I would rather not waste the precious mana stored in a Halo just so you could leave this world faster. Explore. You could find something interesting after all.@@novelbin@@


    He rolled his eyes and began floating just above the ground, moving towards the source of all the mana.


    From what he could tell, it was likely either some kind of anomaly, a monster, or even the portal he had been looking for all this time.


    The mana it was giving off was definitely muchrger than what the other main portals were exuding, so it was safe to assume that he was on the right track.


    Michael passed by a few icy structures, some of which didn''t seem to depict anything. However, there were a few that seemed to resemble some monsters that he had seen outside.


    It almost seemed like they were frozen in ce.


    But as he went deeper and deeper, the mana began growing much more wild, even slightly pricking him despite the fact that just recently, his endurance had increased by a bunch.


    He got closer, feeling the mana seemingly tangling around in the air until finally, he saw the source of everything.


    It was a rtively small blue portal, one that did not look as intimidating as the six main portals, but nheless, the energy it gave off dwarfed them inparison.


    Michael approached and stood right in front of it, seemingly admiring it before asking the system, ''Is this it?''


    Why don''t you go in and find out?


    ''True.'' He chuckled and stretched out his hand. The mana was spiraling all around him as if epting his presence.


    That was when he touched the portal, his figure morphing and twisting, until finally, Michael disappeared.


    The only thing left behind was a small golden streak of mana that traveled outwards before heading up into the sky and dispersing above the clouds.


    It was the first step on Michael''s path to uncovering the truth and achieving his goals¡ªa journey that was only just beginning.


    *


    End of Volume 2: Tribtion


    *


    A/N: The updates will be the same as usual, 2 a day :)

 Chapter 183 Escort Guild

    "Hu Rong... is this really the ce?" Michael asked, hesitation clear in his tone.


    The gate before them did indeed have the words "Escort Guild" written on it; however, it looked a tad bit too expensive to be somewhere people could juste and go at any time.@@novelbin@@


    The gate was made out of oak wood, and around it, there was a golden spiraling dragon as well as some letters that he could not quite read. Speaking theirnguage was natural, though.


    Just some motivational quotes¡ªthat''s about it.


    ''Interesting,'' Michael thought to himself and took a look at Hu Rong, who was looking at him in admiration, before answering his previous question.


    "This is indeed the ce, Master Mujin. We just need to pass their tests, and we can join."


    "Tests? Like what?"


    "Martial proficiency, how we handle actual escort work. It''s pretty simple; don''t worry, Master Mujin!" Hu Rong replied eagerly and continued leading the way.


    Michael shrugged and followed along. It was not his intention to use this guy for long, but just abandoning him made him feel a little bad.


    Disciples are very symbolic in the murim worlds. They take their roles seriously and look up to their masters as some kind of role models. If you abandon him, he might just kill himself¡ªthat''s how great their devotion stems.


    ''Kill himself? Just because I left?'' He raised an eyebrow as he passed by the inner courtyard decorated with a rocky pathway.


    There were a couple of stone tforms strewn all around him, possibly where he would take the martial proficiency test.


    In his eyes, he was recognized by an elder, one who could manipte external qi. Now imagine that same elder, who offered him to be his disciple, suddenly left. He would question his ownpetence, and for all you know, the worst mighte to pass.


    ''That... sounds a bit tragic.'' Michael let out a sigh. He might have to tweak hister n a tad bit¡ªhe wouldn''t want someone dying just because he left.


    After the two of them passed by the initial courtyard, they entered the inner one. Immediately, the sound of swords shing in the air and people groaning resounded.


    Everywhere he looked, a fighting stage was upied. It seemed like they had arrived at the perfect time.


    He watched as Hu Rong walked up to an old man wearing dark clothing, a band with "Elder" strapped on his shoulder.


    ''Can he also control the mana like me?'' he couldn''t help but ask. The others called him an elder as well.


    No, he''s just a strong official of the guild. You were referred to as the Elder in the grand scheme of the murim world¡ªbasically a sage who achieved something others couldn''t.


    ''Hmm...''


    "Master Mujin, this is the Escort Guild Elder, Han Long," Hu Rong said, catching his attention as he began walking over to the two of them.


    "It''s a pleasure to meet you," Michael said with a warm smile as he stretched out his arm, hoping for a handshake.


    However, he was met with Han Long staring at him with confusion, his fists cupped as he slightly bowed.


    ''Err... right, culture.'' He proceeded to copy the Escort Guild elder''s posture and the way he showed his respect, earning a mutual smile.


    "Are you two looking to join the Escort Guild as armed escorts?" Han Long suddenly asked kindly, a stark contrast to Michael''s previous assessment.


    He assumed most would be self-righteous and arrogant, yet so far he had only met admirers and nice people.


    "Indeed, my disciple and I wish to partake in the tests."


    "Hmm... you are a bitte, but it is still possible. Give me a moment." Han Long said with a bow and walked inside the nearby pavilion.


    There were a couple of decently strong presences there; however, they were well-hidden. If he wasn''t focusing on them, he would not even notice their strength.


    There were six people in total, five of whom were all at Tier 3, while thest one was Tier 4¡ªthe highest Michael had seen thus far.


    Even the elder he just talked to was merely a Tier 2 at the upper rank, yet inparison with the people inside, he was just a fly.


    Nheless, he waited patiently, and after just a few minutes had passed, Han Long came back out bearing a wide smile.


    However, he was not alone, as one of the people he had felt earlier was right behind him¡ªa Tier 3.


    It looked like a kid or someone simr in age to him, but his strength was truly formidable.


    Michael was unsure if he would lose. After all, he did get stronger himself. Sanctuary was off cooldown too. If push came to shove, he would truly go all out.


    "Greatswords?" the Tier 3 suddenly asked, standing right before him.


    "Ah, yes, they were my grandfather''s. I''m only holding onto them for now," Michael replied, thinking up a random bullshit sob story, to which the Tier 3 merely nodded and stepped back behind Han Long.


    You can use inner mana to reabsorb the rings back into your core. Not sure if it will work, though¡ªthat affinity is a bit strange.


    ''And you couldn''t tell me this, like, yesterday?''


    Thought you''d figure it out, my bad.


    ''...Whatever.'' Michael rolled his eyes and noticed Han Long staring at him before speaking.


    "Hu Rong and... Mujin, correct?" he asked, to which Michael nodded.


    "The Escort Guild''s leader personally assigned you, Mujin, an individual test. What do you say?"


    "What is it?"


    "Nothing much. You have to battle against our newest elder, Su Hanjo," Han Long stated before stepping aside, revealing the Tier 3''s figure.


    "I greet my seniors," Su Hanjo said with a curt bow while cupping his fists and once again straightened his back.


    Despite the kindness that was apparent at first nce, Michael could tell there was deep arrogance rooted within him.


    The way he carried himself and the way he spoke in a condescending way¡ªit was hard to not notice.


    As all of this was happening, the courtyard, filled to the brim with applicants, slowly grew quiet. Most stopped fighting just to see what was going on.


    After all, Michael''s pressure conflicted with the Tier 3''s, even mildly suppressing it.


    But aside from him and Su Hanjo, no one was able to notice¡ªnot even the Escort Guild elder who stood right by their side.


    Michael put on his warm smile, hiding his true feelings as he stared at Han Long before announcing, "I ept. I assume my disciple will go through normal treatment?"


    "That is correct; the Escort Guild Leader did not deem him fit enough to require any special guidance. Please understand," he replied while shooting a small uninterested nce at Hu Rong.


    ''Huh... I guess there''s no ying around that. I wouldn''t want to put that big of a target on my back just yet,'' Michael surmised but then got a small idea.


    "Can you at the very least make the test a bit more difficult? Give him the strongest people in the bunch."


    Han Long seemed in deep thought for a moment before nodding and gesturing to the side.


    There was a massive arena there¡ªone that was at least four times the size of the ones around them.


    "Will do, Mujin. Please follow after me; we have prepared a special arena for you two."

 Chapter 185 Mission Board

    Michael felt strange¡ªever since the fight against Su Hanjo, the people around him kept showing their respects at every opportunity.


    It wouldn''t normally be a problem, but at this point, it was bing a little overbearing.


    "Elder Mujin!" A shout resounded from beside him¡ªfour people, all appearing to be in theirte twenties.


    He waved them off and continued walking toward the mission hall, which he could already see in the distance.


    At a nce, the Escort Guild didn''t seem that big, but as he continued walking, its size truly amazed him.


    It seemed to upy a massive portion of the city, as though it was an integral part of it, which, in reality, was most likely the case.


    Michael wasn''t too familiar with murim, but he had time to figure it out¡ªafter all, he had just arrived not long ago.


    When they reached the front of the mission hall, he noticed it was as bustling as the inner grounds where he had sparred just moments earlier.


    It was a fairlyrge building, resembling the wooden pavilions he had seen before. It spanned at least 100 meters in each direction. It was really a surprise how a guild could hold this much influence.


    Hu Rong looked particrly amazed, gazing around like a child¡ªhe even spoke to someone nearby, asking them all sorts of questions.


    ''Isn''t he pushing 30?'' Michael remarked with a chuckle before bringing him back and saying,


    "Did you trulyplete all your tests?"


    "Indeed! Master Muj¡ª"


    Michael quickly interjected, "Drop the Mujin, or the master; you can choose which."


    He was getting a bit tired of hearing that name¡ªone he had randomly been given¡ªover and over again.


    Hu Rong tilted his head for a moment before nodding. "Yes, Great Mujin."


    "...Nevermind." Michael facepalmed¡ªit was no use.


    The two were getting strange looks, so he decided to keep walking until they finally reached a massive board filled with all sorts of missions.


    All of them rted tobat and protection, of course.


    ''Find me one that pays well,'' Michael asked the system while pretending to look around. It was strange how the only word he could read was "Escort Guild"¡ªit felt familiar the moment he saw it.


    Top left, the system announced, before sending out an invisible strand of golden mana and tapping on the mission it had in mind.


    ''What is it?''


    You have to escort someone to a nearby city. It sounds a bit too good to be true, considering the reward is 1 gold.


    ''Oh right, currencies¡ªis that considered a lot?'' Michael asked while ncing around him before using mana to bring the parchment with the mission down to him.


    100 Copper is 1 Silver, 100 Silver is 1 Gold, bread costs 3 Copper. Yes, it''s a lot.


    ''Huh... then it does seem a little too good to be true. I wonder what the catch is,'' he thought while showing Hu Rong the mission he picked up. The two made their way to a nearby counter where a mission clerk sat idly by.


    Michael noticed the bored expression on his face, so he didn''t engage in small talk¡ªhe simply handed over the parchment with the mission details.


    "Hm? Old Gu''s mission, are you sure?" the mission clerk suddenly asked with a raised brow.


    "We are."


    The mission clerk stared suspiciously before nodding and standing up. "I see... Just a moment."


    With those words, he headed toward the backroom, from which a bunch of scrolls were visible through the slightly open door.


    He couldn''t read them from this distance since they were all rolled up neatly, but it was easy to surmise they were all missions.


    A few momentster, the mission clerk came back with a stack of papers¡ªseeming a bit excessive.


    However, as he plopped them all down, he picked them up one by one and began reading aloud.


    "The escort mission is officially set to start on the 126th day of the Lunar calendar, which is tomorrow."


    "Details are... Gu Wan, the wandering sword apprentice, is seeking refuge in a nearby city. However, since he obtained an internal injury and there are a lot of bandits on the road, he needs help." Explore more adventures at empire


    The mission clerk continued until he finally handed Michael a route¡ªa map of sorts. There was a red dot marked in the city where they currently were, and it stretched out toward a city that didn''t seem to be that nearby.


    ''Is the scale messed up? That looks extremely far to be called a nearby city...''


    Nope, that''s urate. This world¡ªlike many other murim worlds¡ªis many timesrger than your previous one. The poption is off the charts as well.


    Michael frowned. If he were alone, traveling that distance wouldn''t take long. However, he would be traveling with a supposedly injured man. The journey could take weeks. But, of course, as long as it''s not something abnormal, he would be able to heal him.


    "Ah, here are some notes Old Gu left behind for you," the mission clerk suddenly said, pulling out a few tattered scrolls covered in wrinkly letters.


    He didn''t need to know thenguage to figure out that whoever wrote it was either drunk or illiterate.


    As he gazed at the content, his suspicions were confirmed by the system.


    Heya, bring booze and women¡ªpreferably... curvy women.


    The writing trailed off a bit near the end, but Michael simply ignored it. He was broke¡ªfulfilling the client''s needs before the mission even started wasn''t his objective.@@novelbin@@


    Afterward, he was handed some sort of wooden medallion, one that had the Escort Guild''s name on it, along with a number¡ªlikely used to identify and confirm thepletion or failure of the mission.


    "Sign this, and this too..." The mission clerk began handing over scrolls, ones that contained some documented info.


    However, Michael had a grim look, unable to write in thisnguage. He turned to his helper, Hu Rong.


    Who, for some reason, also looked perplexed.


    "Disciple Hu Rong?"


    "Master Mujin... I am unskilled in the schrly arts." He bowed deeply, cupping his fists.


    Michael nodded mindlessly before looking up at the ceiling. ''...System?''


    A bit of a pathetic performance, I''d say.


    ''Obviously. Can you help out?''


    Sure, the system answered, but Michael felt a shiver rolling up his spine.


    Suddenly, his hand began moving by itself as he picked up a nearby writing brush and began to doodle¡ªor so it seemed at first.


    In a few short moments, he managed to fill up the entire section for both himself and Hu Rong.


    But he didn''t stop there¡ªhe quickly filled out the rest of the scrolls, leaving the mission clerk in awe at his speed.


    Once he was done, Michael regained control of his body and breathed a sigh of relief.


    However, as he turned to look at the clerk''s expression, he saw him holding back augh before speaking.


    "Hu Rong and... pftt... Choi Gyeo?" The mission clerk tried his best to suppress augh, but a faint chuckle escaped his mouth.


    ''System? What does that mean?'' Michael narrowed his eyes.


    I wonder? The system replied teasingly, ignoring his question.


    "Here, you can meet the client at this location if you''d like. If not, just wait until tomorrow. That is all." The mission clerk said before passing him a note and taking the paperwork to the backroom.


    Michael nced at what was written and furrowed his brow.


    ''He''s staying at a brothel...?''

 Chapter 188 Day of The Mission

    "Master Mujin..." Hu Rong''s concerned voice resounded from behind him.


    "Don''t worry, young disciple, just watch and learn." Michael eximed with a massive grin as he brought his hand down and attempted to catch a koi fish, only for it to suddenly tear through his and escape.


    ''Fuck, one mo¡ª''


    Michael, you''ve already lost 1 Gold doing this. You only have 1 more gold left.


    ''Already? Damn, time sure flies by fast when you are having fun, eh?'' He scoffed to himself, and with a show of respect, walked back and out of the little street game district.


    It was fun; that''s how he spent most of his night¡ªeating delicious food and ying all sorts of games.


    However, now he had to show up in a certain location, one where the escort mission would be starting.


    It was a forested area on the very outskirts of this city, which, after buying the map of the whole world, he found out was actually called Cloud''s Edge.


    But that was not even the most shocking part¡ªit was the sheer scale of the entire world itself.


    At first, he thought the distance between the two cities was massive, but after looking at the map, he realized the distance was hardly more than the width of his finger.


    Even the mountains that he had initiallye from were nothing but a white plot ofnd in the seemingly massive interconnected continent.


    There were oceans, but they did not separate the continent at all. IIn fact, the oceans were spread across the entire world, almost like mere rivers on a city map.


    It really made his previous world''s size seempletely insignificant, rightfully so.


    But at the very least, he had a general idea of where his travels would go, and that''s all that mattered.


    Michael wrapped everything up and finished paying the rest of the sum before finally heading out toward the designated location along with Hu Rong.


    He had bought him a few things, such as a new scabbard as a show of appreciation, but aside from that, Hu Rong did not show much interest in anything else.


    After a couple of minutes of walking, they arrived in front of a small forested crossing and sat down on a nearby rock; they were a little bit early.


    However, to pass the time, Michael had an idea. "Disciple Hu Rong, do you want to spar with your master?"


    Upon hearing those words, Hu Rong jumped straight into action and unsheathed his sword, almost as though he had been waiting for those exact words all this time.


    "Yes, Master Mujin!" He eximed and dashed toward Michael, not giving him any room to breathe.


    The speed was pretty impressive for someone at Tier 2, but it was still no match for him.


    As Hu Rong closed in and shed his sword down at Michael''s legs, but to no one''s surprise, a shield manifested andpletely blocked the attack.


    However, he was not discouraged; if anything, it made him try even harder.


    He struck once more, using the momentum of the blocked attack, and spun around to kick Michael in the stomach.


    But just like before, due to the sheer difference in strength, all that happened was Michael being slightly pushed back; not a single speck of dust was on his clothing.


    ''He''s pretty good.'' Michael acknowledged his disciple''s skill. If he fought against Su Hanjo, there would be a 50/50 chance of winning.


    However, he was not nning on babying his disciple and giving him false hope. Therefore, once the next attack was about tond, Michael stretched out his hand and did a simple flick.


    The flick indeed seemed simple at a nce, but as Hu Rong''s body shot backward at the speed of a bullet, his expression changed drastically.


    "Master Mujin... What was that?" He had seen many of the attacks his master had done thus far, but he never did anything like this.


    It was almost as though Michael was explicitly trying to show off.


    "I call it the Mana Arts, my disciple. Once you are worthy enough, I will teach you." Michael said with a soft smile before sending another flick in the air.


    Like the previous one, he used Mirage of Light with a simple barrier construct; it made Hu Rong focus on the golden light on his finger while the actual attack was already in front of him.


    It really was a fancy attack, one that did absolutely no damage aside from getting the point across.


    Michael kept sparring with Hu Rong until eventually, the silhouette of Gu Wan appeared in the distance.


    He immediately healed his disciple, patching up the little bruises and scratches in a mere instant.


    "Good job." Michael said with a proud look before heading over to Gu Wan and greeting him,


    "Wee, we came a little bit early to prepare." He stated before pulling something out of the pocket of his golden cloak. "I even brought you booze."


    Gu Wan looked at it for a moment before raising his hand. "No thanks. Being sober suits me better."


    ''Ha... That reminds me of someone.''


    Yourself?


    ''Yup. Seems like he was not always an alcoholic, even if he visited the brothels religiously.''


    Seems so. Anyway, don''t forget to add mana into the halo, you only added 10% yesterday.


    ''Fine...'' Michael immediately agreed, and without even reaching out toward the halo, infused his mana into it, draining 30% of his total MP in a mere instant.


    He decided it was finally time to get a move on, after all, there was nothing else he could prepare; money was a bit tight as well. "Old Gu, are you ready to depart?"


    "Yes, Divine Physician." Gu Wan performed another deep bow, causing Michael''s brows to furrow.


    Pfft... even more nicknames. It''s not even been a day, Michael, yet you are Elder Mujin as well as the Divine Physician. A great start, I''d say?


    ''This is just ridiculous now...'' He rolled his eyes at the system''s remark before turning his gaze away from both of them.


    "Please stick to one name instead..."


    "Yes, Master Mujin!"


    "Of course, Divine Physician. This Old Gu will be sure to repay his debts."


    ''He''s speaking in third person...'' Michael could feel a headache starting to form upon seeing their actions.@@novelbin@@


    It was starting to get a bit difficult to tell if they were messing with him or if that was how they just normally acted.


    I think you are just being paranoid. But hey, look on the bright side, there''s still a whole world ahead, and many more people to give you ridiculous names.


    ''I suppose that''s going to be the case huh... fuck.'' Michael let out a deep sigh and looked toward Gu Wan; he was carrying a small pouch.


    Without even asking for permission, he covered it in golden light and made it fly beside them.


    "Amazing! Master Muj-!" Hu Rong began speaking with his usual tone of admiration but was interrupted by the golden light flying next to him and hitting him over the head.


    "Stop. While we are in a city full of people, refrain from calling me Elder Mujin or the Divine Physician, do you understand?" Michael red at the two people before him.


    "Understood!" They replied in unison with straightened backs.


    You do know Gu Wan is your employer, right?


    ''It''s whatever, I''m the one who''s going to be carrying everything, meaning I have the final say.'' He let out a chuckle. Discover hidden content at empire


    Hmm... It looks like your color on the map is turning red...


    ''Shut up.''

 Chapter 190 Eyes of the Healer

    ''Still nothing.''


    ...I fail to understand how you are having trouble with such a simple skill¡ªjust use your eyes.


    ''That''s exactly what I''ve been doing for thest 30 minutes,'' Michael shot back before staring upwards.


    He had tried flying earlier, but it seemed he couldn''t leave the area. Each time, he was brought back to the start.


    Walking out of it was also not an option¡ªit felt like some sort of loop. Even after walking a few kilometers outward, he found himself in the same position he was in at the very start.


    There was also the issue of him not being able to see anyone around him. Both Hu Rong and Gu Wan were elsewhere, probably also in some kind of array.


    So far, he was struggling to understand what the system wanted from him.


    Eyes of The Healer was a simple skill. It only took a bit of focus, and he could see what others could not.


    However, he could not see what the system was talking about, no matter how much he tried messing around with mana by sending it toward his eyes.


    Be it inner or outer, it was all the same. Frankly, he was starting to lose hope.


    ''Should I just use Heavenly Judgement?'' he thought with a sigh. It seemed like his best course of action at the moment.


    Why take the easy way out? I was serious when I said this is the perfect training for you.


    ''But I''m not making any progress.''


    You are. Just think outside the box for a bit¡ªI''m sure you''ll get it soon.


    Michael grumbled and proceeded to try again. And again... and again.


    He kept trying until it became nighttime, and he could not see anything at all anymore.


    Thankfully, he could use his affinity to light everything up, and that''s exactly what he did, plopping down onto a levitating sword, sitting atop it.


    ''What am I doing wrong?''@@novelbin@@


    He had tried everything he could think of¡ªpulsating the mana in his eyes in an attempt to give him a small burst of extra sight¡ªbut that did not do anything aside from making him go blind temporarily.


    Michael was starting to get really tempted to just st the whole array to bits with his Divine Judgement skill.


    Hours upon hours of trying¡ªzero progress. It was really disheartening, to the point where he just wanted to go to sleep.


    However, upon closing his eyes, he felt a wave of mana traveling from them to the rest of his body, momentarily enhancing all of his senses.


    ''Hmm?'' Michael noticed this and immediately shot up, opening his eyes wide.


    ''Did I... is that what you meant by looking outside the box?''


    Maybe. Try it out, the system remarked, and he immediately replicated the process.


    Covering his eyes in inner mana while, at the same time, enveloping the rest of his body, he could finally feel a difference.


    His eyes were already able to spot hidden details, but now it seemed as though nothing was able to escape his sight.


    It was almost like everything wasbined into one, and the result of those sensations was a whole different world.


    A world of ck and white. Looking down, he could even see his own blood and internal organs. Looking to the side, a trace of blue mana flowed like a river.


    And most importantly, a massive blue pir of mana right beside him.


    Michael stared at it for a moment before turning to the left, spotting another pir, and then another one even further away.


    There were nine of them in total, and if his hunch was correct, then if he destroyed them, the array would fall.


    He stretched out his hands and ced them on the pir. In the very next moment, it began dissipating straight into his arm.


    Michael looked on with his brow raised as, all of a sudden, the array shook. However, that did notst long since, in just a few seconds, it stabilized once again.


    But the effects were clearly present. The flowing blue mana from earlier seemed less stable, its appearance morphing a little as it moved through the air.


    He was not nning on staying here long. Therefore, he quickly dashed to each pir and ced his hand on it.


    Like before, the array shook and came back to normal. However, each time it happened, the shaking was much more intense than thest.


    As he reached the final one and was about to ce his hands on it, Michael noticed a strange sight in the sky.


    It looked like a face. However, it had no shape and was simply blending into the clouds.


    As his gaze locked onto the face, it suddenly disappeared, and the barrier shook once more.


    The problem was, he had not yet ced his hand on thest pir.


    ''System... what the fuck was that?'' Michael asked, weariness clear in his tone.


    A watcher of the world. Don''t mind him. He can''t interfere with anyone unless they threaten to destroy the bnce... As for why it was watching you¡ªit might have grown curious about you.


    Hearing that it was essentially protecting the world raised a question. ''How strong is it?''


    Explore more adventures at empire


    I don''t know¡ªI never saw it up close. Pretty hard to judge. But since it can run away at the speed that it does, I would assume somewhere between Tier 17 and 18, perhaps. Really hard to tell.


    ''Jeez... wait, how strong were you in your prime then?''


    That''s a secret. You''ll see in the trials eventually¡ªno need to rush things.


    ''I see.'' Michael nodded. He still felt a bit off about the whole situation, especially since a being like that was watching him.


    Why would it be watching him? Curiosity seemed like a far stretch.


    Who knows? No one does¡ªnot even the primordials. The watchers simply always existed before everything came to be. I don''t even think God created them.


    He shrugged it off and ced his hand on the final pir. Immediately, it traveled into his arm, and with an extremely intense shaking of the ground, the surroundings began to shift.


    That was until, finally, his Eyes of The Healer wore off, revealing a worried-looking Hu Rong staring directly at him.


    "Master Mujin? Are you okay?"


    "I''m fine?" Michael replied with a tilt of his head before asking, "How did you escape so fast?"


    "Escape what?" Gu Wan suddenly spoke up from the side, his look a bit impatient as he continued, "You suddenly stopped and didn''t say anything. If you wanted to take a shit, you could have just gone to the side."


    "...My bad."


    ''System... do arrays affect time as well?''


    Not that one...


    Michael''s head began hurting at this sudden turn of events. The array had shaken the moment he saw that white, faceless being. Perhaps he was the cause of it all?


    But it was a bit hard to tell. Therefore, he put those thoughts in the back of his mind for now, instead focusing on the present.


    He waved the two off and proceeded to start slowly jogging, making sure his group was right behind him.


    The city was not far away, and from the looks of it, none of them were tired, so they would reach it very soon.


    However, as he was gaining momentum, a sudden blue sh of light appeared before him, causing his eyes to widen.


    Huh...? This is the wrong one?


    [Skill Unveiled - Eyes of The Healer -> Eyes of The Great Sage]


    [Press To View...]

 Chapter 192 The Strange Restaurant (2)

    "I am not looking for any trouble; I just didn''t find what I was looking for, is all," Michael tried to defuse the situation with his saintly smile. However, it proved to be ineffective.


    "Huh? Didn''t find what you liked? You do know the rules of this ce, don''t you?" The man pushed forward, trying to sound as intimidating as possible, before continuing:


    "If youe in, you must purchase a service. That is¡ªand always was¡ªthe first and only rule of this ce."


    Michael rolled his eyes in annoyance before speaking. "This is my first timeing here. I didn''t even bring enough money to get the simplest service."


    "And that is your fault, not mine, so go figure out a way to pay, or I will make you," the man said, ncing at some of the people around them and pointing toward Michael.


    "You all agree, right? No precedents?"


    Most ignored him, though a few nodded¡ªthose same people who had been sitting with him before he had decided to be an annoyance.


    "You hear that? Go ba¡ª" The man''s words were interrupted when Michael grabbed him by the throat, applying enough force to strangle him, but not enough to make him pass out.


    Slowly, he was lifted off the ground and flung toward the table where he had been sitting.


    "I told you, I am not interested," Michael remarked, beginning to head downstairs. No one even tried to stop him.


    However, he felt a bit uneasy. The people on the topmost floor seemed to be scanning him, their mana brushing past him slightly.


    He ignored it, passing the confused receptionist before stepping outside.


    ''Was there some sort of instruction manual I was supposed to get beforehand? How would I know I''d end up with a murder menu?'' heined with a scowl, walking through streets that, for some reason, had fallen silent.


    I guess that''s culture shock for you. Most cities have a Shadow Sect¡ªor at least a branch. They dabble in assassinations openly, and since their influence is massive, no one can touch them.


    ''Is it like this in every Murim world?''


    I wouldn''t know. I''ve only been to a couple of dozen myself, but from what I''ve seen? Yes. So far, none have differed much from the others. Only the size of the world and the strength of the people vary.


    ''I see...'' Michael nodded to himself and began spreading his mana all around, covering every little detail in his surroundings.


    The reason? He was being followed.


    Ever since leaving that strange restaurant, he had constantly felt a presence tracking him. Now, it seemed to be approaching.


    It didn''t feel particrly strong, but he could never be too sure. It was possible to hide your strength, after all.


    Michael''s mana finally picked someone up, and the moment it did, he let out a deep breath and approached the individual, stopping right beside them.


    "Why are you following me?"


    "I''m just a bit curious how someone would dare to do that inside the headquarters of the Shadow Sect," the woman shrugged. She was the same one who had tried striking up a conversation with him.


    Michael wasn''t convinced. "You seem like some sort of stalker. Are you sure you don''t want to rob me or something?"


    "Of course not!" She stretched her arms forward, seemingly flustered by his assumption, before continuing. "I just... I wanted to tell you that what you did was a mistake, is all..."


    "Really? Should I have just sat at my table until he left, then?" he shot back.


    "It''s better than getting a bounty ced on your head..." she mumbled, though he overheard it.


    "A bounty? What do you mean?"


    Her eyes widened as she took a few steps back before saying, "You don''t know?"


    "No. Since you''re stalking me, mind exining?" Michael said with a smile, which quickly turned into a frown.


    While it had been quiet just moments ago, his map was now filled with countless red dots¡ªall heading straight for him.


    Noticing her stammering and evasion, he immediately grew suspicious. Without hesitation, he summoned a single Sword of Light, aiming it at her neck.


    "You are stalling," Michael deduced in a cold voice, noticing her previously flustered expression twitch.


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    "You are quick on the uptake," she giggled as her body began glowing faint blue, freezing the ground beneath him.@@novelbin@@


    It seemed she was trying to stop him from moving, but it did not work. He simply raised his foot and brought it down swiftly, shattering the ground below.


    He had never gone for the environmental approach, but his strength now allowed it.


    The woman was startled as the ground crumbled beneath her. Before she could fight back, Michael pierced her head with his Sword of Light.


    ''I hate two-faced people.'' Michael sighed and threw the golden sword in the direction of the approaching horde, their ranks ranging from Upper Tier 1 to the middle of Tier 2.


    It almost seemed they had sent outckeys to gauge his strength. If all went as expected, he would soon face one of the individuals from the upper floor.


    The golden sword traveled swiftly before disappearing from his sight.


    Tracking it with both his senses and the map, he saw a whole line of red dots vanish. He knew he was on the right track.


    Summoning a few more, he sent them toward the approaching enemies, watching as their numbers dwindled by the second.


    Eventually, only 30¨C40 people remained. Perhaps out of fear or orders from above, they all swiftly retreated toward the Shadow Sect branch.


    Michael did not let his guard down. But no matter how much he scanned the area, even using Eyes of the Great Sage, he could not spot anyone else approaching.


    The only thing he noticed was a distant presence¡ªone that belonged to an incredibly strong individual, the same one whose power he had been unable to gauge.


    ''System, do you know anything about the bounties?'' he asked, staring directly at the strong presence without backing down.


    They put a bounty on your head if you break the rules. As you heard, the first rule is you must buy a service upon entering. However, there''s one more.


    A frown appeared on his face. ''Another one?''


    No fighting in buildings owned by the Shadow Sect. You broke two. By tomorrow, you''ll likely be one of the most wanted people in Murim. But hey, look on the bright side¡ªyou''ll get some training fighting them.


    ''...And the other option?'' Michael asked, sensing the system''s exnation wasn''t finished.


    Haha... Yeah, the other option is to wipe out the Shadow Sect¡ªroots and all. If there''s no Shadow Sect to pay the bounty, what''s the point in hunting you? Simple, right?


    ''You are unbelievable...'' He groaned, holding his head.


    But deep down, Michael knew it wasn''t that bad of a strategy¡ªthe more he ran and the more he killed, the more his bounty would increase. The only way he could put a stop to it would be by getting rid of the cause.


    That meant the entire Shadow Sect.


    However, as he was lost in his thoughts, he noticed the strong presence vanish, and, in the very corner of his map, two familiar dots appeared; they were Gu Wan and Hu Rong.


    ''Seems like they finally made it...'' he thought with a smile before taking onest nce in the direction of the Shadow Sect and making his way toward his group.


    It was about time hepleted the escort mission.

 Chapter 193 End of Mission

    "Master Mujin!" Hu Rong called out, running up to Michael and cupping his hands.


    "Where did you go? One moment you were with us, and the next you disappeared."


    Michael rolled his eyes with a smile and replied, "I sensed a group in front, so I went to deal with them, but I ended up running into a few more."


    "Ah! That makes sense, Master Mujin. Thank you!" Hu Rong bowed once again, causing Michael''s eyebrows to twitch.


    I really need to teach him my etiquette... this bowing after every single sentence is a bit much, he thought before turning straight toward the man he was supposed to be escorting.


    "Gu Wan, I assume this mission is over?"


    "Of course, Divine Physician Mujin. Here, take this." Gu Wan pulled out a wooden que from his robes and held it out to Michael.


    "This is?"


    "It''s the missionpletion notice. Once you take it to the mission clerk, the mission will be marked asplete," Gu Wan exined before taking out a pouch from his robes.


    "Have this as well. I won''t be needing money for a while¡ªnot while I''m with my... Just take it."


    Michael wanted to give it back, but seeing the resolution on Gu Wan''s face made him ept. "Thank you."


    The two bid their farewells, with Hu Rong following Michael as they headed straight for the escort guild.


    Along the way, quite a few nces were shot at them¡ªsome with curiosity, others with malice.


    It didn''t take a genius to see that Michael''s name had spread¡ªonly those at least Tier 2 in strength looked at him with malice.


    But with so many people around, they refrained from attacking¡ªnot that he''d have a problem dealing with them.


    ''What a strange world...'' Michael couldn''t help but think. It was so different from his previous one in all aspects.


    This is not even that different¡ªwait until you find a world where gravity does not exist, or something even more interesting.


    ''That''s still a way off.''


    Is it? While I do find time to pass a bit faster, so I might be wrong, but don''t you think you could finish most things in this world in, what, five years?


    Michael raised an eyebrow at the system''sment. ''You think I can reach the peak of this world in five years? Really?''@@novelbin@@


    Well, once you settle down and begin training, your progress will be exponential¡ªor so I think. But knowing you, you''re going to ck off.


    ''...'' He didn''t even entertain the system''s remark as he headed inside the escort guild. This branch, unlike the one he''d been to before, had norge estate¡ªjust a decently sized building housing the mission board and a couple of busy mission clerks.


    Michael found someone who was free and immediately went over to him, handing him the que.


    The mission clerk flipped it over a few times, writing the information down before saying, "I see the client has praised you a lot¡ªgood job. Give me a moment to finish the report, and I''lle back to you."


    "Go ahead." Michael nodded and proceeded to find a seat nearby, waiting patiently for the mission clerk to finish jotting everything down.


    But while he had this spare bit of time, he decided to get some information from none other than his disciple.


    "Hu Rong, how strong would you say you are?"


    "Master Mujin? I''m still a mere Disciple in the ways of the Dao. I still have a long way to go before I reach Adept..."


    Michael nodded with a smile. "I see. How about the levels after that? When do you think you''ll reach them?"


    "I don''t think I''ll go higher than Adept. Expert is still doable, but Master, Grandmaster, and Ascendant are far beyond my reach."


    ''Since he is Tier 2, making him a disciple... There are seven Tiers in total? System?''


    Hmm... It looks like a mixed world¡ªone that''s on the verge of bing a medium world, but not quite there yet. That makes it a bit more troublesome, but not exactly in a bad way.


    Michael let out an irritated sigh as he continued, ''That doesn''t sound great. How am I supposed to kill the leader of the Shadow Sect if he''s at Tier 5 or 6? I''m screwed.''


    Long-term goals¡ªjust focus on getting ustomed to this world for now.


    ''Yeah, whatever.'' He turned his gaze back to his disciple and spoke,


    "I see. Say, Hu Rong, do you know anything about the Shadow Sect?"


    As Michael''s words fell, both Hu Rong and the people who overheard him fell silent.


    Even those in the far distance quieted down, the silencesting for a few seconds.


    It onlysted a moment before suddenly, all activities resumed as though nothing had happened.


    "Master Mujin... you can''t talk about them in the open like that," Hu Rong whispered.


    "Why not?"


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    "They have roots everywhere. If they find out someone is talking about them, they''ll ce a bounty on that person''s head," he exined, looking around to make sure the area was safe.


    ''ce a bounty on my head, huh...'' Michael chuckled inwardly before noticing the mission clerk signaling for them toe over.


    "This is well done. I made sure to update your reputation¡ªif someonees around asking specifically for you, the escort guild will lead them your way," the mission clerk said with a bow before handing him a silver que.


    "Have this as an identifier. You only be an official member after sessfullypleting your first mission. Congrattions!"


    Michael epted it and decided to step outside. He still had a few things he wanted to do before continuing his journey, and that included splurging on some gear.


    From what he''d seen, the swords were of pretty decent quality, and if he wanted to fit in, it would be best to carry around a random sword¡ªit''d be handy for sneak attacks.


    Just a few minutes after leaving, he noticed a smithy in the corner of his vision. It wasn''t a massive building, but the weapons disyed radiated mana.


    If that was any indicator, it meant they were much better than the ones he had seen from the other martial artists.


    With Hu Rong behind him, the two entered the smithy and saw a burly man hammering away at a crooked sword before throwing it to the side, nearly hitting them.


    "Dud," his deep voice rang out as he began pouring more molten metal, shaping it once again into the form of a sword.


    The vibrations emitted made Michael''s hairs stand on end¡ªnot because the individual was strong but because he was really good at his craft.


    As the hammering process continued, Michael noticed that the sword wasn''t shaping itself normally. The amount of force the man was using had been consistent from the start.


    But just as he was about to question it, he saw the sword begin to morph¡ªthe rough edges and uneven design slowlying together as if by magic¡ªuntil eventually, a perfectly crafted sword was formed.


    And just like the others on disy, it radiated mana.


    "Sess," the man remarked, putting down his hammer and ncing toward the two of them with an annoyed look.


    ''I guess I found the right guy for the job...''

 Chapter 196 Joining a Sect

    "Hu Rong?" Michael turned to his disciple and questioned.


    However, it seemed like he was equally as confused.


    "Master Mujin... the Golden Dragon Sect used to be notorious for its skill. I am not sure what happened either."


    The estate looked filled with dust; the entrance gates were barely holding on, and the sign looked as if it was about to fall off.


    Even as Michael nced at the map, he could see only a couple hundred people, some of whom were not the strongest.


    There were only three people above Tier 2, and this made it the weakest sect he had felt thus far.


    But since he hade all this way, he might as well investigate.


    Walking onto the sect grounds, he could barely spot anyone. There were a few in the distance who were running around and sparring against each other.


    However, from what he could see, their technique was sloppy. Even though he was no martial arts genius, his time in the military appeared to be more fruitful than what they were doing currently.


    It was painful to watch¡ªbad footwork, weak punches, and they weren''t even breathing properly.


    Putting his bubbling disappointment aside, he walked up to the strongest person he could find¡ªthankfully, it was an elder.


    Hisplexion was not the best¡ªdark circles were under his eyes, and he was constantly yawning.


    But upon feeling someone approaching, he turned his head toward the two of them, his eyes widening in surprise.


    "Wee to our humble Golden Dragon Sect. I am Elder Li." The elder cupped his hands, showing respect.


    Michael did the same before speaking, "Sorry if Ie off as rude, but what exactly happened to this ce?"


    "Ah..." Elder Li froze and looked all around himself before whispering, "The sect leader gambled all the property away in thest tournament... we have nothing left."


    "...He gambled away the sect?" Michael raised his brows. ''What the heck?''


    "Unfortunately, yes. We still have enough funds to keep everything running, butpared to our riches a year ago, we are practically homeless now," Elder Li stated in an exhausted tone.


    "That is unfortunate," Michael replied, unsure of how to react in this situation.


    However, he did have an idea. "Would it be possible to get everything you had back if, let''s say, you win the next tournament?"


    Elder Li seemed startled for a moment before looking directly at him. "We don''t have anything left to give. If we want everything back, we would need to, at the very least, put up another sect as coteral."


    Michael could feel there was a but involved, and shortly after, he got his answer.


    "But... if we did put our entire sect name as coteral, then that could be enough." His exhausted gaze turned toward Michael before he said, "Why are you here anyway? I thought we shut down the public park idea..."


    This is a bit sad. It would be nice to see the sect leader face-to-face; I wonder what kind of person they are?


    ''Yeah...'' He nodded before exining, "My disciple and I came here for the trials. We were told they were supposed to start soon."


    As soon as his words fell, Elder Li''s eyes widened. "W-Wait, you want to join?"


    "Of course, if getting everything back is possible, then I don''t see why not," Michael said with a small smile, nudging at his Hu Rong to show his respects.


    His current short-term goal was to make the sect great again. If he could aplish that, then his reward would be massive.


    Money would be the least of his issues, and the amount of resources he would get would dwarf every single other sect he could think of.


    However, that was only the case if he could make this tournament bet go through.


    "I understand where you areing from, but..." Elder Li stammered before continuing, "Our sect leader is absent, we can''t make any serious decisions."


    "Hm? And where exactly is this sect leader?"


    "Dead," Elder Li answered with a sigh.


    ''...Then what''s the issue?'' Michael tilted his head before asking,


    "So if he''s dead, can''t you just take over?"


    Elder Li looked on hesitantly before saying, "I... We don''t want to ept his debts."


    "Has he incurred that many?"


    "Yes... besides the sect, he was countless thousands of gold in debt as well. If we take over his position, all that debt would naturally fall onto us."


    ''That sounds a bit like bullshit, no? System?''


    It''s a bullshit concept, but he is correct. The way these dragon sects work is with the sect leader at the helm. If one wants to take over, they have to be a dragon. That is only in name, of course, but to be a dragon, you need to take in the previous dragon''s burdens.


    ''So the only way to make someone a sect leader is by putting them in immense debt?'' Michael questioned onest time, confirming his thoughts.


    Pretty much. Only the sect elders can be sect leaders, and to be a sect elder, you need the blessing of the sect leader. It''s a stupid cycle, but tradition is tradition, I suppose.


    ''Looks like it.'' He turned his gaze toward Elder Li and put on his signature saintly smile.


    "But imagine the riches you would get if you won? You would really be the golden dragon, no?"


    "I... I am not qualified."


    "Sure you are. All you have to do is take over, and I''ll win the tournament for you."


    Michael continued trying to convince him to take up the mantle, but before he could finally hit the nail in the coffin, the ground shook.


    Suddenly, a pavilion began emerging from the ground, its colors shining golden.


    And he was not sure if he imagined it, but there was almost the reflection of a golden dragon emerging before flying into the sky.


    Yet at the same time, the mana it left was definitely no joke. He couldn''t even gauge its strength.


    "Oh... It''s the trial." Elder Li''s uninterested voice rang out as he began walking toward the pavilion, Michael and Hu Rong right behind him.


    "You said you wanted to join the sect, right? Well, the opportunity is here." He stated with a pause before continuing,


    "...But even if you don''t pass, you are wee to join. No one passes this trial anyways."


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    Michael nodded back and questioned, "So do we just go inside and that''s it?"


    "Only one person at a time. You can choose to go or let your disciple go first."


    Before Michael could respond, Hu Rong spoke, "Master Mujin is going first."


    ''Not even letting me answer on my own, huh?''


    "That''s fine," Elder Li replied before walking toward the pavilion doors and swinging them open.


    Surprisingly, there was nothing in sight, just a ck void, one that was giving off familiar mana.


    ''Space and Chaos... One more I can''t really tell.'' Michael thought before making his way toward the entrance, stopping just before it and turning around.


    "Disciple Hu Rong, while I am doing the trial, get acquainted with the people of the sect, and please don''t cause any trouble." He emphasized thest part, and with Elder Li''s look of approval, stepped forward.


    Michael did not even realize when his surroundings changed, as in one moment he was on the sect grounds, and in the next, he was standing on water, with a night sky full of stars above him.


    And then there was one more thing that stood out¡ªa green, frog-like monster.


    But before he could consider its origins, he leaned backward, dodging the iing tongue that was as sharp as a de.


    As soon as he did that, he sent a sword of light flying from the sight and right onto the tongue, pinning it to the ground before sending one more straight toward the frog monster, splitting it in two.@@novelbin@@


    However, just when he thought it was all over, two more appeared, identical in appearance.


    ''This might be a little interesting...''

 Chapter 198: Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (2)

    ¡¯Now, who am I supposed to bemunicating with exactly?¡¯ Michael looked around with a frown, trying to find the source of this high-pitched sound.


    It should be close¡ªmuch closer than you¡¯d think.


    ¡¯Really? Is that why I can¡¯t see it at all?¡¯ he shot back in frustration. It felt like his brain was inside a microwave by now, and it was impossible to cut off the sound either.


    His hearing had disappeared, but it still vibrated through his entire brain after all.


    But if that was the case, the least he could do was try talking¡ªit was taking a bit too long for him to drown anyway.


    "Who are you?" he let out through multiple gurgles, sending the water back out with mana.


    It felt like he was throwing up, but at the same time, being suffocated. It wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling.


    Michael noticed something off. The moment he had spoken, his voice sent ripples throughout the water¡ªseemingly impossible, considering what depth he was at.


    All around was darkness, with the barely dim light of the sky slightly visible.


    But as he paid attention to that detail, the light suddenly vanished before reappearing, immediately sending a shiver down his spine.


    A second light appeared¡ªone that was not too far from the other¡ªdisappearing and reappearing again and again.


    ¡¯...¡¯ Michael proceeded not to move a muscle, seemingly frozen in ce.


    It was not out of fear¡ªmore like awareness.


    Awareness of the fact that those lights above were actually not the sky¡ªor the sight.


    They were eyes.


    Yeah, that¡¯s the octopus, kind of, the system remarked as he remained silent.


    The high-pitched noise had disappeared, but he was still unable to summon up his shield; therefore, he was slowly drowning.


    It¡¯s not like he could die from merely drowning, but if he lost consciousness at this depth, it would be a miracle to survive.


    However, while his tension was growing more apparent with each passing second, a small fish appeared before him.


    It stared directly at him, its eyes reflecting the abnormallyrge being above him.


    And then it spoke directly into his mind, "Why are you here?"


    Its voice was serene¡ªthe kind he would imagine a siren to have¡ªsimply enchanting.


    Yet, the tone at which it spoke was definitely not ideal; it was practically oozing malice with each word spoken.


    Just as he was unsure of how to reply, a sudden system notification appeared before his eyes.


    [Introduce yourself as the sessor of the Golden Dragon]


    He stared at the message with raised brows, but since there weren¡¯t many other options, he decided to go through with it.


    "I am the Golden Dragon¡¯s sessor," he simply said, awaiting a response.


    However, the silence that ensued was definitely not a good sign.


    Or that¡¯s what he thought until, eventually, the small fish turned around and began slowly heading downwards.


    Michael felt the pressure that was previously on him disappear, and he took it as a sign to follow.


    As he was heading down, the familiar movements from earlier appeared in the very distance, but this time, he was actually able to catch a glimpse of what it was.


    Massive tentacles¡ªones that spanned across his entire vision¡ªit was a miracle how he did not notice them sooner.


    The journey to wherever they were going was pretty slow. It barely felt like they had made any progress.


    However, the darkening of the water¡ªas well as the pressure¡ªwhich was actually starting to affect him now¡ªled him to conclude that the progress was much more than he initially thought.


    Before long, the water turnedpletely ck.


    There was only one word he could use to describe such a sight¡ªand that was:


    ¡¯Abyss.¡¯


    Thankfully, the small fish acted as a sort of guiding light, weaving and turning at seemingly nothing. Nheless, he followed along perfectly.


    That was until it finally stopped and turned toward him, its eyes ripped apart from the sheer pressure.


    "This is as far as I can take you. May you find what you seek, sessor," it spoke¡ªthis time in a tone that signified admiration¡ªor perhaps some other emotion he could not quiteprehend. Experience tales at empire


    Nheless, with a nod, he proceeded downwards. The pressure he was experiencing began increasing at a speed much faster than before.


    The previous problem of no light also resurfaced. The only thing he knew was that he was heading downward.


    And that was¡ªwith the help of the system¡¯s encouragingments.


    Idiot, I told you to go left¡ªnot right! You¡¯re swimming up.


    Left... Left. Your other left... the system said in a helpless tone.


    ¡¯What the fuck do you mean the other left?¡¯ he shot back and proceeded to shoot another sword of light a small distance ahead of himself.


    What he managed to figure out was that if he was really going down, the sword of light would immediately plummet downwards. If not, it would stay stationary for a mere moment.


    The guidance was a bit better than the system¡¯s at least.


    @@novelbin@@


    But the pressure was really starting to affect him. By now, it even began eating away at his mana.


    All Michael could do, however, was persevere. If the trial was not total bullshit, then he would soon arrive at where he was supposed to.


    And he didn¡¯t need to wait long. In the very next moment, he spotted a pair of lights in the distance, simrly to the ones he had seen way above.


    They were staring right at him, and the ringing from earlier came back as well. Just this time, it was not as ear-piercing.


    In fact, it was almost like it was directly talking to him.


    Michael tried focusing, and to his surprise, there really was some kind of voice.


    One that was particrly distorted, yet it contained a certain meaning in its words.


    ¡¯Prove myself? Is that what it¡¯s saying?¡¯ he questioned, finding it difficult to understand the message.


    Just go closer to it. Seems like it¡¯s pretty friendly for now.


    ¡¯Hmm... Hopefully, it is,¡¯ Michael thought and began making his way over to the being.


    The closer he got, the more its true form came into view, and it looked like some giant monstrosity¡ªmany timesrger than the octopus he had seen back in that strange elevator.


    However, size aside, their appearance was practically the same¡ªwhich really made him think of how the two were rted in the first ce.


    It didn¡¯t take long to get his answer as the system¡¯s voice resounded in his mind, Each world has a guardian. Thend, the sky, the oceans. They merely serve as baselines for the worlds and modify the ecosystem as they deem fit.


    ¡¯So if they wanted to, could they just wipe everything out?¡¯


    Not really; they are made to give life¡ªnot take. However... if someone does intrude too deeply into their territory and, let¡¯s say, reaches their core, then it would only be natural for them to defend themselves. The system patiently exined.


    ¡¯Hmm... So if one of them were to die...¡¯


    Cmity will ensue, and the remaining guardians would gather to create a new guardian. If all of them are dead, then the world falls.


    ¡¯...¡¯ Michael groaned from the sudden influx of information. It made it seem like it was so easy to destroy entire worlds¡ªor maybe that¡¯s just how he thought.


    But his inner thoughts were soon interrupted as a normal-sized octopus began approaching him and then stretching out its tentacles as if for a handshake.


    Michael was unsure of how to react; therefore, he merely pointed at his mouth and ears, making sure to get the point across that he couldn¡¯t breathe or hear.


    And in the very next moment, the ringing noise stopped¡ªbefore once again resuming.


    But this time, it seemed reversed¡ªas if the water was vibrating all around him¡ªcreating a small air bubble in which he could finally breathe.


    That¡ªand his hearing returned.


    Turning toward the culprit, he noticed the normal-sized octopus hover right before him and once again stretch out its tentacles before saying:


    "It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, sessor to the Holy Golden Dragon."


    ¡¯...The what?¡¯

 Chapter 200 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (4)

    Michael jumped off the building and flew to an area not too far from where the first red dot was heading, intending to intercept him.


    Immediately, he folded his wings and watched as the people stared at him with unamused looks before returning to what they had been doing.


    ''I am asking just in case, but what are my odds of killing someone at Tier 4 or above?''


    Tier 4, if you use Sanctuary, then around 60%. Tier 5, if you use Sanctuary, like 5% or less even.


    ''And without Sanctuary?'' he wondered, watching as the red-dotted man began approaching.


    It''s hard to say. For Tier 4, I''d estimate around 5%, maybe even 10%. As for Tier 5, you stand no chance.


    Michael nodded before asking his final question, ''And if I try to assassinate them with the usage of Sanctuary?''


    The system remained silent for a moment before answering. I didn''t take you for an assassin... Realistically, as long as you manage to lop their heads off and use every bit of mana you have with Sanctuary, only then could you kill someone like that.


    ''I see... Is that person at least Tier 5?''


    Tier 6.


    ''Fuck.'' Michael facepalmed. He was really going in blind with this one.


    The man passed by, heading toward some sort of metro system, so Michael followed closely.


    There were still loads of people around, so for the most part, he felt safe.


    But he couldn''t shake the feeling that the man in front was watching him.


    His senses were going off, but he had no choice. If he wanted to find out what was going on, he had to start with the obvious clues first.


    The two kept walking, Michael trailing a few meters behind.


    However, at some point, the number of people around them lessened to the point where it was now just the two of them.


    But the man did not stop, even when he noticed. He just kept walking.


    ''He''s either going to try killing me or, well, question me.'' Michael shrugged inwardly.


    Suddenly, he felt a force of mana grip him, and he wasunched into the metro wall, copsing it onto himself.


    However, Michael''s shield blocked most of the attack, not dealing damage but still managing to immobilize him.


    "Are you with them?" his weary voice rang out, each word imbued with mana.


    "Them?" Michael questioned, bearing through the clear malice the man was emitting.


    "The rest of the puppets, such as yourself," the man stated, a look of surprise appearing on his face.


    "Have you broken your code?"


    Michael stared at him, who by now eased up on the mana and rified.


    "I don''t know what you are talking about, but I am no puppet."


    The atmosphere lightened immediately as the man finally retracted his mana.


    "Then why were you following me?"


    ''I guess I should y this card then... things are making less sense by the second,'' Michael thought before speaking.


    "The people seemed a bit off. I couldn''t put my finger on why, though. You seemed least affected, so I wanted to find out more."


    "Hmm... Call me Lapis for now, follow me," the man said suspiciously before taking a few looks around and continuing to walk even deeper into the tunnels.


    Since Michael had no better idea of what was going on, he decided to follow after him, taking multiple turns at each path until eventually, the two arrived at some sort of cutoff.


    And to his surprise, inside were several buildings, not a full-blown city, but definitely enough to call it a small town.


    Just like before, there were people, but for some reason, the map showed that they were all red.


    Seeing this, he couldn''t help but question, ''Are you doing this on purpose?''


    Doing what? The system replied, clearly dodging his question''s true intentions.


    ''You switched the colors of the markers, didn''t you?'' Michael used before continuing, ''I checked multiple times with Eyes of the Great Sage, even followed your method of how to make sure people were not evil.''


    A moment of silence ensued, but it was short-lived as the system spoke up, a bit of amusement in its voice.


    Well, I did say check to see if anything stands out, didn''t I? It''s your own fault you took so long to realize.


    Just as the system''s words fell, the colors on the map immediately reverted to what they were supposed to be previously.


    All of the people, as well as the man before him, were now all green.


    That meant the entire city above them was corrupt.


    ''I guess I found a lead on the disturbance then?'' he mused while continuing to follow after Lapis.


    The people down here looked pretty rugged, as though they had gone through hell and back, but if the situation was as dire as he imagined, then it was nothing out of the ordinary.


    It was a miracle the buildings were still standing; some even looked like they were about to fall apart at a moment''s notice.


    At the same time, it reminded him of the slums of Vivum, especially the first time he had arrived there.


    Stay tuned with empire@@novelbin@@


    It gave off the same feel, and if he didn''t know any better, his role would be likely simr right now.


    After several minutes of walking, they finally arrived in front of some church, one that also had an angel statue before it.


    However, it was half-destroyed, the face was not visible, and half of its body was covered with holes and cracks, making it barely recognizable.


    But the wings were a dead giveaway¡ªthey looked the exact same as the ones he had seen on the Gabriel statue.


    And he couldn''t forget his own wings. While they weren''t as big as theirs, their size was nothing to scoff at either.


    Lapis arrived before the church''s entrance and flung the doors open, leading Michael further in.


    Finally, a strange sight greeted his eyes.


    There was a small pedestal, one that had words on it, almost like it was being written in real time.


    As for thenguage? It was the one Freya had taught him way back in the temple.


    ''Just what is going on here?''

 Chapter 204 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (8)

    "Anna," he spoke, looking at the girl before him.


    "Yes, mister?" She replied innocently, swinging her legs in the air despite one of her knees starting to bleed. Your adventure continues at empire


    ''Any way I can save her?'' he questioned the system while returning a warm smile to Anna before swiftly healing her knee.


    If there is a way, I don''t know it. If one of our own was affected by something like this, we just straight up killed them. There was no use or time for anything else.


    ''But we have time now. Do you think you can do something?''


    I am not omnipotent... The system began speaking, but Michael swiftly interjected,


    ''Not omnipotent, but certainly knowledgeable¡ªmuch more than me. Look, the red is starting to overtake the green. Doesn''t look like she has much time left.''


    You are guilt-tripping me...


    ''Is it working?'' he chuckled inwardly.


    The system remained silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. Your stupidity is rubbing off on me.


    As its words fell, Michael suddenly felt his Halo being tugged, and immediately, the system materialized in its humanoid form.


    "Child, what is it youst remember?" Mikhail walked up to the child, his golden hair making her eyes sparkle.


    "Umm... bed," Anna said, not going into detail.


    "Okay, child, what shape was the bed?"


    Michael raised his brow at that question. ''What is that supposed to prove?''


    "Oh... circ¡ª" Just as she was about to answer, Mikhail interrupted her, continuing his nonsensical questionnaire.


    "What''s the color of your hair?"


    "Br¡ª"


    "How many fingers do you have?"


    ''Okay... what the fuck is he doing?'' Michael''s brow twitched as he walked up to Mikhail and pushed him aside.


    "What kind of quiz is this? Are you trying to make her fall asleep or something?"


    "Don''t be an idiot. Open up the map if you don''t understand." Mikhail shrugged him off before returning to Anna and continuing to ask her those stupid questions.


    At the same time, Michael decided to check out the map, and to his surprise, the red dot that had been guing her just a few moments ago was now mostly green again.


    "How did you do that? I didn''t feel you use any mana."


    "Because I didn''t. It''s simple psychology," he answered before straightening his back. "Her mind is locking onto a single path¡ªone thatpletely abandons her previous self. Since she is still not fully corrupted, bringing her back, even for just a moment, is possible..."


    "But?" Michael rolled his eyes.


    And Mikhail continued, "But it''s only a temporary solution. Once Lapis gets back, it''ll all be over, and this time, even faster."


    Nodding in understanding, Michael said, "I just have to kill the clones, right?"


    "Right, and well, the rest too. It would give you a higher chance of winning that way, because as things stand, you can''t defeat a Tier 6 with many underlings."


    "Seems like it hase to this, then..." Michael sighed before saying, "Can you mimic my appearance? You could keep Anna at bay while I go up and deal with them."


    "That''s the n, then. Give me 30%," Mikhail stated before throwing the Halo to him.


    Without wasting any time, Michael immediately infused it with his mana before tossing it back and questioning, "You sure that''s going to be enough? There''s only like 350% of my mana there."


    However, he was immediately assured. "It''s fine. This is more than enough for such a small task. You can get out." With those words, his hair color suddenly changed, mimicking Michael''s.


    "I look like an idiot," Mikhail said before shooting him a nce and then quickly turning away, returning to the stupid questionnaire from earlier.


    ''...ssic.'' Michael waved off his insults; it was nothing new. Besides, he took a few digs at him as well from time to time.


    But it was time to depart. He only hoped the system¡ªMikhail¡ªwouldn''t ck off.


    Making his way through the tunnels, following the same route he took to get here, Michael finally arrived back in the upper city.


    Unlike before, the atmosphere seemed darker, the people walking around even more so. Their eyes were absolutely lifeless, a stark contrast to what he had seen the moment he arrived.


    ''The system was right... everything did happen extremely fast.'' He nced at one person in particr¡ªit was some woman, and she was directly walking into him.


    He sidestepped, letting her pass. To his surprise, however, she came back again, this time a little faster.@@novelbin@@


    It was as though she was trying to knock into him purposefully.


    Michael noticed something was off and turned to the side. Immediately, he saw the iing swarm of people walking steadily toward him.


    "Anyone here have a working brain?" he called out, seemingly trying to make at least one of them react.


    But there was nothing.


    Only the emotionless husks that were increasing their pace as they neared him.


    With a sigh, he flew up into the sky, watching the swarm below him grow more and more with each passing moment.


    Yet none among them were any of the people he was looking for¡ªin fact, the two green dots were still on the outskirts of the city.


    And the husks below him were slowly forming a tower of sorts, trying to build up to him and bring him down.


    ''Ah... it always turns out like this...'' He stretched out his arm, and suddenly, the blurry skies above began parting, and a tiny golden light emerged.


    Suddenly, it shaped itself into a miniature sword and immediately began expanding, its speed unparalleled to what he had seen previously.


    The eyes in the sky that had been present earlier seemed to disappear too¡ªall that was visible aside from his ever-growing golden sword was darkness.


    Total darkness.


    ''Sorry,'' Michael eximed before bringing his hand down.


    However, the sword did not move from the sky. Instead, it remainedpletely still, merely gathering all the mana from the atmosphere and making it evenrger.


    By now, it had covered at least half of the sky, and before he knew it, began descending.


    He took it as his sign to fly past it and reach the very top of the city.


    However, the destruction that was about to happen was beyond him¡ªthe first Heavenly Judgement he had created wasbeled as nearly a Tier 3 attack. Then what would this make it?


    ''This might be a bit more than I had bargained for,'' Michael thought with a frown, reaching the very top of this supposed sky.


    And what greeted him was a dome¡ªone where, on the other side, he could see several ocean monsters swimming around.


    ''A bird''s cage¡ªwhose imitation of Antis is this?''


    But just as his thoughts fell, Heavenly Judgement finally descended a certain threshold and began emitting deadly mana in all directions.


    What he didn''t expect, however, was the fact that along with his golden mana, there were ck and white arcs flying out, decimating the surroundings much more than the rest.


    And the people below? They couldn''t even survive until his attack actually hit them¡ªmost turned to ash.


    However, the moment it hit, that was when all hell broke loose. He couldn''t even hear the impact¡ªonly the ringing of his own ears as his eardrums popped. Yet a mushroom-like cloud of mana was threatening to envelop him whole.


    Yet, there was another thing of note¡ªone that stood out even more than the mana cloud¡ªwas a person standing on a falling-apart building.


    It was Lapis, and he was ring at him with hatred.


    ''...Is this what the system meant by start with a bang?''

 Chapter 206 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (10)

    The moment Mikhail''s words fell, the being¡ªwhich had practically turned into a monster by now¡ªbegan attacking.


    However, despite its apparentck of intelligence, its fighting style was not half bad.


    Fast, efficient, andst but not least, deadly.


    It was especially deadly to him since he didn''t have a normal body. One hit, and he would dematerialize back into the halo¡ªthe downside of his current condition.


    But this was just a monster.


    ''A simple nce would be enough to kill you if I were in my real body,'' Mikhail thought with a sigh, dodging an incredibly fast attack that was aiming for his heart.


    But s, to him¡ªwho had faced beings who could wave an entire world out of existence¡ªa simple attack such as this was nothing but child''s y.


    Using the halo''s mana, he forced the attack backward, startling the monster.


    It was just a simple attack that used one''s own strength against another, but it did not work against a strong opponent.


    However, when the gap was only this much, it was doable.


    Added to the fact that he had unlimited ess to his signature skill:


    ''Sanctuary.''


    As soon as those words rang out in his mind, a concentrated area appeared all around him, eventually settlingpletely in his body.


    An alternative use of Sanctuary¡ªinstead of manipting the surroundings, you could manipte yourself.


    And since he did not exactly have a concrete form, this was even more efficient than he would have hoped.@@novelbin@@


    The monster recoiled but quickly collected itself before reappearing before him. But this time, he struck back.


    With Sanctuary as a baseline and the halo as a catalyst, he was able to momentarily bring forth a tiny bit of his powers.


    And because of that, the moment the monster''s attack was about to reach, a single line of light expanded outwards from Mikhail''s eyes, blowing off the arms of the monster in a mere moment.


    "Should I just kill you, bug? I don''t think Michael would mind..." he spoke, watching as it writhed in pain.


    But soon, a chuckle escaped his mouth.


    ''Who am I kidding...'' Mikhail finished with a scoff before enveloping the monster in a golden light, immediately regrowing its lost limbs.


    There was a tinge of fear clearly present on its face, but he chose to ignore it before once again sending out light from his eyes, sting the monster into several pieces.


    And once again, reconstructing it.


    "You are a good punching bag. Be proud." He exhaled a relieved breath before healing it and continuing this process over and over again.


    That was until he felt a presence near the entrance of the town. It seemed like Michael had finally managed to arrive. Find adventures on empire


    Yet the moment he felt the pressure the two were emitting, he slightly recoiled backward.


    ''Pussy,'' Mikhail thought while rolling his eyes, before sending a tinge of Sanctuary to cover him and holding down the monster so it could not move.


    Michael noticed this and began swiftly flying over, looking a bit haggard from the explosion he himself had caused just a few moments ago.


    There was so much mana, in fact, that it seemed like even his mana clothing was not functioning properly.


    ''He went a little overboard with that skill... I should really teach him sometime.''


    He finally arrived¡ªthe monster, who was previously Lapis, lying on the ground, trying to reach its arms out to grab the two of them.


    But before it could, Mikhail once again cut them both off before suddenly sending out a string-like light beam that wrapped around Lapis''s neck and swiftly cut it off.


    Just as it was about to drop to the ground, he quickly caught it with the same string and held it up, turning his gaze toward Michael.


    "You sure took your sweet time up there."


    "And you lied to me again," Michael replied with a scoff before looking down at the monster.


    "Is this Lapis?"


    Mikhail affirmed his guess. "Yep, in the flesh¡ªor something. Not exactly sure what he had turned into."


    "It kind of looks like the watcher I saw..."


    "Yet one good look at the mana, and you would notice it is nothing alike aside from its appearance," Mikhail shot back before bringing its head over to Michael.


    "You do know I was talking about its appearance, right?" Michael questioned before creating a piece of cloth out of mana and hovering it over to the head.


    "Sure, genius."


    With those words, Mikhail destroyed the remainder of the monster''s body, except for the head, and dematerialized, heading back inside of Michael.


    Yet, as always, the process was not exactly easy.


    The moment he disappeared, arge diagram popped up in the darkness¡ªone that had information spanning back millions of eons¡ªbut the one thing he was looking for was not there.


    He scrolled down a lot more, trying to find it, but s, it was to no avail.


    ''A ck watcher-like creature controlled like a marite... This is definitely no coincidence.''


    Not giving up, he waved his hand, and immediately, a keyboard-like interface appeared before him.


    Using it, he typed in a certain keyword: "Watcher."


    A few pages appeared¡ªnot many, for that matter; however, he decided to check them out nheless.


    The first was about their origin, which he had gathered throughout his entire lifespan.


    As for the others, they were mostly encounters the previous Michaels before the current one had with the being.


    Which, for some reason, always ended up causing a cmity down the line.


    But as his search was starting to be a little less hopeful, he finally spotted a certain word¡ªone that piqued his interest.


    ''The Egg of the Watcher?'' He raised his brow to seemingly no one in this ck space.


    ''When did Ipile this?''


    Re-reading the information again, he was unable to find the exact date¡ªall for the single line of detail regarding the egg.


    ''A humanoid shape with sadistic tendencies that tends to lose itself over time, bing the purest lifeform alive...'' Mikhail read through it before quickly turning around, seeing through the eyes of Michael as he spoke straight into his mind,


    "Don''t kill it."


    Like a megaphone, Michael''s voice was sted back into the dark space. "Why not? Do you think you can restore him or something?"


    ''Yet I told him to stop with his wishful thinking bullshit...'' he sighed inwardly before stating,


    "It''s a being we can make use of. Let him down for a moment."


    Michael''s voice rang out again, a confused tone clearly present. "Hmm? Sure?"


    At his words, Mikhail took a deep breath before drawing a circle in the air. Immediately, a halo materialized.


    And the moment it did, he channeled his sped-up vibrations into it, freezing Lapis in time before quickly shing sideways with the halo in hand, storing its head in his temporal subspace.


    "Woah... Did you just use spatial magic?" Michael''s stupefied voice rang out, which he simply ignored, focusing on his own mana.


    Quickly, he shed once again¡ªthis time without the halo in hand¡ªand in the next moment, the head plopped down onto the ground before him.


    ''Hmm... Now how do I make you hatch?''


    Putting on a small smirk, Mikhail turned towards the screen disying Michael''s vision.


    "Don''t worry about it, genius; you will know eventually."

 Chapter 207 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (11)

    [Michael''s POV]


    ''For both of our sakes, I hope you put Anna in that spatial storage of yours.''


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    Oh right. The system said that before Anna suddenly materialized before him, frozen.


    Yet in the very next moment, she began breathing once again, and small movements could be seen.


    Before long, she finally spoke; however, there was one issue.


    Her previously child-like body began growing rapidly, turning into that of an adult. At the same time, from the corner of his eye, he saw the same thing happening to the unsuspecting civilians.


    Every single one of them began rapidly aging, their appearances morphing until finally, it stopped.


    By the time that had happened, each one had aged by at least 30 years¡ªappearance-wise.


    However, the effect was slightly reduced for Anna, aging her only to an adult but nothing more, courtesy of the system''s interference.


    No problem, we did save her. But... now the real problem arises, the system remarked as Anna''s gaze finally locked with Michael''s.


    "Mister, where is Lapis?" Her voice rang out, a tinge of confusion in her tone.


    But for all their sakes, it was better to act stupid.


    "Who''s that?" Michael replied with a tilt of his head.


    Hiding the truth is not always the best decision.


    ''How would I exin that her father has died at your hands? And besides that, she still seems a bit disoriented.''


    Upon hearing his words, Anna fell into silence, merely ncing around, her eyes gaining rity by the moment.


    Yet they also held traces of unfamiliarity¡ªwith both herself and the surroundings.


    "Where am I...?" she questioned, yet before anything else could happen, Michael''s vision shifted, followed by the appearance of the same tunnel he had used to get into that city.


    And then, the familiar eyeball from before.


    Michael stared directly at it, and in just a few moments, he felt a small pulse of mana from behind him.


    Upon turning around, he was greeted by the sight of the octopus from before.


    "Congrattions, you passed with flying colors."


    Just as its words fell, the familiar system screen appeared before him.


    [Trials of the Golden Dragon | Scenario 2: Complete]


    Michael stared at the octopus with a small frown. In the very distance, he could see a small bubble¡ªone that had mushroom-like smoke traveling upwards.


    Yet just when he took notice of it, the octopus flicked its hand, and in the very next moment, that bubble disappeared.


    What reced it was just the same old darkness of the water¡ªnothing more, nothing less.


    "Where did you just send me?" Michael questioned, unamused by the situation in the slightest.


    "As you saw, it is a falling world. Before long, they will all be dead."


    Its response caused his brows to twitch as he said, "You couldn''t have fixed them? By killing Lapis before everything even got set into motion? You do know there are survivors, right?"


    However, it replied in the same dry tone as earlier. "All life muste to an end. The corruption only quickens its own demise."


    But before he could shoot back, it continued, its tone growing cold. "Sessor, I did not ask you to concern yourself with the people of that small world¡ªonly to fix the problem."


    Typical guardian, not giving a shit about its people. However, it does seem like this one is on a higher ne¡ªtaking care of multiple worlds at once is no small feat.


    ''I don''t exactly care about that; it''s just... we spent so much effort saving them, especially Anna, yet they were just whisked away as simply as that?''


    The system quickly replied, trying to ease his mind. The guardian abandoned that world, but that doesn''t mean it is gone. Look, Anna is surprisingly strong for her age¡ªeven stronger than you currently. Their world will open up to monsters, and if they survive, they will thrive.


    ''Hmm... it sure sounds like a shit way to go out. I wonder, how many worlds has this thing abandoned?'' he thought while ncing at the octopus before him.


    But knowing that the question would be futile to ask, he simply went along with the flow.


    "What''s next?"


    "Good, I am d we are on the same page, sessor," it said while wriggling its ugly octopus body around before it continued, "I am afraid your trial ends for now. You must continue onwards. I wish you luck."


    "Huh?" Michael raised a brow. "What was the point of this then? How does it rte to the Golden Dragon?"


    "Rte? Of course, it is rted. He promised to clean out the trash of one of my worlds back in his prime, and you, the disciple, are paying back his debts."


    Those words made Michael fall silent before, suddenly, the familiar empty door from before materialized beside him.


    "Oh, I see your time hase. I wish you good luck, sessor." The octopus finished and immediately disappeared from his sight.


    The only thing still visible were those two eyes that were slowly disappearing into the darkness of the abyss.


    ''This was a total freak show,'' he concluded, looking around for a few moments, trying to see if he could spot that bubble from earlier.@@novelbin@@


    However, Michael soon gave up. The more he paid attention, the more bubbles he saw¡ªthousands, millions even.


    Not wasting any more time, he decided to go through the door, watching as the surroundings behind him slowly began dematerializing.


    Soon, the empty room gained color, and once again, he was back in the first area he had been in earlier¡ªthe same one where he fought the monsters.


    But this time, they were nowhere to be seen¡ªonly the vast expanse of nothingness.


    Yet the system screen said otherwise.


    [Trials of the Golden Dragon | Scenario 3: Find the core of the Golden Dragon]


    And the moment he finished reading the message, he saw the mist once again enveloping him, and in the distance, the door that would lead him to the next trial.


    ''This trial better be worth it...''

 Chapter 209 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (13)

    "You." Michael pointed toward the strongest of them before stating,


    "Take me with you."


    Immediately, a hesitant look appeared on their faces as they turned to nce at one another.


    However, when they looked back at him, they flinched¡ªand, with resignation, agreed.


    "Very well..." the strong drake replied before spreading out its wings, which were even smaller than Michael''s.


    With a p of its wings, it flew up into the sky, the other drakes following along. Find exclusive stories on empire


    And so was Michael.


    His speed was iparable to theirs; he had to slow down significantly just to match their pace, which he found quite odd.


    ''They are the same tier as me, and they were also born with wings, right? How are they so slow?''


    Just a species difference¡ªyou''re practically an abomination of both an angel and a demon, so that''s that.


    ''Right, what else could I expect from you.'' Michael clicked his tongue as their group began approaching a set of mountains with distinct features carved into them.


    A single head of a dragon and a lot of miniature dragons¡ªor perhaps even drakes¡ªit was hard to tell.


    But the most distinct part was the dragon''s head, as there was a blue me mysteriously shooting out of it.


    Yet at the same time, no mana was being emitted from it, almost making it seem natural.


    Michael decided he would take a peek at how it workedter. For now, he had to follow the others.@@novelbin@@


    However, as he neared the ground, several other drakes appeared in his vision, most sharing the same expressions as the others: fear and shock, both in unison.


    But none tried to get closer. Instead, they moved aside for both him and the group of drakes that hadnded.


    ''Not many strong ones¡ªTier 2 at most.'' Michael noted down in his mind as he took a few looks around.


    Aside from the warrior group in front of him, the others were likely civilians.


    "This way," the strong drake said, leading the way toward an opening in the mountain.


    Just as Michael gazed in that direction, however, an intense wave of mana enveloped him¡ªmany times stronger than he had expected.


    ''That''s above Tier 6, right?'' he questioned, trying to hide the frown forming on his face.


    That''s a dragon from what I can feel, though it is a dying one, the system announced, its tone seemingly hinting at something.


    The frown that had been on his face mere moments ago immediately disappeared, reced by a grin.


    ''I see.''


    It didn''t take long for them to arrive at the mountain¡ªand soon, the being inside of it.


    And the being was indeed a dragon, one who was just slightly smaller than Fafnir.


    Its scales werepletely blue, the same as its eyes.


    However, the fact that its life was sooning to an end was obvious.


    But that was only the case if Michael hadn''t been around. Now, it would bepletely different.


    Noticing that the dragon wasn''t even willing to give him a greeting aside from a side-eye, Michael decided to check its condition.


    The Eyes of the Great Sage were immediately activated, and instantly, he could see the white world, followed by the dense mana of the dragon before him.


    At the same time, he could also see some kind of clotting inside its arteries as well as its head.


    The mana inside those clots was dense enough to dwarf even his own mana, yet if he wanted to reap the benefits, he had to figure something out.


    "Meet our ancestor dragon, Krear... please don''t cause any trouble," the strong drake pleaded before performing a bow toward the dragon. Along with its party, it left the cave, leaving only Michael and the dragon behind.


    Since he did not want to drag things out by being mysterious, he decided to speak up first.


    "Would you like to exchange information?"


    The dragon looked down at him, not saying a word, yet its eyes disyed a gleam of curiosity.


    "You tell me everything you know about the Golden Dragons. In exchange, I heal you. How does that sound?" Michael continued pushing, earning even more interest.


    Until eventually, the dragon huffed and suddenly disappeared from his sight.


    However, that was only the case for a moment, as he soon noticed a human-sized figure heading toward him.


    It was the dragon, who had transformed simrly to Fafnir, maintaining all of its original strength.


    But the question it asked was not rted to his offer in the slightest.


    "What is a human doing here?"


    Noticing that he could not deny it in front of such a being, Michael merely shrugged in response. "I just happened to end up here."


    Just as his words finished, he got another idea¡ªone that seemed awfully convenient.


    "You wouldn''t happen to know about the Golden Dragon''s Trials, would you?"


    To his dismay, the dragon shook its head. "No. But I am interested in your earlier proposal."


    "Great... Can I inject my mana into you?" Michael asked, just in case. Thankfully, the dragon seemed to gloss over the question it had asked previously.


    With a faint nod, it sat down and faced its back toward him. "You may."


    ''System, do I just drain the mana out of those clots? Or am I digging too much into it?''


    That is an option, yes, but make sure you do it meticulously. If you lose concentration, all that mana inside the dragon will burst back at you.


    ''Got it.'' Michael took a deep breath and sent a sliver of his own mana inside the dragon.


    Before long, he connected with the first clot¡ªand, to his surprise, dispersing the mana was much easier than he had expected.


    However, there was something else that was strange.


    His Mana Purity was going up rapidly. From 385%, it increased to 393% in just a minute.


    And from the looks of it, it wasn''t stopping anytime soon.


    A massive smile couldn''t help but appear on his face.


    ''This is more of a reward than I expected.''

 Chapter 210 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (14)

    ''453%... 459%... 460%.'' Michael heaved an exhausted sigh as he finally finished the so-called healing.


    It took much longer than at the start, as the more he fixed, the more difficult the next clots became.


    But it was done, and the dragon in human form was lying t on the ground, seemingly asleep.


    However, there was no time for rest. Michael slightly pinched its back, making the dragon shoot up into the air.


    Readtest stories on empire


    It turned back to face him with a re, but with a single deep breath, it calmed down.@@novelbin@@


    "Thank you for that, human. I feel much better already."


    Michael nodded in response before casting both Heal and Purify, immediately curing any other remaining diseases the dragon might have had.


    "You''re wee," he said with a smile before continuing, "Now tell me what you know."


    There was no point in formalities when the other party didn''t exactly respect him either, so he went straight to the point.


    And he got an equally straightforward answer. "They are to the north of us, quite far. They don''t have any drakelings like we do, so if you want to go there, prepare to be killed."


    Michael raised a brow at that. "I healed you, and this is all the information you can give me?"


    "Of course not." The dragon chuckled before its hand suddenly grew scales.


    Without even an ounce of hesitation, it ripped one of them off and tossed it to Michael.


    "Show this to the dragons there."


    ''A safe pass, huh.'' Michael nodded in appreciation and prepared to head there right away, but the blue dragon suddenly stopped him.


    "Wait."


    "What is it?" he questioned with a tilt of his head.


    Yet the dragon merely stared at him, slowly narrowing its eyes in silence.


    Finally, it spoke again. "Are you really human?"


    "Of course," Michael said sarcastically, unting his wide wings that no human should have.


    But the dragon didn''t find it as strange as he had hoped. "You have some dragon blood in you."


    ''Hm?'' Michael looked into its eyes, only to realize it was serious.


    ''I don''t have any dragon blood in me,'' he affirmed to himself before speaking.


    "I don''t. I''ve only met one dragon before you, so it''s impossible."


    But the dragon persisted. "No, I''m sure of it. Near your mana core, there is a strand of draconic mana. It''s not something one just gets out of the blue."


    The moment Michael heard those words, his eyes widened.


    If what the blue dragon said was true, then he could kind of see it happening.


    After all, the person who helped him form a mana core was none other than Fafnir himself¡ªa dragon.


    He had never truly explored the possibilities of his mana core''s inner workings to the fullest, so he never actually knew if something like that was even possible.


    However, there was one entity who might have known: the system.


    ''Did you know?'' Michael questioned.


    Only after the trial started. I''m not very preupied with every little thing happening in your mana core. I only took the liberty of creating a new thread, that''s all, the system swiftly replied, denying the usations.


    But he was not convinced. ''Sounds like something you would have noticed, given your great strength and all. Or is it not so great after all?''


    I had great strength¡ªnot so much anymore. I rely on the mana you provide to the Halo. Still, as I said, I don''t really care what happens inside your body¡ªthe body of a hormonal 14-year-old, no less. It remarked with a small chuckle, causing Michael to freeze on the spot.


    ''You...'' He was speechless and could not exactly refute the system either.


    After all, while his mind was old, his body was not.


    Shoving the embarrassment aside, he turned back to the blue dragon and questioned, "Can you feel what type of dragon it is?"


    "No," the dragon replied with a shake of its head. "It is either on the same rank as me or higher. From the small amount, it''s very hard to gauge."


    The more it spoke, the less enthusiastic its voice became. By the end, it sounded as though all it wanted to do was sleep.


    "Go away, dragon-human. I want to sleep," it said and raised its arm, flinging Michael several hundred meters off the mountain and into the sky.


    It was too fast for him to react, but the one thing he noticed was that now, the blue scale in his hands started glowing faintly.


    Yet as he took notice of it, it quickly dimmed.


    Taking onest nce at the blue dragon civilization below him, he decided to start flying north toward the Golden Dragons.


    But he still had a hint of curiosity left. ''Hmm... System?''


    Yes?


    ''Let''s say this dragon blood¡ªor mana, whatever¡ªgets awakened. Will my race change again?''


    A draconic angel or demon? It seems likely, but you can never be too sure. You still haven''t awakened my archangel bloodline, after all. Things can still change.


    ''Right, the bloodline,'' he rolled his eyes. ''How does that work, anyway? You''re not my father, nor am I rted to you. And as you already said, I am different from the other Michaels.''


    Don''t sweat the small stuff. Fate yed its hand, and you were chosen¡ªnothing more, nothing less.


    ''Really? Sounds very suspicious.'' Michael pressed before flying higher above the clouds.


    It was a peaceful world, sort of. But it was very abandoned, with its inhabitants consisting only of dragons or drakes.


    Nheless, that wasn''t his concern. He would find the Golden Dragon''s core and get out of here¡ªthis trial was taking too long anyway.


    Yet as he thought that, an ominous feeling arose, as if he had forgotten a certain aspect.


    ''Say... Is it possible I''m even being given this trial in the first ce because of the dragon mana in me?''


    It''s either that or the fact that you have the light affinity.


    ''But isn''t it a Holy Golden Dragon? Doesn''t that mean it also has the light affinity? Odds are, the two conditions were a light affinity and the draconic mana,'' he stated inwardly, as if a revtion had urred.


    However, as usual, the system shut down his happiness. You sound like an absolute nerd. Just shut up and go finish the trial already.


    ''...''

 Chapter 211 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (15)

    ''This isn''t it... Right?'' Michael looked downward with a cracking smile.


    Initially, he had expected to arrive before some grand mountain, filled to the brim with dragons.


    Instead, there was a fire spanning the entire forest and a half-destroyed mountain in sight.


    These were no ordinary mes¡ªthey were made of mana, simr to the kind the drakes used, but much stronger.


    And they had one distinct property that made them seem off: the color ck.


    The mes surged upward and all around, exuding extreme destructiveness.


    But it also meant that this fire had started not too long ago¡ªotherwise, it would have spread much further.


    Checking the map, Michael couldn''t spot any dots or anything else for that matter.


    Instead, he opted to be even more certain by using Eyes of the Great Sage.


    Only then was he able to tell that something was off¡ªall of the ck fire was concentrated in one particr spot.


    Michael decided to go down and check it out, spreading out his own mana and using much more than expected just to dispel the ck mes.


    Until finally, he found the source¡ªit was just a simple mushroom.


    ''Is this a joke?'' he questioned himself, trying once again to look around.


    But no, this was actually it. The mushroom was the source.


    Pick it up perhaps, the system suggested, and he decided to follow along.


    After all, what''s the worst that could happen?


    Reaching down, he grabbed hold of the mushroom and pulled, but he quickly noticed it was difficult to extract.


    Michael frowned and resorted to using much more of his strength, even infusing mana into his hands.


    And yet, it was impossible to pull out.


    Therefore, he resorted to the next best thing¡ªsimply cutting it off with a sword.


    Summoning a sword of light, he aimed it toward the mushroom and swiftly cut.


    Surprisingly, it felt as though he was cutting through metal, but nheless, it finally worked.


    The moment it did, the ground shook beneath him, immediately extinguishing all the mes around.


    But that wasn''t all. Arge amount of mana began exuding from the mushroom in his hands, and before long, he started falling into a pit which magically appear below him.


    Michael attempted to use his wings, but it felt as though gravity was strongly against him. Even with the mana he infused into his wings, boosting them to their maximum potential, it still didn''t work.@@novelbin@@


    Therefore, he opted for the next best thing¡ªcreating tens, maybe even hundreds, of swords of light and using each one to stab into the walls that were growing farther and farther away from him.


    Yet as he did so, there was only a tiny bit of friction, causing each of his swords to slide off the walls, making it extremely difficult to anchor himself.


    He kept trying for a few moments but soon realized it was pointless. Resigned, he gave in to his fate of falling to wherever he was headed.


    ''Got any ideas?'' Michael questioned the system.


    Just wait for a little bit. Doesn''t look like you''ll die. Probably.


    ''Probably? Yeah, that''s not very assuring,'' he muttered, trying out some other ideas to catch himself mid-air, but all proved futile.


    That was until he began seeing light at the bottom, positioning himself in a way that would absorb the impact and spare his legs.


    The momentum at which he was falling would injure even someone like him.


    But just as he prepared to face-nt and break his legs, gravity reversed for only a moment, acting as some sort of trampoline that began gliding him downward.


    Soon, a golden room appeared before him, along with a single broken-down door at least twice his height.


    There were also some strange symbols etched into the walls, some of which he thought he recognized, but upon further look, it was nothing alike to what he had knowledge.


    Which prompted the question, ''Can you trante?''


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    But he was simply ignored, so he helplessly turned to the side.


    He noticed a few piles of gold bars scattered across the ground but chose to ignore them for a moment.


    That was¡ªafter pocketing a few gold coins into the bag he carried. They looked a bit more expensive than the gold coins he''d gotten from the escort mission.


    Say, system, any way for you to pocket some in that little temporal dimension of yours? Michael haggled sarcastically, not expecting much.


    However, he heard a sigh, and with it, at least half of the gold in the room suddenly disappeared.


    Happy?


    ''Yup,'' he affirmed with a small chuckle, heading toward the door in front of him.


    Michael swiftly went through the door, only to appear inplete and utter darkness, which he quickly illuminated using his light skills.


    But even then, all he saw was a narrow hallway with some kind of holes in the walls that seemed to lead nowhere.


    Yet, at the same time, they exuded mana¡ªas if mirroring his own.


    Michael remained extremely wary of what awaited him, if anything at all.


    So far, it looked like some sort of tomb, though there were neither coffins nor anything of the sort¡ªit was truly abandoned.


    However, he soon came upon a certain hole in the wall that was much wider than the others. Upon looking into it, he saw something he hadn''t expected.


    A golden eyeball stared directly at him, but as Michael blinked, it suddenly disappeared. The same went for the mana signature¡ªit hadpletely vanished.


    Instead of asking the system for help, he decided to investigate on his own, using the Eyes of the Great Sage skill. Immediately, he spotted some sort of trail.


    It led him forward, the holes in the walls pulsating with strange mana that seemed to glosspletely past him.


    Yet he knew that whatever awaited at the end was either what he was looking for or something he''d rather not see.


    There''s only one way to find out, no? the system remarked, and he merely nodded.


    ''Yup.''

 Chapter 212 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (16)

    It took a few minutes of walking¡ªand a bit of anxiety¡ªto finally reach what appeared to be the end.


    The mana had grown to a point where he began hallucinating, or at least that''s what it seemed like, since the number of golden eyes he started seeing kept increasing by the moment.


    Until eventually, there was one giant eye staring directly at him. However, unlike previously, its pupil was slitted¡ªjust like those of Fafnir.


    Yet before he could even speak up, it disappeared once again, leaving the massive room entirely to his lonesome. Experience more content on empire


    But that was not all, as its disappearance revealed some kind of passageway behind it.


    And just like when he first dropped into whatever this area was, there was a single door¡ªone muchrger than the one he had gone through previously.


    This time, however, there was a faint bloodlust oozing from the door.


    Michael inspected it with his Eyes of the Great Sage but didn''t see anything off, aside from a couple of built-in traps behind the door.


    Therefore, he quickly used a sword of light, sting the door open and immediately revealing some sort of red cleaver that swung inward to outward¡ªright where he stood.


    Had he been standing closer, he might have been hit.


    s, his perception was too overpowered now; most things couldn''t escape his sight.


    He straddled into the new hallway, having a bit of difficulty spotting the trace of the golden eye he had felt earlier.


    But that was not his main concern, as it seemed like some kind of different presence was watching him.


    It was the same one that had let out bloodlust earlier.


    Michael tried tracking it down again but failed. It seemed his Eyes of the Great Sage were not as overpowered as he had initially thought.


    Or maybe the one watching him was just way too strong.


    The only one he could ask was the system, but even then, it dodged his questions repeatedly.


    ''Anything?''


    Genius, for the sixteenth time, there is nothing. These are simply remnant illusions, the system exined in an annoyed tone.


    But just as it did, he saw something fall out of a hole in the wall, and upon taking a closer look, he noticed a certain ne.


    However, the moment he picked it up, he felt a stinging sensation in his shoulder.


    It wasn''t to the point of searing pain, but it did feel like a bit of his flesh was melting.


    Michael raised his arm and brought it to his shoulder before suddenly pulling out a small needle with a purple tip, which dripped some sort of poison down.


    As soon as it touched the floor, it formed a small puddle that began expanding, melting everything around it.


    He simply tossed it out of the way, not paying it any heed.


    It did, however, make him nce back at the ne he had picked up. At a nce, it looked ordinary, with seemingly nothing special about it.


    Yet the moment he grabbed it, an extremely small trap detonated¡ªthe poisonous needle.


    ''This seems like too big of a coincidence...'' Michael thought before creating a small pocket for the ne and putting it inside.


    If his assumption was correct, then it woulde in handyter on.


    Worst-case scenario, it was just a piece of junk.


    You want me to store it for you? the system suddenly asked, startling him for a moment.


    ''That is a bit unexpected... You wouldn''t be one to offer something like this,'' Michael replied suspiciously, though a grin began forming on his face.


    ''So it is important, huh? Great.''


    ...Suit yourself.


    Michael chuckled at the system''s antics before heading straight along the path.


    However, that soon stopped as he noticed the hall bing narrower, until finally, he had to squeeze through.


    That was the case for a couple of minutes, until eventually, he felt a breeze¡ªone that seemed unordinary, considering he was extremely deep underground.


    As he continued forward, his hand finally gained some degree of freedom, and with a final push, he made his way out of the cramped hall.


    Immediately, what greeted his sight was greenery. Looking back, he could see the hall he had juste out of was much more cramped than he''d initially expected.


    Frankly, staring at it, it seemed like a miracle he even managed to make it through, as the width of the hallway was the size of his forearm.


    Nheless, that''s not what caught his interest. Instead, it was the surroundings themselves.


    It was as though he had appeared in some sort of massive, lit-up cave with a waterfall to his right.


    And to his left, there was a path covered in perfectly cut grass, leading downward from where he stood.@@novelbin@@


    Michael decided to use his Eyes of the Great Sage again and immediately noticed something off.


    While the surroundings looked peaceful in nature, the reality of the situation was entirely different.


    It was all an illusion. He was simply standing on a tall rock with a rocky path to his left leading down.


    The waterfall was also gone. In its ce was the same grim wall as the hallway.


    And below him, where the left path led, was a single golden-haired individual.


    He was not the system, as Michael could still hear it grumbling inside his mind.


    But the mana radiating from him seemed topletely alter the surroundings¡ªthe main reason why the illusions even appeared.


    There was another problem at hand. The man was simply sitting down, not even reacting to anything happening around him¡ªnot even to Michael''s entrance.


    That was until the system''s voice finally resounded, bringing light to the situation at hand.


    Looks like he''s dead; his mana is simply keeping this ce running for the time being. But it''s going to run out soon, it seems.


    He nodded, before proceeding downward and arriving right before the golden-haired man. Indeed, it seemed like he was already starting to deteriorate.


    Michael stared at him for a few moments and, out of curiosity, decided to cast a heal on him, one much stronger than the rest, even boosted by his previous heals.


    Maybe, just maybe, he would be able to bring this man back to life, the same one who was subconsciously still using his exhausted mana core.


    However, instead of the mana traveling inward and healing the man, it shot back into Michael, followed by the rest of the mana of the surroundings¡ªthe same mana that had been gathering and keeping the ce at bay.


    Until eventually, a single system message appeared before him.


    [Trials of the Golden Dragon | Scenario 3: Complete]


    But before he could celebrate, he felt his hand expanding at an unnatural rate, the mana inside growing more and more rampant by the moment.


    At the same time, it was heading toward his mana core¡ªevery little bit of it.


    Before it could cause any trouble, however, it suddenly halted and began gathering in a single spot not too far from his mana core.


    The pain was excruciating, yet he bore through it, immediately feeling like he was growing stronger.


    Finally, as the pain continued and began increasing even further, he gained some rity on the situation.


    Or rather, theck of it.


    [ERROR]

 Chapter 214 Trial of the Golden Dragon Sect (18)

    ''Do I just speak?'' Michael questioned, looking around.


    It seemed like the man he touched had disappeared¡ªlikely scattered to dust or something simr.


    And by the looks of it and the rewards he got, it was safe to assume that whoever that man was, he was rted to the golden dragon in one way or another.


    Perhaps he even was the golden dragon himself.


    Still, since the trial was marked asplete, it was likely the case.


    But he decided to worry about itter. After all, he had not been transported out, meaning there was still something left to do.


    After a moment of silence, the system replied, Seems like it, I wouldn''t know. This core is unique to dragons, and by the looks of it, you are one of them now.


    Michael tilted his head for a moment before taking another nce at his status screen, and to his surprise, his race had a single word in it now: Draconic.


    ''Does that mean I will be able to turn into a dragon...?'' he asked, feeling a bit uneasy.


    That depends on the bloodline you awaken, but chances are, you will be a mix of everything.


    ''A draconic angel and demon?''


    Who knows? Maybe? I already said your case has never been documented, the system stated with a hint of annoyance, which did not go unnoticed by Michael.


    ''Seems to me like you know more than you let on. Is that the reason why you''re so cranky nowadays?''


    It is nothing that would concern you in the present moment.


    Michael rolled his eyes and proceeded to look around the room he was in.


    The walls had been cracked beyond repair, almost like they would fall on him at any moment.


    However, that did not seem to be the case, as an invisible field of mana was holding it together.


    He looked at it in wonder before proceeding to check out the rest of the seemingly empty room.


    The traces of malice he had felt earlier were still present somehow, and they wereing from the wall to the west.


    Michael didn''t think much of it, approaching and cing his hand on the wall.


    Immediately, a hollow noise resounded, signaling that this was a cover-up for what was behind the wall.


    He was about to simply st it to pieces with his sword of light, but just before it reached the wall, he halted.


    ''Can''t I just use the new mana core instead?'' Michael thought. It had an independent supply of mana, so naturally, it could be used.


    He was unsure how to go about it, so he simply stopped using his Flow core''s mana and cleared his throat before saying, "Break."


    Just as his words resounded, nothing happened, leaving him standing with his hand stretched out like an idiot.


    However, he did notice a small change: when he spoke, the Speech mana core slightly tingled, meaning the reaction was there¡ªbut something else was missing.


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    ''But what?'' Michael attempted to wrap his mind around this strange mana core of his, continuing to call out words.


    "Shatter."


    "Destroy..."


    "...Please break?"


    It didn''t take long for him to give up, but just as he did, a certain childhood memory resurfaced.


    He had once watched a movie about dragons, and in the movie, there were certain phrases the people used to control said dragons.


    And there was one in particr he remembered very well:


    "Ignis."


    Just as the words left his mouth, his throat began feeling a bit hot but soon subsided.


    However, as he thought it had malfunctioned, the wall before him suddenly turned to golden mes, burning away at the entire structure and stretching all across the room.


    At the same time, it revealed the passage behind the hollow wall, and as he noticed the ceiling begin to cave in behind him, he swiftly ran inside.


    Soon, the entire room copsed, with dust and debris flying toward him that he swiftly blocked with a shield.


    But he ignored it. Instead, a look of amazement was on his face¡ªthe new mana core he managed to use was quite literally draconguage.


    Which also meant his words would influence the surroundings and everything elsepletely.


    The only downside he could spot so far was the cost, as that single Ignis chant cost him 20% of his total mana for the second mana core.


    However, from his mana purity as well as the rest of his buffs, the power was incredibly formidable.


    There was also the luck of him having memorized the entire book of draconic chants back when he was in his cringy teen phase.


    Nheless, he could finally put that dark part of history behind him, since, in the end, it came to be useful.


    Do you want me topile the chants for you based on your memory? the system questioned, and he simply nodded, proceeding inward wherever this hall would take him.


    Very well. This might take a while because... you read a lot.


    ''...Go for it,'' Michael shrugged, stopping the embarrassment from creeping in.


    Unlike the previous hallway, which grew narrower with time, this one grew wider¡ªominously so.


    After just a few minutes of walking, he finally stopped.


    That was because he was inside a formation, simr to the one that used illusions to keep him inside.@@novelbin@@


    ''I really need to learn how to have Eyes of the Great Sage actually active, since so far, it doesn''t look like a passive skill at all,'' heined, ncing around.


    The ground below him was moving in the opposite direction he was walking, and with each step he took, it matched his pace.


    Which, in the very end, was a very simple fix.


    Michael had long ago stopped feeling the gravitational limitations that affected his wings; therefore, he pped them once and hovered just a bit above the ground.


    Immediately, light appeared ahead of him, and without hesitating further, he went toward it.


    However, the sight that greeted him once he finally arrived was definitely not what he was expecting.


    ''What the...?''

 Chapter 216 Side Project

    "Clean it up," Michael spoke in an assertive tone, directing the order to the four disciples he had found along the way.


    They were scrawny and, quite frankly, not very strong. Only one of them was at Tier 2, and that person already had gray hairs growing.


    ''This sect is hopeless,'' he thought, exhaling a sigh as he watched the disciples re at him with hate. But before they could voice their protests, Michael released his mana outward.@@novelbin@@


    It didn''t take long to reel them in, given that his strength was practically twice his mana core rank. By now, he was unsure of the heights he could reach.


    But one thing was for certain¡ªhis rate of progress would definitely not go unnoticed by some higher powers.


    Michael just hoped that when that time truly came, his strength would be much higher than it was now.


    Putting those thoughts aside, he spotted a pair of disciples hiding behind a nearby building. With a single step, he appeared before them. "You two, work."


    He didn''t feel particrly bad about making everyone do his work. After all, he would be the one to win that tournament of theirs.


    s, he wasn''t exactly cking off either. He was constantly experimenting with different words using his speech core, and for the most part, they all worked.


    One such word was Drazhul¡ªhis favorite out of the bunch.


    It consumed 50% of his second core''s mana, but the power it unleashed was incredible.


    The meaning behind that word was Destroy, and whenever he spoke it, the object he focused on disintegrated.


    Testing it on a living being was not an option for the moment, but he could feel it was powerful enough to deal with at least a Tier 2 opponent.


    For now, however, he would hold off on further testing. There was something else he wanted to check out.


    Just before they had departed for their tasks, Elder Li had mentioned the existence of a vault somewhere on the sect grounds.


    Apparently, it contained items that had not yet been gambled away. It was also the main thing still keeping the sect operational.


    He wasn''t nning on raiding it. Instead, he saw it as an opportunity to assess what kind of resources the formerly rich sect had to offer.


    From what he could gather, there might be elixirs or pills like the ones he had read about in his old world.


    Alchemy or something simr. Either way, he wanted to know about the benefits in advance since, after all this was over, he would im most of them anyway.


    Are you going to leave some for the disciples? the system questioned.


    ''I will bring this sect back to its glory. With that, I''ll also ensure their recruitment bes much stricter,'' Michael exined, ncing at a nearby disciple who suddenly tripped over a tree branch.


    ''Because what the fuck is that? No wonder they''re losing money if they''re taking just anyone.''


    Hmm... I can see that. But you could always take the mantle and train them instead. Maybe some are talented¡ªyou never know.


    ''Really? Do you want me to try?'' he asked suddenly, causing the system to fall silent.


    You didn''t even train your own disciple. How are you going to train someone random you don''t even know?


    Michael scoffed, already picking his target¡ªthe same person who had tripped over the tree branch earlier.


    It was just a kid, and from the mana he was exuding, his core was roughly Tier 1¡ªnot very high either.


    That made him a perfect candidate for a side project, just to see how far Michael could push some random weakling.


    Walking up to the kid, he lifted him with mana, earning a shocked expression.


    Before the kid could say anything, Michael spoke first.


    "Do you want me to help you train? Just for a single day."


    The kid froze, a puzzled expression appearing on his face. "H-Huh? Okay?"


    ''Great. Not so hard to acquire disciples,'' Michael nodded to himself.


    "What''s your name?"


    "Kai..." the kid replied in a low voice.


    Hmm... an orphan, it seems, the system added.


    Michael ignored thementary. In the end, it didn''t really matter.


    "Kai, would it be okay if we started training right away? I''m a busy person, after all."


    "Okay..." Kai said again. The moment he agreed, Michael picked him up with mana and flew to a nearby training tform.


    There were barely any disciples around¡ªonly a few noticed their arrival.


    Michael paid them no mind. He dropped Kai on the other side of the tform before stating, "Attack me with everything you''ve got."


    Kai hesitated for a moment but soon began dashing toward him.


    However, even before the fight began, Michael could tell something was off.


    The kid moved like someone without a mana core. His speed was painfully slow.


    Nheless, Michael decided to give Kai the benefit of the doubt and allowed him to strike.


    A fist flew toward Michael''s abdomen, and without reinforcing himself or using mana, he took the hit.


    To say he was disappointed was an understatement. Discover hidden stories at empire


    "AHHH!" Kai screamed, clutching his snapped wrist as he fell to the ground.


    Michael stared at him speechlessly before letting out a sigh and healing him, snapping the wrist back into ce.


    As he did, however, he noticed something unusual.


    The bone restructuring was different¡ªalmost as though it had strengthened. While that was normal to some extent, the speed and density with which it increased for Kai were nearly quadruple the usual rate.


    This meant that, as long as his bones were broken and restructured, his durability could increase abnormally¡ªpotentially rivaling Michael''s in the future.


    See? A genius punching bag that can grow endlessly durable. Obviously, don''t just go around breaking his bones for the sake of it. Make him go all out and break them himself. Otherwise, the effect would be the opposite of what you''re aiming for.


    Michael gazed at Kai, who was still lying on the ground, clutching his wrist with a puzzled expression.


    ''You are right.''

 Chapter 217 Side Project (2)

    Michael sent a kick toward Kai, and, to his surprise, Kai finally managed to dodge.


    But dodging was a bit subjective¡ªconsidering his arm was still broken. Nheless, he was able to absorb the majority of the hit.


    To no one''s surprise, Kai was staring at him with a hint of hatred that was reced by fear the moment Michael struck.


    You''ve been doing this for quite some time now. But I can''t tell... do you enjoy teaching or breaking bones? the system asked sarcastically.


    And he answered in kind, ''Both is good. In this case, bone breaking works wonders.''


    ''Also... he really is something else, no?'' Michael looked toward Kai with a small grin on his face.


    In just four hours, Kai''s constitution had grown by leaps and bounds.


    Before, he used to break his wrist on impact, but now, he could even roughly tank one of Michael''s weak hits¡ªwhich by no means was possible for a Tier 1.


    Michael just wished Kai''s strength was a bit greater. All he was good for currently was being a punching bag.


    However, just as Michael thought that, an idea surfaced in his mind. Extending his hand, he decided to try it out.@@novelbin@@


    Mana began gathering and soon formed at the tip of his fingers. Before long, it expanded outward, forming a sword outline.


    After finishing the touches, he infused 5% of his inner mana, and, to his surprise, a half-ck, half-golden sword emerged, indicating it had both the darkness affinity and light.


    But the sword was not meant for him¡ªnot yet, anyway. Therefore, he slimmed it down a tad bit and shortened the de before handing it over to Kai.


    "Take this. Let''s have another rematch."


    Kai looked at the sword with hesitation, but since the situation was not exactly in his favor, he picked it up nheless.


    Immediately, he was surprised by how light the sword was. He could practically swing it around at full power with just his fingertip.


    That also meant the issue of him having very little power could be solved due to the sheer sharpness of the sword, which Michael ensured was much higher than it should have been.


    ''Only time will tell, though...'' Michael pondered for a moment and took a few steps back, letting Kai get ustomed to the sword.


    Soon, Michael decided to make the first move, slowly walking up to him and swinging his palm down.


    However, unlike before¡ªwhen Kai would dodge with a panicked look¡ªhe simply dashed backward before cutting the air in front of him, causing Michael to halt his downward palm motion.


    That was simply because the sword was actually way too sharp. It was even possible it could cut him as well.


    But it wasn''t anything a little bit of reinforcement couldn''t fix. Therefore, he dashed back in, closing the distance between them.


    Like before, he prompted a weaker attack, yet this time, he went for a feint.


    Swinging his left palm downward, he garnered Kai''s full focus, and while that was happening, Michael sent out a kick to his side.


    Again, to his surprise, Kai managed to evade it, skimming his robes in the process.


    ''How is he suddenly doing this?'' Michael waspletely puzzled. A Tier 1 should not be able to do something like that.


    Even if they could, how could someone who just picked up a sword for the first time in their lives do that?


    I wonder? You might have found an actual genius, the system remarked with a chuckle.


    ''Seems like it... because all he''s missing is some speed, and he would be an extremely tough opponent.''


    Michael nced at Kai, who was staring at him with a focused look, and said, "I will be stepping up the intensity of the training. If you canst five minutes, you get to keep the sword."


    Without even waiting for a response, he dashed in and mmed his fist toward the sword directly, sending Kai flying back.


    However, it seemed he managed to negate quite a lot of the force since Michael''s Eyes of the Great Sage could not spot any internal injuries.


    There was only a single one, and it seemed to originate in Kai''s right wrist¡ªthe same wrist that held the sword.


    It was almost like it would snap after just a few more hits, and, for research purposes, Michael decided to attack it once more.


    However, unlike before, Kai''s movements were much more precise¡ªsome even directly redirecting his iing fists¡ªcausing Michael to increase the intensity further.


    Finally, once Michael began using the strength of an actual Tier 2, Kai began facing some difficulties, to the point where, if he wasn''t careful, his arm wouldpletely be lopped off.


    But since Michael was a healer, each time his strikended with the sword, he cast a concentrated heal, causing Kai''s injuries to visibly heal.


    He held no attachments to the sword he had just made, and, for better or worse, Michael was a bit intrigued by Kai''s talent with it.


    If anything, he was practically bringing up a new genius into the Murim world.


    However, as he was lost in his thoughts, he forgot to hold back a little. His fist collided with the sword, identally sending Kai skidding across the ground.


    ''Whoops...'' Michael sighed before preparing to cast a heal, but, upon further inspection, he noticed Kai was not injured this time.


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    The only thing that stood out was the fact that his sword was slightly fractured. But even then, from the Dantian core Kai had, it was slowly repairing itself over time.


    Therefore, Michael had practically created an unbreakable sword¡ªunless one attacked with enough force to shatter it in one go, of course.


    Hmm... You should probably devise an actual training n for him. This Kai kid seems to have a lot of potential to be the strongest in this world. Even if he is reliant on your sword for the moment, his technique is undeniable, the systemmented, and Michael nodded back.


    ''Have anything in mind?''


    Well... he might not like it.

 Chapter 219 Side Project (4)

    ''Is he a monster?'' Michael couldn''t help but exim upon seeing the results of Kai''s training.


    After just three hours, he managed to climb all the way up to the top¡ªand that was while Mikhail had been sending down boulders.


    They were much stronger than the ones Michael had thrown, so it was a real testament to his skill.


    Especially the sword skill.


    Along the way, he had stopped using his arms to climb altogether, merely using the sword to position himself upwards before flinging to each hedge one by one.


    The speed was fast enough to evade the boulders, and even if one dide his way, he''d simply sh it in half.


    That was the case for most of the encounters¡ªall the way up until he reached the very top of the mountain where Michael was leisurely lying around.


    "Good job."


    However, Kai didn''t react to his words, merely holding the sword in a way that suggested he could lunge forward at any moment.


    Seems like he is seeing you as some sort of enemy now, the system remarked.


    ''Doesn''t matter.'' Michael shrugged in response before raising his hand.


    Immediately, Kai''s sword disintegrated, and all he was left with were his shaking legs that had been storing up fatigue this entire time.


    "You should rx for a couple of minutes. I know just the perfect training for you," Michael stated with a grin before enveloping Kai in mana and, once again, flying into the sky.


    On his map, there was a single ce that seemed a bit more isted than most.


    It was not too far away either, meaning he could get there within just a couple of minutes.


    Therefore, Michael covered Kai in a see-through mana barrier and began heading over there at full speed.


    In just a few moments, he had arrived. His speed was much greater than before¡ªmany times greater, even.


    Now, the two were above a small ind in the middle of a decently sizedke. Swimming across it wouldn''t be too taxing for either of them.


    However, there was one problem¡ªthe fact that inside theke were a few red dots swirling around.


    With his Eyes of the Great Sage, he could see certain monster-like beings swimming around as though they were massive serpents.


    Strength-wise, not so strong, but their appearance alone would be more than enough to frighten someone.


    Noticing that Kai had been a little out of it due to the speed they were going, Michael plopped him down on the very middle of the ind.


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    "Your task this time around is to simply survive," Michael stated in a neutral tone before setting his foot on the ground as well.


    Just to be safe, he looked all around the forest, making sure there weren''t any traps or secrets.@@novelbin@@


    To his surprise, there were some booby traps and wires strewn across several ces, most looking very outdated.


    However, once he stepped on one of the traps out of curiosity, it managed to pierce his foot with some kind of small projectile.


    But just before it could reach Michael''s face, he deflected it to the side, watching as it pierced through several trees, knocking them down.


    ''Mana infused, huh? They have some pretty good traps,'' Michael thought, unamused.


    His foot quickly healed¡ªit barely felt like a prickle at this point.


    Nheless, he proceeded to dismantle every single trap like that on the small ind since, while he was extremely durable, Kai was not as much.


    Soon, Michael was finished, and he headed back to Kai, who had seemingly fallen asleep. Without waiting further, he woke him up by using mana to push him around.


    It did not take long for him to wake up, and once he did, he once again looked at Michael with malice.


    However, before things could get out of hand, Michael suddenly flew into the sky, overlooking the entire ind as well as the puzzled Kai, before stating,


    "Survive here until tomorrow. I will pick you up."


    Right as his words fell, Kai''s expression turned to one of shock as he was about to call out. But before he could do that, Michael vanished from sight.


    Or so it seemed to him. All Michael did was move incredibly fast upwards.


    This training regimen would be much more effective than the previous ones since Kai had the experience to, at the very least, dodge an attack or two.


    As for the reason Michael did not give him a sword, it was simply because he relied on it too much, making it extremely easy for him to deal with most encounters.


    And soon, the training began as Kai fiddled around with his surroundings, trying to get ustomed but failing.


    Knocking down the trees to form some shelter was his go-to first move, which was not a bad choice.


    Next, food.


    Food was pretty scarce on the small ind, with only a few animals roaming it. However, since he was only tasked with being here for a single day, it did not matter.


    But it was too easy¡ªmuch too easy for this to actually be called training.


    Therefore, Michael would do what he had nned on doing from the very start: stirring the river.


    He made sure that Kai would not notice him as he flew back down to the water, and without wasting any time, began infusing his mana in it.


    Immediately, ripples spread across, turning more violent by the moment until eventually, there was a mini tsunami heading toward Kai.


    And inside it, a couple of the serpent monsters.


    This sure is a bit reckless, don''t you think? the systemmented, and he simply shrugged.


    ''I am right next to Kai. If anything, I can kill those monsters in a mere moment,'' he stated before moving his hand, revealing the glow of several golden swords in the sky.


    It had be a habit of his to gather a few of them each time he was not fighting or doing anything special.


    Now, the number of swords in the sky was astronomical, to say the least.


    Putting his baseless worries aside, he looked off into the distance.


    ''I wonder how they are doing?''

 Chapter 220 Home?

    [Kevin''s POV]


    "Please put that down..." he practically begged as he looked at Elizabeth, who had been holding an expensive-looking vase.


    It had not taken them long to arrive at where he had been nning to go; however, there was one small issue.


    The residents, who were supposed to be waiting for him to arrive with open arms, were nowhere to be seen.


    Instead, it waspletely abandoned, with everything practically left behind for just the two of them to indulge in.


    This was a ce he had spent most of his childhood at and most of his time training before heading out into a different world.


    A tribal vige, hidden in the mountains at the edge of the continent.


    It was a mysterious ce where people rarely entered or left, so it was especially strange to find no one present.


    The only signs of life they had found were boiling pots and toys scattered around, which likely meant that, before the two of them arrived, the residents had, for some reason, vanished.


    ''No time to worry about that now, though...'' Kevin nced at her once again. She had been ying around way too much these past few days.


    Suddenly, she dropped the vase onto the ground, shattering it, causing his eyes to widen.


    However, before he could question if her brain was in the right ce, the sword on her waist suddenly began shining with a silvery light.


    Before long, it enveloped her whole.


    His confusion was clear as he tried using shadows to pry open the silver cocoon, but before he could, it repelled him backward.


    The force was enough to send him hurtling across the building''s walls, breaking even more furniture than he would have liked.


    But that was not his main concern. Instead, it was Elizabeth and whatever was happening to her.


    He did not want to lose her again for no apparent reason other than some stupid sh of light. Yet before it, he waspletely powerless.


    Not giving up, Kevin proceeded to envelop the entire silver cocoon with his shadow mana, attempting to make it switch ces with one of his shadows.


    Yet once again, whenever he tried infusing some degree of mana into it, he was rejected and repelled¡ªeach time much more forceful than thest.@@novelbin@@


    At the same time, it did not seem like the silvery cocoon was growing any less stable. In fact, it was beginning to destroy the surroundings.


    He could only groan at the sight. While all of these memories were precious to him, what mattered most at the moment was Elizabeth.


    But just as her mana, as well as the silvery mana, began stirring, he suddenly felt some sort of connection, and in that short moment, he reached out.


    To his surprise¡ªor more like shock¡ªit felt as though a hole had appeared inside his chest. But before he could ponder on it further, he fell to the ground, just before the silvery cocoon.


    It was a familiar sensation, yet in the current moment, it was incredibly foreign.


    The forming of a mana core, one that was against his control.


    Suddenly, the silver strands reached out from the cocoon and enveloped him as well. Yet as he thought things could not get any worse, they did.


    A sharp pain went through his head, as though it was being split apart, followed by the feeling of his heart seemingly being crushed by a boulder.


    That was not all, as his abdomen began feeling weak too, like his inner organs were churning.


    And to top it all off, his spine¡ªthe pain was building up until finally, he had lost all sense of pain.


    ''Did my nerve endings just get cut off?'' Kevin thought with a frightened expression as he could definitely feel something going on in his body, yet there was no pain anymore.


    And the only person who could provide some sort offort to him¡ªElizabeth¡ªwas likely in the same situation as him, maybe even worse.


    Therefore, he fought with all his will, trying to hold onto his consciousness for as long as he could.


    Yet no matter how much time had passed, there weren''t any visible changes.


    Or that was the impression he was getting, since, for some reason, in the corner of his eye was some ck hologram that he couldn''t quite grasp.


    It was just floating around, but since he was in a bit of a sorry state, his eyes could not pick up on what it was.


    For all he knew, he could simply be hallucinating; it certainly would not be the first time.


    But as the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours, his unease only grew further.


    ''Fuck... this really is making me feel like I should not have wasted my time in that academy,'' Kevin thought while rxing himself.


    There was no way to make his body function, only to let the silver strands do their thing. But even then, it was already dark outside. Soon, monsters would arrive.


    This kind of location was convenient yet dangerous. It had a high concentration of mana, meaning that raising his general mana purity and other stuff would be much quicker.


    However, the downside was monsters that reached the levels of Tier 1 were present here, mostlying out at night.


    That was why most of the people present had at least a Tier 1 mana core to defend their home.


    But now, all he could do was hope the monsters did not approach them anytime soon.


    Turning his eyes back to the silvery cocoon, he could see a few irregrities.


    A vein-like surface was emerging, as though it was pulsating.


    For a moment, it made him think something went wrong, but quickly checking the connection he had secretly formed with Elizabeth, he noted that she was fine¡ªfor the most part, at least.


    Her pulse was slow, simr to his, and from what he could feel, the mana was equally as unstable in her case, if not more.


    But as his connection began growing stronger with Elizabeth, something unexpected happened.


    The ck hologram from earlier floated over to him, stopping just in front of his eyes, revealing its contents.


    [Child of Shadows, would you like to embark on a journey?]


    [Yes/No]

 Chapter 222 Child of Shadows (2)

    ''Origin... Origin, just what kind of origin am I supposed to find here exactly?'' Kevin thought, his head aching slightly.


    If the origin here was something rted to the Child of Shadows, he had nothing to go off of.


    He was referred to by that title, so what exactly could he find out about it in such a timeline?


    Nheless, he couldn''t dawdle around. Therefore, he jumped to the next roof, then the next, arriving in the city''s center.


    The crystal spire was even more massive than he had expected¡ªseeing it from a distance did not do it justice, after all.


    But now, he was even more lost. Even though it was Avalon''s center, there were very few people present, as though it had been abandoned.


    Noticing that this must not be the case, he dropped down and walked up to a lone person who had been walking around with his hands in his pockets.


    Kevin tried his best not to startle him; therefore, he called out, "Excuse me!"


    His words fell on deaf ears as the man continued his walk. Suddenly, once he got a certain distance away, he vanished.


    ''What?'' Kevin''s brows furrowed as he turned back around, only to see the man from before walking in his direction again¡ªsame posture, clothing, and everything else.


    Yet as he passed by him and headed out a certain distance, he disappeared again... and again.


    It was a loop.


    Kevin took notice of the other people not too far away, and while some looked like genuine people simply striding by, the rest were in some kind of loop.


    ''Odd...'' He couldn''t help but think as he took a few steps back and headed for the spire instead. Maybe whatever was inside could answer some of his questions.


    The way it worked was that he would ce his hand on the base of the spire, and a few locations should appear in his mind.


    If that was anything to go by, there might be a certain location that had not been there thest time he checked.


    That was why he jogged over to the spire and put both of his hands on it.@@novelbin@@


    Immediately closing his eyes, he could feel a certain connection to multiple locations¡ª25 in total.


    Yet even as the connection existed, there was a single connection that felt deeper than the rest: Ventoria.


    It seemed like a normal world at a nce; however, the connection he felt with it was more on the sense of mana.


    His shadow affinity reacted to it¡ªit seemed like it was literally calling out for him to enter.


    And since he did not have any better ideas aside from endlessly roaming around Avalon, he went through with the idea, locking his focus onto Ventoria until, eventually, he felt a breeze, signifying the sessful world transfer.


    Kevin reopened his eyes and took his hands off the spire, which seemed much smaller than the one in Avalon, before taking a nce all around him.


    He was expecting to see a city or some kind of life. Instead, what greeted his sight was a wastnd.


    It seemed affected by both fire and some kind of gue, as there were cysts of green blood scattered all around.


    ''Disgusting...'' Kevin couldn''t help but exim at the sight, which was making even his stomach churn.


    Without wasting any time, he gathered his shadows, forming a sort of foot leverage that could carry him across the entire wastnd.


    In the meantime, he could try looking around more in-depth¡ªor even take a nce at his own self.


    He had noticed that his shadow summons were taking less and less mana with each passing second, and now that he took a good look at his insides, he could feel something odd.


    Mana was gathering in four different ces: his brain, heart, abdomen, and,stly, spine.


    Each flow was weaker than the rest, but if he were to utilize all four of them at once, he could output immense power.


    Even then, utilizing a single one was efficient. With his mind, he could better control his summons.


    With his heart, he could make them have special characteristics, whilst with his abdomen, make them much stronger than should be possible.


    Lastly, the flow located in his spine seemed to enhance the others while simultaneously greatly improving his summon casting time and general spell efficiency¡ªmaking it cost way less mana to use.


    Obviously, he was no idiot¡ªhe knew what they were.


    But the fact that he had managed to form a core out of seemingly nowhere, and better yet, an extra three, waspletely unheard of.


    Even the spine core, which he had read about in books, was made for those deemed special by the heavens¡ªthose with extreme talent in both mana and everything else.


    He was not one of them, and yet...


    ''I got them all.'' Kevin couldn''t help but put on a small smile. This opened up endless possibilities, which he would definitely explore once this stupid trial was over.


    Now that he was capable of utilizing mana freely, there was no point in holding back. Spreading it all across thend and multiplying its effects by stacking each core on one another, he was able to see hundreds of kilometers all around.


    And yet, despite the great increase, he couldn''t feel any life in such a massive radius.


    But that did not mean he waspletely unsessful, as roughly 30 kilometers away, he could feel some sort of town that had been made there.


    It was abandoned from the looks of it; however, the stench of blood did not fail to reach his mana sense.


    Commanding his shadow summons with his mind, they rapidly began sprinting in that direction¡ªthe speed at which they were moving was incredible.


    With the core in his heart, he was able to make the summons have wind-propelling abilities, and with the core in his abdomen, make them kick off with incredible strength, spanning hundreds of meters in a single dash.


    If things were any different, he would have formed the core located in his heart, simply because with it, he could imbue his summons with any lesser affinity¡ªbe it wind, fire, water, or earth.


    ''The versatility is endle-'' His words halted as a presence suddenly appeared in his detection radius, but just as quickly, it disappeared.


    However, he took notice of it, even memorized that presence in the split moment it appeared¡ªand to say he was shocked was an understatement.


    ''Elizabeth?'' Kevin called out in his mind before visualizing the presence in front of him.


    The height was the same, and her features were practically identical¡ªthe only difference being that she did not have her sword.


    This immediately made a frown appear on his face.


    ''That''s not Elizabeth,'' he concluded, scattering the visualized presence and steeling his heart.


    Not once in his entire life had he seen her walk around without her sword¡ªit was like showcasing her pride and joy.


    And for this identical being to not have it was extremely suspicious.


    Soon, he arrived in the town, and, utilizing his summons, was carried down and ced on the roof of some kind of fallen clock tower.


    Overlooking the town below, he noticed stters of blood scattered across the entire ground, pieces of flesh sticking to walls.


    It was gruesome and inhumane.


    Yet the one thing that stood out from where he stood was the letters drawn in blood, covering the walls and the entire center of this town.


    Kevin''s brows furrowed as he read the contents.


    ''Wee, Child of Shadows...''

 Chapter 223 Child of Shadows (3)

    ''Is this really meant for me? I might just be looking into this a little too much,'' Kevin thought as he strolled across the town, seeing the murals with the same thing written over and over again.


    He refused to believe what he was seeing. After all, he himself had never indulged in any evil activities.


    The most he had done was ughter a few demon viges, but that was about all.


    Even then, the amount of losses he had suffered at the hands of demons made it more than fair enough to warrant revenge.


    ''But still...'' Kevin passed by a broken-down building, in which he could see a pair of detached legs with bones sticking out of them.


    Noticing that all this little search of his would warrant was horror, he decided to simplye back out and onto his shadow summons.


    There didn''t seem to be anything else he could go off of, as this ce waspletely deste.


    Aside from the blood and traces of corpses here, there was nothing else.


    ''I wonder¡ªit would really be funny if I could have some kind of guide.'' Kevin chuckled before looking off into the sky.


    ''What did he call it? Status?''


    +---+


    Name: Kevin Veltro


    Age: 15 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Shadow [Superior]


    Mana Purity: 160%


    Mana Core (1): Mind Core


    Mana Core Rank (1): Tier 1


    -:- 3% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (2): Mage Core


    Mana Core Rank (2): Tier 1


    -:- 9% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (3): Flow Core


    Mana Core Rank (3): Tier 1


    -:- 7% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (4): Dantian Core


    Mana Core Rank (4): Tier 1


    -:- 2% Progress to next Tier -:-


    --Titles:


    Child of Shadows: Increases the effectiveness of all spells rted to the Shadow affinity by 250%.


    ???:


    --Stats:


    HP: 100/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP (1): 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (2): 91/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (3): 98/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (4): 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [E] (132) {Total = 132}


    END: Tier 1 [E+] (188) {Total = 188}


    AGI: Tier 1 [D-] (221) {Total = 221}


    INT: Tier 1 [B-] (539) {Total = 539}


    CHA: Tier 1 [S-] (848) {Total = 848}


    --Skills


    Passive Skills: Calibrating... 35%


    Active Skills: Calibrating... 19%


    +---+


    ''...What?'' Kevin''s eyes widened when a ck hologram suddenly appeared before his eyes.


    It disyed the same information that Michael had told him about back in the past.


    The only problem was, it did not show his skills. Instead, they were calibrating... very slowly.


    But his suspicions were confirmed; he truly had four mana cores¡ªevery single one that''s possible to create normally.


    He was already ahead of his previous self because of the current Michael''s influence, but now, he had practically won the lottery.


    All he had to do was simply improve at a steady pace, and before long, his strength would rival his previous self.


    Or that was the n initially anyway¡ªbut knowing his luck, he would simply be thrown into another weird scenario, much like the silver cocoon.


    ''Anyway...'' Kevin finished admiring the status screen and closed it before taking a deep breath and proceeding to stretch out his mana even further.


    The mind core made it so his mental capacity was much greater than before, so the influx of so much information at once did not damage his brain in the slightest.


    And with the addition of the other cores, the distance he could see was great.


    But s, even after several minutes of searching, he had not managed to find out anything regarding his current situation.


    So far, the only lead he had was the Elizabeth clone who had appeared before him twice now.


    ''I guess I have to go look for her personally,'' he thought and proceeded to pick a random direction before heading straight.@@novelbin@@


    Minutes of travel soon turned to hours, and yet, there was nothing in sight. If anything, it felt like he was walking around in circles.


    The settlement was long behind him, but the different mountains and natural structures looked eerily simr.


    Therefore, he knew there were only two situations where something like this could be the case.


    In the first situation, one would be stuck in a formation¡ªone that constantly loops you around.


    Whereas in the second, it was more game-like.


    A restricted area¡ªor in this case, him going the wrong way.


    Instead of going straight, he turned back around and, with his mana, marked this entire area off as a no-go zone.


    Quickly going left, he noticed a simr result and did the same for this area as well, until eventually, he headed straight east.


    This time, after nearly an hour of walking, he did not notice anything off. The surroundings were changing, and none of the structures were repeating.


    Which meant he was going on the right track, and soon, he would reach his destination.


    Concentrating all of his mana in a single direction, he soon found life¡ªand from the looks of it, they were monsters.


    Their mana was vtile and unstable, so it was only natural.


    Of course, he couldn''t rule out the possibility that they were demons either.


    It did not take him long to arrive before them, and to his surprise, they were some kind of goat monsters that stood on two legs, simr to humans.


    Putting his doubt aside, he spoke, "Would you happen to know of a Child of Shadows?"


    It was a gamble whether they would understand him or not, but even if they didn''t, he could simply kill them.


    But just as his words fell, their bodies twitched as they turned their creepy heads toward him.


    "Who''s asking?" one of the goat monsters questioned, its tone emotionless.


    "Just a passerby," Kevin answered with a shrug before continuing. "But it seems like you know who I am talking about?"


    His tone grew a bit colder, startling the goat monsters. However, they did not back down.


    "The one you speak of is not currently in thisnd... traveler."


    Kevin could immediately sense the falsehood in the seemingly emotionless voice. He suddenly stretched out his shadows, and before the goat monster could even react, they enveloped it.


    Soon, its body began wriggling in weird ways until eventually, a loud bone-cracking sound resounded, followed by its body turningpletely ck.


    But that was not because it died¡ªit was simply because Kevin''s shadows had consumed its body, taking it over.


    "Now then..." He turned to the remaining goat monsters.


    "Would you like to talk?"

 Chapter 224 Child of Shadows (4)

    "Talk," he spoke while enveloping another goat monster with his shadows.


    However, to no one''s surprise, this one remained silent as well. With a clench of his fists, the shadows enveloped it too.


    By now, there were four shadow creatures formed from him harvesting these monsters.


    They were a bit stronger than his own summons solely because these ones had a previous physical form, whereas the ones he summoned were pure mana.


    That''s why, if he was lucky, the skills of the monsters he managed to absorb would be transferred into that specific shadow summon.


    It was a really convenient skill for instilling fear.


    Now, the remaining two goat monsters were shaking frantically, their faces showing horrified expressions despite the emotionlessness they had tried to portray earlier.


    "Which of you two wants to live?" Kevin questioned with a wide grin. Soon, one of the goat monsters stepped up and fell to the ground before him.


    "B-ck spire! That''s where the Child of Shadows is! Please spare me!" the goat monster shouted frantically.@@novelbin@@


    However, from this close proximity, Kevin was able to tell something.


    The stench of blood¡ªspecifically, human blood.


    ''Of course, when is it not like this...'' He let out a sigh before ncing down at the goat monster with a smile.


    "You are free to go. Take your friend along the way, okay?"


    Immediately, the goat monster''s expression beamed as he began running swiftly, the second monster following closely behind.


    However, before they could get too far, his shadows suddenly appeared out of the ground, circling them.


    Soon, they began breathing fire, trapping the goat monsters as though they were in an oven, burning them to ash nearly instantly.


    Kevin nodded in satisfaction before taking a deep breath.


    ''Much better.''


    He not only got rid of the trash but also gained some information.


    A win-win situation.


    But now, finding that ck spire the monster talked about might be a little difficult¡ªafter all, this world was massive, and from the looks of it, nothing was nearby.


    That also meant he could use his earlier strategy of finding where to go by simply going in the wrong direction.


    He tried left, right, andstly, straight. Going straight appeared to be the correct way, as nothing irregr was happening.


    After just a few minutes of travel, he could see something that could probably be taken for a spire; however, he was highly certain that was not it.


    In the distance, there was a slim tower, several hundred meters tall.


    At the same time, however, Kevin noticed several more towers to the sides, some much bigger than thest.


    And finally, the main problem.


    In each of the ck towers, there was a single person stationed at the very top.


    From what Kevin could see, their strength was certainly not great¡ªmuch like his own.


    But still, the fact that each of those people was alive and kicking, while at the same time nearly identical, was a huge issue.


    He was unsure how much time he had toplete this trial, nor how long Elizabeth would be stuck in that strange cocoon of hers.


    s, Kevin would still do whatever he could, so he headed straight for the first tower, entering it from the bottom.


    Immediately, despite its slim size, the inside was quite spacious¡ªlikely the doing of some spatial magic.


    Nheless, he made his way up the round staircase, passing by each individual floor in the tower.


    A bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom floor¡ªthere was everything.


    Finally, at the very top, sat a lone man in his chair, reading a book, uninterested in Kevin, who had appeared before him.


    "Are you the Child of Shadows?" Kevin asked, but was merely met with a short look before the man went back to reading.


    Just as he thought he would try again, the man finally spoke.


    "Wrong."


    As his words fell, Kevin suddenly felt some kind of suction force that immediately pushed him back. Before he knew it, he was back outside, staring at the tall ck tower before him.


    A frown appeared on his face as he realized what had happened.


    ''So every single time I get the wrong person, I get teleported back to where I started. This is... going to take a while.'' Kevin grumbled before spreading out his mana, trying to catch some kind of trace.


    To his dismay, there was nothing¡ªmerely the same trace of mana over and over again, stretching as far as the eye could see.


    Realizing there was no way around this hassle, he decided to go into the next tower, climbing back up again and meeting the same man from earlier.


    "...Are you the Child of Shadows?" Kevin asked and was met with a small nce before once again being waved off.


    "Wrong."


    Trying another tower, and then another... and even more after that, he realized he was not going anywhere.


    Each of these towers was the same¡ªboth structurally and in terms of whoever was at the very top.


    It was the same man over and over again, yet he was still being denied ess.


    ''Am I missing something?'' he couldn''t help but think in frustration.


    How had he not managed to get even a step closer to what he was looking for? The origin or whatever¡ªit was supposed to be here. The Child of Shadows was supposed to be here.


    And yet, every single time, it was the same oue.


    ''Fuck...'' Kevin ruffled his own hair before creating a couch out of his own shadow and sitting downfortably.


    If nothing else was working, what other choice did he have other than to brainstorm his way out?


    But now that he had a moment to breathe, despite all the chaos still going around, a thought emerged¡ªone he had not considered before.


    ''Am I really going about this in the right way? I keep asking the man if he''s the Child of Shadows...'' He paused, a conflicted look on his face.


    ''But if he''s not the Child of Shadows... then who is?''

 Chapter 225 Child of Shadows (5)

    "Wrong."


    "Wrong."


    "Wrong."


    The same voice resounded for the hundredth time, and even as Kevin attempted all sorts of different questions, the answer remained the same.


    "Wrong."


    He was once again sent back outside, heaving an exhausted breath.@@novelbin@@


    ''136 tries, 130 different questions... and yet, it''s still the same,'' Kevin thought with frustration as he headed over to another tower, climbing to the very top of it.


    However, instead of saying something, he decided to simply stay quiet. When he had done sost time, he wasn''t kicked out.


    Therefore, the answer might lie in silence or something simr.


    ''But this is very... awkward.'' Kevin stood before the man, watching as he flipped the pages in silence.


    Yet with each page turned and read, a particr detail stood out¡ªone that Kevin wanted to make sure of immediately.


    "Are you the Child of Shadows?"


    "Wrong."


    He was swiftly sent out, but that was his n in the first ce.


    Kevin wasted no time climbing back up and eventually arrived at the very top.


    This time, however, he did not pay much attention to the man. Instead, he focused on the book¡ªespecially the pages.


    What had caught his eye was the fact that each time he stood here, the book was the only thing that changed.


    The pages turned, and now that he''s back, they once again reset to what they had been the moment he entered the tower.


    Which meant his idea of being silent was urate. The book was likely a timer he had to wait out, and only then would he get some answers.


    A minute, an hour, andstly¡ªafter four whole hours¡ªthe man turned the final page.


    ''Finally...'' Kevin sighed, finding it extremely exhausting to just stand there and wait.


    The man finally took his eyes off the book, staring straight into Kevin''s eyes.


    "Took you a while to figure out the first answer... we are doomed."


    ''Excuse me?'' Kevin''s brow twitched at the man''s snarky remark.


    "Anyway,e with me." The man stood up, signaling toward the nearby wall before walking toward it.


    His body passed through the wall, and before long, Kevin followed right behind him.


    To his surprise, the moment he passed through the wall, he entered a lush in grasnd, with only a single ck tower in the far-off distance.


    ''This must have been what I was looking for,'' he thought, steadily following the man who began increasing his pace.


    Strength-wise, they seemed the same, but even then, the possibility of manipting one''s mana core was tedious¡ªyet very effective.


    He could do it too if he tried, but since his strength was merely at Tier 1, there wasn''t really much to hide.


    "..." Kevin was about to speak but stopped himself. For all he knew, this was still a continuation of the previous test.


    But his suspicions were deemed wrong as the man let out a loud chuckle.


    "You can talk. Ask away."


    "Then can you answer the question I''ve been asking for thest day?" Kevin said, a small frown on his face.


    The man before him seemed extremely off, and the more he tried acting normally, the more off he felt.


    "Child of Shadows, right?" he replied before continuing, "It''s just a formality we call those who have a deep connection to thend of the dead."


    "Doesn''t the Death or Darkness affinity deal with the dead?" Kevin questioned in a puzzled tone.


    "Mainly, but shadows can thrive in both darkness and death. While it isn''t as strong, with enough outer assistance, it bes just as good." The man answered and continued walking forward, awaiting more questions.


    Therefore, Kevin did not shy away from asking, "Are you the examiner of thisnd? The same one who sent me here?"


    "Yes and no. I was tasked to evaluate your personality. As for the person who sent you to this ce, they are very high up in the food chain, so worrying about them would do you no good."


    He was not convinced; therefore, he decided to dig deeper.


    "How deeply rooted are you in my past?" Kevin insinuated in a tone that anyone who knew about his previous life would immediately catch onto.


    However, the answer he was initially expecting was only half there.


    "I don''t know much about the past you are referring to; all I know is that this time around, we must get you into shape much sooner due to the emergence of the seventh trumpet."


    "Seventh trumpet? You mean the cmity?" Kevin''s eyes widened as he knew exactly what the man was talking about.


    Just before he died, he remembered hearing a loud screeching noise that soon turned into the sound of a trumpet ying.


    It was only a single one, yet it was able to affect the surroundings and even the demon prince he was fighting, signifying its great power.


    No one knew anything about it, aside from the fact that it was some ck-winged abomination that disappeared shortly after, never to be heard about again.


    But it wasn''t like it wasn''t predicted, as many prophets and all sorts of literature had the same information.


    Seven trumpets are sounded, one at a time, to cue apocalyptic events that would befall the entire world¡ªor even the universe.


    The beings were shrouded in mystery, and no one knew their identity. The only thing known about them was that they were likely living among the rest of the races in perfect harmony.


    However, the most important thing now was that if Kevin was called to be stronger faster, then that meant this situation was somehow connected to him.


    ''But how...?'' he wondered, and soon, a single face appeared in his mind¡ªone that was both obnoxious and trustworthy.


    ''Michael?''


    As soon as he thought that, the man before him stopped, turning back around.


    "We are here, Child of Shadows," he stated before opening the massive tower''s door.


    "The trials will be arduous and long, but do not fear. This is a time-gated realm, meaning time does not pass outside of it, nor does it pass in the world where you traveled here from."


    Kevin nodded in response. At least that meant he could get stronger quickly and head back to Elizabeth.


    "The gateway is about to close, so please go in," the man said, his hands holding the door trembling.


    "Alright," Kevin agreed and quickly made his way toward the door, and without a moment''s hesitation, passed through it.


    Immediately, a veil of darkness covered his eyes, and in the same darkness was a lone message.


    [Part 2mencing: Trials]


    ''Here goes nothing...''

 Chapter 226 Child of Shadows (6)

    ''Ice?'' Kevin''s eyes finally settled, taking in the surroundings to their full capacity.@@novelbin@@


    He was currently standing on a patch of ice, and before him were several dozen yeti monsters, stationed all around.


    Yet that was not all that puzzled him. In between these patches of ice was water¡ªmeaning he was literally floating right now.


    That also meantbat would be a bit more tricky than he would have initially liked. After all, he could feel the cold clearly, and even with the shadows surrounding him having the fire affinity and actively warming him up, he still felt cold.


    The monsters before him were not that strong either. With his current strength, he could easily deal with them.


    ''But is that the objective here?'' Kevin thought with a frown.


    If these were ordinary Snow Yetis, they would have already noticed he was here and likely attacked.


    But now, they were merely strolling around, gnawing at the ice below them whilepletely ignoring him.


    They weren''t monsters he couldmunicate with, so he didn''t even try.


    Therefore, Kevin opted to simply use his shadows to get off the te of ice, finding a decently high-up spot to scout the area.


    Spreading out his mana all around, he noticed a fair amount of resistance. If he didn''t know any better, he would assume someone was dampening his perception.


    But in reality, it was just the density of mana in the air¡ªjust like with any other elemental world.


    Be it a world of fire, ice, or water, each had its unique quirks that made it harder for travelers to use their mana efficiently.


    Nheless, he was able to feel at least one-fifth of the regr amount, giving him enough insight into the situation.


    Yet at the same time, his confusion only grew further.


    These trials were unnecessarilyplicated. In the first ce, so much time would have been saved had he been transported directly to the ck tower.


    ''Unless... I was supposed to see Elizabeth''s clone.'' Kevin pondered for a moment but put that thought to the back of his mind.


    If that were really the case, then he would have seen her again.


    However, just as his thoughts fell, he suddenly noticed a peculiar presence heading his way from the very outskirts of his sensory range.


    Not wasting any time, he immediately used his shadows to fling himself as close as he could toward the figure and, in the best-case scenario, instantly kill it.


    After all, coincidence as it may be, the figure was Elizabeth''s clone.


    The only off-putting thing was that it did not try to avoid him this time, even as he inched ever closer.


    Until eventually, he arrived right before the clone, swinging his hand covered in shadow mana down at its neck.


    But just as his attack was about to connect, he suddenly halted as the clone seemingly reacted in kind, shing right at his body, trying to dismember him instantly.


    Kevin simply dodged to the side as a shocked expression appeared on his face. Yet before he could speak, the clone spoke first.


    "You fucker! How dare you stalk me, huh!?" The clone¡ªElizabeth¡ªbegan huffing and puffing as she headed in his direction.


    "Elizabeth... wait." Kevin immediately stopped her, finally putting the pieces of the situation together.


    However, she wasn''t having it. With another step, she thrust the sword straight at his heart.


    ''Why does her temper have to be so...'' He didn''t finish his thoughts as he attempted to whack the sword to the side.


    To his surprise, there was quite a lot of resistance¡ªmuch more than he expected from someone who, just a few days ago, couldn''t even hurt him with a kick.


    ''Did she...?'' His eyes widened as he began inspecting her with mana, and just as he expected, she had formed a mana core.


    It was not as grand as his, as she merely formed a single one¡ªthe Flow core.


    In all honesty, he was surprised that was even possible, given that he remembered her having an [Intermediate] ranked Metal affinity.


    By all means, that would not be enough to acquire the Flow core of legends. Even he wasn''t supposed to have it.


    But s, either because of special circumstances or pure luck, they both managed to get it.


    "Let go, stalker!" she shouted as he identally caught her sword with his hands.


    Kevin quickly let go of it before saying, "Elizabeth, it''s me. You can stop now."


    "Yeah, right! What''s my favorite color?"


    ''Seriously...'' He tried his best not to sigh out loud, noticing her red hair, red scarf, red-and-ck jacket... and red boots.


    "Red?"


    His answer came as a shock to her as she suddenly put the sword down.


    "Kevin? Is that really you?" Tears welled up in her eyes, but with a single wipe, they disappeared.


    "Do you know what happened? I was suddenly sent to some weird white ce earlier," she questioned, trying to regain her somewhat existingposure.


    "Me too. I was sent to a massive city... but aside from that, did you also have someone looking like me follow you?" Kevin asked.


    "Yeah, it looked just like you at first nce, but it didn''t have that weird constipated look you tend to always wear," she remarked with a shrug before narrowing her eyes.


    "How about you? Did your stalker have some odd facial features?"


    Kevin merely shook his head. "Didn''t have a sword¡ªa dead giveaway since you always carry it around. I''m convinced you have it on your bed while you sleep."


    "W-What!?" she suddenly shouted before speaking in a whisper. "H-How do you know?"


    ''Yeah... no doubt about it.'' Kevin nodded to himself. ''This is definitely Elizabeth.''


    He had his suspicions for a couple of moments, but her wannabe stupid personality couldn''t be reced.


    However, that put the two of them in quite an odd situation.


    Experience new stories on empire


    Whereas he came here to finish his trials, what was the reason for hering here?


    "Elizabeth, did you have someone guide you to a tower?" Kevin questioned, trying to make sure.


    But s, his confusion was left unanswered.


    "Tower? Nah. I found a ck oak tree in that white world and touched it. Immediately, it brought me over here."


    ''So are we connected or not?'' he couldn''t help but think, shing a small frown.


    This whole scenario had an ominous feel to it.


    Kevin just couldn''t quite put his finger on it.

 Chapter 227 Child of Shadows (7)

    "So, where to?" Elizabeth questioned, looking all around the snowy surroundings until eventually locking onto a single ce off in the distance.


    Kevin took notice of that and, without even answering her, turned to look in the direction that had caught her interest.


    To his surprise, it was some kind of frozenke¡ªone that spanned as far as the eye could see.


    And in the very middle was some kind of pedestal with a ck shard, as though made of obsidian, on top of it.


    He attempted to stretch his mana out and check what it was, but for some reason, his mana was being cut off the moment it entered theke''s radius.


    "Yeah, that''s probably it," Kevinmented with a nod and proceeded to start walking toward it.


    Dangerous as it may be, they were stuck. Time did not pass outside of this ce, but they could still grow older.


    Worst-case scenario, they would be stuck in here for months, if not years.


    But obviously, Kevin would not let that happen.


    "Wait up," Elizabeth''s voice rang out from behind as she jogged over to him before saying, "You think all we have to do is get that weird ck shard?"


    "I would expect, because if not, then we are lost," Kevin replied as, finally, they reached the very edge that bordered between the snowynd and the icyke.


    Yet, as he took a single nce down at what was under, he noticed several figures moving around, as well as glowing lights of different colors and sizes.


    ''Hmm... water-type monsters, huh?'' He noted it down in his mind.


    From the looks of it, they would be their main source of trouble since, without a doubt, any bit of disturbance would cause them to break the ice and make both Kevin and Elizabeth sink into theke.


    Better yet, mana usage seemed to be aplete no-go; he couldn''t even channel or move it around in his body.


    "I spy with my little eye... a bunch of disgusting monsters," Elizabeth''s repulsed voice rang out.@@novelbin@@


    "Seems like that''s the case," Kevin nodded in response before continuing, "I''ll go. You stay here and watch the perimeter."


    Just as his words fell, he took the first step, and surprisingly, he felt a tug on his hair.


    "Now, why would I let you go in there alone? Two is always faster than one," she insisted before putting her arm around Kevin''s body and pushing both of them forward, sliding on the ice.


    ''...This girl.'' He was left speechless, but nheless, he positioned himself in a way where he would not fall to the ground and alert the monsters.


    The ice was extremely slippery¡ªnot even needing any strides to move forward. The only requirement seemed to be for them to stand upright.


    However, Kevin couldn''t help but grow more and more uneasy the closer they got to the shard.


    And soon, when they were only around 100 meters away, the movements halted¡ªthe ice no longer skidding them across. Continue your journey with empire


    Just before Elizabeth fell t on her face, he caught her before taking a nce around.


    Using mana was still impossible, but even to the naked eye, the barrier surrounding the ck shard was visible.


    Kevin stretched his arm out, and surprisingly, the barrier did not seem to be resisting him. Therefore, he stepped forward.


    However, as he did so, a wave of cold assaulted him¡ªone that made him freeze on the spot, literally.


    ''Fuck...'' A massive headache began assaulting him, but before it could get too far, he stepped out of the barrier, meeting Elizabeth''s puzzled gaze.


    Therefore, he exined, "The barrier makes us normal humans, I would assume. Even though we can''t use our mana now, we don''t feel the cold... but in there, it''s a bit troublesome."


    His tone carried a sense of urgency, and it immediately made Elizabeth take the situation seriously.


    "What do you suggest we do? From what I''m seeing, this barrier stretches out all around¡ªand even into the sky," she then took a nce below them, through the ice.


    "But it doesn''t seem like it stretches out below? Unless I''m imagining it."


    Kevin tilted his head before ncing down, and indeed, she was correct. The barrier seemed to cut off the moment it made contact with the ice, meaning everything below it was just simple, extremely cold water.


    However, that did notpletely put him at ease, as even if they got to the ck shard, they would still need to get inside the barrier to retrieve it since it was on some kind of pedestal.


    Cutting around the pedestal could work, but the n was still a work in progress.


    "Give me just a moment," Elizabeth stated as she unsheathed her sword and slowly sunk it into the ice below.


    Obviously, it was not as easy as it looked since the ice was especially thick, but after a few minutes of grinding, she eventually managed to get the sword through silently.


    "Make a bigger hole," hemented, earning a re from her.


    "Shut up. It''s not that easy," she replied with a scoff before continuing to grind away at the ice until, eventually, a hole big enough to fit a person was formed.


    Lifting that chunk of ice, Kevin gently put it down onto the ice beside them before sending a nod to Elizabeth.


    "I''m going to take a quick dip¡ªbe back in a moment." As his words fell, he sunk his feet and quickly dived under.


    Unsurprisingly, the water was extremely cold, but not something he couldn''t bear.


    Yet, that did not matter, as their main objective was to check whether the barrier truly did not expand below.


    Making sure to stick to the very bottom of the ice below Elizabeth, he slowly made his way over to the barrier and soon passed it.


    It was a bit colder than usual, but still, it wasn''t as bad as it was above the ice.


    With this finding, Kevin quickly made his way back up and heaved a deep breath before saying, "You were right."


    "Of course I was," Elizabeth stated with a smug look as she sheathed her sword and looked down at the hole leading down.


    "So, when are we going?"


    Kevin stretched his limbs a little, and before long, announced, "Now."

 Chapter 228 Child of Shadows (8)

    "Well, aren''t you a little impatient?" Elizabeth said with furrowed brows, but before she could protest further, he jumped back in.


    Not even a momentter, he heard another ssh, and with a single nce behind him, saw Elizabeth right behind him with a frown¡ªpractically ring daggers at him.


    He didn''t dawdle. Tracing his hand along the ice above him, he began swimming toward the pedestal that was visible even from below.


    Yet as the two approached, the temperature dipped significantlypared to when they first entered the water.


    That meant they needed to hurry before they either froze to death or got eaten by the water-based monsters circling nearby, merely refraining from attacking because neither of them was emitting any mana.


    After roughly three minutes of constant swimming, they finally arrived beneath the patch of ice that held the pedestal. With a single tug on Elizabeth''s shirt, he signaled for her to give it a go.


    But damaging the ice from below was much harder than from above; therefore, she had to put in even more effort than necessary, which by default would ce a muchrger burden on her.


    Kevin attempted to help, but once he gripped her sword, she simply pushed him away before going back to grinding at the ice.


    Theck of air wasn''t exactly a problem¡ªhe could hold on for at least an extra half hour, and from the looks of it, the same went for Elizabeth.


    It really put their training into perspective. Even though the academy had been pretty boring for thest couple of years, they still managed to develop basic endurance as well as teamwork.


    If that wasn''t the case, funneling air while underwater... would''ve been a little awkward to say the least.


    Putting those thoughts aside, he brought his attention back to Elizabeth, who had finally managed to pierce the ice. All that was left was to dig a hole big enough for them to enter¡ªor simply get the pedestal down.


    ''I wish I could help... but I don''t really have any weapons.'' Kevin let out a sigh inwardly. He had been offered a pair of daggers by none other than Michael, yet he hadn''t epted, simply because of his shadow affinity battle style.


    ''No point mulling over it now, though.'' He tapped Elizabeth''s shoulder, earning another re, but before she could protest, he pushed the hilt of the sword into the ice further. Immediately, there was noticeable progress.


    Your next chapter is on empire


    Noticing that, she stopped nagging him, and with his help, finally pierced her sword clean through to the other side.


    Immediately, a gust of cold wind assaulted them, but since it wasn''t as bad as above, they persevered.


    Using theirbined momentum, the two quickly ground the sword around the entire pedestal until finally, only a small push remained.


    All of a sudden, Kevin''s senses red. He turned around, meeting the gaze of a massive serpent-like monster below him.


    Without wasting a moment, he grabbed the unsuspecting Elizabeth''s sword and just as the monster''s mouth was about to reach him, he stabbed downward, impaling it.


    That seemed to ward it off temporarily, but the blood that spilled did not go unnoticed. All around them, eyes of different colors and sizes lit up, slowly moving in their direction.


    Kevin immediately looked back at Elizabeth with urgency, and the two quickly started grinding through thest bit of ice.


    Soon, it finally broke apart, and the pedestal fell into the water.


    But just as it was about to escape their grasp, Kevin grabbed the ck shard and, without a moment''s hesitation, began swimming back, Elizabeth in hand.


    She managed to grab her sword at thest moment. Currently, she was using it to propel them slightly by creating friction against the ice above.


    The monsters grew closer and closer¡ªsome practically right behind them.


    Yet they didn''t attack, as though keeping a safe distance from Kevin and Elizabeth.


    ''What''s up with them?'' Kevin couldn''t help but wonder as, after several minutes of swimming, they made it back without any issues.


    Elizabeth was the first to climb out, and he followed right after.


    "I am never going into freezing water again," sheined while shivering, but he merely nced at the shard he was holding, trying to make sense of what it was.


    All he could tell was that it was definitely made of obsidian, just as he had suspected.


    What its properties were, however, remained aplete mystery.


    Just as those thoughts finished, the ck shard in his hand began glowing. Before long, it zipped straight out of his hands and into his heart.


    Elizabeth''s eyes widened at the sight as she immediately ran to him, holding him upright.


    s, Kevin was out of it¡ªhis senses fading with each passing moment. As the pain assaulting his entire body felt as though he was dying.


    Yet for some reason, he waspletely sane, which would seem impossible in a situation where he was both impaled through the heart, and could not use mana in the slightest.


    The pain assaulting him moments ago vanished, yet he couldn''t feel at ease. There was, quite literally, a hole in his chest, piercing his heart.


    He staggered down to the ice, gently ced on it by Elizabeth as she stared at him worriedly.


    As this happened, he finally got a good look at his body.


    Kevin''s chest was oozing ck blood in extremely minor amounts, making it seem as though the shard hadn''t pierced his heart after all.@@novelbin@@


    His rity didn''t stop there. He suddenly noticed that his breathing had returned to normal, as had his sight and perception.


    Better yet, the hole in his chest slowly began patching itself up until, eventually, itpletely disappeared¡ªleaving not even a scar.


    ''What the fuck...?'' Kevin''s brows furrowed at the sight as Elizabeth continued staring at him with a worried expression.


    Yet that wasn''t the end of the surprises since momentster, a ck system screen descended.


    [Child of Shadows Legacy Set Unlocked!]


    [Heart of Shadow Acquired]


    [1/4 Pieces Collected]

 Chapter 229 Child of Shadows (9)

    "What''s this?" Kevin attempted to tap on the interface before him, but it proved unsessful as it slowly began fading away.


    And soon enough, the monsters he had previously not been worrying about emerged, shattering the ice on impact and heading in their direction.


    "Move!" Kevin urged as he picked up the worried-looking Elizabeth and ran at full speed off the frozenke.


    The monsters were right behind them, closing in ever so steadily.


    It felt as though they would be devoured at any moment. Therefore, Kevin did the second most logical thing¡ªhe decided to fight back.


    He felt a bit strange, though. For someone who was not supposed to have mana, he felt full of it.


    Almost like he could do anything he wanted.


    That also included using mana. Therefore, with a wave of his arm, he attempted it.


    Surprisingly, an entire shadow materialized behind him, covering a quarter of theke in an instant.


    As that happened, he could feel a certain connection to the shadows themselves, as though he was actually a part of them this time.


    With another gesture, he used one of his signature abilities¡ªone that would overwhelm the monsters and im their corpses as his shadows.


    There was no resistance as their corpses immediately turned cold and were soon enveloped by his shadows, making them his.


    Kevin stared at the sight, amusement clear on his face, as he continued dealing with the rest of the monsters until, finally, there was nothing left.


    A massive frozenke with holes all over it, and around it, shadow serpents that began sinking deeper into theke before finally disappearing.


    "How did you do that?" Elizabeth asked, a puzzled look on her face.


    It was clear she could not use mana, so for him to be able to was strange, to say the least.


    Without borating, he merely gestured at his chest¡ªwhere the obsidian shard had traveled into.


    That seemed to do the trick as she rolled her eyes at him. Finally, the two reached the end of the frozenke.


    "I guess that''s that, then," Kevin said as he stepped onto the non-icy ground and let out a slightly exhausted breath.


    The events that had transpired in thest half hour were brutal, to say the least. If they hadn''t had each other, retrieving the shard would have been nearly impossible.


    s, whether by luck or something else, they managed it¡ªand the boons he had obtained in the end were massive.


    ''Hmm... Status?''


    +---+


    Name: Kevin Veltro


    Age: 15 years old


    Race: Human


    Affinity: Shadow [Superior] -> [Elite]


    Mana Purity: 160% -> 432%


    Mana Core (1): Mind Core


    Mana Core Rank (1): Tier 1


    -:- 3% -> 30% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (2): Mage Core


    Mana Core Rank (2): Tier 1


    -:- 9% -> 49% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (3): Flow Core


    Mana Core Rank (3): Tier 1


    -:- 7% -> 51% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (4): Dantian Core


    Mana Core Rank (4): Tier 1


    -:- 2% -> 21% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Titles:


    Child of Shadows: Increases the effectiveness of all spells rted to the Shadow affinity by 250%.


    ???


    Stats:


    HP: 100/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP (1): 99/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (2): 81/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (3): 95/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (4): 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 1 [E] (132) {Total = 132}


    END: Tier 1 [E+] (188) {Total = 188}


    AGI: Tier 1 [D-] (221) {Total = 221}


    INT: Tier 1 [B-] (539) {Total = 539}


    CHA: Tier 1 [S-] (848) {Total = 848}


    Skills:


    Passive Skills: Calibrating... 71%


    Active Skills: Calibrating... 49%


    +---+


    ''Affinity... Elite?'' Kevin''s eyes widened at the sight, and he did a few double takes to make sure he was seeing it right.@@novelbin@@


    After a few moments, he was leftpletely speechless.


    Raising one''s affinity rank was nearly impossible¡ªsome affinities had no more upper levels.


    One such affinity was Shadow, and yet he had increased it to Elite rank, something no one had managed to do before in history.


    Not even he, in the past, had achieved such a feat in such a short time.


    As for his stats, he wasn''t sure how they worked yet, but it didn''t seem like they had risen.


    Mana Purity, however, was a different case entirely¡ªit had risen by leaps and bounds, practically putting him on the level of a Tier 2 already.


    And yet, he''d just formed a core not too long ago.


    ''Not on the level of Michael... but this is a drastic improvement.'' He chuckled to himself before fixing his posture and looking around.


    The strange hologram didn''t indicate they''dpleted the mission, which meant other things were amiss. It was their task to find out what.


    But as he turned to look at Elizabeth, his eyes widened.


    Her usual short red hair, present just moments ago, was now streaked with ck and white.


    Even stranger, her hair had begun growing out more, making the change all the more surreal.


    Before long, she seemed to regain control of her body. She nced back at him.


    "Seems like I got a power-up too, huh?" Elizabeth said with a snicker.


    Kevin, however, was not amused. "What happened? It''s just likest time, where you randomly enter some weird state. Is there something you''re not telling me?"


    "You like to nag a lot, you know that?" she retorted, crossing her arms. "I''ll have you know I have no clue what''s going on either."


    Noticing his confused look, she borated.


    "Ever since we entered, there was this weird connection I felt¡ªvisions I saw¡ªbut I couldn''t quite make them out."


    ''...But?''


    "But now, they''re starting toe together¡ªmemories that are both mine and not mine."


    "So what kind of memories are they? Of the past, or what?" Kevin questioned, receiving a shake of her head in response.


    "Nope... It''s a bit difficult to exin." She fidgeted for a moment before continuing. "In those memories, I can see a bunch of people... and I think I can see you, too."


    "Me?" He narrowed his eyes. "Where?"


    Some things weren''t adding up the more she spoke.


    Unless...


    ''Is she a regressor like me?''

 Chapter 231 Child of Shadows (11)

    "Elizabeth..." Kevin let out a deep sigh before continuing,


    "I don''t mean to undermine your efforts, but what exactly is this?"


    She drew a blob with feathers? It certainly did not help him determine what it was.


    Elizabeth''s brows twitched as she huddled closer and began pointing fingers. "That''s supposed to be an eye, and those are wings."


    Which part of that blob is an eye... Kevin felt like he was either blind, or she was bad at drawing, but nheless, at least it was a start.


    "A massive eye with wings? Is that really what you see?"


    "Yup, sometimes it appears and just wanders around my visions," she exined with a shrug.


    Kevin nodded in response and asked, "Do you know what color the eye is? The color of the wings, perhaps?"


    But s, he received a puzzled expression instead.


    "Now that you mention it... I don''t know? I never really thought about the color. I just kind of saw an eye with wings, and that''s it," Elizabeth replied, scratching her head.


    "I see... It''s fine," Kevin said and stood up. "Let''s explore a bit; maybe we can find a way to get out of here."


    She nodded back at him before standing up, and soon, they began traversing the snowyndscape.


    Yet as the minutes turned to hours, it seemed like they were going in a loop, but due to Kevin''s experience with loops, he was sure that was not the case.


    The surroundings were changing, and not a single thing had been a repeat of what he had seen previously, meaning that thisnd was just that vast.


    However, with each passing moment, he felt like something was off; he just couldn''t quite put his finger on what.


    But soon, he found out, as all of a sudden, some sort of shockwave zipped past the two of them, the force behind it even making his eyes close.


    And when he reopened them, he was left shocked.


    Just a moment ago, there was so much snow; however, now, there was a desert stretching out as far as the eyes could see.


    The same went for the temperature, as now instead of the cold, he was feeling hot.


    Noticing that Elizabeth was in a simr state as him, he summoned up a pair of shadows and covered both himself and her with them,pletely negating the sun''s rays.


    While that was only a temporary solution, it would have to do for now, as from what he assumed, the temperature would worsen as time passed.


    Even then, he was surprised it affected him at all.


    But as those thoughts fell, Kevin''s eyes widened since, out of nowhere, a city began emerging.


    It was massive and, at first, seemed like only a single tower was heading out of the ground; soon, however, it increased to two towers, and in just a few moments, there were hundreds.


    Before long, the actual city emerged, and what was even more surprising was the fact that there were people roaming the streets covered in sand.


    However, as he thought that, some weird flying machines appeared and began absorbing all of the sand, rolling through the streets while the passersby simply dodged them before going about their day.


    "Is that a city?" Elizabeth''s shocked voice resounded, stating the obvious.


    No shit.


    Nheless, Kevin did not state his opinion, instead signaling for her toe along. "Yeah, let''s go in."


    The two began walking up to the desert-like city when, all of a sudden, a cement road emerged right beside them, stretching out into the city as well as the distantnds behind them.


    This is a full-blown city... but is it portable or something? Kevin mused while stepping onto the road and beginning his walk over, Elizabeth trailing not too far behind him.


    "This ce looks like a dump," she remarked, making his brow rise.


    "What makes you say that?"


    She pointed at one of the towers in the distance, which appeared to be a skyscraper. "I can tumble that building in one attack. They must not be aware that there are monsters here."


    "You do realize that the buildings in Vivum were the same, right?" he questioned her with a raised brow.


    "That''s not what I mean, princess," Elizabeth replied in an annoyed tone before saying, "Use that weird mana thingy and feel it for yourself; you''ll understand what I mean."


    His brow twitched at the mention of that nickname. Nheless, he proceeded to focus on the building she pointed out.


    To his surprise, it was actually very brittle¡ªmuch like the rest of the buildings scattered across the entire city.


    It was almost like this whole city was a facade, yet they were a bit too close to back out now.


    "Let''s check it out regardless. Unless you have a better idea?" Kevin said, and she immediately did a small bow, causing his brows to furrow further.


    "No, princess, let''s do as you say."


    ... He was left speechless but decided not to argue with her, instead finally reaching the first building of the city.


    And now that he did, it became apparent that whatever this ce was, definitely did not house normal humans.


    There were stores scattered around, yet none had any kind of food inside¡ªor anything on the shelves, for that matter.


    Almost like a ceholder.


    Suddenly, Elizabeth tugged at his clothing before pointing to one of the people they had seen walking around earlier.


    Just as he expected, it was not a human, but it did have some humanoid features, such as their general appearance¡ªaside from the face.


    Their face had a weird open-shaped mouth, coupled with a single green eye, making them quite terrifying to look at.


    Elizabeth tightened her grip on his clothing, ripping out a piece as a repulsed expression appeared on her face.


    "Disgusting..."


    "Keep it down... it''sing," Kevin warned as the creature managed to catch sight of them. Instead of attacking, it simply walked up to them and bowed.


    "Wee, travelers. We don''t get a lot of those nowadays. What brings you here?" it said in apletely normal male human voice.


    "Mon¡ª" Elizabeth was about to likely insult the weird being; therefore, Kevin quickly covered her mouth and interjected.


    "Is there like a map of this ce¡ªor world, for that matter? We were traveling around a bunch and lost ours."


    His voice was rather convincing¡ªor at least that''s what it seemed to Kevin anyway.


    However, the response he got from the one-eyed being was not the one he was expecting.


    "You do not need to lie." It pointed towards its eye. "We, the Mehari, can see through deceit. O Shadow human and... Valkyrie?"


    As soon as its words finished, the single eye it had widened to the point where it made the already ugly mouth more ugly.


    "You are a valkyrie!?" it eximed and began getting closer, but as it did, Elizabeth suddenly freed herself from Kevin''s grasp and swiftly unsheathed her sword, pointing it at the one-eyed being.


    "Kindly fuck off, please," her voice rang out, causing Kevin to practically lose his breath.


    This idiot. He urgently looked toward the one-eyed being, and as he did, he noticed that it no longer looked terrifying.


    Instead, it mimicked the appearance of Kevin, with just a few changes, such as eye color and height, as it was a bit shorter than him.


    Nheless, Elizabeth retracted her sword and sheathed it. "You shouldn''t get so close to someone you don''t know."


    "Sorry, Miss Valkyrie. I did not mean to upset you," the being replied with a soft smile before continuing,


    "I thought your kind had been exterminated eons ago. It''s very surprising to see someone like you, so once again, I apologize for my overreaction."


    "It''s okay. Don''t do it again, though," she stated with an oblivious nod, earning a sigh from Kevin.


    But at the same time, this topic did pique a bit of interest, as he had heard of valkyries previously.@@novelbin@@


    They were a race of beings that were said to rival angels.


    However, due to their simrities, they had an all-out brawl, and the valkyries did note out on top, going pretty much extinct in that battle.


    Yet here Elizabeth was¡ªan actual valkyrie, ording to this strange being from the Mehari race, a race he had never heard of.


    As for himself, "Shadow human" was prettymon; it usually referred to someone who had that particr affinity, which in this case was Shadow.


    "Here''s a map, Miss Valkyrie¡ªand you," the being said with respect, except for thest part, and tossed a small scroll toward her.


    "Thank you," she expressed before unfolding it, and immediately, a wave of mana surged forwards, revealing a hologram-like interface that disyed the entire world they were in.


    And to say it was massive was an understatement.


    The desert region they found themselves in was roughly only 1/20 of the total size of this world, and there were both ice regions, simr desert-like regions, and,stly, greenery in which countless words were written, signifying cities.


    But he noticed something interesting as well, and that was the fact that not too far away from them was a desert cathedral city.


    However, what surprised him the most was the ck hologram that plopped down in front of his eyes.


    [Explore the world and gather the pieces. You are forbidden to leave until you find them all.]


    [Duration until first evaluation: 5 Years.]


    Fuck...

 Chapter 232 Tournament Preparations

    [Michael''s POV]


    "You really are something else, aren''t you, Kai?" Michael eximed with a soft smile, looking down at the ind, which by now, was in total tatters.


    Over the course of three days, Kai managed to not only defend himself from the monsters, but also kill several of them.


    If that wasn''t enough, Kai even managed to break through into Tier 2, which was definitely a considerable improvement in under a week.


    Even Michael himself did not manage to aplish such a feat.


    Nheless, it was time for a break¡ªor more like, for them to actually start their preparations.


    Elder Li mentioned that the tournament would be happening soon, and whether due to a stroke of luck or something else entirely, this year''s tournament was being held in their sect.


    That also meant they needed to thoroughly prepare a battle arena and many other necessities.


    During that time, Michael also found out the format of the tournament, which was simply a duel-style climbingdder until eventually, a winner from one of the four sects was decided.


    With that, he also found out that each sect needed to send out four people, so if he included himself, Kai, andstly, Hu Rong, they would need an extra somebody.


    However, that''s where the main issue arose, since aside from the elders, no one else had any actual fighting talent¡ªmost just swung their swords around for the heck of it.


    Safe to say, he was conflicted.


    ''Who could I pick?'' Michael thought absentmindedly while floating down and picking up the unconscious Kai, before swiftly flying back to the sect.


    Along the way, he searched through the streets, trying to find an outsider he could recruit, but as he did that, a single rule popped back into his mind.


    ''No external recruits one week before the tournament.''


    He was lucky to join the sect a day before this period started, therefore, there was nothing to worry about in that regard.


    But still, theck of a fourth person was a bit rming, since if they were evencking a single person for the tournament, they would be automatically disqualified.


    And if he actually wanted to prove a point by getting the wealth of his entire sect back, then he needed an overwhelming victory.


    All wins¡ªnot a single loss for each Golden Dragon sect disciple.


    It seemed doable, at least from what he noticed from Kai and Hu Rong.


    Even if Hu Rong hid his strength, Michael was able to spot him diligently training at night, and to say that Hu Rong''s swordsmanship was good was simply an understatement.


    He could cut through leaves, rocks, boulders, and trees as though through butter¡ªnot even leaving a single mark of force on the objects he cut.


    Michael could try replicating it with sheer strength, but that single mark of force would still exist.


    However, as he flew through his sect and set Kai down on a nearby tree branch, he spotted another kid off in the distance, training his swordsmanship.


    Strength-wise, he was even worse than Kai, but from the technique, Michael could notice that he had potential.


    Therefore, he silently walked up to him and exerted a bit of his mana, trying to gauge a reaction from the kid.


    But to his dismay, or more like, disappointment, the kid did not react.


    Even as he portrayed more and more malice¡ªenough to knock out most Tier 1s and 2s¡ªthe kid did not react.


    That meant, he was either an idiot, or he simply could not feel the mana Michael was emitting.


    ''Looks like a dud,'' Michael sighed before turning away, but as he did that, a simr amount of pressure was reflected back onto him, momentarily surprising him.


    And when he turned around, he spotted the kid staring at him with golden eyes simr to his own.


    ''System?'' Michael wondered what was going on.


    Seems like a monster. You should kill it, the system answered shockingly.


    Nheless, his confusion was still as great as ever. ''What do you mean, a monster?''


    It''s a mimic or doppelganger, simr to the one I used to fight you back then. This one is just a bit more interesting since it takes over the person''s body and lives inside of it.


    Michael raised his brow. ''So how and why exactly could it copy what I did?''


    It reacts to mana. Honestly, you should just kill it now, the system insisted.


    But he had a better idea in mind.


    Turning towards the doppelganger, Michael spoke, "Do you understand what I am saying?"


    It nodded and replied in a childish voice, "Yes, strong human."


    "Great, I''ll give you two choices then," Michael said with a soft smile, before continuing.


    "The first choice is simple¡ªdie here and now. How does that sound?"


    He was met with a panicked shake of the head from the monster; therefore, he offered his second choice.


    "Alright, now the second choice is to participate in the tournament along with me and a few others. I feel like that''s a bit better than dying, don''t you think?"


    You are trying to employ a monster; are you out of your mind? the system questioned with disbelief, earning a shrug from Michael in response.


    ''Do you have a better idea? It would fix the problem of us not having enough people, while at the same time, giving a strong contender.''


    Now that just sounds like stupidity at its finest point, but hey, I won''t stop you. If the monster goes on a killing spree, it''s all on you after all.


    Michael rolled his eyes. ''If need be, I''ll kill it. Now would you stop nagging me so much?''


    Go ahead. I am curious how you will handle this one.


    ''Of course.'' He turned back to look at the monster, who for some reason, was staring at Michael with a conflicted look.


    "What''s wrong? Are the choices I gave you not up to your standards?" he asked, and surprisingly, received a nod in response.


    "Well... it seems like you need me more than I need you, so killing me would not really be in your best interest, am I wrong?" it said, putting a shocked look on Michael''s face.


    ''So it''s not stupid at all.''


    Clearing his throat, he snapped his fingers, and immediately, hundreds of miniature golden swords appeared all around the monster''s neck, circling it.


    "Do you think you are in any position to negotiate with me?" Michael questioned in a cold tone.


    "Am I not? You need me, don''t you?" The monster replied with a smug, ominous smile.


    Immediately, Michael brought down his hand and cut off each and every single one of the monster''s limbs, leaving stumps that did not even bleed.


    But before it could even scream, he suddenly brought down his sword and cut its head off.


    However, as its shocked eyes were staring at him with its head falling down, Michael suddenly grabbed hold of it.


    "You are expendable," he stated and ced its head back onto its body before performing several heals, seemingly bringing back the luster it once had in its eyes.


    Just this time, there was an extra something called fear¡ªimmense fear at the person who a few seconds ago had killed it.@@novelbin@@


    "Let me ask you this again," Michael gazed straight into the monster''s eyes before continuing, "Which choice will you make, the first, or the sec¡ª"


    Before he could even finish his sentence, the monster bowed down onto the ground and shouted, "The second! Please spare me!"


    Michael nodded in satisfaction and desummoned each and every single one of his swords before asking, "What is the extent of your copying ability?"


    "...I can copy something as long as I know its general structure and mana usage, but even then, it''s not going to be as powerful as the thing I am copying¡ªmerely one-fifth of the strength, I''d say."


    "That''s good enough," Michael stated and summoned a single sword of light before handing it over to the monster.


    "Can you replicate this?"


    The monster gazed at him before putting its full attention on the sword.


    Michael watched with anticipation as it started mumbling something under its breath, while at the same time, his sword began pulsating with a golden glow.


    He did not think much of it and continued watching until eventually, the monster stopped and handed him back the sword.


    "Are you done?" Michael questioned with a raised brow, finding it hard to believe that it was able to copy Sword of Light in less than a minute.


    But soon, he was left speechless.


    The monster stretched out its arm, and soon, a dim yet still golden sword appearedcking the power of Michael''s, yet still good enough to be used in battle.


    If he had to guesstimate, then the sword was roughly the strength of the first Sword of Light he had formed back when he was still Tier 1.


    Which, by normal standards, was still fairly impressive.


    However, the Sword of Light suddenly dissipated, with the monster looking exhausted.


    "I can only do it for a short amount of time until I get used to using your mana signature... I apologize."


    Michael nodded in response. He wasn''t disappointed. "It''s alright, you still have four more days until the tournament, so by then, I hope you can be of use."


    He trailed off and approached the monster.


    "Because if you aren''t... then I assume you can imagine the consequences."


    The monster audibly gulped in response before sending another bow his way.


    "...Understood."


    Demon.


    ''Your bored and jealous side ising out.'' Explore stories at empire

 Chapter 233 The Tournament Between The 4 Sects

    "When are they gathering?" Michael questioned Elder Li as the sun began to rise.


    The answer he got was one of respect. "Any moment now, sir."


    Over thest couple of days, Michael had done a bunch of preparation, whether it was buying clothing, food, or weapons.


    He had also invested in an arena, hiring all sorts of renowned builders to make it perfect.


    If he wanted to gain profit, he first had to invest¡ªor at least, that''s what he had initially thought.


    But as he looked at Kai and Hu Rong, who, for some reason, were both extremely exhausted, Michael began harboring some doubts.


    "What did you two do yesterday?"


    "Training... Master Mujin," Hu Rong replied with cupped fists, the exhaustion quite literally oozing from his voice.


    Michael let out a sigh before turning toward Kai, who was in even worse shape.


    "And you?"


    With unease clear in his posture, he answered, "I fell off the mountain..."


    ''The mountain I made him climb?'' Michael raised a brow.


    "And how did that make you exhausted exactly?"


    "Well..." Kai trailed off. "I kind of broke a few bones... only a few hours ago have they fully healed."


    Once Michael heard that, he couldn''t help but facepalm, with only a single word leaving his mouth. "Idiot."


    Putting that aside for now, there was one more person left¡ªthat being the mimic.


    Out of everyone present, with the exception of Michael, it was the most energetic.


    During the time Michael had spent buying all sorts of stuff for the tournament, he had also made sure to diligently train this monster to cast its own spells, which, in the end, turned out to be quite fruitful.


    It was now able to cast Sword of Light at 50% of Michael''s efficiency, which might seem low but was, in reality, extremely impressive.


    Coupled with that, the mimic''s hair had turned golden, likely due to being exposed to Michael''s mana for a long period of time.


    He had also given it a name¡ªMimi.


    "Mimi, do make sure not to do anything stupid this time around, got it?" Michael said with a soft smile, yet his intentions were clear.


    If Mimi were to do anything like it did yesterday, Michael would kill it on the spot.


    After all, it had tried shifting into another person to escape, yet, due to his Eyes of the Great Sage, finding it was not necessarily difficult.


    Just as Michael was lost in his thoughts, a few people suddenly appeared through the Golden Dragon Sect gates, wearing dark purple Daoist robes.


    It was the Cloudflower Sect. Unsurprisingly, it was only women.


    Added to that fact, each one of them was staring at Michael and Hu Rong as though they were absolute scumbags.


    ''What is that about?''


    You think that guard mentioned you two to them? Would be funny, the system snickered.


    Rolling his eyes, Michael proceeded to send Elder Li off to greet them and introduce them to the quarters they would be staying in.


    In the end, he might have gone a bit overboard on the money spending, but it was all an investment.


    A few minutes passed, and soon, another group of four walked in. This time, it was the Azure Dragon Sect, wearing cyan Daoist robes.


    Unlike the women earlier, who were staring daggers at them, these people had gentle smiles on their faces.


    However, for some reason, Michael felt that something was off, so he used Eyes of the Great Sage.


    Immediately, their smiles disappeared, reced with absolute frowns of scorn¡ªones Michael had not expected to see with the usage of his skill.


    ''System, since when can I do that?'' he questioned.


    Since forever, probably. You just never paid attention to it. It was the same for the women, but I guess you just naturally filtered their gazes, whereas these people, you initially thought of as nice, the system exined, earning a nod from Michael.


    He walked up to them and soon stretched out his arm in a handshake, something that seemed to throw the Azure Sect disciples off guard.


    "It''s nice to see you all. Wee," Michael said, ignoring their difort.


    Soon, the strongest one of them, a Tier 3, walked up and stretched out his arm as well, epting the handshake.


    "Han Xiao. It is a pleasure to meet you." As his words fell, he tightened the grip on Michael''s hand, earning an amused look.


    This guy sounds like a snake, but I guess he''s also an idiot? What abo, he thought inwardly with a chuckle, before returning the favor in kind.


    He did not even need to infuse mana into his hand¡ªmerely tightening it was enough to shatter Han Xiao''s entire hand, twist his wrist, and dislocate his shoulder.@@novelbin@@


    "Whoops, sorry, junior," Michael stated to the man, who was clearly older than him, before easing up.


    "You!" Han Xiao''s startled shout rang out as he pointed toward Michael with his single fine hand. "Do you know what you''ve done? You''ve broken the rules!"


    Michael raised his brow. "What rules? Don''t attack your opponent before the tournament begins?"


    He was met with a nod in response, and suddenly, Han Xiao was enveloped in a golden light, his entire arm being fully mended back together.


    "You said you were injured?" Michael questioned, clearly taunting.


    Han Xiao regained hisposure, staring at Michael with widened eyes. "You... You''re that divine physician that drunk was yapping about."


    "I''m ttered." Michael let out a smallugh, and soon, Elder Li came back, a puzzled expression on his face.


    Before he could ask any questions, Michael instructed him to lead the guests to their quarters.


    Han Xiao and the rest departed; however, it was clear that they would be out for blood.


    But it wasn''t like it mattered. After all, Michael could kill each and every one of them if need be.


    Reel it in, Michael, the system warned before continuing, Your confidence is growing a bit too much, don''t you think? What will you do once a much stronger opponent appears? Run away?


    ''What are you talking about?'' Michael furrowed his brows. ''From your personal observations, is there anyone in the city who could match me?''


    As his words fell, he used Eyes of the Great Sage at maximum capacity, seeing through each and every wall in the entire city, as well as every person.


    At most, there were Tier 4''s, which he could deal with. Coupled with that, there were 3 Tier 5''s, which, with the usage of Sanctuary, Michael could kill all of them in one fell swoop.


    Aside from that, or anyone who could be hiding their strength, there was nothing else that could pose a threat to him.


    Of course, Michael was not careless either. Constantly scanning both the map and the entire area with his eyes, he didn''t want the Demon massacre situation repeating itself again.


    Since now, he had the strength to stop it¡ªor at the very least, negate its effects.


    On that note, he saw 4 more people enter through the gates of his sect.


    They were the Plum Blossom sect members, and unsurprisingly, each of them carried a certain hint of arrogance that even surprised Michael.


    But from what he could see, their arrogance was certainly warranted, since 2 out of the 4 were Tier 3.


    However, to him, they were still mere flies¡ªarrogant buzzing flies that were heading over in his direction, holding even more hate than the woman sect and the Azure sectbined.


    "You bastard, how dare you show your face here?" one of the Plum Blossom disciples spoke out, his annoying voice practically piercing through Michael''s ears.


    "Hm? I wond¡ª"


    He was immediately interrupted. "Huh? What was that?"


    The taunting was certainly interesting, to say the least, since it was the weakest of the 4 who was doing it.


    But since Michael was in a bit of a rush, and a bit toozy to deal with their shit, he decided to solve it in a civil manner.


    shing a wide smile, he nced at every single one of the Plum Blossom sect disciples and, without further ado, defused the situation.


    Read exclusive chapters at empire


    ''Charm.''


    Immediately, each and every one of them fell into some sort of trance, freezing in ce and staring at Michael with reverence.


    "Keep it civil; don''t cause any trouble... oh, and fuck off, please." Michael stated, and with that, the disciples nodded and began walking back to the Golden Dragon sect''s gate, before standing by and staring at seemingly nothing.


    Well, that''s one way of handling it, I guess. The system chuckled before continuing, You could just make them all lose like this, so why don''t you?


    Thinking for a moment, Michael soon replied, ''I trained Kai as well as Mimi, so what''s the point in doing that? It would negate days of effort. As for Hu Rong, I am pretty sure he can deal with a measly Tier 3 if he wanted to.''


    Hmm... The system hummed, slightly confusing him, prompting the question:


    ''What''s wrong?''


    I was just thinking... What will your next ascension be like? After all, you are pretty close to Tier 3. The same could be said for the second mana core¡ªwill it trigger it? This has never happened before.


    ''Did you not have a second mana core either?'' Michael mused.


    Genius, I am the original Michael. I did not have to go through my own trials... And yes, I did have a few others.


    ''Hmm...'' Michael nodded before turning his gaze toward Elder Li, who hade back out to escort the others.


    ''This will be an interesting tournament.''

 Chapter 235 Casual Exploitation

    "Where have you been, Master Mujin?" Hu Rong''s puzzled voice rang out from the side as Michael made his way through the sect courtyard.


    "Busy. Is everything set up?" Michael questioned, receiving a curt nod in response.


    "Yes... we only need Elder Li to announce the participants, and we can start at a moment''s notice."


    "I see... Also, why did no one inform me that there would be otherpetitions aside from this duel?" Michael asked, narrowing his eyes.


    On his way down, he''d decided to snoop a little, and what he found out was that, apart from his sect, the other sects had a tournament format of their own.


    Better yet, it seemed Elder Li was aware of this as he was in the midst of discussing it with them as well.


    ''Is he a traitor?'' Michael couldn''t help but think.


    s, it was toote to worry about it now¡ªhe just had to deal with it head-on.


    And the first step was simply to win this dueling tournament.


    Michael went with Hu Rong, and soon, they arrived at the tform, where each contestant was seated in their respective ces.


    "Wee, everyone!" Elder Li''s voice rang out, and before long, every person present turned their attention to him.


    "This year is special, as it marks 500 years since the formation of our sects," he stated in a proud tone before continuing.


    "We do not keep track of those who win or lose. Yet in the very end, our main goal is to have a fun time and teach our disciples something new!"


    As his words hung in the air, rather than sounding dramatic, Elder Li sounded like an idiot.


    ''''No one keeps track of losses?'' Michael scoffed and looked around, watching as the other sects snickered to themselves.


    ''Sure looks like it,'' he thought sarcastically, earning a chuckle from the system.


    If they didn''t want to be made fun of, they shouldn''t have ced an idiot at the helm. It was impossible they weren''t aware that their sect leader was a chronic gambler.


    Michael shrugged and returned his gaze to Elder Li, who continued his introduction.


    "The Golden Dragon trial opened not too long ago... and someone finally cleared it!"


    At the mention of the trial, the sects seemed unamused, but the moment Elder Li stated it was cleared, most of the other elders stood up in rm.


    "What!" one of them shouted.


    "How is that possible, old coot? Do you think we would believe that a dying sect managed to clear a trial even we, the elders, could not?"


    Elder Li narrowed his eyes at thement and sent a re in the elder''s direction.


    "Do you think I would lie about something like this? Do you take me for a fool, Chu Dong?"


    "Ha! You have some nerve using my name with that traitorous mouth of yours! If you''d stepped up when your sect really needed you, it never would have fallen!" Chu Dong eximed in an infuriated tone.


    But that only seemed to irritate Elder Li further. Without a moment''s notice, he stretched out his hands, a faint orange glow emitting outward.


    ''Dantian core stuff?'' Michael mused.


    Yeah, it''s the same as that other time. They just use their mana¡ªor Qi, in this instance¡ªto severely enhance their body. If done well, their mana core tiers can jump by leaps and bounds.


    ''Sounds pretty troublesome. But definitely not something I need to care about. After all, there''s a downside to such power gain, right?'' Michael stated confidently.


    Not quite the case, the system replied, making his brow rise.


    Oftentimes, such limits only exist if you''re weak. And weak is considered anyone below Tier 3.


    ''That sounds awfully convenient,'' Michael scoffed.


    "Old coot, do you dare to fight me right here and now? Do you wish to be embarrassed in front of all your disciples?" Chu Dong taunted.


    The taunt seemed sessful, as in the next moment, Elder Li''s body lit up, his muscles contracting, seemingly about to dash forward.


    But before he could, Michael stopped him.


    He merely used a small strand of mana, but it was enough to cancel out the effects of Elder Li''s Qi.


    As that happened, Elder Li froze and turned his head toward Michael.


    ''Don''t do that,'' Michael mouthed, receiving a startled nod in response as Elder Li took a couple of deep breaths.


    "I shall not fall for your taunts," he stated before continuing in a sly tone. "This is a joyous asion, and what better way to pass the time than gambling?"


    Just as his words fell, a few women appeared¡ªfour, to be exact.


    Each one carried a sect symbol representing one of the four sects present.


    Noticing the confusion on everyone''s faces, Elder Li spoke up.


    "Since we, the Golden Dragon Sect, are hosting the first part of the tournament, we naturally have first dibs on the bid."


    ''There it is,'' Michael nodded along as a massive grin appeared on his face.


    "I am starting the betting off with this." Elder Li took out a scroll from his pocket and quickly unfolded it.


    "I bet the Golden Dragon Sect''s name, title, and all in favor of us winning. Those who wish to participate in this bet must provide something of equal or greater value."


    Just as his words fell, each of the elders nearby shot out of their seats, pointing at Elder Li in an usatory fashion.@@novelbin@@


    "You don''t have the authority to make such a decision, you old coot! That''s something only the sect master can do, and you are obviously not him," Chu Dong said.


    ''It''s this guy again...'' Michael noted Chu Dong''s face and strength before focusing back on Elder Li''s next words.


    So far, everything was going to n.


    "I''ll have you know, I am now the Golden Dragon Sect''s sect leader," Elder Li stated before pulling a que from his Daoist robes.


    It was the same one each sect leader had, and the elders were well aware of its authenticity.


    If someone impersonating a sect leader was caught, they were to be executed on the spot.


    And that''s exactly what Michael was going for¡ªa small boon from their not-so-big n that he hoped woulde to fruition.


    Yet as the seconds of shock passed, none of the elders budged.


    ''Guess I need to give them a little nudge.'' Michael whistled inwardly when, suddenly, his eyes met Chu Dong''s.


    And like any person trying his best to be civil, Michael used Charm.


    The drain was massive¡ªthe side effect of using it on an opponent technically higher tier than him.


    Even if he was generally stronger, some limitations couldn''t be avoided.


    However, even for a moment, it was enough to set their n in motion without a hitch.


    Chu Dong''s eyes blurred, and in the next instant, he struck downward.


    It resembled a magic attack, but in this case, it was called a Qi attack.


    The basics were the same, except that this attack lost power the further it traveled¡ªa downside of having a dantian core.


    But it was enough, maybe even more than enough.


    Elder Li shot Michael a nce and faked a panicked look before being hit by the attack head-on.


    His shields managed to negate the attackpletely, but he still had to make it look real.


    Therefore, he created an extremely small sword of light and sent it toward Elder Li. Without hesitation, it cut a hole clean through his upper body.


    Obviously, Michael knew what he was doing¡ªnarrowly avoiding the vitals until the blood spurted out like a waterfall.


    Just as that happened, Chu Dong regained hisposure. Looking down at the bleeding Elder Li, he realized a terrible mistake had urred.


    That was when Michael finally decided to make his move, dashing toward the tform at a much slower speed than usual.


    Yet barely anyone paid attention to him, as they all knew the consequences of Chu Dong''s actions.


    But just in case they forgot, Michael would be the one to remind them.


    Walking up to the bleeding Elder Li, who had put on a perfect act of passing out, Michael sent a re toward Chu Dong and said,


    "Do you know what you''ve done...?"


    Chu Dong didn''t respond, only stepping back in silence.


    But it was already toote. The damage couldn''t be undone. The very moment Chu Dong stepped into the sect''s grounds, it was over.


    ''And the same goes for the others too.'' he grinned before goinging back on topic.


    Michael cleared his throat before reciting one of the ancient rules¡ªthe same ones Elder Li had preached to him annoyingly.


    "In the off chance that Party A makes a bet and Party B injures Party A, Party B is held liable and must match the terms of the bet with an amount of equal or greater value."


    As his words hovered in the air, Chu Dong''s expression visibly faltered, causing a small grin to appear on Michael''s face.


    ''Checkmate.''

 Chapter 236 The Finalization of The Bet

    "I-I," Chu Dong stammered, seemingly flustered by the chain of events.


    But in the very end, there was nothing he could do. These rules were made by their ancestors, and these people religiously followed them.


    And those who don''t do so¡ªwell, they get executed on the spot.


    That was the case back during their ancestors'' time, and until now, it had not changed a bit.


    "You have epted the bet, and due to the scale of it, you are going to have to inform your sect leader. Therefore, we are postponing this tournament for a single hour. Good luck," Michael exined, hiding a small smile that managed to form on his face.


    "Ridiculous!" Chu Dong shouted, pointing at Michael in an usatory tone. "You set this up! I did not even do anything¡ªyou can ask the others, right?"


    As he spoke those words, he turned towards the other elders who, upon meeting his gaze, all turned away.


    "Seems like you are all out of luck," Michael chuckled before walking up to him and patting his shoulder.


    "But don''t worry, your contributions..." He stopped himself dramatically. "Sorry, I did not mean to determine the winner just yet; that would be a little unsportsmanlike, don''t you think?"


    "Fine!" Chu Dong pushed Michael aside before saying in anger, "I will be reporting this incident to the sect leader, so prepare yourself for the consequences."


    Michael shrugged and watched as he dashed away, using the pavilions as trampolines, until eventually, he waspletely out of sight.


    Yet again, it did not matter, as he had aplished his goal and had the many eyes of the people around him witnessing what happened.


    Safe to say, Chu Dong and his Azure Dragon sect were not going to have a fun time in the following hour¡ªor future, for that matter.


    Since Michael had decided to finish them off¡ªthis time for good.


    "You can stop ying now, Elder Li¡ªor should I say, Sect Leader Li?" Michael teased before enveloping him in a golden color, and soon, he shot up with an annoyed look.


    "That... I am going to kill him the next time I see him," Sect Leader Li expressed, and Michael tried to reel him in.


    "Calm down. You can kill whoever you want after we get the sect''s riches back."


    Sect Leader Li looked at him with hesitation but merely nodded instead. "I''ll do as you say."


    "Good." Michael put on a soft smile before whispering, "I am going to make sure Chu Dong gets the right words across¡ªbe right back."


    Just as his words fell, Michael made his way down the tform and proceeded to go behind a few pavilions.


    Once he felt like no one was watching him, he quickly shot up into the sky and headed right after the sprinting Chu Dong.


    Due to the sheer strength difference, Michael was able to catch up in mere seconds, and finally, they reached the Azure Dragon sect''s grounds.


    However, he noticed something interesting¡ªsomething he had not taken notice of previously.


    And that was the familiar manaing from one of the pavilions that seemed to mimic the exact same one he had felt back when the Golden Dragon sect''s trials emerged.


    ''Hmm... system, can you go and investigate?'' he asked.


    It was a pity he couldn''t give it mana, since after all, he was pretty dry on it himself¡ªmerely at 40% now.


    The sun''s rays managed to enhance his mana recovery, but it was still not enough.


    I can give it a go, I guess, but you owe me more mana than usual, the system stated before appearing in its humanoid form and heading towards that particr pavilion.


    Meanwhile, Michael continued following after Chu Dong, who by now was nearly at a pavilion where the strongest person was located.


    Even then, it was simply someone at the Tier 5 level¡ªstill within Michael''s handling limits if push came to shove.


    He hovered around that pavilion and suddenly injected a bunch of mana into his ears, barely controlling it so as to not go deaf, but just enough to hear what was going on below him.


    The same went for his eyes¡ªhe was able topletely see through the building.


    "Sect Leader Ji... there is a big problem," Chu Dong spoke, garnering the sect leader''s attention before continuing, "One of the people present used demonic qi to control my actions and make me attack the... announcer, but I¡ª"


    Before he could even finish, Sect Leader Jished out, grabbing Chu Dong by the face and lifting him up.


    "You did what?!" he questioned in a furious voice, as if his ears were betraying him. "You broke the only rule I told you to uphold! How brainless can you be?"


    Sect Leader Ji tightened his grip on Chu Dong''s head before throwing him into a wall and questioning, "Please tell me the Golden Dragon idiots did not ce a bet first."


    But yet again, Chu Dong had to disappoint him. "They have... and it''s bad... really bad."


    "Speak," Sect Leader Ji stated in a dominating tone.


    "The... The Golden Dragon sect name... title... and everything else," Chu Dong barely managed to finish, when all of a sudden, his head was ripped off.


    "FOOOOL!" Sect Leader Ji shouted, making the entire building shake.


    "No, I can fix this..." he said, and what happened next made Michael''s skin crawl.


    He went up to the dead Chu Dong''s body before swiftly locating the remainder of what was left of the head. Immediately after, he picked up a small scalpel and began trimming the skin off.


    Not even a few secondster, there was a makeshift facemask that was nearly identical to Chu Dong''s face, with the added freckles that seemingly formed from the sheer destructiveness of what had happened.


    Soon, Sect Leader Ji put it on, seemingly disguising himself as Chu Dong, as well as taking his clothes.


    That was when he finally decided to head out, practically sprinting back to where the Golden Dragon sect was.


    All the while, Michael trailed close behind, with the system approaching even faster before going inside him.


    ''What did you find?''


    It''s not exactly a trial ground, more like an inheritance chamber. Stuff like dragon blood is in there, but no one seems able to unlock it, the system exined, practically hinting at the possibility of Michael being the one who could do it.@@novelbin@@


    ''And that''s where Ie in, I presume? All I have to do is probably ce my hand, right? Like in the fantasy films?'' Michael said with a hint of excitement, which was quickly shut down by the system.


    O sweet, innocent Victorian child... No. You will have to offer a strong sacrifice and a lot of gold¡ªwhich, hey, at least we have one of, right?


    ''The money is no issue, but how strong are we talking?''


    Tier 5 or 6 should suffice. More than one Tier 5 is probably better, though a single Tier 6 would be enough as well, the system said before adding, It''s not like you''re a stranger to sacrifices, right? You did almost offer that guy up to Meph, remember?


    ''Of course I remember¡ªit still haunts me to this day.'' Michael shed an imaginary tear before letting out a chuckle. ''It''s fine. I''ll get this bigshot below me as a sacrifice.''


    Suit yourself, just don''t bite off more than you can chew.


    ''Don''t worry,'' Michael assured as they finally arrived at the sect, and the supposed Chu Dong stepped up onto the arena, standing before the crowd.


    "The sect leader has decided to go through with this. We will offer our name and title as well¡ªhave to make it fair, after all," he announced, earning startled gasps from all the people present.


    "Is that so... I see." Sect Leader Li smirked before stretching out his hand. "Deal?"


    And the supposed Chu Dong readily epted. "Deal. The bet is on."


    "Excellent!" Sect Leader Li eximed and turned to the crowd.


    "With this, I dere the bet official, and the tournament can finally start!"


    As his words hung in the air, a few people approached, holding ques in their hands that they soon put into a single basket and shook it up.


    "The way we will be choosing the contestants is by simply drawing lots¡ªor in this case, ques," Sect Leader Li stated before continuing, "The person who wins this first dueling tournament adds a point to their sect. And yes, people from the same sect can and will probably fight each other¡ªit''s all based on luck, after all."


    "If the only people left are those from the same sect, the battle can be concluded by forfeit; otherwise, it''s first to get knocked off the tform. Also, I would like to mention that there is a top performer system¡ªthe disciple who is the most extraordinary out of everyone present gets extra points and even a special reward in the end."


    "Now then..." Sect Leader Li nced around, his gaze staying a bit longer on Michael as he finished.


    "Disciples, step forth, and let the tournament begin!"

 Chapter 237 The First Part of the Tournament

    ''Chae Jong of the Plum Blossom sect, huh,'' Michael remarked inwardly as he walked to the side.


    There weren''t a lot of people he had hoped to fight during this excursion, but this particr one pissed him off quite a bit.


    Therefore, beating him up¡ªlike the good person Michael was¡ªwould be in his best interest.


    After all, this particr tournament shouldn''t take that long since there weren''t any breaks¡ªonlybat until one side loses¡ªcontinuing on until the end when, eventually, a winner between the sects was determined.


    It was a format he hade up with solely because he was a bitzy, but nheless, none of these people really needed downtime since they would either instantly win or instantly lose.


    In this case, he would breeze through thepetition.


    Soon, Sect Leader Li began calling out the names.


    And coincidentally, it seemed like he would be up first.


    "Mujin of the Golden Dragon sect versus Chae Jong of the Plum Blossom sect, step up onto the tform."


    Michael did as he was told and confidently went up, before taking a small nce at the supposed Chae Jong, who had been staring at him this entire time.


    Even if Michael''s rank wasn''t exactly high, the pressure he emitted was likely enough to put even a Tier 5 on guard.


    That was his main goal from the start since, if he could force a fight, killing Sect Leader Ji¡ªor rather, sacrificing him¡ªwould not be a huge issue due to the traditions.


    "You may bow to respect your opponent," Sect Leader Li stated.


    Yet unsurprisingly, neither Michael nor his opponent did that, merely staring at each other with disgust.


    Why are you trying not tough? the system suddenly questioned.


    Michael soon took a deep breath before replying, ''Look at his head.''


    Yeah? He''s bald. Is that supposed to be funny?


    ''No, look closer,'' Michael stated and soon, seemingly zoomed in, seeing the spectacle atop his opponent''s head.


    There was a lone blonde hair growing out from the very middle, and to most, it wasn''t visible.


    However, due to his eyes, it was extremely easy to see.


    It was a bit odd how he found such a menial thing amusing, yet he did not question it, merely reveling in the slight excitement he had before swiftly focusing up.


    Even if the fight did not mean much, he wanted to end it swiftly and discourage the other fighters from even attempting to do something stupid.


    Therefore, as Sect Leader Li raised his hand in the air and swiftly shot it down, Michael appeared before Chae Jong, who, upon seeing his speed, was greatly startled.


    Yet before his opponent could even react, Michael brought his hand forward, grabbing hold of Chae Jong''s neck.


    He immediately struggled to break free, but it was to no avail.


    After all, even if he was a Tier 3, he was but an ant to Michael.


    "Kugh! Let me go!" He resorted to struggling even further while shouting.


    However, Michael merely stared at him with an amused look before saying, "You have a pretty interesting head of... single hair."


    "...What?" That seemed to confuse Chae Jong, as all of a sudden, Michael summoned a pair of scissors made of light and soon cut the only strand of hair that was growing on the man''s head.


    "Pfft..." Michael held back hisugh, yet the entire arena around him was quiet. The people watching from the pavilions were not exactly amused either.


    It seemed like a few outsiders had gathered, and over time, the numbers had increased greatly.


    But even then, there was only silence, coupled with his stifledughter.


    "Ha... hahaha... Sorry about that," Michael finished before suddenly twisting his hand.


    As he did so, a loud crack resounded, followed by Chae Jong''s eyes rolling back.


    "Whoops," Michael eximed and proceeded to heal him, cracking his neck back into ce.


    ''Nearly killed him there...''


    Nheless, he threw his body off the tform, thus being dered the winner.


    "Mu-Mujin wins! O-Onto the next round of participants!" Sect Leader Li announced with a stammer, and soon, Michael made his way down to his seat, which was beside the rest of his sect members.


    Yet none of them even said a word to him. Even Hu Rong was slightly shaken by the fight they all had witnessed.


    One of those same people was the system.


    You''re going off the deep end, Michael.


    ''Am I? How?'' he mused before continuing. ''I believe I am perfectly sane. After all, what could make me go insane? I have people I care about, even a few friends I made along the way.''@@novelbin@@


    And a massive ego that appeared out of nowhere. Let me tell you something interesting... the system trailed off. This world has not been evaluated yet, so it''s likely you can meet powerhouses all the way up to Tier 8 or even 9. Tier 10 might also be possible, but it''s less likely.


    ''Hmm...'' he hummed in wonder. ''So stronger opponents¡ªthat''s great.''


    Yeah, those who will kill you because of your current performance. Which, I might add, is very disruptive and goes in line with the demonic faction. Frankly, I am not sure you can pass the next ascension, and it''s not even that far away.


    ''I''m not having a change of heart, and my ideals are still the same. I just don''t have much interest in the people of this world except the few here... I honestly don''t know if I want to form connections. I mean, what''s the point?'' Michael thought with a conflicted look and continued.


    ''They just don''t feel real...? Or maybe I just need a break from it all¡ªrx even. Not sure.''


    Well, you''d better show it instead of acting like a maniac on the loose. That''s how you seem in everyone''s eyes. Yet do remember that I can feel what you feel. I can see that your emotions are pretty nk, which is definitely not a good thing. You are more prone to mind-altering magic, so find a hobby, or I''ll beat you into shape.


    ''That''s a good idea,'' Michael suddenly stated, catching the system off guard.


    ...What?


    ''Fight against me¡ªtrain with me even. You''ve not done thattely at all. I can grow much stronger with your help.''


    No... well, sure, but that''s not what I meant. I want you to actually find a hobby, whether it be killing monsters on the side or attending a brothel as a male stripper; you do you. But it''s best to get your negative ideas out of your mind. Just like you said¡ªrx.


    ''Reasonable enough... I''ll go fishing or something...'' Michael returned his nce to the fighting arena as the matchups rolled by. His sect had not gone once, except the first time, when he easily secured the win.


    However, as the final round finished, the next batch of contestants was called up.


    And finally, it was his sect''s turn.


    "Hu Rong of the Golden Dragon sect versus Shi Feng of the Azure Dragon sect, step forward and onto the arena," Sect Leader Li announced, and soon, the two went forward.


    Yet before Hu Rong left, he shed a small smile at Michael.


    ''Hmm... what is he going to do?'' he thought with amusement and watched as the two actually performed bows of respect. Soon, the fight began.


    Simrly to how Michael dashed forward and ended the fight immediately, that''s what Hu Rong tried doing as well.


    However, this Shi Feng seemed a bit more skilled than he was expecting, as with a single sh of his sword, Hu Rong''s attack was redirected to the side.


    And yet, Shi Feng looked on with a bored look, as though the fight was not worthwhile in the slightest.


    But soon, Hu Rong stepped up the pace, performing a vertical sh and nearly cleaving Shi Feng in two.


    Just like before, it was dodged, but unlikest time, Hu Rong managed to somehow cut Shi Feng''s cheek.


    ''Was that wind magic?'' Michael thought with widened eyes.


    The moment his sword reached the peak, a small gust of wind emerged that managed to slightly cut Shi Feng.


    Albeit it was inurate, the implementation was something one would definitely not expect from someone of his strength.


    Michael felt a strange feeling in his heart; even if he had not trained the guy directly, Hu Rong was still close enough to him to care.


    Therefore, seeing such immense progress was quite heartwarming.


    The fight continued on, with Hu Ronging out on top with nearly each exchange.


    However, that did notst long, as all of a sudden, Shi Feng started using his Qi, immediately emitting a faint reddish-pink mana that seemed to increase his strength greatly.


    s, it was met with a simr reaction from Hu Rong, as he too used his mana.


    But the color greatly shocked Michael, as it was pure golden¡ªsimr to his own.


    It almost seemed like a perfect coincidence, yet in the end...


    ''It''s a bit too perfect.''


    His mana was still premature when you met him¡ªthe downsides of being an untalented young swordsman. However, with your influence and the number of Affinities you have, you influenced him a bunch, the system exined, earning a nod in response.


    But he couldn''t help but remain a tad bit suspicious.


    ''I sure hope so.''

 Chapter 238 The First Part of the Tournament (2)

    ''Hu Rong''s holding on pretty well,'' Michael remarked inwardly while watching the fight.


    Shi Feng was surprisingly strong and was overwhelming Hu Rong by a wide margin.


    That was not because of skill, however, since if it were based on skill, Hu Rong would have won long ago.


    The strength was what really mattered here, and that''s something Shi Feng had.


    ''Should I tamper with the fight...? Nah,'' he thought for a moment before resuming his boring watching session.


    It was only boring because he had nothing to do, and with that Sect Leader Ji being on standby all the time, it put him quite on edge.


    Yet by now, Michael''s mana had fully recovered, so if a fight were to break out, he wouldn''t be at a disadvantage.


    Stop trying to incite a fight already and simply enjoy the battle before you. It''s not every day you get to experience something like this. It''s a special moment for these people, and you just so happened to be a part of their special moment, the system said, making him nod in response.


    ''I see, yeah, I''ll do that,'' Michael stated before suddenly standing up and letting out a shout.


    "Hu Rong! Beat his ass!"


    That seemed to startle all the people nearby, and even Shi Feng on the stage, as in the moment of distraction, Hu Rong managed to get in a hit, making a crack form on Shi Feng''s sword.


    ''Ha... well, I tampered with the fight by ident. Nice suggestion, system,'' he put the me on someone else entirely before continuing with his so-called cheering.


    "Yeah! Break his sword! Use a leg sweep¡ªhe''s weak there! Yup! That''s the way!"


    He sort of took the role of a coach, and for some reason, no one was stopping him.


    However, due to his influence, Hu Rong was starting to win the fight. With his next attack, he managed to shatter his opponent''s sword and swiftly end the fight.


    "Hahaha! Good job!" Michael shouted.


    But that seemed to earn a re from the Azure Dragon Sect as Chu Dong, better known as Sect Leader Ji, finally stepped onto the tform, approaching Sect Leader Li.


    "What the fuck was that? You''re allowing that to happen?"


    "Hm?" Sect Leader Li looked on obliviously. "If it was such a big problem, why didn''t you interrupt the fight sooner? What''s done is done," he said, pushing aside theint and soon making the announcement.


    "Hu Rong of the Golden Dragon Sect wins! Next opponents are..."


    Michael stopped paying attention and instead focused on Sect Leader Ji''s mana, which was starting to grow rampant.


    However, before it could get out of hand, Ji soon reeled himself in and went back to the pavilion quietly.


    ''Nearly got him,'' Michael clicked his tongue and watched as the fights continued until eventually, it was Kai''s turn.


    But his opponent was not who Michael was initially expecting.


    It was Mimi.


    "Uhh..." Sect Leader Li stammered for a moment before making the announcement.


    "Kai of the Golden Dragon Sect, versus Mimi of the Golden Dragon Sect."


    Soon, he reluctantly brought his hand down. "You may begin!"


    However, as he did, Kai suddenly pulled out a golden sword from the sheath and aimed it right at Mimi, who was staring at him without much emotion.


    Michael was not expecting much from Mimi. After all, he trained it to kill, not to spar against friendly opponents.


    Yet that''s what was about to happen.


    "Mimi, no killing, okay?" Michael said, earning a few res from the people around. But upon receiving a nod in response, he sat back down.


    And soon, the fight began, with Mimi summoning tens of Swords of Light and sending them all flying toward Kai.


    But before they could get too close, Kai shed in an arc, deflecting their trajectory to the side before dashing in.


    It seemed like Mimi was prepared, as it immediately counterattacked by creating a golden cloak of mana, blocking a single attack as it shattered to pieces.


    That little moment, however, was enough for Mimi to get the upper hand, as it threw off Kai''s momentum.


    And so, with a few dozen more Swords of Light, Mimi attacked again.


    Yet for some reason, Kai was both dodging them and, at the same time, slicing them back in a way that made it possible for him to approach despite the constant onught.


    But he was notpletely safe, as all of a sudden, a golden sword appeared from out of the ground and swiftly pierced his foot.


    Or it was about to¡ªhowever, as it made contact, the golden sword shattered to bits and pieces.


    The amount of training Kai had done was more than enough to do such a thing, and that was all thanks to Michael''s training.


    Wipe that smug smile off your face. I was the one who threw more boulders at him, the system eximed in an annoyed tone, which caused him to raise a brow.


    ''Jealous? Do something about it.''


    However, as his words fell, he suddenly felt a weird pulse of manaing from the top of his head¡ªspecifically, where his halo was.


    And in the very next moment, Michael could feel himself flying around, while at the same time, his body began moving on its own before suddenly turning and meeting his eyes.


    I did something about it. Now let me cheer, the system snickered.


    ''You...'' Michael facepalmed and vaguely controlled the mana remotely from his body, making him fly back toward it, now floating face to face. Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    ''Since when can you take my body?''


    It''s not really taking. I invented a skill just now. I can possess your body for a single minute, once every week. Not too bad, eh? The system chuckled, and Michael tried pping his own body.


    Yet his hand went through it.


    I''m sure you''ll figure out how to get back into your body in a few seconds, but for the time being, I''m going to enjoy this battle firsthand, since you clearly aren''t, the system said, and Michael paused.


    ''I will let you watch this one fight, and this is the only time I allow you to take over my body without my permission,'' Michael stated and used the mana to turn around and watch the match unfold.


    Seemingly, Kai was winning¡ªbut it was all temporary.


    After all, he had taught Mimi a lot more than a simple Sword of Light and his special clothes-making skill.


    He had also taught it Piercing Light, which, for some reason, worked extremely effectively in training.


    Just as he had those thoughts, Mimi backed up and put its hands together, forming a sort of tube before breathing into it.


    And as Mimi did that, a single beam of light emerged, flying extremely fast¡ªfast enough that Kai couldn''t react¡ªthus cleanly piercing his right shoulder and making him drop his sword.


    He had not given up, as just before the golden sword reached the ground, he kicked it back upwards and grabbed it with his left hand.


    For the first time in this whole fight, Mimi showed a look of amusement¡ªwhich did not go unnoticed by Michael.


    ''So it''s reached a bit of a bottleneck now, I see... perfect,'' he nodded to himself with a small smile on his ethereal face.


    However, the unexpected happened. "Hey, chil¡ªKai! Aim for Mimi''s face! It doesn''t know how to block frontal attacks!"


    The system shouted through his body, making all sorts of different mana signatures lock onto him.


    But before they could be a problem, the system used both his mana and the mana in the halo to emit an even more fearsome amount of energy.


    Immediately, that shut everyone up¡ªincluding the two frozen participants on the tform, who quickly resumed their battle.


    Yet this time, Kai was actively following the system''s advice¡ªand it was definitely working.


    However, while Michael wasn''t exactly the best mentor, he wasn''t aplete amateur, so spotting such a weakness was simple.


    Therefore, Mimi soon performed a feint by bringing its face closer on purpose, startling Kai as it suddenly created another tube and shot out a Piercing Light spell.


    And this time, it was aiming for the sword, which, upon making contact, shattered.


    Michael had made it reasonably durable on purpose, so as to not give Kai a big head¡ªbut his n seemed to backfire, as Mimi was with him as he was doing so.@@novelbin@@


    ''Oh well... it''s over,'' Michael thought with triumph.


    However, Sect Leader Li was not announcing the fight''s end, and soon, Michael found out why.


    "I forfeit," Mimi stated with a bow in a bored voice, and before even receiving a reply, it walked off the tform and back into thefortable seat from earlier.


    "Uhh..." Sect Leader Li was slightly shocked at this turn of events. However, rules are rules. Even if the forfeiting could have been negated, Mimi still stepped off the arena.


    Therefore, the announcement was made, earning a bout of cheering from everyone around.


    "Kai of the Golden Dragon Sect wins!"


    ''Seriously?'' Michael could not believe it as he sent a re toward the now-sleeping Mimi.


    Haha, amateur. You didn''t ount for the fact that Mimi doesn''t even want to win. If it can''t kill, then what''s its purpose? Anyways, fair game¡ªI won, the system remarked in a taunting tone, when all of a sudden, Michael floated back into his body, regaining all control.


    ''1-0...'' Michael stated with a sigh.


    It''s actually more like 5-0. I lost count past 5. Good luck next time though!


    ''...''

 Chapter 239 The First Part of the Tournament (3)

    The rounds went by, with seemingly worse luck for the other teams.


    Out of the rounds before Michael himself had to step up, the other teams had not fought theirs even once.


    It was quiteical, but he didn''t mind¡ªafter all, it made it that much easier to prove how overwhelming their sect was.


    And soon, it was his turn.


    "Munjin of the Golden Dragon sect versus Tai Feng of the Plum Blossom sect. Proceed onto the tform," Sect leader Li stated, and Michael did just that.


    Surprisingly, out of everyone present, Tai Feng seemed the strongest, nearly reaching Tier 4 in strength.


    Yet that shouldn''t be much of a problem, since he had been able to Charm him earlier.


    Sect leader Li checked if both of them were ready, and after affirming, immediately sent his hand down. "Begin!"


    His words hung in the air. However, Michael did not instantly attack, since there was a certain interesting thing happening on the tform, which seemed to go unnoticed by everyone present.


    Sect leader Ji, disguised as Chu Dong, was weaving his mana and expanding it all over where Michael stood.


    ''So that''s what an actual Elder is like, huh,'' he mused before suddenly stepping down.


    And as he did, the tform cracked into two, while at the same time, the mana was dispelled.


    Tai Feng seemed startled by this sudden gesture, and without even hesitating, used Qi to empower himself, emitting a fierce pink light all around himself.


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    But when he approached to strike, Michael merely took the full brunt of the attack, testing his shield''s power.


    He hadn''t seen his skill''s effects in a while, and the system did not seem like it had finishedpiling the dragon words either, so it was a bit of a pity.


    Nheless, once Tai Feng made contact with Michael''s body, the shield immediately bounced him off.


    And even more surprisingly, it had not even been broken.


    ''Full HP shield is back,'' he put on a smirk and nced at Tai Feng.


    "What''s wrong? Aren''t you going to attack?"


    "You did something." Tai Feng''s calm yet serious voice resounded, making Michael raise a brow.


    "Really? I did? It seems to me like you just missed," Michael taunted, but that seemed to not do anything in the slightest, as Tai Feng merely took another approach.


    Dashing in, he swung his sword down, and just as it was about to connect with Michael''s body, he halted the sword mid-swing.


    That confused Michael for a moment, but in the next, his eyes suddenly widened.


    The sword had not hit him, and yet, the shield had taken effect.


    For some reason, that effect was even more draining than the rest.


    Almost like, if he did not absorb a single attack, his mana would be reduced instead.


    "That''s a cheeky solution," Michael couldn''t help butment as he summoned a few dozen miniature shields which he could control at will.


    "However, that''s all it is. A solution to the first problem."


    "Is that so?" Tai Feng nced at what was happening with shaking eyes that betrayed his outer confidence.


    And when Michael noticed that, he immediately began his attack. Taking a few steps forward, he summoned a single Sword of Light and shed horizontally, making the mana cleave outward as a result.


    However, Tai Feng blocked it by redirecting the mana upwards before his pink Qi grew even brighter.


    "Even now, you don''t fail to surprise me," Michael stated with a small smile.


    He had been on the losing end for so long that it felt weird having this much control over his opponent.


    ying around in a life-or-death fight, win-or-lose everything type of fight, really made his heart race again.


    Fighting, and achieving his goals, really was the best way, so he decided from here on out to get even stronger.


    To do that, however, Michael would need to increase the intensity of his training by a lot, until eventually, he would reach the limit of this world.


    But still, that would take a while.


    Putting his focus back on the fight, Michael sent out a Piercing Light, which immediately switched its form, bing a byproduct of Mirage of Light.


    As that happened, a miniature sword pierced straight through Tai Feng''s calf.


    Before he fell to the ground, however, Tai Feng caught himself and swung his sword in a weird arc.


    Immediately, and for the first time ever, Michael felt a sense of urgency¡ªthe type that told him, if he were to stay and not back away, he''d face serious injuries.@@novelbin@@


    So that''s what he did, shielding himself heavily while taking several steps back.


    And as he did that, pink flower petals began falling onto the ground, covering it entirely.


    Yet, perhaps because of his strength, or the Disciple skill which helped him against mind-altering attacks, he noticed something interesting.


    In the midst of all these pink flower petals were tiny sword shes that were constantly being rotated.


    It did not take long for Michael to find out that each and every single sword sh wasing from Tai Feng, whose mana was being drained at a noticeable pace.


    Even then, an attack like that...


    ''I want it.''


    It had been a long time since he actually invented a proper attack¡ªone that would actually turn the tide of battle, while also not costing a limb to cast.


    A simple attack which used mana but did not have a cooldown.


    Just like Sword of Light, but even stronger.


    The Golden Dragon sect also has something like that, each sect has a few set scriptures that would help you train or hone yourself in a special way, the systemmented, piquing his interest.


    ''Oh? But I would need to win all these tournaments to get it, correct?'' he questioned.


    That''s right, so do your best, the system encouraged, and immediately, Michael stopped ying around.


    Tai Feng was a good opponent for some, but for Michael, that was not the case.


    Therefore, he brought his hand down, and without even a moment''s hesitation, pierced straight through each of Tai Feng''s limbs, pinning him onto the ground and shattering his sword.


    A Tier 3, nearly a Tier 4, defeated like an ant, just like that.


    Even the crowd could not believe it, nor Sect leader Li himself.


    Nheless, the results had to be announced.


    "Mujin of the Golden Dragon sect wins!"


    With that, Michael made his way down, as a few people in Daoist robes came up and took Tai Feng''s body away.


    Yet before Michael could even take his seat, Sect leader Li''s voice resounded.


    "Mujin of the Golden Dragon sect versus Xue Mei of the Cloudflower sect. Step back onto the tform."


    ''The no downtime rule might have been a little much,'' Michael thought with a sigh and went back to the middle, before being asked if he was ready, andstly...


    "Begin!"


    Just as Sect leader Li''s words rang out, Michael sent a single Sword of Light right at the woman, who tried blocking it.


    However, he put a lot more strength into it, causing her sword to shatter in a single blow.


    But as he thought it was over, Xue Mei suddenly pulled out a steel whip, before sending it towards him.


    Michael was slightly startled, as even in the past, he had never fought against someone using whips.


    It felt a bit... out of ce, to say the least.


    Yet, as she swung it around, and his shield deflected it, Michael noticed a massive usage of mana.


    ''Hmm...'' he hummed inwardly. ''The length and versatility are triggering my shield... How did I not know about this weakness sooner?''


    If he had known, he could have fixed it very easily, but now, it was a bit of a pain to do so. Therefore, he relied on the external shields he could make out of his mana.


    While at the same time, he questioned the system. ''Can you fix that skill? Aegis of Light? It''s broken.''


    It''s not broken, you are just overpowering your own skills. It is a beginner-level skill after all, the system replied, making him raise a brow.


    ''Even so, why would it lose its effects? I am getting stronger, and shouldn''t the skill as well?''


    If only it were so easy. Passive skills are fine; however, active skills are a bit different, hence why I tried so hard to unlock the Skill Sacrifice tab for you. Even I myself had several dozen skills at the Supreme level, since the ones before could no longer support my strength.


    ''But what about Sword of Light? It''s holding up well.'' Michael dug deeper.


    Yet the reply was the same. It was Basic at first, and then turned to Beginner. It has a slightly higher limit than the rest of the skills that usually start out at Beginner rank, but I can assure you, the limit is near.


    ''So if I level up a random skill all the way from Basic to Supreme, then I would have something extremely overpowered?''


    Essentially that''s the case, but it doesn''t really matter. Supreme rank is enough to harness skills even if you are Tier 20. Trust me.


    ''If you say so.'' Michael shrugged it off, before putting in much more strength, and with a single push of his hand, cracked Xue Mei''s skull.


    "W-wha... Mujin of the Golden Dragon sect wins! We are going to be having a timeout..." Sect leader Li''s words were soon interrupted as Michael walked up to her and healed her.


    Not even a second after, Xue Mei was back to full strength, but the hollow and horrified expression on her face really did seem true.


    Sect leader Li walked up to Michael and whispered, "You can go back now. Refrain from doing... that for now."


    Michael nodded and made his way down, as soon, the next round was announced.


    "Kai of the Golden Dragon sect versus Lian Hua of the Cloudflower sect!"

 Chapter 240 The First Part of the Tournament (4)

    ''Well, that was boring,'' Michael thought with a small frown.


    While he hadn''t expected Kai to do well against someone like her¡ªan opponent at Tier 3¡ªhe had expected him to at least put up a fight.


    However, whether it was the hormones at y or his sheer carelessness, Kai lost.


    "Lian Hua of the Cloudflower Sect wins!"


    As Sect Leader Li''s words fell, Michael took one good look around and suddenly halted.


    ''This was thest match? Where did the other sects go?''


    It had gone by way too fast, and in the end, the final was between himself, Hu Rong, and that Lian Hua girl.


    However, the lots were not in his favor, it seemed, as soon the announcement was made.


    "Mujin of the Golden Dragon Sect versus Hu Rong of the Golden Dragon Sect. Proceed onto the tform now."


    It was an exhausting process for Sect Leader Li, but if he wanted to be rich, exhaustion was the least of his worries.


    Since, in just a few moments, they would get their first win.


    Michael walked onto the tform and faced Hu Rong, his supposed disciple, who he had yet to even give a single pointer to.


    "Begin!"


    Just as the words fell and Michael prepared himself to fight, Hu Rong opened his mouth.


    "I surren¡ª"


    "Vahzil," Michael interjected with a draconic word that meant silence, and soon looked at his disciple with a puzzled expression.


    "Why do you want to surrender? Take this round as a spar instead of an actual tournament. I will be winning either way."


    Upon getting a reluctant nod from Hu Rong, he released him from the silence draconic word and soon walked forward.


    This prompted Hu Rong to begin taking the fight seriously, as soon he took out his sword and pointed it shakily at Michael.


    Yet before he could hesitate further, Michael sped up his pace, appearing right before Hu Rong and kicking the hilt of the sword.


    Michael''s intention was to knock it straight out of his disciple''s hand, but instead, he received a hole clean through his foot.


    "A spike on the hilt... sneaky," he remarked as the wound healed a momentter.


    "Don''t hold back. It is impossible for you to kill me with your current strength anyway," Michael encouraged him, and that seemed to do the trick as Hu Rong suddenly took up a low crouching stance.


    Noticing this, Michael affirmed with a proud nod. "That''s the spirit."


    In turn, he would also not hold back¡ªwell, to the point of remaining fair.


    Limiting his strength but not his skill usage, Michael sent out 20 Piercing Lights to start.


    However, they were nimbly dodged, all except thest one, which managed to connect with Hu Rong''s shoulder.


    "You should probably move less. Find the right movement for each action instead of relying on momentum, since in the end..." Michael instructed and sent out another Piercing Light.


    This time, however, as Hu Rong dodged, the spell swiftly turned around and halted right before Hu Rong''s face.


    "In the end, your opponents are all unique, and each has certain moves that could instantly kill you. Rely on something that is effective for all and not for one."


    A look of enlightenment appeared on Hu Rong''s face as he heard those words. He performed a respectful bow before reassuming hisbat stance.


    Yet Michael inwardly cringed.


    ''I kind of made stuff up... But still, his fighting style is only good against those who have a Dantian mana core and can''t control mana that well. If he fought against a mage, he''d die in the second attack,'' he mused inwardly.


    It is good advice. First time you used that small giant head of yours, the system remarked with a chuckle, earning a puzzled look from Michael.


    ''What the fuck is a small giant head supposed to mean?''


    But upon not receiving an answer, he decided to drop the topic. For now.


    "Hu Rong, why do you use that stance, by the way?" Michael questioned, making him halt.


    "Master Mujin?"


    Michael sighed and proceeded to exin. "You fight with speed, but your strength truly lies in power. Why don''t you change your stance to better suit you instead?"


    It felt like, instead of a spar, this was simple training.


    But at the very least, Michael had the chance to finally train his first disciple. Even if his teaching did not mean much to him, they were still precious moments that he would likely remember.


    "Master Mujin, can I surrender?" Hu Rong suddenly questioned, yet the look on his face seemed overly determined for someone who wanted to quit.


    "...Why?"


    "I believe this spar won''t show you what I am truly capable of, so please, Master Mujin, allow me to better myself to give you a worthy first spar," Hu Rong said while bowing down on the ground.


    "Stand up..." Michael sighed and used mana to ce him back on his feet. "If you are so determined, then so be it. Walk off the tform yourself."


    A smile beamed on Hu Rong''s face as he cupped his fists before proceeding off the tform.


    However, he wasn''t going in the direction of the seats but instead to an istion room that just so happened to be in the main pavilion.


    ''Hey hey, what the fuck? Is he going to make us go down a person?'' Michael eximed inwardly, but after that grand speech, he did not have the heart to stop Hu Rong.


    ''I guess I''ll just have to do everything myself.''


    Or, he mighte back before the next tournament game begins. You never know, the systemmented, earning a scowl from Michael in response.


    ''There is only one person aside from me remaining, the actual final battle. The second tournament would likely start soon after, so I doubt Hu Rong would get out in time.''


    Guess you will just have to pray your disciple is more capable than he looks, the system chuckled, making Michael''s brows twitch.


    But he proceeded to ignore that as Sect Leader Li soon announced the results.


    "Mujin of the Golden Dragon Sect wins!" he said before clearing his throat and continuing, "Now, since this is thest fight, the contender stays here. Meanwhile, Lian Hua of the Cloudflower Sect,e up here."


    As his words fell, the girl began making her way up and soon stood right in front of him, an icy re stered all over her face.


    Raising his brow, Michael taunted, "That time of the month?"


    Yet she did not reply. Only a frown appeared on her face as a result.


    "Uh... Right." Sect Leader Li was slightly startled at Michael''sment but nheless proceeded to raise his hand before swiftly bringing it down.


    "Begin!"


    Just as those words fell, Lian Hua ran up to him and pulled out a pair of throwing knives, which she suddenly threw into the sky.


    However, unluckily for her, Michael could see through the hidden intent behind this action and soon spread out his mana wide.


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    There were miniature wires connected to those daggers, and from what he could only assume, she would use them to try garroting his head off.


    s, he would nip this ambition of hers in the bud while he could.


    And as he did, a startled look appeared on Lian Hua''s face as she drew her arm back and pulled out another set of throwing knives.


    Just like the rest, they were tampered with and had something special on them.


    Poison.


    Therefore, Michael opened his arms wide and took it in, letting the throwing knives pierce through his skin and darken the surrounding tissue.


    However, after just a few seconds, the throwing knives fell out from his body, with his skin appearing even more chiseled than before he was poisoned.


    ''A poison that has the side effect of making skin clearer? What kind of sect is this?'' he thought as a shiver went down his spine.


    Nheless, not many tricks were left up her sleeve, as she began repeating the same actions until, eventually, shepletely ran out of throwing knives.


    But that did not seem like all, as soon she pulled out a pair of daggers and held them in a military-like fashion.


    ''A coincidence?'' Michael thought with a raised brow, and before she could even attempt to attack him with those daggers, he shed sideways.


    From the other side, a sword of light appeared, immediately cutting her hands off and making her drop to the ground with a horrified look.


    Yet as he thought it was all over, a smile appeared on Lian Hua''s face when, all of a sudden, hundreds, if not thousands, of wires appeared and all headed toward him.@@novelbin@@


    However, even if he did not exactly see this attacking, a surprise attack reaching him was unlikely.


    Therefore, just before it was about to connect with his body, heyered multiple shields on top of one another andpletely blocked the onught of her wire attack.


    But for some reason, she was not letting up, trying every angle imaginable to strike him.


    This prompted Michael to shoot a puzzled nce at Sect Leader Li, who reacted in kind.


    "Mujin of the Golden Dragon Sect wins!"


    Yet the attacks did not stop.


    "I am giving you five seconds to fuck off," Michael warned in a cold voice.


    "Lian Hua, the fight is over¡ªyou can stop now," Sect Leader Li interjected.


    However, as he did, the wires were all immediately redirected toward him.


    Before they could reach Sect Leader Li, Michael sent a single Sword of Light toward the madwoman''s head and lopped it off before turning to where the rest of the Cloudflower Sect''s elders were and saying:


    "You''re going to becking one for the next tournament, I''m afraid."

 Chapter 241 The Second Part of the Tournament

    A/N: Changing italics for system speech to [this.] Let me know if you like it more, or if I should change it back instead.


    *


    "Seize him!" The Cloudflower sect''s elder''s angered voice rang out, but no one stepped in to do anything.


    After all, Michael was innocent.


    Lian Hua attacked them first and even injured the sect leader, so naturally, her life was forfeit at that very moment.


    "Come down and try something, then," Michael taunted.


    If he could get the elder to personally do something stupid, then his rewards would be that much greater.


    However, unlike Chu Dong, this one was not so foolish.


    "I will not forget this," the Cloudflower sect''s elder stated, making Michael''s brow rise.


    "Oh, believe me, neither will I," Michael let out a chuckle. "I will be paying a visit to each of your sects after all these tournaments are over."


    "The first tournament is over!" Sect leader Li intervened, cleaning the dust off his daoist robes. "The next tournament is at the Plum Blossom sect grounds."


    With those words, the spectators stood up and swiftly made their way out of the Golden Dragon sect grounds.


    Some were jogging¡ªperhaps to get a better viewing angle for the next tournament.


    But no one knew what its contents were, except for the elders, who likely already rigged it for their own disciples.


    Nheless, Michael shed a nce at Sect leader Li before asking, "Any information you can tell me beforehand?"


    "It''s a maze. That is all I know. But from what I heard in the stories, the Plum Blossom sect has some underground tunnels that span across the entire city."


    "That sounds... very unfair." Michael tilted his head, receiving a nod from Sect leader Li in response.


    "It is unfair, Mujin. However, you must try your best to win, and I will do the same on my part. I need to scour the treasury for a few important materials. In the meantime, you will have no elders apanying you since the others are drunk."


    ''Some things run in the sect, huh.'' Michael thought with a frown.


    "I see... I''ll get going now."


    With those words, Michael turned toward hispanions¡ªKai, Mimi, and, surprisingly, Hu Rong¡ªwho were idly sitting by.


    ''I thought he would be training?'' Michael mused. ''Guess his big talk was meant forter.''


    After he met their gazes, they soon began following after him, with Hu Rong stepping right beside him and saying, "Master Mujin, the Cloudflower sect are very treacherous. Even if you are strong, please be careful."


    "You don''t need to worry, my disciple," Michael assured. "I am very hard to kill."


    Hu Rong shed a strange look but soon regrouped with both Kai and Mimi behind Michael.


    [I guess this maze might be an interesting challenge,] the system suddenly said.


    ''Why? It sounds like one unfair hassle to me. They likely already taught the correct routes to their disciples.''


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    [That just means you know who to track. Though at the same time, you can cause some chaos and ruin their underground tunnels.]


    Michael was slightly shocked to hear such words. ''You are encouraging me tomit my stupid mischief? And here I thought you were going to continue acting like a parent.''


    [Yeah, well, keep in mind, some of those tunnels might still be unexplored to this day, so finding something interesting is also possible,] the system added, ignoring his rude remark.


    ''I''ll see what I can do,'' Michael answered with a smile as he soon found himself in front of the Plum Blossom sect''s entrance gate.


    And to say it was a bit more lively than the Golden Dragon sect was an understatement.


    There were people all around, practically stepping on each other to see properly.


    Thousands, minimum.


    However, perhaps because of malice or something else, no one escorted Michael and his group inside.


    Therefore, he decided to do it his way.


    Raising his hand, he sent out a short burst of mana that acted as some sort of wind bullet, pushing people aside.


    A lot were warriors, and upon recognizing Michael''s move, they calmed down, letting him pass peacefully.


    Yet the normal citizens were not so forgiving, as soon they began running up to him and violently kicking his legs.


    But since he couldn''t even feel what they were doing, Michael ignored them.


    That was until he had finally reached the actual gate and soon went through it.


    Immediately, the much bigger sect grounds entered his sight, and his group behind him was equally in awe.


    When he had tried joining this sect earlier, they did not seem this fancy, but now, they must have used a yearly budget or something to prepare such luxuries.


    There were many food stalls, merchandise with pink flowers, as well as miniature wooden swords with the Plum Blossom''s logo on them.


    ''Smart... They are using their reputation to make people buy this useless shit,'' Michael concluded.


    If they were truly using as much money as he was expecting, then the prices were likely high as well.


    And as he walked up to one of the food stalls, the bread¡ªwhich cost 20 silvers¡ªpractically blew him away.


    However, the shocking part was, people were eagerlying along and buying it, leaving with happy expressions on their faces.


    Why? Simply because the bread had the Plum Blossom sect''s logo on it.


    A gimmick that only worked if the sect was famous, and definitely would not have worked had Michael tried to do the same.


    But in the end, it did not matter. Money would be pouring in the moment he finished all of these tournaments.


    Since even if he did not know what Sect leader Ji was nning, the least Michael could deduce was that he would get an extra sacrifice necessary to open that inheritance chamber.


    "This way!" an annoyingly angry voice rang out from the side, and he spotted the Plum Blossom sect''s elder ring daggers at both him and his group.


    Michael put on a smile and walked toward him. "What''s with the animosity? I have not done anything to wrong you. Not yet, at least."


    "You have a foul tongue, child. I wish you the best in the trials, though," the elder snickered, making Michael raise a brow.


    ''So there will be traps or other unexpected stupid stuff, got it,'' he noted it down and went along the path the elder set them on.


    It seemed like a simple courtyard, but soon, Michael felt as though he was walking on hollow ground.


    That was when the b he had been standing on turned, sending him falling down to whatever awaited below.


    However, after just a few moments of freefalling, Michael felt as though he was traveling down a slope until eventually, it became an actual slide.


    ''Just how deep does this hole go?'' he thought with widened eyes as the seconds passed swiftly.


    ''Who could have even dug something like this? Definitely not a human.''


    [A snake,] the system stated matter-of-factly.


    ''Snake? The size of a truck?'' Michael thought with amusement. Is something like that even possible?


    [You know dragons are real, and yet you doubt the existence of a slightly above-average-sized snake. But yes, they are ancient creatures that probably don''t exist anymore. The Plum Blossom sect ancestors were lucky to find something like this,] the system exined, earning a whistle from Michael in response.@@novelbin@@


    ''Sure would love to see one of those.''


    [You wouldn''t. I wouldn''t either. They are ugly sons of bitches who eat through your clothes and mana.]


    ''Are you telling me this from experience?'' Michael mused, but upon not getting an answer, merely chuckled.


    His sliding did notst long, as soon, a massive tunnel appeared before him, much bigger than the hole he had just fallen from.


    However, he heard a few plops beside him, and upon turning around, spotted Mimi, Hu Rong, as well as Kai all staring around in wonder.


    "I''m d you are all okay, but now we need to find a way out¡ªprobably," Michael said with slight amusement.


    These tunnels werepletely made of dirt, and nothing stopped his mana from passing through.


    Therefore, he could likely find a way out in minutes.


    But that would be no fun. Instead, Michael would follow his group and let them find the exit by themselves.


    In the meantime, Michael would control his Swords of Light to track the other groups and identally eliminate a few of their disciples.


    And by eliminate, he had killing in mind.


    His perception of death had changed long ago, therefore, he had no qualms killing even if notpletely necessary.


    The path Michael followed was not just, but of course, he did not want toe off as a total viin either.


    That was why he would only kill one member from each team¡ªexcluding the Cloudflower sect, who were already missing a disciple due to earlier circumstances.


    However, before they could begin their journey to explore the tunnels, a loud shriek resounded in the distance, and with that followed several screams that did not seem to belong to any of the other teams.


    Michael narrowed his eyes and soon saw the outline of some kind of worm creature popping out of the ground and opening its mouth.


    With that, the shriek and screaming resounded, as if luring people toward it.


    All the while, Michael felt disappointed if this was all they coulde up with.


    ''What a stupid trap.''


    But before he could ponder further, the worm was suddenly eaten up by an even bigger worm, and for some reason, as it got closer and closer, the size was growing in exponential proportions.


    [I guess that''s not all they had,] the system chuckled.


    ''...Seems like it.''

 Chapter 243 The Second Part of the Tournament (3)

    ''Is it here?'' Michael thought with a small smile.


    While he was fending off the worm and protecting the other disciples, he had been actively looking for some secret openings.


    And after just a few hours, he managed to spot one that was a bit less ordinary than the others.


    A hollow wall, which, once he made contact with it, crumbled to dust, revealing a far-reaching tunnel whose end he could not quite see.


    ''Hm...'' Michael hummed while stretching out his mana, and after roughly five seconds, he felt the end of the tunnel.


    ''13 kilometers. It''s pretty far.''


    [So? You can control the swords of mana from this distance anyway,] the systemmented with a scoff.


    ''Be that as it may, if that worm thing gets too strong, I''ll have to... never mind, I''ll just summon more swords of light.'' Michael swiftly gave in, without barely any argument, and did just that.


    At a targeted location affected by his mana, hundreds of golden swords appeared, circling around the safe room he had made for his group, while at the same time, he created several miniature umbres of light.


    Even if the shbang of Light skill was a joke at first, it worked surprisingly well against the evolving worm. Therefore, he wouldn''t shy away from using it.


    And soon, Michael made his way into the secret tunnel, sealing the entrance behind him.


    Since he did not want to waste too much time, he sped up his pace, appearing at the end in just a few seconds.


    But the sight was not quite what he was expecting.


    ''A skeleton. So worthwhile,'' he grumbled, unamused.


    However, as he prepared to walk away with seemingly no gains, he spotted some weird patterns on the skeleton''s bones.


    They seemed like runes¡ªones carved deeply enough to be seen¡ªbut due to the mana disappearing from the skeleton''s body after it died, they were hard to see.


    Despite that, with Eyes of the Great Sage, he could clearly see what was written.


    And what he could gather from this was...


    ''Nothing. I can''t read shit.'' He let out an even deeper sigh than before.


    ''Can you store these texts? Or better yet, trante them directly to me.''


    [No.] The system firmly rejected. [I won''t be giving you many handouts, but at the very least, I can save this text for future use, since from the looks of things, it does seem pretty worthwhile.]


    Michael noticed something strange, and that was the faint tremble in the system''s voice¡ªa tremble he had not heard before, ever since first getting to know it.


    ''I hate when you do this. If you don''t tell me what it is, I''m sticking your halo into the evolving worm''s mouth.''


    [You wouldn''t dare,] the system warily stated, but Michael had made up his mind already.


    Therefore, he sped up his pace, zipping out of the secret entrance, and quickly reappearing in the tunnels.@@novelbin@@


    Not even a secondter, he spotted the evolving monster, currently battling with the Cloudflower sect.


    ''Last chance,'' Michael warned as he began heading over at a steady pace.


    [Look, I don''t necessarily hog this information because I want to. I do this because it''s a bit early for you to know a few things,] the system attempted to convince him.


    But sadly, it failed, as Michael sped through the tunnels, killing all the nearby worm monsters in the way, until finally, he was right behind the evolving worm.


    And before the system could even say another word, Michael tugged hard at the halo, taking it off his head with arge amount of force, and tossed it into the worm''s mouth.


    Its single eye seemed to be giving off subtle interest, and as it began absorbing the halo''s mana at a rapid pace, the system had enough.


    Green blood shot out to all sides, scattering all over the other disciples¡ªwith the exception of Michael himself¡ªas he stared at the now, Mikhail, towering over the regenerating worm.


    "You are shameless. Why don''t you ever try finding something out yourself? Why do you always seek me for answers?" Mikhail questioned in a rather calm voice.


    And Michael replied in kind. "You have the information I am looking for, that''s why. I could either get it from you or spend weeks¡ªor maybe even years¡ªtrying to find whatever I''m looking for. Now why would I do that?"


    "Experience," Mikhail answered matter-of-factly, making Michael''s brow rise.


    "The same experience that has traveled over how many years exactly? How many eons has it been since your death? And yet here you are, on possibly yourst turn, making the same mistakes you had in the past."


    Those words seemed to finally upset Mikhail, as he began showing a hint of emotion.


    Irritation.


    "If I tell you everything, you won''t learn. If I tell you everything, then you''ll growcent," he stated in a cold voice before continuing, "For your information, I have tried multiple times to make my previous incarnations as knowledgeable as possible. Heck, I even had a genius who awakened a mana core right after he was born."


    "And yet here you are. Standing in front of me, still dead as ever," Michael added, earning a fierce re in response.


    "Luck, idents. All different kinds of factors yed a part in my long travels to search for the one who would restore heaven to its former self."


    "You really just love repeating yourself, don''t you?" Michael shot back. "How do you expect me to believe you''ve not even gotten close to heaven yet? Let alone ruling over it again. Can''t your soldiers make you a new body or something of the sort?"


    "My soul is tied to the system now, and the only way to release it would be to destroy the system itself. How many times do you think I''ve helped other Michaels reach the top, just for them to be too weak to defend themselves against the actual strong rulers of heaven?" Mikhail replied, and as he did, he suddenly halted.


    This reaction, as well as what he had said, did not slip by Michael''s ears.


    "Defend against the heaven pricks, eh? I guess your stories were bullshit after all, am I right?"


    "Not exactly... It''s more of a weing test. Yet as time went on, it grew surprisingly stronger with each new incarnation that came. The one overseeing this test was no pushover either, so I could not bend the rules of heaven as I pleased," Mikhail replied with a sour look, adding, "No one could."


    "I see," Michael nodded in response, feeling a variety of emotions currently.


    Nheless, none of that was important, as what he truly needed to do was get the answers to his questions.


    Each and every single one of them.


    And preferably? He would rather do it as soon as possible.


    However, despite the apparent issues, he could see it being usible. The Third Trial should be up soon, and with that, he could request an increase in difficulty.


    Which, after further thinking, he decided to do.


    But as he was lost in his thoughts¡ªas well as in the conversation with Mikhail¡ªhe failed to ount for the sect members who stared at him with both hate and envy.


    Hate because he killed their friends.


    Envy, simply because he was much, much stronger than them.


    Nheless, he flicked his head over to Mikhail. "Get back for now. We will talkter."


    And as those words fell, Mikhail reluctantly traveled inside the halo, before floating over to him.


    However, that left him in a bit of a peculiar situation.


    These three people, with whom he had no past qualms, had now seen a bit of a secret of his.


    Clearly, letting them go just like that would not be in his greatest interest.


    Therefore, Michael prepared to kill all of them but halted upon realizing there was a much better solution¡ªone that preserved the integrity of the games, as well as didn''t put that much of a burden on him.


    Michael put on a warm smile, locking eyes with each of the women, and soon, used his Charm skill.


    Immediately, all three of the women were enveloped in his golden mana, which dissipated not long after.


    But that was enough, as with the extra time he had managed to buy by extending the skill''s duration and effect, he now had much greater leeway.


    "You three. Forget everything you saw. Also, if people do end up raising questions, forget my name, face, and everything rted to me," Michael stated, before walking closer. "But do remember one thing, and one thing in particr. My orders are absolute."


    "Yes, sir." Their dull, feminine voices rang out in unison, and with a satisfied nod, he walked back to his group, which, from the looks of things, were merely ying around, with Kai being the most energetic out of the lot.


    From the talks, he could also overhear some interesting things.


    ''Master Mujin is great. Mhm. I know,'' he nodded to himself inwardly.


    However, before he could revel in those kind words, a much deeper topic was brought up¡ªone he did not expect to hear.


    ''Do you guys think Mujin is from the demonic faction?'' Michael raised his brow in disbelief. ''Are they serious?''


    [Why would they be? You run around like a maniac killing everyone. That''s what someone from the demonic faction would do as well. Do keep in mind, you are in the orthodox faction as of now, so make sure to keep your reputation steady, at the very least,] the system exined, but that brought him back on topic.


    ''Speaking about running like a maniac... Tell me about those runes carved into the bones.''


    [You are so persistent,] the system stated with annoyance, but after a long pause of seemingly nothing happening, it let out a sigh.


    [Very well... Listen closely...]

 Chapter 244 The Second Part of the Tournament (4)

    [It''s a byproduct of mana core initiation, something that''s taboo in all worlds and will likely get you killed by the higher powers pretty quickly,] the system exined, yet it only arose more questions.


    ''That sounds like some sort of an organization,'' he thought, yet the system quickly denied it.


    [It''s not. Mana Core Initiation is the act of a person utilizing their whole body as a mana core.]


    ''How exactly is that taboo, though? It sounds very effective,'' Michael questioned as he took a few looks around.


    It seemed like most of the other sects were nearing the exit, and since he had practically looked around all of the nearby tunnels, he would exit soon as well.


    But before he did, there was still one thing he had to do¡ªthat being to capture that worm.


    However, due to his current interest in whatever the system was telling him, he would put that on hold.


    With a flip of his hand, he blocked off the exit so no sects could leave and soon went back to listening to the system''s exnation.


    [It has been made taboo ever since Adam and Eve escaped, just like I''ve shown you in the Halls of Reflection. Their bodies were one big mana core, hence why they seemed so off.]


    ''So it''s taboo because of tradition then?'' he questioned with raised brows.


    [More like caution. Some beings tried replicating that process, and a few even managed to seed. However, their power was far too great to maintain neutrality, thus the scales tipped either to the side of angels, demons, or...] it trailed off, making him frown.


    ''You said you would tell me. So finish your sentence.''


    A moment of silence ensued, followed by an annoyed sigh as the system continued.


    [Or the Eldritch bastards. They are amalgamations of primordial mana that gained consciousness, much like the first light, which is us angels. Essentially, they are as old and as strong as us, with the demons only being born after Adam and Eve fixed their shit.]


    ''So like those massive world-ending octopuses from theics?''


    [Essentially, yes. They take the form of whatever you are most afraid of since they don''t exactly have a concrete form due to their bodies being made solely of mana... And yes, they also have simr mana cores as Adam and Eve, just with slight differences that I wasn''t able to decipher.]


    The system finished, and he nodded in response, a smile tugging on his lips.


    ''So technically, if I make my body into one massive mana core, I would get much stronger¡ªwith the addition of having many more enemies. Is that correct?'' Michael asked.


    [Yes. You will be hunted down most likely by either the angels or demons. The Eldritch beings don''t meddle that much in such affairs unless you form contracts with them and don''t hold up your end of the deal,] the system exined.


    ''I see. I''ll keep that in mind for now,'' he nodded, and with a quick nce to the side, locked onto the evolving worm.


    It seemed like it was watching him from inside the wall, and the moment he nced at it, the worm began running away.


    But before it could get too far, Michael dashed toward it, sticking his hand into the tunnel''s wall and sting it into pieces.


    At the same time, the worm was just barely out of reach. Therefore, he sent his mana outward in a way that wouldpletely envelop the worm without directly touching it.


    Since if it did, his mana would be absorbed.


    The first try was unsessful, same with the second. However, on the third attempt, he was able to cover the worm in his miniature mana dome.


    Making it note into contact with the walls was troublesome, and the way he held it in ce was by exerting much more mana the closer it got to the walls.@@novelbin@@


    By doing so, he was able to create a sort of reflective barrier, which acted like an actual forcefield.


    And now, Michael merely pulled his hand backward, making the dome holding the evolving worm fly back toward him.


    Surprisingly, it was even smaller than he expected.


    When he first entered, the evolving worm was the size of the entire tunnel, but now, it was merely the size of his arm.


    Even then, its strength had only managed to increase, while at the same time, bing much more portable.


    ''Pet acquired,'' Michael thought with a smirk as he held the mana dome with the form inside like a football.


    ''Is there any way for you to store it inside your storage?'' he questioned.


    [Not with my current amount of mana. Storing living beings is still a bit too costly, and I''d say having the mana of someone at Tier 7 or 8 would do the trick,] the system responded.


    ''I see. Guess I''ll just carry it around for now,'' Michael said, injecting more mana into the mana dome.


    With that, the inside became less see-through, until eventually, it just looked like a round ball.


    ''Guess this''ll do.''


    With that, he made his way toward where all of the sects were gathered, banging on a golden door that he himself had made.


    Even his group was there¡ªit seemed like they had gotten bored and gone out.


    Now all that was left to do was be the first one to leave.


    Yet the Plum Blossom Sect weren''t exactly being the most friendly out of the bunch.


    "You dare!?" a Plum Blossom disciple shouted, aiming his sword at the Cloudflower Sect''s disciple.


    But before a fight could start, Michael interfered, walking past them and reaching the golden dome blocking the exit.


    And before everyone''s eyes, the golden dome opened up, letting him through.


    While the others were shocked at the sight, Michael''s group did the same, following after him.


    Soon, he finished the tournament, once againing in first ce.


    By now, the Azure Dragon Sect''s sect leader would be panicking¡ªor at least, that''s what Michael assumed.


    After all, he was only one more win away from winning the entire thing, and with that, the bet would be finished.


    Therefore, as he stepped toward the end of this exit, he approached a narrow crack, where, on the other side, he could see light.


    It reminded him of that time back in the Golden Dragon Sect''s trials, yet he doubted there would be any boons on the other side awaiting him.


    So, with Michael''s team behind him, he squeezed on through. Surprisingly, what awaited was the sight of the Azure Dragon Sect''s grounds and a bunch of spectators huddled all around.


    At the same time, the Plum Blossom elder''s voice¡ªwho obviously wasn''t expecting this oue¡ªrang out.


    "Congrattions. The Golden Dragon Sect has won again."


    "Obviously," Michael added, making the elder''s brows twitch.


    Yet as he nced around to look for Chu Dong, he was nowhere to be seen.


    However, upon closer look, he could still feel the lingering mana in the air belonging to Sect Leader Ji.


    That meant he was not too far away.


    ''I can''t shake the feeling that he''s a bit closer than I''m expecting, though,'' he remarked inwardly and listened as the elder finished his announcement.


    "This makes it two wins for the Golden Dragon Sect¡ªan extremely strong start by all means. As for the third part of the tournament, it will be held in the Cloudflower Sect."


    After a few bouts of pping, the elder continued.


    "Now then, you may all proceed toward their sect grounds. The same goes for the disciples who participated. The rules are the same as before, and the tournament''s condition will be announced once everyone is gathered."


    Michael nodded before turning to his team. "Let''s go. If we stay here any longer, the other disciples will burn a hole through our skulls with their gazes alone."


    "Yes, Master Mujin," Hu Rong replied, and soon, they made their way out.


    Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    But unlike the path to the Plum Blossom Sect, the path toward the Cloudflower Sect had more interesting surroundings.


    There were even some people parading around in masks, wearing all sorts of clothes that represented the four sects of the city.


    Yet surprisingly, all the Golden Dragon Sect had was a small, shabby-looking y dragon, sloppily painted yellow.


    That did not seem to disturb Kai, however, as he bought it with what little money he had.


    "Why did you do that?" Michael questioned.


    "It''s my first time being in a tournament like this... So I wanted to buy something to remember it by, and also... it looks kind of cool," Kai said in a serious tone¡ªright up until the end.


    ''That''s cool? Damn, very low standards,'' Michael remarked inwardly before stretching out his hand.


    Suddenly, a wisp of golden mana formed, slowly shaping itself in a spiral until finally, the outline of a majestic dragon was made.


    Yet the size was a little overwhelming, so with the usage of his pretty decent mana control, he shrank it, maximizing the details as much as he could.


    And soon, he handed it over to Kai, who, upon receiving the golden dragon, beamed a smile.


    "Thank you!" Kai said with a respectful bow, making Michael chuckle in response.


    "No problem, kid. Let''s win the next part too, shall we?"

 Chapter 245 The Third Part of the Tournament

    All of them finally arrived at the Cloudflower Sect, and to everyone''s surprise, it had undergone a ridiculous change.


    Not in a way that would make it unrecognizable, but enough to make Michael''s eyes narrow.


    What was just a simple sect a week prior was now turned into some sort of amusement park.


    There were stalls all around, yet each one of them had weird symbols¡ªsome of which made even him confused.


    Is this some sort of joke? he thought inwardly, ncing at each of the stalls.


    That was when he noticed something¡ªeach of the stalls had a person who was decently strong, while at the same time, the text on the symbols said "Points."


    He couldn''t have found that out without the help of the system. Nheless, it was good that he knew.


    Since now, Michael could better prepare himself for this ridiculous tournament.


    It was odd of him to think that each and every single tournament was going to be rted to fighting, which he would obviously win.


    But if it was something like this¡ªan arcade-style tournament where it''s mostly based on luck¡ªthen things were bound to be different.


    And soon, each of the sects gathered, with the Cloudflower Sect''s elder stepping forth.


    "Wee, everyone. We decided to do something different this year. Instead of our previous musical performances, we will bepeting in a game of chance," the female elder said before adding, "That''s why each of the teams has the same chance of winning, with the only skill involved being your luck."


    There was a certain smirk on the female elder''s face that Michael did not like, but it was obvious after all.


    It was their game, and each of the people standing by the stalls was from the Cloudflower Sect.


    If they did not take this chance to rig the games, then they would be stupid.


    "Now then, the format of this tournament is simple. Each of the sects will participate in a series of games of your choosing until, eventually, a sect reaches 50 points in total and is deemed the winner," she exined.


    Once the information sunk into everyone''s minds, she continued, "The rules are as follows: No meddling with the other teams. No cheating. No usage of Qi. Respect the game overseers. Andstly, the most important one¡ªyou can only y the same game five times before you are locked out of earning points from it."


    ''Sounds pretty simple to me.'' Michael nodded.


    [Simple, but the odds of the overseers overlooking the Cloudflower Sect''s cheating are extremely high, so unless you pull something out of your ass, you won''t be winning this one,] the systemmented.


    Michael rolled his eyes. ''Obviously. I''ll see what I can do. Also...'' he turned toward Chu Dong.


    However, it was a bit peculiar since the person standing there was no longer Sect Leader Ji.


    And from the looks of it, the sect leader was even closer to Michael than he had anticipated.


    As he nced to the side¡ªspecifically at one of the Azure Dragon Sect''s disciples¡ª


    Shi Feng, the same person Hu Rong had fought, had now surprisingly gotten decently stronger.


    Perhaps by chance¡ªobviously not¡ªhe was also holding his sword on the right side instead of the left.


    ''I wonder if people tend to simply go from right-handed to left-handed within the span of a couple of hours,'' Michael thought with amusement.


    Continue your journey on My Virtual Library Empire


    But it was a bit of an ominous thought.


    This Sect Leader Ji was able to be anyone he wanted without the others finding out.@@novelbin@@


    Not unless they used some high-level Qi technique or had ess to abundant mana like Michael, of course.


    [Yeah, it''s demonic faction stuff. This sect leader was likely corrupted by the potential power you could gain by tainting your dantian with demonic energy or something,] the systemmented.


    ''Mhm. Michael nodded in response before turning to Shi Feng. I have no clue what the fuck you just said, but I understand.''


    [...] The system was speechless.


    Nheless, it was about time the Cloudflower Sect''s elder continued their exnation.


    And this time, it was regarding the games.


    "Each and every single team has an equal opportunity to win, as I have already said. Therefore, there is a chance to y a more difficult game, and in exchange, you would gain more points doing so."


    "There are three difficulties in total, and each is marked by a g with a specific color on top of the booth. Green games are one point, orange games are two points, andstly, red games are four points," the elder said, earning a nod from each and every single person present.


    "Now then, since we are making this fair, each team has ten minutes to have a look around. Make sure to memorize the games in that time, or at the very least, familiarize yourself with them. Since if you don''t, I don''t want youining about your loss," the elder finally finished, and with a wave of her hand, allowed everyone to enter the game courtyard.


    Michael decided to take his time, for the most part, since even though there were around twenty games, the difficulties did not matter much.


    In total, there were ten green booths, seven orange booths, andstly, three red booths.


    Therefore, he opted for checking out the red games first.


    Walking up to one of the red booths, he noticed a familiar sight right off the bat.


    A blindfold, followed by a wooden sword off to the side.


    ''A blindfolded duel, perhaps? This is something I can cheat at without using a bit of mana,'' Michael thought with a small smile and proceeded toward the next red booth.


    The next one, however, was not rted tobat in the slightest.


    There was a small puzzle on the table, and it had some weird patterns that did not fit each other at all.


    But once he focused closer, he noticed something interesting.


    The patterns were actually some kind of stones made out of mana, and at a single nce, they looked much different.


    In reality, however, they were equally the same as one another.


    All except a single stone.


    ''Aha... he immediately understood the game. It''s "Odd One Out," so the people have to find the correct stone in a given time. Interesting...''


    He couldn''t exactly confirm his suspicions as none of the overseers were even looking at him, let alone talking.


    But in the end, it didn''t exactly matter since he could deduce the games pretty easily.


    And now, the final red game.


    At a nce, it seemed the most ordinary out of all.


    There were stones scattered all across the table, yet he could notice they had one thing inmon.


    A single spot where it would be possible to bnce them perfectly.


    Yet just as he thought that, the table suddenly shook, the tremor making the stones wobble to the side, one of which even fell off the table.


    However, the overseer soon picked it up and ced it back onto the table, not giving Michael even a single look.


    ''Hmm...'' he pondered for a moment. ''So all I have to do is stack the stones and reach the top, while also avoiding the interval where the table shakes... another interesting one.''


    Out of all of them, however, the ones he was most interested in were the "Odd One Out" game, as well as the blindfolded duel.


    Since those two, he was 100% sure he could win.


    Nheless, 50 points were necessary in total. That''s why he decided to check out the orange games as well.


    Yet they were much simpler than he had imagined.


    Some even seemed a tad bit fun.


    The first booth he arrived at had an archery range with a single shabby-looking bow ced on the table ahead.


    Off in the distance, at the edge of the archery range, was a single red target that he likely had to hit.


    ''Archery seems pretty fun. I might actually try it,'' he remarked inwardly with a smile and proceeded toward the next game.


    Yet this one seemed a bit ridiculous.


    There was a die with a lot of corners, which he couldn''t even necessarily count.


    But in the very end, the highest number on it was 100.


    At the same time, there was an ink pen, followed by a piece of parchment on the table.


    And if he had to guess, this was entirely a game of chance¡ªsomething he was unsure if he wanted to try in the first ce.


    That''s why he put it on hold for now, heading over to another booth that seemed a bit more interesting.


    There was a stone on the table, and from what he could see, a decently sized scale off to the side.


    However, upon closer look, he noticed there wasn''t only a single stone, as right behind the giant stone were a couple of much smaller stones.


    Thus, it didn''t take long to deduce the game, which Michael was 99% sure he was correct about.


    ''Guess the weight. A simple game as well.'' A smile beamed on his face as he nced at the sects gathering together once again.


    ''Finally... something fun.''

 Chapter 246 The Third Part of the Tournament (2)

    Michael took the time to check out the remainder of the orange games, and unlike the ones he had already noted down, the others were not as interesting.


    And now, it was finally time to y these games.


    The teams walked back to the Cloudflower Sect''s elder, and soon, she announced the start of thepetition.


    "I''m sure all of you managed to figure out at least one game¡ªif not more than a single game. Remember, a team can y several games at once, so if you want to diversify, then do so," she added and raised her hand up before bringing it down.


    "Begin!"


    As her words rang out, Michael took a few steps backward, taking a look at his team who, for some reason, seemed awfully anxious.


    "What''s wrong? This is not that hard of a tournament, you know?" Michaelmented, yet as he did, he watched as some kind of numbers appeared off in the distance.


    With them getting closer, he was able to figure out what they meant.


    They disyed all of the teams, as well as the number of points each team had.


    However, he found one thing a bit strange.


    The tournament had just started, and yet, the Cloudflower Sect already had a single point on the board.


    Yet as he looked around, he eventually stumbled upon where they were.


    It was some green balloon pop game, where all they had to do was throw rocks at balloons stapled to walls.


    And soon, they gained another point.


    However, from the looks of it, they weren''t exactly cheating, as those types of games were simply too easy to even need to cheat in the first ce.


    But s, he could never be too certain. Therefore, he once again turned to his team.


    "I want you guys to run around and do all the green games. If you are feeling confident, then the orange games as well. Leave the red games to me," Michael ordered, receiving nods in response.


    "Yes, Master Mujin! I will go do that bucket toss game," Hu Rong said with a curt bow and immediately ran over to the game before all the other teams could make it.


    As for Mimi and Kai, they were still dazedly looking around.


    Noticing this, Michael assured them, "Don''t worry about failure. If anything, try your best to have fun instead. After all, even if we lose this part of the tournament, we still have one more shot. It doesn''t matter."


    "Okay..." Their voices rang out in unison, and with that, Michael made his way over to the first game.


    More so out of curiosity than anything, he went toward the blindfolded sparring game first.


    But once he did, the overseer''s face scrunched up as he spoke. "You need two people, and from the looks of it, no one is around."


    "I see." Michael shrugged, and just as he was about to head out to the next game, a pair of footsteps resounded behind him.


    "I''ll y," Shi Feng said with a wide smile.


    ''So he''s shown himself,'' he thought with amusement.


    The sect leader of the Azure Dragon Sect was going to participate. Therefore, Michael had to give him the proper respect.


    "You sure? Shi Feng, right? What makes you think you could beat me while blindfolded after you lost to mere provocations?" Michael asked in a taunting tone.


    But Shi Feng did not seem to mind it. "My techniques get refined the more I fight. One setback is not enough to demotivate me. But don''t worry, I had not shown my full strength when I was fighting that brat earlier."


    ''Right, right, of course.'' Michael chuckled inwardly.


    [He seems to be harboring quite a bit of bloodlust. I''d watch my guard for any potential mana attacks or anything of the sort,] the system warned.


    ''I already have my shield up. These people can''t detect it, so it should be fine. I''m not technically using mana to cheat my games.''


    However, whilst he was slightly lost in his thoughts, the overseer spoke. "Are you two ready? If so, pick up the wooden swords and put on the blindfolds."


    Both Michael and Shi Feng did as they were told and soon were escorted to an arena just behind the game stand.


    The reason Michael knew where he was? He could see through the blindfold.


    And if what he was seeing was true, then so could Shi Feng, as they were practically holding eye contact now.


    "The goal of this game is to knock your opponent off the arena within five minutes. If neither are able to do so, then the game counts as a loss for both, and you lose -1 point," the overseer exined, making Michael''s brow rise.


    ''You can fail games? I guess that makes sense... he thought before facepalming. I told them to have fun... hmm... I''m fucked.''


    As he thought that, Michael nced toward where the points were being tallied and noticed that while the Cloudflower Sect was three points up, the Golden Dragon Sect was at -2 points.


    [Well, well, I guess you should have just encouraged them a bit more. I don''t know, maybe give them some kind of reward if they do well? Like a better sword for Kai or a new skill for Mimi?] the system suggested with a chuckle.@@novelbin@@


    ''You wish. It''s toote now anyway.'' Michael resigned himself and stared back at Shi Feng.


    A Tier 5 powerhouse, and he was about to fight him¡ªnot to the death, of course, but idents could happen during a blindfolded fight.


    That was why, the moment the overseer finished the exnation of the points system and whatnot, Michael waited for the perfect opportunity to dash forward.


    And soon, that opportunity arose.


    "Begin!" the overseer shouted.


    With that, Michael kicked off the ground, appearing right before the uninterested-looking Shi Feng, and before he could even react, Michael shed the sword downward, hitting Shi Feng''s shoulder.


    However, all that seemed to do was recoil the sword backward.


    ''If I hadn''t coated it in mana, it would''ve broken then and there... He''s using his own mana¡ªor Qi, I guess¡ªto reinforce his body,'' Michael mused and proceeded to try the same strategy again.


    But this time, instead of a downward sh at a non-vital spot, he aimed straight for Shi Feng''s eyes.


    Only then was he able to get a response.


    Shi Feng raised his sword upward, redirecting Michael''s stab and counterattacking with a horizontal sh, aiming straight for Michael''s neck.


    Yet before it could get any closer, Michael used a little trick he hadn''t initially nned on using.


    The sword of Shi Feng neared. However, just before it could reach Michael''s neck, Shi Feng suddenly slipped, almost tumbling down to the ground.


    Nheless, that little moment of vulnerability was enough for Michael to knee him in the face, sending him flying backward and practically to the very edge of the arena.


    s, Shi Feng managed to catch himself and looked at Michael with a massive frown on his face before saying, "You sure are a rat, aren''t you, Mujin?"


    "I don''t know what you mean." Michael shrugged, pointing toward his blindfold. "I''m blind, after all. What sort of trickery could I even use?"


    "Hmm..." Shi Feng hummed in amusement, and before Michael could even react, a sword strike struck his arm, sting it to bits.


    At the same time, Shi Feng''s cold voice resounded. "Whoops, I didn''t mean to identally destroy your arm. Or was it the sword?" He pointed to his own blindfold and quoted Michael. "I can''t tell. I am blind, after all."


    "You''re funny," Michael couldn''t help but say with a chuckle as his hand immediately grew back. "However, that is where your fun ends."


    [I''m surprised the overseer isn''t stopping this. I''m also surprised that the corruption doesn''t extend only to the women''s sect,] the system mused.


    ''Where there is money and riches involved, corruption is bound to exist,'' Michael replied and focused back on Shi Feng.


    "Do you think you can win this? Shi Feng? Your team is pretty weak, no? And if you are merely going to sit around stalling me, then neither of us will win." a wide grin appeared on Michael''s face. "You know what that means, don''t you?"


    "The bet is still on, Mujin. The Azure Dragon Sect doesn''t go back on their word," Shi Feng stated before entering a crouching sword stance. "But what do you think will happen if the Golden Dragon Sect just so happens to bepletely eliminated before the tournament finishes? I wonder."


    "I wonder indeed." Michael returned the animosity with an equally stupid stance, making Shi Feng''s brows twitch. "But I do have to let you know¡ªyou will not be winning this fight, or the tournament, for that matter."


    As Michael said that, his team''s points suddenly rose to 2.


    "Since even if you somehow manage to eliminate me, my team can finish the next tournament and secure all of your riches."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure." Shi Feng chuckled. "The next tournament is not going to be as simple as you may expect."


    "Right, I don''t exactly give a shit," Michael replied and dashed toward Shi Feng. "Now, why don''t you be my punching bag?"

 Chapter 247 The Third Part of the Tournament (3)

    Michael sliced his wooden sword upward, making a trickle of blood appear on Shi Feng''s chin.


    Even if the attack had not managed to reach him, Michael did expend a little bit of his mana to outstretch the sword.


    In a fight like this, where the stakes were only low on the outside, the two were trying to kill each other.


    That became even more apparent when Shi Feng swung his sword to counterattack, only to throw out a single poisonous needle, trying to kill Michael straight up.


    He evaded it by simply bringing his sword up to his face and, at the veryst moment, tilting it slightly, making the needle fly toward the side.


    Coincidentally, it was heading for the overseer, who noticed just a tad bit toote.


    "AAAAAH!" The overseer shouted in pain, clutching the arm in which the needle was embedded.


    However, Michael was not exactly expecting the sheer strength of the poison that would follow.


    The overseer''s hand turned red, then purple, until eventually, it waspletely grayed out.


    Yet as it began traveling upward, the overseer brought their other hand down, severing the poisoned one.


    ''Even if I am technically immune, I don''t really want to get hit by that,'' Michael remarked inwardly and turned his attention back to Shi Feng.


    "I missed, but I won''t miss again. Prepare yourself."


    "You''re talking, huh?" Michael scoffed and looked up. His team had managed to score another couple of points, bringing their total up to 5.


    Sadly, they were still inst ce, with the Cloudflower sect leader at 11 points, followed by the Azure Dragon sect and the Plum Blossom sect, tied at 8 points.


    Since the overseer seemed to be in pain and not exactly paying much attention to their fight, Michael decided to up the pace a little.


    Dashing over to Shi Feng, he was met with a palm filled to the brim with mana, which felt like if he touched it, his entire body would explode.


    Nheless, he was not going to let such an attack so much as graze him.


    That was why Michael proceeded to parry the palm with his shield, expending 10% of his mana in the process.


    However, the result was definitely worth it, as Shi Feng''s palm suddenly inverted itself, recoiling all the mana backward into his body.


    Yet despite such a perfect reflection, Shi Feng remained standing as though nothing had happened.


    "Is this your idea of an attack? It is pretty shabby," he said, and with a wave of his arm, managed to heal his palm.


    ''That was a bit too fast...'' Michael thought with a raised brow.


    So far, there had not been a lot of people who could match him in terms of regeneration¡ªmuch less so because he could heal himself at the same time.


    And yet, here Shi Feng was, healing at a rate that would practically make him immortal unless Michael used an extremely destructive attack to kill him.


    [It''s just a party trick. He used poison to heal himself by nullifying the pain and speeding up cell regrowth. I could see myself using that if I was weak, to be honest.] The systemmented.


    ''Even so, it seems like there''s minimal bacsh, so he can just keep doing this over and over again.''


    [Just like you.] The system added with a chuckle, making a smile tug at Michael''s face.


    ''Just like me.''


    With that, he dashed ahead, swinging his sword down.


    But just before it managed to make contact with Shi Feng, a golden umbre emerged, which confused Shi Feng for only a moment¡ªuntil a fierce shbang blinded him.


    And in that short moment, Michael brought the sword down onto Shi Feng''s head before reeling it back and stabbing him straight in the abdomen, effectively knocking him off the arena.


    ''Not so much for a Tier 5 powerhouse, eh?'' he chuckled inwardly.


    [Well, he is heavily holding back. If he tried, then these entire sect grounds would have long turned into ruins.] The system affirmed.


    "R-Round one winner... Golden Dragon sect." The overseer''s strained voice rang out, stopping the fight.


    Michael watched as Shi Feng stood up and dusted himself off before stepping back onto the arena. "One more?"@@novelbin@@


    "Sure," Michael replied with a chuckle, ncing off to the side.


    His win had managed to put his sect into second ce with a total of 9 points.


    Yet even then, the Cloudflower sect had jumped all the way to 14 points now.


    "What makes you so confident, Shi Feng?" Michael asked. "You do realize that if you don''t win this event and the next, you will be handing over all your sect''s riches, right?"


    "Be that as it may, the process depends on the sect leader''s avability. If he just so happens to take a short cultivation break, then no one can stop him," Shi Feng replied with a smile.


    "Is that so?" Michael narrowed his eyes. "Does the same apply if the sect leader is found dead? Hypothetically, of course."


    "His death can only be confirmed once his body is found. If it''s not, then there is a period of one year or so before you could begin a trial to be the sect leader," Shi Feng exined, amused. "But you don''t have to worry about that¡ªsince you might not live past today."


    ''So killing him would be a double-edged sword then... Still, I need to time it perfectly.'' Michael pondered and looked toward the overseer.


    "Start the match," he said in a cold voice, and before the overseer could even officially begin the match, Michael appeared before Shi Feng and suddenly swung his wooden sword down.


    "You will be disqualified," Shi Feng stated with a short burst ofughter.


    However, no such disqualification came, as the moment Michael gazed at the overseer, he also threw over a little pouch containing several gold coins.


    Therefore, he put in more strength, until eventually, he was able to overpower Shi Feng¡ªwho, remarkably, was still holding back.


    Nheless, Michael was able to knock him out again, earning an additional 4 points and putting his team at a total of 13, just a tad behind the Cloudflower sect.


    "Again?" Shi Feng dusted himself off and came back.


    Michael was not one to refuse free points, therefore, he epted.


    The fight went on pretty much the same, and he won again.


    Then again, andstly, again.


    Five wins in total,ting him 20 points and putting his team ahead of the Cloudflower sect now.


    And the scores were as follows:


    In first, Golden Dragon sect¡ª27 points.


    In second, Cloudflower sect¡ª22 points.


    In third, Plum Blossom sect¡ª18 points.


    Andstly, Azure Dragon sect¡ª13 points.


    They had been doing pretty poorly and even losing a few points¡ªmostly due to Shi Feng constantly losing on purpose.


    "Did you enjoy yourself? Now you''re not going to win, and at this rate, we will take everything you own," Michael asked with a chuckle.


    Yet Shi Feng was suspiciously quiet.


    "You could avoid it, truly, but you would need to hand over everything you own first. Then maybe¡ªonly maybe¡ªwould we let you keep your title," Michael spoke, an ominous feeling welling up in his chest.


    But since Shi Feng remained quiet, Michael decided to simply back away and head to another game.


    This time, it was the shaking tower of rocks, which he decided to quickly finish by holding the rocks in ce with his mana.


    The shaking was not that intense, but even so, the rocks could not fall due to his influence.


    Therefore, Michael finished yet another game, with a total of five wins that put him at an extra 20 points.


    ''If my team kept up their game, then we should be at around 49 points now¡ª'' Michael turned toward the points board and froze.


    In first, Azure Dragon sect¡ª45 points.


    In second, Cloudflower sect¡ª39 points.


    In third, Plum Blossom sect¡ª34 points.


    Andstly, Golden Dragon sect¡ª30 points. Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Oi... fuckface," Michael turned toward the overseer, sporting a cold re. "Did you not count my points?"


    "Your points were urately tallied and added to your total amount," the overseer responded calmly.


    "I came in here with 27 points, and I am leaving here with 30. Do you think that makes sense?" Michael enveloped the overseer with his mana, making them tremble in ce.


    "Disciple Mujin... Your points were tallied. However, your points are constantly going down... I''m not sure what your team is doing," the overseer replied with gasps, until eventually, Michael let them go.


    Taking a nce back at the points, he watched as his points went from 30 to 29, then only a few momentster, from 29 to 28.


    ''Alright, what the fuck are they doing?'' Michael thought with furrowed brows and enveloped the entire Cloudflower sect in his mana, sensing each and every person present.


    Surprisingly, his team was doing just fine¡ªhe could see Mimipleting some rock-throwing game, whereas Kai was doing some kind of leg-stand game.


    The same went for Hu Rong, who was now doing archery and, surprisingly, was rather good at it.


    It was safe to say their points were supposed to go up¡ªdefinitely.


    Yet, as he nced again, they were now at 25.


    ''Is this really how you want to y this?''

 Chapter 248 Crossed Paths

    ''System, where is he?'' Michael asked, extending his own mana outward.


    However, even after extensive searching, he wasn''t able to find Shi Feng.


    That was until both the system and he managed to spot a single individual whose mana hadpletely changed.


    The Cloudflower Sect''s elder, the one who was overseeing the entire game tournament, had been reced by none other than Sect Leader Ji.


    ''He did it again, but this time to an elder. This is really not going to be a calm situation after all these tournaments conclude,'' Michael thought with a sour look.


    It was impossible for him to make a move currently, considering the elder was standing around hundreds of people, with a thousand more watching from the sidelines.


    If he did do it, then Michael would likely lose all of his gambling rights for the entire sect.


    Therefore, he decided to hold off on doing anything drastic for the moment, and instead, he focused back on the games.


    Or rather, Michael decided to no longer focus on them. Instead, he was going to prepare for the next game.


    Since it was already rigged, the only thing he would do by participating was waste his time.


    [He keeps changing into others. Such people make me sick.] The system''s repulsed voice rang out. [There is one upside, though¡ªhe uses a great deal of Qi, or, well, mana, to perform such a feat.]@@novelbin@@


    ''Right, but how was he able to lure that elder out in the first ce?'' Michael mused.


    It was nearly impossible to do so without being seen, so for Sect Leader Ji to do something like that was fairly impressive.


    [That elder took a toilet break at the end of your previous game, and that''s when it likely happened,] the system answered.


    ''I see. Well, I need to figure out how to avoid something like that again, then.''


    Taking a few looks around, he spotted the other Azure Dragon Sect members who were failing their games from time to time, yet still gaining points.


    And by now, Michael''s own sect had entered single digits.


    ''This is pissing me off.'' He exhaled a sigh. ''I really wanted to keep things fair, for the most part. But it seems like that won''t be possible starting now.''


    Fairness was what he wanted. Even if he was much stronger than the other disciples, he wanted to at least have a tinge of fun during this tournament.


    [Well, you win some, you lose some.] The system chuckled.


    Michael shrugged it off and decided to wait it out, watching as his own sectpleted each and every game with precision.


    But eventually, they, too, noticed that something was wrong, as their points were not going up in the slightest.


    And as the minutes passed, the winner was finally announced.


    "The Azure Dragon Sect are the winners this time around," Sect Leader Ji announced, disguised as the Cloudflower Sect''s elder.


    "As for the previous winners, they havee inst ce with a measly six points. Better luck next time," he finished, clearly taunting Michael.


    Clearing his throat, he continued, "Now then, everyone may go to thest game, which is going to happen on the Azure Dragon Sect''s grounds. Good luck to you all."


    Most of the sects were downcast, with the exception of Michael and the others, who were still technically in the lead.


    However, now that lead would either shift, or they would straight up win the next one.


    But given the amount of trouble Sect Leader Ji had gone through to make his sect win this game tournament, Michael could only assume it would be even worse this time around.


    Obviously, he would not let that happen.


    Michael instructed his sect to go ahead to the other tournament. Meanwhile, he himself stayed behind, looking at the Cloudflower Sect''s elder, who had not moved an inch either.


    "Is this really the way you want to do this?" Michael asked.


    "Disciple Mujin, I think you should head over to the other tourn¡ª" Sect Leader Ji began speaking but stopped himself when he realized Michael was not buying it.


    "You left me no choice, Mujin. Besides, no one else is going to interfere with what I am doing," he chuckled, a grin forming on the elder''s face. "I''m afraid your time is up. I must win this tournament at any cost."


    As his words rang out, he began approaching Michael, taking out some sort of knife from his pocket.


    That was when Michael suddenly cast a Sword of Light, aiming directly for Sect Leader Ji''s heart.


    But that seemed to miss, as Sect Leader Ji merely dodged to the side.


    However, it was able to tear off the face mask he had been wearing, revealing Sect Leader Ji''s true appearance. Find exclusive stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    Thankfully, there weren''t any other people around¡ªsince if there were, they would have likely died from the mere pressure the two emitted.


    After all, even the surroundings were being morphed, the ground breaking apart and disintegrating into nothingness.


    It was the same further away¡ªas though the more they red at each other, the more the damage to the city around them increased.


    Therefore, if things were to escte more than they already had, everything would be destroyed.


    "I will kill you, however..." Sect Leader Ji spoke, narrowing his eyes. "Why did you not attempt to stop me sooner? You''ve known about me ever since you saw me gut Chu Dong. Is there some sort of goal you are after?"


    "Of course," Michael responded. "But that''s none of your business."


    As his words fell, Michael used a decent chunk of his mana to repulse Sect Leader Ji upward into the skies.


    It seemed like he did not even attempt to avoid it, as he gradually flew upward¡ªuntil finally, Michael stopped him, and he too flew up beside him.


    "You are a mythical beast?" Sect Leader Ji asked with a raised brow. "I thought beasts like that only existed in legends, yet here you are, wings and all."


    "I don''t know what bullshit you are spouting, but prepare yourself," Michael said with a scoff and summoned up a tform on which the two could stand above the clouds.


    It was fairly massive, expanding several hundred meters in each direction, and for the amount of mana he used, it was fairly durable.


    "Mythical beast, I will personally take your face. Be honored," Sect Leader Ji said and pulled out a couple of needles, which he chucked right at Michael.


    Before they could even reach him, he whisked them all away with a wave of his hand¡ªand before long, the fight officially began.


    The difference in strength, at least on the surface, was massive.


    A Tier 2 versus a Tier 5¡ªlogically speaking, Michael was bound to lose.


    In the very first exchange, when the two dashed at each other and struck their fists, Michael managed toe out slightly on top.


    However, it only put into perspective how close their strength was, which did not give him an ease of heart.


    Therefore, he sent out another attack¡ªa simple downward sword sh¡ªwhich was immediately redirected by Sect Leader Ji''s palm.


    But before the sword could collide with the ground, Michael brought it back up at lightning speed, causing a small cut to appear on Sect Leader Ji''s forehead.


    "I tried splitting you in half right there. Surprised you made it out alive," Michael taunted, which Sect Leader Ji ignored.


    The shes continued, with Michaeling out on top nearly every single time.


    However, that only made him more wary, as despite this person before him being a Tier 5, he had shown very little of his skills.


    Frankly, Michael was sure he hadn''t used any.


    And his suspicions were soon confirmed¡ªas when the golden sword was about to make contact with Sect Leader Ji''s palm, it suddenly halted, turningpletely green.


    Michael held onto the sword with confusion, trying to take it away from Sect Leader Ji''s palm.


    But it was to no avail, as Michael''s mana connection to the sword was beginning to dwindle.


    Therefore, he recast it, destroying the green sword in the process and making Sect Leader Ji''s eyes slightly widen.


    Before Sect Leader Ji could intercept it with his palm, Michael brought it back¡ªand with a twist of his body, performed a leg sweep.


    It managed to knock Sect Leader Ji off bnce, yet at the same time, Michael swung his sword down, severing his head, making it plop down to the ground.


    His body fell lifelessly alongside his head, rolling a bit on the ground, and making Michael let out a deep breath.


    ''...That was a bit too easy?'' he eximed inwardly, stretching his back and preparing to leave.


    But before he could even react, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. When he looked down, he saw a palm piercing straight through his heart, holding it on the other side.


    At the same time, Sect Leader Ji was staring at him coldly, head attached.


    "What now, mythical beast?"

 Chapter 249 Mind Controlled

    [ERROR USER HAS¡ª]


    [COMMENCING RAPID REGENERATION]


    As the system messages fell, Michael snapped back to reality, immediately using Sanctuary.


    The surroundings were immediately lit up with a golden light, and now, he had full control over the entire area, Sect Leader Ji included.


    Yet the problem of his heart currently being out of his body was not very pleasant.


    But just as those thoughts fell, he felt a lump form in his chest, which suddenly began growing at a rapid pace until, eventually, it formed some kind of makeshift golden heart.


    It seemed to do the job of pumping blood, but it was hollow, as though a single push could make it break.


    "Oho, you can regrow your heart¡ªinteresting." Sect Leader Ji mused before clenching his hand, crushing Michael''s heart.


    The blood oozed down his wrist and onto the floating ground Michael had made.


    Nheless, this fight just became personal.


    "We could''ve done this a bit more peacefully, I''d say," Michael remarked and suddenly raised his hand.


    Before Sect Leader Ji could even react, he brought the hand down, and the entire sky turned golden as thousands, if not millions, of swords began hurling down.


    Michael had taken the liberty of constantly stockpiling all of his golden swords in the sky¡ªjust in case an emergency like this arose.


    The moment those Swords of Light entered his Sanctuary barrier, their power was increased immensely.


    Even more so, Sanctuary seemed to feed off a tiny bit of his other locked affinities, increasing the strength of the Swords of Light exponentially.


    They crashed onto Sect Leader Ji¡ªthe same person who had been so confident just a moment ago.


    Yet now, he was visibly panicked, dodging each sword as even a single skim was enough to sever his head.


    But obviously, Michael would not let ite close.


    A willing sacrifice presented itself¡ªtherefore, he would take this chance.


    Due to the overwhelming amount of swords assaulting Sect Leader Ji, he was unable to avoid Michael''s mana influence, making him halt for a moment.


    Yet that moment was enough for Michael to use his imagination to the fullest.


    Simrly to how Sect Leader Ji had taken out his heart, Michael imagined taking out his mana core instead.


    And surprisingly, it worked¡ªthough the strain on Michael''s mind was a bit too great, immediately making him feel dizzy.


    Nheless, he used Sanctuary to preserve this mana core, creatingyers uponyers of mana that would make it so that even if Sect Leader Ji died, the core would still function.


    "You!" Sect Leader Ji shouted in horror, his strength zapping down to the point where the swords began piercing him left and right.


    His regeneration was no longer as great as it was a few moments ago since Michael was able to essentially turn it off using Sanctuary.


    But there was onest thing he wanted to try, and that was¡ªmind control.


    Charm would be a good skill to test, but the constant upkeep of mana made it nearly impossible for Michael to maintain control over a target as strong as Sect Leader Ji.


    Therefore, he imagined an alternative¡ªcarving out a piece of Sect Leader Ji''s mind and recing it with Michael''s wishes.


    That too seemed to be a bit overboard, as Michael could feel his own Flow mana core cracking¡ªyet slowly healing itself at the same time.


    But he knew that if he went any further, irreversible damage would be done to his body.


    However, he would not need to go that far, as his imagination seemed to be enough.


    Sect Leader Ji was foaming at the mouth. Meanwhile, Michael was imagining his memories disappearing, leaving only obedience behind.


    His sole goal? To survive long enough to repay the debts and act as a sacrifice.


    And by the time the Sanctuary skill ended, Michael had full control of this supposedly Tier 5 powerhouse.


    ''Or at least, I hope.''


    [You do. I can''t see any problems since the skill automatically fills up any ws your imagination might have,] the system added.


    ''Hmm.'' Michael hummed before asking, ''How did he survive my earlier attack?''


    [Rapid regrowth of cells or something along those lines. His head was detached, but the moment you looked away, it reattached. He seemed conscious during the process too, so he was likely expecting it. But I highly doubt he was expecting you to turn him into a vegetable forcibly,] the system chuckled.


    ''Well, it''s not my fault¡ªI didn''t exactly want to risk it,'' Michael said and looked at the mana core in his hand.


    It was just one small glowing marble that emitted a good amount of mana.


    However, he did get an interesting idea.


    ''Do you think I could absorb it?''


    [No. If you try, you''d likely be killed from the bacsh. Plus, only monsters can feast on mana cores¡ªhigh-level monsters. Just keep this mana core for the sacrifice,] the system replied.


    ''Fair enough.'' Michael nodded and held the mana core in his palm. ''Can you store it?''


    [...Probably?] the system said after a short pause, and immediately, the mana core disappeared. [I guess I can. Neat. I''ll hold onto it so you don''t do anything stupid and eat it by ident.]


    ''Yeah yeah, do that.'' Michael waved the system off and turned his gaze toward Sect Leader Ji.


    "Can you hear me?"


    "Yes," Sect Leader Ji replied in a monotonous voice.


    "Good. I''m sure you already know your role, but just in case you don''t, I will repeat it," Michael stated and cleared his throat. "You are a sheep, and I want you to live like one until Ie to butcher you. You can''t leave your sect grounds, and you must uphold the prior bet we''ve made."


    He was met with a nod in response, and Michael took this chance to finally glide down to the ground, holding Sect Leader Ji by the wrist.


    "Go back to your sect and stay there. Say you entered closed cultivation, ande back right after the tournament is over," Michael ordered before making his way toward the Azure Dragon Sect.


    Sect Leader Ji was following him, and since he didn''t want to be seen walking with their sect leader, he gave him one more order.


    "Head inter. I''m going first."@@novelbin@@


    He was met with a nod again, and soon, Michael headed inside, spotting his group talking amongst each other.


    "Master Mujin," Hu Rong greeted. "The tournament was already announced."


    "What is it going to be?" Michael asked.


    "A tag-team capture-the-g, from what I understand," Hu Rong exined, pointing off into the distance. "Each team will have a leader, a defender, and two attackers... However, since the other teams have less than four people, they have free reign and can stay or move wherever they want."


    ''Hmm... So it''s rigged again¡ªbut this time, it''s rigged only for us,'' Michael thought. ''I wonder... did Sect Leader Ji predict this?''


    But he did not have much time to ponder further, as the Azure Dragon Sect''s elder stepped up.


    It was a woman who had reced Chu Dong, and from the looks of it, this wasn''t Sect Leader Ji managing to disguise himself. Continue reading at My Virtual Library Empire


    Therefore, Michael let out a relieved sigh and proceeded to listen.


    "Wee, everyone. I''vee to announce the rules now that you all have gathered," the elder said before continuing. "This is a fair game, much like thest tournament. However, it''s fair to all¡ªtherefore, killing is allowed, teaming up is allowed as well. The only sect that has four people is the Golden Dragon Sect, therefore, they have the restriction of needing to follow the original rules."


    She trailed off, looking at the other sects. "As for you all¡ªwhether you team up or not does not concern us. The failsafe our sect leader hade up with, in case someone died prior to the tournament, was this."


    "After all, we are seeking fairness," she finished with a grin that made Michael''s brows twitch.


    ''Fair my ass, you hag,'' he really wanted to exim but held himself back as she pointed to each of the four gs in the distance.


    They were colors that matched their sects, and since the Azure Dragon Sect grounds were t, seeing every single person was not difficult.


    But at the same time, the downside was that his entire team could be seen too.


    "Golden Dragon Sect disciples, there will be notes by your g. It will detail your positions. I want you to pick one out and stick with it for the rest of the tournament. Am I clear?" the elder stated.


    "Of course. We''ll be sure to make it as fair as you im," Michael replied with a soft, saintly smile that sent shivers down everyone''s spine.


    ''Guess my saintly allure is gone¡ªmost people would''ve fainted just at the sight of my smile.''


    [Yeah, I think your charisma stat decreased, or maybe people finally opened their eyes,] the system remarked¡ªto which Michael ignored, walking up to the g.


    "May the tournament begin!"

 Chapter 250: The Golden Dragon Sect

    Michael, as the mature guy he himself assumed he was, immediately cast a massive dome around his sect¡¯s g.


    The same went for the area around, making it so no one could enter.


    If anything, he just didn¡¯t want to put too much strain on Hu Rong, who already had an apparent injury he had managed to obtain somewhere.


    It wasn¡¯t anything Michael could heal since it didn¡¯t seem to be rted to an actual injury.


    Rather, it was some kind of mental wound.


    Purify could work maybe? he mused.


    [No. He¡¯s just moping around after losing the previous match.] The systemmented.


    ¡¯Seems like a stupid reason to mope around, but I see.¡¯ Michael nodded back and proceeded to dash forward, following after Mimi and Kai, who were on their way to the Azure Dragon sect.


    Even though they no longer had a leader, their intentions were still to win by any means.


    From what Michael could spot, they were trying to team up with the Plum Blossom sect.


    It was a decent strategy for weaklings¡ªto simply team up and beat a stronger opponent.


    However, against Michael, who was able to tame their sect leader like a dog, it was just mere child¡¯s y.


    The tournament had gone on long enough, and now, he wanted to cash in his prizes.


    Arriving before Mimi and Kai, he spoke, "Head for the other sects, one of you per sect."


    As his words fell, Michael created a shield around them, making it have severalyers to boast great defensive power, while at the same time casting Aegis of Light, effectively making them immortal to many attacks.


    "Okay!" Both Mimi and Kai agreed immediately.


    With that, Michael dashed toward the Azure Dragon sect. Meanwhile, Mimi went for the Plum Blossom sect, andstly, Kai headed straight for the Cloudflower sect.


    This was a good strategy, as the moment Michael arrived, he spotted all three of the Azure Dragon sect disciples talking to a single disciple from the Plum Blossom sect.


    Therefore, he decided to interrupt them.


    And what better way to interrupt them than to simply kill them?


    Killing was allowed, after all, and Michael wanted to take advantage of that.


    The other sects would be his enemies after this tournament ended anyway, so why not reduce their forces instead?


    [You act like a demon oftentimes, but I¡¯ll whip you into shape once this is all over and done with.] The system said.


    ¡¯I wonder how long you can keep winning against me.¡¯ Michael snickered, and before the disciples of the other sects could even react, he sent out four swords in total.


    Each of them flew at a speed that would be able to pierce even the strongest foes¡ªprobably.


    And before long, they made impact with the unsuspecting disciples, cutting through them like butter.


    Their bodies fell to the side, split into two.


    At the same time, he nced at his other teammates.


    Mimi was holding up well, even in a two-versus-one against people much stronger than him.


    The same went for Kai as well¡ªhis already resilient body took most of the blows, while the sword Michael had given him filled in the rest.


    It was a perfect team.


    However, one thing was amiss¡ªthat being thest member of the Cloudflower sect.


    They were a rowdy bunch by all means, and now, for some reason, one of their disciples was heading toward the Golden Dragon sect¡¯s g.


    ¡¯If she thinks she can destroy it, then she¡¯s... Fuck?¡¯ Michael froze as he noticed Hu Rong passed out on the ground.


    Michael covered him in golden mana before acting like some sort of defibritor, jolting him straight awake.


    Yet that did not appear to be the case, since Hu Rong looked like he was in some sort of trance¡ªone he could not get out of by artificial means.


    [He¡¯s gained enlightenment.] The system said before adding, [It¡¯s a process where their mana core reaches a high enough level to rank up. Though there are sometimes ways where they also level up their techniques¡ªbasically skill upgrading. If I had to guess, Hu Rong was likely being enlightened for a skill instead.]


    ¡¯That seems the most usible, yeah. Michael replied, feeling Hu Rong¡¯s mana. His mana is still the same, yet I can feel it all swirling inside his brain... It won¡¯t fry it or some shit, right?¡¯


    [Not unless he decides to stab his own sword into his brain, no.] The system assured.


    ¡¯Great... Now, the disciple.¡¯ Michael turned his attention toward the disciple heading over to Hu Rong, holding her sword just slightly above his neck.


    But before she could bring it down, Michael brought up the mana he had extended over to Hu Rong, cleaving her head off as she dropped to the ground beside him.


    Now then, with only a couple of people remaining, their victory was secured.


    Kai had managed to finish off the single Cloudflower sect disciple.


    However, he did not kill her, which Michael could only nod at.


    It would not be a great look if his own disciples took after his ways of killing everyone in sight.


    But the same could not be said for Mimi, who had bitten one of the disciples¡¯ heads off while actively shooting swords of light at the other.


    Before long, that disciple fell as well, leaving the happy-looking Mimi standing beside the g. Read new adventures at Freewebnovel


    This tournament was over¡ªthe only thing remaining was for Michael to im victory.


    An easy victory.


    Approaching the Azure Dragon sect¡¯s g, he picked it up out of the ground and raised it into the sky.


    Meanwhile, both Kai and Mimi did the same, raising their gs to brag.


    But in the lone moment where all of their guards were dropped, the disciple Kai had knocked out stood up.


    Luckily, Michael noticed it in time, but because he wanted to teach Kai a lesson, he let what was about to happen actually happen.


    A sword was embedded into Kai¡¯s stomach as it traveled upward, nearly cleaving his heart in half.


    Kai turned around, shocked, and by simple instinct, brought his sword sideways, shing off the head of the attacker.


    But of course, he wasn¡¯t in great shape either. Through the distance, he took a nce at Michael, who merely nodded in response.


    ¡¯Not bad.¡¯ Michael thought and healed Kai¡¯s injuries in an instant.


    Now, the tournament was truly over.


    Every single disciple other than their sect was dead, with only Hu Rong lying down passed out.


    It was an overwhelming win¡ªso much so that the Azure Dragon sect¡¯s elder was speechless.


    But still, she had to announce the results whether she liked them or not.


    "...The Golden Dragon sect wins the entire tournament with a score of three wins... I... I congratte you and... I..." The elder began stammering, realizing the position she was in.


    Now that Michael and his sect had won, they were going to gain full approval of the Azure Dragon sect¡¯s rights, as well as every other asset they had.


    It was only natural, after all. From what Michael could spot, she was somehowmunicating with them, since it was nearly impossible to spot him before he even got close to the Azure Dragon sect disciples.


    Yet somehow, they noticed him¡ªeven had their guards up in preparation.


    Obviously, it did not matter in the end, but the sheer fact of them nearly reacting to his attack was daunting.


    @@novelbin@@


    That was why she would be the first one to get the fuck out.


    "Thank you, everyone." A voice resounded¡ªit was Golden Dragon Sect¡¯s leader, Li.


    "I apologize foring here sote. I had some business to deal with in the meanwhile. Nheless, the bet has been finalized previously, and now, all we need is your sect master¡¯s permission andpliance."


    "About that..." The elder trailed off. "You see... our sect leader has entered closed cultivation and won¡¯t be able to atten¡ª"


    Her words were cut off by a pair of steps resounding in the distance, approaching.


    And soon, the figure of Sect Leader Ji appeared, looking as imposing as ever before saying, "I¡¯ve sorted my matters. Greetings, Sect Leader Li."


    His voice was aspliant as Michael had hoped, making him nod with satisfaction.


    The mind control worked¡ªeven the system made sure of it¡ªand now, the only thing left was to give away the rights.


    "I ept this loss," Sect Leader Ji stated. "The Golden Dragon sect wins fair and square. We lost the bet."


    Sect Leader Li was slightly surprised upon hearing that but nodded anyway. "...I appreciate it. May we get to signing the documents then? There is still a lot of stuff left to discuss."


    "Of course," Sect Leader Ji replied before shooting a short nce at Michael. "I appreciate your honesty, and I wish nothing but for your sect to prosper."


    ¡¯Did I fuck up his brain that bad...? Shit.¡¯ Michael could only wave in response as the two sect leaders slowly made their way into a pavilion to discuss matters.


    In the meantime, he would be going to a certain ce.


    The treasury.

 Chapter 251 Skill Synthesis

    "Holy shit."


    Those were the only words that went through Michael''s mind as he gazed at the sight before him.


    The amount of gold was something he could not evenprehend.


    What he had seen back in the trial was chump changepared to this.


    But sadly, he could not pocket every little thing, as there were some debts to be repaid, as well as general reconstruction, which he could only assume would cost a lot.


    Aside from that, Michael spotted multiple swords, armor that nobody used, as well as some pills that he wanted to try.


    After all, he had read a bunch of books about alchemy back when he was little, so to see an alchemical pill up close was pretty interesting.


    Nheless, he only pocketed a few... hundred, leaving the rest for the other disciples who might need it.


    As for him, it was time to do something he had been thinking of doing for a while now.


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Draconic ???


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]; Darkness [Supreme] (LOCKED); Origin [???] (LOCKED)


    Mana Purity: 657% -> 661%


    Mana Core (1): Flow


    Mana Core Rank (1): Tier 2


    -:- 96% -> 100% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (2): Speech


    Mana Core Rank (2): Tier 1


    -:- 53% -> 60% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Seraphim Progress: 1/7


    Titles:


    Ruthless Combatant: Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you.


    Being of Light: Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity-based spells by 25%.


    Bringer of Order: Increase mana absorption by 1000% when fighting a being who disrupts the bnce of the universe.???


    Stats:


    HP: 56/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP (1): 97/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (2): 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 2 [A-] (663) {Total = 1391} -> Tier 2 [S+] (996) {Total = 1724}


    END: Tier 2 [A] (730) {Total = 1573} -> Tier 2 [S+] (975) {Total = 1818}@@novelbin@@


    AGI: Tier 2 [A-] (688) {Total = 1508} -> Tier 2 [S+] (1000) {Total = 1820}


    INT: Tier 2 [S+] (1000) {Total = 2090}


    CHA: Tier 2 [D-] (208) {Total = 710} -> Tier 2 [D-] (249) {Total = 751}


    Skills / [Skill Merging] / [Skill Sacrifice]


    Passive Skills: Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive]; Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive]; Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive]; Eyes of the Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]; Hand-to-hand Combat [Beginner] [Passive]; Shooting Mastery [Beginner] [Passive]; Discipline [Basic] [Passive]; Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive]; Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive]


    Active Skills: Sanctuary [Superior] [Active]; Purify [Superior] [Active]; Heavenly Judgment [Advanced] [Active]; Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]; Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]; Sword of Light [Beginner] [Active]; Charm [Beginner] [Active]


    +---+


    His mana was finally ready to tier up.


    ''I want you to send me in¡ªlet me do the ascension or whatever,'' Michael said while stretching.


    However, the system''s silence was slightly rming.


    ''Is something wrong?''


    [Not necessarily. It''s just that... I can''t find the file that would let you enter the ascension trial,] the system replied.


    ''File? Are you on aputer or something?'' Michael asked with a raised brow.


    [Kind of. Not important.] The system dodged his question. [On a brighter note... you can do the Hall of Reflection in a couple of months.]


    ''What about the actual trials? The yearly ones¡ªwhen are they?''


    [Hmm... due to the number of times the system has broken down and outside influence was involved, I''d say seven months is a good estimate.]


    Michael sighed upon hearing that.


    If that was really the case, then he could do nothing but wait to grow stronger.


    Or, of course... ''Weave the thread.''


    [You sure?] the system asked, surprised. [You should first get your shit sorted before attempting any huge power-ups.]


    ''I doubt it will be huge, considering you''ve mostly unlocked everything I can think of, but yeah, go for it,'' Michael replied and steeled himself.


    However, in the very next moment, the familiar pain of his mana thread being woven upward was felt.


    Just this time, the pain was much greater¡ªsomething he was not exactly expecting.


    After all, it was only natural to feel less pain once one got stronger, but it seemed like this process was the opposite.


    He didn''t even want to imagine what pain he would feel once he wove the 15th or 16th threads.


    Nheless, after what felt like a couple of hours, the process was finally over, and what greeted his sight was an interesting notification.


    <Skill Synthesis Unlocked!>


    <Skill Synthesis: Create new skills using the boundless mana you have>


    ''What? How does that work?'' Michael raised his brow and groggily tried standing up.


    But to his surprise¡ªor frankly,ck of¡ªhe couldn''t even move a muscle.


    Soon, the system spoke. [I rushed it a bit, so you might feel a little more pain than usual, coupled with temporary paralysis as well.]


    ''Doesn''t matter¡ªI can just lift myself up with mana...'' Michael said before attempting to do just that.


    However, with only a single whisk of mana, he identally flung himself upward, shooting straight into the ceiling and sttering like a bug.


    His arms broke, and his head felt like it had cracked.


    But without even being able to draw a breath, everything healed in an instant.


    ''My healing increased... but most importantly, that new option...'' Michael trailed off, opening his status screen again.


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 years old


    Race: Draconic ???


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]; Darkness [Supreme] (LOCKED); Origin [???] (LOCKED)


    Mana Purity: 661% -> 1000%


    Mana Core (1): Flow


    Mana Core Rank (1): Tier 2 -> Tier 3


    -:- 100% -> 0% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (2): Speech


    Mana Core Rank (2): Tier 1


    -:- 53% -> 60% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Seraphim Progress: 1/7


    Titles:


    Ruthless Combatant: Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you.


    Being of Light: Increase the effectiveness of your Light affinity-based spells by 25%.


    Bringer of Order: Increase mana absorption by 1000% when fighting a being who disrupts the bnce of the universe.???


    Stats:


    HP: 100/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP (1): 99/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (2): 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    Skills / [Skill Merging] / [Skill Sacrifice] / [Skill Synthesis]


    +---+


    ''About damn time.'' He heaved a relieved sigh.


    He was still not the strongest, but this little strength gain was more than satisfactory.


    After all, even if he had only gone up a single tier, his strength had increased drastically on its own¡ªsince he wasn''t exactly restricted by tier itself.


    Therefore, if he had to estimate, his strength was now around what it was when he used Sanctuary to beat Sect Leader Ji¡ªwhich meant it had increased by nearly double or triple.


    A Tier 6 might even be in his sights now.


    But first of all, Michael wanted to use Skill Synthesis.


    Clicking on the button, a pen appeared, along with some sort of golden paper right in front of him.


    After a little bit of thought, he decided to scribble something¡ªa sword.


    Immediately, it manifested itself into letters, and soon, a new notification appeared.


    <Skill: [Swordsmanship] [Beginner] [Passive] - Ready for acquisition>


    <Cost: 1950% MP>


    <Do you wish to proceed?>


    ''How will this work...?'' Michael thought for a moment before letting out a sigh. ''It''s a debt system, isn''t it? Every single time I reach full mana, I''ll have to give this thing payment until eventually, I can get a skill, right?''


    [Pretty much. You can choose how much mana you want to give, but nheless, it will still take you a while to acquire that skill, even if it''s the lowest ranked...]


    [Pretty much, you can choose how much mana you want to give, but nheless, it will still take you a while to acquire that skill, even if it''s the lowest-ranked one.] The system replied, and soon, he nodded before hitting ept.


    Swordsmanship was a skill he wanted to acquire long ago, and if he had actual proficiency with swordsmanship, half of his issues would be solved.


    Now all he needed to do was train, go into debt, make his sect great again, andstly,plete Halls of Reflection as well as the trials.


    ''But this money... System, can you pocket some?'' he asked reluctantly.


    [Nope, you have enough money to not need to work for the rest of your life due to that inheritance chamber, so just go about your day and help your sect like the good disciple you are.]


    ''Fair enough...'' Michael sighed and nced behind him, into the distance where a few people were chattering about, and even further beyond, he could hear murmurs of the talk between Sect Leader Li and Sect Leader Ji.


    "You are a fairlypliant old coot, you know that?" Sect leader Li teased, to which Sect leader Ji scoffed.


    "I''m just righteously holding up my end of the deal, so please, sing these documents already, there are certain matters I must attend to soon."


    "Very well,nd acquisition, this is ours as well, and the title too, no objections?"


    "None."


    "Perfect, so let''s..."


    Michael stopped listening, bored by their conversation.


    Nheless, it was about time he did some training.


    ''Just a couple months more...''

 Chapter 252: 15 Months

    "Elder Mujin, could you please take a look at this?"


    "Put it down on my table. I¡¯ll check it outter," Michael replied with exhaustion. Enjoy exclusive adventures from NovelBin.C?m


    A year and three months had already passed, and in the meantime, the system disappeared around the seventh-month mark, which made it so he couldn¡¯t ess the trials for the time being.


    He had no clue where it had gone, nor where he could even begin finding it.


    One thing he did know, however, was that after the Golden Dragon Sect finally fixed all their assets and other stuff, he was assigned to the Elder¡¯s position.


    At first, Michael wanted to deny it since he wouldn¡¯t be able to get as much free time¡ªwhich, up to date, was a correct assumption.


    However, the lucrative proposal of being given 30% of the entire sect¡¯s funds was enough to motivate him.


    Initially, he expected to merely get around 5% or 10%, which¡ªjudging from what he had seen in the former Azure Dragon Sect¡¯s treasury¡ªwould have been more than he was bargaining for.


    But the 30% was like night and day.


    He simply couldn¡¯t refuse.


    But still... the workload was a bit too much.


    "Eld¡ª"


    "Put it on the table." Michael interrupted yet another disciple who had some sort of application ready.


    He was the kind of elder who dealt with disciple applications to join the sect, basic outings, funding, and all sorts of other jobs.


    At first, it was simple¡ªjust dealing with funding.


    However, some time down the line, Sect Leader Li noticed Michael¡¯s swift working speed and offered him the 30% deal in exchange for more work.


    And now, Michael was beginning to regret his choices since, if he did not have mana, he would have passed out from theck of sleep.


    Though I wish they¡¯d stoping so frequently, he grumbled. Especially you. Fuck you, system. Where are you when I need a little break, huh? You could take over the workload free of charge¡ªI¡¯d just give you more mana in exchange. What do you say?


    But of course, no answer came¡ªjust like the thousands of other times he tried contacting it.


    Of course, he hadn¡¯t been dawdling around for thest 15 months either¡ªhe had grown stronger, considerably so.


    In the meantime, he pushed Hu Rong into Tier 4 after gruesome training, Kai into Tier 3, andstly, Mimi.


    Mimi was a bit more troublesome than the rest since it was technically a monster.


    However, Michael was able to feed it some information regarding skills, so its strength had now risen to around Tier 4 as well.


    Statistics-wise, the Golden Dragon Sect was now the strongest of all the sects in this particr region of the world since not many were Tier 4.


    As for Michael? He was stuck.


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: 14 -> 16 years old


    Race: Draconic ???


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]; Darkness [Supreme] (LOCKED); Origin [???] (LOCKED)


    Mana Purity: 1000% ¡ú 1322%


    Mana Core (1): Flow


    Mana Core Rank (1): Tier 3


    -:- 0% ¡ú 100% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (2): Speech


    Mana Core Rank (2): Tier 1 ¡ú Tier 6


    -:- 17% Progress to next Tier -:-


    Seraphim Progress: 1/7


    - Titles:


    Ruthless Combatant: Raise all your stats by 1 Minor Rank when facing enemies at least 1 tier above you.


    Being of Light: Increase the effectiveness of your Light-affinity-based spells by 25%.


    Bringer of Order: Increase mana absorption by 1000% when fighting a being who disrupts the bnce of the universe.???


    - Stats:


    HP: 100/100% / Regen 5% HP Per Hour


    MP (1): 100/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    MP (2): 98/100% / Regen 10% MP Per Hour


    STR: Tier 3 [E] 100 {Total = 1824} ¡ú Tier 3 [S+] 1000 {Total = 2824}


    END: Tier 3 [E] 100 {Total = 1918} ¡ú Tier 3 [S+] 1000 {Total = 2918}


    AGI: Tier 3 [E] 100 {Total = 1920} ¡ú Tier 3 [S+] 1000 {Total = 2920}


    INT: Tier 3 [E] 100 {Total = 2190} ¡ú Tier 3 [S+] 1000 {Total = 3190}


    CHA: Tier 3 [E] 100 {Total = 851} ¡ú Tier 3 [B+] 630 {Total = 1381}


    @@novelbin@@


    - Skills / [Skill Merging] / [Skill Sacrifice] / [Skill Synthesis]


    Passive Skills: Herald of Light [Advanced] [Passive]; Mirage of Light [Intermediate] [Passive]; Physical Enhancement [Intermediate] [Passive]; Eyes of The Healer [Intermediate] [Passive]; Hand-to-Hand Combat [Beginner] [Passive]; Shooting Mastery [Beginner] [Passive]; Discipline [Basic] [Passive]; Heat Resistance [Basic] [Passive]; Cold Resistance [Basic] [Passive]; Swordsmanship [Beginner] [Passive]


    Active Skills: Sanctuary [Superior] [Active]; Purify [Superior] [Active]; Heavenly Judgment [Advanced] [Active]; Aegis of Light [Intermediate] [Active]; Piercing Light [Intermediate] [Active]; Sword of Light [Beginner] [Active]; Charm [Beginner] [Active]; shbang of Light [Beginner] [Active]; Time Stop [Elite] [Active]


    +---+


    Michael had the easiest time tiering up his second mana core, and apparently, already two of his birthdays had passed.


    Nheless, back to the mana core. It had taken several months at a time to tier up, but now, it was at Tier 6, and its strength was immense.


    He also scrapped dragon words since, in the end, they were just imitations in the throat that pushed out mana¡ªwhich he could simply simte using mana while speaking.


    However, Michael was a bit salty since the system had promised to give him a new skill, one that should have been given to him the moment he tiered up.


    Simrly to how he managed to obtain the halo and reach Tier 2¡ªa skill of simr level to Sanctuary.


    But then again, the system was a bitch.


    Michael also managed to synthesize two skills fully, with the other one taking a bit too long.


    Swordsmanship [Beginner] - [Passive]


    [Skill Description: Attacks with the sword increase your uracy by 50%, damage by 20%. Higher understanding of the sword.]


    [Note: The skill can evolve depending on the user¡¯s proficiency.]


    But that was not all.


    Time Stop [Elite] - [Active]


    [Skill Description: Freeze time in a 50-meter radius for 5 seconds. Duration depends on the strength of the opponents.]


    [Cooldown: 5 minutes]


    This was the skill he had been aiming for from the start¡ªan overly overpowered skill that only took him 13 months to obtain.


    Yet in the end, it was totally worth it.


    Every day, he funneled all of his mana into it, and now, he had something simr to what the system had.


    Safe to say, he felt satisfied.


    But... fuck, is this annoying. Michael grumbled while scribbling on a piece of paper.


    There were still documents left to fill¡ªspecifically the ones regarding the yearly tournaments.


    However, due to what happened and the Azure Dragon Sect being disbanded, everyone mutually decided to make each tournament happen once every five years instead.


    Michael spent the next couple of hours sorting everything out until, finally, it was finished.


    He had freed up a couple of hours of his time, and now, he would be doing something he had wanted to do for a long time.


    One of the main reasons why Michael had acquired Time Stop in the first ce was to recreate the system¡¯s storage.


    While casting it, he could use his mana to peer open the stopped space and pull out some interesting items.


    But s, the duration was a mere five seconds.


    However, the fact that their storage was connected in the first ce, and not a single item had moved in thest half a year, was a bit troubling.


    Nheless, Michael had pulled out Sect Leader Ji¡¯s mana core and now headed straight for where he was supposed to be hiding.


    After the disbandment of the Azure Dragon Sect, each disciple either joined the remaining sects or migrated to another city.


    As for Sect Leader Ji, he was forced to stay in the city and repent for some crimes he hadmitted.


    Which I definitely did not have a part of. Michael snickered before finally arriving at a cave near the mountainside.


    There was a huge boulder blocking the entrance.


    It obviously could not do anything if Sect Leader Ji truly wanted to break out, but since he was still under the effects of Michael¡¯s mind control, it worked out in the end.


    He walked up to the boulder, and with a simple word¡ª"Move"¡ªthe boulder began hovering off the ground, making way for him to pass inside.


    That little usage of his Speech mana core merely used 1% of his mana, which, by all means, was not much considering the size of the boulder.


    But now, he had to talk to the mind-controlled guy, who, by now, had likely already snapped out of it.


    As Michael approached the end of the cave, he soon spotted Sect Leader Ji lying on the ground, eating some sort of breadcrumbs.


    Yet as his gazended on Michael, he shed a cold, murderous re¡ªwhich soon died down under Michael¡¯s pressure.


    "I see you¡¯vee to your senses." Michael chuckled. "Took you quite some time."


    "...What did you do to me?" Sect Leader Ji asked with wariness.


    "I took away your mind, and from the looks of it, istion seemed to have brought it back," Michael replied with a smile. "But your use is over, I¡¯m afraid."


    With those words, Michael focused in on Sect Leader Ji¡ªespecially on his arms.


    Soon, they burst to bits, blood gushing all around.


    "You¡¯re being promoted." Michael grinned. "You¡¯re now my key to even more riches."

 Chapter 253 An Invitation?

    A/N: Changed inner speech from ''this'' to italics, this.


    ***


    Michael picked Sect Leader Ji up by the cor and threw him outside, sending him practically flying off into the distance.


    But before he could get too far, Michael stopped him with a single burst of mana.


    "You haven''t changed much, mythical beast," Sect Leader Ji muttered, causing Michael to let out augh.


    "Hahaha, now why would I change? Life has been treating me pretty welltely."


    "Is that so? I assume you''re enjoying life after destroying my sect?" Sect Leader Ji grumbled, still suspended in the air.


    While there was a bit of trouble, it wasn''t anything Michael couldn''t handle.


    After all, with only a single word, he could burst Sect Leader Ji''s head into bits.


    "Remember that you brought this onto yourselves," Michael remarked. "If you hadn''t tried masking yourself as someone else and rigging the games, I would have let you live¡ªprobably."


    "Your uncertainty does not give me assurance." Sect Leader Ji let out a chuckle before falling silent. "...I suppose this is it, then?"


    "It is." Michael nodded and brought Sect Leader Ji closer. "Ever since the bullshit stunts you''ve pulled, your only purpose was to act as a key, and now, I will use that key."


    "Are you referring to the inheritance chamber? No one can enter it," Sect Leader Ji stated. "If it were so easy to enter, I would have long sacrificed my entire sect to get inside, but s, it''s impossible."


    "I wouldn''t be so sure." Michael tapped Sect Leader Ji on the forehead, making him ck out in an instant.


    It was nighttime now, so all he had to do was head over to where the Azure Dragon Sect once stood and offer up both the core and the body to the inheritance chamber to open it up.


    The system had mentioned that more than one Tier 5 would be necessary, but over time, Michael managed to offer up a few Tier 4s, which should have bridged the gap¡ªeven if just a tiny bit.


    Nheless, he was ready to open the inheritance chamber.


    Taking a deep breath, Michael sted off into the sky, holding Sect Leader Ji''s unconscious body and the mana core in the Time Stop storage.


    It did not take long to arrive, and as Michael approached the doors to the inheritance chamber, he brought forth Sect Leader Ji''s body and threw it at the door.


    Immediately, his body disintegrated, followed by a dull aching in the surroundings that Michael could not quite grasp.


    Still, there was one thing left to do, and that was to throw the mana core.


    Backing up a few meters, Michael threw it straight at the door, and the moment it made contact, the world seemingly froze, with him getting an ominous feeling every passing moment.


    It felt like someone was watching him from inside the inheritance chamber¡ªfrom beyond the door.


    And soon, Michael found out what, as a single green eye emerged, its size muchrger than should be possible.


    This doesn''t look fucking great. Michael mused with a frown.


    The eye floated toward him before halting and letting out a single word. "Contract?"


    "...What?" Michael was confused. "What are you?"


    "Me? Eye." The eye replied childishly, making his brows furrow further.


    However, before he could ask anything else, the eye suddenly approached, stopping just before his face.


    Interestingly enough, the childish demeanor it had just moments ago had disappeared, reced by an air of seriousness as it once again spoke.


    "How did you make contact with us? I believe this world has been sealed off," the eye asked, bearing down an intense pressure upon Michael.


    But he did not back down, saying a single word, "Release."


    As he did, the pressure immediately vanished¡ªalbeit temporarily.


    Nheless, using such a word with his Speech mana core chipped off 40% of its mana, signaling just how powerful the eye before him was.


    "Hmm..." The eye hummed with curiosity. "You are quite an interesting being¡ªneither angel nor demon. You aren''t human either. What a peculiar existence."


    "And you are a what? Talking demonic eye?" Michael asked with a tilt of his head.


    "Something like that." The eye chuckled eerily. "Though I suppose there are some rules I have to fulfill as per the agreement with this world."


    As soon as those words fell, the eye nced back at the door, and soon, it swung open fully, revealing some kind of vibrant greennd stretching out as far as the eye could see.


    Several medieval-looking castles, a dark green sky, even a small town where he could actually see people roaming around.


    "As per the agreement, you are allowed to visit our realm. Do you agree?" The eye said, annoyed.


    Michael, although puzzled, was quite eager. "I suppose so. Can we go now?"@@novelbin@@


    "Yes, just go through it. I''ll be behind you, acting as a guide," the eye replied.


    With that, Michael went toward the inheritance chamber''s doors, which apparently led to another world altogether.


    It seemed like any ordinary passage, and he did not even feel any kind of resistance going through it.


    However, the wind that hit his face the moment he went through was anything but pleasant.


    It was not even wind, but just pure chaotic wind mana¡ªas though someone had cast an attack spell at him.


    A small graze appeared on his cheek, but it managed to heal in just a moment.


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    The eye came through as well before heading straight ahead, leading the way.


    "As I said, I''ll be your guide. Whether you survive with me leading you is not my concern."


    "I see," Michael nodded.


    The strange part was how lively it was despite the mana in the air.


    But as those thoughts fell, he locked onto a random civilian, and his eyes immediately widened.


    A random civilian is stronger than me?


    Some girl selling what he could only assume to be lemonade was at the very least on the level of the giants he had seen.


    The others around her were even stronger, which made him quite puzzled.


    At the same time, it gave him rity.


    The system never specified how many worlds there were, so he should not be surprised there was a world where the strongest gathered.


    "You seem surprised, weird being. Is this notmon on your homeworld?" the eye asked.


    "My homeworld didn''t even have magic," Michael replied with a chuckle.


    "Oh? You are from one of those new worlds? Interesting. I heard most of them were destroyed recently," the eye remarked, making him raise a brow.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Ah, a great purge happened a decade or two ago. The Watchers destroyed all those worlds since they served no purpose."


    At the eye''s words, Michael''s heart sank.


    "All the worlds?"


    "I believe the Watchers were thorough, yes," the eye said.


    "Is there any way to check? I mean, to check whether that world is still there or not?" Michael persisted, stepping in front of the eye and stopping it.


    "Hmm... I can check it for you if you want. Give me a blood sample," it said, and Michael did just that.


    However, he wasn''t expecting much considering he had been reborn in apletely different world, so it might not show the previous one.


    But as the eye drew blood and seemingly absorbed it into itself, it suddenly froze, looking back at Michael.


    "I can''t see anything. Literally. It''s a nk te..." The eye trailed off. "Usually, it shows something¡ªwhere you were born, where you first achieved your mana core... But there''s nothing?"


    Sounds like there wasn''t any precedent to this. Michael thought.


    "It seems I can''t help you," the eye stated and walked ahead of him. "But I can show you around. You might find a being who is generous enough to look deeper."


    "And you are not?" Michael asked, and the eye let out an eerie chuckle.


    "I am but a mere remnant of a contract made eons ago. I don''t have the sufficient authority or strength to look any deeper than I already have."


    As its words fell, it suddenly stopped.


    Immediately, Michael felt a fierce pressureing from the side, and once he turned toward it, he saw something akin to arge minotaur heading straight for them.


    Its strength was far above anything Michael could handle, but nheless, if he wanted to live, then he had to try.


    But before he could even make a move or summon a sword of light, the eye suddenly shot toward the minotaur.


    Before the minotaur could even react, a green beam shot out from the eye,pletely disintegrating its entire body in a mere instant.


    Soon, it lifelessly fell to the ground, its body turning to ash as the eye nced back at Michael.


    "Shall we continue with the tour?"


    "...You don''t happen to be an eldritch monster, right?" Michael questioned.


    He wasn''t stupid, he had seen such beings inics and other things back in his old world.


    Also, the world seemed eerie enough to be considered the realm of these eldritch monsters.


    Coupled with the fact that he had talked with the system about them nearly two years ago, he was fairly certain his assumption was correct.


    And soon, he received his vague answer.


    "And if I am?"

 Chapter 255 Body For Xylo

    "What do you mean?" Michael narrowed his eyes. "Aren''t they the protector of heaven?"@@novelbin@@


    "They were," Xylo replied. "Now, they are nothing but merciless husks of their former selves, going around and destroying worlds on a whim."


    "I''m finding that very hard to believe. They are beings at the top of the food chain. Why would they suddenly go rogue?" Michael asked.


    "No one is certain, but heaven was pretty vocal about it," Xylo said. "They talked about bounties on the Seraphims'' heads and whatnot. No one really paid much attention to those pigeons since only the top brass of the eldritch beings can even go head-to-head with the Seraphim."


    "I see... that doesn''t sound very favorable. Do they just go around destroying everything then? Why haven''t I seen them?" Michael questioned, taking a bite out of yet another dish.


    "No one can predict when a Seraphim will emerge. Frankly, destruction has be lessmon. Thest time they destroyed a gxy was two centuries ago. Prior to that, they were destroying a gxy each decade," Xylo continued. "There are rumors going around that someone had killed them off, but it''s very unlikely. After all, they are immortal."


    So how is a bounty supposed to work then? Michael furrowed his brows.


    If these beings were immortal, and heaven was sending people after them, then how exactly were they supposed to kill these Seraphim?


    Also, if only the strongest people could contest against them, then capturing them would be nearly impossible too.


    All in all, this situation seemed a bit too off for him.


    "Say, were you the only ones who got this so-called bounty announcement?" Michael asked.


    "Of course not. They used the God Horn to broadcast it to every being in the universe who had a fair bit of power, including myself, of course," Xylo said, but upon noticing Michael''s confusion, added, "A God Horn is a strand of the First God''s mana, and it''s only used in emergencies. So far, it''s been used only three times."


    Michael tilted his head. "What were the other times?"


    "The first was God''s death. As for the second, I believe it had something to do with the death of an Archangel, though no one is sure which one died. The Archangels always lurked in the shadows and only came out when necessary. Though with their emergence, a cmity came along," Xylo borated. "Each Archangel holds a trumpet or something, and once they all resound in unison, they reset the cycle of life of a universe."


    "They are that powerful...?" Michael''s eyes widened.


    "Their strength is nearly unmatched, only the Seraphim and demon kings are their equals. Though they aren''t exactlybat-oriented except for Archangel Michael who was the strongest in all of heaven, well, up until the point where another Archangel stepped up, though that does not concern us that much." Xylo added.


    Michael tilted his head in confusion as the system never mentioned something like that.


    But it was a bit suprising that such a being as Xylo did not know that Michael had died. Enjoy more content from My Virtual Library Empire


    After all, Archangel Michael was a big shot, and if his death was as pronounced as he had heard, then it would only be natural to parade it around the universe.


    However, from this conversation alone, he was able to gain one insight.


    The system lied to him, and in actuality, there was more than one universe.


    Though... the trumpets? I remember the Seven Trumpets from literature I''ve read, but they did not sound as destructive as what Xylo described. Resetting the life of an entire universe...? That seems a bit too much. Michael mused inwardly with a small frown.


    Nheless, he finished his food soon and, alongside Xylo, who was idly sitting by, went out of the inn.


    They went to a pretty secluded area when, all of a sudden, Michael had an idea. "Could I try something?"


    Xylo turned around. "What is it?"


    "You said you needed a form, right? Could you shrink your eye to something about my size?"


    At Michael''s words, Xylo visibly flinched. "What are you thinking?"


    "I''ll create a body for you¡ªor try to at least. Though my only expertise lies in humanoid bodies, so I can''t make anything you''d necessarily want."


    During those fifteen months, Michael had practiced his mana control to the highest level. And even though he had not managed to form any actual skills aside from the shbang of Light...


    That skill was a pure coincidence, and he honestly was unsure what the main points of creating it were in the first ce.


    Nheless, his mana control more than made up for theck of skills, as now he could create mana constructs he would be able to control at will.


    They were not realistic, as they had no flesh, since they were mended together from his mana.


    However, the fact that their bodies were anatomically correct was promising.


    Also, the fact that each one of them was in the image of Michael made them all handsome, even as fleshless constructs.


    "So what do you say? Want to give it a try?" Michael asked.


    And after a bit of hesitation, Xylo spoke. "If you try anything funny, I will forego the contract and end your life myself."


    "Yeah, yeah, no need to be cranky about it. I just don''t want to keep following an eye," Michael replied.


    Soon, Xylo began shrinking, and now, he looked like any ordinary eye.


    In the very next moment, Michael sent out arge portion of his mana¡ªnearly 25%¡ªtoward Xylo.


    Instead of going inside the eye, however, the mana merely stopped right before it, and soon, the mana began manifesting itself like a preset.


    A body was constructed¡ªone made purely out of mana.


    The color was obviously golden, with the only exception being the eye sockets, which were pitch ck.


    Not only that, Michael was able to form a patch of white hair that ran down all the way to the knees.


    His coloring was not that good yet, construct-wise. It was not the same as making his clothing, after all.


    Nheless, so long as he used his affinities as coloring, even if dormant, then it worked out in the end.


    After just a few moments, the mana finally detached from his body, and regeneration once again started.


    The only reason that happened was simply that whenever he made a construct, he had the option to either tie it to his mana or make apletely independent construct that would not function unless someone upied it.


    But since the purpose was to make Xylo upy it, he made the right eye socket the connector to the entire body¡ªthe makeshift brain and everything.


    "You can try it out now," Michael said, and soon, Xylo made his way to the right socket.


    Immediately, a fierce wave of mana was let off from the body, as several cracks appeared on it.


    Michael had forgotten that while it was a solid body, it most likely could not hold the power of a Tier 10 or above.


    However, as those thoughts fell, the cracks suddenly stopped.


    Hm? Michael narrowed his eyes, taking a few steps back as he felt a dangerous amount of mana entering the body.


    At the same time, the golden color that was spread nearly across the entire body was soon encased in flesh.


    What the fuck? Michael''s eyes widened. Did I trigger some type of transformation?


    With those thoughts, the body he had made for Xylo began changing further¡ªthe height growing slightly taller, and the facial features alternating.


    It was no longer a perfect clone of Michael. And now, what stood before him was an actual human-like person with peculiar white hair and, most surprisingly, two green eyes.


    "You grew an eye," Michael couldn''t help butment.


    All the while, Xylo was speechless.


    Clenching the hands of his new body, taking a few steps around.


    He looked like a child at a nce, but soon, he regained hisposure before ncing toward Michael.


    "I don''t understand what you did to me, but I can''t leave this body anymore," Xylo said coldly.


    "Is that going to be a problem? You technically achieved your form now," Michael tilted his head.


    But Xylo was not convinced. "While I am thankful for the opportunity, I was expecting to receive a temporary body, not something that will bind to my soul."


    "I can assure you it wasn''t intentional. My guess is, the body was a perfect match, and therefore, you formed a connection... or something," Michael mused.


    Shaking his head, Xylo let out a sigh. "I doubt that was the case. However, I can''t leave this body anymore, and if this is my actual form now, I won''t be able to be an eldritch monster."


    Michael smirked. "Want to grab a bite? You''re paying, of course."


    Xylo''s green eyes lit up. "Let''s go."


    Michael chuckled and followed along, yet a single thought was still guing his mind.


    I wonder... What caused to Seraphim to go rogue?

 Chapter 256 Encounter

    "You''re having a bit too much fun, don''t you think?" Michael remarked with a snicker, watching as Xylo yed around with everything he could find.


    Whether it be the food or the unsuspecting civilians, he barged right into their private space and began talking with them.


    No one thought much of it, considering he looked exactly like them, a normal human.


    But that was only on the outside, as inside, Xylo was nothing but a strong Eldritch monster who could kill all of the people present in the blink of an eye.


    However, that same Eldritch monster was now just some regr nice guy¡ªfor at least the next couple of minutes, until he got bored anyway.


    "Come on already, we need to go somewhere, don''t we?"


    "Give me a moment. Look, there''s a Cerberus from hell over there¡ª"


    Before Xylo could finish his words, Michael yanked him back, holding him by the shoulders.


    "While I do understand that you want to enjoy your time for as long as you want, remember I''m also here. You can do that after I leave."


    "Fine..." Xylo replied, pushing Michael off.


    But the strength he used was a little much, caving in both of Michael''s shoulders as he impacted strongly with the wall behind him.


    "Ah, apologies, I might''ve used too much strength," Xylo said, scratching his newfound head.


    "You don''t say," Michael scoffed, healing himself and standing back up. "Where to now?"


    "The castle or the barracks, you choose," Xylo offered.


    "What''s with these mundane choices? Isn''t there anything more interesting? Like a cave where I could practice my mana or something?" Michael raised the question.


    "I doubt you can even circte your mana properly in this atmosphere, let alone..." Xylo trailed off, his eyes widening. "Never mind, it seems like you can."


    "Yeah." Michael nodded, as if it was obvious.


    He had used mana quite a few times recently, and somehow, Xylo had not noticed.


    "Fine, Mountain springs or the cave of¡ª"@@novelbin@@


    "Whichever has more mana, I want to try something," Michael interjected.


    "You''re too impatient for your own good," Xylo let out a sigh. "Follow me, the Mountain springs are better as they are very high up in the sky. You can even see stars from all the way up there."


    "The Eldritch realm is a world? I thought it was something no one could ess?" Michael asked with widened eyes.


    "Oh, of course it is a world. If it wasn''t, then you''d already be crushed to death."


    Noticing the confused look on Michael''s face, he continued, "The inner and core parts of the Eldritch realm are in their own separate realities, same with heaven and the higher realms."


    "What about hell and the like, aren''t they worlds?" Michael asked.


    "They are. The Demonic Realm is just one massive world, many timesrger than any other existing one. It''s as big as a star, you could say. No one has truly explored it even after all this time," Xylo replied as the two began walking again.


    However, he was a bit concerned, since after all, Xylo had mentioned mountains, but there was not even a single one in sight.


    "Just how far away are those mountains again?" Michael questioned, as a slightly bad feeling arose in his chest.


    "Oh? They are not that far, only three continents away. Should take us about 13 years of walking to get there," Xylo replied, oblivious to Michael''s inner thoughts.


    Are you fucking stupid? Michael wanted to say out loud but held himself back.


    "Look, is there a faster way to get there? Can''t you fly?" Michael asked.


    "Fly with what? My wings, which don''t exist? I can''t teleport yet, as I''m not fully ustomed to this body. I don''t want to end up killing myself," Xylo said. "Also, just enjoy the scenery, it''s not every day you can be in the Eldritch realm."


    "I can carry you and we can fly over there. How does that sound?" Michael offered.


    After all, he had his own pair of wings, which were incredibly efficient now that he had trained for so long.


    What else could he do aside from training? The system did not teach him the method to increase his mana core, and as for the Speech core, it formed itself automatically.


    Safe to say, he was in a sticky situation, and if Xylo refused, then their walk would likely have to be canceled.


    "Hmm? Fly me? I''ll pass."


    Fuck.


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    "You sure?" Michael asked one final time, and Xylo nodded in response.


    "I''m sure. We can just walk or jog even, though even if we jog, it will still take us around 9 years."


    "If I fly, we can get there in less than a day...e on already." Michael urged impatiently, but Xylo suddenly turned around, pointing his finger toward the sky.


    "I''m just kidding, Michael, the mountains are over there."


    What do you mean there are mountains over there¡ªoh. Michael''s eyes widened as he nced up at the sky.


    After all this time, his Eyes of the Great Sage had improved to the point where he could see the world however he pleased, and now, he was seeing something he couldn''t believe.


    Off in the distant sky, not even connected to the ground, was a small mountain range.


    On top of it, several buildings, and even people.


    Yet those people seemed a bit too strong for his liking, even stronger than the ones currently on the ground.


    Therefore, Michael decided to simply stretch out his hands before saying, "I am not walking over there. I am either carrying you, or leaving you behind. Which will it be?"


    However, as his words fell, Xylo suddenly began hovering off the ground. "I''ll choose neither. Let''s go, Michael."


    ...Seriously. Michael facepalmed inwardly before following Xylo upward, off through the clouds and into the far reaches of the mountains.


    But even as they flew several kilometers, it did not seem like he was getting any closer.


    In fact, he could even say the mountains were getting further away.


    However, as he nced at Xylo, who had been mere meters away from him a moment ago, he was now far off in the distance, much closer than Michael was.


    I thought we were keeping the same pace? Michael thought with a frown before speeding up.


    Soon, he caught up with Xylo again, but to his surprise, Xylo was merely ying around with some kind of Rubik''s cube he picked up off the ground earlier.


    "Are you serious?"


    "I''m bored, and I wasn''t kidding when I said those mountains are far away," Xylo said with a shrug, not even turning to Michael as he continued solving the Rubik''s cube.


    "...How far, and don''t say¡ª"


    "92 million kilometers. We''re about 250,000 kilometers in, so you can say we''re still pretty far away," Xylo replied. "But don''t worry, once we near the mountains, your satisfaction will truly be fulfilled!"


    "I don''t believe you... I thought you were some mature guy, but now you''re making me fly that far..." Michael stated with disbelief.


    He would rather have gone with the other option if it meant he did not need to fly that far.


    After all, he still had some duties back at the sect, such as sorting through the documents and...


    Never mind, I''m happy here too. He steeled himself after a mere moment''s decision.


    If back home the only thing he could do was work, then it was natural to seek holidays.


    Right...? System, if you were here, you''d agree with me too, probably. Michael nodded to himself.


    However, as he did, he spotted an interesting sight in the distance.


    It was some colossal blue being with pixie pink wings flying toward the mountains.


    "Yo! rgath!" Xylo suddenly shouted, speeding up to such a degree that Michael couldn''t even track him.


    Soon, he flew up to that funny-looking being, and as the two locked eyes, Xylo suddenly shed his hand downward.


    As he did, a massive beam of green and blue light emerged from both of their bodies, shing against one another.


    It looked like a powerful fight, from a distance of course.


    Since the moment they shed, Michael was sent hurtling back who knows how far. The only thing he knew was that he was several thousand kilometers away at the very least.


    The only reason he was even able to see the fight happening was simply because of his Eyes of the Great Sage.


    If he didn''t have that, then it would have been a lost cause.


    However, their attacks were not stopping. In fact, they grew even stronger, reaching him again.


    And as they did, he suddenly felt his entire body freeze up¡ªnot out of fear, but out of sheer powerlessness.


    Michael had never felt such strength before, not even from the Giants back on the mountain.


    Even Fafnir did not hold such strength.


    He had read something as a child that Eldritch beings grew stronger in proportion to their age, so he could only specte how old these two were.


    But nheless, the lingering thought that Xylo, the one guiding him, could not achieve a form in all that time, left him heavily skeptical.


    Just who are you, Xylo¡ªwhatever the fuck the rest of your name is?

 Chapter 257 Greedy Pegasus

    Their little fight continued, which turned out to not be so little as the surrounding skies parted, fissures formed in the air, and soon, he could feel the sensation of his body slumping downward from the pressure alone.


    It was just a massive difference in strength, and Michael was surprised he was even able to keep up in the air for this long.


    But now, he resigned himself, falling down with grace.


    May Ind in a hot spring... he thought, as he fell below the clouds.


    Surprisingly, some kind of water source entered his sight, which actually made him want to jump into it.


    However, he spotted some kind of wolf-type monster running toward the water to drink, and once it got close, something came out of the water, immediately gobbling the monster up.


    Soon, what remained of the wolf, specifically its bones, floated up to the surface of the water.


    Yet they did not stay there for long, as with another gulp, someone ate it up.


    Alright, fucknding there. Michael darted his eyes around and spotted a tree, before positioning his wings in a gliding position, and eventually crashing straight into a tree.


    He was expecting to knock it over with his sheer strength, but nothing like that happened, and he merely collided with it.


    If he did not have a high healing factor, his neck would have likely been broken.


    s, at least he was safe now¡ªat least for the next couple of moments.


    After all, the two idiots up in the sky were still fighting adamantly.


    Do they not realize I was like right next to them? Shouldn''t I be a guest or something? Michael pondered, sitting down on a rock and looking around.


    Without the system, he wasn''t able to check out the map.


    However, he had his own way of scouting, and that was, simply ncing at the surroundings, and mapping them out in his brain.


    It was like a drawing map, and he was able to draw quite a bit from when he was up in the sky; therefore, he had a rough idea of where he was.


    Of course, that did not mean much since this was an entirely new realm.


    But, fuck it. I know where the mountains are at least. he let out a relieved sigh, and soon began walking away from the two powerhouses.


    Yet the moment he stood up, some kind of monster caught his eye, looking directly at him from the long grass ahead.


    It was a rabbit, an extremely weak monster by all means.


    But with a single nce, it sent shivers down Michael''s spine.


    After all, the mere rabbit was a Tier 7 monster.


    He was fairly confident in winning, even if it attacked.


    However, Michael wouldn''t give the rabbit that chance.


    "Freeze, Blind, Hearing-Cut, Nerve-cut... and uhh... fuck, what was it again?" Michael muttered, trailing off. "Oh right, Self-Enemy."


    Each one of his words, influenced by the Speech mana core, were enhanced and given certain effects.


    Freeze obviously made it so the monsters could not move, Hearing-Cut made it so they couldn''t hear, andstly, Blind made it so they couldn''t see.


    Now Nerve-cut was a bit more precise, as it cut off the monster''s pain receptors.


    And of course, Self-enemy.@@novelbin@@


    It was the most important one of them all, and also the only one costing 50% of his total mana to use.


    The word made it so the monster''s psyche got altered temporarily, making it attack itself, which in turn, would give Michael a better shot at winning.


    And it did, as the monster began spasming, before gnawing at its own skin.


    Michael''s Mana Purity,bined with a Tier 6 Speech Mana Core, really worked wonders.


    I found dinner. He thought with a smile, and stealthily approached the rabbit, before summoning a single sword and bringing it down.


    Immediately, it was killed with barely any resistance from its neck.


    But even then, it was a Tier 7 monster for a reason, as it suddenlyshed out with its head flying directly at him.


    However, Michael merely twisted his body, dodging it, before sending out a Piercing Light, skewering its head onto the durable tree.


    Soon, the rabbit''s body, as well as the somehow-alive head, stopped moving entirely.


    "Phew." Michael let out a relieved breath before walking over to the body and swiftly skinning it, before butchering it.


    While those idiots fought up in the skies, he would be treating himself to a nice meal; it was a win-win situation.


    Michael shaved off a bit of wood and started a fire, before skewering the rabbit meat with his golden stake and holding it over the fire.


    It did not take long to cook, as despite the fire seeming regr, it was anything but normal in such a realm.


    Therefore, he ate up and was ready to leave.


    However, he felt a bit hesitant. Experience more tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    What if he left, and the people in the mountains didn''t let him in? What if they killed him for merely being a human?


    Nheless, he put those thoughts aside and took a deep breath before ncing up.


    There was one thing he could try, and that was, sending a sword right up into the skies.


    Michael tried it; however, before it could even reach the clouds, it fell back down,nding in the water source he had seen earlier.


    Safe to say, his sword did not survive, but even worse, the monster inside the water suddenly jumped out, revealing a massive frog the size of a minivan.


    Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me. Michael cursed his luck and swiftly dashed in the direction of the mountains.


    He just had to get far away, to the point where the pressure from Xylo and the other guy fighting would no longer affect him.


    After all, flying was much faster than running.


    Despite that, even after running for what felt like 1,000 kilometers, he was still unable to fly.


    Okay... How do I deal with this...? Michael pondered, weighing his choices.


    But in the end, there weren''t many.


    He either had to run all the way to the mountains, or wait God knows how long until they finished their fight.


    However, in the midst of his helplessness, he spotted something interesting.


    Off in the distance was what appeared to be a white horse, one that was shining and had wings.


    With one good look, he was able to tell what it was.


    After all, he had read a lot of fairy tales back when he was a child.


    A Pegasus... An actual Pegasus. He eximed inwardly, before approaching it.


    Michael thought it would try running away the moment he got close; however, it did not do anything of the sort.


    Instead, it stared at him with curious eyes, slightly pping its wings at him.


    "Hey buddy... Wanna help me out?" Michael said out loud, trying tomunicate with the Pegasus.


    But not even a moment after he said those words, he felt embarrassment.


    How could a mere horsemunicate with him?


    However, a sudden deep voice startled him out of his thoughts. "For a price."


    "Seriously?" Michael turned toward the voice; it really was the Pegasus speaking. "You can speak?"


    "Of course, who are you to assume I can or can''t speak? Huh? You sound just like those griffin fuckers, I should just eat you for breakfast!" The Pegasus said, making Michael''s head spin from confusion.


    So a Pegasus exists, and yet it acts even more arrogant than a dragon? This was definitely not written in the fairy tales. he thought.


    Nheless, he apologized. "Sorry about that. I have never seen or heard of a Pegasus in my entire life."


    "Hmph, that''s understandable, dear Draconic Chaos human." It replied with a snort, making his brow rise.


    "Draconic Chaos human?"


    "That''s what you are, no? A human with the blood of a dragon, and the mana of chaos. Or are you suggesting I saw it wrong?" The Pegasus narrowed its eyes, walking closer to him. "Which is it?"


    "You''re right." Michael shrugged. "Though what did you mean earlier about the price? I don''t have much on me currently."


    "Hm? Mana. I need mana or something of equal value, perhaps your soul?" The Pegasus tilted its head. "But mana is fine, I just need arge portion of it, and yours is very pure."


    "I can do that... But would you be able to take me to where those two are fighting?" Michael pointed to the sky. "They are my ticket to where I have to go."


    The Pegasus tilted its head upward, before suddenly flinching and staring back at him with a shocked look.


    "Are you kidding me? You want me to just stride on in when two Eldritch beings are at each other''s throats? Do you think I have a death wish?"


    "Well, it was worth a shot." Michael shrugged, before turning away.


    However, he was soon stopped, as the Pegasus dashed in front of him, looking at him with greedy eyes.


    "However! I am capable of doing it for a price!"


    Michael let out a sigh, staring at this peculiar Pegasus.


    Of course you are.

 Chapter 258 Two Muscle Brain Idiots

    "You are slow," Michael remarked, getting on top of the Pegasus.


    "And you''re fat. Why are you so heavy for a mere child? Huh?" The Pegasus remarked with a scoff.


    They had made a deal which included Michael giving 35% of his current mana to the Pegasus, and in exchange, it would take him up.


    It was not that big of a price, as he was expecting more.


    Nheless, the Pegasus was shocked by the amount of mana he had, as despite it not increasing, when he evolved into whatever race he currently was, it had increased by several times.


    His mana costs decreased as well, and with added proficiency, he would likely be able to cast Divine Judgement with only 25% of his mana.


    However, since it was a skill that scaled off how much mana he input at the start, it was best to keep it as high as it was.


    Therefore, Michael buckled up, as he had made a saddle of light.


    "You''re going to go, right? I don''t have all day," Michael stated, making the Pegasus flinch in anger.


    "You are a brat, how dare you speak to me like that!"


    Nheless, he ignored its tantrum before it eventually calmed down.


    And finally, with a p of its wings, it lifted off the ground, carrying Michael with immense pressure.


    It had definitely not slipped his mind to check out the Pegasus''s strength, and safe to say, he was left greatly surprised.


    A Tier 9, maybe even a Tier 10.


    Ever since he got off his world, he met so many new people, and a lot of strong beings as well who could crush him as though he was an ant.


    They flew up; however, as they entered right above the clouds, Michael was suddenly hit with a gust of seemingly normal wind.


    Yet, he couldn''t move his body, toppling over and falling off the Pegasus.


    What the... Why am I... Michael stared at his legs, which were still on top of the Pegasus in shock.


    Nheless, it flew down and grabbed his cor with its teeth and threw him back on.


    "You have to avoid those, else you''ll die. Unless you are already dying?" The Pegasus beamed. "Quick, give me all your mana before you die, you won''t regret it!"


    "Be quiet..." Michael groaned in pain, as he threw his lower body overboard, watching as it fell down.


    But in its ce, a new pair of legs grew back, followed by the rest of whatever he needed.


    His healing was simply way too powerful now, yet he was still a bit frightened of having his head cut clean off; better not to try it in the first ce.


    Just as he thought it was all over, he saw another gust of wind approach.


    However, this time, he was prepared, sort of.


    Stretching out his hand, he summoned thousands of miniature shields on top of one another, blocking the attack easily.


    Or not so easily, as his arm waspletely crushed by the pressure.


    This is so not fun. Michael frowned, and with the help of the Pegasus, made his way toward Xylo and the other being.


    Yet, the closer they got, the more pressure they felt.


    Especially the Pegasus, it was trembling in fear with each meter they got closer.


    "Come on, mend yourself together," Michael said, but that seemed to do not much, so he pulled out his secret weapon. "I''ll give you more mana."


    That seemed to immediately perk the Pegasus up, as it suddenly dashed at high speeds, much higher than before, as it finally arrived in the vicinity of their fight.


    But he was shocked at the sight, since instead of a normal sky full of clouds, there was one massive fissure in the air, spreading cracks across everywhere.


    "Hey!" Michael shouted, trying to get Xylo''s attention. "We need to get moving! Also, you should probably stop before the watcher intervenes!"


    "What watcher? Our watcher is dead," the Pegasus said with a tilt of its head. "It has been since the start, we don''t have guardians either."


    "Huh? Then how does your world function? Aren''t they supposed to be the pirs?" Michael asked.


    "Pirs fall, and then they are rebuilt. There are top Eldritch beings who took up the mantle instead, bing watchers and guardians," the Pegasus exined. "In fact, the strongest being is the watcher, and he''s likely the strongest being in all of existence simply because he has the powers of a watcher."


    Michael raised a brow. "Aren''t they beings who are supposed to remain neutral?"


    "That''s only the case if they are born as watchers and not be them. In fact, screw you!" The Pegasus flicked its head over to him. "Why am I telling you all this information when you''re not even paying me, you prick?"


    "I''ll give a tip, don''t worry," Michael lied through his teeth, and soon, tried his best to summon something out of mana.


    However, it was to no avail, as the mana was not even responding to him.


    The only thing that did was his natural healing factor, and even that was significantly slowed down this high up.


    Speech Mana Core though... He pondered for a moment, clearing his throat.


    He still had a decent chunk of mana left, definitely not enough to hurt the beings in front of him, but likely enough to at the very least, get their attention.


    "Stop!" Michael shouted, his voice reverberating through the air, when all of a sudden, his throat felt like it had closed up.


    That was simply the recoil of using all of his mana for the mana core.


    Nheless, that seemed enough, as just for a slight moment, they paused their battle, taking a nce in his direction.


    Yet as they did, they took notice of the massive fissure that had formed, and with panicked looks, suddenly sent their manas outward, enveloping it and slowly shrinking it.


    "Take me closer," Michael said in a stiff tone, his throat hurting with each word he spoke.


    "Payment now," the Pegasus said adamantly.


    Sighing, he decided toply, touching the Pegasus''s head, and sending 15% of his mana into it.


    "Oooooooh!" The Pegasus let out an excited shout, making Michael feel ufortable like earlier.


    "Why do you shout like some sort of masochist? Just take the damn mana and take me closer," Michael said with a snicker.


    "If only you could experience the euphoria I do when I receive mana... You would be yearning for it every single waking moment," the Pegasus responded with shallow breaths.


    A shiver went down Michael''s spine. This fucking perverted horse.


    Nheless, despite their audible arguments, they got along pretty well, for the most part.


    Therefore, the Pegasus brought him closer over to Xylo, who was still panicked and tried his best to close the fissure.


    Michael felt like he could finally breathe properly, and his mana was not as restricted anymore; therefore, he stretched out his wings, floating in mid-air as he approached Xylo himself.


    "You nearly killed me," Michael said with narrowed eyes. "I give you a body and this is how you repay me? I am truly speechless."


    "It''s not my fault, this is a great enemy of mine," Xylo replied, ring at the blue giant right next to him.


    "Enemy? I am your older brother!" The blue giant yelled. "We were born in the same egg, and yet you have the audacity to call me your enemy!? I will kill you for those words."


    "Haha..." Michael let out an ufortableugh. "Keep that forter please, I need to get to the mountains."


    "And who the fuck are you again?" The blue giant asked, sending over a wave of pressure to Michael.


    Nheless, that was soon intercepted by Xylo.


    "Brother, you should try not to injure my guest, he''s a special one after all. He''s the one who made me this body I fought you in."


    "Huh? Really?" The blue giant looked at Michael with shock. "This body is your doing?"


    "It is," Michael nodded with a smile.


    It seemed like another person had arrived for him to exploit.


    "Also wait, you said guest right?" The blue giant''s eyes widened. "Xylotharax, does that mean the stupid request you took on eons ago was finallypleted?"@@novelbin@@


    Xylo put on a proud expression. "Why of course, brother. He''s someone who came at just the perfect time." His eyes narrowed. "Since if he didn''t, then I wouldn''t have had the chance to beat you."


    "Ha!? Beat me?" The blue giant took his arms off the fissure.


    And as he did, the space suddenly cracked in front of all of them, dying the sky a bright green color.


    "Oh shit..." Xylo said with trembling arms. "Brother! Stop fucking cking and put all your energy into it! If theye over to us, we''re fucked!"


    "On it!" The blue giant replied with an urgent look, when all of a sudden, the pressure that he had felt earlier, which caused him to fall down to the ground, returned.


    Just this time, he was in between such pressure, making him momentarily dizzy, as he stumbled back and sat on the Pegasus.


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    "Back already? This seat is going to cost you¡ª"


    Michael interjected by injecting 5% of his mana into the Pegasus, as it let out a happy hum.


    These muscle-brain idiots...

 Chapter 260 Turning Point

    "Where exactly are we going right now?" Michael asked, feeling a bit skeptical.


    After all, they had been flying in one direction for thest 8 hours, with Xylo and his brother trailing not too far behind.


    For some reason, the Pegasus decided to follow along too.


    "I need to fulfill my end of the agreement," Pardoth replied, now in his humanoid form. "But I feel like I have to ask¡ªhow did you even get to this world in the first ce?"


    "Opened a door, I guess?" Michael shrugged. "There was some door in another world that led me here, and Xylo picked me up, you could say."


    Pardoth turned to Xylo. "Is that true?"


    "Yes!" Xylo immediately replied, nodding aggressively. "It''s because of an ancient contract I made with the people of his world. He was the one to fulfill it, so I took him here."


    "I assume it was approved by the elders, correct?" Pardoth said with narrowed eyes. "Even ancient contracts have an expiration date."


    "Yes, sir, it''s a permanent contract... I made it when I was young." Xylo replied. "But I''ve changed my ways; I no longer make stupid contracts!"


    "That''s good to hear, but still, why are you all tagging along?" Pardoth asked. "Don''t you have somewhere else to be?"


    "If I don''t fulfill my role in the contract, I will die, so I need to stay close," Xylo affirmed, spewing bullshit.


    If he really cared that much, then he wouldn''t have fought his brother in the skies, nearly killing Michael in the process.


    Twice.


    "I need mana," the Pegasus said.


    "I''m bored," Xylo''s brother added, and with a facepalm, Pardoth began leading the way forward.


    Surprisingly, Michael could feel the atmosphere growing denser, and if he went any further, it might even crush him.


    But perhaps because of the people around him, the pressure was greatly reduced.


    Nheless, they traveled for several more hours until eventually, they stumbled upon some kind of fissure.


    Yet this one looked certainly more ominous than the one Xylo and his brother had formed.


    It was oozing out green mana into the skies, and frankly, Michael could feel his breaths stagnating with each passing moment.


    Nheless, since Pardoth wasn''t stopping, and neither were any of the people around him, he decided to go through it.


    Yet as he did, the only thing that greeted him was pure darkness everywhere he looked.


    The only indicator that he wasn''t lost were the outlines of everyone present, although they were swiftly dimming.


    In the end, he had to speed up, and once he did, Michael finally saw something different.


    Each one of them was moving at some sort of frequency, and if he matched it, he could actually see them.


    Therefore, he sped up even more, until eventually, Pardoth''s surprised expression appeared before his eyes.


    But before he could question what was wrong, Michael took one good look around, spotting something interesting.


    There was a miniature tform ahead, and surrounding it, was some sort of green fog.


    Michael''s senses were spiraling out of control at the amount of mana present.


    "Is that...?"


    "Yes, that is where your part of the agreement lies. I will bring you a person each day, and in turn, you may stay here for as long as you''d like," Pardoth affirmed, narrowing his eyes. "But how were you able to recognize the pattern back there? I thought no one but the eldritch beings are capable of something like that."


    "I just figured it out, I guess," Michael shrugged, before pointing down to the tform. "May I go?"


    Pardoth slowly nodded. "You may. I will see you tomorrow; don''t get carried away."


    With a small smile, Michael hovered down, turning around just to see every single person scatter, even the Pegasus.


    Nheless, he finally made his way down and stood on the tform.


    In an instant, his Mana Purity began going up, followed by an interesting set of messages.


    <ERROR!> Readtest chapters at My Virtual Library Empire


    <If you proceed further, the system will malfunction!>


    Really. So if I remain weak, then it won''t? Is that it? Michael asked with amusement, beginning to ignore it.


    However, another notification made him halt in his tracks.


    <No>


    ...Is that you, system?


    <If the user decides to abandon the system, their progress shall be exponential, but the beings who implemented such restrictions will quickly catch wind of your progress.>


    So it''s not you, but why should that matter? Also, who are these beings? Michael asked.


    <The system is designed to safely restore your power, and a sudden surge of it will alert->


    Okay, now you''re just repeating yourself. Michael sighed, before opening his status screen.


    +---+


    Name: Michael


    Age: ######## years old


    Race: ####


    Affinity: Light [Supreme]; Darkness [Supreme] (LOCKED); Origin [???] (LOCKED) ###


    Mana Purity: 1322% ¡ú 1#3#


    Mana Core (1): Flow


    Mana Core Rank (1): Tier 3


    -:- ### Progress to next Tier -:-


    Mana Core (2): Speech


    Mana Core Rank (2): Tier 6


    -:- ### Progress to next Tier -:-


    Seraphim Progress: 1/7


    Titles:


    #####


    - Stats:


    ###


    - Skills / [Skill Merging] / [Skill Sacrifice] / [Skill Synthesis]


    ########


    +---+


    Huh? Michael''s eyes widened in panic. What did you do?


    <Some limits to keep you in line. If you do decide to abandon the system, we will take away everything you own.>@@novelbin@@


    Hmm, is that so. Michael frowned, however, deep down, he knew this was the only option.


    The option of breaking the system.


    He had been feeling limits in his skills even before the system left, and for him to easily kill Tier 5''s and Tier 6''s as a Tier 3 himself simply did not make sense.


    Therefore, he needed a reevaluation, an actual one.


    And since the system, Mikhail, was nowhere to be seen, no one could stop him.


    Besides, even if he lost the skills, he had spent way too much time using them to not remember how to cast them.


    But he could admit, theck of seeing his stats and everything else would be a bit of a pity.


    However, if that''s what he had to do, then so be it.


    Michael sat down on the tform, mana funneling all around him.


    The amount was so massive that whatever he had absorbed years ago meant jack shit.


    Soon, the messages which he was hoping not to see hade pouring in.


    <Inheritance Revoked, Locking status>


    His strength felt limited for just a mere moment, however, as though a dam, it suddenly burst forth, destroying the barrier that was locking his strength.


    However, Michael felt like he could do more, be more.


    It was not greed, but merely certainty.


    But not even a few momentster, another familiar message rolled out.


    <Situation Critical!!!>


    <Calling Archangels!>


    <...>


    <You are being hunted!>


    Am I now? Michael smirked.


    <Location: ???>


    <Unreachable... Calling Seraphim-ERROR>


    Pfft... Michaelughed at the system''s attempts to halt him, but he did not let up, continuing to absorb the mana at an incredibly rapid rate.


    Even his body began changing.


    His shoulder-length ck hair soon turned golden, expanding down to his knees, and even further below.


    But that was not over, as the system messages kept shing before his eyes.


    However, they soon stopped, reced by only a single one.


    <Situation Assessment: Eliminate>


    As it fell, Michael suddenly felt a chill run down his back, and as he turned around, a familiar figure greeted his sight.


    "Mikhail?" he asked, shocked.


    But the figure did not respond, and after taking one good look at it, Michael was able to determine that this wasn''t actually Mikhail.


    It was merely some sort of clone, yet its strength was undeniable.


    Tier 10, at least, and the halo it had on its head was even more ominous.


    It was emitting an extremely potent light magic aura, which made a shiver go down Michael''s back.


    But that did not matter, as soon, he made up his mind, before mimicking a certain skill he had used a dozen times during the years.


    [Sanctuary]


    Enveloping himself, before stretching out the mana, a massive barrier was soon formed, covering the entire mana-absorbing grounds.


    However, that was not all, as due to the amount of mana, Michael was able to enhance his [Sanctuary] further.


    Now, he felt like the only one who could stop him was Pardoth, or even the real Mikhail himself.


    "I suppose you don''t want to chat before you die?" Michael teased.


    <We underestimated you.>


    "You did, and I still have no clue who you are, so we can say it''s even, yeah?" Michael said before sending a Sword of Light toward Mikhail.


    But it seemed like he had underestimated his strength, as after he abandoned the system, he had gained a bit more strength than he was expecting.


    Even more so, Michael couldn''t feel his own mana core anymore.


    In the end, however, it did not matter, as the Sword of Light flew right at Mikhail''s clone, and pierced straight through his head, shattering the Halo in an instant.


    Uhh... What the fuck? Michael''s eyes widened.


    He knew the sanctuary was strong, but was it truly that strong?


    <...You have be an enemy of ours, just you wait until youe within our grasp.>


    Who''s "our," also, where did you put the original Mikhail? Michael asked, as it seemed like the system was about to disappear.


    <Hahahaha, original Mikhail, huh? I guess you''ll find out soon enough.>


    At those words, the voice suddenly cut out.


    But before Michael could wonder what it meant, he suddenly got a massive headache, forcing him to fall down to the ground.


    Images began appearing inside his mind¡ªtens, hundreds, thousands¡ªuntil eventually, he had seen nearly a billion possible oues.


    Yet they did not stoping; each life he had lived, each situation he had gone through, everything was being reyed at the same time, and all within the same second.


    Michael felt overwhelmed, clutching his head as he rolled on the ground.


    Yet in the midst of the pain, he managed to catch a glimpse of a certain memory¡ªone that faded between the rest of them.


    It was a golden-haired man fighting a horde of demons, before suddenly being pushed into some sort of ck vortex-like object.


    A ck hole, the same one Mikhail had mentioned.


    ...Just what is going on?

 Chapter 261 Black Hole

    "It certainly has not been your weekend, has it, Archangel Mikhail?" An annoying voice rang out from the side.


    "You know how it is, once or twice an eon is the usual time for shit to go wrong," Mikhail remarked with a chuckle before narrowing his eyes. "But I''m surprised you were the one to betray me, Gabriel."


    "I''m under strict orders by the¡ª"


    Mikhail cut him off. "By the Seraphim? Like they matter anymore."


    "Mikhail, I understand your frustrations; however, look at it from my perspective," Gabriel said, furrowing his brows. "If I don''t do what I''m told, then I''ll die."


    "You won''t die, you fucking idiot," Mikhailshed out. "How many times do I have to tell you? I''ve removed the binding agent from your brain many years ago. No one can control you now."


    Despite those words, the oblivious Archangel Gabriel shook his head. "I don''t trust you."


    "You were like a child to me, Gabriel. I am the one who should be shocked by this situation the most, yet you say you don''t trust me?" Mikhail remarked with disbelief. "I was the one who put all my trust in you, I was also the one who agreed toe out to this sketchy location in the first ce."


    Yet, as Mikhail looked around, the only ones to greet his sight were a bunch of Fallen Angels and demons, threatening to kill him at any moment.


    Each one was as strong as a high-ranked Angel, meaning if he were to fight them all out, they''d die quite easily.


    Why? He was much stronger than them.


    Even Gabriel himself did not stand a chance, as a mere Tier 17 was something Mikhail could squash like a bug.


    After all, being Tier 19 himself, he had seen a lot of the world, and the only ones who could rival him were the Seraphim.


    He had picked Gabriel up back when he was still a Tier 2 and raised him to be the perfect angel.


    However, some time down the line, one of the Seraphim interjected and extended their influence onto Gabriel, making him do certain tasks which did not befit the status of an angel.


    Mikhail tried his best to get him out of them, and eventually, he did.


    He made Gabriel an Archangel, the peak of all angels.


    A Deity.


    Yet that same Deity, his own creation, started an uprising against him.


    "Why must you be so naive? Can you at least tell me which of the Seraphim wants to kill me?"


    Gabriel shook his head. "I cannot. I apologize."


    However, that made Mikhail even angrier, and he gently floated backward.


    And as he did, the mana from the ck hole finally came into contact with him.


    It was vtile, sure. However, by no means was it anywhere close to killing him, or even harming him.


    If anything, it tickled.


    "Is this your great n? A mana-infused ck hole, Gabriel?" Mikhail scoffed at the attempt before raising his hand.


    As he did, the entire space around them, millions of kilometers in diameter, soon lit up with a golden light.


    And in the very next moment, a halo appeared atop Mikhail''s head, shining brightly and even identally killing all the demons present.


    "Whoops," Mikhail remarked. "You had iting, though, don''t you think? Sanctuary works wonders in an open field, and no one can even attempt to stop me. How amusing, don''t you think?"


    His words rang through the open space, yet none of the pursuers could move.


    They were all frozen in fear, including Gabriel himself.


    "Afraid as you might be, there are consequences to your actions, and from what I''vee to know, you should have been aware of my strength, dear Gabriel," Mikhail said, narrowing his eyes. "So why? Why take this risk knowing you will die?"


    "I apologize, I can''t tell you," Gabriel eximed through bated breaths, and Mikhail, who had finally lost patience, decided to simply do what any normal person would.


    "I did not want to do this to you children, however, I do not appreciate attempts on my life."


    With thest of his words, he suddenly clenched his hand, and immediately, the ck hole, followed by every single person present, contorted, dying the cosmic void around them in red.


    Especially Gabriel, who had killed himself even before Mikhail could deliver the final reckoning.


    It was trulyical. To think an archangel would simply betray his own beliefs and disappear with the assistance of another archangel.


    Obviously, Mikhail was the top brass of the army, with only Uriel matching him.@@novelbin@@


    Even then, her strength relied on her intellect, while his was in raw power.


    I need to erase the evidence, Mikhail thought before expanding his Sanctuary further, covering an even greater distance, until eventually, he reached the maximum of what he could.


    "Delete," he said inly, and in the very next moment, the entire space turned ck, with no colors existing anywhere.


    The stars, worlds, and everything else within a billion-kilometer radius were disintegrated in an instant, leaving only a ck void that oozed lifelessness.


    "It''s a pity," Mikhail remarked inwardly before shooting a nce upward. "It''s a pity you did not save him."


    A figure floated around; it was the same Seraphim Mikhail had seen back in the original Garden of Eden.


    It was also the same one who turned Adam and Eve into demons, and his best friend into a tool it began calling Cain.


    "Why would I?" The Seraphim asked with an amused look, floating down to Mikhail''s level. "There''s only so much a pawn can aplish; why must I limit myself?"


    "Knowing your limits is what makes you go past them, I suppose," Mikhail remarked ironically. "Though I don''t appreciate you using Gabriel like that."


    "Like what? Like the pawn he is?" The Seraphim taunted.


    Yet those taunts did not work on Mikhail.


    By now, he could say he lived forever.


    The rtionship between him and Gabriel was like a blink of the eye; time did not matter much in the very end.


    But still.


    It does sting a little...


    "I assume your name is Lucifer, right?" Mikhail asked. "Or am I wrong?"


    "You aren''t," The Seraphim, Lucifer, chuckled. "I''m surprised you were able to find out my identity since no one even knew I existed in heaven."


    "Indeed, you were a pain in the ass to track down; even when I did, I couldn''t do much to that demonic realm you had made," Mikhail said. "But of course, killing you is what would fix everything, would it not?"


    "Fix everything?" Lucifer stated with sheer amusement. "You disintegrated their souls, each and every Archangel aside from the selected few are dead. Heaven has fallen, Mikhail. You need to ept it and let go." He leaned in closer. "Join me."


    "Join you? Are you out of your mind? What would I get for joining you?" Mikhail asked. "We angels are not under the influence of God anymore since someone happened to kill him."


    But, of course, Mikhail had his own suspicions of who it could have been.


    "The old man, huh?" Lucifer reminisced. "He was quite kind to me back when time began flowing, though I can''t say the kindnesssted long."


    Noticing the growing fury from Lucifer, Mikhail tilted his head. "God is impartial, and it sounds to me like you are using him of doing something to you."


    "He burned my wings and created an entirely new race called the Seraphim," Lucifer exined, stretching out his wings and shocking Mikhail. "These mes never go out as they were made by God himself. The other Seraphim have likely lost their minds after he died; as for me, I''m peachy."


    "Peachy is an interesting word for an entity such as yourself to go around killing innocents," Mikhail remarked before summoning a small, yet incrediblypact golden sword. "Shall we fight it out, or do you wish to simply hand over your head?"


    "Neither, Mikhail," Lucifer shook his head. "I''ve onlye here to watch Gabriel die since now, I have everything I ever wanted."


    At those words, Lucifer pulled out some sort of orb from his wings.


    It waspletely white in color; however, the mana it emanated was intense.


    So intense, it felt like Mikhail was standing before God himself.


    "That''s..."


    "God''s mana core," Lucifer finished. "I honestly didn''t expect him to have one, considering he wasbeled as a perfect being and all." He trailed off, a wide grin appearing on his face. "But it seems like God was just a slightly stronger fraud. I wish he was still alive so I could butcher him myself."


    "Weren''t you the one who killed him?" Mikhail asked warily, not knowing what Lucifer nned on doing with God''s mana core.


    "Those are some serious usations, Mikhail," Lucifer chuckled before growing serious. "But you are mistaken. I was not present during the time God died, and neither were the other Seraphim. We were all out on a mission assigned personally by God himself."


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    "Do you seriously expect me to believe you?" Mikhail asked skeptically, but Lucifer''s grin only grew wider.


    And the next words made Mikhail freeze in ce.


    "What if I told you God killed himself?"


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