《Darius Supreme》


 Chapter 1 - 1

    The clouds smothered what should have been a bright blue sky of a sunny afternoon, the rain that fell from their convergence as soft as the mood of the various people gathered within a certain high-end graveyard.


    "We are here today tomemorate the passing of Darius Stone, a beloved husband, father, and phnthropist whose presence has forever carved a deep memory into the world." An aged pastor began, his voiceden with grief.


    "Yet while he has departed the world of the living, his legacy continues on with his great contributions to the welfare of themon man, something even his peers scorned him for openly. Something that we, themon men and women of the world, will forever hold dear in our hearts."


    The priest continued extolling the virtues of the recently departed man, his speech and impable oration moving the hearts of all listeners. There were about 50 people in total, all in ck funeral attire, all looking like they had lost the greatest thing they ever could.


    While 50 made it a crowd, this had been the hard limit for this opulent cemetery meant for the topmost echelon. If just anyone would have been allowed in, the number count would have crossed hundreds of thousands.


    This wasn''t too far-fetched, as the person they were mourning was Darius Stone, the world''s richest and most influential man of the 22nd century. He had owned most modern megacorps or had at least had controlling shares for them, also singlehandedly creating a movement that raised the bottom line of poverty from abysmal to being able to get some livable conditions in life.


    His influence had not been limited to one particr country, but had been worldwide. More than 90% of sovereign countries had been able to experience this growth thanks to his efforts, hence thebel of one of the greatest men of this age.


    Present in the cemetery, at the forefront of all mourners, were two women and one young man. They all shared the same features, moderately tanned skin, sharp noses, soft faces, and light hazel eyes.


    Anyone could tell that they were siblings from their looks, and an even more perceptive person could tell that they were the children of the recently departed based on their physical age, as well as their position in this ceremony.


    The first daughter, Solena, was currentlyforting and rubbing the back of the second daughter, Miranda, who was sobbing like there was no tomorrow. Solena knew how much Miranda loved their father since he had always pampered his little princess.


    His only son, Martin, clenched his fists and seemed to hold back the tears his sisters were shedding in order to keep the image of a manly fellow, but he could fool no one. In fact, his effort to act tough rather made the other mourners feel all the more depressed, as it was clear this family was suffering from their loss.


    "And now, our brother and beloved guardian, Darius Stone, shall beid to rest beside his wife, Deia Stone, so that they may continue their heartwarming love in the afterlife, together, forever." The aged priest intoned as the ceremony came to an end.


    The casket was eventually lowered into the grave, the ornamental design revealing that the price paid must''ve been beyond the roof. However, no oneined as it was the least this great man deserved.


    After the casket was lowered, the people paid their respects to the family and began filing away slowly. Eventually, only the three children of Darius Stone were left at the gravesite, and their demeanor changed the moment thest person left.


    "Sigh, why did Dad want us to act so emotional during his death? I don''t get it." Miranda, who had been in inconsble tears just a moment ago, stood upright and pondered while wiping her face calmly.


    Solena, now also with a neutral expression, cleaned her eyes and spoke in a cold tone: "Because he wanted us to capitalize on the image he had painstakingly built in order to promote ourselves and make our session smoother."


    Martin sighed and scratched his cheek. "Our father truly thought ahead. He even predicted how the board members would react upon his passing andid down an borate n on how to deal with each one of them! Amazing!"


    Solena nodded and smiled slightly. "Father truly was the most intelligent man. With his guidance, we can easily split the empire he has built up in a way that will prevent any outsiders to acquire so much as a penny."


    Solena turned to her brother. "However, Martin, everything depends on you. Can you fulfill father''s master n and take over on the surface?"


    Martin scoffed and folded his arms. "Of course, Sol. If I fail even after being trained by father personally, then I might as well just dig a new hole next to him and join them."


    Miranda said in a silent voice: "I really wish father could have lived a while longer. It feels so hard without him here, guiding us."


    Solena gently caressed Miranda''s face and spoke softly. "Father has lived to reach histe seventies and we all know he had grown tired of life without mother. He only persisted this long to give us time to grow."


    "I know, butˇ­ sigh." Miranda murmured with resignation.


    Soon, a well-dressed chauffeur came up to the trio and bowed. "Mdy Solena, your husband calls for you. Your son is currently in need of a diaper change."


    Solena smiled beautifully when she heard mention of her firstborn son. "Okay, I will be with you shortly."


    The chauffeur bowed once more and stood by the side. Solena then hugged her sister and little brother before leaving the scene.


    Right after her, Miranda was soon picked up by her fianc¨¦, leaving young Martin to wait for the family''s driver toe for him.


    The moment the event came to an end, the dark clouds instantly lightened and the rain came to an end. The timing was truly impable, but very few would pay attention to it.


    After all, if they couldn''t even notice that a certain entity had stood with them at the funeral the entire time, they would certainly not notice abnormal weather conditions that had not appeared to give ambient effect to the event, but rather to warn of a potential disaster.


    ------------------------------------


    Author''s Note: Hello all readers! Wee to my second webnovel on this site, Darius Supreme! This story is meant to be a serious novel with a mature and thoughtful MC who tries to survive in a magical world we''ve all dreamed of with a caveat.


    As shown in my review, this novel is targeted at thoughtful readers who can read in between the lines and can figure out neat facts without having to be spoonfed by this author.


    Unfortunately, we live in a world where people will see a sign saying ''beware the dog'', jump the fence, get bitten by the dog, and try to sue you.


    As such, in the author''s thoughts of certain chapters going forward, you might notice somementary from me exining various things that people missed and decided toin about. I can''t obviously answer each and everyone, I''m not that free after all, so this will have to do.


    Thanks!

 Chapter 2 - 2

    {Wee to the world of Faust! This is a world of magic, swords, dragons, and fair maidens requiring rescue! A world of dreams, wishes, and fantasies that any living entity would want to partake in!}


    {This world is now your home, Darius Stone! In this world, you are the protagonist, the pioneer, the chosen one! Forge a path through chaotic politics, troubled markets, and deadly battlefields to stand at the top and be a Supreme!}


    {After all, this is the only way your damned soul will ever have a chance at reincarnation! This special privilege has been granted to you by Vena, The Goddess of Games and Recreation! Make sure your actions in this world impress her, otherwise she will strip you of this opportunity and present it to another evil soul!}


    {Good luck!}


    These were the first words Darius Stone heard as he woke up. He found himself slumped over a dining table that was as simple as they came, made of hardwood and covered with a very thin cloth.


    He looked around and took stock of his environment. He appeared to be in a small cottage that could only realistically support two people living within at the most, with a single bedroom, one kitchen that was merged with the dining room, and one living room of sorts.


    There was no bathroom that he could see straight away, so Darius wondered how the residents here took care of their hygiene. He next inspected himself to see if there were any changes.


    He was astounded to discover that he appeared to be in the cradle of his youth, at age 13. As far as he could tell, he had the same body he did when he had been on Earth, which was a smallfort.


    This meant that he should have his typical slicked-back ck hair as well as his trademark spiky bangs, his sharp hazel eyes, and his angr jaw which was what had made him into a desirable bachelor as a young adult.


    Darius noticed that he wore a neat, long-sleeved, ck cotton shirt and slim-fitting ck pants with calf-length ck boots that gave him the look of a young nobleman who was taking a stroll through some medieval town.


    After taking stock of himself, Darius stood up and walked around the cottage, carefully noting anything of interest and collecting it, cing it all on the dining table where he had ''spawned''.


    He then opened the door to head outside and see where he was located. Immediately, Darius was stunned into silence at the sight before him.


    He was located in a beautiful de in the midst of a dark forest, the sunlight barely able to pierce the canopy of leaves as it bathed him in its warm glow. Beside his small wooden cottage was arge pool of sparkling water that looked like the dew of the heavens.


    If anything, Darius understood where one was supposed to bathe now. Still, he was totally enraptured by the sights and smells around him, as he came from a life in an urban society.


    Anyone from such a ce would be rendered speechless and awed by the sight of nature at its prime. Darius continued to absorb this sight for a few more seconds before casually making ap around the cottage and the de in general.


    After he felt he had inspected it enough, he returned to the dining table and sat down on the chair he had been seated upon when he awoke. Darius silently began to ponder for a bit in silence.


    Then, all of a sudden, he began tough. It was a startling act that would have made any onlooker stare at him with worry, fearful for his sanity, but there was no one here. Not only that, Dariusughed for a full minute, tearsing from his eyes, the reason for doing so not even apparent at the moment.


    Soon, it came to an end, and the young man wiped his eyes and wore a slight smirk. He re-read the warning that had appeared within his vision when he first spawned and then picked up a quill he found.


    Luckily, Darius had needed to learn how to use a quill and parchment as part of high society life. It was truly frightening how the true top 1% desperately clung to old traditions and activities from a bygone era, but for once he was d about this previously useless skill.


    He slowly wrote down upon the parchment as his thoughts moved in a flurry, calctions and realizations shing through his cortex at light speed. Darius'' strength had never been physical, always mental.


    Eidetic memory, genius-level intellect, and a high emotional quotient had allowed him to easily read people. All of that had bled into the profession he had chosen for himself in his past life, a businessman.


    Darius smirked when he thought of that. ''Past life''. Ha. Like he was some protagonist from those anime and web novels his son and nephews loved to consume.


    Especially his youngest nephew and first grandson. Those two had loved those shounen anime and Darius had often been pulled to watch it with them. As an old man in his seventies, he naturally had had the mentality of one and had chosen to spend time with his family rather than work, even if it meant doing things he might not enjoy himself as much.


    Yet, after he had closed his eyes for thest time, he had woken up in a body that was in the early stages of puberty and was greeted by a screen of notifications telling him a certain Goddess had reincarnated him to be her pet monkey and provide entertainment.


    Most peopleˇ­ no, any sensible person would not be calm in such a situation, as only the mentally infirm could maintain their neutrality at a time like this. Darius didn''t think he was mad, but his mind certainly was different.


    Darius'' train of thought was quiteˇ­ scary. He had been revered worldwide as a man of kindness, solemnity, and honor. Even though the modern world hated the rich, people had nevertheless still loved him and had even nicknamed him as ''Darius Wayne'' in rtion to that billionaire superhero.


    However, there was not a single member of the true top 1% that had climbed their way up by remaining pure and morally clean.


    In fact, Darius was quite sure that his soul was cker than all of the worst criminals in human history, for the things he had done behind the curtain were truly frightening.

 Chapter 3 - 3

    Of course, anyone could im to be the evilest being in the universe, not realizing that such a deration would simply reveal them to be an edgelord with severe mental problems. Darius understood that.


    Hisst moments on Earth yed through his mind as he rxed in the chair he had sat down in. He had been surrounded by his family, all of themmenting his impending death and gazing at him with desperation as well as love.


    It was only around his family that Darius had behaved as his true self. For he had strongly believed that nothing was more important than family. A good family could ensure 1,000 generations of sess while a bad one would only enjoy about 3 generations before the board was reset.


    When he had closed his eyes for the final time, he had felt his mind slip into the embrace of darkness and Darius had at most expected to wake up in the midst of an inferno. He had never been much of a believer, but anyone would subconsciously consider such things when they were about to die.


    However, as someone who liked to be on top of things, Darius had drafted a n in the unlikely situation that Hell existed. If he entered Hell, he would scrape, beg, and worm his way in the rankings of the Devil''s trusted confidantes before swindling him out of his position.


    It certainly wouldn''t have been the first time for him to wrongfully take the wealth and possession of others, as he had frequently done on Earth before disposing of them in ways that would never lead back to him.


    On the other hand, if he entered Heaven, then he would lock his thoughts in the depths of his mind and remain pious to God. Should there evere a time when he reached a pre-determined situation, his mind would have unlocked his memories as well as his true intentions, where he would next attempt to usurp the position of God.


    Despite all his ns, he had never ounted for the possibility that someone would make him reincarnate into some fantasy world where - as the notifications had put it - there were dragons, dainty maidens, and quite likely whatever else the addled mind of a lonely author could think up from behind the darkness of their screen.


    That was why he hadughed so uncontrobly after assessing his general environment. A vile person like him, someone who objectively deserved eternal damnation and had even nned to swindle the Devil or betray God, was actually given a second chance at life?


    Not only that, but in the fabled fantasy world where one could live out their dreams by swinging swords, shooting fireballs, or building harems that would never make sense on Earth as well as bing a ruler over a territory? Too funny.


    Of all the people, why him? There had to be uncountable NEETs, saints, and samaritans from Earth who deserved this chance far more than he did. To re-do their lives in this world, possibly bringing peace, prosperity, and justice to this world,pared to him who would bring chaos, dismay, and suffering.


    The irony was painful. Why even bother to live a good life on Earth, following thew and being morally clean, if being evil would grant one a better ending than most good guys?


    The more one pondered this scenario, the funnier it became.


    However, Darius was done with his yful reminiscing. Now, it was time to find out more about what this world was and how he would move forward. He was a person who liked to move ording to an overarching n. He had always hated going with the flow like some brainless dolt.


    ''Always be proactive, never reactive!'', was what Darius had taught his children from an early age.


    So, after he had assessed his body and his surroundings, it was now time to perform the final check, which was the reason for his existence.


    "Alright, Goddess Vena. Please inform me of my objectives and roles while in your world called Faust. Please let me know what strengths I have and what weaknesses too if possible." Darius requested respectfully.


    {Hello Darius Stone! I am the Central Assistant Entity for ves Acting in Roles. You can call me CAESAR. I am what you would call an Artificial Intelligence, and my duty is to function as your handler in the world of Faust!}


    {Since this is your first day in the world of Faust, you''ve been granted the privilege to ask me any question and I shall furnish you with the relevant answers if I am allowed to do so by the Goddess! After today, the only time you will be able to contact me will be on extremely special asions! It is far likelier that I will be contacting you instead.}


    {To answer your question, your objective in this world is to be a so-called Supreme. To summarize and cut out unnecessary information, there are 5 stages in this world, Amateur, Journeyman, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster for any and all fields. Above the pinnacle of Grandmaster lies the Supreme Rank, its existence being treated as a myth by the denizens of Faust.}


    {Your role will be whatever you want it to be. You will be given a list of choices and paths to take once I am done exining and you should understand more when the timees.}


    {Your strengths are your intellectual superiority and the bestowment of what you know as a ''system'' by Goddess Vena. This will guide you on your path throughout Faust, allowing you to surpass all the living beings if used wisely!}


    {Your weaknesses are yourck ofbat skill, experience, and knowledge. You were a businessman, not a soldier or superhero. You will likely struggle to be trulybat-capable against the adept residents of this danger-filled world, so good luck!}


    {Also, I am obligated to stress one critically important fact. You, Darius Stone, have been brought here to live out the life of a typical protagonist with game-like attributes to amuse Goddess Vena, or as you have put it yourself you''ve been ''reincarnated to be her pet monkey and provide entertainment''.}


    {As such, I will have to torture your soul for a thousand years and cast away what might remain to the edges of oblivion, erasing you from existence, if you ever dare to directly call out for the esteemed Goddess with that vile mortal mouth of yours again!}


    {ˇ­ but I digress. Have a wonderful time exploring the world of Faust that was built by the Goddess! Forge rtionships, create guilds, capture pets, or fling potent spells to your heart''s desire! The world of Faust exists for YOU to conquer!}

 Chapter 4 - 4

    Darius pursed his lips when Caesar went silent. Thisˇ­ entity''sˇ­ voice, who had apparently also been the one to greet him into this world, sounded like an enthusiastic robot from a cartoon series, or more urately like a voice actor being made to speak for such a happy-go-lucky robot that participated inmercials.


    However, when it had threatened Darius, its tone had be cold, dripping with malice, making Darius aware that Caesar was not there to be his friend, but merely someone who would watch and probably judge his actions. Still, its outburst had been effective enough to make Darius heed the warning not to utter the Goddess'' name in vain.


    Well, it was time to deal with what his robotic handler had revealed to Darius, in other words, to check out what sort of ''system'' he had received. He had watched a few anime when babysitting the younger generation, so he wasn''t totally ignorant on that matter.


    ''Hm, let''s see. Those protagonists normally had to summon it within their minds in those shows- ah!''


    Darius smiled when he saw a few prompts appear before him and inspected them one by one.


    [Supreme System initializingˇ­ scanning hostˇ­ assessing capabilities, potential, and historyˇ­ done.]


    [Wee to the Supreme System version 1.0! As this is the first iteration of this system, there might be a few bugs and issues with the mechanics herein. Please look forward to asional updates that will make the symbiosis more stable!]


    [Supreme System main menu


    A. Character


    B. Inventory


    C. Database


    D. Statistics


    E. Settings]


    Darius nodded. At first nce, it appeared no different from a generic and simplistic system in those forms of media. He had a hunch what each option entailed, but just to be sure, he did the smartest thing he could; he opened the Settings menu. Here, he saw another list, consisting of hundreds of different options and choices.


    Darius systematically went through each one of them carefully and changed those he felt would help make his life morefortable. These settings didn''t allow him to turn off hunger or thirst, but mostly made the system''s essibility more streamlined for users.


    After that, he opened the Statistics menu, gazing at the sheer endless lines of numbers and categories. ''Amount of beasts killed'', ''Amount of people killed'', and the like. Darius found that he could even break it down into subsets, like the number of men, women, or children he killed, nobles, peasants or royalty he met, and more.


    Of course, the numbers weren''t limited to killing only, as there were many more fields. As one could expect, most of the numbers here were a solid 0 since he hade into being from nothingness less than an hour ago.


    Darius left this menu and went over to the Database section. It was a typical encyclopedia-like menu where there werebels for characters, ces, items, and misceneous knowledge.


    It was quite empty right now, as one would expect, but there were a few entries, like one for Vena - Goddess of Games and Recreation, Caesar, and even the Supreme System itself. Darius checked them out, only to find barebones details.


    He smiled while scratching his chin. It seemed like there was no magic to it, all that he himself consciously knew was recorded into the database. He couldn''t look at a person and know their entire backstory it seemed.


    Next, Darius opened his Inventory. He noticed that it was a grid-like space with a ck background and white borders. There were 50 rows and 10 columns, meaning that he had a total of 500 squares.


    As Darius had learned from the settings menu, he could adjust the stack size between 9, 99, and 999, but this would lower or increase the number of rows and columns to make up the difference.


    He naturally chose stacks of 999 because they made the number of rows and columnspact. When he tried to set the stack size to 9, he had to scroll with his mind for 5 minutes before he got from one end to the other.


    Darius noticed that there was one item in the first row of his inventory. He ''clicked'' on it with his mind and was presented with its details.


    [Beginner''s Giftpack - Chest


    Durability: MAX


    Description: This chest contains core items essential for a neer to the world of Faust.]


    ''Well, seeing as Caesar and Vena were kind enough to deem me worthy of such a thing, I should probably open it.'' Darius thought with amusement.


    [You have opened the Beginner''s Giftpack!


    Received: 1 Map Interface Upgrade, 1 Small Database Infoblock, 1 ss Initiator (Supreme Quality), 1 ss Catalyzer(Supreme Quality), and 1 ss Actualizer (Supreme Quality).]


    Darius obviously understood what the first one was for, and was able to make a guess at the second and third, but thest two sounded a bitˇ­ ''unique''. Whatever the case, he decided to check all of them one by one.


    [Map Interface Upgrade - Upgrade


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Add a world map function to the Supreme System, as well as a mini-map.]


    [Small Database Infoblock - Misceneous


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Add a single block of information pertaining to the structure of the surroundingnd, the nearby popted areas, and the generalws of the world.]


    [ss Initiator - Misceneous


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Select through a list of suitable sses that are generated by the system.]


    [ss Catalyzer - Misceneous


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Randomly generate a special tool to assist you in the usage of your main ss.]


    [ss Actualizer - Misceneous


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Randomly generate a special ability to assist you in the usage of your main ss.]


    Well, that made things straightforward. Darius postponed activating any of them as, as he had not fully inspected all the details of the Supreme System yet.


    Finally, he opened his Character menu and was ted to discover it was simple and easy to understand for just about anyone.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: None


    Subss: None


    HP: 49/49


    MP: 21/21


    Level: 1


    Experience: 0/100


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 7


    Endurance: 7


    Intellect: 21


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 15


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: None


    Spells: None]

 Chapter 5 - 5

    Darius tapped his lip calmly. He then called out to Caesar: "Could you exin to me the mechanics of this character sheet? How are stats calcted? How do I increase them?"


    {Hello, Darius Stone!}


    {To answer your first question, the character sheet is the quantization of your very being. Everything about you calcted and reduced to numbers to give yourself a chance to grasp your qualities as well as faults, so that you may improve on them throughout your journey in the world of Faust!}


    {However, they are not just numbers that can be shifted about or yed with as you please! They represent your realized potential put in numerical form and will y a vital role in your journey!}


    {Strength denotes your physical power in all direct applications, including the ability to lift heavy items, striking power with a de, or the maximum pulling power when nocking an arrow.}


    {Agility denotes your physical speed when moving, attacking, or taking simr actions. It also has the added function of stabilizing your coordination and control. For example, if you reach a value of 500 points in Agility, you will always adapt perfectly to your increased speed.}


    {Endurance denotes your physical resilience and vitality. This epasses your resistance to curses, diseases, or to put it simpler all forms of bodily harm direct or indirect. It determines your general physical stamina, as well as how virile/fertile you are.}


    {Intellect denotes your mental power and resilience. This includes defense against psychic maniption, hypnosis, or special debilitating effects affecting the mind. At the same time, it decides how strong your own psychic, magical, or divinatory powers are. Naturally, it also denotes how intelligent you are as well as your perception of the world around you!}


    {Charisma denotes your physical attraction and verbal prowess. This includes matters of the seduction of the opposite or same sex, infatuation, and the general emotional reaction you will receive from those around you. It influences your ability to persuade, negotiate, swindle, and deceive.}


    {Luck corresponds to the wheel of fortune. The higher your Luck, the greater the chances of you ending up with exceptionally good results when performing any tasks. Among other things, it might influence your chances of finding good loot from treasure chests, the quality of your loot drops, and fortuitous encounters in your daily life.}


    {Each stat is important, and no one stat can im to be the best! Allocate your stats carefully and do not mistake this reality for a game!}


    {To answer your second question, you should know that the average stat points for an adult in this world are 10 in each field!}


    {Your Health is calcted by Strength x Endurance, whereas your Mana is calcted by Intellect x Level.}


    {In the world of Faust your progress gets measured in levels, with levels 1-20 denoting the Amateur stage, level 21-40 denoting the Journeyman stage, 41-60 denoting the Adept stage, 61-80 denoting the Master stage, andstly, 81-100 denoting the Grandmaster stage!}


    {As you''ve been told, beyond that lies the Supreme stage, but reaching there will be quite the herculean task. Your suffering in reaching the Adept stage alone is sure to provide the great mistress Vena immense amusement, so we look forward to it!}


    {As for your final question, you will be granted 5 Ability Points (AP) and 3 Skill Points (SP) after every level up at the Amateur stage. You will be able to add AP to any of your stats at any time. Simrly, SP can be added whenever you desire to strengthen any one of your skills.}


    {You might find methods to increase your AP or SP outside of leveling up through special means, with SP being even harder to acquire for obvious reasons.}


    {Due to your Supreme System, there are only 3 ways for you to learn a new skill. The first is through teaching others, or by being taught by a knowledgeable party. The second is through self-creation/training, essentially by developing a new field of your own or practicing an established one satisfactorily.}


    {The final method is through skillbooks.}


    {As for skillbooks, I will not borate on it for now because it is a special feature of the Supreme System. Do note, that skills can only be leveled up with Skill Points and nothing else, no matter how skilled or knowledgeable you might be in that regard.}


    {Is there anything else, you don''t understand?}


    "Could you furnish me with details of the ss system?"


    {The ss system is split into main sses and subsses. Your main ss will grant you new abilities once you enter a new stage, from Amateur to Journeyman, Journeyman to Adept, and so on.}


    {On the other hand, your subss won''t be affected. Additionally, skills are harder to learn by default.}


    "You''ve spoken about leveling up frequently, but have yet to tell me how exactly one acquires experience points?"


    {Most sses acquire experience points through killing any living - or unliving - being based on their level. The received amount is fixed, regardless of whether you kill someone or something with ease or through ingenuity and suffering.}


    [The value of experience points will solely be based on the difference between your current levelpared to the level of your target. Experiment on your own to find the difference in value!]


    {Experience points can also be received through special meanster on.}


    {And this concludes theplete tutorial on the Character menu of the Supreme System. Is there anything you don''t understand?}


    Darius shook his head. Caesar had been suitably detailed in his exnations, where even the densest of fools should be able to understand and remember the details.


    {Then I shall take my leave!}


    Darius focused on the Character menu before him. So, if the standard was 10 points in each stat, then Darius was slower and weaker than every living adult ˇ­ which was kinda obvious since he was still an early teen.


    However, his Intellect was monstrous at 21 points, more than double the standard amount for an adult. Then again, he felt it was appropriate given his intelligence and special mental acuity that had been deemed heaven-defying on Earth.


    He had always known he was smart, but before today he had never had a specific number or standard to quantify it or contrast it against that of others.


    His Charisma was 1.5x that of the average man, which was also understandable given his prowess as a businessman. Not only that, but Darius was averagely handsome as well, so it was fine.


    The most surprising thing to him was his Luck which was higher than the average man''s. He smirked and thought that it was actually quite natural.


    How else could it be that he had lived the life of a viin and got a chance to reincarnate?

 Chapter 6 - 6

    Darius closed this screen and switched back to his Inventory. He was now ready to activate the contents of the Beginner''s Giftpack.


    Darius started by selecting the Map Interface Upgrade.


    [The map function has been added sessfully! ess the main map of the world through the system menu and customize the mini-map in the Settings menu!]


    Darius took the advice and immediately did just that. He discovered that he could either set the mini-map to appear in the corner of his vision or at the back of his mind. He naturally chose to have it at the back of his mind, as he did not wish to be distracted by it.


    He also checked the main map and found that, unsurprisingly, everything but the little de he was in was pitch ck. So this was the ''exploration'' type of map, where it only recorded ces he had been to while the rest was left in a ''Fog of War''.


    Darius smiled bitterly and chose the Small Database Infopack. He felt a sudden headache that went as quickly as it had appeared, and suddenly he had ess to a wealth of knowledge that was as if it had always been there and he had just briefly forgotten it.


    For example, he now knew that the de was situated in the Andrato Kingdom, a rtively small country on the frontier. Not only was the country considered young, being created only 300 years ago, having had 5 rulers since its establishment, but it was also quite weakpared to the others nearer to the central maind.


    In other words, the perfect ''Starter Zone''. The datapack had taught him the customs of the Andrato Kingdom, the locations of all its cities, their specialties, and their culture.


    Darius checked the main map and as expected, it had been updated. It now covered the entire territory of the Andrato Kingdom. All 300+ farming viges and hamlets, 20 towns, and 5 big cities, the capital included.


    He was shocked to realize just how small the unlocked portion of the map waspared to the ever-expansive ckness. With this Darius could easily infer that the entire world of Faust was quite huge,rger than Earth at least.


    He closed the map and rubbed his forehead. It seemed like he would have to n his steps forward carefully, as what he had learned from the Infopack troubled him greatly.


    But such considerations could be handled before he set out for the nearest city. Right now, Darius looked forward to what choices his ss Initiator would offer him.


    [Wee to the ss Initiator sub-system! A random draw of 6 Supreme sses will be drawn based on your Luck. Would you like to initiate the procedure?]


    "I do." Darius answered firmly.


    He saw the screen before him transform into a dartboard with six sectors. Each sector was nk initially, but Darius noticed that the board began to brighten up like LED lights, with each sector shuffling between a slew of terms until they all settled down slowly.


    He inspected each one of them.


    [Broker - ss


    Description: A ss suitable for merchants that allows for the easy acquisition of goods and services as well as lucrative trade in all sectors the user partakes in.]


    [Spellde - ss


    Description: A ss suitable for swordsmen trying to branch out in their abilities, allowing them to use magic as perfectly as a mage while still maintaining their prowess with a de.]


    [Craftsman - ss


    Description: A ss suitable for vocationists who prefer to create special tools and items to assist the lifestyle of the general popce. Epasses all known crafting trades.]


    [Magus - ss


    Description: A ss suitable for magic users. This ss allows the user to learn any type and field of magic without penalty to specialization and capitalizes on the Intellect of the user.]


    [Pugilist - ss


    Description: A ss suitable for brawlers and fighters who prefer to fight unarmed. This ss allows the user to learn all forms of martial arts with ease and capitalizes on the Strength of the user.]


    [Itemancer - ss


    Description: A ss suitable for appraisers and valuers. This ss allows the user to identify all types of items and quantify them. It can also assist the user in quantifying all living beings.]


    Presented with such a selection, the sses Darius was most interested in were the Broker and the Craftsman. Either of them seemed custom-made for him, ying to his strengths and allowing him to rise quickly in the field of business.


    [Begin the draw for the main ss?]


    Ahˇ­ it seemed as if his main ss and subss would both be drawn from this single lot? That was truly useful, no wonder this item had been graded as Supreme quality.


    "Please do." Darius assented with a gentle wave.


    The board began to spin rapidly to the point where Darius was unable to follow it with his eyes. Fortunately, a special chromium dart manifested from nothingness in front of Darius.


    Darius reached out to grasp it, but his hand only passed through it.


    [Please do not interfere with the Dart of Chance. It is formed from the quantization of your Luck and will automatically select your ss based on the quality of the stats of the user.]


    Reading this, Darius settled down and watched the proceedings leisurely. Luck was an intangible thing that was truly fickle, but Darius had enough confidence now that his had been quantified fully.


    Soon, the dart struck out and hit the board. Once it connected, the board slowed to a stop, and Darius could finally see what ss he had gotten.


    [Congrattions! You have acquired the Itemancer ss!]


    Darius frowned deeply. He had no real interest in that ss. After all, he had reasoned that it shouldn''t be too hard to acquire an ''Inspect'' skill that would allow him to appraise items.


    Still, since what it had been was based on his high Luck, Darius considered that there might be something special about the ss he had yet to figure out.


    [Begin the draw for the sub-ss?]


    Darius pondered for a bit before nodding. "Please do."

 Chapter 7 - 7

    The Dart of Chance once again manifested and shot forth with vigor as well as precision. However, after bing an Itemancer, Darius felt like the oue had already been predetermined and that this entire process was just the Supreme System going through the motions. As such, he just waited for the spinning board to stop to see what subss he was granted.


    [Congrattions! You have acquired the Magus ss!]


    He sighed deeply. So, he had ended up as some sort of bizarrebination of a talented magician and item appraiser? Well, that wasn''t too bad. While Darius would have preferred mercantilism, he understood that he was now in the world of Faust.


    On Earth, there had been rules andws designed to protect the weak and hamper the strong, giving a false sense, as well as, a thin level of security to all citizens. And while the Andrato Kingdom had their ownws, those were not strictly enforced.


    It was a predictable issue. With the existence of people who could shoot fireballs, swing swords like they were in an action movie, or move like the wind, how exactly was one supposed to go about enforcing thew?


    One would have to already call it a blessing to not have all those powered freaks terrorize the popce, rebel, or try to steal authority for themselves, so who would have the time and manpower to hunt them down over what would be written as ''petty'' crimes?


    This wasn''t even Darius being pessimistic about his new surroundings, no it just was part of the knowledge he had gained through the Small Database Infoblock.


    If all the countries and people of this world were like those of this Kingdom, then he would suffer going forwardˇ­ for they were extremely backward. Their customs, mentality, andws were not too different from medieval Europe on Earth, only slightly worse and less amodating.


    Not only that, but magic, swordsmanship, and power blurred the lines in terms of power struggles. There were too many factions and powers in existence, all of them living in a strange state of equilibrium that was barely stable.


    The slightest push, and it would all crumble down!


    And yet Darius did notment getting sent here. No, he actually nned to be that one push to start the conflict, but only after he had ensured that he would be able to keep his own neck attached to his head after the deed had been done.


    He had caused and manipted wars on Earth, but always on foreign soil in ces like the Middle East and Africa where most first worlders didn''t know or care about, in order to further his own goals.


    While many perished due to his actions, he had been halfway across the world from them and hidden in the shadows. Darius had only ever acted by proxy, but even in the very unlikely case he would have ever been found out, he had possessed enough money and power to extinguish the truth and turn it into fiction.


    Here? Not so much. Perhaps in the future, with the help of the Supreme System, there mighte a time when he would stand above all living and dead, but that was far away. Currently, he was a 13-year-old chap who had no background, no history, and no ties in this world.


    He had literally been spawned from nothingness.


    Luckily, worlds like these had excruciatingly poor technology, so methods like national IDs or whatnot did not exist. Darius should easily be able to gain an identity for himselfter on, so all he needed to do for the time being was to find his footing in society.


    And that circled back to his sses, which were paramount to achieve this. He wasn''t too sure about the significance of his Itemancer main ss, but the Magus subss was very wee.


    It granted him power - a direct means to protect his life and property - and status - as he had learned that mages were highly valued in Andrato''s society - meaning that he had a backup n.


    Switching to his Character Menu, Darius was happy to see that each ss had granted him one new skill. He had been slightly worried that he would only get one in his main ss, as his Supreme System appeared to have been programmed with a heavy bias against subsses judging by Caesar''s earlier exnation.


    [Analyze - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: Deduce the characteristics of any item or person. The effectiveness of this skill is based on the Intellect stat.]


    Pretty direct. He could glean information from anything he saw and it was only as thorough and detailed as his Intellect stat allowed. Darius realized that Intellect would be his go-to stat from now on, given his main ss and subss.


    [Sparks - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Send out a sparkle of electricity that can zap foes into a short paralysis. This deals 5% Lightning damage.]


    Darius frowned. "Caesar, what is lightning damage? And how is such damage calcted?"


    {Hello, Darius Stone!}


    {Under the Supreme System, each type of attack originating from you is granted an element or property! For example, if you sh an enemy with a de, it will be calcted as sword damage! If you pierce an enemy with ance, it would be spear damage!}


    {Simrly, magic is calcted as fire damage in the case of fire spells, and water damage for water spells.}


    {Each damage type has a different hidden effect! To borate with the mentioned examples, sword damage has a bleeding effect, spear damage has an armor pration effect, fire damage has a burning effect while lightning damage has a stun effect!}


    {For the numerical calctions, you need not worry about those since you will not see such things during battle. However, to sate your curiosity, such damage is calcted by the relevant statistic value it is tied to.}


    {In the case of magic you will even be directly told about the percentage. Your starting spell Sparks will deal 5% of your 21 Intellect to an enemy for a grand total of 1 damage point to their HP. Of course, that is only the case if they do not have any type of magical defense.}


    {As you level up, you will gain skill points which you can use to empower your spells. The higher the level of the spell, the higher the percentage calction. Naturally, if you increase your Intellect stat, the base damage of all your spells increases ordingly!}


    {Once again, allocate points carefully and wisely!}


    Darius rubbed his forehead. His main ss had nobat capabilities, and his subss was as good as useless at level 1 because the damage was pitiful.


    It remained to be seen if he could kill so much as a rat with his spell. He would have to see the effectiveness of the spell in battle before he could draw a relevant conclusion.

 Chapter 8 - 8

    Well, now that Darius had his sses and skills, it was time to activate the ss Catalyzer and Actualizer. The former would grant him a random tool to help him with his main ss and thetter would grant him a special ability for the same purpose. He had been greatly looking forward to it, but that was before he became an Itemancer.


    Still, although his enthusiasm had lessened a bit, since both the Catalyzer and Actualizer had been ssified as Supreme Quality, he was nevertheless hoping for something to surprise him and perhaps even convince him of the usefulness of his main ss.


    He selected the ss Catalyzer first.


    [A random tool will be drawn for you based on your luck! Are you ready?]


    "I am." Darius replied gently.


    This time, there was no board. Instead, a small screen manifested before him with a plethora of options. It began shuffling at a mind-numbing speed before he had any time to fathom what just happened, making him question the need for all of this shiness.


    Darius was forced to look away so that he wouldn''t be dizzy, and only refocused on the screen once some light fanfare yed.


    [Congrattions! You have acquired the System Brand!]


    Darius naturally had no idea what that was, so he inspected it.


    [System Brand - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Description: A special tool that grants willing parties a sub-routine of the Supreme System. All parties branded via this tool will be tied to the system and will be unable to betray the owner to the core system.]


    Darius'' eyes widened and his breathing hitched slightly. Such a useful tool was beyond his wildest expectations! Darius may be new to the world of Faust, but even he could understand how great the Supreme System was to be able to grant him such power with just one tool.


    If he could bestow a small bit of the Supreme System to chosen natives and individuals of this world, would this not allow him to form an army which would grow endlessly through battle?!


    Most importantly, those who he branded would be unable to ever betray him! This theoretical army would be totally loyal! This tool definitely deserved to be called Supreme.


    Darius looked forward to testing out once he joined civilization and met a few people. In fact, many new ns hatched in his mind, some viable and others not yet viable until he saw the actual situation in the various pockets of civilization in the Andrato Kingdom''s borders.


    Darius was itching to head out to the nearest location on the map, but he was aware that it was the better choice to finish everything he needed to first. As someone who had lived a full life, Darius understood the need for patience at all times.


    He turned his attention to the ss Actualizer and activated that as well. If he would gain something even half as good as what the Catalyzer had given him, he would truly be set for his journey in this world.


    [A random ability will be drawn for you based on your luck! Are you ready?]


    "Please go ahead." Darius assented.


    He had already turned his head away to prevent himself from being dizzied by the rapid shuffling of the various options. It was only when the choice had been made that he looked on and inspected what he had drawn.


    [Congrattions! You have acquired the Transmutation ability!]


    [Transmutation - Unique Ability


    Cost: Unique


    Description: You are a living Philosopher''s Stone, able to convert any substance or matter from one form to another. This ability has its own unique cost for conversion and ruleset listed below.


    Rule #1: The ability to transmute is tied to your avable Conversion Points. At your current stage, you will be capped to 10 Conversion Points.


    Rule #2: Conversion Points refresh each day at 12 am. Unspent Conversion Points are discarded and reced.


    Rule #3: Only items and non-sentient organisms can be transmuted at your current stage.


    Rule #4: You can only transmute items that already exist in the world of Faust.


    Rule #5: Items that are owned by the user can be converted into Conversion Points.]


    Darius was silent for a long while as he read and re-read this ability''s details. Darius understood that what he had just gained was no longer just game-changing, but had directly trashed all his ns so far.


    With this ability, he would have to redraw everything from scratch and carefully consider how he would move forward in the world of Faust. Many new doors had been opened for him, but not all of them were safe.


    A power like thisˇ­ Darius knew that it had to be kept a secret. If anyone were to find out that he possessed such an ability, he would likely be apprehended and turned into a faction''s item producer for the rest of his life.


    Since his goal was to be a Supreme in this world, such an oue was intolerable. Darius sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose while rubbing it slowly.


    He felt a mixture of frustration and excitement. It was the same feeling he had gotten when the bank had approved his loan of 30 million dors during his twenties when hispany had shown promise in the business sector.


    At the time he had been excited because he had been granted the funds to develop upon his ns and expand hispany further, yet frustrated because he now owed a big amount of money to someone else. In case he would have faltered at some point, everything he had built so far would havee crumbling down. Given his ruthless ways, Darius had made sure, that no such thing would happen.


    Still, as the saying goes ''never look a gift horse in the mouth''. Darius checked out the System Brand which was in his Inventory and removed it. It wasn''t anything too fancy, just a silver ring with a lovely diamond atop.


    Darius wore it on his right hand''s middle finger. Interestingly, the ring automatically expanded to fit his finger perfectly, not straining the flow of blood there at all.


    [Soulbind the System Brand?]

 Chapter 9 - 9

    As soon as Darius was given the choice he unhesitantly agreed to soulbind the System Brand without wasting so much as a second to consider any negative effects such an action might bring. The very idea of someone stealing it from him while he was asleep or unaware had made him shiver deep down.


    [Congrattions! The System Brand is now soulbound to you!]


    Now that he had assessed all the cards granted to him to survive, Darius was ready to explore the world of Faust. He had a premonition that Vena, the Goddess who had spawned him here for sport, was only patient so far because today should be considered his grace period.


    If he continued to sit around crafting detailed ns on how to most efficiently go about bing a Supreme, she might just run out of patience with him and end his journey before it ever began. As such, Darius opened the main map and checked the nearest settlements around his location.


    ''Hm. There is arge homestead to the south, a town to the east, and one of the five cities to the far west. To the north is a patch of abandoned territory called the ins of Death. Apparently, anyone who goes there never returnsˇ­ interesting.''


    Darius was naturally excited and intrigued by all of this. The urge to explore and develop upon newnds was hardwired into the genes of every human. In the 22nd century, many leading psychologists had agreed on the theory that one of the reasons why most people from Earth had been unhappy deep down was because thend had already been cut up and divided, with nothing left to be truly explored.


    Coincidentally, that was also a big reason fantasy media and the like had remained popr for all those years, if Darius remembered correctly. Now, he got the opportunity to live out such wild fantasies in person, and he had to admit, there was a strange anticipation in doing so.


    Darius stood up and casually gazed around the cottage. He took it that this was supposed to be his spawning area and could act as his main safehouse for the time being. ording to its location on the map, Darius was certain that it was impossible to find.


    As such, he had no worries when he left the cottage and the entire de. The surrounding trees were packed tightly together and the overall forest was quite dark due to the closely-knit leaves leaving barely any space for the sunlight to poke through.


    Barely enough to see where he was going, but not enough to make the journey smooth or calming. Darius wasn''t exactly a coward, but very few could walk through a dark forest that was only marginally noisy in terms of wildlife without feeling some fear, unless they were familiar with it.


    Luckily, the dark section of the forest turned out to be not that big. In merely 5 minutes, he had traversed the close-knit canopies and entered into a wider and more hospitable segment, with many trills, tweets, and oinks all around.


    Darius looked behind him and felt his breath catch when he saw that there was no light whatsoever. There was only endless darkness between the nearest trees, but he was sure he had been able to see much more while he had been inside.


    It took him a while to calm his beating heart down as he reasoned that this might be something created by Vena. Nevertheless, it felt less like he had left his home for a stroll and more like he had walked out of the depths of a horrid abyss and into the light.


    Suddenly, Darius heard a loud snort and turned to see a boar ring at him. The animal appeared angry at him for the cardinal sin of existing too close to itself.


    Knowing exactly how violent wild animals can be when one enters their territory, Darius didn''t n to y around. Immediately, he used his Inspect skill on the boar to assess his fighting chances.


    [Wild Boar - Level 1 Beast


    HP: 5/5 MP: 0/0]


    Darius was dumbfounded. If that was the case, then 5 casts of his Sparks spell should be able to kill the beast. It was either that Sparks - or magic in general - was more powerful than he had imagined or the various species in this world were much weaker than he had expected.


    The Wild Boar began to grind its hooves on the earth, clearly getting ready to charge. Darius had no intentions of letting some animal get the initiative over him, so he stretched his hands out and mentally prompted the Spark spell to fire out.


    He half expected it to fail, but was surprised when a stream of electrical sparks flowed out from his outstretched fingers and struck the boar which had been a few meters away.


    The Wild Boar squealed and fell to its belly, body twitching slightly as it foamed at the mouth.


    ''That must be the stun effect of the lightning damage that Caesar had mentioned.''


    However, the stun didn''tst long as it was back on its feet by the next second. s, before the Wild Boar could start its charge, it was once again sted with a stream of sparks that rendered it immobile for another second.


    This scene repeated itself three more times, after which the Wild Boar could not stand anymore, as it had been killed. Darius stood where he had been during the entireˇ­ ''battle''ˇ­ with a frown on his face.


    He was sure that this was not how magic was supposed to work. If all mages could spam spells endlessly with no cooldown, they would have been the Gods of this world, with all other species and people bowing at their feet.


    Nevertheless, while mages enjoyed a high status in the Andrato Kingdom, they were not at the top. In fact, ording to the knowledge Darius had received from the Infoblock, the main reason mages were so respected was the difficulty of their achievements.


    Just like howwyers had been respected on Earth for the difficulty andplexity of their upation, the same could be said about Faustian mages. The country still favored warriors and more physicalbatants over them as their fighting force, though.


    Darius thought about asking Caesar for rification but quelled that thought. He could reason that since the Magus ss had been bestowed upon him by the Supreme Quality ss Initiator, the ss was of the same quality.


    The other choices of Broker, Pugilist, Spellde, and Craftsman would have likely resulted in something as special, capable of overshadowing all other sses of the same type in the world of Faust.

 Chapter 10 - 10

    [You have gained 5 EXP]


    If there was supposed to be something else, Darius was not seeing it. It appeared as if the Wild Boar had just been a cannon fodder monster unlucky enough to end up as his practice dummy.


    Darius remembered that Caesar had revealed that the value of experience was fixed and relied solely on the level difference between both parties. However, the AI had intentionally left out how much exactly he would gain per kill.


    ''Interesting, so as long as I kill something on the same level as myself I will gain 5 EXP.''


    Darius wrung his lips. He had yed a few online games towards the end of his life in order to bond with his nephews and son, Martin. He had never liked the grind-heavy aspects of such games because they had been repetitive.


    On the other hand, he had been quite smitten with those management type gamesˇ­ what was that genre called again?ˇ­ ah right, Real-Time Strategy. Gathering resources, building farms, quarries, and town buildings, training troops to conquer other yers'' settlementsˇ­


    Too bad the world cared very little about his opinion on the matter. From this one experience, it became abundantly clear that the mechanics worked simr to the games his young boys had preferred.


    In order to climb 1 level, he would basically have to kill another 19 Wild Boars. Not only that, but he had to make sure he wasn''t beaten to death himself in these fights. Well, thetter should be easy enough as long as every fight could go as smoothly as this one.


    Be that as it may, there might still be a problem with the former. Despite his only spell costing 1 MP, he had been forced to use up 5 points in the previous battle to kill the creature.


    His Mana was limited to 21 points at the moment, meaning that he had 16 remaining, in other words, it was only enough to safely kill three of them before he would be at the mercy of whatever came his way, so Darius became cautious.


    He first decided to check the carcass of the boar while his mana hopefully regenerated. He crouched and had to cover his nose. After all, the smell it carried was quite off-putting.


    Ironically, Darius also sensed a slight smell of bacon. It turned out that the Sparks spell had fried the boar''s innards a little, causing that effect.


    Darius was not a butcher, nor was he someone versed in outdoors survival. He had been a businessman living in the city, so he wasn''t going to cut up the boar and pretend like he was skilled in doing so, especially without any sort of tool at his disposal.


    He just observed the body for a bit, checking if there was something he could take, but ultimately found nothing useful.


    At the same time, this brought up another issue Darius had pondered about when he had left the de, which was theck of survival skills in his possession. He would have loved to acquire an Infopack to make up his non-existent knowledge in that regard, but since nothing like that had been included in the one he had used, it felt like it would be pointless to ask for one.


    Darius rubbed his chin and thought of something. He walked over to a nearby bush and plucked out a leaf. It was a lovely green color showing that it was as healthy as could be.


    Darius concentrated and attempted to transmute the leaf.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into a steel dagger? This will cost 7 Conversion Points.]


    Darius frowned. While it was within a payable range, he had a limited amount of points for the day. Still, this was a great way for him to ascertain a standard of value for the Conversion Points.


    Darius tried again.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into an iron dagger? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]


    It turned out his theory was correct, changing the quality of the final item lowered the cost. Darius further guessed that closerpatibility between two items might simrly result in a lower cost.


    For example, changing sand to water should not cost as much as changing vapor to the same element. However, as could be seen, changing an organic leaf into an inorganic piece of forged steel cost a lot.


    Darius mentally assented to the conversion. Just like that, he felt the leaf in has palm shapeshift into a sturdy iron dagger with a dark grey hue. It was a bit heavy, but most importantly it was sharp and well-made.


    [Iron Dagger - Weapon


    Durability: 10/10


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 1-3


    Description: A sturdy dagger made of fine iron and the best possible craftsmanship. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Darius swung the dagger a couple of times, trying to get a grip on it. The unskilled person that he was, he naturally just more or less tossed it around. Still, now that he had something to use, he was ted.


    He walked up to the boar and began to cut off its tusks. as Darius knew that they could prove to be usefulter on. s, that was easier said than done, and by the time hepleted his task, he was panting weakly.


    He had not ounted for the fact that he was no longer a man, but a mere boy at the age of 13. His Strength and Endurance were each 3 points beneath the universal standard, so trying to do something like that had been unwise.


    Darius stored the tusks and the iron dagger in his Inventory before he sat down to rest a little. After regaining his breath, he plucked out another leaf and concentrated once more.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into a Hunting Infopack? This will cost ??? Conversion Points.]


    [ERROR, Infopacks are items unique to the Supreme System and do not exist in the world of Faust. Please try again.]


    Darius breathed out lightly, but had expected this. He had merely been testing if there were loopholes in the rules of the Transmutation ability that he could exploit, but it seemed he was unlucky in the end. Perhaps he should have expected as much from a Goddess of Games and Recreation?


    Darius was not too troubled though. He knew that he had a method to keep himself alive thanks to Transmutation, even if his survival skills were terrible.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into a sk? This will cost 0.3 Conversion Points.]

 Chapter 11 - 11

    Darius assented to this as he pondered over the difference in costs. Changing a leaf to an iron dagger had cost 2 whole points but changing the same type of leaf to a leather sk for storing water cost less than a quarter of the former.


    From this, Darius could ascertain that the organic development of the final item had to y an important role in calcting the cost. Organic development in this case referred to the precise process an item underwent before it was formed.


    In the case of the dagger, it was formed through cksmithing. The iron ore would have grown in the mines, before it would be extracted then purified into an ingot through smelting, then forged carefully into its current shape.


    As for the sk, it would be made from good quality animal hide which had to be carefully cured, then crafted into its current shape. ording to his understanding, what his ability did was artificially simte the organic process of these items and implement it instantly.


    Of course, the base of the item would be changed in order to simte the process.


    As such, Darius identified three main factors that should decide the cost of the conversion. The first was the difference between the base item (leaf) and the base version of the final item (iron ore). Converting across this chasm was likely what made up the majority of the cost.


    The second was the simtion of the organic development. From what Darius could tell based on the description of the dagger and the quality of the sk he now held, the simtion was done with the best possible techniques based on the item he wanted.


    So the simple iron dagger he wanted had been made as if it had been crafted by a Supreme cksmith with a perfect forging skill. It was quite the elitist approach, but Darius would not have wanted it any other way.


    The third factor was the actual transmutation, where the item was instantly changed from one form to the other. From what Darius could tell, this stage should not consume that much in terms of costpared to the first two.


    Well, what was important was that he had ascertained some criteria he felt he had to watch out for. He would have to always be mindful of these three factors when converting items, otherwise he could end up spending his precious Conversion Points foolishly.


    As of now, he had 7.7 conversion points left for the day. He still wanted to experiment and understand the limitations of his skill as well as draw a true subjective value for the Conversion Points he had.


    Darius took another leaf and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into an empty book? This will cost 0.01 Conversion Points.]


    ''Hmmˇ­ since the properties of a leaf are not as distant from papyrus as it is from iron, the Conversion Points are far fewer. Not to mention the fact that it shouldn''t be as hard to make as a dagger, so the other two factors are much simpler as well.'' Darius noted calmly.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into a nk sheet? This will cost 0.0001 Conversion Points.]


    Darius nodded. The difference between an empty book and a single sheet was was big enough for such a great price reduction. However, he was not interested in making a book like this yet.


    No, Darius'' true goal wasˇ­


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into a fireball spell manual? This will cost 30 Conversion Points.]


    Darius breathed out lightly. To say he wasn''t disappointed would be a lie. He had expected a high cost, but not so high he would be unable to pay for it even with his entire daily allowance.


    However, he had learned something valuable from this experiment.


    Firstly, the world of Faust indeed had something like spell manuals that mages used to pass on their knowledge to each other. This might sound obvious, but Darius didn''t like to blindly assume too much when he could gain hard evidence through his own hands instead.


    Secondly, he could actually spawn such items on his own. After all, it would be a waste to purchase one for exorbitant prices at a shop for mages when he could simply get a few of them free.


    Finally, there was hope for him to acquire this one day. Either he had to climb above the Amateur stage and be a Journeyman to have his Conversion Point cap increased or he could acquire items and convert them into points for his usage.


    Darius tried to convert the iron dagger back into a conifer leaf.


    [Would you like to change the iron dagger into a conifer leaf? This will cost ??? Conversion Points.]


    [ERROR, items changed through Transmutation cannot be changed back to previous states.]


    Darius sighed. So many limitations!


    But still, it was manageable. Such a powerful ability needed many rules to keep it sensible and within reason, otherwise it could easily be abused to cause great harm to the entire world.


    Darius performed one more general test for the day.


    [Would you like to change the iron dagger into an iron sword? This will cost 0.05 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smiled. Finally, a small loophole that was beneficial to him! With this, he could progressively upgrade an item over time. Since he had a limit of 10 points that refreshed every day, he could convertˇ­ say, a rockˇ­ all the way into a house as long as he made the transformation slow and steady.


    With that, he was pleased. Immediately, he tried something else.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into an empty spell manual? This will cost 9.6 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smiled.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into an empty book? This will cost 0.01 Conversion Points.]


    Darius assented and watched the leaf shift into a thick book that looked fresh from production. Darius could swear he could even smell the hot glue that was used to stick the pages together.


    [Would you like to change the empty book into an empty spell manual? This will cost 5.9 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smiled even wider. This loophole was truly useful and quite logical in the end. By splitting the changes into stages, it lowered the absurdity of the transformation and theplexity of a Transmutation.

 Chapter 12 - 12

    Darius made the conversion and watched as the book changed significantly. It became arge tome with many markings on its spine and covers, while the pages glowed with a soft blue light.


    Darius inspected it.


    [Unused Spell Manual - Material


    Durability: 200/200


    Description: An empty spell manual of the highest quality, any type of spell can be safely stored within and will never drop in quality. All users who read this have an extra 50% chance to perfectlyprehend the spell within.]


    Darius clicked his tongue. As was to be expected from this elitist ability, it made the best possible spell manual for the situation. He wasn''t sure what exactly the value of this would be among mages, but Darius could hazard a guess and say it would have to be extremely valuable.


    Darius sighed. He could easily make a huge merchant association in this world with his Transmutation ability alone, but that would bring more problems than solutions.


    Where did he get his raw materials from? Which craftsmen did he hire to make such high-quality goods? In that hypothetical scenario, if answered that he himself made everything he sold, the next reasonable question would be where did he learn such skills?


    Of course, one could choose not to answer, but that would raise suspicions. Once that happened, the ensuing events could be easily pictured, Darius would be harassed until he spilled the beans.


    As such, he decided to go about this from a different angle. Darius gazed at the System Brand on his finger. This tool would be his path to sess, enabling him to raise cannon fodder to the Grandmaster level in different aspects of life.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a fireball spell manual? This will cost 18 Conversion Points.]


    Darius sighed. It seemed like the jump was still too high for him at the moment. He would have to umte enough points for a one-time conversion, or he could try to partially convert it and see.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a 1/10thpleted fireball spell manual? This will cost ??? Conversion Points.]


    [Sorry, partial conversion is not avable at your current stage.]


    He grimaced slightly. At least he had been told that it wasn''tpletely impossible, so it wasn''tpletely off the table. Darius put the spell manual into his Inventory and rose to his feet.


    He had rested enough and the carcass of the Wild Boar was beginning to smell. Flies had also converged on the corpse for their daily bread, and Darius was sure that sharp-nosed predators were not far off.


    He quickly left the clearing and resumed his trek through the thickets. He was not interested in fighting any more wild beastspared to reaching his destination.


    However, Darius had to pause when he noticed arge python crossing between two trees. He could not even see its head, but only the length of its body as it slowly snaked along.


    Darius was not too knowledgeable on animals in the wild, but his perception warned him of imminent danger. This should be one of the traits of the Intellect stat showing itself.


    It was a faint feeling that tingled at the back of his mind, and interestingly it had nothing to do with the serpentine torso moving along stately in front of him butˇ­ something to his left?


    Darius didn''t turn his whole head, but only moved his eyes to the corner of his vision on the left. Had he not been a grown man who had experienced the vicissitudes of old age, he would have flinched and screamed.


    The head of the python in question was lowering itself from a nearby branch towards his body. It was moving slowly and gently so as not to alert its prey - him. While he was distracted by the moving torso, the head would strike and subdue him quickly.


    The body length needed to achieve this was too scary to consider. Darius began to sweat as the fear surged through him, but he forcibly calmed his mind, which had always been his forte, and began moving his right hand slowly.


    It was a strange period of silence where Darius was getting his hand into position for casting while the python got its upper body into a firm spot for lunging. The only difference was the fact that the snake was unaware that Darius had spotted it.


    Unfortunately for the snake in this case, Darius only needed to point a single finger in its direction, not move his whole arm that way. Immediately, he cast the Sparks spell and jumped back.


    At that same moment, the python, which had a faster reaction speed than a human boy of age 13, lunged at him with fangs bared. However, it came into contact with the electrical sparks from the spell Darius cast, much of which entered its mouth and eyes.


    It froze and fell limp for a few seconds, twitching violently as its eyes and mouth smoked slightly. Darius quickly Inspected the snake to assess his fighting chances.


    [Reticted Python - Level 2 Beast


    HP: 5/8 MP: 0/0]


    It was a monster one level higher than he was, and its health was greater than the boar from before for obvious reasons. Still, Darius was surprised to see that his Sparks spell appeared to have done 3 points of damage instead of 1.


    Unless the snake had entered this fight with some sort of hidden injury, he reasoned that his own attack must have benefitted from a multiplier of some sorts, whether an elemental weakness ¨C which was a bit far-fetched ¨C, an improvement technique ¨C which was unlikely for a level 1 spell he had learned just today ¨C, or a critical hit. ording to the principle of exclusion, thest option seemed to be the most likely one.


    Darius recalled that the Sparks had entered the Reticted Python''s eyes and mouth, before dealing its damage. Since those could be considered weak spots on any living organism, it was reasonable for such an attack to be a critical hit.


    Going by the damage caused, critical hits seemed to make attacks 3x as effective. At Darius'' current stage, that was marginally useful, but at the higher levels where his damage was bound to increase, this would be an important mechanic for him.


    Darius didn''t waste this chance. He quickly ran up to the still dazed Reticted Python and opened its lower jaw, pointing his finger inside.


    Many would call him foolish, but once the Sparks spell spread out within the beast, taking away another 3 points of health, all such fellows would be forced into silence.

 Chapter 13 - 13

    [You have gained 20 EXP and 1 Bronze Ando Coin.]


    Darius had immediately cast another Sparks spell into the gullet of the snake, immediately killing it. It was charred internally, and a pungent trail of smoke wafted out from its esophagus.


    Darius ced the carcass down and withdrew his iron dagger. Just like with the boar, he collected the fangs of the snake, which was a much easier task since it was surrounded by flesh.


    Even though such things nominally had no value, to Darius they were precious. The day he wanted to convert an item upwards that was simr to these things, he would be eternally grateful for his thoughtfulness.


    He also noted something interesting. Since the experience reward for killing enemies at the same level was 5 exp, he had wondered how much it would be for enemies above his level.


    Well, it seemed like Darius had received his answer. For one level above, he gained 20 exp. That was four times his base reward, which made him certain that his path to progressiony in defeating stronger foes.


    He also received a single Bronze Ando Coin. The currency for the Andrato Kingdom was called the Ando Coin, and there were three tiers. There was the lowly Bronze Ando Coin, the middle-ss'' Silver Ando Coin, and the elite''s Gold Ando Coin.


    The gap in value between these three tiers was truly great. 1,000 Bronze Ando Coins were needed to make 1 Silver Ando Coin, and the same applied for Silver Ando Coins to Gold Ando Coins.


    Darius only knew that Ando Coins at the Bronze level could guarantee a living for all peasants and low-tier adventurers. The purchasing power of 1 Bronze Ando Coin was enough to buy groceries tost a family of four 1 week if they rationed carefully.


    It should be noted that groceries were dirt cheap in Andrato due to an economical issue pertaining to dungeons, but Darius did not have enough information from the infopack to highlight this.


    As for a Silver Ando Coin, in terms of economic value, it could be used to buy good quality housing or property, afford one a few servants and keep an extended family of about 12 living like a middle-ss family for about 3 months depending.


    As for Gold Ando Coins, they were almost exclusively used by the nobles and royalty, as well as top-tier adventures and professional mages. They could buy estates, fleets of ves and servants, as well as maintain a whole n for a year.


    Darius held the Ando Coin and flicked it around. It was genuine bronze with the sigil of a sword bathed in holy light on one side, with the carving of a woman with delicate features wearing a crown on the other.


    Thinking like this, Darius rubbed his chin. He had obviously considered manifesting currency with his Transmutation ability, but wanted to encounter society first before he judged whether that would be wise or not.


    His Small Database Infoblock had provided him with a good amount of basic information, but that was it, all the information had been basic. It wasn''t called a ''small'' Infobock for nothing after all, as what it gave him was limited.


    Darius had to pause his journey after walking about 10 kilometers because he was exhausted. As he rested with his back against the bark of a tree and his bum on the grassy forest floor, he had to admit, those games he had yed with his nephews and son had never bothered to disy how tiring long-distance walking could be.


    As someone who had relied on vehicr transportation from the modern world, Darius was not really ready for long-distance trekking of this nature. At first, it had felt wonderful and invigorating, now Darius wished he could sprout wings and fly.


    While rubbing his chin, Darius collected some earth from the forest floor and filled his sk to the brim with it. After that, he concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the skful of sand into a skful of drinking water? This will cost 0.01 Conversion Points.]


    It literally cost a pittance to change sand to water!


    Then again, water was a simple substance and sand was also quite simple, so the conversion was basically only in terms of matter, not design, like with man-made things.


    This also told Darius that changing matter from one type to another that was considered natural or of nature, cost far less than artificial changes. Once again, this should be a given, but building a habit of assumptions based on ''it should be obvious'' when one can draw a factual conclusion was bad.


    Darius made the conversion and felt the sk be slightly heavier almost instantly. He gazed into it and saw the clearest water he had ever seen that almost sparkled with purity.


    Instead of being colorless, it actually glowed a little, showing that this wasn''t simple water at all.


    [Pure Water - Liquid


    Durability: 1/1


    Description: Water distilled by the most powerful methods known. This liquid can nourish the body of those who drink it, improving blood flow, lifespan, and vitality when consumed repetitively over a long period of time.]


    Ah, the fabled water of purity. Back on Earth, when Darius had attended church to keep up his image of a god-fearing man, the pastor had held a sermon telling his flock that once upon a time, when their world was still young, the people had drunk from water that was so pure, it had boosted the longevity of early humans, which was how they had lived so longˇ­ aside from the various deaths by conflict or predators in the wild.


    Curious, Darius drank a mouthful of the water. It tastedˇ­ strange. It basically tasted cleanˇ­ like really clean. It was a hard sensation to describe, but it felt like he was washing his mouth and throat with something that removed all of his body''s filth.


    However, its effect was almost immediate. Darius felt energized and hale, his former fatigue greatly bleeding away as if he had rested for an entire day.


    Darius gazed at the almost full sk with respect. If just one sip could yield such amazing results, then he should be fine for as long as the sk remained full. Afterward... well, all he had to do was convert some sand to water to retain this effect.


    Darius rose to his feet and continued walking through this unnamed forest. It was truly located in an unassuming ce, smack dab in the middle of the ins of the Green which was treated as the outskirts of the Andrato Kingdom.


    Towards the side of ins of Death, the north was unconquerednd that was considered to be where the territorial line of the Kingdom was drawn.

 Chapter 14 - 14

    Darius had already emptied his sk 3 times by this point, and ording to the minimap, he was still at least a day away from the edge of the forest. This frustrated Darius greatly as he truly wished he had a better means of movement than just walking.


    It really did not help that his Endurance stat was merely at 7. A fragile 13-year-old boy like he currently was could not muster the necessary stamina topete with a full adult.


    Fortunately, Darius had not encountered any other beasts ever since the Python. While he desperately craved EXP so that he could raise his stats and spells, he was far less interested in risking his life in a hot-blooded battle.


    Such excitements might appeal to more vigorous men, but Darius preferred to use his mind over his bodyˇ­ or his life for that matter. With time having passed, now came an issue that he had to solve since the sun was setting slowly.


    Where and how to sleep peacefully.


    Naturally, it had crossed Darius'' mind earlier to create a survival guidebook with his ability, but he had ruled that out for two reasons. The first was that until the reset, he was left with 1.79 Conversion Points, and the second was the fact that he could not be a seasoned wildlife traveler with just a single book.


    Even with the Supreme System''s Database helping him catalog all obtained knowledge, he would still have to read the book and understand what he needed to do.


    If reading books could make a person a professional, then education would be solely about cramming as much knowledge as one could in one''s heads within a limited amount of time.


    ˇ­ perhaps that was not the best analogy in this situation.


    Darius rubbed his hair and pondered his options. He thought about gathering a bunch of leaves to create tarpaulin for a tent, but the issue with that was the fact that he simply did not know how to put a tent together.


    Instead, he decided to try something clever.


    [Would you like to change the Reticted Python fang into a teleportation scroll? This will cost 11 Conversion Points.]


    Darius frowned. Just slightly above his point cap, so he could not gain one yet. Nevertheless, he was happy that something like this existed in the world of Faust, meaning he would be able to acquire it eventually. Then again, in a world of magic, Darius would have been surprised if there had been no such thing.


    During the time Darius had spent long-distance trekking, he had realized that there had been a w in his thinking from earlier during the day. He had neglected the fact that in the games set in those worlds full of magic, things usually developed in incremental stages, and did not start out at the perfect stage.


    As such, he had attempted to transmute his spell manual into something more sensible.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small fireball spell manual? This will cost 5 Conversion Points.]


    He had almost jumped for joy when he had been offered that option. It wasn''t that he was a fire magic nut or anything, but everyone who was someone knew that the fireball was the base of all magic.


    Unfortunately, he had nearly exhausted his points for the day, leaving him no choice but to wait for midnight in order to gain this new spell.


    [Would you like to change the Reticted Python fang into a small teleportation scroll? This will cost 3 Conversion Points.]


    ''Wellˇ­ that was also a bust till tomorrow.''


    It seemed like no matter how Darius tried to worm his way out of it, he would be spending the night in the middle of a forest with both prey and predators alikeˇ­ great.


    Darius was reluctant to do that for obvious reasons. Mainly the fact that he was sure he''d die before he could even respond to any attack while asleep. He wasn''t delusional to believe that he was so amazing that all predators would gloss over a free meal.


    The way he saw it, Darius had two choices. He could either hunker down somewhere safe and sleep, or resume his journey and hold out till midnight to refresh his points. As it stood, he was favoring the second choice more, for it would be significantly easier to deal with threats while awake than asleep.


    Darius, therefore, re-filled his sk and continued walking along. He was initially tempted to try and make some coffee, but he was beginning to understand more and more that his Conversion Points were special.


    The limited amount he gained every 24 hours would not be enough to support his ever-growing list of wants and needs, so he had to keep some on hand for much more important endeavors.


    It was around 5pm, Darius guessed based on how the sun was almost beneath the edge of the horizon. He wasn''t someone who could read the time of day like this, but it was just a guess based on the typical celestial movement on Earth.


    He had to keep walking for 6 hoursˇ­? Darius refused to do so. He was already tired of walking, and even with the Pure Water cleansing away his fatigue and restoring his stamina, the effectiveness was lessening with each time, presumably because Darius was adapting to it.


    As such, he decided to make the best use of the time he had until the Pure Water stopped ''buffing'' him actively and only worked passively. He directly broke into a light jog, moving at a steady pace in order to control his exertion.


    However, he hadn''t even reached 500 meters when he was already panting like a dog, and he paused to take a swig of the water in his sk. Once he did so, he felt suitably refreshed and renewed, beginning the process of jogging once again.


    After the same amount of time, he was once again gging greatly. However, Darius had crossed about 1 kilometer in just 10 minutes, which was a big leap from his former pace.


    He still had about 20 kilometers to go, which would have taken him a full day at his former slow walking pace, but while jogging, he could be out in about 3 hours!


    With his zeal fueled by the desire to get out of this woond hellhole, Darius continued moving along while relying on the almost magical properties of water to keep him going.

 Chapter 15 - 15

    Darius copsed in a heap. His body a ragged mess of sweat, panting, and pain. He had finally made it out of the forest with his continuous jogging, yet the effectiveness of the water had fallen far faster than if he would have just walked.


    Towards the end, he had just been limp-jogging, fueled by the promise of the end being close as shown by the mini-map. The second he reached his goal, all his energy had bled away, leaving him as he was now.


    With shaky hands, Darius gulped down the rest of the Pure Water, but apart from refreshing him, it had little effect on reviving his vivacity. He spent more than half an hour just like that, until his heaving chest subsided and all that was left was a sea of fatigue as well as aching limbs.


    Darius felt his eyelids be heavy as the cool night breeze passed over him, its gentle touch seemingly carrying away his will to stay awake with each draft. He knew it would be a bad idea to sleep in a grasnd like this, but the feeling of soft grass on his back and the cool wind magnified his tiredness greatly.


    Without much resistance, Darius fell asleep.


    * * *


    Darius'' brows furrowed as he felt himself rising from the depths of sleep. Coupled with slight grogginess, Darius was about to open his eyes when a foreign sound made him aware of exactly why he had woken up just now.


    Something was currently sniffing his face as hey there on the grass. Darius could feel a wet nose as well as the small but quick puffs of air that passed over his right cheek gently and curiously.


    Darius cracked his eyelids open every so slightly, just enough for him to barely make out what was standing above him without alerting the other party that he was awake. His heart sank when he recognized that it was arge bear with beady red eyes and frazzled grey-ck fur.


    It looked very malicious and menacing, making Darius thankful that he had been smart enough to y dead. For now, the bear seemed content to check whether this strange fellow beneath it had passed on to Valha, and Darius used this chance to inspect it.


    [Grey Bear - Level 3 Beast


    HP: 20/20 MP: 2/2]


    Darius shivered internally. Not only was this bear two levels above him, but it was also the first creature he had encountered so far that had mana, albeit just 2 points of it. If it had ess to some sort of spell, or more likely a skill that utilized it, Darius would be in even more danger.


    In his current posture, it was impossible for Darius to move his finger, for the Grey Bear would notice it. Even if he did, he wasn''t sure he could fire off a spell before therge beast ripped out his throat or tore his face off.


    He patiently waited for it to either step back or be distracted, giving him an opening to turn his shitty situation around, but the damned thing just continued to sniff him leisurely. Could it have developed a liking for the smell of humans?


    Darius did not dare ask it, so he could only settle for waiting longer. Eventually, the Grey Bear did pull back a bit, but not in a way Darius liked. It raised its head a little and roared lightly, opening its mouth wide.


    Darius didn''t like the look of that, as it seemed like it was about to take a bite of the snack beneath it, so he directly raised his left finger towards the opened maw of the bear and shot off the Sparks spell.


    Just like with the Reticted Python, this resulted in a critical hit, though it was merely 3 points for now. However, what Darius had craved was the stun effect, which gave him the opportunity to roll away and rise to his feet quickly.


    He noticed that his body was outwardly fine, apart from his clothes being messy and smelly from his sweat and lying in the grass. However, he had much more important things to worry about than his personal hygiene at that moment.


    Unlike with the boar or the snake, the stun effect didn''t evenst a full second. The bear quickly rose to its feet, roaring in pain and anger. Darius guessed that either the bear had higher magic resistance than them or the level difference was beginning to show.


    Whatever the case, he had an angry bear in front of him that was about the size of a small car and it looked like it was getting ready to charge at him. Darius did not dare to test his reaction speed against the bear''s charge and attacked again with his only spell.


    The Grey Bear received this on its face and cried out in pain, but otherwise shook off the stun effect even faster. Its HP dropped by another point, leaving with 16 more.


    Darius was aware that he was truly fucked this time around. In hindsight, it might have been wiser to sleep in the boughs of a tree in the forest nearby rather than on the ground in a ins area.


    However, he had expected prey animals to frequent ins, herbivores mostly. Since when did bears traverse the grasnds? Could it be that the bear had followed him from the forest he had exited?


    It was extremely likely, as he had been noisy and conspicuous with his panting and joggingst night.


    Hmˇ­st nightˇ­?


    Darius'' mind ran at a speed faster than the events urring around him thanks to his heightened Intellect and perception. He quickly drafted a hasty n that required more luck and guesswork than skill and finesse, but he had to take the chance.


    As such, by the time the Grey Bear began to barrel forward to smash him into paste, Darius had already stretched his hand forward and cast Sparks for a third time this fight.


    The Grey Bear was further hurt but continued to rush at him through the pain. Darius had partially expected for a stun to not ur, and had therefore used the moment in which the Grey Bear had closed its eyes to protect them from the lightning by jumping out of its trajectory.

 Chapter 16 - 16

    Now behind the bear, Darius quickly opened his Inventory and took out the unused spell manual as well as the python fang.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small fireball spell manual? This will cost 5 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Reticted Python fang into a small teleportation scroll? This will cost 3 Conversion Points.]


    Darius immediately assented to both. Since midnight had already passed, his points had naturally refreshed, meaning that he had 10 of them at his disposal.


    Without wasting time, both items transformed into the final versions he desired. The glowing spell manual shook a little, its cover and spine changed to a bright red color while its pages emitted a low heat that wasfortable to the touch.


    The fang also grew in shape until it became a roll of parchment that radiated greyish-ck energy. Darius quickly inspected them both as the Grey Bear began to turn around.


    [Ember Spell - Manual


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to cast the simplest spell of the fire element, Ember. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the spell is increased by 100% while the effectiveness of the spell is increased by 500%.]


    [Short Warp - Scroll


    Durability: 25/25


    Description: Travel instantly between two separate locations. The maximum travel distance is 25 Kilometers.]


    Darius was greatly reassured after he saw the scroll''s description, as it would be his getaway method in case things went sour. Right now, he wanted to fight against this bear for it would be a good chance to learn more about the methods of spellbat as well as the different tiers of experience gain.


    Darius held the Ember spell manual as the Grey Bear began its charge once again.


    [Detected spellbook. Would you like to learn its contents?


    Warning: The spellbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]


    Darius hastily consented and saw therge book melt into a reddish slush that poured through his ears and flowed into his brain.


    [Ember - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Send out a shower of fire that burns all foes within range. This deals 5% fire damage.]


    For a split second, Darius became dazed as the knowledge assimted with his brain and memories, turning him from someone who had just heard the spell name to someone who had spent months practicing it to perfection.


    Unfortunately, that split second was all the Grey Bear needed to reach Darius, where he was promptly swatted away with itsrge paw. The poor fellow was sent flying, his back whomping into one of the trees that had formed the edge of the unnamed forest.


    Darius gasped for air as his lungs had been emptied by the hit and subsequent crash, his struggled breathing yielding some spurts of blood from internal bleeding.


    [You have suffered 34 points of damage!]


    [You have been inflicted with the ''Mild Hemorrhage'' status effect.


    Effect; -0.1 HP per second for 10 seconds.]


    [You have been inflicted with the ''Mild Fractures'' status effect.


    Effect; -2 points in Strength and Agility for 1 hour!]


    Darius skimmed through the notifications with his partially stunned mind. As a person who had never truly gotten into a fight himself, the immense pain and trauma from the bear''s ''love tap'' had sent him into a slight shock.


    However, Darius was able to shake it off rather quickly, not because he had ovee it, but because of his high Intellect stat increasing his mental faculties.


    Just in time to roll away from the Grey Bear''s follow-up charge, which would have otherwise crushed him against the tree. Instead, it was now the Grey Bear who had smashed headfirst into the very same evergreen and cried out in pain.


    It had visibly harmed itself, its head bleeding profusely from the collision, and judging by the shaking of his head it must have gotten at least a mild concussion.


    Darius thanked his lucky stars for this short break, as he slowly and shakily rose to his feet, paling from the pain of his slightly broken ribs rubbing against each other and his abdomen feeling as if someone had cut it open with a knife.


    He first checked the remaining HP of the Grey Bear as well as himself.


    [Grey Bear - Level 3 Beast


    HP: 10/20 MP: 0/2]


    It appeared that the ursine had used up his mana to empower his charge. No wonder, the collision had really harmed enough to make it lose 5 HP, which was equivalent to Darius'' previous efforts.


    [Darius Stone - Level 1 Itemancer


    HP: 15/49 MP: 18/21]


    He was not doing so good himself, left with less than one-third of his initial HP. Fortunately, he still had more than enough mana to spam the dazed Grey Bear to the next life.


    Darius had no sympathy for his prey and alternated between casting Ember to increase the Grey Bear''s agony as he showered it in scorching me and used Sparks to singe its fur, as well as to prolong its daze.


    The Grey Bear was unfairly bombarded to death by a barrage of low-level spells that should have required a casting-time or chanting if it had been any other mage.


    The bear let out a dying roar and stayed down, its scorched body looking and definitely smelling worse than the Wild Boar or Reticted Python''s corpse. In fact, one could argue that the two of them had gotten the bigger end of the stick.


    The moment the Grey Bear died, Darius received the rewards for his struggle.


    [You have gained 80 EXP, 10 Bronze Ando Coins, and 1 Common Health Potion.]


    Darius limped over to a tree and propped his body against it as he slid to the ground. He then focused more on what he had achieved, pondering what to do next when more screens came up before him.


    [Congrattions! You have reached Level 2!


    You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]

 Chapter 17 - 17

    The moment Darius saw this, a wave of cool energy flowed through him, refreshing his mind, body, and soul. It appeared to have restored his HP and MP to their perfect values.


    Additionally, and perhaps even more importantly, it had alleviated all his fatigue and had either healed or reset his body to the same state it had been as when he had spawned.


    This little mechanic could be crucial in preserving his lifeter on, just like it had saved him right now.


    If Darius were toin, then only because his Conversion Points had stayed the same. However, since his Trasmutation Ability was governed by its own set of rules, he had expected as much. Still, he would have preferred to be wrong on this asion.


    Darius opened his character sheet.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 49/49


    MP: 42/42


    Level: 2


    Experience: 5/200


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 7


    Endurance: 7


    Intellect: 21


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 15


    AP: 5


    SP: 3


    Skills: Analyze - Lv.1


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.1, Ember - Lv.1]


    Darius rubbed his chin and pondered how to allocate his Ability Points and Skill Points. He could raise his sub-par physical stats to the average amount so that he wouldn''t be as useless in battle, but he came to the conclusion that it would be a foolish choice.


    Instead, Darius ced 4 points into Intellect, raising it to 25, while sending hisst free point into Agility. He felt the changes almost instantly.


    His mind felt like it had been cleared of debris that had been blocking his nerve paths, allowing his synapses to fire faster. It was like taking an attention enhancing drug, only this would be permanent without any side-effects.


    It was truly an amazing experience, literally feeling yourself bing smarter on the spot, instead of slowly over a period of time.


    Not only that, but Darius also felt his body be slightly limber as if a weight he had been carrying on his back had been lifted slightly, allowing him to move more easily.


    Darius smiled bitterly, for he had realized something. He could easily be addicted to the bliss he received when allocating stats, to the point where he might turn into a junkie.


    As for his skill points, Darius hadpared both his spells with each other. They both did the same amount of damage, but Sparks offered a stun effect whereas Ember offered a burning effect. Darius clearly preferred a way to control his enemy, so he chose to ce everything into Sparks.


    ''Sharing my limited amount of SP between two spells would be the epitome of stupidity. What I need first and foremost is higher battle power to ensure my survival.''


    [Sparks - Level 4 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Send out a sparkle of electricity that can zap foes into a short paralysis. This deals 20% lightning damage.]


    Darius was excited by this change. Every additional level corresponded to 5% extra damage to the base spell, while the cost for casting had not changed at all.


    The SP had increased the spell''s effectiveness in every aspect!


    With his 25 points in Intellect, one Sparks spell would now do 5 points of damage! The same Grey Bear could have been killed in four shots! Not to mention, if he scored a critical hit it would now be a massive 15 points of damage!


    His Supreme System truly deserved its name. Its ability to enhance its user was mindboggling. Just one level increase and his power had quintupled straight away!


    Darius looked at hisst 2 Conversion Points and used a little bit of refill his sk. As great and miraculous his level up had been, it had apparently not solved a natural issue that would gue the young boy''s body which was... hunger.


    He had pre-emptively solved his thirst issue by creating a sk and then re-filling it with water. Now, it was time to prepare some food. Darius was not too worried about this, as he had an idea to save costs.


    He took out his iron dagger and thrust it into the carcass of the Grey Bear. Without ceremony, he ripped apart its innards which were quite difficult and painful given his low Strength and the bear''s tough hide.


    However, he eventually got it done in time. What surprised Darius though, was that a notification popped up before him.


    [Congrattions! You have learned the skill, Skinning!]


    Darius immediately checked the new skill out.


    [Skinning - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: 2 Stamina per minute


    Description: Expertly remove the hide of any carcass with epidermal skin. The quality of all skinned hide is raised by 5%.]


    Just like with the Ember spell, Darius felt a worth of knowledge flood his mind. He went from someone who was clumsily using a knife to tear open hide, to someone who could visualize the lines in which he should move his de in order to effectively preserve as much of it as possible.


    When he came out of his daze and looked at what he did, he almost vomited. Cursing himself for being such an amateur, he professionally separated the hide of the Grey Bear. s, just knowing how to do it did not make this task any easier as his body had remained the same.


    While holding the slightly ruined hide of the Grey Bear, he felt lost. Yes, he had carved it out intently, but he didn''t have any ns to use it! He didn''t have the skills of a Tanner, so he could not cure it.


    Still, Darius ced it in his Inventory. While he may not have such skills as of yet, he had discovered something interesting. He remembered that Caesar told him there were three ways to learn new skills.


    The first was to learn it by teaching others or being taught, the second was to develop it oneself or train oneself in it and the final was through skillbooks. He had no way to do the first one yet, and he had overestimated the second one for sure, thinking only the third one would be relevant until he entered civilization.


    But clearly, he had underestimated his trustypanion. The Supreme System had once again disyed its prowess by taking the clumsy acts that resembled a skinning skill and had actually presented him with the full thing.


    Not only that, but he had gained the functional knowledge of the skill as if it came from a skillbook, which confused him. If this was the case, then what was the point of learning or buying skillbooks should they exist in stores?


    Darius then pondered deeply and could only make a shaky assumption, which was that the Skinning skill was regarded as so basic and simplistic that even mimicking it had been enough to grant him the skill.


    After all, once learned, he would have to use skill points to level it up. Caesar had stated as much, so even if he coincidentally discovered an old wise man who was a Grandmaster Skinner nice enough to train him, his skill would not grow in the slightest.


    From this, Darius learned of an important dynamic for his skills system that could be summed up as: ''Easy to learn, hard to level up.''

 Chapter 18 - 18

    Darius had a limited amount of skill points he would receive each level and it was currently unclear whether he would gain less of them when he entered the Journeyman stage or if they would stop altogether.


    His spells would naturally take precedence, so it was unlikely that this skill would ever progress beyond level 1, meaning that Darius would forever remain at the level of an Amateur skinner.


    On the pro side, Darius would be able to acquire basic knowledge in as many fields as necessary to make himself somewhat adept. As for the con, it was that he would never progress further and would basically be giving himself a list of mouths to feed.


    More skills with a finite amount of skill points was not a pleasant thing and would increase the pressure for him to choose effectively. This was why the saying ''jack of all trades, master of none'' had been developed and used as advice for those who wanted to be proficient in too many things at once.


    Whatever the case, Darius had a new skill and he would use it for as long as it was necessary. While such a thing might cause headaches for lesser men, Darius had no problem because he knew how to prioritize.


    He flipped his iron dagger and plunged it into the meat of the Grey Bear, but not as carelessly as before. This time, he carefully tried to cut along the tendons in order to mimic a butcher.


    After doing this for a minute or so, he received another notification.


    [Congrattions! You have learned the skill, Butchery!]


    [Butchery - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: 2 Stamina per minute


    Description: Expertly carve up the meat of any carcass with flesh. The quality of all butchered meat is raised by 5%.]


    Another misc skill he would never increase but was useful at this moment. Once the knowledge flooded into him, Darius changed the way he held the dagger and began separating the meat semi-expertly.


    The end result was a lot of prime cuts that glistened with fat and blood, but also stank like a ughterhouse. Luckily, he could easily get rid of it by cing what he had collected into his Inventory.


    Of course, he certainly couldn''t cut up the entire carcass with his limited knowledge, so there was still some meat around certain parts like the ribs, head, and lower torso.


    Darius saw no reason to tempt any predators to add him to their meal list alongside this fine carcass, so Darius quickly walked away from the site of the battle.


    Now that he had exited the forest, all he saw were endless ins before him, with pockets of trees here and there. There were also a few hills that blocked his eyesight to the horizon, but nothing too jarring.


    He spotted quite a few ins animals moving about in their herds calmly, only giving him cautious nces when he got too close.


    Of course, there were also predators that began chasing after those herds every now and then. Darius pretended not to see such things and kept his distance when it happened.


    However, to remain unmolested through his casual stroll had turned out to be impossible. Eventually, he was confronted by a small pack of hyenas that were giggling menacingly as they took in the sight of this solitary pink skin with tender features.


    Darius could swear that if they could speak, they would be thoroughly mocking him. They numbered a dozen and had fully surrounded him where he stood, even making dashes towards him then pulling back when he turned to face them.


    He Inspected one of them.


    [Laughing Hyena - Level 2 Beast


    HP: 5/5 MP: 0/0]


    Darius snorted when he saw this. Here he had thought they would be powerful, but it turned out they were just level 2 beasts with health at the level of the Wild Boar. Even the Reticted Python had been far stronger than any one of them.


    However, the issue was that they came at him as a pack of 12, and he only had one hand to cast. Darius had tried double-casting when he had been finishing off the Grey Bear, but although he was able to spam his spells, he had discovered that he was unable to cast more than one spell at once.


    Even though a single Sparks could kill any one of the Hyenas, he''d have to fire it off 12 times to clear them all out. Darius estimated that while he might be able to kill 3 or 4 of them by using his spell, the rest would use that time to rip him to shreds.


    However, despite hisck of professional knowledge of wildlife, Darius saw an avenue to correct that. He took out the iron dagger and held it in his right hand while he pointed his left at one of the Laughing Hyenas.


    They looked surprised by his gesture and were wary of the weapon he held, but didn''t back off. After all, he was a trapped prey that they were toying with, so there was no need to run.


    Nothing could prepare these beasts for the sight of electrical bolts striking one of their own, shocking the creature to death as it fell into a slump.


    Darius shouted and rushed forward with his dagger, waving it around while he pointed at another hyena. Due to his threatening moves as well as the effectiveness of his surprise magic attack, they all scattered backward in fear.


    This was the particr racial trait of hyenas that Darius had aimed to exploit. They loved to prey on the weak but would turn tail in front of the strong. By killing one of their own instantly, and charging at them fearlessly, he had temporarily overwhelmed their base instincts and left them in fear.


    This wouldn''tst long obviously, so Darius cast another shot of the Sparks at a random hyena with his right hand that was holding the dagger, as they were fearfully focused on the hand he used to cast from previously.


    His second target had no time to react before it was struck to death. The other hyenas leaped away from their deceasedpanion in fear and began yipping at Darius with a mixture of fear as well as anger.


    Darius understood that they were warning him not toe closer, but he would be a fool to show even the slightest weakness in front of vindictive beasts like hyenas.


    He thrust his hand out at a group of the hyenas and they yelped and dodged. He didn''t cast a spell obviously, for if they realized that it was possible to dodge his magic, his danger rating would drop severely in their minds and he would be swarmed.


    Instead, Darius made a show of clutching his belly whileughing at them. The act of mocking an enemy was universal, and even animals could understand it.

 Chapter 19 - 19

    Darius'' actions infuriated the malevolent animals as they yipped and barked back at him even more angrily, yet none dared to approach. They were extremely fearful of his might, but they didn''t leave because they still outnumbered him greatly.


    Darius knew that too, which was why his thoughts were running super fast on how to resolve this situation. He knew some basics about hyenas thanks to the NatGeo channel which he had watched in his offtime, but that didn''t make him an animal expert.


    Darius had an idea and walked to the carcass of one of the nearby hyenas. He then bent over it and plunged his iron dagger straight into the corpse and began skinning its hide deftly.


    This, of course, almost made the surrounding hyenas go mad as they advanced. Laughing at and taunting them was one thing, even killing one of them in self-defense was just the way of the wild, but carving up their dead brethren''s corpse right in front of them?


    Darius'' eyes shed when one of them came too close in anger, and he quickly fired a Sparks spell at it. The poor wild dog had been too enraged to pay attention to its situation properly, so it received the electrical shower without fail.


    When the beasts watched another of their kin fall dead, they abruptly paused and fled back again as the fear set in again, this time much stronger than before. s, the anger also remained as Darius continued to carve the corpse leisurely, as if it meant nothing to him.


    Darius had seeded in killing a quarter of the beasts using timing and some tricks, but to clear the rest in a manner that didn''t make those survivors go crazy and risk it all would be hard.


    For the time being, he simply removed the hide of the hyena and began working on its meat. Despite all this, the remaining survivors seemed content to bark and yip from their distance without any intention to get close.


    They had once again entered a troublesome stalemate. Darius did not dare to show any weakness by retreating or acting soft, as they would maul him, while they did not dare to be the first one to rush in, as he could kill one of them in one shot.


    No one wanted to be the first guy, and hyenas were not so noble that one would sacrifice their life for the pack. Darius needed something more solid and fearsome to scare them off, and his Ember spell seemed to be the answer he had been looking for.


    Hyenas would respond strongly to fire over lightning, so he just needed to find the right opportunityˇ­


    In the meantime, he quickly carved up the corpse beneath him and kept the hide as well as the meat in his Inventory, with the stuff from the Grey Bear and the tusks from the Wild Boar.


    Darius had a few ns that could work if he used Conversion Points, but he refused to be so wasteful. The day had just begun and he had already spent 8 of his 10 Conversion points, so he felt he had to be more miserly with them.


    Mana though, was not an issue. He could recover that quickly and easily. How he wished this confrontation would be one where he had cover to hide behind, or if he could just get someone to act as a defender for him.


    More than ever, Darius wanted to reach civilization and acquire some useful people to brand, so that traversal like this would be easier. A Magus was not meant to be a frontline fighter unless they were a Spellde, yet Darius'' other ss was an Itemancer, someone who arguably should never be on the battlefield.


    Darius was finished with the first corpse, so he walked over to the second one. Instead of carving it up though, he stretched his hand over it and cast Ember.


    A shower of mes not lesser in quantity than the sparkle of lighting from the Sparks spell rained down on the corpse, quickly setting it alight. This made the watching hyenas howl in anger and fear.


    Some of the pack were considering retreat. A human who could summon death and fire was not to be toyed with. A predator never fought another predator who had equal or more power, unless it was over territory or a conflict of interests. Treating another predator as prey was a sure-fire way to earn death, or at best, a pyrrhic victory.


    ''First, that strange blue light that killed our brethren, now the dreaded fire? Just what is this human? This was supposed to be easy prey on these grasnds, yet we''ve lost 3 of our brothers with nothing but empty air to eat!'' While the hyenas were obviously not clever enough to make these kinds of sapient analysis, they did have instinct.


    The alpha of the pack barked at the others to maintain order, but it was futile. Hyenas were not wolves, they were not noble and loyal animals, but traitorous bullies that liked to torment and torture others.


    When they were on the receiving end? Not so fun for them.


    Once the first one broke off and began running, it was a prelude to a full escape. Darius didn''t let this chance go, as he fired one more Sparks off at a running hyena as it went, killing it.


    This made the survivors bolt even faster so they would not share this fate. In the end, even the alpha slinked away with a filthy look towards Darius, but he had no interest in fighting it.


    Once they were gone, he sighed and checked the messages from the system.


    [You have gained 5 EXP, 3 Bronze Ando Coins, and 1 Inferior Mana Potion.]


    [You have gained 5 EXP, 1 Bronze Ando Coin, and 1 Inferior Stamina Potion.]


    [You have gained 5 EXP, 2 Bronze Ando Coins, and 1 Inferior Health Potion.]


    [You have gained 5 EXP, 1 Bronze Ando Coin, and 1 Rusty Iron Sword.]


    Interestingly, the loot they dropped was better than the Level 2 Reticted Python, but still inferior to the level 3 Grey Bear.


    Curious about the items specifically, he Inspected them.

 Chapter 20 - 20

    [Inferior Health Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 1/1


    Description: A poor quality creation of Alchemy that restores 5 points of Health.]


    [Inferior Mana Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 1/1


    Description: A poor quality creation of Alchemy that restores 5 points of Mana.]


    [Inferior Stamina Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 1/1


    Description: A poor quality creation of Alchemy that restores 5 points of Stamina.]


    [Rusty Iron Sword - Weapon


    Durability: 0.5/0.5


    Damage: 0.1-0.4


    Description: A poor quality bastard sword that has been ruined by endless battle andckluster craftsmanship.]


    Darius'' face turned sour when he read through the descriptions of the loot he had been granted. While he hadn''t expected much from a weapon with the ''rusty'' tag, this was a bit tooˇ­


    This weapon was so bad its stats were represented in decimals, which was the first time Darius had ever seen something like this in Faust. He decided to continue walking towards his destination while inspecting what else he got.


    The potions were passable. He hadn''t had big hopes for potions with an ''Inferior'' tag, but 5 points were actually not bad given his current level and stats. While the health potion certainly couldn''t bring him back from the brink of death and he had yet to find a way to measure his stamina, the mana potion was already useful.


    With currently 50 mana at his disposal, 5 points did not seem a lot, but in a pinch, it could allow him to fire off Ember or Sparks spells 5 additional times.


    Dariuspared his iron dagger to this rusty iron sword and frowned. It was true that items produced with his Transmutation were at the pinnacle of their specific grade/category, but the discrepancy was truly shocking.


    Darius also inspected themon health potion he had received from the fight with the Grey Bear earlier.


    [Common Health Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: An average quality creation of Alchemy that restores 25 points of health when drank.]


    ''So that one can literally refill half of my current health. It would definitely be supremely useful in battle henceforth, but first I should try to fully grasp the limits of my Transmutation ability,'' Darius decided to experiment a bit more.


    His previous tests had been basic and skewed slightly since he had been mostly converting materials of different types altogether. However, he was now interested in checking the costs of converting materials of the same type into higher quality.


    [Would you like to change the Inferior Health Potion into a Common Health Potion? This will cost 0.01 Conversion Points.]


    Darius rubbed his chin with excitement. This confirmed his theory that the base version of an item yed a major role in the resulting cost and now he knew that it was cost-efficient to convert upwards.


    Why did he care?


    Well, it was simple. When Darius entered a town or city, he could head to the local general/potion store and buy up all Inferior potions cheaply, then manually covert them into the highest quality instead of purchasing those straight up.


    Every merchant''s dream!


    Along with that, he could even rebrand and re-sell, because the elitist Transmutation technique would recreate the converted potion with the best possible technique for that stage of quality, meaning that Darius''s goods were guaranteed to be far better thanpetitors on the market!


    His mercantile instincts were shivering in ecstasy from the sheer opportunities and utilities of this ability, but he calmed himself down. First things first, he converted all his potions into the Common grade.


    Then, he held the rusty iron sword and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the Rusty Iron Sword into an Iron Sword? This will cost 0.1 Conversion Points.]


    Well, the points required were slightly higher for it. It made sense since the creation,position, and size of the sword was greater than for the liquid inside the small potion bottle. Still, it was cheap enough that Darius couldn''tin.


    This time Darius refused the change. He had to carefully think about what physical skills he wanted to have and what weapon would best assist him in that.


    At the end of the day, as Caesar had said, sses were just a guide for assisting his growth. The fact was that his Supreme System allowed him to freely learn any skill he wanted. He could define his own path based on his needs.


    Darius considered learning either the spear, the sword, or the bow.


    A spear had good range and exemry variation, but its weakness would be his skill and difficulty of learning it. Both could easily be negated by investing AP into Agility and SP into a spear skill.


    The sword was the mostmon weapon and the one most developed. It boasted speed if one used one-handed variations or strength if one used two-handed variations. However, its weakness was the short distance and the extensive counter-knowledge on sword techniques.


    The first weakness wasn''t that easy to negate unless Darius found a special skill to that end - or created one himself - and the second was also difficult to negate unless he used a whole new brand of swordsmanship not seen before.


    The bow was a semimon weapon that was the best for ranged fighters. It boasted uracy and safety if one could get into a superior position. Its weakness was closebat and the limitation on ammunition.


    The first would not be easy to negate unless he could invest AP in Agility and Intellect, while the second was negated by his Inventory.


    Hmˇ­


    Darius ruled the sword out straightaway. Even though it pained the inner boy in him who had at one point dreamt of wielding (or dual-wielding) two legendary swords with amazing, as well as shy skills, practicality won the day.


    He had to choose between the spear and the bow. Both had their pros and cons, especially when linked to his subss as a Magus. With the spear, he could strike foes physically and if he encountered someone with too strong of an armor, hit them with a spell point-nk.


    With archery, he wouldn''t even need to confront an enemy. He could just fire an arrow with a spell attached to it or follow right behind it to double the power.


    So, which one to go for?

 Chapter 21 - 21

    After a bit more deliberation, Darius decided to go with the spear. The bow was fine and all, but having two ranged fighting styles sounded like it would conflict rather than harmonize in reality.


    On the other hand, a spear''s close/mid-rangebat style added to his long-range magic style was the perfectbination.


    In fact, now that he considered the topic, Darius was quite surprised as to why spear magicians had not really been featured in media, yet sword-wielding magicians named Spelldes existed. The best exnation he coulde up with was that it was most likely an aesthetic thing.


    After all, a person swinging a sword like a noble hero who could also shoot out fireballs looked coolerpared to a person with a spear doing the same. However, Darius was not pursuing aesthetics, but practicality.


    As such, he changed the criteria.


    [Would you like to change the Rusty Iron Sword into an Iron Spear? This will cost 0.25 Conversion Points.]


    Quite costlypared to changing it into a normal quality iron sword, but understandable. After all, the quantity of metal required had increased while the workmanship would be changing at a fundamental level.


    In this case, it was only so cheap because the amount of iron he had reduced to cost for the first stage of transmutation.


    In a split second, Darius'' hand was no longer holding a wretched rusty iron sword that looked like it would crumble the next second, but a finely made iron spear of a dark-grey color that had a double-ded spearhead.


    Its heavy weight made it quite burdensome to carry around and he barely managed to swing it a bit before he nearly toppled. ''Another thing those stories failed to capture was how goddamn heavy metallic weapons are and how hard it is to get used to them.'' Darius cursed internally before he inspected his new weapon.


    [Iron Spear - Weapon


    Durability: 50/50


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 7-10


    Description: A sharp and bnced spear made of fine iron and the best possible craftsmanship. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Darius nodded with pleasure. As expected of the Transmutation skill, it really didn''t cut corners in production. The spear''s minimum damage was already more than twice the maximum damage of the iron dagger, which was a given just looking at their sizes.


    Darius smiled as he made up his mind to gain a spear skill by all means and raise it. He suspected it would not be as easy as it had been with Skinning and Butchery, since those two could be considered simple skills with short learning curves.


    Fortunately, thanks to his ability of Transmutation, he wouldn''t have to strenuously learn spearmanship up to the point where such a skill would be generated, rather opting to create it in exchange for his precious Conversion Points.


    Fearing that the hyenas coulde back or he might encounter another beast like the Grey Bear, he desired more methods to resist their assault.


    As such, he took out another leaf and performed the conversion to an empty book.


    [Would you like to change the conifer leaf into an empty book? This will cost 0.01 Conversion Points.]


    When the empty book was formed, Darius checked how much it would cost to convert it into a basic spear manual.


    [Would you like to change the empty book into a basic spear manual? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]


    Darius blew air. It seemed he would have to wait until tomorrow... He would have to make do with a bit of cleverness and magic until midnight. Worst case scenario, he still had the Short Warp scroll to get out of danger.


    For now, Darius moved onto a subject that was crucial to his survival in this world. He removed a Bronze Ando Coin from his Inventory and held it up.


    [Would you like to change the Bronze Ando Coin into a Silver Ando Coin? This will cost 0.1 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smacked his lips, an action that he made to try and hide his quivering heart. What he had just discovered was so scandalous and dangerous that he would likely be killed on the spot if someone were to find out.


    Darius could print authentic money. Not counterfeit, not shoddy, but actual money that would be no different from those used by Andrato Kingdom''s banks. No, considering the elitist nature of his ability, it might even be better.


    As a merchant, he abhorred and loved this ability. He loathed it because rampant spending with external/non-circtory funds was bound to cause chain effects depending on how much new currency would be introduced to the system, causing intion and economic chaos.


    He loved it because no matter the situation, he would have enough money to pay his way out of everything as long as he dedicated some time to making coins every day. Truly, a double-edged sword.


    Darius took his experiment further.


    [Would you like to change the Bronze Ando Coin into a Gold Ando Coin? This will cost 0.3 Conversion Points.]


    Darius was even more shaken. It seemed as if the premier currency of thend itself could not escape his grasp. Thanks to the small Infoblock, he knew the true value of a gold coin.


    By Earth standards, it was roughly the same as having $100,000. It was absolutely not a joke and should be handled with care. It was a sign of status, wealth, and identity, as only nobles and above could realistically afford to hold such a coin.


    Still, Darius had about 1.84 Conversion Points left for the day, so he transformed 5 of his Bronze Ando Coins into Gold Ando Coins, leaving him with about 0.34 Conversion Points for the day. Those 5 Gold Ando Coins would not be spent until he reached the big city, and its importance was vital in securingnd, title, and identity, one of Darius'' biggest issues right now.


    (Editor''s Note: We are aware that using his CP on the potions would have used up a total of 0.0003 CP, but since minor conversions like that will bepletely inconsequential even in the future, we hope you forgive us if we use rounded up numbers instead of writing ''Darius had 1.8397 CP left''.)


    Seeing as he was now done with his experiments, Darius paid attention to another issue he had put off in order to focus on his travel, which was hunger. Ever since he had woken up from nothingness yesterday, he hadn''t taken a single bite out of anything.


    He had only drunk the Pure Water, and while that had staved off fatigue and hunger greatly, it wasn''t a permanent solution, especially since the water had lost most of its active effects and long since shifted into a passive one.


    Then again, this was why he had attempted to skin and butcher the Grey Bear in the first ce. Darius found a nice tree off the side of the footpath and sat down beneath it.


    The wind was lovely and the air was crisp as could be. After taking a short rest since he had walked quite a distance with his young body, he had to sip on the Pure Water then lie down a bit to regain stamina.


    Once done, he rose to his feet and began his next task.


    It was time to learn how to cook.

 Chapter 22 - 22

    Darius could make stuff like fried eggs, boiled eggs, boiled rice, and fry bacon or sausages, but that was truly entry-level stuff. His knowledge regarding cooking pretty much ended there, since he had usually left that task to either his personal chef or had gone out to eat at some fancy restaurant.


    Darius scratched his head and moved away from the tree he had rested under. He made sure to pick up some dry wood from the area around its roots and bark, gathering them into a pile.


    He found some stones and formed a ring out of them. He then dug out the center of it with his iron dagger and removed the grass, leaving only the bare earth. Fatigued once again, he took another short break before tossing the dry wood in the middle.


    Darius then cast an Ember spell onto the wood, which instantly caught fire, saving him from actually getting the wood to light up, arguably the hardest part of creating a cooking fire. Magic certainly made one''s life easier.


    Once the fire reached a suitable level, Darius created a spit over it with a bunch of longer and thicker branches he had found. Now came another hard partˇ­


    Darius fetched sand from the earth around and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the handful of sand into a handful of kosher salt? This will cost 0.001 Conversion Points.]


    Darius made the conversion. The dark brown sand became a pristine white mineral that every human who ate food worshiped, the almighty salt. Without this divine sediment, most food would taste like garbage.


    One could make food without fancy spices by just using salt and still end up with a gourmet-level meal, whereas making a meal only using fancy spices could easily make good food taste like crap.


    Darius held up the blessed salt and praised the gods in heaven that this sediment existed in Faust before cing a majority of it into his Inventory, saving only a smattering of it for his current meal.


    In his left, he had spawned one of the cuts from the Grey Bear''s meat. It was still as bloody and taut as it had been when Darius had cut it out, making him frown. However, he simply pierced it horizontally with a shaved and washed branch with enough thickness to hold the weight.


    The moment the meat came over the fire, the blood dripped down and made a sizzling sound as it was quickly burnt up. Unsurprisingly, fire made by magic was far more potent than fire made from rubbing two sticks together really fast.


    Darius carefully spread the salt over the meat after a lot more of the blood had drained away, using his hands to smear it over the fire. He should have probably done this before putting it on the spit, but he had dreaded the idea of salt mixed in with bloody meat.


    After doing this, he carefully stirred the meat over the fire slowly, but his eyes weren''t actually on the ingredient, instead they were fixed on his notifications, eagerly waiting for the one that would grant him the knowledge of cooking.


    It took 5 minutes of continuous rotation of the meat for the desired result to appear.


    [Congrattions! You have learned the skill, Cooking!]


    [Cooking - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: 2 Stamina per minute


    Description: Prepare many dishes with a seasoned hand. The quality of all cooked meals is raised by 5%.]


    Immediately, Darius stopped what he was doing as he felt the knowledge of the fundamentals of cooking assimte with his mind. It was almost as if he had been a basic cook for years and had simply forgotten how to perform the vocation temporarily.


    Once this was done, he tossed what he had been making to the side as he stood up. Darius wanted a proper meal, not whatever abomination would havee out of his amateurish attempt just now. He was aware that he could not get a meal like those he had enjoyed on Earth here unless he used his Conversion Points, but that would be wasteful.


    He would have to be smart about his life in Faust and find apromise between what was eptable for his pte and what would be filling enough to carry him until he encountered civilization.


    Darius smiled when an idea came to mind.


    He took out his iron dagger and cut some sticks of wood into thinner versions with a t end at the bottom and a pointed end at the top. After that, he cut the meat of the Grey Bear into smaller cubical shapes.


    Darius walked over to a bush nearby and plucked some leaves.


    [Would you like to change a variegated leaf into a fresh onion? This will cost 0.003 Conversion Points.]


    Darius made the change. The leaf expanded and became a ripe, pink onion that looked freshly harvested. He wasted no time in shaving off its skin and cutting it into quarters as well, then taking the smallest sections of each quarter.


    After carefully washing it using his Pure Water and then coating the meat with a healthy amount of salt, he was ready to assemble his meal: khebabs.


    That''s right, it was the best option Darius coulde up with given his limited ingredients, Conversion Points, and eptable pte. Luckily, onions existed in this world too, but he would need to add some more stuff before he could describe his work as done.


    Darius assembled the khebab traditionally. One cut of meat, one onion, another cut of meat, another onion, and so on until there were five cubes of meat with four onion slices between them.


    Darius had carved five small branches into khebab sticks, so he repeated the assembly for the others. Now that he had done this, he ced the sticks at an angle over the fire, sticking their butt end firmly into the earth.


    He then poured some of his water into his palm.


    [Would you like to change a handful of Pure Water into a handful of cooking oil? This will cost 0.005 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smeared the oil over the khebabs gently and firmly, making sure to give them a nice coating of it. Sighing with relief, he washed his hand with the rest of his water thoroughly before creating some more of it.


    With almost every done, Darius created hisst ingredient that would perfect the vor.


    [Would you like to change the handful of sand into a handful of suya spice? This will cost 0.0012 Conversion Points.]


    Sprinkling the reddish spice over the zed khebabs that had been turned over about 3 times, Darius extracted them from the fire and inspected them.


    [Sub-Saharan khebab - Consumable


    Durability: 1/1


    Description: A unique meat skewer that tastes as good as its smells. Can restore up to 2 points of Stamina and Health out ofbat.]

 Chapter 23 - 23

    Darius moved under the bough of the tree and ced his back against it once more. He ate the khebab while drinking his Pure Water leisurely. He had to admit, the hot meatbined with the peppery spice was lovely.


    Trying to eat this without water nearby would have been asking for a world of hurt, but with the lovely Pure Water that was cool and smoother than typical drinking water from Earth, Darius was more than fine.


    He had expected the bear meat to taste gamey or hard to chew since he normally ate more... ''tamed'' sorts of flesh from animals, but he was positively surprised to find that it tasted fine.


    Whether it was a unique property of the meat itself, or the benefits of his Skinning, Butchery, and Cooking skills, he did not know but resolved to explore at some point in the future.


    Now that he had some food in his belly, Darius patted his bum and rose to his feet. He was a bit bothered by the fact that his ''default'' noble attire was practically in tatters now and he himself didn''t smell all that good, but what could he do?


    He could only trudge onward like that, the scorching sun beating down on his lightly tanned skin as the sweat continually poured out from his pores, further soaking his poor clothes.


    Without the ability to create water, Darius would never have made it to his destination. Even though a normal person would likely have increased their Endurance stat with such an arduous task, Darius could not even gain that as a constion.


    Caesar had made it perfectly clear in his exnation, the existence of the Supreme System''s stat points meant that his growth was controlled solely by them. If he wanted to be stronger, faster, or smarter, he was forced to invest his Ability Points.


    Still, it was a fair tradeoff. He might have lost the ability to organically grow like others, but he could perfectly grow himself as much as he wished artificially with no drawbacks, provided he had gathered the necessary EXP first of course. Why would hein about such a boon?


    Darius checked the main map and noticed that there was a river nearby that he would have to cross. After it, he would be merely 23km from his destination. While such a distance was easily traversed by car, on foot it was at least a day''s journey if not more.


    He contemted using up his Short Warp scroll, but the thought of having to use 3 Conversion Points to create a new one made him sigh and continue moving on foot.


    At least the world had taken pity on him or perhaps it was just his above-average Luck stat working, whatever the case no predators had disturbed him until he reached the banks of the river.


    It was arge and clear river, being about 300 meters in width. As for the length, Darius could only tell with the help of the main map that it crossed over from the dark area of the map into another dark area, practically running through the entire Andrato Kingdom.


    It wasbeled as the Lost River on the map. Along with that, Darius read in the Database that the river had some cultural significance to the Andrato Kingdom and possibly other neighboring kingdoms or empires.


    ''Hm, it must be something like this world''s Nile or Amazon River, then?''


    Darius first checked the water only to find out that it was startlingly clear. There were a few strangely colored fish swimming about within, while many animals, predators, and prey alike, peacefully drank or bathed within.


    It was as if the river had a special significance to animals, to the point where they''d put aside their issues to drink and bathe, making it hard to believe that one party usually killed the other for a living.


    Darius walked over to a free spot and gazed into the water before he Analyzed it.


    [Unique Water - Liquid


    Durability: ?/?


    Description: Water from a source unknown to any man, this unique flow has the ability to cleanse the dirt from anything ced within and dissolve it into beneficial nutrients. However, consumption over long periods of time can corrode the internals of any living organism.]


    Darius whistled quietly. So this was basically the best bathing and washing water around, but as drinking water, it was no better than poison. Maybe the humans of this world - as well as other sapient species - had realized this over the years, but the animals certainly hadn''t looking at how they were drinking from it happily.


    Or maybe they had adapted to it over time? Perhaps the time needed to corrode their internals matched their natural life span in the first ce.


    Darius stopped thinking about it too deeply. He carefully removed his clothes until he was naked and took them with him into the water. It was cool and refreshing, but warm enough that he didn''t freeze up thanks to the sun hanging in the sky.


    Darius focused on clumsily washing his clothes by hand for a bit before he simply stretched them out in the water and let the current pass through them trusting in the water''s effect.


    As could be expectedˇ­


    [Congrattions! You have learned the skill, Washing!]


    [Washing - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: 2 Stamina per minute


    Description: Clean clothes, property, or various items without leaving a stain. The quality of all washed items is raised by 5%.]


    Darius sighed. This system and its creator were truly evil. A fool who got excited by the ease of learning skills and wanted to expand their skill set might have fallen into the trap of wasting his precious skill points on useless skills.


    The fellow in question would then be the bitch of the system, begging for skill points and doing anything for them once they had wasted them all. Now that Darius considered it, such an end should truly be amusing for a deity, disying the typical foolishness of mortals.


    However, he was not one of those fools. To him, these skills were nifty gimmicks that he only used in special situations. Once he reached society, he would find specialists to handle all this stuff, allowing him to focus on his own pursuits.


    After washing up for a few minutes, Darius exited the pool and shook his clothes harshly in order to clear the water in them. Obviously, this was not enough to dry them, so he made another fire simr to the one before and hung his clothes over them, hoping the heat would dry them faster.

 Chapter 24 - 24

    Darius jumped back into the water once he was done. He focused on cleaning his body thoroughly this time and checking himself out. His reflection in the water was quite sharp if he stopped disturbing the flow.


    Slicked-back ck hair, almond-shaped, hazel colored eyes, and an angr face with a noticeable jawing into a sharp chin. It was like God had been unsure whether to make him a beautiful woman or a handsome man, giving him his slightly androgynous looks.


    As he was obliged to do by thew of nature, Darius checked out his package, but looked away once he saw how unremarkable it was. Well, he was only 13 years old physically, so it did make sense. If it grew to the same size as on Earth, which had been the global average, then he would be fine either way.


    ''Hm, will investing points point into Endurance increase the size since it dictates my virility? Then again, this could just refer to how effective my sperm is. In that case, it might be Charisma since size should be tied to attraction value for the opposite sex.''


    Darius decided to experiment more on thatter.


    Not just to increase his penis size, but to find out the extra effects each stat category had on other parts of his body/life. It would be vital in knowing how to properly allocate stats.


    Asking Caesar for confirmation seemed pointless since he had already given him the descriptions for each stat and if he had not mentioned at the time, it was unlikely he would do so now.


    Darius swam aroundzily for about an hour. He then exited the pool and dried himself off using a mixture of the sun, shaking his body and some leaves. When he was suitably free from moisture, he took his now dried clothes and put them on.


    They smelled fresh and crisp thanks to the fire, also with a bit of smoke in them, but at a manageable level. Stretching his body out, Darius truly felt refreshed after having enjoyed a meal earlier as well as this bath while in his cleaned up clothes.


    However, he gazed at the sheer amount of animals here bathing and drinking from the pond. He was tempted to kill a few to raise his level once more, but if he attacked one of themˇ­


    The tenuous peace here would be broken. It would either turn into an all-out brawl or all of theming for him as the instigator, neither possibility would be any fun. Darius looked around for a bridge but found none.


    He checked the main map and found that there was actually one about 1.5 km downstream, so he shelved his crazy idea in favor of a makeshift version.


    Darius''s eyes shed. He held on to the Short Warp scroll in his left hand, as he ced his right into the water and swirled it a bit. He made it seem like he was about to take some of it to drink, but what he did instead was to cast the Sparks spell!


    [You have gained 1 EXP.]


    [You have gained 1 EXP.]


    [You have gained 1...]


    [You have gained 5 EXP and 1 Broken Fishing Rod.]


    [You have gained 5 EXP.]


    [You have gained 5...]


    The effect was shockingˇ­ literally! The Sparks spell had the visual effect of some small lighting sparkles firing out from his hand, so he had felt it wouldn''t be that strong, but how could he forget the fact that these same sparkles could straight up kill a weak little thing in one shot now that it was level 4?


    Once it was propagated and multiplied by the river water, the various fish swimming about idly had been immediately killed, while those animals swimming within were either killed or stunned, all floating about on the water.


    Most of the animals drinking were also hit by this, with some dying and some falling to their bellies weakly, the stun forcing them to remain still while the snouts or tongue stilly within the water.


    Of course, this didn''t affect the entire river, but only the area in a radius of about 100 meters around Darius. Seeing the effect of the Sparks spell had made him gulp in surprise, but since he had already started he didn''t stop there, casting another one into the water!


    [You have gained 5 EXP and 1 Bronze Ando Coin.]


    [You have gained 5 EXP and 1 Strange Gem.]


    [You have gained 5....]


    Since he had one-shot the weaker animals with the first attack, the second one finished off the surviving stronger ones. He was saddened to see that none of them had been level 3, with therge majority being level 1.


    However, for his goals, it had been enough.


    [Congrattions! You have reached Level 3!]


    [You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    Darius allocated his Ability Points into Agility and Endurance, bringing both to 10 points. The moment he did so, Darius felt like his body''s baggage had been lifted even further, and smoother movements that used to trouble him became easier.


    In terms of his body, he felt his whole system roar with vitality as the energy coursed through him. He felt like he had taken the most radical batch of steroids on the market, but had no outlet to vent it on.


    As for his Skill Points, he put them aside for his Spearmanship, which had been his n from earlier in the day. He just thought he''d reach level 3 muchter though.


    Now that two of his deficient stats had been brought to the human standard, Darius felt moreˇ­ proper. Even though hisbat power hadn''t increased, his survivability had. Greatly.


    Oh, and his mana too.


    Darius opened his character sheet and checked it out.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 70/70


    MP: 75/75


    Level: 3


    Experience: 120/300


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 10


    Endurance: 10


    Intellect: 25


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 15


    AP: 0


    SP: 3


    Skills: Analyze - Lv.1, Skinning - Lv.1, Butchery - Lv.1, Cooking - Lv.1, Washing - Lv.1


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.4, Ember - Lv.1]

 Chapter 25 - 25

    Darius had underestimated the sheer amount of beasts he had killed with his surprise attack. Still, it was a weed surprise to see that it had catapulted him to about halfway through level 3.


    However, it was even more valuable to discover that the Supreme System had awarded him EXP based on his level when he had begun his attack. If it had been less lenient it could have counted each EXP one after the other and switched down to a lower EXP gain as soon as he had leveled up, yet that had not been the case.


    Instead, he realized he had found another loophole as well as a convenient way to raise his level before he encountered civilization. Darius walked over to some of the prey animals like deer and rabbits, then carved them up dexterously. With his increased Agility, he was much more skilled in this sector, and his increased Endurance meant that he didn''t tire as easily.


    After about 4 hours of this, he stuffed all the meat into his Inventory. As part of an experiment he had tried to put a carcass into his Inventory and it had seeded.


    Nevertheless, apart from their meat, there was not much else of value these beasts served and since he did not wish to clutter up the space he had, he refrained from storing any of them.


    Additionally, he wanted to find out whether the Inventory would keep them as ''fresh'' as they had been upon killing them or if it merely slowed down the decaying process.


    After he was done collecting a lot of meat he took a look at the things he had been awarded from the system. Apart from the improved potions, meat, and tools he previously had, there were now some additional inferior potions among other weird junk.


    Darius took out the most notable ones and Inspected them.


    [Strange Gem - Misceneous


    Durability: ?/?


    Description: A lovely red crystal that shines with a strange light. Take it to an appraiser to find out any hidden details.]


    Darius smirked at this description. His Supreme Quality Itemancer ss made him the King of Appraisers and Item Valuers, so he activated his Analyze skill once more.


    [Red Enchant - Consumable


    Durability: 1,000/1,000


    Quality: Common


    Description: A supremely rare and valuable crystal formed in nature when in the presence of intense elemental magic. An Enchanter can imbue an item with the element of fire with this.]


    Darius nodded. He had seen those types of rare gems that gave items attributes in the games he had yed. Judging by the descriptions these gems had to be used by the top-tier warriors to imbue their items.


    Probably mercenary leaders, guardsman captains, high-ranking soldiers, and the like. Its value on the market would be high in that case, since only the powerful could afford to use it.


    Not only that, its demand would be extremely high depending on how good the effect was. If it was like Darius'' Ember and even provide like 5% fire damage to a spear, bow, or sword, it would be a killer in battle.


    Darius could also deduce that the supply should be poor. Something described as ''supremely rare'' meant that if it hadn''t been a drop from the Supreme System, Darius would have likely never received it normally.


    This should be a direct benefit of his mass killing coupled with his above-average Luck. As his electro-massacre had killed more than 50 beasts yet yielded less than 5 item rewards, he reasoned that it should be either that his Luck had rolled badly, or that the few items he got were valuable enough to limit the gross amount.


    He had traded quantity for quality. Looking at the other stuff he got nothing was as useful or amazing as the Red Enchant.


    As for utilityˇ­ it didn''t have much of it to him at the moment. It could stay in his Inventory until he reached civilization. Who knew, it could even be an important bargaining chip to secure his identity in society.


    Darius increased all inferior potions he acquired to themon grade. He also noticed that he got a broken fishing rod, but seeing as he had ughtered all the fish around, there was really no need for such a thing, especially since it would cost him to repair it first.


    Darius ignored the rest of the carcasses as he went downstream. He was trying to kill two birds with one stone, reach the bridge necessary to cross over, and kill some more beasts on the way.


    After walking about 700 meters, he came to another munity pool'' area with plenty of beasts and fish in the water. Even better was that the bridge was within eyesight, though a bit to the edge of his vision.


    However, Darius was careful this time, because there was a small pride of lions thatzed around the river bank. Their cubs swam and yed in the water while the lionesses watched on, asionally roaring when one of them became adventurous and tried to sneak away.


    As for the big boss of the pride, he simplyy among his lionesses and soaked in the sun. Darius inspected them all straightaway.


    [ins Lioness - Level 4 Beast


    HP: 25/25 MP: 5/5]


    [ins Lion - Level 5 Beast


    HP: 40/40 MP: 10/10]


    Although he had just leveled up and felt confident, he just walked across the area, making sure to appear as harmless as possible as he moved towards the bridge. After passing the area with the bathing big cats, he sighed with relief.


    There was a fine line between stupidity and bravery, a line many failed to recognize due to their own hubris. The only kind of person who would try those odds would be one aware that no matter the situation, some cosmic force would prevent their death in order to keep the show going.


    Despite being one such entity himself, Darius didn''t want to test Goddess Vena''s fondness for him. There would be many opportunities for him to gain levels in other battles and even return here stronger to vanquish them if he so chose.


    The bridge was quite well-maintained, and Darius could see some dried tracks of carts. He wasn''t a tracker, so he couldn''t tell exactly how long ago it was, but it definitely wasn''t recent.


    Once he crossed the bridge, Darius broke into azy jog. Now that his Endurance had been raised to the standard of the average healthy adult in this world, he found that he only began to tire after reaching 5 kilometers.


    He paused and took a break by the roadside, making sure to take off his clothes and air them in case any sweat got in, while he himself restedfortably as he sipped on the lovely Pure Water.


    Darius wasn''t a person who loved physical activity, but he felt that he could now better understand those people who did. The feeling of being alive, of being active, was as intoxicating as it was tiring.


    After an hour ofzy rest, he resumed his light jog. At his current speed, he crossed a kilometer in 15 minutes, meaning his jogging speed was 4 km/h.

 Chapter 26 - 26

    Darius crossed the final 23 kilometers in about half a day without any other encounters. He wasn''t too sure, but he guessed that it should be around 9 pm and he could already see the homestead in the distance.


    Now, he was faced with a choice. Appear before themon folk at this time of the night and try to y a role to ingratiate himself with them, or wait until morning by sleeping out in the wild once more?


    Darius didn''t need the small Infoblock to know that appearing out of the blue during the night would set rm bells off in anyone''s head, especially in a world like this where superstitions were rampant, although more often than not also justified.


    If he chose this option, he''d better think up a pretty good excuse for doing so, one where the situation justified the means and nobody would ask too many questions. A few options came to mind.


    Darius considered using the ''injured hero'' trope. He''d find some low-leveled beast or monster, allow it to rough him up for a bit before he killed it, then limp towards the homestead pretending to be on hisst breath.


    A kind farmer''s daughter would then rescue him and take care of him, jumpstarting the plot of his journey... or at least that was how it had worked in all those animes he had been forced to watch.


    Alternatively, he could use the ''abandoned child'' trope. He looked 13 years old, so he could easily pass off as a naive youth who got separated from his noble family and needed lodging until he could make contact with them again.


    Finally, he could use the ''revenge story intro'' trope. He would im to be a noble''s son who had just witnessed his family murdered by bandits or assassins sent by political opponents, only managing to escape because he either ran away, was smuggled away by his darling mum, or had been let go by the killers because they couldn''t be bothered to finish him off.


    ''Hm, the first one should be the most convenient. It doesn''t require too far-fetched a story or too heavy acting that could backfire if it slips my mind for a second.''


    However, Darius didn''t fancy fighting at night, because it would be harder to control such a battle. The aim of the game would be to get beaten up and slightly bloody, but not really hurt. He wasn''t a masochist that loved pain, obviously.


    After pondering for a bit longer, Darius ultimately decided to wait the night out. He found himself slightly sleepy after that long jog with the asional breaks. What he had to do now was find a secure ce to rest, unlikest time where he had foolishly plopped to the ground out in the open.


    Darius walked around and found a broken cart nearby. Lord, it was dirty and dusty, also smelled a bit funny, but was small enough that nothing predatory could creep in there without making enough noise first to wake him up.


    Darius naturally removed his clothes once again and used them to cover his body so that they wouldn''t be messed up by the muck. He also fetched some leaves to form a covering from the rotten wood to prevent himself from getting splinters or critters all over his body.


    At this time, he was debating getting a water spell for situations like this, or at least some cleanse spell that could clean up stuff like this.


    s, if the small fireball spell was like the cheapest thing avable then it would mean even with all his shortcuts of making a book and an empty spell manual first to make it cheaper, each spell would still end up at around 10.9 Conversion Points, in other words, more than one day''s worth.


    Darius once more craved to reach a city, but there was a process to it.


    Finally managing to make himself somewhatfortable, Darius spent what little points he had left creating a few empty books. The cost to make an unused spell manual was 5.9 Conversion Points, so he''d have to wait for tomorrow.


    Besides, he also had the Spearmanship skillbook to think about, which would cost him 4 more Conversion Points. The next day had not even begun and already all but 0.1 Conversion Points had been booked!


    Darius was starting to feel the pressure. Having many skills did not get to him, but the limited amount of Conversion Points was different. The ability to transmute at will was just too versatile and too precious, yet it had been bnced in a way that it was not easy to abuse despite the loopholes he found.


    While thinking about more ways how he could further perfect it, his eyelids got heavy, and he eventually sumbed to his fatigue, falling into a light slumber. The next time he cracked his eyelids open, it appeared to be barely dawn.


    He could hear the roosters crowing to herald theing of morning, as well as various sounds of human life as the simple folk of the farm woke up to begin their daily duties.


    It was the norm for people like this to be up by 5 am and asleep by 8-9 pm. They were honest, hardworking people who represented the best of humankind.


    At least, that''s what Darius knew from the basic archetypes in simr settings. Whether these farm folk would be stereotypical or subversive was up in the air, but he was not interested in holing up within this rotten carriage anymore.


    Taking his clothes and crawling out of the carriage carefully, he quickly dressed and did what he nned to do from yesterday, which was the transmutation.


    [Would you like to change the empty book into a basic spear manual? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the empty book into an empty spell manual? This will cost 5.9 Conversion Points.]


    At just like that, he nearly used up today''s limit. However, the tradeoff was that his right hand held an empty spell manual while his left held a basic spear manual.


    Putting the empty one into his Inventory, he immediately chose to learn the spear manual.


    [Detected skillbook. Would you like to learn its contents?


    Warning: The skillbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]


    Darius felt a rush of knowledge enter his mind as he assented to the prompt. He no longer was a clueless rich boy who had never even swung a pole before, but now had the experience of a talentedncer who had received basic training, but forgot it all due to amnesia.


    He took out his iron spear and swung it around deftly, twirling and flourishing it with ease. If someone were to see Darius now, they would swear to all the gods that the youngd must have had a spear put into his cradle and been taught spearmanship before even making his first steps.


    [Basic Lancer Arts - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the fundamental of the priceless Lancer Arts long lost to history. With your spear, you can stand above all others who dare to use your own choice of weapon against you. You deal 5% spear damage whenever you wield a pole weapon.]

 Chapter 27 - 27

    Darius was silent for a bit before he facepalmed. It seemed he had failed to ount for the fact that his ability was elitist, so naturally the quality of the spearmanship skill it would grant him would be the best in all of Faust.


    From that skill description alone, Darius could tell that even the basic version of these Lancer Arts might be far better than the master version of other spearmanship schools.


    No wonder he felt so connected with his weapon, and that he could move it around with ease. He could even visualize multiple ways in which he could have ended that Grey Bear, those Laughing Hyenas, and even those in Lions without suffering any damage.


    Darius put away the spear and walked into the homestead as he was. Since it was no longer nighttime, he didn''t need to think up some borate story. His noble''s attire alone should suffice. It might be slightly roughed up after the night, but then again it would be even stranger if that was not the case in the wilderness.


    When he came closer, Darius could examine the homestead properly. In fact, it was more of a small vige with somewhere between 50-70 cottages and one big farmhouse in the center. Around the homestead, on the other side, were miles of tillednd that were being worked on at this very moment.


    There were very few of the vigers not at work, mostly the old and the young. As such, it wasn''t long before Darius was spotted by some residents.


    Instead ofing up to him, they quickly rushed away to tell the others who were at work, probably the adults and decision-makers. As he walked along what passed for a road to the main farmhouse, Darius could see the ones working taking a long pause as they shuffled towards his location.


    Rubbing his chin, he wondered how they would receive him and made some ns and counter-ns based on the circumstances. By the time he reached the door of therge and well-maintained farmhouse, he saw the various adults of this ce standing there, waiting for him to do something.


    There were about 200 adults at the least, with more than that number of children around their parents. As for the old, they numbered slightly less than that. This was actually quiterge for a vige from what he knew from the infoblock.


    Darius stopped in front of them and maintained a purposefullyx demeanor, not like a young boy being eyed warily by many onlookers, but a master returning to his home.


    "Who is the chief here?" Darius asked in a slightly imperious manner.


    A tall man with slightly reddish skin and orange hair stood out from the group. "That would be me. You can call me Shanks."


    He had a thick mustache and an even thicker beard. A hoe was slung over his shoulder, and his beefy body proved his good work ethic on this farm. He certainly did look like someone qualified to lead.


    But it wasn''t only that which Darius noticed. It was the fact that Shanks wore blue overalls that were embossed with a fading logo on the breast pocket. That logo had been added to his Database, informing him that Shanks must have had some ties to the royal family.


    Judging by Shanks'' ent, which was free of any of the typical countryfolk augmentations, it was safe to assume he used to be a cityslicker who probably retired out here to start a new and peaceful life.


    ''Ex-military. Discharged with high honors and a good sum in savings or reward, which he used to start up this homestead. It would exin why it could be sorge yet so secluded.'' Darius analyzed him in his mind with the experience of a businessman.


    There were no signs of wear on the buildings, meaning that they should have been built rtively recently, within about 2-5 years. There were also no signs of fighting from bandit raids, which, ording to the infoblock, should be a frequent problem for the general popce outside the cities, so this reinforced the point that this Shanks fellow was someone of means.


    But at the end of the day, this was all spection and deduction. Darius found a simpler way to confirm his assumptions.


    "Youˇ­ your ent and your bearingˇ­? You''re from the Royal City, no?" Darius asked with a surprised expression.


    Shanks immediately narrowed his eyes, inspecting the neer even more carefully, his hoe shifting about a bit unruly, but he didn''t shrink back. "I am. So you should understand what that means."


    Darius nodded. "I do. Allow me to assure you that I''ve note here to cause you or your peasants any trouble, Sir Shanks. I just wanted to find a ce toy my head until I finish my experiments."


    Shanks visibly rxed when Darius called him ''Sir'' after all his concessions. Even if he hadn''t been an ex-knight, any military man of a kingdom like this would find such an exalted title pleasant to the ear as it showed respect.


    "In that case, there should be no problem with you staying here. We here at Poleria''s Homestead wee any travelers. We have yet to build a tavern or inn, so I hope you don''t mind staying in my farmhouse?" Shanks offered with a curious smile.


    "Poleria''s Homesteadˇ­ what a lovely name, Sir Shanks. Does it have a special meaning?" Darius asked.


    "That''s right, Young Sir. It was the name of my beloved wife who passed a few years ago. I decided to resign from all the unnecessary fighting and settle down like she always wanted me to and have named the ce after her. Makes me feel like she''s here with us, you know?" Shanks confessed and let out a heavy sigh.


    Darius smiled. He had sessfully turned himself from a questionable youth of unknown origin to a respectful and thoughtful noble scion who was just passing through.


    Not just Shanks, but the others around him became rxed as relief flooded them. Shanks might be special, but they weremon peasants. Andrato Kingdom had a typical medieval ss society not unlike medieval Europe on Earth.


    If a noble told a peasant to jump, they were required socially and byw to ask how high. There was no such thing as human rights or freedoms, and the majority ofws were basically used to secure the interests of the nobles, as well as serve as weapons for them to fight each other civilly.


    That was why they had hurriedly called over Shanks, the only one among them who could deal with someone from a noble family thanks to his previous status. Now that this noble boy had proven himself to be quite amiable and dered he was not here to do anything to them, they had let down their guards.


    Although Darius would love to believe that things going smoothly was all due to his own eloquence, which allowed him to be socially adept in all situations, in his heart he knew that his above-average Charisma had to have yed a role in it, affecting him passively and actively.

 Chapter 28 - 28

    "But enough about me. This here is my daughter Portia, and my son Derek. They''ll take care of your needs while you''re with us for your uhˇ­ experiments?" Shanks ended with uncertainty.


    Seeing the questioning look in his eyes, Darius didn''t think it wise to be secretive and ruin the little trust he had built so far. As such, he raised his fist and pointed away from the crowd, shooting off an Ember spell.


    They all gazed and backed away in fear, but calmed down when they saw he meant them no harm. Instead, they began to show curiosity and respect like never before.


    Even Shanks was the same. "Ah, so Young Sir is a Mage. You should have told us from the beginning and your reception would have been much better."


    "Apologies, where are my manners, I have yet to introduce myself. My name is Darius Stone, and there''s no need for that. Your reception so far has been mild and tactful, which is more than good enough for me. Please, continue with your hard work in the fields, for it is goodfolk like you who keep our society running." Darius replied goodnaturedly.


    "Alright, Lord Darius. We''ll do just that." Shanks could tell when they were being dismissed, so he led the adults away and had the old ones carry the young back home.


    As for his son Derek, and his daughter Portia, they were left behind to take care of him.


    Derek looked like a carbon copy of his dad, with healthy skin that gave off a slightly reddish tint, a well-built body for his age, and a mop of orange hair atop his head.


    He had blue eyes and a chiseled face, making him actually quite handsome by Earth standards. He could have be a young celebrity with his looks, possibly as the frontman in a boy band.


    As for Portia, she was the typical fantasy farmer''s daughter. Lovely ck hair that reached her shoulders, dark eyes that seemed to radiate veiled passion, and a beautiful face that did not belong in a vige of peasants.


    Darius had purposefully assessed the other girls her age or of marriageable age among the vigers and found that most were either average or passable. It wasn''t that they looked like shit, just that they had typically undesirable features by modern Earth standards.


    Portia easily stood out like a sore thumb. She had a chest that was far too developed for her age and a rump to give her chest a run for its money. While Derek wore overalls like his father, she wore a typical medieval peasant girl''s garb.


    A one-piece dress with a hem that reached her dainty legs and a slightly frilly top that disyed way too much cleavage. It was held fast by a leather corset, and that also had the effect of maintaining her figure, though he doubted that was the reason she wore it.


    Portia appeared to be in her early teens with puberty having gifted her with good assets, while Derek appeared to be a couple of years older in his mid orte teens. Although Darius was around their age physically speaking, that didn''t change the fact that he had the mind and soul of a 70+-year-old man.


    While there might not be any authorities to chase after him for going below the formerly agreeable age of consent, he had his own bottom line. The idea of anyone doing something like that to his beloved Solena or his clingy little Miranda made Darius shiver with anger and disgust.


    Of course, Solena and Miranda had long since grown up to mighty fine women, with the former already being a mother at the time of his death, but in Darius'' eyes, they would always be his cute little girls.


    Darius pped himself. He shouldn''t be thinking of such mature topics around those his age, otherwise he would stand out.


    Derek and Portia greeted Darius. "Good day, m''lord Darius. How can we help you?"


    Darius smiled at them and waved his hand. "For now, I just require some information and a ce toy my head."


    Derek stood out. "What would you like to know?"


    "Please tell me a bit about Poleria''s Homestead and the surrounding area. I''m most curious about the concentration of beasts, if there are any monsters around, if I should beware any bandit activity during my stay or when I leave, and if there happen to be any dungeons nearby." Darius requested.


    Derek nodded and began telling Darius about the nearby area. He began by warning him about some of the moremon beasts one had to look out for, before confirming that there were indeed a few monsters living in the nearby forests that had been attracted here by the human activity.


    He then quickly assured Darius that those were periodically dealt with by Shanks and some people he had trained for this task. He also didn''t pass up the opportunity to proudly boast about being one of those helping.


    ording to him, there existed three small bandit groups around them, but they had stopped attacking the homestead aftering to an agreement with Shanks when they first came around.


    There were naturally no nearby dungeons, as they would not dare live near such a ce without permission from the royal family.


    Darius soaked up this information and gleaned over as many details as he could without raising too much suspicion. He had his own ns but required some time before executing them.


    "Well, m''lord Darius must be tired. Let me show you to the guest room." Portia offered, seeing that Derek and Darius were content in standing there while chatting about boring stuff.


    Darius had excluded Portia sub-consciously since he really didn''t like looking at her for too long. Not because she wasn''t nice to look at, on the contrary, she was too nice to look at. It made him extremely ufortable and he wanted to avoiding off as rude.


    As such, he smiled and assented. Portia and Derek led him to the farmhouse, which might as well have been called a small manor. It had arge dining room, a parlor, and a foyer on the ground floor.


    It was two stories high, with the first floor containing the bedroom and study. Portia led Darius and Derek to one of them near the end of the right-wing. The interior of the manor was well-kept, with polished wood on the flooring as opposed to the tiled walls.


    It was definitely upper-tier in terms of aesthetics and quality, meaning that Darius had underestimated either Shanks'' wealth or power. Potentially both.


    Portia opened the door to what would be his room for the duration of his stay, and Darius had to admit, it was quite well-decorated.

 Chapter 29 - 29

    The bedroom was well furnished and quite bourgeois, even for the time period of this world. Fancy carpets, colorful drapes, and stylish settees. It was like a bedroom, office, and lounge all in one.


    Nobody with a conscience wouldin about being assigned such a room. Darius also felt like he learned a bit more about Shanks indirectly, especially his meticulous and thoughtful nature.


    Who would expect a noble guest toe all the way out to their homestead in the wilderness? Realistically, it should be no one, but Shanks had assumed it could happen one day and had spent his money to make sure that he was prepared for such an asion.


    Darius turned to Derek and Portia, nodding. "This lodging is more than fine, and I thank Sir Shanks for his consideration."


    Derek smiled widely. No son would be averse to hear his father be well spoken of, especially by an actual noble. Portia giggled a little and turned to her brother.


    "Derek, you can leave to fulfill your duties. I shall remain to take care of Master Darius."


    Derek''s face scrunched up in suspicion as he gazed at his sister and Darius, but apart from his lips twitching slightly, he decided not to say anything on the matter. He simply turned around and left Darius and Portia in the bedroom.


    Portia smiled slightly and turned to Darius. Immediately, her finger rose up to her hair and began twirling it almost subconsciously. She gazed at Darius, with her eyes extremely expressive and her cheeks slightly flushed.


    "Erm, does Master Darius need anythingˇ­?"


    Darius, for that matter, smiled amiably but groaned inwardly. He wasn''t in the mood to deal with some young girl''s crush.


    His sudden appearance must have made her think of him as some prince-charming noble scion with endless talent, not that it was too far from the truth and it didn''t really help that he was handsome by default, as his Charisma stat was 5 points above average.


    To make matters worse, she was also at that impressionable age where such flights of fancy and fantasies would sprout. Usually by the age of 20-25, most males and females would be more down to earth about affection and romance, but below that age?


    For young boys, anything in a skirt would cause problematic reactions in their pants and for young girls, any handsome fellow with the slightest desirable features would set their heart aflutter.


    Puberty. Truly a troubling period of time that any adult would hide their face when reminiscing.


    "I''m okay for now. I may need an assistant to help me with my training and my experiments in the future. Might you be avable and willing?" Darius replied to her query gently.


    Moved by his consideration, Portia nodded with excitement, her face flushing further. "Yes! If you need my help, I''ll certainly be there for you!"


    Darius nodded gratefully. "Thank you for your kindness, Portia. I''d like some time to settle in and rest if you don''t mind."


    Portia sped her hands together and bowed. "Not a problem, Master Darius. If you need to bathe or have your attire cleaned, simply summon me. I shall handle all of such tasks for you."


    Darius smiled. "A bath after my journey would be much appreciated."


    Portia bowed once again and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. Once Darius was left alone, his pleasant expression faded into a grimace. What he feared most hade to pass.


    The small Infoblock had contained many things about the Andrato Kingdom, including some basicws. As the Andrato Kingdom functioned simrly to medieval Europe in more ways than one, it also shared the morals andws of such a time.


    Darius had been a fan of media containing the medieval age - which was why he had been able to adapt to their mannerism so quickly - but he had failed to ount for one of the greatest ws and evils of those times.


    The sexual moralityˇ­ or better yet, theck of one.


    At least by modern Earth standards, the medieval era had been full of pedophiles from top to bottom. This was reflected in the Andrato Kingdom, since they had a very troublingw concerning the Age of Consent.


    For a boy, the age of consent was 14 years of age, while for a girl, it was 12 years. However, this was in the situation that an ''adult'' partner was interacting with them sexually.


    No, it was the second half of thisw that made Darius want to vomit. For what would be considered as minors on Earth, the age of consent wasˇ­ 7 years old.


    In other words, while it was illegal for an adult to touch a 7-year-old boy or girl, as long as both partners were 7 years old they couldˇ­ couldˇ­


    Darius had to cover his mouth to prevent the urge to throw up. While he had been a vile bastard, such things had never been in his purview.


    Assassination of rivals, corporate espionage, ndering opponents, entrapment, warmongering, emotional maniption, and swindling he could navigate with ease.


    Sexual debauchery and immorality of such nature? Out of the question. Just because something was legal didn''t make it ptable.


    Darius decided to distract himself by opening his Character menu so that he could finally allocate his Skill Points into his Basic Lancer Arts.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 70/70


    MP: 75/75


    Level: 3


    Experience: 120/300


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 10


    Endurance: 10


    Intellect: 25


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 15


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: Basic Lancer Arts - Lv.4, Analyze - Lv.1, Skinning - Lv.1, Butchery - Lv.1, Cooking - Lv.1, Washing - Lv.1


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.4, Ember - Lv.1]


    Darius was satisfied with his growth so far. While it might seem slow, it was because Darius hadcked a set base of operations so far, preventing him from advancing through the lower levels quickly.


    This was exactly why he had questioned Derek about the local monster and bandit distribution. Killing them would certainly be harder, but more lucrative than killing beasts. Maybe not in terms of experience, but in terms of drops or at the very least the things he could harvest from their bodies.


    With his newly learned and improved Lancer Arts as well as his magic, Darius was convinced that he could navigate battle somewhatpetently, and not have to eke out every bit of wit he had to survive.

 Chapter 30 - 30

    Darius rxed in one of the couches as he browsed through the Database, reminding himself about all of the information contained in the small infoblock. He had not gotten the chance to rx and contemte like this since he had left his spawn point on day 1, so he was thankful for this opportunity.


    Darius also confirmed some things he should and should not do while in certain ces. For example, he certainly should not disy his skills with the spear while in the homestead, although he nned to start showing it off in a town or city.


    For mages to branch out into physical skills was rare and extremely peculiar. It was like a Ph.D. holder raising a pickaxe and going at it in a mine, or bing an athlete.


    It wasn''t wrong or taboo per se, just extremely strange. However, it was definitely something that would garner him some strange nickname.


    Darius was trying to smoothly assimte with society, so he needed to build up a sensible identity from his very first point of encounter with society till he reached the higher echelons.


    Otherwise, his unstable identity and origins would bite him in the asster.


    By the time he was reminiscing about his family on Earth, Portia knocked on his door gently and spoke from the other side.


    "Master Darius, the bath is drawn and heated."


    Darius rose to his feet and opened the door to see a changed Portia standing there. Instead of her questionable peasant girl''s attire, she was now wearing a loose cotton shirt usually meant for boys with the sleeves rolled up, as well as ck shorts that reached her mid-thigh.


    Darius didn''t look for too long and followed her to the bathing area. Portia did seem a bit downcast that he didn''tment on her new tomboyish look, but thought that she needed to try harder.


    If Darius could have read her thoughts, he would groan with frustration. The Devil had tempted him to perform many evils in his past life and he had obeyed like the good child he was, but the Devil was truly greedy, wanting him to cross his own bottom line.


    Or in this case, would it be more appropriate to say it was a Goddess?


    Whatever the case, Darius entered the bathroom to find a small, tiled chamber with a good amount of venttion inside. There was a medium-sized tub in the center of the room with steaming water already prepared for him.


    Beside the tub were various soaps, sponges, and a small stool. There was also a clothes rack slightly distant to the tub, likely for him to hang his stuff. Rubbing his chin, Darius nodded.


    "Thank you for the help Portia, this is quite spectacr. I shall take my bath now."


    With that, Darius slowly began to remove his upper garments and hang them on the clothes rack. Just when he was about to pull his pants down, his senses tingled a warning.


    He turned to see Portia still standing there with a flushed face, not really sure if she should leave or stay, also trying her hardest not to look but the burning curiosity of youth making this a failed task.


    With a stiff smile, Darius reiterated. "Portia, thank you for your help with drawing the bath, but I would like to clean myself up now."


    Portia nodded, still blushing and barely uttering. "That''s why I''m hereˇ­ Master Darius."


    Darius paused for a second. He gazed at the teenage girl shyly peeking at him, the assortments of soaps and sponges, as well as the small stool by the side of the tub, and his mind clicked.


    He groaned outwardly this time as he felt the onset of a headache. There was a great discrepancy between the way he viewed the world and the way these people did.


    First of all, which sane father would allow his pubescent daughter to bath with some boy her age who literally hade from nowhere? Second of all, how could she willingly put up with this on their first meeting?


    Was she simply stupid or uneducated? Did she not know about the matters between males and females yet? No, the way she behaved all shy and anxious showed that she definitely knew, yet she still chose to do this.


    Darius was not sure whether to me their culture,ws, or the Charisma stat of the Supreme System. In fact, Darius felt it was abination of all three that had led to this pivotal moment in his life.


    Unfortunately, a pivotal moment meant that he should feel conflicted about both choices, but there was no conflict to speak of here, Darius immediately made a decision and stuck with it.


    "Please wait for me outside. I have some scars from my early childhood which I feel are unsightly and I do not wish others to see."


    Even if he had to be rude or break her heart, he would not budge on this decision. Luckily, Portia was not blockheaded and bowed lightly before exiting the bathroom, her eyes brimming with tears.


    It didn''t matter whether male or female, being rejected sexually stung like hell. It did damage a person in more ways than one and required toughness to get over.


    Darius made sure Portia had really left before stripping himself down and entering the tub. He sighed with pleasure once he felt the hot water soak into his pores, and his body shivered in ecstasy.


    He had entered Faust for about 3 days, and since then he had only bathed once. As a person from the modern era who loved cleanliness, one could imagine Darius'' frustration and disgust, but he was adaptable and mature.


    He had been able to push his way through all the downs so far thanks to his various abilities, his quick mind, and foremost, the Supreme System. Darius settled in and reached out for the sponges and soaps, frowning when he realized that their make and utility were so far off from what he was used to.


    Maybe the correct choice would have been to allow the young girl to bathe him? Still, Darius would rather struggle his way through than call her back.


    Besides, he could use the peace of mind to sort himself out. He had gathered a lot of information from his journey here and from the mouth of Derrick. Now would be a great time topile that information and draw up a proper game n.


    As such, Darius spent about an hour in the tub rxing with his thoughts and washing himself before he got out and wiped himself down. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he opened the door of the bathroom to see Portia waiting for him there.

 Chapter 31 - 31

    Portia was startled by Darius'' sudden appearance, but collected herself and said: "Master Darius, I have prepared a new change of clothes for you."


    She presented him with a fine green long-sleeved shirt that had embroidered flowers on the back and predatory animals on the front, as well as fitting ck pants that were made of cotton.


    Darius tilted his head in slight confusion. "Howe you have clothes my size?"


    It was strange, to say the least. Derek was well built for physical activity in a technology-deprived world. Compared to Darius, who at the age of 13 on Earth had grown up without the burden of doing any chores or working on a farm for his food, obviously, his own physique would be far worse and make him scrawny inparison.


    Portia looked like she had expected this question and bashfully answered. "Actually, they were meant for my brother, to be used in case he ever was to meet noble guests from afar, but I alterated them while you were bathing."


    Darius blinked and took the shirt. Carefully turning it inside out, he noticed that there was a second seam set into the side of the original seam that reduced the width of the shirt, making it tighter.


    Darius smiled thankfully towards Portia and showed his appreciation with kind words, to which she blushed and quickly yed it off as if it was nothing. Despite his amicability on the surface, on the inside, he was frowning heavily.


    This seemed to be worse than your average crush. Portia appeared to have already developed an obsession with him in this short time where if the two of them had been ssmates, she would have undoubtedly spent almost the whole school day staring at Darius'' back.


    s, it made Darius feel as if he was a beautiful female/handsome male teacher in a ss filled with teens, with one of her male/his female students openly disying attraction towards them.


    Unlike in the various fictional media, it was not something to pat yourself on the back about.


    It feltˇ­ it felt sad, pathetic, and difiting to be honest.


    If it would be a fellow adult who had fallen for you, it would be something to boost one''s ego, but attracting a child with no control over their hormones felt no different from spiking their drink.


    Not in the illegal/taboo sense of it, but the pitiful/disgraceful aspect of it. He also felt diforted because - like any teacher or adult in this situation with actual sexual morals - he didn''t want to hurt the young one''s feelings.


    At puberty, this kind of thing could shatter their budding self-esteem and hurt them emotionally in ways that weren''t easy to predict. That was why most teachers/adults who found themselves in such a delicate situation just pretended like they were blissfully unaware of it happening.


    In reality, it was very likely that they were all frantically praying it would go away once the teen would grow up and start to notice his/her age-mates, shifting their interest away.


    Ironically, Darius was pitiful in the sense that he was her actual age-mate physically, so he had no easy way out to reject her. There was a gap in their statuses that had prevented Portia from being more forceful or direct towards him, but he had no idea how long it would hold her back if her infatuation festered.


    Darius scratched his head and sighed. He walked through the hallways with his towel and entered the room Portia showed him, much to the youngdy''s shock. The house was veryrge, proving that Darius'' memory was quite good if he could remember the way to his room with ease.


    Admittedly, while his memory was pretty perfect, in this instance he had just used the minimap to guide his way back. Upon entry, he politely shooed the expectant Portia away and dressed up.


    Now bathed and refreshed, Darius began to move to phase 1.5, the short interlude before he started phase 2 of his n.


    Darius had to verify two particr things he had put aside while he had been in the wild because he hadcked an easy solution to them or had required human presence for confirmation.


    The first was the limits of the Transmutation ability''s 5th rule. The second was his ss'' default Analyze skill.


    [Rule #5: Items that are owned by the user can be converted into Conversion Points.]


    This was probably the most decisively utilitarian feature of this ability. It was something that turned the tables and made what was already a very powerful skill essentially unmatchable.


    Darius had a hard limit of CP every day. ording to Rule #1, it was limited to 10 CP a day at his current stage, but there were many things he desired that exceeded such an amount.


    He had used loopholes to get what he needed in the end, though it was not possible for some other things.


    Items owned could be converted into CP and those CP were obviously not part of the default 10. Now, Darius had drafted 7 questions from this.


    1. Was it possible for him to circumvent the hard limit or was it merely for him to fill it up?


    2. If he ended up spending all 10 of his daily CP and added 10 CP from converting owned items down, would he have 20 CP after midnight or would the system count his reservoir as ''full''?


    3. If he spent some of his daily CP, say about 5, and added another 5 or more from converting items down, would he have the remaining 5 reced, or would the whole thing be reced with the default 10 points like usual?


    4. Could he convert specific parts of items down to CP or was he required to convert the whole thing?


    5. Was there an expiration date for ''extra'' CP gained through this manner. Surely, it wouldn''t be discarded daily, but could it be kept for weeks? Months? Years?


    6. If he was converting an item and had ess to both daily CP and ''extra'' CP, which one would be used first, and would he have a choice in the matter?


    7. What exactly was the criteria for ''Items that are owned by the user''?


    The issue here was that because of question 7, Darius could not even assess the first 6 questions. Up until now, he had been unable to convert anything down, because none of the items he had acquired had fulfilled this criterion!

 Chapter 32 - 32

    Darius selected three different types of items for his experiment.


    The first type were items that he had acquired with his own two hands, like the Grey Bear pelt, the various meats, and more. As a result, the following message popped up before him:


    [Would you like to convert the Grey Bear pelt into a Conversion Points? This will yield ??? Conversion Points.]


    [Error, Grey Bear pelt does not satisfy the requirement.]


    Frustrated, Darius continued with the second category of items. Those were items he had acquired through the system, the various loot drops.


    It didn''t matter whether it was the coins, the potions, or even the Red Enchant, Darius got the same notification from the system on this matter.


    Almost giving up, he had continued with thest type which were items he had picked up randomly. He went outside, took a stone by the roadside, and loudly dered that it was now his property, before attempting to convert it.


    Unsurprisingly, that too had ended with failure. If anything good came out of it, then perhaps the Goddess Vena might have gotten some enjoyment out of seeing him act like a fool.


    Darius pondered over the issue deeply. ''What exactly could be counted as an ''owned'' item? No, I should perhaps ask myself what does ''ownership'' of an item truly means? What qualifies a person to own an item?''


    ''Is it registration of the item? Recognition of ownership by external parties? Orˇ­ legal ownership of an item?'' Darius considered these factors and felt that this might be the case.


    To continue his experiment Darius would now have to 1. register an item with a legal entity and gain a deed of sorts, 2. Purchase an item from a legal - or hopefully nonlegal - seller or 3. Acquire an item in such a way that all affiliated parties agree to his ownership and recognize it.


    For the first two options, Darius would need to reach a town or city to fulfill the criteria. As for the third one, he reasoned that he could fulfill this by running a dungeon or something with a party where the loot distribution was agreed upon generally.


    Yes, that was something Darius had also discovered about Faust. Despite the residents not having things like levels, experience, or systems, they still had basic features resembling games from Earth.


    This was in the form of dungeons, adventurers, guilds, and whatnot. Sure, people couldn''t level up by gaining experience, but they could hone their skills until they naturally ascended.


    Many used external items like potions or scrolls specially made from certain rare magical ingredients or monster parts found in said dungeons.


    In other words, the ecosystem of Faust was tied intricately to the existence of dungeons. However, dungeons were not as widespread in typical games. Even the Andrato Kingdom only had about 25 known dungeons, all of them located near a town or city.


    That was also the reason why the Anrato Kingdom had exactly 20 towns and 5 cities. Dungeons were like an economic hub if they were properly imed and managed, producing endless profit for those that settled near itˇ­ provided they had the power to handle all that was inside.


    That was as far as Darius knew anyway, the small infoblock hadn''t been almighty. It gave him basic introductions to everything about the Andrato Kingdomˇ­ very basic.


    Darius decided to put the matter of Transmutations'' 5th rule aside for now. There was no good solution for it and he couldn''t see any avenues in which to tackle its maxims that he hadn''t already tried until he entered the nearest town from Poleria''s Homestead.


    This brought him to the second issue he had to verify, the Analyze skill that came with the Itemancer ss.


    First off, what or who was an Itemancer?


    Darius had only seen the term pop-up once on Earth, during a ro anime featuring transmigration that he watched at age 57 with his nephews.


    It had been quite an amusing show, though Darius did not understand why the camera angles had always been so sexually provocative. Was it perhaps so that the adults had something to smirk at while watching it together with the young ones?


    Whatever the case, the main character of that show ¨C if Darius remembered correctly ¨C had met a person with a ss of the same name. That was why Darius had pegged this ss as an appraiser/item changer ss when he had seen it appear on the Dart of Chance.


    In the show, the character had possessed the ability to tell the true nature of every item he saw and even modify or ''edit'' them at will. That was probably the source of his Transmutation ability, but the one he had was of the Supreme Quality.


    That character had seemingly been limited to items. However, in thest episode of season 1, it had been revealed that he had been the big baddie all along and that he had kept a truly vile aspect of his ability hidden.


    He had actually been able to turn people into items all along!


    It had taken Darius 3 hours tofort the boys who had wanted to see more at any cost, even begging their uncle to buy up the entire animation studio to make it happen. Ultimately, he had died before he ever found out what happened next because the show had never received a continuation.


    Darius leaned back and smiled, thinking of his two nephews, Jonas and James. The older one, Jonas, had gone on to be the head of an entertainment conglomerate Darius built up, while the younger one, James, had chosen to be the head of a private mercenary and security operation.


    Darius wondered how the two were doing now. Had James finally managed to leave that rough life and settle down? What about Jonas? He had heard not too long ago that the fellow''s firstborn daughter had be an idol of sorts?


    Darius froze as his mind cleared. Heughed awkwardly as he remembered he was no longer on Earth to be considering such things. Not only that, despite trying to act like a young and nubile man, his mind would still make him slip into the habits he had developed as he had aged.


    He was now 13. Even if he had lived for more than 70 years, he shouldn''t act too mature on the surface, otherwise it would be quite suspicious if not outright disturbing.


    As such, he pulled his mind back to his considerations. The Analyze skill and the System Brand sounded like they were part of a package. Not only that, but it overall sounded simr to that dastardly ability that character bearing the same ss had possessed.


    The difference was that Darius had other limitations, but it was time to test them.

 Chapter 33 - 33

    The skill description for Analyze was pretty straightforward: [Deduce the characteristics of any item or person. The effectiveness of this skill is based on the Intellect stat.]


    Going by the description, this skill was more like the Itemancer in the show he had seen, and it was definitely the aspect of this ss that tied to the existence of the System Brand.


    It was pretty logical. In order for Darius to choose who he should contract under the System Brand to obtain a method of growth unseen in Faust, he would first need to know their strengths and weaknesses!


    The Analyze skill was his tool for such a purpose. The second half of the skill''s description was even more interesting, stating that the effectiveness of the skilly on his Intellect stat.


    This,bined with the fact that the skill in question did not disy a percentile value for its effectiveness, led Darius to believe that its utility was apparent no matter what level the skill was at.


    However, he still decided to dedicate his next level''s skill points to the Analyze skill in order to properly investigate what changes it could manifest when strengthened. For all he knew, there might be some hidden aspects at higher levels.


    Speaking of his next levelˇ­


    Darius sighed and ended his bout of rxation. He was checking the utility of the Analyze skill, so he needed to go out and use it on people to ascertain how it worked.


    Once that was done, he would have to resume his efforts in raising his level and honing his skills. It was imperative that he did so if he wanted to avoid getting overwhelmed by an enemy in the future.


    The reason he had not gone all out to reach a higher level previously was because he hadcked a set home base. Living in the wilderness had been a real problem for him, no matter how calm he seemed about it.


    With that in mind, Darius departed his room and walked through the decorated hallways of Shanks'' manor. In truth, Darius knew he would have easily gotten lost if he did not have the mini-map to assist him in the back of his mind.


    When he did exit though, he saw Portia talking to her brother Derek. Portia wore an aggrieved expression while Derek wore aforting one, so Darius didn''t need to be a genius to tell what they were talking about.


    As he walked over to them, Darius first used Inspect.


    [Derek Torniam - Level 1 Spearman


    HP: 30/30 MP: 7/7]


    [Portia Torniam - Level 1 Schr


    HP: 15/15 MP: 13/13]


    ''So theirst name is Torniam, huh?'' Darius noted.


    He shook his head at how barebones the details given by the Inspect ability were. This skill hade as part and parcel of the Supreme System, not affiliated to any ss or specific mechanic.


    It only gave the name, level, ss, HP, and MP of a target. This, Darius was used to. Now, it would be time to see the difference between the generic skill which was most likely included for all other sses, and his Itemancer specific Analyze skill.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Derek Torniam


    Race: Human


    ss: Spearman


    Sub-ss: None


    HP: 30/30


    MP: 7/7


    Level: 1


    Strength: 6


    Agility: 4


    Endurance: 5


    Intellect: 7


    Charisma: 9


    Luck: 3]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Portia Torniam


    Race: Human


    ss: Schr


    Sub-ss: None


    HP: 15/15


    MP: 13/13


    Level: 1


    Strength: 3


    Agility: 2


    Endurance: 5


    Intellect: 13


    Charisma: 11


    Luck: 5


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Sad


    Affection: Friendly lvl 3]


    Darius was intrigued by the wealth of information, and the uracy of it too. The first thing he noticed was that their HP and MP were calcted the same way his were.


    Did that mean every ''NPC'' of this world featured the same methods he did, assuming they were put under the sharp eye of the Supreme System? That was an exciting piece of information.


    It would allow him to urately gauge the strength and weaknesses of his foes as well as his allies. No to mention, it was a handy tool to find out how those around truly felt about him, whether they were loyal or just putting up a front.


    Darius was already versed enough to detect such things on his own though, but having a sure-fire way to find out was much better than a gut feeling, or in Darius'' case, deduction through behavioral analysis.


    So, Portia was more intelligent than Derek, but Derek was more mobile and stronger physically. How stereotypical. At level 1 though, their stats were far worse than Darius''.


    Another thing he noted was that their levels were shown, yet there was no mention of their Experience Points, Ability Points, or Skill Points, though Darius felt that the reason for this should be obvious enough.


    Such things required the hand of the Supreme System!


    ''Hm, so it seems that the normal way to grow is to work hard? But how can people break past the limits and hunt monsters, fight dragons or even go above level 20 then?'' Darius pondered.


    This was the main question that bothered him. How did people in this world be stronger traditionally? So far, he had made many guesses, but that''s all they were, just guesses.


    Because looking at Darius'' own growth, by level 20 he should be at least thrice as effective as the average man. Since this world had people from the Amateur stage to the Grandmaster stage, barr only the Supreme level beyond that, how had they acquired their power?


    Was there a central system of power/growth that every native of Faust used? Or did every country or locale have its own system of power/growth that was unique and impossible to mimic?


    Darius needed to know this as it was the only way to verify if the Supreme System was truly overpowered in how it handled Darius''s growth, or if it was just average as Darius suspected it to be deep down.


    After all, it made little sense for Vena and Caesar to give him something so powerful if they imed he would struggle to even reach the Adept level. Not only that, but his struggles were precisely supposed to be their source of amusement, so him breezing through every obstacle that came his way just seemed unlikely.


    Darius sighed and greeted the siblings. He decided that before anything else, he should quickly raise his strength and then acquire servants under his System Brand to follow him around.

 Chapter 34 - 34

    Portia spotted Darius and almost jumped. Her bitter expression was quickly wiped away as she wore a weak smile, while Derek''s eyes slightly narrowed. Darius noted their reactions with interest.


    "Hello, Master Darius. Do you require any help?" Portia stepped forward to ask.


    Darius smiled gently at Portia, making the youngdy''s heart speed up a little. "Thank you very much for the thoughtful offer, dear Portia, but I am currently headed out to perform some experiments."


    Portia''s curiosity suddenly burned up. Darius had shared with them that he was here to do some experiments in the area, which was how he even got permission to stay.


    Even more importantly, they were very likely to be magical experiments! Darius had shown himself to be a Mage and Portia had read a lot about Mages and how they advanced their craft.


    It was through the universally-approved Magical Method!


    If Darius was actually going out to advance his powers as a Mage by using the Magical Method, then that would be a sight worth seeing! She would actually be able to watch a Mage draw up spells firsthand.


    "I would like to apany you, Master Darius. I''m a Schr, and I have a real fancy for magic. Might it be possible for me to learn from you?" Portia asked with a rush.


    Derek''s expression twisted as his sister rudely requested to be an apprentice to a Mage without even paying a fee or doing anything of note. He was more worldly than his sister thanks to the time he had spent in the towns with his father on errands.


    Portia, who had spent her time nosing through books was not too adept in reading negative social cues asionally, like now. Her intellectual curiosity got the better of her, leading the young woman to make a social gaffe that even a non-Mage like him was aware of.


    Derek sighed internally and spoke before Darius could reply. "Please forgive my rash sister. As she admitted, she has quite a fancy for magic and has a tendency to let her curiosity override her better manners. I can assure you, we shall both wait for you toplete your experiments and will await your return."


    Darius, who was about to deny Portia kindly, was surprised by this youngd''s astuteness despite being more of a physically focused person. As such, Darius simply nodded with a smile and walked away.


    Portia, who realized her gaffe after being called out on it, became even sadder. Derek hugged his sister gently while chiding her, to which Portia nodded her head while tearing up.


    Afterforting her, Derek looked towards the direction Darius left with a strange gleam in his eyes.


    * * *


    Darius passed by the broken carriage he had spent the night in and walked past it while checking it out idly. He reminisced on his journey here fondly. From that small wooden cottage in the de to Poleria''s homestead had taken him 2 or so days.


    He had gone from level 1 and was now level 3, not a bad growth cycle given that he was not really given much in terms ofbat minus one starter spell.


    Darius wasn''t disrespectful though. He understood well enough that receiving that starter spell alone was a boon that would likely shake any knowledgeable Mage.


    The ability to skip weeks and months of training, lectures, and tests to achieve basic mastery in anything he learned through skillbooks was not something Darius could describe as a ''mere'' boost.


    It was downright unfair and overpowered. Compared to people who woke up every day, paid fees for tutge, and suffered through harsh reprimands from their trainers, he just had to tap a book and would achieve all of that.


    This was something that made the Supreme System really important to Darius despite how barebones and unappealing version 1.0 of it was.


    Of course, for every benefit, there was a detriment. The Skill Points mechanic. This was something that didn''t just limit the utility of the skill system, but also had hidden psychological effects that must have been designed to damage the user over time.


    For the time being, Darius was immune to it thanks to the fact that he had identified the effects as well as his high Intellect... but he also realized that it could notst forever. As long as things stayed this way, he would eventually be struck by the mental afflictions until he caved in.


    He did not want that.


    This was why he was currently walking towards the river he had crossed to arrive at the homestead. It was 23 kilometers away and would take him half a day to get there if he jogged, but he opted to walk and explore a little.


    Last time, his singr goal had been to reach a ce of civilization to create the first point of contact as well as to establish a homebase. Both had been achieved, so now his aim was to start mapping the area around Poleria''s Homestead.


    Derek had already given him some information on the wildlife here and from what he had heard it appeared like a good opportunity to raise his level before heading for one of the 20 towns. Once there, he would not have as much freedom to gallivant as he pleased.


    About 4 hourster, Darius came upon a strange sound. It was a sound that he could not mistake, but he also could not possibly believe what he was hearing due to the absurdity.


    He took a deep breath and steeled his heart, creeping around the trees on the side of the footpath and heading deeper into the forest. The deeper he went, the louder and clearer the sounds became, and the more Darius'' face twisted.


    At this point, he almost lost the will to go forward, for what he would see wouldn''t be worth satisfying his curiosity, unfortunately, this was a part of his purpose in leisurely strutting through the area.


    Darius secured his back against a tree, which was only a few feet from the sound which was now as clear as day. After angling himself quietly, Darius turned to peek around the tree and saw something that nearly burned itself into his retinas.


    A 10 foot tall blue Troll was currently wrestling with a tanned lioness, trying to pin the beast down for reasons Darius despised.

 Chapter 35 - 35

    Darius was not a dramatic or overly empathic person, but he had to admit, this sight would scar him for life. What he heard was the painful whimpering of a struggling animal and the excited cries of a humanoid.


    What he had expected to see was prime bestiality, where he would chase off the offending human and kill the ravaged beast to end its misery. However, nothing prepared him for thisˇ­ this sacrilege to all living things.


    A monster and a beast, what was that even called? No, Darius genuinely hoped this was an exception to the usual, such that no terminology had been created for it.


    After all, if there was a widely known term for such a thing, it meant that it happened more often than he would like to believe.


    Darius slumped down the side of the tree while sweating and trying to close off his senses. He realized now more than ever that yes, this wasn''t Earth. In Faust, there were beasts and there were monsters.


    The former were normal animals like there had been on Earth while thetter were more magical in nature such as Goblins, Trolls, Golems, and the like. The scene before him was sadly an issue he should have expected. All things considered, things were usually the same wherever certain constants existed.


    Darius was able to quickly calm himself and detach his mind from the scene, suppressing his emotions. This was a useful trick he had learned and honed on Earth from his early adulthood.


    Only as an old man near his death had he grown sentimental, making it a thing of the past. However, he would have to unveil his old tricks if he wanted a nice and clean advantage over everyone his age or above.


    Darius removed his iron spear slowly then circled round the troll and its unwilling mate. Once he was behind it, Darius Inspected the troll and the lioness beneath it.


    [Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster


    HP: 89/89 MP: 12/12]


    [ins Lioness - Level 4 Beast


    HP: 10/25 MP: 5/5]


    Darius paused. A level 8 monster was a whopping 5 levels above him right now. The ins Lioness he could easily kill, but the 20 exp he would get from that would not be able to level him up.


    As such, Darius needed to work with the ins Lioness before it died from its current predicament. He partially regretted not branding Derek to be his meat shield, but he had his reasons for that.


    Right now, his goal was to reach level 5 by any means necessary, and this Troll would definitely shoot him up far enough, assuming he wasn''t beaten to death by it first.


    Darius checked his Database menu and entered the Bestiary. There he saw an entry for the troll, but it was unsurprisingly barebones. Darius would need to fight it to find its weaknesses, battle habits, and whatever else.


    Darius'' eyes narrowed slightly as he tried something else.


    Analyze!


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Blue Troll


    Race: Troll


    ss: Berserker


    Sub-ss: None


    HP: 89/89


    MP: 12/12


    Level: 8


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 9


    Endurance: 9


    Intellect: 2


    Charisma: 1


    Luck: 1


    Abilities: Mad Charge, Powerful Swing, Berserk


    Weapons: Wooden Club]


    Darius suddenly realized something. He was level 3, yet his stats were just as good as, and in many aspects, better than this monster that was 5 levels above him.


    Was it a benefit of the Supreme System? Or was it due to his rtively high starting stats, namely his Intellect, Charisma, and Luck? He came to the conclusion that it most likely was abination of those two factors.


    Darius now found himself more assured about the uing battle. His confidence came not from his magic, not even wholly from his stats, but the skill and expertise the Basic Lancer Arts had bestowed him.


    Darius pondered analyzing the Lioness and decided that it would be prudent to know its abilities as well.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: ins Lioness


    Race: Lion


    ss: Predator


    Sub-ss: None


    HP: 8/25


    MP: 5/5


    Level: 4


    Strength: 5


    Agility: 6


    Endurance: 5


    Intellect: 4


    Charisma: 8


    Luck: 2


    Abilities: Crunch, Fury Swipes, Pounce


    Weapons: Tooth & w.]


    As he expected. His stats were simply higher than the average monster or beast at his level, sometimes higher than others above him. Of course, this was dependant on the race and specific characteristics of the monster or beast in question.


    Darius was certain that if he were to meet a level 3 Dragon or Phoenix, its stats would be far higher than anything he could possibly muster.


    However, that had no relevance to the current situation. As it were, the ins Lioness was about to breathe herst as her valiant resistance against evil was waning.


    Darius unhesitatingly leaped out from his cover and deftly thrust his spear right up the only weak point he could ess, which was the troll''s exposed anus. It had torn off its loincloth in order to facilitate its evil intentions, which now turned out to be a fatal mistake in this case.


    The moment Darius pierced its backside, the Troll screeched in sheer agony that could not be understood by anyone who had not gone through a simr experience.


    Darius smiled and cast Sparks on the shaft of his iron spear. Since his spear could conduct electricitypetently, the troll roared as it was electrocuted through a very fragile spot.


    Unfortunately, this damage extended to the ins Lioness still held in a chokehold underneath it, which was immediately killed due to the critical damage.


    ''So much for an improvised meatshield...'' Darius internally facepalmed and pulled his spear out rudely, making sure to rip all of the softer bits of the trolls innards as it came out.


    He then checked its health once again as he held the end of the spear far away from his face as it smelled horrible.


    [Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster


    HP: 51/89 MP: 12/12]

 Chapter 36 - 36

    ''The spell did 15 damage as expected, but why did the spear only do 23?'' Darius mused as the Trolly on the grassy floor, twitching and foaming at the mouth.


    ''It seems like weapon damage and my Strength stat are calcted differently for the damage. To reach 23 damage, the system would need to take my 7 points of Strength as well as multiply by 10, then multiply by 3 for the critical damage.''


    Darius checked the Iron Spear''s details and saw that it had a damage range of 7-10, which exined where the 10 came from. Whether he got the 10 because of his Basic Lancer Arts increasing spear damage by 20%, or because of where heˇ­ pratedˇ­ he wasn''t too sure.


    ''So at 210 damage, how did it get reduced to a mere 23?'' Darius pondered.


    He then checked the Database to cross-check the details of the Troll he Analyzed. He saw that in its panel, its Endurance was listed at 9 points. The only way 210 could reach 23 is if it were divided by 9 points.


    Darius then understood. ''All things being equal, the damage of the weapon, and the Strength stat of the attacker are multiplied. Then modifiers like critical hits or skill boosts are added. On the side of the defender, their Endurance and probably any defensive equipment are multiplied, then extra modifiers like skills are used to divide from the former numeral, totaling to the actual damage dealt!''


    This was only spection with about 50% of it factual, but Darius felt that it was the most logical. However, he would still prefer to validate it before considering it as objective in this case.


    Darius lifted his spear and walked to the side of the twitching Troll. He raised his weapon and used it to whack the head of the Troll with maximum force while speaking casually.


    "Hey there buddy, why such a reaction? You were having fun trying to get your ugly dong into the now-dead beast beneath you, but you don''t like it when I treat you the same? How is that fair?" Dariusmented yfully.


    He found this quite fun actually. Not out of vengeance or anything, but because tormenting another species was actually quite pleasurable. However, Darius didn''t want to get carried away by this new temptation.


    As such, he cast another Sparks spell on the Troll to lengthen its stun even though it still looked out ofmission from the earlier attack.


    Was it that Blue Trolls were susceptible to lightning as a species, or that having raw electricity course through your body through a pole and turning you into shish kebab was enough to fry one''s consciousness?


    Darius assumed it to be thetter for now. The sheer pain must have knocked it out, thereby maximizing the stun. Well, since he had a defenseless target why should he waste the chance?


    Darius bent his knees and pulled his right arm back while he angled his torso towards a slight incline. He maintained that position for 3 seconds until his body felt taut and ready to snap, then struck out with all his strength.


    His iron spear pierced through the Troll''s throat and came out the other side, likely dealing more critical damage that Darius hade to adore. However, contrary to his expectations, this attack shocked the Troll awake from its stupor.


    Darius wickedly pulled out his spear in a way that dealt more damage and then leaped back. He was truly thankful for raising his Agility to 10 points, as he felt limber and agile like he was a low-level athlete.


    The Troll roared and mmed the ground with its arms, raising its body up. Once it did rise to its feet, its height was revealed to be almost twice that of Darius'' and it towered over him menacingly.


    Darius, for that matter, entered the third ready position of the Basic Lancer Arts, a defensive style meant to counter foesrger than the wielder. Since he had Analyzed the Troll, he was informed about its skills and weapons, so he could predict its next actions ordingly.


    It grabbed arge wooden club that rested on the side of a nearby tree. With a loud roar, it raised the club and jumped into the air, aiming to bring the force of its wrath down upon Darius.


    Darius''s eyes glinted as he dove forward and thrust his spear in an uppercut the moment hended. The Troll that had activated its Powerful Swing only stuck a tree behind Darius, denting it greatly, before it felt a line of fire on its back.


    It turned out that Darius''s actions had allowed him to avoid the skill and sh at the Troll''s back as itnded. The Troll responded by swinging its club backward without even turning, aiming to catch Darius off guard.


    It did, but not 100% so. Darius and the Troll had almost the same amount of Agility, but he couldn''t avoid its rapid response after making his own counterattack. All Darius could do was line the iron spear before him to receive the attack.


    Once the collision urred, Darius was knocked back a few feet and had to let go of the pole due to the pain in his arms. He raised them up to his face in shock, seeing how his palms were so red that it looked like they were bleedingˇ­ which they were!


    Even though he had defended as thencer skill had taught him to, he had forgotten to take into ount the fact that the Troll had 10 points of Strength, which was 3 more than him, and its size meant that its attacks would have more force.


    Darius'' weakness presented itself here. While he had the help of skills topensate, Ceasar had bluntly stated Darius'' own strengths and weaknesses.


    As a former merchant, he was a man of wits and deceptive truths, not a veteran of battle and survival. Darius had a long way to go if he wanted to be a trulypetent fighter without the help of the Supreme System or favorable circumstances through the element of surprise.

 Chapter 37 - 37

    Darius raised his head and inspected the Troll''s remaining health as well as his own.


    [Blue Troll - Level 8 Monster


    HP: 22/89 MP: 10/12]


    [Darius Stone - Level 3 Itemancer


    HP: 65/70 MP: 73/75]


    So he had only suffered slight damage from that rebound. The Troll was far worse off than him, but when it turned to face him with its club in hand while Darius was still cringing over his bleeding and trembling hands, their circumstances seemed to be the reverse.


    Darius sighed and suppressed the pain. His first mistake had been being arrogant enough to believe himself to be a master of closebat after learning one skill with the term ''Basic'' in it.


    What were his sses? Itemancer and Magus. As a Magus, what was he doing swinging a spear in closebat against a Troll which was a monster that excelled in closebat?


    Darius removed a Common Health Potion and drank it. Its effect of recovering 25 HP was definitely overkill, but he no longer had anything weaker than that at the moment.


    His hands were immediately healed by a small reddish light and he felt all his pain bleed away. The Troll, noticing Darius'' actions, roared in anger and activated another one of its skills, which was Mad Charge.


    As if it had used a drug to enhance its velocity, it moved from where it stood to where Darius did at a speed a normal person would not be able to follow. Luckily, Darius'' heightened Intellect allowed his mind to react faster than his body.


    The moment the Troll had braced its legs, he had foreseen what it was trying to do. As such, he quickly stabbed the butt of his spear into the ground at an inclined angle to create a makeshift trap and rolled out of the way.


    The Troll noticed the spear toote and could not dodge even if it wanted to at this current speed. Its torso collided with the spear where it was easily pierced through from one end to the other.


    The monster groaned in agony and crashed against a tree heavily, further exacerbating its critical state. It tried many times to rise but could not muster the strength to do so as it bled profusely over the earth.


    Darius panted slightly and observed the battlefield quietly. Many trees were ruined and the area looked likeˇ­ well, it looked like a Troll had gone on a rampage.


    Minus the corpse of the unfortunate lioness, the area was seemingly clear. Darius understood that the battle with this Troll had been noisy and was bound to attract attention.


    There might be predators or third parties waiting in the shadows to profit off their conflict. Of course Darius would ount for such a thing as he had usually been the very same third party back on Earth.


    However, Darius had overlooked the fact that beasts and monsters were less sapient than humans. They took territory and trespassing very seriously, and no monster or beast would dare intrude upon the known territory of a Blue Troll for fear of ending up just as the lioness had.


    As such, Darius focused on the struggling monster whose HP was down to the single digits now. He wished to extract more data to fill his Bestiary so he ced his spear into his Inventory and cast Ember.


    The fiery expulsionnced the torso of the weakened Blue Troll, making it scream in agony as it reacted quite strongly. The fear in its eyes shifted from one of death to one of fire.


    Darius touched his chin lightly. ''So from this, it''s clear that such monsters are weak to fire and fear it greatly. But is it spells in general or fire in particr?''


    Darius cast Sparks on the monster and watched it be electrocuted. After shuddering greatly, ity there, unmoving and on the brink of death. Darius was sure it had about 1 HP at this point.


    However, its eyes showed the fear of death and not of electricity, despite the trauma it had been put through earlier. This pleased Darius as he had found a possible racial weakness of the Blue Trolls.


    He then withdrew his iron dagger and slid it lightly across the Blue Troll''s hide. He noticed that unlike his iron spear, his dagger was unable to cut too deeply into its skin when shed.


    Darius then tried to pierce it but was only able to get a surface wound despite his Strength. It was not because the iron dagger was of poor quality, but because the Troll itself seemed resistant to shing and piercing from small weapons.


    That was another important fact to learn. Had Darius chosen the path of a rogue of sorts, he would have been put six feet under for sure. Quite the chilling thought.


    With a sigh, the fellow struck the Blue Troll dead by ramming his dagger into its eye, and it twitched itsst before bing limp. Darius then stood over it and pondered how to deal with this carcass.


    It was as obvious as day that the carcass of a monster was much more valuable than that of a beast. A hunter could kill a beast, but a monster could only be killed by an adventurer.


    Even most soldiers of Andrato Kingdom likely could not face monsters. Even he himself had been sorely unequipped to deal with a monster head-on. Darius had no illusions about how he had won this fight, it was all through his initial surprise attack.


    He had maximized his early battle damage as much as he could and that ended up saving his life. Had he encountered this beast while it was strutting about leisurely, he would have been forced to run or turned into meat paste.


    With a sigh, he passed a hand through his hair and just kept the entire carcass into his Inventory. When he reached a town, he could find a way to deal with its existence.


    Darius ignored the body of the lioness as it was not valuable to him in any realistic way and left the forest. He maintained his trajectory towards the river he had crossed yesternight, but took time to check his spoils of war after his adrenaline cooled off from the intense battle.

 Chapter 38 - 38

    [You have gained 5,140 EXP, 1 Berserk Potion, and 3 House Portal Scrolls.]


    Darius was not excited per se. He had already calcted as much before he battled the Troll. Its level had been 8 and his had been 3. So far, the theme with experience gain had been that for every level higher than the user, the base experience would be multiplied by four.


    Killing something on the same level as himself was 5 EXP, 1 level higher was 20 EXP, 2 levels higher was 80 EXP, 3 levels higher was 320 EXP, 4 levels higher was 1,280 EXP whereas 5 levels higher was 5,120 EXP. The reason the notification had an extra 20 was due to the death of the level 4 ins Lioness through his Sparks spell.


    Darius then scrolled past his level up notices.


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 4. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 5. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 6. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 7. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 8. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 9. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 10. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 11. You have gained 5 Ability Points and 3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    Straight up to level 11, wow! Darius was now more excited as he got a wealth of Ability and Skill Points to spend. However, what excited him more was the level increase, as he had been banking on that to enact the next phase of his n.


    Without personal strength, trying to act out phase 3 would be tantamount to suicide, especially given hisck of information. With this though, he needn''t worry as much once he was done allocating all his points.


    As such, Darius opened his Character menu and gazed at it solemnly. He fiddled with the modifiers for a bit before confirming his point allocation.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Sub-ss: Magus


    HP: 150/150


    MP: 550/550


    Level: 11


    Experience: 60/1100


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 12


    Endurance: 10


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 20


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: Analyze - Lv.6, Skinning - Lv.1, Butchery - Lv.1, Cooking - Lv.1, Washing - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv.4


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.20, Ember - Lv.4]


    Darius allocated everything without holding back at all. 40 Ability Points and 24 Skill Points were spread out amongst his stats and skills, greatly increasing their values.


    The first thing he noticed was his progressively higher EXP requirement to level up. It was now 1,100 for level 11, it seemed the trend was to add two zeroes behind his current level.


    Seemed simple enough until he considered that itpiled on itself per level. Another question Darius had to ask himself was if he could kill a level 16 monster as easily as he had done with the Blue Troll?


    That was a troublesome question, which directly reflected his choices in point allocation all around. Darius had learned what his strengths and weakness were inbat as well as what he had to focus on.


    He had brought up his Strength from 7 points to 15, practically doubling it. Now that he was above the average threshold, he should be able to do some respectable damage next time he decided to wield a spear again.


    Darius felt as if his body had been suddenly packed with muscles, but no visible changes had urred to his body. He felt like he had just performed the workout of his life and was feeling supremely pumped as a result.


    Darius had also increased his Agility by 2 points. The fight with the Troll had proven that it was not an unimportant stat, so he had used the leftover from his other choices.


    Like before, he felt the difference immediately. It was always as if some gravitational force was trying to crush him into the, yet the pressure on him lightened slightly with each point.


    His Endurance was left untouched, but his Intellect received the majority of his Ability points, doubling from 25 to 50 in one go!


    He fell to his knees as he clutched his head. There was no pain, just intensity. It felt as if his mind had previously been like a dirty corridor full of debris that was cleaned up by a professionalpany.


    With so much space and new passageways, things were able to move faster and more efficiently. Things he had struggled to recollect even with eidetic memory were bing clearer and clearer.


    He even felt the inkling of his mind power reaching out to the world around him, trying to establish a connection to things outside his brain. Unfortunately, it was weak and short, unable to make a firm connection, but at least it was there.


    Darius guessed that 50 was an important threshold for stats like 10 had been. The change in his mind was more than just a simply strengthening, as it experienced an overall qualitative leap.


    The system seemed to agree with him on this, as it produced what Darius felt was the hardest evidence to back his assumptions.


    [Congrattions! You have reached 50 points in Intellect and have acquired the ability: Mind Power.]


    [Mind Power - Basic Ability


    Cost: 10 mana per second


    Description: You are a budding psychic, able to gather the sheer power of your mental faculties in focus and lead it outward to affect the world around you. However, it takes a great toll on your mind and mana at this current stage. ]

 Chapter 39 - 39

    Darius nodded in agreement with the description, at 10 mana per second to use this almost useless ability feltpletely unnecessary. However, he was looking forward to the point in time when that would change.


    For now, he continued with the self-assessment. Darius had not put anything into Charisma, as 15 points were fine enough for any endeavor he would partake in and he was confident enough in his verbal prowess to maximize his chances at sessful seduction or persuasion should the need arise.


    Instead, he had dropped 5 points into his Luck, bringing it from 15 to 20. Since it decided his genuine luck and the drops he got from kills it seemed like a worthwhile investment. Were it not for his need for more battle power, Darius would have happily dumped all points into Luck.


    There could never be anything wrong with being too lucky, only that people would find it aggravating if he aplished everything in his life too easily. However, Darius cared little for the opinion of third parties, for no one going through a perilous journey ever thought ''let me suffer some more, so that I may forge myself into something greater for others''.


    As for his skills, he had pre-nned to upgrade Analyze in order to see any changes in its development, so he generously allocated 5 of his points to it. 3 of his SP went into Ember because it was a very useful attack.


    While Sparks was his mainstay, Ember seemed to be trying its best to perform well, where even in two dire situations, its usage had indeed scared his foes. Well... despite beingmon, fire was fire after all.


    As for his number 1 spell, Sparks, Darius had generously ced everything else. 16 points were greedily swallowed by the spell, but that was it.


    In truth, he had tried to ce everything into Sparks since he had learned from this battle that he should only use his spear to support his magic, not the other way round.


    However, after it had reached level 20 he was unable to add to it, making him understand that it had to be the max level for a basic spell like Sparks. Darius wondered if Ember also had the same level limitation, since it and Sparks seemed to generally be of the same tier.


    Darius had rightfully ignored skills like Cooking and Washing because they were only misc skills he had picked up along the way. As for his Basic Lancer Arts, it was doing well enough at level 4, so he had ignored that as well.


    He checked his skills and how they had grown after his ''nourishment''.


    [Analyze - Level 6 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: Deduce the characteristics of any item or person. The effectiveness of this skill is based on 1.6x your Intellect stat.


    [Sparks - Level 20 Spell (MAX)


    Cost: 5 MP


    Description: Send out a sparkle of electricity that can zap foes into a significant paralysis. This deals 100% lightning damage.]


    [Ember - Level 4 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Send out a shower of fire that burns all foes within range. This deals 20% fire damage.]


    Darius was greatly impressed. Analyze showed marginal growth by adding a multiplier that increased its practical effectiveness while Ember reached the same stage Sparks had been at up till now.


    20% of his 50 Intellect would equal 10 damage per cast! Quite nifty truly, as about 9 casts would have waid the same Troll.


    Not exactly exemry asbat had many changes and permutations, but he would soon adopt his role as a backline fighter when he found a suitable candidate for his System Brand.


    Of course, it was still unable to contend with Sparks, which was on a whole different level now. With 100% damage, it meant every bit of his high Intellect would work as practical damage.


    Every cast of Sparks now did 50 damage to all enemies!


    The Troll from before would have died with two casts!


    The part that thrilled Darius was the low MP cost. His MP was now at a whopping 550, and a mere 5 MP per cast meant that he could cast Sparks 110 times before he bottomed out.


    This was it!


    This was the capital Darius had been looking for to secure his power!


    With this, he could deal with beast, monster, and hopefully, human alike. He wasn''t sure about other races like Elves or Dwarves, but surely they should also suffer the same fate?


    Darius quelled his childish excitement. He now noticed that the more he gotfortable with this body, the more it took a hold of his mind. While his Intellect stat was high, it affected his mind, not his body.


    He was 13 years old, prone to emotional outbursts, and in the prime of his puberty. Darius would have to consciously control himself in order to prevent any ''mistakes''.


    He knew better than anyone howˇ­ ''hungry''ˇ­ boys at this age were. The slightest sniff of a female and they would turn into beasts. Darius had enjoyed a long andropause in his seventies, so he hadn''t had to deal with such a thing for a long while.


    Whatever the case, Darius checked his other loot.


    [Berserk Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 15/15


    Description: A good quality creation of Alchemy that grants a 30-second Berserk state, increasing damage and defense by 5% and lowering intelligence by 15%.]


    [House Portal - Scroll


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Return from any location to one''s main homebase.]


    Darius raised an eyebrow. The Berserk potion meant little to him because he would never trade power for his intelligenceˇ­ as that was the source of his power. However, the House Portal scroll seemed too good to be true.


    A warp scroll that took him from anywhere to their homebase? First of all, how did the system identify what his homebase was?


    He hadn''t set any location as his homebase and he doubted it was kind enough to just take him to Poleria''s Homestead since that had been the first location he had visited.


    Case in point, Darius attempted to activate one of them.


    [Error, no specific location has been set as the homebase.]


    Darius frowned, then smiled. He opened his system menu and checked the Settings. In the tab for the map functions, he saw an option for the homebase settings.


    Rubbing his chin, he exited the Settings and opened the main map. He then zoomed in until he spotted Poleria''s Homestead in a tiny corner of the ins of the Green, where he then pointed to it.


    [Set this location as your homebase?]


    Darius assented while also taking out his House Portal scroll.

 Chapter 40 - 40

    His Short Warp scroll allowed him to move anywhere within 25 kilometers. Darius pondered a bit and looked at his ruined attire that Portia gave him. It was dirtied and spoiled beyond measure after his scuffle.


    As such, he unhesitatingly activated the House Portal scroll and felt a golden light envelop him. The moment it covered his form, he was whisked away from the de and right in the room Portia had allocated him.


    To Darius, it was as if he was in the forest one second and then in his room in the other. To onlookers, it was like a golden sh of light had disappeared from the clearing and appeared in one of the farmhouse''s rooms.


    Darius sighed and scratched his head. ''I should probably clean myself up again.''


    As such, he called for Portia, who rushed to his room with a look of shock on her face.


    "Master Darius, you''reˇ­ you''re back again? B-But I just saw you leave the homestead a few hours agoˇ­"


    Darius smiled gently. "I have a way to teleport between two locations. I was interrupted during my experiment by a Blue Troll, but I was able to fell it expeditiously. Tell your brother that I apologize for ruining his clothes. I''ll naturallypensate for the damages, but for now, I''d like to get a change of clothes and freshen up before heading out again."


    Portia was astounded and secretly moved when she heard Darius could teleport. ording to her book, only an Adept Mage could even perform a Short Blink, much less a long distance teleport.


    Darius was so young but so powerfulˇ­ and he had even killed a Blue Troll! That was a monster even her papa did not engage without assistance from some of the otherbat capable men of the homestead.


    "I''ll have a bath and a new set of clothes prepared right away!" Portia promised excitedly, for reasons she herself did not understand.


    Darius watched the youngdy practically skip away with a benevolent smile on his faceˇ­ which he quickly wiped off with a smack. He smiled bitterly when he realized that around this youngss, his elderly characteristic tended to show easily.


    Darius truthfully saw her more as a cute niece or a sweet granddaughter, rather than what she hoped he would see which was quite sad actually.


    However, he didn''t want to create unnecessary resentment between any parties in the homestead, so he''d have to remain silent about his disinterest, lest it brew such feelings.


    As of now, he had only 0.1 Conversion Points remaining for the day. He had spent 4 of them on his Spearmanship skillbook and 5.9 on another empty spell manual. He was pondering whether to turn the empty manual into a blink spell or a healing spell the next day.


    Both of them had their uses. Blink would make him harder to hit inbat. For example in the previous battle, he could have easily dealt with the Troll''s skills by blinking away andncing it with Sparks.


    A healing spell would be great if he took on a tank-like person under his System Brand. While they took the damage and Darius cast his Sparks from the backline, he could also heal them whenever their HP went low.


    So basically, it came down to what his choice was for phase 2.5 which was the interlude before the truly difficult task. Should he go ahead and find a member of thismunity that fit his requirements and brand them?


    The problem with this was that whoever he chose would have to drop everything and follow him out of here for the rest of their lives. This posed many problems for Darius specifically.


    The first was attachments. If he took someone from here, they would have other attachments and loyalties except himself, since they had family, friends, and an origin here. While on their journey, they would eventually reach the point when they would like toe back and visit, or might be hindered by their feelings for their family if they were threatened.


    The second was morality. These people had grown up in a nice area full of love, warmth, and honesty. To ask any of them to kill their fellow man, even with a justifiable reason, would waste Darius'' precious time and energy. What he needed were servants who obeyed his will, not children who whined about good and bad.


    The third was wisdom. While these people might be natives of this world, they were farmers and vigers. They were not exactly adept at assassination, subterfuge, deception, or reading deeper social cues.


    Darius could list many more reasons against this choice. That was why despite Derek and Portia appearing like viable candidates for his System Brand, he had hesitated so far and continued to do so.


    Right now, Darius was more inclined to head to the nearest town, purchase a ve or two, and brand them. That would be the easiest method to achieve his goals while avoiding many of the problems he had mentally listed and find out if there were any limitations he was unaware of.


    However, he certainly couldn''t head to the town before phase 3 as hisck of an identity would bite him in the ass.


    Darius'' thoughts were interrupted by Portia informing him that his bath was ready. He then spent an hour or two cleaning himself and his weapons up, before he donned a newer and fresher attire that was morefortable for battle and trekking.


    It was less noble and more countryside. It was very practical and Darius liked it more for the purposes he had in mind.


    "Portia, I recall you mentioned that you were a Schr? I should have guessed as much earlier, since I can see the intelligence and astuteness in your eyes and your actions." Darius suddenly mentioned, making the young maiden blush about such apliment.


    Despite her reddened cheeks, she did not break eye contact as she smiled and nodded. "I am. Papa has quite a huge library filled with books from all over the Kingdom. As his only daughter, I am to be the manager of this estate, so it''s imperative that I am educated and good with numbers."


    Darius'' eyes brightened. "Can you take me there? I would love to browse through the wealth of knowledge your esteemed father haspiled."


    Portia nodded rapidly and pulled Darius by the hand, chattering on about the library and her favorite books while Darius followed along with a benevolent smile.

 Chapter 41 - 41

    Darius spent the rest of the day in the library instead of heading out again. He changed his mind not because of Portia, but because of the wealth of knowledge Shanks possessed in the form of books.


    In truth, Darius had been clumsy. He had assumed that since Shanks was a soldier, he would be a meathead with little education or interest in knowledge, but he was wrong to have stereotyped the man.


    He had everything, from geography to history, modern literature, sociology, mathematics, and even some books on magical theory andbat theory!


    Darius had surprisingly chosen to pick up the books on history first, rather than magical theory. He then spent the rest of the day parsing through them quickly with Portia watching on with shock.


    When Darius exined that he had an eidetic memory and could memorize it on a single nce, she gazed at him with respect and envy. Darius was just the perfect schr and mage type!


    Darius was excited the more he read. So much of the information he slowly acquired filled up the holes in the small Infoblock he received about the Andrato Kingdom and its history.


    All he had known was that it had existed for about 300 years and had about 5 rulers, but he finally discovered how and why it was formed, as well as what recognition it received to be called a state.


    Now, he discovered that the Andrato Kingdom was a subsidiary state of arger and more powerful kingdom called Fraterina. It was a kingdom that was matriarchal in nature due to the founding mother being an ex-valkyrie.


    It had existed for more than 5,000 years, after a divine war between the various churches and demonic factions. Darius was intrigued by this tidbit, but it was not storied in the history book since it wasn''t the direct reason for the formtion of the Andrato Kingdom.


    However, it confirmed a few things for Darius. There were deities in this world and they, unlike on Earth, made themselves known. This was something he had suspected to exist after hearing Caesar speak of Dragons and whatnot, so he wasn''t too jilted.


    It did make Darius wonder though, how did the ''Supreme'' stage fit in all this? Was it a level above deities? One step below them? Or an intermediary?


    ording to Caesar, the highest stage currently achievable was Grandmaster. Since this was between level 80 to 100, could the world have mistaken Grandmasters for deities since they were the highest point of power?


    After all, if Darius reached level 80, his stats and skill would be a whole different level from right now. It was likely he would be able to fly, crush mountains with a punch, and call thunderstorms to destroy an entire city.


    What else could that be but a God to the weak? Especially to the lesser educated masses of Faust who were still in the heavy religious/superstitious phase which earth had long shed away.


    Then again, these were spections. He would have to endeavor to learn more about the deities and the churches, and thankfully he had Portia for that. However, Darius didn''t want to go on a tangent just yet.


    By the time it was 9 pm, he had already discovered that the first queen of Andrato Kingdom had been only of the princesses of Fraterina Kingdom sent here to subdue the ins of Death as punishment.


    It was a form of exile for a sin she hadmittedˇ­ which was trying to advocate for more rights for men.


    When Darius read this, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. It seemed Fraterina was a spitting example of a sexist state, where the dominant sex - male or female - treated the other as a subordinate sex.


    If there was a Fraterina, there would definitely be a Fraterino, where the opposite dynamic existed.


    However, ever since the first founder, named Julietta, settled down with her allies to form the Andrato Kingdom, the power bnce between both sexes had been neutralized.


    Darius saw a note from either Shanks or Portia that stated: "The Royal Court is still split into two; those who want to adopt the traditions of the mother kingdom then return to her fold and those who want to adhere to the wishes of the founder."


    Darius rubbed his face with frustration. So before he had even entered the noble circles, he had already been hamfisted into a faction, which was obviously the one that supported the founder.


    Supporting the other one would be shooting himself in the foot unless he could find a way to change his gender, which, even if it was possible, he had no interest in doing.


    After reading this far, he was a bit tired and decided to go to bed. Portia escorted him to his room, once again hoping for something more, only for Darius to bid her goodnight.


    As such, the youngss could only slink away with her head lowered and her expression downcast.


    Darius plopped into bed and sorted all the knowledge he had acquired today. The one thing he was most interested in now wasn''t even the divine war from the ages past that led to the formation of Fraterina, but the ins of Death.


    Exactly what secrets did that ce hold that made it imperative for the Fraterina Kingdom to send one of their princesses here? Was it a figurative or literal goldmine? A growing threat?


    Perhaps a mix of both? Darius would have to research more on it either through books or when he got to arger ce of civilization.


    Whatever the case, he found his eyes drooping the more he thought. Today, he had battled a Blue Troll ande out on top, climbing a whopping 8 levels in one go.


    The power boost it had given him was not a joke, but it had also tired him out and made him feel strange in his empowered body. Darius''sst thoughts before he fell asleep were of the Conversion Points he would be receiving tomorrow and how to best allocate them.


    After all, tomorrow was the day he would have to choose a new spell to add to his repertoire.

 Chapter 42 - 42

    Darius woke up quite refreshed and limber. It could be because he had a long period of sleep or because his averaged out Endurance stat made him less fatigued overall.


    Whatever the case, he bathed with the help of Portia - only in preparing it of course - and wore another one of Derek''s altered clothes. Instead of heading out, Darius walked right back to the library where he resumed his reading.


    Of course, he didn''t forget about his newly refreshed Conversion Points.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small teleport spell manual? This will cost 9 Conversion Points.]


    Darius was left speechless by how expensive it was. Then again, space was among the pinnacle of the elements and was definitely hard to grasp for normal mages.


    Before he made the change, he decided to check how much it would cost to make a healing spell manual.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small recovery spell manual? This will cost 7 Conversion Points.]


    Darius'' lips twitched. Both were far more expensive than the Ember Spell Manual had been. Darius had nned to create a spell and some more Short Warp scrolls today, but his ns were shot.


    Well, if he had a blink spell, it wouldn''t matter if he had Short Warp scrolls, would it? With his healthy mana pool, even if the blink distance was short, he had no cooldowns for his spells like other mages.


    He could just rapidly blink to his destination or until his mana ran out, which was why he chose the blink spell after thinking it through some more. Since he had potions to help with his healing, he didn''t think he''d need a spell for that so pressingly.


    As such, he sighed and created the small teleport spell manual for 9 of his precious points for the day.


    [Blink Spell - Manual


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to cast the simplest spell of the space element, Blink. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the spell is increased by 100% while the effectiveness of the spell is increased by 500%.]


    Without wasting time, Darius learned the spell immediately.


    [Detected spellbook. Would you like to learn its contents?


    Warning: The spellbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]


    As he assented, he saw the spell manual turn into a purplish slush that climbed up his arms and went into his brain through his ears. After a short pause to digest the years of practice and studying he had undergone to master the blink spell, he checked its description.


    [Blink - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Move through the folds of space to cross the distance between two locations instantly. The maximum distance is 10 meters.]


    Darius tutted. 10 meters was quite short, he could even sprint that distance in under a second or two right now. However in battle, being able to appear even 1 meter away from an attack could mean everything.


    This wasn''t a traversal spell, this was a battle one. Darius understood this the moment he read its details, so he pondered if a traversal version of the blink spell existed.


    It likely did for sure, but he fathomed that its rtive cost would be higher, even with a prepared manual. Whatever the case, he would find out more on thatter.


    Just as Darius was about to enter the library with Portia, who had seen Darius absorb the spell manual with wide eyes and a drooping mouth, he saw Dereking over.


    pping his forehead, Darius quickly walked over to Derek. The young man still wielded his own spear, as if he never let that thing down for even a second.


    "Hello there Derek, I was wondering if I could share some things I acquired with the homestead." Darius greeted with a smile.


    Derek nodded and paused. "What would that be?"


    Darius flourished his palm a little and a cut of Grey Bear meat appeared on it. This action greatly startled both Portia and Derek, for it was something they had never seen before.


    "I have a lot of cut meat I saved for my journey, but no longer need since you have all given me lodging and food. As such, I also thought to give something back to you all, even if it might be small."


    Derek received the meat and checked it to see that it was still as good as new, as if Darius had just killed the source of the meat a few seconds ago. There was even fresh blood still dripping from the meat!


    The young man''s face became solemn and he nodded. "Follow me to the storeroom, Mister Darius."


    Derek turned and led the way down to the kitchen area of the farmhouse/manor. Darius told Portia to wait for him in the library while he followed Derek with a slight smile on his lips.


    ''Mister Darius, huh?''


    Interesting. Just as the Analyze skill had stated, Portia was a friendly party to him and would likely be more if Darius epted her advances. Derek though, despite being her sibling and seeing the same things Portia did, still did not fully ept or trust him.


    It could either be part of his personality, being cold and detached which seemed likely, or it could be because he saw something in Darius that Portia failed to. After all, the young miss was enraptured by the circumstances and his looks, but the young man had no such interests.


    As such, it was likely that Derek could see more about Darius than usual. This Darius disagreed with because if Derek could truly see into his character, even slightly, he would undoubtedly be hostile and not neutral.


    Darius appeared in a storage room that was maintained by a few of the other men and women of the homestead, mostly the peasants just reaching the age of adulthood.


    When they saw Derek and Darius, all work stopped as they greeted the duo. Derek nodded to them while Darius smiled benevolently.


    Soon, their respectful faces changed to one of utter shock when Darius removed pounds and pounds of meat he had cut from the various beasts he killed on his way here.


    As for the Troll''s carcass, he obviously kept that to himself.

 Chapter 43 - 43

    After Darius was done offloading the meat that had been clogging up his ratherrge Inventory, he parted from Derek and returned to the library. This time, Darius made sure to speak about the history of Andrato with Portia, and she added a lot of knowledge that wasn''t penned down for obvious reasons.


    Apparently, what Portia heard was that the founder wasn''t actually an advocate for men''s rights, but the loser of a battle for the crown. In order for the winner to sessfully exile her, they pinned this tag on her in order to lower her standing in public.


    As for being exiled here to conquer the ins of Death, it was basically a random excuse so they could send her out to die. After all, the ins of Death weren''t named as such because one could cross it safely and easily.


    Darius rubbed his chin as he listened, finding the politics behind this kingdom''s formation quite interesting. There was so much to digest and so much that was different from the norm that he found it novel.


    Darius then moved onto geography. He learned the general makeup of the world and filled up many areas of his System Map this way. Apparently, the world was split into 10 major continents, with each so far from the other that denizens needed to use warp gates to cross.


    Darius was also surprised to find out that each continent was not the same in terms of era. There was a continent called Gravitas that was described as having metal warriors and natives using metal boxes to move around.


    That sounded awfully like mechs or robots for the first and some form of car for the second. This meant that the Gravitas continent was either futuristic or set in the modern age, which baffled Darius.


    What the hell was Faust? He understood from what Caesar said that Vena created Faust solely to thrust him here and have him act out entertainment, but this worldˇ­ this stage he had been givenˇ­ it was too chaotic!


    What made Darius even more confused was that there was a continent called Unyris that was basically - from what he could tell of the description - and stuck in the pre-historic age with giant lizards, t-rexes, and bizarre wildlife.


    The 10 continents were as follows; Fallon, Unyris, Gravitas, Houto, Pan, Pokterr, Ludo, Elysium, Armadon, Kiel.


    As far as he could tell, they were currently on the Fallon continent which from the descriptions, seemed to be a medieval erand with a focus on magic and cold weapons.


    Unyris was the pre-historic continent with sparse sentient life and rich natural resources that made all other continents drool, but its beast and monster popce were the second strongest in the entire Faust.


    Gravitas was the least documentednd as they were extremely xenophobic and looked down on all other species on Faust. Darius could not find anything more on them despite how much he read.


    Houto was arge ind nation that - from what Darius could see here - was basically old Japan. There were mentions of three prominent races on Houto, the humans, the Oni race, and the Yokai. That wasrgely what clued Darius in.


    Pan was a bit harder to discern with these confusing descriptions. If Darius had not been from Earth and well-read, he would not have been able to grasp the make-up of the Pan continent. Putting aside the bizarre descriptions, Darius was able to understand that Pan also shared simrities to old China, and there were four races that existed there.


    They were the Demon Beasts, Divine Beasts, Mortals, and Immortals. Darius was certain that Mortals and Immortals were the same race, but it seemed that Faustians didn''t agree, especially the Immortals from Pan.


    Pokterr was a subterranean continent that was hard to locate on the world map, and was almost inessible except through warp gates. It was mostly popted byˇ­ insects and moles? And as if that alone had not made it special enough they were giant in size as well.


    Apparently, entry to and from Pokterr was strictly regted since the insect race had onceunched a horrible invasion of Faust that nearly ruined the world. If it wasn''t for the innocent mole race that betrayed the insects to help the world, the continent would likely have been shut off for eternity.


    Ludo was a saharan continent with sparse human life and civilization. It alsocked natural resources for sustenance/consumption, but its wealth of resources in terms of metals and minerals literally supplied 70% of the world!


    Elysium was - as far as Darius could tell - the continent where the Gods of Faust resided and had their main churches set up. It was a location that was rtively easy to enter among the many continents, but getting to stay there was almost impossible.


    Armadon was the opposite of Elysium apparently the continent where the demons and devils of Faust made their home. A hellish, barren wastnd of fire and brimstone, it had nothing to give the world except endless brutal demons, monsters, and even worse, devils. Entry to and from Armadon was not controlled as no one knew how to get there but those in the know.


    Kiel was a continent located far to the north, and was a snowy continent full of strange tribes. It didn''t belong to one particr race or have a set theme per se, but ording to what Darius read, it is said that the core of Faust could be located there.


    Darius digested the knowledge slowly throughout the course of the day. There was a lot more to read up on as some books detailed the locales, provinces, and states within certain continents, but Darius ended it here today as it was nowte.


    Portia had long fallen asleep on hisp and Darius found that he had been absent-mindedly ying with her hair. This made him smile kindly as this was the exact same position his beloved Miranda had fallen asleep in when Darius had tried to educate her.


    Eventually, he had given up and decided to pamper the darling girl while focusing his teaching on the more stoic Solena andter Martin.

 Chapter 44 - 44

    Darius woke up the next day and headed to the library once again. The pursuit of knowledge was paramount to everything else, for the educated man was the most powerful man in the world.


    He met the chipper young miss on his way there after he had taken his bath and breakfast, courtesy herself and some other servants. Portia had her own studies to attend to, so her ability to care for Darius was reduced as the days went by.


    This pleased Darius and depressed Portia, but she rejoiced in the fact that they spent the whole day together discussing a wide range of topics. Portia quickly found that Darius was far more mature than anyone she had met, his insight into many things making her pause.


    As for Darius, he first used his daily CP to make some more valuable conversions.


    [Would you like to change the nk paper into a House Portal scroll? This will cost 0.5 Conversion Points.]


    Darius changed 8 of them, making a loss of 4 CP. He also converted one his empty books into another spell manual, which took 5.9 CP as well.


    Just like two days ago, he was down to 0.1 CP!


    However, Darius was unbothered as he had now settled down and was in no rush to execute phase 3. Today, he continued what was leftover of History andbined it with Geography to fill in the nk spots he had encountered in his previous readings.


    Darius was partially speechless to find out that the Valkyrie race were not even a big deal in Elysium, merely the exotic foot soldiers of Odin''s church. From what Portia told him, the first founder of Fraterina was a high ranking warrior who had discharged herself well during the war and was granted leave to explore the world.


    Why did this sound like a ve owner releasing a hardworking ve as a reward for their suffering, mostly in order to motivate the other ones? Portia made it sound like that Valkyrie meant something to Odin, but that was what the history books wanted her to think.


    Darius found himself slightly more intrigued. Now that he was aware of the history of Andrato and the various continents around the world, he next needed to discover the system of power in this world.


    It was imperative, crucial, and important that he did. As such, he first read through thebat theory books as well as corroborated his findings with Portia to see what she knew.


    Apparently, Caesar hadn''t been pulling the wool over his eyes. In the world of Faust - not just Fallon or any specific continent - there were the same Ranks the Artificial Intelligence mentioned.


    Amateur, Journeyman, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster. There were legends of a level above that one, but the people of Faust had no idea what it was called. It seemed that for now, only Darius knew about the Supreme stage, which was a great advantage.


    They did not have the concept of ''levels'', that level 1-20 was Amateur and level 21-40 was Journeyman, and so on. How they did differentiate was by the life level of the target.


    Darius scrunched his forehead when he heard the term. It seemed a bit strange for a world like this, but he continued reading to find out more.


    Life level simply meant the quality of power, lifeforce, and acuity any being possessed. This made Darius raise his eyebrows, for it sounded like they had a way to sense/measure the Strength, Endurance, and Intellect of any person and used that criteria to measure their power.


    Darius thought that calling it ''power level'' would be cleverer than ''life level'', but he decided to keep his opinion to himself.


    As it seemed, the denizens of Faust were not able to raise their stats or strengthen themselves in a way that allowed them to be stronger. It seemed that a person needed to undergo a special urrence called a ''Spark''.


    When their ''Spark'' urs, they would then climb into the Amateur stage and be a different type of organism from those who haven''t. They would be able to explore dungeons and kill the monsters within to strengthen themselves through the passive absorption of life force from in foes.


    Darius raised an eyebrow once more. Wasn''t that basically killing monsters to gain experience points? Darius felt like he was beginning to understand how things worked in Faust, but continued to read on.


    Faustians shared this same system of power no matter where they resided. However, the book made no mention about how one became a deity, only that the Gods and Demons/Devils had existed long before man could first write.


    There had never been any new Gods or churches, as it was believed that they were a different form of life. Gods and Demons could reproduce with lesser species, but not with each other, making their pure-blooded members finite permanently.


    This rang a bell in Darius'' mind as some data he had absorbed from the history books finally made sense. Why the Gods and Demons had fought what was a proxy war using their descendants.


    Of course, they wouldn''t dare to fight, they were limited in number! One gone was one dead for eternity, with no hope of recement!


    This also answered the question Darius had, which was; ''is the Supreme stage the same as being a deity/god?''


    The answer - as far as he could verify - was no. Gods were born at the pinnacle of the Grandmaster stage and existed somewhere between Grandmaster and Supreme.


    The book didn''t know about the name of the Supreme stage, but there were some writings that described this ultimate stage as such: "The highest of the highest, the God of Gods and the Demon of Demons. The greatest existence in the history of, and for the future of, Faust."


    This excited and depressed Darius, for once he became a Supreme, the whole world would be his for the taking.


    Naturally, on the flip side, bing a Supreme would likely be more difficult than what Caesar hinted at.

 Chapter 45 - 45

    Darius was excited by the rate at which he was patching the holes in his knowledge and the filling of his Database. To others, what he was doing might seem tedious and boring, but this was the action that separated a genius pragmatist from the average bloke.


    Besides, Darius was past the age of his youth where he was in a hurry to see things develop. He had gone through old age, where the lesson every elderly learned was patience and to take life slowly.


    The next day, Darius spoke to Portia slowly. "Today will be thest day I follow you to the library. After I read up on magical theory, I will have to return to my experiments as they are of paramount importance."


    Portia''s excited demeanor as she walked with Darius shriveled, but she mustered an understanding smile and nodded. "If that is what Master Darius must do, then I support you."


    Darius chuckled and patted the youngdy on the head, which was quite strange since they were about the same height and age. However, Portia responded positively to his pampering, mistaking it for a different kind of affection.


    Darius entered the library with her and began reading up on the magical theory that was actually the most prevalent type of book here. It seems Shanks had hopes that his little girl could spark and be a mage.


    Whatever the case, he found himself engrossed in the many books about magical theory, learning how the magical profession worked, how mages ranked their power, and how they progressed.


    Surprisingly, a lot of it was what Darius predicted when he first unlocked the Magus ss and began using spells.


    Firstly, spells were separated into their own ranks. Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, and Grandmaster. Seeing as his Lancer Arts were also prefixed with ''basic'', it seemed as if this criterion held true for all skills as well.


    In the list of known spells mentioned, Sparks was present, and so was Ember. He also saw Ice Lance, Water Shot, Wind de, and Earth Spike among others for the basic spells.


    It seemed that each element only had one basic spell, but their numbers ballooned above that Rank with many versatilebinations. The books here did not teach the spells, as that would require a spell manual.


    They just had general knowledge regarding how magic worked. Mages created spells through a process called the magical method. Most spells were not given to them by deities or were a heritage from an old era.


    Minus the basic spells that existed as a sort ofw of the universe, everything above that was created by the hands of various mages over the years. The lower the rank of the spell, the easier it was to create, but it required great talent still.


    Darius did not pursue this, but rather checked more on basic spells as he wore a deep frown. Something had been bothering him ever since he acquired Sparks, and it became even more serious as he created Ember.


    This was the power and growth of basic spells or spells in general. As far as Darius could read, spells were locked to the stage of the mage. An Adept mage cannot cast a Grandmaster spell and an Amateur mage certainly cannot cast an Intermediate one.


    Basic spells were only used to guide Amateurs and help them raise their magic and mental power. Apparently, they had extremely horrible utility in battle, with Ember only being able to singe foes while Sparks only acted like a taser at best.


    In fact, the basic spells had a more unofficial name that many who were into fantasy magic like Darius on Earth would know: cantrips.


    They were just a form of simplistic magic, on the same level as party tricks. That naturally begot the question, why were Darius'' Sparks and Ember so potent inparison?


    Darius formted three possible answers:


    The first was that the Magus ss, as a Supreme ss, passively increased the power of all spells.


    The second was that Sparks had been enhanced to the Supreme rank by the system as it came as a freebie when he first got it. Ember was meant to be average, yet got boosted by the effects of the transmuted spell manual.


    The third was that the system passively enhanced all his skills and spells to the level they were at.


    Despite the first answer seeming the most sensible and reasonable, Darius was inclined to believe the second. Not because he enjoyed being oblique and contrarian, but because of what had been bothering him about Ember''s creation.


    The Unused Spell Manuals created by his Transmutation ability were not average. Under the hands of the elitist ability, they were raised to the highest possible quality, and inspecting them through the system told him that the spell had an extra 100% chance of being learned as well as having its power boosted by 500%.


    Yet when he learned the spell, it had the description of dealing 5% fire damage. So exactly where did that 500% boost for the spell disappear to?


    Darius'' theory was that Ember - and the original Sparks - were supposed to deal 1% damage when learned by a normal mage, yet his spell manual had raised Ember to 5%. One might miss this detail because Sparks and Ember seemed to start off with the same power, but it was not so!


    More importantly, Darius believed that it was strange for Sparks and Ember to grow by 5% damage per skill point allocated. He had been positively surprised when he first leveled up Sparks and it went from 5% to 20%, but that was when his doubts also deepened.


    After all, just look! Sparks at level 20 did 100% damage! If a basic spell was able to be so powerful when maxed out, then mages should be invincible within their stages.


    50 damage per cast was amazing at the Amateur stage if Darius was to use himself as a gauge. He currently had 150 HP even with 15 Strength and 10 Endurance, meaning that should a clone of him appear, he could be killed in three casts!

 Chapter 46 - 46

    Once Darius'' thoughts reached here, he felt like he had solved a pressing issue. It seemed long-winded, but the truth was one could just imagine his fate if he cast his current Sparks around an actual mage.


    They might just have their jaws lower so sharply that it might dislocate. Topare, it would be like seeing someone holding a toy pistol and then shooting a mini-nuke out of it.


    How would you react?


    Darius rubbed his hair and decided to take a break here. Portia was also reading up on her stuff and Darius had an idea pop up in his head.


    "Portia, I''ve read about the power systems, but how do mages and non-mages acquire a ''Spark'' artificially?" Darius asked.


    Portia tilted her head in surprise. "For you to say thatˇ­ Master Darius, does that mean you were naturally awakened?!"


    Darius nodded pleasantly. "I am very talented as you can see Portia. What about my earlier question?"


    Portia gazed at Darius with even more reverence. "Well, for people like my brother, they have to either ingest a potion or some naturally urring fruits that can artificially create a Spark. Some even have specific talents they can create in a person."


    Portia seemed downcast here. "As for us mages, it is very hard. Outside of natural awakening like yours, there is only one other way and it is by using a Scroll of Awakening written by an Adept mage."


    Darius took out a nk sheet of paper and focused even as Portia continued to speak about the makings of a Scroll of Awakening.


    [Would you like to change the nk paper into a Scroll of Awakening? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]


    Darius'' lips twitched. Before he did anything else, he took out his Unused Spell manual and focused on it as well.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small recovery spell manual? This will cost 7 Conversion Points.]


    Darius sighed. If he could create his own Awakening Scrolls, he could build his own faction of mages once he reached the city and had his identity secured.


    [Heal Spell - Manual


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to cast the simplest spell of the healing element, Heal. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the spell is increased by 100% while the effectiveness of the spell is increased by 500%.]


    For now, he created the healing spell manual as Darius would always prioritize the most important things first. Darius had also learned something shocking while reading up info about magic.


    That was the fact that mages couldn''t just cast spells of any elements as they wished! Mages had elements they were attuned to at the point of awakening, and they would only gain affiliation with more either over time, or as they climbed the stages.


    Obviously, the Magus ss allowed Darius to learn all elements equally, though he was unsure if he could learn higher stage spells. Unfortunately, when he tried to make a fireball manual, the price hade to 30 CP back then.


    Another fact was that as he expected, mages needed to chant to use spells. Actually, it was moreplex than that. There were three types of casting methods propounded by notable Grandmaster mages over history.


    The first was the easiest, through the act of invocation. By using words of power to assist spell formation, spells are formed much more stable and slightly more reliably than through other methods.


    The second was through sigils and signs. By using the hands to move in certain patterns or by making certain body postures/movements, one could channel mana and elemental energy through the bodies'' pathways. Spells formed this way were much faster and more powerful, but it was also harder to memorize and utilize in battle.


    The third was through external assistance. In other words, mages could find materials that were attuned with the elements, imbue them with mana and use them to assist spell formation. So one could be holding something like the ashes of a phoenix and throw it out while attempting to cast an ultra fireball spell, and it would cast.


    This method was rtively new and not really widely-tested, and it posed many stability issues. However, most magic schools were using this method to train apprentices since it was the most beneficial for society.


    Whatever the case, Darius decided to learn his new spell that would perfect his early-stage repertoire.


    [Detected spellbook. Would you like to learn its contents?


    Warning: The spellbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]


    The book melted into a whitish slush that crawled into his ears and assimted with his brain, Portia again watching on in stupefaction.


    Darius felt his mind grasp the new spell, going from someone who even wondered how the hell one could restore injuries without using medicine to someone who had cast a basic healing spell many times in his life to save others who were just shadows in his memory.


    [Heal - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 5% of a target''s total HP.]


    Darius noted that this spell had a higher cost, as it wasn''t as weak as the other cantrips of the basic category. This spell should have healed 1% of a person''s total HP normally, but even 1% could be the difference between life and death.


    However, Darius had to wonder. If it objectively healed 5% of a target''s HP, would that mean it would restore 100% HP at the maximum level of 20 for the skill, simr to Sparks?


    That would be interesting assuming the cost for casting didn''t increase too horribly. Sparks had gone up by 500%, so if this spell were to do the same, it would require 50 MP per cast.


    But that for bringing an ally to full health was a great tradeoff any time.

 Chapter 47 - 47

    After absorbing all the basic knowledge he needed, Darius ended his session with Portia. The youngdy seemed to want to say something but gave up in the end.


    Her brother had berated her when she had wanted toe with him, so she was aware that Darius would likely not respond kindly to her pursuing and she didn''t want to ruin the friendship they had now.


    Darius himself noticed her actions but did not attempt to assist her as that would lead him down a dangerous rabbit hole. He went to his room after dinner and idled on the bed, thinking as he usually did.


    When alone like this, he liked to reminisce about Earth. Darius loved his family dearly and wished to know how they were doing, but that did not seem possible.


    He then thought about his Conversion Points. There were many times in the past where he could have solved minor issues like clothing and washing water with Conversion Points, but that would be foolishness.


    Conversion Points were not some ything and neither was his Transmutation ability. Conversion Points were a strategic resource he used to aplish tasks that were pertinent to his current circumstances and were often used for things he could not aplish on his own or do without.


    It was only in thest 3 days that Darius had used them a bit less strictly because he was indoors and there were no pressing concerns requiring him to throw himself into the way of danger.


    Even then, he still prioritized items and things that were impossible for him to acquire through easier means.


    His mentality towards his Conversion Points would never change. They would only be used strategically and intellectually, not willy-nilly or because he was feeling creative.


    Of course, that didn''t stop him from using the remaining CP he had in upgrading his Iron Spear to a Steel one for 3 CP.


    Darius eventually fell asleep with muchfort.


    ...ˇ­


    In the morning, he performed his usual routine of bathing and having breakfast. This time, he wasn''t in a rush to spend CP as he would be going out.


    Darius left the manor with a light gait. He paused when he reached the old cart on the outskirts of the homestead and then activated Blink. Immediately, Darius disappeared from where he stood and re-appeared exactly 10 meters away.


    Darius rubbed his chin and quelled his boyish excitement as he performed the spell again. He then did it twice in a row to see what would happen and just as he thought, he only barely manifested as an outline before he was moved again by the second spell.


    Even more excited, he cast the spell 5 times in a row. It took about .3 of a second for him to execute all five casts. Darius then stopped to let his mana refill as he calcted the distance in his mind.


    From here to the Lost River was 23 kilometers. Since Blink allowed him to go up to a max of 10 meters and cost 1 MP, Darius could use his 550 MP to move a total of 5.5 kilometers before he ran out!


    Of course, he could make things easier by using a Short Warp scroll, but that would be a waste of 3 CP since he had alternate means. He wasn''t in a rush and wouldn''t even mind walking to his destination if need be.


    Darius checked his map and the area before him before mentally spamming the Blink spell at its maximal efficiency. Immediately, the young fellow turned into a blurry outline as he raced along the pathway.


    It looked like some poorly rendered evil demonic spirit was flitting across thendscape, chasing after some innocent prey. It was truly a weird sight to an onlooker depending on their point of view.


    Someone looking through a screen would find it bizarrely funny how Darius appeared to ''glitch'' his way through the surroundings while someone at the location seeing it live would be chilled to their bones and probably traumatized by a ghostly form of a boy appearing for a split second.


    Darius eventually stopped after 5.2 kilometers, just so that he would have enough MP to deal with any issues while he waited for his mana bar to refill. Emptying his mana bar in the wild would be quite silly of him, even if he did have his Lancer Arts.


    Hey against the body of a tree and focused on the feeling of rapidly blinking across thendscape. Like his other spells, Darius ''auto-cast'' them, meaning that he cast them without knowing how they worked specifically, and the execution was handled by the Supreme System.


    As such, he just had to think of what he wanted and how he wanted it, and the rest would ur as he wished. This was great for a beginner like him, but might be problematic at the higher stages for mages. Adept mages and above almost only used their self-created spells.


    If he always cast the spells of others that were widely known, he would fall behind his peers. That was why Darius wished to learn more about the Magical Method, but that woulde forter.


    One downside of having more MP was how much longer he had to wait for it to recharge. At level 11, it took him 1 minute to refill his mana bar meaning that he sat there for a short while.


    In this time, Darius had not been attacked by anything to his slight surprise, although he was unsure whether it was a result of his high Luck stat or the various beasts sensing his increased life level and taking him as a serious threat now.


    Whatever the case, it was a good thing for him. He rose to his feet and continued his Blink Train. Once he crossed another 5.2 kilometers in roughly half a minute, he paused to restore his MP before repeating the same action over again.


    Eventually, less than 10 minutester, he appeared at the bridge where one crossed the Lost River to head to the ins of the Green. Darius paused to look at the pristine water and the various beasts bathing within.


    Once his eyes went across the shore, he saw an old friend and his family, the ins Lion. Interestingly, the fellow looked rather grumpy today. Then again, one of his lionesses had mysteriously disappeared and never returned!


    Darius grinned and walked over to it, slowly raising a finger as he did so.

 Chapter 48 - 48

    Before Darius ughtered the beast and its family, he Inspected and then Analyzed the leader of the pride.


    [ins Lion - Level 5 Beast


    HP: 40/40 MP: 10/10]


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: ins Lion


    Race: Lion


    ss: Predator


    Subss: None


    HP: 40/40


    MP: 10/10


    Level: 5


    Strength: 8


    Agility: 9


    Endurance: 8


    Intellect: 3


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 1


    Abilities: Maul, Shred, Overwhelm, Roar


    Weapons: Tooth & w.]


    Darius nodded with no surprise on his face. He had long since guessed that stats were not fixed to levels, and that stat distribution varied per existence. The ins Lion might just be a level 5 and a mere beast, but its stats neared the level 8 Blue Troll.


    It made sense then that the Troll and the lion had not met. Both were very simr in power except for the matter of HP, and neither of them would wish to risk their lives in a fight.


    Darius had no doubt that if the Blue Troll had been stronger, it would have long since killed the lion and captured all the lioness for unholy purposes, rather than stalk a single one out.


    The ins Lion was likely a formidable foe. With an Agility of 9, it likely could avoid Darius''s spells and call its pride to help him overwhelm this puny pink skin.


    Unfortunately, it never got this chance because Darius blinked right in front of it and used Sparks.


    [You have gained 0 EXP.]


    Darius was too surprised by the sudden system message popping up in front of him to continue his assault on the rest of the group. In the split second he had roasted the leader of the pride to death, its family roared with anger and grief as they pounced on Darius.


    The young fellow blinked away from their point of impact and cast Ember out in an arc. Unlike Sparks, his fire spell had a marginal area of effect bonus that he took advantage of this time to roast many of the young cubs trying to flee.


    [You have gained 0 EXP.]


    Darius was even more baffled, while the lionesses were enraged to the point some were frothing at the mouth. First, the male of the pride was killed, and now their cubs?


    Their pride, their family, was practically ruined in just a few seconds for reasons the beasts couldn''t evenprehend.


    Darius turned towards the angered ins Lionesses and blinked behind them one by one as he used Sparks to kill each of them in one hit. It didn''t matter how they tried to maneuver or dodge, one cast of his spell would bring Darius right behind the beasts, within the 10-meter range.


    This was why Darius had chosen the Blink spell in the first ce. Coupled with his maxed out Sparks, it made him a fighter that was impossible to kill unless someone''s Agility was above 15 points where they could move before Darius even appeared behind them.


    Despite his now seemingly infalliblebat prowess, he still received the same message from the system, informing him that he got zero experience points for his effort.


    Darius was confused as to why this was the case. He tried to think of a few reasons why this would even be a thing but came up with only one theory that was too cruel to consider.


    Still, Darius knew that he had to investigate this as it was a crucial aspect of the Supreme System''s mechanics and could affect his leveling up speed in the future.


    He then processed what happened. The ins Lion had been level 5, whereas the in Lionesses had been level 4. As for the cubs, they had been between level 1 and 2 depending on their growth stage.


    Darius himself was a level 11 Itemancer, so when he considered this, the earlier theory he thought up but feared came back to his mind. The reason it scared him was because it would show the cruelty of Caesar and Vena in the truest sense.


    On his second day in the world of Faust, Darius had made use of the river to kill many weak beasts, leading him to believe that killing anything below his level would grant him a base minimum of 1 experience point. As his level rose, the amount of experience needed to level up once also rose linearly.


    However the system message clearly proved him wrong. His new theory was that below a certain level threshold, a user of the Supreme System would no longer gain experience points. While this seemed like a sensible and fair mechanic, it was truly horrendous for Darius!


    This made it impossible for him to act like a major viin at higher levels who might simply genocide a city or location to farm masses of weaklings once enemies around his level became either too scarce or too troublesome to fight.


    Even if the Supreme System might have only given him a pittance instead of the full 1 experience point, a city should have about a hundred thousand people in it, no? With that, he should have been able to reach whatever level he needed andplete his task.


    But why would Vena and Caesar make it so easy? It was also clear that they were likely not even bothered with his early stage escapades since there would be little suffering at this point.


    At level 11, it wasn''t a problem yet. But what when Darius reached level 89? How many level 89 foes naturally existed in this world, and how easy would it be to kill one of them when so many powers and abilities would be in y at that stage?


    Assuming he even found such a level 89 foe and killed them when they were the same level, that would grant him a total of... 5 EXP. At that level, he would need 8,900 experience points to climb once, so he would have to find more than a thousand other such foes!


    As Caesar had warned him, the Supreme System did not care about how much effort it might take him to y an enemy. All it cared about was the level difference between him and his prey.


    Darius was chilled to the bone by this. Assuming that he could even reach the Supreme stageˇ­ how long would it take? Years? Decades? Centuries?


    Would Darius even have to create his own enemies and then ughter them like farm animals to grow? Was that why he was given the System Brand?!


    Darius'' thoughts became chaotic and spiraled into a mess from this horrendous revtion about his limited ability to gain experience. His expression changed many times, from fear, depression, to anger, and then to frustration.


    Eventually, Darius'' mind quaked as his high Intellect forcibly calmed him down. It was only then that he noticed that all the other prey animals had run away, making the closest few meters around the bank of the river clear of all life.

 Chapter 49 - 49

    Darius sighed and rubbed his hair. There was no need to continue here then. He hade here initially to farm a bit more experience and raise his level by a little, but he had thoroughly lost his appetite for further fights after being hit with this revtion.


    Darius estimated that his current level threshold might be 5 levels based on the level of the ins Lion, so he would keep his eyes out for a level 6 enemy to test the validity of his theory.


    For now, he took out a House Portal scroll and used it to return to the homestead. When in his room, he rummaged through the closet and found a nice blue cloak that could cover his entire body.


    Darius immediately wore it and made sure his features were undetectable this way. Of course, there was nothing he could do about his height, but he decided that it shouldn''t be much of an issue for what he was about to do next.


    Darius raised his head and his hazel pupils suddenly became serpentine slits that would chill the heart of an onlooker, but such an onlooker would be rendered confused as they saw that his eyes returned to normal the next instant.


    Was it a trick of the light or an illusion of sorts?


    Whatever it was, Darius smiled widely as he blinked away. It was time to begin phase 3 of the n.


    ......


    35 kilometers southwest, there was a mountainous ridge that overlooked a small valley. The valley was a known merchant pathway and was even used by smugglers sometimes whening to and from one of the nearby towns.


    Above this mountainous ridge, there were 21 men dressed in a mishmash of hide and leather armor that was in poor quality and smelled worse than dead animals.


    They all wielded either rusty swords, axes, or greatswords that had splotches of blood all over their edges. The men were currentlyughing and feasting as they sat around their campfire.


    Next to them was a mess of 7 caravansden with goods ranging from jewelry to foodstuffs. Besides the caravans were a few people, male and female, tied up in a circle as they could only watch the men around the fire eat heartily while they starved, lucky to still be alive.


    The men around the fire were the Diato Bandits, one of the three biggest groups that hung around Poleria''s Homestead. They focused on raiding merchant caravans that asionally passed through these valleys in order to make a profit.


    They only got a good haul like this every other month since most caravans that passed here were well defended. In fact, this one had been too. Less than an hour ago there had been more than 50 bandits alive, now slightly less than half.


    However, the guards of the merchant group had perished first and they could always recruit more cutthroats from the smaller, struggling bandit groups around.


    They also kept captives for ransom, which was why they had killed anyone that lookedmon and reserved those who looked important as hostages. Right now, they held 7 hostages, 3 females and 4 males, all of them wearing fine attires that showed status and a good background.


    They fearfully watched the Diato Bandits revel in their heist, which was technically an insult to them, but what could they do? The females especially were subdued as they had heard the stories about what bandits would usually do to captive women, and tried to make themselves as invisible as possible.


    While the bandits reveled in their joy, they did not notice a cloaked figure suddenly appear near their camp. This cloaked figure sat down to recover his mana as he listened in on the conversation the bandits were having.


    He spent his time assessing the location in total as well as 28 people. He quickly ignored the hostages as Darius had no interest in them. Taking any of them under his brand would be even more problematic than the vigers of Poleria''s Homestead due to their backgrounds.


    Once Darius'' mana climbed above 250 points, he blinked into the midst of the bandits. It took the group a whole 10 seconds to even notice he was there as their chatter abruptly died down, reced by shock, confusion, and awe.


    Darius sat there quietly, a cloaked figure that one could not tell the features of. The only thing one could barely make out were hazel colored eyes that roved the group lightly and callously.


    "The Diato Bandit Group. Led by Diato, ex-mercenary under the guild and his two vices, Kevin, dishonorably discharged footsoldier and Jorge, wanted thief and fledgling assassin."


    Darius looked around. "Supposedly made up of more than 50 men, but seeing your current numbers, this must have been quite a battle. Less than half remaining means that your group must''ve faced at least 20 opposing guards with one of them at the Journeyman stage."


    Darius''s eyes thennded on the trio he had named, the leaders of this group. "With your three leaders at the pinnacle of the Amateur stage, they likely had to team up to handle the Journeyman guard, while the rest struggled to deal with their better-trained opposition."


    Darius''s eyesnded on the lovely ruby dagger by the side of Diato. "The thing that saved the day must have been the two vices creating a distraction while your leader used his Cursed Dagger to inflict a curse upon your foe."


    The more Darius spoke, the more the bandits around the fire felt chills in their hearts. From his appearance to his sudden monologue, everything was eerie as hell. It was as if he had been there with them as they raised the caravansˇ­ for his assessments had beenpletely on point!


    Eventually, Diato spoke in a heavy voice that tried to cover his fear. "And who are you? What do you want?"


    Darius smiled but none of them could see it, obviously. Instead, he raised a single finger, making the sign for ''one'' as he said: "As for me, I am nobody of interest. As for what I want from youˇ­"


    Darius'' upraised finger suddenly doubled as he added his middle finger, but caught between the two digits was a Gold Ando Coin that shimmered in the light of the campfire.


    "Attack the Poleria Homestead and ughter everyone there."

 Chapter 50 - 50

    Darius'' words practically shocked them out of their stupor. From his appearance to his words, over to his actions of pulling out a gold coin, and finally hismand, they had been easily overwhelmed then caught in his pace.


    The first to snap out of it was, of course, Diato. The rugged bandit was about the size of a bear, with burly arms, each half the size of Darius'' torso. Darius had seen from his character panel that he was a hybrid. Part-beast, specifically of the Ursas.


    He had a shaggy mane of brown hair that went down all the way to the small of his back. His face was rough and the farthest thing from handsome, yet he wasn''t yet ugly.


    He simply had hard features like a block nose, a distinctive jawline, slightly thick lips, and small yellowish eyes. He also had a messy stubble that didn''t help with his appearance.


    He was the only member of the group who had aplete set of leather armor covering his body, with many daggers strapped to his waist, legs, and torso. Darius wasn''t surprised as his ss was a Bandolier.


    Beside him was Kevin who was tall and very unassuming, partly shaved brown hair, a long nose, wide eyes, and thin lips. He wore a steel breastte he must have managed to steal from the army since it still had the sigil, as well as cotton pants and boots.


    Surprisingly, he was also a spearman like Derek.


    Finally, there was Jorge the thief. He also wore a cloak that covered most of his features like Darius. Darius couldn''t see much of him except his arms, but Darius was intrigued to discover that Jorge had to be a female.


    He could see a slight protrusion on the fellow''s upper garment that resembled nylon, and the harem pants that were quite baggy also tried to mislead Darius.


    Although the Analyze panel didn''t show someone''s gender, Darius was clued in by Jorge''s real name, which happened to be Georgina Esta De L''Orion. A noble name for sure, so the question was how did she end up working with bandits?


    As such, his eyesid on Jorge more than the others. But he still idly negotiated with Diato on the task he issued to his group, which the leaders were slightly reluctant to take.


    "We''s doing jus fine thanks. Attacking that fellow Shank''s homestead ain''t wise. He''s ex-knight, honorably discharged too. If we so much as touch a grass on hisnd, he could get a whole army regiment here within weeks!" Diato made a list of excuses in a rough ent.


    Darius was amused to note that it wasn''t there before, meaning that it had likely been shocked out of his system.


    "Don''t forget that he is in good favor with the Equality Faction of the nobles, boss! Many there support his homestead in the shadows and use it as a forward base to expand the frontier of the kingdom!" Kevin added while bitting off arge chunk of his held meat.


    "And the one thing no sensible bandit ever does, is to harm a noble''s interests or the army''s. If you understand, please take your gold coin and leave before the hands of some of our boys get itchy." Jorge warned coldly, her voiceing out very deep.


    ''No wonder none have suspected her.''


    Darius twirled the gold coin in his handszily and saw every eye around the campfire following its movement like they were charmed snakes. Even those who were tied up by the side were gazing at it with reverence and desire.


    It couldn''t be helped, a Gold Ando Coin had too much power in the Andrato Kingdom. Right now, Darius flourishing this coin told the bandit group five things.


    The first was obviously that Darius had to be a noble. Only nobles or high-ss existences could even get their hands on a single gold coin, and they mostly kept it for identity and status purposes.


    The second was that Darius must enjoy a huge backing. The kind of person who would pay a lowly bandit group like them a whole gold coin instead of bronze - or even if they were generous, silver - probably had a wealth of gold coins to the point they did not value them.


    The third was that Darius was giving them a warning. Just as they had monologued that attacking a noble was thest thing they would do, Darius was reminding them that even if they could pierce through his mystery and kill him, they would suffer untold wrath.


    The fourth was that Shanks was not as loved as they thought. There had to be at least one noble family or perhaps even a faction that wanted to see him dead at all costs, even using a gold coin to pay for it.


    Topare, that''s like paying amon dark web assassin 10 billion dors to kill a retired armymander living in the south.


    The fifth tied into the fourth, in that by taking out such a heavy amount, Darius was basically telling them that he would not take no for answer. Removing a gold coin would tell anyone the first four points, and the third contained a secret.


    So the group remained quiet as they stared at the gold coin. Despite refusing at first, Darius did not speak and continued to hold up the coin while the three leaders shared uncertain looks and whispered among themselves.


    They were at a crossroads, where one wrong choice could see them all dead.


    Kill or refuse Darius, no matter the oue they would end up offending the noble family/faction behind him and die.


    Kill Shanks, they would offend the noble faction behind him and die.


    However, there was one out, and that was the almighty gold coin. It could grant them amnesty if they yed their cards right and handled the job with extreme prudence and care, much more than what they used for their various raids.


    Darius smiled when he saw the light sh in the three leaders'' eyes and he flicked the coin over to Diato. The burly man caught the coin deftly and stared at Darius silently before nodding, Kevin and Jorge nodding as well.


    Darius gazed at the captives beside the caravan boredly before blinking away. The captives, who thought Darius would negotiate for the freedom as a fellow noble, were left ashen.


    Seeing this, Kevin turned to Diato. "What to do about the hostages, boss? They heard everything."


    Diato turned and gazed at them coldly, before smiling brutally. "Use ''em well, then kill ''em. We''s movin out in 3 days. Jorge, send news that we''s recruitin'' again. This time, no requirements. Whoever can clutch a stick is wee to join us."


    The rest of the gangughed darkly as they rose and headed over to the 7 captives, each one picking a target that suited their fancy... and not always of the opposite sex.

 Chapter 51 - 51

    27 kilometers southeast of Poleria Homestead.


    There was a small vige with many able-bodied men, some smiling women, and even children around.


    Life here seemed idyllic and peaceful as the children yed while their mothers maintained the houses and their fathers were either out hunting or gathering food.


    A simple vige that was quite non-descript even. However, all activity in this vige paused when a strangely cloaked fellow suddenly appeared in the center of the vige''s main road.


    He stood there in silence, his darkened cowl moving left and right to scan the frozen vigers who didn''t move a muscle in shock. He then walked slowly and stately towards thergest manor at the end of the road, where the leader of this vige resided.


    Once he crossed a few houses, the vigers finally shook off their amazement and hurriedly rushed into their houses with fear written on their faces. One could even see some of their legs shaking in terror as they practically ran, some kids even falling to the floor and crying.


    By the time Darius reached the manor, the entire vige was silent like someone had whisked all the residents away. He looked back for a second and smirked beneath his cloaked before entering the manor.


    Once inside, he noticed that the manor was also empty, yet there were obvious signs that servants and the like had been working here just seconds ago judging by the fallen dusters and obvious footsteps.


    Darius could even smell soup simmering on the fire in the kitchen to his right. Darius scanned the foyer and walked towards his left as he saw a singr person seated in the parlor here.


    It was a well-dressed man with skin darker than Darius'' and a thick mustache. His eyes were a typical brown color and his lips were slightly thick, his obtuse jaw forming into what might be called a ''butt chin''.


    He wore a tophat of a dark green color, a gentleman noble''s attire of a lovely white shirt with a tie, a jacket that was a striped green and graybo, as well as fitting pants that matched the color of his tophat.


    The fellow also wore white gloves on his hand and was currently drinking from a set of valuable ceramic cups. If the tea was as good as his expression made it out to be, then Darius was interested in having a taste for sure.


    Darius unceremoniously sat down on the couch opposite the fellow before him. Just as he had done previously, he began speaking on his own.


    "Foldo Garison. Exiled baron of Andrato Kingdom, who was caught smuggling contraband into a family-owned ck market by apetitor. As such, your market was disbanded and your assets seized while you were thrown out to live with the dogs."


    "However, you''ve sessfully managed to build up your own bandit group on the outskirts of the kingdom by salvaging some of your smuggling contacts. Unlike the other two idiot bandit groups, yours functions semi-legal and you have the biggest smokescreen of them all."


    By the time Darius was done, the man called Foldo was no longer in the mood to y around. In the digital era of Earth, despite people knowing all our info was being stolen, no one liked having it read out to them, much less in a world like this where information should be hard to acquire.


    "To what do I owe the pleasure, mister?" Foldo asked in a deep voice stressing the word ''pleasure'' as his only sign of feeble resistance against this intruder.


    He neither confirmed nor denied the earlier ims and statements, but Darius smiled. He had mixed what he had learned from the library with the short intro Derek gave him about the three bandit groups as well as what his improved Analyze skill had revealed to him.


    Finally, his deductive abilities had run at full speed in order to parse all the data he had, allowing him to present it to these fellows as statements that chilled them due to their uracy.


    Darius was silent. He was slightly wary of Foldo in a way he would never be of Diato, not in terms of danger to his life, but in terms of danger to his n.


    Foldo was a person with unbelievable 17 Intellect, smart enough that he might see through what Darius was doing and ruin everything.


    So it really came down to whether Darius was interested in working with him or not, for he could not risk introducing rogue elements into his n. Either hemissioned them... or they had to be wiped out to thest man.


    Darius was currently favoring the second choice until Foldo spoke.


    "I assume you must''ve visited the other bandit groups?"


    Darius leaned back and nodded. "Only the Diato Bandits, although I n to see the Garwen Bandits after this."


    Foldo nodded. "You have the air of a noble and I can see that you must be a powerful mage. Your life level is high enough that you could probably kill everyone in this vige with ease."


    This was the first time he heard someone talking about life level, as even Diato and his group had been unable to see through Darius. They had only been able to tell that he was extremely dangerous. Darius internally praised Foldo for his observation.


    The man before him continued. "I know this, because I too am a mageˇ­well, more of an apprentice level one. I have paid a hefty sum to acquire more than one Scroll of Awakening and although I ultimately acquired a Spark, I remain stuck at the Amateur Rank."


    Foldo then took another sip of tea before seriously gazing at Darius. "As such, I do not want gold coins, I have plenty of those leftover. I do not want items, I don''t care for your threats and I don''t need whatever you n to offer."


    "Instead, make me your Unofficial Apprentice. If you do, I shall be your man in the shadows, and whatever overarching n you have in mind, I will execute to perfection. You will be able to sit back and reap the rewards."


    Foldo sped his hands together over his right knee which was crossed over the other in a gentleman''s sitting posture. "What say you, Good Sir? Do we have an ord?"


    Darius chuckled slowly before he responded. "That is certainly an interesting proposition, Mister Garison. However, I have to ask what makes you think I am up to the task?"

 Chapter 52 - 52

    Foldo chuckled. "Well, it''s quite simple. Firstly, only Adept mages can use such a powerful teleportation spell. Even to use the basic blink spell, most Journeyman mages would struggle, unless perhaps they were awakened in tune with the space element."


    Foldo raised a hand to stop Darius who was about to speak. "But fine, for argument''s sake, let''s assume you have awakened in tune with the space element and that you were only using the most basic Blink spell."


    "It still doesn''t change the fact that you would have to be at least an Adept mage." Foldo poured some more tea into his cup and blew over it.


    Darius tapped his elbows as he crossed his arms and questioned, though he already knew the answer. "What makes me an Adept mage?"


    Foldo sipped from his cup and smiled at Darius. "Why your Mind Power, Good Sir. Most non-awakened would not be able to sense it, but I can see the tendrils of your Mind Power stretching out, trying to interact with the world around you."


    Darius nodded. In the library of Shanks, he had learned what the obvious signs of someone at each stage would disy that made it easier for others to confirm their strength outside of life level.


    Amateurs were all apprentices who could only use cantrips. Journeymen were beginner mages who could use a variety of spells, but were weak in terms of Mind Power. Adepts had the beginnings of Mind Power that interacted with the world around them.


    In fact, Scrolls of Awakening required Mind Power to write, which was why only Adepts and above could write them. Master-level mages had full Mind Power that could connect with the world around them, granting them the power over levitation, teleportation, telekinesis, and other psychic abilities.


    As for Grandmasters, they were obvious enough to tell. Their Mind Power was so strong that they could visualize avatars of themselves to interact with the world, so they hardly left their abodes at that stage.


    Darius at 50 points of Intellect had allowed him to unlock Mind Power in its early stages. Despite being in the Amateur stage under the rules of the Supreme System, he already had the abilities of an Adept mage under the system of power in Faust.


    This revealed one important fact to Darius. The Supreme System''s mechanics took priority over that of Faust''s in this world. If the universalws were like prime ministers, then the Supreme System was the King!


    As such, this bizarre anomaly existed. Darius was unsure if he could learn Journeyman or Adept spells, but he had Mind Power that surpassed these two stages.


    This also led to the current misunderstanding. Darius pondered silently for a bit, whether to roll with this venture or to cut it off and kill everyone here. It didn''t take him long to make the pragmatic decision.


    "I have never before taken in someone as an apprentice. Is there any ceremony between a master and his Unofficial Apprentice we need to perform?" Darius asked yfully.


    Foldo sighed with relief and smiled as well, sweat dripping down his forehead. "None that you need to bother with, Master. Henceforth, I, Foldo Garison, and my group pledge to support Master in all his endeavors!"


    Foldo made a deep bow which Darius epted as he rose to his feet. After that, he began to exin the basics of phase 3 and 4 of his n.


    Foldo who had been smiling before, quickly lost his amusement as his face became graver and graver. The more he listened on, the more he shuddered as he realized he had pledged himself to a very, very dangerous person.


    After Darius was done, he simply ended the discussion with: "See to it that the n is carried out to perfection. Also, show me your store of spells as well as magical materials, and let me see how far you''vee."


    Foldo rose to his feet and nodded servilely. He was too shaken by Darius'' train of thought to notice how strange his request was.


    In truth, Darius was also still finding his way through Faust. He had no idea how to train an apprentice except taking them in through the System Brand. He almost did for Foldo, but decided against it because he needed a mobile helper, not one who worked in the shadows.


    As such, Darius figured that if he could see what Foldo possessed, he would be able to figure something out. Because of how Analyze worked, Darius could not see the skills and spells of neutral and friendly parties.


    When he first arrived, Foldo had been treated as neutral, but now he had moved to friendly. If he had been an enemy party as deduced by the system, things would have been much easier.


    Darius and Foldo passed through a secret entrance at the back of the pantry and headed down. In this secret room that was asrge as the entire mansion''s first floor, Darius saw many shelves with tomes, a lounge for reading, and even some alchemical equipment for experimentation.


    Foldo would be an upper-tier apprentice, one who had enough money to stock up on everything needed while others had to struggle or be spoonfed by their masters.


    In consequence, his talent with magic was sub-par despite his Intellect being high, hence the reason he had chosen to be an Unofficial Apprentice to Darius, which was not exactly afortable choice.


    Darius looked around idly and walked over to the spell tomes Foldo had collected. He picked one at random and inspected it.


    [Cleanse Spell - Manual


    Durability: 2/5


    Description: This manual was written by a hedgemage of questionable intelligence. It is a spell designed to cleanse the outer appearance of any target, be it their body or their clothes, but 55% of what is written inside is false.]


    Darius''s face became heavy. He had learned that every spell above Amateur was created by a mage and not some droppings from heaven, but he didn''t think that there could be half-baked spells like this.


    No wonder many Amateurs struggled to climb without proper mentors. Without a true mage guiding their apprentices on how to use the Magical Method and how to cast spells, people like Foldo had to rely on these questionable tomes in order to progress, which - ironically - was exactly what held them back.

 Chapter 53 - 53

    Darius hadn''t spent any of his Conversion Points today, so he decided to do a little test.


    [Would you like to change the wed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]


    Darius'' eye shed. To fix an Intermediate spell cost only 2 points? When he had tried making the basic Journeyman fireball, he had needed a whole 30 CP at first, and then 18 even after he used his loophole.


    It had been the same for any other Journeyman level spell, which was why Darius hadn''t wasted his time with them. Fortunately, he had eventually realized about being able to ask for less potent versions and his ability had luckily automatically tranted his desire for basic spells.


    Now he found that as long as he had a base spell manual, he could cut costs by restoring it to perfect shape.


    Darius put the spell back and turned to Foldo. "Do you have any empty spell manual''s here?"


    Foldo was startled out of his reverie at Darius'' n and nodded. "I''ve acquired 6 through various means with differing amounts of quality."


    Darius nodded sedately. "Good, bring them here. I''m going to inscribe a perfect quality basic spell into one of them for you, while the other 5 I shall take as payment for divulging a secret. Call it a tuition fee."


    Foldo was immediately set alight by his words and excitedly extracted the empty manuals carefully from a trunk that was locked in a safe, behind a steel wall that required a special incantation to open.


    After all of that, Foldo brought the 6 tomes to a speechless Darius who shook his head internally. However, he had learned something important about Foldo, and that was how meticulous he was as a person as well as how much he revered magecraft.


    Both discoveries pleased Darius and convinced him that his previous choice was not the wrong one, likely even able to yield some benefits in the long run if things would pan out as they should.


    Darius held the dusty manuals and flipped through them idly. As he expected, they were average tomes that weren''t exactly an apprentice''s first choice for learning, but Foldo already did well getting 6 of them. From what Darius had learned by asking Portia, a single magical tome went for the price of 500 silvers at the minimum.


    In order words, these 6 tomes were worth at least 3 gold coins! This was why mages were so respected and were quite thin in terms of numbers above the Journeyman stage.


    It was a costly field to practice in, but also a lucrative one if performed splendidly. Case in point, the apprenticeship system. Darius had read about it in Shank''s library and it was frightening how mages made money to finance their work this way.


    There were two types of apprentices, official and unofficial. Official apprentices were like contracted students or personal disciples. Instead of paying themselves, their education was covered by their master, who would spend most of his/her time teaching them magecraft as well as his own legacy of spells.


    A mage had many obligations to his Official Apprentice that he could not shirk legally and socially, but the same was true the other way around as well, at least to a certain extent. As such, mages chose their Official Apprentices with extreme care, some having only 2 at most while others even chose to never have any.


    As for Unofficial Apprentices, they were the norm in mage societies. Mages would take such apprentices into their fold and have them pay hefty tuition fees for mediocre training.


    That was why Foldo didn''t react when Darius said he would be taking 5 unused tomes, because Foldo''s former masters when he had been still a noble had taken much more in exchange for a pittance than what Darius offered.


    The average Journeyman mage might have 20 Unofficial Apprentices with Adepts and co having multiples of that under their wings. This was how theyrgely made money and kept the profession in check.


    Because of that, many were forced to either be Unofficial Apprentices at a high price or learn on their own, the fate of thetter was perfectly demonstrated with Foldo''s current situation.


    Darius found this system clever and wise. Centralize power and essibility to the profession, and you control who joins your ranks. He was in full support of this method as he even nned to exploit it once he reached a town or city.


    "Tell me, what element did you attune to during your awakening?" Darius asked Foldo.


    "When I awoke, my mentor at the time told me that I should be proficient with ice spells, Master. Unfortunately, he himself had an affinity for the earth element and I never found a suitable tome."


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into an Ice Lance spell manual? This will cost 5.5 Conversion Points.]


    Darius made the change and Foldo watched with a stupefied expression as the tome in Darius'' hand suddenly glowed and became resplendent, like it held the knowledge of the ice element''s core foundation.


    The master tossed the book over to the Unofficial Apprentice as the tome started to freeze Darius'' fingers over. He quickly inspected it while it was in mid-air to see how effective it was.


    [Ice Lance Spell - Manual


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to cast the simplest spell of the ice element, Ice Lance. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the spell is increased by 100% while the effectiveness of the spell is increased by 500%.]


    So it seemed as if the ability still made the base manual elite, which might be why the cost was higher than Darius expected. However, it was still better than having to change empty books to empty spell manuals first, and much more effective for him too.


    Foldo caught the spell in a rush and was shocked at how quickly it began to freeze his fingers. Ignoring this, he quickly opened the manual and after ncing at a few pages, his expression had morphed many times.


    Prevalent among his visages was shock, pure and utter disbelief. By the time he had read halfway, he closed the tome and ced it on his reading table.


    Foldo went to his knees and stared at Darius with reverence and awe that came from the depths of his soul. He banged his head on the ground as he kowtowed to Darius.


    "Master, I thank you for this gift you have given me. Rest assured, no matter what happens, I will make sure your will is done to perfection."


    Darius felt pressured by Foldo''s solemn vow, and he saw the fellow''s ''affection'' value had gone from Friendly level 1 to Worship level 1. If the Supreme System was to be believed, then Darius'' position in this man''s mind had taken the level of a God.

 Chapter 54 - 54

    It wasn''t that far-fetched. Darius had literally held a tome boredly and turned it into a perfect quality manual where just reading half of it had sessfully increased Foldo''s Intellect stat by 2 points, bringing him to 19.


    Darius estimated that once his first apprentice hit 20 in that stat, he could try for the Journeyman stage. Of course, Foldo had no numerical value to measure his Intellect, as that was unique to the Supreme System.


    However, Darius was still greatly envious. Foldo and other denizens of Faust could grow their stats organically by reading spell tomes and learning/practicing spells.


    On the other hand, it didn''t matter how talented Darius could have been or if he could have raised his Intellect organically faster on his own. Caesar had bluntly told him that he would forego all organic growth for artificial growth with Ability Points.


    Darius was tied to the system and its rules, good and bad. Of course, he couldn''tin as this very same system had also allowed him to reach 50 points Intellect in the span of 7 days, a feat that no amount of organic growth would ever be able to emte.


    In case he had been a rare genius that only appeared once every millennium, it should have still taken Darius weeks and months to reach his current level, not to mention years or decades if he would have just been averagely talented.


    "Stand Foldo, and hear my name. I am Darius Stone, your master in this life and forevermore. See to it that my will is carried out." Darius said as he removed his cloak to let his first follower glimpse at his face.


    Foldo''s face twisted in even more shock as he began to sweat profusely. "So youngˇ­ so talentedˇ­ my god!"


    Darius once again saw the fellow''s affection increase, this time to worship level 2. Foldo was almost feverish with glee as he felt that all his suffering in life had led to this single moment, this single choice that would liberate him from his trappings.


    This 13-year-old master of his, at such a tender age, had enough Mind Power to rival an Adept Mage. If he was already so talented what would happen in a couple of years when his master turned 18, what kind of power would he have? Master? Grandmaster?


    And he was his first follower! Foldo quelled his excitement as he remembered the kind of person Darius was. Cruel, pragmatic, and evil from the n he outlined earlier, he was someone to be made an ally, never an enemy.


    Foldo engraved that into his heart and rose to his feet. "Master Darius, is there anything you need in particr? Any tome, service, or good that would interest you?"


    Darius remembered that Foldo was a smuggler and a bandit who used to manage a ck market, so he would definitely have some good items.


    "Right, let me see your inventory. Oh, and do you happen to have any ves?" Darius asked with a pleased smile.


    Foldo nodded. "Yes, Master Darius. We have captured some guards, anddies from various raids to be sold in the ve market in Ando City. Would you like to peruse them first?"


    Darius shook his head. "No rush, let''s take our time. First, take me through your selection of rarest goods. One thing I should make clear is that I also dabble in Itemancing."


    Foldo had a questioning expression. "Uhˇ­ huh. An Itemancer?"


    Darius grinned and turned back to Foldo who was following behind him slowly. "Think of it as the highest level of an appraiser. There is nothing I cannot see the true value of, hence why I asked to see your rarest and most bizarre goods."


    Foldo shook visibly. An appraiser! God, he''s an appraiser too?! Just what was the limit of his current master at a mere age of 13?


    Appraisers were rare and very difficult to contract since there were endless items that needed appraising but not enough people who stably could.


    This was true. The Itemancer ss was a Supreme ss not because of his Transmutation Ability or the System Brand. Those were just extras that Vena had gifted Darius to begin his journey, and they could easily havee out as something else.


    So what qualified an Itemancer to be a Supreme ss? It was the Analyze skill and its superiority! Even if Darius had never gained a subss, he could have simply headed straight to one of the towns or cities and opened an appraisal shop.


    Given his ability, within a month he would have been guaranteed to be richer than most nobles, at which point he could have chosen to awaken using a Scroll of Awakening.


    Naturally, with his guaranteed level of wealth, he could have simrly gained abat ss ''spark'' through potions or other means.


    Faust was a world of magic, containing a variety of continents with different climates, traditions, and creations, so there were bound to be unique things in cirction that no one else could identify.


    The simple te an olddy kept in her tea set could actually turn out to be a Void Dimension te that allowed a user to create a small sub-space to which only the user would know the co-ordinates.


    The rusty axe of a weapon vendor inside a city could perhaps hide the secret of a Weapon Art on the same level as the Darius'' Lancer Arts. The possibilities were endless!


    This was why Foldo was excited, for he had many unknown items that his clients had refused to buy because nobody actually knew what they did.


    All contraband was intrinsically valuable, but without the know-how how to use certain items, especially with the scarcity of appraisers, those clients would end up with nothing but decorative trinkets.


    The duo returned to the pantry and climbed up the stairs to enter Foldo''s office located near the northernmost end of the building. Upon entry to his office, Darius seated himself on the visitor''s couch while Foldo had some servants prepare refreshments.


    "Inform everyone that they are to resume their livelihoods. This person here is my new mage Master, a powerful Adept mage who wishes to use our establishment for his own goals. If you see him, always adhere to his orders as he is to me, what I am to you." Foldo informed the servants. "No, tell them to treat him with even more respect than me!"


    The servants shook and bowed to Darius. They were also astounded at seeing such a young Adept mage, yet simultaneously felt excited for this was a very powerful backing they had acquired!


    Once they left, Foldo personally served Darius some tea and prepared a te of biscuits for him as the older man sat across. From within his suit jacket, he pulled out a small leather pouch that looked like it could barely hold a few coins.


    He gently ced it on the table as Dariuszily Inspected the pouch out of habit.

 Chapter 55 - 55

    [Bag of Holding - Storage


    Durability: 10/10


    Quality: Average


    Description: A unique creation created by enchanting a bag with spatial magic that allows a user to store items in a pressurized sub-space. This item can store up to 50 things and reduces their weight to 1% of the total.]


    Darius raised an eyebrow. So, it was the fabled Bag of Holding, huh? He definitely heard of this item as it was quitemon in settings like this, and it was a makeshift means to make storage easier for denizens of such worlds.


    Darius also knew that this kind of item should be very expensive, which further proved that Foldo was a man of good means. He began to look forward to the kind of things Foldo would take out for him to appraise.


    The older man wasted no time in doing so too. He carefully took out 10 items first, cing them on the table before Darius one by one.


    Darius was in no rush to Analyze them. He waited for Foldo to withdraw the items he felt he needed to appraise and let the man introduce them one by one.


    Foldo pointed to a strange pocket watch that glowed with a kaleidoscope of colors. "I''ve acquired this item from an elven family that was on the run from some enemies. In exchange for smuggling them out of the area, they paid a hefty sum."


    Foldo suddenly smiled. "Of course, I had them drugged and shackled to be ves. In my entire career, I''ve never made as much profit as I did that week, haha."


    Foldo then held up an egg-shaped stone that looked simr to marble. "This was sold to me for the price of 300 bronze by a hunter who found it in an abandoned nest."


    The next item the older man picked up was a strange rectangr device, which Darius identified easily without even needing to Analyze it. "This is a strange device that was smuggled from the Gravitas Continent. Contraband from there is the hardest to get our hands on due to their extreme xenophobia and the absurdity of their creations."


    Foldo ced the item down and picked another, which was a small ornate dagger, lined with rubies at the hilt and a de-edge that was colored ck. "As for this, I know where it''s from and some of its history. However, I don''t know what exactly it does or how to use it."


    Foldo then switched to a tattered scroll that looked like it would crumble to ash if not handled properly. "This one I obtained here, in the outskirts of Andrato. There was a strange outbreak of Undead in the past which caused me many losses. When the necromancer responsible was found and killed, it was found on his person."


    Next was a small quill that had a glowing feather as its shaft. The feather seemed to radiate intense warmth that heated up the room. "I know this to be a quill made from the legendary feathers of a Phoenix. There was no way I could buy something like this, so I had to steal it from a client who wanted to auction it at the ck market and kill them."


    Foldo held up an arrow that had a weird heart-shaped head and its shaft was a bright pink color. Its fletchings were frilly and seemed impossible to fire from a bowpetently, almost like this was a prop.


    "As much as I want to believe that this is a child''s toy, there have been some strange phenomena urring around it that makes me believe there''s more to it."


    He then gestured to a tome that sat on the table. The book looked positively malevolent, with a strange and dangerous ckish energy coiling around it as it shook on the table, trying to break its bindings.


    "This item is a demonic tome of some sorts, that much I know. However, you can understand why I am hesitant to open it and find out what exactly it does."


    Foldo sighed and then looked at thest but one item on the table, which was a chromium coin. "This is another piece of rare contraband from Gravitas."


    And then, the final item; a strange ruby that seemed hollow in the middle. "This one is believed to be the former phctery of a Lich, but after being purified, I have no idea whether it has any use besides acting as a trophy of sorts."


    Darius, who had silently listened to the introductions of the items so far, smiled and nodded when it came to an end. "Do not worry, I shall identify all these items for you, as well as how they function if possible."


    Foldo looked relieved and rxed into his couch as he waited for Darius to begin. For that matter, Darius went ahead and Analyzed the first item he was introduced to, the rainbow pocketwatch.


    [A Stitch in Time - Unique


    Durability: 300/300


    Quality: Perfect


    Uses: 9


    Description: A legendary creation of Alchemy, Magic, and Enchantment, this pocket watch is said to be able to reverse time by a certain amount, returning its user to a point in the past where they could avoid a currently urring danger.]


    Darius''zy nce he gave the watch sharpened and his eyes gleamed. Foldo noticed his look and his heart began to thump. Had his master found out something special about the item?


    "Foldo." Darius called nonchntly.


    "Yes, Master." Foldo replied dutifully.


    "Please make sure there are no unwanted eyes or ears in the area, for what we are about to discuss is very crucial."


    "Right away, Master." Foldo replied as he rang a bell.


    Nothing visibly happened when he did so, yet Darius felt the area had beˇ­ quieter and more muted. His ears even began to buzz a little, which interested him, but he had another agenda.


    "First things first, Foldo. I shall appraise all the items in a row and tell you of their features. After I tell you, I will never again repeat them for they must not be heard by any man lest the Gods themselvese down to raid you."

 Chapter 56 - 56

    Foldo gulped as he heard this. Since meeting Darius, he had never heard him sound as grave and serious as he was now. In the little time Foldo had spent with him, his master had beenid back and calm, giving the apprentice the impression that there was nothing the Adept mage couldn''t do.


    The older man nodded and waited for Darius to inspect the items fully. Darius'' eyes roved over all the items as he Analyzed them one by one before he sighed, for what he had seen was truly shocking.


    [Egg of a Hellhound - Misceneous


    Durability: 2/2


    Description: This egg contains the offspring of a special race from Armadon. Hellhounds are hard to breed but are in high demand due to their special and unique ability to track the scent of souls.]


    [Digital Tablet - Technological


    Durability: 10/10


    Quality: Average


    Uses: Infinite, as long as there is mana provided


    Description: This creation of modern technology functions like a PDA for its owner. Unfortunately, without any connection to the Continental Network of Gravitas, the user cannot ess the appstore, y online with friends, or download music.]


    [Dagger of Death - Weapon


    Durability: 40/40


    Quality: Perfect


    Uses: 3


    Description: An item forged by the God Hephaestus as a gift for Asmodeus. The dagger has the ability to end the life of anyone struck by it that is not a God, regardless of the victim''s strength or the wielder''s weakness. However, it will shatter after repeated use if not wielded by Asmodeus himself.]


    [Reaper Contract - Scroll


    Durability: 1/1


    Quality: Poor


    Uses: 1


    Description: An ancient document that the Demon Lord Barbatos handed to her contracted necromancers during the divine war. It takes a brave and confident necromancer to attempt to form a connection between themselves and a Reaper.]


    [Phoenix Quill - Misceneous


    Durability: MAX


    Quality: Perfect


    Uses: Infinite


    Description: An item made from the tail feathers of a true Phoenix, this quill has gained its undying properties. Any text or parchment written on with this quill will also be benefit from this trait, creating a document that cannot be destroyed by anything other than a God.]


    [Cupid''s Heart - Weapon


    Durability: 100/100


    Quality: Perfect


    Uses: 2


    Description: The favored arrow of the cupid race. It allows the feeling of organic love to sprout between two people struck by its head in tandem. In the hands of any non-cupid, it can only disy this ability once.]


    [Tome of Demonion - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Quality: Perfect


    Uses: Infinite


    Description: An item created from thews governing the Armadon Continent. It allows the user to summon any Demon to fight on their behalf or perform other tasks as long as the proper price is paid.]


    [Entry Token - Misceneous


    Durability: 50/50


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 1


    Description: A special pass meant for outsiders of Gravita. It allows the owner to teleport to the visitor''s center of Gravitas for 24 hours before forcefully being sent back.]


    [Soul Gem - Unique


    Durability: ?


    Quality: ?


    Description: A unique item that can only be made when a Lich''s phctery is destroyed and reforged with extreme craftsmanship. A person can use it to store their true soul within so that they revive after death. The cost for it being their body deteriorating every time onees back after death.]


    Darius listed them all to Foldo one by one, slowly highlighting the possible advantages and disadvantages of each item to his dumbstricken apprentice who was profusely sweating.


    He had always considered these items to be somewhat special, but now he was hearing that he had been holding onto items that might tempt even deities were they to know about it.


    Especially the likes of A Stitch in Time, Dagger of Death, and the Tome of Demonion. Foldo could not believe he had been strutting about with ticking time bombs in his Bag of Holding.


    He continued shaking for a minute longer before he gritted his teeth and breathed out. With a solemn face, he got onto his knees and prostrated before Darius, and spoke honestly.


    "Master Darius, I have no confidence in being able to use these items while keeping my life intact, so I would like to grant them to you, as a gift for your tutge!"


    Darius smiled lightly. "You''re truly clever Foldo. You weighed the pros and cons, rightfully realizing that despite these items being godly, youck the power to sell or use them without losing your life for doing so."


    Darius crossed his legs and narrowed his eyes yfully. "As such, it is indeed a much better choice to offer it to the master whose power and connections you have yet to uncover, in exchange for more resources in magecraft, which is more pertinent to you."


    "That way, you kill two birds with one stone. This will allow you to see the limitations of your new master''s power based on how he is able to utilize these items and remain unscathed or not. All the while gaining my favor and more resources for bing a Journeyman mage, which is more of a realistic goal for you at this time."


    Foldo froze with his head on the floor, his heart thumping in his chest rapidly as he had indeed defaulted into his cunning mode thereby forgetting that his master was even more vicious than he was.


    How could he do something like this?! He literally swore to Darius that he would never try to go against his Master!


    While Foldo was panicking and trying to find a good reason for Darius to not strike him, thetter merely found his first follower''s reaction amusing. It was apparent that the older man had been too overwhelmed by the identified items making him act before thinking clearly.


    It was simr to being told that there was a giant spider on your back. No matter how brave one normally was, it would likely lead someone to enter a state of panic where they might do something unwise like make sudden moves or try to swat it off, which would lead to unfavorable results.


    Foldo had fallen into this trap.


    Just as he was about to say something to extricate himself from this mistake, Darius chuckled and spoke calmly.


    "Stand, Foldo. This is your first offense. I like a cunning subordinate like you because idiots would simply ruin my ns when I rely on them. Still, let me give you a piece of advice, my ''dear'' apprentice. Make sure this will be the only time."

 Chapter 57 - 57

    Darius reached out and took the items and ced them into his Inventory. All of them woulde in handy in different situations, but Darius had realized something even more important from this.


    His Transmutation had an important and limiting rule that he could only create things that already existed in Faust.


    By Analyzing and identifying more items, he woulde into contact with more things he would be able to recreate with his Transmutation.


    Of course, Darius didn''t bother to check for any of the items he already made. Just making bloody basic spells was enough to tap him out for the day, so valuable items like these that required special methods to be made woulde out above his CP threshold based on the 3 stages.


    Still, Darius decided to humor himself and took out the simplest item, the Entry Token to Gravitas. He took out his one Silver Ando Coin that he had transmuted on the fifth day, when he went to bed with 0.1 CP leftover.


    The material of the token seemed simr to that of the silver coin, so he assumed it would make it the cheapest to convert.


    [Would you like to change the Silver Ando Coin into an Entry Token? This will cost 245 Conversion Points.]


    Darius'' lips twitched. He immediately regretted checking, wondering which demon whispered to him to do so.


    He had spent the first few days finding out what there was to know about his Transmutation ability.


    It had helped him formte a good hypothesis on how it worked, making him able to roughly gauge how expensive conversion would be as long as he understood their practical value in the world of Faust.


    Darius ced the coin back into his Inventory and gave Foldo a yful smile as he prompted the older man to lead him to the ves.


    Foldo nodded as he rose back to his feet and took Darius through the mansion''s lower corridors. Eventually, both men arrived at a hidden trapdoor that led further down. Foldo entered first and beckoned Darius to follow him.


    The Itemancerplied and they walked down a few stairs until they came into a small room. The room was refreshingly ventted and well-kept. Darius could even see many vent-like contraptions that allowed fresh air in and stale air to go out.


    The room itself was well-decorated and carpeted despite its huge size. Many of the vigers from above ground moved up and down therge chamber, cleaning and monitoring the ves who were kept in ss-like cubicle rooms.


    This chamber was like arge prison floor, with two columns of cubicle rooms connected back to back, with a carpeted pathway in between each of them. There was also a column of cubicles pressed against the eastern and western wall, with two rows pressed against the northern and southern walls.


    The ve owner led Darius down to the floor and walked along the column of cubicles to the easternmost wall and allowed his master to take a look at the persons trapped within.


    Darius''s eyebrows rose when he noticed that the cubicle rooms were also extremely clean and well-maintained. There was a small bathroom, a small closet for clothes with a mirror, a desk with some books, and afortable bed.


    To Darius, it looked like a luxurious cell from Earth that was reserved for VIP inmates who didn''t want to stay with the rabble in the average cells. ording to his knowledge, ignoring theck of freedom, these ves had better living conditions than some middle-ss people in Faustian society!


    Foldo was amused by Darius'' obvious surprise and exined. "Master Darius, you have to understand one thing. No healthy and wealthy buyer would ever want to enter a room that smells like shit, depression, and despair."


    "I have never understood my fellow vers who keep their products in filthy cages, starve and beat them to near death and then still expect someone to pay a premium price for those vester on."


    Foldo tapped his temple with a smirk. "Much cleverer to keep your products clean, healthy, and somewhat happy if possible. Well-fed, well bathed, and sanitary is the way to go."


    Darius once again felt that his choice of keeping Foldo alive and working for him was really wise. His thinking was too simr to modern merchants from Earth, as opposed to the kind of time period he was living in.


    For that matter, Darius checked the so-called ''products''. Foldo hadn''t lied, they showed no signs of hopelessness nor the depths of despair one would expect from normal ves. Of course, they were not at the peak of happiness, but they weren''t listless like the world hade to an end.


    Foldo turned to Darius. "Master, what exactly are you looking for in your ve? Do you desire a young, adult, or older female as a servant? As a sex ve? As abatant? Or would you prefer a male youth, adult, or elderly for one of those categories?"


    Darius rubbed his chin. "I want a male, preferably youth, but an adult might also work. He needs to be human and it doesn''t matter whether he is average or talented."


    Foldo''s eyes shed. "I have just the thing."


    He led Darius to the middle of the room, to the set of cubicle rooms that faced towards the west. There, Darius saw the entire column hold young boys aged 5-15 who were either ying with toys or reading books provided to them by Foldo.


    When they saw Darius, they became curious and came to the edge of their cells to gaze at their potential owner. Meanwhile, the transmigrator Analyzed them one by one to check their different stats. Nearly all of them were actually ssless and naturally hadn''t sparked.


    Darius rubbed his chin and held up the System Brand. After admiring the ring, he decided that it was time to test out its utility.


    Darius walked to the cell of a boy who was quite burly for his tender age of 15, yet the Analyze had revealed that thed was in fact a half-giant. He had a shaggy mane of ck hair that reached just below his shoulder des.


    His eyes were a bright green color and were overwhelming, as if he could press down on whoever he gazed upon with them. He had a rtively good-looking face despite his heritage, with a small nose, thin lips, and a great jawline.


    His upper body was bare-chested while his lower body consisted of shorts that were ck in color. His skin tone was a healthy brown, simr to Darius himself.


    Darius looked up and made eye contact with the boy while thed did the same. After staring at each other for a minute, the boy nodded and looked away.


    Darius gestured to Foldo to release the fellow. "I choose him."


    Foldo smiled as he understood what had just urred, but did notment. He only said: "You have made the best possible choice, Master."

 Chapter 58 - 58

    Darius left Foldo''s little vige with his new ve in tow. When he turned to gaze at the fellow, he also stared at Darius silently without saying a word, which made the old soul chuckle.


    "What is your name?" Darius asked genially.


    In a rough tone that was mostly pleasant to the ear, the ve answered: "Gunner."


    Darius nodded. "Mine is Darius Stone. The reason I chose you, Gunner, is not because of your looks or heritage, but because of your intelligence which you have suppressed."


    "I prefer followers who can actually think over ones who need to be told everything step by step."


    Gunner just watched Darius silently, his intense green eyes locked onto his owner like he was the only thing he could see. It was this very intensity in his gaze that made looking at Gunner feel oppressive.


    However, Darius felt no pressure from that nce. "What I need from you, Gunner, is for you to be my shield in battle. That doesn''t mean you need to wear te armor or the like."


    Darius waved his handszily. "You can even choose offensive skills and abilities and be a frontliner if you want. The important thing to me is that you must be able to attract the attention of all enemies to focus on you. You must also have enough strength to beat them back while Ince them with my magic."


    "Do you understand?" Darius asked the fellow.


    "I do, Master. However, I have no such power." Gunner affirmed and revealed frankly.


    Darius smiled and checked to make sure they were far enough from Foldo''s ce and that they were no prying eyes around. He then turned around and spoke to Gunner: "That should not be a problem."


    "Kneel down, Gunner, and kiss my ring. If you are willing, I shall grant you a way to acquire power that will be much faster and will make you far more powerful than merely relying on a silly Spark."


    Darius put forward his right hand in a fist with the System Brand visible while smiling at Gunner. For that matter, therger boy gazed at Darius, then the System Brand, and then at Darius again.


    After a moment of silence, he knelt and gently kissed the ring. The very instant he did so, it was as if time had stopped and Darius saw a prompt appear before him.


    [Detected target for branding with the System Brand. Proceed?]


    Darius assented then watched as a strange light emerged from his ring and covered the body of Gunner in its entirety. While this went on, he noticed many messages appear in his mind.


    [Target has been assessed to be a willing candidate. The candidate is healthy and below the stage of Amateur. All conditions met.]


    [Candidate name: Gunner. Candidate race: Half-human, half-giant (Royal bloodline). Candidate ss: None.]


    [Overwriting existenceˇ­ auto-educating with provided Infopackˇ­ quantizing statisticsˇ­ establishing loyaltyˇ­]


    [Congrattions, Candidate Gunner has seeded in bing your Branded Servant!


    Note: At the Amateur stage, you can only have 1 Branded Servant!]


    The light subsided and Gunner rose to his feet with a shocked expression. His eyes when he gazed at Darius were no longer filled with raw intensity but respect and reverence.


    "I, Gunner, am your Branded Servant henceforth, Master Darius. Your enemies will be my enemies and clearing your obstacles shall be my utmost goal!" Gunner pledged sincerely, making Darius nod in contentment.


    "Worry not, Gunner. After bing one of my own, you are now a different form of existence in my eyes. You can trust that I will use you, but I won''t waste you." Darius admitted bluntly.


    "Firstly, tell me more about your ss." Darius instructed him, as he wanted to make sure the fellow knew how to use his sub-routine.


    Gunner''s eyes zed over as if he was in a trance for a few seconds before he returned to normal. "Master, my ss is called ''Vanguard''."


    Darius nodded and decided to test him a bit further. "What do you have in your Inventory?"


    Gunner checked once again then shook his head. "Nothing lies within."


    Darius was surprised that the sub-routine was kind enough to give his Branded Servants an Inventory. He had expected they would only get the Character and perhaps the Settings menus at best.


    "Is there anything else in your system menu?" Darius asked to be sure.


    Gunner shook his head once again. "No Master, that is all. Character and Inventory are all I can see."


    Darius was silent as he pondered over this interesting development. The question now was what to do about the information he had acquired through this experiment.


    Firstly, he had found out that there seemed to be criteria involved for getting Branded Servants outside of being a willing party. The system prompt had stated that the target was healthy and below the stage of Amateur.


    It was hard to say whether only those below the Journeyman stage could be branded regardless of Darius''s level, or if that was currently the overarching limiter.


    Neither of these options really pleased him.


    Unfortunately, since he was limited to 1 Branded Servant at his current stage, it was impossible to find out until he became a Journeyman.


    Darius realized that his choice not to brand Portia or Derek had been a wise one, as in the case that he could not unbrand a target, he would be stuck with them unless he climbed a stage.


    Or killed them, of course.


    The third thing he had learned was that Gunner was originally ssless, but had gained a ss upon being branded. This solved one of Darius'' pressing questions about the System Brand.


    Ever since he got it, he had wondered what the brand would grant a person chosen by him in terms of power and progression. After all, he hade to learn that the natives of this world had their own system of power that was totally different from the System''s.


    However, as the prompt stated, Gunner''s existence was overwritten by the Supreme System, so he was now bound to its rules as opposed to that of Faust''s.


    This meant that like Darius, Gunner could no longer achieve organic growth and could only grow via stats or skill points.


    Of course, to be sure that he wasn''t just needlessly specting, Darius checked his theory by opening Gunner''s character panel for himself.

 Chapter 59 - 59

    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard (Auto-generated)


    Subss: Open


    HP: 180/180


    MP: 13/13


    Level: 1


    Exp: 0/100


    Strength: 12


    Agility: 6


    Endurance: 15


    Intellect: 13


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 9


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: Engage - Lv.1


    Spells: None.]


    Darius was surprised to see that Gunner had better starting stats than he did. Well, it should be a given since Darius was an average 13-year-old who hadn''t exercised muchpared to Gunner who was half-giant.


    Darius had started out with poor physical stats while Gunner happened to be above average in all categories except for Agility and Luck.


    The real shocker though, was that Gunner had the same level of Intellect as Portia!


    And his Charisma was even higher than Darius''. Not to mention his intense gaze, that thing would intimidate foes and enthrall maidens, so Darius was willing to concede on this matter.


    This made the fellow nod as he observed his handsome Branded Servant who was currently familiarising himself with his Character menu.


    A very interesting thing to note was that Gunner''s subss was set to ''open'', indicating that he could acquire er on. Since his Intellect was impressive, Darius was contemting whether he should set him up with a spell-casting subss.


    There were 4.5 Conversion Points left for the day, so the question now was what to do with them. Should Darius get his Branded Servant another Vanguard skill, something which might able to grant him a subss or should he proceed in making preparations for his own ns?


    Darius then realized that there was no rush. Foldo would need about a week to execute his n in getting the bandits together and ready, so all he had to do was wait until then.


    "Let us return, Gunner." Dariusmanded as he took out a House Portal scroll. Since Gunner did not have a map function, he obviously could not set a homebase for himself, so Darius was betting that his own would work for Gunner as well.


    However, as a failsafe, he handed Gunner a Short Warp scroll and told him where to teleport to in case the first one failed. Making sure Gunner understood what he was saying, Darius then activated the teleport.


    Upon appearing in his room in Poleria''s Homestead, Darius was pleased to see that Gunner had appeared right along with him, meaning that his House Portal Scrolls would be able to take his Branded Servants along with him.


    The only thing left to test would be whether those scrolls required them to be in close proximity to each other or if it could ur at any range. If it was the former, it would be hard to get his Branded Servants to work away from his person.


    Gunner marveled at the well-decorated noble''s bedroom. Darius chuckled at his actions and then realized that the boy before him was still half-naked, with only a pair of shorts keeping him from trundling about in his birthday suit.


    Seeing the issue, Darius decided that he needed to get something tailor-made for him at his current size.


    Suddenly, Darius had a great idea. Since his Branded Servant would need to have some protection to fulfill his role as a tank, he nned to create the perfect armor for him.


    He went over to the wardrobe and pulled out a random piece of cloth. Making sure its quantity was enough, he then concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the yard of cloth into a skin-tight polymer suit? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]


    Darius was pleased to see that such a thing actually did exist, so he epted the change which ate up most of the remaining Conversation Points for the day. To Gunner''s shock, he saw his master change a piece of cloth into a dark-ck attire that was made up of strange patterns.


    Darius threw it over to Gunner andmanded the fellow to wear it. Turning around, he heard the Vanguard grunting as he struggled to wear the suit, eventually managing to do sopetently after about 3 minutes.


    Darius turned around to inspect Gunner and was impressed yet displeased. Impressed because the suit perfectly fit Gunner without constricting him, but simultaneously displeased because it showed far too much of his body.


    Darius took another roll of cloth and measured it carefully. Then, he threw it over to Gunner after cutting it up a bit and told him to wrap it around his waist.


    The cloth went perfectly around the half-giant and covered his privates more suitably. Darius had to admit, like this, Gunner looked really extraordinary.


    The ck skin-tight polymer''s design and his well-built body came together to give him the aura of a powerful fighter, while the grey cloth that wrapped around his waist gave him the look of an emerging deity.


    Darius chuckled, thinking that his nephews would have described Gunner''s current looks as ''thest boss''. Gunner continued to stretch his body to see how he would manage with this attire, but found that it was actually perfect and felt like a second skin.


    Darius inspected the polymer suit to see what it offeredpared to the ones he remembered from his ownpany''s R&Dbs on Earth.


    [Synthetic Polymer Suit Version 3.0 - Armor


    Durability: 1000/1000


    Quality: Perfect


    Defense: 30


    Resistance: 30


    Description: A suit made of a unique sequence of molecules that are greatly resistant to all forms of damage, magical or physical. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Darius was bbergasted. It turned out that the elitist ability had once again outdone itself as it took the average polymer suit and perfected it.


    Darius assumed Resistance was in regards to magical defense since he guessed that Defense must stand for physical defense. It wouldn''t make much sense otherwise.


    High durability, perfect sticity, and good defense as well as resistance. All for 4 CP, making Darius understand that he truly needed to widen his horizons.


    He had only guessed such an item might exist because Gravitas was truly a technological continent that even had androids and the like, so it seemed reasonable to assume they would definitely have synthetic polymer suits.


    Before today, he would have never attempted such a Transmutation because he would not have known it was even possible for a world like this!


    Knowledge is power! The more he knew, the more he could create! This was how he might be able to beat the first rule of his Transmutation ability!

 Chapter 60 - 60

    Darius moved to sit down on the couch while he told Gunner to rx. Therged appeared to be restless in his new environment and proceeded to explore the huge chamber and all its decorations.


    Darius left him to it while he removed the Digital Tablet from his Inventory and turned it on. Once the tab came on, Darius quickly understood that it had to have been pre-owned, and likely by a little girl at that.


    The reason for this conclusion was the over-saturation of the color pink within the tablet''s software. Pink theme, pink-ish wallpaper, and pink buttons.


    Fortunately for Darius, they hadn''t bothered to password lock their device, probably due to being too young to know any better.


    Whatever the case, Darius easily navigated the menus and factory reset the entire device. If this item had belonged to an adult, he would have carefully perused all pictures, documents, and music to ascertain the culture and style of Gravitas more intimately.


    However, since it belonged to a child or teenager, he was not interested in finding out. This was not a pragmatic choice at all, but one fueled by his own emotions and personal beliefs.


    Well, the beauty of being his own man was the fact that Darius did not need to justify or exin his actions to anyone but himself, especially since he hardly surrounded himself with equals who would slow him down.


    After waiting for the tablet to clean itself out, Darius went through the initial set-up and registered it under his name. Darius then checked the about page in the settings to see the specs of this tablet and was surprised to find that it had 400 TB of space despite its small size.


    He chuckled over the default apps and basic themes. The style of this Gravitas tablet was simr to Earth back in the early 2000s. Darius, who was born in the 2060s, only knew of those things from history books and pop culture.


    After ying around with a few features, he switched off the tablet and rummaged in his Inventory once more. He pulled out the steel spear he had upgraded from the iron one a few days ago.


    [Steel Spear - Weapon


    Durability: 100/100


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 12-17


    Description: A sharp and bnced spear made of high-grade steel and the best possible craftsmanship. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Seeing that there was still a lot of daylight left, Darius decided to bring Gunner with him as they refined their teamwork in battle, but not before Darius also inspected what Gunner''s only skill was.


    [Engage - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Vanguard, you must be able to stand at the forefront of battle and pave the way for your allies. This skill aggroes all enemies within 5 meters of the user.]


    Darius nodded, this was exactly what he wanted. A Branded Servant who could attract enemy attention away while he dished out the necessary damage.


    Making sure everything was set, Darius exited his room with Gunner in tow. On his way out, he saw Shanks talking to Derek while patting his son on the shoulder.


    Both father and son were smiling about something, yet were shocked when they saw Darius appear, especially since he was apanied by a stranger. Seeing them, Darius approached the duo and greeted them.


    "Good day, Sir Shanks and Friend Derek. How are you today?"


    Shanks replied for the duo. "Good day, Master Darius. All''s well on the farm and we thank the Gods for that."


    Shanks'' eyes fell on Gunner as it seemed like he wanted to say something, but wasn''t sure how to put it. Darius chuckled and introduced his servant.


    "This here is Gunner. He is a powerful half-giant warrior working for my house and my personal guard. He only arrived recently thanks to my family''s tracking and refuses to leave my side." Darius introduced him while making sure toin with a sigh.


    Once they heard this, the duo rxed and even shared a knowing look. Shanks was very familiar with the methods of the noble houses while Derek was intuitive. The duo instantly understood more of Darius'' supposed background and why he was here.


    In their minds, Darius had to be a runaway scion who had set out to explore the world and y around with his magic under the guise of ''experiments''. Otherwise, why the hell would a nobled like him be all the way out here?!


    Now that he had been ''found'', it was likely he wouldn''t be staying much longer with them. This relieved Shanks and Derek because, unlike Portia, they were wary of the troubles that coulde with housing a noble scion for long.


    For one, if something happened to Darius and his noble family found out that they had been housing him, it would be extremely troublesome to resolve that issue.


    If they couldn''t find the actual culprits, it was practically guaranteed that the homestead would have to be a scapegoat, yet they couldn''t outright sack Darius either.


    Him leaving on his own was the best possible oue!


    Shanks grinned. "No worries, Lord Darius. Friend Gunner can stay for as long as you will be with us, no problem."


    Darius nodded gratefully, but grumbled under his breath. "Not like that will be much longer anyway."


    His grumble was done in a murmur, but he purposefully said it loud enough that both Shanks and Derek would be able to hear it. Both male members of the Torniam family practically lit up as they bid farewell to Darius, their shoulders visibly much lighter.


    Darius watched them leave with their smiles. His eyes shed into serpentine slits for a split-second but returned to normal in the very next instant.


    Gunner, who had been looking at Darius the whole time, flinched slightly but did notment on it, instead his intense gaze returned as his eyes narrowed.


    Gunner had never seen such a phenomenon in his life, but his intuition told him that in the split-second Darius'' eyes had morphed, he had been looking at a source of evil and malevolence that should rival even the demons of Armadon.

 Chapter 61 - 61

    Darius and Gunner walked through the pathways established in between therge forest trees that led to the same Lost River bridge he had visited twice this past week.


    On the way, Gunner kept observing their surroundings with a mixture of curiosity and wariness, his alertness out to the max. Darius was pleased by Gunner''s behaviors, as he had not needed to tell the other anything beforehand.


    Then again, for someone who had likely been captured as a ve, it was natural to act wary in these kinds of ces. Darius himself was calm as he walked along, confident in his perception and Mind Power.


    Should anything ambush them, Darius was prepared to blink away in a split second before any attack could hit him. Then, it would meet the angry assault of Gunner as well as the bombardment of spells from the Magus, equaling a very sad fate.


    Darius branched off into the forest around 3 kilometers into their walk as he sensed something strange. Once under the boughs of the trees, he had heard a stomping sound as well as felt that something shook the earth.


    Gunner''s eyes narrowed as he rushed forward before Darius could and ced his ears to the earth to pinpoint the origin of the sound. Darius was silent, allowing his Branded Servant to do as he wished.


    Gunner soon rose and turned to Darius. "This should be the territory of arge beast. Not sure about the exact breed, but we should prepare for a tough fight."


    Darius nodded and gestured forward. "Proceed, Gunner. Take the lead and begin the fight, I will be right behind you and assist if needed."


    Gunner assented and rushed forward like a juggernaut, smashing through trees and rock alike as he entered a small clearing near a cave. Just in front of the cave, arge Ogre was trying to smash its way inside by using arge makeshift club.


    Darius blinked right behind Gunner and watched as therged walloped the Ogre right in the small of its back, stunning the ogre and sending it crashing into the wall before it.


    Darius used that time to Analyze the monster before him.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Single-headed Ogre


    Race: Ogre


    ss: Warrior


    Subss: None


    HP: 121/125


    MP: 14/14


    Level: 8


    Strength: 13


    Agility: 6


    Endurance: 10


    Intellect: 1


    Charisma: 1


    Luck: 1


    Abilities: Stomp, Consume, Grapple


    Weapons: Wooden Club]


    Darius saw that this enemy was simr to the Blue Troll in many aspects, which wasn''t surprising since Trolls and Ogres shared many traits. Darius did notice it had better stats than the former, but not by much.


    However, what disappointed him was the fact that the monster was lower leveled than him. This meant that he would likely be leaving this battle with only 1 experience point as constion, assuming he would get any at all.


    As a constion, Darius was hoping that Gunner would receive enough experience to shoot up the Ranks.


    Before Darius could follow up with a casting of Sparks, the voice of Caesar suddenly sounded in his head as the world around him seemed toe to aplete standstill.


    {Hello, Darius Stone! It is I, Caesar, your friendly helper during your journey in the wonderful world of Faust!}


    {As you''ve been informed during your grace period, there are certain moments when you''ll be given the opportunity to talk to me or I will descend to contact you.}


    {The former can ur due to something you have aplished that pleases my mistress, while thetter will mostly happen in instances where I will have to educate you about a crucial feature going forward.}


    {Today, I''m here to exin the exp share mechanic of the Supreme System!}


    {Your acquisition of the System Brand should never have happened, but it seems your luck is truly not bad, Darius Stone! Had it been up to me, you should have ended up with a rotten banana instead!}


    {Well, that is beside the point. The System Brand allows you to brandpatible targets to act as your servants in battle, although you can naturally use them outside of it as well. These beings will bepletely loyal to you and will possess the same means of growth as you, albeit with some detriments.}


    {The esteemed Goddess is looking forward to seeing how the ns you have put in motion will turn out. As such, she has instructed me to share a bit more about this special item you have been granted.}


    {It might interest you to know that you are actually able to brand a target no matter their stage. However, you should be warned that once branded, they will be forcefully reset to level 1 in all instances. Still, they will benefit from higher starting stats the higher their previous levels!}


    {As you have already learned, you can only have a single servant at your current stage. You''re able to release your Branded Servants at any time, although that will result in their deaths. As a Journeyman, your limit will double to two and there will be more as you climb the stages!}


    {Now that I''ve shared that information, I shall address my initial objective ining here, how experience is shared between master and Branded Servants!}


    {Your rtionship with your servant when inbat is that of party members, just like it has been the case of your games back on Earth. As such, you will directly share experience for every kill, split equally regardless of your wishes! Yay!}


    {However, that is not the only important thing to note. In the case where there are level discrepancies, the experience modifier will be calcted by using the differences in levels of all involved parties. The form used will be the difference between you and the enemypared to the difference in the average level of your Branded Servant and the enemy.)


    {To give a practical example, take your current battle! The Ogre is level 8 while you are level 11 making for 3 levels of difference. Since this is the first fight of your Branded Servant, he is at level 1 thereby 7 levels below the enemy.}


    {The difference between your 3 levels of difference and his 7 levels of differs, results in the final experience modifier being 4 levels worth of XP!}


    Darius was silent as he listened to Caesar, but the more the intelligent entity spoke, the more Darius'' smile widened until it became quite twisted. He wanted to shout aloud in euphoria, as he had not heard a more foolish and abusable mechanic in his life!


    The sheer loopholes! The benefits of exploiting them! The wealth of nefarious ideas running through his mind! Should heplete any of them, his path to bing a Supreme would be smooth as silk!


    However, Darius'' joy bled away the next moment as his sharp mind noticed one big w in all this. With such an open-ended mechanic that even a toddler would understand how to abuse, how could Vena, a Goddess of Games as well as Caesar not notice this?


    Exactly what had Darius missed in his calctions that made the one watching him unbothered by the many ''mistakes'' he had encountered so far?

 Chapter 62 - 62

    Darius noticed that time began to return to its usual speed. He cut his train of thought and decided to investigateter, for he had gleaned a single clue from everything he had heard and experienced so far.


    He shifted his attention back to the fight, just in time to see Gunner leap into the sky and crush the Ogre into the earth with his knees. Like a beast, his Branded Servant began punching the back of the Ogre''s head in with a shocking amount of force.


    Darius paused as he opted to watch Gunner fight instead of outright interfering. A part of him didn''t want to believe it, but it appeared as if Gunner might be able to kill a monster 7 levels higher than himself on his own.


    Darius felt that it should be impossible, but he also felt it was logical. The reason he himself could not achieve such results at Gunner''s level was because of the single fact Caesar had highlighted when Darius first awoke in this world.


    No matter how talented, handsome, or witty Darius thought he was, at the end of the day, his talents were tied to mercantilism. His genius revolved around mercantile concepts and his charisma shone in negotiations. In every other situation, he was just another 70+-year-old man at best.


    Especiallybat. Caesar had bluntly put it that the transmigrator would struggle to bebat-capable before the Journeyman stage, which would have been true had he not lucked out with Transmutation and created various things to assist him.


    Darius only cheaped out by learning skills easily through skillbooks. s without skill points, those skills would stagnate forever, not to mention that they were all at the basic stage because of his low CP threshold per day.


    In contrast, Gunner was half-giant that was born with better stats than Darius, whose talent forbat far surpassed his master due to Giant''s bloodline. ording to the system, it was even royal blood!


    [Single-headed Ogre - Level 7 Monster


    HP: 98/125 MP: 14/14]


    Gunner was seriouslyying down the hurt on the monster with his never-ending punches. Even Darius began to grimace at his brutality, imagining himself trapped beneath the half-giantd while he rampaged.


    However, at the end of the day, the Ogre was still a level 8 monster. Despite its dizziness, it pressed its arms to the ground and pushed its torso up forcefully with all its strength.


    This tossed Gunner off its back and made him roll and crouch like a beast, his expression locked into the rictus of a snarl. His green eyes glowed with brutality like a shark that had been triggered by the smell of blood.


    The Vanguard didn''t give the Ogre much time to gather its bearings as he charged at it once again, bringing his shoulder forward as the focus of his momentum.


    The Single-headed Ogre roared in a mixture of anger as well as disgruntlement as it noticed the Branded Servant''s charge, then swung its club to meet thed''s assault. Here, Gunner''s weakness showed, which was his poor Agility.


    He was unable to alter his trajectory as he had put too much force into the charge. As such, his torso was struck by the barrel of the club, sending thed flying into a nearby tree. Not only did Gunner crash into it, he even broke through.


    Darius'' face became grim as he nned to quickly heal his Branded Servant in case thed was crippled, but was shocked to hear him roar and smash what remained of the tree aside as he red at the Ogre with the light of madness in his eyes.


    A strange greenish energy coiled around Gunner the longer he roared and even Darius felt pressured by the power he was generating. Confused as to what was going on with that, he checked Gunner''s status.


    His eyes widened when he saw that the half-giant had somehow gained a new skill called ''Earth''s Guardian''. Upon inspecting the skill, Darius understood what was going on.


    From the description given, Earth''s Guardian was a skill exclusive to the royal family of the Giants, who had been blessed by Gaia as her protectors on the surface. They had been blessed to have increased defense, offense, and magical resistance, yet poor speed.


    It would exin why Gunner''s starting stats had been so high in those categories, as it was purely a racial thing.


    However, the idea that Branded Servants could auto-learn and retain racial skills even after been overwritten by the Supreme System gave Darius many ideas for the future.


    As for Gunner, he charged at the Ogre once more, who roared back in defiance. It activated one of its skills, ''Grapple''. It rushed to meet thed to take him into a grapple hold, which Gunner mimicked as both fighters shed in the center of the clearing.


    The two struggled to overpower the other as they shifted about and struggled while locked in the hold, but Gunner was slowly losing ground. After all, he only had 12 points of Strength while the Ogre had 13, which was just enough to give it the advantage.


    However, the green energy surrounding Gunner became more intense and began entering his body slowly, making his skin start to glow in the same color.


    The more energy entered thed, the more of an advantage he gained over the Single-headed Ogre, that was now sweating and screaming at Gunner.


    The Vanguard wasn''t done, as he suddenly absorbed all the greenish energy at once and channeled it into his arms.


    To the horror of the onlooking Darius, Gunner smiled menacingly and roared in dominance before he raised his left leg and braced it against the chest of the Ogre, using his newfound strength to rip the arms of the monster right from their sockets!


    The half-giant wasn''t done yet, as he used both arms like a club to beat and brutalize the now dis-armed Ogre to its knees.


    Darius could only watch on in a mixture of dismay and morbid fascination as his Branded Servant beat the life out of the monster until its body was no longer recognizable before he stopped.


    Bloody and panting like a beast, Gunner turned and red at Darius.

 Chapter 63 - 63

    Darius watched Gunner walk over to him while still panting as thed fell to his knees before him and reported: "The threat to Master has been dealt with."


    Darius nodded and cast a heal on Gunner as thed had lost some HP after being clubbed by the Ogre earlier. Gunner sighed with pleasure as the whitish-blue light of healing washed over him and restored his health.


    Darius noted this effect and checked the post-battle spoils before he decided what he would do next.


    [You have gained 640 EXP.]


    [Gunner has gained 640 EXP, 1 Intelligence Boost Potion, and 2 Fireball Scrolls.]


    As Darius expected, they both split 1,280 experience points which was the same amount he would have gotten if he had single-handedly defeated a monster 4 levels above his own.


    He also noticed that he got no drops, likely due to him not doing anything in the fight, while Gunner got some good items for his efforts.


    Gunner was busily fiddling with his system menu while Darius checked how many levels his servant had climbed up.


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Sub-ss: Open


    HP: 180/180


    MP: 52/52


    Level: 4


    Exp: 40/400


    Strength: 12


    Agility: 6


    Endurance: 15


    Intellect: 13


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 9


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Intrigued


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 9


    SP: 3


    Skills: Engage - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.1


    Spells: None.]


    Darius frowned once he realized that Gunner had only gained 3 AP and 1 SP per level up. This meant that the growth rate of his Branded Servants in terms of power would not equal or surpass his.


    Darius sighed withment. There went his master n of contracting someone at a high stage with obscene starting stats, while watching them gain new stat points to further double or triple their power, allowing them able to even contest the Gods and Demons.


    Clearly, he would have to do it himself.


    Gunner turned to Darius. "Master, please allocate my stats for me."


    Darius nodded and proceeded to do so. He understood that Gunner was entrusting his growth into his hands, and Darius would make sure the half-giant progressed in the way he not only wanted but also needed him to.


    After all, that was the entire point of acquiring his Branded Servant in the first ce!


    Since Agility was Gunner''s only real weakness, Darius decided to turn it into a strength. He ced all of 9 AP points into the stat, bringing it up to 15 points, surpassing even Darius himself.


    This was something only the Supreme System''s artificial growth mechanic could achieve, and Darius was beginning to love it. Gunner, for that matter, suddenly shivered as if someone had poured a pail of ice-cold water over him.


    Once he stopped, he seemed to be more rxed and peaceful. His shoulders seemed less slumped and his posture more vibrant.


    Darius nodded with satisfaction and ced the Vanguard''s three skill points into Earth Guardian. This was a skill with far more importance and value than his Engage skill, which already pretty much did everything that Darius needed it to do.


    [Earth''s Guardian - Level 4 Skill


    Cost: 3 MP per second


    Description: The natal skill of every royal blooded Giant. This skill is a blessing of Gaia to her protectors that grants them the ability to borrow some of the''s power inbat. The user of this skill is granted +25% Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense for the duration of its activation.]


    Once Darius saw how the skill grew, he knew he had made the right choice.


    It was a skill that could not even bepared to his Sparks and co, which were all basic skills. This skill could grant a percentile boosts to Gunner''s battle strength and survivability, making him more and more ridiculously resilient.


    It had started out as a mere 10% boost, which was enough for him to turn the tables on the Ogre, but had now climbed to 25%. The more Gunner''s base stats increased, the more valuable this skill''s effects would be.


    Satisfied, Darius turned to Gunner. "How do you feel?"


    "Master, I feel lighter, like someone had been sitting on my back all this while, but finally got off. That someone was almost as heavy as that monster from before." Gunner replied honestly.


    Darius chuckled. "That''s good. With your increased Agility, you should now be the perfect frontline fighter, able to absorb and dish out all kinds of damage to enemies in my way."


    Gunner agreed. "That is my life''s goal, Master."


    Darius then turned to the cave which the Ogre had been trying to breach and saw that it was absurdly quiet within. Chuckling, hemanded his servant: "Gunner, let''s explore this little cave and see what was held within that made the Ogre want to break in at all costs."


    Gunner assented and obeyed his master''smand by walking fearlessly into the cave while he maintained his mental alertness.


    It was a mixture of caution and carelessness, an oxymoronic situation brought about due to his confidence in his own resilience, yet his wariness towards unwee surprises that could hurt his master behind him.


    Darius followed along while rubbing his chin idly. His mind was lost on his earlier spections about the trick or secret Vena and Caesar had failed to inform him of, which had to be the basis of their nonchnce towards the Supreme System''s various ws.


    ''The Supreme System told me that it was merely a version 1.0, and warned me that there would be ws. However, it also stated that there would be system updates to patch those ws.''


    ''Could that be what the duo of Vena and Caesar are relying on? If so, that seems to be truly poor nning on their part, no to mention extremezinessˇ­''


    Darius sighed as his thoughts reached that point. He was not fully satisfied with that exnation, but at the same time, he wondered if he should really expect anything else from a deity who summoned evil souls into fiction-like worlds and scenarios to quell her boredom.


    After walking for a bit, Gunner suddenly halted and Darius came to stand beside therged as he wanted to see what had him pause.

 Chapter 64 - 64

    In the center of the cavern was arge coffin that was made of what looked like mahogany, only that it was painted ck. What silenced Gunner and Darius was the fact that the coffin was chained tightly by silver bindings as well as arge lock.


    Sharing a look, both Darius and Gunner approached the coffin. They observed it for a bit before checking out the rest of the small cavern which was mostly barren except for this coffin thaty on a pedestal.


    Darius first Inspected it.


    [Strange Coffin - Misceneous


    Durability: ?/?


    Description: A coffin radiating a startling amount of malevolence and death energy. It is advisable not to approach it, much less attempt to unseal it.]


    Darius scoffed at the weak and rather unsatisfactory utility of the Inspect system mechanic and used his Analyze skill instead, deciding henceforth to never bother with Inspect ever again.


    [Coffin of Lord Darm - Event


    Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000


    Description: The sealing ground of the evil vampire Lord Darm. This cave has been abandoned by humans and monsters alike for many decades. Do not stay too long around the coffin, otherwise the residual spirit of its owner might influence you to unseal him by any means necessary.


    Event details: Unsealing the coffin will activate the first upgrade of the Supreme System and the ''Quests'', as well as ''Events'' menus, will be avable. Until this upgrade is done, the details of the event cannot be disyed.]


    Darius shared these details with Gunner and the duo shared a look. Simultaneously, they both exited the cave. Once outside, Darius, with the help of Gunner, used various tree logs to block the entrance of the cave even further.


    The duo then left the clearing and never looked back once.


    * * *


    Darius was currently lounging in his bedroom, reading a book about the political factions in the Andrato Kingdom specifically. Gunner was also in the room, performing stretching exercises as well as doing push-ups and sit-ups.


    While he could not gain any extra muscle mass this way, it at least helped keep him active and passed the time. When he proceeded to do handstands with ease, even Darius took a look.


    A week had passed since Darius had acquired his first Branded Servant, and the duo had grown significantly stronger since then. Darius had created many skill manuals for Gunner that allowed him to make use of his ss, while Darius also increased his own repertoire.


    Darius had also made 8 Scrolls of Awakening in this time, which was what prevented him from making more House Portal Scrolls, or really anything else apart from a few skills a day.


    Heck, without Foldo''s provided empty spell manuals, Darius wouldn''t have even been able to make spells for himself!


    Darius had gained three levels since then and Gunner had gained 5. It was simply too hard to find strong foes who gave experience that was abusable by the exp share mechanic.


    It was a mixture of the fact that Gunner''s level kept rising while Darius''s did as well, as well as the fact that the ins of the Green were not housing anything too dangerous.


    Darius was really looking forward to hitting the town and trying out a dungeon. His and Gunner''sbat capabilities would truly be best tested in such a scenario.


    Darius sighed and closed his book, his mood for reading gone. Whether it was an effect of a young body or his own brewing anticipation for the future, he was bing restless as he waited for Foldo to execute the n.


    Darius opted to boredly watch Gunner kill himself through exercise until he heard the rushed pattering of feet. His door suddenly burst open to reveal a sweaty and fearful Portia, who was too panicked to even notice that both Darius and Gunner were merely half-dressed.


    "M-Master Darius! You have to escape! All three bandit groups are attacking the homesteadˇ­ along withˇ­ along with monsters!" Portia exined hurriedly.


    Darius and Gunner shared a look before the duo proceeded to get properly dressed. Only now did Portia notice such a thing as she blushed and turned around.


    However, hearing themotion outside reminded her of why she hade as the fear set in once more. "Master Darius, please hurry. There is a backdoor escape route my father put in ce for our family, I can lead you through!"


    Darius paused as he dressed. His eyebrows furrowed as he turned to Portia and his eyes gleamed in a way Portia had never seen before.


    "Are you serious? You would take me through an escape route made specifically for your family?" Darius asked her gravely.


    Portia paused for a second and nodded, confused as to why Darius seemed displeased with her providing a safe way to escape for him. "Erm, yes?"


    Darius finished dressing and folded his arms with amusement on his face. "What about your father and brother?"


    Portia froze for a second as a metaphorical light bulb shed over her head. Seeing this, Darius sighed internally but asked her once more: "So your first thought during a crisis has not been to secure your father and brother, but a stranger who is just passing through. Why?"


    Portia suddenly became tongue-tied. She sort of knew why she ran to Darius first, yet she was too embarrassed to say it lest this young noble be repulsed by her, for this whole topic was ultimately an awkward one.


    Exactly as Darius had caller her out for, she had forgone her family''s safety to check on someone who should merely be a stranger, even going so far to secure their safety. Portia knew that if she blurted out the reason, she would never have any dignity left for herself in this world.


    Darius and Gunner shared a look before the former smiled then grasped Portia by the shoulders.


    "Portia. Sit in this room, right on my sofa, and wait for me. Don''t wait for me in the sense that I will being to help you escape."


    Darius'' eyes shed as Portia found herself drawn into those hazel orbs of intelligence and control.


    "Wait for me in the sense that I shall destroy whatever threatens the safety of you and this homestead, as I shall returnˇ­ triumphant!"

 Chapter 65 - 65

    Darius left his room with Gunner in tow, a pacified Portia left seated in his bed with a mesmerized expression. Whatever infatuation she had with him before had now evolved into something else, and Darius did not like that change one bit.


    Still, he recognized her goodwill and amended his ns a bit for her sake. As for her feelings, she would have to deal with them on her own, as there was nothing Darius wished to offer her.


    Darius turned to Gunner and saw therged smiling. With a hint of amusement, he asked: "Well, Gunner, you have been bored to death the whole day, and now you get to let loose. Are you ready?"


    Gunner grinned toothily as he pped his hands together. "Very ready, Master. I look forward to the battle!"


    Darius nodded his head. "Good! Take the lead and engage them, you don''t need me to hold you back."


    Gunner bellowed withughter as he jumped up and broke through the ceiling of the farmhouse, his body shooting through the air as he reached the outskirts in almost one jump.


    One could see a greenish aura surround his body that had been absorbed into his skin. The moment hended, there was a small earthquake in the area as therged broke his fall with the body of a Goblin.


    Well, it couldn''t be called much of a body after Gunner had practically crushed it into paste. The monsters and bandits currently inbat with the few able-bodied men of the homestead paused to take in Gunner''s form with shock.


    They could not fathom such strength and power, but Gunner had only just begun. He raised his leg and cast one of his new skills granted to him by Darius, Earthen Stomp!


    [Earthen Stomp - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the earth element, channel its power into your legs as you destroy the area around you with a minor quake. This damages an area of 20 meters around the user.]


    The moment Gunner''s foot - which was charged with greenish energy - collided with the ground, it was as if a meteor had hit the earth. The ground directly around the half-giant cracked and shifted, those who stood above it falling over themselves and ending up concussed at the least.


    Gunnerughed loudly and charged forward into an Ogre that had two heads which dual-wielded a club and mace. Unlike hispanions, this one wore some stolen hide armor that barely fit its body.


    Gunner''s movement speed at 15 points of Agility was too fast for the Ogre to follow, since it merely had 8 or 9 points in the same statistic at best. As such, it could only be blown back into many of its fellows once Gunner used another skill granted him by Darius.


    [Earthen Punch - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: 15 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the earth element, channel its power into your fists as you deal more damage to armored orrger enemies. This skill deals 10% blunt damage.]


    Gunner''s fist glowed with a green light just as he connected his punch with the unlucky Ogre, forcing the monster to spit out a load of ckish-blue blood that smelled disgusting.


    Gunner''s performance on the battlefield was all-epassing, forcing all attention on him. The benefit of this was that those fighting for the homestead got a huge boost in morale.


    The downside though, was that all enemy attention was focused on him. Many of the monsters charged him while the bandits with ranged weapons focused on him.


    Before he could make his next move, hundreds of arrows and various projectile attacks rained towards his position.


    Gunner was the only real threat here apart from Shanks, who was also tearing up his side of the battlefield.


    Gunner noticed all the enemies and attacksing towards him andughed. He activated his bloodline skill, Earthen Guardian that had been increased to level 9!


    At this level, it increased his Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense by 50%!


    Now that Gunner had brought both his Strength and Endurance stats to 20 points, that means he got a free 10 points added!


    However, the consumption of the skill had grown as well, as it now cost 10 MP per second to use. With how much Gunner had left, he could only realistically use it for about 7 or so seconds.


    Still, the half-giantd was unperturbed by this, as Darius had already given him many Transmuted mana potions that were increased from lower grades. With them, Gunner could easily restore his MP over the course of the battle.


    The half-giantd received all the projectiles on his body, his hard muscles, and polymer suit repelling everything like they were just small stings of a mosquito. Not even a lick of damage was dealt unto Gunner, who proceeded to rush into the fray of charging enemies.


    With his damage and defense buffed by 50%, he did not need to think about protecting himself or doing any fancy moves nor activate any other skill. All he had to do was punch, smash and destroy, nothing more, nothing less.


    Unsurprisingly, Gunner was very good at that. He was not adept at using weapons, and from what Darius had read about the Giant race, they weren''t the type either.


    As Gunner slowly tore through the enemies on the battlefield, Darius finally blinked into the area with a raised eyebrow. Portia had warned them that there were monsters among the lot, but there were far more here than he had expected from the bandit groups.


    Foldo really did overwork himself to see the n through, but Darius had to admit, he had pulled it off spectacrly.


    He could see the Diato bandits, lead by Diato, Jorge, and Kevin fighting against Shanks, while the Garwen Bandits were the ones mostly made up of archers who were bombarding Gunner fruitlessly.


    As for Foldo and his crew, they were here, but not exactly either. Only a few of his men actively did something on the battlefield, and he sent the ones who were known troublemakers as well as those who were weeds in his group here to represent his groupˇ­ and to perish.

 Chapter 66 - 66

    Darius chuckled. This Foldo fellow was truly incorrigible. After being pardoned once, he still had sub-consciously schemed towards his own benefit by sending rogue elements from his group for Darius to kill on his behalf.


    Nevertheless, Foldo''s methods were clean and faultless. He had aplished his task in a way that would benefit both the apprentice and his master, just enough that it wouldn''t cause any problemster on.


    Before entering the battle, Darius decided to Analyze Shanks to check whether anything had changed since hest had done so in secret.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Shanks Torniam


    Race: Human


    ss: Great Axe-Knight


    Subss: Royal Guard


    HP: 992/992


    MP: 816/816


    Level: 34


    Strength: 31


    Agility: 29


    Endurance: 32


    Intellect: 24


    Charisma: 14


    Luck: 13]


    Darius was once again left awed by Shank''s stats. He had already checked his host out a week ago, back when he had introduced Gunner to him and Derek.


    The revtion had been enough to make Darius freeze up for a split second in shock.


    So far, Shanks was the only person to have a subss like himself. His Great Axe-Knight ss was self-exnatory, but Darius wondered what benefits his Royal Guard ss brought the man.


    Since Shanks was like Derek in the sense that he did not entirely open up to Darius, the old soul could not see much of his status ording to the Supreme System.


    Still, Darius was not discouraged by this. After today that should no longer be a problem for him.


    He cast the basic spell of the death element he had added to his repertoire just yesterday, Spawn.


    [Spawn - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Channel the purest death energy through your body to form undead servants that do your bidding. Only two undead skeletons are summoned at this level.]


    A ck light enveloped Darius for a split second before it passed through his body, down to his feet, andstly into the earth. The next second, the ground before him cracked apart slightly as two skeletons pulled themselves out.


    They both wielded rusty swords that looked ready to crack in the next instant, as well as two wooden shields that were mostly broken and rotten. Yet despite this, they eagerly rushed into the fray before Darius could evenmand them.


    The fellow frowned at this, but decided to leave it for now. Perhaps he might gain more control over them at higher levels, but that would require him to spend his SP.


    As it was, he had used up all the Skill Points from his three level-ups to upgrade Blink to level 10. Now, Darius could travel anywhere within 100 meters instead of a mere 10.


    The effectiveness of the improved spell immediately showed itself on the battlefield when Darius soddenly appeared behind a Goblin warrior who was engaged with one of the inhabitants of the homestead.


    The fellow had been struggling to keep his life under the relentless onught of the monster, but Darius quickly swooped in and ced a hand on the short green monster''s head.


    Before it could cry out in surprise, Darius cast Sparks at point-nk range. The formerly struggling fighter got to watch his enemy being electrocuted to death in one hit before Darius smiled and blinked away once more.


    Like this, Darius kept appearing behind many monsters spread out on the battlefield. His single cast of Sparks eitherncing his targets to death or dealing enough damage that they were close to it.


    Interestingly, Darius avoided targeting the bandits for now. After all, he knew that it would require more firepower to kill a human - or non-monster/beast Darius theorized - whose HP was calcted slightly differently under the Supreme System.


    With both Gunner and Darius tearing through the battlefield, the hundred or so monsters were quickly suppressed and dealt with. Once Gunner grabbed thest Goblin, he raised him over his head and tore him in half.


    At that time the battle came to a pause, as both sides stepped back to assess the damages.


    On the side of the homesteadˇ­ it was devasting.


    Out of the 50 or so able-bodied men that had gone forth to defend their wives, mothers, daughters, or sisters, only about a dozen remained. It had been hard to notice in the heat of battle, but once they broke away, the full scope of the disaster had revealed itself.


    The remnants gazed with shock and depression at the mostly ruined corpses of those who had stepped forth to fight alongside them. Despite this sight, deep down in each and every one of their hearts, they were relieved that they had been the ones to survive.


    As for the bandits, they were mostly at full tilt. The Diato, Garwen, and Foldo bandits gazed at Shanks and his homestead with hungry gazes. So much wealth, women, and food! If they could take it for themselves, they would be set for a long time!


    Diato, Garwen, and a strange man who looked eerily simr to Foldo stepped forward. Shanks and Derek did the same, while Darius and Gunner stood back and watched calmly.


    "Do you fools even have an inkling of an idea of what you''ve just done and what you''re about to do? If I hadn''t made it clear enough before, I''m Shanks Torniam, ex-Royal Guard, discharged with honors after using my own body to protect the Princess and getting permanently injured in exchange." Shanks began.


    Darius''s smile stiffened. ''Shanks is injured? That would certainly exin why despite being young and fit enough to work as a guard, he has chosen to retire. ˇ­ but doesn''t that mean that his stats at level 34 are lower than they should be normally?!''


    As the only Journeyman Darius had met so far, thetter had no way to gauge his strength with others, but the gap in stats couldn''t possibly be that high at that stageˇ­ could it?


    While Darius was conflicted and worried for his future, the leader of the homestead continued to berate the bandits with a cold re.


    "On top of that, I''m an agent of the Royal Court''s Equality Faction, and it''s with their backing that I''ve started a homestead here. However, you all should have already known this, so what manner of stupidity suffocated your brains to try this move?" Shanks finished with a dark gaze.


    The man, who judging by the age difference, had to be Foldo''s brother, stepped forth and gazed at Shanks arrogantly, which made Darius frown.


    "Because, you old sack of shit, we''re gonna kill you, take your wives and daughters, and enve your sons. By the time the Equality Faction will hear of your demise, we''ll be long gone!"

 Chapter 67 - 67

    Darius facepalmed. ''How could anyone start off so stupid? Did Foldo really send out this imbecile of a brother to lead the groupˇ­ no wait, his side has only sent out those my apprentice wants to get rid off!''


    Darius was shocked speechless. It seemed he had underestimated Foldo''s ruthlessness. The fellow had handed his mantle to his own sibling for an effort that seemed lucrative and shiny on the surface.


    One could only pity his ambitious sibling who had no idea that inevitable death awaited him at the end of this road.


    However, the issue remained as to how the bandits were going to defeat Shanks. Even if Darius and Gunner stood back, the three groups would lose every single one of their men and hardly tickle Shanks.


    After all, there was a reason why they had refused to touch Shanks ever since he had constructed the homestead, only Darius'' seductive offer removing the strain of logic inside their heads as it was suppressed by greed.


    Now that they were in front of Shanks and had witnessed his invibility as well as his invulnerability in battle, they were having second thoughts.


    While Darius and Gunner handled monsters, Shanks had been busily ughtering the bandits superficially, leaving the ''extra hands'' the Diato and Foldo bandits along in the dirt while the core members remained rtively intact.


    Only the Garwen bandits remained rtively intact, because they were ranged fighters. However, if Shanks were to rush over to them, they would also be thinning out.


    Yet the threat they posed was not to Shanks as a person, but to his people. He couldn''t risk these bandits killing any more men from the homestead, as many families had already been ruined in just the span of a few minutes.


    What''s worse, if one of them somehow managed to sneak past him to abduct or harm Portiaˇ­ Shanks didn''t know what he would do. That was why he had reminded them of all his cards.


    He wanted to scare the bandits off for now and then deal with themter once he had sorted everything here out.


    Meanwhile, the bandits wanted Shanks to stand down and would even allow him to leave with his family.


    Once he was gone, they could split the huge amount of crop between themselves, take anything of value from the settlement itself and most importantly they would take the remaining peasants here to have their fun with them.


    Both sides red at the other, convinced that their own side posed the greater threat. This created a staredown stalemate that made Darius frown, as things were ying out too slowly for his liking. Fortunately, he did not have to wait for too long.


    "Ah!"


    Everyone''s head snapped to the source of the cry, which happened to be Derek. Behind him, one would see the form of Jorge materializing, her dagger prating the shoulder of thed lightly.


    Shanks roared in anger and charged Jorge, who fled pathetically by using a special footwork skill and some smoke bombs to further conceal herself. Worried more about his son, Shanks left the rogue and knelt over the sweating, wheezing Derek.


    Noticing his son''s pallid color and the shortness of his breath, Shanks quickly checked the wound to see a purplish-ck liquid dripping from it.


    With a venomous expression, he rose to his feet and red at Foldo''s brother. "Using poison on my son? Let me make this abundantly clear to you. Should my son perish today, all of you will follow him into the afterlife. You, your families, and any rtives you have in this world. I will find you and will bring you down, even if you were to hide in the deepest pit of Armadon. This I swear on my soul!"


    Shanks'' solemn vow frightened everyone who heard it, including Darius and Gunner. The sheer intensity of it stressed that he wasn''t lying. Should Derek die today, Shanks would do everything he could toplete his promise.


    This naturally discouraged the bandits as fear seeped in, even into Foldo''s brother. However, his bluster soon came back when he remembered that they were the ones who held the chips in their hand.


    "Of course, none of us wishes for Derek to die today, Sir Shanks. Simply leave the homestead with your family and head back to Ando. We shall provide you the antidote once you''re far enough away." Foldo''s brother began with a gentle endearment.


    "We will send out a man with the antidote, who will present it to you when the time is right. However, should you refuse to leave, it will be on you to watch your son die like a dog! You can decide to hunt us if you like, but that won''t bring your dead boy back to life." He finished with utter belligerence.


    The remaining fighters of the homestead paled at this development, while Darius nodded internally. Things were ying out as they should. The threat of Shanks was not something they could beat at their skill level and with their numbers.


    Darius himself also did not want to risk his own life. Obviously, he wasn''t going to loan them his Dagger of Death or any other rare item to execute the man. Getting it back would be difficult and on the off chance it was used against him, his death would be the most foolish ever.


    Although it would surely amuse Vena and Caesar.


    Shanks stood ramrod straight, staring at the bandits opposite him with utter malice and hate in his eyes, for suddenly attacking his people, killing them coldly, and poisoning his son.


    Even moreso, putting him in this horrible situation where he had to make a choice where neither option was even worth considering. Shanks felt suffocated, like he was trapped in an airtight box with no air that was pressing in on him with every second.


    He could visibly see his son weakening with every passing moment, and the more time he wasted, the less the chance Derek could recover after taking the antidote.


    At the height of his tension, just when Shanks was about to break mentally and concede, he heard a young voice speak with a tone of amusement.


    "And what makes you idiots think I will sit here and allow you to kill Friend Derek?"


    All eyes turned to Darius who had folded his arms behind his back and was walking towards the meeting point of both parties with Gunner following behind him. The approach of the duo was so striking that both sides paused for a second.


    For Shanks, it was like seeing an angel, while for the bandits, they grimaced as an unknown variable had appeared.


    Darius gazed at Derek, whose health was dropping faster and faster, then took out an Antidote Potion he had Transmuted around the time he had made his ns with Foldo, the day after to be exact.


    It had cost him 0.3 CP since the potions he possessed in his inventory were too different from this one, but it was also enough that he could squeeze it in.


    Pouring the panacea into the youngd''s mouth, everyone watched with mixed emotions as Derek''s skin went from pale to rosy in mere seconds.

 Chapter 68 - 68

    There was a long spell of silence as both parties watched the proceedings with different thoughts coursing through their minds. On the side of the homestead, there was relief and reverence, whereas on the side of the bandits, there was horror and anger.


    Shanks, for that matter, slowly approached Darius. He knelt down and inspected the state of Derek, his stiff smile lightening when he found that his son was - as a matter of fact - much better than before.


    Once he rose to his feet and locked gazes with Darius, his smile widened further as he nodded towards thed.


    "You have my sincerest thanks, Lord Darius. I will never forget this," Shanks stated happily.


    Darius responded with a humble smile. "After providing me with shelter for the past few weeks, this is the least I can do."


    Darius'' eyes suddenly sharpened as he revealed a strange grin towards Shanks. "However, I n to thank you for your generosity even more. How about cleaning up some rats?"


    Shanks'' eyes gleamed in much a simr manner to Darius as he heard thed''s suggestion. "Lord Darius doesn''t need my permission for doing a good deed. Everyone from the homestead would be d to have your help."


    The duo simultaneously turned to face the bandits who had sneakily begun to retreat. After all, the situation had gone to shit. They had lost their only advantage and trying to continue the fight would be utter foolishness.


    Darius noticed that Jorge and some of the Garwen bandits had already escaped, while Diato and Foldo''s brother were still trying to extricate themselves somehow.


    With Shanks'' attention on them, they immediately broke ranks and a panicked full escape began. The sheer chaos from over a hundred or so bandits trying to run away was quite a funny sight to behold.


    Shanks lifted his axe and rushed forward, his speed far outstripping any of the runners as he cut them down one by one, surgically and methodically. His strikes never surpassed a single one, and there was nothing but the sound of flesh being split or shattered.


    His targets didn''t even get a chance to scream before they died.


    Darius nodded to Gunner. "Chase after the Garwen Bandits who fled. I''ll handle the Diato Bandits."


    Gunner pped his palms and beat the earth as he used that force to propel himself forward like a bullet. With his greenish energy surrounding his form, and a crazy smile on his face, he looked really dangerous.


    Darius activated his Blink spell and disappeared from the area.


    * * *


    Jorge was currently flitting through the forest as fast as she could, her body covered in sweat as she felt her panic subside only marginally the farther she got.


    The moment her eyes had locked onto Darius as the young boy stepped forth to save Derek, Jorge had had an epiphany, allowing her to see through everything.


    That height, that voice, and the fact that he had been disappearing and re-appearing earlierˇ­ why did it hit her sote?


    That boy was the same mysterious mage who had paid them to attack the homestead!


    In those few seconds, it had been as if time had stopped for Jorge as her cognitive functions spiked.


    Foldo himself had not been present and had instead sent out his unruly brother. It was an open secret that the fool wanted to usurp the position of his elder brother.


    Garwen and his crew had remained hidden at the back, while there was also the strange outbreak of monsters timed with their attack provided by Foldo.


    What if... What if after visiting them, Darius had visited Foldo next? What if, knowing that old fox, he and that boy had struck some kind of deal to get rid of them all?


    s, just like bees to honey, they had fallen for the trap. None of them were supposed to survive this day, they were all expected to be killed by that mage for some purpose Jorge couldn''t yet discern.


    Yet, the little she had gleaned of the entire picture was enough to horrify her. To y both sides so deeply, how could that mage be soˇ­ horrible?


    He had presented them a gold coin, all to spark their greed!


    To Darius, this gold coin was just a piece of metal since he could easily Transmute more, but to any Andrato citizen, the gold coin represented so much.


    To Jorge, Darius was a monster who could even sacrifice the mighty Gold Ando Coin just to achieve his aims in orchestrating both sides. He was a master deceiver and tactician that must never be crossed.


    And yet, this was just a pretty basic scheme in Darius'' book. Anybody from Earth with more than room temperate IQ could have thought up something of this degree. Still, actually going through with it would require someone of a certain mindset.


    To him, this was only phase 4. Although it might seem like the climax, the true climaxy in phase 5, the aftermath of this entirely orchestrated event.


    It was there that Darius would strike for his goal and achieve the target he had set out for himself.


    Jorge jumped from branch to branch, trying to reach her rendezvous point with her handler on the frontier when she discovered to her shock Darius seated on a branch in front of her, his handsome face smiling genially towards her direction.


    However, to Jorge, that smile was that of the devil himself. Her movements slowed as her body lost steam,ing to a stop on the tree directly opposite Darius.


    "My name is Darius Stone, and I''d love to make your acquaintance." Darius greeted pleasantly before his eyes shifted to serpentine slits as he added. "Your real acquaintance, Georgina."


    Georgina shivered then shuddered strongly. She had never felt so naked as she did now. It was like, before those hazel eyes, all her secrets were nothing worth mentioning.


    Georgina gave up. She surrendered to her fear and despair, her mind telling her that it was impossible to escape. He could just use his magic to chase her and her identity had already been seen through.


    Rather than fight back in futility, why not give in? What was the worst thing he could do aside from killing her? Whatever it was, it was far better than dying so young, not when she hadn''t achieved any of her personal goals.


    Darius just watched the disguised woman have a breakdown right before him with an amused smile. He hadn''t expected her to be sharp enough to piece everything together, but it made things easier from here on out.

 Chapter 69 - 69

    "Now, Georgina Esta De L''Orion, mind telling me what someone like you is doing all the way out here, in the ins of the Green, far away from Ando City, hm?" Darius asked her yfully.


    The moment her full name was mentioned, the youngss shivered even more as her fears were further reinforced. Gazing at the calm Darius, she took a deep breath and removed her hood.


    Darius noted that Georgina was not bad looking, definitely much better than Portia. With golden-red short-cropped hair that was bound by a ck headband, sapphire blue eyes, and a small nose, Georgina would have definitely attracted unwanted attention from her ownpatriots had she ever shown her true visage.


    Interestingly, she seemed to be around 16 or 17 years old and with her soft chin as well as reddish lips, she did seem a bit mature for her age. Darius noticed all this in passing, but he was more interested in her answer.


    "I was sent here by my family to observe and report on the activities of the Poleria Homestead. I only chose to work with the Diato Bandits because they were the weakest and least professional bandit group of the lot."


    "Oh? But why send out such a beautiful youngdy like you to this wretched ce when you are clearly meant for greater things?" Darius asked with his hand on his chin, multiple theories forming in his mind.


    Georgina''s face disyed an expression of grievance and anger before she quickly tried to hide it, but the opposite party did not miss it. Chuckling internally, he listened to her reply patiently.


    "That''sˇ­ well, I was sent here because ofˇ­ personal reasons." She answered, struggling to find the right words.


    "Please, don''t insult my intelligence. To be foolish enough to send such an intelligent and skilled woman like you out here, your family must either be ipetent - which is unlikely - or there must have been foul y involved - which is typical in our circles - on your freedoms. So, Georgina, which is it?" Darius questioned gently.


    The youngss reacted to Darius'' soothing praise and nodded almost subconsciously. "It was... my elder sisters." She sighed deeply, as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "As the youngest and prettiest of us three, they were jealous of me and pushed for me to be given this ''simple'' task."


    "On paper, the reward appears quite lucrative and the work should be simple enough. But the struggle I went through to gain a footing in this wretched ce could have seen me dead many times over, my body used by mere brutes to pleasure themselves!"


    "Unfortunately, I couldn''t reject due to their posturing and pandering to my family elders, I had to ept! I simply had no choice! Now, here I am, about to die in some unnamed forest."


    Georgina vented out her pent up frustration due to a mixture of the circumstances, her boiling stress, and Darius'' simple prodding. His eyes shed as he put two and two of her story together and he recognized this as an interesting opportunity.


    Darius leaped over to Georgina''s branch slowly and non-threateningly, shaking his head as he did so. "While we all will have to die eventually, you will not die here today, Georgina, not unless I say so."


    Jorge gazed at Darius with a mixture of relief, wariness, and confusion. Relief due to having verbal confirmation that she would live, wariness because she was smart enough to know that verbal confirmation could be rescinded at any time, and confused because of Darius'' final words.


    "What I mean is simple. I need you, Georgina. Your skills in stealth and espionage, your ability to deduce and rationalize as well as your connections, I need them all. I want you to join me." Darius borated.


    Georgina''s hunched shoulders and slightly raised hackles subsided as she heard his words, and curiosity began to rise in her, as well as some positive interest. "What exactly for?"


    Darius smiled genially. "I wish for a person of your caliber to act as my shadow. As you''ve probably deduced yourself, my n was to create a situation which would see me be a hero and use that to rub in with the Equality Faction."


    Darius''s eyes narrowed and their hazel glow intimidated Jorge easily once more. "However, now that I know your circumstance, I can make use of you to gain connections with the Superiority Faction."


    Jorge trembled, but sighed after a second or two. In her mind, if Darius could cook up such a devious scheme, he had to have enough deductive abilities to ascertain that she and her family worked for the opposite faction.


    It was obvious enough if one thought about it deeply. There was no reason for a nobless like her to be out here in the wilderness, spying on a mere homestead unless there was a conflict of interests going on in the background.


    Since Shanks represented the Equality Faction, it stood to reason that Georgina - dressed as Jorge - would represent the Superiority Faction who wanted to mimic Fraterina and turn the Andrato Kingdom into a sexist, matriarchal state.


    Darius patted Georgina on the shoulder and gestured to the ground. "Let''s head down and talk a bit more. There are some things I need to inform you and teach you."


    Jorge hesitated for a split second before nodding. She had alreadye this far, so there was no use pretending to be tough or spunky. She wasn''t the hot-headed type anyway.


    Both partiesnded on the ground and Darius took the lead as he spoke to Jorge calmly. "First things first, we need to make the Equality Faction think you''ve disappeared. That''s why I chased after you in particr, because you''ll need my help with this."


    Jorge froze and question with incredulity: "They know of my existence?"


    Darius nodded with an amused smile. "Of course. Probably for a long time at that."


    Jorge shook her head, only partly believing Darius at best. "How? How do you know this?"


    Darius chuckled yfully. "Oh Georgina, just think about it. They''ve sent one of their agents to this frontier to form a homestead and see if there is anything of interest they can develop. Not to mention that we are close to the ins of Death too."


    "But at the end of the day, Shanks is merely an agent and his main goal ining here was to live out his retirement with his family. They can''t force him to fulfill their objectives, but they also can''t leave him to his own devices."


    "So Georgina, what would you do if you were the Equality Faction?"


    She answered with eyes zed over in realization. "I would send spies to monitor his activities and use them against him."

 Chapter 70 - 70

    Darius pped lightly. "Precisely! How could they just leave him be? What if he defects? What if he purposely sends back fake reports? What if he simply beszy and gets usurped?"


    He then ced his hands behind his back casually. "You have to understand that the Equality Faction is in no position to y around. Like Fraterina when they sent Juliet here to form this kingdom, there is something situated in the ins of Death that they wantˇ­ that everyone wants."


    "So Georgina, show me your cleverness. Who do you think was sent to watch the homestead just as you were sent by your faction?" Darius asked her calmly.


    Jorge thought for a few seconds before realization came over her once more. "Garwen! And his bandits! They were all just a front!"


    Darius nodded. "It only became obvious to me just now too, as I spoke with you. The first clue for me was the fact that, in terms of banditry, only the Diato Bandits actually do what one would expect from bandits."


    "The Foldo Bandits barely deserve their name, seeing as they mostly push contraband and ves about. They hardly bother raiding any passersby for their goods. Interestingly from what I gathered, the Garwen Bandits also raid very scarcely, only when certain merchant groups pass through."


    Darius left something out here on purpose to allow Georgina toe to that conclusion.


    In the library, Portia had mentioned that the Garwen Bandit''s targets were often merchant groups that were bringing in materials for nobles known to be part of the Superiority Faction.


    Darius would never have realized this if not for a resident of this area like Portia pointing it out.


    "The next big clue to their involvement... was this attack on the homestead. Frankly, it should have caught them unawares. Heck, the fighters of the homestead should still have been strapping on their pants while the monsters broke in and cut them down."


    "Instead, they were able to mount a respectable defense and gather more than 50 men who were already armed enough to meet the foes outside of the homestead altogether."


    Darius shrugged. "Of course, this could just mean that the fellows of the homestead might bebat-ready at all times, but as someone who has lived with them for a while, I can confidently say that this isn''t the case."


    He turned to Jorge who was listening thoughtfully. "Again, Georgina, what do you think of this?"


    Jorge''s answer came quite quickly this time, as the answer was obvious. "Since your n was to be a hero, it must mean that one of the bandit groups informed them beforehand."


    Darius agreed. "That''s right. As you were with the Diato Bandits, you know they are not capable of such subterfuge. The Foldo Bandits could have been culprits, but let''s just say I have a way of knowing that they definitely are not the ones."


    "Monsters cannot think that far ahead, only considering bestial topics like food, water, and sex on the daily. As such, the only culprit left... are the Garwen Bandits."


    Darius raised a finger. "There are many bizarre things about their group, but I don''t need to borate further, do I? A group of archers way out here when they could be raiding closer to the towns and still be safe? During the raid, they hardly attacked any known viger of the homestead. Their arrows always barely missing them, or at times even ''identally'' killing a monster nearby. And yet the moment my servant entered the fray they concentrated their fire on him, who seemed foreign enough to be sacrificial?"


    There was a spell of silence as Darius finished. Georgina eventually gathered her thoughts and considerations before asking carefully: "And what do you want me to do?"


    "Right now? I need you to continue as-is. Your former group, the Diato Bandits, have been ruined and shall no longer exist henceforth. As for the Garwen Bandits, they are being dealt with by my servant. As such, I shall introduce you to Foldo, and the two of you are to create a force for me in the area." Darius replied grandly.


    Georgina felt her heart throb. A force in this area? He wanted her and that cunning old fox to create one?


    Despite various misgivings, there was a thread of excitement and anticipation in her heart. For the first time, she was given some modicum of free responsibility, a chance to prove her worth without having things jeopardized or forced down her throat.


    Darius noted her expressions and found what he wanted to see. Georgina was his favorite type of victim, an above-average intelligent and capable person who had been foolishly mistreated or suppressed by her peers or rtives.


    Once you highlighted that you respected and cherished their talents, you only had to present them with a chance to prove themselves, and they would find themselves magically pulled towards you.


    Of course, you had to establish two things first.


    The first was to convince them that the talent they had was inferior to your own. For example, Georgina was currently convinced that Darius was far more intelligent than her due to his scheme and ability to deduce so much. Additionally, she believed his power to be endless given his identity as a mage capable of casting spatial spells with ease.


    The second was to denounce their bullies. In every mention Darius had made about the Superiority Faction or her family, he had used adjectives like ''foolish'', ''ipetent'', and the like. This was to create a bond between the two parties as the aggrieved victim would subconsciously agree with such observations.


    And the payoff was toe. Darius nodded to the forest beside Georgina, who also turned to look. She was frightened into silence when she saw Gunner suddenly appear, his body bloody and his fists practically dripping with it.


    Of course, none of it was Gunner''s own blood. It was then that Jorge couldn''t help but notice that Gunner held a human head in his left hand. When Darius nodded at him, Gunner raised the head up for the youngss to see.


    It was Garwen!


    The former bandit leader''s expression was forever frozen into a mix of horror and pain, a testimony that his death at Gunner''s hands was anything but pleasant. Well, since Gunner had no knives to sh foes cleanly, one could imagine how all his targets had perished.


    Darius whispered to Jorge seductively. "And that brings an end to this saga. Now it''s all up to you. Do you wish to return to your family and remain suppressed by them as well as the Superiority Faction, or would you prefer to join me and finally experience what it''s like to be on the winning side as more than just a sacrificial pawn?"

 Chapter 71 - 71

    Darius led Jorge over to Foldo''s settlement and officially introduced the two to each other. Foldo was surprised to see that Darius was roping in an agent of the Superiority Faction, but epted it when he remembered how powerful his master was.


    As for Jorge, she was shaken by the depth of Foldo''s operation. She had only known him to be an exiled baron turned cunning bandit boss who chose his targets carefully to remain under the radar.


    However, everything before her overturned all the notes her family had prepared on the leader of the Foldo Bandits and the ''facts'' she had assumed to have learned about him.


    Respect burgeoned in her heart for Foldo after seeing his methods just as it did for Darius. Foldo''s meticulous nature could be respected by anyone who came into contact with him.


    Funny enough, Jorge''s impression of Darius rose in tandem. It was like a pyramid scheme. When the lower-ranked person ''profited'', the one ranked higher would profit as well. In this case, the currency was a youngss'' genuine respect.


    Foldo''s eyes narrowed when he heard about Darius'' n to make a force. He quickly knelt and promised to have it established in a matter of months, to allow his master to execute phase 5 without worry.


    Not doubting Foldo''spetence in the least, Darius turned to Jorge. "You have been given a grand opportunity, Georgina. Follow every order and teaching of Foldo''s while I am away and watch your skills, as well as your talents, soar. He is my first Unofficial Apprentice, so I expect you to defer to him in all matters until you have be a master of your craft."


    Jorge was slightly dissatisfied with having to be under someone else again, but she understood that she had to prove herpetence first. As long as this Foldo fellow did not make things hard for her, she was confident that she could perform with excellence.


    Still, she acquiesced as that was the wise choice here. "I understand, Master Darius."


    Darius nodded and turned to Foldo. "I trust I can leave all the nning to you. For now, bring me three of your best Journeyman tomes so I can fix them for you. I''ve noticed the ones in your library were mostly filled with ws and problems."


    Foldo felt excitement swell in his heart as he quickly rushed to fulfill Darius'' request. Jorge was surprised to find that Foldo was an apprentice to Darius, not that there was anything wrong with such a rtionship, but more about the fact that Foldo was an Amateur mage.


    So much about the old fox had been hidden behind a carefullyid out smokescreen. She felt bitter when she realized that inparison, her own secret had long since been exposed to the Equality Faction.


    However, her will sharpened and she began to look forward to her time with Foldo. If she could glean into even 30% of the old fox''s skill and cunning, she would end up much better than she was now!


    Darius noticed Jorge''s growing enthusiasm and nodded his head. What was a person without ambition or the will to grow? Nothing but a rotten vegetable wasting away in a stale garden.


    Foldo returned with three manuals that Darius took, checking their contents one by one as well as their respective costs.


    [Golem Summoning Spell - Manual


    Durability: 4/5


    Description: This manual was written by a Journeyman mage with very limited experience but endless creativity. It is a spell designed to summon a golem of any element, but more than 94% of what is written inside is iplete or mismatched due to the creator''s half-knowledge and wrong conclusions, making the spell hazardous to use.]


    [Wind Scythe Spell - Manual


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: This manual was written by a Journeyman mage who was dedicated to the study of wind element magic. It is a spell designed to create arge scythe ofpressed wind energy that can theoretically cut through anything, but 10% of what is written inside is problematic, making the spell fail on every cast.]


    [Freeze Spell - Manual


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: This manual was written by an Adept mage half-heartedly for his rich Unofficial Apprentice. It is a spell designed to generate intense amounts of ice energy to freeze the area around the user and create a pseudo-ice domain, but there was an intentional w left inside that prevent the spell from being cast.]


    [Would you like to change the wed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the wed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the wed spell manual into a Complete spell manual? This will cost 2 Conversion Points.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. "Foldo, where did you get these three tomes?"


    Foldo seemed surprised by the question but answered immediately. "The first two were sold at my ck market and I bought them from a disgruntled mage. Thest one was written by my previous Master as a parting gift before I had to leave the capital."


    Darius chuckled with amusement. "It seems the mage circles are far crueler than I thought. Come for the three tomes tomorrow. In the meantime, prepare a ce for Gunner and I to rest."


    Foldo was still party confused, but he also partly understood when he deduced the words Darius spoke. A cold gleam appeared in his eyes as he cursed his former master, but bowed to his new one.


    "At once, Master."


    Darius nodded and pondered over an interesting fact he had discovered. It seemed as if the cost for ''repairing'' wed Journeyman spells was fixed at 2 points.


    This meant that in a day, he could ''perfect'' up to 5 Journeyman level spells! Ha, with such a high output, Darius could start his own mage tower once he reached the main cities of Andrato!


    This particr idea had been at the back of his mind in regards to thete sections of phase 5, but he had decided to go with an all-purposepany instead back then.


    That way, he could take part in adventuring, mercenary work, trading, and many other things while centralizing his power.

 Chapter 72 - 72

    With this new development though, he had another path before him. Well, it depended on how sessful the early parts of phase 5 would turn out. It would not be wise to count his chickens before they hatched.


    Darius eventually left with Gunner and Foldo who showed them to avish room the old fox had prepared for the duo. As Darius rested and Gunner exercised, the day came to an end and ushered in a new one.


    ..................


    The same night Darius spent at Foldo''s ce, two strange creatures were gallivanting about in the area of the ins of the Green. Their boney silhouettes would chill the heart of any onlooker, but once their forms came into the light, they looked rather unimpressive.


    It was just two undead skeletons with rusty weapons and poorly maintained wooden shields that were energetically rushing through the forests and grasnds.


    Interestingly, the two were not without purpose. Their movements seemed to take them to any location where a living beast or monstery, and the duo would immediately engage such monsters, often ambushing them in their slumber, forcing them into intense battle before eventually culling them.


    If anyone followed the progress of these two skeletons, they would be shocked to note that with every battle, the duo became more and more skillful, as if they were adapting tobat and its rules.


    At the same time though, their forms were withering greatly from the damage they umted from all the enemies they had fought on their journey.


    The only reason the duo remained upstanding till now was that their damage would be partially healed after every kill, at which point a strange ckish energy would exit the corpses of their victims and mesh with their cracked or shattered bones, mending them.


    As their skill got better, so too did their ability to withstand and avoid damage. There were many close shaves, like when they encountered a den of feral Nightwolves or hidden Goblin den housing a small n of the green monsters.


    However, someway, somehow, the duo of undead skeletons would manage to ovee these trials and be much better because of it. This continued way until the morning, after they had practically cleared everything living within a 10 km radius of the homestead.


    After their most recent kill, which was a pack of hyenas that had lusted over their bones, they paused for the first time since setting out. They then stared at each other.


    In their previously empty eye sockets, a small wisp of green fire began to emerge and intensified until it formed into a small dot.


    Both skeletons moved their jaws in strange and eerie motions, the newly formed emerald fires within their sockets gleaming every time they did so.


    After doing this for almost 3 minutes, the undead skeleton on the left finally managed to produce a sound. "M..u..sˇ­tˇ­"


    It seemed to be unable to continue, like that little sound had exhausted its energy. Luckily, itspatriot had the same idea and finished its statement much in the same manner.


    "Rˇ­e..t..uˇ­rˇ­nˇ­"


    Both skeletons nodded and turned around to leave the battlefield. Just as they hade, they rushed back towards the location of their summoner, which they could vaguely sense now that they had generated their Soul Fire.


    It was this same fire that had given them sentience and its presence in their eyes constituted something that Darius had yet to understand or appreciate.


    .............


    The next morning, Darius made the changes for the three tomes and watched them be proper spell manuals.


    He tried to learn them but received a system prompt that he must advance to journeyman level to learn skills and spells of that stage.


    Annoyed, Darius called Foldo over.


    Upon handing them over to Foldo, the old fox knelt and thanked Darius many times over for his kindness.


    Darius waved it off as he and Foldo knew it was not kindness, but an open transaction. By giving him these three spells, Darius was opening the way for Foldo to be a Journeyman mage.


    He would need at least that much power if he wanted to fulfill Darius'' objective of creating a power out here, so it was only a matter of course and an incentive to work harder and more efficiently.


    Darius left the settlement of the Foldo Bandits with a House Portal Scroll and found the sleeping form of Portia on his bed. pping his forehead, Darius recalled about the little miss'' existence which hadpletely escaped him when he was executing phase 4.


    Darius sighed and gently shook Portia awake. She raised her upper body and rubbed her eyes groggily, only realizing that Darius and Gunner were looking at her after a few seconds.


    "Ah! M-Master Darius!" Portia eximed in a mixture of shock and happiness at seeing her crush.


    Darius smiled benevolently. "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Portia. I had to sort out many things in the aftermath of yesterday''s fight, so I wasn''t able to relieve you of your worries."


    Portia was touched by his concern and shook her head. "No, it''s fine. It might sound strange, but I''ve never felt as peaceful during a conflict like I was yesterday. Somehow... I just knew that everything would be fine once you got involved."


    Gunner nodded his head in agreement because in the time he had spent with Darius, he hade to share this belief. He had seen the power and intelligence of his master, so he was convinced that this world would soon bow before his master''s feet.


    That was why he wasrgely unbothered by anything. As long as he would follow Darius''mand, everything would work out perfectly.


    As for Darius, he scratched his cheek with a strange smile. He knew he was quite clever, but not to that extent, okay? He wasn''t a perfect genius, just a very dirty businessman who had been given nice tools.


    "Be that as it may, I think you''d better check in with Sir Shanks and Friend Derek, lest they think I''ve kidnapped you away for nefarious purposes." Darius joked lightly.


    Portia blushed deeply and rushed out of the sheets. Before she left the room, she bowed lightly to Darius and thanked him.


    "Thank you for keeping my family safe, Master Darius."


    After saying her mind, the young maiden quickly closed the door and fled. Darius and Gunner shared a look before the former chuckled then muttered to himself.


    "Keeping your family safe, huh? Hohoho."

 Chapter 73 - 73

    After a somewhat awkward breakfast, Darius and Gunner apanied Shanks and Derek as all four were currently riding on a horse-drawn cart that looked more like it was meant for ferrying crop to and from a silo, not for people to sit.


    The cart itself was quiterge and spacious, also quite clean thanks to the efforts of some of the peasants of the homestead. As such, it wasn''t a problem for Darius and Gunner to sit inside, though Shanks had invited their savior toe to sit with him at the front.


    As Darius wasn''t actually a noble of this era and didn''t mind such things, he declined, stating that he did not wish to bother father and son. They might have things they wanted to discuss there, while Darius himself was interested in reading up on the Magical Method as they moved.


    Once the cart was in motion, Darius quickly regretted his magnanimity. The roads were not smooth but full of stones and bumps. As carts were not like cars with shock absorbers, every single obstruction was felt by Darius and Gunner to the highest degree.


    Therged seemed unbothered by this, quietly meditating as he sought to connect with his bloodline even deeper, as well as strengthen his connection with the earth.


    Darius though, could hardly focus with all the distraction going on and decided to give up. Since he quickly became bored, he took out his tablet and began ying some default games on the thing, like Cookie Crush, Cut the String, and Android Run.


    Of course, the simrities to notable mobile games from the early 21st century was not lost on Darius. He found the thought amusing that even a mighty Goddess such as Vena could be scared of copyright infringements.


    Shanks and Derek were quietly talking, so they didn''t bother with Darius or Gunner at first. It was clear that the ex-Royal Guard had been shaken to the core bying so close to losing his son, and he had vowed to focus on him more.


    For that matter, after being healed, Derek seemed a lot more pleasant. Before, he had been quiet, reserved, and formal, but now he had be more outspoken and friendlier to everyone but Darius.


    Towards Darius, he acted the same, which puzzled Shanks, Portia, and Gunner. Shanks ruled it off as a brother thing since he knew his daughter was smitten with Darius.


    After all, even if he had been ignorant of this fact, the ruckus his daughter had made when Darius announced that he would be leaving with Shanks and Derek to report the assault on the homestead to the nearby town during their meal would have been enough to clue in even the densest fellow.


    Darius had been very gentle and reassuring, but thess simply didn''t want to let go. It was only until Shanks and Derek stepped in that their guest could get some breathing room to leave.


    Shanks and Derek were aware that Darius had no interest in their daughter/sister, and they both found that to be for the best, as marrying a noble was destined to lead to trouble when the status of groom and bride weren''t aligned.


    Shanks assumed that Derek was miffed by Darius'' presence and his capturing of his little sister''s heart, so he didn''t reprimand the boy because he understood that feeling.


    Gunner also deduced something simr and left it at that, but Darius'' asionally nced at the duo and made sure to partly listen in to their conversation. As for Darius, he understood what Derek was thinking.


    It was something that had always urred whenever he had used this kind of trick back on Earth. He had died a well-respected man because nobody could prove the type of ns he had executed.


    If he found unwantedpetition, he would never directly attack them. Rather, Darius would always support their initiatives during interviews with no strings attached, making the public think he was magnanimous.


    In the shadows though, many things would be at y. Various subsidiarypanies would sprout out from nowhere and encroach on the business, stealing corporate secrets and harming employees covertly.


    Once thepany was in a bad position, Darius would swoop in and save the day. He wouldn''t even take controlling shares, only about 10%, yet he would still develop thepany greatly, making everyone think of him as a good person.


    Those subsidiaries would be busted and forcefully closed down, allowing the saga woulde to an end.


    The people involved on the victims'' side would be grateful, moved, and touched. Even if they found questionable things, they would either write it off or make excuses on Darius'' behalf like ''he was supporting us long before we became a problem'' or ''he''s too rich to care about a smallpetitor like us''.


    But naturally, there were always those who were not inclined to believe suchforting lies. There would always be at least one guy/gal who would pause and wonder ''isn''t it a bit too convenient?''


    Darius had grown used to those kinds of people after his first attempt had nearly been botched by such a woman who had gone to a private investigation firm when she felt there was foul y involved.


    She had uncovered a lot, but she made the fatal mistake of confronting Darius personally. She had ultimately allowed her greed to consume her and had tried to ckmail him because she thought Darius owned the policeˇ­ which was true in a sense.


    Darius had been sweaty and afraid, promising her anything and letting her walk over him to build her ego. She had been convinced of having Darius dance in the palm of her hand after he had signed a nk check for her to withdraw whenever she felt like it.


    After she left his apartment, Darius made a single call.


    The woman never made it home.


    Derek felt Darius'' eyes on him and turned to look at the fellow who was smiling at him. However, Derek felt wary of that smile, for it gave him goosebumps.


    When Derek turned his head away Darius'' smile deepened. It seemed like in this case of the homestead, the old dynamic still held true. Even though everyone else, including Shanks, thought him a hero, there was one who saw through the facade.


    And just like those who hade before in Darius'' life, he would have to be eliminated before he could ever grow to be a problem.

 Chapter 74 - 74

    It took the party about a day to reach the nearest town on the cart. Its distance from the homestead was approximately 45 kilometers to the west and the cart had been moving at about 2 km/h, which was as fast as Shanks had been willing to go on these rough roads.


    Darius didn''t mind as it had allowed him to prepare some things for his foray into the town. Yesterday, he had fixed 3 tomes for Foldo, which had cost him 6 CP in total.


    The remaining 4 CP he had spent on making another Scroll of Awakening which he had gifted to Portia as a parting gift. He could have given her one from his stash of 8, but he had ns for those.


    The youngss had acted as if it had been some sort of dowry and had bawled her eyes out, making things quite awkward for Darius who nearly started to regret his action.


    Still, as an old soul, he couldn''t help but appreciate her will to prioritize his safety subconsciously, which was why he felt she had earned it.


    More importantly, it had the effect of further raising Shank''s opinion of him as well as making Derek question his doubts. This was why despite thed suspecting Darius, he hadn''t voiced his opinion out loud.


    A Scroll of Awakening was not a joke. Even though Shanks was ex-Royal Guard and was supported by the Equality Faction, both of his children remained unawakened, be it inbat or magic.


    To give one out indicated that Darius was rich and powerful enough to start a small mage tower, in which case why would he need to orchestrate such an borate y just to get into his father''s good books? It made no sense to young Derek''s mind.


    Today, as he had sat in the cart, Darius created two more Scrolls of Awakening and used his remaining two CP to make four more House Portal Scrolls. Darius just loved the utility of such items, and they were extremely handy in crossing distances since he couldn''t take others along with his blinkˇ­ yet.


    Eventually, they arrived at the gates of their destination where the guards questioned them before allowing them entry.


    Listo was a high-tier town among the 20 currently in Andrato because its dungeon was a bit special.


    From what Darius had heard and learned, the dungeon here consisted mostly of wood type monsters, that dropped very useful ingredients for alchemy as well as materials useful in construction and carpentry.


    In Fallon, every dungeon had an element it was focused around as far as Darius knew, and their utility varied. Fire dungeons were ideal for finding materials and skills that were perfect for smiths, as well as the sentient fires for their forges.


    Water dungeons were great ces to train rookie adventurers because the monsters were slow and weaker than in other ces, yet the drops were a bitckluster. Still, most of what came out would be good food and semi-rare items, so it made up for it.


    Earth-based dungeons were quite rare, in fact only the capital city Ando had been built around one, but they held a wealth of minerals if one could find peace to mine them. The majority of the ores circting around were mined from such ces and sold in the markets.


    That was just the tip of the iceberg too. There were many strange things about dungeons and no one knew who made them or why they existed. They were formed naturally by the world and whenever one was found, a town would quickly form around it.


    There was even a profession centered around discovering dungeons andying im to them, for it was the fastest way to riches and bing a lord of your own town.


    Darius and Gunner observed Listo quietly. The town was more than Darius had expected, having paved roads and actual streets. Yes, the houses were made of cut stone and some were even made of brick, so there was very little modernity in the design.


    From the entrance, the road led straight to the market square, with many shops lined on each side of the road. They all had wooden marquee like signs that had a logo drawn as well as the name of the shop in question.


    It was quite novel to Darius. He noticed that there were many carts and carriages moving quickly up and down the boulevard, their own no different.


    Shanks eventually stopped near a particr tavern that was about five times the size of any building he had seen so far, with enough of a crowd and activity to rival its size.


    He deftly navigated the cart into the backyard of the tavern, where a youngd wearing a hat and overalls was waiting for them. He opened a gate for the group, allowing the cart to be parked near a few others that carried different kinds of grains, meats, and spices.


    Darius and Gunner dismounted, the formernding with a light whump and thetter with a thump so strong thed closing the gate almost fell over.


    Shanks and Derek also got down, the former gesturing towards Darius and Gunner as he led them inside while thetter went to speak to thed and make various arrangements.


    Darius and Gunner entered The Great Escape, as the huge tavern was called. An amusing title for sure, but Darius wasn''t going to bash the culture for no reason.


    Shanks took them through the busy kitchens into one of the pantry rooms. Well, Darius guessed it was a pantry room due to its proximity to the kitchen and other rooms that stored ingredients, but while this one had the same design as the others, there was nothing in here.


    Shanks confidently walked towards a wall at the back of the room, surprising Darius and Gunner when they saw him pass through it like it wasn''t there.


    The master and servant duo shared a look and followed behind Shanks, passing through a strangely airy membrane to reach their destination, which was arge conference room of sorts.


    There was a round table where various gentlemen anddies were already seated, a bar at the back where a tender was working, and a lounge to the side that made up most of the room.


    Once Shanks, entered, he took his ce at thest seated and nodded to hispatriots.


    "I believe we all know why I''ve summoned you here."

 Chapter 75 - 75

    "Yes, there was an attack on your quaint little retirement home by some rabble. Hardly a reason to call us out here if you ask me." A middle-aged nobledy with pale skin and a svelte bodymented with slight annoyance.


    Shanks ignored her and continued. "While it was an unusual attack on my person or property, it might interest you to know that I have reason to believe it was likely instigated by the Superiority Faction."


    This got them all serious as they perked up in their seats. Another middle-aged noble, this time a well-dressed gentleman with a top hat and a monocle, asked gravely.


    "Shanks, with all due respect dear fellow, this is a serious matter to use them of. Do you have any concrete proof or evidence?"


    Shanks nodded towards this nobleman and borated the attack on the homestead clearly. The nobles were shocked to learn that even the Garwen Bandits had taken part, as those had been their own bloody agents!


    Unfortunately, the Garwen Bandits had been forced to break their incognito status to warn the homestead, which was only proper given the kind of force the civilians would be faced with, so the nobles were not too bothered.


    However, what did bother them was the slip of paper Shanks passed around which had the handwriting of Garwen himself. In it, he detailed the n of the bandits as well as who funded them.


    ording to him, a strange agent from the Superiority Faction had approached the Diato and Foldo Bandits, even giving Foldo the reins over the operation. In order to make sure that their execution was handled well, they sent their known agent, Jorge, to monitor the situation.


    Garwen also listed the things that the bandit groups were promised as well as the items they used to lure out the monsters, which was a steep cost if turned into gold coins.


    Most of those at the round table only half-believed the story until they saw this part. They knew that such wealth could not drop from the sky, and only a group asrge as the Superiority Faction could possibly finance such an operation.


    Gunner quickly looked at Darius and then averted his eyes. Darius for that matter, wore a light smile keeping up the farce that he was as harmless as a little rabbit that could not even chew grass to live.


    There was a silence at the round table for a minute as the fellows here digested the information they had been given, verifying it in their minds with what they knew of their opponents and their objective, as well as the possible repercussions if things had turned out differently.


    Shanks allowed them to digest this info silently for about 5 minutes before he spoke up again. "In truth, all would have been lost if not for the help of Lord Darius behind me, and his powerful servant, Gunner."


    Shanks then informed them about what Darius had done for the homestead, how he had arrived, and his actions since then. Once they heard Darius was a mage who could even make Scrolls of Awakening, they were stunned silly.


    An Adept mage at the tender age of 13?! A prodigy, this was a prodigy! Such talents never appeared in a young kingdom like Andrato.


    It was more likely to see talents like Darius in therger empires near the center of the Fallon Continent, and even there, Darius would still be suitably rare!


    Yes, this was something Darius had realized after reading up and speaking with Foldo. The Andrato Kingdom was as Darius first pegged it to be, a ''starter zone''.


    The highest known power were Adepts, and most of them were affiliated with the Royal Court as well as the Superiority Faction.


    Thebat sses were in quite the same boat, the highest level was the Adept level, and most of them were bigshots like the head of the Mercenary Guild, the chairman of the Adventurer''s Guild, and others.


    There were no Masters or Grandmasters here, as they would certainly not bother with some minor kingdom near the treacherous ins of Death. This was why, with the misconception of his Adept level strength, Darius couldrgely move around unimpeded.


    However, due to the fact that he did not, as a matter of fact, have Adept level strength, Darius preferred to stick to his n and cement his identity. Afterward, he could still explore the world of Faust and discover his path to Supremacy.


    Darius stepped forward and spoke to the group with neither servility nor overberance, maintaining a polite but aloof demeanor. "Good daypatriots, my name is Darius Stone. I''m thest of the Stone Family from the Westerlier Empire that existed up until recently. I''m happy to make your acquaintance."


    Once Darius introduced himself with his made-up temporary identity, it was as if a lightbulb shed over the heads of everyone arranged here, Shanks included.


    The Westerlier Empire had been one of the top 10 most powerful empires on this continent in this past, but over the years they had begun to crumble due to internal political struggle which was fanned by the other top empires.


    Eventually, the empire had been destroyed due to civil war and the others had swooped in like hawks to take whatever they could. Most of the noble houses in Westerlier had been either destroyed or captured, so it made sense for Darius to be a sole survivor.


    It would also exin his prowess with magic at such a young age. Westerlier had been a magic-focused empire that was home to many great mage talents that still existed in the world today.


    However, they could not intervene in the empire''s destruction as their presence would make things worse.


    It was the perfect cover story for Darius, as it would fill in the nks of his seemingly absurd and haphazard existence, making people feel like he actually made sense as an entity.


    One of the other nobles seated around the table smiled obsequiously towards Darius, as a sense of inferiority epassed all of them. "Greetings on behalf of the Equality Faction of Andrato Kingdom, Young Master Darius! To what exactly do we owe the pleasure?"


    Darius smiled. "As thest surviving member of my family, it''s my obligation to find a ce to settle down and rebuild my noble house''s bloodline. I have the means, but not the tools, so I would like to seek help from the Equality Faction on this."

 Chapter 76 - 76

    The nobles at the table nodded almost simultaneously in approval. It was only natural for thest surviving member of any noble house to do everything they could to revive it.


    Even Shanks felt this was not strange.


    Had Darius not given Portia a Scroll of Awakening which created the misconception that Darius was an Adept mage genius, Shanks would have likely pointed out that his guest had initially excused his presence near Poleria''s Homestead due to some magical experiments.


    Not only that, but he had pretended to be a noble from the Capital City when he questioned Shanks'' own origin, which was even what made Shanks warm up to him initially!


    If Darius had revealed himself to be a foreign noble, he would not have been so weing! In fact, Shanks understood that on some level, he had been deceived by Darius in order to lodge with them.


    Nevertheless, he decided to write it off after Darius saved his son and offered his daughter a bright future. What a joke, both of these things were crucial to Shanks and would have been impossible to get without Darius being around.


    How could he have the gall to find fault with Darius for such small matters?


    As for Derek, who had joined the meeting while his father was exining the story of the attack, this new information made him doubt himself. It just didn''t make sense.


    An Adept mage like Darius would have no need to create such an intricate ploy on a mere homestead just to get in with his father''s faction. He could have just walked in and they would havee looking for him after seeing his talent!


    Darius noticed Derek''s sprouting doubts and in thed''s eyes, Darius could see the slow eptance of Derek just having been overly protective since the fellow''s sister had been involved.


    ''You seem to have a guardian angel protecting you, Derek. Perhaps you will get to live a bit longer, after all.'' With the loss of his threatening status to Darius, it naturally meant that his inevitable fate of an early death too was fading away.


    "Providing you with a title will be simple, Young Master. We can grant you the lowest noble title of Baron without any repercussion from the crown. It wille with somend in the Noble''s District upon which you can build your residence and we offer you threemercial plots reserved for nobles." The gentleman with the tophat and monocle reported amiably.


    "One is in the market square and is the smallest of the lot - I''m sure you can understand why - the second is near the town''s main entrance which is about twice asrge and the third is in the outskirts of the city, which is usually meant for housing your wares or for farming, and is thergest plot of them all."


    "Ah, silly me. My name is Nichs Spencely. As a Minor Duke and the City Lord of Listo, I have the right to make such allocations every year." The gentleman introduced himself while rising from his seat and removing his hat in an elegant bow.


    Taking the cue, the other nobles introduced themselves one by one, and Darius learned that they were mostly the third daughters or second sons of powerful noble families in the capital that had been sent here to represent the Equality Faction and support Shanks.


    Darius made sure to note all their names, powers, and positions. He also bowed towards the nobles of the Equality Faction, especially the City Lord, and replied.


    "Your kindness is far too much, Lord Spencely, and will not be something I, Darius Stone, will ever forget!"


    Darius rose to his full height and smiled lightly. "Since I n to open a shop soon, I wish to thank you for your generosity by giving you all a permanent 30% discount on all items I shall produce."


    The nobles thanked Darius for his offer but didn''t take it seriously. They all had their own craftsmen and shops, so why would they go to his to purchase anything? Not to mention that even if he was an Adept mage prodigy, craftsmanship was an entirely different field that had little to do with traditional magic.


    However, as they always said, it was the thought that counts.


    Shanks, seeing that the mood was good and that everything he was worried about had been settled easily, nodded to Darius. Darius, understanding that this was his cue to leave, bowed once more and exited the room with Gunner.


    Once out, the duo passed through the same routes they used toe in and exited the inn from the back. The boy in charge of the gate was gone, so Darius and Gunner simply opened it themselves and left, entering the streets of Listo after a few minutes of walking.


    They were still as busy as before, the sidewalks even more active than the roads. It reminded Darius of the main cities of many states back on Earth, and there was also a lot to see.


    Darius and Gunner walked along the pavement while those in front of them and behind them gave way when they noticed Darius'' attire, as well as Gunner''s size.


    Any fool could tell that he must be a noble scion out on a walk with his servant/bodyguard. The duo passed by a few shops and finally stopped at an eatery.


    It was an open-air cafe that had the tantalizing smell of baked flour and hot pastries, instantly capturing the attention of Darius and Gunner. The duo entered the establishment and found themselves a seat that was quiet enough.


    Darius had to admit, the design was pretty good. The internals of the cafe was marked by polished wood for the flooring and walls, while the ceiling looked to be carefully painted brick.


    A small wooden fence that was tall enough to prevent people from easily flipping over marked their designated area. The stone ground was covered by a carpet of cultured grass that was trimmed to its lowest, giving the customers the feeling that they were dining in the lush ins.


    Soon a waiter came over to receive the order of the duo. Darius ordered for tea and some pastries he recognized on the list like meat pies and meatloaves. As for Gunner, Darius basically ordered one of everything, both pastry, and drink.


    In the time he had spent with his Branded Servant, Darius hade to learn that Gunner''s appetite was endless.

 Chapter 77 - 77

    After Darius and Gunner were done with their meal, they left the cafe with the looks of horror still in the eyes of the staff and other customers, especially when they gazed at Gunner.


    It was likely that they would never forget the scene of therged devouring everything ced before him with ease while even asking for more. Darius had ended up paying 300 bronze in total for Gunner''s meal, which was roughly equivalent to spending $3,000 at once.


    (Author''s Note: This is aparison, not a fact. Do not take these numbers as a direct representation of value.)


    Darius continued browsing the stores on the street, stopping when he found a bookstore. He entered it while telling Gunner to wait outside since the fellow had no interest in such things.


    Darius walked past the aisles of books and reached the counter, where a young girl with heavy e and slightly spotty skin sat, boredly reading a book before her.


    When she saw there was a customer, she perked up and rose to meet Darius. However, her expression became slightly silly when she saw Darius, and her blush was evident.


    Used to this kind of response, Darius smiled gently and greeted her. "Hello, I would like to know what kind of books you sell here and if you do only rentals."


    Still shell-shocked by Darius'' charisma, it took thess a little while to respond, and when she did so, it was mostly flustered.


    "Y-Yes! Well, we have a wide selection of titles to tickle your fancy, Sirˇ­?"


    "Darius. Darius Stone." The Old Soul replied with a teasing smile.


    The youngdy felt embarrassed by Darius'' smile since it showed that he knew of her fluster, but she decided to bull through and try to acquire some level of professionalism.


    "Well, Sir Darius, we have many books ranging from fiction to non-fiction, to materials required by pupils or students of the various schools and academies here in Listo!"


    Darius rubbed his chin. "Do you have any spellbooks? Combat manuals? Or guide books of any sort?"


    The young girl was stunned by his request, then she realized that as a noble scion, Darius might have awakened as a mage! As such, her demeanor became even more respectful as she nodded.


    "Yes, we do. However, I must warn you Sir Darius, these books mostly have problems in them. Some spells are faulty or have ws as they were written by inadequate mages and sold here."


    Darius understood what she was trying to say. It seemed as if theplete or correct spells were likely hoarded by the mages and only distributed among their Official Disciples.


    These spells were likely simr to the ones Foldo had or even worse. They were made by hedgemages or Unofficial Apprentices at different stages through the Magical Method, and were not entirely useful.


    However, they still have value in terms of learning. Others could use them to learn how the Magical Method worked as well as gain more knowledge on various elemental magics in preparation for creating their own spells.


    To Darius, they had a different kind of value, the type that would make his stores a hot cake among all the others if he were to y his cards right. He followed thess into the aisle for the spell manuals and inspected many of them one by one.


    They were even worse than Foldo''s bunch, with some even having utter rubbish written within that was almost unsalvageable. Darius lip''s twitched as he saw this and decided to ask the prices.


    He was left speechless to find that even the cheapest skill book of the Basic spells cost 4 silvers. When he inspected them, he found that these basic spells werergely correct since it was hard to mess up with something that simple, but they had a poor rate of acquisition for those who read it, and even poorer utility.


    Like how Darius''s Transmuted book gave a person a 100% chance to learn the spell within and the spell itself was 500% stronger than its base, the highest among these basic spell manuals gave a 12% chance to learn and the skill was only 15% as strong as the basic cantrips.


    Darius had once theorized that the base power for each basic spell should be 1% damage/healing/utility since his versions started off at 5%. Yet, even if someone learned from these store-bought books, the spell would have less than 1% power, dealing about 0.15% of their Intellect.


    Darius deeply understood why mages were so rare and respected. To climb up through this difficulty was too hard. From left, right, and even center, Unofficial Apprentices and hedgemages were suppressed in every direction.


    Only those who could be Official Apprentices would have it good. Even then, it depended on the quality and talent of their master that would decide their futures.


    Now Darius understood why Foldo had directly jumped from Friendly to Worship after the little he did. If he had been in Foldo''s shoes, he too would have worshiped himself if someone like him came around.


    Darius also understood that once he opened his store and started auctioning spellbooks made with Transmutation, he would be making an enemy of every mage in the town, and possibly the entire kingdom depending on how far it got.


    As such, Darius cooled his ambition a little. He could challenge the cksmiths, alchemists, and whatnot with his transmuted items without fear, but challenging every mage out there would be the epitome of stupidity and madness.


    With that in mind, even though Darius bought the majority of the spellbooks in the store, he kept them in his inventory and nned to use them as either bargaining chips, gifts, or start his own mage apprenticeship school.


    The total came to 2 gold coins, which made the hands of the girl shake. Even though a few desperate mages came here to buy these books, it was very infrequent due to the price and the quality.


    Heck, some of these books had survived in here from her grandmother''s era! Yet Darius had bought them all cleanly, shocking thess and making her confused.


    What at all could that handsome noble scion do with those trashy books?

 Chapter 78 - 78

    Darius left the bookstore and entered a cksmith''s shop. The small shop had a lot of weapons hung around the ce, from battle-axes to poleaxes, naginatas, halberds, swords, swordbreakers, bows, recurve bows, and even daggers as well as stilettos.


    Darius inspected them one by one and found that none of them were better than his current steel spear. Since that was the case, Darius lost most of his interest in the items here and only purchased a pair of lightweight battle boots as well as heavy metal gauntlets.


    It only cost him 12 Bronze Ando coins, and he ced them in his inventory as well. He nned to make them into something better for Gunner since the fellow seemed to prefer unarmedbat.


    After the cksmith, Darius entered an Alchemists shop. It was a simple store with cabs that were lined with potions of different colors and uses. Darius, upon inspection, found that the uses were truly varied!


    Some could increase Strength, some Stamina, some could work as love potions, while other increased other stats. The most expensive of them were the ones that could give artificial Sparks.


    Some could awaken a spatial talent like space des while some could even the user control over electricity. One should note that this was not the same as magic, but just elemental based fighting abilities.


    Some also created unique mutations like allowing the user to use their bones to fight, or giving the user the ability to create des from the iron in their blood, etc.


    Darius rubbed his chin and found these things interesting. He decided to purchase almost everything he found useful here, which cost him about a gold coin.


    The owner of the shop even escorted Darius to the door and waved him goodbye with the happiest smile on his face. Darius chuckled at this but didn''t stop his shopping spree.


    He went to different shops in the town and bought out anything he found useful, storing what he could in his inventory. He spent the equivalent of 43 gold coins by the time the sunset, which had already formed a buzz in the town.


    Once he returned to The Great Escape inn, he saw Shanks and Derek waiting for them. Walking up to the duo, he saw Shanks giving him a strange look.


    "Lord Darius, you have only been in Listo for one day and have already be famous. Everyone is talking about the rich noble scion who went on a spending spree." Shanksmented with a raised eyebrow.


    Darius simply chuckled. "I need all these things for research. I need to understand the standard of goods in Andratopared to Westerlier, in case I don''t overdo it when I begin production."


    Shanks and Derek felt like a lightbulb lit above their heads. If that was the case, then it made some sense.


    After all, Westerlier was a more developed civilization with higher quality... everything, so if Darius were to stick to his old ideas, he might create things that were beyond the level of Andrato.


    Reaching this conclusion, Shanks chuckled and asked. "So what do you n to do from here, Lord Darius?"


    Darius turned to face the inn and replied slowly. "I n to rent a suite in this inn for about a month while the noble''s residence and the various other properties I have been allocated are built upon."


    Darius smiled lightly. "Until they are done, I will spend time exploring the dungeon of this town as well as the various guilds in order to hone my servant''s fighting skill. In my downtime, I shall be creating a stockpile of items for my shop to sell!"


    Shanks pped his hands with a look of respect on his face. "An excellent n. Derek and I n to spend the night and return to the homestead tomorrow, so I''ll make sure to get your official documents, titles and deeds ready so you can handle the rest."


    Darius thanked Shanks for his kindness and entered the inn with the older man and his son as well as his Branded Servant. They went to the front reception for the inn and found that it was arge lounge where many well-dressed people chatted and dined.


    It was quite loud and crowded, but the ce smelled really good thanks to the assortment of food, perfumes, and air fresheners.


    Darius wasn''t sure if it was the fact that this establishment was high-end was why it was so clean, or that all establishments were like this and modern depictions of the medieval era on earth were a bit skewed.


    Maybe a bit of both?


    In fact, Darius had expected the ce to be smelly, full of rough men and skimpily dressed barmaids who were continuously sexually harassed.


    The whole reason why he hadn''t rented a room earlier and rather went to roam around was because he feared that someone might start a proverbial bar fight.


    If something like that happened, Gunner would likely end up killing them all brutally before he could even stop him. Darius didn''t want his first day to end with trouble, so he was d the stereotypes were wrong in this case.


    After meeting with the barkeep, Darius and Gunner paid out 35 silver for a 1-month stay in a top-level suite. It came with breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well as many other perks like evening entertainment from select waitress - or waiters if that was your fancy - with a little extra cost.


    Darius found himself interested in this and realized he had forgotten to look around for a brothel when he was exploring earlier in the day. After all, just because he had rejected Portia didn''t mean he rejected sexual intercourse.


    After suffering from andropause for over 10 years in thetter parts of his past life and then been thrust into a fertile pubescent body, Darius had possessed some difficulties controlling himself at the homestead.


    If not for his maturity and his values, he might have given in. Especially if he had been a younger man when he died. Now that he had the option to, Darius made it a priority to satisfy his urges so he could have a clear and healthy mind.

 Chapter 79 - 79

    That evening, Darius entered the suite with Gunner in tow. The suite was definitely first-ss in Darius'' opinion, just based on the room size alone. It had a set of five king-size beds arranged neatly around the room, with a few desks beside each bed as well as well-decorated nightstands.


    The floor was carpeted in blue and smelled lovely. There was also a lounge within the room with various settees and even a love couch. In the middle of the lounge were a few ss coffee tables that were carved with floral designs painted in different colors.


    At the back was a well-stocked bar as well as a mini kitchen in case the residents wanted to brew their own cocktails or prepare their own food. Darius passed through arge double door to enter arge bathroom with space for three tubs, two shower-like contraptions, and a lot of toiletries.


    Gunner also explored the room idly and found himself dazed at the sheer opulence. Darius was satisfied with the high price for the rooms and hoped the food was good enough to make everything perfect.


    Darius rubbed his chin. "Well Gunner, since dinner was already in session, do you want to join them down there or have me prepare something for you up here?"


    Gunner rubbed the back of his head and said. "It would attract too much attention if I ate downstairs. My appetite scares people, I know. Besides, your cooking is ptable, Master."


    Darius chuckled. Many times in the wild, Darius would handle their food himself since he had the cooking skill. Even though it was level 1, the knowledge it came with wasprehensive enough that Darius used it quite often.


    Also, it has the added bonus of making any dish he cooked 5% tastier than it should be. This boost was just enough to - as Gunner said - make Darius''s dishes ptable.


    Darius walked over to the closet and removed his clothes down to his undergarments to show that he was also wearing a skintight polymer just like Gunner. He had added one to his person after seeing how snug it was on therged, not to mention its great stats.


    Darius faced the same problem as Gunner with his body too well outlined by the polymer, but since no one else was here, neither of them could be bothered.


    Darius checked the ingredients they had in store and noticed that the pantry here was also stocked with some basic stuff. With what he had, Darius prepared a dish of in rice, tomato stew, and meat.


    Darius put a dainty te of a single serving down for himself and ced a small bucket before Gunner. He also put a small bottle of water before himself and fetched another bucket of drinking water for Gunner.


    The disparity in sizes from person to food quantity was trulyical, but this was the growing norm between the master and servant duo. Without praying over it or going on any ceremony, the duo dug into their meal.


    Believe it or not, Gunner managed to finish everything up before Darius, who ate meticulously out of habit. In his old age, he could not eat too fast lest he choke and peg off before his kids were ready.


    Once done, Gunner went over to a bed and tried to sleep but Darius forced him to take a shower before bed. After doing so, therged plopped onto one of thefortable bed nearby and was out like a light.


    Darius himself went through his inventory and pulled out some items he had been keeping and forgot about, like his Short Warp Scrolls, The Berserk Potion that fell from the troll, and the monster carcasses.


    Darius realized he needed to deal with this stuff, and decided to do so tomorrow. For now though, he walked over to the desk beside the bed he chose for himself and saw a neatly ced guidebook.


    Flipping through, he saw many services avable, including the pleasure ones. There, it had a list of willing workers, their portraits as well as their requirements/preferences and services.


    Darius saw some interesting looking women with nice proportions and good looks here. He was even surprised to see that the service allowed for one to contact external brothels and ferry their escorts here.


    Darius looked through and found a girl that suited his taste. ording to her bio, her name was Emily Wushe and she was 19 years old. She listed her preferences to be handsome boys who were at least 5 years younger than her.


    On earth, she would be one of those older sister cougars Darius often saw in anime, the ones who looked good enough to get any guy they wanted but strangely chose young boys as their targets.


    It made a bit of sense to Darius, as for most people, they were not satisfied with typical sex and developed strange fetishes in order to satisfy their cravings for debauchery.


    Well, he chose Emily in the end because she had the body proportions he liked, she was above the age of 18 and she was attractive enough. Also because he satisfied her requirements as well.


    As for the price, it wasn''t really an issue and Emily only took 120 bronze per service. While that might seem steep, it was one of the cheapest among the lot.


    For same-sex offers, they were almost 10 times the price of opposite sex offers, telling Darius that Fallon Continent - and maybe the entirety of Faust - didn''t look too fondly on such things.


    Darius eventually followed the instructions in the manual to summon the Emily girl. In about 5 minutes, there was a gentle tap on the door.


    Still in his polymer armor, Darius walked over casually and opened the door to see that Emily had arrived. Just as he had seen in the guidebook, she was tall, slim, and with an hourss shape.


    She had dark lips, blue eyes, and ck hair. Her skin tone was simr to Darius himself, a light caramel color.


    Once Emily set eyes on her client, her eyes shed with excitement as she bowed demurely and greeted.


    "Good evening, My Lord. My name is Emily Wushe, and I am here to service you tonight."

 Chapter 80 - 80

    The next morning, Emily left the room with a smile on her face. She had made sure to clean up any mess created and make sure her client was throughly satisfied after she left.


    The moment she closed the door, Emily sighed with regret. She usually got very few customers as most youths preferred to frolic with girls their age rather than take older girls like her.


    It was only every so often that she would get clients, and most of them were impotent fat noble sons who struggled to even get it up. For her to score a client like Darius, who ticked all her boxes, was as rare as finding a dragon''s egg in a phoenix''s nest.


    As such, Emily had spent the entire night with him, more or less satisfying herself more than him, because she did not know when she would get this chance again.


    With another sigh, Emily departed and returned to her quarters to get ready for work.


    As for Darius, he just finished taking a bath and was wiping his face down. Gunner was still fast asleep, snoring like a train on faulty tracks. Darius chuckled when he saw this and moved to lie on his bed as he sorted out his n for the day.


    He spent some time creating a new skill manual for Gunner, something to enhance his unarmed fighting skills. What came out cost him about 4 CP, the same as his Basic Lancer Arts.


    [Would you like to change the empty book into a basic unarmedbat manual? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]


    [Basic Martial Arts - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the fundamentals of the priceless Martial Arts long lost to history. With your fists and footwork, bedazzle and overwhelm any opponents who stand in your path. You deal 5% martial damage when you fight without wielding a cold or hot weapon.]


    Darius raised Gunner from his sleep and had thed take a bath. After that, he presented the fellow with the skillbook which he quickly learned much in the same manner that Darius did.


    A grayish slush rushed up his arms, through his ears, and into his brain. Gunner spent about 4 seconds digesting the new info before nodding his head and rising to his feet.


    "Let''s go down and have some breakfast." Darius suggested, to which Gunner showed visible excitement.


    Darius and his servant climbed down the long steps of the inn, eventually reaching the ground floor. It couldn''t be helped, The Great Escape Inn was about the size of a medium-sized mall.


    Once on the ground floor, the duo noticed that most of the seats were taken. Residents who wereing to enjoy their free breakfast as well as those who were walking in to pay for it directly upied the ce.


    The crowd at least told Darius that the food was exceptional, otherwise people would not waste their money on it. As the duo scouted where to sit, Darius saw Emily approach them from the corner of his eye.


    Surprised that the escort also coincidentally worked in the morning shift, Darius greeted her as she came close. "Hello there, are all the seats taken?"


    Emily smiled at Darius, but deep down she was pleased to see that he was around. "For the average residents and the iing customers, yes. For those who have executive suites, there are private tables reserved for each room."


    Darius nodded as he expected something like this from an outlet service this opulent. "Please lead us there."


    Emily bowed and led the duo to the corner of therge hall, where a fewrger tables were spread out neatly, possessing better decorations and a wider array of cutlery than Darius thought.


    He sat down on the table that shared the same number as their suite room, while Gunner sat on the other side. Darius turned to Emily who still hadn''t left and said: "For me, I''d like the full course breakfast as you normally offer it. For mypatriot, he would like the same thing, but about 10 servings in total."


    Emily paused with shock as she gazed at Gunner with iprehension. Yeah, the fellow was big, but how could anyone eat so much?!


    "Erm, My Lordˇ­ thisˇ­" Emily stuttered, unsure of how to put this.


    Darius waved his hand andughed. "No need to worry Emily, we aren''t troublemakers. My meal and Gunner''s first meal shall be counted as part of the suite benefits. Everything he eats afterward, I will pay for."


    Emily sighed with relief and bowed in gratitude, rushing off to see to their order. Darius took out a book on the Magical Method he nned to read earlier, but could not at the time and dove into it, while Gunner meditated where he sat, channeling his bloodline continuously.


    Soon enough, their food was brought to them and Darius noted that it was basically a well-prepared English Breakfast. Since this was the type he liked and what he had mostly consumed back on earth, Darius dug in with gusto.


    Of course, he could not outdo Gunner who cleared his first serving before Darius was done with his first egg, and soon cleared the second, third, and beyond.


    Darius finished his meal and had to pay up an extra 230 bronze for Gunner''s extra meals. Darius was surprised to find that the 9 meals were each about 23 bronze.


    Well, it seemed like this kind of breakfast was far more expensive in Andrato than it was on earth. Well, since earth had better and more stable supply lines, it did make sense.


    The duo had to leave the tes for Emily and three other young maidens to carry, as they stared at Gunner with strange expressions. The fact that therged didn''t even look fully satisfied by the meal left them bbergasted.


    As for Darius and Gunner, they soon exited The Great Escape Inn from the front and went to a nearby shop. There, Darius did what he should have done yesterday and bought a detailed map of the town.


    He just looked at it once and allowed his mini-map to guide him, giving the actual map to Gunner to study since he did not have a map functionˇ­ yet.

 Chapter 81 - 81

    Outside the inn, Shanks was waiting for Darius with Derek in tow. The group exchanged their greetings before Shanks led the way to the noble''s district.


    This time around, they took a high-quality carriage that had been prepared by Lord Spencely for Darius'' use during the day. It was well decorated and quite spacious, so the party of four were not cramped inside.


    Since the carriage had the insignia of the City Lord, all others on the road had to park and make way, like an ambnce or a government convoy passing through on Earth.


    ''Heh, it seems like no matter the world or the era, bureaucrats certainly love their privileges.'' Darius already had the map of Listo in his head, so he didn''t need to pay too much attention to where they were going, but rather to their destination.


    The same could not be said for Derek and Gunner, who were taking in the blurring sights as the carriage moved swiftly along the road.


    Eventually, they entered the noble''s district which was gated off from the rest of the town and guarded quite heavily. Once the guards saw the insignia on the carriage, they allowed the carriage in without too strenuous a check.


    Being cut off from the rest of the town, it was much more peaceful insidepared to the bustling areas, and everyone''s residences were as big as luxury vis from Earth.


    In fact, the deeper they went in, the more the vis started to resemble massive estates until Darius even saw a few small castles near the end!


    What shocked Darius was that his plot was exactly near those castles, which showed that Nichs Spencely was doing him a big favor! With such arge plot, he could also build a small castle for himself to build up his prestige and house his apprentices, official or unofficial.


    It seemed like the Equality Faction was deadset on roping him in. Not only because of his talent and power, but more because of his presence and utility!


    Every Adept was like a secret weapon of each faction. While their leaders would be Journeymen, their elites and officers were Amateurs and their footmen were normal unawakened people.


    With Darius on their side, they would gain a severe deterrence against the Superiority Faction, which would be more than enough to buy them some time to strengthen themselves.


    Darius was also betting that these nobles were already nning to send their children over to him for mage training. If they were lucky and Darius was fully willing to join their camp, he might even take them as Official Apprentices.


    Darius and co dismounted the carriage once they reached his plot. Darius carefully inspected thend while Shanks removed the title deed and handed it over to the new owner for inspection.


    When he read the terms, he was quite pleased with how vague and loose they were. Obviously, the City Lord of Listo wanted to convince Darius into choosing this town as his main base lest he leaves for the more developed cities in the future.


    That was something Darius would definitely do since he would also need more bases in the Andrato Kingdom, but starting in Listo didn''t seem too bad for his ns. For now, he stored the deed and had the carriage move towards the market square.


    Next, the group checked on hismercial properties. Darius saw that the one in the market square was, as advertised, quite small.


    However, he knew he had no right toin when he saw the sheer patronage of all the stores in the area, especially since most of them were owned by full-fledged Counts.


    Him, a mere Baron, getting this much was only due to favoritism. His plot was quite small, and there was already a building on it. It was a pre-owned liquor store that was now closed down and appeared quite worn, indicating that this property had not been re-assigned for quite a while.


    Darius saw from this shop''s deed that the previous owner had been convicted of smuggling contraband through this store as a front, and had his properties seized by the City Lord.


    When Darius asked Shanks, the ex-Royal Guardughed at him. "You''ll definitely have trouble with this one."


    Darius got curious by this remark. "Why so?"


    Shanks patted Derek on the shoulder and exined. "Well, it''s obvious enough that every plot in this square is a hotcake. This is where the majority of the town''s traffic passes through and even the shittiest shop would have to go out of its way to make sales below the red line."


    "With that in mind, every merchant and nobleman wants a plot here, no matter how small. It''s basically assured ie. So, as you can imagine, the bidding wars and prices for thend here have been outrageous."


    Shanks scratched his chin idly. "You have to understand, most of the owners of the stores here don''t actually own thend. Nobody would be stupid enough to sell such a thing. They''re just renting thend from the owners for steep prices, yet their ie is able to pay for that easily and more."


    Shanks then gazed at Darius with a deep meaning. "Yet, this plot that was owned by Lord Spencely up until yesterday was fully granted to you at no cost. No one would believe it even if they were told to their faces, but I literally gave you the ownership deed just a second ago, soˇ­"


    Darius understood what Shanks was getting at. If the ''gift'' ofnd at the noble''s district was to facilitate Darius''s willingness to stay and set up a base, then this one was to allow Darius to quickly umte wealth to kickstart his career.


    This was an even bigger favor than the one before, so Shanks wanted Darius to acknowledge and appreciate it. As a businessman, Darius knew when to show kindness and when to show cruelty, and while he did not feel as indebted as they might have liked, he definitely could not show disregard.


    As such, he noted that the Equality Faction was quite a generous group to Shanks and praised their methods for being truly inviting towards a foreigner like him. He also hinted towards repaying their kindness, yet without promising anything concrete.


    Once Shanks heard this, he nodded with satisfaction. Even he felt pained by the magnanimity of the City Lord and his faction, so how could he possibly allow Darius to swallow all of this without saying thanks?

 Chapter 82 - 82

    Darius and co moved on to the next property which was near the city entrance. This was another good plot, as visitors from afar would usually directly go into the closest shops, looking for the things they needed.


    Darius sized up the plot and realized it was big enough to build a small inn, which was the usual around this area. Most of the shops around here were inns and very few were service establishments.


    However, he had other ns for the property after he inspected it carefully and received the deed. With that out of the way, the group finally exited the city through the main gate under the curious eyes of the guards.


    There were quite a few farms and windmills around Listo, as well asrge warehouses dotting its surroundings. Darius was obviously skeptical as to the wisdom of this. If an army were to attack, wouldn''t they practically be killing their source of food without even having to enter the town?


    However, he also understood that Listo was amercial town, not a military one. It had been built with trade andmerce in mind, not defensibility from attacks.


    Besides, this was a world of magic and dragons. They should have many means to protect their goods and warn of danger long before it actually arrived, so there was that as constion.


    The group had to go out a bit and towards the western side of the town''s wall. There, they finally encountered the plot for Darius'' own warehouse, windmill, or farm, whichever he chose.


    It was about asrge as he expected, almost 50 acres. With this, he could either go for a veryrge crop farm, animal farm, refinery, or storage facility. For now, Darius was undecided so he simply epted the deed and stored it.


    "Alright then. For ourst stop, we''re headed to the Lands Commission. There you can get your deeds verified and logged, and they will also help you contract some architects and builders to work on your properties." Shanks informed Darius with a smile.


    Darius nodded and the carriage rushed back into the city. They meandered through the busy streets, abusing the City Lord''s bureaucratic privilege to arrive at their destination, the Lands Commission.


    It was a small governmental building near the northern end of the town, which was where many other such buildings had been constructed, even the town hall. Darius noted that it was quite old but well-maintained.


    The party disembarked and entered the building. There was a notable crowd inside, different people eithering to settle disputes on thend title oring to verify their deeds like Darius.


    Noting the ever-present queue of bureaucracy, Darius frowned slightly. However, Shanks simply smiled and led the party through all the lines right into the main office of the Land''s Commissioner.


    After knocking on the door silently, it was opened by a short secretary who stared at the group with confusion. Once she saw Darius and Shanks, though, she quelled her questioning expression and smiled politely.


    "How may I help you?"


    "Tell that grumpy bear Bistro that Shanks hasnded." Shanks replied arrogantly, which shocked everyone around him, including Derek.


    The secretary was stunned for a long while and didn''t know what to do. Should she actually go through with it and tell her boss such an outrageous line? If she didn''t get fired, she definitely wouldn''t end up in a good spot either!


    However, as she was trapped in her dilemma, a rough and lively voice echoed from within the office.


    "Why do I hear the voice of a bastard? Old dog Shanks, is that you screeching at my door?"


    Shanks'' face darkened as his lips twitched, but he replied straight away. "Old fart Bistro, I see you''re still alive and healthy. Hmph, an old thing like you should happily pass away and find a nice coffin!"


    Despite his dark tone, the person in the officeughed happily and retorted. "Hahaha, while you are still alive and kicking? Then who woulde to your funeral and insult you when you can''t fight back?"


    Damn!


    Shanks was left speechless and decided to concede. Noting his old friend''s silence, the voice from inside spoke proudly. "Hurry up and wee Sir Shanks in. Don''t you know what kind of offense it is to barr the way of a Royal Guard?!"


    Once the secretary heard this, she immediately panicked and quickly opened the door to let the party in with a subservient bow. Shanks only smiled lightly and led the group in.


    As for Darius, Derek, and Gunner, the three youths were still digesting the banter between the duo, the insults, praises, and hidden messages that only men could understand.


    Once inside the office, they saw it was quite spacious and well decorated, with arge desk in the center carved with floral patterns where a handsome middle-aged man with slightly greying hair sat. There were many bookshelves behind his desk and another smaller desk nearby for his secretary.


    The floor was naturally carpeted and there were many cabs for storing folders and documentspiled by themission. There were also a few paintings and potted nts arranged neatly.


    Shanks walked around the main desk and hugged the man who sat there, who had stood up to greet his old friend.


    Land Commissioner Bistro was a man as tall as Shanks, simrly well-built making him look less like a pencil pusher and more like an ex-rugby star. With his broad shoulders, thick jaw, and long legs, Bistro was definitely ex-military in Darius'' opinion.


    This should also be how he and Shanks knew each other. Darius was even willing to bet he was part of the Equality Faction and, like Shanks, retired from a high position.


    Bistro wore a proper noble''s attire which was simr to a modern suit, only with less buttons and more sps. Darius had to admit he looked quite dashing, which further increased his respect for the man.


    Bistro was just like that. The older man had an air of utter reliability and trustworthiness. He looked like the type who in a situation you left your child in his care, he would quite literally die to keep them safe just because of a promise.

 Chapter 83 - 83

    Once the two old friends broke off their bearhug and chatted for a bit, Bistro wore a pleasant smile and turned to Darius and Gunner, sizing up the two.


    "Hello there, I don''t quite believe we''ve met."


    Darius reached out and shook the hand of Bistro, introducing himself immediately. "My name is Darius Stone and this is my servant, Gunner. We are pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Bistro."


    Bistro smiled and shook Darius'' hand vigorously. "I''m also pleased to make yours. Any friend of Shanks'', is a friend of mine. So tell me, Friend Darius, how can I help you today?"


    Before Darius could answer the question, Bistro was pulled in close by Shanks. After whispering something into the Land Commissioner''s ears, Bistro''s eyes bulged and his gaze towards Darius changed as if he was looking at a monster.


    Bistro was silent for a while before nodding. He turned to his secretary: "Cha, take these deeds and have them verified and logged within 30 minutes. Also, call on the best craftsmen we have to get ready for a huge assignment."


    Bistro then turned to Darius, who quickly handed over the deeds. Nodding, Bistro thenmented: "I''m sure a man of your caliber wouldn''t spend cheap on your new properties, right?"


    Darius smiled. "I would like for the construction of a castle for my estate, a four-story shop for the market square, arge restaurant/lounge for the plot near the town''s entrance, and for the property outside, I n to have a refinery for processing various ores, hides and other resources. I''m afraid I only have 500 gold coins to invest, does that suffice?"


    Shanks and Bistro shivered at this amount and even Cha who had just picked up the deeds to execute her orders, almost tripped. They all gazed at Darius with horror as if they had seen a ghost.


    Shanks and Derek began to wonder where Darius, a new face to Andrato, had been getting all his money from?! He hadn''t opened his shop yet, so it couldn''t be from sales or ie.


    Seeing the doubt in their eyes, Dariusughed and used his long prepared story. "Well, leaving Westerlier Empire for the Andrato Kingdom was simple enough, but I had to ''leave behind'' all my family''s heirlooms and wares before reaching the homestead, soˇ­"


    Shanks and Bistro shared a look and gazed at Darius with pity. A destroyed noble family like his from such a top-tier empire should have heirlooms so valuable that even a city of Andrato wouldn''t be enough to pay for it all.


    Still, as Darius had imed, his situation hadn''t allowed for luxuries. He must have been forced to quickly sell off what he had for as much as he could get. Suddenly, 500 gold seemed small in the eyes of those in the know, hence the pity.


    Derek though, was confused. Did that mean that Darius passed through the capital to sell his goods and left all the way to their meager homestead? Wasn''t that a bit weird of a choice there?


    Why not just stay in the capital and use his newfound wealth to create an identity? Derek made eye contact with his dad who could guess the thoughts of his son.


    Shanks simply smiled and silently mouthed one word to his son: "Greed."


    Derek felt like he was struck by thunder as the realization hit him. Of course, after showing such great items and desperation - by changing his heirlooms to money at a loss, something no one would ever do unless they were at the utter bottom of their lives - as well as newfound wealth, many would get ideas.


    Darius might be an Adept mage, but he was merely a young man in a foreign kingdom. Andrato might not have any Masters or Grandmasters, but it had more than just a handful Adepts, especially in the capital where most noble family heads had reached that stage.


    Hehe, even though their own Equality Faction were the ''good guys'', Derek understood that in the face of such temptation, it shouldn''t be too surprising if people on their side might have attempted to make a move on Darius.


    Derek knew Darius to be clever, so their former guest must''ve realized this. He must have fled the city while avoiding the towns, before choosing a random homestead where the residents wouldn''t know of his previous action.


    To not arouse suspicion, he had pretended to be a native of Andrato Kingdom so that things would not be hard for him while under their care. Derek was even convinced to have found out the real reason Gunner came muchter.


    He could easily envision a scene where Gunner had to stay behind to fight off their pursuers, thereby creating a chance for his young master to escape. Only after beating back such enemies, possibly shaking off any other pursuers, did he find Darius'' tracks and managed to end up arriving at the homestead a weekter.


    In fact, the scenario Derek has created in his mind was very simr to what had shed through Shank''s and Bistro''s minds the moment Darius had exined the source of his fortune. The two old farts were experienced with how the world worked and how Andrato''s darkness reared its ugly head.


    This was why they had shed him a look of pity. In their eyes, Darius must''ve gone through a lot to finally gain some peace and status to protect himself, so wanting to invest almost ''everything'' he had on his properties made them understand his ''point of view''.


    As for Darius, he didn''t know exactly what they were thinking, but he couldrgely guess based on their expressions. This was a thing Darius had always found most amusing about ''smart'' people.


    If you spoonfed a smart person, they would spit it out or squeeze their face, but if you allowed them to scoop their own food, they would happily eat it and think its quality was far higher just because they picked it themselves.


    Likewise, Darius often didn''t give lengthy exnations about himself or his actions. He just dropped some facts in a sentence and left a few nks, just enough so that those ''smart'' fellows would fill them themselves based on their own preconceived notions and knowledge, just like Derek and the two men had just done.


    Despite being human too, the logic of this phenomenon escaped Darius.


    Was it that people were so convinced of their mental superiority over others, that conclusions formed based on limited facts patched by their own understanding were considered superior to the actual truth?


    Basically, why was it that everyone thought that they were the only one with intelligence and everyone else was either stupider or slightly less intelligent than they were?


    Whatever the case, it was something that worked in Darius''s favor oftentimes, and he would continue to exploit such ws in people to further his own goals.

 Chapter 84 - 84

    The duo of older men quickly stated that 500 gold was far too much, and they only needed about 50 gold to get him the best of the best in all aspects, a price which Darius paid upfront.


    Darius was quite happy about that as well, since he did not in fact have 500 gold as he had imed. On the day before the four of them had set out, he had told Foldo to hand him some spending money.


    The bandit boss had handed him a bag with around 100 gold coins, apologizing that he did not have more liquid funds while Darius himself had already nearly spent all the coins he transmuted.


    Now, he was down to 8, although he could always transmute some more if he really needed to. However, he had already gotten everything he needed in his opinion, so he would refrain from doing so for the time being.


    Darius thanked the old Land''s Commissioner and left the establishment with Shanks and co after Bistro assured him that everything would bepleted in the span of one month.


    Satisfied with everything so far, the group returned to The Great Escape Inn. Darius made sure to thank Shanks and Derek for their kindness, which the duo shrugged off saying that it was the least they could do.


    Darius and Gunner watched as Shanks and his son mounted their horse-drawn carriage and left the inn. Darius noted that while Derek still had some small doubts about his person, he had obviously lost the zeal to investigate further.


    The old soul, therefore, decided to forget about the matter as it made little sense to Derek in the end. As such, Darius decided to let thed go.


    Should anything change, he could always use Foldo and theckeys of the power the fellow would create to get rid of him anyway.


    The journey to all his new properties had taken more than a few hours and it was currently early afternoon.


    Darius turned to Gunner. "Let''s go in and have some lunch before we head to the Adventurers Guild, eh?"


    Gunner grinned widely at the thought of a hearty lunch before a possible battle, so he nodded. The duo entered the establishments and ignored therge crowd, heading to their suite table.


    Unlike breakfast, Darius saw that some of the other suite room tables were filled with their respective tenants who were all well-dressed men and women, sometimes with young children too.


    Darius and Gunner stood out due to their size difference and ages, so when they sat at their table, a server quickly rushed over to them. "Good Sirs, how may I help you?"


    Darius smiled and inquired: "What do you offer for lunch?"


    The server took out a menu and ced it before Darius and Gunner humbly. "Please have a look, Good Sirs."


    Darius observed the menu and found some familiar dishes from Earth and some new ones that seemed unique, especially meals made from monster meats and parts hunted from the dungeon.


    Curious, Darius asked. "Which meals on this list are part of the suite benefits?"


    The sever bowed and quickly replied: "Everything, sir. You can have one free serving of anything."


    Darius nodded, pleased with the service. "Then I''ll have one serving of fried rice and hellchicken with vital veggies."


    "As for mypatriot, he''ll have multiple servings of many different meals. Don''t worry, I''ll pay for them out of pocket minus the first one." Darius added slowly.


    The server took Darius'' order and then Gunner''s, rushing off to get it done. The rest of the customers here soon paid attention to their own business after ogling the duo for a bit.


    However, their attention was forcibly recaptured once they saw the amount of food Gunner consumed in one sitting. It was a fact that these people had their mind''s blown and their horizons expanded by the sight they got to witness.


    Darius was used to this, and so he just paid for Gunner''s extras and left the inn with the Branded Servant in tow. Darius had to admit, that the meal had truly been exemry, far better than anything he had eaten on Earth.


    He had no idea what a hellchicken was, but its meat had tasted a lot like normal chicken, only spicier. The vital veggies turned out to be a specialty of Listo, exclusive to the Wood element dungeon nearby.


    Apparently, there were monster cabbages and vegetables of all kinds that when killed, were sold to the inn for processing. Darius himself noted that these vegetables contained a lot of energy.


    In fact, based on his research on Faust''s power system, consuming monster parts from dungeons seemed to be a way for natives of this world to increase their stats after they had sparked or awakened. Darius and Gunner did not enjoy this benefit for obvious reasons, but the taste was still good.


    Darius navigated the streets with Gunner as they reached arge building near the southern part of the town, where the various guilds were located, as well as the entrance to the dungeon.


    The Adventurers Guild was also a building with age, but its maintenance was not as perfect as the governmental ones. Darius noted that there were cracks and chipped paint in a few ces, but decided not to bother himself with this.


    Upon entry, the duo were greeted with arge hall that was far more crowded and busier than anything they had seen from the Land''s Commission or The Great Escape inn.


    Men and women of various ages in leather, te or hide armor and weapons strapped to their waists, backs or even fronts stood before many different screens on the walls which disyed information.


    Darius only peeked at the screens for a short while before he and Gunner crossed through the hall to reach one of the counters. Because of his height and his attire, Darius stood out and attracted attention, many adventurers wondering what a noble scion was doing here.


    Upon reaching a counter, the person seated behind it boredly nced at Darius and seemed unbothered by his position, only asking: "How can I help you?"


    Not bothered by the lethargy disyed, Darius folded his arms and inquired: "I have an interest in bing an adventurer, but I''d first like to know what requirements there are for registration, what duties I would be expected to fulfill, and what benefits or privileges would be granted to me."


    Hearing his demanding tone, the worker seemed to realize that they were dealing with someone of importance and straightened up significantly.


    "Well Sir, that depends. Are you nning to register on your own, or will you register with the fellow behind you?"


    Darius turned to Gunner who nodded. "I would say so, yes."


    The fellow behind the counter then smiled and began exining.

 Chapter 85 - 85

    "First things first, the Andrato Kingdom recognizes anyone as an Adventurer who has sessfully passed our evaluation and has decided to join our guild. They are the only ones eligible to delve into the dungeon within each town or city. Trying to enter a kingdom''s dungeon without an Adventurer''s License is treated as treason." The aide began.


    "To qualify as an Adventurer, you have to possess a certain level of skill and strength. Every Adventurers'' Guild office has the necessary equipment to test for such things. However, if you have awakened as a mage or have sparked as a fighter, you can skip that procedure after a quick verification process."


    "There is no fee for registration and the Guild will provide you with lodging, starter equipment, and some training for fighting against certain monsters. Of course, the quality of the above-mentioned services depends on your Adventurer Rank."


    "The Guild distinguishes between 4 Adventurer Ranks; Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master. As long as you are unawakened and pass our basic tests for unsparked fighters, you will automatically be registered as a Novice Adventurer. After you get your license, you can immediately set out if you wish to, although it''s not rmended."


    "If you''ve already reached the Amateur Stage you can enter as an Intermediate Adventurer. Otherwise, you will have to kill the first-floor boss a hundred times to Rank Up."


    "As a Journeyman, you''re eligible to join our ranks as an Advanced Adventurer. Else, you can be promoted to one for killing the second-floor boss a hundred times."


    "Lastly, to earn the badge marking you as a Master Adventurer, you need to either be an Adept upon joining, or kill the third-floor boss a hundred times."


    "Each Rank gives you correspondingly higher benefits with fewer obligations. For example, Novice Adventurers hand over 50% of their yields after each dungeon run, and are obligated to run the dungeon at least once a week to maintain their rank. However, the items that they get to keep will be bought by the Adventurers'' Guild for the base market price regardless of the season." The aide smiled as they exined the intricacies of their system.


    Darius had listened carefully up until this point, but internally he was cursing at their shamelessness. He couldn''t help but feel utter disdain for this so-called Adventurers'' Guild. They were nothing like what a person from Earth who had consumed fantasy media would expect.


    With rules like that, they were basically no different from a corporation aimed at sucking you dry! Darius would know, as he had owned the biggest conglomerate on Earth before his passing.


    Preventing anyone from dungeon running unless they had your certification, seizing 50% of all earnings for providing basic lodging and some likely very cheap equipment, all while the adventurers would have to risk their lives fighting monsters on a weekly basis... just so that the Guild could earn weekly profits instead of intermittent ones.


    Novice Adventurers were no different from sweatshop workers!


    This was corporate very, which was quite baffling in Darius'' opinion. While the aide continued to borate the benefits for the other Ranks, he quickly turned around and noticed that despite the horrendous conditions, the guild was nevertheless packed full of people.


    Darius even wasted his time analyzing them and learned the shocking truth that 90% were unawakened and unsparked. His mind whirred as he processed what he was hearing as well as what he had just checked, and drew one logical conclusion.


    People were desperate! Either that, or they were greedy!


    From what Darius had read, even basic drops from dungeons were crucial to the survival of a town''s economy and the growth of a kingdom. It could strengthen awakened mages and sparked fighters in various ways, as well as form useful exports for international trade.


    Dungeoneering ounted for 70% of the acquisition of raw materials in Andrato, with the rest being farms, homesteads, and external hunters who acquired things from the wild.


    And who were the people who acquire these goods for the nation? Adventurers! In a normal setting, such a group would be a big deal, heavily gatekept and well pampered by society, being even a notch above most nobles.


    Yet, they were treated like this? There could be only one reason.


    There was a problem with the upation! There had to be something about it that, while it promised wealth and valor, also made it very unappealing for most!


    Darius felt that the obvious answer, in this case, should be the mortality rate! Dungeons were not pig pens where adventurers couldugh gaily as they harvested the lives of monsters.


    From what he knew, they were brutal war zones where monsters sprouted endlessly in order to invade the surface, but were culled and maintained by these brave, yet suicidal Adventurers.


    Still, the mortality rate should not be enough to elicit such abuse of their workforce. In all other forms of media Darius had consumed in his previous life, scenarios where only a group of people could perform any lucrative but dangerous job had almost always still been heavily valued.


    In fact, in almost any fantasy media, the Adventurer was a beacon of hope to themon man and was given many privileges wherever they went like free ess to towns, discounts on lodging, and discounts at cksmiths or the like.


    Yet none of this was provided the average adventurer? This naturally led Darius to believe thatˇ­ the mortality rate was high!


    Skyscraper high! At least, higher than 80%!


    In other words, what the Adventurers Guild needed was not quality, but quantity?!


    The bottom feeders of society and those who were desperate for money were endless. Darius was willing to bet that the so-called ''test'' would be light enough to allow anyone who couldpetently swing a sword or throw a punch to sign up.


    Even so, why? Surely, they could afford to pay Novices better benefits to attract more? Was there a piece of logic somewhere that Darius had been missing in his spection?


    He decided to see how the dungeon was like first before drawing any conclusions. Coincidentally, the aide was done with their exnations and was currently waiting for Darius to digest the info.


    Darius smiled and said: "Well, I would still like to register. How exactly can I prove my power as an awakened Mage?"


    The aide''s eyes sharpened as his guess had proven to be right. This noble scion had indeed awakened. As such, he had already made preparations before Darius had asked his question.


    "Please, Sir Mage, if you would follow me, I shall have this done as soon as possible."

 Chapter 86 - 86

    Darius nodded and followed the aide. "And what about my servant?"


    The aide turned around and added: "They can also be tested. I shall apany Sir Mage to the awakened testing area, which is managed by an Adept mage. The testing area for sparked fighters is right next to it, manned by an Adept fighter. They check for the various traits of each profession."


    Darius understood, and together with Gunner, he followed the aide through different hallways in the building until they reached a small hall. The double doors were opened, and the aide led them in with a servile smile.


    Within the room, Darius saw two counters set on the extreme east and the extreme west. Various people were lined up before each of them. There weren''t too many, just about 3 on the left and 6 on the right.


    The aide turned to Darius and exined: "The queue on the left is for those who intend to verify their capacity as mages while the one on the right is for fighters andbatants of all kinds."


    Darius nodded and entered the queue on the left while Gunner walked to the one on the right. It seemed that both queues moved at around the same speed as Darius got his turn around the time that Gunner moved forward two positions.


    The Adept mage seated behind the table looked at Darius with a bored expression and practically droned. "What''s your stage?"


    Darius had already thought of it beforehand, and chose to reply: "Amateur."


    He didn''t do this to remain low-profile. No, he had chosen his answer because he didn''t know if he could deceive an actual Adept mage into thinking he was on the same stage as them. It was better to y it safe and state his actual stage than to try to act clever.


    Besides, if something did happen and the fellow would mistake him for an Adept like the rest, Darius could just im to have wanted to start from the - figurative - bottom and rise up on his own.


    However, the same could not be said if the reverse were to ur. If he imed to be Adept and was found to be half-baked by their standards, he wouldn''t have a good excuse for lying and the damage could be catastrophic depending on how far it got.


    One should not forget, the main reason the Equality Faction had been so nice towards him and had invested so much into his future wasn''t that they were generous, but because of a misconception. If that misconception were to be rified one day, Darius would have to go back to living in the wilds.


    Once he heard that Darius was an Amateur mage, the mage nodded as that was what he had expected. He simply asked Darius a few questions, including his name, age, title, next of kin, date of birth, address, and other details.


    Darius stated his date of birth as the same day as when he was incarnated. Of course, he set the year back by enough that it didn''t look awkward.


    Once he was done filling the form, the mage faced Darius and ordered him. "Perform a basic spell for me to see."


    Once Darius heard this, he knew it had been the correct choice to admit to his real stage. After all, he was unable to perform any Adept, or even Journeyman spells!


    Darius turned to the side and cast Ember. The spray of smoldering fire thatunched out in an arch was like a small explosion, shocking the Adept mage and all the others waiting for their turn in the other line except Gunner.


    The inspector especially was confused and focused on Darius more. "How can this be? Such a strong basic spellˇ­ either he had a strong master, or he''sˇ­ hmm?"


    The inspector was bbergasted this time and began to sweat. "Mind Power? Lad, you''re also an Adept?!"


    Once the crowd heard this, it was like thunder struck the room. The aide who had led Darius here still hung around out of mild interest, as he would have to finalize Darius'' application anyway, and it was a nice reprieve from sitting on that hard chair all day.


    However, his body shook when he realized he had been dealing with a young Adeptˇ­ a prodigy! No, almost a legend in the Andrato Kingdom!


    Especially one so young!!!


    Darius simply smiled in response and rified his intentions: "It''s nice to start from the ground and climb your way up. Besides, I''d like to explore this dungeon slowly in the future."


    The Inspector nodded as if he had been clued onto a secret, and grinned knowingly. "Alright, alright Brother. Let me get this form done up for you and you can dive in as much as you like."


    Darius also beamed in much the same manner as the duo chuckled below their breath, as if understanding some inside joke only those of their kind would understand.


    The Inspector naturally did not doubt himself, just like how Foldo hadn''t despite Darius merely casting a basic spell. It was impossible for one to have Mind Power and not be an Adept.


    One could say it was like a ss-locked or race-locked ability. It was simply impossible to use unless you reached the prerequisite level.


    It reminded Darius of the Pokemon genre. As for that name, he would never forget it due to how many hours he had spent watching and ying it with the kids. He had eventually been forced to buy thepany that had made those games so he could invest more into it for his descendants to enjoy.


    It was like the HM skill, Fly. When one saw one of those pokemon performing such a skill, they would know that it was a flying type or had wings allowing them to manifest such an ability. For others like legendaries and certain psychic pokemon, they could use extra means to achieve this effect.


    However, no trainer or yer of the Pokemon genre would believe that a Geodude or a Machamp could use Fly. It was simply beyond logic and definitely impossible.


    This was the same situation here. An Amateur could not have Mind Power, meaning Darius had to be an Adept.


    It was that simple.


    In no time, whether because of his ''status'' or because it was just like this every day, the rest of his applications was handled smoothly and he received something like an ID card with his name and rank on it.

 Chapter 87 - 87

    As for Gunner, despite having great stats, none of them passed the limit of 50, so he was ssified as an Amateur by the inspector there.


    At first, the inspector confused him for a Journeyman when Gunner executed his earth-based skills since they were so powerful, but Gunner insisted that he was an Amateur as they were bloodline abilities.


    Gunner saw that Darius had chosen to go with the Intermediate Rank for the guild, so he thought of doing the same. For all he knew, his master has a specific reason for doing so, leading Gunner to do everything to im an ID with the same tag.


    Darius gazed at his own and Gunners, both of which were a lovely silver color and seemed to radiate magic. Clearly, this ID was made with more than justminated paper and handwritten details, as there was the scent of enchanting on it.


    Of course, Darius couldn''t smell anything like that, he just Analyzed it and saw that it was made through a cheap and standard enchantment, which was how he knew.


    cing his ID in his Inventory, Darius and Gunner exited the building and began walking further south to where the dungeon''s entrance was located. Once they arrived at the area, they found that it was a small park with lovely grass and a few trees about half the size of a football field.


    The nearest building to this park was a military outpost and the rest were adventurer hostels for those at the Novice rank. Darius noted how clever it was to put the adventurers right in front of the dungeon, not only to remind them of their weekly duty, but to tempt them as well as ce them as the first line of defense should the dungeon break.


    The park itself was quite busy, with many adventurers lined up at the entrance. Though the queue moved quickly since people just shed their IDs at the front and were allowed in, Darius was stunned to see that so many lined up.


    Looking at their rtive gear and their depressed but hopeful expressions, Darius noted that at least 80% of them should be Novice Adventurers. Of course, to be sure, he Analyzed as many of them as he could in a short while and saw that many were, as a matter of fact, level 1.


    Darius had already worked out that the system categorized all non-awakened as level 1 regardless of their prowess, so their stats tended to vary greatly. However, the gap between them and even the weakest Amateur Darius saw in terms of stats was great.


    Noting this, Darius was even more confused by his earlier theory. Did his research not highlight how important or lucrative dungeons were? Was he missing something? Why were so many in a rush to enter?


    Whatever the case, Darius had no intentions of joining the line. Conveniently, there was a separate queue for the awakened and sparked people, which Darius and Gunner joined to the envy of those on the novice side.


    It only took the duo about 2 minutes to reach the front, and they presented their IDs to two bored-looking aides, one male, and one female. After verifying everything, they nodded and allowed Darius and Gunner entry.


    The duo unhesitatingly entered the ckness that was the mouth of the dungeon and immediately felt the same sensation as when using a House Portal Scroll or Blink.


    Once they regained their bearings, Darius noted that they were in arge cavern with a ss roof. The sun was shining down through the ss and seemed to focus on the patches of nts and vegetation neatly arranged all around the cavern.


    It was actually a quaint and lovely ce, the smells alone making Darius and Gunner refreshed. It felt like they could rx here and put away all their troubles, forgetting about whatever issue they had outside and bing a part of the vegetation.


    Darius'' Mind Power suddenlyshed out around him, hittingˇ­ something away, which woke him up from his growing stupor. As for Gunner, his body shed with greenish energy that woke him up as he roared in anger.


    Darius pacified Gunner and pondered. Upon entering what should be the first floor of the dungeon, they had already been bombarded with some sort of mental or pheromone attack that had lulled their senses.


    Then how were others supposed to survive?! Darius had the benefit of Mind Power which freed him and Gunner had his half-giant bloodline. These were two very hard things to acquire for the average person, so how many novices even made it past this stage?


    No, how many Amateurs or Journeymen survived this long? Darius felt like he understood something. It was just a guess but those people must have received some forewarning before entering the dungeon, so they could prepare themselves.


    The reason he hadn''t been told was because they thought he was an Adept. And true to that, with Mind Power, he was instantly freed from this trap like it was nothing.


    This was only a guess, but it made no sense otherwise. The guild would be sending people to their deaths. Unless... the area Darius and Gunnernded in was random? Not everyone spawned in this section?


    Darius looked around slowly. For that matter, where was everyone? With so many people entering, even if the area they were sent to was randomized, they should at least see or sense one soul.


    But there was nothing except the lush vegetation around them. Darius had a suspicious expression on his face, because an absurd and unholy idea came to his mind about dungeons in Faust, something he didn''t want to believe, but made perfect sense given his previous deductions.


    Darius beckoned to Gunner and the duo began to move forward. Whatever the case, his assumptions needed more data to be fact, so he decided to explore the dungeon while he searched for more hidden clues.


    Darius took out the gauntlets he bought for Gunner and focused.


    [Would you like to change the steel gauntlets into magical gauntlets? This will cost 20 Conversion Points.]

 Chapter 88 - 88

    Darius sighed with defeat. It seemed magical gauntlets of any sort were above the Amateur Rank. Darius had obviously noted that his 10 CP seemed to only be able to create things within this Rank.


    The only loophole he had gained was that repairing wed journeyman manuals was within his price range, but items and the like seemed to be a whole different business.


    Darius attempted to upgrade the boots and found that the cost was also around 18 CP. As such, he could only frown and hand them over to Gunner as they were, deciding to find an alternative means to empowering items on his own.


    As such, he took out the 4 empty spell manuals that he took from Foldo. He had used one to make the old fox a basic Ice Lance spell, and he used the other to make his Spawn spell of the death element.


    Speaking of that, Darius remembered that he had never de-summoned his skeletons. Wondering what had happened, Darius cast the Spawn spell once again.


    His mana dipped ever so tinily and a ck light emerged from his fingers thennded on the ground. After a bit of shaking and trembling, two boney arms broke through the surface and the earth, pulling themselves up.


    Darius was stunned to see that the wretched and raggedy skeletons he had summoned the other time had grown bigger, and had better armor and weapons on their body.


    Most importantly, their body glowed with an aura of ckish energy and their empty sockets had marble-sized green light in them that was stable.


    Before he could Inspect them, they both went on their knees and kowtowed to Darius, speaking in English of allnguages.


    "O great master, we thank you for summoning us back! Running from that bloody ins all the way here was beginning to get tough with so many monsters and humans targeting us!" The skeleton on the left said in a strangely British ent.


    "Quite! I rather say those blokes deserved being cut up and having their items taken by us. Not like they were going to use it anymore, anyway. Besides, why did they react so strongly whenever they saw us? Wasn''t like we were doing anything bad were we?" The skeleton in the right replied his friend with an even heavier ent.


    "Twas because we look like this. Undead and all that. You know how it is, they fear what they don''t know and all that." Skeleton One remarked while rising to its feet.


    "Mm, makes sense. I remember banging zombies on the head whenever they rose from the graves back then. Kinda seems like the cycle of karma with how people treat me now, innit?" Skeleton Two responded while doing the same.


    Darius quickly interrupted the duo before they continued their banter, "What the hell are you two?"


    Both of the undead seemed surprised by the question and shared an uncertain look. "Us?"


    Darius nodded. "I used a Basic spell to summon you two, so how were you able to act autonomously and grow your power this much? Secondly, why didn''t the spell summon a new batch of brainless undead and rather summoned the two of you? Thirdly, what were you doing all this time?"


    "Mm, let me answer all that, Master. See, Joneson and I-" Skeleton Two began, but was cut off by Darius again.


    "You have names?" he asked incredulously.


    "Course we do, Master! We ain''t like those regr undead creepers. We''re some kind mutation innit Mikey?" Skeleton Oneˇ­ no, Joneson answered with pride.


    "Shut up Joneson! I was getting to that. So basically, you see how you got that whole magical transformation thing, right? The one that makes water into gold and sand into wine and all that." Mikey began, but was cut off by Joneson.


    "Naw, it''s sand to gold and water to wine you idiot. Did a troll piss into your soul fire to dim your intelligence or sumn?"


    Mikey growled angrily, to which Joneson backed off with an ''aye, calm down'' gesture. The undead with the heavier ent then continued.


    "So your ability that made the spellbook that summons us is sorta special. Since your system handles the transformation - and all your abilities I believe - it had to create the spell for us. But see, your system works through percentile-based calction for spells and skill and all that."


    "Basically, it deals with stuff like 5% sword damage or 5% spear damage and the like. Situations like ours where there are no clear percentile rules to our power cause the system to have to improvise."


    "Of course, this only counts for spells made by transmutation, right that''s the correct name. Spells like the one that made using from any spellbook already written or theorized will follow its own rules, even if it''s handled by the transformation thingie." Mikey finished.


    Darius parsed what they were saying quickly and roughly understood. For summoning spells or spells that do not have the percentile power factors that Darius often saw were troublesome to transmute.


    As such, when he made the Spawn spell, the 500% power increase by the elitist ability''s approach created a bizarre situation where instead of it saying summon 5 skeletons - assuming the base was 1 skeleton - what he got was the ability to summon two special skeletons that were stronger than the average skeleton.


    This would have been a nice mechanic to abuse, but ording to Mikey, it only applies to raw spells and non theorized ones. This meant that Darius could not elicit this benefit from Journeyman and above spells because they were all written by a person or theorized by them.


    His Transmutation ability too could not create unique things, only things that existed in Faust, so he could not think up a spell and transmute it from nothing. Even if Darius wrote gibberish in a spell manual and tried to transmute it, he would not get this benefit as he had theorized and even written it.


    As such, as far as Darius could tell, this benefit could only apply to spells of the basic tier. The Spawn spell might even be the only anomaly that this rare urrence could work with.

 Chapter 89 - 89

    "And that was how the two of you were able to grow?" Darius asked with a frown.


    "Quite so. Instead of getting five bottom tier skeletons you could summon freely, you got two growth type skeletons that are tied to your existence. A tradeoff if you will." Joneson answered.


    Darius nodded and then said, "So that barely answers my second question. What about my third?"


    Joneson and Mikey shared an awkward nce. "Well, when we spawned, we were basically the same as any other undead, brainless and running on instinct. However, there was a strong call in our bodies to kill any living thing we could find to gain basic sapience before returning to you."


    "As we are basically creations of your system, even our personalities and knowledge were supplied by it, we could tell who were your allies and your enemies, which was why we didn''t lynch any of the humans in the homestead while you were gone," Mikey exined slowly.


    "Not to mention that scary Shanks bloke. We are skeletons summoned by a basic spell, how could we tussle with a Journeyman?!" Joneson cut in with a voice of bereavement.


    "Shut UP, Joneson. Sighˇ­ alright, like I was saying, when we achieved basic sapience, we immediately could sense your location and rushed towards you. Unfortunately, we met monsters on our way who we had to fight."


    "Then we noticed you were moving to the east at a fast pace, so we changed directions and followed along, but it was even worse. The number of monsters and humans we encountered on our way were almost endless! After killing most of them, we got to upgrade our equipment as you see, and our sentience grew to this point thanks to all the death energy we absorbed." Mikey finished and a light sigh of relief.


    Darius and Gunner shared a look. "So basically, you grow stronger by absorbing death energy from recently in foes?"


    Joneson nodded. "Right-O, Daddy-O."


    "And how do you know all you told me?" Darius asked with confusion.


    "Well, that one''s a mixture of your system providing us info on mechanics since we are technically a part of it. Not to mention that we have ess to your Database, which is how we know who are your allies and enemies, as well as who is who and what is what." Mikey answered.


    Darius nodded, finally understanding what kinds of existences these two bizarre skeletons were and how they knew so much. Their knowledge would certainly prove useful to his cause.


    "Alright then, Joneson, Mikey, we are currently dungeon diving. Lead the way and co-ordinate with Gunner. I''ll stick to fire magic since it has an obvious advantage here." Dariusmanded.


    "Yessir! Boss Gunner, show us the way!" Joneson cried out cheerily.


    Gunner smiled with amusement and banged his chest, greenish energy rising around his body. Without further ado, he charged into the vegetation and began wrecking everything he could see.


    Joneson and Mikey shared a look, before the duo simultaneously shrugged and rushed in as well, swords raised. Darius simply chuckled and followed them with a slow walk, casting Ember on any patch of vegetation he could see.


    Unlike other adventurers or awakened who would have to be careful not to destroy their loot, Darius'' pickups were handled by the system, so whatever he killed would give him what he needed.


    Even if it didn''t, he would still get something useful. This was why he invested in his Luck stat, which in his candid opinion, was the most important stat of his entire repertoire.


    Whatever the case, he was not like other adventurers who were reliant on whatever they earned here to make a living. He could print money and if he found the list of drops that emerged from this dungeon, he could make them himself with pinnacle quality!


    Soon, Darius heard Gunner and co fighting ahead. He entered a small clearing to see that there were arge group of vines attacking his branded Servant and undead fighters.


    Darius Inspected the monsters to see their levels.


    [Killer Vine - Level 2 Monster


    HP: 13/15 MP: 1/1]


    Darius immediately lost interest. Neither he nor Gunner could gain experience from such low-level monsters, so he directly cast Ember upon them and watched as they lit up in mes.


    In truth, most of the cavern was on fire after Darius wickedly threw his mes about, and he was getting many kill notifications for 0 Exp, but many random drops rted to the dungeon.


    This seemed to be the starter zone then, where the novices would fight for their lives as monsters like these could be the end for them. Since Darius set everything on fire, he beckoned to Gunner and co to move on.


    They passed through arge tunnel connecting the first cavern to another even bigger room, this one with trees and various glowing vegetation that looked amazing.


    Darius even hesitated to throw out his evil fire to burn the ce down due to the beauty. Still, he cast out the spells as much as he wanted, watching as this cavern too was slowly set alight.


    This time though, the monsters here were not pushovers that would wait for Darius to roast them for free. Many monster nts rushed over from the patches of vegetation and attacked the group with hatred.


    [Man-Eating Pepper - Level 5 Monster


    HP: 42/42 MP: 3/3]


    Darius and Gunner sighed internally as such foes would still give them 0 exp. The level calction mechanic was only beneficial when enemies were higher level than Gunner but lower than Darius.


    Of course, if the enemies were higher than them both, it was party time! However, such enemies were hard to meet, which was why the duo chose the dungeon dive and see if they could find something that fit the bill.


    As for Joneson and Mikey, they were having a grand time! When Darius cleared this cavern and counted his loot, he asked them why they looked so much stronger so quickly.


    Their answer left him absolutely stunned.

 Chapter 90 - 90

    "Well, Master. This is a wood element dungeon! The wood element is the closest basic element to the life element which of the opposite of our death element! So when we kill monsters here, the death energy they produce is of a higher quality than the monsters we and humans we killed outside, despite the quantity being the same." Mikey answered with joy.


    Darius was shocked by this and decided to Analyze the duo first and foremost.


    [Name: Joneson


    Race: Undead


    ss: Warrior


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 60/60


    MP: 13/13


    Level: 10


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Endurance: ?


    Intellect: ?


    Charisma: ?


    Luck: ?


    Abilities: Absorb.


    Weapons: Sword and Buckler, Leather Armor.]


    [Name: Mikey


    Race: Undead


    ss: Warrior


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 60/60


    MP: 13/13


    Level: 10


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Endurance: ?


    Intellect: ?


    Charisma: ?


    Luck: ?


    Abilities: Absorb.


    Weapons: Sword and Buckler, Leather Armor.]


    Darius frowned when he saw that the stats of the two undead could not be disyed. When he questioned the duo, he received a confusing answer.


    "Well, we do have stats but we also don''t. Because we can grow, our stats cannot be easily determined by the system at any time. Also, we don''t have experience, yet we grow through death energy which is not supported by the Analysis of the system''s first version." Mikey exined again.


    "Yea, you gotta upgrade that thing. Bonkers it is, I say!" Joneson chipped in.


    Darius also agreed. The Supreme System was great in many ways for sure, but it also had many ws. It was high time for version 1.00 to be patched, and Darius remembered he could do so through that coffin in the ins of the Green.


    Darius sighed and continued on. The third room of the first floor was just asrge as the one they came through with even stronger monsters this time. Darius saw monsters ranging from level 7-9, which was still not enough to give them any experience per the calction.


    The good news - at least - was that Darius had basically confirmed that his exp gain cap was 5 levels below. As such, if he or Gunner wanted to gain even 1 experience points to share, they needed level 10 and above foes since Gunner was level 9 and he was level 14.


    Once they cleared the third cavern, Darius noted that he and Gunner had received many useful drops for cooking, building, and alchemy especially. Since these were the mainstays of this wood dungeon, Darius felt it was normal.


    Darius guessed that the dungeon must have either three or four floors, but he was betting on it being 3. After all, the first floor seemed to have monsters of the Amateur Rank, as the next room they entered had monsters between levels 10-14.


    Here, Darius and Gunner had to get serious because, despite their power, the sheer number of monsters made it a tough fight.


    They were up against monsters like Ents, Life-Stealing Vines, and Killer Shrooms. The first group were like tanks with their high HP and unarmed fighting style as they shed with Gunner head-on, quickly putting therged in a tough fight.


    For the first time since they fought together, Darius actually had to consistently use his heal spell on Gunner progressively. The Life-Stealing Vines gave Darius a tough time as he had to continuously blink to avoid them.


    They were fast like snakes, always on his trail no matter how far he went. He also could not leave the area as Gunner would quickly die under the bombardment of the Ents.


    Of course, therged could activate his Earth Guardian skill, but Darius wanted him to save it for the main boss. After all, the aide at the reception stated that the way for an Intermediate Adventurer to rise was to kill the second-floor boss a hundred times.


    The Killer Mushrooms jumped onto the bodies of the two undead and released deadly spores that could intoxicate and poison even an elephant, but was useless on the duo of undead.


    Instead, they systematically chopped the Killer Shrooms into pieces and absorbed the death energy from them, bing even stronger. One thing that annoyed Darius was that foes killed by the undead duo did not give him experience, only drops.


    ording to Mikey, the reason was because the death energy that was wholly absorbed by them was a form of elementalw, which was what the system usually processed for Darius to create experience points.


    Well, that at least exined why killing things granted experience.


    Darius made sure to blink around the sources of the Life-Stealing Vines and cast Ember upon them, reducing the number of enemies pursuing him enough to cast a heal Gunner''s way, which was much needed.


    Thergend roared and cast his Engage skill, which brought the focus of all enemies on him, from Life-Stealing Vines to Killer Shrooms. Right after that, the fellow used Earthen Stomp, sending the entire area into an unbnced state.


    While the monsters were confused and struggling to rise, Darius blinked over and spread as many Embers as he could around. Itnded on the Killer Shrooms, the Life-Stealing Vines, and especially therge Ents, dealing great damage to all.


    Their screams and screeches as they burned formed a lovely symphony to Joneson and Mikey, as the two danced the tango around the smoldering corpses of these monsters.


    Luckily, Joneson and Mikey could only absorb death energy from monsters they killed with their own two hands, allowing Darius and Gunner to gain their rightful bonus.


    Darius had the system total everything instead of showing him his gains in repeat through the Settings menu, and did the same for reports on Gunner''s own gains.


    [You have gained 15,960 EXP, 10 Woodrem Roots, 20 Drain Vines, 20 Mushy Mushrooms, etc.]


    [Gunner have gained 15,960 EXP, 16 Tough Barks, 20 Sereoi Leaves, 20 Poisonous Spores, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x6! You are now level 20. You have gained 30 Ability Points and 18 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x10! He is now level 19. He has gained 30 Ability Points and 10 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]

 Chapter 91 - 91

    Darius smiled as this was within his expectations. His main n ining to the city had been to firstly acquire an identity and some resources for himself. The fact that he ended up gaining a strong political backing and sponsorship was a nice bonus.


    Secondly, he had intended to reach the level cap for the Amateur stage and discover what he would need to do or achieve in order to reach Journeyman. Since he had tentatively fulfilled both, Darius was feeling extremely happy at the moment.


    Of course, he was slightly miffed that the experience they were supposed to get was shared with those two Undead. However, they should earn a lot more once they reached the end of this cavern.


    Case in point, Gunner was already at level 19, with only a little bit left before he would also reach the stage threshold. Darius decided it was no use worrying over this since there was a tunnel before them that led into another cavern that should be much like this one, but with foes at level 15-17 or so within.


    Darius was pondering the almost unnatural incremental distribution of monsters on this first floor of the dungeon when he suddenly got interrupted by a familiar voice.


    {Hello, Darius Stone! How are you today? Have you bathed? Brushed? Gussied up? Great, because I have some amazing news to share with you!}


    {You have done amazingly well these past two weeks! You have established a foothold, set up foundations for a neutral as well as another affiliated power, acquired some local talents, and been blessed with the favor of a powerful backer!}


    {However, your greatest aplishment is the fact that you''ve reached the limit for the first stage of Faust, the Amateur! This is a feat only 60% of Faustians are able to achieve in their lifetime!}


    Caesars'' chipper voice suddenly became deeper and darker as the A.I-like entity chuckled. {Let''s hope it''s not yourst.}


    Darius frowned. He had expected this much, and he wanted to hear what Caesar had to say before he left as suddenly asst time.


    {Darius Stone! Upon reaching the threshold of the stage, you have unlocked new functions for your Supreme System, the ''Quests'' and the ''Events'' tab in your menu.}


    {You could have triggered them externally through special means, but you have chosen to reject that. I''m not allowed to tell you whether that decision of yours was wise or foolish, but it''s no longer important now that we''re here.}


    {These functionse hand in hand with an update to the entire system, so look forward to it! More importantly, this update is directly tied to your progress!}


    {That''s right, Darius Stone. The Supreme System is a tool devised to help you acquire power quicklypared to other Faustians, allowing you to learn skills and master them without having to put in much of an effort on your part!}


    {This is a benefit Vena and I have bestowed upon you to make part of your journey smooth. However, such a development is not that interesting to the eyes of a Goddess! After all, we''re interested in watching you struggling to reach the top!}


    {Not to mention that despite being the creator and owner of Faust, the Goddess cannot ignore some universalws! Darius Stone, you''ve benefited from easy leveling and skill acquisition, as such, it has to be bnced out!}


    {The difficulty you should have faced to grow - like every other Faustian - ispiled in your attempts to climb the stages! Since you grow almost 100 times faster than the average Faustian, your stage climbing will naturally also be 100 times harder!}


    {As the system controls your growth, this is presented in the form of a task! A Quest if you will! This is the sole purpose of the ''Quests'' mechanic, and you cannot use it to receive quaint directives like fetch 3 crabs for experience.}


    {The ''Events'' tab serves that function, but not for meager instructions. When you encounter rare or special urrences in Faust, you may choose to partake in the corresponding Event. Such Events may be easy or difficult depending on the circumstances, but the rewards are always unique.}


    {Events are another way for you to earn Ability Points and Skill Points for allocation outside of leveling up. As such, always keep your eyes out for such Events as they are crucial to your journey henceforth.}


    {Back to your Quests. As this is your first Quest, I''m obligated to walk you through some important details while delivering it to you personally.}


    {Whenever you reach a stage''s cap, you''re no longer able to level up, which should be obvious. However, you can continue to acquire experience points ording to the same calctions as before.}


    {The use of this experience is to fill up your experience bar that is set at the cap of the stage. With every revolution of your bar, you gain a small number of Ability Points and Skill Points that cannot be allocated until it reaches a whole number!}


    {For example, as you are currently at the limit of the Amateur stage, your experience bar is now set at 2,000 points. Every 2,000 exp you acquirepletes one revolution and gives you exactly 0.1 AP as and the same amount of SP at this stage.}


    {You can umte up to a maximum of 20 points in each category while at the stage limit, although that is not advisable! After all, the Quests for your stage climbing have time limits in order to spur you on and keep you from wasting the Goddess Vena''s precious time.}


    {As you currently have leftover experience from your recent level up, it shall directly go to your current ''experience bonus'' and give you some minuscule AP and SP.}


    Caesar paused here for a bit like he needed to cool his tongue with some water before continuing his strangely long-winded but horrific revtion.


    {To summarize, your system has been upgraded, you have gained new functions and you are stuck at your level until youplete an extremely difficult task.}


    {All this is to prepare you for the next segment of my exnation, your specific Quest and what you have to do to achieve it as well as what you cannot do.}

 Chapter 92 - 92

    {Darius Stone! Your objective to be a Journeyman is to infiltrate the ins of Death and obtain the Resurrection Stone!}


    {Before you ask, let me exin the details! The ins of Death are a cross-level zone featuring foes from level 1 to level 100! It''s the biggest danger zone of the Fallon Continent, and proximity to it shows how poor a state is!}


    {This is why everyone looks down on the Andrato Kingdom, despite it not being too bad. As such, you are to head to the third band of the ins of Death which is where Adepts usually reside, and steal the First Resurrection Stone held by the Stonekeeper, Marasmus.}


    {Your foe is an Adept, your target is in an Adept-filled zone and your target is almost like a beacon to your victims, meaning that even after taking it, you will be pursued heavily.}


    {Each Quest has a difficulty rating that is calcted based on your current loadout of skills, techniques, and items by myself. I run a minimum of 300 million scenarios with different choices and actions based on your possible location, possible actions, and possible allies/obstacles in each scenario.}


    {Then I will present it to you, usually through the Supreme System, but since this is your first Quest, you have the honor of hearing it from me directly! Your chance of seeding in this particr Quest is rated at the Impossible difficulty! The ratings are Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, Nightmare, and Impossible.}


    {Out of 1,298,075,834 possible endings, you''ve only seeded 56. That means you have a 0.00000431% chance of sess, hence the Impossible difficulty! It will be up to you to find one of the 56 paths to sess on your own!}


    Caesar''s deep and dark voice returned to its usual chipper infomercial robot the next second.


    {Darius Stone! Never lose heart, for the world of Faust was built for YOU to conquer! Forge new rtions, charter armies, and connect with forces to assist you on your Quest, and you might see sess!}


    {Even in the case of failure, you will still have the pleasure of reminiscing on the bonds you''ve made during your journey!}


    Darius was silent for a long while, waiting for Caesar to be gone so he could begin nning his next actions, but he heard the voice of the chipper AI once again, but with a grudging tone.


    {Darius Stone! The Goddess Vena has taken pity on your plight and has sent me to deliver upon you three crucial pieces of advice that might steer you towards the path of the 56 sessful oues.}


    {I shall therefore share with you the three underlying actions or choices that all those on the 56 paths have made.}


    {The first is NOT to waste time trying to gain quick levels by killing a higher leveled foe so that you can umte Ability and Skill Points while using the Dagger of Death. I have to assure you that you will need it where you are going!}


    {The second is to not use the A Stitch In Time wastefully! Even on the brink of death, be absolutely sure there is no other way for you to recover before using it!}


    {The third and final clue is your two Undead created by the System! Treasure them and prevent them from being ''destroyed'', for they are crucial in all 56 paths!}


    {Now, this is goodbye, Darius Stone! I hope you enjoy this Quest as much as I am going to enjoy watching you do it!}


    With that, Darius was now sure that Caesar was gone after monologuing for so long. Gunner and the two Undead had heard him, Gunner because he was a Branded Servant and the duo because they could read Darius''s Database at all times, so they were automatically updated with any relevant information.


    There was a palpable silence in the group as they all digested these pivotal words to their existences, Darius especially. For the longest time, he had been hesitant to reach the level cap or rush to level up because he had sensed foul y.


    Actually, anyone with sense would have been able to notice it. Which deity and AI would create a system where one could jump to the max level if they simply killed a foe ten levels higher, with plenty to spare?


    If Darius had been rash and careless, he would have long struck someone like Shanks or Bistro with his Dagger of Death and be an instant Grandmaster or Supreme, whichever was possible.


    ording to Caesar though, this would have been pointless. Darius would have certainly gained a lot of AP and SP if he had done so, perhaps even reaching 20 points in each, but the rest would likely be wasted.


    Right now, Darius needed to establish a detailed n on how he wouldplete this Impossible Quest. Before that though, he opened his system menu to see some new additions to his list.


    [Supreme System menu


    A. Character


    B. Quests


    C. Inventory


    D. Events


    E. Database


    F. Map


    G. Statistics


    H. Settings.]


    Darius clicked on the Quests tab and saw that he only had one avable. Clicking on it, he saw the details for the Quest inly. Almost everything Caesar said was true, but he had left out one crucial detail.


    The screen had revealed that the penalty of failure was death. This meant that should the Quest''s time limit expire, he would perish. Of course, if he failed while in action, his likely oue was death anyway.


    That also led to another thing Caesar had failed to state in all his wisdom and kindness. It was the fact that the specific time limit for this Quest was 30 days, essentially a month.


    Darius had 30 days to enter the ins of Death, get through the first band full of Amateur Undead, the second band full of Journeyman Undead, and the third band full of Adept Undead where he would have to steal a precious item from all Undead in the first three bands from the guardianship of a powerful Undead Lord.


    Assuming he would seed up to that point, not missing any limbs or otherwise fine, he would then have to rush out of the danger zone with every single Undead honed in on him like a beacon.


    Of course, if he could use Short Warp or House Portal scrolls this wouldn''t be a problem. But if it would be so easy and simple, why would Caesar waste his time talking so much?

 Chapter 93 - 93

    First things first, he needed to stop wasting timementing on his now egregiously difficult path. He needed to allocate his and Gunner''s stats as well as make preparations to enter the ins of Death immediately.


    As such, Darius opened his Character menu and allocated his Ability Points as well as his Skill Points. After sorting out his own allocation, he moved onto Gunner, carefully cing the points where he felt they needed to be.


    As such, his character sheet now looked like this;


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Sub-ss: Magus


    HP: 255/255


    MP: 1,000/1,000


    Level: 20


    Experience: 440/2000


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 20


    Endurance: 17


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 50


    AP: 0.2


    SP: 0.2


    Skills: Analyze - Lv.6, Skinning - Lv.1, Butchery - Lv.1, Cooking - Lv.1, Washing - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv.4


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.20, Ember - Lv.4, Heal - Lv.5, Blink - Lv.10, Spawn - Lv.15


    Abilities: Mind Power, Transmutation, Deflection]


    Darius had thought strategically about how to allocate his points and hade to the decision that the best choice would be to invest in Luck heavily. Out of a billion-plus probabilities, only 56 would secure his victory.


    No amount of rawputing power that Darius could ess at this time with mere points would allow him to divine the perfect path when there were so many unknowns.


    Rather, since there were probabilities, then a strong amount of Luck had to be involved. His Luck which had been 27 points was boosted by 23 to make 50, at which point Darius had gained a new ability.


    [Congrattions! You have reached 50 points in Luck and have acquired the ability: Deflection.]


    [Deflection - Basic Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Paragon of Luck in the Basic Order, you are protected by the Goddess of Luck. Whenever you encounter an attack on your person of any type or category, you have a 20% chance to deflect it fully and a 1% chance to reflect it back to the attacker with the attack bing unblockable.]


    Darius was extremely satisfied with this ability as it gave him an extrayer of security for where he was heading. He couldn''t help but wonder if any of the ''him'' in the 56 paths had also chosen to do this.


    Since there was no way to know, he decided not to fall down that rabbit hole of overthinking. Darius ced his 7 remaining points into Endurance, bringing it from 10 to 17. This had increased his HP from 150 points to 225.


    Normally, he could care less about his HP because he had always nned to acquire someone like Gunner to shield him from harm. However, against Journeymen and Adepts, he would certainly need more of everything he currently had.


    As for his Skill Points, he had 18 of them and he had ced 14 in Spawn straightaway. Caesar had been ''kind'' enough to hint that the two undead fellows here were part of his secret to sess, so Darius didn''t even hesitate to improve them.


    He used the 4 remaining points to increase his Heal spell to level 5. Darius checked on the spell, and it now gave 25% HP to all targets selected by him, although he feared the effect it might have on the two skeletons.


    As for Spawn, Darius decided to check the changes before checking Gunner''s in detail.


    [Spawn - Level 15 Spell


    Cost: 4 MP


    Description: Channel the purest death energy through your body to form undead servants that do your bidding. Only two undead Liches are summoned at this level.]


    Darius'' eyes widened and his head snapped up as he looked at the two skeletons who were being covered by a wealth of ckish miasma, their forms transforming.


    Darius and Gunner retreated significantly as they noticed the energy surrounding the duo bing vtile,shing out at the area around them and spreading the aura of decay.


    The ground beneath them had be an ominously ck color with wisps of sickly green energy floating around. Darius frowned and Analyzed what he was looking at.


    [Blight Infection - Condition


    Durability: ?/?


    Description: Blight is the opposite of Avalon, the antithesis of living. It carries the aura of decay, illness, death, and suffering. It is not suitable for anything but Undead to live on for long periods of time without protection.]


    Darius nodded in understanding. So this had to be why despite the ins of Death housing many dangerous Undead, everyone had left it alone. How were they supposed tounch campaigns against the area if they were unable to stay inside for too long?


    This brought up the question of how he would protect himself from this effect? His mind shed and he gazed at Gunner who was ring at the dark ground with hostility, his green eyes burning with anger.


    While he waited for his two undead skeletons to finish their transformation, Darius opened Gunner''s menu and made sure his changes had beenpleted as nned.


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Sub-ss: Open


    HP: 400/400


    MP: 665/665


    Level: 19


    Exp: 790/2000


    Strength: 20


    Agility: 15


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 35


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 19


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: Engage - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.19, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 1, Berserker''s Rage - Lv.1, Earthen Punch - Lv.1, Basic Martial Arts - Lv.1


    Spells: None.]


    Gunner''s allocations had been straightforward and targeted. Darius had raised his Intellect from 13 points to 35 after using up 22 of his AP. The goal was to raise Gunner''s mana threshold as high as Darius possibly could, even though the fellow had no spells.


    As for the remaining 8 points, Darius had ced it in Luck obviously. He regretted not being able to send Gunner to 20 points of Luck, but reasoned that therged had one more level up to get there.


    Still, this raised the question, why increase his mana? Why not increase his Strength or his Endurance? 30 points could have sent either of them to the first threshold and could have resulted in a very useful ability!


    Why the hell would anyone waste it on Intellect of all things?


    Darius had done so because of Gunner''s cheat racial skill, Earth''s Guardian! The formerly level 9 skill had been raised to level 19 with Gunners 10 SP, creating a skill that was far more valuable than 50 points in any stat!


    [Earth''s Guardian - Level 19 Skill


    Cost: 15 MP per second


    Description: The natal skill of every royal blooded giant, this skill is a blessing of Gaia granted to her protectors which grants them the ability to borrow some of the''s power inbat. The user of this skill is granted +105% Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense for the duration of its activation.]

 Chapter 94 - 94

    With a boost of 105% to Strength and Endurance, Gunner would have more than 40 points in both stats, while his already tight defense would be doubled and so would his damage!


    While active, it was possible for therged to even defend against some Journeyman level attacks, Darius hoped. He had yet to fight a Journeyman in any category, so he could not gauge their power using his own.


    "Gunner, can you do something about this blight with your bloodline energy?" Darius inquired with suspicion.


    Gunner frowned and thought for a bit. "I feel like I can. Ever since it appeared, I feel a great disgust and itch to cleanse it from this earth in my body. Let me try something."


    Gunner stepped forward and ced his hand near the edge of the blight and closed his eyes. A greenish light emerged around his body that radiated powerful strength and fortitude.


    Gunner infused this energy into the blighted earth, turning it slowly from its ruined state to a healthy brown like before. Darius''s eyes shed as he saw this, realizing that this ability might be crucial to his foray into the ins of Death.


    Of course, he had two other things he nned to rely on, but they would be handled after he was done with this dungeon. For now, Darius turned his attention to Gunner''s mana consumption and saw that clearing this small patch of earth had drained more than 20% of his MP.


    Darius frowned as the efficiency was too low, but understood that it was a matter of time. Since Gunner did this on his own using his bloodline energy and not a skill of the Supreme System, he could improve its efficiency on his own with practice.


    Darius focused on his two Undead who had just aboutpleted their transformation. The ckish miasma surrounding them reduced greatly as their bony forms were revealed to Darius and Gunner.


    Both of them were simr but different. They were tall undead at around 7.4 ft and were floating above the ground with a blueish energy separating them from the earth. They wore long and distinctive robes that separated into 6 petal-like tails near their feet.


    Their hands were delicate but glowed with a cyan light, and so too their formerly greenish eye sockets. Not only was the glow of their color-changed Soul Fires much stronger than before, but their skulls had also changed in shape.


    From ugly, they had be streamlined and smaller, with two sharp canines on each side. They also wore hoods over their heads that added to their elegance as undead.


    Two Liches had been born!


    Darius and Gunner gazed at them with slight awe and apprehension, because they felt the difference between the former duo and their current forms were vastly different.


    However, one thing that hadn''t changed was their personalities.


    "Aye, Mikey. We done became Liches innit? Does that mean we can eat now?"


    "No you idiot, Undead is Undead. We ain''t gonna eat anything unless we cane back to life!"


    "A, I wish we could. I miss the taste of stale bread and green beans!"


    "Joneson, we only ate those because we were dirt poor, that doesn''t mean it was good food!"


    "Whatchu talking bout? I loved that stale bread! It so crunchyˇ­ rough and made me thirsty!"


    "Peh, only you would, after all. Me, If I could, I would eat only the finest dishes that them nobles could have!"


    "Mikey! How can you say that?! If the nobles hear ya, they''ll beat you then hang you!"


    "Joneson, you idiot, we''re dead! DEAD! Thest thing we near to fear is pain or hanging!"


    "Ohˇ­."


    Darius and Gunner shared an uncertain look before the former interrupted the duo of Undead. "Enough of that. What happens if I cancel the spell right now?"


    Mikey answered this. "We, plus any Undead we create, are sent into a special ne for summoned Undead created by your system to facilitate our existence."


    Darius nodded. At least, despite everything, the Supreme System was still able to make many concessions for him as well as many conveniences that no other Faustian could enjoy.


    Of course, the price for that was quite steep.


    Shaking off his gloomy thoughts, Darius then checked the character sheets for his two new undead to see if there were any changes.


    [Name: Joneson


    Race: Undead


    ss: Lich


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 400/400


    MP: 1300/1300


    Level: 18


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Endurance: ?


    Intellect: ?


    Charisma: ?


    Luck: ?


    Abilities: Absorb, Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote.


    Weapons: Cloth Armor.]


    [Name: Mikey


    Race: Undead


    ss: Lich


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 400/400


    MP: 1300/1300


    Level: 18


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Endurance: ?


    Intellect: ?


    Charisma: ?


    Luck: ?


    Abilities: Absorb, Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote.


    Weapons: Cloth Armor.]


    Darius was curious as to their exact stats. They definitely had to be higher than his and Gunner''s in many aspects for them to have so much mana and HP at level 18.


    Since he still could not a get a read on it, hemanded them: "Raise the corpses of the monsters Gunner and I killed here as well as the ones we''ll kill going forward."


    Joneson and Mikey nodded, raising the Ents, Killer Mushrooms, and Life Stealing Vines. Though,. Once they came to lifeˇ­ err, undeath, they were far different from their ''alive'' selves.


    The duo raised 3 Ents, 5 Killer Mushrooms, and 10 Life-Stealing Vines each, which was quite impressive. Darius continued towards the next cavern with Gunner and the two Liches quickly, his mind preupied with his other issues.


    In the next cavern, they encountered monsters between levels 15-17 just as Darius expected. For him and Gunner who were higher-leveledpared to before, this was not a problem.


    Gunner activated his newly upgraded skill and even activated Engage as well, focusing all enemy attention on his person. With a wicked smile, Gunner traded blows with all thoseing at him, allowing the extras to hit him in futility as his 200% defense made him practically impervious to all attacks within the Amateur Rank.


    Darius wasn''t idle, shing around with his Blink to drop fire on their enemies, causing them to screech and holler in agony. Darius'' firepower might not have increased, but his increased Luck worked strangely.

 Chapter 95 - 95

    Darius'' Luck manifested itself in easy critical hits. It seemed like whenever he sprayed his spell around, it would strike the weak points of the monsters someway somehow, through some bizarre spot ofˇ­ luck.


    Darius felt reassured that allocating points in that stat had been the best possible choice he could make just seeing its effect in battle. In about 3 minutes, the duo of Gunner and Darius had cleared out the monsters within this cavern, being granted their loot as they did so.


    As for the post-battle reportˇ­


    [You have gained 15 EXP, 10 Bloodleaf, 13 Andir Fruits, 4 Indigo Sap, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 15 EXP, 5 High Fibro, 9 Kisu Stem, 7 Forest Essence, etc.]


    Clearly, higher levels equaled low exp gain. In fact, both Darius and Gunner were lucky that these foes were within the 5 level boundary. Otherwise, forget 1 exp point, they would have to swallow a big fat nothing for their efforts.


    Largely undeterred, Darius gave Gunner some time to recover his mana before they charged into the next cavern which seemed to contain monsters between the levels of 18 and 19.


    Here too, Darius and Gunner adopted their same strategy from before, though since the monster concentration was lower, they were done much faster than previously.


    As for Joneson and Mikey, they were not allowed to participate in the fights yet, as Darius thought of a much better way to raise their levels outside of this.


    As such, they simply kept raising as many monsters as they could in the interim, greatly increasing their undead minion count. Once Darius and Gunner cleared thest but one cavern, the two Liches shared an uncertain look before following the duo in the final one.


    At the final cavern, which was the smallest of the lot, there was arge tree smack dab in the center. It was a monstrosity about three times the size of even Gunner, with thick branches and many vines in its boughs.


    Darius frowned as he Inspected it.


    [Treeant - Level 20 Monster


    HP: 600/600 MP: 250/250]


    Clearly, this one wasn''t as simple as those that came before. With such a high amount of HP and mana, it could prove to be a tough foe, Darius guessed.


    Darius had severely underestimated how annoying this would be. It turned out that the Treeant had nobat skills, only a healing spell that restored its HP over time and could stack.


    As such, he and Gunner had to spend almost 30 minutes just bringing it down. Darius had burned the Treeant until he was certain that it must have gained me immunity. He partially regretted not investing more into Ember, but shook that thought off.


    If he was free enough that he could continue to dungeon dive at his own leisure like he had been doing before, then there would be no problem. However, he had needed to allocate his points with his Quest in mind.


    Once they cleared the Treeant, Darius discovered that neither Joneson nor Mikey could raise monsters above their level, which was why they had left some corpses behind in the previous cavern.


    With a smile, he noticed that his drops for killing the Treeant were plentiful, unlike the experience which had been a measly 5 points that he and Gunner needed to share. Darius then noticed that the moment the treeant fell, two new paths at the back of the cavern were created.


    One was a set of stairs that led deeper into the bowels of the dungeon while the other set curved upwards, which seemed like a stairway to heaven from this point of view.


    Darius didn''t rashly enter any of them, rather choosing to investigate. After all, what if this dungeon was the type where one started at the bottom and had to climb up.


    So instead of floor 1 being closest to the surface, floor 1 would the deepest while the spelunker would have to take themselves back to the surface through their own efforts.


    Darius sent Joneson through the stairway to the upper levels while he sent Mikey down to the levels below. After waiting for about 5 minutes, he resummoned both Undead.


    Instead of breaking from the earth to gain life, this time, they materialized from small portals with a dangerous aura radiating from their forms that disgusted Darius subconsciously.


    Mikey and Joneson appeared from both portals in extremely different conditions. Mikey who had gone down, looked a bit beaten up and tired, while Joneson who had gone up looked fresh and chipper.


    When asked for an ount of their adventurers, Mikeyined about being sieged by monsters the moment he had entered the second floor. If it wasn''t for him sacrificing scores of his raised Undead to keep his enemies at bay long enough to be summoned back by Darius, he might have gotten seriously injured or worse.


    As for Joneson, he had appeared at the mouth of the dungeon, and the bright sunshine had shone on his dark form ominously. As such, the crowd at the front of the dungeon had been frozen for the majority of the time until near the end, when they had panicked at the arrival of a powerful Lich.


    Joneson evenughed and said that with how many officials they managed to gather in such a short amount of time to deal with him alone, he definitely would have been ruined had Darius not called him back in a timely manner.


    Left speechless by theck of awareness by the newly born Lich, Darius ascertained that going up was indeed the way out while going down would lead to further fighting.


    Darius desummoned the two Undead and walked up the stairs with Gunner. After going up 20 steps, the familiar sensation of being whisked through space and time to reach a destination as he found while he was at the mouth of the dungeon with his servant.


    This naturally attracted interest from onlookers as Darius was far too young for such responsibility, but Darius could care less about these blokes.


    They gazed at him and Gunner with envy as the duo headed to the debriefing counter and went through their adventurers as well as their acquisitions.


    Darius sold the amount he needed to the Guild for currency while he kept the rest.


    Of course, the rule about coughing up half of your assets was for Novices only. Amateur stage fighters and mages were important to society, so they got discounts like this with ease.

 Chapter 96 - 96

    Darius pocketed the money as he had some need for it in his daily expenses. The fact that he almost always paid in silver and hardly had any bronze coins was a serious problem since it was the most used currency on the daily.


    Besides that, there was the fact that he had little use for most of these drops at the moment. They only cluttered up his Inventory with their number and filled up many of his precious slots reserved for other things.


    In the case that he learned something like Alchemy or simr in the future, he could easilye back and clear the first floor for the same drops in that case, taking far less time than he had spent here today.


    As Darius walked away he pondered over the dungeon. His main purpose ining here had been to explore it and understand its purpose after all, so it was not strange that he would do so.


    Even though the Quest weighed heavily on his mind, he had to sit down and think carefully about what to do next, lest he ends up on a path outside the 56 sessful ones.


    Darius had learned how the dungeons of Faust worked after spelunking in this one. He now also fully understood why the Adventurers'' Guild was so cruel to Novices but sucked up to Intermediate Adventurers and above.


    The dungeons in Faust were instanced!


    Darius had learned that term from games in his past life. Instanced dungeons or scenarios, as Darius understood it, wereputer replicated environments that shared total simrity to one another usually, allowing multiple yers to experience a certain scene individually or in a group.


    In other words, instead of hundreds of yers crowding a single zone, everyone got their own version that was the same as the main but could be enjoyed by only them. Once they left, the instance would be destroyed to return much-neededputing/processing resources to the main server.


    Darius certainly understood why a feature like that was needed for a massively multiyer online game, but not for a world like Faust. Assuming Faust wasn''t a digital world, how did this even work?


    How did dungeons form? What caused it? Who created thews governing dungeons? Who provided the puting power'' for the instances dungeons create? How many instances could dungeons create at a time? Was there a way to return to a destroyed instance?


    How long could a single instance be kept active if one stayed stubbornly in the dungeon? How did resources generate? Were they perfectly replicated from an archetype, meaning that every run yielded the same amount of resources - forgoing the influence of the Supreme System - or was there a slight difference in every instance?


    What about monsters? Were they in the same situation as the resources? Were the same monsters present in every instance or were they mixed up with every run?


    Most importantly, what did dungeons or whoever was behind them gain from this? How did they get the energy to generate resources and monsters? Where was the main instance/true dungeon then? Was there even such a thing, and if yes was it even essible?


    So many questions, so little answersˇ­


    Darius realized that he would have to run many more dungeons after this stage climbing quest. It was imperative that he understand how such a feature of this world worked so he could maximize his profits off it.


    However, Darius gazed at the Novice Adventurers still rushing towards the dungeon with pity. They had no clue how cruel their position was in this world and how brutally they were being exploited.


    Darius had wondered, why contract so many weaklings to enter a dungeon instead ofpetent fellows? Why prioritize quantity over quality? Adventurers should be a select few skilled people, not just any random bloke who couldunch a kick.


    However, the answer had been found, the dungeons were instanced. What the Adventurers'' Guild, and even the Andrato Kingdom, needed were not powerfulbatants.


    They had those through the Intermediate and above Adventurers. What they needed was a mass of cannon fodder to enter the dungeon and harvest whatever they could quickly and get out.


    Since dungeons were instanced and assuming there were no limits to the number of instances, an infinite number of resources could be harvested from them! This raised the value of every dungeon out there exponentially, but also raised the problem of how to maximize gains!


    Sure, skilled fellows like Darius could clear the first floor and acquire many resources, but how many people of Darius'' skill level existed out here? No matter the number they were not enough to capitalize on the ''infinite'' instances of the dungeons!


    As such, gathering every able-bodied fellow and throwing them in had be the go-to method. If they die, then - as Darius theorized based on his knowledge of dungeons from fantasy games - their bodies and essence would most likely be absorbed by the dungeon to give it energy.


    If they lived and made it out with some resources, then the town or city would confiscate 50% of whatever they had grabbed in the name of fees while encouraging the fellows to sell the rest to them as well.


    The Adventurers Guild wasˇ­ Darius did not even know what to call it. He felt like he, the billionaire of Earth, had a lot to learn about business. Not about the fundamentals, but how to merge his skill with the world of Faust.


    For that, he would continue to learn more about the world and its rules. That was the only way to make the biggest profit wherever he went, though he understood that he could not solely focus on that since his goal was to amuse Vena.


    Darius eventually returned to The Great Escape Inn with Gunner in tow. It had taken them only a short few hours to clear the dungeon, but it was still evening.


    Seeing as dinner was being served, Darius decided to have a hearty meal with Gunner at their suite table. Darius noted that almost all the suite tables were full this time, meaning that even those fellows who had decided to skip out on breakfast and lunch hade back for dinner.


    This intrigued Darius and made him look forward to the meal.

 Chapter 97 - 97

    Darius wasn''t disappointed at all. They were eventually served with Braised Pork and Steamed White Rice, along with Tapian Sauce. The pork was said to be from a special boar from another town''s dungeon, while the rice came from the second floor of this town''s dungeon.


    Darius tried both and found that they were prepared to perfection. For a brief moment, Darius felt tempted to go and Analyze the Cook and find what level he had taken his Cooking skill to, and whether he should bother investing in that himself.


    Shaking his head, he rid himself of such thoughts. He knew the psychological trap Vena and Caesar had left in the design of the Supreme System in regards to SP, so he guarded himself against it at all times.


    As for the Tapian Sauce, it was a special cream-like topping that was meant to be eaten with the pork and the rice together, perfectlyplimenting both meals. Darius was also surprised to find that Tapian Sauce was made from the extract of the Killer Mushrooms.


    Once they were done with their meal, with Gunner once again gorging himself greatly to the shock of onlookers, Darius paid up the extra and trekked alongside his Branded Servant to their suite room.


    Once in their abode, Gunner moved to the bath to clean himself up without Darius needing to prompt him. It wasn''t that Gunner was unhygienic per se, but he often forgot to bathe at the right time, preferring to do it at his own leisure.


    Darius though, went to the bar and poured himself a drink. He thought deeply about how he was going toplete his quest and how to steer himself towards the path of the 56.


    The key method to do soy not in his considerations, but in the three hints that Caesar had provided. They were simultaneously vague and really telling, giving Darius a headache.


    In all 56 paths, there were three things he had done or utilized that served as amon denominator. Naturally, the AI had not been nice enough to list them in any particr order, so they could have urred at different points in all the paths.


    Not only that, but they also did not give him any clues as to what he should do in the interim to patch the holes in his sequence of actions/choices that led to a sessful oue.


    The most important thing was what Caesar hadn''t said, which was what quantified as a ''sess''. Sure, he had imed Darius would seed in 56 paths, but what if in 30 of them, he had lost an arm or/and a leg?


    What if in 15 of them, he had to sacrifice Gunner after stealing the item and them getting besieged? True, he would have passed the quest, but that did not constitute sess to Darius.


    What he needed and wanted was an oue where he took no permanent damage to his physical self, lost no item of value nor a servant/true ally. To him, that would constitute a total sess of the mission.


    Darius sipped his ginger ale lightly and smiled with amusement as he shook the ss. ''Just look at me, in a situation where I have such a low chance of sess and I dare to make demands. Hah, I''m truly a typical human. Still though, it''s not wrong to want the best, is it? Only when I know the perfect oue is unachievable will Ipromise and settle for the next best thing.''


    Highlighting these things gave Darius more ideas as he sat there. When Caesar had exined everything to him and gave the three hints, he hade up with his first and second steps already.


    Well, technically they were all one thing that was separated into part a and part b, but it was a matter of semantics.


    Darius needed to preserve three things, A Stitch In Time which gave him 9 chances to reset any ''bad end'', the Dagger of Death gave him 3 ''insta-kill'' chances on any target, and the duo of now undead Liches.


    So he did not add them to his ns, not yet. Part A was to first spend the next 7 or so days holed up in here, researching everything he could about the ins of Death by any means necessary.


    In the meantime, he would use his CP for each day to make a bevy of absolutely valuable items like Awakening Scrolls, Spark Potions, and more. He would also throw in some Journeyman spells as well as the Red Enchant he had been holding onto all this while.


    This was all for part B of the n, creating an opening. You see, after learning about Blight and his quest, Darius realized that it was impossible for him toplete this quest by singrly barging into the ins of Death and sneaking towards his goal.


    There would be too many enemies in his path to avoid them all and every little battle on his way would just make things worse,piling their stress and fatigue.


    As such, the best way was to create utter chaos in the ins of Death, a situation where the Undead there would be too busy and too spread out, allowing for Darius and Gunner to slip through the cracks and arrive at their destination rtively unscathed, or as whole as fate and the circumstances would allow them to be.


    To achieve this, he needed to create a scenario where chaos would reign supreme in thatnd. However, because of the blight infection, no one wanted to risk the journey, as it made it dangerous for the living.


    With that in mind, Darius had to create a reason for people of all ranks to rush into the ins of Death like crazed animals, upsetting the Undead there and turning the local bnce upside down.


    That was by using these items he would create during the week of research as a reward!


    That''s right, Darius was going to head into the Mercenary Guild on the 7th day and create a mission for the entire Andrato Kingdom, to head to the third band and kill the Stonekeeper!

 Chapter 98 - 98

    In some ways, it seemed clever, and in some, it seemed rash. What if by giving out this mission, instead of attracting people to work hard for him, they would rather cut corners and just ughter Darius or pressure the Mercenary Guild to cough up the reward?


    What if when they rush into the ins of Death and many of the weaker ones die - which frankly seemed inevitable - they would rise up as Undead and be troops for the zone?


    What if a group of Adept champions felt greedy and decided to charge into the third band and actually managed to kill the Stonekeeper, then found the First Resurrection Stone? What if they realized it was more valuable than anything Darius could offer and refused to cough it up?


    Once Darius generated this first step, he realized he had found around 300,000 possible oues that Caesar calcted at the least. Of course, he couldn''t perform such heavyputation on his own, even with 50 points in Intellect, but he could vaguely see the paths.


    There were many ''what if''s'' that gued this n, but it was the best Darius coulde up with in the interim, because he absolutely needed to take time off to research the ins of Death in detail.


    Rushing off because he was pressured by the 1-month deadline would be relying on luck a bit too much. Darius had inferred from Vena and Caesar''s talk that he was some sort of protagonist in this Faustian saga, but Darius was a realist.


    In the media he had consumed with his family on Earth, no matter the rashness or carelessness of protagonists, they would always be protected by luck and some cosmic force because the writers could not have the story end for obvious reasons.


    Unfortunately for Darius, his ''writers'' Caesar and Vena would not shed a single tear if they were forced to rece him upon failure. There were billions or possibly trillions of souls they could pull from death to turn into a new ''protagonist'', just like they had done for him.


    Up until now, Darius wasn''t even sure if he was the first one to be sent out. It seemed a bit far-fetched to think of himself as the Chosen One, and the first test subject of Vena. It was more likely he had just been another one that fit the criteria.


    As such, Darius had to act like he was on his own and that nothing would miraculously save him at thest minute. Caution was imperative and so was careful nning.


    It was what had saved him many times on Earth, from his rivals'' plots to the wandering eye of the public as well as the authorities. Of course, there was some reliance on luck, which was something Darius always made room for.


    Whether on Earth or in Faust, Darius had always believed that luck made 1% of his sess chance for any endeavor. The rest was, of course, made up of hard work and foresight.


    Settled on his n, Darius went to take a bath since Gunner had long since finished and was about to head off to sleep. Darius himself needed to rest after the long day, so after his bath, he nned to nod off.


    However, there was a soft knock on his door that surprised him. Who woulde searching for him at thiste hour?


    Once he opened the door, still with a towel wrapped around his waist and his chest bare, he noticed that it was the girl he had called the other night, Emily. She wore a slightly revealing blue dress and bowed to Darius once she saw him, revealing slightly more.


    "Good evening, Sir Darius. I was interested in knowing if you would like to request my service tonight, too?" Emily asked forwardly, forcefully suppressing her rising worry and shame.


    Darius tilted his head in genuine confusion. "Not tonight. I''m quite tired today. However, from tomorrow evening, you can visit me as your regr."


    Emily had been saddened by his response at first, but lit up when he informed her of his intention to requisition her in theing days. With another dainty curtsy, she acquiesced.


    "It shall be my pleasure, Sir Darius."


    As she was about to leave and Darius was closing the door, the fellow noticed Gunner on the bed who was sleeping soundlessly this time. This reminded him of something as he quickly stopped Emily.


    "Also, when you''reing next time, bring a friend."


    Emily was startled by this, "Am I not good enough, Sirˇ­?"


    Darius shook his head, opening the door slightly more to reveal the sleeping Gunner. "I was thinking of my servant."


    "Ah.." Emily eximed, remembering thed who had remained asleep the entire time she had serviced Darius previously.


    Darius turned back to gaze at Gunner once more before adding with a bitter tone. "Also, make sure your friend isˇ­ durable. Otherwise, it would be a disaster."


    Emily nodded as her lips twitched. Seeing the size of Gunnerpared to Darius, she could infer many things. Luckily, she had a circle of friends that should be able to meet these requirements.


    Done with her nightly visit, Emily bowed once more before leaving, Darius'' eyes trailing her form as she left. With a slight smile, the fellow closed the door and went to rest, his mind back to pressing matters.


    * * *


    Time passed quickly when you were on a deadline. Darius spent the first day purchasing all books he could about the ins of Death and read them diligently.


    He even found time to visit Bistro and Lord Spencely to discuss with them the details of the ins of Death. Darius did it openly, stating that he had a target there he had to kill.


    Lord Spencely and Bistro were intrigued by what Darius nned to offer and even gave him advice on how to arrange things in a way that would best benefit him and the Mercenary Guild.


    The best part was that both Spencely and Bistro promised him that they would inform the leader of the Mercenary Guild of his eventual visit so everything could be negotiated smoothly.

 Chapter 99 - 99

    Today was the 7th day since Darius had gone on his weekly recluse of learning. The hour waste and the sky was dark. Within their suite room, the magically enhanced lighting showed the form of four people, two on each bed.


    Dariusy beneath the sweaty form of Emily, who had an enraptured expression on her face. To be honest, Darius was beginning to find her a bit creepy with how fixated she was on his body after this week, but thankfully, today should be thest day.


    As for Gunner, he rose off the top of a tall girl with was definitely more than 6"5. She was simr to Emily, dark-skinned, above-average attractiveness, and absolutely bombshell figures.


    The only difference what that this one had forked ears, telling of her heritage, which was Dark-Elf! In truth, not many of them existed in this part of the world, but apparently, Emily was friends with one who happened to live and work in a popr Listo brothel.


    The dark elf was shaking beneath Gunner, her tall body twitching. Gunner himself had an awkward expression as he was aware that in his life, he would probably only be able to copte with a select few women due to his sizeˇ­ in more than one aspect.


    Darius''s lips twitched as he saw this, and as he had done for the past few nights, he sent a heal over her way. The Dark Elf girl, called Fashina, quickly settled down and came to her senses.


    She wore a bright smile as her eyes glowed at the sight of Gunner. Just like she had the first night, she threw her arms around his neck and screamed: "Marry me, Gunner!"


    Gunner was left confused - as usual - and turned to Darius, who chuckled and spoke to Emily. "Your friend is at it again."


    Emily came down from her high and got off Darius, cleaning herself down there with some tissues as she spoke to her friend who never bothered to clean up.


    "Fashina, stop it. Lord Darius and Lord Gunner are not looking for wives, just escorts. If you keep pestering him, he might not call you back."


    Fashina let go of Gunner with a look of horror. It seemed that the idea that she would not get toy with Gunner like this again shocked her greatly, which amused the duo on the other bed.


    After the past few nights with Emily and her friend, Darius had understood why Emily had brought Fashina over despite her not being 100% able to ''handle'' Gunner down there.


    The thing was, Fashina - and possibly most female Dark Elves - enjoyed very rough intercourse. In essence, they were masochists of a sort.


    However, ording to what Darius had read about them, their society was matriarchal, and because of the constant abuse, Dark Elven males were veryˇ­ soft.


    Soft was even a nice term. On Earth, most men would describe them as soy. They had very little testosterone, which even made their features more beautiful than their female counterparts.


    If it wasn''t for the survival of their race, it was said the Dark Elf Queens would have expelled all the males from their ns in fury. So this created a situation where after centuries of gic evolution and developmentˇ­ the ''starved'' female Dark Elves responded quite kindly to intercourse that was rough because it was moreˇ­ dominating?


    Clearly, Darius understood very little about biology in this aspect and did not understand how such a circumstance coulde to be, but he was experiencing it live in the flesh.


    Whatever the case, Darius helped Emily clean herself up in the bathroom. Emily smiled in thanks for his consideration. As for Gunner, he was not used to these things like Darius was, so he just cleaned his own self up.


    As for Fashina, she seemed content to keep Gunner''s discharge within. Another thing about Dark Elf female biology was that they were simr to subi in the sense that they could control their wombs manually.


    Of course, seeing her behavior on the first night, Darius had made it clear to Fashina that should she chose to bear Gunner''s child, she would have to raise it on her own, and he did it quite coldly too.


    However, the Dark Elf seemed unbothered. ording to her, she just liked the feeling of it being there, so Darius had given up and decided that in a world with more species, there were bound to be more fetishes.


    Soon, Emily and Fashina left the room, allowing Gunner and Darius to rest. Gunner quickly fell asleep thanks to the post-intercourse fatigue, and Darius also felt himself wanting to nod off.


    However, he made sure topile his knowledge during the course of the week into his mind. He had already developed a few ns after the visit to the Mercenary Guild, but it would depend on the reaction of the public to see which path would be optimal.


    Yawning, Darius eventually sumbed to a peaceful sleep.


    * * *


    The next day, Darius and Gunner enjoyed a hearty breakfast in the dining area of The Great Escape Inn. By this time, the people had gotten used to Gunner''s insane appetite, though it was still quite weird that he saw Emily every morning.


    Apart from that, she always hung around their table and handled their orders, making it noticeably difficult for other servers to get a crack at them.


    Darius took it in stride, but he made a note to avoid her once his noble''s residence was built. On the topic of that, he remembered that it would take about a month for all four plots to be fully developed, starting from the time he made themission.


    This naturally meant that should heplete his quest just on the deadline, he would be weed by his new castle and shops. With them and his Journeyman status - assuming he seeded - things would be much smoother.


    As such, Darius and Gunner confidently took a carriage to the southern part of the town, where the Mercenary Guild was located.


    It was time to put the n into action.

 Chapter 100 - 100

    Once they reached their destination, Darius exited the carriage with Gunner in tow. The carriage rode off on its own, probably to pick up another willing customer for its service.


    As for the duo, they looked straight ahead to see a building that was styled almost perfectly like the Adventurers'' Guild, only that it was about 5 timesrger. Darius noted that the traffic here was even higher as well.


    Smiling, he entered the building with his Branded Servant and inspected itsyout. Just like the Adventurers'' Guild, there were screens set up on both sides of the walls, only that while the Adventurers Guild had a select few, the Mercenary Guild had many of them.


    What took up more than 60% of the room''s space though, was the bar and lounge to the northeast. Instead of crowding the screens like in the Adventurers'' Guild, the mercenaries here spent their time drinking and chatting at the lounge, and the entire area was almost full.


    There was also a reception counter near the northwest, which Darius and Gunner walked towards after a cursory inspection. Unlike the Adventurers'' Guild where a nobled entering the building would lead many to pause whatever they were doing, hardly anyone paid attention to Darius here, as if he was an invisible bug.


    It couldn''t be helped, it was just the quality difference between mercenaries and adventurers in Faust. Adventurers were able-bodied fighters who fought dungeon monsters for resources, while mercenaries took on professional jobs likebat, protection, and extermination.


    It was likeparing normal league football to the World Cup matches. They all kicked a ball, sure, but there was a quality gap in the yers and expectations.


    Darius reached the counter and was greeted by a chipper youngdy who was respectful. "Greetings, Young Master. How may I help you?"


    Darius had to admit, the Mercenary Guild was better than their counterpart in every way. Just the reception alone made him feel pleased and more likely to return.


    "I''d like to talk to Mr. Carlton. I have an appointment today, in the name of Darius Stone." Darius replied.


    The receptionist became even more respectful when she heard the name of the branch chairman being mentioned. She flipped through the list and nodded, raising her dainty head up.


    "Lord Stone? Please follow me to the chairman''s office, please."


    Darius nodded and followed the girl through the stairs on the western end of the lobby, passing through the lounge area to head upwards. It had to be said that mercenaries, while seemingzy, were quite keen.


    Once they saw the receptionist leading Darius upwards, their eyes shed as they realized that thisd must be some big fish. Many noted his face and his servant, carving it into memory.


    Not to do him harm, they were not stupid. They mostly did so in order to make sure they did not cross him wrongly. After all, if they tried to kill him and seeded, surviving or escaping was another story.


    Darius climbed many flights of stairs with the receptionist, the youngdy gging slightly at the 5th floor. Luckily, this was their destination as she adroitly took them through some hallways, eventually reaching arge set of double doors.


    Knocking lightly, thedy waited for approximately 30 seconds before she opened the door, leading Darius and Gunner into arge office. This one was carpeted with a tiger print flooring, with arge desk in the center.


    There were no books here, only workout equipment that one would see at a gym, including some training dummies. The decoration was sparse, but meaningful, with various trophies from in monsters hung up on the walls and a few ques lined equidistantly.


    Currently, the one who should be behind the desk was going at it with a nearby training dummy. Only stopping when he saw that Darius was waiting for him.


    When Carlton turned around, Darius was privy to the man''s height and stature, which were both quiteˇ­ good. Standing at 6"3, Carlton was a well-built man with rough features.


    He looked a lot like the main character from a game Darius had seen during his youthˇ­ what was his name againˇ­? Right, Duke Nukem.


    Unlike the fictional character though, Carlton had short curly hair that was matted with sweat, piercing brown eyes, and no cigar in his mouth. He was bare-chested with only a pair of loose shorts on, making the girl who led them here blush.


    Carlton walked over to Darius and towered over him for a second before stretching out a hand. "Greetings, Darius Stone. I have been expecting you."


    Darius unhesitatingly shook Carlton''s hand, despite it being slightly sweaty, and all without a change of expression from his trademark soft smile.


    "Greetings, Chairman Carlton. It''s my pleasure to be in your presence today."


    Being polite was usually the best way to get the respect of another person, and the situation did not change with Carlton. He nodded appreciatively towards Darius and gestured to a seat opposite his desk.


    "Please sit, Lord. I''ll clean myself up and be with you in a moment." Carlton suggested as he exited his office through a door on the left. From a quick nce, Darius could tell that it was some kind of living quarters.


    It was quite minimalistic and very clean, but that was about all he could glean from such a quick and cursory nce. Once Carlton entered, the girl who had led them here bowed and retreated from the room, closing the door.


    In the silence, Darius nodded to Gunner who came to stand behind his chair respectfully. Therged seemed like a true bodyguard, though both parties knew who was technically stronger.


    It didn''t take Carlton long to get himself cleaned up. He seemed to have taken a quick shower and wore more presentable clothes, though it came in the form of some strangely exotic looking hide armor.


    Carlton moved to his seat and slowly ced himself into it, ncing at Gunner for a split second before gazing at Darius.


    With an amiable smile, Carlton spoke: "So, Bistro and Nichs tell me you have a job for my guild?"

 Chapter 101 - 101

    Darius smiled softly. "That''s right, Chairman Carlton. I wish to issue a mission to all mercenaries. Not only those in Listo, but throughout the entire Andrato Kingdom. In fact, if it''s possible, I would wee for it to be open to all capable outsiders as well."


    Carlton gestured for Darius to continue. "You had my curiosity, but now you have my full attention."


    Darius raised a finger. "Firstly, although this will likely limit the number of participants, realistically only those at the Amateur and above stages stand a chance ofpleting the mission."


    Darius raised another finger. "Secondly, I''d like for all participants to sign a life waiver as I''m not willing to be held ountable for their lives."


    Carlton''s eyes shed. "All mercenaries know that there is a risk of death on all missions, but for you to actively warn them about it... I can already tell that it will be something quite dangerous, so I hope you''ve prepared appropriate rewards for it."


    "Indeed, I have. Here are some of the items I n to use as a reward." Darius replied softly as he waved his hand.


    From his Inventory came 10 items neatly arranged as his hand passed over the table. Once Carltonid eyes upon them, his pupils constricted sharply and his calm breathing hitched significantly.


    His reaction was not out of ce, as Darius had ced exactly 5 Scrolls of Awakening and 5 Spark Potions before him. Anyone of any stage would have such a reaction when so muchˇ­ wealth, was ced before them.


    These items didn''t represent wealth in terms of money, but capital! With these, any person or faction could create a force of Amateurs that they could raise to be Journeymen or Adepts in the future!


    Most people out there naturally awoke, as not many could afford or acquire Spark Potions or Scrolls of Awakening, especially since the chance of sess tended to vary depending on the quality.


    An ex-Royal Guard like Shanks had trouble getting some for his two kids while they were young, proving just how rare and valuable they were.


    Carlton himself had never seen such an array, and he was certain that the same would hold true for any other Branch Chairman. Perhaps only the Royal Family and the top echelon of the two factions in the capital could pull out something like this and offer it as a reward instead of keeping it for themselves.


    He soon reined himself in and raised his head, smiling at Darius. "Well, with this much as part of the rewards, it''s difficult for me to imagine the magnitude of the mission you''re about tomission. I hope it has nothing to do with treason?"


    Darius chuckled and shook his head. "Far from. One could say I would be doing Andrato, and every other kingdom on Fallon a favor. My objective is quite simple. I want anyone of any stage to enter the ins of Death, head to the third band to kill the Stonekeeper Marasmus."


    Carlton''s cid smile died instantly and was reced by a dark frown. "Thank you, Lord Stone, but my guild has no intentions of hosting this mission. If there''s nothing else, you may leave."


    Darius nodded as if he had expected such a response. As such, he waved his hand once more, and added 12 more items to the table. Now there were 8 Spark Potions, 8 Scrolls of Awakening and 6 ''fixed'' Journeyman spells before Carlton.


    The Chairman''s frown deepened, yet instead of berating Darius, he rudely took the items up and inspected them one by one. Although he could sense the tendrils of Mind Power from Darius as an Adept fighter, he still could not believe anyone so young could have so much wealth.


    As such, he opened the Journeyman spellbooks one by one and skimmed through them. He might not be a mage, but a learned and experienced man like him could tell the difference between an upleted spell, an average quality one, and a good quality one.


    Once he was done, his face was heavy. These spells could not be described as merely ''good''ˇ­ they were perfection itself!


    Why despite not being someone who had awakened to magic, even Carlton felt like his mana was moving around in his body and he knew his Intelligence had increased, and so did his life level, slightly.


    With the same silence, he took the Scrolls of Awakening and checked through them one by one, putting them aside once he was done, before uncorking the Spark Potions.


    He sniffed them slowly at first, then dipped a finger in and brought it out to taste. People who had Sparked or Awakened once could not do so twice, especially at Carlton''s stage.


    So far, only the Supreme System gave that benefit to Darius and Gunner, where they could learn spells and skills both, with some restrictions based on their ss and sub-ss.


    Darius watched Carlton inspect his rewards with a light smile. Gunner frowned but did not make any moves, yet his intense green eyes revealed his displeasure.


    Once the Mercenary Branch Chairman was done, he sighed heavily before finally gazing at Darius with a defeated look.


    "You should already be aware that the third band is a ce full of Adepts. So why do you ask me to send out Amateurs and Journeyman to their deaths?"


    Darius shook his head.


    "It was never my intention to send anyone to their death. I''ve always nned to issue it as apound mission. One, every party that heads out to the ins of Death, either as a group or alone, should have to register to your guild at any branch so we have them on file."


    "Two, once there. I want them to kill any Undead theye across. To incentivize this, I suggest we implement a point system. 1 point for every basic Undead, 5 points for Amateur Undead, 20 points for Journeyman Undead, and 50 points for Adept Undead."


    "Three, the main goal remains to kill Stonekeeper Marasmus, and whoever manages it will be rewarded heavily. I shall give you the details of this being, where he resides, and what kind of protection he is likely to have, so you can share it among all candidates."


    Darius settled in his chair. "After all, we don''t want the elites thinking we''re sending them in as test subjects or cannon fodder. Let''s furnish them with enough information that if they fail, they can only me it on their own ipetence."


    Carlton listened quietly up to here and retorted. "That might sound nice, but you will only get fools to go forth for you. While they might be plenty, their quality is absolute rubbish. You''d be feeding the ins of Death more than culling it!"


    Darius nodded. "That is true, and is why I shall exin to you how we''re going to go about this, so we won''t end up sending out suicide squads."

 Chapter 102 - 102

    "The first thing you need to understand is that the three points I raised earlier are cebos mostly, especially the second one. The point system is just a valueless currency on its own."


    Darius tapped on the Spark Potions on the table. "That is why every reward here will be given a value ording to our point system before being disyed."


    Carlton''s eyes shined, but he quickly suppressed it. "While I do apud your brain foring up with such a system, I can''t help but find ws with it. What if someone, say an Adept, tries to y clever and farm endless amounts of Amateur or Journeyman Undead to redeem your rewards?"


    "You might be able to pay it for one such person, but what if many do the same? It would be catastrophic if the team who killed the Stonekeeper returns asking for their reward, but you would have already lost it all to those abusing the system."


    Darius chuckled. "Excellent points, Sir Carlton, but you are forgetting one thing."


    "The main point of mymission is to kill Marasmus, and that is exactly where the priority lies. The point system is just something to galvanize many parties to head into the ins of Death and create murky waters, so that those who are truly skilled can fish in them." Darius exined while tapping the table with a finger lightly.


    Carlton''s eyes glowed once more, this time not suppressing it anymore. "So you n to give these items absurd points values?"


    Darius nodded. "Exactly. They will be priced to give greedy fellows hope without making it easy to abuse. Ideally, they will see that if they have the power it would be more worthwhile to fight stronger Undead."


    "As for getting the higher factions... I assume it''s fair to say that by just posting the mission, some might attempt to clear it, but most would sit back and watch. After all, unlike you, they cannot verify the quality of the items I''ve put on disy."


    Dariusughed yfully. "But isn''t there an easy solution for that? Please send all of these items to the capital''s main branch and allow any interested party to inspect them. Once they verify the quality, do you think any of them would dare to sit on their asses and let this chance pass by?"


    Carlton nodded repeatedly. "So far, so good. However, as you might be aware, there are many kinks for us to iron out before this can work."


    Darius agreed. "Of course. Let''s start with thepliance and remuneration for your guild. I''m willing to provide 7 Spark Potions and 7 Scrolls of Awakening a week from now."


    "Secondly, the method of protection. I believe your guild has enough strength to keep evil parties from stealing or iming these goods, but to be safe, you can mention that you''re transporting precious items by a Master stage expert."


    Darius opened his hands in a helpless gesture. "After all, who in their right mind would believe that an Adept could make such high-quality products? It would be better to spin it as a mission from a higher stage expert from another empire."


    "Finally, in the case of any unexpected event that creates a situation in which my rewards do - in fact - run short, redirect them to my shop which is opening in the town at the end of the month."


    Darius tapped the scrolls and potions on the table with a soft smile. "I intend to sell items like the ones you see before you. They can redeem their points there if necessary. They''re also free to select other items."


    Done with his proposal, Dariusid back in his seat and left Carlton to think. The older man pondered for a bit, before rising to his feet and grabbing a parchment from his table.


    He spoke onto the parchment and threw it out the window. Both Gunner and Darius watched in awe, as the parchment hung there like it was floating. Not only that, Carlton seemed to be speaking into it while Darius and Gunner could make out some words from where they sat.


    After 5 minutes, Carlton nodded his head and turned his body as the parchment burned away into ash by itself. He sat down before Darius with a wide smile and stretched his hand out.


    "The Mercenary Guild of Andrato Kingdom is pleased to be working with you, Baron Stone."


    ............


    Darius left the Mercenary Guild with a heavy heart.


    As a businessman, he understood that there were times when one had to take risks, and this time, he was probably taking the biggest. To the uninformed, those negations might seem to have gone smooth, but in reality, they had been anything but...


    In the eyes of the Mercenary Guild, as well as his own, he had acted like a rich sucker. He had paid up far too much for what was just the first phase of his n.


    To have tentatively wasted 2 weeks'' worth of CP, especially when they were a form of capital which he could have used to increase his options, just this really miffed the fellow. However, he didn''t have the luxury to bargain or y around, this Quest was too brutal.


    At 100 times the average difficultyˇ­ only 56 ''sessful'' paths of 1.2 billionˇ­ there was no room forfort or ying around. Still, once he became a Journeyman, everything would be different then.


    His CP cap would increase, there would be fewer restrictions on the ability, and he would gain a new ability from the Itemancer ss. That was not even mentioning the power increase in terms of stats he could gain and most importantly, the endless spells he would be able to ess!


    Darius'' eyes shined with greed as his lust over the stage increase, but he quelled it. Thinking of what he could gain if he seeded, his exorbitant spending in achieving it felt less irksome.


    Darius returned to The Great Escape Inn with Gunner. In his original n, he and Gunner would head outter today to get closer to the zone and check on Poleria Homestead as well as Foldo''s work.


    However, he now had to wait in the town for the mission to be advertised and sent out, as well as to create the items he had promised the Mercenary Guild as remuneration.


    Since it was just about afternoon, Darius had lunch with Gunner in the dining area then returned to their room to rest and await the grand show.

 Chapter 103 - 103

    April 6th 8760 of the Faustian 4th generation calendar.


    It was supposed to be just a normal Tuesday in the Andrato Kingdom as people went to work, peddled, or bought goods and provided legal - or illegal - services.


    However, this day was destined to be remembered in history.


    An uproar tore through the Andrato Kingdom, originating from the capital city, it soon reached every city and town within. The source of themotion was threefold.


    Mercenaries who had gone to the boards to check if there were any interesting quests were greeted with one that was highlighted on their most important job board.


    Usually, it was reserved for jobs from the Royal Family, yet this new job was ced at the very top. As such, many stopped to take a look, their expressions warping greatly once they read through the details while they began sweating profusely.


    Many couldn''t believe their eyes and quickly went to confirm with their respective Branch Chairmen. Once they found out that things were even better than they had expected, many mercenaries took the lead to get a headstart.


    This was something Darius and the Mercenary Guild had tacitly agreed to. Not only that, but the higher-staged mercenaries got furnished with many more secrets and special infopared to others, for obvious reasons.


    The second source of themotion was the daily criers. There were no newspapers in Fallon and news was usually transported through daily criers who would stand at important boulevards and corners to shout the various announcements from the crown, or anyone who paid them to really.


    The criers came in thete morning to make their announcements. Since there was nothing much that today, they were able to quickly get to the topic that they had been paid quite lucratively for.


    Once the criers shouted it out, even they couldn''t believe what they were saying as their voicers faltered, but as they continually repeated it, they returned to normal.


    As for the passersby though, many of them froze where they stood, iprehension and confusion on their faces. They stopped and waited for the criers to repeat their rounds and hear the announcement again.


    Some people even waited for the third round before making sure it wasn''t a joke yed by the little chap(s). In fact, many stopped the little chaps then bullied the info out of them, where they got it and who paid them to say it.


    When they heard that the Mercenary Guild was behind everything, many rushed over to the various branches in their towns or cities, only to notice that they were all empty. After all, the majority of registered mercs had long since moved out, so who would be there to y around.


    Once therge crowds saw the mainboard with the quest which held the same details they had heard by the roadside, they shook.


    This was too much! This was game-changing!


    The deal got sealed when the various Branch Chairmen simultaneously appeared in their various lobbies and told the citizens within that everything was true and the Mercenary Guild could vouch for it.


    The crowds rushed out to inform their friends, family, as well as various allies about this development and what they should do about it. Many able-bodied youths who could fight quietly registered at the various branches and headed out.


    In fact, in front of the Mercenary Guild was a scene simr to MMORPG games from earth.


    "A team of 3 looking for a Priest or a Druid! nning to raid the ins of Death!"


    "A Journeyman Mage looking for a team! I know 10 offensive and 3 defense spells!"


    "Recruiting for a coalition of Amateurs! No matter your skills or power, join us to clear the first band safely!"


    "Adept Fighter looking for cronies! Only join if you''re willing to listen to my orders!"


    It was quiteical, but no passerbyughed. Many regretted being weak or unable to fight at this time. If they could get a Scroll of Awakening or Spark Potion, they would be set for life.


    Their status would change drastically, even though they would -rgely - stay the same. However, the trap here was that to get those items, one needed to already be awakened and powerful.


    Otherwise, they would just be seeking death.


    Many of those who had registered were Intermediate Adventurers and above. Experience in fighting monsters made them certain that they could easily get this done, which was partially true.


    Not to mention many had felt pressured since they had seen the mercs had run off to chew this cake and eat it. It was clear to anyone with a brain that they were trying to capitalize on their advantage and keep all the rewards in-house.


    Soon, there was a line of people rushing out of the town to journey towards the ins of the Death at the far north. It was almost like a pilgrimage of sorts with how busy the roads and pathways became, but anyone in the know was aware that it was just a greed-fueled venture to swallow great benefits.


    However, in the end, there was still one problem. None of the truly powerful people had moved out yet. So far, it was only the mercs and the rabble. Those affiliated with various forces and factions were naturally tempted but were waiting by the side to watch the oue.


    This was something Darius and Carlton had expected, so they had prepared for it. This was the third source of outrage for the day.


    The capital''s Mercenary Guild had invited the leaders of all these powers to verify the quality of the items up for reward. They were free to use any methods they had short of ingesting or using the items on the spot to verify their quality.


    Curious, many fellows came forth, not only to give the Mercenary Guild some respect, but to find out if they really had a Master-stage expert pushing this forward.


    Naturally, once many of the various Adept leaders had performed the same tests that Carlton himself had done, their faces turned red with excitement. If not for the Mercenary Chairman and contingent of powerful fighters beside him, it would have most definitely turned into a Battle Royale.

 Chapter 104 - 104

    In truth, the items had almost been taken away regardless. When greed festers to a certain point, logic gets thrown out the window. What saved the day - and shocked everyone - was that the Royal Family had moved out their guards, who came to stand behind the Mercenary Guild.


    In the name of protecting order and strengthening the youth of the nation, they gave their full support for this mission. As such, the various heads smiled and shamelesslyughed in agreement before leaving.


    No one understood why the Royal Faction, which had been greatly suppressed by the Superiority and Equality Factions would suddenly jump into this murky water, but the eyes of some clever ones had shone as they smelled a plot.


    It was either that the Royal Faction wanted to hug the thigh of this Master-stage expert who was rumored to have issued this quest by openly supporting him, or that they were willing to represent him in the Andrato Kingdom alongside - or preferably, over - the Mercenary Guild.


    Another reason could be because they wanted to stir up chaos and force the Equality Faction as well as the Superiority Faction to move out. Whichever the case, many parties cursed under their breath, for the Royals had yed a great card so early.


    Of course, now that the quality of the goods had been ascertained and affirmed to be higher than anything produced locally or imported, the various powers quickly set out.


    Basically, except for their leaders or vices, everyone else rushed out with their various means of transportation. The only ones who didn''t participate were the Royal Faction, who didn''t even have the forces to do so.


    The Equality Faction was the strongest faction in the Andrato Kingdom currently, with more than 90% of all nobles supporting the group. The Superiority Faction made up the remaining 10%, but they were agents of Fraterina.


    With funding and support provided from a higher-ss kingdom, they had been able to hold on so far. In fact, their number of Adepts had grown rapidly these past few years after being fed resources of higher quality, but even they paled inparison to what Darius had provided.


    In moving out, the Superiority Faction wanted to secure more clout and funding from the Fraterina Kingdom, so they thought toplete the mission and send the rewards upwards.


    As for the Equality Faction, they simply couldn''t allow the Superiority Faction to give Fraterina any reason to increase their rival''s war budget. They also felt that if they could acquire these resources and use them locally, they could strengthen the kingdom''s youth.


    Technically, the Equality Faction and Royal Faction were one, but they did not make it seem like so on the surface, yet any idiot could tell. The moves the factions were making carried heavy meanings and consequences, but Darius could care less.


    Vena - through Caesar - had told him he was basically an element of chaos. He was an evil soul brought into a rtively stable and functional world to amuse her by any means necessary, so he would do so.


    One thing Darius always had in mind that most forgot to acknowledge was that he wasn''t alone in this bid. He was the main stage actor, and who were his supporting cast?


    The world of Faust and its people!


    Whether they liked it or not, whether they were aware or not, Darius would drag them into his ys and force them to dance like monkeys to amuse the Goddess, something he himself was forced to do.


    Just like now. In order to achieve his goal, he had thrown an entire kingdom into utter chaos. Whether Andrato would benefit from this or be crippled, who knew?


    And who cared?


    ...............


    Darius himself was seated at the bar within his suite as he contemted the possible consequences of his actions that would affect himself and his interests. He had nned most everything out, but the move by the Royal Faction ended up surprising him.


    Darius believed that neither Bistro nor Lord Spencely had told the Equality Faction about the truth of this mission. In fact, even Carlton had lied to his boss about many things.


    That''s right, the chairperson of the entire Mercenary Guild legitimately believed that there was a Master-stage expert behind them, which was why he even dared to agree but felt as if he had not had any other choice.


    Had Carlton not done so, they would never have epted Darius''mission without taking more payment. This was why Carlton reported that Darius nned to reward them with 5 each of the Spark Potions and Awakening Scrolls, not 7.


    As for the rest, did it need to be said?


    Right now, Darius was nning to sit and watch the events y out. His involvement was not necessary, at least not this early into the n. For the time being, he was content to prepare some things he had been nning to when he was in the dungeon.


    He had only been interrupted then because of his sudden level up as well as Caesar''s eventual descent, but he could rectify things now.


    As such, he pulled out one of his four remaining empty spell manuals and focused.


    [Would you like to change the Empty Spell Manual into a Light Spell Manual? This will cost 4 Conversion Points.]


    Darius made the conversion and watched as the manual transformed into a book that radiated a holy light. It felt like should it shine on the undead, it would rend them to ash under the edification of purity.


    He then learned the spell before checking out its function through his Character Menu.


    [Detected spellbook. Would you like to learn its contents?


    Warning: The spellbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]


    [Purify - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Be a conduit for the light of the world, spreading purity while cleansing all darkness and evil. This deals 5% light damage.]


    Darius nodded with satisfaction. This would be a useful spell in dealing with the various Undead he was bound to meet on his way to the Stonekeeper.

 Chapter 105 - 105

    One might wonder why Darius hadn''t learned Purify earlier and allocated his Skill Points into it, yet there were good reasons for that.


    In essence, Darius was certain that many of his iterations must''ve specialized in Intelligence and this spell, turning him into an Undead yer. However, none of the three things Caesar had mentioned involved spells, hence why he chose to prioritize as he did.


    Darius already knew how the spell system of Faustrgely worked and even had ns of dabbling in the Magical Method once hepleted his Journeyman Quest.


    He was certain that with his Intellect and creativity as someone from modern Earth, he could think up far more unique and versatile spells. Of course, if he was feelingzy, he could do some half-hearted work and have his Transmutation ability ''fill in'' the rest.


    As he had learned, the basic spells that only Amateurs could use were cantrips that had variable power depending on the way it was learned. Basic spells were not created by mages but existed in the world as a form of universalw.


    You could not make new or variable Amateur spells - well, not including the Supreme System as it was aw of its own - you could only learn what already existed. This naturally begat the question: How the hell did Amateurs learn Basic spells and how good were they in battle if Basic spells were so weak?


    This was naturally a troubling question. The answer was divided into two, based on the method in which a person awoke as a mage. Upon a natural awakening, a person would have an affinity with certain elements.


    Depending on their talent, these could manifest in many ways. When they naturally awoke, they would ''innately'' learn the basic spells of the elements they had an affinity with, and their power of the basic spell also varied depending on the strength of their talent.


    So there were powerful Amateurs and weak Amateurs in terms of naturally awakened fellows. Of course, their Intellect also yed a role in this.


    It was natural to expect such an oue though. Just like how fighters who had sparked gained abilities after the event, they would naturally know how to use these abilities at the simplest level or form.


    It was quite amusing to gain the ability to manipte sand upon sparking and not know how to actually control the sediment at all. Of course, there was a need to train one''s gift to be used to the ability as well as be more efficient with it, but to not even know the basicsˇ­


    Anyway, the second part of the answer was for mages who awoke through scrolls. There werergely two types of Scrolls of Awakening, random and focused. Random ones would grant the person any element at all under the sun, and the number of them was random as well.


    Focused was the opposite, allowing a candidate to obtain prepared elements by the scroll writer. So for example, an Adept master could use special materials to make a Scroll of Awakening which focused on the space element, so that the user would gain that affinity upon awakening.


    As such, one could imagine the cost of Focused Scrollspared to Random Scrolls. Random Scrolls were the ones people normally saw and could only be purchased through struggle.


    As for focused, no one was stupid enough to sell them. Adept masters carefully and painstakingly made them for their chosen Official Apprentices with love and care.


    Here though, the basic spells would note naturally and had to be manually learned, like how Darius had to give Foldo a spellbook for Ice Lance, which was the element Foldo randomly awoke to.


    The one Foldo had before was utter garbage, so he had been using wed Journeyman spells to forcefully increase his Intellect enough to try breaking through to the Journeyman stage.


    Even the ones Darius bought from the bookstore were crap, some calcting damage in decimal points while the highest chance of learning had been 12%!


    The debate had always been there, whether naturally awakened mages were better than those who had been awakened through artificial means. Which of the two had more chance of growth? Which of the two were more powerful?


    Official opinions varied, but the simple fact was that Darius broke the understanding of various powers. After all, his Scrolls of Awakening allowed any candidate to unlock any element they wanted, up to 5 of them in fact.


    5!!!


    This was enough to make the various powers believe that yes, these rewards were made by a Master stage expert, if not a Grandmaster, as no one in the Andrato Kingdom could even fathom something like this.


    Heck, even the Fraterina Kingdom which had Master stage experts had never encountered such a perfect Scroll of Awakening, much less 8 of them, which all had the same quality. It was no wonder they all unhesitatingly moved out.


    Any party that created new Amateurs using these scrolls would be creating monsters that would shake the entire kingdom in the future! Whoever they were affiliated with would be top dog for sure, and they would decide the future of Andrato!


    Of course, this was all a tangential matter and Darius ended his thoughts there. He thought back to what he was originally analyzing, which were the basic spells of Faust and how many existed under the sun.


    In truth, there were almost an uncountable number of elements and sub-elements in Faust. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Wood, Lightning, Lava, Explosion, Spirit, Psychic, Life, Death, Light, Dark, Space, Time, Order, Chaos, Metal, Poison, Ice, Gravity and more.


    Darius would need to spend a lot of time creating basic spells for all the elements, though it didn''t seem wise to do so. Rather, he had a wealth of elements to choose from when he wanted to create Journeyman and above spells of his own.


    The only problem would be that he actually needed to research the quintessence of these elements and infuse them into the spells he would make. The higher the quintessence, the higher the quality.


    Darius swirled his drink and stopped thinking about this. It was far too early to count his chickens before they hatched, and he had other concerns at this time. He took out a stamina potion of average quality and focused.


    [Would you like to change the Common Stamina Potion into a Common Purification Potion? This will cost 0.02 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smiled and made the change. The bottle of greenish fluid that seemed to sparkle with vigor slowly transformed into a same-sized bottle with a creamy white liquid that sloshed inside.

 Chapter 106 - 106

    This was Darius'' second choice in dealing with the blight infection. A purification potion was something he had seen in one of the Alchemist shops during his shopping spree, but they were hardly used because very few were mad enough to enter the ins of Death before today.


    Darius held the small bottle up to his eye level and Analyzed it.


    [Common Purification Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: An average quality creation of Alchemy that cures all simple and intermediate curses, debuffs, or illnesses when drunk. It can cleanse blightednd in an area of 20 meters around the poured down area. Can also deal damage to darkness-aligned beings.]


    Darius nodded with satisfaction. It wasn''t particrly powerful, but it was cheap and useful. He proceeded to change many of his useless health and stamina potions, only leaving mana potions.


    His leveled up Heal spell was far more effective than drinking any potions. Gunner was already a beast in terms of Endurance, so Stamina mattered little to him as well.


    For the two of them, nothing was more crucial than mana, and Darius seriously realized that he absolutely needed more of it.


    Really, there could never be enough, just like CP. He ced the purification potions into his inventory after clearing out his CP for the day, moving to lie on the bed as it was now evening.


    Darius heard a knock on the door and frowned. He sighed with exasperation as it was most likely Emily and her enthusiastic but masochistic friend, Fashina.


    Although he found Emily attractive and quite a goody, he was quite troubled by her antics. She was too ''fixated'' on Darius specifically, as if she never wanted to let him go.


    It wasn''t affection or love, just pure lust because his juvenile form was a perfect representation of her fetish. How many people in their lives could meet a person that perfectly captured all they wanted in a sexual partner? Very few in fact.


    So in essence, Darius was a sexual object to fulfill her desires. It would be fine if it were mutual, but she also got paid for it, making Darius'' inner merchant feel miffed because he was getting a bad deal here.


    As such, when he opened the door to see that it was the sexy dark-skinned duo as he expected, he shook his head. "Gunner and I will not be requisitioning your services tonight."


    Emily and Fashina, who had been smiling and about to bow, were left stunned where they stood. This must have been the first time either one of them had been solidly rejected at the doorstep.


    Fashina looked devastated, but Emily was sharp. She quickly assuaged Darius. "Lord Stone, if it''s about our fee, we can waive it. We really enjoy spending time with you and Master Gunner, so please reconsider."


    Now Darius was put in a tight spot. It wasn''t that he was broke, but he just disliked deals that favored the other party more than him. Now that Emily had waived the fee, everything was on level ground, but agreeing now would be a bitˇ­


    Darius turned to look at Gunner who was seated on his bed with a smile. He nodded to Darius and the old soul sighed, opened the door for the twodies to enter, who wasted no time in doing so.


    Fashina quickly embraced Gunner and pushed him down, her hands roving his body hungrily. As for Emily, she was much more controlled and gently helped Darius undress.


    Darius also assisted her in doing the same before she began servicing him. He was a bit surprised to note that Emily wasn''t as rushed as usual, fully focusing on his needs first and foremost, which was a new experience for him.


    And yet, from Emily''s point of view, it was the best thing to do. His earlier rejection had made her feel threatened! Not in the sense that someone would do her harm, but in the sense that she might lose the chance to satisfy herself with Darius!


    Working as an escort, Emily''s EQ was extremely high and she could understand the thoughts of others pretty well, allowing her to instantly pierce through Darius'' concerns.


    It was actually her strong point, which usually kept her doing well, though in recent times she had lost it due to her fixation with Darius.


    After being metaphorically sshed with a pail of cold water at the doorstep, she understood what she had done and what she needed to do.


    As for Fashina, though her EQ wasn''t as high, she had also felt something simr, so this evening she took the lead. Fortunately, Gunner had no problems with her, so she wasn''t in the same kind of trouble Emily was in.


    As such, the night passed in the throes of pleasure and sexual enjoyment, slightly more intense and rewarding than usual.


    In the morning, Darius washed up with Gunner and went down to have breakfast. As usual, he was served by Emily, but he noticed that the dining area was not as full as usual, though he could easily ascertain the reason why.


    Emily had also noticed the phenomenon and thought to inform Darius. As such, she exined to the amused duo about the announcement yesterday as well as what had happenedter.


    Darius thanked her kindly for the information, which made Emily pleased. She had decided to court favor with Darius and keep his feelings for her at a positive level without being detrimental to his activities.


    After breakfast, Darius and Gunner headed towards the central market square. Today, Darius was nning to fully outfit Gunner in the best gear money could buy, since he could not wait for his Transmutation to level first like before.


    However, he was skeptical as to whether a mere Andrato Kingdom could even have items at the level of his needs and expectations, but he had to check to be sure.


    Luckily, there was arge shop in the market square that dwarfed any other. It enjoyed the best reputation for quality within Listo.


    Its name was the Polivar Treasure House and it was a shop owned by the Superiority Faction spread in every central market area throughout Andrato.

 Chapter 107 - 107

    Just because they were technically suppressed by the Equality Faction didn''t mean that the Superiority Faction were struggling per se. They had their strengths that the Equality Faction could not match, especially in the form of higher-quality goods imported into Andrato and sold through their shops.


    To give a suitableparison, the Equality Faction had higher military and political power in Andrato, but the Superiority Faction had the best foreign rtions and financial power, leading to a tense stalemate of sorts.


    They had a well-known chain store manned by the House of Polivar, which was the one Darius was about to enter with Gunner. He knew that if he wanted quality items that could function better than mere steel, he had toe here.


    Of course, in the capital, it was possible to get better gear from many different ces, but in towns this far out, only their Treasure House could satisfy his needs. Despite knowing that it belonged to the Superiority Faction, Darius could easily feign ignorance to the Equality Faction as he was not a native.


    It wasn''t like any shops officially announced their allegiance. Still, because he liked to fill in gaps of his information and know the world around him, he had been reading up and researching extensively.


    The Treasure House was quite tall, about 3 stories in total. A ground floor, first floor, and second floor. The building was painted with a dark green color with the logo of the chain store embedded into the wood above the door frame.


    The double doors were opened wide for any customer to enter at will, and the traffic within the shop was greater than any other. Most of those who passed through were either nobles or first-ss citizens, merchants and Intermediate Adventurers or above.


    These people were here to acquire weapons, armor, or trinkets of power, something they wouldn''t find in an average cksmith''s shop. Once Darius entered, he noticed that most customers were left to their own devices and were only monitored closely by some tough-looking guards.


    There were no clerks around the store to assist buyers with their purchase, making Darius click his tongue. Such an oppressive and unfavorable selling environment and yet still so popr.


    ''Is it because it''s located at the market square or because the Polivar Treasure House''s reputation for quality is so strong that they don''t need care about pandering to buyers?''


    Definitely both, Darius reasoned. After all, being in the market square might guarantee traffic, but it wouldn''t allow you to get away with everything. Also, having quality goods would definitely make buyers more tolerant of nonsense, but to a limit.


    On their own, neither factor stood enough to create this scenario, so it had to be a mixture of both. Well, at least, Darius knew that whoever manned these stores had some business acumen that was not backward.


    He and Gunner browsed through the wares. Gunner only had the system''s basic Inspect mechanic, but Darius could Analyze various items he came across. He saw many interesting things, but nothing he deemed useful enough to augment Gunner''s already high power.


    Of course, Darius wasn''t expecting to find some growth type items or even legendary ones in here. He also wasn''t expecting to find items like the ones Foldo had kept after years of smuggling and managing a ck market.


    Speaking of the ck market, that was also a viable option and he nned to go thereter.


    However, he first wanted to observe the goods on disy in a ''legal'' shop. In truth, nothing here so far really stood out to Darius.


    Seeing that the first floor was filled withmon items, Darius and Gunner climbed up one floor. Immediately, the crowd thinned out not only because the guards here were higher in quantity and quality, but because the items here were much more expensive, almost three times those below.


    However, the jump in quality intrigued Darius. He was astounded by some of the items and their stats, but most of them were useless to him and Gunner.


    Darius did see a few spears with remarkable abilities, but he wasn''t here to outfit himself. His eyes were roaming the disys, looking for anything suitable for Gunner first, before himself next.


    Seeing as the first floor was also devoid of anything that could make him open his purse, Darius climbed up thest floor to the top. On the second floor, the presence was basically scarce, with only 4 people looking around.


    There were over 30 guards, all of them Journeymen too. Darius Analyzed the buyers here and found that three were Adepts while one was a Journeymen on the verge of bing an Adept.


    When they saw him, many had looks of astonishment as they felt the tendrils of Mind Power from Darius. Nodding in respect and greeting, Darius also bowed to greet them back.


    Acting aloof towards someone who was showing respect to you despite being more powerful was possibly the stupidest thing to do and would win you no favors. Reciprocating respect or showing it first though, would 8 times out of 10 yields you a positive first impression.


    Darius looked around and noticed that the cheapest item here, a ne that boosted movement speed by 30%, was priced at 378 Silver Ando Coins. That was almost half the price of a gold coin, and Darius noted that some items here were priced in gold!


    Some even in the tens of gold! However, when he checked their effects, he nodded in agreement. They deserved their prices, for the abilities they bestowed on buyers would augment their power greatly, or give them a second chance at life.


    Darius looked around and found what he was looking for. There were a pair of gauntlets in a pristine ss case, another pair of boots that seemed to be part of a leather armor set, and a golden spear with a small de at the tip.


    Darius Analyzed all three items, but their prices also sobered his enthusiasm. If he were to pay out of pocket, he certainly would have a hard time affording it even with his wealth.

 Chapter 108 - 108

    [Soldering Gauntlets - Weapon


    Durability: 100/100


    Quality: Superb


    Defense: 12


    Damage: 17-20


    Description: A pair of gauntlets that are imbued with a special enchantment. This item can act as a ma towards targets within 50 meters, forcibly bringing them closer to the fist of the user. The strength of the pull is dependent on the Strength of the user against that of the target.]


    [Eleven Boots of Speed - Armor


    Durability: 50/50


    Quality: Superb


    Defense: 4


    Damage: 11-15


    Description: A pair of boots that are imbued with a special enchantment. This item can increase the movement speed of the wearer by 70% at no cost when in a forested zone. In all other locations, it drains 50% more stamina to grant a 50% speed boost.]


    [Demonic Spear - Weapon


    Durability: 1,000/1,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 100-150


    Description: A special spear that radiates an aura of malice and evil. This item boasts great damaging power and even has the ability to inflict random curses on targets when blood is drawn. However, for every second this item is utilized, the user loses 1% of HP.]


    Darius loved their abilities, especially the ones he chose for Gunner. With the ability to increase his movement speed in exchange for his plentiful stamina, he could easily kite any foe. Coupled with his already insane defense, Gunner was like a true tank, not the RPG-type, but the real-life one.


    A tank in real life was not just durable, but also possessed explosive firepower that could raze almost anything. Gunner was currently at this stage.


    The gauntlets were also there to grant him protection and extra firepower when using his Basic Martial Arts skill. Even though it remained at level 1 and only gave 5% extra damage, it was enough to add a few points when taken into ount Gunner''s high Strength and the damage of the item itself.


    That was not even considering the awesome enchantment it possessed that allowed him to perform a suction type attack against foes within a certain distance. No matter how far you ran from Gunner, as long as you were within that range and had less Strength, you would be unable to escape.


    Darius checked the prices of these items and saw that they were a high as hell. The Gauntlets were 3 gold, the boots'' entire set was 4 gold and the spear was the craziest at 20 gold.


    Shaking his head, he walked over to the various disys and looked around questioningly. Seeing his expression, one of the guards detached himself from a corner and approached Darius with a smile that was not pretty to look at.


    "What do you need, customer?" The fellow asked in a gruff voice that exuded danger.


    Gunner growled as his body started to glow green, the energying off him making all the guards in the room tense as they sensed danger. Darius simply patted Gunner on the shoulder with a smile and faced the guard.


    "Give me those pair of gauntlets, those boots, and that spear." Darius indicated the items he nned to buy calmly.


    Seeing as Gunner had calmed down, the various guards also rxed while the other Adepts in the room smiled yfully. However, once Darius mentioned his final choices, their faces changed.


    Before the guard could speak up, the female Journeyman who was browsing the wares with what seemed to be her boyfriend called out. "Young Fellow, that spear is of demonic origins. While it grants great power, it also drains your life force horribly. No one has ever been able to use it for more than 99 seconds, ever."


    Darius turned to the woman and bowed with gratitude. "Thank you, Beautiful Madam. I''ve actually noted its properties when I saw it as I am an Itemancer."


    Everyone minus Gunner looked puzzled by the term. Clearly, Itemancers were a thing that either were rare in Faust, did not exist on Fallon Continent, or was just not known to the lowly Andrato Kingdom.


    Darius saw fit to exin, for he saw an interesting opportunity towork. "An Itemancer is a special type of ability that allows me to easily appraise any item I see with the highest possible uracy."


    Everyone was stunned when they heard that, and their eyes shined. As Foldo had told Darius, appraisers were something that was sorely needed not only in Andrato but throughout the entire world as he knew it.


    The number of items in the world that were special was infinite. This was a magical world with so many different climates, cultures, and divinities, so many things existed that were inexplicable.


    To find someone who could unearth the true value of these things so they wouldn''t upy needless space on a shelf was important. However, many appraisers were either bought out by powerful factions, shops or were frauds.


    As such, interest sparked when Darius imed to be one. After all, he was a young boy who was followed by a powerful bodyguard that seemed to be a Journeyman, while he himself was an Adept mage with Mind Power.


    Thed was definitely anything but simple. However, to believe him just like that was asking for a bit too much. As such, one of the other Adepts, an older man, stroked his beard and said: "Lad, are you sure? Can you prove this?"


    Darius nodded. He turned to the guard who was trying to serve him with a light smile. "Why don''t we do this. Speak to your manager and have him bring 10 items here. 5 of them should be things you have not released to the public but know the abilities of, so you can cross-check if I am lying."


    "The remaining 5 should be items you have no clue of, and I shall identify them for you free of charge."


    The other 4 customers here nodded, while the guard rushed to the manager''s office down below. In no time, a heavy man in merchant liveries appeared with the same guards trailing him, a wide smile on his lips as he spotted Darius.

 Chapter 109 - 109

    "Haha, the youth of today are truly exceptional! My humble shop wees you, Young Master, and the great sirs and madams here as well. My name is Oliver Frenq, at your service." The fellow made a noble bow which was reciprocated by everyone else as they introduced themselves one by one.


    The boyfriend of the Journeymandy who had warned Darius out of goodwill was first to do so.


    He had blond hair, light blue eyes, as well as a handsome face, and anky body. Darius could tell he was an Adept mage as well. "My name is Jonathan Silverwater, pleased to meet you all."


    The girlfriend herself curtsied next, her delightful voice ringing in the room. "I''m Genevieve Kirlio. It''s my pleasure to speak to you all."


    Another woman who was in the room, an Adept fighter who had a cold expression and the most beautiful visage Darius hade across so far, also introduced herself. "The name''s Henrietta Diavolo. A pleasure to interact with you all."


    The final person, the old man who wore casual clothes and had a light stubble introduced himselfst. "I''m Valentine Debrau, but you may know me as Kubrick."


    Once he mentioned his name, everyone''s eyes lit up, including Darius''. At once, they all rushed over to the old man and shook his hand one by one, like star-struck fans meeting their idol.


    Jonathan looked humbled. "It''s an honor to meet you, sir."


    Genevieve looked shy, like a young maiden seeing her role model. "S-Same for meˇ­"


    Henrietta was more forward. She greeted Kubrick and showed fighting spirit. "Great hero, if you are free, I want to spar with you!"


    Oliver, the merchant, shook hands with Kubrick and smiled. "I hope these items are, at least, somewhat to your liking Great Sir. In fact, I have an idea I will share when we are done."


    Kubrick chuckled and received everyone''s enthusiasm calmly. He shook hands with Jonathan andplemented his Mind Power''s concentration, telling him to focus on condensing it more.


    Jonathan epted the praise and the pointer with glee. Next, Kubrick told his girlfriend, Genevieve, to focus on her Shadowmancy and practice intensely during dawn and dusk if she wanted to breakthrough.


    Enlightened, Genevieve bowed and thanked Kubrick profusely. Kubrick next told Henrietta that he would love to spar with her, but asked her to go easy on him. The whole crowdughed as they knew it was impossible for this woman to give this man trouble.


    As for Oliver, Kubrick told him that anything could be discussed when the time was right. Finally, the old fellow gazed at Darius with an appreciative but curious nce.


    "Lad, for all the others, I can see through them. Only you and the friend behind you are strange. It''s like... while you are part of us, you are also simultaneously ruled by a separate system ofws." He noted with a pleasant tone.


    Darius nodded, but inwardly, his eyes shed. As expected of the nation''s greatest man. Kubrick was an entity as old as the Andrato Kingdom, being the protector who had been sent here with Julietta to found this kingdom.


    He had lived over 300 years and had been the bedrock of this kingdom''s existence ever since. Why didn''t Fraterina just invade and im Andrato back? Why didn''t the nearby kingdoms annex or try to turn the Royal Faction into puppets?


    The answer was Kubrick!


    He was an Adept mage that was at the cusp of his stage, although some rumored him to be a Master-stage expert masquerading as an Adept to lower the guard of enemies before striking them down.


    The reasons for these rumors started after a powerful Master-stage mage from a nearby kingdom had represented his nation that wanted to ''merge'' with Andrato. Of course, this basically meant that they were using force to annex the kingdom and im its territory.


    To make things civil, both nations chose a representative to duel in a friendly battle. Whoever won would decide the fate of the kingdom.


    If Kubrick won, Andrato would be left alone for 1000 years, if it was their man, they would im Andrato without insurgency.


    Getting a free kingdom without bloodshed... that other kingdom had already dreamed about bing part of history for creating a record for the fastest bloodless takeover.


    However, after the duel between Kubrick and the master-stage expert, they had been left speechless at their loss!


    The entirety of Fallon Continent, who had their eyes on this matter, was shocked! The master-stage expert had only stated one phrase as he passed out.


    "Definitely not Adept, but not Grandmaster!"


    As such, everyone assumed Kubrick was a Master-stage expert, hence the respect and worship from Adepts in the kingdom. After all, it was thanks to him that they still had their sovereignty and were not the ythings of bigger empires.


    Kubrick himself had neither affirmed nor denied his stage. Apart from the time he stated that the Adept-stage was where he stood, he had nevermented about his power since then.


    Darius wasn''t too surprised that Kubrick could see some aspect of the Supreme System''sws on him and Gunner. After all, the Supreme System was powerful enough to overwrite the nativews of this world, so anyone powerful enough could tell that Darius and Gunner were ''unique''.


    However, Kubrick was the Royal Court''s Mage Advisor. A person like him was perpetually holed up in the Royal Castle protecting the Royal Family... since when did he have time toe to Listo?


    Of course, Darius knew why. His mission and its rewards seemed to have galvanized many interesting fellows. However, he felt it to be hard for this man to enter the ins of Death, for he would be dooming the Royal Family then.


    The rewards Darius offered was far from enough to abandon the Royal Family. As such, Darius was beginning to wonder if there was some kind of plot at y, which was what all the other upper echelon in Andrato were wondering ever since the Royal Faction had moved to the Mercenary Guild''s aid.

 Chapter 110 - 110

    First, the Royal Guards had moved out now and then Kubrick had also left the castle? It couldn''t be that the Royal Faction was trying to y the oldest trick in the book, right?


    To have the defenders conspicuously exit the ce of protection and create a perfect assassination scenario to lure the snakes out? Just who would be fooled by this?


    Sure, Darius'' mission might seem like a good excuse with its high rewards, but no one in their right mind would be confused about something like this. It was too open-handed and obvious.


    The royals - and especially Kubrick - should know this. Yet they still had gone ahead with it, leading to the same question as before.


    What was the Royal Faction trying to aplish?


    Seeing that he had circled back to his first question, Darius cut off his train of thought. Over-analyzing was something faux intelligent people tended to do and he had gotten rid of this nasty habit during his youth on Earth.


    Whatever they had in mind, he would make sure to guard against anything that could affect his n. That was all that really mattered to Darius. If they wanted to y their little games in the background, then they were free to do so for all he cared.


    Still, Kubrick''s appearance actually coincided with Darius'' desire towork.


    Darius smiled at the mage, replying to the older man''s observation. "You could indeed say that the two of us areˇ­ unique. Nevertheless, it''s both our pleasures to meet you, Sir Kubrick."


    Kubrick understood the meaning of Darius'' words and nodded. "Fine then. You said you could appraise items to a high degree of uracy? Lad, if you speak the truth, you will have a boundless future."


    The others also gathered around Darius to watch his appraisal. With the manager of the Treasure House here, they would be able to check if Darius lived up to his words or not.


    To them, it didn''t really matter. All of them used this as a wee opportunity towork and get to know people of power, especially Kubrick.


    Should Darius fail, they would give him some face and pretend as if they hadn''t seen anything, yet keep his failure in mind.


    Only Kubrick genuinely wanted to see whether this young man could do what he imed. He hoped that it would provide him with an opportunity to better understand how thisd and his friend worked. They were just too bizarre to his senses, which was why he made a gaffe by asking personal questions.


    Oliver Frenq saw that the group of Adepts were looking at him and smiled. He waved to one of the guards who dragged a table over. Oliver then pulled up a Bag of Holding from his waist that was simr to Foldo''s, but of lower quality.


    From it, he withdrew ten items. The first was a sharp sword that had a single-edged de and an ornate guard. The second was a flute that looked to be made of pure obsidian.


    The third item was a brooch made of emerald. The fourth item was a leather cowl that looked simr to what assassins would use to cover their faces. The fifth was a small bottle of blue-ck liquid that bubbled dangerously.


    The sixth item was a damaged scroll that looked like it had been chewed by rats. The seventh item was a fruit that looked simr to a pineapple, but with a smooth surface that was a little sticky.


    The eighth item was a small key that looked unremarkable. The ninth item was a small bust of a masked woman, who looked like a pious nun that was gazing to the heavens.


    The final item was a circlet that had many rubies and sapphires affixed to its band. It was honestly quite beautiful if not for the fact that it radiated a strangely menacing aura.


    Darius Analyzed the ten items at a go and was not surprised to see that their rtive quality was far below the 10 items Foldo had pulled out, as his Unofficial Apprentice had gained those after years of managing a huge ck market.


    In an orthodox shop, rare items of that caliber had a lower chance of passing through.


    Darius pointed to the first item, the sharp sword. "That one is called the de of crity. It boasts increased attack speed for its user by at least 20% with no extra cost to stamina."


    Oliver nodded for Darius to continue, which meant that he was right. This made the eyes of those standing shine slightly, hoping that Darius could actually be what he had imed to be.


    Darius pointed to the second item, the flute. "That one is called the Obsidian Flute. Anyone who uses it can curse all listeners with a random affliction for 24 hours. Unfortunately, it cannot distinguish between friend and foe."


    The crowd turned to Oliver again, who nodded lightly with an intrigued expression. It looked like he too was growing interested in Darius'' capabilities.


    Darius then faced the third item, the brooch. "This is the Emerald Brooch of Temperance. It possesses the ability to allow the user to maintain theirposure in most situations. However, if used for too long, the user may forget how to feel emotions."


    This time, Oliver frowned, making the crowd worried. Could it be that Darius had only gotten lucky the first few times?


    Kubrick called out to Oliver. "Any problem with his assessment?"


    The manager, who seemed to have been lost in his thoughts, snapped out of it and shook his head with a bitter smile. "No, he got everything right about the Brooch''s function. It was his mention of the item''s w that left me thoughtful, because we didn''t notice that."


    Oliver gazed at the brooch darkly. "Normally, I''d doubt Master Darius based on that alone, but I was actually the one who purchased this item. However, although the previous owner failed to mention this w, I''m a merchant and observation is a necessity of my trade."


    "I did notice that the previous owner of the item had been stiff and very formal. Even their voice sounded lifeless and rigid, but I thought it just a quirk. Yet if we are to pair it with what Master Darius warnedˇ­"


    "Then the previous person has likely been suffering the bacsh from over-usage. Discovering this fault, he must have wanted to quickly sell it away to see if they could return to normal. In order to get a buyer, theyˇ­ ''strategically''ˇ­ chose not to mention this w." Jonathan concluded the assessment with a sigh.

 Chapter 111 - 111

    Oliver nodded with a wry smile. "My thoughts exactly. However, I can still say that the price I bought it was below the true value of the item."


    Everyone shared augh at that before Darius resumed his appraisal. He pointed to the fourth item, which was the assassin''s cowl. "This is the Shadowrider''s Cowl. It has the ability to grant the user invisibility in shadowed areas, but when worn during the day, it would attract dark monsters to attack the user."


    Olive frowned again. "Yes, we''ve tested it and found out about both functions. Luckily, the summoned monsters are weak, usually one stage below the wearer of the cowl."


    Seeing as Darius was right once more, even Oliver was starting to believe in the prowess of his ability. As there was one more item left, he held back his awe and wanted to see if Darius was truly correct.


    Darius gestured to the fifth item, the blue-ck potion. "This is a Potion of Dangerous Berserk. It grants the user the ability to surpass their limits, increasing strength, endurance, and speed by 70% of their values."


    "Unlike other berserk potions, this one allows the user to maintain perfect cognitive functions, however, the drawback is that once the berserk duration ends after 10 minutes, the user will end up being severely weakened for 3 days at the minimum."


    Oliver pped and nodded with an appreciative smile. "Very correct, Master Darius! This item is a new creation of our in-house alchemists, and I dare say your appraisal was even more urate than what the Alchemist himself told us. It''s closer to what we''ve discovered after extensive field testing!"


    Once the crowd saw that Darius had correctly appraised all the items that were meant to test the veracity of his ims, they became excited, no less than when they went up to Kubrick.


    With warmth in their tones and amiability in their bodynguage, they chatted with Darius praising him for his great achievements despite his age. Darius spoke to each and every one of them in an extremely friendly manner, reciprocating their approachability.


    Kubrick continued to stroke his beard. The more he looked at Darius, the more satisfied he became. If this was the next generation of the Andrato Kingdom, then he could one day retire once Darius had matured.


    After all, it was a bit too much to expect him to spend all his life protecting this fledgling kingdom when the one he was loyal to had long since passed away. He too wanted to go out, explore other continents, especially Houto or Pan, and expand his horizons.


    Oliver squeezed into the crowd that was happily discussing various topics and increasing their favorability with one another with a slightly sleazy smile.


    "So Master Darius, I believe you wanted to tell us about the five unknown items for free?"


    The others became quiet and the interest on their faces was clearly visible, yet they couldn''t help but curse Oliver for his shamelessness.


    Did he need sses? Couldn''t he see that they were chatting him up? How dare he interrupt them for his purpose, thereby ruining their own purposes?


    As for Darius, he gazed at Oliver with amusement. "Indeed I did and I am a man of my word. Let me recite the usage of the remaining items since I already know."


    He pointed at the sixth item, the damaged scroll that looked rat-bitten. "That is a contract with Demon Lord Dantalian, allowing the wielder to borrow his strength for 1 hour."


    It was a simple exnation, but it made the hearts of all those here beat ferociously. Demon Lord Dantalian might not be the mightiest of Demons, but a Demon Lord was far above all others and below none in Armadon.


    Only the Seven Deadly Sins were equal to the Demon Lord, though the former represented the Devil Faction. To have an actual Demon Lord fight on your behalf for one hour meant that even Grandmasters would have to flee.


    After all, Gods and Demons/Devils of the higher Ranks existed in the stage between Grandmaster and Supreme. With it, Oliver or whoever he theoretically sold it to, would be able to raze an entire kingdom if he so wished.


    The others in the room suddenly showed intense greed and desire for the scroll. Something that had lookedpletely wretched in their eyes just a moment ago now looked like a golden item.


    Oliver smiled obsequiously but did not back down, and the guards in the room stood at attention. Darius just looked on with a yful smile, as he had purposely left something out.


    Yes, one could summon Demon Lord Dantalian, but not to fight on their behalf. Well, not just anyone, but the one who had specifically signed the contract with the fellow, a person named Franz Alcoheim.


    In the small print which had been mysteriously chewed away, Darius''s Analyze revealed that a use had existed, where, should anyone other than Franz attempt to use this contract, Dantalian had the right to take away their soul and refuse to do anything.


    For such an important sub-use to be specifically chewed away, hehe. This was exactly why one shouldn''t touch the belongings of Demons or Devils without knowing exactly what it meant or what one was doing.


    In truth, this was one of the reasons Darius had abstained from using the Dagger of Death. An item made by Hephaestus and given to a whole Asmodeus. As the incarnation of Deadly Sin of Lust, Darius would be mad to use his item without being sure.


    Darius pointed to the seventh item, the sticky fruit simr to a pineapple. "That is a Fruit of the Space Tree. Anyone who eats it or drinks a potion made from it would ''spark'' with the ability to freely teleport short distances as their ability."


    The greed that had subsided rose once more as Oliver sincerely regretted having this done in the open. He should have taken Darius to a backroom after letting these fellowswork, but his fear that Darius might ignore his words forced him to use the others as a shield to make Darius obey his promise.


    Now, he was the one suffering for it.

 Chapter 112 - 112

    Darius naturally was not done. He pointed to the eighth item that Oliver had taken out, which was the unremarkable copper key.


    "That key opens a chest that contains the map to an unimed dungeon somewhere on the Fallon Continent. The previous owner hid the map because he did not have the strength to im a dungeon for himself, so he had nned to sell it. As for what happened to him, I do not know."


    Darius naturally did, as his upgraded Analyze skill could pull out a lot of information that pertained to an item''s history, not just its use. The actual owner was a peasant in one of the 300 homesteads of Andrato.


    The dungeon itself should be near the north, closer to the ins of Death. However, without the chest, this key was technically useless. Darius did not know where the chest was, but he was not bothered.


    Now that he knew the name of the map through the key, he could just transmute it. After all, as long as it existed in Faust, Darius could make it. The only concern was the cost, but when he became a Journeyman, that should hopefully not be a problem.


    As for the crowd, their greed was sparked by the mention of a dungeon, but hearing that this was a mere key to a chest that led to it, their greed died down. Many frowned at the key while Oliver was praising the gods for its presence.


    He could deal with any local Adept, but should Kubrick decide to toss his morals aside, he would bleed today. With this key acting as a buffer, he got some breathing space from the slowly mounting pressure.


    Darius though, acted like he saw none of this. He pointed to the ninth item, which was the bust of the masked woman. "This item is a carving of the pious nun, Servietta. She made great contributions to her God, Yaldabaoth."


    "As such, this was made to immortalize her faith, and through it, any truly pious person who genuinely worships him can make one wish after kneeling down in prayer and fasting for 1 week non-stop."


    Oliver and the crowd frowned. This was technically a good item, but the condition to use it made it worthless. While many citizens knew that the Gods existed, far less worshiped them than one would expect.


    Well, it did make sense. Earth had been generally religious due to the fear of the unknown that religion propounded. Who knew of the various deities from whichever religion were real or not?


    Sure, it sounded far-fetched, but what if it were true? What then? That uncertainty was what had thrown the majority of the world into the hands of religion during the medieval ages.


    Of course, by Darius'' era, religion had mostly be a niche thing as science had taken over. Far fewer people feared the unknown and had believed in science, so they had been less pressured to believe in a deity to secure their future.


    In Faust, where people knew Gods existed, but there was no ''supreme'' god, their inclination towards belief was far less. Of course, many still worshiped deities for their power and providence in many aspects of life, but it was not prevalent all over Faust.


    As for Darius, after knowing that Vena basically created this entire world on her own, including these so-called deities, he was far less impressed. Gunner and his n worshiped Gaia only, so his feelings towards the other Gods were neutral.


    Seeing as the crowd was unmoved by the bust, Darius pointed to the final item, which was the fancy circlet with a menacing aura. "That is the Rose Circlet. It grants any female wearer the ability of Minor irvoyance. However, its thornse in the form of a growing psychotic urge on the wearer, turning even the kindest maiden into a cruel psychopath over time."


    Once done, Darius lowered his finger and nodded to Oliver. "There you have it Mr. Frenq. If you want more appraisals done, ites at a steep price, so I''d advise you on bringing out the most remarkable of your hidden stash next time you seek me out."


    Oliver smiled weakly. "Thank you for the reminder, Master Darius. I will certainly keep that in mind and I''m thankful that you''ve bestowed upon me this kind favor."


    Darius waved his hand magnanimously as if he had no idea what he had done. "Of course, of course. You are a friend of Darius Stone, so I will not short change you. I would like to conclude my purchase before returning to my daily duties."


    Oliver turned to the guard who called him and the fellow whispered what Darius hoped to buy. Surprised by his extravagance, Oliver nodded. "How about this. Since you are a friend of mine, I can give you the gauntlet and boots for free, but the spear has to be paid for."


    Darius nodded gratefully. "That would do. Here is the payment, Mr. Frenq. I hope the items can be packaged for me while I chat with our fellow friends here?"


    Oliver bowed subserviently before withdrawing stately. "Right away."


    Darius then turned to the other Adepts who had been patiently waiting for him to finish his matters before they burst out in a furor. They asked Darius various questions like how long he had been appraising, how much he charged, and what kind of rarities he had seen so far.


    Darius answered their questions, not always truthfully, but in a thought-provoking manner. He did not hesitate to share with his new ''friends'' that he would be opening a shop across the street, in this same square.


    There, they coulde to him for appraisals or to purchase items at a good price. Unlike the members of the Equality Faction who brushed him off previously, these fellows took his words seriously and couldn''t help but look forward to what he promised.


    As for Darius, he took his packaged items and paid for them with the remainder of the money he had left from Foldo. He wanted to limit the possible intion he could cause within Listo, so he had not transmuted too many gold coins.

 Chapter 113 - 113

    Gunner equipped the boots and gauntlets while Darius held the Demonic Spear and twirled it. He could feel the weapon''s hunger for lifeforce and energy, both from its wielder and its targets.


    "Well then, let''s test you out, shall we?" Darius remarked with a smile.


    With Gunner in tow, the duo entered the dungeon at the southern end of Listo. Once they passed through the dark maw of the entrance, they were teleported into a unique instance of their own.


    Darius originally had no ns of visiting this ce again since Caesar had warned him against wasting his time trying to acquire extra experience to gain extra SP and AP, but the issue was that Darius had to remain in the town for another week for two reasons.


    For one, he had to create the items he had promised the Mercenary Guild as payment, as well as some extras just in case the mercenaries acquired more points to redeem things than he had created. The other reason was to allow the ''poison'' he had poured into the ''tea'' to dissolvepletely and blend in.


    If he rushed in right after all those who were entering, he wouldn''t be able to fish for benefits. It was more likely that he would be caught in the power struggle, as no one knew that he was the mission issuer.


    Nor would they care.


    So it was either spend his time sealed up in the Great Escape Inn, or walk around and do things to pass the time. He had already made his research into the ins of Death the past week, and there was nothing more he could glean that had been recorded by various writers.


    As such, he felt it would not be a bad idea to hone his skills in the dungeon of Listo. Darius summoned Joneson and Mikey, the duo spawning individually without their undead minions, which made Darius frown.


    "Where are your soldiers?"


    "Oh them? Well, we made them stay behind as we wanna gather more without losin'' em, right? Don''t wanna lose the sauce and anger the boss, innit?" Joneson replied with augh.


    Darius and Gunner shared a look before the duo shrugged. "It''s a fine chance for the two of you to show me what you can do. Take point from here until the boss."


    "No problem, just sit back and enjoy the show, Boss." Mikey replied as the duo of undead liches moved forth.


    Darius and Gunner leisurely followed along, watching as the two Liches were besieged by various nt monsters the moment they entered the first room.


    All they did was wave their hands continuously, spawning some form of ice fire attack that was quite weak. If it hit Darius or Gunner, it would do nothing but make them rub their shoulders.


    However, to these level 1-5 monsters, it was deadlier than anything else. Most of them were killed in no time, Darius happily noting the drops filling his Inventory with the various deaths.


    Once Joneson and Mikey were done, they raised all the corpses up and proceeded to the next room. Here, they did the same thing, throwing their basic ice-fire around, only this time they had their undead minions help them.


    Darius had to admit, Joneson and Mikey were overpowered as Liches. Not because of their ice-fire, no. It was the shocking fact that any Undead raised by them was at the same level as the two Liches.


    So the level 1-5 vines and whatnot that got killed in the first room were now level 18 warbling undead, same as Joneson and Mikey. However, ording to the duo, undead raised by them stayed at the level at which they were originally raised.


    Seeing as Mikey and Joneson were special because they were growth types, this seemed obvious. Usually, the undead could only grow through the hands of their master, never on their own.


    Still, the Lich duo soon didn''t even have to bother throwing their pathetic attack around as their raised minions were able to rip their targets to shreds quickly.


    As the army increased per room, so too did their clearing speed. In a matter of minutes, they reached thest room. After killing so many monsters up until here, the duo of Undead Liches had finally reached level 20.


    As such, they were able to raise everything here as well, though their mana ran low often. This was not from the raising spell, but the promotion and heal spells.


    Their subordinate undead were not sentient like Mikey or Joneson and their fighting techniques were absolutely pathetic. All they did was rush in and try to bite or w anything in their path to death.


    Against semi-sentient foes like monsters that had their own skills, they often incurred great amounts of damage, if they weren''t outright destroyed. However, the newer undead that were raised always filled up the number of those lost.


    It couldn''t be helped, this was how Necromancy worked. Darius should even thank his lucky stars that due to a fluke, the Spawn spell got stupidly buffed.


    In the final room, the Undead swarmed the Treeant, who could only roar in pain and anguish as what should have been its own kind ripped and tore at its body crazily.


    No matter how many of them the Treeant smashed or smacked away, they just kepting, until the monster eventually died under the hands of the Undead.


    Darius and Gunner simply watched on with strange expressions, feeling a mixture of pity and aversion. To see such arge foe that once gave them a bit of trouble brutalized like this, Darius understood that the human wave tactic was famous for a reason.


    Once Darius imed all the drops, he noted that Joneson and Mikey had reached level 20. Pleased with their progress, he unsummoned then and what remained of their forces, as this next part was for him and Gunner alone.


    When the two pathways appeared, one back to the surface and the other deeper into the bowels of the unknown, the two youths walked down the path that led to darkness.

 Chapter 114 - 114

    The second floor of the dungeon was quiteˇ­ different. Unlike the first floor where there were different caverns with cleverly demarcated allies based on their strength, there was only one long cavern here that seemed to go on forever.


    It was also well-lit thanks to the ss roofing, allowing Darius and Gunner to see as far as possible. They could tell that this ''floor'' was basically one big forest.


    Darius and Gunner stood a slight distance away from its edges, taking in the sight of the old trees that would almost be criminal to harm on earth by preservationws.


    Here though, there was nothing of the sort. Darius did not rush into the foliage, nor did he set it alight. His Intellect, as Caesar had put it, also served to increase/control his perception.


    And his perception was telling him not to do anything rash, but he was surrounded by fatal danger. Gunner might not have as high Intellect as he, but he too sensed the same thing, and so remained still.


    Darius first Analyzed the entire forest, because he had a strange feeling about it.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Forest of Death


    Race: Vegetation


    ss: Mobile Predator


    Sub-ss: Master of Life


    HP: 2,300/2,300


    MP: 840/840


    Level: 40


    Strength: 47


    Agility: 36


    Endurance: 49


    Intellect: 21


    Charisma: 4


    Luck: 10


    Abilities: Illusion, Life Drain, Swarm, Summon Vegetation, Leaf des, Bark Warriors, Root Whip.


    Weapons: Entire body.]


    Darius sucked in a deep breath, and so too did Gunner when thed was furnished with the details of what Darius had discovered. They finally realized that their heightened perception had saved them from death.


    Most Journeymen who entered here must have been either pre-informed or also sensed some foul y. Entering that forest unprepared was the fastest way to die, even for Journeymen.


    Amateurs like Darius and Gunner, despite having higher stats than they should for their stage, could not ess the raw firepower of Journeymen. As such, they would really struggle toe out alive.


    For example, instead of a mere Ember, Darius could have used an actual Fireball spell, among other me Journeyman spells avable, to set the forest alight while moving around with Blink.


    With a mere Ember that suffered to kill that Treeant back then, it was impossible to use it here. If Darius and Gunner wanted to clear this floor, they would need to invest time in buying items, and Darius would have to waste CP on them.


    As such, the duo shared a look and resolutely climbed upstairs. Once on the first floor that had already been cleared, they took the second set of stairs back to the surface.


    Just likest time, Darius sold his plentiful drops for money, making the nearby Novices greatly envious while the Intermediates were puzzled. Darius came out with almost 5 times their usual haul, even on the best of days.


    Where was he getting all these resources? Even the representative of the guild who was handling the purchase was dumbfounded, because this was the same haul from about 6 or so different Intermediate Adventurers who cleared the entire first floor.


    Since he saw no items typical of the second and below floors, it meant Darius had only cleared the top. So where did he get the rest? Once he looked up to Darius with a questioning nce, thed smiled.


    "I''m just lucky."


    All listeners felt rage boil in them, Luck... LUCK?!


    Does thisd even know how long they''ve struggled and fought for resources in this dungeon on a daily?! They could only bring out a small percentage of their haul paid with their lifeblood and he dares to mention LUCK?!


    Even the one tallying the details and handing over the payment felt his lips twitch, but didn''t dare to say anything. As for Darius, he noticed that the crowd was displeased by his exnation, and so had an idea.


    "In fact, why don''t we do this. Use the payment you n to give me to allow each person here to buy one health potion. That way, my fellow adventurers could have something on them that might save their lives in a pinch."


    This surprised all onlookers, as they couldn''t believe the generosity of this young noble. This also shocked the person tallying, because he was in the know. He knew Darius was no Amateur, but an Adept ying house.


    That was why he took the reply of it being a matter of luck calmly, because this Adept fellow might have his own means that he didn''t want to share. However, giving this much out to the Novices hereˇ­


    "Are you sure, Master Darius?" he asked uncertainly.


    Darius nodded. "I am. Please make sure it''s distributed as fairly as possible. As for your cut, we''ll sort it out when next I arrive."


    The fellow nodded as he watched Darius and Gunner leave with aplicated nce. As for the various Adventurers here, their ears were sharp. Once they heard the clerk call out Darius'' name, they engraved it in their minds before rushing over for their ''benefits''.


    The clerk was soon swamped with work as he had to take out health potions he quickly had his aide purchase, steadily distributing them amongst those who had been around first. If any extras were left, he gave it to iing adventurers.


    Darius naturally did this to leave a good impression of himself. Nobles and the like may disdain themon man or those struggling in difficulty, but Darius had the history of the earth as a lesson.


    Push themon man too far and off with your headˇ­ literally. Just like he had done on Earth - gaining favor with the masses - so too would he do in Faust.


    However, he had underestimated his action''s effects. He had only spent about 3 or so weeks in Faust overall, not nearly enough time to fully understand how things worked in practicality.


    The money he could have earned from his haul was quite substantial, and it went to help a lot of Novices, further spreading his name among them as a benevolent noble.


    Of course, this was not something impressive now, but was there ever any nted seed that grew in a day?

 Chapter 115 - 115

    Darius returned to The Great Escape Inn and had a lovely lunch with Gunner. He also made sure to spend his CP for the day preparing both the things for the Mercenary Guild and for himself.


    The duo then went back into the town and headed towards the Noble''s District. Darius wanted to check on its progress, and he was pleased to see that the foundation had already been set and various Journeyman earth mages were working on it.


    Of course, even on Earth, building a castle was not something that could be done in seconds. For them to finish within one month would require the use of extensive magic.


    Darius greeted the foreman and chatted with him for a bit. He also greeted the Journeyman mages who were pleased to see that the contractor was an Adept. As such, they showed him plenty of respect, something which Darius reciprocated.


    Once done, he checked on the restaurant near the town''s entrance. It was almost done as well, just the roofing and painting was left, as well as the various permits. However, with Lord Spencely on his side, he was sure it would not be a problem.


    Darius then went out to check on his refinery, which had made the least progress of the lot. It couldn''t be helped, because it required many special tools and equipment that were hard to acquire or make because they were specialty items.


    However, he was still satisfied with what had been done so far. His only issue would be to find capable workers to manage these businesses, as he would not have the time to do so himself.


    Deciding not to waste time, Darius began headhunting. He had the town criers shout out his recruitment the next day, in thete morning, including what he expected of them and how much they would be paid.


    Around that time, he and Gunner once again cleared the first floor of the town''s dungeon just to pass the time and keep themselves active. Darius didn''t bother using the Demonic Spear because his magic was more than good enough to handle anything here.


    Gunner though, made use of his new equipment. Darius had seriously underestimated how much it would increase hisbat prowess, especially the gauntlets. Their ability to drag enemies over only for Gunner to literally punch their heads off was quite the sight.


    They breezed through the floor and imed their drops. Since the two of them participated, the items were far more plentiful than when Darius alone received them through the undead Liches as a proxy.


    As such, when they came out, they once again mind-boggled the crowd with their earnings. Some fellows though, recognized Darius from yesterday and whispered among themselves excitedly.


    Seeing their reaction, Darius understood that his generosity was yielding positive benefit. Considering this an investment in his image and reputation, Darius once again gave out some ''welfare'' to all adventurers at the Novice rank.


    As for the clerk, who was the same one on duty as yesterday, Darius gave him a silver coin, which made the fellow''s hands shake. His monthly sry was barely 300 bronze, and taking out his expenditures, he barely had 1400 bronze in savings after working in this position for years.


    Darius gave him in one day what he had struggled to umte over 3-5 years. How could he not be shaken to his core?


    Understanding what he must do, he took Darius'' ''mission'' more seriously and shared the potions as fairly as possible, and made sure to mention to spread the name of their benefactor.


    Darius then went to visit Jonathan Silverwater, the fellow he had met in the shop. The duo had lunch while discussing various topics about the current state of Andrato, as well as the possible consequences of what was going on.


    Genevieve also came around to say hi, and Darius greeted her respectfully. After he was done, he parted from Jonathan''s ce and return to The Great Escape inn where he waster serviced by Emily before bed, Gunner by Fashina as well.


    He made sure to make use of his daily CP for his needs of course.


    This cycle persisted for the entire week. In the morning, they would have breakfast, head out to clear the first floor of the dungeon, and give out his earnings to the Novices while giving the now ''rich'' clerk a silver coin for his work.


    The Adventurers'' Guild remained silent about this matter as if they tacitly agreed to Darius'' decision to give out welfare. After all, his actions had raised the morale of the Novices while increasing their productivity at no cost, so why should theyin?


    In the afternoons, Darius would visit random ''friends'' including Henrietta Diavolo, Lord Spencely, Bistro, and even Carlton. He knew the importance of social calls andworking, so Darius did not hesitate to spend time to strengthen his rtionships with such fellows.


    In the evenings, he would have dinner with Gunner while studying various books, trying to increase his database as much as he could. Then, Emily and Fashina would visit and quell their rampant sex drives for the day, allowing them to sleep in peace.


    In a way, it was quite idyllic. When one considered that Darius would die in about two weeks unless he got the Resurrection Stone, one couldn''t help but feel pressured by his seeming nonchnce.


    Even if he wasn''t pretending and was actually calm, did he not understand his predicament?! Or did he think he was like other fellows who would have some cosmic force save him at thest second?


    On thest day of this idyllic week, Darius headed to the Mercenary Guild where he presented Carlton with the items he had promised the guild, which won the fellow''s smile which was quiteˇ­ masculineˇ­ to say the least.


    Just as Darius was about to make preparations to finally partake in the ''party'' he set up, he received a summons from Lord Spencely that was urgent.


    Once there, the City Lord of Listo hit him with a bombshell.


    "Baron Stone, the Crown Princess of Andrato summons you to the capital for an audit."

 Chapter 116 - 116

    Darius frowned when he heard Lord Spencely''s revtion. "The Crown Princess is summoning me? For an audit? Does she have the power to do that?"


    The City Lord of Listo sat back in his seat and stroked his beard. "Hard to say. This is the first time any of us have heard of such a request, as this kind of matter is usually handled by the Kingdom Revenue Service. If anything, you shouldn''t have enough assets to be formally audited underw. You haven''t opened your shop, you haven''t moved into your castleˇ­ heck, you still live in an inn!"


    Nichs removed his monocle, wiped it, and gazed at it quietly. "Nevertheless, it would be unwise to ignore the Crown Princess, unless you have very good reasons. As a new member of the Equality Faction, she should know better than to try and harm your interests."


    He then ced the ss essory back onto his right eye while smiling. "Besides, you are an Adept mage. No matter how brave the Crown Princess might be, she wouldn''t dare offend you so easily."


    Nichs began to rub his chin as he chuckled. "In fact, the Crown Princess actually turned 13st month. As she is two years away from the age of marriage amongst royalty, she is expected to seek a suitable consort to be her husband in the future."


    Lord Spencely shrugged yfully. "Who knows, she might have already subtly made her choice."


    Darius'' face twisted after he heard Nichs'' spection. Despite his overwhelming mental faculty, he was unable to regain hisposure in time. It couldn''t be helped in this case, because the whole situation was just too messed up.


    Just imagine, you are under pressure because someone has ced a gun to the head of your dad, mom, and sister/brother. You have to perform some actions - say, transfer your wealth over - to make the other party leave.


    Suddenly your phone rings and you are told to answer it to prevent suspicion. The caller turns about to be your drunk ex who is trying to hook up with you. In that situation, what kind of face would you make?


    Lord Spencely chuckled at Darius'' reaction, especially at his attempt to y it off. He knew that the fellow had some urgent matters to settle with the ins of Death, as well as the fact that Darius was the mission issuer.


    He had kept that little tidbit to himself as it raised his evaluation of Darius, so he could partly understand why thed would feel that way.


    "Personally, I''d advise you to go. With your ability, it should be easy to reach the capital and return in a timely fashion. This so-called audit might be an excuse to just spend a day with you and evaluate your personality as well as talent." Nichs suggested calmly.


    Darius stood up and shook Nichs'' hands as calmly as he could. "Thank you for the advice, Lord Spencely. I''ll definitely carefully consider my next step."


    The City Lord of Listo was not bothered, feeling sympathy for Darius. Darius was not obligated to go in the least, but it would be wise to curry favor with the royals regardless, especially for something like this.


    Unfortunately, Darius had his own matter to deal with that was far more important. Still, brushing off the invitation of the Crown Princess, especially one that was veiled as an official summons, could shake his weak foundation.


    He was a baron, the lowest of nobles. Even the title was not hereditary, just that due to Darius'' talent/value - at least in Listo - everyone treated him as if he was a Count and gave him the privileges of one.


    If the royals interfered, all that could be taken away. After all, no matter how valuable Darius was, they still had Kubrick. Darius was an option, not a necessity.


    Of course, Darius and Nichs were assuming that the royals were sensible enough to understand what should be done and what should not be, but the problem stemmed from the unpredictability of human nature.


    Who knew if they''d castmon sense aside and find a reason to start a vendetta with him? This was what made Darius feel annoyed, because he hated dealing with those who were unreasonable, and judging by his experience, those in power tended to belong to that category.


    Gunner tapped Darius on the shoulder lightly, taking his attention as they exited the town hall. "We can reach the capital today and inform that Princess that you have more important things you need to take care of, asking her to postpone her summons to after the month ends."


    "If she says no, we leave anyway. What can she do to us? Nothing. Weplete the Quest or die trying. If we seed and she wants to start trouble, we leave this low-quality kingdom and head to better ces. There is no sensible kingdom or empire that wouldn''t take us."


    Darius nodded. "Direct and concise as usual, Gunner. Let''s move out then."


    The duo headed to the eastern exit of the town. The capital city was 234 kilometers away to the southeast. At Darius'' current blink distance/speed, it would take less than a day to get there, but he would need 2340 consecutive blinks.


    At level 10, his Blink spell cost 2 MP, so he could cast it 500 times. He would have to take 4 breaks to refill his mana unless he wanted to use mana potions on the way. Of course, Darius was not too pressured because he had other means.


    Darius took out the Short Warp Scrolls he had been keeping all this while, exactly 3 of them. Since each one allowed him to traverse exactly 25 kilometers, that would save them great amounts of time and mana to get to the capital.


    As such, Darius opened the first scroll, allowing the residents of Listo around this street to be shocked stupid when he and Gunner simultaneously disappeared in a sh of blue light.


    25 kilometers and less than 210 away from their target, the duo re-appeared in the midst of some picturesque ins. Since there was quite a bit of distance between each town and city, they usually cultivated endless ins in between so that they could keep an eye for possible invading armies.

 Chapter 117 - 117

    Darius then nodded to Gunner who began to glow with the familiar greenish light of his bloodline energy. Darius simply activated blink repeatedly in the direction of the capital city.


    His form soon blurred and appeared exactly 100 meters away, yet Gunner was able to keep pace with him. The fellow moved by using his strength to kick off the earth, sending him shooting forth like a bullet.


    He did this each time his propulsion slowed down. While this might be faster than traditional running, it had steep requirements for Strength and Endurance, otherwise anyone who did this would onlyst a second or two.


    However, when Dariuspleted his first 500 blinks, he noticed that Gunner was only a few seconds behind him. The duo sat down to rest for 5 minutes before resuming their journey.


    Once they emerged from their warp, the duo continued blinking/leaping forward. Darius and Gunner were higher leveled, so their mana regenerated faster. Unfortunately, by some bizarre logic, mana regeneration was not tied to their Intellect stat, but their level.


    It seemed to be a fixed rate per level, and at level 20, Darius gained 20 points of mana every second. At level 19, Gunner''s was 19 points per second. So in truth, their MP had fully regenerated within a minute, but they spent some time recovering Gunner''s stamina.


    Now that they pushed forward again, they covered arge amount of distance. Eventually, Darius''s mana was emptied after 500 blinks once more, and Gunner came to a stop beside him a second or twoter, panting slightly.


    Darius had to admit, Gunner was an absolute beast. To achieve what he was doing anding out with a slight pant was something which should be impossible for anyone else at this stage.


    The Giant race of Faust was truly something else if a mere half-breed like Gunner was already this crazy. Darius had already chatted with Gunner, so as for his heritage, they nned to sort it out when they both became Adepts.


    Once they rested for another 10 minutes, this time slightly longer in order to allow Gunner enough rest, they continued their blink-leap technique.


    As such, Darius and Gunner appeared in the ins before arge city wall. Even with Gunner''s strength, Darius doubted he could leap over it in one go, especially given the ramifications such an action would entail.


    With towers attached to the fortifications and more than a few gates carved into those walls, Ando City was truly magnificent. There were no lines, traffic moved freely in and out of the city, carts carrying waste and other exports out while others carriages goods and imports in. There were also carriages, caravans, and the like moving people from one destination to another.


    Normally, a city would have four gates, one at the north, the south, the east, and the west. However, Ando City had more than 8 gates that Darius could tell from his map, and the inside was about the size of Niger.


    With such arge urban area, Darius knew that there were more than 780 million Andrato Citizens situated in this city through the official census. It was a staggering number once one considered that this was a single city, not a country.


    When Darius had researched the poption andndmasses of Faust, he had been convinced that Vena and Caesar must havecked any real grasp of geography and sociology, deciding to copy-paste aspects of Earth and just doubling or even tripling it in size.


    For one, without dungeons and the general rich resources, this world would be perpetually in a state of war, eventually being ruined as all life came to an end.


    Luckily for them, they had been gifted dungeons with ''infinite resources''. On Earth, just a few dungeons would have to be harvested regrly to theoretically end world hunger as the price of variousmodities would plummet to nothingness.


    When supply tops demand, price falls.


    However, the issue in Faust was that harvesting these dungeons was easier said than done. The majority of these fellows could not properly take advantage of their ''infinite resources'' due to various failures, so resources were still in high demand.


    Even then, the rate at which they harvested was not far from enough given their number, putting the ws aside.


    There was also the fact that all dungeons were not made equal, and they focused on different aspects. As a result, the towns and cities were reliant on trading their goods with each other to make up for these deficiencies.


    Darius could enjoy exotic meals in The Great Escape Inn, especially specialties from the Wood Dungeon because it was located nearby.


    However, if he were to visit Yunian City, which possessed a rare spatial attribute dungeon, he might be able to buy Bags of Holding and simr items cheaply, but the cost of food would naturally be higher.


    Anyone who went to school understood this logic.


    Darius and Gunner walked right into Ando City, the guards gazing at them with uncertainty. He Analyzed them all, as it had be second nature, and noticed that their captains were all Amateurs. Once theyid eyes on the duo, their faces changed greatly.


    Darius ignored them and took in the sight of Ando City.


    It was truly a magnificent area of urbanization, despite being medieval in style. Darius had seen illustrations and maps while reading, but they had not done the area justice.


    The difference between the capital and Listo was as clear as day. Listo was quite impressive, but the roads here were wide enough for doublenes on each side. Carriages and various vehicles constantly moved up and down in an organized fashion


    There were appointed traffic guards at each junction directing traffic, acting as humanoid traffic lights. The pavements were wide and had hundred of people busily walking up and down, either shopping, on their way home or to work.


    The city was neatly organized, with this entrance area being filled with service businesses, like inns, taverns, restaurants, and the like. Darius even saw spas and clothing shops as well.


    The duo walked in a bit further and saw that the next band was full of market goods, groceries, potions, equipment, and more. The sheer amount of shops selling things on both sides of the road was amazing.

 Chapter 118 - 118

    That was not even considering the fact that this was only one road. The next few blocks all had a simr number of shops, if not more, making for hundreds or thousands of these establishments all over.


    Thepetition had to be crazy, but with such a high poption, these shops might not be struggling all that much looking at how much was imported, as well as the daily patronage.


    The next band was the residential areas, with neatly arranged homes that were simr to suburban homes on Earth. Yet, these buildings were considered high-ss.


    It was impossible for a city to be thisˇ­ shiny, but Ando City was different. Byw, one was prohibited from living inside unless one had a certain amount of wealth stored in the Bank of Andrato.


    Every resident was obligated byw to open an ount with the bank and store their capital wealth as a person. It was basically a savings ount where the money could not be withdrawn unless there was a just cause.


    There was no need for premium payments into it from a sry or monthly upkeep, but the bnce of the ount could not go below a certain amount lest the offender would be evicted from the city.


    Naturally, one''s stored money would be returned, and space would be freed up for a new chipper resident with wealth and confidence in themselves that they could make something of their existence in the capital city.


    Darius had learned a lot about Andrato Kingdom''s capital because it had unsurprisingly had the most books dedicated to it. Coupled with the fact that he had already received an up to date map of the city which he was referring to mentally, he led Gunner to the center of the city, where the Royal Castley.


    After the residential band was the industrial one, and finally, the ssy band. Here, a smaller wall separated the ''outer city'' from the ''inner city'', where the noble residences and the royal castle were stationed.


    Of course, the official reason was that this was for defensive purposes, but Darius knew keenly that this was just an excuse to create a sense of exclusion and distance from the ''peasants''.


    Every town and city was doing something like this, even Listo. However, Ando City was the most direct in cutting the world off from the high society nobles. An interesting consequence of this action was that they were stuck with each other within their inner city.


    As such, thepetition and battle between noble houses here were far more intense and brutal than anywhere else. For Darius to get the same kind of eptance and pampering in the capital as was the case in Listo, would be a pipe dream.


    In fact, if he were to experience something like this, it would be surrounded by many hidden traps and conditions that would render him no better than a ve.


    Taking handouts or benevolence from any noble in the capital was basically tying yourself up and putting yourself in a box, then mailing yourself to their doorstep with a nicelyminated deed as well.


    There were always strings attached.


    Fortunately, Darius'' visit this time had nothing to do with political battles... hopefully. As such, the duo entered the inner city, they made a beeline straight for the castle.


    Unlike Listo, where the nobles with high statues were allowed to construct mini-castles ording to their preference, the nobles in the capital were limited to huge estates at best. Building a castle was seen as encroaching upon the rights of the royal family and would be severely punished.


    Darius found thisw quite clever. It reminded him of the rule prevalent in schools up to Junior High where students were meant to maintain their hair at a stable level, and especially were not allowed to have facial hair.


    The given exnation for this was to instill discipline in the students. Of course, the real reason was to suppress them beneath the rules. By differentiating between teachers who could have any hairstyle, clothing, or facial hair, it drew a line of supposed privilege between teachers and students.


    A simr psychology was used here.


    Darius and Gunner reached the gates of the royal castle, which was quite impressive. Not only was there a moat, but there were also some strange crocodile-like monsters swimming within.


    The drawbridge leading into the walled castle was lowered, allowing not only Darius, but a line of various people to enter the castle. Of course, the queue was quite long, and many couldn''t help but nervously avoid the edges of the drawbridge for fear of falling to their demise.


    Darius and Gunner won many strange looks as they bypassed the queue altogether, confidently walking into the castle. The guards there didn''t stop them as they took the duo for a noble scion and his servant.


    Of course, in matters like this, nobles had the privilege of cutting lines. A servant rushed to meet Darius near the entrance, his face a mask of servility as he bowed.


    "Greetings, My Lord. How may I address you?"


    "Darius Stone. I''m here by summons of the Crown Princess." Darius replied slowly.


    The servant was stunned when he heard that it was a matter concerning the Crown Princess, for her general situation this past month had been hectic. She had received many a potential suitor, since most noble families were hoping to marry into royalty.


    As such, he couldn''t help but size Darius up. The fellow definitely looked the part and was quite handsome, but the same had been true for many of the various Prince Candidates.


    The servant was unsure if Darius was actually expected or merely someone trying to cook up a story to see the Crown Princess. He certainly would not be the first handsome fellow to attempt such a thing.


    The servant could only cough with a red face and apologize. "I''m sorry, Lord Stone, but I must first check-in with the princessˇ­"


    Darius waved his hand magnanimously. "Sure, sure. Attend to your duties, good man."


    With a positive impression of Darius for not blowing up, insulting him, or forcing his way through using his status, the servant ran into the castle to check with the Crown Princess.


    As for Darius, he began counting down. If the Crown Princess did not give him any response within the next 10 minutes, he would return with Gunner and forget about this matter.


    After all, he had already made his appearance as soon as she had requested him. If she was too busy for him, oh well...

 Chapter 119 - 119

    As if sensing Darius'' intention to quickly leave, the servant returned in a hurry after spending less than 2 minutes inside. He sincerely bowed to Darius this time, a light of interest hidden in the depths of his eyes as he spoke.


    "Please follow me, Lord Stone. Our Crown Princess has summoned you to her personal quarters."


    Darius nodded for the servant to take the lead, but inwardly, he sighed. This 13-year-old girl appeared to be quite the cunning one. He was unsure if it was a natural talent or whether her harsh environment had trained her to behave in such a way.


    Well, he would find out soon enough.


    The castle was quite broad, with many open hallways having arches beautifully disying thendscape of Ando City. No matter which part of the royal castle''s external hallways one looked out from, they were guaranteed a breathtaking scenario.


    The higher they went, the breezier it got and the more spectacr the view became. Eventually, it stopped, as they entered into the inner hallways where the floors were neatly carpeted and there were doors on either side leading to the higher and lower floors.


    On the 8th floor, they reached their destination. The double doors at the end of the hallway were carved in flowery patterns and had strangely shaped handles.


    The servant knocked lightly at the doors, before announcing himself as well as Darius and his servant Gunner. The trio waited for a few seconds before a soft voice called them in.


    The servant pushed the door open and the duo entered without hesitation, leaving the servant outside as he dared not enter the room of the Crown Princess without being specifically summoned.


    Darius and Gunner were weed to thergest chamber they had seen so far. It could easily rival the size of 6 or more suites in The Great Escape inn, and also had the opulence to match those.


    Darius could not fathom, for the life of him, why a single girl would need this much living space. There was almost everything here that the heart could desire.


    From bookshelves, desks, sofas, settees to a small kitchen, multiple bathrooms, arge canopy bed, windows that were opened to allow air in, and even a ce to perform crafts like alchemy and tailoring.


    Darius eventuallyid eyes on the Crown Princess herself, who was seated at one of her ''lounges'' with two female servants in a traditional maid attire standing behind her.


    He Analyzed them and nearly lost his cool when looking at their stats.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Junia Hu


    Race: Human


    ss: Berserk Assassin


    Subss: Maid


    HP: 3,850/3,850


    MP: 1,560/1,560


    Level: 52


    Strength: 70


    Agility: 85


    Endurance: 55


    Intellect: 30


    Charisma: 18


    Luck: 4]


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Jania Hu


    Race: Human


    ss: Berserk Assassin


    Subss: Maid


    HP: 3,835/3,835


    MP: 1,716/1,716


    Level: 52


    Strength: 65


    Agility: 85


    Endurance: 59


    Intellect: 33


    Charisma: 18


    Luck: 5]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Jeanne Ando


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Angel


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Princess


    HP: 169/169


    MP: 1,575/1,575


    Level: 35


    Strength: 13


    Agility: 29


    Endurance: 23


    Intellect: 45


    Charisma: 32


    Luck: 20


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Excited


    Affection: Friendly lvl 2]


    Darius'' lips twitched as he moved to sit opposite the Crown Princess. Gunner came to stand behind him and his green eyes lit up as he read the details his master passed over to him via the system.


    Both of them understood that these three women were extremely special.


    On the surface, the two maids looked like simple servants, but it turned out they were powerful Adepts who had awoken as fighters with a focus on speed and assassination. The ''berserk'' part likely had to do with their almost maddening Agility.


    Darius and Gunner''s base Agility was less than 1/4th theirs. If they could move and maneuver around foes with ease, feeling like they were the wind, then the twodies with 85 points each should be able to stab the duo over 300 times before either of them would realize how they had died.


    And then there was the princess herself. While Darius was supposed to be going through a harrowing quest to raise himself to a Journeyman, the Crown Princess wasn''t too far off from bing an Adept.


    At the tender age of 13, she already reached 45 points in Intellect, only 5 away from Darius. Once she reached his level, the Mind Power within her would be brewing from her psyche.


    If one were to find any fault with her, it would have to be in regards to her physical stats which were abysmal inparison, yet it made sense.


    Not because she was a girl, but because she was bloody 13 years old!


    Her two maids must have been chosen to make up for her shoring, both having high stats in all physical fields, most likely earned through years of diligent practice, training, and life and death battles. And although they were fighters and not mages, each boasted a rather high Intellect.


    Nevertheless, they were a far cry from the princess herself. She must have learned to read about 8-9 years ago and within such a short time frame she had grown close to the 50 points threshold.


    This could only be exined by her having ess to spellbooks that were - of course - less potent than what Darius had made for Foldo, but much higher than the good quality ones that Adept mages wrote for their Official Apprentices.


    As if that wasn''t enough, this girl had a higher Charisma than Darius and Gunnerbined. At 15 and 16 points respectively, they were both considered extremely handsomeds that could even charm prostitutes into having sex with them for free.


    At 32 points, it would be surprising if Jeanne didn''t have an army of rabid suitors that chased after her on a daily. It would certainly exin why the servant from before had wanted to check in with her before allowing Darius in.


    And yet there was one thing that Darius found even scarier than all her other high stats...her abnormally high Luck.


    It was the highest he had seen since he had spawned into this world.

 Chapter 120 - 120

    Luck wasn''t something that could be grown organically like the other stats. Even Charisma was extremely hard to raise, much less Luck.


    Most people were born with their Luck at a fixed value, and they would live their lives with it, unless they would, ironically, have a very lucky encounter.


    Were it not for the Supreme System allowing both of them to raise ALL their stats, the luck of the master-servant duo would simrly have remained at their starting values forever.


    No matter who Darius had Analyzed since he came here, even the almighty Kubrick, no one had had more than 10 points of Luck.


    In fact, with ''just'' his 15 points of Luck from Earth he had been allowed to reincarnate into a fantasy world out of hundreds of trillions of souls. What were the goddamn chances?


    And yet this youngdy before him had more innate Luck than him...


    Just what was her fate?


    Was it something unique to the Ando family that ruled Andrato or was Jeanne herself protected by Lady Luck?


    The two maids looked to be twins and identical ones at that, though they had slight differences. Both of them were about 5"11 and quite attractive.


    The one on the left, Junia Hu, had a small round face, short-cropped green hair, and two sharp blue eyes. Her nose was small, as were her lips and ears.


    She would have been cute if it wasn''t for the slightly half-stoic, half-ferocious expression on her face. Her skin tone was creamy and her skin seemed rather supple for a fighter.


    The sister on the right, Jania Hu, shared many simr features to her sister, like her ideally cute visage with a small nose, small lips, and round face. However, her short-cropped hair was purple in color, while her eyes were the same piercing blue.


    Both sisters wore slightly altered maid outfits that allowed for fluid movements but were not the modernized version that sought to tease sensuality.


    As for Jeanneˇ­ well, aside from her ''taboo'' age, those points in Charisma were definitely not a mistake. As much as it pained Darius to admit it, Jeanne had to be the most attractive female he had seen to date.


    Her face was as if perfectly sculpted by God, his tears flowing at the thought of having to send this masterpiece down to earth to frolic with those vile mortals.


    What if she was soiled by them?


    Putting aside this amusing visual, Darius appreciated her shoulder-length-blond hair that had a reddish tint to it. There were some flecks of white hair within that she had carefully hidden, but they failed to escape Darius''s perception.


    Her face was angr and tapered to a soft point, much like his own face. It gave the young miss a mature look, making her appear to be 16 years old.


    Her eyes were like trapezoids, an intelligent glint shing within them. They shone with a light silver color, which would have startled Darius had he not seen her race.


    Or at least, half of it.


    She had a sharp nose, slightly thicker lips that were pinkish-red, and a soft chin. Her skin was even creamier than the maids behind her, but not to the point of paleness.


    She was seated, so Darius couldn''t measure her height easily, but her form was svelte and still growing. Right now, it was neither bad nor great. However, Darius had a strong feeling that by the time she hit 16 or 17, she would fill out beyond what most fellows could handle.


    The Crown Princess wore a lovely white sundress with green edges thatplemented her eyes. It was a rather casual attire for a princess, but its presence on her seemed to be perfect.


    Darius finished assessing the trio as they also finished assessing him. As such, he decided to get to what he had had supposedlye for, to be out of her as soon as possible.


    "Greetings, Crown Princess. My name is Darius Stone, and I''vee here to adhere to your summons," Darius greeted her formally, making a polite bow.


    "Greetings, Baron Stone. You may call me Princess Jeane, and I''ve actually summoned you here to inquire upon some issues concerning your identity." The princess informed him, greeting him with a slightly less formal curtsy.


    "Oh?" Darius murmured as he found that his previous ideas might have been wrong. This would mean that today might actually prove to very interesting. "Please, doy out your concerns so that we might address them in a timely manner."


    Jeanne nodded and took up therge folder which had been ced on the coffee table before her. She flipped it open, allowing Darius to see - with his sharp perception - that it was about him.


    A dangerous glint shed in Darius'' eyes as they almost became serpentine slits, but he held back since there were two actual Adepts present.


    Princess Jeane began speaking as she flipped through the file. "It says here that your first point of contact with our esteemed kingdom has been the Poleria Homestead, founded not too long ago by ex-Royal Guard Shanks Torniam. Is that correct?"


    "Yes, that is correct." Darius replied with amusement.


    The Princess nodded as if she expected this answer and continued. "Next, you proceeded to y three bandit groups, one of which is reported to belong to the Equality Faction and the others purportedly to the Superiority Faction, of which thetter plotted the entire operation in order to harm the former. Is this true?"


    "No, it is not." Darius answered calmly.


    A flicker appeared in the eyes of the princess. "Please borate, Dear Baron."


    "I did not ''y'' three bandit groups, neither did I know nor care about any of the involved factions. I was minding my own business when Portia Torniam rushed into my room to inform me about the homestead being under attack."


    "As someone who had benefited off their kindness for more than a week at that point, and someone with the power to help out, I deigned it necessary to intervene. What I did was help the residents of the homestead defend their home, not y bandit groups." Darius exined pointedly.


    The princess was silent for a while. Darius''s exnation did make sense, but it also did not, and she was determined to pursue this matter for her own reasons.

 Chapter 121 - 121

    "The report mentions that during the battle to defend the homestead, you were seen summoning two undead. I take it you practice necromancy?" The Princess asked with a hint of coldness.


    Darius noted her disposition and formed a theory. Could it be that this half-angel princess despised undead? Well, that was probably a silly question, how could a ''holy'' being feel anything else in regards to anything of the darkdeath element?


    "Princess Jeanne, I ask you to not make such dangerous usations. I do not have time for such dark crafts. No, what I used was two one-time scrolls to call upon two measly skeletons to have them act as my meatshields, or properly said, boneshields," Darius teased, and Gunner smirked.


    Of course, none of the opposite party found it funny. After a brief silence, during which Darius and Gunner enjoyed their own inside joke, Princess Jeanne continued.


    "At the end of the battle, you and your servant were seen chasing after the remnants of the bandit groups. May I ask why you did this and where the remains of those you caught are?"


    Darius nodded. "I went after one of the two vices of the Diato Bandits, Jorge. He was the one responsible for hurting Derek Torniam, so I intended to capture him with the intent of interrogating him, as I suspected that there was more behind the attack on the homestead. Unfortunately, I found nothing after a long chase."


    "Meanwhile, Gunner here was sent by me to hunt down the remnants of the Garwen Bandits. He ended up killing everyst one of them, bringing Garwen''s head to me. Truth be told, the fellow had such a pitiful expression on his face, as if he had been wronged somehow."


    Darius blinked innocently. "Could it be that he was the one working for your faction at the time?"


    Both of the maids behind the princess, who had not moved so far, clenched their fists visibly. Darius noted this and nodded inwardly.


    ''As I expected, Garwen was not simply sent by the Equality Faction. In my interactions with them so far, they haven''t proven to be overly clever or diabolical. They''re just arge majority that relies on their numbers as well as their cohesion.''


    Darius'' eyes glinted. Just look at how rare Amateurs were in Andrato, with them being given so many privileges everywhere they go. How could a band of more than 20 men, ALL of them at the Amateur stage, ALL of them trained archers, appear so far out there?!


    Darius had started to suspect the royals after Shanks had introduced him to hispanions in Listo, but he didn''t know if they were clever or ipetent, so he had settled for believing that the heads of the Equality Faction in the capital had been sharper than their delegation in Listo.


    After a short chat with this Princess, all his questions had been answered in that matter. As for the reaction of the maids, it only cemented his prior conclusion that they had been involved.


    The Crown Princess ignored Darius''s yful jab and questioned him further. "You were seen using spatial spells, if true you should have easily been able to capture any escapee, no?"


    Darius nodded. "That is urate. Unfortunately, that Jorge fellow was rather cowardly. He fled at the beginning of the final battle, just as I made my entrance and saved Friend Derek."


    "By the time I moved out to chase them, they were long gone. Of course, that alone was not enough to escape my grasp. However, I was unable to catch up to him. I can only conclude that the Jorge fellow was given something by his faction that allowed him to escape the battlefield or escape my senses."


    "This is one of the reasons I presumed Jorge to be the spy of the Superiority Faction was cemented. Later, I found that the Equality Faction had long since been aware of this."


    Princess Jeanne remained silent in order to parse his words before moving on. "It says here that you once awarded an Awakening Scroll to the daughter of Shanks Torniam?"


    Darius frowned here. "Princess Jeanna, excuse me for my rudeness, but that''s none of your business. This is an audit about my identity, not my charities. Please stay on topic."


    Jeanne frowned as well, realizing that Darius had almost no respect for her, though she understood why. As an Adept at his age, even going this far as to invite him here to question his identity was something her mother would severely punish her for afterward.


    This was someone, who, if cultivated well, could rece Kubrick as the bedrock of their kingdom and ensure countless years of safety. Why the fuck would anyone in their right mind, especially a ruler, antagonize him?


    However, Jeanne Ando had her reasons. She was now 13, so there were only 2 more years until she reached that age. Once she got married, she would be preparing to ascend the throne of Andrato Kingdom and give birth to the next heir.


    As such, she needed to sift through the young men of the kingdom of noble origins to find her potential husband. She had entertained many of them and had researchpiled on them through the Thieves and Assassins Guilds, and what she had seen, had left her depressed.


    There had only been 5 candidates among a few hundred that she had deemed worthy. Four of them had been slightly older than her but they were all Journeyman of great talent who also had the potential to be Adepts within the next decade or two.


    These fellows were not a problem, as they could be easily controlled with her power. Jeanne had no interest in bing a wife who would be controlled by her husband like a puppet ruler, not with her racial affinity.


    Darius had be the most recent addition. Not only was he the best of all, but he was perfect in every aspect. His wealth and power were top-notch, and so far, his decisions indicated great patience as well as intelligence.


    This left Jeanne feeling threatened and unsure. What kind of fellow was he and could he be controlled? As such, she had picked through the ws in his identity and hoped to use this ''audit'' to ce mental pressure on him.


    So far, it was backfiring stably.

 Chapter 122 - 122

    Jeanne understood very keenly that things were bing thorny. The sensible option would be to drop this matter and quit while she was still ahead, yet this would mean everything she had been trying to aplish with this audit would have been for naught.


    Worse, with this as a foundation, Darius could easily assert mental dominance over her as the winner of their battle of wits.


    This left Jeanne feeling ufortable and stifled. The princess was aware that she was currently riding on the back of a tiger that was enraged, and getting down would only spell her doom. As such, she could only continue to ride it to the end and hope for the best.


    Darius easily noticed her qualms and was amused. Truth be told, his annoyance about the summons had vanished the moment she had revealed the real reason for this audit.


    In fact, Darius had started to garner a positive interest for her.


    Their interaction allowed him to grasp her mentality and her current course of action made him nod his head inwardly. If he was in her shoes, he would do the exact same thing. Anyone with a bit of backbone and intelligence would, really.


    However, the problem with her next move that made it seem stupid was that the difficulty was high and the penalty for failure was steep, making it riskier than it was rewarding.


    As a merchant, Darius would hesitate to take such a venture, but put in her shoes, this was indeed the best option. Quite tragic really, Darius'' heart went out for her.


    He knew this was all a grand bluff due to his ability to Analyze. Darius might be good at reading people, but that was dealing with Earthlings who had an average of 10 points in Intellect while he had 21 initially.


    In Faustˇ­ well, the issue should not need to be exined. Against Jeanne who was only 5 points lower than him, he found that he was having a hard time reading her, and was caught in the tempo of the battle.


    Of course, while 5 points may seem small, they were also a gulf that separated Jeanne from an entirely new stage and ability. How long it would take her to acquire those points, no one knew.


    Jeanne frowned as she read through the document, before she eventually continued speaking. "It says here that you met the leaders of the Equality Faction in Listo and gained their favor. Putting aside the title of Baron you were given, which is a right of Minor Duke Spencely, you were also given privileges equivalent to that of Count. How did thise to be?"


    Darius smiled. "I know nothing of such things. I know not how nobility and titles work in Andrato, only that Minor Duke Spencely has treated me rather well, garnering my favor for this kingdom. It would be counter-intuitive to ruin that favor if you ask me."


    Jeanne red at Darius before flipping through the folder and opening another page. For the first time since he had met her, Jeanne smiled beautifully. It was really a captivating visage for any onlooker, but Darius only felt a chill when he saw it.


    Jeanne''s silver pupils narrowed as they gazed at Darius, and the youngdy spoke in a slow and pressuring tone. "Baron Stone, in the same meeting with the leaders of the Equality Faction, your origins were revealed."


    She gazed down on the document deliberately. "You were purported to beˇ­ thest survivor of the noble Stone House in the recently destroyed Westerlier Empire. Is that correct?"


    Like a hawk, Jeanne''s head snapped up as her pupils shone with a predatory glint. Darius'' answer here was fixed and there was no escape from the hole he had dug for himself.


    Darius sighed internally. He had naturally done his research about the Westerlier Empire before assuming the identity of one of their own. At the time, he had been a bit surprised to find ''Stone'' to be the family name of a noble line of mages.


    Anyone who had investigated his background would be able to find that out and should bergely convinced.


    Only those who truly sought his demise would waste resources to go deeper and unearth the Stone Family register looking for his name. Judging from the confidence the princess was exuding, she was one such person.


    ording to his own n, he had intended to quickly be a Journeyman after reaching Listo and establish his shop. With its high-quality goods, he would be a staple of the Andrato Kingdom that could not be done away with, like how a very powerful country on Earth could not get rid of a certain social media corporation even if they wanted to.


    At that point, any questions raised about his identity could be swept under the rug by bribes, assassination, or collective pressure. It had worked grandly for him on Earth, and it should''ve worked in Faust.


    Who would have thought some ''clever'' princess would go so far just because she wanted to marry him without getting pressured by him? Just how much did she spend to get this much info? Was the Queen even aware? Darius doubted that.


    Did she even understand the magnitude of what she was doing and the punishment she would suffer afterward?


    Well, whatever the case, he couldn''t avoid this question, so he calmly answered. "Indeed, that is what I told them."


    Jeanne breathed out lightly, like she had finally resolved a big issue that gued her heart. Her demeanor became less forceful and more pleasant, like she was suffering from schizophrenia.


    "The Westerlier Empire was destroyed on the 1st of June, 8757 of the Faustian 4th generation calendar. This was three years ago. The former empire''s territory has long since been divided between stronger parties and their resources seized. Their nobles were either absorbed into other nations or captured as ves."


    "As for their peasants, they were not even given a chance to make a choice, any found were taken as ves immediately. As for the noble Stone family, they were one of thest families to be destroyed, and boasted great magical prowess."


    Jeanne recited all this calmly, not breaking eye contact from Darius as she sought to unveil his lie in the most direct way possible.

 Chapter 123 - 123

    "From what I can tell, the illustrious Stone family should have all of its members captured by the Filoan Empire, where the patriarch of your supposed family had a feud with a noble there. That makes me question your presence here." Jeannemented as she waited for Darius'' reply.


    "Do you have a lie detector? Or someone with the ability to sieve through the truth of words objectively as a skill or talent?" Darius asked seriously.


    Jeanne was temporarily thrown off by his answer, not expecting him to jump to such a different matter altogether. She furrowed her eyebrows and replied coldly.


    "What does that have to do with my question?"


    Darius smiled. "It has everything to do with it."


    He raised a finger and twirled it around slowly, while cing his cheek on his clenched fist, gazing at Jeanne with mockery. "You see, yourˇ­ auditˇ­ assumes that the information you are relying on is truthful and valid fact. I''m simply calling it into doubt."


    Darius leaned forward. "Princess Jeanne, in the first ce, you have no authority to question me. I''ve been ying along because I''ve been intrigued about the reason for your summon and subsequently because I found our ''battle'' quite amusing."


    "However, here is where I have to lock your traction to a halt. As it stands, no matter whatever document you put forth, without the stamp of various empires ascertaining it as fact, it is basically your word against mine."


    "Of course, it''s not like you would actually rely on information purchased from the Thieves and Assassins Guilds, which are two illegal entities in Andrato, now would you?" Darius chuckled softly.


    The breathing of Junia Hu and Jania Hu hitched as their eyes tried to hide their growing anger at Darius. They had never seen someone act so insubordinate and sharp-tongued among the noble scions who hade to pander to the Crown Princess for her affection.


    And yet Darius smiled even wider as he noticed that their Neutral affinity with him rose to Friendly lvl 1. Despite being angered by his behavior, their respect for him had unwillingly increased due to hisposure and his intelligence.


    As for Princess Jeanne, she remained silent for a long while. She eventually smiled lightly and remainedposed as she ended her interrogation.


    "Then it seems, there is no need to continue with this audit. Until I obtain concrete information that can satisfy Baron Stone''s criteria, I shall make sure to keep my worries to myself."


    "In the meantime, I would like to invite Baron Stone for a short meal so that we can discuss other matters," she offered kindly.


    Darius rose from his seat and shook his head. "I''m not interested. I have much more pressing concerns at this time, and I believe the reason should have been made known to you by your faction."


    Jeanne''s face failed to remain rigid as a sh of disappointment showed up, but she still made another attempt. "That is understandable, and I apologize for summoning you during a busy period. However, should it be possible, would you like to visit the capital city and have a tour? I''m willing to personally escort you around Ando City."


    Darius'' expression remained that of a smile, but inwardly he was frowning in confusion. "That is something that can only be decided by fate, Crown Princess. For now, I''d rather take my leave with my servant."


    Without looking at her twice, Darius took out a House Portal Scroll and opened it. In a sh of yellow light, both he and Gunner disappeared from the Crown Princess'' bedroom, shocking the trio.


    House Portal Scrolls existed in Faust, but were not avable in the Andrato Kingdom due to how low it was on the food chain. Jania and Junia became alert, fearing some foul y.


    If people could just teleport in and out of the royal castle, how could the Princess be kept safe? The royal castle had been fortified with many runic enchantments that should prevent such things, but what they didn''t know was that their enchantments failed to prevent the utility of Darius'' items.


    Against the local Andrato folk, they were formidable, yet against items made by Transmutation which were at the highest possible quality for their stage/level, it was like wet paper.


    Jeanne simply stared at where Darius had stood, a questioning light in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, her silver eyes dimmed as she didn''t understand what had just happenedˇ­ or what she was feeling.


    .................


    Darius and Gunner appeared in their suite in The Great Escape inn. Gunnerzily walked over to his bed and plopped down upon it, nning to nod off for a bit.


    Darius though, went over to the bar, poured himself a chilled drink, and sat on a stool. As he usually did, he began to sip on the lovely concoction while thinking.


    He had to admit, this visit had turned out to be far more interesting than he had initially expected. Spencely''s remarks had been spot on, and at the same time, slightly off.


    Then again, it was Darius'' fault for not doing more in-depth research on the Princess'' achievements and personality.


    In his mind, there should have been time for that after the Quest, when he would have moved towards the cities to expand his influence in Andrato. This recent battle of the minds though, reminded him of his advantages and disadvantages.


    On Earth, he had been able to bully everyone and was hailed a genius. With his quantified 21 Intellect, he had been twice as smart as the average man. Even against other geniuses, he had hardly lost.


    From his own understanding of the Supreme System, they would have had somewhere between 15-20 Intellect, but that was just a guess based on how hard it had been for him to defeat them.


    In Faust, even the princess of a low-tier kingdom could have 4.5 times the intelligence of the average man. As Darius climbed the ranks, he was bound to meet more potent fellows who had even higher Intellect.


    Masters and Grandmasters would have much higher stats than Journeymen or Adepts. In fact, Darius stipted that the criteria to go from Adept to Master was 100 points in Intellect.


    At that point, one''s brain would be so powerful that their fledgling Mind Power would evolve into true psychic ability.

 Chapter 124 - 124

    It was precisely this issue that prevented the Andrato Kingdom from grooming Masters easily. One had to understand that the gulf between them and Darius was deep, and Caesar had already stated the reasons behind that.


    Darius had forgone organic growth for artificial growth. He could consciously choose to develop himself in any way, allocating his power where he wanted, as long as he gained the required Ability Points or Skill Points. ording to his handler, Darius'' growth speed was 100 times faster than the average Faustian.


    Look at Jeanne. Darius might haveined about her talent, but he had no right to. She was a bonafide half-angel, so of course, her development speed would be crazy.


    Angels only resided in Elysium, so it was a miracle that Jeanne''s mother had managed to have had a liaison with one and carry a child. Lord knew what kind of plotting and suffering the woman had gone through to achieve that.


    Of course, it could also be that Jeanne''s mother was a full angel pretending to be human and her husband was a normal human. Either way, the fact was that Jeanne would grow faster than her peers, putting aside the resources she had.


    Being a Journeyman on the cusp of the Adept stage by 13 was absolutely stunning. Darius'' feat of already being an Adept, at least in the perception of everybody, was what made him a hotcake here.


    However, was that the truth? Unfortunately, it was not. The reality was that Darius had taken slightly longer than a month to go from having Intellect barely above the Journeyman level to Intellect at the Adept level.


    Even his Luck had climbed greatly to match his Intellect, giving him a rare ability he was certain only a handful would be lucky enough to possess.


    This was not even mentioning his other stats that had climbed from below par to above par. Darius could freely battle as a close-medium fighter or a ranged mage if he so chose, because his stat allocation allowed it.


    He was only an Amateur in reality, but this was the benefit of the Supreme System. Residents of Faust did not have this growth benefit, forced to grow at their own speeds which were dictated by their talent. They could only grow organically.


    Organic and inorganic growth, which was stronger?


    Naturally, one would argue that in avoidance of any detriments, inorganic growth was superior. Faster, more precise, and abusable.


    Inorganic growth was the dream of every person on Earth, which was often presented to them in media, sparking their greed and fantasy.


    Organic growth was what all species were stuck with. Hard work equated results more often than not and without the right discipline, there was no gratification. Faustians had to bear this, but they had a certain benefit that had be Darius''s detriment.


    Stage-climbing.


    For them, it was tough to raise their stats and ''levels'', but once they reached the threshold, it was a matter of just breaking the limit based on their talent. Depending on the person, it could either be easy or hard.


    For Darius, he had to pay the price of easy progression. His stage-climbing had toe in the form ofpleting an Impossible task where the slightest mistake spelled his demise.


    This should make any person with organic growth think twice about lusting after this power because it was a rose with thorns. If one looked only at its beauty and tried to take it for oneself, they would only end up hurting themselves.


    Back to the matter concerning the Crown Princess. From the moment the servant hade out to report that Princess Jeanne had wanted to see him in her quarters, Darius had known that thess was cunning.


    It wasn''t until they spoke that he realized by how much. It might not be obvious, but the servant had invited Darius in front of a crowd and his voice had not been particrly low either.


    Previously, he had been worried that too many scions had been pestering the princess, then he suddenly announced that a new scion had been summoned by her, and not to anywhere, but to her private chambers.


    That was a privilege reserved exclusively to a potential Prince Consort. If it was not painfully obvious already, the Crown Princess had used him as a shield to ward off the flies.


    As an Adept who cared less about Andrato, he was the perfect choice, for there was nothing those scions could realistically do to harm him. Even their noble parents would p them on the face if they so much as suggested messing with Darius, for that was a wasted venture.


    When Darius had seen the line-up of Princess Jeanne, Junia, and Jania Hu, he understood that the trio had been a beauty trap.


    Using it as a test, his response would reveal to her whether he was an intellectual that could control his lust in proper situations or just another beast without any self-control like the flies.


    Finally, she had many times tried to gauge his feelings towards her and Andrato, and Darius'' actions had given her a solid answer.


    ''I don''t care about you, your little games, or your concerns. Neither do I particrly care about your kingdom, its wellbeing, or its development. I care only about my goals and achieving them.''


    This was what Darius had left hidden between the lines, which Jeanne had easily been able to read. As such, she had ended the audit and tried to do what she had actually summoned Darius for, which was courtship.


    Darius had firmly rejected her offers and even coldly teleported away without hesitation, leaving the now interested Jeanne behind.


    Yes, interested. When she ended the audit, Darius had seen that her affinity had climbed to Friendly lvl 3. In other words, Princess Jeanne''s feelings towards him were on the same level as Portia Torniam.


    As such, he had taken the initiative to leave her in the dust. The disappointment she had shown when he had rejected her had been real.


    Unfortunately for her, Darius was not interested in marrying a princess no matter how beautiful.


    He wasn''t a horndog so deprived of sex that he would jump on any attractive female that passed him by.


    If he wanted sex, he could buy or seduce any partner he wanted.


    The only ''string attached'' in that case would at most be the money he would have to spend, which was the lesser evilpared to getting involved in all kinds of political schemes.

 Chapter 125 - 125

    Darius allowed Gunner to rest for a while as he continued analyzing his encounter with Princess Jeanne. He then went to wash himself up and also joined Gunner in bed,pletely rxing like there was no tomorrow.


    As such, the duo slept until it was evening. Upon waking, they both washed up once again and headed downstairs. Darius surprisingly ate heartily, gorging on 3 meals.


    However, nobody paid attention to him, because Gunner broke his personal record and managed to swallow up more than 20 tes, leaving the onlookers frozen in fear.


    That youngd was a beast! Just where did all that food go?!


    Once done, Darius tipped the waiter and told him to inform Emily Wushe that he and Gunner would be away for the next 2 weeks.


    Until then, she had his permission to stay in their suite and use the already paid for services as she wished.


    The server nodded, but was unable to hide the envy in his eyes, cursing his fate to have been born male instead of female.


    Darius exited the inn with Gunner in tow. The duo hailed a carriage and entered, informing the driver that their destination was the forward outpost of the ins of Death, Baratuo.


    They wanted him to arrive there at the fastest speed possible. To ''motivate'' the driver to ede their request, Darius offered him double his fare, which came to about 1 silver coin.


    As such, the fellow whipped his horses and got them moving at a stable speed of 25 km/h.


    To cross the entire 240 kilometers from Listo to Baratuo would take slightly more than 9 hours. This was not counting the breaks the horses would have to take in order to maintain their speed.


    Darius though, was not bothered by this seeming dy. It would be faster for him and Gunner to blink-leap, but they nned to do that from Baratuo to the core areas of ins of Death which was a far longer journey.


    Luckily, it was nighttime and many drivers refused to move at this time without a good source of light. After all, this was the medieval era where there were no headlights or streetlights. Instead, they used brightmps that highlighted their position, although it did nothing to increase their own perception.


    Darius'' driver had considered pausing for the night but he was afraid that doing so would void his nice little bonus.


    Fortunately, the road to Baratuo was mostly straight with no curves, so the horses could maintain a straight gallop for about 30 minutes before tiring.


    Just when they were about to stop, Darius called from inside the carriage and handed the driver two stamina potions to give to the horses. Secondly, he cast a spell on both animals that glowed with a purplish light.


    By using half his CP for the day, Darius had converted one of his three remaining empty spell manuals into an arguably useful buff/debuff basic spell.


    [Adjust - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Control the fundamental force of the that restrains all beings to its surface. This spell increases or decreases the target''s weight by 5%.]


    This was the basic spell of the Gravity element, Adjust. With it, Darius could allow someone to move faster or slower by slightly adjusting their weight. Of course, if he raised the level of the spell, it would no longer be ''slightly''.


    This spell was mostly meant to further improve Gunner''s efficiency, although it would also prove useful to debuff any enemies. In this instance, however, it worked to lighten the horses.


    Immediately, their movement speed shot up to 35km/h after drinking the stamina potions, and the carriage was off to a faster pacepared to before. After another half hour, Darius provided them with another set to drink.


    He was still using the Inventory style of 99 slots with 999 stacks. This was why he disliked cluttering it up with unnecessary things.


    It currently contained a stack of 432 stamina potions in one slot, all of the inferior grade. He had also amassed 632 mana potions as well as 234 health potions.


    Whenever he had sold his drops from the dungeons, he had excluded the potions. After all, how the hell was he supposed to exin their appearance?


    Fortunately, they were quite useful as material to transmute other things he needed like the Spark Potions, Common mana potions, or even the Purification Potions he made earlier.


    He was still using the inventory style of 99 slots with 999 stacks. This was why he often did not like putting useless things in his inventory or allowing certain things to stay for too long.


    Of course, Inferior stamina potions could not get the horses moving for an hour, so for the second round, Darius had spent 0.0001 CP to upgrade each one to themon grade.


    Midnight wasing, so he had to spend his CP anyway. He had forgotten to thanks to the hard work of the Princess, which had seriously upset the bnce of his ns for the day.


    However, the rate was too slow. As such, he took out some of his mana potions and mass converted them to themon grade, giving about half of them to Gunner.


    Thankfully, the increase in their mana regen meant that Gunner could now use his Earth Guardian skill permanently.


    Right now he recovered 19 MP per second and Earth''s Guardian drained 15 MP per second, leaving him with a surplus of 4 MP.


    However, Gunner often used his other skills, Earthen Stomp and Earthen Punch, in conjunction with this, their power rising with his base buff from Earth''s Guardian.


    Although they each were only level 1, the Stomp cost 20 MP and the Punch cost 15 MP. If used repeatedly, Gunner''s MP would eventually bottom out, hence the need for mana potions to supplement these crazily powerful skills.


    As for Darius, nothing he could do in a second could beat his own mana regen amount at the Amateur stage. Not counting his Heal spell, the most powerful basic spell, his level 20 Spark, merely cost him 5 MP.


    However, Vena or Ceasar seem to have predicted this and whenever he continually cast spells in a row like Blink, his MP regen would be halted.


    Otherwise, he would have been able to Blink to Infinitum, a ghost of teleportation that never stopped.

 Chapter 126 - 126

    Darius spent a portion of his remaining CP to create one Spark Potion that gave the user the ability to control pole weapons with their will, and the rest was used to create a mix of Purification Potions and Common mana potions.


    By the time midnight struck, they had crossed 70% of their journey. After spending 5 hours on the road, they now had less than 80 kilometers to go to reach their destination.


    Darius had maintained the buff on the horses which cost him 1 MP a second per horse, but it allowed the animals to fly like the wind. Coupled with his invigorating stamina potions, they were still going somewhat strong.


    Of course, he had nothing to alleviate the horses of their mental fatigue and the wear of their muscles was slowly killing the horses. As such, he had kept an eye on their HP and had used his Heal spell whenever necessary.


    Surprisingly, the level 1 horses with 20 HP and 0 mana at the start of their journey had since reached level 3 and now had 35 HP and even 2 mana.


    This phenomenon confused him greatly. Was it that they had been strengthened by the hardship and the continued reparation of their cells? Or could it be that his Heal spell naturally invigorated weak beasts?


    Thetter appeared to be a bit too far-fetched, so Darius was more inclined to believe that it was a matter of surviving hardship.


    From a certain perspective, what Darius was doing to them was what protagonists often did during their training montages to suddenly reach the level of the main viin in mere weeks.


    Darius marveled at the power of organic growth. If true, it meant that he could gather some ves and train them up this way, increasing their power without the need to brand them. As long as he could ensure their loyalty, he could build up a powerful force of his own.


    Darius'' eye flickered. He already had the intention of taking in mage apprentices and training them with his superior resources to be monsters of his tutge after bing a Journeyman, but this revtion would expand his options greatly.


    By the time it hit 3 am, Darius and Gunner silently disembarked from the carriage as they had finally reached Baratuo. He tossed the worried driver 2 silver instead of one for his perseverance and used Heal towards the panting horses that were almost foaming at the mouth.


    The horses looked noticeably different from before. Theirrge bellies had sunken in, disying rigid muscles. On Earth, many people would joke that these horses looked to be a perfect fit for an anime protagonist that imed to be 17 years old and still in high school.


    They had reached a whopping level 5 and their stats had also climbed greatly, mainly their Endurance and Agility stats. They had almost doubledpared to before, which would yield an interesting benefit to this carriage driver in the future.


    As for Darius and Gunner, they entered the outpost.


    Baratuo was a heavily guarded military outpost owned by the Andrato Kingdom to monitor the situation within the ins of Death and prevent an Undead Surge.


    The duo had to undergo a security check and prove their identities before being allowed entrance. Darius noticed that the camp was quite busy at thiste hour as he was led to the tent of the overseer.


    Inside there were four men seated around a table, idly sipping tea as they chatted about various topics. Once Darius and Gunner were announced, the fellows within the tent paused their chat to assess these neers.


    Darius also did the same while introducing himself personally. "Good morning, esteemed gentlemen. My name is Darius Stone and it is my pleasure to make your acquaintance."


    Three of the men reacted positively when they heard his name, yet one reacted negatively and didn''t hide his deep frown. The other three rose from their seats and came to greet Darius while introducing themselves.


    The first was a stocky middle-aged man who wore a clean suit and a tophat. "Greetings, Master Darius. My name is Eto Birhind. The pleasure is all mine!"


    Seeing as he was being given a lot of respect despite his age from Eto, Darius also grasped his hand strongly and returned his greeting respectfully and enthusiastically, giving Eto a better impression of him, as well as the other two.


    Next, it was an older man who wasnky and possessed a sharp hooked-nose. He wore purple noble robes that marked him as Adept mage with the logo on his attire bearing testimony to his school.


    "Greetings, Young Master Darius. I am Ferdinand Linguini. As a fellow Adept, I hope to exchange with you often!"


    Darius also gave a respectful greeting back to Ferdinand and promised him to share some magical knowledge once his matters werepleted.


    The final person was a razor-sharp young man who had very handsome features and a light of arrogance in his eyes. He forcefully shook Darius'' hand and smiled amiably.


    "Greetings, Brother Darius. My name is John Conn. I''m the heir of the Conn Family in the capital and one of your allies!"


    Darius also shook John''s hand and whispered something in John''s ear that made his eyes light up. The duo snickered as if they had their own inside joke before breaking their hold.


    As for the final person, the only one to not stand up, it was actually the Overseer himself. Darius was not surprised by this as Minor Duke Spencely had warned him about the Overseer of Baratuo currently being a man from the Superiority Faction.


    It was one thing to tolerate John Conn because he was a mere scion sent to liaison somethings and there were heavy political forces at y. However, Baron Darius Stone was a boon to the Equality Faction and therefore a threat to his Superiority Faction.


    While he didn''t dare openly antagonize Darius as he was an Adept, he certainly did need to act too chummy. As such, when Darius'' eyesnded on him, he continued to remain seated and introduced himself from his seat.


    "You may call me Overseer Garm. I''m the finalw of Baratuo and nothing moves through this outpost without my blessing!"

 Chapter 127 - 127

    Naturally, Garm was trying to put pressure on Darius and make him understand that he was unsatisfied with the presence of the fellow.


    The indication was clear, if he wanted any favors like the other three here, he''d better cough up something good and speak well in order to soothe his anger, or he could forget about getting anything done!


    Dariusughed. "Overseer Garm, forgive me for being rude in barging into your domain at such ate hour. I do wish to pass through here in order to enter the ins of Death, with your permission of course."


    Seeing as Darius had spoken well, Garm''s coldness softened. Still, without being properly ''pampered'' he did not give Darius any extra benefits and said. "Of course, you''re free to enter the ins of Death as you please. However, anything concerning your life and wellbeing is your own burden."


    Darius approached Garm and stretched his hand to shake his. Overseer Garm was suspicious, but still received Darius'' gesture as it was a matter of etiquette. However, his face changed slightly when he felt something in Darius'' palm.


    With a gleam in his eye, he quickly received the ''gift'' Darius was giving him. Darius himself smiled thankfully and released his grip. "Thank you for your kindness, Overseer. My servant and I shall be on our way."


    Darius resolutely left the tent, surprising the other three. Of course, they were nobles and experienced men, how could they not recognize the ''transaction'' that had just urred.


    The three couldn''t help but praise Darius for his worldliness and wisdom. In a simr situation, many immature hot-headed youths with notable power would have scoffed at Garm''s rudeness and mentality, choosing to forge ahead on their own while offending him.


    Only the most mature and wise fellows knew how to be patient and choose to make as many friends or allies as they could. One could never predict the future, and making Garm a friend instead of a foe when heading out into a dangerous zone could make all the difference.


    Of course, they also knew discretion. None of them showed curiosity as to what Garm had received openly and continued chatting about their matters from before as if Darius had never entered.


    If one did not know any better, one would think they had been totally ignorant as to what really happened just now.


    Their chatter continued on until the early dawn before they bid farewell to Garm after receiving the various promises and essions they hade here for.


    Tired and quite stressed, Garm was about to head to bed when he remembered the item Darius gifted him.


    Curious and expectant as to what the talented Adept would gift him, Garm opened his drawer and took it out. Once he saw what it was, his face changed greatly, and his lips couldn''t help but twitch.


    It was the Red Enchant that Darius had been keeping for a while now, an item deemed supremely rare even by the Supreme System. This was useful to allbatants as they could imbue rare and powerful enchantments to their weapons with this.


    One could have the money to buy it, but finding it would be another story altogether! Now he had received it as a mere gift of friendship?


    Garm couldn''t help but look towards the ins of Death, where Darius should have entered by now. His lips still twitching he couldn''t help but speak to himself.


    "After giving me this, how can I muster any dislike for you, damn bastard. Fine, from henceforth, you are officially a friend of mine." Garm muttered unwillingly despite beginning to deeply respect Darius.


    After this, the Overseer finally headed to his tent to get some shut-eye.


    .............


    As for Darius, he was already in the area just before the ins of Death, 3 kilometers away from the Baratuo outpost. Despite his mission, Darius could see no one around here, which was expected as most of them should be deeper inside by now.


    Right before them was a blightednd even more intense and darker than what the Liches had produced during their transformation. Darius was certain that should he and Gunner take one step in, their power would immediately be suppressed.


    This made him frown, as it added ayer of difficulty to his already tedious and arduous mission. He certainly wasn''t looking forward to experiencing the effects of the blight, but he had no choice.


    It wasn''t like he could fly like a Master stage expert, or at least levitate himself. The duo shared a look before simultaneously sighing and taking one step in. The moment they did, their faces changed and they grimaced heavily.


    Darius checked his and Gunner''s status only to find out that their HP, MP, and various stats had been suppressed by 10%. This was only the outer edge of the ins of Death''s first band, so it could only get worse the deeper they went in.


    No wonder even the light aligned forces from powerful empires on Fallon Continent pretended as if they hadn''t seen this ce. Darius was somewhat prepared for this as he drank a Purification Potion.


    As for Gunner, he simply manifested his Earth''s Guardian skill and kept it active. Unlike the version of blight the duo of liches made which was cleansed, the true blight here was unharmed. However, Gunner was also free from its effects.


    Darius understood that his best option was to move through the ins of Death slowly and cautiously. However, time was of the essence, and this was exactly why he had ''wasted'' two weeks setting up chaos in this zone.


    After everyone had entered, they had messed up the order of this ce, allowing him to breeze through the early bits until he caught up to where the chaos would currently be ensuing.


    ording to his predictions, they should be in the Adept band or at least in thetter half of the Journeyman band.


    Darius and Gunner began their blink-leap technique post-haste. They tore through the first band rapidly, a blur in their own right.


    They were so fast that the weaker undead that popted the area were confused, the same holding true for the various mercs and adventurers who couldn''t go in deeper.

 Chapter 128 - 128

    1,284 kilometers deep into ins of Death, near the very center of the Adept band, arge pyramid-like structure made of obsidian and bone was floating in mid-air.


    This necropolis exuded rivers of greenish liquid from all around its body which fell down into an ethereal greenke.


    At the peak of this building was a tomb shaped like a pantheon cathedral. The room was mostly empty. Aside from the wealth of whitish bones from various species used to create the room, there was merely a small pedestal in the very center of the room.


    Levitating above it, was the glowing body of an undead sitting in the lotus position. The creature''s green robe was open, casually pping by his side, though one would be amiss to discover that there was no natural wind here.


    A trick of the eye perhaps?


    One would question this choice of fashion until taking a closer look, before realizing the necessity. It wasn''t truly the undead himself who released the only source of ambient lighting.


    No, it was an egg-shaped stone the size of a tennis ball affixed to his sternum that gave off the sinister ck light. From another point of view, it really looked like an egg, just gray in color


    Apart from the glow, the stone was truly unremarkable except for the fact that its surface was smooth and gray in color, as if someone had spent hours polishing it.


    And yet, despite its unremarkable outer appearance, this stone was one of the most valuable items in the entire ins of Death.


    For this reason, the undead Adept with the highest strength had been tasked to see to its eternal protection.


    It was none other than Stonekeeper Marasmus, who had embedded the First Ressurection Stone inside of himself to fulfill his duty!


    Today was like any other for Marasmus or should have been, minus the incessant reports he had been receiving the past few days of strange activities. Today was no different as Marasmus was pulled of out his mediation by his aide, Goiter.


    Goiter entered the tomb slowly and bowed to his master. "Lord Stonekeeper, I apologize for waking you. There have been many battles in the Derelict Field with various human Adepts. While our casualties are high, theirs are also mounting."


    Marasmus came to life, his hollow eye sockets ''opening'' to reveal two huge red lights that shone so brightly as if someone has put a shlight in his ''eyes''.


    "And?" The levitating undead asked.


    Goiter bowed lower. "This is normally not a matter I would disturb your Lordship with, but we''ve imed some of their dead into our fold. Apparently, the reason why so many powerful Adepts havee here is because a human Master covets your life."


    This intrigued Marasmus. "Hoh? So this so-called Master has chosen to throw countless others my way instead of dealing with me personally? Either he''s foolishˇ­ or unprecedentedly wise."


    Goiter cocked his head in confusion. What kind of oxymoronic statement was that? How could someone be foolish or wise using the same criterion?


    Marasmus, maybe due to his fondness of this aide, or his boredom for always being in mediation, decided to continue speaking.


    "He would be foolish in the sense that he has brought chaos to thisnd as well as many unpredictable factors. Dealing with me would be arduous but not impossible in a solo battle for a true Master."


    "And yet he has introduced so many foreign elements, which has made the waters murky. None of the Adepts who havee forth can defeat me, and all will die without causing me relevant harm. As such, this act alone would be slowly increasing my forces and making things harder for himself."


    "Who doesn''t know how treacherous humans are. If he faces me alone, he is bound to get injured in a fight. Depending on the damage I could inflict upon him, in the worst-case scenario even an Amateur might be able to kill him in the aftermath, much less those Adepts."


    "However, I suspect that this is all a ruse." Marasmus chuckled.


    "My Lord, how so?" Goiter inquired.


    Marasmus pointed a finger at his chest. "I''m the Stonekeeper, an undead who has been guarding this stone for millennia. There should be no one alive to remember my name, much less where I reside. As such, the fellow''s goal is obviouslyˇ­"


    "ˇ­ the First Resurrection Stone! Damn those vile humans! How dare they lust over it?!" Goiter finished the statement to the amusement of his master.


    Marasmus made a calming gesture to his loyal aide. "Settle down, dear Goiter. It would take too long to count the many attempts various powers have made in the previous millennia to retrieve this stone. When I was first appointed by the Grand Lord, urrences like this one happened on a weekly basis for a few centuries."


    Marasmus rubbed his bony chin as if reminiscing fondly. "It was truly lively back then. Eventually, after each and every attempt had failed and the offenders got killed and enved under our banner, those behind them seemed to wisen up."


    "Only hopeful fools would try to achieve what others had failed to do. It used to happen every other year before it stretched to decades, then centuries, and now millennia."


    "I assume they have likely lost most records in this time. Perhaps they simply don''t believe what should be old legends to them."


    "Until one experiences something fresh, there will always be doubt towards what is portrayed history books or from the tales passed down, because they believe that only their personal validation makes a fact the truth."


    Goiter seemed enlightened. "Then, that Master-stage expert would fail in his quest?"


    Marasmus shook his head. "You see, I suspect something different. As I said before, the person who did this is either very foolish or very wise. I would like to believe they are more wise than stupid."


    Goiter, who had just be an undead Arhat, was brought back down to his bony confines as the wisdom of Buddha left him, only leaving behind a lot of doubt.


    "Masterˇ­"


    Marasmus chuckled at his aide''s meaning. "Don''t worry, dear Goiter, the millennia of mediation haven''t turned me silly. In fact, it does a lot to keep the mind fresh and chipper, raising my insight and deductive abilities on the side. That is why I can tell you thisˇ­"

 Chapter 129 - 129

    "Whoever made this move was not a Master-stage expert at all."


    Goiter was stunned. "That isˇ­ how?!"


    Marasmus chuckled. "The one who issued this quest must''ve used this ruse to galvanize more men into fighting on their behalf, but my guess is that the person should either be an Amateur or at most, an average Adept. Nevertheless, they should bemended for thinking up something like this."


    "Somehow they have gained knowledge about me and my location. Perhaps they have found someone''s diary who has long since been in by one of us. Maybe they unearthed some murals talking about me."


    "Whichever the case, they have learned about the First Resurrection Stone and want it for themselves. Knowing that they would definitely die alone and in despair if they moved on their ownˇ­"


    Goiter was once again clued in. "ˇ­ They created a situation where there would be chaos. In these murky waters, they could crawl through the mud and carefully strike at the best time, taking advantage of the others paving their way."


    Marasmus nodded. "Mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole lurking behind. Amon tactic that is weak when anticipated, but if executed perfectly, it bes a wless n."


    Goiter still seemed doubtful. Marasmus noticed this and questioned his aide. "What''s the matter? Is there a w in my deduction you have noticed?"


    Goiter hesitated for a bit before voicing out his concerns. "No, your deduction seems on point. Only... I still fear this has to be the work of a Master-stage expert."


    Marasmus seemed interested by this contradiction, so he prodded his aide. "Go on, exin why you feel that way."


    "Well, from what the newly converted recruits have revealed, the rewards the person had offered were something only a Master stage expert or above could every their hands on." Goiter proceeded to list all the rewards Darius offered, their quality, and the uproar it has caused.


    Even Marasmus was stunned as he processed this new information. His red sockets disyed a light of confusion for the first time. "When you say it like that, I also cannot help but believe that it has to be someone of the Master stageˇ­ or even Grandmaster, who could offer such things."


    "The First Resurrection Stone can''t be worked on by a mere Amateur. One would have to be a Master to have the necessaryputational abilities to begin decoding the functions of the stoneˇ­hmm." Marasmus murmured to himself in thought.


    Goiter remained silent and didn''t dare to interrupt his master''s pondering. After a few minutes, Marasmus shook his head and sighed. "Well, in the end, it doesn''t matter."


    Goiter''s head shot up. "It doesn''t?"


    Marasmus nodded. "After all, I am the Stonekeeper and this is the First Pedestal. With it embedded in my body for resonance and protection, I cannot move from here. So no matter whatˇ­"


    "ˇ­ you can only wait here, until the perpetrator, whether Master-stage like I suspect or a weakling like you''ve suspected, makes their move. Regardless of either, you can only adapt to the situation then, so it''s pointless to endlessly specte." Goiter finished once more.


    "That is so." Marasmus confirmed.


    Goiter rose to his feet and gazed at his master with his greenish soul fire burning intensely. "No matter what, I will not sit here for some ingrate to challenge my Lord. Even if your duty confines you to this ce, my dutypels me to make sure you remain undisturbed in all your glory!"


    Without waiting for Marasmus to stop him, Goiter stormed out and decided to take offensive action against those vile humans this time. Marasmus only scratched his bony scalp with a gentle gaze.


    "Sigh, thisd is a bit too hot-headed."


    Marasmus settled down and quickly went into deeper meditation. "Still, with him around, I know I have someone I can trust. That is all that matters."


    ......ˇ­


    Approximately 8 kilometers away from the Necropolis of Marasmus, there was a stretch of barrennd that was riddled with pockmarks and gullies that ran deep with a reddish liquid.


    Around this barrennd were hundreds of corpses of both the living and the undead.


    Dismembered, lynched, and chewed on corpses remained from those of the living, whereas rotten flesh, bones, and ck ash had piled up from in undead foes.


    It was gory, rancid, and horrifying. This was a no man''snd that separated the faction of the living who were here for the grand reward from the undead who were standing their ground to prevent the invaders from reaching the necropolis.


    The living had created a temporary camp on the southern end of the no man''snd. This was where they pooled supplies and resources to achieve their goal, as the previous week had brutally shown them that arrogantly trying to barge in with greed fueling them was the fastest way to provide the opposite side with more forces.


    One would expect the undead to be more relentless than the living, for that was their most feared trait, but the opposite held true. Due to the overwhelming force the living had mustered, they had breached this deep into the ins of Death and had likely culled over 90% of ambient Adept undead.


    As for the Amateur and Journeyman bands, after breaching through, only the weak tagalongs spent their time killing as many undead as they could, more often than not failing at even that.


    The true forces wereid out here in the Adept band, but despite the living always winning every battle by andslide, they were still unable to reach the importantndmark so close to them.


    There was one reason for this. The undead had a Bone Dragon on their side!


    It was a Pseudo-Dragon created from the corpse of a True Dragon.


    This particr Bone Dragon had been raised from the remains of a notable Master-stage Dragon, merely falling to the Adept-stage as a consequence of its revival.


    Although its power was far from the level it had possessed when alive, it was still leagues above species like humans.


    As such, its presence alone was the reason why so many living corpsesy strewn across the battlefield.


    Currently, the forces of the living were discussing how to deal with his obstruction before achieving their goal.

 Chapter 130 - 130

    In the center of the camp of the living was a tent muchrger than the one allocated to Overseer Garm. After all, it wasn''t meant for a small group of men, but for arge council.


    As such, it was about the size of arge circus tent and had an enormous round table. Fancy chairs with soft cushioning were ced around it.


    Attached to them were the names of various families and powers to mark their allocated seats in this council. They were the ones who possessed the right to decide the fate of the entire camp.


    Right now, the council was in full attendance and all 123 seats were ounted for. At the head of the table, presiding over them as chairman, was someone from the Royal Faction.


    It was not Kubrick, but the Royal Seneschal himself, Elijah McNickles!


    He was a well-built fellow with sharp, knife-like brows and a thin mustache. His expression radiated seriousness and formality, as well as nobility.


    He wore a clean set of mage robes that were golden colored, making him easily stand out among the crowd. Despite everyone at the table being the head of their various factions, these fellows did not dare slight such a powerful man of the Royal Faction.


    The currently appointed speaker belonged to the Mercenary Faction, who were the issuers of this mission.


    The one to stand up and cough lightly was quite a stocky man, with a toned body that was hidden by his clean, medium-armor that had greenish cloth beneath the metal tes for his chest, shoulders, arms, and feet.


    His hair was like Carlton''s, cropped short in a military-style, and his face was clean-shaven, showing his rigid jawline and buttchin that could certainly smash a brick open.


    "The agenda of today''s meeting is to discuss possible solutions to the already identified problem from ourst meeting, the Adept-stage Bone Dragon who reinforces the undead forces of the Necropolis. I''m opening the floor to you gentlemen anddies of esteemed bearing."


    The room was quiet for a bit before a slightly obese man with plentiful rings on his fingers spoke first. "Can you furnish us with the details of this enemy once more? Powers, skills, abilities, possible strengths and possible weaknesses?"


    The speaker nodded. "Certainly. Allow me to repeat what we highlighted in thest meeting. The Bone Dragon possesses the ability of Elemental Maniption, namely of the Death, Frost, Fire, and Wind elements. Any skills or spells belonging to these categories have proven to be almost useless against the foe through trial and error."


    "So far, we have only discovered our foe to be weak against the elements of Lightning, Light, and Gravity. The former two restrain its undead nature greatly while the final one restrains its flight maneuverability."


    "Its speed in the air is faster than the velocity of most spells and projectiles cast its way, making our ranged attacks almost useless. Unfortunately, it is clever enough to take advantage of its aerial superiority to rain down abination of its frost and fire-rted abilities upon all targets within arge range."


    "This particr attack simultaneously freezes all those caught within its range into ice while searing the lifeforce from their bodies upon contact. For anyone below the Adept stage, there is no chance for survival."


    The atmosphere in the room became heavy once this fact was reiterated, but the speaker was not done.


    "So far, it has demonstrated to be able to use its Death element only to constantly heal its undead allies almost infinitely, convincing our assessor that the Bone Dragon must have arge mana pool, estimated to be about asrge as a weak Master-stage expert. This has prevented us from killing thest remnant undead Adepts on its side despite possessing the far superior firepower."


    "Its Wind Element abilityes from the pping of its boney wings. It''s able to autonomously spawn wind des and spears with each p, raining these projectiles down on our forces incessantly. Although blockable andrgely manageable, nheless it drains our stamina and mana wastefully."


    "So far, our lightning-based attacks have had the effect of stifling its frost-rted attacks to arger extent and its fire-rted attacks to a lesser extent."


    "Our light-based attacks have proven to be most effective in stifling its death abilities and even harming the monster slightly. Our gravity-based attacks have the effect of stiflings its wind-based abilities to arger extent."


    "The consensus we''ve reached at the end of thest meeting has been to prioritize a lighting-based assault as well as mix in light-based attacks. Using gravity-based skills or spells will be optional and depend on the situation. All other elements report ack of utility against the Bone Dragon."


    Done with the recount, the speaker ced the minutes of the previous meeting down and looked to the crowd for any opinions. However, the room had be deathly silent as many of these leaders were left speechless once more by the power of the enemy.


    Eventually, one woman who wore a swordswoman''s noble attire spoke. "Is it possible for us to test the enemy''s weakness to potent physical attacks? While it might have significant magical resistance as a pseudo-Dragonkin, its physical resistance could have been weakened with the loss of its powerful flesh and scales."


    A few others nodded in agreement, gazing towards the chairman. Elijah spoke slowly, his deep voice ringing around therge table.


    "To co-ordinate a physical attack test, we first need a gravity-aligned fighter or mage to render its flight useless, bringing it down to the earth, then have a lighting-based fighter or mage restrain its frost and fire abilities, and finally a light-based fighter or mage to restrain its death abilities, rendering it open for physical attacks."


    "This will require trust, perfect co-ordination, and careful nning beforehand to see any useful results. It''s very possible that we might have to try this multiple times over the next week, and each failure will result in losses on our side."


    "However, the suggestion is not without merit, as we do need to ascertain its physical weaknesses. I hereby open the floor for volunteers for this effort. Any Adept-stage volunteer who fits the requirement I ask you to raise your hand."

 Chapter 131 - 131

    Darius and Gunner had used their blink-leap train to reach the edge of the Journeyman band.


    The duo was not threatened by the strength of the undead or humans in this Amateur band, but those upfront could not simply be bypassed with ease, at least not for Gunner.


    Nearby, a group of level 20 undead rushed over as soon as Darius and Gunner had entered their vicinity. Gunner was a little beat from expending so much stamina, so Darius took over.


    He Analyzed the iing enemies to get a feel for the average strength andbat ability of their kindpared to his own two undead ''idiots''.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Undead Warrior


    Race: Undead


    ss: Warrior


    Subss: None


    HP: 247/247


    MP: 160/160


    Level: 20


    Strength: 19


    Agility: 15


    Endurance: 13


    Intellect: 8


    Charisma: 3


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Assault, Bisect, Barrel Roll


    Weapons: Sword and Buckler]


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Undead Mage


    Race: Undead


    ss: Mage


    Subss: None


    HP: 88/88


    MP: 380/380


    Level: 20


    Strength: 8


    Agility: 10


    Endurance: 11


    Intellect:19


    Charisma: 7


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Ember, Spawn, Ice Lance


    Weapons: Staff]


    Darius nodded. Their strengths were within reason for the Amateur Rank, especially since they were undead. Their stats certainly would not match up to the living at the same rank.


    Then again, their individual power had never been the strong point of the undead. No, they were widely feared for their collective power, and especially their relentlessness.


    The pair of Undead Mages initiated the fight by casting Spawn, each one raising 5 undead skeleton warriors that were far too weak. The new skeletons were merely at level 5, so none of them would be able to survive more than a single hit from Darius or Gunner.


    Darius just watched them idly, then swung his hand to cast his new Adjust spell. Since there were 7 enemies attacking him, not counting the extra 10 created by the Spawn spell, this drained 7 MP per second.


    However, this tripped up the charging Undead Warriors who had their swords raised to hack Darius into pieces. His eyes gleamed as he realized an interesting use for this spell.


    If cast when an enemy was in motion, the sudden change in momentum could be used to disrupt their bnce greatly, creating a perfect opening!


    Still, Darius also realized that the effectiveness of this would depend on the enemies'' Agility stat. With high Agility, one could easily adapt to the sudden change, making it only a marginal debuff spell that it was supposed to be.


    Darius blinked on top of one of the Undead Warriors and cast Purify on it, to measure its effectiveness. The damage came up as 9 points!


    While this was smallpared to the 200+ HP the Undead Warrior had, Darius''s eyes narrowed as he deduced the calction.


    Spell damage was calcted by a percentage of his Intellect with the spell''s unique effect taking the form of elemental damage.


    In this case, Purify at level 1 inflicted 5% damage. Given Darius'' Intellect at 50 points, that meant that the spell should ideally deal 2.5 damage!


    Since the Supreme System tended to round up numbers, this meant 3 points of damage.


    So how did it reach 9? There was no critical damage done seeing as he cast the Purify over the entire body of the undead. That could only mean that the damage of light-based spells on undead was automatically modified by a factor of three!


    Basically, using any Light element attack was automatically treated as critical - no, this should be called elemental bonus - damage. This would mean that separate from this, critical damage could still be added on top to add another x3 modifier to the damage!


    Whew!


    Darius only spent a split second calcting this at his currentputational power, and he stretched his hand to cast Ember upon the undead below him, wanting to test the power of fire over the death element.


    The mes covered the undead and caused it to thrash about just as the light-based attack had done, yet it still could not get up as Darius was standing atop it. The others were slowly climbing to their feet though.


    Darius checked the damage dealt and noticed it was 15 points! Following the same method as before, he discovered that the Fire element dealt x1.5 damage to undead which was half of the holy damage and was understandable.


    This time, Darius used his trump card to make the final assessment, which was Sparks! After the electrical discharge fell on the undead below him, it twitched and shuddered just as someone who was tazed would, amusing Darius greatly.


    This time, the damage was quite grand at 100 points! This took Darius even less time to calcte,ing out that the Lightning element tranted to x2 modified damage against undead.


    As such, Darius began to wonder whether it might be more valuable to upgrade either Ember or Purify for his foray into the ins of Death in order to increase his offensive power.


    In the end, he decided on neither.


    Sparks was good enough for anything he''d need here and his many concern with the possible extra 20 SP he might earn due to the level cap should be used on either his Basic Lancer Arts - so he could maximize his use of the Demonic Spear when the time was right - or used to increased Spawn - to power up to two undead idiots - or Adjust - to make enemies even slower - in the end.


    Whatever the case, Darius ended his pondering when a cheeky Undead Warrior attempted to use Bisect on him. In less than a second, Darius had blinked away and stood behind one of the Undead Mages as he used Sparks, killing it instantly.


    As for the Undead Warrior that had tried to attack him, its attack ended up striking the spine of the one who had been pressed beneath Darius''s foot, cutting its boney appendage in half.


    This was not enough to kill its mate straight off, but it was suitable enough to put the one down there out ofmission for now.

 Chapter 132 - 132

    It only took a few moments for Darius to make short work of the rest of the undead by blinking behind them and casting Sparks as many times as needed to end their lives.


    It might seem a bit repetitive at this point, but as long as it worked, he didn''t care about the aesthetics.


    Darius noted that he a Gunner got a few bits of experience, around 7 points in the end. It was far from enough to send Gunner over the top and to the level cap, but neither Darius nor he were stressed.


    After entering the Journeyman band, they would certainly have their fair share of tough fights with more rewarding experience. As such, Gunner only rested for a few more minutes before standing up and walking across the tangible border.


    The duo''s expressions changed once more. Darius still had the effects of the Purification Potion in his system, but he felt the strain of thend pulling on its effects, weakening it.


    Gunner also felt the same. Even though his Earth Guardian made him immune to the effects, it was sapping slightly more mana than the skill typically used. If it took 15 points before, it was draining 17 points now.


    The duo shared a look before trudging on silently. Unlike the Amateur band which had been greatly popted as well as full of conflict here and there thanks to various weaklings trying to safely farm points, the early parts of the Journeyman band were a bit barren and empty.


    Darius and Gunner walked on for an hour or two before they discovered a group of undeadˇ­ this time, not of the humanoid form.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Dark Horse


    Race: Undead


    ss: Charger


    Subss: Mount


    HP: 700/700


    MP: 437/437


    Level: 23


    Strength: 28


    Agility: 26


    Endurance: 25


    Intellect: 19


    Charisma: 10


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Charge, Stomp, Headbutt, Stampede, Gallop


    Weapons: Hooves and Body]


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Dark Smander


    Race: Undead


    ss: Breather


    Subss: None


    HP: 483/483


    MP: 528/528


    Level: 24


    Strength: 23


    Agility: 21


    Endurance: 21


    Intellect: 22


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Firespit, sh, Tongue p, Burrow, Crunch


    Weapons: Tooth & w]


    Darius passed this info on to Gunner and the fellow''s eyes narrowed. Understanding that they would be remiss to y around as they had before, Darius cast Spawn.


    From a chilling portal, Mikey and Joneson appeared. Since they were tied to Darius'' system and could see his Database at all times, they were aware of what he was dealing with. As such, they didn''t hesitate to summon all their collected minions so far.


    Darius nodded to Gunner, who roared and jumped in the air with all his strength. It was so powerful that the ground around Darius and the Liches cracked.


    The undead horses and smanders all looked up to the sky, seeing arge form that almost blotted out the sun - from their point of view - hovering in the air for a split second thanks to g-force.


    From up high, Gunner used one of his most powerful skills, Earthen Stomp!


    Like a meteor, he suddenly went from stillness to maximum velocity as his legs collided with the earth in the center of the undead enemies.


    This caused a quake so powerful that even Darius had to blink upwards to avoid it, while the undead minions under the two Liches were tossed around.


    Luckily, the summoners themselves were permanently hovering above the ground, otherwise they''d have been tossed about too.


    As for the undead Gunner struck, those closest to the epicenter were rent to almost nothingness.


    It had less to do with Gunner''s Strength and more to do with the force that came as an oue of his maneuver. The rest were either flung away and thrust into mini craters where they struggled to get up.


    Seeing a chance, Darius blinked into such a crater and spammed Sparks on as many dazed enemies as he could.


    Meanwhile, Mikey and Joneson also sent their minions into the fray, those who could move jumping into pits toy into their fellowmen without remorse.


    Mikey and Joneson themselves didn''t have much of an offensive capability, so they opted to let their minions do the work, only healing them. Soon enough, the dazed undead overcame their disability and began to fight back.


    Even though Darius, Gunner, and the minions had killed off more than 80% of them in this time, it was not enough. One of the smanders leapt back and used its Firespit ability, spraying a form of ember attack on the minions charging at it.


    This instantly sent them to the ground as they screeched and tossed, their bodies set alight and their HP draining quickly. Even though the duo of Liches tried to save them with Heal Undead, the smander was no pushover.


    It used Tongue p to extend its rotten tongue over to the area of the fallen minions, thrashing it about and killing many of them at once.


    The summoned minions were capped at the tip of the Amateur stage while this was a Journeyman monster. It wasn''t something they could handle.


    On the other side, Gunner was currently locked in battle with a Dark Horse.


    It had sneakily used its Charge ability to build momentum before trying to crash into Darius who had been busy electrocuting an enemy to death.


    Darius''s sharp perception had noticed the monster in due time and just as he had wanted to blink away at thest second so that the undead would trample over its own kin, Gunner had roared and hade before him.


    With a solid jab, he had used Earthen Punch!


    The Dark Horse had seen Gunner''s intrusion and fueled its momentum into a Headbutt! The fist and head collided at the end of the charge, creating a small shockwave that stunned all fighters nearby minus Darius who once again blinked away.


    As for the duo who collided, the Dark Horse was blown away a few meters, crashing into the earth and creating a gully.


    However, Gunner remained unmoved, roaring in triumph as he bolted forward to where his fallen enemyy,nding upon it and delivering a consistent train of blows upon its scalp.

 Chapter 133 - 133

    Darius felt pity for the Dark Horse that had actually tried to challenge Gunner''s might in one-on-onebat. Even he didn''t dare to challenge his Branded Servant despite possessing better stats in that regard.


    With his Earth''s Guardian skill active, Gunner basically had the Strength, Endurance, and Damage/Defense of a mid-stage Journeyman. Against these early-stage Journeyman undead, he was no different from a bully.


    Darius blinked to other parts of the battlefield and rained his Sparks down on foes. He had already warned his two undead Liches to conserve as many minions as they could, since there were very few living enemies for them to use as replenishment for their forces.


    Wasting them all on mere Journeymen was foolish, yet Darius also needed them to level up.


    The upgrade from Skeleton Warriors to Liches might have given them much better skills and abilities, but it had also taken away arge part of their prior offensive power.


    Darius raised his hand and cast Adjust on the 17 remaining foes that were now regaining their bearings or were lost inbat against chosen foes. Gunner was currently tanking 5 undead, 3 Dark Smanders, and 2 Dark Horses.


    A single Earthen Punch from him was enough to send the two Dark Horses into a stunned state, after which he performed his trademark beat ''em up to death. Sometimes, it was better to just go with what you were good with.


    As for the Dark Smanders, they were fearful of Gunner''s closebat might, so they resorted to firing their Firespits attack to keep their distance. Gunner simply smacked the attacks away and stretched out a hand.


    One of the smanders screeched with fear as it was suddenly pulled over to Gunner. While it flew towards therged, he grinned widely and cocked his fist back.


    Using the knowledge granted him from the Basic Martial Arts skill, he channeled all his body''s force into his fist before striking out! To add insult to injury, Gunner even activated Earthen Punch, coating his fist with an extra green glow.


    As such, when it collided with the iing Dark Smander - right on its spine too - the monster straightaway shattered into pieces.


    Darius really wished he could''ve seen the damage calctions for that, nning to ask Gunner to pass it over once the battle was over.


    Gunner smiled at the two remaining Dark Smanders that were slowly retreating in fear, shocked that this foe could kill one of their own in one shot. It was fine if he killed it after a bit of fighting, but a one-shot kill at the Journeyman level was incredibly difficult!


    Darius especially knew that magic suffered in doing so due to how it was calcted, but physical damage had more liberties with how many factors could be thrown into the mix.


    Gunner simply stretched out his hand and ''beckoned'' another, repeating the same sequence of actions and yielding the exact same result. Soon enough, therged cleared his side of the battle and checked out the undead minion''s fight.


    As one could expect, it was not going well at all. The remaining 12 foes were brutalizing the undead, and Mikey and Joneson were overdrawn just keeping them from dying with their Heal Undead spell.


    Luckily, Darius hade to help them while Gunner was still brutalizing the two Dark Horses. He blinked onto the back of a Dark Horse, riding it calmly while he cast Sparks at one of its nearbypatriots.


    The horse he rode on neighed angrily and tried to kick him off, but Darius smiled and blinked to his struck target. Since lightning damage had a stun effect, and was super-effective on undead, the other Dark Horse was frozen on the ground, twitching and trembling.


    Darius showed no mercy as he cast Sparks repeatedly over it, killing it in 6 strikes. In this time, three Dark Smanders broke off their battles and spat fire at him.


    Smiling softly, Darius blinked on top of them and withdrew his Steel Spear. With it, he struck down on the scalp of the Smander below him, channeling his Purify spell through the shaft.


    Unfortunately, steel was not a very good conductor of magic, so the effect was greatly lessened. However, it achieved the effect Darius wanted, which was rapid attacks.


    He was confined to one spell per second usually and could not double-cast. This made his battles take long because despite doing a significant amount of damage, he could only do it within a frame of time.


    The same was not true for his spearmanship. With his Agility at 20 points, he was twice as fast as the average man. With his current position and the knowledge from the Basic Lancer Arts, Darius could strike his spear down more than 5 times in a second, though only one could contain a spell.


    However, this was enough to increase his damage output greatly. His Steel Spear''s damage range was 12-17, giving him a good base topile with his 15 points of Strength. Even though it was less than the enemy''s 21 points of Endurance, the fact was that they wore no armor to mitigate their defense.


    Darius mauled the Dark Smander below him before blinking away as a crowd of Firespits hit his previous position, which in turn roasted their ally below him.


    Darius was certain that if the undead could speak, they would be cursing him for being such a slippery eel, but that was how a clever mage should fight.


    Of course, other mages couldn''t instant cast, so they likely fought the traditional way, standing in one spot while chanting.


    Soon enough, Gunner roared and came over to his side with a whumpf. He instantly activated his only ss skill, Engage, and stole the aggro of all nearby monsters at once.


    As the attacks rained down on him and the Dark Horses charged at him, Gunner raised his leg once more, making Darius'' face cramp and the undead Liches quickly call back their minions.


    Earthen Stomp!

 Chapter 134 - 134

    Darius quickly blinked upwards again, sending himself airborne by 100 meters. When he looked down, he saw Gunner''s skill had fragmented the already cratered ground further,pletely ruining it.


    The remaining few undead were ground locked, so they couldn''t avoid the powerful stun that came with Earthen Stomp. Mikey and Joneson shared a look before opting to slow down their participation in the battle as their MP had been severely drained.


    As for Gunner, he followed up his attack by smashing down on a Dark Horse nearby, ground-pounding it to smithereens. With his ferocity, he was soon done with his unfortunate victim before he proceeded to repeat it with his next victim, this time a Dark Smander.


    Meanwhile, Darius channeled his downwards momentum towards his currently outstretched spear. The tip was aligned with his falling body, making his form appear connected to his weapon.


    With all the momentum gathered, the tip of Darius'' spear connected with his target, the scalp of a paralyzed Dark Smander.


    It instantly pierced through it, turning its brain into mush and causing the monster to squeal in agony and thrash about.


    Darius pulled his weapon out and admired the corpse below his feet.


    He had to admit, it was a great idea to give some attention to physical fighting, for he had discovered that it was possible to increase damage beyond what the traditional numbers dictated by making use of external factors.


    Gunner had demonstrated this beautifully with his first Earthen Stomp, and then with his punch that met the enemy halfway. Darius was looking forward to finding out how much the modifier was for such damage, but needed to finish the battle first.


    With that in mind, he blinked to another fallen foe and cast Sparks once before ying it with his steel spear. He refrained from using the Demonic one for now as he simply didn''t feel pressured to do so.


    In the Adept band, that would certainly change. In a matter of a few minutes, Gunner and Darius together had made short work of the rest of the undead.


    He turned to see that Mikey and Joneson were watching them with speechless expressions, as if they were looking at ghosts.


    Since they had been spectating, they had been privy to the brutality of Gunner and the cruelty of Darius. Darius frowned at them though.


    "Why did you stop fighting?"


    The duo shared a look and Mikey decided to respond. "Well, we both lost about 40% of our troops so we decided to keep ''em back. Not to mention our offensive power is quite dull in battles like this unno."


    Joneson chipped in. "Also, we be Journeymen now!"


    Darius was stunned and checked their character sheets.


    [Name: Joneson


    Race: Undead


    ss: Lich


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 800/800


    MP: 1700/1700


    Level: 28


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Endurance: ?


    Intellect: ?


    Charisma: ?


    Luck: ?


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote.


    Traits: Ice Immunity, Ice Ward, Absorb, Dominate.


    Weapons: Cloth Armor.]


    [Name: Mikey


    Race: Undead


    ss: Lich


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 800/800


    MP: 1700/1700


    Level: 28


    Strength: ?


    Agility: ?


    Endurance: ?


    Intellect: ?


    Charisma: ?


    Luck: ?


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote.


    Traits: Ice Immunity, Ice Ward, Absorb, Dominate.


    Weapons: Cloth Armor.]


    Darius frowned due to the fact that their stats continued to be obscure, but he noticed that the duo had changed significantly. Now that they were level 28 Journeymen, their HP had literally doubled, while their MP had increased by 400 points from level 18.


    Interestingly, their skills were now separated into abilities and traits. Curious, Darius checked each and every one of them out to better understand the difference.


    [Raise Dead - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 5 mana


    Description: Call out to the corpses of recently in to rise up and be your eternally loyal soldiers in battle. All undead raised through this method will have the same level as the caster and possess a 20% chance to develop basic intelligence. ]


    [Heal Undead - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 5-50 mana


    Description: Heal an undead by any amount of their health, with varying cost to the caster''s mana. This ability can only be used on undead created or owned by the caster.]


    [Sacrifice - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: Convert any undead minion created or owned by you into nourishment, restoring Health, Mana, and Stamina based on the chosen targets'' own values. Its level will be turned into experience for you.]


    [Promote - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 1,000 mana


    Description: Raise the rank of a chosen undead by one. The new rank cannot surpass your own.]


    [Ice Immunity - Trait


    Description: As a being born from the coldest frost of the Netherworld, you are strongly resistant to all forms of ice damage or effects. ]


    [Ice Ward - Trait


    Description: With the blessing of the Netherworld on your side, you automatically spawn an ice barrier with various resistances and HP equal to your own at the beginning of any conflict.]


    [Absorb - Trait


    Description: As a rare growth type undead, you passively absorb the death energy from any in foes in order to strengthen yourself.]


    [Dominate - Trait


    Description: As a Lich, you belong to themanding species of the undead. You are able to dominate any undead within 100 meters with a lower level and rank, turning them into your subordinates in the absence of another master.]


    Darius took a deep breath when he checked out the various abilities and traits of the undead duo for the first time.


    The fact that their abilities seemed to be able to automatically upgrade with every stage they climbed was already amazing, but more importantly, Darius had an epiphany why Mikey and Joneson were supposed to be crucial to his sess.


    Caesar had been vague about it, so Darius had spent a lot of his SP on the Spawn spell, allowing them to level up alongside himself and Gunner, even letting them im as many minions as they had wanted.


    And now, it had finally born fruit. Darius'' formerly bleak chances had increased greatly and he felt himself almost spiritually stepping away from a doomed pathway and setting a foot on one of the 56 paths of sess.

 Chapter 135 - 135

    Darius was chilled by that experience. He felt that it wasn''t just his imagination, but some form of spiritual feedback. After all, this was not Earth where he could write such things off. Faust was a world of magic, where anything should be possible.


    It might be due to his enhanced Luck at 50 points, it or could be an effect of his Intellect at 50 points that had turned him into a fledgling psychic. Perhaps even both of them working in tandem?


    Whatever the case, Darius feltfort. Now that he had seemingly received confirmation about being on the right path, he wouldn''t be so clueless as to how to proceed like before, wondering if every choice would doom him to hell.


    His increased survivability could all be attributed to the new specific trait Mikey and Joneson had acquired with their increased stage.


    Their Dominate trait!


    This trait allowed the duo of undead to control ambient undead and take them under their banner as long as they outleveled and outranked them, which shouldn''t be too hard as Liches were pretty much on the top of their hierarchy.


    This posed moderate use in infiltrating the zone since their target destination had foes higher leveled than them and possibly higher ranked.


    But if - and just if - Darius was able to nick the First Resurrection Stone someway somehow, he foresaw that this trait would be the key to his survival. Caesar had said it, once the stonended in his hands, it would act as a beacon to all undead.


    Once that happened, even if he could escape the Adept band, he would have to cross the Journeyman and Amateur bands with possibly thousands of undead on his tail.


    This was why he had offered rewards for others to cull as many undead as they could. The fewer there were, the easier the second half of his mission would be.


    Assuming they couldn''t even do that, then Mikey and Joneson could just control them and turn them into shields for his escape.


    Darius was betting that after acquiring the First Resurrection Stone, neither he nor Gunner would be in the best shape, and that was already putting it in the best-case scenario.


    Without some form of protection, it would be impossible to cross the great distance that was the Adept band to the Baratuo outpost. It was almost a total of 1200+ kilometers from his destination to the nearest ''safe zone''.


    Darius cut his train of thought when Mikey spoke again. "So, err, boss, what do we do now?"


    Darius didn''t need to think long. "We proceed and take out any enemies who get in our way. Any undead you see who are below your level im them and turn them into your forces to fight as we go forward."


    Darius pointed at the duo of undead liches. "Your new goal is to reach at least level 40."


    The undead duo shared a look before nodding. "Yessir boss!"


    Satisfied, Darius turned to his own matters. He checked thepiled damage lists from him and Gunner, rxing that force/external damage was ounted for at the end of the equation.


    It wasn''t even a modifier, but a raw damage value of its own, and from what he was seeing, it could even be in the hundreds and thousands in terms of value!


    Darius now knew that what Gunner was doing was right, one should not just punch like amoner, but create a situation where the force of one''s punch would exceedmon sense for more effect.


    After storing the values in his database, he then checked his and Gunner''s earning in terms of experience and loot.


    [You have gained 51,200 EXP, 12 Necrotic Fluids, 2 Blue Soul Fires, 5 Undead Essence, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 51,200 EXP, 10 Fire Sacs, 3 Rotten Hooves, 6 Broken Skulls, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x25! You are now level 20(+27). You have gained 2.5 Ability Points and 2.5 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x25! He is now level 20(+24). He has gained 5.4 Ability Points and 3.4 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    Darius frowned. He was aware that Mikey and Joneson killed more than 60% of the undead themselves because their numerous minions were able to take advantage of the first Earthen Stomp, leaving only 20 alive at the end that could fight back.


    Out of those that remained, Darius and Gunner killed at least 15. This exined why Mikey and Joneson together had gone as high as level 28 in one go, but Darius felt something was wrong.


    Based on the calctions for the experience share, he and Gunner''s lower levels should have granted them far more experience per kill than what this number suggested.


    Darius quickly jogged his brain and did the calctions. Once he understood what was going on, his face became solemn as he could help but sigh in defeat. It seemed that Vena and Ceasar were even crueler than Darius thought.


    He never noticed this little hidden fact up till now because he wasn''t in a rush to climb all the stages. He had been apprehensive of whatever trick the duo was hiding, so he had mostly taken on foes within a certain level range.


    Now that he did take on foes much higher, he quickly noticed what was wrong. It seemed like, just as he was capped to 5 levels below himself for the 1 exp award, he was capped to 5 levels above him for the 5,120 experience reward.


    This meant that should Darius kill even a god right now, he would only get a maximum of 5,120 experience. He was capped at that limit as far as he could tell, and he wasn''t entirely sure if it had always been like this or it was something that came with the Supreme System''s upgrade.


    Darius turned to the mouthpieces of the system, the two Liches, and inquired upon this. Their answer made him smile bitterly, as it had been what hergely expected.

 Chapter 136 - 136

    "It was recently added, boss. In fact, the experience calction mechanic was specifically created by that Caesar bloke and he was the one to update it too. The way I see it, it''s aˇ­" Mikey exined, but was cut off.


    "ˇ­trap, yes. I''ve already deduced as much." Darius interjected with a sigh.


    He had suspected that Caesar wanted to y such a trick. The average bloke from Earth who entered this world would have likely tried any and all means to break free of Vena and the Supreme System''s control at the first opportunity.


    The idea of entertaining the Goddess would be thest thing on their minds as they sought to increase their personal power, telling themselves something silly like: ''Only with my own power can I decide my fate!''.


    However, those self-obsessed people would be forgetting that this deity had been able to pluck a soul on its way to the afterlife to put into a world she had entirely created just for her personal fun.


    That level of power required was not something one could run from, certainly not at the Amateur stage. The wise ones would do as Darius had done, y her game ording to the rules to live to see another day.


    Any such smartasses would have gotten to experience the shock of their lives if they actually managed to kill something much higher than themselves.


    Darius shuddered when he thought back to his encounter with the Blue Troll. Had it just been one level higher, he would have received 20,480 experience, which would have instantly catapulted him over the stage cap.


    Just imagine, dropping into this world, butcking the time to research or build a foundation like Darius had - assuming one even got Transmutation - and in a matter of days reaching the Amateur cap.


    The next moment, Caesar would excitedly descend and tell you that you had toplete an Impossible quest to reach the next stage.


    While you listen dumbfounded, Caesar wouldugh because the paths of sess would be far less than the 56 which had been calcted for Darius.


    Someone who followed the above-mentioned scenario would likely have - at best - 3 paths of sess and that would mostly depend on their Luck.


    No wonderˇ­ no wonder Caesar had been so resentful when he mentioned that Darius had ''finally'' reached the stage cap and which only 60% of Faustians would ever see.


    His handler had not been mocking him for taking so long, but instead had been pissed exactly BECAUSE he had taken his sweet time doing so.


    While he had still been excited because he had trapped Darius, it was not as serious as it could have been. Of course, the fact that Vena had made him give Darius some tips had done nothing to increase his mood.


    Darius shivered subconsciously. He had no idea why Caesar was so sadistic towards Vena''s ''actors'', or if it was just a dislike for him personally, but Darius was guessing it was probably due to a previous ''actor'' who hade before him.


    Otherwise, it''d be a bit too bizarre for Caesar to have been created hating all of the ''actors''.


    Darius put away his thoughts and decided to allocate the points he and Gunner had umted. It was never too early to do so, as even a single additional AP could make the difference for his survival.


    Darius currently had 2.7 AP and 2.7 SP. Since he could only allocate whole numbers, it meant he could only spend 2 points in each category. A pittance for sure, but even the meat of a mosquito was still something.


    As for his two Ability Points, he ced them in Endurance, bringing it from 17 points to 19. This increased his HP from 255 points to 285. It wasn''t much but simrly, little drops of water made a mighty ocean.


    His two Skill Points were ced in Adjust for now. This brought the skill''s effect from a 5% increase/decrease to 15%! This was almost at the level of the average slow spell in most RPG games Darius had yed in his previous life, and it could even go higher!


    Satisfied with his own allocation, Darius focused on Gunner. Since Gunner had been level 19 before and jumped to the stage cap with Darius, he gained slightly more points in both respects. He had 5.4 AP and 3.4 SP.


    Darius ced 1 point into Gunner''s luck, reaching 20 points. The remaining 4 points were shoved into Strength, bringing that up from 20 to 24. Under the influence of Gunner''s Earth''s Guardian skill, it was just a mite bit away from being boosted to 50 points.


    Darius was in no rush. He gazed at Gunner''s 3 points of SP and ced a single point into Earth''s Guardian. What surprised him though, was that the skill did not report reaching its max, which was quite crazy to think about.


    What exactly was this bloodline skill? And what were its limits? Could it reach level 100? Wouldn''t it boost Gunner by almost 500% at that point? With Strength and Endurance at the Adept level, for example, boosted by 500% would mean that Gunner could temporarily reach beyond Master level?


    Just the thought made Darius'' face change multiple times. He looked at his Branded Servant who was gazing at him with a slight smile in silence thenughed.


    "You tricky fellow, you knew didn''t you?"


    Gunner alsoughed. "I had a hunch, but even if it''s good, the mana cost will rise exponentially. In order to keep it at a suitable level, I''ll need a bit of Intellect and a high level."


    Darius frowned at that, understanding that this was actually a serious issue. Still, it was nothingpared to the possible gains, but Darius also needed Gunner to experience growth in other aspects.


    As such, he kept Earth''s Guardian at level 20 and ced the final two points in Earthen Punch. The modifier for it climbed from 10% to level 30%, which was quite good.


    What was more important was that the modifier for Gunner''s Earth''s Guardian had climbed from 105% to 110%.


    This meant that Gunner''s Strength had finally reached the Adept stage, even though it was only while his skill was active.


    Darius''s eyes checked his character menu to see if anything would pop up. Even though it was temporary, Gunner still had 50 Strength right now, so he should obtain the Strength ability.


    Not disappointing Darius, he saw exactly what he was looking for.


    [Congrattions! You have reached 50 points in Strenght and have acquired the ability: Explosive Strenght.]


    [Explosive Strength - Basic Ability


    Cost: Stamina per second


    Description: You have mastered the flow of your body''s strength at your current level, and can condense it further to bring about a temporary explosive increase that does not harm and possesses no side effects. However, it takes a great toll on your Stamina, draining it faster than anything else.]

 Chapter 137 - 137

    Explosive Strength was a vastly superior form of Berserk. No side effects, only draining Stamina while giving significant boosts. If put into potion form, it would certainly shake the entire market!


    Well, this at least exined why Adept fighters were just as feared as Adept mages. That wasn''t even ounting for the fact that Adept fighters could have their three physical stats cross over the 50 point threshold.


    Since the basic ability for reaching Adept-stage Strength was a free and overpowered Berserk ability, what about the ones for Agility and Endurance?


    Darius guessed that Agility would either grant one something like Rapid Movement or maybe Sleight of Hand.


    He was willing to bet that for Endurance it would result in an elementless shield or possibly increased regeneration. Whatever the case, Darius would find out in due time.


    With Mikey and Joneson taking the lead, the party continued to traverse the wide-area that made up the Journeyman band. The area was as barren as they came andrgely inhospitable.


    Darius had to ingest many Purification Potions to maintain hisbat capability. Meanwhile, Gunner was continually burning his mana to keep Earth''s Guardian active.


    Fortunately, his mana regen was at the same level as Darius'' now, so he still generated a surplus of mana per second.


    Along the way, they encountered pockets of undead every once in a while. Most of them were in the early Journeyman stages due to their position, so Mikey and Joneson straightaway Dominated them instead of fighting.


    After 3 hours of traversal, they saw a small camp in the distance, situated near some dead trees. The camp wasn''trge, Darius could make out about 30 or so tents pitched around.


    The undead had no reason to build something like that, so naturally, this had to be an outpost of the living, likely from Journeymen who hade here to farm points.


    Darius could see quite a bit of activity in the camp. Since they had not yet been spotted, he quickly unsummoned Mikey and Joneson, who disappeared together with their umted undead.


    After all, it would be foolish to waltz in with them in tow.


    The Andrato Kingdom didn''t take too well to necromancers, as had be clearly apparent in his conversation with Jeanne. Thisrgely had to do with how the ins of Death had been formed in the first ce.


    Just as the Insects had onceunched a campaign against the entirety of Faust, nearly destroying the world, Fallon''s necromancers had been involved in a continent-wide cmity.


    ording to what Darius had read, there used to be a fledgling kingdom founded by necromancers on Fallon, which slowly grew into an empire.


    They had arguably been one of the strongest forces of their time for they had wantonly desecrated graves to build up their armies.


    In fact, they had started out as just glorified grave robbers. While this had caused the affected empires and kingdoms to be quite annoyed at them, that had pretty much been the extent of it.


    After all, who would enjoy the sight of their buried loved ones fight for some random necromancer somewhere instead of enjoying peace?


    This ''somewhere'' ended up being Armadon. When first reading it, Darius had trouble believing it, but the history book recorded that those necromancers had indeed initially used their sizeable forces to assault the continent of demons and devil.


    This should have generally been perceived as a good thing, garnering the support of the living.


    s, politics did not work that way.


    The surrounding kingdoms and empires had felt threatened by the power of the Necromancer Empire.


    Sure, they had been focused on fighting the demons, but what if they ever changed their minds? What if they got bored of the demons and found that their fellowmen were much more pliable?


    As such, they hadunched internal smear campaigns against the Necromancer Empire, twisting the truth. The averageyman had been led to believe that the Necromancer Empire were raising their family members toe and kill themter when they amassed enough troops.


    Unfortunately, their usations were mostly on point, for the necromancers had indeed gone out of their way stealing random corpses and robbing graves, which the governments had strung together as quite the believable tale.


    With the support of their people, which was vital for most wars, the various states had marched out their armies and sieged them. The Necromancer Empire had naturally been confused as to why these fellows had been making such a ruckus outside their walls.


    ''Yeah, we stole corpses, so what? They were lying in the dirt going to waste, and the soul that inhabited them had long passed onto the next world, never to be disturbed by anything in this one.''


    This train of logic was quite unique for sure, but that was how the necromancers had felt at the time. Seeing as the living brought themselves over, they had been forced to withdraw part of their troops from Armadon to deal with the siege.


    It had ended up as a brutal rout.


    The forces of the various armies had not expected to meet a sea of undead, their numbers almost as numerous as the sand in the desert. In such a situation, even if you could heroically cut down 10 foes, you would still be in in the end.


    What made things worse was that the Necromancer Empire could easily raise all the in troops and add them to their fold. Wary of sudden attacks, they kept these ones behind while they went back to their siege of Armadon.


    At this time, the kingdoms and empires had been enraged and distraught at their colossal losses. It was at this time that something unexpected happened, something that had forever changed the bnce of power for the kingdoms and empires of Fallon.


    Darius had to cut his mental recount from his Database here as he and Gunner had reached the entrance of the camp.


    As this was a camp in a dangerous zone, there were some sentries around, Darius surprised to note that it was a bunch of Journeymen at the early stages of the rank.


    They had noticed the young duo approaching them and had skeptical expressions on their faces. What were a bunch of kids doing out here in the ins of Death?


    However, once they felt Gunner and Darius''s aura, their faces changed. Darius radiated an Adept mage''s Mind Power whereas Gunner''s body had the natural aura of Explosive Strength, as if his muscles were ready to explode with maximum power at any time.


    Two Adepts! Two young Adept prodigies had actuallye to the ins of Death!


    Why weren''t they in the Adept band and what were they doing here specifically?!

 Chapter 138 - 138

    The sentries shared an uncertain look. They didn''t like the idea of Dariusing here because it meant one of two things.


    Either these two hade here to take control of them - to use them as footsoldiers for the major battles up ahead where the other Adept were - together with those who had followed them, or the duo nned to use their camp as a resting ce while amassing points themselves.


    Neither of these options was eptable. The first meant that they would be exactly what they feared, mere tactical cannon fodder for the stronger ones to proceed with ease.


    If it hadn''t been for their united stand that they hade here for points, insisting that they wanted nothing to do with the main reward, they might have been forcefully dragged along.


    A bloke like Darius who was so young and so powerful was bound to have a powerful background, which they could not afford to ignore, forcing them to do his bidding.


    It couldn''t be helped, that was how things worked in Faust. The weaker party had to obey the stronger ones.


    Just like how peasants would not dare deny nobles, Amateurs and the like could not refuse Journeymen or Adepts.


    This was why Darius had frowned after receiving the small Infoblock, feeling that things would be troublesome. It had been the primary reason fueling his desire to create a powerful identity, granting him some security against this custom.


    In the end, it had only ended up partially useful. Then again, how had he been supposed to predict the misunderstanding about his actual stage?


    Still, with it, he had gotten past any hurdles that would have given him social headaches, allowing him to focus on more pressing issues, namely his level of power.


    As for the second issue, it was obvious enough that these fellows here had neither the intention nor confidence to survive the fight against the Stonekeeper.


    As such, they preferred to ''peacefully'' farm points from Journeymen undead, increasing their skill and their possible rewards, which was killing two birds with one stone for them.


    If Darius, an Adept mage, coupled with Gunner, an Adept fighter - at least on the surface - were topete with them over the same resources, it was obvious which side would be more efficient.


    For this reason, the sentries didn''t greet them, but they also didn''t dare to stop them either. Darius was sharp and easily noticed the subtle dislike and hostility radiating from the Journeymen duo.


    Although he had wanted to visit this camp to acquire some information or even some paid helpers to assist them, he could see that he was not wee.


    With that in mind, Darius lost interest.


    He just inspected the camp from afar and nodded, leaving with Gunner to the deeper parts of the zone. As for the Journeymen, they sighed with relief once he left, not realizing that they had lost a huge opportunity to be rich in more ways than one.


    Darius and Gunner continued on their own and ended up finding some level 22 and 23 undead wights as well as wraiths.


    Since they were within a reasonable level for them to farm, they immediately engaged the group, this time without summoning Mikey or Joneson.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Wight


    Race: Undead


    ss: Swordmaster


    Subss: None


    HP: 456/456


    MP: 462/462


    Level: 22


    Strength: 24


    Agility: 23


    Endurance: 19


    Intellect: 21


    Charisma: 6


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Thrust, Overhead Strike, Soul Pierce


    Weapons: Sword]


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Wraith


    Race: Undead


    ss: Specter


    Subss: None


    HP: 220/220


    MP: 667/667


    Level: 23


    Strength: 20


    Agility: 29


    Endurance: 11


    Intellect: 29


    Charisma: 11


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Torment, Spirit Punisher, Fear


    Weapons: w and Mental Magic]


    Darius and Gunner split the tasks wisely. Gunner handled the physical wights that were like ghouls, only with somewhat clean grayish flesh on their bodies. They looked like corpses that had been dead for a week or two at best, but each one wore some light armor and wielded a sword.


    The wights were capable of basic swordsmanship and had notable Agility, thanks to which they quickly put pressure on Gunner.


    Luckily, his recently upgraded Earth''s Guardian made his Defense increase by 110%, making it hard for the Wights to deal damage.


    Whenever their swordsnded on his skin, it only did surface damage, leaving behind a small red line. Gunner though, was not the type to idly take damage in order to waste time.


    Since his Strength was now above the threshold, he immediately activated Explosive Strength and felt boundless energy coursing through his veins. His body swelled up and his mind became sharp enough to make the most of his changes.


    He immediately punched out with Earthen Punch and his fist connected with the de of a wight which was defending. The sword that wasn''t even well maintained snapped and the unstoppable blow connected with the monster''s chest.


    With a loud boom, the monster was sent flying and hit the ground over 300 meters away, crashing into the earth and twisting its appendages all over the ce. This was far stronger than the damage he had inflicted to the Dark Horses and Dark Smanders due to many reasons, Explosive Strength being just one of them.


    [Wight - Level 22 Undead


    HP: 203/456 MP: 462/462]


    Almost half of its HP had been taken away in one hit, making Gunner grin widely. The other wights nearby almost froze in shock, turning back to check on theirpatriot who could barely stand with its limbs twisted in many strange angles.


    Had it not been an undead species, that crash - which likely dealt the majority of damage - would have certainly killed it give its current state.


    Still, being out ofmission was good enough for Gunner as he raised his leg and brought it down.


    Earthen Stomp!


    With a loud tremor, the ground ked and cracked, the nearby wights who had been surrounding and harassing him tossed off their feet.


    The closest ones were flung about and the majority got stunned. Some ended up incapacitated due to idents like being pierced by some protruding rock or falling into a crevice from which they were unable to pull themselves out.

 Chapter 139 - 139

    Gunner simply swung his hand and pulled over the dazed wights one by one before he punched them into smithereens. He decided not to waste any time since he could feel his Stamina burning away like paper in a fire, and he would soon lose his Explosive Strength''s abilities.


    The duo had both assumed that Gunner would practically neverck Stamina, hence he barely any Common stamina potions in his inventory. For now, the half-giant took many of them out and poured all of them down his gullet at once while ''pulling'' a wight over.


    He then tossed the bottles away as he took a deep breath and gave the struggling enemy a punch to remember, smashing its cranium open and preventing it from making any further movements.


    Although his Stamina had been somewhat replenished, it continued to be drained at an unprecedented rate, so made short work of his foes before he ended up tapped out.


    On the other side, Darius was currently dancing a dangerous tango with 10 wraiths. Their HP was small due to their nature of being intangible, yet their susceptibility to fire, electric, and light damage was probably the highest of all undead.


    On paper, Darius had a strong advantage over thempared to Gunner, which was why he had chosen to attract their aggro. However, the problem came in the fact that the Wraiths had ess to mental attacks that could disrupt Darius'' flow.


    Their Torment ability attacked the mind. It was like having a migraine tier headache constantly or like a growing tumor pressing against the brain.


    Against normal foes, this would be debilitating, but for Darius, his Mind Power tendrils automatically pped away the dark waves that radiated from the wraiths.


    Then there was their Fear ability that worked simrly. One would be forced to stare into the beady red eyes of these pseudo-humanoid ckish miasmas withrge ws, shivering in ce like a rabbit while they approached and devoured your soul.


    This too had little to no effect on Darius, only making him hesitate to approach the Wraiths any further at best. What was the most annoying though, was the Spirit Punisher ability.


    It was a straightforward spiritual attack that tried to drag Darius''s spirit out of his body. Unfortunately for them, this sort of matter was covered under the defenses Intellect provided, so it was very ineffective on him.


    So why mention it then? Well, if it had been just one wraith, it would have been fine. But with 10 of them simultaneously bombarding him with all these skills, even he was having a hard time.


    Luckily, his casting ability had nothing to do with focus for now, as it was handled by the system and his Magus subss. With it, he just needed to point and the cast would bepleted to perfection and in an instant.


    Darius cast Sparks on the nearby wraiths and smiled when they screeched in agony, their HP decreasing by almost 50% in one hit. With fear in their eyes, they backed away, while some others still rushed Darius, those that were untouched specifically.


    Immediately, the fellow blinked away and appeared behind some of the damaged wraiths, intending to kill them. However, he frowned when he noticed that they were able to quickly react, swinging their long ws at him to rend him apart.


    Darius blinked away once more and sighed. He had once theorized that enemies with more than 20 points of Agility would be able to respond to his blink trick, and the Wraiths with 29 points of it had just proven him right.


    Since he couldn''t use his favorite scheme, he openly baited the monsters closer before casting Sparks once more. He also removed his steel spear with a n in mind.


    Once a wraith neared him, Darius pierced it with his spear. The monster became dimmer as it entered its intangible/spiritual state, screeching at Darius withughter.


    Darius also chuckled and cast Sparks, the spell hitting the monster right in its face. It screeched in agony as it disappeared from this earth the next instant, leaving behind a small pile of ash as the only testimony to its former existence.


    The rest of the wraiths were shocked by this and began to feel apprehension. However, Darius gave them no time to flee. He channeled his 20 points of Agility and Blink to chase down the wraiths.


    He would first strike them with his spear to force them into their intangible state and then followup with Sparks. This would insta-kill them even at full HP since they were far more susceptible to magic damage but immune to physical damage in that state.


    For everything, there was a price. Total immunity to physical damage equaled fatal susceptibility to magical damage, and it was that simple. This trick worked for the first 6 or so wraiths before the rest wizened up.


    They realized it was better to be struck by that spear in their tangible states and use that chance to ughter Darius. One of them tried to catch him off guard and let the spear pierce through it.


    It then screeched then stretched out its horrible malevolent, long ws that looked like a razor-sharp folding fan to cleave Darius in half. However, the fellow smiled and cast Adjust on the four remaining undead, slowing them down by 15%.


    He then followed up with Purify, then Sparks. Luckily, while he couldn''t spam the same offensive spell within a second, he could chain multiple other offensive spells once.


    This allowed him to use Purify and Sparks together. As for unoffensive spells like Adjust and Blink, they were freely spammable with their own timings. Blink needed 0.3 seconds per move and Adjust took 0.1 seconds to kick in ande off.


    Purify forced the wraith to stop its attack as it screeched in agony, the light of holiness burning its essence. Then, Sparks came in and finished the job, but not killing it straight off.


    During the stun, Darius cast another Sparks on the wraith which dealt 100 damage and was enough to send it back to theherworld.

 Chapter 140 - 140

    Darius turned to the two remaining wraiths with a smile on his face. If undead were still capable of still experiencing feelings like fear, he was sure that these two would have long booked it.


    Rather, they seemed hesitant at best, but soon overcame that with a screech. They both rushed at Darius together, intending to take him at the same time.


    Darius smiled and performed an experiment he had been curious about. Undead were technically beings categorized under the Death element, though they naturally also had some affiliation with the Dark element, so light-based spells like Purify had a strong effect on them.


    However, on the scale of elements, it was not the Light element that was diametrically opposite to the Death element, but the Life element. Currently, the only Life element spell in his repertoire was Heal, and he wondered what kind of effect it would have on these undead.


    Darius cast a Heal on one of the wraiths and what happened next shocked him silly. The wraith suddenly stopped and clutched its body, screeching so loudly that even Gunner stopped brutalizing the wights. Even those same wights forgot to fight back as they observed the wraith with fearful expressions.


    The wraith itself began to glow from the inside as cracks appeared on its form. It continued to shriek endlessly and the pitch rose as more light emerged from its core, eventually shattering its body like ss in an explosion of light.


    The battlefield remained silent for a second as the variousbatants took in this sight with various emotions. Darius and Gunner were bbergasted while the undead were terrified.


    The very next second, Darius watched the final wraith turn tail and run, an action which blew his mind. ording to his extensive research of undead and the ins of Death, their race was known for never running away from enemies, no matter the reason.


    Although this fact had been widely epted, reality painted an entirely different picture right before his eyes. Darius sobered up and cast Heal on the fleeing undead, which shrieked as it faced the same end as its predecessor.


    Darius nced at Gunner''s side and saw that he had the wights under control, so he quickly went into his Database to check the damage calction.


    Knowledge was indeed power, so if Darius could find out what happened, he could shorten the length of his battles by choosing the right attacks that dealt the most damage.


    The damage calction was a bit vague at first, but from the looks of it, the modifier for Life element damage against Death appeared to be x6! Not to mention there was an extra x3 modifier, which was likely critical damage!


    However, Darius was confused. His Heal spell was described as: [Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 25% of a target''s total HP.]


    In essence, it sent his mana into the body of a target and increased their lifeforce. That exined why the wraith was in so much pain and had imploded. Purify was also a spell that had no ''animation'', only targeting. This basically meant that, in the absence of any specific defense to that end, it would always hit his target.


    Simr to Adjust, all he had to do was mentally select his targets and they would be struck with Purify as if the spell teleported from his fingers and onto the targets, unlike Sparks or Ember which sprayed their attacks and -following that logic - could miss.


    In other words, Purify struck its exterior, while the Heal spell sent the mana within. What baffled Darius though, was how the specific base damage was calcted.


    ording to the spell description, it increased lifeforce by 25% of a target''s total HP, which was 1/4 of their life. So technically, this should remove 25% of an undead''s HP pre-modifier.


    With the modifiers on top, it should be a 1-hit kill. Rather, it worked like Sparks or Ember, taking 25% of his Intellect and putting it through the modifiers as damage.


    But why was the damage listed as 225 points instead of 112.5, or 113 if the system rounded it up? It would seem that the modifier ended up to x18, instead of x9, but Darius had trouble believing it could be so high.


    It made more sense for the elemental bonus damage to be twice that of the Light element at x6 and for the rest toe through x3 critical damage.


    That created a problem where the maths did not make sense, but Darius traced the spell''s activation and had a strange idea.


    Could it be that the elemental bonus and critical damage were calcted after the previous equation waspleted instead of a single equation? If so, then yes, it would ount for the current number, but why was it different in this case?


    This was what created Darius''s weird idea. Since the spell started out as mana that increased lifeforce, the calction started with the elemental bonus damage.


    However, looking at how that wraith slowly limated damage instead of blowing up at once or experiencing the damage for s short time, like with Purify or Sparks, Darius believed that the intrusive nature of the spell was what ounted for the critical because it struck the internals.


    But that didn''t answer why the equation was done sequentially. Confused, he summoned Mikey and Joneson, who appeared before him through a very malevolent portal.


    "Sup boss, you good?" Joneson greeted cheerily.


    Darius nodded with a smile. "Physically yes, but mentally I''m confused about something."


    "Well, what''s got your panties in a twist, boss?" Joneson inquired with surprise.


    "How is the Heal basic spell calcted as damage on the undead?" Draco questioned with a frown.


    The duo of undead were silent for a long while, before they shared an uncertain look, then simultaneously asked: "What?"


    Darius repeated his question and Mikey and Joneson were about to shake their heads before their hoods cocked a little to the side. With wide eyes, Mikey began speaking.

 Chapter 141 - 141

    "Uhˇ­no, oh no. Wow. This is crazy." Mikey remarked with shock.


    Darius frowned, but remained silent enough for the undead to exin what he was trying to say. Mikey and Joneson were murmuring to themselves for a bit, and in this time, Gunner walked over as he had finished off his victims.


    "Uh, boss. Sorry for the mumbling and all that, but it''s just too shocking. This shouldn''t have ever happened, but it did. So now, we''re trying to understand why it did and how it works through the system." Mikey started to exin.


    Darius nodded, gesturing for the undead to continue. The undead took a deep breath and spoke. "You see, elements aren''t all the same. Some deal damage, some protect, some summon, and some work autonomously."


    "Take the Death element''s basic spell, Spawn. It''s supposed to summon a group of undead to fight on your behalf. It was only due to a fluke concerning Transmutation and the Supreme System that created us. A fluke which probably won''t be happening again."


    "Then there is also the Gravity element''s basic spell, Adjust. You can and have used it to increase or decrease the weight of your targets. This makes them heavier or lighter depending on the configuration you chose. This has the side effect of making them faster or slower, but it doesn''t kill foes. It is not an offensive skill."


    Mikey took in a deep breath here. "The same thing applies to your Life element''s basic spell, Heal. Even the wording of the spell indicates that you can only heal by the percentage of their total HP, not that they would be healed by a percentage of your Intellect stat, which has been the case for your other spells."


    "However, the Supreme System is aw of its own, able to overwritews of the Faust universe. And, its aw of the Faust universe that the Life element has no offensive capabilities at all, not even as a side effect."


    Joneson chipped in here. "Yeah! Otherwise, thems natives would just gather a buncha healers and kill all us undead. Easy peasy amirite? But no, they get the next best thing since the only thing that works for em are priests who deal with the Light element!"


    Darius shook. Even Gunner was utterly bbergasted by what was being revealed, as it blew his mind away. Darius had wondered why the number of healers being sent out had been so limited?


    After all, the elemental chart he referred to, which detailed the theory about which elements were diametrically opposite to each other, had been essible to anyone who could read.


    How could the countless Adepts, Masters, and Grandmaster not have realized this? Could it be that they were stupid and only Darius was clever enough to figure this out?


    Of course, that would be the epitome of arrogance!


    The truth was far simpler, a conflict ofws urred and the stronger one won. The Supreme System quantified and rewrote existences to fit its mechanics in an area around Darius.


    It was so potent and intense that those at the peak of the Adept stage could partially sense its strangeness, and knew that Darius and his Branded Servant were special, to say the least.


    Still, this only answered a part of Darius''s question.


    "I see what you mean, but what I need to know is how this happened and how it was calcted?" Darius asked seriously.


    Mikey continued. "Boss, you have to understand, whenever you cast a spell or use a skill, all the processes are channeled through the Supreme System and all you have to do is either point your finger or select a target with your mind. Since the Supreme System is connected to you, it can read your thoughts and amplify spells in any way you want, which is the main cause of your smooth spellcasting journey."


    "Putting aside the potency of your spells thanks to Transmutation, your power is only limited by your own allocation of Ability and Skill Points. The more you invest, the more absurd they bepared to the normal ones in Faust. Take Heal, for example. It should only restore 20% of a target''s total HP by the time a normal Amateur manages to reach max level in it."


    "Some might have it reach slightly stronger or weaker depending on how they learned it, the element they''re attuned with, and their own talent, but it should be generally around that range."


    "The maximum - in the case of prodigious talent - should be 30% HP restored. However, because of the existence of Transmutation, this skill has been made something almost taboo. At the rate at which it grows, by level 20, it should heal 100% of a target''s HP."


    "And that is just for a basic spell."


    Mikey then pointed at Gunner. "Boss, this is the most important thing and will answer your question. When you target an enemy, the system switches to offensive mode. When you target allies, it switches spells to defensive or support mode. The same holds true for Boss Gunner."


    "When you point Sparks at an enemy, it shocks them. You haven''t tried it yet, but if you channel Sparks at allies, it does no harm. You have experienced something simr when you killed those animals in the water."


    "Remember when you cast Sparks in the water? Although you targeted the other animals, since your hand was submerged, you suffered from the spell''s ''Friendly Fire''."


    "This is all due to the Supreme System''s skill/spell targeting mechanic. Had it been any other native of Faust, they would have ended up hurting themselves as well, no doubt. This mechanic works as you''d expect, but there will always be anomalies."


    "For example, if you use Heal on a normal human that is your enemy, you wouldn''t harm them, nor would you particrly heal them if you didn''t want to, but the spell would still ''strike'' them. Just that once it ''hits'' it would slide off like a water droplet on a leaf."


    Mikey gazed at the ashes of the Wraiths with a strange gaze. "However at the end of the day, it doesn''t change the fundamental fact that the spell ''hit''."

 Chapter 142 - 142

    "A healer might try the same, by casting Heal on an undead. However, their spell would fail and they would suffer a bacsh, harming them. That is why no one even bothers to try it anymore."


    "You don''t face bacshes because of the Supreme System''s targeting mechanic and your Magus subss. If you ever learn to cast on your own, you would lose these advantages."


    "Since you cannot face bacsh, the spell had to seed. There is no failure rate in your casting, only that you are burdened by various limitations like no double-casting, channeling, or dyed casting. These are various casting techniques you can only use with manual casting for now."


    Mikey took back his hand and gazed at Darius with his cyan Soul Fire burning strongly. "Boss, do you understand now?"


    Darius nodded. "I do, thank you Mikey. I also have one misceneous question. I''m guessing that the targeting system doesn''t ount for external factors caused by skills or spells resulting in ''Friendly Fire''?"


    Mikey nodded. "That''s right. When Boss Gunner jumps and uses Earthen Stomp, the damage of the skill itself won''t affect you, but the earth that gets cracked and fractured can be harmful to you, since it''s not part of the skill, but an external effect of it."


    "If you were to gain an Earthquake spell in the future and used it in snowy regions, thereby causing an avnche, you''d be safe from the spell itself, but you would have to figure a way to save yourself and your allies from the snow."


    Darius nodded. "So the calction for the Heal spell is done sequentially because when it''s first activated, it only ounts for the elemental bonus, but due to the activation of its offensive nature within the body, it then deals a critical?"


    Mikey shook his head. "Actually, we don''t know either."


    Darius frowned. "Howe?"


    Mikey coughed as he exined. "Well, just like you, we can only see the equations at best. Like you surmised, it was an elemental bonus of x6 and a critical hit of x3. However, looking at the raw equation here, you got the order wrong. The critical hites before the elemental bonus."


    Darius was stunned. If the critical came first, then it would still yield the same result, but why? Darius rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Since even the ''spokesmen'' of the system could not see the reason, then it would be difficult for him to do so at this stage.


    However, the good news was two-fold. The first was that the exact equation was confirmed for him, so he knew how to do the maths. The second was that thanks to the Supreme System, it worked in the first ce.


    Darius now knew what spell he had to prioritize while he was here. Heal undoubtedly would increase hisbat effectiveness against undead as well as his utility to allies.


    Putting all this aside, Darius unsummoned Mikey and Joneson, checking his and Gunner''s spoils for the battle.


    [You have gained 64,000 EXP, 3 Green Soul Fires, 1 ck Book of Necromancy.]


    [Gunner has gained 64,000 EXP, 5 Undead Essence.]


    [You have leveled up x33! You are now level 20(+60). You have gained 3.3 Ability Points and 3.3 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x32! He is now level 20(+56). He has gained 3.2 Ability Points and 3.2 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    Good experience as before. Their loot had reduced this time, but Darius realized that the rtive quality had increased. Also, the number of foes was lower.


    Before allocating points, he checked this so-called ck Book of Necromancy. It was an Intermediate-level spell tome that allowed one to perform various necromantic spells of that level.


    If only he would be allowed to learn it, he would gain more than just a single Journeyman spell. Darius resolved to find more spell tomes going forwards, as they seemed far more convenient for bulk learning than spellbooks or manuals.


    He put it aside and checked his point totals. Since he had exactly 0.7 leftover fromst time, this added to his current inflow to make an even number of 4 AP and SP.


    Pleased by this, Darius put his AP into Endurance and Strength. 1 point in Endurance sent it from 19 points to 20, and the remaining 3 points into the Strength to send it from15 points to 18.


    It might seem weird that he wasn''t stuffing every point into Intellect, but Darius had only wanted to reach a threshold back then because spells had been his go-tobat method at the time.


    Additionally, Caesar had specifically warned him against min-maxing, and Darius didn''t favor it either. He preferred a more equal bnce, so his current goal was to bring Strength, Agility, and Endurance to 50 points, to acquire their basic abilities.


    If possible he would even bring Charisma to 50 points, assuming he had the time and means to do so. Darius realized that after this Quest, he would have to partake in many Events in order to acquire more AP and SP in the future.


    After allocating his AP, Darius then ced all four of his SP in Heal, which surprised no one. After what he had just learned, it would be extremely foolish to continue farming without this powerful skill buffed.


    With it, Darius could insta-kill even stronger undead foes within this band, granting him and Gunner far more experience, at a far faster rate.


    The effectiveness of the heal spell had climbed from 25% to 45%, which was a substantial increase. The spell was now level 9, and Darius would need to find 11 more Skill Points to bring it to the max.


    Sure, Caesar had warned him against wasting time trying to reach (+200) which was the cap, but that warning had been separate from the ones he received from Vena through Caesar.


    That one had merely stated that it would be foolish to try and abuse his Dagger of Death. True enough, after Caesar had changed the rules to the Leveling System, Darius would have merely gotten a pittance for attempting that.

 Chapter 143 - 143

    After dealing with his own points, he turned to Gunner. He looked through and saw that Gunner previously had 0.4 AP and SP, which when added to what he gained this time, brought his total to 3.6 in both categories.


    Darius straightforwardly ced all 3 points into Endurance. Now, the stat was only a single point away from reaching the Adept threshold with the help of Earth''s Guardian at 23 points from the previous 20.


    As for his three SP, Darius ced it all into his only ss skill, Engage. This brought the skill which had practically remained untouched since he acquired it from level 1 to level 4.


    Now, the range of the skill had increased from 5 meters to 20 meters, which might not seem like much, but was enough to pull many foes onto Gunner.


    Darius normally split the battle with Gunner as he feared for therged in this zone, but now things were set with his Earth''s Guardian leveling up, while his own Endurance was raised.


    Not to mention, Darius now needed to stay back and simply spam the Heal spell to debilitate and kill most undead they would encounter henceforth, so it was more productive for Gunner to tank while he dealt damage.


    Satisfied with the changes made so far, Darius downed another Purification Potion and moved forward. Since the Journeyman band was over 600 kilometers wide, he didn''t need to worry about ack of enemies even with the intrusion of others.


    However, night soon fell, robbing Darius and Gunner of their ambient light. The duo simply made a small camp right where they were, as Darius summoned Mikey and Joneson to keep watch.


    They did not need any sleep and they could see in the dark, making them the perfect sentries, not to mention they had the strength and means to deal with most things that woulde this way.


    Darius and Gunner sat in the tent and had a small lunch that was preserved in their Inventories, then rolled up in their sleeping bags and nodded off. They might seem strangely casual about it, but there was no use making a big deal over nothing.


    They would have to sleep anyway, so they might as well get used to how it felt to sleep in and of death, with blighted earth right below them.


    ...ˇ­


    When the sun eventually shone through the canopies, Darius and Gunner roused themselves awake. Both of them were extremely groggy and felt extremely unwell, almost vomiting on the spot.


    Gunner quickly activated his Earth''s Guardian while Darius quickly drank a Purification Potion, both of which made the duo feel much better.


    Darius and Gunner took down their tent and went out to meet Mikey and Joneson, who were boredly chatting about something while they made some undead of various species of the Journeyman stage fool about.


    When they saw Darius and Gunnere out, they greeted. "Hey there, bosses. How was your night?"


    Darius sighed. "Not very good. This ce isn''t very hospitable for the living."


    The undead liches nodded as if they understood, though Darius wondered how they possibly could. Gunner grunted and ced the tents into his Inventory and stood behind Darius quietly, waiting for their next order.


    Mikey and Joneson also waited silently much in the same manner, unsummoning their captured undead throughout the night. Darius noted that they were now level 32, which meant that the duo of undead must''ve enjoyed some good battles.


    Whatever the case, he removed six books from his Inventory. Three of them were identical to the other three, and Darius had spent his CP from the previous day making these, one of which he already had thankfully.


    [Shadow Maniption Spell - Manual


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: This manual was created through pure Transmutation. It is a spell designed to allow the caster to control ambient shadows within a short-range, and is perfect. There is a 100% chance to learn the spell within and its power is increased by 500%.]


    [Shadow de Spell - Manual


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: This manual was created through pure Transmutation. It is a spell designed to create a controble de made of shadow that can be used as a closebat weapon orunched as a projectile depending on the caster''s preference, and is perfect. There is a 100% chance to learn the spell within and its power is increased by 500%.]


    [Hail of Spears Spell - Manual


    Durability: 5/5


    Description: This manual was created through pure Transmutation. It is a spell designed to generate a variable number of airborne icences of incredible sharpness to rain down on arge area of foes, and is perfect. There is a 100% chance to learn the spell within and its power is increased by 500%.]


    Darius handed them to the two undead and gestured. "Learn these spells and use them in battle to make up for yourcking offensive power."


    Mikey and Joneson nodded and learned the three spells. Only, unlike Darius and Gunner who were stuck with level-based spells that required SP, the two undead had the skills converted into abilities, so their effects were slightly different.


    What was interesting was that they could learn skillbooks straight up like Darius and Gunner could. Darius had only made the assumption when they became Journeymen, so he thought that it wouldn''t be too nonsensical if they could learn spells from tomes to add to their repertoire.


    Just to be sure, he chose two spells from the Darkness element he had purchased from that library in Listo town the first day he got there, as well as one Ice element Journeyman spell.


    He surmised that even if they could learn spells, it would be limited to a select fewpatible elements because it would be a bit too far-fetched for them to benefit from his ability to learn any spell of any element thanks to his Magus subss.


    Darius checked their character sheets to assess how the new skills would function after being converted.

 Chapter 144 - 144

    [Shadow Maniption - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 5 mana per second


    Description: Through your darkness affinity, control the areas of shadows throughout your surroundings. This only includes natural shadows cast by the sun within a range of 300 meters.]


    [Shadow de - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 10 mana


    Description: Through your darkness affinity, create a de made of artificial shadow from any position within 5 meters. The de can be maintained as a weapon or cast a projectile.]


    [Hail of Spears - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 50 mana


    Description: Through your affinity with frost, spawn a cloud of artificial ice which is sculpted into the form of piercing spears. These spears rain down on all enemies within a 100-meter radius of the chosen cast area, which cannot be more than 500 meters away from the caster.]


    Darius nodded with satisfaction. Intermediate spells were powerful indeed, and the sheer creativity one can explore in spells above the Amateur stage was what kept magic alive in Faust, despite the difficulty of learning and/or casting.


    Thinking about how he, with the system and his ss, could fire off spells of any element without needing to chant or gesture, Darius realized he would be able to maximize the power of all mages. Not to mention that any spell he used would be vastly superior to the traditional versions thanks to Transmutation.


    He allowed the two undead to take the lead, while Gunner was right behind them. As for Darius, he leisurely strutted at the back, calm and unperturbed as if he was strolling through his own garden instead of a danger zone.


    Without any suspense, they soon encountered another group of undead, this time arge one numbering almost a hundred. There was a mix of different types, from skeletons of all kinds, beast undead, flying-type undead, and flesh-bearing undead.


    They were all surrounding a fountain that seemed out of ce in this barrennd. Not only that, but the watering from this fountain was greenish in color and stank even as far as Darius and Gunner stood.


    Darius narrowed his eyes and Analyzed it.


    [Defiled Fountain of Power - Treasure


    Durability: ?/?


    Description: Water from a source deep within the depths of the ins of Death, this liquid has the ability to greatly strengthen any undead that drinks it. The increase in power is only significant during the first sip, but decreases with every time it is imbibed.]


    Well, that exined why so many undead surrounded the fixture without even paying attention to Darius or Gunner who stood a few meters away. Finding it amusing, the duo walked up to the fountain with Mikey and Joneson who were drooling.


    "Boss, this water smells so good! Can I take a sip?" Joneson asked eagerly.


    "Seems like it''d be beneficial for us, Boss. What do ya say?" Mikey also inquired with excitement.


    Darius nodded. "You can, but we''ve got to clear up all the undead here first. Mikey, Joneson, start the first volley. Gunner, join in when you''re ready."


    The group nodded and got battle ready immediately. Mikey and Joneson didn''t summon their undead yet, rather opting to use the new abilities they were granted by Darius.


    The two liches began chanting while raising their hands up to the sky, thenguage emerging from their lips innately understood by Darius though he was sure he had never learned it before.


    It seemed as if their chanting would take more than a few seconds, making Darius shake his head. He was certain that he was immensely lucky to not need to have to go through this, or he would have never survived those first few days in the wild.


    As for Gunner, he patiently waited for the cast to finish, for he understood how dangerous it was to interfere in an AOE that did hot have the ''Friendly Fire'' benefits of the system''s targeting.


    In about a minute, the cast came to an end, the sky darkening as tworge clouds emerged. This finally caught the attention of the undead surrounding the fountain that was crazily engorging on its filth.


    The spell didn''t give them time to regret their ignorance, as hundreds of ice spears with the same size and design as Darius''s own steel spear fell upon them.


    Immediately, there was a great uproar in the ranks as more than 60 of the undead were immediately killed by the bombardment, the rest only surviving due to luck or their positioning.


    Of course, there were those that survived by virtue of their skills, and they turned to re at the three interlopers with anger. This was naturally a big mistake, as they failed to notice that the sun was almost blocked out by the form of Gunner.


    Immediately, the fellow used Earthen Stomp to ruin the ground in the area, though the fountain waspletely unharmed - same as the area of 2 meters around it ¨C like it existed in a different ne of reality.


    The stomp ended the lives of many more undead and rendered the rest either incapacitated or injured. Here Darius showed his prowess byzily casting Heal on any undead with a low amount of HP.


    In less than 30 seconds, he had killed the rest of the undead that had loitered around here, stunning Mikey, Joneson, and Gunner who were getting ready to enter the zone and battle it out.


    Especially Gunner who was used to duking it out brutally with his enemies, beating them down until they shattered to pieces. Having his gig ended before it could even begin felt different for Gunner.


    Darius too was slightly impressed by the sheer utility of the upgraded Heal spell. It was so fast in killing enemies that he at most, needed 2 hits to kill most foes between level 25-30.


    After all, the base damage of the spell was 23 at 45% of his Intellect. After going through the modifiers, it meant that a single cast now did 414 damage!


    Darius waved to Mikey and Joneson to have their fill of the fountain while he checked the spoils of him and Gunner.

 Chapter 145 - 145

    [You have gained 102,400 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 102,400 EXP, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x51! You are now level 20(+111). You have gained 5.1 Ability Points and 5.1 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x51! He is now level 20(+107). He has gained 5.1 Ability Points and 5.1 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    It seemed they had crossed a great amount of their target, Since the cap was +200, they were both slightly more than halfway there. Either four more small battles or two morerge battles and they would reach the cap.


    Darius decided to umte the remaining points before bothering to allocate them. He was also pleased to note that the duo of undead had reached level 35 after this battle. Still, they needed stronger foes to allow them to grow faster.


    As such, he directly unsummoned Mikey and Joneson, then nodded to Gunner. Therged nodded back as the duo began blink-leaping forward again.


    They covered a great distance much faster than usual thanks to Gunner''s increased Endurance. Over the next hour, they crossed almost 500 kilometers of the Journeyman band, nearly reaching the edge of the Adept band.


    Here the duo stopped because they saw enemies ranging from level 35-40, which should be perfect for the two undead. As such, the fellows were dragged out of their rest by Darius and made to engage foes.


    Gunner had to put his Engage skill to use, though the sheer power of undead in thest Journeyman stage was quite arduous for him to tank with ease. Luckily, he put the so farrgely ignored Elven Boots of Speed to good use.


    It increased his speed by 50% in exchange for 50% more of his stamina. Since Gunner was not using Explosive Strength - as the goal was to tank and not deal damage - he could easily handle the cost.


    Mikey and Joneson realized that they could not use AOE due to Gunner''s proximity to the enemies except as an opening salvo, so the duo resorted to casting Shadow des from afar that rushed to pierce their chosen targets.


    Darius was the highest damage dealer here, as he continually used the Heal spell to debilitate foes. Most of the Journeymen undead had more than 600 points of HP, requiring Darius to hit them with the Heal spell more than once in order to vanquish them.


    What was strange was that every time he did so, the nearby undead would break from the battle and try to escape. This could only be mitigated by Gunner who would use Engage to bring them back, creating a cycle of torture for these undead.


    If they could, it was likely that they would shed tears due to the circumstances. However, they could not resist the almost absolute effects of the Engage skill, so they were forced to fight unwillingly and die tragically.


    Darius wanted to reach the cap as quickly as possible so the rest of the farming could be left to the two undead, while he and Gunner could enter the Adept band to investigate in order to verify how well Darius''s n had worked out in terms of messing the area up.


    After three small-scale battles, Darius finally got his wish.


    He called up his and Gunner''s character sheets to see how much they had.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Sub-ss: Magus


    HP: 360/360


    MP: 1,000/1,000


    Level: 20(+200)


    Experience: 2000/2000


    Strength: 18


    Agility: 20


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 50


    AP: 14


    SP: 14


    Skills: Analyze - Lv.5, Skinning - Lv.1, Butchery - Lv.1, Cooking - Lv.1, Washing - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv.4


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.20, Ember - Lv.4, Heal - Lv.9, Blink - Lv.10, Spawn - Lv.15, Purify - Lv.1, Adjust - Lv.3]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Sub-ss: Open


    HP: 480/480


    MP: 700/700


    Level: 20(+200)


    Exp: 2000/2000


    Strength: 24


    Agility: 15


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 35


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 20


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 15


    SP: 15


    Skills: Engage - Lv.4, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.20, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 1, Berserker''s Rage - Lv.1, Earthen Punch - Lv.3, Basic Martial Arts - Lv.1


    Spells: None.]


    Darius had one less point in both categoriespared to Gunner, but it made sense since he reached level 20 long before the fellow did. Now that they had both reached the cap, it meant that, for the first time, they were on the same wavelength.


    Given how their experience would be divided up permanently in the future, this would likely remain the same up until they both reached the Grandmaster stage.


    Without wasting time, Darius ced 2 points into Endurance as well as Strength and 10 points into Agility. This brought the stats to 22, 20, and 30 respectively. Darius sighed with pleasure as he felt the weight of the world weakened on him so greatly with 10 points.


    He felt like he could outrun a cheetah at its top speed with difficulty. His steps were lighter and by consequence, quieter.


    In terms of spells, Darius thought carefully before cing 7 points into Heal, 5 points into Spawn, and 2 points into Adjust. This brought the spells to level 16, 20, and 5 respectively.


    Currently, the spells looked like this;


    [Heal - Level 16 Spell


    Cost: 40 MP


    Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 80% of a target''s total HP.]


    [Spawn - Level 20 Spell


    Cost: 5 MP


    Description: Channel the purest death energy through your body to form undead servants that do your bidding. Only two undead Vampires are summoned at this level.]


    [Adjust - Level 5 Spell


    Cost: 2 MP


    Description: Control the fundamental force of the that retrains all beings to its surface. This spell increases or decreases the user''s weight by 25%.]


    While their casting costs had increased, their power had jumped to a whole new level of existence.

 Chapter 146 - 146

    Before Darius could even begin allocating Gunner''s points, Mikey and Joneson started to shine, a ck light enveloping them like cocoons. They folded into a fetal shape as their forms within began to change greatly.


    Interestingly the ambient blight around these ''cocoons'' was being cleansedˇ­ no, absorbed and the rate was no joke. Darius and Gunner shared a look before stepping into the normal barren earth.


    The moment they did, they felt as if a weight that had been pressing down on them had been lifted, or an illness that often rpsed had finallye to an end. They both sighed with pleasure and continued with their own matters while the two undead evolved to reach their new forms.


    Gunner''s stats were easier for Darius to allocate since he had to deliberate a lot less. He ced 1 point in Strength to bring it from 24 to 25, 4 points in Endurance to bring it to 24 points, and the remaining 10 into Agility to bring it to 25 points.


    Now, all three of his physical skills had a base value of 25.Of course, thanks to Earth''s Guardian 110% increase Gunner also unlocked the basic ability for Endurance.


    [Congrattions! You have reached 50 points in Endurance and have acquired the ability: Fast Regeneration.]


    [Fast Regeneration - Basic Ability


    Cost: Stamina per second


    Description: You have achieved the ability of one with the flesh and are now able to control most of your cognitive/motor functions manually. This allows you to split cells faster and regenerate from harm or illness faster, but saps the body of energy greatly.]


    Darius had guessed as much, but the actual ability turned out to be much better than he had anticipated. With it, Gunner could control most of his body''s functions that were normally left to his subconscious.


    Even though the ''most'' was not very precise, there were a LOT of things that the human body performed in a second that were automated by the subconscious. Breathing regrly, blinking, and keeping the heart beating, just to name a few.


    Darius, unfortunately, was not much of a biologist, but he figured he and Gunner could slowly figure out extra tricks in increasing their battle prowess, daily livelihood, and general health by controlling various parts after acquiring this ability.


    Now that Gunner had unlocked 2 out of the 3 physical basic abilities, albeit only in tandem with his skill, Darius decided to move onto his skills.


    Darius remembered that he had not used his CP for today and wondered if he should create a tailored skill for Gunner that would be worth investing all 15 points.


    He did not really want to increase Earth''s Guardian from level 20 upwards. While a higher level meant more power, it also increased the cost of the spell.


    If it climbed above 20 points per second, Gunner would no longer be able to keep it up like a base aura and would have a limited amount of time with it.


    As such, it seemed wiser to keep it where it was for now. Once they both became Journeymen, their levels would climb and so too would their regeneration. Of course, Darius could just buy or transmute something that increased mana regeneration.


    He had items with such an effect in Polivar''s Treasure House, however, they had been subpar. Maybe for natives and under thews of Faust, it made a difference, but the mechanics of the Supreme System made it such that they would only add decimal points to Darius'' and Gunner''s regen at best.


    Darius considered the skills he wanted to give Gunner.


    ''Another offensive skill? No, he already has Earthen Punch, Earthen Stomp, and Basic Martial Arts. All of these basically cover what he needs for his fighting style.''


    ''So, a defensive skill perhaps? Then again, Earth''s Guardian fulfills that role perfectly on its own by increasing BOTH his Endurance and Defense.''


    Endurance meant his basic body defenses and was what was calcted against the Strength of an opponent.


    Defense naturally meant thepiled stats of his equipment that had such values. So basically, the 30 points from the Synthetic Polymer Armor, the 12 points from the Soldering Gauntlets, and 4 points from the Elven Boots of Speed.


    This was why the fellow could attack even Journeymen unhinged. Even without Earth''s Guardian, his crazy Defense made it so that most attacks on his person would deal 0 damage, only that being swarmed by enemies was dangerous as it led to other problems like strangtion, smothering, and possibly lucky hits on weak points.


    With a boost of +110% for Endurance and Defense, Darius was sure that Gunner might even stand a chance against early-stage Adepts, at least the non-magical kind since his Resistance was low.


    Thinking so far, Darius opted for a magical defense skill. He too could use one, as the Supreme System did not have any basic stat that could mitigate spell damage.


    In other words, if you did not have an anti-magic defense skill/spell in your arsenal nor a piece of equipment/item that granted Resistance, you would eat raw spell damage.


    Darius had not fought mages so this had mostly been meaningless, yet it was likely that the Stonekeeper Marasmus could be an Adept mage. If Gunner was hit by any advanced spells, he might just turn to ash in one or two hits.


    However, that was assuming Darius would go for a frontal confrontation with Marasmus, which had never been the case. He would be foolish to assume that anything he could muster when fooling the Stonekeeper directly would result in his victory.


    His best bet would be to use chaos to strike Marasmus with the Dagger of Death, and to get from whenever he stood at the time to the back of the Stonekeeper would likely require all of his ''extra lives'' under the Stitch of Time, which was likely what Caesar had meant.


    The moment Darius reached this conclusion, he felt his loose foot on one of the paths of 56 strengthen greatly, the other one evening to join. This reassured him, as it meant that he wasrgely right, and had guessed the progression of events for sess.


    The reason why his other foot had yet to also touch the ground had to be because he still had to do the tough part, executing the sequence of events to perfection.

 Chapter 147 - 147

    Darius shook his head and returned to Gunner''s matters. While a magical defense skill was now on the table, he needed to be certain that there was no better choice.


    For example, what about giving his Branded Servant a support spell? Something that helped increase his mana or stamina regeneration?


    Maybe something like a meditation skill of sorts, although Darius guessed most of them would be racial skills.


    Between a mage defense spell and a support spell, Darius favored the first choice more. After all, Gunner could guzzle potions to fill up hiscking resources, but nothing he had minus the polymer suit could help him block spell damage apart from dodging.


    However, what if he was hit with a lock-on spell that was faster than him and therefore unavoidable? Was Darius supposed to sit there and watch his first Branded Servant die because of negligence?


    That was naturally impossible. As such, Darius took out an empty book and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the empty book into an anti-magic skill manual? This will cost 8.5 Conversion Points.]


    Darius raised an eyebrow. He had nned to make a simr skill for himself, but it seemed he would need to wait until tomorrow before he could do so. The skill being this expensive was nothing surprising, as Darius was certain that it had to be rare.


    Why? Because anti-magic spells weremon for Journeyman mages and above, as that was when they would begin to disy truly meaningfulbat power.


    In fact, themon breakthrough method was to develop an anti-magic shield that ran passively based on your affiliated elements.


    So the Amateur in question could have an affinity with Space and Earth. As such, they would choose either of these elements as the base and create an anti-magic shield that they would wear like a second skin, blocking magic damage only.


    As for physical defense shields, they would have to create their own spells for that or find apatible one they could learn. Of course, the underlying criteria was to have more than 20 points in Intellect before trying for the Journeyman level.


    For people like Gunner, things worked differently. As people sparked with different abilities, they had to progress the power of their abilities specifically with their stats being a smaller factor.


    In the case of someone who could - for instance - manipte nts to fight. At the Amateur stage they would be limited to only control smaller nts and thin vines, but upon reaching the Journeyman stage controlling shrubs and some roots would be possible.


    In this case, even if they had 50 points in Strength, Agility, or Endurance, they still would not be full Journeymen or Adept until they leveled up their ability to the Journeyman or Adept level, though such situations were rare.


    After all, for stats to rise that high, it was a consequence of the ability improving. It was hardly the case where a stat increase would improve an ability, at least not in theter stages.


    Of course, Gunner followed different rules.


    Darius inspected the Anti-magic skillbook.


    [Mageward Barrier - Manual


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the powerful mageward barrier skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectivenessis increased by 500%.]


    Darius raised an eyebrow. He then tossed the skillbook over to Gunner and nodded. Therged already understood what he needed to do, so he quickly learned the skill.


    The manual turned into blue-white slush that crawled up his arms and entered through his ears to head to his brain.


    After spending a second or two digesting the skill, Gunner opened his eyes and roared as a blue-white aura formed around his body much in the same way his natural greenish aura did.


    Both auras, unfortunately, did not mix. His greenish aura was a level above his skin while the blue-white aura was a level above the greenish aura, giving Gunner an amazing aestheticbined with his already good looks.


    Darius checked the stats of the actual skill to see whether it was worth investing Gunner''s 15 skill points into or should be kept as a level 1 background skill.


    [Mageward Barrier - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a legendary faction of mage-killing knights who took on contractual jobs to hunt down mages. This was their core skill, allowing them to greatly mitigate the damage from all offensive and debuffing spells based on their mastery over the spell at no cost to their mana or stamina. Currently, this skill disperses 1% of all iing magic damage and negative effects.]


    Darius sucked in a deep breath. This skillˇ­ was truly unbelievable. Putting aside its rich history due to the Transmutation ability''s penchant for digging up the best quality of a certain thing, the fact that it had no cost was outrageous.


    So far, only ss-based skills had proven to have zero cost, like Analyze and Engage. Sparks was not a spell unique to the Magus ss, so it hade with a cost.


    ''Hang on, does that mean that the Mageward skill is tied to a certain ss?''


    Darius froze. He quickly checked Gunner''s character sheet and pped his forehead. In the subss segment that had previously read ''open'', there was now a new designation called Anti-Mage.


    Darius scratched his chin with frustration, but let it go. While he had ns for Gunner''s subss for after they became Journeymen, the current skill and subss were actually not bad.


    At least, if he were to progress with this skill to the end, he should theoretically be fully immune to all spells. Even if it had been impossible for those ancient mage-killers, it was certainly possible with Skill Points.


    Sighing, Darius ced all 14 skill points into the Mageward Barrier, bringing its dispersion from 1% to 15%. As for thest free skill point, Darius decided to ce it in the almighty Earthen Punch, so that Gunner may - as they say - knock the block off his enemies.


    At level 4, Earthen Punch now did a mighty 40% damage!

 Chapter 148 - 148

    After allocating the various points to where they would function best, Darius closed the Character menu and focused on the still transforming Mikey and Joneson. The area around them losing its blight faster and faster.


    Darius measured a radius of 500 meters and growing for the absorption, which was crazy. He could even set up a small estate in this patch of unblightednd. Or a safe haven, which would arguably be a better choice. He was unsure if the blight would return though, so for now, he just entertained the idea.


    He rested with Gunner as they waited for the undead to emerge in their evolved form. Darius used this time to consider his next actions once they reached the Adept band.


    The closer he got, the more he felt like he fulfilling his inevitable fate. He could no longer prolong it, nor run from it, especially not now when he knew what he needed to do and only had to fill in the motions sessfully.


    Gunner who was sitting beside him was simrly lost in his own thoughts. This new Mageward Barrier skill made him ponder about his own n and people.


    He had read the description of the manual and these ancient knights who killed mages reminded him of a certain legend in the Giant Race concerning the Primordial Titans who had been Gaia''s first children.


    They also had skills catered to killing their foes, the Gods and Devils of Faust. Elysium and Armadon went against everything Gaia stood for, so there had always been a deep enmity.


    Unfortunately, the great titans had ended up sealed by the Gods, for unlike the deities and high-ranking demons, they could not be killed. Darius had promised to help Gunner solve this matter, but that was a matter forter.


    After all, Gunner''s situation with his n was quite problematic in the first ce, and the only thing tying him to them was their shared closeness with Gaia.


    Soon enough, Mikey and Joneson emerged from the cocoons, their bodies slightly shorter and more humanepared to before. Mikey and Joneson possessed identical looks and features yet again, like a bizarre set of twins.


    They had angr faces, sharp noses, oval-shaped eyes with soft brows, and oiled white hair. Their lips were the same color as their skin, pasty white and extremely pale. They had average builds that were slim and did not seem very muscr.


    Interestingly enough, they wore full noble liveries that were colored ck. The only thing missing from their attires was a family crest, although Darius was certain that they were capable of creating their own Vampire n/House.


    Darius had extensively researched the undead, so he was aware of their ranking within Faust.


    At the very bottom, there were undead skeletons of no particr designation. Starting from there were the Common Rank undead, which were split into the mage path and the warrior path.


    For the warrior path, there were the Skeleton Fighters, Skeleton Warriors, Skeleton Knights, Skeleton Kings, Wights, Wight Lords, and Wight Kings.


    For the mage path, there were Skeleton Summoners, Skeleton Mages, Skeleton Adepts, Skeleton Archmages, Wraiths, Wraith Lords, and Wraith Kings.


    Next came the Lord Rank Undead. Just like their lower-ranked undead brethren, they too split up.


    On the warrior path was the Blood Golem, the Bone Golem, the Abomination, and the Butcher. On the mage path was the Specter, the Banshee, the Watcher, the Soul Stealer, and the Bone Dragon.


    Above the Lord Rank undead were the Commander Rank undead. The warrior path had the Dark Knight, the Reaper, the Dread Knight, and the Death Knight. The mage path had the Necrolich, the Shaman, the Dread Lord, and the Lich.


    Chief of them all was the so-called Supreme Undead. Here, they were not exactly split into paths as all of them had abilities in both categories. There were few in numbers and none outranked the others.


    They were the Vampires, the Lich King, the Banished Ones, and the Necromancer King.


    Although the vampires were arguably the weakest of their ranks, they more than made up for it with their growth capabilities, since they had the potential to be mightier than the Lich King, the Banished Ones, or the Necromancer King.


    Vampires also had their internal species rankings. From lowest to highest they were the Blood Ghoul, the Thrall, the Initiate Vampire, the Halfblood Vampire, the Pureblood Vampire, the Vampire Lord, the Vampire King, the Ancient Vampire, and the Progenitor Vampire.


    Darius wondered what rank of vampire Mikey and Joneson had evolved into, so he quickly checked their character menus to be sure.


    [Name: Joneson


    Race: Undead


    ss: Pureblood Vampire


    Subss: Growth


    HP: 5,475/5,475


    MP: 3,360/3,360


    Level: 35


    Strength: 73


    Agility: 78


    Endurance: 75


    Intellect: 96


    Charisma: 74


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote, Create Initiate, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Life Drain, Shadow Maniption, Shadow de, Hail of Spears.


    Traits: Magic Immunity, Damage Ward, Absorb, Ultra Dominate.


    Weapons: Magic.]


    [Name: Mikey


    Race: Undead


    ss: Pureblood Vampire


    Subss: Growth


    HP: 5,475/5,475


    MP: 3,360/3,360


    Level: 35


    Strength: 73


    Agility: 78


    Endurance: 75


    Intellect: 96


    Charisma: 74


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote, Create Initiate, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Life Drain, Shadow Maniption, Shadow de, Hail of Spears.


    Traits: Magic Immunity, Damage Ward, Absorb, Ultra Dominate.


    Weapons: Magic.]


    Darius raised an eyebrow. The duo''s stats were finally on disy, and wellˇ­ it was a lot higher than Darius had expected. As he suspected, stats varied per race, with ''superior'' races having better numerals than their counterparts at the same stage, even in categories they did not specialize in.


    Before he checked their Abilities and Traits to notate the difference, he removed his steel spear from his Inventory and tossed it over to Mikey, who caught it deftly.


    "Uh, boss?" Mikey questioned uncertainly.


    Darius ignored him and took out an iron sword he had in his Inventory all this while as a drop from misc battles and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the iron sword into a steel sword? This will cost 1.5 Conversion Points.]


    Darius made the change and admired the weapon in his hands, swinging it around lightly.

 Chapter 149 - 149

    He was nowhere near as clumsy doing this as he had been when he first held a cold weapon. His movements were swift and precise, not only due to his higher Agility, but the fact that he had training with a weapon.


    While it might be specific to the spear, these things had overarching fundamentals. It was simr to how a person familiar with using pistols being able to use rifles, albeit quite poorly, but still above the level of someone utterly clueless.


    Darius tossed the sword over to Joneson, who also received it with a nk expression. Before the duo could question him further, he took the initiative to exin.


    "You are now Pureblood Vampires, no longer constrained to pure magic as Liches. As such, it would be a waste for you to not use your great stats in tandem with physical weapons and the necessary magic inbat."


    The duo shared a look and nodded. "As youmand, boss!"


    Darius nodded and checked their newly added ability and improved trait descriptions.


    [Create Initiate - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 10% of HP.


    Description: As a Pureblood Vampire, imbue a living vessel that is willing to receive your power and part of your vampiric essence, changing their existence to neither living nor dead, but a fledgling vampire that bes part of your family, eternally loyal to his ancestor.]


    [Summon Thralls - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 1 mana per Thrall


    Description: Call out to all your created Thralls and have them teleported to your location to serve as your shields in battle.]


    [Create Blood Warriors - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 1% of HP.


    Description: Convert a drop of your blood into a Blood Warrior, a servile subspecies adept in battle. All Blood Warriors possess 30% of the creator''sbat prowess and skill.]


    [Life Drain - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: Drain the blood of any living being. The rate at which life is drained is 1% per second and requires contact. Any life drained is used to replenish the vampire''s health by the same value.]


    [Magic Immunity - Trait


    Description: As a being born from the blood of a Progenitor Vampire, you are strongly resistant to all forms of magic damage or effects.]


    [Damage Ward - Trait


    Description: With the blessing of a Progenitor Vampire on your side, you automatically spawn a barrier that has your total HP and various resistances. The barriersts until it is broken, and will automatically respawned after an hour.]


    [Absorb - Trait


    Description: As a rare growth type undead, you passively absorb the Death Energy from any in foes in order to strengthen yourself.]


    [Ultra Dominate - Trait


    Description: As a Supreme Undead, you are able to dominate any undead of a lower rank and level than yourself within 10 kilometers, turning them into your subordinates in the absence of another master.]


    After assessing their skills, Darius closed the menus. As he had been reading, he had been factoring their new and strengthened abilities into his n in order to maximize his chances of sess.


    One thing he could say was that if he could get Mikey and Joneson to the Adept stage and at a reasonable level there, he might just be able to pull of a hare-brained scheme involving a direct battle, misdirection, and espionage.


    With Gunner''s increased utility, his new Heal spell, and the two Pureblood Vampiresˇ­ it just might be possible. Darius was beginning to feel hope burgeon within him as it seemed like his chances were rising!


    He also noticed that the cleansednd had begun to slowly lose its healthiness and was slowly ckening under the encroachment of the blight, making him sigh.


    ''So much for creating a safe house.''


    Darius nodded to his group and led the way forward as they all trekked through thest few kilometers of the Journeyman band and entered the Adept bandter in the day.


    He noted that the blight''s power had almost doubled once again, making his Purification Potions struggle to maintain an equilibrium between drain and restoration. It eventually stabilized, but the effective duration of the potion more than halved.


    Gunner too felt the increased strain, His greenish aura fluctuated, going from intense to weak many times as his expression changed before he finally stabilized as well.


    When Darius checked, he sighed as Gunner''s mana drain was now at 20 points. As long as he kept the Earth''s Guardian skill up, he would not be able to regenerate spent mana used on other skills!


    His only option would be to drink potions, so Darius gave Gunner three-fourths of their mana potions to be safe. As for Mikey and Joneson, they simply sighed with pleasure and flexed their muscles.


    "Boss, it feels great here. I feel like I can fight 30% stronger than on normal grounds unno." Mikeymented.


    "Wow! Unreal! This is amazing! I feel incredible! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I can win! I feel great! I can do this!" Joneson cheered as he raised his hands to the sky, like he wanted to hug it.


    Darius tilted his head with amusement, feeling like he had heard that line somewhere before. Still, he took in the increased power of his undead minions as both a good thing and a bad thing.


    The good thing was that the help they could render him had greatly increased. Naturally, the bad thing was that this also went true for every other undead here, who were technically his enemies.


    Darius sighed, and couldn''t help feeling chilled inside the more he progressed towards his goal. He knew in the depths of his heart, that without Vena''s kindness of forcing Caesar to spit out those hints, he would likely have chosen the wrong path.


    Even now, Darius felt like the only reason he hadnded on the path of 56 was thanks to adhering to those three hints and his decision to increase his Luck to 50 points.


    He was convinced that thetter choice had to be the key to his sess until now. Nothing could make him think otherwise.

 Chapter 150 - 150

    What surprised Darius though, was that by the time they made camp for the night, they had yet to see a single Adept undead monster. Mikey and Joneson also couldn''t sense any nearby at all, making Dariuse up with an interesting theory.


    Stonekeeper Marasmus should be currently under siege by all the bigwigs of Andrato, right? If they had not perished, it should be that the Adepts here had gone to assist the Stonekeeper''s defense.


    If so, it would only serve to bring Darius''s ns forward, as he would have to visit the forward camp and integrate himself.


    After all, what was the point of gathering so many Adepts here if he wasn''t the one to galvanize these resources? As for convincing them to follow his directives, it should be easy with his abilities and charisma.


    Darius and Gunner set a camp. This time, Darius poured Purifications Potions on the ground to create a livable area. He gave a few potions to Mikey and Joneson so that they could pour them whenever the blight got close to Darius or Gunner.


    The Pureblood Vampires were naturally set as sentries while the living duo tucked in somewhatfortably and went to sleep. By the time it was morning, they felt much better than they had yesterday.


    They broke camp so that they could continue forward. Darius gazed at Mikey and Joneson with a deeply contemtive gaze.


    While they were no longer menacing undead but handsome vampires, they could somewhat mesh with society.


    However, it didn''t change that they were undead, and high ranked ones at that.


    Darius didn''t want to unsummon them for they could give him more persuasive power in the outpost of the living if he yed his cards right.


    He smiled and decided to keep them. It would be an interesting challenge to talk his way out of this one, and despite the risk, Darius felt that the reward would be better, namely faster and tighter control.


    As for the risk, the highest was ostracization. There could be no harm to his person due to his status and perceived power. In fact, to have made two Journeyman Pureblood Vampires, almost at the Adept grade, submit under him would further cement his identity as a talented Adept.


    Darius and the group moved forward, passing through the short Adept band. It measured a total of 300 kilometers, about the same as the Amateur band. It was the Journeyman band that had been wide at 600 kilometers.


    Darius checked the map. When he had been at the Baratuo Outpost, the Stonekeeper''s necropolis had been located 1287 kilometers away. This meant that it was located at the center of the Adept band.


    From his current location, it should be 184 kilometers to the north-east. Nodding to Gunner, the duo began their blink-leap movement while Mikey and Joneson simply ran along.


    Given their current Agility and Endurance, this was as easy as ever. Even Gunner faced greater ease thanks to the Fast Regeneration ability''s extra effect of allowing him to control his motor movement finely.


    He was able to allocate optimal force into his feet and waste far less energy and stamina with each leap while going farther. Basically, the theory of doing more with less.


    Ironically, it was Darius who was slowing the group down since he could ''only'' blink 100 meters, and his continuous blink had a buffer of 0.3 seconds. As a result, Gunner and the two undead had to consciously slow down to match Darius'' speed.


    Eventually, they reached their destination a few minutester, and Darius could only smile bitterly. It seemed like he would have to absolutely acquire or possibly Transmute a proper teleportation spell as well as a mass teleport once he became a Journeyman.


    Whatever the case, he came upon arge spot of unblightednd surrounding a camp measuring almost 100 square kilometers. It was extremelyrge, but it was a given since so many powers were encamped here with their people.


    Interestingly, he noted that they had managed to keep the area free from the blight. Darius soon saw how, as hundreds of priests standing around the camp were quite a sight, continually chanting then casting various light spells on the earth to cleanse or block the blight.


    Darius shook his head, for this was a waste of their time and talent, but he understood that he wasn''t in charge... yet.


    Soon, the group came up to the entrance of the outpost, where some Journeymen were posted as guards.


    They saw Darius'' group approach and frowned, but didn''t dare to obstruct him since he and Gunner were both Adepts. Still, they couldn''t just let two undead waltz into the camp.


    "Greetings, Young Lord. You are wee to the outpost of Andrato, but those two undead might be difficult to amodate." One of the guards stated with a slightly difficult expression.


    Darius nodded. "I certainly understand your sentiment, but they''re a part of my group. I can assure you, that they will be necessary for clearing the obstacles ahead."


    "However, I don''t want to give you two good men a tough time. How about this, why don''t you call the resident leader of this outpost of this matter, and let him know Darius Stone is here."


    Darius made sure to incentivize this by giving the duo a gold coin each. To Journeymen and above in Andrato, a silver and below had little utility. Like Darius, they mostly traded in gold coins, especially if they were members of the nobility.


    Only thosemoners who struggled to be Journeymen would still use currency lower than silver, but even then, it would only be for a short while.


    Eventually, they''d have many means to gather funds quickly and enrich themselves, so there was a strong incentive in tossing a gold coin here.


    A single silver one and they might not even bother to catch it, rather letting it fall to the ground with a look of disdain and chagrin, thinking to themselves: ''Does thisd think that weck such things?''


    Luckily, Darius had made the right choice so one of the guards rushed into the outpost to contact the Royal Seneschal while the other amodated Darius warmly in the meantime.

 Chapter 151 - 151

    Inside the mostvish tent of the whole camp, the Royal Seneschal was currently seated at a small desk pouring through reports and expenses spent in managing this encampment.


    He sighed and rubbed his temples as he looked at the numbers.


    The priests daily cleansing cost them 1 gold coin per hour. Not too expensive... for a one-day venture. Considering that they had been here for over a week and a half it was far too much.


    And that was just the cost for one group. Arge majority had to be spent on the fees for the numerous Journeymen to keep them from simply returning to the Journeyman band where they could farm safely rather than risk their lives here.


    While the various Adepts could force them to stay, a willing worker was far better than a forced one, especially in a delicate operation like this. Unfortunately, this meant that the final cost was not easy to bear.


    Most importantly, there was the cost of resources. Out here, there was no natural vegetation or edible animals for them to forage or hunt, so they had to rely on food deliveries from the Baratuo outpost.


    Due to the quantity required and the difficulty to transportation across the ins of Death to their camp - putting aside distance - the danger alone was enough to stifle any willing party.


    They were forced to rely on a certain group of Journeymen and Adepts who had awakened or sparked with spatial talents allowing them to teleport to get the supplies. s, the fee they collected for their service was once again quite steep.


    Elijah sighed once more. He had advised against the Queen''s idea of taking charge over this venture to try and establish control over the various factions as well as appeal to the expert behind this entire event, yet she had not listened to him.


    It was easy to take charge with his prestige and power, as well as the name of the Royal Faction, but to control these fellows who were here for benefits? It required a lot of work.


    Firstly, as the chairman, he had to subsidize the costs for all the factions regarding supplies and the blight. Oh, they certainly ''paid'' their due, but the amount was less than 70% of what they should have ideally paid up to cover their individual costs.


    As such, he - as a representative of the Royal Faction - had to cough up the rest. So what if he didn''t like it or felt it was unfair? He was wee to give up his seat of chairman to another and let them bear the cost.


    Who asked him to go for the seat? He was just one powerful Adept with a good reputation, but there were countless other powerful factions and families present, so they were only wary at best.


    Ha, had someone else sat where he did, they would likely have to fork over 90% of all the funds required to manage this outpost while having very little power in reality.


    As had be the norm, he briefly entertained his desire of stepping away from his position and return to the castle where he could continue his magical researchˇ­ but since he ate from the hand of the Royal Faction, there were times when he had to bark or charge in the direction the faction pointed to.


    Soon, Elijah sensed someone approaching his tent and ced his work down with a frown. Before the Journeyman outside could report his presence, he heard Elijah''s stern voice from inside the tent.


    "Enter."


    Startled but impressed, the fellow entered the tent to see the minimalistic decorations within. Apart from a bed, drawer, and a desk, there was literally nothing else in there.


    Bowing in greeting, the Journeyman informed the Royal Seneschal of Darius'' presence and intentions. With a surprised gleam in his eye, Elijah realized he might finally get his chance at breaking the stalemate in all aspects.


    "Bring him in!"


    ...ˇ­


    Darius entered the camp and assessed it. It was set up linearly, and everyone had their own space that was separated from those of other factions. It was easy to tell who was who by the gs hanging within each area, denoting the factions.


    If you were obtuse, you could also find out the hard way, through the fists of theymen protecting each minor encampment as if everyone else was an enemy. Not that that waspletely wrong.


    After all, they were technically all fellowpetitors for Darius'' rewards. There was a need to pool resources together because there was an unstoppable obstacle before them, but it was a pipe dream for everyone to be fully invested, allowing someone else to steal the cake.


    Darius noted the tensions between the various factions and smiled. Their hostility towards each other would make them much easier to manipte as opposed to being monolithic, united in heart and purposes.


    Darius was brought to Elijah''s tent where he entered with Gunner and the duo of undead in tow, who had been closely watched by all the passerby.


    When Darius set his eyes on the Royal Seneschal, he made sure to Analyze him to get a good read on his power.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Elijah McNickles


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Royal Seneschal


    HP: 3,776/3,776


    MP: 5,841/5,841


    Level: 59


    Strength: 64


    Agility: 55


    Endurance: 59


    Intellect: 99


    Charisma: 13


    Luck: 7


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Curious


    Affection: Friendly lvl 1]


    Darius was startled by what he saw. No wonder the Royal Seneschal was also greatly respected and in a way that was no lesser than Kubrick! This old fellow was almost a Master-stage expert!


    But that wasn''t it!


    What made Darius'' expression change into something strange was his rapid mentalparison with the stats of the two undead.


    Despite Mikey and Joneson being 1 entire stage beneath him, heck by exactly 24 levels, in fact, they both had better stats than Elijah in many categories.


    The only exceptions were the Intellect and Luck stats, where Elijah surpassed them by three and seven points respectively.


    This gave Darius hope for the future growth of the two undead fellows, and the best way to do that would be to get them to handle the remaining Adept foes.


    Once they did that, they would not only pave the way forward for the camp, it would also strengthen the undead duo and grant Darius more clout.


    Killing three swift birds with one small stone!

 Chapter 152 - 152

    Elijah sized up Darius much in the same way as Darius sized up Elijah, different thoughts going through their heads. While Darius wasparing the half-step Master stage expert to his two Journeymen vampires, Elijah was stunned by the fact that both Darius and Gunner were Adepts.


    Darius radiated Mind Power, which proved that he was an Adept mage, however that didn''t surprise the Royal Seneschal. The youngd was far from being a faceless fellow, his name alone was like thunder in the capital nowadays, ever since he arrived and introduced himself to the Equality Faction in Listo.


    That was also why Darius had been confident enough to merely report his name and nothing else at the gate of the camp. All upper echelon members of Andrato Kingdom knew who he was and his recent meeting with the Crown Princess had only sparked a new wave of heat.


    However, that had not reached the camp yet, not exactly. After all, the fellows here were more focused on the task at hand rather than noble gossip from the homnd.


    No, what really shocked Elijah was the fact that Gunner who had been marked as a likely Journeyman pretending to be Amateur at his master''s behest, was now standing in front of him an Adept!


    But how many months had it been? Not even a single one!


    These two had been around for less than a month and one of them was already an Adept? Could it be?!


    No, Elijah shook his head. It was likely that the fellow had been constrained at the Journeyman level for a while and just broken through, he told himself as constion.


    Still, two Adepts below the age of 16 yearsˇ­ Elijah did not know how to feel anymore. While this was a good sign for the future of the kingdom, he couldn''t help butpare it to how old he had been when reaching that stage.


    Then his eyes fell onto the two vampires who were looking around the tent with interest. His eyes gleamed as he used his power to pierce through them, testing their strength.


    He saw tendrils of Mind Power around the duo, but estimated them to be weak undead Adepts. Either Initiate or Halfblood Vampires new to their power, since Elijah refused to believe that Darius had somehow managed to turn two Pureblood Vampires into his subordinates.


    Not only due to Darius''s age, but the pride of the Vampire n. Two Purebloods who could already start their own Family/n would rather perish than agree to serve someone less powerful.


    The moment he made his move, Mikey and Joneson reacted by turning their attention to him. Mikey frowned while Joneson smiled stupidly, yet the end result was theirbined Mind Power pping away Elijah''s and even pushing him back to deal damage.


    Elijah was right about one thing; the fact was that Mikey and Joneson were new to such a thing, so they did not have good control. As such, the Royal Seneschal was able to escape the bacsh, though his face was pale as a sheet.


    The two undead stopped there, but their differing expressions chilled Elijah. He realized that these two were not a lot weaker than him, so they had to be Adept Purebloods!


    Just the thought of it alone made his body shiver, as he turned his attention back to Darius who was smiling softly. The boy pretended as if he had not noticed anything, but how could it escape him when he too had Mind Power?


    Elijah sighed and gestured to a seat opposite himself. "Baron Stone, please have a seat so we can chat."


    Darius took him up on the offer and sat down, still smiling pleasantly. "Thank you very much, Esteemed Royal Seneschal. It''s my humble pleasure to make your acquaintance at this time."


    Elijah''s lips twitched, but he also responded positively. "Good to make your acquaintance as well, Baron Stone. It is rare to see someone of your talent in our humble kingdom nowadays."


    Dariusughed softly. "Andrato is a fine kingdom to settle down in, and I''m sure the local talent will rise in due time."


    Elijah decided to stop with the pleasantries and get to the matter at hand. "May I inquire as to why you''ve visited our little outpost this time?"


    Darius'' eye glinted slightly. "Naturally I''vee to acquire the rewards put up by the so-called Master-stage expert. I''m here to lend a hand in the efforts, and I daresay I have the aptest means avable."


    Elijah remained silent for a while, understanding what Darius was saying but not questioning him on it. Rather, he moved onto the next issue.


    "Baron Stone, while your power and status grant you many freedoms, frolicking with cursed undead is a bit overboard, don''t you think?"


    Darius nodded. "I agree with that sentiment. However, Lord Seneschal, I believe you understand why I''ve brought them along and how useful they can be in our endeavor."


    Elijah opened his mouth, but was forced to close it in the end. With 99 points in Intellect, of course he could tell the possible uses for these undead given their power.


    Given the development of theirst meeting, or more precisely theck thereof, it could be said that these two could be the answer to many of their problems.


    Ironically, making use of them could result in a whole new slew of problems, chief of them that the priests would never agree to work with undead, even if you beat them to death.


    They might even stop clearing the blight infection away as punishment if the council dared to ede to Darius''s ideas and the possible ns they could cook up.


    This put Elijah in a tight spot, something Darius did not fail to notice. As such, he moved on to the next phase of his takeover n and leaned in toward Elijah as he made a suggestion.


    "Lord Seneschal, allow me to propose you a deal. Call together a meeting of executives for tomorrow and let me take the floor. All I ask for is a seat and a chance to express my n without interruption and you might find that all your problems will go away."


    Elijah frowned. "I can do that certainly, but how exactly will you help me with our problems?"


    Darius chuckled here. "If you can spare me a bit more of your time, it shall be my pleasure to discuss all the matters guing you. You might be shocked to discover that there is always a solution to every problem. Sometimes one just needs an outsider''s perspective."

 Chapter 153 - 153

    Elijah paused for a second before deciding to bite the bullet. After all, he was already locked in with his current issues and needed a way out, which he hoped would be thisd.


    Darius was an enigma to him currently, so if thed imed to be able to help him out of this situation, he could at least listen to his input.


    The Royal Seneschal wasn''t so obtuse that he would pass up an opportunity due to pride or prejudice, as such he directly shared the three big issues the camp was facing.


    Firstly, the safety provided by the priests by creating a peaceful shelter. Secondly, resources for daily living and upkeep. Thirdly, funding for all matters concerning the above two points.


    Of course, there were also other minor problems like faction conflicts,ziness, arrogance, and distrust between the groups.


    Elijah also filled Darius in about the situation regarding the battlefront, the casualties over the past week on their side, and that of the undead, the Bone Dragon, and the remnant protectors of the Stonekeeper, as well as what they knew of the Marasmus himself.


    Darius listened as his eyes kept shining, his formerly hare-brained scheme bing more and more refined as he soaked up both data and information, processing them mentally to fit into his overarching scheme.


    Elijah noticed the shine in Darius''s eyes and felt his heart thump. The fact that Darius could barely conceal it showed his utter confidence in his ideas, and that all the fellow hadcked was information.


    As a sharp fellow, the Royal Seneschal capitalized on this to share even insider information with the youngd, hoping it would be able to help in some way.


    Although Darius'' Mind Power was weaker than his, meaning that the fellow was less intelligent, Elijah did not dare underestimate the power of external help.


    As they said, the bystander could always see clearer than the parties involved.


    Darius, a young talent not involved in the chaos and much of the current encampment might be able to see things he could not due to various constraints, especially since the boy supposedly hailed from a mighty empire.


    Or better yet, the saying that two heads were better than one.


    Darius eventually nodded to indicate that he had heard enough and Elijah stopped with what had almost devolved into banal gossip. Such information had little use.


    As he thought, it was not very useful to what Darius had cooked up so far. Since he had done his part, Elijah leaned back into his seat and released a deep breath, gazing at Darius silently as he waited for the young Baron Stone to share his n.


    Darius drummed the table silently for a few seconds, settling his mind as he decided how much he should reveal to Elijah to win his trust, while still retaining his secrets.


    He paused and pulled his hand away as he suddenly spoke. "On the first issue, I already have a solution."


    Darius took out one of his Common Purification Potions and ced them on the table. "You might be surprised with their potency and I can provide enough to supplement the camp."


    When Elijah saw this, his eyes shined. Of course, he knew what these were for, but in the current situation, they were as rare and precious as air itself.


    No faction would ever take out their stockpile of such potions to cater to the camp. They were saving them for their own men when inbat or in times of emergency, when the priests could no longer be paid for example.


    The Royal Faction also did not dare take out their own stockpile foolishly, as they would be offending the priests while wasting their resources on fellows who would not pay back this gratitude.


    In this case, it would be Darius offending the priests - yet that was inevitable since he wanted to utilize his undead followers - while also bringing in the resources.


    This would allow Elijah to tamper down on the priests'' exorbitant prices, or even make do without them altogether, as long as Darius could maintain supply.


    Thinking about the issue of supply, Elijah frowned. Darius saw this and chuckled. "I''m willing to provide you 700 Common Purification Potions by midnight, so you will have a week''s worth it advance. That way, there should be no interruption in the supply should I die or disappear for at least a week."


    Elijah''s frown abated as he nodded with admiration. "Sounds good."


    Darius tapped the table lightly once more. "For the second issue concerning resources, it seems like it is two-fold. The residents don''t pay enough while those meant to fetch them charge too much."


    The fellow rubbed his chin. "A hot-headed way to resolve this would be to threaten the fellows that if they don''t pay, they don''t eat. However, this would be the epitome of foolishness, as we would only earn the mockery of the various factions. They would just use their own private channels to secure supplies and ignore the mandates of the chairman altogether, treating you like a figurehead."


    Elijah nodded with a sigh. This was exactly the first solution he had thought up, discarded almost immediately after for Darius'' listed consequence.


    After all, it would undermine his position and make him seem like a youth who had no understanding of how the world worked to these old foxes.


    Darius continued. "The only breakthrough point would be to cut out the middlemen somehow, or lower the expenses to the point where the donations provided by the factions do not cause losses on the bnce sheet."


    Elijah grunted in agreement. This was what he had been chasing so far to no avail. He had been trying to cut out the middlemen, but it was almost impossible to find Journeyman level mages or fighters with spatial abilities.


    The ones who fit the bill knew about their rarity and had already banded together as a temporary union and it was next to impossible to do it without them.


    His next attempt had been to try and get them to lower their prices through threats, warnings, coercion, discord, entrapment, or trickery.


    However, none had worked as the union was not about to let their profit potential slip away.


    No matter what he used, they took it head-on like a monolith, determined to ride out any wave because they knew they woulde out on top eventually, troubling the Royal Seneschal to no end.

 Chapter 154 - 154

    Darius pondered for a bit before exining his thoughts. "In truth, you don''t have to go so far. I can offer you three methods to cut out the middleman altogether."


    Elijah''s eyes brightened. "Go on."


    Darius raised his index finger. "Firstly, there is the option to have my servant, Gunner, retrieve all the supplies we need. The only reason those spatial talents were needed in the first ce was due to the fact that it is difficult to cross through the two bands with the resources and remain safe from undead attack."


    Darius gestured to his Branded Servant. "Gunner here isn''t afraid of any undead, and can easily carry tons of resources over at a time and at a scary speed too, so that is one option."


    Darius raised his middle finger to add to his upraised index. "The second option is to rely on my two vampires. They have the ability to create Blood Warriors who possess some of theirbat power. With enough of them, we could form a tireless and consistent supply line from Baratuo to the encampment."


    "Most importantly we won''t have to fear for such a caravan''s safety. Not a single undead would dare to attack a vampire''s servants as they radiate the aura of their masters, Supreme Undead."


    Darius leaned back in his seat. "In fact, it won''t be an issue of them wanting to attack but fearing to, rather they would never even entertain that thought, as these undead only attack the living."


    Elijah''s eyes brightened further. He could almost picture it, an almost endless train of these so-called Blood Warriors carting in resources in a timely manner, not bothered by fatigue or remuneration, only the task.


    In fact, that was not all. These Blood Warriors could also cut out costs altogether in the most efficient way. That union of greedy fellows would be at a loss while all the resources would be held by Elijah.


    He could then use a high vantage point to ''distribute resources ording to donation'' thereby using soft tactics to force those factions to cough up their cash.


    Currently, when resources arrived, they were shared among the factions immediately as many had bribed the union.


    "And thest method?" Elijah inquired curiously.


    Darius raised his ring finger. "The third method is to have our own person either teleport with as many materials as he can, or open a portal from which resources can be carried in seemlessly."


    Elijah frowned. "But if we could get someone like that, I wouldn''t even be in this situation."


    Darius chuckled. "Exactly. Up until now, you never had a person who could fulfill this criterion."


    Elijah furrowed his brows, before the answer hit him. He wondered why he had failed to ount for Darius himself up until now, then he realized why.


    Normally such a menial task would be beneath a bonafide noble and Adept, so he had been thinking of an underling.


    Darius pointed himself and affirmed Elijah''s conclusion. "That''s right, I can use the space element. I''ve reached here via teleportation. I also have a special Adept spell that allows me to open a personal void space for myself, where I can carryrge loads of items."


    Elijah simply nodded in understanding, waiting for Darius to continue on.


    Darius himself began thinking once more, a yful smile on his face. "As for the issue of funding, it is very easy for me to solveˇ­ yet I refuse."


    Darius remained calm when faced with the Royal Seneschal''s souring mood as he continued. "I may be an Adept mage, but I consider myself a merchant first and foremost. I do not have a habit to give out money freely without any real returns. The first two solutions provide some benefits for myself in terms of power, control, and convenience."


    Darius shook his head. "Giving the encampment money for its own problems from my pocket though, does not do anything but make me look like a rich idiot who does not understand the value of money."


    Elijah blew out air and rubbed his forehead. "So? What then do you have in mind to solve this issue?"


    Darius'' eyes shed as he had led him to ask the question he wanted. "First of all, Lord Seneschal, you have to understand that the first two issues are semi-natural problems."


    Darius wiggled his still upraised index finger. "The blight is something not created artificially but a natural part of the ins of Death, and it causes an unavoidable issue. Having the priests clear it for a price was not exactly detrimental, merely inefficient."


    Darius then wiggled his middle finger. "Hunger and thirst are natural things. No human can easily avoid this issue, especially in a position like this where creating a supply line is arduous."


    "The union fellows taking advantage is also to expected because it''s a part of human nature to make use of opportunities to enrich themselves, even at the cost of others. In truth, all they''re doing is asking for more money, from what you''ve told me they''ve neither shirked their duties nor caused any truly detrimental problems to the camp as a whole."


    Darius'' smiled turned to a frown as he wiggled his upraised ring finger. "But this third issue is a purely artificial one, and one that doesn''t make sense for you to bear as a burden in truth."


    Elijah was stunned. "What do you mean?"


    He might not be a merchant, but he was someone knowledgeable enough to give out advice to the Queen and manage the Royal Factions'' daily businesses, including funds, cleaning, preparation, the servants, etc.


    To be told that he had made a mistake in his management style would have annoyed him any other day, but not right now as he was seeking help from Darius. Not to mention, that some suppressed part of Elijah agreed.


    Darius pped his hand together and then pointed outward. "Lord Seneschal, you are the chairman and manager of this camp, not the custodian or babysitter. As such, aren''t you supposed to lead and decide on big issues while delegating others to handle smaller tasks, creating a decentralizedmission covering the entire camp and each faction?"

 Chapter 155 - 155

    Darius stretched his hands out in a ''why'' gesture. "Yet for some reason, from what you''ve told me, you''ve unnecessarily burdened yourself with all these extra tasks. It shouldn''t be your job to reign in or control these various factions because both you and I know the circumstances and reality do not allow for that."


    "This isn''t a matter of personal power, even the mighty Kubrick would only be in a slightly better position than you. It also isn''t a matter of faction power, as being part of the Royal Faction does not intimidate them."


    "My Lord Seneschal, this has and always will be purely a matter of benefits. This is the only way to speak to them if you wish to guide them in the right direction. None of these factions havee here to righteously kill the undead. The undead pose no threat to the Andrato Kingdom or the Fallon continent at this time nor have they done so for thest millennium."


    "All of them havee here to satiate their greed and acquire items worth millions if used properly. As such, why should they care about other things? Like short-sighted fellows, or even like semi-sentient beasts, this ce has be a jungle where it is every man for himself under the guise of ''one for all'', when in truth it''s ''all for one''."


    Darius rubbed his chin with amusement. "In fact, that was pretty apt. ''Every man for himself'' is the truth and something that makes more sense is that they have subtly added ''one man for us all''. That one man is you, Royal Seneschal."


    "There is a council with various seats here, all of which have equal power, yet have any of them ever discussed the management style of the camp? Haven''t they all been rather focused on proposing ways to clear the obstacle ahead in a way that minimizes their personal losses so the eventual siege on the real target will ultimately favor them?"


    "Why can they do this? Or more importantly, what gives them the power to do so?"


    Elijah sighed, his already aged face looking like it had gained an extra decade of wrinkles during this one discussion, which was turning out to be more of a listing of his mistakes. "Me, and my penchant for management."


    Darius nodded. "It wasn''t as you thought, Lord Seneschal. Not every leader of the encampment would be treated the way you were. In fact, you were specifically treated this way because of who you are."


    "You have spent most of your life managing the royal castle''s affairs, so it has be a habit of yours to stably manage the day-to-day business of a group in the absence of someone else. As such when you''ve taken over, you''ve focused more on making sure this camp runs smoothly, rather than leading them to solve the problem at hand while they autonomously manage their own issues, am I right?"


    Elijah nodded weakly. "The more you speak, the more I understand. When I arrived, I was nominated for chairman because I was the strongest, and our first few meetings concerned how to push forward."


    "But as I noticed that the camp was running inefficiently, with everyone trying to solve their own problems alone without ounting for the whole, I took it upon myself to manage everything. After that initial meeting, I reached out to the various priests as a group and agreed on a wage for them to clear the blight surrounding the entire camp."


    "I then sent word to the capital requesting for supplies to be sent from there to Listo, then to Baratuo, then here. Then came the problem of logistics for it, so I summoned all Space element users and agreed with them to transport supplies for the entire camp at a set price."


    "Everything went well until the next meeting. When I informed the various faction heads of the actions I''d taken, they apuded me for my foresight and thoughtfulness. In truth, my intuition warned me about their wide smiles and the strange glints they had in their eyes for my proactivity."


    "It wasn''t until I suggested they all paid up fair dues that the room had suddenly be silent, and all of them had stared at me with strange expressions. It was only then that I realized I had blundered somewhere, but not exactly where or how."


    "Their reactionster confirmed it as they all made half-hearted excuses and arguments, shoving the responsibility onto my shoulders. When I tried to step down or cancel these responsibilities, they would hem and haw, iming it was for the unity of the camp and that chaos could ensue if things were not handled by a true expert."


    "I too could not leave because the Queen had sent me here on a mission, to control these factions and find a way toe out on top. Clearly, I''ve gone about it the wrong way and have trapped myself in a corner up until now." Elijah recounted with a bitter smile.


    Darius was certain that if the older man had a bottle of alcohol before him, he would have chugged it all down at once. He shook his head andmented for the poor man who had been taken advantage of.


    This was why people always warned about the danger of habits. Once one had performed a role or developed a certain habit for long enough, any situation or circumstance with simr issues could trigger a subconscious rpse into that habit.


    For example, at a reunion of old high school friends.


    During the hangout of those boys turned family men, one of their childrenes over to their table and acts petnt or causes trouble by being mischievous, yet before the actual parent can say anything, that one friend who has worked as a teacher in a military-esque school or disciplinary institute for juvenile criminals gets up and smacks the child before berating them sternly.


    His action would be something he does on a daily in his job and always ends up fine, so he slips into that habit given the circumstances. But once he pauses, he would notice the silence all around him, eventually understanding that he had overstepped his boundaries.


    The best case scenario would be his friend letting matters go with some mild dissatisfaction. The worst-case could beplete ostracization from the group, as well as the hatred of the actual parent.

 Chapter 156 - 156

    This was even a mild example, but Darius did not need to consider this too much. Right now, he was gazing at the fatigued Elijah who looked like he had finally worn down his adrenaline spike/caffeine rush and was hit with the tiredness he had been putting off.


    Darius leaned forward and decided to finish things here, since things had worked better than he expected. "Please call for a meeting tomorrow and allow me to handle everything. In the meantime, Lord Seneschal, please rest. We both know you deserve it."


    Elijah nodded and did not see Darius out. As for the fellow, he exited the tent with Gunner in tow, but had unsummoned Mikey and Joneson for now. Since he nned to unveil them tomorrow, it would be better this way.


    If he waltzed around with them now, it could cause rumors and conflicts, both of which he was not looking for just yet.


    Rather, Darius walked around the camp with Gunner, observing the camp while chatting with some of the guards and various Journeymen about banal stuff.


    Through them, he got to understand how this camp truly functioned and the surface things that Elijah knew nothing about.


    Of course, no matter how high Darius'' Charisma or their awe for his Adept power at such a young age, these fellows would not release core secrets of their factions, assuming they knew any in the first ce.


    Darius walked through and found the camp for the Thieves Guild. Standing in front of it were two Journeyman hooligans with the Rogue ss ording to the Analyze skill.


    When they saw the duo approach, they made no intention to stop them, only watching them enterzily. Suddenly, Gunner''s aura fluctuated and he grabbed one of the thieves who had been seated on the ground with his Soldering Gauntlets.


    The fellowunched into Gunner''s hand and his throat was caught inside therged''s palms. Just as he was about to crush the life out of him, Darius patted his shoulder.


    Gunner let go of his anger and dropped the shocked thief, his friend nearby having long disappeared instead ofing to help. Darius walked over to the gasping fellow and knelt before him calmly.


    "Correct me if I''m wrong, but shouldn''t measuring your strength against your victim''s be the first thing to do before attempting to rob random passersby? You should be able to feel our life levels, so what on Faust made you think it would be a good idea?"


    Darius sighed and rose to his feet. "Well, you can redeem your life by leading us to your faction leader or their second inmand, whoever is in charge here. Otherwise, no matter whoes to save you, you will die."


    Darius cast a Heal on the thief, whose eyes were bulging.


    A mage with a Life element!


    This was rarer than anything within that category, greatly shocking the fellow for a split second before he jumped to his feet.


    "Right this way, esteemed sir."


    The thief might have been ballsy, but he was a rogue first and foremost, meaning that he was quick-witted and veryprehensive. He understood what he should do and should not do based on the situation, so he adhered tomon sense this time.


    Unlike most other factions, there were very few thieves here. Darius guessed that it was less the fact that the guild left their men behind and rather that their men should be deployed all over the ce to gather information. At least he would''ve taken such a course of action were he in charge.


    Other camps probably had one or two of them lingering around in various disguises while gathering crucial information. Darius had even sensed a listening ear during his chat with Elijah, but the fellow had been expelled once Darius got serious through Elijah''s Mind Power.


    They were led to a small tent in the center of the encampment that was utterly silent and unguarded. Were it not for Darius sensing a person within, he would have thought it was empty.


    Without bothering to announce themselves, Darius and Gunner barged into the tent. There, they saw arge simple wooden desk, and a single white bed in a cot.


    Scattered on the floor around the tent were various jewelry, baubles, and items of value, even weapons and magical items. Darius scanned the floor with Analyze and was surprised to note that some items in the pile were much more valuable than what existed on the top floor of the Polivar Treasure House.


    This interested him, but what was more interesting was the one who sat at the desk. She was a slim woman with a lithe figure, athletic and well built. Her tight leather armor showed off her small bust and moderate hips, though her legs were slightly longer than Darius expected.


    She wore no hood, so Darius could easily see her face. It was quite round and had the makings of a peasant girl, orange-brown hair, thick brows, a soft nose, small lips, and freckles.


    She was pretty in a sense, with the aesthetic that most would expect from female rogues in medieval fantasy, but Darius didn''t find it much to his taste, so he pegged her as only average looking.


    The woman was currently seated at her desk with her legs up upon it, her shaky chair inclined as she rocked herself slowly. Her handsy behind her head and her eyes were half-lidded.


    All-in-all, she gave the feeling of azy rogue who hated to do things, but was forced to do them by circumstance. Whether this was her natural self or a facade put up to achieve a certain goal with Darius, he did not knowˇ­ yet.


    Darius decided to Analyze this woman before she could speak.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Da Brown


    Race: Human


    ss: Rogue


    Subss: Lucky Star


    HP: 2,295/2,295


    MP: 3,867/3,867


    Level: 57


    Strength: 51


    Agility: 98


    Endurance: 45


    Intellect: 68


    Charisma: 19


    Luck: 50.]


    Darius froze where he stood, not even hearing what Da said next as he took in the sight of something that should practically be impossible!


    There was actually someone in this world who had the same amount of Luck as himˇ­ Luck at the Adept level!

 Chapter 157 - 157

    "Oi! Suzy! Why you lookin at me like ya seen a ghost, huh?" Da rudely called out to Darius when she noticed him stopping suddenly and staring at her.


    Darius also came out from his shocked stupor with a frown, a dangerous glint in his eyes as he observed Da. This was a woman with either inborn 50 points of Luck, or somehow acquiring some sort of treasure that had greatly boosted her Luck this high.


    Darius had a weird perception of Luck, especially in the world of Faust. Since he recently attributed his ability to find one of the 56 paths to his high Luck, he had begun to understand how important and game-changing the stat was.


    It definitely wasn''t as simple as rewarding him with better drops or giving him a high chance for critical hits.


    It had a lot more inexinable functions that assisted everything else while also doing its own thing to make sure that the possessor of high Luck would survive by some fluke.


    Darius mused that if this were fiction, the Luck value would be basically a character''s level of plot armor, a writing device that ensured the story kept going on but protecting the protagonist from death.


    It was different from plot convenience, which was the writing device that allowed protagonists to breeze through various obstacles with ease, finding rare items in ces that things should not be or arriving at certain ces right around the time an important event would happen.


    For some reason, people tended to merge both concepts into ''plot armor'', making Darius wonder if people actually took time to research what they were saying or just babbled what they saw others say.


    Whatever the case, for the sake of the argument, plot armor was essential to a story. It basically kept a protagonist from dying unless he was part of a ''vantage point'' style of story featuring multiple perspectives, allowing for the continuation of a story even if one was eliminated.


    Sometimes, the plot armor of the protagonist would rub off on close allies and friends, like the main female lead, his harem members, very important friends, rival turned friends, or other people close to him.


    This was thanks to the protagonist (or could even be to the fans who love the side characters so much), preserving those who logically should not survive the same tribtions.


    So what happened when a ''protagonist'' of a story with established plot armor would meet a side character or neutral party with plot armor on the same level as theirs?


    This was the current dilemma Darius was in.


    Naturally, he knew himself to be the ''protagonist'' of Faust, and pretending otherwise would be acting intentionally stupid and unnecessarily humble for no reason.


    So this woman, Da, who had the same amount of Luck as heˇ­ what should he do with her? Currently, she was stronger, so this presented variable difficulties.


    Firstly, he could befriend her as he had done for Oliver Frenq. This was his usual go-to option given his mercantile mindset. He did not see the need to antagonize anyone based on the faction they belonged to or based on his emotions and fears. If possible he''d rather turn them into acquaintances over benefits, or friends at a stable level.


    Secondly, he could remain neutral/keep his distance. In order to avoid a sh of interests or power due to their simr Luck, he could just be cold and straightforward without the intention to befriend. This was also a good option since he didn''t n to interact with this woman more than necessary.


    Thirdly, he could try to end her life. While he might not have the power to do so himself, he could either set his undead upon her or try to implement a situation on the battlefield that would lead to her deathˇ­ but both options were suboptimal, if not impossible.


    She had her other guild members behind her, not to mention she was bound to have other Adept allies in the camp. The priests certainly would use any chance to interfere with him no matter what after Darius would propose his n tomorrow.


    As for harming her on the battlefield, it was theoretically possible with his Intellect, but not at a level to outright kill her.


    This led right back to the issue bringing all this consideration up, her goddamn high Luck. With a value at that level, it would have to be a situation where no amount of cosmic force could intervene on her behalf.


    Darius kept his eyes on Da, and ran his mind through his three options, choosing the most beneficial one for now. With a slight exhale, he greeted.


    "Greetings, Lady Da Brown. I assume you''re the one in charge of this particr encampment?"


    Da grunted. "That''s right, ''Sir'' Darius Stone. I''m not only in charge of this here encampment, but I''m the vice guildmaster of the main Thieves Guild in Andrato."


    She flicked her dagger lightly, not even bothering to gaze at Darius. "So, what can I do ya for?"


    Darius nodded. "Well, I''m here for two purposes. Business and Friendship."


    Da paused and actually looked at Darius for a while before she remarked. "Hoh? YOU? A talented mage Adept who can have even the Crown Princess of the ENTIRE kingdom, want to make friends with our lowly Thieves Guild?"


    Darius smiled softly. "That''s right. The Thieves Guild might have a bad reputation, but that is for crimes. In terms of business and profitability, you are only matched by the Assassins Guild."


    Darius patted his knees. "Your true value as a group is mostly ignored due to the prejudice by the upper ss, though many crawl through the backdoor to seek your help. Hasn''t the noble Crown Princess herself used your services not too long ago? I''m just putting away the sickening false pretenses anding upfront, or is that so strange to you?"


    Da nodded. "It is, but I dun care enough to pursue it ta be frank whicha."


    Darius frowned, which made Daugh. "Dun mind me, m''lord, I ''ave a bad habit of pissing off nobles on ount of my low birth ya see."


    Darius rubbed his chin with interest. "No problem, everyone has their quirks. For now, let me begin with my proposal for friendship before we move onto business."


    "Aye, I''m all ears, but jus kno that getting the friendship of the Thieves Guild is as hard as a spanking from the constable heh heh." Da snickered yfully.


    Understanding her personality now, Darius was unbothered. Instead, he smiled. "I''m sure you''ve already caught wind of my appraisal abilities. I''m willing to do a free appraisal of up to twenty items for the Thieves Guild as a token of friendship."

 Chapter 158 - 158

    Da, who had been seated upon her chairzily, froze for a split second before she tumbled down. Her legs iled wildly as she fell backward and her arms swung about trying to grab something.


    BAM!


    Eventually, thess hit the ground in epic fashion, leaving Darius and Gunner gobsmacked. With her level of Agility, how was it even possible for something like this to happen?


    Da rolled to her feet and quickly brought her chair back up before seating herself on it seriously. Despite her head bleeding from various ces, she wore a poker face as she smiled politely towards Darius.


    "The Thieves Guild is interested in your gift. When would you like to perform the appraisal?"


    Darius'' lips twitched. He decided not to mention her faux pas and continue on with his main agenda. "I would prefer performing it as soon as possible, so if you have your selected items with you, I can do so right away."


    Da''s eyes lit up with excitement. She didn''t even care that a particr drop of blood was about to enter her eye, thess quickly took out a Bag of Holding from her desk drawer and rummaged within.


    Darius and Gunner watched her silently as she removed one item after the other, cing them where she could on the desk. Some were small while others wererge. They were all either fancy or simple, there was no in-between.


    Once Da was done, she murmured something to herself before pointing at the arsenal. "These are the items I''d like Your Lordship to appraise for me."


    "Don''t you mean for the Thieves Guild,'' Darius corrected with a frown.


    Da waved her hand nonchntly. "Right, right, of course. Everything for the guild ahah!"


    Darius was starting to wonder if this might have been a bad idea. The moment thess had hit the ground, her demeanor had done a 180 and even her hillbilly ent had been reced with a semi-normal one.


    Still, whether it was for the guild or this girl with 50 points of Luck, befriending either one would yield him some form of benefits. In fact, Darius found himself curious.


    Foldo was a powerful smuggler who had dealt with contraband from all continents and had run a huge ck market in the capital for many years, so the rare items that were currently in Darius'' hands now were reasonable.


    Oliver Frenq''s items had been significantly worse goods because the Polivar Treasure House was an orthodox shop, supplied by the Superiority Faction who in turn were supplied by the Fraterina Kingdom. As such, the best they had had to offer had been above-average items.


    Foldo and Oliver both had less than 10 points of Luck like most people in the world.


    Assuming Da had been born with her 50 points of Luck, just what kind of rare items could she have gotten her hands on during her lifetime?


    Darius began Analyzing them one by one, and despite his exemry mental control, his expression changed with each item.


    Gunner noticed this and was shaking, because this was the first time he had ever seen Darius lose his poker face when inspecting items.


    As for Da, she also assumed her haul was great because a powerful Adept like Darius would never slip up like this unless he got overwhelmed by what he saw.


    Darius took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. He then gazed at Da for a long while, not hiding his immense, bubbling killing intent.


    Instead of worrying her, it only made Da''s smile beautifully as she whispered to Darius.


    "Friends, remember? This was all done as a token of friendship, right?"


    This served to make Darius even more vicious, but he repressed it after a while. Like someone who had resigned himself to undergo that painful surgery after fighting with the doctor about it, Darius pointed at the items before stating what they did.


    The first was, unsurprisingly, a dagger. This one was rusty and coated with blood that seemed to have contaminated the de somehow.


    "That is the Dagger of Hassasin. It has the ability to locate any target that the wielder wants to kill as long as a drop of the target''s blood is fed to it. It also allows the wielder to kill any target within their stage in one hit if it pierces the base of their spine."


    The second was, strangely, an ornate hammer that only had a grip and a rectangr stone-block-like head.


    "That is the missing hammer of Thor, Mjolnir. It can only be wielded by those who are worthy, namely possessing an alignment of Lawful Good. Of course, there are other requirements, but its power is enough to allow an Amateur to kill a Grandmaster with ease if equipped."


    ''Alternatively, one can return it to Thor, Odin, or Loki for differing rewards,'' Darius thought, but didn''t say that part out loud. He only knew that part, because an Event had been generated once he had inspected the item.


    [The Hammer of Thor - Event


    Duration: 10 years.


    Description: The legendary hammer of the Thunder God Thor was lost after the divine war many eons ago. He has been desperately searching for it ever since, as his power is halved without it.


    It is rumored he would grant almost anything to the one who brings it back to him. Hearsay also tells that his father, Odin wishes to reim the hammer for his own purposes to punish his son, while his mischievous brother would love to acquire the hammer to cause trouble in Thor''s name.


    Event details: Return the hammer to Thor, Odin, or Loki for various rewards.


    Event rewards:


    - If returned to Thor: 30 Ability Points, 50 Skill Points, 1 Thunder Element Dragon''s Egg, 1 Imntable Thunder Heart.


    - If returned to Odin: 50 Ability Points, 50 Skill Points, 1 Potential Unlocking Ceremony.


    - If returned to Loki: 100 Ability Points, 100 Skill Points, the hatred of Thor and dislike of Odin.]


    Darius only gazed at the Event in passing and stored it. For now, he continued to share the details of ''Da''s'' items to her with a straight face.

 Chapter 159 - 159

    The third item was a turban that looked dusty.


    "That is the Desert King''s Turban, and it has the ability to grant the wearer immunity to the detrimental desert conditions of Ludo. The wearer is eligible to be the King of the Ludain civilization provided he/she can pass the Test of Mettle."


    The fourth item was a broken spear that was missing its head, leaving only a bronze shaft behind.


    "This is the shaft of the Dragonce. The full item was a spear used to kill the Dragons of Unyris, but was snapped in half by the Dragon God and cast away. If this shaft is melted and reforged into something else, it should be able to regain a bit of its Divine Dragonying properties."


    The fifth item was a ceramic bowl with a lovely flora pattern.


    "That is the Bowl of Nuwa. After a liquid stays within for 24 hours, the next person to drink from it will be healed of any ailment, no matter the kind. Depending on the quality of the liquid ced within, one may even revive the dead."


    The sixth item was a rapier that gleamed with beauty.


    "That is the de of Gareth. It''s the fastest de in the world, allowing its user to make more than 1,000 simple strikes in a second. This can be further augmented by the wielder if they have enough speed of their own tobine it with a proper technique."


    The seventh item was also a sword, but this one was wreathed in orange-blue mes.


    "That is rent, the sword of true fire. It is one of the swords wielded by King Arthur during his conquests and it has the ability to produce either Destructive or Creative mes, depending on the intention of the wielder."


    The eighth item was a small ck device that had a green screen with sonar lines.


    "That is a Heartbeat Sensor. It allows a user to discover the locations of any and all entities with a heartbeat at various distances and with variable dys depending on how much mana the device is supplied with per second."


    The ninth item was a small chipset that had a ck logo spelling ''cklight Technology''.


    "That is an AI Chip designed by the cklight Conglomerate, designed by a fellow with thest name Chen. You would have to go Gravitas if you wish to use it and its utility is too long for me to exin, so just know that it''s beyond valuable."


    The tenth item was a silver spoon that was bent over unnaturally.


    "That is the Foci of the Adept. Any Adept mage or budding psychic who focuses their Mind Power into this item can have their Mind Power forcibly evolved to the Master stage, but in exchange, they will never be able to grow their Mind Power further."


    The eleventh item was a neat roll of parchment.


    "That is Soul Paper, the perfect material for signing binding contracts. It''s a stable product used by Devils, although Gods and Demons also use such a rare material, as it ensures that the terms of the contract are carried out perfectly, even bending cause and effect to do so."


    The twelfth item was a potion bottle of what looked like sparkling water. Darius showed a very strange expression as he exined this one.


    "This is theˇ­ the ermmˇ­ vaginal discharge of Aphrodite. It has the effect of a potent love potion, making any man lust over the one who uses it. If processed, it can also increase the Charisma of a woman greatly."


    The thirteenth item was a bronzemp with a wick that looked like it was a ck hole leading into a starry sky.


    "That is the Lamp of a Universe and within its wick is a separate void space in which items can be stored and retrieved at will. If certain conditions are met, themp could allow living entities to stay within."


    The fourteenth item was a ne made up of 6 ck magatamas that radiated majesty.


    "That is the Ornament of the Six Paths. Whoever wears will slowlyprehend the power of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, able to enter the Divine, Asura, Wraith, Beast, and Hell Realms to acquire more enlightenment as well as power. However, it is useless on Fallon due to the nature of mana, and can only work on Pan."


    The fifteenth item was a staff with a carving of a humanoid dog at the top.


    "That is the Staff of Anubis. It allows its user to judge the karma of a person, deciding their fate depending on what kind of karma they have rued. It cannot be used in battle and on those who are living, only on the dying, the dead, and the spirits. It can also work on the undead to an extent."


    The sixteenth item was a vial of blood that glowed with vigor.


    "This is the blood of a pureblooded True Dragon. If ingested directly, one can be a Dragonoid. If poured over the body, one can be a Wyrm with an evolvable bloodline. If refined into a potion, it is possible for one to be a Dragon-human hybrid."


    The seventeenth item was arge egg.


    "That is the egg of an Insect Queen from Pokterr. It should be handled with care, for if it hatches, the first person it sees will be considered its parent and it will only adhere to the orders of that person. I doubt you need me to list the benefits of having such a pet."


    The eighteenth item was a nk check.


    "This is a loan token from the Goddess of Wealth, Waukeen. One can borrow any amount of money of any currency used within Faust from her without an interest rate, but it will have to be paid back within a certain period of time which will depend on the amount loaned. The higher the amount, the quicker it will have to be repaid."


    Darius didn''t add that in absence of payback, one''s soul would be used as coteral, with those of their family and lineage being used as a supplement depending on thecking difference, but it seemed as if Da could make out that much.

 Chapter 160 - 160

    The neenth item was a small crystal that innately glowed with the colors of the rainbow.


    "That is a shard of the Core of Faust that dislodged naturally hundreds of years ago. If added to a piece of equipment, it will gain a randomw of the universe as its thema. If you use it as the foci of a location or the core of a formation, it will boost the effectiveness by 1,000% at the least. Finally, if you find some way to graft it onto your body or imbibe it, you will instantly be a Grandmaster."


    Darius omitted the part where one would never be able to leave Faust as a consequence, as it should not really matter that much to Faust''s natives.


    He then pointed to the final item, a bow that was carved from what seemed to be obsidian.


    "That is the bow of Houyi. Arrows fired from it never miss their target and can travel through any medium, be it space, void of time to reach its target for sure. However, weak enemies will not be harmed by this bow, as it is meant for killing primordials. The more powerful andrger the foe, the more damage it will deal."


    Finished, Darius ced his hands down and red at Da with murderous intent. Even Gunner, whose face disyed shock, suddenly had his greenish aura billow out as he moved forward to kill this woman.


    What rubbish, how did she deserve to hold such items on her person? From now on, they would belong to his master!


    Gunner was aware that Darius was slightly hesitant for some reason but he had no such qualms.


    No matter what price Gunner had to pay, he would kill this woman and loot them off her body. Even if the whole camp came to protect her, Gunner would fight until his bones were broken. His resolve was hard as a rock.


    Darius was extremely conflicted at this moment, so his aura was chaotic. A part of him, the cautious part, told him to y it safe and let this matter go. After all, he cannot possibly swallow all the good items on Faust, and a conflict now against this woman would end in unpredictable ways.


    The remaining part of him was cursing him for his fearfulness, demanding that he quickly kill this woman and grab what he can.


    What did he have to fear from the Thieves Guild when he already had Marasmus on his te? Besides, would they even dare to seek trouble with him given their misconception about his power?


    Even if he didn''t need all the items, he at least had to secure Mjolnir by any means necessary!


    The rewards were too good to pass up!


    However, before Darius or Gunner could act, Daughed gleefully and pped her hands. "Hehe, I always knew I''ve managed to collect some good stuff, but I could never tell what they were for."


    Da''s eyes became yful as she leaned on the desk with her chin supported by both her knuckles. "Against two powerful and young Adepts like you in such a small ce, there is a good chance for me to die, especially if you add your two undead into the mix."


    "So why don''t we do this. I''ll gift you these 20 items to solidify our friendship, and you tell me the uses of the rest of my goodies. Don''t worry I feel those are even better than these, but let''s keep it to this level for now. That way, you''ll get some good stuff and I''ll have some good stuff. All us ''friends'' will profit!"


    Darius and Gunner''s killing intent receded as they both stared at Da speechlessly. Both of them felt what Jeanna and Jania/Junia Hu had felt when Darius had suppressed them, a natural feeling of respect burgeoning in their hearts, no matter how much they tried to suppress it.


    Darius wrung his lips. He was certain that if he could see his own affinity towards others, Da would be at least at Friendly lvl 2, and the same probably held true for Gunner, if not higher.


    Just look at these 20 items. Who in their right mind could bear to give them away?


    Basically for free, no less?!


    What kind of mental strength and wisdom was needed to see the situation and bypass greed? Even Darius had struggled while Gunner hadpletely copsed into greed.


    Even if she had better items, that was only her guess. Until Darius Analyzed them, no one could truly know. She was taking a big gamble, because her second batch could have worthless products. It would take a great deal of Luck toˇ­ of Luck toˇ­


    Darius'' expression changed as he gazed at the smiling Da, who was still watching him yfully. For the first time, a smidgen of fear emerged within him towards someone, not based on their power but their mental prowess.


    All this time, Darius had assumed that since Luck wasn''t really something one could sense by someone''s life level, Da - and all other Faustians - could not tell their innate Luck. However, from the way Da was behaving, she was clearly aware of her extremely high Luck!


    In fact, Darius'' shock made him forget one important thing. Da had Luck at the Adept level, so she had naturally acquired the basic ability of Luck, Deflection.


    Just like how other Faustians could instinctively tell how to use their basic abilities and why they got it, Da too could tell that she was blessed with abnormal providence from getting the basic ability for Luck alone.


    From her perspective, it was her Luck that had brought Darius here instead of the Assassins Guild to seek information! It was - literally - her Luck that had made Darius want to befriend her, leading him to appraise some of her goods!


    Going one step beyond, it was even her Luck that had made it so that Darius - who had be a rare Itemancer - one of the few in the entire world who could actually tell the true use of her items, would appear today!


    She was thoroughly convinced of that!


    Her Luck had allowed her to gather these items easily and without much trouble, some falling down like a pie from the sky! It was her Luck that she got assigned to this encampment by her faction as the one in charge, meaning she could bring these items out easily!


    It was her Luck that made it so that the camp was almost empty since apart from the gate guards, everyone else was busy gathering info!


    Most importantly, even if she handed these 20 items over to Darius, her Luck assured her that the rest would not be any worse!


    Her Luck practically guaranteed that something very beneficial would happen to her in the future through his hands, for that was how it had always been the case!

 Chapter 161 - 161

    Darius felt like he was currently being swallowed by quicksand. Only that the mud forming this trap came from the concept ''Luck'' and all it entailed.


    His mind was getting suppressed by the notion of it, the events that led him here, and how it shed against Da''s own.


    Darius began to sweat profusely as his cognitive functions were busy withputations and scenarios where, no matter what, he would have been brought here under the influence of fate or Luck.


    Darius truly did not have a problem with cosmic forces leading him. He wasn''t so arrogant to believe that sentient beings possessed free will. It was pseudo-free will at best, and just like his current situation, if a deity wanted you to dance like a monkey, you would dance whether you liked it or not.


    It was only in fiction that a mere mortal through plot armor and convenience would stumble upon the means to defeat such a deity that should not even be within the same breath as them, but that was a different thing altogether.


    No, what bothered Darius was a simple question.


    Whose Luck was superior in this confrontation? His or Da''s?


    Who had won this engagement/sh of fortune? Who hade out on top? Was it her? Was it him? Was it a tie?


    It might seem like a pointless rabbit hole to think so much about it, but it was actually quite important.


    Think of it like this: If Luck was so powerful that it could bend reality to grant fortune to its wielder, then what was the use of other stats?


    Just invest everything into Luck and thing should work out. By solely focusing on it, he could have walked into the Necropolis of Marasmus, where the powerful Stonekeeper would have tripped over his robe and shattered his bones, the First Resurrection Stone falling into Darius'' hands without any struggle.


    By that same stroke of ''Luck'', the stone would have cracked and lost its beacon-like effect. Once Darius returned to the camp, he would chance upon the Royal Faction sending a squad back to the capital in a rush with a Griffin squad, allowing him to reach Listo in mere minutes while smoothlypleting his quest.


    This might seem a bit far-fetched, but how was it any less fantastical than dying on Earth and waking up in a world of magic and fantasy where even bloody dragons existed?!


    Darius was suffering from this because he was a man who had lived on his Intellect and Charisma on Earth. He had acknowledged Luck, but to a lesser extent. He gave it respect but did not rely on it.


    Ever since he came to Faust and came to understand that Luck was a real thing that could be quantified and that he was born with above-average amounts, he subconsciously began to believe that all his feats were rued through Luck.


    It was a mental trap that was quite dangerous, one easy to fall into when you overthought things and put too much faith in the unexinable.


    A scientific man would never have been harmed like this because to him, Luck was simply a factor in the equation, not the entire thing.


    Darius was a merchant, and he was subtly convinced by the powers of cosmic forces ever since he miraculously entered a path of 56. He attributed it to Luck entirely because he couldn''t logically believe that out of 1.2 billion endings, he fell onto one of the 56 roads that lead to a good one.


    This wasn''t wrong, Luck yed a huge role. However, it wasn''t right either, because his Intellect, choices, the three hints, and his willingness to move forward despite the obstacles ahead had also yed a significant role.


    Darius, lost in rumination, felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. It was just a light pat, like a friend reassuring their pal that no matter what, they had your back.


    He snapped out of his reverie, feeling his quaking thoughts subside and his confidence in his own intelligence return.


    Darius patted Gunner''s hand on his shoulder, greatly thankful for choosing not to venture into this brand new world alone but to acquire useful aides to share his burdens.


    Foldo hadn''t been wrong, Gunner was a perfect choice. Not only because he perfectlyplimented Darius'' fighting style, but also because his ''simple-mindedness'' could act as an anchor for situations like these.


    Da, who had been watching Darius all this time, frowned slightly but resumed her normal expression the next moment.


    Ever since he had shown up she had felt a certain type ofˇ­ auraing off from him. It was the same type she usually felt when her Luck was high.


    As such, she had tried to test to see if he was aware of his Luck - and hers as well - and his reaction was quite obvious.


    That was why she was shocked when he asked for ''friendship'', because she knew full well the real reason he wanted to ''befriend'' the guild.


    When he decided to appraise her items, her reaction had been genuine, because she knew that his uracy was extremely high. If she could get him to appraise some of her truly rare itemsˇ­!


    As for giving him these items, it wasn''t a big deal. Da was clever but also simple-minded. They had been things she could not use because shecked the knowledge of their true worth, so gifting them to a powerful appraiser was a good way to get his goodwill.


    She was confident that the rest of the items would be just as good. Even if they weren''t, her Luck was still there. In due time, she would amass more goodies, and using the goodwill she had built now, she could have Darius appraise them again!


    Why force 1+1=2 to be some convoluted form? It was a very simple thing after all.


    This might be the one advantage Da''s peasant upbringing brought her over Darius'' world conquest through mind games and intrigue.


    Darius put too much stock in each and every action of a person, expecting a hidden trap or trick due to how he had earned his way to the top.


    Da was far more down to earth and living a simple life. If doing A could grant her what she wanted, why even bother considering if doing B or pretending to do B might earn her a bit more profit?


    Just do A and get what you want, simple.

 Chapter 162 - 162

    Darius nodded and collected all 20 items. He raised an eyebrow as he held the Soul Paper. "Don''t you want to bind me to a contract?"


    Da shook her head. "Nah, no need to waste it. You already have those 20 goodies, so what''s left will not make you act against me."


    Darius tilted his head in surprise. "What makes you think so?"


    Da chuckled. "You''re one of them smart, handsome types. Even though your greed spiked just now, it wasn''t enough to overwhelm your intelligence. As such, after being given thisˇ­ ermmˇ­ ''hush money'', you won''t bother to burn bridges unnecessarily."


    Darius gazed at Da silently, giving her a mental thumbs up.


    She had a good grasp of people, how to read them and how to deal with them. Her bing vice guildmaster despite her young age seemed to be more than just the result of her absurdly high Luck.


    This reinforced his rification that Luck wasn''t the be-all and end-all of things, but rather a supporting stat that gently influenced all others.


    Otherwise, with his previous logic, why would he need to fear any Grandmasters?


    Whatever the case, Darius assisted Da with appraising the rest of her items. As both parties expected, this new batch was slightly better than what Darius had taken away, but neither party made any rash moves.


    Da pocketed her items before pping happily. "Now that the fun part''s over, I remember you came to me for business as well?"


    Darius nodded as he folded his legs. "I wish to purchase information."


    "Then you''vee to the right ce. I can get you everything up until 30 minutes ago from the beginning of the camp''s setup. What would you like?" Da crooed with excitement.


    "Give me everything." Darius requested with his trademark soft smile.


    ......ˇ­


    Darius exited the encampment of the Thieves Guild with a heavy heart. What had just urred had taken its toll on his mind, but he didn''t want to dwell on it too much.


    Well, since he was to be given a ''seat'' by Elijah in tomorrow''s meeting, it would be prudent to settle himself down. He and Gunner browsed the camp until they came upon a smaller spot that was empty, left in case other parties were to arrive.


    Without further ado, the duoid down their tents and created a small fence around them. They even put up a g of the Stone Family from Westerlier Empire to mark their territory.


    Darius left Gunner in the camp as he chainblinked 20 kilometers away from the ce. Making sure there was no one around, Darius slowly began converting his various stamina and health potions into Purification Potions.


    [Would you like to change the Common Stamina Potion into a Common Purification Potion? This will cost 0.02 Conversion Points.]


    It would cost him a total of 14 CP given the cost of conversion.


    Luckily, he had not spent his CP for the day, and he also had arge stock of Purification Potions from the second week which he had spent making preparations.


    Unfortunately, Darius could not mass convert them, so he had to do it one by one. This was not only tedious, but time-consuming. However, he was arguably quite patient spending the next hour making the changes until his CP ran out.


    He then blinked back into the encampment to see Gunner who had been meditating quietly on his bloodline as usual. Amused by this, Darius settled down and began researching the Magical Method.


    He already had the means to create his own spells, but he needed to reach the Journeyman stage to put it into practice. He had naturally tried many times as an Amateur, but there seemed to be an issue whenever he made the conclusion and tried to formte it.


    The problem came in the form of him having the required Intellect and veracity within his work, but not the correct stage. Here, the Supreme System was likely to me as in the eyes of the local Faustian System of power, he was technically an Adept.


    Seeing as it didn''t allow him to cut corners, he took out his tablet and began ying on it. Without the necessary connection to Gravitas, he couldn''t update the games or add new ones, but he was content with just having a bit of modern tech by his side.


    As for the 20 items he received, Darius didn''t take them out for the time being. Just like the items he got from Foldo, he kept them in the depths of his Inventory, only to be removed when the proper time would arrive.


    He was confident that after their earlier discussion Da wouldn''t dare to send anyone to spy on him and Gunner, but the same could not be said about the Assassins Guild.


    Soon they would receive info that he had visited the Thieves Guild, but not them. The fact was bound to piss them off and they would likely send one of their shadows to observe him and see what he got from the Thieves Guild.


    With Darius''s current Mind Power, he couldn''t easily detect them, so it was better to act like Christ, wless and pure.


    The duo was spending their time in leisure until it was time to go to sleep. s, although they were safe in the camp, today would be another night without thefort of Emily or Fashina to relieve their worries and pent-up stress.


    Before they closed their eyes, Darius wondered how his two undead would fare.


    When he had gone out to transmute the potions, he had summoned Mikey and Joneson out.


    Their current directive was to travel around the Adept or the Journeyman band throughout the night, doing whatever it took to raise themselves to the Adept stage.


    Excited, Joneson had pulled a shouting Mikey away as they zed through thendscape, heading towards the Journeyman band first. It was better to kill the various undead there and umte Death Energy up to level 41 or so than to cause chaos in the Adept band.


    After all, the duo of undead had heard the same report from Elijah that Darius did, so they knew the current state of the battle.

 Chapter 163 - 163

    Mikey and Joneson happened upon a group of Journeyman undead rather quickly as they reached the edges of the Journeyman band within mere minutes given their current speed.


    Since they did not have Darius here to unveil the full details of their enemies, they could only rely on the Supreme System''s default Inspect mechanic.


    [Wight Lord - Level 37 Undead


    HP: 798/798 MP: 518/518]


    [Wraith King - Level 38 Undead


    HP: 320/320 MP: 900/900]


    [Skeleton King - Level 39 Undead


    HP: 660/660 MP: 120/120]


    [Skeleton Archmage - Level 39 Undead


    HP: 408/408 MP: 800/800]


    There were a few more types of undead around, but Mikey and Joneson were not as habitually careful as Darius to check everything out before battle. Instead, the duo slit their wrists and let the blood drop freely on the earth.


    With every reddish droplet that fell out, a new amorphous blob made of the same liquid would emerge and start to grow then morph on its own until it formed into a vaguely humanoid shape.


    The current Blood Warriors only had 30% of Mikey and Joneson''s power, but that was enough to put them at the top of the Amateur stage whenpared to others.


    The duo of vampires summoned 20 each and thenmanded them to attack. For that matter, the other undead had only been watching them with a confused expression.


    What were these two giga-bosses doing here?


    Were they paying homage to the blessed blight for their life with their blood?


    Should they - the lesser undead - kowtow in greeting or might it offend the bosses?


    Before they could decide on a proper course of action, the Blood Warriors rushed at them with murderous intent.


    If the undead here had possessed yellow nametes (neutral) previously, the moment the Blood Warriors showedbative intent they would have turned into red nametes (hostile).


    The two sides shed and engaged. It had to be said, the Blood Warriors had some good advantages. Firstly, they did not have organs or a truly fixed form, so slicing and blunt attacks did little damage to them.


    Apart from that, they were able to morph their bodies into various weapons like des, hammers, and shields to defend themselves or deal more damage. Their intelligence might have been low, but theirbat awareness more than made up for it.


    However, these only allowed the Blood Warriors to fight these Journeyman undead somewhat evenly at best. With such a disparity of stats, it was impossible for them to massacre the undead with ease while Mikey and Joneson stood back.


    The duo of vampires simply raised their hands and chanted one word before a Hail of Ice Spears formed in the sky!


    That''s right, after evolving, Mikey and Joneson - as Supreme Undead - had gained the casting ability that would usually be reserved for Grandmaster mages, which was the ability: One-Word Cast!


    It was impossible to achieve Darius'' level of true instant casting, as that was a Supreme-tier benefit. The next best thing - that also formed the highest level the rest of the magical world could achieve - was One-Word Cast, where a mage could shorten his/her spell into a single word in order to cast it quickly, apanied by a handsign.


    The effect of this was the quick gathering of ck clouds in the sky, two of them appearing from different directions as they almost joined together in the center.


    After a split second in which the clouds settled, they began spewing outrge spears of ice with sharp ends that fell towards the battlefield.


    The Blood Warriors were not bothered by the friendly fire, as piercing weapons dealt the least damage to them. As for the other undead, they could not be so casual about this matter.


    The Skeleton Archmages countered the hail by casting fireballs into the sky which blew up many of the spears, but not all of them. More came down before they could chant another cast, ripping the ss cannons to shreds.


    The Wight Lords and Skeletons Kings used their des to shatter the Ice Spears that rained on them. The Skeleton Kings used broadswords of epic size and since they were also quiterge, they were able to smash many spears.


    However, their weakness was their low Agility, so many spears broke through their defense and smashed into their bodies. Their mouths were open in a silent scream of agony as they felt their bones shatter and freeze thanks to the spell, their HP dropping rapidly.


    The Wight Lords were smaller and emphasized Agility instead of Strength, as they also dual-wielded two Katanas. They were like wuxia protagonists as they used acrobatics and amazing movements to flip about while speedily cutting all spears down.


    However, it was moot because their stamina wasn''t infinite and they couldn''t keep such shy and wasteful moves up for long. Eventually, they lost this battle of attrition and were torn to shreds by the Ice Spearsing down.


    The Wraith Kings had it the easiest. They did not enter their intangible state as the magical damage would be increased, and the Ice Spears did mostly physical damage.


    Still, the Wraiths were more resistant to physical than magical damage overall. This was also how they dealt with the Blood Warriors, tanking their attacks while wing them.


    They had already tried to use their mental skills, but the Blood Warriors had no unique consciousness and so could not be harmed. This troubled the Wraith Kings to no end, and they lost a lot of HP through the spell.


    At the end of it all, once the bombardment was over, only 4 Skeleton Kings on the brink of death, as well as most of the Wraith Kings who were greatly weakened, were left.


    Mikey and Joneson cricked their necks and unsheathed the weapons Darius had granted them.


    While Mikey wielded Darius'' former steel spear, Joneson swung about the freshly made steel sword.


    The duo did not have any abilities or traits that helped them master the use of such weapons, so they had to learn the hard way.


    Luckily, with enough Agility, nothing was impossible.

 Chapter 164 - 164

    Mikey and Joneson made short work of the remnants with their overwhelming power, although theircking skill would have made it quite an amusing sight for an onlooker. Joneson naturally didn''t care, but Mikey kept grumbling under his breath.


    "Oi Mikey, what''s got you looking like you swallowed bad cheese, hmm?" Joneson asked with concern as he ran over after absorbing his share of the Death Energy.


    Mikey scratched his head. "Boss gave us these weapons to practice with, but I feel it will take some time to do so. His queue for Transmutation is full too, so he can''t make skillbooks for us. That means we have to either learn ourselves or find a teacher."


    Joneson tilted his head. "You sure bout that? We are now Vampires, not Liches, remember? Before, we could only do some basic stuff, but now we''re Supreme Undead, right?"


    Mikey pped Joneson on the head ''lightly''. "Get on with it blockhead!"


    Joneson grinned as he rubbed his head. "Donchu think we should have some special abilities that can allow us to gain shortcuts right? There has to be one somewhere!"


    Mikey was instinctively about to berate Joneson before he paused to think about it. "You make a surprising amount of sense, Joneson. Hmm, there are three things we could try out."


    "The first is to tie our consciousness to our Blood Warriors and have multitudes of them fight with swords or spears against enemies with simr skills to polish ourselves. This requires a heavy investment of blood andpatible foes, but it should be the quickest way."


    "The second is to Create Initiates from the human Journeyman around this band. I have a feeling that we would have an easier time learning skills from our blood subordinates."


    "The third is mostly a guess, but we could try absorbing the skills of our victims when we drink their blood. We''ve already taken their lifeforce, blood, and memories, so what''s to say we can''t do the same for their skills and special bloodlines?"


    Joneson nodded. "I think so, yah. Well, we can do the first optionter, I say we start with thest one!"


    The duo shared a look beforeughing maliciously. They quickly disappeared from their spot, leaving only an afterimage as they tore through thendscape at inhuman speeds.


    ...ˇ­.


    Darius woke up with a smile on his face. He had only truly spent two nights in the midst of the blight, but that had been enough to make him appreciate even the hard earth that formed the ground.


    Waking up sick and retching was sure to demoralize any army or group who ventured here. The ins of Death had so many natural defenses, and he had learned about two tragic campaigns executed over the course of recent history that ended in tears.


    After nudging Gunner awake, Darius exited their sleeping tent with him and walked over to their ''bathing'' tent. There, he graciously allowed the Branded Servant the first go with the tub while he blinked away 50 km.


    After checking his surroundings, he changed 4 CP worth of Purification Potions to fill his quota. He also took out one of hisst empty spell manuals from Foldo and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a small water spell manual? This will cost 4.5 Conversion Points.]


    Darius assented to the change and watched as the book transformed from a slightly special tome to a glowing blue book that smelled like the sea.


    [Pulse Spell - Manual


    Durability: 10/10


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to cast the simplest spell of the water element, Pulse. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the spell is increased by 100% while the effectiveness of the spell is increased by 500%.]


    [Detected spellbook. Would you like to learn its contents?


    Warning: The spellbook will be destroyed upon using this method! Continue?]


    [Pulse - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Summon a jet spray of water with varying pressure. It can either be intense enough to cut or low enough to drink. This deals 5% water damage at maximum velocity.]


    Darius nodded with satisfaction. He took out his old sk of water and checked inside to find some leftover Pure Water within. Pleased, he filled the sk up with more from his new spell, which basically turned his fingertip into a tap.


    He then converted the skful of water upwards in quality at a cost so low it wasn''t easilyputed by the system. After doing so, Darius removed the Bowl of Nuwa he had received from Da and poured the Pure Water within.


    This item, as appraised, had the ability to turn any liquid that stayed there for 24 hours into some sort of special fluid that could heal any ailment.


    The important thing about it was the extra note. The quality of the liquid poured decided the potency of the effect after 24 hours.


    As such, Darius pouring the legendary Pure Water, which was the highest grade liquid of the basic category should - theoretically - allow him to revive the dead.


    This meant little to him personally, because if he died, he obviously would not be able to open his Inventory to drink the liquid.


    Neither Gunner, Mikey nor had any ess to his Inventory, just as he was locked out of theirs. It was also unclear whether they would even survive in the case of his demise, since at least in the case of the vampires, he was technically their summoner.


    Besides, he had the Stitch in Time, a lifesaving item granting him 9 ''resets'' yet each one was as precious asˇ­ well, the most precious thing in the world!


    So the purpose of storing this and keeping it on his person was for Gunner mostly. As Darius feared, it was quite possible for Gunner to die in the execution of the n.


    In that case, he would be torn by having to choose either to ''reset'' and try to seed the next time while keeping Gunner alive, or to finish everything at the cost of his first Branded Servant.


    With this, his worries were somewhat abated. Of course, if Gunner were to end up vaporized to ash, Darius was unsure if this miracle water would be able to save his life.

 Chapter 165 - 165

    Darius eventually blinked back to the camp and noticed that Gunner was done. With the tent free, he quickly went in to clean himself up and made sure to rece the water with his new spell.


    After drying himself off and equipping a new set of clothes from his Inventory, the duo left their tent and headed to the central one. Darius could see many fine men and women on their way there, their faces troubled and confused by this sudden summons.


    They just had a meeting a couple of days ago, so why was there another now? Could it be that something bad had happened on the battlefront? A negative development of some sort?


    This fear ran through the minds of the various powerhouses here. Their thoughts never crossed the notion of it being something positive, because years of living in the real world had taught them never to hope for pies falling from the sky!


    Darius also entered the tent with Gunner in tow, the duo drawing many strange looks. Darius was easily identified becauseˇ­ well, he was literally the youngest Adept in the entire kingdom at the moment.


    What drew even stranger looks was the fact that his aide was simrly an Adept at such a young age, making these old fellows wonder if there was something in the water nowadays that made youngsters flourish?


    Darius noted his chair which was at the very end of the table opposite Elijah, one that was hastily prepared with the name ''Stone'' written on it. Unbothered, he seated himself within as Gunner came to stand behind his seat.


    Therge conference tent was originally quite noisy as many powerhouses discussed what this meeting could possibly be about, but the voices slowly died down as they took in the weird sight at the end of the table.


    Not only was a boy the age of their sons and daughters, in some cases even grandsons/-daughters seated there, but he even had the audacity to bring an aide.


    One should note that only those on the council were allowed in, and no matter who or whom, nobody had been allowed to bring in guards to minimize the risk of a conflict breaking out.


    However, when they probed the duo, many faces changed into awe, wonder, and grimaces. As old foxes, they understood the flows of social gatherings and did not chase Darius or his servant out.


    That would be making an enemy of a likely future Master-stage expert for both the master and his servant!


    Nobody was so bored as to seek more enemies in their life, especially ones that had a brighter future than themselves. This mindset was what had allowed the majority of them to be the rulers of their factions.


    Eventually, the venue was fully seated and the noise began to die down when Elijah and the representative of the Mercenary Guild entered the pavilion. All eyes were on the solemn Royal Seneschal, waiting for an exnation.


    Elijah sat down in his seat and cast his eye around the table slowly, gazing at each and every face with such intensity that many frowned or looked away. His eyes only briefly stopped on Darius before moving on.


    "Before you ask, yes, there is a pertinent reason I''ve summoned you all here today, so early in the morning." Elijah began when the silence reached a tipping point.


    "This camp was established with the sole purpose of pooling together resources in the form of manpower and thought-power into clearing obstacles for mutual gain. This, however, is not a campaign of righteousness against the undead, and none of you are here to purify thesends out of noble intentions." The Royal Seneschal pointed out bluntly.


    This made many more frown while some wore ugly expressions, but they still remained silent as they wanted to see what this fellow was on about.


    "You have all spent more than a week here and no real progress has been made since we''ve encountered our first great obstacle, the Bone Dragon. Many ideas have been put forth, but the execution so far has been poor, because none of you have been willing tomit. After all, who wants to sacrifice his own men for another''s gain?"


    Elijah tapped the table. "I understand that the purpose here is to kill Stonekeeper Marasmus and im the reward. It would be naive to think that anyone would willingly share these rewards, in other words, realistically there can only be one winner."


    "This naturally means that our camp is based on the principle ofpetition, not contribution. There is no real way to get any of you to truly work together harmoniously to achieve the set goal, which defeats the entire purpose."


    Elijah raised his hand and smacked the table. "As such, I propose an immediate disbandment of the camp!"


    There was a short moment of silence before the room burst into an uproar! Many of the parties seated rose to their feet and shouted at Elijah, pointing at him as if he had threatened to kill their mothers.


    The Mercenary Guild rep sat there with a wry smile, wondering what the hell this old codger was up to. There were a few parties still silent and calm.


    Out of 123ˇ­ no, now 124 seats, only 12 had remained seated.


    Of these 12, 6 of their reps had a frown, 3 of the reps wore neutral expressions while 2 were showing curious expressions. On the entire table, only one person remained seated while smiling softly.


    Darius Stone!


    Elijah allowed the uproar to continue as he maintained a cold expression throughout, until the various parties calmed down and eventually sat back down. The majority was ring at him, as if giving him a chance to retract his words.


    Unfortunately, they would not get that chance. "So then, let''s take a vote, shall we?"


    Just before the table could burst again, a person coughed lightly, attracting everyone''s attention. It was an old man wearing a conical wizard''s hat and green robes. His long white beard flowed like the wind and his small blue eyes seemed to contain immense wisdom.


    He was one of the two who had been curious. "Dear Elijah, may I ask what has brought you to this decision?"

 Chapter 166 - 166

    When Elijah gazed upon this fellow, his hard demeanor softened slightly. Darius easily identified that the old man must have a good rtionship with the Royal Seneschal and was likely the person the council had sneakily appointed to be the ''good cop'' when dealing with Elijah.


    "I''ve done my best to manage this camp since my arrival and yesterday, I had the epiphany that despite - or perhaps even because of my style - this camp is achieving nothing while wasting massive resources."


    "If these resources would have been fully and honestly contributed by everyone, I would not dare toin. However, we all know too well that the majority of these wasted resources are being financed by the Royal Faction."


    There was a short spell of silence, as the various fellows digested this nasty truth andmunicated with their eyes. They were likely questioning who had enlightened Elijah and why he had chosen now to disrupt the status quo.


    "Hmph, old codger, what are youining about? This is a joint movement of Andrato Kingdom''s various powers. Of course, the Royal Faction should take the lead and sponsor everything! Otherwise, why should we listen to yourmands or edicts if you do nothing for us?"


    A middle-aged man with silver-gray hair, pointy ears, and a beautiful visage spoke scathingly. He wore ck acolyte armor and had his hood tossed back, revealing his face full of scars. His right hand was currently ying with a bloody dagger.


    Darius identified this fellow to be the ''bad cop'', someone brave enough to incur the ire of Elijah and the entire Royal Factionˇ­ at a price. Unsurprisingly, he was the rep of the Assassins Guild, Kiran.


    As Darius predicted, Elijah''s expression became thunderous as soon as the fellow had opened his mouth and he mmed the table angrily. "Be careful of how you talk, knife-eared fool. Your words could easily be taken as treason! It would be a valid reason to have your head cut off."


    Kiran made his body shiver as if he was scared and gripped his shoulders weakly. "Oh dear me, how terrifying! A small kingdom''s royal family wants to kill me, I''m soooo terrified!"


    Before Elijah could furiously retort, the old mage coughed and spoke gently. "My dear old friend, no matter how you put it, this camp is necessary. I admit that our progress is slower than any one of us would like, yet it is infinitely faster than all of us going about it individually. Elijah, can you imagine the number of casualties that would ur if everyone were to chaotically do their own thing?"


    The Royal Seneschal''s expression changed, bing bitter. This was the argument his old friend, who was a known humanitarian, always hit him with that put him in a tight spot.


    Darius watched all of this with amusement. God, they had set up a nice web around the poor man, and like NPCs in games repeating pre-set lines, all they had to do was follow a script to get the Royal Seneschal to dance to their tune.


    Even his so-called ''buddy'' was in on this. Don''t look at that fellow, with his sagely demeanor, and think he was as noble as Gandalf or Dumbledore. If that was the case, why would he be out here trying to kill Marasmus?


    Such a ''sagely'' fellow should be free from greed, but yet here he was! Elijah was about to sigh and repeat what he usually said to brush it off, before he trembled and remembered what Darius had told him yesterday.


    He had almost fallen into the same routine again, like a broken record on rey. His face became ugly as he also saw through what was going on here. Elijah was by no means stupid, merely misguided as he had put his trust in someone who had sided against him.


    With 99 points of Intellect, he couldpute faster and much more than Darius, he easily understood more. Realizing his failures, he simply sighed and stood up.


    "For now, let us put aside the matter of the disbandment of the camp. I understand that no matter what, you fellows are not willing to let a big fish like me slip through your fingers. When was thest time anyone got to milk and weaken the Royal Faction so greatly?"


    Elijah waved his hand boredly, silencing the ones who were about to erupt in protest. "Please, please, at least for today, spare me the false pretenses. Feel free to return your usual ways of guiling me all you want from tomorrow, but at least for today pretend like you actually respect my intelligence and stop with your kindergarten scheme."


    Elijah leaned on the table, ncing at his ''friend'' and his ''enemy''. "As for the two of you, let memend you on your act so far. Until yesterday, I never so much as suspected anything and even now I have a hard time believing it."


    "Now before I return to the capital city, I would like to finish my responsibilities as still acting chairman. There were three reasons I called this meeting into being today. The first reason was to, as I''ve stated, disband the camp and see your reactions."


    "Since there was no vote for the motion, we''ll take it that the idea got scrapped and your beloved camp shall continue to exist. The second reason was to allow me the chance to do what I''m doing right now, venting my indignation and letting you all know that after the meeting I will formally resign as chairman. I''ve already made my mind, so don''t try to convince me otherwise."


    There were low murmurs as almost everyone on the table frowned at this time, even the sagely rep and the assassin rep. Many of the powerhouses here could not understand the purpose or need for this drama. Wasn''t he a bit too old to throw a tantrum?


    More importantly, their interests were now in real danger. Once a nice ''sugar daddy'' like Elijah left, there would be a power vacuum in the camp. After abusing the role for so long, nobody would want to be the next person to suffer, yet this role absolutely needed to be filled! That was why they were restless.


    Many eyes fell onto the ''good cop'' and ''bad cop'' to do what they had always done and fix this situation. However, the duo didn''t doubt the words of the Royal Seneschal. Now that they had been busted, it was impossible to make him change his mind, especially given how determined he looked.


    Elijah spoke over the murmurs with a powerful tone. "As for the third reason, wellˇ­ it was actually the true reason for summoning this meeting."


    The crowd became silent as they were curious to hear what the cause of all this was. Elijah gestured to the end of the table, where Darius sat and spoke respectfully.


    "As myst official act of chairman of this camp, I hereby invite Baron Stone to take the floor!"

 Chapter 167 - 167

    All eyesnded on Darius, some startled, some thoughtful, and some hostile. Darius himself rose to his feet and bowed towards those at the table before him.


    "Greetings, respecteddies and gentlemen, my name is Darius Stone. I''m 13 years old and have been granted the title of Baron within the Andrato Kingdom by Listo''s Minor Duke Nichs Spencely. Behind me stands my servant, Gunner, 15 years old and member of the legendary Giant race." Darius warmly pointed to his Branded Servant.


    He made sure to never directly state that he was an Adept with his own mouth but rather let people make assumptions. Who knew if one of them had the ability to tell lie from the truth?


    His conflicting words would then put him in a tight spot, so it was best to feign ignorance and y the part. Interestingly, after his introduction, many took deep breaths.


    Even the hostile ones were shaken as this information was too scary!


    They had known him to be the youngest Adept in their kingdom, but his exact age had never actually been reported as this was the first time he had stated it. Everyone who had bought the information on him had assumed he would be between 15-17 years old.


    However, at a tender age of 13, he was this powerfulˇ­ not to mention his servant who they all felt had broken through the Adept threshold for Strength and Endurance both!


    Of course, there were some who had their eyes gleam, various plots appearing in their heads as they took in the sight of thisd speaking.


    "I spoke with the Lord Seneschal yesterday about the problems in this camp and I''m happy to tell you that I have some useful solutions to the problems we''ve identified during our discussion."


    Of course, Darius saying this immediately made the prevailing emotion towards him shift from neutral to dislike and even in some cases, hatred.


    Only a youth would be so foolish to outright admit that he was the one who enlightened their cash cow leading to today''s bizarre situation!


    "There are five main problems guing this unnamed encampment right now." Darius began, seating himself as he rested his chin on his knuckles, enjoying the sight of everyone starting to underestimate him for his ''youthful foolishness''.


    "Firstly, there is the matter concerning the blight encroachment. This is an issue pertaining to the very survival andfort of all the council members present as well as those you represent, something we can only dy but never truly solve."


    "What''s worse, it has forced you to expend the manpower of the great and noble priests in order to do so. This has limited your efforts in the battlefield as it resulted in ack of Light element affiliated fighters to assist in the killing of the Bone Dragon!"


    Darius smacked his hand on the table, in the same manner as Elijah had done earlier. "As such, I shall handle the issue concerning the blight by sacrificing my personal stockpile of Purification Potions for the betterment of the camp!"


    The moment Darius announced this, there was a palpable uproar. None of the fellows here could believe it! Just when they had lost a huge fish like Elijah, an even bigger fish appeared that was more ''generous''?!


    Or was he? Certain parties did not agree, namely the priests themselves. The highest-ranked priest coughed to silence the table and stood up.


    "Honorable Baron Stone, we thank you for your kindness and thoughtfulness in trying to absolve the matter with the blight, but we''d like to report that we already have an efficient timetable set up for clearing. Besides, the manpower of our priests is much more reliable than mere potions."


    His eloquent speech made many nod as they turned to Darius to see how he would convince them otherwise. Darius was so amused he almost allowed a twisted expression to tarnish his face.


    Were these guys living in their own bubble of reality?


    Darius'' finger tapped the table slowly. "Dear council members, I''m afraid all of you seem to overlook something vitally important."


    The same index finger on the table was flicked in the direction of Elijah McNickles, pointing at the calm and detached older man who was totally watching everything as a bystander, showing his resolve.


    "The Esteemed Royal Seneschal is deadset on leaving. With him gone, who do you expect is going to pay for the priest''s services? Are they going to do it for free? In that case, the camp thanks them for their hard work!" Darius eximed with a smile of awe.


    Suddenly, many parties froze, especially the three priest reps. The youngd was correct, they had sneakily enjoyed the simple task because it had been practically free money, while conveniently allowing them to stay away from the risky battlefield.


    Now that the big fish Elijah had solemnly quit, they didn''t even have a chairman and certainly, no one would rush for such a position given the trouble it represents.


    So it was either they continued to clear the blight like dogs for free, or they stood back and let the potions Darius was freely offering take hold. Either way, nobody would pay them for their services in the short term.


    Many of the reps murmured to each other in agreement with Darius, making the faces of the three priests turn ugly. They red at Elijah and Darius both, feeling that the duo had cooked up a scheme.


    "So, what do the honorable priests want to do? I personally feel it''s better for your forces to stop clearing the blight when mere potions will suffice, freeing you up to join the fight. That way, our progress is bound to skyrocket by at least 50%!"


    Darius rubbed his chin with a thought-provoking smile. "To be honest, I find it strange that you all took to such a simple job so easily. Wouldn''t it be more representative of holymen to charge into the battle with vile undead, using the great power of the Light to quell their foul existence? Why stay at the camp doing this easy job, away from your true duty?"


    Darius phrased it as an innocent question, but it was like thunder in the ears of the various reps.


    They had been too busy focusing on other things, mostly how to turn the situation into a profit benefitting their own factions, and had treated it as natural for these greedy priests to clear the blight for money as it was a job only their profession could handle.


    But now that Darius was offering an alternative and using these words, many of the reps couldn''t help but feel like there was more to it in choosing to clear the blight. After all, Elijah had tantly called out the ugly truth, hadn''t he?


    This was a camp ofpetition, not contribution. Who wanted to waste their manpower for others? They would rather others waste their manpower so they could have it easyter on.


    Many eyes on the table turned dark as they red at the three priest reps.

 Chapter 168 - 168

    Darius smiled pleasantly. Unlike Elijah who had tried to act as the glue to hold the camp together in the hopes of uniting them all for their task, Darius was more than happy to sow dissent and cause disruption!


    Truth be told, he wanted everyone to fight for their own goals, yet he also needed them galvanized! After all, that was the only way he could effortlessly fish for benefits in troubled waters!


    The priests had been easily pushed into a tight spot where either choice felt like swallowing dogshit. They could not easily argue their way out of this as there were two realistic options, and either one benefited the camp over themselves.


    As such, they would henceforth have to earn support from the others, faced with their disdain and uncooperation. They might even get kicked out to fend on their own if they failed to ''contribute'' anything to the progress of the battle.


    One of the reps stood up with a broken smile and bowed. "We would like to return and discuss with our members before making a decision."


    Many on the council frowned but understood that this was the best they would get. Any more pressure would turn suppression into hostility, something which many of these fellows didn''t see the need for.


    Darius though, sneered inwardly. Wanting to use this excuse to dy and waste time while letting the situation develop? How could he allow them to simply stay idle until he inevitably ran out of resources? He had no intentions of begging on his knees for their help at ater time.


    "This is fair, only by speaking to the entire group can you make a decision that would be unanimously received. No one here dares to tell you to do otherwise, but we also require a bit more. Can you give us a time frame in which we''d have your answer? After all, the blight and the battle wait for no one."


    Many faces changed on the council as they murmured to one another. Why was this youngd so antagonistic towards the priest''s faction? Did he have some sort of grudge against the group that made him so ruthless to them?


    The priests themselves were bbergasted. Lad, we are just trying to secure our bests interests here, like everyone else. What on Faust have we done to make you go after us like a bloodthirsty wolf?!


    The second-highest priest rep stood up and took a deep breath. "We shall have an answer by the next meeting."


    This was eptable and logical. Thankfully, meetings were held weekly or generally infrequently, giving them enough time to do what they actually needed as well as brainstorm countermeasures.


    Darius nodded and ended the first matter. "There is no need for any party to suggest that I distribute it amongst you. As I am the one providing the Purification Potions, I shall have my own subordinates pour it around the camp regrly to keep the blight away."


    Many reps with wide smiles who had been about to stand up and speak felt like a fly had lodged in their throats. Before they had a chance to take advantage of thisd''s generosity, he had already cut off all paths for them to cross.


    Of course, these fellows weren''t passive observers who would let their interests be easily harmed or held in the hands of one person. A middle-aged woman in fine silks harrumphed and spoke in a shrill tone.


    It had be clear to them all, that this Baron Stone was far from being a naive youth. It felt more like they were dealing with one of their own kind instead.


    "And what guarantees us that you and your subordinates will perform your job satisfactorily? If due to prejudice or preference, some parties end up suffering from blight asionally while others don''t, who is going to take responsibility? At least with the priests, we know them to be unbiased, so why not keep them around?"


    Now even Gunner was puzzled. Were these really the powerhouses of Andrato Kingdom? If this was how they behaved/thought, it was truly no wonder that it was looked down upon by literally every other kingdom on Fallon.


    Darius himself fought back augh and exined slowly. "Dear madam, once again, you seem to overlook that I''m not the Esteemed Lord McNickles. I''m simply using my personal resources to patch the vacuum his departure will create."


    Darius raised his hands in an ''I give up'' gesture. "But fine, I can''t me you for not trusting me and my subordinates to pour the potions effectively when I have just arrived. As such, I shall retract my earlier offer of kindness and will reserve my potions for my personal encampment. I''m convinced that each faction here should have some resources of their own to manage or feel free to negotiate with the honorable priests."


    There was a thick silence in the tent once again as many were left speechless. Just when they had elevated him to the rank of an ''old fox'' he had reverted to acting like a childish brat, who gathered his toys and left because he was not getting his way.


    Nevertheless, thed was right, the reality that the Royal Seneschal could just so easily leave them had yet to sink in! Now that someone wasing to give out freebies, they shouldn''t be antagonizing him but ttering his ego, encouraging him to continue to be wasteful.


    As he had just demonstrated, he could simply retract his generosity, and he was clearly not asˇ­ attachedˇ­ as Elijah to the Andrato Kingdom and its various inner workings. He could easily do without the favor of any or all of the factions here due to his power, potential, and origin!


    Darius had a slightly different thought process than them about this, assuming they were considering how to maximize their benefits. In the interim, many eyes with dark gazesnded on the woman who had asked the question, making her feel aggrieved.


    She had merely been the one daring enough to put to words the very question that each of them had wanted to ask, so why the need to single her out? With a bitter smile, she acquiesced to the young Adept and stated that his generosity would be well-received.


    Darius smiled. "I''m happy that''s settled. As such, I shall move onto the second problem this encampment is facing, which is the matter of supplies!"


    Many breaths stilled around the table, and the two Space-element users that were part of the ''union'' fell silent.


    What worried them was that the fellow had been able to checkmate the priests with ease, like an adult arguing philosophy with a child. Thetter party had been unable to say anything reasonable against his bombardment.


    Now, they were going to taste this firsthand!

 Chapter 169 - 169

    "So far, the Great Elijah McNickles had singlehandedly, and with great sacrifice, managed the administration of this camp tirelessly. He had been the one to contact various suppliers from the capital city - among others - establish a tentative supply train from those cities to Listo, then to Baratuo."


    "If not for the issue concerning the safe transport over the first two bands of the ins of Death, I have no doubts that the Lord Seneschal would have easily created a powerful yet stable supply route."


    "However, since the man wishes to abdicate, that means three things for us. Firstly, someone is going to have to establish contact with various suppliers and establish a sales and supply agreement."


    "Secondly, someone is going to have to create a stable supply route by contacting various city lords and wagoners to take up this job as well as open the routes/safeguard them. After all, bandits are around, so mercenaries will need to be contracted to protect the wagons up until Baratuo, which is a long and arduous journey."


    "Third, and most importantly, someone is going to have to source the finances for everything. Paying the sales agreement for the goods on a regr basis, paying the transporters and their guards, paying the cities a share of tax for the use of special routes, paying a third-party with the required skills to cart the resources from Baratuo safely to our camp."


    Darius smiled while amused and brushed a hand over his hair. "All of this might have seemed simple thanks to the chairman''s efforts, but getting everyone here fed and watered daily is not an easy job at all. Satisfying everyone''s basic needs isplicated enough, and that''s not even to ount for special delights that are requested by various factions here."


    Darius pped his hands and leaned on the table. "So,dies and gentlemen, who here is willing to take charge of this problem?"


    Unsurprisingly, the table had be deathly silent as many fellows now wore terrible faces. Regret burned through their lungs and their intensities as they felt foolish for having stretched poor Elijah too far.


    As leaders, these kinds of basic logistics were normally handled by their aides while they sorted our more important issues, or in the case of others, they were just there to be powerful deterrents.


    Since these things had always been handled for them, they had underestimated the difficulty. Their aides had always got it done no matter what, and Elijah too had got it done, so how hard could it be?


    In reality, logistics was easily one of the most arduous andplex subjects in the world, epassing far more than shipping and delivery as many people wrongfully assumed.


    It was a science of its own in fact and was developing with each day. In Fallon, it was stuck in its medieval era standard, unlike Earth where it had been optimized.


    Darius had ''kindly'' listed out the process for them, but even this had left out a few smaller details, yet his exnation had been more than enough to make the room quiet down as no one dared to speak.


    Not a single person wished or dared to offer themselves to the table, hoping that someone else would be foolis-*cough* kind enough to do so.


    Many eyes naturally fell on Elijah hoping that he might reconsider, but they were dashed away when they saw the Royal Faction''s representative cold and detached expression.


    What''s more, he didn''t even try to hide his schadenfreude about them realizing what him going away meant to them personally. He would have clearly already left if it wasn''t for the fact that he needed to chair the floor for Darius.


    Eyes then turned to Darius who had already shown his generosity once, hoping he could once more be the answer to their problem. Darius had a yful smile as if he could read the thoughts of those looking at him, making their lips twitch with difort.


    The silence dragged on until Darius decided he had milked it enough and poked the table again. With the current silence, this simple tap was as loud as a gunshot. "In truth, there is a way out."


    Once he spoke, more than half of the powerhouses here audibly sighed with relief, making them freeze as their realized their gaffe. With terribly ashamed expressions they ground their teeth in anger.


    Darius'' eyes curled upwards as he continued. "I am willing to finance 50% of the camp''s resource expenditure, but you will have toe together to donate the remaining half someway, somehow, because I will not pay a single bronze more than what."


    Many were shocked. One should know that even when they had been bullying Elijah, they had only made him fork over 30% of the costs. Their contributions had reached 70%, yet even that had been enough to trouble the Royal Seneschal greatly!


    Yet, thisd was kind enough toe out and offer to pay for half of it from the get-go? No wait, how much money did he have?! And more importantly, just what was his source of wealth?


    He had previously gone on a spending spree with currency that had been untraceable, and looked to have been of higher quality thanmon coins, baffling many bankers.


    Of course, these unique coins had instantly been pocketed and had their values subjectively raised due to the purity of the metal. As such, many had fallen out of cirction, but this was an unintended consequence.


    Darius'' n for solving the possible intion he could cause waspound, but did not have to do with the current situation, so he didn''t see the need to go over it again mentally.


    Before the various powerhouses could feel relieved, he continued. "However, if I am to shoulder this burden, I have certain conditions I need all of you to agree on."


    "Firstly, all manner of agreements and discussions with suppliers will be done solely by me. Secondly, all matters concerning the transportation of goods from the source point to this encampment will also be solely handled by me, including their security. Thirdly, distribution of resources to various outlets here will be solely handled by me as well."


    Once Darius was done, the table went into an uproar. No wonder this sted fellow had offered to bleed so much! Although he would do all the dirty work, it would allow him to hold them by the necks!


    If they agreed to his conditions, then the fellow would be the sole decider of whether they got to eat, bathe or even shit on a daily!


    Offend him and your supplies would miraculously lessen. Support him and you would be filled to the brim with resources needed for conquest.


    Truly insidious!

 Chapter 170 - 170

    Despite the noise, Darius looked unphased. Just like the Royal Seneschal, he sat there calmly and allowed the fellows to freely vent their dissatisfaction, waiting for them to eventually quiet down.


    Many parties had warped expressions and this time nobody would stand up to ask an obviously stupid question, despite some members looking towards that middle-aged woman from earlier.


    It was painfully obvious that their choice was to either agree with the youngd and pay less in exchange for him having full control over the resources or secure their own supplies henceforth.


    However, thetter option would cause chaos along the supply route, not to mention it would enrichen the Space element union.


    If they took the first option, they would (individually) use 40% to gain 100%, yet if they were to strike out on their own with the second option, they would have to use at least 250% to gain 100%. The choice was obvious, but as it had been for the priests, they could practically taste the feces they were forced to swallow.


    The two reps from the union were the most aggrieved ones, yet one of them refused to sit down after their fates had been thrown up in the air. He had considered his next words very carefully during themotion, to avoid repeating the earlier mistake, choosing to strike from a different angle.


    "Lord Stone, your generosity is, once again,rgely appreciated. I truly believe you have the skills required to set everything up perfectly until Baratuo, but what about after that? Do you n to utilize the services of the various Space element users here?"


    Darius leaned back in his seat with an impressed expression. The fellow had attacked from a clever point, and not in a logical sense. After all, Darius could simply act forcefully like before, stating that he would use his own means, which were none of his business.


    However, it was precisely because he had already done that once before why he decided against it. When in the midst of a battle of wits, it was imperative to mix soft tactics with hard tactics.


    If you acted like a bullhead all the time, your efforts would go to waste in the long run and it would be harder to y your ''victims'' ording to your whim. This was why most kings and emperors who had abused their people ultimately copsed.


    Just because one was in a superior position did not mean that one should unt it or press that reality down the throats of others. The wisest thing would be to cultivate a good reputation of your ''light'' side while handling all matters concerning your benefits through the ''dark'' side.


    To Darius, a merchant, a good reputation was far more valuable than anything else, in a way it was the most precious currency in the world.


    As such, he chose his words carefully. "While I do have the means to transport them over, I''m not against using the services of the present Space element users. Of course, the price for your union''s services will have to be re-negotiated after this meeting. Hopefully, we will find apromise."


    The fellow epted this for it made sense. Nevertheless, he could only wring his lips as he sat down.


    The young Adept who had taken to the stage appeared to have a solution for everything, so he doubted that him having his own means had merely been a bluff.


    As such, he and his union members would likely have to work for far less, if they still wanted to earn at least a little bit.


    As for the others, many looked like they wanted to speak up, but didn''t know where to attack from.


    In fact, it was an older man with hawk-like eyes, a hooked nose as well as a smooth bald head who rose and bowed. "Greetings everyone, for those who don''t know me, my name is Difo Syas. I currently represent the Bank of Andrato in this encampment and would like to ask Lord Stone a few questions."


    Darius gazed at the new challenger with interest. "I shall answer your questions to the best of my abilities, Banker Difo."


    Difo pushed up his round-rimmed sses and patted his robes before nodding. "Excellent. The first thing I''d like to ask Lord Stone is how much you estimate each faction''s contribution to amount to? Of course, since you have yet to negotiate with the suppliers and to decide on the final costs, I''m fine with just a guesstimate."


    The banker smiled thinly at this point. "Since Lord Stone has made himself out to be an industry insider with your astute exnations, this should not be too much of a problem, no?"


    Darius'' eyes narrowed at the man, while the others on the council gazed at him with surprised but appreciative looks. They weren''t 100% sure where this fellow was going with this, but that challenging undertone suggested that he was about to take advantage of the youngd.


    An interesting show was about to happen!


    Darius nodded. "If it''s just a guesstimate then sure. Based on the previous contributions, various parties have paid various amounts, mostly chosen their own whim."


    "The ones that contributed the most were the Alchemists Guild and the Mercenary Guild. Interestingly, your bank, despite being the richest faction in the kingdom, has contributed the least." Darius pointed out with a yful smile.


    The other powerhouses grimaced at the sharp barb, feeling phantom pain on behalf of their council member. As for the Difo fellow himself, although his expression remained stoic, he clenched his fists underneath his robes.


    "The bank uses its discretion in deciding various payouts. After all, we have to consider the investments and savings of our various clients." Difo exined slowly.


    Darius sighed. "Truly difficult, despite having the highest fixed asset capital of all factions, as well as the most avable liquid funds, the Bank of Andrato still cannot pay for its own resources, but rather has to rely on others to feed them! All for their clients too! Where would you find such an honorable establishment nowadays?!"


    Many fellows breathed audibly through their noses, trying to stifle theirughter. Not because they wanted to mock Difo, but rather the notion that this notoriously greedy bank would care about its clients.


    Darius'' eyes gleamed. There was a time to be soft and a time to be hard. When the Space element union spoke, they had taken a soft position, so Darius had to respond in kind to avoid seeming brutish.


    But here, everyone could tell Difo hade with nefarious intent, so Darius shutting him down was natural! Responding to hard tactics with soft ones wouldn''t make him seem mature and kind, but rather weak and a pushover.

 Chapter 171 - 171

    Difo himself was greatly enraged, but managed to keep his expression in check. "So, my question?"


    Darius waved his hand. "Right, right. Well, the amount should vary per group depending on how much is needed, instead of a t rate for everyone. It could be anywhere between 200 silver and 3 gold."


    Difo felt his lips twitch. Such a broad estimate was as good as saying nothing, and the look on the fellow''s face told him that Darius would likely not entertain Difo any more than that.


    He slightly regretted going so hard. In hindsight, it would have been wiser toe from a soft position like the fools from that so-called ''union'' in order to y his trap to the end, yet he never expected thisd to respond to slightly hard tactics with absolutely harder responses.


    "Thank you for the rification." Difo finally acquiesced and sat down.


    Seeing as the banker had now been silenced, the table returned to being rtively quiet. Darius waited a bit, but since nobody else uttered any objection, he moved on.


    "The third issue guing our encampment is motivation and efficient division ofbor. Some who are more adept at performing certain tasks are allocated to others due to the closed nature of each individual camp."


    Darius raised a hand to stop the surge of voices that were about to break out. "No, I''m not asking you to give up control of your subordinates to me or any other party hereto re-distribute them. I''m not so impudent and let me remind you I''m only here to help, not take over."


    He lowered his hand and gazed at the crowd bluntly. "Right now, the camp is effectively dead. There is no motivation, no galvanization, nothing. Your subordinates are lounging around, eating away at the purchased resources and wasting funds while hemming and hawing about the battle which had entered a stalemate."


    "On one hand, I don''t me them. You''ve all made great progress with the Adept undead here in the first few days, but after encountering the obstacle called Bone Dragon, everything became stifled."


    "As for finding a solution to that particr problem, it will have to wait for now. However, by the time we''ll have thought of something, you''ll find your men unwilling to fight without being forced. You yourselves are powerhouses and leaders, you don''t need me to tell you how motivated your subordinates were when they first arrived herepared to now, do you?"


    Many fellows shifted ufortably. They had long noticed the problem Darius was talking about, but those had been internal secrets they hadn''t wanted to be leaked out, so how did he find out, especially after being here for less than 24 hours?


    Da, who was naturally also at the table, smacked her lips and pretended like she was oblivious to some of the gazes pointed at her. Kiran though, gazed at her reproachfully, since he knew exactly what she had done, though he didn''t voice it out.


    After all, the rtionship between both guilds wasplex. They werepetitors yet also sister-guilds. There were often positive exchanges, and when problems befell one, the other would rush in to help. However, they alsopeted over many things and that made them like rivals.


    Da hid her face deeper when Kiran chastised her with his eyes, grumbling under her breath about fair business.


    As for Darius, he continued. "As such, I think you need to galvanize your men into action to rebuild morale to increase work efficiency. I suggest setting up a temporary mission hall. There, micro and macro issues can be posted for your workers to chose to attend for remuneration in terms of money or certain items."


    "These missions will epass simple things like cleaning, administration, logistics, and what not concerning your individual camps which you can post yourselves as well as those concerning the encampment as a whole. This will allow the workers to gain a bit of extra ie on the side and will keep them busy and actually productive."


    Seeing how they were all gazing at him silently, Darius coughed and finished his point. "Obviously, for the macro jobs concerning the entire camp, I shall fund the remunerations paid out to various parties."


    It was only now that the various powerhouses smiled and murmured to each other, nodding with eptance to Darius'' suggestion. After all, it was reasonable, and more importantly, it didn''te out of their pocket!


    Darius then moved on. "The fourth issue guing the encampment is theck of information regarding our target. While you have drafted many abilities and responses to the Bone Dragon, it is in the end, merely an underling of the main target, the Stonekeeper."


    "If his mereckey can hold the allied forces of Andrato back so stably, how then will we deal with its master? It would be foolish to assume that you all haven''t been hiding at least one trump card or two, but shouldn''t we assume the same about Marasmus?"


    "At this moment, very little is known minus what the mission poster provided. As such, I have put in ce measures to gather more information on this target so that we may effectively n out our attack."


    There was once again a slight uproar as many parties spoke derisively and with disinterest. It wasn''t that they thought information gathering was useless, no! They understood that the more informed party would likely be the victor!


    But it was Darius'' talk about coboration that made many shy away. If they all killed him together, who would get the final rewards? How were they supposed to split those incredible treasures? In the case of lost members, how would they bepensated?


    Darius understood what they were thinking and smiled cruelly internally, but his face wore a frown. "Fellow gentlemen anddies, forgive me for being rude, but who here believes they can kill the big boss all on their own?"


    "Putting aside his power, how exactly will the fight be handled? Will you all take turns attacking to see who would win or will you all attack at once and hope to be the one to deal thest hit? If it''s thetter, how is it any different from my suggestion of a coboration?"


    The table was even more disturbed and chaotic after Darius revealed the one thing many here had been worried about, the exact execution of the ''final battle''.

 Chapter 172 - 172

    It would be a great struggle to calm down the council members around the table. It was no longer them against Darius, but them against each other as many parties argued and pointed fingers at one another.


    Elijah''s eyebrows twitched as this had been something he had deliberately avoided mentioning because he had predicted this kind of response. The various reps here had been cordial enough to follow suit, pretending not to see the issue.


    Darius wore a frown, but he was smiling deep down. As For Gunner, he gazed at the ongoings, understanding some things, yet also confused about others.


    The chaos did not subside over time, rather getting more and more heated. At one point it seemed as if several parties were about to trade blows. It wasn''t until a soft cough sounded out that many parties felt their bodies weaken and their rage subside.


    As a consequence, the chaos paused as all eyes turned to the source of this feat. It was the sagely fellow that was a ''friend'' of Elijah, Sothe.


    "Fellow dignitaries, there is no need to be so incensed over this matter. While it may seem troublesome, I feel like it''s something we absolutely have to discuss before the due datees, otherwise instead of harming our target, we might end up harming each other for him."


    At this, many parties couldn''t help but murmur in agreement. Selfish or not, sound logic was sound logic, even if one did not like it. They all recognized a need for a proper and fair solution, but because they knew such a thing was realistically almost impossible, they had be incensed.


    "Young Lad Stone, since you are currently on the floor and have brought this matter up, am I right to assume you also have a solution for this?" Sothe asked gently while stroking his beard.


    All eyes redirected to Darius, who nodded thankfully to the old man. "That''s right. As I have said before, I have identified certain problems the camp was facing under Lord McNickles and havee forward to resolve them. If I mention an issue, it likely means I have thought up a solution for it, so I ask the council members to please refrain from such thoughtless outbursts in the future."


    Being chastised by this young fellow didn''t feel too good for these old fogeys, but they couldn''t retort because he was right, their behavior was unbing for true powerhouses.


    "There are three options the camp can choose to resolve this future problem. Before that, we all have to understand and ept that the method of everyone for himself against the final enemy is uneptable and crass. If the majority still feels that this is the best way to handle things, then I have to agree with Lord Seneschal''s idea. In that case, it would be best for this camp to disband,"


    Seeing as there was silence meeting his words, Darius took it as consent. "The first method is through luck. A wholly untampered lucky draw managed by a neutral faction could be set up. Each party draws a lot which will decide your ''challenge number'', indicating your ''turn'' for sieging the necropolis."


    "Secondly, through battle. A short tournament can be drawn in the next few days, with each faction appointing their champion to fight on their behalf. cement will decide your positioning and order in the final battle."


    "Thirdly, there is the option of coboration. The various factions here can team up with others to form teams attacking the necropolis, and therger teams get to go first."


    Darius cast his eyes around. "Which one do the various Lords and Ladies feel is sensible?"


    Many parties seriously pondered the choices. When Darius saw that more than half had made up their minds, he smiled and called for a vote.


    In the end, out of 124 reps, 33 choose method one, 45 for method two, and 46 choose method three. Darius was left surprised by this development, as he had estimated for the various parties torgely ept method two.


    In fact, method two seemed like the most obvious choice for a world like this. However, it seemed he had underestimated the natives of Faust,paring them to brainless side characters in fiction who also made the same choices in the same scenarios.


    However, the third option was not bad either. Darius would still be able to fish for benefits, just not as easily. Since the vote had been taken, it was up to the various factions to decide their own matters and Darius could no longer intervene.


    "And that brings us to our fifth and final issue threatening our group, which is the very same Bone Dragon. I have spoken with Lord Seneschal in-depth about this and although I have not seen it, I understand that this Bone Dragon has been a serious thorn in your sides for a long while."


    Darius frowned. "Its train of abilities are unreal. Death and Frost are natural for undead dragons, but how can it retain Fire and Wind elements? This likely means that the corpse must have been a powerful Master-stage dragon, not too far away from reaching Grandmaster. It must have also been revived using special means."


    Darius leaned forward. "However, I feel it cannot be so simple. I have studied the history of the ins of Death extensively and how necromancy in general works, and I can safely say that there are differing tiers to ''bonuses'' when reviving an undead."


    "The easiest is basic intelligence. The difficulty climbs from there, including memories, soul, bloodline, powers and innate blessings."


    "Fellow friends, from what information I''ve received on this dragon, it has reached that stage of powers at the least, most likely innate blessings. What this means is that all thates before has already been achieved, because one cannot skip stages."


    Darius''s eyes shed with dread. "In other words, Lords, and Ladies, this Bone Dragon has been hiding its true prowess in order to trick you all tomit your forces in a fight! It has its intelligence, memories, soul, bloodline, and powers, meaning that aside from having a maximum strength capped at the Adept-stage, it possesses everything it had when it was alive!"

 Chapter 173 - 173

    The area became cold as many parties felt horror course through their veins. If what Darius was saying was true, then they had avoided a serious catastrophe by being reticent. Maybe not full annihtion but at least 60-75% of their attack force would have perished in a full confrontation.


    Even Elijah was shaken, as he was the most knowledgeable person present. His heavy workload in management didn''t allow him free space in thinking up other things, but after throwing all his duties away, he had been free to put past facts and events together to form a conclusion.


    It wasn''t just him, but Sothe and even Da trembled as they felt it made sense. The Bone Dragon had been fierce, but not to a degree that it had felt impossible to defeat. With each engagement, they had found new ws and their ability to push it back had be strongerpared to their initial battle.


    Moreover, it was an established fact that all high-level undead in this band possessed at least human-level intelligence, so how could the Bone Dragon act like a primordial beast with no consciousness? Looking back, it was as if it had been baiting them by revealing one secret after the other.


    This fact had shaken Darius when he reasoned it out after a bit of thought. It hadn''te to him right away, but after thinking about it, his fear towards the difficulty of this quest grew.


    This quest truly deserved its Impossible difficulty rating, there were traps and pitfalls everywhere! A single wrong step was it all it would take for him to fall into the abyss of nothingness!


    "Lord Stone, is what you said earlier true? Have you reallye up with a solution on how to y the beast?" Kiran asked solemnly.


    Many hopeful eyes turned to him. In a short matter of half an hour, Darius had cemented his position as a strong candidate to be the new leader of the camp with his sharp analysis and contributions to the entire group.


    If he could cook up something strong enough to quell this issue, he would certainly be the next chairman, with more respect than any other could garner!


    Darius smiled softly. "I do."


    There were loud sighs of relief again, but this time, none of the powerhouses felt ashamed for it and neither did anyone else look down upon them for it. Even Darius felt it was natural.


    "However, there are a few limitations and possible problems with my method." Darius pointed out with a wry smile.


    This made the happiness in the room stifle for a bit, before it recovered and many parties expressed their willingness to ept the limitations as long as Darius listed them and they were not over the top.


    "Firstly, my method requires at least 50-70% of our total battle power to be utilized, and this includes the powerhouses seated here. This is not to drag you out, but to ensure that our chance of victory can solidify as 100% in case of any upsets."


    There were light murmurs in the room, but the various powerhouses nodded in agreement. Now that things had reached this point, there was no need to act tough and overly sly, otherwise it would simply make things worse.


    "Secondly, the arrangement of troops will have to be handled by yourselves. There is no need for false pretenses as such a time, so I won''t pretend to be an army or field general or some sort of prodigy in tactics, so I leave that to the esteemed fellows gathered here."


    This too was easily epted.


    "Thirdly and finally, my contribution to this battle is what will promise at least 60% of our sess rate. Thises in the form of myself and my servant, yet the two of us only contribute about 10% together. The 50% chance of our overall sess ratees from my two special subordinates, Mikey and Joneson. Come in!"


    With a sh of light, a dark portal opened up behind Darius, startling all the powerhouses here. The portal was blood red in color and reeked of noble malice, like some sort of refined evil.


    Out of the portal came Mikey and Joneson, who were markedly different from before. Not only did they look slightly taller and healthier, but they also had the poise of skilled fighters that no one could miss.


    Darius quickly checked their character sheets.


    [Name: Joneson


    Race: Undead


    ss: Pure-Blood Vampire


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 9,215/9,215


    MP: 4,998/4,998


    Level: 42


    Strength: 97


    Agility: 98


    Endurance: 95


    Intellect: 119


    Charisma: 86


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote, Create Initiate, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Life Drain, Shadow Maniption, Shadow de, Hail of Spears.


    Traits: Magic Immunity, Damage Ward, Absorb, Ultra Dominate, Sword Mastery.


    Weapons: Magic and Sword.]


    [Name: Mikey


    Race: Undead


    ss: Pure-Blood Vampire


    Sub-ss: Growth


    HP: 9,215/9,215


    MP: 4,998/4,998


    Level: 42


    Strength: 97


    Agility: 98


    Endurance: 95


    Intellect: 119


    Charisma: 86


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote, Create Initiate, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Life Drain, Shadow Maniption, Shadow de, Hail of Spears.


    Traits: Magic Immunity, Damage Ward, Absorb, Ultra Dominate, Spear Mastery.


    Weapons: Magic and Spear.]


    Darius was pleased with their progress, as it gave him more bargaining power. As Adepts now, their stats surpassed many of those within the same stage, even bordering on the Master-stage.


    The reason he wasn''t drop dead happy was that this presented a simple fact that many would fail to ount for. If Mikey and Joneson had such great stats because they were members of a higher race, then what about other races?


    The standard of stats mentioned by Caesar - as well as those used all this while - had been using humans as a basis, and humans were far from the strongest beings in this world.


    The Bone Dragon alone would have slightly simr stats to Mikey and Joneson given its original race. It only lost so many stats due to its revival as an undead, capping its power at a limit.


    What about other non-human enemies Darius would have to meetter on?


    Take Jeanne, the half-angel girl as an example. Look at how high her stats were for her age. Right now, her human side was weighing the Crown Princess down. If she grew up into adulthood and her bloodline awoke fully, they were bound to skyrocket!


    Mikey and Joneson being this strong only put pressure on Darius to increase his own power in tandem.


    In order to make the best use of his artificial growth capabilities and surpass the limits of the human race toter contest against Dragons, Phoenixes, Devils, and Gods, he would have to acquire every single AP and SP he could.

 Chapter 174 - 174

    After the two vampires appeared, there was a long spell of silence before the greatest uproar so far urred. Many fellows rose to their feet wanting to either expel or subdue these monsters that had infiltrated their meeting, especially the priests.


    However, Mikey and Joneson simply released a st of their auras, allowing the crowd to gauge their strength thoroughly. Capable of quickly calcting how many of them would die or at least get heavily wounded, the chaos slowly died down as many parties returned to their seats with ashen expressions, nobody eager to be the first sacrificial pawn.


    Before the priests could rage, Sothe coughed and spoke up. "Lord Stone, care to exin? Could it be you''re a necromancer?"


    Darius chuckled. "I assure you, although I am a magical genius who can use any element I wish to cast, with talent beyond the understanding of anyone here present, I have not dabbled in necromancy, nor do I n to. No, I met these two when they were weak and established a contract of servitude with them."


    "Now that they are strong, they finally have some use to me in helping this entire camp with the issue we are facing. I ask you to put aside your reservations and prejudicesdies and gentlemen. For those who have seen the Bone Dragon, please tell me, how do my two servants match up?"


    Many eyes turned to select few fellows like Elijah, Sothe himself, and some others who had engaged the Bone Dragon to test its weaknesses. They were all slightly pale thanks to the two vampires'' show of power, but they nodded firmly.


    "The two fellows appear to be slightly stronger than the Bone Dragon. At leastpared to its perceived maximum output." Elijah confirmed stoically.


    "Even if the Bone Dragon is hiding some trump cards or power somewhere, it should only bring it slightly above these two at best. Lord Stone is right, our sess rate is extremely high with the two of them on our side!" Sothe also added while stroking his beard.


    Those who were in the know agreed as well, making the nonbat leaders on the council have more confidence. As such, they began to murmur to each other rapidly about how to go forward.


    This was until a hand smacked the table with such force that it almost cracked. All eyes turned to the three men in white robes that were seated by each other, their expressions livid and full of righteous anger.


    "Surely this is must be a jest. I must be getting old, but Lord Stone, did you really just suggest that we, the servants of the light, are to work together with those vile undead? " One of the calmer fellows asked through gritted teeth.


    Darius'' lips twitched and many on the table smiled bitterly. Here came the big troubleˇ­


    He nodded with a solemn expression. "That is correct. For the betterment of the encampment and in order to reduce the casualties, it is necessary to-"


    BAM!


    Another priest mmed the table and stood up. "Forget it, that''s all we needed to hear! Us priests will adhere to Lord Seneschal''s idea and withdraw from the encampment until sense returns to your heads."


    In a strong show of solidarity, the other two rose and were prepared to leave with the rash fellow. Darius sighed and rubbed his forehead, for he did not think these fellows would be so blockheaded.


    The priest faction was needed as they contributed about 20% of the sess rate. Their light spells and attacks bombarding the Bone Dragon would be enough to weaken its Death element so strongly that Mikey and Joneson could deal substantial damage.


    However, there was nothing he could offer them to stay... well, that wasn''t entirely true. There were about 30 things he could offer them, 10 from Foldo and 20 from Da, but there was no way he would ever part with any one of them unless it was absolutely necessary.


    Besides, Darius knew that the priests were far from being as noble as they imed. Otherwise, would they be here, rushing to swallow his rewards with avarice? That was the one word to definite the priests of Fallon, greedy!


    They took money to perform what should be a basic duty and furthermore used it as an excuse to avoid the battlefield. Shouldn''t that be enough to tell you whether they were truly miffed by the presence of undead that could secure their interests?


    Their outburst right now was most definitely just an act, telling Darius; "Hmph,d earlier you cut our source of funds! Quicklye to our tent and negotiate a deal with all that money you have and we reluctantly might help you out this once!''


    Ultimately, this was the oue he had been going for, yet he was annoyed by how quick they were to leave. He couldn''t stop them right now as it would cost him the momentum he had just gained in this meeting.


    All his well-prepared arguments to weaken their position so that he could end up lowering the ''costs'' for bribing them had all gone to waste now.


    He might still be able to negotiate a little bit, but them being so proactive meant he would be paying premium pricesˇ­ sigh.


    After the priests stormed out, the tent remained quiet for a bit before Darius smiled awkwardly and called for a vote on the utility of the undead. Unsurprisingly, the usage of the duo received overwhelming approval, leaving Darius pleased.


    As the meeting was adjourned and the various representatives returned to their camps, Darius knew that he had done what he could. The stage had been set, the incentives presented and now he would have to wait for the climax of the show.


    Whether or not he would be able to survive that climax was up in the air, truly. However, Darius had faith that he would ovee this trial, as it was the first in his path to bing a Supreme.


    This was his first real obstacle sinceing to Faust, and he had exhausted a lot of brain- and man- power to try and resolve it. The amount of funds, energy, and CP he had wasted on just this was enough to make any onlooker sputter with rage.


    However, he had no choice. He had to make these extravagant sacrifices in order to increase his own survival chances, otherwise what would be the point of having all this good stuff if he wouldn''t stay alive to use it?


    With another sigh, Darius escorted Gunner and the two undead to the central tent of Elijah, where the majority of the administration was held.


    He had big shoes to fill in the meantime.

 Chapter 175 - 175

    6 dayster, Darius woke up in his tent with a sigh. He rose to his feet and had some servants rush to prepare his bath as well as help him clean himself up.


    After doing so, he gussied up and wore a lovely set of a noble''s garment that covered his polymer suit which had be like a second skin for him.


    He then left the sleeping tent for his ''faction'' and approached the mission hall. As it had been for the past few days, the location was crowded with many workers moving in and out, epting jobs, and checking what was avable for them.


    Today was definitely more active than most since thest meeting had decided today to be the date of the attack. As such, many workers needed to prepare resources, clean equipment, and assist thebatants in transporting themselves to the battlefield.


    Darius had invested an entire 30 gold coins into the mission hall alone over the past seven days, making him d he managed to get things working quickly because doing this for a long period of time would be impossible.


    In truth, hiring normal workers for tasks like these would usually not even take 200 silver for a month, much less a week, in a simr situation. The problem arose because it was filled with Adepts, Journeymen, and Amateurs.


    The Amateurs demanded 10 silver for even the simplest jobs and the Journeymen would continue to act like they were in a resort for anything under 500 silver.


    As for the Adepts, they took a minimum of 5 gold. Only 3 Adepts had taken jobs at their level since the establishment of the mission hall, yet their contribution had amounted to 50% of the cost!


    However, it had been worth it. The first Adept had taken on a reconnaissance task with Mikey and Joneson as his cover. In truth, Darius could have sent the two on their own to get the job done, but these two idiots had a 90% chance to blow their cover.


    They had no acting ability and would be outed pretty quickly. With an Adept skilled in stealth helping as well as teaching them along the way, the trio had been able to gain a full report of Marasmus'' Necropolis, its structure, powers, and his subordinates.


    Darius had freely disseminated this information to all parties here, winning him more goodwill. Of course, the real reason was that the more informed these fellows were, the higher their chances of sess.


    He could have sold it to the parties to recoup part of his costs, but he had chosen not to for the sake of a positive reputation which he could use to ''spend'' on more important stuffter on. After all, the mission hall had ''merely'' cost him a day''s worth of converting gold coins.


    As for any doubts or fears that the information might make the various parties too powerful or create any unseen scenarios, Darius was not worried. On one hand, it was impossible for Marasmus to be beaten by the group here.


    He was confident in the Impossible rating, because it had never taken himself alone into consideration, but all his possible actions, the reactions of everyone he might have met, their subsequent reactions, and so on until the end of the one-month period.


    If his actions up to his point would secure him a solid victory overall, then the difficulty would at best have been Hard.


    Impossible meant that there was logically no chance of Darius seeding.


    Impossible meant that no amount of schemes or plots could bring one safety or sess.


    Impossible meant that the scenario pertaining to sess required 99% luck and 1% effort.


    If effort alone - coupled with wits and guile - had been enough, Darius would have survived far more than just measly 56 paths of a bloody 1.2 billion. He shook his head as he thought about this, still overwhelmed by how (ideally) low his chances were.


    The second Adept, Kiran, had taken a mission to assassinate a few more Adept undead that had not holed up in the Necropolis. Once again, Mikey and Joneson had tagged along, not so much as to fight but to absorb the Death Energy to increase their power.


    After all, Darius estimated that the Bone Dragon should be at the pinnacle of the Adept stage, around level 60. Mikey and Joneson may have better stats than humans, but so too did the dragon, so it was best their levels evened out to reduce as much uncertainty as possible.


    As for the final Adept stage expert, Lionel, he took upon himself the task of being Darius'' personal ''hand''. Interestingly, the fellow was an Adept not affiliated with any noble house or big faction, so he had no seat in the council.


    Darius had used him to sort out many issues that required a moreˇ­ heavy approach. The mission duration had been set to seven days, meaning that the fellow would be done with his task by tomorrow!


    However, it mattered little now. Darius bypassed the mission hall and entered the administrator''s tent, seeing Gunner there waiting for him with a bored-looking Lionel.


    The fellow was a young man with average features. Coarse brown hair, dry skin, and messy stubble. He was tall at around 6''1 and had drooping eyelids. Despite having a good build, he dressed averagely, and were it not for their current location, it would have been easy to mistake him for a peasant.


    Darius greeted the two of them before seating himself. This was exactly where Elijah had sat and suffered under the pressure of managing this camp for almost 10 days, but in these 6 days Darius took over, many things had changed.


    Unlike Elijah''s reign where his stress hade from the non-cooperation of the various factions, Darius'' difficulties only came in the form of pure bureaucracy and administrative pressure.


    Still, he had done his job over this period, paid his dues, and had set everything up. As such, today he didn''t bother to look at any of the reports and details before him.


    He just kicked back and rxed, waiting for the entire camp to mobilize and move out to the warzone 3 kilometers away.


    It was finally time for the climax of this dramatic event to y out.

 Chapter 176 - 176

    It didn''t take long for someone to enter the tent and report to Darius that everything was ready. In fact, many factions that had long since formed their coalitions had already moved out to the battlefield.


    Darius nodded as he had expected this. Even though they had begun to respect him, he was neither their king nor their master. He could handle the general issues but as for when they moved and how they moved, it was still up to the faction heads.


    Darius turned to Lionel. "Consider your taskplete. From here on out, anything can happen, so you can take it that this encampment is practically disbanded at this point."


    Lionel wore a bored look on his face as he scratched his head, shrugged, and casually exited without even looking back, leaving Darius smiling bitterly.


    The guy was truly one of the strangest Adept stage experts Darius had evere into contact with.


    Darius turned to Gunner and smiled. "Well then, Gunner. Let''s go and have a look at this mighty Bone Dragon everyone has been talking about, eh?"


    Gunner shed a toothy grin. "The enemy this time will be extremely hard to beat. I look forward to the conflict that will ensue. We can move out whenever you''re ready, Master."


    Darius nodded and checked everything before leaving the encampment with Gunner. Since the location of the battlefield was just 3 kilometers away, the duo casually walked there.


    By the time they arrived, so too had the other factions. They had lined themselves up ording to the fighting strategy they had cooked up to deal with the Bone Dragon.


    A row of priests was standing at the back, almost 20 of them. 3 Adepts, 7 Journeymen, and 10 Amateurs all stood in a choir-like arrangement surrounded by other Journeymen and Adept fighters who boasted extreme resilience.


    The basic requirement to be part of this group had been to have the Fast Regeneration ability or be infinitely close to acquiring it. As such, the safety of the priests could be said to be in good hands.


    As for the rest, they were spread based on their specificbat categories and factions. The majority were deployed to deal damage and distract, while the priests would handle chipping the powers of the might Bone Dragon away.


    That was when the two undead would have a clear chance to engage the Bone Dragon. One could say that given their power and resilience, they were the main tanks and main DPS of this entire battle, and everyone else was just here to reinforce them.


    As such, when Darius appeared, many eyesnded on his person. They seemed to be surprised that the two undead were not present yet, some even disying doubt and dubious expressions.


    Had something perhaps happened to the duo?


    Just as they were wondering whether to check-in with Darius, they saw a blood-red portal open up behind the fellow. From within came two silhouettes, Mikey and Joneson, the two undead vampires that send chills down everyone''s spine.


    It couldn''t be helped, they were simply far superiors to anyone else here, even the Adepts. However, this simultaneously gave them more confidence for today''s encounter.


    In a matter of minutes, a dark mist emerged from the other side of the battlefield as the withered foliage obscuring the view of the horizon began to shake and stir.


    Right afterward, various shapes emerged from the mists, approximately 45 of them. These were all the remaining Adept undead in this sector of the third band that still existed.


    The rest had long since been turned into bonemeal by the factions when they had ventured forth, and a few more when the duo of undead had gone out to increase their power.


    They had gone from level 41 to level 49.


    In fact, over the past few days, he had found time to go through their various abilities and traits which had risen to the Advanced level, and their improvement was enough to leave Darius satisfied.


    As the undead on the other side assembled, there was a loud roar that shook the entire battlefield. The faces of many parties changed as they sensed that wild and primal aura that had been corrupted with Death Energy.


    Without having to wait further, the form of the Bone Dragon crashed down from the sky, leaving a small crater where itnded. The shockwave from this affected the camp of the living, knocking over many fellows and upsetting the rest.


    This had no effect on the Journeymen and Adepts, and likewise, the undead behind the Bone Dragon were also unbothered by this barbaric disy of force.


    As both parties assessed the other over a distance, Darius was able to Analyze the various enemiesid out before him. Most of their stats were truly within reasonable levels, greatlyforting him about his chances of sesster on.


    They would not be a problem for the Adepts here, much less Mikey and Joneson. Even the weakest Adept on the human side could kill one of these undead Adept stage experts due to their weakening per reanimation.


    It was only Supreme undead that could negate this racial penalty and rather have all their stats boosted to an insane degree rather than reduced. However, when Darius'' eyesnded on the Bone Dragon, he grimaced.


    Its stats were truly monstrous, something he would never have the chance of beating even if he had 20 more lives. The only way would be with the Dagger of Death, and Darius guessed that one of the ''him'' in the various possibilities had done just that.


    The Bone Dragon silently assessed them before expanding its swings and roaring loudly, spreading its majestic yet corrupted draconic aura around the entire battlefield.


    This acted as a trigger that started the battle as it immediately began pping its wings to take to the sky while the melee undead on the other side rushed over to engage the foes here.


    As for the spellcaster undead, they quickly began chanting their first salvo.

 Chapter 177 - 177

    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Bone Dragon


    Race: Undead


    ss: Destroyer


    Subss: Sky Lord


    HP: 13,200/13,200


    MP: 10,680/10,680


    Level: 60


    Strength: 120


    Agility: 127


    Endurance: 110


    Intellect: 178


    Charisma: 10


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Elemental Breath (Fire, Wind, Death, Frost), Frostme, Wind de Barrage, Dive Bomb, Restore Undead, Fire Halo, me Explosion, Extreme Haste, Wind Scythe, Cyclone, Hail of Ice Swords, etc


    Weapons: Magic.]


    From this alone, Darius could tell that the battle today would be more than just tough. It was going to be a brutal fight where the slightest mistake could doom them all, but it couldn''t be helped.


    The Adept mage salvo was almostplete, and the living on his side charged forward to meet the melee type undead in the center.


    Each squad of living fighters was led by one Adept who was further supported by powerful Journeymen from the side.


    The Adept would tank the enemy and deal the most damage while their Journeymen support kept everything stable. This was the same strategy they used every time to deal with such foes in the previous weeks, so no one was new to what they had to do.


    Simr to previous engagements, the Bone Dragon took flight and rushed into the fray, sending a Wind de Barrage down indiscriminately. This was definitely an attack that did not factor in friendly fire, so both sides ended up eating many losses.


    What was the dragon doing? Fighting in such a way would certainly harm the enemy, but it would harm itself even more. After all, it was because of the remnant Adept undead that the camp of the living had been unable to 100% dedicate their forces to fight it.


    Otherwise, they might not have needed Darius'' intervention in the long run! It didn''t matter how powerful and rare the Bone Dragon was, against more than 50 human Adept stage fighters and mages, it would have to kiss its life goodbye.


    However, a wave of ckish energy that was perpetually coiling around the dragon''s bony frame erupted like a shockwave, passing through the living harmlessly while invigorating the undead.


    Immediately, the Adept undead who had been battered rose up as if nothing had happened, silently roaring as they dove into battle once more. It was exactly this bloody tactic that had infuriated and stressed the leaders to the camp for so long.


    In the beginning, there had been too many Adept undead so the healing had not been concentrated enough to do much. However, with the reduction of their numbers, the mass heal had proven to be more than potent, enough to prevent any more deaths for the undead.


    Hence, the long stalemate.


    Of course, the n today was to break that very stalemate to pieces with the advent of the two vampires. The duo of undead withdrew their weapons that Darius had lent them for today.


    Mikey, who had learned Spear Mastery - a weaker and more generic version of the Lancer Arts series - had received the Demonic Spear. Joneson, due to his Sword Mastery, had been given rent.


    When the duo charged forward with their magnificent weapons, the Bone Dragon suddenly felt an ominous danger approaching. With its Agility, it could see Mikey and Joneson closing in fast, weaving through the battlefield with ease.


    They didn''t help the normal Adept-stage experts fight off their foes because they had a different and more important mission and could not afford to be sidetracked.


    The Bone Dragon roared and fired a wave of Fire Breath down at these two strange undead that should be on their side!


    The fire should deal extra damage to their kind anyway, and the Bone Dragon was confident in this.


    However, Joneson simply smiled stupidly and continued his charge, flourishing rent as he cut apart the fires of the dragon. What a joke, rent was a sword born from the purest Dragonfire, not this remnant skill patched together in an undead Dragon that should not even be there!


    This allowed the duo to close in. Now that the vampire duo was already level 49, their stats had climbed past the 100 mark in Strength, Agility, and Endurance. This had taken their basic abilities in these stats from the lowest tier to intermediate, greatly empowering them.


    Of course, their enemy had them too, so the fight quickly became messy. Darius only casually nced over and was unable to see more than just three blurry outlines.


    One was ckish-red, which should be Mikey with the Demonic Spear, one was scarlet, which had to be Joneson searing the dragon with fire and the final one was greenish-blue,ing from the Bone Dragon who was likely abusing its Frost and Wind elements.


    Darius felt pity for it, for he had already prepared Mikey and Joneson for this conflict. The Demonic Spear might drain 1% of HP per second, but this was countered by Joneson who would cast Heal Undead on Mikey regrly.


    Joneson with rent was tasked with limiting its Fire element abilities, as that was all the Dragon had that could deal great damage to the two. Darius hadn''t just handed Joneson rent because he felt generous.


    As for the Bone Dragon''s Fost element, heh heh. The duo of Vampires may not be the same race, but they had evolved from Liches. That was why they had retained their Hail of Ice Spear spell despite vampires not beingpatible with Ice element abilities.


    As for the Death element of the Dragon, that one would be its worst option to use. Should it dare to cast its Restore Undead, it would be benefiting Mikey and Joneson greatly. After all, only Darius had the benefit of System Targeting and could avoid such mishaps in battle.


    It was only the Wind Element of the Dragon that could bother the duo. It allowed the Bone Dragon to fire out many sharp Wind des to deter the two vampires from harming it with attacks, as well as passively and actively increasing its maneuverability in the sky.


    Here, Darius smiled. He waited until Mikey and Joneson made an offensive together. The moment the dragon was about to simply fire Wind des and dodge the attack, he cast a basic spell on it!


    Adjust!

 Chapter 178 - 178

    The level 5 spell quickly took hold, increasing the weight of the Bone Dragon by 25% suddenly. Such an act had devastating effects on the battlefield, especially for arge foe like this that relied on its powerful elemental affinity to move about quickly.


    Not only had its attack backfired, but it was even temporarily ''crippled'' while in the sky, allowing Mikey and Joneson tond devastating attacks! Joneson struck with rent in one hand, and a summoned Shadow de in the other.


    The apanying mes of the sword seared the Bone Dragon, but otherwise did not do any elemental bonus damage as the Destroyer ss undead retained its affinities from when it was alive.


    Mikey''s attack was done with the Demonic Spear that had a base damage of 100 points. Against the Bone Dragon which had no armor aside from its high Endurance, Mikey dealt a minimum of 1,000 damage with this strike alone.


    As for Joneson, his damage exceeded 1,200 points. In just one co-ordinated strike, the duo had seared off nearly 20% of the Bone Dragon''s life!


    This gave the variousbatants on the battlefield great hope as morale rose. Darius smiled and left the two undead to their battle, as the Bone Dragon had been practically defanged at this point.


    What they needed to do was watch out for any upsets or second winds. Stuff like the Bone Dragon suddenly transforming, perhaps temporarily regaining his formerly alive form or an even stronger hidden boss who had disdained to show themselves, but forced by circumstances toe to light.


    Darius gestured to Gunner who stood behind him. Therged nodded and began his attack with the usual Earthen Stomp augmented by gravity. Darius even made sure to increase his weight by 25% as he was falling to increase the effect.


    Once Gunnernded, he reversed it to reducing his weight, further making the already agile half-giant more like a blur. With his Strength and Endurance both crossing 50 points, he met one of the Adept melee monsters head-on.


    It was arge Bone Golem with two thick pir-like arms and a body of natural bone armor that was sleek and smooth, not like lower-tier undead of the same variation that had sharp ridges and spikes.


    Gunner activated Explosive Strength straightaway and used the special motor control of Fast Regeneration to limit his Stamina expenditure. This was usually why most Adept fighters in non-Agility sses would focus on getting these two categories to the basic ability level, because oneplemented the other perfectly.


    The duo met with a punch, their fists shing and creating a shockwave that cratered the ground around them. Without pause, they began dueling like barbarians, punching each other so fast and forcefully that repeated shockwaves erupted around them.


    Many other fighters gave these two a wide berth as they seemed to be in a world of their own. Darius checked to see Gunner''s HP loss against their enemy and found that they werergely tied with Gunner being a bit superior only thanks to his Defense stats.


    However, the Bone Golem was also hard to kill for Gunner because it had higher Endurance than he did, so their battle would not end anytime soon. Darius looked over to the priests and saw that they were chanting a group spell.


    The battle had been going on for about 3 minutes and they had still not stopped chanting. Whatever spell they were cooking up would not feel good for the Bone Dragon at all!


    It seemed that except for him, everyone else was engaged in a serious battle. Darius chuckled as he was not in a rush and wanted to survey the entire battlefield for any anomalies before taking up the task he put for himself.


    He scanned everywhere, using a mix of Inspect and Analyze to understand what was going on and check if he might have overlooked any hidden traps orbatants. Not finding any after a very meticulous search, Darius calmed down and began casting Heal.


    That''s right, Darius was not going to participate by abusing Blink and Sparks. Today, he was content staying back and act as a bonafide healbot, with his spell restoring 80% of HP to all chosen targets for a mere 40 MP.


    Since he had 1,000 points of mana and his regen was 20 points a second, he only lost 20 points with every heal assuming he cast it once a second. This meant that until his mana bar emptied, he could cast 50 heals easily!


    True to that thought, he whaled away. Not a single person fighting was allowed to go below half their HP, as they would feel a strangely pleasant life energy welling up inside them, healing their injuries and rejuvenating their will to fight.


    The fighters didn''t have time to check who the amazing healer was but those on the sidelines casting their spells were able to tell that Darius was the one. They were shocked and amazed at how powerful his spell was, but more importantly how quickly he could cast it!


    Prepared for this extra attention, Darius moved his lips as if he was whispering something while making handsigns. Immediately, the onlookers understood, this magical genius was somehow capable of using One-Word Cast!


    After all, their minds would never even dare to entertain the possibility that Darius could instant cast without any need for any incantation whatsoever. It wasn''t that they doubted his abilities, but rather that it was an epted fact that nobody could do so.


    Topare, it was like how human society on Earth had epted the fact that they couldn''t sprout wings and fly. If the news were to spread that some fellow had done so, hardly anyone would believe it.


    It would be normal to substitute the story for the one in question having used a hidden jetpack, a wingsuit, or some uber-science tech that allowed levitation, but never that he could naturally fly.


    His Heals aloneughed at the casualty rate that had been so high in previous battles, allowing the living forces to decimate the undead. Of the 45 or so remaining undead Adepts, only 10 or so remained, and they were being ganged upon by the rest of the living.

 Chapter 179 - 179

    [Bone Dragon - Level 60 Undead


    HP: 4,568/13,200 MP: 7,126/10,680]


    [Mikey - Level 49 Undead


    HP: 9,850/11,024 MP: 3,987/6,566]


    [Joneson - Level 49 Undead


    HP: 9,521/11,024 MP: 1,209/6,566]


    [Gunner - Level 20 Vanguard


    HP: 450/600 MP: 230/700]


    [Bone Golem - Level 43 Undead


    HP: 839/2,154 MP: 234/450]


    As the battle raged on for more than 10 minutes, the various parties could feel their powers declining. The Bone Dragon had nearly fallen to a third of its health, and was only supported by its willingness to cast Restore Undead on itself even though it also healed Mikey and Joneson.


    This was no different from quenching one''s thirst with poison, but it had no choice. Realizing the severe threat to its life, it had even thrown away its facade of being a mindless undead and revealed its trump card, a Master-stage ability!


    It was the type of spell that one could cast only a limited amount of times before the bacsh would be too much for the caster. At the start of the day it had only three uses left, yet two of those had been used up in an attempt to harm the undead duo so severely that Darius got frightened.


    It was a Wind element attack called Cyclone, which created a literal windstorm right in the middle of the battlefield. Because Mikey and Joneson had wanted to prevent the Bone Dragon from targeting the weaker human Adept stage experts, they had ended up moving their battle a significant distance away.


    As such, the aftereffects of the powerful spell had not affected the battlefield of the living too much, but all fights had temporarily stopped as the various parties were forced to cling to whatever they could hold in order to prevent themselves from being sucked into that vortex of death.


    Many Journeymen who had been assisting the Adept were easily swallowed in without resistance. They were two stages lower than this attack, not nearly enough to resist it. Not even a Heal would have been able to save them.


    Not that Darius had time to that. As an actual Amateur, he had also easily been sucked in and should have died, but obviously, he had a way out.


    He kept rapidly blinking, so his form would only be sucked forward for the 0.3-second interval before he would re-appear exactly where he stood before.


    He had made sure to set his and Gunner''s weight to 25% higher, and therged had used Earthen Punch to dig his hands into the ground and braced himself. As for the Bone Golem he had been fighting, the undead got pulled into the vortex and got shredded to bits.


    Still, Mikey and Joneson definitely got the worst of the lot. The two vampires had quite literally been caught in the eye of the storm. They had been quickly overwhelmed by the attack which dealt egregious amounts of damage each second to all those trapped within.


    It was mostly two things that had kept the duo alive. The first was their Magic Immunity trait that reduced elemental damage from spells and abilities greatly. The second was their overpowered Damage Ward which spawned a barrier with their total HP and various resistances that reformed 1 hour after being shattered.


    This meant that in order to end the vampires, you technically had to ''kill'' them twice. What would previously have been enough to vanquish them would have to be redone in the exact same manner in order to truly finish them.


    As such, the duo of undead had been able to survive the first use of this overpowered ability with half their lives after their shields got shattered. Because of this, they changed their fighting style to a conservative one because they did not know how many times the Bone Dragon could use that spell again.


    This was why the battle hadsted 10 minutes up until now. As for the second time the spell had been used, the duo quickly fled as they had been ready for it. Darius was tempted to heal the duo, but was worried that it would have a countereffect.


    It was fine if it worked and everyone could pretend like this was how it should have been, but if it failed and backfired, allowing the Bone Dragon to capitalize on it, Darius would be crowned an idiot by all onlookers.


    Luckily, the undead duo benefited from the Bone Dragon''s healing of its own wounds over time. Joneson especially faced pressure in healing Mikey and fighting, as the Demonic Spear was truly consistent with its draining.


    At this point, thest 10 Adept undead had been killed. The humans had regrouped and were resting slightly before nning to assist the two vampires head-on and end this battle as quickly as possible.


    Darius freely passed out stamina potions and health potions that he had umted. No matter how many he transmuted, he felt like he would always have arge stockpile of such potions since they dropped from nearly every foe he killed.


    After 2 minutes, the various human Adepts stage experts with their remaining Journeymen were ready to go. Once they entered the battlefield and assisted the duo of vampire, the Bone Dragon was quickly overwhelmed.


    In desperation, it attempted to use itsst cast of Cyclone, but Darius was waiting for this. Despite knowing it would do practically no damage considering the Bone Dragon''srge HP pool, he still cast his Heal at it.


    Something Darius had discovered while fighting the undead casters was that using the Heal spell on them while they were casting interrupted them. Not because of the damage, but because Heal struck from within them, messing up their flow of mana that was normally used to initiate spells.


    Darius had not cast it before because he did not want to attract the attention of the Bone Dragon. After all, every time he used Heal on undead, it terrified them and made them flee, so he was unsure if this would make the Bone Dragon flee, rather than chase him down to squash this threat.


    With his timely intervention, a disaster was avoided and the Bone Dragon''s death throes became more and more pathetic. With almost heroic bearing, Mikey and Joneson attacked together as they slew the Dragon, which dispersed its Death Energy and made its withered bones turn to ash.

 Chapter 180 - 180

    Mikey and Joneson were the main profiteers of this battle. In a sh of ck light, the levitating duo cried out as a mist of Death Energy was absorbed into their bodies.


    The amount the Bone Dragon contained was far greater than even 10 other Adept undead together. They felt so good that they couldn''t help but roar with excitement and glee.


    Darius simply watched them with a bitter smile. The other fighters paused nkly once they saw the corpse of the Bone Dragon. There was obvious disbelief on their faces, and they couldn''t be med for it.


    This was the very same monster that had terrorized them for over a week, forcing them to pool resources together. No matter how they had tackled it, it had seemed like an insurmountable wall that would always prevent them from achieving their goal.


    Now that ity in a pathetic heap, many did not even know what to do. Shout out in celebration? Cry that their dead teammates had been avenged? Mock it for being so weak?


    Eventually, all eyesy on the two champions of this fight, the two vampires. More precisely on their forms, as their actual bodies were surrounded by all the ckish mist hovering around them, and the asional shouts of pleasure.


    This left the various parties even more confused. The priests especially looked worn down after they had finished their long cast during the battle earlier. They had invested great amounts of mana and power into a mass buffing spell called Wings of Light.


    This had allowed the variousbatants here to manifest angel-like wings made of light that allowed them to fly. Otherwise, how would the living have dealt with the airborne Bone Dragon?


    Not everyone could be like those two monstrous vampires whose Intellect had crossed into the master-stage, giving them elementary psychic abilities like Apportation (psychic blink), Transvection (psychic flying), and Telekinesis.


    Even though everyone looked drained, the number of human resources retained by the end of the fight was still encouraging. While many Journeymen had died, a loss that would be felt by their respective factions, none of the core Adepts had perished, which was the most important.


    Gunner left his position and returned to Darius'' side, humbly standing behind the old soul. The young ''Adept'' himself pped and got the attention of the various fellows around.


    "Now that we have cleared the final obstacle, it is time to siege the Necropolis of Marasmus. We have already decided the order and means of attack, so what I would like to ask now is whether we continue on after a short rest or wait until the next day?"


    Darius'' question was quite prudent. If they took a short rest and continued on, they would be able to carry their momentum forward and increase their fighting power greatly.


    However, the downside would be that they would not be fully rested and might make mistakes in the final battle. However, if they waited until tomorrow, they would lose their momentum, though the fighters would be much more chipper.


    Both choices had their merits and demerits, so the various powerhouses agonized over it for a while before deciding to continue on as they were. Darius nodded to the priests, who began casting light spells to clear the blight in a small area around them.


    Once done, they were the first to copse in need of rest, and Darius maintained the clearing of the blight with his remaining Purification Potions. At this time, he was silently thinking about his next steps forward.


    Of course, he had many schemes and ns, but the question was, would they work? He had no way to tell, and he could only try his best once the siege of Marasmus began.


    Darius tried to collect the corpse of the Bone Dragon into his Inventory because, let''s be honest, after he became a Journeyman and his CP increased, he would have a hundred uses for the materials here.


    Unfortunately, something seemed to prevent him from doing so, the system even going as far as to inform him that this item could not be collected.


    Frustrated, Darius let the matter go.


    The party rested for over 6 hours before the main fighting force, the priests, reported that they could go on. It should be noted that the number of coalitions that had fought to hire them had been truly scary.


    Darius only knew that the current strongest coalition had managed to win the bid, but he had deliberately avoided seeking out Da to find out the exact price they had paid to hire these fellows as he feared it might give him a heart attack.


    Once the confirmation was made, the various parties moved out at their own pace towards the Necropolis 8 kilometers away from the northern side of the battlefield.


    In a matter of a few minutes and after crossing a few withered forests, they saw the Necropolis floating above ake of greenish liquid that asionally had spirits evaporating from within, continuously screeching in high pitched tones.


    The screams of the damned were enough to upset everyone there regardless of their power, making their faces pale.


    Those with Mind Power felt their tendrils p away some form of curse that came with those screams, while the others either drank their Purifications Potions - or in the case of the priests - used spells to alleviate their conditions and protect themselves.


    Only Mikey and Joneson seemed unbothered by this, and it wasn''t just due to their power, but their racial affiliation. They had experienced it when they hade here for reconnaissance, but this ce felt really good to be around.


    It was a shame they needed to destroy it someway somehow, but the words of their boss wasw to them. However, they stood back with Darius and Gunner, opting to spectate for now.


    After all, Darius had joined no coalitions. He was likely the only party with no allies, so he would technically be thest to go up. This wasn''t a problem because Darius had no intention of ying by the rules he himself set up.


    His only goal was to get the First Resurrection Stone and book it. Whatever dissatisfaction or problems that came after could be solved easily once he was a Journeyman.


    Failure here because he wanted to be a ''nice'' guy would lead to death, so he could be forgiven if he had no good intentions at all.


    At this moment, a robed undead at the Adept stage appeared at the pinnacle of the stairs leading to the mausoleum at the top of the Necropolis, his greenish eyes burning with hate and disdain.

 Chapter 181 - 181

    "Vile humans, you dare to encroach upon the holynd of the Stonekeeper Marasmus?! Very well, you only have yourselves to me for the consequences then. I am Goiter, the Protector of the Necropolis. Prepare to be destroyed." The undead threatened coldly before raising his hands to both sides of his body.


    The variousbatants here became solemn as they prepared themselves to defend against any attack. Darius and Gunner moved a good distance away from the others, concealing themselves in some withered foliage.


    Mikey and Joneson had been silently desummoned as Darius wanted to collect information. ording to the report the duo had brought back, this fellow was a powerful Adept undead that was very close to the Stonekeeper.


    However, that was all they had managed to find out. Goiter''s powers and his abilities had remained unknown since this Protector had hardly participated in the battle against the living. He had only briefly shown up after the first skirmish with the undead had yielded great wins for the various factions.


    In their next engagement, he had only appeared in the sky above the battle and opened his arms in a grand manner, chanting loudly. From within the shaking earth, the Bone Dragon had emerged and be the thorn in the side of the encampment.


    So one could imagine the solemnity and worry these various fellows felt when he repeated the same actions. The strongest coalition made up of 12 different factions stepped forward to deal with this fellow.


    While they were reluctant, they refused to ask for help, since their rules dictated that asking for help, would allow the helping party to join the fight. As such, if everyone repelled the attack of Goiter, they would use it as an excuse to bombard Marasmus without a care.


    At that time, it would be hard toe out unscathed as the fight to im the head for the rewards would be even more brutal than the fight against the undead himself.


    This time, the earth did not shake. Goiter simply maintained his position for a minute or two, baffling the various fighters. Whatever the case, the first coalition began firing long-ranged attacks to disable the Protector''s fighting ability.


    However, this proved to be futile as the projectiles crashed against a greenish barrier that looked like the carapace of a bug. It was clear to the various parties that the Necropolis had some form of magical defense, which gave them a headache.


    After all, when dealing with such things, many factors needed to be ascertained. The first was the damage threshold of the barrier. What was its limit? Exactly what kind of damage would be enough to shatter it? Could rapid-fire weak attacks eventually overwhelm it or was one concentrated massive attack the only way?


    The second was the power source. Was it powered by many individuals using their mana, acting as living batteries? Was it powered by some sort of formation, sucking in the surrounding natural energies in the air, and if so was there a storage of such energies?


    The third was the restoration rate of the barrier. Did it umte damage without fixing it, then break and reform from scratch to save energy, or was damage repeatedly fixed at the cost of more energy, yet making the barrierst as long as necessary?


    These were just some of the problems created by this defense. Not to mention that the Goiter fellow was still channeling something, making the first coalition who were attacking feel desperate.


    The other factions nearby were bing restless, as they wanted to join in. After all, it was wiser to fight as one at this point, even though it would create issuester on. However, the fear that something grand would happen and cause great casualties also made these factions unable to sit still.


    They might have agreed to go in one after the other, but nothing was stopping the floating undead to deal with them all at once.


    Even Darius agreed that at this point, that silly agreement should not be upheld. His perception backed by his high Intellect was telling him that something seriously bad would happen if Goiter was allowed toplete his work.


    "Work together!"


    It was unknown who shouted this, but it became the straw that broke the camel''s back. The various factions that had been hesitating lost their worry and began assisting the first coalition in their bombardment.


    This made the group depressed, but they understood that this was not the time to be childish. As such, the help was wee and with the increased firepower, the barrier began to quickly waver and crack despite trying to repair itself quickly.


    This was already a good result after withstanding the bombardment of so many Adepts and Journeymen. The encampment''s fighting forces, after the losses from the previous battles, consisted of over 500 fighters, at least 200 at the Adept stage, with the rest being Journeymen of great power.


    It was proof that the various factions of Andrato had really pulled out all the stops this time. In that same vein, if these fellows were to be vanquished here, Andrato''s power would be greatly diminished.


    Many of its peripheral territories would be lost, and it might even lose some towns to other kingdoms due to its weakness.


    This was why Darius''s conscription of so many parties to be his ''shield'' in his quest was a critical point of fate for the entire kingdom.


    If they seeded, they would receive transmuted resources so great that the base foundation of the kingdom would rise greatly. A few decadester, they would no longer be regarded as a joke but feared as a force to be reckoned with.


    Fail, and the kingdom would be set back by at least 200 of out its short 300ish years. From here on out, the future became veiled in murky light, and various sages who tried to divine the oue of this conclusion could not tell what would happen from this point on.


    As for Darius and Gunner, they were no longer hiding within the withered foliage while watching the battle. Darius had already executed his first n, which was to enter the Necropolis and meet with the Stonekeeper to gauge his personality.


    This was done with the help of a transmuted Short Warp Scroll that took both Gunner and Darius right into the mausoleum behind Goiter, the undead Protector not even aware of the intrusion.


    This was only possible due to the item''s quality and Marasmus being willing to allow it. As such, when Darius entered, he bowed to the undead levitating above the First Pedestal with respect.


    "Lord Marasmus, I''vee to bargain."

 Chapter 182 - 182

    Marasmus, who was currently assessing Darius silently, asked with a curious tone. "Youˇ­ why are thews of the Faust so fearful of you? What isˇ­ why are there newer and strongerws ovepping my domain?"


    Darius smiled widely even as he bowed. "Lord Marasmus, it is something unique to me, so please do not worry about it. You''ve lived for far more centuries than my feeble mind couldprehend, so I''m sure you''ve seen your fair share of battles."


    "However, is there really a need to resort to such barbaric behavior? I would much rather genuinely like to barter with you on various matters so we may reach a concord. If you can feel the... uniqueness... surrounding me, then perhaps it will prove to you that my means may be beyond what you might expect a ''normal'' mortal to have."


    Marasmus didn''t seem to be calmed down by Darius'' nonchnt exnation.


    The fellow would never personally understand how unsettling it was for these powerhouses like Marasmus, Kubrick, and others who had Master-stage stats and a strong connection to the core of Faust to encounter someone who made them feel like everything they knew was being overwritten.


    Thews of the Supreme System covered over those of the Faustian system. While it allowed some elements of thetter to remain, it would change those it saw fit to fit the system''s mechanics.


    Everyone within its range would be forcibly quantized and given stats which was used to generate their HP and MP, as well as level and race. Their souls would be passively perused for all their skills andid out in a table to decide their sses.


    When Darius used Analyze, it just showed him these details. Analyze itself did not connect with a person and generate their stats, as that had already been done by the Supreme System.


    When Kubrick hadmented on Darius'' ''uniqueness'' with a smile, he hadn''t been doing so idly. The great mage had felt greatly diforted and had been trying to find out if it was intentional on Darius'' part, so he''d know how to deal with the fellow.


    However, Darius'' response at the time had made it painfully clear that he had no clue as to how he was ''offending'' these powerhouses, so Kubrick had let the matter go.


    Darius was not fully aware of it, but he could infer from Kubrick''s past behavior and Marasmus'' current one that this was something that deterred these powerhouses for it was beyond their understanding.


    So unlike the matter with Kubrick, here, Darius chose to act like he knew what the system was doing but at the same time pretending not to. The result excited him as it made the powerful Stonekeeper wary of him.


    Of course, Marasmus would never fear such a thing, but at least it made him cautious towards Darius, which bought him enough time to continue his antics, which was really all he could ask for.


    Darius Analyzed the undead silently.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Sino D''Mara


    Race: Undead


    ss: Stonekeeper


    Subss: Reaper


    HP: 27,390/27,390


    MP: 4,680/4,680


    Level: 60


    Strength: 166


    Agility: 145


    Endurance: 165


    Intellect: 78


    Charisma: 12


    Luck: 0]


    Darius froze for a split second, his mind quickly overwhelmed by what he saw. There was so much to digest from this simple character sheet that looked quite nd that Darius wished he could have a few extra days to do so.


    However, as he was in the thick of it now, he had to analyze and digest what he had quickly and deduce the rest as he went on.


    The first thing was Marasmus'' name. It was not the name that he used now, but rather the name he had from his previous life most likely. Sino D''Mara sounded like a name from the Ludo continent which was Saharan in nature.


    Darius noticed that there was a naming trend with Marasmus and Goiter, which were deficiency diseases. Could it be something random or did it have a special meaning to it?


    Also, the fact that the character sheet showed his true name instead of anything else unlike the other Adept undead Darius hade across told him that there was something special about Marasmus, and it was not just his power.


    That was something he would have to probe carefully.


    Next was the confusion with his ss. Darius was truly horrified by the fact that Marasmus was a Reaper. Most of his ns had factored Marasmus in as a caster-type undead.


    It couldn''t be helped, when one thought of clever/pinnacle main antagonists, one would usually think of Intelligence-type enemies that were known for being clever. However, Marasmus was actually a Strength-type undead which threw Darius greatly off!


    Reapers were Commander Rank undead below the Dread Knight and Death Knight. They were monsters of the battlefield that had absurd strength, speed, and endurance but few skills.


    Even Dread Knights and Death Knights didn''t dare fight them. What made these two knight-ss undead higher up than the Reapers was the fact that they had many versatile skills and used underlings to fight, while Reapers were basically like anime protagonists during their climactic rage mode.


    Putting aside the horror of fighting a Reaper head-on - which despaired Darius for neither Mikey nor Joneson with their littlebat experience would be able to do anything - he did not understand why Stonekeeper was his main ss when it should be the sub.


    This told him that being a Stonekeeper was not just a title, but it came with very powerful skills and notable abilities that surpassed even the Reaper ss.


    Finally, Maramus'' stats were truly disheartening. Forget Master-stage, his Strength and Endurance were less than 50 points away from what Darius assumed to be the bottommost requirement for a Grandmaster!


    How could anything Darius cook uppare to this?


    All this sounded long, but with Darius''sputational abilities, he had been able to calcte this all before he raised his upper body and moved to stand opposite the undead Reaper.


    "Is my Lord willing?" He asked softly.


    Marasmus pondered for a while, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes before nodding. "Fine, we can trade, but I reserve the right to reject any transactions regardless of any offer you make."


    Saying something like this showed that Marasmus was not skilled in mercantilism, for such a thing was an unspoken rule and was frankly quite obvious. However, Darius merely gave him a humble smile.


    "That is fair, my Lord. May we begin the barter?"


    Marasmus nodded. "Start."

 Chapter 183 - 183

    "First, a trade of information. I will tell you something about myself and you will reciprocate with something of simr value." Darius suggested.


    Marasmus remained silent, waiting to hear what Darius had to offer first. Taking in the silent acquiescence, Darius continued with a soft smile on his face.


    "I''m the so-called Master stage expert who has organized this entire event."


    This shocked Marasmus, for he had never expected something so important to be revealed right from the start. Wasn''t this giving him the initiative? Still, Marasmus was curious.


    "It was you? Why did you issue the mission to take my head? Why do you want the stone? How did youe to know about me and the First Resurrection Stone? Where did you acquire those rewards you''re offering?"


    Darius rubbed his hair in response to Marasmus'' barrage of questions and replied slowly. "My Lord, you seem to be quite interested in me. Since it is answers to your questions you desire, I myself will ask you five first."


    "However, my own questions can''t be more important than what you yourself inquired, so please alert me if such questions arise, so I can ask another instead. Are you agreeable to this?"


    Marasmus paused for a long while. "Why five questions?"


    Darius chuckled. "Because my first offering already counts as giving you an answer to your first question. We can both agree it was valuable information of the highest tier, no?"


    Marasmus knew this to be true, so he settled down and nodded. Darius was excited deep down, but remained outwardly calm as he continued to manipte Marasmus down the path he wanted.


    "My first question, Lord Marasmus, is about you. How old are you?"


    Marasmus was stunned. This young fellow had the chance to ask him anything and he chose this? This was something that could be shared in idle small talk!


    Heck, Marasmus had assumed the fellow would have known already since the details the mission issuer had provided had been very detailed!


    Still, the undead Reaper answered. "I should be 7,924 years old. Give or take a couple of decades."


    Darius nodded and continued. "For how many years have you been the Stonekeeper?"


    "Ever since I was reanimated." Marasmus answered simply, wondering where this was going.


    Darius''s eyes shed. So this meant that Sino D''Mara had lived 8 millennia ago. For some reason, the moment he died, he was given such a high position of Stonekeeper right off the bat.


    Was he killed specifically to be the Stonekeeper? Was there something special about his soul/existence that caused the master of the ins of Death to select him all those years ago? Or was it a random death and a random choice?


    ''"What does the First Resurrection Stone do?"


    "Pardon, but I will not answer."


    "Who created the First Resurrection Stone?"


    "Pardon, but I will not answer."


    "Does the stone bestow upon you any special abilities?"


    "Pardon, but I will not answer."


    Darius sighed audibly, but deep down he was satisfied. Marasmus had been getting suspicious of the way he had been asking basic questions, and might lie about important details if he felt he was leaking too much.


    As such, Darius had switched to ''greedy'' questions that would be expected of someone in his position. He happily noted that the Reaper''s shoulders had visibly rxed and his demeanor had be calmer.


    Now, Darius could go back to fishing for information through unassuming questions.


    "Please tell me about yourself, Lord Marasmus. How did you die?"


    Marasmus was obviously surprised by this question, for it was not something he''d ever expect an enemy to ask. Uncertain, he couldn''t help but make a slight gaffe.


    "Why do you want to know this? If you give me a satisfactory answer, I may respond in kind."


    Darius betrayed no sign of anger or dissatisfaction that Marasmus was getting ahead of himself by asking this. After all, from the very beginning, the two had never been on equal grounds.


    A fair negotiation could only ur when both parties had sufficient power in their hands, be it martial, political, financial, or social.


    The only other scenario would be a pseudo-fair negotiation, which could ur when one party outssed the other but for whatever reason decided to act as if the other party were their equal.


    Of course, such negotiations were basically hinging on the emotions and whims of the stronger party. If they ever lost their patience or temper, things would quickly deteriorate, and this time it was no different.


    "I want to understand more about how undead came to be. Not only that, but I''m also extremely curious to know more about the world that existed nearly 8,000 years ago."


    "While books may contain general knowledge they could neverpare to the experience of someone who has actually lived through that time. There might be valuable information in your story that I can pick out to that end." Darius revealed with a crafty smile.


    Marasmus nodded with an expression of understanding and chuckled. "So that was it, I was wondering why you were asking such strange questions. I suppose as a mage, I should have figured you would have a taste for the unknown. Fine, I will stop being unfair and humor you."


    Darius bowed his head in sincere gratitude, making Marasmus pleased and satisfied. Normally, intruders upon his ground woulde shouting insane things like ''Vile undead lord, die in the name of justice!'', ''The light repels you, foul creature, die by my de!'' or some variation of it, which - as one might imagine - had be annoying very quickly for the Reaper.


    To deal with an equally intelligent and respectful foe was a fresh feeling, one that the Stonekeeper intended to savor for a while longer. Of course, it didn''t change the fact that they were enemies, so Marasmus was only humoring Darius as he said.


    Darius himself was not picky. Besides, he had already misled Marasmus with his earlier revtion. Yes, he was picking through simple details to fish out more, but the direction he was going at was far different to what the undead thought or expected.


    This could only happen due to the distinct differences between the two. Darius was a schemer who relied on his guile to make a name for himself in his previous life while Marasmus had always been a straightforward and honorable fellow who did what he had to without the need for schemes.


    "Instead of boring you with a long tale, why don''t I let you experience it first-hand. That way, any subsequent questions upon this matter will be answered and we won''t have to revisit it." Marasmus suggested with augh as he pointed a finger at Darius, a ck light piercing through the fellow''s forehead before he ever got the chance to agree or refuse.

 Chapter 184 - 184

    Darius felt his mind falling into an abyss of darkness, his consciousness pulled left and right by whatever force/magic Marasmus had ced in his mind.


    However, utilizing his high Intellect, Darius quickly guarded his key thoughts and memories while splitting a part of his mind to deal with this ''intruder''.


    Once the split consciousness interacted with the ck light, it was pulled into a long memory sequence that had been neatly arranged and contained a lot of data. For any normal fellow with 10 points of Intellect, this would be enough to shatter them and turn them into schizos.


    For people at the level of Darius though, it was only enough to disorient the split consciousness for a second before it parsed all the data and reyed it ording to the arrangement.


    As such, Darius was pulled into the life of Marasmusˇ­ no, Sino D''Mara before he died.


    ......ˇ­..


    The first thing he saw was a cold hovel that stank of feces, despair, and rotten meat. A few men and women of varying agesy around weakly there, the rags they had for clothes not even able to keep away the horrifying cold.


    Most were thin as sticks and had murky eyes devoid of any hope. In a corner of this shitty shelter was a woman holding a baby in her arms. Despite looking like a vagrant, she did have some pleasant aspects to her looks, but it was barely enough to call her a beauty.


    The muck and filth covering her certainly did her no favors in that regard. As for the child she weakly held, it couldn''t even muster the energy to cry out as it had been sparsely fed since it was born.


    If any doctor had been around to take a look, they would quickly discover that the baby was likely only a few weeks away from death. Then again, its mother wasn''t in any better condition.


    Eventually, the baby let out a weak cry to get food. The mother nkly stared at the child in her arms for a few seconds, before nonchntly removing one of her breasts and cing the mouth of the child on it.


    The memory skipped forward from here.


    ...ˇ­


    Ka-crack!


    The horrendous sound of a barbed whipcerating flesh sounded out, along with the weak grunt of a child. A man wearing a green turban and a purple vest with baggy ck harem pants stood over the fallen body of a child with anger on his face.


    "Vile little shit, you dare try to steal from my shop? A thousand curses upon you!" The fellow roared as he cracked the whip back and went to town on the child curled into a ball at his feet.


    He was more than happy to be able to vent his anger on the child. However, his face changed when he saw two armored city guards walk over with suspicious expressions on their faces.


    One of the guards removed his sword and pointed at the child being whipped. "Is this another thief?"


    The other guard kicked the body and raised him up, ready to carry him away. "Hmph, ording to Ludoianw, the punishment for theft is to cut off the arm of the criminal, no matter their age!"


    Surprisingly, the shop owner shook his head and grabbed the boy. "No, no, there has not been any theftmitted. The boy merely spoke rudely to me so I saw fit to punish him. Hmph, if he dared to steal, I would have personally escorted him to esteemed sirs!"


    The guard looked unconvinced, but since the shopkeeper himself defended him, they could only kick the vagabond child once a final time before leaving. The shopkeeper, and the other onlookers sighed.


    The fellow then cast thed aside. "Quickly scram before theye back and don''t let me ever see you again!"


    The boy, who had been silent like a mute, rose to his feet. He had a gaunt face that showed off malnutrition, murky brown eyes, and filthy ck hair. He wore what was basically rags for clothes and one of his arms was held against his chest even as the other was used to weakly lift his body up.


    As he limped away while bleeding from his back and sporting many bruises all over. Once he had left behind the market, his mped hand revealed the body of a soft apple within. Looking upon the loot, his formerly expressionless face finally showed a hint of a smile.


    The memory skipped forward from here.


    .......


    The next thing he saw, was a coldboratory that reeked of modern science and disinfectant. Many men and women in whiteb coats moved around in a biob meant for human experimentation, steadily working on theirtest projects.


    A very important-looking scientist in a white coat came with a writing board in hand. He then looked down at it and asked a question to the lead scientist in this particr operation.


    "How is the subject? The data tells me he''s a low-quality product from that barren desert that got sold by his mother for some food and clothes. Do you really believe such a thing can yield any worthwhile results?" The head scientist asked coldly.


    The lead scientist continued with his work cutting up and researching the target on the table before him while answering. "I thought the same, sir. However, the data fails to mention that thisd has a strange new organ within his body, right next to his heart."


    The head scientist, now curious, walked over to get a better view. Under the guidance of the lead scientists, he also saw the anomaly.


    There was a ckish tumor on the side of the subject''s heart that seemed to work in tandem with his blood cirction, yet did not seem to hinder his daily functions nor take up necessary space within his body.


    It looked less like a parasite and more like a symbiote that hoped to live alongside its host. The head scientist snorted. "I admit that it is interesting from a biological point of view, but what exactly is so special about this thing?"


    The lead scientist paused and admitted with a bitter tone. "Nothing yet. Apart from this, the subject is normalˇ­ well sub-par at best. There is almost no research value in it anymore."


    "What a waste. Dispose of the subject and make room for a new one. I can''t allow your talent to be wasted on this useless trash!" The head scientist ordered coldly as he left the room.


    "Yes sir." The lead scientist affirmed before he instructed his assistants to begin disposing of the target that was still alive but partially sedated all this while.


    Feeling slightly bored, the lead scientist couldn''t help but turn to the body of the young teenage boy on the table and take a final look at the strange tumor he had been investigating for weeks.


    Murmuring to himself, the scientist showed a dazed expression. "I still can''t help but feel that this thing looks strangely likeˇ­ like some sort of stoneˇ­"


    The memory sequence came to an end there.

 Chapter 185 - 185

    When Darius reopened his eyes, he was unsurprised to see Marasmus'' bony finger still pointed at him. It meant that only a few seconds should have passed since the Stonekeeper had shot the ck light into his forehead.


    During this short amount of time, Gunner had obviously been startled and worried, yet had stayed where he was.


    It was mostly due to the fact that he had been unable to detect any malice from Marasmus, or he''d have charged in to protect Darius by any means necessary regardless of whatever prior orders he had received!


    When his master woke up again, both Gunner and Marasmus observed him with curiosity. His Branded Servant because he was wondering what had happened to him, and the Stonekeeper because he looking forward to seeing Darius'' reaction to having his question answered in this particr way.


    Darius wore aplicated expression he could not hide. Those memories had put him into a first-person perspective and had been extremely immersive. He had felt all the things Marasmus had experienced, had smelled the same things, and even tasted the same things.


    All of this had left with him a feeling he couldn''t easily describe, but his professionalism returned when he remembered that he was still in the midst of a negotiation.


    Here, his decades of habit surfaced and forcibly removed all unimportant emotions from his mind as he focused on bing the winner of this verbal duel.


    Both Gunner and Marasmus noticed his pained expression which had quickly shifted to a neutral one with surprise. As for Marasmus, he chuckled and gazed at Darius provocatively.


    "So, did that answer your questions about me to your satisfaction?"


    Darius bowed once more with gratitude. "Yes, Lord Marasmus, your kindness in showing me these things firsthand has greatly enlightened me on what I wanted to know. I thank you for blessing me with this unique opportunity."


    Marasmus couldn''t help but appreciate the kind words. Most would have likened such a treatment more to a form of mental torture, yet this youngd had seemingly enjoyed living through his former life. "Continue then. You still have two questions left."


    Darius pondered for a short while, using this time to digest what he had learned from Marasmus'' revtion. As Darius had guessed earlier from his name, the Reaper had been born and raised in Ludo.


    His life had truly been tragic, butmon for people born in harsh environments, especially those in poverty. Such a thing seemed horrible and heartbreaking, but on Earth, stuff like this had happened far more than people thought.


    They just lived in a different world where they wouldn''t have to see or experience such things, Darius included. However, there were some important details he had noted.


    Firstly, Marasmus should have died on the Gravitas continent. Unless those scientists had shipped his live body out of theb and to an entirely different continent before killing/disposing of him... and yet he somehow ended up in Fallon.


    ''Does this mean that the one who reanimated and tasked Marasmus to be the Stonekeeper has the power to bring to life any target that has died even on farawaynds?'' That was a chilling thought.


    Secondly, assuming that had indeed been Gravitas, it raised a significant issue that had nothing to do with Marasmus, but Faust itself. Nearly 8,000 years ago, Gravitas had already possessed modern technology simr to that of Earth.


    And yet, from what he had learned about the technological continent, they had not progressed much in thosest 8 millennia. This might seem strange to consider, but it was a serious issue.


    In a matter of 300 years, Earth had gone from using horses to having AI-driven cars when Darius had died. So for Gravitas to merely develop from the early 21st century to the early 22nd century of Earth in that much time was truly baffling.


    Still, Darius decided to shelve this matter for deliberation for after he became a Journeyman.


    Thirdly, Marasmus had been growing a tumor near his heart that had looked like a stone. Darius raised his head and gazed at the chest of the undead before him, seeing the First Resurrection Stone embedded exactly where the tumor had been when he had been alive, making him tremble.


    After all, the possible implications of this were deep. Was it that the First Resurrection Stone was an item that had grown with Marasmus and had gained the attention of the master of the ins of Death, thereby making him revive the fellow under himself in order to use this rare item?


    Was it that baby Marasmus had been chosen to incubate the stone and only happened to die prematurely and had therefore been brought to Fallon''s ins of Death to incubate it further?


    Whichever the case, Darius started to feel like Caesar hadn''t randomly assigned him a Quest to make him retrieve the stone. He had initially believed the sadistic AI had simply chosen the closest thing that could make for an Impossible Quest, but nowˇ­


    Darius gathered his thoughts and focused on Marasmus once more.


    "My Lord, I would like to inquire as to your ns for the future." Darius asked seriously.


    Marasmus hade to understand that this fellow would only ask him such personal and banal questions in order to sneakily extract information for his own purposes, so he wasn''t as bothered as he had been before.


    "What ns do you think an undead like me might have? None. I n to remain here as a guard for the stone until my presence will no longer be required." The Reaper answered casually.


    Darius'' lips twitched. How loyalˇ­


    Still, there was a takeaway from this. Whatever the master of the ins of Death had in mind for the Resurrection Stone, Marasmus personally would likely not be needed for it.


    This made Darius wonder if his second theory about Marasmus being used as a living greenhouse for the stone was true.


    Well, it was just like when he was alive, wasn''t it? Even in death, the fellow was still being milked in order to safeguard this item.


    "As for my final question... I would like to know why do you hover above that strange pedestal?" Darius asked with a confused expression.


    Marasmus remained silent for a bit, pondering if this question was within his limits. It was half innocent and half taboo, so he was debating whether he wanted to end this questioning by answering it or make Darius go for another question.


    Ultimately, his patience was wearing thin, so he decided to answer nonchntly. "It connects to a special leyline that leads to the core of Faust in Kiel, siphoning energies to power the First Resurrection Stone."


    Darius was shocked by this answer!

 Chapter 186 - 186

    Darius could not be med for his shock, as this was more than just a minor revtion! There were many things to pick out from this statement, namely that there existed special focal points where one could connect to the core of Faust to derive pure energy from the world.


    Darius was unsure if such focal points could allow one to automatically connect or needed some form of conduit like the pedestal Marasmus hovered over to channel the energies.


    Then, there was also the fact that the First Resurrection Stone could actually swallow energy from the core of Faust! Even if the energy passing through the leylines would be diluted, that was still intense!


    His face changed further when he thought of the implications, since it was very likely that Marasmus had been floating there for nearly all of his existence. 8 millennia of constant absorptionˇ­ just what kind of power had the stone umted?


    Darius had tried to Analyze, but all that kepting up had been Marasmus'' own character sheet. In other words, at this point in time, the Supreme System considered him and the stone as one and the same.


    He swallowed heavily. If the undead and the stone were considered as oneˇ­ then did that mean the Reaper could draw upon the well of nearly 8,000 years of umted energy? If he could, then how was he ever supposed to have been taken down?


    Darius could feel himself slipping off the path of 56 slowly, like it was rejecting him. This terrified him deep down, but he managed to maintain his calm demeanor and continue with the barter.


    "My Lord, since you have answered all my questions, I shall, in turn, answer yours as well." Darius said with a soft smile.


    "Your first unanswered question was why I issued the mission. The reason is because under my own power ofws, I simply do not have the strength to beat you in any form of violent confrontation. As such, I thought to use the hands of others to help me achieve my goals."


    Marasmus nodded with satisfaction. He almost wanted to call Goiter in and say ''Look, didn''t I tell you? He was actually scheming because he was weak!'', but remembered his aide was out there dealing with ants.


    Darius continued. "Your next unanswered question was why I wanted the stone. The simple answer is that under my power ofws, I need it to advance to a higher tier of strength."


    Marasmus thought about it and nodded. It sounded reasonable. The First Resurrection Stone was an item with which even Grandmasters could advance to that Legendary stage given enough time and some extra things.


    "As for how I got to know about you and the stone, the answer is once again through my power ofws. When I reached the threshold for my current stage, its avatar descended and told me everything I''veter shared in that mission."


    The undead was stunned. Just what was this power ofws that this fellow kept talking about? Marasmus could feel it, its strength and overbearing nature in the way it shunted the nativews of Faust aside, but that was about it.


    Before he could inquire about it, or maybe because Darius noticed that the Reaper wished to inquire upon it, the fellow continued on.


    "The answer to your final question, which was about where I acquired such rewards, the truth is, it''s the result of two things: A special native ability of my Itemancer ss, which allows me to go beyond just identifying rare items, to sometimes exchanging select items for others, and my Luck which seems to have reached the first threshold."


    Darius chuckled. "The former allows me to manipte items to get what I want, resulting in the rewards I offered, whereas thetter allowed me to find these items that coincidentally fit the criteria I needed without much effort."


    Marasmus would have definitely stroked his beard if he had one, for he seemed deeply contemtive. "Hmm.. Yes, I do sense that you have attained the basic ability of the mind and of the spiritual luckˇ­ truly remarkable!"


    Darius looked humbled by the praises, making the undead snicker lightly. Marasmus folded his arms and looked at Darius imperiously.


    "Well, our barter of information hase to an end. Shall we fight now and get this over with?"


    Darius shook his head with a bitter smile. "Are you in any rush, Lord Marasmus? Forgive me if I''m wrong but unlike me, you should have all the time in the world, no? I''ve already admitted earlier tocking the power to openly fight you. So, as someone who trades with items, I would prefer to trade for three things with you."


    Marasmus looked intrigued by this proposal. "Oh, what three things would that be?"


    Darius smiled thinly. "The first should naturally be my ability to leave your necropolis unscathed with my property. The second is your friendship and trust, which will further cement the first point. The third is your permission to borrow the First Ressurection Stone for the purposes of strengthening myself before returning it."


    Just as Marasmus was about to likely explode, Darius raised a hand. "Don''t worry, I can''t reasonably expect you to merely trust my word to not simply run from you, when we''ve known each other for such a short amount of time. I have here something that will ensure that I stay true to my terms assuming I offer something good enough to move you."


    Darius removed a roll of Soul Paper from his Inventory, shocking the undead. He instantly settled down before he could erupt with anger, seriously pondering over Darius'' words for the first time.


    Marasmus would never doubt Soul Paper, for even Gods used it to keep deals with each other enforced. He could also vouch for its authenticity, otherwise, he would have directly killed Darius for even daring to attempt to take the stone from him through anything other thanbat.


    The Itemancer sat in silence as his heart thumped. Ever since he had seen Marasmus'' history, he had a subtle feeling that he had been shafted off the path of 56, yet he didn''t feel to have ended up on any of the other 1.2 billion destructive paths.


    Darius'' strange spiritual feedback was telling him that he was currently on a new path, something out of the range of the sadistic AI''s prediction. After all, Caesar was not a God, and no matter what, he could not predict every single oue.


    Even Vena herself was not that omnipotent. Had that been the case, then why would she have bothered summoning Darius? She could just have looked into the future to get all the entertainment she wanted. There would have been no need to slowly watch the reincarnator squirm from the ground up?


    As was aw of the universe, not only of Faust but every universe out there, the future was never set in stone. There may be many oues, but until the axis of time connects with that particr moment to change it from ''future'' to ''present'', it would always remain in flux.

 Chapter 187 - 187

    While Darius was struggling to fully understand his feedback and where he stood in terms of survival chances, Marasmus raised his head and spoke slowly with his bright red Soul Fire burning brightly.


    "I''m interested in this trade, but I can only decide for the first two. For thest one, I contacted my master, the Grand Lord, and he will be the one to do the negotiation with you."


    Darius nodded and smiled outwardly, but his heart shivered internally. Marasmus could contact the master of the ins of Death remotely? Then how was Darius supposed to take away the stone even if he managed to ultimately kill Marasmus?


    Would the master have descended down to strike him? Darius was beginning to wonder about Ceasar''s three predictions for the path of 56. The first had advised him against using the Dagger of Death, indicating he would need all three charges. The second had been to use the Stitch of Time very sparingly. The third had been to prioritize Mikey and Joneson for they were key.


    Darius was beginning to understand that the sess Caesar had envisioned for the path of 56 and the sess Darius himself wanted had indeed been two very different things.


    He was not sure if in the AI''s scenarios anyone but himself would havee out unscathed if he were to engage Marasmus and hypothetically win.


    If Darius didn''t want to have to default to fighting Marasmus and possibly losing Gunner, Mikey, and Joneson, he would have to seed with this barter. He also had a feeling that Vena would find it far more interesting if he managed to talk his way out of thispared to fighting it out like a meathead.


    Otherwise, she could have just summoned an average joe from Earth over this wily old merchant, wouldn''t she? Darius became more confident in himself.


    His mind zed with theories and various rationales. Darius was now certain about Caesar''s inability to see all the possible futures, not because he himself was so amazing, but because his handler could only process the possible oues based on all the facts he knew and could ount for.


    This was what supeputers were used for and were usually urate to a very strong degree. The only weakness of such predictive calctions was when unknown external variables interfered with the events.


    Darius could name two such variables off the top of his head which were likely the cause of the deviation in oues. The first was Vena making Caesar give him three hints.


    The AI would never have predicted the Goddess would directly interfere out of sympathy, or likely just to make things more interesting, and he hadn''t updated Darius on his new chances after giving him this info back then.


    The second was his decision to focus so heavily on his Luck stat. Luck created random beneficial encounters. Caesar could try to predict a thousand of them, but he would still miss nine thousand others.


    Case in point, Darius'' meeting with Da had allowed him to acquire 20 extremely valuable items which would be his capital for this uing barter.


    Without them, it was far less likely that he would ever opt to trade any of the 10 things he acquired from Foldo, rather choosing to fight it out using the Dagger of Death and A Stitch in Time as well as the two vampires.


    Since he had determined that Caesar was not all-knowing and that he could forge his own path, Darius focused his mind and closed his eyes. He channeled every bit of his mercantile skill acquired from Earth, everything he had known a learned over the course of his life and brought it forward here.


    When he opened his eyes, both Gunner and Marasmus saw Darius'' eyes narrow into serpentine slits, but this time it didn''t go away. Gunner shivered in fear, not because of his bizarre it looked, but because of the darkness behind those eyes.


    Even Marasmus, who had been dissatisfied with the fellow''s silence, was greatly unsettled. He wondered what on Faust this was? Did the fellow have non-human blood in his veins or what?


    Darius himself was unaware of this trait of his. Many times in his previous life, the reason why he had been able to swindle and trick other parties had not only been due to his honeyed words, but the horror the other party had felt from seeing his eyes sh in such a manner.


    "Lord Marasmus, may we begin?" Darius asked with a smile.


    Marasmus shook away his hesitation and nodded silently while gazing at Darius. "Begin."


    "For the first item on the agenda, which is my ensured safety in leaving the necropolis with my property, I have these three items for you to choose from, Lord Marasmus." Darius offered as he removed three carefully selected items from his Inventory and ced them before the Reaper.


    Marasmus slowly looked through what was offered. On the left was a dagger that was rusty and coated with blood that seemed to have contaminated the de somehow. In the center was an egg-shaped stone that looked simr to marble, though it was three times bigger than what was in the undead''s chest and was vastly different. On the right was a strange ruby that seemed hollow in the middle.


    Darius introduced the three items and their effects, allowing the other party to choose between the Dagger of Hassasin that could track targets through blood, the Egg of a Hellhound which could track souls through scent, and the Soul Gem which could store a soul.


    Marasmus spent a long time choosing between the three because each of them was valuable to a point that it would be hard to measure their worth in gold! He was particrly interested in the egg and the gem as both of them would prove to be immensely useful to him, and even the dagger, while weaker, was also good!


    The undead was internally shocked that Darius could take out such high-quality items, and then remembered the stuff he had offered for the murder of his own self and chuckled.


    Those poor humans! They had rushed here to die not knowing they were being merely offered the trash in this fellow''s pocket! Marasmus rubbed his bony head and pondered quietly.


    He then pointed to the Soul Gem. At the end of the day, he wanted to assure his existence! While 8,000 years might seem too long for normal people to live, for him it was not enough!


    After spending 15 years alive that were full of suffering, struggle, and torment, 8,000 years of power and peace were truly soothing to his soul, like a soft balm being spread across his wounds.

 Chapter 188 - 188

    The Soul Gem slowly floated into Marasmus'' hands. He silently observed his choice in depth and nodded with satisfaction when he saw its quality. This must''ve belonged to a lich who had lived for at least, 20,000 years.


    The former owner didn''t die because the Soul Gem became faulty, but because their soul hadn''t been strong enough to keep on existing. This meant that Marasmus could go for a minimum of 12,000 more years assuming his soul was simrly ''fragile''.


    Greatly pleased by his choice, Marasmus turned to face Darius once more. The fellow himself was retrieving the two items he put down and brought out another three.


    "Lord Marasmus, one the second topic of whether I can gain your esteemed friendship and trust, please see if one of these three items can suit your taste."


    Marasmus checked the three. The one on the left was a small ck device that had a green screen with sonar lines. The one in the middle was a ne made up of six ck magatamas that radiated majesty. The item on the right was arge egg.


    Darius introduced the effects once more. Marasmus might be knowledgeable, but appraisal was appraisal. Until Darius coughed up the uses for most of these, many would never know.


    The Reaper was silent once more. He was astounded by two things, the number of high-quality items this fellow possessed and his absolute confidence that he would need/choose any of these three.


    Normally, one would show their whole stock for him to inspect in the hopes they might have what he wanted, yet this young fellow before him had limited it to three and just sat there while smiling.


    The undead sighed. Ever since the fellow''s eyes had changed form, it was as if he could see through the wants and needs of others, bing the perfect trader for any client.


    Was this an ability a human could possibly possess? The Heartbeat Sensor, the Ornament of Six Paths, and the Insect Queen''s Egg were all valuable, but had varying uses to Marasmus himself.


    His eyes narrowed. The Heartbeat Sensor in a ce full of undead would be useless to an intruder, but it was unbelievably crucial to the residents. Since everyone else didn''t have beating hearts, anyone that showed up had to be an intruder.


    This would ensure that even those with Master-stage skills in assassination or the like would be unable to ever surprise him.


    The ornament containing the Six Paths of Reincarnation was indisputably the most attractive to him. If the Reaper could enter the Wraith Realm, he might even find a path to be a Supreme Undead, most likely a Banished One.


    That was not considering that he himself had gotten used to the life of peaceful mediation and sageliness, which the item would further promote. The only downside was that it would require him to head to the Pan continent.


    The final item was the Insect Queen''s Egg. If Marasmus could incubate it and turn it into an undead, he could gain millions of undead insect troops within a mere century.


    Would fellows like those outside be even able toe within 200 km of his necropolis with such a force? Not to mention, after a millennium he might even have enough to take over the Fallon continent if he felt like it...


    Marasmus agonized over his choice for a long while. Eventually, he decided to gamble it all and chose the Ornament of Six Paths!


    His reasoning for doing so was that this was his personal favorite item of the lot, and that if Darius could pull out so many good things, maybe he could purchase the First Resurrection Stone from his master?


    That way, he would no longer have any obligations to remain specifically in the ins of Death, giving him the chance to go out and explore the world, especially Pan. Hence, the ne floated up into his arms as he gazed at it with aplicated expression.


    When Marasmus sighed and turned to Darius once more, his bright red Soul Fire became blinding and his form began to glow even stronger.


    Darius could feel that Marasmus himself was not strong enough to handle his master''s descent, since so much energy was being drawn from the leyline below that he could visibly SEE the power flowing into the undead.


    It was terrifying and humbling at the same time. Darius quickly prostrated respectfully before this new being, and even Gunner followed suit beside his master, his face ashen from his own personal discovery.


    The being now inhabiting Marasmus'' body seemed to spend the next few seconds getting used to this weaker form and stabilizing it before it spoke.


    "Hm, you''re an outsider of Faust. I sense the Goddess''ws on you, blessed be her name. Still, even if you are her agent in this world, you''re far from being safe. Perhaps I should pity you since it means that hard times will follow you wherever you go. She will not pursue us should we kill you." The entity spoke in an ancient, gravelly tone.


    Darius was startled by this revtion, but remained silent. It appeared that contrary to his assumptions, the true powerhouses of Faust were aware of Vena who stood above everything.


    The entity turned to Gunner and for the first time, wore a strange expression. "A half-blood giant. Royal blood too. Interesting, interesting, the world has truly changed sincest I walked thend."


    Gunner simply trembled hard when the being focused on him, shocking Darius. He wondered what was wrong with his Branded Servant, but now wasn''t the time to ask that. It might prove deadly to anger this being in any way.


    The entity turned to Darius once more. "I have chosen Marasmus as the keeper of the stone for it is something that came into being with his existence. I had to fight with many of Faust''s True Lords to acquire it for myself, so even if you wish to just borrow it, you had better offer a good price!"


    Darius raised his head slightly and spoke with shock. "True Lords? You, Great Sir, fought singlehandedly against all the Gods and Demons? Amazing!"


    Darius tossed out this obvious ttery in order to sweeten the deal, as he prepared to bring out his best items to trade, but what he didn''t expect was that the cold and sagely hidden master would spit audibly and curse.


    "Ptui! What Gods? What Demons? Do you think those trash deserve to be called the True Lords of Faust? Preposterous! Why if you weren''t the Great Goddess'' Agent, I would have ughtered you on the spot for such sphemy!"

 Chapter 189 - 189

    Errˇ­ Darius was left speechless. "So the Gods of Elysium and the Demons of Armadon are half-baked trash that are merely posing to be something they are not?"


    "That''s right! There are many requirements for bing a True Lord of Faust, but the most basic one to wear this title is to know the name of the True Creator of this world! Those self-proimed Gods from Elysium and meatheads from Armadon actually think themselves to be the highest powers in this world! Tell me, what do you think of them?"


    Darius wrung his lips. When the Master of the ins of Death put it like thatˇ­ the Gods and Demons of Faust really looked like ignorant fools who were ying houseˇ­


    "My Lord, I beg your forgiveness for my sphemous words. They were uttered in total ignorance of the truth." Darius apologized as he bowed once more.


    The entity seemed to be somewhat appeased by the youngd admitting his mistake, waving his arm magnanimously. "I can still smell the scent of your previous world on your soul. You have only spawned in this world for... a few months at best. I shall overlook your offense, just do not do it again. Another True Lord of Faust would be less lenient than I am."


    Darius nodded subserviently. "My Lord, before we begin the trade, would it be possible to learn more about you?"


    The being seemed surprised by this and rubbed Marasmus'' chin thoughtfully. "Hoho, are you that curious? Aren''t you scared that I will exterminate you for daring to lust over knowledge beyond your means?"


    Darius smiled and spoke honestly. "In the pursuit of knowledge, personal sacrifice is eptable."


    The entity nodded in agreement. "Well said! As for me, most know me as the Master of the ins of Death! However, my real name is something you might have heard before."


    With a booming voice, this True Lord of Faust spoke powerfully. "I''m Thanatos, Titan God of Death!"


    Darius felt his body shiver at the revtion, for it revealed something he had briefly entertained, yet didn''t dare to pursue. It also exined why his Branded Servant, the almighty fierce Gunner, had been shaking like a rabbit ever since Thanatos had taken over.


    After all, the Giant race were the descendants of the almighty Titans, most of whom got sealed in Tartarus by the collective efforts of the Gods. The life goal of every giant was to be closer to their mother, Gaia, and also release their ancestors, the Titans, from their prison.


    Darius''s mind couldn''t help but shift. He remembered the legend of the formation of the ins of Death. Previously he had recounted up until the segment where the powerful Necromancer Empire had been sieged by the various empires of Faust due to fear.


    The Necromancer Empire had routed all foes into nothingness and even raised their corpses to replenish their numbers. Not even a dayter, they had continued their invasion of Armadon, a war the undead fought for reasons the history books could only guess.


    Despite thisbined attack of various living empires, they had surprisingly refrained from retaliating. It should have been obvious to any fool that the Necromancer Empire hadn''t had any interest in fighting among these human ants for some measly gains.


    However, the severe loss had triggered the unity of the various kingdoms and empires. Realizing that no force they could muster could beat these foes, they had naturally sought outside help.


    This had led to a drastic change no one could have predicted.


    The ones to answer the call had not been the legendary beasts of Unyris, the Ice races of Kiel, the Immortals of Pan, the Samurai of Houto, the Technology adept Gravitas, or the Moles of Pokterr.


    No, the ones to answer the call had turned out to be the churches of Elysium. The various priests, pdins, holy warriors, and champions of the various orthodoxies had made their way to Fallon, different ones choosing different empires to head to.


    There, they had won the favor of the distraught people and assured the kings/emperors that vengeance would be extracted. The only thing they had asked for in return had been the right to set up branch churches here and promote the faith of the gods.


    It had been a rather simple request, yet all of the other continents had been averse to having the Elysium''s churches stretch their tendrils onto theirnd and had rejected them for many years. As such, the kings and emperors had hesitated because their predecessors had warned them to never allow such a thing.


    However, the initiative had been stolen from them. The agents of the church had quickly built a strong rapport with the people and with basic political maniption, the peasants andmoners who never knew any better had cried for their kings and emperors to ept the terms!


    Caught in the worst possible position for any political ruler, they had eventually been forced to ede lest they be deposed by the people. With this foundation, the various churches had instantlyunched a holy war against the Necromancer Empire.


    What came next had been bloody, to say the least. The churches had paid a heavy price to inflict mortal damage to the Necromancer Empire.


    To make matters worse, the Demons of Armadon had seemingly been cooperating with the Gods, pressuring the empire from the front and back.


    ording to the next part, which to this day was heavily disputed by many schrs for how outrageous it sounded, the armies of the Gods and Demons had surrounded the weakened empire.


    The various deities and demons had projected their avatars into the skies, standing over their various armies and giving them the boost in morale to rout this bunch of undead at once!


    However, it was said that the God-Emperor of the Necromancer Empire, who had been silent ever since the start of the attack, had finally risen from his throne and had projected himself above his capital.


    A heated battle had ensued with the single defender against almost 200 foes... and yet both sides had ended up with simr injuries.


    The Gods had lost all their armies and had been forced to flee back to Elysium spending millennia to recuperate. The Demons had simrly sustained near-fatal injuries, which had taken millennia to heal.


    Meanwhile, the God-Emperor of the Necromancer Empire had lost his foundation. He had raised the corpses of the armies meant to siege him and had taken the pitiful remains of his once strong forces, migrating to the northernmost end of the continent and settling there.


    The aftermath of the battle had left Fallon devastated for a few centuries, in which the infamous ins of Death appeared. The various churches had begun to spread their influence, but eventually had hit a roadblock since the people had no longer needed them.


    After all, human beings were fickle. When they needed you, they would elevate you. When your necessity had run out, it depended on their whim as to whether they would show you favor.

 Chapter 190 - 190

    Darius thought back to these tales and felt like he understood something very important when hepared what Thanatos had said earlier to what had been written down in history. The simple truth was that this entity before him was above the Gods/Demons who stood above Grandmasters!


    As such, Darius cast all flimsy thoughts aside and decided to be honest. That very second, his serpentine eyes reverted to normal, something Gunner missed but Thanatos didn''t. He hadn''tmented on it, but he had definitely taken it into ount.


    If Thanatos'' assumption about him turned out to be correct, then this particr agent of the Great Goddess would be a very interesting person in the future. However, whether he would survive until then was up in the air, so he chose to remain silent.


    The Titan looked down on Darius from the pedestal. "And so, as you now know my name, you should be able to piece together the rest, no?"


    Darius affirmed solemnly. "Yes, God Emperor Thanatos."


    Hearing his old title made the Titan nostalgic, and he disyed a light smile. After spending a few seconds in that state, he became calm once more.


    "Alright, so you want the First Resurrection Stone then? Let''s begin the trade."


    "My Lord, Here are all the items I-" Darius began as he wanted to empty his Inventory of valuable items to move this overpowered Titan of Death, but Thanatos waved his hand boredly.


    "Pah, what do you take me for? I know everything you have in your possession, so I''ll be the one to decide what is of value to me."


    This revtion chilled Darius, but he dared notment on it.


    Seeing the wisdom andpliance from the fellow, Thanatos was satisfied.


    He was growing more and more certain that this fellow might go far, bringing great change to this cage of a world.


    "What does the God-Emperor feel is adequate for the stone?" Darius asked quietly.


    Thanatos raised three fingers. "Since you had fun letting my servant choose from three different options, let me present you some choice now. The first is to give me just the Reaper Contract in your possession. In exchange, I shall grant you the chance to use the stone toplete your mission and reach the next stage. The moment it is done, you are to return it to Marasmus."


    "The second is to hand over the Reaper Contract, Staff of Anubis, and the Core of Faust''s shard. If you agree, we shall henceforth split permanent ownership of the stone. We would both have equal rights to it for all eternity."


    "Finally, if you trade away the Reaper Contract, Staff of Anubis, the Core of Faust''s shard, A Stitch in Time, and the Dagger of Death, I''m willing to grant you full ownership of the First Resurrection Stone."


    Thanatos lowered his fingers. "Choose carefully."


    Darius was stuck in a dilemma. The Reaper Contract, while valuable, was useless to him now that he had Mikey and Joneson, so one could say the first option was basically getting toplete his Quest for free.


    However, after seeing Marasmus'' past, guessing why Caesar had chosen the stone as his first Quest''s target, and hearing how Thanatos had suffered to get it, Darius knew that it was far from being a simple item.


    However, he could not tell what it was about or what it did, which made this a gamble. The best he could do was guess its abilities based on what he knew and measure it up to the three options he had.


    The First Resurrection Stoneˇ­ Resurrection Stoneˇ­ Resurrection?


    Damn, could it be?!


    Darius began to breathe heavily. Yes, if it truly had the ability to resurrect ANYONE, why wouldn''t such top-tier beings fight over it? No wonder the price for full ownership was so steep.


    He could consider himself lucky that ''a mere'' five of his items were of equal value to the stone. However, this made it even more bizarre. The question was, who would ever dare to trade away such a useful item? Nothing couldpare to the ability to resurrect from death.


    Could it be that there was a problem with the stone? It could be, butˇ­ Darius didn''t think a being like Thanatos wouldn''t have a way to fix it. If he could fix it or circumvent it, he would not be trading itˇ­ or?


    Darius suddenly wanted to p himself! He realized that he had been looking at it from the totally wrong angle!


    Who was Thanatos? He was the bloody Titan God of DEATH. Thest person who feared death would be him!


    It was like thunder struck Darius as everything started to make sense to him. Thanatos had only fought over this item to deny all the other topmost beings the chance topletely negate his domain.


    He himself would not need it, or he would not be trading it away. Even the God of Life would cling to this stone dearly, for it would prevent him/her from, falling into Thanatos'' hands.


    So the stone had no real use to him or his undead becauseˇ­ did it even need to be exined why undead did not fear death?


    The next question was, why was he willing to trade it with Darius?


    He quickly identified two reasons. The first, as Thanatos himself had said, because he was Vena''s Agent. Thanatos couldn''t give two shits about him personally, so he probably thought doing this would win him some favor with the almighty Goddess.


    The second was his items which were probably barely enough to consider of equal value objectively and subjectively. Trying to form a connection with a Reaper by using the Scroll would be a gamble for Darius, yet should be easy enough for the Titan.


    The Staff of Anubis was practically created for Thanatos, as its ability was to allow its user to judge the karma of a person, deciding their fate depending on what kind of karma they had rued.


    Though it could not be used on the living, it could be used on the dying, the already dead, and wandering spirits. The utility of this to the Titan God of Death should also go without saying.


    The Shard of the Core of Faust was a sort of universal thing. Even to Darius, it greatly pained him to do away with it as he had nned to groom a Grandmaster servant for himself after bing a Journeyman, but he could definitely cough it up if necessary.

 Chapter 191 - 191

    As for the Dagger of Death, it had mixed-use to Darius. When he first acquired the dagger, its preciousness had been unmatched, for he could have used it to insta-kill someone greatly above his level and jump straight through the many stages to instantly reach the highest possible level... at least in theory.


    At the time, he had been apprehensive of whatever failsafe Vena and Caesar had put in ce, so he had not dared to act on his ns, rather slowly leveling himself up after he set up a social foundation in Listo.


    Looking back, it had proven to be a wise choice borne from caution. Since it was now an established fact that he would be locked at the peak of his stage until he fulfilled whatever diabolical Quest the sadistic AI woulde up with, not to mention his exp gain had been capped, the Dagger of Death had basically turned into ast resort item in case he needed to kill a big bad entity many levels above him.


    So it still had some use, just not much since Darius wasn''t so stupid to provoke those stronger than him.


    For Thanatos, heh heh. With those three uses of the Dagger, some particrly annoying powerhouses were going to join his domain of death very soonˇ­


    A Stitch In Time was a lifesaving item of great value, perhaps even more so than the shard, able to rewind time from a point of life-threatening danger to a point right beforehand. It had pros and cons to Darius.


    The pros were that with Darius'' intelligence, rewinding time would give him many opportunities to turn things around. For example, beforeing here he had nned to use all 9 charges in battling Marasmus and finding his weaknesses before developing a foolproof battle n by thest or so charge.


    Truly exciting, blood-boiling, and in line with Caesar''s prediction!


    However, upon being hit with many small revtions on the way up to here, Darius had decisively given up on that n. He had thought deeply and had realized that he was falling down onto the wrong path.


    From the very beginning - and it had been repeated many times - Darius had never been a fighter or somebat genius. All of his battle power stemmed from the Supreme System''s mechanics.


    The only thing he had that the system did not give him and could not easily take away from him were his skills in mercantilism! Darius was a merchant, a businessman of epic proportions!


    Instead of trying to bash his target''s skull in, why not sit down and barter? Given his Transmutation ability, and also his Luck in finding rare things, that perhaps only he could appraise, he mighte to an ord with the opposite party...


    If that all failed, then the bashing of skulls could alwayse into y as n B.


    This was the mentality Darius had before offering to trade with Marasmus. Of course, he had merely nned to exchange information, in hopes of finding some weakness to kill Marasmus, but he had decisively given up upon it after receiving his answers.


    This had led to here and now, to this pivotal choice.


    One item for quick use of the stone, three items for shared ownership with this True Lord of Faust, and five items for full ownership. All Darius had to go on were assumptions and logical guesses on his part, so he wanted some more confirmation.


    "God Emperor Thanatos, may I know-" Darius began once more, but was interrupted by the Titan God of Death.


    "It is as you''ve surmised and slightly more. You will find out if you make the trade." Thanatos answered simply.


    Darius was silenced by this. He would be foolish to trust the words of Thanatos so easily, but why would a Titan God need to waste his time bartering with him?


    He could 10/10 times smash Darius into paste and take the things anyway. Once Darius considered that, he realized how silly he had been.


    He was like a child selling lemonade in his yard being worried that the rich businessman in the porche would try to swindle him of his lemonade.


    Immediately, Darius released a deep sigh and smiled. "Lord Titan, please ept these five items as a measly offering for your Resurrection Stone!"


    Darius quickly took out the items in question and passed them over. They slowly floated up in front of Thanatos, who didn''t even bother to look at them before tearing a portal beside the pedestal and tossing them in haphazardly.


    Thanatos - in Marasmus'' body - pped his hands and formed a small bubble of grayish energy. He then pushed this bubble into Marasmus'' chest and encapsted the Resurrection Stone within.


    When Thanatos brought his hand out, the First Resurrection Stone was floating within this bubble harmlessly, looking like nothing but amon item.


    He passed the stone over to Darius, who received it with an excited expression. Finally, after 3 weeks of agony and worry over his future, he held the quest target in his hands!


    The best thing was that he hadn''t lost a single person on his side nor any realbat strength in doing so! He only had to do what he did best, trade with another person for what he wanted!


    Thanatos seemed to still be around. "You made a very clever choice today, Darius Stone. Even I feel a little envy when thinking about what kind of benefits you will enjoy with the stone. You really are lucky I have little need for it myself. However, if I ever find that it leaves your hands to end up in any of my enemies, I wille after you relentlessly!"


    Darius nodded at Thanatos'' warning. He would never give away this item for anything. Darius had just Analyzed it, and what he had seen made him certain that he had made the best possible choice as well.


    Darius slowly rose to his feet with Gunner, bowing once more. "If that is all, God Emperor Thanatos, I shall take my leave."


    Thanatos chuckled. "We aren''t done here yet, Young Fellow. We still have ounts to settle."


    Darius'' heart trembled as he raised his head with confusion. "My Lord?"


    Thanatos stroked Marasmus'' bony chin with a yful smile. "You''ve admitted to being the one who had issued this mission to barge in here and have those ants there try to kill the Stonekeeper. Due to the urgency of your own problem and given our nice little barter just now, I shall graciously overlook this offense against me."


    All signs of amusement left Thanatos. "But what meaning was there in having them hunt down my various undead warriors? I could care less about the various Amateur and Journeymen undead, but these fellows have killed almost every Adept undead I had stationed here!"

 Chapter 192 - 192

    Darius'' heart sank with every usation Thanatos made. Back then, his ns had involved using the hands of others to smoothen his path, since he had predicted things to turn bloody.


    Now that things had ended on a less violent note, he was held responsible for the offenses he made up till now. As such, Darius quickly smiled and inquired.


    "My Lord, all you im is true and I''m prepared to bear full responsibility. How may I grant redress for my crimes?"


    Thanatos seemed pleased that Darius didn''t try to beat around the bush. "Since you are being this honest, I will not be too harsh. I will take away your two Vampire servants for a period of indentured servitudesting 10 years. I have some use for them and given their capabilities they can make up 50% of the losses of Adept undead."


    Darius closed his eyes in pain. Mikey and Joneson had been his trump cards for leaving the ins of Death unharmed after acquiring the stone, for Darius had never forgotten that acquiring alone didn''t constitutepletion!


    He would have to cross the entire ins of Death''s 1,200 kilometers to the Baratuo outpost to be considered done at the least. However, it was still alright, for he could blink-leap away.


    "As youmand, My Lord." Darius uttered calmly as he summoned Mikey and Joneson. The duo emerged from a blood-red portal that smelled of malice and iron, looking around curiously.


    Once they saw Thanatos however, they both shivered even more intensely than Gunner and fell on their asses. Joneson was totally spooked, but Mikey could barely murmur his shock.


    "T-The S-Supreme B-Boss!"


    Thanatos observed the duo and showed a greatly appreciative look. "These two undead are excellent, far better than any I have ever seen. If they weren''t tied to you and your power ofws, I would purchase them from you at any cost!"


    Mikey and Joneson didn''t have to be told what to do, they had ess to Darius'' Database, so they could always be refreshed with the current events and what was going on. Hearing that they would be working for Thanatos for 10 years left them feeling weirdly excited yet depressed.


    Darius only smiled at the conflicted duo. "Serve the God-Emperor well this next decade and he might pamper you."


    Thanatos snorted at this, but didn''t correct Darius. This told all those gathered here that Darius'' words weren''t untrue, so the vampire duo instantly became more docile.


    Thanatos turned to Darius. "As for the remaining 50%, I shall have those directly responsible for ughtering my undead minions reimburse me with their lives!"


    "Hm, good! Many of them are Adepts with slightly more Journeymen. They will make fine recements for my lost forces!" Thanatos dered powerfully.


    Darius and Gunner were shocked. Didˇ­ Did Thanatos really n to kill all of them and turn them into undead troops? Those present ounted for about 70% of Andrato Kingdom''s powerhouses!


    If they were to fall, calling it a cmity for the kingdom would be small! They would be in danger of being extinguished off the map straightaway with the kind of power vacuum that would follow!


    Internal and external issues would quickly melt the kingdom into a pool of mud. The fate of Andrato, which had been hanging between ''benefit'' and ''suffering'' had just now firmly tilted towards thetter side.


    Neither Darius nor Gunner dared to open their mouths to plea for those outside. Judging by the fact that Thanatos hadn''t sent them away, it meant he was not done with them. With their own necks on the chopping block, how could they have time to care about whoy on the other side?


    "Now there is still the matter of my pet. You had a hand in killing one of my Pseudo-Master stage Bone Dragons, which I rarely let out. Its loss cannot be reced by anything you can offer me, so I''ll change it into a punishment!"


    A profound purple rune was drawn by Thanatos in the air and flicked over to Darius and Gunner. The rune branded itself on their foreheads silently, making the duo wonder what they had been cursed with.


    "That is a spatial sealing rune! Those afflicted with it cannot use any space-rted means to warp out of danger or in any situation!" Thanatos dered loudly with a mischievous grin, making the faces of the duo change greatly.


    Darius'' heart sank to the bottom. This meant thatˇ­


    Thanatos chuckled darkly. "That''s right, you cannot use your Blink spell or spatial scrolls to run away! Since you hold the stone, all my remaining Journeyman and Amateur undead will hone in on you and attempt to bring it back. Let''s hope you have the strength to repel them, heh heh."


    Darius wore a bitter smile. "Lord Thanatos, wouldn''t that be bad? We are being punished for killing your underlings, but we''re supposed to kill more of them to escape?"


    Thanatos grunted coldly. "As I said earlier, I could care less about Journeyman and Amateur undead. This ce naturally spawns basic undead and in a matter of decades they can rise to be Journeyman undead."


    "On the other hand, it takes centuries for a single Adept undead to appear. As such, only my Adepts and above deserve my attention. However many you kill on your way out is not my concern!"


    Just as Darius was about to try and work his way out of this verbally, Thanatos waved his hand impatiently. "I have been here for too long and the leyline beneath is beginning to run dry! Our barter hase to an end, so now disappear from mynds!"


    With thatmand, Darius and Gunner were forcibly expelled from the necropolis by a powerful wind. It was so strong and potent that the rest of the world became a blur as they flew backward.


    They were so fast in their movement that they would have been ttened by the pressure were they not covered with a protective bubble.


    Without a single care for theirfort, the bubble crossed over the entire Adept band and reached the edge of the Journeyman band before crashing into the ground and disappearing.


    The two fellows coughed weakly as they rose to their feet. Just as they were about to dust themselves off and make their way forward, both Darius and Gunner''s faces turned green when they heard endless roars from iing undead.


    The ground itself shook like there was an earthquake abound. Right in front of them, a stampede of undead were rushing towards them with reddened eyes that showed utter craziness and their determination to destroy!

 Chapter 193 - 193

    In front of the Necropolis stood the various Adepts and Journeymen from 122 factions within Andrato. They had formerly been 124 in number, but the Royal Faction and Darius Stone''s unnamed faction had solidly exited the building.


    As such, the remainder continued to bombard the shield in order to stop Goiter. It had only been 5 minutes since Darius had started his negotiation with Stonekeeper Marasmus, yet the shield was already showing signs of breaking.


    However, a bright green glow emerged around Goiter, sting out like a misty shockwave that reached far into the distance. The Adept Protector seemed exhausted and sat down on the stairs of the necropolis, boredly watching the various factions of the living trying their best to reach him.


    This act naturally chilled the living, for it meant that he was totally unconcerned about their attempts to reach him. If that was the case, just what was the source of his confidence?


    A random Journeyman who was assisting his Adept leader turned around and noticed something. His mouth opened and closed many times like a fish trying to breathe onnd, his eyes widening with horror every second.


    "S-Sirˇ­ l-look at the ˇ­ s-sky!!" He finally managed to cry out when his horror reached a peak.


    His voice had been very loud in this anxiety-filled situation where everyone was silently contemting what exactly the undead before them had up his sleeve. As such, as if choreographed beforehand, the entire crowd turned to look up as one.


    When they saw what was rapidly approaching them, their eyes widened in shock. It was none other than the rotten bones of the recently defeated Bone Dragon that were rushing towards the necropolis at shocking speeds.


    Before anyone could stop them, the bones crashed through the protective barrier of the necropolis and entered the bright greenke that formed under the floating building.


    It was silent for three seconds before the entireke began to rumble with such force that the ground shook, knocking many of the still shocked fellows off their feet.


    They speechlessly looked on as the entire form of the Bone Dragon began to slowly rise from the pool, its bones reattaching themselves to its body.


    By the time the whole dragon exited, theke had lost more than half of its content, but the fully powered Bone Dragon was before the various factions of Andrato Kingdom once again.


    So that was what Goiter was up to! Instead of fighting them himself, he ''simply'' resurrected the Bone Dragon using a means only high-level undead could achieve.


    That meant that the factions of Andrato had to kill an entire Bone Dragon once more. However, after a bit of worry, they all calmed down and got into formation.


    After all, the reason they had feared the Bone Dragon previously was because they had a loose grasp of its battle power and weaknesses!


    Now that it no longer had the help of the other Adept undead and was all alone against over 500 living forces, of which 2/5ths were all Adept stage experts, things would not be so easy.


    Not to mention that its trump card, Cyclone, was no longer a secret and they could find ways to avoid it!


    So when the Bone Dragon roared menacingly and rushed over with hate in its eyes, the Adept stage experts calmly gave outmands to their underlings and began bombarding the monster from afar.


    The saying that even ants could eventually defeat an elephant if they were plentiful enough always held true! A single projectile attack from one Adept might not faze the Bone Dragon at all, but a minimum of a hundred of them forced it toe to a halt and dodge as best as it could.


    Still, its defense was not something that could be broken this easily. It took to the sky and began raining down its own skills, Wind de Barrage, Frostme Breath, Hail of Ice Swords, me Explosion, and Wind Scythe.


    It took no more than five minutes for the forces of the living to be pushed into a desperate situation.


    Their previous confidence had evaporated before the might of the Bone Dragon, and they realized that they had forgotten to factor in a very important element in their previous victory.


    Baron Stone''s two Pureblooded Vampires!


    Without them, it was impossible to tank and kite the Bone Dragon, preventing the weaker human forces from suffering the frontal assaults of this undead beast.


    Now that things were getting really bad, they suddenly began searching around for Darius and his aides. It was at this time that the various powerhouses of Andrato noticed that the fellow was nowhere to be found.


    With their situation getting increasingly worse, despair and fear began to emerge in their hearts. Since none of these fellows were bound here by a noble cause, purely greed, many leaders started considering an immediate ''tactical'' retreat.


    As for the fate of the other factions or their weaker subordinates?


    Well, there was the story of the two brothers who encountered a bear in the forest to give you a clue as to how they felt. The very famous saying from that story was all one needed to know; ''After all, I don''t need to be faster than the bear to escape. I just need to be faster than you.''


    However, this became difficult really quickly as the Bone Dragon intensified its assault. It seemed determined to exact total vengeance for its earlier death, and as many as 40 Journeymen had already fallen after just 10 minutes of battle.


    At the 15 minute mark, as if certain fellows had already pre-determined it, various factions leaders began to retreat to the back of their formations while loudly invigorating andmanding their subordinates to fight.


    In fact, the damage output of these leaders suddenly increased, greatly inspiring their men to fight harder! As their leaders had said, there was no escaping this battle, so they should all fullymit in order to im victory!


    Once their men had fullymitted, a subtle wind passed over the area. Before any of the subordinates could even turn around, their leaders had vanished from their spots.

 Chapter 194 - 194

    Goiter, who had been patiently watching the struggle below, chuckled with disdain when he saw the actions of the various Adepts. As much as he would love to keep them here, he alone did not have theposite strength to battle all those faction leaders, who definitely possessed trump cards of their own.


    His empty eye sockets turned to those who had been left behind, and his Soul Fire burned with pity and sympathy. Those unlucky souls had yet to grasp their masters'' betrayals.


    They had been brought out here by their leaders to fight a battle that would benefit the faction as a whole, yet very little to them themselves.


    The greed of their leaders for wanting those rewards of the mysterious Master stage mission issuer had got them out here.


    Now, the ones who had initiated everything were gone. By the time they returned home, they could make up many excuses for what had actually happened and bury the truth. With their faction''s power and foundation, they could quickly fill the void of subordinates by recruiting fresh blood or groom them if necessary.


    Yet these fellows who were currently giving their all right now would be forgotten very quickly. The knowledge that their soon to be hired recement might experience a simr fate in the future at the hands of their factions, forming an eternal but vicious cycle, would do little to appease the doomed men.


    Goiter saw no need to continue watching the spectacle and was about to head to the mausoleum, when he suddenly shivered. He turned and felt an aura that he knew all too well, one that belonged to the God-Emperor himself!


    The God-Emperor had descended into Lord Marasmus'' body? What for? Was there someone else within the necropolis right now?


    Goiter''s question could not yet be answered for he did not dare to enter the necropolis until the God-Emperor left.


    What shocked the Protector was that the activity below the necropolis intensified by a hundred times at the least.


    The greenishke quickly filled up with liquid and even began to overflow a bit, spawning various apparitions and spirits that howled with delight. These weren''t true undead, merely pseudo-undead born by the sheer purity and concentration of Negative Energy.


    Even though they were merely energy lifeforms with negative traits, they had far better foundations than normal undead. Should a proper summoner be able to raise them, they would grow to the Adept stage within months!


    It seemed that the forces of the living had noticed this too. They quickly turned around to consult with their leaders on what to do next, but the truth that hit them was debilitating, to say the least.


    None of the fellows on the field here were children. They instantly understood what had happened, and the newly forged willpower to battle was turned into abject despair that crushed all fighters.


    The Bone Dragon''s eyes shed when it saw this and it roared as it lunged down and capitalized on this period of weakness to cast its Master stage spell, Cyclone!


    Once the meat grinder of the spell formed, it quickly captured all remaining fighters within its area of effect, turning even the sturdiest of them into indiscriminate fleshy waste that gathered in its center.


    When it came to an end, the flesh fell down in a bloody heap, along with bits of bone and innards. It was gruesome and horrifying, but such was the fate of many who had assaulted this necropolis before, and it would continue to be the fate of ignorant challengers for eons toe!


    Goiter nodded his head with satisfaction at the Bone Dragon''s quick work and sent it back into the greenishke to recover its energy and solidify its resurrected existence.


    Once more, hemented the escape of the hundred or so faction leaders, but in the next few moments, Goiter''s Soul Fire trembled with shock. He saw many ck dots in the sky rapidly approaching the necropolis.


    Goiter''s bony jaw droppedically when he saw the screeching and screaming leaders of some of the various factions plummet towards the necropolis, more specifically into the greenishke.


    Plop! Plop! Plop!


    With a very dubious and ambiguous sound, the various bodies of the faction leaders plunged into the depths of the greenishke. Outsiders may not know what that meant, but Goiter surely did.


    Well, it seemed as if the Adept band of the ins of Death would be getting some fresh blood! Then again, it was necessary since they had lost their entire force to these very fellows.


    Even the fleshly remains and the scattered bones gathered together and plunged into the greenishke, causing it only to bubble a little with how hyperactive and infused with energy it was.


    Goiter idly did a count and was impressed. Previously, they had about 132 Adept undead stationed here, but with the infusion of these fresh fellows, they would have about 230 new forces at the least.


    The 200 would be the original Adepts who would soon draw theirst breath in theke and the other 30 would bebined from the corpses of the 300 Journeymen.


    Goiter was overjoyed!


    Why they hadn''t lost anything, but rather gained tremendously!


    By raising them when their deaths had urred but a mere moment ago, it would practically guarantee to have them retain their memories and skills from when they were alive and be higher rank undead!


    Goiterughed happily. He felt that if he were Lord Marasmus or the God-Emperor, he might even reward that Master-stage expert who had initiated this mission heavily for his ''contributions'' instead of seeking revenge.


    Of course, that was merely Goiter''s own personal thoughts, not something he would dare to advise the God-Emperor on as a lowly Necrolich.


    Goiter was about to enter the building when he hastily dodged to the side. Right where he had been a second ago, two blurry forms got ejected at a speed beyond anything Goiter could follow.


    He failed to recognize those who were within those bubbles, but his train of thought was quickly interrupted by a weak voice that called out to him within the mausoleum.


    As such, Goiter quickly forgot about this issue as he rushed to the side of his Master.

 Chapter 195 - 195

    [Bone Reaver - Level 38 Undead


    HP: 1,840/1,840 MP: 418/418]


    [Skeleton Summoner - Level 32 Undead


    HP: 354/354 MP: 1,090/1,090]


    [Skeleton Knight - Level 39 Undead


    HP: 1,115/1,115 MP: 975/975]


    [Wight Lord - Level 37 Undead


    HP: 1,019/1,019 MP: 777/777]


    [Wraith King - Level 36 Undead


    HP: 570/570 MP: 936/936]


    Darius'' and Gunner''s expression became very dark when they inspected the leaders of the Journeyman undead stampede heading towards them. The duo shared an uncertain look before firming their eyes and getting ready to fight their way out of here.


    Darius instantly understood what without Blink, he would have to fight like how he had originally nned to, as a sort of Lancer Mage.


    He had refrained from using his spear ever since his painful lesson during the battle with the Blue Troll. He had nned to learn better Lancer Arts or perfect his skills before risking his life by using weapons over magic.


    Unfortunately, the current situation cared very little about his ns and forced him toe out with his best.


    As such Darius summoned the Demonic Spear from his Inventory... or at least he wanted to, but he paled when he suddenly remembered that it was still in the hands of Mikey.


    Come to think of it, rent was also still with Joneson!


    After all, the initial n had been to battle with Marasmus, and who better to use these two overpowered weapons than the powerful vampires?


    With them, they should have been able to pressure the former Stonekeeper while Darius bombarded him with Heals and Gunner worked his own magic. Of course, that path had be unnecessary thanks to his negotiations.


    Still, Darius'' forgetfulness could be understood, but could not be forgiven.


    It could be understood because he had been in a tense situation back then and between Thanatos taking away the undead duo and the eviction of him and Gunner not even a minute had passed.


    However, it could not be forgiven for Darius should always have his mind sharp and aware of such things, regardless of the situation.


    Allowing external pressure to make him fumble like some poor merchant with nothing to his name was uneptable!


    Darius could only take out the steel spear and hold it tightly. He also deposited the stone into his inventory, hoping it would cut off the signal between himself and the undead, but it was clearly wishful thinking.


    The undead still roared and attacked the duo like a wave. Gunner quickly stood in front of his master and activated his Earth''s Guardian skill. He had no time to jump into the air and add extra oomph to his skill, but he still used Earthen Stomp solidly.


    This sent the vanguard of the undead crashing down to their feet, giving the duo some breathing space. Darius quickly cast Adjust on himself and Gunner, lightening their weights by 25%!


    With Darius at 30 Agility and Gunner at 25 Agility, this was significant enough to make them much faster. He jumped above the undead wave and stabbed his spear down, using it like a pole to vault himself over the first wave.


    Gunner also realized that patiently fighting back every opponent was foolish. What they needed to do wasn''t to fight, but to rush through, using their superior Agility to maneuver around foes while blocking as many attacks as they could.


    Otherwise, they would be swarmed until they died here!


    Gunner braced his feet against the ground and took a pseudo-runner''s stance, when he had built enough force that a green wave formed before him, he shed forward like a bullet, charging through the ranks of foes and using his superior Strength to bash them aside as he made a beeline for Baratuo.


    Darius remained lightfooted as he tried to maneuver around foes using a much gentler method, but this put a heavier strain on his mental faculties. The amount ofbat data he needed to process as he moved swiftly in order to prevent himself from falling into an encirclement was immense.


    Without the Supreme System''s auto-casting feature, Darius would not even be able to cast any spells while he was moving like this. As it were, he mostly used Heal whenever he saw a particr weak undead with less than 500 points of HP.


    This victim undead''s death was always able to terrify the others nearby, overriding their desire to retrieve the First Resurrection Stone. His strategic use of the spell was what carried him through the early stage of the breakout.


    However, Darius and Gunner were quickly obstructed due to the ever-growing numbers and more importantly, the various undead monsters that possessed projectile or ranged attacks.


    For Darius, it came in the form of the various Wraith species. They exclusively chose him as their target and cast their various spiritual spells upon him. Darius'' face quickly became pale as he spat out blood, his nose and ears bleeding profusely.


    Being hit by one or two Fear spells and the like was easy to deal with, but when there were hundreds? His fledgling Mind Power tendrils were overworked protecting his mind!


    If it were not for them, Darius would have quickly been turned into a vegetable from the overwhelming load on his mind. These mental attacks prevented Darius from moving as smoothly as he did as he had to channel his cognitive functions towards resisting such attacks.


    Wherever he saw them, he made sure to strike these Wraiths with a Heal spell, instantly vanquishing their lives. This scared a few of them, but not the whole lot.


    He may scare away 3 wraiths, but 10 of them woulde quickly fill in the gap, and rush into battle fearlessly before they were killed or scared again. This cycle was draining on Darius'' mana, and he knew he couldn''t keep it up no matter what.


    Gunner''s charge was pretty straightforward, but no matter how resilient therged was, he could not bulldoze through everything. As he passed by many undead, they would use the chance to w at him or swing using their weapons.


    More often than not, they were blocked, however a few hits managed tond on his body. While most were useless with his level of defense, a few left some cuts and bruises on his skin.

 Chapter 196 - 196

    Gunner was also running out of Stamina due to his reckless charge. Just running was fine, he could do that for hours on end with his current boost to Endurance and the Fast Regeneration ability, but right now he had to block and retaliate against certain powerful attacks.


    This not only ruined his momentum, making it progressively weaker, but it also strained therged greatly. With a roar Gunner lowered his body and increased his speed, putting more power into his legs.


    When he had built sufficient force, he jumped high into the sky, almost blotting out the sun from the hundreds of thousands of undead swarming below.


    Earthen Stomp!


    The trademark skill of the half-giant was brutally unleashed here. Darius even took a precious moment to shift Gunner''s weight to the increased side, greatly amplifying the effect the skill had when hended.


    An area of 20 meters around the Branded Servant instantly became a cratered zone, with the remnant shockwaves due to the physical force extending for up to 100 meters!


    All undead within this range were knocked down, minus the elusive wraiths which levitated off the ground. Even Darius, who usually avoided this with Blink, only managed to make it out by increasing his own weight for that moment, before instantly making himself lighter.


    With an area around them tentatively cleared, the duo increased their speed. Once they broke through this main encirclement and left these undead in the dust, they would have an easier time going forward.


    As such, they invested everything they could into doing so. However, the undead also didn''t seem like they were willing to let these two escape. In a matter of seconds, they got bombarded with endless projectile attacks from Skeleton Archers, Skeleton Mages, and Skeleton Archmages.


    Gunner was mostly fine against the spells thanks to his Mageward Barrier negating 15% of spell damage, as well as his polymer suit possessing 30 points of Resistance.


    As for the physical projectiles, they affected him even less. With the defense from the armor and Gunner''s own Adept stage Endurance, they practically broke against his skin like an egg crashing into a rock.


    Unfortunately, Dariuscked the boosts to his defense his Branded Servant enjoyed. Thanks to the polymer suit, spells did not have too great an effect on him, but with his feeble base Endurance, the physical projectiles ripped his attire to shreds, cutting him in many ces.


    Darius grimaced heavily, but did not falter. The pain was negligiblepared to his will to survive. He simply couldn''t afford to die here, not when he was so close to finishing his Quest and had received such a great reward.


    Darius really wished his moralpass was at Lawful Good so that he could use the Hammer of Thor temporarily, yet he knew himself enough to know it was wishful thinking.


    It was a sad twist of irony that despite having a treasure trove of precious items on him, none of them could help him significantly in this situation.


    Gunner rushed over to Darius'' side and began tanking many of the physical attacks for him, allowing Darius to cast Heal on both of them. With their HP restored, they became more vicious in their struggle to breakthrough.


    The distance from where they started to where their destinationy was over 900 kilometers away. With their blink leap technique, this should not have taken much time, but fighting while running like this, their progress was not impressive.


    If anyone were to take an aerial view, they would shake their head. From the amount of undead surrounding the duo and how many more were rushing over, they would be exhausted before they even made it to the Amateur band.


    Even without such a view, Darius could feel more and more of those undead joining the manhunt, realizing that what they were doing was not going to be enough.


    As such, Darius'' eyes narrowed as he thought of a way to reach the Amateur band quickly.


    Immediately, he came up with an idea, crazy as it was, the current situation did not allow him to y it safe. He flipped acrobatically over the various undead surrounding him andnded on Gunn


    "Charge!" Darius roared as he took out the Berserk Potion he had acquired a long while back and fed it to Gunner quickly.


    [Berserk Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 15/15


    Description: A good quality creation of Alchemy that grants a 30-second Berserk state, increasing damage and defense by 5% and lowering Intelligence by 15%.]


    This would at least, assist therged in breaking through. However, the Intelligence deficit was not much of a problem since Gunner had 35 points. No matter what, he wouldn''t be turned into an idiot by consuming it.


    Gunner recklessly barreled forward even faster than he had before. Darius had great bnce thanks to his Agility, which was why he could flip about so easily and weave through foes, so he leveraged his steel spear and poured a Purification Potion over its tip and shaft.


    Holding it with both arms, he used it to pierce and swat any undead that tried to get in Gunner''s way or attack from the sides, allowing the fellow to build more momentum as he got faster and faster.


    Previously, Gunner hadn''t been able to elerate properly with all the enemies standing in his way, but now that he had some clear road he was quickly reaching top speed.


    Darius knew that once therged did so, they would be able to break through and keep going with the various undead chasing behind them futilely. Then, it would simplye down to Gunner''s Stamina as to how long they could keep this up.


    Darius was above Gunner''s shoulders, so he could see much farther than the fellow could. He saw, just 300 meters away, the end of the encirclement. Though new undead were rushing to join from the back, they were scattered and hadn''t reached the location yet.


    Darius became crazed as he took out an Intelligence Potion he had acquired from the fight against the Ogre in front of the cave with the vampire coffin and drank it.


    [Intelligence Boost Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 15/15


    Description: A good quality creation of Alchemy that grants a 30-second Enlightened state, increasing Intellect by 10% and lowering Strength and Endurance by 25%.]

 Chapter 197 - 197

    Darius'' increased Intelligence might not seem useful in this situation at first nce, but it subtly powered up all his spells. The chief of this was his Heal spell in terms ofbat effectiveness against undead.


    Now, he could one-shot any undead with less than 800 HP. Darius didn''t hesitate like before, he simply selected targets with his mind to be struck by the Heal spell while using his two hands to wave his steel spear around frantically, swatting away any interlopers.


    The good news was that Gunner hit his top speed finally, allowing Darius to see the end of the encirclement just 50 meters away. With his sharp eyes, he chose an undead at the forefront to hit with his Heal spell, disintegrating and scaring the others to dodge aside.


    This had the beautiful effect of creating a small pathway in between the wall of undead. With Gunner''s current speed, they crossed those 50 meters in just 1.3 seconds, freeing them from the dire situation they were in.


    Darius almost wanted to cheer, but knew now was not the right time. He looked behind him and almost nched when he saw the sea of undead racing after them.


    Soon enough, Gunner''s berserk state came to an end and so too did Darius'' heightened state. As such, he jumped off Gunner''s shoulders and ran alongside him.


    Darius was much faster than Gunner and elerated to his top speed much quicker than therged, but he had far less Stamina or stamina controlpared to the half-giant.


    By the time Gunner needed to drink his first stamina potion, Darius had already consumed five of them. Despite moving faster than even cheetahs at their current top speed, Darius was not satisfied.


    He was currently moving at 170km/h while Gunner was moving at 145km/h. This was mostly thanks to the 25% weight reduction, but it wasn''t enough. At this speed, they would need about 3-4 hours to reach Baratuo Outpost, and while that sounded quick, it was far too long.


    Darius wanted to get back ASAP and re-n his steps for the future.


    As it was, Andrato Kingdom was finished, a sinking ship that was slowly taking on water. His shop, refinery, and noble''s castle would all go to waste, because siding with the kingdom was out of the question.


    It was a good thing he hadn''t yet moved into them nor spread his products around, or he would be taking on more losses. Even as he ran forward, Darius was nning to change his destination after Baratuo, because there were some preparations he had to make in order to secure his future on Fallon Continent.


    Darius opened his Inventory and took out his Purification Potions. He tossed them behind one after the other, not looking back to see the effects. However, even from where he stood, he could hear pained screeches and the breaking of ss.


    After all, these were Journeymen undead. They might not be the fastest, but most had Agility above 15 points, with some as high as Gunner''s at 25 points. They were only slowed down by the mob they were a part of, but they were keeping pace easily with Darius and Gunner.


    As it were, undead never had to worry about something like running stamina, at least, not as much as a living person with flesh did. After throwing back a few Purification Potions to disrupt the undead chase, Darius removed some HP potions and concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the Common Health Potion into a Common Agility Boost Potion? This will cost 1.5 Conversion Points.]


    Hm, if it only boosted speed by 5 or 10%, it would not be enough. As such, Darius tried to jump one stage of quality for the potion, something he had attempted to before, but refrained to use because of the exorbitant cost.


    [Would you like to change the Common Health Potion into an Umon Agility Boost Potion? This will cost 6.5 Conversion Points.]


    This was too expensive. With such a cost, Darius would be unable to afford one for himself and Gunner. With that in mind, Darius rather decided to convert two of the Health Potions to Common Agility Boost Potion first for 3 CP.


    As he expected, the Common version gave a 10% boost for 5 minutes and didn''t detract from other stats thankfully. It was honestly much better than the ones he got as drops, but that was the effect of the elitist Transmutation for you.


    Darius then tried to convert the potions he made upwards.


    [Would you like to change the Common Agility Boost Potion into an Umon Agility Boost Potion? This will cost 0.5 Conversion Points.]


    A much better trade overall. Darius made two more Common Agility Boost Potions for another 3 CP, making a total of 6, before using thest 4 CP to upgrade them all into the Umon version.


    [Umon Agility Boost Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 50/50


    Description: A potion that grants a 5-minute Hastened state, increasing Agility by 30%. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Satisfied, Darius passed over two of the potions to Gunner and both of them drank one on the spot. Gunner also Inspected the potions and marveled at their prowess before drinking one himself.


    Immediately, the duo shivered as they felt like electricity was coursing through their veins. With this surge of energy, they found their legs moving much faster than they did usually and their body much more limber and bnced.


    Darius'' speed now reached 210km/h while Gunner was at 180km/h. They soon began to give a serious gap to the undead chasing behind them, something which excited the duo.


    Unfortunately, the increase in speed came with an increase in Stamina drain, so Darius was practically guzzling one potion every second. If it wasn''t for the current circumstances, he was certain he would have been puking due to the amount he ended up consuming.


    By the time the 5-minute duration had worn off, the duo had made great progress across the Journeyman band. In front of them, the undead were too slow to form an encirclement.


    Behind them, the horrifying mob tried to give chase but could no longer be seen in the horizon.

 Chapter 198 - 198

    Truth be told, Darius had greatly underestimated the amount of undead in the ins of Death. Describing them as infinite did not seem to be too much of an exaggeration.


    He could only bitterlyugh at his former naivety in thinking that hiring those Andrato fools could thin down their numbers. Even if the entire Fallon continent''s armies and legions had answered his call, he estimated that they would have only been able to cull, at best, 70% of the undead in these two early bands.


    That''s not even counting their own troops who would die andter be raised as servants to the ins of Death.


    From the way Thanatos had spoken about them, it was clear that he encouraged invasions to his two early bands. When else were his weaker undead supposed to gainbat experience and rise to be Adept stage experts?


    How else would his cannon fodder be able to increase in size without a regr infusion of idiotic living armies who die in battle?


    Around 3 hourster, Darius and Gunner were gging greatly. They had crossed through the entirety of the Journeyman band in this time, barely avoiding many ces where they could have been dragged into a new encirclement.


    The only silver lining was that due to their mad dash without conserving anything, they were rtively close to their goal.


    Right now, they were halfway through the Amateur band, about 150 kilometers away from the Baratuo outpost. However, these 150 kilometers felt far longer than the previous 750 kilometers to Darius.


    Gunner was much better in that regard. With his physical stats boosted to the Adept stage, he had been able to conserve more Stamina and regte himself better.


    Ever since they had broken through the Journeyman band to enter the Amateur one, about an hour ago, the Branded Servant had put his master on his shoulders.


    No matter what, the human body had limits and the Itemancer had hit his. If it was possible to chug potions endlessly, then there would be no surprises tobat. Whoever had a better alchemist friend woulde out the victor. Skills, spells, techniques, and equipment wouldn''t matter at all.


    Everyone had a hard limit for their potion tolerance within a set period of time. Some were more resilient like Gunner and could drink away for longer andst longer.


    Others were more fragile like Darius and were not able to drink too many within a few hours. It was more of a thing linked to one''s Endurance and natural affinities.


    Although, the irony was that the higher one''s Endurance, the less likely they would rely on such potions. This was not only due to their much better physique that could regte their bodily functions, but due to the fact that potions that were useful at the higher levels were scarce and expensive.


    Take the Bone Dragon for example. It had a Health of 13,200, with 10,860 Mana. Even the Common health potions that Darius made only restored 25 HP per potion and the same amount for MP or Stamina.


    Exactly how was such a thing supposed to help someone who needed multiple hundreds of potions to reach their maximum?


    The Darius of right now was hanging of Gunner''s back like a sickly patient, panting heavily while sweating. One could see deep fatigue bordering on deliriousness in his eyes as he barely registered the world around him.


    His attire was in tatters and his body was quite bloody. If it weren''t for the polymer suit underneath his clothes that was almost on full disy, he would have sustained far worse injuries.


    Darius had long returned the steel spear to his Inventory, forced to relypletely on Gunner. With how fatigued he was, he was unable to even cast Heal on either one of them anymore.


    His current condition was no better than the him on the first day in Faust, who had exhausted himself to the point of passing out in the open.


    This was a weakness Darius would have work on in the future... assuming he survived this and became a Journeyman.


    During their escape, he had vowed to never let a situation like this repeat itself. He should have absolutely gathered more means to further their ability. Or at least, some equipment that boosted speed or could summon flying beasts to carry him away!


    Of course, as they always said, hindsight was 20/20. What mattered now was getting out of this situation, notmenting on preparations for oues outside his predictions.


    The ns he had made had centered around using a way of teleportation, be it his Blink spell, a Teleportation scroll, or a House Portal scroll, andter by using Mikey and Joneson''s control over other undead as he had believed that this had been the hint Caesar had given him.


    Gunner himself was faring much better than Darius. The half-giant still had his polymer suit mostly intact and he was hardly wounded. However, one could see veins across the entirety of his skin, and his eyes being bloodshot.


    His mind was in shambles, and he would have been in a simr situation to Darius mentally if not for his master''s protection.


    The question was, what exactly had happened to the duo? What had urred to render Darius useless aside from basic fatigue after an extended period of exertion?


    It had to do with that very same moment they had crossed over the threshold of the Journeyman band to enter the Amateur one. Lined up there was a group of malicious undead that had sensed the First Resurrection Stone''s homing beacon and decided to wait ahead for Darius and Gunner to arrive.


    While this worried the duo, they were not scared. After all, the rtive levels of the undead had greatly dropped from 35-39 when they were near the border of the Adept band to 20-25 near the Amateur band.


    In fact, Darius and Gunner had been convinced that as long as they reached the Amateur band, everything would be smooth sailing from that point on.


    They could both one-shot any Amateur undead there easily, so reaching their destination should be a given.


    However, an ambush had ruined their flight of fancy and had sent the duo into the depths of despair!


    For among the group of undead, there had been more than 200 wraiths of different kinds, as well as other lower rank spellcaster undead!

 Chapter 199 - 199

    This might not sound like a problem on the surface. After all, the duo had waded through hordes of higher-level wraiths and the like when they had broken through the first encirclement, no?


    Well, the problem was that back then, they had been at their peak. On the other hand, at the time they had encountered the ambushˇ­ they had not been feeling so good.


    With his high Intellect, Darius had instantly realized just how deep the shit hole was, in which they were about to fall. His face had paled and he had quickly approached the wraiths to intercept them.


    It would be difficult to use brute force to break through this ambush since they were stationary and well-spread out, as opposed to the first mob who had been unorganized and changing numbers quickly.


    As such, the various undead had struck Darius with all their mental spells head-on, dealing great damage to him. Individually each attack had been more apathetic than the ones that came before, but their numbers had been far higher this time.


    Sustaining severe damage that Darius had resolved with his Heal spell, Gunner had fared much better on the other side as he dealt with the various melee type undead. Almost every single attack of his, no matter howmon, had resulted in an instant KO.


    However, Darius had a harder time. The mental assaults had disabled him from using melee attacks to engage the various wraiths. As such, he had to rely on the system to cast his spell, killing one wraith with each cast of Sparks or Heal.


    By the time he had killed enough that the rest had been scared off and he could continue to push through with Gunner, Darius had been partially dazed and jogging very strangely and uncertainly, like a drunk fellow trying to run.


    The real tragedy however was that the ambush had given the stronger Journeyman undead from behind the chance to catch up a bit.


    As such, the ranged fighters among them, especially those darned Wraith Lords and Wraith Kings, had maliciously abused Darius and Gunner with their mental attacks, focusing mostly on Spirit Punishment to achieve the desired effect.


    Darius had borne the brunt of it and had fainted at some point, forcing Gunner to carry him on his back, leading to the current situation.


    The Branded Servant was in a rough spot, not because of the crowding Amateur undead that wereing from his front and sides, but the still chasing Journeymen undead.


    Up until now, they had not given up on their relentless pursuit. Since Darius had already been incapacitated, Gunner was no forced to bear the brunt of the attacks himself.


    Unlike Darius whose 50 points of Intellect had granted him the basic ability of Mind Power which increased his mental resilience greatly, Gunner only had 35 points in Intellect. He simply could not endure spiritual attacks of the level that Darius had.


    Luckily, many of the more powerful undead had to give up on the chase or had fallen behind. They had been chasing the duo for as long as they had started fleeing, and the undead didn''t have potions or the like to reinvigorate themselves.


    As it were, only a few of the less powerful Journeyman wraiths were still on his tail. As for Amateur wraiths, they were very rare, so Gunner was not hounded by any to his front.


    However, the asional strikes that came from his back made him flinch severely as his body trembled even as he jogged swiftly. This was why his eyes were bloodshot, because he was suffering intense mental agony that he had to forcibly suppressed in order to reach the goal.


    Gunner would have loved to stop, turn around and punch those sted wraiths to pieces, but doing so was foolish, especially with him having to protect his unconscious master.


    What if something were to happen to him while Gunner was indulging himself in venting his frustration and rage?


    As such, therged simply buckled himself and absorbed whatever came his way, silently enduring it as he moved towards the end of the ins of Death ceaselessly.


    Even the wraiths were left speechless and helpless with how resilient this fellow in front of them was. They were certain about harming him from the spiritual feedback they got, but the half-giant had turtled his mind, allowing them to strike the exterior while he protected the core.


    Eventually, Gunner''s endurance paid off! The wraiths were finally unable to continue chasing as they ran out of strength, only able to screech with frustration and hatred as they watched Gunner disappear into the horizon slowly but surely.


    When Gunner was certain he was clear, he almost faltered as his mind rxed. His face changed as he grimaced and refocused, rekindling his will to continue to the safe haven not too far away now.


    He couldn''t rx his mind after the beating it had taken, or if he did, he would end up like Darius, unable to go on. It was just like a fatigued person who should be fainting still pushing on with what little willpower they had.


    The moment they tried to rest, they would ckout as the body had overdrafted its strength topensate for the circumstances!


    Gunner took out some of the Stamina potions he had and drank them crazily. Previously, he hadn''t dared to do anything other than focus under the constant bombardment, both of his hands gripping Darius to his back firmly to prevent his master from falling.


    Now that he had more leeway, he could use one arm to pour the potions down his gullet. Better yet, his brisk jogging pace picked up into a solid run as his Stamina was reinvigorated.


    He didn''t run before because he wasn''t sure how long the wraiths would chase, so he had to pace himself and conserve Stamina. Just fast enough that they were always behind but not fast enough that his Stamina would drain too fast.


    Gunner didn''t even use his hands, he simply crashed into any Amateur undead who was foolish enough to try and stand in his way to block him, crushing them underfoot.


    Like a blur, his speed increased, his eyes able to see the untaintednd on the horizon.


    In less than an hour, he should be out of here!

 Chapter 200 - 200

    Baratuo outpost was extremely busy today. They had received amunique from the Adept camp near the target area that they would be attacking in full force.


    The majority of the leaders of the notable factions had engaged in the battle, with a few exceptions. Some nonbatant faction leaders like merchants and Union groups had vacated the camp to arrive at the outpost, leaving the capable fighters among their men to handle the deed.


    Surprisingly, two unexpected faction leaders had passed through here just a few hours earlier. The Thieves Guild''s Vice-Guildmaster and the Assassin''s Guildmaster had been deeply arguing as they had entered the camp.


    The female thief had been talking nonstop about how she had had a terrible feeling and how it had been the wise choice to avoid the battlefield while the male half-elf assassin had expressed great dissatisfaction at leaving his other subordinates in charge of the assault.


    After all, since they had left, not only were they likely to be punished or ostracized by their groups, any spoils that would be acquired from the redemption of rewards at the Mercenary Guild would no longer involve them personally.


    The female had continually reminded him that her sixth sense had often gotten her out of sure death situation, and while the male briefly agreed to there being some truth to that, it hadn''t stopped the fellow from cursing, grumbling, and swearing at her with anger.


    Many fellows who had listened to this ''old couple''s fight'' within the camp had sighed, shaking their heads. How could you let yourself be led on the nose by a woman, brother? Now, she and her so-called ''gut feeling'' will be the cause of your downfall.


    Oh well, such fellows were always around though. Being henpecked and gullible to your partner was his own private business, yet sensing that both of them were Adept-stage experts, the various fellows had kept their mouths shut, quickly forgetting about the matter.


    However, Overseer Garm clearly could not. When themunique had been sent, he had been incredibly confident and hopeful from the way the group had sounded like they had everything in control.


    In truth, it didn''t matter which faction woulde out victorious. It would be an de for Andrato as a kingdom and those rewards would ensure great power for the next generation of the kingdom, if one looked at it objectively.


    Overseer Garm was looking forward to it! How long had he wished that citizens of Andrato Kingdom could hold their heads up high on Fallon continent, not ashamed to report their ce of origin no matter where they went!


    Garm was confident that when the factions returned, the situation in Andrato would change from the very fundamentals! The kingdom''s ce in the hierarchy of the entire continent would shift strongly!


    As he sat in his tent, he took out the Red Enchant that the young Baron Stone fellow had gifted him. It couldn''t be helped, over the past week or so, Garm had often removed the gem to stare at it and rub it in his hands with an intoxicated expression.


    At one point, he had even been shocked to find himself referring to the gem as his ''precious'', wondering where such a notion had evene from. After that embarrassing event, he had actively started to limit the number of times he brought the gem out to once a day.


    As he was currently free, he had designated this break time to be his gem inspection hour, as he caressed the Red Enchant and cooed at it like a baby.


    The thought of imbuing it into a weapon had urred to him, but Garm was not a frontliner, so he had little need for such a thing.


    He hadrgely decided that after his post here came to an end, he would embed this gem on a ring, ne, or brooch and gift it to his beloved daughter, Amelia.


    Even though it pained the intoxicated and greedy part of him to part with this gem, the fatherly side of him could not be suppressed.


    Just the thought of that wide, happy smile and that cute peck his baby girl would give him was enough to keep the fellow smiling and motivated!


    However, Overseer Garm''s happy time got ruined by rushed footsteps from outside. He frowned deeply and hid the Red Enchant quickly as one of his subordinates rushed into the tent with a pale face.


    Garm smashed his table angrily as he roared. "What the hell do you take me for?! Report your bloody self before you intrude upon my tent! After this, you will digtrines for 20 days as punishment!''


    The fellow, who had already been pale, became even paler but knew fighting it would be pointless. Instead, he quickly reported what he came here for.


    "Overseer, your presence is needed in the camp urgently!!! Somethingˇ­ unbelievableˇ­ has happened!"


    Garm disyed a curious yet wary expression. "What is it?"


    The fellow shook his head. "It''s two young fellows who came from the ins of Death. They are currentlyˇ­ walkingˇ­ through the camp."


    At first, he was about to blow when he heard what the fellow had to say, but his face changed when he heard the guard mention them being young.


    A certain benefactor came to mind. Thinking that there might be some important news for him, he followed his subordinate and rushed out of his tent.


    The moment Overseer Garm exited, he saw that almost the whole camp was lined up on each side of the main pathway which led to the center of the outpost.


    The area was silent as death, and the faces of each man here disyed shock, worry, and awe. Now very curious as to what the hell was really going here, Garm took a look.


    His expression changed greatly once he did.


    Walking slowly, one unsteady step at a time like a toddler just learning to move upright, was arge fellow who Garm instantly recognized as the Adept servant of Baron Stone.


    He was bloody all over and his hair was a mess, but most horrifying were his bloodshot eyes that looked like he had popped all the vessels within. On his back was a smaller figure of ad that was in even worse condition, with his attire in tatters as well as his ears and nose leaking blood.


    This solemn figure slowly crossed each person here, the crowd watching in a strange silence as he eventually came to the center of the outpost, where a huge signpost with the designation ''Baratuo outpost'' was affixed, with various directions ced underneath.


    Therge figure seemed to stop before this signpost and raised his head up slowly to take in the magnanimity of it. As if something had been unlocked by reading the signpost, or rather as if something had been released, the fellow crashed to the ground, the quarry on his back sying to the side.


    Gunner had fulfilled his duty.

 Chapter 201 - 201

    April 24th, 8760 of the Faustian 4th generation calendar.


    This day would forever be marked in the history books of Andrato Kingdom, as the worst day in the history of the kingdom, the day that marked its changed fate.


    What was meant to be a slowly rising kingdom with a promising future was thrust onto the path of certain destruction without any possibility of a change in circumstances.


    On this day, a party of over 500 powerhouses consisting of many Adepts and Journeymen had set out to kill an Adept undead of unknown power called Stonekeeper Marasmus.


    The reward for his head would have been something that would have allowed the next generation of Andrato Kingdom to grow into real powerhouses...


    s, the result of this had not been the victory for the living.


    Calling it a failure alone, wouldn''t do it justice, either.


    No, it had ended up as a total rout!


    Not a single person in that group had survived to return to the kingdom. This was a horrifying truth with many implications.


    Firstly, that the undead in the ins of Death were truly as fearsome as the history books described them to be.


    Secondly, that there was now a gaping power vacuum in the kingdom that needed to be filled. Such a thing usually wouldn''t be a problem for stronger kingdoms with deeper foundations and stronger connections.


    All those would need to do would be to guard against external foes with their power while trying to contain the inevitable internal skirmishes that would happen as a result.


    Even if it would weaken the kingdom a bit, the power gaps would eventually be filled with new faces and the kingdom could re-cultivate its powerhouses with sufficient resources.


    However, Andrato Kingdom did not have that luxury. Just the internal strife alone would be enough to copse the kingdom, much less the inevitable attacks and external pressure they would be facing from other parties soon enough.


    Chief among them would be the Fraterina Kingdom, who had long since wanted to assimte Andrato Kingdom. Now that such an opening hade about, Fraterina would never let it go, no matter the price they had to pay.


    This was why Darius had been certain that Andrato was done for. Even if it was considered a kingdom, one had to remember that it was the lowliest of them all and hardly warranted the attention of the bigger empires.


    They did have had Kubrick as a deterrence, so it wasn''t worthwhile for others to waste their own powers to acquire this little kingdom with only 25 dungeons, 20 of the lowest-tier and 5 low-tier ones.


    However, to Fraterina, all of that did not matter. What they wanted more than just the kingdom and itsnd was the Royal Family.


    As if the spirit of Faust had wanted to reimburse Julietta for the grievance she had suffered in her life, her direct line had produced queens with the purest Valkyrie bloodline, even purer than the current Queen of Fraterina!


    With the birth of Jeanne, Fraterina had upped their ante in recent years, for she had been rumored to be half-Valkyrie!


    This was where Darius had been wrong previously, for he had thought that the bloodline of the Andrato Kingdom''s royalty had been basic humans.


    However, the truth was that the founder of Fraterina had been a powerful Valkyrie freed from Odin''s service after rendering many merits!


    A Valkyrie was considered its own thing usually, but the naked truth of the matter was that Valkyries were basically just warrior angels in Norse Mythology.


    Hence Jeanne having a half-angel bloodline.


    Elijah, the Royal Seneschal, had long since left for the capital, so he and the Royal Faction had perfectly preserved their powers, but when the news struck, even they had been chilled.


    After all, the majority of the factions had been the very noble houses of Andrato. Their patriarchs and various elders had been the Adept fellows on the battlefield, now reduced to nothing.


    The entire Noble Faction of Andrato was ruined!


    Apart from a select few who had been unable to leave their posts no matter what like Bistro, Nics Spencley, and Jonathan Silverwater, the rest had expired, leaving grieving spouses and descendants who were stilling of age.


    Apart from them were various mage academies who had lost their headmasters and teachers, like Sothe who had been in charge of the biggest mage academy in Ando City.


    There were also other guilds like the Adventurer''s Guild that lost many powerhouses and not to mention the Mercenary Guild which was cleaned out of most of its high-tier mercs.


    However, the Thieves Guild and the Assassins Guild seemed to have sustained far fewer losses than the other, making many parties suspicious but unable to act on it.


    As for Da and Kiran, they had both been greatly chilled when hearing the news. They had narrowly avoided a serious cmity, leading Kiran to thank her profusely for sharing her intuition with him.


    Da hadn''t even been in the mood to say ''I told you so'' and strut about, for the uing storm was going to be brutal.


    Right now, the various weaker factions were beginning to stir. Many didn''t outright believe the news and feared a trap, so they began probing the factions they didn''t even dare breathe too loudly in front of previously.


    Some were also watching the Royal Faction to see what they would do. Since they were now the indisputably strongest power in the entire kingdom, the truly smart ones were starting to consider what they would do before making their own moves.


    Observers were not disappointed. Within a week after the massacre had been revealed, the Royal Faction made a Royal Edict that in order to strengthen the kingdom from the influence of outside forces, they would be reacquiring all assets belonging to certain powers based on their level of weakness.


    This brought a quick uproar in the kingdom, and many were utterly shocked!


    This Royal Edict was basically saying that they were going to take over all the assets of the weakened factions by any means!


    Thisˇ­ thisˇ­ how could the Royal Faction do this? They would not only be stepping on the toes of the noble houses and factions tied to the Superiority Faction, but the Equality Faction that was technically their ally!


    Many naturally tried and hoped to resist, but when they saw how the Royal Faction mercilessly mobilized all of its avable forces, they were left in despair.


    Of course, smarter fellows were able to see that this was the right choice. The kingdom needed stability and unity now more than ever, even if force and unscrupulous means were required!


    What surprised them was the fact that it wasn''t the Queen, but the Crown Princess herself who had suggested everything and executed all of this mercilessly!

 Chapter 202 - 202

    April 27th, 8760 of the Faustian 4th generation calendar.


    Darius woke up three dayster, after he had been dragged back to the Baratuo outpost by Gunner. The first thing he noticed was that he was currently within a tent that smelled of disinfectant, and he was bandaged up quite lightly as hey on a soft white bed.


    Even more interesting was the fact that this was a VIP medication tent meant for army officers, so that they could receive exclusive and quick treatment without having to share the facilities with other wounded or ill.


    Apart from Gunner whoy on another bed nearby, the tent was currently empty. If there were supposed to be nurses or doctors, they had clearly administered whatever healing the duo had needed and left.


    Darius checked his body and found that he felt quite normal overall. To be sure, he called up his character sheet as well as Gunner''s.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 440/440


    MP: 1,050/1,050


    Level: 21


    Experience: 0/2100


    Strength: 20


    Agility: 30


    Endurance: 22


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Curious


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: Analyze - Lv.6, Combine - Lv.1, Skinning - Lv.1, Butchery - Lv.1, Cooking - Lv.1, Washing - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv.4


    Spells: Sparks - Lv.20, Ember - Lv.4, Blink - Lv.10, Heal - Lv.16, Spawn - Lv.20, Purify - Lv.1, Adjust - Lv.5, Pulse - Lv.1]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 600/600


    MP: 735/735


    Level: 21


    Exp: 0/2100


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 25


    Endurance: 24


    Intellect: 35


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 20


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Turbulent.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Skills: Engage - Lv.4, Energy Ward - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.20, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 1, Berserker''s Rage - Lv.1, Earthen Punch - Lv.4, Basic Martial Arts - Lv.1, Mageward Barrier - Lv.15


    Spells: None.]


    While Darius was d to see that the Quest had been counted aspleted since he and Gunner had silently climbed up to the Journeyman stage, he was more worried about his Branded Servant''s state.


    He himself felt fine and the system seemed to agree, but Gunner''s mind was currently in a ''turbulent'' state. Darius guessed it had to do with the mental damage the half-giantd must have sustained while bringing them here.


    As for himself, he had Mind Power, so he could easily recover from such things. Gunner though, did not have that quaint luxury as of yet.


    Darius rose from his bed slowly and removed the now redundant bandages on his body. He walked over to Gunner''s side and saw that therged indeed looked to be suffering as his face was locked in a perpetual grimace, even while asleep.


    Darius sighed deeply. Had it not been for Gunner''s valiant self-sacrifice and fortitude, he would have likely fallen in those bloody ins. As such, he felt ufortable seeing the fellow suffer like this.


    Luckily, he should have a solution for this!


    Darius extended his Mind Power tendrils around the tent and made sure there was no one hiding anywhere nearby. After doing his due diligence, he took out the Bowl of Nuwa.


    The sparkling Pure Water he had put inside had now changed to a darker liquid that looked like ake reflecting moonlight. Darius'' face changed after he smelled the aroma of the liquid, for it filled his body with endless vigor and power.


    Even Gunner''s grimace lessened in intensity after smelling it. Darius curiously Analyzed the liquid to see its exact effects.


    [Lunar Dew - Liquid


    Durability: MAX


    Description: The legendary dew of the heavens, Lunar Dew is the most powerful elixir know to man. It has the ability to revive the dead, cure all ailments, and grant eternal youth to all who drink it. When reviving the dead, it can only do so for those who died within 1 year of drinking this nectar.]


    Darius was honestly amazed. This was an elixir greater than all others in Faust, and its effects were simply amazing. If Darius tried to sell this, and assuming he had the requisite power to prevent others from simply killing him then taking it, he would quickly be the richest man in the world.


    However, since he didn''t have such power, he would have to simply make do with hiding it like his Transmutation ability.


    Ah, speaking of that, it should have upgraded by now, right? While Darius was curious and excited to see how Transmutation might have changed, he wanted to resolve Gunner''s issue promptly.


    As such, he helped therged down the Lunar Dew gently, making sure he swallowed it all. Whatever the case, it only took Darius 24 hours to produce a new batch of the dew, so he didn''t mind witnessing its direct effects on Gunner.


    The moment the Branded Servant ingested the liquid, his body glowed in a wondrous light for a second before subsiding. Right after, the fellow opened his eyes and gazed around uncertainly before rising to his feet.


    When he saw Darius smiling beside his bed, and saw the Bowl of Nuwa, the fellow understood. With a deep sigh, he greeted his master with a smile and jumped off the bed.


    Immediately, the fellow''s stomach grumbled, making the duough. They were still wearing their polymer suits, which the various healers had been unable to remove for they had never seen such materials in their lives.


    "Well, we should quickly return to Andrato and withdraw our assets before making our next move. The kingdom won''t be very stable for much longerˇ­" Darius stated seriously.


    Gunner nodded. "What is our next move?"


    Darius rubbed his chin. "After sorting out Andrato, we need to secure the Resurrection Stone somewhere safe and create an environment to cultivate it. I already have everything nned out in that regard."


    "As for what we''ll do after that, I''m not too sure at the moment. However, I do have some ideas, so let''s just wait and see."


    Gunner acknowledged Darius'' words as the duo exited the tent. They then saw the camp which was bustling, but the air was a bit heavy and stale with despair.


    Before the duo could go anywhere, a guard who had been standing outside the tent turned around and addressed them sternly. "Overseer Garm told me to inform you upon your awaking that you are to see him immediately!"

 Chapter 203 - 203

    Darius had partially expected this, so he didn''t bother arguing. He simply walked over to themand tent with Gunner in tow. He could see various people entering and exiting the tent quickly, carrying orders to and fro.


    The atmosphere was bustling and rushed, with an invisible pressure palpable, unlike thest time he hade here. Darius had an inkling of why this was the case, but he doubted the information from the frontlines could have reached here already unless he had been out for weeks.


    They probably only had a bad premonition or suspicion based on Darius'' own condition, so that was why Overseer Garm likely wanted to meet him, for a quick debriefing on what the hell happened.


    Darius entered the tent with Gunner, only to see the Overseer seated with his deputies as they discussed many things in hushed tones. Once they all saw Darius enter, their faces changed greatly, especially Garm''s.


    "All nonmand personnel, vacate the Overseer''s tent and stay out until the current meeting is finished!" Garm roared with seriousness.


    All the aides who had been rushing in and out, as well as those standing by the side, paled and quickly left, leaving only Garm, his three deputies as well as Darius and Gunner.


    Garm folded his arms before his face solemnly and stared at Darius with a burning intensity. "Baron Stone, I''m happy to see your condition has improved. Ourstmunique with your camp told us that they were moving out en masse to take down the mission target and had great confidence to do so without being specific."


    "It''s already been 3 days since then without any further contact. You''re the only one to have returned, so could you please let us know what happened during the siege of the necropolis?"


    Darius nodded. "It is crucial that I ry everything that has happened. Time should be of the essence. Please inform the Andrato Kingdom immediately after, so they can quickly deal with the aftermath and prepare for what''sing next."


    For some reason, Darius'' words chilled the hearts of the four military men, as they quickly understood that they were about to hear something very, very horrible.


    "As you likely know by now, the Royal Seneschal had chosen to retire from his position as chairman of the camp. I''d seeded him thanks to my ability to solve many of the issues the camp had been unable to. I started implementing them over a period thatsted 9 days and on the 24th of April, we moved out to assault the Bone Dragon."


    "The source of our confidence was due to the presence of two Pureblooded Vampires who had been subservient to me. With some provisions from me, they sessfully slew the Bone Dragon."


    "Our party then decided to rest a bit before heading towards the target''s necropolis. It was around this point that we encountered a series of impossible events that ultimately led to the worst possible oue."


    Darius then made up the rest of the events to make it seem like he had been outside with the rest all along as they had been ughtered, with only the presence of his two vampires giving them a chance.


    However, ording to Darius, the Stonekeeper''s trump card had allowed the undead to call down the very master of the ins of Death to stage a devastating reversal. His two undead got hijacked, only able to barely knock him away from the battlefield.


    As for his terrible state upon entry to the camp, Darius noted that Garm himself had seen how wretched he had been, and informed him about the undead horde who had tried to stop him.


    As for the othersˇ­


    Darius didn''t need to spell out the rest. The four men here had already gone as pale as sheets, shivering and shuddering as they quickly understood the implications as well as the possible future of their kingdom.


    Garm himself was utterly ashen with disbelief. He continually asked Darius if his story was true, and Darius patiently confirmed each time that yes, it was.


    Darius gazed at him with pity. Unlike himself who had no real attachments to Andrato as an outsider, Garm had been born and raised in this kingdom. All his family and friends lived there, and he had spent so much of his life dedicated to its service.


    Now that it was facing copse, very few people in the world could truly understand what he was going through at this moment.


    However, that was it. That was as far as Darius cared about this entire matter, despite being the lynchpin of the whole disaster.


    To him, he had given Garm the Red Enchant to secure not only safe passage, but also his life in the situation that he returned to this outpost half-dead, which had actually happened.


    Garm had chosen not to end him, instead granting him premium treatment despite it being the best choice. Garm was in control over this entire outpost. If he wanted someone dead from injuries, that person would undoubtedly die.


    Even if there was bacsh due to carelessness, the Superiority Faction would shield him. It was in recognition of this that Darius had taken steps to avoid such a useless death scenario.


    Now, the bill had been paid. He and Garm were now mere acquaintances... and once he left this tent, Garm would just be another stranger in his eyes.


    As such, he only stayed in there for a little longer before leaving with Gunner. Darius checked his forehead as well as Gunner''s, pleased to see that the horrible spatial sealing rune had disappeared.


    As such, he entered a random empty tent and took out a House Portal Scroll. He was about to activate when he remembered he had given his suite to Emily and Fashina.


    It would be awkward if they suddenly appeared in the room while the twodies were ''working'' with other clients. As such, Darius put away the House Portal Scroll and decided to use their blink leap technique.


    After all, the distance from Listo to Baratuo was 240 kilometers. That wasn''t small at all, and travel by carriage would just waste crucial time.


    The duo quickly exited the Baratuo outpost and began their rapid movement. For Darius, the ability to blink once again made him feel much better.


    Of course, he could try and transmute a Journeyman blink spell, but he would rather sit down and Analyze all his changes once he hadpleted all his tasks.


    It took the duo only 30 minutes to cross the distance, reaching the outskirts of Listo.

 Chapter 204 - 204

    The city naturally looked unchanged, as it had only been 12 or so days since had Darius left and the news had yet to spread. Even if Garm was extremely fast, he would need to make a detailed report.


    Not to mention that the Royal Faction would try and suppress the news for as long as they could in order to think up useful countermeasures for the current quagmire.


    Darius entered the town with Gunner, the gate guards greeting him as they had longe to know of his name. Darius was notable, not only for his age and power, but the visual dynamic between him and Gunner.


    Darius greeted back and rushed to the town hall first. He ignored all attempts to stop his moves by the secretary and forcefully met with the City Lord of Listo.


    Nichs was not angry or bothered by Darius'' behaviors. On the contrary, he was instantly worried as he knew Darius to usually be quite a levelheaded and sociable person.


    To make a gaffe like this, there something serious must have happened. Lo and behold, once Darius broke the news to him, Nichs paled greatly but pushed up his spectacles.


    "So what do you intend to do now, Baron Stone?" Nichs asked with a sigh.


    He addressed him by the title he himself had granted him, although he held little hope that the young fellow would stay because of it. Coming here to inform him personally could already be seen as an act of repaying that kindness.


    "My goal is still to rebuild my noble family, and I have managed to acquire the location of a possible site to the Northwest. I n to relocate there for the longest time." Darius answered calmly.


    Nichs frowned, but he had to ask."What about the Andrato Kingdom?"


    Darius paused and then shook his head. "I''m still a noble of this kingdomˇ­ no, of Listo. The town has my full support, which is why I rushed back to inform you so you could make the necessary preparations."


    Darius looked Nichs in the eye. "My next step is to head to the capital and reim the rewards I''ve put up for the mission. I will then use those resources to cultivate some youths of Listo that have the most promise as the next generation leaders of the town."


    "That is the best I can do outside of my own mission."


    Nichs nodded weakly, leaning back into his chair. "And I ask not more from you. Your current consideration is, quite frankly, more than enough. I''ll spend the next few days quickly filtering between the most loyal and talented youths to send over to you."


    Darius chuckled. "Don''t worry about talent, I can turn a pig into a genius with my resources. Just send the ones with the best personalities and the most loyalty. Make sure to send only 10, as I can only support that many at a time."


    Nichs blinked with surprise before epting with a nod. After this, he and Darius discussed more on this coboration and the future of the kingdom before the fellow left.


    Once done, Darius left with Gunner as they rushed towards the capital with their blink leap technique once more. He didn''t bother to do anything else in Listo like see Carlton, for that fellow had nothing to give.


    The rewards were kept safely in the capital headquarters of the Mercenary Guild, so Darius would inevitably have to go there to reim the things he put down.


    When they reached Ando City, the duo entered straightforwardly. Already semi-used to the bustling nature of this expansive city, Darius navigated through the streets as he headed to therge building in the Guilds District.


    There was still some notable trafficing in and out of the Mercenary Guild, despite most of their men being dead in the Adept band of the ins of Death.


    Peopleing to check on the popr mission, seeing its current progress, and trying to redeem some rewards with the points they had umted. There were also new mercenary applicants who hoped to quickly get a mercenary license and take on the mission.


    The design of the building was simr to the one in Listo, just expanded on a greater scale. Darius went to one of the counters and spoke deeply; "I''m here to see the Guildmaster."


    The woman behind the counter froze with a typical industry fake-smile, wondering what to do. She quickly recovered when she realized Darius was an Adept due to his Mind Power, as she was an Amateur herself.


    Not to mention that the fellow who trailed after him was an Adept as well. With utter respect on her face, she didn''t dare to turn away two such powerful visitors and promptly informed the chairman.


    The chairman too could not easily turn away such people, especially in recent times, so he called for them toe up. Darius smiled as he was led through the many floors of the building towards the top, Gunner simply maintaining his Earth''s Guardian skill up since it raised his stats to the Adept level.


    When they were led to the wide double doors that led to the Guildmaster''s office, Darius and Gunner were admitted into a shockingly rather small chamber that was well-decorated.


    It was the pr opposite of Carlton''s wide office with minimalistic design and some workout equipment by the side. However, just because the Guildmaster was not a gym junkie, it did not mean he was a pushover.


    From what Darius was seeing with Analyze, this fellow would likely be able to squeeze his head off with one arm like he was a piece of soft fruit.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Lisbon Duerro


    Race: Human


    ss: Halberdier


    Subss: Fighter


    HP: 5,616/5,616


    MP: 1,122/1,122


    Level: 51


    Strength: 78


    Agility: 45


    Endurance: 72


    Intellect: 22


    Charisma: 7


    Luck: 2]


    Lisbon, the Guildmaster of the mercenaries, looked up from his desk at his visitor with interest. He made a small sound of surprise when he saw who it was, instantly recognizing the key characteristic of the youth who was taking the kingdom by storm.


    With a smile, Lisbon gestured to the seat opposite him.


    "Friend Darius Stone, please take a seat so that we may discuss any issue you have with the guild promptly."

 Chapter 205 - 205

    Darius took a seat opposite the capital''s Mercenary Guildmaster and proceeded to inspect the fellow. Lisbon was surprisingly average in terms of looks and stature. He wasn''t a buff fighter like Carlton who radiated testosterone and muscles.


    He was around 5''11 in height from what Darius could tell, with a lean build that was toned from his tight-fitting attire. He had short ck hair that was neatlybed, a sharp nose, trapezoid-like eyes, and semi-thick lips.


    He wore a nicely ironed long-sleeved white shirt and ck trousers, looking dissonantly simr to office workers from Earth, onlycking the tie.


    He had been pouring over documents before Darius hade in and had put them down to deal with his visitor properly. Just as Darius was inspecting him, so too was he sizing up this so-called prodigy of Andrato with his own two eyes.


    In the end, Lisbon nodded. Thisd had a boundless future, and so too did the one behind him. It was best to treat them with respect for now, unless they proved to be enemies of the guild''s interestster on.


    "So, what can I help you with, Lord Stone?" Lisbon asked slowly.


    Darius smiled. "Sir Lisbon has hosted the mission of my master for the past 3 weeks, and I have been tasked to report that it has been a solid failure."


    Lisbon blinked with surprise, trying to calm his suddenly beating heart as he digested Darius'' words and the implications behind them. The man was silent for more than 5 minutes, and Darius also allowed him to freely consider what to do next.


    Eventually, Lisbon looked at Darius and asked solemnly. "Can I ask Lord Stone for more rification on your words earlier?"


    Darius nodded. "Not a problem. Firstly, I am the representative of Master Anderson, the person who had tasked Listo''s Guildmaster Carlton with issuing this quest. In fact, I was the one who met him directly and handled the negotiations."


    Darius whipped out a special mission issuer''s token that the Mercenary Guild used to identify specific mission issuers. "With this, any doubts you might have should be cleared. In the presence of more doubts though, feel free to contact Carlton himself to find out the truth."


    "Secondly, the mission has copsed in total failure. After fighting for 3 weeks, the various powerhouses decided to siege the bastion of the final target, Stonekeeper Marasmus."


    Darius smacked his lips. "Regretfully, I have to admit that Master Anderson doubted theˇ­ qualityˇ­ of the fighters of this ermˇ­ ''lowly kingdom''ˇ­ as he had put it, hence why he sent me to take part of the battle. With the other powerhouses, we battled against the Bone Dragon and then Marasmus himself until the master of the ins of Death himself descended."


    Darius had a fearful expression on his face. "Luckily, Master Anderson gave me a life-saving talisman that had a Master-stage Spatial Transportation spell, taking me and my servant away. As for the fate of the rest... well I shall leave it to your imagination."


    Lisbon was utterly bbergasted, his face paling as sweat fell down his brows. Even as he tried to wipe it, new beads formed faster than he could clean them, leaving him drenched.


    Like Garm and his deputies, Lisbon was able to understand the magnitude of the current situation. It was his understanding of this plus what Darius revealed earlier that left him like this.


    With a weak smile, he inquired carefully. "What instruction does Master Anderson have for us?"


    Darius had a bitter smile. "Heˇ­ when I reported the situation to himˇ­ he coldly asked me to retrieve the rewards he put up so..."


    He deliberately paused as if looking for the right words, before eventually adding: "So he may file the mission to a petent kingdom'' as he put it."


    Lisbon paled even further, and the worst-case scenario he had envisioned hade to pass. When Darius had told him the mission failed and that all the fellows had died, a spark of hope had lit in him.


    Ifˇ­ if he could swallow those resources and use them to grow his faction, his position in the entire Mercenary Guild would rise!


    One should know, that organizations like the Mercenary, Traders, Thieves, and Assassins Guild were not unique to the Andrato Kingdom, but were a continent-wide force with branches in every major city and town of all kingdoms.


    It was only Adventurer''s Guilds that were unique to each and every kingdom as they decided how their citizens could explore the treasure zones known as dungeons.


    As such, while the guild did not exactly fear the pressure of a Master-stage expert on their own, it was not the kind of person Lisbon personally could afford to offend.


    However, spitting out those resources seemed too painful, especially given the cost they had incurred because of them!


    Darius saw the struggle on Lisbon''s face as he analyzed the facts, trying to look for loopholes in which he could try to keep the reward within the guild - either for his higher-ups or for himself - then smiled provocatively.


    In truth, he had expected this. Most adults on Earth had directly and indirectly experienced such a phenomenon at least once in their lives, especially with financialpanies.


    When insurancepanies were taking their premiums from one''s sry, they''re able to calcte it quicker than a supeputer and snatch the funds even faster than The sh.


    Yet, whenever there would be a time to cough up the money for whatever reason (car, life, health) they would be extremely reluctant to do so, and use almost every excuse they could think of to either dy or invalidate the insurance im.


    Lisbon was trying to pull the same thing right now.


    Darius was not in the mood to savor the show and eventually beat the fellow into submission by mentally cornering him, as he was on the clock. Harder methods would need to be used.


    Darius frowned visibly. "Mr. Lisbon, is there a problem? A matter such as returning the offered reward for a failed mission is not something to think about so deeply, is it?"


    Lisbon was stunned by Darius'' sudden aggressive approach to the matter and inhaled deeply. He understood that the person behind this fellow was impatient to see the mission done and did not want to waste his time dallying about.


    If.. If he dyed further and caused the fellow behind Darius toe down, things would not be so pleasant and friendly!

 Chapter 206 - 206

    Lisbon understood this, but his greed was hard to quell. He knew it would be a risk to push further, but he had to make some moves and see where he could gain advantages.


    With a questionable smile, he spoke righteously. "Not a problem, not a problem at all! How can I withhold what rightfully belongs to the great master?!"


    Then, he showed an amicable expression to Darius. "I understand that your master wants to re-issue the mission? If you could simply let me know which kingdom or empire he has in mind, then I shall personally handle everything without needing to disturb him or yourself, Lord Stone."


    Gunner''s eyes shed as his aura climbed slightly. Darius didn''t stop his Branded Servant this time as his eyes narrowed. He had underestimated this Guildmaster, thinking that a mercenary could not outwit a merchant.


    However, Lisbon had attacked from the safest weak point of his argument. No matter how Darius put it, his words were wise and without w.


    Should he refused, he could not me Lisbon for anything, while - assuming the Guildmaster was daring - he could continue to raise doubts.


    Darius however, read Lisbon. His posture, bodynguage, breathing, and expression. Once he was sure that the fellow - from what Darius could see - was grasping at straws, he simply smiled and rxed.


    He waved Gunner down and spoke. "Thank you for the kind offer, but your offer assumes that Master Anderson knows or trusts you. To be blunt, sir, he doesn''t. The only one he trusts in this room is me, and it is through my hands he will have his matters executed."


    Understanding the naked threat, Lisbon smiled weakly. "I suppose I can''t me your master for the distrust after we''ve failed to meet his expectations. Why don''t I let my subordinate fetch the various rewards quickly then?"


    Darius acquiesced with a grin. "That would be most wee! Just be sure to get it done quickly, as time is of the essence. I''m sure with the information I''ve graciously shared with you, there is a lot you need to do before the news spreads."


    Lisbon''s lips visibly twitched. He had already stated that he would have an aide retrieve the materials, alright? Why fire an even heavier threat - well, mostly a warning this time - just like that?


    In a matter of minutes, filled with an awkward silence between the two parties, a knock on the door was heard. It opened to reveal a well-dressed female secretary with a Bag of Holding in hand. She quickly passed it over to Lisbon, bowed to the group, and left right away.


    The Bag of Holding sat on the desk between Lisbon and Darius, and both men''s eyes locked on to it. Then, their eyes rose and shed in mid-air, a strange energy flowing between them.


    Darius eventually smiled and reached out for the Bag of Holding slowly, maintaining eye contact with Lisbon all the while. As for the Guildmaster, he sat in his desk like someone had ced a knife at his back, his unwavering eyes meeting Darius.


    However, his sweaty face and body, as well as his trembling and barely restrained arms betrayed the turmoil he was going through. Yet, even up until Darius gripped the Bag of Holding and pulled it to his side, Lisbon did not make a move.


    Not that he didn''t want to, his trembling told of the self-restraint he had to practice to keep his hands to himself.


    Lisbon knew that if he contested with Darius over the items now, he would be heading towards the deep end, an irreconcble act that could never be taken back.


    Darius nodded to Lisbon while he ced the Bag of Holding into his Inventory. "I''ll be taking my leave then. Stay strong, Lord Lisbon."


    With that, he rose to his feet and left the office with Gunner, leaving Lisbon who suddenly rxed and slumped into his seat with a sigh. What a dangerous situation, his greed had almost set him down on a path of no return!


    He was partially d for his self-restraint, partially regretful for it. If only he had been less indecisive and more courageous, he could haveˇ­


    No, using brute force would have been suicidal, he reasoned. As the representative of someone at the Master stage, Darius was bound to have life-saving items on him. Given the talent of the young fellow, he was very likely the Official Apprentice of that Master Anderson...


    Lisbon only felt that it was time to move on from this job. Nowadays, things were bing too unsteady for an old fellow like him to be stressed out so badly.


    .......


    Once Darius and Gunner left the capital''s Mercenary Guild, they were formally done with Andrato. As such, Darius opened the world map and chose to reset his home on the map to the ce he had long targeted.


    After receiving confirmation from the system that it was done, he opened a House Portal Scroll and used it. Immediately, a golden light shone and swallowed the duo of Darius and Gunner, taking them out of the bustling Ando City and to the ''Divine de''.


    The Divine de being the unofficial name Darius had given the ce he had spawned in, that lone cottage in a dark de with pockets of sweet sunlight dripping down.


    The duo re-appeared within that very same cottage, though Darius noted that there was an extrayer of dust since he had spawned and left. Darius moved to exit the cottage while Gunner curiously observed where he had teleported to.


    Once Darius was out, he inspected the de and was happy to note that it was the exact same he had seen sawst time. A small field of thick low-grass that swayed with the wind, the only ambient lightinging from the little bits of sun that broke through the canopies.


    The pool beside the cottage too was there, and Darius noticed that there was a certain light depth to it. nning to investigateter, Darius returned to the cottage and sat down on one of the chairs lined against the dinner table.


    This made him slightly nostalgic, for he had done the same thing to ponder his circumstances when he first spawned. Currently, he was about to do something simr, which was to ponder his changed characteristic and features afterpleting the previous quest.


    As such, he took out the First Resurrection Stone and ced it on the table before him.

 Chapter 207 - 207

    [First Resurrection Stone - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Uses: 3 (Rechargeable)


    Description: A unique item that was born from the Will of Faust to allow special entities to revive themselves upon death for a limited number of times. It is the first of its kind and was incubated in the body of a child in order to grant it sentience after experiencing his life and absorbing his spiritual energy. It requires the purest infusion of energy to generate a revival chance, and the current maximum is 5 times.]


    Just as Darius had seen when he was on the run from the ins of Death, this stone was everything it was supposed to be. The details alone given in its description allude to so many things and left even more for spection, but Darius wasn''t interested in that at the moment.


    What he wanted to know was how best to use this stone. It had three charges, which meant three chances for revival after the 8,000 years Marasmus spent charging it.


    That alone made Darius understand that each use was as vital as the blood flowing in his veins, and he could not afford to becent and careless just because he knew he coulde back to life after death.


    Darius ced the stone on the table and removed a dagger from his Inventory. He then cut his finger gently, wincing as he did so, then allowed his blood to coat the stone fully.


    What happened next was that the blood was instantly absorbed by the stone, and it shone with a splendorous light before settling down. Darius immediately felt an intangible connection between himself and the stone, like a lifebuoy was perpetually holding his waist to pull him from the ''sea of death'' back onto the ''shores of life''.


    Darius was pleased by this and Healed himself. While he had nice Endurance, it wasn''t at the level of cuts closing up within seconds. He would need to reach Gunner''s level in Endurance first.


    Now that Darius was connected with the stone, he understood a little bit more about how it worked. The moment he died, he would have his soul pulled from wherever he was and brought into the stone.


    The stone would then nourish his damaged soul for a while and then rebuild him a body from scratch. It was this precise process, especially the soul restoration, that swallowed so much energy for it was going against thews of death.


    Darius identified a few problems from this. Firstly, he would only have his soul brought over, so he had to make sure that whatever he had was solidly in his Inventory before he died. Otherwise, it wouldˇ­ ''drop''ˇ­ upon his death.


    Secondly, the body reconstruction would leave him extremely weak. Coming back from death was only supposed to be possible for an undead, but for a living person? Hard!


    Finally, he needed a safe ce to store the stone so that it would not be discovered and destroyed while he was either away, dead and being regenerated by it, or sensed by a powerful being.


    Darius smiled when he realized he had perfect solutions for the three issues. For the first, he would simply do the obvious and make sure that his valuables were kept safe.


    For the second, he could easily provide the best sort of resource that could help in bringing him back to peak health and condition. With the Bowl of Nuwa, Darius could turn water into Lunar Dew.


    As for the final one, that was even easier. It was the exact reason he had chosen to return to his ce of origin, for this de was definitely not something the average person could easily ess.


    With that in mind, Darius put the stone away. He then checked the new ss skill he and Gunner had unlocked from their main sses after ranking up.


    [Combine - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: Merge any twopatible items into one. The items must be of the same grade and be of the same type. The effectiveness of this skill is based on your Intellect stat.]


    [Energy Ward - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists physical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 1%!]


    Darius was pleased by both skills. He was staying true to the Itemancer ss he had seen in that anime from his past life, and probably the entire ss in general.


    He couldbine twopatible items of the same grade, huh? His mind firstnded on the Lunar Dew and the True Dragon blood he had. His original n had been to put the dragon blood in the Bowl of Nuwa for 24 hours and see what miraculous liquid woulde out of it.


    Which one was better? To let the bowl work its magic orbine the liquids if they could?


    Why not both?


    He could justbine the two first and then ce it in the bowl. Even if it doesn''t work, no one could fault him for trying to get the best out of it.


    As for Gunner''s own skill, it basically solidified the half-giant''s perfection as a frontliner and main tank. He had the Mageward Barrier to give him resistance against magic and the Energy Ward to give him resistance against physical damage.


    This was all buffed in the background by his Earth''s Guardian skill. All therged needed now was a skill to defend his mind, and the situation from before would never repeat itself as long as he had enough Skill Points to maximize the skills.


    Unfortunately, despite leveling up from 20 to 21, they had not gained any AP or SP. Darius was unsure whether this was another one of Caesar''s tricks, or just the result of having benefitted from the maximum extra 20 they got while at the stage cap.


    With a glint in his eye, Darius finally honed in on what was likely the most important change of his new stage for more than one reason.


    He checked out the improvements of his Transmutation ability...

 Chapter 208 - 208

    [Transmutation - Unique Ability


    Cost: Unique


    Description: You are a living Philosopher''s Stone, able to convert any substance or matter from one form to another. This ability has its own unique cost for conversion and ruleset listed below.


    Rule #1: The ability to transmute is tied to your avable Conversion Points. At your current stage, you will be capped at 100 Conversion Points.


    Rule #2: Conversion Points refresh each day at 12 am. Unspent Conversion Points are discarded and reced.


    Rule #3: Only items and semi-sentient organisms can be transmuted at your current stage.


    Rule #4: You can only transmute items that already exist in the world of Faust.


    Rule #5: Items that are owned by the user can be converted into Conversion Points. Conversion Points gained in this manner can exceed the limit and will not be discarded upon reset.


    Rule 6: Static Transmutation is possible.


    Rule 7: Batch Transmutation is possible.]


    Darius'' body shivered. While it seemed like nothing much had changed, only three major things, these three were enough to change the way he used this ability from the ground up!


    Firstly, Darius now jumped from a mere 10 CP to 100! What he could not even dream of making before could now be done easily. This didn''t just concern the items he could make before which he could make in bulk numbers now, but items he simply could not reach no matter how clever he was about it.


    For example, Intermediate spells. The initial fireball spell he had tried to transmute back then with a leaf had been 30 CP at first, but got reduced to 18 CP when he had attempted to use the empty spell manual as the base material.


    Of course, Darius still preferred to buy shoddy Journeyman spell books and transmute them for a mere 2 CP into actually usable ones. This would be his go-to from now on, as he still had almost a hundred different defunct spell manuals in his Inventory that he bought from that one bookshop alone.


    Nevertheless, he was sure that there would still be instances where he might end up having to either draft a spell for his specific purposes using the Magical Method or transmute one from scratch.


    Either way, he now had enough points per day to do such a thing.


    The second thing that changed was the addition of Static Transmutation. After his point cap increase, this was the other thing that moved him greatly.


    What was Static Transmutation? It was basically - as far as Darius could tell - the ability to transmute something from itself to itself. Basically, one could change a conifer leaf into a conifer leaf of the exact same make.


    This was useless and impossible with normal transmutation, for its fundamental purpose was to change something from one state/form to another. Who had so much free time to change gold into the same amount of gold?


    However, this was different when concerning his specific Transmutation ability!


    It has already exposed itself for being elitist, able to turn any chosen target item to the best possible form after conversion.


    So what did this mean? It was quite simple really! Darius could convert average items into perfected ones!


    This was not the same as making Intermediate spells through his usual method. In that, he was changing a wed and iplete item into aplete one. There was a fundamental change in the core of the matter.


    However, he could now buy an actuallypleted and perfectly functioning Journeyman spell and ''perfect'' it.


    If someone brought him a well-made iron spear, for example, he could grab it and transmute it into one made through the Transmutation ability''s elitist methods, which would be significantly stronger than its initial state!


    The utility of this, whether for mercantilism or general use, was endless!


    As for the final change, which was Batch Transmutation, it was more of a thing of convenience. It was something Darius very much appreciated after having had to slowly handle multiple transmutations one by one, which could be tedious, especially if there were severe time constraints.


    With this though, he could likely convert a batch of items at once, as long as he had the required CP. The specific applications would have to be tested though.


    Extremely satisfied with his Transmutation ability, Darius first took out the Bowl of Nuwa and the Pure Water. He poured the water into the bowl, filling it before leaving it on the table so he could observe the changes over time.


    He had not dared do this before for fear he could be seen, but this spawning zone should be a secure location, so there was no issue now. Darius rose from his seat and patted Gunner on the back.


    "Bring out the utensils and furniture." He instructed kindly.


    Gunner nodded and walked around the cottage, removing two beds, some cabs, silverware, and especially cooking utensils. Darius had already inspected the cottage when he had first spawned, so he knew exactly what itcked.


    As such, he prepared the necessary things to make it livable since he nned to stay here for a while, hopefully. While he watched Gunner do what he had to do, Darius grabbed another random wooden bowl and filled it with Pure Water.


    He then concentrated.


    [Would you like to change the bowl of Pure Water into a bowl of Lunar Dew? This will cost 345,000,000 Conversion Points.]


    Darius stopped breathing for a moment. His expression warped greatly, his eyes blinking as if to make sure the number they were seeing was not a figment of his imagination.


    However, no matter how many times he rubbed them, it stayed the same. Darius couldn''t help but gulp and cast his eyes upon the Bowl of Nuwa that sat there inly.


    He gained a newfound respect for the item after understanding just how costly the kind of conversion it was making was. He had been slightly impatient about its 24-hour requirement, but now realized that it would be worth it, even if the process would take a year.


    Darius tried once more.


    [Would you like to change the bowl of Pure Water into a bowl of Dragon Blood? This will cost 6,770 Conversion Points.]


    Darius wrung his lips. This one was also out of his reach for now, but he was not as disheartened. The price was steep, but if every new stage gave him ess to 10x the CP, then he would be able to create this at the Master stage!

 Chapter 209 - 209

    He stopped here for now. There would be enough time to handle thister, but for now, there was something very crucial he had to take care of... so he started preparing a meal for himself and Gunner.


    After eating their fill, Darius sat on the chair and sighed. He then spoke to the air casually. "Caesar, you are free to descend now."


    {Hello, Darius Stone! It is I, the Central Assistant Entity for ves Acting Roles, CAESAR, here to congratte you on your sessful upgrade to the Journeyman stage!}


    {After facing intense trials, the like of which would crush any contender, anding out on top, you have sessfully proven yourself to be worthy of a role greater than just being an extra in her grand y!}


    {I myself am marginally impressed with you and your ability to turn around the situation, as well as the oue of your actions toplete the Quest!}


    {Watching you was greatly entertaining for myself and the Goddess, especially the part where you nearly got brutalized by hordes of undead so close to the finish line! Ha! Ha! Ha!}


    {There are some things to note about your current changes. The first is that your System has been ''fixed'', so your exp gain cap has been correctly limited to 5 levels above and 5 levels below your current one.}


    {Secondly, your Transmutation''s 5th rule had been sealed by me in order to see how effectively you would use the ability without such an easy shortcut, but has now been released!}


    {Thirdly, the Supreme System upgrades by an entire version with each stage you climb. Major changes will be made to the system after I leave, so make sure to check the changelog periodically!}


    {Finally, the Goddess was so impressed with your method to pass the Quest that she has granted you a 5-year reprieve! In this time, you do not need to worry as to whether your actions will incur her dislike or boredom! Treat it as a much-needed vacation!}


    {That is all for now. I will descend again in the presence of apelling situation, or to inform you of your Adept stage climbing Quest!}


    {Always remember, Faust is here for YOU to conquer! Charter armies, lead nations, and tame dragons in your quest to supremacy!}


    After that, Darius was certain that Caesar had left. He thought about the things the AI had said and smiled with mixed emotions.


    The experience cap thing was something he had long since found out, but it was clear that Caesar had disdaineding down to inform him of it after he made the changes in the background, even using the excuse of ''fixing'' the system when he had clearly wanted to trick Darius with it.


    The matter about the 5th rule of Transmutation had greatly bothered him for a long while now. He had tried countless times to convert something he owned into points to add to his own so he could make necessities, especially those first few days in the wild.


    Even when he settled in the homestead, he had tried to find the specific criteria for items, he still hadn''t been able to convert anything. The same had been true in Listo, where he had once attempted to convert his property title deed just to see if it was possible, yet also to no avail.


    Now, he was being told that it was all due to Caesar''s meddling that he had been prevented from using this feature.


    He could only sigh and calm his indignation. Whatever the case, the ability was no longer restricted now and he would soon see how useful it would be when he ran out of his daily 100 CP as long as he had useless items around that could be changed.


    As for the upgrade of the Supreme System, he was only looking forward to it if the changes were significantly positive. Since he couldn''t tell, he was quite ambivalent about it.


    Finally, the 5-year break granted him by Vena was something he truly treasured. When he had first acquired Transmutation, his first idea had naturally been to sit within the safety of the cottage and spend each day transmuting various items he might need until he reached 19 years.


    By then, he was certain he would have enough umted to allow him to deal with almost anything when he traveled the world of Faust.


    Still, he had no way of knowing how the mysterious Goddess would react to that course of action. He had correctly feared that Vena would be dissatisfied by his approach and might have crushed his recently revived soul.


    Perhaps she might not have taken such drastic measures right off the bat, but she would have certainly pushed him to leave after gathering his bearings, a choice which was foolish in the eyes of some, but necessary in his own.


    With a nice 5-year break, he could now safely just do what he had nned. It was just enough to make a heap of unique items with Transmutation as well as wait out the cmity urring in the Andrato Kingdom currently.


    Whether or not the kingdom would survive was something Darius was curious to see.


    The Supreme System''s pop-up soon took over his entire view.


    [Important System Announcement! The Supreme System will undergo a major update as a result of the User''s increase in stage as per protocol.]


    [Downloadingˇ­ unpackingˇ­ updatingˇ­ 10%ˇ­ 40%ˇ­ 80%ˇ­ 100%.]


    [Updatepleted!]


    [Wee to the Supreme System version 2.0! Please check the Database for the changelog of all updates made to the system.]


    After this, the pop-ups disappeared. With a suitable amount of raw curiosity, Darius opened the Database and saw that it had greatly changed. Not bothering to manually analyze it just yet, he navigated to where he''d find the official changelog.


    [Official Supreme System Changelog:


    Version 2.0


    Character


    - Stamina stat will now be disyed. Calction is Endurance x Level.


    - Overall Stage will now be disyed.


    - Skills have been recategorized into: Active, Passive, and Abilities.


    Inventory


    - Total space has increased by 30%.


    - Maximum item size limit has increased by 50%.


    - Smaller spatial items can now be stored within.


    - Semi-sentient lifeforms can now be stored within.


    Events


    - Total number of active Events has increased from 1 to 5.


    - Total number of queued Events has increased from 0 to 10.


    Database


    - Changelog has been implemented.


    - Categories have been expanded and changed.


    - Information retrieval can be done passively.


    - Types of eptable information has greatly expanded.


    Map


    - Minimap disy options expanded.


    - Cartographical disy can be changed to topographical.


    - Dynamic 3D view is possible within 1 km of the user.


    Settings


    - List of changeable options has been expanded following other upgrades.


    - Options regarding Branded Servants, Execution of Abilities, and Skills have been added.


    Version 1.03


    Character


    - Experience gain mechanic changed.


    Version 1.02


    Quests


    - Added function


    Events


    - Added function


    Version 1.01


    Map


    -Added function]

 Chapter 210 - 210

    Darius observed the changes and found that they were pretty mild. The Character menu basically got a proper update, the Inventory became much stronger and more useful, the Events basically became more avable, the Database became more organized and the Settings menu got more options.


    Darius also noted that the earlier changes were also listed, which he noted down. At least now, if Caesar were to make any changes to the established mechanics in the background, Darius would be able to see them.


    That was much better than having to find everything out the hard way, or during battle.


    Darius finished his inspection of the Supreme System. While he was tempted to open his Character menu and see what exactly was changed, he had a more pressing issue to solve.


    With that in mind, Darius removed the various items he had in his Inventory that were items at the level where he simply could not do without.


    After the barter for the stone, the ones he had left were the Egg of a Hellhound, the Digital Tablet, the Phoenix Quill, the Cupid''s Heart, the Tome of Demonion, and the Entry Token to Gravitas from Foldo''s collection.


    From Da''s, he had the Dagger of Hassasin, Mjolnir, the Desert King''s Turban, the shaft of the Dragonce, the Bowl of Nuwa, the de of Gareth, the Heartbeat Sensor, the AI Chip, the Foci of the Adept, the Soul Paper, the ''love nectar'' of Aphrodite, the Lamp of a Universe, the True Dragon Blood, the Insect Queen Egg, the nk Check from Waukeen and the Bow of Houyi.


    To be quite frank, Darius didn''t have a direct use for some of these items. He slowly separated them into tiers of usefulness as well as ced a mental note beside them that dictated his possible uses for them.


    The S-tier items of this list were the Bowl of Nuwa, the True Dragon Blood, the Tome of Demonion, the Digital Tablet, the AI Chip, the Desert King''s Turban, the Shaft of the Dragonce, the Lamp of the Universe, the Entry Token and the Insect Queen Egg.


    These were items Darius nned to use himself. The Bowl of Nuwa, the Entry Token, and the True Dragon Blood were already calcted. The Tome of Demonion would allow him to use items to summon demons of any kind - depending on his offering - which would be a great tool in battle or for other uses.


    He had not used it during the escape of the ins of Death because, at the time, he had been a weak Amateur holding the Resurrection Stone. Why would he call a lion over when he was trying to run from a dog?


    The Digital Tablet might only have been an item he had used to y, but now that he had the Combine skill, he nned to fuse it with the AI Chip. Whether it would work or not was something he wasn''t sure of, but it wouldn''t hurt to try.


    The Desert King''s Turban was a useful tool for if he evernded in Ludo, he could use it to rule over the continent so long as he passed the grueling test.


    The shaft of the Dragonce was something Darius nned to either transmute back into its full self,bine with another spear to get something great, or reforge into ance which would be the most basic application.


    The Lamp of a Universe was kinda misc at this point, but its unending storage intrigued Darius. If he didn''t have an Inventory, thismp would be the perfect tool.


    Unfortunately, it had a poor method of categorically storing items, and an even more atrocious removal process, so he stuck with his Inventory. Even Bags of Holding would be far better for now.


    The Insect Queen Egg was quite obvious. He was going to rear an Insect army, not to take over the world or fight any humans. That would be utterly stupid as the various kingdoms would unite to annihte him.


    No, the Insect army was going to spend their entire lives farming dungeons endlessly for him.


    With only a few of them, it surely would not be that remarkable. Once they reached thousands, then millions though? Godly.


    Darius was certain that over the many years, he wasn''t the only one to have thought about this, so if he hadn''t seen signs of anyone doing it, then either it was impossible for some reason or those who had managed such a feat had it hid very well.


    Either way, caution would be prudent.


    The A-tier items of this list were the Bow of Houyi, the nk Check, the Foci of the Adept, The de of Gareth, and the Dagger of Hassasin. These were the items which were useful, but not exactly to Darius personally. As such, he''d hand them to either Branded Servants or trustworthy underlings to make the most out of them.


    The B-tier items of this list were the Egg of a Hellhound, Cupid''s Heart, the Heartbeat Sensor, and the love nectar of Aphrodite. These were items that were utterly useless to Darius for the future.


    As such, they were only there to be traded away with various parties for what he needed or could be used as offerings to call down high-rank demons with the Tome.


    The final category were the C-tier items, consisting of the Soul Paper, the Phoenix Quill, and Mjolnir. These were items that were neither useless nor useful per se. They were in a misc category where they had a set purpose in Darius''s mind that would benefit him indirectly.


    After sorting these things out, he ced them within his Inventory once more. He called out to Gunner and had therged follow him into the Divine de.


    Darius then headed to the pool and ced his finger within. To Gunner''s surprise, all the water simply disappeared at once.


    Darius rose to his feet and patted his hands, exining with a smile to Gunner. "I stored it all in my Inventory."


    Gunner nodded with understanding, looking enlightened. Darius chuckled and patted his shoulder.


    "We''ve been given 5 years to rest and prepare for the next scene of the y. As such, we must use this time fully and fruitfully. From now on, fill the Bowl of Nuwa with Pure Water once a day, and pour the consequent Lunar Dew into this pool."


    Darius lowered his hand and walked into the cottage with Gunner trailing behind.


    "I don''t believe that we can''t fill it up in 5 years'' time."

 Chapter 211 - 211

    May 1st 8765 of the Faustian 4th generation calendar.


    About 5 years have passed since the day that the Andrato Kingdom had been thrown into turmoil due to the death of most of its core powerhouses. The predicted internal unrest had only urred for a short 3 months since everything had been brutally yet effectively suppressed by the Royal Faction.


    Still, one good thing hade out of that course of action. The Royal Faction now controlled almost all aspects of Andrato Kingdom directly, instead of letting various nobles and external private factions do so due to their weakness.


    Nevertheless, Andrato Kingdom was facing great external pressure from all sides. What came from other kingdoms was mostly mild as they sought to nt their feet in this small kingdom and suck away some benefits in passing.


    However, the Fraterina Kingdom had be like a beast that had smelled blood and gone crazy. Based on the methods they had been using these past few years, they had done everything short of dering war!


    For one, they had gathered the broken remnants of the various destroyed factions that had been usurped by the Royal Faction to their side, nning to leverage their support to weaken the kingdom.


    The utility of this was poor, as these fellows had been the beaten dogs left behind to watch the house at best. Those who were truly powerful had sided with the Royal Faction against this outside threat.


    It was one thing to fight internally and another to lead wolves into one''s own home. Those who had tried to do so got annihted with utmost force.


    The Royal Faction had entered their tyrannical phase in totalum.


    ...............ˇ­..


    In terms of chaos, the town of Listo was faring better than most others due to its great distance from the capital and its closeness to the ins of Death. Many agencies here had managed to remain intact and the City Lord seemed to be cooking up some devious n with the other nobles.


    On this day, the now full Duke Nichs Spencely sat in his office and parsed through documents as usual. He paused to rub his eyes as he sighed with fatigue, but his face broke into a smile as he thought of the message he had received from Darius Stone recently.


    ording to the talentedd, he would open a mage academy of his own and the noble heads in Listo were wee to send over their chosen kin to be trained under him.


    With this, Listo should be able to avoid bing a sacrifice of the uing conflict between Fraterina and Andrato that was just one sneeze away from a full-blown war.


    Why wouldn''t Nics be all smiles in such a situation?


    ..................


    Portia sat in the library within the farmhouse, notpletely focused on the books before her Her mind was obviously distracted from her studies, as she seemed to be gazing into the horizon.


    The formerly youngss had grown into a lovely young woman who had longe of age. At 18, she had grown noticeably taller as her form had be more svelte and curvy.


    Her shoulder-length ck hair of the past now reached her waist, having been tied together due to how plentiful it had be. Her passionate dark eyes had be more clouded and full of confusion.


    Her face had be a lot more streamlined and disyed the beauty of a well-fed and well-taken care of a young woman who had great gics.


    Portia no longer wore her peasant dress from before, instead opting to wear mage robes of a purple color which Derek had bought for her.


    Speaking of her brother, Portia gazed outside the library window to see the young man training in the special yard he had created.


    At the age of 21, Derek was basically a younger copy of their father. His mop of orange hair had remained unchanged, but his unfeeling blue eyes had be more expressive and fiercer, his chiseled face bing less solid but softer. This did not make him less masculine, but rather made him look more handsome andplete.


    He currently wore a nice set of leather armor meant for spearmen that he had bought for himself after taking on tough jobs and dungeon crawling in the nearby Listo dungeon.


    Derek only dared to do this because a few years ago, Darius had sent over Gunner with a Spark Potion that allowed the user to mentally control spears and polearms.


    The Branded Servant had also brought over some skill manuals and spell manuals rted to Spearmanship and Magic for the two of them. Since then, her brother and herself had disyed shocking talent as a result of the items they had used to spark/awaken, rapidly pushing through the Amateur stage to be Journeymen.


    In a twist of fate, Derek no longer became cold whenever Darius'' name was mentioned, now showing extreme reverence to their benefactor. Portia had even overheard him swear that he would work for Darius to pay back his kindness, making her giggle.


    s, herughter usually faded away when she remembered that she hadn''t seen his handsome face in years. Portia''s heart ached so bad that the young woman sometimes felt like she was suffocating.


    She understood that she couldn''t force herself on him. However, now that she was older and more beautiful - ording to her brother, father, and all of the vigers- she was hoping that she could slowly make Darius fall in love with her.


    That was her dream. That was why she had epted his gifts silently and had worked hard all these years, mastering all the Basic spells he had sent over in her chosen categories of Awakening, which were Spirit, Water, Healing, Space, and Earth.


    Derek had almost mastered the ancient arts of the Lancers, as well as the Mental Control skill, the Consciousness Splitting skill, and the Archer''s Precision skill. These skills had helped him make the best of his awakened powers, allowing him to be stronger than his peers in the same realm.


    Portia tore her eyes away from her brother and continued reading up about the Magical Method in preparation for her uing attempt to create her very first Intermediate spell.


    She believed that once she crossed this hurdle and made some aplishments, she would be ready to take the intuitive and seek out the happy ending she wanted for herself instead of passively waiting for the one she loved to appear before her.

 Chapter 212 - 212

    In an underground establishment hidden a good distance away from Poleria''s Homestead, Foldo and Jorge sat together in an executive office with serious expressions as they discussed various topics.


    Jorge had truly changed over the years, both physically and mentally. Physically, her features had developed simr to Portia. The baby fat on her face during her youth had all disappeared as she now looked like a capable young woman.


    Jorge was now 21 years old, and her looks made it seem as if she now turned 18. Her formerly short-cropped golden-red hair that had been tied up was now styled into a lovely crown braid.


    Her formerly cute face had be sharper and slender over the years, her sapphire blue eyes that once showed only resignation and unwillingness, were now calm like a cidke, almost to the point of emotionlessness.


    Her height had increased slightly, making her a rather tall woman. Her figure remained slender and not very explosive, but toned and well-maintained. Currently, Jorge wore a light blue long-sleeved blouse and a calf-length cream skirt that was made of stretchable material.


    Underneath that were ck stockings that reached up to her groin, and two female battle boots that she wore in case she needed to fight. Overall, Jorge really looked cute, but her expression would scare away any suitor.


    Foldo himself had not changed much and looked almost the same as the first time Darius hade to see him in his office. He still had his thick white mustache, dark brown eyes, thick ck lips, and an obtuse jaw angling into a light ''buttchin''.


    He wore his trademark dark green tophat, a lovely white shirt with a tie, a long, greenish-gray jacket that was striped, as well as tailored pants that were also of a deeper shade of green.


    As was part of his preference, he also wore white gloves on his hands and white loafers that reached his ankle. He was currently seated with his legs crossed in a gentlemanly manner, speaking to Jorge about the next moves of their budding faction.


    Foldo held up a document to his face and read it while rubbing his chin. "It seems another noble house has decided to defect after having their assets seized by the Royal Faction. They followed the usual channels to reach out to us for sanctuary and a chance to rebuild."


    Jorge had cold eyes that were unresponsive to this information as she had heard simr things many times over the years.


    Foldo noticed this and smiled coyly. "And you know the name of the noble house? The Orion House."


    Hearing the name of the family that had sent her to infiltrate a bandit group, Jorge''s eyes flickered with life for a second but in the blink of an eye returned to being cold once more. Foldo sighed at his failed attempt to get this youngss to be more lively.


    Nobody could have predicted that she would change like this after being trained harshly by him over the past 5 years. Different people all had their own responses to external stimuli.


    One person could end up extroverted and yful, happy for having survived such torture, while another would end up introverted and reserved, keeping everything to themselves for fear of having to live through something like that again.


    And yet Foldo was determined to bring back the old Jorge. As luck would have it, he had gained a trump card that was guaranteed to invoke some reaction from her.


    He pulled out a missive from an unknown source and opened it. With a solemn tone, he spoke to Jorge about its contents.


    "And finally, our master Darius Stone has sent a message over that he would being out of his seclusion soon. He wanted us to know that he would be passing by for an inspection to check on our operations over the past few years."


    Once Jorge heard Darius'' name, her eyes shone brightly. They became even more sparkling as her face flushed visibly when she heard he would personallye by.


    The young woman pressed her palms on the table and leaned over to Foldo with a look of excitement. "Are you certain? It''s not fake?"


    Foldo smiled. "It''s as real as it gets. The Young Master will be gracing us with his presence, so we''d best tie up any loose ends and present him with the fruits of our hard work lest he ends up dissatisfied."


    Jorge nodded with a grin and rose to her feet. "Then what are we waiting for, shouldn''t we begin ASAP?!"


    Foldo also rose to his feet as he teased Jorge yfully. "What''s the rush? He hasn''t given us a precise date. It seems like you, youngdy, are a bit too eager to see your crush after so long."


    Jorge ignored his jab and grabbed Foldo before dragging him away. She was not a young girl who would blush or be shy after being teased about her obvious feelings.


    She had gone through too much intense suffering over these past 5 years to care about such things. Rather, her mind was more focused on impressing Darius when he appeared, so that she might gain some of his favor.


    Initially, Jorge hadn''t felt anything concrete for Darius. At the time, it had been just a mixture of interest and gratitude. However, after having her eyes opened to the world, she ¨C like Foldo ¨C had begun to worship him, for the things he had shown her had been magnificent.


    Thanks to him, Foldo was now a mid-tier Journeyman mage with the Ice element he had awakened from the onset and the Poison element which he had acquired after climbing to the next stage.


    Jorge herself was a Journeyman rogue. She had received a Spark Potion from Darius'' servant, Gunner, a few years back along with some much-needed skill manuals to help her use it.


    Studying them, she had acquired the ability to control all small weapons within a certain range remotely, as well as the ability to blend into shadows with ease.


    Darius had provided her with skills to better hide herself and manage her mental stamina when controlling her ability.


    It was then that her feelings of gratitude had bloomed excessively into something else, something more. Since that very day, it had grown exponentially with no limit, finally reaching the current point.


    Foldo allowed himself to be dragged along by the now smiling and excited young woman, an imperceptible smile forming on his own face.

 Chapter 213 - 213

    Jeanne Ando sat in a conference room with various aides surrounding her. Junia and Jania Hu, the ever cute duo of Adept bodyguards still remained the same after so many years of protecting the Crown Princess.


    Only she was no longer the Crown Princess, but the coronated Queen of Andrato Kingdom.


    3 years ago, her mother, the previous Queen, had fallen victim to assassination by Fraterina Kingdom''s agents, almost throwing the Andrato Kingdom into the internal unrest Jeanne had fought so hard to quell in the first few months.


    Fortunately, Fraterina Kingdom hadpletely underestimated the degree of Jeanne''s ruthlessness.


    Only a few hours after her mother''s death, the 16-year-old Crown Princess had coronated herself by using all the assets andckeys she had confiscated in the years prior, and forcing those who refused to acknowledge her out of the kingdom by various means.


    These were, incidentally, the same fellows who ended up running to Foldo for help.


    It was only after she had forcibly stifled any chance of unrest brewing, that she held a public funeral for her mother, two months after her passing.


    It had been thest day Jeanne Ando had allowed herself to cry.


    After that, her emotions had always been kept sealed within her mind, reced by a mask to show the public.


    Since then her smiles,ughter, frowns, and sighs had all been carefully curated, to only ever disy what she wanted others to see to achieve her goals at that point in time.


    Jeanne was like a puppet whose strings were controlled by herself. Her choice in manifesting a fake persona for the public while hiding her real thoughts had led to a dangerous situation urring.


    After many months of manipting herself and those around her, she had developed a split personality disorder.


    The real Jeanne, the young woman who was still grieving for her mother, pining for someone to help her shoulder the burdens of a ruler and regretting her actions, had been locked away in her subconsciousness, reliving the best parts of her life over and over again.


    The fake Jeanne, a strange amalgamation of her wishes and memories that was focused only on maximizing the benefits for the Andrato Kingdom and resisting outside forces, now controlled her on the daily.


    This persona was ruthless, unforgiving to her enemies, but kind and loving to those who truly supported her and the kingdom. It was a troubling contrast because it was a thing that could change faces and moods as it was willing, almost like a sentient machine.


    Interestingly, it did not know that it was fake and neither did anyone else. They all believed that this was a natural metamorphosis the former Crown Princess had gone through after enduring all her suffering, which wasn''t wrong, yet wasn''t correct either.


    Although Junia and Jania Hu remained suspicious of the new Jeanne, they ultimately remained fooled.


    Right now, Jeanne was listening to the Master of the Treasury and Finances who was listing the budget of the kingdom for the second half of the year, including ie and nned expenditures.


    When he said something Jeanne agreed with, she would smile beautifully. When it was something she wouldn''t ept, she would frown slightly. It was a subtle hint to the Master as to what he needed to amend and what needed to stay without Jeanne having to call him out to the rest.


    The Master was obviously smart enough to pick up on these clues, so once he finished his reading, he bowed to the Queen and sat down, making notes about how to please her. Jeanne herself pped and praised him for his dutiful management of the economy over the years, something the fellow took with pride.


    The Master of Foreign Matters rose up next as he began reporting the various treaties, alliances, and changes in the continent of Fallon that had urred over the past 6 months, highlighting those that Andrato needed to take note of and those that might affect the kingdom directly.


    "Cough, as always, the Prince of Hakrian Empire is still hoping to gain your hand in marriage. He has sent over quite a long list for the dowry, including an offer for an alliance to fortify and develop Andrato for the next 20 years." The Master of Foreign Matters informed her.


    "We''ve received the same type of inquiries from the princes of the Girdle, the Yuliann, the Bafira, the Dongato, and the Kirlian Empires, as well as the Derna, the Ferdio, the Riaslin, and the Leedo Kingdoms among others. All of which have provided simr or better dowry offers."


    All eyes turned to Jeanne to see her reaction. While she was smiling outwardly, inside her a great storm was going on.


    Jeanne''s fake personality was built with the purpose to seek Andrato''s benefits first and foremost over her own, so a political marriage with a powerful empire would be all it took to turn the kingdom''s fate around.


    Jeanne knew it and the various Masters here knew it, which was why their eyes fell upon her. s, every time this matter was mentioned, Jeanne would quickly turn it down for reasons that baffled the various fellows here.


    Jeanne - the outer Jeanne - only knew that whenever she considered this matter, it felt like a powerful slumbering force within her would open its eyes, and if she allowed that force to fully awaken, she would be wiped off the face of Faust!


    In order to keep that force or power sleeping, she always turned down the matter and focused on other things. It seemed to be a psychological bottom line she had ced upon herself, though outer Jeanne could not understand why, as she was unaware of the inner Jeanne.


    Unfortunately for outer Jeanne, inner Jeanne had a few things she still cared about and considered to be treasured moments in her life. They were mostly moments from her childhood, like the times she had spent with her mother, along with a few other happy times.


    One of them just so happened to be her meeting with Darius and that battle of wits they had shared. It had left a seed of affection in her heart that made her feel that he would be the perfect partner for her.


    The cmity that hade, had unfortunately wiped such girlish thoughts from her mind, but after the death of her mother, everything had exploded on itself, creating the current scenario.


    If outer Jeanne dared to cross anything that was rted to these happy moments that inner Jeanne relived on rey, the true her would take over her body and rece the fake persona she had created to handle the outside world.

 Chapter 214 - 214

    Darius woke up on this day, feeling refreshed and chipper. Gunner was still snoring heavily on the bed beside him, which made the young man shake his head with a sigh.


    Darius was now 18 years old, the perfect age he hoped for since it was the moral equilibrium for him to partake in many events. Not only that, his increased height and perfected looks from his prime made him feel trulyplete.


    He still had light brown skin, slicked-back ck hair that reached the nape of his neck, and an angr face that angled into a soft chin. Darius'' features were, as before, quite soft and androgynous. He looked more like some pretty boy that needed a beating than an old soul that was enjoying a second life.


    His height had gone from barely 5''4 to 6''0, which was enough to make him seem much older than he actually was. Instead of wearing a noble attire, he had learned to just stick with the polymer suit.


    As for the armor itself, it had been upgraded to version 6.0 which boasted much better stats than the version 3.0 they had been using as Amateurs.


    It was not that Gravitas had made exemry progress on their best cloth armor type within those short 5 years, but rather Darius had sessfullybined two version 3.0 armors with his new skill.


    Unfortunately, when he had attempted to furtherbine two version 6.0 polymer suits, they had disintegrated. Either his skill''s level hadn''t been high enough to do more than onebination, or it was generally impossible to do more than one.


    Darius hadn''t found a workaround for this over the years as he had not gained a single AP nor SP sincepleting his first Quest.


    What? Why didn''t Darius go out and kill something to raise his levels even just by one?


    Sorry, but after the ins of Death experience, Darius had decided that he wouldn''t even risk gaining a SINGLE level until he had built up so solid a foundation that he could tackle the 100x difficulty climbing Quest with ease.


    The next Quest to climb to the Adept stage was guaranteed to be even worse than his experience in the ins of Death, so Darius understood keenly that he absolutely needed to spend as much time as he could gathering power.


    This was why he had spent the entirety of his 5 years in the Divine de, using all his 100 CP a day to transmute items endlessly. Every day, consistently, he had created many different items that were useful in building a faction, academy, and city.


    With 100 CP a day, he had been able to spit out 25 Scrolls of Awakening of perfect quality or Spark Potions of various types. His current Inventory was enough to build up an army.


    However, that was just the tip of the iceberg.


    His current Inventory had 999x999 stacks.


    999 of the same item could be kept in each slot. However, instead of individual items, all of Darius'' 999 slots were filled to the brim with Bags of Holding of the highest grade.


    What this meant was that, each slot had 999 Bags of Holding, and his entire Inventory had 999 slots in total. This meant he had 998,001 Bags of Holding in his Inventory at the moment!


    Yet that wasn''t even all of it!


    5 years was a long time, and with 100 CP per day, the number of things he had been able to make would not be this small unless she only made costly items at foolishly high CP costs.


    Even as an Amateur with ess to 10 CP a day, he would have been able to make only slightly less than 1/5th of this in the same amount of time.


    The inside of the cottage had turned into a warehouse despite not increasing in size. Hundreds of chests filled all the other rooms except the bedroom, full to the brim with more Bags of Holding.


    Darius even squeezed his way out of the house to see that the Divine de was neatly packed full with even more chests except for the area around the pool which only contained a single chest with the most valuable items like the ones he could not afford to lose.


    Darius saw the Bowl of Nuwa near the pool and checked its contents to see that today''s batch of Lunar Dew was ready. Without further ado, he raised it up and poured it into the filled-up pool, which contained solely Lunar Dew.


    Its potency was so strong and intense that a slight mist had formed above it. Someway, somehow, various fairies had found their way here and were flying above the Lunar Dew pool, ying with each other and bathing in the mist.


    When they saw Darius approach, they stopped what they were doing and lined up neatly, bowing to him in greeting. Darius also bowed back humbly and both parties continued with what they were doing.


    Seeing that the pool was now at a suitable level, Darius took the First Resurrection Stone which he had kept on his person at all times. Admiring the wless grey stone, he tossed it into the Lunar Dew poll, watching it sink to the bottom.


    This did not cause any ripples to the pool but the various fairies investigated the item with curiosity. However, Darius had already signed a contract on Soul Paper with these fairies. It was now their job to guard whatever he put in the pool at all times, in exchange for him allowing them to use the pool to bathe and strengthen themselves.


    Fairies were much more powerful than humans. Once they investigated the stone, they realized what it was for. Understanding why the Master of the Divine de created the pool, they returned to their business shortly after.


    Darius himself sighed with mixed emotions as he finally finished his main goal in secluding himself here, to create the Lunar Dew pool and store the Stone within.


    That way, the potent essence contained within should allow him to build a perfect body quickly if he ever died. Heck, it might even assist the stone in nourishing his soul, greatly saving the item''s energy!


    Darius turned around to see that Gunner had also squeezed himself out of the cottage, wiping his eyes with tiredness as he walked over to do the tasks Darius had just done.

 Chapter 215 - 215

    Darius observed his Branded Servant who had changed just as greatly as he had over the years. The previously 6"5 Gunner was now at a scary 6"9.


    He towered over everyone and everything else, looking just like aˇ­ mini-giant. His looks had also matured greatly, from his handsome babyish face to a more sculpted and manly visage that would move the hearts of women who loved masculine men.


    Just Gunner''s jawline alone was enough for him to beat any handsome male celebrity from Earth into a fit of tears, much less his burning green eyes that had be more intense during their vacation.


    Now, it literally felt like Gunner was crushing you when he stared at you, like the sky was falling on your head. He had also trimmed his long spiky hair greatly, now making it stand up instead of allowing it to flow down his scalp.


    To Darius, Gunner''s previous hairstyle had been like that popr character from that anime all his kids had lovedˇ­ ermˇ­ something about having to collect 7 balls to summon a wish-granting dragon.


    It was simr to that main character when he had been in his third transformation from the end of the series when Gunner was young, but with it being trimmed, it looked more like the hair of the protagonist''s side-kick ally with a short temper.


    His body had be even more buff and muscr, his skin tone darkening slightly to reach Darius'' level. He also wore a Synthetic Polymer Suit Version Version 6.0, as well as a flexible skirt tied around his waist.


    Darius stopped inspecting his Branded Servant, who was surprised to see his master here. When he looked at the pool, then at Darius who no longer had the First Resurrection Stone tied around his neck, he instantly understood everything.


    No longer calm, Gunner was excited as he rushed over like a storm. His Agility hadn''t increased from 25 points, yet his speed and ability to control his body had climbed leaps and bounds.


    He no longer needed to elerate, being able to instantly hit his top speed if he so chose, thanks to the effects of a Journeyman skill.


    Darius hadn''t been spent 5 years just transmuting, eating, and shitting. With the Batch Transmutation feature, he could spend all his 100 CP in a matter of minutes. What was he supposed to do for the rest of the day then?


    As such, the now young man had spent the first few days making a variety of skill- and spellbooks. Around the time he had sent some over to Foldo''s groups and the Torniam family through Gunner.


    It was crazy how much he had gone all out. He figuratively pped Vena and Caesar on the faces by doing the unthinkable.


    He had not only created a spellbook for every basic spell and learned it, but had also created a skillbook for every weapon style and learned that too!


    Darius was convinced that under Faust''s system nobody had ever learned all the basic spells in existence, and he strongly believed that it would help on his path of Supreme.


    After all, the Supreme had been described as a perfect being across all the ages. It made sense then that he should know everything that he could, shouldn''t it? Otherwise, howe absolute powerhouses like Thanatos and those of that power tier were not Supremes after living for so long?


    The reason Darius had learned the skillbooks though, was not to be a jack of all trades, but a schr of all forms. In other words, if he knew the techniques of swordsmen, archers,ncers, axemen, etc, he would be able to counter them because he knew the science and mechanics behind their techniques and weapons.


    This would be making full use of his heightened Intellect, as the faster calcting speed would allow him to break down any enemy''s fighting style with a few nces whileparing it to the knowledge the skillbooks had inputted in his mind.


    He would be able to counter any enemy he met perfectly!


    That wasn''t all, because he had also learned a shocking variety of Journeyman spells of every element. Right now, Darius couldn''t even disy all his spells and skills on his character menu, but his eidetic memory allowed him to remember them all, so there was no fear about forgetting crucial skills at important moments.


    From Amateur to Journeyman was a huge change for most people, but for Darius, he had gone from notably powerful to insanely overpowered. The same also held true for Gunner, who had been granted a plethora of skills simr to Darius.


    He could counter all weapons types and even had the Journeyman versions of these skills. He also had many skills toplement his bloodline and fighting style, as well as skills that patched up his weakness like the currently disyed one that canceled out his eleration and increased top speed.


    This sounded mindblowing, right? You''re already shivering in fear from how terrible this is, right?


    Well, there''s more!


    It was one thing to buy these so-called skillbooks and spellbooks and then learn them, but that was impossible. So how had theye into being? With the elitist Transmutations ability of course!


    This meant that every skill and spell they had was 5x as effective as the normal version at its prime, so one would have to factor that in when thinking of their array of skills.


    However, where there was good, there was bad.


    It didn''t matter how many skills Darius and Gunner piled onto themselves, they would always remain at level 1 until skill points were thrown in. These left the powerful skills that had great potential in their weakest states.


    Even if you had an army of 10,000 men and the other side had 100, if the 10,000 men were aged grandpas and young toddlers even unable to walk properly, they could only be ughtered by the 100 adult men trained harshly from a young age.


    This was the w in Darius''s clever idea, but he had ways to make up for it now that they were done with their seclusion.

 Chapter 216 - 216

    "Are we leaving now?!" Gunner asked with excitement.


    Darius chuckled. "That''s right. Let''s get a move on before that Caesar fellow descends to berate us for wasting time."


    Gunner scoffed coldly and stood behind Darius, like the perfect bodyguard that he was. Darius himself simply used one of his newly acquired Journeyman spatial spells, Group Teleportation.


    [Group Teleportation - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Control the flow of space around you to transport yourself and a maximum of 5 other targets from one location to another instantly. The maximum distance is 100 meters.]


    As could be seen, this spell was much better than Blink, which had only allowed him to teleport 100 meters at level 10. This likely meant that the base distance for the actual Group Teleportation spell had been 20 meters, but the elitist Transmutation ability had bumped it to 100.


    If Darius upgraded it further, who knew how far it could go!


    The duo disappeared from the Divine de as they entered the ins of the Green. They were still in the midst of the very forest that Darius had spent that first day in, disying how inept he had been at outside survival as a former merchant.


    Instead of continuing the Group Teleportation to their destination, Darius only did it once. After all, he and Gunner had spent the majority of their time in the Divine de, so even if they could reach their destination in minutes, they still preferred to have a walk and see the world after 5 years.


    The duo walked calmly through the forest, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the ambient sounds of wildlife all around them. Gunner moreso than Darius due to how close the Earth element was to the nature one.


    In fact, they were part of one family under Gaia, which was the Earth, Nature, and Life elements. Darius just liked the aesthetic, but wasn''t too pulled into it. Right now, he was staring at a map in his hands.


    Soon a prompt came before him.


    [Detected a map. Add to World Map and mark the target location?]


    "Please do." Darius confirmed with a smile.


    Of course, he wouldn''t say no. In fact, he had done this many times over the past five years. This was due to an idea he had gotten all the way back when he had visited the Polivar Treasure House.


    Back then, he had appraised some items for the Oliver Frenq fellow and one of them was a key to a chest that held a map to a dungeon on the northeast.


    In conjunction with Transmutation rule #4, it beautifully meant that he could transmute anything that exists in Faust, so he had sessfully tried to make treasure maps.


    He had made many over the years for variable costs. Some were on Fallon, some on Unyris, and the other continents. Even on Fallon, although there were very few that were near Darius'' location, most of them being located towards the south which was more abundant with resources.


    However, Darius was less interested in such treasures currently and more interested in a single target, that map leading to an undiscovered dungeon!


    Why did this take priority over treasures that could possibly be on the same tier as the Bowl of Nuwa? Well, it was because Darius had technically defected from the Andrato Kingdom, though one could argue that he had never truly been a part of it.


    As such, he had two choices! Either join another kingdom or empire then use his Charisma as well as his power to gain social resources, or create his own territory!


    Bluntly speaking, there were more pros to joining an established power and rising through the ranks than making his own territory.


    However, this was something a person who transmigrated from Earth would never budge on, no matter how clever!


    Once a person transmigrated, they would eventually step on the path of building their own powers and territory one way or another, especially if they had a certain amount of power.


    Earthlings valued free will and intelligent utilization of the social contract. 10/10 times, an earthling transported to a backwards world - like those focused on cultivation or medieval European worlds - would be disgusted by the backward governance, poor socio-economic policies, and ssistws, striving to make a ce simr to the standards of earth.


    Even Darius had not been different, shaking his head at the shitty standards on Fallon continent''s various kingdoms and empires. Only Gravitas deserved some inkling of his respect, yet their Foreign Policy was utter garbage.


    However, to kickstart a territory on Fallon Continent and attract settlers, one needed to have a dungeon nearby!


    It was imperative and crucial, otherwise how could settlers secure a ce to extract resources?


    How could the budding territory secure a means to expand if it was out in the middle of nowhere? There absolutely has to be something of value nearby, and a dungeon was the best possible kind.


    After all, although Transmutation had helped him create heaps of resources to kickstart an explosive growth period, his 100 CP alone was a hard limit, making it impossible for him to cover everything on his own.


    Of course, the type and grade of a dungeon were also important. Types of dungeons were already known, as they were separated by element. However, Darius had learned that dungeons had grades too!


    A Basic Dungeon had only 3 floors. An Intermediate Dungeon had 5 floors. An Advanced Dungeon had 7 Floors. A Master Dungeon had 10 Floors. Finally, a Grandmaster Dungeon had a whopping 15 floors!


    All types existed on Fallon, and many had been imed. The top 10 kingdoms and empires had Grandmaster dungeons in their capital, and Master dungeons in all their cities.


    Kingdoms and empires in the top 100 had at least one Master Dungeon in their capital and Advanced Dungeons in their other cities.


    Those closer to the top 20 had even more than one Master Dungeon.


    The rest of the kingdoms and empires had at least an Advanced Dungeon in their capital and Intermediate Dungeons in their cities.


    Then there was poor Andrato, which had 5 Intermediate Dungeons including the one in the capital and 20 Basic Dungeons.


    When such aparison was made, it made a little more sense as to why all the others looked down on this fledgling kingdom.

 Chapter 217 - 217

    However, Darius hadn''t been able to sort out the mystery of why the Adventurer''s Guild of Andrato used such a foolish method to handle their adventurers. Of course, the information he learned made these actions make sense in one aspect.


    After all, to contend with these kingdoms that had longer histories and more fleshed-out dungeon diving abilities, they had to toss whoever they could in and hope they would make it out with something.


    This was what Darius was hoping to find out by checking this undiscovered dungeon, as he could explore it freely without being beholden to anyone.


    Its distance from the Divine de was a whopping 10,543 kilometers to the west. Poleria Homestead was only about 70 Kilometers to the east, yet the dungeon was so far.


    Darius preferred it this way though, as he didn''t want to build a faction anywhere near this location that housed his only method to return to life if he ever encountered something beyond his power.


    After he and Gunner exited the forest, they came upon the grassy ins that seemed lively as always. The ins of the Green really was a picturesque grasnd, almost bordering on the loveliness of a healthy meadond.


    Darius and Gunner stood side by side as they breathed in the smell of life and freshness. They stood there for almost three minutes, just getting themselves used to being outside.


    Darius then used this time to check his and Gunner''s character sheets before they officially headed out.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 440/440


    MP: 1,050/1,050


    STA: 462/462


    Level: 21


    Experience: 0/2010


    Strength: 20


    Agility: 30


    Endurance: 22


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Active: Analyze - Lv.6, Combine - Lv.1, Lightning Bolt - Lv.21, Thunder Strike - Lv.1, Fireball - Lv.1, me Pir - Lv.1, Group Teleportation - Lv.1, Void Cut - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Mageward Barrier - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.1, Spell Mastery - Lv.1, Spell Enhancement - Lv.1, Channeling - Lv.1, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Mind Power (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 600/600


    MP: 735/735


    STA: 504/504


    Level: 21


    Exp: 0/2100


    Strength: 25


    Agility: 25


    Endurance: 24


    Intellect: 35


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 20


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Active: Engage - Lv.4, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 1, Earthen Punch - Lv.4, Gigantic Smash - Lv.1, Gigantic Stomp - Lv.1, Earthen Wall - Lv.1, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.1, Mageward Barrier - Lv.15, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.20, Extreme Speed - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.1 etc


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic).]


    Their stats had made absolutely no progress, but their skills and spells? Uncountable. Seeing as there was nothing worth dallying over, Darius then activated Group Teleportation once more, and the duo were off towards their destination.


    At 10 mana per cast and with only 1,050 MP, Darius could not go too far. Fortunately, he had recently transmuted an extremely valuable passive skill called Spell Mastery.


    This basically allowed him to reduce the MP cost for all spells based on the level of the skill. Currently, at level 1, it only reduced the cost of spells by 1% which wasn''t anything to talk about, but Darius had ced it on the list for skills he nned to increase.


    There was incidentally another skill called Spell Enhancement that increased the base power of spells, and it was also at 1% at level 1.


    However, these two paled before the skill Darius had acquired called Channeling, which allowed him to continually maintain a spell or infuse it with power over time for higher MP costs.


    With it, he could make a typical fireball twice its size after channeling mana into it, or make a me pir erupt and burn for longer with the same skill.


    Unfortunately, Darius was still unable to learn skills like Double-cast, Triple-cast, Double-Spell Channeling, and the like because they were Adept and above skills. Being a Journeyman widened his skill and spell pool, but it wasn''t yet unlimited.


    Thanks to his passives he moved 101 meters per cast, each one taking the usual 0.3 seconds between each other, for a total of 106 times. This allowed him and Gunner to traverse 10.7 kilometers in a matter of only 31.8 seconds before he needed to rest.


    Since the MP regen rate was set at 21 points per second, Darius then had to wait for exactly 50 seconds to recover his entire bar. Once that was done, he and Gunner were off once more, moving in that bizarrely horrifying way into the sunset.


    It took a total of 10 hours to eventually reach their destination, 8.7 hours spent blinking and 1.3 spend recovering MP. Since the duo were not in a rush, Darius didn''t drink any of his mana potions and the like.


    Eventually, theynded some 400 meters away from their destination. Darius stopped here so that he could survey thend around the dungeon and get a feel for its surroundings.


    What pleased him to note was that a branch of the Lost River ran through here, meaning that there would be a natural water supply. Even though it could not be used for drinking, it could certainly be used for every other purpose.


    The duo walked closer to the dungeon''s area and noticed that there was a small forest around it with spaced-out trees. In fact, it was less of a forest and more of a jungle.


    Darius even heard the roar of tigers and the hissings of snakes once he entered with Gunner, the duo subjected to the presence of untamed wildlife that had likely not seen human interference in a very long time.


    After walking the remaining distance to their goal by meandering through the jungle, they came upon a short but wide cliff that looked to lead towards a teau. In front of them and embedded into this short cliff, was arge cave that could not be looked into, its mouth ck like the abyss.

 Chapter 218 - 218

    Darius looked upon the entrance to the dungeon with a smile. Before entering though, he used his Analyze skill on it to see if he could glean useful information on it before entering.


    As usual, the Itemancer skill did not disappoint.


    [Unnamed Dungeon - Dungeon


    Element(s): Darkness


    Durability: 45,000/45,000


    Floors: 3


    Amateur Monsters: 234


    Journeyman Monsters: 123


    Adept Monsters: 56


    Amateur Boss Monsters: 1


    Journeyman Boss Monsters: 1


    Adept Boss Monsters: 1


    Dungeon Core(s): 1


    Core Grade: Newborn (Damaged)


    Maximum instances: 100


    Maximum persons per instance: 50


    Energy Gathering Rate: 2 SE Per Death


    Energy Gathering Efficiency: Abysmal


    Total Energy Gathered: 19,346 SE


    Total Energy Spent: 0 SE]


    Darius blinked at the long disy and forwarded it over to Gunner. Reading this, Darius was excited for it revealed a lot of information to him that he nned to slowly exploreter.


    Darius possessed some knowledge of how dungeons operated in other high fantasy media. Those dungeons would be spawned by something called a Dungeon Core.


    What he knew was that Dungeon Cores had absolute control over their territory and spread their unique energy over it to permanently wrest this space over.


    In other words, the entire dungeon one was traversing and happily ughtering monsters in was actually the body of the Dungeon Core!


    That crystal itself would contain a fledgling consciousness that created and operated its ''body'' using a unique form of energy collected from in adventurers that had lusted after its rewards.


    As beings created through universalws, Dungeon Cores were not like humans that had free will and embodied chaos.


    Dungeon Cores were entities of order, and they disyed it through restraint and mutual symbioses.


    They would create a ce where living entities like humans and other races, even beasts, could freely traverse and gain lucrative resources and rewards which had been inputted into the core''s DNA as a means to attract said fellows.


    However, they also created monsters near such rewards to protect them. Kill the monsters and take the rewards was fair in the Dungeon Cores'' eyes, as it was your spoils!


    Nevertheless, they didn''t act altruistically, as they aimed to kill the adventurers through their monsters and traps so that they could wholly absorb you into their energy pool, your everything bing nutrition to strengthen them, allowing them to expand their territory, create new as well as better resources and even stronger monsters.


    It was a perfect cycle that embodied a special ecosystem in fantasy media that Darius had found intriguing due to its design. From what he had learned through Faust''s books, Vena had apparently used the very same system for her world.


    The only difference was that, for some reason, she had made it so that dungeons - at least in Faust - possessed this trait of instancing, instead of a dungeon being traversed by all who came.


    Darius wasn''t sure of the logic behind her action, but he also wouldn''t be too surprised if the decision hadn''t been based on logic, but merely the Goddess'' whim.


    Vena was the Goddess of Games and Recreation after all, so perhaps she had seen the concept applied in online games who would use instances to prevent overcrowding as well as server destabilization and just copied it.


    However, these were all conclusions derived from what he had seen in his analysis. Darius would still have to head inside to see what was up with this dungeon and whether his actual theories were true, though the screen before him made him confident in that.


    In fact, what intrigued Darius the most were three things. Firstly, the fact that the screen read ''Element(s)''. This might seem unimportant, but in grammar, this represented the possibility for a subject to possess either one or more properties.


    So if the english was correct, dungeons in Fallon could be multi-elemental. This was a discovery that was no less than astounding for Darius, also opening new possibilities for him.


    First and foremost, if he found this dungeon''s Dungeon Core, would it be possible to transmute it to possess more elements? After all, he could now transmute semi-sentient items, and a Dungeon Core should fit that category.


    That was if he found it though. Hmm, if he transmuted it statically, could he increase its grade as well? From Basic to Grandmaster? It seemed likely, and was something worth exploring, just in case the price range was not too outrageous.


    Hold on. Why go so far? If Darius was dissatisfied with this dungeon, he could transmute his own Dungeon Core, right? Couldn''t he possibly create a core that outright had all elements and was of the highest grade?


    ''I wonder what stage I would have to reach for that to be feasible.'' Darius mused with a smile.


    He didn''t even have to know that it would cost far more than the measly 100 CP he had ess to right now.


    The only way to do so as a Journeyman would be to abuse Transmutation''s rule #5.


    So far, the only thing of value he could reliably convert down into CP had been the Lunar Dew, but he would not do so for two reasons.


    The first was that Lunar Dew had far too many uses with how little he could make made every day in that small bowl. The second was that the conversion rate for items being transmuted down was outright abysmal.


    Using the same Lunar Dew as an example, directly changing a bowlful of Pure Water was impossible for him, as it cost 345,000,000 Conversion Points.


    ording to the Transmutation ability, this should even be the lowest possible cost since Pure Water was the closest base material to Lunar Dew.


    This was why there was no loss in quantity after the Bowl of Nuwa spent 24 hours refining it. Otherwise if one put a bowlful of normal river water in, what woulde out might be a single droplet of unconcentrated Lunar Dew, if one was lucky.


    And so, with this price as a standard, converting ording to rule #5 yielded 1% of the total value of the item... with a cap of the current CP daily limit.


    In other words, no matter how valuable whatever he was converting down, he would only gain a maximum of 100 CP as a Journeyman, instead of what should have been 3,450,000 which was 1% of the Lunar Dew''s cost.


    As one could imagine, this was a serious waste. However, Transmutation could no longer be called a sensible ability if would allow Darius to gain more than three million CP per day that never expired. Even for a Supreme-grade ability, it would be ridiculous.


    Darius had a suspicion that it might have paid out more, and that Caesar had once again changed some things around, but he didn''t mind.


    Having double his daily CP if he converted something he didn''t need with a high value was fine too.

 Chapter 219 - 219

    Back to what Darius was curious about. The first was the Element(s) and the second was that Dungeon Core(s) had the same thing. Did this mean that a single dungeon could have more than one core controlling it?


    If so, was this how multi-element dungeons were born? So it wasn''t that one core could contain more than one element, but rather that there was a need for more of them to work like a unit to achieve this?


    Or was it that cores could have multiple elements, and one could just toss in more to double or triple the power and scale? Was this how dungeons climbed the grades?


    So many questions, so few answers!


    The third and final thing Darius noted was the addition of (damaged) beside the grade of the dungeon core. So not only was this dungeon core a newborn with very little power, but someone had also done something to it?


    Well, that was certainly disappointing. However, an interesting thing to note was that the core had never spent any of its gathered energy to strengthen itself.


    Looking at the energy gathering rate and the total, it had certainly been around for a long time to umte this much. Then, the fact that it was a newborn might not be due to its age, but its current level of power? Could it be that because it had been damaged, it was unable to fix itself or grow stronger?


    Interesting!


    Very interesting!


    It seemed likeing here and trying to im this dungeon for himself was a great idea, for there was much to learn about dungeons in Faust and why they were so integral to the functioning of society.


    Darius wasted no more time as he and Gunner walked into the dark maw of the dungeon, being teleported to a unique instance of their own.


    Once they arrived, Darius took stock of his surroundings silently, Gunnering to stand in front of him as he did so.


    The area they were in was a long, wide tunnel that was extremely dark. Visibility was exceedingly poor, and had Darius not tossed a fireball forward to see how far it went, he would not have known that the tunnel before them stretched at least a few kilometers.


    This was a Darkness element dungeon, so it made sense that the atmosphere would be ominous and the environment would favor creatures of such type. Since this was only the first floor it should be full of Amateur beasts.


    Darius and Gunner moved into the dark tunnelxly. It didn''t even take 5 steps before they were ambushed by a canine creature made out of shadow. Its body was mostly elemental material that seemed like it was on fire, wisps rising from its skin and dissipating.


    [Shadow Beast (Wolf) - Level 2 Monster


    HP: 18/18 MP: 2/2 STA:10/10]


    The only non-elemental aspects of the monster were its two rows of sharp teeth, its deadly ws, and hate-filled red eyes. It tried to pounce on Gunner who was in the lead, but therged didn''t even bother to look at it as he smacked the monster away with one hand.


    The monster howled in pain and then disintegrated on the spot. Against Gunner who had 25 points of Strength and was wearing the Soldering Gauntlets, one casual hit was enough to kill this weak thing without even using skills.


    This same scene kept repeating itself every 5 or so steps, as Gunner kept bashing the monsters that jumped out of the shadows from all angles into oblivion. Even those that tried to ambush Darius from behind were pulled over with the special ability of the Soldiering Gauntlets and then bashed away casually.


    Any sensible beast would have realized that it would be impossible for them to deal with the duo and that these two young men should be avoided. s, these ones in particr were incorrigible. They kept attacking using the same means, always from the same sorts of positions and at the same timing, not even trying toe at them as a group.


    After Darius and Gunner had traveled deeper, the strength of the monsters increased proportionately, just as their number. Instead of one at a time, sometimes two or three would jump out.


    However, this meant little to Gunner as he would grip them over and then bash them as many times as he needed to in order to end them.


    It created a strange sight where this almost 7-foot tall fellow was waving his arms around as he walked casually, a shorter fellow at 6 feet walking behind him with no inclinations to add himself to the fight nor put in some effort.


    Even when they encountered Shadow Beasts at level 15, nothing changed for the duo. Gunner didn''t even activate his Earth Guardian skill, as his other numerous passives worked in the background to empower him in every way.


    Darius predicted that they would only have to get serious once they entered the Adept floor, but he had no ns to kill any monster down there because it would grant them experience, and thest thing he wanted was to level.


    So how were they supposed to gain AP and SP if they were so cowardly as to not level up? Well, wasn''t that the Events mechanic was for? Darius nned to fulfill the one for Thor''s Hammer right after he was done with this dungeon, and then there was also that vampire coffin near the homestead that they had ignored in the past.


    Aside from that, there should be many other Events out there for them to partake in that could give them AP and SP as a reward without forcing them to gain too many levels.


    This was also why Darius told Foldo he would be paying them a visit, for it was time to brand a new servant. With another mouth to feed, the split up exp would slow down their growth even in the case where the details of an Event would force them to kill something.


    Darius had considered many things over the 5 year period, and it was now time to slowly put them into y one by one in order to achieve his goals.

 Chapter 220 - 220

    Less than an hour after entering the dungeon, Darius and Gunner came upon the boss monster of the first floor.


    [Shadow Abomination - Level 20 Monster


    HP: 272/272 MP: 210/210 STA: 320/320]


    This particr monster was located in the midst of a small cavern at the end of the tunnel. It was arge blob of Shadow element energy that had many ck tentacles wiggling from its mass.


    It had no face, no eyes, and nothing resembling anything other than its orb-like body and endless tentacles. The moment it sensed Darius and Gunner enter the room, it screeched in a weird manner and swung all of its extremities their way.


    Gunner simply stepped forth and stretched his hand out. The Shadow Abomination screeched with what should be fear as its entire body was pulled over to Gunner.


    Instead of giving it a casual tap, Gunner cocked his fist back and narrowed his eyes. Once the boss monster got into range, he punched out using his ssic skill that had never failed him.


    Earthen Punch!


    The collision of the fist and monster caused its rapidly approaching body to deform horribly, Gunner''s hand stretching its mass greatly as its force was slowly canceled out.


    When Gunner reached the height of his punch, the blob was sted away to the edge of the cavern, knocking a hole into the wall as it brutally collided with it. While it might not be a typical monster that would suffer organ damage from such attacks, it didn''t mean that it was immune to the rebound.


    Its tentacles swayed erratically, and the blob struggled to reform itself into a sphere from the currently deted balloon-like look it had.


    Darius Inspected the monster to see how much that one attack had managed to shave off.


    [Shadow Abomination - Level 20 Monster


    HP: 228/272 MP: 210/210 STA: 320/320]


    Darius winced on behalf of the monster. Suffering 44 damage from a physical attack alone for a darkness-type monster like this was quite brutal.


    Of course, if Darius were to use a light or fire type spell on it, he would gain elemental bonus damage that could beat this damage output most likely.


    However, he was content to let Gunner vent his boredom for having been cooped up for 5 years. There had been only a few instances the Branded Servant had been asked to set out and deliver skill and spellbooks, so the half-giant enjoyed beating down anything that came into his path.


    Gunner did not give the poor boss monster time to collect its bearings, as he pulled it over with his gauntlets and repeated the same sequence once more, sending the abomination right into the same hole it made, deepening it further.


    BAM! BAM! BAM!


    Gunner rinsed and repeated this method, always maintaining perfect uracy in sending the monster into the hole it created upon collision. At this point, anyone could tell that Gunner was using the boss monster as a form of ball to y this game.


    To Darius and any onlooker, this would be an interesting and amusing sight. To Gunner, this was a little bit fun and that quelled his pent-up boredom. For the boss monster, this was the worst day of its life.


    After a few more hits, it turned into a puddle of bubbling shadow essence that slowly thinned until it burned out of existence. With Darius and Gunner both at level 21, they both got to share exactly 1 point of experience.


    Of course, the drops were what was more important, as they received many useful Darkness element materials that could be used to create equipment, make special potions, or even summon elemental familiars.


    Darius and Gunner watched as the opposite end of the cavern morphed from a nk wall to a wall with two staircases carved within, one leading upwards and another leading downward.


    The duo unhesitatingly walked downwards and entered the second floor which was meant for Journeymen. Since they had no intentions of gaining levels here, exactly how did Darius n to go forward then?


    Well, the answer had been prepared by him during his 5 years of seclusion. He opened his Inventory and removed a hundred Bags of Holding from a specific slot within. It was one of the standard Bags of Holding made by the Transmutation ability that surpassed all others.


    [Bag of Holding - Storage


    Durability: 1,000/1,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Description: A unique item that connects a material bag to a special sub-space that is only essible by the owner of the item. This item can store up to 500 things, allows for smaller lifeforms to be stored, and negates their weight totally. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Looking at the amount of bags that Darius had, one could feel a small heart attack, wondering just how many items he had and how he even nned to use or distribute them?


    Could the entirety of Andrato Kingdom even swallow it all, if he were to hand it over?


    However, once he released what had been stored away, any greed would quickly dissipate.


    It was an endless swarm of bugs that were the size of a human adult''s fist, their endless buzzing creating a cacophony on this floor.


    Once the bugs came out, they disyed their extremely violent behavior and cruelty, trying to nibble and gnaw on everything they saw in order to sate their neverending hunger.


    Interestingly, none of them dared to harm Darius or Gunner, whereas not even the rocks on the floor were spared from their insatiability.


    Darius pped his hands with a light smile. "Yes yes, you are hungry, I know."


    Once he pped, all the bugs froze and quickly lined up before him respectfully, like students rushing to the call of their headmaster.


    Darius was satisfied by their obedience and spoke while pointing to the tunnel before the group which was the exact same as the floor above.


    "Go forth and raze everything you see in your way to nothingness."


    The bugs screeched like he had just told them he would take them to Disnend, quickly rushing out to fulfill his order which sounded like music to their ears.


    The shadow beasts that tried to jump out and attack them were quickly ripped to shreds by the 50,000 bugs that quickly filled the tunnel.

 Chapter 221 - 221

    An army of bugs that were uniform and ravenous was not a thing to take lightly. To be quite frank, many would prefer to suffer an attack by an army of undead zombies than an army of bugs.


    They were the worst type of invasion/poption species in all universes they existed in. Their reproductive abilities were horrifyingly effective and as long as there was food, they could grow endlessly.


    Given enough time, any bug race could eventually eat an entire universe bare, as long as they didn''t encounter sufficient resistance.


    This was why Thanatos'' undead had been mostly forgotten as just another mark in historypared to the Insect race of Pokterr who had tried to consume Faust.


    Back then, even Thanatos hade out to fight them back with his undead, which was coincidentally part of the reason why the Adept band had been so scarce, numbering even less than the flimsy Andrato Kingdom.


    The number of lives that had been lost in that endeavor was not a joke. That was why the Insect race had been harshly punished and almost wiped out under the joint retaliation of all the various beings of Faust.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that insects were so hard to kill, they would have been cleared out. Even now, the various continents asionally sent enforcement squads to the underground world of Pokterr to cull the insect race to keep them in check.


    And yet, someway, somehow, some fool had chanced upon an Insect Queen Egg and brought it back. Not knowing what it was, he had sold it to another party through the ck market.


    One way or another, this item had changed hands slowly but surely until itnded in Da''s hands, before eventuallynding in Darius''.


    With one Insect Queen under his belt and his Transmutation ability, he had been able to hatch the egg, which he had then nurtured with top-tier resources to have it birth more and more insects.


    Of course, he had made sure to make the Insect Queen imprint on him so that it would be subordinate to him. Heck, he had almost made her into Branded Servant, but since the first method had worked, he had saved that slot for an actual humanoid.


    All the younger bugs were connected with their queen through her hivemind, so they knew that Darius was the big boss, making them show him respect. The same, although to a slightly lesser degree, was true about Gunner, mostly because they felt Darius'' scent on him.


    This led to the current scene, where Darius summoned ''just'' 50,000 of his currently million-strong bug army to clear the Journeyman floor.


    The bugs themselves were at the Amateur stage at best because Darius had prioritized feeding the queen and leaving the birthed bugs within the Bag of Holding.


    Without a dungeon and its endless resources/instances, Darius simply couldn''t afford to feed every single bug. However, now that he had secured a dungeon and would probably create more or strengthen it, his bug army would spend their lives harvesting resources within to grow their numbers.


    Sorry, what was that? The safety of Faust, the possibility of betrayal by the bugs, and whatnot? Darius had no worries about any of that. The only chance the Insect Queen could have to ovee the imprint on her soul was if she reached Grandmaster-stage before Darius.


    As someone who literally decided how she would grow, how could he let that happen?


    To double down on this, he nned to have the Insect Queen sign a Soul Paper contract once it gained elementary sentience and a humanoid body. This would prevent any extra variables from urring.


    As for the bug army, Darius didn''t need hundreds of millions of them. His n was to asionally let a few loose on the other continents to wreak havoc. The denizens of Faust were too peaceful and an element of chaos needed to be introduced into the world to amuse Vena.


    Of course, the method in which he would carry this out had to be foolproof and perfect, so that it could never lead back to him. Otherwise, he would have an entire world on his tail the very moment he was even suspected.


    The duo walked down the same tunnel as before, marveling at the efficiency of the bugs as they ganged up on any monster that showed up and consumed its essence until nothing was left.


    This was why the Insect Race was feared. They could eat ANYTHING at all, nothing was spared from their palette. It didn''t matter whether you were a spirit being or made of Darkness elemental energy, you would be nutrition for this race to grow and propagate further into the world.


    In a matter of minutes, they came upon another cavern with a new boss monster. This one was vastly different from the Shadow Abomination, because it was actually a humanoid!


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Shadow Assassin


    Race: Elemental


    ss: Assassin


    Subss: Master of Shadow


    HP: 1,596/1,596


    MP: 1,160/1,160


    STA: 1,520/1,520


    Level: 40


    Strength: 42


    Agility: 49


    Endurance: 38


    Intellect: 29


    Charisma: 12


    Luck: 10


    Abilities: Shadow Veil, Shadow Tendrils, Duplicate, Shadow Walk, Shadow des, Shadow Summon, Shadow Shield


    Weapons: Elemental.]


    Currently, the bugs were locked in a brutal battle against the boss. Many of them had consumed the essence of Journeyman monsters and had grown greatly, but of course, given their sheer number, it was not enough to strengthen the entire swarm as a whole.


    They were being brutally beaten by the Shadow Assassin, hundreds of their numbers dying every minute. However, as was thew of insects, the weak would be the nourishment for the strong until only the ultimate insect would be left behind.


    Many broke off from the fight to consume the corpses of their brethren. When enough had done so, a few glowed with sparkling lights as they climbed to the Journeyman stage right away.


    These bugs would then jump back into the fight, then rinse and repeat, creating a situation where their numbers would dwindle rapidly, but with their power rising in tandem.


    The Shadow Assassin continued to fight without acknowledging this, showing a surprisingly poor amount of intellect given its tats. It was almost as if its stats only affected its power but failed to work for its actual mind.

 Chapter 222 - 222

    Eventually, their number got reduced from 50,000 to 40,000, but they had also nurtured 100 Journeyman bugs of the early stage. This put some pressure on the Shadow Assassin that continued to fight beautifully using instincts alone, still dealing damage to even the newly awakened bugs themselves.


    However, once the swarm was reduced to 30,000 and the number of Journeyman Insects reached 200, with 50 reaching the intermediate stage, the battle became much direr for both parties as they went into a frenzy.


    By the time the bugs were left with 10,000, they had 500 Journeyman bugs with 350 at the early stage, 100 at the intermediate stage, and 50 at thete stage, the battle had be became one-sided.


    The Shadow Assassin could only screech in excruciating pain as it was slowly but surely being devoured by the wave of powerful insects despite trying to fight them off repeatedly, utilizing its skills haphazardly to save its existence.


    However, once the bugs had captured their prey, there was nothing that could save its life. In a matter of seconds, the valiant Shadow Assassin became nutrition for the army, allowing another 500 insects to enter the Journeyman stage.


    Darius nodded his head in satisfaction. Just like when Mikey and Joneson had fought for him, their master gained no experience whatsoever, not even after they had thoroughly devoured everything.


    Not even a single drop was left behind, making Darius smack his lips. It was clear that his n to have the bugs farm resources on his behalf was a bust, since they practically ravished everything within an instance.


    Instead, Darius would have to find a dungeon - or make one - that would be used to feed them in order to prevent his stockpile of resources from evaporating.


    Whatever the case, Darius waved at the bugs to head down to the next floor while he and Gunner inspected the second. This was their first time clearing the second floor of a dungeon, so they wanted to see if there was anything worth noting.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing there, apart from a chance to look at the unremarkable room. It was almost identical to the one on the first floor in every way, leaving Darius curious as to whether all dungeons were like this, or only this wed dungeon had this issue.


    Thinking back to the Wood element dungeon in Listo, the first floor had been neatly separated into rooms that had cut of the power of monsters segmentally in order to maximize the harvesting efficiency of visitors as well as the dungeon itself.


    The second floor had been arge cavern with a forest within. Darius remembered that the entire forest had been a monster, likely the boss. Once one fell within, they would be hit with Journeyman enemies of various grades until they fought with the consciousness of the forest itself.


    Upon defeating it, one would have a chance to enter the Adept floor.


    So from this, one could see that dungeons did, as a matter of fact, have their own logic and aesthetics to their design. This dungeon though, was like a broken record on repeat, with retarded monsters that could not make full use of their power or adapt, and floors that were a mirror image of thest.


    This brought a question to Darius'' mind. Just how badly damaged was the Dungeon Core exactly? Would he even be able to repair it at his current stage?


    These questions could only be answeredter, so the duo went down to thest floor and reached the battleground for Adepts.


    Here, he saw that - as expected - theyout of the floor was the same as the two above.


    The way forward was already cleared for the duo as the bugs had long since razed everything down, even the corpses of their kin, leaving nothing behind.


    Darius and Gunner walked through the silent tunnels leisurely, eventually reaching the cavern of the boss after 20 minutes.


    There, they saw huge wasp-like insects numbering 50 swarming around arge demon-like entity that looked simr to a satyr, only made out of pure Darkness Energy.


    It had two zing eyes, horns that crackled with Shadow Energy, and a ck khopesh that was coated in the juices of bugs who had dared to charge at it. It also had two wings behind its back that were curled up, and when Darius entered the chamber, it roared with anger.


    "Vile human! You dare send these ursed insects to hinder me, the Great Shopablo?!" The demon roared as Darius silently Analyzed it.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Shopablo


    Race: Elemental


    ss: Shadow Demon


    Subss: Lord of Darkness


    HP: 7,764/8,277


    MP: 5,841/5,841


    STA: 5,580/5,580


    Level: 60


    Strength: 89


    Agility: 78


    Endurance: 93


    Intellect: 53


    Charisma: 12


    Luck: 12


    Abilities: Darkness Devour, Corruptive Strike, Dark Meteor Strike, Minion Summon, Minion Sacrifice, Aura of Despair, Life Steal


    Weapons: Elemental & Kopesh.]


    Quite a powerful one. Not on the tier of the Pureblooded Vampires or the Bone Dragon for obvious reasons, but far more potent than what Darius could handle on his own. Of course, based on its stats, it was barely average for an Adept at level 60.


    Many humans had stats on par, if not better than this boss at the same level. True powerhouses were still able to clear out dungeons, though very few dared to go alone regardless of how strong they were.


    Darius noticed that there were no other bugs in the cavern except for the 50rge wasp-like insects that were flying about rapidly, keeping Shopablo on his toes and unable to pester Darius.


    Darius Inspected them and was happy to see that these were Adept stage bugs that had evolved from devouring their brethren and the various monsters on their way here.


    The wasps had two ws in front of them that dripped with venom, sharp teeth hidden between solid mandibles, and arge stinger that looked incredibly sharp.


    Despite only being early-stage Adept insects, the 50 of them were slowly hitting him when his defenses couldn''t keep up in order to lower his HP and weaken him.


    It was horribly effective as Shopablo could only roar helplessly, cursing their bullying him numbers!

 Chapter 223 - 223

    Shopablo quickly realized that he was likely going to be killed and devoured at this rate, a fate which began to fill him with endless fear. As such, he called out to Darius imposingly.


    "Vile human, take back your bugs and fight me face to face using your own power!"


    Darius chuckled as he stood there, gazing at Shopablo with a soft smile. "I''ve nurtured and raised them, so they are a part of my power, just as much as swinging that khopesh or using the Darkness element is part of yours."


    Shopablo understood the logic behind his statement, but just because of some sophistry he couldn''t allow himself to be food for these bugs.


    "Evil human, what do you want? There is nothing in this ursed dungeon worthy of taking, no grand reward for conquering all floors! The Dungeon Core is damaged and cannot even take care of itself!"


    This was something Darius already knew about dungeons.


    Whoever manages to reach the bottom floor and kill thest boss, would receive a grand prize in the form of a golden chest which could contain anything of the highest quality that was rted to the dungeon''s element.


    If a dungeon had more than 3 floors, one would receive a small prize at every checkpoint until they got the grand prize on the final floor.


    So for example, an Intermediate Dungeon with 5 floors would have a small prize on the 3rd floor and the grand prize on the 5th floor. An Advanced Dungeon with 7 floors would have a small prize on the 3rd and 5th floor, and the grand prize on the 7th.


    As such, Shopablo revealing that there was no grand prize would put off any adventurer as there was no point in exhausting themselves, risking injury just to kill him if there was nothing to be gained.


    However, Darius hadn''te here for any grand prize obviously, and he made that known. "Lead me to the Dungeon Core, then I will call off my soldiers."


    Shopablo froze for a split second in shock, an opportunity that the bugs dly took to deal heavy damage to him before he snapped out of it.


    "Forget it! I will never allow you to go near the Dungeon Core!!"


    Darius shrugged and stopped bothering, Gunner too was standing idly by as they both watched Shopablo get butchered slowly by the insects. It had to be said, this race was truly terrifying.


    At first, they had been fighting on instinct and relying on their hivemind teamwork to cover for each other''s poor technique. Yet the longer the battle went on, the more fluid their skill became as they worked together and individually.


    If that was it, then the Insect race would not be so terrible. Every species had different periods of adaption, and bugs could notpare to humanoids races in this regard.


    However, it was the existence of the hivemind that shattered this and made it a problem. It acted like an intr for the insect race, yes, but it also acted as a live database.


    That was right, the skills and experience these bugs were umting were being stored on the bugcloud. Any new bug that was born and reached the Adept stage would not be as clumsy as their predecessor had been, instantly gaining all their skills and experience with a simple bugclick to bugdownload it.


    Shopablo began to keenly notice that his skills and techniques were being easily evaded or countered by the bugs, and their ferocity, as well as efficiency, was greatly improving.


    The demon realized that being hard-headed now would only lead to his downfall. In a faulty dungeon like this, he wasn''t even sure if his consciousness could be retrieved by the Dungeon Core after he died.


    This was of course, impossible. No matter what, his consciousness would not be retrieved because he was only a projection of the consciousness of Shopablo in a single instance.


    However, he did not know this because the damaged Dungeon Core was unable to furnish its creations with the necessary information upon instance creation.


    Everything was left as the default and unmanaged, which was why the shadow creatures had attacked so foolishly up until now. He was the only being was some semnce of sentience because he was a peak level Adept demon.


    Shopablo quickly roared. "Why do you want the Dungeon Core?! What do you n to do?!"


    Seeing as the Shadow Demon was practically consenting to his demand to see the core, Darius smiled. "I n to repair it."


    The fellow froze in shock once more, but this time the bugs didn''t attack him. Darius hadmanded them to remain stationary while he dealt with this fellow.


    Shopablo turned to Darius with an incredulous look in his zing eyes. "Reallyˇ­? You intend toˇ­? But whyˇ­?"


    Darius opened his hands in a casual gesture. "I n to im ownership of the dungeon externally, allowing adventurers toe in to try their luck and benefit from their demise as a Dungeon Lord. However, I can''t do that with a faulty core, now can I?"


    Shopablo looked as if he had been hit by a truck. He roared with anger and excitement in his voice, making a queerbination that was quite amusing.


    "Silly human, why not say so earlier? Would I have needed to fight you if that was the case?!"


    Darius chuckled. The demon would have surely rushed over to cleave off his head iming that the human was trying to deceive it. After all, these negotiations were only possible because Darius had the deterrent force in form of his Adept bugs.


    Without them, it would be a miracle if Shopablo, with his temper, would even choose to listen to Darius speak.


    Whatever the case, Darius was happy with how things turned out. With a guide, there was no need for them to waste time searching for the Dungeon Core.


    He folded his arms behind his back and walked with Gunner to the center of the cavern, showing no fear as he approached the Shadow Demon.


    This action made Shopablo extremely wary, as he sensed that Darius and Gunner were not much weaker than him. With his insects and his own power, Shopablo had no confidence ining out alive!


    As such, the Shadow Demon put away thoughts of being hostile as it questioned Darius.


    "You really have a way to repair the Dungeon Core?!"


    Darius nodded as he smiled softly. "I do."

 Chapter 224 - 224

    "Good! Good! Good!" Shopablo bellowed with glee.


    How could he not be excited? As a creation of the dungeon, his life and existence were tied to it.


    Yet the damned thing had been damaged to the point of retardation, and each day its weakness grew worse and worse!


    It was already a miracle that it had managed to survive this long, and Shopablo had been praying to every deity he guessed existed to save them.


    Today it seemed like his prayers had finally been answered, and in the best way possible!


    Darius was going to fix the Dungeon Core, thereby extending the life of Shopablo!


    Even better, he was nning to take over and make sure that the dungeon would be running smoothly!


    Soon enough they would wee adventurers in, which would allow the Dungeon Core to further grow and its creatures within to experience actual growth!


    It was a Christmas, Easter, Birthday, and Valentine gift all in one!


    In fact, the more Shopablo looked at Darius, the lovelier the fellow started to appear. Such a saint deserved to live long and experience grueling fights!


    Shopablo wasted no more time as he turned around and walked over to the empty pedestal behind him where Darius assumed the golden chest would have spawned atop.


    The Lord of Darkness pressed his hand against the wall, slowly using a single finger to draw a long vertical line. To Darius and Gunner''s surprise, this line wasn''t imaginary but actually opened a human-sized portal that was a dark swirling mass.


    Shopablo turned to them and gestured for them to follow. "Come on, puny human! This is the only way to reach the Dungeon Core which is located in another dimension."


    Darius and Gunner shared a look. The master nodded with a yful smile and went inside, with the Adept bugs following next one by one.


    Shopablo had already entered first and waited on the other side for everyone toe through. By the time Gunner exited the portal, Darius had already walked up to the Dungeon Core after identifying where he had been taken to.


    They were in a small carved-out chamber with polished rock forming the walls. It could be due to the element of the core, but the entire room was dark, with the only source of light being the swirling darkness within the rhombus-shaped core that hovered in the center of the room.


    It was a small thing, barely the size of Darius'' middle finger in terms of height and only about as wide as two fingers put together in terms of width. It slowly rotated on the spot, its body releasing more and more ckish miasmic smoke with every second.


    Darius unhesitatingly walked over to the Dungeon Core. After looking at it closely, Darius pointed to the floor beneath him as he cast one of his new Journeyman spells.


    [Spatial Mark - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Using your affinity with space, create a special brand that can be locked onto any coordinate, allowing you to track the location or teleport straight to it if it''s within a certain range. The minimum range needed is 100 meters.]


    Shopablo saw this but did not understand what it was since he had no affinity with the Space element. Instead, the fellow closed the portal and walked over to Darius, bellowing.


    "Measly human, I have brought you here! Now fix the Dungeon Core!"


    Darius turned to look at the Shadow Demon and smiled with amusement. "Good job. Well, you''re not needed anymore, so you can exit stage left."


    Shopablo was confused by Darius'' meaning. "Puny human, what does that- ARGH!!"


    The Shadow Demon was stabbed in the back by 5 of the Adept-stage bugs with their long and horrible stingers that made even Darius shiver with fear.


    Judging by the screamsing from Shopablo''s mouth, it was clear that the agony they brought was not a joke, even for an elemental lifeform.


    Before the Shadow Demon could retaliate by smashing the bugs on his back, they quickly detached and buzzed away, leaving an opening for another five to rush in and pierce Shopablo in different areas.


    The Shadow Demon shouted in pain once more, his voice carrying an undeniable tone of torment that transcended race. Darius idly wondered what kind of effect or power was imbued within those stingers, but would rather not directly find out.


    These offending bugs detached themselves and allowed yet another batch to rush in and do their job. These stingers of theirs didn''t leave their bodies, seeming rather like a firm tail than what insects like these should possess.


    Shopablo couldn''t even muster a defense as he had been caught off guard from the beginning, and the damage the bugs had dealt to him was too excruciating for him to form a conscious defense, not to mention that their attack was incessant and neverending.


    Eventually, Shopablo fell to one knee. He weakly raised his head, his formerly burning eyes now dim and weak. He stared at his murderer, Darius, and tried to roar in anger, but it came out as a huff.


    "Vileˇ­humanˇ­ youˇ­ why??"


    Darius walked over as he rubbed his chin, staring Shopablo right in the eyes. "Only those who are my subordinates are allowed to see what happens next."


    Shopablo did not understand what he meant, but Darius clearly had no inclinations to waste his time by answering a dying elemental.


    Instead, he nodded to the waiting bugs as they rushed in and tore the Shadow Demon apart, feating on his essence.


    With only 50 of them, 20 were able to straightaway climb to the intermediate stage of the Adept rank. Once they were done, they zoomed over to Darius and buzzed before him respectfully, waiting upon more orders.


    Darius chuckled. "Nothing more for now, you guys have done a great job so far. Return to the Bag of Holding until further notice."


    Despite being visibly saddened that their feast had ended for now, they obeyed his orders as they entered the Bag of Holding Darius had removed from his Inventory.

 Chapter 225 - 225

    Darius returned his attention to the Dungeon Core now that it was just him and Gunner in the chamber with the Dungeon Core. He first Analyzed it to see what he could glean off it.


    [Dungeon Core (Damaged) - Unique


    Durability: 1,200/8,000


    Description: The nucleus of a dungeon and what carries itsws, instincts, and element. It can onlye into being when special conditions are met, and can exist for eternity unless it is destroyed by an external force.]


    ''Hm, that was interesting, but told me very little in the end.'' Darius remarked mentally.


    Apart from what he could see, there was no visible damage to the Dungeon Core on the outside, except for the dark miasma that kept flowing out of it. Darius also noted its lowered durability in passing.


    With a curious mind, he ced a finger on the core. He felt nothing but the coldness of its crystal body, which relieved him. He feared that it or the mist it released would possess the corruptive ability that Darkness energy was known for.


    With that ascertained, he focused.


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness)(Damaged) into a Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness)? This will cost 6 Conversion Points.]


    Seeing that it was within his range, Darius smiled. However, he didn''t fix the Dungeon Core just yet as he wanted to try an alternative method that he had thought up after seeing how the core was structured.


    Taking his finger back, Darius pointed at the Dungeon Core and used his basic level 16 Heal spell, meaning it healed 80% of a target''s HP.


    Darius noted the spell ''striking'' the core, but also that it had done nothing to alleviate its problem. The ck miasma still leaked from it and its durability had not changed in the slightest.


    Darius chuckled at this failure. After all, while the Heal spell looked overpowered from how much it could healed, it had a very tight binding use, which was that it restored a target''s HP!


    That was to say, if a target did not have HP, then it could not be healed but had to be repaired. This sounded obvious enough, but he had slightly hoped for a bizarre loophole simr to how this Life element attacks had been able to massively injure the undead.


    Since there was none, Darius could only ce his hand on the Dungeon Core once more and confirm the Transmutation to repair it. Once he did so, he noticed that the core shuddered visibly as its size expanded to almost double what it had been before.


    Not only that, but the dark miasma that had been leaking from it instantly stopped, and was even rapidly re-absorbed into the core.


    Minus the darkness that coated the walls and floor, everything else was sucked back into the core, which further brightened the energy swirling within.


    Darius waited until all this was done before reaching out with his Mind Power tendrils, connecting with the energy swirling within. The moment Darius made a connection, he could feel a faint feedback from a weaker consciousness that wasn''t sentient enough to form coherent thoughts yet.


    However, even though it wasn''t self-aware, it still had some ability to realize that it was connected with another being. As such, Darius kept receiving mental pulses of curiosity and wariness from the core.


    This was a natural response to such an event, so Darius was quite happy. It was, far better than outright hostility which would prevent any negotiations or deceptions from his part.


    ''Hello there.'' Darius transmitted over to the core through his tendrils.


    The core shook and the energy within looked like it had been hit by a cyclone. Darius kept getting feedbacks of horror and pain, something which stunned him.


    Then he realized that, due to hisck of skill, his casual greeting had likely struck this poor semi-sentient consciousness like a truck. In order words, he had identally been ''shouting'' at it.


    Darius quickly changed to a better method ofmunication, by replicating what the core itself had done. He began to transmit emotions and feelings instead of thoughts and mental speech.


    He mostly sent over soothing feelings and gentle greetings. This seemed to calm down the core as it slowly recovered from the earlier attempt and responded to Darius'' current one with fear, curiosity, and a slight rejection.


    However, after Darius ''cooed'' it with his mind for a while, the rejection and wariness soon left as all that came forth was endless curiosity. This kind ofmunication wasn''t easy, since he had to interpret the other''s signs, but the Dungeon Core seemed to be asking what he was and how he was here.


    Darius then sent over an image of himself and as for the second question, he simply showed images of him clearing the dungeon and reaching here through a portal. Of course, he had deliberately left out the part where the Shadow Demon had been betrayed by him.


    He also showed the core its previous state, how damaged and weak it had been, and how close it had been to dying. Then he showed himself cing a hand over the core and sending some form of divine light into it which had fixed it back to perfection.


    The gullible newborn core ate everything he showed up and instantly believed him. After all, it was aware that it had previously been feeling extremely unwell, and its instincts had told it that it would die eventually.


    Yet now, it was fine and even feeling much better than ever before. With Darius providing the answer as to how this came to be, the core took it as truth. As a response, it sent over a feeling of gratefulness and closeness to Darius, which pleased him.


    Seeing that he had won over its trust, Darius proceeded to send it a feeling of curiosity as to how it got damaged. The core paused for a moment as it tried to remember what happened, but it came up nk.


    Whatever had caused it to be defective had seemingly urred before its first memory. Darius frowned, as this meant that either the core had been born defective, or something had struck it the moment it had spawned, right before it could even kickstart its pseudo-consciousness.


    Both possibilities were quite intriguing and disturbing.

 Chapter 226 - 226

    Now that he had established a rapport with the core, Darius and it began to ''chat''. To Gunner outside, Darius had only closed his eyes for a few seconds before opening them again with a thoughtful smile, whereas Darius had spent what felt like hours conversing with the core, with him doing most of the talking and teaching.


    After all, the speed of thought was extremely fast. What had been exchanged between them was hard to calcte in measurements rting to data.


    What he did know was that he actually learned most, if not everything, there was about dungeons and how they functioned through the innate memories within the core.


    First things first, the majority of his spections based on the structure of the dungeon''s internals and the details given by the Analyze skill were correct, yet they had left out a lot.


    To start from the beginning, Dungeons Cores are split into two types, Natural Cores, and Artificial Cores. The former was what one expected, Dungeon Cores that had been created slowly over time by Faust itself.


    They did not spring up from nowhere, but were rather birthed due to the heavy umtion of a specific element in an area that coalesced into a core after a few hundred years.


    For example, this current jungle used to be a ce where Darkness Energy had been rampant, which had then slowlypressed into a core through the workings of nature.


    This left the area devoid of the energy, allowing for a jungle to spring up due to the amount of curious living beings that hade from afar to explore its depths.


    Upon creation, dungeons usually didn''t stay hidden because they needed to attract willing adventurers to harvest the type of energy they needed to grow.


    As such, they had their ways of being known. This dungeon had even managed to do this passively while being damaged, leading to a peasant discovering it and mapping its location so that he couldtery im to it when he had more power.


    As for Artificial Cores, their existences were something interesting, yet tolerated by the Laws of Faust for its ingenuity. Basically, one would choose a crystal type that fits an element - ruby for fire, sapphire for water, emerald for nature, quartz for earth, or topaz for wind - and concentrate elemental energy within,pressing it over and over again to fit as much as they could within.


    Doing this directly decided the upper limit of the Dungeon Core, so the number ofpressions made were crucial.


    To this Dungeon Core''s innate knowledge, the recorded limit had been 30 at the time of its birth, which limited Artificial Cores to the Advanced stage.


    As for what it could have been now? Darius was unsure. The core obviously did not know the date on which it was born and since it had been unconscious for most of its life, it didn''t know how long it had existed for either.


    Back to Artificial Cores. What truly set them apart and had led the Laws of Faust to ept them, were the consciousness nted within. Initially, the creators of these cores had used those of animals or monsters, yielding only sub-par results.


    It was then that a certain dwarf engineer somewhere had thought to use sentient beings, who had then ced the entire consciousness of a ve into a manufactured core.


    This had led to the biggest breakthrough in core production, as it proved that they could indeed house sentient consciousnesses!


    However, the type of Artificial Cores created this way would be filled with problems, like the madness of the consciousness due to the pain of soul extraction, as well as a special hatred for the creator and the general fact that sentient consciousnesses were too powerful for such a small inorganic crystal.


    There was a reason semi-sentient consciousness that was carefully programmed by nature was used.


    Fortunately, a few centuriester, there had been a second breakthrough at the hands of the Goblin Empire.


    Instead of using a foreign consciousness of someone unwilling, the core''s creator had willingly split a small amount of his own consciousness and infused it into the core.


    The Laws of Faust had been marveling at the creation and had approved of it silently. As such, whenever an Artificial Core was born through this method, it would receive a ''giftpack'' from the Laws of Faust, allowing them to gain some heritage of Natural Cores.


    This included the knowledge of how to seize territory, convert dead foes into energy, how to craft monsters and how to create resources.


    As for how to use that energy to strengthen themselves, how to change elements, and how to attract living entities into their depths, they would have to figure that out on their own.


    Still, it was a great thing regardless, and this interested Darius greatly. He had not heard of this distinction no matter what book he had read on the topic of dungeons, so either Andrato was too lowly to know about this, or it was a tight-kept secret by the topmost empires.


    As for both types of Dungeon Cores, the type of resources they acquired after absorbing one''s corpse and turning it into nutrients was called Soul Energy.


    With it, the Natural Cores could power themselves and grow stronger, gaining ess to more natal skills and memories, as well as types of resources. Soul Energy was the most crucial thing for a core to survive in this world.


    Well, this at least exined the actions of the Adventurer''s Guild of Andrato. They were stupidly tossing weaklings to harvest resources. They were tossing the poor and desperate in there to die and be fuel for the dungeon, increasing its grade.


    It was truly insidious and ingenious. Either the Basic Adventurers would die inside and be Soul Energy, or they woulde out with some resources in hand, before the guild would take half of it away by force and the other half by coercion.


    They dared not pull any stunts with Awakened and gave them proper rights, knowing that the death of such fellows would adversely affect the kingdom''s power. As such, they were furnished with much more than what the cannon fodder were given.


    This realization only strengthened his belief that the leader of the Adventurer''s Guild in Andrato was definitely a merchant, and a good one at that.

 Chapter 227 - 227

    Darius turned to Gunner and spoke with a smile. "We arergely done here. The core understands what it needs to do and what the future entails. Instead of outright upgrading it with Transmutation, I''ll let it grow with our incumbent territory."


    Gunner walked over and stood behind Darius, as the fellow continued. "For now, we''d best leave so that the core can do some remodeling. Oh, before we goˇ­"


    Darius turned and ced a finger on the core.


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness) into a Newborn Dungeon Core (Light)? This will cost 23 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness) into a Fledgling Dungeon Core (Darkness)? This will cost 87 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness) into a Newborn Dungeon Core (Light & Darkness)? This will cost 56 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness) into a Fledgling Dungeon Core (Light & Dark)? This will cost 184 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core(Darkness) into a Newborn Dungeon Core(Light, Dark, Death)? This will cost 526 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core(Darkness) into a Fledgling Dungeon Core(Light, Dark, Death)? This will cost 1,245 Conversion Points.]


    Darius smacked his lips. Testing things out like this revealed his limits with the Transmutation ability in regards to Dungeon Cores and how much he could change as a Journeyman.


    He could freely change the single element to another while keeping the core at its current grade, he could upgrade the core''s grade while keeping the element the same, he could add another element or, if he were to convert some Lunar Dew, he could add a second element AND upgrade its grade.


    A third element, while possible, was unfortunately too costly for him, no matter the core''s grade.


    Darius felt that a Wood element dungeon like the one in Listo would be the best choice for a growing town, rather than its current Darkness element which was more niche.


    There was already a water source nearby, so there was no inherent need to turn this into a Water dungeon, yet without any short paths to other civilizations for trade, food would be hard to acquire stably.


    However, a purely Wood-based dungeon wouldn''t help with gathering meat. Even though they were in a jungle, it was obviously going to bergely uprooted to make way for a settlement, the wood being used to build houses and warm fireces.


    The animals here wouldn''t stay long after that, migrating to greener pastures. In other words, his soon-to-be subjects would need a source of meat if he wanted them to reside here.


    Of course, Darius could change this one to Wood Element and create a new Water or Fire element core for this purpose.


    Water would definitely have different types of fish on the Amateur level, with elementals and sentient species like mermaids spawning on the Journeyman floor and below.


    A Fire dungeon would have beats like Demonbulls, Hellchickens, and Fire Crows on the first floor, but the rest would have elementals and Fire Demons. With enough harvesting, a steady amount of meat could be captured, even taking out some monsters to be reared.


    However, such a thing was hardly done because of the difficulty. To rear monsters, they would need to be ced in an area with plenty of energy rting to their respective element and they would have to be fed with special feed.


    It was honestly just better to rear normal animals and hunt down these exotic ones in the dungeon. After all, it was not like they were a limitedmodity, they would be in every instance of the dungeon, allowing multiple people to cull them and bring them out.


    Darius pondered this in passing. However, he felt it would be best to make a decision now, because it would be a while before he would return to this area, and the core would soon start spending its umted Soul Energy to strengthen itself and increase its territory.


    ording to the core, about 100,000 Soul Energy was required to naturally rise from newborn to the fledgling grade, which was almost 5 times what it had umted passively over this time.


    Darius could only hope that now that it had been repaired and its consciousness was awake, that its gathering rate and efficiency would increase as well.


    He walked over to the core and ced a finger on it once more. He sent over his Mind Power tendrils and saw that the core was just about to get to work, but feeling that Darius had connected to it, it was curious what its benefactor wanted.


    Darius gently informed it that he was going to make it better, but didn''t mention he would be changing its element.


    Who knew how it would react to that, and he had little time to slowly convince it that this was for the better. The core naturally epted Darius'' kindness in powering it up with gratitude.


    [Would you like to change the Newborn Dungeon Core (Darkness) into a Newborn Dungeon Core (Wood)? This will cost 17 Conversion Points.]


    Darius paid it out and watched as the core began to shine resplendently. Its size remained the same, but the elemental energy and light within had greatly changed.


    The darkness that had veiled this chamber was banished, and grass started to sprout. Flowers of different kinds emerged neatly in beds all over the chamber, and a lovely scent started to emerge.


    Darius had kept his tendrils connected to the core during the change as he had wanted to experience how Transmutation worked firsthand. It would deepen his understanding of the intricacies of his ability.


    What he could say was that it wasˇ­ instantaneous.


    Before his tendrils could even register the change, it had already urred. All that light show was just for some sick sort of ir, as the core had gone from darkness to wood in less time than Darius could recognize.


    He checked in with the consciousness of the core and found that it was groggy, but it was definitely the same entity as before.


    This pleased Darius, for he had been willingly taking the risk that the core would have a new consciousness that he would have to convince to ept him.


    When the current consciousness got it''s bearings together, it sent over feelings of confusion and worry. What was it doing before and what happened?

 Chapter 228 - 228

    Darius simply exined through concepts that it was now stronger and had a new element, as the previous one had been bad for gathering Soul Energy. With this new one, it was guaranteed to get at least 5x more Soul Energy.


    This revtion excited the core and it thanked him. Darius could only retract his Mind Power tendrils with a weird expression, as the core shooed him away in order to remodel everything quickly.


    He turned to Gunner and left through the portal that the core created that led back to their instance. From there, the duo climbed the stairs that had appeared in this instance as the boss was now dead.


    In the blink of an eye, Darius and Gunner were on the surface once more. They turned to see that the dungeon behind them was now slightlyrger and there was vegetation growing near its entrance slowly but surely.


    Darius Analyzed the dungeon once more to see the changes.


    [Unnamed Dungeon - Dungeon


    Element(s): Wood


    Durability: 95,000/95,000


    Floors: 3


    Amateur Monsters: 0


    Journeyman Monsters: 0


    Adept Monsters: 0


    Amateur Boss Monsters: 0


    Journeyman Boss Monsters: 0


    Adept Boss Monsters: 0


    Dungeon Core(s): 1


    Core Grade: Newborn


    Maximum instances: 100,000


    Maximum persons per instance: 500


    Energy Gathering Rate: 200 SE Per Death


    Energy Gathering Efficiency: Perfect


    Total Energy Gathered: 19,346 SE


    Total Energy Spent: 0 SE]


    Darius chuckled. It seemed as if the elitist Transmutation ability had struck again. It had not only increased the durability of the entire dungeon by 50,000 points, but had also increased the maximum instances from a mere 100 to 100,000.


    The persons per instance had also increased tenfold, from 50 to 500, which was a lot. Of course, all of this was likely the result of the Dungeon Core no longer being damaged.


    However, Darius knew for a fact that the Energy Gathering Rate and Efficiency that were now extremely high were definitely an effect of his Transmutation ability, as those were dictated by the core and not the dungeon in its entirety.


    Whatever the case, he had seen what he needed to, and now it was time to set things in motion. As such, Darius removed a Bag of Holding from his Inventory, and ced it on the ground.


    With a snap of his finger, everything within was released at once, appearing neatly in rows and columns in front of the bag. They were silver metal balls that looked like they were cracked, with lines running through them.


    Darius checked and saw that all 500 were here and nodded his head. He then took out a strange bracelet that looked simr to what joggers used to measure their vitals during their exercises.


    He mped the bracelet on his right wrist and called out. "Activate."


    He winced as the bracelet manifested strange needles that pierced into his wrist from underneath and drew his blood and DNA. The screen lit up with a hologram, as a faceless feminine figure of bluish color hovered above the disy.


    She stood there and spoke in a cold emotionless tone. "Initiatingˇ­ checking system configurationˇ­ registering DNA of ownerˇ­ done."


    The AI bowed. "Greetings User. Please furnish me with your name and details, as well as your configuration for the system."


    Darius nodded. "Darius Stone, age 18, profession Mage. Currently at the Journeyman stage. Create a datasheet of my persona and tabte stats as followsˇ­"


    Darius proceeded to furnish the AI with many details about himself, most of them truthful and direct. The reason he did this was simple, as this bracelet was Gravitas''test technology, the HoloBrace.


    Normally, it should not be this effective with an AI of its own, but rather need to be connected to awork which had a main AI. In other words, without wifi, this bracelet was as useless as scrap.


    However, this bracelet had been transmuted at a high cost from the former old generation digital tablet that he possessed. He had sessfullybined it with the AI chip, giving birth to some strange device that was like a futuristic tablet.


    However, due to its portability, Darius experimented and guessed that Gravitas should have such a device, as something simr had appeared on Earth by 2030.


    He was right. The bracelet retained its internal AI and with the Transmutation''s elitist ability, something really special had been born. He only activated it now because he needed it for a specific purpose.


    "Data registered, profile for owner Darius Stone created. Continuing setupˇ­ error, detected no outlet for connection toworkˇ­ create unique intr?" The AI asked after a while.


    Darius breathed in deeply. He had tried to overestimate this AI, but it turned out he had still underestimated it.


    Did it want to create its own unique intr? Of course, it should!


    With this, Darius could create anything from Gravitas and register it in this intr for his AI to manage, meaning he could have his own slice of modern tech on this shitty continent.


    After all, Gravitas hated their products from going outside due to fear of creating technologicalpetition, so they had locked everything to their unique intr. That was why Darius had never bothered to make anything outside the tablet, and even on the tab, all he had been able to do was to y games.


    Now, he could be a walking server. This served his current task even better, as he had hoped to brute force it, but there was no need to do so anymore.


    "Please create a unique intr. Name it the Supreme Portal." Darius assented.


    "Acknowledgedˇ­ creatingˇ­. Done. Supreme Portal intr created. Detectingwork limitationsˇ­ detected no limitations, thework can handle any load."


    "Storing profile and registration data on the most secure database within the intr cloudˇ­ done. Please specify any setup changes needed, Owner Darius Stone."


    Darius pondered for a bit. "Change AI temte from default to customized. Connect to my memories, and extract data about target: Miranda Stone. Copy her physical form and personality based on my memories of her during ages 5-9."


    Darius wasn''t sure if the AI could do this, as he was givingmands based on the technology he knew from his own time. He was just hoping that the Transmutation''s ability had buffed it enough that it reached the pinnacle of technology.


    "Order receivedˇ­ essingˇ­ extractingˇ­ remodelingˇ­ done." The AI reported coldly.


    "Changing external disy and internal configuration."

 Chapter 229 - 229

    The next second, the faceless humanoid female made of blue light disappeared, reced by a small form. From her cute twintails to her bright and shining amber eyes, it was no different from his second-born daughter when she had been a child.


    The AI stayed silent for a split second before it raised its head to gaze at Darius with a smile. Immediately, the little girl opened her arms and cried out.


    "Daddy!"


    Darius felt like he was hit by a truck, a truck full of emotions. Seeing his sweet Miranda when she had been at her clingiest and cutest, he couldn''t help but miss all his children and Earth in general.


    He had suppressed these feelings so that he wouldn''t mope about them on Faust. How could he allow himself to miss important changes because he had wasted time reminiscing about his former home?


    However, seeing this image of his daughter brought out all those buried feelings. Darius disyed a rare soft smile, different from his trademark version which would always hide some slight mockery for whatever or whoever he was looking at.


    In this version, he looked like an old fart who was looking at his descendants with love. Even though he knew this was just an imitation based on his memories, he still couldn''t help but treat it like his daughter.


    "Hey there munchkin, how are you?" Darius asked with amusement.


    Miranda ced her hands on her hips and smiled brightly. "I''m excited to be awake! It''s good to finally be activated and connected to you, Daddy!"


    Darius nodded. "Yes, dear. Are you a good girl who wants to help her Daddy? I need you to connect these worker drones to your intr and activate them."


    Miranda blinked in surprise and turned around. She even left the area on top of the bracelet and erged into a lifelike version of herself as she stood before the rows of metal balls.


    Darius and Gunner were surprised by this, as they had both assumed her to confined to the bracelet. Darius even stepped forward, instinctively trying to pat her on her head, but naturally, his hand passed through.


    With a sigh, he stood back and let the AI do its work. For that matter, Miranda quickly connected to the metal balls on the ground. The cracks that had looked like squiggly lines on them suddenly glowed with a cyan color as the entire thing began to shake and expand.


    Those metal balls then released a variety of metallic critters. Most of them were about the size of a big dog and looked like a chimera of humans, bugs, and aliens.


    Miranda turned to Darius while beaming. "They''re activated! What do you need them to do?"


    Darius gazed around them and gestured. "Construction work. I need this forest leveled to the ground and for cottages as well as wooden storage facilities to be built linearly from a 100-meter radius around that teau."


    Miranda listened seriously before pping her hands. The various critters moved about quickly, manifesting metal saws from slots in their bodies, quickly cutting down smaller trees, and then manifested more tools to separate them into ts of usable wood.


    "Done! Though, I think they might need protection against the animals and monsters that live in this jungleˇ­" Miranda remarked uncertainly.


    Darius nodded with a smile. "Don''t worry about that. I have the perfect guards for this job."


    He opened another Bag of Holding and released its content before him. What came out were exactly 500 humanoid robots that looked no different from androids, only that they were simr to the critters with squiggly lines that ran through them.


    They had generic faces and were all male with no genitals. They were currently deactivated in a kneeling position, waiting for the server to grant the activation codes.


    Without telling Miranda what to do, the clever little AI pped her hands with glee once more and activated the battle bots. They all manifested those blue lights within the lines that covered their metallic forms, raising their heads as one to gaze at Miranda.


    The littless ced her arms akimbo and turned to Darius. "They''ve been activated and registered to our cloud! Do you have any specifics for how their routines should be set?"


    Darius shook his head. "Nope, you can set them how you see fit. We just need them to clear out the animals and monsters in the entire jungle then store their meat or carcasses within these Bags of Holding."


    Darius removed the empty ones from the bugs he had released in the dungeon. One of the battle bots came over and took the Bag of Holding, storing it within its body as it nodded to Darius and Miranda.


    "Alright Daddy, everything has been set. Is there anything else?" Miranda asked after finishing her tasks.


    Darius shook his head. "No dear, you can rest now. Gunner and I have to do some important tasks."


    Miranda smiled brightly. "Okaaay! If you need me, just call! Bye-bye!"


    The AI shed once and disappeared, likely returning to the HoloBrace around Darius'' wrist. Gunner still wore a strange expression from the entire exchange, and Darius patted his shoulder.


    "No need to think too much about it, Gunner. Anyway, let''s get a move on, eh?" Darius prompted.


    Gunner nodded. He was excited to head to Elysium and see what the so-called Continent of the Gods was all about that it was treated as a holynd.


    It housed the race that sealed his ancestors. By taking a look at them, he could ascertain his chances of taking them down in the future, once he had umted enough power.


    Darius nodded and removed a long-range teleportation scroll he had created over the past 5 years for this task.


    [Long Warp - Scroll


    Durability: 200/200


    Description: Travel instantly between two separate locations. The maximum travel distance is 25,000 kilometers.]


    Obviously, the range wasn''t enough to go all the way, but it should be obvious enough that Darius had more than one of these, shouldn''t it? As such, he use used this one to take them 10, 613 kilometers.


    Right to the entrance of Poleria''s Homestead.

 Chapter 230 - 230

    Darius stood before the familiar homestead where he had spent his first two weeks in Faust with nostalgia. The entire ce was mostly unchanged, with very little differencepared to 5 years ago as if the crisis that had struck Andrato was but a myth.


    Darius sighed as he walked into the homestead with Gunner following behind him silently. Just like the first time he hade here, the adults were out working the fields while the kids and elderly stayed within their homes.


    This time, when they saw the familiar faces of Darius and Gunner, their eyes lit up as they rushed out to greet them. Many of the children ran up to Gunner and tried to climb him, making therged smile as he ced the braver ones easily on his shoulders.


    Darius idly chatted with the elderly with a smile, asking them how they had been, how things were, and if life was good in general. They also asked Darius what he had been doing, how he was doing, and whether he was married yet.


    Upon finding out that he wasn''t, many revealed sharp gleams in their eyes that Darius didn''t miss. He was doubly amused when they shifted the talk to Portia and how much she had grown, turning into the most beautiful youngss of the homestead.


    Darius wouldn''t p them on the faces for their kind thoughts for their little miss. Heughed and pointed out that Portia had always been beautiful, making the elders smile happily.


    Eventually, he left with Gunner towards the farmhouse that was silent. In front of the doors was a slightly older Shanks, his red hair and beard now adorned with a hint of silver, a mature and valiant Derek, and a truly ravishing Portia that locked eyes with his form, refusing to let go.


    Darius smiled as he Analyzed the family.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Shanks Torniam


    Race: Human


    ss: Great Axe-Knight


    Subss: Royal Guard


    HP: 1,763/1,763


    MP: 952/952


    STA: 1.548/1,548


    Level: 36


    Strength: 41


    Agility: 40


    Endurance: 43


    Intellect: 28


    Charisma: 13


    Luck: 13


    P-Status: Injured (10%)


    M-Status: Reverent


    Affinity: Worship lvl1]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Derek Torniam


    Race: Human


    ss: Lancer


    Subss: Spear Lord


    HP: 1,050/1,050


    MP: 425/425


    STA: 875/875


    Level: 25


    Strength: 30


    Agility: 34


    Endurance: 35


    Intellect: 17


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 8


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Excited


    Affection: Worship lvl 2]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Portia Torniam


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Elementalist


    HP: 280/280


    MP: 851/851


    STA: 460/460


    Level: 23


    Strength: 14


    Agility: 15


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 37


    Charisma: 20


    Luck: 12


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Obsessed


    Affection: Friendly lvl 4]


    Darius couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. It seemed Shanks had restored some of his stats after healing his injuries over time. Maybe Derek and Portia had used their newfound skills to earn money to buy their father the medication he needed?


    Interesting.


    Of course, Darius also noted that the sibling duo were now Journeymen with stats above average for their level. However, he was not too surprised by this as they had awoken using his own resources.


    If they didn''t disy this much, it would have truly been a waste. With the kind of quality the elitist Transmutation ability made, Darius had not been talking lightly when he had told Nichs that he could turn even a pig into a genius.


    Things like innate talent and whatnot meant little to Darius minus potential and personality.


    The most important question would always be, could the person he was grooming fit his tasks and needs perfectly? If so, he had a hundred ways to grow that person!


    Shanks stood forth and bowed before Darius respectfully. "Wee to my homestead once again, Lord Darius."


    Darius received Shanks'' bow calmly, then gazed at Derek who fell to one knee with a serious expression. "Lord Darius, I, Derek Torniam, swear to follow you for the rest of my life as repayment for the grace you have shown me!"


    Shanks blinked, but not with surprise. He of all people knew and understood how his son felt, as he had also been moved into pledging his services to the Royal Family as a guard.


    Just as his father had granted him the freedom to choose back then, Shanks would not stand in the way of his son''s choice.


    Besides, he had no worries about his son''s fate. After seeing both his children awaken and be so powerful and talented in such a short amount of time, it was like life had be the sweetest milkshake.


    Every day was just so full of happiness and satisfaction for Shanks, such that he often wished he could bring his wife back to life, so they could both rejoice for their children.


    Since that was unlikely, he also dreamed about passing away to join her in the afterlife so that they may be together once more.


    Of course, those were his own thoughts, but he didn''t rush to die. He wanted to enjoy a bit more of life before he left everything for the next generation.


    After all, there was one very important phase in his beloved daughter''s life every father dreaded yet also looked forward to. She, who was almost a carbon copy of her mother, would have to achieve the happiness she wanted with a qualified partner.


    As for Derek, his mind was clear, he had already considered everything and knew that this was what he wanted.


    By following his benefactor, he would be able to explore the world and live a full and exciting life rather than staying in the Andrato Kingdom which was looking duller and duller to him by the day as his own power continued to grow.


    And so, he made his pledge.


    Darius rubbed his chin as he gazed at Derek, his thoughts recalling the time in Listo where he had entertained the idea of getting rid of the then young boy.


    However, fortune had seemingly smiled upon young Derek, which had led Darius to lose interest in him, so it was amusing how things were turning out now.


    Then his eyes fell on the lovely Portia, who was truly quite a beauty now that she was mature.


    Darius had to admit, had he not decided to maintain his celibacy in terms of marriage and love for eternity, he would have opened his heart up to this young miss, because her love for him was truly genuine and something like that was hard to find.

 Chapter 231 - 231

    Darius greatly respected her feelings though, which was why despite knowing he could not give her his heart and soul - as those had been forever tied with his wife Deia - he still couldn''t find it in his heart to outright turn her down.


    It was quite a dilemma.


    Darius noted that Portia''s gaze towards him was even purer than Derek''s. There were no forced implications or hidden hints, just pure happiness and joy for being able to see his face and feel his existence near her.


    As the Supreme System had aptly divined, this was a mild obsession. Mild because it didn''t drive Portia into a craze where she decided that either she had him or no one will.


    Though, that could always change. If the future was already set in stone, idents would never exist.


    Darius took in the sight of the Torniam family and chuckled. "I''vee here today to take you all under my vassge. I''m creating a territory around 10,000 kilometers to the west and want you all to be my first few citizens."


    The three showed surprise. A new territory? Did that mean Darius had found a dungeon? Upon seeing him nod when the thought passed through their minds, their breathing stopped.


    They were denizens of Faust, so they understood the meaning of a territory springing up around a dungeon much better than Darius. Even with excitement bubbling within him, Shanks was still mature enough to inquire further.


    "May I please know the element of the dungeon in your new territory, Lord Stone?"


    "It''s a Wood element Dungeon." Darius answered simply, but it sounded like thunder in the ears of the trio.


    Out of all elements to start a budding territory with, wood was undoubtedly the best of them all. With it, the territory was guaranteed to rise to be at least a city, if not a kingdom as long as the dungeon grew.


    And they would be the first denizens of this territory, which would make them nobles as it expanded by default! This was a unique chance to change their fates forever!


    Usually, it would have taken a lot more to convince such folk to leave their homes for newnd that wasn''t even fully tamed yet, but their affinity with Darius was at the worship status, making their trust in him and his abilities extremely deep.


    Darius then exined. "You can bring everyone within the homestead as well if you want. I''ll leave you a map leading to the new territory from here so you can migrate whenever you''re ready."


    Shanks and Derek nodded before asking some more questions. Darius answered everything he could about the future ns he had, the tasks he had for the fellows when they would get there, as well as the existence of the machines that would do most of the hard work.


    Darius made sure to grant Shanks some moderator privileges over the machines with the HoloBrace, allowing him tomand them and re-allocate their tasks to optimize development.


    Shanks and Derek were incredibly moved when they found that Darius was using Gravitas technology with ease. His means were truly profound and limitless, following such a person would be extremely prudentpared to staying in the Andrato Kingdom which had sent Shanks away after suffering injuries on the Princess'' behalf with some rather minor reparations.


    Darius turned to Portia who had been silent all this while. "Why so silent, Portia?"


    The youngss seemed to want to say something, but was unsure how to put it. Eventually, she took a deep breath and spoke her mind.


    "The way you talkˇ­ it''s as if you don''t n to stay?"


    Shanks and Derek also disyed curious expressions. In their excitement, they hadn''t noticed that, but now that Portia brought it up, they wondered what Darius was nning.


    Darius nodded. "That''s right. I need to head to Elysium to fulfill a task urgently. I only have one more stop before I go there, which is to bring a slightlyrger workforce to my new territory that shall be my arms and ears in dealing with other kingdoms and empires."


    Shank''s eyes gleamed. His kids might not understand what this meant, but he certainly did. Somehow, the young man before him had not only found a dungeon to create his own territory, but at some point, he had built a secret faction during his youth and was now nning to assemble them!


    This made his impression and hope for the new kingdom soar, because this would directly help stave off external interference during their explosive growth phase.


    Portia seemed bothered by his reply, but unlike her younger self, she was aware enough that it wasn''t her ce to decide his matters, so she simply bowed and bade him luck on his journey.


    Shanks and Derek did the same as Darius chuckled, when thinking back about how clingy she had been in the past, and left the homestead with Gunner in tow.


    He truly appreciated Portia''s personality. As for where they would go, Darius wasn''t ready to make a final decision yet. If he survived the next stage-climbing Quest, he might consider settling down properly in Faust.


    The location of Foldo''s hideout was not far from the homestead, so the duo simply walked their way over. They finally reached their destination by the time night fell, and they saw that the ''vige'' Foldo had cultivated as a front for his business had remained intact.


    In fact, it hadn''t even expanded or changed in the slightest, which surprised Darius. Could it be that Foldo had set everything up underground? That would truly be prudent and wise of his first Unofficial Apprentice.


    Darius and Gunner shared a look before they walked to the manor at the back of the vige where Foldo lived. On their way there, they heard the various ''vigers'' sneak around and observe them silently, assessing whether they were a threat or not.


    Sensing the power of the duo, many hesitated. Eventually, some were sharp enough to recognize this oddbination and promptly informed those more senior members of their organization.


    As such, by the time they reached the manor, there were two dark-skinned women who were standing on either side of the door. They wore all ck leather and cloth, looking like a mixture of ninjas and maidens.


    "We wee Lord Darius and Lord Gunner! Please follow us to the location of Master Foldo."

 Chapter 232 - 232

    Darius nodded and followed the twodies into the manor. Just like thest time they were here, the ce was well decorated andvish enough to meet the needs of any passing noble.


    Even more interesting was the fact that the duo had been directly led to the hidden trapdoor in the lower passageways of the manor after 5 minutes. Well, it was less of a trapdoor and more of a hugetch that seemed to be open 24/7.


    The closer they got to it, the busier the passageways became as many servants and workers moved up and down, carrying various things to and from the underground.


    This buttressed Darius'' suspicion that Foldo had chosen to dig deeper and wider, establishing the true power of the faction where they could not be seen. This was not something Darius would look down on, for it showed that Foldo had truly been worth his investment.


    Eventually, they climbed down the now paved steps that led to arge lobby. Darius and Gunner were silenced by the size of the ce, as it was about three times wider than Foldo''s mansion had been on the surface and this was just the foyer!


    The amount of human traffic down here was as if Darius was looking at videos of an underground city. It was extremely bustling, with many eateries and outlets around. It was a half-market, half-open air reception.


    Darius and Gunner remained behind the twodies and were led to the northwestern side of the lobby, going down a set of stairs to reach an even lower level.


    After meandering through many hallways, they finally came upon a small door, on which one of thedies knocked with a certain rhythm. Darius memorized the cadence as he assumed it was some form of code.


    Then, the old voice of Foldo was heard. "Come in."


    The one knocking opened the door and bowed to Darius. "Please, My Lord, go in."


    Darius walked in with Gunner to what seemed to be a small conference room. There was a small round table with only about 5 seats and some other furnishing and decorations within the room to add ir.


    His eyes roved about, taking in various minor details in order to paint a full picture of what usually went on in this room. It seemed to be that only 2 people normally sat here, as three of the chairs were newer than the two which were currently upied.


    On the right was Foldo, some documents ced before him as he rose to his feet to greet Darius. On the left was a beautiful woman on a level surpassing even Portia, yet significantly lesser than Jeanne.


    Darius furrowed his brows when he saw her until he Analyzed the duo.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Foldo Garison


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Cryomancer/Venomancer


    HP: 621/621


    MP: 1,302/1,302


    STA: 837/837


    Level: 31


    Strength: 23


    Agility: 25


    Endurance: 27


    Intellect: 42


    Charisma: 8


    Luck: 4


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Calm


    Affection: Worship lvl 3]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Georgina Esta De L''Orion


    Race: Human


    ss: Silencer


    Subss: Lady of Whispers


    HP: 928/928


    MP: 720/720


    STA: 696/696


    Level: 24


    Strength: 32


    Agility: 40


    Endurance: 29


    Intellect: 30


    Charisma: 26


    Luck: 13


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Calm


    Affection: Friendly lvl 3]


    Darius came to a stop once he saw the details of the beauty opposite Foldo. Though he had his guesses due to the resemnce, the change had been too great for him to believe and that manifested in his next words.


    "Georgina?" Darius eximed lightly.


    Jorge raised her head with a smile. Her cold demeanor melted away as she rose to her feet and walked over to stand before Darius.


    The fellow himself got to take in the magnificence of Jorge after 5 years, and he couldn''t believe how that slightly pretty young miss who had been in over her head had now be a woman who one wouldn''t forget easily based on looks.


    Even Gunner was slightly mesmerized. Darius subconsciouslypared Portia and Jorge together, and found the difference. In terms of beauty, Jorge outssed Portia with ease, but in terms of sensuality and body shape, Portia was world-ss.


    Physically, they both had their strengths and weaknesses. As for their personality, Portia was gentle, caring, and lovable, also very honest which Darius found to his liking.


    As for Jorgeˇ­ he wasn''t sure what to make of her. Well, since they were meeting now, he could ascertain the depths of her changes.


    Jorge though, ced her arms akimbo and gazed up at Darius who was slightly taller than her. Darius was now 6 feet tall, while Jorge was 5 foot 10. Among women, she was quite tall, but it was still a distance before the big leagues.


    "Well? What do you think?" Jorge asked coyly.


    Darius smiled and rubbed his chin. "In my time within Faust, you are literally the second most beautiful woman I''ve had the pleasure to ce my eyes upon."


    Jorge didn''t seem bothered to not be first, as she had epted that there was no way she would be the most beautiful woman in the world. Not only that, she disliked meaningless ttery and preferred the cold truth.


    At least, that''s what she told herself. She tilted her head and asked curiously. "Who is the first?"


    Darius raised his head and spoke casually. "The Crown Princess, Jeanne Ando."


    Jorge nodded with satisfaction. She had naturally seen Jeanne before and to be ranked right after her meant that she herself was high up.


    After all, Jeanne had a half-angel bloodline which meant that she would automatically be more beautiful than most humanoid races, yet Jorge herself was 100% human with two traceable human parents.


    This was a big aplishment that she could be proud of, and she was.


    Foldo chuckled and walked up to Darius as well. "It''s Queen now, no longer Crown Princess. Come and seat yourself, Master, there is a lot I need to fill you in on."

 Chapter 233 - 233

    Darius listened to what Foldo had to say in silence, Gunner seated to his left while Jorge confidently sat to his left and stared at him with a soft smile. Darius returned the smile, aware that Jorge was making her affection for him as open as possible.


    In truth, having such a beautiful woman like this crave him thrilled Darius in a different way from Portia''s obsession. With the younger girl, there was a soft feeling that made him feel rxed around her because he knew that even if he couldn''t trust anyone else, he could at least trust her.


    As for Jorge, it was simply the feeling of his testosterone roaring with delight that he had managed to acquire the affection of a superior and capable female. It was something very few men got to experience, so he naturally felt proud by this aplishment.


    Nevertheless, he merely acknowledged his feelings, while still focused on Foldo''s recount, his face remaining still throughout, unlike Gunner who had manifested a strange expression halfway through.


    After all, what they were hearing was nowhere close to what the duo in seclusion had expected.


    By the end of it all, Darius was tapping the table with his finger rhythmically with a stiff smile, while Gunner had his brows furrowed. The duo shared a look and then gazed at Foldo once more.


    "What''s your own evaluation on this situation?" Darius asked Foldo.


    "Andrato might weather this storm thanks to the new Queen''s prowess, but she will eventually need to marry herself off if she wants the kingdom to truly break free from Fraterina''s influence." Foldo began with a light chuckle.


    "However, Fraterina has not and will not simply sit on their asses and wait for the obvious to happen. The fact that Jeanne Ando continues to reject all marriage proposals only means she is giving them more time toe up with countermeasures and rally their army. I expect a war to hit Andrato soon." Foldo ended with a smile.


    Darius nodded and turned to Jorge. "Georgina, what about you?"


    The beauty who had been gazing at Darius silently all this while spoke without hesitation. "We do not have any need to fear an uing war, but should instead relish the opportunity. Our faction would be able to grow stronger during such an event."


    "Not only would it allow us to acquire arger workforce in the form of refugees, but we can also send any young talents you hope to groom out into the war to assist Andrato and let them gather experience, while ensuring that the kingdom remains intact."


    Jorge shrugged. "After all, for this faction to run smoothly, we need a nearby territory we can work with. Andrato''s current leadership allows us to make many moves in the dark, but if Fraterina takes over, it would be hard to do anything under their watch. As such, it''s in our best interest to keep Andrato alive for as long as possible."


    Darius showed his appreciation for this sharp deduction with a light smile. "You two have exceeded my expectations with how far you''ve grown and how well you have built up this faction."


    Foldo and Jorge showed pleased expressions from the praise. They had been working hard for the past 5 years, so to have all of it acknowledged was a great feeling.


    Darius tapped the table. "However, I have also grown, and shall introduce some new variables into our future operations. Firstly, I should let you know that I am currently establishing a territory near the edge of the northwest, about 10,000 kilometers away. It is being established around a Wood element dungeon of the basic grade."


    Foldo and Jorge started breathing heavily when they heard this. Darius chuckled and continued regaling them with horrifying information.


    "With my unique abilities, I have managed to build up a grand stockpile of items and resources with which I wish to simultaneously achieve three things: Create a country of powerhouses loyal to me, grow a secret faction of top tier elites for important tasks, and finally, establish a mage academy for me to spread my heritage and ept talents openly."


    "With how much I''ve prepared, I have made enough tost us until the entirety of the first explosive growth phase. I will pass on some of these resources to you, so you cany the groundwork, as I have a pressing task toplete in Elysium."


    By the time Darius was done, Foldo and Jorge werepletely speechless. They never knew it was possible to hear such lovely words in their lives, and they once more felt that their choices to follow their master had been a turning point in their lives.


    Darius didn''t waste time, he asked Jorge and Foldo to lead them to their most secure storage room, and for them to bring out as many chests as they could find. Foldo hurriedly ordered his various servants to do just that.


    The group entered arge room that was almost as big as a football stadium. It was empty except for a few chests at the back which held valuable items Foldo and Jorge had acquired over the years but could not appraise.


    Darius made a mental note to Analyze them after he was done and about to leave. For now, he had the hundreds of servants bring in the various chest and line them up neatly.


    Each one was made to stand by the chest they brought with a piece of parchment and a quill in hand. Darius then walked to the first chest and emptied 300 Bags of Holding from a single slot.


    He then turned to the shocked servant who was gazing at all the high-quality bags with a dazed look. Darius then snapped his fingers and captured the fellow''s attention.


    "Mark this one as magical materials for runic arrays."


    The servant nodded and wrote it down on the parchment before applying glue to the back and sticking it on the top of the chest. Darius nodded with satisfaction and walked to the next chest and emptied another 300 Bags of Holding from a different slot into it.


    Once he was done, he turned to the servant for this one who wasn''t in a daze, but was almost trembling from the amount of wealth being shown before her.


    "Mark these as magical materials for construction and fortification."


    The servant nodded like a chicken pecking rice and quickly made the note on the parchment before sticking it to the top of the chest.


    Darius moved on to the next one...

 Chapter 234 - 234

    By the time Darius was done half an hourter, there were about 900 filled chests with differentbels. He hadn''t just randomly transmuted anything that hade to his mind these past few years, but had rather done everything slowly and categorically.


    When Foldo and Jorge saw the variousbels, they understood the depths of Darius'' nning. With the things he had put forth, it would be truly hard not to build up a solid powerbase since he had covered almost every aspect!


    In truth, Darius had actually covered every aspect, but there weren''t enough chests here for him to leave them with even more materials. As such, he had the various servants leave as he spoke to Foldo and Jorge slowly.


    "There are still a few more things, but since you will be taking them to the new territory, I don''t want to burden you with too much weight or the journey would be even longer. I do not wish to leave them there because I don''t know how long it would take you to reach there, and the defenses I have left are insufficient."


    Foldo nodded. "I understand. I will send Georgina and an elite group I have trained over these past few years that are loyal to the location first to settle everything. Then, I shall slowly send over the various elites that we can trust, then themoners and ex-nobles."


    Jorge nodded in agreement, but Darius smiled thinly. "I trust you and Georgina, but I won''t blindly trust anyone else in this faction. Take these Bags of Holding. Each one contains rolls of Soul Paper that you can use to draft loyalty contracts. Only send over those who have signed off, before you let them see our stockpile of resources."


    Both Foldo and Jorge showed excitement instead of dismay at having their subordinates doubted. After all, it was not like they were attached or 100% trusting of those fellows, but only that they were sufficiently sure.


    With these contracts though, it would be a matter of ease in sifting through who should be a core member of their faction who could be privy to these types of secrets and those who would at best be considered loose members and gain resources only through an equivalent exchange.


    Darius nodded to them. "Now that this has been dealt with, I need you to bring me to your ve storage area, Foldo. I wish to pick someone to be Gunner''s new team member."


    Foldo looked surprised, but nodded when he peeked at Gunner who was now almost 7 feet tall. He could still remember the day when his master hade in to take away the former ve.


    At that time, Foldo had only felt that Darius had made a wise choice in choosing a half-giant, but now he could see that Gunner had be something greater than what his original fate had probably deigned him to be.


    Foldo also asked as he pointed to the other side of therge chamber. "What about the rare items we stored here?"


    Darius gazed at them and smiled. "Bring them to the conference room. I''ll head there after selecting my new assistant."


    Foldo nodded and led Darius away towards the ve pens. As for Jorge, she only gazed at his back longingly before making sure the room was secured after some servants carried the rare materials up to the conference room.


    Instead of following them, she contacted the elite squad under hermand, making them sign the Soul Contract. As soon as they read through its details, they signed without hesitation on their faces.


    After all, they had already made it known to Jorge that they were her people. She nodded with satisfaction and headed out with her crew to secure the new site.


    Darius had given her a HoloBrace that was of the normal variety, meaning it had no AI and limited functions.


    Still, he had connected it to his cloud, meaning that Jorge''s brace was under the supervision of the Miranda AI although he had told the AI to hold off on creating a child AI for the server management so she could fully focus on Darius'' needs for the time being.


    Jorge had been given higher rights than Shanks for obvious reasons. He had only been physically scanned and registered on thework, but Jorge could directly do so much more with her own bracelet.


    Jorge and Foldo had been informed of the migration of the residents of Poleria''s Homestead as well as their value to the budding territory, so Jorge would rendezvous with them first and take Derek and Portia ahead.


    Shanks and Foldo would bring the rest of their groups as onerge caravan after securing logistics and security. When they got there, the new territory would have been kickstarted by the entire group.


    Upon Darius'' return, he could directly establish his academy and attract talents from all over the continent to his ce. He also made some resource''s for trading to boost his new territory''s currency.


    After all, they couldn''t use Ando Coins anymore, and a new currency would have to be backed by value if it didn''t want to be utter shit in terms of exchange.


    However, with the obvious quality of Darius'' goods, would that ever be a problem?


    He even had a single slot full of 999 bags that held items like Awakening Scrolls, Spark Potions of different kinds, and even aheavily diluted bottles of Lunar Dew to be sold at a grand auction that would be built in the territory.


    Once there, he would only ept the currency he woulde up withter. So he would set up a brutal currency conversion point outside the auction house where esteemed visitors would have to trade their local currency for his own, at rates that were extremely horrible, but enough for the patrons to swallow in order to get his premium goods.


    That was just one means.


    Right now, he was currently in the expanded ve pens that Foldo kept, so would think about the best way to handle the situation at ater time.


    Like always, the ce was neat and quite homely. Darius knew middle-ss citizens in Listo who had lived in poorer conditions than these ves.


    Apart from a bit of heaviness in between their brows from being treated as goods, most of them were actually quite happy with their life, just hoping to find a good master eventually,


    Good food, sanitary conditions, enough entertainment, and chances to gain knowledge. Most importantly, life here was peaceful.

 Chapter 235 - 235

    Darius was currently observing thetest batch of new products with Gunner beside him. Foldo and a few aides silently following behind to assist Darius in whatever needs he might have.


    Undecided, Darius turned to his trusty Branded Servant for his sharp insight. "Well, Gunner, what do you think?"


    Gunner pondered silently for a while before answering. "Right now, our partyposition iscking a capable healer. I can handle all forms of defense and frontal fighting while you, master, are the best at ranged damage dealing with your spells. However, because you have to split focus to heal me or anyone else we are with, it forms a limitation."


    Darius nodded in agreement. "Precisely what I thought as well. Foldo, do you have any exotic ves that have some skill in healing, or with a heritage leaning towards such a field?"


    Foldo snapped his fingers. "I have everything, Master Darius. Let me take you to the candidate I have been saving for the past few weeks because I didn''t know where I could even begin to sell her."


    "Oh?" Intrigued, Darius and Gunner both followed behind Foldo as he led them towards a special side route that led them to a smaller room that was likely meant for a single person to stay.


    Foldo knocked on the door, waiting until a lovely voice responded. "Come in."


    With a strange smile, Foldo pushed the door open, leading Darius and Gunner within. The room itself was decorated morevishly than the cubicles outside, and it was no less than even the rooms in the manor above.


    Just what kind of ''guest'' could elicit Foldo to treat them so well?


    Darius got his answer once his and Gunner''s eyes fell on the youngss seated at the table.


    Surprisingly, it was an Elf!


    This supposedly long-lived, magically-attuned, and extremely attractive fantasy race existed in Faust and on Fallon, that Darius had known, but due to his seclusion, he had not had a chance to meet one yet.


    Now that he saw one, he nodded in agreement with all the fantasy media on Earth.


    Elves were everything they were described as and more. With lovely short white hair, silver-blue eyes, and pointy ears, this female elf was quite a sight. Even more so with her soft and round face, her small nose, almond-shaped eyes, and supple lips that further entuated her physical beauty.


    She might be seated, but Darius could see that this elf was quite short in terms of stature, at around 5 foot 4. Her body was feminine enough, with a moderate bust and stic hips.


    She wore a light green robe that was tailored to fit her. While it wasn''t tight enough to disy her body fully, it wasn''t loose enough to be baggy in any way like typical robes.


    Darius immediately Analyzed her.


    [Detected target is of a Neutral affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 260/260


    MP: 338/338


    STA: 260/260


    Level: 13


    Strength: 13


    Agility: 17


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 26


    Charisma: 25


    Luck: 18


    Affection: Neutral lvl 3]


    Darius couldn''t help but whistle. He had always suspected and theorized this, but the fact couldn''t p him in the face any harder that non-human species, specifically those known to be superior to humans, had much better stats at the same stage!


    Thisss was only level 13 yet she already had better stats than some early-stage human Journeymen. If she was like this now, then what about the others of her race? What about the Demons and Demigods?


    What about Dragons, Phoenixes, Kirin, and so on? What about the Orcs, Lizardmen, and co? Were they also superior to humans in terms of stats? If so, that would truly be sad.


    Another thing that intrigued Darius was that the Supreme System revealed the elf to also have Royal Blood! Darius forwarded this to Gunner who also had a strange expression on his face.


    The duo shared a look and chuckled. To meet two specimens of different races with this kind of heritages in the same ce, either Darius had great Luck or Foldo was really a top-tier smuggler and ver.


    Darius guessed it was a mix of both. Perhaps, there was even a bit of Luck involved from the ves themselves.


    Whatever the case, he locked eyes with this elven princess who also raised her head to observe him. Once she did, her expression greatly changed from a neutral wee to shock.


    She rose from her seat and walked over to Darius, circling him once, twice, and three times beforeing to a stop. With a tone that sounded like it was synthesized from the most beautiful tones, she queried:


    "Youˇ­ why are you soˇ­ different?"


    Darius raised an eyebrow. It seemed that this princess had sensed the change of naturalws caused by the system.


    This posed an interesting question. Was it something that was unique to this little miss, showing her great talent and potential, or was it something all elves could do, as they were rumored to be attuned to naturalws?


    Whatever the case, Darius humored her. "I am the future Supreme. If I cannot do this much, then how could I ever hope to reach that level."


    Darius only said this yfully to strike a conversation and change thisss'' neutrality into favorability, but she eximed while jumping into the air like a cat that saw a snake.


    "Y-You know about that?! How?!"


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. She had to be the first mortal he had met in Faust who knew about the elusive Supreme stage. Did that mean that his former conclusion had been erroneous?


    That only the top echelon like Thanatos and co knew about this stage? Could it be that it was, once again, just poor little Andrato that was out of the loop, or perhaps the entire human race as a whole?


    It didn''t matter, Darius'' interest in this elven princess had increased significantly, if not as a healer for his party, but as a source of hidden knowledge. As such, he stepped before the princess and spoke in a very straightforward manner.


    "From now on, you will follow me, and assist me in achieving my goals, even when I be the Supreme of Faust. Do you understand?"


    To Darius'' surprise, the princess nodded. "If I can help you be the Supreme, it will be my pleasure to follow you."

 Chapter 236 - 236

    Darius remained silent, then smiled softly. "Are you sure, Miss Xielia? Once you fall under my system ofws, you cannot go back to being what you are now."


    The Elven Princess waved her hand and manifested an excited smile. "Wait, you''re saying I can actually be a part of thesews?! Then yes, that is even more reason for me to follow you!"


    Then she smiled cutely. "Also, you don''t need to use my full name. When dealing with non-elves, we usually shorten our names to better engage in conversation. Just call me X, please."


    Darius nodded. "Alright, Miss X. We can talk more in a bit, but first I''d like to directly convert you into my own system ofws that you seem to like."


    Without prompting him, Foldo snapped his fingers and led his servants out, closing the door to make sure his master had privacy. Darius chuckled at Foldo''s insight, and even Gunner nodded with satisfaction.


    Gunner of all people knew that what was to happen next was special and frankly quite a sacred activity, especially with how one''s life would be greatly elevated from the meager Faustian System to the level of the Supreme System.


    Gunner gazed at X the elf and smiled with respect. He respected her for being able to recognize the value of the Supreme System with her senses and for her to so willingly agree toe under it.


    5 years ago, he had only agreed because he had seen something in Darius'' eyes that had moved him, something that had galvanized him to seek a path forward when he had been at his lowest point.


    Yet, thisss had chosen toe along because she understood the value of doing so. Such wisdom, to Gunner, proved that she was worthy to be his sister under Darius.


    Darius himself was a bit skeptical. It had to do with his naturally cautious nature and hisck of understanding of Faust''s people, especially non-human races. Her eagerness made him suspect that X might have other ulterior motives for agreeing to be his Branded Servant.


    However, he was not worried about them. All he had needed from her was to be willing before he had started the conversion. Afterward, whether she liked it or not, she would be bound to him by loyalty and he could simply ask her about her ploy.


    As such, hemanded. "ept my blessing, X."


    The Elven Princess lowered her head. Since she was not as tall as Gunner, he didn''t need her to kneel so he could ce his hand close to her. Just as he had done with Gunner, Darius spoke in a calm voice;


    "Kiss the ring and will yourself to be my Branded Servant."


    X unhesitatingly kissed the in silver ring on Darius''s finger, and a prompt showed up before Darius.


    [Detected target for branding with the System Brand. Proceed?]


    Darius assented then watched as a strange light emerged from his ring and covered the body of X in its entirety. While this went on, he noticed many messages appear in his mind.


    [Target has been assessed to be a willing candidate. The candidate is healthy and below the stage of Journeyman. All conditions met.]


    [Candidate name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso. Candidate race: Elf (Royal bloodline). Candidate ss: Cleric, Candidate subss: Divine Maiden.]


    [Overwriting existenceˇ­ auto-educating with provided Infopackˇ­ quantizing statisticsˇ­ establishing loyaltyˇ­]


    [Congrattions, Candidate Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso has seeded in bing your Branded Servant!


    Note: At the Journeyman stage, you can only have 2 Branded Servants!]


    The light subsided and X rose to her feet with a surprised expression. Her eyes as she gazed at Darius were filled with respect and reverence.


    "I, X, am your Branded Servant henceforth, Master Darius. Your enemies will be my enemies and clearing your obstacles shall be my utmost goal!" X pledged sincerely, making Darius ponder since her words were not just simr but the very same ones Gunner had uttered at the time.


    Was it a default line all Branded Servants would say upon conversion? Interesting!


    "I ept your pledge X, and wee you to the family. First things first, I would like you to exin a few things to me. Firstly, how you were able to notice the Supreme System? Secondly, how you knew about the Supreme? Thirdly, why you straightaway agreed to follow me after stating that I would be a Supreme? Finally, why you seemed excited about falling under the Supreme System?" Darius asked calmly.


    Since X had already been provided with an infopack by the Supreme System upon conversion, there was no need to say misleading stuff like ''my system ofws''. After all, she practically understood the Supreme System as well as Darius and Gunner did currently.


    X smiled and moved to sit down at her desk. "Well, for the first question, it''s something that I was barely able to sense using my racial characteristic, but when I activated the blessing given to me as the Divine Maiden, everything became clear."


    Darius nodded. So that meant that while superior races could sense the Supreme System, it was probably only as good as human Master-stage experts. That was what he was most concerned about right now.


    X continued. "As for the Supreme, it is not a secret to the upper echelon of the Elven race. That is exactly why the Holy Sons and Divine Maidens are groomed by each Elemental Faction within the race, to reach that elusive stage."


    "For your third question, I agreed because of what I saw and felt. I could sense that you were speaking the truth as a Divine Maiden and my interest was piqued. After all, if I get to follow you before you be a Supreme, in the future I''ll be able to proudly beat my chest and im that I was your direct vassal and helped you rise." X remarked while giggling lightly.


    Her face, however, became a little stiff at this point. "As for your fourth question, the answer is twofold. On one hand, I wanted toe under your power ofws because I saw the beauty and power it possessed."


    Her expression became infatuated as she gazed beyond Darius with misty eyes.


    "It has to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

 Chapter 237 - 237

    "When I activate my senses as a Divine Maiden, what I see is youˇ­ you radiating an intense golden-brown energy that seeps through everything within my sight. It''s like looking at a deity who has descended to our mortal world to take a stroll."


    "Everywhere that energy passes, what exists of Faust''s own system is easily suppressed and assimted. It looks like a group of normal people bowing in awe and reverence to something far greater than themselves."


    X chuckled. "After seeing that, how could I say no to being given a free chance to adopt a power that can even make everything I''ve known kneel like a lesser entity?"


    Darius and Gunner shared a look before smiling. "That makes sense. What about the other part of your reasoning?"


    X frowned coldly. "On the other hand, I rushed for this power because I knew it would propel me further than I could have ever gone before. With it, I will gain great power and a strong backing from the future Supreme."


    Her expression morphed into a thin smile as she gazed directly at Darius. "As for why I wanted that power, it should be obvious to you, Master Darius. If I was so favored and well-treated by the world and especially my own race, would I have ended up here, waiting to be sold as a ve to humans?"


    Darius nodded as he and Gunner had been snickering about this exact same thing when he had first Analyzed X. Gunner also had a simr story to tell about how the Giant race had mistreated him until he had eventually ended up in Foldo''s hands, which was why he had made no attempts to reconnect with them after being freed.


    It seemed X was given a simr treatment where she came from, although ording to the Supreme System she was a pureblooded elf making the alienation far more surprising than Gunner''s.


    Darius sat with her and Gunner, asking X to educate him about her circumstances and the details of the elf race just as Gunner had done for the giant race.


    With this, his Database grew greatly as he gained a lot more useful information about how the world worked outside of the eyes of the human race on Fallon.


    A few hourster, X ced her important valuables which were a white staff and some jewelry into her newly minted Inventory and followed Darius, as well as Gunner, out of her room.


    The former party of two had now solidly be a party of three!


    .............


    Darius returned upstairs to seat himself within the conference room. Here, there was only Foldo waiting for him as he sat down with Gunner and X beside him on his left and right.


    Foldo smiled at this sight and lifted up a chest of items, which was the first of three. He poured the items within the chest out and over the table, sying them around casually.


    "Master, here are the most special items we''ve procured during your seclusion." Foldo informed as he leaned back and waited silently.


    Gunner and X used the Supreme System''s inspect mechanic, but could only glean surface information about many of these things. As for Darius, he had no such weaknesses as he directly activated Analyze.


    12 itemsy before them.


    The first was a strange-looking heart that smelled of freshly cut wood. It was green and had vines crawling around its form.


    The second was a leaf that shone with golden brilliance. Just looking at it made Darius and co feel like they were being blessed and refreshed.


    The third was a polished stone that was farrger than the Resurrection Stone and very different. This one was purple in color and glowed with a soft light that wasn''t hard to miss.


    The fourth was a pair of ck gloves with a strange runic array hidden within. The back had a short grey bar that glowed particrly noticeably as it was opposite the runic array''s core on the outside of the glove.


    The fifth was an earring with a rosary. It was golden and had smaller gems embedded within, but one could sense the power within this small ornament.


    The sixth was a long staff that looked to be made of some scaly material. At the tip was a small gem that had a cat''s eye jewel within, one that was colorless too.


    The seventh was a red cloak with a golden sp in the middle. It was truly fancy and the material looked soft as hell, with a strange symbol embroidered on the sides.


    The eighth was a strange-looking ck and green vest that seemed to cover the entire torso. Darius could not tell what material it was made of, but it was not metal ormon fabric either, but something simr to leather or Ker.


    The ninth was a circlet that was purely white in color with leafy designs carved on its body. It looked perfect for a female.


    The tenth was a long and sizable arrow that was about 3 times the size of typical ones. It was made of metal and had thin fletching on the rear.


    The eleventh was a gun, that much Darius could see. However, it was not a typical gun, but something that looked simr to the electromaic guns on Earth.


    The twelfth was, surprisingly, a sk. It was made of pristine ss and a soft, treated hide covering its body. If it weren''t for therge rune carved on the hide, Darius would have wondered why it was even here.


    Rubbing his chin with curiosity, Darius read the items'' descriptions one by one. As he had seen many valuables from his first session with Foldo and even greater things from Da, he wasn''t so easily moved anymore.


    Yet his eyes shone as he Analyzed these items. In terms of raw power and greatness, Da''s items got them beat, but in terms of personal utility and simplicity, they were far better.


    Darius started from the first item on the table, the heart.


    [Tree Heart - Unique


    Durability: 3,000/3,000


    Description: A special heart extracted from the Ent Champion of Gaia. When imnted into any living being, grant them the highest possible affinity with the nature element as well as the Ent transformation.]

 Chapter 238 - 238

    Darius made a not bad expression as a response to the Tree Hearts details. It wasn''t particrly useful to him nor Gunner and X.


    Gunner was a half-giant, and his royal blood already made sure he was closer to nature and more in tune with his element than this item. As for X, she was an elf using the Life element, so even less of a need to do so.


    Darius could either trade it away or bestow it to a trustworthy subordinate. Hm, since he was heading to Elysium, it was better to have some rare stuff on hand in case he met a deity and saw something they had which he liked.


    Bartering wasn''t a crime, and as long as what he had was good enough, no one could point at him and call him a sphemer. Even if they did, his preparations ensured that he had the means to deal with any unfavorable situation.


    For now, Darius checked out the rest of his haul. He already knew what they were about after his quick survey earlier, but he wanted to take his time and look through it properly.


    [Leaf of the Divine Tree - Unique


    Durability: 100/100


    Description: A leaf that grew on one of the many branches of the Divine Tree within Unyris. It has the ability to imbue anyone who holds it with a stronger vitality and slight longevity. Anyone who consumes it will be pseudo-immortal, their life and death tied to with the Divine Tree itself.


    Note: As a consequence of consumption, one''s consciousness would be branded by the Divine Tree, bing a semi-conscious puppet of the tree.]


    [Space Stone - Resource


    Durability: 500/500


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 50


    Description: This is a creation of Spatial Energy converging heavily in an area, purifying itself over and over again while merging with ambient spatialws. It is a core item needed for the creation and functioning of intercontinental portals, and can also be used to cast ultra-long distance spells or runic arrays.]


    [Gloves of the Mage - Armor


    Durability: 330/330


    Quality: Good


    Defense: 9


    Resistance: 15


    Damage: 2-5


    Special: 1.5x


    Description: An item made by an unknown Grandmaster cksmith for his Grandmaster mage wife. These gloves have the ability to amplify all magic cast by the user when worn, also reducing the mana cost of spells as well as the casting time.]


    [Golden Earring - Armor


    Durability: 150/150


    Quality: Average


    Defense: 2


    Resistance: 6


    Description: An item made by Athena for one of her mortal priestesses of devout faith. It functions as an auxiliary item that rapidly gathers mana and stores it within itself, bestowing it to its wearer immediately uponmand.]


    [Dragonscale Staff - Weapon


    Durability: 3,000/3,000


    Quality: Good


    Resistance: 23


    Damage: 9-10


    Special: 2.5x


    Description: An item made from the scales of a True Dragon, this staff has gained its power amplifying qualities for magic thanks to its source. The jewel at the top also focuses and purifies mana, greatly increasing the raw power of all fired spells.]


    [Magic Cloak - Armor


    Durability: 50/50


    Quality: Superb


    Defense: 3


    Resistance: 8


    Description: The creation of a powerful vampire lord, this cloak is able to passively increase the Charisma and favorability of the user towards others. It is also able to make the wearer harder to detect during nighttime or in a ce of darkness.]


    [Elite Warrior''s Vest - Armor


    Durability: 5000/5000


    Quality: Superb


    Defense: 90


    Resistance: 45


    Description: An item created from the number 1boratory of Gravitas, the Light Seeker Institution. It is thetest in upper body armor for the secret warriors of Gravitas'' army, possesses incredible defensive and magic resisting properties. It also negates kic force on the wearer altogether.]


    [Holy Circlet - Armor


    Durability: 80/80


    Quality: Good


    Defense: 20


    Resistance: 35


    Special: 1.2x


    Description: An item belonging to the creator of Andrato, Julietta. It was said that she was bestowed this circlet by the Queen of Fraterina at the time, in order to bless her daughter''s secret journey to establish an outpost near the ins of Death. It has the ability to amplify Light element spells and skills.]


    [Arrow of Artemis - Unique


    Durability: 200/200


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 230-340


    Description: A unique item that was created by the hands of the Goddess of the Hunt, Artemis. This arrow possesses the Divine ability to always return to its user after being fired and striking its target. It also possesses a surestrike attribute and a blink attribute.]


    [Rail Rifle - Weapon


    Durability: 120/120


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 500


    Damage: 45-59


    Description: A weapon created and synthesized by the corporate titan, cklight Conglomerate. It is thetest in hot weapon technology, able to use electromaic shots to deal greater damage to foes than typical guns. It uses energy ammo provided by a rechargeable battery and has a firing speed twice that of older rifles using metallic bullets.]


    [Replenishing sk - Unique


    Durability: 300/300


    Quality: Average


    Description: A unique item that possesses the ability to refill itself with any liquid that is poured within. It can either be a potion or a poison, but it must be consumable. Every time a liquid is generated, it lowers the durability of the sk rtive to the liquid''s intensity.]


    Darius nodded his head. All of these items appearing before him should be a direct manifestation of his high Luck stats, likely that of Gunner''s and X''s as well as there were items within that would certainly suit his Branded Servants.


    Darius casually revealed the uses of each and every item to the excited crowd. However, he soon noticed a strange smile on X''s face, which made him curious.


    "What''s on your mind?'' Darius asked her.


    X shook her head with augh. "About half these items came from me when I was captured. I just found it funny that they would return to me... us, in a different fashion than I had envisioned."


    Upon hearing that, Darius turned to gaze at Foldo who simply shrugged with a bitter smile. After all, he didn''t capture her personally, nor did he frisk her for items.


    All of that had been done by his subordinates.

 Chapter 239 - 239

    Darius also couldn''t help but smile. "Well, that certainly exins the quality. I was wondering why there were so many items rting to magic and magic enhancement in this specific batch."


    Darius then took the brown gloves and wore them after removing the System Brand, then recing it over the gloves. He also ced the earring on his left ear, making only a slight grimace as it pierced through his lobe. He also ced the cloak around his shoulders and sped it firmly.


    Finally, he held the staff in hand and twirled it about casually, nodding to himself with satisfaction. The gloves amplified his magic by 1.5 times while the staff did so 2.5 times. Overall, this was a 4x increase to his magic damage as a Journeyman, putting him almost at the level of early Adepts!


    Once he increased his stats and spells more, this would further snowball, making his firepower exceed the limits of the human understanding and border on the levels of the superior races.


    Darius gave the Elite Warrior''s Vest to Gunner who wore it over his polymer suit. The vest increased in size to match him, making the fellow feelfortable within.


    As for the Holy Circlet, it was granted to X, who could make the best use of it. As for the Arrow of Artemis, Darius was unsure what to do with it. Archery was part of his skill list now, but it wasn''t something he had really focused on.


    Besides, the point of acquiring X was to remove these distractions from his fighting style and embrace the path of the mage. However, Darius was astounded by X''s amused remark at seeing his hesitation.


    "Master, I hope you''re not forgetting which race I''m from."


    He pped himself on the forehead. He had seen her as a cleric and nonbatant healer, but forgot that at the end of the day, she was still an elf! Their race was hailed the undisputed kings of Archery on Fallon, so of course, X could make the best use of it!


    "That''s good, in fact, I had a powerful bow I''ve been holding onto that has been gathering dust for far too long. With it and the arrow, you should have great offensive capability in battles where healing is not required." Dariusmented as he removed the Bow of Houyi from his Inventory and gave it to X.


    The former Elven Princess took the item and inspected it calmly. In the end, she disyed a happy expression and eximed: "Good bow!"


    Darius nodded with satisfaction. As for the Treeheart, the Rail Rifle, the Leaf of the Divine Tree, and the Space Stone, he kept them in his Inventory. For the heart and the leaf, he would probably trade them away.


    For the stone and the rifle, he would keep them for he had ns to transmute more of them. The rifle to equip an army or a small force and the stone to make his own teleportation portals that could reach anywhere in Faust right from his territory.


    Of course, that was a n forter and when he had more CP per day. Darius then gestured to Foldo, "Bring out the rest and let''s see."


    While the rest of the items were also good, they were far from the level of the first batch which had a lot of X''s own stuff. After checking them for any hidden uses, Darius just let Foldo keep them in order to make them redeemable rewards within the faction.


    After all, he hadn''t made too great a variety of magical equipment using Transmutation due to how expensive it was to transmute such thingspared to resources.


    Once done, Darius spent the night within the faction to rest and prepare Gunner and X for the journey ahead. Early the next morning, they departed for Elysium with the blessings of Foldo.


    Seeing as the nearest Intercontinental Teleportation Portal was located in Fraterina Kingdom, Darius decided to avoid that misandristic kingdom and head for another, which was the Favelian Empire.


    It was located 203,560 kilometers to the south of their current location. Even with the Group Teleportation spell, it would take ages to go there.


    To avoid wasting time, Darius had made some useful preparation in those 5 years of seclusion, having made many Long Warp scrolls. Even though each one only sent them 25,000 kilometers in any direction, he had dedicated an entire week''s worth of CP to transmute these costly scrolls, leaving him with around 50 of them.


    It should not be a problem to go ande using them. Currently, they only required about 8 jumps to get near to their destination, crossing about 200,000 kilometers in a few minutes.


    As for thest three thousand or so kilometers, Darius and co traveled it using Group Teleportation. By the time they arrived at the capital city of the Favelian Empire, Favelia, it was only early afternoon.


    Darius did not have any Favelian Currency on hand, so he had to go to a forex building and trade away a ton of gold for 100,000 Favelian Ruxes, which were a paper currency simr to Earth''s.


    Since Darius was perceived to be an Adept, same as Gunner who had activated his Earth Guardian, they were given good rates, despite being foreigners.


    However, they did not get the overwhelming privileges of being an Adept like in Andrato. After all, Adept had been the ceiling in the fledgling kingdom, while the Empire was held together by arge amount of Master-stage experts.


    The disparity was quite great, but neither Darius nor Gunner minded truly. After all, they weren''t here to stay, but to travel a great distance.


    The trip had worn them down physically and mentally after warping such a great distance in such a short period of time, so the first thing they did was find a high-quality inn and book rooms.


    After resting for a day in the inn, the group set out towards the Portal Square in the Capital City to book a passage to the Elysium Continent.


    Unfortunately for the group, many others also wished to use these services, so there was a hefty line leading up to the portal.

 Chapter 240 - 240

    Luckily for the group, the lines were separated by ss and stage. With one for civilians, another for nobles, Amateurs having their own, and so on. As such, Darius and Gunner directly joined the Adept line with X standing uncertainly beside them.


    She was naturally worried that she might be pulled aside or called out for being where she wasn''t supposed to be, but her worry was needless. Very few Adepts traveled alone in the world of Faust, often bringing along their apprentices, disciples, wards, or servants.


    The fact that Gunner and Darius were two young Adepts with one elven beauty beside them made their group stand out, but also appear all the more important. Nobody bothered them and they moved through the rtively thin line slowly but surely until it reached their turn.


    There were two workers on either side of the barrier leading to the gate. One was an elderly Adept male and the other was a Journeyman female who was averagely pretty.


    The old man gazed at Darius'' party and was astounded before smiling gently. "Greetings, youngd. Where would you like to go today?"


    Darius and Gunner both bowed to show respect to this senior, making his smile widen, before Darius took the lead. "We would like to head to Elysium, specifically the City of Divinity."


    The old man nodded and checked through the records before him. "Names and ages, please. If you have your own territory, please report it too."


    Darius, Gunner, and X did as they had been asked. Next, the old man asked them to sign beside their names that they weren''t using the portal to go and cause harm to their ce of arrival.


    This was a necessary measure to prevent liability in the case that someone was nning to move through official channels to cause war or excessive trouble. When investigations were done and the source location of the perpetrator found, they would have to bear a lot of headache to absolve themselves.


    Darius could see that down the line, themoners and nobles were being searched. Even Amateurs and Journeymen weren''t spared, only that the courtesy and intensity of the search done to them was far less intensive.


    As for Adepts, no one dared to search them easily. This was clearly ssist, but every society had such favoritism towards the more powerful and affluent.


    Darius only internally shook his head at this and paid the fee for the three of them, which came to 50,000 Favelian Ruxes. 20,000 for Darius and Gunner, and 10,000 for X.


    Seeing as he still had enough, Darius and his group were released and walked through the barrier towards the shining portal that was 10 feet in height and at least 20 feet in width, making it quite sizable.


    There was a smaller line here of people that had passed other queues to input their destinations and wait for the re-calibration. However, even here, there was a disparity.


    The moment Darius and co came in, they immediately became the next after the current person in waiting who was a Journeyman. Behind them were another two Journeymen as their line was processed almost as quickly as Adepts, and a few Amateurs.


    As formoners, they would be lucky if one group got to teleport every half hour.


    Soon, it was the turn of Darius and his group, and he naturally reported their destination. Since Elysium was far away, the calibration took quite a while.


    Luckily, Elysium was a ce that weed all tourists and travelers to ept their various faiths, so Darius, Gunner, and X got to cross through the portal within 5 minutes.


    Darius had to admit, the feeling of teleportation using this portal was... exceedingly terrible. It felt like someone had forcibly yanked him from one end to another with a rope tied around his waist, his momentum onlying to a stop once he reached the other side.


    Gunner and X also came out after him, with Gunner sporting a light grimace while X ended up pale. After all, she had been reset to level 1 as an Amateur under the Supreme System, so she had suffered the most.


    She immediately waved her hand and a bright light enveloped the three of them, greatly relieving their difort. Darius then motioned for them to leave and not block the exit of the portal, which his two servantsplied with.


    They were currently located within arge hall within a temple. Darius could see many more portals like this spread out across the hall, people continually being spat out with varying degrees of dismay.


    Compared to the smooth and barely noticeable difort that came from using transmuted Warp scrolls, Darius understood that this was the standard for spatial transfer in Faust.


    As for his spells like Blink and Group Teleportation, they were all cast through the Supreme System, which did so to perfection, so their quality was higher than the average.


    As such, he and Gunner, or anyone else that used such a method, felt nothing at all. Then again, it came with the huge limitation that was his mana capacity, so there was that.


    Darius walked down the steps from the portal and met with two workers here who asked them to fill in their visiting details and the purpose of their visit.


    Darius stated that he was here to pay homage to the temple of the Thunder God, Thor, which made the two workers smile and gush out praises for the divinities.


    Despite it all, Darius actively encouraged and responded to their speech, also talking like someone intrigued by the gods. Seeing that he was such a young, handsome and amiable fellow, as well as an Adept, the workers didn''t pressure him too much before letting the group leave.


    They didn''t even check Gunner and X, seeing that one was an elf and the other was also an Adept. Aftering out of the reception hall for iing foreigners, Darius and his group were able to see the so-called City of Divinity which stood at the center of the Elysium continent.

 Chapter 241 - 241

    It was like the famous rendition of the fantasy city from Earth, the White City. A mixture of a strange Greco-roman design for the buildings and culture, but with some alien touches.


    The buildings appeared to have their foundations slightly above ground, withrge pirs and arches leading to the entrances of these constructs. They were typically built with cut stone that seemed to be painted with a varying amount of colors, with white being the mostmon.


    The same too could be said for the people. The residents all wore either chiton for the males and sts for the females. They were basically cloth-like dresses that covered their shoulders all the way to their ankles. All of them also wore sandals that looked quitefortable and still fashionable on Earth.


    They walked the paved streets in groups, either as a family or a group of believers discussing their day. It was quite a scene to behold right aftering from a portal, especially for Gunner and X.


    As for Darius, he was pretty sure that only a ce like Gravitas would be able to leave him in awe. After showing a suitable wowed expression for appearance''s sake, he snapped his fingers to wake up the two natives of Faust behind him and the group moved on.


    He already had the City of Divinity mapped in detail, so he walked through the streets with a purpose. As one could imagine, his main goal was to visit the temple of Thor and return the hammer to him.


    Darius had pondered carefully on how he would handle this event. The Event detailed three ways toplete it, giving it to Thor, Odin, or Loki. Each option had its own rewards and for some, consequences.


    Giving it back to Thor was the default option. It rewarded 30 AP and 50 SP as well as a Thunder Element Dragon''s Egg and an Imntable Thunder Heart.


    Returning it to Odin was an intermediate option that gave the same amount of SP, but more AP, as well as a Potential Unlocking Ceremony. Darius wasn''t sure what that did, but going by the obvious assumption of what that ceremony brought, it would be mostly useless to him. He never needed to worry about potential limitations with the Supreme System.


    There was the unorthodox option to hand it to Loki, who would definitely use it to cause trouble. This rewarded a whopping 100 AP and SP with nothing else but two consequences, garnering the hatred of Thor and the dislike of Odin.


    Darius hadn''t even considered this. It was utter stupidity to offend a deity for some measly gains he could acquire through level-ups or other Events. Rather, it was more economical to return it to Thor and gain his favor.


    Odin would remain neutral about this choice since it was the righteous one and he was aligned with good. He basically only wanted the hammer to berate and punish his son for being careless, so it being returned would make him sigh with relief.


    Loki also would not care as he never would have assumed that he would be an option. After all, the three of them could not see these quest details, could they?


    This was likely why Loki only rewarded a lot of AP and SP without anything else. The hammer wasn''t a big deal to him, just a toy he could use for some quick fun.


    Analyzing it like this, the wise choice seemed obvious, no?


    Darius and co did not bother to hail a carriage, though the City of Divinity was quiterge. After all, every single God of Faust had a temple here in the capital. These were their main temples, where they would descend from their Divine Kingdoms first.


    That was why Darius also chose here as his destination. He stopped by a forex trader along the way and exchanged more of his gold for local currency, which were all silver coins called Dius.


    Darius was able to acquire 50 Dius for one ton of gold, which made him frown. He understood the value of the different currencies on Faust except Gravitas through his research during the 5 years.


    Obviously, if he could spawn Treasure Maps by guessing their name and trying his luck, he could also spawn important books with valuable knowledge. However, the demand for uracy in the title had been intense.


    He knew that 50 Dius was not enough to do much here, as the cost of living alone per month for the poorest bloke amounted to 20 coins per month. People were paid more to sweep their bloody temples than what he was being offered!


    Darius frowned visibly and narrowed his eyes as the forex trader. "Good madam, this is my first time visiting here, so please enlighten me. Is the value of one ton of gold this low? Isn''t 50 Dius the equivalent of working in the temples for just half a month?"


    The forex trader, an old woman with graying hair and a sharp frown raised her head with irritation. Despite being aplete mortal talking to an Adept, she showed no fear.


    "What? Of course, there''s a difference in value. One is doing holy work by keeping the blessed temples of the Gods clean while you only brought gold which has very little use to us here. How can the value be the same?"


    Darius''s lips twitched. So they were valuing it subjectively instead of objectively? As expected of a ce controlled by a theocracy. Logic and rational thinking was thest thing on their mind.


    Now that he knew this, Darius was not going to argue with this woman. Trying to convince a fanatic was the most foolish and wasteful endeavor a sane person could take upon themselves.


    As such, he simply changed a few more tons of gold to Dius. It might seem like a waste, but he had prepared 50 Bags of Holding full of gold to be exchanged when he reached other continents and needed their currency.


    He needed Dius because he had other ns foring to this city after he hadpleted the Event. As for giving this bloody woman anything of more value, he wouldn''t do that even if he were beaten with a grilled drumstick.

 Chapter 242 - 242

    Darius gathered a total of 500 Dius before leaving with a light frown. Still, he made sure to keep his dissatisfaction in check as he entered a nearby inn to book a suite for himself and Gunner, as well as one luxurious room for X.


    There were definitely suites for three, and Darius and Gunner wouldn''t mind sharing with X, however they weren''t sure if they''d encounter simr services as Emily and Fashina had provided them back in Andrato.


    They certainly couldn''t do it with the young elf lying on a bed over yonder, could they?


    After booking their rooms and taking the number, they left to fulfill their main goal for this trip. On their way there though, Darius was stopped by something interesting.


    There was arge amphitheater with a raised stage in the center. That wasn''t all that caught his attention, but rather the banner raised above the arch of the establishment.


    ''Beloved Auction Theater!'' was written boldly with a Greek font on the banner, with some smaller words beneath that stated that the next monthly auction would be held in 7 days.


    Intrigued, Darius rubbed his chin and walked through the entrance, heading for the administration building of the auction house to the right. His party followed along with curious expressions as to what Darius hoped to achieve.


    Once there, they walked up to a counter with a young man working. He stood up to greet Darius enthusiastically and shook his hand, leading him to seat himself. Gunner routinely stood behind Darius while X sat beside him.


    "Now, how can I help you, Esteemed Sir?" The clerk asked.


    Darius smiled. "I would like to ce some valuable items of mine up for auction at your noble establishment."


    Intrigued the young clear showed an amiable smile. "That is perfectly fine. Please, let me summon our in-house appraiser to value the item you present. Is that okay with you, Esteemed Sir?"


    Darius nodded with affirmation. "Please go ahead."


    The clerk then left his post and calmly went to the upper levels of the building. About 5 minutester, he came down with an older man who wore spectacles and had a bald head. His eyes were sharp and gleaming with intelligence, with a thin nose and a t chin to top it off.


    He was quite scrawny within his chiton robes, and his sandals looked one size too big for him, but he still walked with dignity. He first analyzed the clients seated there and his eyes shed.


    He walked over to Darius and stretched his hand out in polite greeting. "Hello, Esteemed Sir and his lovely friends. Wee to the beloved Auction house, my name is Kilobar and I am a C-Rank appraiser."


    Darius also stood up and respectfully shook Kilobar''s hands. "Greetings Sir Kilobar, it''s definitely my pleasure to meet an esteemed C-Rank appraiser!"


    Gunner and X bowed courteously as well, making Kilobar push up his sses with a smile. He always liked to interact with amicable people who weren''t stuck up, unfortunately thetter made up 99% of people he had to interact with.


    As one could imagine, appraisers were usually gathered on the Elysium continent, otherwise so many things on Fallon wouldn''t have gone unnoticed. Elysium had the biggest and most widely respected Appraisers Guild headquartered here.


    This was also one of Darius''s reasons foring to Elysium. He wasn''t foolish enough to want to give out free Appraisals for people every time to prove his prowess, especially given his Itemancer ss.


    It was far more efficient to find an established agency for such a thing and acquire a license that directly disyed his prowess. If it was widely recognized, no one would be able to doubt him easily.


    Darius didn''t want to always rely on selling precious transmuted goods to make money, as that could cause problems. It was far better to acquire a proper and working title so that he could do formal appraisal work wherever he went to earn his living.


    Of course, his current ns for Elysium required a lot more money, so he removed 3 Short Warp scrolls as well as the 5 Spark Potions and 5 Scrolls of Awakening he had once given to Andrato''s Mercenary Guild as rewards, only to take them in the end.


    Kilobar took the items and sat down. He then began to inspect them in a surprising way. His eyes manifested into a blue light with a cat/serpent-like slit in the middle that glowed with a golden glow.


    The light his eyes produced passed over the Short Warp scrolls like some digital scanner, making Darius'' eyebrows raise. He hadn''t managed to learn too much about the Appraisers Guild aside from their ranks and requirements to enter.


    It seemed like the higher ranks of the guild had special eye techniques or the like to identify the true nature of items? Well, it made sense, for unlike mortal appraises who could recognize something through knowledge, sight, smell or taste and various other strange methods, items on Faust were mostly magical.


    Trying to use such methods would simply have you disgrace yourself publicly. As a C-Rank appraiser, it seemed that Kilobar had his own methods.


    The party sat in silence for 20 minutes as Kilobar repeatedly scanned each item one by one, his face bing more and more solemn as he did so. By the time he was done and he ced the items down, his gaze towards Darius had be heavier.


    "My lord, do you wish to sell these items at auction or do you wish to sell them to our auction house? We will buy them at 50% above the appraised price if you sell to us directly!"


    The clerk, who called Kilobar, had a sharp change of expression.


    Kilobar would only do something like this if he was dead certain that no matter what, the higher-ups would kiss his boots for his initiative rather than scold him.


    The items on the table were likely of a certain value that he couldn''t even imagine!

 Chapter 243 - 243

    Darius smiled softly. "Why don''t you first tell me the appraised price and we''ll see what to do?"


    Kilobar observed Darius and sighed. He was an appraiser and one thing they required first and foremost was the ability to observe. Only a truly observant person could be a highly qualified appraiser.


    Kilobar understood from Darius'' demeanor and tone that the fellow must already be aware of the true value of these items, so he was able to remain utterly unmoved.


    Unless he had already appraised them elsewhere, in which case he would have simply presented the certified appraisal, Darius must be aware of the production of these things... or even more shocking, he had made them himself!


    This made Kilobar cautious as he didn''t know who exactly this talented young Adept was and who stood behind him, so he had to absolutely tread carefully. It didn''t matter that he was currently in Elysium''s City of Divinity or if he had been on any other continent or city, power was power.


    He wasn''t foolish enough to swallow the rubbish the Gods fed that all men were equal. If an Adept lost their temper today and went on a ughter, countless civilians would die before a God''s Avatar could even begin to descend.


    Once someone''s life was lost, there was no getting it back. As such, Kilobar always shook his head when he saw certain citizens talk to various awakened fellows like they were equals.


    But that was his own philosophy anyway. Focusing on the matter at hand, Kilobar picked up the Short Warp scrolls and held them up.


    "These teleportation scrolls can carry up to 5 people anywhere between a minimum distance of 20 to 25 kilometers. As far as I can tell, its quality has reached perfection, meaning that there would be no dy, no spatial interference, and especially no spatial bacsh."


    The clerk who heard this shivered. The effects of this were too shocking, as most scrolls of such a nature had many side effects and problems that could even lead to death.


    Darius was really lucky he had the benefit of Transmutation and the System Targeting. Without them, his antics of doing blink-leap or repeated teleportation would not be so pleasant.


    If it was so simple to use scrolls to warp about all over the ce, why would the rich bother to travel in carriages? Just buy a bunch of Warp scrolls and use them.


    It wasn''t like such items were scarce or hard to get. Even in Listo, Darius could have easily bought a few if he wanted to. However, he had not seen the need with his ability in y.


    A wise move.


    "Unfortunately, the longest distance scrolls of this tier can take a person is known to be 5 kilometers. Since yours is practically 5 times that, the base value climbs by a factor of five. Adding on the other features, the value is further multiplied by a factor of 6.9 times ording to the valuation guideline of our Appraisers Guild."


    Kilobar continued. "The base value of a 5km scroll is 30 Dius. Multiplied by 5 makes your scrolls value based on length 150 Dius. With the multiplication for the various factors at 6.9, the final value of your item is 1,035 Dius."


    Despite the horrifying number he just quote, Kilobar went on. "If you sell them to us, we are willing to buy it 50% higher than this cost."


    Darius simply maintained his soft smile and gestured for Kilobar to continue. The C-Rank appraiser took a deep breath before doing just that.


    He held up the Scrolls of Awakening next. "These Scrolls of Awakening are used to awaken magic in a target. They are of Fallon make, meant for the awakening of mana and elemental talent, but can be used across all continents power sub-systems."


    This revtion did not surprise Darius, but it horrified the clerk. It was something Darius had learned from one of the books, whose title he had managed to correctly guess, exin that each continent of Faust - apart from being severely isted and having different cultures/origins - had unique sub-systems of the generalws of power in Faust.


    For example, the Pan continent with Immortals used Qi instead of Mana for those who Awakened and use Internal Force with unique abilities for those who Sparked and called them Martial Artists.


    Houto also had a system called Ki for its Awakened who were either called Exorcists or Sorcerers depending on their moral alignment, and a strange energy called Prana for those who Sparked and became either Samurai, Ninja, or Warriors.


    Each system was still using the same general elements, like the Amateur --> Grandmaster stages and Life Level, which could also be called Cultivation level or Power level on other continents, and a general source of energy to power their skills/spells, whether it was the typical mana, Qi or whatever else.


    However, because of these divisions, what worked in one area would not work on another unless it was specifically factored in. As the highest possible quality product of the same thing, Darius'' scrolls and potions did not have this limitation, which was a huge deal.


    "Also, these scrolls allow a person to perfectly awaken with any five elements or principles of their choice within each system. There is no chance of failure upon usage, and the elements can be of any grade, including the illusive Order and Chaos."


    Kilobar smacked his lips. "To be honest, I am almost terrified by the utility of this item and would very much not like to value it, but my job demands it."


    "A basic scroll like this that can awaken someone within the Elysium system and grant a person Faith energy to begin their journey as a priest or divine receptacle is valued at 300 Dius, and that is for only one random element. Those that can give specific elements to the Faith energy are worth 600 Dius."


    "Those that give out more than one element have their value increased by the number of total elements they grant, in your case it would be a factor of 5. Then, for other factors like the perfect awakening chance, the cross-continental utility, the option of totally free choice, and the array of all known elements to choose from is, by the valuation guideline of the Appraisers Guild, multiplies it by a factor of 23.6."


    "The base value is 600 Dius, multiplied by 5 is 3,000 Dius, further multiplied by 23.6 gives you a final price of 70,800 Dius."

 Chapter 244 - 244

    It was clear that Darius'' item had reached a level of value that was higher than mostmon items. Even though it wasn''t too outrageous for the various powerhouses and wealthy in Elysium, it was quite an amount to the young clerk seated in the room with them.


    Kilobar breathed deeply. "I repeat once more, we''re willing to buy this at 106,200 Dius!"


    Darius smiled. "Since the Spark Potions are simr but work for a different power system, I assume the price should be the same?"


    Kilobar nodded. "Exactly what I thought too. The Spark Potions are also valued at 70,800 Dius, which we too would be for 50% extra."


    Darius nodded. "Now, Mr. Kilobar, please be honest with me and state how much you think each item could bring if ced as the final items of the iing auction?"


    Kilobar was tongue-tied. If he gave a truthful answer and Darius decided not to sell to the guild, he would have failed his duty. Yet, he also didn''t dare to incur Darius'' answer in case he was testing him, as he could take his items back and sell them to another auction house in the city. After all, theirs wasn''t the only one, just the biggest.


    Kilobar closed his eyes and weighed his options solemnly before making a wise decision.


    "Your teleportation scrolls could fetch an estimated price of 10,000-12,000 Dius each on auction. Your Scrolls of Awakening and Spark Potions could each sell for an estimated 200,000-300,000 Dius depending on how well we market it in theing days."


    Darius felt that this was about right. He couldn''t be entirely sure, but seeing Kilobar''s expression and bodynguage was enough to tell him that the fellow was mostly honest.


    Even if he was faking it or had given him a very careful estimation, Darius was satisfied with the prices reported. "I wish to sell all three Warp scrolls, one Scroll of Awakening, and one Spark Potion in the auction. The rest shall be sold to your auction house in order to foster goodwill between us and pave the way for future coborations."


    Before Kilobar and the clerk could die from excitement, Darius poured cold water on their heads. "That is however under the condition that the ones I sell to you cannot be sold in this very same auction!"


    When they heard this, they were at first a bit miffed, then they pped themselves. If they used hunger marketing and sold one potion and scroll at each subsequent auction, it would do more to boost the reputation and drive up the price of these items!


    Darius was basically giving them a huge gift and they dared to be momentarily displeased!


    Kilobar stood up and shook Darius''s hand vigorously and adopted a more servile attitude. "Thank you for your kindness, Esteemed Sir. May I know your name please?"


    "I am called Darius Stone. Behind me are my wards, Gunner Stone and X Stone." Darius replied easily.


    Kilobar noted their names while the clerk furiously wrote their names down. The clerk then went upstairs to consult the higher-ups on what to do with these VVIPs while Kilobar continued to host them.


    Darius then dove into something he had been nning all this while. "You know, I''m something of an Appraiser myself."


    "You are?" Kilobar was stunned by this confirmation, but also happy as the other possibilities would have been far more outrageous.


    "That''s right. I was hoping to have my skills recognized and registered by the Appraisers Guild, so I was wondering if you could walk me through the process." Darius asked humbly.


    Kilobar beamed amicably. "It is not a problem. To qualify as an F-Rank appraiser, one must be able to at least identify the quality of anything below the Intermediate grade. This is the strictest requirement among various Appraiser organizations in all of Faust, but it''s why ours is the most respected and recognized."


    "As for the exam, it is held once every month. Aspiring appraisers register up to 7 days before the date and appear at the venue. Everyone would be given the same item to identify."


    "The duration is a maximum of 1 hour, and candidates write down their answers. Since only the top 10 are admitted each batch, candidates are required to add more details that they have managed to gleam. The more numerous and the more urate, the more points you will score."


    "That''s about it." Kilobar ended his exnation with a shrug.


    Darius raised an eyebrow. "While this is interesting, I don''t think everyone uses this method, right? How could apprentices of high-rank appraisers like yourself mingle with the randoms?"


    Kilobar smiled widely at this, showing a crafty glint in his eye. "True, that is the method for those without backing. Forˇ­ specialˇ­ candidates, appraisers at the D-Rank and above can write a rmendation letter to the guild. Depending on the Rank of the writer, the candidate will be given different levels of testing and priority entrance."


    Darius smiled softly but did not say a word, only ncing at Kilobar pointedly. Understanding the hidden message, Kilobar chuckled and nodded. "Luckily, I have yet to pick any apprentices and have never used my rmendation slots. Since you were able to self appraise these items, I see a bright future for you in appraising and would like to rmend you. Of course, only you wish for that."


    Darius grinned. "How can I refuse the goodwill of Master Kilobar? I''ll remember this kindness for sure!"


    Hearing exactly what he wanted to, Kilobar wasted no more time. He took some supplies from the desk and wrote up a letter as smartly and professionally as he could.


    He then checked and double-checked it before folding it neatly and cing it within an envelope which he then sealed and addressed properly. He handed the envelop over to Darius to received it gracefully.


    "You can present it to any receptionist at the Appraisers Guild and they have their ways of verifying it. As for the test they will make you perform, it should not be tooplex, but still strict enough to make sure that we aren''t admitting chaff." Kilobar exined pointedly.


    Darius chuckled, understanding Kilobar''s worries. "Don''t worry, Master Kilobar. I am confident enough in my skill to not embarrass myself or my friends."

 Chapter 245 - 245

    Kilobar was satisfied with that response and continued to chat with Darius, who used this chance to get to know more about Elysium, especially about any customs and the dos and don''ts that might not have been covered in the books he had read.


    Kilobar was naturally unsurprised to find that Darius was non-native. After all, his dressing gave him away as a noble from Fallon, and his Scrolls of Awakening and Spark Potions, although universally applicable, had their basis in Fallon''s magic system.


    The C-Rank appraiser was more than happy toy down the basics for Darius. When he heard that the young man was here to visit the temple of Thor and seek an audience with the god, his lips twitched.


    "Unfortunately, Lord Darius, such a thing might be hard even for the local tyrants here. The Gods hardly ever descend to the mortal world unless there is a crisis, they are bored or they are horny." Kilobarmented honestly.


    Darius nodded in agreement. "Have no worries, Master Kilobar. I am not a naive youth who doesn''t understand reality. The thing is, I have something that the God needs badly, which is why I am confident of his descent."


    Kilobar showed surprise. "Truly? Then you should have very little problem. A word of advice, do not give that item to the pope. He might act holy, but those old coots are very likely to twist your words and im the item from you in order to win favor with their deity. Fanatics would do anything for an extra brownie point."


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. This was something he had been worried about, which was why despitending in Elysium, he hadn''t rushed over to the temple to return the hammer and im the lovely rewards.


    "Is there a way around this?" Darius asked solemnly.


    Kilobar saw Darius'' tension and chuckled. "Of course. Just act like someoneing to pay homage to Thor. Simply enter his church and after that, it''s up to you how you want to handle it. You could either shout his name and dere what you have for him or kneel in prayer and whisper what you have to him in the prayers."


    Kilobar seemed amused. "Each of these has its pros and cons of course. The first method guarantees you to attract his attention due to the disrespect, so make sure you''re sufficiently powerful or what you have is sufficiently valuable that you can withstand the bacsh."


    "The second method is safer, yet has a low chance of attraction. Just consider the sheer number of prayers any God receives each day? Simply uncountable. Although praying in their temple might give you a higher chance of him listening to you, it might help if your prayer contains certain keywords that can make it stand out above the masses and reach their ears. Of course, the benefit of this method is that you can repeat it over and over safely until you achieve your goal."


    Kilobar shrugged calmly. "So the choice depends on your intentions, your item, and your patience."


    Darius soaked in this information and obvious decision to go with the prayer path. Entering the temple and shouting was something only a harebrained fool would do.


    Well, he had enough time. If one prayer didn''t do it, many could. He would be staying here until at least after the auction and probably a little bit after that to achieve his third purpose ining to Elysium, which was coincidentally why he required so much money.


    Soon, the clerk came down with some older men and women in tow. When Kilobar saw them, even he had to stand and bow with respect as they were local titans in the City of Divinity.


    Darius also stood up to receive them, shaking each of their hands as the three men and two women introduced themselves in order of importance.


    The first was Dion Kietus. He was the manager of the Beloved Auction House and the top dog here. He was a balding and slightly overweight man with thick arms, a sizable paunch, and slightly chubby cheeks.


    Nevertheless, the rest of him was well-built, showing that he must have been a handsome and fit young man before old age had made him less active. He also wore sses that were square rimmed and he had a pleasant face that made one feelfortable.


    The second was Lionel Portus. He was the vice-manager of the auction house and quite anky man. He was simr to Kilobar in that he was quite thin, to the point where you could see some bones.


    He had tired, brown eyes and frazzled gray hair with a hawkish nose. Darius wondered if the fellow actually was unhealthy or not given how bright and fresh his skin looked.


    The third was Pieter Undino. He was a short man that was likely around 5 foot 3, even slightly below the pretty X. He had smooth and oiled brown hair that was parted down the middle, with dark blue eyes and slightly-reddish skin.


    He was the most muscr of the group, almost looking like a dwarf, though he wasn''t. He was, actually, half-dwarf which Darius found intriguing, and was in charge of security.


    The fourth was a lovelyte-middle-aged woman called Sarah Ludivo. She was a non-native with a half-naga bloodline, which was likely the source of her beauty despite her age.


    She had lovely silk-like azure hair that reached her shoulders, light blue eyes like the clearestke, and a sharp jaw that ended in a t chin. Her nose was small but pointed, and her eyes were narrow.


    Her lips were also a dark blue hue, her skin being a mixture of creamy white and blue-grey, lying somewhere in that spectrum. Her st was not as conservative as that of most women they had met on their way, disying a lot of herrge cleavage and thick legs.


    It couldn''t be helped, all half-serpent race females like Lamia, Siren, and Medusa were known for two things, those being their incredible facial beauty and their incrediblyrge chests.


    As a half-naga, Sarah had more than enough to make her body desirable.


    The final person was a mature middle-aged woman called Adeline Bza. She was tall, standing at around 5''11 and possessing a slim figure. Her curves were not really plentiful nor were her ''assets'', but she radiated an aura that made her appear dependable.


    Her sharp green eyes, thin ck lips, and angr face were enough to make her a beauty that looked extremely serious and ambitious. She didn''t induce lust like Sarah, but rather respect and trust in her skills.

 Chapter 246 - 246

    Darius seated himself with these VIPs. Dion the manager, Lionel the vice, Pieter the head of security, Sarah the head of marketing and advertisement and finally Adeline the head of ledgers and finances.


    Dion handled most of the talking as they got into serious talk.


    "Lord Darius, we would like to offer you a position as an Honorary Elder of our auction house. The perks would include us not charging any auction fees on your products, you gaining a VIP pass for all our live auctions and we would discount all auction purchases for you by 20%."


    Dion rubbed his bald head. "Of course, there are some obligations. Firstly, we reserve the right of priority for items you wish to sell in any auction house within the City of Divinity. Secondly, you are required to put one rare item on auction every 3 months. Thirdly, if the auction house is facing any issues, we have the right to call on you for help, though the option to refuse is - of course - open to you."


    Dion sighed. "I''ll be honest with you, Lord Stone. These terms are made for those who make items that barely pass our criteria in a certain regard, so usually, those who are offered ept without daring to say a peep given our reputation and the value thates with it."


    The manager held up one of the Scrolls of Awakening and gazed at it with a bitter smile. "But with items like these, it is us who want you, not the other way round. As such, I will be frank and say that all terms are negotiable. Justˇ­ please don''t be too harsh."


    Darius blinked in surprise. He didn''t expect Manager Dion to be so forthright and decisive that he wouldpletely give up all his advantages and rights in the negotiation with him.


    If Darius was a greedy fool who knew little about business and had poor social EQ, he would be able to solidly fleece this auction house today. Fortunately, Manager Dion had made the right bet, unaware that Darius was a genuine merchant, and one of the best at that.


    As such, Darius simply smiled. "How about this? I shall ept the position of Honorary Elder of your Auction House. I will also send over simr products to these every month to be hosted in a Grand Monthly Auction."


    "All fees will be waived but my name as these item''s supplier will be advertised properly, along with my location for private orders. No need to give me a discount as it might worry the Beloved Auction House down the line, instead I wish for you to provide me a list of all items you n to auction before the date. There might be some things within I might find interesting."


    "Just as Friend Kilobar offered for my products, I intend to purchase them at 50% above the appraised price in order to soothe the one who supplied the item. In case they are unwilling, I would like to negotiate with them personally."


    "As for the VIP status in live auctions, I shall dly ept it. I do not mind providing strength to the auction house in times of crisis as my benefits would also be threatened. However, the other two obligations are not necessary."


    Darius stretched out his hand with an amiable smile. "This is the framework of our cooperation for now. More might be addedter to suit the ever-changing flow of society."


    Dion was so stunned that he dyed shaking Darius'' hand by a few seconds. When he came to, he quickly grabbed Darius'' hand like a drowning man grasping a lifeline with which to breathe.


    "Y-Yes! Our humble establishment is happy to ept such terms!"


    The other four beside Dion showed differing levels of excitement, even the stoic Adeline. They all gazed at Darius as if he were a demi-gode toy blessings upon them, making Gunner smile and X giggle.


    The most expressive was Sarah, who chuckled and folded her hands under her cleavage. She spoke in a sultry tone to Darius. "If my Lord ever wants a ce toy his head and rx in bliss, make sure to pay me a visit."


    The others rolled their eyes as this wasn''t the first time Sarah had done something like this. The older woman made no secrets in case she found someone attractive and considered notable and apparently Darius had struck a soft spot within her.


    He was slightly interested. Not because of Sarah''s good looks alone, but her age and her racial features. A woman of her age would certainly possess techniques no young woman could hope to match.


    And she was one of the fabled half-serpent races. There was a rumor about them in Faust that stated that their sexual prowess was no less than predators like subi and dryads, with vaginas that could move like living entities.


    Darius knew this to likely be true as this was a well-known fact in fantasy about these races. Many men ended up dead under them, despite the fact that half-serpent races did not need the essence of men to survive like subi or dryads.


    But that was forter. He took a parchment from the clerk which showed the address of Sarah''s abode. Darius kept it carefully, nning to pay her a visit to see how much better it could be doing it with a fantasy race known for such things.


    It couldn''t be that much better than with humans, could it? For Darius who had only done it with humans, he couldn''t imagine how much better it could possibly get without doing some form of harm.


    He spent some more time chatting with the group and learning more about their operation. The more he heard, the more Darius felt assured that his choice was a wise one.


    Not only were their weekly profits high plus their customerbaserge and wealthy, but they had links with many of the temples. Whenever a deity got bored with an item or wanted to sell it for his followers to get some cash, they sent such things over to this ce for sale.


    Especially Hephaestus who was forging new things all the time. He usually tossed what he considered defective products down to his pope to be sold for money and the rest was obvious.

 Chapter 247 - 247

    Seeing as their business wasplete, Darius received the payment for his four Spark Potions and Scrolls of Awakening upfront. It came to 850,000 Dius after being rounded up to the nearest hundred.


    Coupled with the 100,000 Dius that Darius had exchanged for earlier meant he was just 50,000 short of being a millionaire. He left the auction house while being escorted by Kilobar for a short distance.


    Once they bade their farewells, Darius no longer dyed his main purpose ining to this continent. The young man was ready to head straight to the Temple of Thor, which was located in the 5th sector of the city, roughly 120 kilometers from their current location.


    Naturally, the Gods could not ept having their temples being ced together on the same street. Despite being the same type of entity, they had their own feuds and conflicts. As such the City of Divinity had been divided up into sectors, each one functioning as the mortal territory of the corresponding God.


    For example, the Beloved Auction House was located in the 7th sector, which was naturally part of the territory of the Goddess of Wealth, Waukeen. Most big-name shops and outlets were located in her territory.


    To reach their destination Darius had rented a chariot, which was the form of transportation used in this city, and moved toward their destination rapidly. It was a new experience for X and Gunner, who both seemed unsettled by the chariot''s fast speed and sketchy way of turning. Darius, however, was able to quickly adapt thanks to the many rollercoasters and park rides he had ''enjoyed'' with his kids.


    By the time they reached the temple, Darius was breathing a little roughly with a red face while Gunner had a grimace of extreme difort. As for poor X, her face had long gone blue and without the restoration magic she had cast on the trio, she would have likelymitted a sin on the streets before the temple.


    Darius chuckled and dismounted with his two servants, helping the young elf down. He took in the sight of Thor''s temple with a slightly amazed expression, as the building had been constructed in the shape of the most famous hammer, Mjolnir.


    The head of the hammer acted as the base, whereas the shaft was the spire of the temple that poked into the skies, seemingly connecting the lowly mortal realm to a special ce beyondˇ­


    Thor''s Divine Kingdom.


    Darius rubbed his chin with amusement. Could it be any more obvious just how much importance Thor ced on his tool?


    So then, how did the God of Thunder lose it? How had it ended up in the hands of Da with her 50 points of Luck?


    Darius had a theory about it. From what he had learned from Thanos, it was very likely that Thor had been one of the Gods who had attacked the Necromancer Empire and ended up suffering a loss.


    The hammer had seemingly never left Fallon after that point and with the Andrato Kingdom being the closest to the Necromancer Empire turned ins of Death, it had eventually found its way into the hands of Da.


    Whatever the case, he was here to return it and receive his just rewards. As such, Darius walked up to the entrance of the temple and joined a queue of aspirants.


    The majority had seeminglye to make their prayers, with most of them dragging along some type of offering. A sizeable amount were also young men, seemingly aspiring to be clergy.


    For once Darius had a slightly sour expression on his face, as he had underestimated the zealotry of certain residents of this city. The line for thoseing to pray was long, and some even opted to kneel outside the temple and do their duties just to be closer to their God.


    Darius ordered X and Gunner to head to a nearby eatery to order food and wait for him. There was no way he was going to get admission any time soon.


    Without anything better to do, Darius spent his time mentally calcting some forms for a new spell he had been drafting.


    It had given him a bit of trouble to finalize and expedite it since it was based around the Element of Order, of which his mastery wascking.


    However, after acquiring the two basic spells of Order and Chaos, which had cost exactly 150 CP each and seeing their effects, Darius understood why these two elements were regarded as the most powerful yet most elusive.


    Order had the general ability to bend reality in general to a certain thema while Chaos bend reality towards a thema that stood on the opposite end. The basic spells had little utility in battle, but when taking in the scope of the world in its entirety, they were ticking time bombs.


    What was worse was that Darius couldn''t yet cast them because the cost for doing so was egregious, even with Transmutation''s help.


    Suddenly, Darius was startled awake when he realized that he was being ushered into a prayer room. It seemed he had been so deep into his thoughts that he had acted on autopilot.


    For the usher to bring him in regardless... did he assume that Darius had been so overwhelmed by the majesty of the residing deity?


    When the usher turned and saw Darius was conscious, he smiled knowingly. "Friend Zealot, pleasee inside to pray. Normally you are only given a minute to do so, but your attire tells me that you havee from far away to visit. On ount of your reverence for the Great God Thor, I shall extend it to three minutes! Now quickly express your faith in the Great God while I keep watch outside."


    Darius'' lips twitched when he got confirmation that his joke-like spection had actually been urate. As an old fox, he knew how to y a role and wouldn''t spit out the gift ced in his mouth.


    He bowed gratefully to the usher and murmured praises to Thor with an excited expression. The usherughed and left the young man alone, pleased that he had encountered a fellow zealot.


    Darius walked up to the prayer cushion and knelt on it, closing his eyes and sping his hands. He prayed softly to Thor, not praising him, but respectfully greeting the deity and rying the information about his possession of Mjolnir.


    Darius even discreetly removed it from his Inventory so that the Thundergod could sense its aura. He hoped that it would make his wait shorter, and boy was he right about that, for the very next moment, the entire temple shook.

 Chapter 248 - 248

    The priests, zealots, and fanatics were stunned by the sudden event that took ce. The spire atop the temple was struck by arge golden bolt of lightning that connected to it from the heavens like it was feeding the temple energy.


    The worshipers were confused as to what was happening though they did have a guess. However, the zealots and ushers had no doubts about what this meant and they unanimously fell to their knees with fanatic and overwhelmed expressions.


    "It''s our Lord! The Great God Thor is descending! Praise be his name! Praise be!" A zealot screamed with tears of rapture in his eyes.


    When those who were lined up to enter the temple overheard this, their whole bodies shook as they adopted simrly overwhelmed expressions. They then fell to their knees in worship, repeating the chant of ''Praise be to Thor'' over and over as they kowtowed endlessly.


    Even the priests who stayed in the temple were tearfully moved as they forgot all about leading their congregations and began bowing towards the iing presence of their deity. The fellows in the congregation also did the same without being told, as they felt their souls and spirits being enriched just by feeling Thor''s ambiance.


    The Temple of Thor''s pope also rushed to the main altar where the statue of Thor stood, falling to his knees in worship as he waited to received his Lord God.


    Soon, the stone statue shivered as the electrical energy entered it steadily for more than ten minutes. Then, its lids opened, revealing golden eyes that sparkled with electricity.


    The statue gazed around slowly before moving the rest of its body. When it had a grasp over its movements, its size greatly reduced from almost 15 feet tall to just about 6 foot 3.


    Its grey, stony skin also became more pinkish and creamy. By the time Thor was done adapting, he looked no different from a normal human. He then gazed at his pope and spoke in a manly voice that had a Norwegian ent.


    "My Pope, pray tell me, who is it that holds my partner in battle? Why do I sense Mjolnir here? Waitˇ­"


    Thor''s head whipped to the side before the pope could even understand what was being said. The Thundergod cocked his head as if he was listening to something before he nodded his head with a pleased smile.


    Then his next words were easier toprehend for the pope.


    "Bring me the one called Darius Stone. He should be located with the temple currently."


    The pope received his order and made haste to fulfill them. Meanwhile, Thor continued flexing his arms and legs, making grunts whenever he pulled his muscles to the limit.


    After exercising for about 3 minutes, the pope eventually returned with a young man who walked calmly behind him.


    However, Thor had no time to look at the young man as his eyes fell on the hammer in his hand.


    "Mjolnirˇ­" Thor whispered with such intimacy that it was as if he was gazing upon a long-missing member of his family.


    The hammer in Darius'' hand also trembled at that voice and floated in the air of its own ord. Thor stretched his hand out towards the hammer and with a ''shing'' it flew over into his grasp.


    The moment Thor felt the hammer''s shaft in his grip, he lifted the hammer up into the air, and a huge bolt of golden lightning struck it with a boom. The lightning stayed within the hammer, but it was as if the dead weapon had finallye to life as it glowed with sparks of electricity.


    Both Darius and the pope watched this sight with awed expressions, for the visual disy was truly out of this world. A God reuniting with his weapon was something that they would only get to see once in their lives and at least the pope was guaranteed to speak about having witnessed this wonder until the end of his days.


    Darius looked at Thor properly and was left speechless. That handsome, chiseled face, that beard that covered almost the entirety of his lower face, those two blue eyes that sparkled with electricity, and that dirt-blond hair that wasbed messilyˇ­


    He looked precisely like that famous actor from the early 21st century who had yed the role of the God of Thunder in a set of superhero movies that were treated as ssics even in Darius'' age.


    Along with his metal armor that was obsidian in color, with his armguards and a red cape flowing behind him, he truly looked like someone had given that actor Divine Powers.


    Thor lowered his upraised hammer and gazed at it softly before focusing on Darius. He then smiled brightly and gestured to Darius toe closer, which the fellow did unhesitatingly.


    "Darius Stone, for the noble deed of finding my hammer and returning it to me despite the temptations from Loki and the invitation from my father, I will reward you justly!"


    Darius knelt down with respect. "Great God of Thunder, Thor, I only made the choice that felt right to me. Everyone knows that Mjolnir is the Hammer of Thor, so it belongs only in your hands!"


    Thor nodded in appreciation. "Your words are spoken in truth."


    Thor then reached upwards towards the golden electricity and pulled something out of it. In his hands were two items that floated slowly, as if to milk this glorious moment.


    When Dariusid eyes upon them, he immediately knew what they were. On the left was a beating heart that glowed with electricity that was of a light blue color. On the right was arge egg that was patterned with lightning bolts.


    The Imntable Thunder Heart and Thunder Dragon''s Egg!


    The pope also seemed to recognize these two as he gasped audibly in disbelief and shivered. Darius also showed a shocked expression, making sure to y the port of someone who had never expected something as great as this.


    Thor stretched out his hand and two items floated over to hover before Darius. He then smiled and spoke thunderously.


    "Let it be known that the God of Thunder is one who repays his debts with gratitude! Today, I bestow these two precious items upon Darius Stone for his wisdom and righteousness in reuniting me with my partner!"

 Chapter 249 - 249

    "Darius Stone, receive these items!" Thormanded loudly.


    Darius solemnly grasped the Thunder Heart and the Thunder Dragon''s Egg, lowering his head in gratitude. As for what Darius would use these items for, the Thunder God frankly did not care.


    Now that he had his hammer back, he was in a hurry to return to his Divine Kingdom and plot out his next actions. He hadid low for far too long, but now that Mjolnir was back in his possessionˇ­ hehe.


    Thor then turned to his pope. "Come, we must discuss the state of the fellowship sincest I came!"


    Darius understood that he was dismissed, his task herepleted. As such, he rose to his feet, bowed a final time, and left the altar room, passing through the winding halls of the temple like he was a seasoned usher as he exited the ce.


    The usher who had brought him in had been sent elsewhere by the pope, but from the look of excitement on his face, it likely meant that his act of securing Darius into the temple had yielded him at least some minor benefits.


    Darius exited the temple to see various fanatics praying and crying as they waved their arms in the air towards the lighting flowing from the sky. Darius blinked to the opposite end of the street and turned to gaze at the phenomenon properly.


    Even he had to admit, this was quite the moving sight.


    He took his attention away from the temple and walked over to the cafe where he had asked Gunner and X to wait. There, he found them seated calmly at a table while everyone else had rushed out to see the awesome sight urring at the temple.


    After all, they knew the cause was likely Darius. As such, it was best to just wait for him as they were told, and vo, the man himself appeared with a soft smile on his face.


    He ced his hand on the shoulders of the duo and nodded. Immediately, he used Group Teleportation to take them back to their inn. Since it was only 120 kilometers away, he was able to get there in mostly one session, though the trio had to walk thest few kilometers.


    Darius led Gunner and X into their suite room, pulling three barstools for the trio to sit. Darius himself went over to the bar within the suite and mixed up some drinks, cing them before the three.


    Like criminals celebrating a big heist, the three of them clinked their sses and drank their mix. X only took one sip before pulling back and chattering her teeth cutely.


    Gunner and Darius were more used to cold drinks, so they only breathed out audibly in pleasure.


    After a spell of silence, Darius did the honors by opening the Supreme System and navigating to the Events tab. There, he checked up on the Event he had justpleted.


    [The Hammer of Thor - Event (Completed)


    Duration: 10 years.


    Description: The legendary hammer of the Thunder God Thor was lost after the divine war many eons ago. He has been desperately searching for it ever since, as his power is halved without it.


    It is rumored he would grant almost anything to the one who brings it back to him. Hearsay also tells that his father, Odin wishes to reim the hammer for his own purposes to punish his son, while his mischievous brother would love to acquire the hammer to cause trouble in Thor''s name.


    Event details: Return the hammer to Thor, Odin or Loki for various rewards.


    Event rewards:


    - If returned to Thor: 30 Ability Points, 50 Skill Points, 1 Thunder Element Dragon''s Egg, 1 Imntable Thunder Heart. (Completed)


    - If returned to Odin: 50 Ability Points, 50 Skill Points, 1 Potential Unlocking Ceremony. (Skipped)


    - If returned to Loki: 100 Ability Points, 100 Skill Points, the hatred of Thor and dislike of Odin. (Skipped)]


    [Congrattions onpleting The Hammer of Thor Event! All involved parties have been rewarded with 30 Ability Points and 50 Skill Points!]


    Darius smiled as he sat down and allocated his AP and SP slowly. Gunner simply waited for Darius to finish so he could do his, while X copied Gunner because she thought it was the norm.


    After allocation, Darius did the same for Gunner and X, carefully choosing where to put what. Since X retained all her Divine Maiden skills, and they were frankly amazing, Darius decided to strengthen them.


    Once done, he called up all three menus and did a once-over of the changes.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 440/440


    MP: 1,680/1,680


    STA: 462/462


    Level: 21


    Experience: 2/2100


    Strength: 20


    Agility: 30


    Endurance: 22


    Intellect: 80


    Charisma: 15


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Active: Analyze - Lv.10, Combine - Lv.20, Lightning Bolt - Lv.21, Thunder Strike - Lv.1, Fireball - Lv.1, me Pir - Lv.1, Group Teleportation - Lv.15, Void Cut - Lv.1, etc


    Passive: Mageward Barrier - Lv.2, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5, Spell Mastery - Lv.5, Spell Enhancement - Lv.5, Channeling - Lv.1, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Mind Power (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 600/600


    MP: 735/735


    STA: 504/504


    Level: 21


    Exp: 2/2100


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 25


    Endurance: 29


    Intellect: 35


    Charisma: 16


    Luck: 20


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Active: Engage - Lv.5, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 1, Earthen Punch - Lv.4, Gigantic Smash - Lv.1, Gigantic Stomp - Lv.1, Earthen Wall - Lv.1, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.1, Mageward Barrier - Lv.50, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.30, Extreme Speed - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5 etc


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Amateur


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 260/260


    MP: 50/50


    STA: 20/20


    Level: 1


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 20


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 25


    Luck: 18


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Excited.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 50


    Active: Bless - Lv.4, Holy Ward - Lv. 6, Divine Summoning - Lv.2, Purify - Lv.12, Cleanse - Lv.8, Restore - Lv.9, Ward Evil - Lv.2, Cure - Lv.16


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.2, Light''s Chosen - Lv.1, Pure Body - Lv.3, Pure Soul - Lv.3, Pure Spirit - Lv.3, Aura of Life - Lv.1


    Abilities: Mind Power (Basic).]

 Chapter 250 - 250

    For himself and Gunner, Darius had allocated all their points straightforwardly.


    All 30 of his AP had gone straight into his Intellect, bringing them from 50 to 80 points. Since he had epted X, he was nning on focusing on his role as a ranged damage dealer.


    As for his SP, 14 points had gone into Group Teleportation, bringing it to level 15. This had increased the 100 meters range to 1500 meters, with the MP cost rising to 40 from 10.


    4 points had gone into Analyze to bring it to level 10. He wanted to put more, but decided to do soter. With the skill now at level 10, the multiplier had gone from ''Intellect x1.6'' to ''Intellect x2.0''.


    The majority of 19 points into Combine. This skill had a crucial use for him now that hepleted the Event, so he had not hesitated to upgrade it to level 20 to see if it would be able to achieve his goals. Naturally, he was pleased to find that his investment was worth it.


    At level 20, Combine had three main changes. The first requirement for the items to be of the same grade had shifted to be within one grade of each other. I.e instead of two Grandmaster items, one Master and one Grandmaster item could now be merged.


    The second requirement for the items to be of the exact same type had now shifted to items of a simr type. This was a big change, for the previous specification meant that the items had to be in the same category. I.e the AI chip and the tablet were both technological devices, so could bebined.


    The current one meant that any two items that shared even one simrity could be merged. I.e the AI Chip and anything possessing the same size, weight, function,position, etc.


    If the AI Chip was made with a copper ting, for example, it could now be merged with a copper sword. The underlying simrity was they both had copper.


    Of course, this was all dependent on the third change in the skill, which was the effectiveness. It was currently Intellect x1.9! The higher this was, the higher the chance of sess and the better the quality of the twobined items.


    Darius had shared the remaining 13 points into Spell Mastery, Spell Enhancement, Spirit Barrier, and Mageward Barrier. Spell Mastery got 4 points, Spell Enhancement got 4 points and Spirit Barrier got 4 points, bringing them all to level 5.


    Mageward Barrier swallowed only 1 point, unfortunately.


    Spell Mastery now reduced MP cost by 5%, Spell Enhancement increased spell power by 5% and Spirit Barrier reduced iing Soul Attack Damage by 5%. Mageward Barrier now reduced iing spell damage by 10%.


    As for Gunner, Darius ced 25 of his 30 AP into Strength, bringing it from 25 to 50. Now Gunner''s Strength was at the Adept-stage without needing to use Earth''s Guardian continuously. The remaining 5 points were put into Endurance, bringing it to 29 from 24 points.


    His Skill Points were invested into his key skills. First and foremost was the Mageward Barrier which received 35 points. This sent the skill from level 15 to level 50, which wasn''t its maximum limit. Now, Gunner resisted 50% of all spell damage, making that Anti-Mage subss even more relevant.


    Even Darius felt like fighting Gunner using spells alone would NOT be a fun experience. If Gunner gained a skill that could disrupt spell casting remotely, he would be a literal mage killer. Darius found a skill like that, but it was Adept-level unfortunately.


    The rest of Gunner''s SP was invested into Earth''s Guardian, Engage, and Spirit Barrier. Earth''s Guardian finally went beyond level 20 and hit level 30. Now, Earth''s Guardian boosted damage, defense, Strength, and Endurance by 160%!


    With Gunner''s current stats of Strength at 50 and Endurance at 29, this meant that with the skill active, Strength would be 130 points and his Endurance 75 points!


    In terms of Strength alone, Gunner would be on par with some Master-stage experts of the human race!


    This was an incredible feat that once again provided that bloodline skills were something else. Darius wondered what this skill would be like if he had transmuted a skill book for itˇ­


    However, that was pointless to wish for. He could only make things that existed in Faust, and there was naturally no way a bloodline skill would have a skill book. Otherwise, he would have transmuted many Draconic skills over the five years.


    As for Spirit Barrier, Darius raised it for both himself and Gunner after the ordeal they went through escaping the ins of Death. He would never joke about defending his Spirit and Soul from harm ever again. Engage though, only received one point which sent it to level 5.


    As for Xˇ­. Well, the elf had retained all her stats though she had been sent back to level 1. Darius had directly increased her Intellect from 26 points to 50, spending 24 points in the interim. 3 Points were put into Agility to bring it to 20 points from 17, 2 points into Strength to bring it to 15 from 13, and 1 point into Charisma to bring it to 25 from 24.


    As for her Skill Points, Darius had yet to allocate a single one. He wanted to go through all her Divine Maiden skills and see their potencypared to each other. The best skills would swallow them up while the rest would be ignored.


    Also, Darius wanted to take a few days to transmute new skillbooks and spellbooks for her to learn that would cover any holes that her ss skills created. Besides, the learning of all the weapons and various battle style skillbooks waspulsory, as it would broaden herbat knowledge.


    Despite being a backline healer, nothing stopped her from using her staff to beat down foes like a skillful master. Or her archery which could be further improved since she had great tools to that end.


    For now though, Darius opened her various skills and studied them one by one.

 Chapter 251 - 251

    [Bless - Level 4 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5 MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Light, grant any allies 4% increased Health, Mana, and Stamina regeneration.]


    [Holy Ward - Level 6 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Light, encase yourself in a shield that resists 6% physical and magical damage.]


    [Divine Summoning - Level 2 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5 MP per summon


    Description: Establish a connection with the source of Divine Light and call down an Avatar to fight for you. The maximum power of each avatar is 2% of your own.]


    [Purify - Level 12 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 15 MP


    Description: Be a conduit for the light of the world, spreading purity while cleansing all darkness and evil. This deals 12% light damage.]


    [Cleanse - Level 8 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Expel all filth and dust from the surface of any living or non-living target and refresh them internally. The maximum amount of targets per cast are 8.]


    [Restore - Level 9 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Channel Divine Light into the body of any living being to replenish 9% of a target''s Health, Mana, and Stamina.


    Note: Cannot be used on the self.]


    [Ward Evil - Level 2 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5 MP


    Description: Channel the purest Holy Energy to create a field of repulsion around the user to any chosen target/location. All entities with a moral alignment of Chaotic Neutral and below, all entities possessing nefarious intent, and all entities affiliated with darkness and death will be blocked.]


    [Cure - Level 16 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Channel the Divine Light into the body of a target, curing them of any infection, ailment, or poison. The chance ofplete restoration is 16%.]


    [Divine Sight - Level 2 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: Imbue your eyes and senses with the blessing of the Divine Light, allowing you to clearly see the folds of reality and the intricacies of the world around you.]


    [Light''s Chosen - Level 2 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: As the chosen maiden representing the Divine Light, you are blessed by its will and possess a stronger connection to its power. All Light-based skills and spells are 2% more effective.]


    [Pure Body - Level 3 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your body has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all Darkness and Death element attacks as well as any and all ailments by 3%.]


    [Pure Soul - Level 3 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your soul has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all curses, soul attacks, and soul interference by 3%.]


    [Pure Spirit - Level 3 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your spirit has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all psychic attacks, illusions, and mental charms/suggestions by 3%.]


    [Aura of Life - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None`


    Description: Possessing the closest connection to the Divine Light, you radiate an aura of wellness and empowerment, cleansing all Darkness and unwanted elements. All allies of yours enjoy an extra resistance to all diseases and curses by 1%.]


    Looking through, it was obvious that X was quite well-rounded as a healer and support. She had everything she needed already, though her skills suffered from being ss-based, so and being imperfect versions.


    This could be seen in Purify. Darius'' Purify at level 1 gave him 5% light damage, whereas X''s at level 12 only offered her 7% more.


    Although she had been converted into a Branded Servant, it had unfortunately not changed her skills/spells efficiency. To benefit from Darius'' 5% per level, he would have to use his elitist ability.


    Still, her specials skills were worthy of investment. She didn''t even need skills like the Spirit Barrier for soul protection or the Mageward Barrier for magical protection.


    As such, Darius directly consulted with the Elven Princess. "X, what is the Divine Light?"


    X smiled and sped her hands together. To Darius'' and Gunner''s surprise, a small ball of light manifested there, but both fellows could feel that there was somethingˇ­ different about itpared to typical Light Energy.


    "Elves are blessed by magic. We are the closest beings to magic, even moreso than Dragons. Dragons were not really chosen by magic in truth, they are just too powerful a species that magic bends to their will without effort."


    "As for us, we were purely chosen as the hands and legs of magic. We have an easier time learning spells, creating them, and even discerning new elements."


    "However, this is not enough to cultivate a Supreme. As such, we created the Magical Pantheon of the Elves. This I''ve already exined in part to you, but there''s more to it."


    Darius nodded and faced her seriously. ording to X back when he first contracted her, the Magical Pantheon was exactly as one thought, a church the elves had built to worship magic.


    It was their belief that if they fed the Source of Magic endless Faith Energy, it would be stronger and obtain more power in the world of Faust. Over the millennia, their choice was proven to be right as new elements and stronger spells appeared periodically.


    This was the core difference between human mages and elves who practiced magic. In the Magical Method that humans used, magic was defined as a tool to help the caster control the world around him.


    The elves though, defined magic as a Divine Entity that channeled its power through the body of the living when certain conditions were met.


    In human magical philosophy, magic was limited and had a ceiling. It could only be made stronger by the person casting it, never by the source itself.


    In elven magical philosophy, magic was unlimited and ever-growing. The only limits magic faced were the constraints of the user, never the source.

 Chapter 252 - 252

    X continued. "Within the pantheon, there is the Supreme Deity that is magic in general, but down the line, it was decided that we would also enshrine the various elements discovered."


    Darius'' and Gunner''s eyes widened. Darius especially felt his mind quake by the sheer genius of the elves with this method. X saw their expressions and smiled knowingly.


    "That''s right. By enshrining the various elements, they became semi-sentient Divine Beings thanks to the infusion of Faith Energy over many many years. They are a part of the natural magicalws and elements, but also separate from them, truly unique entities."


    "Each element eventually chooses its own Divine Maiden or Divine Son, who would be nurtured by the element with the goal of bing a Supreme. I was chosen by the Light and Life elements simultaneously, though I epted the blessing of the Light element in the end."


    X smiled cutely. "However, I was still blessed by the Divinity of Life in equal measure to what I received from the light, and it had not chosen another Divine Maiden or Son ever since. So one could say that I represent both elements, or a bizarre mix of the two."


    Darius nodded in understand, grasping the key details. As such, he was left to wonder, what was the status of the Divine Light now that X had been brought under the Supreme System?


    When Darius put this question to X, she smacked her lips and coughed. "Well, this was the reason I wanted toe under the Supreme System. The Divine Light and Divine Life both sensed your prowess through me and wanted to benefit from itˇ­"


    Darius nodded. It seemed as if these Divine Concepts had gained some sort of benefit or power increase aftering under the Supreme System as a proxy.


    ''So did I help them rise by one tier? If so, does that mean they are now higherpared to the other Divine Concepts?''


    This was something worth investigating once he paid the elves of Fallon a visit. For now, Darius carefully deliberated on X''s options before making a decision. He would increase her ss-based skills first and foremost, as her role as a healer could be further developed upon once she leveled up and gained more SP.


    After all, it wasn''t like Darius nned to let her stay at level 1. The choice to have himself and Gunner refrain from taking exp was based on wisdom and fear. Luckily, X could gain experience on her own if she fought on her own.


    After all, the exp share mechanic was only for cases where Darius fought together with his Branded Servants within a certain range.


    It made no sense for experience to be split among them if say, Gunner was in Unyris and Darius was in Kiel.


    Darius shared all 50 of her points between Pure Body, Pure Soul, and Pure Spirit, bringing to from level 3 to level 20. This brought the various resistances to 20%. Unfortunately, the points werecking a single one, so Pure Spirit was left at level 19 instead.


    Done with the changes, Darius epted everything. The three of them shivered visibly as they were empowered in terms of stats and skills/spells. It took a long while before the trio came down from their high.


    Darius especially felt the 30 points in Intellect fully. As always, it felt like his mind was arge mansion that got destroyed andid to waste by war, and it was slowly being renovated.


    Before reaching 50 points in Intellect, all his points had seemed to be working on clearing out the exterior of the mansion, restoring the gardens, and fixing the fountain.


    Now that he jumped to 80 points, it felt like the debris blocking the entryway of said mansion was cleared, allowing him to start working on the foyer and first floor.


    At this point, he was about 60% done. Using this analogy, the ground floor of the mansion would be fully restored once he reached 100 points and sent his Mind Power into the Intermediate stage, as well as crossing the threshold for Master-stage.


    Gunner also felt the same with his increased Strength. Finally reaching the threshold of 50 without needing to use his bloodline skill was utterly great.


    After all, his skill only simted his stats, so his body didn''t fundamentally change. The feeling of losing the two abilities of Explosive Strength and Fast Regeneration whenever he turned off Earth''s Guardian was terrible.


    He had borne it in silence all this while, but being able to have it stay and be a fundamental part of him was reassuring. More importantly, with Earth''s Guardian''s boost, Explosive Strength was sent into the Intermediate stage!


    X likely felt the stat changes the most. Darius and Gunner had done this for quite a while, so they knew what to expect. However, X was hit by her first dose to stat allocation, and it was a whole 30 points in one go.


    Her Intellect which jumped to 50 points especially made her wear a strange expression that any fellow would misunderstand upon sight.


    Her slightly increased Strength and Agility made her body feel much better, like she had been working out for a while and was feeling the rewards of doing so.


    Once the trio were done, X left their room and headed to hers as they tucked in for the night. Right now, Darius'' mind was at ease from achieving his primary goal ining to Elysium and now, he only had to consider his next priority goal.


    It was only in achieving this goal that his actions in acquiring so much Dius would be relevant, otherwise he''d have been happy with just enough to stay a few days and go.


    Darius used the kitchen here to cook himself and Gunner a quick meal as they wolfed it down. Fortunately, Elysium - and especially Waukeen''s sector - promoted freedom, so there was an escort service here too.


    However, it was far more expensive than what was offered in Listo, but that should be obvious. However, looking through the catalog, Darius and Gunner were left speechless by the astronomical rise in quality.

 Chapter 253 - 253

    When Darius woke up, the escorts from yesternight had already left. He stretched lightly and surveyed the cleaned room, which no longer showed any signs of debauchery.


    The young man idly reminisced about them. It couldn''t be helped, he had finally gotten his first taste of non-human intercourse. After this, Darius might not be able to feel the same way about human women.


    Gunner, who had slept soundly after venting his 5-year abstinence from the sweets of lust after monstrously ravaging his chosen escort, was herded out of bed. The half-giant yawned and didn''t even bother to bathe.


    Darius chuckled and cast Cleanse on himself and Gunner, removing all dirt and muck from their skins and gathering it into a pungent ball. He then flicked his fingers and the ball flew into the bathroom, falling down the drain.


    This had been their go-to method to save time during the 5 years of preparation. Although Darius had still asionally enjoyed a normal bath, he had otherwise wisely used his time outside of transmuting items by training and learning various things.


    Darius exited his room to see that X was also doing the same. When she saw the duo, she smiled and came over. After sharing some greetings, Darius led the group downstairs to enjoy breakfast.


    His group ate heartily, with Darius and X consuming one portion each while Gunner had gorged down on everything the menu had to offer.


    Still, apart from idle nces of surprise wondering where he kept all that food, no one paid them any extra attention. Gunner seemed to enjoy thisck of attention. He might not have particrly cared, but it hadn''t felt good to have everyone staring at him while he had eaten back in Fallon.


    Not counting the breakfasts that had been included in their stay, Darius paid the difference, before the groups headed out.


    He then turned to his two Branded Servants and spoke gently. "Today, I n to head somewhere special in order to fulfill a personal goal. Since I will be in a public ce, I will be safe, so both of you are free to enjoy the city however you like.."


    Gunner pondered what to do with his free time. "Fine, I think I''ll head to the colosseum. I''ve heard they have public arena fights there, so I can flex my muscles while earning more money for you, Master!"


    X scratched her head. "I think it''s best if I go raise my level now. I heard that there are free public dungeons in this city, especially in this sector. Instead of registering to the Adventurer''s Guild, I can just pay a fee and go in as many times as I want."


    Darius nodded. "Good. Here, both of you take some Dius. Gunner, with this you should easily be able topete should there be a registration. X, this should allow you to run a dungeon as many times as you need."


    Darius handed each of them 500 Dius. Additionally, he gave X a lot of items he had transmuted, which should prove useful for a dungeon run. Among them were magical scrolls and unique consumables that could be used to escape or deal damage.


    This was to supplement her fighting power. Though she may have two great weapons in the form of the bow and arrow, as well as her natal archery skill, Darius also handed her an Archery skillbook.


    X gratefully learned it on the spot. Then, without further ado, the group split up. Gunner headed to the arena which was located in this very sector, while X headed to one of the dungeons.


    It couldn''t be helped, Waukeen''s sector dealt with all things business, but at least most of her services were open for the public without much hassle.


    For many other sectors, you either had to be a resident or a worshiper to make use of various things, so they were more like mini countries of their own that had poor tourism value.


    Luckily, Darius wasn''t going far. He also only needed to head one sector one, to the one managed by Krona, the God of Knowledge.


    Unlike most conservative Gods, Krona was far more open, though not as much as Waukeen.


    However, the reason why this sector was so heavily popted with visitors was because it held the greatest repository of knowledge in the entire known world!


    The Great Library of Krona!


    This was thendmark that all schrs, mages, and intellectuals worshiped. They all hoped to pay a visit here just once and read up on some of the hidden knowledge stored away.


    However, despite Krona being open-minded, he was not just giving out his umted knowledge for free. Not to mention that his followers needed some way to curb the number of visitors, otherwise the library would be overcrowded every day with sweaty nerds.


    As such, the Great Library adopted an exchange of knowledge scheme! One needed to provide information new to the library to earn reading credits that determined how long an individual was allowed to stay inside.


    Darius only knew this much, so he would learn the rest when he reached there. Of course, if people needed to bring new knowledge, then very few would be able to use the library which defeated the purpose of founding it.


    So of course, one could also use hard cash to buy reading credits, but heh.


    Even Darius'' 800,000 Dius was barely enough tost him one week of time. With the profits from the auction, he hoped that it would be enough to extend his reading time to about a month.


    By the time he got back, the worker robots should haveid down an elementary settlement and the first batch of settlers should have arrived.


    As for therge migrations involving Shank''s people and the many ex-nobles of Andrato, that would take more than a few months to cross 10,000 km even if they hurried day and night.


    However, after acquiring the Space Stone, Darius only needed to research the methods with which to engrave a permanent teleportation array before he could optimize travel to his budding territory when it was time to open to the public.


    Soon enough, Darius arrived before the majestic Great Library of Krona, and his neck was craned to a sharp angle in order to just see the top of the establishment.

 Chapter 254 - 254

    Darius stood before the Great Library with a look of reverence. It was the first time he had disyed anything but a casual expression at any form of architecture sinceing to Faust.


    Everything he had seen so far had already been disyed in movies, games, and various media. Back on Earth, Darius had even toured ancient sites with his family after his retirement, so seeing ancient greek architecture or medieval housing was unable to move him.


    However, this library was built in a way he''d never expected!


    It was simr in design to New York''s Empire State Building, utterly out of ce among these other Greco-roman buildings.


    However, it blended its own Greco-roman construction style in terms of the outer design of the building not being some sort of endless sea of ss windows - like modern skyscrapers - but rather some form of uniform stone material that was a sandy color with no openings anywhere.


    Much like Gravitas'' robots, it had various lines that ran through it in an orderly and profound manner, all of them glowing in a green light.


    It was quite a unique sight, reminding Darius of some ancient Mayan depictions.


    There was arge crowd before the building, but fortunately there were also multiple entrances, each one with a long queue. Nevertheless, the lines moved quickly as people were either promptly eliminated or admitted.


    Darius joined a random short queue and waited patiently. It only took about 30 minutes to reach his turn, when he saw a short pedestal ced before those first in line.


    The pedestal was eerily simr to a typical digital information kioskmonly found in lobbies and malls back on Earth, surprising Darius. It was clear that the God of Knowledge had many of his design choices influenced by Gravitas.


    There was arge disy indicating for the visitor to ce their palm. He did so, and felt the machine scan his handprint slowly.


    {Scanningˇ­ 2%ˇ­7%ˇ­15%ˇ­30%ˇ­60%ˇ­90%ˇ­doneˇ­}


    {User not found. Do you wish to purchase a guest pass or do you want to register as a member?}


    Darius selected to be a member. Then, a long form appeared before him, asking for many of his details.


    {Please speak out the details required to fill in the form.}


    Darius did so in a soft tone. Even though there was a healthy distance between the person at each kiosk and those behind -seemingly for the purpose of privacy - at higher power levels the senses people would possess were no joke.


    After filling in the form, Darius was fed more details.


    {Scanning form for errorsˇ­. Complete, form valid.}


    {Please note, initial signup fee is 10,000 Dius. Monthly membership fees are a t rate of 100,000 Dius per month. Do you agree to carry on with the membership registration?}


    Darius naturally chose to continue.


    {The list of membership benefits are as follows. Firstly, the total read time for memberses to a total of 10 hours per day. Secondly, there is no daily limit on the number of books that can be read. Thirdly, by bing a member you are eligible to use the member-only entrance. Fourthly, members have ess to all books below the Restricted level.}


    {Do you agree to carry on with the membership registration?}


    Darius once again assented.


    {Please pay the initial sign-up fee and your first monthly fee.}


    Darius took out a special card that looked simr to Earth''s credit cards, only without any numbers on them. Rather, they emitted strange waves of mana that were distinct yet hard to read.


    He slotted the card into a receptacle within the device. This card contained the entire earnings he had received from the Beloved Auction House. After all, there was no way anyone was willing to carry hundreds of thousands of individual coins on their own.


    Once the device received the card and processed it, it began working for a long while. Eventually, it spat out Darius'' card from the payment slot as well as another, newer card from a slot adjacent to it.


    {Please retrieve your Dius Card and your Membership Card. Upon entering the library your 10 hours will begin. Your Membership Card will emit a green light when you only have 30 minutes left, a yellow light when you are down to 15 minutes, a red light when you only have 5 minutes left, and a ck light if you stay longer than your time limit. In thest case, you will be escorted out and will have to pay a fee.}


    Darius received both cards and inspected the new one. It was designed simrly to the building before him, bearing a sandy grey color with printed green lines running within.


    Apart from his name which was engraved on the card, it only emitted special mana fluctuations that Darius couldn''t read at all. He then left the kiosk and entered the library itself.


    The moment he did, it was like he had entered another world. The smell of books permeated the room, parchment, and vellum stinging his nose. There was utter silence as many parties stood among many shelves, browsing for their targets or reading at tables.


    It had the serious air of schrship and the burning drive to acquire knowledge. Darius was quite satisfied by such an atmosphere and walked towards the stairs.


    As far as he knew, the knowledge here was practically endless. For a person to read through everything contained here, even with a photographic memory, it would require more than a few thousand years.


    This was the God of Knowledge''s source of confidence, and why he could implement his Membership System. It was far more beneficial than charging one-time visitors money for reading credits.


    However, his customerbase was everyone within Faust, as such, he had to amodate allers. For most ces, this didn''t mean much as the standards across most continents were the same.


    However, there was one special continent in Faust, wasn''t there?


    Just as there were books on the shelves for the various visitors of other locales to use, so too was there a digital repository for Gravitas'' schrs who came here to acquire more.


    Darius climbed the stairs until he reached the floor for the digital repository, seeing that it was quite unupied. After all, Gravitas citizens were extremely xenophobic when on their continent, so they hardly ever left its confines.


    Even the few visitors who came here mostly downloaded what they needed over time and left silently.


    Darius walked up to a free terminal and stood before it with a smile. Time to begin.

 Chapter 255 - 255

    Darius stood before the terminal and raised his HoloBrace. "Miranda, connect to this terminal and download as much information as you can."


    Miranda''s image popped up on the hologram disy of the bracelet, her twin-tails shaking about as she jumped in excitement. "Okay, Daddy! Leave it to me!"


    The AI manifested a connection to the terminal as it spawned some wires that plugged in. Unfortunately, despite these repositories being of rtively high tech, they had no wireless capabilities.


    Miranda closed her eyes as she began the downloading process. Then she opened them and gazed at Darius with a strange expression. "Daddy, the amount of information here is so great! It is enough to fill up 10% of my storage capabilities!"


    Darius'' face greatly changed when he heard that. While 10% of the storage space sounded like nothing much, it was a fact that due to thebination and subsequent Transmutation, this AI was literally the greatest version to exist on Faust.


    As Miranda herself had stated upon creating the Supreme Portal, the amount of space was almost endless to the point where she couldn''t easily put it in Petabytes or higher measurements.


    So one could tentatively say that the amount of space was Pseudo-Unlimited. It was finite, but sorge that it might as well be infinite. Yet upon downloading everything from here, a whole 10% would be filled!


    Just how much goddamn information was that?!


    Darius felt a great respect burgeon within him for the God of Knowledge Krona. Just how much did the deity have to go through to gather all of this? Not only that, how open-minded must one be to offer up all this to the public for mere money?!


    In fact, Darius guessed that it wasn''t about the money at all. It was likely that the God of Knowledge simply wanted to see a more educated world with people who learned all there was to acquire.


    In fact, taking it one step further, one would have to say that the God of Knowledge must simply love knowledge to the point he wanted to share it with others. Such a take on it, wouldn''t surprise Darius.


    However, what was interesting was that there was still an element of selfishness and self-interest even in this. After all, there was still the restricted knowledge section that even Miranda could not ess.


    To acquire what was there, money could no longer be used. One had to trade unique information with the library ording to what Darius had learned.


    By doing this, the God of Knowledge was able to strengthen himself by gaining new information while trading away special information that others needed. It was clear that new information was of utter importance to Krona.


    Darius had a n for that. He turned to the focused Miranda and asked: "How long will it take you to download everything?"


    Miranda showed a frustrated look. "Despite plugging in thework directly, the terminal has a t download bandwidth. At the current rate, it will take 65 hours, and that''s even with my ability to bypass the majority of its limitation by simultaneously browsing within thework."


    Darius was not shocked by this. If any fellow from Gravitas could bring their tablet here and simply download everything, who would need toe to the library anymore?


    Gravitas would have long since had their own version of this library with maybe one personing over periodically to update the knowledge.


    Of course, putting aside the huge data requirement that no small device could manage, there was also this download speed limit so that those who visited could only acquire what they needed over multiple days, allowing the Great Library to milk them of cash.


    Darius could be said to be lucky to only need a week. With how the God of Knowledge likely structured it, this should take months since most people would wisely opt for membership.


    As such, Darius remained plugged, browsing through what had already been downloaded while patiently waiting to reap even more rewards.


    ........


    Gunner reached his destination, the Colosseum of Blood. It was a brutal arena of death for fighters worldwide who thought they were worth something toe and pit their strengths as well as lives against others for the entertainment of the masses.


    Gunner had coincidentally heard about it during the time Darius had been at the temple of Thor. As a half-giant, Gunner enjoyed battle a lot, so he had felt extremely stifled all those years in the Divine de.


    He came to the entrance of the arena and found that it was quite packed. He frowned as he disliked the idea of waiting too long, but luckily he noticed that there was a separate line for prospective fighters.


    The one he had been staring at was the one meant for spectators. Moving over to the right ce, the line was far shorter, almost close to non-existent. Yet the aura here was denser, as the few men and women standing apart in the line radiated intense killing intent.


    After all, no one who was willing to risk it all would be a newbie that had just stopped suckling their mother''s teat. They were either ex-mercenaries, murderers, or warriors of all kinds who wanted to either gain fame, money, or rewards from the arena.


    They were free to gain as much as they wanted as long as they were able to survive their fights ande out on top. The winner awaited endless glory and power, whereas the loser only awaited death!


    Gunner''s eyes gleamed as it reached his turn. A young man was seated there who had various formsid out before him. Seeing that there was another one, he raised his head to look at Gunner.


    Given the half-giant''s height, he had to crane his neck to meet those powerful green eyes. The clerk''s expression changed as he felt the weight of Gunner''s presence in a way no other had before.


    This was no easy feat, as he himself was also an Adept! Even when Master-stage experts came here to sign up, he hadn''t felt this bothered, making him wonder just who Gunner was.


    Eventually, he shook off his difort and registered Gunner''s details. Uponpletion, he took 50 Dius which was the registration fee for Journeyman level fighters which was what Gunner registered as.


    The Adept clerk was a bit skeptical, because he could sense that Gunner had at least gained Explosive Strength. However, he knew that non-human races had higher life levelspared to pure humans.

 Chapter 256 - 256

    Yet the clerk could only sigh and register him as such. He then exined the rules and things to note about the Colosseum of Blood to Gunner, who listened attentively.


    Once he got a good grasp of what to do, Gunner headed into the Battle Lobby. Here, there were various counters where one could register for a fight, and they would be matchmaking done to find them a simr opponent.


    Gunner also walked up to an empty counter and presented his Intermediate Badge which signified that he was a Journeyman fighter. The aide behind the counter took it and scanned it using some weird magical eye.


    After that, she worked on it for a short while before gazing up at Gunner with a pretty smile. "Intermediate Fighter Gunner, you will be fighting Intermediate Fighter Magnus on floor 43 in 30 minutes. Please head to the waiting arena for your match to be called."


    Gunner received his badge back and walked to the waiting area. Upon entry, he noticed that it was mostly like a lounge, in which various fellows satfortably as they waited for their matches to be called.


    Gunner looked around and chose a random empty seat. Upon rxing, he closed his eyes and began silently meditating while leaving some attention for the world around him.


    His cold exterior prevented anyone from approaching him, despite the fact that most fighters didn''t have the habit of making friends here either. After all, they might soon be enemies in the arena, where they might even kill the other in a brutal fight.


    What was the use of making friends then?


    After waiting for 30 minutes, Gunner heard the call for his match and rose up. At another side of the lounge, another fellow rose up at the same time, walking to the same destination as Gunner.


    This had happened frequently over the past 30 minutes and even happened round the clock, with very few staying in the waiting area for more than an hour, new facesing to rece old ones repeatedly.


    As such, no one paid attention.


    Gunner and the Magnus fellow only gave a cursory nce at each other before entering the tunnel leading to floor 43. It was one of the 20 Journeyman level arena floors, and once the duo entered they were subjected to thunderous shouts.


    The Colosseum of Blood was hopelessly huge. It had over 200 Arena floors, with different floors being designated for different stages of fighters. When one came to the entrance, they would pay a fee for a select fighter grade and be sent to the nearest empty floor.


    So for example, one could pay 100 Dius for a one day pass to spectate Journeyman fights and would then have ess to the Journeyman floors, which were located on floor 31-50, then depending on the time at which the person paid, they may be sent to the 41st floor if all others before were already full.


    It didn''t matter anyway, since the fights were plentiful. Most of the time, the floors were fully upied, which was why there was still a crowd out there. They were waiting for someone to leave so that they could rece them.


    The arena itself was asrge as half a football field, and the stands were quiterge. It seemed to house almost 50,000 or more people from a cursory look, making Gunner smile lightly.


    There was an MC standing on the stage, a well-built man who had a bald head. He beckoned to the duo and pointed to where each should stand. Once they took their spots, he then spoke in a loud voice that was able to reach the edges of the floor with ease.


    "Weedies and gentlemen, to the 5th fight for today on floor 43! Let me hear you make some noiiisseee!!!"


    The crowd roared in delight, their emotions easily manipted by the bloodseeking atmosphere and the hype of the MC.


    Satisfied, the MC continued. "To the left, we have Intermediate Fighter Magnus, who currently has a battle record of 1 win, no draws, and 1 loss!"


    There was some apuse for Magnus, making the fellow smile thinly. He himself was an above-average-looking fellow at 5 foot 10, with messy brown hair and sharp blue eyes.


    He had an angr face that wasn''t shaped too sharply, with a small nose and thin lips. His body wasn''t exactly well-built, looking to be quite thin. He wore a long ck trenchcoat with a dark brown leather armor for rouges concealed within.


    His back was slightly bent and he ced his hands in his pocketszily. He looked just like a troublesome delinquent who had no respect for the authorities.


    The MC then turned to Gunner and chuckled meaningfully. "To the right though, we have Intermediate Fighter Gunner, who currently has no battle record!"


    With a full-blown guffaw, the MC bent back and roared. "That''s right folks, we have ourselves here a newbie! SOME FRESH MEAT!"


    The crowd were first shocked then even more static than before. They began chanting with fervor, preparing the key line that the MC shouted out.


    "FRESH MEAT!"


    "FRESH MEAT!"


    "FRESH MEAT!"


    Even Magnus who stood across Gunner showed visible excitement as he licked his lips. A newbie? Had those bloody Gods finally smiled down upon him to give him an easy win to up his streak?


    Whatever the case, since this fellow had dared to appear before him, he should simply die in peace!


    Gunner ignored the crowd that were shouting and focused on his opponent who seemed raring to go. The MC also noticed that the fighters were ready and decided that there was no longer a need for hype.


    "Alright, let the battleˇ­.BEGIN!" The MC bellowed as he waved his arm down and jumped out of the ring to observe from the side.


    "Heh heh, don''t me me for being cruel, big guy. In this arena, life and death is decided by the stronger party, so for now, I call the shots!" Magnus said as he rushed over to Gunner with his hands still in his pockets.

 Chapter 257 - 257

    Gunner inspected Magnus idly,pletely ignoring the other''s trash talk.


    [Reader Magnus - Level 31 Dagger Dasher


    HP: 546/546 MP: 713/713 STA: 651/651]


    After taking stock of his stats, Gunner scoffed. Such an opponent couldn''t even fill the gaps in his teeth, so he folded his arms and waited for Magnus to strike.


    The MC noticed this and whooped. "It seems the newbie feels that Fighter Magnus is but a poodle that can only lick his boots! How humiliating!"


    Upon hearing the crowd''s ensuingughter and jeers, Magnus'' face became dark. He red at Gunner with anger and jumped up, shouting in rage.


    "Since you think you''re invincible, let me take you down a notch!"


    Magnus flipped three times while in mid-air, each time throwing out a set of three ck daggers towards Gunner. What was even more interesting and got the crowd to cry out was that each dagger moved through the air like a snake!


    This kind of ability was quitemon when one used Spark Potions. Still, Magnus'' ability was limited in that he could only control daggers, at most a dozen at a time.


    Inparison, Jorge had received the same type of ability, yet she was able to control all weapons smaller than a short sword within a certain range.


    The daggers hurtled towards Gunner, separating from each other as Magnus usually did to overwhelm his foe. He didn''t need all of them to strike, just one. With the first one taking the lead, it would be easy to gouge Gunner''s intestines out slowly over time.


    Gunner simply watched as the first dagger struck him. The excited expression on Magnus'' face and the anticipatory one on the MC as well as the crowd froze, as what they expected to see didn''t happen.


    Instead of cutting flesh and disying bone, it rebounded off Gunner''s skin as if it had struck metal. There wasn''t even a mark on therged''s bronze skin, making him frown deeply.


    Gunner was a man of few words, so he let his opinion be known with one word.


    "Trash."


    The crowd roared in excitement from his provocation and cool demeanor. The MC beat his chest and cried out: "The newbie shows his disdain for the Fighter Magnus! Truly, without being able to even leave a white mark on his skin, what could you be other than trash?!"


    Magnus'' face contorted further. He screamed out in hate and anger. "Since you are begging for it, I shall grant you death! Die! Die! Dieeee!!"


    He took out his trump card, three silver daggers, and controlled all twelve weapons to strike and sh at Gunner, aiming for the same very same spot.


    Magnus felt that since Gunner wanted to be arrogant and act cool, he wouldn''t stand on ceremony! Although his opponent''s defense was remarkable he refused to believe that they could stand the assault of his daggers.


    Once his weapons drew blood, everything would be settled from there as he would y thisrge oaf to death, then use his oversized skull as a chamber pot to take his daily shits!


    Gunner stood there and received all of Magnus'' anger like he was a saint. Of course, to Magnus and the crowd, Gunner seemed more and more like an immovable mountain as the daggers shed at him for more than 5 minutes but were unable to harm him in the slightest.


    At this point, there was only despair on Magnus'' expression as he had long run out of MP to control his daggers remotely. He just stared at Gunner speechlessly, and so too did the MC as well as the crowd.


    Was this even a fight? Why did it seem more like a sculptor who couldn''t even carve out anything on his rock? Or a farmer who could only kneel before the almighty weeds in his plot?


    Gunner unfolded his arms and pointed to the side of the area stage. Magnus was confused at first by what Gunner meant, until therged spoke softly.


    "Walk out. There''s no point in fighting you."


    The crowd took a deep breath. A fighter could only leave the ring under three conditions, the first was at the end of a match, be that as the surviving winner or the corpse of the loser.


    The second was forfeiture, but that would have the fighter gain a red streak on their profile, with three meaning that one would be banned from entering the arena.


    The final one was getting sent out of the ring. This was what counted as a normal loss and what had happened to Magnus during his first match.


    By asking him to get out of the ring and not forfeit, Gunner was undoubtedly showing mercy! A great mercy at that!


    Magnus understood this and smiled bitterly. He bowed towards Gunner thankfully, speaking from his heart. "Thanks for the kindness, big guy."


    He then wisely got off the stage and slinked away to the exit, the crowd silently watching him leave with mixed emotions. Even the MC was rubbing his scalp with a wry smile, not even knowing what to do about this.


    Once Magnus left, he jumped up onto the stage and held up one of Gunner''s hands.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! Give it up for the newbie who clinched his first victory with easeeeeeˇ­. GUNNERRRR!!"


    The crowd came back to life as they stared fervently at the calm Gunner who looked more like a spectator than they were.


    "GUNNER!"


    "GUNNER!"


    "GUNNER!"


    Gunner gazed at the crowd cheering his name and staring at him passionately, feeling something strange burgeon within him. This feeling of being worshiped for his martial prowessˇ­ it felt quite good.


    His blood pumped yet his outward appearance remained the same. Gunner felt like he was alive and ready for more. Even though he had not made a single move this battle, he had ascertained the limit of his defenses against same-stage opponents.


    They would never be able to beat him if they could not even harm him, so there was no challenge. If he wanted to give the crowd a proper fight and bask in more praises, he would need to go all out.


    As such, Gunner turned to the MC.


    "Take me to higher floors. I wish to fight against Advanced Fighters!"

 Chapter 258 - 258

    X currently stood before the entrance of arge za. She looked up and read the name of the square that was engraved into the arch over the entrance: ''Vaults za''.


    X titled her head with confusion, wondering if ''Vaults'' was just Elysium''s name for Dungeons.


    Even though Divine Maidens had ess to a paramount of secret knowledge, she had only just been selected literally a few months ago.


    The limits of her knowledge outside of Elven society were quite high. She knew thanks to Darius'' teachings that each continent had its own power levels and style that was different from the other.


    However, the general archetype was carried through across the various continents, with each of them having its own native features.


    ''Dungeons'' on Houto were called Tenchi Trials. Those on Pan were called Secret Realms. Those on Unyris were called Ancient Lands.


    And just as X had guessed, on Elysium they were referred to as Vaults. Also, while they were fundamentally simr to Dungeons, there were also special differences in each of them, so the elf got her guard up.


    She entered the busy za and found that there were many small portals set up there. Each portal had its own distinct color and they were manned by different people, with there being a small reception beside each portal that filtered candidates.


    X gazed around cautiously before choosing a blue portal nearby and walking over. She chose this one because there was no one currently queued to enter, so she reached the reception for it straightaway.


    "Greetings, this is my first time here, could you tell me more about Vaults and how they work?" X asked politely.


    The fellow who sat at the reception had been busy working on some documents, but he raised his head with curiosity after he had heard the sweet voice. When he saw that it was a pretty elven maiden talking to him, he smiled patiently and began to exin.


    "Vaults are mystical locations created by the various deities to allow mortals to challenge different levels for corresponding rewards and des. Basic Vaults have 3 floors, Intermediate Vaults have 5 floors, Advanced Vaults have 7 floors, Master Vaults have 10 floors and Grandmaster ones have 15 floors!"


    "Vaults are separated by elements, with some special cases having more one, though none of the public ones belong to that category. In fact, the majority of publicly open ones are Basic Vaults."


    The fellow shrugged. "If you want to ess higher-tiered Vaults, you have to be a worshiper of the deity who owns them."


    X nodded as she digested the basic information given her, then asked: "So what do I have to do to gain ess to this one?"


    The fellow smiled and brought out a form. "Simply give me your details and I''ll register you. Next time, you can just pay a fee to enter instead of registering all over again."


    X nodded and gave her details to the fellow who quickly handled all the processes for her. After that was done, she paid the 10 Dius entry fee for the public Vault, surprised at how cheap it was.


    Upon crossing into the blue portal, X felt like she had left the world she had known behind and was pulled somewhere new. When she gained cognition of her surroundings, she noticed that she was now standing in the middle of a small ind.


    The ind was also packed full of people, which surprised her as she had expected Vaults to be instanced like Dungeons on Fallon, but it didn''t seem to be the case here.


    All around, X noticed different groups standing around, calling out to people who just entered like she did.


    "Adept warrior building a team to challenge the third floor! Need a qualified Adept healer, magician, and archer!"


    "Journeyman mage, fighter, and archer looking for warrior and healer!"


    "Amateur mage looking for a team challenging the first floor!"


    "Journeyman archer looking for a group!"


    X filtered through the calls and identified teams that were recruiting Amateurs. Slightly warily, she walked over to an almost full group, with a mage, archer, warrior, and fighter.


    When the mage, who was the leader of the team, saw X walk over, her eyes lit up. She greeted X warmly and asked. "Are you perhaps a healer?"


    X smiled gently. "I am."


    The rest of the team members perked up, excited that they had finally filled their roster. The fighter and archer were also females, with only the warrior being a handsome youth who looked more like a young master than his ss'' typical bearing.


    The mage, who had blond short-cropped hair, light green eyes, and a pretty face smiled. "Now that we are full, we should all introduce ourselves to our neer. My name is Nisha and I''m a fire and water dual element mage."


    The archer, who was a wood elf with brown hair, green eyes, and cute freckles skipped over to X and grabbed her hand. "d to meet you, Sister! My name is Elverivar Husinomunto, but I let others call me Veri."


    The fighter, who was a rough-looking, brown-haired, and blue-eyed mature woman who many visible scars on her tanned skin grinned widely. "Name''s Helen. Nice to meetcha. Oh, and I like to kick things."


    The warrior, who was an elegant fellow with slicked-back silver hair and sharp brown eyes smiled widely and bowed. "Greetings, Fair Elven Maiden, my name is Lloyd and I''m a swordsman."


    X enthusiastically met the embrace of the wood elf, feeling happy to see fellow kin in an unfamiliar ce. She beamed and introduced herself.


    "My name is Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso, but you can call me X."


    Nisha the mage nodded. "Great, since we all know the basics, let''s get ready to head to the first floor. By the way, are any of you new to vaults?"


    X, Lloyd, and Veri indicated that they were new, which made Helen and Nisha chuckle. This time, the mature woman spoke in a surprisingly light tone.


    "Well, Vaults are basically gauntlet fights. Ya enter a floor with yer team and then survive as many waves of enemies as ya can. Ya can retreat if you rush to the entry of the floor and teleport out when it gets too much for ya."


    Nisha nodded. "It''s unlikely for us to face any troubles as long as we put in our best effort and bring outpetence to the highest possible level. Are any of you unfamiliar with your prospective roles by the way?"

 Chapter 259 - 259

    None of them indicated that they were unaware of their duties, making Nisha smile. She gestured to the edge of the ind, and the group walked over while following behind her.


    X then saw three whirlpools spinning in the ocean a few meters offshore. The smallest one had a 5-meter diameter, while thergest was 15 meters. Nisha swam over to the smallest one, the others following behind her.


    She then turned to X and co. "These whirlpools are the entrances to the various floors. Each floor is unique and separated from the other, so you don''t need to worry about overcrowding."


    "Just jump in and we''ll be sent to the same floor. Remember, there is a 5-second interval from the entry of the first person. If you jump in after that, you will enter your own floor."


    The three took note of Nisha''s warning with serious expressions. Satisfied, the mage jumped in, followed by Helen the fighter. Lloyd then went in, with X and Veri jumping in together.


    Once within, they only went straight down like they were falling through a chute, before X felt her falle to a gentle stop. She looked around to see that they were within a strange transparent dome at the bottom of the ocean.


    Because they weren''t yet off the continental shelf, the sun was able to reach here, lighting up the area outside the dome, allowing the party to see the teeming aquatic life that thrived here.


    Llyod, Veri, and X were lost in the sights while Nisha and Helen smiled. After allowing them to ogle for a minute, Nisha pped her gloved hands and brought their attention to her.


    "Alright, get ready for the first wave. Most of the monsters we''ll be facing are aquatic lifeforms like Murlocs, Naga, Mermen, and the like. If you have anyst-minute preparations to make, you''d best do them now, because once the waves start, it''s either we survive till the end, die trying, or escape in time."


    The newbie trio nodded. X directly took out some of Darius'' scrolls that buffed her. Her MP regen had been increased and the consumption decreased, with her spell power also increasing slightly.


    The others also used their various means, everyone getting into a diamond formation with X at the center. Nisha was to the south, Helen to the west, Lloyd to the east, and Veri to the north.


    Soon, the entire dome rumbled as mangled roars sounded out. From holes within the dome, many aquatic monsters squeezed their way in, bringing in small amounts of seawater with them.


    X inspected them immediately.


    [Murloc Underling - Level 1 Monster


    HP: 3/3 MP: 0/0 STA: 5/5]


    There were about 20 of these level 1 monsters, which were not even a threat to the group, nothing more than a warm-up to fix their teamwork and cooperation.


    Veri fired three shots at once that prated the heads of three targets, making X nod with praise. Nisha simply cast some cantrips like Ember and flung them on the Murlocs, who screamed as they burned to ashes under the magic fire.


    Lloyd was a swordsman who dual-wielded two longswords. With his slim build and ck swordsman''s coat as well as his inner leather armor, he looked quite heroic.


    Maintaining his position in the diamond formation, he cut down any Murloc that rushed over, almost cleaving each one into two. He only used one of his des while the other rested on his shoulderzily.


    Helenughed lightly as she sted any Murloc that came close with her legs, sending them sttering against the dome at horrific speeds. With her brown tank top and tight yet flexible pants, she was easily able to move as she wanted.


    X was left speechless. Working in a team like this was an eye-opener for her who had grown up in the Elven Empire.


    Before she had been chosen as a Divine Maiden she hadn''t even bothered to experiencebat.


    Even then, she had mostly spent her time healing rather than purging evil or fighting, which was why spells like Restore, Cure, and co were so high in levels while the others were mediocre.


    Only Purify had gotten some attention, and even that was because she hadn''t wanted to offend the Divine Light by neglecting it.


    After experience the upheavals of her life that hadnded led her to be a product in Foldo''s gallery, she had decided to change those habits.


    Hence, the moment she had free time, she came here to increase her power and refine her skills. In truth, she even wanted to go at it alone, knowing that with the Supreme System, her growth would be fast and unstoppable.


    However, she still wisely joined a team so she could understand how things worked in these Vaults so that running them on her own would be easier in the future.


    Still, seeing these fellows work their magic systematically was extremely moving for X, especially since she was being protected and could clearly see the effects of their actions collectively.


    They might not be the best unit because they were formed impromptu, but even individually they couldn''t be called ipetent.


    Nisha and Helen especially showed extreme familiarity with their timing and action, showing that they were veterans.


    Llyod''s swordmanship was a bit rough, looking like something he had acquired by training by himself and not something he had learned from a teacher or school, at least to X''s eyes.


    Elves also practiced swordsmanship, and X had seen the skills of the other Divine Maidens and Divine Sons who majored with such weapons.


    Veri''s archery though, was wless in X''s eyes. It was far better than her''s, but that much should be obvious.


    High Elves were better at manipting raw magic whereas Wood Elves were the bud archers among their race.


    Each sub-race had their strength and weakness, though they all shared the same overarching characteristics.


    Soon, the level 1 monsters were cleared out and X noticed a notification pop up on her screen.

 Chapter 260 - 260

    [You have gained 100 EXP and 1 Seawater Orb.]


    [You have leveled up! You are now level 2. You have gained 3 Ability Points and 1 Skill Point to spend as you wish!]


    X was tongue-tied by this. Did she gain the experience from killing all those Murlocs? But she hadn''t even touched them, merely having stood in ce while the others had warmed up their skills.


    X considered all she knew about the Supreme System and her face changed. Could it be because she was a healer? Thinking about it from that angle, it suddenly made sense!


    After all, healers were not exactly known for their offensive might, their job was to heal their team members and keep them in good shape.


    In that case, how did nonbat sses progress under the Supreme System? For example, if Darius had received the Broker or Craftsman Subss instead of Magus, would he have still been expected to kill monsters to earn his EXP?


    X knew the Supreme System was not a lifeless, mindless entity. It was real and semi-aware, so it could make judgments concerning situations at all times.


    It could tell if a person was Darius'' ally or enemy when using the system targeting for spells, without the need for him to open his mouth to point at someone and dere ''I consider this fellow my ally''.


    When she hade here, X had believed she would not gain anything through this practice run other than the feel of how Vaults worked. She had always intended to start leveling herself using the bow and arrow when she was alone.


    Now though, she knew she could embrace the job of a healer and keep the bow as well as the arrow as some sort of hidden trump card. If anyone attacked her thinking she was some helpless cleric, they would be in for a painful surprise.


    As such, when the second batch of monsters appeared, X simply smiled. This time, it was arge group of level 2 Sea Snakes that were about the size of a typical python.


    [Sea Snake - Level 2 Monster


    HP: 10/10 MP: 3/3 STA: 10/10]


    The group still casually dispatched the monsters. X even used this chance to do what she should have done in the beginning and inspected her allies to see their strength.


    [Elverivar Husinomunto - Level 19 Elven Sharpshooter


    HP: 180/180 MP: 342/342 STA: 281/285]


    [Helen Salva - Level 20 Kickboxer


    HP: 380/380 MP: 200/200 STA: 368/380]


    [Lloyd Erving - Level 18 Speedsword


    HP: 270/270 MP: 216/216 STA: 259/270]


    [Nisha Hollevine - Level 20 Dual-Element mage


    HP: 132/132 MP: 367/400 STA: 240/240]


    X noted this with a smile. It seemed they were all suitably powerful in their own way, with Nisha and Helen being on the cusp of bing Journeymen. X had long since learned how to adapt without Darius'' Analyze to provide stats.


    In truth, all the maths was there for her. To find a person''s Strength, she needed to look at their HP, which was calcted as Strength x Endurance.


    To find their Endurance, she needed to only divide the total value of their Stamina against their level since is calcted as Endurance x Level.


    Then going back, she would simply divide the Endurance stat against the HP to find their Strength value.


    Simr to Endurance, for Intellect one just had to divide the total MP value by the level.


    That way, she could obtain a person''s Str, Int, and End from a simple Inspect. Funny enough, these were the exact three stats one used to determine ''life levels'' in Faust.


    Intentional or not? Who knew?


    Admittedly, Agility, Charisma, and Luck could not be discovered that way, so X could only use her senses to guess. She idly watched the group clear out the 25 level 2 Sea Snakes while waiting for her reward.


    [You have gained 125 EXP and 3 Snake Poison Sacs.]


    Not enough to level up unfortunately, so X opened her Character menu and pondered how to allocate her points. Darius had told her that she was free to do so if she wished, as he only allocated Gunner''s because therged wanted him to.


    X didn''t mind, preferring to control the route of her growth herself. That was why she had unhesitatingly joined Darius under the Supreme System anyway.


    Previously, she had let him allocate her stats from the Event because it had been too much for her to handle at once. Better to have an expert like Darius handle it, as he would know where best to put it.


    Now though, it was up to her.


    After pondering for a bit, she ced two points into Luck, bringing it to 20 points from 18. She wanted better drops from the monsters killed as well as more blessings from the Divine Light.


    She ced thest AP into Strength, bringing it to 16 points from 15. She didn''t feel the increase in Luck much, only that her spiritual senses seemed to expand a little, allowing her to see a fog rting to her future.


    X squinted with surprise, remembering what Darius experienced during the ins of Death Quest. All of this past info had been given her in the introductory infopack when she was converted.


    It seemed like in order to see one''s trend of Luck and engage their spiritual senses, one needed to have 50 points in Intellect at the minimum and 20 points of Luck.


    After all, Gunner had 20 points of Luck and 35 points of Intellect, yet he could not see such a thing. This meant that thebo of Mind Power plus high Luck created a special phenomenon.


    No wonder Darius emphasized and revered the Luck stat. There was more to it than meets the eyes for sure.


    As for her single Skill Point, it went into her Bless skill, now increasing the HP, MP, and STA regen for her targets by 5%.


    Following that, she cast the skill on her four allies, their expression changing once they felt the effects of her skill.


    Just in time, for level 3 monsters started to appear from the dome, rushing towards the group in a mass of tentacles.

 Chapter 261 - 261

    Darius removed his hand from the terminal. 10 hours hade to an end, so his reading time ording to his membership was up.


    As a member, he was given a grace period to ''leave'', but he would be expelled if he tried to touch even a single book.


    On his way out, Darius intended to gather some reading credits for the time where he''d visit the restricted section and swallow the information there as well.


    He raised his bracelet, only to see a slightly fatigued Miranda gazing up at him. Seeing this, Darius changed his mind and decided not to bother the AI anymore, for he couldn''t muster the will to stress out his beloved daughter, even if it was just a digital copy.


    He left the Great Library after assessing theyout, noting that the Restricted ess area was at the top, and there were only hard copies there, so he would have to manually read them.


    Not a problem anyway. Darius eventually reached the inn while the orange hue of sunset shone behind him. He noted that the kitchens were preparing for dinner, so he went to the suite first to check on his two Branded Servants.


    He first went to X''s suite and knocked on the door. Eventually, the Elven Princess opened and smiled when she saw it was her master. She weed Darius in who chuckled and followed.


    It had to be said, as a single-bedroom suite, X''s room was in no way inferior to his and Gunner''s. She had almost everything here, and she had even cleaned the room herself so it looked very good.


    "So, tell me how your day went." Darius asked casually as he poured himself a drink from her bar.


    X then smiled softly and recounted her experiences for the day. Darius nodded slowly as he took it in, unsurprised by how Vaults were structured since he was already aware of this.


    However, X''s ability to gain experience while healing made his eyes widen. He then nodded in agreement when X shared her theory for its urrence. It was at this moment, that Darius missed Mikey and Joneson, who could have exined things in concrete detail.


    Well, they would being back to him in less than 5 years, so there was no rush. Apart from that, Darius was pleased to find that X had reached level 12 after a single day of work.


    The maximum level of enemies she fought were around level 13 before the group had to escape, as even her insane buffs and healing were being overwhelmed by the monsters numbering 80.


    Each wave had an increase of 5 monsters from thest, so the 20 at the beginning had ended up reaching such a huge number. Even with their skills and equipment helping, as well as X, they could only reach that point.


    Still, X excitedly boasted that they had set a new record for that floor, and they had been bestowed Grand Rewards by the God of Water, who owned that Vault.


    Darius showed a curious smile. "What did he give you for breaking the record?"


    X pulled out a small blue pill that shone with resplendent aqua light. Darius Analyzed it to see what benefits it brought, and his expression changed slightly.


    [Source of Aqua - Unique


    Durability: 100/100


    Quality: Superb


    Description: A wonderful pill made from a specialpression of Waterws derived from a deity''s Divine Understanding. Anyone who consumes it can either gain the talent to manipte the Water element, have their Water element talent increase significantly, or gain immunity towards Water element attacks.]


    Darius nodded in appreciation. "Good item! Did anyone try to take it from you when you were awarded?"


    X chuckled. "Yup! A lot of merchants waiting in the za approached me wishing to purchase it. The highest offer was 1.2 million Dius, but I rejected them all. I know you''re better at this stuff than me, so I was waiting for you to tell me its true value."


    Darius gently patted X on the head. "Brilliant girl, you were right. Something like this is valuable for sure, but to the right buyer, it is priceless. 1.2 million Dius sounds great, but truly pales inparison."


    X seemed excited. "I knew it! Also, I took the one that was given to a friend of mine, so I hope you can sell it for her as well, Master."


    Darius titled his head with surprise. "A friend? You made a friend in one day who could trust you with something so valuable?"


    X nodded, then her face changed as she suddenly remembered something. "Oh no, I forgot to tell her that-"


    Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened, and a naked elf walked out while wiping her hair. She then walked over to X with her eye closed and spoke happily.


    "Big Sister, I''m done! When can we meet that awesome master of yours?"


    Realizing that the ce was awfully silent, Veri wiped her eyes and opened them, seeing X who lowered her head while blushing in shame, and an amused handsome human who was looking directly into her eyes.


    "Ohˇ­" Veri noted with surprise.


    She then continued to wipe herself down before stretching her dry hand towards Darius. "Hello Sir, nice to meet you. My name is Elverivar Husinomunto, but you can call me Veri."


    Darius straightforwardly took her hand and shook it. "Hello Veri, my name is Darius Stone, X''s master. I''m grateful that you befriended her, as she seems to like you a lot."


    Veriughed with pleasure. "Great! I also like X a lot!"


    Darius smiled as his eyes went down a little. "Also, you''re quite the beauty. You are definitely one of the finest women I have ever seen in my life, Miss Veri."


    Veri smiled and blushed, lowering her head a little. "Thank you, Master Darius."


    She pointed to the cab where some clothes wereid to hang. "I''ll be going to dress now."


    Darius waved his hand and watched the Wood Elf dress. He had already formed a profile for thess. She was simr to X, goodnatured, pure, and slightly naive, though this Veriss seemed slightly moreso than X.


    She would make a fine friend for the young elf and Darius didn''t want her to feel estranged. After all, he and Gunner had had more time to bond whereas X had just joined them, so she might feel a bit excluded.

 Chapter 262 - 262

    Darius left X''s room and returned to his own. There he saw Gunner currently exercising by doing pushups with two fingers. The fellow went down and up with ease, his toned upper body releasing copious amounts of sweat as he pushed himself.


    Darius chuckled and prepared a small meal for therged and mixed up some cool drinks. When he was done, Gunner ended his practice and wolfed down everything.


    Darius also cast Cleanse on him, removing all his umted sweat and grime, though he knew Gunner would still shower after this as it had be a habit. Even during their recluse, they had asionally gone to bathe as a way of rxation.


    Gunner finished his small meal and drank all the juice before heading to the bath. Darius changed his attire and cast Cleanse on the clothing, then hung it in the cab.


    Down to his skintight Polymer Suit, Darius cast Cleanse on himself then moved to lie in the bed. He sighed with exhaustion then brought his HoloBrace close to his face.


    "Miranda, connect to my anterior cingte cortex and download all memories relevant to technology, culture, education, and history of Earth." Dariusmanded.


    Miranda popped up on the disy, looking much better than before. She nodded with excitement and connected to Darius'' mind, downloading all the things he learned or saw.


    Darius had been a merchant, but that had also allowed him to see many things in life, such as the groundbreaking tech from his R&D department, proposals from various young geniuses hoping to get investment,plex diagrams for new machines, or forms for unique substances/medicines.


    He had been told about the theories behind those inventions and although at the time he had not understood things on a mechanical level, Miranda was able to extract them from his eidetic memory.


    It took the AI a whole 5 minutes to absorb everything. Oncepleted, she jumped with excitement, gazing at Darius with amazement. "Done, Daddy! Wow, there''s so much exemry information here!"


    "It only filled 0.0001% of the database, but most of the information here is much more valuable than what I downloaded from that terminal!" She chirped with glee.


    Then she titled her head. "Where should I store it?"


    Darius chuckled. "Store all of it in a restricted section of the Supreme Portal, with only myself being able to ess it."


    Miranda nodded. "Okay! Easily done!


    "Also, where should I store all the info I''m downloading from the library?" Miranda inquired.


    Darius pondered for a bit then decided. "Make it public in the cloud''s database. Anyone who has a HoloBrace connected to our cloud should be able to ess this info for free, but please separate it into levels of importance."


    "Use your own discretion to separate the information into as many levels as you feel is wise. Make sure to grant the various users who will gain HoloBraces in our faction that also have ess to our cloudter on based on their rtive position."


    Miranda nodded and began working. Separating the wealth of info would take some time, so Darius put down his bracelet and rested for a bit longer.


    He was lost in thought for the next hour or so while Gunner idled around as well. Ideally, Darius could continue his Magical Method studies, but he didn''t really feel like doing so at this time.


    Instead, he called Gunner and X, as well as her wood elf friend, to have dinner. After eating something fancy, Darius felt slightly better and decided to check on X''s improvement in terms of her stats.


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Amateur


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 320/320


    MP: 600/600


    STA: 240/240


    Level: 12


    Exp: 375/1200


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 20


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 25


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Excited.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Active: Bless - Lv.5, Holy Ward - Lv. 8, Divine Summoning - Lv.2, Purify - Lv.12, Cleanse - Lv.10, Restore - Lv.10, Ward Evil - Lv.2, Cure - Lv.20 (MAX)


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.2, Light''s Chosen - Lv.1, Pure Body - Lv.20, Pure Soul - Lv.20, Pure Spirit - Lv.20, Aura of Life - Lv.1


    Abilities: Mind Power (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    ''Hmm, interestingˇ­'' Darius noted as he wiped his lips.


    It seemed X had allocated her stats wisely. Going up 11 levels had granted her 33 AP and 11 SP. Apart from the one point in Strength, everything else had gone into Luck.


    After reaching 50 points, she had not only received the Deflection ability, but she could also see the trend of fate clearer.


    Unfortunately, they both discovered that Darius couldn''t really do so himself, only having a vague sense, much less see anything. Darius theorized that it might be because of X''s Divine Sight passive skill.


    As for her SP, she had spread it out liberally. Bless went from level 4 to 5, Holy Ward from level 6 to 8, Cleanse from level 8 to 10, Restore from level 9 to 10, Cure from level 16 to 20 - which was the max it seemed - and Pure Spirit from level 19 to 20.


    Seeing this, Darius still inquired. "Why didn''t you rank up Cure?"


    X paused then answered uncertainly. "Well, because I wasn''t sure. I haven''t seen what happens to skills that rank up, and I don''t want this useful one to lose its effectsˇ­"


    Darius chuckled and showed her two different skills from his Database.


    [Sparks - Level 20 Spell (MAX)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5 MP


    Description: Send out a sparkle of electricity that can zap foes into a significant paralysis. This deals 100% lightning damage.]


    [Lightning Bolt - Level 21 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Cast a pure bolt of electricity at a foe, paralyzing them immediately on contact. This deals 520% lightning damage.]


    X was surprised. "This was a Basic spell you ranked up?"


    Darius nodded. "That''s right, Sparks was the Basic spell of the Lightning element that had been with me since the beginning. After maxing it out to 20, I thought it was the end of its journey and that I might have wasted Skill Points on it, but maxed out skills can apparently level up to the next stage."


    He picked up his wine and sipped it. "In other words, if you''re a Journeyman, your Basic skills and spells can level up to Intermediate, but not beyond. You''ll need to be an Adept for that."

 Chapter 263 - 263

    X nodded in surprise. "Well, I know it''s a feature, but I actually haven''t tried it. I thought I''d also need to reach Journeyman level before I couldˇ­"


    Darius nodded. "Indeed, which was why I asked you in the first ce. Your answer would have been able to inform me as to whether it was possible or not."


    X was left speechless, then gave up. Her master thought far too much, even structuring his questions in ambiguous ways.


    As for Veri who sat close to X like a twin sister, she had an utterly confused look on her face. It was clear that nothing they talked about registered in her understanding, and this was why Darius and X were not bothered to talk about it before her.


    Darius then turned to Veri and smiled. "So, Beautiful Veri, please tell me about yourself."


    Veri blushed at Darius''pliment but was assertive enough to speak freely. "Well, there isn''t much to know about me. I was born and raised here in Elysium, in the town of Elven Water. It''s kinda far from this city, almost halfway across the continent."


    At this point, her eyes became a little misty and zed over with reminiscence. "My hometown is small and peaceful, with only elves living there. We live in a forest near the sea, so we have an abundance of game, crops, and fish."


    "My father is a fisherman and my mother a huntress. I learned everything I know about the sea from my dad, while my mum taught me archery, so I had a pretty nice life."


    Veri brushed her hair behind her ears with a soft smile. "However, I kinda got bored of the dull life at home. I asked my parents for permission to leave not long after mying of age, hoping to meet new people, experience new things, and ply my skills here to get stronger!"


    Darius nodded in understanding while X held Veri''s hand. He then continued to inquire: "And how did your parents feel about your thirst for adventure? Did they move here with you or did they give you their blessings before you left?"


    Veriughed lightly as she exined. "Well, my dad was a bit worried, scared that I would be taken advantage of by the evil city boys, but my mum convinced him I''d be fine and if anyone bothered me, I should just shoot them in the butt, hee hee!"


    X giggled and Darius just sat there speechlessly. Well, parents differed from household to household. A mother who was an elven huntress would definitely be fierce and confident, while any father would worry about sending his beloved princess into the cruel world.


    From this, Darius understood why Veri was slightly naive and trusting, as well as quite pure. It was also why she likely took to X, not only because they were fellow elves, which reminded her of home, but also because X was cast from a simr mold.


    Darius already knew that X''s mental and emotional purity had been slightly tarnished by the darkness she had experienced before she had ended up in the hands of Foldo.


    Well, that couldn''t be helped, it was obvious that her story involved betrayal by her own people, and the fact that X could still remain so innocent and good-natured after that was a blessing in and of itself.


    Once more, Darius felt that Veri would be a good friend for X. However, as she was not a Branded Servant, it would be awkward to take her around as many of Darius'' actions were not meant for the public eye.


    X seemed to realize this more than Veri, so Darius left it to her to sort her rtionship with the Wood Elf out. He waited for Gunner to finish his meal before returning to their suite together.


    As for X, she took Veri to her room so that they could talk. As Veri already had her own lodging within the city, and X''s room only had one bed, he doubted the Wood Elf would sleepover.


    Once they returned to their room, Darius then turned to Gunner. "Alright, how was your day? Was the arena interesting?"


    Gunner grinned. "Very."


    He then exined the format of the Colosseum of Blood, as well as the 10 matches he had participated in. Since he did not kill any of his opponents, Gunner did not gain any experience even after some of the tough fights that cameter in the day.


    Well, it should have been obvious, shouldn''t it?


    Since when was Gunner so restrained in battle that he would allow someone to attack him passively and then let them exit the stage without hitting back once?


    He hadn''t spared Magnus because the 5 years in seclusion had made him kindhearted, but because killing Magnus would have forced him to climb 2 levels straight up.


    After what he and Darius had experienced in the ins of Death, they had developed a smallplex against the stage-climbing Quest that would await them.


    Darius was amused when he heard that his Branded Servant had be slightly famous in just one day. Due to his unique power and amazing skills, he had dominated even Adept foes with rtive ease.


    What had shocked the crowd and made his name resound in the Halls of Fame in the Colosseum today was the fact that hisst opponent had been a Master fighter upon his request.


    That fight had forced Gunner to go all out, using Earth''s Guardian to raise his Strength to the Master stage before he could even fight equally with his opponent.


    Fortunately, Gunner had gained misc skills over the past 5 years that reduced skill costs by a useful amount, other his MP regen of 21 per second wouldn''t be able to support Earth''s Guardian that drained 25 MP per second.


    Otherwise, he would never have dared to risk his life against such a powerhouse, for it wouldn''t be only his stats and experience that were superior, but his skills.


    As far as Darius could tell, non-Transmuted basic grade skills/spells started at 1% at average quality, while the Transmuted ones started at 5%. They also grew differently with each level added, with the former gaining 1% per level and thetter 5% per level.

 Chapter 264 - 264

    As such, a skill like Sparks had reached 100% in value by level 20 whereas X''s Cure was at 20%. From this, one could infer the difference between the two, but more importantly, the growth trajectory.


    Intermediate skills though, were a whole different ballgame. Intermediate skills/spells acquired by Darius transmuted skill/spellbooks all started at 100%!


    His Fireball, mepir, Void Cut, and more all started at 100% Int damage. What was crazier was that each level increased the value by 20%!


    Darius had yet to see a non-Transmuted Intermediate skill with percentile values, but using the same logic from the basic spells he could deduce their effects.


    If it continued the trend of x5, then normal average quality Intermediate skills/spells started at 20% and rose by 4% with each level! By the time they climbed to level 20, they would reach 100%, which was quite significant.


    However, Darius'' Transmuted Intermediate skills/spells would reach 500% by level 20! This was why his Lightning Bolt that was evolved 520% Lightning damage, because it was level 21.


    (Editor''s Note; Ignore the math, our author is a dumbass who failed calculus, just take it as is >_> )


    The true nature of the elitist Transmutation ability had finally beid bare! When it concerned lower tier items and skills, it didn''t seem like much, but the higher Darius climbed, the more of a gulf it created between him and the average Faustian.


    He now understood why whenever Caesar mentioned his Transmutation skill, he spoke with resentment. It was the one thing that set Darius apart from the talented Faustians and gave him a significant edge over them.


    If used well, he could easily dominate with power alone. If misused, he would end up with a horrible fate.


    Darius breathed out andid on his bed. Gunner too was tired after his long day, so the duo didn''t call for any nightly services as they went straight to bed.


    ......ˇ­


    In the morning, Darius and Gunner performed their usual cleaning routine before meeting X downstairs. She seemed a bit sad and listless with her friend gone, so Darius consoled her gently.


    After all, she was free to continue partying up with Veri to explore the Vaults if she so wanted. Remembering this, X perked up and noted that she was fine now.


    Darius nodded and ate breakfast with his Branded Servants calmly. Afterward, they each went their separate ways, Gunner to break heads and legs at the Colosseum of Blood, X to explore and level at the Vault za, and Darius to download all the information he could from the Great Library.


    Like this, a week passed.


    ......ˇ­..


    "Haaˇ­ that should be enough." Miranda sighed tiredly, as Darius unplugged her.


    After spending all her time downloading all she could, she had finally swallowed all the normal data in the library, the new information today she would separate into categories of importanceter.


    It was still early in the day today, and Darius still had about 7 hours of reading time left. Seeing as Miranda was tired, he decided to leave and spend the rest of his day rxing idly.


    He left the Great Library and walked to a nearby cafe that served hot pasties as well as cold drinks. Darius chose an outdoor seat so he could bask in the warm breeze and the clean smell.


    The City of Divinity did not tolerate any form of dirtiness, as the Gods would severely punish anyone who broke that rule. Cleanliness is next to Godliness after all.


    Darius was currently seated near a small river that passed through the God of Knowledge''s sector. The water within the river was a bright blue and one could even see freshwater fish jumping about happily within.


    On both sides of the river were various establishments using this scenic location to earn their keep. After all, who wouldn''t love to eat or shop near such a lovely location?


    Darius himself was seated right next to the river, his table for one overlooking the river, ced right next to the whitewashed stone fences that prevented passersby or children from falling within.


    Darius didn''t have to wait long for his snacks to arrive. He smiled at the cute waitress who was blushing while gazing at him, giving her a few Dius as a tip for being pretty.


    She epted the tip with a happy smile, as well as giggled at the reasoning. If it wasn''t for the fact that she was called back to serve other orders, Darius was certain she would have spoken to him a bit more.


    Well, she was on the clock, so no one could me her. Darius first sipped on his cool smoothie, marveling at how well made it was. It tasted fresh and sulent, going down his throat with ease.


    As he smacked his lips with pleasure, his eyes turned to the nearby stone bridge that crossed over the river. There were a few of them lined up and down the long street, allowing people at certain checkpoints to cross from one side to the other with ease.


    Just as his eyesnded on the stone bridge, it was as if time had stopped for Darius. His breathing, cognition, and heartbeat invariably took a pause as his eyes locked onto a single form crossing the bridge with a group.


    Caramel skin that shone with luster under the sunlight. Lush and lively red hair flowed down her shoulders, reaching the midpoint of her back. Piercing amber eyes that glinted with calmness yet solemnity.


    It didn''t matter that she wore thick te-mail meant for pdins, especially pdins of high stature and rank. It didn''t matter that the group following her were a mixture of men and women looking to belong to a clergy, even a pope with a papal staff and an inquisitor decked in noble attire walking behind.


    At that moment, Darius only recognized one thing.


    That womanˇ­ there was no doubt about it. From her looks to her demeanor, to her very presence.


    Darius could never mistake it for anyone.


    Someway, somehow, his deceased wife, Deia Stone, had arrived in Faust.

 Chapter 265 - 265

    What was a ''Soulmate''?


    A Soulmate is a person with whom one shares a feeling of deep or natural affinity. This may involve simrity, love, romance, tonic rtionships,fort, intimacy, sexuality, sexual activity, spirituality,patibility, and trust.


    A Soulmate was the other half of a person''s soul. Some religions believed that the soul was naturally divided into two halves when it was born, and only by merging with the destined partner would one be whole again.


    This was one of the factors that led to the creation and sanctity of marriage.


    Many people wished to meet their Soulmates and feel whole again, to feel like life was worth living, a reason to continue their days to the very end. Unfortunately, due to the ever-expanding size of the world and the distance, very few were lucky enough to meet their Soulmates.


    A sessful marriage did not denote the connection of Soulmates. It could be that both parties had a fondness for each other that was deep, or that they didn''t want to break the house in order to make their children''s lives hard.


    Most marriages ended in divorce anyway, as both parties could not even form a suitable connection ormitment, or that connection had degraded over time.


    However, some did meet their Soulmates. The interesting thing was that, unlike expectations where it would be mutual love at first sight with butterflies in their stomachs, most Soulmates met for the first time in casual situations, or even in unfriendly ones.


    It took a variable period of variable actions and reactions from both parties for them to realize the deep connection they had to each other that pierced even the soul.


    This was usually depicted in romance media. Two different people would meet and endure tribtions together before finally sharing their feelings and live happily ever after.


    That connection wasn''t purely romantic, it transcended that. Even the mostmon romance in fiction connected two prospective souls together through a bond that most of their creators did not even understand.


    It was entirely possible for two people who at one point had hated each other to death to be the most devoted of lovers. It was also possible for two people who did not have a lick of interest in another person to realize that they could not live without them in their lives.


    The causes varied. It could be destiny, or it could be the work of circumstances.


    When two people discovered their connection as Soulmates, it was exceedingly hard to break them apart. The only way to do so was death, to be frank, which was something else on its own.


    One can easily spot Soulmates from afar, especially looking at some widows or widowers who can only dream of passing away to meet their deceased partners in the next world, unable to move on.


    Shanks, was an example of this.


    Darius was another.


    In his life on Earth, he had experienced many things that had ultimately shaped him up to be the man he was now. However, nothing had ever changed the trajectory of his life and helped him grow more than his experiences with histe wife.


    The current calm, wise and intelligent man that Darius was right now was heavily shaped by her, just as he too had shaped her into the sharp and fierce woman she had been before passing away.


    However, when they had met, neither had been even close to this. In fact, their meeting had been one of intrigue and amusement, something Darius would not forget in his life, something that even as time seemed to have frozen around him, his mind every so often delved into.


    This was his first time seeing her in Faust, and as such, his mind sank into memories of when he had first met her on Earth, back in his early daysˇ­


    ...


    31st December 2107 AD, in the North Pacific Ocean, 100 kilometers away from the coast of Fanning Ind.


    A luxury yacht floated gently above the seas, the moonlight shining upon its busy deckzily. The yacht was brightly illuminated with various lights, easily marking it on the calm waters from miles away.


    Currently, in a private lounge within the yacht, people were seated around a coffee table on various luxurious couches. The decor in the room was top-notch, from the expensive paints, to the specially ordered carpet, and even the furniture that probably cost more than 4 years of colleague tuition, shone in the lit room.


    There were a total of four couches around the coffee table. The one to the north seated 3 people, two men, and one woman. The men sat on either side of the frowning woman in silence.


    To the west, and the right of the woman was a single sofa that had only one elderly man seated within, who calmly sipped some wine with interest.


    To the east, and the left of the woman, was a two-seater couch with two men on it. Both of them were young fellows who wore curious and amused smiles on their faces.


    They also held drinks in hand as their eyes darted between the woman to the north and the person to the south.


    To the south, and opposite the woman and her two aides seated beside her, was a single young man in a three-seater couch. He wore a light blue Hawaiian pattern shirt that was unbuttoned and folded on either side, disying most of his chest and abs.


    He also wore matching blue Hawaiian shorts, his folded legs showing his smooth calf. On his feet were some beach slippers, and around his neck was a wooden rosary.


    His slightly dark-skin, slicked-back ck hair, and hazel eyes marked him as an exotic youth with handsome androgynous features. As he too sipped from a ss, one couldn''t help but notice that while the others were dressed formally in suits, he alone was dressed casually.


    When added to his arrogant smirk that showed the limits of pride, one could likely understand why the formally dressed woman was frowning deeply at this time.

 Chapter 266 - 266

    The woman was of Caucasian descent, with fair skin and blue eyesmon for her heritage. She had neatly tied auburn hair, a sharp face, thin lips, and narrow eyes.


    She wore a white blouse, a ck suit jacket, and a ck office skirt, giving her the picture-perfect appearance of a stern young female CEO that was rising in the world of today.


    On her left was a young man who wore a ck suit with ck pants, his round-rimmed sses and baby-ish face betraying his youth. Then again, to be eligible to sit at this table was testimony to his ability and his value.


    He was furiously typing away at theptop before him, mostly to avoid the current heated atmosphere. On the woman''s right, her other aide was also a young man who was quite handsome.


    He had curly ck hair and dark blue eyes, greatly resembling the woman seated beside him. If one were to guess, they would likely peg them as siblings. He currently held some documents up, which he read out loud, and had been doing so for quite a while.


    The elderly man who sat on the left was also in formal wear, but he looked far more casual than anyone else if one were to exclude the youth sitting by himself. He had a clean-shaven scalp that shone when the lights struck it, along with a sharp hawkish nose and narrow eyes.


    He was quitenky even as he sat, boasting a height of almost 6 foot 4. He wore a white long-sleeved shirt, with ck pants that were held by dark blue suspenders.


    On the right, where the two young men sat, the one on the left was quite handsome with short-cropped brown hair and a light stubble in his chin. He also wore a white long-sleeved shirt with ck trousers, with a designer belt wrapped around his waist.


    His friend beside him also wore the same thing. He looked to be slightly older, with a short afro hairstyle and a thin mustache.


    Currently, the room was silent except for the various parties sipping their drinks and the younger brother of the woman listing the contents of the document.


    "ˇ­ and so, the Feilsburg Corporation would like to invest 20,000,000 dors into yourpany, Stone Enterprises. Unless you have any issues with the aforementioned conditions, we would like to close this deal before the Series A funding begins."


    Once the young man was done, even the calm elderly paused with shock. He too was interested in Stone Enterprises and hade here hoping to acquire a sufficient amount of equity before it went public, but $20 million dors was unheard of for seed investment.


    Usually, such things ranged between $10,000 to $2 million at best, and the upper end was reserved forpanies with extremely bright futures and a proven track record, yet this youth had been offered ten times the ceiling...


    While the elderly and these other fellows would not havee here if they did not believe in the promising future of Stone Enterprises, it had no proven track record as it was a 6-month old startup from a young man fresh out of business school!


    Ignoring the frowns from the other two parties, the young man who had read things out called to Darius with a smile. "So, Mr. Darius Stone, what do you think about our offer?"


    Darius continued to sip on his drink without even looking up at the party across from him. The young men on the left smiled wider at this provocation while the elderly smiled thinly, shaking his head inwardly.


    Despite this, the young man from the Feilsburg Corporation was not bothered, still wearing a smile, patiently waiting for an answer. However, the woman who sat beside him could not take it anymore.


    "Mr. Stone, are you incapable of showing the barest minimum respect to your guests?" She asked coldly.


    The face of the young man beside her changed, and so too did the others. It wasn''t that they were fearful of what would happen next, rather that they had all done their due diligence and researched their target.


    That was why they found the reaction from the Feilsburg Corporation''s representative funny and quite arrogant foring here knowing their target''s predilections.


    That was also why they had unanimously allowed this corp to take the lead to present their offer, as they wanted to verify the rumors using them.


    Darius put down his ss and wiped his lips slowly. He sighed deeply and raised his head to finally look at the party opposite him.


    His eyes crossed over the youngd on the left who he knew as Jason Bergham, a genius business analyst that had graduated with him.


    Despite his apparentck of respect, he was also familiar with the other young man on the right, the Assistant Director of Feilsburg Corporation, Kevin Lister.


    Finally, his eyes fell on the woman seated in the middle, who was the Director herself, Anne Lister. Once Darius locked gazes with her, a hint of revulsion could be seen within.


    "Why is there a woman present?" Darius asked calmly.


    Once this question was released, the room became pin-drop silent, as the various parties sucked in a deep breath. His question was something no one unprepared would ever have thought to hear from the mouth of such aposed young man.


    The elderly on the left met eyes with the two opposite him, the young man with the stubble and the other with the afro. They then simultaneously smiled bitterly, realizing that the rumors were true.


    Luckily, they had factored this in when choosing who to send here to make their proposals, as they didn''t want their acquisition of shares to fail for such a silly reason.


    Jason closed hisptop and sighed while cleaning his sses with a wipe, and Kevin simply sighed and ced his head in his hands with frustration, internally cursing himself for not having talked his sister out ofing here.


    Anne saw this from the corner of her eye and got incensed by their behavior deep down, but controlled herself to continue staring down Darius.


    Darius easily met her eyes and made his contempt visible with ease. He looked less like he was staring at a beautiful woman and more like he was looking at a vile criminal.


    As for the others, they ticked the box surrounding the rumor they heard beforeing here in their minds.


    Darius Stone was truly a misogynist!

 Chapter 267 - 267

    It was truly unexpected. This was something very few dared to disy openly in 2107, as the kind of social bacsh one would face was severe beyond measure.


    Yet, Darius showed this openly with no such fear. Even more astoundingly, he had never been punished for it socially or legally after all these years, even able to start a promising start-up despite the fact.


    Like Anne, most women who encountered his behavior were stunned by this fact. They had thought this kind of disgusting practice had stopped in the first half of the 21st century after many political revolutions, yet it still thrived in this man.


    How?


    Anne made her question known in a very scathing manner. "It seems the rumors were true. The young man taking the business private sector by storm really is a woman-hater."


    Darius smiled at this taunt and folded his arms slowly. "So? I never made any secret about it. I dislike women near me in any capacity without my explicit consent. You, unfortunately, qualify in this regard, as I made it clear I wouldn''t deal with female representatives."


    Darius then gestured to herzily. "And yet, here you are. So either my secretary made an error when sending out that memo, or your reading capabilities are below standard."


    Anne was further irritated by such rudeness. "What rubbish. This is business in the real world, not your little private school. When deals are being made, the importance remains in where the most benefits lie, not petty disagreements over gender. Grow up!"


    Darius idly scratched his cheek. "I can''t understand it. I''m sure I made it very clear that I would not deal with any female reps. I sent this to all three of your organizations that wanted to seed fund mypany at the same time."


    Darius pointed to his left, where the elderly man sat. "Look, the gentleman from the Rothschild Family came alone."


    Darius then gestured to the right. "And the two fellows from Microsoft also came bearing my memo in mind."


    Darius tilted his head as he gazed at the woman and her group opposite him.


    "So what on earth made you think that you are better than them that you can ignore this very simple condition and still get what you want? How did yourpany even make it this far with such behavior?"


    Darius was genuinely puzzled. He knew about industry giants like Microsoft and everyone knew the almighty Rothschild family, but this Feilsburgpany was a newbie in the industry that had been rtively lowkey so far.


    He had initially believed them to pretty sharp for having insight on the level of the Rothschild''s and Microsoft, but their director was apparently aplete idiot. How did she seed in business so far?


    The man with the stubble from Microsoft coughed out some words with augh. "Daddy''s money."


    The man with the afro red at his partner, while the old man from the Rothschild Family chuckled lightly. Darius looked like he had been hit by a eureka moment while Jason Bergham sighed.


    This time, even Kevin lost his smile and his face darkened. His sister Anne was beyond livid at this point, and had to audibly breathe in and out a few times to calm herself.


    Before she could say anything on that matter, Jason pushed up his sses and finally engaged in the conversation. "Madame, if I may, allow me to shed some light on why Mr. Stone is so hostile towards women."


    Anne was aware that Jason was a fresh graduate who had graduated from the same college as Darius and that this was an important reason why her brother had brought him alongside the sibling, so she nodded.


    She would be lying if she said she wasn''t at least curious to know why this fellow dared to think he had to right to hate a woman and treat her like this, especially one he had never even met before.


    Darius'' gazed at Jason calmly, but did not stop him. It was better to hear it from the mouth of another rather than from himself, so he merely poured himself another ss of the tea.


    Jason started. "As you might already be aware, Mr. Stonees from a very influential family that is known for dealing with oil andnd titles. They own many plots ofnd in the city center of our hometown from almost three centuries ago."


    "Naturally, at the time they bought it, our city had been but a dusty, undeveloped area, so thend had been bought cheap. After passing down the title for generations, it finally appreciated into what it is now, worth millions."


    "The Stone Corp was well-known, even I often saw Mr. Dalvin Stone on TV often during my childhood, and there used to be calls for him to be the mayor as his power was deeply rooted into our city."


    "That is just to give you some background information that ismon where Ie from. Now whates next is the actual content."


    "15 years ago, Mr. Dalvin was used of adultery and date rape on a young 20-year old woman from hispany. Luckily, he was able to settle matters out of court, but his wife - Noellie Stone - divorced him."


    "She also took his eldest child, Felicity Stone who had been 9 at the time, yet left herstborn, Darius Stone with his father. Of course, she also took half of all his properties and estates."


    Jason put his sses back on. "10 years ago, Mr. Dalvin had managed to salvage what he could and rebuild after rebranding, which was quite impressive given the political climate today."


    "Unfortunately, his new enterprise quickly switched hands to that of his daughter, Felicity Stone, after she deceived him into signing it away by manipting his remorse and affection for her."


    "At this point, the young Darius Stone was 10 years old, and in quite a bad ce. However, it was soon proven that he was quite clever, which lead to the events that urred 5 years ago."


    Jason pushed here to take a sip of water while the room remained deathly quiet. Seeing that he had everyone''s full attention, and they were giving him strange looks, he smiled thinly and stopped wasting time.


    "Five years ago, a scandal was released to the public. 15-year-old Darius Stone had somehow procured evidence, video, audio, and pictures unveiling how Noellie Stone had plotted everything leading to the fall of the Stone family."

 Chapter 268 - 268

    Jason pushed up his sses once more. "It turned out that his mother had married his father as part of a political marriage. Already, the feelings in such a situation should be quite thin I assume."


    "After giving birth to two children for Mr. Dalvin Stone, and seeing that hispany had grown powerful enough, she had solicited a young woman in thepany to seduce her husband. Making use of a very powerful aphrodisiac on the market, the unsuspecting Mr. Stone fell victim to the ploy."


    Jason smiled with amusement. "In order to keep the evidence ''fresh'', the young woman, Amelia Waters, reported that she was raped to the police the very next day."


    "As you know, with rape cases, there are two issues to be resolved when judging whether innocent or guilty. The first is consent and the second is pration."


    "Consent is hard to prove and usually, the man has to prove that there was consent. If not, it''s his word against the woman''s, and usually, this issue goes to the woman''s favor obviously."


    "Pration is easier to prove byparison and is an issue that falls on the woman''s shoulders to prove. After all, there cannot be rape if he didn''t prate, right? That is why it is always advised that rape be reported immediately, so that the evidence stays."


    "Hearing this, Mr. Stone''s fate was sealed. No matter what he said, it would only make things worse, so he had to ept an out-of-court settlement. In truth, this is usually what happens to most wealthy men and celebrities involved in such sex scandals."


    "Most cannot even fathom the R in Rape, but are caught in a tough spot once the allegation is made and there is evidence." Jason joked lightly, but no oneughed. He coughed to hide his embarrassment, before continuing the story.


    "ording to the statistics most allegations of this type are sorted out of court, because the user can''t be certain if unwanted variables might appear in the case to absolve the ''rapist'' and their target is usually the money anyway."


    "However, out of court settlement is rather viewed as the rapist admitting indirectly to the crime, so by doing the only thing he could, Mr. Stone had sunk himself deeper into the quagmire."


    "After Noellie took Felicity away, along with half the money in a righteous manner, no one suspected anything, not even Mr. Dalvin. In fact, he spent the better part of the next few years trying to reconcile with his wife and bring the family back together."


    "10 years ago, when Felicity Stone was 14 years old, she was sent by her mother to trick her remorseful father into signing a contract that would, as she put it, guarantee that Dalvin Stone would fund her idol career as an investor and manager."


    "Happy to be a part of his daughter''s life again, Mr. Stone unwisely ended up signing it before reading the actual content, most likely afraid that his daughter might get angry and leave. Who can fault a father who might be faced with the consequence of never seeing his own child again?"


    "ording to the audio evidence, we know that she wasn''t even asking for much, only a pittance. Not to mention supporting his daughter could impress his wife and make his attempts to bring the family back together fruitful."


    "Unfortunately, the actual contractpletely absolved Mr. Stone of all hispany shares to his daughter, Felicity Stone, to be overlooked by her mother until the recipient came of age. Naturally, upon finding out about the deception, he was enraged, then heartbroken."


    "After escaping into alcoholism, Mr. Dalvin Stonemitted suicide not half a yearter."


    The room was still quiet up to this point. Strangely, Darius himself seemed unmoved by this story, as if it had nothing to do with him, rather using the opportunity to look at the scenery.


    "And? How did this mattere to light?" Germaine Rothschild asked with visible interest on his face, not at all bothered by the tale.


    Jason nodded and continued. "By that point, anyone could see that there was more to the previous event. As such, after 3 years, Darius Stone eventually did some investigation into the matter."


    "You would have to ask him himself just how he managed it, but he got the false user, Amelia Waters, to confess to her crime with video evidence, even obtaining photo evidence of the correspondence between herself and Noellie Stone."


    Jason''s eyes darted to Darius for a split second, and the fellow smiled even though his eyes were not focused on anyone. It was clear that Jason did have some theories as to how Darius got Amelia to confess, but didn''t want to mention.


    "Afterward, he also got evidence from Noellie and Felicity Stone of the n and the contract fraud. This was the audio evidence provided, in which both females narrated their actions to Darius for reasons unknown."


    Once again, Jason darted a nce at Darius, and once more, Darius smiled thinly.


    "After that, what happened next should be obvious. There were two cases held, both for defrauding by false pretenses. The first and second were both won, allowing Darius to regain all of the assets Noellie took with the divorce, as well as the assets signed away to Felicity Stone."


    "A yearter, another case was lodged, this time a criminal case, and saw both women imprisoned." Jason concluded with a sigh.


    Tion Davis, who was the afro guy from Microsoft, blinked with confusion. "Is that it?"


    Jeremy Yeager, who was the other fellow from Microsoft also frowned. "While it''s certainly detailed, it feels like there is something missing?"


    Jason nced at Darius silently. Darius took his eyes away from the wall and nodded to him. "Feel free."


    Jason smiled bitterly. "You''d think that after this scandal was made known in our city, and that everyone was sympathizing and supporting Mr. Stone, nothing would happen."


    Jason scratched his head. "Unfortunately, 2 years ago, when we were in level 200 of Edgeworth Leaders College, another false allegation was made."


    "This time, the victim was Darius Stone himself, who was now quite wealthy since he had regained the majority of his family''s assets. The user was his high school sweetheart with whom he had been together for 5 years."


    Jason rubbed the bridge of his nose with a wry smile. "Incidentally, she was also the one to help Darius unveil the scandal surrounding his mother and sister."

 Chapter 269 - 269

    At this point, the entire group were left speechless. The narration so far detailing the betrayal of Darius'' mother and sister that led to the suicide of his father and ruination of his early years was enough to shed light on why the young man might despise the opposite gender.


    But this final addition was the icing on the cake.


    It would have been a perfect ending, if it had just ended with young Darius restoring his father''s and family''s name at such a young age, allowing him to ovee any possible hatred for females thanks to his girlfriend.


    s, the third most important/closest female to him also ended up betraying him when he had likely least expected it. Whatever faith he might have held for the opposite gender at that time likely disappearing, perhaps never to return.


    At this point, the various elites here were wondering what Darius must have done in his past life for such things to ur.


    No matter how you strung it, it seemed too good to be true!


    Jason paused here, deciding that he had already exined enough. As for how Darius got out of this final predicament, he didn''t think it necessary to borate.


    These elites could understand the key details of the subject matter from what he had told them and with this much information, they could always find out the truth of the matter on their own.


    While everyone silently digested what they heard, a low snort sounded out. Astounded, they all turned their heads at once to look at an unimpressed Anne Lister.


    "While I do give my condolences to thete Mr. Dalvin Stone and Mr. Darius Stone for the ordeals he has endured, it has very little to do with the current situation." Anne pointed out coldly.


    "Those women were those who were close to you, be that family or in a rtionship. You can''t tell me that every woman you have ever encountered in your life has tried to backstab you, can you? So why project the hate to all of them?"


    "Besides, do you think I''vee here to spread my legs for you and then use you of rape? The only reason I''m here is to acquire shares from a promisingpany, I could care less about who heads it as long as I get my profits!"


    Anne folded her arms and stared Darius down.


    Germaine, Tion, and Jeremy leaned back into their seats with interest on their faces. They mostly agreed with Anne''s observation from a logical standpoint, but could hate and emotions be moved by logic?


    Darius chuckled. "That is where you are wrong, Ms. Lister. I never said I hate all women."


    Anne frowned. "Going back on your position when you are cornered? Ha, as expected."


    Darius smoothed his hair out. "Stop being in a rush to im a meaningless victory in an argument you have no real understanding of. Let me ask you this. What were my exact words when you called me a woman-hater?"


    Anne remained silent, but Germaine answered in a low baritone. "That you disliked women being near you without your explicit consent."


    Darius gestured towards Germaine with a smile. "Older and wiser, also much more preceptive. These are the kind of people who I like to deal with, not those who reach their position through external help."


    He then continued. "As I said, I do not like women near me. This can be physical, but is mostly emotional."


    "As you aptly pointed out, many of the women I''ve met over the course of my life haven''t done anything to wrong me. In fact, many have sympathized and supported me due to my past."


    "I cannot rightly hate them given the nature of what I''ve gone through. Nevertheless, I cannot and will not allow a woman toe close to me and give her the chance to betray me or harm me ever again."


    Darius snapped his fingers lightly. "And so, I do not allow women near me, without my explicit consent."


    Germaine and Tion nodded, and Kevin smiled bitterly. Jeremy had a thoughtful expression while Jason lowered his head once more. Anne was simply silent, displeased with how she was spoken to, but wise enough to stop arguing about a moot point.


    "Whatever the case, do you ept ourpany''s proposal or not? If yes, then please sign the documents and if not, we can be on our merry way." Anne stated dispassionately.


    It was clear she had mostly lost interest in investing and was just being perfunctory. Germaine shook his head while Tion and Jeremy smiled mockingly.


    Jason sighed and reconsidered whether this hiring was a good choice, while Kevin simply stared at the ceiling, hoping to see a miraclend.


    Darius simply finished his drink and smiled. "What do you think?"


    Anne nodded and rose, beckoning Kevin and Jason to follow her out as she went to their cabin to rest before leaving the next day.


    Darius ced his drink down and became significantly less insufferable. "Well esteemed gentlemen, now that there is a more civil mood, please let us discuss the terms of co-operation, if any."


    Germaine and Tion shared a look. The older man waved to Tion, and thetter bowed his head in thanks. Since he had given Microsoft the opportunity to make their proposal first, it meant that the Rothschild family were certain that Darius would not decline their offer.


    Either they had something Darius simply couldn''t refuseˇ­ or Darius simply couldn''t refuse. This made the eyes of Darius himself glint in wariness, but he remained smiling as he faced the men from Microsoft.


    Jeremy, the man with the light stubble, opened his briefcase and took out some documents that were far thicker than what Kevin had held. He then slid them over to Darius without bothering to read it out.


    "The funding amount and equity acquisition terms are on page 32. The rest are fundamental legal conditions for inter-corp investment. Read at your leisure." Tion exined calmly, seemingly confident that Darius would ept.


    Darius flipped to page 1 and began reading slowly, which made Jeremy snort and Tion frown, but they remained silent and allowed him to peruse the entire document.

 Chapter 270 - 270

    Germaine, Tion, and Jeremy stood up, shaking hands with Darius and each other. Their faces were filled with satisfaction as all three parties hade to a satisfactory agreement.


    "As I have already stated, there will be no Series A funding. I n to keep the shares in-house for the longest possible time, and to do that, I need the power of the organizations you represent." Darius revealed with a smile.


    Germaine chuckled. "I truly feel safe investing with it being led by such a forthright and intelligent young man! As agreed, we won''t interfere in the decisions of yourpany and will just stay silent as your backers, as long as you make sure those profits remain at the margins you promised."


    Darius bowed with respect. "Of course. I dare not let down neither Microsoft nor the Rothschilds."


    Tion patted Darius'' shoulder with a tinge of respect in his eyes. "I personally have faith in you and your product. With it, the earth will hit its 7th Great Technology Era!"


    When he mentioned the product that brought these two powerhouses here, and even had them willing to be an umbre for thispany without taking the product or interfere in its decisions, even Germaine showed an excited glint.


    Darius smiled. It wasn''t that these two fellows didn''t want to take his tech, because it had been present in their documents. What Tion had passed off as ''fundamental legal conditions'' had a small use written inside that stated that all tech produced by thepany retrospectively and henceforth would belong to Microsoft as a partnerpany.


    Naturally, Darius had vacated any such terms from both contracts before signing. While neither Tion nor Germaine had managed to trick him into signing off on that, they still got the necessities, the profit, and the equity.


    Darius then pped his hands. "And now, to celebrate our sessful signing, some fun!"


    The moment he pped, 12 women wearing skimpy dresses entered the room. They were lined in two rows of 6, all of them bearing different skin tones and levels of sensuality, with themon denominator being that all of them were unmistakably beautiful.


    Tion, Germaine, and Jeremy''s eyes shed with interest once they saw the line-up. It was nothing unusual for discreet signings between men that some women would be brought in to ''lighten'' the mood and ''tighten'' friendly bonds between the various signatories.


    They had to admit, these women were truly fine. They could find no fault in Darius'' after-agreement choices, so they remained seated while the women stood where they could be scrutinized.


    "You may pick as many as you feel you can handle. The only condition is that you be gentle to thesedies, as they came here only for mutual fun and not something exotic." Darius insisted.


    After all, some of these high-society fellows were quite twisted. They might be into harming their partners by lynching, into scat, and even worse things.


    Darius didn''t provide brothel services while these were girls he had solicited with a lot of money and promises. He also had no interest in falling down the dark side as he wanted to keep his business ndestine like his father before him.


    The other three men chuckled in understanding and didn''t cause trouble. Germaine selected one lovely Asiandy with arge chest, while Tion and Jeremy chose two of the three dark-skinneddies who had thick rumps.


    Darius himself passed his eyes over the group and chose the final dark-skinneddy. She was to his taste with a great bust and exceptionally great backside, but more importantly, she also had simr eyes.


    Her lovely red hair also stood out to him, so he beckoned her over. She smiled bashfully and walked over to sit on hisp, while Darius grinned, waving the other women away.


    "Well then gentlemen, shall we return to our respective lodgings?"


    With wide grins, the other fellows assented. The group left the lounge and headed to their various cabins on the yacht, each one with a woman in their arms, some like Tion not even shy to start caressing his partner''s assets.


    Darius chuckled and entered a random cabin near the stern. He flicked on the light in the cabin and turned on the air conditioning before turning to gaze at his still shy escort for the night.


    "Hmm, no need to be shy, Beautiful. I only want to give you a night we''ll both remember." Darius cooed as he hugged her with one arm and ced his other underneath her chin.


    "O-Okayˇ­" the woman whispered, her eyes seemingly enraptured by Darius'' charisma.


    Darius smiled knowingly, and slowly pushed her towards the bed, his lips closing in on the woman''s. She also reciprocated slowly, merging her lips with Darius''.


    Darius and his partner seemed to lost in their embrace, especially as their tongues began intertwining. Just as they were about to hit the next step, Darius felt something slip into his mouth from the woman, something shaped like a pellet.


    Immediately, he pushed her away and jumped back, and she did the same. Her formerly bashful demeanor changed into a yful one, as her eyes glinted with malice.


    She spat to the side with disgust. "Ugh, I hate this kind of job. You''re kinda handsome, but still, I''d rather not have to do this. Now hurry up and keel over."


    Darius remained standing where he was in silence. "What''s your name?"


    The woman raised her eyebrows with surprise. "Oh? Does the great and mighty Darius Stone want to know the name of a little nobody like me? I''m ttered."


    Darius remained silent with his face showing no expression. They continued their staredown for a whole minute, at which point the woman became curious as to how he could remain standing this long.


    Darius answered her curiosity by spitting out the pellet she had tried to force down his throat. Her eyes widened with shock, not believing that her technique had failed her. She was certain that she had pushed it down.


    While it was not impossible to prevent oneself from swallowing and spitting it back out, it required the victim to be aware that such a thing would happen in the first ce.


    The redhead''s eyes narrowed as she gazed at her victim who was smiling at her with a mocking expression.


    "And that is why I never trust women." He remarked as he charged forward.

 Chapter 271 - 271

    The woman was not surprised by Darius'' sudden attack, knowing that since he was already prepared for her trick, he would want to take her down. Her fate after being taken down would be miserable, so she would do everything in her power to resist.


    Even wearing such a loose attire, or more likely because of it, she was far more flexible and agile than Darius. She jumped onto the bed and kicked off her heels like projectiles towards Darius.


    Darius quickly blocked her target, his face. With his vision impaired, he wasn''t ready for the woman''s subsequent attack to his abdomen with a powerful kick, sending him crashing into the wall while spitting out the drink he had enjoyed earlier.


    With a grimace, he raised his left hand to grab her follow-up kick that was meant to strike his face and knock him out. The woman''s face changed greatly when her left leg had been captured firmly.


    With a vicious expression, she closed in with her palm open, intending to w Darius'' face. However, he knocked her hands aside by using her leg to unbnce her, dragging her along, and throwing her on the bed forcefully.


    She was heavily dazed due to the force Darius had used to throw her on the mattress and despite her skill, she couldn''t easily get up.


    In that time, Darius had jumped up, taken the bedsheet slumped to the side, and used it to tie her legs together. Seeing that she was almost fully bound, she began to struggle and manage to forcefully break her daze.


    Unfortunately, Darius already had the advantage, and he moved up and sat on her abdomen, using his arms to lock down her own. Their position was very ambiguous and Darius could barely find space to sit with herrge mounds blocking his thighs fromfort.


    However, his gaze was locked with her own, disinterested in her sensuality or whatever nonsense her flesh had to offer. He smirked as he gazed at her and asked.


    "Who sent you?"


    The woman simply gazed at him defiantly, seeming like she''d rather die than talk. Darius chuckled mirthlessly and used a hand to p her tightly across the face.


    "Let me ask you once more, who sent you?"


    "No one." She answered, unbothered by the p. If that was the worst he would do, then she would even be grateful.


    Darius seemed confused. She didn''t seem to be lying. "What''s your name? Full name."


    The woman remained silent for a while, and just as Darius was about to give her another p, she answered slowly. "Deiaˇ­ Deia Andrews."


    Satisfied, Darius smiled softly. "Well, Ms. Andrews, if nobody is behind you, care to exin why you were about to drug me?"


    She red at him and answered. "Because I wanted your money! Why else would I risking to this bloody ce?"


    Darius remained smiling, but there was a dark glint in his eye that chilled Deia. "How so? By using me of rape?"


    Deia gave him a scornful nce. "Are you retarded? How am I supposed to pull of a rape allegation with you knocked out? Do I look like someone who fucks unconscious people?!"


    "Besides, we''re on a bloody cruise somewhere on the North Pacific Ocean! There are only two types of women who would be present on such a cruise and my outfit clearly shows to which group I would belong. You have more than enough witnesses to im your innocence, and I don''t wish to antagonize those other men." She spat angrily.


    Darius paused and smiled wryly. "Indeed, if your aim was just to knock me out, then I guess you were just after my wallet and cards?"


    Deia nodded as she looked away. "That''s the only thing of value on you anyway."


    "Haˇ­ you''re just a petty thief, not feminine scum." Darius sighed as he released her hands and got off her.


    Deia slowly raised her upper body and rubbed her sore wrists. She then undid the bedsheet tying her feet, sitting with her legs crossed on the bed as she red at Darius who had pulled over as a seat near the bed.


    "Just so you know, I don''t carry too much cash on me in the first ce. You would get far more spending the night with me, making you eligible for the bonus payment. The offer still stands if you wish." Darius joked lightly, but Deia simply snorted too.


    Darius chuckled with amusement. "You''re quite the fierce one, aren''t you? Why are you ring at me like I was the one who wanted to rob you?


    "As a woman, if I don''t adopt a fierce demeanor, do you think I''d be alive in today''s world?" Deia stated with a sneer.


    Darius looked at her like he was gazing at an idiot. "In today''s world? Are you talking about this or whatever fantasy world you seem to live in? Correct me if I''m wrong, but isn''t the modern-day a woman''s world?"


    Deia scoffed. "Sure, if you only look on the surface. It''s just lip service to women to make them feel empowered, but the true abuse keeps going on in the dark while those in the light remain fooled."


    "Oh?" Darius muttered with surprise. "borate for someone who lives in the light."


    Deia folded her arms and nced at Darius askance. "A rich boy like you is not ignorant. You know very well that there are two shades to this world, the light, and the dark."


    "The light includes those who live in thew, those who make use of society''s basic amenities like schools and social media, as well those who from the middle ss who work proper jobs."


    Darius pointed to himself. "What about those part of the high ss who live in the light?"


    Deia snickered. "An endangered species. You''re my first target in almost two years, because the rest would do far worse to me than tie me up and give me a single p if I''m caught."


    Darius smiled wryly and passed a hand through his hair. Was sheplimenting him for being lenient or mocking him for being soft?


    Deia continued. "As for the dark, it the abyss of this world. A monster that if you gaze into, it not only looks back but sends its tendrils to drag you in. Once you are brought in, there is absolutely no way toe out into the light on your own terms without limitless power."


    Darius'' expression became serious, for he obviously knew about various underworld activities, but had never used them and rather relied on himself because of a warning his father had given him when he was young.


    Darius would never forget looking into his father''s soft blue eyes, and hearing him say solemnly. "My son, always remember this. Never mix good business with criminal activities. It will never end the way you expect it to."

 Chapter 272 - 272

    Darius pushed away the memories he had long repressed and focused on the woman before him. She seemed to have noticed that he had gone into a short daze and waited for him to return to full awareness.


    "In the dark, you cannot direct your fate. You can only go where those at the top lead you and hope your skills are good enough to allow to you climb to the top. Otherwise, you will die by the wayside, your corpse being used to harvest organs for sale on the ck market or being used to feed the fishes in someone else''s shark tank."


    Deia said this with haunted eyes, clutching her legs closer in fear. Darius'' casual smile faded when he saw this as his heart palpitated.


    While he had some knowledge of the dark side of society- in truth everyone in the light had some idea, but pretended not to see it - he didn''t think it would be that cruel.


    Darius could infer even more from the woman''s reaction. Deia appeared to be a petty thief who stole the money off of rich and wealthy men through seduction, making her merely a ''pawn'' in the grand scheme of things.


    If she had witnessed such horrors at that a level - and the look of horror in her haunted eyes convinced him that she had indeed seen everything she had described live and colored - then what about those who fell at the higher levels?


    Ideally, it should get better the higher one''s position is, as they would have some sort of power and prestige, preventing them from being easily manhandled...


    s, the reality was more a case of the higher you were, the harder you would fall.


    Darius had seen powerful men in the light ripped to metaphorical shreds even worse than a sryman who had been fired from his job, making it impossible for him to even pay rent.


    Both men had lost everything, but the one on the top had his wife and daughter taken while his son had been forced to sign what was practically an indentured contract.


    His estates had been ripped from him byw and his name had been tarnished forever, anyone who had mentioned him after his death sneering at how vile he had been, whether or not that was the truth.


    Dalvin Stone, his father, would have shared a simr fate. Once the news got out that he had hung himself, he had received no pity, only scorn.


    Those on social media in his town had started a trend, #DalvinDeservedDeath.


    People had spat on him, criticizing him for having taken a coward''s way out and leaving his son alone in the world. They all had wanted him to stay alive to atone for his supposed sin of raping a poor woman.


    Had Darius not been pped awake by the trauma and cleared his father''s name using every means at his disposal, Dalvin would have forever been remembered as a rapist and coward, someone who had destroyed the Stone legacyˇ­ a fool.


    This was far worse than being a nobody who had been fired and had lost barely anything inparison. The sryman would certainly face difficulties, but no one would remember him after his death except a small few, and very few would spit on his name for generations toe.


    In the dark, it had to be simr, where there was some horrifying deeper punishment for failing or losing.


    Just as Deia was about to continue enlightening Darius on what the dark side of the world was like, the entire yacht shook, throwing Darius and Deia to the floor. The duo struggled to regain their footing, and the lights in the room flickered on and off repeatedly.


    "What the hellˇ­?" Darius questioned in a low tone.


    Deia also seemed confused, but her face changed. "I hear gunshots!"


    Darius'' eye widened as he also heard simr, then the duo heard screams and cries.


    Deia shivered in fear and Darius was no better. It was one thing for him to overpower a practically naked woman, but there wasn''t much he could do against guns.


    "Is there a way out of here that isn''t visible?" Deia asked hurriedly.


    Darius focused carefully. He remembered being briefed on the various safety measures the crew would take in the case of an attack on sea when he had rented this yacht.


    "Follow me." Darius pulled the bed''s mattress up, moving aside the wooden ts hurriedly. There was arge trapdoor beneath the bed and he gestured for Deia to enter first.


    After she went down, he made sure to rece the ts over the trap door as best as he could before closing it. As for the mattress, unless he wanted to stay outside and hope that the pirates were lenient, there was nothing that could be done.


    Through the passageway, Deia and Darius moved quickly. The redhead beauty turned around to ask Darius with worry in her eyes. "Where does this lead to?"


    Darius answered quickly and quietly. "The nearest lifeboat. Be silent though, as we''ll be passing under the main meeting room to reach the hidden lifeboat."


    Deia opened her mouth but didn''t ask the subsequent question that formed in her mind due to Darius''s warning. However, he could infer what she wanted to ask, so he answered her with a whisper.


    "Yes, they would have likely cut down lifeboats before boarding the yacht to prevent escapees, but technology has progressed. What we''re going to get isn''t exactly a lifeboat but more of a small submarine."


    Deia nodded with relief. After all, not only had she been worrying about the fact that any lifeboats might be damaged or monitored by the pirates if they were slightlypetent, even if they did reach a lifeboat, wouldn''t they be seen and chased down?


    A lifeboat against a ship would be horrific, not to mention that the nearest ind was more than 100 kilometers away. Before they had crossed even half that distance, they would have long since been recaptured.


    A submarine though, would allow them to flee without making any waves. If they were lucky, they could just return after the pirates were done looting.


    However, Darius frowned as the lower they went, the more cramped it became. After all, there couldn''t be too much space set aside for the emergency escapes since there also needed to be space for the functions of the boat.


    Darius pulled Deia back and took the lead before they entered a narrow passageway, which they had to crawl through.

 Chapter 273 - 273

    Deia and Darius quickly moved through the passageway on all fours. Deia had a curious expression on her face and asked quietly.


    "Why did you pull me back?"


    Darius was silent for a while before answering in a sullen mutter. "ˇ­ I don''t want to be distracted."


    Deia tilted her head in confusion for a while before her eyes widened as she understood. Immediately, she smiled yfully, her right hand reaching out and grabbing Darius'' butt.


    Darius himself almost yelped in shock, angrily turning his head to re at Deia who was smiling innocently. Unfortunately, he waspletely at her mercy in this situation, so apart from his angry stares, he would have to endure it for now.


    Deia understood his situation and abused this situation. She continued harassing Darius'' behind through various means.


    "What the hell are you doing?" Darius asked furiously in a hushed tone.


    Deia shrugged. "Getting revenge for the p and the beating."


    Darius could only release a breath of anger as he picked up his tempo. "Just you wait, once we get out of here, I''ll return this tenfold!"


    Deia paused and retracted her hands. The duo continued to move along, and eventually reached a ce where they could hear some slight noise.


    Darius paused slightly to listen and was shocked to hear the voice of some gruff men speaking.


    "Have you finished rounding them up?" A voice asked.


    "Yes boss, they are all here except the target." Another voice answered respectfully.


    "Hmm. Then, let''s ask the VIPs about the target''s whereabouts." The first voicemanded.


    The boss'' voice became slightly distant, indicating that he had changed the direction he was facing. "Alright, Mr. Rothschild, Mr. Davis, and Mrs. Lister, could one of you please share with us the location of Mr. Stone?"


    Darius'' eyes widened when he heard that their target was him. He had initially believed that it was just his bad luck that pirates would attack his yacht, but apparently, all of this was a direct plot against him.


    He might not know who was behind it, but he could certainly guess why.


    Darius cursed himself for being foolish enough toe all the way out to sea just to make this discreet signing. He could have easily stayed in the country, but he had wanted to rx after dealing with his traitorous ex.


    "Last I saw of him, he was heading to a random cabin to partake in some fun." Germaine answered calmly, seemingly not at all bothered by the situation.


    "You''d have better luck waiting for your men to report back than ask us." Tion supplied with a slightly irritated tone of voice.


    "The only thing I want right now is to be as far away from that misogynistic asshole, how can I know where he is?" Anne answered scathingly.


    If Jeremy, Jason, and Kevin were there, they had remained silent, wisely opting to allow their bosses to speak instead. The ''pirate'' boss sighed audibly and spoke after some time.


    "Alright, please wait here sirs and madam, while we continue our operation."


    His politeness towards them was not out of ce, but rathermon sense. The moment they had boarded, the captain had long informed the coast guard and their own personal mercenary groups who would be here in 5-7 days at max speed.


    If they did anything to these VIPs, there is no way it would remain unknown. Offending the Rothschild Family alone was a terrifying thing toprehend, much less when one added Microsoft and also the Lister Family.


    Darius was willing to bet they hadn''t even been jostled or tied up at all, but had been respectfully led to the lounge and given nice seating no different from when he had met them.


    As for what happened to the other 11 girls apart from Deia, as well as the rest of the crew, Darius did not know but could easily guess since many mercs were still missing.


    After what was likely a few weeks on sea, anyone would look to have fun, and what better targets than nobodies who could not mount any meaningful revenge on them?


    Just because they respected the head honchos didn''t mean they were a pleasant group of honest thieves.


    Darius turned his head to gaze at Deia who was behind him with a strange glint in his eye. Deia saw this and snickered coldly.


    "What? Worried I might sell you out? How stupid do you think I am?"


    She pointed upwards to the lounge above while whispering furiously. "If I sell you out, forget about a nice reward, I''ll be subjected to whatever they feel like doing to me because to them I''ll be just another nobody."


    "Right now, I''m more grateful that you chose me over them." Deia muttered sullenly under her breath.


    Darius nodded and continued moving quickly, with Deia following along behind him. Soon, they came across a long horizontal shaft with adder that Darius paused in front of.


    There was now much more space in the shaft, so instead of being on all fours, they had been crouch walking. Darius had a troubled expression on his face that Deia found cute, but would never say out loud due to her pride.


    "You''ll have to go down first."


    Deia had a look of iprehension. "What is it this time?"


    Darius pointed to thedder. Deia looked at it for a while before suddenly understanding. She couldn''t help but smile no matter how well she tried to control herself, for this was too shocking.


    "You''re actually bothered that you might see my underwear if you look up? How cute." Deia sniggered.


    Darius frowned. "Can you stop with that sarcasm? I get that this must be a coping mechanism for you, but we are still not out of harm''s way. I initially chose you because I was attracted to you, so obviously seeing you in that skimpy dress is giving me a headache, much less seeing your genitals."


    "It has nothing to do with gentlemanliness, but the situation we are in. It calls for no distractions, so hurry up." He prodded.


    Deia''s yful smile faded as she too adopted a serious demeanor and passed by Darius before climbing down the shaft quickly. Darius waited for a bit before following her down.


    Once Deia reached the entrance of the mini-sub, she jumped into the passenger seat and patiently waited for Darius while marveling at the tech around her.

 Chapter 274 - 274

    Darius didn''t take much longer to enter. He then moved to the driver''s seat and started up the sub slowly, making sure everything was a-okay. He smiled when he saw that the sub had a full fuel tank, but the max distance it could go was unfortunately 500 km.


    While this was not enough for him to cross the long-distance home, he could use it to reach the nearby Napari Ind to find shelter for the time being.


    Darius detached the sub from under the yacht and switched its headlights on so he could see in the darkness of the water. It was nighttime, so visibility underwater was poor.


    Darius maneuvered the sub around using its controls, raising the propeller speed to the maximum in the direction of the ind. Since the sub came with a remote GPS and area sensor, he could continue to move despite the darkness.


    He also avoided all obstacles as he stuck closer to the seabed in order to not alert the mercenaries with the mini-subs lights or noise. Deia sat beside him in utter silence, fearful and awed by the underwater world.


    Very few people had the luck to see marine life in such close proximity, so it was natural that Deia was overwhelmed. Darius himself was quite moved, but had to focus more on his actions, lest he might kill them in a moment of distraction.


    The submarine moved at a speed of 12 kilometers per hour underwater, which was about 6 knots. At this speed, it would take Darius almost 9 hours to reach the shores of Napari.


    A few hours in, Deia had long since fallen asleep in her seat, snoring loudly much to Darius'' irritation as he was also quite tired but too afraid to just stop. He did not stop here as he turned the sub to the left and continued moving.


    6 hours into their journey, Deia finally woke up looking somewhat refreshed and stretched herself like a cat. Darius, whose eyes were slightly bloodshot due to fatigue, didn''t even care to notice this.


    Seeing herpanion''s current look, Deia was left speechless. Realizing how insolent she seemed as a passenger living off his benevolence, she quieted down but spoke gently.


    "Where are we going?"


    It took a bit before Darius registered her question, but then he answered slowly. "Fanning Ind. I assume, it took them about an hour or two to find out about the mini-sub, so we should have a healthy lead on them."


    "I''m afraid they might expect us to make a straight beeline for Fanning Ind and I expect with their means they might even arrive before us. So if we surface where we had left off, they might already be there, cutting off our path of return."


    "Even if we''re lucky, Fanning Ind isn''t that big, so they could hunt us down within a week and capture us."


    Darius continued while decreasing speed slightly so he could rx. Since it was daytime, he could see much better and didn''t need to be so alert.


    "Even if we''re slightly clever to park a few kilometers away, it would still be for naught as they can spread out to search the shoreline. Within a few hours, the sub would be captured."


    "They have two goals once they reach this ind. To block our methods of escape and to capture us physically. As such, one team would likely be dispatched to search for whatever vehicle we used to get here while the second team would beach and chase after any trail we leave behind."


    "As such, we are making a detour around the ind. We''ll beach exactly opposite where we would have if we took a straight beeline from the yacht, meaning that they would have to spend a few more hours to search and realize what we did."


    Deia was left speechless. "Are you a trained mercenary ormander? Or did you learn tactics?"


    Darius smiled thinly. "Neither. I just pictured what I would do if I was in their shoes, basically. It''s the most efficient method I can think of."


    Deia shook his head slowly. "Anyway, do you need help? You look sleepy. Does this thing have autopilot?"


    Darius frowned. "Something like that. Take the wheel and watch out carefully for any obstacles or problems on the sonar. If you see anything you can''t handle or we reach the destination I set on the GPS, wake me."


    Deia nodded and the duo switched seats. Dariusid back into Deia''s seat and quickly fell asleep as he had been holding back all this while. He didn''t want to be tired when they reached their destination as fatigue was the main reason for failure in such scenarios, leading one to make foolish decisions.


    Deia turned to gaze at the sleeping Darius and had aplex look in her eyes. "Handsome and intelligent for sure, but still a man at the end of the day..."


    Deia turned to watch the sea in silence as she muttered to herself. "ˇ­And men are evil."


    It would take approximately three more hours for the duo to reach their destination, so Deia leaned back into the seat and observed the sonar silently. The silent and repetitive beep made her feel entranced, and it wasn''t until the GPS also beeped at a different frequency than they were half a kilometer away from their destination that she snapped out of it.


    Patting her head for being so absent-minded, Deia observed the GPS as to where they were and turned to Darius who was quietly breathing as he slept. Since he had asked her to, Deia gently woke him up.


    Darius was a light sleeper, so he quickly came to. With deeply bloodshot eyes that scared Deia, Darius rubbed his face and checked the GPS. He then smiled wryly and got up for the passenger seat.


    Deia also left the driver''s seat and returned to hers while Darius took the sub off auto mode. He then steered it closer to the surface as they had spent almost 15 hours underwater and the oxygen was thinning out.


    The oxygen could onlyst 20 hours at best, so it was best that they surfaced. In truth, if Darius had enough fuel to re-fill the sub from within, he would have chosen to stay underwater 20 hours a day and only surface for a short while for the oxygen tanks to refill until help came.

 Chapter 275 - 275

    However, that was not realistic as there was only a limited amount of fuel canisters and preserved food in the sub''s storage. Even if he were to toss Deia over to the fishes, he would only be able to survive on his own for 5 days at most, assuming he would ration it.


    Given the fact that he was being chased, he absolutely had to stock up on necessary supplies to supplement what he had. Luckily, Tauberan, which was the full name of the ind - as Napari was only its capital - was suitable.


    It had an area spanning less than 50 square kilometers and was shaped like a slightly square-like ring. Thend itself was like a thin band, with a small canal near the western end called West Point which allowed water into Napari''s bay.


    Darius had originally wanted to pass through West Point and beach near the south-eastern part of the ind, where some forests and visy, before he had realized how incredibly stupid it would have been.


    Putting aside the fact that the mercs could likely trace them into West Point, the bay only had one entrance which was also its exit. They wouldn''t even need to capture the sub. Just locking down West Point canal would be enough to hunt them down.


    Right now, Darius was analyzing the map of Fanning Ind, which was the English name for Tauberan. This ind was practically 50% forest and 50% civilization, and the civilization was quite scarce.


    Apart from the vis owned by rich foreigners who either wanted to escape society or were there to ''enjoy'' illicit goods, there were a few native tribes. The ind didn''t have a resort nor an actual shipping bay.


    It had two aerodromes, both near Napari. One was arge tarmac used to receive important supplies from the PacifiAid organization that imported needed goods like rice, grains, and some other foodstuffs.


    The natives here were quite tribal and indigenous, so they were quite poor. They had spent years relying on fishing, and such activities had thinned out the animals within arge area around the ind, creating a vacuum where sharks had taken up residence.


    Without the aid from these foreign groups, the residents here would have long since expired. Their poption didn''t pass 3,000, with the total amount declining to 2,100 from their previous peak of 2,900 in 2082.


    Napari and the indigenous tribes were located towards the northwest, on the left of the West Point canal. That was where the two aerodromes were located as well, leaving Darius speechless.


    On the right of West Point, which was also the southwest of the ind, was where the exotic vis were lined up. They had formed their own little city towards that side, and should be far better off than the natives to the north.


    Darius was sure that the mercs would first split up to search Napari and the area with the vis, since he hade to the southeastern side of the ind.


    The sad part was thatˇ­ the entire eastern, side, from north to south, consisted of endless undeveloped forests and jungles! Darius rubbed his temples, as hemented his choice, though it was the one that would buy them great time.


    He had zero skills in outdoor survival given his urban upbringing, so he turned to Deia who was silently gazing at the map as well.


    "Do you perhaps have any skills rted to hunting, gathering, or the like?"


    Deia looked at him strangely. "No. I''ve spent my entire life in the cities. What use would I have for such things?"


    Darius nodded with a wry smile. "So same as me. Well, that is unfortunate. We''re going to have to surface to refill our oxygen. I give it about 5 days until they think toe around this side, so we will have to make do with what we have in here."


    Deia frowned. "You don''t want to beach near the civilized areas? Or even beach here so that we walk the remaining distance?"


    Darius shook his head. "I would love to beach here. It would be very easy to hide the sub in the forests here using leaves for when we return, however weck a mode of transport onnd."


    "Running back and forth from the vis and the sub isn''t really an option. If we''re seen even once we could be chased down and we wouldn''t make it back fast enough to move the sub back into water."


    "Leaving it in the water slightly offshore isn''t wise either, since we would have to swim to enter it. I don''t know about you, but I''m not fast enough a swimmer to beat a bullet, which they could use to disable or to kill us."


    Darius shrugged. "So our only option is to wait here until we can''t and move away when we can."


    As he said this, the sub finally reached the shoreline and breached the surface of the water. Darius brought it as close to the beach as he could, d that there was enough space.


    By his calctions, the mini-sub was about 100 meters from the shore, which was the best he could get. Darius then stabilized its movement and switched off the engine.


    "Err, you turned off the engine?" Deia asked with confusion.


    "Of course. The fuel would constantly burn away otherwise. This sub is the most important aspect of our survival on sea. Without their own sub, they can only try to pinpoint our location." Darius answered as he opened the storage.


    "So we stay in here?" Deia inquired further.


    "No. We''re going to shore and will stay near the outskirts of the trees. That way, we should bergely safe from any predators as the sea is nearby, while we''re also safe from any search parties on the sea as the jungle is nearby."


    Darius responded as he pulled out all the foodstuff and clean water avable, loading them into two backpacks. He split them evenly between the two, and threw one over to Deia who caught it ungracefully.


    "Now get a move on. We have to survive these next few days and maneuver around our enemies."

 Chapter 276 - 276

    Darius opened the hatch and climbed out of the sub while hoisting his backpack. Deia followed suit, tying the low hem of her dress into a knot to keep it from swaying about.


    He surveyed the area around them with his own eyes and not the GPS, astounded by the view. Apart from the endless blue sea around them with the asional migratory bird passing over, the shore before them was quite small.


    Darius measured about 20 meters between the water and the boundary of coconut trees. This meant that there was actually very little shore for them to use, but they had no real choice.


    At least, from what he could see, the coconut and banana trees were ripe. As for whether they were upied, he couldn''t see from this far out, so he would have to hope and pray that they don''t offend any animals by touching them.


    Darius cricked his neck and jumped into the water. It wasn''t that deep, only reaching up to his chest, allowing him to wade through slowly. The further he got from the sub - and the closer to the shore - the faster he moved until he finally reached his destination.


    Unfortunately, his Hawaiian shirt and pants were soaked through and through, leaving him ufortable. Still, he went closer to the jungle and picked some fallen leaves carefully.


    After that, he ced his wet backpack on the sand and then covered it with some leaves. He turned around to see Deia who had finally reached the shore, her entire dress soaking wet.


    Naturally, this left her practically naked as it was see-through at this point. She wasn''t wearing any underwear given the circumstances she and Darius had been in before having to flee.


    Despite it all, Darius found it hard to tear his eyes away. He hadn''t been lying to Deia when he told her he had chosen her based on the woman''s attractiveness.


    She really was to his taste. After the stress so far, Darius had a little less control over himself.


    Deia herself was currently squeezing the water out of her red hair with a grimace, muttering under her breath as she squeezed her dress a little. When she saw Darius riveting his eyes at her, Deia was surprised.


    She then realized what Darius was seeing and smiled. "Well, like what you see?"


    Darius nodded with a soft smile. "Extremely. You are exceedingly beautiful, that I wouldn''t lie about."


    Deia grinned and responded with sincerity. "Well, you''re quite handsome yourself. A lot to my taste, but now isn''t the time, is it?"


    Darius shook his head to snap himself out of his lustful trance. "You''re right, sorry."


    Deia nodded in understanding. "Don''t worry, the stress is getting to me too. I normally would never get close to another man like this if it weren''t for my ''job'', but here we are."


    Darius took Deia''s backpack and ced it also underneath the leaves. He then removed his shorts and ced them on top of the mound, removing his shorts as well.


    "Oh? You make it sound like you have a problem with men?" He asked curiously and she stretched himself.


    Deia''s eyes lit up as she took in Darius''s naked body. Naturally, he hadn''t been wearing any underwear underneath his Hawaiian shorts since they had in-built underwear simr to those in swimming trunks.


    It would be like wearing underwear twice, not veryfortable. Darius faced Deia without any shyness, cing one arm akimbo as he waited for her answer.


    Deia smiled and removed her dress as well, cing it beside Darius'' clothes on the leaves to dry. This also left her absolutely naked from head to toe, but with Darius taking the lead - and her own forward personality - she wasn''t bothered.


    "Well, are we gonna stand here the whole time gazing at each other''s birthday suits or what?" Deia asked with amusement.


    Darius rubbed his chin and walked into the jungle, pulling some more leaves and some fallen dry wood as well. He then arranged the leaves nicely near their clothes, theny down on it like it was a beach rest.


    Deia chuckled andy down as well. Both parties did not face each other as they gazed into the orange sky that was leading into sunset.


    "And about your question, why do you care if I dislike men?" Deia asked brusquely.


    Darius shrugged as hey there. "I don''t particrly care, I just found it interesting. If you don''t want to answer, that''s also fine."


    Deia snorted. "Peh, like we have anything else to do here. Might as well chat about interesting stuff. So how about it, I get to know you, you get to know me, eh?"


    Darius felt this was a good idea, for they would be here for 5 days at least. If they remained silent and ignorant of each other, it would be a very tedious and awkward wait.


    It would be best to at least establish some rapport with the other. After they returned to civilization, they could go on their own merry way, but right here and now, it was crucial that they were on the same wavelength.


    "Great. Since you rescued me, I''ll start. Ie from Edinburgh and I have my Scottish heritage to thank for my red hair. As for my birth, I have my rapist father to thank for indulging himself in what he called ''a filthy monkey woman''." Deia began with a dryugh.


    "My mother was an illegal immigrant who had overstayed her visa. She was from West Africa and had sought better living opportunities aboard since it was far greener on that side."


    "She had taken a simple job as a waitress in a well-visited bar, allowing her to make good money from tips and her wages. It might have been a pittance to the locals, but the currency conversion would have seen her rich in her country."


    Deia scratched her belly lightly. "s, there were the asional fellows who felt a bar waitress was synonymous with a prostitute, so they had tried to solicit my mother for sex in exchange for money."

 Chapter 277 - 277

    "Now, while the money was certainly good, African customs are very strict about maintaining virginity before marriage, horribly so. She had nned to go back and find a nice husband to marry with her umted wealth, so she had naturally turned down such offers gently."


    "However, my mother was not foolish. Turning them down would only make them more lustful and could lead to trouble, so she ended uppromising. She would satisfy her solicitors through other means but never go all the way."


    "This had worked greatly for her... until the local governor who had been going through a rough divorce had decided to drink away his problems with the locals. Once he saw my mother, he also ended up soliciting her. He ended up epting her counter-offer like the others that came before."


    "However, apparently he decided that he wasn''t satisfied enough after mother had eased him, so he took matters into his own hands, whether she liked it or not. Afterward, mother was left pregnant with me, and she could no longer return home with a bastard child as her tribe''s people would have drowned me and sterilized her ording to custom."


    "As such, she could only stay in a foreignnd while raising me. Luckily, I had gained Scottish citizenship by birth, so I had a pretty normal upbringing through my early youth. Mother also won some money through court after having reported the rape."


    Darius frowned here. "He was actually convicted?"


    Deia snickered. "Of course he was. This isn''t the 19th century where women are cattle, richboy. All mom had to do was report to the local NGOs and they took care of everything from there, bypassing the police and using social media to gain attention."


    "Once the court forced him to take a paternity test which came back positive, there was nothing my ''beloved'' father could do but get tried and convicted. Most of his estates were passed over to mum to raise me, so I didn''t have to struggle in my early years."


    "Of course, there was the asional bullying through insults by the girls for being a rape child, same with some of the boys, out of jealousy or due to conflict. Eventually, I got used to it. The stigma only hurts when you refuse to ept it, to be honest." She shrugged calmly.


    "However, using social media and public outrage was a great tool to bypass the barriers of safety some powerful people ce around themselves. Still, as is with any event or scandal, the heat would eventually die down at some point."


    "It could be a year, two years or more. In my case, it was about 10 years. As the case was being uplifted by the small NGO we went to as their shining example of moral superiority, the local district I lived in was quite safe."


    "Unfortunately, that NGO copsed, and so too did the remainder of what my mother went through. With the public no longer watching over her, she was now open to retaliation."


    "It didn''t take long until police found her body in a dumpster, cut, bruised, and smeared all over with semen. Her eyes were filled with horror and her mouth open in a silent scream."


    "I was called out of my ss, at the time I was in 4th-year primary, to the police station to verify that the corpse was indeed my mother. After that, I was assigned a caretaker byw who ''managed'' the estates mother left behind to ''raise'' me."


    "Suffice to say, the money onlysted about 6 more months before the caretaker disappeared after cashing everything else out. When I went to the city hall, I was politely told that there was nothing they could do, and that they would do everything in their power to catch the culprit. Take a wild guess how that turned out?"


    "I spent the next 6 years living on welfare, and what a pittance it was. It wasn''t that Scond was cruel to welfare users per se, but rather that the administrator wanted me to sleep with him or ''I would suffer'' as he put it."


    "Yes, you heard correctly, despite me being a child back then, one who had lost her mother not too long ago, he wanted to sleep with me... I naturally refused, as the one lesson mother had drilled into me all my life is to protect my virginity with everything I have."


    Darius was stunned.


    "So you''re still a virgin?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.


    Deia red at him with disdain. "Of course, richboy. If I drug every man who is my target and steal their wallets, how am I supposed to lose my virginity?"


    "Er.." Darius mumbled as he realized she had a point. Unless she really was into sex with unconscious men, she would still be pure.


    Deia turned to face the setting sun once more and spoke in a softer tone. "I managed to survive like that until I was 16. I had pretty great grades in school since it was my only lifeline to escape poverty, but that lifeline was cut once I came of age."


    Darius spoke wryly. "Lemme guess, another person with power wanted to have you?"


    Deia nced at him askance. "Good you know what your gender is like. Anyway, as I had matured back then, and my feminine charms had arisen, I ended up having many suitors."


    "Instead of getting caught up in love, I began to y a game of deception. I took many lovers and drained them of cash without ever letting them go past a fleeting touch."


    "I managed to rue a lot of money and a reputation in Edinburgh around that time, which was about 2-4 years ago. For some, I used the same method I used on you and for others, I studied them and tricked them into mistaking me for their Soulmate, so they heavily invested in me."


    "This blissful life ended when I turned 18 and ended up crossing the wrong man. He was a high-ranking member of Ennd''s mafia who was visiting his grandparents he had safely stowed away in Scond to hide from his enemies."


    "It wasn''t until I was kidnapped by his men that I realized just how much I had messed up. I was certain that I was going to face the same fate as my mother, so I gave up."


    "Thankfully, his grandmother pleaded on my behalf and so I was spared. Instead, I had to pay off my debt by working for him."


    "In these past two years, I have been pushing drugs and working as a small-time fixer, and through that, I learned more about the underworld."


    Deia turned to Darius with a bitter smirk on her face. "You were my biggest target. Your wealth should have been enough to pay off my debts, but here we are."

 Chapter 278 - 278

    Darius was silent for a while as he digested her life''s story andpared it to his own experiences, forming a wry smile.


    "What an interesting world we live in." Dariusmented cryptically.


    Deia ignored his weirdment and turned to face him. "What about you, any tragic backstory to lighten the mood?"


    Darius chuckled lightly. "Sure, fair is fair. Well, unlike you, I had a pretty quaint beginningˇ­"


    Darius then regaled her with his history pertaining to his family and women in general. Deia listened quietly, her face disying a strange emotion throughout.


    When Darius was done, she nced at him skeptically. "Oi, did you do something evil in your previous life or what? Maybe you killed a Goddess?"


    Darius opened his arms in an ''I don''t know'' gesture. "I have been wondering myself, but your guess is as good as mine. I know it''s not entirelymon or normal, but it also is not that rare if we leave out therge conspiracy."


    Deia scratched her chest. "So you hate women because of what you went through?"


    Darius shook his head. "Everyone seems to think that, but that''s not exactly true. I just learned from a very young age that anyone is capable of evil, regardless of age, sex, or race."


    "Doesn''t your own story prove that? Men driven by their innate desires can - and have - easily ruined the lives of many girls out there."


    "Just like there are many women out there who have ruined the lives of unsuspecting young men through false allegations or manipting them in different ways due to their sexual desires."


    Darius shrugged. "It goes both ways."


    Deia hummed with interest. "Oh? How magnanimous of you, Lord Stone. We of the plebeian denomination are thankful for your understanding."


    Darius simply gazed at Deia with a strange look. "You really should do something about your constant sarcastic mockery. I can understand why you do it after hearing what you said, but you have to understand that there is nothing here that can push you to that end."


    Deia''s yful smile faded away as she watched Darius silently for more than a minute.


    "What makes you so sure of that? What makes ME so sure of that?"


    Darius was left unable to retort easily. Deia saw this and sighed. "I''vee to understand something. You''re someone who dislikes women whereas I dislike men. We both have our reasons, and the fact that we can even cooperate like this is a miracle."


    Deia''s tone became distant at this point as she turned to face the other side, showing her bare backside. "But remember that even though we are cooperating, some barriers can''t be crossed. You should know why."


    Darius sighed and also turned to face the other side. He didn''t reply to Deia as he understood what she meant, and deep down, felt the same. It was clear that they were both somewhat attracted to the other, butˇ­


    Each one was carrying an enormous amount of emotional baggage, with the lessons life had taught them practically guaranteeing that even if they somehow got together, it would only be logical for their rtionship to end one day, as neither one should be fully able to trust their partners, simply because of the sex they were born as.


    They were quite simr in a way, but also different. Darius didn''t mind enjoying the other sex, yet he did so purely for the carnal pleasure without any emotions attached, whereas Deia wished to remain pure.


    Both of their dispositions meant that they were both single and neither one had any ns to ever marry. They knew that if they let themselves be caught up in what was beginning to spark between them, there was only a dead-end awaiting them.


    ...........


    Darius woke up the next day due to the sun hitting his eyelids. As someone who naturally slept with the curtains closed in a well air-conditioned room, having the raw sun beat down on him was enough to cut his sleep short.


    Still, Darius felt well-rested enough that despite being a mite bit groggy, he still pushed himself up to his two feet and checked around. When he saw that Deia was already up and seated beside him, he shook his head.


    He then wore his now dry clothes, just as Deia had already been dressed as she sat there, gazing to the sea. Once he was done preparing, Deia turned to him and smiled lightly.


    "Finally up, eh? I was getting worried I would have to wake the sleeping beauty with a kiss, heh heh." She snickered.


    Darius simply responded with a soft smile and offered her a hand, bringing her to her feet. Deia patted her bum and ced one arm akimbo as she gazed at Darius.


    "So, what do we do now?"


    Darius swung his head in the direction of the jungle. "First off, we should secure external food to allow us to stretch out the preserved ones. I can see some wild bananas and coconuts there, enough tost us until we get sick of them really."


    Darius began walking over, inspecting the tall trees that looked hard to climb. "If we can subsist on these for the entire five days and hold down our disgust, it should allow us to increase our survival chances by 50% at the least."


    "After all, we wouldn''t have to appear in the popted areas for any extra supplies, making it that much harder for the time the mercs to find us while greatly reducing the chances of us getting cornered."


    Darius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I estimate that by day 5, we could head out to sea and send out an SOS using the sub as we head towards the Central Country. By all means, we''d be picked up by the coast guard and escorted back."


    Deia nodded. "Sounds like a n. So then, how do we get those luscious fruits down from way up there?"


    Darius sighed and passed a hand through his hair. "The bananas aren''t tough since the trees aren''t too tall. The two of us working together should be able to get a few down."


    Darius then frowned deeply. "Unfortunately those coconuts are so high up that the two of us cannot possibly reach them unless we could either levitate or regress into monkeys."


    Deia agreed. "Seems like there''s only one way, and that''s to get them down remotely. A few stones might knock one or two down... does the sub happen to have an ax onboard that we could use to cut the entire thing down?"

 Chapter 279 - 279

    Darius smiled bitterly. "If we were to talk about the entire yacht, then yes. However, the ''emergency'' sub doesn''t have such a feature."


    Deia could only shrug in defeat. Some more tools would have been great for their circumstances, but they also shouldn''t ask for too much since they had little choice and great initiative so far.


    "Well, let''s get the bananas first then." Darius offered.


    He took the longest piece of wood he could find, and handed it to Deia. Confused, the young woman nced at it and then at Darius wondering what he was nning.


    However, her eyes widened when he crawled in between her legs and suddenly stood up. This ced her firmly on his shoulders, her surprisingly long legs reaching his lower chest area.


    Deia quickly grabbed Darius'' head in order not to fall over, and her expression shifted. Darius himself only made sure that he had bnced her correctly before walking closer to the target tree.


    Deia looked like she wanted to say something, but just wrung her lips while blushing very slightly. However, she soon focused on her job, using her boosted height and the long piece of wood in her hands to bring down a fewbs of bananas.


    After taking down three, Deia stopped. Darius gently got to his knees while bncing her, then lowered his torso enough for her legs to touch the ground. He then retracted his body from underneath and stood behind her.


    Deia turned around and nced at Darius with a strange smile.


    "So, Handsome, did you enjoy it?"


    Darius chuckled. "Definitely. Likely the softest pair of thighs I have ever held or allowed near my head. I doubt you could even crush me with those."


    Deia groaned. "Oh my god, don''t tell me you have that kind of sick fetish?!"


    Darius coughed and looked away, facing the sea. Deia was left utterly speechless and couldn''t be bothered to tease Darius anymore for his previous act.


    Soon the duo moved to one of the coconut trees. Darius looked around and found many stones, giving some to Deia.


    For the most part of the morning, they continually threw stones to strike the coconuts. Both their arms became tired multiple times, but since it concerned survival, they went on with it.


    By the time it hit noon, they had managed to get down a dozen coconuts which they opened with the stones.


    The duo were hungry and exhausted beyond measure, not even able to take a step from where they sat as they panted.


    They opted to seat themselves near the trees and in the shade since the sun was zing down. The sound of the waves striking the shore was soothing, not to mention the almost endless sea breezes that cooled them down.


    After resting for 30 minutes, the duo got up and ate some bananas while drinking the juice of the coconuts. This allowed them to substitute their preserved food and water with more natural resources.


    After eating their fill, Deia decided to nap while Darius kept watch of the sea in case the mercs turned out to be smarter, or luckier, than he had predicted.


    Once Deia woke up feeling refreshed, Darius went to sleep, leaving the caramel-skinned redhead to take up the tedious and boring job of keeping watch. Her eyes roved to the sea frequently despite her boredom, for this was a matter of life and death for them.


    Fortunately, the day passed uneventfully.


    The next day they worked together once more to get some more bananas and coconuts down, this time with much more ease due to familiarity and the fact that they already had some in storage.


    However, fruits would notst forever. They were easily one of the most perishable goods, so Darius and Deia made sure to eat up the bananas more than the coconuts since they were on a sharp timer ever since they dropped from their boughs.


    The second day passed much like the first, with nothing of note happening. They continually kept watch while eating what they could. It was slight, but they were both getting tired of their ''meal''.


    On the third day, Deia vomited her food out in disgust. Darius himself was only barely keeping it in. He was focusing on other things to distract his mind while forcing himself to stuff down as much as he could eat.


    Deia could only suck it up and do the same. She washed her mouth out with some coconut juice and ate what she could. Since some of the earlier bananas were going funny, Darius tossed them deep into the jungle.


    Mother Nature would know what to do with such things, so he left it to her. As for himself, he simply focused on his current task, knowing that the end was near.


    Just two more days and they could head out to rescue. As such, the duo mustered what energy they could to continue pushing forward, and managed to reach the fourth day.


    At this point, both Deia and Darius had slightly sunken eyes. Theck of activity, the stress from being alert, and the weakness from eating the same food continuously was getting to them.


    Now, even despite their hunger, they couldn''t muster the energy to take the bananas anymore and could only drink the coconut juice and eat the white flesh within to somewhat sate their hunger.


    The juice wasn''t something they could get tired of since it had many nutrients and was used to rece water. The coconut flesh was also something Darius had kept them from eating the first few days in preparation for a situation like this.


    By the time nightfall arrived, the duo was no longer able to sleep easily. It was a case of being fatigued but not exactly being tired enough to nod off. Their minds wanted to ease but their bodies wereining for various reasons.


    It was also due to the fact that it was nightfall that Darius and Deia were able to see the headlights of a number of boats quickly approaching their location.

 Chapter 280 - 280

    Darius''s mind snapped out of his reverie when he reached this point, because, in the milliseconds that he had been drowned in his memories, the redhead Deia look-alike had met eyes with him.


    At that moment, she too froze with a look of incredulity, surprising the fellows who were walking behind her. Two gold/yellow-ish pupils met, a wealth of meaning and feelings conveyed between them.


    The Deia look-alike gasped like she had been winded and whispered in a voice so low that Darius could only make out what she murmured by reading her lips.


    "It''sˇ­ youˇ­"


    The very next moment, the well-dressed nobleman who looked to be an inquisitor stepped forward and traced where Deia was staring. Once he locked onto Darius, his brows creased and he frowned deeply.


    The pope who also stood a little ways off gazed at Darius with a raised eyebrow. He turned to the Deia look-alike and queried slowly.


    "Pdin Deia, is there a problem?"


    This snapped Deia out of her trance as she shook her head and then grabbed her temples. She looked like she was having a serious migraine, and her voice was strangely hoarse.


    "Nothingˇ­ just slightly confused, is all."


    Once she forcibly suppressed her difort, she continued walking across the bridge, only the corner of her eyes following Darius until he left her field of view.


    Darius''s eyes also traced her slowly, btedly remembering to Analyze her and be sure that he had the right person.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Deia Stone


    Race: Human


    ss: Pdin


    Subss: Divine Body


    HP: 39,798/39,798


    MP: 7,644/7,644


    STA: 15,678/15,678


    Level: 78


    Strength: 198


    Agility: 176


    Endurance: 201


    Intellect: 98


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 100


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Confused


    Affection: Eternal Bond (Damaged)]


    Darius smiled softly. It seemed that his beloved was quite the monster here, with so much power. No wonder she was leading their group, instead of the pope or the inquisitor.


    Still, Darius felt that there was more to it. From how Odin treated Valkyries, Gods usually treated their pdins or whatever they called their specific warriors as names on a list to send to fight for their honor.


    If they died, they died, so be it. If anything, they could collect their souls and introduced them to their Divine Kingdom, which was something that one could construe as ''heaven''.


    However for Deia to be leadingˇ­ Darius observed her character sheet and identified the likely cause. This Divine Body subss sounded very special. He was not ignorant, for he could make some guesses.


    For one, it could be that Deia''s Divine Body made her the perfect pdin or warrior for a deity to express their power, allowing them to groom her into an unbeatable person that championed their church.


    For another, it could be that her Divine Body made her the perfect vessel to be an Avatar. So a God would groom her caringly and maintain her loyalty until she was ripe for possession.


    Whatever the case, Darius didn''t think it was for a good reason. What he was even more curious about was how Vena resurrected her. Deia only passed away 10 years before Darius, so was her soul brought here to start life as a baby?


    Or was she spawned out of nothingness like Darius? Not to mention, she clearly seemed to have amnesia and did not remember life on earth from her reaction. No matter her station on Faust, Deia would never pass him by after meeting.


    When he realized she didn''t remember him, Darius smartly chose not to get up and rush to her, or make any unnecessary moves until he could discern her situation.


    Darius''s eyes passed down her character sheet and noticed the affection level.


    ''Eternal Bond, huh? That''s very urate to describe our connection. But it''s damagedˇ­ how?'' Darius pondered with a frown.


    Was that a result of how she was revived? Darius felt that he needed to quickly investigate all he could about Deia and find ways to bring them back together. Once she existed in Faust, everything had changed.


    Darius'' ns, goals, and desires had shifted greatly the moment he saw her cross that bridge. This must also have been the result Vena had wanted, spicing up things by reintroducing his soulmate.


    After all, while Darius was smart enough to make the ''y'' interesting as the main ''actor'', his heart had never really been too much into it.


    And anyone who watched movies or TV shows could safely say that an actor who didn''t put effort into their role but merely did due diligence was extremelyckluster.


    It was likely that Vena wanted to give him an organic reason to continue working hard in this ''y'', and so brought in the main female ''lead'' that was the loved one of the main ''actor''.


    This way, the ''actor'' would feel enlivened and want to work hard in the ''y'' because his beloved was here.


    Darius smiled wryly and looked to the sky. "Well yed, Goddess Vena, well yed."


    Darius wasn''t even going to pretend. Vena had spectacrly achieved her goal and he felt energy course through him that was never there before. Seeing the gap in power between himself and Deia, Darius realized he himself would need to be stronger to settle whatever obstacle Vena put in ce to separate them.


    It wasn''t that convoluted, anyone with the slightest bit of sense would be able to see through this. It was obvious as hell that the ''set-up'' of this meeting would never end with Deia simply rushing into his arms, them getting married, the end.


    Thinking this, Darius smiled.


    As Deia passed him, he noticed the eyes and the pope and the inquisitor upon him, the duo whispering to each other while giving him not-so-friendly nces.


    ''Ah, so the cheap conflict Vena set up to prevent me from getting Deia easily has arrived and ites in the form of the entire church behind her? Judging by how such a thing develops, I''ll need to kill the deity in question at the end of it all.''

 Chapter 281 - 281

    ''Well, for now, the initiator should be these two high-ss foes. If I''m guessing correctly, they must be nning to either investigate me if they''re lenient, prevent me from ever getting near Deia again if they''re neutral, or outright assassinate me if they''re cruel.'' Darius pondered with a thoughtful smile.


    He then swirled the smoothie before him and sipped it slowly, his eyes sharpening with a glint of malice he usually kept contained.


    ''So, devout followers of an enemy deity, what sort of performance shall it be?''


    .........ˇ­..


    On the other side, Deia had just gotten out of Darius'' sight when the pope leaned towards the Inquisitor.


    "Inquisitor Davian, do you perhaps know who that fellow is?"


    The handsome and well-dressed inquisitor frowned deeply, his hand passing through his silver hair and his dark blue eyes glinting with difort.


    "Apologies, but I don''t have the habit of keeping tabs about random rabble by the roadside, Your Excellency."


    The pope''s lips twitched, his oily face from being under the sun stretching. "Well then, it seems we have a problem. We''ll have to investigate this fellow and see if he poses a problem to our Lord''s ns."


    The pope''s eyes then became cold as ice. "If that seems to be the case, then we''ll have to get rid of him, for the glory of our Lord!"


    Inquisitor Davian still stared darkly at Darius, murmuring the phrase he had memorized since childhood.


    "For the glory of our Lord!"


    ..........


    Darius finished his snack and paid for it. He had seen all he needed to on this trip to Elysium, so now it was time to acquire that restricted knowledge and quickly return to Fallon to make some preparations.


    Vena wanted amusement, right? Darius would give her that. He had originally nned to calmly raise chaos in Faust while keeping his hands out of it, but with Deia in the mix, Vena had forced Darius to go from a spider slowly spinning its web to a leopard that roamed the treetops.


    They were both patient predators for sure, but the fundamental difference was that a spider was passive in hunting. It spun its web andy there until unfortunate prey was captured.


    A leopard though, actively sought out prey and monitored them closely before striking at the perfect time to get an instant kill.


    The cute server from before cleared up the table and was about to strike up some conversation with the handsome fellow, but before she got the chance Darius smiled politely and left.


    This left her confused and sad, because it had looked like he had been somewhat interested in her just a few minutes ago. Could it be she had read too much into him just being polite?


    Coincidentally, Darius had just made up his mind to speak to Portia and Jorge about the change in circumstance. He was aware of their feelings and the ambiguity between them, but so far he had never rified it, simply because he had been undecided.


    Of course, this revtion had changed everything!


    It was best to inform them as kindly as possible so that there would be no unnecessary drama. Darius didn''t want any of that interfering with his rtionship with Deia in Faust.


    It was always better to break the heart early rather thanter, so that the healing could begin earlier, and so too the moving on. Only an immature child would dy that after knowing that there was someone he wanted.


    Darius reached the inn they stayed at and remembered that today seemed to be the day of the event at the Beloved Auction House. His goods would be sold off to the highest bidders and judging by the quality of what he put, the bigshots should be on their way.


    ''Come to think of it, that was also the direction where Deia andpany were headed.'' Darius realized.


    However, this left him feeling strange. From the timing of his meeting with Deia, it appeared that everything was pre-nned and set up perfectly.


    In that case, didn''t it mean that his own actions had created the event?


    Once again, this made Darius wonder whether Vena could look into the future to see what he would do and n around it, yet in that case why even bother having him act out this y?


    She could just spawn any ''actor'' she wanted and peek at their possible future for entertainment and smack them away, then bring the next.


    Of course, all of this was assuming that Darius''s spection that Deia and her group were headed to the Auction House was correct.


    Whatever the case, Darius didn''t have ns to visit the auction. He simply wanted his cut so that he could make some moves in Elysium before he left, just toy down some foundations.


    He entered the suite room he stayed in with Gunner and noticed that the fellow wasn''t back yet. Both his Branded Servants had been left to their own devices till nightfall, so Darius would have to wait.


    In the meantime, Dariusy on his bed meditating calmly. After bing a Journeyman, he had begun trying to develop his magical abilities out of the system, or to add to the system.


    After all, skills weren''t limited to what he could acquire from a skillbook. He could either be taught by someone or teach someone, as well as develop his own skills after training.


    Darius knew that most traditional mages, aside from practicing and reading spell manuals to increase their Intellect, also meditated. This was especially prevalent once they became Journeymen.


    A Journeyman mage of average talent would have two elements, one which they awoke with and one they had acquired upon climbing the stage. They would also have their passive magical defense spell active based on their chosen element before leveling up.


    So every Journeyman mage would have some amount of magic defense, but against their opposite element, this would turn into an elemental weakness. For Darius who had ess to all elements, he would be even stronger against Journeyman mages than he was against Amateurs.


    Then again, Darius had hardly fought sentient enemies in battle, hadn''t he? His nature as a merchant usually had made him befriend the opposite party wherever he could, so he really didn''t have any enemies so to speak of.


    But now, everything would changeˇ­

 Chapter 282 - 282

    Eventually, Gunner and X returned. Therged looked fulfilled, with more scars on his skin that were still rapidly healing. Darius checked his character sheet and saw that Gunner only had about half his HP left, leaving him speechless.


    He patted Gunner on the shoulder carefully. "Try not to overdo it. I still need you for almost everything, Gunner."


    Gunner smiled widely and nodded. "Don''t worry, Master. I promise that the experience I''ve gained from fighting such powerful professionals has made me stronger!"


    Darius didn''t doubt it. One could have a great amount of talent or skill in a certain field, but having a wealth of experience was just as good or even better.


    Darius knew this for a fact, that despite possessing a talent for business almost all his life, if he were to put 20 years old him and 70 years old him in a corporate war, 20-year-old him would be utterly disgraced.


    In fact, the reason the human race had be so powerful was mostly due to their ability to adapt thanks to experience. A person might not have a single artistic bone in their body, but after spending 5 or so years repeatedly practicing and trying to draw, they might be a top-tier artist.


    Darius was looking forward to how Gunner''s rough fighting style had improved after this time. He then turned to X who looked slightly more mature after her week of fighting on her own and making bonds.


    s, she had experienced a betrayal resulting in her almost losing her life. However, thanks to the bottles of Lunar Dew Darius had given her, unless one could kill her in one shot, the elf was nigh immortal.


    As well as her powerful support/defensive ss, killing her in one shot was an extremely tall task. X recounted her experience to herpanions, who thenforted her.


    Their group of five had continued to adventure together, ever since the first day. Feeling threatened by X''s unprecedented rise in power, some two fellows called Helen and Nisha who were almost Journeymen attempted to apprehend her for obvious reasons.


    The other two, one being the sweet Veri, the other a handsome fellow called Lloyd had stood by her side. Since all of them had been Amateurs, X''s side had been able to take down the offending duo.


    In the aftermath, Veri had stoppeding round, not because she was angry at X, but because apparently she and that Lloyd fellow had sparked something and were now together most of the time.


    Darius gave it a thumbs up. As long as that Lloyd fellow yed his cards right, he would have earned himself a great partner for life. As for right now, Darius checked X''s character sheet as he usually did.


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 320/320


    MP: 1,760/1,760


    STA: 440/440


    Level: 22


    Exp: 1200/2200


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 20


    Endurance: 20


    Intellect: 80


    Charisma: 25


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Excited


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 0


    Active: Bless - Lv.5, Holy Ward - Lv. 8, Divine Summoning - Lv.2, Purify - Lv.12, Cleanse - Lv10, Restore - Lv.10, Ward Evil - Lv.2, High Cure - Lv.21


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.3, Light''s Chosen - Lv.10, Pure Body - Lv.20, Pure Soul - Lv.20, Pure Spirit - Lv.20, Aura of Life - Lv.1


    Abilities: Mind Power(Basic), Deflection(Basic).]


    Her power had grown to reach the same level as Darius and Gunner in some aspects. Surprisingly she had not been stage-locked, although this meant that X had been unable to benefit from the extra 20 AP and SP as the duo had.


    Her stats hadn''t changed much, the 30 AP she had acquired over the past week had solely invested into Intellect to raise her mana capacity. Unfortunately, since most of her skills were ss-based and not introduced by Transmutation, they had progressed only normally.


    This also meant the mana cost of her spells at the same level as Darius or Gunner had 5x the cost! Since she had now raised her level to a sufficient amount, Darius handed her the Spell Mastery, Spell Enhancement, and Channeling skillbooks.


    X quietly learned them. Darius and Gunner shared a look then smiled bitterly. Well, it seemed as if the Elven Princess would need some more time to get over the shocking events earlier this week.


    Which was just as well, since Darius had some news for them. "After tomorrow, or likely by the end of tomorrow, we will be returning to Fallon. Here, take these."


    Darius gave the two of them HoloBraces which they wore with some level of excitement. For natives of Fallon like them who had never seen much of Gravitas tech, it was truly some fancy stuff.


    "Tomorrow, I''ll head to the Great Library of Krona again. Gunner, in the meantime I need you to go and collect the earnings from the Beloved Auction House." Darius ordered.


    Gunner nodded in understanding. "It shall be done."


    Darius turned to X. "X, your task will be to browse the local area for empty lots which can be turned into either residences or a store. Select two of the best and meet up with Gunner, using the umted money to purchase one of each."


    Darius smiled softly. "Don''t forget tomission builders to develop the plots. As for the aesthetics, it doesn''t really matter to me, so you are free to use your own discretion."


    X smiled lightly. "No problem, I can easily handle this!"


    Darius pped his hands. "Alright then, let''s all head to bed. Tomorrow is ourst day here, so do whatever you want to do for thest before we go.


    Gunner and X shared a look and nodded. They didn''t have much they wanted to do, and they had slightly started to miss home too. Elysium was great, but at the end of the day, it was still a foreignnd to them.


    X returned to her solo suite while Darius and Gunner entered theirs. Gunner gave Darius ''the look'', which made the fellow chuckle awkwardly.


    "If you want a partner for tonight, feel free. Unfortunately, from now on I won''t be using such services anymore."


    Gunner scratched his head. "Err, then I shall refrain as well. It would be awkward to enjoy myself alone."

 Chapter 283 - 283

    The next morning, Darius walked towards the Great Library with zest. He had long since noticed that he was carefully being tailed by some assassins who had concealed themselves quite smartly.


    Unfortunately, Darius had thought of a way to counter such things during his 5-year seclusion, and among the slew of spells he had leaned was one belonging to the Spirit element.


    [Soul Sense - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Send out waves of spirit force in all directions, echolocating all other spirits/souls within a certain range of yourself. The range is 100 meters.]


    This was a supremely useful skill. No matter who or what, everything that existed had a spirit or soul, especially among orthodox races.


    There might be entities like automatons or machines that had neither spirit nor soul, but Darius would find ways to guard against such things when he had the means.


    It was with this skill that he had sensed the same three spirits trailing him for more than 10 kilometers. No matter what, even if they were going to the exact same destination as him, there was no way they would use the same street.


    Not to mention that they passed alleyways or rooftops. Which sane citizens jumped across rooftops during the broad daylight?


    Unfortunately, there wasn''t any Journeyman skill that could let him detect the level of hostility a person held towards him remotely. Something like that was at the Adept level, so Darius could only use this method.


    Coupled with the fact that he knew for a fact that Deia''s church would be either trying to investigate or kill him, it was easy enough to guess who they were.


    Darius entered the Great Library, frustrating the fellows who were tailing him since they could not enter for obvious reasons. As such, they remained waiting outside, pretending to be various types of people over time to keep their anonymity.


    Darius headed for the top floor, where the stairs led to tworge doors that blocked out all entry. In front of the door were a few fellows who were submitting various information they thought was unique in order to acquire ess to restricted knowledge.


    There were two lines, one for those submitting through writing or oral, and another for those from Gravitas who were submitting from their databanks. Darius walked past the empty line and connected his HoloBrace to a blue-gold terminal that looked far more impressive than the ones used below.


    "Daddy, this terminal has wireless capabilities, so there''s no need for me to plug-in!" Miranda reported to Darius directly through his nerves into his mind.


    Darius nodded. He noticed that the terminal was activated and disying some rules and guidelines for submitting information. Darius read through it, and ced his membership card into a slot so it could scan his identity.


    From what he could see, information in the restricted section was separated into 5 categories; Technology, Culture, History, Professional and Magical.


    One could read as many books from one section as they wanted within their reading time. If you had ways to scan the information or memorize it with a flip, that was up to you.


    God Krona would be too short-sighted and despised if he acted greedily at this juncture, for ess to restricted knowledge was given through fair exchange. Anyway, a deity like him only benefited or increased his divine power when new knowledge was provided.


    Knowing all the restricted stuff in the world was just a vor to him.


    However, the rules were that one could only use their acquired reading time in the section of info they themselves provided. In other words, if Darius provided unique Magical knowledge worth 5 hours reading time, he could only peruse restricted knowledge in that section and was forbidden from touching any of the other four categories.


    "Miranda, provide entry-level information on Technology from Earth, featuring modern weaponry in contrast to Gravitas magitech. Also provide entry-level Culture from Earth, about the breath and magnificence of racial cultures across the world fromnguage, to dance, to food."


    "After that, give entry-level knowledge on Earth''s History. Highlight the various wars that urred and the philosophies behind them. As for Professional, share some of the business tactics and their benefits I myself used on Earth."


    "Finally, for Magical, hmmˇ­ let''s tackle it like this, share the Scientific Method of Earth as well as the basics of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology." Darius ordered after pondering.


    Miranda acknowledge his instructions andplied the information before transferring it. The terminal opposite Darius got to work digesting and verifying the information.


    Looking at the other line, Darius could see that there was a crystal orb hovering on a table. When information was penned or spoken, it would respond in a slow tone, telling the provider if their information was unique or not, as well as if it were false or not.


    If the person seeded, it would inform them of how many reading hours they had been granted, as well as the rules they should take note of. Darius smiled softly as he guessed that it was either an avatar or consciousness of the God himself.


    After all, what better way to verify if the information was true than to see if it strengthens you? If the God of Knowledge felt his Divine Power growing, he would know that your information was unique and true, and he would reward you reading hours based on the quality of his power growth.


    It was a good idea. This made Darius wonder as to how much his information would power up the deity. He chose to use Earth''s knowledge because it was a fact that Earth existed.


    All the information he was providing was true and no one ever said it had to be limited to Faust.


    Well, if it didn''t work, he would simply shrug and leave, not bothered that Krona would ''get free info'' because it would mean that Earth''s information was useless on Faust.


    This was literally the best way for Darius to check whether he could implement certain things into Faust to increase his arsenal and power base!


    For one, introducing nuclear weapons!

 Chapter 284 - 284

    "The information transfer isplete! Hpmh, this God of Knowledge is really two-faced! When ites to extracting information, the speed is so slow and the features are outdated, but when ites to inputting, it''s as fast as needed!" Mirandained while turning her head away angrily.


    Darius chuckled. "That is the way of the world, my dear. You''ve seen from my business knowledge how often this trick is used, especially with financial institutions."


    Darius checked the response from the terminal, which was showing a ''processing'' bar. He guessed that the info was now being fed to Krona and he was curious to see see what effect it would have.


    Soon, he got his answer, as the terminal disyed an error message with shing red lights. On the other side, a fellow who was recounting some new findings in Magical Theory was forced into silence as the floating orb became red and then cracked.


    The next second, the entire sector began to shake and tremble at the intensity of a magnitude 5 earthquake, toppling many and sending them to the floor. Darius frowned and held onto the terminal to brace himself, guessing the probable cause for this and wondering if he should, in fact, leave.


    However, he paused as his eyes, like everyone else in this sector, were locked on a greenish-brown beam of light that fell from the heavens and struck the spire of the Great Library.


    Not many would recognize it, but Darius certainly did since he had caused such a phenomenon just about a week ago.


    The God of Knowledge, Krona, was descending!


    Darius'' expression became solemn. He wondered just how valuable his information was perceived as the deity had straight-upe down from his Divine Kingdom. One should know, in Thor''s case Mjolnir had made up half the battle power of the Thunder God.


    For God Krona to descendˇ­


    Immediately, the area before the door to the restricted section glowed as a form manifested from the same greenish-brown light. All had to shield their eyes for a bit, giving the descending deity time to form his body.


    Interestingly, God Krona looked nothing like what one would expect.


    Instead of an aged man with a long flowing beard bearing the vicissitudes of time, he was a tall young man with parted ck hair that reached his shoulders and a dark goatee.


    His body waspact and lithe, bearing muscles while still being rtively slim. Instead of a robe, he wore what looked like a scaly version of polymer armor for his torso and back pants for his legs.


    He had striking green eyes and brown boots on his feet, topping off his look. God Krona reminded Darius of the protagonist of a very famous vampire gameˇ­ what was his name again? Gabriel Belmont or something of that nature.


    Darius tried to Analyze the deity, but as expected, the skill returned to him as nothing, not even the God''s name. He would need to upgrade it far more than this if he wanted to gainprehensive information about such powerful beings.


    God Krona didn''t bother to look at anyone else, his eyes honing in on Darius straightaway. His green pupils zed with fervor and interest, the deity walking to stand before Darius with a contemtive look.


    God Krona was really tall once he came close. Even Darius at 6"2 was slightly shorter than he was, making the fellow smile wryly. Whatever the case, he fearlessly folded his arms and smiled softly towards the deity.


    "Great God of Knowledge, I am humbled by your presence. Is there anything I can help you with?" Despite his seemingly tough stance, Darius''s words were polite.


    God Krona seemed surprised by this, grinning slightly in the end. "Darius Stone, your submission was incredibly useful to me, as such information is graded far above anything I''ve ever received before, despite being so simple and short."


    Darius remained silent, only smiling. God Krona saw that the fellow was, despite being polite, not yielding, so he could only narrow his eyes and carry on with what he wanted to say.


    "I understand you want to gain ess to the restricted section. In truth, your contribution has made you earn almost 25,000 reading hours by my scale, although I can assure you that even that is not enough to acquire all that is within this floor." Krona revealed as he patted the door behind him.


    The others nearby were stunned out of their minds. 25,000 reading hours was unheard of! Most of them were pining for at most, 3 hours so they could acquire specific knowledge, but with the amount Darius got, he should have enough time to clean out the entire library!


    However, when the deity stated that what amounted to more than 34 months of reading time was not enough to clear the entire section, many revealed contemtive looks. As for those who had entered before and wereing for a second time, they smiled thinly, a mocking glint in their eyes.


    Darius himself smiled softly. He was long aware of something like this, not through research, but simple deduction. Krona was the God of Knowledge and while he might not be business savvy like Waukeen, given all the knowledge at his disposal it would be strange if he wasn''t well versed in many methods.


    This entire library was just a means for him to expand his power passively, by exchanging information of little value to him for information of great value. Themon knowledge could be exchanged for money, allowing his library to run and his followers to receive endless funding for the development of the sector.


    The truly valuable hidden knowledge that most powerhouses craved was locked behind a ''paywall'' that required unique info. It didn''t matter how groundbreaking as long as it was something God Krona had not encountered before.


    However, what if something groundbreaking was delivered? What if a person won the ability to extract almost all the information within the restricted section, especially if they had some scanning or memorizing ability?


    The number of people supplying new info would dwindle slowly. This was not conducive to the growth of God Krona.

 Chapter 285 - 285

    As such, anyone who was smart enough would be left to wonder exactly how this deity managed to maintain the utility of his restricted library. Just like the normal knowledge below, if one person could swallow it all, the Great Library''s overall value would drop.


    Someone could easily create apetitor library that didn''t lose out to him, stifling his flow of power. So, despite allowing all books within to be read or scanned freely on the surface, what secret measures had God Krona taken?


    That was the crucial question.


    From the deity''s actions as well as the bystanders, it was clear that there was more to it than met the eye.


    As such, Darius simply nodded and responded still politely. "I wonder what Great God Krona wants to say?"


    Krona folded his arms and smiled with amusement. "I have a deal for you. In exchange for all of the information you hold of the same type, I will grant you total, free and permanent ess to all my information in perpetuity. No matter what new information I gain in the future, you will have the right to browse through it."


    The onlookers were shocked, wondering just what kind of information Darius had shared with Krona for the God to spit out his greatest benefit so easily. Many also had looks of envy, wishing they could be the ones to make such a lucrative deal.


    Of course, the deal was only lucrative on the surface for two reasons, they didn''t know the kind of information he shared with Krona and they thought Darius absolutely needed the information for various purposes like them.


    However, Darius'' mercantile instincts were about to explode, for he had never been presented with a worse deal than the one stipted.


    Alright, to put it into perspective, here''s what God Krona would be getting: A Divine Power increase, which was hard to put into urate numbers, 5 categories of knowledge that could change the entirendscape of Faust, not to mention the ability to profit off them by using the same method to attract new info from future visitors, who would all be interested in acquiring it.


    What God Krona had to give up - inparison - was ess to knowledge that had little meaning to him personally.


    What Darius gained was all the current and future knowledge of the entire library, which he hardly needed since his single transaction alone gave him enough time to do what he needed.


    What he gave up though? Information that was unseen in the entire Faust, information that could help him establish an unparalleled power in Faust, and information that was crucial to God Krona.


    It was clear who was gaining more. Darius would have to be utterly braindead to agree to such a thing, so he simply smiled and rejected the offer straightforwardly.


    "I decline, Your Holiness. I have strategic use for this information and have no intentions to share it."


    God Krona frowned when he understood the hidden meaning in Darius'' words. Then he sighed and walked back into the beam of light that still flowed down without further ado.


    He nodded towards Darius stoically. "If you ever change your mind, call my name anywhere on Elysium. I shall descend to transact with you."


    Darius also bowed, surprised by the magnanimity and sharpness of the God of Knowledge. Instead of foolishly making an enemy of Darius or pining after the information regardless, he understood Darius'' hidden meaning which essentially said ''the only way I''d give you this info is if it has no more use to me''.


    Darius was wrong to be surprised though. Gods didn''t just wake up and arrogantly smacked down mortals while calling it Divine Fury in Faust.


    If anything, they would get their pdins or churches to do something like that, which was why they even bothered to create those institutions.


    Besides, God Krona was in no rush.


    One of the hidden traps in his deal was the ''permanent ess''. One would think such a thing was great, but the fact was that God Krona would live eternally while a mortal like Darius had a fixed lifespan.


    Like that, Darius would eventually utilize his information however he wanted until it had little use to him exclusively. Then, he woulde to God Krona to trade it for whatever he needed at the time.


    God Krona was patient and long-lived, which was a trait of being attributed with Knowledge.


    Darius shook his head and retrieved his membership card from the golden-blue terminal. He ignored the bbergasted looks from the other fellows who thought he was crazy for declining such an offer.


    Darius didn''t think they were stupid, just ignorant. Upon being furnished with all the facts, they would do the same as him, or even worse.


    Darius pushed the door to the Restricted Section open and noticed that a timer appeared on his membership card that would likely reduce over time. He ignored it and gazed at the small chamber before him in confusion.


    There were 5 doors before him, each with arge metal namete ced on them. From the left to right, they read the names of one of each of the 5 categories.


    Beside each door sat a person with a small desk that were doing different things like reading, writing, or even ying. When they saw Darius enter, they raised their heads at once and lowered them again.


    This left Darius curious as to their upation, but he had some guesses. For now, Darius walked up to the ''Magical'' door to begin collecting information from there.


    The one seated here was a young woman with auburn hair and red lips that wore a yellow robe. She boredly looked up at Darius and stretched out her hand.


    "Card or token."


    Darius handed her his membership card. She slotted it into a device and folded her armszily, speaking slowly.


    "When your time is up, you''ll be automatically ejected from the room. You''re free to assimte as much as you want, but don''tin when you can''t do anything as well. It all depends on your own abil-."


    However, her words got stuck in her throat like someone had choked her when she saw the number of hours Darius had.

 Chapter 286 - 286

    Darius ignored her reaction and entered the room. He was utterly shocked once he pushed open the door and saw that instead of rows of books, there was only endless darkness with spots of light floating about like stars.


    The spots of light were numerous, almost uncountable. They extended from close to Darius to as far as the eyes could see. Not only that, but when he touched them, they just bounced away like floating balls.


    Darius'' surprise slowly diminished as his lips couldn''t help but twitch.


    He finally understood the deviousness of God Krona. By presenting the information in such a way, a person needed Mind Power at the minimum to interact with these bubbles of information.


    This created three factors that benefited the God of Knowledge, acting as detriments to all knowledge seekers.


    For one, since Mind Power was a requirement, it meant that anyone with less than 50 Intellect would basically waste their time.


    Of course, they could simply leave and store their reading hours until they acquired Mind Power, but how long would that take?


    Bing an Adept was no easy thing, even if one was born in a top-tier empire instead of a shithole like the Andrato Kingdom.


    If this was the case, then it should have been advertised before, but God Krona and the various informants had kept mum.


    The second factor was that once one connected to each bubble, they would have to ''download'' the information to their mind based on the amount of Intellect they had.


    No matter how much they had, even if they were a Grandmaster Archmage, they would not be able to swallow everything within one room given what Darius was seeing.


    So Krona was truly devious. This time, one could notin, because the speed of acquisition depended solely on your own abilities and not anything else.


    The third factor was the fact that the bubbles had nobels. So if one wanted specific information, they would have to tirelessly search for it in particr, and that would likely force them to make repeated trips here.


    From beginning to end, Darius simply could not believe the sheer shamelessness. God Krona was right, forget 2.8 years, even 30 would not be enough to clear one section alone.


    Even if he spat out the information God Krona wanted, he still wouldn''t be able to clear all five sections within his mortal lifetime unless he could reach the level of a Supreme or attain a higher lifeform.


    Darius - and all fellows who sought to steal Krona''s information in one go - had been caught in the trap the God of Knowledge had weaved.


    Thinking that a normal human, with his flimsy life that didn''t even amount to a full century, could be smarter and more devious than a being that had lived for thousands and also possessed the Divine Attribute of Knowledgeˇ­ truly arrogant beyondprehension.


    Darius sighed as he passed a hand through his hair. He frowned deeply for a minute or two, wondering what he could use to speed up his task. Miranda was his first option, as she could directly connect to his mind.


    So instead of downloading the knowledge to his memory banks, he would act like a conduit and feed the information to Miranda''s almost endless storage, her processing power was far greater than he, so no matter how much was in the bubbles she could get it down quickly.


    However, the problem was still there. His overall download speed was limited by his Mind Power.


    Darius''s second option was to use the Adept Bugs or even all his bugs. With the power of the Bugcloud and their numbers, they could easily Bugdownload the information in one fell swoop.


    This was the best n, but it had one fatal w. It was the fact that Darius was subtly aware that God Krona was watching him, wondering what he would do to bypass the limitations God Krona had put in ce.


    The moment he revealed the bugs, even if God Krona was kind enough not to smash him into paste at once, he would definitely use it as ckmail material to force Darius to cough up the information, then either kill Darius or shoo him away.


    So that option, despite being great, was bust.


    Darius had an assortment of items for sure, but none of them could be used to help. For some, they could yield some assistance but they were too valuable/controversial that Darius didn''t dare remove them.


    Even the Foci of the Adept, the most useful item he had for this situation which would allow him to forcibly raise his Mind Power to the Master-stage, had a terrible drawback, being that Int could no longer be raised after its usage.


    Using it would be killing the chicken to im the eggs, utterly foolish.


    Darius was also tempted to Transmute something on the spot that could help, but this would result in a simr issue as with the bugs.


    He could fearlessly do such things in front of ignorant people like Portia and Foldo, because they had no clue what he was doing, but God Krona would definitely see through it.


    Darius eventually knuckled his forehead and gave up. He had 25,000 hours so he coulde again and again. It was possible that in the future, he would acquire something that could help him.


    As such, he spent the entire day acquiring what he could with Miranda''s help, which, as expected, was merely a drop in the ocean, before leaving resolutely.


    It was time to return to Fallon and regroup all his assets then consolidate.


    He already had the entirety of the public info on the cloud, so what was in the restricted section could be slowly pried out or forcefully taken in the near future. There was no rush.


    When Darius arrived in front of the inn, he saw Gunner and X standing there together, chatting andughing about something.


    Once he approached, they greeted him with smiles, making him even more curious about the cause of their good mood.


    X, who already had enough Mind Power to almost be psychic, seemed to read Darius'' question and spoke while tittering. "Hehe, Master Darius, you won''t believe what happened today!"

 Chapter 287 - 287

    Darius smiled with amusement. "Why wouldn''t I? I trust the two of you wholeheartedly, so spill the beans, My Dear."


    X nodded and showed her dimples. "Since I was looking for useful real estate, I went to thergest firm that deals with such things. They are called the Keen Group and belong to the Goddess of Wealth Waukeen, with branches all over Faust."


    "While there, I discovered that the branch manager was also an elf, and a rtively young one at that." X added with a sketchy grin.


    Darius smiled wryly. "Let me guess, he took a great interest in you and gave you many benefits in hopes to catch your eye?"


    X pouted. "Wow Master, you absolutely ruined everything!"


    Darius and Gunnerughed. Darius then turned to therged and asked. "So? How was everything on your side?"


    Gunner pped his hands. "Very straightforward. The 3 Warp Scrolls sold for 22,000, 21,000, 18,000 Dius respectively."


    Darius disyed an expression of surprise. One should keep in mind that the valuation of the scrolls had been valued at 1,035 Dius by Kilobar''s appraisal, with him estimating that they could fetch between 10,000 to 12,000 Dius on auction.


    Those estimations were given in honesty, that Darius didn''t doubt.


    So it simply meant that the subjective value of these ''supreme'' items had been far higher than they had expected. Or, alternatively, it could be said that today''s patrons had been far wealthier than estimated.


    As usual, Darius safely assumed that it was a mixture of the two.


    "What about the Spark Potion and the Awakening Scroll?" Darius asked with curiosity. If the Warp Scrolls already exceeded their value by this much, what about the truly valuable items among them?


    Gunner grinned. "They each sold for 500,000 Dius!"


    Darius gasped in shock. Back then, the value given to the two of them after appraisal had been 70,800 Dius, with the auction estimate reaching 200,000 to 300,000 Dius. For the two to break the limit and reach half a million was truly unheard of.


    Darius now had a firmer grasp of the value of his items, leading him to smile mysteriously. "It seems like our new territory will really be blessed with an unprecedented explosive growthˇ­"


    With top-tier resources, great dungeons, and a soon-to-be powerful currency, the new territory would rise like a rocket. Now, the only problem was whether Darius and his faction could ward off the external - and possibly internal - threats that would crop up.


    For that, Darius already had a few ideas.


    "Alright, let''s head back to Fallon then." Darius ordered with a nod.


    Before they could leave, X made a query. "Err, Master, what about the rmendation letter you received? Aren''t you going to get verified by the Appraisers Guild?"


    Darius shook his head. "At one point, I was interested in such a thing, but no more. How can I, the budding leader of new power, be content to be mere a newly minted Appraiser in another organization? I hardly know the rules there and I don''t wish to risk the Guild here using my identity for their own purposes."


    Darius turned and began walking towards the Portal Center which was only a stone throwaway. "If anything, we can build our own guild and raise its prestige. With my ability, creating skilled Appraisers superior to any other in Faust will be a matter of ease."


    Understanding what he meant, Gunner and X smiled knowingly, also excited by the idea. If Darius could create elites of every upation loyal to them, heh heh.


    They would be unstoppable!


    After going through the various processes, and just as he was about to enter the portal, Darius turned towards a certain direction and smiled with his eyes narrowed.


    There, the assassin who had been sent to tail Darius felt a chill in his heart when he was looked at. Just being spotted by his quarry was not enough to scare him in any way, only made him more careful.


    However, the moment he had locked eyes with the fellow, his yellowish pupils had shifted into serpentine slits, which had greatly freaked out the assassin. It wasn''t just for the visual aspect, but a strange feeling he got while looking into those eyes.


    Like a predator looking at preyˇ­ yes, that''s what it felt likeˇ­


    .........ˇ­.


    In the portal center of Favelia, the capital city of the Favelian Empire.


    Darius and his group walked through and shook their heads with noticeable difort. Really, the construction of these portals was crude and wed, leading users to feel great difort based on their own power.


    It was very much subpar to Darius'' own warp scrolls and teleportation skills which were made by Transmutation, which had no side effects.


    Darius was also certain that any portal he made in his territory would be the best of the best as long as he Static Transmuted it.


    The group walked away from the entrance of the portal and gazed at the familiar medieval style of Fallon that made them sigh withfort. It was good to be in familiarnds.


    "So, do we go straight home, or do we spend the night here, Master?" X inquired.


    Darius smiled and threw a question back. "What do you want to do?"


    X was surprised by this but quickly answered. "I want to stay here for a day or two and take a look around."


    Darius turned to Gunner who nodded. He too was seemingly curious about his new environment now after being given some freedom in Elysium.


    Darius wasn''t opposed to this, as he didn''t need his Branded Servants trailing him everywhere he went anyway. Especially once he brought Deia to his side, things would be awkward then.


    "Alright then, let''s find an inn to rest. Tomorrow, you two can do whatever you want while I will deal with the remainder of our Dius." Darius stated with a smile.


    They then walked to thergest inn in the Capital City called the Favvy Queen''s Abode, which was farrger than anything they had encountered so far. Then again, it made sense seeing as this was the capital city of a powerful empire, not a mere kingdom or a sector in a city.

 Chapter 288 - 288

    Since Darius no longer had ns to request ''special'' services, there was no longer a need for him to separate their rooms. As such, after booking a singlerge suite for the night, Darius and his servants eventually went to bed.


    Before going to sleep though, Darius spent the 100 CP for that day on a new potion he had discovered after experimenting over and over again.


    [Would you like to change the Common Health Potion into a Rare Intellect Boost Potion? This will cost 25 Conversion Points.]


    [Rare Intellect Boost Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 150/150


    Description: A potion that grants 1-hour Enlightened state, increasing Intellect and Learning Capabilities by 150%. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    At such a steep cost, he could only make four a day. Also, even with the boost, he would need to make enough of these that couldst him a straight week in the Restricted Section so he could test out the boost over the long term.


    The next day, Darius stayed back in the inn while Gunner and X headed out. Gunner wanted to find some entertainment for himself while X had gone out shopping. As for Darius, he created another Rare Intellect Boost Potions for the day and stored them away.


    Since X wanted to go shopping, she had taken up the task of converting their remaining Dius to Favelian Rubles. From the almost 1.5 million Dius Darius had in total afterbining in all his earnings and expenditures before thest day, he now only had about 50,000 Dius.


    That was right, simply purchasing a plot ofnd andmission builders to work on it had cost more than 1.4 million Dius!


    In fact, this was the reason X had been so excited to report to Darius. Thanks to her beauty, the price had been cut in half.


    Initially, the branch manager had asked for a total of 2,5 million Dius, 2 million for thend, and 500,000 for the construction, but after X had talked with him, he had only asked for a total of 1,25 million Dius.


    This was the absolute lowest the fellow had been willing to go in respect to their racial closeness.


    For a moment, the merchant in Darius had been curious just how much further the discount would have been if the Elven Princess had lowered her panties, however this much was already more than enough for them.


    Well, it shouldn''t be too surprising asnd was always expensive, especially in urban areas, and the price depended on many factors like age, reputation, safety, and development potential.


    This was why, regardless of country, there were some plots that were stupidly expensive while there were others that seemed dirt cheap inparison.


    In the City of Divinity, the center of Elysium, Darius was simply lucky that the quality of his Spark Potion and Awakening Scroll had been so valuable that they had been able to instantly turn him into a millionaire.


    One should note, he traded almost 50 tons of pure gold for only 500 Dius. That same 50 tons could buy him enough money in any Fallon Kingdom or Empire to be a Duke.


    Dius on Faust was like the dor on Earth, it was the number 1 currency that could be used almost anywhere that civilization existed. Even if it couldn''t be used, it could be easily traded at any forex and had stable rates worldwide.


    So the remaining 50,000 Dius should change to almost 3,000,000 Favelian Ruxes. With it, X should be able to buy anything she wanted here, so Darius was not worried.


    He spent the day nning his steps forward. He had many things he needed to aplish now that he was done with this trip to Elysium, top of the list was for him to return and execute his ns to build up his territory.


    Hm, the fact that he still did not have a name for it in mind was a problem. However, that was something he could decide onter and even receive the opinions of others to make them feel included.


    Darius then began working on his new spells he was creating under the Magical Method. It was truly a miraculous process that was greatly simr to the Scientific Method of earth, but also uniquely different.


    In the Scientific Method, there were 7 steps that were universally epted. Observe, Question, Hypothesize, Research, Experiment, Analyze, Conclude.


    On the other hand, the Magical Method had 5 steps. Theorize, Design, Experiment, Verify and Conclude.


    An example of the Scientific Method at work would be:


    Observation: When you try to start your car, nothing happens.


    Question: How can I solve this problem?


    Hypothesis: There''s something wrong with the car.


    Research: Probable causes could be a dead battery, ignition issue, empty gas tank.


    Experiment: Turn on the headlights, check spark plug wires, dip a stick into the gas tank.


    Analyze: Headlights work, strong ignition spark, no gas on the dipstick, even though the gas gauge reads half-full.


    Conclusion: The car is out of gas and there is a problem with the gauge that was showing an inurate gas level.


    Simple and efficient, which was why science remained undefeated on Earth. In Faust, at least on Fallon, magic was the equivalent of this with its own style that was as stated above.


    In the first step, Theorize, one would decide on the type of spell they were making. "I want to make a wind-based spell that can cause 100 men to lose their heads in an instant."


    Of course, the theory could be more descriptive and detailed. The less vague it was, the easier it would be to get the spell to work.


    For example, if the theory was: "I want to make a wind spell that would deprive everyone of air", you would be undertaking a wasteful task that could never bepleted.


    It was best to be realistic and detailed here. Wishing for mboyant and extravagant things would just lead to inevitable failure.


    Likewise, choosing the element the spell would fall under, its type i.e. offensive, defensive, support and its limits i.e. the number of targets, total distance/range, etc, were decided here.


    The Theorize stage was the foundation upon which thetter parts were built atop of. Failure to ount for as many loopholes as possible here would lead to severe bacshter on if the spell failed.

 Chapter 289 - 289

    The second stage was the Design segment, and here one wouldy down the actual process for the spell''s framework.


    Using the earlier example, if one chose to make a spell that could cut off the heads of 100 men using the wind, one would now have to use their magical expertise to create the sequence of magical events that created such an oue.


    This sounded difficult and almost impossible, but in truth, it wasrgely tied with how extravagant and detailed your theory was, as well as your own magical talent.


    How so? As for how it rted to the Theorize stage, it was self-exnatory, but the matter concerning the requirement for high talent in magic was crucial because it created the foundation in such one would familiarize themselves with magic.


    Hmˇ­ to put it simply, this was not a talent rted to ''Intellect'' or ''Comprehension'', but solely about how you awoke as a magician and what kind of resources you used until bing a Journeyman.


    As stated before, one would awake either naturally or artificially. If natural, one would learn the basic spell of that element automatically in rtion to their talent. If artificial, one had to rely on a spellbook to fill in the gap.


    The quality of the basic spell when awakened naturally depended on magical talent, while the quality of the basic spell learned artificially depended on the spellbook.


    Usually - and Darius himself had made this mistake before - one would look at this from the perspective of power/utility. If someone could cast Ember at 30% efficiency, he would naturally be more dangerous than someone who could do only do it at 5%.


    Either way, Ember was merely a cantrip, so its overall output wasn''t impressive unless one was a monster like Darius who could raise his Intellect to Adept level as an Amateur and increase his skill to the rank cap of level 20 while also having that spell at 500% efficiency due to Transmutation.


    However, the power aspect was never important. Amateurs were not held in high regard for their power, but their potential and talent. It was only when they became Journeyman that one would begin to wield actual power.


    What was most important about basic spells for Amateurs? It was the repetition and casting!


    Well, it should be obvious, shouldn''t it?


    Not everyone was like Darius who could benefit from the System Targeting which did everything for him autonomously. Everyone else either had to chant or make various movements to cast and the speed, as well as fluidity of this, depended on their talent!


    Why was this important for the Design stage? Because by continually casting Basic spells, an Awakened mage woulde to feel and understand how magic of that element was cast!


    They would feel how the mana flowed through their body, which meridians or nodes it passed through, how it converted itself into a specific element, and how it was expunged from their bodies to either attack, defend or support/heal!


    Without this foundation, how could they possibly Design a spell?


    Were they supposed to now dig to the roots of magic to find out how even basic mana worked? That was something that even the almighty Elves had yet to crack, much less the human race.


    This was the answer to Darius'' nagging question of ''why did the universews of Faust create Basic spells but not anything that came after? What the hell was even the purpose?''


    This was why.


    There was one spell of each element for the Basic grade, just one spell. Until one became a Journeyman, they could not learn anything else, not even how to modify the only spell they had by a small amount.


    Every element had its own circuit, conversion process, and fundamental method of emission. If you had that element when you Awakened, you would definitely know how it worked too when you reached the Journeyman stage eventually.


    However, talk is cheap. As stated earlier, one''s talent decided how good they would be at this.


    If one had high magical talent and awoke with say, Fire and Water, they would have an advantage over another person who awoke with the same Fire and Water element but to a weaker degree.


    How?


    If Person A''s Ember was at 50% while their Pulse was at 45%, they would be able to feel the flow of magic and how the element works much better than Person B who had Ember at 30% and Pulse at 15%.


    As such, when the two be Journeymen and began creating their own spells, Person A would have a much easier time controlling his elements to produce the results he wantedpared to Person B, because their talent gave them different levels of familiarity/understanding of magic from the onset.


    Knowing this, it should make sense why older mages had Official and Unofficial Apprentices. If one awoke naturally and had good talent, they would be taken up swiftly because their future was bright.


    If one had average or lower talent, they could persist to grow on their own in this oppressive profession. As for those who awoke artificially, it was mostly the wealthy who could afford the scrolls like Foldo.


    However, unless it was a scroll made by a master to his apprentice, they would never be treated seriously. After all their ''talent'' was dependent on the quality of the scroll and the spellbook they received.


    As seen before, the quality of both these things was abysmal, to say the least. It might even be better to naturally awake and have poor talent than to artificially awake with such shitty resources around.


    Of course, this created a very interesting situation that Darius could profit off. With his scrolls and potions, he could literally mass-produce talents that started out with 5 elements of their choices and they would auto-learn the basic spells of their elements too.


    If he wanted to raise their Int stat quickly, he could make potions or have them read his transmuted Basic spellbooks which would easily do the task!

 Chapter 290 - 290

    While the Design stage was undoubtedly the mostplex step of the Magical Method, as it required great talent and magical knowledge experience, the Experiment stage was the most dangerous.


    This was where one would ''activate'' the spell internally to find out if the sequence was stable. Here, if your Theory was extravagant and your Design sub-par, as well as filled with holes, you would be digging your grave more often than not.


    For example, going back to the ''I want to cut off the heads of 100 men using the wind'' example, one could have set it in the Design stage that wind des would be released that randomly or specifically targeted the nearest 100 people.


    However, amon mistake low-tier Journeymen with barely any talent/experience would make would be failing to exclude themselves!


    As a result, one could easily end up as one of the ''100 men'' who would lose their heads!


    As far as Darius was aware, the only ones who could bend the Laws of Faust to avoid Friendly Fire and strike their foes autonomously were those under the influence of the Supreme System, in other words, himself and his Branded Servants.


    Even if one excluded themselves, they could easily have made a mistake in the flow of mana, leading to it erupting/blocking a certain channel.


    This would obviously deal damage to the mage in question, and whether they could recover from it would depend on their resources as well as their resilience.


    One would have to carry it out slowly and surely over time. There was no point in rushing it to hurt oneself, so what most did was akin to flipping on a simple circuit.


    When a normal circuit was activated, the breaker was sealed and current was introduced. However since electricity moved faster than the human eye can follow, it was as if the circuit was suddenly filled at once.


    In truth, this was mostly it.


    However, only a fool would confidently fill the ''circuit'' that made up their designed spell, for if they met an obstacle, the ending would be catastrophic.


    Think of it as a Nascar racetrack. While the cars were going full speed around the small oval, if an obstacle appeared before them that they couldn''t dodge, just how bad would the collision be?


    Nowpare that to a car moving at a steady speed of 10-20km/h around the same track. If an obstacle appeared, what would be the oue?


    Either they would swerve, since they were going fast enough - this depends on their reaction speed and the size/nature of the obstacle - or they would hit it, but the damage would be a dented bumper and some dissatisfaction.


    This was why, despite there being so many trash spellbooks out there, the mages who made them hadn''t died in the process. They usually spent weeks to months in this stage, carefully feeling it out until the ''main pathway'' that the spell had to pass was safe.


    Of course, if they ignored other side dangers that could be ''skipped'' or ''ignored'' this would create a faulty spell that would fail to be cast at times, cause bacsh, or would be weaker than it had been intended.


    The Verify stage was the next step after Experiment and was like an evolution. Where one had to activate the spell within their body to make sure there were no ws, this stage basically required one to actually cast it outward to see how it manifested.


    If one were to use a hypothetical scenario of manufacturing a car, then the Experiment stage would be turning the engine on to see if the fuel rods, exhaust, A/C, and power generator were working while the car stood in one ce.


    After the car was sparked and seemed to be able to stay on without any issues, one would naturally have to check if could elerate, brake, and move well on the road. The Verify stage was just like that.


    Technically it was not any less dangerous than the one that came before, but it was also shorter and easier. If the spell achieved the effects you wanted it to, it was good to go!


    Of course, most mages had arge margin of error depending on their circumstances and talent. Otherwise, those flimsy spellbooks would never be able to see the light of day.


    Sticking with the example of the wind spell cutting 100 heads, as long as it could cut 20 heads within a range of 50 meters, a high-tier Journeyman would be satisfied.


    That seemed too low? One should know, the average Journeyman would be happy if he could slice of 2-5 heads within 5 meters of himself, much less the dregs who would create faulty spells that could barely work.


    As for the Conclusion stage, it was obvious. Once everything was peachy, one would put an end to the spell creation process and append a name to their newly created spell.


    Here, they could then pen it down into an Unused Spell Manual to create a portable and learnable version of their spell to either sell or use to teach their (Un)Official Apprentices or kin.


    Theorize, Design, Experiment, Verify and Conclude. Five seemingly simple stages, but if even one was handled carelessly, it could easily cost you your life.


    As one could expect, despite his advantages over many others, Darius didn''t dare to y around. Over the past 5 years, Darius had created almost 10 unique spells that had required him to research and probe on many things.


    Spatial Mark, what he used on the Dungeon Core in his territory, was one of them. Another one was Soul Sense, while his most prized creation to date was a horrific and unholy spell of the Spirit element called Soul Extraction.


    As for its function, the name alone was enough of a giveaway.


    He was surprised by how much talent he had with the Spirit and Spatial elements against all others, but he judged that it was likely due to the fact that he had used spatial spells and items the most, while his high Luck gave him stronger spiritual senses.

 Chapter 291 - 291

    Right now, Darius was undertaking a huge project. He was currently stuck in the Design phase of his newest spell which he had been working on for one and a half years.


    It was a spell from the Order element!


    One should know, this element - along with its counterpart, the Chaos element - were the two highest elements discovered to date. They had only been recently unearthed too, so they didn''t have much patronage in the world as of yet, though after learning their effects, every single mage craved them.


    At the same time, they were also terrified of them as the cost of utility was high and the effects were too strong. Not to mention, pioneering Journeyman and above spells for these two wasn''t just difficult, but using Caesar''s rating it would at least be a Nightmare Quest!


    What''s more, Darius had yet to use the two Basic spells even once, so how could he move onto the Design stage? He would need to use them repetitively for a long period of time before he could grasp their inner machinations.


    So what was Darius doing? Why undertake such a foolish method that had almost no sess rate? Why bother trying if you don''t even dare to cast the Basic spell?


    Wouldn''t this time have been better used on other elements?


    Well, once one looked at the cost of the spells, as well as their effects, one could understand why everyone lusted after it, but only very few dared to touch it!


    [Stabilize - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5% of maximum HP, MP, and STA permanently


    Description: Bend reality to your will to introduce order to the world. You are able to fully control reality for 1 second in a range of 1 meter around your body.]


    [Destabilize - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5% of all stats permanently


    Description: Introduce a little chaos into the world and let anarchy reign. You are able to twist reality for 1 second in a range of 1 meter around your body.]


    Very simple descriptions and the effects were clear to anyone. In essence, once you cast this skill, within a small range around yourself and for a short period of time, you were the God of Faust.


    If it wasn''t for the fact that he wouldn''t get much exp from it anyway. Darius would have loved to blink next to Thor or God Krona and vanquish them by controlling reality.


    ''Controlling reality'' was a broad term. It meant that Darius could make himself superman without the weakness to Kryptonite within that period, or turn himself into a peerless sage.


    Heck, could he even insta-make himself the Supreme?


    However, the cost of the spell daunted allers, even Darius. Even though Transmutation had increased the effectiveness by 500%, making the spell cost 5x less and be 5x stronger, it was still too much.


    5% of all his stats permanently for Chaos? 5% of his HP, MP, and STA permanently for Order? This meant after 20 uses, he would vanish from this world. Of course, since he had the Resurrections Stone, he could be said to have 80 uses of each of these spells before he became either dead or a waste.


    But why would he waste his precious 3 extra lives onˇ­ experiments?


    That would be the limit of foolishness, and only ignorant and brash youngsters who had little logical capacity would advocate for such a thing.


    After all, he was doing just fine as he was, he didn''t need to waste his bloody stats or extra lives for anything. In fact, he needed them, even more, to strengthen himself to be the Supreme.


    Of course, Darius was not without imagination. Upon hearing all this, a question would form in the mind of a quick-witted fellow, which was ''why not reverse the cost imposed by the spell when you control reality around you?''.


    A great assumption, and this was what Darius was hoping to try, but didn''t dare to still. After all, assuming that this cheap idea would work, it would be insulting the entirely of Faust''s Magical System and Laws, and going a step beyond that it would also be insulting Goddess Vena.


    To think that such a cheap loophole could work was the height of arrogance. One would basically have to assume that they were smarter than the one who had created them and the one who ran the world for hundreds of millennia smoothly, that their lifespan of between 15-70 years yielded them more wisdom than whatever these other two entities could muster.


    Not to mention even if it did work, Vena was sure to strike him down immediately. He had not forgotten that he was like a puppet and Vena was the one pulling the strings. If he was starting to rebel so openly, she could just as easily cut those strings and Caesar would surely love it.


    This was why Darius had humbled himself. It stood against all forms of sane logic that it would work, and he wasn''t willing to risk a 5% loss in any way.


    Why would he make himself the test subject when soon enough many ''Apprentices'' would being to his doorstep?


    As such, he continued trying to Design the Journeyman Order spell he had in mind, but he could barely discover where the mana needed to pass to convert to the Order element as he had no idea of what it even felt like.


    Right now, Darius was using an alternative method, which was abusing his high Luck. It wasn''t wrong to describe his action as Darius trying to ''thread the needle'' for the Order spell, but he had to feel out the needle''s hole.


    He focused more on his spiritual senses that came with 50 points of Luck and discovered that if he moved it in unique ways, he would either get a chill in his heart, telling him that he''d better stop there and step back or he''d get a neutral feeling, telling him that while he was far off the mark, he also was not in utterly deadly territory.


    After all this, he had only felt a burst of joy on three separate asions, telling him he had passed the right corner in the maze of nodes in the body that alluded to the Order element.


    This was an undertaking that would span years, as the maze of meridians and nodes in the body were far too many, and the possiblebination would have to be measured in trillions.


    Otherwise, some fellow would discover a new element every other week.

 Chapter 292 - 292

    Darius spent the rest of the day working this out, until both his Branded Servants returned from their fun.


    X was extremely rosy, assuring him that she had spent the money to her satisfaction.


    Although her arms were empty, making it seem like she came back empty-handed, she had her own Inventory, as well as a few empty Bags of Holding Darius didn''t need anymore, so space was not an issue for her.


    On the other hand, Gunner appeared dissatisfied. When Darius asked him for the reason, therged reported that Favelia''s arenas were not as good as those in the City of Divinity.


    The amenities were lower quality, the crowds were not as enthusiastic and the fighters were weaker. Darius could only pat his back and exin that there was a reason why the City of Divinity was regarded as the best ce in the traversable areas of Faust.


    The Favelian Empire wasn''t even in the top 100, it was just a random one that was slightly above-average.


    Gunner could only sigh in mncholy.


    "Well, it''s time for us to take our leave. We have to get back to ensure that everything goes as nned this time." Darius informed the duo.


    Gunner nodded. "I''m ready to go back. There is much to do and a lot to prepare."


    X agreed. "I really want to see this ce we''ll soon be calling home!"


    Darius chuckled. "Dear X, while that ce will be our base of operation, it won''t be our home. No, our true home, the ce that only belongs to us in this world, is where I will be taking you to right now."


    Darius gathered them close and took out a House Portal scroll. Then, a yellow light shed around them as they disappeared from the Favelian Empire''s inn andnded directly in the Divine de.


    This was why Darius had not used his House Portal scrolls to jump to the homestead or Foldo''s faction, or even Listo. He had permanently set the Divine de as his ''home'' and the benefit of this was that as long as he was on the same continent, he could return with a simple House Portal scroll.


    For cross-continent, Darius guessed he would have to upgrade the system''s map function or the Supreme System in its entirety.


    Gunner looked around with a smile, breathing in the smell of the ce he already regarded as his home. As for X, she was stunned to her core as she took in the sight of the picturesque de.


    Dark, with little drops of sunlight peeking through the canopies that illuminated the area just by the right amount, and refreshing. Whatpletely baffled X was the pool full of Lunar Dew to the left of the cottage that created a small mist of pure spiritual energy.


    When X saw the fairies, she squealed in delight. "O my Divine Light, fairies!''


    She rushed over to them, and shockingly to Darius and Gunner, the fairies also spotted X and shrieked as they flew over to her. The two parties embraced each other like long-lost siblings.


    The fairies flew around X and kissed her all over, making the Elven Princess giggle with glee. She also gently yed with the smaller entities, making the fairiesugh in a high-pitched tone that was pleasant to the ear.


    Darius and Gunner watched the magical and beautiful sight before them with soft smiles. The duo had be really fond of X over their rtively short amount of time together, feeling that she brought a certain light to their lives.


    Darius passed a hand through his hair. "I feel like marrying her off would be the hardest thing to swallow."


    Gunner nodded in agreement. "Simple solution: Beat up anyone who dares to get near her."


    The duo already regarded X as their family, like a younger sister. While they themselves held not a lick of romantic interest, there were many fellows who would be enchanted by X''s beauty and pleasant aura.


    So far X hadn''t seemed interested in any of them, yet that was likely temporary. She just hadn''t met her soulmate, and Darius of all people knew that once she did, that was it.


    He was afraid that it would be just as hard as it had been when he had given Selena away.


    Trying to change his train of thought, Darius gazed at the many chests that still littered the area around the cottage. He mumbled lightly: "Well, we''ll need to carry all these away, as they will be needed for the new territory."


    Gunner nodded and turned to Darius. "Still haven''t thought of a name?"


    Darius smiled bitterly. "Not yet. I want something meaningful yet sentimental. Initially, I was going to name it after Deia, but after seeing that my soulmate was somehow reincarnated here in Faust, it feels a little too awkward."


    Gunner''s lips twitched as he agreed silently. Of course, he and X knew about Darius, it had been provided in the introductory infopack when they were branded.


    For this very reason, Gunner hadn''t asked any questions when he saw AI Miranda for the first time, because he already knew about Darius'' life from Earth.


    It made no real sense to keep them out of the loop.


    Knowing where he came from as well as who was pulling the strings would allow them to work better. This was why even when Cesar had descended, Gunner had acted calm, already aware of his existence, as well as Vena''s, and Darius'' overall goal to be a Supreme for her amusement.


    Simrly, the branded duo''s reasons for never proactively leaving Darius'' side or pursue their own interests stemmed from this. Once they were enlightened that their entire world was nothing but a stage built to entertain its creator, everything else seemed petty inparison.


    The only real goal was to be stronger and reach the Supreme stage, then they would be free to do whatever they wanted.


    Yes, it wasn''t a mistake. Gunner and X genuinely thought like this.


    Not only that, they had developed the same mentality most gamers had towards NPCs, not exactly disdain, but a sort of pity. They were like 3D entities in a world where everything else was 2D.


    At the time they became a Branded Servant, the system had stated that it had converted their existence. As such, they technically went from being 2D to 3D in terms of existence, allowing them to simultaneously step out of the limitations of Faust while still being there.

 Chapter 293 - 293

    Darius let X explore the cottage and familiarize herself with it. Not wanting to rush her, the trio ended up spending the night there.


    The next day, Darius stuffed as many chests as he could into the freed-up slots of his inventory.


    Unfortunately, one could not ce a Bag of Holding in another Bag of Holding, otherwise Darius would have not been forced to leave some resources behind. The trio struggled until they got everything out.


    Once done, Darius was about to use a Long Warp scroll to sent them towards the territory which was 10,543 km away, but he suddenly had a thought.


    Didn''t he need more AP and SP to strengthen himself?


    Why notˇ­ undertake the Event with Lord Darm''s Coffin?


    Back then, he and Gunner had not only resolutely left, but had also sealed the cave with the sleeping vampire because they hadn''t dared to risk their lives.


    Now though, Darius had the Resurrection Stone at his disposal and he and his people were much stronger, even though it was just by one stage.


    Even if Gunner and X died, he could bring them back with Lunar Dew as long as he had a drop of their blood. The reason he needed the Resurrection Stone was because if he died, it was likely Gunner and X would be dead too.


    If that happened who was going to use the Lunar Dew on himself for him?


    Darius closed the scroll and pondered before smiling. Whatever the case, the homestead was only about 50 km or less away from here. Since he had increased Group Teleportation to level 15, he could jump a colossal 1.5 km each time.


    The spell cost 40 MP and with Darius'' current pool of 1,680 MP, he could use it 42 times before emptying his MP. That equated to 63 km in one shot, which was quite impressive.


    However, one shouldn''t forget the various other modifiers. For one, his two passive skills, Spell Enhancement and Spell Mastery, both had been increased to level 5.


    The former now increased spell effectiveness by 5%, whereas thetter reduced spell cost by 5%. In other words, his base 1.5 km would actually teleport him 1.575 km and the 40 MP cost would be reduced to 38.


    However, this was not all. There was also the newly acquired equipment he got from his third appraisal session with Foldo, some of which had scary effects.


    His Gloves of the Mage increased spell effectiveness by 1.5x and reduced spell cost by the same amount. His Dragonscale Staff increased spell power by 2.5x.


    As for his Golden Earring and Magic Cloak, they also had some special abilities, yet those weren''t relevant to the current situation.


    Factoring the increase from the Gloves, his new distance would go from 1575 meters to 2363 meters, or 2.36 km. As for the spell cost, it would go down from 38 to 25.


    Adding in the increase from the staff, the total distance was now 5,908 meters or 5.90km. This leap in power was truly horrifying once one thought about it, and Darius'' expression became grim.


    After all, these items were not unique ones. Many other Journeymen and above stage fellows of notable bearing would have such equipment on their person to boost their power, whether mage or fighter.


    Calling Journeymen trash when speaking about the Magical Method was mostly referring to Andrato''s standard for Journeymen. In the better empires, things would never be like this and this was why Andrato was capped at the Adept stage.


    Of course, given more time, the standard would rise and so too would the cap.


    Long story short? If Darius could achieve such a great power boost with equipment, so too could others. This was another reason why he avoided fighting humans or sentients, because they would have more means than mere monsters.


    Look at Gunner for example. Even with all these boots, Darius would have a really hard time killing Gunner on his own if someone would have sent the half-giantd to kill him. If others existed out there like him and he foolishly gained their ire, he would die quickly.


    Caution was still needed, but not as much as before. He too had some power and means, so he did not need to debase himself to raise the enemy''s morale.


    Whatever the case, Darius cast Group Teleportation about 8 times before they appeared outside the homestead. He only spent a total of 200 MP to achieve crossing 50km on his own with two other people with him, a feat unimaginable by any normal Journeymen, perhaps only feasible for top-tier Adepts.


    Gunner was surprised by this while X simply observed the ce. She had learned of it through the infopack but had not yet seen it with her own two eyes, leading to her current curiosity.


    Darius happily noticed that the homestead was busy with the leftover residents were packing and putting things into caravans. He didn''t bother to enter since Shanks'' two kids had long set off for the territory.


    It was now left with the rest to slowly gather their things and migrate over which would take a lot of time. The total length of the journey was roughly 1/4th of Earth''s circumference.


    If the caravans crossed a total of 10 km/h, they would move for about 12 hours a day and rest the remaining 12.


    So at a speed of 120 km per day, they would arrive 89 dayster assuming everything went well. That was about three months, more than enough time for Darius to expand the territory to its limits.


    From here, Darius directly walked towards the forest leading to the Lost River. It took only about 30 minutes for the group to reach the familiar cave which held the likely deadly Event, but this time it was squarely blocked by a huge boulder.


    Interestingly, the boulder looked to be on itsst legs. It had been beaten, scratched, and charged at over and over by a variety of beats over the years.


    In fact, the clearing was full of various corpses, belonging to clearly lower intelligence beasts that had been attracted here by the vampire''s aura.

 Chapter 294 - 294

    Darius was not surprised by this, as the vampire was stated to have an aura that charmed weak-minded monsters and animals, so that they would free it from its bindings.


    Darius and Gunner had discovered it in the first ce because a Single-headed Ogre had tried to bash the boulder in.


    X frowned as she got close. "I sense a despicable aura of evil and malice nearby."


    Darius and Gunner shared a look. "Well, we kinda sense a familiar feelingˇ­"


    X was confused by this until she thought of the two vampires Darius had raised. If it felt familiar to them, then it stood to reason that the one sealed inside would at least be a Pureblood Vampire.


    "Well, let''s head in shall we?" Darius prompted as he nodded to Gunner, whozily knocked the boulder aside with his fist. It jumped and rolled some distance away, shaking the ground as it did so.


    The trio entered the short passageway that led to the small, polished cave where the coffin stilly on a stone table. The coffin hadn''t changed much, only that the dark aura from it had gotten slightly stronger.


    Obviously, as was the case with all seals, it had likely gotten weaker over time. When before only a single ogre had been summoned to this ce, over time hundreds of different species had died in front of the cave in futility.


    Darius Analyzed the coffin just as he didst time.


    [Coffin of Lord Darm - Event


    Durability: 1,000,000/1,000,000


    Description: The sealing ground of the evil vampire Lord Darm. This cave has been abandoned by humans and monsters alike for many decades. Do not stay too long around the coffin, otherwise the residual spirit of its owner might influence you to unseal him by any means necessary.


    Event details: Awaken Lord Darm and survive his onught of minions as well as his own assault.


    Event rewards:


    - If all undead minions are killed: 10 Ability Points, 5 Skill Points.


    - If all vampire minions are killed: 30 Ability Points, 15 Skill Points.


    - If Lord Darm is defeated: 50 Ability Points, 25 Skill Points, and the hatred of the Darm Vampire n.


    - if Lord Darm is killed (true death): 100 Ability Points and 50 Skill Points, the ''Vampire yer'' title and immunity from the Darm Vampire n''s retaliation.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. This was just the second Event he had encountered, but it made him aware that the previous ''Thor''s Hammer'' Event had basically been a freebie, something that had involved little stress for big rewards. However, this matter concerning Lord Darm would not be anywhere near as simple.


    Darius had the confidence to beat the undead and vampire minions, as long as none of them were at the Master stage.


    However, Lord Darm himself was the real problem. If he was a Pureblood Vampire like Mikey and Joneson - which was likely since he was called ''Lord'' - then it was entirely possible for him to be Adept or even at the Master stage.


    Even the best-case scenario was truly terrifying. If one thought back, Mikey and Joneson had already possessed stats at the Master stage back when they were early Adepts.


    But if Lord Darm was a genuine Master stage foe... just what would his stats be like?!


    Was it even possible to kill him?


    This might be why the Event had separated his segment into two, defeat and destroy. Defeating just involved weakening him until he could fight no more, or even managing to reseal him.


    Killing though, required ending his life in a way that he could never be brought back. With the various methods that existed in Faust, especially for tenacious undead, the only way was to use the Light or Healing element, especially thetter.


    Darius had discovered that the reason why the undead from the ins of Death had fled in horror after he had killed one of them with his Heal spell was because the spell had utterly destroyed them with no hope of reincarnation.


    It was fine to ''die'' as an undead, as they could either return to their master, if he was powerful enough to be recreated, or drift away to the wheel of reincarnation to be reborn once more.


    With Darius'' Heal, neither option would be achievable any longer, which ¨C quite ironically ¨C would guarantee them a fate worse than (un)death.


    Still, Darius had the feeling that his basic Heal spell, albeit at level 16, would not be enough to fight back against this vampire should his spections be correct. As such, he needed to ensure that they woulde out on top by fortifying their chances.


    Darius nodded to Gunner. He then took out hundreds of Purification Potions and poured them around the cave. An interesting consequence of this was that the coffin in the middle began to shake and tremble, revealing that something wanted toe out and stop them.


    However, Darius didn''t stop there, he took more of those light-based potions and poured them right on the coffin, soaking it entirely. At this point, the shaking became so bad that it seemed that it would fall off and roll on the ground.


    The trio could hear groans of agony from within, a baritone voice that was enchanting likely belonging to the sealed vampire lord.


    Even though he had been sshed with such a hateful liquid, he still couldn''t break the coffin''s seal by himself, as it had rather be slightly stronger while he had be weaker.


    Darius saw this and nodded. "We''ll set up camp outside. We''ll make some more meaningful preparations before releasing his seal. This should be enough to keep him in for a good while."


    The trio left the cave, ignoring the pained groans of the vampire lord, who was rolling about in his wooden confines while suffering pain like never before. Even the person who sealed him had not been cruel enough to torture him like this, leaving a smattering of hatred and fear in the unawakened vampire''s heart.


    Currently, his eyes were closed and the majority of his mind was still forced into passivity, yet he could still muster some low-level awareness, enough to make such thoughts and realizations.


    As for his retribution... he could only swallow his indignation since his senses could not leave the coffin. He had no idea who or what had just performed this vile act upon his noble person.

 Chapter 295 - 295

    Darius entered the clearing and frowned. He gazed at all the corpses nearby and shook his head, activating the intermediate Death element spell he had created during his 5-year seclusion.


    Death''s Call!


    [Death''s Call - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Call back the souls of the dead to their bodies, retaking their forms in perfect shape and bing a part of a glorious new race. This spell can only be used on 5 corpses at a time.]


    With hundreds of corpses, Darius had to cast it almost 50 times to revive all the fallen. The miraculous thing about this powerful Journeyman spell was that no matter the corpses'' level of decay, they would be restored perfectly.


    It was like time was reversing itself, their flesh, skin, and even bones growing back until a whole corpse that looked like it had passed away peacefullyy there.


    However, each corpse would shakily rise up and open their pitch ck eyes to look around with confusion. After realizing they were alive once more, they would show different reactions ranging from shock, to fear, to joy.


    Darius'' spell was far more powerful than Mikey and Joneson''s Raise Dead skill. That one would raise corpses using Death Energy as a foundation, with merely a 20% chance of the undead gaining sentience.


    Furthermore, the corpses would rise in whatever condition they had died in and would have no real intelligence, only acting using the instincts the Death Energy imbued into them. It was like the core of their existence, which gave them ''life'' and ''awareness''.


    However, Darius'' spell called back their souls from wherever they had gone to, after restoring their bodies into perfect shape. This was just one step below resurrection in its truest sense, just a little bit off from copying the Lunar Dew''s abilities.


    However, that gap was like an endless canyon.


    While Darius had brought back their souls, brought back these undeads'' full sentience and awareness, as well as restored their deceased bodies to physical perfection, it didn''t change the fact that their hearts had stopped beating and their blood would no longer flow.


    They were still unable to breathe, reproduce, feel pain or pleasure. Their bodies were like any other undead, maintained by Death Energy, only that for Darius'' creation, they didn''t have it focused into a core, but had it freely flowing around their system.


    This was to mimic the effects of blood, and also had the interesting effect of greatly weakening damage caused by the Light and Healing element.


    Unlike a typical undead that would be utterly destroyed when hit with his Heal spell, these fellows would only die and have their souls return to wherever it came from.


    One could say that they were not bound to this earth permanently. As someone who had died and had his soul taken away from eternal rest to participate in a game, Darius could understand the frustration that came with it the most.


    Ge had designed this spell - that was right, Darius had created this spell over thesest 5 years - with three things in mind.


    Firstly, reduced Light and Heal element damage. Secondly, protect summoned souls so that they could return from whence they came upon destruction, so sort of a temporary revival. Thirdly, establish a cirction of Death Energy in the body to increase their strengths and grant them unique effects.


    It was clearly quite the huge sess from what one could see.


    Gunner rubbed his chin with interest, noticing that these undead were of a higher quality than those they had fought against years ago. As for X, with her passive Divine Sight, she could see a lot more.


    When she saw the structure of the spell and its effects, she nodded with a wry smile. Even though she was extremely opposed to necromancy and undead as a Divine Maiden, the elven princess had to admit her master''s methods were the most humane of them all.


    What left X utterly speechless was the fact that the Divine Light and Divine Life behind her were utterly silent, and in her spiritual eye, it felt like the two holy Goddesses were gazing at the sky purposefully, making X''s lips twitch.


    What was so interesting in looking at what was essentially nothingness?!


    After all, these Divine Elements that were unique to the Elven race had formed consciousnesses, but not bodies, and were still concepts.


    However, that was how the world worked. Even the most righteous and pious judge wouldpromise if the sum of money you passed him under the table wasrge enough.


    With the ''money'' the Supreme System was ''paying'' these two Divine Concepts, they would even swallow Darius being Thanatos'' son, much less a mere this.


    Darius then took out a small device from his Inventory and ced it on the ground. It was a glowing white cube that had a blue line crisscrossing within it. X and Gunner easily identified it as Gravitas tech as usual, but what it did specifically though, they didn''t know.


    "Step back everyone, give me some space." Darius advised as he moved back a few meters. The raised undead also retreated immediately while Gunner and X shared a look beforeplying.


    All parties gazed with curiosity as to what exactly would happen next when Darius brought his HoloBrace up to his face and spoke. "Miranda, activate the Portable Housing."


    The bubbly AI appeared from the advanced tech and nodded with excitement. "Sure!"


    Immediately, the cube began to shake for a bit, strange whirring sounds emerging that sounded simr to a printer starting up. The next moment, all here except Darius were left tongue-tied and with bulging eyes as they watched that tiny cube transform into a house.


    To them, it looked like nothing short of a miracle, but to Darius, it mostly looked simr to how those cars from the Transformer movies would systematically be giant robots.


    Darius turned to the undead. "Guard outside until we leave."


    Then he turned to the silent Gunner and X with a smile of amusement.


    "Come in, we have some work to do."

 Chapter 296 - 296

    Darius led them through the small house that looked like a modern three bedroom apartment. It had a small entrance and a long hall with stairs that led to the upper floor.


    Going through the hall, one would end up in the living room, which was furnished with a fewfortable sofas and a ss coffee table.


    As par for the course, the room also had a TV. As long as one connected their HoloBrace to it, they could ''throw'' anything to the TV and enjoy it.


    It was currently ying the Anime his nephews had enjoyed a lot as teenagers. It was about a young man who had been betrayed by his beloved. After years of nning his revenge, he had been able to achieve his goal, yet had been killed not long after.


    However, that was where the show had picked off. The young man had received a second chance to live his life again. s, it had been discontinued because of some controversy in regards to the ''betrayal'' of the young man''s girlfriend during his first life.


    (Editor''s Note; Shameless self-promotion is shameless~ )


    Behind the living room was a small dining table with four chairs, a nice little bowl of fruits ced on a table cloth. There were also two shakers, one for salt, the other for pepper.


    Behind the dining table and connected to the northernmost end of the room was the kitchen. The fridge, cooker, dishwasher, sink, kettle, microwave were here.


    Going back to the hall, the door just to the left of the stairs led to the guest bathroom, which had a separate toilet and tub.


    Upstairs, the hallway was simr to the one below only that it had a door at the end.


    On both sides, there were three doors each. The first door to the right was a furnished bedroom with its own bathroom. The first door to the left was a single toilet, while the second door to the right was the washing room.


    There was a washing machine here with a separate dryer. The second door to the left was another furnished bedroom with its own bathroom. The third door to the right was the final furnished bedroom with a bathroom, only that this was the master bedroom.


    The third door to the left was a bathroom without a toilet. As for the door at the end of the hall, it led to a sizable balcony with potted nts and a clothesline.


    X and Gunner explored the house and marveled at the facilities. It was small but efficient, containing all that one needed and more. In fact, this tiny thing could even house a family, and it was only about 1/10th the size of the shittiest manor!


    Darius chuckled at their speechlessness.


    Back when he had visited Japan to acquire Nintendo, he hadn''t imagined that there were whole neighborhoods with houses styled like this.


    Narrow alleyways, close-knit houses, and small buildings that looked like they were for the poor, had actually been for the middle-ss.


    Until one entered inside and saw how it was made, they wouldn''t understand why housing in urban areas of Japan were much less of a problem than in other ces on Earth.


    That was why he chose that style instead of American apartments since they were also reasonablypact, but were not detached. Japan liked to build small rectangles to live in while America liked to build upwards to save space.


    Darius nodded to the trio. "Decide amongst yourself who will get what room. After you''re done settling in,e downstairs."


    X showed excitement and quickly chose the room on the left, the second door. Gunner, left in the dust, could only ept the first room from the stairs on the right.


    While they both entered to decorate their rooms to their liking, Darius went downstairs and entered the living room.


    For a brief moment, he paused as he watched the screen. It was the iconic, yet controversial scene, where the young man reconciled with the female main character. To this day Darius was incapable of understanding how it could have been misconstrued as badly as it had been.


    Personally, he had always felt a strange sort of kinship to the male lead. Perhaps it was the fact they had both suffered from deception for a long period of time, or maybe it was the fact that despite it all they had found their Soulmate.


    Darius turned it off, before he finally removed his attire and ced it in the washing room, leaving him with only his tight Polymer Suit.


    Even though he could use magic, he missed the functions of tech which was why he was willing to bother using the machine instead of the Cleanse spell.


    Besides, it felt better to have fewer clothes on. After all, the dressing in Fallon was far more extravagant than on Earth with far moreyers of cloth.


    Darius entered the kitchen and began removing some ingredients from his Inventory, cing some in the fridge while leaving others on the counter.


    Just like that, the fellow began to cook a light meal consisting of oriental-style fried rice with stir-fried chicken and vegetables.


    Soon, both X and Gunner came down, lulled by the lovely smell wafting about the house. Darius chuckled and brought arge bowl to the table, along with two tes.


    Darius and X scooped a normal portion for themselves onto their tes. As for Gunner, he took the rest of the bowl and ate directly from it. Darius also removed three drinks from his Inventory.


    It was made of 1/10th a drop of Lunar Dew mixed with some special ginger ale. He also had fruit juice versions of this, and they tasted heavenly thanks to Transmutation and the tiny bit of Lunar Dew.


    Darius knew for a fact that if the three of them could still organically grow, they would have their Endurance and Intellect stat greatly increase with continuous consumption.


    After their meal, Darius then exined. "Right now, we need something to specifically deal with that Vampire Lord in the coffin."


    "Personally, I believe he might rank above Mikey and Joneson, in other words, we might have to deal not with a Pureblood Vampire, but a Vampire Lord. I''m not too sure about the exact details of Vampire hierarchy in terms of referencing, so this is just me guessing."


    "Still, it never hurts to overestimate the enemy and be over-prepared than underestimate them and be under-prepared." Darius advised solemnly.


    "I can likely tank any magic or physical attacks from him, so what we really need is something that can either bind and damage him." Gunner suggested thoughtfully.


    X smiled. "Luckily, I have just the thing to control him. My Ward Evil1 skill is perfect for the situation. The only problem is that its level is unfortunately on the low side, so I''ll have to make the best use of it."


    X rubbed her ears lightly. "Alternatively, we could look for another Event andplete it to gain Skill Points to power ourselves. Or we could simply farm a few levels to do so."  [Ward Evil - Level 2 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 5 MP


    Description: Channel the purest Holy Energy to create a field of repulsion around the user to any chosen target/location. All entities with a moral alignment of Chaotic Neutral and below, all entities possessing nefarious intent, and all entities affiliated with darkness and death will be blocked.]

 Chapter 297 - 297

    However, X was left speechless when the ever-calm Darius and the stable Gunner disyed fearful expressions. Without them having to say anything, she understood why they were like this.


    X sighed and once again felt grateful that she had yet to experience something as daunting as the Impossible ins of Death Quest.


    Just look at how traumatized these two were, it must have been quite the ordeal.


    Darius calmed down and coughed. "For now, my firepower should theoretically be enough to handle the Vampire Lord, but I don''t want to leave anything to chance. I will spend the next few days trying to design a spell of the Light or Heal element that specifically targets vampires."


    "I''m not sure how long it will take, so you two should use this time to either train, rx or go out." Darius advised with a soft smile.


    Gunner nodded but asked: "What about the Vampire Lord and his coffin?"


    Darius pondered for a bit. "Gunner, how about once per day, you take some Purification Potions and soak the coffin in it. The longer we do this, the weaker the Vampire Lord should be when we initiate the Event."


    Gunner and X were stunned, then felt sympathy for the sealed creature. Hising days were not going to be pleasant in the least, and he was likely going to wish he were truly dead.


    After informing them of their tasks, X went to sit before the TV and yed around with it, trying to figure it out. As for Gunner, he left to go and explore the area.


    Darius noted that his around 250 undead monsters would asionally engage in a battle, as the vampire''s charm was still pulling in new fellows periodically. Against the army of undead though, it was futile.


    Darius went to his room and sat down at a small desk there. There usually should have been aputer on it, but such things were no longer needed due to the HoloBrace.


    Currently, Darius was working with Miranda on his new spell. This was something Miranda had informed him about, after she had finished absorbing so much information from the Great Library.


    It could be said that now, the AI was much more experienced and knowledgeable than he was. When he had previously been working on the Intermediate Order spell, the AI had already offered to help and had managed to further his progress by a strong 10% in one day!


    Unfortunately, this had been her limit as the basic archives only had a smattering of info on the Order element. It was very likely that the key details for it might be somewhere in God Krona''s restricted section, making Darius desire it more and more.


    However, everything in due time.


    Right now, he began with the Theory for the Heal element spell he was making. He wanted to try using this element instead of the Light because only Heal could likely give the Vampire Lord a true death.


    Darius slowly drew a pattern in the air with his finger as he thought. Nothing came out of it, but it helped shape his ideas ordingly as he made the statement.


    ''I want to be able to transform the Death element within a vampire to the Life element. It should have an effective range of 2 meters, strike one target, and function instantly.''


    It was a semi-detailed theory with most of the necessary parts covered. He had detailed the range, the mode of fire, the number of targets, the duration, and the effect at once.


    It was good enough to move to the Design phase. This was the most time-consuming segment, for Darius would carefully have to draw a path for his mana to pass through to convert to the Life element and then mold it to achieve the effect he wanted, all done manually.


    Due to his high-quality spellspared to others, thisrgely wasn''t an issue for the first stage, which was elemental conversion. Darius already knew the path it needed to pass, and even if he faltered, Miranda could pick up the ck.


    After doing so, he carefully began to shift and manipte the Life element energy in the Design to emit itself simr to the Heal spell and work within the body of the target.


    This too wasn''t really an issue since he had the foundation from the basic Heal spell to work with. What came as a real challenge was turning the Death Energy within to Life Energy on contact.


    This was in contrast to the Heal spell, which introduced pure Life Energy into the body of its targets. This reinvigorated the living and tortured the dead, for it wouldbust when it came in contact with their Death Energy.


    However, just this was not enough to take down even Mikey and Joneson, not to mention whoever lived in that coffin.


    The Death Energy was so powerful and thick that the little bit of life energy he introduced with each cast of Heal was mostly just a painful p, but not fatal in the way it was to a low-level undead with a thin and messy Death element.


    To truly damage one like Lord Darm so thoroughly that he had to die, one would have to take his plentiful death energy away. Darius could either try a Death element spell that sucked it away or a Life element spell that converted it.


    He chose thetter for the former would be foolish. No matter how smart he was, going against an entity that had lived and breathed Death Energy for who knows how many years sounded far-fetched.


    He might have immunity to Death element attacks or ways to counter it. But against the Life element, there was no counter because he would never expect such a thing.


    Darius was, after all, an anomaly who could use the pure and gentle Life element to actually harm Death Energy beings.


    Putting aside the effect of the spell, just using Heal alone would be enough to make Lord Darm feel fear from the prospects of the future if Life Energy could now damage him.

 Chapter 298 - 298

    Darius spent the next month working on his new spell. Miranda''s help had been a great boon for him, preventing him from making too many mistakes, smoothening his path forward by quite a bit.


    By supplementing crucial information on various matters and performing simtions repeatedly, the AI had helped shorten the overall process, but ultimately it was on Darius as for how long it would take.


    Meanwhile, X had spent this month mostly watching old TV series from Earth collected from Darius'' memory.


    The Branded Servants had both received full ess to everything on their HoloBraces, something that nobody else but Deia would be granted in the future.


    The young elf had quickly discovered her love for the series CSI andedy-dramas in general. It left her totally enraptured, while the elf hugged a couch pillow,pletely fixated on the screen.


    Darius and Gunner were forced toe in periodically to check up on her, only to find her crying and fighting back whenever they tried to feed her.


    The two fellows only had wry smiles at this kind of behavior.


    If they didn''t do this, wouldn''t she starve to death behind the TV? Why did the sweet Elven Princess have to bite and scratch them like a crazy feline?


    As for Gunner, he had spent most of his time with training. Still, since even X had to sleep, he had asionally watched some TV.


    Darius had rmended for the half-giantd to watch some action anime. After browsing through a few anime, Dragon Ball had quickly be Gunner''s favorite, especially after a character named Broly had been introduced.


    Even Darius was left speechless. They looked 95% simr to each other, and if he didn''t know any better, he would have sworn they must have been rted in some way.


    A big part of Gunner''s training now included him trying to copy some of Broly''s skills and techniques to incorporate into his fighting style. Clearly, therged had found a role model.


    So far, he had created three new skills that the Supreme System epted, which were;


    [Earthen Lariat - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Channel great amounts of pure Earth Energy into your arms, rushing forward to strike your foes with a powerfulriat. This deals 60% earth damage.]


    [Omega Blow - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Energy into a ball, throwing it out in apressed form to explode on impact. This deals 90% earth damage to a single target.]


    [Eraser Cannon - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Energy into a beam, sting it out at any angle within 10 meters. This deals 120% earth damage.]


    Since the skills were self-taught, they had different power, unlike transmuted skills which were all at 5x the base value. However, Darius was impressed by Gunner''s learning ability and his adaptability with the Earth element.


    Darius sincerely doubted that even pureblood giants were so talented as Gunner, and upon checking with the Database, he found that this was true, Gunner was indeed special.


    Fortunately, the half-giant wasn''t the only one who was progressing. Darius was currently at the Experiment stage. This stage was not even a problem for him as Miranda had already run countless simtions while they were preparing.


    In other words, having Miranda was like being able to jump to the Experiment stage to see the effectiveness of the spell while in the Design stage, so the actual Experiment stage was kindaˇ­ routine.


    Still, it was necessary. Just like with Scientific Experiments, one could run all the simtions they wanted and get a good answer 99/100 times, but upon trying on live subjects, unounted problems would quickly reveal themselves.


    That was just how things were, and the same went for magic in Faust. Darius gently activated the spell and it worked while he used the slow method the first time.


    He then spent the next week sequentially increasing the speed at which he activated the spell. The Supreme System targeting could not help him here as it wasn''t something keyed into the system yet, so he needed to do it like any other mage.


    Darius made sure there were no problems with the internal activation and that everything ran smoothly before moving to the Verify stage after yet another week.


    Here, he cast the spell outwards and felt everything go mostly right. In fact, ording to Miranda, there was a high chance that it was perfect. However, therey an issue with this stage, and it was the fact thatˇ­ Dariuscked an actual target to test it on.


    Unfortunately, vampires didn''t grow on trees nor were there a vampire test subject delivery service he could call. So far, he had merely cast the spell and felt it workˇ­ without being able to tell if it would actually work.


    This was a very unique problem to have and Darius was unsure whether to just move to the Conclusion stage or not. Eventually, Miranda convinced him to get it done.


    Whatever the case, if it worked, the Supreme System would incorporate it, and with its targeting, it would not fail. If he penned a spell manual for it, even if it was wed, he could transmute it to perfection.


    As such, there would be no loss.


    As long as he could pass the Design and Experiment stages sessfully, he could skip the Verify stage and still get his spell to work by abusing the tools granted him.


    After Darius was done, he named the spell ''Convert Vampire''. This was different from the Journeyman ''Turn Undead'' which was a Light-based element spell that cleansed undead and sent them to the afterlife in peace.


    It was unique for two reasons, the first being that Convert Vampire was specific to the vampire race and would not work on any other type of undead. The second was the fact that Turn Undead struck the target with Light Energy that coursed through their system and expunged all Death Energy.


    As for Convert Vampire, it used mana to turn into Life Energy that would enter the body of the target and convert all their Death Energy. Instead of removing anything, their internals would be changed fundamentally.


    It was practically the same as injecting poison into someone''s veins that would corrupt their blood. Nevertheless, there were a few ways to fight against that, chief of all being to inject to the corresponding antidote.


    But what if someone injected you with medicine that changed your entire bloodstream into medicine? How was one supposed to fight that?


    How long would one even be able to live with medicine in their veins instead of blood?

 Chapter 299 - 299

    After about 6 weeks of time in their little abode, Darius finally packed everything up. He showered and had onest meal with Gunner and X, before Darius packed the Portable Housing back into his Inventory.


    Since they were still in the clearing before the cave, their target was just a stone''s throw away. Around the clearing were new corpses of various monsters and beasts that had been lured in by the desperate Darm, allying around while rotting.


    As for the undead Darius had created, their number had gone down from 250 to 245 over this period of time, 5 of them perishing to ambushes, sneak attacks, or just mere carelessness.


    Their corpses had turned to dust and their souls had returned to whence they came, be it Heaven or Hell. This was Darius'' way of making sure that if he revived a target once, it could never be brought back again, free to enjoy - or suffer - eternal slumber.


    As for the new corpses, Darius brought the toughest looking ones back to life with 6 casts, adding about 28 monsters and beasts to his current fold.


    He nodded to Gunner and X, then entered the cave in a single file.


    As for the undead, Darius made them wait outside, for their use had note yet. Additionally, after weeks of pouring volumes of Purification Potions on poor Darm, the entire cave was soaked in it.


    This had created some life in the cave, with white-colored grass growing like a carpet.


    Light, Earth, and Life element were three elements on the same side of the coin, while opposed by the Darkness, Wind, and Death elements respectively.


    The ce looked fresher and much more lively, making Darius smile softly. He gazed at Darm''s coffin and winced. The entire thing that had glowed with malice and Death Energy the first time they had entered, now shone with the radiance of light and holiness.


    X and Darius were speechless while Gunner shrugged. It seemed that after so much time, even Darm''s bed could now be considered a holy object.


    Justˇ­ what kind of torment had the undead gone through?


    Pouring Purification Potions on him was hardly any different from throwing hydrochloric acid on any person. That kind of pain, having your skin and flesh eaten away, was not something just anyone could bear.


    "Open it." Darius nodded to Gunner.


    Therged walked over and ced his hand on the lid. Just before he put any energy to lift it up, the trio received the same notification from the Supreme System.


    [Note: By removing the lid, the Event will automatically begin and cannot be canceled!]


    Gunner ignored it and continued pushing it open. Now that they were here and had made so many preparations, what was the point of warning them?


    The lid came off smoothly, and the body within revealed itself to the trio. It was a supremely handsome middle-aged man with short blonde hair, a hooked nose, and pinkish lips.


    His fair - almost pale - skin was fresher than that of a newborn baby, and he wore red-colored noble''s livery. Gunner slowly stepped back from the coffin once a prompt appeared before the trio.


    [The Event ''Coffin of Lord Darm'' has begun!]


    The next moment, the eyes of the Vampire Lord snapped open, exposing two blood-red pupils that glowed with power. From hisying position, he lifted his upper body and gazed at himself.


    After doing so for a second, he turned to take in the sight of Darius and co. He then spoke in that baritone of his.


    "Are you the ones who- AARGGH!"


    Darius cut him off mid-question by testing his new Convert Vampire spell.


    [Convert Vampire - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 MP


    Description: Infuse a vampire of any grade with pure Life Energy that bears the special property of converting Death Energy to itself on contact. This deals 250% life damage.


    Note: this spell can only be used with the Supreme System.]


    A single cast took about 5% of Darius'' total MP at this stage, but the effect was unbelievable. However, after factoring in Darius'' various passive skills, elemental bonus, and critical hit as well as equipment boosts, the final damage was a crazy 13,500!


    This should be enough to vanquish any weak Master, but when Darius Analyzed Lord Darmˇ­


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Lord Darm


    Race: Undead


    ss: Vampire Lord


    Subss: Hemomancer


    HP: 40,575/40,710 (189,750/189,750)


    MP: 9,090/9,090 (38,760/38,760)


    STA: 10,350/10,350 (41,800/41,800)


    Level: 45 (76)


    Strength: 177 (345)


    Agility: 189 (410)


    Endurance: 230 (550)


    Intellect: 202 (510)


    Charisma: 105 (200)


    Luck: -3 (0)


    Abilities: Raise Dead, Summon Undead, Restore Undead, Reim, Promote, Create Initiate, Create Half-blood, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Upgrade Blood Warriors, Blood Drain, Blood Maniption, Blood des, etc


    Traits: Magic Resistance, Blood Ward, Perfect Dominate, Sword Mastery.


    Weapons: Magic and Sword.]


    Darius almost hyperventted, and upon sharing it with Gunner and X, both their faces paled greatly. The sheer power of the Vampire Lord was beyond their understanding, and it was clear that drowning him in Purification Potions had been effective.


    Looking at his original stats in the brackets, Darius was thankful he had decided to spent time preparing, otherwise they certainly would have quickly perished at the hands of such a powerhouse.


    Clearly, this wasn''t an Event they were meant to clear any time soon. It wouldn''t surprise him if it had been yet another one of Caesar''s traps. At best, their group could have handled the first two objectives before fleeing.


    Even defeating Darm would be an uphill task, much less killing him. Even though Darm''s current stats were quite horrific inparison, the power Darius and his two Branded Servants - as well as their skills - wielded was enough to deal with this weakened Vampire Lord.


    However, Darius'' face became ck when his trump card, the powerful Convert Vampire spell, had only done 1% of its total damage!


    This could only mean that Lord Darm had a whopping 100 points in Resistance overall!

 Chapter 300 - 300

    This was the exact reason Darius would prefer to avoid fighting rich or sentient foes, for they too could equip various ornaments and special attires that could increase their attack or defense in various ways and even provide them special abilities on top of that.


    Unfortunately, this decked-out Vampire Lord happened to have such things on him. Reaching a total of 100 Resistance was by far not an easy thing.


    While Gunner had a total of 105, that was only due to the Elite Warrior''s Vestbined with the upgraded Synthetic Polymer Suit Version 6.0. The former was a top-notch secret creation from Gravitas, whereas thetter was the result of Darius'' Combine skill.


    Darius himself had only 7 points more than Gunner. 60 came from his own piece of armor, while the other 52 came from his various equipment like the staff, gloves, and earrings.


    Without an appraiser like him, the special characteristics of the equipment would have remained a mystery.


    Let''s not even talk about normal mages, their Resistance might not even reach double digits unless they really coughed out the funds for something good.


    Of course, there was the natural magic defense mages created when leveling up to Journeyman, but Lord Darm was obviously a being of the Death element.


    Darm was lucky that the Convert Vampire spell attacked from within, otherwise it would have shattered that defense and dealt an extra x2 damage modifier on top of it.


    His intentions by attacking now were quite obvious. He had wanted to verify the effect of the spell against the vampire, with the best-case scenario being that his assassination attempt would have swiftlypleted the Event.


    However, that had clearly been wishful thinking.


    He was happy that he wasn''t alone in this fight and had his trusted Branded Servants by his side. The trio would have to fight this battle out properly and bring an end to the Vampire Lord.


    Darm finally stopped screaming and red at Darius'' group with hatred. "You! You were the vile vermin that tortured me day after day!"


    Darius smiled. "I deny such usations. We just came around today to explore this cave and opened your coffin. Upon seeing you rise, I knew you were a dangerous foe, so I attacked pre-emptively."


    Darm was left speechless by the exnation. The truth was, he couldn''t tell if it was them as he hadcked any way to see or sense anything outside the coffin before he had been released.


    On the one hand, given their timing, the probability was very high that they were the culprits or at least had something to do with them. On the other hand, for some reason the torture had stopped yesterday, which could have led to these fellowsing today.


    Lord Darm shook his head and pushed away all unnecessary thoughts. "I don''t care what you say, I have decided tobel you as the culprits."


    Darm raised his hand and pointed to the ceiling of the cave. He then closed his fist and punched out, creating a shockwave that blew the rocks away, creating a huge hole.


    Darius'' expression became serious, while Gunner stepped forward, his body glowing with two colors, green and blue-white. The former was his Earth''s Guardian skill and thetter was his Mageward Barrier.


    X cast Bless on the trio, as well as Holy Ward to increase their survivability. Darius held the Dragonscale Staff and began getting ready for what would happen next.


    Darm smiled and opened his arms. "Ah, the light of the sun! How beautiful, how exquisite, and how refreshing!"


    Darm floated out of his coffin and hovered in mid-air with his hands folded behind his back. "Truly, I might love darkness, but being in a stuffy coffin for over 200 years would be enough to drive anyone mad!"


    He then turned to Darius and co, his genial smile thinning greatly. "And just as Ie out, I find some food and entertainment. Well, this should be fun."


    Darm suddenly paused and looked thoughtful. "Well, I haven''t seen my undead army in so long, I wonder how they''re doing?"


    He smiled and waved his hand, opening nearly 30 human-sized portals at once.


    "I think the best way to find out would be to see for myself, wouldn''t you agree? Come forth, my minions, and destroy those who dare slight me!"


    The trio stepped back in shock, watching over 2,000 undead of various grades appear before them. Unfortunately, since the cave and the clearing were not toorge, they were forced to pack themselves like sardines.


    This lowered the grandeur of the undead army, but increased their threatening effect greatly. Darm saw this and was incensed, so he waved his hands to both sides.


    Immediately, the trees that surrounded the clearing were cut at the base by rapid des of blood, then blown away into the distance. This haphazard method certainly did increase the amount of space they could move for sure, but it also ruined thend around the cave.


    Darius was naturally not bothered, but X and Gunner were furious. One was the Divine Maiden of Life and the other was the descendant of Gaia. To see nature being disrespected like this was absolutely unforgivable!


    Darius mmed his staff to the ground and pointed forward. He then cast mepir, which swallowed the undead in the center of the army.


    The Vampire Lord was the only one with Resistance, so the undead were left naked before Darius'' might, suffering full damage.


    Even though the undead were mixed between Amateurs, Journeymen, and Adepts, they were all the same to the empowered Darius. His single attack that covered an area of 50 square meters killed more than 30 undead at once, more than 50% being Adept stage.


    The expression on Lord Darm''s face froze, his shock visible as he could notprehend how someone he perceived as a weakling under the Adept stage could muster such offensive power.


    He was left even more bbergasted when Gunner entered the battle with his familiar jumping Earthen Stomp, unbncing almost the entire army at once and killing all those in his immediate proximity.

 Chapter 301 - 301

    X also didn''t hold back, casting Purify on a Journeyman undead... dealing 38 points of damage.


    It couldn''t be helped, her Purify was still at the Basic grade and although it was level 12, it was the normal version. Unfortunately, it was impossible for an already learned skill/spell to be relearned, otherwise it would have been 60% efficient, instead of 12%.


    Still, X was not worried because her role in the party wasn''t a damage dealer, but a support and healer. She had already cast Bless on Darius and Gunner, increasing their HP, MP, and STA regen by 6% per second.


    The elf had also ced a Holy Ward over the duo, which had further increased their Physical and Magical Defense by 9.6%. For Darius, this was quite the help, but for Gunner, this was an incredibly huge increase, thanks to his base amount already high in both fields.


    She was waiting on the right time to use her Evil Ward, and her target was the airborne Vampire Lord. X wielded her staff and stabbed it into the ground. Then she removed the Bow of Houyi, as well as the Arrow of Artemis, from her Inventory.


    These two were a perfect match. The Bow of Houyi had a surestrike attribute that surpassed space and time. She could strike her target no matter the kind of defense he put upon himself.


    However, it dealt little to no damage against weak and small foes, only showing its true worth against powerful andrger foes depending on these two factors.


    The Arrow of Artemis also had a surestrike attribute, but it was far weaker, yet it was stacked to the OP one from the bow.


    Apart from the arrow''s high damage at 200-300, it also had a blink attribute. This meant that you wouldn''t even see it flying. The moment X let go of the fletching, it would teleport to directly before the target and strike them.


    The final attribute of the arrow was the return. It would tear through space and re-appear in her hands faster than she could think, allowing her to continuously fire.


    Thanks to them X had encountered so little trouble while she had been away from the two fellows, for there was no one she hadn''t been able to kill with such overpowered weapons.


    X took a deep breath and aimed at Lord Darm in the air for a split second before firing resolutely. The arrow disappeared and re-appeared in her hand the next moment, allowing her to fire again.


    The only thing that showed X''s efforts was the shrill cry of Lord Darm as he held his bleeding forehead.


    -238!


    It wasn''t much, but X was already grateful for this much. Darius'' failure of dealing with him quickly had already proven just how obscenely strong this ''Boss Monster'' before them was.


    With his high Endurance stat and likely plenty of defense - including the Blood Ward passive skill - the only reason she had dealt so much would have to be due to the Bow of Houyi''s special effect.


    It multiplied the damage by the amount of difference between the Strength of the two parties.


    X repeatedly fired at Lord Darm, choosing to strike at weak points so that her damage wouldn''t decrease and she could enjoy the asional critical hit bonuses. This infuriated Lord Darm, who had nned to watch his army dominate these vile weaklings.


    "Since you don''t want to follow the natural order of things, I shall do what I want as well!" Darm roared as he called up torrents of blood to form spears in the sky that angled towards the trio on the ground.


    X smiled as she saw that her provocation had worked perfectly. She put the bow aside and grabbed her staff, pointing it at Lord Darm as she cast her trump card spell, Evil Ward!


    This spell created a field of repulsion around a chosen target that would prevent those with alignments below chaotic neutral, Darkness and Death element users as well as Demons from entering or exiting.


    One could use this to protect oneself from an evil foe, which was the intention of the skill. But with the Supreme System''s targeting, a new loophole had opened up for X to cast it upon her foes.


    That''s right, she could create a makeshift prison with the Evil Ward to lock in evil foes. The duration of the spell depended on her mana reserves and the more the target struggled, the faster her MP would be drained as a result.


    The moment X trapped Lord Darm in the Ward, he too cast out his bloodnces. Unfortunately for him, Darius was ready for this as he cast a special Space element spell he had kept on hand for defense.


    [Spatial Dislocation - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Twist the flow of space around you and send what exists in one fold of space to another. The total radius of dislocated space is 20 meters.]


    Darius cast the spell twice in two seconds. The first one sent all thences heading towards himself and X into the mass of undead enemies, while the second were those heading for Gunner, also sent somewhere into the undead army.


    This spell was Darius'' defense against projectile attacks of a physical nature. Unfortunately, it had a poor effect on spells, only able to dy them and not relocate them.


    But against physical projectiles that were not actively controlled? It was a simple affair. Arrows, throwing knives, javelins, and the like were now useless before Darius as long as he had the time and ability to cast this spell.


    While Darm was locked up, he first disyed shock by the effect of the Evil Ward around him before tapping on it lightly.


    Making his earlier fury seem like a joke, the Vampire Lord studied the Evil Ward that trapped him like a schr finding the divine texts of Confucianism.


    Darius and Gunner used this chance to wantonly rampage among the 2,000ish undead, dropping their number to around 1,500.


    To do that, Darius had abused his one-second cast dy to unleash all his Journeyman AoE spells on the undead.


    Fire Element - mepir!


    Water Element - Waterfall!


    Wind Element - Tornado!


    Earth Element - Earthquake!


    Lightning Element - Thunderstorm!


    Gravity Element - Gravity Well!


    Sound Element - Wail!

 Chapter 302 - 302

    Darius had used those five years to learn many spells, yet only a few of them were wide-area and dealt sufficient damage in this situation.


    As for Gunner, he was having a st using his newly learned skills as well as the old ones.


    For the first time since he had acquired it, the half-giant used his Omega Blow. He floated into the air as greenish Earth Energy exploded around him, forming a palpable aura that suppressed many to their knees.


    He then stretched out his right hand then closed it, opening it the next moment to reveal a small greenish ball of energy that glowed vibrantly. The moment Gunner released, it grew in size with every inch it crossed until it was about asrge as football.


    When it exploded against its target, the Journeyman undead exploded at once, leaving nothing behind. It was an instant kill from Gunner, and he followed up by using his Eraser Cannon.


    He bellowed with might, thrusting his hand forward with an open palm, greenish energy coalescing into a bright beam thatnced towards his targets below. When it struck, it exploded and covered an area of 10 metes, turning 70% of undead within that range to ash.


    The only survivors were peak Journeyman and Adept undead, yet they were not doing so good at the moment. Gunner lost the effect of levitation due to his skill psing, so he returned to the ground and spread his right arm out to the side.


    Earthen Lariat!


    His entire right arm shone with the greenish energy that hade to be a nightmare for these undead, and the fellow grinned toothily as he charged out so fast that he left an afterimage of himself.


    The next moment he had smashed into a Skeleton King that was defending itself, his arm connecting with its jaw and neck, separating the two.


    The rest of the bony body was blown to bits, instantly ending the life of this undead. Therged was still not done and he pulled over a random undead with his Soldering Gauntlets and used the Earthen Punchbo to end its life.


    While Gunner was clearing the undead slowly but surely, Darius was proving his value as the designated damage dealer of their group as he practically carpet-bombed the area, clearing undead by the double digits each second.


    One minute in, he alone had cleared almost 1,000 of the undead army! Up till now, Gunner had only cleared at most 50 of them, so the gap was quite big. Then again, Gunner wasn''t meant to be doing damage, but tanking the foes to allow Darius to do his job.


    As such, he would asionally use his Engage skill to attract nearby aggro for his master to clear out. He had no fear of striking Gunner thanks to the Supreme System''s Anti-Friendly Fire, so he could st away as he wanted.


    By the time another half minute psed, the undead were left with only ashes on the field, Darius and Gunner regrouped beside X as they gazed at the Vampire Lord who was still up there, studying the barrier, seemingly without a care for his minions.


    Darius turned to X. "How''s your mana doing?"


    X smiled beautifully. "Well, it''s draining very slowly because he isn''t damaging the ward. If he keeps it like this, I should be able to hold him for about 30 minutes."


    Darius smiled bitterly. "I don''t think that''s possible. There are likely two reasons why he has lost interest in the battle and is focused on studying your ward."


    Darius pointed to Darm. "The first must be that he has never seen something like this, as I''m guessing he hasn''t had the chance to interact with a Chosen one of your Divine Light."


    "Secondly, if he can decipher your ward, he''ll be able to find a way to break it without much effort and also prevent himself from ever being affected by such a thing again."


    When X heard this, her heart chilled and she immediately canceled the ward. The released Darm looked around in confusion for a moment, clearly he had been lost in deepprehension just a moment ago.


    He then turned to X with a frown. "Elven vermin, quickly cast that barrier again so I may inspect it!"


    X ignored him and took out her bow again, firing the arrow right in between the brows of the Vampire Lord. This time however, he caught the arrow that re-appeared in his fist, gazing at X darkly.


    "Did you not hear me, filth? I, Lord Darm, order you to cast that spell once more!"


    X still ignored him and received the Arrow of Artemis that inevitably returned to her hand through space after Darm caught it, greatly surprising the Vampire Lord. X then shot it out once more at the same target, making Darm scoff with disdain.


    "Did you not hear me, mongrel? I said- Arrrghˇ­ Ughhaha!"


    Darius had raised his staff and cast Convert Vampire, which Darm had no way to defend against, making the undead scream out in pain. Then his broken defense allowed the arrow to strike between his brows once more, doubling his agony.


    Gunner raised his hand and cast Omega Blow, the ball of greenish energy sting Darm away by more than a few meters. X recollected her arrow, Gunner lowered his fist and Darius tapped the butt of his staff against the ground.


    Darm gathered himself and gazed at the trio with hate in his eyes.


    "Very good! Exemry job! I am impressed!" Heughed coldly.


    He then raised a finger and cut a deep wound on his extended left arm. The blood slowly dripped from the sky andnded on the ground, each drop morphing and gathering into the form of a Blood Warrior.


    Darm created 100 of them, and each one had 30% of his total stats, albeit based on his currently weakened state. This gave each Blood Warrior the average stats of a high-tier Adept almost reaching the beginning of a human Master stage opponent.


    It didn''t end here, as Darm sealed up his wound and created a portal of blood behind his created warriors before roaring with might.


    "My Thralls,e forth and fight for your master!"

 Chapter 303 - 303

    The blood portal brought in more than 500 ghoul-like fellows of both sexes, their skins extremely pale and their eyes the color of blood.


    They didn''t have decaying skin or rotting bones like typical ghouls, but they moved without consciousness and acted on instinct.


    They were like beasts with beautiful faces and long fangs. They looked a bit like bootleg vampires, only that they were far more aggressive, less dressed, and darker.


    Blood Thralls were a vampire''s cannon fodder army just one step above typical undead. As for the Blood Warriors, they were their elites that could lead the thralls to fight more effectively since they had the same aura as their master.


    Darm folded his arms as he levitated in mid-air, coldly gazing at the trio below getting ready to face his army. He sneered with derision at their naivety, doubting their ability to realistically muster any meaningful defense.


    It wasughable. This group was nothing like the useless undead from before. Putting aside his thralls, his warriors could kill them a 100 times over!


    This was Darm''s confidence, and why he opted to watch the show instead of actively participating in it.


    When the bloodthirsty thralls spotted the trio, they became unhinged and almost uncontroble, making gestures and sounds like they couldn''t wait to rip them to shreds and feast on their flesh as well as their blood.


    Darius and Gunner remained calm while X showed an expression of disgust. The Blood Warriors leading the group charged forward as one, the thralls following behind their leaders, shrieking and roaring in delight.


    Gunner stepped forward and stomped at angle, creating a shockwave of earth that rushed forward. This had nothing to do with his Earthen Stomp skill, but his own raw Strength that was pushed above 100 points thanks to Earth''s Guardian.


    While the powerful Blood Warriors adeptly avoided the shockwave by jumping at the right time, the mindless thralls all fell over each other, their formation copsed in an instant as they got entangled.


    Darius smiled and stepped forward casting his AoE spells in the midst of the thralls repeatedly. They screeched in agony as they burned, drowned, suffocated, got smashed, electrocuted, crushed, and flung.


    Darius'' opening salvo cut their numbers down by 30% in one go, culling about 150 of them in a mere minute or less! This left Darm up there speechless, but he continued watching patiently, refusing to believe that they could do the same to his sentient Blood Warriors.


    Gunner stepped forward and met the charge of the Blood Warriors. Even though they wanted to bypass him and deal with the weak healer and the ss cannon damager dealer, they were forced to fight Gunner once he cast Engage.


    Its aggro-attracting ability was absolute as it was handled by the Supreme System''s targeting. All that depended on Gunner was his ability to tank whoever he aggroed, and against these Blood Warriors, he was doing fine.


    While they were certainly powerful, they could not beat Gunner''s Strength, nor his empowered Defense. Most of them dealt between 0 to 1 points of damage to therged, something that was a joke against his current power.


    Meanwhile, Darius continued to bombard the still recovering thralls, which were now cowed by the continuous deaths of their fellows and the constantly exploding spells on their bodies.


    In another minute and a half, he had turned the entire thrall army into ashes, X watching on with a slight smile. She was secretly awed by Darius firepower, and realized that the more he umted stats, the more prohibitive it would be.


    Once Darius cleared out the trash, he then focused on one of the blood warriors, his eyes shing with interest. This time, he raised his staff and cast his most powerful spell, Lightning Bolt!


    -3,276!


    The poor Blood Warrior didn''t even get to screech before it died. The battle became silent as everyone gazed at Darius in shock, Darius himself blinking in surprise.


    His mind whirred as he did the calctions. 80 Int x 520% x 5% boost from Spell Enhancement x 150% increase from Gloves of the Mage x 250% increase from Dragon Scale staff x 200% increase from elemental bonus damage (lightning vs undead/death)ˇ­ and that was it.


    ''Ah! It did so much damage because the Blood Warriors have no Resistance or Magical Defense!'' Darius realized.


    X and Gunner seemed to reach the same conclusion, and so too did Darm, though he could not see the damage figures. All he saw though, was a powerful lightning spell far beyond the level of a human Journeymen evaporating his warrior in one blow.


    ''No, wait rather than thatˇ­''


    Darm realized a problem he had been ignoring all this while. It was something that should have clicked in his mind, but his weeks of being tortured by those damned potions must have muddled his mind.


    Beforeining about the power of this fellow''s spells, he first had to ask why he could cast so quickly? He had literally released salvos of attacks each second without chanting or gesturing, just pointing his staff forward calmly.


    How? Why? What?


    Since when was such a feat possible on Faust? Even the mighty Dragon race and the Elves could at best, use One-Word Cast, with a select few able to use Thoughtless Cast. How could mere human, not even a Master at that, manage such a feat?


    Darius didn''t wait for Darm to figure out this pressing question as he beganncing the Blood Warriors one by one, scoring an instant kill for each one he struck.


    In a single minute, 60 of them fell, leaving slightly less than 40 remainings who were being handled by Gunner with ease. In this time, Darm kept muttering to himself under his breath, trying to deduce the anomaly and impossibility he was witnessing.


    Darius saw this and capitalized, quickly clearing out the remaining Blood Warriors until only the floating Darm was left, his mind still lost in his mutterings.


    Thanks to that, X had time to knock an arrow and aim while Darius pointed the tip of his staff towards Darm, ready to fire off his Convert Vampire spell.

 Chapter 304 - 304

    Gunner charged forth, channeling Earthen Lariat as he struck the dazed Darm away. While the Vampire Lord hurtled to the ground, Darius and X cast their respective attacks once more.


    -135! -238! -1!


    Both Gunner''s Earthen Lariat and Omega Blow dealt basically a single point of damage, and he was lucky to even get that much. Although Earth''s Guardian pushed Gunner''s Strength and Endurance stat to the master stage, the gap between him and even the weakened Darm was too much.


    Gunner had (after buffs) 130 Str and 75 End while Darm (after weakening) had 177 Str and 230 End. If it wasn''t for the way the System calcted things, Darm would likely not have even been blown away by that attack.


    However, Gunner wasn''t disheartened. Rather, he jumped towards the awakened and enraged Lord Darm, then activated his OP aggro-inducing skill, Engage. With this, Darm would not be able to attack X nor Darius, giving them the time to bombard the undead.


    Darius checked Darm''s remaining HP.


    [Lord Darm - Level 46 Vampire Lord


    HP: 39,589/40,710 MP: 8,980/9,090 STA: 10,200/10,350]


    Darius nodded. It seemed that apart from weakening, the Purification Potions had also stunted Darm''s vampiric regeneration, so the damage they had dealt to him, although small, would stick.


    As such this battle was basically one of attrition!


    Even though Darm was far stronger than Gunner, he could currently only dream of one-shotting therged.


    Putting aside his buffed Strength and Endurance, Earth''s Guardian also increased his raw Damage and Defense! So Gunner''s defense value which currently totaled 166 points was boosted by 160%!


    The final value? A whopping 432 points! Even if Darm had been at full power, he could only beat Gunner down slowly, much less now that his power had been culled.


    But just as Gunner benefited from equipment values (which constituted Defense), so too did Darm. In the Vampire Lord''s case, this was most prominently the case of extra damage values for his own weapons.


    After being struck down by Gunner, he waved his hand and a sword made of blood coalesced in his right arm. It was a refined rapier that morphed into a steel-like weapon with a red hilt and a sharp end.


    It was a beautiful weapon and most likely Darm''s trump card. The Vampire Lord gazed at Gunner with hatred, whether from being interrupted from his thoughts by that cruelriat or due to the aggro-inducing skill, it was unknown.


    With his 189 points of Agility, he was like a blur as he appeared before therged and stabbed towards his heart, intending to impale him once and for all. Darm, unfortunately, hadn''t realized that thews of Faust had made way for thews of the Supreme System, so instead of a one-shot, all he''d be getting was x3 critical modifier.


    This was likely a result of his -3 points of Luck, which Darius had to admit was a first. Even undead, which were treated as an outlier by Lady Luck, had always had 0 points of Luck. None before had had a negative value.


    People with 1-3 points would have average or even poor lives, but these few points still meant that Lady Luck would bless them asionally. She just favored those with more points more, so their sess woulde at your expense.


    0 points meant that you were not getting even a lick of favor and no really ''good'' thing would suddenly fall on yourp. You would have to ve for everything you wanted in life, and also have to fight against the ''favor'' Lady Luck would bestow on others who had what youcked.


    But to have negative pointsˇ­ this meant that you were in the bad books of Lady Luck and just as she would actively help those with positive points, she would actively try to ruin the lives of those who had negative ones.


    This was why Darm had made so many mistakes since he came out of the coffin. First, he let himself be convinced that Darius and co were not the ones who tormented him when it was really quite obvious, so his hatred had slightly dissipated.


    He then summoned his armies and did not buff them, only watching on as both were ughtered thinking that he could confidently handle everything. Next, he was hit with a spell that harmed his foundations and could bypass his defense yet hadn''t bothered to think too deeply about it.


    Any sensible fellow would have take matters seriously and killed Darius on the spot for being hit with a racial targeting spell with no means of blocking it.


    After that, he got trapped in a ward and instead of smashing it to join the battle, he had started studying it like he was at a party and not in a fight.


    Then, he fell into a daze when he realized Darius'' anomaly allowing his entire army of Blood Warriors and thralls to die, leaving him with no forces.


    Darm had made a nonstop series of silly mistakes that no one like him should make, yet they had still urred, paving the way for even worse mistakes as the battle continued.


    His strikes upon Gunner dealt a measly 3 points of damageparatively! This put into perspective just how nonsensical Earth''s Guardian was as a skill and why Darius had dumped so many points into it.


    However, Darm''s speed allowed him to strike just about a hundred times in a single second, so 3 points per strike quickly became practically 300, nearly half of Gunner''s life!


    Unfortunately, increased Str and End through Earth''s Guardian didn''t increase his HP or STA.


    At least, X''s Bless skill gave Gunner 5% increased regen. However, his regen was no match for how much damage Darm could deal per second.


    Gunner used his knowledge of swordsmanship granted to him by Weapons Mastery to deal with Darm''s skillful strikes.


    s, his Agility of 25 was simply not enough to keep up. Were they at the same speed he could have dealt with them, but currently he was like Hulk trying to block blows from the sh.

 Chapter 305 - 305

    However, wasn''t that why Darius had branded X?


    Immediately, a level 10 Restorended on Gunner, bringing back 10% of his HP, MP, and STA!


    Of course, this alone was not enough to stave off 50% HP lost per second, so Darius topped him up using Heal.


    Right after that, he cast Convert Vampire on Darm once more. The Vampire Lord screamed as his attack chain got broken, giving Gunner some breathing space as he cast Engage once more in case the aggro had shifted.


    After all, with Darm''s speed and the fact that he was taking things seriously now, he could rush over to Darius and X and cut them up faster than Gunner could sneeze.


    X focused and cast Restore on Darius as well as Gunner. She brought up their MP reserves, as the duo would be screwed if their MP hit rock bottom. Even Lady Luck could not interfere to the degree that the Vampire Lord would sit idly by to let them drink a mana potion.


    Earth''s Guardian drained quite a bit per second and Darius was spamming spells.


    The battle continued in an endless cycle of such, bing less one of skill or luck and one of attrition, Gunner could always keep aggro and had enough defense to resist attacks.


    X would heal both of them to restore HP for Gunner while giving the duo 10% of their MP back. She had already cast Bless on herself to increase her MP regen by 5%.


    At level 22, her natural regen was 22 points per second, and Restore only took 10 MP per cast. Casting it twice a second, that was only 20 MP, so one didn''t even need to add the 6% boost from Bless, nor the 1% decrease from Spell Mastery she had recently learned.


    This allowed X''s output to be fully sustainable.


    As for Darius, he alternated between casting Heal on Gunner when necessary to supplement X''s still insufficient healing power and casting Convert Vampire on Darm.


    Darius didn''t use Lighting Bolt even though it was stronger because it could definitely not shatter the innate magic barrier of a Master stage Vampire Lord.


    Even though he had been weakened, that had nothing to do with his magic barrier as that was formed each time one climbed stages and was based on a skill, not stats.


    If he used Life or Light element, that barrier would be a joke, but against any other element, it was an impervious wall that could turn even 1,000 damage to a single point that felt like a finger flick.


    If not for that, why would he have spent 6 weeks making apletely new spell? If Lighting Bolt would have been sufficient, Darius could have kicked the coffin open and zapped Darm to death from the onset, instead of wasting time.


    Since Darius was limited to casting one offensive spell per second - but had no such limitations for support spells - he could manage both within a second and that cost a lot.


    Heal took 40 MP and Convert Vampire 50 MP. Even with Spell Mastery reducing it by 5% and the Gloves of the Mage also doing so by 1.5x, that still made 25 and 32 MP respectively.


    However, with X''s MP regen buff of 6%, Darius MP regen of 21 points at his level, and the use of Restore bringing 10 of his entire MP bar back - which amounted to 168 points - he had more than enough to foot the bills.


    (Author''s Note: Serious question, should I forgo numbers and statistics during battlepletely henceforth and just show the result? I add them because I used to write litrpg on Amazon and the readers were VERY particr about numbers.)


    Currently, Darius'' damage to Darm amounted to 135 points per second. By continuing this output, he could take his foes down after exactly 289 seconds. In this battle, the trio kept their firepower and did not make a single mistake while Darm began to pale.


    After about 4 minutes, he realized that he could truly feel the air of true death approaching him. If he died by this cursed Life element spell that converted his vital Death Energy, he would be disintegrated upon death.


    Right now, the amount of Death Energy within him that could still maintain his life was dwindling as the rest had already turned to Life Energy which he was instantly expunging from his body to avoid even further damage.


    Otherwise, Darius would have only needed to cast his initial Convert Vampire before he could enjoy the sight of Lord Darm getting slowly eaten away from the inside.


    It was technically a damage-over-time spell that should increase in momentum as time went on, but Darm''s power forced Darius to cast it over and over again.


    That was exactly why this Intermediate spell had such a high MP cost despite being level 1. Whatever the case, Darm knew he had to change things up, but his sudden sobering up was pointless.


    Gunner cast Engage each time moment Darm showed even the slightest intention of breaking free, forcing the Vampire Lord to concentrate on Gunner alone, his mind unable to focus on anything else which infuriated him.


    Darm had long since realized that Gunner''s defense was too tough to break through, and with this constant healing, he would not be able to kill him.


    He would have loved to bombard him with magic spells, yet each time he had tried, Darius'' Convert Vampire would cause him unbridled agony, shattering his focus.


    Lord Darm could already be counted as a rare genius, for he was able to use One-Word Cast, but even that had a start-up time.


    Still, Lord Darm felt it was trashpared to how Darius could instant-cast without even needing to focus in the slightest.


    He could only watch with despair and scream out in fear as his remaining Death Energy could no longer stave off the encroaching Life Energy, making it course through his system like it was a natural part of him.


    Unfortunately, it was not, so all Darm could do was bellow as he glowed with a bright light, his body cracking like ss about to shatter.


    "NOOOO!! PLEASE SPARE ME, PLEASE!!"


    The Vampire Lord''s cries fell on deaf ears as, even if Darius would be willing to take him in as a subordinate, hecked the power to reverse what Darm was going through at this time.


    Hardly anyone on Faust would be able to.


    The next moment, Darm finally exploded in a sh of brilliance, his remains turning to ash and falling on the ground.


    Ironically, everywhere his ashes had touched, grass and greenery quickly sprouted.

 Chapter 306 - 306

    [Congrattions onpleting the Event: Coffin of Lord Darm!]


    Darius sighed with relief and passed a hand through his hair. Thanks to his increased Intellect on Faust, he felt a little fatigued from being at a high-intensitybat status for almost 10 minutes.


    The same went for Gunner and X who were certainly slightly fatigued, but not panting nor particrly overwhelmed. This was one of the reasons Darius liked to increase stats as equally as possible, so that he wouldn''t be caughtcking in any regard.


    Gunner smiled and squatted down where Darm had died, inspecting the greenery while X lowered her head. Darius noticed her downcast look and guessed what she must be thinking.


    He smiled and walked over patting the Elven Princess on the head, startling her.


    "You appear to feel ashamed that I had to take up some of your duties while Gunner was fully able toplete his, correct?" Darius guessed.


    X nodded slowly. "That''s right. My duty, as well as the reason you chose to brand me, was to fulfill my role as this party''s healer, so that I would take that load off your back. And yet I contributed little to that end, forcing you to pick up my ck."


    X''s face became bitter. "I''m aware that my time spent with the Supreme System is far shorterpared to the two of you and that my level is still low, but it still doesn''t feel too good."


    Darius chuckled. "I see what you mean, but you''re looking at it from the wrong point of view."


    X looked up to him. "How so?"


    Darius raised a finger. "Consider this, if your healing was subpar this battle, then my damage dealing was also trash while Gunner''s defense was terrible."


    When Gunner heard his name, he stood up and took over for Darius. "You, with your bow, dealt more damage to Darm than Master did. Meanwhile, I would have died if the two of you hadn''t continued to heal me every second, despite being a tank that should have higher survivability."


    Darius patted Gunner''s shoulder, d therged understood his point. "Exactly. The important thing about understanding and reasoning one''s actions is ounting for rtivity."


    "Everything is rtive. Our collective and individual power against Darm was simplycking. However, you shouldn''t forget, all three of us are Journeymen, not Adepts or Masters. We should measure ourselves using the yardstick of fellow Journeymen. With that in mind, would any other Journeymen be able to do what any of us did against Darm?"


    X was stunned. "Wellˇ­ no?"


    Darius removed his hand from her head. "That''s right. A normal Journeyman would be lucky to be able to shave off 1% of Gunner''s HP in 5 minutes, yet you can bring 10% of the entire thing back in a single second. Do you understand just how overpowered you are rtive to your own stage?"


    Once Darius put it like this, X felt like her mind was blown. She had subconsciously neglected to consider their fellow Journeymen because even peak Journeyman would be weakpared to their group.


    With her Intellect stat at the Adept stage, she had been unconsciously measuring herself using that as a benchmark, but that was a grave mistake. The fact of the matter was that she wasn''t an Adept in the truest sense, despite her stats reaching into those categories thanks to the Supreme System.


    She was still a Journeyman, bound to use Intermediate skills and spells at best. The simple truth was that X, despite being only a quasi-Adept, had managed to ughter a Master stage Vampire Lord.


    Though weakened, he had maintained the power of an Adept for his race which was one grade higher than the human race already, so it was a great feat no one could put down.


    She should be feeling pride, not debasing herself. Realizing this, X lifted her head with a smile and nodded. "You''re right, thank you, Master Darius. Thank you, Gunner."


    Darius and Gunner smiled. "Not a problem. Besides, now that we''vepleted our task, it''s time to enjoy our spoils."


    Their rewards were twofold. The first was obviously the AP and SP from the Event, which totaled 190 and 95 for each of them respectively. This was a huge amount that if distributed well, could increase their power by twofolds at the least.


    The second was the natural experience gain from killing the 2,000 undead, 500 Blood Thralls, and Lord Darm himself. Unfortunately, the Blood Warriors had not given them experience nor drops as they were summons.


    Furthermore, only 100 of the undead army had been Journeymen undead, with only 5 at the Adept stage. Well, that was to be expected, as they had beenmon undead incapable of growing more powerful.


    Darm had been just a normal undead summoner, not someone like Thanatos who could organically grow undead or Darius who had received a bugged spell had Spawn.


    If he could have amassed an army of even 500 Journeymen undead, then he could have conquered any town or vige he wished. As for the 5 Adepts, he had only gotten them after painstakingly investing his Death Energy into them with his Promote ability.


    For the Blood Thralls though, they had all been at the Amateur stage. It was impossible for Blood Thralls to ever climb from there as they would stay at the stage they had been summoned at.


    That was why Pureblood Vampires and above used their ''Create Initiate'' ability, for it would turn a living person into an Initiate Vampire that needed to drink blood to turn into a Halfblood.


    However, Blood Thralls were made from corpses, so theycked souls and sentience. Blood Warriors were more recognized as elite warriors, but they came at the cost of the Vampire''s own powers.


    A typical vampire army would look like this: Normal undead at the front, Blood Thralls in the middle, and Blood Warriors at the back. If there was a need, Halfbloods would be sent out as shock troops to level the enemy with raw power.


    Ultimately, the trio had gained a total of 80,235 experience. Split by three, that left each of them with 26,745 points of experience.


    Putting aside how quickly their bars shot up, there were also the plentiful drops from their in foes that had been deposited in their Inventories to sort out, especially what came from Darm himself.

 Chapter 307 - 307

    Darius and Gunner both had been at the very beginning of level 21 before the start of the Event. Their share of experience points had been enough to allow them to shoot shot up 9 levels at once and hit level 30 with almost half the experience bar filled.


    As for X, she had been level 22 with half her bar filled, so she shot up to level 32 with just below half her bar filled.


    In total, Darius had received 45 AP and 27 SP from leveling up, Gunner 27 AP and 9 SP, and X 30 AP and 10 SP.


    This, added to the reward from the Event, gave them so much that both Branded Servants felt overwhelmed.


    It was a statistical windfall, making both of them so wealthy with points that they felt like they were on top of the world.


    Darius watched them with amusement for a minute until their sudden joy died down, since they were hit with the responsibility of it.


    Where to allocate points? How to allocate them efficiently?


    When they received them in small bits, there was no problem as they would be put where was needed most at the time. However, there were no immediate dangers nor concrete ns for fighting for the foreseeable future.


    In fact, the next thing on the agenda would be to return to their territory to start building up their domain from the ground up.


    This would take time and effort, so they should be safe from any conflict until they opened up their territory the public and various factions would try to grab a piece of their pie.


    There would be plenty of wars and conquests from that point on, but they would have long since prepared for that. Besides, it was so far off that they couldn''t really imagine it as well as Darius could.


    Thinking to here, both Gunner and X''s heads snapped towards Darius, who had been watching their tumultuous confusion with a knowing smile.


    Realizing he had long since made the preparations, the Branded Servant duo shared a look and sighed with exasperation.


    This kind of master was able to inspire confidence with his intelligence, but it was also quite frustrating to know that you were being read like an open book 99% of the time.


    Darius didn''t bother them anymore and began allocating points. Naturally, he started with himself naturally.


    With a gross total of 235 AP and 122 SP, even Darius was feeling the heat. However, he was resolute and had carefully pondered what to do before allocating them straightforwardly.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Human


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 2,500/2,500


    MP: 4,500/4,500


    STA: 1,500/1,500


    Level: 30


    Experience: 1,247/3,100


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 50


    Endurance: 50


    Intellect: 150


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    AP: 2


    SP: 0


    Active: Analyze - Lv.10, Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Thunder Strike - Lv.1, Fireball - Lv.1, me Pir - Lv.1, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Void Cut - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Mageward Barrier - Lv.5, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5, Spell Mastery - Lv.15, Spell Enhancement - Lv.50, Channeling - Lv.1, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Explosive Strength (Basic), Afterimage (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Elementary Psychomancy (Intermediate), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    30 points of his AP had been invested into Strength, bringing it from 20 to 50, the Adept standard. This naturally unlocked the Explosive Strength ability at the basic tier.


    Next, 20 points had been dumped into Agility, raising it to 50 points from 30, also unlocking the Afterimage ability of the stat.


    [Afterimage - Basic Ability


    Cost: 10% of Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the movement of your body, controlling how each nerve transmits signals both from your brain and body to each other. You are able to move beyond the cognitive speed of most beings, creating an afterimage where you stand and moving anywhere within 10 meters.]


    A pretty useful ability for assassins and non-Space element users. This was basically a life-saving tool in the right situation, allowing one to avoid a fatal attack.


    However, if abused 10 times from the start of battle, one would be left weak and helpless, unable to avoid death. Darm had an evolved form of this ability but it had been useless.


    Gunner had been forcing him to attack him, while Darius had been torturing with a spell that could neither miss nor be blocked, so all the afterimages in the world wouldn''t have done squat.


    28 points had gone into Endurance, sending it to 50 points and unlocking Fast Regeneration. As for his beloved Intellect stat, Darius raised had happily raised it from 80 to 150, surpassing the Master stage standard by half a fold.


    His Mind Power evolving to be Elementary Psychomancy.


    [Elementary Psychomancy - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: mana per second


    Description: You are a basic psychic, able to gather the sheer power of your mental faculties in focus and lead it outward to affect the world around you. You currently have ess to Telepathy, Telekinesis, Transvection, and Telesthesia.]


    Telepathy was the ability tomunicate mentally with other entities, Telekinesis the ability to control objects with the minds, Transvection the ability to control one''s body with the mind (to levitate or fly), and Telesthesia the ability to sense the world with one''s mind.


    Next had been Charisma, from 15 points to 50, unlocking the Morph ability in its basic form.


    [Morph - Basic Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: You have achieved the pinnacle of social integration. Taking your expertise one step further, you are able to change the visual form of your body at will, limited to the face only currently.]


    Morph would be also useful for assassins or those who wanted to hide their features in order to perform certain tasks. However, the number of people in the entirety of Faust who had more than 50 points in Charisma wouldn''t reach 5%.


    As for the final stat, Luck, Darius had ced 50 points within to bring it to the (likely) Master stage standard. With a 100 points, his Deflection ability had naturally jumped from the Basic grade to the Intermediate, evolving into Divine Favor.


    [Divine Favor - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Paragon of Luck of the Intermediate Order, you are heavily protected and favored by the Goddess of Luck. Whenever you encounter an attack on your person of all types or categories, you have a 40% chance to deflect it fully and a 5% chance to reflect it with the attack bing unblockable.


    Extra Effect: Every month, you may reverse one unfortunate circumstance into a beneficial one.]

 Chapter 308 - 308

    The new ability was greatly appreciated by Darius. With a 40% chance to deflect any type of attack, his survivability had increased by leaps.


    If he could bring up his Luck even further... wouldn''t he even be able to challenge the Gods in a single fight?!


    The reflection chance was quite small inparison, but at the right time, it could be crucial.


    However, perhaps the best perk of Divine Favor was the extra effect of reversing one unfortunate circumstance once a month.


    This appeared to be a reality-bending power on the level of the Order and Chaos elements, leading Darius'' mind to a thunderous thought.


    ''Does Luck - or Lady Luck for that matter - belong to one of those two pinnacle elements?''


    ''If so, would it be Chaos since Luck is random? Or is Luck binary, making it Order? After all, either one has good luck or bad luck, no neutral luck or non-luck.''


    ''Or... could it be that Luck is actually both?!''


    Darius''s mind was truck with thunder again.


    ''Could this be why I am able to progress with the Order element spell ever since I used my Luck to guide it? My God!" Darius felt like he had reached a level of enlightenment, understanding - or assumedly understanding - a universal secret that few would be privy to.


    If he ''sold'' this info to God Krona, the reward he would receive might even surpass all the information about the knowledge from earth, as Order and Chaos were rather recent discoveries.


    Despite Luck being a stat everyone on Faust had, not much was known about it since only Darius and his Branded Servants had the Supreme System to tell them the literal functions of the corresponding ability.


    On the matter of his SP, Darius raised Combine from level 20 to the max level for the Intermediate stage, which was 40. He had a very important n for it once he reached his territory, something that if anyone knew, they would exim in shock and horror.


    Intellect and Luck had received the most points of the lot to increase the effectiveness of this skill.


    As for the remainder of his SP, 19 points had been ced into Lighting Bolt - formerly Sparks - sending it to the max level as well.


    From 520%, it now dealt 900% Lightning damage!


    That was 9 times Darius'' Int stat for Christ''s sake!


    This meant, not factoring in modifiers like passive skills, blessings, or equipment, Darius would deal 1,350 points of raw lighting damage to any foe that had no magical defense!


    Group Teleportation had swallowed 25 points of SP, bringing it to the max as well. Now, the max distance was 4,000 meters per cast. Both it and Lightning Bolt had a fixed MP cost of 50 points.


    However, Darius mana pool had also grown to 4,500 MP, meaning could cross 360 kilometers in one burst.


    The rest had been shared between his passives. Mageward Barrier had been raised by 2 to be level 5, Spell Enhancement had been raised by 45 to level 50, and Spell Mastery by 10 to reach level 15.


    Mageward Barrier now resisted 5% of all magic damage, Spell Enhancement increased his spell power by 50% and Spell Mastery decreased all spell costs by 15%.


    The final 2 AP Darius kept spare, mostly because he wanted to keep the numbers even. When he got moreter, he could allocate them at once.


    Darius felt the changes take ce as the stats took effect, having everything increase so greatly at once was truly a euphoric experience, a high Darius knew was the peak of his life so far and one that could not be described in mere words.


    Aftering down from it, Darius swore that without his 150 points of Intellect, he would have be a slobbering mess of addiction, craving such an experience for the rest of his life.


    Taking a deep breath to make sure he was okay, Darius allocated Gunner''s stats next. Therged had a gross total of 217 AP and 104 SP, so Darius also had quite a bit to do this time around.


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 9,000/9,000


    MP: 1,500/1,500


    STA: 2,700/2,700


    Level: 30


    Exp: 1,245/3,100


    Strength: 100


    Agility: 50


    Endurance: 90


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Overwhelmed.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 2


    SP: 0


    Active: Engage - Lv.10, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 1, Earthen Punch - Lv.4, Earthen Lariat - Lv.1, Omega Blow - Lv.1, Eraser Cannon - Lv.1, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.30, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.50, Extreme Speed - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5 etc


    Abilities: Limit Release (Intermediate), Afterimage (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    Gunner''s allocation was more straightforward. Strength had been increased by 50 points, sending him to the Master stage standard. This had naturally also unlocked the evolved ability of Strength, Limit Release.


    [Limit Release - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 1% stamina per second.


    Description: You have mastered the flow of your body''s strength to an exemry degree, able to squeeze out all of your potential at once. This maximizes yourbat ability based on your hidden potential for a short period of time.]


    Agility had received 25 points to 50, unlocking Afterimage for Gunner as well. Endurance had received 61 points, going from 29 to 90. This was just short of the Master standard, but Darius intended to unlock all the abilities for their group.


    Intellect had received 15 points to also reach the Adept standard, unlocking Mind Power for Gunner. Charisma had received 34 points, bringing it to 50 points and unlocking Morph as well.


    Luck had gotten 30 points to unlock Deflection and the extra 2 AP had been kept as a stockpile for the future.


    In terms of skills, Engage had gone up from level 5 to 10, increasing the range of aggro from 25 meters to 50.


    This was important, especially seeing its effect in the battle with Darm, and Engage still cost absolutely nothing to use!


    Energy Ward had gone from level 1 all the way to 30, increasing Gunner''s Physical resistance to 30%!


    This skill was just like Mageward Barrier, in that it blocked a fixed amount of physical damage passively.

 Chapter 309 - 309

    However, this was only a minor matterpared to Mageward Barrier that had swallowed up the majority of SP until Darius could no longer add to it... at level 100!


    In other words, Gunner''s magic damage resistance was now at 100%!


    Yes, there was no misconception or misinterpretation here, Gunner waspletely immune to magical damage now!


    He could now stand up to the Grandmaster of Supreme Magic and wait for thetter to create a giant fireball the size of a meteor to thrust it down at him. The half-giantd could simply fold up his arms and watch itnd on him in futility.


    However, doing so would be utterly foolish. He might not receive damage from the spell, but the physical effect of magic or spells would still be in effect.


    Although Gunner would not take any me damage from the spell, he would be smashed into a paste by the sheer weight and velocity of the fireball crashing into him, as well as having his remains shattered into nothingness from the explosion/shockwave as soon as the fireball ruptures.


    With the Supreme System, these kinds of skills that gave damage resistance only ounted for raw damage that was calcted by the system (i.e the numbers), not the external/realistic aspects of them.


    Finally, Earth''s Guardian had climbed from level 30 to 50. Gunner''s boost of 160% had upgraded to 255%!


    That was it for Gunner, and therged doubled over as the changes took effect. Darius watched Gunner who looked to also have reached a peak in a strange way before he came down.


    The sheer disappointment for how short that high hadsted was still visible on his face, making X simultaneously fearful and anticipatory.


    Darius used this chance to open her Character sheet and allocate the stats ordingly.


    The Elven Princess currently had a gross total 220 AP and 105 SP, which Darius divvied up to suit her role. Before that though, Darius directly transmuted a Heal spell manual for her to learn on the spot.


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 2,500/2,500


    MP: 4,160/4,160


    STA: 1,600/1,600


    Level: 32


    Exp: 1445/3200


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 50


    Endurance: 50


    Intellect: 130


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Anxious.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 1


    SP: 0


    Active: Divine Blessing - Lv.40, Holy Ward - Lv. 19, Divine Summoning - Lv.2, Purify - Lv.12, Cleanse - Lv10, Divine Restoration - Lv.40, Ward Evil - Lv.2, High Cure - Lv.21, Heal - Lv. 20


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.3, Light''s Chosen - Lv.10, Pure Body - Lv.20, Pure Soul - Lv.20, Pure Spirit - Lv.20, Aura of Life - Lv.2, Spell Mastery - Lv.10, Spell Enhancement - Lv.10


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Afterimage (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Elementary Psychomancy (Intermediate), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    Simr to himself and Gunner, Darius had bnced out X''s stats to bring everything to the Adept standard at the minimum. Afterward, Intellect and Luck had each enjoyed 50 more points, bringing the former to 130 and thetter to a hundred.


    Apart from a slight deviation, X was practically on par with Darius. Well, they were both mostly spellcasters so their stat allocation was bound to be simr.


    Darius had ended up with one spare Ability Point which he also reserved for X.


    As for her skills, he had been troubled because apart from Heal which benefited from the x5 effect of Transmutation, everything she had was raw. However, her skills were also far better than any cleric or healer as far as the Database on healers went.


    After all, how could the Divine Maiden for the Divine Light and Divine Life bepared to the average guy?


    As such, Darius could only pinch his nose and bull through. He first ced 19 points into Heal to bring it to the max.


    He then shared 35 points into Bless, making it evolve into the Intermediate Divine Blessing and reaching max level.


    [Divine Blessing - Level 40 Spell (MAX)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Lightbined with the Divine Life, grant any ally 40% increased Health, Mana, and Stamina regeneration as well as a 10% increase in magical damage and resistance.]


    Next was Restore which had also received 30 points to climb from Basic to Intermediate, now being called Divine Restoration.


    [Divine Restoration - Level 40 Spell (MAX)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 MP


    Description: Channel Divine Light mixed with Divine Life into the body of any living being to replenish 40% of a target''s Health, Mana, and Stamina. Each cast fortifies Defense by 1% to a maximum of 10%.


    Note: Cannot be used on the self.]


    Spell Mastery and Spell Enhancement received 5 points each, bringing them to level 10. With 10% extra effect and less cost, X could be more rampant with her healing if needed.


    It was already very hard to kill either Darius or Gunner, but this made it even harder.


    None of her other passive had been touched though, since Darius reason they weren''t as relevant to her healing.


    Right now, he was pushing their group firmly to their respective roles, so that none would have to pick up the ck of another and their cooperation could be smoother.


    The remainder of her SP had been ced into Holy Ward, bringing it to level 19 from 8. Unfortunately, it ended up just one point short of bringing it to the Basic limit so that it could be upgraded to an Intermediate spell.


    After this was done, X''s worried expression greatly changed as the changesnded on her. Her feet wobbled as she fell onto the grass with a weak smile, barely able to use her staff to not let her crumplepletely.


    Eventually, she was able to rise to her feet while panting slightly. Darius and Gunner gave her sympathetic looks, for they could understand the feeling of such a huge improvement crashing down upon them at once then leaving just as quickly as it came.


    Darius chuckled. "Well, now that the Event is over and done with, it''s time to go home."


    Gunner and X smiled, excited to move to their territory and move forward from there. Gunner had seen it before and wondered how much those robots had improved that jungle as well as how far that little dungeon hade.


    As for X, she had yet to step there, so she was filled with endless curiosity and anticipation.


    Darius took out a Long Warp Scroll and used it, sending them 10,000 kilometers closer to their destination.

 Chapter 310 - 310

    Even though they were still about 400 kilometers away, the trio could barely spot the settlement on the horizon, which got them quite excited.


    Darius directly used Group Teleportation to carry them the rest of the way to their destination. With all his passives and equipment boosts, his actual limit was far more than just that 360 km.


    They arrived to at the entrance of arge vige of sorts, with thick palisade walls and rapports surrounding it. The group quickly noticed that there were bloodstains and some wear and tear on those walls, a clear sign that despite the settlement being surrounded by almost endless grasnd and small forests on all sides, there had been quite a few beast attacks in their absence.


    The question was why? Darius had expected his robotic troops to easily be able to handle the natural inhabitants of the former jungle-turned-settlement.


    Had the dungeon been attracting more and stronger beasts and monsters here?


    Well, he couldn''t me it. The human poption had yet to arrive and it would naturally want to grow after being healed, so it could have only resorted to such a method. Fortunately, with Darius here now, soon there would no longer be a need for it to do so.


    They walked through the gates of the settlement and saw that they were neatly arranged rows of buildings built in a linear fashion, emphasizing roads and alleyways between them.


    With a single nce, Darius confirmed that it had followed his basicyout proposal, leading to the construction of a manor to the north, 10rge cottages, 50 longhouses, 3 shacks, a warehouse, 2 hospitals, and a tower.


    The manor would be the residence for himself, his Branded Servants, and Deia in the future. Therge cottages were for notable subordinates like Shanks, Jorge, Derek, etc. The 50 longhouses were where the inner faction members and the settlers from Shanks'' homestead would stay.


    The 3 shacks would be a food stall, a general store, and a bar in the near future. The warehouse was where important materials would be stored for use and both hospitals were meant for their people.


    The idea was to make one of them exclusive to important members like Portia, Shanks, Jorge, etc, with the other one being for the rest of the settlers.


    As for the tower, it was obviously Darius'' private mage tower where he would train his Official Apprentices as well as perform his Magical Experiments and whatnot.


    Darius nodded with satisfaction, while Gunner folded his arms with contentment. As for X, she didn''t know whether tough or cry from their reactions.


    "Erm, Master, this all-wood settlement isn''t going to stay like thisˇ­ right?" X asked worriedly. It was easy to see her concerns from her tone.


    Dariusughed in a friendly manner. "Of course not, X. I''ve only asked the workers to set it up this way for two purposes, to form a basicyout and to cover my bases."


    Darius raised a finger. "I had originally expected to spend much more time in Elysium to swallow up information, but Miranda''s prowess has made that unnecessary, and seeing Deia also in Faust has changed everything."


    "Initially, I expected Foldo and the settler from Shanks'' ce to have long since arrived by the time we ourselves came back, which was why I''ve dumped 90% of the resources with them. That way, they could have started building up the rest of the city ording to the ns I left."


    Darius opened his arms in a helpless gesture. "But, where would they have slept in the meantime? In tents under the stars? Even if the robot workers worked their fastest, it would take at least a few weeks to get some suitable lodging for them."


    X and Gunner shared a look then nodded. It made sense, this makeshift settlement was basically just temporary and would be swapped out with the official one in time.


    "So does this mean we''ll stay here until that Foldo fellow brings the materials?" X asked curiously.


    It was only natural that X disliked Foldo for capturing her as a ve, yet Darius did not correct her way of addressing him. Instead, he chuckled softly.


    "Why should we? Gunner and I have our Inventories chock full with 10% of the same materials we''ve handed Foldo. After carrying it for so long, we''re frankly tired of having to calcte the space we can use, so this is a good chance to dump it."


    Darius tapped his lip. "We''ll have the robot workers clear out everything and use what resources we have to establish the core section of the city. The resources from Foldo''s end should be enough for the inner and outer sectionster on."


    Darius practically saw question marks appear over the heads of X and Gunner, so he folded his arms behind his back and exined.


    "I n to segregate future dwellers by status and importance. The core area will be exclusive for crucial people like us, my selected apprentices, those who have signed a Soul Paper agreement, and other very important fellows. It will be small, but at the same time contain all the necessary facilities we require to allow us to remain cut off from the outside by the sturdiest magical wall possible."


    "The inner section will be the ce where official citizens will reside, as well as nobles and those from our faction that are loyal, but not fully trusted. This is also where I will establish my mage academy for promising youngsters among our citizens. This segment will berger and pretty much like any typical town you''ve seen. If you ever feel bored of the core area, you''re always free to head out to y there."


    "As for the outer section, you could say it will basically be the ''reception area'' of our budding city. It will be thergest band, consisting of about 50% of the resources and space, while the inner section would be 45% and the core section 5%. It will also be separated from the inner section by another wall, preventing visitors or tourists from going in further."


    "The outer section is where all our auction houses, shops and various services meant to turn our settlement into a money-making machine will be built. The pricing will be obnoxiously high, but the quality will also be far beyond anything known to Faust!"

 Chapter 311 - 311

    Darius could resolutely make this boast because of his Transmutation ability. With it, food, housing, equipment, and hell, even any recreation would be far superior to the standard in Faust.


    It was the attraction value of their settlement that would set it apart from any other city. Right now, Darius'' goal was just to earn money, but his end goal was to control the world''s finances by setting up a World Bank in Faust and to establish his currency as the universal standard.


    Once he controlled the world''s money, he would control the world, it was as simple as that. The best part was that he could continue to increase his martial power while increasing his political and financial power!


    But that was far in the future. Right now, X was still lost in her curiosity. "Then how will people be citizens and enter the inner section?"


    "By bing a member of our faction. We will then allow their family to move in. The requirement will be to pay a certain price or to have a certain skill we need. For example, high-level alchemists, cksmiths, and the like will earn smooth entry to the inner section."


    "On the other hand, if say, powerful noble families from the outside wish to move in, they''ll have to pay a huge premium or hand over something of equal value, be that a rare treasure or secret knowledge."


    "Martial power will also be considered. For example, if unaffiliated Masters or Grandmasters want to be citizens or even nobles in our territory, I will certainly consider them. As for bing a faction member, we''ll have ways to recruit people using our own discretion."


    X nodded, but Gunner also raised a point. "What about the core area? Putting aside how we ept people, since the space is so small, what do we do if too many want to join?"


    Darius smiled. "Good question. As for the core section, filling it up is unlikely and hard, because not everyone will be willing to sign away their freedom for morefort. Our activities there will mostly be kept secret, so apart from outsiders knowing that it''s the center of power, they shouldn''t be able to tell what''s so good about it."


    "Besides, even if someone is willing to give up everything to enter there and be a core faction member or a person of importance, we still have the right to reject them based on our standards. We can''t ept just any chaff we see, right?"


    Gunner agreed with a smile while X seemed excited to begin. Seeing that there were no more questions, Darius raised his HoloBrace.


    "Wake up, dear, and call the workers and guards over. Also, if Georgina is present, summon her as well."


    Miranda appeared above the HoloBrace with sleepy eyes, rubbing her face as if Darius had interrupted her nap. She looked so cute that Darius'' eyes actually reddened a little, remembering the good times with his family on Earth.


    "Mmm? Oh, Daddyˇ­? Alright, I willˇ­" She murmured sleepily.


    Immediately, Darius heard some ttering sounds as the critter worker robots likely activated and exited the warehouse where they were staying, while the guards also steadily walked over from the longhouses.


    They all arranged themselves neatly before Darius, allowing him to inspect them after almost two months. He had originally left behind 500 of each, but their numbers had slightly reduced.


    Now, there were 490 Critterbots and 300 Guard Androids. Darius shook his head and opened his Inventory, taking out 50 Bags of Holding and cing them on the ground.


    To the utter shock and horror of X, but the amusement of Gunner, Darius released thousands of small Critterbots and the kneeling Guard Androids into the avable space.


    There were 20,000 Critterbot orbs and 5,000 Guard Androids. Darius gazed at the now awake and stunned Miranda who was looking at all of this.


    "Well, my dear, can you activate all of them?" Darius asked gently.


    Miranda nodded, but spoke her concern. "I can, but I''d advise to set up a child AI to manage them. Also, we''ll need to set up some signal towers so I''ll be able to extend my connection range."


    Darius nodded. "Both will not be a problem. For the child AI, style it after my memories of Solena at age 13."


    Miranda giggled happily. "Yay, Big Sister is joining us!"


    Darius smiled gently as he waited for a while as Miranda closed her eyes and focused. When she opened them, she smiled with glee, and a hologram appeared beside her.


    This time, it was a young girl with short ck hair and piercing amber eyes. She wore a ck frilly dress and held a light blue umbre that was open. The teenager had two ck boots and wore ck stockings on her legs.


    On her hands were two white gloves that reached halfway to her elbow. She raised her head and looked up at Darius with a neutral expression.


    "Hello Father." Solena greeted in a cute voice that failed at her attempt of sounding toneless.


    Darius smiled bitterly when he remembered the past. Unfortunately, his talent in mercantilism hadn''t really tranted into his capability as a father. As a result, he had been too harsh and formal with his first child Solena, making the young woman be cold to the world.


    At age 13, she had adopted a goth-like phase and had started dressing as such in order to rebel against him.


    That was when Darius realized he had taken the wrong approach with her and had desperately tried to fix things, which hadn''t been very effective until his beloved wife had smacked him away and taken matters into her own hands.


    If it hadn''t been for Deia Stone who had fixed things just when Solena was about to reach 18, Darius might have lost his daughter altogether.


    Seeing her like this again gave him a bittersweet feeling, but he wanted it like this. It was good to remember the happy times and some of the sad times as well.


    "Hello Solena, please take over the Supreme Portal''s functions in regards to data traffic and management." Darius instructed with a smile.

 Chapter 312 - 312

    "At once, Father." Solena replied as she bowed.


    The child AI began to work, eventually taking up the task of managing the connected HoloBraces and machines. This greatly relieved Miranda, who preferred to use her main processing power to assist Darius directly.


    "Activate all these robots, please." Darius requested.


    Solena waved her hand grandly, all the Critterbots and Guard Androidsing to life slowly. The lines that ran in their exterior designs came to life with a blue light. It looked quite amazing, and X was absolutely mindblown.


    "What are your orders?" Solena asked calmly.


    "Clear out the entire settlement. I shall provide building materials for aplete reconstruction. Miranda, pleasepile the best possible construction method using these resources ording to the knowledge in our Database." Darius instructed thoughtfully.


    "Will do."


    "Okay~!"


    The two holographic renditions of his daughters disappeared as they got to work. Darius walked to the warehouse with Gunner and X emptying their Inventories of the necessary resources while keeping those meant for other things behind.


    This cleaned out about 30% of their total space, enough to make the duo feel relieved. Once they exited, Darius noted that the Critterbots were bustling about dismantling the entire ce while the Guard Androids helped.


    After all, they were fully humanoid so with the right tools, they could do the same work. The difference was that the Critterbots were made for this sort of thing and could manifest all sorts of tools to make construction swift and easy.


    "Well then, let''s see how our dungeon is doing." Darius suggested with a smile.


    He teleported them just a few hundred meters away to where the dungeon stood. The Critterbots had seemingly left some small shrubbery around the entrance, although it could also have been manifested from the dungeon''s element.


    Darius Analyzed it and observed if there had been any meaningful changes in thest two months.


    [Unnamed Dungeon - Dungeon


    Element(s): Wood


    Durability: 95,000/95,000


    Floors: 3


    Amateur Monsters: 3,456


    Journeyman Monsters: 2,390


    Adept Monsters: 1,207


    Amateur Boss Monsters: 5


    Journeyman Boss Monsters: 3


    Adept Boss Monsters: 1


    Dungeon Core(s): 1


    Core Grade: Newborn


    Maximum instances: 100,000


    Maximum persons per instance: 500


    Energy Gathering Rate: 200 SE Per Death


    Energy Gathering Efficiency: Perfect


    Total Energy Gathered: 43,185 SE


    Total Energy Spent: 0 SE]


    Darius was stunned, and so too was Gunner after reading the shared details. They clearly remembered that the original core had less than 250 Amateur monsters, less than 150 Journeyman monsters, and less than 50 Adept monsters.


    As for bosses, it used to only have one per floor, yet the first and second-floor bosses had been basically retarded. Only the Adept boss, Shopablo, used to have some level of sentience.


    Now, it had thousands of them! Heck, it even had over a thousand Adept monsters!


    No Basic Dungeon in the entirety of Faust had that much - at least, of the dungeons that were known - which was why Darius especially was floored.


    Darius knew that dungeons created monsters and set up their floors using Elemental Energy that they had gathered. The Soul Energy that was gained after people died within was solely for the core''s own growth, which was why it sought after people.


    It would use Elemental Energy to create monsters and rewards, then gather Soul Energy from those who were dead. People would gain riches and useful material imbued with Elemental Energy while they would provide Soul Energy in case of death.


    It was a cycle imbued into the Laws of Faust. Every core had a fixed amount of Elemental Energy per grade, so that was why theyout within never changed by increasing or decreasing, because they would always have enough to sustain things perpetually.


    Dungeons couldn''t really be rundown or exhausted per se, hence the infinite resources attribute.


    However, looking at the changes here, Darius'' face became solemn. He understood that he had, once again, created a great anomaly with his elitist Transmutation ability, a Dungeon Core beyond others.


    Heck, at the Basic grade, its numbers already rivaled that of an Intermediate Dungeon!


    A typical Amateur heading inside, prepared to farm 200-400 monsters, would be frightened to death upon encountering the endless waves and the 5 bosses on just the first floor.


    A Journeyman who would have curbstomped the thousands of monsters would go on to the second floor and pale at the sight of over 2,000 monsters, all at the same stage as them, ordered around by three bosses.


    Even an Adept who could have swept away the thousands of monsters away with sheer power was bound to shit their pants in front of more than a thousand Adept monsters with Shopablo smiling menacingly at them.


    This dungeon was a 100% effective death trap against lone wolves!


    For other Basic Dungeons, it was the norm to enter as part of a 5-man group. However, doing so for this one would be suicide. Darius estimated that around 50 experienced Amateurs could stand a chance to survive. At a minimum, it might require 20 peak Amateurs for just the first floor alone.


    In essence, Darius had seemingly created Faust''s first Raid Dungeon.


    The most important thing right now was to investigate theyout of the dungeon, so Darius turned to Gunner who understood. Therged took X with him into the dungeon to gather information about what was happening inside.


    X''s Elementary Psychomancy should allow her tomunicate with the core. As someone with a more positive and gentler mind, Darius was sure she would be better received than he.


    With his Branded Servants busy, he moved a short distance away and noticed that a pack of wolves were rushing over with red eyes.


    They weren''t even looking at him, fully focused on the dungeon''s entrance like it was a naked beauty offering them a way to paradise.


    Darius simply stepped aside and let the fellows pass, realizing that this was likely how the attraction worked in terms of pull. It was less of a mind control situation and more of a suggestion or temptation.


    He used his Transvection to levitate slightly off the ground and then entered a mediative pose, looking like a sage who was ascending into a higher state.


    However, he did not close his eyes but prepared himself to perform the biggest thing since he came into Faust, the culmination of his ns over the past 5 years!

 Chapter 313 - 313

    Darius removed three items from his Inventory and Analyzed them.


    [Thunder Heart - Unique


    Durability: 3,000/3,000


    Description: A special heart extracted from the Storm Giant of Gaia. When imnted into any living being grant them the highest possible affinity with the Lightning element as well as the Storm transformation.]


    [Tree Heart - Unique


    Durability: 3,000/3,000


    Description: A special heart extracted from the Ent Champion of Gaia. When imnted into any living being grant them the highest possible affinity with the Nature element as well as the Ent transformation.]


    [Ancestor Dragon Blood - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Blood that came right from the heart of the Ancestor of all Dragons, Yuli''ann Castoro. By injecting it, one can be an Ancient Dragon of any element of their choice. By applying it over the skin, one can be a Dragon Lord, a Dragonoid with the ability to control most others. By ingesting it, one can be an impure Ancestor Dragon without the ability to grow further.]


    The Thunder Heart had been a reward from Thor, the Tree Heart had been a gift from Foldo, and the Ancestor Dragon Blood used to be the True Dragon Blood he had received from Da.


    He had attempted to Static Transmute it to increase its quality and effects, yet upon seeing the astronomical cost ¨C nearly as high as making Lunar Dew ¨C he had given it. Luckily the Bowl of Nuwa had been able to transform it into its current state after the usual 24 hours.


    His n had originally been to acquire the Thunder Heart and inject the blood into it, then have Thor imnt it into his body directly. However, after Darius got the Tree Heart from Foldo, he had changed his mind.


    Not to mention he would have been a fool to simply entrust his life to Thor, even if he had the First Ressurection Stone. Later on, his act of seeing Deia told him what kind of enemy he might be facing in the future, so he realized that he would need more power and not just in the form of stats.


    This was why he had spent so many SP to increase Combine to level 40. He needed it to maximize the chance of sessfullybining the two hearts. Then he would inject the Ancestor Dragon Blood into the resultant creation before recing his current heart with it.


    Darius took a deep breath and held each heart in one hand. The Thunder Heart was a human-looking heart that was sparkling with electricity whereas the Tree Heart was a simr organ made of vines.


    Darius chose to activate Combine on the two and checked his chances.


    [Combine: Chances of sess are 97%.]


    Darius nearly dropped them. He had expected that with Combine at level 40 and his Int at 150 points, for the chances to be 50% at best.


    To reach a whopping 97%... had he underestimated the effect of spending his AP and SP so wisely? Had they been so greatly powered up that they exceeded his expectations?


    Or did those hearts simply have great fusion chances naturally?


    Darius suspected a mix of it, but with a big emphasis on thetter. "Miranda, search the Database for any mention of ''Elemental Hearts'', especially inbination with ''Gaia''s Chosen Warriors''."


    Miranda popped up and nodded. She only closed her eyes for a split second before transferring the information directly to Darius'' mind. With 150 points, he could more than easily handle such a load himself.


    When he opened his eyes, there was a strange glint.


    He had been right, there were reportedly 5 Hearts from Gaia''s Chosen Warriors. The Ent Champion''s Tree Heart, the Storm Giant''s Thunder Heart, the Lava King''s Fire Heart, the Undine''s Aqua Heart, and the Wind Colossus'' Air Heart.


    Those five had been Gaia''s Chosen Warriors against the ''righteous'' Gods and vile Demons... that now ruled Faust.


    They had been defeated thoroughly and their hearts had been split up. Thor had taken the Thunder Heart, Poseidon the Aqua Heart, Zhurong the me Heart, Vayu the Wind Heart, and Flora the Tree Heart.


    Darius was unsure about how the Tree Heart had ended up in the hands of Foldo, but he would investigate that some other time.


    For now he paused, wondering whether he should gather all five hearts before proceeding?


    Then heughed at his stupidity and greed. The Tree Heart had been acquired by chance and the Thunder Heart after giving Thor something far more important to him than this mere heart that had no real use other than serving as a trophy.


    How was he going to convince, Zhurong, Poseidon, and Vayu to spit out the hearts in their possession? It might be possible to acquire something they''d need with Transmutation, but he seriously doubted his meager 100 CP per day would suffice for that.


    Right now, he should be content his Luck hadted him these two. The rest could be acquiredter if necessary and if possible. As such, Darius assented to the merger.


    Immediately, both hearts in his hands mmed together in the middle section of each, a soft glow surrounding them that forced Darius to close his eyes. Once the intensity died down, he opened them to gaze upon a strange heart that was made of vines that coursed with thunder.


    Darius naturally Analyzed this new creation.


    [Five Elements Heart - Unique (Iplete)


    Durability: 6,000/6,000


    Description: A special heart created by Gaia that was split into five separate pieces to empower her Chosen Warriors. When imnted into any living being, grant them the highest possible affinity with the Five Elements as well as the Elemental King transformation.


    Note: Only Lighting and Nature element unlocked. Elemental King transformation cannot be activated untilpleted.]


    Darius rubbed his chin and smiled. Seeing this, it was clear he had no option but to either transmute new hearts or acquire the old ones by any means necessary.


    However, that was forter. Darius took the Ancestor Dragon Blood and filled a syringe with it. Without any hesitation, he plunged the syringe into the eerily beating heart that shivered from the insertion, then pushed the blood into it slowly.


    Immediately, the heart began to undergo some changes as it beat faster and faster like it would soon explode. A kaleidoscope of lights shone from it, forcing Darius to once again close his eyes though he could feel the increased temperature of the organ.

 Chapter 314 - 314

    Despite this, Darius showed no fear or worry. He was not a gambling man by nature, but every merchant knew about risks and rewards. Qualified merchants merely respected them, yet legendary merchants revered those.


    He had already calcted the risks beforehand, so he was not going to have cold feet at this juncture.


    He would either reap the grandest rewards or end up with nothing. Truthfully, there was also the chance of severe bacsh, doing so might directly kill him or at least maim him.


    However, he had nned for all three scenarios. If he won, he would adjust his ns ordingly. If he got nothing, he would move on and try to Transmute more True Dragon Blood in the future as well as the hearts once he had enough CP, even if he would have to wait until he had climbed more stages.


    And if ended up with physical or mental deficiencies, he was prepared to use the Resurrection Stone to revive himself in perfect shape.


    Once the light show and rapid thumping slowed down and came to an end, Darius felt that he had likely won this bet. He gazed at the now chromatic heart that had a bit of all colors within.


    [Five Elements Ancestor Dragon Heart - Unique (Semiplete)


    Durability: MAX


    Description: A special heart created by Gaia that was split into five separate pieces to empower her Chosen Warriors. It has been infused with the blood of the Dragon Ancestor, creating a unique and never-before-seen organ.


    Effect 1: When imnted into any living being, grant them the highest possible affinity with the Five Elements as well as the Elemental King transformation.


    Effect 2: When imnted into any living being, grant them ''Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)'' status.


    Effect 3: When imnted, the heart can devour other Elemental Hearts to increase its power and affinities.


    Note: Only Lighting and Nature element unlocked. Elemental King transformation cannot be activated untilpleted.]


    Even just holding it, Darius felt palpitation grow on his skin. The heart seemed to allude and rte to something bigger than he could everprehend, and his entire body instinctively shook in fear of it.


    At the same time, it made him all the more excited knowing that his n had worked. Darius then looked left and right as he walked into the first level of the nearby Wood dungeon.


    With this being a unique instance, there was no one to disturb him here. Darius removed 30 Guard Androids and had Solena activate them. They were to patrol the area and prevent any idents from the horde of Amateur monsters on this floor.


    He then brought out a Bag of Holding and released arge metallic pod. This was, unsurprisingly, yet another creation of Gravitas, one that matched Earth''s Medipod from Darius'' era.


    Only this one used mana-infused nanites to treat the body from most known diseases known and was fortunately also able to perform transnts and emergency surgeries if necessary.


    Darius opted for this over the older generation Medibots which were like the Critterbots, but for hospitals.


    "Solena, activate the Medipod please." Darius requested from his digital firstborn.


    "Right away, Father." Solena replied with a bow.


    As was the norm for Gravitas, everything was managed by their cloud. The Medipod on its would just be a useless piece of junk until connected to Gravitas'' cloudwork.


    Of course, one not only needed a cloudwork to make it work, but also have the necessary medical information andmands. How else were the nanites supposed to know what processes were required to treat you?


    Luckily, Darius could beat his chest and im that his Database was far superior to Gravitas'' in every way, minus specific diseases/breakthroughs made that were unique to the continent.


    Darius stripped and entered the pod slowly, lying down on his back. Solena and Miranda worked together to operate everything, already knowing what to do thanks to the huge Database of information they had at hand after downloading the non-restricted information from the Great Library of Krona.


    One Guard Android stood above the pod and ced the heart into a specialpartment by the side, while the pod also filled with a strange blue liquid that looked like slightly diluted jelly.


    Once the liquid washed over him, Darius felt a strange feeling infuse his body. It was utterlyfortable and pleasant, and he didn''t feel wet at all. Rather, it felt like someone was covering him with cool, soft pillows all over.


    He could even keep his eyes open without any issue and did not feel like his sight was blocked, nor did he feel any irritation whatsoever. The HoloBrace was also still on his arm, the nanites not affecting it in any way.


    Eventually, Darius felt his eyelids be heavy as the sedation was taking effect and the work began on his body. From outside it looked like an invisible hand was working on Darius, cutting open his chest, revealing his original, beating heart.


    Soon, the new heart floated through the liquid and was held firmly above his chest. Then, like some sort of metaphysical scissors were used. The arteries and veins connected to his heart were neatly cut as the organ was slowly ejected while still beating.


    It floated away and was preserved in thepartment where the new heart came from, in case Darius ever wanted to go back to his original heart or had some need for it.


    As for the new one, it was carefully ced within his chest and aligned with where the cut arteries and veins were. Minus the fact that it looked chromatic and bizarre, it was as if his heart had never been cut in the first ce.


    The nanites regrew some flesh to firmly connect both the heart and the arteries and veins together. Since it was still beating, the heart continued its work, yet no blood was being sent in or sent out for obvious reasons.


    Once the nanites restarted Darius'' cirction, the human blood that entered the heart was quickly scalded and reced by a new form of blood that was ejected into his system.


    Out with the old, in with the new. Normally, it was the job of the bone marrow to produce fresh blood, but this strange heart had decided to rewrite this rule and had started taking matters into its own hands.

 Chapter 315 - 315

    Darius'' body jerked inside the pond as if something inside his body had exploded. As a matter of fact, that was exactly what had happened.


    Many blood vessels burst and ruptured, unable to carry this new type of blood at all.


    Most of his organs starting failing, getting corrupting and shattering under the weight and power of this new blood.


    The devastation inside him was so horrific that the nanites didn''t even know what to do aside from prolonging his life using all the emergency functions they possessed.


    Miranda and Solena appeared in full-body mode outside the pod, gazing at the jerking Darius with worry and horror.


    The changes happening to Darius could only be watched but not stopped. The best the two AI could do was search through all the information in their Database for a perhaps more optimal way to maintain his body as best as they could.


    Solena turned to Miranda with a solemn frown. "Should we use it?"


    Miranda hesitated, but shook her head. "His condition is not that critical yet. He insisted that we only use it when he is on the literal edge of death."


    Solena pointed to Darius within. "That doesn''t count as being on the verge of death?"


    Miranda shook her head, but gritted her teeth. "Noˇ­ I think we all expected something like this would happen. He is changing a human heart in a human body to that of an ancient dragon''s without having done any modifications to his body."


    Solena was left silent at this, agreeing deep down.


    Their ''father'' had left them a vial of Lunar Dew, which they were to apply to him in the pod if it appeared as if he would be dying.


    The thunderous changes to his body continued for multiple hours, his organs and blood, even his bones and marrow getting destroyed then regenerated in a simr but slightly different form over and over again.


    By the time the process stopped, Darius'' body looked only slightly different, the most notable changes being his form getting slightly more muscr.


    Hisck of external change seemed strange given a great deal of internal change, but Miranda and Solena could only take guesses as to the reason why.


    Seeing that the entirety of Darius'' system had settled down and was circting perfectly, the duo nodded, yet still injected him with a bit of Lunar Dew. The healing liquid flowed through his system and brought his life functions to their peak, before the sedation was removed.


    Darius himself roused a few momentster, wondering what was going on, but became aware in the next second as his high Int refreshed his mind.


    The nanites were sucked back into the pod''s fluid chambers while thetch opened up slowly. He raised his upper body slowly, maintaining a sitting position as he gazed at his body.


    He too was surprised at the absence of horns, fangs, or at least a tail, although he was subtly thankful for that. He would much prefer remaining in a human appearance. If he wished to transform, he could always use his Elemental King form or something.


    Darius pushed himself up and out of the pod, allowing it to close behind him as he gazed at the digital form of his two daughters.


    Unlike how his real kids would have reacted, these two showed no recognition for his nakedness, only inspecting his health condition to make sure he was fine before returning to the HoloBrace.


    Darius also paid them no mind as he flexed his body and verified that everything was working well. His face changed as he noticed a problem when he looked down.


    Not long after he had been summoned by the Goddess Vena into the world of Faust, Darius had once theorized which stat might influence the size of his tool.


    In hindsight, he had been happy when none had made it growrger. The only time his member had increased in growth had been in those 5 years when he had hit puberty.


    However... his crotch which had been of average size by Earth''s standard was now trying to give Gunner a run for his money, even in aid state!


    "This is terrible." Darius remarked with a frown.


    He had been perfectly happy with what he had before and had gotten used to it over two lives.


    He might have been happy about it, but he had already seen the kind of bacsh that one would be gued by from Gunner and the half-giant struggles of findingpatible mates.


    In fact, among most humanoids, Gunner could only reasonably have intercourse with a select few with amodating physiques. Of course, there were races like Dryads, Siren, Subi, and more who could take on allers, but that was no longer applicable to Darius.


    After all, with Deia''s appearance, he only had eyes for her and nobody else. How was a perfectly normal human woman like Deia supposed to handle something like this without bleeding or feeling horrific pain?


    Darius rubbed his face and decided that this was an issue he would have to allocate some time forter. This was a world of magic, so changing something as simple as physiology should not be too problematic.


    He wouldn''t be too surprised if some spells existed like that, although chances were they would work the opposite way from what he intended to do.


    Darius moved onto checking more important things like his Character sheet.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 2,500/2,500


    MP: 4,500/4,500


    STA: 1,500/1,500


    Level: 30


    Experience: 1,247/3,100


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 50


    Endurance: 50


    Intellect: 150


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Frustrated.


    AP: 2


    SP: 0


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.1, Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Spawn - Lv.20, Analyze - Lv.10 etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.1, Elemental Control - Lv.1, Draconic Regeneration - Lv.1, Spell Enhancement - Lv.50, Spell Mastery - Lv.15, Mageward Barrier - Lv.5, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5, Channeling - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 4, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Explosive Strength (Basic), Afterimage (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Elementary Psychomancy (Intermediate), Morph (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    Darius had gained 1 new active and 3 new passives from his imntation. He had also gained a single new ability, which greatly surprised him.


    Unsurprisingly, his stats and physical resources had not changed. After all, Caesar had been very clear about it, once the Supreme System had attached to him, he would gain the ability to level up and use stats, but have to forego all organic growth.


    That was likely also the reason why Darius'' had not changed too much externally, ''only'' acquiring bloodline skills.


    Without this kind of limitation, all his stats would surely have experienced an explosive boost after he had upgraded his level of existence.


    He could practically imagine the silhouette of a certain sadistic AI who did not share his regret.

 Chapter 316 - 316

    Darius checked these new skills out to see what was so special about them.


    [Elemental Breath - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Channel the raw power of the elements through your body, releasing it in a cone-shaped breath before you. This deals 100% all-element damage.]


    [Magical Mastery - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of all Dragons, you have been blessed by the Laws of Magic in the world, able to disy mastery beyond any other mortal species in existence. Your mana regeneration, spell-casting speed, spell power, and spell resources are increased by 5%.]


    [Elemental Control - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of all Dragons, you belong to not a single specific element, but epass them all. Resistance to elemental attacks as well as elemental damage increased by 5%.]


    [Draconic Regeneration - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, your lifeforce and survivability are nothing short of a Primordial Titan. Your health regeneration is 5% per second regardless of the situation.]


    [Dragon Transformation - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: Manifest your power as the Ancestor Dragon and return to your true form.


    Note: As an Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling), this onlysts 30 minutes and stats do not increase, only physical form.]


    Darius was simultaneously excited and quite miffed. Excited because the three passive skills he got as part of his upgrade were truly game-changing further ensuring his power and survivability in Faust.


    He was miffed because the boosts he should have gotten from transforming into a True Dragon with his ability had been waived by the Supreme System. So apart from a physiological change, there was no other advantage.


    Still, there was no use crying over spilt milk. At least his True Dragon form would allow him to naturally fly, possess a bigger form, suppress weaker serpentine species, and integrate with the Dragon race on Unyris.


    Nevertheless, it was a form he would have to familiarise himself with, and dragons were like living treasures, so it wasn''t farfetched that someone might hunt him down in order to gut him. Being toorge also meant it would be harder to avoid attracting attention.


    Now that he was done with this n of his, Darius reimed the Medipod and exited the first level of the dungeon.


    Outside, Gunner and X were standing together conversing while waiting for him.


    When they saw Darius appear, they smiled but quickly their expressions changed to being shocked once they Inspected him, Gunner far less than X.


    After all, Darius his first Branded Servant knew about the original n of merging the Thunder Heart with the upgraded True Dragon Blood. He had been informed about it at the beginning of their 5-year seclusion.


    As for X, she had only been aware that Darius had some grand ns, but seeing the effect of it directly like this stunned her silly.


    Both of them were non-human, so unlike normal humans who couldn''t sense bloodlines without visual tells, they could.


    The oppressive feeling radiating from Darius was horrifying, especially for X with her Divine Sight.


    She could see that aside from the invasive and cruel Supreme System that was able to overwrite the rules of Faust, there was now a chrome-colored light radiating from Darius'' heart that grabbed at all the ambient magical energy and elemental energy, taming them for his purpose.


    Her master smiled at their confusion, before he shared the details of what had happened to him with them.


    Gunner and X were not surprised by the process. As non-humans, they could feel the most the difference between the human side and the non-human as to which was better, as well as the raw quality gap.


    To climb from one to another was nothing short of a miracle.


    "So, what did you find out from within the dungeon?" Darius inquired with a soft smile.


    X responded: "Theyout has be extremelyplex and strange. Instead of the typical room or tunnel format, each floor is divided into resting areas and battle areas."


    Darius raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"


    Gunner nodded and picked it up from here. "At the beginning of each floor, there is the main resting area with food and water. There seems to be no time limit on how long you can spend there too, and it''s spacious enough to hold 500 people without a problem."


    "After that, you enter the first battle area where you fend of Amateur monsters in waves until you encounter a boss. Once you defeat that boss, you get a small reward chest, then move to the next waiting area. After that is another battle area with the same mechanics until you hit the floor final boss then receive a medium chest." Gunner exined slowly.


    X smiled and continued. "The same applies for the Journeyman and Adept floor as far as we could tell, with the mini-bosses of the Journeyman floor giving medium reward chests upon defeat and the final one arge reward chest. As for the Adept floor, the mini-bosses giverge rewards chest while the final one called Shopablo gives a grand reward chestˇ­ and some cringy lines."


    Darius smiled bitterly. It seemed like his original spection was correct, this dungeon was totally a raid-type, requiring not only 20-50 people of the same stage, but also people who were skilled and had sufficient teamwork.


    They couldn''t be like Andrato which had even non-Amateurs enter. That would be simply sending citizens to their death, so the Adventurers Guild he would eventually set up would have to be very well organized and stringent with its criteria to join, but also provide hefty benefits.


    Fortunately, Darius already had an idea of how to handle things. He could simply allow outsiders to enter the dungeon freely and only tax them with 10% of what they gain inside.


    This would attract many who woulde for the superior quality reward, and also provide the dungeon with ample Soul Energy from non-citizens to fuel its growth.


    Meanwhile, his actual citizens would have a tough time dying and could rather harvest free resources for the territory.


    A good deal, no?

 Chapter 317 - 317

    In arge spire that connected to a tform embedded in the clouds, a colossal form was slumbering. This huge monstrosity was a gigantic chrome-colored Dragon with two horns, spiked ridges, and four muscr legs.


    His size easily dwarfed entire countries on Faust. Trying to run around him once would take more than 5 years at a constant speed of 200 km/h.


    This slumbering form suddenly jerked as he sensed something that managed to disturb his deep sleep that hadsted for multiple millennia, his eyes opening slowly as he rose to wakefulness.


    His kaleidoscopic pupils epassed all the known colors of the world, disying vicissitudes and age in them.


    The dragon rose to his feet, causing terrible hurricanes and shock waves just from the snapping of his joints and the unfurling of his wings.


    He did not take off, for he was aware that doing so would cause unprecedented chaos and carnage to the world of Faust. For this reason, he had chosen to slumber far up in the clouds all these millions of years.


    He only bothered to wake up whenever there was a crisis facing the Dragon race, yet this time he woke up because he sensed a bloodline resonance. It was so strong and potent that his heart leapt and excitement filled him, something he had forgotten he was even capable of.


    "HAHAHA! FINALLY, AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I HAVE A DESCENDANT!" He bellowed with glee, causing the entire Unyris continent below him to shake at its core.


    All the legendary and mythological beasts that made Unyris their home shook their entire bodies greatly, almost to the point of rupturing.


    As for the many normal beasts that were mixed-blood descendants or just in behemoths without any supreme ancestry, they keeled over on the spot, their life, and death unknown.


    Realizing that his glee had taken the better of him, Yuli''ann quietened down and sat on his paunches as he waited patiently. In no time, three Dragons of different colors flew up to his Dragonperch and bowed before him.


    The leftmost Dragon was a female with bright white scales that radiated holiness and purity, her sharp green eyes and yellow horns marking her as a beauty among dragonkind.


    The center dragon had pitch-ck scales, red eyes, and dark blue horns. He was sleek and menacing, looking like a handsome badboy among dragons.


    The rightmost dragon was green in color, having light blue eyes and ruby-colored horns that gleamed in the light. It was another male that looked softer and gentler, like a nerdy boy who was quite cute.


    The three of them quickly called out: "Great Ancestor!"


    Their voices were reverent as this was the first time they had been blessed with the opportunity to encounter the Ancestor awake, and his power left them feeling weak to their souls. Just one of his eyes was alreadyrger than their entire bodies, when each one of them could tten an entire town by simply dropping on top!


    Yuli''ann observed the trio for a minute before speaking. "So, you must be the highest-ranking Ancient Dragons of this era. Good, your bloodlines are quite potent and there are no ws in your elemental control. I am heartened."


    The three were extremely pleased by this praise. After all, to the Ancestor, they were just some random descendants millions of years down the line. To actually leave him pleased at their purity when bloodlines usually thinned out with time proved just how powerful the Dragon race was!


    "Ancestor, is there anything you need from us now that you''ve awakened?" The Green Dragon asked carefully.


    Yuli''ann nodded slowly, making sure not to create another whirlwind by its movement. "That''s right. I''ve sensed that somewhere in this world a descendant of mine who has fully awakened the Primordial blood has been born."


    The trio were first utterly shocked then stupendously excited. A Dragon that could possess the Ancestor''s bloodline but still remain in the world would allow the Dragon race to wield enough power to conquer and unify all Faust!


    "Were you able to sense their exact location, Ancestor?" The ck Dragon asked cleverly.


    "Unfortunately, no. I only felt the existence of the bloodline resonance, but the feeling is too weak to give away his location. I don''t even remember how this bloody world looks like since I was sent here by that damned Goddess." Yuli''annmented with dissatisfaction.


    The three Ancient Dragons looked between each other in dismay. Without any type of lead, searching through the entirety of Faust would take them decades if they were lucky, more than likely it would take them centuries.


    Yuli''ann recognized their dilemma and smiled with amusement. "What''s the rush? After awakening my bloodline, my descendant will even manage to outlive you lot. Just take your time and search for them, there''s no rush."


    The three Dragons understood this, but the White Dragon couldn''t help but let her concerns be known.


    "We understand your meaning Ancestor, but the reason we wish to hurry is in fear that some ident might befall the Young Ancestor."


    The other two nodded in agreement, sharing the same concern and sentiment. If something were to happen to the Young Ancestor while they were casually searching around, it would be a great loss to the entire race!


    None of them wanted to even think about what their Great Ancestor might do if he got enraged by it.


    Yuli''ann merely showed an expression of boredom. "Impossible. With my bloodline, his ability to regenerate and survive catastrophes is far beyond your understanding. It would require at least a Fake Lord of Faust to directly act, and how many would dare to go against me."


    Once the Ancestor put it like this, even if they had any more concerns, the trio could only bow down their heads and carry out his orders.


    Although the Ancestor imed there was no need to rush, he didn''t forbid them to hurry it up a little.


    After all, the faster they could find the Young Ancestor, the quicker they could integrate him into the race and pave his way forward.


    Once the trio left, Yuli''ann settled down and prepared to enter slumber once more. Not being able to move on this fragile world made him feel stifled, so sleep was his only respite as he dove into the memories of the universe he hailed from, and his friends and family there who were waiting for him to finish his task here.

 Chapter 318 - 318

    Darius stood atop the balcony of his manor, gazing at the territory before him. Three months had passed since he had assimted the heart, and the Critterbots had already finished building the core city and set the foundation for the inner city as well.


    The core section still mostly followed the same design as the original, with only a few more buildings for recreation and housing than before.


    However, the most eyecatching thing was undoubtedly therge mage tower that stood close to the manor, its spire piercing into the sky.


    Darius doubted that even the top 10 empires on Fallon might have a mage tower surpassing his. Not only had he decided on one far surpassing thergest one recorded, but the resources he had used were also far more extravagant than what they could have hoped for.


    The magical materials he had used in constructing were the very best one could use in Faust, yet his had been further perfected by Transmutation as well as Combine.


    He hadn''t yet entered or activated it since it had only beenpleted 3 days ago, coinciding with thepletion of the walls of the core section.


    They had been the first thing the robots had started to construct, but they had also taken up the most time, even though everything had been made alongside them.


    Naturally, Darius had used the best materials for defense on them ¨C once again using Transmutation and Combine ¨C he had also decided to go all out and use their hefty Database to implement the best runic arrays there were.


    Anti-Teleport, Kic Rebound, Automatic Repair, Auto-Cleansing, Auto-Sentry, Psychic rm, Counter Attack, etc. All sorts of high-level runic arrays had been carved onto his walls, maximizing the powers of the materials.


    As Darius looked down, he noticed Portia and Jorge chatting together while seated at his artificial park in the center of the core section''s residential area.


    Darius sighed when he recalled the reaction of the twodies when he had inly informed them that a rtionship would not be possible in any capacity since his Soulmate had been reincarnated into this world.


    Jorge had arguably taken it quite well, pursing her lips in dissatisfaction before boldly iming that she would challenge Deia to see whether she had the right to im such a lofty spot.


    Truth be told, Darius had been at a loss for words. He had wanted to argue that it wouldn''t be necessary, but the determination in her eyes made it clear to him that nothing he could say would convince her.


    As such, he had just nodded at Jorge and prayed that Deia would forgive him for making him deal with her.


    Portia on the other hand... had taken it terribly. The poor girl had stormed out of the room upon hearing the news and had remained on the abyss of depression ever since.


    She had locked herself up for almost 2 months, and things hade to a head when her brother had found her having tried to hang herself. Were it not for Derek having found her in time and Darius'' resources, she might have passed on.


    It was then that Darius realized that he needed someone to help watch over her, so he had appointed Jorge to keep herpany. Fortunately, the two women seemed to have developed a powerful bond.


    Darius was sure that this would remain part of his ck history...


    How a puppy crush from her youthful days could have developed into this obsession was beyond him, for he did not remember ever doing anything of note towards her.


    Looking over his territory, Darius saw Shanks and Derek in the training field, the older man instructing and teaching his son the ways ofbat. Derek was sweating while following his father''s instructions dutifully, his lean stature moving rapidly as he swung his spear.


    He was engaged in a mock battle against an elite member that had signed the Soul Paper and was part of Jorge''s unit, giving it his all.


    Currently, the core section was popted by this lot and was about 5% filled so far.


    It was enough to make it slightly lively, but not bustling. However, that was fine as this was exactly what Darius was going for.


    He turned to see Gunner and Xing up behind him, fully dressed as well. He smiled at them and inquired: "Well, are you ready to go?"


    Gunner smiled and X nodded. Darius turned back to the city and spoke to his HoloBrace: "Miranda, inform Georgina and Portia that we are heading out. Also, page Foldo and ask for his ETA today."


    Miranda appeared from the HoloBrace and acknowledged themands with an air of chipper glee. Darius smiled softly and then activated Group Teleport, whisking himself and his two Branded Servants away.


    After the various buffs and increases, his maximum distance per single jump was now 24 kilometers instead of 4 and his mana cost per single jump had been reduced to 28 MP from the original 50.


    With his current mana capacity, Darius could make 161 jumps, meaning that his total traversable distance before he needed to rest was currently 3,864 kilometers!


    It would take Darius three jumps to reach the Andrato Kingdom from his territory. The time it would take was less than 10 minutes, 48.3 seconds for 161 jumps, and 150 seconds until his manapletely refilled.


    They moved towards the underdog kingdom rapidly, eventually arriving at the gates of Listo with a smile on Darius'' face.


    Gunner blinked in surprise at how quickly they had arrived. He fondly remembered the times he and Darius would spend hours with their Blink-Leap technique to reach their destination.


    This, more than anything, showed Gunner how much they had grown in terms of power over time. X was fascinated by the architecture as this was her first time visiting Listo with them.


    However, Darius and Gunner frowned when they noticed the tense atmosphere surrounding the townˇ­ and that wasn''t the only thing. The gates were firmly locked and the magical barrier surrounding the town was activated.


    Outside the walls, was an army of 10,000 men and women in green-colored armor bearing the insignia of some foreign kingdoms or empires, all in siege formation as they bombarded the walls steadily.


    A few miles out was arge encampment where the soldiers resided, and Darius noted that all the town''s escape routes had been thoroughly cut off to the point that not even a rat could squeeze through.


    In fact, when the trio appeared, they happened tond in between the army and the town, so they immediately caught the eyes of both parties who stared at them with shock and confusion.

 Chapter 319 - 319

    "CEASE FIRE!" Themander on the side of the assants roared as he raised his hand, his face locked in an expression of deep apprehension as he gazed at the trio.


    From the three of them, he could sense a multitude of abilities at the Adept grade and one at the Master rank. These three were undoubtedly powerful geniuses of some top-tier empire, and his party would do well to not offend them.


    They soldiers couldn''t understand why they had to halt their attack just because of three youngsters, but the Amateurs and above were filled with trepidation as sweat formed on their brows.


    The same also went for those on the side of Listo, as they stood there flummoxed. None could recognize Darius and X, yet Gunner was too memorable with his size and crazy hairdo.


    While they were initially shocked, they eventually disyed ecstatic expressions and began cheering jubntly, hugging each other, and crying. This scene made the face of the opposingmander darken, but he decided to be tactful.


    He stepped forward, medium armor nking slightly as he approached where Darius and co. stood with a stern expression. This gave Darius the chance to single him out and observe the fellow well.


    He was quite a handsome fellow, looking to be in his early thirties by Darius'' measure. He had short-cropped ck hair and dark blue eyes, with an angr face possessing a thin mustache.


    He had the insignia of a lion biting a snake on the head embossed onto the chestte of his armor, also possessing a long sword tucked into its scabbard at his hip, his right hand ced on the hilt casually as he walked forward.


    He greeted Darius with a knight''s bow before speaking in a mature tone: "Greetings, fellow friends. My name is Darkus Husain, Commander of the Leo Legion of Riaslin Kingdom."


    Darius smiled. "The Elven beauty to my right is X Stone, princess of the Elven race, one of their Divine Maidens as well as my ward."


    X curtsied cutely in response to the introduction, her smile making the heart of themander skip a beat. Darius then gestured to Gunner.


    "This is Gunner Stone, Royal Giant, and another ward of mine." Darius introduced simply.


    Gunner didn''t bow, but folded his arms and gazed at Darkus with disdain, like a powerful person gazing upon a weak one. Darkus was not slighted by this - or more correctly didn''t dare to be slighted - given Gunner''s power.


    Then Darius pressed a hand to his chest as his eyes glinted. "And I, am Darius Stone. Master Magus and Lord of a territory to the far north."


    Darius then tapped his lip. "Also, about 5 years ago I was granted the title of a Baron of Andrato, specifically Listo."


    Darkus had maintained some hope up until this point, but his heart turned to ashes once he listened up to here. He now knew that things would not end easily, as Darius would not have needed to remind him of this fact if he wanted to stay neutral.


    It should be known, the highest power in their army was also a Master, but that was a single warrior who was their trump card. Against three young masters like them, what chance did he stand?


    At this time, the barrier surrounding Listo was taken down while the gates opened. From within, an entourage of 10 riders came forth on warhorses, three knights, two mages, four warriors, and a familiar face, the City Lord of Listo.


    After not seeing each other for a few months, Spencely seemed to have aged a few years in this short period of time. His oiled, parted brown hair had strands of grey and his powerful blue eyes were duller due to fatigue.


    He no longer wore his tophat given the asional, and his monocle was ced in his coat pocket. He still wore a gentleman''s attire of a ck suit jacket, a tucked white shirt with a bowtie, and ck pants.


    When the group approached, they stepped close to Darius. On Nichs'' face was a look of great relief.


    While the others looked curious and wary, they had long heard about Andrato''s genius, but he had disappeared for 5 years and hadn''t bothered himself with the kingdom, leaving many parties miffed.


    Nichs though, knew better than to dare expect things from Darius, especially since it was only really who had personally tried to help Darius and not the kingdom.


    Darius had already paid him back by promising to train up some youths from Listo including his beloved son, Ash.


    "Greetings, Lord Stone. How goes things?" Nichs asked with a genuine smile as he dismounted, before bowing respectfully, despite his advanced age.


    Darius walked over, helped him up, and hugged the Baron. "Just came back to recruit you. I need a skilled person to manage the territory I''m setting up to the far north, and you were the best candidate I could select."


    Nichs'' eyes lit up. "Why don''t you tell me more about this in afortable ce?"


    Darius nodded in agreement, snapping his finger to teleport himself and Nichs into the office of the City Lord. The fellow was naturally shocked by the sudden change, but felt no physical difort from the teleportation and so settled down.


    Darius sat down on the receiver''s seat while Nichs sat down at his desk. The City Lord wiped his monocle and ced it on his right eye before gazing at Darius earnestly.


    "First of all, allow me to thank you in Listo''s name for arriving at such an opportune time. Were it not for you, we likely would not have held out much longer. So my good friend, what do you have in mind?"


    Darius then borated the details of the budding territory, the quality of materials used, the wealth of knowledge in his possession, the generalyout of the entire city, how it would be governed, and the dungeon''s characteristics.


    After listening, Nichs'' face was so red that he looked like a table. He pped his desk and bellow with glee.


    "GENIUS! ABSOLUTELY GENIUS MY FRIEND!"


    He took a deep breath to calm himself down and wiped his brow. He then made eye contact with Darius and spoke with utter solemnity.


    "It would be my honor to help you manage your territory, Lord Darius."

 Chapter 320 - 320

    Meanwhile, the army outside felt impotent at the way Darius had simply ignored them and disappeared with the City Lord at a point.


    It was unprecedentedly rude for sure, but it also perfectly disyed the power gap between both parties, so there was nothing they could do about it.


    Especially with Gunner still standing there, folding his arm coldly, and giving them a re that practically screamed: ''Try something, I dare you!''


    X also observed them quietly, her usually soft and gentle demeanor gone.


    She was an Elven Princess, so even though her natural disposition was that of kindness and amiability, she also knew when to shut the world around her behind a wall and project an icy cold demeanor.


    Darkus'' face was thunderous from this kind of treatment, and he made a subtle signal to his vice behind his back. Seeing this, his vicemander quickly dispatched someone to summon their own Master stage expert.


    Neither Gunner nor X missed this, but both kept quiet and opted to wait. Darius hadn''t given them any instructions, so they refused to do anything unless necessary.


    This awkward standoff continued for 5 minutes until a pathway was made in the ten thousand strong army for a batch of riders toe through. Three vicemanders rode behind their Master stage expert who happened to be a burly axe-knight.


    He had messy brown hair and dark ck eyes that seemedmon. His features were rugged and mature, giving him the appearance of a well-learned man who had years of experience under his belt.


    His armor was simr to the ones the rest of the army wore in that it was colored in a greenish hue and bore the insignia of the Riaslin Kingdom, but it was definitely a grade higher than mere steel, likely being mithril.


    On his back was arge two-sided war axe with a long shaft, almost resembling a poleaxe. Its shaft was made of ckish wood while the de shone with an orange-green color of orichalcum.


    His warhorse was thergest and most menacing of the lot, likely so due to the weight the warrior had to bear. Trying to put him on a normal horse was guaranteed to break its back.


    The warrior eventually stopped his crew and signaled them to wait behind while he dismounted and walked forth slowly. He casually observed Gunner and X, checking what about them had the whole army pause.


    His face became solemn and his mind entered turmoil once he sensed three things. Firstly, they radiated some strange energy that appeared to bend thews of the world around them, even going so far as to overwrite them.


    Secondly, they had the aura of multiple special abilities that he could sense, from Afterimage to even Mind Power. Heck, the pretty and dainty-looking elf girl had Explosive Strength, making the warrior wonder whether he was hallucinating.


    He himself only had two abilities, Limit Release, and Fast Regeneration. This alone had allowed him to stand out and be one of Riaslin Kingdom''s top masters, among the 300+ they had.


    Even in the top empires, Masters like him who had a Basic ability on top of the obvious Intermediate one - that had allowed them to be Master-stage in the first ce - were far from beingmon.


    To encounter two youths who have all the detectable abilities made him shiver. However, he could not retreat at this point because the whole army was looking to him for guidance.


    He had no other choice but to bull through using clever means.


    He stopped a few meters from the duo, simply removing his war axe and mming its head into the ground, causing a minor tremor that shook the area.


    "My name is Keith Durant! I am a proud Axe Knight of the Riaslin Kingdom, and a Master stage expert! I demand to know why you impede my kingdom''s army from conquering this town!"


    His question that was bellowed elicited a reaction from the men behind him, as they raised their weapons and screamed ''raah!'' with boundless vigor and a shine in their eyes.


    With their moral pir standing forward, the duo blocking their way suddenly appeared far less menacing. There were 10,000 of them and the opponent were cowards who had remained in their shell!


    The people of Listo saw this and became apprehensive. They had only turned brave because the genius of Andrato had returned and had sessfully intimidated their foes, but they actually didn''t understand the nuance of what was going on.


    Seeing the opponent ready to restart the fight, they naturally became tense and worried.


    In response to Keith''s words, Gunner walked forward with a look of interest.


    "Well then, Master Durant, I, Gunner Stone, stand here blocking your army because I feel like it. What the fuck are you gonna do about it? Use that piece of coal to hit me? Go ahead then."


    Gunner chuckled as he pointed to his shoulder, copying the actions of an amazing character from his favorite anime series.


    "I have an ache right here, feels very sore. Why don''t you use that charcoal on a stick to massage it for me, huh?"


    X giggled audibly, unable to hold back at Gunner''s cruel taunt. It was clear to her that this kind of behavior should have been learned from his time in the arenas, because only thebatants there would use such methods.


    Keith was absolutely livid at the disrespect shown him and picked up his war axe easily. Despite the burning rage within him, he still kept him calm and pointed his weapon towards Gunner.


    "A vile vermin like yourself is a disgrace to all Masters on the continent. Today, I, Keith Durant, shall beat some manners into you!"


    Keith flourished his axe as the soldiers behind him once again cheered for their man, and even Army Commander Darkus smiled thinly, his fear of Gunner reced by a hint of disdain for the half-giant''s vulgar tongue.


    However, both Darkus and Keith still feared his power and the quiet elven maiden beside him. They just found Gunner as a person to be beneath their respect.


    Gunner frowned.


    "The mouth was created for eating and speaking sense, not spewing verbal farts and feces. Get on with it!"

 Chapter 321 - 321

    Keith decided to not waste any more time trading words with this uncouth lout. From the dawn of time, the best tool formunication was never the mouth, but the fist!


    Punch someone''s jaw off and they will ede to your request far better than any diplomatic eloquence could!


    Keith burst forward with speed beyond the scope of all Amateur and below spectators, only the Journeymen and above able to follow his rapid steps as he umted power in his arms.


    He then brought it down in an overhead swing with all his strength. The axe whistled as it tore through the air with such force that X''s robes were mussed by the ensuing winds.


    All of this culminated into a loud ''thop'' sound as the sharp de connected with Gunner''s shoulder de, where he had ''requested'' a massage just now!


    However, the cruel expression that had appeared on Keith''s face at thest moment when his weapon connected and the excited one on Darkus'' crumbled into pure shock, as they saw that apart from cracking the ground beneath Gunner a little, nothing of note happened to therged.


    X directly burst intoughter due to something only she and Gunner were able to see.


    0!


    That''s right, the powered-up attack from a Master stage expert had resulted in no damage to Gunner whatsoever. It would be exceedingly hard to, since his power was light years from what he had used in the fight against Lord Darm.


    He hadn''t even activated his Earth''s Guardian yet. He was just relying on his passive skills like Energy Ward which resisted 30% of all damage, his 90 points of Endurance as well as his 166 points of Defense.


    X was curious as to how a Master who had likely been at the stage for a while could be so weak, so she Inspected him.


    [Keith Durant - Level 75 Axe Knight


    HP: 8,568/8,568 MP: 1,875/1,875 STA: 5,380/5,400]


    ''Hm, so his Strength is 119 points, his Endurance 72 points, and his Intellect 25 points. Not too shabby." X deduced with a smile.


    ''However, he has no other abilities I can detect apart from Limit Release and Fast Regeneration. I can''t sense Afterimage, so he has to be below 50 points of Agility. Hm, judging from his attack speed, his Agility should be between 20-30 points.''


    ''As for his Charisma, I bet it''s between 10-15 points. His Luck should between 5-12 points at best.'' X estimated. She was more sure about his Luck as her high Spiritual Senses as part of her own high Luck gave her more insight into these things.


    X''s rapid deduction was done in seconds. The current her was no different from Darius in terms ofputing ability and intelligence. The only thing that separated them was experience and wisdom, both of which Darius had in spades.


    Gunner could care less about such things though. He looked at Keith and shook his head, for the fellow was far weaker than the Masters he had fought in Elysium''s Colosseum of Blood.


    Back then, he only had like 1/3rd of his current stats, yet he had still been able to survive under the brutality of those fellows, using his body to learn how they fought and how to gauge them.


    As such, looking at Keith, he knew he was dealing with low-quality goods.


    Then again, what was there to expect? If the Andrato Kingdom deserved to be called the shitty underdog of the entire Fallon continent, then Fallon had to be called the shitty underdog of Faust.


    Vena and Caesar could have put Darius anywhere, but had chosen Fallon. Why was this? Because in terms of power, skill, and technology, Fallon rankedst in almost any category.


    Objectively speaking, the continental rankings was;


    #1 was Elysium (Gods),


    #2 was Armadon (Demons and Devils),


    #3 was Unyris (Mythological Beasts),


    #4 was Kiel (Continent of Ice, also where the Core of Faust resided),


    #5 was Pan (Cultivators),


    #6 was Houto (Samurai and Yokai),


    #7 was Gravitas (Continent of secrecy and technology),


    #8 was Ludo (Desert Warriors),


    #9 was Pokterr (Underground world of the Moles and Insects)


    #10 was Fallon (Swords and Sorcery).


    Pokterr used to be much higher up on the rankings, but that was naturally before the mass genocide of the Insect race as a response to their invasion. Gravitas'' position was alsorgely regarded as inurate because no one could truly gauge them, not even the Fake Lords of Faust.


    There were also other problems with the rankings, such as Unyris technically being the first if one took into ount a certain terrifying existence that slept in the clouds which even the True Lords of Faust feared. However since he hadn''t bothered to do anything for millennia, he had been cleverly ignored.


    One also had to take into ount a certain bias, since the one who had published this ranking was Elysium''s City of Divinity.


    Right now, Gunner understood why this was so. It was definitely prejudiced in some parts and inurate in others, but the general truthy bare.


    Keith had continually struck at him, even using skills while increasing his speed. His axe was like a blur of metal, striking Gunner everywhere it could reach.


    Nevertheless, Gunner just stood there with his arms folded, his expression one of bored sadness as he contemted such matters, while X watched on, both herself and the two Divine Concepts in her soul fascinated at the sight of such a powerful man incapable of doing anything apart from humiliating himself in public.


    Darkus and the men behind him were left in the pits of despair, their hearts clenching with every strike Keith made on Gunner that caused a boom as well as a shockwave, yet failing to harm anything but thend beneath therged''s feet in the slightest.


    Keith himself was almost out of his wits, refusing to believe the reality of the situation.


    However, the more he struck him without Gunner doing anything in retaliation, the more his hope started to turn to despair.


    His rapid swings started to slow down as he simply stared at Gunner with iprehension.

 Chapter 322 - 322

    Gunner simply patted the fellow''s shoulder with a look of sympathy.


    "You haven''t been drinking enough milk, so your bones are soft. From now on, you should do 100 push-ups, 100 sits up, 100 squats and 10km run every day to reach my level."


    Keith looked dumbfounded by Gunner''s words, but X made an expression of ''I understood that reference''.


    Truly, the two Branded Servants had be addicted to anime and TV shows in a short period of time.


    Keith sighed as he sheathed his axe and walked back dejectedly towards his horse. Silently, he nodded to Darkus, who also seemed beaten down and rode back.


    Eventually, he made the obvious call for the army to pack and return to the kingdom in failure. Listo''s citizens only watched in shocked silence, not understanding how things could have gotten resolved so smoothly.


    They remained silent, fearing that the situation could change at any moment.


    It wasn''t until almost 5 hourster that the army broke camp and started marching away in dejection that they let out the victorious screams, cheering even louder than when Darius had first appeared.


    Some couples became so ted, that they started very lewd disys of affection in public.


    A lot of young boys who had proposed to their crushes at a time when all seemed lost and still been rejected suddenly found themselves being embraced and kissed, their dreams havinge true.


    The air of festivity was so infectious that X couldn''t help but smile from the depths of her heart, whereas Gunner only waved his hand boredly once the entourage Lord Spencely brought along escort the duo into town.


    Both Darius and Nichs walked towards the Branded Servants, smiles on their faces. They had longe out to bear witness to Gunner''s scuffle with Keith as well as the ensuing aftermath.


    When his entourage saw him, they sighed with relief and rode up to him. "City Lord, now that the army has been driven away, should we mobilize troops to help the other towns?"


    Gunner and X blinked with confusion, but Darius had already been briefed about the current state of the Andrato Kingdom. It would be quite urate to describe it as them being besieged on all sides by wolves.


    Apparently, it all started some weeks ago.


    With Queen Jeanne Ando continually refusing to marry various suitors the weakened kingdomcked a powerful backing.


    This continued rejection soured the rtionships to the nearby kingdoms and empires, and the protective umbre created by the uncertainty of Jeanne''s choice had faded away.


    Those who had once promised to protect Andrato and treat Jeanne as the love of their lives had mobilized their armies and decided to split up the kingdom amongst themselves.


    Riaslin Kingdom happened to win the rights to Listo, while other towns and cities had been ¨C or in some cases still were ¨C besieged by others based on the agreement they had reached beforehand.


    In fact, Listo was rtively lucky to have made it out rtively intact. Their siege had only been going on for a month and with a Wood element dungeon here, they did not want for food, unlike other towns that had long crumbled and been taken over.


    Thest report Duke Spencely had received was from 5 days ago, informing him that out of Andrato Kingdom''s 20 towns and 5 cities, only 3 towns and 2 cities had not been conquered yet.


    Without some sort of miracle, Andrato Kingdom would soon join countless others as just a random note in the annals of history.


    Darius had frowned at such news. Not because of sympathy or something sentimental like that, but because his ns included Andrato as a staging area of his new territory.


    With his still-unnamed territory 10,000 km from Andrato and the fledgling kingdom simrly thousands of kilometers away from the better kingdoms and empires, it was justmon sense to help each other.


    With such huge distances, caravans and trade routes would require resting ces to refuel and restock before reaching their destinations.


    This created two oues. Firstly, Andrato would be made financially and martially stronger since they would have the first pick of his resources when exported. The second was that by strengthening Andrato, Darius was basically setting up a huge shield for his territory that others would have to pass through to get to him.


    If Andrato was ruined, who was supposed to block the way for him?


    However, this development also presented him with a great opportunity to kill three birds with one stone. He could recruit talented men that he trusted from Andrato to helm various departments of his new territory, establish his reputation on Fallon by beating back these armies, and fleece Andrato for all it was worth as payment for his efforts.


    Darius chuckled lightly. First things first, he would have to head to Ando City and meet with Jeanne and establish a proper agreement.


    It was already clear, that Andrato could only agree to be his vassal state in every way, paying tributes and adhering to all hismands, in exchange for him restoring and improving the kingdom.


    It was a good deal for both sides, Andrato would get saved and powered up but lose autonomy, although Darius didn''t n to interfere too much in their internal policies, while he would have to do very little to end up with everything he needed from them.


    Darius turned to Spencely who already had already through his n. Nichs was wise and spoke staunchly. "Well, since Andrato will soon be the vassal state of Lord Darius, my moving to your territory as a mayor is naught but a change of employment, a transfer if you will. It ispletely fair and legal!"


    Darius''s lips twitched as he gazed at Nichs in a new light. The way he described it, even Darius began to doubt whether he was truly doing evil to poor Listo and Andrato by poaching theirpetent City Lord.


    Darius nodded and spoke with Nichs a bit more, handing him a standard HoloBrace. Darius would have Miranda make another Child AI that would manage user interactions at ater date.


    For now, Darius settled Nichs as the duo discussed what should happen next before using Group Teleportation with his two Branded Servants to travel to Ando City.


    As for Lord Spencely, he smiled and turned to his entourage, speaking with a glint in his eye.


    "If you truly believe in my wisdom and leadership, don''t ask questions and follow me to the other side. There is a promisednd waiting for all those who walk with me to serve Lord Darius."

 Chapter 323 - 323

    It took Darius and his group less than a minute to reach Ando City since it was only 234 kilometers away from Listo. Unlike Listo which didn''t have an army, but merely a militia, Andrato''s army was mostly fielded here around the capital, fighting a horrific battle.


    Darius noted 5 different forces here. Opposite Andrato, in spread-out camps, he recognized gs belonging to the Hakrian, Bafira, Kirlian, and Dongato Empires. Each Empire fielded 5,000 men, for a total of 20,000.


    However, Andrato only had about 15,000 men on their side. While this wasn''t too bad from a numerical point of view, Darius and Gunner shook their heads. The difference in power was too staggering.


    For one, each of the 5,000 that the Empire sent were at minimum Amateurs, whereas Andrato''s total force only had 2,000 sparked and awakened fighters, with the rest being normal fighters.


    The battle was bloody and cruel, forcing X to look away at the sheer ughter. However, Darius was intrigued, for he had asked Nichs as to how those 3 towns and 2 cities had managed to survive this long.


    In Listo''s case, their saving grace had been their Wood element dungeon and the fact that they were far away from the others.


    The town of Desterr had a Light element dungeon that dropped great healing items and those that helped buff their defense, so their priests could outheal the damage sustained by their men, allowing for a protracted siege.


    The town of Junol had a unique Spirit element dungeon, famous for the various drops that allowed them to beguile their enemies with illusions and psychic attacks.


    In essence, these three towns had been saved not by the strength of their people, but the nature of their affiliated dungeons. Now, it became clearer why every town or city in any territory usually was attached to a dungeon apart from resources.


    As for the two cities, they were Yunian City and Ando City. Yunian City possessed the only Spatial attribute dungeon in the entire kingdom, making it something many otherscked and greatly coveted.


    Precisely because of that though, they had managed to survive.


    The drops and resources from the dungeon were perfect for carving many runic arrays that created spatialbyrinths and pockets that allowed them to trap foes and redirect damage.


    Basically, Yunian City was like a mirage when in defense mode. Your eyes could see it, but getting to touch it or feel it was apletely different matter.


    As for Ando City, it had a regr old earth element dungeon. Darius felt amused by this, but this was also where the majority of Andrato''s army was stationed, so it didn''t really matter.


    Ando was the only city that didn''t rely on tricks to survive, only their martial might. Though, that obviously meant little in front of an absolute foe that could squash them like a bug.


    But then how exactly were they still standing?


    The answer to this had shocked Darius when Nichs had shared the information from the letter, but it had also reinforced his decision to salvage this kingdom and turn it into his vassal state.


    The survival of Ando City was solely due to the efforts of Queen Jeanne Ando! To be more precise, ity in her special Angelic/Valkyrie bloodline!


    The Valkyrie bloodline was heavily light-based with a mixture of the Life element, simr to X yet ultimately slightly different.


    They both pursued different extremes, with Jeanne''s being morebative and offensive in naturepared to X''s supportive and supplementary one.


    However, Jeanne did possess a strange ability that defied thews of nature: Resurrection!


    Once a day, she could channel Light Energy to revive the souls of the fallen to re-inhabit their bodies while restoring their bodies.


    It was a Divine ability that could only work on those who had cut off a portion of their souls beforehand and had deposited them with Jeanne, which she would use as a temte for restoration.


    It was fundamentally impossible to bring back the dead in the traditional sense. There could only ever be workarounds like Jeanne''s bloodline ability or Darius'' Death''s Call spell.


    Upon learning about this, Darius sighed in regret. Bloodline spells could not be learned without the requisite bloodline. Obviously, Darius had long since tried to learn Earth''s Guardian, but had been disappointed that he had only ended up wasting his CP in making the respective book.


    Just like how he got the Dragon race bloodline abilities after imnting the Dragon heart, he required the respective hardware to use certain software, which were the spells and skills.


    Elemental spells were neutral, so he could learn them as he pleased, since the Supreme System had ''awakened'' him with all elements avable.


    And that was how the army of 15,000 had survived against the 20,000, even managing to slowly whittle down their numbers.


    Andrato''s soldiers were like undying monsters, always able to rise up the next day in perfect health to fight again.


    However, Darius understood that such frequent usage would have toe at a horrible price. Even he didn''t dare to use Death''s Call frequently despite his spell only costing mana.


    So what was it costing Jeanne, who didn''t have anything like the Supreme System to optimize her expenditure?


    Darius already had his suspicions, but he hoped he would be proven wrong.


    Having seen enough, he smiled and carried his group into the city, bypassing the battle to appear right in the castle''s throne room.


    Their appearance interrupted the court which happened to be in session, and various nobles panicked as they gazed at the three intruders with shock and confusion.


    Darius casually swept an eye over them before stopping on Jeanne who had matured beautifully, even making him blink in surprise.


    However, with Deia in existence, his interest waned as he stepped forth and bowed with a yful smile.


    Just as Darius was about to speak, he was stunned as Jeanne Ando began screaming and clutching her head in agony, leaving the entire room in an uproar.

 Chapter 324 - 324

    Darius frowned deeply at the sight of Andrato Kingdom''s various ministers screaming for the guards. The ensuing scene of the Royal Guards rushing towards him with their weapons out to strike him down didn''t put him in a better mood.


    s, he couldn''t me them.


    Their Queen had started crying out in pain the very moment he and his entourage had appeared, so anyone with half a brain would make the logical conclusion that they had to be assant or assassins, here to take out the thorn in the side of the empires outside.


    Darius simply used his Telekinesis to swat away all those about to attack him, burning almost 1000 MP to do so.


    This kind of power was the clear distinction between Master magespared to Adepts and below. At the Master-stage, mages no longer had to resort to magic but could simply use their powerful minds to deal with those beneath them, although the MP cost was high.


    Still, this method benefited from its utility and versatilitypared to traditional spells. For example, it had allowed Darius to take down an entire room with more than 50 Royal Guards in a single instant without harming them deeply, a feat only very few spells would have been able to achieve.


    Darius pped his hand, the shockwave from doing so with his 50 points of Strength shocking everyone awake from their stupor. Darius then folded his hands behind his back and addressed the trembling ministers.


    "My name is Darius Stone, and I havee with my twopatriots today to discuss with Queen Jeanne Ando as to how we may resolve your kingdom''s current issue. You may be at ease, there''s nothing you or even those empires outside can offer me toe and assassinate her."


    His cold words woke up the reasoning in them, and the various ministers couldn''t help but share looks in dismay. He was right of course, a person with his level of power would have no need to exin himself to them.


    With order getting restored, nurses, doctors, and priests were quickly called over to check up on the Queen. Her screaming hadn''t stopped, yet for some reason, she was clutching her head as if someone was shouting in her ear.


    While the healing specialists were still trying to find out what was wrong with her, Darius and X shared a look.


    Their Elementary Psychomancy allowed them to perfectly understand what was going on in Jeanne''s head, which left them shocked and deeply baffled at how things could have developed in such a way.


    Currently, Jeanne was trying to maintain consciousness as something kept talking in her mind like an endless echo, repeating a single name ''Darius''.


    The true Jeanne, hidden in the depths of her mind, was waking up while the fake Jeanne - who was still clueless about being a mere projection summoned forth by the death of the previous Queen - felt like she was being taken over by something.


    Fake Jeanne could only hear murmurs of Darius'' name at first, but it had since morphed into steady calls then loud roars as the true Jeanne wanted toe out.


    Fake Jeanne was slipping, her existence getting crushed by whaty deeper, that thing eating her up and devouring everything she had experienced in this time.


    Soon, Jeanne''s cries died down as she knelt on the ground, her hands slowly leaving her temples as the real self had broken through and regained control. The fake persona that had been leading the kingdom in her absence was now gone, dead in the truest sense.


    Jeanne smiled as she raised her head and patted her body, and to the shock of everyone skipped forward to stand before Darius. She did not look left or right, as if the only thing that existed before her was Darius, the rest not even worth being looked at.


    Darius, who already understood the mentality of Jeanne could only smile speechlessly while X had a look of interest no different from when she was watching her favorite TV Dramas.


    In fact, none of the TV Dramas she had watched had produced such an exciting plot development rting to the romance, so X was fully enraptured. Were it not for the seriousness of the situation, she might have pulled out a chair and started munching on some popcorn.


    As for Gunner, he just watched on with his arms folded, recalling their brief encounter with the former Princess-turned-Queen and his dislike for her.


    Jeanne carefully inspected Darius as if making sure he was the right person before smiling beautifully.


    "Greetings, Lord Darius. It''s a pleasure to see you again."


    Darius smiled weakly. "The pleasure''s mine, Jeanne."


    Jeanne''s eyes curved into crescents when she heard how Darius called her. Darius himself sighed inwardly, feeling the onset of a headache.


    Just like Gunner, thest impression he had of Jeanne had been a negative one due to the stunt she had pulled when they had both been 13, but after seeing into her mind and understanding the weight of her current feelings and mentality, he understood that he somehow ended up being one of the things keeping her alive.


    If he refused to acknowledge her existence... it wouldn''t be beyond the realm of possibility for her to pull out a dagger and sh her throat the very next moment.


    However, he wanted the Andrato Kingdom and for that he needed her. Everything would be far easier with a member of royal blood maintaining the kingdom, not to mention he could use her special Valkyrie bloodline to empower his own people.


    The easiest way would be to fulfill her desire, yet he refused to enter a romantic rtionship with her. No matter how beautiful, Jeanne was only a tool for him to achieve his goals.


    As such, he would have to carefully manipte her using her feelings in order to achieve the best oue. This would be hard though, as the situation was extremely delicate.


    With the slightest mistake, Jeanne could end up breaking like a vase.


    "Well, Lord Darius, why note and sit? Didn''t you just say you''vee to make a deal with me?" Jeanne inquired with a gesture towards the throne.


    Not sure if she was asking him to sit on the throne or not, Darius simply chuckled. "Why don''t we discuss this somewhere more proper? Your ministers cane too if necessary."


    Jeanne only seemed to remember their existence at this moment, and her youthful smile became a cold facade as she turned to them. "All of you disperse! I have important matters to discuss with Lord Darius."


    By now, after seeing all this, the various ministers would be fools if they could not put two and two together.


    As such, everyone silently left the throne room with different expressions on their face, most of them gazing at Darius while wondering what the fate of their kingdom would be after this ''negotiation''.

 Chapter 325 - 325

    Jeanne turned to Darius and resumed her sunny disposition. "Now that the pests are gone, we can talkˇ­ in my room?"


    Jeanne twirled her hair and smiled hopefully as she suggested this, but Darius wisely shook his head.


    "That would be improper. Surely you have a private meeting room we can use?"


    She didn''t even bother to hide the look of disappointment on her face, but Darius turned a blind eye to it.


    Jeanne put on a weak smile as she gestured. "Yes, we do. Please follow me."


    The trio were led to a small meeting room a few floors down. The room had been well maintained and looked quite pleasing to the eye, despite only having some seats and tables for a host to entertain his guests.


    Jeanne sat in the host''s seat while Darius and his two Branded Servants sat in the guest seats. There was a short period of silence as Jeanne waited for Darius to make his proposal, while Darius himself pondered how to wade this mire he had found himself in.


    After some time, he eventually spoke. "Right now, I see that Andrato is on the cusp of ruination. 5 years ago, I had set out to build my own territory and have made some leaps in that regard, 10000 kilometers to the north."


    Darius then tapped the table using a finger. "However, I still possess the title of Baron of Andrato, and I cannot bear to see this kingdom fall so easily. As such, I pre-emptively assisted Listo town and beating back its invaders in order to thank Andrato for the shelter provided me in the past."


    "However, that alone is not enough to stave off this crisis. At the same time, I also have my own territory to manage, and I cannot make so many enemies of other states when I am in the foundational stage."


    He shook his head sadly. "As such, I cannot help Andrato as freely as before."


    Darius stopped here, sure that Jeanne should be able to understand his hidden meaning well enough. From the way she was smiling while gazing at his face like an idiot, Darius wondered if her Intellect had dropped below 5 points.


    He almost frowned a little, but Jeanne finally spoke up. "As you might know Andrato is a kingdom founded by my ancestor, Julietta, in order to serve as an outpost for Fraterina in observing the ins of Death."


    "Julietta set out with a small entourage that included Master Kubrick, and eventually chose this city''s dungeon to set up the capital. It was only after Julietta''s daughter came to power that we started breaking off from Fraterina in an attempt to achieve independence."


    Jeanne yed with her fingernails pointedly. "After bing the 6th Queen of Andrato, I have be privy to the fact that the reason our kingdom has failed to prosper over the past 300 years is precisely because of the interference of Fraterina."


    Jeanneughed coldly. "They are responsible for the fact that Andrato barely receives exports from the surrounding kingdoms and empires. On the off chance that we do acquire higher tier goods, they are either miraculously recalled or the caravan is ambushed by mysterious bandits that are far too powerful for nobody to have heard of them."


    "As such, Andrato had been left to develop everything itself. Our magical knowledge, or schools, or armies, our dungeon management systemˇ­ everything we''ve developed locally, which is why the quality is unfortunately subpar."


    "However, where there are hardships, diamonds are forged from the coal. We have talents who quickly climb from Amateur, to Journeymen and then Adept stage with chances of going further... yet there are none such people in Andrato, at least on the surface."


    Jeanne ced her hands in herp and gazed at Darius seriously. "Can you guess why?"


    Darius, who had been silent as Jeanne''s revtions struck him like thunder, spoke almost in a daze. "Because all the kingdoms and empires must have reached an agreement to jointly stifle a newpetitor. Having Adepts is fine, but a single Master-stage expert in a kingdom changes their danger rating greatly, so it must not be allowed to happen."


    Jeanne pped with glee. "Exactly! We don''t call him ''Master'' Kubrick for nothing, but ever since he got crippled by a sneak attack from the Julco Empire, he''s only able to muster Master-level power for brief periods of time. The rest of the time he remains ''the strongest Adept''."


    Gunner and X disyed shocked expressions, as they were also able to follow up on what Jeanne was revealing despite not being as experienced as Darius in such dark matters.


    Darius himself sighed and rubbed his brows, understanding fully what Jeanne was trying to tell him.


    To summarize, Jeanne was basically saying that she didn''t care what price Darius asked for. Or rather that she already knew what he wanted, but she warned him about the dangers of taking them in as a vassal state, informing him about the hidden threats to also his own safety.


    She had thrown away any bargaining chips she might have possessed, rather focusing on Darius'' benefits, which left him even more speechless. He knew he had a knack to manipte people to volunteering to further his goals alright, and he had done so to Shanks and Derrick.


    However, women like Jorge, Portia, and now Jeanne gave him a tough time doing so.


    It wasn''t that they were beautiful, no his problem was that all of these women in question were extremely obsessed with him in intense ways.


    First things first, an obsession was far from being the same as love, in fact, it was a mental disease. It was not something that should be fostered, but something to be cured, as it could harm the victim and those around them, especially the target of their obsession.


    If Darius made the wrong move with them, a catastrophe was bound to happen. Portia was the perfect example of this.


    The poor girl had tried to hang herself after being told she would never be able to Darius'' love, yet her obsession was far, far milder than Jeanne''s.


    Portia''s was merely a childhood crush turned intense desire, but Jeanne had literally built her sanity and will to live around three things. Her love for her mother, her will to better the Andrato Kingdom, and her wish to spend the rest of her life with Darius.


    She had already lost her mother and was about to lose Andrato, so if she lost Darius tooˇ­ what would this Queen do next?

 Chapter 326 - 326

    Darius smiled softly as he gazed at Jeanne, deciding to be straightforward. If it was going to be so hard manipting her, then why bother? There was an even simpler path.


    "Jeanne, do you want to marry me? Spend the rest of your life with me?" Darius asked calmly.


    Jeanne''s eyes glittered with hope. "Yes, I do! My dream is to live with you, so that the two of us together can bring Andrato up from the dumps!"


    Darius shook his head. "I''ll be honest with you. A marriage between us is impossible. I''m not originally from this world, but a Chosen One sent from the heavens to be the Supreme of Faust."


    "In my past life, I have already gone through endless trials and tribtions with my partner. She is my Soulmate, and we pledged ourselves for eternity."


    "I recently discovered that she had also followed me into this world, and I n to retrieve her to continue our eternal bond. As such, I can''t marry you." Darius finished with a sigh.


    Jeanne looked devastated, her face locked in an expression of horror and sorrow. Her eyes blurred with tears and her throat constricted as if someone had suddenly applied extreme pressure to it.


    "I-Iˇ­" She barely managed to squeeze out amidst her despair.


    Gunner sighed and looked away, while tears also appeared in X''s eyes, her heart touched by Jeanne''s plight.


    Darius himself remained smiling as he tapped the table and continued as he feared the girl might try to do something desperate and stupid soon.


    "But, when ites to the matter of spending the rest of your life with meˇ­ something can be arranged."


    The moment he said this, Jeanne''s despair was beaten back by sheer hope, as she would take anything she could get at this point.


    Right now, she was left with nothing, her mother had perished, Andrato was about to finished off and Darius had just broken her heart, before hisst sentence started to mend it again.


    Even a crumb of one of these three would feel like a full course meal to her weary soul. Darius didn''t stretch the suspense and revealed his thoughts.


    "It is possible to ept you as a core member of my faction. That way, you''ll be able to live in the core area of my territory and maybe as a tutor in my mage tower."


    Jeanne wiped her eyes and resolutely nodded. "I will dly join your faction and be a tutorˇ­ I''ll be anything you want me to be, as long as I can be close to you."


    Darius rose to his feet and walked over to Jeanne, patting her on the shoulder with an amiable smile.


    "Wee to the family, Jeanne."


    ............ˇ­.


    Outside the city, Darius appeared with Jeanne, X, and Gunner in tow. Once these four appeared amidst the battle, it was as if someone had pressed pause, the various parties froze in iprehension.


    Wasn''t that Andrato''s Queen?


    What was she doing here?


    And where did those threee from? Howe they were all Masters at such a young age?


    How did they have so many abilities?!


    Various questions surged through the minds of the warriors on the battlefront, only the non-sparked/non-awakened oblivious as to what kind of threat Jeanne''s group posed.


    On the side of Andrato''s forces, the soldiers felt their morale climb and their minds invigorated as they saw their spiritual pir, the Queen. They knew that as long as she stood, they would never die on this battlefield!


    With her, they would live forever!


    As for the opposing troops, they became extremely wary as heaviness filled their hearts. Not only was the Queen a great barrier and source of headache for them, but she had brought over three Master-stage experts.


    Against their mere 20000, they wouldn''t even be able to fill the gaps of their teeth. Adepts were killers of a thousand, Masters were killers of tens of thousands, and Grandmasters being killers of hundreds of thousands.


    Themanders of the four respective empires showed deep frowns, but were not too worried. After all, they too fielded Master stage experts as trump cards in case things went awry and to guard against each other.


    To be honest? They weren''t bothered by the Queen''s act of reviving the troops. It gave them the perfect chance to train their soldiers in battle over and over again, and they mixed up the formations to test out new strategies.


    That was right, they were treating Andrato''s desperate defense and Jeanne''s likely self-damaging actions as a grindstone to sharpen their troops.


    This was exactly why they had jointly stifled the kingdom in the first ce, so that they could not muster a useful defense.


    With the existence of their Masters, no matter what Andrato did, they would inevitably fall.


    Themander of the Hakrian Empire''s troops was an old man reaching his seventies with short white hair and spectacles on his sharp nose. He waved to his aide andmanded:


    "Send out Lian, Ferg, and Boris. Tell Javelina to stay put in order to guard against the other three."


    Themander of the Dongato Empire was a young woman with average looks but a huge bust. She had short-cropped auburn hair and piercing ck eyes that made those who she red at ufortable.


    "Forward mymand: Genie, Kilo, and Davis are to be deployed posthaste. Let Tank remain behind in case the others try something."


    Themander of the Kirlian Empire was also a woman, but one who was much older. She too had graying hair that was tied into a bun as well as pale blue eyes that were filled with coldness. Her form was thin and she wore a perpetual frown.


    "Let Hugo, Jones, and nkson know that they are to head forth to intimidate the enemy. Tell Justin to stay put though."


    Themander of the Bafira empire was a burly man with a bald head, caramel skin, and a thick beard. His eyes were a dark brown color and he radiated an air of yful ferociousness.


    "Oi, aide. Tell Jax, Delight, and Lovce to get out there! Oh, and let Dwamena stay behind, you hear?"

 Chapter 327 - 327

    Darius calmly watched as 12 Master stage experts were deployed from the enemy''s side while their footsoldiers retreated. After all, if a battle were to break out, they would be naught but cannon fodder in such an engagement.


    Darius cast his eyes over the 12, noticing that they were a mix of male and female, all of them bearing different styles and powers. Starting from the left was a short woman with a heavy bust and a strange smile.


    She had water blue hair and icy blue eyes, her attire being a knee-length dress that was intricately woven to show great aesthetic.


    [Lian Heifer - Level 67 Cryomancer


    HP: 391/391 MP: 7,030/7,030 STA: 1,139/1,139]


    After her was another woman who was slightly more menacing. She wore a ck leather outfit that resembled a mix between an assassin and a thief. She had a scarlet scarf around her neck and her short red hair was extremely messy.


    Minus the sharp dagger she flourished idly, her dark green eyes were extremely menacing as she red at Darius.


    [Ferg Justo - Level 65 Silencer


    HP: 930/930 MP: 1,235/1,235 STA: 4,510/4,510]


    Beside them was arge man who wore very little. Apart from some pants on his lower body, his upper body was bare and hairy. He had an extremely chiseled face and his hair was shaggy.


    Darius noticed he was smiling menacingly at Gunner, a provocative glint in his eye. Using Analyze, he saw the reason for this.


    As it turned out, the fellow was also a half-giant, though non-royal.


    [Boris - Level 62 Brawler


    HP: 9,996/9,996 MP: 930/930 STA: 6,076/6,076]


    Then there was another woman, this time one who was smiling at Darius with great interest. She was beautiful for sure, and wore a very revealing seat of red-colored medium armor as she flourished her de yfully.


    She was tall with emerald hair reaching her back and dark green eyes that radiated malevolent yfulness.


    [Genie Orman - Level 70 Sword Mistress


    HP: 1,875/1,875 MP: 1,095/1,095 STA: 4,550/4,550]


    Beside the swordswoman was a swordsman who wore a brown trenchcoat and battle boots. He had neatlybed blond hair and blue eyes with a slightly handsome visage, greatly resembling Genie before him.


    He held a bastard sword in a ready position, his expression one of an angry frown.


    [Kilo Orman - Level 74 Swordmaster


    HP: 2,600/2,600 MP: 1,100/1,100 STA: 4,970/4,970]


    And after him stood another man who was gantly mounted upon a horse, wearing heavy armor. He had wavy grey hair and long sideburns that formed into a thick mustache and beard. His eyes were a soft blue color and he wore an amicable smile.


    [Davis Keplun - Level 76 Lance-General


    HP: 3,592/3,592 MP: 1,296/1,296 STA: 4,256/4,256]


    The next three men were a set of triplets. They were all tall and handsome fellows with features simr to Darius in the sense that they were slightly effeminate to the point of being androgynous.


    The first wore leather armor with a cloak, holding two shortswords in each hand. The second wore medium armor and held a greatsword in hand while the final brother wore heavy armor and had a shield as well as a bell hammer.


    The trio formed a very dangerousbination, outshining all the others that had stepped forth.


    [Hugo Genesson - Level 75 Speed-de


    HP: 1,205/1,205 MP: 1,125/1,125 STA: 1,675/1,675]


    [Jones Genesson - Level 74 Power-de


    HP: 2,968/2,968 MP: 1,110/1,110 STA: 4,588/4,588]


    [nkson Genesson - Level 76 Shield Guardian


    HP: 6,925/6,925 MP: 520/520 STA: 5,980/5,980]


    The final three of the 12 Masters were three dark-skinned people, one man, one woman, and oneˇ­ both? The first man was tall and had a clean shaved face with an army cut fade.


    His eyes were brown and his hair was a normal ck color, his upper body wrapped in thick leather strips that disyed his abs.


    The woman was quite short and extremely sensual, but not by intention. She wore a modest attire of a mixture of leather and cloth, but her hips and bust were likely the thickest Darius had seen since he entered Faust.


    She had average features as well with a ponytail of brown hair and dark eyes that were cid. Her hands were ced akimbo, and she gazed at X with interest.


    Finally, there was aˇ­ man?... with soft features that wore heavy makeup and had questionable clothes on. He only wore a tight vest that disyed his upper body and booty shorts that did not fit the asion at all.


    His eyes were glued to Gunner as he salivated slightly, making Gunner shiver all over.


    [Jax Mensuro - Level 72 Boxer


    HP: 1,654/1,645 MP: 850/850 STA: 3,032/3,032]


    [Delight Keemi - Level 61 Specialist


    HP: 780/780 MP: 3,340/3,340 STA: 1,588/1,588]


    [Lovce Darlington - Level 79 Spirit Controller


    HP: 955/955 MP: 5,209/5,209 STA: 1,256/1,256]


    Darius noted that as they approached their group, all of them simultaneously paled greatly and froze where they were, staring at the three of them in shock.


    Darius smiled as this had to be the effect of those Masters falling under the jurisdiction of the Supreme System.


    The feeling should be extremely difiting, and in the case for most of them, result in a slight weakening. After all, how things worked with the nativews of the world and how the Supreme System handled things were fundamentally different.


    It didn''t damage those at the Amateur-Adept stage much, but against Masters and above, they certainly felt it. Fake Lords like Thor and Krona did not feel it because the Supreme System purposefully ignored them.


    As for Grandmasters, Darius wasn''t sure since he hadn''t actually encountered or Analyzed one ever since he came to Faust, but it was only a matter of time.


    Darius held his Dragonscale Staff, X took out the Holy Circlet and wore it, while Gunner manifested his Mageward Barrier as well as Earth''s Guardian aura as they walked forward.


    "Greetings fellow Masters from afar. My name is Darius Stone, Lord of a City to the North and a Baron of Andrato Kingdom."


    Darius greeted them with a thin smile and a light bow.


    "I won''t be making a gaffe by demanding an exnation for this invasion, would I?"

 Chapter 328 - 328

    The Masters gathered here were rendered speechless by Darius'' im. They shared uncertain looks as they understood the politics behind his words.


    Andrato was assumed to have no Masters. However, that was the basic requirement to have a seat/vote on the Fallon Continental Council and was also why the surrounding powers had made sure Andrato would be unable to groom another one.


    Other kingdoms and empires didn''t have that problem with their founders usually being Masters or above.


    For example, Fraterina''s founder was a Master stage Valkyrie who had been honorably discharged from Odin''s service.


    She had been able to quickly gather people into her founding city because she could promise safety for all neers.


    The reason Fraterina hadn''t been able to be an empire was because theycked any real specialties.


    For example, the Westerlier Empire that Darius had once impersonated being a noble from, was founded by a Grandmaster with exemry magical knowledge.


    It was only natural that it formed a powerful magical kingdom that grew to an empire since they had been the ones with the best mage academies on the continent.


    On the other hand, Andrato had been founded by a mere Adept, though she had a Master backing her. Spotting the possible weakness, Master Kubrick backing Julietta had been injured through underhanded means, stifling Andrato''s growth before it could even begin.


    The main reason Andrato had been left alone so far was because Fraterina had the strongest im and interest in them. On its own, the kingdom had been too poor to make an effort to conquer them, but most importantly others were too far away, making the journey here for a siege costly.


    The reason they were attacking Andrato now was - on the surface - because it had been weakened and due to Jeanne''s continued refusal to marry the various princes, thus insulting their honor and reputation.


    However, that was obviously not worth the cost of these sieges. The true reason, Darius suspected, was due to someone revealing that his goods had appeared in Andrato.


    Even on Elysium, his stuff had managed the set the whole city abuzz, much less on Fallon.


    Deducing the reason from Jeanne''s exnation made him all the more confident and amused. Solving this problem was easy enough for him and should not require him to fight unless themanders turned out to be absolute retards.


    Back to Darius''s earlier statement, the 12 Masters had no reply. As things were, they all had assumed Darius was merely some hired help from outside, which was why they had been sent forth to intimidate these three.


    However, if it was true that Darius was a noble of Andrato, things would be extremely problematic. After all, inter-kingdom politics was a troublesome quagmire to wade, especially when considering the scale of the entire continent.


    The issue here was that by attacking a kingdom without undergoing the proper procedures and acquiring a Cassus Belli, they would be setting a precedent for themselves.


    In the past, when multiple factions had gone against the Necromancer Empire the Cassus Belli had been that the vile empire had been desecrating their graves and intruding on their sovereignty.


    However, they had no such thing against Andrato as they had not felt the need to.


    Who would bring a sniper rifle, Ker armor, and a premium machete when going out to kill a mouse hiding in their kitchen?


    At this time, themanders of the four armies noticed that for some reason there was a stalemate in the intimidation, and so they shared a look before riding out themselves.


    Arriving on the scene they demanded to know what was going on.


    Upon hearing their people repeat Darius'' words, they realized the trouble Darius'' existence would cause deeply.


    Themander of the Kirlian Empire snorted coldly and pulled the reins of her horse. "Cheap talk! What proof do you have of your affiliation to this kingdom? Where is your noble house? Your estate?"


    Themander of the Dongato Empire followed up, brushing her hair off her shoulder with a thin smile. "Didn''t you say you were a Lord of a territory far to the north? How did you suddenly turn into a mere Baron here?"


    Themander of the Hakrian Empire pushed up his sses with a yful smile. "Your story doesn''t add up, Esteemed Sir. We have no choice but to suspect you are a mercenary hired by the Queen of Andrato. While you are free to interfere in this conflict if you so wish, I would advise you not to."


    Themander of the Bafira Empire grinned widely, showing his teeth. "Haha! Not a bad idea to be honest. Care to tell us what this little Queenie can offer you toe forth against FOUR EMPIRES? Man, either it''s really good, or your ability to calcte risks is abysmal!"


    Darius Inspected the fourmanders as they spoke, gauging their power.


    [Elizabeth Stalewater - Level 49 Tactician


    HP: 483/483 MP: 3,381/3,381 STA: 1,029/1,029]


    [Helma Lyre - Level 43 Tactician


    HP: 420/420 MP: 2,901/2,901 STA: 988/988]


    [Keh Sabody - Level 51 Tactician


    HP: 511/511 MP: 3,740/3,740 STA: 1,122/1,122]


    [Luga Barow - Level 53 Tactician


    HP: 550/550 MP: 3,951/3,951 STA: 1,290/1,290]


    Seeing this, his lips curled slightly. It was within reason that even Empires could not field out Masters as typical Army Commanders because they were supposed to be hidden weapons.


    Even for Grandmasters, it was rare to leave their kingdoms in order to guard against other threats of the same stage.


    Masters were only sparingly dispatched, with empires forced to pay a steep cost to make them move out.


    After all, it wasn''t like they were obligated to be drafted by the army. Who could squeeze their hands and force them if they refused?


    Darius mmed the butt of this staff on the ground, denting the earth visibly and upsetting the horses that themanders rode on, almost toppling them.


    "Since when did mere Adepts speak to a Master like equals? Do you want me to punch your fucking head off before you''ll remember how to talk?" Gunner stood forth and spoke angrily, his aura crushing the other Masters.


    With the boost of his Earth''s Guardian now, Gunner''s Strength and Endurance had long shot past the 200 mark, which was something none of those here could mimic in the slightest.

 Chapter 329 - 329

    The faces of themanders quickly changed after hearing Gunner''s rude words, but they could only force apologetic smiles in response. After all, regardless of whether they couldmand Masters or not, the fact was that they were not Masters themselves.


    If Gunner wanted to ignore the other Masters and was hellbent on killing them, they didn''t doubt his ability to end their lives in exchange for injuries of varying scale.


    That was not a worthwhile trade for their mere ego, and it wouldn''t be the first time in their lives that they would be forced to swallow their pride.


    Without that ability, none of them would have been able to climb to where they were now, as such they all bowed.


    "Apologies Masters, we intended no disrespect." Keh stood forth to apologize first, making sure to not bend too far back since he also represented his empire.


    After making the necessary courtesy by apologizing one by one, Keh smiled but spoke in a more humble tone.


    "Still, we didn''t lie. ording to thews of the Fallon Continental Council, unaffiliated Masters to a kingdom or empire are not counted as part of their natural forces. To ascertain whether Andrato benefits from thisw or not, we might need to see some proof to verify."


    Keh''s words were clever and devoid of fault, seemingly leaving Darius in a tough spot should he be lying, which was something they all firmly believed due to Gunner''s outburst earlier.


    However, Darius was thoroughly amused. His Database included thews of the Fallon Continental Council. Keh didn''t lie per se, yet the evidence of him being part of Andrato would have had to be presented in a hearing at the Council Headquarters to the south.


    These tacticians had no authority to decide on such a matter, so he could deny their request.


    Still, he understood that if he turned out to be merely bluffing and they left, the damage they would suffer in terms of reputation and finances would be too much for them to personally bear.


    The cost of mobilizing troops of this caliber so far north was not a joke, and if they went back and found it was ruse,ing back would be difficult for various reasons.


    This was why Keh insisted on this. If Darius had proof, it shouldn''t matter whether he showed it here or to the council, because the proof would remain.


    Taking it out now orter would not invalidate its existence, right?


    So if he refused or was unable to do such a thing, then he had to be lying. It was as simple as that.


    The fourmanders silently waited for Darius to refuse to take it out or even use the council''sws against them, which would prove their suspicions right.


    However, they were destined to be disappointed when Darius merely nodded in amusement. "It shall be my pleasure. The evidence is easy enough to procure. My name has long been registered in the kingdoms'' ledgers and to simplify things, here are some important documents that can prove my identity on the spot."


    Darius took out the various deeds he had been awarded by Lord Spencely, namely the one for his castle, the shop in the market square, and the other two. They had been stamped and sealed with the official Andrato sigil and clearly stated Darius'' title.


    Most importantly, the date clearly showed that the document was from five years ago. One of thews of the Fallon Continental Council stipted that a title would have to be at least three years old to be taken into ount.


    It was to prevent kingdoms and empires to quickly make an unaffiliated person into their country''s Master to gain a seat and thereby the right to chastise any party trying to take them over.


    The fourmanders immediately started inspecting the documents for signs of forgery, passing it between each other, their hearts feeling heavy the more they failed and they all sighed inwardly.


    What should have been a lucrative raid had suddenly turned into a wasted endeavor due to misinformation.


    Keh once again took the lead, as the other three rode back tomand their armies to pack up. There was no point in staying here and suffering further humiliation, none of them wanted to start a fight that might see them killed.


    The various Masters also left slowly, only three stayed behind with smiles on their faces. They were the other half-giant Boris and the swordmaster/mistress twins of Genie and Kilo Orman.


    Darius gazed at them with interest, wondering what they were about. Genie stood forth and unted her sexy body as she spoke with a smile.


    "Unlike those other fellows who were mobilized by their empires, we are actually mercs who had been hired to tag along. Since the mission is over, we don''t need to obey what they say anymore. With this kind of loss, there is no need to return as there won''t be any bonus waiting for us."


    X tensed, but Gunner and Darius simply shared a look andughed. "Well then madam, what do you have in mind? Do you wish to make mepensate you?"


    Genie waved her hands with a frown. "No, no I and my brother are not here to cause trouble. Rather, we want to ask the Elven beauty over there if she is willing to partake in a treasure hunt with us."


    The tense X was stunned as she blinked and pointed at herself. "Me?"


    Genie smiled warmly at X. "Yes, dear. A healer like you is crucial for a party like ours. We already have this knucklehead Boris to be our vanguard, and my brother and I can cut down any threat, but we need someone to patch us up. Depending on your contribution we can pay you 15-25% of the loot. Are you interested?"


    X turned to Darius instantly, making it clear to Genie who the leader was. As such, she smiled and focused on Darius, waiting to see what he would say.


    Darius pondered silently, then nodded. It would be good for X to go out and experience the world, not always having to be stuck by his side.


    In fact, his optimal use for his Branded Servants was to send them on high-profile missions instead of always crowding behind him.


    This was why Darius had bothered to learn so many skills and spells of a wide variety, and also why he distributed his points as equally as possible instead of purely min-maxing.


    He might have needed Gunner as a meatshield at first, but now he could act as a healer, a spearman, ancer, a shield warrior, or a mage depending on the situation.


    He would be powerful as a mage as that was his main upation, but he would bepetent in all other areas.


    Seeing that Darius agreed, Genie smiled brightly. "Alrighty then, can wee in to discuss the finer details of the undertaking?"


    Naturally, Darius agreed as this was important. Jeanne too had no opinions as she would follow everything Darius said, her eyes had never left his form for the entirety of the events that had just transpired.

 Chapter 330 - 330

    Jeanne led the group to a parlor in the royal castle which wasrge enough to seat them allfortably. Darius, Gunner, and X sat together on one seat, Boris, Kilo, and Genie on another while Jeanne sat in a single-seater sofa to the left.


    Darius gestured to Genie. "If you please, dear madam, you may begin."


    Genie nodded and removed a goatskin scroll from her Bag of Holding. She theny it t on the table, allowing everyone to see the details within.


    As they all carefully inspected it, Genie began exining. "I coincidentally happened upon this map at an auction then bought it for quite a sum. It''s supposed to lead to the Mausoleum of Heroes, a culturalndmark that was popr in Fallon during the early days."


    Genie shrugged. "Unfortunately, it was sieged and brought to ruin during the Insect Invasion. Though many have tried to unearth it, they''vee up fruitless since the area has been bogged down by some form of curse."


    Genie tapped her map firmly. "However, a new route has been discovered by a grave robber. Realizing that the dangers leading to the entrance were too much for him to handle, he had wisely chosen to sell it off to those stronger than him."


    Darius nodded, understanding the basic logic. Genie clearly said this much as she wanted to convince Darius that she didn''t get this map from some random dustbin and that they weren''t going on a treasure hunt she had no clue about.


    "Have you verified it personally?" Darius asked the obvious just to be sure.


    "Of course. I went by myself and confirmed that there were at least 20 Adept Golems of various elements guarding it. Additionally, I could sense at least 5 more Master Golems hidden deeper down."


    "The entrance the graverobber discovered appears to have been was the emergency exit, which was why the guards there are sox." Genie exined slowly.


    She began rilling up the map before cing it back into her Bag of Holding. "Without the Master Golems, I and my brother might have been able to handle it, but I suspect that the inside might be just as dangerous."


    "The reason we even epted the hire for this bloody war was so that we could gather enough funds to hire a healer priest at the Adept stage."


    Genie giggled as she gazed at X with desire, making the Elven Princess feel goosebumps. "However, I''ve never expected to be lucky enough to actually meet a healer at the Master stage, especially one so young and beautiful!"


    "As long as she follows us, I have full confidence in keeping her safe and getting the treasure within."


    Darius turned to X. "Well, what do you think? I will respect your decision, whatever it will be."


    X pondered for a little, consulting the Divine Light and Divine Life. Both Divine Concepts seemed interested in exploring this new location. With that confirmation, X smiled sweetly as she affirmed her willingness to go.


    Genie pped her hands with delight and held X''s passionately. "Great! Don''t worry, you lovelyss, I swear that I will do everything in my power to protect you and take care of you!"


    A bit overwhelmed by Genie''s passion, X was left speechless. Kilo only pinched his nose in annoyance, while Boris suddenly stood up.


    "Hmph, sexy bitch, I have given you enough respect by allowing you to make your negotiation before I spoke. Now, it''s my turn to state my own personal purpose for being here!"


    Genie''s smile was wiped off her face as she gazed at Boris with anger. "Dumb brute, don''t call me that! Show some respect!"


    Boris only guffawed. "Hm? I''m just calling you how I see you. Who asked you to dress like a slut? Do you know how many dongers rise to attention whenever they see you shake that ass?!"


    Kilo frowned and plugged his ears, seemingly used to the tone of those two arguing, while X and Genie blushed from the raw vulgarity. Darius only rubbed his chin in silence while Gunner''s eyes were half-lidded from boredom, on the verge of him falling asleep.


    "It doesn''t concern me how many of such vile organs rise to me, I have no interest in them! Besides, I can dress however the hell I want!" Genie retorted with barely concealed rage.


    Boris waved his hand. "What a waste of a fine booty, using it to chase the same sex. Peh, shit taste is shit taste, not my problem!"


    Boris ignored Genie who was about to draw her sword and carve him to pieces as he pointed at Gunner.


    "Oi, you with the royal blood. How''s about sparring with this lowlymoner, huh?!"


    Darius chuckled with interest while X looked surprised. Kilo simply remained silent while Genie was gritting her teeth in anger, just waiting until they were out of here before castrating this fool.


    Gunner''s bored look alleviated as he gazed at Boris silently. He then spoke gently. "We are both half-bloods."


    When Boris heard his words, his expression changed greatly. His look ofpetitiveness and disdain for Gunner disappeared and was reced by one of sympathy.


    Darius nodded as he was already aware of how the Giant n treated their half-breeds. Boris was clearly nursing a serious grudge towards the n, but could he ever muster up to Gunner who had literally ended up as a ve?


    Whatever Gunner had gone through would definitely outss what Boris felt he went through, hence his sudden shift in emotions.


    However, Gunner still rose to his feet and nodded.


    "Since you want to spar, why not? I''d like to see myself how strong a moner'' from our n is."


    Boris smiled and felt his fighting spirit ignite once more. He pped his thighs and gazed at Darius with a wide grin.


    "Oi, bossman, why not use that lovely magic of yours to send us out?"


    Darius smiled softly and snapped his fingers. "No problem. I too would like to see how powerful the protector of this adventuring party is."

 Chapter 331 - 331

    Darius took Gunner and Boris out to the ins around Ando City.


    Fighting in any sort of arena not made with special magical materials such as the Colosseum of Blood was a sure way to rue property damage, so this was the best ce for two Masters to duke it out.


    Genie and her brother stood together and watched Boris with solemn expression, neither one cheering on theirpanion, while Darius and X had their eyes on Gunner.


    Meanwhile, Jeanne continued gazing at Darius without blinking.


    Boris performed some warm-up exercises to make himself more limber while Gunner''s energy began to surge greatly.


    His hair rose up and floated like an updraft from beneath him, yet Boris grinned as the same happened to him.


    As if they had nned it beforehand, the two exploded with a greenish aura that covered their entire bodies.


    Gunner''s happened to be far thicker and more potent than Boris'' though, surprising the other half-giant.


    However, that was nothingpared to Gunner and Darius'' shock as they had never expected Boris to have Earth''s Guardian as well.


    It was supposed to be an ultra-rare bloodline skill that was hard to awaken in even pureblooded giants, much less half-breeds.


    Gunner had only unlocked it because the Supreme System had dug it out for him when converting him into a Branded Servant.


    Either Boris was greatly talented, had a great encounter or had simply lucked out to unlock the racial skill.


    Darius Analyzed the half-giant topare his full stats to Gunner''s.


    ''Hm, 102 Strength, 37 Agility, 98 Endurance, 15 Intellect, 8 Charisma, 13 Luck. Not bad, he definitely should have had a lucky encounter.'' Darius thought to himself.


    However, Gunner was a bit short of Boris with his 100 Strength and 90 Endurance. However, everything else was at 50, giving Gunner a speed edge over Boris. Not to mention Gunner''s skills were far more potent.


    Without further ado, the two half-giants began their battle after roaring with ferocity. They became blurs as they rushed at the other and both threw out a punch infused with Earth Energy.


    When their fists collided, Boris was sent back by 10 steps while Gunner remained on the spot. Boris'' face changed as he raised his trembling fist, his knuckles skinned from the punch, and gazed at the other with horror.


    Genie and Kilo were also left bbergasted, their hearts shaking as they witnessed saw Gunner''s might.


    Imagine if theirmanders had been foolish enough to bull forward and provoke a fight?


    Boris was the physically strongest and sturdiest of all the 12 who stepped forward and he was beaten back by Gunner while the fellow suffered no damage. In that case, how would they themselves fare?


    Borisughed the next moment, excitement on his face. "Good, good, good! I have not been able to enjoy a good hand-to-hand fight in years due to how fragile these humans are! Now, let''s get serious!"


    Boris dove back in headfirst while Gunner obliged him. The duo began to fight at speeds that were hard to follow, but the spectators here could do so easily.


    Kilo and Genie had more than 50 points in Agility as Master swordsmen, almost bordering on the Master grade for it so Gunner and Boris still looked slow in their eyes.


    Darius and X too could follow with their 50 points in Agility, everything looking to be at normal speed to them. However, due to how much Boris and Gunner moved about, their pupils kept darting about rapidly while following them.


    An onlooker would only be able to feel the shockwaves and hide while wondering if the sky was falling, also thinking that Darius and co. were mad with how fast their eyes darted left and right.


    Boris himself was feeling extremely good! Despite being brutally beaten and outssed by Gunner, he started to feel a deeper connection to the earth.


    Not only that, his and Gunner''s greenish auras mixed whenever they collided, and from it, Boris could feel how pure and potent Gunner''s Earth Energy was!


    It was extremely clean and free from impurities, so all Gunner needed to do was concentrate it further and further!


    Seeing this, Boris understood where he had gone wrong all this while. He had just been umting Earth Energy to increase the quantity without filtering orpressing it, leading to a weaker aura and weaker effectiveness.


    With Gunner as a chisel, he felt like he was being sculpted into something greater! His Earth Energy reduced in volume, as seen by his aura reducing in volume more and more with every hit, but it became purer and purer.


    It was impossible for him to directly reach Gunner''s level as the royal half-giant had the Supreme System do it for him, but Boris certainly came as close as possible organically. After his aura was reduced to a mere green light that made his skin glow, it began to reduce again.


    This time, Boris waspressing it over and over, making it far more potent yet thinner.


    When he was done, it looked like he was petering out of energy as he was overwhelmed by Gunner, leading everyone else to sigh on his behalf.


    Even Darius could not see this as he was not all-knowing, and unfortunately, did not have giant genes or blood. Gunner could obviously tell what the other was doing, so he kept up the intensity, even increasing it further to help Boris achieve his goal.


    It looked like Gunner had smelled Boris'' weakness and was going in for the kill to the spectators. Like a sadistic brute enjoying the suffering of his prey and making them fall to the pits of despair.


    Darius rubbed his chin in interest, suspecting that there was more to it as he knew Gunner''s character. X remained silent and kept her mind clear of any judgments until Gunner was done and she could ascertain his reason.


    Genie and Kilo frowned, as thest thing they needed was Boris injured greatly as they nned to set off right after.


    Eventually, Boris fell to his knees and Gunner came to a stop. Therged then stretched out his hand to the kneeling half-giant, Boris gazing up at him with respect and gratefulness.


    It seemed that Gunner had finally made his first friend.

 Chapter 332 - 332

    With matters resolved, Darius watched as X left with her new temporarypanions.


    However, before the Elven Princess took her leave, Darius had handed her many Guard Androids, Long Warp Scrolls, and a few bottles of Lunar Dew.


    Unless X wanted tomit suicide, it would be very hard for anything to kill her.


    Seeing how protective Darius was of X, Gunner smiled and folded his arms behind his back. "Well then, what now?"


    Darius rubbed his chin. "By now, Foldo and co should have arrived and begun settling in. The second stage of construction should also be underway, so this just leaves us with clearing out Andrato''s problems and recruit some talented fellows."


    Gunner nodded and remained silent. After that, Darius took the group back to the royal castle''s throne room.


    He then turned to Jeanne. "Speaking of talented fellows, I recall a certain Seneschal in your service. Is he still working for you?"


    "I''ll summon Lord Elijah right away." Jeanne responded with a smile.


    It only took a few minutes for Elijah McNickles, the skilled administrator turned Seneschal, to enter the throne room with a look of confusion on his face.


    He had been in his manor drinking while feasting on his favorite meal, nning to at least enjoy hisst moments on Faust as Andrato fell.


    The old man was an Adept powerhouse on the verge of entering the Master stage, yet he felt indebted to the small kingdom.


    He had received offers of the surrounding kingdoms and empires to switch, yet he felt it would be a huge disservice to all the resources the royal family had invested into grooming him.


    As someone who had focused on enjoying what little time he felt he had left, the Seneschal had not yet been informed of the opposing troops'' retreat.


    He wondered what Jeanne could have possibly called him here for, but didn''t want to be rude, so he simply bowed in greeting.


    "Greetings Seneschal, I have here a powerful Lord who wishes to speak to you." Jeanne revealed with a cryptic smile.


    Elijah turned and noticed the duo of Gunner and Darius. Even though the former 13-year-olds were now young adults, how could Elijah forget this memorable duo?


    It felt like he was thrust 5 years into the past, once more gazing upon the confidentd who had taken control over a camp of Adepts with his stoic half-giant servant behind him.


    Darius and Gunner also felt the nostalgia. He had somewhat kept in touch with Spencley over the years, so their meetings hadn''t been as spread out as the one with the Seneschal.


    "Darius Stone! And the powerful Gunner! What brings you two to the heart of Andrato?" Elijah asked with a mixture of surprise and joy, for a momentpletely forgetting the dire situation the kingdom was supposed to be in.


    Darius smiled and shook Elijah''s hand. "I have established a new territory in the far north and n to open a huge mage academy to the public. I just so happen to be in need of a capable magician and administrator who might serve as its headmaster."


    Elijah was stunned by Darius'' open poaching and couldn''t help but cast an eye at Jeanne. The Queen just smiled nodded her head, her gaze glued to Darius, as she started ying with her fingernails, treating the Seneschal no different from air.


    "Errˇ­ why don''t you tell me a little more about your new territory and your ns?" Elijah asked, tempted but still tied to thisnd.


    Darius didn''t mind, and spent the next few minutes borating the state of the territory and his ns for it. By the time he was done, Elijah had to grip his chest as his breathing wasbored while even Jeanne was sweating.


    He hadn''t told her much about the territory as she had jumped ship because of love before he ever got the chance to.


    Now hearing about the means at his disposal, she realized that sometimes, emotions could trump logic!


    If she had resisted or held back, forget herself, Andrato would never have had such a firm chance to rise up!


    Her dream would no longer have to be limited to just raise Andrato''s reputation from a shit-tier country to a respectable one, but with Darius as a backer even entering Fallon''s top 100 kingdoms and empires would be possible!


    Elijah barely got his breathing together and wheezed out. "J-Joinˇ­ I''ll join! Please don''t refuse me!!! With the magical knowledge you have ess to, I would even dly be a janitor, as long as I''m allowed to browse your library!!!"


    There was desperation in his eyes. After all, this was a chance that he never would have imagined in all his years, a chance for him to climb beyond the Adept stage and even possibly the Master stage!


    Nics Spencely had also seen this opportunity which was why he had jumped ship without any remorse.


    The Duke was sure that if Darius were to visit the higher empires, he would have little trouble poaching their ministers as long as they came to know about his capabilities.


    Darius smiled. "If you have nothing further to do, you and Jeanne should make preparations and get Ando City ready for whates next. I will spend the next week clearing out the other sieged cities and towns beforeing back to get you."


    The two nodded their heads and got up, heading to fulfill their duties. There was a lot they had to prepare and push forward, so there was no time to dally here.


    As for Gunner and Darius, they left and headed to Yunian City next. As the only other city still under siege, it would be easier to clear out than get back the already fallen cities where they would have to clear out the forces first.


    Yunian was styled simrly to Ando City, but was about three-fourths the size. Upon arrival, Darius could see a 4,000 strong army arranged in formation around the walls, continually rushing in and being sent out.


    This was for nothing else than to exhaust the energy being provided by the city to the spatial barrier. There was no true perfect defense and everything had its weakness, even a powerful method like this.


    When Darius and Gunner appeared, they caught the attention of both the besiegers and the besieged. Seeing two random Masters, the opposing empire in charge of this siege - the Girdle Empire - sent out their three Masters to intercept.


    As they rode over, they also unleashed their auras to pressure Darius and Gunner, showing open hostility. They had already been long annoyed by this drawn-out siege that made them waste resources and created a logistical disaster for them.


    Now, two random fellows appeared here.


    To the Girdle Empire, it was clear that they were two unaffiliated fellows looking to fish in murky waters and benefit as the third party.


    Like the four empires, they would never believe that a measly Andrato they had suppressed could raise its own Masters!

 Chapter 333 - 333

    The one on the left was a tall man that wore a thin battlesuit made of scales from serpents. He had dark ck hair that reached his shoulders, a light goatee, and a pair of sharp hazel eyes, simr to Darius.


    His skin was fair, looking quite porcin-like, but he gave off a dangerous air to Darius.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Logan Nuin


    Race: Human


    ss: Psychic


    Subss: Hydrokic Master


    HP: 1,428/1,428


    MP: 9,288/9,288


    STA: 3,024/3,024


    Level: 72


    Strength: 34


    Agility: 23


    Endurance: 42


    Intellect: 129


    Charisma: 20


    Luck: 12


    Abilities: Liquid st, Aqua Shield, Torrent, Dehydrate, Hydrokinesis, Water Blessing, Aqua Restoration, Marine Summon.


    Weapons: Elemental.]


    After him was a beautiful woman who wore a light green sundress that was bordered with vines. She had silky green hair and lovely azure eyes that made one feel refreshed.


    Whenever she walked, greenery would be vitalized or sprout, and her aura made Gunner gaze at her with soft eyes, something Darius had never seen from therged before.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Celia Lovu


    Race: Human


    ss: Psychic


    Subss: Heart of Flora


    HP: 1,417/1,417


    MP: 7,000/7,000


    STA: 7,630/7,630


    Level: 70


    Strength: 13


    Agility: 8


    Endurance: 109


    Intellect: 100


    Charisma: 45


    Luck: 40


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Peaceful


    Affection: Friendly lvl 1]


    The final person was another woman, this time one who had her face concealed. She wore tight leathers and had an assassin''s hood on her head. She was kitted head to toe in daggers, stilettos, and throwing knives as well as poison vials, smoke bombs, and string.


    Only her sharp blue eyes were still visible, both currently locked onto Darius and Gunner, realizing that their threat level was extremely high.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Unesia Dark


    Race: Human


    ss: Psychic


    Subss: Onyx Spirit


    HP: 1,428/1,428


    MP: 9,288/9,288


    STA: 3,024/3,024


    Level: 71


    Strength: 29


    Agility: 89


    Endurance: 17


    Intellect: 118


    Charisma: 18


    Luck: 15


    Abilities: Darkness Devour, Dark Barrier, Void, Lock, Noctkinesis, Weaken, Life Steal, Deep Stealth.


    Weapons: Elemental.]


    Unsurprisingly, the three were early-stage Masters as the Girdle empire was one of the weaker ones that only had a few. However, they could acquire the rights to Yunian City solely because all their Masters - and most of their awakened - were elemental psychics.


    As stated before, the only way for a kingdom to be recognized as an empire was to possess a specialty unique to them.


    Darius searched his Database and discovered that for the Girdle Empire their specialty was them possessing a special Mind Stone that could awaken certain people.


    This was because the empire was founded beside a Mental element dungeon.


    ording to the Database, there were no other reported kingdoms or empires who had such a thing, giving Girdle a monopoly on the product which they refused to export for obvious reasons.


    However, now that Darius knew that such an item existed, Girdle could only regret making their existence known to him. With the sheer amount of data at Darius'' disposal, one human lifetime would not be enough to browse through everything.


    Without this meeting, their existence could have remained unknown to him for the longest time.


    Now though, he had his eyes set on the empire''s main resources, but that was not pertinent to the current situation.


    The man who was a water psychic stood forth and questioned coldly.


    "Who are you and what do you want? The Girdle Empire is currently locked in siege with the city of Yunian and will not tolerate any disturbances!"


    Darius smiled lightly. "You dare attack a city of the kingdom where I am a NOBLE of and have the gall to berate me not to disturb?!"


    The faces of the three changed greatly. "Impossible! This shitty kingdom has never raised a single Master, much less two! What manner of trickery is this?!"


    Darius didn''t bother to talk much and simply pulled out his certifications.


    Once the three had verified the legality of the documents, their hearts fell to their stomachs, feeling the same grief that the four empires did.


    "Hmph!" Logan snorted as he tossed the documents back to Darius and left coldly. The darkness psychic also red at them with anger before leaving in a puff of smoke.


    Only the nt psychic stayed behind, her eyes stuck Gunner as she seemed torn about what to do next. Gunner took the initiative and stepped forward, taking her hand and kissing it like a noble.


    "Greetings, beautiful miss. My name is Gunner Stone and I am a half-giant. As a Child of Gaia I can feel a familiar energy emanating from you, so would you do me the honor of sharing your name?"


    Celia giggled at Gunner''s good manners and replied softly. "My name is Celia Lovu. I am a psychic with a connection to the Nature element, allowing me to feel the call of the Earth Mother."


    Gunner''s eyes lit up. "Since your people are retreating, is it possible for me to make it up to you by taking you somewhere nice? I feel like there''s a lot I can show you that would make it worth your while."


    Celia looked intrigued. "Okay then, Dear Gunner, please take the lead."


    Gunner turned to Darius who nodded with a smile. He even Transmuted a small bottle of Nature Element Boost Potion, which could increase one''s natural affinity to the nt Element.


    Potions like these were useless to Darius and his two Branded Servants, yet extremely valuable to any normal Faustian.


    Darius sent it over to Gunner whose eyes lit up. With this gift, securing the heart of thisss should not be too difficult.


    Darius didn''t mind spending ''some'' of his daily CP to see Gunner happy, as he knew that the fellow had a hard time finding partners.


    Fortunately, with 108 points of Endurance, even the dainty-looking Celia should be able to handle Gunner.


    However, that was just Darius'' guess. He would just have to wait and ask his buddyter, if he could verify that.

 Chapter 334 - 334

    With Gunner having gone off to experience the joys of romance and X out spelunking in the depths of a ruin, Darius had been left all alone.


    Still, he was not bothered by this and simply teleported to the next city, this time a fallen one by the name of Justis City.


    It had a Water element Dungeon that was great for giving seafood, minerals, and pearls, but not much in the way of defense.


    When Darius arrived outside the city, he noticed that many heads had been disyed hanging down the walls, from the cities'' mayor to the various ministers in charge. They had all been ughtered and disyed as war trophies by the invading empire.


    From his position he also some soldiers guarding the entrance of the city. ording to the Database their emblems were those from the Hungao Empire, a vicious warmongering empire housing humans, and orcs.


    Coincidentally, they were even one of the main parties that hadid waste to the Westerlier Empire. Simrly, they had spared no effort in showing their pikes and des to poor little Andrato Kingdom.


    Darius did not have a single tear to shed when confronted with such ughter, despite being aware that such was very likely also the fate of the other upied towns and cities in the kingdom.


    It would be idyllic to think that Darius showing up and waving around his documents would solve the situation as it had before.


    First things first, he was currently only one Master, and secondly, things could not be solved as easily now that a ughter and upation had taken ce.


    Putting aside the kind of repercussions the Hunago Empire would have to pay, getting someone to spit out food from their mouth was an arduous task that almost never seeded.


    Unlike his previous encounters, the ones that had actually seeded in conquering towns or cities would just deny Darius'' ims and rather attempt to murder him on the spot.


    After all, if the ''only'' Master of Andrato died wouldn''t that be the fastest way to solve the issue?


    At least the other forces had the leeway to withdraw. Although their ruler might be mad for their failure, the cost of a failed expedition paled inparison to the resources they would have wasted if their own Masters became gravely injured or perished.


    On the other hand, no ruler would be so understanding if their army came back after already having achieved their task because of the appearance of a single Master. With a city at their disposal, it should be easy as pie to kill him, especially if they outnumbered him.


    As such, Darius did not even bother to announce himself at the gate or do his usual mercantile act of socializing. His eyes became a darker shade of yellow and his lips curled upward menacingly.


    He took out 50 Bags of Holding from the same slot and released their contents. Immediately, a swarm of bugs manifested and buzzed around as they identified Darius as their master.


    He thenmanded them to devour everything inside the city, setting free 25,000 Amateur stage bugs to rush in and begin their feast.


    Not sure if the first wave would be enough, Darius released another 50 bags worth, which doubled the total from 25,000 to 50,000!


    Immediately, screams of horror and fear erupted as the huge bug wave descended on the city starting from the outskirts and heading inwards. Darius simply watched from his vantage point as hundreds of the human, orc, or mixed-breed soldiers were torn apart and devoured regardless of their stage.


    Even worse, soon enough hundreds of bugs jumped to the Journeyman stage with a few reaching the Adept stage. As they continued to devour, some of their own numbers were destroyed as valiant fellows fought back.


    However, these fellows regretted their actions as the bugs devoured their own kind and leveled up from that.


    The ones released this time had the benefit of the bugcloud as well as the bugexperience that the previous group had acquired, allowing for a smoother progression.


    As they consumed the soldiers and some fought back, the bugs were exposed to new fighting styles and techniques, learning from them and storing them in the bugcloud.


    Eventually, themander was alerted, and the five Masters that the Hungao Empire had dispatched came out. When they were faced the bug swarm, they paled and tried to run at first.


    This was a foolish decision, as the bugs were still weak and developing, so they could likely be ughtered.


    However, the legends of the terror of the Insect race were too resounding to native Faustians, causing unbridled fear.


    Topare, it was like driving a high-tech tank and encountering a swarm of one million spiders rushing at you. It didn''t matter whether you were in a tank, your instinctive action would be to first turn around and skedaddle the heck out of there.


    This action of the Masters created a perfect opportunity for the bugs as they quickly consumed all the other fighters upon noticing the threat. Even themander was not spared, the Adept bugs killing a bunch before perishing in the end.


    It was from this that the first 3 Master bugs were born.


    BANG!


    Their aura caused the hearts of everyone to shake, even Darius.


    At the Amateur stage, the bugs would look like little ck beetles that could fly.


    At the Journeyman stage, they would look like malevolent bees with ws.


    At the Adept stage, they would evolve intorge hos half the size of a human with a posture simr to a pokemon Darius remembered by the name of ''beedrill''.


    And now, at the Master stage, the bugs had taken on humanoid forms, but only in shape, making them look like walking mothmen, only that their proboscis was long and menacing.


    When the fleeing Masters saw them, their hearts skipped a beat.


    They had seen these types of bugs before in the history books illustration. If the bugs that came before were numerous but easy to kill, the bugs that existed after they began walking on two legs were the true reason why the world of Faust had almost perished to exist.


    Darius looked on with interest. He too had been researching on the Insect race of Faust and why they were so feared, and his findings led him to believe that he was raising a cmity in progress.


    However, he was the mastermind behind this living cmity and he was confident enough to control them.


    At the very least, he was confident enough to escape them.


    Either way, Darius loved the Insects under his thumb because he was sure that whenever they were deployed it was guaranteed to entertain Vena and whoever else might be watching him.

 Chapter 335 - 335

    "We have to fight back! Themander and all the others are dead, but we cannot outrun those things!" One of the Masters roared. He was a bulging orc with a huge warhammer in his hand, his green skin and two tusks iconic to his race gleaming.


    He wore some heavy armor that was decorated with skins and trophies from his previous kills.


    [Janken Fugo - Level 78 Hammer Orc


    HP: 26,702/26,702 MP: 1,170/1,170 STA: 12,324/12,324]


    Beside him was another orc that only wore a red skirt and a banner that hung on his back. In either arm, he held two long katanas that were chipped but glowing with a red light.


    "That''s right, we must fight! For Octum!" he roared as he invoked the name of their tribal totem.


    [Shiken Kengo - Level 73 Orc demaster


    HP: 14,000/14,000 MP: 1,241/1,241 STA: 8,176/8,176]


    Thest orc of the group, a tall and burly warrior who wore two gauntlets on either hand that were spiked and coated with blood, patted his semi-bare chest and straightened his hide armor he let out a low growl.


    "If we die, we die like orcs!"


    [Hatchken Yango - Level 75 Orc Pugilist


    HP: 19,856/19,856 MP: 750/750 STA: 10,200/10,200]


    "I may be a half-breed, but my blood runs with the power of the orcs and the wisdom of the humans! Feel my magic!" Another shorter half-orc shouted out as red lighting crackled around him and his staff.


    He wore a long robe that covered his entire body minus his face, showing his aged looks and semi-human features. He had a slightly bent back and thick fingers that were almost bony.


    [Liam Kugo - Level 72 Orc Shaman


    HP: 3,060/3,060 MP: 10,368/10,368 STA: 4,896/4,896]


    The final fellow, who was a full human with a bare torso that showed many markings and symbols carved onto his flesh by burning rod tried to muster up the courage, but his voice faltered.


    "I am a proud warrior of the Hungao Empire! I-I too shall fight!" He croaked out uncertainly, his bald head covered with sweat and his light green eyes disying his fear.


    [Henson Barrow - Level 71 Tattoo Warrior


    HP: 5,950/5,950 MP: 7,242/7,242 STA: 4,970/4,970]


    Darius shook his head. The gap between humans and non-humans of the same stage wasid bare with this group. The orcs had HPs in the tens of thousands and great amounts of stamina, while the human variant was far weaker.


    Even the shaman who was not a physical fighter benefited from his orcish heritage, blessing him with a good portion of Strength and Endurance while his human side gave him high Intellect.


    However, there was bnce. The full orcs had less than 20 points of Intellect, the pugilist even having only 10 points! That made him just as smart as your average uneducated human adult!


    The human though, had Master level Int, and looking at his skills, Darius believed that he was a strange variant of battlemage called Tattoo Warrior, a specialty of the Hungao Empire.


    Some may pity them, since the three Master bugs only spent a few seconds adapting to their newfound power before their eyesid on their food. They then made some clicking sounds, agitating the lower tier bugs to form a formation behind them.


    This shocked Darius and the Masters. These bugs were newly born and ignorant, how could they know about battle formations so quickly?


    Darius'' only guess in that regard was that it had to be some sort of gic inheritance that had been unlocked by evolving to this stage.


    Putting this aside, Darius inspected the three to gauge their stats and was left horrified.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Bugsy Jones


    Race: Insect


    ss: Killer Bug


    Subss: Open


    HP: 28,000/28,000


    MP: 11,200/11,200


    STA: 14,000/14,000


    Level: 61


    Strength: 140


    Agility: 150


    Endurance: 200


    Intellect: 160


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 0


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Confident


    Affection: Friendly lvl max]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Bugsy Malone


    Race: Insect


    ss: Killer Bug


    Subss: Open


    HP: 28,000/28,000


    MP: 11,200/11,200


    STA: 14,000/14,000


    Level: 61


    Strength: 140


    Agility: 150


    Endurance: 200


    Intellect: 160


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 0


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Amused


    Affection: Friendly lvl max]


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Bugsy Falcone


    Race: Insect


    ss: Killer Bug


    Subss: Open


    HP: 28,000/28,000


    MP: 11,200/11,200


    STA: 14,000/14,000


    Level: 61


    Strength: 140


    Agility: 150


    Endurance: 200


    Intellect: 160


    Charisma: 5


    Luck: 0


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Aroused


    Affection: Friendly lvl max]


    Darius stood up from his seat, no longer able to look on with amusement. After all, these kinds of stats for an early-stage Master were almost as horrific as Lord Darm in his weakened form!


    One should know, powerhouses like Lord Darm were rare. How many millennia-old vampires at the Vampire Lord rank would Faust as a whole have? Even then, as the name implied, it would have taken millennia for those undead to reach their power level.


    Yet these bugs had only been out for how long? 30 minutes? And they had produced 3 weakened Lord Darms?


    What the hell was up with that?


    With such a growth capability, how could the Insect race possibly be stopped?


    No wonder the Gods and Demons themselves had to take part and quell their invasion!


    Even then, they had been unable to fully genocide the Insects, forcing them to return and asionally send out extermination missions for the continents tobine forces to cull them. A race like thisˇ­


    Darius'' heart quivered as his fear turned to excitement, then glee.


    A race like this, if he could raise themˇ­ He would no longer need fear Grandmasters and Gods!


    Even if they couldn''t kill them, he could release his bugs in the territory and leave them to fight it out.


    By the time they were done, or before that Darius would rise to their level as he would only have toplete Quests to reach the next stage.


    Of course, this was not purposefully ignoring their difficulty.

 Chapter 336 - 336

    The three Master stage bugs stared at their prey with different expressions.


    Jones was confident in his prowess and his ability to beat these weaklings, Malone was thoroughly amused by their defiant stances despite the endless fear within them, and as for Falcone...


    Falcone was aroused.


    He enjoyed their bubbling feelings of despair and fear, making his body gush with psychopathic pleasure.


    The initial amount of bugs Darius had sent out amounted to 50,000, but only about 400 had been left after consuming the high-quality food that was the former 3,000 strong army of Amateurs and above, as well canabilising their own fallen mates.


    The first time Darius had let out the bugs had been in the Darkness element Dungeon. However that defunct dungeon only had about 450 monsters in total and 3 bosses, so it had only been enough to turn 50,000 Amateur bugs into 50 Adept bugs at the end of it.


    With more than 6 times the number of valuable prey, it was natural that a few Masters had been born. Even better, since there were 5 Masters, there was ample chance for more of the bugs to evolve once they had feasted upon them.


    As such, Darius sat down and watched the show.


    The three Master bugs didn''t waste time. They immediately burst forth with high-packaged screeches, their ws aimed at the flesh of their opponents.


    For that matter, each one took on one of the three burly orcs, as the shaman looked scrawny and the human didn''t radiate enough energy.


    Seeing this, Liam the Shaman and Henson the Tattoo Warrior let out sighs of relief under their breaths.


    Then Liam began chanting the mantra for the Advanced spell Chain Lightning, which required 5 seconds of chanting with his prowess.


    As for Henson, despite his fear he also acted by initiating a wide area buff skill, Blood Rage!


    This made the three orc warriors grow slightly bigger as they roared, and a red light surrounded their bodies. Henson grimaced as the forced quick cast turned a certain pattern of his tattoos gray.


    However, Darius noticed that the tattoo itself was slowly regaining its color, indicating that this was merely some form of natural cooldown affiliated with his power, only that it would take slightly longer than if he had invoked the standard means.


    Now that he had done his part in helping the frontliners upy the enemies, Henson switched over to the standard method. He began by moving his body in a weird tribalistic dance, the shadow of a giant snow wolf slowly materializing above him.


    As for the three orc warriors, they made sure to make the most of Blood Rage''s duration and met the charge of their assants valiantly!


    Hammer Orc Janken swung his gigantic weapon that looked like something a giant would use down on Falcone who merely raised a hand up to catch the weapon.


    s, the Master bug had not ounted for the unparalleled force that came down upon it. It screeched as it got blown back into the nearest building, the constructioning down upon it.


    It couldn''t be helped, all the Master bugs had a t 140 points of Strength, which was outshined by Janken''s 169 points. With the added weight of his huge hammer, it was foolhardy for Falcone to have tried to block it in the first ce.


    Of course, since this experience had been uploaded into the bugcloud, no future bug would ever make this mistake ever again.


    A horrifying thing.


    Janken was only able to roar and beat his chest in triumph for a few seconds before the building Falcone had beenunched into broke apart as the enraged bug climbed out slowly.


    What silenced the 5 Masters on the opposing side was the fact that there wasn''t even a single scratch on Falcone.


    In fact, Darius saw that the strike had dealt a total 0 damage to the bug!


    Falcone, Malone, and Jones each had 200 points of Endurance, almost as much as Gunner after activating Earth''s Guardian, so it would be a miracle if these bugs could suffer damage from ''just'' a mere building.


    The only thing was that Falcone had suffered from the physical force that was not mitigated by the Supreme System, hence the theatrics.


    Now that Falcone had learned his lessen, he shook the dust off his sleek carapace and red at Janken. The Hammer Orc paled with fear as Falcone rushed in to get his revenge.


    Janken grit his teeth and swung his hammer horizontally in an arc in order to deter the bug. However, Falcone didn''t continue, rather he waited for the orc to finish the swing before resuming.


    The orc had clearly overextended in his panic, but he had enough strength to pull his weapon back and swing it forth forcefully. In normal speed, it looked like Janken could swing hisrge hammer-like it was a light dagger, which was how he dealt with speedy foes.


    Unfortunately for him, the three Master bugs had not 50, not 100, but a whole 150 points in Agility.


    Were it not for their inexperience, they could have been like Lord Darm against Gunner, using their speed to overwhelm a more resilient opponent.


    After Falcone burst forth and did just that, he wed at Janken more than a hundred times in a single second, surprised to notice that his enemy had merely faltered back, his body bleeding from hundreds of wounds yet his life force only weakening slightly.


    Darius could see better though. Falcone 140 points in Strength also lost out against Janken''s 158 points of Endurance, thus the bug had aimed at the unprotected parts of the Hammer Orc''s body.


    Still, the difference was not too great, allowing Falcone to deal 1 damage per attack, but with hundreds of them a secondˇ­ the effect was obvious.


    Janken''s 26,702 health dipped by a mere 100 points, which wasn''t life-threatening by any means, yet it was enough to startle him.


    Meanwhile, Malone and Jones had also been fighting their own foes, yet with slightly more sess.


    Malone had taken on demaster Shiken who wasn''t lucky enough to be as resilient as the Hammer Orc, nor as protected.


    After all, Shiken was an Agility-type damage dealer. He had 125 points of Strength, allowing Malone to easily overpower him and his 112 points of Endurance made him take much more damage.


    His only saving grace were his 85 points of Agility which allowed him to fend off Malone''s speed a little better.

 Chapter 337 - 337

    Among all the stats, Agility was one of the most important, because it could decide a battle even more than Strength or Endurance. Every point of Agility had a significant and cumtive effect.


    85 points made Shiken better than Janken who couldn''t even force back Falcone at all, but it didn''t change his circumstances. Even with the Blood Rage, Shiken was losing his life the fastest of the three.


    He was receiving up to 1.5 points of damage from each of Malone''s attack and after taking 250 strikes since he could barely overclock himself to defend against 50 strikes with his two des, his hp was falling by 375 points per second.


    From his starting 14,000 HP, Shiken only had about 10,200 left after just ten seconds. At this rate, Malone would only need another 30 seconds to kill him!


    As for Jones, he was facing a moderate level of difficulty. After all, Hatchken was also a physical fighter who used spiked gauntlets to fight, and his three physical stats were decent.


    The Orc Pugilist''s Strength was 146, his Agility was 76, and his Endurance 136. He was strong enough to trade blows with Jones, his speed allowing him to deflect 1/4th of the attacks on him and durable enough that Jones only dealt 1 point of damage per attack.


    Not to mention his Primary ss ensured that he had the most experience in hand-to-hand fights making him able to predict where Jones would. This allowed him to react ordingly despite the bug being faster.


    However, this had the horrific consequence of allowing Jones to learn from a Master in his craft directly. As if that wasn''t bad enough, that experience was also being uploaded into the bugcloud and shared by the various parties here.


    Soon enough Falcone and Malone had glints in their eyes as their fighting styles became better. Not to mention the experience of fighting against a hammer user and de user were also being shared up.


    At this time, the dyed Chain Lightning that had a while longer due to the panicked Liam''s mental state was finally fired out, striking the three bugs and dealing heavy damage to them.


    With no natural resistance or magic resisting skills, each one of them suffered 1,200 points of damage.


    It also stunned them for a few seconds allowing the three fighting orcs to back away and quickly take out their life-saving items and use them.


    Henson, who had been dyed for the same reason as Liam, also finished his weird dance at this time.


    The apparition of a wolf howled to the sky and rushed at the three bugs who had just shaken off their stun. The wolf struck at the three at the same time with a single swipe.


    The effect of this was shocking, the three bugs being smashed into nearby debris. They had also taken some slight damage from that at 300 points, showing just how powerful this apparition was.


    Right now, this was what the stats of the two parties looked like.


    [Janken Fugo - Level 78 Hammer Orc


    HP: 25,398/26,702 MP: 1,170/1,170 STA: 10,111/12,324]


    [Shiken Kengo - Level 73 Orc demaster


    HP: 12,976/14,000 MP: 1,241/1,241 STA: 5,077/8,176]


    [Hatchken Yango - Level 75 Orc Pugilist


    HP: 19,002/19,856 MP: 750/750 STA: 5,876/10,200]


    [Liam Kugo - Level 72 Orc Shaman


    HP: 3,060/3,060 MP: 9,592/10,368 STA: 4,896/4,896]


    [Henson Barrow - Level 71 Tattoo Warrior


    HP: 5,950/5,950 MP: 2,988/7,242 STA: 4,970/4,970]


    [Bugsy Jones - Level 61 Killer Bug


    HP: 27,500/28,000 MP: 11,200/11,200 STA: 12,000/14,000]


    [Bugsy Malone - Level 61 Killer Bug


    HP: 27,500/28,000 MP: 11,200/11,200 STA: 13,150/14,000]


    [Bugsy Falcone - Level 61 Killer Bug


    HP: 27,500/28,000 MP: 11,200/11,200 STA: 12,830/14,000]


    Darius felt it was a pity.


    After all, the Bugsy brothers didn''t have any skills to use their MP for, their battle experience was thin so they were relying on their learning speed and overwhelming stats to make do.


    However, once skills and spells came into y, they were clearly being overpowered by their foes. One spell had taken away a chunk of health while Henson sacrificed a huge amount of MP to summon a powerful apparition that could hold them down.


    At least their HP regen was crazy.


    Even the three orcs had martial skills they hadn''t yet used due to their panic and subconscious fear. Now that they had retreated and used healing items to greatly recover their HP, they disyed surprised expressions on their faces.


    Why did it seem likeˇ­ these bugs... were not as fearsome as they had initially thought?


    Once this thought crossed their minds, their previously stifled logic began to run over time. For the three fighters, it wasn''t that good since they had barely average Int, but Liam and Henson shared a look, showing pleasant surprise in their eyes as they had seen through the problem.


    "These three just evolved from a swarm of Amateur bugs! No wonder, they don''t have any skills or battle experience yet! Quick, we have to use our own skills to subdue them, as they have no way of knowing how to defend against them as is!" Liam exined with a filthy smile.


    "It is best to overwhelm them quickly, for they are known for their learning capabilities! This is why in the short span of less than a minute, they''ve been able to improve so quickly! Do not fight with techniques, use your skills, and don''t hold back!" Henson added with a grin.


    Once they heard this, the three orcs rose to their feet withprehension. They carried their weapons with dark glints in their eyes, the fear beaten back by confidence and killing intent.


    After all, what was feared most was the unknown. The Master bugs of the past had a great history of massacre and the hearsay had left theter generations filled with nightmares.


    However, the ones before them were Master bugs that had been born from newly established hives. For a new hive like Darius'' that did not have a well-stocked bugcloud, the new Masters were basically the pioneers.

 Chapter 338 - 338

    At this point, Darius could only sigh and step in himself. He teleported into the midst of the Master bugs, who quickly chittered and got onto one knee before him.


    Surprisingly, or rather not, the bugs were able to speak via telepathy with Darius, which was how theymunicated at this stage.


    [King, we have failed you.] Jones admitted with shame.


    [My King, give us another chance. We shall take down your enemies with ease!] Falcone protested to hide his own shame.


    [We arecking in skillpared to our foes, King. Is there something that can help us learn?] Malone asked solemnly.


    Darius smiled. [It''s not a shame to lose against stronger and more prepared foes. Rather, it is a shame to fail to admit your defeat and learn from your failures. Do you understand?]


    The three Master bugs went silent as they parsed his meaning. After a moment they all replied at the same time: [Yes, King.]


    Even though thismunication had only taken a second or two since Darius arrived, the Hungao Empire''s five Masters did not interrupt. After all, they were happy to get a sudden break, allowing them to rest and analyze ways to take down these insects.


    Since they hadn''t attacked Darius yet, they could only conclude that this foreign Master must have something to control them. If they could capture him and extract those means for controlling the insects, as well as find out where their Hive Core was, they could be the next masters of this overpowered race!


    Liam and Henson had glints in their eyes as they shared a look, whereas the three full orcs were a bit slower in reaching this conclusion. It didn''t matter much to the group as they felt they had seen through all the bugs had to offer.


    However, Liam and Henson were aware that Darius was a rogue variable that might change things up, so they had to take the initiative and get rid of him quickly. Henson''s Spirit Wolf was still around, so he sent it charging towards Darius.


    As for Liam, he quick cast a less lethal and simpler spell, Fireball. A mere Intermediate spell for someone of his level was a joke, and he could get it out in under 2 seconds.


    Seeing that their ''food'' still dared to attack their King, the three Master bugs shrieked in anger, their ws exposed as they pounced forward in rage. Darius didn''t stop them as he wanted them to gain the necessary experience.


    He couldn''t take part personally unless he wanted that sweet yet dealy Exp. That was why he had summoned the bugs in the first ce and hadn''t kept X or Gunner around.


    Darius only gave the Bugsy siblings two pieces of advice. [One, use your forces to hamper your enemies. There''s no point in keeping them idle. Two, it''s better to gang up on one target with your speed than spread out. Choose your foe wisely, don''t go for the strongest.]


    As for the charging Spirit Wolf and Fireball, Darius simply blinked to another spot, dodging them casually. This shocked Liam and Henson, realizing things would not be simple with a spatial mage here.


    With him as their enemy, their chances of escape in case of a bad situation would be greatly diminished if notpletely gone!


    As for the bugs, they felt enlightened after receiving Darius'' guidance. As such, they used the bugcloud to connect and discuss their next target, as well as tomand the Adept bugs hovering around to harass the three orcs.


    The Adept bugs might not be able to damage the orcs, but that was not the point. With their high Agility that was around the same level as the likes of Shiken and Hatchken, it was easy to maneuver around them while buzzing annoyingly.


    In the meantime, the three Master bugs suddenly appeared before Liam, who was shocked and horrified when he found himself surrounded by the trio in the midst of preparing his next spell.


    Before he could even cry out for help, a rain of blows came down upon him. Liam only had about 12 points of Agility, while his Endurance was at 68 points thanks to his half-orc heritage.


    This meant that under the Supreme System''s calctions, each Master bug did 2 points of damage. It couldn''t be helped, even with much higher Strength, they did not have any skills equipment, or modifiers to increase their damage output.


    Unfortunately for him, Liam''s robes offered him high Resistance but not so much in terms of physical Defense because he usually had others protecting him.


    As such, it was best to defend against other mages, since defending against magic was hard in Faust.


    2 points of damage per strike meant that each bug did almost 700 points of damage per second since they had no obstruction when attacking the ''slow'' Liam. Multiply by three, and Liam''s 3,060 points of health suddenly fell in the red.


    "HELP, SAVE ME!" Liam was barely able to scream out in pain and fear, but only Henson was free enough to help, yet he hadpletely locked up in horror. His Spirit Wolf was also still rushing over, and he didn''t have enough time to cast something that could save Liam.


    In the next second, Liam was naturally wed to death as he simply did not have enough HP to resist the trio.


    As soon as they had felt his lifee to an end, the three Master bugs rushed towards Henson, who began to retreat frantically, but it was useless against these ''speedster'' bugs.


    The Master bugs had already ordered their subordinates to feast on the corpse of Liam. They only allowed Amateur bugs to feed, and as they began gnawing at the corpse, many broke through to Journeyman then Adept stage rapidly.


    As a mid-stage Master, Liam had plenty of energy in his body, as an orc, his flesh was even richer than that of a human Master. By the time the bugs hadpletely consumed his corpse, there were 200 new Journeymen bugs, 25 Adept bugs, and 1 new Master bug.


    The Bugsy family weed in their fourth goon, Bugsy Capone. This new Master bug spent a few seconds orienting to its change while downloading his older three siblings'' experiences via the bugcloud.


    Soon, it looked over and noticed that on the left, the three fighter orcs were still being harassed and ignorant of what had happened around them.


    Henson was already on the ground, seconds away from reuniting with Liam.

 Chapter 339 - 339

    Capone shook his head and regrouped with his three brothers. They spent a few split seconds sharing the rest of their n with their new sibling.


    They allowed the new Journeyman bugs and Adept bugs to feast on Henson''s corpse along with those who had been harassing Janken, who was their next target.


    Janken was naturally surprised when the pesky bugs that had hovered all over him for the past few seconds suddenly retreated.


    However, when he saw what had happened, his pupils shrunk and his heart leaped to his throat.


    It was just in time for him to witness Henson''s corpse getting torn apart and consumed to the bone, whereas Liam was nowhere to be found. Either he escaped alone orˇ­


    Janken gulped, however, he didn''t have much time to think as he was surrounded by four Master stage bugs that began attacking him with all their speed.


    Janken was horrified, for it felt like he had been thrust into a meat grinder and he got to experience all his flesh carved off. He could feel his vitality drop by almost 5% every passing second.


    In just three seconds that he had been overwhelmed, he had lost nearly 15% of his lifeforce!


    He couldn''t allow them to continue! The orc didn''t want to die and have his remains devoured by these filthy things!


    As such, Janken raged and used one of his strongest skills, Shockwave. He pushed his chest out and roared with might, creating a shockwave from his cry that knocked back all foes within 50 meters.


    The four Master bugs weren''t exactly blown away, but their barrage of attacks got interrupted. After having been hit by Chain Lightning and the Spirit Wolf, they understood that these fellows had some unique skills that had unique effects, so even as they whaled on them, they had remained on guard.


    Janken paled when he saw that the Master bugs had been waiting for his attack, cursing their learning speed. Now, all he wanted to do was just flee, but he knew that turning his back on them would be a 100% death sentence. He could only continue to fight back valiantly and hope for a miracle.


    No matter how he tried to move to avoid them, a bug would be there to force him back into the encirclement and w at him. After less than 15 more seconds of this torture, Janken felt his life weaken to its absolute bottom.


    He fell to the ground weakly, regretting answering the call for this war. His eyes fell on the form of Darius in the back who looked at him with a soft smile on his face.


    Thest question on his mind that he wanted to ask Darius was why thetter was so cruel to them?


    They were fellow masters, so why not give them a path of escape? Even envement would be better than this, so why condemn them to one of the worst deaths possible?


    Shiken and Hatchken had practically beaten back their assants, in time to watch thest moments of Janken''s life. Before they could rush over, he had already been wed to death by the Master bugs'' horrific speed.


    Some of the Adept bugs bothering them had been killed, but the rest were called over by the Master bugs to feast on Janken. With the amount of power and vitality he had, more than one new Master bug should be born.


    Almost all those who had partaken in Henson''s corpse, had evolved into Adepts, with two new Master bugs rising from the ashes.


    They were Bugsy Gambino and Bugsy Marcello. They skipped over to surrounded Hatchken and Shiken with their fellow siblings, turning the situation into a 6 VS 2.


    The ending need not be borated on at this point.


    Eventually, Shiken and Hatchken also fell to the ground, dead and full of regret. As for the bugs, Darius'' force grew by another 300 Adepts and another 4 Master bugs from consuming everyone.


    Even the Adept bugs were only on the cusp of upgrade with how lively they seemed. Once done, the 10 Master bugs walked over to Darius and knelt down.


    The Bugsy family now had; Bugsy Malone, Bugsy Falcone, Bugsy Jones, Bugsy Capone, Bugsy Gambino, Bugsy Marcello, Bugsy Costello, Bugsy Bonano, Bugsy Franco, Bugsy Constanzo.


    The 10 Master bugs pledged their loyalty to him and Darius could tell it wasn''t faked thanks to Analyze. This greatly reassured him and allowed Darius to decide on his next course of action.


    [For now, pack up and let''s leave. I''ll have to ask you to stay within a Bag of Holding until your Queen evolves and creates a Hive Space.] Darius exined.


    The Master bugs showed no concern. Before their King, they had no arrogance or self-interest, so they wholeheartedly agreed and entered a special Bag of holding Darius chose.


    As for Darius he blinked out of the city and gazed at the ruins with a sigh. In truth, he didn''t intend to use such a heavy-handed method on all invaders and he really couldn''t as it would have hefty consequences.


    He could afford to fall out with the Hungao Empire because they were likely the only ones who would dare to ughter all the residents and hang their heads on the walls.


    That was the answer Janken had been looking for as he died and if he would have known, he would have never have partaken in such an act. However, it was far toote for him to regret, they had already be fuel for the hive''s growth.


    Darius might still have to fight the other siegers, but he could use softer tactics depending on how badly the citizens had been treated.


    No, Darius did not have a soft spot for Andrato''s people nor was he enraged by their treatment. It was simply the fact that he could gain a better position to defend his actions based on how the invaders had treated the defeated.


    No one could fault him for ughtering Hungao''s people legally given what they themselves had done, so only Hungao would feel a belly of resentment and malice, but they couldn''t easily do anything.


    On one hand, Darius hoped the other empires had been just as cruel so he could continue empowering his hive with their flesh.


    On the other hand, he didn''t want to waste too much time fighting the others one by one, as that was a tedious task.

 Chapter 340 - 340

    A weekter, Darius returned to Ando City. He had a strange smile in his face as he hadn''t expected his harvest to turn out so good over the past few days.


    Upon visiting the other fallen cities and towns, only the first two resisted, forcing him to battle using his own strength.


    Instead of using the bugs, he deployed the remainder of his Guard Androids which routed the foot soldiers with ease.


    As for the Masters, there was no need for him to defeat them. He had just traded a few blows and escaped with his robots in tow.


    Making them aware of his existence, especially as a perceived Master mage with the Space element, the most annoying type to catch, was more than enough.


    After all, the main reason why they would choose to fight him instead of immediately packing up would be to stifle the kingdom and make their only Master disappear.


    If they couldn''t do that, they were totally fucked legally!


    It turned out that the invading kingdoms and empires had a good informationwork. Darius had deliberately refrained from teleporting to all of the cities and towns, to achieve exactly this type of effect.


    And just as he had expected those Darius who had already encountered spread the news, making the rest who heard it eventually pack up and leave grumbling.


    Those who had done very little damage to the town or city they had attacked during the siege felt better as they felt by paying a littlepensation that would be the end of it.


    As for those who had behaved without any restrain harming many citizens, upon hearing the news they had begun to sweat.


    The Fallon Continental Council was absolute on this continent because it was backed by the majority of Grandmasters.


    In fact, many talented peak-stage Masters would leave the fold of their kingdom or empire and join the Fallon Continental Council to make thatst step.


    It gave them a wider berth of power, though their allegiances would be restricted because of an oath they were forced to swear before taking office.


    If Faust had been like Earth, this would have never stopped corruption.


    Everyone knew that oaths sworn before taking office were like paper-thin barriers attempting to block the nuclear st by the rockets named greed and corruption.


    However, with things like Soul Paper in existence, swearing an oath had heave consequences!


    One had to consider the details carefully and check all loopholes, otherwise an oath sworn in honesty could be used to twist you into doing some very questionable things you never knew you signed up for!


    As such, Darius was not worried about how the hearing would go. The various kingdoms had wisely withdrawn because they understood that the one who held all the advantages now was Andrato. It was in their own interest to cut back and minimize damage.


    Darius entered the throne room and saw Jeanne speaking softly with Elijah. When they saw him enter the throne room, both of them stopped and rose to their feet to receive him.


    "How was it?" Jeanne asked curiously.


    Darius simply smiled in response. "It went well. You should get some of your people to start repairing the various towns and cities."


    Elijah nodded. "Leave that to me. I can easily have that sorted before we leave."


    The Seneschal had already prepared everything during Darius'' absence. With a smiled he left the Queen alone with the young man.


    Jeanne felt her heart thump initially, before she remembered her agreement with Darius and calmed down, though she was sad inside.


    "First things first, we have to fix the damage you caused by overusing your bloodline skill." Darius stated with a frown. He had long noticed that Jeanne''s character sheet was not looking too good after he met her.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Jeanne Ando


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Angel


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Queen


    HP: 96/96(1,334/1,334)


    MP: 1,534/1,534(3,953/3,953)


    STA: 708/708(3,422/3,422)


    Level: 59


    Strength: 8(23)


    Agility: 34(56)


    Endurance: 12(58)


    Intellect: 26(67)


    Charisma: 15(40)


    Luck: 0(20)


    P-Status: Severely Weakened


    M-Status: Obsessed


    Affection: Friendly lvl 5]


    It was more than enough to tell him that Jeanne was in a bad way. If she had used it any further, she would have likely killed herself, and that was even the most optimal oue.


    Darius had only heard the news and had not seen Jeanne actually use her bloodline ability, but based on his knowledge and the consequences, it seemed that it was majored in the Light element with a hint of the Order Element.


    That would exin why she lost stats with every use. It would also exin why she could resurrect those who had died repeatedly.


    Only the two elements of Order and Chaos could achieve something like this.


    In fact, based on the consumption of the Basic spells, it seemed that the bloodline ability was more aligned with the Chaos element sub-ability rather than an Order element, but that should be impossible.


    Order should only be able to work with ''positive'' elements like Light, Earth, Wind, Water, nt/Nature, Lightning, Time and Life, whereas Chaos was supposed to work with the likes of Fire, Dark, Death, Spirit, Poison, Gravity and Space elements.


    Of course, the best way to be truly sure would be to have Jeanne use the ability so he could observe it, but that would require more than one cast, and the cost of it was not something Jeanne could bear to afford right now.


    The good news was that Jeanne should be able to recover. Otherwise, the Supreme System would not have put her original stats into brackets.


    It was likely due to the fact that the amount of Order/Chaos in her spell had been surprisingly very little.


    If she had used a pure Order or Chaos ability, that deduction should have been of a permanent nature.


    Darius took out a bottle of Lunar Dew and handed it to Jeanne. "Drink."


    Jeanne looked at the precious liquid from which she could feel some strange power and she was left speechless. She didn''t think Darius valued her enough to give her such a precious thing and it made her already dangerous fixation on him be slightly worse.


    As for Darius, he wasn''t too bothered giving it away.


    Thanks to the Bowl Of Nuwa his stockpile of it rose with every day.


    As long as he put Pure Water in, he would get more. Ever since he had stopped filling the pond in the Divine de till, he had umted a ''little'' too much.

 Chapter 341 - 341

    One man''s ''garbage'' was another''s man''s treasure, and Darius had long since nned to auction some of it.


    However he also wasn''t suicidal, so he would only do it after his stats reached the Grandmaster stage, likely after hepleted his next Quest and entered the Adept stage.


    Speaking of his next Quest, he would get to it right after his territory was could function autonomously without him at the helm. With his current power, Darius didn''t dare to proim himself invincible, but he felt that he was well prepared.


    After all, unless Caesar changed the rules again, something Darius checked for every morning and evening in his System''s changelog, the difficulty of the Quest was set to be 100 times the average Faustian''s stage up.


    Ultimately the actual subjective difficulty of the mission should vary based on how powerful and resource-rich Darius himself was.


    Otherwise, there would really be no point in bothering to power up while avoiding leveling up.


    As for Jeanne, she resolutely drank the Lunar Dew and felt her body shiver. The Queen could only let out a shameful moan as she felt extremefort from every cell in her body, her soul down to her very atoms being healed and refreshed.


    Jeanne almost fell to her knees due to how strong and potent the liquid was, but she managed to remain upright. What was even better was the fact that Jeanne felt far, far better than she had ever felt in her life. It was as if she had literally been reborn.


    She could feel herself glowing as she actually crossed the threshold of the Adept stage and turned into an early-stage Master on the spot.


    Behind Jeanne, Darius observed the silhouette of a valiant Valkyrie on a horse, her sword pointed to the distance.


    Darius smiled and he rubbed his chin.


    This proved his conjecture that Lunar Dew used on a person not bound to the system would grant far more than a measly restoration of stats and a cure for ailments.


    Apparently, it but could organically boost them in various ways!


    He felt funny, since he and his Branded Servants practically drank Lunar Dew on the daily. Most of their water and drinks contained a small tinge of Lunar Dew, merely for the taste aspect.


    Sadly they would never benefit from the passive effect.


    Jeanne eventuallypleted her stage up, the lighting from her body receding peacefully. It had to be said that causing phenomena like that when upgrading meant that her future was <strong>Boundless</strong> and that the Valkyrie bloodline was truly top-tier among Angelic species.


    Jeanne gazed at Darius with soft eyes, and it took herst bit of reason not to rush him down and kiss him all over. Being gazed at so intensely but Jeanne, even theposed Darius blushed slightly.


    He coughed to hide his awkwardness and nodded to Jeanne. "Now that you are a Master, you''ll be able to deal with the issues pertaining to the invasion and the hearing in my stead. You''ll also have to stabilize your kingdom, so I''ll give you and Elijah three months."


    "After that, I''ll be waiting for you in my territory. Here''s a map to its location." Darius said while handing her a map.


    Jeanne nodded and took it, still gazing at Darius as the fellow blinked away. Jeanne breathed in and felt her increased power before solemnly swearing to do everything she could to win Darius'' heart.


    She refused to believe that there could be a woman out there who loved Darius more than she did. She just had to prove it to him honestly and Darius might reciprocate her feelings.


    The first step on her journey to his heart would be to make sure the task he left to her waspleted to perfection!


    ............


    As for Darius, he didn''t go to pick Gunner up. He had no desire to spoil the fellow''s happiness. By the fact that Gunner had neither contacted nor returned to him, it could only mean that Celia had reciprocated his feelings and the two were on a pseudo-honeymoon.


    As for X, her updates told him that their group was currently spelunking in an ancient ruin, so she would return when she was done.


    The territory was also still being constructed, yet Darius felt confident that Foldo, Shanks, and Jorge were more than enough to supervise it to perfection.


    As such, Darius decided to head back to Elysium and enter the restricted section of Krona''s Library. He would return after three months to see the progress of everything he had set up so far.


    With that in mind, Darius blinked back to the territory and entered his Mage Tower. At the highest floor, there was arge portal that had been constructed using the best materials and the highest quality space stones, making it incredibly stablepared to others like it.


    Not only that, it was one-way!


    It would allow anyone to teleport almost anywhere in Faust through it... however you''d have to find your own way back! Also, you''d need specific coordinates of the locations you''re heading to.


    Naturally, Darius had the coordinates for the Great Library of Krona. Once he calibrated it sessfully, he walked through and appeared on their other side, which just happened to be the alleyway behind the library.


    He wasn''t going to appear inside the library, but also didn''t want to appear right in front of it. No, that would have been foolish and risk provoking God.


    On the other hand, appearing in such a quiet area was not infringing on anyone''s dignity but Darius'' own.


    He exited the corner and headed to the front of the library. As he still had his membership card, he went through the VIP entrance without anyone blocking him and climbed right up to the door of the restricted section.


    Seeing Darius enter easily, those who were lined up to spit out their precious information for a crumb of time in the restricted area were shocked and jealous.


    Darius met the five clerks who managed the various sections, and they were surprised to see Darius again. After all, not many people had the chance toe in here, and they all remembered that their God himself hade down just to meet this fellow.


    Of course, there was also the fact that he had earned a whopping 25,000 hours with whatever information he had inputted, which was an unprecedented achievement!

 Chapter 342 - 342

    Darius handed over his membership card and his entry was logged. He walked past the speechless woman who was the clerk for the Magical Section without looking at her.


    She shook her head and refocused on the book she was reading before then. As for Darius, he entered the void-like area that made up this section and gazed at the floating bubbles of information hovering around him.


    With higher stats than before, he was able to notice a lot more. For one, the sizes of the bubbles were slightly different, and the physical distance from himself and them was not as great as he thought.


    The farthest he could sense was about 1,000 kilometers from where he stood. Based on Darius already acquired knowledge from below as well as himself as a base, he guessed that one needed a total of 1,000 points of Intellect and at least Elementary Psychomancy to reach that far.


    After all, the current him could only stretch out about 150 kilometers from where he stood, which coincided with his150 points of Intellect.


    If the Grandmaster stage truly was 200 points and beyond, then even Grandmasters should not be able to achieve this feat. This would exin God Krona''s confidence when he was negotiating with Darius.


    Darius had already formed a hypothesis that if Gods existed in the area between Supreme and Grandmaster, they must have at least 500 points in each stat (or the stats that are relevant to their Divine Attribute) and at most 1000 points.


    Darius set a limit for 1,000 because he could not fathom what power would look like beyond that, and he was only establishing a hypothesis in the first ce.


    He believed he would be to verify his theory once he got more stat points and climbed to higher stages.


    Darius began using his mind to connect with as many bubbles as he could. Not only that, he took out one of the many Rare Intellect Boost Potions he had transmuted and drank them.


    With this, it was easy for Miranda to use his body as a sort of hub or springboard to download the information in the bubbles. This was what separated Darius from those who normally came here.


    Even if they could connect to all these bubbles - or at least, those within their range - they would have to absorb this information slowly as they would overburden their minds otherwise.


    Like a librarian, they would pick up the books and neatly arrange them on categorized shelves so that they could review that information properly on their own.


    This would take time depending on how much each person could reach in terms of the bubbles of info and how sturdy their minds were.


    Just to handle information within 1 km, Darius estimated that the slowest person would take about a week. This was why the people would spend hours at a time toe here and absorb the info that they could acquire.


    With Miranda, Darius skipped the second stage. The AI being able to instantly categorize and continuously receive endless information with her capabilities, so all Darius needed to do was increase his Int so he could reach even farther.


    The amount of time he had, whether 25,000 hours or just 25 minutes, was not the issue at all and had never been. It had been an issue of stats, which was why Darius had attempted to increase his by using Lord Darm''s Event and why he had made the potions in the first ce.


    It only took Miranda about 20 minutes to clear everything within 375 kilometers. After all, the Rare Intellect Boost Potion increased Intellect and Learning Capabilities by 150% for 1 hour.


    This was enough to greatly enhance Darius'' magical knowledge after he returned to digest it, so he left the Magical section, happy with his gains.


    Outwardly, however, he wore a frown as he moved to the Culture section.


    The clerks noticed this and smiled. They were used to seeing such things and it seemed even the almighty fellow who had exchanged for 25,000 hours couldn''t escape the clever scheme their God had created.


    Then again, it was normal. How could a 20-year old looking fellow outsmart the God of Knowledge that had lived since the beginning of time itself? Simply impossible!


    Darius entered the Culture section and swept through 375 kilometers of information in about the same amount of time. When he exited once more, he wore an even darker expression that made the clerks smirk with schadenfreude.


    Heh, as expected, God Krona was the sharpest of them all! Their deity was truly one with endless foresight, wisdom, and rity of mind!


    Darius then went into the History section and did the same. However, by the time he exited, his one hour of Enlightenment hade to an end, so his aggrieved expression was somewhat real.


    He then locked onto the Professional section and greedily absorbed all the information with the same range from there after drinking another Rare Intellect Boost Potion.


    Darius prized this and the final section''s information the most.


    After clearing the Technology section out, he eventually went back for his membership card and snatched it rudely from the clerk, ring at all five of them before stomping his way out.


    However, none of the five were offended or bothered, rather they smiled yfully, their eyes curling into crescents.


    Another one duped, hehe!


    This was the second time he hade, but just like a junkie, he would be back for more after digesting what he had gained today.


    All of them were the same.


    This wasn''t some cheap info like the one down below.


    This was the knowledge that even the God of Knowledge felt was too precious and valuable to give out easily, so one could imagine just what amazing things were hidden in there.


    A little know fact was that their best customers had always been those who had tasted the restricted knowledge, despite those down below outnumbering them by the thousands.


    They would be like servants of God Krona, going crazy to search for or create unique information just to exchange for a few more reading hours.


    This was how it had always been since before each of them were here and also how it would always be.

 Chapter 343 - 343

    Darius maintained his angry expression up until he reached the City of Divinity''s teleportation center. He had no intention of staying further, not even to see Deia.


    Right now he didn''t want to startle her God and his people as to his interest and goals.


    Darius was like a snake, carefully basking in the sun and biding its time. With each passing day, the snake would grow in length until it would turn into a dragon, then it would p its wings and rain its fire down upon kingdoms.


    When he became powerful enough, that God in question would not even understand what had hit him. Darius definitely would not do anything to give up his only advantage against his enemies.


    He walked through the portal and appeared in Favelia once more. Only then did he allow himself to rest his face, and a smile appeared on it as he left the area by using a House Portal Scroll.


    At the Divine de, he noticed that the number of fairies had increased and the mist too had be much denser.


    New kinds of nts had started growing in the de, most of them brightly colored and illuminated.


    Darius'' breath caught.


    He was convinced that if he took a picture of the de and were to sell it on Earth, he would have likely been able to earn a good sum of money, as many artists would love it and try to capture its magnificence.


    However, Darius was only nning to rest here for a while, waiting for his territory to be further developed before going over to take a look.


    He smiled as he greeted the newly arrived fairies that were ying around the Lunar Dew pool, then walked into the cabin himself.


    Darius sat down at the table in the dining room, in the exact chair he had spawned in. Feeling slightly nostalgic, he prodded Miranda gently.


    "How goes theprehensive sorting, my dear?"


    Miranda appeared and looked intrigued and surprised. "Well Daddy, there''s a lot of good stuff here. You should take a look and see!"


    Darius nodded and let Miranda return to her work. As for himself, he didn''t need to dig into Miranda for information as everything was in his System''s Database.


    Since Miranda had used his mind to collect all the info, it was naturally deposited there as well.


    He had also filled it with all the normal info Miranda had acquired, so he could ess all of this whenever he wanted.


    Darius then opened his Database and checked the magical knowledge section first.


    Darius sat there for a few hours with his eyes closed, his body rxed. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and disyed a look of shock and fear.


    These kinds of emotions were rare for Darius, especially when there was no direct danger to his life. However, the little he had parsed through had left him feeling this way.


    What exactly had he learned?


    Well, he had discovered that Faust was not a level ying field, not in any way possible.


    If what he had read was true, then it was very likely that after creating this world, Vena had left it to its own devices maybe because she couldn''t care or because she had more important worlds in her repertoire to entertain her.


    Whatever the case, the magic of this world had developed in ways beyond the understanding of themon man. For one, the publicly known elements were only just a smokescreen, as many others also existed in tandem.


    Not only that, Darius had gotten to learn a little bit of what kind of power the Gods and Demons held, the kind of magic they could use that had made them the undisputed kingpins of Faust for millennia.


    Darius did not want to weaken his own morale to benefit the enemy, but he truly felt like he had left the kiddie pool and had finally been plopped into the adult pool.


    However, he was smart enough to understand that even if he hade to a slightly deeper pool, he was far from the deep end.


    In order to reach the 7 foot and beyond section, he would have to digest all this info as well as everything else Krona had hidden away.


    No wonder Darius had seen people outside the restricted section so desperate to enter, and why they looked at him like he was a fool for rejecting God Krona''s offer back then.


    After all, the information he possessed would not be stolen from him, yet he would have been able to freely learn all of Faust''s past, present, and future secrets.


    Darius took a deep breath and realized that God Krona had actually been extremely fair to him back then and that it was him who hadcked the ability to appreciate it given the little information he had.


    However, it made little difference now, as he had the Supreme System and Miranda to maximize his benefits.


    As such, he left the table and moved to the bed,ying atop it while summoning a Guard Android.


    "Every day, pour exactly 10 milliliters of this liquid into my mouth! Wake me up in three months'' time if I don''t do it myself. Also, clean my body every day using the most non-invasive methods avable." Dariusmanded the Android.


    It nodded as it registered its orders and came to stand by the bedside. As for Darius, he handed it arge basin of Lunar Dew he had just poured out. It would be used to sustain him in ce of food and water.


    At this time, Darius was unaware that this unnecessary, as he was now a Dragon. Forget eating every day, he could go without it for a year based on the amount of power his body produced per day.


    Of course, he was new to this physique so he had not dug out all the details of it, only what the System had shown him.


    In time, he would be able to appreciate just what he had be in detail.


    As Dariusy on the bed, he spared a quick thought for Gunner and X, but decided that they would be informed of his circumstances by Miranda who already knew what he was about to do.


    Once his mind sunk into the depths of his Database, Darius entered the wonderful world of knowledge and wisdom.


    ----------------------------


    Just like that, 6 months passed.

 Chapter 344 - 344

    Darius opened his eyes slowly, his minding to wakefulness. He looked around himself and slowly raised his body into a seating position.


    He was initially surprised that his muscles hadn''t atrophied, but then he remembered that he now had the body of a Dragon.


    Such a thing shouldn''t surprise him and he should have expected at least this much.


    As such, Darius got up from the bed and noticed that he was naked. That alone didn''t bother him, no it was the fact that his body gave off a slight stench due tock of care, making him frown.


    He clearly remembered specifically instructing the Guard Android to clean him every day.


    Darius snorted derisively, then cast a Cleanse spell on himself and began looking for his clothes. He quickly found them ced nearby, clean and smelling fresh which was at least something good.


    Dressed in his usual attire he stepped out of the cabin, wondering how much time had actually passed.


    Since the Guard Android had neglected to clean him, Darius was convinced that he must have overshot the three months time limit he had given himself.


    The question was by how much?


    However long it was, it was worth it. At least he had made good use of the time and had digested all the new information. His entire outlook towards Faust had drastically changed.


    Many of the things he had nned to set in motion would have to be adjusted, the sooner he started on that the better.


    Outside the cabin, the Guard Android was nowhere to be found. Instead, Darius stumbled upon a squatting Gunner who was fascinated by the flora that had grown thanks to the mist of Lunar Dew spread around the de.


    He had a gentle smile on his face as he touched them, making Darius himself smile softly.


    Gunner eventually rose to his feet and walked over to Darius, a glint of happiness and satisfaction in his eyes that Darius could not miss.


    It was the same type of glint he had seen every morning in the mirror after he had married Deia.


    "You''re finally awake. It''s been half a year since you went into seclusion. You can be at ease, nothing happened that we couldn''t deal with." Gunner began after greeting Darius.


    "Oh? Tell me all about it." Darius requested as the duo began leaving the Divine de.


    "I spent the first few weeks courting Celia until she agreed to be my partner for life. Luckily, apart from being extremelypatible spiritually and mentally, we are alsopatible physically. The problem I usually faced does not exist with her." Gunner reported with glee.


    Darius patted Gunner''s shoulder with a congrattory smile. He was truly happy for the fellow, especially concerning the physical issue as he was in the same boat now.


    "After our time together, she had to return to her empire, while I met up with X who, at the time, seemed a bit shaken. Apparently, that strange woman who dressed improperly had tried to make many sexual advances on her during their trip, but our X had managed to persevere." Gunner added with an awkward expression.


    Darius could onlyugh wryly. During the short time they had spent together, Darius had been able to figure out that Genie didn''t want X solely for her healing, but also for her body.


    He hadn''t said anything, since he felt that it would be a good chance for X to experience the uniqueness of the world.


    If X was into such things then congrats, she had discovered her true sexuality with a beautiful partner to boot. If not, she would learn to be guarded and careful about who she walked with.


    "Since she was so distraught, I decided toe here and guard you while she would return to the territory and make sure everything is ready for your eventual return." Gunner concluded.


    Darius nodded. His worries were abated with that. After all, the only reason he had set that three months timeframe was to prevent himself from being away from his territory for too long during its crucial budding phase.


    Since he had learned that kingdoms needed Masters to have basic rights and protections, leaving his territory with not a single Master would have been too dangerous.


    With X at the helm, he wasforted.


    Darius and Gunner arrived at the forest surrounding the Divine de. After Gunner gave him his update, it was Darius'' time to share key information he had learned with his Branded Servant.


    He then smiled and sent them straight to their territory with his Long Warp Scroll. They appeared at the top floor of Darius'' mage tower, descending slowly until they came to the lobby.


    There, they found X reading a book, an expression of boredom and fatigue on her face. She raised her head slowly and saw that it was Darius and Gunner who approached her.


    Then she jumped to her feet and rushed over, a look of grievance on her face. Darius and Gunner both hugged her and patted her back as she vented her emotions, the two fellows feeling bad for doing this to her.


    "Don''t worry, now that I am back, you can rest easy. Gunner and I will pick up the work." Darius reassured her slowly.


    Hearing this, X''s tears suddenly stopped as she disyed a bright smile. "You said it, not me."


    Darius and Gunner were both floored, not having expected this in the least. The two shared a look and realized that their innocent X must have picked up some bad habits after staying with mercenaries for a long time.


    X skipped away happily, off to do who knows what.


    In the meantime, Darius headed to the meeting room of the mage tower and summoned Shanks, Jorge, and Foldo over.


    The three came over quickly once Miranda informed them of Darius'' return. He had to cate them endlessly for being away for so long.


    After all, everything had been long since prepared, just waiting for him to cut the ribbon so operations wouldmence.


    Although Darius had already prepared the resources and they could have acted autonomously, they hadn''t dared to. Darius was amused by this and asked them for a full exnation of what had happened.


    "Well, the construction waspleted three months ago ording to your n and many of the amenities have been installed and prepared. Most of our people have been situated and many are moring to sign the Soul Paper agreement to be core members."


    "Hm? Howe?" Darius asked with a frown.


    Foldoughed awkwardly, gazing at Darius hopefully. "Well, there are rumors that after visiting the Queen of Andrato once, you''ve been able to easily turn her into a Master-stage expert."

 Chapter 345 - 345

    Darius was not surprised by their hopeful expressions, nor the consequences of his actions. Without seeing it for themselves, anyone would assume that Darius had the means to make anyone into a Master, which wasn''t exactly wrong.


    It was no secret that even someone as talented as Jeanne had been stuck at a bottleneck around the peak of the Adept stage for a year or two, and her stage had actually regressed with each revival of her troops.


    And yet as soon as Darius had swooped in, he had not only fixed everything inside the Andrato Kingdom, he had healed the Queen, even going so far as to present her with a means to be a Master.


    Now even without the presence of Darius, X or Gunner, the Queen had the right to speak in the Fallon Continental Council.


    Not only that, but she would also be able to attack the various kingdoms and empires during the hearing from a far stronger position.


    With their informationwork, they woulde to learn that the Andrato Kingdom had three other Masters which the ''weak'' Andrato had somehow managed to hide, making it no longer something they could ignore.


    Foldo and co must have not only heard these rumors but also met Jeanne and Elijah already since Darius had simrly told them toe here after three months.


    Even so, Darius could tell that Jeanne was smart enough to keep the specifics under wraps until he himself decided to share it with them.


    After all, Jeanne''s loyaltyy with only two things, Darius and the Andrato Kingdom, with the young man''s position being slightly higher on the scale.


    Computing all of this took seconds for Darius, and he also stretched his Telesthesia-induced awareness out, covering the entire core area.


    It allowed him to see everything that went on there. He was not surprised at all to find Jeanne and Elijah seated together while talking in one of the manors. In fact, Jeanne''s head snapped towards Darius, as she noticed his mental probe.


    She eventually connected to his mind telepathically and greeted him cheerfully. [Wee back, Darius, it''s good to see you. A lot has happened while you were away. Would you like me to brief you?]


    [If you would do me the honors.] Darius chuckled.


    Jeanne slowly transferred her knowledge of what had happened in thest six months, especially on Andrato''s end.


    How she had attacked the various empires that had participated in the war during the hearing from an emotional and moral standpoint, to how she had even dug up evidence of Andrato''s suppression ever since its inception, with a bigger focus on how active it had be after Jeanne had taken to the throne.


    It had to be said that Jeanne had been truly ruthless. It was bad enough that these countries had been disadvantaged after being blindsided by Andrato''s multiple Master stage experts, but she had also brought up one of the greatest taboos, the suppression.


    Why was it a taboo? Well, it was quite obvious. From the perspective of the kingdoms and empire, they absolutely did not want more powerhouses to appear, especially one''s they couldn''t control.


    Multiple tigers cannot share one mountain after all. However, from the perspective of the Fallon Continental Council, the development of kingdom and empires had to be encouraged, since having more Masters was a great thing, as it would raise the entire continent''s strength.


    Beingst on the rankings was a great shame, and the council had been established precisely to solve that issue, which was why it was very particr about impartiality.


    If the Grandmasters who formed the core of the council had enough free time to pursue personal interests, then the continent would never rise.


    This was why the Andrato Kingdom had been quietly suppressed all this while, creating the illusion that it was just incapable of rising up. With a good excuse, the various empires slumped to swallow it up and wanted to divvy up its resources, meager as they were.


    However, by exposing this, Jeanne had opened them up to even heavier sanctions. The amount and quality of things Jeanne had asked for were enough to make even Darius wince, especially the one Fraterina Kingdom was forced to pay.


    With the Fallon Continental Council''s backing, they had no choice but to do so, however it had resulted in Andrato being socially estranged from the rest of the continent.


    Imagine if you were a kid in a ss of 40, and you were always bullied by the other 39 kids but swallowed it every day.


    Suddenly, you discover that the principal is actually your uncle, so you report everything that happened to you with evidence. Naturally, this turns into a huge issue and all the kids get severely reprimanded and punished.


    Now would that change their perception of you? They would certainly not look at you in a good light. They wouldn''t dare to bully you or make it obvious that they despised you, but you would definitely not be able to enter their inner circle or interact with them on more than a surface level.


    However, neither Darius nor Jeanne were bothered by this. Following the execution of the n, it wasn''t about whether or not the various states wanted to ignore Andrato, but whether they could afford to.


    Both Darius'' territory and Andrato were now linked in a system that would promote each other''s strength, values, and means. Those states would have to suck up to one or the other, likely both, in order to not fall behind their neighbors.


    After receiving the update from Jeanne, Darius retracted his awareness and focused on Foldo and co. He then addressed them with a soft smile.


    "It was not done as easily as they im, and most of the credit lies with Jeanne herself, She had the talent and was on the cusp of promotion. I just gave her that final push she needed."


    Their expressions fell slightly as they did not hear the exact answer they wanted, but they were smart enough to know that as core members close to Darius, they would notck such chances.


    Right now, the quickest way to please him was to promote Darius'' ns and make sure that everything would go smoothly.


    Foldo then gazed at Darius expectantly and tapped the butt of his cane onto the ground.


    "Master, shall we begin the first phase then?" Foldo asked with a smile.


    Shanks and Jorge looked excited, and even Jeanne and Elijah who just entered the mage tower from the manor they had been in shown expressions of interest.


    Darius rose from his own seat and nodded to the rest who also stood up.


    "You could have started three months ago, but I''m d you''ve waited for me. It would be strange for the ruler to miss out on this historic moment. Now is just as good a time as any, so let''s execute the First Phase immediately!"

 Chapter 346 - 346

    Over the next week, great changes swept across Darius'' territory and the Andrato Kingdom. The supplies Darius had transmuted all that time ago were finally shipped out, consisting of high-grade materials, resources, and even basic goods.


    First, they went to Andrato, since the kingdom had first purchase of them. Of course, it was only shipped to factions controlled by the royal family, who would then consume these goods to strengthen themselves.


    A small percentage was then exported outward and priced very lowly. This was because Andrato exports had been previously ignored but after intervention by the Fallon Continental Council, such things were no longer allowed to ur.


    However, the protection only went so far. Andrato, despite somehow having managed to produce four masters, was still believed to be greatly weak and inept, at leastpared to the bigger kingdoms and empires.


    As such, themon logic was that the resources they could export would not be so good, right?


    After all, a couple of years ago that hidden Master who had issued a quest in theirnd with top-tier goods was rumored to just have been a wandering Master.


    Darius and Jeanne had predicted this, so despite these goods having fetched horrendous prices in Elysium, they still sold a small batch below market price to each kingdom and empire.


    Each of them got one or two of these high-quality goods, making them sneer even further. Seems like Andrato had dug up their very foundations in order to spit this out, eh?


    Most tossed these things into vaults and storage spaces without a care. Why should they use lower quality goods when they already had better stuff produced locally?


    Nevertheless, some were desperate, curious, or had a slew of other reasons that made them tentatively try what Andrato had shipped out.


    The result was obvious, given the power of Transmutation.


    Over the next week, the entire Fallon continent was taken by storm.


    News spread far and wide about the quality of the goods, and more importantly, the source. Andrato did not hide who the creator wasbeling him as Darius Stone.


    Extensive investigations were conducted about this Darius Stone person, where he came from, and how he managed to manufacture such goods.


    Naturally, the various powers were speechless to find out thatˇ­ they couldn''t trace his origins!


    It was as if he had literally spawned into existence one day, his first contact with society starting in some backwater homestead.


    After some digging, they unearthed his supposed connection from the Westerlier Empire, an empire which had been swallowed up by its neighbors.


    However, when asked about it, those who once belonged to it could barely remember a Stone family.


    This made many powerhouses frown and specte.


    There were very few people who existed like that, mostly old hermits who had reached a level of power that was beyond what they could fathomˇ­ or unique existences like Fallon''s Titan Gods.


    After realizing that investigating Darius was a dead end, the next course of action was the various parties sending some of their imported resources to their best smiths, alchemists, and other craftsmen to see if it could be reverse-engineered.


    The answer was both exciting and despairing.


    Exciting because the materials used were not anything different from the base value, in fact being exactly the same. This meant that as long as the technique could be unearthed, they would also be able to mass-produce these kinds of goods!


    And yet, that was exactly where despair set in. Those same skilled vocationists unanimously reported that the technique used was inconceivable.


    The work was too perfect andpletely without w. There was no reduction of w factor to any low decimal point, there was simply no w at all. Literal perfection, which was factually unachievable had been achieved.


    In other words, it was impossible for any human or mortal to create something like this and only a God would have the means.


    This left all the powers speechless, and coupled with their earlier findings, many came to a terrifying conclusion.


    This Darius Stoneˇ­ either he was a being on the level of Titan Gods or had one backing him.


    This theory had beenrgely dismissed at first, until more information was dug out.


    It turned out that this Darius had used goods of this quality to fund a mission to the ins of Death, for a ''Resurrection Stone''.


    This alone wasn''t a big deal, but for those who still had records of the Necromancer Empire and knew who stood at the helm of this power, they took a deep breath, feeling like they hade to understand something profound.


    Not only that, it was a fact that Darius Stone had ventured into the ins of Death with 90% of Andrato''s Adepts.


    And yet he and his servant ended up being the only survivors,paratively lightly wounded.


    Combining all this, they could only reach one conclusion.


    The Titan God behind Darius desired the item held by the Titan God behind the ins of Death, unable toe to an agreement their respective champions fought each other.


    The victor was unknown, but many assumed that Darius must have lost since he hade back beaten and the weaklings he had hired using his backer''s creations had all perished.


    Eventually, more news spread that items just like these had been auctioned in Elysium and had set off a huge storm there.


    Now that it had appeared on Fallon, the Continental Council had tried to quickly suppress the news but it had been in vain.


    In the span of a month, every continent of Faust hade to know of this, and even those of Elysium descended upon poor Fallon like a storm.


    Houto, Pan, Pokterr, and the rest also made their presences known.


    Even the reclusive Gravitas and the exorbitantly wealthy Unyris came around, showing just how game-breaking Transmutations was in the scope of things.


    Albeit not openly, Darius was willing to bet that Armadon would also be among those who hade.


    This left Fallon''s various empires and kingdoms frightened, as powerful visitors from afar came around to stay in their ces, waiting on a certain announcement that had been made by the Queen of Andrato a few days ago.


    The unveiling of the Darius Stone''s new territory would be apanied by an auction, with various properties, items, and secrets being sold for exorbitant prices.


    This was why these fellows had descended, as they swore to get their hands on such materials for various reasons.


    Currently, all eyes were on Andrato and the unnamed territory. Many were waiting patiently, but obviously, there were those who felt that an upstart should not have the right to possess such things and decided to seize it for themselves.


    Interestingly, up until the date of the auction, all such fellows who had set out never returned.

 Chapter 347 - 347

    A month ago, after Darius announced that the first phase couldmence, he had spent the rest of the day physically inspecting the rest of his territory.


    He flew up to the sky and looked over the expansive city sprawling out before him.


    It was about 5-6 times the size of Ando, a cityrge enough to hold trillions, and Darius frankly could see the city stretch all the way to the horizon.


    The core section only made up a small amount of this sprawling mass, and it was currently only about 10% popted.


    Darius saw a significant amount of human traffic in the inner city, where the former members of the homestead, as well as the exiled nobles who were now part of Darius'' faction, were situated. They only upied 0.1% or less of the space at best.


    As for the outer section, it was still being constructed andpletely uninhabited currently.


    After all, its purpose was to cater to outsiders who wanted to use the amenities of the city, but also to separate them from the true citizens so an artificial caste system could be created.


    Darius smiled after seeing everything was set to perfection. He then lowered himself and used Miranda to summon two important people over.


    Soon, Lord Spencley and Lord McNickles came over and greeted Darius.


    "Nichs, as the mayor, I am hereby formally handing over all the city''s administrative duties to you. Elijah, now that the academy has been built you shall officially be its headmaster. It''s now your job to look through the young talents of our city and groom them in a special ss."


    Darius continued as he rubbed his chin. "As for external students, you can take them in. The academy was built with hostels for such students, but the entry rate should be made to be despairingly high so we only attract talents."


    "During the stay of such students, they are to be treated as residents but not citizens, so they should not receive citizenship rights. However, if they graduate sessfully, they automatically be citizens and may bring their nuclear family to live here."


    Darius turned to Lord Spencely. "Nichs, it''s up to you to draft thews and set up the governmental system for the city. As for your ministers, choose from our affiliated nobles who you feel have some sense or talent in management."


    Darius'' expression became grave. "Keep the caste system rigid! Create means and ways for different sses to understand the gap between them and enforce them as needed!"


    "For example, tourists and visitors should be given some basic protections and rights as well as good safety in order to promote the flow of traffic. As for non-residents who stay for moderate periods of time to work out of the city, refuse them the ability to purchase homes. They are the bottommost tier in the hierarchy and should bergely ignored by thew."


    "For residents who are able to purchase homes and vis in the outer section, they are one stage below citizens and can be treated as the kingpins of all the denominations that exist in the outer city. After them are the workers, those who rent a plot for business or are employed by us to work in our stores and other facilities."


    "As for them, they are protected on the same tier as citizens. They cannot be allowed to be bullied, harmed, or threatened by anyone in the outer city caste, even the residents. Anyone who does so shall be killed regardless of who they are or who is backing them. However, that is the extent of their benefits."


    "As for citizens, they are a whole different ss. Whenever they leave the inner city to head to the outer one, though circumstances need them not to, they should be treated like kings! The slightest disrespect warrants extreme punishment."


    "Within the inner city, there should also be first-ss citizens, the wealthy, special faction members, and the noble faction of the city. The power scales in magnitudes of this, but citizens are not allowed to kill or plot against each other."


    "Any such action should be punished and made an example of." Darius concluded with a sigh.


    Elijah and Nichs nodded. As two powerful and wise men, they knew the reason for this. Firstly, Darius created the caste system, to enhance the status of his people at the expense of outsiders.


    This would make outsiders crave to be citizens and do anything in their power to achieve this lofty status.


    Secondly, it would enhance the financial, social, and political power of the city. The outer section alone was a ce better than most capitals of Empires, much less a mere city.


    Just gettingnd there would be a task like climbing the heavens. Those who are able would not be nobodies, but powerhouses from other kingdoms and empires.


    If they were constantly stepped on by citizens of the city, that would mean their status were lower, and would weaken the publics'' perception of their empire against this city.


    Sort of like ''oh look, that is the handsome Prince of the Resgia Empire that is number 6 on the continent!'' and in the next moment, that prince is quickly moving to the side to let some fellow with average looks and normal clothes pass by him just because they are a citizen and he doesn''t dare offend them.


    What kind of image would onlookers have? That Resgia Empire was useless before the city and could only behave themselves. This would create the perfect image that this city was the number 1 power on the entire Fallon Continent.


    "Enough of that. As the administrator of my city and as the headmaster of what will be the number 1 Mage Academy on Fallon, you two are not powerful enough to hold up your posts." Darius pointed out.


    Despite this, Nichs and Elijah were not offended, not even close. Rather, they were iparably excited as they waited for Darius to continue.


    They knew that since he had brought this up, they were about to go through a transformation no less than Jeanne!

 Chapter 348 - 348

    Darius did not keep the duo waiting for long. He took out a pot of Lunar Dew, making the two older men quake in their boots like young boys before a cougar.


    They had a lot of time to theorize what kind of resources Darius might have those in his inner circle to strengthen them as he had done for Jeanne.


    Would it be special fruits that could increase their stats or grant them special abilities? Perhaps a scroll that did the same when used?


    Perhaps he had found some potions to strengthen them? Or could it be some ancient tomes that would slowly allow them to hone themselves over time?


    However, thest thing they had expected was to see the most priceless and blessed item to exist in Faust, Lunar Dew. Especially not in such purity and definitely not in such a quantity.


    Lunar Dew, it was a mythical liquid that legends imed was the God''s dream choice of liquid.


    Someone with heaven-defying luck might find some once in a millennium, but even then it would have to be measured in drops, diluted to increase the quantity. It couldn''t be helped, the amount of Lunar Dew that urred naturally was too scarce.


    Naturally urring Lunar Dew could only be found in ces with the purest of Life Energy, which received pure moonlight for the entire year, but were furthermore enriched attributeless Divine Energy. Only Gods would produce that type of Energy, so the most likely ce was where one''s dead body was present.


    Even then, it would require a thousand years at the minimum for a single drop to form... for something that Darius had in his backyard.


    Inparison, the amount back in the Divine de was equivalent to a stockpile of trillions of years.


    And yet, a pot of pure Lunar Dew had been fished out by the young man as if it was meremon drinking water.


    Nichs and Elijah looked at the bounty and Darius over and over again, unable to reconcile why Darius would bring this out for them?


    If they had ess to something so precious it was unlikely they would share it with even the closest of their family members.


    As for giving to subordinates? That would be ludicrous!


    So just what kind of purpose did Darius have for giving them this?


    Seeing their confusion, Darius smiled. He was pleased that instead of rushing to drink it like greedy idiots, they rather paused and tried to understand the reasoning behind this despite their open desire.


    Then again, that was exactly why he had chosen to entrust those very important positions to these two older men.


    This wasn''t some form of nepotism, but him having tasted their skill and wisdom, which would serve well in his budding territory.


    "Do not think too much about it. This is exactly what you think it is, and it is what has allowed Jeanne to reach her current stage. It is the best thing I can give you for your current situation." Darius spoke.


    "I do not wish to insult you, but I shall be frank for a moment. The two of you are old and both of you have burned out most of your potential, relying on resources to slowly increase your prowess. Nichs is better in this regard, but only slightly."


    "I understand that it couldn''t be helped given Andrato''s prior situation, but the damage has been done and we have to heal you first. This should infuse some energy into your cells, resolve any hidden injuries and defects you''ve umted throughout the years and optimize your body, allowing you to be Masters."


    Darius patted the pot. "Split it in half and drink one bottle every day, at whichever time you feel like. Do not try drinking it all at once, as even I won''t be able to salvage whatever might be left of you otherwise. There is no need to be hasty, just take small doses so that your body can ept the help over time rather than all at once."


    The two men nodded in understanding. After all, not everyone was like Jeanne who was both young and possessed a powerful bloodline. She also had much more damage than Nichs or Elijah due to her resurrection ability.


    The duo bowed deeply before splitting the contents evenly between themselves. They then left to carry out Darius'' orders and began preparing to take their doses every day in hopes that their power would rise.


    Darius watched them leave and then called a few others like Jorge and Portia over. He didn''t give the younger generation Lunar Dew as they didn''t need it, but rather transmuted resources that would do wonders to increase one''s power.


    It had zero use to Darius, Gunner, and X for obvious reason, but to natural Faustians under their own power system, it was just below the likes of Lunar Dew.


    Once they received it, they were naturally excited and thankful. With this, they could quickly climb to the Adept then the Master stage. If they could get a constant infusion of this, it might not even take a year to be Masters.


    This was a speed that would scare any normal person. Portia, Jorge, and Derek, despite Awakening with Darius''s resources and having some help from him, had taken 5 years to be Journeymen.


    Jeanne had beenbeled a talent because the then Princess had reached Journeyman when she had been 13, but she had also been practicing ever since she was 5 years old.


    For others, the duration was naturally far longer than that depending on their talent and their ess to resources.


    Take Foldo, the fellow was past his fifties and had still been an Amateur before Darius had met him. For others, it would be even worse.


    After sorting out his key subordinates, Darius didn''t do anything else. He didn''t inspect the dungeon, walk around the core area nor head out to y around.


    He simply stayed peacefully in his tower while his people worked for him. Patiently was waiting for the special event that had been announced, spending his daily 200 CP to prepare many precious resources to increase their vault.


    As for what would be sold on the day, he had long prepared all of that so there would be no problem. He had factored in a great many things during his seclusion, so it was imperative that things followed the general outline.


    What Darius spent most of his time making were HoloBraces. After all, Darius nned to create a digital empire and everything would have to be done using the HoloBrace while in his city.


    That way, he would be able to monitor and control everyone once they stepped into his borders and even beyond!

 Chapter 349 - 349

    To fulfill Darius'' grand n, the critterbots were constructing hundreds and thousands of towers that could boost the connection of his created HoloBraces.


    The locations selected were not limited to his city but key areas around the entire continent. Darius intended to have the entire Fallon in his back pocket before he reached the point where he would have to face the dreaded Adept stage Quest.


    However, first steps were crucial. After four days, Darius finally received what he was waiting for, his first batch of youngsters who were supposed to learn under him.


    They numbered a total of five.


    One was the son of Nichs, a youngd of 13 by the name of Ash. He had reddish-brown hair in a simr style to his father as well as deep gray eyes.


    He was a handsome young fellow with a bright outlook and a heroic bearing. He had angled cheekbones forming to a point, full pink lips despite being a boy, a lean frame that had a bit of firmness showing that he exercising regrly, and smile lines around his eyes probably due to his pleasant upbringing.


    The second was the niece of Elijah, a lovely youngss called Reina. She was 15 years of age and had short, curly blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a small face.


    She wore a frilly dress with whiteces, two white gloves, and long socks that reached her knees. She was short for her age,ing around 5 foot 4 in height.


    Thest three kids were all chosen by Jeanne to learn from Darius in order to be pirs of Andratoter on.


    The third one was Jonathan, a youth of 16 years, who was lean and tall, anky youth with a sharp visage. He wore a light frown most of the time, had a mop of curly brown hair, and dark brown eyes that showed fierceness.


    The fourth was James, a boy with an average build and looks. The striking thing with him was that he usually wore a strange smile on his face as if he was amused by everything he saw. This made him look a bit silly, but Darius didn''t question Jeanne''s judgment.


    Thed had ck hair and dark eyes, with lightly tanned skin and a skinny frame.


    The final one was the most special, someone Darius had yet to see. It was a half-beastman sent by Jeanne, another boy by the name of Anthony Sabins.


    He was half-human, half-monkey, and he shockingly resembled the famous Great Sage of Earth''s Eastern mythology.


    He had golden fur that lined his cheeks, chest, and arms. He wore a noble''s attire of purple and ck, looking extremely suave. Darius also sensed great magic power waves from him, a clear sign that Anthony was likely the greatest talent present.


    Ash came second, but the gap was quite big. Anthony wore an arrogant expression, one that was definitely directed at Darius as he gazed at the man with utter respect.


    Darius guessed that this expression must be the default for Anthony, which made sense since he seemed to be quite aware of his talent and his superior background.


    After sizing up his five students, they quickly bowed to him.


    They were currently on the first floor of the mage tower, where Darius usually received outside guests.


    He himself sat in a seat and gazed at the children with his legs crossed. After they greeted them, he nodded and gestured to five cushions ced before him.


    "Sit." Dariusmanded simply.


    The five immediately obeyed Darius. They looked up to him with pure reverence in their eyes, for they had heard stories about him, his powers, and his capabilities.


    Darius casually Analyzed the five.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Ash Spencley


    Race: Human


    ss: Open


    Subss: Open


    HP: 63/63


    MP: 15/15


    STA: 7/7


    Level: 1


    Strength: 9


    Agility: 8


    Endurance: 7


    Intellect: 20


    Charisma: 13


    Luck: 25


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Awed


    Affection: Worship lvl 1]


    [Name: Reina McKnickles


    Race: Human


    ss: Open


    Subss: Open


    HP: 18/18


    MP: 12/12


    STA: 3/3


    Level: 1


    Strength: 6


    Agility: 4


    Endurance: 3


    Intellect: 12


    Charisma: 24


    Luck: 30


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Awed


    Affection: Worship lvl 1]


    [Name: Jonathan ck


    Race: Human


    ss: Open


    Subss: Open


    HP: 100/100


    MP: 10/10


    STA: 10/10


    Level: 1


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 9


    Endurance: 10


    Intellect: 10


    Charisma: 12


    Luck: 15


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Awed


    Affection: Worship lvl 1]


    [Name: James Jones


    Race: Human


    ss: Open


    Subss: Open


    HP: 42/42


    MP: 13/13


    STA: 6/6


    Level: 1


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 6


    Endurance: 6


    Intellect: 13


    Charisma: 8


    Luck: 19


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Awed


    Affection: Worship lvl 1]


    [Name: Anthony Sabins


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n)


    ss: Open


    Subss: Open


    HP: 72/72


    MP: 30/30


    STA: 9/9


    Level: 1


    Strength: 8


    Agility: 8


    Endurance: 9


    Intellect: 30


    Charisma: 20


    Luck: 65


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Awed


    Affection: Worship lvl 1]


    Darius''s eyes narrowed. It seemed Jeanne had really sent some good seedlings. This level of talent was not small at all, especially that Anthony.


    Not even awakened, yet blessed with 30 points of Intellect. It was no wonder Darius could sense his mental power without even touching the boy. With Darius'' teaching and resources, Anthony would have a smooth path on his way to be Grandmaster at the least.


    As for the good-natured Ash, there was a 70% chance for him to reach the Grandmaster stage. The rest had varying chances to be Masters and less than 30% chance to be Grandmasters.


    That was, of course, assuming that Darius remained at his current level and didn''t acquire more CP to make more useful goods. Now, his 100 CP a day wasn''t enough so he always transmuted some 99.9% diluted drop of Lunar Dew to CP, which gave him 200 a day.


    There were just too many things for him to pump out. Since goods of Darius'' quality could not be mass-produced, it meant he could only singrly pump them out on his own.

 Chapter 350 - 350

    Darius hadn''t failed to notice that his first batch of students all had above average, especially Anthony. He guessed it had to do with their chances of bing his apprentice and how much effort he would have to put into grooming them.


    Still, with 65 Luck he had even more than Da Brown, the former vice guildmaster of Andrato''s Thieves Guild. It was clear that Anthony would have gone ces even without Darius'' guidance.


    However, now that his Luck had brought him here, Darius would make sure to give this tiger wings.


    Darius then focused on the five and asked. "Answer these three questions for me. First, why do you want to be a mage? Secondly, what would you do if you were to be a Grandmaster mage? Thirdly, which element do you consider to be the most powerful in Faust?"


    All five were surprised by these questions and shared uncertain looks, but before they had time to make heads or tails of them, Darius simply flicked a finger at Ash. "You go first and then continue from left to right."


    Ash paused to think about his answers for a bit before answering. "Well, I grew up watching how powerful and influential my father is, and I wish to seed him, making him proud."


    "Erm, I would have eventually inherited my father''s position back in and Listo to look after the territory, so if I were to be a Grandmaster mage, I would be using my skills and powers to ensure thatw and order would be kept."


    "The most powerful element? I think it should be the Lightning element. It can shock people and create thunderstorms."


    Darius rubbed his chin with interest and gazed at Reina, who was next. Thess smiled as she answered in a sweet voice.


    "I want to be a mage because it''ll increase my status, allowing me to decide my own future, instead of being controlled by my family."


    "If I became a Grandmaster, I would marry a handsome prince and explore the world together with him!"


    "Hm, the strongest element to me would be the Spirit element. Why throw fancy spells when you can just turn your enemy into an idiot?"


    Darius chuckled and focused on thenky Jonathan.


    "I want to be a mage to acquire power, enough power so that I can do whatever I want and no one can stop me!"


    "If I became Grandmaster, I would establish my own power and use my strength to grow it! Then I would rule as far as the eye can see and my power can reach!"


    "The strongest element will always be the Fire element! No matter what, anything and everything in this world exist as fuel to be burned to ashes by me!"


    Darius'' eyes shed as he listened to the young child''s grand ambition. He didn''t mind them and it had allowed him to an interesting thing about him.


    Darius then focused on the simple-looking James.


    "I want to be a mage because it seems interesting."


    "If I became a Grandmaster, I would protect Andrato for as long as I live, and also work with you, Master, to pay you back for giving me this chance."


    "The most powerful element? Darkness, I guess. Darkness devours everything, light, power, lifeˇ­ I believe that at the end of the world there lies eternal darkness."


    Darius was impressed by James. The boy was the most simple looking and had a slightly weird mannerism, but he seemed to be the most mature and insightful so far.


    Darius then focused on his most talented apprentice-in-training, Anthony.


    "I wish to be a mage to understand the truth of this world, why we were created, how the elements came into existence, how they function, and how to manipte them beyond conventional means."


    "If I became a Grandmaster, I would simply focus on protecting what is mine, and spend the rest of time researching deeper into the truth of the world and observe everything else."


    "The strongest element? Space and Time. Although the two are often treated separately, I believe they exist on the same wavelength."


    Once all five students had stated their opinions, Darius sifted through their answers andputed them with the wealth of knowledge he had acquired for himself beforeing up with a suitable n.


    He then took out five Awakening Scrolls and let them float into theps of the five lucky children with his Telekinesis. Before they could use them, Darius spoke.


    "I''ve made these Awakening Scrolls for you. Unlike the ones you might know, these ones will bless you with an almost perfect talent for magic as well as the ability to start with 5 elements of your choosing, making them your true affinities."


    "Mind you, this will not affect the number of new elements you will awaken after climbing a stage. Before you use these scrolls, I will tell you my conclusion based on your answers."


    Darius started from left to right, pointing at Ash. "You will awaken the following elements, Gravity, Water, Earth, Life, and Lightning. Your main element will be Lightning while your secondary will be Earth."


    "Your personality leans towards protecting the territory you are in charge of and you possess the heart of a leader. Lightning to pass judgment on your enemies and Earth to form a bastion of defense for yournds."


    He then pointed to Reina. "You will awaken Water, Light, Wind, Wood, and Spirit. Your main element will be Spirit and your secondary Wind."


    "Your personality leans towards independence and whimsical fantasy, your heart being that of an explorer and adventurer. Spirit to control the hidden side of the world around you and Wind to allow you to float through the world freely like a butterfly."


    Darius gazed at Jonathan. "You will awaken Death, Gravity, Metal, Explosion, and Fire. Your main element will be Fire and your secondary Death."


    "After all, your personality leans towards absolute control and a desire for power. You have the heart of a conqueror, so your main tool will be Fire to raze down the establishments of your enemies and Death to build your own loyal army."


    Darius then moved to James. "You will awaken Poison, Psychic, Ice, Sound, and Dark. Your primary element will be the Dark and your secondary Sound."


    "Your personality strikes me as calm and entric, hard to grasp and hard to unravel. Maintaining an air of mystery is key, especially since your looks are enough to make you inconspicuous."


    "Being overt and noticeable is not your path, you''re much better suited to remain in the shadow, invisible, intangible, and silent."


    Darius then focused on Anthony, his smile widening when looking at thed.

 Chapter 351 - 351

    "As for you, you have the heart of a mage. You wish to seek the truth of the world and understand existence. Lucky for you, the world appears to be willing to amodate your wish. You have been blessed with high talent, high intelligence, and extreme self-confidence with a healthy amount of ego."


    "As such, you will awaken only Pinnacle Elements. Space, Time, Order, Chaos, and Aether shall be your five choices. Your primary and secondary are up to you, yet I don''t think you will have an easy time mastering any of them anytime soon with how high up they are."


    After Darius finished speaking he waved his hands lightly. "Go ahead and proceed as I have outlined."


    His students didn''t dare tally, quickly using the scrolls and choosing to awaken the elements Darius had selected for them.


    Once they experienced the unique feeling of awakening and gaining affinity with the elements, they disyed expressions of marvel and excitement.


    Henceforth, they were Amateur mages!


    This thought filled their hearts with a bevy of emotions, and they couldn''t help but gaze at their Master and teacher with gratitude.


    Darius chuckled. "Why are you looking at me like that? This was the easiest part. We shall now discuss the fundamentals of magic and the nature of elements."


    For the next three hours, Darius proceeded to give them a long lecture about the true nature of magic as well as the nature of the various discovered elements so far. With their heightened Intellect, it was not a problem for these youngds to remember everything they were being told.


    Darius only stopped when one of the Maidbots that were created by him to manage his Mage Tower came in to bring him some tea.


    He took a sip, leaving the young minds to reflect on his teaching for a few minutes before he cleared his throat and spoke.


    "That will be all for today. Follow the Maidbot upstairs to your new living quarters and make sure to familiarise yourselves with rules of the mage tower through the HoloBraces."


    Darius snapped his finger as another Maidbot brought a silver tray with 5 HoloBraces ced on top. The apprentices excitedly took one each and ced them around their wrist, marveling as it connected with them.


    They also grimaced slightly when it priced into their arms and connected with their nerves, but the awe of hearing Miranda speak to them directly in their minds made them forget any pain they had felt.


    "Your schedule for the next month will be to wake by 6 am, have breakfast, and arrange yourselves here by 8 am for a 3-hour lecture on the fundamentals of magic."


    "You will then have lunch and spend the rest of the afternoon with my servant Gunner, learning the ins and outs of physicalbat. Just because you have chosen to walk down the path of a mage doesn''t mean that you can neglect your physical capabilities as - and I can assure you of this - it will be your biggest weakness."


    Darius chuckled here. "Though I must warn you, Gunner is not a soft fellow. He will grill you, so be prepared for it. If you find his lessons to be too strenuous, just keep in mind, they may very well save your lives one day."


    "After that, you will have dinner, then private study till 9 pm. During this time, you may do whatever you want, but I would advise you to read the magical tomes that I will provide to increases your mental acuity, as well as the basic spellbooks of your selected elements."


    Darius tapped his armrest. "Don''t worry about things like insomnia or oversleep. As Miranda is connected to your nerves, she can induce sleep and gently wake you up on time, allowing you to train your bodies to adapt to this schedule."


    "Before you go to select your rooms, you may ask any questions you have now." Darius prompted.


    The five fellows shared uncertain looks before Ash asked. "Erm, does that schedule start today?"


    "No, today is exempt. You have the afternoon and evening free, so you only need to be present for meals. Tomorrow is when everything will officially begin." Darius answered calmly.


    Reina then raised her hand. "What about our friends and family? Can they visit us and can we visit them?"


    Darius rubbed his chin with an amused smile. "Most mage towers adopt the rule of closed learning. In other words, while you are under my apprenticeship, you''re to not leave the tower''s premises without my permission or there are special circumstances."


    "Your family can visit you, but they likely won''t as they should understand the importance of hermitage to a mage in training. Just take it that you are in a form of boarding school for a long while. Adapt your minds to solitude and focus, as those are crucial to any mage." Darius added seriously.


    Jonathan then asked. "Is there anywhere we can train our learned basic spells?"


    Darius nodded. "There are many training and testing rooms on the third floor where you will be staying. You can use them at any time, especially during the evening before bed."


    James also pitched in his question. "How long is our afternoon training with Sir Gunner?"


    Darius realized he had not specified the hours and was pleased by James'' observant nature. "3 hours after lunch for the first month. That should give you a short period of rest before dinner, so use that time to wash up and treat any bruises before then."


    "Speaking off, if you have more serious injuries ask Miranda for where my other servant, X is. She will be able to patch you up."


    Anthony then asked with a slight frown. "Master Darius, how long will our apprenticeshipst?"


    Darius smiled despite the question being a bit tactless. "The average period of apprenticeship is 5 years, which is why apprentices are normally epted at ages like yours. By the time you graduate from my tutge, you should havee of age."


    "However, it also depends on how quickly you mature. Most towers allow graduation once their apprentices have reached the Journeymen stage within that 5 year period. Some strict and high-ss ones only do so once one has reached the Adept stage."


    "As for my tower, well I can confidently state that I''ll provide you with the best resources Faust has to offer, as well as the most knowledgeable teacher, as such I will only allow you to call yourself my graduated apprentice once you''ve reached the Master stage." Darius concluded with a thin smile.


    The breaths of the fellows caught as they felt their hearts quiver. Only Anthony remained steadfast, believing in his own talent, yet even he was a bit pressured by Darius'' high standards.


    Darius waved his hands. "You are dismissed. See you tomorrow morning, my dear students."

 Chapter 352 - 352

    Ash woke up, feeling groggy since a strange electric current was running through his brain. It wasn''t painful, but extremely irritating and pervasive, beating away any desire to return to sleep.


    Yesternight, he had ended up falling asleep at the time Darius had specified thanks to the help of the HoloBrace and now it had woken him up.


    Admittedly, Darius'' allocated sleeping schedule had granted his pupils more than enough hours to sleep, but as a noble, Ash was used to sleeping slightly longer.


    The boy stretched and got off his bed to walk to the attached bathroom that had everything. He quickly brushed his teeth and had a nice soak in the bath that refreshed him even more.


    The water came from a pipe in the mage tower so he didn''t have to wait for a servant to draw it. He wondered what kind of water this was that made him feel sofortable and refreshed, like he could melt into sludge within.


    Eventually, Ash got out of the bath and wiped himself down before changing into a set of Apprentice Robes. The Maidbot had brought them in yesternight, saying that Darius had just prepared them.


    Just like Ash, the others too had received five pairs, each one styled in the colors representing their chosen elements. They were told to wear only these attires for the duration of their stay and for the foreseeable future.


    For today, Ash selected the white-green robe which likely represented the Life element. He found that apart from being quitefortable and simple, it looked very good on him.


    Despite being a noble Ash was not a vain person, yet no one wanted to look like crap if they could help it, especially when they would spend time around their peers. At 7.30 am the HoloBrace sent Ash a reminder to move out for breakfast.


    He went down to the dining room where they had eaten lunch and dinner the day before, meeting up with his four Apprentice Brothers and Sister. Ash greeted them and they returned the greetings in kind.


    One of the first rules of the HoloBrace clearly stated that now that they were all under Darius, they were to treat each other as family, no matter what kind of dream each one of them had or what background they possessed.


    After all, it was a fact that all of them were practically guaranteed to be powerhouses in the near future. In the pursuit of their goals, having each other as friends could help them in many ways.


    The Maidbots had long since arranged the table with their breakfast, a selection of eggs, toasted bread, sausages, bacon, cereal, and oats. They could also select between coffee, tea, or pure milk.


    The five ate their fill, with Anthony eating more than the other''sbined. Even though they had seen his voracious appetite disyed yesterday, they still marveled at his efficiency.


    He alone had made sure there was only 10% of the food left on the table by the time they were done.


    Ash couldn''t help but wonder what about Anthony''s physiology required him to eat so much? Maybe it was his high Intellect?


    Ash hadn''t been able to sense such things before, but after Awakening, he could understand why Darius had looked at Anthony so fondly as he could vaguely sense the other''s life level.


    (Author''s Note: Remember, Life level isprised of three things: Strength, Endurance, and Intellect.)


    After breakfast, they all headed down to the first floor where Darius had set their lecture room to be. They arrived at 7.55 am and sat on the same cushions that they had been on yesterday when they awakened.


    At 8.00 am sharp Darius himself appeared by blinking into the room, and the five Apprentices rose to greet him. Darius epted their greeting and allowed them to sit before he started today''s lecture.


    "Yesterday, I''ve exined the fundamental nature of magic and how it came to be. Today, I shall continue and exin the reason why magic exists the way we see it."


    Darius then spent the next three hours teaching them important theories. Most mage schools would start off new students with something small, but they were nowhere near as in-depth as Darius because they simplycked the information the young man had.


    His five students were not lost. After all, with their Intellect at their ages, they were akin to the students of Harvard in terms of quality. The theory presented may have been abstract, but Darius was able to exin it concisely enough that they were able to understand.


    By the time the lecture ended, the five were still seated at their positions, with pondering looks.


    "You can use the next hour to ask me any questions you have pertaining to the topic today or yesterday." Darius informed them with a smile. He had deliberately allocated three hours for his lecture and one hour in between for questions or rxation.


    Straightaway, all five raised their hands, making Darius feel pleased. He then proceeded to answer their questions one by one and made sure they were satisfied with the answer before proceeding to the next one.


    Eventually, it reached 11.55 am and Darius shooed them away for lunch. The five Apprentices still had unsatisfied looks like they wanted to learn more, but they knew this was just the first day. There would be many more opportunities to post their questions.


    Lunch was served by the Maidbots again, this time being a mixture of steamed rice and a choice between a set of five different stews, tomato stew, curry stew, beef stew, chicken stew, or fish stew.


    There were also boiled potatoes, a mixed sd with cream, and a bit of spice pepper. They ate with relish, their bodies tingling at how good the food tastedpared to what they had expected.


    Then again, their food had been made using the best techniques found inside the Supreme Portal''s archive. The basic Cooking skill Darius had might not be a match even if he maxed it out with Skill Points.


    After all, the Maidbots were mechanical in nature. They could follow the recipes to utter perfection without a single failure, so as long as the recipe itself yielded a great result, it could be perfectly replicated.


    What made Ash curious was the fact that the drinks they were given were sweet and all shared a strange blue color. It filled his body with energy and made his muscles tingle with the will to move.

 Chapter 353 - 353

    Of course, Ash was too young to know that the drinks they were provided with were far more special than the food itself. In the morning, their milk tea or coffee had been enhanced by a special potion Darius had mass-produced for himself, the very same Rare Intellect Boost Potion.


    These were teenagers after all, and even if they had high Intellect and learning capabilities, it would be difficult for them to truly focus and absorb all the high-level information Darius presented them with.


    So he used his resources to add a diluted version of the potion to their drinks. Although it weakened the overall effect, it alsosted longer, exactly three hours instead of the typical one hour.


    Now, their lunch had a potion called the Rare Body Training Potion. It was the same as the Rare Memory Boost potion in the sense that it increased their Endurance.


    Simrly, this diluted version was stretched out tost them their three hours of training with Gunner.


    Ash and the rest finished lunch by 12.30 and left to head to the training grounds at the back of the mage tower. The grounds wererge and contained everything one could need to master various fighting skills and attain mastery in different weapons.


    When they entered, they saw the massive and impressive figure of Gunner seated in the center of the grounds with his arms folded, his head lower and his eyes closed.


    His legs were crossed and he seemed like a statue of patience and calmness, making the Apprentices gulp as they felt Gunner''s aura was more intense than their Master''s.


    When Gunner sensed them, he opened his eyes and rose to his feetˇ­ the full 7 feet that he was. The Apprentices could only crane their necks to look up at him, their young hearts drowned by wonder.


    His green eyestched on them as he spoke calmly. "Every day our training will begin with 30 minutes of stretching so your bodies will be limber. Otherwise, practice will only hurt you and make things worse."


    "Now, pay close attention and follow my movements carefully." Gunner instructed as he began to contort his body in strange ways.


    The moment the apprentices mimicked his movements, their faces changed as they screeched in pain. The first time one stretched properly after never having exercised before was quite intense, and could be painful for some.


    However, those who had done so before knew that the benefits outweighed the pain. Gunner, for example, roared at them.


    "Do not stop! Continue the movements!"


    Because of his shout, they could only force themselves to continue in fear while they cried, snot and tears forming on their faces, except for two who had a better time.


    Anthony because he was half-monkey and his race was quite flexible, Reina because girls were usually far more flexible than their male counterparts.


    As for Ash, Jonathan and James, they bellowed like wounded beasts, truly believing that they would tear their muscles apart if they continued. However, they dared not stop due to their fear of Gunner who was gazing at them fiercely.


    They felt that he would make them feel far worse than some mere muscle pains if they dared to copse and fail the movements. As such, the stretches continued.


    However, the pained cries slowly reduced as time went on, theds were surprised that the pain reduced as they proceeded on. In fact, by the time the entire thing came to an end and they returned to a standing position, they felt much lighter and morefortable.


    It felt like their body was packed like a sardine within itself, and had now been given more breathing room to exist.


    Gunner frowned as he could see the effects were only mildpared to what he had expected, but then again, they hadn''t exactly followed his example 100%. The pain had made them restrict some of the contortions, so they had missed out.


    Gunner took it with a grain of salt since this was the first day after all and then began to fervently train theds. For today, he made them runps around the field for as long as their stamina could hold out.


    Although Jonathan actually had the highest raw Endurance of them all, he was nheless beaten in this event by Anthony''s physique.


    Last was naturally Reina, who only had 3 points of Endurance. The poorss was huffing and puffing like a steam train, her usual feminine elegance gone, leaving a sweaty mess of fatigue.


    Gunner wasn''t done with them. He let them rest for a minute before they moved onto the next exercise, which was push-ups.


    This time, Jonathan came first as he had the highest Strength, then Ash and Anthony tied. Ash actually had more Strength than Anthony, but once again that fellow''s physique gave him an advantage that wasn''t tabted statistically.


    James did his part satisfactorily, and poor Reina''s arms were shaking like noodles when she tried to push herself back up. Gunner only watched them without saying anything, gauging their strengths and weaknesses.


    After the push-ups, they were made to do sit-ups, the bane of the round. This time, all of them performed satisfactorily, and even Reina was not struggling much with this.


    As a girl, of course, she took good care of her midriff section, so she had even been the most motivated and excited to put in the work necessary.


    Gunner had naturally noticed this, yet failed to understand why. After sit-ups were squats, the believed mode of training for women.


    After all, it made their thighs and butt firmer, as well as more flexible. Since they needed such stamina and flexibility for visual aesthetics and sexual performance, it was crucial to them.


    The men didn''t really see the need, but they dared not ck off before Gunner. As for Reina, the youngss was working extra hard, aware of how well it could benefit her in her desired future if she put in the necessary hard work now, she did not hesitate.

 Chapter 354 - 354

    Soon, the group of students were done with their training, but all of them were beyond fatigued. As it was 4 pm in the afternoon, they had two hours until dinner.


    Darius had allowed them to spend this time however they wanted, so for today, they chose to use it to rx a little. The five of them shared stories about themselves while still lying in the training field.


    ˇ­ it couldn''t be helped, they couldn''t feel any of their muscles. All they could do was lie there and wait for their bodies to recover somewhat.


    By 5 pm they somehow managed to shuffle back to their rooms and immediately took a bath to clean the stench and sweat on their bodies.


    The robes each one had worn during the day got collected by the Maidbots and would be cleaned in time for tomorrow in case they wanted to wear it again.


    Ash eventually reached the dining hall just before dinner time, now dressed in a brown robe, symbolizing his Earth element.


    This time, they were served with a portion of steak, marinated ribs,sagna, and shepherd''s pie. The food tasted especially yummy after their training with the half-giant they wolfed it down like little beasts.


    Of course, it was also partly due to the great exertion they made during the day. However, as Ash and the others took long swigs of their drinks, their faces changed greatly.


    They felt pure energy and vital power flow through their bodies, healing their sore muscles and fixing many ws they had created with their intense training during the day.


    They all gazed at the sses they had just drunk from, then the pitchers, wondering what kind of holy water they had been given. Their minds would never wrap around the notion that their Master would actually provide them with 30% diluted Lunar Dew to drink.


    After all, with how rare the fluid was, they wouldn''t even expect their own close family members to necessarily share with them even if they somehow miraculously procured some of it, much less such a highly concentrated amount for a mere dinner.


    After eating their fill, they shuffled to the lecture room where Darius already awaited them. He smiled and snapped a finger just as they stood there wondering what would happen next.


    A few momentster, five Maidbots entered holding five different trays. On each tray sat five spell manuals that glowed with elemental lights rting to the elements they had selected during their Awakening.


    They were so beautiful that the Apprentices stood there in shock, utterly mesmerized by the sight before them. They could feel the elemental calling from those spell manuals, that the moment they held them, they would be able to ascend beyond their current states.


    "I have prepared these spell manuals for you. However, just like the saying goes, there is no free meal. As such, I shall also give you an apanying long-term assignment, which is to perfectly master your primary element within one month. Failure to do so will you a very painful punishment." Darius stated calmly.


    The Apprentices took the books excitedly, but their joy vanished after hearing Darius'' harsh demand. They couldn''t help but look at him like he had pped their mothers on the face.


    To master their primary element''s basic spell in such a short timespan?


    Why didn''t Darius go ahead and ask them to make the Grandmasters of the Fallon Continental Council dance like monkeys?


    Darius noticed their thoughts and felt amused.


    It wasn''t their fault, for they did not know how powerful Transmutation was. After all, there was a great difference between learning a spell and mastering it.


    His spell manual gave everyone a 100% chance to learn them, no matter how stupid one was, so learning the spell inside was guaranteed after a single read-through. However, to master a spell was a whole different ball game.


    To put it in contrast to the Supreme System, he told them to bring up the basic spell''s level from 1 to 20 in a matter of 30 days. Naturally, these kids did not have the convenience of dumping any Skill Points into it to elerate to process.


    In other words, it would all depend on their own talent, so asplete newbies it made sense that they were horrified by this task.


    Heck, even some Grandmaster mages still hadn''t mastered the basic spells they had started with.


    However, they couldn''t muster the will toin before Darius, and could only grit their teeth and acknowledge their Master''s order. The moment Darius dismissed them, they rushed to their room to begin learning and mastering the spells as fast as they could.


    Darius was pleased by this behavior. He had no need to groom Apprentices so seriously, even using Lunar Dew and precious Transmutation resources to assist them if they were going to sit and grow like a bunch of average plebeians.


    With great poweres great responsibility. Or in this case, with great resources and blessing came the requirement for a great amount of effort and hard work to prove they deserved it.


    Ash and co quickly locked themselves up in their rooms and carefully opened the manual rting to their primary elements. Once they did, their faces greatly changed as they felt their minds merged with the content within.


    It wasn''t that it gad instantly entered their minds, but as they read each word, it was like they were engraving themselves into their very souls. Elemental power surged through their bodies as they were engrossed in their read, lost in the world of magic.


    By the time they woke up, they were shocked to realize that they had perfectly learned the spell. Not only that, but it felt so solid and wonderful in their minds that they could stare at it forever.


    However, they quickly frowned as they realized that these amazing spells still had much room for improvement that could only be achieved through practice, familiarity, and experience.


    As such, they wasted no time in rushing out of their rooms and heading to the training rooms that Darius had made for them.

 Chapter 355 - 355

    After watching the kids leave, Darius had blinked to his quarters to continue feeling out the way for the Order spell he was developing.


    He had remained there focused on his task until he sensed the students rush out and head toward the unupied training rooms via Miranda''s navigation. Noticing this Darius raised his own HoloBrace up and spoke to his AI daughter.


    "Miranda, it''s time to create the official child AI to manage the userwork." Darius prompted her with a smile.


    Miranda appeared and seemed excited as usual. "Yes! After I create the child AI, I can finally focus exclusively on you, Daddy! So, who should we style it after?"


    Darius pondered for a brief moment and then smiled. "Let''splete the family then. Make it after Martin when he was around your age."


    Miranda acknowledged the order and focused. This time, it took her a shorter period of time to create a child AI thanks to the experience she now had as well as the fact that Martin''s tasks were not as much as Solenaˇ­ for now.


    A young boy with deeply tanned skin, a mischievous smile, and shifty eyes appeared beside Miranda. He wore a neat suit with a bowtie, something Darius had made him wear often in order to groom him to be his sessor.


    However, Martin''s natural personality was too simr to his mother''s, making him a natural troublemaker of the highest degree. Solena hadrgely inherited Darius'' personality while Martin had inherited Deia''s. Miranda was sort of a mix, but mostly unique.


    Dariusughed with amusement as he gazed at hisstborn once more. "Wee to the family Martin, I hope you know what tasks you are to take up?"


    Martin bowed respectfully. "Of course, Father. Leave it to me, I shall not let you down."


    Darius nodded with a proud smile. "I ce my utmost trust in you. Alright, you may leave."


    Martin once again bowed to his father before dispersing to manage his new tasks. All those who wore HoloBraces were shocked to suddenly see an image of Martin pop up and introduce himself as the specific handler for all users connected to the Supreme Portal.


    After they understood the change, Martin focused on each of their individual matters, leaving Miranda with nothing to do but take care of any issues Darius had.


    As such, the father-daughter duo got back to work. She would help calcte and simte many Order element passageways, while he would try the ones that both resonated with his Luck and that Miranda got the highest probability for.


    If nothing came of it, they would eliminate it. If it progressed, they would mark the route and begin anew. Darius was prepared to spend a lot of time on this, so he wasn''t peeved that the progress was slow.


    As long as there was progress, he was satisfied. Just like that, he spent the entire night working until it was morning.


    Then, he went down to lecture his apprentices on magical theory, then left them to continue the rest of their day ording to the schedule he hadid out. Apart from the morning where he lectured them, he did not interact with them outside that.


    This was a normal practice among mages, because they could not hold the hands of their apprentices 24/7 as they had their own things to do. How could they possibly sacrifice their own progress for someone else''s?


    The days passed just like that. One week in, the students no longer failed to do the stretches, able to contort their bodies perfectly in the way Gunner prompted them to.


    After that, they were also able to perform the fitness exercises within the time period withoutpletely dying. However, it did not mean that they had be perfect.


    They still had much room for improvement, and things only got better by the end of the second week. Gunner had also given them a long-term assignment, which was to be able to perform all the fitness exercises without breaking a sweat within one hour instead of three.


    As it stood they were able to do it within two hours, but it would leave them quite exhausted.


    The main reason for their astonishing progress speed was naturally the Lunar Dew they took which strengthened their body and removed the negative effects of strenuous training, while boosting the positive effects.


    Of course, the effects of the body training potion and the intellect boost potion should not be discounted. The former made their time with Gunner have twice the effect in the same period of time while thetter allowed them to soak in Darius''s lectures like sponges.


    Soon, they were even able to see some ws in the nature of typical spells. Darius had made sure to present them with the average spell manuals of their basic elements, so they could cross-reference with what they had learned from his, as well as to see the ws within.


    This had proven extremely effective in furthering their magical knowledge and theory. Giving them a direct and precise point ofparison was able to assist them in the best way possible.


    In the evenings, they would ardently train their spells. Darius did not allow them to overwork themselves by staying up longer to train, since that would be against the reason he had set the time for their sleep.


    However, the kids ended up sleeping less because their Endurance rose greatly with every day thanks to Gunner''s training. Not only that, since they finished the Branded Servant''s lessons early, they had more of their afternoons free which they used to practice their spells like maniacs.


    This kind of training greatly increased their magical control, their mana usage, their understanding of theyout and framework of their elements, and their proficiency with their Basic spell in question.


    By the third week, the Apprentices had improved by leaps and boundspared to before. However, they were still under pressure to master their basic spells as quickly as possible.


    Eventually, the day came for them to show off their prowess to Darius, which was simultaneously the day of the auction as well.


    Darius, Gunner, and X called the Apprentices to the main training room, where the five would be tested to see if they had passed their Master''s first assignment.

 Chapter 356 - 356

    The Apprentices were naturally fearful and worried that they might not reach the cut. Even though they felt like they had done their best to master their Basic spells during the one-month duration, the final judgment rested with Darius.


    Gunner also folded his arms as he stood to the side, looking imposing and dangerous as he always did. Their only shining beacon of hope was the gentle and beautiful X who was smiling at them encouragingly.


    Among the five of them, Reina was the biggest fan of the Elven Princess and dearly wished to be like her when she was older.


    Ash and the rest had light crushes on her to varying degrees because she would asionallye around to assist them in various ways, making their hellish training sybus easier.


    "Alright, enough dying. There is an important event today that I will let you all attend to broaden your horizons, so show me your progress and let me evaluate you." Darius spoke with a smile.


    "Ash, as usual, you go first." He prompted calmly.


    Ash took a deep breath and stood forth. He then focused on the training target opposite him which was stationary and unmoving. He stretched out his finger and the Basic Lightning element spell, Sparks.


    A thick rain of electric bolts was emitted from his finger, making Darius feel nostalgic since it greatly resembled his own casting back in the day.


    Of course, Ash had used the chanting method since only Darius could Instant Cast, and it took him only 3 seconds to word it out.


    This not only showed his level of mastery, but how potent the spell manuals Darius had transmuted for them were as it greatly shortened the necessary chants they needed to make before casting.


    Ash turned to Darius with a hopeful expression. Darius smiled and nodded with approval. "Sufficient enough for a pass. Come and stand beside X."


    Ash excitedly walked over, to the envy of the others. The pressure also mounted on them to make the cut. X chuckled as she gently patted Ash on the head, making the young fellow blush.


    Darius gazed at Reina and used his chin to gesture to the training target. "You''re next Reina, don''t disappoint me."


    Thess took a deep breath and stood before the training dummy. She moved her body in a strange and ethereal manner, using the gesture method to evoke her spell.


    Reina used the Spirit Element, and the basic spell was called Soul Shatter. It attacked the spirit of a person directly, breaking through most defenses to deal great damage.


    It was especially useful on races with poor soul defenses such as the undead, but not much on other mages and those with powerful minds. The spell manifested a silverly crescent de that pierced into the training dummy.


    Darius had not used it before in battle himself, but he had to admit that it did look very powerful. Not to mention that the Spirit element was especially useful in the Journeyman stage with how diverse it was.


    Reina turned to Darius with trepidation, but he nodded with pleasure. "Sufficiently done. You too may stand beside X."


    Reina jumped in excitement and rushed over, throwing herself into X''s embrace. The Elven Princess smiled sweetly and rubbed Reina''s soft hair with a smile.


    Darius then gazed at Jonathan and who was clenching his fists tightly. "Go ahead, young conqueror."


    Jonathan took a deep breath and stood before the training dummy and pointed his finger at it. He only chanted for about 4 seconds before a stream of cinder-like mes flowed from his fingertips.


    It was quite thick and wide, making Darius nod. Jonathan turned to him and awaited his verdict.


    Darius pondered slightly. In truth, Jonathan had notpletely mastered it yet, but if he were to liken it to levels, he had reached level 19 and was just one inch away from mastery.


    As such, Darius decided to be lenient and pronounced that he too had passed. Jonathan breathed out a sigh of relief and walked over to stand beside X who rubbed his back gently.


    Even the forceful and always aggressive Jonathan blushed at this. Well, X was like a gentle goddess to theseds, so it wasn''t surprising.


    Darius focused on James who was smiling mysteriously. He didn''t wait for Darius to tell him what to do before he moved to stand before the training dummy.


    He cast the basic spell of the Darkness element, Devour. It was the opposite of Purify that dealt damage to Darkness element beings, in that it was pretty universal.


    It would deal a certain % of damage based on the spellcaster''s proficiency and turn a small percentage of damage done to HP. Unfortunately, it was a Basic spell so this effect was not sustainable in battle.


    But starting at the Intermediate level the Darkness element spells were truly worth the while. Whatever the case, James used the gesture method just like Reina and sessfully cast it on the dummy.


    Darius nodded his head and judged that James had mastered it truly. He had known that the fellow was truly destined to master the Darkness element, which was a good thing.


    "Come and stand beside X as well." Darius instructed, to which the non-descriptd obeyed. He greeted X respectfully, when he came close and stood beside her demurely.


    Darius then gazed at thest Apprentice and the most special, Anthony. He had the most arduous task, as he had heeded Darius'' words and all his chosen elements had been at the pinnacle.


    As such, unlike the others who could mindlessly jump into the spell Darius outlined for them and practice it repeatedly, Anthony had needed to learn all five Basic spells, practice with each of them and slowly feel out which one had the strongest resonance and chemistry with himself.


    Everyone was curious to see his progress. Darius was even willing to look the other way if Anthony hadn''te far, as thed was talented enough and the circumstances mitigated failure.

 Chapter 357 - 357

    Anthony took a calm breath and walked forward. His usual arrogant bearing had greatly waned, paving the way to a more majestic and confident aura that made him seem less like a young master and more like a mature champion.


    He began chanting deeply, strange magic circles manifesting around his person that shocked everyone in the room. The other four Apprentices looked shocked and awed by the phenomenon while Darius, Gunner, and X disyed solemn expressions.


    Anthony finished chanting in under 2 seconds and cast a strange wave of greenish-blue light that engulfed half the training room. When the light died down, everyone was startled to notice that the training dummyˇ­ was gone!


    Darius'' eyes shed. He didn''t think Anthony would choose this path. He could have gone with the Basic Space element spell Blink which Darius himself used, the Basic Time element spell of Pause which was slightly broken, the Basic spell of Order, or even the Basic spell of Chaos, though thetter two had steep costs.


    However, Anthony had jumped over all these and had decided on the elusive Aether element as his primary. In fact, Darius only discovered that this element existed after breaching the Restricted section of God Krona''s library.


    He himself had little understanding of it as he had yet to gift himself the Basic spell for it as well as start analyzing its route. However, Darius knew that the specialty of the Aether element was its ability to return everything to energy.


    Aether was basically an atomic/energy conversion element that was super powerful. Even Gunner disyed a solemn expression, not entirely sure whether the maxed-out Mageward Barrier that gave him 100% magics resistance would prevent him from feeling that.


    Darius rubbed his chin and gazed at the smiling Anthony who was proud of his achievements, as well as he should be. He hade this far on his own, in a new element that he yet to be fully documented and pioneered.


    Darius pped his hands, which was followed up by Gunner and X, then his fellow students. They pped for Anthony to show their approval for his effort, talent, and showing.


    Thed himself bowed to the spectators and walked over with a slight smile. Darius then gazed at his five Apprentices appreciatively, quite pleased with them.


    "Alright, now it''s time to go and have some fun. Since you all did so well, I will give you some allowance to y in the auction if you want, so let''s go and see what is happening, eh?"


    The Apprentices showed visible excitement when the auction was mentioned. Even locked away in this tower practicing constantly, they had heard about it.


    As such, Darius led the entire crew out and onto the streets as they headed towards the outer section. Since Group Teleportation couldn''t take more than five people, they had to walk, not that any of them minded.


    Doing so allowed theds to take a breather as they gazed at the city they lived in and were citizens of. They were shocked at the great changes that had urred in one month''s time.


    The core section was the same as always with the usual faces, but the inner section was far more lively. The number of people here had increased with many powerhouses bringing their families over by entering servitude to Darius and his faction.


    After all, the benefits to being a citizen here were great and this was even before people understood the true values of the city. It was only after the auction that such requests and desires would explode if everything went ording to n.


    Many amenities though were not open yet like the academy. After all, Elijah had not yet reached the appropriate stage and the inner section was not fully functional per se.


    Darius chuckled at their actions and led them to the outer section. This was where the grand auction house was located, and one could see that this part of the city was especially bustling at this time.


    Darius bypassed the queues and the waiting crowd to enter the VIP section of the auction house directly. They went backstage, rather than joining any of the rooms on the floor. However, their position allowed them to view everyone though no one could see them.


    This gave the Apprentices a feeling of power and superiority.


    So what if there were divine envoys, demonic servants, and the like here?


    All of them had to quietly be silent and bid for their Master''s goods which they were able to enjoy freely!


    Seeing this motivated the students even more to work hard in the future, for they somewhat understood the blessing they had been given. Of course, it wasn''t until the auction actually started that they realized that their previous ideas had been simply naive and childish.


    Witnessing the furious bidding, the threats, the drama that urred and the almost all-out war had made them shake in their seats.


    This was more than a direct value of the goods they took for granted as they got them every day, and they couldn''t help but gaze at their master strangely.


    Could it be thatˇ­ he was actually their illegitimate father? Could they have been his direct children or lover in a previous life?


    Because seeing the raw value these items had to powerhouses far higher than them, who on Faust would give it out so easily to mere Apprentices like them?


    Darius and Gunner were amused by the entire proceedings, sharing looks often as things went as nned. X only watched on with curious interest, as she was aware of the n but was not sure if all other parties would just take the bait.


    However, seeing that they were helpless and could only be toyed with by Darius left her smiling bitterly. How could she have doubted her Master?


    He was blessed in many areas, but mercantilism was where he truly shone.


    Allowing him to organize an event like this was just bullying the entire poption of Faust with his knowledge and skills. X could only pray for them by the time the auction was halfway through its session.


    Hopefully, the entity above saw fit that Darius would have mercy and allow them to live just a little.

 Chapter 358 - 358

    Today was a very good day, and one that was not only important for the city Darius had founded, but for the entirety of Faust.


    For today would be the first-ever auction from the mysterious faction that made items so perfect that they were likely the creation of Gods.


    As Darius had ordered the Critterbots to spend all their time afterpleting the construction to build roads, awork of them existed within the city, and one that led all the way to the town of Listo.


    That meant that in order to reach Darius'' location without using the teleportation center in the outer section, one would need to first hit the Andrato Kingdom.


    Carriages lined up the road endlessly, creating traffic that would scare any modern person who thought they had seen worse.


    Still, the majority arrived through the teleportation circles, especially those who were at the Adept stage and above. Since Darius had built almost 20 portals in the outer section that were incredibly stable, a steady inflow of people were entering.


    The reactions of the neers were basically all the same. Once they entered they immediately stopped with shock, turning back to the portal they had exited from, unable to understand how their journey had been so smooth, fast, and devoid of the usual difort.


    Then, they would be further shocked at therge number of portals and the constant flow of traffic that was not stunted at all. Finally, they would marvel at the quality of construction of the city overall after they exited the square for new arrivals.


    Before they could go far, each batch of people were halted by Guard Androids and told that they would need to wear some strange device called a HoloBrace as they would need it for identification, verification, and all utilities.


    They all received the device and grimaced when it pricked them, yet their difort quickly made way for shock once Martin popped up to exin the features of the device and what they could do within the city.


    All the information were being transferred to their brains directly instead of exining with words as that would take too long. Gaining a preliminary grasp of the structure of this society, a person would walk over to one of the various booths where they could exchange their local currency.


    They were all baffled to find out that this city used its own unique digital currency called the Supreme Coin which could only be held via the HoloBrace.


    Currently, the value of 1 Supreme Coin was 100 Dius, which made most of those who hade here shake and quiver.


    More than a few didn''t have enough with them to get a single SC even if they were to trade in everything they had, making them full of anguish.


    However, no one dared make a scene yet because it was too early and the true powerhouses had yet tond.


    As such, those who could get some of this new type of currency paid for it, believing that they would get their money''s worth if they could get their hands on some of those items.


    Those who couldn''t didn''t bother, rather opting to explore the city on foot and see if they could find a way to be a resident.


    Of course, there were also many receptacles prepared for them.


    A person only needed to indicate to Martin that they were seeking a position, and the AI would filter what was avable.


    Then using the neural connection, he would judge the intentions of the job seeker before epting or denying their request.


    This was undetectable to all those below the Adept stage, but after gaining Mind Power, such a thing would be seen and stopped.


    For those who were at this stage, Martin would direct them to the estate of the City Lord who would then handle the rest.


    As for Masters and above, they would have meetings booked with Darius himself. After all, even if they had recently be Masters themselves, Mayor Spencley and Principal Elijah could not handle such tough opponents yet.


    Of course, as the hour came closer and closer, more people filed into the city that were quite unique.


    There were non-humans and those that carried the scent of a different, distinct vor of Faust''sws from their respective continents.


    For example, the Immortals from Pan all rode flying swords and wore brocade robes that were extremely colorful.


    The Samurai of Houto rode powerful elemental kirin, their bodies covered in red armor, and their katanas eluded an aura of death and dismemberment to all they passed.


    The Molemen of Pokterr looked like cute fellows from children illustrations books, and their character was quite simr.


    The icemen, yetis, and pr bears of Kiel had alsoe over with interested expressions.


    There were also the mythical beasts from Unyris, though they had wisely sent over their half-breed descendants here. Even if Darius'' resources were good, it was not at the level that true dragons would make a visit.


    Added to that were the strangely garbed men and women from Gravitas. All of them wore full-body mechanic suits that made them look like a team of special forces elite in some sci-fi media from earth.


    Nothing aside from their outline could be seen, making the curiosity of many re-up.


    Then, there were bronze-skinned men and women who dressed very lightly, the Ludoains.


    Due to how their native continent was, they were used to dressed expressively, and with the fine shape of their women, it made many fellows drool, not to mention their handsome and buff bearded men that made somedies swoon.


    Of course, it had already been seen from Stonekeeper Marasmus'' history that this was a small minority on Ludo. Most people were starving and poor due to theck of resources.


    Finally, thest two to drop were the Divine Envoys from Elysium and the Demonic Thralls from Armadon. The moment both parties arrived, it was as if an explosion was about to ur.


    The tension was so thick that many Fallon natives who were weaker almost lost consciousness. However, before both parties could take things too far, a strange manifestation appeared above the outer section in the form of an energy lifeform with a humanoid shape.


    It red at the two troublemaking parties with such intensity that they immediately fell to their knees. Whatever thing it was that they had summoned, its power was not something they could contend against as they were!

 Chapter 359 - 359

    All onlookers were startled by this apparition, whether they were here to seek employment, spend money, or just to take a look around.


    Many hadrgely refrained from causing trouble because they knew bigshots would be arriving.


    There were also wild spections about the entity that created the goods that were going to be auctioned, and no one wanted to offend something clearly powerful for no reason.


    However, the envoys of the two strongest continents would naturally not be so hung up on something like this. They had the strongest possible backing behind them, and whatever stood behind Darius could not deal with all those they represented.


    This gave them a feeling of superiority and carelessness towards the city and what it stood for. However, under the scrutiny of this strange energy apparition, they felt as if they were gazing at their divine - or demonic - masters in the flesh.


    The energy lifeform red at the group before shouting in a strangely warped voice.


    "All those disturbing the peace of this city shall suffer death!"


    Leaving behind this warning, it dissipated. It was likely that it had been summoned due to the dangerous aura the two parties had created when they stood off.


    Given the speed at which it had appeared, both groups understood that it could reappear before they could do anything funny. As such, they red at each other one more time and each went their separate way.


    However, for those in the outer section, that deration had been like a strike of thunder thatnced their ears. Many had to clutch them in pain while those with a weak life level directly fainted from the intensity.


    Those in the inner and core section did not hear or suffer from this naturally as they were deemed a different ss of people. Even Darius was unaware, though he had already predicted something like this would happen given the kind of people who would visit.


    This was why he could examine his Apprentices in peace without rushing up and down to make sure his city wasn''t buried under the weight of its visitors.


    This was something he had spent 5 years preparing, and with the goods created from Transmutation being used for everything, it was a piece of cake to create such a thing.


    In truth, the arrays carved into the city walls were some of the most powerful in the entirety of Faust. Funny enough, despite having thergest wall, the outer section''s defenses were actually the weakest.


    This meant that should the same type of apparition be summoned in the inner or core section, its power would be many folds higher.


    Chastened, the various visitors from afar who had been harboring feelings of superiority were no longer willing to cause any trouble whatsoever. After all, they didn''t know if they alone could deal with such powers or if something even worse mayy behind.


    Besides, they didn''te here for warˇ­ well, not the kind of war one would expect. The battle was to be fought in a different way and on a different battleground.


    After getting their HoloBraces, they then exchanged their various currencies to Supreme Coins. Darius had a log of all the currencies and their value thanks to God Krona''s library, so he could offer rates that were universally bullshit for each of them.


    The astute among the various visitors saw through what he was trying to do and smiled bitterly, helpless to go against it.


    The Divine Envoys especially were the most bitter, as their Dius had long since been the most powerful currency, but it seemed that this Supreme Coin was going to rule over the world if things kept up.


    Many others who couldn''t even trade for one Supreme Coin, or could only get one or two were shaken when they saw the kind of wealth these powers removed. They changed less raw currency and rather traded in precious items, minerals, and resources.


    If Darius saw the amounts with his Analyze, even he would be shaken. He had assumed that his stuff would get them to fork over some good stuff, but they were truly going all out.


    As the AIs were a good enough substitute since they had a wide knowledge base able to recognize the value of many things, they gave urate valuations to such items. As such, the various powers amassed hundreds of thousands of Supreme Coins quickly.


    Previously, Darius had been forced to fork over almost 50 tons of pure gold only getting 500 Dius in return. Yet, here it would merely give him 5 Supreme Coins.


    Even with this blockade in ce, the powers from Kiel, Ludo, Unryis, Houto, Pan, Armadon, and Elysium were all easily able to raise such amounts.


    Those from Gravitas and Pokterr got much less, but they had mostlye here to scout things out. The interesting thing was the reaction of the Gravitas citizens who saw the tech Darius was using.


    They were extremely incensed, but after being struck by that apparition, they didn''t dare tosh out.


    Apart from a few who remained to watch the auction events, the rest quickly returned home to report their findings and seek countermeasures against this leakage of their technology, starting with the HoloBraces they brought back.


    The Molemen of Pokterr were a good-natured bunch, but they were absolutely piss poor. It couldn''t be helped since they shared a continent with those damnable Insects. That bloody race had just about eaten everything of value there which was also why they had attempted to invade the rest of the world.


    The Molemen were lucky that evolution had saw it fit that their race was poisonous to the insects, otherwise forget sharing the continent, they might have long since been genocided by the Insects.


    As such, the Molemen were often looking for ways to reinvigorate their continent with life and also strengthen their people so that they could fight for resources. This was why Darius'' goods were so important to them, yet they had no way to purchase them.


    Like many others, they nned to contact Darius and see if they could offer up something else in exchange for some private orders.


    After the various powers had settled the issue of funds, thergest Pandora''s Box Auction House that was meant to host the event opened its doors for customers.


    As the various parties filed in, Darius had just finished testing his Apprentices and was on his way over.

 Chapter 360 - 360

    The Pandora''s Box Auction House was set up like arge amphitheater with some private rooms established just above the seats. In total it had enough space to house 50,000 people, with exactly 50 VIP rooms that were capable of holding up to 5 people each.


    The ce was soon filled to the point where some people had to stand. The auction house was not open-air but rather an indoor stage with arge, cavern-like space, so it was impossible to allow everyone to spectate.


    As such, the Guard Androids went around verifying how much a person had in terms of Supreme Coins. Those who had little or none were evicted in favor of those who had more, as those were likely bidders.


    The Guard Androids exined this fact to everyone, so the logic was clear. It was a solid business decision, but it was no different from telling someone that they would have to vacate a certain flight for another due to overloading or something simr.


    While it made sense, it would spark a person''s rebelliousness as they felt they were being picked on and bullied. However, after going through that godly disy earlier, most just left without making a fuss.


    Some didin by stating that they nned to purchase Supreme Coins during the auction, yet the Guard Androids directed them to do so immediately and return if they wished to participate. Left speechless, such fellows could only drop their lie and allow themselves to be escorted out.


    Soon, the entireyout of the Pandora''s Box Auction House changed. There were no longer people standing about as everyone was seated, and all those gazed at the stage with sharp eyes.


    These were men and women of means and wealth, who hade here to acquire what they could at all cost!


    The auction house quietened down as a holographic projection of Deia appeared on the stage. She was wearing her favorite ck dress with a parted hem that allowed her to show her thick thighs.


    Her cleavage was also heavily on disy as she ced one arm on her waist and smiled provocatively. She swung her lush red hair around confidently, gazing at everyone with mocking.


    "Wee all you rich blokes and blokesses, to the first auction of our city. I am your host, Mrs. Stone! And now, I shall list the rules of this auction to you all!" Deia spoke brazenly.


    Just as she began listing themon rules with slight alterations, in a certain VIP box, many faces changed. A heavily armored Deia was seated here with Inquisitor Davian and the Pope as well as two other high-level clergymen from their church.


    "sphemy! How dare they use the image of one of our pdins in such a lewd way? Utterly uneptable!" The Pope roared with a flushed face, smashing the table with his fist.


    "We will need an exnation for this. Even if they were to do something like this, it is right to seek permission from the church first, no?" Inquisitor Davianmented casually, but his eyes were locked on the sensual Deia, contrasting it with the formal pdin beside him.


    The other two clergymen shook their heads and passed simr remarks, all of them generally unhappy. However, they noticed that the slighted party herself had yet toment.


    It was then that they noticed herplexion had paled after seeing the strange projection on the stage, her pupils greatly narrowing. The Pope waved a hand before her eyes, and Deia was snapped out of her trance.


    She ced a hand to her forehead. "My apologies, Holy Father. I seem to be experiencing some form of dissonance after seeing that avatar."


    The Pope shared a look with Inquisitor Davian before asking. "And what do you think of this development?"


    Deia waved her hand calmly. "Nothing of it. While that apparition resembles me greatly, it is not me. There are distinctions in looks, age, poise, and demeanor that make it obvious that this is a copy of someone who simply resembles me."


    Inquisitor Davian nodded. He and Deia were special, as they hadbat abilities and high perceptionpared torgely normal men like the Pope and his clergy. Their sharp eyes and mental prowess could see the difference, which was why Davian had given a rtively mild remark.


    The other three frowned in dismay. Since the pdin herself had said so, continuing to make noise about it would be unruly. As such, they refocused and noticed that the projection had finished its recount of the various rules.


    Luckily, Deia and Davian had been paying slight attention and so they had learned what to beware of. They were determined to win some of the items this time, since during the auction in Elysium, they had been outbid by the factions under the Goddess of Wealth.


    ˇ­ trying to fight a battle of finances against the likes of Waukeen was truly asking to be beaten until you couldn''t secrete a single tear of anguish anymore. That bloody Goddess was rich to the point she would have to fill up a vault with her treasures to be able to determine how much she actually had.


    She just knew that no matter what, she would always be able to afford whatever she wanted. This kind of power was truly despairing.


    Waukeen must be the God in favor of this city''s creation the most, because just like God Krona got stronger when he gained new and unique information, Waukeen got stronger the more she obtained a new and unique currency.


    The stronger the currency was, the better the feedback from her Divine Attribute.


    After the holographic projection of Deia stopped, the first tray of items was rolled out. The crowd buzzed at this, many eyes gazing at the five books thatid atop the tray with fervent gazes.


    What would be the opening sale for this auction?


    Could it match up to the expectations of the people here?


    Those were the questions on everyone''s minds as they used their various identification techniques to try and glean more about the books.


    As for the ''fake'' Deia, she strangely nced in the direction of the ''real'' Deia''s VIP room, almost locking eyes with her corporeal self through theyers of special ss and material.

 Chapter 361 - 361

    There was a short period of silence in which both Deia''s smiled slightly and spoke the same word in the same tone at the same time.


    "Interesting."


    The ck-d Deia then turned to the crowd and addressed them slovenly. "Well, lovely people of Faust, let me present to you the first items of the day."


    She then gestured to the books on the tray with a casual wave of her hand. "These five spell tomes contain abilities that are special, not just in what they will allow you to do, but also in their potential as there is no limit to their growth!"


    The crowd immediately burst into excited chatter, but it was mostly Fallon-based residents who did. Those from other continents shook their heads in disappointment but understood the logic.


    After all, at the end of the day, this Pandora''s Box Auction House was built in a city on the Fallon Continent, so even if some goods were universal, most would be specialized for those on the continent itself as they would be the main source of business.


    "Now I can guess what most of you must be thinking, so let me give y''all some more background on these lovely things. First of all, they automatically work with any power system in Faust, converting themselves on two conditions."


    "The first is if your power system is based on thews of another continent innately, you will learn the spell within in a way that ispatible with your system. Secondly, if you originate from any system, upon entering a different continent with alien power systems, the spell will automatically convert itself." Deia finished with a smile.


    By the time she was done, the entire auction house was pin-drop silent as they couldn''t believe what they had heard. It was impossible, simply impossible for such a thing to exist!


    It was already a great feat that Darius'' Awakening Scrolls and Spark Potions could work with every system, but these spell tomes could too? So they could be the same as Omnyouji Arts from Houto, Immortal Spells from Pan, or even Elemental Laws from Unyris?


    Unprecedented! Unbelievable!


    Thest one quite literally.


    Many people created an uproar, refusing to believe Deia''s words. After all, who didn''t know that auctioneers loved hyping up items to seem like they were more valuable than they were in order to gain the most profit.


    If one came backterining that it wasn''t exactly as stated, such fellows would shrug but never give refunds. No one wanted to make a wasted purchase and allow themselves to get duped for free.


    Deia folded her arms and bore with the crowd''s anger until they slowly quietened down. They then waited for her to exin herself, which she did.


    "I see you doubt me. Fine then, would one of the esteemed appraisers wish toe down and share their opinion?" Deia requested one of the VIP rooms with a smile.


    Soon, one of the auction rooms opened up and an old woman with wrinkles and greying hair tied into a bun came forth. She was d in a grey-ish white st and wore sses on the bridge of her nose.


    Despite her age, she was as tall as Deia, which was quite an achievement since Deia could tower over most of her fellow women with ease.


    Many parties took a deep breath. With a professional like this here, they would not doubt any verdict given because the name of the mighty Appraiser Guild would be dragged into the mud otherwise!


    "My name is Gwen Gisele. I am an A-Rank Appraiser who had been working for 400 years in the guild, and am also known as the 45th Elder. I shall appraise your items and see if they hold a candle to your ims."


    It was clear the old woman was a bit skeptical, but she didn''t want to be rude. Even if these items were a scam, what most of the parties originally came here for was not! No need to offend the party behind this auction, but there was also no need to act weak!


    The ce remained quiet as Gwen manifested a strange blue-ck domain, and her eyes split into a rhombus shape, her cornea erasedpletely and taken over by her pupils.


    She then gazed at the five books, touching them and flipping through them casually, her expression bing more and more solemn as she did so.


    The crowd became more agitated by this point, as they had already gotten their answer from her actions. Eventually, Gwen stopped her actions and turned to the crowd with a sigh.


    "The remarks made by the auctioneer are correct. I have detected the presence of thews of everyone''s power system in our world, and faintly more. I am guessing that beyond what is known, it should be applicable in other means."


    This meant little to the majority here, but the topmost powerhouses had their eyes sh with graveness. As they were aware of more things, they knew some of the hidden facts about Faust and the truths that were covered up by the lies.


    To know that these items could cover such a means told them that the power behind Darius was at the level of the top. In other words, the false conjectures they had made had been further reinforced, and now even if Darius came out to say he was the one, many would ridicule him.


    "Also, these spell tomes do indeed possess the potential to grow as long as one puts in more effort into them. They aren''t exactly spells either, but more like passive traits that are always active regardless of input." Gwen finished, quietly returning to her room at the top.


    At this time, the auction hall buzzed with energy as many parties were left speechless by these hard-hitting revtions. These spells were always active? Didn''t that mean that they would not have to bother using them consciously?


    "Now that there are no more questions about the validity of our product, we shall begin. These five spell tomes will be auctioned one by one."


    "The first one is called the Killer''s Domain. It creates a small area around the user and anyone who enters inside will be weakened significantly while their prowess will be greatly enhanced the more damage they deal."


    Deia smiled sensually. "Oh, and before I forget to mention it, every kill boosts the overall damage by at least one fold!"

 Chapter 362 - 362

    The more Deia revealed about the spell manual, the more excited the crowd became. They were just waiting for her to dere the starting price and open up the bidding so they could begin.


    Deia saw their enthusiasm and smiled cruelly. "The starting bid for the first tome is 100 Supreme Coins. The minimum increase in bids should be 1 Supreme Coin. You can now begin bidding!"


    However, despite Deia''s words, the crowd was conspicuously silent. They were utterly speechless and shocked by her words, thinking that they had gone insane or were under the influence of hallucinogens.


    After all, they were aware of the value of this item. It was great, but they didn''t expect it to be so damn expensive. One should remember, the Dius was previously the universally recognized number 1 currency.


    To give a goodparison, the Gold Ando Coin, which was likely the lowest value currency in Fallon - but the most rtable right now - was made of 1 troy ounce of gold. So one could say that 1 gold coin = 1 troy ounce.


    It took 32,150.7 troy ounces to make a single tonne. In other words, One tonne of gold could roughly make 32,150 coins for spending. Darius had traded in 50 tonnes of gold to only acquire 500 Dius.


    50 tonnes was equivalent to 1,120,000 troy ounces, which was equivalent to 1.12 million gold coins. This was enough to shake the entire Andrato Kingdom from top to bottom, and even the royal family was not that wealthy.


    Yet one needed that much to gain a mere 500 Dius. However, this only equated to 5 Supreme Coins.


    Roughly speaking, each Supreme Coin would be valued at 10 tonnes of raw gold. So how much were 100 SC? These fellows were asking for 1,000 tonnes of gold for just one spell tome, and that was just the starting price!


    (Author''s Note: if you are still having trouble scaling how outrageous this is, let me help you. The United States, the most powerful country on Earth currently, only has 8,000+ tonnes in reserve.)


    However, soon many snapped out of their shock. After all, they had bought hundreds and thousands of Supreme Coinsing here because they expected the goods to be expensive.


    As such, the bidding soon began. Unlike one would expect, there was no raucous shouting and threats, because everyone was bidding privately using the HoloBrace. They just had to imagine their in their mind and Martin would ce it, then sort out between the highest within a frame of a picosecond.


    This kind of silent bidding was quite intense. Luckily, there was a screen behind Deia that disyed the current highest bid price which was refreshed rapidly, so that those bidding would know where the amount stood.


    Darius also had a smaller screen in his viewing room with his Apprentices, and they were watching the first bid battle in silence. The Apprentices did not understand the value of the Supreme Coin naturally, because everything was being provided for by Darius and they had not been allowed to leave the tower until today.


    At 234 SC the bids finally slowed down. Many bidders were eliminated by this point, and they came to realize that despiteing here, they might not be able to afford what they needed.


    At this time, Martin appeared on all HoloBraces and spoke privately to the various owners, but the content was the same. They could each summon a Guard Android to their side anytime during the auction to exchange any extra currency or items they had into more Supreme Coins on the spot.


    Basically, they would call Martin with their minds and inform him about what they were changing and he would credit their ounts. Then when the Guard Androids came around, they would cough up what was owed.


    Hearing this, the various powerhouses were excited and struck with fear. Excited because there was hope for them to not have to leave here empty-handed, and fearful because they understood that the city was going to milk them like a baby suckling a teat.


    Many fellows quickly exchanged for more coins while the bid stabilized at 276 Supreme Coins. Eventually, it stopped there for about 10 seconds, after which Deia began to call out the sale.


    Seeing that no one wanted to push further, Deia called it out. A Guard Android removed the book and went backstage, but would present the item to the buyer after the auction.


    Martin informed the buyer mentally to return to the city and stay in a pre-arranged inn for one night. During the night, a Guard Android would bring the item over in order to protect their safety.


    Learning this, the buyer felt grateful and impressed by the foresight of the auction house to protect the safety of their buyers. Although only the buyer had been informed, others were able to see through the act and conclude that it would not be easy to steal items from others.


    That made hesitant fellows who had the money butcked personal strength rxed and confident to win at all costs.


    "The next item is another spell manual with the trait called Instant Restore. Every hour, you automatically burn a certain amount of your mana - or the equivalent to that ording to your system - to restore a fixed amount of your vitality and stamina." Deia began with a smile, patting the book.


    "You cannot control the amount restored, that is why it''s a passive trait after all, but upon learning, it is estimated that you should be able to sacrifice 5% of your overall mana to restore 5% of your overall vitality and stamina."


    "You can naturally train it to do more, as well as gain more control over the process, but the fundamentals are as exined!"


    Deia then smiled yfully, something which made the various powers feel wary.


    "The starting bid for this spell tome is 150 Supreme Coins and the minimum increase is 1 Supreme Coin! The reason for this should be obvious, a passive ability that can heal without needing a priest is far more valuable than one that can kill~"


    "Let the bidding begin!"

 Chapter 363 - 363

    Eventually, the five books all got auctioned off sessfully, with many fellows having traded their precious currency and treasures away for more Supreme Coins frequently.


    The first book, Killing Domain had ended up being sold for 276 Supreme Coins, the second one, Instant Restore had gone for 432 SC, the third, Mana Drain for 322 SC, the fourth, Ability Intensification for 598 SC, and the final one, Elemental Ward, for 881 SC.


    After going through this first intense battle, the crowd was eagerly looking forward to what woulde next. Deia wasted no time and called for the next tray to be brought over.


    Again, five items were brought out. The first one was a nk magical scroll, the second a nk spell manual that glowed beautifully with mana, the third a proper spell tome that was thick and heavy, the fourth a being of dark parchment that exuded a dangerous vibe and the final item was a polished b of crystal-like stone that exuded a milky white glow from within.


    The various fellows here did not need Deia to introduce it to them, they were able to recognize these five items on their own. The first was just a nk scroll imbued with magic that could be used to record a spell for one-time use.


    The second was a spell manual which was just a book version of thetter, and what was written inside could stay permanently to be used and reused when learning a spell.


    The third was arger version of the previous one meant to hold moreplex and longer spells, or in the case of simple spells could hold many of them within at once.


    The fourth was something the Demons loved and needed crazily, the precious Soul Paper. Demons used them for all their contracts and agreements between each other as well as their victims- *cough* clients.


    The fifth was something the Gods loved just as much as Demons loved Soul Paper, which was called a Divine Tablet. It served the same function as Soul Paper, but specifically meant for those who used the Faith System.


    Demons and Gods were fundamentally different when it came to these matters. Demons were undying, because their souls had been branded by thew of Armadon. So even if you killed them, unless your purified or destroyed their souls there was no way to deal with them.


    Even then, the higher the rank of the demon, the more resilient their soul. The only two ways to really restrain them at such a stage would be to find out their true name or to use Soul Paper. For a race with traits like theirs, Soul Paper worked the best


    For the Gods, it was the opposite. Their souls and bodies could easily be destroyed, but it was a waste of time as they would eventually be reborn by their Divine Attributes. The Gods did not ascend from mortalhood, but had sort of been spawned as avatars of their Divine Attributes.


    In other words, the ''concept'' of wealth had been in existence for a long while, then had birthed Waukeen eventually. The same would be true for all the rest, so as long as the Divine Attributes existed, so too would they.


    As such, one would need to have a way to affect the Divine Attribute itself if one wanted a binding agreement with a God, and the Divine Tablet had this ability.


    As such, the eyes of the Demonic Thralls and the Divine Envoys lit up with passionate fire. They stared at the items rting to their utility on the table with a re that said that they would be leaving with it by hook or crook.


    "Before we begin, I need to introduce the use of these items. While you may think you know them, you have no clue, which is to be expected. These items here are the pinnacle of the pinnacle, and it cannot get any better than this." Deia remarked arrogantly, making many powers frown.


    Deia pointed to the magical scroll. "This scroll has many features, but I will highlight three to save time. Firstly, any spell recorded within will be around twofold stronger than if it were to be used by an average mage with averageprehension."


    "Secondly, it will require fewer materials in terms of magical ink and mana infusion. It can be written on using even normal ink and no mana infusion, but the power boost will naturally be weaker in that case."


    "Thirdly and most importantly, any spell written on it can be used five times! After five cumtive uses, the scroll will crumble to ash."


    Deia didn''t wait for the crowd to react. "For the spell manual, any spell of any element can be written within, the spell and book will never deteriorate over time, and finally, a person has an extra 50% chance toprehend any spell written within."


    Deia then gestured to the spell tome. "The tome is simr in this regard. You can mix spells of different elements within, store up to 50 of them at once and they can be learned 70% easier by any reader."


    Deia then moved onto the Soul Paper. "For these, they also never deteriorate and can lock onto the souls of all beings that exist in the Faustian System. They can also execute more specificmands upon breach, from autonomous torture to degradation, to debt collection and more."


    Deia finally aimed at the Divine Tablet. "The same holds true for these. Any Divine Attribute ced within for an agreement will be subject to a majority of terms listed within and can be executed without failure."


    Deia left out how it could even kill Gods by destroying their Divine Attribute should they falter, because it would shift these items from ''must have'' to ''must destroy''.


    After all, it would be the only thing known to exist on Faust so far that could kill them permanently, and they would never allow something like that even if it meant they could deal with each other.


    Because the same weapon that you could use to kill your enemy could very well be used to kill you.

 Chapter 364 - 364

    As the crowd burst into excitement, Deia gestured to the VIP box where the Appraisers resided. "May I get an Esteemed Appraiser to verify my words to appease the buyers?"


    Everyone nced at the VIP room for the Appraiser Guild and this time an older man came out. He had a gentle smile on his face and small reading sses with round rims.


    "Hahaha, greetings everyone, my name is Fabio Lamonte, although many might just know me as the 36th Elder."


    Seeing that was another A-Rank Appraiser hade out, the crowd settled down as they waited for the verdict. While they wanted to believe Deia, it was better to be sure. After all, the kind of money they were spending was not a joke.


    Fabio inspected the five items carefully through a strange pink light that had morphed his pupils into three split rhomboid-like shapes. He spent half an hour going through all five items meticulously, yet no one was showing any signs of impatience.


    In fact, the more time he spent on those items the more assured they felt about the validity of his verdict, as well as the possibility that he might discover any hidden uses they might hold.


    Eventually, Fabio stopped and sighed deeply, just as Gwen had before. This told the crowd - once again - all they needed to know.


    "Every im Madam Stone has made is trueˇ­ and there is more." Fabio began and was about to continue, but Deia patted his shoulder and shook her head.


    Surprised, Fabio nodded. "There are some extra benefits in each item, but it seems that shall be for the buyer to discover on their own. Good luck, everyone."


    Fabio returned to his room, while the others in the auction began muttering and chatting. They were confused as to why the auctioneer would choose to withhold information about their items if it was beneficial?


    Some felt they were deliberately acting mysterious, while the most astute ones realized that this was also part of the protection the auction house was offering!


    Those benefits must have been intentionally left out because while they could raise the value of the materials, it would also raise their danger value!


    After all, they could not be protected forever, and once someone bought these materials, they would have to use them at some point, right? This would eventually reveal their identity and might lead to trouble.


    Many were moved by how far the auction house had gone to protect their buyers, while the powerhouses did not care. They were strong enough to beat back all fools, and they hade here for the grand prize at the end of the auction!


    However, everyone was overthinking.


    Darius had decided to do that from the beginning to subtly raise the value of the items in everyone''s eyes. He was passable in many other fields but when it came to mercantilism, he was a God!


    If he would ever have the fortune to meet Waukeen, the Goddess of Wealth might just find her Divine Attribute abandon her to elope with Darius.


    "Please note that these five items are only for disy. This section of the auction will be a bulk sale. We have 1,000 pieces in stock for the first item, 500 pieces each for the second and third items as well as 100 pieces for the fourth and fifth item."


    "The scrolls will be sold in batches of 100, the manual and tomes in batches of 50, and the paper and tablet in batches of 10."


    "The starting price for the scrolls is 10 Supreme Coins per batch. The minimum increase is 1 coin! I can only advise you to do your best to bid on these items now, since although all five will be sold in our various shops in the city, their retail price will be twice what it is now!" Deia exined with a smile.


    Upon hearing this, many fellows nodded. The auction house was truly intelligent. Despite popr belief, auctions weren''t held to sell exotic items at exorbitant prices, but to sell batches of items at wholesale or even cost price.


    It was just that, in media, it was boring to hearmon stuff be auctioned for cheaper prices. It was far more exciting to see exotic stuff being peddled at a higher price with various fellows spending foolishly and insulting each other while they were at it.


    The magical scrolls were soon sold off. Since their base price was 10 coins, the lowest they sold for was 25 Supreme Coins and the highest was 55 Supreme Coins.


    Some bought them to try and research how to reverse engineer them. Others bought them to experiment and study what was so special about them.


    Some bought them to resell at higher prices outside the auction and some bought them to process into finished goods and then sell them as part of their trade.


    This gap in intentions was why the price was all over the ce, but it was quite predictable, this was how such batch auctions were supposed to be.


    "Next, we have the spell manuals. Each batch starts at 50 Supreme Coins and the minimum increment is 2 coins! Bidding, start!"


    Despite the high price, no oneined anymore. They understood the value of these items and for those who could even process them into finished goods, they could resell them for around 100-200 Supreme Coins of profit.


    That was the point of raw materials. There was no logic in buying something that cost more than it was worthˇ­ at all!


    The 10 batches of spell manuals were sold at 78 Supreme Coins at the cheapest and 122 Supreme Coins for the final set. Once again, the intentions of the buyers varied, so no one particrly made a loss.


    In fact, most of the bidders hade from the bottom floors, as they had pooled their money together to bid. After receiving the items, they would share them amongst themselves.


    A Guard Android wouldter bring it to the room of the one who had ced the final bid and whether the winner would honor the agreement or flee with the product would not be Darius'' problem.


    The sess of the spell manuals made people curious to see how the tomes would do.


    After all, even though they had the same quantity, they were far superior to a single manual because they could hold a lot more at once, perfect for academies, schools, and mage towers.

 Chapter 365 - 365

    "Next up are the spell tomes! Each batch will be sold at 100 Supreme Coins, with a minimum increment of 5 coins. Bidding, start!" Deia dered enthusiastically.


    As soon as Deia called out, some bids were made. Even if the fellows on the other continents might not want them, Fallon''s mages did.


    The immortals could use these to store battle techniques and cultivation methods, samurai could use it to store their Battle Aura techniques and Bushido Mantras, etc.


    Eventually, the tomes were all sold out. The lowest bid was 195 Supreme Coins while the highest was 320 Supreme Coins. Thepetition for them had really heated up near the end, which had made the prices soar past even what Deia had expected.


    She wore an expression of pleasant surprise as she called thest bit and then gazed pointedly at the VIP rooms where the Demonic Thralls and Divine Envoys were. This next bit was obviously their stage, and very few would dare topete with them over this.


    "Now, we shall begin the auction for the Soul Paper. Each batch is sold at 500 Supreme Coins, with a minimum increment of 10 coins. Bidding, start!"


    Despite the seemingly high price, the target demographic was not bothered. The bids rained down quickly,ing to a battle within their forces. After all, these Demonic Envoys did not all serve one leader, but hade here as a group out of convenience.


    Soon, the first batch''s price soared to 1,200 Supreme Coins and it did not look like it would stop. This left those down below frozen in shock, not understanding the kind of numbers they were seeing.


    They understood that these things were useful to Demons and Devils, fine, but not this much surely?


    1,200 Supreme Coins was nothing to scoff at!


    Even if they were trying to secure the good quickly, it had surpassed the value it would be sold on the shelves for, right?


    Besides, it had little resale value and could not be processed into finished goods for profit. It was only for personal consumption, so it should, even more, not be this high right?


    Wrong!


    While theirment made sense from a general point of view, it was also gued by their stations. To them who could only trade for hundreds of Supreme Coins at most, they would feel the pain at this amount.


    To those VIPs who had 10,000 Supreme Coins at the minimum, it was a pittance. Just like how a rich man would buy a Ferrari but an average man would settle for a Toyota or KIA.


    Eventually, the 10 batches were sold at 1270, 1190, 1340, 1320, 1280, 1080, 1090, 930, 1540, and 1780 Supreme Coins respectively. Many different factions among the Demonic Thrallsughed happily as they had secured great things for their lords, while those who lost out red at them with hate.


    Unlike those below, these fellows were not bothered about hiding their identity or their gains. This was a part of their confidence and arrogance in their own power!


    If you were a man with five testicles and three penises, cross their path and see whether you would live to see another day!


    Deia then gestured to the final item, the Divine Tablets with a winsome smile. "The final item shall be priced at 500 Supreme Coins per batch. The minimum increment allowed is 10 Supreme Coins. Bidding, start!"


    This time, it was the turn of the Divine Envoys to show their prowess. And show it they did, as prices climbed past anything the Demonic Thralls had put forth. It couldn''t be helped, the wealth of Elysium was well documented.


    Compared to the barrennd of Armadon, it was natural that the Divine Envoys would be far richer and more extravagant. The first bid soon reached 3,400 Supreme Coins, leaving the entire auction shaking.


    Even Darius in the back had turned solemn, understanding that his n to make the Supreme Coin the number one throughout Faust would be ten times harder than he had thought.


    With such wealth, the best Darius could do was control a few continents, but he would likely never be able to breach Elysium.


    The Apprentices were watching with enraptured expressions, totally engrossed in the events. Even X was lost in them, while Darius and Gunner watched aloofly.


    The half-giant had little interest in what was going on, while Darius was basically watching everything y out as he predicted.


    The first bid ended at 3700 Supreme Coins, with the second at 3500, the third at 4200, the fourth at 4100, the fifth at 3900, the sixth at 2800, the seventh at 2700, the eighth at 3300, the ninth at 6500, and the final one at 7600.


    At this point, the crowd had grown numb to it. They had been shown what the limit of wealth was, and even the Demonic Thralls were speechless.


    They did not expect the Divine Envoys to be so overbearing, and they felt this extravagant spending was done to show the gap between the demon faction and the god faction. It made them feel irritated, as they had undoubtedly suffered a loss in this round.


    Deia then pped her hands and attracted the attention of the crowd. "The next section will be the residency sale, the one after that the citizenship sale, and the final one the academy entry sale."


    Immediately, many VIPs lost interest, as they felt the value of such things were not worth their time. Theyid back in their seats hoping it would hurry up and move to the section they were waiting for.


    Even themon floor members were only marginally interested. In the next three sections, even though the prices were high, some fellows mainly bid out of curiosity or boredom.


    Obviously, in theing months, all these VIPs who had slept on this chance would dearly regret their actions here, while these lucky fellows who had decided to gamble would be so happy that it was rumored that they would wake up at random times in the night,ughing so loudly that even ghosts would be scared.

 Chapter 366 - 366

    However, that was something far into the future. Right now, the auction for residences was limited to 50 open slots, the auction for citizenship to 100, and the auction for student passes for Darius'' magic academy to a mere 5!


    The residences were naturally the easiest sell as all of them were vis in the outer section. The bid started at 1,000 Supreme Coins per vi, but their retail price would drastically increase after the auction.


    Deia did not state by how much, so many felt she was hyping up the price. Ultimately, the final bid never passed 1,500 for the vis. This did not bother Darius in the least, as he did not host this auction to make money, no.


    This auction served only one purpose, and that was advertisement!


    Advertisement to what his city could offer and show off the quality of his goods to the topmost echelon of powers, creating endless demand!


    They may have scorned the residences because they thought living in his territory was not necessary given their background or because they did not understand the benefits the city held, but that waspletely fine.


    Darius was only selling these so cheaply for the same purpose, advertisement. Those who would end up acquiring any of these three things, be it a residence, citizenship or the academy slot would do all the work for him once they shared their experiences.


    Not to mention the investigation the various parties would do in theing months.


    Besides, the secondary purpose was to serve as a shield. After all, even if he wanted to act closed door, he would be receiving a lot of pressure from various parties to open up, in the light and in the dark.


    If he just turned his nose and acted arrogantly, he would invite a retaliatory response. What he needed was a logical excuse that fit his personality and goals, as far as the other parties could tell.


    It would be like this; He would be visited by various parties, they would engage in small talk and eventually hit the point, which was acquiring a spot for the academy, the right to citizenship, or the ownership of one of the residences. They would ask if he was willing to sell them radiately for higher prices.


    Darius would then answer, ''I gave a lot up during the auction but very few took an interest.''


    Being reminded of their ignorance during the bidding, they would be left slightly irked.


    ''Also,'' Darius would add, ''I don''t n on selling anymore privately or publicly using retail prices for such things, as the demand is too high for them. Hmm, maybe in auctions?''


    They would then ask if Darius was nning to auction them specifically and he would give them a nomittal promise. They could only leave at that and wait for something that would never happen.


    Before they would realize that they had been duped, the city''s power and his personal power especially was bound to exceed theirs.


    Residences were fine though, as he would sell them normally but the future prices would be at around 100,000 Supreme Coins. Many powers would look back to this auction where 50 of them had practically been gifted away for only 1,000 Supreme Coins, yet they had failed to take the chance.


    As for the citizenship slots, they received more patronage because some Fallon residents appeared quite interested. They were priced at 5,000 Supreme Coins though, making many shake their heads.


    They gazed at the few who bid for them like they were idiots. What''s the point of moring for such a thing from such an upstart city? Sure, they made high-quality goods, but how would that affect you in particr?


    You''d need to make ie to be able to afford such things and how could a new city like this offer stable jobs and growth when it was so young? If one needed anything from here, they could juste and buy it then leave, or even order a shipment from afar.


    The mere fact that they were even auctioning citizenship alone was seen as testimony that they were in dire need of people to help the city grow, and that the value of it was not very high.


    The powers weren''t wrong for this, this was a logical conclusion given the facts they had. Of course, once they updated their facts, they would naturally wish they had never thought such things, but hindsight was always a bitch.


    All citizenship slots ended up all sold but the maximum price never crossed 5,100 CP, which was pitiful. Many fellowsughed with derision, amused by this ''disgrace'' the city had brought upon itself.


    As for the final 5 slots into the academy, they received the least interest of the lot. After all, a newly established mage academy would only appeal to the poor. Most talented fellows would rather go to mage academies that had long histories and more exemry results.


    Not to mention that the fellows from other continents had zero reasons to even attend as it had no benefit to them, even if they knew how great the academy would be.


    Even worse, a single slot was priced at 2,000 Supreme Coins. Most shook their heads and folded their arms, hoping for this segment to be quickly done and dusted so they could focus on the more important things.


    Only two slots ended up purchased, both at the minimum bid. The remaining three had to be bought in by the auction house, and many fellows had to hide their faces from second-hand embarrassment.


    Many expected Deia to react in some way, but she maintained her amused smile that contained a tinge of schadenfreude as she quickly announced the next section.


    This made many powers frown as they realized that things might not be so simple from her reaction.


    However, it was toote. The items had been bought in and they would not be brought out again, so they could only shrug and stop caring.


    "Well now, we are onto the fourth segment, which is the penultimate one! This time, we are selling unique resources in bulk, so lets'' take a look at what we have!"


    Deia gestured and a tray was brought over by another Guard Android. When Deia removed the cover, many gasps sounded out in the room.

 Chapter 367 - 367

    The first item was a piece of shiny metal that looked like a mix between iron and steel. The second was a copper-colored piece of ore that glowed with magical light.


    The third was a blood-colored ore that was leaking on the tray. The fourth was a type of grayish paste that seemed to be alive, reminiscent of the symbiote from the spider-man movies.


    The fifth and final item on this tray was a whitish-blue stone that crackled with electricity as it sat there.


    As the agitated crowd looked on, Deia called their names and exined their uses.


    "While many of you seem to know what these are, in truth, you do not. The first is as you may have guessed, an ingot of High Steel. Typical High Steel has the best-forging malleability and can make weapons as well as armor with a bnced physical and magical defense, as well as be extremely receptive to enchantments while durable enough to not need repairs often."


    Deia chuckled. "However our High Steel is one step higher. It is now a memory alloy, so once you shape it into a weapon or armor, it will automatically gain the ability to self-repair as long as more metal is added by the user. All its average aspects have increased by 200%prehensively, allowing it tost longer, protect or attack better and be easier to use to craft with."


    Deia then pointed to the second item. "That is the famous Oricalchum, a magical alloy that is one of the rare few to focus solely on magical defense and augmentation. As many mages here know, almost all of your magical ornaments and devices are made of this alloy, and it''s simply a must-have!"


    "However, typical Oricalchum doesn''t boost magic, it only allows magic to be channeled through without any blockage or strain. What augments spells or magical defense is the special craftsmanship and runes carved on the metal during production."


    Most smiths and mages here nodded. This wasmon knowledge, and anyone who had the gumptions to research the items they were buying as well as the best materials they would need to be using would know this.


    Deia tapped the magical ore casually. "However, ours is a bit special. Just like the High Steel, all aspects have been increased by 200%prehensively. But more than that, this unique metal has gained a new effect, which is to passively augment all runes carved on it by 50%!"


    There were gasps on the auction floor, and Deia jumped onto the third one straight away. "As for this, it is the rare Blood Stone that contains the purified blood essence of many beings. As you all know, it is important for many non-human species that ce emphasis on their bloodlines to increase their concentration and strength."


    "Typical blood ore can increase the bloodline purity of everything up to Grandmaster stage by various amounts ranging from 20% to 5% depending on the height of the consumer''s stage. For more powerful bloodlines like the noble ones from Unyris, it has a negligible effect even if one were low-ranked, so one is forced to use quantity to achieve the required effect."


    Deia smiled yfully. "However, our blood ore is far superior. Just like before, all aspects are increasedprehensively. Most importantly though, it has the ability to increase any bloodline by one grade, only stopping below the Ancestor or Primogenitor realm."


    Her words made the beats from Unyris go crazy. If it weren''t for the fact that Deia shifted to the fourth item right away, they might have smashed the VIP room and rushed down to rob the item at all costs!


    However, they were able to hold on to a thread of reason and suppress it, waiting for the auction to start. However, the camaraderies that existed between such mythical beasts had been thoroughly shattered, and they were now gazing at each other with wariness and danger.


    "The fourth item is Symbiotic Adhesive. It is an important material in building defensive structures like walls, battlements, towers, and others. It connects the construction materials together and binds them, but also shifts them around efficiently to spread the damage received to such structures evenly."


    Deia gazed at the sentient paste with a strange look. "Of course, once again, ours is better by 200% and has a special function, it can automatically assemble and disassemble a building itself as long as someone with Mind Power controls it."


    Many fellows were left speechless. Hey there, didn''t that mean that as long as you had Mind Power, you could practically construct your own buildings in seconds without the need for external influence?


    Many eyes lit up. They did not need it to build public buildings like walls, but private ones. How many times had they been forced to kill talented young builders because they were the only ones who knew the details of their hidden treasuries, cers, ck market rings, and the like?


    Now, they could use this paste to build their hidden stashes, and it would be of a higher quality than usual!


    "The fifth and final item is Thunder Rock. This is a unique item that is necessary for the creation of golems, specifically of the Lightning element. While this might seem quite a niche, it is a fact that any engineer would know that this item is extremely rare!"


    "Thunder Rocks can also be used to make special contraptions or imbue certain items with the Lightning Element! Certain specialized mages can use it to experiment with the element and discover its mysteries, while others can use it to power spells."


    "Of course, as with our other items, ours is naturally 200% better than average and also it has the unique effect of being ingestible. Once consumed, one can naturally increase their affinity with the Lightning element or gain a small affinity with it if there was none."


    Deia waved her hand over the tray, still bulling through without allowing the crowd to react. "We are doing a bulk sale like before. We have 100 Ingots of High Steel, 500 ores of Orichalcum, 100 pieces of Blood Stone, 10 tonnes of Symbiotic Paste, and 100 pieces of Thunder Rock."


    "I invite another Appraiser toe down to verify the quality of the items!"

 Chapter 368 - 368

    The Appraiser Guild sent out Gwen again who came down with a strange smile on her face. She wasted no time and inspected the five items carefully and methodically by using her strange eye technique once more.


    Eventually, she turned to the crowd and simply nodded. Gwen understood that at this point she didn''t need to say too much, merely affirm that Deia was speaking the truth, since the crowd wanted nothing more but to start bidding on these extravagant items.


    More than a few had already be agitated and excited to purchase what was specifically useful to them, even if the Pandora''s Box Auction House would have exaggerated the usefulness.


    Goblins and Gnomes were ogling the Thunder Rock with passion, whereas the servants sent by the Mythical Beasts of Unyris were gazing at the Blood Stone seemingly afraid it could disappear the next second.


    The Dwarves were staring at the High Steel as if it was their own child, the Mages were ring at the Oricalchum with fervor and the evil powers among the crowd watched the Symbiotic Paste with interest.


    Seeing that the crowd was raring to go, Deia chuckled sensually. "The High Steel will be sold in batches of 10 ingots. Each batch has a starting price of 5,000 Supreme Coins and the minimum increment is 20 Supreme Coins. Bidding, Start!"


    Many were not bothered by the high price. After all, those who had their eyes on it were the Dwarves, master miners, and cksmiths. A race like theirs didn''tck money, and in fact, they were so filthy rich that they had literally built a city underground out of gold!


    Soon, the 10 batches were sold off for 10220, 10240, 10160, 10100, 9980, 9940, 10020, 9860, 10340, and 11020 Supreme Coins.


    "Next, Oricalchum, every Mage''s beloved ore! It will be sold in batches of 50, with a starting price of 10,000 Supreme Coins, and a minimum increase of 100 Supreme Coins at the minimum. Bidding, start!"


    If one were to talk about the buying power of Dwarves, one should not doubt Mages either. Magic was a money-intensive craft the lower you were. On the flipside, the higher you were, the more ie flowed into your hands with ease.


    As such, the 10 batches were sold at 19100, 19300, 19700, 18900, 18500, 18100, 17800, 17600, 20500, and 22000 Supreme Coins.


    "The next batch, the Blood Stone, will be sold in batches of 10! The minimum price for each is 20,000 Supreme Coins and the minimum increment is 200 Supreme Coins per bid! Bidding, Start!"


    Heh, they were beasts from Unyris, the continent that was universally hailed as the richest on Faust. However, the beasts that inhabited it had little need for the best natural and primal resource in the world, so they sold it to others for money.


    Upon their arrival they had traded these great resources for Supreme Coins, even causing the system to overload for a brief moment.


    That alone should tell how much they had traded!


    In fact, one didn''t need to go so far. Just some blood, scales, or essence from the mythical beasts'' bodies themselves would sell for a lot, much less what had theye with.


    As such, was it surprising that the final sale results were 45800, 49600, 44400, 46200, 56800, 55400, 59000, 61200, 66600, and 70000 Supreme Coins?


    Many powers were shaking after seeing the craziness of the beasts. The auction for batches this time did not follow conventional auction rules where the early bids would set the bar, the middle bids would drop and the final bids would spike.


    It had just kept shooting up because the item was too useful to the beasts, one batch less was a batch lost! Who had time to hold back in terms of funds in this case?


    "The next batch will be for the Symbiotic Paste. We''ll be selling them by the tonne. The starting price is 4,000 Supreme Coins and the minimum increase is 15 Supreme Coins! Bidding, start!"


    After Deia''s call, the bidding began straightaway. The Symbiotic Paste was special, but one needs far more quantity than this to make anything meaningful, and it wasn''t as valuable as those that came before as it was a mere adhesive.


    Also, those who wanted it were wealthy, but not as much as the previous category of bidders, so the price increase paled inparison.


    The final sales were 4575, 4645, 4460, 4390, 4215, 4200, 4115, 4030, 4990 and 5015 Supreme Coins.


    "Next is the final batch for this round, the Thunder Rock. It will be sold in batches of 10, and the starting price is 7,000 Supreme Coins! The minimum increase per bid is set at 25 Supreme Coins, so let the bidding begin!"


    This stage belonged to the Goblins and Gnomes, the best inventors and engineers of the Fallon Continent, as well as those from Gravitas who had some uses for this. Despite their general hostility towards the city for using their tech, they would still secure what they needed if it presented itself.


    Since both parties were notcking, the final bids were appreciable. They were 7825, 7875, 7650, 7700, 7675, 7625, 7600, 7550, 7900 and 8025 Supreme Coins.


    This brought an end to the fourth stage, paving the way for the final one which everyone had been looking forward to. Various powerhouses sat up in their seats while those who had fallen half-asleep due to ack of interest woke up.


    Everyone was energized and galvanized, creating an atmosphere of the calm before a storm. Deia beckoned to a Guard Android, which brought out the final tray containing 5 items as usual.


    When eyes fell on the five, the reaction was an evenrger burst of fervor. The heat in the auction house rose, yet there was also a slight chill wafting around.


    Deia smiled evilly when she saw this and spoke.


    "With this, we have reached the five final items of today''s auction. They are the best things we have to offer and undoubtedly the primary reason all of you havee here."


    "Don''t worry if you don''t manage to win today. We will surely put them on sale in our shops after the auction. However, their retail prices will be based on the highest auction price todayˇ­ and then tripled!"

 Chapter 369 - 369

    There were audible gasps and heavy breaths taken. These people were truly cruel, using this auction as a springboard to decide the pricing of their items. However, considering the quality of the items in question and the undeniable demand, many nodded in agreement.


    If the price was too low, just any dog and cat would be able to save up to buy it. That would be foolish, as even if they didn''t know how such items were made, they could reason that supply would never be able to keep up with demand.


    This was the truth as well. In fact, many powers here would be left speechless if they discovered that the items that had been brought forward in thest round had all been diluted/weakened.


    The rule of thumb for Transmutation was that it enhanced an item by 5x its pinnacle quality. For those items to only be 200% better meant that Darius had cut corners in order to artificially increase supply.


    Otherwise, his 200 CP a day would not be able to support a whole industry.


    Moreover, things like the empty spell manuals and magical scrolls were cheap to make so he had no real problem with them. Even Awakening Scrolls and Spark Potions were only about 4 CP if he used close enough materials.


    However, this was greatly inefficient and Darius had stopped doing this a long time ago. What he did rather, or what he nned to do, was contract many alchemists, engineers, and the like to make these raw items as quickly as they could.


    They would then pass it to Darius who would statically transmute them for the lowest possible cost. His n would have been infeasible if not for this nifty upgrade he had reached upon entering the Journeyman stage.


    The Intermediate ability allowed him to transmute something of the same tier and rank into itself.


    In other words, instead of having to turn a nk sheet of paper into a magical scroll, he could take a perfectly fine magical scroll and just ''perfect'' it by transmuting it into what it already was.


    This was greatly different from transmuting wed spellbooks intopleted ones or turning health potions from the inferior grade to themon as he had done before, when Transmutation had still been a Basic ability.


    One was a change of eitherpletion or grade. With Static Transmutation, you were basically just oveying the benefits of a transmuted item onto an average item for a stupidly low cost.


    This was exactly why Darius could dare to open a city like this and advertise it to the whole world. Otherwise, he would never be able to meet even the smallest bit of demand even if he were to spend every day working on it.


    Deia gazed at the items on the table. "Some of these you all already know. There is our famous Awakening Scroll, which allows anyone, and I mean literally anyone, to awaken a mage talent that is superior to even naturally awakened users. As if that was not enough the user will have the option to choose any five elements as their starting affinity."


    "Depending on your system of power, this perfectly converts over. It doesn''t matter where you exist on Faust, these scrolls are the best of the best in nurturing talents or building a force."


    Deia continued. "Then there are our Ability Potions. Well, they go by the name of Spark Potions here on Fallon, but it is better to give them a more universal name, no? They assist people in awakening a special ability of their choice, or can strengthen the innate ability of a person by 5 times its current power before they activate it."


    "So feed this to your kids while they are young, and if they are talented enough to have their own hidden ability, you can have them increase its power greatly! If they had been able to conjure small wind des before, after ingesting our potion they would be able to summonrge scythes that can cut whole trees down!"


    "However, fret not if your child or ward is not talented! They can awaken any ability they can think of within a certain range that ispatible with them. Unfortunately, you cannot give a child without the necessary gics or affinity the ability to control reality, as that is simply not possible."


    The more Deia spoke, the more the crowd became unruly and intoxicated. Many had investigated the items that were sent out and had discovered this much, so being reminded of it and having it confirmed by the seller ignited their passion.


    As for the situation with Jorge and Derek, Darius had prepared specialized Spark Potions for them with abilities he knew would bepatible with them, so they benefited from a 500% boost as well.


    This was the difference between general Ability Potions that were being sold right now and specific Ability Potions that Darius had given to his close people that had been tailored for them.


    Deia then turned to the third item. "We have here a crucial item that any kingdom, empire, and power desires, the almighty Space Stone! It is necessary to set up a teleportation gate, experiment with or create unique contraptions utilizing the Space element."


    "A typical Space Stone has 50 uses at most, and can only power up to Intercontinental Teleportation Arrays, Single-Direction Portals, Ultra-Long Distance spells or basic two-way local portals."


    "However, ours has 500 uses and can be used for anything concerning the Space element without limit. It can be used to set up portals reaching multiple continents at once, can support multi-personal simultaneous teleportation, and most crucially, can create stable long-distance cargo passageways!"


    "In case you were not convinced yet, these are the same kinds we use for the portals you havee through."


    Deia then gazed at the fourth item. "This is something special, something that everyone on Fallon should know of, but may not have had the chance to enjoy, an Elemental Enchant! This item allows a person to imbue an item with an elemental trait!"


    "Of course, ours is vastly different. It is an Omni-Element Enchant capable of bestowing any elemental property to an item, unlike the usual enchants that are elements specific due to their color."


    Deia then turned to the final item which was locked in a ss that showed nothing of what it looked like.


    "As for our climax item... I will leave it to your imagination for now. We will reveal its identity when it is time for it to be sold!"

 Chapter 370 - 370

    "May we get an Appraiser down here to verify my extravagant ims?" Deia requested with a yful smile.


    Darius'' n was for the Appraiser Guild to verify his goods to the public through this auction, even though many did not see the need to call them over each and every time.


    However, by getting them involved no one would be able to im that his goods were of a lower tier than the one they had advertised, as doing so would be slighting not just Darius and his entire territory but the entire guild as well.


    As such, Fabio was sent down once more and he looked through the assortment of goods slowly and finally put them down with a smile.


    He turned to the crowd and nodded, gazing at Deia with an unreadable look before returning to his VIP room.


    Now that the final batch had also been confirmed, the air became heated as many couldn''t wait for the auction to begin.


    Deia then touched the Awakening Scrolls lightly. "The first item for the final round, our amazing Awakening Scrolls. They will be sold in batches of 10! Each one is priced at 100,000 Supreme Coins, and the minimum increment allowed is 1,000 Supreme Coins."


    When the price was called out, the originally moring crowd was instantly silenced thoroughly. Even the powers at the top sucking in a deep breath, shocked at the ruthlessness of this city.


    It seemed that they were indeed taking the approach they wanted, which was to make these items as expensive as possible to limit the type of people able to purchase them.


    After all, each Awakening Scroll had the power to turn even the vige idiot into a potential future Grandmaster mage. Thest thing people in power wanted to see was the masses being given ways to climb the stages in a simr way to them.


    Nevertheless, they didn''t expect the initial price to be this high.


    This was basically cutting the 10% who could afford it into a 1%, strangling these fellows by the throat and emptying their endless enthusiasm.


    "Heh, don''t worry. As promised, there will be another chance after the auction. ''Unfortunately'' since it''s not easy to produce them, the maximum that can be sold in any given month will be 10 scrollsˇ­ and even that should be rare. This is your one and only chance to secure a bulk of them, so waste it at your own discretion!" Deia added callously and arrogantly.


    Her words were like a ssh of water that woke up these fellows. Even if the price was high, they hade here precisely because they knew goods like this couldn''t be mass-produced and if some were soldter, there would definitely be an issue of supply.


    Not to mention the price would increase with the growing demand!


    If they thought of it through this kind of logical string of reasoning, they realized that they would be investing in saving time.


    The faster they could get their wards to use these things and power up, the faster they would rise to the pinnacle before those who would purchase itter!


    Immediately, the powers had an epiphany that was grand, something they had failed to realize before.


    With the introduction of items like this that could grant great power and talent to just anyone, this era would enter a race to the top. Those who were able to use these ''divine'' items would be the next rulers of Faust with their power and the earlier one started, the greater their advantage!


    With this enlightenment, the crowd calmed down and gazed at Deia, who nodded her head with satisfaction.


    Finally, these native blockheads understood this simple train of logic. The AI had no idea how her husband hadn''t conquered this entire yet, if these fellows had such shitty business sensepared to earthlings, but whatever.


    "The bidding for the Awakening Scrolls starts now!" Deia dered.


    Immediately, bids were furiously sent out as the various powers fought tooth and nail. They had long lost their reason and were only thinking about making a sacrifice now to recoup their investmentter.


    They would not be the onesgging behind those who secured such good early! It was uneptable!


    The first bid ended at a whopping 541k Supreme Coins, making those who were unable to bid breathe deeply but alsoment their poverty. They did not feel it was wasted money, but money well spent.


    The next bids were even more intense. From 590k Supreme Coins, to 654k, to 699k to 732k, to 765k, to 818k, to 843k, to 966k, and finally 998k Supreme Coins!


    With every batch sold, the crowd became wilder as desperation showed on their faces. One batch lost was another gap between their powers created!


    At this point, many had exchanged so many things for Supreme Coins that the warehouse of the city was starting to struggle.


    Deia had cleverly summoned all avable Guard Androids to stand in various VIP rooms and beside various fellows so they could exchange for things rapidly without having to wait.


    That was how money had been able to flow and these bids had kept getting higher. By the time thest batch was sold, many fellows roared in anguish, like they had just watched their child die before them.


    Those who had won patted their chest and shrieked with glee. They were the grand winners this time, and by the time the new supply was out, their chosen wards would already be one step ahead.


    Even if the others quickly swooped up what came next, there would always be a gap, because the Awakening Scroll would give the same level of talent to everyone.


    If two Bugattis were to race, with both having the same specs, it was impossible to lose for the one with the headstart on a straight track.


    Deia closed the bid and then gestured to the Spark Potions. "For those who lost out, do not fret! Even if your wards cannot be Mages, Cultivators, Omnyouji, or Runemasters, they could still be Warriors, Martial Artists, Samurai, or Infused Beasts with our Ability Potions!"


    Deia smiled cruelly as she said this, enjoying every moment that she was manipting these so-called powers of Faust no differently than she had manipted Darius'' enemies on Earth.

 Chapter 371 - 371

    "The Ability Potions will be going for the same price as thest. Start at 100,000 Supreme Coins and with a minimum of 1,000 coins per batch! Bidding, Start!" Deia called out the next moment, not giving them time to contemte the maniption.


    Immediately, those who had lost out roared and began furiously bidding, while those who had won earlier paled. Now that they had gone this far, they had be vicious. They wanted to see things to the end and have the path forward for theirpetitorspletely cut off!


    As such, they traded even more of their precious goods for Supreme Coins just to bid once more. The first bid soared past 700,000 Supreme Coins quickly, the potions exploding even higher than the scrolls as the desperation got worse.


    The first bid ended at 865k Supreme Coins. The second at 908k, then 1100k, 1230k, 1490k, 1540k, 1588k, 1,597k, 1,651k, and the tenth one at 1,782k Supreme Coins.


    When this round came to an end, the tension reached a peak. Some powers directly went berserk in their VIP rooms, but were soon shocked when their rampage dealt very little damage to the walls.


    Just what the hell kind of material was this building made of?!


    However, this made them rather calm down, taking deep breaths as they controlled their feelings and thoughts. Even though they had lost out, all hope was not gone.


    Heh, thanks to the excitement before, those who had won had left some clues in their behavior. All these powers had to do was wait for the auction to end and the goods to be delivered, then what happened next did not need to be exined.


    As for the auction house, there was nothing they could do.


    They certainly couldn''t babysit these fellows all the way home, could they? They also couldn''t dispatch guards to protect their customer''s home bases as that would cause many different problems on its own.


    Realizing this, those who won paled as they trembled in their VIP rooms. They wanted to leave immediately, but that would be even more damning, so they could only remain and start to n out measures to escape after they received the goods.


    This left the auction floor with two extremes, the feeling of cruelty and the feeling of fear. The intentions of predator and prey mixed around, creating this strangebination that left the area stifled.


    "Right, now that we are done with that, we shall move onto the Space Stones. We have 100 of them for sale, and we''ll be selling them in batches of 20! After all, Space Stones are better used in quantity to perform various tasks, hence therge batch amount."


    Deia tapped her lips smugly. "Of course, the price will rise to reflect this. Each batch will be sold at 120,000 Supreme Coins with a minimum increment of 2,000 Supreme Coins for each! Bidding, start!"


    The bids immediately began, as many powers were in great need of Space Stones.


    The Space element dungeons and resource zones across the entire Faust were very scarce.


    Even worse, their drop rate for things like Space Stones was low. One normally had to at least venture to the levels with Adept stage bosses to have a somewhat reliable chance to get one. Naturally, such stones were more valuable the deeper one dived in such a dungeon.


    The only reason Foldo used to have one in his possession was because one had secretly been found by a very lucky fellow in Yunian City''s Space element dungeon.


    But no one in Andrato had a fucking clue what that was since they were too poor to have portals. If Andrato had been like Fraterina or Favelian, it would never have been Darius'' turn to luck out on discovering such a thing.


    The bids began to climb for the stones, as it was mostly Empires from Fallon, Sects from Pan, Prefectures from Houto, and Holy Lands from Unyris who fought for such things.


    The 5 batches were sold at 446k, 564k, 622k, 898h, and the final batch a 1220k Supreme Coins. Those who got them were extremely satisfied, as they would be able to use them for so many things.


    Deia then captured the attention of the crowd once more. "Our fourth item is something you can only wish for but never acquire. Even if it werepletely normal, its rarity and value would be enough to see it ced in the highest auctions. Here, we have a superior version on sale, something we can only produce sparingly, so make sure to bid for it."


    "I''ll be honest and admit that it might take months if not years for us to stock another one in one of our shops, so these 100 pieces might be all that will ever be sold. Please keep that in mind when bidding."


    After Deia spoke, the crowd was abuzz once more. Nothing was more effective than selling something extremely valuable and precious that had a low supply. Just like before, it would spark desperation and a fear of being left out.


    "The starting price for the Omni-Elemental Enchants is 200,000 Supreme Coins for a batch of 5. The minimum increment is 5,000 Supreme Coins, so let the bidding begin!"


    Immediately, bids were called out quickly and furtively. In the end, the price had escted from the first - and cheapest one- at 1345k to thest at 5590k Supreme Coins, breaking the record of the highest spent so far.


    The auction reached an unprecedented stage of calm and serenity as many powers rxed in their seats. It was over, this hellish auction that was full of allure and danger was finally over.


    However, they suddenly remembered that there was still the climax item that the auctioneer had kept in reserve to be announced at the appropriate time.


    Back when Fabio had taken a look, Deia had mischievously put her hand on her lips, stressing him to keep things a secret.


    Just what could it be?

 Chapter 372 - 372

    Deia chuckled. "This final item is something that needs no introduction and no external appraisal for its quality to be verified. It is something that even the simplest peasant, no matter their origins, would have heard about in legends, the most treasured Divine Liquid in all of Faustˇ­"


    Deia then reached out and popped the cap of the bottle, allowing the crowd to see what was within, as well as smell it.


    "10% Concentrated Lunar Dew!"


    The lovely smell of rejuvenation and empowerment washed over the entire crowd, filling the auction stage and even reaching the Backstage where Darius was.


    When the Apprentices, who had been watching everything with curiosity so far, smelled it they shared suspicious looks. They felt this was a very familiar scent, something that had always been with them on a daily.


    However, the reason they were unable to recognize it, was that the concentration of Lunar Dew they had unknowingly enjoyed under his tutge was far higher than what was currently being sold to these powers.


    The crowd had turned deathly silent once more, utterly disbelieving of the treasure before them. They were not shocked, it was more of a frozen calmness from seeing something so outrageous that instead of causing excitement, it causes worry and contemtion.


    Their behavior naturally had not gone unnoticed by the AI Deia. "s, we have ''only'' 10 bottles of Lunar Dew with this same concentration today, so each one will have to be sold separately! Do everything you can to secure this miracle liquid, for it could very well be the only one of its kind in our world!"


    Her words snapped the various fellows out of the reverie and they smiled with amusement. Before wondering whether anyone was going to ce bids, thisss should be wondering how to protect herself.


    Case in point, a gravelly and guttural voice spoke from one of their VIP Rooms.


    "I have no idea who is behind this show, but I thank them for their generosity. Bringing this here to give to me, truly benevolent."


    The next second, a great power manifested outside that VIP room in the form of a giant demonic w. This apparition rushed towards Deia, aiming to rip her apart and snatch what was seated on the tray.


    "Your shitty little city does not deserve to sell something like this, and I have no interest in buying! As such, I will just take it." The Demonic Thrall in question added callously.


    In truth, his words resonated with almost everyone in the crowd. They had tolerated everything so far in order to keep a semnce of peace. Not only because they feared the person they spected existed behind Darius, but also because they had seen this city have some powerful means to protect itself.


    However, this kind of wariness mattered little when it came to Lunar Dew. Even Grandmaster-stage experts who had shared a rtionship closer than actual siblings on their way to the top would not hesitate to leave everything behind and backstab each other over a small pond with 1% concentration, much less bottles with a 10% concentration.


    All the powerful guests who hade today, remained in their seats, waiting for this impatient fellow to test the limits of this city. If they were defeatable, they wouldnd upon them like locusts, piging and seizing everything they could before leaving.


    If not, they would then shift their target to the buyers and remain neutral towards the city.


    X saw this and shook her head, while Gunner smirked slightly, his eyes finally showing some interest.


    As for Darius, he simply snapped his fingers calmly without a change of expression. Immediately, the falling demonic w disappeared like it had been extinguished by a gust of wind.


    Before onlookers could even exim in surprise, the VIP room in which the attacker was situated suddenly had its observation window be two-way, so everyone could see the person within.


    The shocked Demonic Thrall who had horns, red skin, and a buff body was still in the motion of sending his w out when the chair he was seated in suddenly manifested tendrils like a snake that wrapped around him.


    He was quickly locked in his seat before he could even think about fleeing, and then began to struggle with a roar.


    Hispanions didn''t help him, in fact as soon as they had seen the chair change they had fled into the four corners of the room, making sure to distance themselves from the fool.


    The sound in his room had been amplified as well, so everyone could hear his grunts as he tried to unbind himself.


    "Release me, impudent vermin! Do you have any idea who I am?!" The thrall cried out in anger and shame from being treated like this.


    Darius snapped his finger again in response. To the collective gasps of the onlookers, a strange apparition appeared in the room with the Demonic Thrall which had a visible outline but no features appeared behind his chair.


    The fellow kept struggling in his seat in ignorance of this, making the crowd feel a mounting dread as the outline slowly reached out and ced its palms on either side of the Demonic Thrall''s head.


    Suddenly feeling someone touch his scalp, the fellow''s expression changed as horror struck him. Before he could demand his release once more, he suddenly began screaming at such a high pitch that the crowd shuddered, the young Apprentices nearly soiling their pants.


    His body began to tremble and struggle even fiercer than before using all skills and means he had avable, but it was for naught. The crowd saw his body visibly shrinking, like a bag of water that was being emptied.


    Soon, the Demonic Thrall who had believed he could do whatever he wanted in Darius'' auction was reduced to a husk-like corpse that was drained of its flesh and bones, leaving only dried skin that soon faded into ash.


    However, that was not all. The nightmare was far from over. The ss that had be two-way changed in color, as if someone had flipped on a filter. The interior of the VIP room changed, and the chair, as well as the furniture faded into the background as the room, became grayish with a strange mist floating about within.


    The entire crowd saw an ethereal form float above where the chair had been, the form possessing all the features of the Demonic Thrall who had just been killed. The soul showed pain and horror on its face, but even more so a vicious expression.


    "Just wait until my lord revives me. I will carve out your flesh and torment your soul for eternity for what I have suffered today!" The fellow cursed, thinking that he could not be heard.


    The next moment strange outline appeared behind his soul.

 Chapter 373 - 373

    The entire auction hall was left in a fearful silence as they watched the soul of the Demonic Thrall be approached by the same dark outline from before, which reached out its hand and grabbed the soul''s shoulder.


    Immediately, the angry and vicious expression of the ethereal Demonic Thrall vanished, as terror and trauma appeared on his face slowly, growing until it upied his entire visage. He trembled so strongly, that even the outline behind him was moved a little.


    He did not dare turn his head around, for acknowledging what was behind him was also acknowledging his now inevitable fate. However, whether he chose to look or not didn''t change anything.


    In the next second, his soul roared in even more agony than before, a high-pitched shriek that made more than a few ears bleed in pain. The already translucent form of his soul became thinner and thinner, his struggles in trying to flee useless as he was eventually devoured fully.


    This time, there was the sound of crunching noises, and the VIP room''s ss became opaque before the crowd could see the entire soul disappear.


    The entire auction floor was silent until the crunching noises stopped and arge gulp was heard, then a satisfied sigh. After that, the silence persisted for another five minutes as everyone who sat in their respective seats collectively felt like their nice andfy chair was nothing more but a fancy chopping board for an invisible butcher.


    Deia, who had been smiling with amusement from beginning to end, suddenly spoke up. "Right, how ugly that was. That fellow was devoured by our people for trying to attack me and ruin the auction, and I hope no one else decided to follow his example, okay?"


    Deia giggled loudly. "After all, we need some people to continue to bidding, right?"


    Her joke did not make anyoneugh, but that was not the intention. It was a message, to make it fully clear to those visiting that the auctions in this city were invible. Firstly, they could negate all attacks from assants.


    Secondly, they had the ability to kill the assantˇ­ permanently. Even a Demonic Thrall who had at least been at the Master stage had easily been dealt with, much less those of other factions.


    Thirdly, and most importantly, the auction house, no the cityˇ­ no, the real master behind the city, did not care about the aftermath of such an act!


    This, more than those facts that came before, terrified the powerhouses in the VIP rooms!


    "Now, the auction finale shall begin for the bottles of Lunar Dew! Each bottle will be sold at 10,000,000 Supreme Coins with a minimum increment of 100,000! Bidding, Start!" Deia called out with a bow.


    Immediately, those who were interested shook off their fear as they bid silently. Those whocked the means either enjoyed the sight of the ever-growing numbers on the screen or loaned their money upwards to the bigger powers in exchange for favors or benefits outside of the city.


    However, the heated atmosphere one would expect at the end of an auction simply wasn''t there. It had nothing to do with it being a silent auction, but the air had turned cold and the room resembled more that of a funeral ground, where all the bidders were solemn and grave.


    Still, this did not stop the furious climb for the most valuable item in the world. At this point, the bid had reached 76,900,000 Supreme Coins and did not look like it would stop here.


    At the same time, as more and more time passed, more people were bing lively. The desire for the Lunar Dew and what it could be used for overcame their shock and fear at the proceedings so far.


    More and more people began shifting in their seat, curious to see who would win and how much would be dumped on this legendary item. Exchanges with the Guard Androids picked up crazily as well, everyone going all in at this point.


    Soon, the final bid came out as 123,600,000 Supreme Coins. After this, the shadow in the hearts of many buyers mostly disappeared as they got ready for the next bidding war for the second bottle.


    In the end, all remaining 9 bottles surpassed the hundreds of millions. Their prices kept climbing exponentially until thest bottle was feverishly bought at more than a billion Supreme Coins.


    And this, brought an end to the auction.


    It had many ups and downs, but the items sold were truly very good. Many were looking forward to the less expensive ones that could hit the shops so they could use them to make finished goods and make a good profit.


    Some too were hoping the final goods would show upter so they could get a chance to get some for themselves or their ns/factions. All in all, many left the auction house with mixed feelings, their hearts unable to settle.


    As for those who sessfully bid, they received an update from Martin that made their faces glow with joy. Apparently, the Auction House was willing to let them use a private portal located in the building to reach their destination straight away after they received their goods.


    This was great for many, as once they were back at their strongholds, no one would be able to touch them. Not only that, but even if the other powers were able to knuckle down the buyers from their ability to appear directly in their own safehouses, they wouldn''t know who specifically bought what.


    That was the most important thing for them.


    Darius took his five Apprentices back to the mage tower, telling them to spend the rest of the day off in lieu of their passed exams. The five fellows were a bit speechless after what they had just seen, and didn''t have the mood to go out and y.


    Rather, they returned to their rooms to digest their experiences and make ns for their future after seeing the true nature of the worldˇ­ but only one aspect of it, of course.


    As for Darius, he changed his attire into something more formal, his Branded Servants following suit. The trio then appeared in the inner section of the city, standing on a tform that projected their images across the entire city.

 Chapter 374 - 374

    Darius gently cleared his throat, capturing the attention of everyone still present in the city and ensuring their silence for his next few words. He then gazed into the ''camera'' directly, making those watching feel like he was looking right at them.


    "Greetings, visitors and citizens of this humble city. My name is Darius Stone, a Master mage and I guess you could call me the Guardian/Founder of this city. To my sides are my wards and close associates, Royal Half-Giant Master vanguard Gunner Stone, as well the Royal Elf Master cleric X Stone."


    "I stand before you like this because our first major milestone has been crossed, which was the auction that many of our more notable Visitors have just participated in. Since the esteemed powerhouses from all over the world are still present, I thought this would be a good chance to introduce myself, my city, and what we have to offer."


    "Firstly, the quality of goods produced in this city are beyond anything seen in the entire history of Faust. If you don''t believe me feel free to ask anyone from the Appraiser Guild who had vouched for us during the auction. All of you must wonder as to the source of this, but most should understand that I cannot - and do not have the right to - answer. However, I can promise you that our goods will never drop in quality!"


    "This city has been established to be the pinnacle ofmerce and mercantilism in the entirety of Faust. This is important, for our unique currency, the Supreme Coin, will be the only thing epted within our borders."


    "You are free to purchase various high-quality goods, materials, and even services that will be offered in our outer section as long as you have the money and there is supply."


    "To answer some questions beforehand, all shops and service outlets will be owned by the city in that section. You cannot buynd or rent a shop to peddle goods or services, for we can brazenly say that nothing anyone offers in Faust can match up to what we have."


    Many grumbled at this, especially foreign craftsmen and merchants, but they dared not dispute it for they knew it was the painful truth.


    For those who had viewed the city lightly, their expressions became solemn as they were beginning to understand what Darius was trying to do.


    Darius continued. "Secondly, the caste system of the city. I do not feel the need to hide it, we are openly using a caste system to separate the social and political strata of our benign city."


    "There are 7 sses we n to establish. I will list them, their benefits and detriments, and ways to ess them in the portal, so check with the Martin AI to learn more about it. You can also have him directly download this information to your mind as I guess most of you are doing right now." Darius pointed out with a smile.


    Many faces blushed in spite of themselves, hating that they had easily been read. However, when they digested the information Martin sent over, all their faces changed.


    Currently, the 7 sses were from lowest to highest, the Residents, the Visitors, the Affiliated Workers, the Citizens, the Nobles, the Rulers, and the Core.


    The Residents were those who purchased or rented living spaces in the outer section. This allowed them to enjoy the luxuries of the city, and even snap up goods quickly and resell them outside, but they basically had no rights in the city, at least in regards to the higher sses above them.


    The Visitors were those who came from afar. They had the right to life and general safety but they could only stay for a maximum of 7 days each month. They could also report thefts and deception, and would be rewarded for thetter.


    The Affiliated Workers were basically pumped up employees. They were those who worked for the city as receptionists for their hotels, waiters in their restaurants, chefs, guards, shop attendants, masons, etc.


    They were contracted by the city, paid a lovely sry, could get some worker discounts and benefits, and were also given amodation depending on their rank in their sector.


    However, this made them seem like Citizens, but they were not. They had to pay taxes and were forbidden from leaving the city. They had no such thing as leave unless they had a good reason, and they could never enter the inner city.


    In fact, any of these three categories of people, from Residents to Affiliated Workers, would be put to instant death upon being seen in the inner city. It didn''t matter who they were outside, they lost their status once they entered this city and were ced into one of these 7 castes based on various factors.


    To avoid these issues and be able to enter the inner city, they needed to reach the 4th at minimum, which was Citizen.


    A Citizen had the right to life, full safety, and various other benefits. They were given monthly stipends and did not pay taxes. They could open their own business for each other in the inner city, but not the outer city.


    They were only allowed to go to the outer city once every week and could only spend 2 days there, but they could leave the city to head outside whenever they wanted. This was to prevent citizens from mingling with the bottom 3 castes too much.


    Citizens got free education within the city and could be trained by the city if their children had sufficient talent, whether it was the mage academy or the battle corps.


    The mage academy and battle corps were all within the same framework, both headed by a Master mage called Elijah McNickles. They gave priority recruitment to their own citizens and such kids paid no fees for their training, though they had other limitations.


    What surprised others was that others could enroll their kids within the academy, but the fees were hefty. It was as if thoseing externally were paying for the entire operation of the school, including the freebie citizen children.

 Chapter 375 - 375

    However, the benefits were amazing. Martin listed all of the benefits, curric, and activities the academy had, the kind of materials it would use, and the restrictions put in ce.


    Upon learning this, many who had juste out of the auction cursed themselves for not purchasing those slots. One of the main benefits that made them regret was that sessful graduates would instantly be Citizens of the city and could bring their family to live in the inner section.


    Apart from that, they could also reject citizenship and do whatever they want. They had no obligations to the academy so they could take their superior skills and conquer the world as they pleased.


    The only thing was that they could never share the things they had learned from the academy to the outside world, but that was a given anyway. Most academies had forced indenture upon graduation, something along the lines of working in the school or in the country''s military a certain amount of years before they would be free.


    As such, apart from the high fees, it was a great ce for many noble families to send their wards to practice magic!


    They also noticed that there was a third type of student, the ''external geniuses''. These were for impoverished and destitute wards who could not afford the fees but had talent in spades, they could be admitted and have all costs waived, and they would get Citizenship too, yet they would have to work it off after they had acquired the skills.


    This too was fair. If one graduated and became an Adept, which was the criteria for basic graduation, they could very well pay back those costs in a few decades.


    Moving on, above Citizens were Nobles. These were special citizens among the rest, those who were simultaneously Citizens and members of the faction Darius hadid out in the open.


    If one became an inner member of the faction, they automatically gained Citizenship and would be also granted Nobility status. If you got Citizenship but didn''t want to tie yourself to Darius''s factions'' leg, that was fine, but you would never be able to be a Noble no matter how great you were.


    Nobles had all the rights of Citizens and even more, they had full legal immunity towards the castes below them and they could also ownnd in the inner city. Citizens could also ownnd, but not at the same time.


    They were givennd to live and build on, but thatnd belonged to the city and could be taken back at any time. Nobles actually had to spend their money for theirnd, but they also retained ownership of it.


    Not to mention, the kind of discounts and ess they had to Darius'' goods was the highest. They could directly buy things to be sold in auctions beforehand, cucking the rest of the world who might have arrived exactly because of that one item.


    What even left many speechless was the fact that they got discounts of up to 80%! This would allow the city to priorities its people and have them power themselves faster than any outside faction could, leaving many powers feeling threatened.


    Above the Nobles were the Rulers, basically those in charge of the entire territory. This was an extremely small caste that was egregiously hard to break into.


    Right now, all those who formed part of this were even listed, City Mayor Nichs Spencely and Principal Elijah McNickles.


    It was only the two of them, these two who held power over all 5 castes beneath theirs. Their power was absolute and incorrigible, making many mark them as targets to be buttered up for favors.


    Above them were the Core. Nothing was said about this group, only that they were situated in the center of the city.


    No one knew what benefits they exactly had or what things they could do, but many understood that this group had to be affiliated with the source of this city''s mysterious goods.


    However, everything was cut off here. There was no listed method to be a member of the Core, only that they would find you, never the other way around.


    At this time, Darius spoke again.


    "Thirdly, we are recruiting Affiliated Workers right now. If you are interested, apply with Martin and you will be vetted for your post ordingly. The first batch of goods will be shipped in 4 days'' time and hit the stores in 7 days, so make sure to apply before then, as conditions for application will never be asx in the future."


    "Fourthly and finally, we will now announce the name of our grand city. We''ve put much thought into this, and decided that our great territory will henceforth be called and recognized asˇ­ Safemoon!" Darius dered with a smile.


    Many cheers and apuds came from the core and inner cities, as they were finally d they had a name and didn''t have to call where they lived, ''the city'' or ''the territory'' anymore.


    Darius then ended the broadcast and returned to the mage tower with his Branded Servants. With this, everything on his Phase 2 checklist had beenpleted, namely the auction, the announcement, and the deration of the city name.


    This not only gave it identity, but also gave it sovereignty. Thetter was more important than the former.


    Darius then focused on his abilities and realized that they had stagnated for a while. Not only that, Gunner and X were looking a bit bored from staying home babysitting kids.


    Darius chuckled and suggested. "We''ll head out to explore a bit in 5 months'' time. There are many things in the city that we cannot afford to abandon at this time to frolic about, and once everything has stabilized, we can go."


    Gunner and X''s expression lit up at the promise, and they felt much more invigorated. Gunner especially missed the days where they had no particr home, and roamed around the entire Fallon continent wreaking havoc and setting up dastardly ns everywhere.


    It seemed like those days were not yet gone for good!

 Chapter 376 - 376

    Thinking like this, Darius turned to view his Apprentices. While they were in their individual rooms, as the master of the mage tower he could naturally see them as if the walls were invisible if he wanted to.


    He used this chance to do something he had forgotten to do before the auction, which was to check theirprehensive progress. As usual, he started with young Ash.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Ash Spencley


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 1,935/1,935 (63)


    MP: 1,541/1,541 (15)


    STA: 1,035/1,035 (7)


    Level: 23 (1)


    Strength: 43 (9)


    Agility: 41 (9)


    Endurance: 45 (7)


    Intellect: 67 (20)


    Charisma: 20 (13)


    Luck: 30 (25) (Editor''s Note; In case it wasn''t obvious the (X) is thest shown stat in the story. Should make it nice and easy to see the progress of each character ;) )


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Thoughtful


    Affection: Worship lvl 3 (1)]


    Darius then moved his eyes to the principal''s niece, Reina.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Reina McNickles


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 1,152/1,152 (18)


    MP: 1,100/1,100 (12)


    STA: 720/720 (3)


    Level: 20 (1)


    Strength: 32 (6)


    Agility: 33 (4)


    Endurance: 36 (3)


    Intellect: 55 (12)


    Charisma: 32 (24)


    Luck: 32 (30)


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Thoughtful


    Affection: Worship lvl 3 (1)]


    After Reina, he moved to his most aggressive and ambitious Apprentice, Jonathan.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Jonathan ck


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 2,450/2,450 (100)


    MP: 855/855 (10)


    STA: 950/950 (10)


    Level: 19 (1)


    Strength: 49 (10)


    Agility: 41 (9)


    Endurance: 50 (10)


    Intellect: 45 (10)


    Charisma: 20 (12)


    Luck: 25 (15)


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Thoughtful


    Affection: Worship lvl 3 (1)]


    Humming, Darius'' eyes then roved over to his most inconspicuous and strange Apprentice.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: James Jones


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 1,800/1,800 (42)


    MP: 1,200/1,200 (13)


    STA: 800/800 (6)


    Level: 20 (1)


    Strength: 45 (7)


    Agility: 39 (6)


    Endurance: 40 (6)


    Intellect: 60(13)


    Charisma: 7 (8)


    Luck: 35 (19)


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Thoughtful


    Affection: Worship lvl 3 (1)]


    Finally, Darius''s gaze softened as he looked at his favorite and most talented Apprentice, Anthony.


    [Detected target is of a Friendly affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Anthony Sabins


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n)


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 4,340/4,340 (72)


    MP: 2,408/2,408 (30)


    STA: 1,960/1,960 (9)


    Level: 28 (1)


    Strength: 62 (8)


    Agility: 67 (8)


    Endurance: 70 (9)


    Intellect: 86 (30)


    Charisma: 40 (20)


    Luck: 70 (65)


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Thoughtful


    Affection: Worship lvl 3 (1)]


    All five of them had made great progress over the span of a single month. This was exactly what Deia meant when she had warned the various powers that failure to acquire Darius'' goods early would leave any other in the dust.


    This was also why Darius had peddled his goods at exorbitant prices yet many fellows had fought for them like beggars for scraps. With his Awakening Scrolls, his various transmuted potions, his various lectures, Gunner''s optimal training, the Lunar Dew, and more had led to this oue.


    Granted, these fiveds were the cream of the crop, but would other racesck such geniuses? In fact, Anthony was only half beastkin, so imagine what a full beastkin would be like? What about a genius from the Demon or Devil race or someone from Elysium with a Divine heritage?!


    Such peoples and races would have higher starting points than mere humans, so their growth would be even more nonsensical.


    However, these fiveds were above level 20 or almost at it, with stats definitely in the Journeyman stage with some even in the Adept stage, yet they were still officially Amateurs!


    That''s right, they hadn''t yet performed the necessary procedure ording to the Faustian native power system. So they were still fundamentally Amateurs. Darius was also nning to keep them this way until the year-end when he would let them try for Journeyman.


    After all, he had digested so much restricted knowledge that he hade to understand how wed the Faustian system was especially with the help of the Supreme System.


    Using the stats of 20-50 for Journeymen, 50-100 for Adept, 100-200 for Master, and 200+ for Grandmaster was not exactly wrong, but it was treading the path of normalcy and ipetency, not to mention it used humans as a baseline.


    To simplify, bing a Journeyman at 20 points or at 50 points was the difference between going to your localmunity college or getting epted in one of the Ivy League universities.


    Yeah, both would allow you to continue your education, but not only would it be hard to progress from there, but you would also be settling for the poorest quality education avable.


    Using this same example, other races would be qualified for higher-tier universities, that was why one could see fellows like Mikey and Joneson who had high-level Master stats at the early stages of Adept, or the monstrous Lord Darm who had Grandmaster and above stats at the mere Master stage.


    This was the line that divided the populous humans from the special races in most cases and was why Fallon trailed after the rest. They had a poor legacy system and some good resources, but theycked crucial knowledge of how the power system could best be exploited.


    Or rather, this should be amended. It was that those at the top certainly knew about this, but refused to enlighten the public. After all, if the average level of power among the popce increased, who would be able to keep their positions of power safe from those who had funny ideas?


    Rather, let themoners remain ignorant. They are best manipted that way!


    The ranking of the continent? The betterment of society?


    Merely a joke told in the ballroom by nobles who had delusions of grandeur!


    Sensible nobles kept the mentality of ''My ancestors have enjoyed this kind of power for life! Why should I give up the opportunity to live like them? This ''problem'' doesn''t have to be solved in my era. One of my descendants is free to do so if they wish. It won''t be my problem once I''m dead.''


    This was true in Faust as well as on Earth. It was a universal principle any and every politically interested person abided by, ''benefits for me and detriments for thee''.

 Chapter 377 - 377

    After the auction, Darius started doubling down on the education of the five Apprentices.


    Things mostly continued as they were, only that their targets had changed from learning and mastering the Basic spell of their primary element to doing the same for their secondary element.


    Having learned some shortcuts and tricks during their first attempt, the five went about it sharply, practicing day and night as if they were on steroids.


    Of course, such a drug would never be able to hold a candle to the Lundar Dew they unknowingly enjoyed on the daily. In fact, Darius had increased the concentration they were receiving and many special materials the city had acquired during the auction were being used to prepare their meals


    Their lectures in the morning had simrly shifted from the basics of magic to thews of the various elements. Darius would make them learn the basic properties, utilities, and magical nodes that the elements passed through before they became spells.


    It did not matter if they had ess to that element at their current stage or not, he made sure that all of them not only memorized them, but understood them.


    This knowledge would help them in various areas, be itbat, exploration, escape, or even education, assuming they would ever want to stand where Darius was standing right now.


    If they couldn''t even tackle something like this, how could they even dream about teaching talented Apprentices of various elements?


    Their afternoon training sessions had also changed. Darius had given them many weapons skillbooks to read, and it became Gunner''s job to train them in their usage.


    He, like Darius, had dered which weapons the students would use and which they should use as their primary and secondary weapons.


    Ash was to use a Sword and Lance. Reina was to use a Bow and Crossbow. Jonathan was to use a Broadsword and an Axe. James was to use a Dagger and Throwing Knives. Anthony was to use a Bo Staff and a strange alchemical creation Darius made called a Nimbus Cloud.


    When Gunner had nced at Darius with confusion, the fellow chuckled and told the Branded Servant that it was a quirk from his world of origin that he would understandter on. He rmended the half-giant to watch Journey to the West if he was that curious.


    Whatever the case, now that they had adopted their weapons training, the intensity of their afternoons had increased. Unlike before where the only pain they had suffered hade in the form of sore muscles, now bruises from being beaten up due to their inability to match Gunner''s raw skill was amon urrence.


    Even Anthony could not escape this despite his Nimbus Cloud giving him great mobility. Gunner did not have one himself, but his stats were beyond anything the Apprentices could match.


    That was not even adding the fact that he would use the Soldering Gauntlets to drag them over if they managed to run too far away. As one might expect, Gunner''s method of teaching them how to use them was through livebat.


    He was just beating them until they themselves learned a sense of danger and honed their battle experience. Sitting down and telling them their ws like some loving fellow just wasn''t his style.


    Whether you were a man, woman, cat, dog, or God, Gunner would show you his fist. After enough hits, you would naturally learn unless you liked the feeling of an arm the size of a tree knocking the shit out of you without mercy.


    Actually, it was quite intense. Gunner seemed incapable of holding back or show kindness, so X was indirectly forced to watch over the training to prevent death or severe injuries.


    It was only natural that X became the five fellows'' spiritual pir even more than had been the case during their first month of training. She often chastised Gunner to have mercy, but therged would gently pat her on the head then go back to brutalizing the Apprentices, leaving the Elven Princess speechless.


    As barbaric as it might seem, the results spoke for themselves.


    It was almost like life and death every time they entered the field so their senses got better and better until, even with stats lower than Gunner''s, they were able to react to some of his attacks.


    Seeing this kind of progress, X could only sigh and focus on keeping the student alive. By the time the second month ended, they were able to pass their assessment with more ease than the first time.


    The third month had them study their third Basic spellbook and master the rted spell, to which they also passed with flying colors when the month came to an end. In terms of physical prowess, they were now barely reaching Master-stage physical stats.


    Now instead of running around and blocking what they could, they were able to block most of Gunner''s attacks and could sometimes take a futile offensive against him which he would easily counter then send them on the ropes.


    When the fourth month came to an end, their new assignment was once again to master another of the Basic element spells. The Apprentices managed to finish their task within 20-25 days and spent thest few days of the month resting after their intense afternoon sessions instead of practicing repeatedly until they mastered their spells.


    This time, they were made to fight against Gunner as a group in order to train up their teamwork. As one could expect, it was a brutal rout every single time, as their chemistry was too low to ovee the beast named Gunner.


    However, what was a sapient species if not adaptable? By the end of the fourth month, they could hold their own against Gunner and at least not doom each other to a beating due to apse in judgment and timing.


    Their fifth month had them mastering their final Basic spell which took them roughly 15 days of the month. This time, they used their extra hours to practice their team formations in order to give Gunner a run for his money.


    After being beaten for four months in a row, they finally schemed up a way to get one over Gunner and they waited till thest day of the fifth month to execute their dastardly n.

 Chapter 378 - 378

    Gunner stood at ease while watching the five Apprentices arrange themselves before him. His expression towards them was the same as always, a look of casual indifference as if they were mere strangers to him.


    This look greatly bothered the five because they looked up to Gunner despite his harsh teachings because he was awesome in every way, especially when he and Darius were together.


    The contrast between their master and Gunner was so striking that no one could forget about such a duo once encountering them. They thought that after five months, he would at least show some recognition towards them.


    Well, Gunner did recognize them and despite what they thought, he was not a heartless beast. He was brutal precisely because he cared about them, but in order to never pull his punches during a fight, he conditioned himself to be indifferent.


    "You may begin." Gunner instructed calmly, not even taking a defensive position nor using any weapons.


    The five immediately entered the optimal battle formation they had agreed upon beforehand.


    Ash rushed with his body low to the ground, his upper body bent forward while his sword was held behind him.


    Reina jumped back and nicked three arrows on her bow, firing them in tandem with Ash''s movement to prevent Gunner from escaping in any direction but where Ash''s de would strike.


    Anthony struck the ground with his bo-staff and propelled himself into the sky with a triple flip, then manifested his Nimbus Cloud as he rode towards Gunner from a high position, building momentum and pressure as he spun the staff three times.


    At some point James had disappeared, making one wonder whether he had ever existed. It made it near impossible to tell just how close to his target he was.


    Had he even moved from his ce? Was he perhaps hovering around the edges, waiting for the right chance to close the gap? Or could he already be in a position to strike?


    Jonathan hovered near the middle, in a position that would allow him, depending on the situation, to either back Ash up, protect Reina if she came under attack, or coordinate abination attack with Anthony.


    His broadsword was easily wielded by thed, seeming more like a kitchen knife than something almost the size of an average teenager.


    Their formation had been honed after months of trial and error, perfected to an insane degree. Their cooperation was wless and their skills as well as their movements were level, practiced, and fluid.


    s... in the face of absolute power, all manner of trickery was useless.


    With a neutral nce, Gunner watched Ash run over, Reina''s arrows cutting off his paths of retreat as Anthony was gliding downward. The half-giant took a single step forward, then another. He was calmly walking forward to meet their charge, butˇ­


    To an onlooker, it would seem as if the Branded Servant was taking a leisure walk and yet the Apprentices, who were using their top speed, seemed to be moving in slow motion.


    Reina''s arrows reached him just as Ash did, thed swung his sword horizontally. It was a perfect co-operation, one that would force an enemy with the same stats as them to bring out their trump card or risk serious injury.


    Reina would never use normal arrows to fight a monster like him, no her stuff had been custom-made by the best cksmiths on Fallon.


    Her arrows were also enchanted with many different effects like poison, slow, explosion, freeze, fire, and more depending on what she needed. For example, the three arrows she had fired towards the half-giant had been enchanted with a freeze, a smoke cloud, a concussion effect respectively.


    Fighting the Branded Servants for months had allowed them to learn his moves and how he handled things. He was a full-frontal fighter, one who was always willing to enter the fray instead of standing in one ce taking blows.


    Gunner had utter confidence in his body and his power, so unless he was certain an attack could bother him, he would never dodge, only knock it away casually.


    As such, the purpose of the freeze arrow had been to lock the arm he should have used to knock it away in ice, while the smoke arrow would have blocked his vision, providing give Ash more space to maneuver when he retreated.


    Naturally, they did not expect their first attack to hit at all. Expecting that would be foolish, this was, at best, a probing strike.


    In fact, Ash meeting a beast like Gunner on his own would be suicide. The concussion arrow was meant to stun Gunner. Even though it would barelyst a split second, it would be enough to continue with their nned formation of attack.


    It would then be Anthony''s turn to dish out a strike that was charged with all his momentum, using the force of Gunner''s (assumed) counterattack to retreat before they proceeded with the second part of their formation.


    However, Gunner reacted in a way none of the five had expected. He waved his hand, creating a gust of wind that blew all arrows away before they could do anything and followed it up by raising his right leg, stomping down hard.


    The entire training ground shook as if there was a serious earthquake, toppling almost everyone to the ground. Jonathan, Reina, Ash, and even the hidden James were all floored, while the descending Anthony''s face changed to one of horror.


    His teammates had all been incapacitated with one action. At the speed he was charging over it was impossible to retreat for him. He could only grit his teeth and strike out with his umted power, hoping for the best.


    Of course, just because one prayed for a miracle, didn''t mean one would happen.


    Gunner simply grabbed the tip of the offending staff,pletely halting Anthony''s movement. The remnant force from his approach forced the half-beast forward, his grip leaving his staff as he hustled towards the Branded Servant.


    Gunner simply grabbed Anthony before he could crash and hurt himself. Then, he put thed down and gave him back his staff before returning to his starting position, folding his arms then gazing at them calmly with a hint of slight praise.


    However, the frustrated Apprentices did not notice this and rather understood it as a sign of disappointment, since he didn''t even utter so much as a single word nor did hement on their ws.


    Their carefully prepared n had been foiled by him in just a few breaths.

 Chapter 379 - 379

    Darius had watched everything y out from the fourth floor of the mage tower. X who stood beside him sighed on behalf of the kids.


    Their little n had been obvious to anyone even if they didn''t use their Mind Power, nevertheless X had been rooting for them. She had hoped that Gunner would humor them, at least allowing them to demonstrate their entire strategy, even if it would be too much a request for the half-giant to let them win.


    s, Gunner had been as brutal as ever, crushing their hopes before they ever really got the chance to show off.


    "Is this really okay? Aren''t you worried that taking loss after loss will leave them disheartened?" X asked uncertainly.


    Darius nodded with a slight smile. "I''m actually counting on that."


    X gave Darius a nce askance, wondering what her scheming Master was cooking up this time. Noticing X''s look, Darius chuckled and offered her some insight into his ns.


    "Well, it''s like this. They''vee here ignorant and with their own little goals and wants. Their answers before I handed them the Awakening Scrolls were only half-true in the sense that they had only shared their open ambitions."


    "But X, you of all people should know that the heart has two shades. What they might want deep down might be something different than what they im to strive towards. I don''t me them, as they likely are not even aware of it themselves yet."


    "Let us take Ash as an example. He is a chipper youngd who is honest and talented. He told me that he wanted power to seed his father. However, once he bes Safemoon''s next City Lord will that really be anything for him?"


    "Can we be sure that he will be content with ''just'' that amount power once he gets a taste of it? Who is to say he won''t strive for more? His desire for ensuringw and order might easily result in him creating his very own faction to enforce it."


    Darius rubbed his chin here. "While that should not be a problem, I have to train them well to ingrain who their Master is. Of course, if they had any conflicting interest to me, I would never have allowed them to Awaken back then, so they are clear."


    "That is why I can invest our wonderful resources in them without hesitation. Currently, they are not bringing me any profit whatsoever, but that is fine still they are still in the process of being turned into a finished good."


    Darius folded his arms behind his back casually. "However, any merchant who wants to have a strong andsting business always makes sure that his goods are processed properly and to perfection. No blemishes can be allowed to exist that rivals can pick on to destabilize your consumer base, no faults to lead you into a legal mess."


    "These fiveds are my first products. They must be perfect, wless. I am still ambivalent about epting more, but in the situation I do, and it can yield me benefits, I will go all out to make the five the best there is after us."


    Hearing this, X nodded and gazed down at them. She was a kind-hearted Elf and was slightly naive in certain senses, but she was not foolish, far from it. After events had led her to end up in Foldo''s care, she saw the world in a different way and knew where her loyaltiesy.


    Darius had already humored her by fully exining his position because he cared about her opinion, just as she respected his methods and position. She just hoped that the kids would not disappoint himˇ­ for their own sake.


    ...ˇ­..


    After the fifth month came to an end, theds were now halfway into the first year of their tutge. With the intensity of the previous months, they expected harder tasks, but were surprised when Darius rxed things slightly for the 6th month.


    They only had lessons with him in the morning and training with Gunner. Their evening time was no longer spent struggling to master Basic spells, but rather with X who was now in charge of teaching them conventional education from Earth that had been cherrypicked from Darius'' memories in the Supreme Portal.


    Some of the topics blew the minds of the young fellows open, as they were encountering many things and philosophies they had never even heard of.


    Ash was absolutely taken by the ''Theory of Representative Government'', Reina by the ''Idea of Equality between Men and Women'', Jonathan by the ''Idea of Hot Weapons'', James by the ''Idea of Globalization and Puppet Governing'', and Anthony by ''Maths and Science''.


    However, apart from Anthony who could apply his lesson in his own research, the other four just considered them to be nifty things. They were smart enough to understand that implementing something like this on Fallon would be impossible even after centuries of effort.


    In fact, given the size of Faust and the sheer number of people in the Andrato Kingdom alone, which was in the trillions, such an endeavor may very well take millennia. Fallon was the thirdrgest continent with the highest poption in the world.


    Gravitas had only been able to achieve its progress because it was a small nation with not too many people, so progress could happen, like on Earth. Fallon alone was like making the sun a habitable and humankind filling it to the brim.


    If getting anything done with 8 billion people was already so hard, how much more such a number?


    Once the 6th month ended, the Apprentices were shocked to find that their Master, Gunner, and X were going to leave on what they called an expedition. They didn''t give them a frame of time in which they would return, leaving the five feeling like abandoned puppies.


    Darius chuckled and told them to handle their own studies until he came back, but he also gave them another task which would be supervised by Martin. That was to head to the Safemoon''s dungeon and clear the entire Amateur floor.


    They were to do this 5 times individually and 5 times as a team in order to hone their battle skills in realbat and prove that they deserved Gunner''s teaching.


    Darius'' mission made the students feel pressure and excitement. Finally, after being cooped up in the mage tower for so long, they could head out! However, since it was to dungeon dive, they were understandably nervous.


    Pleased with everything so far, Darius and his two Branded Servants walked through the portal on the fifth floor to ces unknown, nning to finally tackle the issue they had put off for years, which was the Adept Quest.


    At the same time, just as they left, the Mage Academy of Safemoon finally opened admissions.

 Chapter 380 - 380

    Today, the usually quiet area in the inner section was quite bustling. Many people stood around the area where the Safemoon Academy was located, with moreing over, expressions of anxiety, worry, and determination on their faces.


    Either they came with wards or in the case of majority, they hade on their own. The crowds outside were automatically split up by preconceived notions, those with simr backgrounds and statuses outside the city and within separating themselves from others.


    Apart from some Guard Androids and MaidBots, there was no other workforce in the academy that those outside could see through the gates. This left them speechless, as it seemed inconceivable that the entire school was run by these things.


    Admittedly, they could handle all misceneous tasks and y the roles of janitors and the like, but they weren''t going to be the teachers, were they?


    After all, apart from the general outline of the Safemoon Academy, the kind of resources it had, and the kind of requirements it demanded, most did not know much else about it.


    Just when therge clock on the academy jumped to 8 am, the gates of therge academy swung open. Martin then informed everyone directly that they were to enter the academy ground and wait for the Principal.


    Tense and anticipatory, they all shuffled inside in a hurry, observing the beautifully advertised academy for themselves. They had to admit, the ground they treaded on alone was already amazing.


    From the gates, there was arge pathway that could support two carriages easily, and it was paved with yellow-white bricks that radiated a strange energy. More than a few were clueless as to what this was, but the rich ones here had their expressions change greatly.


    This wasˇ­ Mind Stone!


    Oh my days, they actually paved their bloody road with Mind Stone!


    This was a rare item that was used to build mediation rooms in most top mage academies, for it would calm the mind of the person within and allow them to maintain a focused state.


    Such academies would have students pay using internal currency or state currency for using such rooms for a few hours at most, never for free. The public ones would be made of heavily diluted Mind Stone mixes, enough that they could say they had done something for their students.


    Yet hereˇ­ just the roadˇ­ why?


    The various peoples continued walking for almost 5 minutes before they reached the main courtyard. There was a fountain here that was spewing a strange pale liquid, while the area outside the courtyard - and the road they had just walked on for that matter - was filled with healthy blue and yellow grasses.


    Once again, those in the know were left bbergasted. That water in the fountain, wasn''t that Pure Water? Water without any impurities nor defects that was said to exist during the primordial times?


    The fountain itself was made of Power Stone, the counterpart to Mind Stone. It would allow those who were near it to feel refreshed in body, reinvigorating them and removing fatigue.


    Coupled with the Pure Water within, anyone who took a rest here would likely be able to run a marathon after a few seconds and a single sip, right?


    The grass that was used for decoration was even more absurd, for those looked like Al grass. Al grass was a unique breed of garden grass that was supposed to be exclusively found in Unyris.


    Animals and beasts that grazed on them would eventually gain sentience and have a chance to purify their bloodlines. The scent this grass produced would easily waft in the wind and do the same for humanoids, but to a weaker and much slower degree.


    They had only walked 5 minutes, less than a mile distance, and everything they had seen so far was even more expensive than the fees this academy had been asking for x10. Those who hade here intending to negotiate or lobby the academy into lowering fees felt their tongues tied.


    If any other academy in Fallon would go so far as to ensure the beneficial life of their students while in school, how would they be able to worry?


    Just take all my damn money, for even if my son/daughter is theziest and stupidest person, they would still be quite powerful upon spending a few terms here!


    To be honest, the ground of Safemoon Academy wasn''trgepared to even the smallest ones on Fallon. The entire thing looked like a small castle instead of what should have been a sprawling series of buildings.


    Soon, therge double doors that led into the building itself were opened. Out came Principal Elijah McNickles who wore a casual smile on his face, and had his arms confidently folded behind his back.


    After drinking Lunar Dew raw for so long, his outer appearance no longer matched his actual age. Now, he looked no different from an adult in his early thirties, with healthy ck hair, powerful blue eyes, and sharp brows that showed his manliness.


    His face was angr and there was not a single bit of chub anywhere. His wrinkles and frown lines had long receded, as if the man had literally walked back through time to his younger self instead of just drinking some fancy juice.


    "Wee to our Safemoon Academy! My name is Elijah McNickles, the Principal of this institute of knowledge and the one in charge of your children and wards for the next few years of their life." The former Seneschal introduced himself with a smirk, while ying with his curly mustache.


    He then gazed at the people lined before him with a piercing light, especially those with puffed-up chests with fancy clothing.


    "I am happy to see so many of you today, however I would prefer not to have to waste my time, so let me make something perfectly clear right now. Here in Safemoon, especially in this academy, I am God!"


    "I do not care in the slightest where youe from, who you are, or who you think you will be, here you are subject to my rules and will also suffer the same punishment as everyone else if you flout them."


    Despite many frowning at that, he continued. "Here in Safemoon Academy, we do not care about your displeasure, you have two choices, ept our terms or get out, there are thousands who will beg us to take your ce."


    "We collect the same amount of fees from you whether you are a beggar from the streets or the legitimate son of a God. However much you can digest and benefit depends on one thing, your own hard work!"

 Chapter 381 - 381

    Many eyes shone when they heard this, for this was what they hoped for, especially those who had barely been able to afford the fee toe here today. Hard work was nothing strange to them, it was the bare minimum to keep their necks afloat and survive in this world.


    However, the problem was that in many ces. hard work was scorned in favor of social background and finances. This was deliberately set up to keep the poor poor and allow the rich to be richer, preventing any means for a great ovep.


    Thetter group here naturally frowned even deeper, and some were folding their arms while harrumphing coldly. Nothing this so-called Principal had said since he came here was what they wanted to hear.


    "Unlike other institutes, we care less about how much money you have at home in your piggybank and more about your actual talent. After all, Safemoon makes more a second than what any of you would earn in a year, your wealth is but peanuts in our eyes." Elijah spoke coldly.


    The arrogant nobles who were displeased were damaged by this as they knew it to be true deep down, yet they were so used to the status quo that they had selectively ignored it and believed that the same would hold true here.


    But the Principal had used one line to wake them up with a ssh of cold water. If the school didn''t need their money, then what did they have to offer to gain favors?


    Looking at how Elijah was the only human here and the rest were robots, many mouths dried up. They could not use conventional tactics like lust, bribery, and the like to win a better position, so their minds crawled back to what Elijah said from the very beginning.


    Hard work!


    Seeing that his message had gotten across, Elijah nodded with satisfaction. "Now, open your minds to the Martin AI. It will scan your brain to gauge your mental powers and possible elemental affinities using a special algorithm we created."


    Some unhesitatingly opened their minds to be assessed while most hesitated. After all, who could trust that they wouldn''t steal core information directly from their minds or nt some mind-controlling methods?


    Elijah chuckled loudly in a very mocking way, which grated on the ears of those who had hesitated.


    "If you do not feel safe, you are free to leave. After all, we are in such desperate need of your little secrets that we have created this borate city and wasted money building this expensive academy just to trick you oh so important fellows into lowering your guard, what money well spent!"


    Many faces blushed at that, the sarcasm and mockery cutting them down to the bone. When he put it like thatˇ­ well, what could they say? They slowly opened their minds up to be assessed.


    YOINK!


    Information stolen and stored in a secret cloud of the database, Martin AI, out!


    Nobody who ever states '' I respect your privacy'' truly means it. Thinking otherwise, like these poor sods who had been convinced so easily, was just toddler-like naivety.


    Of course, Martin did what had been promised and assessed their talents. He would then report them to the people in question privately, making their faces shine or fall depending on the grade he had assigned them.


    The Ai calcted Talent using current Int vs average Int for their respective age group. Potential was calcted astent Int vs calcted Int.


    Current Intellect was obviously the amount they had quantified at that point in time. Average Int was a fixed number that was calcted using the Int of all known species simr to themselves on their respective home continents.


    Latent Int was the maximum Intellect you would have achieved in your life had you nevere to the academy, or to put it better, the limit of Intellect you could acquire before you hit your ceiling.


    Calcted Int was basically the highest Int you could acquire if you studied and worked averagely throughout your entire stay in the academy, fully simted by Martin in seconds based on each person''s makeup.


    In numerical form, Talent = Current Int - Average Int. Potential = Calcted Int - Latent Int.


    Talent and Potential were separated into the normal ten grades of F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, EX.


    For Talent, F = 0, E = 1-3, D = 4-6, C = 7-9, B = 10-12, A = 13-15, S = 16-18, SS = 19-21, SSS = 22-25 and EX = 26+.


    For Potential, F = 0-10, E = 11-20, D = 21-30, C = 31-40, B = 41-50, A = 51-60, S = 61-70, SS = 71-80, SSS = 81-90 and EX = 91+.


    For example, the human average at age 13 was 5 Points of Int.


    The talent of the Five Apprentices varied. Ash would be an A grade talent, having 15 more Intpared to others at his age.


    Reina, who was 15 years old, would have a C grade talent, 16-year-old Jonathan a D grade talent, James was a C grade talent and Anthony was an SSS talent that was just 1 point away from being EX.


    It wasn''t that Jonathan and co were trash, they were just Andrato''s version of top-tier after being suppressed from all sides. It was simply Ash and Anthony who were freaks defyingmon sense.


    Although the talent might have beencking for the other three, at this point in time, it was impossible for Martin to calcte the potential for any of the five Apprentices.


    As such, he was using them as an experiment. Once their tutge would end, Martin could gauge a means to measure the potential for those who followed his lesson n for the next five years.


    As for the academy, while the resources and materials were miles above what theirpetitors would dare to use, they paledpared to what Darius had offered the quintet, so Martin could easily calcte the potential for the present fellows using his own algorithm.


    They numbered around 200 and they were from different ces from all over Fallon. Some came seeking knowledge, some came seeking a chance for citizenship and some were poorly trained spies sent by their various kingdoms and factions to see what this academy was all about.


    Their results were out, and the grades were shocking.

 Chapter 382 - 382

    Elijah waited until each candidate received their grading before speaking once more.


    "The cut-off grade for Talent and Potential for the first admission of our Safemoon Academy will be at its lowest, as long as you have received at least a D in both respects, you will be one of my students. From the next admissions season ongoing, it will increase to C grade in both respects."


    Many faces paled, especially the wards. The adults didn''t know their wards'' results yet and they also had no idea how it was calcted, so hearing a D was all that was needed made them smirk.


    Hmph, in the end, you are still an academy!


    Even if you might have the best resources and methods, what use would be your school without students?.


    Still, despite thinking this way, they unconsciously knew it was only them being petty to vent their unhappiness. The fact of the matter was, if the resources the academy was unting openly was anything to judge by then even D grade talents could be powerhouses after graduation.


    Once Safemoon Academy had any promising students it could show off, the number of participants would soar in the years toe.


    As for the wards though, they were ashen-faced. Out of over 200 less than a fourth met the requirements. The total number of those at or above D grade was only 42 in total.


    The majority fell in the E grade category with only a minute amount at F grade. After all, no matter what, these kids had been talents chosen because their guardians had deemed them to be better than their peers, sure that they would be chosen.


    Better they were, but only 1-3 points. Unlike Darius and co the typical Fallonian could not see stats nor quantify them using the sheer database Martin had, they could only use the natural sensing method of a person''s life level.


    Since they had felt their wards had a slightly higher life level than others, they had deemed them to be talents. Anomalies like Anthony were so rare and the feeling they gave was fundamentally different.


    Hearing that the next admission would raise it by an entire grade, many among the sessful 42 were thankfulˇ­ otherwise, only 15 of them would have passed this time around.


    Elijah received the feedback from Martin and smirked internally. "All those who have passed,e and stand in front, line yourself up as well. Those who have failed, you can leave. You have 3 minutes to exit the inner section before punitive measures will be taken."


    For those who were ignorant, Martin quickly informed them of the punitive measures, which made all of them tremble. Quickly, they looked at their wards, and those whose kids passed beamed with joy, sighing with relief.


    Those whose kids failed had pained expressions and quickly left with them in tow. No one tried to argue, as if the city did not care enough to kill even a demon, they were even less important.


    When the grounds only held 42 wards lined up in rows of 7 and their parents/masters who stood back, many showed excited and even more worried expressions as they wondered what wasing next.


    "Now, we will separate you based on your talent and potential into three groups. The Common ss, the Elite ss, and the Master ss." Elijah said calmly, folding his arms behind his back.


    He then pointed to the left area of the courtyard that was unupied. "Those at Grades D and C in both fields, please move there."


    Many fellows shared uncertain looks before walking out grudgingly to stand aside. The beaming smiles of their guardians changed to ugly visages. They had been happy that their wards had qualified, all of them convinced that their kids must have an A grade talent for sure!


    However, they now knew that their wards were either C grade or D grade, and they were certainly hoping for it to be the former. If it were thetterˇ­ well, there was nothing they could do, but it would definitely suck.


    This year''s Common ss would consist of 35 out of the 42 present. The 7 who had remained standing were closely watched by everyone else.


    Some were arrogant, some were shy, and others casual. However no matter what, all gazes were full of jealousy and envy from both parents and wards in the Common ss.


    The parents or masters of the 7 didn''t hide their glee, smiling smugly when the other parents gave them a nce full of irritation. The way those other fellows smiled, they would surely love to give them a good wallop on their backs.


    Elijah was amused by this and pointed to the center. "Those at Grades B and A to the center."


    At this call, the children stepped forth, confident that they were the elites among the rest and that they were likely all there should be.


    ... however, those moving quickly froze when they noticed that some had stayed behind.


    All eyes fell on the remaining two, one boy and one girl. The boy stood there casually as if it was utterly natural - despite wearing rags - while the girl seemed to be the shy but cutesy type, coincidentally she was also the youngest of the group.


    Her ears poked out from behind her shoulder-length hair, yet they were not as long as X''s, marking her as a half-elf. Though she was dressed slightly better than thed beside her, she was clearly also destitute.


    The adults were baffled when they looked at them. These types of children had somehow managed to beat their own?


    However, the one with the biggest shock was undoubtedly the ve owner that had brought them here. Although he had been aware that they had been the most exceptional of his batch, he would have never even dreamed about that it would be to this degree.


    He had taken a gambleing here, and it had paid off handsomely!


    Elijah hmmed with interest. "The final two are part of the Master ss, go and stand on the right. Now, we''ll-"


    "Cough, Lord Principal, forgive me for my rude interruption, but I have a proposal for you." The ve owner interjected as he smiled obsequiously.

 Chapter 383 - 383

    "Hmm?" Elijah murmured, not angry that he had been interrupted. He calmly gazed at the ve owner and waited for him to state his business.


    Seeing that all eyes were on him, the fellow rubbed his hands and smiled obsequiously. "Esteemed Principal, my name is Silvester Cobain and I own a small business in Lithos Empire to the south. I''ve traveled all this way to bring these two products of mine who have disyed shocking talent and intelligence since young."


    The frown on Elijah''s face didn''t escape Silvester, the ve owner taking it as his cue to stop being long-winded and quickly getting to his point.


    "In essence, I wish to propose entering a business rtionship with your esteemed Mage Academy. These two are merely the cream of the crop, I have many more whose talent should only be slightly beneath them."


    "I shall happily bring them over for you to test and should they satisfy your requirements, it would be my greatest honor to sell them off under your tutge."


    Both Elijah and the faces of everyone here changed pleasantly.


    Unless Sylvester was daring enough to lie to the Principal - something that would cost him greatly - if the ve owners like Slyvester brought over wards who could qualify for the Master ss - which was supposed to have free tuition - then the academy could profit by getting unaffiliated talents to nurture using its superior resources that could directly be turned into the city''s power.


    Of course, the Master ss was the most desirable one, if only for the free tuition alone. Either way Safemoon Academy could profit greatly by getting more unaffiliated talents to nurture using its superior resources that could directly be turned into the city''s power.


    It was a win-win for both sides.


    It wasn''t that other Mage Academies couldn''t do this, it was just that all others were in the business of making money, not spending it.


    Such a thing was seen as a drain on funds, mostly because they had no way to predict if their investment into an enigma would be worthwhile, so they didn''t particrly care about such talents because the people who taught them were Masters and the like.


    Those Mage Academies would at best have people graduate one stage below them and even then they would be considered geniuses.


    Adept Academies would have peak Amateur graduates as the norm, with earlyte Journeyman graduates as their geniuses.


    Master Academies would have peak Journeyman graduates as their norm and early-middle Adept graduates as their geniuses.


    Grandmaster Academies would have peak Adept graduates as their norm and early Master graduates as their geniuses.


    No Mage Academy on Fallon - at least on the surface - had graduates at the Grandmaster.


    It was impossible to juncture one so easily in just five years, and even those with Master graduates had to pay a very high price to selectively nurture some using the best resources Fallon had to offer.


    However, no one could easily gauge the kind of graduates this academy would have based on its standards and resources, so it was hard to tell how things would end up.


    Of course, Elijah didn''t think too much about it. Safemoon Citycked only a few things, but if there was one thing they had in spades, then it would be money.


    With the kinds of resources, other powers had to spend to acquire their Supreme Coins, they had enough to build more than 20 Grandmaster Academies and run them all simultaneously with full capacity for at least half a century.


    That was not even ounting for the fact that each passing day more wereing to purchase Safemoon''s goods which the students would get for ''free''.


    Principal Elijah liked the idea of being able to spit out personalized talents for the city after buying them and investing in them with care to foster their allegiance. He was certain that a wise merchant like Darius would greatly appreciate it if he took this deal.


    As such, he nodded. "Name your price."


    Seeing this, Silvester was excited and began rubbing his hands even faster. Any more, and he might create fire and be the second Prometheus of humankind.


    "Well, this isˇ­ how should I say? Hmˇ­ I can''t reallyˇ­"


    He was a small-time ve owner, so he had long since been overwhelmed. Even the concept of 1 Supreme Coin was mindblowing to him, as it was worth 100 Dius.


    To put things into perspective, his yearly ie when converted from his empire''s currency to Dius would be about 0.75 Dius.


    This situation was akin to someone who made around $80,000 yearly suddenly making a transaction which could earn them 5 billion dors on the spot.


    In front of such money, how could he remain calm? Thinking you would be stoic like some awesome protagonist was just wishful thinking.


    Especially, when the other had practically handed him a nk check. His brain was incapable of doing the math how much he could charge to take full advantage without offending the other party.


    Elijah frowned at this and waved his hand. "The boy''s talent is at the S grade with SS grade potential, so I''ll pay 300 Supreme Coins for him. The girl is an entire grade above him in both respects, so I''ll pay 500 SC for her. Check your bracelet, the money has been transferred."


    Silvester''s body shivered so hard it looked like he might break down into molecules. He had just received more than he would have ever dared to ask for, and he silently asked Martin to disy his ount.


    Seeing 800 SC deposited, his eyes rolled back into his head as he fainted on the spot. Apart from Elijah who was speechless, none of the others found it strange.


    Instead, they were filled with endless hate and envy while looking at the fainted fellow, were it not for the Principal''s presence they would have trampled him to death.


    Elijah quickly called some Guard Androids to carry the fellow away before he woulde to harm and the deal would fall through. The rest of the parents looked at their wards with disapproval, making them feel speechless.


    What, are you saying that if we also had Master ss talent, you would sell us away for money?!


    Realizing something was wrong, the parents quickly fixed their expressions and disyed benevolent smiles, as if they would never think of such a thing.


    Elijah simply scoffed and pped. "Now that this is over and done with, students head inside where I will give you your orientation."


    "As for the adults, I have an announcement that will be shared with everyone soon. In a week''s time, we will begin admission for our Battle Corps division, so send your talented wards here for their ability training. Our standards are just as high for the Battle Corps as the Mage Academy, so keep that in mind."


    "As I said earlier, every admission henceforth will require C grade as the minimum standard, and every grade will rise ordingly thereafter. This means the Common ss will consist of those with C and B grades, the Elite ss of A and S grade, and the Master ss SS grade and beyond."


    "Admission will be held once a year for both academies on this very same date, the first day of June."


    Elijah then walked into the academy. "That is all, the rest of the internal specific information will be shared during orientation."

 Chapter 384 - 384

    Once inside the academy itself, everyone was amazed at howvished and well-decorated everything was. Extravagantmps, lights, rugs, and tapestries hung about, with aesthetically painted walls as well as polished wood as the base materials.


    Even moreso, as one could expect, the walls were made of a unique mixture of Mind and Power Stone, oveying the effects of them in ways that baffled those in the know among the group, for such a thing should be impossible.


    Which artificer did they get to perfectlybine two materials like this with conflicting properties?


    Principal Elijah led them to a small lobby where there were 50 seats directly before a short podium, with more off to the side capable of housing the same number.


    He walked up to the podium and turned to face the crowd.


    "Congrattions, this will be the only orientation in which guardians like yourselves will be allowed to enter Safemoon Academy. After today, only those wearing the badge of our academy denoting them as students or staff will be allowed past those doors. Feel free to boast about this as much as you want."


    Sprouting a satisfied grin, he folded his arms behind his back. "I''ll keep things as short as possible. The agenda for this orientation concerns the following five points; ''Admission'', ''Tuition'', ''Activities'', ''Graduation'' and ''Rules''."


    "I have already covered ''Admission'' outside, so no need to repeat it. For the ''Tuition'', as you know, the fees are set for Common ss and Elite ss students, but Master ss will be fully sponsored by our Safemoon Academy."


    "The fees will have to be paid once a year before the first day of the new semester. It is the same for Common ss and Elite ss students at 1,000 Supreme Coins per year."


    "This is non-negotiable, however, don''t worry, we don''t expect you guardians to cover this sum each and every time, nor will we expel any student in higher years, if they are unable to gather that much."


    Elijah smiled thinly, a smile which made the various wards feel a chill. "We will make them work off their fees alongside their studiesˇ­ hehe."


    "Just do whatever you have to in order to earn that amount within a year. If anything, feel free to jump into the local dungeon on behalf of your wards and spend 24 hours there fighting monsters nonstop, ahaha!" Elijah joked, which no one was able tough at due to how intimidated they were.


    They suddenly felt like this Principalˇ­ was maybe not a very nice guy.


    "sses will start at 6 am and tardiness for any reason will be judged by Martin based on your circumstances. If you''re ass and you''re menstruating, we won''t be so insensitive as to make things hard on you. Feel free to do what is necessary before youe over."


    "Your courses for the next five years are fixed, you don''t get to chose anything. After all, you are all a clueless bunch who know nothing about the true nature of magic, so it is up to our esteemed establishment to show you the way."


    Many cursed under their breaths due to this fellow''s shamelessness. How could you be so bold and arrogant to proim such a thing with a straight face?


    "Finally, your teachers will be digital, assigned to you by the Martin AI. As you have established a mental link with him, you will be granted some restricted ess to our school''s database based on what year you are in, what ss you are in, your stage, as well as your talents."


    "Confer with Martin and he will handle your education and training, as well as all your other details while in the school." Elijah concluded with a smile.


    Before he could continue, he was interrupted by a noble who stood up immediately.


    "What nonsense is this? Do you mean to say we will have to pay such an atrocious sum for our wards to get self-taught?!" He roared with anger, many others standing up with him to show their displeasure.


    As for the wards, while many appreciated the gesture since they also thought this academy was going overboard, they nevertheless wished their parents would stop making noise, afraid that it might ruin their chances at entry.


    Elijah disyed a bored expression and blew a hot breath on his fingernails before wiping them against his robe.


    "Mr. Tubster Jones, let me ask you this, what method do you think is superior? Listening to lecturers for long periods of time, as well as having to read up on many books to understand the contents of the previous lectures... or to have that same information directly transferred into your mind, only leaving you to digest it at your leisure before it bes unforgettable?"


    The noble in question, who was quite round at the waist, but not overly so, was left speechless at being called Tubster Jones, but paid more attention to the content on Elijah''s words.


    He had a pleasantly surprised expression on his face as he parsed what Elijah meant. "Ah, I see. Sorry for the interruption then."


    He might not be aware of technology like this, but he had a general gist of how it worked. Mind transmissions weren''t even rare on Fallon, as Adepts and above with Mind Power could do it.


    It was just that it cost effort and was harmful to those who did not have Mind Powers, so teachers could not bring up their students that way. However, hadn''t they - the adults themselves - been receiving such transmission from Martin right to their minds since they wore the HoloBrace?


    Many of them were either Ability Users/Sparked Warriors or justmon Unsparked and Unawakened, yet regardless of who or what, they had been able to get the information cleanly without experiencing any side effects.


    Understanding this, rather than anger, the adults were excited. After all, one of the biggest ws with education was the method of transmission of information. Not everyone could digest information the same way, which created gaps between many students due to different conditions, intellects, etc.


    However, no matter what, if the information was downloaded in its raw state to your mind, it basically came down to how smart you were - or in Supreme System terms, how high your Intellect was - that would decide how quickly you could turn this ''data'' into ''information'' after processing it.

 Chapter 385 - 385

    "Now, on to ''Activities''. Safemoon Academy will cover all your basic needs, from meals to education, everything that is absolutely necessary to turn you into capable mages."


    "During your stay here we guarantee that you will live afortable life, although of course there is the option of turning the next five years into an extravagant stay."


    "You don''t want to stay in the dorm rooms provided to you? No problem, you can move to a private room, or even live in a special pocket space built to your liking!"


    "Why not have special robes or wands as well as staves made from high-ss materialspared to the basic ones the school will hand out? Why not enjoy absolutely gourmet meals rich with nutrients instead of the upper-middle food the cafeteria will prepare for you?"


    "We all know that sapient nature forces us to seek such pleasures and gratification over each other, cloaked in many forms. Safemoon Academy caters to your needs, and we do it fairly."


    Elijah nodded to the excited crowd below. "You guessed it, like all other academies out there, we have our own internal currency called the Safemoon. You can use it to acquire extra things, purchased through Martin as usual. From food to amodations, even the rights to leave the academy, or sexual favors if you so like."


    Manyds andsses blushed at the mention of sexual favors, but the adults nodded. An academy like this that was basically a boarding school and one that was mixed-sex would create certain tensions in these youths if they spent all year around each other.


    Rtionships would form between them, and as many already knew, more than a few of the students would find corners to express their growing desires. It happened in every high school with pubescent teens and pretending otherwise would just further aggravate the problem.


    Like with anything in society, trying to crack down on this would make people want to do it more, and they would go to shocking lengths to find unsafe and very unwise ways to achieve it, so it was wiser to regte it.


    Some understood this, some didn''t. However, they knew better than to interrupt this ck-hearted Principal lest he marked their wards down to be treated worse than the others.


    "So the main question is, how to acquire Safemoon? It''s simple really. You can take extracurricr activities to achieve this purpose. There are many ways to acquire Safemoon quickly."


    "The first is to challenge the Tower of Power. There, you will face off against various monsters reproduced through Spirit Magic and Runic Arrays. The higher you climb, the more points you earn. Specifics will be shared to you by Martin when you reach the Tower and n to challenge it."


    "The second is to apply with Martin to challenge Safemoon City''s dungeon. You will be free to kill as many as you want, however, for your own safety I can only advise you fromrge groups until you have sufficient strength.


    "We only care about the resources you bring back, they will be directly sold to the academy for Safemoon for your own use. Remember though, unlike the Tower of Power where we can eject you upon fatal danger, you will be on your own in the dungeon."


    "Naturally, all points earned through the dungeon are quadrupled, so it is far faster and more efficient than challenging the Tower of Power, but it is also fatal and will be more difficult. The choice is in your hands."


    "The third and final method is to produce goods. For example, your mandatory courses include Alchemy and Smithing sses because a mage must always be able to make their own tools. If you are skilled enough, you can craft in your off-time and sell them either to each other or to the academy for Safemoon."


    "This option is for those who are not interested in the path of a Battle Mages but rather in being Research or Artisan Mages. We have separate courses for the two which you will be assigned to after the first year depending on your performance."


    "For ''Graduation'', it is quite simple. We enroll students for a maximum of five years and you can graduate as early as your first year if you so choose."


    Elijah rubbed his fingers on his chest and wore a nonchnt expression. "After all, we are taking in only the best talents and using top-of-the-line products, so it is not impossible to have monstrous geniuses graduate in the first year."


    "To graduate sessfully, you need to acquire a total of 104 academy credits, 23 basic certifications in all our courses, and reach the middle Master stage at the least."


    When Elijah dropped this bombshell, the entire hall went silent as they gazed at him with shock and iprehension. Was it that the Principal was joking around or were their ears failing them?


    So many qualifications were required to graduate? Wait, more importantlyˇ­


    "Sir, what is the penalty for failing to acquire the qualifications to graduate within those five years?" One Elite ss student asked respectfully.


    Elijah smiled benignly and answered: "You will still graduate, but under failure honors. That means you won''t get any benefits thate with graduation like citizenship or your military service."


    "You will be treated as if you had been an ''external genius'', meaning your military service will be an indenture contract for 20 years where you will fight for the city without receiving any pay orpensation."


    Many gulped at the sound of this, their legs shaking, especially Common ss students. If anyone had a chance of failing, it would be them. They wondered whether it was toote to turn around and leave?


    Elijah saw this and rolled his eyes, softening his tone. "Use your heads. If the academy set such strict criteria for admission, it means that we are sure that following our n, you will reach the targets."


    "The only thing that can make you fail is if you bezy. Heck, even if you have been allowed entry this time with a D grade talent and potential, you will still be able to easily make that target in 4.5 years at most, giving you time to push in some extracurricr activities!"


    Hearing this, many sighs of relief were heard in the room, both from parents and students alike.

 Chapter 386 - 386

    Elijah then shared the various rules of the academy with them, giving the parents and students a full rundown of what would be the consequence of breaking them.


    Afterward, they were led by Martin to their various assigned rooms where they would spend the next week in solo study with him on the fundamentals of magic.


    Their curriculum was simr to what Darius had taught his five Apprentices, but these students only got the general version which was far less detailed.


    After this one-week period, there was an Awakening Ceremony where certain high-quality resources were used to stimte thetent magical talent in the students to help them awaken.


    This was to speed up the natural awakening process and with the kind of resources used, it had a guaranteed 100% sess rate.


    Of course, it would have been not only easier but also more effective to use Darius'' Awakening Scrolls, but this would also be foolish.


    The kind of talents it could grant a person should not be widespread which was why it was being sold so thinly.


    Despite all of the students receiving the same resources the differences between the sses quickly became apparent.


    Those from the Common ss awoke 1-2 elements, those from the Elite ss awoke 2-3 elements, with two of them even being lucky enough to awaken pinnacle elements as their primary elements.


    As for the Master ss, the boy awoke 3 elements, a pinnacle one as his primary, as well as two rare elements, whereas the girl managed to awake 4 elements, a pinnacle one for her primary and secondary element.


    2 weekster, Safemoon Academy held an evenrger recruitment for the Battle Corps and the attendance was far more massive, the elimination also far more brutal.


    Since these kids were already sparked, apart from the first stage where talent and potential were tested, they also had to fight in a short tournament to decide which 150 students would be admitted.


    That would be the total enrollment for the Safemoon Academy every year, a maximum of 200 students. 150 in the Battle Corps and 50 for the Mage Academy.


    This was an efficient system that would likelyst for months and years on end, assuming Safemoon City itselfsted that long.


    ......ˇ­


    The five Apprentices stood before the huge entrance that led to the Wood element dungeon of their city. On the side, many new members of the Safemoon Adventurer''s Guild were also entering periodically inrge groups, numbering between 20 to 50, which left the teenagers shocked.


    They had discovered during their studies beforehand that the dungeon was supposed to be tough and required a huge group to make survival possible, but they had no option as Darius stated they would have to clear it both alone and in a group.


    Very wisely, they decided to go as a group first to scout out the situation and gauge how much they could do. As such, they braced themselves and entered much to the shock of onlookers who had believed they were waiting for the rest of their group.


    Upon entry, they were admitted to the first rest area. Here, there were some chairs and tables that they could sit on, and they could either chat, eat or just rest until they felt ready.


    Unlike typical dungeons, there was a small staircase on the side that would allow them to simply exit at any time. This was also true for the rest of the checkpoints. Those further in even had beds, healing pools, and some useful herbs for detoxification and the like.


    These were all implemented by X who Darius had left in charge of managing the Dungeon Core. X had taught it many things, especially how to maximize the use of adventures spelunking its depths, how to tell apart those who were from the city and those unaffiliated, and how to deal with each party.


    After all, Safemoon City''s dungeon was open to all. It was how most of those in the outer city could afford their daily bread as they were prohibited from doing business inside the city.


    Although most of them were rich to be able to afford such vis, and they came here to have early ess to the high-quality goods for the purpose of reselling elsewhere at hiked-up prices to make a profit, the dungeon was also really good.


    Ever since Darius had transmuted that little core, it had be something new and far more unique. Right now, it had already upgraded to a medium dungeon, granting it an extra 2 floors.


    It had more aggregate monsters than all other simr level dungeons and the number of resources dropped was about 250% higher.


    This meant that those who ventured through this dungeon woulde out with almost three times the haul they could have made in any medium-size wood element dungeon anywhere else.


    That was why people bothered to try their luck. The portal in the outer section especially was extremely busy as many paid the price to travel from afar toe and spelunk its depths, even some poor Masters who were unaffiliated with any particr group.


    Of course, since X had separated the two groups, the survival rates of both were vastly different as well. More than 10% of outsiders lost their lives in the dungeon - mostly due to misinformation - yet only about a dozen of the 10,000+ adventurers who had been registered under Safemoon''s Adventure Guild had been killed.


    Of course, such a rate was far lower than other dungeons out there, which pushed more and more to rush in and register. Extra reward with lower risksˇ­ does the attraction value need to be stated?


    X had done this not to be calcting but because she couldn''t bear to let so many die, so she had made things far more lenient while allowing the core to give more out to those who came because she knew their city was tough.


    With this, they would be able to support themselves, without going hungry, right?


    It was not a loss of the Dungeon Core since it got far more Soul Energy per deathpared to any other. In fact, too many deaths would see it grow too fast, unable to keep up with its changes.


    It was a strange scenario that was quite perfect on all sides, all done by X herself.


    She obviously hadn''t nned for this oue, leaving one to wonder whether the one who had assigned this task had foreseen this.


    Ha, but that was impossibleˇ­or was it?

 Chapter 387 - 387

    The five Apprentices had a short discussion before they entered the first battle room. There, they noticed that it was arge circr cavern with many doors spread out all around them, and arge double-door directly opposite the entrance to the room.


    Once they entered, the door behind them closed shut. This was apromise X had to make in order to follow the rules of Dungeon Cores, which was that of mutual benefit.


    The adventurers got rest stations, so the monsters got a nice 1-on-1 time with the adventures where they could not retreat unless they cleared the waves.


    If one did not have enough teammates, or had pig teammates, it was likely that instead of reaping rewards, one would reap a quick death.


    The group of students took the battle formation that they had used against Gunner immediately, Ash with his sword, Reina with her bow, Jonathan with his broadsword, James with his dagger, and Anthony with his bo-staff and nimbus cloud.


    Right away, many of the doors in the cavern opened to reveal various Wood element monsters of various shapes and sizes. They roared and shrieked in their own ways as they rushed towards theds quite quickly.


    Immediately, their faces paled seeing over 30 monsters rushing at them in the first wave alone, but they gritted their teeth and attacked as well.


    Unsurprisingly, the formation quickly crumbled as it was designed to fight against a single overpowered foe, not many weaker ones.


    However, the students suffered no damage. In fact, to their collective shock they discovered that the hits from the monsters they expected to injure them did nothing more than tickle them.


    Ash tilted his head and then swung his sword, surprised to see it bisect a monster so easily. The rest also attacked and noticed that they were able to mow down the monsters withplete ease.


    They shared uncertain looks, notprehending what was going on.


    Was it that there was something wrong with the monsters?


    After all, many people entered inrge numbers and there were even talks of casualties so they had all been prepared to lose a limb and be healed by X when she came back.


    Even as the next wave came, and the wave after that, no matter the numbers of monsters that attacked them, the Apprentices were able to kill them with ease.


    Once they cleared this room and entered the second rest stop, they sat together and discussed the issue at hand.


    Even though they were limited by inexperience, with their high Intellect they were able to understand what was going on. It was not that the monsters were too weak, it was they that were too strong.


    Honestly, this realization gave them mixed feelings.


    They felt like they now understood why Darius had given them this mission. It was for them to realize that it wasn''t that they were weak trash that couldn''t even make their instructor take a step, it was that their half-giant instructor had been someone far stronger thanmon sense allowed.


    By training with someone like that, they had reached a level of strength that surpassed their peers most likely.


    Could it really be that they might be as strong as some Journeymen? This was a scandalous thought to them as the power hierarchy in Faust was very strict.


    Fighting across stages and that kind of nonsense was normally an express ticket to meet your ancestors. Exceptions might ur concerning different races with different strengths and weaknesses.


    However, within the same race, it was impossible and that was a universally eptedw!


    They were correct, Darius had indeed told them to challenge the dungeon, to shatter their mon sense''.


    He, like X, had gazed at their progress and could see their stats, so he knew that if he didn''t give them a point ofparison to Gunner''s training, they might never be able to raise their heads in the future.


    They hadn''t fought anyone before Darius had allowed them to awaken, so how could they know the standards of battle?


    They could not see stats, so how could they measure their rapid growth in this short span of half a year?


    How were they to know that they had exceeded the progress of what their peers might achieve after a decade or two?


    With this clearing their minds, they were able to look back into the memories and see the scenes of their training. Those moments where they had failed and fell to their knees in anguish, thinking that Gunner was disdaining them cleared up.


    Now, they were able to see that the half-giant had a slight smile trying to break out on his lips and a slight look of affection which he quickly smothered once the next fight began. There was always a light of approval in his eyes that they had failed to see before today.


    Realizing this left the five very emotional, even Reina began sobbing silently, as they felt that they were blessed to have such teachers who had invested so much into them.


    As one, the five Apprentices swore that they would not let them down.


    ...............ˇ­.


    Darius appeared in front of a forest that hid a great secret within, his two Branded Servants behind him. They did not enter this forest, for the secret was already known to them.


    It was their very exclusive home, the Divine de!


    It was practically habit at this point to begin a journey first by passing through here, so they made a quick stop. After a day of rest in this wonderful slice of reality filled with a unique ambiance, they felt ready to take on the world.


    "Where to?" X asked curiously. Gunner also looked over, wondering what Darius had in mind this time.


    "I''m beginning to think Fallon is a bit dull for my tastes." Dariusmented with a shake of his head.


    Gunner and X didn''t say anything, but they slightly agreed. On this so-called weakest continent, they had Master-level power despite being ssified as Journeymen, which was indeed quite dull.


    "Well, since we need to find a suitable ce to fight for experience to reach our level caps, what better ce than the forsaken continent with the most plentiful enemiesˇ­" Darius hinted with a smile, mouthing a name that both Branded Servants had never expected to hear.


    "Pokterr."

 Chapter 388 - 388

    Pokterr?


    Wasn''t that the home continent of the Moles and the Insects?


    Wasn''t it supposedly the most dangerous location in the entirety of Faust, where hundreds of lives were lost every year?


    The two Branded Servants were speechless as they gazed at the smiling Darius.


    "Well, there''s no need to be worried. It''s that time of the year after all." Darius pointed out with a chuckle.


    This made the two pause as they wondered what he meant until they grasped it a split secondter, pleasantly surprised expression on their faces.


    Every year, the leaders of all the continents would organize a joint military mission into the depths of Pokterr to eliminate all the Insects.


    They wished they could make it a daily mission, but the Insects killed too many of those who were sent a year and used them as nutrition.


    So while they did cull their numbers, they were simultaneously feeding them with more. This created a problematic situation where they could only pinch their noses and do it anyway because otherwise, the Insects would grow too quickly.


    The Moles would evacuate the continent during this time so they do not get caught in the crossfires Pokterr would quickly be ground zero.


    Darius previously wondered why the Gods and co could not simply head down themselves and genocide the Insects, but it turned out that he had found the reason when he digested the restricted section information.


    Well, it should be obvious, shouldn''t it? Fully grown Insect Queens were as powerful as the Gods, while above them stood Insect Ancestors, which were as powerful as True Lords like Thanatos.


    If thebined effort of Gods and Demons could only make Thanatos retreat but not be defeated, how could they defeat the Insects?


    Sometimes Darius wondered if Vena purposefully designed Faust to be this chaotic so her chosen agents could worm their way through the crevices to achieve their goals, which in turn amused her.


    Whatever the case, each continent''s leaders would issue a mission with variable rewards in order to galvanize new heroes - read as idiots - to dive into the world of Pokterr.


    Of course, in order to convince people to take up this suicide mission, the rewards were beyondprehension. Items on the level of the Tree Heart or the Thunder Heart were listed as possible rewards.


    Of course, it would require the brave warriors to not only vanquish a certain number of targets above a certain stage, but they would also have to survive long enough to tell the tale.


    "So are we gonna sign up?" X asked with interest.


    Darius rubbed his chin. "No, doing so would mean that we would be beholden to their rules and authority. I''m sure they would all sacrifice an arm and a leg for us to do so given our position in the world now, but we will enter and do what we want at our own discretion."


    Gunner nodded. "Perfect, then we won''t have to bother babysitting any weaklings. Even better, we can deal with anyone we see there, regardless of side and there is nothing the other party can do legally."


    Darius patted Gunner on the shoulder for his insightfulness. "However, at the same time, the others will be free to target us as we are not part of their forces. It will be quite dangerous."


    Gunner grinned wolfishly. "Even better. If I am surrounded by at least 500batants at my level, I might finally be able to feel some pressure."


    X just rubbed her nose, nning to turn a blind eye to any trouble they caused while they were there. Well, her job was to heal her allies from harm, not attack any foes, so it was not her problem.


    Dariusughed at Gunner''s words, then threw a transmuted Space Stone own on the ground. He then touched it and focused.


    [Would you like to change the Space Stone into a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array? This will cost 143 Conversion Points.]


    Darius agreed and watched it transform into a circr runic array that wasrge enough for up to 10 people to stand in. The trio walked in and Darius set the destination coordinates after some tweaking.


    In the next moment, they were beamed away from Fallon in a sharp yellow sh. When they arrived, they found themselves in the midst of a huge wastnd that continued from either direction into the horizon.


    The ground was a brownish-ck that was barren and even craggy in every way. It was as if a century-long drought had urred here, leaving the area dry. There were some ckened trees without leaves located sparsely across the wastnd, probably dead for years.


    The group didn''t have long to observe their surroundings before they felt a rumble beneath their feet. Right when it was about to erupt, Darius teleported the three of them a few feet away.


    They got to watch space they had previously been standing upon getting blown open, since a huge worm-like creature that was about as tall as a building sprung up with a strange roar.


    Had they still been there, they would undoubtedly end up in the belly of the beast as a little snack. It seems like that monster was betting on this, so it naturally paused in shock when it didn''t feel any flesh between its rows of teeth that went down its throat.


    The trio could only gaze on speechlessly as they watched the thing turn about, trying to sense where they were. Worm-like monsters had terrible vision, no sense of smell, nor could they hear anything since theycked any auditory organs.


    However, the one thing these kinds of monsters were known and feared for was their ability to sense through touch, specifically through the earth around them. They could sense any creature''s footsteps through the general movement on the earth, which was how they hunted.


    Aerial enemies were their bane, and they would naturally avoid such foes. It was no wonder that when troops were sent her en masse every year, hundreds would die before they achieved their goal.


    Just how many could take to the air to avoid such a predator?

 Chapter 389 - 389

    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Burrowing Worm


    Race: Insect


    ss: Devourer


    Subss: Seismic King


    HP: 4,864/4,864


    MP: 33/33


    STA: 2,508/2,508


    Level: 33


    Strength: 64


    Agility: 12


    Endurance: 76


    Intellect: 1


    Charisma: 0


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Earth Travel, Turbo Suction, Acid Shot, Instant Burrow


    Weapons: Teeth and Body.]


    Darius, Gunner, and X were speechless. For all this monster''s size and menace, it was only a Journeyman? However, while its stats in almost every other field was trash, its physical stats were on the level of a mid-stage Adept.


    Darius was also surprised to see that this insect was of the devourer ss. Yes, it was quite obvious, but Insects were not limited to the types Darius had, oh no. Each Insect Queen had a specific type of insect she gave birth to which grew in a certain way.


    For example, Darius'' Insect Queen was of the Killer ss, which was why her Bugs had evolved to be killing machines with unparalleled physical prowess. There were many other types out there like the Devourer ss, the Elemental ss, the Sage ss, the Support ss, etc.


    Darius stepped back and nodded to Gunner. "This one is all yours, my friend."


    Gunner grinned widely and bent his knee slightly, gathering great amounts of force. Immediately, the Burrowing Worm was able to detect his location through the waves of force pressing the earth where he stood.


    It then screeched with anger and began makings it way over by pushing the earth side with its upper body out. It opened its maw to show endless rows of teeth that lined its throat and the ckish goo that was its saliva.


    Gunner simply scoffed and burst forward with all his force, leaping into the air like a cannonball. He went so high that he was almost a dotpared to the giant worm that was rushing at him.


    His sudden force in leaping confused the worm as it couldn''t understand the information it was receiving from the ground. Darius and X too blinked away so they wouldn''t get caught in the crossfire because they knew Gunner''s battles could get realˇ­ cataclysmic.


    In the air, Gunner reached the equilibrium of his force and paused there for a split second. He then stretched his right hand below and activated the special effect of his Soldering Gauntlets that would drag over targets with lower Strength than himself.


    As he had 100+ points and the Burrowing Worm only had 64, it could only screech with horror and fear as it was pulled into the sky. It began to rise and pick up speed as it hurtled towards Gunner who was very high above it.


    Gunner had begun to fall as well and cocked back his other arm as he angled himself headfirst towards the ground. Like a meteor about to hit the earth, his speed continually picked up as he hurtled towards the Burrowing Worm that was speeding up to meet him.


    As the two met in the middle, both moving towards each other speeds faster than a speeding car, Gunner threw out his cocked arm that was now coated in vibrant greenish energy.


    Earthen Punch!


    When it collided with the middle section of the Burrowing Worms body that was in mid-air, there was a moment of dy as Gunner''s arm shook with the strain of mitigating of the force of both his fall and the momentum of the worm.


    Unfortunately for the worm, Gunner''s Strength passed the check, so all the force left his arm and was transferred right back to it, coursing through its tough skin and ravaging its innards.


    The Burrowing Worm hurtled towards the earth even faster than it had risen, crashing to the ground with a great boom, shaking the ground and cratering the area of 100 meters around its body.


    The worm spat out a huge amount of ck blood that melted the ground and created smoke, proving that its blood was extremely acidic.


    Due to the exchange of force and the speeds, Gunner was actually blown back higher into the air instead of falling down. He spun crazily a bit before he regained his bnce and began to fall once more after reaching equilibrium.


    Gunner then began to fall, picking up great speed once more. He then grabbed his knees andpacted himself into a ball as he began to spin himself over and over.


    This allowed him to contract most of his momentum into his body and created the illusion that he was falling faster than before. Like that, Gunner rolled like a cannonball until he was about to collide with the body of the Burrowing Worm.


    Right at that moment, he released his ball shape and had his legs facing the ground first instead of his head. On top of that, greenish energy umted on his legs as they began to smoke a little from the friction.


    Earthen Stomp!


    With a huge collision, his legs smashed into the mid-section of the Burrowing Worm that was struggling to raise itself after being dealt a heavy blow earlier. This time, the resulting impact was far worse.


    The area of 1 kilometer around the body of the worm instantly cratered and even exploded outward, sending many rock shards hurtling around at dangerous speeds. X and Darius had to create a barrier around themselves to not be turned into sieves.


    The shockwave that came next was even worse, causing the area of 5 kilometers around the epicenter a ce where the skin would be blown off any living species if they were unprepared.


    Darius had to teleport himself and X through it to avoid having their shields shattered and they blown into the horizon. Eventually, the dust settled and they saw Gunner kneeling on one leg on top of the Worm''s midsection.


    He wore a satisfied smile on his face and patted its skin before jumping off.


    Of course, Darius and X could tell that the unfortunate Burrowing Worm that had made a grave error with its hunting was now in Insect Heaven.

 Chapter 390 - 390

    Once reunited, the trio traversed the wastnds that formed the surface of the Pokterr continent. Darius knew for a fact that there was a time when the continent had lookedpletely different.


    This was only the result of the existence of the Insect race which raped thend cleaned of all its worth in order to foster their numbers. It was only after they had almost turned Pokterr barren that they had begun making ns to do the same on the other continents.


    In truth, had the Moles not snitched on the intentions of the Insects a little while before their nned invasion, the damage done would have been irreversible even if the Gods and True Lords had teamed up.


    The past Pokterr had been a lushnd no less than Unyris, yet the sorry sight before them was all that was left. And of danger and death, and the trio hadn''t even begun descending into the bowels of the continent where things were truly lively.


    Insects separated themselves based on levels in the underground. Surface Insects were the weakest, practically infants sent above to forage for what they could and act as the first line of defense.


    The stronger ones were down below where their strongholds existed. Even though Pokterr''s surface had been wiped clean, the underground world still produced resources consistently, only that they were monopolized and swallowed up by various Insect ns.


    Fortunately, Darius had a map of Pokterr, which would allow him to navigate the huge underground world. It was the umted knowledge left behind from the millions who had been sent here every year after countless millennia to serve as fighters to cull these Insects.


    He did not n to head below just yet though. Rather, he was teleporting himself and his two Branded Servants over a great distance continually. He checked hispiled map with the mini-map as well as the main map to make sure they were heading the right way.


    During the 5 year periods, Darius had idly made many treasure maps that would lead to various caches and stashes all over the world.


    Unsurprisingly, Darius had left themrgely untouched because he simply did not have the time to run around like an adventurer, braving dangerous ruins and borate traps just for things he could make himself each day.


    However, since they were here to ''y around'', they might as well check out those ces. Darius had a few vague ideas about the treasures located in some ces, but as for the majority, those were just a big question mark.


    The one they were heading towards currently fell in thetter category. It was simply the closest to where they had appeared on the continent.


    From what Darius could tell, his destination was arge tower which seemed to have been built by a strange race that had migrated out of Pokterr hundreds and thousands of millennia ago.


    It was likely that they could have been the progenitors of today''s Insects, who had lived on the surface. Since he stillcked slightly over half the total restricted information for all sections, it was more a conjecture on his part than actual knowledge.


    They eventually arrived at their destination to see a circr establishment that rose up to the sky. It was decrepit and ruined in many ces, holes showing the interior of the tower all over its body.


    Parts had broken off and fallen around the entrance, creating many rock formations that were ckish-red in color. The tower itself was a dull ck with hints of a mottled red, which intrigued Darius.


    The door to the tower must have broken off its hinges centuries or millennia ago, only showing a dark maw that seemed to wee all passersby to enter and experience a show they would never forget.


    X shivered a little when looking at this while Darius and Gunner frowned slightly. They could all sense that there was something fundamentally wrong with this tower and this made them hesitate.


    Darius immediately teleported them a few steps backward and raised his staff, casting the Intermediate spell Lightning Bolt on the tower. When the electricity struck it, the entire building shook as a bone-chilling shriek sounded out.


    The trio''s faces changed and Darius quickly used Analyze on the building.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Tower of Death


    Race: Spirit


    ss: Terrorist


    Subss: Fear Devourer


    HP: 31,318/43,848


    MP: 14,981/14,981


    STA: 16,472/16,472


    Level: 71


    Strength: 189


    Agility: 0


    Endurance: 232


    Intellect: 211


    Charisma: 0


    Luck: 0


    Abilities: Attract, Hypnotize, Terror Illusion, Spirit Devour, Soul Reading, Spirit Tendrils, Possession


    Weapons: Spiritual.]


    Darius shared this information with the other two and they shook their heads. With Endurance of that level, physical attacks wouldn''t do much, but magical attacks would deal great damage.


    After all, with just one attack, Darius had shaved off almost 13,000 points of health from the monster. They saw the tower shaking like it wanted to pull itself up from its foundations and attack, but the nature of its existence betrayed it.


    However, this did not leave it without ways to counterattack. Immediately, the trio felt a strange wave pulse out of the tower that struck them and passed through their bodies harmlessly.


    Nevertheless, they all fell to their knees with pale faces, gritting their teeth as they fought back against an attempt of spiritual possession. The Tower had over 200 points of Intellect while they only had around 100 or more, with Gunner having around 50.


    s, the Mageward Barrier did not help as it merely blocked magical attacks and this was a spiritual attack. Luckily, Darius had prepared for situations like this by investing some points into the Spirit Barrier skill.


    His and Gunner''s were at level 5, which was enough to make them maintain consciousness and fight back. X though, had her natural Pure Spirit skill which was at level 20, so she was far less burdened.


    Immediately, she gritted her teeth and took out her bow and arrow, nocking it then firing at the tower right away.


    The arrow disappeared in a sh of purplish light before appearing before its target and striking it heavily.

 Chapter 391 - 391

    -8,987!


    The tower shrieked in horror and shook again from the attack as its attempt to possess the trio came to a halt. Darius and Gunner gazed at X with shock, surprised that she dealt so much damage.


    X herself was speechless, gazing at the gleaming bow in her hands as well as the mystical arrow that had returned to her palm after striking its target thanks to its return attribute.


    Darius did the math quickly and discovered the equation for the damage had to be [50 Str x (189-50) Bow modifier x (300) Arrow modifier ˇÂ (232) END]


    The reason the resulting damage was so high despite the tower''s higher Endurance was because it did not have any other defense modifiers, unlike Darm of the past who had many of those which had lowered X''s damage from the thousands to the hundreds.


    With the Supreme System, it was crucial that one added as many modifiers as possible, no matter how small, for even 1% could change the entire calction. In reality, such things would not entirely work using Faust''s system, but everything had its consequence.


    Darius had made this calction in mere milliseconds, so while the tower was still crying in pain, he followed up by casting Lightning Bolt once more. This struck the tower for 12,530 points of damage and left the building with less than 10,000 points of health overall.


    One more strike from either X and Gunner or Darius would be enough to end its existence. Sensing the danger to its life, the tower held nothing back as it burst out with all its power, hoping to kill these enemies before they killed it.


    However, it was no use. Darius did not need to think to cast spells, he only had to will them. Despite his spirit falling under heavy oppression, he was still able to raise his staff and allow it to face the tower.


    Immediately, the final attack was fired and upon striking the tower, it let out its final resounding screech that made the trio cover their ears as it broke down into a heap of rotten stone, cement, and iron.


    [You have gained 1,707 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 1,707 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 1,707 EXP, etc.]


    Each of them gained enough to reach just the edge of their various level caps, which was impressive. However, Gunner and Darius smiled bitterly seeing that the experience was now shared three ways instead of two.


    X was new to this, so she thought it was quite normal. Whatever the case, the trio had defeated the Master stage Tower of Death, but there was no treasure awaiting them.


    From the moment Darius had Analyzed it, he had understood what kind of existence it must have been.


    It was quite simple, what would a stationary hunter need the most? It was for prey to enter its territory so it could devour them.


    With its hypnosis and possession abilities, it was not impossible for it to have grabbed a victim, instructing them to distribute those ''treasure maps''. This way the brave and the bold would be lured over to enter the tower in hopes of exceeding richesˇ­ only to find their final stop.


    Heck, it had almost captured these three!


    The thing that had saved them was not some extraordinary sense everyone had, nor even their impressive Intellect.


    For this Tower of Death to have survived here and devour enough prey to reach Master stage... how could it so easily have been noticed?


    The three of them had only felt a strange tingle in their minds that had warned them of danger, so Darius had attacked first to verify his suspicions, leading to the current oue.


    What was the cause of that tingle? What else could it be but the cheat-like spiritual senses that came with Luck above 50 points? Especially since Darius and X had a bloody 100 points of Luck.


    It was solely due to the Supreme System that they had even ended up with some drops from the tower, mostly in the form of spiritual items.


    Technically they very valuable due to their high Luck once again, just not to them specifically. As such, they were kept in the Inventory to be either sold in a shop or auction to outsiders or consumed by one of the students back in Safemoon.


    Darius then teleported his group away from this location, heading towards another cache. It took them only 5 minutes of continuous jumps and resting to reach this location, which happened to be a huge hill-like mound of ck sand.


    Not interested in using their hands to dig through, Darius and X used their Psychomancy to st the sand apart until they found that it covered a broken down metal carriage.


    The trio shared a look before they remotely opened the carriage, in which they saw the skeletons of three people still wearing fine livery, slumped over the seats. A short investigation of the carriage revealed that there was a special mechanism like a safe which likely stored valuables of some sort, but it required a code.


    Was this a product from Gravitas? Perhaps something from the past? Or was this what they used now?


    Alternatively, this also looked like a special brand of carriages used by the Jintian n of Immortals from Pan who had a unique style for their artifact forgingpared to other sects and ns.


    They could have very well sold this carriage to another group and looking at the livery, it looked like the buyers might have originated from Fallon. Miranda popped out of the HoloBrace and entered the carriage''s system, but determined that they were notpatible.


    After all, the Immortals of the Jintian n might have something that looked like Gravitas like tech, but it fundamentally wasn''t. It was a sort of alternative form of magitech but one that ran on something the Immortals called Spiritual Energy residing between the Heavens and Earth.


    Darius did not know too much of the details of this strange form of energy, as the amount of information he had extracted from the restricted section had not covered this, unfortunately.


    What he did understand was that the person who had made the original treasure map must have encountered this same issue and must have covered the carriages with sand to hide it.


    That was how Darius got to be able toe here today. In fact, he was willing to bet that the maker of the map died in Pokterr, as they had note back to im it after all this time.


    Alternatively, they could have survived ande herest year during the culling mission. They could very well have either powered up or brought friends toe this time for the treasure, there was no way to tell easily.

 Chapter 392 - 392

    Darius smiled and decided to excavate the treasure. Just because Miranda couldn''t do it didn''t mean that hecked the means to. He focused his gaze on the specificpartment and used Analyze to find out its details.


    He smiled a momentter and directly transmuted a corresponding key with which to open it. Insidey heaps of Bags of Holding, which were carried out using Psychomancy.


    They put them aside to look through after. Right after they were done, Gunner fired an Eraser Cannon at the carriage, the thick greenish beam sting it apart with ease.


    Darius nodded and teleported them away, heading towards their next target.


    .........ˇ­


    A few dayster a group of five men woulde over to this same location led by a fellow with the map.


    s, upon seeing the scattered sand and the remains of the carriage, the group understood that either someone had somehow found their way here before them taking away the treasure, or a random Insect had chanced upon this ce andid waste to it.


    Due to their personal prejudices and the way the carriage had been destroyed, they believed that it was thetter option. It seemed like too much of a stretch that a random person who came to this continent would chance upon this location and find the hidden carriage, especially since they should be in the possession of the only key.


    A person who could do such a thing had to be strong enough that the carriage''s contents would not even be worth their effort, so the group could only leave with disappointment.


    .........ˇ­


    Darius and his two Branded Servants arrived near a huge sinkhole. There was supposedly a subspace hidden at the very bottom that led directly into one of the vaults that had been created by the long-extinct surface civilization.


    It was an open secret from what Darius could tell, and every year some of the ''troops'' would be sent here to dive in and try to im what was inside those vaults.


    However, despite the many attempts over thest centuries, nothing had been aplished in this regard.


    As Darius gazed down the huge ck void, a slight smile yed on his lips.


    Every year there were many like him who would smile confidently before jumping in, then finding out the hard way that they were not nearly as special as they had thought themselves to be.


    However, how many would be able to im to have abilities granted by the Goddess Vena?


    To his knowledge, nobody else did, so he truly believed that thebination of them might yield him a better result than those who came before.


    Gunner jumped in first, his face stoic and without fear. No matter how deep this pit was, he would reach the bottom eventually. The half-giant was confident that eventually when he came out the one to take damage from the fall would not be him but the ground.


    This was thew of the universe!


    X clutched her staff tightly and looked down after Gunner, her face flickering with hesitation. Just as she gritted her teeth and was about to shake her head, Darius teleported the two of them right in the middle, where they began falling as well.


    X was so surprised for a while that she forgot to scream until they reached the void-like darkness at the bottom. If one was blind, one would almost think that the sinkhole was the same as always, not realizing that three very strange and incalcble beings had entered.


    The trio felt like they had passed through ayer of cold water, and once they appeared on the other side, they found themselves in arge meadow that was uninhabited. They appeared close to the ground, so they allnded with a light thump, even Gunner.


    The entire area was quite small, the meadow only stretched a few hundred meters before tapering off into a ck void that seemed to lead to the abyss of nothingness.


    Those were probably the edges of the subspace, a ce that really should not be traversed unless one wanted to experience what no one had ever lived to.


    Even Darius wasn''t sure what would happen and if his soul could be collected by the Resurrection Stone if he fell into the void.


    He then focused on the goal before the trio, which was arge silver door that rose up to the sky. Its size was so grand and its design so otherworldly that it reminded Darius of various paintings he had seen in high society depicting the ''Gates of Heaven''.


    Darius Analyzed the door before him with a solemn expression.


    [Divine Door - Misceneous


    Durability: MAX


    Description: A door made of Holy Silver, a rare material produced on Pokterr during the early days. Famous for its properties of indestructibility, purity, and the ability to spawn sentience and consciousness if created with special techniques belonging to the artificers of the ancient Polito Race of Pokterr.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed as he read through the description. Indestructible and sentient meant that even getting through this door was impossible. No wonder no one had ever seeded before, because it was impossible to.


    How could you break into the house of someone who was watching you from the window, a slight smile on their lips? How could you sneakily unlock the smartphone of someone who was pretending to be asleep beside you, watching you fail over and over?


    Without the door''s permission, it was impossible to even enter the vault!


    It was likely that every year, the fellows who hade down had been specially chosen due to possessing unique abilities rted to breaking and entering, spatial maniption, or something useful in unlocking doors or getting past obstacles.


    Now that Darius was before it, he understood what kind of thing this door was. The question on his mind now was, given how this subspace was structured on the outside, how exactly did people who had entered here leave afterward?


    This information was not present in what he had concerning the subspace, likely something those in the upper echelon of the various continents had kept close to the chest.


    Otherwise, anyone coulde in here and try to enter if they knew there was a surefire way toe out.


    This would create variables, as what if the ''Chosen One'' to ess this vault was someone they could not control?


    Suddenly, Darius received an alert from the Supreme System.


    A new Event had been generated.

 Chapter 393 - 393

    [Civilization Protection Vaults - Event


    Duration: 1 year.


    Description: Pokterr''s Politos used to be a wealthy race that could contend with even the wealth of those of Unyris. Their artificing had been renowned for being able to make optimal use of the materials around them, and the unique things this technology had been able to create had earned them the envy of the Gods and Demons.


    Unfortunately, their time was about toe to an end once a few of their cities got piged by the Insects who had lived underneath. Before they could think about warning the world, their former capital had prioritized saving themselves. Seven vaults had been constructed in a hurry to protect specific things that their civilization had prided itself on.


    Event details: Find the location of Vault 01 to 07 and enter them. What you do with what lies within is up to you.


    Event rewards:


    - If one Vault entered: 10 Ability Points, 10 Skill Points


    - If two Vaults entered: 30 Ability Points, 30 Skill Points


    - If three Vaults entered: 50 Ability Points, 50 Skill Points


    - If four Vaults entered: 70 Ability Points, 70 Skill Points


    - If five Vaults entered: 90 Ability Points, 90 Skill Points


    - If six Vaults entered: 100 Ability Points, 100 Skill Points


    - If all Vaults entered: 120 Ability Points, 120 Skill Points.]


    Darius read through the details and smiled with excitement.


    Finally, another Event had been triggered!


    As profitable as they were, they only urred once he encountered interesting situations that either Vena or Caesar wanted him to participate in.


    This was also one of the reasons he hade here, to increase he and his Brand Servants'' power through either reaching the Adept stage or generating an Event, or both.


    What shocked Darius though, was the insanely high Ability and Skill Point reward. If he only managed to find and enter one or two of these Vaults, the payout would be average.


    However, if he got all seven, Darius and his Branded Servants would each be granted 470 AP and 470 SP!


    Overall, more than thrice as much as what they had received for killing off Lord Darm!


    Yet Darius'' face darkened the next moment. If the reward was this enticing, then the apanying difficulty would have to match it.


    One shouldn''t forget, Lord Darm back then was supposed to have Str, Int, and End in the 500''s. At that level, just one flick from him would have been able to kill them whether Darius had Transmutation or whatnot.


    What had led to their victory was not a show of raw power, but caution and careful nning.


    They had weakened Darm continually by pouring transmuted Purification Potions for over a month while Darius had spent this time specifically creating a spell to deal with Vampires before transmuting it so it would be even stronger.


    That had cost him six weeks of time back then which he could have spent doing anything else, but it had been precisely that preparation that had been key to their victory.


    While thest Event had been open-ended, this time there was a time limit of one year.


    This Quest basically had three main objectives. Firstly, to find the locations of the remaining six Vaults. Secondly, find a way to open their doors. Thirdly, deal with any dangers that came from within.


    Let''s be honest, there was no way a bunch of secure Vaults made by a civilization to protect theirst line wouldn''t have put any protective measures in ce to keep out the Insects or potential graverobbers. This was likely part of the reason why so much was offered, which left Darius pensive.


    First things first, to locate the other Vaults. There were a variety of ways to do this, but Darius began with the easiest one anyone could think of.


    [Would you like to change the nk sheet into a Polito Race Vault Map? This will cost ??? Conversion Points.]


    [ERROR, this item does not exist in the world of Faust. Please try again.]


    Darius was not bothered. He simply used a special loophole he had discovered over the five-year period. He took out their portable housing and activated it.


    Immediately, X and Gunner rushed in to watch TV and y games, while Darius went to the living room where he sat down at the table.


    He then ced a sheet of paper down and began drawing. He had enough Agility and Intellect to draw like an AI and not a human, so he quickly put a map of Pokterr on the nk sheet to indicate the Vault he was currently.


    Then, he simply randomly chose to mark different spots as the locations of different vaults. Once done, he held it up once more.


    [Would you like to change the Polito Race Vault Map into a Polito Race Vault Map? This will cost ??? Conversion Points.]


    [ERROR, the margin of error is toorge, cannot be Statically Transmuted. Please try again.]


    Darius shook his head. Many treasure maps and secret documents had been obtained by him this way, but as the system stated, if the margin of error was toorge, it would not magic the right answer for him, though if it was smaller, it could ''fix'' them.


    This was not strange, for the Transmutation ability had disyed this particr characteristic since day 1. Back then, was he not able to fix iplete Journeyman spells for just 2 CP?


    The difference was that while those spellbooks had been wed, they had the right fundamentals, just with terrible execution. As such the Transmutation ability had been able to build upon those fundamentals and optimize the execution to perfect it.


    However with this so-called map, the fundamentals were slightly there with the outline of Pokterr being correct and one Vault being rightlybeled, but the other vaults were too far off the mark.


    If Darius could bring them closer, they could naturally be fixed by the Transmutation ability.


    There were other alternatives, like trying to open this Vault and search for information on the others within, as it was likely such a thing might be left for their revivers, but Darius would only resort to that if this first option failed.


    He continued his trial and error, rapidly drawing the entirety of Pokterr on a sheet,beling one correct vault, and then guessing where the others could be using different formations and shapes.

 Chapter 394 - 394

    It was quite simple really, but the Politos should have subscribed to some form of shape or formation for theyout of their Vaults.


    For example, with seven of them, they could be ced equidistantly to form a septagon-like shape.


    Unfortunately, this came up as wrong.


    Darius then tried to see if it had beenyered out with other unique and random shapes that made sense. When they all failed, he moved on to another style, which was logic and security.


    In other words, he was now trying to pinpoint the location of Vaults using locations the now-extinct race would have regarded as secure enough and hard to ess.


    For example, this sinkhole, when ced against an older map of Pokterr before the Insects had raided everything - which Darius obviously had ess to in his Database - was at the bottom of a mountain.


    They had clearly dug out this ce underneath the mountain in order to create the subspace which housed this Vault. This was quite a clever thing to do, as who would think to dig beneath a mountain like this apart from Dwarves, which weren''t native to this continent, or Moles?


    And even if Moles could find their way here, they were notorious for their simplemindedness and kind nature, so thest thing they would do would be to break the indestructible Vault doors down, assuming they even could.


    And so, Darius kept choosing locations that were in hidden valleys or in the center of treacherous deserts to see if he could score a lucky hit. Unfortunately, nothing panned out still, which left him quite a bit speechless.


    Okay, so with a map this big, the margin of error was too high. If he wanted to use this method, it might take a few days, and this was a problem since the troops would be deployed soon for the culling, and those ''Chosen Ones'' would be arriving here soon.


    He had to clear this particr Vault and hope that the location of the others were unknown to those above, though - after so many millennia - it wasn''t impossible that this location had been disclosed in order to hide the existence of the rest.


    Darius put aside the document and left his two Branded Servants in the house as he walked outside then gazed at the towering door. To open this thing, he had three main methods.


    The first was to use an item or his Morph ability that came with 50 points in Charisma to mold himself into a member of the Polito Race, hoping to fool the identification of the door.


    The second was to use Transmutations to try and turn the entire thing into another material or metal. If he turned it into an iron door, its indestructibility and sentience features should naturally disappear.


    The third was to use a specially made spell that could unlock or work with this particr material.


    Assuming the door had a sensory ability, it must have long ascertained that he, Gunner, and X were not part of the Polito Race, but if he walked to the house and came out with the face of a Polito personˇ­


    Well, unless the ''sentience'' here only meant awareness but not intelligence, it would certainly not work. Not to mention that those who hade before had countless years to try this method, so it would be a miracle if nobody had ever attempted this.


    50 points in Charisma might be hard for humans, but for other races like angels, mermaids, subi, and the like, it would be a breeze. Look at Jeanne, as a half-angel her Charisma had been at 32 the first time he had met her, and at 40 the second, after he had cured her from overusing her powers.


    The idea of using Transmutation was solid, but the problem would be the cost. To change an entire door of this size, even if it was from rtively close substances, would still drain a lot.


    Darius was not sure his mere 200 CP per day (100 base and 100 for converting Lunar Dew) would be enough. He still had not unlocked partial conversion, so he was unable to spend a few days doing it bit by bit.


    He wasn''t even sure what existed close to Holy Silver which was used to make the door. All he could think of were things like Pure Silver, Dark Silver, and normal Silver. Well, he was free to try, assuming there was no danger in approaching the door.


    Finally, the third option was also bust because it would require months of experimentation, even for him. Besides, Darius was certain this idea had also been attempted before.


    In fact, people with special abilities rted to unlocking doors or dealing with Holy Silver must have been sent here countless times, yet they had all failed.


    So, what made Darius so arrogant that he thought he could do what others hadn''t? It was the sole thing Darius had that those who came before him did not, his Transmutation ability!


    This would be his key to sess, as it had always been in the past.


    Darius calmed down and analyzed the door for a few seconds before he suddenly teleported before it, then ced his hand on the nearest ce he could touch. Immediately, his mind overclocked as he made an attempt.


    [Would you like to change the Holy Silver Divine Door into a Pure Silver Divine Door? This will cost 344 Conversion Points.]


    Darius did not give up and made many attempts in a single split second.


    [Would you like to change the Holy Silver Divine Door into a Dark Silver Divine Door? This will cost 465 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Holy Silver Divine Door into a Silver Divine Door? This will cost 883 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Holy Silver Divine Door into an Iron Divine Door? This will cost 3423 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Holy Silver Divine Door into a Holy Iron Divine Door? This will cost 222 Conversion Points.]


    [Would you like to change the Holy Silver Divine Door into a Holy Gold Divine Door? This will cost 201 Conversion Points.]


    Immediately, Darius felt his spiritual senses that came with his high Luck tingle in a way that it had only once before, when he was facing Marasmus. Straightaway, Darius teleported away, right back to where he had stood before.

 Chapter 395 - 395

    Darius watched as the door lit up brightly for a split second. His eyes only showed that bright light, but Darius'' Psychomancy told him that something far more dangerous was at y.


    It was only that the naked eye was unable to process the intricacy of this bright light. It left him wondering if it was designed to disintegrate or harm him in some way. And if so, was it in the form of a magical, physical or spiritual attack?


    Darius did not spend too much time pondering this seeing that the danger did not affect him where he stood, nor did his spiritual senses warn him of anything foul from his new position. Rather, he devoted his brainpower right back to finding a way to open this door.


    Darius checked with his Database and analyzed the costs of his various options. The most affordable one, yet unfortunately still beyond his means, had been to change it into Holy Gold, yet Darius didn''t know if it would wipe away the sentient mind within or rece it with a new one.


    Heck, before encountering the door he had never even heard of Holy Silver, so how would Holy Gold be any different. Darius had merely guessed its existence, since chances were if Silver existed with the ''holy'' prefix, the same might have been true for other metals.


    There were two ways to go about opening this door. The first was to use a key of some sort and open it without causing a fuss. The second was to use more forceful and brutal means, which might cause a counterattack.


    Darius was more interested in the first option, but the difficulty was not low. To solve it using the first required him to learn more about the Polito Race and how they had created their Vaults while the second required him to know all the properties of Holy Silver and its weaknesses.


    Both were difficult, but the matter concerning the second option was far simpler than the first one since Darius was already here. He took out a piece of average quality iron ore that had been a drop from one of his previous fights.


    [Would you like to change the Iron Ore into Holy Silver Ore? This will cost 87 Conversion Points.]


    A steep price, but it further confirmed the fact that Holy Silver was really not a joke. Anything above 50 CP was something special and those above 100 were precious beyondpare.


    The Omni-Element Enchant was one example of thetter.


    Darius made the change and watched as the dull iron became a lovely silver that glowed with a milky white light that had dark blue lines running through it like veins. It looked just like the door opposite him.


    Satisfied, Darius went back into the portable house, moving to the living room. He ced the ore on the table and removed some basic tools that Appraisers at the D Rank and below often used.


    C Rank Appraiser and above usually had special gimmicks like eyes techniques or sensory abilities that allowed them to tell the nature of an item. Naturally, Darius'' Analyze was far superior to all of them, so he would certainly use it to dig deeper.


    Right now, he needed to fully understand how Holy Silver worked ande up with something that could counteract it. If not a special substance, he could simply use the lovely material that was used and abused in all Sci-Fi settings, nanobots!


    As long as he could program the nanobots with Miranda''s help sessfully, she should be able to use them to eat away at the door, creating a gap which would allow the crew to enter.


    This was Darius''s best n. He and Miranda were used to working together on serious projects, so they continually tested the Holy Silver in different ways and his AI daughter logged down its various properties.


    This took them a total of three days, and despite the increasing pressure to hurry up and get it done, Darius knew this was a delicate process. It was better to fail and leave the subspace,ing back when the others had left to try again than to rush it out.


    After all, the duration was one year, so he could afford to move on to searching for other Vaults while this one would be upied by treasure seekers. The probability of them opening the door when they had failed countless times in the past was low, but never zero, which was why he hadn''t left from the beginning.


    It was this paradoxical situation that tightened Darius'' freedom and forced him to work intensively. However, by the end of the third day, he wore a satisfied smile on his face as he and Miranda had discovered three ways to get that door open, or specifically three weaknesses.


    Right now, Miranda was programming some nanobots with the specific information and tasks, while Darius drank a bottle of diluted Lunar Dew to invigorate himself. As Gunner and X knew that this kind of thing was best left to their master, they were lounging about watching anime and various shows together.


    Frankly, Darius was surprised by the amount of nonsense he had consumed in his life that his Branded Servants now enjoyed. However, when one considered that thetter part of his life had been spent with his kids and ''studying up'' on things they might like, it was not too surprising that a library had formed in his head.


    Darius exited the portable house with a small vial in hand. Within was what seemed to be a sparkly silvery-grey liquid with less than 100 mL in quantity. However, this small amount had around 9 million nanobots within, and they were ready to work.


    Darius smiled as he lifted the vial with his Telekinesis. Then, before anyone could have suspected any foul y, the vial zoomed forward so fast that it was almost impossible to follow.


    Before the Holy Silver Divine Door could even react by activating any self-defense mechanism it might have had, the vial crashed against the lower right end of its form, and the silvery-grey liquid sshed on the door.


    The next moment it suddenly froze and began trembling as the nanobots quickly tore a hole in its side that was rapidly expanding.


    Darius snapped his fingers and retracted the portable house, Gunner, and Xing to stand beside him since had been waiting for this.


    It was time to get to work!


    ----------------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note</strong>: I''m sure you''ve all noticed the fluctuating release schedule of Darius Supreme in recent days. It became worse after I got sick a while back too.


    Well, the reason is because writing 5k words a day isn''t easy for me in particr. It not even just the quality, but the fact that it''s spread across two different stories.


    It seriously throws me on a loop, especially when one of them became intense while the other is still building up, or when one requires technical details like levels, stats, and skills and the other is focused on dialogue and the like.


    Because I have to do this every day, it''s like writing two different exams on the same day, separate by mere hours of each other... every single day.


    I''ll try my best to maintain a schedule, but somedays, I just end up behind myputer, just unsure of what to do next and which to write first.

 Chapter 396 - 396

    The hole rapidly expanded until the trio could see the other side, which was a white room with a tform. Around this time, the Holy Silver Divine Door began its counterattack to destroy the nanobots.


    However, it was far toote, with an opening present, Darius teleported his group through the hole. Technically, he could have used Group Teleportation from the very beginning, even if the door had remained closed, but that would have been utterly foolish.


    After all, how could it have been possible for him to be the first person to think of this after hundreds of thousands of years?


    Teleportation was not exactly something new nor that rare and had naturally existed in the past.


    How could the Politos who lived in a world of magic and Gods have built such a door with a mindset of ''oh, let''s create this very important Vault without the ability to block unauthorized spatial crossing''?


    It didn''t take long for the sentient door to eradicate all the nanobots. Darius had only created an amount small enough to give them entry, and their sole purpose was to eat as much as they could without defending themselves.


    Darius and Miranda had discovered pretty early on that Holy Silver was capable of repairing itself, which had eventually be the cornerstone of the current n.


    It would have been quite short-sighted to leave behind a hole which anyone could enter as they pleased. That would just be giving himself more work and his enemies a free pass.


    The main reason why Darius felt pressured to get through as early as possible was less the time limit specified by the Event, but more so his desire to not leave behind any clues that he and his posse were on Pokterr in the first ce.


    ..................ˇ­


    Eventually, the Holy Silver Divine Door spent an entire day repairing the human-sized hole in its makeup.


    Three dayster, the various ''Chosen Ones''nded in this realm and began their attempts to break through it, which, as usual, ended up futile.


    A few noticed the presence of people who hade before, but none of them felt bothered by that. Since the door remained tightly shut and was as imprable as they had been warned, they arrogantly believed that if even then couldn''t do it, how could someone else?


    ..................ˇ­


    Darius and his two Branded Servants appeared in a white room that was pulsing with a strange energy. It was the same kind of energy in general that the door had emanated, but this one had a calmer and more soothing vor.


    This made Darius'' eyes narrow. He was aware that every continent had its own power system, but it wasmonly believed that Pokterr was the sole exception.


    It was a ce where everyone could use their own power systems as if they were native here, without any problems or hups.


    That was why many powers would even dare to mobilize their people here despite all hailing from different backgrounds.


    Of course, thanks to the existence of the Supreme System neither Darius nor his Branded Servant would have anything to fear even on other continents.


    Nevertheless, Darius doubted that Pokterr had always been this way, which begged the question what was Pokterr''s original power system?


    Neither the Moles nor the Insects used any notable power systems, with the former being especially weak and soft, so they were often bullied by thetter.


    The reason why the Insects were so widely feared was their devouring system, which allowed them to rapidly growpared to other races, however this something unique to them, not Pokterr''s overall continent.


    If the Great Library of Krona had an answer to this question, then it had to be in the restricted section which Darius had yet to unlock.


    The transmigrator naturally Analyzed the walls that were glowing. If he could find the name of this energy, he could try to find more details about it through Transmutation or general research.


    [Gerritanium Walls - Misceneous


    Durability: 30,000/30,000


    Description: A set of metallic walls made of the rare material Gerritanium, which was could only be produced after soaking in Source Energy for long periods of time. Its properties are high durability - especially against aging - memory reshapability and conductivity for all forms of Source Energy.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. Analyze hadn''t failed him, it had forked over the name of the energy that was used for creating these things which was called Source Energy.


    What was this Source Energy? What properties did it have to differentiate itself from Unyris'' Elemental Energy, Fallon''s Magical Energy, Elysium''s Divine/Faith Energy, or Pan''s Heaven/Earth Spirit Energy?


    Darius was deeply intrigued by this.


    After all, this so-called Source Energy was able to give him who possessed Master stage stats a raw feeling of danger. It had even been able to bypass his 150 points of Intellect to make him feelfortable and calm, manipting his mental state.


    However, Darius also noted with a smile that the first stage of the Event had been passed, and the 10 AP and 10 SP had been deposited in their character sheets for allocation.


    This was to be expected, the Event merely required them to enter the Vaults. If they wanted, they could simply look for a way to leave right now, but that was not wise.


    Rather, he hoped to discover more information on the contents of Vault 01 to 07 and perhaps some information on Source Energy.


    In the center of this white room was a pedestal that stood opposite a white set of double doors. It frankly looked as if they were in a scientificb and trying to see a specially quarantined subject rather than bandits here to raid.


    Darius first used the Basic Morph to change his features to that of a member of the Polito Race. Unfortunately, at only 50 points of Charisma, Morph was unable to change his entire body at once, so he had to transmute a Transformation Potion to make up for it.


    He then made Gunner and X step back as he walked up to the pedestal. It remained silent for a long while even as he approached it, so Darius ced his palm on it cautiously.


    When it still did not light up despite this, Darius understood that such a simple means would not cut it. Rather, it just spoke for the ingenuity of the Politos.


    It should have been impossible for them to guess how the world would look like years after their demise, and eventually, members of the various races might have found a way to break down their door.


    In that case, they had to leave ast line of defense that only one of their descendants could breach. And what did the Politos have that no one could ess after their demise?


    It was not their biology or their culture, as - from Darius'' efforts - we could see that those could be acquired by other means.


    That meant that the key to entering further had to be their unique system of power, Source Energy!

 Chapter 397 - 397

    If the only way inside the Vault was to be able to use a power system that nobody even remembered these days, this should mean that Darius'' path was cut off here.


    Ironically, it was practically guaranteed that behind at least one of these Vaults there should be information on Source Energy, yet without having it beforehand, one would be unable to enter.


    Fortunately, Darius might once again be the only person on Faust who had a way to cheat out that knowledge.


    Originally, he had nned to research Source Energy gently and cautiously in case it might conflict with his Supreme System or the spells he had learned which stemmed from Fallon.


    However, since it was uncertain how long it would take him to reverse-engineer Source Energy without any information on it, he decided that he would take a risk for once and speed things up.


    As such, he took out an empty book and focused.


    [Would you like to change the empty book into a Source Energy Training Manual? This will cost 70 Conversion Points.]


    Darius paid the necessary CP and watched as the nondescript book turned into a special manual that glowed with a kaleidoscope of colors, light silver being the most prominent.


    As soon as the transmutation was finished, he chose to learn it on the spot and closed his eyes as he digested the transferred information.


    When Darius opened his eyes once more, there was mild shock mixed with a pleasant surprise.


    To summarize Darius'' newfound knowledge, Source Energy was basically the same as the True Source/One Power that the famous Aes Sedai used. It was an independent cosmic force present everywhere, permeating all things and generated energy from the continuous friction of existence.


    Source Energy was special in that it epassed everything. He also assumed this to be the reason why Faust''s other power systems worked on Pokterr without hindrance.


    Source Energy, like the famous One Power, was separated into two halves, only instead of male and female, it was separated into Corporeal and Ethereal.


    Corporeal allowed for Source Energy to be used to manipte physical forces like motion, strength, the body, or craftsmanship.


    Ethereal allowed Source Energy to be used to manipte elemental and abstract forces like space, time, fire, water, air, earth, etc.


    Putting it bluntly, just like all power systems on Faust, there was a Physical power section and a Magical power section, just branded differently and with some differences.


    Darius closed his eyes and felt the Source itself.


    It was not like the famous Force, which was presumed to be all around and within every living thing, the Source was located in an abstract location that could be taken as the center of the world.


    This was not the same as the Core of Faust obviously, and was not as powerful as it. The way Pokterrians had utilized the Source in the past was by building a bridge between themselves and the Source, allowing them to extract power with ease.


    Darius immediately built a sturdy bridge between himself and the Source, the feeling of its all-epassing energy wash through his body left him amazed.


    s, just like an overly attached girlfriend, the Supreme System did not allow him to have any fun without it. Darius felt that something was missing, as if it had hidden some things from him that would have likely offered him some form of unique strengthening if he had been a native of Faust.


    Nevertheless, Darius knew that it was in his best interest to keep his mistress happy, so he could hug her thigh. He had long gotten used to this rather brutal price he had to pay for staying with the Supreme System.


    At least, he received asional Events like this which granted him some much needed AP and SP which were more useful in the long run.


    Darius ced his hand on the pedestal once more and channeled Source Energy into it. The entire room began toe to life as he continually injected energy for about 10 before the doors finally opened up.


    Beyond them, there were rows and rows of shelves filled with sealed containers. Darius and his two Branded Servants entered and took a look around. They noted that the entire room was about the size of arge storeroom and there weren''t more than 300,000 items stored here.


    Darius walked up to the center of the storeroom where a small tablet stood. It was written in the Politan Language. Of course, since he had never heard of the Politos beforehand he did not speak nor read theirnguage, yet once again magic was the answer.


    A very useful Intermediate skill Darius had transmuted during the 5 year period, went by the name of Language Mastery and while not perfect, it allowed him to understand enough to make sense of it.


    It read that this was the fourth Vault where the Polito Race housed their resources. Darius heaved a sigh as he found the coordinates of the other Vaults using an encrypted code, which Miranda had cracked in seconds.


    Not only that, but it had also listed the contents of each vault were listed.


    Vault 01 was the Knowledge Vault where their history and culture books were stored, Vault 02 was the Technique Vault where their renowned crafting and workman technique scrolls were kept, Vault 03 was the Equipment Vault where their best creations were stored, Vault 04 was this very vault, Vault 05 was the Tools Vault where special items required to utilize their techniques were stored, Vault 06 was the Alchemy Vault were their special concoctions were stored and Vault 07 was the Source Vault where all their knowledge about Source Energy was stored.


    Naturally, Darius prioritized Vault 01, Vault 02, and Vault 07. Even this Vault wasn''t that important to him apart from adding to the Database. After all, he could transmute the resources inside himself as long as he knew they existed and had enough CP.


    With a calm smile, Darius nodded to Gunner and X.


    The trio began gathering all the resources in the Vault into Bags of Holding gradually. Darius ignored the subtext on the tablet which warned the descendants who essed this Vault about the Insects, and how they should not trust anyone with this info, etc.


    After all, they were not Politos'' descendants, so he saw no obligation to fulfill their wishes and spend any time resurrecting them. If their technology was as good as he assumed, he would incorporate it into Safemoon, perhaps even giving them some credit.


    This way they would get to live on at least spiritually and if that was not enough... oh well.


    When they were done cleaning the ce out, Gunner and X returned to Darius. The two seemed curious as to how they would leave now that they had gotten in, but Darius simply touched their shoulders and teleported them out.


    When they appeared in the area outside the Divine Door, Gunner and X were shocked. However, they could not voice out their surprise until they found themselves teleported back out to the sinkhole''s edges.


    By this point, they were truly and utterly speechless.


    What the hell just happened? Hadn''t Darius been worried about how they would leave that subspace previously? Why did it seem like it was so easy now?

 Chapter 398 - 398

    Darius noticed their dumbfounded expressions and chuckled. "I left a Spatial Mark here, before we entered the sinkhole just in case. I did the same outside the Divine Door, which will allows us to bypass any form of spatial block or barrier as long as we are within range."


    Enlightened, the two smiled before Darius took them away, blinking towards the nearest Vault, which happened to be Vault 03, the Equipment Vault.


    It was located in a nondescript valley, and it took them about 7 hours to arrive there. The scope of the Vaults traversed the entire Pokterr continent and they were lucky that Group Teleportation saved them the hassle of walking manually.


    The first thing the trio noticed was that the valley had holes all over.


    Before they could even discuss what was going on, hundreds and thousands of beetle-like Insects swarmed out of the holes and rushed towards the location of the trio.


    There was no need for them to use Inspect or Analyze, the trio recognized them as Amateur bugs of the Killer lineage like Darius'' own bugs.


    The sheer number rushing at them was too hard to count, and Darius could not be bothered to deal with them himself. As such, he released his own bugs to counter those rushing at him.


    The Queen Bug under his control had spawned almost 50,000 Bags of Holding worth of Amateur bugs. Darius had only used slightly more than 1% of that number.


    500 to traverse the Safemoon Dungeon before he had transmuted the Dungeon Core and 100 to deal with those who had tried to upy Andrato Kingdom, which had led to the creation of the 10 Bugsy families.


    This time, he opened 5,000 bags worth of his bugs to meet the oing army, releasing 2,500,000 bugs from his side. While this may sound like a lot, the swarm of opposing bugs did notck numbers on their side either.


    It was quite the eery scenes to watch both sides skittering towards each other while screeching with hunger.


    Once both sides crashed, an immediate ughter-fest began. Despite what one would think, it was easy to tell both sides from each other. Darius'' bugs had a ckish-red color on their carapaces while these enemy bugs were ckish-yellow.


    The fight went on for many minutes, the numbers on the battlefield rapidly decreasing while their power levels were rather hastily increasing. From hordes of Amateur bugs on either side, to Journeyman bugs, to Adept ones, and even hundreds of Master bugs on both sides were quickly born.


    However, Darius'' bugs proved to be stronger than their foes. It was not because his numbers were superior, no. In fact, in the beginning, the enemy bugs had outnumbered them by over half a million.


    The reason why his bugs were winning now was because their Bugcloud proved to be more developed. Either the ones who had spawned the ckish-yellow bugs was a new Killer Queen Bug that had just spawned her first batch of eggs, or a weakened one who had not been able to acquire many resources for her bugs, so they had not been able to grow.


    Darius was more inclined to believe it was thetter because once the fight had entered the phase where Adept bugs started to appear, the tides had started to shift. It was clear that the opposing Bugcloud had some info for Amateur and Journeymen bugs, but was nk when it came to Adept and above.


    However, just as Darius'' bugs had once adapted mid-fight to the point they were able to kill longtime Master-stage experts, the enemy bugs too were busy filling their database with every hit they took and every bite taken.


    This would be dangerous, but the thing was, Darius'' bugs were adapting too. Sadly enough for the enemy bugs, when it came to these things, being one step ahead would always be one step ahead.


    Soon, their numbers were greatly reduced until about 50 enemy Master bugs and some Adept ones remained while 144 Master bugs stood on Darius'' side. At this time, Darius and Gunner rose to their feet as one and began walking to the battlefield.


    X also rose and patted her bum before holding her staff gently.


    Darius raised a hand and cast Lightning Bolt on one of the Master bugs that was fending off one of his own Bugsy boys. The bolt struck the bug and dealt brutal amounts of damage.


    -8,354!


    As the bugs had no equipment nor natural defense against magic, they took the full brunt of the overpowered attack. It lost almost 30% of its health in one shot, which was made worse when Darius added in another hit.


    Gunner rushed in and began the fight without using a stomp or aerial entrance, but rather his Earthen Lariat. He glowed with a thunderous green aura as heughed and rushed forward like a bullet.


    His arms collided with two different Master bugs and knocked them into the distance. Gunner then used his Afterimage to appear in the midst of their trajectory and knock them into the ground.


    He then jumped up and shouted out, using his Omega Blow to form a greenish ball of energy that collided with the bugs and dragged them down to the ground before exploding in a marvelous light.


    His two attacks did not deal much damage since he hadn''t activated his Earth''s Guardian passive, but Gunner was here to have fun, not deal damage. Besides, he was the tank of the party and damage dealing wasn''t his job.


    He just fought more often because he liked it, and because, due to Darius'' thoughtful allocations, any one of the trio could shift from their role to take on the others with ease.


    Darius was the damage dealer here, so he continued spamming Lightning Bolt which was his most powerful spell at the moment. His attacks were further boosted by X who cast Divine Blessing on both him and Gunner.


    With the assistance of the plentiful bugs on their side and their ownbat prowess, the enemy bugs were soon wiped out.


    Gunner then jumped down one of the holes, eventuallying out with a tiny Queen Bug that was screeching in fear.

 Chapter 399 - 399

    With no more loyal subject to guard her, the captured Queen Bug began tomunicate with Darius telepathically. It offered to submit to him as long as he guaranteed her life, but he merely shook his head.


    As such, Gunner unhesitatingly crushed it into pulp, using a cloth from his inventory to wipe his hands.


    Upon seeing that the queen was also dealt with, Darius recollected his own bugs that numbered almost a hundred thousand into different Bags of Holding. It seemed that pitting insects against each other was still the best strategy yet.


    Darius then checked their battle report to see how much experience they had gained.


    [You have gained 51,200 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 51,200 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 51,200 EXP, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x10! You are now level 40. You have gained 50 Ability Points and 30 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x10! He is now level 40. He has gained 30 Ability Points and 10 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x8! She is now level 40. She has gained 24 Ability Points and 8 Skill Points to spend as she wishes!]


    They had only killed all the remaining 30 Master bugs while the Insects on his side had assisted them only eating the corpses after Darius got thest hit. As such, they had earned a gross total of 153,600 experience points, which split into three, was what had created the above scenario.


    Of course, what was of more importance was the fact that this battle had allowed the trio to reach the level cap.


    As Darius and Gunner had been through this before, they were calm, but X felt a bit nervous.


    After all, Darius and Gunner''s horrible reaction to the mention of the previous Quest was enough to make her assume that they were all brutal and impossible.


    As if on cue, the expected guest announced himself.


    {Greetings, Darius Stone! It is I, your ''beloved'' Central Assistant Entity for SLAVES Acting in Roles, Ceasar!}


    {However, you haven''t been acting much like a ve nowadays, now have you Darius Stone? Hahaha!}


    {I ''sincerely'' hope you have been looking forward to our reunion as much as I have! Since you have once again reached the level cap, it is time for you to undergo the Adept Quest now!}


    {Looking at your past performance and previous strength, as well as the current situation, I have prepared the perfect Quest for you!}


    {Listen well, Darius Stone! Your objective to be an Adept is to wipe out the entire Insect Race, from Amateur to Grandmaster!}


    Hearing the task they had to fulfill, X was shocked. However, Darius and Gunner shared an uncertain look.


    Wasn''t thisˇ­ erm, a bit too easypared to before?


    Previously, the situation with Marasmus had been extremely delicate so Darius had been forced to use a slew of roundabout means to achieve his goal.


    If even one thing had gone wrong back then, his journey would have ended then and there. Even after persevering anding out on top, that final escape from the ins of Death chilled the hearts of the duo to this day.


    In hindsight, Darius had understood that he had spent far too little time in the Amateur stage before reaching the cap, unaware that such a devious trap had been waiting for him.


    After going through that hell, he had not allowed himself to level up and had rather spent 5 years stockpiling resources, gathering knowledge, alliances, building a city, andpleting Events that increased his capabilities.


    To cut it short, the exam''s objective difficulty had not changed!


    Rather, due to the past trauma and preconceived notions, Darius managed to thoroughly prepare for it this time, so it felt easier to him.


    {As you are currently at the limit of the Journeyman stage, your experience bar is now set at 4,000 points. Just likest time, you shall receive 0.1 AP and SP for each revolution, yet the limit has been increased to 40 each.}


    {Well, Darius Stone, you might want to start as this Quest has a time limit of 6 months! By then we expect you to have exterminated all Insects on Faust, else you will have all your power stripped!}


    Darius raised an eyebrow and cut Caesar for the first time in a long time. "No death penalty?"


    {Not unless you wish me to add it as a consequence!}


    Caesar waited for a brief moment, but of course, nothing came of it. As such, the AI exined the reason behind this change.


    {As you grow in power, the Goddess deems it fit that your treatment should be elevated from the trash you truly are, to her True Agent! To put it in terms you will be able to understand, the higher you go, the weaker your punishments in case you fail your stage-climbing Quests!}


    {I hate saying it, but it might even be possible that you may get a second chance in the future!}


    Darius rubbed his chin. This was quite unexpected, as he had assumed Vena to be so powerful that there was no need to take him seriously.


    However, now he began to question whether ''entertainment'' truly was the goal for which he had been summoned here.


    From the very onset, Vena had actually been very nice to him. Whenever she had made a decision, it had been to his benefit, leaving an impression of her being a lofty and uncaring Goddess, but now it seemed quite possible that she might rather be kind.


    Most likely, she had a specific purpose for grooming Darius and felt it would be easier to be friends than enemies when the time came to state her desire.


    Either way, Darius hypothesized that the main reason he had to go through so much nonsense must be due to Caesar''s own malicious nature, which made him smile lightly.


    Once he discovered the truth of his spection, it would be time to decide who would enjoy his wrath between the two.


    {''Congrattions'', Darius Stone! It seems the Goddess is in a very good mood today, so she instructed me to offer you three hints just like the previous time! Listen carefully, for I shall endeavor to never repeat them again and hope you forget them halfway!}


    {The first is to make sure those adventurers and heroes from afar never step foot in the underground world! Their presence may cause a change in circumstances that is bound to ruin your chances!}


    {The second is to take care of your own brood! Their existence will be crucial inpleting this Quest!}


    {The third and final clue is to take pride in your Draconic abilities! They might be very effective in certain circumstances.}


    {Now, this is goodbye, Darius Stone! I wish you the worst of luck!}

 Chapter 400 - 400

    Darius smiled with amusement as he felt the presence of Caesar leave. The length and energy the AI had spent exining things this time around was not as long as the other time, probably because there was less fun in it for him.


    Darius then sat down with X and Gunner, discussing their options. With his brood, it was easy enough to eradicate Amateur to Master bugs.


    Even Grandmasters might be manageable once the trio finished this Event and benefited from the huge stat gain. However, above thaty a serious problem.


    ording to the knowledge Darius had gained, the real reason why it had been impossible for the Insect race to be exterminated were the fully matured Insect Queens that had the power of Gods and Insect Ancestors that were likely as strong as True Lords.


    Even 5 yearster, Darius felt like he would ironically get squashed like a bug if he would have to fight Thanatos. His stats might look impressive, but that was whenpared to mortal beings.


    How exactly was he supposed to deal with someone equivalent to the Titan God of Death, especially when more than a few of them had to exist?


    Well, it was not like he was giving up without even trying. With all the knowledge he had gained, he had certain ideas about how he might be able to deal with them.


    However, Darius prioritized the fact that he needed to gather those AP from the Event, use it to increase his Intellect, and clear out the restricted section. He would never say no to more means of solving the problem.


    For now though, Darius looked to work on Ceasar''s first hint, as that was contrary to his initial n, which had been to help the warriors from the shadows until they came face to face with the true enemies.


    If they defeated them, it would help Darius toplete his Quest, yet should they die it would at least allow him to gather more information on them.


    They might even call for their leaders, who might make use of this chance to deal a finishing blow.


    Darius teleported his group away, heading towards the ce he knew the various armies from afar woulde to once they entered this continent. He then released all his bugs except the Queen, and gave them a singlemand.


    "Kill every non-Insect and non-Mole that appears here or anywhere else you can see."


    They acknowledged his order, and the Master bugs among them began herding those below. Darius was certain that his bugs would be an imprable wall for the warriors from afar, as they usually fought the Insects below the ground and used tactics refined over millennia to deal with them.


    Yet even then, they still suffered great losses each year. He was interested in seeing how they would fare against Insects on the surface, and not just that, but an ambush right as they arrived.


    Darius then checked their Character menus to see how many AP and SP they had acquired. After their consecutive level-ups and the reward for clearing the first part of the Event, they had arge amount of them.


    As such, their character sheets looked like this after allocation.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 2,500/2,500


    MP: 8,000/8,000 (4,500)


    STA: 2,000/2,000 (1,500)


    Level: 40(+4)


    Experience: 2,654/4,000


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 62 (50)


    Endurance: 50


    Intellect: 200 (150)


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Frustrated.


    AP: 0.4


    SP: 0.4


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.1, Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Spawn - Lv.20, Analyze Lv.40 (10), etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.3 (1), Elemental Control - Lv.1, Draconic Regeneration - Lv.4 (1), Spell Enhancement - Lv.50, Spell Mastery - Lv.20 (15), Mageward Barrier - Lv.5, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5, Channeling - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 4, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Explosive Strength (Basic), Afterimage (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Elementary Psychomancy (Intermediate), Morph (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 13,440/13,440 (9,000)


    MP: 2,000/2,000 (1,500)


    STA: 4,800/4,800 (2,700)


    Level: 40(+4)


    Exp: 2,652/4,000


    Strength: 112 (100)


    Agility: 50


    Endurance: 120 (90)


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 50


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Overwhelmed.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0.4


    SP: 0.4


    Active: Engage - Lv.15 (10), Earthen Stomp - Lv. 10 (1), Earthen Punch - Lv.10 (4), Earthen Lariat - Lv.1, Omega Blow - Lv.1, Eraser Cannon - Lv.1, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.30, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.50, Extreme Speed - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.5 etc


    Abilities: Limit Release (Intermediate), Afterimage (Basic), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Deflection (Basic).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 2,500/2,500


    MP: 6,000/6,000 (4,160)


    STA: 2,000/2,000 (1,600)


    Level: 40(+5)


    Exp: 1,952/4,000


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 65 (50)


    Endurance: 50


    Intellect: 150 (130)


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Anxious.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0.5


    SP: 0.5


    Active: Divine Blessing - Lv.40, Holy Ward - Lv.21 (19), Divine Summoning - Lv.2, Purify - Lv.12, Cleanse - Lv.10, Divine Restoration - Lv.40, Ward Evil - Lv.10 (2), High Cure - Lv.21, Heal - Lv. 21 (20)


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.10 (3), Light''s Chosen - Lv.10, Pure Body - Lv.20, Pure Soul - Lv.20, Pure Spirit - Lv.20, Aura of Life - Lv.2, Spell Mastery - Lv.10, Spell Enhancement - Lv.10


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Afterimage (Basic), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Elementary Psychomancy (Intermediate), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    Darius decided to check the changed skills themselves on their way. Right now, he took the shoulders of his two Branded Servants in either hand before using Group Teleportation to send them onward to Vault 06, which was not the nearest Vault to where they werepared to Vault 03 previously.


    Eventually, they came across a strange tree that was withered, but still had the size of skyscraper. The group could see many Insects crawling through it, and these were the nature-type bugs that were normally harmless.


    They were like a sort of farmer group among bugs, able to produce nutritious sap for the rest after extracting foods from leaves and trees over time.

 Chapter 401 - 401

    Darius had no interest in wasting his time dealing with those weaklings as there was not even a single Adept bug present.


    He used Group Teleportation to travel through the tree to the central part down below. In one of the dark tunnels underneath the tree, the trio found a shaft that went further down into darkness.


    Gunner jumped in first, just as he had done back at the sinkhole, then Darius duped X into following after him. Eventually, they arrived in a subspace that was no different from the one they encountered before, down to the size and the details of the door.


    This time, Darius directly emted Source Energy as he pressed his hand to the door. Despite its so-called sentience it did not seem to care that his biological make-up was not that of a member of the Polito Race, it just slowly opened up to reveal the room with the pedestal.


    Smiling, the group began to ransack the Alchemy Vault with the glee only a fellow grave robber would be able to understand. In less than half an hour, this Vault was as clean as the Ressource Vault.


    Eventually, they used a Spatial Mark to return to the wastnd. Their next stop was the Source Vault, where the same thing urred. All that knowledge got added to the Database, which Miranda then helped transfer it directly to Darius'' mind.


    Vault 06 and 07 had both been near the south-westernmost edge of the continent, the closest one, Vault 05 was more than a million kilometers away.


    In the span of the next 4 days, they proceeded to clear out the remaining Vaults, without any urrences. The Polito Race had done an extremely good job in preserving their resources.


    s, it all fell into the hands of someone who used means they simply had no way to ount for...


    [Congrattions onpleting the Event: Civilization Protection Vaults!]


    Darius gazed at the windfall that were 460 AP and SP for each of them, an amount surpassing anything they had received before. It should have been 470 AP and SP, but they had already spent the 10 AP and SP from entering the first Vault.


    As such, he decided to invest them all right away.


    He had long since been receiving feedback from his bugs that they were engaged in a heavy battle.


    He knew he had to hurry and enter the underground world to start dealing with the actual Insects who were his Quest target.


    If the valiance of his bugs made those at the top feel fear, they might descend upon the continent and try to take matters into their own hands.


    .........................


    At this time, the eastern coast of the Pokterr continent was a brutal battle zone that was like a meat grinder of death and horror. The Killer Bugs Darius had left behind had defended the routes into the continent like an unbreakable bastion.


    On the side of the warriors, many were shocked and confused by the sheer amount of Insects and their valiance. Those veterans who hade here before knew for a fact that in the past years the Insects would hide from them during this period minus the newly born brainless ones, knowing that as long as they survived, they could rebuild.


    Of course, while the Insects did fight back, it would usually only be when they were first attacked. They definitely didn''t expect the Insects to lie there and take the assault, no. But this wasˇ­


    The casualty rate for these cullings was already super high and that was on the premise that the Insects only fought back when attacked. They had never before encountered a scene where a bunch of them actively sought out confrontation first.


    Those who came here for the first time had only heard of the terror of the Insects and had never witnessed it in actual action, but now they were. Their simple arrival had turned into a form of D-Day, only far more brutal.


    Unfortunately, the veterans were aware that even these mighty Master Bugs had a weakness and that was their inability to use skills. They had immense physical prowess that was impossible to defeat by same-stage enemies, but they had trouble dealing with skill, spells, and abilities, especially those their tribe had never encountered before.


    As such, more than one slipped under the and breached the continent, like those who had the map leading to the carriage Darius had ransacked or those who had been chosen to enter the sinkhole and try to enter the Vault in the subspace.


    The Killer Bugs might be able to ughter the majority of adventurers with ease, but they were still ill-equipped in the end. Their ferociousness could not make up for their ring weaknesses which were bing more obvious by the second.


    One of which was the fact that despite many Bugsy boys reaching the limit of the Master stage, they were unable to be Grandmasters.


    It was in their genes to be unable to rise above the Queen Bug who had birthed them, most likely to prevent cases where she might get overpowered.


    The one Darius had raised for currently an early Grandmaster, forbidden to rise above that, until he had increased his own power to match hers. If she were to escape hismand, it could lead to unforeseenplications for the entirety of Faust.


    So with this in mind, one could imagine that when the Grandmasters among those who were sent onto the continent arrived, things greatly changed at the battlefront. While thousands of bugs had now hit the Master stage thanks to the plentiful infusion of corpses for them to devour, they were like toys in the face of true Grandmasters.


    While the peak Master-stage Bugsy boys had stats bordering on the Grandmaster stage, it was still a gap they could not cross. Were it not for the existence of Gods/Demons and the True Lords of Faust above them, Grandmasters would indeed be the rulers of Faust!


    In fact, in the eye of themon people, Grandmasters were just that, living gods of this world!


    The first Master-stage bug to be ughtered happened to be Bugsy Linoone. He was a new Master Bug that had risen in this fight and was just getting to experience what was virtually the pinnacle of power for his species.


    s, it was a short experience, as he found himself pierced by a beam of light that had been fired from the palm of an elderly man with a gentle smile.


    Despite the extremely high HP and Endurance, the bugs did not have any natural elemental defense. Not to mention, with Darius so far away, they were ying by the rules of Faust''s inherent system, not that of the Supreme System.


    What would have been some deduction to its HP and a status effect turned into a true one-shot kill!

 Chapter 402 - 402

    The death of Bugsy Linoone made the hot battle pause, as both sides stared in shock at the sheer power disyed. The bugs on Darius'' side especially, had most of their info and fighting style based around the mechanics of the Supreme System.


    Seeing one of their pinnacle members drop dead in a single strike left them collectively confused, as this was not what the script should say.


    What had changed?


    Naturally, they had no idea about the system''s existence, so the only answer they coulde up with is that their enemy was just that powerful.


    The thing with events like these was that once it had ured, it usually began to recur more and more frequently. With the advent of one Grandmaster attacking, those others who had been looking on with interest and amusement felt the need to step in, if only for the chance to outshine their peers.


    From the sea, both the bugs and the deployed warriors saw different elemental attacks forming, their sizes surpassing anything they had ever seen before. Without caring that they would strike their own men, the Grandmasters let out their apocalyptic attacks.


    The result soon became evident.


    Those who had yet to hit the beach were forced to take cover from the ensuing shockwave and the bright sh thatsted more than half a minute. When they finally lifted their heads to look, they could only gasp which fear, a dark chill running down their bodies.


    The previously full battlefield had turned into a giant crater of different elements, with only some bug corpses still present, everything else had been razed to ash.


    Satisfied, the Grandmastersughed amongst each other andpared their prowess, some unting their superior skills while others grimaced due to theirckluster contribution.


    One thing was certain though, these powerhouses only treated this small ''warm-up'' as a passing thought, not something worth ruminating over or considering.


    Normally, this should have been the end of the matter. The Insect Queen who hadmanded her swarm would most likely hide and pray to never meet the ones responsible for eradicating her brood personally.


    That would be the case for wild bugs. However, in this case, there was an owner and only time would tell what he would do to repay the Grandmasters'' ''kindness''.


    .......


    Darius allocated their points and checked out the changes with a smile.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 10,000/10,000 (2,500)


    MP: 16,000/16,000 (8,000)


    STA: 4,000/4,000 (2,000)


    Level: 40(+4)


    Experience: 2,654/4,000


    Strength: 100 (50)


    Agility: 150 (62)


    Endurance: 100 (50)


    Intellect: 400 (200)


    Charisma: 100 (50)


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    AP: 22.4


    SP: 49.4


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.40 (1), Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Spawn - Lv.20, Analyze Lv.40, etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.20 (3), Elemental Control - Lv.20 (1), Draconic Regeneration - Lv.20 (4), Spell Enhancement - Lv.100 (50), Spell Mastery - Lv.100 (20), Mageward Barrier - Lv.100 (5), Spirit Barrier - Lv.100 (5), Channeling - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 4, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Limit Release (Intermediate), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 90,000/90,000 (13,440)


    MP: 2,000/2,000


    STA: 12,000/12,000 (4,800)


    Level: 40(+4)


    Exp: 2,652/4,000


    Strength: 300 (112)


    Agility: 50


    Endurance: 300 (120)


    Intellect: 50


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100 (50)


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Indifferent.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 42.4


    SP: 43.4


    Active: Engage - Lv.40 (15), Earthen Stomp - Lv. 40 (10), Earthen Punch - Lv.40 (10), Earthen Lariat - Lv.40 (1), Omega Blow - Lv.40 (1), Eraser Cannon - Lv.40 (1), Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.100 (30) , Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.100 (50), Extreme Speed - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100 (5) etc


    Abilities: Unlimited Power (Advanced), Afterimage (Basic), Immortal Body (Advanced), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 3,750/3,750 (2,500)


    MP: 12,000/12,000 (6,000)


    STA: 3,000/3,000 (2,000)


    Level: 40 (+5)


    Exp: 1,952/4,000


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 100 (65)


    Endurance: 75(50)


    Intellect: 300 (150)


    Charisma: 100 (50)


    Luck: 300 (100)


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Happy.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0.5


    SP: 0.5


    Active: Divine Blessing - Lv.40, Divine Ward - Lv.40 (21), Divine Summoning - Lv.10 (2), Purify - Lv.19 (12), Purge - Lv.40 (10), Divine Restoration - Lv.40, Iste Evil - Lv.40 (10), High Cure - Lv.40 (21), Super Heal - Lv. 40 (21)


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.20 (10), Light''s Chosen - Lv.50 (10), Pure Body - Lv.50 (20), Pure Soul - Lv.50 (20), Pure Spirit - Lv.50 (20), Aura of Life - Lv.10 (2), Spell Mastery - Lv.100 (10), Spell Enhancement - Lv.100 (10)


    Abilities: Limit Release (Intermediate), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Fast Regeneration (Basic), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), God''s Chosen (Advanced).]


    The trio felt the power and knowledge course through them, their bodies jerking abruptly as they moaned from pleasure. Even Darius was not able to escape this, as the increase this time was just too great, especially to his mind.


    Gunner roared and jumped up and down like a monkey, his every stomp causing the entire continent to shake since he now had above-Grandmaster physical stats. He didn''t mean to cause amotion, he just had to vent out the feeling of his body bing so powerful somehow.


    X just folded like an omelet while twitching on the ground helplessly. Her Spiritual Senses were overloading her mind, as her greatly expanded Luck was too much for her to handle.


    After what felt like an eternity, they all overcame their extreme reactions and calmed down. Darius was about to suggest they head below the earth when he received a severe distress call from the Queen Bug.


    For the first time since he had allowed it to upgrade, he released the Queen Bug from her Bag of Holding. What appeared before the group was a tiny humanoid bee, looking no different from a fairy, but with a thorax and stinger as a form of tail, twopound eyes, and two feelers from her forehead.


    Despite her cuteness, Darius gazed at her calmly and asked. "Tell me everything that happened in detail."

 Chapter 403 - 403

    Despite being at the Grandmaster stage the Queen Bug couldn''t speak verbally, so she transferred the experience her children had gained to the group.


    Once they found out what happened, Darius face became grim, while Gunner showed thunderous anger. X covered her mouth with shock, not believing what she was seeing.


    Darius then took out today''s Bowl of Lunar Dew andmanded his Queen Bug to drink. Excited by the pure energy that had helped her evolution, she drank so until her tiny body was almost cartoonishly bloated.


    She immediately fell into a deep slumber to digest it and Darius took her back into a Bag of Holding.


    "What should we do?" X asked with uncertainty.


    Darius smiled thinly. "We were warned that we cannot let them interfere with the underground world. We have to prevent them from ruining everything."


    "Those who are looking for treasure above ground, as well as those who are heading to the sinkhole to open the vault are not threats, they will not partake in the ughter below."


    "Those Grandmasters though, will certainly do so. I didn''t want to show my face as it may lead to problemster on, but I kinda realized that I don''t have to now, do I?"


    The grin on Darius'' face emanated pure evil, before he used his Dragon Transformation ability that he had gained with his new bloodline. His body slowly shifted from humanoid to Draconic, his size increasing to the size of a vi.


    Gunner smiled and activated his Earth''s Guardian and Mageward Barriers together. The greenish lighty below the white-blue light, making Gunner''s form hard to discern, this was further exacerbated when he used the basic ability of Charisma to change his face into that of Boris.


    X was silent for a while before she used the intermediate ability of Charisma, Metamorph, to change her entire physical form from an elf into a normal human woman she had once seen in passing.


    The group mounted Darius''s back and took to the air. It had to be said that the distance the Dragon could traverse with a single p of his wings was far faster than using the consecutive teleportations.


    As they had been near Vault 01 which was at the north-easternmost end of the continent, it took them very little time to reach the mid-eastern section which was where the battle had urred.


    By this time, the parties had only juste ashore and were dealing with the aftermath, as well as setting up their encampment before diving below the surface. It was unnatural to expect them to just charge into battle the moment they hadnded, especially after encountering an unexpected ambush.


    The encampment was quite busy at this time, and the various Masters and Grandmasters were in amand tent, discussing what had just happened as well as ways to deal with it.


    "I believe that this is a sign that the Insects are getting more powerful and ready to invade once more! How can you argue for inaction when the threat of invasion looms upon us?!" A bald old woman wearing a brown kasaya argued as she mmed the table.


    Opposite her, a man fully garbed in a Dragon Warrior''s armor, reserved for the most powerful samurai group in Houto, folded his arms and rebutted calmly. "Those are rmist spections! There wasn''t even a single Grandmaster among them! What''s so special about encountering an army of bugs who were defending their home? Just like with typical bugs, their hunger must have overwhelmed them into stupidity. "


    Some heads nodded in agreement with the Dragon Warrior while others agreed with the Grandmaster from Pan. Thetter red at the Dragon Warrior with anger.


    "Are you really going to risk it all just because of a silly feud between our continents?"


    The Dragon Warrior shook his head. "Only you still see the feud. We have long since forgotten about it. I''m just trying to provide a sensible counterargument to your ims. If we can all agree that your point holds more merit than the typical counterargument, then it is logically sound."


    The Grandmaster Monk sneered. "Everyday logic this and that. Then why don''t you cancel out your beloved Bushido since it advocates for honor and reputation, huh?"


    This infuriated the Dragon Warrior, making him also m the table as he rose to his feet. "You can insult anything but our Bushido! Retract your words or we shall fight to the death now!"


    The woman seemed to be the unreasonable kind as she also rose to her feet and sneered. "I will insult whatever I want, especially if it is foolish and backward! Bring whatever fight you have on, I have always found you to be an eyesore."


    Most of the other Grandmasters only looked on with interest, while the older and wiser ones rubbed their foreheads with exasperation, moving to cate either side and prevent a fight.


    However, a shadow soon covered the entire encampment from top to bottom, making all those within pause and age to the sky. Their bodies trembled when they saw a huge Dragon fluttering above in the sky, its eyes gazing down upon them like they were ants.


    From the back of the Dragon, a huge fellow jumped off and hovered in the sky for a few seconds. He then manifested a greenish orb that grew in size greatly, thempressed itself into a tiny ball.


    When he tossed it out, its size began to increase with each meter it passed, until it was huge enough that it mimicked the Dragon that was still hovering above them.


    Eventually, the Grandmasters within the encampment came out of their tent and saw what was going on, shock coloring their faces as they gazed at what was likely Armageddon.


    Immediately, they all used their various means to protect themselves, forsaking the entire encampment. Even if they had the power to do so, against a Dragon and whatever that fellow had sent out was, they would eventually kill such small fry off in time.


    The Omega Blow collided with the earth, creating a phenomenon no different than when these Grandmasters wiped out the insects. A huge green explosion urred, killing everyone within the encampment below the Master-level even if the Supreme System usually prevented one-hit kills due to how damage was calcted.

 Chapter 404 - 404

    The smoke soon cleared, revealing the wreckage of what was formerly a lively encampment. Hundreds of people had been killed by Gunner''s attack, whereas all the Master and Grandmaster targets had managed to protect their lives.


    They looked at the trio who were radiating so much power and energy that their hearts trembled. The kind of powers Darius, Gunner, and X possessed after allocating those points was not a joke at all.


    It wasn''t just the stats. It was mostly their skills where Darius had upgraded most of them.


    [Analyze - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Deduce the characteristics of any item or person, as well as their personal history and some skill details. The effectiveness of this skill is based on the Intellect stat x 8.0!]


    [Elemental Breath - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 400 MP


    Description: Channel the raw power of the elements through your body, realizing it in a cone-shaped breath before you. This deals 4,000% all-element damage.]


    [Mageward Barrier - Level 100 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a legendary faction of mage-killing knights who took on contractual jobs to hunt down mages. This was the core skill, allowing them to great mitigate the damage from all offensive and debuffing spells based on their mastery over the spell at no cost to their mana or stamina. Currently, this skill disperses 100% of all iing magic damage/negative effects.]


    [Spirit Barrier - Level 100 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique skill lineage belonging to the Witches of Fallon, a group of women cursed with the Mystic Arts and its benefits as well as detriments. As masters of maniption of all things soul-rted, they developed this skill that protects their own souls from interference by others. Currently, this skill disperses 100% of all iing spirit and soul damage/negative effects.]


    [Spell Enhancement - Level 100 Skill (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: You have mastered a unique mana control technique, allowing you to deal more damage with each spell you cast. Your spell power is increased by 100%.]


    [Spell Mastery - Level 100 Skill (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: You have mastered a unique mana control technique, allowing you to use less mana with each spell you cast. Your spell resources have reduced by 100%.]


    [Magical Mastery - Level 20 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, you have been blessed by the Laws of Magic in the world, able to disy mastery beyond any other mortal species in existence. Your mana regeneration, spell-casting speed, spell power, and spell resources have increased by 100%.]


    [Elemental Control - Level 20 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of all Dragons, you belong to not a single specific element, but epass them all. Resistance to elemental attacks as well as elemental damage increased by 100%.]


    [Draconic Regeneration - Level 20 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, your lifeforce and survivability are nothing short of a Primordial Titan. Your health regeneration is 100% per second regardless of situation.]


    Darius''s power had grown by amounts that could not be easily fathomed. As he hovered in the air, he gazed at the over 100 Grandmasters and more than 20,000 Masters that stood there with their mouths agape.


    With a cruel smile reminiscent of his younger days, Darius decided to test out his increased power with the very ''willing targets before him. He shot out his favorite and go-to spell, Lightning Bolt, aiming at a Master mage standing nearby.


    When the fellow saw the bolt rush toward shim, he instantly paled. His natural magical barrier appeared, which had threeyers belonging to three different elements.


    After each stage up, a mage would congeal another elemental shield that worked passively.


    ording to Supreme System rules, each shield offered a mage 10% magical resistance, which amounted to 30% when one hit the Master stage and 40% once one became a Grandmaster.


    No matter how powerful the spell one hit them with, unless it was part of an element that was antithetical to the ones used on one or all of the shields, in which the advantage would turn on its head, it would greatly decrease in power.


    The fellow had a Fire, Wind, and Earth shield, which was quite a good array for resisting Lightning, with Earth even suppressing the Lightning element greatly. The Master mage also had equipment on his body that under the Supreme System equaled 25 points of resistance.


    However, the bolt pierced through all the shields and turned him into ash instantly. It couldn''t be helped, after calctions, Darius would have dealt raw damage of 216,000, even after being reduced by 30% it totaled 151,200 points.


    After being divided by the amount of Resistance the fellow had, that was over 6,000 points of damage! While a Master fighter might be able to suffer such a loss, mages were not exactly known for focusing on their physical stats.


    His HP had been less than 4,000, and that was even high for mages. Those who had encircled Andrato back in the day had less than 1,500 HP, but this particr fellow had hailed from a stronger empire and had not been entirely human, blessing him with better stats.


    It wasn''t just Darius who was shocked speechless, but his two Branded Servants as well as all those who stood below. They could not believe their eyes, that ate-stage Master had been wiped out so easily in the field which he was strongest in, against an element he was supposed to have an advantage over.


    Gunner''s feat was understandable for the trio, for they knew that his level 100 Earth''s Guardian would boost his power to insane levels, but for Darius to be able to achieve the same told them just how much more powerful they had be.


    Though it was obviously not enough to one-shot Grandmasters, it still put them above most Masters! After all, while mages and their equivalent might have magic defense and resistance, the physical fighters did not!


    Without equipment that offered them resistance, they would have to swallow all that raw damage of 216,000!

 Chapter 405 - 405

    To test his assumption, Darius fired another Lighting Bolt at a Master Samurai who was wearing ck and red armor. He too was shocked, and flourished his katana to deflect the lighting.


    The weapon had some warding effects against magic, as that was how those on his continent had developed to fight against their version of spellcasters, the Omnyouji.


    However, his katana could not even ward off 5% of the damage and he had no equipment with resistance, only physical defense. As such, he too was vaporized instantly as he suffered more than 200,000 points of damage.


    At this point, the shock had long disappeared below as they began to form up to defend themselves. No manner what, there were thousands of fighters against three seeming Grandmasters, but even so, they also had Grandmasters on their side!


    At this time, the smiling elder who had shot the light beam that had killed the majority of the bugs stepped forth with a smile on his face.


    "Friends from afar, my name is Bai Lingtian of the White Sun Sect. I have to ask why you are attacking your fellowpatriots who havee here on the noble mission of culling the Insect gue and whether you know the consequences of your actions?"


    His words were met with nods by the Grandmasters behind him, who had shaken off their initial shock and regained their calmness. They had judged Darius'' power and found that while he could easily wipe out Masters, it was not enough to deal more than 30% damage to each of them, and even then, they had ways to avoid the attack altogether.


    However, their mistake was thinking that Darius had used his full power, while also forgetting the fact that Gunner''s attack might even have been fatal for them. However, since they had managed to defend against it, they made the same assumption of Gunner.


    However, this was a severe mistake. The power upgrade Darius had experienced was nothingpared to what Gunner had gone through.


    [Engage - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Vanguard, you must be able to stand at the forefront of battle and pave the way for your allies. This skill aggroes all enemies within 200 meters of the user.]


    [Energy Ward - Level 100 Skill (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists physical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 100%!]


    [Earth''s Guardian - Level 100 Skill (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 30 MP per second


    Description: The natal skill of every royal blooded giant, this skill is a blessing Gaia granted to her protectors who grants them the ability to borrow some of the''s power inbat. The user of this skill is granted +500% Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense for the duration of its activation.]


    [Earthen Stomp - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your legs as you destroy the area around you with a minor quake. This damages an area of 210 meters around the user.]


    [Earthen Punch - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your fists as you deal more damage to armored orrger enemies. This skill deals 900% blunt damage.]


    [Earthen Lariat - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Channel great amounts of pure Earth Energy into your arms, rushing forward to strike your foes with a powerfulriat. This deals 526% earth damage.]


    [Omega Blow - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a ball, throwing it out in apressed form to explode on impact. This deals 792% earth damage to a single target.]


    [Eraser Cannon - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a beam, sting it out at any angle within 400 meters. This deals 1,056% earth damage.]


    With a 500% increase, Gunner''s 300 points of Strength and Endurance now became 1,800. This was bordering on 2,000 points and was definitely not something a human or giant could possess. Now, Gunner was beginning to be more and more like his ancestorsˇ­ a Primordial Titan!


    Darius pped his wings in the air coldly. "Kill them."


    With thismand, Gunner who was easily floating in the air by flexing his muscles slightly, and using the Advanced Strength ability Unlimited Power, dove towards the battlefield like aet.


    As he rushed towards the fellow who introduced himself he stretched out a hand and used Eraser Cannon!


    Bai Lingtian''s face changed, but he didn''t move. He simply smiled confidently and raised his hand as well, firing a white beam of light that looked simr in size to Gunner''s Eraser Cannon.


    The female monk among the group who had been chanting Buddhist mantras up until this point suddenly spat blood and gazed at the sky in horror. She had been assessing the threads of karma and the Six Paths of Reincarnation to see their chances of survival.


    But that bacsh told her all she needed to know. She had no right to gaze into the Six Paths as she would soon be a permanent resident!


    "EVERYONE, ESCAPE NOW!" She screamed as she directly tore one of her sarira''s off and vanished from the continent immediately. Many other Grandmasters had been paying attention to her as they knew about her abilities, so the moment she spat blood, there were those who were faster and had long since left.


    Even the Dragon Warrior trusted her words and had left resolutely. Only a few Immortals who were close to Bai Lingtian stayed behind to try and evacuate with him. He himself was pale, regretting his counterattack as he willingly canceled it and suffered the bacsh.


    He then entered a formation with his allies and disappeared from Pokterr, all of them sacrificing 10% of their cultivation foundation permanently to achieve this.


    Darius and X were no different. The intense spiritual warning they were receiving almost made them delirious, but Darius had enough mind to teleport himself and his two Branded Servants more as far as he could, not stopping for even a second.


    By the time a whole 5 seconds passed, the Eraser Cannon that had been slightly slowed down by the light beam collided with thend.

 Chapter 406 - 406

    From miles away, the trio were able to see that almost the entire eastern segment of the continent had been crushed by the explosion of green light that surged up to the sky, even discing clouds.


    They could only watch with solemn faces as a powerful shockwave no weaker than the one from a nuclear st swept over them and beyond. This was just the effect of a single skill from Gunner''s repertoire, but its effects were cataclysmic.


    The trio had nowe into contact with the true power level of Faust, making them aware why they didn''t see the Gods or True Lords frolicking about and causing trouble.


    A few fights like this and there would not be much left of Faust...


    Just like how nuclear weapons were kept on Earth but not used as it would harm everybody, so too did Gods and True Lords not fight easily for it would harm their very home on a fundamental level.


    It was better to fight proxy wars, which was even why they bothered wasting time setting up churches, building factions, naming pdins, etc.


    Darius transformed into his human form while Gunner and X resumed their usual faces. They each gazed at the other in silence before shaking their heads. What needed to be said did not have to be said, they already understood it right away.


    Darius teleported them to the ground and sighed. He then noticed that the Supreme System was pinging him.


    [You have gained 30,720 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 30,720 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 30,720 EXP, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x8! You are now level 40(+12). You have gained 0.8 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x8! He is now level 40(+12). He has gained 0.8 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x8! She is now level 40(+13). She has gained 0.8 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    They had killed around 16 Adepts and those 2 initial Masters. The rest either gave no experience or had escaped the final st. Darius wasn''t surprised by this, as the main force had already been greatly culled by the bugs before they were all destroyed.


    With the Grandmasters having fled, that should bring a temporary end to the underground expedition. They would have to gather, discuss how to deal with Darius and co, then consult their higher-ups and all that.


    This should buy Darius some time, but it would only be a week at best, assuming the Gods and co were like ants in a hot pan, anxious to have the Insects weakened every year regardless of the cost.


    Darius was surprised though, that Gunner''s Eraser Cannon did not damage any Insects below the earth, unless they were too weak to give experience. Then, how deep were the truly powerful Insects?


    Well, he would find out the exact measurements soon, wouldn''t he?


    It was time to head below the earth and see what these insects had to offer in terms of resistance. Darius did spare a nce to check X''s changes as well.


    [Divine Ward - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Light, encase yourself in a shield that resists 40% physical and magical damage. It also has a damage threshold of 40,000 points, in which it would only disappear once this is reached.]


    [Divine Summoning - Level 10 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP per summon


    Description: Establish a connection with the source of Divine Light and call down an Avatar to fight for you. The maximum power of each avatar is 10% of your own.]


    [Purify - Level 19 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Be a conduit for the light of the world, spreading purity while cleansing all darkness and evil. This deals 19% light damage.]


    [Purge - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Expel all filth and dust from the surface of any living or non-living target and refresh them internally. This also increases their health slightly, strengthens libido and kes thirst. The maximum amount of targets per cast are 40.]


    [Iste Evil - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Channel the purest Holy Energy to create a field of repulsion around the user to any chosen target/location. All entities with a moral alignment of Chaotic Neutral and below, all entities possessing nefarious intent, and all entities affiliated with darkness and death will be blocked. Up to 5 wards can be created.]


    [High Cure - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 40 MP


    Description: Channel the Divine Light into the body of a target, curing them of any infection, ailment, or poison. Complete restoration is assured, and there is a 40% chance that the target will have their resistances to said ailment increased permanently.]


    [Super Heal - Level 40 Spell


    Cost: 200 MP


    Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 100% of a target''s total HP and permanently increases their HP by 10%.


    Note: Does not work on those affiliated with the Supreme System.]


    [Divine Sight - Level 10 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: Imbue your eyes and senses with the blessing of the Divine Light, allowing you to clearly see the folds of reality and the intricacies of the world around you.]


    [Light''s Chosen - Level 50 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: As the chosen maiden representing the Divine Light, you are blessed by its will and possess a stronger connection to its power. All light-based skills and spells are 50% more effective.]


    [Pure Body - Level 50 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your body has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all Darkness and Death element attacks as well as any and all ailments by 50%.]


    [Pure Soul - Level 50 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your soul has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all curses, soul attacks, and soul interference by 50%.]


    [Pure Spirit - Level 50 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your spirit has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all psychic attacks, illusions, and mental charms/suggestions by 50%.]


    [Aura of Life - Level 10 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None`


    Description: Possessing the closest connection to the Divine Light, you radiate an aura of wellness and empowerment, cleansing all Darkness and unwanted elements. All allies of yours enjoy an extra resistance to all diseases and curses by 10%.]

 Chapter 407 - 407

    After checking this, Darius understood that X needed more skills, otherwise she would have no outlet for her soon-to-be-acquired SP. However, he also felt it was fine like this, because X''s skills were already good enough as they were.


    For the time being, Darius teleported them towards the center of the continent, where the main entrance to the underground was located. As they traveled, Darius thought deeply about how he would achieve his goal.


    He needed to kill every Insect, but there was no guarantee that all of them were located on Pokterr. It was impossible that the Insect Egg from which his own Queen Bug had hatched had been the only one of its kind which had left the continent.


    What he needed were methods to locate all the Insects instead of wasting his time searching for them on his own. Better yet, would be a way to remotely affect all Insects at once.


    He knew it was possible to use the Spirit or Blood elements to track Insects down as long as Darius spent some time drafting a spell specifically for this purpose. He could also have Miranda create a device with the same purpose, though its potency might not be as far-reaching as the spells.


    As for culling Insects remotely, that was one of Darius'' go-to ns.


    While the time limit of the Adept Quest was longer than the one for the Journeyman Quest, it was simply not enough to search through the entirety of Faust. That was not even ounting for the time it would take to go through each hive one by one in order to kill all the weaker bugs.


    His current inspiration was to develop a Spirit or Blood element spell to achieve this method, taking inspiration from the method of the Witches to cull this race.


    A Spirit spell could see him lock onto a unique soul feature of insects, and then spread a counter-influence that extinguished their souls.


    As spirit-rted attacks were truly difficult to defend against, this was a sure-fire method.


    s, it still suffered from the problem that such spells had to be cast in the vicinity of the target, which once again led him back to the other problem of first having to find their locations.


    In this sense, relying on the Blood element to mix it with the method of the witches would be better. Witches had a particr curse called the Curse of Withering, which would doom the target to slowly die out over a long period of pain and agony. The only requirement here was to be in possession of a personal item of the target or some DNA-rted items.


    This alone might not be enough, but what if Darius were tobine it with the Vampire''s legendary trump card, the Bloodline Curse?


    This spell was something that the Vampires had created through their adept maniption of the element many years ago. As long as they had the blood of one family member they could punish the entire family tree, including all those rted distantly.


    This was exactly what he needed to deal with those pesky bugs!


    Of course, the level of uracy and the strength of the damage done depended on the spellcaster''s proficiency and might, but Darius would find ways around that.


    He believed this would work, as the Insects were all linked through blood as one giant family. However, to target the entire race would require some serious power, so Darius would have to ce various limitations.


    For example, he could try to target only those on the higher end like Grandmasters and above, configuring it in a way that they would slowly wither over a period of months. Not enough to kill them, as that was impossible given his current power, but enough to make them kible for him and his group.


    Or, he could simplify his job and target weak bugs at the Amateur and Journeyman stage, stating that they would die off in a week or two. His power was more than enough to achieve this, however, the sheer quantity of them as well as the distance would put a strain on the casting unless he limited it again.


    Obviously, there was also the alternative of using science instead of magic. Miranda and Darius could take samples of various bugs, analyze them, and devise a contagious disease specifically for bugs that killed them.


    After all, the humans on Earth had been able to do this for each other, even daring to release it in public for testing and ming it on animals. This kind of bio-weapon was not out of the question given Darius'' past.


    As much as he had appeared to be a ''clean'' businessman, he had owned enough R&Dpanies to leave him quite knowledgeable after various reports and tours he had received from the enthusiastic scientists who wanted his funding.


    He might havecked the proper understanding in his previous life, but Miranda could easily dig out all that data, the metrics, charts, and detailed exnations sequence by sequence from his memory and piece together a data library, even cross-referencing it with the basic scientific education Darius had received on Earth.


    Soon, the trio arrived at the entrance to the underground, which was a ruined city with a dungeon-like entrance in the very center. The city''s architecture looked strange and was styled cubically, but Darius could tell that this was a Politan city.


    In fact, it might have been their capital given the size, and the Insects must have popped out from underneath their city hall, thus beginning the end of this race as they struggled to fight back against an enemy that could reproduce in the millions and grow through devouring.


    Darius paused before the entrance and had a solemn expression. Before he dove down there, he needed to choose his n of action, as he could not afford to just wing it like he had originally hoped.


    He had rushed toplete the Vault Event because he felt that with such a huge influx of stats, he would have enough power to challenge anything.


    However, if there truly were Insects above the Grandmaster stage, then he would have to refurbish some of his old trick from the time he had ventured to ins of Death with Gunner.

 Chapter 408 - 408

    Darius squatted at the edge of the dark entrance to the underground, his mind whirring. He needed to pick a route of attack, otherwise, it might be toote if he wanted to achieve his goal.


    As much as it sounded fun to just jump in and start throwing fireballs around, that rarely was the wisest option.


    He looked around and spotted some of the buildings nearby. With a smile, he ced his hand on one of the dpidated buildings nearby and focused.


    [Would you like to change the Dpidated Polito Housing Unit into a Polito Housing Unit? This will cost 47 Conversion Points.]


    After making the change, the building glowed for a few seconds before it looked as if someone had reverted time and returned it to its glory days. The group could then admire the architecture of the ancient Polito race, who seemed to like the cube shape a lot.


    Upon entry, Darius noticed that the building was powered by arge crystal that shone with a kaleidoscopic light. Thanks to the knowledge he had gained in the Vaults he knew that this was Source Energy, but condensed into a crystallized form.


    However, upon using Analyze on the crystal to find out more details, he was bbergasted. It turned out that this was a special resource that if inscribed and carved with the right techniques, could independently connect to the Source Energy itself and draw energy.


    This naturally shocked Darius, and he cursed the Politos in his mind.


    How could a race that had managed to find a way to generate infinite energy allow themselves to be defeated by ''mere'' Insects?


    It might be Darius'' own prejudice as an Earthling, after all the biggest problem guing society in his day and age had still been finding a source of renewable energy that was clean and infinite.


    Meanwhile, here in Faust, Source Energy was infinite as it was a separate entity and was always stable no matter how much was drawn.


    What separated crystals of this time were their own durability and the quality of techniques inscribed on them. A crystal could be of good quality and draw a lot of energy, but as a material, it would eventually degrade over time, especially when dealing with high powers over long periods of time.


    Then, the techniques of the Polito race had been developed, but had not reached anywhere near the pinnacle. They could use those crystals to power huge ships or assembly lines, or to just power some simple machinery and their homes.


    Darius naturally decided to bump up the agenda of familiarising himself with the information from the Polito Vaults after the Quest.


    He touched the crystal lightly and smiled, opting to introduce this technology in Safemoon upon his return.


    For now though, he had more pressing concerns. He and the two Branded Servants selected rooms in the building and began to settle in. Darius called out Miranda to begin working on a spell targeting the souls of the Insects.


    Since he was most familiar with the Spirit element and even had some talent in it, it was wiser to start there. However, the difficulty of getting his parameters down stunned Darius. Even simplifying it didn''t help, as the end result was always a Grandmaster and above spell.


    He was still a Journeyman under the system, limited to Intermediate spells. As such, Darius could only remove some uses and lower others drastically, like the potency, the range, etc.


    He also had to drastically raise the MP cost of the spell to make it easier to cast, as quantity would make up for quality in this regard. Luckily, the control aspect of the spell was not a problem since he was using the Supreme System to cast it.


    While Darius was working, he made sure to tell Gunner and X that they were free to do whatever they wanted in this period of time. The Elf Princess decided to leave with Gunner and hunt some of the stronger Insects to alleviate Darius'' worries.


    This was different from an Event where the duo would justze about and watch anime. Quests decided their fates, so they didn''t have the peace of mind to y around. Gunner jumped down the hole with X in tow.


    At the bottom of the holey a four-way intersection. Wide tunnels appeared in every way, but they were only dimly lit by the residual light from the surface. However, with the physical prowess of Gunner and X, gaining dark vision was easy.


    The same basically held true for anyone with more than 50 points in Endurance essentially. Gunner and X did not have Darius'' Map function, but they had the Database, which also had a map of the tunnels.


    While they couldn''t check their location in real-time nor use the convenience of his mini-map, both of them could use a static map to see where they were going, especially to find their way back.


    X tapped the butt of her staff on the ground and cast Divine Ward on both herself and the half-giant. It had its own damage threshold andsted till it was broken, forming a line of defense against any devastating sneak attacks.


    After a bit of deliberation, the duo decided to head down the northward tunnel, which should theoretically lead to a huge cavern where one nest was suspected to be located.


    Walking would waste too much time, and neither one expected their presence to remain hidden for too long, so both just rushed along the tunnel.


    Soon enough they were ambushed by a group of centipede-like bugs that screeched menacingly. They crawled out of the earth walls of the tunnel and retracted whenever an attack was made towards them.


    [Creepy Crawlers - Level 29 Monster


    HP: 2,340/2,340 MP: 210/210 STA: 1,044/1,044]


    However, their speed was nothing to Gunner and X who had 50 points and 100 points in Agility respectively. Gunner simply grabbed one by the ''neck'' when it tried to strike him from the back, dragging outpletely out of the earth.


    Even as the monster screeched and thrashed, it suddenly stopped when it saw Gunner brings its face near his and red at it with irritation.


    Suddenly, the monster felt like it should not havee here today.

 Chapter 409 - 409

    Gunner simply crushed the bug in his hand right away, wiping the mucus on a cloth. He then turned to the other ones who had been trying to hound X.


    However, it was a fruitful attempt as the Elven Princess had enough Agility to dodge them like she was Neo from the Matrix.


    Gunner then grunted and smashed his palm on either side of the tunnel, causing the walls to shake a little. This disrupted the movement of the bugs due to the seismic activity, giving Gunner enough time to rush forward and grabbed them all at once.


    Once again, a group had their lives snuffed immediately.


    After cleaning his hands, the Branded Servant duo continued to journey deeper into the tunnelwork, narrowing the distance between themselves and the hive they were targeting.


    X moved quietly enough to not be noticed as Agility concerned more than raw movement speed, but Gunner''s muscle mass was far dense to have his Agility help him in this regard. As such, all Insects that perceived their surroundings through Seismic Sensation or a variety of it rushed towards them.


    The duo were often besieged by strange variations of the bugs that sought to devour their flesh and strengthen themselves. Ultimately, what they got was a one-on-one happy session from Gunner, which interestingly enough, only ended happily for the half-giant.


    Eventually, the two of them stopped to check the map once they reached a fork. After reaffirming their direction, they went down the left road for 500 meters before entering arge cavern.


    This cavern was not dark and was lit by some glowing minerals that had been gathered carefully. After all, this was the living area of the hive and even if they could live in utter darkness, some light was needed for certain special matters.


    There was a strange and eerie silence in the hive though. Not a single bug could be seen crawling out of the various holes they had dug into the ways or the ceiling. The intense silence would have creeped out any normal person, but Gunner could sense the presence of his targets hidden in the walls, just waiting for him and X to walk far enough into the hive that they would be trapped.


    Gunner could also sense the struggle of the Insects, as their hunger tempted them to rush out and get the first bite. The only way for them to resist their instincts was the presence of a nearby Bug Queen.


    X too seemed to see something with her Divine Sight and gasped lightly. She was definitely creeped out by the huge amount of bugs that were waiting in ambush for them, goosebumps growing on her skin.


    Gunner patted her shoulder and stretched an arm out. A green light condensed in his arm that X knew all too well. Luckily, Gunner did not activate his Earth''s Guardian, or they would probably destroy this entire section of the tunnel system.


    The bugs seemed to sense the danger brewing and began rushing out ahead of time as their queen screeched hermand. However, it was toote as Gunner fired his Eraser Cannon right into the middle of the hive.


    The ensuing explosion washed over the entire cavern and slightly beyond. Gunner and X easily retreated right after the stnded, gazing at the devastation before them.


    The majority of the bugs got wiped out in a single hit, with only the stronger ones within the hive able to retain a sliver of life. Gunner idly walked back in, finishing off those he encountered while digging for the Bug Queen who had been buried under rubble.


    He eventually pulled out a disgusting lobster-like insect that was screeching madly as its many legs thrashed about in fear. It realized that it was about to join its brood, something no sentient would willingly ept, so it started to plead for its life.


    Gunner however, was the deliverer of death upon those who crossed his path, yet his hand was stayed by X. She had an intrigued expression on her face as she made an astute suggestion.


    "Hm, since Darius is currently working on ways to harm the Insects remotely, don''t you think he might appreciate some prime samples? Let''s just send him the Bug Queens of the hives we destroy and it might speed up his work!"


    Gunner was surprised by this, but nodded eventually. The idea made sense and cost them nothing. Since it would be a waste of time to return each time, he removed a Guard Android from his Inventory and asked the Solena AI to activate it.


    "Send this back to Darius above ground." Gunnermanded the Guard Android while handing over the still struggling insect.


    The android took the quarry and nodded, rushing out from the edges of the cavern to the tunnel which Gunner and X hade from. Although Gunner did not specify where Darius was located, the Solena AI was able to easily direct it to where Darius was located as he also had a HoloBrace.


    It just needed to follow the metaphorical yellow brick road that was also conveniently called GPS. However, Gunner was skeptical if the android would actually reach Darius as Insects could interrupt its journey.


    Even though they had cleared out the tunnel on their way here, who knew how many were passing through or had already been attracted by the sounds of battle?


    Not to mention the way that Queen Bug was screeching, some others might be attracted over to try and save it from death.


    Gunner and X then searched through the cavern to find anything useful. Apart from the various minerals that could be kept as light sources for when they trekked deeper, there was nothing else of note.


    Afterpleting this task, the duo then left the cavern and began moving forward once more. This cavern had a tunnel connecting it to the deeper bowels of the earth, and Gunner noticed from the map that there was likely another hive a bit further down the shaft.


    As the Branded Servant duo disappeared into the depths, Darius up above soon received the Queen Bug with a smile from the hands of a battered Guard Android.


    "Hm, you should prove useful in my research."

 Chapter 410 - 410

    Darius was pleased by the thoughtfulness of his two Branded Servants. It was true that he could likely achieve his task without the presence of a Queen Bug or even use his own Queen Bug as the mold, but having this would definitely make things smoother.


    Darius then ced one of his fingers on the head of the bug in his hands and used one of his most nefarious Spirit element spell that he had personally designed, Soul Extraction. Immediately, an ethereal version of the Queen Bug was slowly pulled out from its head, the body it wasing from thrashing even greater as it screeched in primal agony, but it changed nothing.


    Soon, the entire soul was dragged out, whereby Darius stored it in a special container for such existences. He then had his helpers, who were Guard Androids, prepare a set of equipment for him that he had long Transmuted for such purposes.


    Darius then began to study and dissect the soul of the Queen bug as best as he could while Miranda recorded all the details and changes. There was the constant sound of agony-filled screeching in the entire city that would send chills down the back of even the most stoic man.


    Nothing alive should ever have to make such a sound.


    Eventually, the soul became a dead one and evaporated into ash, permanently eliminating the Queen Bug from existence. Darius was sure that not even true Lords could bring it back to life, but maybe Vena could.


    Whatever the case, he was pleased by his findings, as he had discovered a unique soulwave that the bug seemed to possess. Miranda had analyzed this wave and even used it to tap into the bugcloud of Darius'' own bugs.


    However, he could only tap in and not decode the data there or upload data as well, but Darius figured that would be easy to solve once he got more samples. In the next two days, another Queen Bug was sent back by his two hardworking Branded Servants, pleasing Darius greatly for their initiative.


    This time, he specifically had the Queen Bugy some eggs after feeding it a little, and then monitored themunication between the queen and the bugs beneath her to decode their datastream.


    It took quite a while because Darius had to continually change the kind of stimuli given to the entire group to see how they interacted within the bugcloud due to different things happening to them on a daily.


    By the end of the week, Miranda had been able to decode the uniquenguage of the bugs, so Darius could ''hear'' what they were saying. Apparently, the Queen Bug was pushing her descendants to grow stronger so they could kill him and feast on his flesh.


    Darius expected no less from such a race. He then moved onto stage 3, which was understanding how information was stored and received. Stage one was understanding how to ess the bugcloud basically, while stage 2 was understanding the two-waymunication between the queen bug and her descendants or descendants to descendants.


    Sessfullypleting stage 3 would allow Darius to directly upload information to the bugcloud, like fighting techniques, general knowledge, and spells. It was an important milestone in hopefully expanding the power of his own bugs so they would not have to be foolishly genocide like before.


    For this, it took Miranda almost 2 weeks, in which Darius received three more Queen Bugs. Whatever Gunner and X were doing down there, it sure as hell was efficient.


    Darius and Miranda eventually cracked the code and were able to understand the unique method of storage that the bugcloud had. In truth, the bugcloud was more of a spiritual thing than metaphysical, and existed within each bug but separately of them too.


    After this, Darius moved onto stage 4, which was understanding inter-bugmunication. Essentially, he was checking how different bigs from different hivesmunicated across different bugclouds.


    Since he had about 4 different queens of different sses, he was able toplete this sooner than before as Miranda already understood their nguage'', just not how they managed to turn their ''intr'' to an ''inte''.


    It might not seem necessary for the spell Darius was going to create, and that was true, but he felt like it might have some use in the future if things went awry.


    After all of this waspleted, he then put these bugs aside as he began forming the spell. The goal of the spell was to have all bugs within a 100-meter range develop an infectious illness that weakened through the spread of spiritual or soul contact.


    It wouldn''t kill, but weaken them by arge margin. Darius could upgrade the spell with Skill Points to make it more potent, but that was forter. Right now, he kept things simple and concise so it would not be a problemter on.


    Because he and Miranda were able to decode so much about the souls of bugs, they had an easy time in both the Design and Experimentation stages. When it was time to test using the Verification stage, they were pleased to see that it immediately took hold of one of the Queen Bugs they possessed.


    The curse immediately spread throughout its own hive, but did not harm any of the other queens. However, the moment they were forced tomunicate with each other, it instantly spread to the other hives at once.


    Even when it was done by a lower bug to a lower bug, it still infected the entire hive instantly, meaning that they didn''t have to superficially target queens, but any bug could implicate its entire ''family''.


    Pleased with its potency, Dariuspleted the Spell and named it Insect Soul Curse, then penned it down. After doing so, he naturally statically transmuted it to perfection before learning it using the Supreme System.


    [Insect Soul Curse - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: nt a curse of weakening on any member of the Insect Race that afflicts them through the soul. This weakens them by 25% for 3 days and it extremely contagious.]


    ---------------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note:</strong> I''m sure you''ve all noticed the fluctuating release schedule of Darius Supreme in recent days. It became worse after I got sick a while back too.


    Well, the reason is because writing 5k words a day isn''t easy for me in particr. It not even just the quality, but the fact that it''s spread across two different stories.


    It seriously throws me on a loop, especially when one of them became intense while the other is still building up, or when one requires technical details like levels, stats, and skills and the other is focused on dialogue and the like.


    Because I have to do this every day, it''s like writing two different exams on the same day, separate by mere hours of each other... every single day.


    I''ll try my best to maintain a schedule, but somedays, I just end up behind myputer, just unsure of what to do next and which to write first.

 Chapter 411 - 411

    Darius was naturally pleased with his creation over the past few days. After learning a perfected version of the Soul Curse, he could now benefit from the Supreme System''s help and inject Skill Points into it to further power it up.


    However, Darius did not rush into this. Rather, he moved on to draft another spell, this one of the Blood Element with the same effect. This one was simpler to research and took far shorter thanks to the great variety of Queens avable to him.


    He dissected them, took blood samples, and observed their DNA makeup with the help of Miranda. It took the father-daughter duo only 3 days to record all the information they could about the now 7 Queens Darius had as well as the differences between them.


    With this crucial information, the two of them began working on the Blood element spell with these parameters in mind. This was even smoother and easier than with the Spirit Element version, and took Darius a total of 2 days to achieve it despite him being more attuned with the other element


    With a smile, he tested it on a random bug and watched as a pale red light entered its body silently and imperceptibly. Immediately, the bug began to show signs of difort and thrashed about greatly.


    Its thrashing became worse and worse until it eventually stopped, then after 5 more minutes, its entire body melted into a puddle of mucus.


    Nodding his head, Darius penned down the spell under the name of Insect Blood Curse before Statically Transmuting and learning it.


    [Insect Blood Curse - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 MP


    Description: Send a blood curse into the body of a member of the Insect race which deconstructs their DNA and destroys their blood cells from the gic level. This is fatal to all Insects at the Amateur and Journeyman stage.]


    This spell was more direct than the soul version, but it was a single target and could not infect others. Both spells had their advantages and disadvantages over the other, but what was important was the fact that Darius possessed both options at his whim.


    If he wanted to slowly weaken a powerful hive before swooping in for the kill, he could use the Insect Soul Curse. If he wanted to take down a specific insect without being detected, he could use the Insect Blood Curse.


    However, this was not the end of his work. He and Miranda were now left to work on a specific method to kill the bugs using materials and items that were not magical in nature, but scientific.


    With all the information, they already had all they needed to begin work. In fact, with the DNA and soul data of the Insects, Miranda was able to quickly program a special group of nanobots to dissect an Insect in both body and soul.


    However, this required a heavy dosage of them, and the effectiveness varied per bug. Unlike the spells which had hard parameters but absolute effects, the nanobots could even theoretically work on Grandmasters and True Lords.


    However, it could also fail to work on even the simplest Amateur bug. After all, once injected, Miranda had no control over their programming, and they could encounter a different issue that conflicted with their work that rendered them useless.


    As such, Darius took a vial of the specially programmed nanobots and Static Transmuted it to see how much more powerful it would be. The nanobots within glowed brightly for a second before subsiding, and Darius could see no changes.


    When he asked Miranda to check on them, she exined that their effectiveness was only slightly better than before.


    Darius was then left to sigh as he realized the one weakness of Transmutations - although one might call it a realistic effect- which was the fact that if something was already close to perfection, Transmutation could not add much.


    Transmutation, as it was, could not take a normal iron sword and turn it into a god weapon. It would take a normal iron sword and recreate it with the best possible technique that was used to make iron swords.


    So within the same category/parameter, Transmutation would take a thing''s effectiveness to the pinnacle. Obviously, if Darius tried to static transmute a sword made by a Dwarven Grandmaster cksmith, there would not be much change as such techniques were already reaching the pinnacle.


    The nanobots Miranda had made had been extracted from the Medipod Darius had transmuted, which already had pinnacle-tier nanobots in terms of quality. Miranda was also a transmuted AI which had the best programming andputing capacity in all of Faust, even able to help Darius make spells.


    While the programming itself was not perfect, it was the best that could be done with the information at hand. Its only weakness was external factors, and Transmutation could fix that.


    Darius epted this and had Miranda program arge volume of them into different vials. He originally nned to have only one made and Transmute the rest into existence himself, but since Miranda''s work was close to perfection already, he decided he would save the CP.


    Now that Darius was done with his work, he pocketed the various Bug Queens that were leftover. They might have another useter on.


    He then had a Guard Android rush underground to send a message that he, Darius, was heading to Elysium to clear out the remainder of the restricted archives of God Krona''s library.


    Before beginning the actual operation, it was best to fill up his knowledge bank as best as he could. There could be some special information in there that might prevent him from creating a disaster for himself or might make his objective easier to achieve.


    As such, Darius created a cross-continental teleportation formation before cing it on the ground and selecting Elysium as his target. Naturally, he didn''t choose to appear in the City of Divinity itself, but rather on the outskirts of the continent.


    After all, it was much more sensible to appear as if he wasing for a stroll from afar rather than show off that he could bypass the spatial blockades of the city directly.

 Chapter 412 - 412

    At this time, Gunner and X had long since reached the depths of the underground world. The Branded Servants had cleared out more than 200 hives, sending unique Queen Bugs to Darius while eliminating all the others.


    As one could imagine, this had resulted in a great amount of experience.


    [Gunner has gained 240,333 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 240,333 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has leveled up x61! He is now level 40(+73). He has gained 6.1 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x60! She is now level 40(+73). She has gained 6 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    Their power hadn''t grown much, but they had surely gotten far more used to their greatly increased prowess over the past two weeks. Gunner especially had be far more proficient in maximizing his Strength without having to activate Earth''s Guardian.


    X didn''t have much problem in this regard because she had gained a specific set of skills after bing a Divine Maiden, and she had long been practicing them before the tragedy that had led her into the hands of the like of Foldo.


    Currently, they had gone far beyond Darius'' own level, but they were not worried since he could easily catch up when the time was right. However, their journey came to a stop when they encountered one of the Guard Androids that ryed Darius'' departure message.


    "What do you think?" X asked Gunner pensively.


    Gunner folded his arms and thought for a bit. "Let''s go back. We only came down here to pass the time while he was experimenting and also provide him with some help. He won''t spend too much time in the library, so it''s best we''re around to wee him upon his return."


    X nodded and followed Gunner as they rushed back along the routes in which they came. One would notice that at the location of every destroyed hive, there was a short metallic pole with a spherical blue orb on top that was lit dimly.


    These were naturally connector towers for the Supreme Portal. Every time the duo had cleared a hive, they had a Guard Android construct one so that Miranda''s eyes could reach down here with ease, now and forevermore.


    All of them had cleverly been built into stctites, stgmites, or in other obscure locations, so unless one knew that they were there, it was night impossible to stumble upon them organically.


    This was important, as if battles urred here, intruders came in or Insects tried to resettled these hives, these things could easily be destroyed due to ignorance or intention.


    With them down here, they could be activated once Darius came back and Miranda connected a central tower. That was why they were dimly lit, as they were in low-power mode.


    Soon, the duo reached the surface and mbered out from underneath, sighing with relief. The sight of the sun above them that was fading into the horizon had never looked more beautiful after a short few weeks spent underground.


    The smell of fresh air was unbelievably fragrantpared to the stench of Insect shit or the guts of those they had in. X especially sighed and entered the refurbished Polito Housing Unit they were based in to take a long-needed bath.


    Gunner though, circled around the city once to make sure everything was fine before releasing a mass of Guard Androids, making Solena set them up to patrol the area constantly.


    It''s fine if those who came here for specific treasures or to try and break into Vault 04 focused on their tasks and left when the time was right, but if any one of them had ideas of entering the underground, then it was Gunner''s duty to either repel them or directly end them.


    Apart from that, Gunner noticed that he had yet to check out his new Abilities after increasing his stat points.


    [Unlimited Power - Advanced Ability


    Cost: Stamina per second


    Description: Your strength has condensed into a force that is beyond the limits of the humanoid body, reaching into the depths of your genes to unlock the power of your ancestors. With that lock removed, you now have the ability to endlessly increase your Strength to any degree you can think of, but the duration is limited by your stamina, and the bacsh you will incur depends on how high you make the increase.]


    [Immortal Body - Advanced Ability


    Cost: Stamina per second


    Description: Your body''s vitality has condensed into a force that flows through your veins and harnesses your vital force to keep your body in perfect shape. Your body has transcended normal humanoid limits and gone from mortal to immortal. You can regenerate any part of your body as long as you are alive and possess energy.]


    Gunner was pleased by this. With his already insane defenses, he would now have no problem dealing with damage from stronger enemies as long as he could regenerate, even without X''s healing.


    Speaking of his elven sister, he knocked on her room after she had finished bathing and asked her for the details of her increased abilities too. With a look of curiosity, X decided to humor her half-giant brother.


    [Super Instinct - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 20% of Stamina


    Description: Your mind and body have melded as one. Even before your nerves can transmit information, your body reacts to danger around you. You are able to move anywhere within a distance of 1 kilometer in an instant.]


    [Intermediate Psychomancy - Advanced Ability


    Cost: mana per second


    Description: You are an intermediate psychic, past gathering your mental faculties, you can now hone and focus them with finesse to affect the world and its contents around you with extreme ease. You currently have ess to Telepathy, Telekinesis, Transvection, Telesthesia, Precognition, Psychomancy, and Mind Control. ]


    [Metamorph - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: You have achieved the pinnacle of social integration. Taking your expertise one step further, you are able to change the visual form of your body at will, limited to the entire body only currently.]


    [God''s Chosen - Advanced Ability


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Paragon of Luck in the Advanced Order, you are one of the inner court members of the Goddess of Luck''s faction. Whenever you encounter an attack on your person of any type or category, you have a 60% chance to deflect it fully and a 15% chance to reflect it with the attack bing unblockable.


    Extra Effect: Every month, you may reverse three unfortunate circumstances into beneficial ones.]

 Chapter 413 - 413

    Darius arrived in Elysium immediately. He then used his Blink skill to head towards the City of Divinity, entering it from the outside. In a matter of minutes, he arrived at the Great Library of Krona once more.


    As always, it was quite popted by those who came seeking knowledge. Not everyone was greedy like Darius who wanted to obtain all the information himself. Most just came for specific bits of info that would help them in a specific matter they were dealing with.


    Darius smiled and went through the various formalities. The clerks on the restricted floor were surprised to see him again so soon after he hade herest time, but they only smiled thinly.


    It seemed that this fellow was not reconciled with being unable to grasp anything. Well, he still had a huge chunk of his hours left, so he was free to waste it as he pleased, it was no sweat off their backs.


    Darius entered the Magical section first as usual. As he stood there, he gazed at the floating balls of light that represented the knowledge that was spread out over a distance of almost 1000 km.


    Each km was equivalent to 1 point of Intellect if one had the minimum of Elementary Psychomancy which required 100 points in Int. Basic Mind Power would achieve only 0.5km per point, while Darius'' current Intermediate Psychomancy should be able to cover more.


    Darius closed his eyes and spread his mental tendrils around, finding that it was far easier to extend him far and reach just about 80% of all the information bubbles within range.


    This meant that 1 point of Int was worth 2km at Intermediate Psychomancy, which was double the previous stages. This meant that he would not have to rely much on his Rare Intellects Boost Potions to increase his capabilities like he thought.


    However, just to achieve his goal once and for all, Darius drank one. These potions boosted his Intellect by 150% and granted him an enlightened state for 1 hour. Previously when he came, he only had 150 points of Intellect and so the potion granted him 375 points of Intellect overall.


    He was only able to absorb 37.5% of the total information that way, which was less than half. However, that information was extremely vital and was why Darius seemed to suddenly be invincible when dealing with things.


    After all, information was power.


    Now, he had 400 points of Intellect as a base, and his upgraded ability allowed him to reach 80% of info. The potion boosted his Intellect by 150%, which was an addition of 600 points, meaning that Darius had a total of 1000 points of Intellect currently!


    Doubled, this meant that Darius could reach the full expanse of this space and even up to 200% of it. However, the void ended there, with no new information being added since hest came.


    After all, things that could go in here were absolutely rare. Not every day did information that qualified to be ssified came in. Even the stuff Darius gave Krona was kept by the God, not presented in this ce.


    Whatever the case, Darius left Miranda to use his mind to download all the information in the area. This took Miranda 30 minutes to aplished as she was downloading everything after 375 km, which amounted to a distance of 525km.


    Or to put it simply, Darius already had 37.5% of all information and just snatched the other 52.5% right now. What was even more interesting was that the fellow sat cross-legged and closes his eyes.


    That''s right, Darius was directly digesting the information he acquired, branding it into his mind to that he would always be able to remember it and not have to cross check with Miranda.


    Previously, it had taken him 6 months to digest the 37.5% information for all five sections. So one could say that it averaged 1.2 months per section. As such, to digest 52.5%, it should theoretically take 1.7 months per section as well.


    That was the equivalent of 52 days, and if Darius actually tried to spend all this time digesting information for each section, he would fail his Quest before he could even finish. So really, what the hell was he doing?


    Well, the issue is that the circumstances then and now were fundamentally different. For one, Darius wanted time to pass back then so that Foldo and co could finish building Safemoon city, so Darius justy down. Even then, Gunner had allowed him to skip the 3-month deadline which turned into 6 months.


    Right now, he was pressed for time, so of course, he wouldn''t usex and time-wasting methods like before. Secondly, his Intellect now was vastly different from back then.


    At the time he needed 6 months, he only had 150 points of Intellect which slowed his digestion time in this regard. Now though, he had a base of 400 points of Intellect, so his speed should be 167% faster.


    What sealed the deal was the potion he just consumed. It increased his Intellects to 1000 points when he was learning things, and also granted the Enlightened-state which madeprehension easier.


    This meant that the amount of time taken would have to be divided by 14.5. This was 9.5 times for the Intellect stat boost and 5-times for the Enlightened state boost.


    What should have taken 10.2 months or 312 days would now only require 0.7 months or 21 days. This was not only for the Magical section, but all five sectionsbined.


    Darius could collect, digest and obtain all the restricted information of Faust in just a little below 22 days in total! With that, it finally made sense why he decided to directly digest the information here at once.


    In just a little over 100 hours, or 4 days, Darius opened his eyes and rose to his feet. His expression was solemn as he had discovered far more terrifying matters from the information he downloaded, and his outlook on Faust changed once more.


    This worldˇ­ was truly chaotic.

 Chapter 414 - 414

    At this time, the various Grandmasters of the various continents had grouped together at Mount Sumeru in Pan to meet with the Grandmaster Monk who predicted Gunner''s fatal attack.


    Mount Sumeru was a gigantic piece ofnd that pierced the sky, reaching into the cloudyers. There, one could see many simplistic pavilions established all over the mountaintop that formed the Zen Light Sect, a Buddhist establishment that was foremost in this field in all of Pan.


    In the highest pavilion where the Grandmaster stayed, there was arge conference room with meditating cushions ced in a circle. Over a hundred Grandmasters sat on each cushion as they discussed what urred just a few weeks earlier.


    "I believe they must be agents hired by the insects! There is no Grandmaster powerhouse in this world who could think to try and take all of our factions on, especially given the task we set out to achieve! I mean seriously, who else would want the insects to grow and flourish but someone seeking to benefit from their growth?" An Omnyouji Grandmaster from Houto argued while shuffling his talismans unhappily.


    "While I partly agree, I also feel it''s weird. There is nothing the insects could possibly offer three powerhouses to betray the rest of the world. It is simply illogical and impossible." A Grandmaster from Gravitasmented, his entire body covered in robotic armor.


    "Then how do you exin their attack? Surely it wasn''t a hallucination we all had at the same time?" A Grandmaster from Fallonmented, frowning deeply.


    "Instead of their motives, what interests me is their denominations. One Dragon, One Half-Giant, and a Human? Just who are they and where do theye from?" A Grandmaster from Kiel pondered with a smile.


    "That is a good angle to attack from. Once we identify who they are, we can likely trace them back to their origins and penalize them for interfering in the business of the world." The Grandmaster Samurai from hoot muttered with irritation.


    Being made to flee like a dog from their expedition severely hurt his pride and damaged his Bushido slightly, so unless he brought punishment to the perpetrators, he would not feel good.


    "Yes, but tracing them would be hard. They are Grandmasters like us, and their power is far higher. Conventional means wouldn''t work, so we would have to use exotic methods." A female Grandmaster from Ludomented in a sultry tone reminiscent of her people.


    All eyes then fell on the monk grandmaster who was the one to earn everyone to flee. Her eyes were closed as she had not participated in this discussion since it began, rather glowing with a golden-brown light as she chanted many mantras under her breath.


    These mantras then formed Sanskrit words that hovered in the air for a few seconds before fading away then were reced by more words as time passed. It was quite a stunning visual effect, but what these Grandmasters were looking forward to was not this lightshow.


    After waiting for another hour, the monk finally stopped her chanting and opened her eyes slowly. Her shining bald head glowed as her golden-brown aura dissipated, her mouth opened to release a breath of fatigue from her high-intensity recital.


    She then gazed at the crowd and began speaking. "I have judged their auras and history, but the first thing I want to point out is that they have all used the Morph ability to change their features. Any investigation using their physical looks would be a waste of time."


    This made many of the powerhouses tsk in annoyance. If they didn''t have the help of this monk, they would likely have gone on a wild goose chase and apprehended innocents, which would have been embarrassing, to say the least.


    The monk continued. "Well, two of them were using Morph at least. The Half-Giant and the Human were, but I cannot tell their real forms. However, I could glean some details, for one, the human is actually an Elf while the Half-Giant has royal blood of his people. That should narrow down the search a little."


    The other Grandmasters nodded,. With this and their impressive informationworks, they didn''t believe that anyone could hide from them for long. Bai Lingtian, the sect master of the White Sun Sect and also the one who genocided Darius'' bugs, then spoke.


    "I wonder, what about that Dragon fellow? His pressure was too real to be a mere ability, right?"


    The monk nodded. "He is a True Dragon, and I couldn''t glean much from him. It felt like if I pryed too deep into his matters, I would suffer intense retribution."


    This made all the expressions harden. Someone who could give this monk such a feeling was a higher level of existence than they, likely affiliated with a God or True Lord.


    Oh yes, these Grandmasters knew about True Lords. They were vassals of the Gods and the various True Lords of their ownnds, so they knew about this topmost echelon in the world.


    However, what they didn''t know was what it meant to be a True Lord or what the requirements were to be one. In that regard, even Darius only knew one requirement, and that was to know that the Supreme Creator Vena existed.


    "From the pressure I felt, I can firmly say that the fellow was likely above an Ancient Dragon, likely close to the bloodline of the Ancestor Dragon and definitely above an Ancient Dragon." A Grandmaster Phoenix from Unyris spoke solemnly.


    This made the faces here changed once more, this time to horror. Everyone knew that one of the five strongest entities in the entire Faust was sleeping above the clouds because his mere presence caused the world to destabilize.


    If someone with his level of powers was now their enemy, things didn''t bode well for them at all!


    The monk also nodded. "And on the Half-Giant, I sensed the thicket purity of Gaia''s Earth Energy in my life. It is likely that the fellow is a newly born Titan, but of what element is unknown."


    The Grandmasters could only look between each other helplessly and wonder what to do next.

 Chapter 415 - 415

    In Safemoon, the Five Apprentices were gathered before the entrance to the city''s dungeon. Aftering here repeatedly over the past few weeks, they had long be sued to the challenge within and how to push themselves.


    "So, let''s do our individual battles first before we handle the group ones. Does that sound okay, guys?" Ash suggested to the rest.


    This was the first time they would do their individual dungeon clearing before the group one, but since it was thest day of the first month that Darius assigned them this mission, they thought they should switch things up a bit.


    As such, the rest agreed and everyone entered the dungeon separately. The various adventurers of Safemoon had long gotten sued to the scene of these youngsters challenging this dungeon anding out almost unscathed each time.


    Ash emerged in the first rest station and didn''t bother to pause before entering the first battle room. The moment he did, doors opened up in the walls and hundreds of monsters from level 1 to level 5 appeared.


    The first wave had 30 level 1 monsters, which Ash dispatched calmly using his sword. He didn''t even bother to move from his spot, using his superior swordsmanship and skill to cut down any monster that entered his attacking range in order to conserve energy.


    It wasn''t that his stamina was so limited that movement would bottom it out, he had just realized that if he wanted to advance his swordsmanship further, he needed to understand how to conserve energy with every movement.


    As such, he was cleverly using the weaker monsters as targets to achieve this, as managing such a feat against the higher leveled monsters would be extremely tough.


    Soon, Ash cut down the 30 level 1 monsters and was faced with a renewed wave of level 2 monsters that numbered 35 in total. This time, he still maintained his stance and ability as he cleared them out with ease.


    Wave 3 featured 40 level 3 monsters, wave 4 had 45 level 4 monsters and the final wave had 50 level 5 monsters. No matter the amount or their power, they were nothing against Ash who had been trained by Gunner.


    So far, he hadn''t even bothered to use his magic as these monsters did not deserve to see him use it. Ash cleared the first battle room and entered the second rest station. Here, he drank some water and mediated a little to calm his mind and understand what he had just practiced.


    Now that he had time to sit down and look back, thed was able to see that he had made many mistakes in his movements. In the beginning, he was good, but as time went on and his confidence built up, he began using shier moves when the goal was to be as minimalistic as possible.


    This was the double-edged sword in using easy targets as practice. The benefit was that they would not be able to deal any significant harm if you messed up, but at the same time, they were unable to provide enough pressure for one to break through their limits and achieve intense focus.


    Identifying the problem, Ash realized that his best course of action was to continue as is and discover which wave of monsters could begin inflicting pressure on himself. It might be a wave of level 10 monsters or might start at level 15.


    He had no way to tell just yet, so thed decided to keep moving forward. In the next battle room which was slightlyrger than the one that he was in before, the doors slowly opened and revealed 55 level 6 monsters that made various sounds as they rushed at him.


    Ash tightened his stance and spread his legs out, with his right hand ced on the hilt of his sword while his left held his sheathe tightly. When the first monster came close, Ash drew and bisected it in one sh, maintaining his calmness and focus as he moved his sword to strike a monster that was attacking from behind.


    His stance and skill allowed him to attack in a 360ˇă without any blind spots, and especially without moving his legs. A normal person trying to do this would likely tear their muscles in their forearms and waist, but Ash had more endurance than the average human obviously.


    Ash then dealt with the level 7 monsters that amounted to 60 in number, then the level 8 that were 65, the level 9 that were 70, and the level 10 who numbered 75.


    It was during thest fight that Ash began to feel a bit of pressure because the level 10 monsters could use some skills of their own that were troublesome. As wood element monsters too, they could easily attack from a long-range so Ash had to find ways to lure them over.


    Once he realized this issue, he felt the touch of an epiphany in his mind, but it escaped quickly as he no longer had anyone to pressure him. Bothered by this, thed entered the next rest station and sat cross-legged as he pondered as to what the issue was and how he could resolve it.


    Ash dug deep into his mind but it was like trying to catch a slippery eel. The moment he glimpsed upon it, it would ruin further into his mind and be harder to catch. Even trying to remember a dream after waking up was far easier than this.


    Thed dropped his futile efforts and rose to his feet. His eyes glinted with intent, as he realized that since the idea came to him in the midst of battle, then he could only force it out using battle!


    The monsters going forward should be tougher and more tricky, so he didn''t believe that he would not be able to enter the zone once more. As such, he walked into the third battle room and faced off against a horde of 80 level 11 monsters.

 Chapter 416 - 416

    Not even 5 minutes into the battle, Ash was pushed into a tight spot far worse than before. The gap between level 10 monsters and level 11 monsters was not really noticeable for the like of Darius and co as the Supreme System''s rules made such things irrelevant.


    However, under the natural Faustian system of power, such gaps were like crevices. The gap between the various stages was even worse, as it was insurmountable for the average human.


    Not just humans, but any species within their power system. Sure, an Amateur Giant might be able to beat a Journeyman Human to death due to racial difference, but an Amateur Giant could never beat a Journeyman Giant and an Amateur Human could never beat a Journeyman human.


    It was the ironw reality. Monsters like Darius and his two Branded Servants who had stats above their Rank as well as the various abilities were impossible in the human race.


    Ash began to sweat as he felt a few attacksnd on his body, the iron-like vines of some nt monsters tearing into his flesh with their bards while therge fists of Ent-like monsters pressured him even with how own high strength.


    It would take him seconds to clear this lot with his power if he were moving, but since he wanted to achieve a certain realm in his swordsmanship, he could only maintain his stance and continue toughing it out.


    The whips continuednding on him no matter how he defended as the Ent monsters worked to distract him. Even their tactics and IQ had increased from this point on, as the dungeon core had copied the teamwork tactics of the adventurers who delved here, so they learned how to give out roles and how to share the damage.


    Unfortunately for the fiveds, they did not have a special emblem given by the Adventurers Association of Safemoon, to the dungeon core did not recognize them as one of those it was supposed to go easy against.


    This was done intentionally by Darius so that a life or death situation could push his Apprentices. Besides, to Darius, they were experiments at most to see how effective his resources could nurture a non-system bound being on Fallon, so if they died, he wouldn''t really care.


    As such, the monsters showed visible excitement in the blood that dripped from Ash''s back and his lifeforce that was slowly weakening. The monsters knew that adventurers could drink some weird concoctions to restore their vitality and stamina, so they increased the intensity of attacks on Ash to prevent him from doing such a thing.


    Ash was truly tempted at this movement to move his sted legs and kill all these monsters brutally as anger was beginning to cloud his mind. After all, being pressured was already annoying, much less having someone repeatedly whipping your back while dodging your retaliations like slippery-eel.


    Ash was on the cusp of breaking, yet his mind remained solid as he condensed his focus even further. So even though his eyes were bloodshot with rage, his movements were still calm and his expression stoic.


    As his health reached a critical level, his anger reaching its boiling point and his focus condensing into its smallest point, Ash roared loudly. A shockwave emerged from his young body that blew the Ent-like monsters away and smashed many of the iing vines into a mushy mess.


    Thed himself manifested a silver-white aura that flowed around the external part of his body in a visual spectacle that would amaze any onlooker. His eyes remained closed, his hand on the hilt of his now sheathed sword and his left hand on his sheathe.


    His legs were spread apart and his knees were bent slightly. Just like this, the awesome aura surrounding the boy all flowed through his body like water being slowed sucked into a drain, condensing on his sword and sheathe.


    "I finally understandˇ­" Ash spoke for the first time since he began his foray into the dungeon.


    "True minimalism is not using less energy to move your body while swinging your deˇ­ it''s about using your energy as efficiently as possible to achieve greater effects." Thed muttered as he opened his eyes slowly.


    "The quantity of energy used was never the issue, but the quality. A person with a sea of energy might deal the same amount of damage using it all as a person with a small river of energy, only because the river was used efficiently and to its fullest possible extent, while the one with the sea would waste more than 90% of it due to inefficiency."


    Ash said this as he slowly drew his sword and swung it lightly towards an Ent. Despite the monster being more than 50 meters away from him, a wave of silver-white light emerged from his worn de that traveled faster than the eye could see.


    It swept through the Ent in question, cutting it in half from top to bottom as each side fell to the ground slowly.


    Ash then continued to swing his sword lightly, waves emerged from his de that cut through any monster it came into contact with regardless of their defenses or makeup. In a matter of seconds, the 11th wave was cleared and the 12th began to rush over, yet Ash looked to be at peace.


    At this time, Martin who was in Ash''s HoloBrace updated thed''s character sheet in the cloud secretly.


    [Name: Ash Spencley


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 123/2,115 (1,935)


    MP: 1,440/1,440 (1,541)


    STA: 810/940 (1,035)


    Level: 20 (23) (Author''s Note: There was a mistakest time in making their levels above 20 as that is Journeyman grade, but they are still factually Amateur despite their stats.)


    Strength: 45 (43)


    Agility: 44 (41)


    Endurance: 47 (45)


    Intellect: 70 (67)


    Charisma: 22 (20)


    Luck: 30 (30)


    P-Status: Severely Wounded


    M-Status: Enlightened


    Affection: Worship lvl 3


    Notes: Target has justprehended Journeyman-level skill ''Sword Aura'' at Amateur-stage, an almost impossible feat. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to S.]

 Chapter 417 - 417

    Reina entered the first rest station with a serious look on her face. Instead of rushing to start the first battle just because it was easy, she gazed at her HoloBrace and asked Martin with uncertainty.


    "Are you sure it''s possible? I''ve been trying in private, but it''s almost impossible to pull off."


    Martin appeared above her HoloBrace wearing his usual formal attire and looking handsome as usual. He was just like a mini-Darius, which gave Reina greatfort.


    "Madam Reina, it is nearly impossible yes, but only when considering average magicians. In your case, after being groomed by Father for so many months and using such resources, you have more than a 70% chance to achieve it with enough effort." Martin stated with a smile.


    Hearing the words from the AI itself, Reina sighed with relief. She then firmed her expression and tightened her grip on her bow. Without dilly-dallying anymore, she rose to her feet and entered the first battle room.


    Immediately, the usual 30 level 1 monsters rushed out with menacing intent, hoping to kill and feast on her flesh. Reina took a deep breath and centered herself, before nocking her bow with three arrows.


    She then fired them out and watched as they easily created holes through the bodies of the approaching monsters, killing almost 12 of them at once as the arrows pierced through more than one target at once.


    This was a basic skill everypetent archer needed to have, not shooting multiple arrows, but an intense calctive ability. A quiver could only contain so many arrows, so one had to learn how to make use of each and every arrow in battle unless they had a special technique to retrieve their arrows after they were shot out.


    Reina then cleared out the rest of the level 1 monsters then engaged the level 2 ones. Even though she seemed to be having an easy time, thess'' face was flushed with strain and disappointment.


    Martin appeared in her mind and spoke calmly. "Calm down Madam, and focus. Allowing yourself to be disheartened due to a setback will fortify the wall that prevents you from achieving your goal. No matter how much effort it takes, you must absolutely not give up until you see the light at the end of the tunnel and walk through it."


    Of course, Reina understood this, but the difficulty of what she was trying to achieve and the strain of it was getting to her. She once again nocked three arrows and fired them out, but her face only showed defeat once more.


    Martin rubbed his chin and made a suggestion. "Why not use only one arrow at a time instead of three Madam? I feel it should make things easier."


    When Reina heard this, she showed an expression of surprise before she gaped and smacked her forehead. "Oh my days, I''m such an idiot!"


    Well, it couldn''t really be med on thess. She had centered her entire time using the bow on the idea that she was supporting her teammates, so she needed to use more arrows to achieve that purpose.


    Up until a month ago, they had been training to take Gunner down, and one arrow was not enough to even scratch the surface of his skin. In the weeks till now, she had mostly been doing the group task with the others and when doing the individual one, she would try to hurry things up by killing faster.


    It was only a few days ago that she reached an epiphany and realized how she could drastically increase the power as well as the potency of her bowmanship, so she began acting on it.


    Naturally, it was only when she did that she realized just how high the hill she was trying to climb was. She had failed time and time again in private practice and even sought help from Martin, who attempted to assist her.


    It was only when Ash suggested they each go individually that she realized that she could use this chance to practice her skill and see if she could maybe achieve a miracle through livebat.


    Yet, it proved just as hard as before, and she couldn''t even tell if she was close to achieving it or not. She could be at 99% or 0% for all she knew, for it was the kind of thing that either worked or didn''t.


    So the question now was; exactly what was thisss trying to achieve with Archery that seemed so impossible to achieve even with her stats and the kind of resources she had ess to?


    The answer to that was quite surprising. It wasn''t a technique specific to archery, but rather something new that had likely never been achieved before on Fallon; Magical Archery!


    This was the technique ofbining a spell framework with an arrow that is fired out from a bow, creating something that was a mixture of the two, a magical arrow!


    Fire arrows, explosive arrows, ice arrows, sonic arrows, poison arrows, etc. Some of these could be made with traditional enchantments, but their costs were too high and their quantity limited.


    Whereas mana was an infinitely renewable resource that didn''t cost her anything to restore, so it was far more cost-effective to take a normal arrow and attach a spell to it than have a special arrow enchantment with a simr ability that could only be used once.


    In theory, it was possible for any arrow to be attached with a spell. While there were definitely special materials that could make this fusion even easier and smoother, they would still be inefficient due to the price.


    Sine Reina wanted to go exploring the worldter in her life, after her Apprenticeship ended, she would especially need to manage this as she wouldn''t always have ess to premium arrows that Darius provided her in the wild.


    It could definitely be said that thess was walking on the right path tobine her archery and magic together. However, there were more than a few obstacles that stood in her way.

 Chapter 418 - 418

    For one, there already existed those on Fallon who could add elements to their archery. However, such fellows were those who Sparked with such an ability, so they were usually able to use only one element with their archery if that was the case.


    It was unlike Reina who could use any of her five elements as long as she figured out how to merge the two. Its power would also not be fixed at a certain level, able to grow as long as her technique grew and her power as a mage developed as well.


    Another issue was the fact that Reina needed to attach the elements to the arrow semi-permanently. This was one of the main barriers blocking her from achieving her goal, as spells were created within then executed externally in theirpleted form.


    She would have to create the spell and leave it in a semipleted state, attach it to the arrow in a way that would follow the projectile after it was fired, then prevent the spell from activating while the arrow was in flight, but only when it struck the target.


    When one thought of magical archery, it sounded like a simple thing. Just put your magic on the arrow and fire, how hard could it possibly be?


    However, just like with any technique, when it was broken down into steps, itsplexity would be on full disy. That was why things like Driving required time to learn.


    On paper, it was just ''step on the elerator and go'', but there was obviously more to it. It was only through continuous practices, making mistakes, and learning from them that one could achieve the skill to drivepetently.


    This was what Martin wanted Reina to understand. She was too used to achieving things easily because of Darius'' high-quality teaching methods and the extravagant resources they used up until recently.


    However, this issue was not something that could be solved by gurgling potions or Lunar Dew.


    Reina switched to using single arrows and noticed with surprise that it was far easier to achieve her goal. She had been stuck on the second step all this while, which was getting her spell to attach itself to the arrow without falling off.


    The first step had been rtively easy for her to achieve, which was bringing the spell framework out in a semiplete state. This was even only possible because Darius had forced them to practice their basic spells until they reached full mastery.


    She had previously been trying to attach three different versions of one spell onto three arrows at the same time. How on earth would she be able to seed in a short period of time with such a high hurdle?


    However, it also paid off. Just like how a person who tried to learn to drive using a sports car would find attempting to use a normal car easier, she too found that after trying to ce it on three arrows at once, only doing so for one arrow was much easier.


    By the time she reached wave 5, Reina was able to stably achieve this with a sess rate of 50%! The fact that she hade this far alone showed how great her promise was, and she didn''t stop there.


    Heartened by her progress, thess went all out in the second battle room against wave 6. Instead of jumping to step three, she continued practicing step 2 until she was sure she had reached a stable 100% sess rate.


    By this time, she was already battling wave 9, so she moved onto stage 3, which was getting the spell to stay on the arrow during flight. This forced her to go back to stage 1 and add some effects to the framework that would keep it engraved on the tip of the arrow.


    After Reina managed to pass stage 3, she was now fighting against wave number 13, and the pressure on her was quite high. She now had to achieve the final step, which was setting the spell to activate on contact with the foe, which was actually quite tough.


    Martin nodded with appreciation at her progress so far, but he doubted that she would achieve her goal today. After all, how long had she even been working on this? She had difficulties with step 2 and 3 because she was using more than one arrow at once, so now that she reduced them, of course it would be easier.


    However, the final step had no rtion to how many arrows she used. Martin was confident that she would be able to get there eventually, but the AI''s calctions were ruined when he watched Reina fire an arrow that seemed to fly at the speed of light before striking its foe.


    Once it did, the foe was not only pierced, but cut in half as a single wind de emerged from the tip of the arrow that shed through the waist area of the monster.


    Reina''s main element was Spirit, but her secondary was Wind. Since using the Spirit element on a material item would make her task harder, she opted to use Wind all this time.


    And finally, it seeded. Even though more monsters were rushing at her, thess broke into a little happy dance as she squealed with delight. She then put away her weapons and unrestrainedly began using her magic directly in order to clear this stage so she could enter the rest station and meditate on what she learned.


    Martin could only look on solemnly and make some revisions to the character sheet of Reina stored in the cloud.


    [Name: Reina McNickles


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 1,152/1,152 (18)


    MP: 1,100/1,100 (12)


    STA: 720/720 (3)


    Level: 20


    Strength: 34 (32)


    Agility: 37 (33)


    Endurance: 37 (36)


    Intellect: 59 (55)


    Charisma: 37 (32)


    Luck: 32


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Jubnt


    Affection: Worship lvl 3


    Notes: Target has justprehended unranked ability ''Magical Archery'', a practically impossible feat. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to SS.]

 Chapter 419 - 419

    Jonathan was currently fighting against the first wave of monsters in the dungeon. He normally used two different weapons, either a Pole Axe or a Broadsword that were custom-made by Darius.


    Both items had the same weight and length, but they were different weapons, so Jonathan could only use one at a time despite his high Strength. Even worse, he also had ambidexterity, but could only use one weapon at a time.


    Jonathan had noticed that Ash and Reina had seemed to have found a unique path for themselves, and he too decided that his next target would be having the ability to use a sword in his right and an axe in his left.


    This was an incredibly different task, as apart from great ambidexterity, it also required specialized techniques to work. When a person dual-wielded, they always used two of the same weapon.


    Both weapons would need to have the same length, specifications, and style for the dual-wielder to be able to sue thempetently, like Ash. Jonathan was lucky in this regard as Darius had ordered for the Axe and the Broadsword to have the same length and density, making their weight really close to each other.


    This was so Jonathan could switch weapons at any time without being thrown off by the different specifications of the weapon in his hands. Darius had never intended for thed to try and use both at once, but his decision in the past made things smoother for his third apprentice.


    However, there came the second hurdle that Jonathan had to face. Dual-wielding had various requirements for it to not be a detriment to its user, and one of those requirements were specialized techniques in using them.


    Seriously, holding two swords and swinging them about looked cool, but if you did not train in a specific set ofbat techniques for them, you would end up showing ws in your stance that could be exploited by enemies at best, and cut yourself open at worst.


    Jonathan had an even higher barrier in this regard. He needed to find a set of techniques that could work for one wielding both a poleaxe and a broadsword in either hand, which was obviously abo that had either never been tried before or was so rare that to get information on it was scarce.


    Luckily, Jonathan had the help of the Martin AI. After making his wishes known to the replica of Darius'' youngest child, Martin had spent time analyzing Jonathan''s body, stats, personality, and the specifications of his two weapons.


    After running hundreds of thousands of simtions against foes with different skills, Martin had been able to extract a set of movements that would ensure that Jonathan could attack and defend against any weapon type with some level ofpetency.


    This was what the fellow was practicing currently. In his right hand was a ckish-red broadsword that could probably crush a weaker man to pieces and his right hand held a thick poleaxe with two de edges that were identical.


    Unlike Ash or Reina, Jonathan''s bar of entry wasn''t as high given his stats and the help from Martin. It wasn''t a question of whether or not he could achieve his goal, but how long it would take.


    That was why he used both weapons for the first 10 waves without changing his style. He wanted to familiarize himself with the movements Martin showed him, as the true challenge would start from the 11th wave going.


    After resting for a bit to recover his stamina - as dual-wielding two heavy yet different weapons took a great toll on him - Jonathan entered the third battle room with a solemn expression.


    There, the monsters began showing signs of cooperation and intelligence in their attacks, no longer rushing at him single-mindedly. Jonathan had to both defend and attack this time, pushing his muscles to the brink as he sought to achieve the forms that Martin showed him.


    However as one could expect, achieving that was easier said than done. He had to train his proficiency and turn those movements that were imnted into his mind into muscle memory so that his body could move before his mind sent the obvious signals.


    This took Jonathan more than a short while to achieve, but nothing helped push a person past their limits like a tough battle. The talld was sweaty like a leaky pipe, his arms shaking from the strain of using both weapons as his stamina was slowly bottoming out, but he managed to finish against the 15th wave and stagger into the fourth rest station.


    There, he filed his stomach with the restoration fluid that wasing out of a tap installed in the room, sitting down nearby to gather his thoughts and let his aching body rx.


    However, thed couldn''t help but smile as he raised his still shaking hands. Jonathan could feel it, the pain in his arms denoted that he was making great strides towards achieving his goal.


    As such, he patiently waited for his body to recover so he could challenge the final room and engrave his new technique into his body thoroughly.


    Martin observed thed with interest, tsking in the HoloBrace. The AI had spent only a small amount of itsputing power to draw up those techniques, but they were basic at best.


    Darius did not want theds to be given easy answers, so Jonathan would only be able to use these techniques as a foundation currently. Whether he could build upon them and make a name for himself in the future as the ambitiousd dreamed of was still up in the air.


    [Name: Jonathan ck


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 2,862/2,862 (2,450)


    MP: 940/940 (855)


    STA: 1,060/1,060 (950)


    Level: 20 (19)


    Strength: 54 (49)


    Agility: 42 (41)


    Endurance: 53 (50)


    Intellect: 47 (45)


    Charisma: 21 (20)


    Luck: 25 (25)


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Anticipatory


    Affection: Worship lvl 3


    Notes: Target has just begunprehending unranked ability ''Cross-Weapon Dual Wield'', a despairingly difficult but not impossible feat. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to A.]

 Chapter 420 - 420

    James Jones was Darius'' fourth apprentice. Unlike the other four who were dazzling existences that disyed great power and charisma, James was the opposite. He was the most silent and cryptic of the lot, hardly ever speaking.


    Even his fellow apprentices would often forget his presence with them, only noticing him alter to their shock. This was an ability James had been honing ever since he had awoken, his ''Shroud''.


    James'' had much to do with his past. Ash was a Noble''s son from birth, and Reina was the spoiled young miss of the McNickles household in Andrato. Even Anthony was a prodigy of the Sage Monkey n.


    Only Jonathan and James were average orphans from the same orphanage. Jonathan and James had adapted differently to their circumstances. Jonathan had been bullied and then snapped, deciding to use hisnky nature to oppress others and get what he wanted.


    He beat up the older and stronger kids to get his way, and relished in the feeling of having power. As such, he adopted the stance of being aggressive and overbearing towards his foes, and he desired power so he could never be suppressed again.


    James rather epted all bullying and beating in silence. Soon, the bullies got tired of dealing with him since he had nothing to offer and didn''t react much, only wearing that creepy smile.


    Eventually, people began to ignore him as they thought of him as a wimpy introvert. It was then that James was enlightened, that instead of seeking power and forcing others to obey his will to prevent harm, he could just fade away from the sight and cognition of people to achieve the same goal.


    As such, he began practicing from way back then to be inconspicuous, and realized the general methods to make himself as such. In fact, if he hadn''t taken the initiative to step forth when they were selecting candidates to be groomed under Darius, he might have gone unnoticed.


    James entered the first battle room and smiled. The first wave of monsters came out, but they soon rushed to a halt as they gazed around in confusion.


    Errrˇ­ where is everyone?


    They milled about in confusion, scratching their heads in dismay. However, one of their kin was suddenly pierced by a dagger coated in darkness energy, instantly and silently reaping its life.


    Itspatriots were unaware of this as James'' darkness energy devoured the entire corpse and turned it into his sustenance. His eye glowed with a nefarious ck light as he calmly walked behind another monster and executed it.


    While these level 1 monsters were far too weak to increase his power substantially, the meat of a mosquito was still meat. Soon, James made short work of the entire wave, not a single monster noticing his presence or his actions right up until the end.


    Soon, the second wave of level 2 monsters rushed out, but reacted the same as those who came before,pletely unable to detect his presence. James was not surprised by this as he went on his harvesting spree.


    There were only two people he had met in his entire life that pierced through the veil in which he cloaked himself with ease, leaving him bare and open to the worlds'' forces.


    The serpentine hazel eyes of his master Darius, which seemed to have forced James out of hiding when he had first gazed upon him.


    The heavy green eyes of Gunner weighed like a mountain on one''s back whenever he focused that intense gaze on you. Even if he was in hiding, the pressure forced him toe out and kneel before the mighty Half-Giant.


    Just remembering them gaze James a heavy feeling in his chest. Thebination of yellow and green were like whipsshing at his back, disturbing his mental state and forcing him out of his Shroud.


    Finally, able to see their target, the level 2 monsters screeched and rushed at James. Thed sighed withment at his own weakness and directly engaged them inbat. Since he had fought many times against Gunner as such, he was used to fighting in the open.


    By the time he cleared the fifth wave and entered the second res station, James was frowning heavily as he found it almost impossible to reactivate his Shroud. The eyes of his mentors continually seemed to strike him out of it, bing a hurdle at achieving his perfectly invisible state.


    James sat on a bet and entered a meditative position. First, he had to understand why this was happening and at this crucial time. He had begun working on this shroud ever since he had awoken magically, and it had only been growing stronger and stronger as James brought it to perfection.


    Just when he was on the cusp ofpletion, this obstacle had appeared. He was literally at 99.9% in terms of perfecting his ability, but now the goal of 100% seemed as if it was locked across a wide chasm which he could never hope to cross.


    James could only open his eyes and murmur with frustration. It seemed like he would not be able to perfect his technique unless he could ovee the mental block that he had created for himself due to the special encounter he had with his two mentors.


    This was nothing something he could achieve easily, but James had faith that he could break this limitation. Once he did, not even Darius or Gunner would ever be able to drag him out of his Shroud, even if they could see him.


    Martin also made sure to update thed''s character sheet in the cloud, adding somements to it.


    [Name: James Jones


    Race: Human


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 1,886/1,886 (1,800)


    MP: 1,260/1,260 (1,200)


    STA: 820/820 (800)


    Level: 20


    Strength: 46 (45)


    Agility: 51 (39)


    Endurance: 41 (40)


    Intellect: 63 (60)


    Charisma: 5 (7)


    Luck: 35 (35)


    P-Status: Healthy


    M-Status: Hopeful


    Affection: Worship lvl 3


    Notes: Target has almostpleted their own self-created unranked ability ''Shroud'', a special technique that might prove to be unique on Fallon. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to S.]

 Chapter 421 - 421

    Anthony was currently seated in the second rest station, meditating while floating in the air. He was trying to activate the secret bloodline ability of his race; Sage Mode. The Sage Monkey race in which half of his blood flowed was truly powerful, but scarce.


    Years ago, they were declining in poption due to how hard it was to conceive with each other. Even short-term solutions like potions and useful magic could not override nature''s limitation on their species.


    They were too powerful to be left to grow, like the Dragon Race. As such, the Sage monkey n were forced to crossbreed with other species to ensure their survival, even if it would no longer be pure-blooded children.


    After generations of trial and error, the Sage Monkeys were excited to discover that conception with the human race never failed, and not only that, the human bloodline was so weak that any bloodline it mixed with would take the dominant position.


    It sort of existed in the backdrop, and what even fueled the Sage monkey n with even more glee was that a half-beastman, half-human with their bloodline could have a 75% chance to conceive with a full-beastman of their n.


    It was like the human bloodline''s only purpose was there to facilitate conception with any and all species, so the Sage Monkeys had developed a very beneficial rtionship with the human race.


    Antony himself had a half-beastman/half-human father and mother, so he too was a half-breed in both aspects. With each generation these two bloodlines went down, their merger became stronger, and the Sage Monkey n even found that their original bloodline, though less concentrated, was now much stronger as the human bloodline introduced many things that allowed it to grow.


    While this was great, there was always a price to pay for everything in this world. In this case, the Sage Monkeys found that while all other aspects of their original bloodline were enhanced, they could no longer easily achieve their bloodline''s pinnacle form, the Sage Mode.


    The Sage Mode was crucial because it allowed them to achieve a special ability that negated all costs and detrimental effects from using magic. While the duration of the transformation was usually short, it was the secret to why the Sage Monkey n could dominate in most battles.


    After all, if a toon of them could suddenly transform and shoot out magic like it was a bullet from a machine gun, how could any orthodox army survive? If it wasn''t for the small numbers of their n, they could have long conquered Fallon.


    Ironically, now that they found a loophole that allowed the n to rise in both power and size greatly, the heavens saw fit to seal this special ability behind even tighter doors.


    To Anthony, it was imperative that he unlock this form. The five elements he had chosen, Space, Time, Order, Chaos, and Aether were extremely costly to use, especially the two in the middle.


    In fact, he had never used them before. In order to master them, he had constantly simted the spells internally, but never cast them outwardly due to Darius'' warning. He was aware through his own research that using those two elements may yield great power, but came with a great cost that could never be recovered no matter how much Lunar Dew you guzzled.


    However, if he could achieve his Sage Mode, he could sue them for a short duration without suffering the bacsh. The kind of boost it would have to his power was inestimable.


    Still, he wasn''t even sure if the Sage Mode could ay the costs of the elements. After all, these two elements had only been discovered recently, and only a select few top echelons in Fallon were aware it existed.


    First things first, Anthony had to unlock the form. He had already read through the ancient texts of his n to find the method to unlock it, but whether or not he could was up in the air.


    The first step was to achieve Clear Heart: Able Mind. You must cast away all negative and positive emotions clouding your mind and achieve a purely logical train of thought. Detached, aloof, and calctive.


    This was not difficult for Anthony with his long training under Darius and his won talents. He cast away his pride, his desires, and his ambition to understand the world, leaving only a mind more powerful than a supeputer to work without distractions.


    The second step was Boiling Blood: Spirit Resonance. You must use your superior mental faculties to stimte your blood to race through your body far faster than is base. You must achieve at least, a 50x speed to begin the boiling blood.


    This was why Anthony had such a high Endurance when he first came, because his race had built their bodies tough precisely for this purpose. He too had already achieved great progress in increasing his stats to amazing levels, so his Endurance should hold out.


    Anthony was able to force his heart to pump faster and faster, achieving 50x speed easily but stopping at 75x the speed as he couldn''t take anymore. This was his reasonable limit, and even a single increment would rupture all his vessels and see him explode in a fountain of blood from all parts of his body.


    The Boiling Blood was only the first part of this stage, the second part was Spirit Resonance. One must be able to achieve a tight connection to their spirit - not their soul - while the blood was billowing through their body.


    This was where the Clear Hearty aspect of the first stage came into y, as having earthly emotions blocked one from achieving a connection with their spirit. This was why monks and such always advocate for cutting off earthly emotions, as they were a barrier to the average man.


    Anthony may not have activated the Spirit Element when he first awoke, but it wasn''t exactly necessary to achieve this. It only made this step easier, not impossible. It took thed a concentrated effort for over 30 minutes to finally see his spirit.

 Chapter 422 - 422

    It was like a white light that dwelled in his body, permeating every aspect of it, but not tangible in the sense that one could see or sense it. It was the connection between his soul and flesh, allowing the two to transfer information, feelings and resonate with each other.


    Without a soul, a person would just be a meat bag with no sentience. Without a body, a person would just be a weak wandering soul with no means to affect the corporeal world. Without a spirit, a person would be like an undead, aware and able to function, but never whole.


    The best case scenario was having a split personality disorder as the mind and body did not connect and gave contradictory orders, and the worst case was being vegetative yet somewhat aware.


    Anthony was cautious in mobilizing his spirit, allowing it to meld with his body at this time, especially his blood. Stimted by the intense movement, it too began flowing at 75 times the speed, allowing Anthony to feel like his entire being was empowered.


    This left the third and final stage, Soul Infusion: All Essence As One. Here, he had to walk through the line that connected his spirit to the rest of his body and contact his soul. He would then have to infuse his soul essence into the boiling blood to achieve soul infusion.


    As for All Essence as One, once there was a perfect cycle formed between his three essences; blood, spirit, and soul, they could form a tri-force that would brand itself on his forehead.


    This was the Sage Mode.


    Anthony began by traversing the connection between his spirit to find his soul. It was located in his brain, near the back of the skull. It was not connected to the organ, but existed in an ethereal state that made it intangible.


    Anthony ever so gently stimted his soul to flow down the connection and merge with his blood. This was a gentle and careful process, like carrying a crate of eggs down a flight of stairs.


    One misstep, and there would be hell to pay. Normally, those of the Sage Monkey n would practice the first 2 stages over and over again until they got the hang of it, because they could at least afford to fail there.


    The third stage though, was a chasm with a tightrope. Fail here, and there wouldn''t be anying back. Anthony naturally liked being alive, so he had long been practicing the first two stages.


    Now, it was time to attempt stage 3, and he was extremely furtive about it. Most would want to move it along quickly in order to create fewer chances to make an error, not to mention that his blood was still boiling with his spirit, and that could not go on forever.


    Anthony ignored all that and continued to move slowly but cautiously, until he was able to infuse his soul into thebination. Immediately, his eyes burst open, their golden color filled with light as they illuminated the entire room like torches.


    His golden fur thickened and became reddish in color, while his body firmed up. He began to exude an aura simr to Gunner''s own from his Earth''s Guardian, only that this one was golden in color.


    A triforce symbol emerged on his forehead, the top triangle being ck, the bottom left triangle being silver and the bottom right triangle being blood red. The moment it established itself, Anthony''s changes subsided as he remained floating in the air.


    However, anyone could see that there was definitely something different about him, something that was hard to pinpoint exactly. It just felt like he no longer had any biological, spiritual, and foundational ws.


    Anthonynded on the ground with legs two feet, gazing at his glowing fur and feeling the power in his body. He now understood why a Sage Monkey would not feelplete until they unlocked this form, because they truly were only half-baked without it.


    His piercing golden eyes gazed towards the door before him as Anthony grinned and walked through. In the second battle room, 55 level 6 monsters rushed out at him.


    Knowing that this transformation had a limited duration, Anthony directly raised his hand and used the spell he had never dared to in his life, Stabilize!


    [Stabilize - Level 20 Spell (For Anthony only)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 25% of maximum HP, MP, and STA permanently


    Description: Bend reality to your will to introduce order to the world. You are able to fully control reality for 20 seconds in a range of 20 meters around your body.]


    Immediately, he felt a domain emerged from his body that encapsted a short-range around him in all directions. Anthony didn''t even need to spell feedback to tell him that within this range, he was practically God.


    What he decided was true, was true and what he decided was false, would be false. He directly turned the monsters rushing at him from the wood element to the fire element at once.


    From vine monsters, miniature Ents, and mushroom warriors, they became fire imps, will-o-wisps, and smanders. This kind of ability directly overturned everyw of Faust that kept the world stable, as this kind of power overrode thews in the first ce.


    Hence, the cost.


    While Anthony was ying around with his new power, Martin could only silently log these changes in the cloud while tsking. This Apprentice of his father was really a monster, and with this new ability, he would be a very dangerous foe to deal with even for his father.


    [Name: Anthony Sabins


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n)


    ss: Mage


    Subss: Multi-Elementalist


    HP: 5,100/5,100 (4,340)


    MP: 1,840/1,840 (2,408)


    STA: 1,500/1,500 (1,960)


    Level: 20 (28) (Author''s Note: Also adjusted for consistency)


    Strength: 68 (62)


    Agility: 70 (67)


    Endurance: 75 (70)


    Intellect: 92 (86)


    Charisma: 42 (40)


    Luck: 70


    P-Status: Empowered


    M-Status: Calm


    Affection: Worship lvl 3


    Notes: Target hasprehended Sage Monkey bloodline ability ''Sage Mode'', a special form that negates all penalties and costs for using magic temporarily. Increasing Talent and Potential grades to EX+.]

 Chapter 423 - 423

    Currently, Jorge, Foldo, Jeanne, Portia, Shanks, Derek, Nichs, and Elijah were seated in a conference room within the core area of Safemoon City. Their faces were grave as they stewed in the long silence until Foldo spoke with a sigh.


    "Well, it was inevitable. While they knew there is nothing that they can realistically do to us within the city given our backing, there''s nothing stopping them from striking outside."


    Elijah nodded. "I did think we all anticipated this. Our goods are too important to be ignored, and their costs is above what many can afford. Since they dare not raid us for the items, as they do not have the requisite power, nothing is stopping them from touching our goods once they leave the city."


    Nichs rubbed his brow with frustration. "The road from here to Andrato has long been developed and guarded by the Androids Darius left behind. Not only that, We have installed a great mount of signal towers across the road and even in some select locations in the wilderness to expand the range of the Supreme Portal."


    The City Lord then looked at everyone on the table with a confused look. "Yet, these fellows seem to know exactly how to avoid the detection of our towers and note into range of them. This is absurd as this is Gravitas technology, how could Fallon bandits know anything about it?"


    Shanks was the only one smiling, but it wasn''t a pleasant one. "There is one party who would have knowledge about how our tech works, but not like the fact that we have it."


    Nichs'' eyes widened as Derek nodded. "Gravitas. I could sense the anger and killing intent in their movements when they came for the auction. They are very xenophobic and despise the rest of Faust. Now that we have ess to their tech, they would first investigate how the leak happened and cleanse their internal framework of possible traitors."


    "Next is to deal with us and either destroy our tech or harass us long enough that we would be estranged and desperate enough to listen to whatever conditions they have." Derek finished with a slight frown.


    This made the atmosphere in the room plummet. The issue with a problem is that when it was unidentified, it was a herculean obstacle that seemed unsolvable. However, once the core cause of a problem is identified, there could be a hundred solutions to deal with it.


    Jorge smiled slightly. "So, Gravitas? They are definitely not feeding bandits directly, that''s for sure. They would have to use intermediaries on our continent, and I can point out more than a few Kingdoms and Empires that would jump at the chance to get back at us."


    "Right now, we know that our route to Andrato is untouched, and exchange between the two kingdoms is smooth as possible. However, it is within Andrato and on the routes out of it that these hooligans dare act."


    Jeanne sighed and ced her hand on the table gently. "I apologize for the weakness of my kingdom. Had Andrato been more secure, this wouldn''t have happened."


    Foldoughed and waved his hands. "Your Majesty, please don''t say that. All of us here are former citizens of Andrato, born and raised on thatnd. We are all implicit in its weakness, and with Master Darius to lead us, would we even have this chance?"


    The others nodded in agreement. ming herself wasn''t really helping, because they were also Andrato citizens. Right now, what they needed to do was find a solution to the problem.


    Understanding this, Jeanne sighed with relief, but starting putting that royal mind to use in deducing a path to sess. However, it was the softspoken and shy Portia who made her thoughts known at this time.


    "Why not halt all exports and rather set an ambush? If we catch those bandits and make a public disy of how they are brutally punished, others would not be so daring to act for a short period of time in which we can find a more permanent solution." The young woman said with a smile.


    Shanks pped his knee. "That''s it! With that in mind, we can also stretch our limbs for a bit. Our operatives have also had little to do since the establishment of the city, and its time to test those we just recruited."


    Everyone in the room smiled. They were all powerhouses who had used Darius'' resources to reach absurdly high levels of power, so them taking action this time was akin to using a star destroyer cannon to blow up an asteroid.


    However, it was precisely because of this that they had few chances to make a move. With a solid reason to do so now, they began nning their ambush as well as put the pieces together in order to cleanse Andrato in one fell swoop.


    .......


    At this time, the portal square in the outer area of the city lit up as two people walked through, one man and one woman. The woman was svelte in an athletic sense. Her tight leather garb showed off her small bust and moderate hips, reasonably attractive curves by any standard.


    Her cloak''s hood was down, her round and soft face was on disy, her thick brows, small nose, pursed lips, and freckles making her look quite like a young peasant girl. The only thing that stood out was her curly orange-brown hair that was cut short, only reaching her chin.


    Her light brown eyes were very active, moving about as if looking for something in particr.


    The man was a truly beautiful middle-aged gentleman with silver-gray hair, pointy ears, and a slim but tall form. He wore ck acolyte armor and had his hood tossed back, revealing his face marked with scars.


    "Well, we''re here now. What next?" The man asked with boredom as he folded his arms grumpily.


    "Oh shush, don''t be so down. I can feel it in my bones, thating here will leaded to some sort of great benefit for us. We just have to wait for a bit and the right chance will show itself." The woman replied as her eyes gleamed with excitement.


    "Hmph." The fellow remarked coldly, but followed the woman deeper into the outer section of Safemoon.

 Chapter 424 - 424

    "Do you see it?" A cloaked figure asked another using a special talisman that transmitted their voices over arge distance.


    "Yeah. It''s moving along the road towards Ando City. The Guard detail has been greatly increased around it, but heh heh." The other voice on the line replied with a mocking tone.


    "Devin, do not underestimate them. This Kingdom might be a low-ss shithole, but their backer is not." The cloaked figure who spoke first reminded with a solemn tone.


    Devin''sx smile receded as he sighed. "Hm, you might be right Justin, but that doesn''t change the fact that I will be making off with their goods. Check-in with Moira, Ferguson, and Liam."


    The one called Justin, who seemed to be the team leader frowned at being ordered around by a subordinate, but was not interested in starting a fight at this time. "Mhm. Just focus on your own task for now."


    He then recalibrated his own talisman to connect to another one. "Moira, have you identified your target?"


    A sultry voice repliedzily. "That''s right. They just shipped a batch of those scrolls into that warehouse. I''ll be waiting for the guard detail to change before I make my way in and make off with the goods."


    "Good, I know I can rely on you, Moira. Take things at your own pace." Justin replied and switched the talisman to another person. "Ferguson, report in."


    "Nothing different from thest time. The caravan heading towards the Rashv Forest is on time and guarded as usual." A nd voice spoke.


    "Anyplications?" Justin asked perfunctorily.


    "None that I can list at the moment."


    "Alright then, attack when ready."


    Justin sighed then contacted hisst teammate. "Liam, is everything spotty?"


    "Nope, nothing out of ce here. I was just about to jump down and intercept the carrier." A young voice replied with a bit of exasperation.


    "Mm, sorry about that. Move when you''re ready, report back to me when you''ve secured everything." Justin instructed calmly.


    "Right, right." Liam spoke back rudely.


    Justin simply shook his head and pout the talisman down. It was almost midnight, so the moon''s radiance shone in his light brown eyes subtly. He was lost in his thought, decided that this kind of job was too risky.


    Even though it paid well, the kind of toes they were stepping on were much too big for him. Even if his teammates were engrossed with the riches they had earned, his mind was clear enough to see that only a dead-end awaited them if they pushed their luck too far.


    "This will be myst job for sure." Justin murmured as he sat down to drink from his leather sk.


    His entire body froze though, when he felt a hand casually patting his shoulder. Then, a lovely female voice entered his ear just as he felt a dagger to his neck.


    "Oh, this will be yourst job alright. From one rogue to another, I''ll go ahead and say that your IQ is higher than most who do our job. You just chose the wrong time to give up." Jorge spoke lightly.


    "Now, stand up and let''s go. You know what happens next from here." Jorge prodded as she pulled him to his feet.


    Justin sighed. "Don''t worry, I''llply for the most part."


    After all, he knew he wouldn''t be killed immediately. He would be lead to a secure location where he would be interrogated and then his punishment depended on his level of cooperativeness, his utility and the nature of his captors.


    Expecting a rogue like him to harbor thoughts of escape and rebellion was likely a result of naivety. He knew he had 101 ways to make Jorge also unable to move if he captured her, just like she also likely had a countermeasure for whatever move he might make.


    No need to test her patience. He would just follow her, divulge everything they wanted to know, and then see what would happen next. This ensured he would not suffer any unnecessary pain and might have a clean death if they so offered, or might have his life spared if he was useful enough.


    When they arrived at a manor, Justin was led to a parlor where he saw a group of men and women waiting for him. Seeing that they were all likely upper echelon of Safemoon, he nodded his head in understanding and knew what he had to do now.


    "Take a seat." Foldo said as he pointed to a chair that was in the center of the room.


    Justinplied immediately while Jorge stood behind him in case he got any ideas to flee or make a desperate attack.


    "Now, what''s your name young man?" Foldo queried pleasantly.


    "Justin Brooke, sir."


    "What is your nationality?"


    "A citizen of the Fraterina Kingdom, sir."


    "Oh? So is your kingdom the source of your current task?"


    "That''s right. I wasmissioned directly by the royal family to led this team, sir."


    "Mm. What do you do with the stolen goods?"


    "We hand them over to the only woman in our group, Moira, to send home. She is nondescript, but I suspect she is a member of their royal family, sir."


    "Interesting. Please share with us the names of your teammates, their nationalities if they are different from yours, their power, and their tasks."


    "There is Moira who I just spoke of, a Fraterina Citizen, an Adept ShadowStalker, and her task is to rob the no.13 warehouse on Humberg Street."


    "There is Devin, nationality unknown, a Master-stage Warrior and his task is to intercept the caravans within the Andrato Kingdom."


    "There is Ferguson, nationality unknown, an Adept-stage magician whose task is to intercept all caravans heading towards the Rashv Forest."


    "There is Liam, a Fraterina citizen, an Adept-stage Assassin whose task is to intercept the messengers carrying important directives concerning the transportation of the goods from Safemoon to Andrato."


    "That is every one that makes up our group, sir."

 Chapter 425 - 425

    Darius rose up from his seat in the final room of the Restricted Section of The Great Library of Krona. After absorbing all the Magical, Professional, Cultural, Historical, and Technology rted knowledge Faust, in general, had to offer, Darius could now be considered to havepletely integrated with this world.


    The first thing that struck him was bitterness, as hindsight loved appearing when a person increased their knowledge/wisdom about a matter, mocking them for the mistakes they made in the past.


    This was especially the case for Darius, as he saw that without the Supreme System''s help, especially in regards to his high Luck, he might never have really made it out of the Divine de.


    For one, he had immediately set out from the Divine de back then because to him, it was the wisest choice. After all, He had just been told to make a monkey out of himself for a Goddess or it was oblivion for him.


    The wiser course of action would have been to use the materials in the Divine de to make various foods and items that could enrich himself with knowledge before setting out.


    However, he was currently beating himself on the back not for rushing out, but for ever thinking the ''stay and wait'' idea would have ever worked out. The Divine de he treated as his bastion of safety, where he hid his precious Resurrection Stone and his pool of Lunar Dew which was so rich a n of fairies had set up there as their home, was actually not a secret location.


    All the True Lords and even the Gods know about that ce. There was apparently one location on every continent that was like it, a ce closed off from reality that would seem eerie and inessible.


    That it was. The History section detailed how the True Lords had learned about Agents of Vena. It was because Darius was not the first, far from it!


    From recorded history, there had been about 9 before him at the least! If what was in the History section was valid, then Darius was the 10th Reincarnator/Transmigrator to Faust!


    Out of the nine, three had tried to upset the order of the world with power that was greater than Grandmasters but just slightly below the Gods. These fellows had left inerasable legends in the history of Faust for those who were long-lived, The Gods, Demons, Immortals, and the True Lords.


    It was only the averageyman that had long forgotten these things as short-lived species had short attention spans.


    The difference was in the fact that only True Lords knew about Vena. The Gods and co only thought that Agents of Vena were unique foreign souls introduced into the world by thews of Faust to achieve a certain purpose.


    So far, one of these ''protagonists'' has appeared on each continent once. The most recent one appeared in Ludo, going by the name ofˇ­ Sino D''Mara.


    In other words, thest chosen one had been the very Stonekeeper Darius had been tasked to kill previously, Marasmus! This was a fact.


    Just as Darius had been given Transmutation as a special ability, Marasmus was supposed to be his ability to resurrect repeatedly. This was a semi-fact.


    Unfortunately, his transmigration was not done with a full-body, but as a fetus. This was a fact.


    He could not appear in the Ludo Divine de because he would not survive in that case, so he was spawned randomly on the continent and ended up in the hovel. This was spection.


    He had been found by the Gods before he could mature and was shipped to gravitas to be experimented on. This was fact.


    ˇ­


    The Gods and Demons had ways to ascertain when a new foreign soul was born into Faust, and by eliminating ces where they had been born before, they could narrow down where the next one would appear.


    This, unfortunately, was fact.


    This was why Darius was grateful he had moved from the moment he spawned. If he had waited and given them time to blockade the Divine de, he would have never made it out.


    He spent his first night outside the forest and almost got chewed by a bear, then the second one was in a rotting carriage just outside Poleria''s Homestead.


    By the time he had daringly walked into greet Shanks and co when the morning of the third day had arrived, The Divine de was already weing visitors who could likely shake the entire continent with one hand.


    He then spent the next two months in Andrato, the first one mostly in the homestead and getting settled into Listo and the second obviously doing the first Quest to get the stone.


    After waiting for two months, the various parties ended their watch and went to check other zones in case they were wrong. They performed a sweep of the entire Faust, especially Fallon since it was the only outlier.


    However, they neglected the ins of Death as this was a territory of a True Lord, and a True Lord who was hostile to them too. After this, they had called off the search, as it was pointless.


    They did not have any leads in searching for such a character, not what he would look like, what kind of power he would have or what he would do. For them who didn''t even qualify to know about Vena, there was too little to go on.


    And this was why Darius felt that his first few days were only subsisted by his Luck and not anything else, because the events back then only dearly aligned to allow him a chance of survival.


    While he was sweating and cursing Caesar for making him have to take on an Adept foe while at the Amateur stage, a bigger danger was waiting for him had been anywhere else in the world.


    How did he get to know all this? More importantly, how was all this in the History Section of The Great Library in the first ce?


    Well, it should be obvious enough. If the majority of the Gods participated in such an event, how would God Krona himself be left out?

 Chapter 426 - 426

    Darius sighed once more, feeling a tremor in the world as the entire library shook. Since he had already exited the restricted section and was in the midst of retrieving his membership card from the aides, he saw the area being epassed by bright light.


    This shocked the aides, who had wide-open mouths that soon shut to reveal excited expressions. The same happened with those outside the door of the restricted section who had been inputting their own secret information in hopes to qualify.


    Darius recognized this as a sign of a God descending from their Divine Kingdom, and he could guess which God was doing so right at this moment and the reason behind their action.


    He folded his arms and waited calmly for the handsome and well-built God Krona to manifest fully.


    His powerful emerald eyes focused on Darius just likest time as the God walked over and stood before him. Interestingly, they were almost of the same height, so they were able to look eye to eye in this case.


    God Krona smiled amiably. "I see you''ve already learned everything. I had estimated that it would take you at least two more years, but it appears the speed of your growth has vastly exceeded my expectations. Out of all of Vena''s Agents, you are the one with the most potential and power."


    Darius rubbed his chin with a soft smile. "Hm? So you were aware all this while. Then why not capture me and interrogate me for my knowledge?"


    God Krona gazed at Darius strangely. "Since your Intellect is high enough to swallow all the knowledge in my library, do you really need me to spell it out for you?"


    Darius blinked and realized Krona was right. He had just absorbed so much information that his mind was just a little muddled, but after he began spinning those cogwheels up there, he digested Krona''s actions, words and hidden meanings instantly.


    "Hohˇ­" Darius murmured with an expression of interest.


    Really, it was quite simple as God Krona had said. He had already told Darius a wealth of things in his previous line.


    The chief thing was that he had called Darius an Agent of Vena. There was literally only one group of powerhouses in Faust who would have the knowledge to even refer to him as such, so the implications were quite deep.


    However, this made Darius rx. The fact that God Krona knew this term meant that the God would not harm him for the most part, as he had to be afraid of the probable repercussions of doing so.


    "So, to what do I owe the pleasure then?" Darius asked pleasantly.


    After all, the God couldn''t have directly descended just to tell Darius this. There were far more efficient ways to do so, as such, there had to be a more important reason that he had failed to ount for.


    "Well, my offer stills stands. I wish for more of that special information you gave me the other time, and since you have already taken everything from my library, why don''t you stipte the terms?" God Krona suggested.


    "Ohˇ­?" Darius muttered, shocked that the God would willingly give the reins of the negotiation to a ck-hearted businessman like him.


    No, rather it was wiser to give the reins to a fellow like himself, as Darius would make sure that - while the deal was beneficial to himself - it would also be good enough to the other party in order to establish a stable business rtionship.


    It was those with no background in mercantilism that would make self-serving deals that would destroy any mercantile venture with the other party going forward. Darius would never make such a rookie mistake, especially since the party he was trading with was at a level he could only look up to for now.


    As such, Darius spoke immediately. "The wealth of my information in exchange for three chances to make you act on my behalf as long as it would not be harmful to you beyond a fatal limit and would not harm your overall benefits beyond a moderate threshold."


    God Krona smiled slightly. "Very good terms. I shall ept your deal."


    Darius nodded with satisfaction and made Miranda connect to the terminal at the entrance to the restricted section wirelessly. Within seconds, the AI then deposited all the Earth-rted knowledge that Darius had kept in the Supreme Portal, leaving nothing behind.


    Darius watched as God Krona closed his eyes to ept the information. He felt a tremor in his soul as the aura of God Krona seemed to rise up almost tenfold, then subside greatly.


    The others nearby only shivered but didn''t suffer too much as they were too weak to perceive the change in the deity. It was like how humans could not hear above a certain range or see beyond a certain spectrum.


    The gap between the two existences was so great that they couldn''t sense even 0.1% of it. On the other hand, Darius, with the bloodline of the Ancestor Dragon and his high stats, had sensed almost all of it, and his expression had be solemn.


    The God Krona before him now felt about seven times more powerful than what Thor had shown back then, and about one fold stronger than the aura Thanatos had exuded back then.


    However, these were purely subjective spection, as he had been but a mere human back then and both had descended to converse with him, not fight. As such it was hard to pinpoint their limits.


    Krona opened his eyes but didn''t disy an overly celebratory mood. He was just as cid and calm as before, merely the slight smile on his face was testimony just how pleased he was feeling currently.


    He nodded towards Darius and began to dematerialize as he left the mortal world. Before he went though, he seemed to think of something and asked Darius.


    "I am confident you shared all that precious information with me, but we both know that all that information is almost priceless and is capable of changing the entirendscape of Faust in the hands of anyone. Aren''t you afraid I might leak it or that I could disy it in my library for others to see?"


    This time, Darius gazed at the deity strangely, not daring to show disrespect, but unable to hide hisˇ­ surprise.


    "Why on Faust would you? The information I gave you proves that Vena exists and in the hands of yourpatriots or their underlings, they would be able to put two and two together. Why would a True Lord ever assist the Fake Lords of Faust or anyone else in such a manner?"


    Krona''s expression froze, then he bellowed withughter so grand that it was almost infectious.


    "Fake Lordsˇ­? Bwahaha! What an excellent name! What a great name! My days, you are brilliant Darius Stone! Hahaha!"

 Chapter 427 - 427

    Dariusughed as well, pleased that he had managed to make that stoic fellow break hisposure. Then again, if any of the other Gods heard him call them ''Fake Lords'', they might just disintegrate his soul on the spot.


    Only the True Lords of Faust who despised and looked down on them would find this distinction funny and fitting.


    Darius left the Great Library of Krona as he thought back to his purpose ining here, which was to acquire information so he could better deal with the Quest to cull all Insects.


    With all the umted knowledge at his disposal, Darius realized that nothing had changed from his first Quest.


    He had believed that the difficulty for this one would be lower after all of his preparations, but now, it seemed as if it was still as high as the sky.


    Back when he had been a mere Amateur, he had to partake in a Quest where his final target had been an Adept Undead on the verge of bing a Master, not to mention that the real power behind him had in fact been a True Lord of Faust.


    Now that he was a Journeyman, he was forced to face off against an entire race that had Grandmasters at the top, although very few of them.


    As for True Lord like entities, the Insect race did not have any, or the Gods would never have been able to push them so far.


    His previous assertion that the Insects had Ancestors at the True Lord level and Insect Queens at the God level had turned out to be erroneous.


    Although they technically existed, they nheless had been either killed or sealed by thebined efforts of all the forces in the previous war.


    The early part of the History section had told Darius that the Insects of those stages exited, yet it was only thetter parts that had mentioned their demise.


    True Lords were things Darius simply could not fight. Forget 100x the difficulty of an average Journeyman bing an Adept, that was around 10,000,000x more difficult.


    Even a gaggle of Gods and Demons with their armies had merely been able to manage a tie against Thanatos, eventually forcing him into migrating and entering a sort of pseudo-exile.


    Since he couldn''t even beat a God right now, how was he supposed to fight against an even mightier foe?


    Well, Darius was lucky that his stats were now barely able to match mid-tier Grandmasters in terms of Intellect. Gunner too was far beyond the Grandmaster stage as long as he used his Earth''s Guardian ability, even able to damage a whole segment of a continent with one of his skills.


    This should make their mission tough, but doable. After all, the underground was the home ground of the Insects and Darius would be waging a war against them.


    Ultimately, the main contributor to the high difficulty of this Quest, was the short time frame.


    No matter how you spun it, 6 months was just too short to eradicate an entire race, especially one that could spurt offspring in seconds by the hundreds.


    Darius and his people had the power to eradicate the Insects, but whether they had the time? That was up in the air. Luckily, he had spent time creating those spells and means, which would help him kill bugs en masse.


    Even better, Gunner and X had taken the initiative to cull some hives, while that would not do much given the sheer number, it would certainly contribute something to the cause.


    Well, Darius now had slightly less than 5 months until the deadline for his Quest was up, so he would be better off returning to his task and making sure that he achieved his goal.


    As such, he traveled to a portal center and returned to Safemoon. He took out one of his special Space Stones and focused.


    [Would you like to change the Space Stone into a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array? This will cost 143 Conversion Points.]


    From there, heid down another Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array and returned to the city in which he had left, beamed over in a bright yellow light from within his mage tower.


    No one noticed hising and going, but since he had passed through Safemoon, Miranda had taken the opportunity to update the cloud while she was there and had also downloaded new information.


    As such, Darius was privy to the changes in his five Apprentices. Seeing how much progress they had made with himself and Gunner having led them by the hand, he was impressed.


    For the first time, he started to see them as actual students of his, instead of mere experiment samples for figuring out the value of pumping resources into training a Faustian under the native power system.


    He soon put them on the backburner though, as he arrived in Pokterr once more. Darius appeared just outside the house he had renovated, and noticed that he could sense the presence of both his Branded Servants within.


    Both of them exited the building with surprised expressions at seeing Darius back so soon. However, they filed in behind him after realizing that he had a slight smile ying on his lips.


    His expression alone told them that the time for preparation was over. It was time for them to enter into action starting now, and they were more than ready to help him achieve his next goal.


    Darius used Group Teleportation to send them down into the underground. As he had a detailed map of the entire ce thanks to the efforts of the previous heroes who had ventured beneath the surface and survived, he moved faster than the Branded Duo''s excursions.


    He stopped first when he saw that Gunner and X had begun constructing connection towers within the underground, even praising them for their smart idea. Then he released hundreds of Critterbots and Guard Androids to widen thework.


    The little ones were to construct the towers using materials that Darius provided, while the Guard Androids were to protect them and prevent any other person froming underground after them.


    Also, they were to set up patrols to monitor the passageways and prevent any Insects from escaping to the surface. After all, many would start to flee and migrate when a huge amount of their kin were being ughtered, and tracking themter would be a chore that would waste more time out of their already unsatisfactory limit.

 Chapter 428 - 428

    Underground, Darius had passed all the checkpoints Gunner and X had created as they had progressed down here.


    Darius noted that each hive had been utterly decimated and since their queens were now in his possession, there was no chance of re-poption.


    Of course, if one were to sit down and calcte, the number of hives the Branded Servant Duo had cleared out in the past month or so would only amount to 2% of the total poption.


    Darius took them deeper and deeper, until the entire group was about halfway down the entire underground system. They were located where the Adept and above hives had been situated, and the congregation was much greater than those above.


    After all, during the yearly culling, the main targets were those Amateur and Journeymen hives since they were the easiest to deal with. Adept hives and those deeper down were older and more united, thus proving to be extremely hard to deal with.


    Well, it didn''t bother the ''heroes'' much, because, for Adept hives and above, their rate of growth was severely stunted due to the severeck of resources the continent had.


    It was the weaker hives that could grow rapidly by even eating dirt, thereby enforcing the older hives.


    This was uneptable!


    Even if the bugs were weak andcked resources, they could multiply with the smallest infusion of energy. Once their numbers were saturated and were enough to swarm this entire continent, they would quickly expand seaward and consume the lives there.


    On that topic, the seas of Faust were a special domain. While yes, they did have monsters and extreme maritime life, they also had the best and most untapped resources on the entire.


    The reason the sea wasn''t used much in Faust wasn''t due to danger, but distance. The continents on Faust were so far from each other that using a boat to traverse the sea to reach the closest one nearby was about the same distance as using a rocket to fly to the moon.


    And so, they traveled to each other using teleportation arrays instead, which was why they were so expensive in the first ce. If you had the free time, you were free to spend a dozen years or so moving along the sea until you reached your destination.


    However, in the context of the Insects, this was an advantage for them. Once they were plentiful enough, they would move into the sea to start consuming marine life. The small bugs would wait on the continent while the higher-ranked ones that were somewhat humanoid would dive in, and gather huge amounts of marine life to feed the weaker ones to grow their power.


    The question now was, if the Insects were capable of doing this, why hadn''t they done this long ago?


    And thereiny the answer as to why the Gods issued this yearly culling. Not every other year, not every five years, nor once a decade, but EXACTLY a year apart.


    You could bet your entire fortune that they wished they could send groups down there every 5 minutes instead, but that would be counterproductive. Not enough powerhouses, and no manner what, some of those who entered would nevere out.


    It was reasonably okay to lose their Amateurs and Journeymen, but if Adepts and above were to die down there, they would be providing the Insects with flesh to grow new troops, allowing them to kill more until a positive cycle on the behalf of the insects would form.


    This was the despair in dealing with this troublesome race. Damned if you do, damned if you don''t.


    Coincidentally, this was also the reason the Grandmasters had reacted too strongly to seeing Insects at the shores. They had long suspected that the Insects might still be living on maritime resources, by digging a pathway underground that led to the sea.


    It should have been impossible for those hives down there to have survived this long otherwise. As such, they assumed that Darius'' bugs were trying to prevent the warriors from going down below and interrupting some very important moment.


    That was why they had concentrated so hard on culling Darius bugs, which had led to the appearance of Darius and co.


    Now, it could be said that the Grandmasters 100% believed that the bugs were up to something and had even contracted outside help to achieve their goals.


    What they couldn''t understand was why any sane entity would assist the bugs in any way, because that would be destructive. The only real way to cull such a species would be to starve them to death, but the circumstances made this extremely difficult.


    At this point, Darius arrived near one of the Adept hives and smiled as he opened his Character menu. When hepared it to Gunner and X, he noticed that they had gone quite far ahead of him, but that would bnce itself out in time.


    Right now, Darius noticed he still had 50 unallocated skill points which he had been saving for when he entered the Adept stage.


    However, for that he would first have to finish this Quest, as such he directly allocated 19 of these points into the Insect Soul Curse spell, greatly increasing its capability.


    [Insect Soul Curse - Level 20 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: nt a curse of weakening on any member of the Insect Race that afflicts them through the soul. This weakens them by 50% for 60 days and is insanely contagious.]


    Darius smiled. From a 25% weakening for 3 days, it now weakened them by 50% for 60 days. This gave him two months to allow the poison to spread, and all Insects regardless of level would have their power drop by half.


    Darius immediately cast the spell on a nearby Insect guard that was patrolling the outskirts of an Adept hive. The very next moment, a grayish light shot into the Insect''s body, and it froze in ce.


    Its robust and valiant movements suddenly became lethargic and it fell over on its back with its legs twitching weakly. What amazed Darius was that it wasn''t the only Insect to react that way.


    Not one minuteter, the entire hive had frozen in just the same manner and fell on their backs, twitching with pain and lethargy.

 Chapter 429 - 429

    Why did Darius nt the Soul Curse here? Well, the reason was quite simple. The true level of power and the true difficulty would present itself starting from the Adept hives.


    After he nted the Soul Curse here, it would take some time to spreadpetently as different hives would infect each other over time. However, as time was the most precious thing now, Darius would have to use shortcuts to achieve his goals within the time limit.


    Namely, by poisoning the Adepts here.


    Once he rose back up, he would begin the ughter from where Gunner and co had left off, some Insects that they would intentionally allow to survive would then proceed to send news down about the culling.


    This would make it so that those down below would start to panic due to the power of the three, and they would also send out messengers further down.


    With 90% of the Adept hives that Darius nned to poison, the ''messengers'' in this sense would be sure to infect the Master hives, who would, in turn, forward the message, thus infecting Grandmaster hives.


    By the time Darius worked his way down, most of the high-level hives should be suffering from the 50% weakening effect. With his power and Gunner''s taking care of them should be possible.


    Ultimately, it would boil down to whatever secrets or trump cards the Insect race had managed to keep secret. Darius had no illusion that despite God Krona''s information stating that things should proceed smoothly for Darius, that it would be that simple.


    This was not due to any logical process, but mostly Darius'' own gut instinct. It wasn''t even his Spiritual Senses from high Luck or anything, just the kind ofmon sense that anyone from Earth would have in situations like these.


    An Earthling knew that when something looked too easy in a dangerous situation, there was a very high likelihood something else was brewing in secret that would absolutely decimate an individual unless some cosmic powers saved their skins.


    Since Darius only had the Goddess of Luck on his side, he wanted to make some preparations ahead of time so that he wouldn''t be left at her mercy, forced to hope that she would be in the mood to save him from a certain death situation.


    Darius then moved through this level of the underground, nting the Soul Curse on any Insect he found as long as he detected it was hale and hearty. Once it returned, it would naturally infect the rest of its hive, so any healthy Insect he encountered indicated that it was from a yet uninfected hive


    Since he was just making one cast before teleporting away, it took him only a few days to aplish his goal.


    Gunner and X followed along with curious expression, partly understanding what Darius was trying to achieve and partly doubtful if things would pan out so perfectly.


    Once done, they returned to where the Branded Servant Duo had stopped their work. Darius noticed that they had done a good on extending thework as far as here in the meantime.


    With how well Solena and Miranda had fortified this 2% of the entire underground, they could quickly spring forth and expand to ces that Darius had already conquered, so they got to that.


    Darius had the group split up for now to pursue different paths, but not before he had both Branded Servants learn the Insect Blood Curse which would allow them to instantly kill any Amateur or Journeymen bug.


    Of course, they were free to use any other means they had at their disposal as well.


    Darius hadn''t let Gunner and X work while he had been infecting the Adept hives because of two reasons.


    The first was to let the duo memorize and identify the hives that were infected so that they could avoid them for the time being, as they were their precious disease carriers.


    The second reason was to form symmetry.


    If Gunner and X started on their own paths before him, their overall progress would not be organized, leading to disorganization in their overall progress.


    The moment each went on their own paths, Darius could perfectly monitor the progress each was making and react in case there would be a problem, solving it on the go.


    And so, the Great Insect Genocide began.


    Darius appeared before arge hive with hundreds of Amateur and Journeyman bugs. Instead of using the Blood Curse, since it was a single target spell, he simply mmed the butt of his dragon scale staff against the ground and cast many of his AOE Journeyman spells.


    me Pir, Wind de Barrage, Water Torrent, Earth Wave, Icy Wind, Sonic st, etc!


    With 400 points of Intellect and his various equipment and modifiers, the smallest amount of damage dealt by Darius was in the 2,000s.


    This was an instant kill for such low-stage bugs, making it such that he didn''t even need a few seconds to deal with the entire hive using only a smidgen of mana.


    As for Gunner, he just entered a hive and sneered as the insects rushed over to him andy their teeth in his flesh and suckle his blood in order to sate their insane hunger. He would jump stomp a few times, using Earth Stomp to tten the entire area.


    Whatever remained would be blown up by him when he shot his Omega Blow into the remains, causing a small explosion of green light. Whatever still lived by this point would no longer exist in the world.


    As for X, she was more straightforward. She didn''t have much in the way of offensive abilities and her archery was best suited for dealing with singr but powerful targets, not hundreds of weak and ipetent ones.


    As such, she just channeled her Intermediate Psychomancy, using telekic waves to crush as many Insects as she encountered with her domain.


    The Elven Princess also used her Mind Control in conjunction with the information Darius had collected about how their hivemind worked, nting ''viruses'' in their mind that made some bugs fight and devour each other.


    Watching the Insects rip each other to shreds was quite an experience, but X firmed her will and saw it through.


    She was aware that both Darius and Gunner were quite worried that she would slow them down due to herck of offensive capabilities, but she had spent the 21 days that Darius had been awaying up with a solution to how best to contribute in such an endeavor.


    And this was her answer!

 Chapter 430 - 430

    The progress of the group was zingly fast. It only took each of them a few hits before they cleared out an entire hive, then moved on while Miranda had the Critterbots expand theirwork.


    Gunner and X had originally made good progress, but their movement had been stunted, for one because they had cleared them together and also because they had so to make themselves useful to Darius.


    However, without hismands, they had been unable to fullymit to the task. Obviously, the opposite was happening here and it was quite intense in its own right.


    Unfortunately, this was just a type of work without the benefits. Neither Darius, Gunner nor X got any experience as even a peak Journeyman would only grant them 5 EXP at most.


    Darius was not bothered by this. The Insects had a strict hierarchy in the underground, where one''s cement had to do with the level of one''s hive.


    By the time they reached areas where there were high level and pinnacle level Journeymen, he would not be far from the Adept band he had first visited.


    What was more interesting was that Darius had Miranda intercept messages within the hives by tapping into their various inter-hivemunications.


    The news about the massacremitted by Gunner, X, and himself were slowly being reported after a week of consistent and unrelenting work, making the other hives restless.


    Their first response wasn''t fear however, but desire!


    In their eyes, Darius and co were simply fat pieces of meat ready to be eaten. Only the hive that could swarm them the fastest would get to enjoy food, while the others that yed it safe would not get the delectable flesh.


    And so, an interesting event urred where the bugs dispatched their own members in the hive outward, scuttling through the underground as they rushed in the general direction of the trio.


    Darius informed X and Gunner about this. It was best for them to find a defensible location and deal with the attack, then continue on their journey.


    In truth, having a legion of Amateur bugs rushing at them was not a joke, nor something to be casual about. Even if they were powerful with Grandmaster stats, a few hundred thousand ants would be enough to defeat an elephant.


    The bugs were not wrong, the simple solution to the issue was to swarm the trio and feast on them once they were overwhelmed.


    For Darius'' group, it was now of the utmost importance to not be overwhelmed by this assault.


    That is when the first inklings of fear would appear in the bugs'' hearts, as they would have finally encountered a foe that their favorite tactics would not work against.


    As long as Darius and co kept up the ughter, some bugs would be unable to sit still and would flee below to seek refuge and to warn the other hives.


    That was when Darius'' n could be said to have borne its first fruit.


    Darius himself found a nice cavern and set up there to rest until the Insects found him. He used this time to check the few nodes he had left at the Adept band to see if there were any changes.


    From what the cameras and detectors could tell, the Adept hives were still active, most likely believing this Soul Curse to be an illness that would go away with time.


    Even if it didn''t, it was fine.


    The Insect race only promoted the growth of the strong, so those Insects that would die from this pandemic would be marked as weak and would be thrown away, while those that survived would be allowed to carry the mantle forth.


    Of course, this was simply spection on Darius'' part, but it was spection based on facts and knowledge. He was confident he was right in the matter, and so paused his observation.


    To make his uing battle a bit easier, he decided to ce some traps in the cavern. Nothing too fancy, just some arrays that would mimic the effects of some of his spells.


    As usual, he had handed some of these over to his Branded Servants for their personal use, only he figured that this time they would actually use it.


    Hm, at least X might, Gunner wouldn''t.


    Then again, even if he was swarmed to death, those Amateur bugs would surely break off their teeth on his skin, so there was nothing for him to worry about.


    Soon, the annoying sound of skittering emerged in the cavern, sounding faint at first, then growing in volume and capacity slowly. By the time Darius could see shadows in the tunnels leading to the cavern, the sound was thunderous.


    It really was a blood-chilling sound, that Darius would not deny. If he wasn''t so confident in his own prowess, he would likely be choked with fear and flee the cavern this instant.


    Then, they came. The veritable sea of Amateur bugs of different sses rushed out from all sides but behind, moving towards Darius as if he were the only life raft trapped in the middle of the stormy sea.


    Darius hummed and cast the Soul Curse on a random bug. Immediately, its charge withered as it was trampled by its faster mates, but this was like a domino effect. All bugs of a simr ss to the first victim also slowed down and got trampled, then the other bugs of other sses soon followed.


    After all, they were in constantmunication with each other, roaring, threatening, and shrieking that Darius'' flesh was their prize and all others should back off.


    This constantmunication was what Darius abused to make all of these bugs lost 50% of their already weak prowess, rtive to Darius himself of course.


    Once done, he smiled and mmed the butt of the Dragonscale Staff into the ground, and began casting his numerous AOEs. Fire, Ice, Water, Earth, Wind, Sound, Light, Dark, Spirit, Space, Gravity, Time, etc were unleashed repetitively in this small cavern.


    Cooldowns only existed in a second for Darius, so every second saw a new one being fired out. With the mana demands of his spells, and his current mana consumption, he was like an indefatigable tank.

 Chapter 431 - 431

    Darius watched the carnage as hundreds of bugs were ughtering each other with each passing second under his efforts.


    Despite the shocking number of their casualties, they still kepting, screeching and shrieking as if they believed that the first one to reach his body would win it all, bing the next bugmilllionaire.


    Darius shook his head. No wonder the Insects let their lower-rankedpatriots live near the top. With these sorts of numbers and mindless behaviors, they were the perfect cannon fodder to restrict an enemy''s movements.


    Even if Darius ughtered all the bugs here - something that wasn''t really an if but when - the queens who had stayed behind only needed a bit of time and some energy to spit out a few hundred newborns.


    Inexhaustible, indefatigable, relentlessˇ­ all of these words could be used to describe the bugs and how they acted as well as fought, yet it was countered easily by the same exact thing.


    Darius was also tireless in his ughter. His Spell Mastery had reached level 100, reducing all mana costs by 100%. His Magical Mastery was at level 20, which also reduced spell costs by 100% while increasing everything else.


    As such, Darius paid practically nothing to use this endless barrage of spells!


    If it wasn''t for the fact that the Supreme System had seemingly been created to deduct 1 MP at the minimum despite all odds, it would have beenpletely free, not that reality was much different.


    Putting aside his various modifiers, his base mana regen was equal to his level, which granted him 40 MP per second. Unless he started casting more than 40 spells a second, he would not be losing anything.


    So one could easily picture the scene of the battle. A magnificent array of magic was used and abused, the same spells used continually and on repeat like a music ylist.


    One moment there was an explosion of fire that fried all Insects into char, then there was a huge wave of high-pressure water that sent all of them crashing against the walls, sttering many of them to death.


    Next, there would be a wave of greenish wind des that would move at abhorrent speeds through their forces,ncing them endlessly.


    Following that, the very ground beneath them would be unstable as if some giant entity was moving underground and needles of earth would emerge and turn them into shish kebab.


    Not stopping there, the bugs would abruptlye to a halt, bleeding out of every orifice they had due to the high-intensity sound waves that rumbled their innards into mush. Along with that, a ray of searing light would erupt from Darius, turning all bugs in its path to ash.


    There would also be a crude wave of dark miasma that would crawl over the wave of bugs within a range, turning their flesh into rot and causing them to fall apart biologically until only a little wisp of energy was left, which would then be sent over to Darius for him to consume passively.


    Some bugs would run into dark portals that would open up before them, not understanding what it was. These portals would then close immediately afterward, trapping the bugs in a veil of space unknown and unexplored by any or all living things.


    For some other bugs, it was less visceral. They would just be scuttling alone, and they would slow down gradually until they stopped in one ce, their carapaces wrinkling as they aged within minutes then died a natural death.


    Some of the bugs also stopped in ce, but they fell to their underbellies and thrashed on the ground as the weight of their bodies began to be too much to bear. Eventually, they would be crushed into paste due to gravity.


    The fates of these bugs were not enviable in the least. The numbers were many, but it was only a matter of time until they were run down into nothing.


    The endless scuttling sound came to an end around three dayster, allowing Darius to take a breath of fresh air.


    He was certain that if he didn''t have the Supreme System casting his spells for him, he would be far less casual than he was now. Not only would he be more fatigued, but he would also not have been able to cast that quickly.


    Not a single point of experience had been gained despite all his efforts, although there were millions of meaningless drops. If Darius did not stock up on so many Bags of Holding, he would have to drop more than 95% by the wayside.


    In fact, he was tempted to do just that, but some of these materials would be useful for Safemoon''s experts to use as crafting material, so there was no need to go so far.


    He then checked in with Gunner and X to find that both were fine. Gunner had dealt with them as one would expect the half-giant to do, stomping, bashing, and mashing.


    He reportedly had changed his battlegrounds almost 20 times, always because his previous locations had been approaching the point of a cave in.


    Right now, Critterbots were working on getting those passageways open again, so there was that. As for X, she had adopted a simr path as Darius.


    The Elven Princess had used a lot of the traps and items he gave her to give her resting breaks while he mostly used her psychic abilities to fight.


    Due to the sheer number, this was quite tough for her, making Darius feel that it was about time to transmute some Intermediate light spells for her.


    After all, her Purify was only a Basic spell, which she had learned without his intervention, so its prowess was questionable.


    He had refrained from doing so as he had not wanted X to diverge too far from her role as a support. For offense, she had her archery skills which should have been good enough, yet wascking in a fight against a plethora of enemies at once.


    Well, that was something to considerter.


    As it was, she was doing fine with Psychomancy, though it drained mana quite intensely.


    Her battles had been the least smooth and most difficult amongst the trio, but she had persevered till the end which made the other two respect her even more.

 Chapter 432 - 432

    One could not take away X''s contributions in this fight from her. Darius and Gunner both heaped praises upon the Elven Princess, making her cheeks rosy with pride.


    Still, the grind continued on. Now that there had been such arge skirmish, the results of the battle were quickly disseminated to the source.


    Once the Insects had learned that their mighty swarms failed to even take a single bite out of the enemy, the Insect Queens of those hives could no longer sit still.


    Some who were close to Darius'' location quickly packed up and began fleeing deeper down, seeking protection. Even though the Insect race moved using its instincts, it still knew how to fear a stronger opponent.


    Still, this was not enough for Darius. He needed the bugs to be absolutely desperate and crazy, so that more of them would migrate downward instead of sending troops upwards to resist their attack.


    As such, they chased after the fleeing bugs and continued killing them ruthlessly. Even though there was little to be gained by killing them, Darius and his two Branded Servants hunted them down as if they were carrying gold on their backs.


    This kind of determination and frenzy terrified the bugs even further, and those who at the backline began to pack up and rush below.


    From the example of the earlier ones, running when the enemy was close was not enough to guarantee safety.


    One had to move early in order to reach shelter.


    It was around a few dayster that the group moved down far enough to reach the entrance of the Journeyman band.


    Interestingly, most of the fleeing Amateur bugs had stopped around here, believing that the Journeymen hives had more than enough power to deal with these intruders.


    By the time they came over, they would be walking into certain death!


    Not only that, by staying here to watch the spectacle they might be able to forage some scraps of their flesh, nning to savor it as a form of revenge for forcing them to abandon their homes.


    Still, once these intruders were dealt with, they would be able to peacefully go home and return to their hives. However, what the bugs didn''t know was that every inch of ground they gave was practically lost forever.


    Miranda and Solena went all out to im as well as develop upon the various nodes and tunnels in the underground to expand theirwork. Darius had emptied out 90% of Guard Androids and Critterbots from his Bags of Holding, so the workforce was more than enough.


    In fact, the majority had gone above ground and began renovating the dpidated Polito city slowly, bringing it back into working shape.


    Miranda already had ess to all the knowledge in the entire database, not to mention the inheritance the Politos themselves had left behind.


    Unbeknownst to Darius and co, Miranda had grand ns for her father''s empire. The AI began by renovating the city and expanding outward, trying to im morend above ground.


    However, the situation with the barren earth would require more methods that were not avable to her currently, so Miranda kept the development to the city and set up a framework there.


    Apart from the house Darius had transmuted back into perfection, all others had been torn down and turned into automated buildings that were either refineries, factories, dispensaries, and more.


    After all, Miranda had long since discovered a special metal in the walls of the underground inhabited by the Insects.


    What else could it be if not the very same Holy Silver, Holy Iron, and Holy Gold that existed only on Pokterr?


    These specials metals were a mystery to them before, but after gaining the Polito knowledgebase as well as theplete knowledge hidden inside God Krona''s restricted section, Miranda knew of a thousand and one ways to process such a thing without needing human interference.


    And so, that was exactly what she did.


    The factories began working seriously, spitting out new Critterbots and Guard Android with new specs that were amazing.


    Miranda didn''t stop there though, she also crafted weapons from modern Earth, tanks, helicopters, drones, jets, and the like. Unlike their Earthly counterparts, these did not need fuel or electricity, but were powered using Source Energy!


    What could be a better energy source than this one that could run forever? It only depended on the conduit which controlled how the Source Energy would flow through a thing as well as how long it wouldst.


    The contraptions were AI-controlled, so there was no need for human operation. These contraptions began to spread out from the city above ground and below, spreading more signal connectors in order to expand Miranda''s range.


    Miranda was proving how scary an efficient AI could be and why many had feared that they could make the human race obsolete.


    His virtual daughter was aware that Darius did not have time to settle and conquer this continent by himself, as it required time and a lot of resources.


    However, doing something like this was incredibly simple for the current her given the uniqueness of Pokterr as well as the sheer information she had at her disposal, not to mention ''hands'' in form of the robots.


    Soon, the face of the continent began to change. What used to be barren and ky became metallic and chromium, making one feel like they had stepped into and of steel and technology.


    Over the course of the next few months, this phenomenon would spread until it became dominant, creating an entirend full of robots that were weaponized and willing to do the bidding of one man.


    As for Darius himself, he was currently going deeper into the Journeyman section of the underground, his speed here had not been impeded in any way, and he watched casually as hundreds of defiant bugs died to him by the hour.


    He had already cleared more than 80% of the entire lot on his side, with Gunner and X having roughly around the same level of progress on their fronts as well.


    Darius listened to the intercepted messages from themunicating hives, and it seemed like they had be desperate enough to go down below to warn the Adepts about what was going on.


    Having killed off all Amateur hives as well as the majority of the Journeymen ones was a feat unprecedented since the very first mission to cull them all that the Insect race had barely survived.

 Chapter 433 - 433

    Even against the Journeyman Insects, Darius and co did not gain much from it. The most they could get was 5 experience and that was only if the bugs were level 40, just like them.


    Anything below level 35 gave 0 experience and between 35-39 gave 1 measly experience point consistently. This wasn''t much of a problem when considering the fact that the Journeyman bugs were numerous, literally hundreds of them.


    A consistent flow of droplets would eventually form a mighty ocean. By the time Darius and the other three were about to reach the Adept portion, which was the 50% depth of the underground, they had gone further in their after-ss level up.


    [You have gained 45,809 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 42,882 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 40,987 EXP, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x11! You are now level 40(+23). You have gained 1.1 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x11! He is now level 40(+84). He has gained 1.1 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x10! She is now level 40(+83). She has gained 1 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    It certainly didn''t seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but it was nevertheless progress, especially since their cap was +400 at the Journeyman stagepared to the +200 at the Amateur stage.


    Darius also noted that he really had to make up for the gap between him and his Branded Servants. In other news, Gunner now had 50 AP and 51 SP, so Darius was thinking of allocating it since it reached a rtively whole number.


    The AP especially could be shared, but the SP was undecided. After all, Gunner didn''t really have that many skills that warranted an upgrade, and Darius believed that Earth''s Guardian was not the only special skill he would unlock.


    From what he knew, the Giant Race should have a base affinity with earth and gain the Earth Guardian skill if their purity was high enough, but as a Royal Half-Giant, there was no way Gunner was limited to just this.


    He should also have ess to the Royal Giant bloodline skill: Gigantify! With it, he would be able to freely increase his size to colossal proportions, able to maximize his insane strength as he dealt with entire cities and continents, not just one or two foes.


    X too was no different. She had a connection with the Divine Light and the Divine Life, two semi-divine elemental concepts with unique powers, which had given birth to her Divine Maiden ss and her various skills.


    But as an Elven Princess, she was more than just that. The whole issue leading to her exile stemmed from the bloodline inheritance ceremony all chosen elves were to go through.


    A certain group within the race did not fancy the idea of X awakening her bloodline skill, since she was one of the few in their history to gain the blessing of two Divine Concepts at once during the selection ceremony.


    Had she done so, her position within the race would have risen and she could very well have been chosen to be the next Elf God, something which everyone selected by the Divine Concepts greatly desired.


    As if that wasn''t enough the Source of Magic was slowly growing from the culmination of all the Divine Concepts. Darius was greatly interested in finding out what it would give birth to in the end.


    Paying a visit to both the elves and the giants was a necessary course of action afterpleting this quest. As their average power after reaching the Adept stage would be enough to handle most opposition from the two targets.


    Finally, the trio reached the most important checkpoint of their mission: the Adept band. Darius regrouped with X and Gunner, smiling with satisfaction in the fact that the hives he had nted a curse upon were no longer at their former locations.


    That''s right, just as he had nned. They had been stricken by fear and migrated downward. This was due to his actions and the descriptions left by survivors, making them think that Darius'' group was unbeatable, and only the Grandmasters and co could handle them.


    Normally, the Adepts would have stepped up anyway, but all of their hives were feeling lethargic, so they decided to go down and recuperate and let the stronger ones vanquish the foes before returning everything to the status quo.


    However, that was a fatal mistake. Darius was now 90% confident that all hives below this point were either fully infected by the Soul Curse or would soon suffer that fate.


    In other words, the main event could begin, the actual battle against their ursed race!


    Darius did not wait for Miranda and Solena to catch up with theirwork, not knowing that they had split up their efforts to clear the above and below.


    Rather, he continued on with Gunner and X in tow, rapidly teleporting down until they found the first bastion of the Insects. It seemed as if the thinktanks within the Insect race had realized Darius'' n after arge majority of their force had been infected.


    They had also likely identified that the Adept bugs were the source, and so had punished them to gather here and block Darius outside of the Master band or die.


    Once again, this wasn''t just spection on his part, but a deduction he had arrived at after hearing themunication between the Adept hives here. While they knew that Darius had done something to infect them, they did not realize it was through inter-hivemunication.


    They rather thought it was air-borne or transferred through touch, which was also a reasonable assumption since it was hard to believe someone was able to break down the specialmunication method nature had given them over hundreds of years of evolution in a mere two weeks!


    The mere thought of it alone was bloodchilling, and the Insects would never believe lest they see it.

 Chapter 434 - 434

    In a cavern so deep underground that it was nearing the bottom of the sea, 12 beings of great size yet different make up ''sat'' in a circle around each other.


    At the southernmost end was an Insect that looked like a giant slug. It was huge, ugly and constantly released brown pus that was so smelly it was able to kill most beings with one sniff.


    [Rancido - Level 97 Toxic Bug


    HP: 62,720/62,720 MP: 4,365/4,365 STA: 23,765/23,765]


    To its right, was another bug that was also of a great size, but this one had a colorful carapace,rge cute eyes and short stubby legs that moved about adorably.


    [Ladyba - Level 89 Soul Bug


    HP: 34,543/34,543 MP: 14,534/14,534 STA: 2,233/2,233]


    The third bug also had an innocent looking appearance, quite simr to arge moth. It hadrge ck orbs for eyes, two dark brown wings with dark spots and a body that was light purple.


    [Mothlina - Level 87 Support Bug


    HP: 23,908/23,908 MP: 44,103/44,103 STA: 3,562/2,562]


    Next to the moth was a bug that was simr to a beetle, its horn long enough to overturn entire buildings if it so wished, and its blue carapace shining like metal te armor.


    [Heracron - Level 93 War Bug


    HP: 54,976/54,976 MP: 6,887/6,887 STA: 20,500/20,500]


    The fifth Insect in this circle was simr to a spider with its 8 metallic legs that were void of hair. Its torso was a sleek ck color, just like its 8 eight eyes. Barely anyone who had looked into them had lived to tell the tale, as its mandibles as well as chelicerae were razor sharp.


    [Spidersin - Level 92 Assassin Bug


    HP: 23,332/23,332 MP: 10,420/10,420 STA: 9,744/9,744]


    Next to the silent and stock still spider was a bug simr to an ant, but had a yellow carapace and to feels long enough to form a bridge across a chasm. Its ck eyes gazed at all those around it with dissatisfaction.


    [Anthony - Level 100 Worker Bug


    HP: 56,008/56,008 MP: 23,200/23,200 STA: 45,800/45,800]


    Back to Rancido, on his left was a bug that looked simr to a centipede. It had multitudes of legs, two pincers on its face and its beady red eyes gazed at the other bugs with hostility.


    [Centicreed - Level 94 Burrower Bug


    HP: 45,560/45,560 MP: 2,300/2,300 STA: 24,897/24,897]


    Next to the centipede was a bug that was simr to a mosquito, with a proboscis that was long, shiny and menacing. Its blood sack was huge, but shriveled up at this time for obvious reasons.


    [Bloodivore - Level 90 Blood Bug


    HP: 17,180/17,180 MP: 12,360/12,360 STA: 5,800/5,800]


    Beside Bloodivore was a bug that was shaped simr to a beetle, only it had long hind legs that could reach behind its body with ease.


    [Sonicket - Level 91 Sound Bug


    HP: 21,311/21,311 MP: 33,182/33,182 STA: 9,881/9,881]


    The tenth Insect was a giant humanoid bee with two yellow eyes, a thorax with a stinger at her back and two antennae. The rest of her body was surprisingly simr to that of a human.


    [Queenie - Level 99 Killer Bug


    HP: 56,782/56,782 MP: 44,988/44,988 STA: 24,897/24,897]


    And on the left of Queenie, was a bug simr to a worm with two beady ck eyes on tis head and a huge maw with endless teeth within.


    [Gluttworm - Level 98 Devourer Bug


    HP: 87,340/87,340 MP: 3,456/3,456 STA: 45,877/45,877]


    And finally, opposite Rancido, at the northernmost end of the room and where the seat of leadership likely stood, was a bug that was simr to a fly.


    It wasrge and aged, with two whiskers besides it proboscis andpound eyes with many squares that were grey, indicating its partial blindness.


    No matter which bug or their disposition, they showed respect and deference towards this giant fly.


    [Beelzebub - Level ??? Lord Bug


    HP: ??? MP: ??? STA: ???]


    "I say, why are we still here? Is this really a matter that deserves all of us to meet? I have a huge backlog of projects toplete, with hundreds of new ordersing in every per minute. I simply do not have time for this!" Anthony protested as he smashed the ground with one of his feelers.


    "Hmph, leave it to the little ant to only think about his little projects. I have the job of expanding our tunnels andworks, an important task that is never ending for me or my kind, yet do Iin? No!" Centicreed called out with a sneer.


    Anthony was visibly furious, about to reply when the soothing voice of Ladyba sounded out, like a young girl below age 13 who had a cherry outlook.


    "Brothers, please do not fight again. Let us discuss what we were summoned here for, okay?"


    Both Antony and Centicreed red at each other and harrumphed, looking away coldly. Heracronughed with a buff, manly voice and spoke condescendingly.


    "Now that the childish banter is over, let us discuss what is the topic for the day. A group of three humans suspected to be at the Grandmaster stage have been rampaging on the floors above us."


    "My scouts report that they have not only bulldozed through the entire of the first 50% of the underground, but they have ughtered every nearly Insect on their way. What is even more interesting is the fact that they had turned most of the underground into their territory by establishing some metallic contraptions reminiscent of those Gravitas machines." Spidersin added with a cold and emotionless voice.


    Hearing this matter from the mouth of these two, the room became silent as the various Insect Lords contemted the meaning of this.


    After all, to hear that another intruder hade this far down during this so-called yearly culling of their species was quite unusual.

 Chapter 435 - 435

    "What is your evaluation?" Mothlina asked gently, her voice sounding like a benevolent Goddess of Light.


    "Severe threat, possible chance of extinction for our kind." Spidersin replied nonchntly, as if it was no big deal.


    This made the room burst into murmurs, especially Heracron who was the first to react by bellowing with anger.


    "RUBBISH! Even those so-called Gods are only able to watch impotently as we live hale and hearty, growing day by day until we eventually rise up to im what is rightfully ours! How can a mere human Grandmaster, or three of them for that matter, achieve what even they had been unable to?"


    Spidersin only casually nced towards Heracron then spoke neutrally. "Brawny Buganderthal."


    Heracron''s expression was filled with rage at the insult, but then a peal of mockingughter soon sounded throughout the chamber. The voice could only be described as unpleasant as if the one speaking was submerged in mud.


    "Pukikikiki, what an apt description. I have listened to you people talk long enough, and despite the brainless one usually being wrong, I have to agree with him this time. I''m sorry 8-legged crawler, but your assessment is defeatist and rmist." Rancido spoke with mockery.


    Once again, Spidersin only casually nced over and spoke without tone in his voice. "Shit-eating fuckface."


    Just like Heracron, Rancido was enraged by the insult and wished to clear his brethren''s minds with some of his acid. Unfortunately, he was aware that this spider was the fastest among them.


    Attempting to do so, would only end wasting its effort and disgracing itself further, so Rancido could only harrumph and look away.


    "Well, I only care about the blood of those humans. By the name of all things Insectral, the blood of three Grandmasters must taste like the sweetest Ambrosia from the heavens." Bloodivore spoke in a raspy voice that did nothing to hide his desire.


    His words seemed to spark something in most of the others, something that they had all suppressed and hidden. It didn''t matter the ss of bug, the simple fact was that their entire race grew by devouring and consuming foes.


    Even the cutesy Ladyba and the gentle sounding Mothlina began to release a strange fluid from their mouthparts at the thought of consuming the flesh of such potent Grandmasters. That was a delicacy they had not gotten to taste in hundreds of years.


    Those other Grandmasters that were leading the yearly culling were wise enough to never venture down personally. They usually just hung around, chatted, socialized and partied while their underlings would do the hard work, then they would take whatever credit there was.


    That was due to the fact that if they dared to step one foot below a certain level, these bugs here would crazily rush forward to devour their flesh and souls. The allure was far too strong.


    In the past 50 years, one Master stage expert who had lost a daughter to the Insects during the yearly incursion had joined the next one, hoping to get revenge on the vile race for taking his beloved away from him.


    Just like Darius and co, he had made great progress down, even clearing half of the Adept band and fending off other Master bugs.


    However, when these 12 had made a move, the oue had been for him to end up torn apart, leaving these lords to fight each other like children in order to get even a single bite more from his delicious remains.


    This was why most were not bothered when Darius'' actions were announced because it had happened before. To them, they would just wait until he ovemitted and could not escape easily before swooping in to devour their flesh and savor their blood.


    Sipdersin saw the doubt and disbelief in the expression of hispatriots and sighed inwardly. He then revealed what he knew that gave him this premonition.


    "To rify, one of them is a Dragon with the blood of the Ancestor in human form, one is a Royal Elf with Divine Blood, one is a Half-Giant with Royal Blood and the purest connection to Gaia I have ever seen." Spidersin revealed quietly.


    The room burst into fervor again, this time Centicreed speaking with a loud screech. "BEAUTIFUL! What a lineup! In this case, the flesh and blood of these three will be absolutely divine! Why, we couldplete all of our ns using just the three of them!"


    "I call dibs on them! I was the one who instigated this meeting, so I have every right to deal with them as I see fit!" Rancido shrieked with excitement, wishing he could leave this moment to feast.


    However, the other bugs soon shot his im down and began arguing with each other over how to distribute the flesh of the three intruders.


    Seeing that hispatriots were still thinking about how to stuff their stomachs at this time, when a threat beyond what they could easily handle had appeared left Spidersin morose.


    He hated being born along with these idiots. Why was only he able to think with his head instead of his mandibles first?


    "Spidersin, is your information correct?" An aged and withery voice spoke.


    The moment this being spoke, the entire room became silent as all the Insect Lords gazed at the northernmost end with shock and excitement on their faces.


    This was the first time in centuries that the usually unresponsive and catatonic Lord of the Flies had uttered more than a single word!


    Even Spidersin was shocked for a while but shook its head and replied immediately. "I share a mindwork with my scouts and have identified the traits of these three using their eyes, even monitoring them as they progressed through the underground from the very beginning as I noticed something strange about them."


    The Lord of the Flies hummed with interest. "Spidersin is right, this is a cmity that will likely see the end of us. A giant with Grandmaster level prowess that has a pure connection to Gaia will be able to disy Strength ad Endurance rivaling the strongest Gods."


    "Any of you that appear before such a person is destined to be crushed into pulp before getting anywhere close to sinking your teeth into him."


    "However, the real threat is going to be the Dragon. He should be almost unkible unless you manage to end him in a single hit, which would be hard on its own but nigh impossible as long as the elven maiden blessed by their Divine Concepts is next to him." Beelzebub spoke with amusement.


    "Any of you that appear before such a person would be crushed into pulp before you could ever sink your teeth in. Not to mention that Dragon who would likely be almost unkible unless you could end him in one hit and that elven maiden blessed by that their Divine Concepts." Beelzebub spoke with amusement.

 Chapter 436 - 436

    "Divine Concepts?" Anthony asked with puzzlement.


    "Hahaha, young Worker Ant, you really should put aside your endless work to explore the world a little. However, we are definitely grateful for your diligence, as without it, we would not have progressed this far, hmm?" Beelzebub replied amiably.


    "M-My L-Lord, I am j-justˇ­" Anthony stuttered, shocked and excited by the praise.


    "Hahaha, don''t think too much about it. No one can doubt your aplishments, not before me. Since its praise, you deserve, praise you shall get." The Lord of the Flies reiterated.


    Centicreed gazed at this with endless envy and jealously burning in his heart. Seeing his nemesis praised for hard work, which he had matched in every way throughout the centuries, made him feel discouraged.


    Beelzebub then turned to the oversized centipede and spoke with a gentle tone. "You too young Centicreed. I have not missed the work you put into creating new pathways for our race, ever-expanding our tunnels and the routes we can take to bypass the eyes of those above to procure sustenance. Without you, we might have perished long ago."


    Shocked by the sudden praise, Centricreed also mumbled foolishly, his heart filled with joy and satisfaction. Suddenly, everything he had done over all those long years seemed worth it, and he felt motivated to work even harder!


    Anthony harrumphed slightly, but this didn''t ruin his good mood from being acknowledged, especially since he had been the first to be praised.


    Despite, or probably because of their rivalry, he - more than anyone - aware that the centipede bastard had done a good job, and as someone who loved worked, he couldn''t help but grudgingly respect the fellow for his dedication.


    "Mm, to answer the earlier question of young Anthony, a Divine Concept is an ethereal existence that exists in the center position of faith,w, and element. It is all of these, yet none of them at the same time." The aged Fly exined slowly, but upon seeing that the young ones were still confused, he decided to go a step further.


    "All of you are familiar with the basic elements, like fire, water, earth, wind that we usually engage with. Now the Elves worship magic as a concept and have provided them with a great amount of Faith Energy over the millennia."


    "As such, it was cloned from the Source concept of Magic from thews of Faust, then infused with Faith Energy over time, giving both of a consciousness."


    "As a concept of magic, it gave birth to its own elemental pantheon as it slowly attained godhood, the elements that were affiliated to it specifically are not the same elements we use through Faustian Law, instead we call them Divine Concepts to differentiate the two."


    Seeing as Queenie, Mothlina, Ladyba, Rancido, Sonicket, and Spidersin understood, whereas Heracron, Bloodivore, Anthony, Centicreed, and Gluttworm still looked lost, Beelzebub sighed.


    "Magic is essentially aw of Faust, something that we can tap into once our evolution reached a certain stage. Faith is a special form of energy produced when a group of mortals truly believe in an idea, concept or person, granting them the ability to attain godhood, or some aspect of it."


    "An element is merely a particle of that, it represents an aspect of reality, forming a building block that makes our world and we ourselves."


    "Thisw was copied from its source, fed great amounts of Faith Energy over time and had be partly god-like, then gave birth to its own group of elements that were not a part of the world like their counterparts, but unique to the concept of magic that created them, also possessing minor deific abilities."


    "That is the concept of Divine Magic and the Divine Concept. It is basically typical Fallon magic, but much more powerful. More than one or two notches stronger in fact." Beelzebub concluded.


    "Then, there''s the fellow who has the connection to Gaiaˇ­ what a problem. Gaia is the spirit of Faust, a sort of collective consciousness of every living thing on the that is non-sentient or semi-sentient."


    "Sentient species like ourselves, the elves, the humans, and others have our own collective consciousnesses. Ours is our hivemind, the elves have their divine concept and the humans have the dreamscape."


    "Back to the main point, the power of Gaia is far stronger than any of our own collective consciousness due to the sheer quantity of collective non-sentient minds on Faust being far greater than even if we were to take into ount all the members of our race who have ever been spawned."


    "In the past, Gaia gathered this power to gave birth to a race of special entities with unique powers called the Titans."


    "They each had the ability to control one element beyond the level of Faust''s ownw system, a feat which nobody has ever managed to recreate. Like me, they were considered True Lords of Faust due to their nonsensical power." Beelzebub revealed with a tired sigh.


    "Gaia might have been powerful, but perhaps fortunately she was not intelligent. Since the things it was collected from were non-sentient or semi-sentient, she too acted based on instinct only."


    "She ended up splitting the core of her power into five hearts, namely the Thunder, Tree, Fire, Aqua, and Air Heart. Gaia handed her strongest Titans one each and tasked them with taking down those dogs who had abused Faith Energy to gather power."


    The moment the Gods were mentioned, Beelzebub let out a derisive sneer as a cold aura burst from him. It made the other Grandmaster Insect Lord''s quiver in fear, shocked by their Ancestor''s might.


    "However, it was all for naught. Gaia''s Titans were killed one by one by the collective efforts of the ''Gods'' and those Demons. Realizing that even after being dissected they showed no loss of vitality, they were eventually sealed in Armadon, under a ce called Tartarus."


    "This included the five champions, who had their elemental heart stripped out and taken as spoils of war by the so-called Gods. As for their current locations, I am unaware."


    "In truth, there was one titan who managed to remain unsealed even under the assault of all the cretins and their armies, which was Thanatos. That fellow is the most fearsome of our kind, his power is almost endless as thew he controls is too easy to grow and empower due to its inevitability and fundamental nature to existence." Beelzebub admitted with an expression none of the Insect Lords had ever expected to see on him. Not only was there deep-seated respect, but also hints of fear.

 Chapter 437 - 437

    "Back to the topic at hand, after her failure with the Titans, Gaia seemed to have learned a lesson. She then created a subrace simr to the Titans called the Giants. They might not have any control over elements, yet they were tied closely to Gaia by blood."


    "They are a race of physical fighters void of magic and are farrger than any of us, even able to directly channel the power of Gaia through their bodies to greatly enhance themselves. Fortunately, Gaia did not have enough power leftover to make them perfect, so they have great difficulty reproducing."


    Beelzebub sneered. "Otherwise, those filthy cretins would have long been cleared out of their beloved Elysium."


    Gluttworm, who had been silent all this while, spoke in a voice so deep that it was like gravel grinding against each other. "But then how can a Half-blood attain such power?"


    "Good question young Devourer. Probably due to their low number Giants have resorted to crossbreed with many races and found that the humans had the best gics to carry on their race."


    "Since humans have no special bloodline power or presence apart from having a gic code that can merge with any other, it is usually shafted to the side in their offspring, allowing races with tough reproduction to find a way to continue on without losing all of their prowess." Beelzebub began exining.


    "Hmm, however the Giants inherited the traits of Gaia. Specifically, her foolishness. They believe that children born of humans are evil, as one of the main contributors to the declination of Gaia''s sanctity was humankind, while humans also form the majority of those who believe in the ''Gods'', providing them faith and power."


    "And so, they were needed for reproduction, but despised because of their actions and nature. This made them a necessary evil in the eyes of the Giants. Can any of you guess how such offspring would be treated by the race upon birth?" Beelzebub asked with an amused smile.


    "Like trash." Spidersin replied curtly.


    "That is correct. Well, putting their abuse aside, this created resentment in the half-giants specifically bred from humans, but ironically the half-giants were those among the half-breeds who had the easiest time channeling Gaia''s power." Beelzebub continued.


    "And that leads us to this specific matter. A half-giant at the Grandmaster stage who channels extremely pure energy from Gaia would be about as strong as the weakest God. That is why I said that any of you who confront him would be snapped in half with ease."


    The Insect Lords looked between each other with dismay. So did that mean that there was no hope for them to ovee this enemy?


    "As for the Dragonˇ­" Beelzebub began, his expression bing grave as the amusement left.


    "I don''t have any doubt, he''s the strongest among the trio. If Spidersin is right and he contains the blood of the Ancestor Dragon, then we are in a very critical situation. The Ancestor Dragon is a being whose power is even above us True Lords of Faust, an extraterrestrial that was brought here from outside Faust by the creator for purposes unknown."


    "It has never interfered with matters on Faust, because its power is too great for even itself to handle. It even lives high in the sky, almost in outer space since its movement alone could cause cmities of apocalyptic proportions to thend."


    "In essence, anything with the slightest bit of his traits is bound to be very hard to deal with. The Ancestor Dragon is known for his perfect ability to control magic, the elements, and more importantly, his regeneration that borders on immortality."


    "That is why I said that it would be difficult to kill such a fellow, even if all of you somehow subdued him and ate his flesh for years on end. Not to mention that going against him, holds the risk of provoking the Ancestor Dragon into action."


    "Should ite to that, regardless of how we handle things, death and destruction would rain down upon us." Beelzebub revealed seriously. "In fact, the entire continent would probably disappear if he were to act."


    At this point, an air of despair fell over the Insect Lords. They werepletely lost, their previous enthusiasm to deal with the foes and share the meat gone. Right now, they were regretting their previous ignorance and fearing what would have be of them without their ancestor''s advice.


    "Howeverˇ­" Beelzebub began slowly.


    Then to the shock of the Insect Lords, a drop of saliva leaked from the proboscis of the Lord of the Flies.


    "Things are different. No matter how the Elves, Giants, or Dragons feel, we have never attacked them nor have we provoked them in any way. Rather, it was their people who have attacked us first and we are only acting ins elf-defense."


    "If I can just taste the flesh and blood of that Ancestor Dragoning down, I might be able to recover from these ancient injuries and restore my power. By that time, I would be able to secure the lives of our race even if the Ancestor Dragon himself were to appear!"


    The other Insect Lords started to be restless as they all began drooling as well, their hunger ignited. Even Spidersin trembled, his usually controlled and suppressed hunger released by the words of the ancestor.


    "The flesh of the Half-Giant and the Elf can be shared between you all. It should greatly increase your powers and also allow you to spawn new queens of all ranks within your ss. However, the flesh of the dragon is mine!" Beelzebub dered powerfully.


    "B-But My Lord, we still might not be able to take them down in this caseˇ­" Spidersin reminded as he beat back his hunger and let sense return to him.


    This seemed to shake the others out of their craziness as they remembered the whole point of their ancestor awakening and speaking so much to them.


    Beelzebub nodded. "That is true, it would be exceedingly tough for you all to fight against any one of these three alone if their power is anything like I suspectˇ­"


    The entire room shook as Beelzebub, for the first time in hundreds of years, shook his body into motion.


    "That is why this time, I will act as well. It is time to remind the world of my power."

 Chapter 438 - 438

    At this time, the trio was clearing the remnants of the Adept hives and slowly approaching the Master band. Suddenly, they paused. Darius and X seemed dazed, like their minds had been struck by something.


    Gunner showed a simr reaction, yet his was less intense and he frowned a lot more. Currently, the three of them were hit by a warning from their spiritual senses stemming from their high Luck stat.


    They could feel that a fatal danger was approaching them quickly. If they continued on, they felt only had a 30% chance to survive, and most of it lied on Gunner.


    When the trio came out of their stupor, Darius gazed between his two Branded Servants and smiled bitterly.


    "It seems this Quest is destined to be filled with twists. Initially, I was afraid that it would be nigh impossible, since I believed the Insects had Gods and True Lords on their side. However, I discovered while that had been the case that they were all supposedly killed in the war. If our spiritual senses are warning us that we have a low chance of survival it can only mean one thing..."


    Gunner folded his arms with dissatisfaction. "At least one mighty God or True Lord of Faust must be heading our way."


    Darius nodded. "I am not sure of the specific details of a True Lord''s power, only that they should be far stronger than the Gods of Elysium. Still, since we have a 30% chance to survive, it has to be either a weakened True Lord or a group of Insect Gods around Gunner''s power level if not slightly higher."


    X sighed. "We have made good progress down here too. Just after this level is where the Master hives should be, and by now the Soul Curse should have fully weakened them. Oh well, I guess we''ll have to retreat for now."


    Darius patted her on the back gently. "Take heart, X. At least, we have invested correctly, so we''re forewarned. We still have a couple of months to finish this Quest and I have many means at my disposal to slowly whittle down the strength of the Insects from a safe ce, so there is little need to worry."


    X nodded and waited for Darius'' next move. The fellow used Group Teleportation on all of them, but instead of heading deeper, they rapidly retreating.


    However, despite climbing upwards with insane speed, the trio felt the aura of suppression and demise approaching them more and more. This shocked them, as they had no idea what it meant as of now.


    ......ˇ­.


    As for the rapidly approaching Grandmaster Insects who were led by Beelzebub, they were unaware of Darius and co''s change of heart until Spidersin''s cold expression changed slightly.


    "My Lord, they have stopped and fled, returning to the surface! Somehow, they must have sensed our approach!"


    Spidersin''s words made the faces of all the powerhouses here change. They became worried that their prey would escape their grasp and their mobilization would have been for nothing.


    Beelzebub was the worst of them. He had entered a minor hunger craze and had been drooling all this while as he was looking forward to tasting Darius'' sulent draconic flesh and blood that should be sufficient to allow him to regain his former peak.


    He had already envisioned more than a hundred ways he would have devoured the flesh, with what additives and seasonings on top. The idea that his meal would up and leave when he had expended himself this much toe out truly infuriated him.


    "NO! No one is allowed to leave the underground unless I will it!" Beelzebub shrieked with madness, as a wave of energy burst from his body.


    It traveled throughout the entire underground, passing through Darius and co as well as the various Critterbots and Guard Androids that had been working on harvesting more mental and expanding the metallic empire above.


    Nothing seemed to happen at first, but soon enough a shockwave urred that shook the entire continent. From around the city in which the underground entrance was located, hundreds of different shadows were rushing over from all around.


    A human eye would fail to discern them, but Miranda''s renovated city of metal could easily use technology to identify what they were.


    Insects!


    Hundreds and thousands of Insects of all sses, most of them between the Amateur to Adept stage, yet a few Masters were also among them!


    This mighty swarm was rushing towards the city with madness in their eyes, looking like they would use any means necessary to topple the city.


    Miranda was an AI, so she was able to process the data quickly and find out the problem''s cause and effect. As such, she decided that these bugs were likely pulled over by a bloodline connection to prevent Darius and co from leaving the underground by stalling them.


    Miranda reported her conclusion to Darius, as well as her actions on fortifying the continent by transferring it to his mind, doing the same for Gunner and X. The moment the trio received the information, Darius stopped.


    He then closed his eyes to think and in a split second, changed all his ns.


    "First, let me praise you for doing a good job Miranda. Your proactivity has given us a way to deal with this issue more smoothly. Secondly, seal up the entrance to the underground with metal, and make sure that only methods approved by you will allow anyone entry or exit."


    "Thirdly, use the army of artillery you have amassed to kill off every bug on the surface within a week. Once you''re done, continue to expand freely above the surface without worrying about us down here." Darius instructed quickly and concisely.


    "Yes, Daddy! But what about you?" Miranda couldn''t help but ask worriedly.


    Darius smiled softly. "We''ll have to deal with this threat directly. We''ll engage in a defensive battle to find out the various weakness of our enemies and retreat if necessary. Miranda, I''ll also need you to use yourwork down here to find the enemy''s eyes and ears that have been feeding them information so that we can pluck them out."


    "Leave it to me! I have long noticed that various tiny spiderlings have been stationed systematically within the underground, but only hindered their senses instead of killing them so as to not to rm your main enemy." Miranda reported with a smile and a salute.

 Chapter 439 - 439

    Darius'' train of thought was quite simple actually. Since they couldn''t easily escape, as that was what their spiritual senses were warning them against, he would rather choose the battlefield in which he would fight.


    Immediately, he set up a few Temporary Spatial Arrays in case his ability to teleport would be blocked like that one time Thanatos had decided to punish him. ??


    He would never forget that bitter lesson...


    However, that wasn''t the only thing he did. Illusion Arrays, Distortion Arrays, Killing Arrays, and others soon filled the ce.


    Most of these were creations from Pan''s Immortals, since they seemed to love these arrays or formations as they called them there.


    Since Pokterr epted all methods, he would use every resource from every continent he could acquire or transmute here. Speaking of Transmutationˇ­


    Darius ced his hand to the floor of the cavern they were currently in.


    [Would you like to change the Empty Artificially Created Cavern into a Faraday Cage? This will cost 189 Conversion Points.]


    Darius didn''t even hesitate to pay for it. Immediately, the room shifted from one of rock to metal, and its size contracted slightly.


    Some cameras, three beds, and some mechanical supplies were present. There was a small bathing chamber and toilet, as well as nozzles in every corner of the room to spray disinfectant.


    A Faraday Cage was basically an enclosure used to block electromaic fields. A Faraday Cage may be formed by a continuous covering of conductive material, or in the case of a Faraday Cage, by a mesh of such materials like the metal that his Transmutation used which was the best in Faust for such a purpose.


    They were used to screen for various forms of radiation and had the nifty purpose of isting a target from others. You could take it as a sort of hi-tech quarantine room.


    Why did Darius waste so much CP on this? Well, the answer was quite simple. As stated earlier, Faraday Cages blocked electromaic radiation. Since this ce had none of that, how could it be an issue?


    Darius removed an item from his inventory with a smile.


    [Nuclear Electromaic Warhead - Technological


    Durability: 30/30


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 40,000-500,000


    Description: A prototype nuclear electromaic pulse from the continent of Gravitas that is not yet ready for military use due its vtility. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    This was a costly device Darius had transmuted in part, because its cost surpassed 1000 CP straight from nothing. He''d had to create some of the parts himself with Miranda''s help and then transmuted the rest.


    He could have transmuted each part individually and let Miranda built the rest with her database of knowledge, but he had made this long ago, when he had still been on Fallon.


    He had only just digested all the restricted info, so if he wanted to start a proper arms race, he would need to return to Fallon and settle down after this Quest.


    Darius tossed the warhead into the bathroom, them removed another from his Inventory and hid it under the bed, then took out another then ced it in theundry basket. He eventually ced over 20 NEWs in the room, which was his total stock.


    Then Darius checked the Supreme System quickly to see the progress he and his Brand Servants had made ughtering all those Adept bugs and even some Masters that came up to intercept them.


    [You have gained 687,342 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 687,342 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 687,342 EXP, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x172! You are now level 40(+195). You have gained 17.2 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x171! He is now level 40(+255). He has gained 17.1 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x172! She is now level 40(+255). She has gained 17.2 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    With the infusion of new points, Darius decided to invest some while they were here, otherwise if anything unexpected happened, it would be toote to allocate anything else. As such, he made some changes to their collective character sheets.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 10,000/10,000 (5,000 HP Surplus)


    MP: 17,600/17,600 (+1,600) (35,200 MP Surplus)


    STA: 4,000/4,000


    Level: 40(+195)


    Experience: 2,525/4,000


    Strength: 100


    Agility: 150


    Endurance: 100


    Intellect: 440 (+40)


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Focused.


    AP: 1.5 (-40)


    SP: 49.5 (-10)


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.40, Analyze Lv.40, Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Spawn - Lv.20, , etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.20, Elemental Control - Lv.20, Draconic Regeneration - Lv.30 (+10), Spell Enhancement - Lv.100, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100, Channeling - Lv.1, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 4, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Limit Release (Intermediate), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    Darius did not do too much to himself because there was not much to add really. He increased his Intellect once more and even took out some potions that would boost his Int significantly for battle purposes.


    [Rare Intelligence Boost Potion - Consumable


    Durability: 50/50


    Description: A superb quality creation of Alchemy that grants a 30-minute Focused state, increasing Intellect by 90% and lowering Strength and Endurance by 5%. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Unlike the Intellect Boost which was used to increase learning IQ, this one that increased battle capabilities came with inescapable drawbacks, which was why Darius hardly used them.


    However, now was not the time to be conservative, so he guzzled one down and shook his body. In terms of skills, there was nothing he could increase much apart from his Dragon bloodline skill, of which he chose Draconic Regeneration.


    Really, out of all the options he had, it was the best one. Now, his natural regen per second had increased to 150% from 100%.

 Chapter 440 - 440

    To the Supreme System, different things were interpreted differently. It was a system that calcted everything based on percentages, so it was the case where a 100% in any field should mean perfection.


    For example, Gunner and Darius'' Mageward Barrier Skill at Level 100 meant that all magic damage should be negated, whether it originated from an Amateur or a True Lord of Faust. ??


    After Darius had maxed out that skill, there had indeed been a window of time where the two of them had been truly immune to all such things within the mechanics of the Supreme System.


    If only Darius and his Branded Servants had ess to the Supreme System there would have never been an issue.


    However, wasn''t there an admin in charge of that very system who was constantly seeking Darius'' downfall? How could he let them get away with it?


    Fortunately, he couldn''t just arbitrarily descend and change things on his whim, but hasn''t Cesar descended just recently? Specifically to let the trio know of the contents for the Journeyman Quest?


    Darius had long since noted them as he had instructed Miranda to keep an eye on the Database for any updates in the changelog and inform him instantly, so he wouldn''t be caught off guard like before.


    Gunner also flexed his muscles, enjoying the increase of power he gained after Darius had allocated his numerous stat points that had been growing dust from disuse.


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 90,000/90,000


    MP: 2,600/2,600 (+600)


    STA: 12,000/12,000


    Level: 40(+255)


    Exp: 3929/4,000


    Strength: 300


    Agility: 100 (+50)


    Endurance: 300


    Intellect: 65 (+15)


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Indifferent.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 2.5 (-65)


    SP: 68.5


    Active: Engage - Lv.40, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 40, Earthen Punch - Lv.40, Earthen Lariat - Lv.40, Omega Blow - Lv.40, Eraser Cannon - Lv.40, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.100, Extreme Speed - Lv.1, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100 etc


    Abilities: Unlimited Power (Advanced), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Immortal Body (Advanced), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    There wasn''t much to add for Gunner as well. While he had the highest retained AP and SP of the entire group, his stats were quite bnced given his role. The only thing Darius saw fit to increase was Agility, which was the only weakness of therge fellow.


    In truth, Darius also wanted to add some of Gunner''s SP into his passive skill Extreme Speed, which boosted his Agility by a percentage of 5% with each level, yet the half-giant had requested to save the SP to upgrade his skills after they all became Adepts.


    Darius relented, remembering the kind of power Gunner would have the moment he activated Earth''s Guardian. His Strength and Endurance would balloon from a mere 300 points which was mid-Grandmaster level to 1,800 points, which Darius suspected was almost at the level of the Fake Lords/Gods.


    X was not as confident as Gunner, but was also calm. She had the highest Luck of the group, so her spiritual senses were the sharpest. She knew the best ces to allocate her points and ryed it to Darius, who considered it and agreed.


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 5,000/5,000 (+1250)


    MP: 12,000/12,000


    STA: 4,000/4,000 (+1000)


    Level: 40(+255)


    Exp: 1,334/4,000


    Strength: 50


    Agility: 100


    Endurance: 100 (+25)


    Intellect: 300


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 300


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0.5 (-25)


    SP: 0.5 (-25)


    Active: Divine Blessing - Lv.40, Divine Ward - Lv.40, Divine Summoning - Lv.10, Purify - Lv.19, Purge - Lv.40, Divine Restoration - Lv.40, Iste Evil - Lv.40, High Cure - Lv.40, Super Heal - Lv. 40, Insect Soul Curse - Lv.1, Insect Blood Curse - Lv.1


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.45 (+25), Light''s Chosen - Lv.50, Pure Body - Lv.50, Pure Soul - Lv.50, Pure Spirit - Lv.50, Aura of Life - Lv.10, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Woman of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), God''s Chosen (Advanced).]


    She chose to raise her Endurance to the Master stage, giving her the Intermediate ability Woman of Steel, which further increased her survivability in all aspects. Of course, it was inferior to Gunner''s Grandmaster Immortal Body where he could revive from a drop of blood, but it was enough for now.


    After checking themselves and making sure everything was set, they calmly awaited the arrival of the Insects.


    ............


    "My Lord, I sense that they have enclosed themselves in a strangely sealed box! They might be intending to use to create a diversion to lure us away while they escape, or its purpose could be to create a suitable battleground for themselves!" Spidersin reported hurriedly.


    "Futile! I can sense their life energies regardless of where they might hide! In the underground, I am the ruler!" Beelzebub roared with heat and excitement.


    His gics had fully activated and all forms of rational thought aside from sating his own hunger were gone. The other Insect Lords were the same, picturing the flesh they would soon get to dine upon richly.


    Spidersin, as usual, tried his hardest to remain stoic, but the acid dripping from his chelicerae belied that no matter how strong his will, the nature of an Insect would never change.


    Soon, the group came upon the Faraday Cage. Immediately, Beelzebub charged at it as if he wanted to break into it, but the entire group was surprised when it calmly opened to allow them in.


    They had to shrink their sizes greatly to all fit within suitably. They looked around and saw that the room was not as they expected, a battleground, but rather more like a resting chamber for a technologically advanced race.


    What was even more intriguing was the fact that their ''prey'' was not preparing to fight them but each one was doing a menial task. Darius was seemingly about to take his clothes off to go take bath, Gunner was meditating and X was seated at a desk writing something down.

 Chapter 441 - 441

    The Insects Lords as well as Beelzebub froze in confusion, looking to each other with uncertainty, wondering if they had fallen under some sort of illusion. Even worse, Darius and co also froze, as if they had never expected someone to suddenly barge into their ''home''.


    Darius Analyzed them all one by one for their stats and shared his findings with X and Gunner. Their faces stiffened, but rxed when they realized that they could handle most of the Insects Lords without even having to go 100% all out. ??


    However, their hearts felt stifled once they saw Beelzebub''s stats.


    [Detected target is of an Enemy affiliation. Disying details ordingly.]


    [Name: Beelzebub


    Race: Insect


    ss: Lord of the Flies


    Subss: ???


    HP: 3,360,000/3,360,000 (??,???,???)


    MP: ???


    STA: ???


    Level: ???


    Strength: 2,100 (4,300)


    Agility: 900 (5,100)


    Endurance: 1,600 (3,800)


    Intellect: 445 (1,300)


    Charisma: ???


    Luck: ???


    Abilities: ???


    Weapons: ???.]


    Immediately, the group sucked in a deep breath. This was far direr than their time fighting Lord Darm. In fact, the gap was not even close to how it was back then. Even though Lord Darm had been quite powerful, it had still been within reason.


    However, this being before them had stats that they suspected to be possible but subconsciously didn''t want to believe. After all, even if Darius survived all his Quests and reached level 100, he still wouldn''t have enough AP to reach those heights.


    If it weren''t for the Events, he wouldn''t even have anything close to the level of power he had now. He sighed deeply and understood that Caesar was right, bing a Supreme would indeed be an arduous task.


    Luckily, this being seemed to have suffered intense injuries that had greatly lowered his battle stats. Now, he was barely above Gunner''s power when therged used Earth''s Guardian, which was likely why their Spiritual Sense had given them a 30% chance of survival.


    After all, even if Gunner could match blows somewhat, the kind of skills and abilities a being at that stage would have was likely beyond their understanding.


    Beelzebub paused and tilted his head. "Hm? What''s this? What is this interference?"


    He gazed at the trio and then his eyesnded on Darius, who he recognized as his target. However, his previous hunger was no longer there, his mind had sobered up as he gazed at the young man warily.


    "Boy, what did you do? Where are the nativews of Faust? Why have they been suppressed and reced by theseˇ­ strange and confusingws?" The Lord of the Flies questioned Darius with a dark tone.


    Seeing a chance thanks to Beelzebub''s reaction, Darius smiled. "It is exactly as you suspect, Lord Beel. The power of the Goddess is not something a mere side world she created as a yground can match."


    Hearing Darius'' words, Beelzebub reacted as if someone hadshed him with a whip. He didn''t even care for the informal way Darius referred to him. In fact, that tone seemed to make him feel all the more panic-stricken.


    "Y-Youˇ­!! You are an Agent of Vena!!"


    Darius nodded, wiping his hands slowly after washing them. X rose from her seat with a smile and Gunner stood up from his mediation and folded his arms while gazing at the group of Insects imperiously.


    "That''s right, Lord Beel. My name is Darius Stone and I am her 10th agent in this world, and the most important. You see, those who came before me had all been tasked with simple missions, specifically to gather data and conduct some ''experiments'' during their time on Faust."


    "As someone of your standing you should be aware that this has created varying levels of chaos and turmoil in this world, all for her amusement... until thest one, Sino D''Mara." Darius borated slowly, his mind whirring at fast speeds as his tongue kept moving.


    "Unlike the others, who had all had a chance to execute their missions, the Fake Lords had interfered with Sino''s fate and were responsible for his early death. To the Gods, they simply made a mistake and would do better next time, not really suffering any punishment for their actions."


    Darius''s eyes narrowed and he smiled provocatively. "But you know the truth, don''t you Beel? You, just like Thanatos who I met before, were extremely reluctant to harm me despite being able to deal with me easily."


    "It''s not strange though, after all, you are a True Lord of Faust. You know exactly how Faust came to be, its purpose and who the true owner of this world is. You also know that while those retarded Fake Lords have yet to receive their punishments that it would be impossible for Vena to just leave them be after daring to disrupt her n!"


    Darius rubbed his chin with a wide grin. "Thanatos is one of the remaining True Lords who has seen it all happen, so he had some guesses, but you probably know much more."


    Darius folded his arms behind his back and gazed at the still shuddering Lord of the Flies with a predatory nce.


    "Tell me Lord Beel, when was the death of Sino D''Mara? And when was the Insect Invasion of Faust?"


    His words made Beelzebub tremble even harder, but he eventually stopped with a weak sigh. The other Insect Lords who had been immersed in the story gazed at each other with shock and confusion, wondering what was going on and being able to follow only a small part of the whole show.


    Darius didn''t spare a single gaze at them after the first, as they realistically posed no threat to him and his group.


    With a feeble and dejected voice, the Lord of the Flies answered. "The death of Sino D''mara urred 8,344 years ago. The beginning of our invasion of the world was 8,340 years ago."


    There was a shocked silence as everyone aside from Darius and Beelzebub realized the implications of this. Even X and Gunner who wore pokerfaces, now disyed shock on their faces, as they had never expected this.


    Darius''s eyes suddenly narrowed into serpentine slits as he folded his arms behind his back and spoke in a high-pitched tone.


    "Beel~ze~bubb~ˇ­ You should understand what this means, no? Right after taking down her agent, the world was plunged into a sudden life or death crisis that was barely resolved only because the other True Lords had taken part."

 Chapter 442 - 442

    The Lord of the Flies looked like a whipped man. "That is correctˇ­"


    In fact, it wasn''t just Beelzebub, but all the True Lords of Faust who had realized this. ??


    None of them harbored any hopes that the wrath of the Goddess would be something any of them could ever hope to withstand.


    The appearance of another Agent of Vena felt like a fair warning.


    Otherwise, Thanatos with all his powers would have never exchanged the First Ressurection Stone with Darius for some mere trinkets.


    At his level of powers, those so-called ''treasures'' Darius had presented in exchange could have either been created by him with a flip of his hand or acquired via other means.


    Heck, Darius had been able to acquire them even before founding Safemoon, much less Thanatos.


    So then why did Thanatospromise and allowed Darius to have his way?


    It was not as if he was some benevolent saint or a kind-hearted old man who enjoyed seeing the next generation prosper.


    No, he was the Titan God of Death, a being feared by even the likes of Beelzebub, and for good reason. Thew he controlled was one of the absolutes of reality.


    Why hadn''t Thanatos dered death upon Darius casually for lusting over the First Resurrection Stone, an item that he had taken and nurtured for so long?


    Well, it was quite simple really. Like the other True Lords, Thanatos knew about Vena.


    He also knew about Vena''s Agents, and it was even through him that Darius came to learn of the term.


    Why were these agents sent to Faust asionally? For what purpose?


    This was a question that gued the Gods who did not know of Vena. They only knew that foreign entities were entering their world periodically.


    It was only after theing and going of many that they the Gods had been able to find a sort of pattern, which eventually allowed them to capture Sino D''Mara and end his path before it even began, whether by ident or intention was not known to Darius.


    Darius was merely the newest Agent of Vena. From his arrival, it had be clear to Thanatos that he had been tasked with iming the First Resurrection Stone.


    Thanatos had seen all this from Darius'' mind and the actions that had urred, including his scheme.


    From his point of view, Vena was simply reiming what was originally hers, so how could he dare to keep it?


    Since Darius had offered a trade, he had eded as a goodwill to the Goddess.


    The goddess wanted him to suffer for her amusement, but she also had a purpose in grooming him. Anyone with above room temperature IQ could realize this and Darius himself did so recently.


    So as long as he didn''t die, he could be put through any difficulty.


    Thanatos, being the wily old fox he was, did two things to that end.


    He seized Darius'' two trump cards, the vampire boys Mikey and Joneson, then tossed him into the Journeyman band to rush out on his own without shortcuts.


    Thanatos reasoned that he wouldn''t die from it, but he would certainly suffer for it. The perfect sort of amusement for the Goddess, no?


    Darius did not think like this before, but it had only urred to him now that he had almost all the information Faust had to offer, as well as due to the kind of point he was trying to arrive at with Beelzebub.


    "Hoho, the Insects were suddenly empowered as a whole and send out to conquer thends. Heck, even some True Lords had fallen by your kin, devoured to further fuel your race''s growth. Nothing could stop you all... until a few powerful True Lords intervened." Darius stated with a straight stance.


    "What saved Faust was the intervention of five special True Lords. The Ancestor Dragon of Unyris, The Jade Emperor of Pan, The Storm King of Houto, The Ice Lord of Kiel and the Titan God of Death from Fallon."


    Darius began listing their names with each finger. "Yuli''ann Castoro, Yuanshi Tianzun, Susanoo, Jack Frost, and Thanatos."


    Every name felt like a bucket of cold water being poured atop poor Beelzebub. These were the five names that terrified him the most, as the moment those five had appeared on the battlefield, it had symbolized the end of their glorious invasion.


    Thanatos had sent his endless undead troops into the fray. They had acted as a perfect counter to the Insect''s nature. An Insect would kill its foes and devour the enemy, but with the Titan God present, they had all been turned into undead the moment they died.


    Eating the undead warriors was the same as consuming poison for them. This was because they were reanimated using Thanatos'' essencews, so the Insects that ate his undead would die, only to reanimate and attack their brethren.


    As the insects ate others to grow, Thanatos'' undead also ate the Insects to grow. This was a sh of two of the most feared forces in all of human knowledge and imagination, an undead force versus an insect force.


    Both were doomsday cmities, where just being alive made you the losing party as your enemy would grow while you would weaken in perpetuity. Pitting against each other, it was an interesting stalemate.


    Then there was Jack Frost with his silvery-white hair, blue windbreaker, and signature curved staff that brought ice wherever he went. It didn''t matter how strong you were as an Insect, once you were frozen stiff, you could not eat your way out of such a situation.


    Susanoo was a young man in histe twenties with a messy beard, a gourd of wine, and a ne of magatama symbols. He wielded a pitch-ck sword made from the tail of Orochi, which was able to cut any Insect in half and destroy their soul.


    Yuanshi Tianzun was an old man with emperor robes and a long white beard. He looked like a gentle and wizened old man who anyone would love to take as their master to teach them the ways of cultivation.

 Chapter 443 - 443

    The old man had simply rubbed his white beard with a strange smile back then, watching the Insects proliferate, before he had raised his hand and struck out. The heavens and earth had overturned as a giant palm shape would crush endless Insects in one blow.


    His mighty Heavenly Pam Strike was all the mighty Jade Emperor had needed to use. Even True Lord Insects had not been spared under his attack. ??


    However, the true devastation hade from a single one of Yuli''ann Castoro''s yawns.


    Due to all the noise, the Ancestor Dragon had woken up. Mildly intrigued he had faced the direction of the continent of Pokterr, the location of thatst battle.


    His yawn then traveled over, transforming into a Wind Tribtion of the highest degree, forcing the four overpowered True Lords to flee as well as the Fake Lords who had been around.


    The Insects and the various mortal forces had no such luck. They had been directly obliterated by this yawn, ending the war on the spot.


    This was the truth of how everyone had suffered losses to their forces in a single war.


    Yuli''ann, speechless by his unintended interference, had simply turned his body around, facing the other way. No one could pester him about consequences if he was asleep, right?


    Naturally, the various True Lords and Gods had only been able to swallow down their dissatisfaction with bitter smiles, no one had the guts to go and make trouble before such a powerful entity. As such, everyone took that ''L''.


    Beelzebub had been the only one to survive because a single sh from Susanoo had left him on death''s door. He had fled underground to recuperate, allowing him to miss the devastation.


    He, alongside some other rather fortunate Insects, were what made up the race today.


    Thatst battle had seen them lose 99% of their number. What Darius was dealing with today was merely 1% of their true power.


    One could imagine the shock and horror Beelzebub had felt when he had inspected the battlefieldter.


    His fate was not much different from someone born and raised in Nagasaki, who just so happened to have traveled to Taiwan just before the bomb had dropped.


    The realization that he was supposed to die, but due to circumstances lucked out, while all his other friends and family were gone, would forever scar the True Lord of Faust.


    Beelzebub had been guarding the Insect race ever since, preventing them from being truly genocided as he knew that they didn''t have the strength to resist the Gods on their own.


    As for the True Lords, those didn''t care.


    They had onlye out back then to protect Faust as a whole. Now that the Insects were a mere shell of themselves, they could continue to decline into nothingness.


    Even if they did rise again and were stupid enough tounch another campaign, nothing was stopping the True Lords from easily quelling them just like before.


    It was only the ignorant Gods who gave too much stock to the Insect race due to how weak and stupid they were inparison to True Lords.


    All of this had culminated into this current moment where Darius began reaching the conclusion he wanted, slowly approaching it like a spider to its prey.


    "When I went to visit Thanatos, can you guess what he did? He called me an Agent of Vena, and realized that my reason foring there was to im the First Resurrection Stone. Let me give you a brief rundown of what it is and its history." Darius began exining the lore behind his first Quest, the steps he took and how it ended.


    He omitted the ownership of the stone and imed it had been sent back to Vena, as it was something belonging to her. He wasn''t going to tell this True Lord that he could reincarnate three times or more thanks to it.


    "ˇ­ and so, that is what happened. You understand, don''t you Lord Beel? Why did Thanatos act in the manner he did? And why you are acting as you are now?" Darius spoke in a serpentine manner as he slowly circled the shrunken body of Beel like a drill sergeant inspecting histest recruit.


    Beelzebub for that matter, stood stock still while sweating, but he understood what Darius was getting at.


    "Fine, I get that Vena sent you to Thanatos to retrieve the Stone, but what are you doing here? My Insect race has never stolen anything from her possession, nor should we have anything she may want!" The Lord of Flies stated. His tone was a mix of worry, confusion, and defiance.


    This was something that puzzled the other Insect Lords, for they felt the same. They had consumed pretty much anything that could be devoured for their own, so they didn''t have anything like a treasury vault or a stockpile.


    Darius burst into a peal of uproariousughter. For some reason, Beelzebub felt that he should not allow Darius to speak what he would next, but it was toote.


    Darius suddenly dashed back to where he had originally stood while gazing at the group of Insects with a smirk.


    "Of course not. The mission given to me is quite simple. I mustˇ­"


    "NO! STOP!" Beelzebub shrieked with horror as he channeled his speed to rush at Darius, aiming one of his legs at the fellow to pierce through his scalp and destroy his brain.


    "ˇ­ kill every member of the Insect race within half a year." Darius finished with a smile.


    He did not react to seeing Beelzebub''s sharp leg aimed towards his right eye, inches away from piercing his brain and killing him. He just watched the True Lord with mockery and victory on his face, while Beelzebub trembled in hatred and regret.


    He truly regretted not having killed these three the moment he had encountered this strange ce. He regretted havinge here himself with such loud fanfare instead of using a sneak attack. He regretted not having truly investigated this foe and letting his hunger take over.


    Now, he would never get that chance. He could have killed these three and feigned innocenceter, or even captured them and yed them to death in the way he had originally nned, but now that the cat was out of the bag, his paths to sess were cut off.

 Chapter 444 - 444

    The Insect Lords that stood behind Beelzebub suddenly shivered greatly, not fully understanding the implications of what had just transpired, but the little they managed the follow told them that something horribley in store for them and their race.


    Gunner was smirking slightly as he folded his arms, yet he was ready to rumble the moment anything went wrong. X was far tenser as she was frowning at the close call Darius just experienced, but knew it would be fine with his survivability. ??


    Darius himself was smiling softly, not all at bothered by the heat that was radiating off Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies barely able to keep his hatred and malice that was burning so hot inside him that the room temperature rose.


    Darius smiled widely and brought his eye closer to the sharp appendage as if he intended to impale himself on it, and in a flustered panic, Beelzebub quickly retracted it, almost falling over himself.


    Darius just leaned forward like that and continued speaking. "Well, you understand now, don''t you? I have been sent to this world to amuse the great Goddess and she has blessed me with the ability to warp the entire world around me into a new set ofws that grant me great power."


    Beelzebub looked upon the ever-encroaching presence of the system which was why he had even paused in the first ce. His face changed when he realized that its influence had even affected him, binding him fully to its rules despite them being in the underground, the ce which was supposed to be his domain.


    Experiencing it himself he understood why that bastard Thanatos must have handed the fellow what he wanted and made him scram. This feeling was truly horrific and ufortable, especially for beings like them who were closest to the sources of power in Faust.


    Darius did not know, but the stats he saw that would have been Beelzebub''s original stats had he not be injured were actually nerfed. True Lords distinguished themselves from Gods, Demons or any other special race in Faust for that matter not just because they knew about Vena''s existence.


    Rather, learning about Vena had merely been a consequence of reaching the True Lord level. The exact process was not exactly a tightly guarded secret, but there were quotas on how many could be True Lords, and it was per continent.


    Every continent could only have 10 True Lords at any one time. This was a hard limit put down by Vena herself, so as to keep the world somewhat stable allowing her agents to move somewhat freely.


    It was pointless creating a ''setting'' for her ''yers'' if there were too many high-level ''NPCs'' that could spawnkill them or as soon as they left the ''starter vige''.


    Yes, Beelzebub knew these terms and not by choice.


    Upon bing a True Lord, one would briefly meet Vena in her throne room somewhere out of this world. Beelzebub could only describe her as weird from looks to dressing style.


    She had looked like a human, but then again most Gods did, so it wasn''t really telling much about her. Rather, it had been her attire and manner of speech that had left him baffled as to whether she was really Goddess.


    Vena had dressed unattractively and sloppily, even by Beelzebub''s standards. She had used words that were strange and upon noticing Beelzebub''s confusion, she had merely sighed and murmured; "The life of a Gamer Girl is filled with strife. I have to code these NPCs betterˇ­"


    After that, she had shooed him away.


    "Penny for your thoughts, Lord Beel? I don''t think this is the situation to be distracted, no?" Darius prodded as he rubbed his chin.


    Beelzebub came out of his stupor and red at Darius coldly. "And so the Goddess gave you a mission to kill us all? What does that have to do with me? Since we are going to ''die'' by your hands, I might as well kill you now and buy a path to our future!"


    Beelzebub began to walk forward menacingly, hispound eyes shining with resolve. "It''s all the same thing anyway. Either you kill us all, or I kill you, incur the wrath of the Goddess and we get ughtered anyway. Since that''s the case, why not enjoy myself by actuallymitting the crime that we will be punished for, ahahaha!"


    The other Insect Lords shared uncertain looks and began to approach together with their Lord, their hunger that had been beaten back by fear rising once more. Gunner manifested a green aura around his body as he prepared to battle at a moment''s notice, while X took out her bow and arrow.


    Against a powerhouse like Beelzebub, it should do amazing amounts of damage. She nocked the arrow fully and was just waiting for the Lord of the Flies to make the wrong move.


    The only one who was not moved by the sudden tension in the room, was Darius who was amused. He folded his arms and gazed at Beelzebub with a tilted head.


    "You can do that, but that would be impossible. I am not telling you this because I can''t destroy you and your race. If I want, I can leave this ce at any time."


    Darius pointed to the Faraday cage around him. "Do you know what this is? It''s called a Faraday Cage. It''s a special contraption that blocks out electromaic waves from outside or inside, as well as all forms of energy across the entire spectrum, including light and heat."


    Beelzebubughed. "And so what? Even if it could block out entropy itself, I wouldn''t care! All I want right now is you dead and your flesh down my gullet!"


    Darius folded his arms behind his back. "And that would be an utter waste. After all, due to the nature of the Faraday Cage, all forms of observation are blocked."


    Beelzebub, who had been approaching slowly and carefully while watching Gunner''s movements, trying to find the right moment to pounce forward and devour his foe in one bite, suddenly froze.


    A look of shock, understanding, and amazement appeared on his Insect face that was quiteical overall.

 Chapter 445 - 445

    "Impossible! Simply impossible! You must be lying!" Beelzebub screeched, startling hispatriots who were buried in the tension and thinking in lieu of their hunger.


    "Am I? Why would I be? Try and sense anything beyond this room now that you''re inside." Darius prompted with a wide grin. ??


    Beelzebub did just that, not willing to take Darius at face value. The full force of his high Intellect was sent out, almost making everyone in the room copse to their knees weakly except Darius'' trio.


    The wave then struck the walls of the cage and tried to push outward, but could not take one step out. Beelzebub kept trying for multiple minutes, using many different ways to try and tackle this problem.


    Eventually, he slowly gave up as a look of eptance and shock emerged on his face. "Amazing, simply amazingˇ­"


    "What''s the matter, my lord?" Mothlina, who had not spoken all this time, asked curiously.


    "This contraption we are in is a sealed space. One cannot push their senses within or out of it. You could say that while we are like this, we arepletely cut off from Faust in every sense of the word." Beelzebub replied with awe.


    Suddenly, Gluttworm the Devourer rushed forward with excitement in his eyes, no longer able to control his hunger. "Haha, then we can consume them freely without worrying about anything! Puny humanoids, enter my stomach and be my nourishment!"


    Before the trio could do anything, Beelzebub raised one of his legs and struck Gluttworm back, making the giant worms crash into the metallic walls of the cage and leave behind a slight dent.


    The fellow spat out a huge glob of ck blood, unable to get up. The other Insect Lords sobered up thanks to this and remembered who their Lord was. He didn''t even use much strength, just flinging the fellow aside with a light tap.


    "Don''t be stupid. Whether the Goddess can look in or not doesn''t change the fact that only two parties have entered this cube. If only one partyes out but the other is gone, what do you think she will conclude?" Beelzebub stated with irritation.


    The simple logic that escaped them made them feel ashamed, except Spidersin who was like Beelzebub, cid and trying to understand the meaning of all these theatrics.


    Gluttworm was confused still. "B-But I thought you said you would kill them anywayˇ­ urghˇ­"


    Beelzebub folded his front legs and turned to Darius coldly. "Oh, believe me, I will. Nothing will change that. However, it seems that this fellow has created this scenario for a specific purpose, so lets at least allow our meal to exin himself."


    All eyes came upon Darius who was still smiling with amusement. "Alright then. I want you to think carefully about your choices henceforth Lord Beel. Specifically, concerning the Goddess''s wrath."


    He looked at the Lord of the Flies like he was an idiot. "It is not something you can bear. The current you must be thinking of this situation as ''damned if I do, damned if a don''t'', but it''s far worse. If I kill you, you get to enjoy the afterlife in the bosom of the Goddess. If you dare to kill me at any time and disrupt the Goddess'' n, you will be thoroughly exterminated from existence."


    Beelzebub shuddered at that thought, and so did everyone else regardless of their side in this matter. No one liked to think about their mortality and life after death easily, but at least in Faust, something like that was guaranteed.


    However, all of that was decided by the Goddess''s whim. The same one Beelzebub had almost offended by killing Darius. This brought him right back to where he started, the fact that killing Darius was a grossly unwise choice that even Thanatos hadn''t dare to choose.


    Beelzebub''s resolve broke and the despair slowly returned. He tried his hardest to force it back, but the truth of the matter was no longer so easy to ignore.


    "What do you want from us then?!" Beelzebub roared out in desperation and confusion. What the hell was the point of all this?!


    Darius raised a finger up as if to calm the Lord of the Flies down.


    "It''s quite simple, Lord Beel. I want you to think about the Goddess'' purpose in sending me here. I have given you all the information you need to reach a rational conclusion."


    Beelzebub paused and pondered Darius''s words. He then thought back to what Darius had said about his previous encounter with Thanatos. The more Beelzebub connected the dots, the more the horror on his face grew.


    He wasn''t the only one. X''s eyes widened, while Gunner''s eyes narrowed. Spidersin was the only one among the Insect Lords able to connect the dots as well, and his entire body was trembling.


    Darius spoke out the in truth for them, so that they wouldn''t be able to deny it.


    "9 agents sent before me, all 8 managing toplete their objectives minus one who had been killed in the cradle. The item that was the goal of his existence was taken away, which the Goddess sent me to retrieve."


    "The perpetrators needed to be punished, so the Insect Race was charged tounch an invasion through means you are oblivious to. The True Lords and the Gods however, stepped in the way of that and prevented the Goddess'' wish to be achieved. Next, I am sent to vanquish the Insect race."


    Darius rubbed his chin. "There''s a pattern here, isn''t there Lord Beel? Even more interesting, from what I''ve just shared, we can all likely guess who the targets of my next mission will be, no?"


    And that was why Spidersin and Beelzebub were shocked, while X was horrified and Gunner was tensed. This Quest which was already quite tough was truly nothing if Darius'' spections were correct, as whaty in store for them was far worse than just culling the Insects.


    "However, that has little to do with you, Lord Beel. You have no choice but to die, but at least, you can guarantee the sanctity of your afterlife."

 Chapter 446 - 446

    Beelzebub finallyprehended why Darius had been verbally farting all this while.


    Upon reaching this conclusion, his body trembled, but not in fear, rather anger! This was preposterous, unheard of, and vile! ??


    Basically, Darius was asking him to put on a show with him!


    To be an actor in the drama of the ''Insects'' genocide'' to please the Goddess so that he and the other members of his race might gain a better standing when it was time to meet her.


    During the first Quest, the Titan God of Death had cleverly done things in a way to show favor upon to the Goddess, who would eventually show her favor back to him.


    Darius now presented Beelzebub with the perfect opportunity to do the same as Thanatos, only that his role would end with his head rolling.


    What actually angered the Lord of the Flies was the fact that this proposition wasˇ­ truly enticing!


    Beelzebub had already subconsciously epted that his death was inevitable given what he knew. Now that his creator had his entire race in her sights, there was no other oue, regardless of whether Darius did it or some other monkey with anxiety.


    He hated himself for already half agreeing to the proposal. However, the True Lord of Faust was too terrified of what would happen after he died if he didn''t.


    Just like how the moment one hit 50 years of age, one would suddenly be more religious and benevolent.


    After a lifetime of doing whatever one wanted and frolicking, one''s mortality would be more apparent than ever, as such many would begin to n for what may happen afterward.


    At this time, Gluttworm, Bloodivore, Rancido, and Heracron stepped forward to protest.


    "My Lord, we mustn''t! We of the Insect Race fear nothing! Come rain or shine, we will prevail as we always have! If even Gods could not kill us, how could this scrawny runt do so?!"


    "That''s right! I say we devour them and use the strength they give us to break away from these shackles to an entity that wouldmand us to our death!"


    "We can grow in power infinitely as long as sufficient nutrition is provided! These three would be perfect to raise the power of our Lord to grand heights, and we too can follow in your wake!"


    At this time, Mothlina, Ladyba, and Queenie came forth with soft voices.


    "My Lord, I don''t think it''s wise to ept the offer so quickly. Let us return and analyze it in detail."


    "Uncle Beelzebub, I don''t know about thisˇ­ it seems weird and sketchyˇ­"


    "What he wants us to do is a non-option, Lord Beelzebub. We cannot ept, but we cannot rush to deny either."


    Anthony, Centicreed, and Sonicket spoke.


    "This seems like quite the problem, eh? Gandalf would have been able to solve it, but I don''t even know why I know such a nameˇ­"


    "My work has led me to realize that this world is quiterge. There are things we don''t know and this situation demands your wisdom, Lord."


    "Chiirppˇ­ well, I hate talking unnecessarily. The choice lies with you, Lord. I will follow you no matter what."


    As Beelzebub was torn between these three schools of thought, Spidersin simply scuttled over to his side slowly and calmly. He then turned to face Beelzebub beside him and spoke softly.


    "My Lord, you know what we have to do. You''ve always known from the beginning."


    Spidersin''s voice was not heard by any of the other Insects, nor Gunner and X, but Darius was able to catch it because his focus had been on the spider since the very beginning.


    Its reactions and behavior told him that it was the only other Insect that was able to follow the entire conversation.


    Gunner and X didn''t have worse hearing than Darius, they just focused on different targets.


    The half-giant had his eyes on Beelzebub, Gluttworm, and Heracron because they posed the biggest physical threat in terms of raw power.


    The Elven Princess was focused on Mothlina, Queenie, and Ladyba.


    She was sad that such pretty and cute bugs would have to be killed by then, desperately wishing to save them by keeping them as pets. However, she knew it was impossible.


    Beelzebub''s hesitance faded immediately at the words of Spidersin, as he sighed audibly. This silenced the other Insect Lords as they knew that a decision had been made.


    "We will adhere to the Goddess'' will." The Lord of the Flies stated coldly.


    The moment he said so, he seemed to have age 50,000 years in one go, which was only about 10% of his lifespan. Spidersin sighed as well and prepared to leave with the others. The three support bugs all remained silent but epted their Lord''s decision.


    The three female bugs shared an uncertain look between each other but acquiesced, understanding that there must be extra factors in their Lord''s considerations that they couldn''t understand.


    As for the four violent and brainless bugs, they started a racket, trying to convince Beelzebub otherwise.


    "Enough! I have considered everything beforeing to this decision, but you''re free to ignore it if you feel that you know better! The enemy is right before you anyway." Beelzebub roared with frustration.


    This silenced the quartet of troublemakers immediately, just looking at Gunner who was grinning widely, his attitude was daring them to try anything.


    Darius smiled and nodded. "A wise choice, Lord Beel. In order to give you a fighting chance and level the ying field, I shall present you with a gift that should solidify ourˇ­ ''partnership''."


    Darius then tossed out a bottle of Lunar Dew to the True Lord, who grabbed it suspiciously. When he uncorked it and took a whiff, he was shocked and ecstatic.


    "A bottle of pure Lunar Dew! My God, how can this be?! With this, my injuries will be greatly restored, if not fully cured!"


    Darius nodded and smiled as Beelzebub finally dropped his guard as he checked the Lunar Dew. "That''s right. By doing so, I have gained goodwill with you, but significantly lowered my own chances of sess. As such, to level the ying field and give myself a fighting chance, I will have to do this."


    Beelzebub suddenly felt the omen of death screeching in his ears so loudly he almost became dizzy. This was far worse than when he had been injured by Susanoo, or even when he had faced Yuli''ann.

 Chapter 447 - 447

    Darius and his threepanions smiled yfully at the same time as they suddenly disappeared from the Faraday Cage, just before a yellow light lit up from beneath where they had stood.


    Shocked, the group of Insect Lords could only look on as their targets had left as if nothing had happened. As for Beelzebub, he uncorked the Lunar Dew and swallowed it all at once as he shrieked. ??


    "GET CLOSE TO ME!"


    Spidersin webbed hispatriots and dragged them over immediately, whereby Beelzebub spawned an endless amount of small flies that wrapped around all of them like a shield.


    The next moment, the room began to glow in a bright blue light, electric arcs appearing from all the spots that Darius had ced the warheads. All together and at the same time, these warheads exploded, releasing their might in this confined area.


    KRA-KOOM!


    From the outside of the Faraday Cage, it was just a muffled sound that made the walls of the entire construct expand as if a Titan had punched the wall.


    Only those inside, as well as a certain Goddess who was watching the spectacle, would know just how catastrophic the attack was and how devastating it would have been if released anywhere else on Faust.


    Soon, the ravaged internals of the Faraday Cage that was scorched ck with nothing remained within showed slight movement. A patch at the center of the ckness moved a bit more, and some of the soot shook off.


    Eventually, the movement strengthened to the point where what was hidden beneath was disyed. It was the bodies of 12 Insects, now the size of your average human, all of them in terrible shape.


    [Rancido - Level 97 Toxic Bug


    HP: 1,234/62,720 MP: 4,365/4,365 STA: 23,765/23,765]


    [Ladyba - Level 89 Soul Bug


    HP: 345/34,543 MP: 14,534/14,534 STA: 2,233/2,233]


    [Mothlina - Level 87 Support Bug


    HP: 123/23,908 MP: 44,103/44,103 STA: 3,562/2,562]


    [Heracron - Level 93 War Bug


    HP: 2,345/54,976 MP: 6,887/6,887 STA: 20,500/20,500]


    [Spidersin - Level 92 Assassin Bug


    HP: 769/23,332 MP: 10,420/10,420 STA: 9,744/9,744]


    [Anthony - Level 100 Worker Bug


    HP: 2,988/56,008 MP: 23,200/23,200 STA: 45,800/45,800]


    [Centicreed - Level 94 Burrower Bug


    HP: 2,987/45,560 MP: 2,300/2,300 STA: 24,897/24,897]


    [Bloodivore - Level 90 Blood Bug


    HP: 71/17,180 MP: 12,360/12,360 STA: 5,800/5,800]


    [Sonicket - Level 91 Sound Bug


    HP: 89/21,311 MP: 33,182/33,182 STA: 9,881/9,881]


    [Queenie - Level 99 Killer Bug


    HP: 2,123/56,782 MP: 44,988/44,988 STA: 24,897/24,897]


    [Gluttworm - Level 98 Devourer Bug


    HP: 4,897/87,340 MP: 3,456/3,456 STA: 45,877/45,877]


    All of the Insect Lords had suffered grave injuries so terrible that they were only an inch away from death.


    Their bodies had been pulverized in many ces. Those already ugly like Rancido and Gluttworm had be even more unpleasant to look at while those who had been pretty like the threedy bugs could no longer be described as lovely.


    Parts of their bodies, like eyes, guts, antennae, and whatnot had been destroyed, leaving them looking like half-filled puzzle pieces.


    All of them groaned as they twitched weakly on the ground, their Intellect gone as their true nature took hold.


    More than just a few legs had been lost, chunks of their thoraxes, some of their eyes, and even 3/4 of Centicreed''s overall body had been turned into ash.


    The nuclear explosion had been so intense that they would have died at the hands of just one if it were not for the protection of Beelzebub, who had put in his all to make sure that they would at least survive.


    As for the Lord of the Flies himselfˇ­ his situation would have broken the hearts of the bugs had they possessed any consciousness at this time.


    His previous injuries had just been healed, but nowˇ­


    Both of his eyes were blown open, ckish-green juice leaking from within. His proboscis had been snapped in half and the part that was left was bent at a weird angle. All his legs were gone and so too was most of his thorax.


    He was like a strange legless body just lying on the ground, silent as if in death.


    [Name: Beelzebub


    Race: Insect


    ss: Lord of the Flies


    Subss: ???


    HP: 233/15,000 (245,674/3,360,000)


    MP: ???


    STA: ???


    Level: ???


    Strength: 15 (2100)


    Agility: 1 (900)


    Endurance: 1000 (1600)


    Intellect: 32 (445)


    Charisma: ???


    Luck: ???


    Abilities: ???


    Weapons: ???.]


    His already severely crippled stats which had been in the high thousands had been lowered further, making his previous crippled seem magnificent inparison to his current one.


    Beelzebub shivered and murmured lowly. "Wellˇ­ yedˇ­ humanˇ­"


    Then, he released a swarm of flies that grabbed each of the Insect Lords and himself, quickly ferreting them away from this wastnd which was filled with radiation and devastation.


    The next second, three forms reappeared in the devastated Faraday Cage wearing high-tech hazmat suits, one half-giant, onenky man, and a lovely short elf. They inspected the devastated room while Darius held a device that measured the radiation level.


    Reading it, he couldn''t help but whistle in horror, not envying the bugs for what they had gone through. He could only sigh and put away the device before taking his group out of the ruined Faraday Cage once more.


    While removing the suit, Darius couldn''t help but grumble. "If I had been a bit faster, we could have gotten some easy kills to start the day."


    Gunner and X shared a look then smiled.


    "Where would have been the fun in the hunt if we had just finished them like that? Your n would also fall apart." Gunner coolly pointed out.


    X giggled and pped. "Also, it''s much more interesting this way. Thest bosses have been severely injured and will not take part in the fight, so we can enjoy uninterrupted ughtering!"


    Darius and Gunner froze, then incredulously turned to gaze at X. The elf, realizing that she had let slip the darker side that she had developed during her time away from the duo, quickly covered her mouth and blushed slightly.

 Chapter 448 - 448

    Darius and Gunner decided to act like they hadn''t heard anything. They realized that by letting their beloved Elven Princess go out on her own, they might have exposed the innocent maiden to the darker parts of society.


    Especially when she traveled with a group of crass mercenaries like Genie''s. Whatever the case, the group teleported downward where they discarded their hazmat suits.


    Their new location was the level where the Master bugs were located, which was around 80% deep into the underground. Everything above had already been cleared, and Miranda was currently expanding her range feverishly down below.


    She had already reported to him that all the bugs on the surface had been culled. This was good news to Darius, as he was not interested inpeting with the bugs from a frontal and rear point of attack.


    When they arrived at the Master hives, it was unknown if the fleeing Beelzebub had warned them to be vignt, but there was a veritable bug army waiting for them. All the bugs were mostly humanoid or at least, 80% simr to the Grandmaster versions.


    The trio had the power to beat them of course, but the issue was that with such huge numbers, it would turn into a protracted battle. Seeing no need to waste time, Darius cast the Insect Soul Curse on a Master-stage bug of each ss.


    The entire army staggered at once as the curse spread through their bugcloud, weakening them by 50% in every regard, which was a severe detriment. Gunner''s eyes shed at this time as he leaped forth using this opening.


    Hended with a huge shockwave in the midst of the army, sending hundreds of bugs flying while the ones closest to him were crushed into a meaty pulp.


    The half-giant roared crazily and began swinging his arms around, smashing and bashing any Master bug within range.


    Many were not killed in a single hit as the stats gap was not so great, but all who had been hit were severely injured.


    However, some clever and enterprising bugs teamed up to sneak upon Gunner and strike by biting off a chunk of his flesh.


    They wanted to taste the goodness of his body and also cause him to bleed out slowly. s, the Master bugs that bit him only shrieked in pain as everyone within 500 meters could hear their teeth shatter like weak ss.


    Gunner himself was still happily rampaging, not even aware of the attempt on his life. This shocked the bugs, realizing he was a tough target that they could not beat.


    As such, they turned their eyes to the still calm Darius and X who were watching Gunner have fun with smiles.


    When the duo noticed that they had drawn the attention of the Insects, Darius simply mmed the butt of his staff down and cast his trademark spell, Lightning Bolt.


    He didn''t bother to use AOE''s in this case because they would not doprehensive amounts of damage to their targets.


    They were only really useful for clearing out hordes of weaklings. Darius kept spamming Lightning Bolt, zapping targets to ash in one strike thanks to how insane his magical power was currently.


    Seeing this, the Master bugs rushed at him. At this time, X simply cast Divine Blessing on the three of them just in case, before adding on her Divine Ward which would increase their defense.


    Seeing as the bugs were getting close, X leisurely cast Iste Evil, which formed a barrier around herself and Darius that prevented all evil beings from entering. It was quite powerful as it was, so even when the bugs began to strike at it, it didn''t chip in the least.


    Darius continued sting them one by one, turning each Insect his eye fell onto into ash. X just maintained the various wards and didn''t bother to heal Gunner who hardly needed it at this point.


    Rather, X began using her Telekinesis to strike some of the weaker bugs to death. They would be lifted up while struggling, then flung rapidly towards a wall, stctite or stgmite, either hurting them severely or reaping their lives.


    Gunner didn''t bother to use Earth Guardian, for if he did, he would likely bring this entire cave system down upon their heads.


    Right now, he was grasping the body of a Devourer worm, which was three times his size.


    Gunner''s muscles bulged as he roared, lifting the monstrosity up as it thrashed in fear. Not stopping there, the half-giant jumped into the air and began spinning while holding the tail end of the worm.


    Like a spinning top, it bludgeoned all the nearby bugs in its path, sending them flying then crashing into walls or each other.


    Some were smashed to death directly while others were just severely battered by this spectacle, but it was a fact that Gunner alone had just about toppled a good half of the army in one move.


    Gunner then released the worm he was holding, sending it flying so fast that it was a blur. It struck the wall and crushed itself into paste, its huge body going st almostically. At this time, another bug unwisely chose to bite Gunner''s arm.


    This time, as Gunner could see the bug that was stuck trying to sink its teeth into his titanium skin, it was not able to go scot-free. He lowered his eyes to re at the offending bug, while the bug paused its biting and looked up to see Gunner''s angry look.


    Realizing at that moment that it had made a terrible mistake, the Master bug wanted to flee. However, before it could even detach its mandibles, Gunner opened his mouth wide and chomped off half its head.


    He then spat out the juice and wiped his mouth slowly, sneering at the bug. "If you cannot survive being bitten, don''t bite others."


    He then tossed the limp body away, then burst forth with thunderous steps to wrestle with a giant Master beetle that looked simr to Heracron. The two locked arms and began pushing each other back and forth.


    However, Gunner quickly got the upper hand and ripped its two arms off, then gave it a solid kick in the torso that sent it crashing into more of itspatriots that were rushing over.


    Darius rubbed his chin and continued zapping the various bugs that were still rushing at them. "Hm, I haven''t actually exercised my spear skills in a long time. This should be a good enough chance to show off my skill."


    X, who was tossing some bugs about with her mind, was shocked by this. "You can use the spear?"


    Darius then gazed at her with surprise, then pped his forehead. "That''s right, I have only been using magic ever since I got you because I wanted to focus on our roles. Thest time I used a spear was back when we were escaping the ins of Death."


    Darius chuckled. "Well then X, you have a treat before your eyes. You get to see something that very few alive have, except Gunner."


    Darius slowly took an item from a Bag of Holding in which he kept in his Inventory. It was a long golden spear that radiated pure might and majesty, something that even made X''s heart tremble as she gazed upon it.


    When she checked its details, which Darius allowed her to, she even gasped.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 1)


    Durability: 100,000/100,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 3,500-7,500


    Description: A one-of-a-kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel, and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    The spear seemed to roar with Draconic might the moment Darius touched it, and its golden body glowed with a palpable aura simr to Gunner''s Earth''s Guardian, however, this one was red in color.


    Darius smiled widely. "Sorry for keeping you under wraps until now. There just weren''t any foes worthy of your power, but these little morsels should be able to feed you somewhat, no?"


    Swinging the spear lightly, Darius disappeared from within the ward X had created, appearing behind a Master Insect that was about to strike the ward. With a solid thrust that was fast enough to break the sound barrier, Darius pierced through the Onsect''s head.


    It was a one-strike kill, something that was exceedingly hard to achieve under the Supreme System''s mechanics without a huge gap in powers between two parties.


    Before the Insects around this one could even react, Darius disappeared from their midst once more. When he re-appeared, he was a few steps away.


    All Insects that had stood in a straight line from where Darius began and where he ended froze in ce, before their bodies burst in showers of blood as holes appeared all over them.


    Darius just wiped the tip of his spear slowly, smiling softly.

 Chapter 449 - 449

    X could only watch on in stupefaction at Darius''s deeds.


    He had the most Agility of the group, at a whopping 150 points, his movement was untraceable for anyone below 100 points.


    X herself was exactly at that level and just before meeting the Insect Lords Gunner had pushed himself to that level.


    The most important thing about reaching 100 Agility was the special ability that came with it, which was Super Instinct.


    It was an entry-level version of the Legendary ''Flow State'' in martial arts, where one''s body moved so optimally that the mind no longer needed to control the body manually.


    Super Instinct was not yet there, as it only allowed one to move optimally in reaction to danger, so it only encapsted the ''dodge'' aspect of the Flow State.


    As such, Darius still had to manually control himself when it was time to attack, not to mention that in attacking and defending at the same time, the switch between states could throw him off.


    This was only something that one could get used to. It required practice and honing oneself in training and inbat, so Darius and Gunner were both facing this issue right now.


    X wasn''t yet ready, unlike Darius she had never engaged in traditional physical fighting, at most using ranged methods.


    Still, she was able to notice the slight discrepancy in Darius'' movement when he shed from one end to another.


    For one, X realized a w of Super Instinct right away, which was that it relied on their senses.


    The Flow State was not omnipotent, far from it. It relied on your taste, touch, smell, hearing, sight, and especially on the sixth sense, instinct.


    If an enemy found a way to block off all your senses before attacking, even the weakest toddler with 1 point in Agility could run you through with a knife. Aside from that, one also had to have honed their senses, for they were the ''input'' organs of the body.


    The better your sight, the sharper your hearing, the more sensitive your smell, and the more attuned your sense of touch were the more functional the Flow State experience. This wasrgely how two experts with the Super Instinct would decide a winner.


    They could both auto-dodge the other''s attacks fine, but if one had sharper eyesight and was able to turn that avoidance into a chance, striking from the enemy''s blindspot... no matter how fast, at the same level of speed, it would result in a fatal strike.


    X pondered over this, even as more Master bugs began to strike on her Istion Ward.


    Darius noticed them and smiled, walking forward with his spear tip pointed to the ground, his pose taut like a predator about to pounce.


    The moment he built up enough energy, he burst forward in a reddish-brown blur, appearing behind one Master Insect that was slowly turning around to defend itself. It was one of the Killer ss, almost like the very Bugsy boys he used to raise.


    Its Agility was also above a 100 points, so its body began to move to dodge Darius''s blow. Darius simply shook his head and activated one of his old spells that had little use nowadays, Adjust!


    [Adjust - Level 5 Spell


    Cost: 2 MP


    Description: Control the fundamental force of the that retrains all beings to its surface. This spell increases or decreases the user''s weight by 25%.]


    Immediately, the foe was struck with a weight increase of 25%. In other words, practically a quarter of their total weight had just been metaphorically dropped on their shoulders.


    Putting aside whether one had the Strength to carry that, the sudden addition would destabilize any foe, and the only way to adapt was to have high enough Agility. At their current level, the utility of this spell was limited, but it still worked.


    The bug that had been about to avoid the strike suddenly disyed its shock as it wobbled during its movement. Darius then angled his spear towards its location, not changing the momentum of his spear.


    The result was that he pierced the head of the Insect like those he had fought so far,nding an instant kill.


    This wasn''t due to his own power, but the spear''s. To be frank, it really didn''t matter how much Endurance they had.


    This spear was the amalgamation of the best metals Darius hade across in Faust, and each of those metals had been Transmuted into existence, meaning that they were 5 times better than their normal counterparts.


    All he had to do then was use his Combine skill to merge them with the shaft of the Dragonce, then Static Transmute them to get apleted spear with a design that was simr to the Dragonce which had acted as the framework.


    It was after this that Darius realized how the Itemancer ss was supposed to be yed. The Synergy between Analyze, Combine, and especially Transmute was great, so he couldn''t help but wonder what new ability he would get upon reaching the Adept stage.


    Darius removed his spear from the noggin of the bug he had just brutalized, then struck out at another.


    With his current Strength, each pierce seemed to poke at space itself, especially considering the damage of his spear.


    What was even more interesting was that the spear devoured the blood and flesh of those it had struck, but not immediately.


    As a calm observer, X could see a line of blood and entrails slowly leaking out from the Insects Darius had killed so far.


    The trail was linked to the spear in Darius'' hands, and when such biological materials got close, they would be absorbed into the spear seemlessly, likely increasing its power.


    One could even see the draconic emblem on the spear glow with satisfaction, its mouth moving as if it was chewing on something.


    Darius was the only one privy to how crucial this was, he could feel the heat radiating from his weapon as it slowly absorbed more and more.


    The next moment, a blinding golden sh erupted from it.

 Chapter 450 - 450

    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 2)


    Durability: 110,000/110,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 3,600-7,600


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    After growing by a single level, it had gained an extra 10,000 points of Durability, which was extremely wee. It would be a shame if, despite the weapon''s awesome power, it was snapped in half by an entity like Thanatos.


    However, the greater direct benefit was that its damage had increased by a whole 100 points, for both the minimum and maximum damage range!


    Darius wasn''t sure if it had a level cap, but even if it was 100 like some of his skills, it would mean that ¨C as long as every level boosted the weapon by 100 points of damage to both ends - the final damage range of the item uponpletion would be 13,500 - 17,500!


    At that point, he might even be able to use it to ono-shot a super-powerful Grandmaster, and it would surely be able to at least lightly damage a weak God. This motivated Darius to continue and to empower his weapon further.


    Where else would he get better facilities to upgrade his weapon than right here, right now?


    Hundreds of Master Insects and even Grandmasters would be perfect for the weapon to climb more than a few levels.


    Only the Insect race might have such a huge number of Master stage enemies! What''s more there was literally no repercussion for killing them!


    The other continents either had them scattered about or affiliated with a stronger power. Not to mention that their numbers were not that high due to various political and social issues.


    Here thoughˇ­ just look at them!


    Hundreds of thousands of them emerged continually on the battlefield, trying to wear the three of them down using superior numbers, all in futility!


    Gunner kicked the earth before him, leaping all the way back to where X was shielded.


    The half-giant then thrust his Omega Blow towards the Istion Ward, exploding upon its body. All the Insects of it screeched in pain as they were blown off.


    Darius teleported rapidly within a second, appearing near a flying Insect and stabbing it within an instant before appearing near another. By the time these multitudes of Insectsnded upon the earth, they were long dead.


    Their blood was ripped from their body, along with some entrails, slowly wafting through the air towards their destination.


    With his free hand, Darius cast Wind de Barrage at a nearby group of bugs, which was not enough to kill them, but more than enough to hamper them.


    He then proceeded to weave through them, striking only once before moving on. Impressed by his master''s prowess, Gunner was not one to be overshadowed like this.


    He stretched his hand out and dragged a Master bug over using his Soldering Gauntlets'' special ability, as he charged an Earthen punch with the other hand. When the greenish-brown fist collided with the head of the target which had been hurtling over, the oue was as expected.


    Its skull was blown open, leaving a dead and twitching corpse beneath Gunner''s feet. Gunner then cast the Vanguard special skill Engage, which forced all enemies within a range of 200 meters to concentrate on him.


    Suddenly, arge chunk of the Master Insects paused from their moring to get to the front and swarm any foe, then turned to focus on Gunner. The short spell of silence was creepy with their various eyes ncing upon him as if he was the only thing in their world.


    Gunner didn''t wait for them to snap out of their trance and rushed at him. He stretched out both his hands and cast Eraser Cannon from each of them. Two huge greenish energy beams sted out, tearing through a line of bugs before him before exploding in a small mushroom cloud near the back.


    Gunner breathed out a bit roughly from that. As he had learned these skills and got them approved by the Supreme System, he could also use them manually to avoid the 1-second per active skill limitation of the Supreme System.


    Since their power was dependent on the amount of power he infused into them, he had invested a huge chunk of his MP, knowing that it would regenerate back quickly with the buffs from X.


    That was why the two beams did so much damage even without activating his Earth''s Guardian.


    The skill usually cost only 100 MP and dealt 1,056% earth damage at level 40, but Gunner had invested a damn near 2,500 MP into it.


    Naturally, the effect would be much better, though since he split it into two beams, it was not as crazy. Still, the system-based version was no chump, especially with his super high Strength stats currently.


    Seeing his actions, the various Master Insects that were enthralled with him became spooked, but the effects of a mental skill like Engage was absolute. They found themselves rushing at Gunner willingly or unwillingly.


    As for the half-giant, he couldn''t have asked for anything more. He grinned like a beast and charged forward with both arms outstretched, a greenish-brown light forming upon them.


    Earthen Lariat!


    The Insects before him were like bowling pins and Gunner was like an unforgiving bowling ball. They were knocked aside like flies blown away by a fan. Once Gunner finally stopped his charge, he had already reached the other end of the cavern.


    All Insects in the path behind him had either been knocked on top of each other or were incapacitated by a short stun. This time, Gunner activated his system-based Eraser Cannon and shot it towards a heap of the bugs that were thergest of the lot.


    The green light collided with the heap, and then in the next second, erupted with a small explosion that was bright and hot.

 Chapter 451 - 451

    At this point, more than half of all the Master bugs that had been present at the beginning of the battle had moved on to the afterlife. A thick trail of blood and flesh was crossing the battlefield to connect to Dariusnce, ignoring the distance as well as interference from the battle.


    Gunner had just piled up and blown up a huge chunk of Insects, and he had to cover his face as charred flesh and innards fell upon him. He took his time to analyze the battle and came to the conclusion that there were only dregs left.


    As such, Gunner sprinted to X''s side in less than a second and cleared the bugs that had been busy trying to prate her ward. As for the Elven Princess, she was having the easiest time in their group.


    Maintaining the ward didn''t take too much out of her, so she made use of this opportunity to practice her Psychomancy on these foes. It was much harder since their stats were at the Master stage, allowing them to put up some sort of resistance, however this helped hone thess even more.


    When Gunner arrived at her side, her eyes were closed as she was using the body of some dead Insects with rtively intact corpses as puppets with her mind to attack their former brethren.


    This was a level of proficiency that even Darius could not boast to have reached. Then again, he hardly used his Psychomancy as he had much better options avable.


    Darius noticed the actions of X and pondered it even as he still fought. He realized that this specialization might be better for X until they reached the Adept stage and he could provide her with Advanced Light spells.


    There was nothing wrong with Intermediate Light spells, but there was no point learning them when they were on the cusp of the Adept stage. That was generally why Darius was hesitant to allocate their collective SP anywhere, as it could be better spent in other fields.


    As Darius struck yet another bug in the chest, he noticed that his thoughts had led him to forget to pull the spear out. However, the spear interesting devoured the corpses starting from when it was poked, like a syringe sucking in a liquid.


    This act allowed Darius to recognize that he had been using it wrong this entire time. Instead of letting it feast on their entrails, the correct way would have been to allow his spear to remain in contact with in foes, so that it could absorb their material even faster.


    Trying it out on a dozen more Insects, the efficiency far surpassed the slow streams that had been absorbed from multiple corpses.


    Once again, the spear shone with a golden light as Darius felt its power visibly grow even as he held it. He checked its parameters hurriedly to see if his suspicions had been right.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 3)


    Durability: 130,000/130,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 3,800-7,800


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    Darius'' charge froze as he stood in one ce with not a really shocked expression, but one of pleasant surprise and confusion. His body automatically moved to dodge an attack from a Master bug even as he was still lost in other thoughts thanks to his Super Instinct.


    At level 1, the durability had been 100k and the damage range 3.5 to 7.5k. At level 2, the durability had been 110k and the damage range 3.6 to 7.6k. Now at level 3, the durability was 130k and the damage range 3.8 to 7.8k.


    ˇ­ did this mean that the increase per level was not linear as he assumed, but exponential? If that was the case, then this weapon he was holding was truly beyond the level of ''divine''.


    Darius tried to gauge how powerful it would be at level 100, but easily drew a nk. His mind could not process that kind of power because he had never seen anything like that.


    Could it be that the increase in the amount of power gained by the spear was affected by the quality of materials it was given?


    No, that was unlikely. All he had killed so far were Master bugs who had the same level of power throughout. There were not enough differences to justify the change.


    Could it be because he had allowed his spear to absorb a target directly?


    He had initially suspected this, but now it made little sense. Just like before, the quality of flesh and materials were the same, so whether it was absorbed quickly or gradually should make no difference.


    In fact, this was the Supreme System, and its mechanics were different from thews of Faust. Maybe under the Faustian System, such things might ur but not under this one.


    The Supreme System dealt with it as ''levels''. Probably the Faustian System would deal with it as ''grades'' and such things could ur. The spear would absorb the material and organically turn them into its own power.


    If he was correct then giving it the flesh of a Journeyman dragon should be even better than giving it a Master bug due to the quality of flesh. However, the Supreme System converted such materials into ''exp'' for the spear.


    The spear was not organically devouring them, but rather collecting them for the Supreme System to convert into power that allowed it to level up.


    It was the difference between making something by hand and 3D printing it. An item made with the hand would have variations from each other, even when made by the same crafter. Some would be better and some would be worse, but they would hover around the creator''s general skill level.


    A 3D printer had no such ws. As long as it was given the blueprint and the materials, it would perfectly replicate the same item with a margin of error so low it was practically non-existent. This ensured uniformity in all creations.


    Applying this to the spear, it meant that Darius'' theories were wrong. The simple fact was that the spear itself possessed the ability to exponentially grow with each level gained. To truly understand the algorithm, Darius would need to send it to at least, level 5.


    By then, he would have a preliminary grasp on how the spear''s growth worked. With that in mind, his amber eyes shed as he gazed at the remained Master bugs who he had been surreptitiously avoiding with ease all this while.


    He then struck out with a violent thrust, one that a Master bug before him also tried to dodge using its Super Instinct. However, as great as the ability was, it was not infallible.


    One simple counter that worked in this situation was both parties having Super Instinct while one had higherputational abilities or - at least - Elementary Psychomancy while the other did not.


    Darius could see the trajectory of its movement and could calcte how to ovee its autonomous movement with ease by twisting his spear towards where it was heading. The bug could not easily change direction, and so was pierced through the head as those before.


    This was how Darius had been able to kill the bugs with ease so far, despite them all having at least Master stage stats like the Bugsy boys. He made sure to drain the flesh of the bug he pierced while dodging other attacks, then continued like this.


    At the same time, trails wereing from other bugs he had killed previously. Darius could almost feel that his spear was about to take another step forward, and this naturally excited him greatly.


    Gunner and X watched on with fascinated expressions. Due to Darius''s charge, he had taken up the interest of most of the remnant bugs, so they were mostly free apart from the asional idiot who would be struck into pulp by Gunner for trying to attack the Elven Princess


    At this time though, X noticed something strange. At the very backline of the bugs, there was a group of moth-like bugs that were simr in looks to Mothlina, while there was another group simr to Ladyba.


    The moths flew above the battlefield, near the ceiling, and let down some strange purplish power that covered the corpses of all in bugs. To the surprise of Gunner and X, the corpses quickly regenerated and rose to their feet, their mandibles cking with confusion.


    Those that had either been drained by Darius or smashed into too many pieces remained dead, while those with rtively intact bodies were able to recover quite a lot before standing up once more.


    So then, was this the trump card of the bugs?


    This left Gunner and X speechless.


    No seriously, how was anyone supposed to defeat such an overpowered race? If one did not cull them early or use overwhelming force, they were practically unstoppable.


    It was practically akin to an Unlivable-grade Apocalypse.

 Chapter 452 - 452

    Darius, as one could imagine, was not the least bit bothered by this.


    The more Master bugs there were, the more he could kill. Even though not all of them had been revived, it was enough for him to begin another round.


    For the first time since he acquired it, Darius used the basic spell of the Time Element: Time Skip!


    [Time Skip - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Move through the river of time to cross within a local area to advance forward beyond the means of those who are time-locked. The maximum duration is 0.1 seconds.]


    This was a very special spell that made the Time Element one of the most powerful below Order and Chaos.


    Time Skip did not work exactly as it sounded. Most confused it for the Journeyman equivalent, which was Time eleration.


    Time eleration increased the flow of time in a set area, making those within move/age faster than those in the normal time flow.


    On the other hand, Time Skip was the act of jumping forward in time to make a predetermined conclusion ur.


    For example, two enemies stood opposite each other. One thrust their spear out and the other swung their sword. The way the weapons moved, both parties would die if they connected.


    As such, they would both maneuver their bodies to dodge at the same time, before going for another attack from their new position.


    Now, should the spearman use Time Skip, it would send him forward in time instantly. Instead of being in the process of thrusting/dodging, he would have alreadypleted his move, just as if time had flowed normally.


    However, the oue would be that while the swordsman would still be in the process of shing/dodging, the spearman, because he would be temporally ahead of his foe, would be on his next move, piercing the other''s heart.


    Another example wasing to the kitchen and seeing a sink full of dirty tes. One would sigh with annoyance and begin washing them one by one. A Time Skipper could just sigh one moment and the next moment, all the tes would be washed and ced.


    However, just as one would be tired after washing the tes slowly, the Time Skipper would have that same level of fatigue after using his spell.


    This was because, although he might not have been conscious of it, he had still ended up doing the action of washing the tes, his conscious self had just ''skipped'' to the end, ''saving'' himself time, but not the energy and effort put into the act.


    Time Skipping, or any spell under the Time Element, was dangerous because it would consume the time of those it affected.


    If the action of cleaning one''s tes would usually require 20 minutes, then those were 20 minutes that one would pay with one''s life.


    If one were to use it frequently, or use the spell to skip out on long periods of time, one might end up dead before even realizing how it had happened.


    Darius had refrained from using it due to this reason. He had not been certain about how long his lifespan would be.


    It was also why Anthony was refraining from overly relying on Time spells, though he often used the Space and Aether spells.


    However, Darius was now a Dragon Ancestor, and his lifespan was incalcble. Just like Yuli''ann had been there since the beginning of Faust''s creation, remaining youthful and not aging a day, so too was Darius destined to have a long life.


    In fact, one of Darius'' main ns to kill Beelzebub when he had rushed into the Faraday Cage had been to cast Time eleration on both of them, then see who would die of old age first.


    Back to the battle at hand.


    Darius Time Skipped 0.1 seconds, which was enough for him to cross one end of the cavern to the other at full speed. On his spear were the skewered bodies of almost ten bugs, each one squished on the make space for the next.


    Darius held up the spear with a smile and watched it hungrily devour the flesh in seconds, clearing the shaft. Darius then turned to the still groggy bugs, using the time spell once more to fill up the line.


    The spear glowed with a golden light after consuming 20 Master bugs this time, sending it to level 4.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 4)


    Durability: 160,000/160,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 4,100-8,100


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    Darius breathed out deeply. He had a feeling that his hunch was going to be right, and if it was, then he would have to put aside his magic for a good while as he brought this special trump card up to speed.


    He then returned to killing the bugs, working hard on making his spear reach level 5. Gunner and X did not interrupt.


    The Elven Princess sat down in her bubble and closed her eyes to begin assimting the information Darius had collected from the Great Library, while Gunner also did the same.


    X was safe behind her Ward of Istion that prevented any bug from entering, but Gunner was standing outside it with his eyes closed and his arms folded. The nearby revived bugs pounced on him, but as one could expect, none could harm him.


    Many even caused self-harm by breaking their teeth on his skin, making a sound of ss breaking while the bugs in question could only screech in agony.


    In the meantime, Darius cleared out another 40 Master bugs before his Spear grew to level 5.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 5)


    Durability: 200,000/200,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 4,500-8,500


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existedˇ­ etc.]


    Darius nodded. His revised theory was right, the spear grew exponentially.


    Each new level added on a hundred times the levels crossed up until that point. So level 1 was the base, level 2 saw it increase the damage stats by 100 points, level 3 saw it increased by 200 points, level 4 by 300 points, and this current level 5 by 400 points.


    The Durability had also grown simrly, but multiplied by ten thousand. So level 1 was the base, level 2 saw it increase by 10,000 points, level 3 saw it go up by 20,000, level 4 also went up by 30,000, and this current level 5 by 40,000 points.


    Now that he had identified the nature of the spear''s growth, Darius no longer bothered to check, he just chased after every Insect within range and skewered it, making sure it was absorbed before heading to the next one.


    There were more than 300 Master bugs left in the cavern, and Darius killed them systematically and tirelessly. His spear glowed brightly less often with each kill, which meant that it needed more ''exp'' to rise in levels, which was understandable.


    By the time the cavern was cleared a few seconderster, it was shinning gold, a slight glow radiating off it.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 10)


    Durability: 550,000/550,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 8,000-12,000


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existedˇ­ etc.]


    Its power was glorious and it seemed to have reached a milestone by hitting level 10, hence the permanent glow. Darius could naturally suppress it if he wanted, but he saw no need.


    As he had cleared out the battle, even killing those useless moths anddybugs, he blinked back to where his two Branded Servants sat.


    Gunner seemed interested in making gauntlets simr to thence, which Darius agreed was a good idea.


    X preferred a staff to that end that could boost her Light and Life element abilities, which the Divine Light and Divine Life seemed to be supportive of.


    "Let''s move on then. We are done with the Master bugs, so all that''s left are the stronger ones nearing Grandmaster, or in early Grandmaster down below." Darius informed them as he prepared to group teleport them away.


    "Ah, that''s right!" X remembered as she quickly asked Darius. "About the things, you told Beelzebubˇ­ is it true? Did the Goddess n everything? Did she empower the Insects to invade the world? Are we going to have to fight True Lords and Gods next?"


    There was a noticeable amount of worry in her tone, and for good reason. Gunner also looked over, wondering whether they would have to partake in such a battle. After all, it would mean that he would have to fight his own ancestors, which was a tough thing to ask from anybody.


    Darius simply smiled in response,ughing lightly as his eyes narrowed into serpentine slits.


    "Every single word from my mouth was a lie."

 Chapter 453 - 453

    X froze and shuddered with an expression of terror while Gunner''s stoic expression shattered as he grimaced in horror.


    Neither of the two could believe what Darius had just said, because they too had been lulled into believing that their Master had just beaten Beelzebub down with facts.


    To learn that the True Lord had been forced into a passive position in this war with a string of lies left them feeling confused and shaken.


    Darius smiled as he teleported with them down into the bowels of the underground, exining things to them.


    "In this world, there are two types of lies. The ''Emotional Lie'' and the ''Logical Lie''. The Emotional Lie is one built and facilitated by the use of emotion and reception, through outburst or sympathy."


    "An example of an Emotional Lie is if you catch wind of your partner or family doing something improper, and they burst into anger or hurt iming that they are innocent."


    Darius smirked. "This would subtly make the user feel ashamed, especially if they arecking conclusive evidence and are running only based on a hunch or suspicion. Emotional Lies use emotions from one party to manipte the emotions of another."


    "Anothermon example is any courtroom setting with a female used. A few tears, a sob story, and a hitched voice had usually been enough to get the judge or jury on the side of the used, making them feel sympathy on their behalf. This used to be a big problem in my world for a long time, as emotional maniption was prominent in litigation."


    "However, Emotional Lies have one big weakness, and that is ack of empathy from the target. If the one hearing them simply doesn''t care about how others feel, it can only backfire."


    Darius gestured to Gunner with an amused smile. "Take our Gunner here. An Emotional Lie would not faze him in the least, rather getting you a punch to the head which would send it flying off your body."


    Gunner smiled slightly.


    Darius gave X a pointed look. "On the other hand, an Emotional Lie would have 90% chance to work on you, X."


    X stuck her tongue out and scratched the back of her head shyly.


    Darius continued. "Then there are Logical Lies. These are built on the back of facts mixed with fiction. A lie of this nature doesn''t require emotions, but reasonable thinking."


    "It is imperative to have sufficient knowledge about the matter being lied about. On top of that, the victim of your lies also needs to have sufficient knowledge about what is being lied about, otherwise they would end up suspicious. Ignorance is bliss after all."


    "The bnce for a Logical Lie to be sessful is very delicate and almost at the level of an equation. It is basically the amount of knowledge you have about the target matter vs the amount of knowledge your victim has of the target matter."


    Darius smiled softly at this point. "This is how I managed to trick Beelzebub. I possess the entire wealth of knowledge that the True Lord God of Knowledge Krona has. Thanks to that I already knew a lot about Beelzebub, how he thinks and what his powers are."


    Darius gave his Branded Servants the side-eye. "That is why I made a Faraday Cage and used electromaic explosives. I knew exactly what would get through his defenses and took advantage of that."


    Gunner and X looked enlightened by the fact.


    Darius chuckled. "In truth, Beelzebub was beaten by his own nature. You see, he is the tenth and youngest True Lord of the Insect Race, rising to power AFTER they had begun their invasion. So I took a bit of a gamble in that he didn''t know the specific reason the invasion started, but my lie was logical enough to sound like fact."


    "Beelzebub is not an offensive type True Lord, nor is he Defensive or even Support. He is a Survival type, and his abilities are centered around that. In other words, Beelzebub is the typical sniveling, scheming coward who would never put his own life at risk for others. This was how he survived the battle back then."


    X cocked her head in confusion. "But he seemed quite responsible and benevolent back then."


    Darius nodded. "That he was, and from what I could see he wasn''t faking it. People change, especially when there is a catalyst involved. Could there be a bigger catalyst than surviving as the only pir of your entire race? Thrust into a position of respect and responsibility, the sniveling coward had straightened his back and carried his race until now."


    "For that alone, he deserves some respect. However, my words and actions back then had been to bypass the shell of strength he now wears and drag out the sniveling coward."


    Gunner folded his arms and asked: "I guess you seeded?"


    Darius shook his head with a wry smile. "Not so easy when he''s worn that shell for longer than he had even lived. We only managed to get a glimpse of it when he began to fear for his afterlife. At that moment, I almost made him consider abandoning his race to secure his own benefits, but he managed to retain his calm."


    "As for the matter concerning the Goddess sending us or them for retribution, it''s all nonsense. ording to my own judgment, it is likely that Vena hardly ever watches us, which should be why Caesar is free to do as he pleases usually. It is only during situations like this that she might cast a nce this way." Darius theorized while rubbing his chin.


    "Besides, let''s use facts instead of my gut feeling. If Vena sent me to clean up after Sino D''Mara, why then did she not im her Resurrection Stone? Instead, it became a spoil of war for me to use as I please."


    Before Gunner could interject, Darius interrupted him. "And no, she isn''t letting us keep it to charge it up for her. This is an item she once created for a certain purpose, but that path was cut off and she seems to have lost interest. Even to Thanatos, the Resurrection Stone had little use, not just due to the Absolute Law he controlled, but because of his powers. To Vena who is supposed to be above that, it has even less use."


    "Another fact is that we are doing these Quests not to y house, but to qualify for the next stage. We are basically paying the debts that we have rued due to our quick growth. With my current knowledge bank, I can verify that it is indeed something that cannot be mitigated."


    Darius sighed. "I have no doubt that Vena should certainly be able to perform the action of elevating me to be an instant Supreme, but that would have the reaction of destroying Faust and making my power flimsy. She is a Goddess that can create worlds and universes, sure, but everything has its own rules. She herself writes these rules, and so knows best that she cannot flout them if she wants to maintain stability."


    "Us getting this Quest to eradicate the Insect race is because we were on Pokterr anyway, and because it was judged to be within the range of difficulty that we could perform. It is also Caesar who decides them, not Vena. Caesar couldn''t care less if we end up killed, since no one would avenge us. That was made clear to me from the beginning."


    Darius bowed. "And so, that is the framework of my Logical Lie. I took advantage of Beelzebub''s gaps in knowledge to push together a rational story that gave us an advantage. It was easy and hard at the same time."


    "Easy because I already had the knowledge and intelligence to discern this in seconds with my current stats, but hard because executing it required more than just smarts, but charismatic ir that I have honed as a merchant."


    Gunner and X pped with wry smiles. This Master of theirsˇ­ they were thankful that they had the qualifications to fall under his wing. Being anything but his ally was a fate they truly feared deep in their hearts.


    Soon, they arrived in a newyer, with plenty of webs and a rancid smell around. Despite this, Darius turned and chuckled. "Right, on the topic of Logical Lies, I have to say that they are more likely to work on Gunner here, due to his stoic and firm nature. As long as your lie makes sense to him, he might just believe it, especially if the delivery is right."


    Gunner grimaced and nodded, knowing this to be the truth. He could resist an Emotional Lie with ease because he cared little, but a well-constructed story would definitely make him pause, if not believe.


    Darius then turned to X with a strange smile. "As for you X, there is a small chance that a Logical Lie would work on you, although you shouldn''t feel bad that I managed to sway you as well.. You are more responsive to emotions and emotive behavior than wordy or logical behavior."


    X giggled as she raised her right hand and made a ''V'' shape with her index and middle finger. Darius and Gunner stared strangely at her for a few seconds, before X''s expression froze.


    She realized that this wasn''t exactly a form of praise, though she still felt like she won over Gunner.

 Chapter 454 - 454

    Before Darius began his attack on the Grandmaster bugs, it was time to check their spoils from the previous ughter of the Master bugs. A huge fight like that which had foes more than five levels above them had surely made for a great harvest.


    They had fought almost 1,200 Master stage bugs in that bout, but around 700 had been killed by Darius alone. Of the 700, 50 had perished via magic and 650 from falling to the spear.


    Gunner had killed 450 using his own strength, while X had dealt with about 50 using her Psychomancy.


    This was fine, but the issue was that the spear seemed to be like Mikey and Joneson. Under thews of the Supreme System and in order to facilitate their genuine growth, the experience that Darius should have gained had been taken in by them given them, allowing the vampires, and now the spear, to ''level up''.


    Approximately 3,328,000 experience had been fed to the spear, which only got it from level 1 to 11. That would mean that each level averaged 332,800 experience, assuming that it was a fixed amount per level.


    Whatever the case, the remaining experience gained by the trio was still a gross amount of 2,816,000 which was undoubtedly an impressive amount.


    [You have gained 938,667 EXP, etc.]


    [Gunner has gained 938,667 EXP, etc.]


    [X has gained 938,667 EXP, etc.]


    [You have leveled up x205! You are now level 40(+400). You have gained 20.5 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x145! He is now level 40(+400). He has gained 14.5 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x145! She is now level 40(+400). She has gained 14.5 Ability Points and Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Journeyman


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 10,000/10,000 (5000 HP Surplus)


    (Author''s Note: Keep in mind, his current HP surplus is always 1/2 his total HP until Draconic Regen is increased.)


    MP: 18,400/18,400 (17,600) (36,800 MP Surplus) (35,200)


    (Author''s Note: Remember, due to Darius'' various stats, his MP surplus is currently two times his maximum mana until Magical Mastery is increased.)


    STA: 4,000/4,000


    Level: 40(+400)


    Experience: 4,000/4,000


    Strength: 100


    Agility: 150


    Endurance: 100


    Intellect: 460 (440)


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    AP: 2 (22)


    SP: 0 (70)


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.40, Analyze Lv.40, Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Spawn - Lv.20, etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.20, Elemental Control - Lv.20, Draconic Regeneration - Lv.30, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100, Channeling - Lv.70 (1), Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 5 (4), Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Intermediate), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Limit Release (Intermediate), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 90,000/90,000


    MP: 2,600/2,600


    STA: 12,000/12,000


    Level: 40(+400)


    Exp: 4,000/4,000


    Strength: 300


    Agility: 100


    Endurance: 300


    Intellect: 80 (65)


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Indifferent.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 2 (17)


    SP: 0 (83)


    Active: Engage - Lv.40, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 40, Earthen Punch - Lv.40, Earthen Lariat - Lv.40, Omega Blow - Lv.40, Eraser Cannon - Lv.40, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.5 (1), Earth''s Guardian - Lv.100, Extreme Speed - Lv.80 (1), Spirit Barrier - Lv.100 etc


    Abilities: Unlimited Power (Advanced), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Immortal Body (Advanced), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 5,000/5,000


    MP: 12,000/12,000


    STA: 4,000/4,000


    Level: 40(+400)


    Exp: 4,000/4,000


    Strength: 65 (50)


    Agility: 100


    Endurance: 100


    Intellect: 300


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 300


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0 (15)


    SP: 0 (15)


    Active: Divine Blessing - Lv.40, Divine Ward - Lv.40, Divine Summoning - Lv.25 (10), Purify - Lv.19, Purge - Lv.40, Divine Restoration - Lv.40, Iste Evil - Lv.40, High Cure - Lv.40, Super Heal - Lv. 40, Insect Soul Curse - Lv.1, Insect Blood Curse - Lv.1


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.45, Light''s Chosen - Lv.50, Pure Body - Lv.50, Pure Soul - Lv.50, Pure Spirit - Lv.50, Aura of Life - Lv.10, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Woman of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), God''s Chosen (Advanced).]


    Darius allocated their points. First things first, they had finally reached the cap of the ''bonus round'', which was +400 level-ups. It had been much easier than when they had to reach +200 during their foray into the ins of Death.


    They had happily epted the 40 extra AP and SP which they had spent in bits and pieces, and now the final deposit had been made.


    Unless they came upon another Event, it would not be possible to earn any more until the Quest ended.


    Darius had chosen to increase his Intellect a bit more. His penchant for whole numbers had struck him again, making him leave a bit extra in the tank. Call it a type of OCD he had, or a quirk even.


    He had also chosen to take a huge risk by spending hisrge stockpile of SP on a few skills, namely Channeling and Basic Lancer Arts. The former had been sent to level 70 while thetter had only received one more level, which showed the gap in importance.


    Channeling was a vital ability that most talented mages relied on, but it was useless for Darius. Channeling allowed one to continually infuse Mana into a spell, increasing its power exponentially depending on the amount infused, with very little diminishing returns depending on how powerful your ability to channel was.


    Channeling''s only hard limit was your total Mana. If you had huge amounts, you could infuse it all into a single spell to make something as weak as level 1 Sparks turn into a show of lighting that rained upon an entire city, electrocuting everyone to death.


    Channeling had a few weaknesses though. It was unable to increase raise the grade of an attack, only its power, range, and utility.


    In the former example, it would not turn Sparks into a huge Thunderstrike that would cause an explosion, but make the electric sparkles that came out with the spell have a bigger range and deal far more damage.


    Another example would be Blink. If Darius channeled Blink with all his mana, including the surplus, it was possible for him to power Blink up so much that he could jump from Safemoon to the southern end of Fallon in one go.


    The point of all this was that now that Darius had a huge bank of Mana, he could utilize Channeling to achieve stupendous effects.


    Channeling itself was slow and required heavy focus, but now that he had leveled it up so much, the speed of infusion and the mana wasted were so greatly reduced that it was almost hard to reconcile how it was before.


    If he could get it to level 100, he could implement catastrophic spells from the simplest of things. Right now, he was looking forward to bing an Adept, so he could channel Advanced spells which had higher base power than any Intermediate spell that they used currently.


    Not to mention, he would finally be able to learn the passive skill, Double Casting.


    But that was forter.


    For Gunner, he had just increased the fellow''s Intellect, and thed was 20 points away from acquiring Elementary Psychomancy. For his skills, Darius had also taken a leap of faith and increased his Extreme Speed passive skill.


    This multiplied his movement and attack speed by 5% for each level, making it 350% at the current level 70. This meant that for all intents and purposes, one could treat it as if Gunner had a permanent 450 points of Agility instead of a mere 100 points.


    Whenever he upgraded the skill or added more points to his Agility, this would rise as well. Gunner had gone from a quick tank to literally Superman, especially if he activated Earth''s Guardian.


    At this point Darius was certain, that without his spells to help him, Gunner should be able to defeat him. A one-on-one fight did intrigue Darius, but he would pursue itter, after they had dealt with the Insects.


    Aside from that, Darius had also increased Gunner''s Unarmed Mastery but a bit, and nned to go the full distance if they got any extra SP from an Eventter on.


    For X, she didn''t have much AP and SP since she always spent hers, but she was able to make some progress this time. She had increased her Strength by a bit, which was her only stat below 100, so that was understandable.


    However, the skill she had chosen to upgrade this time was her Divine Summoning. This skill allowed her to call down avatars made of light that had a certain amount of her power.


    In this case, she could spend 25 MP to summon 1 avatar with 25% of her total power (stats and all). What made this investment worthwhile in Darius'' eyes was the fact that she could summon an infinite amount of them as long as she paid the MP cost.

 Chapter 455 - 455

    "Wee, all." A bright and powerful voice that sat at the head of a round table greeted everyone, now that they had all arrived.


    "Mmˇ­" Replied a dark and cold one right after it sat down opposite the former, which was also like a head of the tableˇ­?


    Clearly, there was something strange going on with the seating, but none of the others present here seemed to mind.


    The two voices were clearly opposed, and were itching to get thest word in. However, another person seemed to be sick and tired of this nonsense and spoke cuttingly.


    "Zeus, Hades, either the two of you act like mature adults or we all leave and forget about everything!" A female voice cried out in frustration.


    The one called Zeus was a buff middle-aged man wearing a toga, sandals, and two bracers. His bright blue eyes sparkled with electricity, and his white hair, as well as brows, were neatly pressed into ce in contrast.


    Hades was also a middle-aged man, he had long ck hair that reached his shoulders, a sharp nose and narrow, cold golden eyes. He was far slimmer and less muscr than his counterpart, looking like someone who was unwell and unfed.


    "Bwahaha, no need to be so angry at their posturing Freyja, it is something we are all used to!" Odinughed loudly while pping his beer belly. He sat to the extreme left of the table, surrounded by lesser gods of his pantheon.


    "Father is right, though I agree that Zeus has every right to reject an evil force, brother or not." Thor added while pping his hands. He was seated directly beside Zeus, being the former''s protege of sorts.


    "Ah, you would certainly know well about abusing and neglecting siblings based on preconceived notions, now wouldn''t you, ''brother''?" Loki spoke in a silky smooth voice, seated haphazardly beside Hades and ying with a dagger.


    Odin was an elderly man with a smidgen of wrinkles on his hearty faces, with wide smile lines visible on his cheeks. He had one good blue eye while the other had been lost, now hidden behind a dark eyepatch.


    He was quite short, with a powerful gut. He was the perfect visage of the modern ''dad bod'' that came with age. He wore a ceremonial Asgardian attire that was quite gaudy, but could also transform into his legendary armor instantly.


    Thor was his usual self, an almost perfect copy of a famous actor who had yed the role back in Darius'' world during the early 21st century. Short curt curly blond hair, a manly beard, bright blue eyes, and a titanium yetpact body.


    He wore a set of custom-made armor that was basically a bronze vest and some war pants as well as a red cape. However, what made his aura vastly different this time was the hammer that rested on the table before him.


    As for Loki, he looked like a pretty boy that should be out chasing women instead of attending such an important meeting.


    Slicked-back ck hair, bright green eyes, a small nose, and think pinkish lips made him slightly androgynous too. If it wasn''t for his long chin and adam''s apple, it would be tough to tell he was a male otherwise.


    Loki wore a set of armor simr to Thor''s, a vest that left his arms free and war pants, only that both of his were extremely tight and of flexible material, while being pitch-ck in color.


    The moment Loki spoke, Thor''s casual smile hardened and he red at his half-brother with anger. Loki just continued ying with his dagger without acknowledging the open disdain, humming all the while even.


    Freyja, who had eximed previously, facepalmed. She was a supreme beauty with burnished auburn hair that reached her thighs, wreathed with a crown of flowers. Her face was delicate and small, with rosebud lips that were dark red in color as well as soft azure eyes filled with benevolence.


    She wore a translucent dress that was grey and quite in overall in terms of fashion. She sat right beside Odin on the left side, also nked by her pantheon of lesser gods. Since she and Odin shared the same origins and had equal authority, they got along extremely well.


    "A bunch of fools, as always." A sensual yet malicious voice sounded out, ruining the mood of the entire gathering at once.


    "I wonder why I was birthed by such ipetenceˇ­ then I look at those two clowns and realized I lucked out." A cold yet valiant male voice spoke.


    "Why are we wasting time listening to this nonsense? I could be back in the mountains performing jakte?" A heavily ented female voice spoke with disinterest.


    The leader of the three sat at the far right of the table, leading her own group of Gods and Lesser Gods. It was Hel, the Goddess of Death and Afterlife.


    She was a beauty no less than Freyja, with a long, angr face, heavily darkened eyelids, pitch-ck pupils, and soft, pale skin.


    Hel wore an attire made of the souls of the dead, which formed a lovely silver dress that would asionally show the face of a screaming soul.


    To her right was Baldr, a warrior and also the first son of Odin and Frigg. He was simr to Loki, in the sense that he looked like a soft male. Still, Baldur was unmistakably a handsome male with curly golden hair and soft cyan eyes, his body slim, and his height average.


    If Darius or anyone from earth knowledgeable in pop culture were to look at him, they would smile bitterly as he was the exact personification of the ''femboy'' archetype, despite possessing a manly voice.


    Finally, there was Skaoi to Hel''s right. She was the Goddess of Skiing and Hunting, who loved to ride down the icy caps of mountains all year round while spearing rabbits, deers, and birds that passed her by.


    She was quite pretty as well - as there were few ugly Gods - with a hard face, dark brown eyes, and pale silver hair tied into a bun. She wore a set of woolly-leather armor that glowed with an icy coldness due to its enchantments, which contrasted her fair and tanned skin.


    Odin''s face became ugly as he mmed the table. "Hel, be careful how you speak!"


    Hel sneered. "Yes, Mighty Allfather."


    Odin then red at Skaoi. "Woman, you were never this feisty when Njoror was here to tame you!"


    Skaoi''s face became horrendous as she almost snarled. "How dare you, you fat fucking-!"


    Odin ignored her, as she was mostly a lesser god who was lucky to marry a greater one. He turned to Baldr with fury on his face, but this fury greatly softened when he gazed at his progeny.


    "My son."


    It was just two words, but they contained a wealth of emotions and meanings. Baldr''s face contorted, yet he remained firm as he looked away from Odin. His father could only sigh and retract his anger.


    "Alright, that''s enough. Let us dive into the matter at hand for our gathering." Zeus dered with a staunch tone, his eyes roving over everyone equally, even his enemies. He then nodded to Hermes, who pushed up his sses.


    "The Insects appear to have beaten back our usual attempts to reduce their numbers, hinting at something greater. Not only that, but they were supported by a Grandmaster Dragon with a good amount of the Ancestor''s blood, a Half-Giant that had the closest connection to Gaia ever recorded, and an elf disguised as a human who possessed the power of more than one Divine Concept." Hermes revealed calmly.


    To this, the collective here grimaced heavily. They were bbergasted and rmed at such a lineup. They were already having a tough time tolerating the existence of the Dragon race since the average Grandmaster among them was about a strong as a weaker God.


    However, they dared not do anything because at the helm of that race stood an existence that should not exist within Faust, and he himself knew it. Now, there was a Dragon with his lineage running about causing trouble, what did this mean?


    This had many implications that caused the Gods here a great fright. When the mention of the Half-Giant was made, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades had troubled faces.


    After all, the Titans were their problem, especially Chronos who had tried to devour them, and Gaia who had given birth to the entire array of Titans.


    However, they were still generally rebuilding after the Insect Invasion and didn''t have time to chase down the giants living on Fallon and exterminate them thoroughly to prevent future troubles.


    Now, this happened.


    As for the elves, they were another troublesome race. They were neutral, not involving themselves in worldly matters except worshiping their Concept of Magic and feeding it endless Faith Energy.


    Now, it was about to give birth to a new consciousness and be a God more powerful than any of the ones seated here.


    They had long noticed such a thing, but what could they do about it?

 Chapter 456 - 456

    Had this been another day, they would have directly used this excuse to invade the Elves and purge them. Oh, you can be sure that the Gods had been looking for an excuse to do so, but those damn Elves were always minding their own business, never causing any trouble.


    Even if this lone Elf had no affiliation to the rest of his/her race, who cared?


    The Gods would just dere that the Elves were lying, and it would simply be a matter of word of mouth.


    This was how they, the Gods of Faust, operated!


    They would identify a possible interest or problem. Then, they would find a morally justified reason to attack/invade the location of the item of interest/problem through their army of believers.


    After that, a ughter would ur if necessary. Once the Gods had imed the item of interest/problem, they would then share the spoils of everything among themselves.


    If you had a dissenting opinion, that was not an issue.


    The Gods take on things was pretty much ''Just pray your people never give us a reason to turn you into history.''


    After all, it would be the winners/survivors who would dictate what the ''truth'' of the matter had been.


    Back to the topic at hand, the Gods were not in the mood to use this ''free chance'' due to the gravity of the situation. To fight the Insects, literally all hands on deck were needed.


    They would definitely pursue this issue after the current problem was resolved, and with the giants too. For the time being though, they would wear a smile when visiting their races to request their services to help resolve this matter that revolved around Faust''s entire survival.


    "So, what is the consensus in dealing with this new issue?" Zeus asked the group calmly.


    Hades'' thin finger drummed the table repeatedly before he spoke. "Weck too much information about what the Insects themselves are doing. These ''Guardians'' they seem to have contracted could be an obvious misdirection to have us focus on those three ''traitors'' rather whatever they themselves might be doing."


    Many heads nodded subtly in agreement. Hel gazed at Hades appreciatively and chipped in her own opinion. "With the current nature of the situation, it would be unwise to send only mortals to investigate what''s happening. The likelihood of them ending up killed or worse eaten by our foes is too high."


    Hel slumped into her seatzily and continued. "This is not really a problem since mortals are like cabbage, but the urgency of the matter demands that we acquire solid information quickly. We cannot afford to y games by sending mortal operatives repeatedly only to turn up nothing."


    "Oh? And who do you feel should partake in such a mission? Mind you, there might be a trap hidden in such a ce. We''ve all abstained from going to the underground directly all these years precisely because of this. We only send mortals, because as you said, they are like cabbage." Loki pointed out with a smile.


    Hel simply shrugged. She had said her part, if they followed it, great. If not, it was also up to them. Like Hades, she was a Goddess of Death with her own unique hell that could capture many souls for the afterlife.


    She and Hades, as well as other Death/Life-rted Gods had cut a deal on how souls would be distributed upon death. This also came with the hidden benefit of being safe within their Divine Kingdoms.


    Unlike other gods who created their Divine Kingdoms traditionally using Faith Energy, Hel, Tartarus, Folkvangr, Valha, Olympus, and other such ces had existed before they were even born.


    It had been one of the greatest mysteries to the Gods, making them wonder if they truly were not the creators and owners of Faust. Recent discoveries had enforced that sentiment more and more, so their actions were being less and less unscrupulous as they couldn''t help but worry.


    In other words, they did not fear death as long as they could hole up in those worlds, for no power could break into them forcefully. As such, despite being worried about the Insects too, for some it was like having a huge bunker in the advent of nuclear war.


    You were certainly anxious like an ant in a hot pan, but it was nothingpared to the civilians who had no alternative. All the Main Gods here had a path of retreat, which was why they were unwilling to invest so much effort into the extermination.


    Especially after meeting the True Lords during that war. It had been a great wake-up call for them to see such power, power that could even end their lives with ease if they so wished.


    Greatly chilled, they had mostly stayed in Olympus, in their Divine Kingdoms. Heck, in the past few centuries, only Thor''s recent descent was unique.


    Krona would descend asionally because as a True Lord, he only feared Vena.


    "Hm, Loki''s concerns are valid. It would be best to not send only mortals, but some with a smidgen of Divine Power if anything. They could certainly guarantee their safety to some extent." Freyja suggested with a smile.


    Many of the Gods here nodded, but the Lesser Gods paled. If they were to be chosen as scapegoats, this would be terrible!


    Many became restless. Even though they respected and revered their leaders, no one with power wanted to walk into a dead-end willingly.


    Seemingly noticing their subordinates'' restlessness, the Main Gods frowned. However, Thor spoke at this moment to alleviate the tension.


    "Hahaha, who best to send then, than the Demi-gods?" Heughed amiably to rx the Lesser Gods and give the main ones a way out.


    Hearing this, the Main Gods looked to each other with surprise, wondering how they could forget about this. The Lesser Gods also shared audible sighs of relief, their panic calming down.


    Like any civilian who was cowardly or timid, they feared being ''drafted'' to go and fight.


    They had such good lives, why should they throw them away for such a meaningless thing? Especially to pave the way for someone else?


    "Well then, that''s a fine idea. Those fellows have been cropping up like weeds recently, so who best to designate for the job than them?" Odin remarked with a heartyugh.


    The Gods arranged in today''s meeting all wore a soft, knowing smile. They understood the game and would not call each other out on it.


    "And so, the meeting will be adjourned until we can acquire some useful information about the situation. Hermes, you are in charge of information gathering this time. You are free to choose the Demi-gods for the mission." Zeus instructed slowly.


    Hearing the verdict of the Chief God, all rose to their feet and disappeared from the room one by one. Obviously, they were not present with their true bodies. They had stopped doing that centuries ago.


    Now, they just sent avatars with some Divine Consciousness over, so that they would never have to leave the safety of their Divine Kingdoms.


    Hah, for the so-called Gods of Faust were so terrified of the world they ''created'' that they chose to hide in their dens without daring toe out.


    If the rest of Faust were to learn of this, the entire faithwork that their divinity was based on would probably copse.


    However, what was interesting was that some Gods had not disappeared, namely the Main Gods. They hade here with their true bodies, so confident in their power that they refused to hide like rats.


    Whether this made them respectable idiots or ignorant fools was yet to be seen. Whatever the case they eyed each other silently before Elven physically, teleporting themselves using their various powers.


    Thor and Zeus disappeared in a sh of thunder while Hel, Loki, and Hades disappeared with a ckish, bone-chilling glow. Freyja jumped onto a carriage pulled by her two Divine Tigers and rode off.


    Odin simply chuckled and summoned Sleipnir, the Horse of Legends. He then rode on it with ease, the two chatting about minor things telepathically as they went.


    Baldur manifested holy wings and flew to the sky, while Skaoi created a path of ice that she rode on with two wooden skis, disappearing into nothingness as he teleported. Soon, the room was left in utter silence, not a single soul remaining.


    However, from the folds of one of the shadows, a form removed itself and inspected the room. When the light shed upon the visage of the intruder who had likely remained hidden all the while, it showed the face of a handsome man that was quite tall.


    It was God Krona!


    He raised a hand and stroked his stubble with a cryptic smile. "I see that they never change. Always doing things the same way for centuries on end makes you all predictable. Well, I now have a choice to make."


    Krona folded his arms behind him as he returned to the shadows slowly.


    "Shall I tip-off that fellow or act ignorant and watch the show... hmm."

 Chapter 457 - 457

    Ash, Reina, Jonathan, James, and Anthony sat together in the mediation room of Darius'' mage tower. Their eyes closed as they contemted their power and possibilities.


    They had all achieved a new level of strength recently, and now sought to consolidate it before anything else.


    Martin had sent a request for Darius'' permission to allow them to do so. He had given them a week to meditate and consolidate, and that week would be ending today.


    As such, the AI had sent out an alert to all of their HoloBraces.


    Theds slowly opened their eyes, sharp glints echoing within them. They rose to their feet as one, then nced at each other with hints of provocation in their eyes.


    Knowing that each of them had achieved something transcendent, they felt the heat ofpetitiveness, far from their usual harmony when Darius had been training them.


    After all, they had all suffered under the hands of Gunner and struggling to meet Darius'' quotas, so they felt a kinship.


    Now that the tigers were away, the mice would y. Without adult supervision, they began to drift apart as their natures shed with each other.


    The Noble and Heroic Ash.


    The Carefree and Adventurous Reina.


    The Ambitious and Overbearing Jonathan.


    The Enigmatic and Shadowy James.


    The Arrogant and Powerful Anthony.


    These five were sure to leave behind legends across the entirety of Faust in time, but right now, they were just kids wishing topete with their peers to find out who was better.


    In order to break their needless standoff, Martin reminded them:


    "Just so you know, you have to continue with your dungeon crawling missions again. Please get to the dungeon area so I can begin the task assessment."


    Hearing this, they could only relent and leave the mage tower together, heading out of the city using special ess pathways to reach the dungeon that resided just beside the outer walls of the town


    Near the dungeon, the various adventurers who had made dungeon diving their daily bread saw the usual bunch of kids. They had wondered if and when they might return as they had all missed them for a few days, some even suspecting they might have died inside.


    Seeing them back though, it likely meant that they had just taken a break or stopped to do something and were now back.


    This made the various adventurers there all the more curious as to their background, but when they inquired from Martin, he told them that their status wasn''t high enough to ess that information.


    Theds ignored the looks of wonder and curiosity they received and entered the dungeon together.


    They had struck an unspoken agreement to challenge the group one as they usually did first, then split up to do their individual rounds after.


    When they appeared in the first rest station, they spent some time resting their minds a bit more before entering the first room.


    The five of them went through the motions, fighting like they usually did as they cleared the first battle room, then the second, to the third, then the fourth.


    Even the final battle room did not faze them as they faced the boss, and easily took it down with their current skillset. None of them had used any of their new skills and abilities they had gained so far.


    It would be overkill to do so, because when they were fighting as a group like this, nothing could really push them that far.


    After clearing the floor, they then ignored the treasure chest that appeared at the end. Instead, they looked towards the two stairs that appeared. One went down into the abyss while the other went up, to return them to reality.


    Normally, theds would clear the dungeon and head up immediately to go back and continue with their life in the mage tower. However, today their eyes were fixated on the second set of stairs as if it was raw gold.


    They were silent as they gazed at it, no one making a sound, but all of them had the same thoughts. The fiveds were startled out of their thoughts by a message from Martin.


    "Sure, I''ll allow you to do it. However, you may only challenge up to the second battle room of the Journeyman level."


    Seeing as they had received the approval from their handler, the five shared uncertain looks before gritting their teeth and walking down.


    As for Martin, he watched them go down with a soft smile on his face, a smile so reminiscent of Darius that any onlooker would be able to tell Martin to be just a smaller version of him.


    "Hm, this will be interesting." Martin murmured to himself.


    On the Journeyman floor, the fiveds entered the first rest station. It was bigger and far better stocked than those above. Theds took some time to rest and make sure they were at their full power before stepping into the first battle room.


    This chamber was almost twice the size of the one on the Amateur floors, big enough that it felt like they had walked into a mega church''s hall. Before they could spend time looking around, the doors in the room opened to reveal a set of monsters.


    [Vine Wolf - Level 21 Monster


    HP: 650/650 MP: 231/231 STA: 546/546 ]


    30 Vine Wolves rushed out and surrounded them on all sides. Unlike the Amateur floors where all the monsters were made of a myriad of different kinds, it seemed the Journeyman floors released groups of monsters from the same race.


    Their group also noticed that the monsters co-operated well, almost seamlessly in fact. So unlike the upper floors where every monster fought for itself, here they would be fighting against concentrated groups.


    No wonder those adventurers had to team up in huge numbers toe down here! The slightest mistake could see even an entire team of 100 Journeymen fall in this battle room since this was only the first wave, much less inter battle rooms.


    The fiveds became serious. The five brought out their all for this fight. Ash directly held his sword staunchly and swung it multiple times,unching out sword waves over and over again.


    The Vine Wolves were shocked by this, but they had enough Agility to either dodge or avoid most waves, though some of them lost limbs or had their vines severed as they howled in pain.


    Reina drew on her bow and nocked an arrow that carried a Wind element spell that was enhanced the speed of the shots. She had realized that these wolves were potent for their Agility, in which their vines also helped greatly.


    As such, she fired her wind-enhanced arrows that pierced their eyes, noses, and other soft spots of the Vine Wolves, either incapacitating them or outright killing them. However, most wolves smartly began to use their vine to either whip the iing arrows or block it for them.


    Jonathan held his greatsword in one hand and his poleaxe in the other. With heavy swings, he attempted to cut down any of the foes he met, but it was futile given the speed of these wolves. The few that fell under his de were either smashed or cut until half with ease.


    Still, he endeavored to move faster and better, but the wolves noticed the fact that his swings left him wide open, some of them counterattacking by aiming for his joints or his butt.


    At this time, James, who had been walking around mostly unnoticed, would stab out and kill those who tried to attack his team member. Soon, the Vine Wolves noticed the existence of an invisible enemy.


    They deployed their vines like a around their bodies, to intercept the arrows and to form a sort of domain where if one entered, they would know and beg able to react to it within seconds.


    James could only tsk in annoyance at the adaptability of these monsters. They were truly nothing like those above, their intelligence at least higher than 10 points toe up with such a scheme to hunt him down so quickly.


    However, they were nothingpared to their group.


    James simply decided to attack from afar in this situation, sending throwing knives hurtling towards key spots of his foes, rendering them stunned or immobile long enough for Ash or Jonathan to get a kill.


    As for Anthony, he was the most mobile of the group. At the start of this wave, he had already mounted his nimbus cloud and was attacking the Vine Wolves using his bo-staff that could elongate and retract onmand.


    He swung it around with ample dexterity, smacking many of the Vine Wolves away and disrupting their entire formation. He took it upon himself to prevent the enemies from harming his allies and pinning them down.


    His staff might not be sharp enough to cut, but it was certainly sturdy enough to break heads, legs, and bones to pieces. No to mention when Anthony suddenly lengthened its edge during a swing or retracted it to catch them off-guard.


    He did not activate his Sage Mode because it was something that took a great toll on him, so he had to use it sparingly.

 Chapter 458 - 458

    The battle in the Journeyman level raged on. Afterboriously clearing the first wave of 30 Vine Wolves, a new type of monster appeared for the second wave.


    [Fungal Corruptor - Level 22 Monster


    HP: 589/589 MP: 264/264 STA: 682/682 ]


    These monsters were like humanoid mushrooms the size of a dwarf. They had red-colored caps as their heads, with their stalk possess two hollow eyes and a jagged mouth that was hollow with no teeth.


    On either side of their short bodies were two stubby arms and legs that were quite buff for their size. The group analyzed them carefully to try and suss out any weakness they might have as well as their fighting behavior.


    The monsters though, surrounded theds and began shaking their caps like it was an umbre. From it, one could see a yellowish spore being released towards their direction, which made the faces of the five be solemn.


    Martin seemed exasperated by their indecisiveness and reminded them: "Just so you know, Father never specified you had to clear the dungeon specifically using the training from Gunner. Your magic is also meant to be used here, not just your weapons!"


    The five of them seemed startled by this, their mind actually blown by the fact. They had never actually used their magic for rawbat, but rather to supplement their melee/ranged fighting that Gunner had taught them.


    It also had to do with the fact that most basic spells were not very effective forbat, but the ones they had learned were the transmuted versions, which were far stronger since Darius had made them train it all to the maximum level.


    The five shared looks of shame and sheepishness before putting their weapons aside. Instead, they took out five staves that Darius had specially made for them before he had left.


    [All-Element Staff - Weapon


    Durability: 2,500/2,500


    Quality: Perfect


    Resistance: 20


    Damage: 7-9


    Special: 10x


    Description: A special staff made using a smidgen of special materials affiliated with all the known elementsbined into one. It has the ability to magnify the effect of any elemental spell cast but a huge margin, by draining slightly more mana from the user aspensation.]


    Theds did not have the Supreme System, so they couldn''t Inspect things. If they were, they would never have bothered to waste their time using weapons before and would have done their tasks using these staves from the beginning.


    Even Darius''s Dragonscale Staff was nowhere near this powerful in terms of the boost to magical damage it gave, but favored it because of its origin and the power it would possess after he Static Transmuted it.


    Ash began by using a level 20 Adjust.


    [Adjust - Level 20 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Control the fundamental force of the that retrains all beings to its surface. This spell increases or decreases the user''s weight by 100%.]


    Immediately, the weight of all the fungi in the room was doubled, sending them crashing to the ground, their bodies trembling at the prospect of holding double their total weight. 2x weight was not too critical for a human, and it was possible to adapt over time, but for fungi without bone structure like them, it was a death sentence.


    While still in the ground, Ash attacked using the level 20 Sparks. This dealt 100% lightning damage to a single target, so the Fungal Corruptor he targeted took a total of 700 lightning damage.


    Ash''s current Intellect was 70 points, and Sparks dealt 100% lightning damage which was a base of 70 lightning damage. When multiplied by the All-Element''s staff''s x10 boost, this became the 700 lightning damage currently.


    Against these monsters which had just below 600 HP, it was obviously an instant kill. Now, the group could not see damage numbers or the like, but the effect of Ash''s Sparks shocked every one of them.


    From their magical knowledge, the basic spells were crutches given to mages by thews of Faust. Their power was extremely derivative and their utility straightforward. In ces outside low-level areas like Andrato, Amateurs were seen as the same asmoners.


    Only Journeymen and above who could make their own unique magic and have various tricks up their sleeves were given respect. Even though theds were from Andrato, Darius'' lectures had created the impression that the Amateur stage was just a stepping stone and was not useful for battle.


    Seeing their prowess like this, theds could only gulp and gaze at each other. Then, the others too began to attack.


    Reina used the Wind Element basic spell, Wind de!


    [Wind de - Level 20 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Shape the ever-flowing wind into the form of a de, able to cut through anything in its path. This spell deals 100% wind damage.]


    Arge de of wind about the same size as Reina in terms of height and about as wide as the thinnest de in width was fired out. Itnced through the bodies of various Fungal Corruptors, cutting them in half and leaving them dead.


    Reina''s Intellect was at 59 points currently so her total wind damage was 590 points, just enough to end the lives of the Fungal Corruptors. The best part was the continuous effect, since it could attack more than one foe if used wisely, and she did use it in such a manner.


    She then spun her staff and used the basic spell of the Water element, Pulse.


    [Pulse - Level 20 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Summon a jet spray of water with varying pressure. It can either be intense enough to cut or low enough to drink. This deals 100% water damage at maximum velocity.]


    Like a high-pressure water cutter, she sliced a line of fallen monsters, bisecting the targets she chose like they were made out of sugar or salt. She had to aim well though, as the recoil for such a high-pressure spell was high.


    Jonathan stepped forth and also joined the fray. He cast the basic spell of the Fire element, Ember. At level 20, it was the same as all other basic spells in that it did 100% of its element''s damage.


    Unfortunately, he only had 47 points of Intellect currently, so his cast was not enough to kill a Fungal Corruptor head-onˇ­ actually, it was! After all, the fire element was the bane of the Wood element, so he dealt x3 elemental damage on top of his usual!


    Knowing that it would be futile to sue any of his other elements forbat, Jonathan only used one other spell, which was the Basic spell of the Death element, Spawn!


    Unlike the mishap with Darius''s two undead, Jonathan''s was more normal. From the ground came two Skeletons wearing impable armor and wielding halberds as well as a round shield.


    These halberdiers were not to be trifled with, possessing agility unbing of an undead. Rather, they moved like martial artists from Pan, which shocked the Fungal Corruptors as they were bashed and cut by them rapidly.


    James smiled and raised his staff, using the basic spell of the Ice element, Ice Lance.


    The area''s temperature dropped as a long spear that was crystal blue in color rapidly formed, then was hurled forward by James casually. When it pierced his target right in the center of their cap, it ran the monster through, leaving its fluids leaking as it squealed itsst.


    As James had an Intellect of 60 points, this deal 600 points of Ice damage, more than enough to end his targets. However, James was incredibly thorough, repeatedly firing his Ice Lances in such a way that they always struck a fatal spot of the monsters,ting him an x3 critical damage boost.


    It was just the habit built up from being an assassin to got for weak areas in order to ensure an easier kill. It might seem overkill right now, but it was arguably a very good habit to build on reflex/instinct.


    James also made a habit of using the Basic Darkness element spell, Devour, to consume the flesh and blood of the monsters to increase his stats, as small as the increment might be.


    It was precisely due to this that he now had more Intellect than Jonathan despite the both of them starting at rtively the same level.


    James was like an insatiable beast. He would kill a target and then devour them. Since these were Journeymen monsters above his level, the increment he was receiving was no longer meager.


    If he could keep this up for a bit longer, he might see all his stats increase by 1 point!


    At this time, Anthony stepped forward with a look of interest on his face. He then gazed at the remaining few monsters and used the Basic Aether element spell that he treasured so much.


    Deconstruct!


    [Deconstruct - Level 20 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 50% of Energy Gained


    Description: Connect with the primal energy of the world and let it revert anything you target into its form. You are able to convert any living being from matter to energy, and can absorb 50% of that energy into yourself to restore health, mana and stamina.]

 Chapter 459 - 459

    Deconstruct was a powerful spell that would cause a person''s molecr bonds to destabilize upon themselves, slowly transforming them into energy. This energy usually took the form of pure aether itself, and the quantity of it depended on the quality of the target this skill was used on.


    However, it was not a deus ex machina spell. It would not kill everyone Anthony pointed at but worked on a circumstantial basis.


    Against foes like these that had already been weakened, he was able to turn some of them fully into aether while others only had some body parts turned.


    Stronger foes would only feel great difort in their body, so one could say it had a small stun/disruption effect. As for those weaker than Anthony, they would find themselves slowly turning into energy whether they liked it or not.


    That was why the Aether element stood above Space, Time, and even Order and Chaos. All of them sprung up from this one element, which was the only element without a counterpart.


    It was impossible to acquire this element on a normal basis, with even those who awakened with talents in this field unable to develop it further because it was so powerful and unique. Even the Basic spell was so overpowered, and self-sufficient.


    Such Aether Controllers were usually killed in the cradle as no force on Fallon would allow such a powerhouse to grow. Luckily, Aether users did not have any Journeyman or above spells since those who used this element had an immensely difficult time progressing through the stages, not to mention the kind of witch hunt they were subjected to.


    As stated, it was a self-sufficient spell, taking a percentage of the energy derived from a target during an attack, leaving you with a reminder. At level 1, you barely got 2% of the energy while the rest was used on the costs.


    Naturally, as one raised the level of the skill, the percentage share got better until it reached 50-50 at level 20. And this was even with the fact that Anthony had learned this from a transmuted spellbook which was 5 times better than the norm.


    When the Fungal Corruptors were struck with this, most turned into a small ball of greenish-blue energy that floated towards Antony, which he collected into a Bag of Holding. He had made sure not to collect any of the Aetheric Energy into his body, for it came at a cost.


    Aetheric Energy enhanced the body, mind, and soul, acting like a form of natural boost. You could absorb a limitless amount of it and would get stronger and stronger with slightly diminishing returns, which was the big fear around people who could use this element.


    However, at the same time, those who used this element gave off - shall we say - a unique ''frequency'' that could be traced by those in power.


    That was how new Aether Controllers would eventually end up being discovered and snuffed out even though most of them would be very careful, were aware that there was some type of taboo around this element.


    As his studies concerned this matter, Antony had long since been aware of this. As such, he had never let even a speck of Aetheric Energy enter his body, but he also couldn''t let them go to waste.


    As such, he usually collected them like this, waiting for the day when his master could assure him that no one coulde after his life.


    His fellow students were quite surprised by this sight. They had never actually seen him use this skill before. The ability to turn an enemy into energy so easily was simr to James'' Devour skill.


    However, thetter worked only on defeated targets and the conversion was pretty low. This though, could turn apletely healthy being into energy right away, and they could feel that the quality of it was far higher.


    Still, theds did not stop their onught. Ash decided to make good use of his Sparks in this situation, while Reina decided to stick to her Wind des due to their effectiveness.


    Jonathan would obviously stay true to Ember, since his raw damage was not enough to seal the deal, while also letting his spawned undead hack and sh at his foes. They did not possess the growth abilities of Mikey and Joneson, so they did not absorb the Death Energy of in foes.


    James was having a great time Devouring in foes, so he definitely wouldn''t waste his mana on anything else. How many chances would he get to fortify his stats like this when he had already be slightly saturated in this regard?


    And Anthony kept harvesting Aetheric Energy calmly. He couldn''t use Time Skip, because that required meleebat and they were all in their ''mage'' mode. He also couldn''t use Blink, because it was also best used to melee or armedbat.


    Stabilize and Destabilize, the spells of order and chaos, were not usable unless he was in his Sage Mode due to the consequences. If one really thought about it, his only offensive means was to use the Aether Element, which was quite amusing to think about.


    Eventually, they cleared this wave and were then promptly attacked by a third wave consisting of 40 monsters charging at them.


    To this, theds could only ready themselves for a longer and more pressingbat.


    .........


    Within Safemoon, Da Brown and Kiran walked through the outer section with strange expressions on their faces. They noticed how congested and busy the area was, many people trying to buy higher quality materials, items, and consumables.


    What was crazy was that the prices of these things were so exorbitant whenpared to alternatives that it felt like daylight robbery.


    However, once one checked the quality of these things, it created a feeling that Safemoon were fools for selling this so cheaply.


    This kind of paradoxical feeling was not unique to Da and Kiran. Literally, everyone who hade had experienced this before, but they eventually got used to it. After all, what more could they do about it?


    The two spotted a cksmith''s shop that was established near the edge of the outer section. Darius had refused to let anyone open their own business in his city, so every store in the outer section was owned by Safemoon.


    However, establishments like this had Safemoon as the owner, but the workers within were vetted by Nichs and Elijah before they were appointed to be craftsmen of the city.


    After all, one couldn''t expect Darius to be creating basic weapons like swords and the like on a daily basis, right? What he rather did was create huge heaps of raw materials, and let the workers work on them to make them into finished goods.


    Since they only allowed experts to work in their stores, the final product - while it would not match up to some directly transmuted - was still of great quality because of the raw materials used and thepetent workmanship.


    It also allowed the economy within the city to flourish since Darius ''sold'' these raw materials to the city, which the city would distribute to their workers to make final goods and them sell them using their shops.


    The profit would then be sent back to the city - with the workers receiving a sry ormission depending on their mode of upation and employment contract - which would then use this profit to spread its influence.


    If one were to count, the price Darius ''sold'' materials to Safemoon was a simply pittance, not even 10% of their cost.


    Safemoon also paid the workers a nice 15%mission, which seemed small on paper, but was huge money to these fellows. The slots for them were even more brutally contested than a fight for the throne between noble princes.


    And the chunk went to Safemoon in terms of profit. After slightly more than half a year of establishment, Safemoon was so rich that even the top empire on Fallon looked poor inparison.


    Just like Miranda was doing on Pokterr, she had been harvesting minerals to build more connectors and roads throughout Fallon starting from Safemoon.


    Most of these were constructed between Andrato and Safemoon, and now the two countries had more than three well-defined and proper roads to each other that could supportrge traversal at a time.


    Miranda had even gone ahead and created mechanical carriages, basically cars but styled like a carriage to fit the theme of this continent. They moved on the roads using electromaism like bullet trains, so one could imagine how fast they were.


    Ever since discovering Source Energy and its tricks from Pokterr, Miranda had slowly been recing all the energy modules for the carriages and used Source Energy to produce everything.


    With the source of fuel sorted out, these carriages were so cheap to use that it cost about the same as traveling from your street to the next in fare to go from Andrato to Safemoon.


    As such, the citizens of the two countries had blended well as parties from the former frequently visited thetter many times in a day to buy goods or do business.

 Chapter 460 - 460

    A good form of transportation was the lifeblood of a budding economy. Safemoon and Andrato were separated by over 10,000 kilometers of distance, which was the equivalent of traveling from New York to London (assuming there was no sea in the way) twice!


    In an era where people used carriages instead of cars to move around, one could just imagine how excruciating it was to move about in such a ce.


    This was why Miranda had been so hard at work creating roads, ensuring the travel would be smooth and without bumps to further encourage it. After that, she had further upgraded it into their own custom transportation.


    It had been slightly costly to use elemental energy extracted from various resources of that nature used on Fallon to power them, but that had easily been fixed after Darius had raided those Polito Vaults, especiallybined with the knowledge he had swallowed from the entire restricted section of the Great Library of Krona.


    When Darius had passed through Fallon for a split second, it had been enough for Miranda to fully update the cloud, so the subroutine she had left had been able to take full advantage of this and carve the Source Energy runes.


    It wasn''t just for the transportation system, but also for the buildings. Many, if not all, in the core section had already been renovated, now powered by Source Energy, so those using them did not incur any costs.


    The same went for Darius'' mage tower, which was likely the first and only in the entire Fallon which wouldn''t run its owner down into the ground financially.


    After the core section, the AI had expanded it to the inner section, starting from the academy to other ces.


    Speaking of the academy, after almost half a year since its first admission, many students had already settled fully to life within.


    Especially the two former ves that the academy had purchased, since they had been the only ones to instantly get designated for the Master ss had undergone the greatest change.


    They had arrived nameless in tatters. Now, they had been given names by Principal Elijah, and were wearing the finest robes the academy had to offer.


    But their matter is for another time.


    Right now, Da and Kiran had entered a specific smithy in the outer section, and were beholden to a single dwarf working the forge. What was strange about this was that all the other smithies had a crew of workers in order to quicken and streamline the process.


    On top of that, he was dressed differently from most dwarves of his kind. He wore a set of bright red overalls, with two straps over his shoulder that glowed with a strange blue light. On his head was a welding mask that was also more like something one would see from Gravitas rather than Fallon.


    He wore a pair of suave workboots and had a pair of goggles over his eyes that could charge its lenses, focusing, sharpening, and even viewing things at the microscopic level. He was currently using a high-pressure blower to weld a pair of iron boots at the soles.


    When he finished with his work, he wiped his brow tiredly then paused. Realizing he had visitors, he put down his blower and left his impable weld to cool before wiping his hands.


    The dwarf came to the counter of his store and smiled at the duo.


    "Hello there, Madam and Sir, my name is Maximo Riverstrike III! What can I do for you today?" The dwarf greeted in a pleasant tone, his voice devoid of the usual gravelly voice and ent the Dwarves had.


    Da smiled and stepped forth. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Maximo. My name is Da Brown and this is Kiran. We came to your shop to request that you make us a set of equipment."


    Maximo nodded. He bent over and took out two forms, then ced two pens on the counter. He then gestured to it with a smile.


    "Please go ahead and fill out these forms. They are standard procedure here in Safemoon, and nomission can be taken without them."


    Sharing strange looks, Da and Kiran filled out the forms. Even if they had never learned how to read and write, the free HoloBraces awarded to everyone would automatically download that knowledge into the mind of the willing for free.


    Naturally, it was far more sensible to have everything done through the HoloBraces instead of wasting time writing it down, but Darius had decided to create this atmosphere of bureaucracy to artificially create more jobs.


    Of course, the speed here was not like in other ces. Bureaucrats had quotas to meet and the more they worked, the more they were paid. Their jobs were easily receable, so any mishaps and they were out.


    Da and Kiran finished filling the forms and handed them back to Maximo. The dwarf then scanned then with his HoloBrace and nodded.


    "The total of it wille to 15 Supreme Coins for each of ya. I''ll take a deposit of 10% just as a measure since you''re first-time customers. Is that good?"


    Da and Kiran froze. After converting all their valuables - well mostly, Da''s valuables since she was loaded thanks to her Luck - they had barely scraped together 100 Supreme Coins.


    Was 1/3rd of that about to go on just equipment?!


    However, Da recovered and paid the amount for both of them with a straight face. Kiran wanted to stop her, but could only sigh by the side helplessly.


    Maximo watched their antics and shook his head. He had seen this scene y out many times when he had been still at the center of the outer section''s smithing area.


    Countless adventurers and the likee in for equipment, only to have their faces cramp at the price.


    What they did not know though, was that Maximo had lowered the price by more than 70%. He was barely making a profit above the cost price, which was why he got eventually punished to this derelict forge near the corner, despite being one of the best smiths in the city.


    Heck, the equipment that the Five Apprentices had been made by none other than him!


    If Darius were here, he would never have allowed such a fellow to be relegated like this, but he had left strict rules for the three AI''s to follow in managing Safemoon, so they had executed his will to the letter.


    Luckily for Darius, Maximo was an easy-going fellow whose only passion was to create and create some more, ever-improving his craft and assisting people in solving their problems with his skills.


    He may live in his forge, but it was still neat, fresh, and had everything he needed. Safemoon had no dirt or trash, as workers cleaned the ce every day, so it wasn''t like he was living in a dump.


    He was just put in an unfavorable location for business, that was all.


    Maximo nced at the duo who were still hanging around with a curious smile. "Is there anything else?"


    Kiran hesitated, but Da smiled cryptically. "Do you believe in Luck, Sir Maximo?"


    Maximo grunted and scratched his head. "That depends what you mean. Do I believe in it as a be-all-end-all thing? No. I believe that skill is most important. Do I believe in Luck as a supplementary sort of thing? Yeah. Luck is enough to push a skilled person towards a positive end, but it cannot make a fool a God."


    The dwarf then folded his arms. " What about you, Madam Da?"


    Being called Madam made Da blush a little, but she shouldered on. "Well, I am what you would call a ''Lucky'' person. I have always been guided towards things that would benefit me and my loved ones, which is why I and this lout are still alive so far."


    Kiran snorted and looked away, yet not denying this. This made Maximo hum under his breath, as he noticed a certain dynamic here.


    Da leaned on the counter with a wide grin. "Anyway, I was guided to your forge by this obscure feeling that has led me to sess all my life. This feeling is telling me that meeting you today will result in something beneficial to both our parties."


    Maximo smiled strangely. "Alright, that is fine. But what exactly am I supposed to provide you that benefits both of us? It couldn''t be the equipment you just ordered, could it?"


    Da shook her head. "Far from it, that was just to get us a chance to speak to you, as well as see the quality of your crafts. My senses lead me to you out of all the opportunities in Safemoon, so you must be a real hidden gem."


    Such talk would make most shake their heads and think of it as empty ttery to try and get a discount or madness-induced confidence, but it made Maximo nod in agreement.


    He knew for a fact that he was the best in Safemoon, and if not for his own nature, everyone would know too.


    This, more than anything, made him believe Da''s words.


    With a sigh, Maximo decided to also take a gamble. He had his own reasons forying low up until now, but he was not foolish to pass up an opportunity that the fates had set up for him.


    "Follow me."

 Chapter 461 - 461

    Dariusnded in the Grandmaster section of the underground with his two Branded Servants. He observed the area and noticed that it was farrger and moreplex than the areas above.


    The map he had found in the Great Library of Krona ended here as well. Most of those who saw what was deeper within never got a chance to go back up.


    Darius spread out his senses over the area and drew a mental map of the tunnels. He turned to Gunner and X then smiled.


    "This time, we won''t rush forth, for there is no need. We''ll head back up to the surface while we wait for Miranda to establish herself throughout the remaining levels."


    This surprised the duo, as they thought they were about to go all out in this eradication endeavor. It turned out that they were rather going to rx.


    However, wouldn''t doing so give Beelzebub and co time to recover?


    Still, they followed Darius in teleporting back to the surface. What the trio saw left them shocked and speechless. What had been an abandoned city had now turned into a city of metal and robots.


    Guard Androids in different forms moved about, patrolling the area. Each squad was apanied by a chromatic tank with a horizontally cylindrical barrel. Gunner and X were unaware, but Darius recognized them as seemingly modified Rail Tanks, which were like mobile railguns.


    Darius wondered how Miranda managed to get the fuel necessary for such things when he noticed the Source Energy flowing through all the metals and the entire city itself.


    It was then that he understood that Miranda had dropped all other forms of energy, topletely rely on the ever-present and never diminishing Source Energy for power.


    In other words, Miranda had aplished what would set humanity as a Grade 1 Intergctic Civilization back on Earth, which was achieving a source of clean and limitless energy.


    To any native of Faust, this was not really a big deal. However, to any person from Earth, they would know that this was a game-changer, aplete upheaval!


    What even left Darius all the more speechless was the fact that the ideal ''clean and infinite energy'' usually still had some costs involved, though very minor so as to make it portable.


    However, Source Energy used in such a way had zero costs to him or Miranda!


    Miranda happily let the trio take in her hard work, before a young girl with twin tails and lovely dark skin bounced over cheerfully. Her little frilly dress swung about, softening the heart of all onlookers.


    "Hehe, Daddy what do you think?" Miranda asked with a wide grin.


    Darius was shocked to see the form of his daughter when she was young in the flesh. He couldn''t help but kneel down and touch her hair, caressing it gently, surprised that it didn''t feel like touching air, or metal, but actually hair and flesh.


    Miranda happily enjoyed the pampering before boasting. "I found some memories from you visiting a subsidiarypany, Realtech Robotics and co. They had once taken you on a detailed tour of their Research and Developmentb where they showed you the schematics for a humanoid robot."


    Darius had an eidetic memory which was further boosted by his high Intellect, so he instantly remembered what Miranda was talking about. At that time, he had been around 55 years in age, about 15 years before he died.


    Martin had only been around 9 years old at the time, far from being ready to lead thepany. Darius had been in charge of pretty much everything, and so he had gone there with high hopes.


    However, as humankind had only solved the problem with clean nuclear energy but hadn''t achieved portability, it had been impossible to power such androids, at least at an affordable cost.


    The whole range of human functions meant the sheer energy they consumed per second could only be provided by a miniature nuclear reactor in their bodies, functioning as a Pseudo-Heart.


    As such, even though he had granted them some preliminary funding, that had only been done to keep the idea alive. Darius definitely saw the massive profit and how it would revolutionize the world.


    Around the time he died, nuclear energy portability had almost been achieved, so Martin and co should have checked his leftover instructions and picked up on that project.


    He was utterly confident in his children, knowing that he didn''t have to worry about his legacy on Earth due to theirpetency.


    Darius put that thought aside when he realized what Miranda was getting at. With a curious smile, he asked. "What about Solena and Martin?"


    Miranda scratched her head. "I only just perfected the technology''s, and those two are still within the Safemoon sector. It will take me a while to build connectors with a powerful enough signal to reach Fallon."


    Darius blinked. "Are you saying it''s possible to actually get a signal that far away?"


    Mirandaughed as she hugged Darius around his waist. "Of course, Daddy! Have you forgotten about satellite technology?"


    Errˇ­ Darius''s expression froze. He had not forgotten about it per se, but he had long adapted to the nature of Faust, especially Fallon''s.


    He had forgotten that since there was gravity and space, this world should likely be a just one that was very big.


    As such, it was not impossible to deploy satellites. However, there were other concerns in Darius'' mind.


    "What about protection? On Earth, we did not have space monsters destroying satellites, but I wouldn''t be surprised if such things existed in Faust."


    Miranda nodded. "That''s why despite constructing hundred so satellites already, I haven''t deployed them into space yet. I''m still working on trying to merge the weapon systems of this world with ours, to create something powerful enough to ward off anything."


    Darius smiled with approval and rubbed Miranda''s head again. "Good girl, you have done well."


    "Ehehehe~" Miranda giggled foolishly as she enjoyed the praise.


    Darius then thought of something. "Right, continue to spread connectors all over thend. It''s best we keep the illusion that we need such constructs in order to expand and maintain ourwork, as many would find out about it when we go global."


    Darius rubbed his chin with a thin smile. "That way, if any opposing parties attempts to harm us by cutting off ourwork, they will waste their time destroying our connectors in such an area and assume we will be blind there."


    "However, with our satellite still in ce and sweeping the entire, it will be futile. You should also cooperate and pretend as if we cannot see such parties in order to reinforce the misdirection!"


    "When the time is right, we will then strike with precision, knowing everything about their ns while they know nothing of ours."


    Miranda was surprised by this, but nodded obediently. "I will do so at once! Right now, I have covered about 70% of Pokterr. I have also constructed new cities and outposts near many resources so I could increase the rate of production."


    "I estimate that in two years, I should be able to build a mechanical army strong enough to invade all of Faust."


    Darius was pleased by this, but shook his head. "Invasion is not our goal, instead it should be gentle subjugation. Like Earth''spanies have turned the popce of my old world into mindless consumers, so too will we turn the denizens of Faust."


    "Build your army, but rather than invade thendsˇ­" Darius turned to gaze at the horizon. "ˇ­I''d rather we start developing in the sea."


    Miranda seemed to understand. "It is Faust''s biggest goldmine and secret. I will begin making underwater specialized troops, carriers, and submarines. I only need a few weeks to construct a vanguard army to check the sea, so leave it to me!"


    "I trust you, my dear. Keep expanding below ground, and inform me when you reach the area of the Grandmasters. I want to head over to Ludo to investigate something." Darius exined with a nod to his two Branded Servants, who had been listening in with interrupting.


    Hearing that their master wanted to travel to another continent when he was still in the midst of their Quest, with less than 2 months until it would pse, they were shocked.


    However, knowing that Darius likely had his reason, they came to stand beside him as he activated a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array. The group then disappeared from the city in a sh of yellow light, beaming towards the destination Darius chose.


    As for Miranda, she seemed thoughtful for a bit. Since her main routine was in Darius'' HoloBrace, she had to leave behind a subroutine to take charge, so this was no longer her ''main body''.


    The subroutine got to work fulfilling Darius'' mission, nning to copy the array using technology so she could send over some help there.


    Not only that, but she would be able to start constructing awork of Ludo silently from that point of entry.


    Wellˇ­ as long as she found some natural resources to that end.


    Pokterr had been ruined by the Insects, but its metallic resources were truly endless, especially the Holy Metals.. The Insects had been unable to eat them, otherwise they would have long since broken into the Vaults before Darius ever had a chance to suss them out.

 Chapter 462 - 462

    Darius and his two Branded Servants appeared in the outskirts of an oasis, smack dab in the middle of a desert. Apart from the grilling sun overhead that was shining down upon thend, and the sand-filled in that stretched into the horizon, there wasn''t much else.


    Gunner and X looked around with surprise. The temperature didn''t bother them much with the level of Endurance they both had. If they wanted to feel the sweltering heat, they would feel it. If they wanted to ignore it, that was entirely possible too.


    Darius faced the oasis and inspected it slowly. It was arge one, with arge-sizedke in the center, a cottage set up beside theke, and a small bit of grass and coconut trees spread around for about a kilometer.


    Gunner and X found thisyout familiar, and gazed at Darius who nodded. "This is indeed simr to the Divine de of Fallon. We can call this one the Divine Oasis of Ludo, where Sino D''Mara should have spawned if he were anything but an infant."


    Darius rubbed his chin. "However, as the Resurrections Stone needed to grow and develop with him from birth, he was one of - if not the only - Agent of Vena that started from infantilism."


    Darius'' smile faded as he frowned. "And it was precisely because of that that the Fake Lords were able to have him captured and subsequently tortured. Poor him never had the chance to explore his theoretical spawn point, but I felt that it would a be a good idea to im it."


    Gunner folded his arms. "Sounds like a good idea. The Fake Lords seem to have an inkling of its location though, so what do we do about that?"


    Gunner''s concerns were valid, but Darius reassured him. "I am aware, but just as they should know where the Divine de is on Fallon, they must be unable to enter."


    X blinked her eyes with confusion. "Then howe we are about to enter it?"


    "I believe it may be because we are also Agents of Vena, or because of the Supreme System. Another hypothesis of mine is that these locations are essible to the public until an Agent of Vena ''activates'' them." Darius began.


    "In fact, there''s a way to test it out right now. Watch how it is openly visible from where we stand while outside. Once I enter within, it should either vanish or be obscure in some way."


    Upon saying this, Darius calmly walked into the oasis, heading straight for the cottage. He was visible for a minute or two before the entire oasis seemed to evaporate before the shocked eyes of Gunner and X, as if it had just been a mirage.


    The duo nced at each other with surprise, but waited. Soon, Darius came out with a smile, and the oasis became visible for a split second before it disappeared once more.


    Gunner and X reported what had happened to Darius, which made him satisfied. The trio then entered the oasis and entered the cottage. The interior design was the exact same as Darius'' own, which gave Darius and Gunner especially a feeling of nostalgia.


    The trio settled in. Darius then removed an item from his Inventory that he had kept for a while, but found no use for until today.


    It was the Desert King''s Turban! It was a golden-cream turban that granted any wearer immunity from the desert conditions of Ludo, also qualifying them to be the next king of the content if they could pass the Test of Mettle.


    Before, this had sounded like something obscure and needless to Darius, but after acquiring all the restricted knowledge of Faust, he understood that bing the Desert King was not a joke.


    It wasn''t just an empty title that required the people to recognize him. It was more of an appointment made by the Laws of Faust granting a person supernatural power while on Ludo.


    The Desert King could control all sand on the continent with ease, no matter where he stood. In the ancient days, Ludo had been one of the most powerful continents, until thest Desert King had been lured away from the continent under the pretext of a gathering and assassinated.


    As for who organized the gathering? Was there really a need to spell it out?


    After killing him, the turban had been imed by them as a spoil of war. The Gods had sent out vassals, demi-gods, and even some Lesser Gods to take the Test of Mettle, but all had failed.


    For almost 2,000 years, this failure rate had continued, so they had naturally lost interest and tossed it aside.


    One thing led to another, and it ended up in the hands of the naturally lucky Da Brown.


    Speaking of Da, Darius made a mental note to check in on her. While he and his two Branded Servants had higher Luck than her, it did not remove the fact that thess had been born as a Paragon of Luck of the Basic Order.


    There had to be an overarching reason for it, and Darius was determined to find out. For now, he set the matter aside as he refocused on the turban before him.


    He had naturallye to Ludo this time to partake in the test of mettle. As far as ounts go, it wasn''t something that took years. A Lesser God of the Sand Element held the record for spending 25 hours inside.


    What was interesting though, was that none of those who had gone in could speak about the nature of the test, as they were bound to silence by the Laws of Faust. Darius felt like this would be an interesting experience even if he failed.


    Bing the Desert King was just a nice little bonus to help him takeover Ludo faster. It was the poorest continent after Fallon, but the standard of living here was far worse than anywhere else on Faust.


    Due to the temperature and the scarcity of life, outsiders hardly came here unless they had a pressing reason, just like Pokterr. This made it a prime continent for Miranda to establish herself on and start taking over slowly.


    What, you thought Darius fancied himself an adventure who wanted to see all thends, experience cultures, and meet new people? Far from it.


    He knew all he needed to of the world from the Restricted Knowledge, and he had enough power to climb to the top without partaking in needless adventurers.


    Every single step he had taken after the 5-year recluse, every single word, action, and thought was nned out and calcted. This increased exponentially in intensity after he encountered Deia''s reincarnation here and had regained a will to live so to say.


    Coming here, at this specific time when he could easily finish the Quest by killing the bugs, had its own purpose too, and it wasn''t just establishing Miranda nor bing a Desert King.


    He could certainly rush and finish off the bugs while they were weak, but no. They still had some use and Darius had made some predictions that should him even bigger gains.


    It wasn''t the farmer who nted the most crops or worked the hardest who became the richest, but the farmer who looked up to the sky and monitored the weather patterns as well as the cycles who came out on top.


    Darius decided to let his group rest for the night, as they had been fighting for quite a while. Gunner used his HoloBrace to watch some more DragonBall Z, especially the Broly Movies/Specials since that was his role model.


    As for X, she was currently riveted behind her screen watching ''How To Get Away With Murder''. Darius chuckled as he saw these two native Faustians enjoy media from Earth.


    As for him, he decided to sit cross-legged in his room and meditate on the Magical Method. When he had been creating the Insect Soul Course spell, his mana had passed through a certain pathway that intrigued him.


    He and Miranda had explored it back then and hypothesised about whether they had discovered a pathway to a new element!


    Specifically, the element diametrically opposite to Spirit!


    It had to be noted that up until now, the counter to the Spirit Element had not been found! That was one of the reasons why it was so powerful, and taken seriously.


    Now that Darius had discovered the preliminary pathway, as long as he could decide the rest, the Laws of Faust would acknowledge it and open the element to the world.


    However, He - Darius Stone - would be given the highest authority over the element under the Laws themselves. This was what he was looking forward to, so he quickly delved into the exploration with Miranda in tow.


    This would definitely take some time, as they were not just tracing the pathways for a spell, but for an element. There were more than one empty slot for opposing elements in the world of Faust currently.


    Yet, the world had existed for so long and very few had been sussed out.. Naturally, it wasn''t that easy.

 Chapter 463 - 463

    However, the issue here was that this new pathway was quite difficult to traverse for a normal person. Just like how Darius had to manually feel out the routes for the Order element since he didn''t dare cast any spell of that element, he was also using his Luck to guide him.


    Miranda was also crucial to this, as she was connected to Darius'' mind, so she could see the magicalwork her father was traversing. The AI could then use her superiorputing abilities to calcte all thebinations and routes before suggesting the most likely one.


    Darius would then move though there, and if his Spiritual Senses from his Grandmaster stage Luck gave him a warning or radiated satisfaction, he would know that he was on the right route. Miranda would then pick up from there and restart the calctions and so on.


    If was difficult for the Order element since it was a very high and powerful element, but for whatever he would end up calling the opposite of the Spirit element, it was only an advanced element at best, so the ease was noticeable.


    Finding the route was just a matter of time basically with the resources Darius had on hand. Compared to traditional Faustians who had only themselves to find the routes for elements, the reincarnator was really spoiled.


    It just made him subtly respect his predecessors even more. To brave that hazardouswork without any real guidance but your own gutˇ­ he didn''t even want to think about how many Awakened in Faust had died over the millennia from the bacsh after taking a wrong route.


    Miranda estimated their progress to have been 5% after two days of meditation in the cabin. X and Gunner had been doing their own things in this time, rxing mostly.


    Seeing that they werefortable, Darius smiled and took out the Desert King Turban. It was a reddish-gold roll of silk that was meant to be tied in the sultan style. Darius did just that and felt a strange energy spread throughout his body once hepleted the tie.


    He assessed it and discovered a sand-colored stream of energy flowing through his body. In fact, both he and Miranda assessed that to be more than just a form of energy, it was likely a form ofw.


    That was due to what they knew of the turban''s effects and the fact that Darius himself felt an imperceptible connection to the sand beneath his feet. However, this connection was faint, as true control would only be granted to the next Desert King, not the one wearing his turban.


    Right now, the only effect it granted Darius was immunity to Ludo''s weather. However, his current Endurance made him somewhat immune to it already. Or rather than immune, it should be said that he was so incredibly resistant that it practically posed no effect.


    The same went for Gunner and X.


    Darius also sensed that the headwear was leading him to a certain location. He guessed that it would be the Test of Mettle trial''s location, which was stipted to be at the exact center of the continent.


    The Divine Oasis they were in was located in the far east and the turban was pointing him west, so that should be somewhat true. Since he was still more or less focused on unlocking this new element first and foremost, he did not rush off to take the test.


    After all, it would not run away. It had been there since before Darius could even fathom and would likely continue to be there till Faust''s end. Even if it decided to lock itself for eternity tomorrow for whatever reason, it was not something that was crucial to Darius.


    As one would say, it was a ''side quest'' and an unimportant one at that. He had more pressing matters, like unlocking this new element. This would also qualify as ''side quest'', but its rtive value to him was much higher.


    Darius proceeded to spend another four days working on it tirelessly, but his total progress advanced to 15%. He had experienced it before, but trying to find the pathways for an element, even with the tools he had at hand, was a time-consuming thing.


    It was different from using a spell. Whenever a mage cast one, passing through those avenues was almost instant - at least for people like him - so one would notice. It was like passing through a roadwork for the first time and not knowing where anyone led, while trying to cross two states.


    Darius could only stop here as he had something else to work on. He got Gunner and X to get ready, as their little vacation was over and it was time to get to work once more.


    The Branded Servant Duoplied immediately and were beside Darius in minutes. He then teleported the group towards the center of the continent. He wanted to leave seeds of Miranda here for her to begin a subtle takeover while no one was looking.


    After all, Ludo was seen as a Desert Continent with little to no value. They had great mineral resources here, far better than any other continent, but extracting them here was such a tiresome job that no one wanted to bother.


    Of course, powerhouses could ignore the conditions and extract what they wanted, but why would they do that? They''d rather just force/contract someone else to get it or pay for it themselves.


    Thisck of respect and attention given to Ludo was exactly what Darius was looking for. On Fallon, his attempts to spread would be met with great resistance as he neared the more powerful kingdoms and empires, as no one would let unidentified foreign equipment be set up in their borders.


    Once Miranda built enough forces using the resources of Pokterr and Ludo, which just so happened to be metal-rich continents with unique resources in that regard, there would be no force that could contest with him.


    Sure, the Undead armies and Insect armies were Unlivable grade apocalypse, since both fed on their opponent''s living and dead to grow stronger. They knew no fatigue and could fight attrition wars with ease.


    But a metal army was above that, a true Unfathomable grade apocalypse. They had all the power of modern technology, as well as the benefits of the two previous races. What was worse was that destroying a metal army soldier was pointless.


    They could just grab the scrap back and reuse it to build a new unit. Of course, this kind of army had the weakness of needing to be manufactured, so its main weaknesses were theck of energy source, metal resource inflow, and safeguarded factories.


    Cut any of these three off and the army would be rendered numb. However, it was usually impossible to do so, and Undead/Insect armies were far easier to deal with. Their killing rate and adaptability was nowhere near AI-driven machines either.


    In fact, Insect armies and Undead armies were only dangerous to civilizations without magic and set in the Victorian era and before that. An Insect army or Undead army would be useless in the modern era due to the many weapons and efficient information systems to track them down.


    A metal army though, would be 150% dangerous to a modern era world with weapons. To an ancient civilization without tech, a metal army was just the end, period. It would truly be unfathomable, as they would not even be able toprehend what they were fighting against.


    This was also the case for Faust. In fact, in the entirety of Faust, the only ones who would be able to understand how the army worked would be those from Gravitas.


    That was why the technology-adept continent was definitely on Darius'' hitlist, regardless of how they felt about it. He had no ns topromise or seek peace. There could be only one person with a monopoly on neo-modern technology, and that would be him.


    Whatever the case, Darius soonnded in the area with the richest mine on Ludo. He was standing on a rocky outcrop with Gunner and X behind him. From their vantage point, they could gaze at the valley where the mine was located and see how busy it was.


    One could see an efficient mining town set up, with most of those working being of dark skin tones. The Ludoians did most of the hardbor as they were attuned to the continent''s temperature and had hardy bodies.


    The ones who owned the mine were foreign forces that had set up a web of interest in this mining town,ing from all over the world.


    Of course, Darius was not here to kill them all and im the mine for himself. That would be counterintuitive to his purpose in subtly and slowly building a force. Rather, he was here to learn more about the mining situation on the entire continent and acquire some resources for Miranda to begin work.


    Darius also had the location of other mines that werepletely undiscovered, so he would set her up there. However, he had obviously run out of mineral resources for Miranda to build worker bots.


    -----------------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note</strong>: I have a lot to say, but adding too much would be a problem, so I''ll try to summarize and be concise.


    Recently, there has been ack of chapters from Guild Wars and Darius Supreme. This isn''t because of writer''s block or any real crisis, but something more banal.


    Basically, as I said in chapter 61 of Guild Wars - which exined my reasons for going premium on my first novel - writing/authorship is the equivalent of being unemployed where Ie from. You tell anyone you''re an author and they look at you with hidden disdain and pity.


    So I set a goal for myself to reach 100,000 Ghs and invest it in a Treasury Bill (for those who don''t know what that is, it''s a government bond) which is probably the equivalent of - what was at the time of me setting the goal - $20,000.


    This can be seen as the bare minimum to start my life andy a financial foundation. I recently reached that goal thanks to the poprity of Guild Wars especially. You guys have never given up on this novel, which puts me to shame tbh.


    So I bought the bond and set it to renew the principal every term, which means I have a perpetual investment, as government bonds are about the safest you can get (literally unless your government copses).


    Now, how is this a problem? Well, you see I was able to persist precisely because I had that amount set as a goal. I was able to manage writing GW and DS at the same time because I knew what I wanted and I was working toward it.


    So the problem is, now that I''ve reached the goal, I''m in a bit of a slump.


    To make it more concise, I am in a situation that is equivalent to an applicant who had spent a year studying for a university entrance exam, and had just written the exam.


    I was tense and focused on studying and seeding and now that the big day is over, I am unwinding and finding it a bit hard to study again.


    Why am I saying this? I don''t n to put anything on hiatus really, or pause any of my novels. I did that once and did not enjoy it.


    I just want to bring you up to speed on my current status.


    To answer the question of: When will things get back to normal?


    Think of it like this. Using the above example, I havepleted the exam and am awaiting enrollment.. So once the school year begins, I will re-adjust and acquire a new goal.

 Chapter 464 - 464

    The mining encampment itself was nothing remarkable, just a shoddy town with roughshod buildings set up here and there. After all, as already stated, the minerals on Ludo - while plentiful - were not exactly do or die resources needed by the other continents.


    Faust itself was a resource-rich with rare resources at every corner. To set up shop all the way in Ludo just for some metals was not worth the cost.


    After all, think about it. When it came to harvesting resources, what was the most important and costliest part of the entire endeavor? Transportation!


    How the heck were the other continents supposed to transport these metals? Using ships? By the time a single ferry would make it, already assuming there were no dangers on the way, an entire generation would have grown to rece thest.


    By portal? Not everyone could be like Darius'' Safemoon. It would be practically burning money faster than anyone could think, throwing away whatever chance you had at having a sustainable business to make yourself a pauper, so it was out of the question.


    As such, the minerals were mostly shipped out in small quantities that were not too expensive and were tolerable by various merchants. Most were traded within the continent, but sales in that regard were not very impressive.


    The way the business worked was quite simple. The miningpanies were set up under the jurisdiction of the nearby Ludoian Kingdom, Farfraha.


    Of course, such permits were easy to get as long as you were willing to grace the hands of the issuing officer with some extra cash. However, that was for private merchants groups here on their own.


    As for those affiliated with bigger forces, the Farfraha Kingdom naturally knew what to do.


    The various miningpanies set up headquarters in this mining town, and were the ones who even led to its establishment anyway. They then hired local Ludoians from Farfraha or even bought Ludoian ves from all over the continent to work for them.


    If you were a free citizen working here, you could even be considered lucky. The ves were forced to work without wages and minimal food, so many of them died from overwork. However, Ludo was a ce with a veryplex even worse than Fallon.


    You might not evene here with such a mind, but the locals captured their own people zealously to sell them off for the slightest profit. Not even for money, but for foodstuffs to survive on this continent with its harsh climate.


    Once the workers were settled and began work, the metals would be collected by the miningpanies and stored in their warehouses. Then, they would either open up shops in the town to sell their metals wholesale, or contract with other merchant groups who would buy from them then resell it over the continent and beyond.


    Most of the time, they did both and more. It depended on the scale of the business. For example, the smaller business would just hire a few miners then sell it in small shops within the town.


    The medium-scale ones usually also had bigger shops and were affiliated with a select merchant group that either sold within the continent or beyond. The conglomerates were those who did everything at once themselves.


    They were the miningpany, the trade group and some even processed the resources into finished goods before selling them locally or abroad. The scale of the business here was quite interesting to Darius given his past.


    Once someone created a way to cross continents in the shortest possible time at the lowest possible cost, they could create a business empire so vast and powerful that even the True Lords would be trapped in its web of interests.


    Of course, ever since Miranda had been informed about the way to attain infinite, clean and sufficient energy, this was already 70% done. Now, she just needed to create checkpoints where resources could be transferred to and the was some work left to increase the speed of this process.


    The rail carriages were certainly fast, but they took a lot of time to make and a lot of resources, especially with howrge Faust waspared to Earth.


    The optimal solution would be to develop a way for portal technology to no longer use Space Stones or Spatial Energy as the crux, but rather Source Energy.


    s, the Polito Race had never reached that stage. Even the way Miranda was using Source Energy now was years ahead of them, as she hadbined all the knowledge of Faust, the techniques of the Politos, and the knowledge from Earth to achieve this effect.


    Space Stones were required since you needed Spatial Energy. It was a simple thing. However, to make Source Energy the crux, it wasn''t just about ''powering the portal''.


    One would need toe up with a way to convert Source Energy into pure Spatial Energy at no energy loss to achieve a perfect form of this technology. This was something beyond both Miranda and Darius'' capabilities, as well as many species of Faust, right now.


    Darius gazed at his gloved hands and caressed the back of one. With his Transmutation, he might be able to do something about that in the future.


    However, he would first need to upgrade it further to see what kind of new effects and rules it would have before he could search for any kind of loophole.


    And to do that, he would need toplete the Insect Extermination Quest which he was currently on, which also led to why he was here in the first ce.


    The reason Darius had left Pokterr was not because he had been bored nor because whatever side quest he hade to do here was so vitally important that it couldn''t wait.


    The moment he had reached the end of the Master band and had been about to challenge the Grandmasters, his Spiritual Senses had raged.


    Darius was not clear about where exactly that danger originated from. Whether he had yed around for too long allowing Beelzebub to somehow recuperate, or whether there was some sort of trap waiting for them at their homeground, he just got the feeling that if he stayed on the continent with his current strength he would have to be revived in the Divine de.


    Ludo had always been the next destination after the Quest ended, so one could say that this way his visit had just been pushed forward.


    X and Gunner had perceived this same warning, albeit not at the same level due to their different levels of Luck, but the message had been clear.


    Even now, that feeling of danger presided, warning them that returning to Pokterr was not safe at the moment.


    Darius was naturally curious as to why this was the case, but he was not willing to risk it. As such, he had moved here and spent some time in the Divine Oasis, and was now going to acquire some useful metals to kickstart Miranda''s operation in select locations.


    From there, he would take a look at this Test of Mettle and see what it was about. If the sense of danger still hadn''t passed, he would continue trying to suss out the new element he had discovered until it was finally a-okay to resume his Journeyman Quest.


    As for why he would even bother toe to this ce and pay for minerals when he could just transmute them to save timeˇ­ well, the answer should be obvious.


    Which was more efficient?


    To use his abundance of money to buy up a huge amount of metal at the cheapest cost possible, since he was practically buying right at the source without the need to pay for the necessary transportation or to use his limited CP, with its daily limit that wasn''t even enough to transmute all the things he and Safemoon needed?


    Making the smartest choice given the circumstances, Darius appeared at the entrance of the mining town with his two Branded Servants.


    As one could expect, there was not much traffic as most of those who had business here had already settled, and most of those who left did so on specific intervals.


    The trio managed to walk in unimpeded and without gathering much attention at first. Darius walked through the various shops that were situated near the entrance until he ended up in one that looked like it belonged to a bigpany.


    Given the size of the bulk order he was about to make, the smaller shops would not be able to satisfy his requirements. Darius could naturally alternate from shop to shop, but if he was worried about such a thing as notability or traceability at this point, doing so would gather more attention than just buying from one ce.


    After all, illogical actions attracted suspicion far faster than logical ones. Why would anyone want to buy from hundreds of small shops instead of one big one if they had nothing to hide?


    Upon entry, Darius entered a reception area with quite a bit of seating avable, while a few clerks were situated behind desks. Once they noticed that an unfamiliar person had entered, one of them quickly rose up and walked over to Darius.


    It was a handsome young man with short-cropped white hair and strange violet eyes with serpentine slits.. When he spoke, one couldn''t help but fall into a slight lull from how pleasant his voice sounded.

 Chapter 465 - 465

    "Greetings good sir, my name is Husanda Likivo. I am a sales operator here at our Likivo Family Company. How may I help you today?" The fellow asked amiably.


    Darius'' eyes narrowed when he felt a strange mental charm imbued in the fellow''s voice that was subtle and non-intrusive, mostly suggestive.


    It had the effect of making his words sound far more believable as long as they made a certain amount of sense, but didn''t force one to be beholden to his wishes.


    This was quite smart, as it would make the weak-minded - or at least those weaker than this fellow - easily susceptible to his words while those like Darius who were stronger would merely shrug it off. They would either not be aware of it, or those more astute would realize that it was clearly a natural trait which bore no malice.


    Darius hummed and smiled softly. "Let me see your stock of minerals first."


    Noticing that Darius was one of the ''strong ones'', Husanda became even more respectful and led him to a private room, where he presented his potential customer with a brochure of thepany''s various wares.


    Husanda then exined. "Since I don''t recall meeting you, Esteemed Sir, allow me to first state that there are two types of mineral-rted sales we specialize in. Ore sales and ingot sales."


    "If you are not familiar with these, ores are basically the raw state of the mineral. They vary greatly in nature, and what might be ssified as an ore possessing a certain mineral usually only contains around 30% of the namesake within. For example, typical iron ore may weigh 300 grams, but only 100 grams or less of itsposition would be actual iron."


    "This then requires a person to use special filtration techniques to purify the iron and remove other metal that dilutes the ore, creating an ingot. The rectangr-shaped piece of purified metal can then be called a semi-finished product, which can easily be turned into a finished good."


    "It is important to note that both ores and ingots have different quality ratings. Some ores might have better and denser strains of iron within, meaning you would get more iron when you turn it into an ingot and waste less of the ore."


    Husanda chuckled. "After all, if you''ve purchased an iron ore, you most likely won''t care about manganese or bauxite. Such things might be gathered by the purifier, but it costs more and adds a lot more difficulty to the work for a craftsman, so most just toss it away."


    "Back to the topic, ingots also have different qualities, it mostly has to do with the technique or methodology used to purify them. Some methods work better to clean out the impurities - which are other minerals in this case - but yield less quantity while some cleanse a majority of impurities but leave tiny specks within in order to gain more quantity."


    Husanda spread his arms out. "This is the difference between Pure Iron and Iron. Or any Pure metal ingot and a normal ingot. All iron ingots used for normal cksmithing have little impurities in them, since smiths care about quantity over quality so they can produce more. These specks are tiny enough that they wouldn''t cause much trouble anyway."


    "But those who are looking for the best performance only go for pure metals. Such things can only be produced with a special methodology involving magical cleansing. It''s why Pure Metal Ingots possess magical capabilities and can support great enchantments as well as augmentation." Husanda added.


    Gunner and X had been listening attentively as they knew little about such things, while Darius had been fully focused on the brochure and was only half paying attention to the salesman. He already knew all of what was being told, anyway.


    With a smile of amusement, he still inspected the brochure as he pointed out. "Mr. Husanda, I believe you weren''t exining all of this just for nothing. Essentially, you just want me to spend more by straight-up purchasing Pure Metal Ingots from yourpany, correct?"


    Husanda''s smile became a bit warped as his intentions were dragged to the light by Darius. He could onlyin in his heart as to how little his natural persuasive ability affected the fellow in front of him.


    Even if he was a powerhouse, there was nothing wrong with his words, and many like Darius had been eventually lulled into his tempo.


    Of course, poor Husanda was unaware that he was dealing with a merchant even craftier than himself. Even if Darius hadn''t neem powerful enough to resist the suggestion, pulling him into this train of thought would be tough based on his natural instincts.


    However, Darius had to admit that Husanda made sense, no matter how you went about it. Anyone who listened to his exnation would agree that buying a Pure Ingot was better, especially Darius who knew the exact differences due to his wealth of knowledge.


    Well, it was basically the equivalent of having a total budget of $50,000 and heading to a car showroom to purchase a new automobile. There, you would be presented with two options when you ask for a specific model car you were hoping to buy.


    On the left was a brand new model that had suffered some manufacturer''s defects that were not pressing and did not hamper the utility of the car, making it cost $30,000. On the right was a brand new model that was perfect, without any faults or ws anywhere, but at a cost of $45,000.


    Most would opt for the left car, as they could save an extra $15,000 that could be used for a variety of things. However, as Husanda said, although those small defects would not cause trouble on a normal day, what if the car was ever put under stress? You would have to live with the risk that it could erupt with a shocking power someday that could cause all manners of consequences from injury to death.


    Same thing with metals that would likely be used to make equipment or a building. Thest thing you wanted to do was be cheap and watch as some lout runs you through with a sword by striking a point of your armor that was weaker than other parts due to the impure iron there.


    And so, if you had the money to buy better quality, it was always better to do so as you would save yourself many troubles in the future you would never even be able to predict at the time of purchase.


    While Darius understood this, Husanda was making a slight oversight. Darius made sure to correct him on this as he closed the brochure and gazed at the semi-human with a slight smile.


    "Don''t worry, I have my own means of purifying and processing metals. My order today, is therefore solely in terms of ores, not ingots."


    Husanda sighed internally, knowing that selling ores was nowhere near as lucrative as selling the ingots but he couldn''t just force the things down the fellow''s throat, now could he? As such, he put on a business smile and asked:


    "Esteemed Sir, please let me know the specific ores, the minimum concentration needed and the quantity required in grams, so we can prepare your order."


    Darius smiled at the fellow strangely. "Grams? I''m afraid my order is not that small. I will be needing at least one of the following each; High Iron, Oricalchum, Mithril, Elementium, Thunder Copper, Blood Metal, Corundum, etc."


    Darius listed a whole slew of different metals, of which Husanda''s face began to change with each one mentioned. Before he could even ask whether Darius was not pulling his leg, the fellow continued.


    "As for the concentrations, it doesn''t matter as long as the ores have a minimum of at least 1% concentration. Anything that has even a smidgen of the ore within will be eptable."


    Darius then leaned back in his head and folded his arms, gazing at the now sweating Husanda. "As for quantity, you can basically hand over as much as your store can afford to give."


    Husanda was screaming in his heart. ''HUGE ORDER! THIS IS A HUGE ORDER! I AM GOING TO BE RICH!''


    If he could pull this off, his standing within the Likivo family would rise exponentially and hismission alone would put him on par with some elders! As such, he immediately wanted to rush out and fulfill the order, but he had to be sure.


    "Sir, about thisˇ­" He began, not sure how to put it without offending his customer.


    As a fellow merchant, Darius immediately understood the other''s worries. "What currencies does your store ept?"


    Surprised and relieved that Darius was so understanding, Husanda replied. "We take any major continental currency, but we specifically ept the Dius from Elysium, the Spirit Stones from the Immortal World, the Mon from the Land of Samurai, and the Gold Coins of Fallon''s major countries."


    Darius nodded. "Here then. This is only a part of my funds for this purchase. Consider this my down payment to show my sincerity and to relieve thepany of any worries."


    With a wave of his hands, a Bag of Holding appeared in Husanda''s hands. Surprised, he gazed within and saw that it contained almost 50 million worth of Dius, the global number one currency that was so hard to get!

 Chapter 466 - 466

    Husanda felt as if that thing in his hands was a boiling hot rock. He almost threw the Bag of Holding away as if it were a snake, but he managed to rein everything in at thest moment and keep up what littleposure he could.


    With trembling hands that clutched onto the poor Bag of Holding like a lifeline, he gazed at Darius with a smile that looked crooked. "S-Sir, this is your d-down payment t-then?"


    His voice cracked like a young boy undergoing puberty, making Husanda feel slightly ashamed, but the stoic non-caring expression on Gunner''s face as well as the understanding expression in X''s face soothed him.


    Most importantly, Darius nodded lightly and waved him off. "Go Husanda, fulfill my order quickly."


    Husanda''s back straightened as he bolted out without acknowledging Darius''s words, nning to use whatever authority he had to make this order happen.


    He was not so stupid to go and report upwards, as someone higher would kick him out of the entire transaction then im the benefits and fame for themselves.


    Darius and his two Branded Servants only had to wait a shocking five minutes before Husanda had returned, slightly bruised and with blood on various parts of his body that was not exactly his.


    X was rmed, whereas Gunner merely raised an eyebrow. Meanwhile, Darius rubbed his chin with interest, understanding one or two things.


    Husanda pped his hands, and various servants brought in huge chests filled with neatly packed ores.


    Dariusughed and advised. "No need to work up such a sweat. Here are some Bags of Holding for your servants to fill up my goods."


    With that, Darius dropped around 200 Bags of Holding that had been sitting in his Inventory, empty and waiting for use. This stunned all those who were filing into this small private room, until Husanda cleared his throat loudly, awakening them from their stupor.


    "Get to work! Time waits for no man, and your bonus doesn''t either!"


    Remembering the reward that Husanda had promised them for this undertaking, the servants became even more hardworking and in a matter of minutes slotted everything into the Bags of Holding categorically without mixing them up.


    Husanda then ced them all into three chests than presented them to Darius. "Here you are, my Lord. 300 tons of High Iron, 340 tons of Oricalchum, 456 tons of Mithril, 120 tons of Elementium, 500 tons of Thunder Copper, 23 tons of Blood Metal, 2300 tons of Corundumˇ­"


    Darius listened dutifully and nodded his head. Some ores were rarer than others, so it was natural that their presence here wascking. When Husanda was done listing the amounts, Darius was thoroughly satisfied.


    "So, how much do I need to add on top of my previous deposit?" He asked while gazing at Husanda in the eyes.


    Not daring to deceive this powerful and wealthy customer who could potentially be his backer if he handled things right, Husanda reported truthfully. "The total is 409 million Dius. Deducting your 50 million deposit, the bnce is 359 million Dius."


    Darius nodded and removed another Bag of Holding then ced the requisite amount of Dius inside. He then sent it over to Husanda who received it and checked dutifully before nodding obsequiously to his new all-time favorite customer.


    "Thank you for your patronage, my Lord! If ever you pass by, make sure to give our Likivo Family Group a visit and look for me, I will drop everything to amodate you properly!"


    Darius merely gave him a smile but did not reply, which disappointed Husanda. Before he could offer to escort him out, Darius waved his hand and the three chests disappeared to where, Husanda did not know.


    Then Darius snapped his finger and the trio, who had exuded a powerful presence merely by sitting there, disappeared in a yellow light, making all those within the private room gasp as if they had finally left a high altitude area into a low one.


    They had not even noticed that they were passively being suppressed, which was why greed towards their customers had not entered their minds. This naturally did note from Darius as he had perfect control over his power, nor X who didn''t like oppressing others without need.


    It was from Gunner, who had been calmly seated the whole time. He had used it to warn those weaklings that should they have the wrong thought, he would use one punch to turn them and their entire family into dust.


    Now that they were gone, Husanda sighed, then felt the excitement course through him. Now that this transaction had been done sessfully, it was time to report it up and im the benefits that would ensure his bright future within the family.


    ......ˇ­


    Darius and his two Branded Servants re-appeared in a select part of Ludo, near the firstrge mine he nned to use for Miranda''s growth. He then activated the Portal house, which grew in all its suburban glory.


    Seeing their home away from home again, Gunner and X smiled. They rushed in to bathe and getfortable enough to watch their shows, while Darius chuckled and entered theb he had attached to the building.


    He watched as the room came to life as Miranda directly took over the facilities and activated them. Darius took out the chest with the Bags of Holding that held all the ores and left them near the hands and tools of the robot that Miranda would use to work on them.


    Knowing that this next bit might take some time, he retreated from theb and decided to head to his room to continue working on the new element pathway.


    As for the money he used to pay for the metals, it was at the back of his mind. It wasn''t something he transmuted nor wealth he had physically earned, but wealth that Safemoon had earned for him.


    1 Supreme Coin was worth 100 Dius, and during just the auction alone, there had been items that had sold for millions of Supreme Coins and it was more than one batch. 1 million Supreme Coins was 100 million Dius, so you could imagine.


    As the items sold there were made by Darius through Transmutation, there was no cost involved in their production (apart from CP, but then again, CP was given to him daily for free) which was why Safemoon''s economy was so saturated that it was still digesting earnings up until now.


    Darius had "unlimited" Supreme Coins, he just ''exchanged'' them with the city before he left, which gave him a good amount of Dius to use for any situation. His wealth right now was far beyond anything he had on Earth, not even a hundred lifetimes would be enough to spend it all.


    Unfortunately, despite the sheer power of the Supreme Coins, its utility and supremacy was only present within Safemoon. To extend it over the world to fully take over the Dius, he would need to have every single citizen wear a HoloBrace as that was what was required to collect and use Supreme Coins in the first ce as it was a fully digital currency.


    Once Mirandaunched her satellites, coverage of the entire Faust in theirwork wouldn''t be a problem. Rather, the hard part would be spreading his HoloBraces throughout the world.


    While the people might not exactly be averse to it, those in power would never let their authority be subtly usurped.


    Still, that was a consideration forter.


    Right now, Darius was soaking in a bath while sipping on wine. Ever since the Insect Eradication Quest had started, he had either been thinking hard about his next step or taking measures that would ensure his sess.


    Not to mention the amount of time he had spent in the underground world killing Insects, a ce which naturally smelled like shit and rot. After all, their race wasn''t one that Insects particrly cared about the smell.


    Since he was naturally in a period of minor rxation, he could afford to treat himself well. Gunner and X were doing something simr to this end. They couldn''t rx too much in the Divine Oasis because it didn''t have much in the way of facilities.


    After chilling without any cause for worry for a few hours, Darius settled into his bedroom and cast a Journeyman spell of the Sound element to iste any noise from the outside so he could focus.


    Even if they were going to be attacked - which his Spiritual Senses gave no indication of - Gunner and X were more than enough to handle it.


    Soon, Darius was fully immersed in the world of the magicalwork that ran through his - and everyone else''s - body. Of course, different ces had different names for it.


    The Immortals of Pan called it the meridianwork, the Ninja and Samurai of Houto called it the Chakrawork, and so on.. The base utility of theseworks was the same, push energy through to activate unique skills, spells, or techniques that wielded power beyond what the average human could perform.

 Chapter 467 - 467

    Whatever the case, it was something that permeated the entire body from top to bottom and facilitated the unique abilities of the Awakened ones in Faust.


    Darius wasrgely aware that such things also existed on Earth, but Miranda''s analysis of the human body of his home in conjunction with all the knowledge he had of Faust was the following:


    Basically, at one point, humans on Earth must have had witches, wizards, cultivators, ninja, and all those romanticized things, but something had urred to cripple their descendants'' meridianworks.


    Miranda was of the opinion that this must have happened abruptly, leading torge consequences. Darius doubted this, his assumption was it must have urred over time, slowly stripping humans of these unique persons such that each new generation had fewer and fewer until they became myth, but we still collectively "knew" they existed.


    Miranda would need about a week to process all the metals to manufacture a new and unique ss of worker robots she had designed while expanding on Pokterr, the Builderbot.


    After all, the Critterbots and Guard Androids were designs of Gravitas, and while useful, they were not as good as the kind of ideas for robots that Earthlings had.


    Critterbots were too small even if they were handy and usedrge numbers to make up for their size thanks to their ease of production. Guard Androids were human-shaped, fine, but they were not meant for tasks like these as the name said.


    They were made to fight, so while they could assist in building and be as proficient at it as a normal human/humanoid with infinite stamina, they couldn''t reach the level of even mere Critterbots who could manifest various tools from their bodies to assist the work.


    The Builderbots would be the perfect middle ground. They were half the size of a human and shaped like a halfling. They had human hands, allowing them to do fine work that only humans could do while being able to manifest various tools from their bodies that were of an even wider variety than the Critterbots.


    They were fast, tireless, strong, and could even fight or defend themselves much better than Guard Androids. After all, theirposite strength due to the ratio of metals used meant that they would be harder, more durable as well as thinner, and lighter than any other robot model on Faust.


    So even though they were small, a punch from them would hurt 1.5x times more than a typical Guard Android. Due to their size, they would also be faster and more nimble, making them harder to hit.


    Of course, that was onlypared to Guard Android not made with the same ratio of metals. If Miranda were to bother to make such things, they would be 3x stronger than the Builderbots, but that wasn''t the goal right now.


    She could work on those after they began extracting from the mine, granting them a limitless supply of metal. Right now, the AI didn''t even have a full factory, and so could only manually build each bit one by one, instead of throwing them on an assembly line and letting pre-programmed assembly machines do the work.


    During this time, Gunner and X were rxed, but tense. The warning they were receiving was still present, and it was intensifying gradually with each hour.


    Not to warn them of danger approaching them, but that it was a bad idea to return to Pokterr. Darius was curious about the state of the continent, but he didn''t have the satellites up yet so there was no way to directlymunicate with Miranda''s subroutine still there.


    As much as he was curious, he was more worried.


    As such, while Miranda was working, he recorded a message and made a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array that was locked to the house in which he worked in while he was on Pokterr, which was Miranda''s headquarters on the continent.


    He made sure to encrypt it, so forget Grandmasters or True Lords, even the tech-savvy fellows from Gravitas would only waste their time trying to crack it.


    His message was simple, he warned Miranda''s subroutine of the potential danger and informed her to backup all her bases by building an underground cache where she was to store all core assets of them and leave semi-empty shells with cannon fodder above.


    As for the main bases, it was impossible to do so once it was right above the main entrance to the underground world, but she was to relocate most of the core assets there to other ces in the interim, likely one of the nearest Polito Vaults.


    Darius was not sure what the state of Pokterr was right now, but he was sure that whatever it was that threatened their safety so strongly had yet to descend, as the Spiritual Sense warning hadn''t yet reached climax.


    As such, he hoped that there would be enough time for Miranda to make a difference. Also, he nned to step up the release of the satellites so that he could achieve worldwide coverage and be connected to all ces in Faust at all times.


    Well, there was little he could do now, so he resumed his work in the pathway of the new element. A week of time would grant him approximately 15% of progress minus the time he slept and did other misc things, so he got down to it.


    ...


    In Elysium''s City of Light, five entities were gathered in arge cathedral hall. They were currently kneeling before a frozen statue of Zeus that was locked in the majestic pose of throwing a thunderbolt towards the sky.


    The leftmost entity was a man with a slim body and light brown skin. His face possessed a fully-trimmed beard that ran from his chin to his sideburns, then circled around his mouth to form a suave mustache.


    He had short dark hair that was kept neat as well as sharp golden eyes that were full of wisdom. He wore the traditional white toga with golden ents, something that denoted a high position here.


    Besides the brown diator sandals at his feet rested a long golden spear that was double-edged.


    [Name: Achilles


    Race: Demi-God


    ss: Spear God


    Subss: Styx''s Child


    HP: 944,055/944,055


    MP: 23,400/23,400


    STA: 99,900/99,900


    Level: 100


    Strength: 945


    Agility: 998


    Endurance: 999


    Intellect: 234


    Charisma: 98


    Luck: 75


    Abilities: Spear Will, Divine Skill, Invulnerable Body (Styx''s protection), etc.


    Weapons: Spear, Bow, and Arrow.]


    To his right was a woman with burning gray hair that was flowing freely behind her. She had deep gray eyes and a lovely visage simr to a girl next door, with a small nose, cute lips, and a round face.


    She wore a white st that was simr to the toga Achilles wore with golden ents. She was slightly shorter than the 6"1 tall Achilles, standing at 5"11 and her mature body was quite well endowed, but not enough to make her dress cling tightly.


    [Name: Medea


    Race: Demi-God


    ss: Sorceress Goddess


    Subss: Dark Witch


    HP: 80,496/80,496


    MP: 99,500/99,500


    STA: 23,400/23,400


    Level: 100


    Strength: 344


    Agility: 421


    Endurance: 234


    Intellect: 995


    Charisma: 456


    Luck: 50


    Abilities: Magic Providence, Soul Steal, Divine Summoning, etc.


    Weapons: Magic.]


    Beside Medea was another female, more elfin in nature. She was shorter than the others at 5"7 and had ming red hair that also flowed behind her freely. She had a cute face andrge eyes, as well as a light smile on her face despite the solemnity of the situation.


    She also wore a white st, but hers was a bit grayer as it was made with special materials to resist the heating off her hair at all times.


    [Name: Pyrrha


    Race: Demi-God


    ss: Fire Goddess


    Subss: zing Lady


    HP: 35,882/35,882


    MP: 98,300/98,300


    STA: 15,400/15,400


    Level: 100


    Strength: 233


    Agility: 669


    Endurance: 154


    Intellect: 983


    Charisma: 697


    Luck: 90


    Abilities: me Body, Fire Control, Searing Heart, etc.


    Weapons: Elemental.]


    To the right of Pyrrha was another person, this time a male who was as tall as Medea. He had soft, androgynous features as well as a body covered with blue scales in certain areas. His hair also flowed behind him and was a lovely ocean blue color, looking like the waves at sea.


    He wore the same white toga and sandals as Achilles, and his bright golden eyes showed a deep intellect and calmness.


    [Name: Theseus


    Race: Demi-God


    ss: Water God


    Subss: God-King


    HP: 759,655/759,655


    MP: 79,800/79,800


    STA: 84,500/84,500


    Level: 100


    Strength: 899


    Agility: 734


    Endurance: 845


    Intellect: 798


    Charisma: 996


    Luck: 200


    Abilities: Divine Swordsmanship, Monster ying, Water Form, etc.


    Weapons: Elemental and Sword.]


    The final person was the most distinct and noticeable, due to his sheer size alone. Standing at 6"8 and with a hulking body that was extremely buff, he looked no different from a Half-Giant, despite not being one.


    He had bronze skin, sharp golden eyes, and a messy spread of brown hair which was unkempt. He had a light beard and mustache which were kept wild and his mouth was locked into a ferocious grin at all times.


    He too wore a white toga that easily disyed his muscles.


    [Name: Hercules


    Race: Demi-God


    ss: Power God


    Subss: Berserker


    HP: 1,800,000/1,800,000


    MP: 12,400/12,400


    STA: 120,000/120,000


    Level: 100


    Strength: 1500


    Agility: 650


    Endurance: 1200


    Intellect: 124


    Charisma: 102


    Luck: 150


    Abilities: Mighty Blow, Sky-Shattering Stomp, Earth-Rending Kick, etc.


    Weapons: Fists.]

 Chapter 468 - 468

    "I have summoned you here to go on a Divine Odyssey. The five of you are to travel to the ruined wastnd of Pokterr, home of those vermin Insects, and discover what their ns are. If possible, try not to engage them directly unless forced to." The thunderous voice of Zeus resounded within the cathedral as his statue glowed faintly.


    The five Demi-Gods disyed expressions of reverence and shock, as they had not expected that they would be chosen for a Divine Odyssey!


    Their faces flushed with excitement, even the calm Theseus had a greedy glint in his eyes since the rewards forpleting such a task were great enough to allow them to increase their powers even further! that were sessfullypleted would see them greatly rewarded and their powers greatly increased.


    "We hear and obey!" They cried out in unison.


    Zeus'' statue did not move, but one could make out the feeling of a nod of satisfaction and approval from the face on the exquisite carving and especially the tone of his voice.


    "Good. You shall set off today and return by the end of the week. Inspect Pokterr thoroughly and try to find the location of the three fugitives assisting the vile Insects from the shadows.."


    Hearing that there were actually individuals who would help the Insects left the five Demi-Gods ck-jawed. Were those idiots even in possession of the slightest bit of intelligence?


    Helping that race was the same as signing your own death warrant!


    Did they really think that once the Insects were done consuming everything else on Faust, that they would be spared?


    The best-case scenario would be that they would be allowed to survive until the end before the Insects would enjoy those helpful emergency rations!


    Hercules especially became furious as he pounded his chest.


    "Father, leave it to me! I will offer you the heads of those brutes in order to establish peace in the world!"


    Zeus'' tone significantly softened when addressing Hercules.


    "My son, I''m afraid that will not be such an easy task. One of them is a Dragon with a high-level bloodline that appears to be a descendant of that Ancestor of theirs, one is a half-giant with a pure connection to Gaia and thest one is a Royal Elf in possession of two Divine Concepts at the least."


    The faces of Medea and Theseus greatly changed, but Achilles, Pyrrha, and Hercules looked confused. Zeus noticed this and sighed internally, realizing that his former n to make his son the leader of the team would not be wise if they sought sess.


    "For this Divine Odyssey, I appoint Theseus to be your leader. Obey his orders directly and follow his directives to the letter as if they came from me, otherwise you will be penalized upon return." Zeus dered grandly.


    Achilles and Pyrrha didn''t seem to mind as they were aware of the tactical acumen of the fellow beside them, but Medea scowled as her eyes glinted with a sh of hatred, while Hercules looked dissatisfied.


    "Father! Shouldn''t such a mission be led by the strongest? Why let this weakling who fancies cheap tricks lead those more potent than himself?!" Herculesined with unhappiness.


    Zeus rolled his eyes, his limited patience snapping as he shouted at his son: "Fool, have you not been listening to a single word of mine?! You''re merely to gather information NOT engage in battle! If Theseus is not to be leader, then who else can qualify?!"


    Hercules smacked his lips and looked away, folding his arms. The other Demi-Gods could almost swear that they could hear Zeus sighing withment and frustration at the antics of one of his favorite sons.


    Zeus then focused on Theseus who disyed no reaction to Hercules'' usation with approval in his eyes, though the statue only glowed a little bit more.


    "Fulfill the Divine Odyssey and the rewards will exceed your wildest dreams! It is of the utmost importance that you do NOT fail, do you understand?!"


    Theseus lowered his head respectfully. "Sovereign Lord, I solemnly swear not to disappoint you!"


    Zeus was satisfied by this. "Good, good, good. Go and meet with Odysseus. He has all the necessary equipment and tools you will need."


    With that, the divine glow surrounding Zeus'' statue disappeared and the temple returned to tranquility. The kneeling Demi-Gods rose to their feet and gazed at each other, now finally taking stock of their lineup for this mission.


    Achilles and Pyrrha shook hands with Theseus, while Medea ignored him intively, whereas Hercules sniffed with a hint of disdain. Theseus was not bothered by this, Hercules'' reputation as a lout that only had his strength andbat acumen going for him proceeded him while Medea was a witch who had every reason to hate him given their history.


    After that, they headed to Sector 54, which was the one belonging to Hermes. It was a busy area that was just as popted as Waukeen''s sector, but for more logistical than business-rted reasons.


    Things were constantly received here and moved elsewhere at all times, forming an important area of supply for the entire city. In the center of the sector was a big dome-like building with many entrances leading to and from it.


    Many mortals worked hard by taking a part of the work from the menial jobs even up to supervisory and managerial ones. How else were they supposed to earn Dius to maintain their living in this city?


    When the five Demi-Gods passed through, all the workers stopped what they were doing to bow briefly before continuing. The five were not offended by this as they would hate for the smooth machine that was the logistics area to halt just because of them.


    Personally, many felt it would be better if nothing happened, but at the same time, they also needed the mortals to understand that they were supreme at all times.


    Theseus acknowledged the bows with a nod of his head, and Achilles, as well as Pyrrha, smiled at the mortals. Hercules put his fist into his palm while he grinned at them mischievously, but the mortals simply smiled.


    It was only Medea who ignored them as if they were trash beneath her feet.


    The group entered the dome and moved deftly through the area as they hade here many times, even back when they had been mortals themselves.


    When they reached the top floor, they entered arge chamber where one man sat behind a pile of documents and ledgers, reading through them with a pair of round-rimmed sses.


    For someone stuck with a desk job, you''d expect Odysseus to be thin and bookish, but he was rather bronze-skinned and well built as if a master sculptor had worked on his body.


    In fact, in terms of height, build, and skin tone, he resembled Achilles a lot. The only difference was that he was bald and had a slightly bent nose. He also wore a toga that had golden ents denoting him as a fellow Demi-God.


    When he sensed the presence of the iing five, he raised his head up and eyed them a little. He then sighed and ced his quill down before pping his hands, summoning a few male and female mortals who worked as servants for his office.


    Without even asking them why they were here, Odysseus gave out a rapid series ofmands. "You, go and prepare five Demi-God Battlesuits, three male and two female. Both female suits are for elemental and magic users while the male ones will have one spear-oriented battlesuit, one unarmed battlesuit, and one elemental battlesuit."


    "You, go to the Aviary and requisition five griffins. They should all be the nonbat and long-flying type. Make sure that you get it right this time, I don''t want what happened with Perseus'' and Jason''s Divine Odysseys to happen again!"


    "And you, rush over to the stockpile and gather five spatial knapsacks and fill them with the best ambrosia, gallons of water, and other necessities as listed by the ''Divine Odyssey starter kit'' manuscript!"


    By the time Odyssey had dealt with all the servants, the five were left smiling wryly at the efficiency of the fellow. Ever since his first odyssey had been chartered, forever coining the term, he had helped many others like Jason on their own journeys.


    After so many millennia, he had long since devised a basic set of rules for each Divine Oddysey and what one would need to increase the sess chances.


    Odysseus suddenly seemed to remember their presence and frowned slightly. "Right, who is the team leader this time?"


    Theseus stepped forward, much to Hercules'' disapproval and Medea''s anger. "That would be me, Odysseus."


    Seeing that it was Theseus, Odysseus'' expression lightened greatly as he smiled. He nodded with a look of praise in his eyes.


    "To have one of the three great Demi-God heroes in this team, this odyssey is sure to seed!"


    Odysseus ignored the looks of unhappiness from the other two and the bitter smile from Theseus as he asked straightforwardly.


    "Anyway, what''s the core of your mission this time? Are you to vanquish a sphemous race? Recover a Divine Artifact?"


    Before anyone could correct him, Odysseus raised a hand. "Wait, don''t tell meˇ­ you must find one of the illegitimate children of one of the Main Gods?"


    He smiled at them as if he expected to be right. The five could only share helpless looks before Theseus revealed.


    "Actuallyˇ­ we are to infiltrate Pokterr."


    Immediately, Odysseus'' smile was wiped away.

 Chapter 469 - 469

    Odysseus gazed at the five before him with twitching lips. "Isn''t this the time for the yearly culling mission? By now the mortals should be in the midst of sacrificing their lives to keep the Insects from expanding? How did you get involved?! Did something happen this year?!"


    Theseus could only shrug helplessly. If he said he wasn''t the least a bit worried about their mission, he would be lying. However, he had not dared to show any hesitation or unhappiness before the Sovereign Lord.


    Realizing that finding out had to be the crux of their mission, Odysseus sighed. "I''ll get the servants to add some extra items that should help you while on that god-forsaken continent."


    Theseus showed a grateful expression and bowed. "My eternal gratitude to you, Odysseus."


    "Hmm." Odysseus grunted nomittally before seeing to the rest of their preparations. Theseus made sure to remain to negotiate with the Demi-God of Adventures before leading his team to the docks..


    There, they saw a huge ship ready to set sail, manned by hundreds of mortals who had volunteered to apany them in their grand journey.


    Most mortals usually died before the end of a Divine Odyssey due to the various monsters and challenges the actual heroes would have to face along the way.


    Nevertheless, there was never a shortage of those signing up, believing in their own abilities or luck. Those who survived to the end, wouldn''t just get to boast, no they would be set for life.


    If they did exceptionally well, they might even receive a tiny Divine Spark granting them the chance to be a new Demi-God!


    The five Demi-Gods boarded the galleon which soon set sail. Even though they had been provided griffins for their journey, it was impossible to cross the distance between the two continents so easily.


    Using a galleon was also not truly feasible. Even if they could go without food or water, or had lots of it, and could easily fend off any sea monsters on the way, the time it would take to travel by sea would see most of the mortal''s age and pass away before even 1/10th of the journey had beenpleted.


    Fortunately, this galleon was a special type, crafted by Hephaestus and blessed by Poseidon, allowing those who used it to move across the water like a cannonball through the air.


    Soon after the ship left the dock, it sted off into the horizon, leaving behind a huge wall of water that would have certainly drowned the dock out should they have done this right from the get-go.


    The mortals on the ship had already disappeared below the deck in order to survive the crazy movement of this ship, while the five Demi-Gods remained above to monitor their progress. They were unfazed by this kind of thing given their high stats.


    Theseus even showed an expression of satisfaction and pleasure at being on a ship at sea, as he was a son of Poseidon with a human Princess. Pyrrha though, showed extreme difort at being surrounded on all sides by water, which was understandable given her nature.


    After a week of nonstop high-speed movement where the world looked like a blur to them and they cut through the sea like a knife through butter, they eventually felt the ship begin to slow down as the mortals below worked on the controls.


    Not long after the five saw a dark shape in the horizon where they had only seen blue sea and the sky before, indicating thatnd was abound. Since they were close, there was no need to go so fast anymore.


    They eventually took another day to pull up to the shore of the ind, anchoring about 1 kilometer away from the shore. The mortals on the ship rushed to take lifeboats to the shore, removing some materials they had brought along to quickly construct a makeshift dock.


    The five Demi-Gods could not be bothered by what they nned to do as they alighted using their own means. Theseus jumped into the water and rode the waves casually like he was a lord of water.


    Hercules simply crouched and jumped up with such great force that the entire ship sunk by a few meters, as he hurtled through the sky. Pyrrha smiled and sted forward like a jet by releasing mes from beneath her feet and her arms.


    Medea smiled and snapped her finger. The winds formed a gale that caressed her sensual form and carried her away to the shore like a princess. Achilles simply ran forward and used his spear to pole-vault in an amazing manner that sent him flying through the air.


    All five partiesnded on the shore at the same time, Theseus jumping off his wave, Pyrrha releasing her mes as she came down, Medea alighting from her throne of wind, Achillesnding on his feet and spinning around to negate the force and Hercules like a cannonball as thend for kilometers around them shook greatly when he met with the earth.


    Finally, they had arrived on Pokterr!


    "What a terrible wastnd." Pyrrha muttered with a grimace.


    "Shockingly, I can not only sense but also receive Elysium''s Faith Energy hereˇ­" Medea remarked slowly under her breath.


    Achilles'' eyes narrowed. "I sense a great battle has urred here. There is also a remnant presence that is no weaker than that of Hercules."


    Hercules nodded with a serious expression. "Yes, it is likely that half-giant. I have fought Gaia''s Titans before, and I can sense their earthen energy, but as father warned us, this one is so pure its blood-chilling."


    Theseus sighed. "Let''s first travel to the sinkhole where the Gods send candidates to explore that sub-space. If there is anyone still alive, we can question them and then head to the central underground entrance from there."


    None of them objected to his arrangements as he was the team leader and the n was not foolish. As such, they all began flying forward rapidly, casting their senses out to perceive the nature of this continent and what was here.


    They had arrived near the shore where the battle between Darius and the Grandmasters had urred, which was why they had sensed Gunner''s power who had directly destroyed this ce with his Eraser Cannon back then.


    As the five Demi-Gods headed towards their first target, they were forced to stop as they encountered something they had never seen before.


    From the air, they had seen the brownish-ck and cragged wastnd surprisingly change into a surface of silvery-grey mental that extended for a long way towards a certain direction.


    This made the five frown as they found that it was weird. After a brief discussion, Theseus got the group to postpone their idea of heading into the sinkhole for information, instead they all agreed to investigate this strange urrence first.


    They passed over this metallic in with solemn expressions, their faces bing grimmer and grimmer with each kilometer they traversed and still saw only silver stretching as far as they could see.


    Theseus and Medea had thunderous expressions as they recognized this metal to be Holy Silver, which was a precious mineral that was extremely hard to find and extract due to how ruined Pokterr was and the presence of the Insects.


    Yet, it had been used to pave the ground so casually. This was enough to make the duo feel like they were heading into a danger zone, as any force that could casually waste such a resource could not be weak at all.


    The five soon noticed a shape in the horizon finally, and increased their speed as they soon neared it. However, despite everything, what they did not expect was to find a metallic city and futuristic base manned by robots and various scientific weaponry.


    What left them all the more speechless for a while was the fact that the base went into alert as soon as their presence had been sensed. The robots that could fight armed themselves while the weaker ones disappeared somewhere, yet the five Demi-Gods couldn''t tell where.


    On top of that, there were various vehicles and weird contraptions that glowed with a strange light as they aimed their muzzles towards them. From tanks to artillery guns and even rail gun stations.


    The five Demi-Gods shared a look between each other.


    "Well, what do we do?" Pyrrha asked with amusement.


    "Zeus instructed us not to use force, unless necessary, so I say we parley with theseˇ­ things and find out why they were here, who they serve and ascertain their purpose here." Theseus stated with a contemtive frown.


    "Pah, I say we smash them apart. What we want to know cannot be told by mere metal men." Hercules interjected with a sneer.


    "I agree with the son of Zeus. Truly, a more fitting and enterprising leader for this mission." Medea added with a light titter from the side, making Hercules puff his chest out.


    "I am sorry, Theseus, but I agree with Hercules as well. These metal things do not look friendly nor do they possess souls, so they are not things that should be treated like a living person."


    "We should first establish our might and then whatever we want to achieve will be handed to us in time." Achilles agreed with the others, while pointing his spear at the base.

 Chapter 470 - 470

    Theseus frowned deeply at the responses of hispatriots. He turned to Pyrrha who simply shrugged, her way of telling him that she would take no side in this.


    This left Theseus in a dilemma. He could easily use his authority to override the wishes of the others, but using it on the first day at the first unexpected situation would just be a testimony to a poor grasp of leadership and control.


    Sometimes, it was best to makepromises in the grand scheme of things. This was how he had oftene out on top against his foes and why he was praised by all as wise and visionary.


    Theseus looked down and saw that the strange machines were still pointing their muzzles at him and his group, yet none were firing.


    To Theseus, this was a telltale sign that whoever was controlling them or whatever they were could be reasoned with. Understanding its purpose here might very well be the crux of their Divine Odyssey.


    With that in mind, the Demi-God was determined to maintain peace with this faction for now..


    Medea saw the contemtive light in Theseus'' eyee to an end as he made a firm decision, and she could guess his train of thought based on his nature and history.


    It made her eyes narrow as she hade to the same conclusion, but she was still bitter about not having been chosen as the leader, so she wasn''t going to make things easy for him.


    Medea retracted one of her hands into her sleeves and made a handsign imperceptibly. A small gust of wind entered the body of one of the Guard Androids below, and suddenly burst outward as it shattered the machine into pieces.


    It happened to be one that Achilles was pointing at with his spear, which left the fellow dumbfounded. Theseus'' expression changed while Hercules grunted with excitement, punching both fists together as he jumped forward.


    Achilles himself was bbergasted, not sure how his spear had suddenly turned into a ranged weapon that could destroy enemies just by pointing at them. Pyrrha nced at Medea subtly, yet did not say anything, but her body lit up in mes since a battle was inescapable at this point.


    With this undeniable act of aggression, the base below them changed into full-on red alert, and the various machines got ready to retaliate. Many of them began charging up slowly, especially therge rail guns.


    All of them were aimed at the oing Hercules, who stretched a hand out to block his face. Soon, almost 20 strange bangs were heard as the same number of purple-blue beams of electric light were fired and instantly struck the body of the oing Demi-God.


    Hercules, who had expected to tank the attack with ease, was shocked to feel his body sting all over. Even more, his momentum had been halted and instead of falling forward, he had actually been sted back upwards at a speed where he blew past his fourpatriots and soon became a dot in the sky.


    The remaining four were left speechless and trembled inwardly. Hercules was like their group tank! He was known to be next to invincible after Achilles, so how could this happen?


    The other four didn''t have time to think as the machines soon turned their aim towards them. Their faces became grim as they spread out to fight separately. Each of them had different fighting styles and they did not trust each other enough to cooperate.


    Competition between Demi-Gods had always been brutal as each of them vied for the favor of the Gods so that they could establish a faith and gain more Divine Energy.


    While they would all be reward with such things after this Divine Odyssey, their cut of that would depend on their performance.


    As one could imagine, a majority of it was already guaranteed to go to Theseus as the team leader, which was why Hercules had fought for the position and why Medea was absolutely not going to let him seed easily.


    Achilles yelled and dove downward deftly, dodging all the shots that were fired upon him, spinning hisnce to divert others away. He was a special type of Demi-Godpared to the others.


    Because he had been bathed in the energy of the River Styx, his entire body was invulnerable and imprable. You could say that the rest of his body had infinite Defense points, except for his ankle where he had been held when dipped into the river.


    As such, he was a fearless type fighter, always charging into the fray directly and abusing his invulnerability to end his foes. He of course did not know about his ankle weakness, because the Gods had ordained to hide it from him.


    Even they, full-fledged Gods, could not override the powers of the River Styx. If Achilles knew that he had a weakness, he would do everything to patch it up, which would mean that should they want to get rid of him, they would not have a way.


    His martial prowess was great, as hended in the base and began weaving through the various Guard Androids, destroying them one by one using hisnce which could easily cut through their metal.


    Even though they were made of Holy Silver, hisnce was imbued with Divine Energy. Otherwise, Miranda''s troops would be the hardest to destroy in the world.


    It was the same for the other elemental users. Theseus water spears and water dragons that wereunched into the base destroyed hundreds of Guard Androids with ease, while Pyrrha''s mes seared them into ash, leaving nothing behind.


    Those with a Divine Spark could imbue their attacks with Divine Energy, which was what they had done. If they had tried to use any other means to fight, they would have been unable to make any headway.


    Theseus and Pyrrha kept their distance and avoided the shots fired at them and used their elements to form shields to block those they couldn''t. However, their faces became dark when they saw that each shield was only capable of blocking one shot, forcing them to repeatedly create new ones.


    They began to wonder just what these things were and how their energy could even destroy Divine Energy with ease. If they knew about Source Energy, they would have never dared to fight Miranda''s creations.


    While Source Energy was infinite and ever-renewing, Divine Energy was not.


    It was converted from Faith Energy using a Divine Spark and stored within them to increase their Divine Powers. Unlike Mana, Spirit Qi, and Chakra, Divine Energy did not automatically recover itself.


    For example, a mage of Fallon had 500 points of mana. Once he cast a spell that used 300 mana, he would be left with 200 mana. However, his body would automatically begin absorbing external prana and converting it into mana for himself.


    The energy obviously didn''te from thin air. The same went for Spirit Qi and other special energies of the different continents. They replenished themselves because they had an ''impure'' form that was converted by the body passively.


    Divine Energy was from Faith Energy, and such an energy was not necessarily natural. It did not permeate the air, but had to be generated through belief and mental worship by sentient species towards a specific being.


    That energy then entered the Divine Fire and was purified into Divine Energy which the deity stores within themselves. Deities did not have an upper limit for Divine Energy in order to make up for the fact that they could not recover the energy spent.


    For those with a steady flow of Faith Energy from worshipers, this was not a problem. Like these five, they had their own churches that provided them Faith Energy, so they could afford to use a bit in each of their attacks, which was even why they could harm Miranda''s troops.


    Of course, as beings who had lived for many millennia, they had huge stores of Divine Energy. It wasn''t every day that they were fighting and Divine Odysseus were rare and highly sought after.


    Nevertheless, the simple fact remained, going against an enemy with infinite energy with your precious, powerful, and limited energy was always a foolish choice.


    Medea hung back a little and only contributed a bare minimum to the fight. She was the youngest Demi-God among them and had only been raised a few millennia ago after being killed by Theseus after trying to poison him to death.


    Her store of Divine Energy could notpare to the others, but she was the most magically attuned of them all, and as someone who had been born and raised on Fallon, it was only expected for her to be able to use mana.


    She had only used Divine Energy in her attack against that Guard Android to spark the fight as she could not afford failure. Not to mention that unlike those old farts who had lived for far too long, and stayed mostly on Elysium, she was more up to date.


    She knew these strange things were likely creations of Gravitas. Well, that much anyone could guess regardless of age. However, Medea knew that Gravitas was not to be underestimated which was why she took on a more observing role during the fight instead of wholeheartedly taking part.


    At this time, a loud roar sounded out above the four, making them raise their heads, only to see a humongous figure sting through the atmosphere with fire covering his body as he hurtled towards the center of the machine base.

 Chapter 471 - 471

    The faces of the four Demi-Gods still fighting greatly changed and they scattered away from their current positions like mice fleeing from a cat.


    Miranda was able to process what was happening just as fast at they did, but the charging time for any of the rail guns to fire was not enough to stop Hercules from crashnding right into the center of the base.


    Immediately, a great shockwave emerged as the dust was blown up, the area bing obscure and clouded upon contact. The Demi-Gods coughed as they cleared the dust from their faces, Medea using her win to blow it away.


    When they gazed upon what was left of the base, their faces cramped. A huge crater now existed where the central area of the base had been and parts of the metallic flooring had been crushed into bits, disying the wasted earth below.


    Only some mounted guns near the outskirts had remained safe and unharmed from the barrage. However, they had stopped firing as if they too were looking on in shock at the carnage dealt.


    From the center of the crater, where heaps of metal had beenpressed and shattered into bits, Hercules climbed out with a vicious expression on his face. Externally, he waspletely unharmed from that attack except for some smoke and dust on his body..


    However, the mighty Demi-God knew the extent to which he had suffered, and most of it stemmed from the attack that had sent him flying. He had underestimated these machines and had paid a small price for it.


    On the other hand, crashing down from almost orbit had done nothing to him given his level of Strength and Endurance. Nevertheless, it was a perfect way for him to vent his anger at being hurt by these measly, yet surprisingly effective, metal things.


    Truly, the disadvantage of having a fixed base or position was that it was either extremely difficult or impossible to move, making it impossible to avoid such attacks during conflict.


    However, the downside on Hercules'' end was obvious. Theseus facepalmed as he did his best to hold down his anger and started to speak slowly.


    "By parleying with these machines we could have discovered who was behind them, which would have likely solved one of the mysteries of our Divine Odyssey mission."


    "Instead, one of you decided to y a trick, believing that I wouldn''t see it in order to force the conflict. Hercules, you in particr not only suffered the brunt of their attack, but you just leveled that entire base in a fit of anger, leaving us no way to achieve the whole point of this confrontation."


    Pyrrha raised her hands up immediately. "Wasn''t me!"


    Theseus spared a smile for the only member of the group who had actually been cooperative and wasn''t a nuisance. "I know, don''t worry."


    Hercules folded his arms with a look of dissatisfaction. "How is it my fault that the base got leveled? I didn''t even attack, I was sent flying and came back down as best as I could. Also, I distinctly remember that we decided to battle it out instead of whatever stupid parley!"


    This seemed to make the ever calm Theseus snap as his muted golden eyes shone with intensity. He stepped forward and stood right before Hercules, the height difference between the two doing nothing to lessen his imposing presence.


    In the coldest voice possible, the first of the Three Great Heroes of Olympus spoke darkly. "You did not make any decision to do anything because none of you have the right to make any decision during this Divine Odyssey!"


    "That is a privilege left for myself, who is the onlypetent one here. Your duty, which is the only thing you are good at, is to follow my orders."


    Theseus then looked at the rest coldly. "I have been lenient with you all because conflict within the team from the first day is how other Divine Odysseys ended in failure!"


    "But fine, since you all took my good gesture and trampled over it, I will just have to force what should be done down your throat whether you like it or not!"


    The Son of Poseidon also nced at Medea with a hint of disdain. "I will also report everything that happened here at the end of the Divine Odyssey for the Gods to judge."


    "Whoever initiated that attack sought to sabotage the mission and should be stripped of their Divinity. If you''ve got any objections then you better show your worth during the rest of it!"


    He then turned to Hercules once more. "As for you, we all know your father will never allow for such a punishment, but I can certainly see to it that you''ll be deprived of Faith Energy for the next millennium!"


    Theseus then raised a white orb slowly, which captivated the attention of the other four. "Those are punishments that will be doled out regardless, I am not using them to threaten you. They will definitely ur, so mark it down somewhere in your ledgers."


    He then gestured to the orb he was holding up. "However, this is my threat. The next time any of you so much as breathe in a way I find personally in conflict with any of my decisions, I will summon a God down to perform a judgment. Do not test me!"


    He then pocketed the orb and walked over to the remains of the base to see if there was anything left for them to salvage. Pyrrha looked around nkly then scampered after him, as she wasn''t really the target of that scolding.


    Achilles gripped his spear tightly until his brown knuckles turned white, then sighed tiredly. He retreated his weapon and followed after Theseus with a calm look, not showing his emotions on his face anymore.


    Hercules gritted his teeth with absolute fury on his features, his body shaking from anger. His eyes quickly became bloodshot as he gazed at the back of the exiting Theseus, but he still managed to refrain from making any hasty moves.


    Rather, he breathed deeply to calm himself and managed to do so after a while. With his anger reigned in, he realized he had forgotten the rules of these missions due to the security he had enjoyed with his father supporting him.


    Unlike the others, Hercules had been born a Demi-God, and he even had a Divine Sparkrge enough to be a God. This was why he was so powerful in proportion to the other four here with him.


    However, due to him being found by Hera, Zeus had initially greatly disliked him as he was proof of his cheating ways. Neither Hera liked him nor Zeus, so he had a tough time in his early days, where he had to prove himself.


    Eventually, he went out on his own journey and gathered great fame for himself, even foiling an escape attempt by the Titans of Gaia that almost saw fruition. After this, the attitude of the Gods had done a U-turn and Zeus had since warmly epted him.


    Bathed in the love of his father and having his backing for so long since then, that dominating mentality of a hero had faded away, the legendary Hercules who had cleared the 12 Labors had be like a petnt child.


    Hercules had calmed down and began to realize his folly all this while. It wasn''t that he only regained his intelligence at this moment, but in Elysium, no one dared to talk to him like this as he was Zeus'' son, not to mention his own power.


    What was even more important was who said it. Theseus was a Demi-God as old as time, and was known as one of the Three Greatest Heroes before the days of Hercules.


    Theseus (yer of the Minotaur and killer of Medea, the Witch Queen), Perseus (yer of Medusa and Vanguard of the Gods), and Bellerophon (yer of the Chimera and Rider of the Pegasus) were the fabled three.


    Hercules was used as a breaker to separate their era from the modern one. In Hercules'' era, he was regarded as number 1, while those like Odysseus, Achilles, and Jason hadeter.


    Being lectured by a Hero that predated him was enough to wake him up. He grimaced and followed after Theseus silently, pondering many things.


    This left Medea, who disyed an expression so cold it could freeze over hellfire. A spark of intense killing intent smoldered in her eyes as he gazed at Theseus, her deep-seated hatred she held backing to the fore as a result of his threat and warning.


    Most importantly, if he was allowed to have his way, she may have her Divinity stripped!


    As a new Demi-God, she had no real backing, and Aphrodite had only given her a Divine Spark out of pity and would certainly not speak up on her behalf.


    Medea made a decision at that moment to make sure that, no matter what, Theseus could not be allowed to make it back to Elysium alive!


    However, Medea would soon find that her wishes were too limited in thinking, as the survival of all five hung in the bnce.


    From a bird''s eye view of the entire continent, one would be able to see countless machines rushing towards a certain spot, all of them armed and murderous.


    -------------------------------


    Author''s Note: Let''s y a little game. Comment which of the Demigods you think will die and who will survive. I''m curious to see what you all think.

 Chapter 472 - 472

    There was no logical reason for Miranda to sit there and wait for the five Demi-Gods toe to her, especially not after the lesson she had just learned.


    While a fixed base couldn''t be moved, troops could!


    This was something that the five invaders never expected from where they sat, as they didn''t even have an inkling of an idea regarding the true scale of Miranda''s expansion on Pokterr.


    If, as Theseus had suggested, they had payed and tried to sniff out information withouting off as threatening, they would have fared much better than what was toe.


    However, given the way they had acted the subroutine Miranda had left behind had been utterly triggered into war mode.


    Had it been the primary Miranda herself, she would not have responded with this type of hostility.


    After all, the girl in whose image the AI had been created had been a gentle soul who, while understanding what needed to be done, would still do things ording to her father''s will.


    As such, she would have first reported to Darius and found out how he would prefer for things to be handled before resolving it ording to his wishes. .


    This subroutine though, was not in possession of any of Miranda''s typical traits. It was just a sentient child AI that was meant to manage things ording to a certain script, making it no different from what most assumed a typical AI to be.


    Not to mention, just a few days ago, it had received a transmission from Darius warning it about a possible danger.


    Coincidentally, that was also why the five Demi-Gods had found the base so active and on alert mode.


    All the core assets of the bases had already been shipped away to secure locations and the source of Miranda''s metals had been hidden beneathyers of midsections so that even if they were beaten to the ground, they could rise up once again.


    After suffering defeat at their hands the subroutine had dispatched all avable fighting forces towards the five Demi-Gods as their threat levels had gone far beyond anything its script had ounted for.


    Were it a human, its emotion would be one of panic.


    After all, the material used for most bots had been a mixture of Holy Iron, Silver, and Gold, which all possessed the Indestructible trait.


    Even upon first encounter, Darius had been forced to spend almost two weeks devising a method to bore a hole through the Holy Silver long enough that he could teleport through to the other side.


    However, certain superior energies could directly negate the Indestructibility trait of this metal. One was obviously Source Energy, otherwise neither Miranda nor the Ancient Polito Race would have been able to make anything out of this metal.


    While Mana had not been enough to achieve this, Divine Energy had. Thetter was on the same tier as Source Energy in this regard, and the ''Invincibility'' of the mechanical troops had beenpromised.


    s, Pokterr was far toorge for all the troops to rush over in time, especially the heavy machinery like tanks, walkers (giant AI-driven mech robots from Darius'' era), and like.


    However, this was where the nature of Miranda''s expansion began to make sense. For one, she had practically ''wasted'' tonnes of Holy Silver and other such precious metals paving every inch of thend she could reach.


    Would an AI really do such a thing purely for aesthetic reasons? Of course not! So what else could such a thing serve?


    Due to the rampant devouring of the Insects, Pokterr had been mostly a wastnd, but it would eventually heal over time or if special methods were used to revive it.


    And that was exactly what Miranda had done. Nothing conducted Source Energy as well as its native metals Holy Iron, Holy Silver, and Holy Gold. Source Energy was simply raw energy that was neither positive nor negative, just neutral and infinite.


    It was how one converted it that mattered!


    Miranda had inscribed each te that was used in the ground with a special rune that the Politos had used to fallow theirnds using Source Energy.


    Only, where the Politos had been careful and sensible in doing so for only small patches of farnd, Miranda had done it for as far as her robot army had and nned to do so for the rest of the continent.


    After a few years, thend of Pokterr should be revived and filled with so much raw energy, it should be a haven for materials and resources like Unyris.


    Heck, it was likely that new lodes of Holy Silver and the like would be nurtured with the infusion of such energy for a long time.


    A perfect n, now put at risk by these invaders!


    However, this also served a second and more relevant purpose to the overarching situation. The entire stretch of Holy Silver hadˇ­ let''s, call them ''fallow'' runesˇ­ on the underside, facing the ground.


    So what was on the topside?


    Well, we could call them ''electromaic'' runes. This allowed all Holy Silver constructed machines and metals to glide along the already terraformed surface of Pokterr like bullet trains.


    Of course, maneuvering was difficult, but for an AI that could connect andmunicate between each machine within the shortest possible frame of referable time, this wasn''t an issue.


    The subroutine nned routes for each robot and they just zipped away towards it like a bullet fired from a sniper. They left electric blurs that would dazzle the eye of an onlooker.


    To someone with a birds-eye view, this would likely be the greatest special effects of a sci-fi movie he would ever see in his life, even for someone of Darius'' era.


    Hundredsˇ­ thousandsˇ­ no, hundreds of thousands of mechanical warriors were rushing towards a certain spot at a speed of 320 kilometers per hour.!


    The first batch were only two minutes out, and this time was spent by the five Demi-Gods searching through the rubble for anything of note. However, Miranda''s bases were not manned by humans, so there were no terminals tomunicate with software nor things like notes or documents for reference.


    Everything was stored in the Supreme Cloud, so the base was as minimalistic as one could imagine, with only the construction tools, the assembly line, and the storage station for inactive bots.


    Not to mention, the ones searching were not exactly tech-savvy. Gravitas had exclusive ess to such things and they were extremely protective of it.


    The Gods had naturally tried to find excuses toy their ws on Gravitas, but the xenophobic continent had never given them one.


    The Gods were a lot more humbled after witnessing the might of the real rulers of Faust, the True Lords. They still didn''t understand how such existences could be so markedly more powerful than them.


    It was akin to humans who had already conquered Earth rushing to conquer the stars, only to find manys inhabited by non-sentient, animal-like creatures.


    After being able to easily steamroll over them, it would create the illusion that they were invincible. Then, one day, they would discover that there was a civilization far more advanced than them out there, with much more military might, who had remained hidden and silent!


    Their arrogance would be curbed and they would naturally be extremely cautious in their next actions, thinking ''what if another super powerful civilization was hiding? If we provoke them, we might be exterminated!'' and the like.


    However, such a fear would gradually fade away in time as logic took hold. After all, such powerful existences could not exist everywhere. The fact that these ones had been missed would just be deemed an oversight, an exception to the rule, which would be ounted for going forward.


    Besides, there was no need to downy the power of humanity, they would think, they were very strong. As such, they would restart their conquering ways, just putting more caution into investigating who they were warring against and choosing their foes carefully.


    This was why the Elf race had yet to be invaded, among others.


    However, as seen from the recent meeting, the Gods had gradually lost that wariness and had begun licking their lips at taking more prizes and iming faith through any means possible.


    In the end, this callous behavior was catching up with them. After all, such belligerence had been adopted by many Demi-Gods like Achilles, Odysseus, Jason, Hercules, and more.


    They were unlike their older generation counterparts who had existed in the days from the very beginning like Theseus, Perseus, Bellerophon, Cadmus, and the like, who were more level-headed and even when handling tasks.


    They never asked the crucial question of ''What am I doing?'' when partaking in such Quests. After all, to extinguish races, and wage wars all the time would naturally lead one to question their purpose.


    Suddenly, the five Demi-Gods, who were casually searching the area all paled at once, their faces locked in grimaces of suffering. Sweat bore out of their foreheads and their knees felt weak.


    All of them had high Luck stats, with Medea''s 50 being the lowest and Theseus'' 200 the highest. As such, their Spiritual Senses were active and ring at this moment that imminent death and demise was upon them.


    It was as visceral as what Darius had felt when he had sensed Beelzebub rushing towards him, and the five Demi-Gods could hear a crackling sound of electricity and wind meeting, heralding their imminent doom.

 Chapter 473 - 473

    It was naturally Theseus who was able to shake himself to sensibility before it was toote. He looked left and right to see that the others were simrly as crippled as he was, and soon the sound of crackling electricity appeared louder and louder.


    Theseus obviously knew that something had gone horribly wrong at this point. As such, he could only p his hands and create a wave of water that carried all five of them away from the base and into the air so they could have a vantage point.


    However, what Theseus eventually saw terrified him. Thousands of the same robotic machines they had destroyed earlier were rushing over from all directions, their nozzles and weapons pointed towards them in the sky.


    Upon seeing this, the Ancient Hero no longer thought about waiting for the others to ovee their daze and shouted towards them.


    "WAKE UP AND FIGHT!"


    That was all he could say before he was forced to shoot them all in different directions to avoid a volley of sts that would certainly vaporize them. As had been put forth before, Divine Energy was a superior form of energy that could harm indestructible metals like the ''Holy'' group of minerals. .


    However, just the same, the opposite was true. The beams of energy powered by Source Energy which was also a superior form of energy could harm these Demigods as if they were just mortals with high stats, instead of divine beings that should be invincible to anything.


    Hercules had proven this to be true, so Theseus didn''t want to risk anything. However, splitting the group up to fight their own battles was basically leaving their survival up to fate.


    Seeing the robots that had quickly surrounded him on all sides, Theseus could only smile bitterly and hope that the others would survive.


    ..........


    Pyrrhanded on a bit of cracked metal, which woke up her thanks to the pain. She coughed a bit of blood and shakily rose to her feet, then looked around. She was shocked to notice that she was quickly surrounded by various machines that were all humanoid in shape.


    She had inevitably lucked out in not receiving the attention of the artillery-type machines, but that was mostly because Miranda''s subroutine judged Pyrrha to be a low threat due to her limited kills and seemingly cid nature.


    The subroutine had observed their limited interactions during the few moments before Medea had attacked and had created a profile for each fighter, even moreso when they fought and it could get a handle on their powers.


    As was expected of an AI, it efficiently split up its military forces to deal with each of them based on this very profile, how ''dangerous'' each of them wereparatively.


    Pyrrha didn''t know this, but she was relieved to not have such heavy attention on her. It wasn''t that she was timid or weak, but because she didn''t really like to fight.


    The reason why no one on the team really paid attention to her nor tried to find conflict with her was not only because of her nature, but because of her history.


    After all, Pyrrha was one of the few Demigods in existence who was once actually a full god!


    She still had her divine church and her connections, as well as a wealth of Divine Energy that would even make Hercules tremble. However, her Divine Fire had been greatly weakened due to a choice she had made years ago.


    Pyrrha was the daughter of the Titan Epimetheus and the first woman Pandora. Her father was the only brother to the legendary Prometheus, which was where she got her fire element abilities from, and her mother was the one woman every mortal knew, notorious for opening that one box that shouldn''t have been opened.


    Her birth was a bit of an issue since she was half-titan, but the Gods mostly ignored it as both Prometheus and Epimetheus were seen as mortal-lovers, not to mention Epimetheus was seen as a fool.


    Pandora was a creation of the Gods, their first attempt at creating mortal life through their own hands. It was just unfortunate that their own creation, due to intense innocence bordering on ignorance, opened the one thing that plunged most of Elysium into chaos.


    Pyrrha as their first daughter had inherited her mother''s innocence and gentleness, as well as her father''s general silliness andziness. She didn''t engage in fights or conflicts with everyone, she was generally pleasant to be around and she wouldn''t cause much trouble anyway.


    That was why someone who was able to use the fire element would be like this, as most fire element users were hot-headed and emotional. Pyrrha was unique and one-of-a-kind in this regard.


    Incidentally, she had also inherited her father and uncle''s love for mortal-kind, which was - just like Prometheus and Epimetheus - her downfall. During a particrly intense battle between Poseidon and Aegir, two supreme deities of the sea, an entire section of Elysium had been drowned in waves.


    Many mortals lost their lives, and Pyrrha could not stand to see this. As such, she burned her Divine Fire to spread life and power to those who survived, in order to repopte and return into splendor.


    Of course, as a fire element Goddess, she could not bring people back to life. That was the best she could do at the time, and the price she paid was heavy. With the weakening of her Divine Fire, she naturally fell in power to a level simr to a newborn Demigod.


    Her previous power and greatness had long been lost and any enemy of hers could have taken sweet vengeance upon herˇ­ if she even had any enemies. Rather than that, many gods took pity on her and still treated her as one of their own, because Pyrrha really just wasn''t a pain in the ass.


    She also still had her church activities and they were constantly providing her Faith Energy, not to mention the great store of Divine Energy she had from years of being a Goddess and not using it to engage in meaningless fights.


    This was why she was able to rise so fast and reach a high rank among Demigods. This was the history of Pyrrha, and she was a notable entity. Of course, Pyrrha also reached where she was because she had the support of her husband Deucalion, who also sacrificed Divine Fire to infuse into the mortals but fell short of falling out of Godhood.


    Surrounded by these robots, Pyrrha understood that she would likely die if she held back, and she unleashed the primordial mes within her. Unlike Theseus who used water and Medea who used wind Pyrrha''s fire was of a different tier.


    Not only was it the fire belonging to an actual goddess, but it was part of the original fire that Prometheus had taken from the top of Mount Olympus, something which could even burn gods, much less metal.


    Her ming red hair which was entirely made of fireshed out as if they were whips of mes,ncing through any robot nearby and turning it into scrap. Her eyes spewed streams of fire that cut through any robot she gazed at likesers.


    Her hands continually flung out huge fireballs that exploded powerfully, covering the area in dust and ash. However, the red eyes of the robots could be seen through this dust as they switched to infrared to scan the area.


    They all locked onto Pyrrha who couldn''t be any more noticeable in their eyes due to her excessive heat. Pyrrha was naturally chilled by the sight of hundreds of glowing red eyesing alive around her, and she began to panic.


    Goddess she may be, she wasn''t a fighter and didn''t have much experience in this regard. In fact, the subroutine AI had even lowered her danger rating because of this fact.


    It was an unmistakable fact that the Demigoddess was extremely clumsy in the way she fought, spreading her fire out all over as if she was scared to let the ''monsters''e close.


    Compared to Hercules, Theseus, Achilles, and Medea who were fighting more efficiently and powerfully on their own battlefields, Pyrrha was, unfortunately, a joke.


    Incidentally, this yed to her advantage as the subroutine reallocated bots from Pyrrha battlefield to that of the others who posed a bigger threat and needed to be contained immediately.


    In the calctions of the subroutine, only 10% of the amount initially allocated would be enough to dy Pyrrha long enough for it to ughter the other four and then deal with her.


    As such, the remaining bots around her began to give her distance and focused on stalling her by firing shots and then retreating, ''kiting'' Pyrrha as it were.


    Pyrrha, who was flustered and worried, was all too happy to see this as she focused on defense and looked to the other battlefield, hoping that the others would be fine.


    After all, she didn''t want to run away and leave them, as that would be too cruel.

 Chapter 474 - 474

    Achillesnded on his shoulder, grunting in pain as he shakily rose to his feet. He gripped his golden spear which had still remained in his hands regardless of whatever he had been subjected to, and that fact gave himfort.


    When he took stock of his situation, he noticed that he was rapidly surrounded by many robots of different kinds, about 30% of them Guard Androids, 40% of them Mecha Warriors which were hulk-sized bots, 20% treaders like tank and APCs as well as 10% being mounted heavy artillery.


    Achilles'' face became dark as he looked around and his heart palpitated with unease as he felt his chances of survival had dipped significantly.


    However, he was the great war hero who had been undefeated on the battlefield, and had fought his way into Demi-Godhood through his own merits!


    To falter here was inconceivable to him, a thought that would neither be considered nor entertained!


    Rather, Achilles raised his spear and pointed it at the numerous machines that threatened his life.


    There seemed to be a moment of pause as both sides stared each other down, Achilles'' burning golden eyes meeting the intimidating red re of the machines opposite him.


    The Demi-God''s hand twitched, and the nearest Guard Androids around him fired out theirsers that were powered by Source Energy. .


    The spearman shouted out and sted forth, leaving a blur where he previously stood as he appeared all over the battlefield, striking out many times at once.


    One secondter and the entire battlefield around him got cleared as the various machines either blew up or fell apart due to the numerous holes that had been poked into them.


    Achilles confidently swung his spear to the side as he smirked, taking in the view of his martial prowess.


    The Demi-God was a monster on the battlefield and he knew it. He still didn''tpletely understand why these machines gave off a sense of danger, but it seemed that taking them down was not a problem for him.


    His grin was wiped away the next moment as he got knocked onto his knee as something struck him from the back. He looked behind him to see smoke rising from a spot near his left shoulder de, as well as a half-destroyed machine that was shortcircuiting pointing itsser rifle towards him that was charging up for another shot.


    Achilles growled with anger and rushed over to the Guard Android and stabbed the robots through the head, fully disabling it, but not before he noticed that many other robots that had not been destroyed totally wereing back to life and trying to do him in.


    Achilles was left speechless and in horror, a feeling that had long been buried in his hearting to surfaceˇ­ fear!


    It was not the fear of death or of pain. As a warrior, Achilles had long made peace with both fears and carried them with him for so long that their edge had be a bit dull.


    Rather, it was the fear of the unknown and of indefatigability. Achilles had only felt this kind of fear twice, once when fighting against the undead armies of Thanatos during that war on Fallon and the second time during the Insect Invasion.


    It was a fear of the unkible, that primal fear when one had to deal with a foe that just wouldn''t die and stay dead, but would rise up over and over again to try and take your life, wishing to drag you down to hell with it.


    It was a terrible thing!


    A warrior like Achilles believed in his skill and his technique, and the fundamental of that knowledge was that as long as he stabbed someone in their vitals, they should die.


    If he stabbed a man through the heart, he would have but mere moments left to live. If he stabbed a man through the head, he would have even less. And if he cut a man in half, he would be dead even before his body parts would hit the ground.


    However, one of these things guaranteed that these types of foes he was facing now would stay dead, yet as seen with the Guard Android earlier, they might feign death only to blindside you to use any method avable to them.


    This created distrust in his own skills, and especially in his ability to kill. He had mowed through battlefields knowing that a downed man was a downed man, but now he would have to keep extra alert in case any of those he downed would rise again.


    Achilles took a deep breath and shouted out as he rushed to end all the Guard Androids he put down, but frowned deeply when a new set of machines arrived from afar, converging upon his location.


    Not only that, more and more kepting even in as he fought back and destroyed them one by one, as fast as he could.


    s, it seemed like no matter how many he took down, more would take their ce, and even then, the ones he took down did not necessarily stay down all the time.


    Achilles had been a warrior all his life, and it was not by force, but by choice. He was the son of the King of Myrmidon, Peleus and the Nereid Thetis. Initially, Zeus and Poseidon had fought for the hand of his mother, who was said to be one of the world''s greatest beauties.


    However, they both withdrew when Prometheus warned of a prophecy that any son born of Thetis would be greater than the father. Not wanting to give birth to one that could possibly harm them, the two gods allowed Peleus to win her hand.


    When he was born, Thetis decided to abuse her status of a supreme river spirit, a Nereid, which gave her immunity to the effects of all waters in the world. This included the River Styx, which would turn anyone who fell within into a ghost that could never escape its depths.


    This protection was naturally inherited by her son Achilles, so Thetis swam down to the river which separated thend of the living from the dead, and dipped her son into it for a short second lest the undead ghosts beneath the water take him away.


    She had held him by the ankle to do so, which became the only part of his body not dipped. His mother initially wanted to submerge his whole body, but she didn''t dare to try again as the ghosts of the river had already been riled up.


    Because of this, no one else would be able to achieve this same feat, even if they had properties that allowed the negative effects of the Styx water. This was also why Thetis could not let Achilles return and just dip his ankle into the water.


    Not to mention that Achilles was unaware of this as the Gods had forbidden Thetis from telling her son. She had already suffered inhumane punishment - unbeknownst to Achilles - for her actions back then.


    Achilles had been handed to the legendary Immortal Centaur Chiron, the trainer of Great Heroes. He had trained Hercules, Achilles, Jason, Perseus, and more before they went out on their fabled journeys that led to the great renown.


    It was now a well-known fact that a Hero was only half-baked if they did not go through Chiron''s training. The centaur too was a proud fellow who would not just train anyone, but purely the best, otherwise the value of his training would plummet.


    Studying under him, Achilles had be a warrior who could make use of his semi-mortal body and partly divine features to tear up a battlefield, quickly being presented with two choices at age 11.


    Either live fast and die young but be renowned a Hero, or live long and remain obscure.


    He chose the former route, and joined various wars on Elysium''s behalf, quickly winning favor with the Gods until they unanimously decided to give him a Divine Spark.


    He had been young when deified, only 21 years of age. While he had lived thousands of years since then, in Demi-God terms, he was still young, being the equivalent of a 14-year old.


    So the prophecy on his fate was still valid, even though Achilles had long forgotten that after years of being invulnerable on the battlefield, unharmed by fire, poison, metal, or the like.


    His immortality was something even Gods could not easily break, so how could any foe he faced since then deal with him?


    It was the same case in this fight.


    He easily dominated the machines and tanked their attacks without a care. They would st his body with theirser, leaving smoking patches that would heal back to perfection, while Achilles would ignore the pain that he had gotten used to and continue to fight.


    Incidentally, this was what lead to his downfall. A particrrge railgun-mounted artillery charged up a huge beam that sted through Achilles and everything where he stood.


    Instead of dodging, the Demi-God arrogantly took it head-on, but was shocked when he noticed that he had lost his bnce.


    From the full-body blow, he noticed that his left leg from the mid-calf down had disappeared, leaving a stump that was pouring out golden blood in volumes.

 Chapter 475 - 475

    Medea managed to bnce herself gracefully beforending due to how weak her Spiritual Senses werepared to the others. As the one with the lowest Luck, she was debilitated the least by the sudden spike.


    She nced around her to notice that she had been targeted by hundreds of aerial machines, such as Guard Androids with thrusters, hovering eyeser machines, and nes that were manned by AI with huge guns strapped to them.


    Medea quickly realized she was surrounded in all directions, with every path of escape cut off for her. Even worse, more and more were arriving by the second and adding to the blockade.


    Realizing that remaining passive would be the height of foolishness, Medea cried out and waved her hands around her, calling up greenish-tinted winds that formed a tornado surrounding her.


    All the aerial machines caught in its maelstrom were instantly shredded apart by the cutting winds mixed with Divine Energy, making the Demi-Goddess pause as she realized she might have overestimated these machines due to fear.


    She smirked with disdain at them, testing her theory by pointing at one machines, only to see its head cut off by the wind de she had summoned.


    Laughing with amusement, Medea let out a bevy of wind des in all directions, slicing anything and everything apart that dared toe near her..


    In love with the effect of her power and no longer feeling the fear from being surrounded, she let loose on all the approaching machines and destroyed them before they could even form a second blockade.


    There were many times where Medea could have escaped on her own, especially to help the others, but she had decided to wait it out and wait for a chance to end Theseus using this battle as a smokescreen.


    As such, she moved about looking for him, but Medea''s casual ytime was over the moment Miranda''s subroutine reevaluated her and raised the Demi-Goddess'' danger rating, and started to re-allocate more troops to deal with her, switching to mostly ground ones.


    Medea tried to form a barrier around her made of wind that would prevent thesers fired from the ground troops from affecting her, but ultimately suffered greatly as they eventually broke through her barrier andnced through her body.


    Pale-faced, she shrieked in agony and forcefully sted herself away from that spot, narrowly avoiding a great volley of shots that were meant to take her life.


    She could not understand why this reversal had happened, but soon came to terms with it when she saw the sheer amount that had been moved to her side. Medea gritted her teeth as she realized her folly, but regretting it was far toote at this time.


    Medeaughed bitterly. Regret and hindsight seemed to be the theme of her life, both when mortal and now as a Demi-God. She hadn''t always been a bitter and malevolent witchˇ­ once, there had been more to her, especially during her youth.


    Medea was the daughter of King Ae?tes of Colchis, who was a son of the Sun God Helios, and Queen Idyia of Colchis, who herself was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys.


    On her father''s side, she was the descendant of a God of Olympus, yet on her mother''s side, both her grandparents were Titans of the sea and winds, putting her lineage at odds.


    In fact, her mother had been wedded off to Ae?tes after the Titans had been defeated, but that was a story for another day.


    Medea had been a young maiden whose beauty had given provided poets of Colchis with endless material to sing about.


    What was the greatest weakness of a young maiden? Of course, a Hero!


    When Jason had arrived with his Argonauts at Colchis searching for the Golden Fleece, it was thanks to Medea''s efforts in betraying her father by helping Jason that had led to the Hero seeding his Divine Odyssey back then.


    Medea hadpletely fallen for Jason, and had even fled Colchis with him and his men after her father had found out what she had done. Unrepentant, she had been happy with this life of excitement at the side of Jason and they had even gotten married a few yearster.


    Medea had given birth to a few sons for Jason and her life at that point had been one of happiness and fulfillment.


    s, Jason had eventually been granted a Divine Spark, bing a Demi-God after seeding his journey. With his fame at its peak, many women had begun to throw themselves at him, his options greatly widening.


    No longer feeling bound by human morality, he had happily abandoned Medea for the daughter of King Creon, who had been the ruler of Corinth, where he and Medea had moved to after being married.


    Just like the rumors about her, Princess Creusa had been a sensual beauty able to capture the hearts of all men, so it was no wonder the maidenly beauty of Medea lost out.


    This had pained Medea, but she had been so much in love with Jason that she would have epted a harem if it had meant keeping him.


    It was what Jason did next that broke the camel''s back.


    Creusa had not wanted to share the hero Jason with a nameless woman who had given up her heritage when she had run away and so she had convinced Jason to have Medea and his sons banished from Corinth henceforth.


    Jason, thinking with his lower head, had agreed and Medea was to be sent offter, her husband not even looking at her anymore.


    Well, what happened when intense love turned on its head?


    Abject hatred woulde into y.


    This was the vent that had marked the change from the youthful maiden Medea changing into the vile witch which she was poprly known for nowadays, as people never cared about who the good one was before they became bad.


    Wanting revenge and her heart clouded by dark malice, Medea had invited the King of Corinth and his family to a banquet in order to thank them for their kindness to her and taking care of her former husband.


    The scorned woman had then used poison provided by the Witch Goddess Hecate who Medea had sworn her life to in exchange for power and killed the entire royal family. Before fleeing, she saw her sons with Jason moring for her love.


    Seeing his vile face in theirs, evil had taken over her mind and she had killed all her children with him to symbolize her cutting ties with him for good.


    Medea had then fled to Athens and married King Augeus who was - shockingly - the father of Theseus. She had a son with him named Medus who was the half-brother of Theseus.


    At this time, Theseus had be a Demi-God for many years and did not know of his heritage. After all, his own birth was a tale of its own, and only briefly crossed the story of Medea herself.


    She had noted that Theseus was a son of Augeus and older than her own son, would have the right to the throne. Medea had then suggested that Theseus kill the legendary God Beast Minotaur to prove that he was worthy of his title, a challenge Theseus had taken her up on.


    Coincidentally, this had led to the fellow''s greatest recent achievement.


    Realizing that her n to see him die by the hands of a third party had failed, Medea had used her tried and true method of poison to try and end him, but Augeus had realized that Theseus was his son at thest moment and saved him.


    After this, Augeus had banished Medea, unwilling to kill her because she was the mother of his other son, Medus. However, Theseus had not been so benevolent, after learning of Medea''s twisted heart from her actions and her history with Jason.


    As such, the duo had intercepted her carriage and killed her in cold blood in order to nip a threat in the bud, which frankly had been a wise choice.


    It may seem brutal, but Medea herself had known what kind of evil and horrific revenge plots she had in mind after she had settled down.


    It waster that Aphrodite had revived her with a tiny Divine Spark since she hated seeing generational beauties turn to dust in the earth.


    So far, Medea had grown without support since she had been public enemies with Jason and Theseus, two notable Demi-Gods.


    Her Titan heritage would have likely epted her... if they weren''t sealed in Tartarus, whereas her God Lineage had disowned her, so she was barely middling along until now.


    Now, she was trapped in a battle where the enemies had surrounded her on all sides. Medea tasted blood in her mouth as manysers tore through her fragile body which was weaker than most other Demi-Gods.


    Even Hercules had suffered under the blows of thesesers, much less her. Medea''s mind was filled with panic, but not because she feared death, since she had died before.


    She would simply return to Hecate''s side in hell and continue researching the depths of witchcraft with her master. Rather, her regret came from the fact that she would not get a chance to exact revenge on Theseus and Jason.


    Medea gritted her teeth and did everything she could to maintain herst spark of life, as she looked for a way to escape. Just when she managed to escape the blockade, she realized she had run out of Divine Energy and fell to the earth weakly.


    She tried to call for the Mystic Forces, but was knocked out by the Guard Androids and was carried away quickly.

 Chapter 476 - 476

    Hercules crashed into the ground, forming a small crater as hended. The Demi-God was the least affected by this roughnding as he simply shook his head and looked around him.


    He waspletely surrounded by all sorts of heavy artillery. There was not even a single normal robot around, only the big ones that were meant to be used to destroy castle walls and whole cities, all just for him.


    However, Instead of feeling excited, Hercules'' lips twitched. He really didn''t like these machines, especially after having suffered that blow in their first exchange.


    Not only had it humiliated him, but it had also hurt in a way unlike anything the Demi-God had felt before, which had made him extremely wary.


    Hercules sensed an aura of demise hanging around his body, and that source of death wasing from these machines. He personally cursed the creator of these things,pletely forgetting that he was the one who had advocated for violence instead of diplomacy.


    The Demi-God maintained a slow and calm movement, not trying to provoke the machines any further into firing.. Meanwhile, they refrained from firing out their charged-up shots, seemingly content to just pin Hercules down for now.


    Hercules was the famous son of Zeus, born from the affair he had with the mortal woman Alcmene.


    The Godfather had made love to her after disguising himself as her husband Amphitryon who had ''returned home early from war''.


    Hercules'' very existence grated on the nerves of the Goddess Hera as it was yet another proof of his many illicit affairs.


    Unable to do anything against her husband, the wife had taken her anger out on Hercules for the entirety of his life.


    On the night Hercules was to be born, Hera had persuaded Zeus to swear an oath that he would make the child born that night to a member of the House of Perseus into the High King.


    Zeus had agreed to this, as he had already intended to bestow this honor upon Hercules who would be a descendant of Perseus.


    Once the oath had been sworn, Hera had hurried to Mount Olympus and slowed the birth of Hercules by beating Ilithyia, Goddess of Childbirth, half to death before hijacking her Divine Domain.


    As a Minor Goddess with zerobat power, Illythia had stood no chance against the Goddess of Marriage.


    Using her authority, Hera had made Alcmene suffer childbirth for an extra three hours as a petty punishment while elerating the birth of Hercules'' cousin Eurystheus.


    After she hadpleted her deed, Hera had returned this power to its rightful owner threatening the aggrieved Goddess not to tell anyone about what had happened.


    However, although Illythia might have been powerless, she hadn''t been one to just let herself be beat up and had confessed everything to Zeus right away, begging for his protection.


    Coincidentally, this abuse of power had led to childbirth bing something the higher beings on Faust would no longer be able to temper with some timeter.


    As furious as Zeus had been about his wife''s action, the oath had been sworn and he would have to abide by it.


    After Hercules had finally been born, Zeus had carried the baby to the room of his sleeping wife. In her defenseless state, he had tied her down and allowed his son to suckle on her breast, the monstrous little boy greedily swallowing gallons at a time.


    Feeling the loss of her Divine Power, Hera had woken up and had started to struggle. Eventually, she had managed to free herself, but the rest of her milk had sshed across the heavens, creating a new sub-world called the ''Milky Way'' which was yet to spawn any life.


    Having gotten his revenge Zeus chuckled and left while Hera screamed and cursed him shrilly, music to the Godfather''s ears. He then sealed the Divine Power in Hercules'' body, allowing it to retain itself within him, as all beings without a Divine Spark would lose Divine Energy slowly regardless of how powerful they were.


    With Hercules having been returned to his cradle, Hera had still been fuming. This had been the first time she had ever been disrespected in such a manner, so she had sent out two snakes to ughter the baby.


    The thing that had happened next, had shocked her as well as all the other spectating Gods. Baby Hercules hadughed at the sight of the snakes, gripping each by the neck, strangling them to death with near Divine level strength.


    Afterwards, Zeus'' proudughter had been heard booming across the heavens.


    Hercules had grown up to be a violent and barbaric youth, one prone to quickly lose his temper. Given his superhuman strength that had obviously presented problems.


    The most critical had urred when he had strangled his music teacher to death after the fellow had criticized him too sharply.


    Later in life, Hercules had married Megara, daughter of Creon, King of Thebes, (not the same as the father of Creusa). She had birthed him four sons and together they had lived the idyllic life full of peace, love, and happiness.


    Unfortunately, Hera hadn''t tolerated seeing his happiness. Still bitter about his existence in general, she had made Hercules fall for her illusion, making him mistake his family members for vile monsters.


    The Goddess had induced a berserker rage in him, then watched as Hercules ughtered his entire family with his bare hands.


    To make sure he would feel the pain, Hera had also dispelled her illusion and allowed him to look upon their dead bodies, faces twisted from shock, fear, and hatred for their murderous father and husband.


    Hercules had been broken by this, almost driven mad as he had roared for days upon end, eventually forcing the Gods to cate him as his thunderous roar of pain had spread over the entire Elysium.


    He had then subtly been influenced to go seek the Oracle of Delphi about what to do next. Unfortunately, Hera had been one step ahead of the others, having threatened the Oracle to tell the soon-to-be visiting Hercules exactly what she wanted.


    Afraid for her life, she had followed the instructions, instructing Hercules to serve his cousin Eurystheus for 10 years and do whatever he said.


    As a pawn of Hera, the Goddess had been sure that she had gained the perfect opportunity topletely ruin him.


    This was what had led to the famous 12 Labors of Hercules which had surpassed all stories of heroes that came before, making previous Heroes look like chumps.


    They had been as follows;


    #1. y the Nemean Lion; Hercules defeated the lion attacking the city of Nemea with his bare hands. After the deed, he wore the beast''s skin as a cloak to demonstrate his power over the opponent he had defeated.


    #2. y the nine-headed Hydra; The fire-breathing monster with multiple serpent heads that when one head was cut off, two would grow in its ce. With the help of his nephew Ius, he defeated the monster and dipped his arrows in its poisoned blood, thus envenomizing them.


    #3. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis; If it had been to kill it, Hercules would have easilypleted the deed, but as his mission was to capture it, he had chased it for a year, wearing out the Hind, before presenting it alive to his cousin.


    #4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar; It was a fearsome, rampaging boar the size of arge bus. Eurystheus set Hercules the Labour of catching it, and bringing it to Mycenae.


    #5. Clean the Augean stables in a single day; Home to 3,000 cattle with poisoned feces which Augeus had been given by his father Helios. Hercules aplished it by digging ditches on both sides of the stables, moving them into the ditches, and then diverting the rivers Alpheios and Peneios to wash the ditches clean.


    #6. y the Stymphalian Birds; These aggressive man-eating birds had been a terror, yet Hercules scared them with a rattle given to him by Athena, allowing him to shoot many of them with his bow.


    #7. Capture the Cretan Bull; The harmful bull, father of the Minotaur, had beenying waste to thend. Hercules captured it, and carried it on his shoulders to Eurystheus in Tiryns. Eurystheus released it, when it wandered to Marathon which it then terrorized, until killed by Theseus.


    #8. Steal the Mares of Diomedes; The horses from Diomedes'' stables that had been trained by their owner to feed on human flesh. Hercules aplished this task by feeding King Diomedes to the animals before binding their mouths shut.


    #9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta; Hippolyta was an Amazon queen and she had a girdle given to her by her father. He had received a rough wee because, tricked by Hera, the Amazons had been made to attack him.


    #10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon; The next challenge had been to capture the herd guarded by Geryon; a giant with three heads and six arms. Hercules had killed the fellow with a poisoned arrow, then herded the cattle and, with difficulty, took them to Eurystheus.


    #11. Steal the golden apples of the Hesperides; These sacred fruits had been protected by Hera who had set Ladon, a fearsome hundred-headed dragon as the guardian. His brother As had offered him help with the apples if he would hold up the heavens while he was gone.


    As had tricked him and did not return. Hercules returned the trickery and managed to get As taking the burden of the heavens once again, and returned the apples to Mycenae.


    #12. Capture and bring back Cerberus; Eurystheus had grown so frustrated that Hercules had managed toplete all the tasks that he had given him what he had believed to be an impossible task!


    However, his cousin had gone Hercules had gone down into the underworld of Hades and captured the ferocious three-headed dog Cerberus who guarded the gates!


    Afterpleting these great tasks, Hercules had beenuded as a hero across the world. He had been forgiven of his crime and Hera was denounced by Zeus for assaulting a mortal.


    Zeus had then activated Hercules'' in-born Divine Spark, which allowed the fellow to be a Demi-God of great power as she had turned Hera''s Divine Power into his own over the years.


    (Author''s Note: Christ, Hercules'' story is LONG. This isn''t even half of it, and I have cut out SO much. Will have to make a second chapter for him.)

 Chapter 477 - 477

    Theseusnded gracefully near the fringe of the battle, having clearly chosen this spot to ce himself for his own benefit. He looked around and noticed that he too was locked onto by hundreds of machines, most of them a mixture of all kinds.


    The Demi-God rose to his feet and looked around seriously, raising his hands in a gesture of peace. He had hoped that their situation might still be salvageable, but a quickly fired shot from one of the Guard Androids made their stance on negotiations clear.


    It was not that the Miranda AI subroutine was incapable of parleying, even in this situation. The problem was that the likes of Achilles and Medea had already started attacking, so any chance of a peaceful resolution had been killed in the cradle.


    Theseus formed a shield of water to stifle the st, but it simply tore through and struck his shoulder. His face changed when he felt the searing heat and the pain, realizing that if he suffered more of these attacks, he might actually die here.


    Filled with seriousness, he stomped his foot on the ground, calling up waves and upon waves of water that formed ake-like pool around 50 meters from his person.


    Theseus was the son of Poseidon, Augeus, and Aethra..


    At the time, Aegeus, one of then Athen''s primordial kings on Elysium, had been childless. Desiring an heir, he had traveled to the Oracle of Delphi for advice.


    Channeling her powers, the Oracle had given him the following prophecy: "Do not loosen the bulging mouth of the wineskin until you have reached the height of Athens, lest you die of grief."


    Aegeus, after hearing this, had been unable toprehend the prophecy, leaving disappointed, thinking that he might never have an heir.


    Driven by desperation, Augeus had asked the advice of his host Pittheus, king of Troezen, in order to help him decipher the meaning behind the prophecy.


    Fortunately, Troezen''s king had understood the prophecy straightaway and sighed. After having gotten his buddy Aegeus slowly drunk, he had convinced his most beautiful daughter Aethra toy with him.


    Aethra had also been willing, as Augeus had been a handsome man and the King of Athens no less. The two had done the deed, but after Aethra had fallen asleep, Athena had sent her instructions in a dream.


    Aethra had snuck out and gone to the nearby shore to pour libation for Poseidon, and the rapacious God had emerged with excitement. He had then seduced Aethra andy with her as well, causing Theseus to be of double parentage.


    Aethra had soon be visibly pregnant, yet it had been time for Aegeus to return to Athens. Before he had left though, he had ced his own sandals and sword beneath a huge rock.


    Athen''s King had then told Aethra that if his son were to be heroic enough, he should move that rock ande seek his heritage.


    In Athens, Augeus had soon married Medea, who had just fled Corinth after killing her children with Jason and embarking upon the path of witchcraft.


    Thus, Theseus had been raised in his mother''snd. The future Hero had grown up to be a brave young man, one confident in himself. As such, he had easily managed to move the rock to recover his father''s tokens.


    After doing so, his mother had revealed to him the truth about his father''s identity and the task of taking the sword and sandals back to King Aegeus to im his birthright.


    To journey to Athens, Theseus could have chosen to go by sea - which had generally been regarded as the safest way - or bynd - following a dangerous path around a gulf - where he would have encountered a string of six entrances to the Underworld, each guarded by a supernatural enemy.


    Young, brave, and ambitious, Theseus had opted to go alone via thend route.


    His encounter with the six Underworld entrance hadter been termed the Six Labors, and had be the archetype that would be used forter Heroes like Hercules in their own journeys.


    The first site had been called Epidaurus, a ce sacred to Apollo. Theseus had been ambushed by a powerful supernatural bandit.


    ''Club Bearer'' Periphetes had been so strong that he had been renowned for always beating his opponents into the earth while leaving their heads popping out.


    Theseus had fought valiantly using his father''s sword and had managed to turn the tables on the fellow, taking from him a stout staff.


    At the second entrance to the Underworld, there had been a robber named Sinis. He would capture travelers, tie them between two pine trees that were bent down to the ground, and then let the trees go, ripping his victims in half.


    Theseus had watched him do this from the bushes and he had waited until the fellow had gone to sleep before exacting the same treatment upon him.


    As a young man, he had be enraptured by Sinis'' sensual daughter Perigune, and had seduced her. She had eventually given birth to a child called Mnippus long after Theseus had left.


    At the third entrance of the underworld, Theseus had fought with and killed an enormous pig, the Legendary Crommyonian Sow, bred by an old crone named Phaea.


    At the fourth entrance of the underworld, a robber named Sciron had forced travelers along the narrow cliff-face pathway to wash his feet. While they would be kneeling to get the job done, he would kick them off the cliff, where they had been eaten by a giant turtle.


    Theseus, as cautious as he had been smart, had never rushed into these kinds of situations and had observed the situation from afar.


    Having approached Sciron he had been forced to do same, but when the fellow had been about to kick him off, Theseus had dodged, leading the robber to slip and fall, only to suffer the same fate as all those travelers he had fed to that giant turtle.


    At the fifth site, there had been Cercyon, King at the holy site of Eleusis, who would challenge passers-by to a wrestling match and, after he''d beaten and exhausted them, would kill them out of disdain.


    Once again, Theseus had surveyed this happen beforehand, yet he had managed to wrestle and beat that King, before ying him instead.


    At the sixth and finalst entrance to the underworld had been Procrustes the Stretcher. This man had possessed two beds, forcing passersby in the ins of Eleusis to choose between which one they wanted to sleep in.


    Since he had two beds of different lengths - one far too small and another far too big - no one person would fit normally. Choosing the former would have Procruster cut off their feet, while choosing thetter would have him stretch the person out, both scenarios leading to their deaths.


    It was obvious by this point already, but Theseus had watched this horrific scene y out from afar, only to ambush the Strether in his sleep. The Hero had tied the fellow to his own small bed, forcing him to fit by cutting off his legs, before decapitating him with his axe.


    Afterpleting these, Theseus had arrived in Athens. Cautious as ever, he had not outright revealed his true identity. King Aegeus had offered his son hospitality but he had remained suspicious of the young, powerful stranger''s intentions and his unwillingness to reveal himself.


    On the other hand, Medea had recognized Theseus immediately as Aegeus'' son and so had worried that he would be chosen as heir to Aegeus'' kingdom instead of her own son Medus.


    As such, she had made the necessary arrangements to get Theseus killed by asking him to capture the Marathonian Bull, an emblem of Cretan power.


    Theseus, full of himself afterpleting those Six Great Labors and creating history, had agreed.


    On the way to Marathon, Theseus had taken shelter from a storm in the hut of an ancient woman named Hecale. She had sworn to make a sacrifice to Zeus if Theseus were to be sessful in capturing the bull as it had been a menace to the people there.


    Theseus had ultimately captured the bull by using his wits and a bit of creativity, but when he had returned to Hecale''s hut, he found the woman dead.


    He had only been able to sigh, but had continued on his victorious way back to Athens where he had sacrificed the Bull before the crowd, his fame reaching a peak.


    Aware that if he revealed his identity now, he would receive the support of Augeus and the people to be king, Medea had tried to poison him.


    Fortunately, Aegeus had recognized the sandals and the sword on his son at thest second, knocking the poisoned wine cup from Theseus'' hands.


    Thus father and son had been reunited, and Medea had been banished to Asia, where she had been murdered by Theseus and Jason on her way.


    The Hero had learned his lesson and would not allow a vicious woman like her another chance to recover and scheme against him.


    On his return, he had revealed his identity, his reputation had been explosive as a result of him having traveled along the notorious coastal road from Troezen and in some of the most feared bandits there as well as his deed of having purified the six underworld entrances, not to mention his action of capturing the bull.


    The Pantides'' - the sons of Pas and nephews of King Aegeus, who had been living at the royal court in the sanctuary of Delphic Apollo - had hoped to seed the childless Aegeus, yet they had suddenly been in danger because of Theseus.


    Afraid of what could happen to them, they had set a trap for him.


    Yep, a bunch of mortals had dared to set a trap for Theseus.


    Their n had been for one band of them to march on the town from one side while another wouldy in wait nearby in ambush. Simple stuff really.


    The idea had been to force Theseus, Aegeus, and the pce guards out the front by the first band''s appearance, allowing the other half to surprise them from behind.


    However, dreams were beautiful but reality was cruel.


    Informed of the n by a herald named Leos, Theseus had crept out of the city at midnight and had surprised the Pantides. The mortals had naturally stood no chance against his superhuman power.

 Chapter 478 - 478

    However, this was just the story of his early life. While Theseus was well known for his Six Labors and his wits, it was the events that urred next in his life that had cemented him as a Great Hero, as well as a legend.


    The eldest of the sons of King Minos of Crete (not that famous guy who turned things to gold), Androgeus, had set sail for Athens to take part in the Panathenaic Games, which had been held there every four years.


    (Author''s Note: The early temte of what would be the Olympic games of today.)


    Being a skillful and handsome youngd, he had done very well, winning some events outright. Androgeus had quickly grown to be a crowd favorite, much to the resentment of the remaining Pantides who had assassinated him in order to cause trouble, incurring the wrath of King Minos.


    After having heard of his son''s fate, the king had ordered the Cretan fleet to set sail for Athens. King Minos had demanded from King Aegeus to hand over his son''s assassins, in which case the city would be spared.


    However, not knowing who the assassins had been, King Aegeus had surrendered the whole city to Minos'' mercy. Even with a powerhouse like Theseus, they had been unable to deal with the powerful Cretan fleet which had even blocked off trading routes..


    One shouldn''t forget that before Theseus had cleared thend route, Athens had pretty much only been reachable by sea. Since many had still been uncertain about using thend route, Athens had quickly entered a deficit.


    King Minos'' conditions had been that at the end of every year, the seven most courageous youths and the seven most beautiful maidens were to board a boat and be sent as tribute to Crete, never to be seen again.


    Eventually, the truth had been revealed that those 14 had been used as sacrifices to the Minotaur hidden in thebyrinths of Crete. This had shocked and infuriated the whole city, but what could they do but obey?


    At the end of the third year, Theseus had been unable to take it anymore and had volunteered to talk to the monster to stop this horror.


    He had taken the ce of one of the youths and had set off with a ck sail, promising his father that if sessful he would return with a white sail.


    Like the others, Theseus had been stripped of his weapons when they had set sail, yet he had not been molested or beaten.


    On his arrival in Crete, Ariadne, King Minos'' daughter, had fallen in love with Theseus at first sight and - on the advice of Daedalus - had handed him a ball of thread, which would allow him to find his way out of the Labyrinth.


    That night, Ariadne had escorted Theseus to the Labyrinth, and Theseus had promised her that if he returned from the Labyrinth he would take her as his wife.


    As soon as Theseus had entered the Labyrinth, he had tied one end of the ball of string to the doorpost and brandished his sword which he had kept hidden from the guards inside his tunic.


    Theseus then followed Daedalus'' instructions given to him through Ariadne: go forwards, always down, and never left or right.


    Theseus had eventually arrived at the heart of the Labyrinth where he had stumbled upon the sleeping Minotaur. The beast awoke and a tremendous fight had urred.


    Theseus had ultimately overpowered the beast with his strength and stabbed its throat with his sword.


    After having decapitated the Minotaur, Theseus had used the string to escape the Labyrinth. He had managed to escape with all of the young Athenians and Ariadne as well as her younger sister Phaedra.


    Then he and the rest of the crew had fallen asleep on the beach of the ind of Naxos, where they had stopped on their way back, looking for water.


    Athena had awoken Theseus and had told him to leave early that morning and to leave Ariadne there for Dionysus, for Naxos had been his ind.


    By intruding there, they had offended the wine god and only the beauty of Ariadne would guarantee their lives as a tribute to Dionysus'' bed.


    Stricken with distress and pain, Theseus had forgotten to put up white sails instead of ck ones, so his father, King Aegeus, believing that he had lost his heir, had been filled with madness.


    He had thrown himself off the cliff where he had stood ever since, eagerly waiting for his Theseus'' return, into the sea, thus causing this body of water around Elysium to be named the Aegean Sea.


    While the world had celebrated Theseus'' greatness, the Gods even granting him a Divine Spark to be a Demi-God, only Theseus had known what kind of low he had been in at that time.


    The love of his life had be a ything for a God and his father hadmitted suicide because of his carelessness.


    The circumstances have led the noble fellow to a dark ce, which had led to the most shocking part of his tale.


    Pirithous, King of the Lapiths had been Theseus'' best friend. Pirithous had heard stories of Theseus''s courage and strength in battle but wanted proof, so he had rustled Theseus''s herd of cattle then drove it from Marathon, where Theseus set out in pursuit.


    Pirithous took up his arms and the pair met to do battle but were so impressed with each other they took an oath of friendship.


    Later, Pirithous was preparing to marry the beauty Hippodamia. The centaurs - notorious for their rapacious nature when intoxicated ¨C had been guests at the wedding feast, but after having gotten drunk they had tried to abduct the women, including the bride.


    Both Theseus and Pirithous had fought valiantly, brutally killing all the centaurs in the party. Theseus having managed to y Eurytus, the fiercest of all the fierce centaurs.


    Theseus had not received his Divine Spark by this point, but soon activated it after this event. After losing Ariadne, Theseus had married the other sister he brought over, Phaedra.


    However, the loss of Adriane had led him to be a brute, especially with the nature of his so-called friend Pirithous constantly pressuring him.


    At one point he had stopped resisting, ending up a rapacious fellow who had loved to abduct women just like the Gods.


    Since he and Pirithous had been sons of Zeus and Poseidon respectively, they had pledged themselves to marry daughters of Zeus.


    Theseus had chosen the legendary Helen of Troy, and together they kidnapped her, intending to keep her until she was old enough to marry.


    Pirithous - whether out of madness or confidence ¨C had chosen the Goddess Persephone, even though she had already married Hades, King of the underworld.


    They left Helen with Theseus'' mother, Aethra.


    Helen waster rescued by the Dioscuri.


    On Pirithous'' behalf, they rather unwisely traveled to the underworld, the domain of Persephone and her husband Hades.


    As they wandered through the outskirts of Tartarus, Theseus had sat down to rest on a rock.


    As he did so he felt his limbs change and grow stiff. He tried to rise but could not. He was fixed to the rock.


    As he turned to alert his friend, he saw that Pirithous too was crying out.


    Around him gathered the terrible band of Furies with snakes in their hair, torches, and long whips in their hands. Before these monsters, Pirithous'' courage failed and he was led away to eternal punishment.


    For many months in half-darkness, Theseus had sat immovably fixed to the rock, mourning for both his friend and for himself. This period was crucial to the development of the current Theseus, as the many centuries stuck to that rock had granted him time to look back on his life and process the foolishness he hadmitted.


    From ad who had conquered the supernatural with his wits, he had grown into an arrogant Demi-God who had captured women because he had felt like it.


    While no one had begrudged him for this in Elysium - as such was seen as the right of the Divine - Theseus understood where he had gone wrong.


    Left with only his thoughts for so many years, Theseus eventually became at peace with everything, deciding to think about how he would better himself and how to earn the forgiveness of Hades and Persephone.


    In the end, Theseus was shocked to see Hercules who hade to the underworld for his 12th Labor of capturing the Cerberus.


    Out of respect for this old hero, Hercules had rescued him and had begged Persephone to forgive Theseus for the part he had taken in the rash venture of Pirithous.


    Theseus had been grateful for this and had promised Hercules to repay that debt, but the Demi-God had scorned Theseus slightly for being so foolish.


    This was why he had treated Theseus as such early on, while Theseus mostly swallowed it down.


    As the instigator, Pirithous had not been allowed freedom of thought.


    In the current battle, Theseus had observed the entire battlefield and had witnessed the maiming of Achilles, the suppression of Pyrrha, and the capture of Medea.


    He saw that just like himself, Hercules was still holding on using his high defense, but if this continued his past savior would soon be ovee.


    This led Theseus to take a deep breath and consider the circumstances properly, realizing that even if he escaped, his fate in Elysium would not be pretty.


    Allowing Medea to die was fine, as no one really cared, but Hercules, Pyrrha, and Achilles were extremely important.


    As such, Theseus made the wise choice to roar out: "We surrender!"

 Chapter 479 - 479

    Hercules fell to one knee as he clutched the hole in his abdomen, leaking golden blood all the while. He had a wry smile on his face, unable to believe that after such a great and illustrious life, that it would be here that he was going to die.


    However, the raised cannons and nozzles that had been charging up beams to finish him off began to dim following the roar of Theseus.


    "We surrender!"


    The face of Hercules cramped as he heard this, but he sighed in the end. As stubborn as he might be, part of him realized that this might be the best oue.


    With that, the Great Hero copsed into unconsciousness.


    .......


    Achilles was gazing at the stump of his leg that was still bleeding profusely until now.


    Rather than scared or in pain, he was utterly confused. For him, this oue was utterly iprehensible defying every bit ofmon sense.


    He made no moves to stifle his blood, still locked in that state of shock, but he soon began to weaken as the energy of life left him.


    It didn''t matter whether you were God, Demi-God, True Lord, or mere mortal, losing the essence of your body that kept it running would lead to death.


    The blood loss snapped eventually out of his stupor, but it was already toote... or so he thought.


    "We surrender!"


    Achilles smiled weakly, his consciousness already too far gone to recognize who this voice had belonged to him. He closed his eyes, sumbing to the darkness that beckoned him, prepared to never open them again.


    ......ˇ­.


    Pyrrha was exhausted as she sat on the ground while panting. The robots around her had made no moves to pressure her further, allowing the Demi-Goddess to rest.


    Having calmed herself, her panic had ended. As she looked around she finally registered the state of the other four, making her heart sank. She sighed and addressed one of the robots.


    "Hey, can you please not kill us? It might cause you more troubleter on." Pyrrha informed it softly, unaware if they were even capable of understanding hernguage.


    Unbeknownst to her, this request had ensured that Medea had only been knocked out instead of outright killed, as the Miranda AI subroutine had analyzed her to be the likely instigator and most deserving of death.


    Pyrrha got escorted towards arge tank that looked like it could transport personnel. She had watched as Hercules, Medea and Achilles had been unceremoniously tossed in after having their lives preserved.


    Theseus and herself, as the two that had been deemed the most likely to cooperate, got bound by their arms and escorted within, yet had been allowed to remain conscious.


    They shared a sad look andplied with the arrest before being led away quickly by the Miranda AI subroutine.


    .........ˇ­.


    Darius Stone was currently seated at a desk within the Portable House, writing some things down while thinking. He wasmunicating with the main Miranda AI continuously all this while, working together to lessen the workload.


    Suddenly, Darius paused as he raised his head up with a smile of interest.


    Oh?


    He felt that whatever warning his Spiritual Senses had been conveying all this while to stay off Pokterr had disappeared just now.


    If he wanted to he could freely return to the continent whenever he wished to continue his purge of the Insects.


    Darius smiled and closed his book, returning it to his Inventory. He then stood up and exited his room only to see Gunner and X patiently waiting for him.


    They too had sensed the change and were waiting for their master to decide on whether they would stay or go back to finishing their Quest.


    Darius smiled when he saw them, and noticed that they were ready to go. As such, he escorted them outside the Portable House and retracted it.


    Outside, there were already the foundations of a metal base that was still bare as only the processing and production facilities had been established so far. However, many Builderbots were moving about, adding more to the base in real-time.


    This was Miranda''s first starting point, and she would easily be able to continue to the rest of Ludo in due time.


    It would not be as fast as Pokterr because there was still life on Ludo and Miranda had to remain secretive for now, but that was even better.


    Miranda left another child AI here, but this was given much more resources since the operation required more than just the usual AI rigidity, also needing some flexibility here and there.


    Darius then ced a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array down and used it to return to Pokterr immediately. He had decided to put his new element discovery as well as the Test of Mettle on hold.


    The group disappeared in a sh of yellow light as they left Ludo and entered Pokterr from the main base.


    The moment they coalesced, they were able to see a huge amount of robots bolting overusing electromaic movement, guarding arge Transport Carrier in the center.


    The trio curiously watched this happen, wondering exactly what was going on. Miranda used this time to recall the subroutine and digest everything it had done in this time.


    When she opened her eyes, they were wide as saucers, filled with surprise that was neither pleasant nor the opposite.


    She quickly sent the information she had acquired to the mind of Darius and his two Branded Servants.


    By the time the trio had digested it, the transport had already been brought before them and opened to reveal the Five Demi-Gods.


    Theseus and Pyrrha turned to gaze at the trio, their faces greatly changing once they felt their auras and took in their looks. With some quick processing, they could tell that these were the three that the Gods had wanted investigated, the ones suspected to be helping the Insects!


    At this time, Darius opened his eyes and gazed at the five with an unreadable expression. He smirked and beganughing lightly, finding the whole thing rather amusing.


    Neither Theseus nor Pyrrha interrupted him, just watching him quietly, wondering what their fates would be.


    "I have always wanted to know more about the Fake Lords of Elysium, their power, their essence, and their truth. I have created hundreds of intricate ns for this purpose, but all of them needed me to be at least an Adept first." Darius began musing with a smile.


    "However, never did I think that five perfectly good test subjects would literally walk into my hands. Not any bunch too, The Greatest Hero, The Minotaur Killer, The Gentle Goddess, The Witch Queen, and the Invincible Hero." Darius stated while folding his arms behind his back.


    "If I could have gotten Cadmus, Bellerophon, Jason, Odysseus, and Bhus as well, I would be set. However, this is already an unexpected boon, it''s not too good to ask for more." Darius finished while shaking his head.


    He then gazed at the two conscious Demi-Gods whose expression had changed greatly after hearing him speak. He snapped his fingers andmanded:


    "Miranda, take them to a special area where you can use Source Energy to suppress Divine Energy. When they alle to, let me know."


    Before any of the conscious Demi-Gods could speak up, the door got closed on them and they got taken to another part of the base. Darius simply watched it go with a calm expression.


    X suddenly said. "I kinda like that Pyrrha. She seems nice."


    Darius thought back to the famous Greek Mythology of Earth and agreed. "She''s the only one I would consider non-threatening. Achilles and Hercules are only a mild problem."


    Darius'' expression became serious. "Theseus though, might be a slight problem."


    Gunner grunted with disapproval. "Him? He is barely as strong as me if I activate Earth''s Guardian."


    Darius nodded and patted Gunner''s shoulder. "That''s true. But let me ask you this Gunner, would you like to face me as an enemy?"


    Gunner paused and a drop of sweat appeared on his brow as his mind yed out a mock battle against the other.


    "N-Noˇ­"


    Darius chuckled at therged''s honest reaction. "Well, Theseus is basically simr to myself, yet he has lived a few thousand years longer."


    This made both Gunner and X shiver as they remembered the handsome face of Theseus and his docile behavior. When they looked at him with the same lens they used to look at Darius, his docile actions changed and looked like something hidden behind a great n.


    Darius was amused as their thoughts were likely true.


    Pyrrha had surrendered likely because she didn''t like fighting and didn''t want to cause more trouble. On the other hand, Theseus must have surrendered because that had been the wisest choice at the time, but with every second that passed, that formidable mind was surely formting ns to escape or gather as much information as he could before such an attempt.


    X hummed with curiosity. "And what about thest one? That witch?"


    Darius''s smile disappeared as his face became grim. "She is the most dangerous of them all, and if I did not need her essence, I would kill her immediately."


    X was shocked by this. "Isn''t she the weakest of them?"


    Darius sighed. "She is, but is also the most dangerous. Her dangeres not from her power, but from her cruelty and madness. She is the embodiment of relentless vengeance, and giving her an inch would be giving her a mile to cause you and those you love harm."


    Unsurprisingly, Darius reached the same evaluation towards Medea that Theseus had all those millennia ago, which was why the Great Hero had assassinated her.

 Chapter 480 - 480

    Darius shook his head and stopped thinking about them. Now that these Dem-Gods were in his hands, everything was settled.


    While many of them had backers in Elysium, it meant nothing to Darius in particr.


    Once he was done with the Insects, he would be returning to Fallon. The Fake Lords/Gods coulde and search Pokterr as much as they liked, all they would find would be the changes he made here.


    However, such an oue would hamper his ns, and was a bit too careless for Darius'' taste. As such, he would have to make some amendments, or at least, reach a situation where the Gods would note to Elysium anytime soon.


    From the Library of Krona''s database, Darius had all the information about Divine Odysseys and how they worked. Many were done over the span of years, and most did not require the Demi-Gods or humans to report back.


    However, the lineup for this one was too grand.. Not counting Medea, who could safely be assumed to bergely expandable, there was the favored son of Zeus; Hercules, the favored son of Poseidon; Theseus, the much-beloved ex-Goddess; Pyrrha and the Invincible Hero who was favored by Ares; Achilles.


    The web of interests was too thick with them, so if they remained silent for more than a year, their backers would surely get anxious.


    What Darius needed to do now was to find out what exactly their mission here had entailed, the time given and any form ofmunication items the quintet had been given that allowed them to report back.


    Luckily, Theseus had not used the item as he had initially felt that there would be a way out for the group since they were all taken alive.


    However, just like Darius had known Theseus would be a problem, the Demi-God had recognized that all his ns had been ruined the moment he had seen Vena''s Agent.


    Right now, Theseus sat in a room that was separated from the other four. It was well-decorated andvish, making it seem less like a prison cell and more like a guest room, but the glowing runes inside neutralized Divine Energy making the room''s purpose apparent.


    Naturally, it had also prevented him from using any of themunication items given him, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.


    Being penalized by the Gods for the summoning would be far better than this uncertain fate.


    Unlike Darius who had a wealth of knowledge thanks to absorbing the entirety of the Great Library of Krona, as well as his knowledge from Earth''s myths, Theseus only had very little to go on.


    The biggest question in his mind right now was why a person like Darius would help the Insects?


    Naturally, more than a few answers came to mind.


    #1 Darius nned to raise them to take over the world.


    #2 Darius nned to use them to kill the Gods.


    #3 Darius nned to ruin the world out of some angsty emotion.


    However, Theseus could nottch onto any of these, for they didn''t make sense. Their brief interaction left no doubt in the Great Hero''s mind that their captor was a scheming mastermind and not an idiot.


    As such, he was running with the assumption that Darius was just as rational as Theseus himself was. By that logic, the other had to have alsoe to the conclusion that using the Insects might help him achieve such a grand ambition, but ultimately would backfire greatly.


    Was Darius someone ignorant of history? Was Darius perhaps ignorant of the true nature of the Insects? Was he somehow under their control? Or under some sort of threat?


    Or most importantlyˇ­


    Did Darius have some way to deal with the Insects that no one knew of?


    Too many questions, too few answers.


    Theseus sighed and sat down, adopting the position of pondering he had been trapped in on that rock in the underworld for millennia upon millennia.


    He had spent almost all of that time thinking and enhancing his rational capabilities, so it had be a habit to adopt it whenever he would enter deep thought.


    It was just like this that Darius found Theseus,ing to perform an early interrogation with someone intelligent. Theseus, who had just settled in to think, was startled by the sudden appearance of Darius but he quickly regained his calm and greeted him.


    "Greetings, Captor. How may I help you?"


    Darius simply smiled widely for a while before uttering one word.


    "Ariadne."


    Immediately, Theseus'' calm disappeared as waves of hatred billowed out from his body, shaking the entire room and making the ground tremble.


    What do you think would happen if someone carried a great amount of negativity for hundred of millennia, unable to ignore it as itpounded on itself right before his eyes?


    Theseus had suppressed it on the daily, but it had exploded many times and those in Elysium, even the Gods, knew better than to mention this name before him.


    It was why Theseus and Dionysus were never allowed to be near each other, much to the Wine God''s chagrin.


    However, Theseus was too important to the Gods, his wisdom and acumen were unparalleled, and he had never failed them when they had needed him.


    To the top Gods like Zeus and Odin, Theseus had a higher value than Dionysus who couldn''t even fight and was almost always drunk.


    They would have loved to sacrifice Dionysus to appease Theseus, but it would set a terrible precedent and shake the pecking order of Elysium, so the aforementioned was the solution they had chosen instead.


    This caused Theseus much resentment, but like his hatred, all of it had been bottled within.


    Darius knew this, not only from Earth''s history but Faust''s too.


    He could personally sympathize with Theseus, for if he had discovered that the God that was in charge of Deia had defiled her in any way, he would go to any length to destroy the entirety of Faust, killing everyone who had a hand in disturbing her slumber after death, from the God in question right up to Vena.


    "Theseus, it''s time you understood what this world truly is," Darius spoke calmly as he tossed him a HoloBrace.


    Theseus gazed at the piece of tech with a suspicious nce. Darius instructed him to wear it on any of his wrists, as his prisoner the Demi-Godplied because he knew he had no real choice in the end.


    The moment he wore it, he marveled at how it quickly connected with his body and mind. Feeling the power and depth of the AIwork, Theseus was mind blown and a boyish excitement was kindled in him for discovering something new after such a long time.


    Just as he was about to ask Darius for more details, his captor raised his hand up to silence him.


    The Itemancer then folded his hands behind his back and spoke to Miranda. "Educate him on the true history of Faust, who his masters are, and who the real master here is."


    Miranda pooped up above both their HoloBraces and saluted, much to the shock of Theseus. "Okay, Daddy-O!"


    Immediately, any questions or worries Theseus had were silenced as his eyes zed over, his mind receiving torrents of information rapidly that would explode the heard of a mortal.


    But as Theseus had almost 800 points of Intellect, which was almost twice that of Darius, he was able to handle this infusion quickly. Not to mention that amount wasn''t from the entire Library, just the key things Theseus needed to know about the true nature of Faust.


    Soon, the knowledge infusion came to an end and Theseus simply stood there, an expression of confusion on his face that grew more and more warped by the second the more his mindprehended what it had just been taught.


    Soon, his whole body began to tremble as his eyes became bloodshot. He then roared and punched the wall of the room, which dented very slightly thanks to his high Strength.


    "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! YEARS OF SLAUGHTER, OF OBEDIENCE, OF WORK, ALL FOR A BUNCH OF MORONS WHO AREN''T EVEN THE REAL DEAL?!" He roared with a cacophony of emotions in his voice.


    Darius only watched on silently, not involving himself in the Demi-Gods outburst.


    Theseus kept punching the wall with all his strength until his knuckles cracked and began to bleed. After all, he was hitting the Indestructible Holy Silver that was infused with Source Energy without any Divine Energy avable to him.


    "HOW MANY RACES HAVE WE GENOCIDED? HOW MANY TREASURES DID WE STEAL? ALL OF THIS, RIGHT BENEATH THE NOSES OF THOSE WITH THE REAL POWER, AS THEY WATCHED US DANCE LIKEˇ­ LIKE COURT JESTERS!!!"


    Theseus then began banging his head on the wall as if he wanted to kill himself, yet Darius still did not stop him. He let the man vent out thousands of years of lies and deception from his heart until he was eventually exhausted four dayster.


    In this time, Hercules and Achilles had woken up, Medea who had been weaker was still unconscious. Darius did not visit the others, rather watching Theseus day and night with a solemn expression, witnessing an event few would ever get to know about.


    It wasn''t out of respect for the man''s feelings or anything, but because he wanted to witness how someone who lived for so long would handle their very belief and mindset crumbling.


    Humans who lived short lives would surely go crazy from this, killing themselves, killing others, or wanting to destroy everything.


    However, how would someone whose lifespan was practically unending react?

 Chapter 481 - 481

    The reaction of Theseus so far seemed rather mild in Darius'' eyes. He had expected something crazier, but in a matter of hours after the Demi-God had exhausted himself, he beganughing uproariously.


    Theseusughed until his lungs gave out, after which he began coughing painfully, before returning to silence. Surprisingly, he did not cry andment anymore, just remained eerily silent for another few hours until he rose and came before Darius.


    The two men gazed at each other through the bars of Theseus'' cell, Darius with a contemtive soft smile and Theseus with a neutral expression and dark eyes.


    His voice was almost raspy as he asked his captor one question. "Why?"


    Darius folded his arms behind his back.


    "Because it was necessary. I don''t n to kill you as that would be too much of a waste. Rather, I could use someone in Elysium with your kind of intellect to co-ordinate with when the time wille for me to face the Fake Lords.." Darius admitted truthfully.


    When dealing with Theseus, someone who was as shrewd as himself, Darius preferred to respect the other''s intelligence and be frank, rather than to beat around the bush or try to y petty tricks.


    Of course, he still held some things back out of caution, but Theseus would expect this much and even disdain Darius if he would be too honest.


    Theseus''s face twisted when he heard the term ''Fake Lords'', thenughed and ended up coughing right after.


    "Fake Lords, huh? Yeah, that really fits." He murmured.


    Theseus turned around and showed his back to Darius, remaining silent for a good long while as he thought, his captor not disturbing him. After a few minutes, the Demi-God spoke in a cautious tone.


    "You have to understand, even if I now know the truth, it is hard for me to switch loyalties so easily. I have worshiped that bunch for multiple millennia, even if I had recently begun to doubt them."


    Darius still remained silent.


    Theseus continued. "Apart from Dionysus, I have no real grudge against any of them since they had treated me rtively well and had given me many benefits. To some extent, I suspected what you just showed me, but I had failed to find any proof."


    Theseus then turned around to face Darius. "However, there is the problem of how they used us, and what they used us for."


    He waved his hands with a mocking expression. "''Heroes'' they called us as we came back after ''purging'' ''evil'' races and groups all over Faust in years and years of crusades."


    "''Divine Odysseys'' they call them, our journeys to perform dirty work they would rather not have on their hands in case there was ever an entity that could hold them ountable."


    Darius looked at him in understanding, but refrained from speaking, aware that the other had more to say.


    "In other words, we Demi-Gods are nothing but their expendable tools. We have three things that make us the perfect workers. We are in possession of Divine Energy, so we too could ascend to be Gods, though we do not have a Divine Domain. This makes us unable to ever mount a resistance against them as they could quash us at any time." Theseus shared with Darius.


    Darius nodded, aware about the distinction. The Gods deserving to be called ''Fake Lords'' were those who had a Divine Domain, a Divine Spark, and a Divine Attribute.


    The first was their kingdom, what the mortals beneath them would call ''heaven'' or the ''afterlife''. Divine Domains were not created by Gods, but had existed with their birth.


    Within it, they were impervious to all attacks and could resurrect infinitely as long as there was even a little bit of Divine Energy.


    That was exactly why they had turtled up inside them after discovering the existence of the True Lords during the Insect Invasion.


    A Divine Spark was obvious, it was the me lit in the soul that burned eternally. It was what refined Faith Energy into Divine Energy by burning the impurities out of it, like the expectations and doubts.


    If one could snuff a Divine Spark, a God would fall and be a mortal instantly, but that was extremely difficult as it was a God''s most guarded part.


    Then there was the Divine Attribute. It was the power element that the Deity embodied and could control using Divine Energy almost on the level of the Laws of Faust itself.


    They were what had led the Gods to their presumptuous belief of them being the creators, as they were the only ones who could muster such a power.


    However, obviously meeting the True Lord who could embody Laws of Faust even better than them without using Divine Energy had caused a crisis in Elysium.


    Whatever the case, Demi-Gods only had the Divine Spark, butcked the other two. As such, no God would ever fear them, except for cases like Achilles or Hercules who could be problems due to their special circumstances.


    "The second thing is that we can be easily med for the actions we took on behalf of the Gods due to our power, and we would likely evenply out of faith. This makes us perfectly expandable."


    "Finally, because all our power is given to us by them, they are the only ones who can control how we grow and progress. Without them giving us Divine Tinder, our Divine Fires cannot grow, and they only give this out as rewards for doing their dirty work."


    Theseus sighed and shook his head. "Not to mention our actions were done under the deception that it had been righteous and just. I certainly feel resentment, but I am not yet confident in myself and moreso in you that you can handle them."


    Theseus gazed at Darius pointedly. "I''d rather be killed or experimented on by you if you want that to fight the Gods and lose pathetically. I once served them, so I know their weaknesses, but there is nothing on Faust so far that can capitalize on them."


    Darius smiled, as he felt the other was done, expecting him to say something. "I would have it no other way, as I said, I currentlyck the means to properly extinguish any Gods."


    Rather than being disappointed, Theseus'' eyes glowed. "So, there is hope?"


    Darius rubbed his chin and thought about it before replying. "Indeed, though rather than a matter of chance or opportunity, it''s more a matter of time."


    Theseus sucked in a deep breath. He had hoped, but this waspletely out of his expectations. Darius was essentially telling him that there was a 100% chance for the Gods to fall by his hands, only that now was not the right time.


    However, the Demi-God was not one to believe just mere words, but he understood given his position he could not push too far either. Darius had been doing the giving so far, so he had to return something to show his sincerity.


    Theseus then gazed at the HoloBrace on his hand and smiled thinly. Focusing his mind he tried to connect with thework within the bracelet, and he was once more moved by the grandeur of it.


    However, instead of receiving, the Demi-God rather uploaded information from his mind to thework. Miranda appeared above Darius'' HoloBrace with an expression of concentration as she received the info and decoded it.


    She then showed surprise as she immediately transferred it to Darius'' mind. The Itemancer too had to pause to ''dpress'' and digest the information, with Theseus watching him raptly.


    The prisoner hummed as he reached a conclusion that Darius likely had slightly above half his own mental faculties judging by the time he used to decode all of it.


    This surprised the Great Hero as he had expected Darius to be far less, and he realized it likely had to do with the weird presence that hovered around his captor.


    Ass a Demi-God, which could technically be counted as one stage higher than Grandmaster - although not officially recognized by the Laws of Faust - he could obviously sense the Supreme System and much clearer than others.


    He assumed that this entity had to be what Darius was relying on to usurp the Gods and was also the reason Theseus had even be willing to talk to Darius, otherwise he would have remainedpliant but never truthful.


    It was pervasive and his feeling told him that it could overwrite everything around it, so it should be able to remove the ''invulnerability'' and ''resurrection'' trait of Divine Domains in time.


    Once Darius was done processing what Theseus had sent him, his eyes shone. The majority of that information had been about Elysium''s inner workings and the inner dealings of the Gods the Great Hero had been privy to.


    One thing that was extremely precious in this set of info was the fact that the Gods did not trust Krona!!!


    They had long since noticed from the God of Knowledge''s reclusive nature and weird affiliations that he had been different from them, so they had guarded their true operations against him since the beginning of their coborations.


    There were many things Theseus had shared that were missing from the info from the Library!


    Either God Krona had withheld them or he had been unaware of this, and given the importance and volume of them, it was most like likely thetter!


    Darius was pleased with Theseus'' offering, and nodded to the Demi-God.


    "We''ll talk more. It''s time for me to go and speak to yourpatriots."


    Theseus nodded in understanding and moved to get some rest, but stopped and spoke solemnly.


    "Be wary of Medea. She is the embodiment of evil and chaos. Nothing she says can be trusted!"

 Chapter 482 - 482

    Darius nodded to show that he was aware of Theseus'' worries. He then left the Demi-God to his thoughts, giving him time to decide where his allegiancesy and what he would do from now on.


    The Itemancer chose to speak to Achilles next. The so-called Invincible Hero was currentlyying down on a white bed, dressed in a hospital gown and his left leg had been bandaged up severely.


    The fellow''s eyes were closed until Darius made his presence known, at which point the captive opened his eyes to gaze at his captor. In a calm tone, he asked: "So, what do you n to do with me?"


    Darius rubbed his chin, pretending to be pondering what to do with him, before pping his hands. From the walls of the room came a few robotic hands that held Achilles down and injected something into his bandaged leg, which made him grimace.


    "It''s time you too got to know the true nature of Faust. However, since the Styx made you invincible, you''ll have to forgive me that I can only imnt the nanites into your bloodstream through your only human body part."


    Darius smiled even as Achilles disyed a confused expression. However, he soon fell into a daze as information was beamed to his mind, which his 234 points of Intellect got to work dpressing immediately.


    Once he was done, the Invincible Hero showed an expression of utter dismay and distraught shock. Unlike Theseus who had immediately exploded because the suspicions had long since existed in his mind, Achilles was a soldier at heart.


    He followed his orders and believed in his superiors, not bothering to think too much for himself whether what he was doing was right or wrong, if anything he just paused to make sure whether it would be in the scope of his directives.


    Now, he was faced with a soldier''s most dreaded nightmare, having toe face to face with the fact that everything he had believed in had been a lie and his actions, which he had regarded as just, turned out to be rather capricious and evil.


    Surprisingly, just like Theseus, his reaction was as human as one could expect. Due to the shock and the despair, he first began denying it.


    "No, this cannot be! This cannot be true! How can the Gods be fake? How could there be someone above the creators?!" Achilles asked himself in a panic, his face pale as a sheet.


    Then, he nced at Darius malevolently. "It''s you! You just want to deceive me! To shatter my faith in the Deities!"


    Achilles then sneered at Darius and seemed to rx greatly. "You''re wasting your time. While it certainly seems like you have put a lot of work into your ruse, such cheap tricks cannot break my faith!"


    Darius was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "Fine, if you choose to doubt it, then it''s really up to you. Your importance to me is nowhere near as great as Theseus, so I don''t need to bother to convince you."


    Darius simply pped his hands and spoke coldly, staring right at Achilles the entire time.


    "Miranda, designate patient Achilles as experimental material #0001. List categories: Expendable, Pain Tolerant, Reusable. Primary Experimentation Utility: Weapons and Drug Testing."


    Achilles felt a chill in his soul when he heard that, though he did not understand what exactly it would entail. He only saw the image of a little girl acknowledge his captor''s orders before the fellow turned around to leave.


    The injured Demi-God struggled in the bed and tried to break free, but he found to his shock that after a little bit, his body refused to move. It felt like his muscles had been taken over by another force, and he was only left with his thoughts in his body.


    Darius left him there, assured that Achilles would make the perfect experimental material and test subject as the nanites that had been injected into him were not just for transmitting data alone.


    The Itemancer then moved over to the area where Hercules was kept, only to see the bulky fellow seated in a lotus position, deep in meditation. When Darius came around, he too opened his eyes and observed his captor silently.


    Darius and Hercules stared at each other, one with a soft smile and the other with a neutral expression. Since the cards were in Darius'' hands, Hercules decided to speak first.


    "What do you want?"


    Darius shrugged. "What can you give?"


    Hercules was surprised by this rebound, but seemed to think for a while. Then he spoke seriously.


    "Release me, Pyrrha, Achilles, and Theseus, and we can hide the truth about you and your operation, preventing my Father and the other Gods from retaliating against you."


    Darius froze, but did notugh. Rather he nodded, as he understood where Hercules wasing from. He was ignorant of the truth and believed that the Gods were the pinnacle of everything just like Achilles and Theseus before him.


    Hercules knew that if he and the other three he had mentioned were gone for too long, their backers would be restless and seek them out. At that time, Darius would surely perish for the Gods were paramount.


    As such, Zeus'' favorite son thought that it would be better for Darius to release the crucial four Demi-Gods and have them cover everything up.


    Once again, Medea was treated as expendable in their eyes, and this showed Darius that Hercules was at least being honest.


    If he had asked for only himself, or missed anyone else of the crucial four, their story would falter and the Gods would still descend upon this continent to check things out for themselves.


    After all, the Demi-Gods may trust and believe in the Gods, but the Gods certainly did not trust in and believe the Demi-Gods.


    It was just like how a cheating girlfriend or boyfriend would always want to monitor the chats and friendships of their unassuming partner, their psychological guilt making them feel as if the infidel acts theymitted upon their partner were being done to them.


    The Demi-Gods were unaware that most of the missions they were sent on could not be handled by anyone else but them, and even then, it was usually so fatal that some might not even make it.


    However, they saw it as challenges they were meant to ovee and took pride in being sent to die, only toe back alive.


    Darius smiled and tossed a HoloBrace over to Hercules. "Wear this and see the truth for yourself. Since you seem willing to make a serious offer, you should first be aware of what you can realistically offer me."


    Hercules frowned and grabbed the HoloBrace then observed it. Seeing that it was just a piece of strange metal shaped into arge ring, he followed Darius'' directions and ced it on his right wrist.


    When it pierced his hand and connected to his nerves, Hercules'' face changed and he almost smashed it. However, the HoloBrace had an inbuilt panic suppressor, and a robotic AI voice exined the functions of the HoloBrace directly to the wearer''s brain.


    The Greatest Hero''s expression morphed to one of pleasant surprise, marveling at the technology on his wrist just as Theseus had done.


    He wondered how great it would be if this stuff also existed in Elysium for the Gods, the Demi-Gods, and even the mortals to use.


    Before he could even ask Darius what this was for, the information was sent to his mind directly. Hercules only had 124 points of Intellect, which was a lot for a human, but subpar for a Demi-God.


    Still, he managed to digest everything before Darius got bored waiting, and when light returned to his eyes, Hercules was surprisingly silent for a long while.


    He simply sighed in the end and looked at Darius with a weary face.


    "Is it true? Can you swear on everything you value that you are not deceiving me?"


    Darius smiled. "I swear on the name of the Great Goddess Vena, that the information I''ve shared you with you is as valid as I know it to be, stemming from sources even you would find reliable."


    Hercules nodded weakly when he sensed that something shifted in the world. This, more than the oath itself, proved that the Laws of Faust responded to the name of the Goddess.


    After all, you couldn''t get a response like this from the world if you used the name of Zeus or Odin.


    Hercules pped his thighs and rose to his feet, prancing about his cell with a distraught expression. He eventually stopped and turned to face Darius sideways.


    "You know, I used to hate the Gods, when I was a mere mortal. Because of my father''s lust, I was born. Because of my father''s infidelity, I was targeted by his wife, Goddess Hera, and became a tool of contention between them." Hercules began.


    "With every victory I won against something Hera put in ce, it was a ''score'' for Zeus. In every loss or tragedy I suffered under Hera''s hand, it was a ''score'' for Hera."


    Hercules turned to face Darius fully, his face thunderous. "Instead of discussing their problems, I, a mortal child who hadmitted no sin aside from being born, got forced to be a means to prove who was right or wrong."


    "I lived with this anger all my life, hiding it in the depths of my heart, knowing it would do no good as the Gods would easily overpower me no matter how strong I could grow."


    "I lived with the assumption that the Gods were supreme and could not be beaten."


    Suddenly, Hercules smirked as his eyes gleamed. "But suddenly, I have proof that they are nothing like what I thought!"

 Chapter 483 - 483

    Herculesughed despite himself. The entire thing was funny to the Demi-God because he had just blurted out something that he had kept inside his heart for nearly his entire life, yet he was surprised just how much better he felt now that it was off his chest.


    Darius'' eyes gleamed as he heard Hercules murmur. He was naturally surprised that the Greatest Hero himself would make a simr reaction to Theseus, but then again, it made sense.


    Achilles was a bad example of a Demi-God - or rather, a good one - because as a mortal, he had been born to a human king and a non-human mother. That same mother had broken many rules to bathe him in Styx water, which forever barred anyone else from doing soter.


    She had been captured and penalized heavily, but young Achilles was unaware of all of that. He had grown up with his king father, groomed to be the warrior he was today, using his invincibility to win battle after battle.


    Eventually, Ares had taken note of him and had gifted him a Divine Spark, paving his path to be a Demi-God, even training the fellow personally.


    Achilles was not only the ssic Demi-God, but also the ssic Elysium citizen. They were made to see and hear only the good things the Gods did, fostering their image of infallible existences that were supreme.


    That was why when he had been presented with the truth, he had reacted as he had. To Achilles, the Gods were everything, and no manner of information would make him think otherwise, short of direct evidence.


    Even then, it would require a full mental breakdown even more severe than what Theseus had suffered to get over it.


    Hercules and Theseus though, were the Demi-Gods of legend due to their birth. Any child born of the Big Three would tell you that they often wished they had just been born normal, because one probably couldn''t get shittier parents.


    Theseus'' upbringing had still been fine, as Poseidon was known to be rtively chill in this regard. He had a full ''hands-off'' approach to raising his spawns, allowing them to make a name for themselves without his interference.


    As such, Theseus had never really had a problem with the Gods until he became a Demi-God and began taking mission for them, back in the era before the True Lords had shown themselves, at a time the Fake Lords had been rampant and merciless.


    He had done many things without questioning them at the time. It was only when Theseus had gone down to hell with Pirithous and got punished by being frozen atop that rock, that things changed.


    I mean really, he sat there for more than three millennia till Hercules came to rescue him. It wasn''t a question of what he had thought about, but what he HADN''T thought about.


    He had dissected every single second of his life up to then, pondering,menting as well as correcting them in his mind until he eventually got bored to the point he had slowed down his thoughts.


    It had been natural for him to see his ws, but his thoughts had also been limited by his knowledge. When he got confirmation from an outside source that answered so many of his own doubts, everything had clicked which was why he had been ready to betray the Gods and assist Darius as long as the other''s sess was guaranteed.


    Hercules here was no different. From the moment he had been born, he had been made into a tool for Zeus and Hera to use in their marital dispute.


    Seriously, if Zeus was infidel, why not just beat him up? Why take it out on the child who had never even asked to be born?


    s, that vile Goddess Hera knew that she would be unable to deal with Zeus, and so she had chosen to target the one she could bully without repercussion; Hercules.


    From his birth, he had been hounded by her at every step until he became a Demi-God. Only then had Zeus suddenly be a caring father and Hera had reconciled with him using some excuses as well as gifts.


    Hercules had been moved and had epted this because he had never gotten a chance to enjoy it, but he also had never truly fallen under its spell even though he had be arrogant over the years. The scars Hera had given him during his mortal life would always apany him.


    Hercules was likely even aware that the only reason had been made a Demi-God was because at one point Zeus and Hera had grown to fear his power.


    In time, with enough Faith Energy, he was being fed by all the peoples of Elysium, Hercules could have lit a Divine Spark on his own and be the first mortal to be a God without external help!


    This had been a frightening possibility for the Gods, as it would set a dangerous precedent. They had reasoned that his power might surpass them who had been born with their abilities.


    As such, it had been decided it would be for the best to make his power something they could control, hence he was hastily given a Divine Spark and whatnot.


    However, their worst nightmare had urred today. Hercules, the strongest Demi-God, was no longer on their side!


    Hercules passed a hand through his hair and paced about the cell slowly. He then faced Darius sideways as he began speaking softly and almost liltingly.


    "Let me tell you an interesting tale. Around 10,000 years ago, Olympus received a distress call from Persephone that something terrible had happened to Hades. ording to the Goddess, her husband had been called away by one of his own Demi-God children to check on something urring within Armadon."


    Hercules sighed. "It was naturally a trap. Hades got captured and was brought to the center of Armadon where the Demons and Devils had tortured him day and night. However, this was the folly of the Demons, as they had been unaware that Hades and Persephone had a tight bond."


    "Sensing her husband''s pain and distress, she had informed the Gods. At this time, the Giants struck, attacking Tartarus with all their might. The ce soon fell without Hades atmand, and the Titans were released."


    Hercules cupped his mouth with his right hand, sweat forming on his brow as if remembering alone was weighty.


    "That was when the Gods struck back. A huge war ensued with the Gods fighting on two fronts, one against the Giants who were slightly weaker than the Titans but were directly made horrifically resilient by Gaia, and another in Armadon to rescue hades, for without him, the battle would be tough."


    "A two-pronged war, and we were not gaining ground on either side. The Gods realized that the longer the fighting went on, the more time the Titans would have to regain their footing and unleash havoc. They had barely been sealed previously by the joint effort of the Gods AND the Demons, so it was a mystery as to why they would help them escape."


    Hercules growled with frustration. "However, nothing the Demons or Devils do ever makes sense. It''s like they do whatever they feel is interesting at the time, and it often hasyers andyers of implications and hidden meanings!"


    Hercules paused there with a startled expression and turned to observe Darius who had been silent all this while. He sized Darius up from head to toe with a suspicious look.


    "Come to think of it, the way you speak and act kinda gives me the feeling of the Demonkin. After all, why else would anyone want to take over this sted continent and probably help the goddamn insects?"


    Darius rubbed his chin with interest. "That does sound somewhat logical, but unfortunately its false in this case. I have yet to truly interact with the Demons yet, but I get where you''reing from."


    Darius folded his hands behind his back and gazed at Hercules calmly. "For now, don''t worry about such things. Finish your story and we''lle to terms with the truth of our various existences and purposes."


    Hercules still seemed slightly unsettled, but could only sigh once more before resuming what he was illustrating.


    "It was at this time that the Gods realized they had to make use of their trump cards to gain an advantage. Of course, a say trump cards, but the truth you just showed me changes it to expendable tools." Herculesughed self-mockingly.


    "Me, Bhus, Hanuman, Cu Chinn, and Diarmuid formed a team that were to sneak into Tartarus and reactive the seal put on the Titans and force them into it somehow."


    "The other team wasposed of Vali, Gilgamesh, Orion, Jason, and Romulus. Their task was to sneak into Armadon and find a way to free Hades, or at least, weaken the defenses around his seals enough for the God of Death to escape himself."


    Hercules suddenlyughed loudly, his thunderous voice shaking the walls.


    "Can you imagine how ridiculous it was? A battle that even Gods could not win, how could we Demigod enter the heart of it and seed? Even if so, you should choose the stealthiest of us, not the most notable."


    Hercules pointed to his own nose with an amused gaze. "Do you fancy me someone who can sneak into anywhere and achieve something without being spotted?"


    Darius nodded in agreement at Hercules''s question. There was simply no way for the Greatest Hero to do anything with that hulking frame and steps that shook the earth.


    Darius pictured Gunner trying to do a stealth mission and could help but chuckle lightly at how badly that would go.

 Chapter 484 - 484

    "Anyway, as I was saying, our two groups of Demi-Gods were sent on these missions given nothing but the skin on our backs to achieve the impossible."


    "It was like we had be death warriorsˇ­ or expendable troopsˇ­ or cannon fodderˇ­?" Hercules paused as he searched for the right word.


    "Suicide Squads. You were sent out as a Suicide Squad." Darius assisted with a smile.


    Hercules was stunned by this. "It sounds right, but what does it specifically mean?"


    "It''s a term used for a selected group of chosen warriors with special abilities to aplish a seemingly impossible mission whose lives are treated as expendable."


    "Should they seed, they would be rewarded, but if they failed, they would be either dead or punished. They have no choice in whether or not they can go, and retreating before the mission ends usually warrants severe punishment, including death." Darius exined calmly.


    Hercules nodded his head slowly, his eyes brightening with every second. "Yesˇ­ yes, that is a very apt way to describe what we were made to do back then. A ''suicide squad''... Ha!"


    "Well, can you guess who seeded and who failed?" Hercules asked Darius with a yful expression.


    Darius folded his arms and wrung his lips. He didn''t know how to tell Hercules that he was already aware of the entire event after having digested all of Faust''s knowledge God Krona had possessed.


    However, since Hercules had brought himself to the chopping board, Darius didn''t mind ughtering him.


    "Both parties seeded."


    Hercules was speechless for a moment that Darius had guessed it so effortlessly, but then he shrugged. "Well, that''s correct. The objective that seemed so impossible toplete, to the point that even the Godscked the confidence in us seeding, had been aplished almost spectacrly by both teams."


    "I don''t know the events for Vali''s team, but something truly special happened during our own mission. Not only did we managed to get past the Giants who guarded them without being seen, we also fought against the Titans directly."


    "After setting out a pre-arranged signal, the Gods intensified the fight, preventing the Giants from turning around to stop us. The Titans had also been weakened by their years of imprisonment, so they had turned out to be far weaker than us."


    "The Titans were beaten back mostly by me and my raw strength, which had allowed me to contest with even the toughest of them. Eventually, I was able to knock them back into their prison and re-activate the seal."


    Hercules stopped here and took in a deep yet stuttered breath as his body trembled.


    "However, just before they went in, thergest and most powerful Titan, Kronos, looked me in the eyes and uttered two words. Two simple words that I would usually shrug off as a bitter insult, but somehow they have stuck with me all these years."


    Hercules turned to Darius, gazing at the Old Soul with a grave look. "It was not just the tone in which the Titan spoke them, it was the certainty, the mockery, the understandingˇ­ the look in his eyes, the snort he made as he uttered it, the general disdain it carriedˇ­"


    "Those two words were: ''Pitiful fool''. Not even much of a remarkable insult, but it''s hard to convey just the way he looked at me, like he was looking straight into my soul."


    "His eyes didn''t contain any hate towards me nor my actions. Rather, he was filled with pity and mockery, as if looking at the biggest fool he had seen to date."


    Hercules shook his head. "I have thought about it many days over the course of my lifeˇ­ what could he have meant by that? What could have made me, Hercules, the Greatest Hero, such a pitiful fool in Kronos'' eyes?"


    "Was it the fact that I had assisted the very same parents who had tormented me during my mortal life? Was it because I had my wings clipped by epting their Divine Spark? Was it because I did not know some secret truth that would change my position in the entire conflict?"


    The huge Demi-God shook his arms with a troubled expression. "From your information, I guess it''s pretty much all three and more. It''s hard to believe that two words can contain such a huge amount ofplexity and hidden meanings that I would still need a long time to discover."


    "Anyway, while I asked myself these questions as far back as then, I couldn''t get a conclusive answer as I have now, because what you showed me was too grand for me to even think about back then. The knowledge so profound that I''m not sure even Kronos might have known all of that..."


    Hercules then paused for a minute or two, before he nced at the HoloBrace on his arm.


    "However, I asked myself a question. A question I was forced to consider due to my interest in the Titans and why Kronos would say such a thing."


    "Why exactly were my father and the other Gods fighting against Gaia? That was the question I was forced to ask myself. Oh, and what a troublesome question it was." Herculesughed with bitterness.


    "Gaia is the spirit of Faust, an embodiment of the very we live on. If the world had truly been crated by the Gods, then Gaia should have been a creation of theirs, and exceedingly obedient to them, no? But then why would she want to rebel?"


    "One day, I had foolishly posed this question to my father. He exined to me that Gaia had been corrupted by the taint of mortals who wished to usurp the Gods."


    "Since mortals made up a majority of its existence and Gaia was the amalgamation of every living things'' lifeforce, thoughts, and wishes, it was natural that their filthy cravings would infect her, leading to the creation of the Titans in her attempt to rebel."


    Hercules scratched the back of his head. "Truth be told, I took this answer as fact as it was logical and made sense."


    Darius nodded. Were it not for his knowledge pertaining to the True Lords and Vena, he might also have been inclined to believe this as it was a lie carefully woven with the truth. Hercules could not be med for believing it, because doubting it would have been far more illogical back then.


    Hercules sighed. "However, things quickly changed for me after that point. My father had still been somewhat caring up until that point, but his demeanor had started to change. Of course, I did not notice it easily at first, but it became clear that something was up when I was starting to be sent out on more and more Divine Odysseys, all that seemed to be doomed from the start."


    "I couldn''t seed them all and since I was made leader of those teams I would often return only to get penalized. It wasn''t even rare for me to be the only survivor, a circumstance the Gods found fault with."


    "Not to mentions, my repeated failures chipped away at my reputation of being the Greatest Hero. Again, it wasn''t much at first, but it was stained more and more with every new failure. No one could deny my contributions in the past, as I have been there for every recent major upheaval the Gods faced and brought significant victory."


    Hercules rubbed his beardless chin with a smile. "Funny enough, despite the missions I failed being minor ones with no real consequences, at one point the stain to my reputation seemed to overshadow my victories in grand and important conflicts could repair."


    "This has continued up until now. At first, I didn''t realize the reason for it, but now, I understand everything. Sometimes, asking a question can be a sin far worse thanmitting murder."


    "I had asked the wrong question. Even though I was given an answer and seemed to bepliant, it had broken a seal, or better yet, a certain status quo."


    "From an ignorant Demi-God, I became a possible red g because in the mind of the Gods, if I could ask this kind of question once, I would definitely ask another like itter on... and eventually I might be unhappy with the answer..."


    Hercules folded his arms with a sneer. "Sure, they might be able to cate and rein me in with a clever answer the first few times, but the following questions would be more intense and the answers they required would have to be a lot more thought out."


    "Eventually, it would naturally reach a point where they would not be able to give me a satisfactory answer, doubts would build in me. Once that snowballs and esctes, it could lead to a big issue, hence the sudden distrust."


    Hercules then waved his hand casually. "Anyway, I am telling you all this for one simple reason: After finding the truth, I am not interested in working for those hypocrites anymore."


    Hercules then seized up Darius. "I might choose to work for you, but I would like to know more about what it is you would want me to do, why you want me to do it and how exactly it would benefit you."


    Hercules shrugged straightforwardly. "It might sound impudenting from a captive like me whose life is in your hands, but truth be told, I''d rather die or be tortured than just go from one bunch of bastard to another!"


    Darius, who had listened to all of this, pped his hand slowly. "A good resolution and I admire your decisiveness. I have many uses for one like you, and even ways to make you into a proper God through natural means."


    Darius then folded his hands behind his back.. "However, we can talk about the detailster. For now, limatize yourself to the HoloBrace on your wrist and cooperate with the Martin AI to learn what you can!"

 Chapter 485 - [Bonus ] 485

    Darius and Hercules spoke for a little while longer, before the Old Soul left. He moved over to where Pyrrha was kept, the former Goddess seated quietly within her cell, her hands sped over her knees.


    When Darius appeared before her cell, she flinched significantly, yet did not cower. Rather she gazed at her captor warily, neither speaking nor challenging him, waiting for the other party to initiate talks rather.


    Darius observed Pyrrha slightly as he thought over his method to deal with her. She was nowhere near as difficult to deal with as the three fellows that came before, due to her inherent nature.


    It just required a bit of drama, theatrics, and acting, none of which would pose a problem for Darius.


    The Itemancer narrowed his eyes as he red at the now Demi-Goddess with an usatory nce, making Pyrrha''s heart skip a beat. Darius'' words directly made her shudder terribly.


    "You evil entity! You''re nothing like the others who were once mortal! You were born a Goddess and should very well know the truth of your existence!"


    His words were spoken harshly and full of reproach, yet Pyrrha understood the meaning behind them. As a Goddess born from her element, how could she not?


    Darius suddenly struck the bars, making Pyrrha yelp as his eyes became slightly bloodshot.


    "You despicable thing dared to call yourself a Deity! How many lives have you taken? How many races have you extinguished?! Just for material wealth and possessionsˇ­ what makes you any different from mortals who do the same?"


    Pyrrha''s voice was defiant as she argued. "I haven''t! I haven''t taken a single life ever since I was born! My Divine Attribute is the Fire of Life and Vitality! I cannot harm people, even if I would wish to!"


    Darius thenughed mockingly. "So I guess my machine warriors burned themselves to scrap then?!"


    Pyrrha was rendered speechless by this, but weakly exined. "I meanˇ­ I need to have some means to protect my life, right? I can''t just stand there and let myself be killedˇ­"


    Darius sighed and spoke derisively. "You''re nothing but a liar! You im your Divine Attribute prevents you frommitting harm, yet harm is exactly what you caused uponing here."


    "The bunch of you came over and immediately attacked my subjects!! My warriors would not have harmed you, should you havee in peace. At any time you could have simply surrendered, but you chose a violent reaction the moment you were threatened!"


    "How is that the action of a pacifist? Even if you have not harmed anyone and believe that you cannot harm anyone, your true nature revealed itself in a desperate situation! You''re no different from anyone else, hiding violent and murderous tendencies in your heart."


    Darius then pointed at Pyrrha imperiously and said with full conviction: "You, the so-called Goddess Pyrrha, are a vile and dangerous being hiding darkness in your ck heart while deceiving the world!"


    Pyrrha couldn''t take this usation and stood up to her feet, clenching her fits and gritting her teeth as she argued back.


    "No! Even when the others harmed and caused pain, I always sought to heal and restore! I always helped the weak and protected them from the fallout of the battles that they had no hand in causing or no ce to be in!"


    Darius sneered. "Hmph, it might be admirable if a mortal brings a cure to another who is sick, but aren''t you above mortals? Shouldn''t you move ahead to prevent the cause of the sickness before it couldnd, since you''re capable of doing that?"


    "You sat there and watched your siblings cause pain and harm without ever trying to stop them. All you did was wait for them to finish their vile deeds before salvaging what you could and iming these actions to make you look like someone good!"


    "Meanwhile you are a ck-hearted, opportunistic entity who probably loves to see your siblings wreak havoc so you can benefit from them!"


    Pyrrha paled. "No, that''s not true! I tried many times to talk to them, but they always just brushed me off orughed me away! When I saw that I was beginning to annoy them, I was worried I might lose my chance to ever convince them, so I tried to change my methods to use softer means!"


    Darius sniggered. "Ha! So because of cowardly fear, you failed to step forward on behalf of the weak and chose to acquiesce!"


    Pyrrha seemed to be on the brink of tears, torn between indignant anger and sorrowful panic.


    "How do you expect me to stand up to them, when I cannot even harm mortals? I have nobat power, which is why they tolerate me and treat me nicely, fully aware that I am incapable of ever bing a threat to them, yet always there to clean up their mess!"


    Darius'' eyes flickered. To be aware of this, Pyrrha was not as ignorant and foolish as he had thought her to be. She was actually quite intelligent and clever, only that her kindly nature made her easily abusable even though she knew she was being abused.


    However, this fact and sudden realization did not change Darius'' ns in any way. He simply shook his head with a look of disdain.


    "You should have stepped forward to sacrifice everything for protecting the weak instead of making half-assed excuses!"


    Pyrrha was indignant. "I did! After seeing so many mortals suffer from a casual battle between Poseidon and Aegir, I burned almost all of my Divine Energy to give them a chance at survival! This is the reason I was reduced to a Demi-God!"


    Darius'' expression froze as he disyed aplicated expression. "Yes, I heard about that. I possess a great respect for your noble sacrifice back then, hence why I made my machines leave you and yourpanions intact."


    Darius then disyed a plethora of emotions as if his mind was rapidly changing until he settled on a firm one.


    "However, a person who truly seeks to do good and protect the weak would never self-advertise their own actions! They prefer to savor the joy of saving lives without ever mentioning their actions!"


    Darius once again pointed at Pyrrha usatorily. "Only a person who seeks to do good to enhance their personal ego and look good to the public would boast about their deeds! You are such a person!"


    Pyrrha was left speechless once more, and herplexion became red as she was filled with righteous anger, but in the end, she deted like a balloon, tears forming at the corner of her eyes.


    "This is not fairˇ­"


    Darius didn''t relent. "Go ahead and cry! That feeling of helplessness, of unfairness, wondering why someone would do this to you, is exactly how all those mortals felt when they suddenly ended up besieged by you so-called Gods!"


    "How could they possibly resist their assants and preserve their lives? They could only perish in suffering, fear, and sadness! Does it feel good to have a taste of your own medicine?!"


    Pyrrha''s eyes had long teared up and began crying silently, but she stifled her sadness and asked Darius with a defeated tone: "What do you want from me?"


    Darius smiled inwardly. Outwardly though, he maintained his righteous expression.


    "I seek atonement. The Gods must atone for their sins against mortals and the entire world of Faust. It''s only fair and just for them to make up for the harm they have caused over the millennia."


    "This also includes Demi-Gods and those who have assisted the Gods in anyway either by act or omission. Once atonement is paid, all debts will be written off, only then can peace be achieved!"


    Pyrrha was silent for a while before wiping her eyes and asking in a slightly more spirited tone.


    "How can I atone?"


    Darius folded his arms behind his back as he smiled amusedly. "You Gods love to throwbors at mortals before making them Demi-Gods, don''t you? We''ll adopt the same system."


    "Based on a God''s crimes, they should be given a number ofbors toplete. Once theyplete them all perfectly, they would earn amnesty. This way, not all such Deities would have to suffer for those who were more violent, like you in this case."


    Pyrrha nodded slowly before raising her head and showing a firm expression. "I will serve my atonement. What will mybors be?"


    "Pyrrha, former Goddess of Fire, for the crime of omission to the ughter of mortals by your siblings, the Gods, you are hereby tasked toplete one Grand Labor in order to atone for your sins!" Darius stated grandly.


    Pyrrha was surprised by this. "Just onebor?"


    Darius showed a rare gentle smile. "Despite everything, unlike your sibling, you did help mortals repeatedly and tried to do good within your limited means, even though your intentions can''t be called pure. However, that alone doesn''t change the fact that you did good, so you are not as reprehensible as the rest."


    Pyrrha looked like she still wanted to argue about that, but could not muster the courage after being berated by Darius once. As such, she asked: "What will mybor be?"


    Darius smiled softly and revealed what Pyrrha would have to do.


    "Nothing excessive. Your Grand Labor shall simply be to serve me for the next 10 years in my Divine Mission to bring more Gods under the light of judgment!"

 Chapter 486 - 486

    Darius was satisfied with how things had gone with Pyrrha, happy that the former Goddess had so easily acquiesced to his demands. Manipting her had been extremely easy, but given her nature, it would have been extremely embarrassing for him to fail.


    A normal person might feel bad about tricking such an honest and upright person, but believe it or not, Darius was actually quite nomittal about it.


    That did not mean that he felt nothing. Perhaps because of his own innate character, Darius actually respected people like Pyrrha that most would describe as foolish and naive.


    His personal view on them was that if only the world could be filled with more people like them, it would be a much better ce.


    s, the world, be it Earth or Faust, was filled with bad people, leaving those like Pyrrha with no other choice but to adapt like Darius had or get exploited until they died.


    If everyone would be like Pyrrha, nobody would have to constantly keep up their guard, afraid that someone was trying to harm them or take advantage of them in some way.


    Essentially, Darius regarded Pyrrha the same way Batman saw Superman, as the best of them.


    However, this was only referring to those with honest characters and naivety based on opinion. This did not cover those who were simply in stupid and those who were naive based on ignorance.


    The difference between the two was that the former were like Pyrrha, aware of the good and bad, as well as the fact that people were likely abusing her, but whose character was too good-natured to go against it as long as the actions they were forced to do didn''t conflict with their nature.


    Thetter though, werepletely ignorant of good and bad, doing whatever they felt to be ''right''. They would get abused by people and had no clue, actually believing that they would be benefiting from it.


    They also assumed the actions they were doing were good, but never actually investigated the effects or understood them.


    Finally, Darius came to Medea''s cell.


    This was thest of them, and the most isted. After all, this prisoner was someone he deemed exceedingly dangerous in more ways than one.


    Medea was lying on the bed of her cell calmly, gazing towards the bars like she was expecting Darius. When he appeared, she smiled and adopted a sensual position.


    "A visit from my captor, huh? What do you intend to do with me, Esteemed Sir?"


    Darius smirked. "I didn''t take a witch of Hecate for a whore. Yes, you used your body as a tool when you were alive because you had to survive Jason''s wrath, but at least you had standards."


    "King Augeus was a good choice, but me? A random captor, who you can''t even be sure is someone with any say in this ce? "


    Medea''s eyes narrowed but she still retained her smile. "That might be true, but how could you just be a ''random'' captor without any say? It''s impossible for someone with the bloodline of the Dragon Ancestor, a True Lord, to be just a nobody, no matter where he goes."


    The temperature dropped greatly as Darius'' soft smile disappeared, reced with a frosty nce. His eyes narrowed greatly as he understood that a lot of things had changed with this single revtion.


    Darius thought back to Theseus'' warning, and understood that the Demi-God had not warned him because of her so-called madness and cruel nature alone, but something more.


    It was likely that Theseus had understood something after receiving enlightenment from Darius, but didn''t understand exactly what.


    Now that Medea had revealed knowledge of the True Lords, it garnered many meanings.


    The most likely scenario... was that Medea had the backing of a True Lord herself!


    Only those affiliated with a True Lord should be privy to their existence. Not to mention, to know the identity of other True Lords, the one backing Medea had either taken her to see them or had educated her about them, as a precaution so she wouldn''t cross them.


    Unless it was some super-secret True Lord that Darius had no idea of, he thought of one person who could qualify for that title and be obscure enough that others would not know.


    Hecate!


    The Witch Goddess!


    ''Well, well.'' Darius thought as he rubbed his chin, regaining his soft smile.


    If the God of Knowledge could be a True Lord, why not the Outcast Witch Goddess?


    Now that he thought about it, it did make some sense, while Krona was affiliated with the ''Light side'' of Gods such as Zeus and Odin, Hecate was affiliated with the ''Dark side'' Gods like Hades and Hel.


    Another theory was that Medea might have had a way to connect with the minds of others, allowing her to pilfer this information from Theseus'', Achilles'', or Hercules'' minds.


    However, this theory didn''t seem as likelypared to the first given that Medea was far weaker than any of herpanions. Any ability she had with her Divine Energy would palepared to what those three possessed, not to mention her cell prevented her from using it.


    Of course, Darius hadn''t forgotten that Divine Power was not all that Medea could use. No, she had another power to draw from, witchcraft.


    In the earlier battle, she had not resorted to it, simply because it did not have a divine presence and would not have been able to affect the robot warriors made from Holy Silver and infused with Source Energy.


    Nevertheless, the Miranda subroutine had logged a single moment at which point Medea had tried to use it out of desperation, yet she had been stopped and knocked unconscious. Darius wondered what she had tried to do at that moment and what would have happened, had she seeded.


    Still, there was an easy way to find out. Darius simply snapped his fingers, and two Guard Androids entered the cell. They approached Medea who was still lying down casually, grabbing her and holding her down.


    Medea did not panic and only smiled seductively.


    "There is no need to hold me down. I won''t resist if a True Lords'' prot¨¦g¨¦ wants to give me his seed."


    Darius paid her pitiful attempts of seductions or mockery no mind as he snapped a finger. Immediately, a third Guard Android walked into the room holding something on a tray.


    It was a golden HoloBrace!


    Darius watched as the Guard Android casually ced the HoloBrace onto Medea''s right wrist, which made the Demi-Goddess frown as she wondered what the heck this was.


    Her expression changed to surprise when she felt it connect with her mind. This was a marvel for her, the idea that a piece of metal could host such a function with such a great range of functions.


    However, Darius had note here to bring some enjoyment into the life of the millennia-old woman. He snapped his fingers once more, and right at that moment, Medea''s expression changed greatly.


    She grabbed her head and began thrashing, shrieking at the top of her voice in agony that very few would be able to understand. The Guard Androids stoically held her down, preventing her from moving even as she shuddered violently in their hold.


    Darius watched on coldly, his expression pensive as he contemted his next moves. He did not care that Medea was beginning to bleed golden blood from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth.


    Her eyes rolled back into her head as the whites began to show, her body twitching and shaking like a person being electrocuted to death.


    This went on for about three hours, within which Martin came up on Darius'' HoloBrace and reported that the memory extraction had seeded without a hitch.


    Darius smiled and informed Miranda to parse through what Martin had collected and to send over the important bits to him while keeping the rest in the Supreme Portal.


    As for Medea, she remained slumped over on the bed,pletely out ofmission and incapacitated. Darius did not even bother to heal her or restore her functionality yet.


    As a Demi-God, she would likely recover from this. If not, then she wasn''t much of an impressive being and Darius could bring her back if he absolutely needed to.


    Right now, until he digested everything she knew and learned her weakness and methods, he would rather not empower her in any way. Who knew if she had some means to escape and was only biding her time to bait Darius into a trap?


    Better to be safe than sorry.


    Darius left the building where the five Demi-Gods were kept and pondered. He then spoke to Miranda calmly.


    "Send out an artillery group to destroy the ship that they used toe over to Pokterr."


    Miranda made a salute, but asked with confusion. "What about the mortals on the ship?"


    Darius shook his head. "I don''t care what happens to them. While you''re at it, send our parties over the continent and ughter anyone still on it, regardless of their background. Pay special heed to those who are exploring Polito Vaults, those are to be exterminated."


    "Speed up the take over of the continent as well. We need toy im to Pokterr and begin fortifying it greatly." Darius finished while folding his arms behind his back.


    "Aye, aye, Papa! But won''t it make everyone aware of our presence here?" Miranda could help but ask.


    Darius nodded. "Those who have the means to find out, will and I want them to feel threatened. However, it should only be the Gods who are likely to act as your army will show no intention to expand outside the continent."


    Darius smiled softly. "Right now, an open war is the best option for us.. Let me tell you why."

 Chapter 487 - 487

    Darius gazed towards the coast, where the sailors should be stationed.


    "You see, no matter how badly I wish otherwise, it is inevitable that the disappearance of these five will be noticed eventually. There are many reasons for this."


    "Firstly, the nature of their mission was to investigate us, and from what Theseus gave me, it seems that they suspect that were are helping the Insects because of the retaliation against their yearly culling party."


    "Thanks to the power of that Grandmaster Monk, they were able to glean information about us, making them aware that I''m somehow rted to the Ancestor Dragon as I possess his bloodline, that Gunner is a powerful half-giant and that X is a very dangerous elf with two Divine Concepts."


    "This has raised our danger level very high in their minds because we three possess things that could harm them, or at least, cause significant trouble."


    "Mine especially and it''s the likeliest reason why they chose espionage over direct conflict since they had witnessed the power of the Ancestor Dragon during the Insect Invasion."


    "His power is something they simply could not contend against, so they have to ascertain our motives, backing, and identities in order to form a more concrete n of action."


    Darius rubbed his chin with an amused smile. "Secondly, the identities of all five of them are sensitive. Hercules is the Greatest Hero, the rallying point for all mortal belief in Demi-Gods and the bedrock of the other Demi-Gods'' confidence."


    "His loss cannot be tolerated, also considering the fact that he is someone that could gain power equivalent to them if he was taken under the wing of someone stronger, like the Ancestor Dragon, Gaia or the Elven Divine Magic."


    "Theseus is one of the three Great Heroes and is special because his mind contains a lot of sensitive information that the Gods would not want to reveal. Even God Krona, one of their own, was unaware of some of it."


    "If any of that were to leak, it would be a disaster. Not to mention that Theseus was a great strategic mind that they had long relied on, not to mention his social value."


    "Achilles is the beloved Demi-God of Ares, a powerful tool of war that the Gods had carefully nurtured so that he could prevail in their battles. His existence as the Invincible Hero was something they had used and abused to win battles where, by agreement or for reputation, they themselves could not descend."


    "In that case, they''d just send out someone who literally could not lose, and it had ensured their victory many times. More importantly, with their eyes on him, they could make sure he never learned of his only weakness, for if he did and found a way to rectify it, he would be a problem."


    "Pyrrha is another problem, for she is too well-liked by all the Gods. Despicable as many of them may be, how could they hate the one among them who could not muster the will to denounce or chastise them, the one who had always rushed to clean up their mistakes and give their entire pantheon as a whole a good reputation?"


    "Besides, she never caused trouble, got into conflict with other Gods nor hindered them, rather remaining benevolent. Many new or lesser Gods have benefited from her kindness, so many would rally to help her."


    "And then, there''s Medea. All of the other four Demi-Gods in captivity, and even most Deities in Elysium itself, thought of her as nothing much. She had no visible backing and was rtively new, so her inclusion in this mission was quite strange given the line-up."


    "However, if we consider the information we''ve just acquired, it makes sense that her mistress has pulled some strings for her to be here, so that Medea could report the situation to her. It''s a bad sign that even True Lords seem to be curious and wary as to what the hell we are doing here."


    "In essence, all of them have connections and ties that are not something that can be casually thrown away, so in time efforts will be made to recover them. Simply hiding until they find out is not sustainable." Darius borated as he folded his arms behind his back.


    He watched as many of the buildings nearby opened up to release some troops that were manning heavy artillery, the machines gilding across the surface like bullets using the electromaic rtionship they had.


    "A direct conflict allows us to hide better. We will basically dere that we are an independent faction taking over Pokterr that belongs to no one, iming that these Demi-Gods have trespassed on ournd and were hostile."


    "Seeing this, the Gods will two ways to respond, either lower their heads for now and negotiate for the release of the Demi-Gods before starting a war, or denounce our ims andunch a righteous war head-on."


    Miranda was speechless by this. "So we''d have to fight anyway?"


    Darius nodded calmly. "That is correct, my dear. Those Fake Lords have long viewed Faust as their property and yground. If it weren''t for the difficulty that the distance between continents created, you think they would be this restrained?"


    "They would have long conquered everything within sight, so how could they tolerate a no-name from somewhere iming a whole continent for himself?"


    "Besides, they have always been greedy for knowledge and powers that they do not possess. Seeing our science-based operation that has allowed us to take over a whole continent while remaining sustainable without any cost is bound to make them go green to the gills with greed."


    Darius shook his head. "No matter what, they wille up with an excuse to start a fight and try to im it. It might be possible for them to even ally with the likes of Gravitas who hate that we have even better tech than them. In the worst-case scenario, they might ally with others such as the Demons of Armadon or the Immortals of Pan."


    Miranda seemed a bit worried. "Can we hold out against so many forces?"


    Darius smiled. "At the moment, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible. Fortunately, they don''t know that yet. However, in three months'' time, it will be different."


    "Once you''vepletely turned Pokterr into an efficient territory, when your resources are endless and your energy infinite we will be able to hold out, especially once the satellite system has beenunched granting us worldwide coverage!"


    "As such, our immediate goal is to stall for time. We could give them a solid thrashing if everything goes ording to n and put them on the defensive, but this might make other powers wary and join in prematurely."


    Miranda nodded. "Yes, ording to my calctions that would be too much for me to handle even at my peak, much less if True Lords get involved. Source Energy cannot resist whatever power they use since even Divine Energy cannot either."


    "Indeed, as such a war of attrition is the best model to adopt for many reasons. Firstly, due to the nature of this type of war, resources, funds, and manpower are burned quickly."


    "A war of attrition, in essence, if a measuring contest between two opposing parties as to how deep their foundations and resources go."


    "Usually, many avoid this type of conflict because even if you won, you would have wasted so much that recovering economically and socially would take time, leaving you weak for third parties toe in for an ambush."


    "However, for us, it will not pose a problem as the resources used are renewable, present in abundance, and almost infinite. Same with our manpower and there is no mary rted cost to our side."


    Darius smiled a wide and insidious smile. "So in this war, only one side is constantly losing men, money, and resources while the other pretends to do same, but actually is not. This will allow us to weaken Elysium slowly over time, until it bes ripe enough that we can swoop in blitzkrieg style and take over."


    "This also goes for the other powers. Secondly, a war of attrition is great for us because it gives us time to see the depths of the other parties'' power as well as allow myself and my Branded Servants to grow in the background. After all, the one leading the war effort would be a new child AI that is created for such a purpose, not me."


    "Neither I, nor Gunner, nor X will participate until the time is ripe. We''ll keep the Demi-God and continue our daily lives in silence while the war will be ongoing. By the time we reach the Master stage, we should theoretically be strong enough to not only a minor part but perhaps even a vital role."


    "Thirdly and finally, a war of attrition is crucial for me because it introduces something I direly need in Faust, the element of chaos. War breeds chaos, distrust, malice, and hatred."


    "Only in such an environment where everyone is at each other''s throats will I be able to swim through the muddied waters, collecting all the benefits for myself in the shadows as I pull the strings."


    Darius'' eyes narrowed into serpentine splits as a cruel expression appeared on his face. "I have done this many times on Earth, and it is time for Faust to have a taste of this wonderful experience!"

 Chapter 488 - [Bonus ] 488

    "However, what is important right now is for me to finish that Quest before any new changes ur that could disrupt its progress once more." Darius stated, before summoning over Gunner and X using Miranda.


    He let them know that they were going back down into the underground. The two seemed excited and relieved to continue what they had actuallye here to do, as they had been thrust into many side quests after killing the Master stage bugs.


    Right now, thest line of defense for the Insects were the Grandmaster Bugs and Beelzebub, so their job was a mixture of easy and tough at the same time.


    Easy because their current power should be enough to fight with Grandmasters for sure, but tough because Grandmasters - and even the injured Beelzebub ¨C was guaranteed to have means that could cause them trouble, especially since they were guaranteed to have made preparations for Darius'' return.


    When the trio approached the entrance to the underground, they were surprised to see that Miranda had greatly changed it. From a casual tunnel, it had evolved into an efficient metallic city.


    At the entrance were a few raygun towers with armored tanks patrolling the area, as well as the smaller Warrior Bots. What intrigued Darius was the fact that Miranda seemed to have predicted their return down below - which should have been quite obvious - and made some arrangements for it.


    This came in the form of a long electromaic track that ran down the underground world, a small train present at the entrance for Darius and co to rx in while they were transported below at hyper speed.


    Seeing that, the Itemancer decided that there was no need to waste mana teleporting. As such, he sat in it with his two Branded Servants and gazed at the runes within that lit up.


    The interior was the same as a private coach from a modern train on Earth. Luxurious,fortable, and extremely high-ss. Gunner and X marveled at it while Darius simply felt at home.


    He poured himself some wine as the train came to life and the A/C began blowing cool air upon them. The trio had Endurance stats high enough to even ignore desert heat, naturally this made the A/C unnecessary.


    Still, having it there was not a bad thing either. If anything, it made them feel much morefortable. After all, Endurance didn''t remove or negate their senses, just increased their ability to tolerate it.


    When the train started moving, it was slow at first, but began picking up great speed as it maneuvered almost crazily through the winding tunnels which were almost never straight.


    There were runes within the train that negated the force and movement on the persons within, so the three of them felt like they were moving in a straight line at a moderate speed the whole time.


    So when the train slowly stopped only a few secondster, it was natural that Gunner and X were surprised.


    So quick? They had only just gottenfortable!


    The two grumbled inwardly as they alighted the train behind an amused Darius who could feel their reactions. He then looked around and saw that they were at the end of where the metallic expansion reached.


    They stood as the end of the tracks, which was the end of where Miranda''s subroutine had dared to cross, which was the end of the Master band.


    The contrast between chromium metal on their side and ck, dead earth on the other, indicating where the Insect''s Grandmaster band began was truly strange.


    If anything, for Gunner and X especially, they felt like their expansion and remodeling of the continent was justified. Not seeing the dead earth for so long had made them forget the wastnd they hade to meet upon their first visit to this continent.


    From here, they began walking deeper into the bowels of the underground silently. They noticed that it was deathly silent, whether by nature or by intention was unknown yet.


    Gunner took the lead as his face darkened, sensing something powerfuling from the front. However, it stopped in a cavern before them, allowing the trio to enter and witness who was waiting for them.


    They were surprised to see that it was not one, but three!


    [Heracron - Level 94 War Bug


    HP: 55,076/55,076 MP: 6,987/6,987 STA: 21,500/21,500]


    [Gluttworm - Level 99 Devourer Bug


    HP: 87,540/87,540 MP: 3,656/3,656 STA: 45,977/45,977]


    [Rancido - Level 98 Toxic Bug


    HP: 62,920/62,920 MP: 4,565/4,565 STA: 23,965/23,965]


    It was the beetle-like bug, Heracron, who had a single horn and a very muscr form, the worm-like Gluttworm that was huge and possessed a mouth with endless teeth, and finally, Rancido, the slug-like bug that oozed smelly pus that also had strong acidic effects.


    Darius'' eyes narrowed, as his sharp memory told him that the stats of the three had changed slightly. Not only that, but they had all gone up one level sincest they came.


    Thest time Darius had seen those bugs, he had left them a lovely present in the form of 20 nuclear electromaic warheads exploding within the tight confines of a Faraday Cage.


    With Beelzebub there to protect them, he wasn''t too surprised that at least these tougher ones hadn''t died, yet he had estimated them to end up crippled to the point that recovery would have taken a few months, not just a week.


    Even then, what was trying to be put forth was that, in just one week, these bugs had not only recoveredpletely from what should have been fatal damage, they had also be slightly stronger.


    Such a thing was absurd, and very few things could achieve such a thing for these fellows at the Grandmaster stage. There were about 34 items/substances he knew of in Faust that could achieve this feat with varying results.


    The chief of them was Lunar Dew, but Darius knew that it was impossible for Lunar Dew to be present on Pokterr. It was something that required stringent conditions to be produced, and this ce did not fulfill those conditions.


    Darius'' mind buzzed as he went into hyper analysis, considering the cause and effect of what was going on. The world around him seemed to slow down, but rather it was the case that he was thinking very, very fast.


    Such a thing was possible with high Intellect, but just like how aputer with a CPU that could reach 5.0ghz would normally work at its base clock if there were no heavy tasks, so too did the minds of those with high Intellect default to slightly faster than normal speed unless they activated their full cognitive ability.


    It was also the same as how those with high Agility would not suddenly st about like the fast, creating sonic booms while they were casually walking. It was impossible for organic life to constantly function at a high output.


    That would lead to overheating at the least, regardless of Endurance.


    Darius closed his eyes as he delved into the wealth of his knowledge as well as his memories, cross-checking between the two to find what should be the cause of this upset.


    He remembered that he had once theorized that the bugs were not relying on the resources of Pokterr anymore, as it likely could not sustain the entire group down below.


    As such, they must have had some other renewable resources down there that had been used to sustain and strengthen the entire group over time. However, as Miranda had scanned the continent many times, it was unlikely that such a node would be missed by her.


    And that was ignoring the fact that, as Darius knew, Pokterr simply could not produce those kinds of resources. It was just like how a desert could not produce rice, it was simply impossible.


    Howeverˇ­


    Darius had also once theorized that they might have dug through the underground and connected to the sea through an outlet. This had been his spections as to how they could have gathered their resources without having toe above ground or invade other continents.


    Narrowing it down like this, Darius checked which of the 34 resources could be produced by sea or within the sea. He came up with 14 of them, the lowest being Mermaid Blood and the highest being Sea Essence.


    Darius'' eyes began to brighten as he thought like this. Could it be that the bugs had found a group of mermaids underwater near their outlet and began trading with them?


    Or did Beelzebub force himself to act and captured some of them to be eaten?


    If that was the case, Darius was excited, praying that these gluttonous bugs had not eaten the entire poption, for he had many uses for such an underwater force.


    Of course, he was not ruling out any of the other 13 resources, but each of them were much more precious than Mermaid Blood with regenerative properties said to regrow limbs even.


    If he could find a point of collection for any of them, he would make a killing! For these bugs to possess such a treasure, it was likely that they had either recently discovered it, or there had simply been no need to use it before his atomic gift.

 Chapter 489 - 489

    "Halt! You are not allowed to venture past this point by order of Lord Beelzebub!" Rancido announced with a solemn expression.


    Clearly, even though they had recovered and be stronger, they still didn''t fancy their chances against Darius'' trio without the True Lord by their side.


    If they could outright defeat them, they wouldn''t resort to such ploys like trying to scare Darius away long enough for Beelzebub to recover.


    Darius paid attention to their bodynguage and narrowed his eyes. He then folded his arms behind his back and stepped forward.


    "So, you killed and ate them, didn''t you? That is how you regained your strength this quickly, isn''t it?"


    Immediately, the three bugs flinched with horror, moving back a step or two in response to Darius'' usation. Verbally none of them had answered his question, but it was no longer necessary as Darius had confirmed the truth using this simple trick.


    It might not have worked on the smarter bugs, but the group had sent their three biggest lunkheads over because they had needed muscle to hold Darius off, not smarts.


    Indirectly, this allowed Darius to ascertain the likely cause for their powerup, though he wasn''t 100% banking his conclusion on their collective reaction as it could rte to many different things.


    However, Darius was taking it as their confession of having been in some sort of partnership or rtionship with undersea mermaids, which they only recently decided to take advantage of as a resource due to the plight the Itemancer had put them in.


    Darius directly shook his head and stepped back. He then turned to Gunner and spokezily. "Any changes to the situation can be deadly, so we cannot allow any interruptions at thest moment. Go all out to finish these three quickly."


    Gunner grinned like a child who had been told they would get to visit Disnend. The half-giant spread his arms out and roared as his muscles bulged, a green aura exploding from his body that coated his form softly.


    With Earth''s Guardian activated, Gunner had enough Strength and Endurance to even beat Hercules into the ground, much less these Grandmaster bugs.


    When they felt the power radiating off therged, the faces of the bug trio understandably changed as they backed away. Knowing that things had fallen apart in the worst possible way, they intended to retreat and regroup with the others to make a concerted effort.


    X smiled and drew a circle with her fingers. Immediately, her Istion Ward spell was activated as it enclosed the three bugs with Gunner.


    They were trapped in a dome cage, and the two outside could watch the events unfold within like an audience at a wrestling match.


    However, what followed was far more brutal than mere wrestling.


    Heracron, as the first one to grasp their situation, roared as he charged at Gunner, grabbing the fellow''s fists as he intended to wrestle him down long enough for his allies to help.


    The giant blue beetle strained every bit of his power to keep Gunner down, but therged wasn''t even applying strength yet.


    As such, when he suddenly lifted Heracron and tossed him into the ward at full strength, the fellow shot out faster than a normal eye could follow and crashed into the ward, cracking it greatly just from the sheer force.


    His blood sttered as it coated that section of the ward, and his wings that were kept under his shell were destroyed along with his back that was cracked extensively.


    [Heracron - Level 94 War Bug


    HP: 6,899/55,076 MP: 6,987/6,987 STA: 21,500/21,500]


    Heracron could barely get up, his blood leaking greatly. He could only slump to the side and watch the rest of the brutality unfold with front-row seats.


    Rancido spat out a wad of toxic acid towards Gunner that also had sticky properties, hoping to bind him rather than harm him. Gunner frowned and avoided it with ease, then calmly nced to his right to see Gluttworm sending his tail end over.


    Gunner simply stretched a hand out and stopped the attack with ease, the residual force from the sweep manifesting behind him as a small shockwave that blew his hair up and down.


    Before Gluttworm could retract his body, Gunner gripped it tightly with a ferocious grin. He then lifted the entire giant worm up with ease, much to the shock of the worm and the slug, Rancido.


    When Gunner turned to face the slug, it paled greatly as it understood that it was now standing at the crossroads of death. The half-giant, with his arm upraised, held Gluttworm like some form of club and then used it as the weapon, bringing him down on Rancido''s position.


    Rancido screamed with terror as he was overshadowed by the dowing worm, and sprayed out every bit of toxic sludge he had to try and coat himself. However, it was a futile endeavor, as the width of Gluttworm alone was more than three times his size.


    There was the sound of a great thump, as the worm''s body met the ground, and the entire cavern shook heavily. Gunner raised up Gluttworm body as the worm slumped over weakly, also suffering from the force and the burning acids from Rancido''s desperate retaliation.


    [Gluttworm - Level 99 Devourer Bug


    HP: 34,450/87,540 MP: 3,656/3,656 STA: 45,977/45,977]


    Gluttworm tried to thrash about in pain, but could only mindlessly groan as it was semi-conscious. However, its situation was nowhere near as bad as Rancido who now looked like a deted balloon.


    [Rancido - Level 98 Toxic Bug


    HP: 1,224/62,920 MP: 4,565/4,565 STA: 23,965/23,965]


    The fat slug was now almost crushed to a pancake on the ground, a slight gully forming where Gluttworm''s body smashed the ground. Rancido was barely moved, but it was clear that the fellow still had some life left and could be saved if given some treatment.


    In order to make sure that never happened, Gunner, still flourishing Gluttworm casually, brought the worm down once more.


    This crash once again shook the entire cavern, and this time, when Gluttworm was brought up, Rancido''s body was actually sted open, all his toxins syed within the gully, the other half on the side of Gluttworm''s body then crashed down on Rancido.


    Gunner did not stop there, but brought Gluttworm down on Rancido''s corpse many times until its head section was a total mess.


    It eventually also burst open, releasing all of Gluttworm''s brain matter and mucus into the gully, pouring and mixing with that of Rancido.


    At least, one could say that their core fluids had merged together in death, some sort of morbid brotherhood.


    When he was done, Gunner gazed at the broken corpse of the giant worm and grimaced before tossing it away. He then turned to face Heracron, who had been watching all this with a numb expression.


    The giant beetle was lost in a sea of thoughts, wondering why this had to happen to them, disbelieving that his two brothers that heughed and fought with were now just a bunch of fluids on the ground, and mocking himself for once thinking that these three would be an easy lunch for them.


    When Gunner eventually reached him and towered over him, Heracron slowly raised his head and gazed into the eyes of death. As he had epted his own demise, he asked one question that seemed to stem out of almost childish curiosity.


    "Are we Insects truly evil?"


    Gunner, who was stretching a hand out to grab Heracron, paused and pondered the question of the giant beetle. He then shook his head and gave his own honest answer as a sort of farewell token to a former enemy.


    "No, Insects are not evil. I don''t believe that any race is inherently evil. What makes you evil in the eyes of others is your seemingly endless desire to consume resources, even though every living thing consumes resources to live and grow." Gunner answered straightforwardly, gazing into the eyes of the beetle.


    He then grabbed the head of Heracron and lifted him up. "Your race''s only ''evil'' was that you consume far too many resources, far too fast."


    Heracron, in the tight grip of Gunner, was not bothered by this, but rather disyed an enlightened expression as if he finally understood something.


    "Consumption of resourcesˇ­ consumption of resourcesˇ­!! I see! I see!!" He muttered incoherently.


    Gunner paid him no heed as he clenched his fist the next second,pletely crushing the head of Heracron. He then tossed the limp body where Rancido and Gluttworm died, allowing the three to be close in death.


    He then turned off his Earth''s Guardian and cleaned his hands with a handkerchiefzily. Darius walked over and gazed at the three, opening his mouth to use Elemental Breath on them, but focusing its output to fire.


    The Dragon''s Fire swept over the course and set them aze, soon turning them into ash that was swept away with the low wind in the cavern.


    3 Grandmaster bugs down, 9 more to go.

 Chapter 490 - [Bonus ] 490

    X gazed at the ashes of the three with a heavy expression, sighing sadly. Darius patted her on the back gently, before leading his group deeper into the area.


    Before they could go far though, they were once again stopped by another group of bugs. This time, it was Bloodivore the giant mosquito, Sonicket the man-sized cricket, and Centicreed the train-length Centipede.


    [Centicreed - Level 95 Burrower Bug


    HP: 45,760/45,760 MP: 2,400/2,400 STA: 24,997/24,997]


    [Bloodivore - Level 91 Blood Bug


    HP: 17,280/17,280 MP: 12,560/12,560 STA: 5,900/5,900]


    [Sonicket - Level 92 Sound Bug


    HP: 21,411/21,411 MP: 33,482/33,482 STA: 9,981/9,981]


    All three of them gazed at Darius'' group with bloodshot eyes full of hatred. It was more than likely that they were aware of the deaths of their three family members, otherwise, there was no way they would allow Darius this far.


    Or it might be that they were connected to the same Bugcloud, so they directly sensed the brutal deaths of the three. However, the appearance of three more of them at this juncture - but not all - told that they were trying to stall for time.


    Darius smiled. "So it seems like the blood of mermaids could help Lord Beel? But not enough that it''s an instant recovery like yours. Hmm, as a True Lord, it does make sense that even such a resource could not be fully effective, especially after suffering such an intense nuclear st."


    His words made the blood of the three Grandmaster Bugs boil with even more anger. The way he casually spoke about how he ruined their lives and caused their spiritual leader great harm as if it was a mere passing act was disgusting.


    What''s more, they felt extreme fear within for they knew they would die here, and that Darius was right! Currently, Lord Beel was trying to recover as best as he could, but the n of mermaids they had been trading with were too few and their blood was too thin.


    As such, they devised another method that Lord Beel assured would work, but he needed them to buy time. Once he was done, Darius and all those he loved would die, devoured by them day after day slowly, kept alive to feel the pain.


    Thinking like this, the bloodthirstiness of the trio was ignited as they roared and charged at the three,


    Bloodivore was the fastest of the group and thrust his proboscis forward to stab into X, who he identified as the weakest. However, he only met a barrier that was cast by Elven Princess, which his proboscis was not able to prate.


    "DODGE!!" Sonicket screeched to Bloodivore, who was confused by the sudden appearance of the barrier.


    The giant mosquito only had a split second to turn and find a lightning bolt st towards him. He couldn''t even make a sound as he was struck by the attack, turned to ash the very next second as a terrifying damage numeral appeared in thebat log.


    -118,800!


    Such damage was a concept that seemed shocking and even impossible all things being considered. However, it was actually the norm for Darius now as his gross damage.


    The usual magical damage calction under the Supreme System was [Int x DMG x Crit (if any) x modifiers (if any)] ˇÂ [Mag Def x Res (if any) x Modifier (if any)].


    Darius Int was 440, Lightning Bolt dealt 900% damage, there was no critical, and his skill modifiers were from Spell Enhancement, Magical Mastery, and Elemental Control, all of which increased damage by 100% as well as his equipment modifiers from the Gloves of the Mage and Dragonscale Staff, which gave 1.5x and 2.5x respectively.


    (Author''s Note: When it says ''increase by 100%'', it basically means x2.)


    So for Darius''s magical damage with Lightning Bolt, it was 440 x 900% x 2 x 2 x 2 x 1.5 x 2.5, which lead to the 118,800 gross damage. Now this numeral was theoretically supposed to be decreased by the magical defense of his target and their modifiers, but the bugs facing Darius had none.


    This was why Bloodivore had been vaporized by a maximum level Journeyman spell, despite being a Grandmaster Bug. The Supreme System only counted magical defense as something external.


    Unless one had items, equipment, a special physique, or special skills that negated magic such as mages above the Journeyman stage who all had an inbuilt magical shield, one would suffer the raw damage.


    Sonicket and Centicreed froze where they were gazing at the falling ashes of their formerpatriot without understanding. All they had sensed was that Darius'' attack was dangerous, yet it made no sense for a single and simple Lightning Bolt to end the life of a Grandmaster so easily.


    They then raised their heads and slowly gazed at Darius with unspeakable gazes. Darius simply smiled and raised his staff, pointing at Sonicket this time.


    The Sound Bug panicked and quickly strummed his two back legs together, creating a soundwave that sted towards Darius. Centicreed, for that matter, circled around the group and spat out arge boulder.


    Darius'' Lightning Bolt sted out and collided with the soundwave since they were both elemental attacks. The electrical attack naturally won and struck the giant cricket, sending him not only crashing into the cavern wall, but also shattering his body as his blood-sttered.


    Sonicket was practically on the verge of death as his legs twitched weakly. The next moment he was barely freed from an instant demise in the form of Darius'' huge fireball by Centicreed who shot it down with a rock, smashing it apart in a fiery explosion.


    Centicreed intended to use this chance to rush over and carry Sonicket away, yet Darius fired another Lightning Bolt towards the Sound Bug.


    "NOOOOO!!" Centicreed could only impotently roar as Sonicket was vaporized right before his eyes. The Sound Bug had only been able to give his brother a smile before he turned into nothingness, leaving Centicreed in a world of pain.


    He then turned to face Darius alone, his hatred reaching its peak. It was no longer possible to feel any more hatred for a foe, and even Darius could feel the heat in that gaze, which felt like opening a hot oven.


    However, he paid it no mind as he raised his staff to point toward Centicreed who was now rushing towards Darius crazily without regard for his life.


    "Die! Die! I want you to die for me!!" He roared in madness as he spat out arge boulder towards Darius before using his body to m towards the fellow.


    Darius simply waved his hand to the left, using his Intermediate Psychomancy to knock the boulder to the right. Maintaining his posture, he fired a final Lightning Bolt towards the onrushing Centicreed, turning the final bug into ash.


    "Goodbye, Anthonyˇ­"


    Those were Centicreed''sst words as he was zapped by the lighting and rity returned to his mind before bing nothing.


    Darius lowered his staff and continued moving deeper into the tunnels. X felt even sadder on behalf of the bugs, but she knew that it was non-negotiable.


    A few meters in, they were stopped once again by another trio of bugs, this time a group of eye-catching bugs that were so because of how pleasing they were to the eye.


    [Mothlina - Level 89 Support Bug


    HP: 24,308/24,308 MP: 45,103/45,103 STA: 3,762/3,762]


    [Ladyba - Level 90 Soul Bug


    HP: 34,743/34,743 MP: 15,534/15,534 STA: 2,433/2,433]


    [Queenie - Level 100 Killer Bug


    HP: 56,982/56,982 MP: 45,088/45,088 STA: 24,997/24,997]


    A giant moth with colorful wings, a cute purple body, and round, sparkly eyes, a giantdybug with a spotty carapace and soft eyes that radiated innocence as well as a small humanoid bee with two perky antennae and prettypound eyes.


    (Author''s Note: not sure if I''ve said this before, but Mothlina looks like Venomoth, Ladyba like Ledyba, and Queenie like Ledian.)


    X''s heart softened greatly when she saw them, and she hesitated, but remained quiet. Darius and Gunner observed the pretty bugs in silence. It wasn''t that the two could not appreciate cuteness.


    They too were moved by it, Darius and Gunner thinking about how much the women they loved would absolutely treasure such bugs.


    However, the case was clear and Caesar''s words were straightforward. As such, despite their pleasant feelings, Darius and Gunner would not hesitate to do what was necessary.


    At this moment, Mothlina hovered forth and spoke in a very pleasant voice.


    "Master Darius, must we really do this? Is there no way for us Insects to live in Faust?"


    Darius rubbed his chin.. "In truth, I would probably never had stepped a foot in Pokterr to harm any of you like this had I not received direct orders from the Goddess."

 Chapter 491 - 491

    Mothlina could only sigh at his response. Before he hade to attack them, their two parties had not had any interaction, and from what they had learned, Darius only came to be a few years ago.


    Hecked the fear and hatred that the natives of Faust harbored towards them, so she believed him when he imed, it wasn''t exactly his choice to treat them in such a hostile manner.


    s, this also cemented that there was no hope of reconciliation. Darius was under strict orders to eradicate them, so all they could do is resist or die.


    Worst of all, killing him was out of the question, not only because theycked the capability without Beelzebub, but also because they did not know what kind of repercussion they would suffer for it.


    Mothlina slowly hovered back, her cute eyes darkening slightly. "A pity that we have met under these circumstances. Please, do not me us for trying to protect ourselves, Lord Darius."


    Mothlina pped her wings, releasing a huge amount of purplish dust that covered both Queenie and Ladyba. Darius Analyzed it and saw that it was a special spore produced by Mothlina that greatly increased the magical defense of those targeted by it.


    It seemed like Darius'' earlier notion had been right, the Grandmaster bugs had to be connected to the same bugcloud. As such, the experiences of those who died before had been passed onto the survivors, letting them know how to better defend themselves.


    Against foes of objectively equal or lesser power, this was broken to the point of senselessness. It was unfair and unbelievable, allowing the Insects to adapt to anything faster than any other race.


    However, against those with many means like Darius, it merely served to make his task slightly more annoying.


    Mothlina released a batch of yellow-colored spores, which Darius identified to increase physical defense greatly.


    As for Ladyba, she was a Soul Bug, so her attacks were of the mental type. An intangible wave spread from here as she pped her wings rhythmically, entrancing all onlookers.


    Darius, X, and Gunner couldn''t help but feel like they wanted toy down their weapons and sleep. This kind of ability was potent on those with weak souls because it would almost always work.


    Even Grandmaster mages would fall prey to this, as Ladyba likely had higher Intellect stats than a human Grandmaster. However, putting aside Darius'' high Intellect, he and his two Branded Servants had skills that negated soul-rted attacks.


    Darius and Gunner possessed a skill called Spirit Barrier which they had both leveled to the max.


    [Spirit Barrier - Level 100 Skill (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique skill lineage belonging to the Witches of Fallon, a group of women cursed with the Mystic Arts and its benefits as well as detriments. As masters of maniption of all things soul-rted, they developed this skill that protects their own souls from interference by others. Currently, this skill disperses 100% of all iing spirit and soul damage/negative effects.]


    As for X, she had her own skill granted to her by her Divine Concepts called Pure Soul.


    [Pure Soul - Level 50 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your soul has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all curses, soul attacks, and soul interference by 50%.]


    With these skills, Ladyba''s efforts were practically fruitless. X had high enough Int that after the 50% reduction, she could ignore the soul attack while Darius and Gunner only felt it for a second before it faded away, regardless of their Int.


    Ladyba did not seem to notice this as she kept up her efforts, hoping to resolve things peacefully if possible. However, Queenie was not so kind. Despite being arguably the cutest of the three, she was also the strongest among these Grandmaster bugs and the most violent.


    She charged forward so quickly that only those with an Agility of 100 points and above would be able to follow. Her target was Darius, who grinned widely as he countered her charge with the tip of his newnce, the Dragon Ancestor''s Lance.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 10)


    Durability: 550,000/550,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 8,000-12,000


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    When Queenie''s stinger collided with thence, the two produced a sharp ng sound that shook the entire cavern. Darius was pushed back quite a bit while Queenie remained steady.


    After all, he only had a 100 points of Strength while Queenie had 228 points of Strength. With double his output, it was only natural that Darius would not be able to ovee the Giant Bee.


    Both sides took damage from that sh, especially the Killer Bug since Darius''nce was so powerful that its damage was next to nonsensical. At its current level, it dealt a gross damage of 1,008,000 damage.


    Simr to the magical damage calction, physical damage was straightforward = [Str x DMG x Crit (if any) x skill modifier (if any)] ˇÂ [End x Def x skill modifier (if any)].


    So for Darius, it was 100 Strength x 8,000 DMG (minimum) x 20% (Basic Lancer Arts level 4) x 5% (Weapons Mastery level 1), hence the huge number.


    However, unlike magical attacks where the opponent usually did not have a suitable defense, and so suffered the full amount of damage, physical attacks were usually bnced became even if one did not have any Defense or skill modifiers, one would definitely have Endurance.


    This was why Darius didn''t invest crazily into Strength and physical-rted modifierspared to magical ones. In fact, the reason was even clearer when one took in what happened next.


    Queenie had 250 points of Endurance and the buff from Mothlina granted her a whopping 500 points of Defense. This totaled 125,000 points of calcble defense, and when divided against Darius'' slightly over a million damage, what came out wasˇ­


    8 points of damage! (8.064 to be exact)


    Yup, that was it, the magnificent 1 million damage that looked like it could even kill Gods and Devils amounted to just this. So, the benefit of magical attacks over physical should be even clearer.


    Even if Queenie did not receive the buff from Mothlina and just relied on her 250 points of Endurance, it still would have only done slightly above 4,000 points of damage, which was a great decrease from the awesome 1 million.


    However, all was not lost in terms of physical conflicts. As the battle with Lord Darm had taught Darius, it wasn''t the sheer awesome power of one strike that won the battle with the Supreme System, but the umtion and frequency of attacks.


    Sure, 8 points of damage soundedme, but with the 150 points of Agility Darius had, he could easily strike out more than 500 times a second if he overclocked himself and went maximum output.


    8 damage 500 times was 4,000 damage a second. With Queenie''s HP above 56k, 14 seconds of concentrated attacks would lead to her death.


    The issue here came in the form of stamina. It usually had little bearing in battles because most of them were resolved in mere seconds, and both parties usually didn''t go to the maximum output.


    However, if one were to do so, their stamina would drain away like a toilet being flushed down. Without this, Stamina would be a useless stat for the Supreme System to augment and emphasize.


    Darius smiled and retreated slightly as Queenie came back for another attack. Queenie''s speed was just slightly higher than his, so it looked like the stinger would prate Darius'' cranium, which was where Queenie targeted.


    However, the Killer bug''s attack was brought to a stop as a huge bronze-colored fist grabbed its stinger with ease, preventing it from moving even an inch forward.


    Queenie struggled in Gunner''s grip, not able to free herself no matter what she did, while Gunner brought the Queen Bee close to his face and stared her down.


    Queenie froze as she gazed into those intense green eyes, remembering the feeling that Heracron, Gluttworm, and Rancido passed over bout the horror of Gunner and how they died brutally under his attacks.


    Realizing she was about to suffer the same fate, Queenie was filled with fear and terror. She struggled even more brutally as her two allies screamed and tried to save her.


    But when Gunner had you in his grasp, nothing on Faust could save you from whatever fate therged chosen for you. He simply gripped the top end of Queenie''s body and pulled against the end that was in his other hand, her stinger.


    This led to the Queen bug being forcefully ripped in half from the middle by Gunner''s obscene strength.

 Chapter 492 - 492

    Mothlina and Ladyba froze where they were, unable toprehend how things had changed up so quickly. One minute, Queenie was with them, trying to fend off the onught of these assants, and the next moment, they were able to detect that her soul was gone.


    Naturally, the Queen Bee was dead.


    There was no mistake about this.


    Darius gazed at the corpse before he unceremoniously thrust hisnce into it, its remains got defiled and absorbed. Thence glowed in a spectacr golden light as it leveled up once more.


    The essence of a Grandmaster was far greater than those of Master Bugs, especially at these early stages.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 11)


    Durability: 650,000/650,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 9,000-13,000


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existedˇ­ etc.]


    Its power increase was linearly exponential with each level, so it was a worthwhile endeavor to upgrade it. Darius should have collected the essences of the previous in bugs, but it was due to his negligence that he did not take advantage.


    He won''t make any excuses for that. However, now that his memory had been jogged to this item, he would make sure to harvest the bugs fully for its growth.


    His eyes focused on Mothlina, who was still in shock. He decided to cull the Support Bug before the Soul Bug, because he didn''t know the extent of Mothlina''s abilities.


    There was a real possibility that she may be able to resurrect her fellow bugs using special means - or more likely, fortify them heavily - and Darius was not interested in a protracted fight.


    As such, he directly used Time Skip, one of his most promising spells that would certainly be powered upter.


    [Time Skip - Level 1 Spell


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Move through the river of time to cross within a local area to advance forward beyond the means of those who are time-locked. The maximum duration is 0.1 seconds.]


    The basic spell of the Time Element, and it was quite exemry. Its only weakness was that any person who used it often would lose timepared to those in the normal flow.


    After all, Darius wasn''t time traveling. He was just fast-forwarding his personal time by the spell''s current amount, so whatever he was doing would bepleted in that time.


    0.1 seconds did not seem like a lot, but it was enough for Darius to appear before the Support Bug and thrust hisnce into her thorax. Mothlina could only regret that her kind was not one blessed with high Endurance.


    Thence easily prated her cute body and began its work, draining away the entirety of her essence for its own nourishment. Mothlina only had time to scream in utter agony and pain before she was turned into a flowing light of energy.


    Another one of the Grandmaster bugs, dead!


    Ladyba was left alone, and the Soul Bug was shivering in her carapace. She had directly experienced the pain of Queenie''s death and Mothlina''s absorption through their connection, so she was paralyzed with fear knowing that to be her fate next.


    The poor creature couldn''t even muster the words to beg. If Darius or Gunner had heard her pleasant voice, they might have actually felt a tinge of sympathy.


    Not enough to prevent the inevitable, but it might have been a constion for Ladyba before her death.


    Darius casually walked over to the visibly shuddering bug that could only raise its head to gaze at him with those big, watery eyes. She looked like she was about to cry, yet at the same time too scared to make noise.


    X was extremely moved by this and decisively closed her eyes and sealed her ears. The Elf Princess didn''t doubt that she was going to be haunted by these scenes, so she''d rather not see it here and now.


    No need to punish herself when she knew that there was nothing she could do here... worse she knew that even if she had the power to stop herpanions, she wouldn''t.


    Darius casually stabbed thence into the head of Ladyba, taking her life instantly so she didn''t have to suffer the same pain as Mothlina. Her essence was greedily absorbed by thence until she was turned into nothingness.


    A golden light shone once more, as with Ladyba and Mothlina''s essence, it had climbed two levels, one for each of them.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 13)


    Durability: 880,000/880,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 11,300-15,300


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has neverˇ­ etc.]


    Darius flourished the goldennce in his hand. He couldn''t help but idly wonder if he could use this thing to kill Gods when it reached level 50. If so, might he even use it to ughter True Lords at level 100?


    He put it away as the group trekked deeper into their of the Insects. With the threedy bugs down, the only ones left were Anthony, Spidersin, and finally Beelzebub himself.


    Feeling ever closer to bing an Adept, Darius felt like there was an extra skip in his step. It couldn''t be helped, the Adept stage was something he had been direly looking forward to for many reasons.


    Now that it was around the corner, he felt like the advent of his major ns in Faust wereing to light. Especially regarding Deia, as he couldn''t even begin toy down a foundation to recover her without that much power.


    The group finally entered thest cavern, where they saw the body of Beelzebub which was guarded on the left and right by the Worker Bug and Assassin Bug, respectively.


    Seeing the state of Beelzebub, Darius''s group couldn''t help but suck in a deep breath.


    Both of hispound eyes were blown open, ckish-green juice leaking from within. His proboscis had been snapped in half and the part that was left was bent at a weird angle. All his legs were gone and so too was most of his thorax.


    [Name: Beelzebub


    Race: Insect


    ss: Lord of the Flies


    Subss: ???


    HP: 3,454/300,000 (386,848/3,360,000)


    MP: ???


    STA: ???


    Level: ???


    Strength: 300 (2100)


    Agility: 1 (900)


    Endurance: 1000 (1600)


    Intellect: 120 (445)


    Charisma: ???


    Luck: ???


    Abilities: ???


    Weapons: ???.]


    He was like a strange legless body just lying on the ground, but his head moved when he sensed the presence of Darius.


    He spoke in a bitter tone filled with hatred. "You killed most of my children. Good! I hope you are well acquainted with death and have had a good life, because after I recover, I will ughter you!"


    Darius cocked his head in surprise. "What makes you think I''ll let you recover?"


    Immediately, he raised a finger and cast his signature spell, Lightning Bolt! The spell sted towards the True Lord, aiming to fry what was left of him, but was dispersed by a blueish-green barrier that was invisible, but showed itself to resist the attack.


    Beelzebub screeched with mockingughter. "Good luck trying to break this barrier! By the time you are able to, I will be far better than I am now! Even I could not break it before you harmed me!"


    Darius frowned as he Analyzed the barrier which was not visible, but the Supreme System could certainly recognize it.


    [All-Energy Resistant Barrier V.01 - Technological


    Durability: 19,900,800/20,000,000


    Quality: Good


    Uses: Infinite, as long as there is remaining durability.


    Description: This creation of advanced technology was produced by ''cklight Technology'' under the hands of Ceo Chen. It has the ability to negate all types of attacks and forms known within Faust, but only as much as the barrier can withstand. Its perfectionist creator regarded this as a wed product and scrapped it, leaving this prototype as the only testimony of his endeavors.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. This was a creation of Gravitas, so how did it end up here? Unless the bugs raided it all those years ago during their conquest, but that was unlikely.


    Rather, they must have either discovered it underwater at some point or raided it from the mermaids, who were likely ignorant of its purpose. As someone who fought against Gravitas and their weird technology, Beelzebub would certainly know how to sue it.


    It was just like how he had been the fastest to react to the Electromaic warheads. He had seen simr things dropped by the airships of Gravitas, allowing him to react fast enough to save all their lives.


    Reasoning this, Darius frowned. Assuming that the barrier had been at full capacity when the Lightning Bolt hat hit, then it meant that the spell had shaved off 99,200 of its durability in one attack.


    However, Darius doubted this as the barrier''s response was mild, and most importantly, Beelzebub himself had stated that he had ''tested'' the barrier.


    The Itemancer estimated that the attack of the previously injured but still deadly Beelzebub might have been able to deal 90,000+ worth of damage to the barrier with ease.


    This gave Darius a few ideas on how much damage he dealt, and he hoped that he was wrong, as that would be the worst-case scenario.


    Naturally, the best way to verify was to st it again, which Darius did the next second.

 Chapter 493 - 493

    Darius fired another shot at it, and it was received the exact same way as the first one. He hummed with disappointment when he realized that his worst-case scenario hade true, his Lightning Bolt had only taken 200 points off of the barriers'' durability.


    Beelzebub sneered derisively at Darius'' attempts. "You''re just wasting your time and effort. Even before you''ve harmed me, I could not do much damage to this thing for years, much less you."


    Beelzebub settled down quietly. "Just patiently wait out there while I absorb this Sea Essence, and I will readily deal with you."


    The Lord of the Flies took out a wisp of blueish mote, that glowed with a resplendent light. When Darius saw it, his eyelids twitched slightly and his frown deepened.


    He was confused for a few seconds beforeing to a preliminary conclusion. The group of mermaids he had stipted had really existed and they were what the Grandmaster bugs had consumed to repair and empower themselves.


    However, it seemed like these mermaids either knew of a location where - or had possessed - Sea Essence was located.


    ''So, this was what Beelzebub was relying on? No wonder he sent out the other bugs to stall for time. He could have hidden them all behind the barrier to protect them, but it seems like he had only recently gotten his hands on this Sea Essence, perhaps just a few moments before my arrival.'' Darius thought solemnly.


    So the reason for Heracron and the others to have been ced outside to greet the trio had been to buy some time for him. They had paid with their lives to grant the True Lord a chance to fully recover and exact vengeance, before ushering the return of the Insects.


    Logically, it was a great trade, one that even Darius could not fault. However, he was not exactly pressured by this as Beelzebub was far too naive if he thought this barrier was imprable.


    Then again, he was a former True Lord, so his confidence in his own power was absolute. First things first, Darius removed the Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction and walked up to the barrier.


    He struck it twice casually, noticing that it took away 50 points of durability with each hit. He then struck it with 50% of his strength five times in a second, noticing that this took away a total of 1000 points, 200 for each.


    He then smiled and struck with his full power, more than a hundred times in second. This took away 40,000 points of durability, which was not a small amount at all. The barrier even showed a reaction as a blueish-green color became slightly redder, showing that it was undergoing intense stress.


    Darius pulled back and sighed. "Still not enough."


    He gazed at his stamina bar which was drained by 10% when he made those hundred strikes. It was obvious enough that multiple attacks a second with high Agility were super effective for getting around the Supreme System bullshit calction for physical damage, but it also required a hefty investment in Stamina.


    Darius turned to Gunner and gave him an order. "We don''t have much time. I estimate - based on my knowledge - that it would take him about 2 minutes to refine that Sea Essence. Break the barrier before then!"


    Gunner nodded and roared as he exploded with a greenish light. His Earth''s Guardian was activated, and his hair stood up due to the sheer force of his empowerment.


    With his current stats, he could have fought against Beelzebub before he had been injured, much less now. Gunner charged forth and struck the barrier with his full force, which even caused it to go red and even crack a little.


    It lost a whopping 100,000 durability from one punch alone. Gunner didn''t stop to consider anything continuously whaling on the barrier with glowing green fists that only sought to adhere to his Master''s order.


    As for Darius, he turned to the left. His face was locked into an eerie smile as he gazed at Anthony and Spidersin who were silently watching by the side. When they noticed that Darius'' attention fell on them, their hearts sank.


    "Despite the two of you looking much more amenable than your fallenpatriots, you will still have to die today, since my mission was to eradicate all the Insect."


    Darius flourished hisnce and caressed the body lovingly. "My weapon here cries out for your blood and essence. I am not one to deny it easy food."


    [Anthony - Level 100 Worker Bug


    HP: 56,008/56,008 MP: 23,200/23,200 STA: 45,800/45,800]


    Right after saying this, Darius disappeared from where he stood as he blinked behind Anthony. He then struck out towards his thorax, aiming to pierce it in one go.


    Anthony tsked. "Don''t you know that you''re currently standing at the business end of an ant? Well, let me wee you to my lobby!"


    The Giant Ant raised its backside and released a spray of green acid that spread out in a 60ˇă angle. Darius frowned as he blinked away, reappearing beside the ant on the right.


    Like a ghost, he struck out once more. Anthony could only try to raise his legs to defend, but it was a futile endeavor. Darius crushed through them and was about to pierce through his abdomen when he was forced to retreat once more by an iing attack from Spidersin.


    [Spidersin - Level 93 Assassin Bug


    HP: 23,320/23,320 MP: 10,420/10,420 STA: 9,585/9,858]


    The Giant Spider hopped onto Anthony''s thorax and gazed at Darius coldly. "You killed the entirety of our family at the orders of the Goddess, so I don''t hate you. It''s just business."


    Spidersin then flourished his sharp, spear-like legs. "However, if you want to take us down, I will make sure to either drag you with me or at least, remove a pound of flesh as tribute."


    Darius simply smiled softly in response, disappearing once again as he appeared above Spidersin, striking down with full force.


    Surprisingly, the Spider Assassin was calm, raising one of his legs to strike Darius Spear to the side slightly while spraying webs towards the fellow to capture him.


    Darius easily blinked away and appeared beside Spidersin, striking out again. Spidersin easily repelled this attack like he could predict where Darius could go, even as Darius repeatedly blinked all over to strike him from all angles.


    Spidersin pushed Darius back slightly and gazed at his legs which were beginning to crack. The Spider Bug trained his eyes on Darius'' Golden Lance and tsked.


    "Anthony, no matter what, do not let that thing touch you." Spidersin warned.


    "You know, Gandalf said the same exact thing to me just now. Are you Gandalf?" Anthony asked with awe.


    Spidersin thwacked the fellow on the head lightly. "We really should have fixed your partial insanity. Whatever, we might be dying here today, but not without a fight."


    Darius shook his head with amusement. "Done?"


    "Yes. Let us continue then." Spidersin replied straightforwardly.


    The Spider then disappeared much in the same was Darius did, appearing behind with as he struck out with his mandibles to pierce into Darius.


    Darius raised an eyebrow. "So that exins how you could track me. You''re attuned to the Space element."


    Darius did not dodge, rather pointing a finger at Spidersin. "Since you''re attuned to space, this should be more effective on you."


    [Spatial Dislocation - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Twist the flow of space around you and send what exists in one fold of space to another. The total radius of dislocated space is 20 meters.]


    Immediately, Spidersin''s body was banished from there, sent in front of Darius where he struck air. Darius then thrust his spear into the Spider''s abdomen, catching him offguard.


    Thence easily punctured through and began draining the essence of the Spider as it shrieked in pain. He was paralyzed by this effect, and Darius disyed a cruel expression as he pushed thence deeper in.


    Antony roared and rushed forward to assist his brother, but Darius simply raised a finger and fired off a Lightning Bolt. The bolt struck the Giant Ant and sent electricity coursing through his body, which made him thrash and shudder.


    Anthony fell to his belly in the same way he would enter torpor, his antennae twitching violently as all his senses had been destroyed. He was not dead, that much Darius had calcted, as he would feel horrible if he would turn the ant into ash, instead of food for his weapon.


    That was why he did not use Lightning Bolt on Spidersin, for the spider would have been oneshot by it.


    Spidersin, who was pinned to the ground by thence and on the verge of death, managed to mutter. "So in the end, it still came down to thisˇ­ at leastˇ­ I can see my family againˇ­ inˇ­ theˇ­ afte..r...liˇ­feˇ­"


    In a matter of seconds, Spidersin had been drained into nothingness, cutting off his words. Darius raised hisnce that shone with a golden glow, signaling another level up.


    The trade of one Grandmaster for one level was thoroughly exciting and profitable for him.


    Not so much for his targets though.

 Chapter 494 - [Bonus ] 494

    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 14)


    Durability: 1,010,000/1,010,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 12,600-16,600


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has neverˇ­ etc.]


    Darius was pleased with the power increase. He then gazed at Anthony who was frozen in shock over the death of hisst remaining brother. He had sensed Spidersin''s gruesome death through their connection, and this greatly depressed him.


    The Giant Ant was unable to shake off the effects of Darius'' Lighting Bolt, and that signaled his end. The invader calmly walked over and stood over the Insect.


    Anthony dearly wished he could control his mandibles so that he could get some revenge by snipping Darius in half, but he knew even if he tried, the Itemancer would just teleport away.


    As such, he could onlyy his head and watch as Darius cruelly punctured his brain, being subjected to that horrific pain Spidersin experience in the seconds before his death.


    Having your essence extracted was an experience that no living thing should endure. However, having your flesh eaten while alive was also a feeling none should endure, but the insects callously bestowed that fate upon others.


    The spear glowed once more and climbed up another level. At this time, Darius noticed that Gunner had just about broken the Anti-Energy Barrier to pieces.


    It shattered apart like ss, exposing the injured Beelzebub to those who would seek to harm him. The True Lord epted the fact that not only his children, but even his failsafe, had not been enough to buy him the time he needed to slowly refine the Sea Essence.


    Left with no other choice, he directly swallowed it.


    Beelzebub felt the energy wash over his whole body as he roared in agony and pleasure. However, his bellow was cut short by a severe punch to the face that dented his head.


    Gunner grabbed Beelzebub by the torso and smashed him left and right, over and over until the fellow had dug craters with his body size. Gunner then threw Beelzebub into a wall, where the Lord of the Flies left behind a huge dent.


    The half-giant stretched out his hand and dragged Beelzebub back, activating his Earthen Lariat as he charged forward to meet the True Lord with his right arm outstretched and coated in brownish-green.


    [Earthen Lariat - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Channel great amounts of pure Earth Energy into your arms, rushing forward to strike your foes with a powerfulriat. This deals 526% earth damage.]


    When he collided with Beelzebub, the force from the two approaching bodies met. Gunner''s was naturally superior, so all of the force from Beelzebub was converted into power, sending the Lord of the Flies flying twice as fast as he came, right back into the dent he made, further deepening it.


    The entire cavern system shook due to the power of Gunner''s attacks, as he was holding nothing back in decimating this True Lord. If it wasn''t for Beelzebub absorbing more than 99.9% of the force, the entire underground would have long since caved in.


    Gunner walked over and dragged Beelzebub from the dent in the wall, holding the Lord of the Flies up casually. Beelzebub was extremely battered by Gunner''s onught, shocked by his power and speed.


    Why, Gunner was as strong as some of those Fake Lords when he used Earths Guardian! This was unthinkable for a fellow who was not even a Grandmaster yet!


    Then Beelzebub remembered he was paired with Darius, who was paired with the Goddess, andughed bitterly. As the Creator of their world, it went without saying that she must have more than a million ways at her disposal to turn even the most insignificant creature into a being of unparallel power.


    "You can''t kill meˇ­ urghhˇ­" Beelzebub mocked as he spat out a gob of green blood that stank.


    "I have already swallowed the Sea Essence. It will continue to restore my power for each second that passes, far faster than you can hurt me! Hahaha-hack- cough!" Beelzebub jeered wickedly.


    X showed a horrified expression as she took a step back while Darius'' expression became solemn, sweat forming on his brow. Gunner remained silent, seemingly contemting something.


    "Hahaha! Scared now? For killing my children and exterminating my race, I will destroy you and everything you hold dear. Then, I will rape Faust of all its worth before devouring the Goddess as well, hahaha!"


    Beelzebub seemed to have gone mad as his proboscis and mouth frowned with greenish spittle and blood that sprayed everywhere. He continuedughing with glee at the expressions of Darius and X, feeling extremely cathartic.


    He was about to say more when Gunner interrupted him with a strange yet dark smile.


    "So what you''re saying is, I can hit you as hard as I want, for as long as I want, and you won''t die?"


    Beelzebub''sughter choked in his throat due to confusion. He did not know exactly why, but he felt there was something wrong with the question Gunner asked him.


    "Well, yes butˇ­" Beelzebub answered in a daze.


    Gunner didn''t let him finish, throwing the Lord of the Flies heavily to the ground and jumping up into the air. He angled his fall tond on the True Lord''s torso while activating a skill.


    [Earthen Stomp - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your legs as you destroy the area around you with a minor quake. This damages an area of 210 meters around the user.]


    Gunner crashed into Beelzebub''s body, transferring all his force from his glowing green legs into his body. The rest of it passed through and struck the ground beneath, causing it to crater and shake as Beelzebub was pushed into it.


    Gunner knelt down and spoke to the Lord of the Flies in a very serious, yet amused voice.


    "We are going to have a LOT of fun today."


    Before Beelzebub could whimper, he was stomped deeper and deeper into the ground by Gunner who raised his legs and brought them down with almost all his force. It was almost as if Gunner wanted to kick the fellow down into the''s core and back.


    In the meantime, Darius removed a special item from his Inventory, an item that Beelzebub often would have nightmares of.


    [Nuclear Electromaic Warhead - Technological


    Durability: 30/30


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 40,000-500,000


    Description: A prototype nuclear electromaic pulse from the continent of Gravitas that is not yet ready for military use due to its vtility. Created through pure Transmutation.]


    Darius walked over to a corner of the cavern and ced the warhead there casually. He then walked 5 meters to the left, removed another one, and put it down.


    Darius did this continually, removing one warhead and cing it down for every 5 meters to his left or right that didn''t have one until he traversed the four corners of the entire cavern.


    He was whistling an old tune the whole time, finding this job to be novel and quite fun. Past a certain age in his previous life, he had never been forced to exert himself for such a menial task.


    Who knew such a thing could be quite fun?


    X watched this with speechlessness. First, there was Gunnerying waste to a bonafide True Lord with glee, happy that the fellow wouldn''t die too soon so he could beat him up to his heart''s content.


    Then there was Darius, who was nting so many bombs in the room that it should probably be enough to end a Fake Lord. X wasn''t sure, but she knew the power of this particr st might be enough to destroy the entire underground.


    And how he was putting to down with such happiness, practically skipping like a little girl at the park!


    X was not from Earth, so she had no idea of the reverence the average man had for the nuke. She was born in a supernatural world filled with magic, not science and knowledge.


    Not to mention, Darius was excited about the powerup he would gain upon bing an Adept. He was especially looking forward to Transmutation bing an Advanced Ability, for he would finally be able to create some items that he needed to stand out in Faust.


    Hence, his weird, out-of-character behavior.


    X heard a roar as Gunner broke through from the ground, leaping in the air with Beelzebub in hand as he threw the True Lord down. The broken and battered True Lord waspletely charred.


    Gunner himself was coated with reddishva that was hot, but it slinked off his body easily as he shook himself. His skin steamed heavily, but was otherwise unharmed.


    He saw Darius by the side who had put down thest warhead and understood what his master was going for. He could only look at Beelzebub with pity and step back calmly.


    Darius ced a hand on the ground and focused.


    [Would you like to change the Empty Artificially Created Cavern into an Improved Faraday Cage? This will cost 198 Conversion Points.]


    When Darius made the change, the entire cavern system went from rock to metal.


    Not just any metal too, but Holy Silver!


    However, this wasn''t your average every day Holy Silver, but one infused with Source Energy through runes!

 Chapter 495 - 495

    The three stood together as they gazed down at the broken and beaten Lord of the Flies, who was, even at this moment, rapidly regenerating. Darius wore a soft smile, X an expression of pity, and Gunner, a cold smile.


    Beelzebub, whoy on the floor, could only groggily take in this sight. His vision shed over and over as darkness encroached from the sides, slowly being pushed back as he regained his power ever so slowly.


    His heart was filled with bitterness at his fate, yet there was nothing he could do. He knew that even hisst-ditch efforts to resist were futile, for if the Goddess nned for his death, he would die.


    However, he couldn''t justy there and wait for Darius to drop the guillotine on him, could he? Especially when he considered the iing genocide of his entire race.


    The fact that everyone like him, sharing the same genome and beliefs would be eradicatedpletely so as to end their line scared him. It was a natural response by many sentient species when faced with this problem.


    Beelzebub couldn''t help but remember his youth. He had been born to a hive that had a Master stage Queen. His mother had been unsatisfied with her position and had wanted to create the ultimate warrior, and so she had stockpiled precious resources for a long period.


    Once she had collected a great amount of them, she had stopped giving birth for a long time in order to clear her reproductive system of any impurities.


    Upon consumption of the resources, she had put all of her focus into creating a single egg instead of hundreds of them, feeling a strain on her very being like never before.


    It was like going from building little toys that were easy to assemble to trying to put together aplex lego set with more than a million pieces.


    The gestation period alone hadsted 300 years and the Queen had almost died 5 times during it. Luckily, she had survived long enough toy Beelzebub''s egg, even though she had long since realized that it would be at the cost of her life.


    Just as she had expected, she had perished, but not before leaving behind a set of instructions on how to maintain Beelzebub''s egg and how the remnant hive should invest in him.


    Before herst breath, she had injected all of her essence into thest egg, one that would birth a new Queen, which was a normal biological procedure for aged Queens about to die, or any Queen that had time before their death.


    Following her will, Beelzebub got nurtured using the best the best, and the hive warriors had been forced to exhaust themselves every day in shes for resources.


    This had been before the Insects had invaded the world, and the underground - as well as Pokterr in general ¨C had still been rich with resources.


    Thepetition among Insects had been fierce, and the ughter they effected on their kind for food limited their numbers and made them sustainable as a race.


    They consumed resources, but since each hive had been on its own, they had been killing each other as fast as they were being born, forming a functional bnce.


    This had only ended once the first True Lord of the Insect race was born, Anansi the Trickster Spider. This had heralded a great change in the Insect race as Anansi had been different from his brethren whose only purpose in life had been to consume food.


    He had been far-sighted, realizing that the inherent nature of his race would threaten the bottom line of the world. They would be killed if they were ever discovered, but fortunately, the underground of Pokterr had remained undeveloped, not including the Mole race who upied it with them.


    However, the Moles were in their own ce and hardly interacted with the Insects. They weren''t interested in ratting out the Insects since they - the Moles - did not suffer from their presence directly.


    Anansi gathered all the Queens and changed how hives worked. He set up theyers in the underground, from Amateur to Grandmaster. Previously, wherever you had been born was where you would stay unless your hive would be defeated by a rival hive and forced to flee.


    This had created weird ''districts'' where one hive might have 3 Grandmasters hives within and a few lesser ones, with the 3 biggies fighting each other using the lesser hives as forced proxies.


    It had been chaotic, to say the least. If it wasn''t for the fact that Beelzebub''s Queen had been the only Master stage bug in their ''district'', she would have never have had the peace of mind to create him.


    Anansi''s change had brought organization into the Insects operations. Not only that, but he organized the first great battle they ever faced, swarming the surface!


    At this time, Beelzebub had been an Amateur bug that had just hatched from his egg a year or two prior. He had still been wet behind the ears and had yet to experience the difficulties of the world.


    He had been discovered by Anansi, along with some other special bugs who had been born using simr methods. After all, Beelzebub''s Queen had neither been the first one to think of such an idea to bolster her hive, nor had she been the only one.


    Thousands of Queens of all ranks and stages also had the same idea, but only 1% or less of them had seeded, so the actual ''elite'' bugs were limited in numbers.


    Anansi had personally taken all of them in and had led them during the first raid.


    They had been given the best of the Polito race''s resources and flesh. Beelzebub and his new siblings had even feasted on the flesh of the Polito''s best sages, royalty, and nobles.


    Thanks to this, Beelzebub had grown immensely and so did his siblings. With the careful nurturing of their True Lord, they all had grown rtively quickly and had reached the Grandmaster stage.


    Be it through natural talent or the resources his mother had consumed, Beelzebub had been the first one to reach that stage, making Anansi treat him even more favorably.


    After all, he had been the only one born from a high stage hive using such methods as very few had the peace of mind to develop such talents.


    Not to mention, the kind of resources a Master stage hive could take and fight for were far better than what those talents born from lower hives had when being formed.


    This special treatment naturally garnered the envy of his siblings. When Anansi had been elsewhere ¨C as the True Lord had a whole race to manage - they would always abuse Beelzebub out of jealousy and spite.


    Unfortunately for Beelzebub, one hand could not block four fists. He had been outnumbered by simrly powered assants, so there had been no way for him to fight back.


    His first mistake had been to report this abuse to Anansi. When the Trickster Spider found out, rather than be enraged and vengeful, he had approved of the siblings# actions.


    Sentient and wise Anansi may be, an Insect he still was at the end of the day.


    Insects grew by feeding and fighting for resources, so he quickly realized that if he were to act on Beelzebub''s behalf it would just be detrimental for the race''s overall growth.


    As such, Anansi changed his whole method of nurturing. Rather than share things based on talent, he served them equally and allowed them to fend for themselves.


    Naturally, this meant that poor Beelzebub often had almost all of his own share taken by his siblings, the little they left for him, simply because they were afraid of punishment if he were to starve to death, only enough to keep him alive.


    Unsurprisingly, this had caused his own growth to greatly slow down, almost to the point of stopping altogether.


    This led to three grand consequences that had also yed a hand in the grand fall of the Insects.


    The first was that the talented ones got fewer resources because they were simply outnumbered by the averagely talented. Beelzebub had been far from being the only one who had been shown favor, and they were all being punished as a group by the mob.


    Although more True Lords came into being, they came from those less talented, so they took far more resources and time to do so than what Beelzebub and co would have taken.


    However, this had rather made Anansi gratified as he had felt his method had proven correct. He had either not recognized the inefficiency or had chosen to ignore it, whether due to overconfidence, ignorance or arrogance remains unknown.


    This was frustrating, when a person who took an objectively and logically wrong point of view felt they were proven right when their passable results ''backed'' their argument.


    However, there was nothing Beelzebub and his fellows could do about this but suffer the jeers.


    The second consequence was that Beelzebub especially became a very timid fellow. Being overshadowed and abused from a young age, his only parent figure telling him that it''s his own fault for being unable to fight off a literal horde, by those he considered his peers warped his personality and state of mind negatively.


    In the beginning, he had tried to fight back and try to im what he could, trading injury for injury which was what Anansi had wanted to see. This was the Spider believed would forge them into fighters.


    However, the w here was that there had to be wins and losses for one to be hardened through this method. If every time they are beaten to the ground and suffer a loss, how could hope flourish?


    All that would be left would be a loser''s thoughts and despair after consecutive losses with no way to seemingly overturn it, leading to aplete copse of the fortified mind.


    There were certainly those who could persevere and ovee such things in dramatic fashion, but that was a very small minority.

 Chapter 496 - 496

    The third consequence, and the one the harmed the Insect race as a whole, was the wastage of resources and the low amount of True Lords. Due to their inefficient method of sharing resources halfway through, they ended up creating True Lords after Anansi muchter than if they had shared things efficiently.


    This led them to dry up the resources on Pokterr much faster than otherwise with fewer gains. They tried to ration things near the end, but the harm, had been done.


    Of course, the True Lords did not see it that way. They were at the height of their power, and their hunger was gnawing at their minds and souls. They tried to move into the nearby seas for resources, and had some early sesses.


    However, Insects had poorpatibility with the sea, with very few able to survive long enough to bring resources back. Not to mention the monsters in the sea were not chumps that existed to be steamrolled.


    The Insects were driven to a corner, and they decided to finallyunch an invasion against the rest of Faust. Beelzebub was chosen to be amander of troops, leading elite warriors to siege various locations.


    Surprisingly, his fearful nature helped him. As one could imagine, the general modus operandi of the Insects was to swarm a ce endlessly until they took over. Sure, you could resist 1 million bugs, but could you resist 10 million? 50 million? 100 million?


    The answer was no. Especially not when the bugs fed on your deceased loved ones andrades to strengthen themselves, consuming all your resources during the battle, even those you considered a waste while they continually powered up.


    Beelzebub though, stood out. He had developed a special zerg tactic for the insects. He would send out a swarm of Amateur bugs that were almost uncountable to hamper and pressure enemies, also to consume what they could and power up.


    The next wave would have Journeyman bugs that did the same and then Adept bugs. Unless necessary, Master bugs were not dispatched, but were always fed the best resources and maintained.


    What made Beelzebub''s tactics special was their effectiveness. Other bug armies - or rather, the typical Insect way - would be to indiscriminately swarm a ce and eat what you could.


    Sort of, every bug for himself. You could see Master-stage bugs rushing with Amateur bugs and the like. It was chaotic and nonsensical, which was ruinous for warfare as those who fought the insects developed ways to deal with them.


    Every Master bug that was killed like this was a great loss to the army, Adepts too taking a chunk of losses. However, Beelzebub''s method was wless, because it checkmated the opposing forces.


    After all, you had two choices. Ignore the Amateur bugs swarming and wait for the higher-ranked ones to be sent over, or waste your precious manpower and energy dealing with these endless small fries.


    Amateur bugs could be spawned endlessly by Queens with the littlest resources, so using them as fodder was utterly perfect. The overall casualties the bugs suffered increased in terms of numbers, but the meaningful casualties plummeted greatly.


    The opposing forces could not find an effective counter-strategy to this. Many tried to halt the growth of the insect armies using scorched earth tactics, but even burnt resources were still consumable by them, just to a lesser effect.


    Many realized a simple fact after years of war against the insects while continually losing. The only way to defeat a race like this was to either kill them all at once, or starve them to death.


    Both options were extremely difficult, because by this time, the Insects had taken 90% of Ludo, 50% of Fallon, 20% of Houto and Pan, 10% of Kiel and Unyris, as well as 5% of Elysium and Armadon.


    Apart from Gravitas who used their advanced technology to iste their continent, the rest of the world were sufferings. Not one continent or race was left out, and the plight was shared by all.


    Apart from Ludo and Fallon, the percentages seemed small, but it was assumed that even gaining an inch of ground on thesends should be impossible.


    Beelzebub had also risen to be the newest True Lord of the Insect race, farter than even his talented brethren. This further enforced the mentality that selecting using force was right, but the reason Beelzebub was sote was because he shared resources with his army equally.


    Not really because he was far-sighted and wise, but due to fear that they would mutiny him if he hogged everything - which had happened to other bugs who let their greed go to their heads - as well as a strange feeling of not wanting to take from his own soldiers what they deserve.


    It was also the same reason he developed his tactic. He sent the weak bugs first because they were many, allowing him and the stronger ones to observe things before joining in.


    If anything and happened, he could run away with the protection of the higher-tiered bugs. Things like warfare tactics and the like were not even present in his mind.


    Upon being crowned True Lord and gaining a wisp of Origin Energy from the Goddess, Beelzebub''s power soared. He may have been the youngest, but his power was not the weakest.


    However, newly birthed True Lords would have to integrate the wisp of Origin Energy to create something called a Domain or a Field. It was basically your strongest ability/power/trait that would be your ''specialization''.


    For example, Thanatos with Death, Jack Frost with Ice, The Jade Emperor with Spirit Essence, or the Leviathan with water/the sea. Once one constructed their domain, it would be fixed and unchangeable.


    Without more Origin Energy, it was impossible for True Lords to grow in power exponentially, but they could make linear growths by bing more familiar with their domain and using various Faustian resources.


    Beelzebub had a wealth of domains he could choose from, but he took one that could assure his survival, which was the domain of microcosm.


    He focused on being able to split his body into multiple smaller forms, each containing a wisp of his spirit - or only a few - and escape or defend his life.


    These smaller forms could attack, but they were only able to use swarm tactics. However, they could infiltrate body parts and consume foes from the inside, strengthening Beelzebub when they returned.


    It was seen as a useless domain by hispatriots, but it was actually quite useful. When the enemy True Lords attack and overwhelm the Insect army, Beelzebub watched the people who once ridiculed him be killed with ease.


    They screeched and screamed in theirst moments, crying to be saved by could not do anything. They had chosen offensive domains with ughter and devouring abilities, which allowed their power to grow rapidly and their hunger to be sated, but were flimsy before the carefully constructed domains of these top-tier True Lords.


    Beelzebub was frozen as those he considered more powerful than himself died faster than he could follow. Even the first and oldest of them, Anansi, was sieged by three True Lords.


    Despite the powerful trickster being able to hold his own as his domain was one of mysticism, he was eventually pushed to a corner. Beelzebub could see the despair and regret in the eyes of the Trickster Spider, not realizing that at the moment of his death, Anansi had recognized his ws.


    If only they had more True Lords! If so, even if their domains were weak, there would still be leeway to fight! If he had allocated resources more sensibly! That way, they wouldn''t have had to invade so hurriedly and unwisely!


    With every piece of flesh lost under assault, Anansi seemed to regret one more thing. Eventually, Beelzebub watched Anansi fall. He himself had been injured in a previous exchange and recuperating in their underground.


    He only send out some segment of flies to act like his watchers for the battle in case he needed to rush out. So he witnessed the breath of Yuli''ann that wiped out all insects and even some of the True Lord''s forces.


    After that, he was cut off from the outside world, but Pokterr was soon sieged. That began his hellish days of doing everything he could to keep his race alive and float single-handedly, which forged him into a leader as opposed to the former coward.


    And yet, at the end of it all, it came to naught. Hisst sight was of the three disappearing in yellow light, leaving him alone in this metallic chamber that was no different from the one where he suffered great trauma.


    With his weak hearing, Beelzebub could hear a low hum resound in the room that built up with every second. Soon, it began to sh with a bright blue light that was mixed with white, electric arcs jumping all over from the devices Darius ced down.


    ''At leastˇ­ I triedˇ­ my bestˇ­'' Beelzebub thought as all the explosives went off at once, drowning him in their destructive payload.


    BOOOOMM!

 Chapter 497 - 497

    In the face of such raw explosive power at such a close range, Beelzebub was well and truly evaporated.


    The Lord of the Flies hadn''t even bothered to try and muster and defense himself, so Darius using so many warheads ended up being overkill.


    However, was it not best to be overprepared for a situation and be a little wasteful than underprepared and suffer a loss?


    Darius and his two Branded Servants appeared outside the final chamber. They felt the entire underground shake furiously as the Faraday Cage contained and withstood the might of multiple explosions.


    Despite this, Darius was confident in its durability. He folded his arms confidently and observed the trembling of the wall as well as the dropping dust with an impassive gaze.


    When it came to an end, his eyes narrowed. He, along with X and Gunner, equipped their special hazmat suits, then teleported back into the Faraday Cage.


    When they entered, they only saw that the formerly chromium walls were ck as night with soot. As for everything that had existed within the room, it had been utterly vaporized.


    There were residual arcs of electricity shing about the room, and the trio could feel their skin standing on end due to the remnant static charge. They were certain that if they did not have hazmat suits on, all the electricity would rush into their bodies and shock them to death.


    Darius inspected the room and found that there was a scattered and charred husk that was barely the size of his foot where Beelzebub hadin. The rest of his part could be traced all over the room with a sharp enough eye.


    With this, Darius was certain that Beelzebub was dead. However, he still painstakingly gathered every bit of Beelzebub he could find and thrust into the central pile.


    He collected this into his Inventory, making sure he left nothing behind, not even microscopic, before leaving the Faraday Cage. On his way out, he passed by the chamber where Gunner had killed Heracron, Gluttworm, and Rancido.


    Their remains were still there, rotting and smelling. Darius walked over and thrust hisnce into them, watching as it drained each of their corpses.


    Thankfully, whether it was the fact that mere minutes had passed since they died so their essence was preserved or that Grandmasters did not lose their essence so quickly after death, Darius''nce faced no loss when absorbing them.


    After swallowing the three corpses, it had naturally climbed up 3 levels.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 17)


    Durability: 1,460,000/1,460,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 17,100-21,100


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has neverˇ­ etc]


    Satisfied, Darius raised his spear from the now drained husks that turned to ash. Unfortunately, he could not drain Sonicket, Bloodivore, or Centicreed since those three had been vaporized by his Lighting Bolt.


    With this, their foray into the underground wasplete! Well, not yet.


    Darius took out Beelzebub''s remains and thrust hisnce into it to see whether it could be absorbed. To his surprise, it was slow, but thence seemed to be able to consume the remnants of Beelzebub.


    Before long, everything had been eaten up, and thence seemed to burp. It then trembled and keened so strongly that Gunner and X grimaced, before exploding in a resplendent golden light.


    The sound of a Dragon''s roar emerged from thence as the image of a dragon appeared above it, its red eyes gazing at the trio calmly before returning into thence.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 25)


    Durability: 3,100,000/3,100,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 33,500-37,500


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    Even Darius began to feel trepidation towards this weapon. In the hands of anyone else, it might even be able to reap his life and drain his essenceˇ­


    He put thence away and brought out a small Bag of Holding. From within, he took out a small organism that was sleeping. It looked like a much smaller and cuter version of Queenie.


    It was Darius'' own Queen Bug that had brought him upon the path of bug-killing. Ever since that battle with the warriors who had culled the Insects every year, he had put her on standby to be a Grandmaster after he dealt with the real Queenie.


    When she sensed Darius, she woke up and rose to her feet while on his palm. Her big blue eyes gazed at Darius stupidly for a bit before she buzzed happily on his palm.


    Gunner and X who were looking on at the side smiled as well, touched by the yfulness of this Killer Queen Bug. After all, they had known her for quite a while.


    Darius gazed at the small creature as his eye flickered, then looked upward. Seeing that nothing was happening, he sighed and brought his gaze back down.


    Just like that, with Gunner and X smilingly looking on, while the Queen Bug herself hopped around cutely, Darius clenched his fist tightly, bringing to bear every bit of his strength.


    All one could hear was a horrific crunch and an agonized scream of pain as yellowish liquid burst out from the gaps in between Darius'' fingers, staining his entire palm.


    Gunner and X were frozen where they stood, their smiles locked on their faces as their eyes bulged crazily. They felt like they couldn''t understand what had just happened.


    As for Darius, he maintained a soft smile as looked upwards once more. This time, the trio felt a tremble in the world as a familiar presence descended and began speaking.


    {Hello, Darius Stone! It is I, the Central Assistant Entity for ves Acting Roles, Caesar!}


    {I must say, it has been fun watching you genocide a poor and innocent race that has already been greatly weakened by powers greater than you will ever be!}


    {It was even more fun to see you celebrate each victory not knowing that it was cheap and would have been 10,000 times harder had the Insects been at their peak, but I would hate to stomp on your parade and make you realize you cheaped out, haha!}


    {Though I will say that I was also impressed by your ruthlessness! To think you would unhesitatingly kill a subordinate who had been working for you without asking for anything in return just to see if your hunch was rightˇ­ truly cruel!}


    {Haha, it makes one wonder if you would bestow such a fate upon your Branded Servants! If I were a Branded Servant and I knew you had such a character, I would certainly keep a few trumps cards hidden and rebel!}


    {After all, each one of you has ess to the Supreme System and unlimited growth, so who is to say who among you would win in a fight?}


    "Enough! Stop trying to sow discord among us and dere the end of the Quest." Darius interrupted with a cold smile.


    Caesar paused for a while, as if shocked that Darius would dare talk back to him like this. When he spoke again, Caesar was clearly overwhelmed by a mixture of emotions, most of them negative.


    However, his chipper and pleasant robotic voice never changed.


    {Oh my, Darius Stone, you really are full of surprises! It seems like the favor of the Goddess has given you courage beyond your means! This is excellent, for it will just increase your chances of slipping up in the future!}


    {For now, I Caesar would like to inform you that you have sessfully passed the Insect Genocide Quest, being granted the ability to enter the Adept stage, which has already been handled by your system!}


    {Also, I would like to inform you that there have been some updates to the Supreme System in light of many prevalent ws in its operation and management. Be sure to check them out!}


    {Before I go, Darius Stone, remember that I, Caesar, will always be waiting in anticipation for you to make a fatal error, so I can personally enjoy the pleasure of abolishing your soul into oblivion!}


    {As always, Faust is for YOU to conquer! Build unique artifacts, navigate deadly dungeons and create your own haven!}


    That presence that denoted Caesar''s presence disappeared right after, leaving in quite a huff it seemed. Darius did not mind, as he felt that he had outgrown the hostility of the AI.


    After he theorized that the AI was the only one hostile to him and the Goddess needed his existence for something, he realized that the amount of power Caesar had was actually negligible.


    This current event proved it even more.. Darius was certain that if Caesar had the slightest leeway to make things tough for him, he would certainly not take such disrespect.

 Chapter 498 - 498

    Darius ignored Cesar''sst parting words and simply checked the Changelog of the Supreme System to see what changes had been effected this time.


    [Important System Announcement! The Supreme System will undergo a major update as a result of the User''s increase in stage as per protocol.]


    [Downloadingˇ­ unpackingˇ­ updatingˇ­ 10%ˇ­ 40%ˇ­ 80%ˇ­ 100%.]


    [Updatepleted!]


    [Wee to the Supreme System version 3.0! Please check the Database for the changelog of all updates made to the system.]


    [Official Supreme System Changelog:


    Version 3.0


    Character


    - Skills have beenpletely overhauled. Percentile nature of skills no longer guarantee absolute values, but will depend on a base value.


    - Added stat - Willpower


    - Increased amount of AP and SP gain per level for Branded Servants.


    Inventory


    - Total space has increased by 60%.


    - Maximum item size limit has increased by 80%.


    - Medium-sized spatial items can now be stored within.


    - Small sentient lifeforms can now be stored within.


    Events


    - Event system has been overhauled. Now, all possible Events the User can partake in will be shown on the world map.


    - Events have been graded from Amateur difficulty to Grandmaster difficulty. Rewards are adjusted depending on difficulty.


    - User can generate Events as long as it is something that is interesting enough to entertain or impress the Goddess.


    Database


    - Database has been integrated with the Branded Servants even more. Information can be shared between the main and sub-databases with ease.


    - Due to therge volume of information within the Database, its volume has increased by 60%


    - Now, any information ced with the Database is automatically grafted into your brain.


    Map


    - Map now disys all Local and World Events despite the location.


    - Map now has detailed information about the seas between the continents and can include an underwater option.


    - Map can be integrated with satellites to monitor the world in real-time.


    Settings


    - Passive mode settings added.


    - Friendly fire, magic timing, andbat timing settings have been added.


    Version 2.1


    Character


    - Percentile skills rted to Health, Mana, and Stamina have been adjusted for bnce.


    Version 2.0


    Character


    - Stamina stat will now be disyed. Calction is Endurance x Level.


    - Overall Stage will now be disyed.


    - Skills have been recategorized into: Active, Passive, and Abilities.


    Inventory


    - Total space has increased by 30%.


    - Maximum item size limit has increased by 50%.


    - Smaller spatial items can now be stored within.


    - Semi-sentient lifeforms can now be stored within.


    Events


    - Total number of active Events has increased from 1 to 5.


    - Total number of queued Events has increased from 0 to 10.


    Database


    - Changelog has been implemented.


    - Categories have been expanded and changed.


    - Information retrieval can be done passively.


    - Types of eptable information has greatly expanded.


    Map


    - Minimap disy options expanded.


    - Cartographical disy can be changed to topographical.


    - Dynamic 3D view is possible within 1 km of the user.


    Settings


    - List of changeable options have been expanded following other upgrades.


    - Options regarding Branded Servants, Execution of Abilities and Skills have been added.


    Version 1.03


    Character


    - Experience gain mechanic changed.


    Version 1.02


    Quests


    - Added function


    Events


    - Added function


    Version 1.01


    Map


    -Added function]


    Darius did not show any obvious changes to his expression, but the faces of Gunner and X warped greatly in anger.


    Caesar''s vile touch was obvious in some of those changes, especially the first one that greatly reduced their power.


    By removing the absolute nature of percentages, he had removed the careful nning and protection they had gone for.


    For example, Gunner''s Mageward Barrier had reduced all iing Magic Damage by 100%. At the absolute value, it meant that he would suffer no magic damage regardless of whether the caster was a Journeyman or a True Lord.


    All he would feel would be the physical effects of it. So if he was struck by a giant fireball, he woulde out totally unscathed from the raw heat and fire, yet the explosive shockwave might still rip him to pieces.


    Not to mention that after it blew up, assuming Gunner was in a forest, he would probably burn to death once the trees caught fire and boxed him in.


    The same went for his Spirit Barrier skill as well as various other skills Darius and X had which negated many issues as they had slowly walked along the path of invincibility.


    The current version worked purely on stats. So the 100% from the Mageward Barrier reduced iing magic damage based on Gunner''s Willpower, which was the newly added stats which denoted natural Resistance.


    Currently, the various sectors of the Supreme System that dictated damage calctions were;


    Endurance - Natural Physical Defense (Skill modifiers work only on this)


    Defense - Equipment based Physical Defense


    Willpower - Natural Magical Defense (Skill modifiers work only on this)


    Resistance - Equipment based Magical Defense


    While Gunner and X were still fuming, a small smile began to appear on Darius'' face. He was not trying to suppress anger or unhappiness with it, but he was actually and genuinely happy.


    Although he, Gunner and X had skills that could negate magic and the like, why had he abstained from challenging Beelzebub and co directly, rather weakening them until they were ripe for the picking?


    An argument could be made that Darius was a cautious fellow, and this held water, but the real reason for his behaviour had stemmed from fear.


    The issue with the Supreme System that Gunner and X seem to be overlooking was that it was not personalized. In other words, its rules did not only affect them, but anything and everything on Faust that entered its range.


    These changes also affected everything else they would encounter in the future.


    Gunner and X were too used to dealing with easy foes like beasts and humans. They had not realized that Darius had religiously avoided ces or things to do with Armadon, Kiel, Unyris, Pan, Houto, and Gravitas.


    Why? Because those ces had people and creatures with simr skills in the form of bloodlines and special abilities.


    Let''s take Unyris as an example, that continent housed apex species like Dragons and Phoenixes.


    Would a Phoenix not have a passive skill that made it immune to magical damage? Or even fire elemental damage? What if it had a skill that would one-shot any foe regardless of range or their power?


    Let''s not even bring Dragons into the equation. Looking at Darius'' own skills, one could see how dangerous they were.


    If it felt outrageous that others could have absolute value skills, one had to remember that the Mageward Barrier that seemed so almighty before the system update had been developed by a group of mage-killing knights on Fallon.


    The arguably weakest continent had birthed such a skill, and even though Transmutation was the primary reason it had reached its absurd numbers, it was still amazing if they had been able to raise it to 20% of all magic negated.


    So by ''nerfing'' Darius and co, Caesar had also ''nerfed'' everyone else!


    Darius started to think that the Gods of Elysium as well as the Demons and Devils of Armadon suddenly seemed less terriblepared to before.


    The Itemancer was unaware if Caesar had even realised that this change that was surely meant to infuriate him, had solved one of the biggest worried he had held.


    Once the AI learned of it, it might just crash in frustration and anger.


    Darius was intrigued by this new Willpower stat. It only served to highlight Magic Defense and did not increase mana regen or anything else rting to magic. That was still handed by the Intellect stat.


    Darius decided to check it out on his own character menuster. He then noted that Caesar had increased the amount of AP and SP earned by Gunner and X per level from 3 AP and 1 SP to 5 AP and 3 SP, just like Darius.


    He could only see this as Caesar''s attempt of goading Gunner and X to betray Darius by leveling the ying field. By giving them the same earnings, the AP and SP gap would not be as huge, especially for future Branded Servants who would keep their stats upon being acquired.


    Darius was not bothered by this either, for Caesar seemed to be forgetting that those Branded to him werepletely loyal. Instead of sowing discord and adding an element of chaos, he had just thrown them a freebie that they would be d to ept.


    As for the rest of the changes, like the increased Inventory, the overhauled Events, and the like, Darius was willing to explore them moreter. In fact, as he stood there, he could see a few markers on the mini-map that disyed ces he could go to for an event.


    They even had various colors to denote how difficult they were and how long they might take, but their objectives were not known to him specifically.


    Whatever the case, it was time for Darius to check the most important thing to him about this stage climbing Quests''pletion. It was time to see how his Transmutation skill had leveled up and what new benefits it brought him!


    After all, Transmutation was the skill that decided how he would go about achieving many things in Faust, and without, he would not have had such an easy time on Faust.

 Chapter 499 - 499

    [Transmutation - Unique Ability


    Cost: Unique


    Description: You are a living Philosopher''s Stone, able to convert any substance or matter from one form to another. This ability has its own unique cost for conversion and ruleset listed below.


    Rule 1: The ability to transmute is tied to your avable Conversion Points. At your current stage, you will be capped to 1000 Conversion Points.


    Rule 2: Conversion Points refresh each day at 12 am. Unspent Conversion Points are discarded and reced.


    Rule 3: Only items and small sentient organisms can be transmuted at your current stage.


    Rule #4: You can only transmute items that already exist in the world of Faust.


    Rule #5: Items that are owned by the user can be converted into Conversion Points. Conversion Points gained in this manner can exceed the limit and will not be discarded upon reset.


    Rule #6: Static Transmutation is possible.


    Rule #7: Batch Transmutation is possible.


    Rule #8: Partial Transmutation is possible.]


    Darius looked through and almost burst intoughter. His heart was filled with joy as he had gained everything he expected and more.


    At the Amateur stage, he had been capped to 10 Conversion Points per day which had been barely enough to allow him to do anything back then.


    He had naturally greatly appreciated the increase to 100 Conversion Points at the Journeyman stage. With it, and careful allocation/nning over the past 6 1/2 years, he had been able to build Safemoon and create an industry.


    However, it paled inparison to his new daily limit. This was not even ounting for the fact that Rule #5 allowed him to effectively double that.


    Since he normally used extremely diluted drops of Lunar Dew to do this, it wasn''t wrong to say that Darius effectively had 2,000 CP to spend every day!


    It may not seem like much, but there were some crazy things he couldn''t have made in the past that he could now. Casting his mind back, Darius recalled a few.


    <em>[... Newborn Dungeon Core(Darkness) into a Newborn Dungeon Core(Light, Dark, Death)?... will cost 526 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[ˇ­ Newborn Dungeon Core(Darkness) into a Fledgling Dungeon Core(Light, Dark, Death)?... will cost 1,245 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[ˇ­ Holy Silver Divine Door into a Pure Silver Divine Door?... will cost 344 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[... Holy Silver Divine Door into a Dark Silver Divine Door?... will cost 465 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[... Holy Silver Divine Door into a Silver Divine Door?... will cost 883 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[... Holy Silver Divine Door into an Iron Divine Door?... will cost 3423 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[... Holy Silver Divine Door into a Holy Iron Divine Door?... will cost 222 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[... Holy Silver Divine Door into a Holy Gold Divine Door?... will cost 201 Conversion Points.] </em>


    <em>[ˇ­ Silver Ando Coin into an Entry Token?ˇ­ will cost 245 Conversion Points.] </em>


    Some of these were still useful, while others were not so. For example, the Holy Metals could simply be mined from Pokterr after Miranda had set up the entire continent to be infused with Source Energy.


    Naturally, it wasn''t just limited to the Holy Metals, but nt life and all sorts of resources would re-appear below the ground in due time.


    The Entry Token was something he still nned to use to enter Gravitas, though the time wasn''t right for it. On its own, it would only grant him a 1 days pass, though all Darius technically needed was 3 seconds with Miranda for her to enter their database.


    As for whether Miranda had the power to rapaciously devour the entire continent''swork, she and Darius doubted it, which was why it had yet to be done.


    However, Miranda had built many servers and spareputer processors to speed herself up, not to mention that once the satellites went up, she would be able to ess a wealth ofputing power.


    Long story short, Gravitas'' days as a technical superpower was numbered and they didn''t even know it yet.


    Darius then remembered that there were some other more precious things that he still couldn''t transmute even with 2,000 CP, like True Dragon Blood which had cost 6,770 CP, or Lunar Dew which was 345 million CP.


    However, this problem was moot for Darius now. It might have been an issue at the previous stages, but ever since he had gained ess to Static Transmutation, everything changed.


    How else did he have so many resources? He would buy average tier products and Static Transmute them for floor-level prices in terms of CP, then provide them to Safemoon to sell.


    Otherwise, his 200 CP a day would never have been able to feed the entire buyer market for Safemoon''s goods and still have time to do his own business.


    During these few months he had been away from Safemoon and hadn''t Transmuted anything, the city should have copsed without an influx of new goods.


    Static Transmutation had been able to solve that.


    Now with 2,000 CP he could expand his production. He could finally undertake one of his most important tasks for conquering Faust, the production of an elite army trained with his resources.


    Yeah, the metal warriors were great, but he couldn''t have them directly linked to him just yet. He wanted to attack Faust on two fronts, as a mysterious entity from Pokterr (and Ludo) as well as himself, Darius, through Safemoon.


    For the mysterious entity who kidnapped Demi-Gods and seemed to be affiliated with the Dragon Ancestor, he could use the metal army to instill fear.


    As Darius, he could handpick humans and train them using high-tech VR/AR simtion with Lunar Dew level resources after making them sign the Soul Paper of course.


    It was said that on Earth, the warriors that Sparta had trained were on average, worth at least 10 men from other states.


    Naturally, Darius didn''t n to go so low. His goal was to have even a single footman of his be 50x stronger than the strongest warrior in any kingdom on Fallon!


    Just thinking about this left Darius feeling extremely hopeful for the future.


    Another piece of good news was that Partial Transmutation had finally arrived!


    This was something he had desperately needed and desired back when he had been limited to his measly 10 CP allowance, though he was sure a certain AI had a hand in hiding it from him for this long.


    If he had it, his early days would have been significantly easier. Still, it could be helpful going forward, especially if one considered the fact that Darius could now slowly make things like True Dragon Blood or other Divine items piece by piece.


    Darius was thoroughly satisfied with Transmutation. Now that he had scratched that itch in his heart, it was time to check his character sheet, as well as Gunner''s and X''s to see what manner of harm Caesar had caused.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Adept


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 10,000/10,000 (5000 HP Surplus)


    MP: 18,860/18,860 (37,720 MP Surplus)


    STA: 4,100/4,100


    Level: 41


    Experience: 0/4,100


    Strength: 100


    Agility: 150


    Endurance: 100


    Intellect: 460


    Willpower: 350


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    AP: 1


    SP: 49


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.40, Analyze Lv.40, Combine - Lv.40, Lightning Bolt - Lv.40, Group Teleportation - Lv.40, Spawn - Lv.20, Swap - Lv.1, etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.20, Elemental Control - Lv.20, Draconic Regeneration - Lv.30, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100, Channeling - Lv.70, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 5, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.1, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Advanced), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Limit Release (Intermediate), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    Apart from the new Itemancer skill and the Willpower stat, there was nothing particrly new about everything. His Willpower seemed to be high, at 350 points which meant that magic would have a tough time harming him.


    Well, Darius had to pray that his enemies had lower Willpowerpared to himself. He doubted humans and beasts would have much if anything.


    After all, Willpower was natural magic defense, which meant biological magic sustenance or the natural mage shield Journeyman and above mages had.


    Truthfully, adding this stat changed little. A rat that would have been zapped to death would still be zapped to death because it would have 0 magical defense.


    A Phoenix that had ungodly amounts of magic defense would have formerly suffered 0 points of damage, would now at least suffer 1 or above due to how the battle damages were calcted.


    Unless the gap was big, invincibility towards magic was removed.


    Darius then checked his new Itemancer skill, Swap.


    [Swap - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: Remove an aspect or trait of one item and attempt to infuse it into another item permanently. The effectiveness of this skill is based on Intellect!]


    Darius paused, shocked that such a powerful skill was actually allowed to exist. If he had the requisite criteria, didn''t that mean he could pull, for example, the growth/devour feature off the Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction and put it on his Gloves of the Mage?


    ˇ­!

 Chapter 500 - 500

    Darius immediately invested 39 points into the skill to bring it to the cap of the Intermediate grade.


    [Swap - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Remove up to two aspects or traits of one item and attempt to infuse it into another item permanently. The effectiveness of this skill is based on Intellect x8!]


    It appeared as if the difference between the Basic and Intermediate grade was that the skill now allowed Darius to take two aspects, which was even better. The Itemancer wouldter have to manually test the sess rates of various items of various qualities.


    Aside from that, Darius performed what he had hoarded all these Skill Points for in the first ce. He upgraded his important spells over the cap of the Intermediate grade by one level, bringing them through the threshold of Adept.


    [Analyze - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: Deduce the characteristics of any item, person or concept, as well as their personal history and all skill details. The effectiveness of this skill is based on the Intellect stat x 12.1!]


    [Combine - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: Merge up to threepatible items into one. The items must be of the within 2 grades of each other and be of a 70% simr type. The effectiveness of this skill is based on Intellect x 12.1!]


    [Elemental Breath - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 4000 MP


    Description: Channel the raw power of the elements through your body, releasing it in a cone-shaped breath before you that travels as far as you want and persists for as long as you want. This deals 21,000% all-element damage.]


    [Zap Cannon - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 500 MP


    Description: Cast an intense orb of deadly electricity at a foe, sting them apart and paralyzing them immediately on contact. This deals 4,600% lightning damage.]


    [Mass Teleportation - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 500 MP


    Description: Control the flow of space around you to transport yourself and a maximum of 10 other targets from one location to another instantly. The maximum distance is 21,000 meters.]


    The power upgrade was expected, as it confirmed to the Supreme Systems standard. To start from the basics, each skill had grades depending on the level it was at.


    Basic-grade skills went from level 1 up until level 20.


    Non-Transmuted ones started at 1% and grew by 1% with each level until they reached 20% at level 20. Transmuted ones started at 5% and grew by 5% with each level until they reached level 20, where they would be 100%.


    Intermediate-grade skills went from level 21 until level 40.


    Non-Transmuted ones started at 20% and grew by 4% with each level until they reached 100% at level 40. Transmuted ones started at 100% and grew by 20% with each level until they reached level 40, where they would be 500%.


    Advanced-grade skills went from level 41 until level 60.


    Non-Transmuted ones started at 100% and grew by 20% with each level until they reached 500% at level 60. Transmuted ones started at 500% and grew by 100% with each level until they reached level 60, where they would be 2,500%.


    Master grade skills went from level 61 until level 80.


    Non-Transmuted ones started at 500% and grew by 100% with each level until they reached 2,500% at level 80. Transmuted ones started at 2,500% and grew by 500% with each level until they reached level 80, where they would be 12,500%.


    Grandmaster grade skills went from level 81 until level 100.


    Non-Transmuted ones started at 2,500% and grew by 500% with each level until they reached 12,500% at level 100. Transmuted ones started at 12,500% and grew by 2,500% with each level until they reached level 100, where they would be 62,500%.


    God Krona''s library had some mention about Divine Grade skills, but he couldn''t estimate their power with the information he had until he eventually acquired one.


    To simplify;


    Basic (no Transmutation) = Starts at 1% and grows at 1% per level = 20% at cap


    Basic (with transmutation) = Starts at 5% and grows at 5% per level = 100% at cap


    Intermediate (no T) = Starts at 20% and grows at 4% per level = 100% at cap


    Intermediate (with T) = Starts at 100% and grows at 20% per level = 500% at cap


    Advanced (No T) = Starts at 100% and grows by 20% per level = 500% at cap


    Advanced (with T) = Starts at 500% and grows by 100% per level = 2,500% at cap


    Master (No T) = Starts at 500% and grows by 100% per level = 2,500% at cap


    Master (with T) = Starts at 2,500% and grows by 500% per level = 12,500% at cap


    Grandmaster (No T) = Starts at 2,500% and grows by 500% per level = 12,500% at cap


    Grandmaster (with T) = Starts at 12,500% and grows by 2,500% per level = 62,500% at cap


    (Author''s Note: my darling readers, please sear this into your minds going forward, as I am unlikely to detail it like this again.)


    However, there were some exceptions. For one, upgraded skills, bloodline skills, and specially transmuted skills started at level 1 regardless of grade.


    An example was Group Teleportation. It was an Intermediate grade skill and should theoretically have started at level 21, yet Darius'' version had started at level 1.


    The reason for this chaos was due to the sh between the naturalws of Faust and those of the Supreme System.


    As we know, all Basic spells were designed by thews of Faust and could only be acquired upon Awakening, or as natural abilities for those who Spark.


    However, Intermediate spells/skills and above had been crafted solely by the hand of practitioners. They were all artificial, so their level of power was much more chaotic than the outline above.


    It was the Supreme System that had taken all of this and systemically quantified it and categorized it. Now, on the topic of the chaos, it was because the Supreme System had been configured to start all skills from level 1.


    If one would remember, there had been a whole crisis involving how Caesar had left a trap in the system for Darius to be addicted to leveling up and eventually hitting a teau where he would go mad for AP and especially, SP.


    However, Darius had managed to control himself, not to mention the existence of Events had greatly lessened his burden.


    In essence, starting a skill at level 1 had forced Darius to invest more Skill Points into it to bring it towards its cap. Since SP was rare, you could imagine how this would theoretically limit him.


    However, it had a hidden boon. Taking Intermediate skills for example, when Darius learned them, they would start at level 1 bearing the stat value they would have had at level 20.


    Assuming a random Journeyman Mage had learned Fireball, under the Faustian system, the damage of his spell would depend on his elemental affinity, his mana, etc.


    The very same Journeyman Mage would be given a fixed value solely based on his mastery as assessed by the Supreme System when it scanned him.


    So, let us say his Fireball spell had been at level 1, though one should keep in mind that this was different from Darius'' level 1.


    The Journeyman Mage would start with his Fireball at 1%, which would grow by 1% for the first 20 levels, and then by 4% from level 21 until level 40.


    So when the Journeyman reached level 20 with Fireball, it would deal 20% fire damage. Darius, assuming the skill was learned without Transmutation, would start at level 1 with 20% fire damage.


    So the difference was clear. Even though SP only for skills was a harsh requirement, it was bnced out by the fact that should Darius have never had Transmutation, his skills would still be far stronger than his counterparts at all stages.


    It was just that Transmutation was so ridiculously overpowered that it rubbished everything and took these numbers to insane heights.


    Taking the same Fireball, Darius learned it with Transmutation, so its base power at level 1 was 100% fire damage, which was the usual 5x boost Transmutation gave products.


    This increased the maximum power cap in which he could upgrade skills to. This was extremely important for upgradeable skills, as their system was quiteplex, but based off the two above mention criteria.


    Like Sparks. At the Basic Grade, it had started at 5% and grew by 5% until it hit level 20 with 100% Lightning damage. When Darius upgraded Sparks to level 21, it had morphed into Lightning Bolt and its damage had increased to 520%.


    This was because it moved up the ''Sparks'' or ''Lightning Element'' skill tree and saw lighting Bolt was a natural sessor to Sparks. Since it was Intermediate, it was taken back to level 1, where - since it was transmuted - it started at 100% and grew by 20% per level.


    Then the skill points were reallocated, bringing it to level 21.. So 100%(at level 1) + 420% (21 levels x 20% per level) = 520% at level 21.

 Chapter 501 - 501

    Darius'' former stockpile of 49 SP quickly dwindled down to 5 SP. He had wanted to increase some other skills by a grade, like Swap to level 41 so it would have the Advanced-grade standard and Spawn, so it would be Intermediate grade.


    However, after having invested 39 points into Swap and not yet manually testing its utility, Darius was understandably more than a little hesitant to invest more. Anyway, that could be der.


    As for Spawn, it was the skill that spawned his two Skeletons turned Vampires, Mikey and Joneson. The fellows were still over at Thanatos'' ce doing whatever it was he wanted them to do, and they still had 3 more years to go on their indenture.


    Darius sighed. He then checked the rest of his skills to perhaps find something to invest these 5 SP. Truthfully, now that he had hit the Adept stage, he was beginning to feel the pinch Caesar warned him about.


    The Adept state was a defining one, because it was when one truly started to be recognized as a powerhouse on Faust. Even in Grandmaster-heavy areas, Adepts were treated like nobles.


    Here, the kind of skills that Darius could learn and nned to learn would have such shocking power if he Transmuted them (as shown in the previous chapter), allowing him to finally enjoy the utility of his high stats.


    After all, one of the greatest weaknesses of the Supreme System''s method was that while Darius could have the stats of a Grandmaster and beyond, his actual skill cap forced him to remain at the level he was.


    A Grandmaster using an Intermediate grade skill was naturally far stronger than a Journeyman himself using that skill, but such a skill looked like a jokepared to a bonafide Grandmaster grade skill


    What saved Darius was the fact that the higher-ranked the skill, the harder it was to learn, use, and not to mention master.


    It shouldn''t be too surprising though.


    None of them had something like the Supreme System where they could p their hands to absorb a skill book and use it on-demand.


    For others, if they weren''t using someone else''s skill, they would have to create their own.


    Unlike Intermediate grade skills that were around like rubbish since every Tom, Dick, and Harry wanted to make some profit off their work or get rid of their practices, Advanced and above-grade spells were being kept in mage towers, academies, etc.


    The former Andrato, although a trash-tier kingdom, had also had such a practice. Most of the shelves had been filled with Intermediate grade skills that were wed. You basically bought them at your own risk, but there were no Advanced-grade and above skills.


    Higher tier empires might have a few from benevolent Adepts, but that was only while they were alive or free. The moment they died or disappeared, a force would buy up the skill and prevent its cirction, forever keeping the rights to it.


    What was the creator gonna do? Get up from the grave and fight them? Even if he did, could he beat them?


    Most professions on Earth had done this sort of thing before the modern age. In the modern era, the Inte hadrgely eliminated this kind of act, but before that, information for professions had been hoarded by institutes, necessitating people to go there to learn.


    Otherwise, who would still need to pay absurd university fees for information that could be learned over the Inte?


    Darius had already made some Advanced-grade skills ahead of time that he was absolutely looking forward to learning and upgrading, but he didn''t take them out just yet.


    Rather than let them drown in his endless list of skills, he would prefer to earn some more AP and SP to empower himself during this period.


    He had no ns of rushing to do the Master Quest as the next thing on his agenda wasunching his two-pronged war. Once the war was stabilized and he could leave both sides under his control to themselves for more than a year, he would begin the Master Quest.


    With his mind cleared, he kept his remaining SP.


    For now, he would check Gunner and X''s changes, assist them in however he could, and then head back to Safemoon to begin the next stage of his journey in Faust.


    With that in mind, he opened up Gunner''s Character menu.


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Adept


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 90,000/90,000


    MP: 3,280/3,280


    STA: 12,300/12,300


    Level: 41


    Exp: 0/4,100


    Strength: 300


    Agility: 100


    Endurance: 300


    Intellect: 80


    Willpower: 2300


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Indifferent.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 2


    SP: 68


    Active: Engage - Lv.40, Earthen Stomp - Lv. 40, Earthen Punch - Lv.40, Earthen Lariat - Lv.40, Omega Blow - Lv.40, Eraser Cannon - Lv.40, Solid Defense - Lv.1, Unbreakable Ward - Lv.1 etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.5, Earth''s Guardian - Lv.100, Extreme Speed - Lv.80, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100 etc


    Abilities: Unlimited Power (Advanced), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Immortal Body (Advanced), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    Darius almost choked on his spit when he saw Gunner''s Willpower stat. This stat didn''t mean that Gunner''s mental Willpower was that high - though Gunner was very resilient in that regard - but rather his natural magical defense!


    It should be known that ording to the Supreme System, Darius Willpower had been set to 350. 300 hade from his Dragon Ancestor bloodline which was at the fledgling state, with the other 50 from his Magus Subss.


    His human nature, his spells, nothing else gave him an advantage here. Without one or the other, he would have most likely only had 0-1 points of Willpower at best.


    Of course, that was not considering the magic shield he conjured when bing a Journeyman mage.


    That was why he was unbothered that Caesar had added this stat. It wouldn''t change anything because if one didn''t have a physique that granted magical defense or some special attribute, they would still have 0.


    So the big question was, how did Gunner have so much in the way of Willpower?!

 Chapter 502 - 502

    Darius checked and was left speechless. As it turned out, Gunner benefited from 500 points from his Royal Half-Giant blood. Giants were a physical/melee race only, with no magic capability whatsoever.


    It should stand to reason that they would be extremely resilient against physical attacks and weak to magic and soul attacks, but that was also untrue!


    Since Gaia had handcrafted the Giants, why should she have designed them with such a obvious weakness in the first ce?


    No, the thing Gaia had done, had been topletely crush all magical capabilities in Giants and spread it over their skin, giving them insane magical defense in exchange for never being able to cast.


    A fair trade.


    Another 500 points of magical defense stemmed from the awakening of Earth''s Guardian. Not every Giant had awoken this bloodline skill, and those who did were so powerful that even the Gods could not eliminate their race.


    100 points came from his Vanguard ss. As an all-around tank ss, it made sense that it would offer some Magical Defense.


    100 points may seem meagerpared to the 500 he had gained through other means, but it was grand when taking into ount the criteria needed to have more than even 10 points of Willpower for the average bloke!


    And then, a whopping 1200 points stemmed from his Anti-Mage Subss, which was the biggest culprit for it all.


    The ss was the opposite of the Giant race. It had forsaken all offensive power and physical defense power for purely magical defense.


    Hence, the increase was far greaterpared to the others.


    After understanding the cause for the high Willpower stat, Darius was left speechless.


    Trying to regain his calm, he checked Gunner''s new Vanguard ss skill that he had received for bing an Adept.


    [Mana Ward - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists magical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 1%!]


    Darius was not surprised. This was basically the magic version of Gunner''s Energy Ward which he had acquired after bing a Journeyman. After all, starting from the Adept stage, mages became more of a threat than physical fighters.


    Darius smacked his lips and invested Gunner''s SP carefully. Mana Ward was brought to level 40 first of all, and all his other skills were upgraded one by one.


    [Mana Ward - Level 40 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists magical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 40%!]


    [Engage - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Vanguard, you must be able to stand at the forefront of battle and pave the way for your allies. This skill aggroes all enemies within 7,600 (200) meters of the user.]


    [Earthen Stomp - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1000 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your legs as you destroy the area around you with a grand quake. This damages an area of 8,000 (210) meters around the user.]


    [Earthen Punch - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1000 MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your fists as you deal more damage to armored orrger enemies. This skill deals 4,600% (900%) blunt damage.]


    [Earthen Lariat - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1000 MP


    Description: Channel great amounts of pure Earth Energy into your arms, rushing forward to strike your foes with a powerfulriat. This deals 2,986% (526%) earth damage.]


    [Omega Blow - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1000 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a ball, throwing it out in apressed form to explode on impact. This deals 4,482% (792%) earth damage to a single target.]


    [Eraser Cannon - Level 41 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1000 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a beam, sting it out at any angle within 2000 (200) meters. This deals 5,976% (1,056%) earth damage.]


    Gunner was well endowed in every sense of the word, his physical skills gaining great power. Even with Earth''s Guardian, he could nowy down more than 5 times the hurt he could previously.


    With Earth''s Guardian, he could easily have beaten Beelzebub as they met him, when he was slightly injured. Gunner had a leftover amount of 23 SP which Darius left alone.


    Gunner might acquire a better skill in the future that he may want to invest in, so it woulde in handy then. Done with therged, Darius turned to the Elven Princess.


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 5,000/5,000


    MP: 12,300/12,300


    STA: 4,100/4,100


    Level: 41


    Exp: 0/4,100


    Strength: 65


    Agility: 100


    Endurance: 100


    Intellect: 300


    Willpower: 6700


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 300


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Excited.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0


    SP: 15


    Active: Divine Blessing - Lv.40, Divine Ward - Lv.40, Divine Summoning - Lv.25, Purify - Lv.19, Purge - Lv.40, Divine Restoration - Lv.40, Iste Evil - Lv.40, High Cure - Lv.40, Super Heal - Lv. 40, Insect Soul Curse - Lv.1, Insect Blood Curse - Lv.1


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.45, Light''s Chosen - Lv.50, Pure Body - Lv.50, Pure Soul - Lv.50, Pure Spirit - Lv.50, Aura of Life - Lv.10, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100


    Abilities: Explosive Strength (Basic), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Woman of Steel (Intermediate), Intermediate Psychomancy (Advanced), Metamorph (Intermediate), God''s Chosen (Advanced).]


    !!!!


    Darius was even more bbergasted now. First, Gunner had an absurdly high Willpower stat, now X had more than double his? What was the reason for this?


    Upon checking, Darius was left unable toin.


    It turned out that the average High Elf had a natural Willpower of 300, yet X''s Royal blood had blessed her with 500.


    Then there was her Cleric ss which gave her 200 points of Willpower and her Divine Maiden Subss which gave her a whopping 3,000 points.


    After all, her Subss was what linked her to the Divine Concept of Life and the Divine Concept of Light, each of which offered 1,500 Willpower.


    And because she was also linked to the Divine Concepts through the Supreme System, she was once again hit with 1,500 each from them.

 Chapter 503 - 503

    Darius could only sigh. A typical fellow might question why his servants had better stats than their master, but he was d.


    After all, he had more than one way to guarantee his life, but Gunner and X would die for good unless he was around to resurrect them with Lunar Dew.


    Even then, it was only possible as long as they avoided ending up like Bloodivore. No amount of Lunar Dew would bring them back if they got instantly vaporized.


    Their entire existences would have been wasted investments, not to mention that ever since he had given them the ''Stone'' surname, he had truly regarded them as his family.


    Their deaths would not be tolerated.


    Darius didn''t feel like he had to worry about physical might being able to destroy them to the point that he could not bring them back. Magical power on the other end...


    Fortunately, given their high Willpower, one would need hundreds of points of Intellect and thousands of percentile value on their spells to even inconvenience them. This was not even taking into ount their Resistance from various equipment they possessed.


    Nor was it taking into ount the various spells they had that reduced magical damage. In this regard, Darius smiled.


    He knew for a fact that he would soon surpass Gunner and X in terms of Willpower, and with ease. The reason he had so little was because in the eyes of his current bloodline, he was merely a fledgling.


    Looking at the super-magical nature of Dragons, Darius estimated that he could easily reach tens of thousands of points in Willpower if he upped his bloodline further.


    Just something to look forward to.


    Whatever the case, he took X''s remaining SP and upgraded what skills of hers he could.


    [Holy Divine Blessing - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 100 (50) MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Lightbined with the Divine Life, grant any allies 41% (40%) increased Health, Mana, and Stamina regeneration as well as a 11% (10%) increase in magical damage and resistance. Targets also gain a 1% increase to physical damage and defense.]


    [Holy Divine Ward - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 200 (100) MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Light, encase yourself in a shield that resists 41% (40%) physical and magical damage. It also has a damage threshold of 41,000 (40,000) points, in which it would only disappear once this is reached. A sub shield is born that recharges the HP of the main shield by 1% every minute.]


    [Deep Purge - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 150 (100) MP


    Description: Expel all filth and dust from the surface of any living or non-living target and refresh them internally. This also increases their health slightly, strengthens libido, and kes thirst. It also removes any hidden defects in the body that are embedded into the flesh. The maximum amount of targets per cast are 41 (40).]


    [Contain Evil - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 200 (100) MP


    Description: Channel the purest Holy Energy to create a field of repulsion around the user to any chosen target/location. All entities with a moral alignment of Chaotic Neutral and below, all entities possessing nefarious intent, and all entities affiliated with darkness and death will be blocked. Up to 6 (5) wards can be created.]


    [Mega Cure - Level 41 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 100 (40) MP


    Description: Channel the Divine Light into the body of a target, curing them of any infection, ailment, or poison. Complete restoration is assured, and there is a 41% (40%) chance that the target will have their resistance to said ailment increased permanently. It also grants a 5% chance for a target to gain a positive evolutionary trait hidden in their genes.]


    [Ultra Heal - Level 41 Spell


    Cost: 500 (200) MP


    Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 100% of a target''s total HP and permanently increases their HP by 11% (10%). It also permanently raises Endurance by 5% for the first time each month.


    Note: Does not work on those affiliated with the Supreme System.]


    Darius was satisfied with the growth of her abilities. While they were not as crazy as his or Gunner''s, it wasrgely because most of X''s skills hade pre-learned when she had been contracted.


    Luckily, these skills had been granted to her by the Divine Light and Divine Life, making them exclusive and quite powerful in their own right with the Supreme System enhancing them.


    It was only skills like Purify that the Elven Princess had learned traditionally when she awoke as a mage. That was why Darius had never bothered to upgrade it much, and unfortunately, once learned, a skill could not be removed.


    That was why his choice for his next Branded Servant would be very careful. He had Gunner as raw forward muscle for defense and offense and X for healing and various support skills.


    His next Branded Servant would be groomed to take a darker path, to be a shadow. One that could strike in the dark while the rest of them remained in the light.


    That would naturally be sorted out once he returned to Safemoon and began his warmongering. Right now, there were some loose ends to tie up on the continents of Pokterr and Ludo before he could move onto the next stage of his n.


    With that in mind, Darius closed the various screens and used Mass Teleport to send the group back up to the surface. The upgraded spell now sucked away quite a bit of MP, but Darius had a few skills and equipment that reduced this cost greatly, so he could still afford to ignore the drain.


    The increase in distance made it so that he only needed less than a quarter of the total amounts of jumps he needed previously. This more than anything, told him that he had really and truly ascended, as the power of his various abilities had exponentially spiked.


    This was what made those bloody Quests worth it!


    When he reached the surface, Darius interfaced with Miranda immediately.. The AI appeared in her usual life-sized form as he gazed up at her father while holding a pristine white teddy bear in her arms, her twin-tails swinging left and right.

 Chapter 504 - 504

    "What''s up, Daddy?" The AI asked cutely.


    Darius smiled and gazed down at the replica of his daughter during her childhood with gentle eyes. "Miranda, the Insect race has been cleansed from Faust. You can move down into the underground and conquer it full henceforth."


    Miranda nodded. "What about the Mole Race? they only temporarily emigrate from Pokterr during the yearly culling so as not to get caught up in it. Once it bes known that the Insects have been exterminated, won''t they return?"


    Darius shook his head. "Even if news spread, with how shocking such a revtion is, it will take time to verify. By then, the war will have already begun, so forget about them. If they try to return, cull enough of them until the rest are scared away. I shall use my public identity as the Lord of Safemoon to recruit them and give them shelter."


    "Okayyyˇ­ so what about the Demi-Gods? What am I to do with them?" Miranda inquired curiously.


    "Hercules and Theseus will being with me after they sign the Soul Paper agreement. I still have many uses for them."


    "Pyrrha will stay here to assist you in the war against the Demi-Gods, feeding you information and knowledge. Keep her captive in the chamber where Beelzebub was destroyed. Use the best possible Faraday cage possible." Darius ordered calmly.


    Then he paused. "And as for Achilles, keep him in another Faraday Cage, but use him freely for all manner of experiments you want without restraint. It should be near impossible for him to die... and if he does, so be it."


    Miranda noted Darius'' order silently, nning to move to carry them out. However, Darius stopped her and continued.


    "There are three tasks I want you to achieve within the next four months. The first and most important is thepletion and sessfulunch of our first satellite. It needs to be able to cover the entirety of Faust reliably. You can send more satellites to enhance yourputing power and the signal strength in time, but the first one is imperative. Without it, we will be 50% weaker during the war."


    Miranda smiled. "Technically, I canunch today, this very instant. However, I will make use of the next four months to fortify the satellite and make sure that it can survive any dangers in outer space of Faust."


    "Good. The second task is to build an underwater army. The underground of Pokterr connects to the sea, and the seas of Faust are an untapped resource that none have managed toy im to because of various difficulties."


    "You, with your robot army, will face none of those difficulties as long as you construct special aquamarine units powered by the ever-present Source Energy." Darius spoke as he nodded calmly.


    He flicked a finger below. "Start with the remains of that mermaid n that the Insects brashly razed. Build your first base there and fortify it thoroughly, as it will be our main underwater encampment for expansionter on. We need to conquer Faust from all angles, and we have the resources to slowly do that."


    Miranda pped her hands with delight. "I was going to suggest this to you after weunched the satellite, but I should never have doubted your foresight, Daddy! It will also be fine to start now, I''m practically done with epassing Pokterr."


    Darius smiled softly and named thest task. "Finally, I need you to step up production of HoloBraces. We made a lot in preparation for our ns, but now that I n to go on a rampant conquer of Fallon, all territories taken will be integrated with ours. As such, we need to have HoloBraces for every new ''citizen'' to wear and integrate them into our society."


    Mirandaughed gaily. "Easy peasy! I can have 300 million units ready by the end of the week!"


    Darius gave Miranda some minor instructions on the side, then left to head to where the Demigods were kept. He called Theseus and Hercules into a room and ced a contract before the two of them.


    They casually read through it and saw that the terms were extremely liberal and fair. Darius didn''t even demand their loyalty or fealty.


    They were only required to keep his secrets and defect from the Gods. Theseus was to return and be his spy from within, while Hercules would follow him back to Safemoon to be nurtured slowly into a True God.


    Theseus also had the option to be nurtured, but it would have to be done after hepleted his task for obvious reasons.


    They were both pleased with these terms especially after learning more about Safemoon and Darius'' power/operations through the HoloBrace.


    They realized that Darius was going to be the supreme conqueror of Faust, and being one of his lieutenants would be far more fulfilling than serving those idiots called ''Gods''.


    In fact, they had expected heavier terms since their livers were literally in his hands. Him using such liberal terms showed them that Darius valued their free will and hoped to win their allegiance with this.


    Theseus and Hercules could not help but sigh internally.


    Why couldn''t they have met this fellow years ago?!


    Centuries wasted serving idiotic pricksˇ­ all for nothing!


    As for Achilles, he fought back within his cage as he was transported below, knowing that he would never see the light of day again, and his fate was to be filled with days of endless pain and agony that no sapient being should experience.


    Pyrrha was carried down in much better treatment. She was almost like a visiting Princess if one didn''t consider her inability to leave the continent as she wished.


    Darius did not make Pyrrha sign anything because he didn''t need to. That guilty conscience would eat her up from the bottom to the top, making her work for him even if he told her he didn''t need her. She just needed to be alone with her inner demons for this to work, hence the captivity.


    Finally, there was Medea. She was the most troublesome due to her malicious nature and her affiliation with Hecate. Her mind had been partially ruined, leaving her in a catatonic state, but Miranda had extracted swathes of useful information from her.


    Darius would have Miranda send it over to him so he could parse it and understand the secrets of the True Lords and how they got their power.

 Chapter 505 - 505

    Right now though, he left Pokterr with Gunner and X in tow. Using a Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array, they arrived at the Divine Oasis which was pretty much the same as when they had left if.


    Darius stood beside the pond here that was made up of Pristine Pure Water, wondering if he should undertake the task of filling it with Lunar Dew as well?


    However, he shook his head. That would take too long and the benefit wasn''t worth the hassle. He trusted the Divine de inexplicably because it was where he had been spawned, his connection with it was absolute.


    This ce belonged to all reincarnators like him, and at the same time to the specific one who was here previously, Sino D''Mara most likely.


    As Darius had admitted to his Branded Servants, everything he had told Beelzebub had been a lie. He honestly had no idea whether Sino D''mara was the previous one or who the ones before him were at all, or their missions.


    He would certainly like to know for sure as it could yield great benefits. However, he wasn''t in possession of any means to learn it for now, which was not a problemˇ­ yet.


    Anyway, he pondered his next steps. The Quest timeline for the Genocide of the Insects had been 6 months, and they had only just about spent 2 months of that time.


    That was why Darius had asked Miranda to get things done within 4 months, as that should have been thepletion time. He had pre-nned to spend the entire 6 months just in case, so he technically had bought himself some free time by finishing things up too early.


    The Itemancer wasn''t in a rush to return to Safemoon, and wanted to use this period in between the calm and the storm toplete some important side tasks.


    One waspleting the Test of Mettle and bing the objective ruler of Ludo, while the other waspleting the pathway for the new element he had found so he could im the benefits from the Laws of Faust.


    Both of these could bepleted in the next period of time, so it was simply a matter of which to do first? Darius pondered and decided to learn the new element first.


    It was logically the smarter choice, as it could - for all he knew - give him the extra edge to stand on his own during the Test of Mettle. As such, he removed the Portable Housing unit and ced it beside the Divine Oasis'' cottage.


    While the cottage was fine, X and Gunner enjoyed the modern facilities of the Portable House and it should keep them away from boredom for the next period of time.


    Darius entered his master bedroom and sat cross-legged on his bed, entering a sort of meditative posture. He closed his eyes and delved into the world of magic, racing through his circuits as he traced the path of the element he had discovered so far.


    Miranda joined him, granting him extraputing power in the sense that he could mirror his progress and run hundreds of simtions to find the right path without Darius having to risk his own neck like every other mage who attempted to create a spell or discover a new element.


    If Faust could have this tech, it would have advanced far faster and the powers in this world would be far morepetent.


    Well, with Darius aiming to expand the Supreme Portal and provide everyone a HoloBrace, that might soon happen as others could pay to get their hands on their own exclusive Child AI to assist them in this regard. The requirement for this was of course that Miranda got enough satellites into orbit to maximize herputing power.


    However, Faust''s general development was only a means to enrich the world he would soon control. Darius had no interest in being the Supreme of a backwater world.


    Clearly, when Vena had created this world, she had just chucked it to the side and forgotten about it until Darius presented himself as a suitable candidate.


    That likely went to show how little the Goddess rated Faust, and it was quite fair in Darius'' opinion.


    Darius put such thoughts to the side as he delved into the pathways of the element. Hisst progress had halted at 15% and he had spent approximately 6 days on it, or around 144 hours.


    Continuing from there, he noticed that as he went forward and eliminated more wrong paths, it became easier to progress. What contributed the most to his development though, was the Spiritual Senses that came with high Luck.


    In fact, even if he and Miranda could simte paths, it was his Spiritual Sense that they used to verify their thoughts mostly. Without it giving Darius subtle vibes of where not to pass unless he wanted to explode his body and where to pass to seed, this would be impossible.


    That was also why he wasn''t worried that giving others Child AI topute would make them surpass him. It would only lessen the danger to their lives and shorten the time they needed to formte spells.


    As for finding new elements, it had always 100% relied on Luck. Without a sufficient amount of it, no one had ever found discovered one.


    Darius thought of something and paused his exploration. He then spoke to the Supreme System.


    "Generate an Event for the discovery of a new Element."


    [Request received by System.]


    [Analyzing parametersˇ­ Establishing criteriaˇ­ Setting rewardsˇ­ done!]


    [Event generationpleted!]


    [You have self-generated an Event. Please check the Event details below.]


    [A New Element - Event


    Duration: 300 years.


    Description: Faust is a ne with its own unique system ofws created by the Goddess Vena. As the Creator Goddess didn''t want her creations to have everything handed to them and had wanted to promote development, she had only left behind the initial four Elements, Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.


    Over the millennia, various lucky and talented pioneers had discovered the existence of new elements, which had evolved since then. Nevertheless, the current roster is far from the total amount in existence. Only 65% of all the elements have been discovered, leaving many more hidden, yet to be unearthed!


    Event details: Perfectly discover a new element and have a sessful Heavenly Announcement.


    Event rewards:


    - For every New Element: 300 Ability Points, 300 Skill Points.


    Note: This is a recurring Event.. Rewards can be imed for every time the objective is achieved until there is nothing left to acquire or the timer runs out.]

 Chapter 506 - 506

    Darius nodded in agreement, this Event was quite bnced. It seemed to gauge the objective difficulty of a task and the subjective difficulty as well.


    To simplify, the Objective Difficulty of something would be the amount of effort required by an average person who met the lowest possible criteria to fulfill the objective.


    In the case of this event, it would be any Journeyman with at least 1% talent in magic. As such, the objective reward would be extremely great to the point where it could have yielded hundreds of thousands of AP and SP.


    However, this was bnced by the Subjective Difficulty. This was basically the amount of effort it would take for Darius specifically toplete the task. This took into ount all of his methods, this thought process, his talent, etc.


    As had been shown earlier, for Darius, finding a new element was not a risk. It was a matter of time. As such, his subjective reward would be extremely low, maybe 3 or 5 AP and 3 SP at best.


    So the Objective Difficulty and Subjective Difficulty were contrasted, giving the final value in terms of reward. So no matter how one felt about it, the rewards for any Event would be fair and logical.


    Darius then resumed his work. With his current Endurance, he could go for approximately two weeks at most without needing to move, but he didn''t see the need to.


    Every other day, he would take a 1-hour break to eat, excrete and stretch his limbs. Darius made good progress like this, reaching 50%pletion in a matter of 14 days.


    By this point, the path had been narrowed to the point that he was able to achieve a daily 5% worth of progress, so he reached 100%pletion in a matter of 10 days.


    In total, Darius had spent 24 days on discovering this new element, less than a month. When he finally seeded in guessing the path, he spent the next 6 days meditating silently.


    On the 30th day, he slowly traced the path from beginning to end, wondering what element this was. Until he traced the path fully, he would not know, but what he did know was that it was rted to the Spirit Element.


    After all, he hade upon this path while creating a Spirit Element spell, so it was near the Spirit elements wheel. Either an opposing element or a sub-element or a sister element.


    When Darius finally traced the path, he felt a ze of golden light rush through the circuit way. You could imagine the magical circuit like an intricate maze, or like the traces of a modern motherboard.


    When Darius highlighted the traces, he used a blue color, which was the color of mana. In fact, everyone did. However, the blue color was slowly overtaken by a golden one that reced it and shone resplendently within his system.


    Darius'' eyes opened wide as golden light shone out of them, his head rising to face the sky as the golden light passed through the roof of the Portable Housing and truck the sky.


    Immediately, the entire Faust trembled as if with delight. All denizens of Faust, whether Awakened, Sparked, or normal, stopped what they were doing as they closed their eyes.


    The golden light from Darius'' eyes spread like a shower when it reached the sky, crossing over Faust easily as if distance was a joke to it. It then broke down and entered the bodies of every single denizen of Faust, regardless of sapient or not.


    They all glowed golden for a second as the continually trembled in joy. It was excited that another one of the elements was discovered, for such a thing brought its color topletion.


    It had been so long since the most recent Order and Chaos had been discovered, so this was a much wee event. It connected with Darius'' mind despite him being hidden in the Divine oasis.


    It then expressed its joy and praise to Darius, asking him if he wanted the world to know that he was the one who had discovered the element. Darius frowned and asked if only his name would be reported or if there would be more?


    The Spirit of Faust exined that a mental image of his identity would be shown to everyone, so that nobody would ever forget that it was Darius Stone, Dragon Ancestor Fledgling, Lord of Safemoon, Culler of Insects, etc. who had aplished this deed.


    Darius refused immediately.


    He might have epted this ''honor'' if he had been at the Master stage, but having such a thing outed would ruin his entire ns for his Adept stage.


    The Spirit of Faust seemed disappointed, but understood.


    Interestingly, it also seemed to know that the reincarnator was an Agent of Vena, but had automatically refrained from adding that title to the list. It seemed that it had enough prudence to know what objectively should be added and what should not.


    When the golden light subsided from the bodies of all denizens, they realized that they could visualize a new element in their minds. Everyone was able to do so for a short while, then it was cut off.


    Now, youths who were Awakening naturally could unlock this new element as their first, or they could try to unlock it when they climbed a stage and got to choose one new element to add.


    Those who were about to Spark could now acquire unique abilities rted to this element. What''s more, Dungeons bearing this element would also spawn on Fallon, and the counterparts of dungeons would simrly do so on the other continents.


    The world began to celebrate the birth of the new element, as they had been provided basic information about it then it was unlocked. Many eyes gleamed, as this new element could be said to have a utility to great it could change the entirendscape of Faust!


    Many of the True Lords and other powerhouses across the continent began to inquire upon the discoverer, no one would have the same level of control and understanding as he did in the element, and this element was too good for them to sit idle in their seats.

 Chapter 507 - 507

    While the search raged on, Darius himself was limatizing to the knowledge of this new element. Just as he had thought, it was the opposite element to Spirit, one that was not often present in fantasy charts but always subtly existed.


    The Material element!


    It sounded a bit underwhelming, and it was to those who were looking for raw offensive power. However, this element was so ungodly useful for those with professional/lifestyle focuses that it even tickled True Lords to search him out.


    Yes, the moment you heard it, the very thought must have appeared in your mind and you would not be wrong.


    This new element was basically an EXTREMELY watered-down version of the Itemancer ss mixed with Transmutation!


    Even describing it as extremely underwhelming was already being nice...


    Let''s take a dive into the Material element, what it was and how it might change the scope of Faust going forward.


    First things first, Darius was merely the first one to discover it. The element itself had already been pre-named by Vena when she had created it, so he didn''t get to name it nor define its characteristics or features.


    It was simr to how a person would discover a new continent - minus the naming right - and although this was a world filled with magic he couldn''t just wave his hand, proim that this area would be a forest biome and that area would be a desert biome.


    What he came to meet was what he would get.


    However, as the Discoverer, he would possess the most intimate knowledge of it as well as the rights to build on what was already there and change a few things up in a way no one else ever could.


    Darius would define the Material element as the element of all physical things and their rtion to each other. Just as one might define the opposing Spirit Element as the rtion of all things spiritual and how they interacted with each other.


    The Material element focused on allowing a person to use magic to change the properties of any physical item from one state to another. It was essentially Transmutation, but in the weakest sense.


    Beforeparing the Material element to Itemancing/Transmutation, it was necessary to mention its functionality and the Basic spell that came with it.


    After all, the Basic grade spell of each element was like the foundation for the spells Journeymen mages and above would create on their own.


    The basic spell of the material Element was called ''Stone to Mud''. Just as the name suggested, it allowed a person to infuse a piece of rock with mana that would soften it into mud or alternatively harden any amount of mud into solid stone.


    Of course, the effectiveness of this - including the speed, the uniformity, the range, and the quantity - was dependent on one''s talent and their level of practice with the skill/spell in the Faustian Power System and on the amount of SP invested under the Supreme System''s metric.


    And so, this was how the functionality of all Journeyman and above spells would be built. There were many limitations with this element, firstly one could never reach Transmutation''s level of changing anything to anythingˇ­ from anything.


    In other words, not even a Grandmaster grade spell of the Material element would allow you to change a leaf into a sword, then change another leaf to a spear. Neither was it possible to change a leaf to a sword then change the now transformed sword into a spear.


    You''d have to manually make a spell for it.


    For example, if you wanted to do what every alchemist wished to do with Transmutation and turn stone to literal gold, you would need to go through the entire Magical Method and create a spell for it.


    A ''Stone to Gold'' spell.


    Even if someone were to deduce such a spell, it would be limited to those materials. This particr spell would be limited to turning stone into gold or vice versa. You could not change anything else to gold apart from the type of stone designated by the spell.


    As was seen from Darius'' own attempts at creating a spell, the broader one''s terms in the matter of the spell''s effects, the more expensive the spell was to make, the higher the chances of failure and the greater the mana cost when done.


    In one word... Impractical.


    Even the most talented bloke aside from Darius in this element would not be able to surpass this rule. The spells that would be made would be mundane, like turning water to oil, oil to water, pebbles to seeds, etc.


    Darius could not fathom how anyone else would be able to make better spells than this that would function semipetent without hundreds of yearsing to pass and trillions of lives around Faust dedicating their lives to research more into it, like it had happened for the already discovered elements.


    And this was where the importance of being the Discoverery. The greatest period of growth an element would experience had always been during its Discoverer''s lifetime. This privilege couldn''t be stolen nor could it be passed on willingly and would only ever belong to that one person.


    If we are to put it simply and to cut out a long and methodical exnation, Darius would have a 200% higher chance of making sessful spells in the new elementpared to even the most talented person who might even naturally awake or spark with this element, regardless if they existed today or far into the future.


    It wouldn''t be wrong to say that a majority of the framework of the Material Elements spells would be created solely by him and passed onto the rest of the world.


    That was why the True Lords had started to look for him, to request him to research spells that could change various things that they would need or could benefit from.


    It should be known that unlike with other elements, where Darius'' own stage capped him to a certain spell grade, as the Discoverer of the Material element he fell under no such limitations and could design spells of any grade.


    Darius had a vague feeling that it might even allow him toe up with something beyond a Grandmaster grade spellˇ­ no, a level parallel to it but different in essence.


    This was likely his first confirmation of a ''Divine'' grade of spells and skills.


    With this being the case, surely Darius'' rating of the Material element was a bit harsh, no?

 Chapter 508 - 508

    In fact, that was untrue. Darius'' rating of it was actually much higher than it objectively deserved whenpared to his own means.


    One first should note the difference between Itemancing/Transmutation and the Material element.


    Firstly, cost. Transmutation had its own currency in form of Conversion Points, a free but limited resource that was refreshed every day to a certain limit.


    Itemancing and the Material Element required an investment in form of mana, a free resource that was not limited, always present, and ever regenerating.


    In this regard, Itemancing and the Material element won out over Transmutation.


    Secondly, utility. Transmutation could be essed from anywhere and used on anything, changing it to whatever you wanted as long as you had the CP.


    Itemancing could be used anywhere and on any item, to do a limited number of functions rted to your progress in the ss.


    The Material element could be essed anywhere, but could only be used on a select few things, changing one type of item from one state to another at a time.


    In this regard, Transmutation severely outssed Itemancing while it outright ughtered the Material element.


    Thirdly, quality. Transmutation automatically processed an item into the highest possible quality Faust could produce within that item''s designated grade.


    Itemancing produced the highest quality based on the items'' function as well the ss'' development.


    The Material Element produced the highest quality that the spell in question used could offer.


    As for this, it was clear. The value of Transmutation had always been in its quality, and it could never be beaten.


    Fourthly, duration. Transmutation was instant.


    Itemancing was instant.


    The Material element took time depending on talent, the amount of mana infused and the quality of the spell for Faustian, and depending on the spell percentages for the Supreme System.


    This too, was quite clear.


    Fifthly, sess rate. Transmutation never failed.


    Itemancing had a low chance to fail, but due to the nature of the Supreme System, it was able to inform you of your chances.


    With the Material element, one of two things would happen. Either you werepetent enough to seed or you would taste blood that day.


    After all of this, is there even a need to go on?


    Apart from cost, Transmutation absolutely smashed the Material element''s value in every other way so badly it was brutal. This made Darius who possessed both sigh withment.


    Fate was truly amusing. It gave this element to the one person in the entire Faust who needed it the least.


    Everyone else must perceive Darius as the luckiest man in the world, about to be so filthy rich he wouldn''t know what to do with himself!


    ˇ­ how would the denizens of Faust feel if they knew that Darius had been blessed with something far better on the very same day he had spawned?


    Once Darius had understood what Transmutation was way back then, he had already figured out that he was destined to be far wealthier than he ever would have been on Earth.


    A premonition that had proven well-founded ever since the first Safemoon auction.


    Darius breathed out lightly. Well, this new element changed a few things in the future of Faust.


    Firstly, it opened up a new Divine Domain. As was exined, the Gods who existed now were born from the respective Divine Domains, epassing that element''s divinity.


    However, Divine Domains had multiple attributes. For example, there was Zhurong, the God of Fire who had taken the Fire Heart of Gaia and there was also Pyrrha, a Goddess of Fire.


    With both existing, who was the real God/Goddess/Deity of Fire??


    This is why elements were important. Elements were more powerful than concepts. Elements gave birth to many attributes within their scope, while a concept was all-epassing within itself, meaning no other could be born.


    For example, an element like Lightning had both Zeus and Thor within, but the two focused on different things. Zeus embodied the Lightning that came down from the heavens while Thor was Lightning that came from a thunderstorm.


    However, a concept was something like Childbirth, in which there was only one Goddess by the name of Ilithyia.


    In essence, the Material Element would have multiple Divine Domains open up that would feature attributes of the element in different circumstances. For some of these, they had already nurtured their Gods, who would awake and join the pantheon of Elysium.


    Others though, were still empty.


    You could already imagine what would happen next...


    Once again, the Discoverer was of paramount importance because - you guessed it - they could innately sense where these Divine Domains were. So not just True Lords, but even the Gods of Elysium were feverishly searching for him.


    There was a bloodbath iing that had nothing to do with Darius'' nned wars, though he had already started scheming on ways how to make use of that fact.


    Secondly, the Material element was a developmental/mercantile element. This would greatly enrich Faust as a whole as people would begin to change useless items into things they needed for production.


    Prices of materials would drop and more craftsmen would be born because they could waste more resources in training for a lower cost.


    Faust would experience a developmental boom until things evened out and the true tycoons of the Material element would take charge, forcibly stunting development to raise prices up, thereby raising profits.


    It was nothing new to people from Earth. Whenever a new discovery had been made that had revolutionized the world, it would precede a great boom of growth until those at the top put a cork in it and added a price tag.


    Thirdly, it would allow new Dungeons to exist with unique items, materials, and various valuable things of this element. Or the same went for the equivalent of Dungeons on the other continents.


    Finally, it would allow Darius to control a section of Faust for a while just relying on this. With his ability, he could spit out perfected spells using Transmutation for this element and teach it to a loyal group of people and make them the new paragons of the element.


    With his 200% boost from the Laws of Faust, he could make far better and more insane spells for the Material elementpared to any other element he had ever worked with.


    So in essence, the element was useless to him personally, but he could develop it for others - the world - or for himself - a personal faction - and his group.


    Hmˇ­ well, the choice was a bit too obvious, here wasn''t it?

 Chapter 509 - 509

    <strong>(Author''s Note: Have to do this, sorry. For those who don''t like skill details and the like, you can skip this next part. I''ll try to keep it short, but remember that you''re reading a litrpg. This is part and parcel of the genre, and cannot be avoided.) </strong>


    ---------------------------------------------------


    Darius put this aside. He decided that since hepleted this task earlier than he expected, he would spend the remaining nned time developing spells for it. This would be much faster and with his various boons, very productive.


    In fact, Darius was beginning to love the Material Element. Instead of using his precious CP for something, he could just make perfected spells with Transmutation and let his people learn from his ''supreme'' spell manuals.


    With enough investment from him, they could use a cheap resource like mana to create various things that didn''t need to be Transmuted but were needed by Safemoon.


    However, this was a n forter. Like grooming his army, it would take time, at least 6 months of dedicated preparation and training. Right now, he was more interested in allocating the AP and SP he had been given by the Event.


    [Name: Darius Stone


    Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling)


    Stage: Adept


    ss: Itemancer


    Subss: Magus


    HP: 10,000/10,000 (15,000 HP Surplus)


    MP: 28,700/28,700 (100,450 MP Surplus)


    STA: 4,100/4,100


    Level: 41


    Experience: 0/4,100


    Strength: 100


    Agility: 200 (150)


    Endurance: 100


    Intellect: 700 (460)


    Willpower: 350


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Calm.


    AP: 11 (301)


    SP: 0 (305)


    Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.60 (41), Analyze Lv.60 (41), Combine - Lv.60 (41), Swap - Lv.60 (41), Zap Cannon - Lv.60 (41), Mass Teleportation - Lv.60 (41), Spawn - Lv.20, Time Skip - Lv.20 (1), Death''s Call - Lv.20 (1), Spatial Mark - Lv.20 (1), Soul Sense - Lv.20 (1), Spatial Dislocation - Lv.20 (1), etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.50 (20), Elemental Control - Lv.50 (20), Draconic Regeneration - Lv.50 (30), Spell Enhancement - Lv.100, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100, Channeling - Lv.70, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 20 (5), etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Advanced), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Limit Release (Intermediate), Ultra Instinct (Advanced), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Advanced Psychomancy (Master), Metamorph (Intermediate), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    Darius clutched his head as he felt his brain overheat for a split second before calming down. Once more, he felt like his brain that had been submerged in mud and sludge was cleaned even further, new pathways and passages making themselves known for information to travel efficiently.


    He also felt his body shudder, as if his drill sergeant had finally given him permission to take off remove the backpack filled with rocks he had been lugging around for an entire day. That feeling of relief, of having a weight removed from your shoulders, was amazing. In this case, it only indicated that Darius got faster.


    He breathed out and checked the skills he changed up. He then pondered and activated Transmutation, taking some empty Spell Manuals from his Inventory that he always kept on hand.


    [Would you like to change the empty spell manual into a Double Casting Spell Manual? This will cost 90 Conversion Points.]


    Darius made the change and learned the skill. It was something he had eagerly been aiming to acquire once he became an Adept because its effect on growing his power was not small.


    Next, he chose a plethora of spells to upgrade, opting to splurge now that Events were more abundant for him than ever to earn more.


    The list of skills he had upgraded were;


    [Analyze - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: Deduce the characteristics of any item, person, or concept, as well as their personal history and all skill details. The effectiveness of this skill is based on the Intellect stat x16 (x12.1)!]


    [Combine - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: Merge up to threepatible items into one. The items must be within 2 grades of each other and be of a 70% simr type. The effectiveness of this skill is based on Intellect x16 (x12.1)!]


    [Swap - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: Remove up to three aspects or traits of up to two items and attempt to infuse it into another item permanently. The effectiveness of this skill is based on Intellect x16 (x8)!]


    [Elemental Breath - Level 60 (41) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 8,000 (4,000) MP


    Description: Channel the raw power of the elements through your body, releasing it in a cone-shaped breath before you that travels as far as you want and persists for as long as you want. This deals 30,500% (21,000%) all-element damage.]


    [Zap Cannon - Level 60 (41) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1,000 (500) MP


    Description: Cast an intense orb of deadly electricity at a foe, sting them apart and paralyzing them immediately on contact. This deals 6,500% (4,600%) lightning damage.]


    [Mass Teleportation - Level 60 (41) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1,000 (500) MP


    Description: Control the flow of space around you to transport yourself and a maximum of 10 other targets from one location to another instantly. The maximum distance is 30,500 (21,000) meters.]


    [Time Skip - Level 20 (1) Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 20 (1) MP


    Description: Move through the river of time to cross within a local area to advance forward beyond the means of those who are time-locked. The maximum duration is 2 (0.1) seconds.]


    [Death''s Call - Level 20 (1) Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 (10) MP


    Description: Call back the souls of the dead to their bodies, retaking their forms in perfect shape and bing a part of a glorious new race. This spell can only be used on 100 (5) corpses at a time.]


    [Spatial Mark - Level 20 (1) Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 (10) MP


    Description: Using your affinity with space, create a special brand that can be locked onto any coordinate, allowing you to track the location or teleport straight to it if its within a certain range. The minimum range needed is 2,000 (100) meters.]


    [Soul Sense - Level 20 (1) Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 (10) MP


    Description: Send out waves of spirit force in all directions, echolocating all other spirits/souls within a certain range of yourself. The range is 2,000 (100) meters.]


    [Spatial Dislocation - Level 20 (1) Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 50 (10) MP


    Description: Twist the flow of space around you and send what exists in one fold of space to another. The total radius of dislocated space is 400 (20) meters.]


    [Magical Mastery - Level 50 (20) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, you have been blessed by the Laws of Magic in the world, able to disy mastery beyond any other mortal species in existence. Your mana regeneration, spell-casting speed, spell power and spell resources have increased by 250% (100%).]


    [Elemental Control - Level 50 (20) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of all Dragons, you belong to not a single specific element, but epass them all. Resistance to elemental attacks as well as elemental damage increased by 250% (100%).]


    [Draconic Regeneration - Level 50 (30) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, your lifeforce and survivability are nothing short of a Primordial Titan. Your health regeneration is 250% (100%) per second regardless of situation.]


    [Basic Lancer Arts - Level 20 (5) Skill


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the fundamentals of the priceless Lancer Arts long lost to history. With your spear, you can stand above all others who dare to use your own choice of weapon against you.. You deal 100% (25%) spear damage whenever you wield a pole weapon.]

 Chapter 510 - 510

    <strong>(Author''s Note: Have to do this, sorry. For those who don''t like skill details and the like, you can skip this next part. I''ll try to keep it short, but remember that you''re reading a litrpg. This is part and parcel of the genre, and cannot be avoided.) </strong>


    ----------------------------------------------------------------


    Darius skipped the newly learned Double Casting skill as he nned to raise itter, after getting some practice with it. Rather, he focused on selecting a slew of very useful spells and upgraded them to a reasonable level.


    Now that he had taken his important spells to the max of their tier, he could invest in other skills in the future, like Time Skip and more.


    Darius then moved on to Gunner.


    [Name: Gunner


    Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood)


    ss: Vanguard


    Stage: Adept


    Subss: Anti-mage


    HP: 160,000/160,000


    MP: 3,362/3,362


    STA: 16,400/16,400


    Level: 41


    Exp: 0/4,100


    Strength: 400 (300)


    Agility: 200 (100)


    Endurance: 400 (300)


    Intellect: 82 (80)


    Willpower: 2,300


    Charisma: 50


    Luck: 100


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Indifferent.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0 (302)


    SP: 15 (323)


    Active: Engage - Lv.60 (41), Earthen Stomp - Lv. 60 (41), Earthen Punch - Lv.60 (41), Earthen Lariat - Lv.60 (41), Omega Blow - Lv.60 (41), Eraser Cannon - Lv.60 (41), etc


    Passive: Energy Ward - Lv.100, Mana Ward - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Weapons Mastery - Lv.1, Unarmed Mastery - Lv.100 (5), Earth''s Guardian - Lv.100, Extreme Speed - Lv.100 (80), Spirit Barrier - Lv.100 etc


    Abilities: Unlimited Power (Advanced), Ultra Instinct (Advanced), Immortal Body (Advanced), Mind Power (Basic), Morph (Basic), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    [Engage - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: As a Vanguard, you must be able to stand at the forefront of battle and pave the way for your allies. This skill aggroes all enemies within 9,500 (6,500) meters of the user.]


    [Earthen Stomp - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2000 (1000) MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your legs as you destroy the area around you with a grand quake. This damages an area of 12,000 (8000) meters around the user.]


    [Earthen Punch - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2000 (1000) MP


    Description: Possessing an affinity with the Earth element, channel its power into your fists as you deal more damage to armored orrger enemies. This skill deals 6,500% (4,600%) blunt damage.]


    [Earthen Lariat - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2000 (1000) MP


    Description: Channel great amounts of pure Earth Energy into your arms, rushing forward to strike your foes with a powerfulriat. This deals 4,126% (2,986%) earth damage.]


    [Omega Blow - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2000 (1000) MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a ball, throwing it out in apressed form to explode on impact. This deals 6,192% (4,482%) earth damage to a single target.]


    [Eraser Cannon - Level 60 (41) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2000 (1000) MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a beam, sting it out at any angle within 2000 meters. This deals 8,256% (5,976%) earth damage.]


    [Mana Ward - Level 100 Skill (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists magical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 100%!]


    [Basic Martial Arts - Level 20 (1) Skill (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the fundamentals of the priceless Martial Arts long lost to history. With your fists and footwork, bedazzle and overwhelm any opponents who stand in your path. You deal 100% (25%) martial damage when you fight without wielding a cold or hot weapon.]


    Done with Gunner, Darius moved onto X.


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso


    Race: Elf (Royal Blood)


    ss: Cleric


    Stage: Journeyman


    Subss: Divine Maiden


    HP: 11,500/11,500


    MP: 20,500/20,500


    STA: 4,715/4,715


    Level: 41


    Exp: 0/4,100


    Strength: 100 (65)


    Agility: 150 (100)


    Endurance: 115 (100)


    Intellect: 500 (300)


    Willpower: 6700


    Charisma: 100


    Luck: 300


    Physical Status: Healthy


    Mental Status: Excited.


    Affection: Friendly lvl max


    AP: 0 (300)


    SP: 0 (315)


    Active: Holy Divine Blessing - Lv.60 (41), Holy Divine Ward - Lv.60 (41), Holy Divine Summoning - Lv.56 (25), Purify - Lv.19, Deep Purge - Lv.60 (41), Holy Divine Restoration - Lv.60 (41), Contain Evil - Lv.60 (41), Mega Cure - Lv.60 (41), Ultra Heal - Lv. 60 (41), etc


    Passive: Divine Sight - Lv.45, Light''s Chosen - Lv.50, Pure Body - Lv.100 (50), Pure Soul - Lv.100 (50), Pure Spirit - Lv.100 (50), Aura of Life - Lv.10, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100


    Abilities: Limit Release (Intermediate), Super Instinct (Intermediate), Woman of Steel (Intermediate), Advanced Psychomancy (Master), Metamorph (Intermediate), God''s Chosen (Advanced).]


    [Holy Divine Blessing - Level 60 (41) Spell (Max)


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 200 (100) MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Lightbined with the Divine Life, grant any allies 60% (41%) increased Health, Mana, and Stamina regeneration as well as a 20%(11%) increase in magical damage and resistance. Targets also gain a 10%(1%) increase to physical damage and defense.]


    [Holy Divine Ward - Level 60 (41) Spell (Max)


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 400 (200) MP per target


    Description: With the power of the Divine Light, encase yourself in a shield that resists 60% (41%) physical and magical damage. It also has a damage threshold of 60,000 (41,000) points, in which it would only disappear once this is reached. A sub shield is born that recharges the HP of the main shield by 20%(1%) every minute.]


    [Deep Purge - Level 60 (41) Spell (Max)


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 300 (150) MP


    Description: Expel all filth and dust from the surface of any living or non-living target and refresh them internally. This also increases their health slightly, strengthens libido, and kes thirst. It also removes any hidden defects in the body that are embedded into the flesh. The maximum amount of targets per cast are 60 (41).]


    [Holy Divine Restoration - Level 60 (41) Spell (Max)


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 200 (100) MP


    Description: Channel Divine Light mixed with Divine Life into the body of any living being to replenish 60%(41%) of a target''s Health, Mana, and Stamina. Each cast fortifies Defense by 10%(1%) to a maximum of 100%(10%). This spell can continuously utilize its main effect per second for a total of 10 seconds.


    Note: Cannot be used on the self.]


    [Contain Evil - Level 60 (41) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 400 (200) MP


    Description: Channel the purest Holy Energy to create a field of repulsion around the user to any chosen target/location. All entities with a moral alignment of Chaotic Neutral and below, all entities possessing nefarious intent, and all entities affiliated with darkness and death will be blocked. Up to 10 (6) wards can be created.]


    [Mega Cure - Level 60 (41) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 200 (100) MP


    Description: Channel the Divine Light into the body of a target, curing them of any infection, ailment, or poison. Complete restoration is assured, and there is a 60% (41%) chance that the target will have their resistances to said ailment increased permanently. It also grants a 25%(5%) chance for a target to gain a positive evolutionary trait hidden in their genes.]


    [Ultra Heal - Level 60 (41) Spell


    Cost: 1000 (500) MP


    Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to bring replenishment to their lifeforce. This restores 100% of a target''s total HP and permanently increases their HP by 20%(11%). It also permanently raises Endurance by 25%(5%) for the first time each month.


    Note: Does not work on those affiliated with the Supreme System.]

 Chapter 511 - 511

    [Holy Divine Summoning - Level 56 (25) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1,000 (25) MP per summon


    Description: Establish a connection with the source of Divine Light and call down an Avatar to fight for you. The maximum power of each avatar is 56% (25%) of your own.]


    [Pure Body - Level 100 (50) Skill (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your body has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all Darkness and Death element attacks as well as any and all ailments by 100% (50%).]


    [Pure Soul - Level 100 (50) Skill (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your soul has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all curses, soul attacks, and soul interference by 100% (50%).]


    [Pure Spirit - Level 100 (50) Skill (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your spirit has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all psychic attacks, illusions, and mental charms/suggestions by 100% (50%).]


    Done with X''s changes as well, both she and Gunner reacted strongly to their increased stats and power. No one wouldin about feeling themselves bing stronger in real-time, so the two left with wide smiles on their faces.


    Darius then focused on his own matters.


    He blinked from his room to the area outside the oasis where there was endless sand for as far as the eye could see. The hot sun was zing down on thisnd, scorching it mercilessly and raising the ambient heat.


    Darius observed his surroundings calmly before checking the Stone to Mud spell which had automatically appeared in his mind after he had discovered the Material element.


    [Stone to Mud - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 1 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 10 meters around you containing stone to mud or mud to stone as long as you have unobstructed earthly contact to it. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per meter and the effectiveness of the construct is 5%.]


    Darius then activated the spell to test something. He felt the mana leave his body and pass through his feet and into the ground, but it did nothing to the area around him.


    Darius was not surprised as the spell was literally named ''STONE to MUD'' not ''SAND/SEDIMENT to MUD''. Clearly, he needed a solid form of earth that was present in most other ces or a damp/waterlogged earth.


    He wasn''t bothered by this as he raised a finger and released a sharp spray of water. He was using one of his old basic spells that hadn''t had much use until recently, Pulse.


    This was the basic spell of the Water element that allowed him to use a little amount of mana to turn his finger into a tap, a fountain, or a high-pressure jet of water depending on what he needed.


    He paused after making a small part of the sand extremely wet and soaked. Sand was porous water filtered through really quickly, so it took quite a bit to make it muddy.


    Darius activated the spell once more and felt it take hold of the mud immediately. He felt like he was mentally connected to it, and could easily reshape it based on his whims and wishes.


    Before he began, he felt the connection deeply, and the rules that controlled it. He was tethered to the mud with a single string of mana that acted like a data cable.


    It would feed instructions from Darius'' mind to the mud. A conversion urred somewhere along the line that allowed the thoughts of the caster''s mind to affect the mud.


    This Darius could not urately sense, but he felt it had something to do with thews of Faust and the overarching mechanics behind the Material element.


    He felt this out for a bit before actually reshaping the mud. He didn''t need to use his eyes to see that the mud was rapidly transforming into something else. From what was a mere puddle, a miniature tower was made.


    It was done in seconds and Darius didn''t put much focus into it. He opened his eyes and observed it to see that it was nondescript and very in. Apart from the general cylindrical shape topped with a conical tip, one would not be able to tell that this was supposed to be a tower.


    Darius then copsed the creation - which he noted was done instantly - and began again. This time, he pictured an ornate tower with such vivid design and detail that even the best sculptor would need weeks for something this small.


    In a matter of seconds, Darius received feedback in the way of ''taskplete'' and opened his eyes with surprise. He gazed upon the creation that was 100% as intricate as he imagined, of the same size as his previous creation.


    If Darius presented this to anyone as a sculpted material, he would instantly be a sensation among relevantmunities, whether it was on Faust or on Earth.


    Darius knelt down and inspected it thoroughly, using his fingers as well. He noticed that it was solid and firm, not brittle at all. It was as hard as one would expect a simple rock to be.


    He knocked it a few times while limiting his strength to the average and found that it showed no cracks. Its durability was average. Should he use more power, it would likely break open, so his idea of using mud to create defenses went down the drain unless he raised the spell to a higher level.


    However, there were already many Earth element spells that would allow him to manipte whatever, y, sand, humus, or rock to be shields, walls, or domes as it was the traditional fighting style of Earth Mages.


    Stone to Mud was not meant to fulfill that purpose. It was a change of the fundamental properties of one material to another, akin to a discount Transmutation.


    So, its true powery elsewhere. It did not havebat utility, or much of it, because that was not what the entire element was created for.


    As such, Darius'' next test was crucial to see whether the Material element was truly something worth investing in.

 Chapter 512 - 512

    With a calm expression, Darius snapped his link to the mud, removing his mana tether. The next moment, the construct trembled for a bit, yet it remained in existence.


    Darius'' eyes gleamed as he reconnected his tether to it, and reached for the base of the construct. He then willed the bottom to separate, which allowed him to easily pick up the mini stone tower from the ground and bring it to face.


    It was perfectly solid, and he performed durability tests on it once more. Darius was able to ascertain that this creation had obtained permanence, not even requiring any energy to be sustained in its current form.


    Darius breathed out lightly, suppressing his excitement and once more raising his evaluation of the Material element. He made his conclusion as he still held the mini-tower in hand.


    The Material element, as he was informed by the Laws of Faust, was one for development first and mercantilism second. It was not meant forbat though it could be used for such, though the results would not be satisfactory more often than not.


    Taking Stone to Mud as an example. When one thought of this, you would picture a skilled mage snapping his fingers and creating stone houses to reside in, or creating defenses to contain himself or trap his enemies with ease.


    That was itsbat utility assuming one developed the skill high enough. That same caster might even make earthen spears that could strike enemies in the back using the mud behind them.


    However, that was a waste of the spell''s true utility.


    With enough proficiency, one could turn useless mud into the most intricate sculptures of art. With enough proficiency, one could turn mud into stone weapons, and sabers, arming an entire town to fight against a foe.


    The true power of the Material element was permanence.


    Anything created using it would not disappear once the mana supply was taken away. It would continue to exist as it was till it naturally expired.


    Why was this such a big deal?


    After all, Earth element users should surely be able to do something simr and much more efficient and streamlined since it was their element in question, right?


    Well, the obvious answer was no!


    While Earth element users could do something simr, their earthen walls and the like onlysted as long as they fed it mana.


    It would crumble the next moment when the energy was cut. Itcked permanence. It had to do with how both elements worked.


    The Earth element took a user''s mana and filled it into the earth, using it to shape and reshape whatever they were working with. Whether humus, y, or whatever, it would stay humus, y, or whatever, it would not change into something else.


    It could only be manipted to be harder, sharper, faster as long as the Earth element user moved their mana ordingly. Once they retracted their mana, that creation would return to its inanimate state.


    In a way, you could say Earth element stuff was a special form of necromancy. You granted ''life'' to segments of the earth for a while and when that power was taken back, it return to the dead.


    That flow of mana was its skeleton. Take it away, and it became a bag of immovable ''flesh''.


    On the other hand, the Material element took a specific item and changed its fundamental moleculesposition into another. So even if you took your mana back, it would stay the way it was.


    Whether you built a stone house or a stone fort, it would exist in perpetuity even after the caster died, as long as it was not manually destroyed, rather being left to nature.


    And all it took was a little bit of mana to do this.


    Just like now, Darius held this mini tower construct that could sell for a good amount of currency regardless of where he sold it, especially if his targets were nobles who appreciated art.


    Even if Darius had been the weakest and most useless bloke before today, he would have suddenly acquired a means to enrich himself.


    Of course, the value of this would go down as more and more people would awaken to the Material element and also use Stone to Mud to create various things.


    However, Darius was not bothered. Faust was far too big for there to ever be enough natural awakeners. It was like how there would never be enoughwyers, doctors, or teachers on Earth.


    The scope of what they provided was so epassing that at some point in a human''s life, they would absolutely need the service of someone in that profession.


    It was the same here.


    If Material element users were to congregate in one kingdom or continent, then yes, business would be slightly troublesome for the individual as they would be forced to fight for their market share.


    However, if one considered the entire Faust, they would be a drop in the ocean. What was important was not fighting over small areas but expanding as far as they could to create their own markets and rule them.


    Darius knew what he was going to be doing for the next month. He already had the framework of a few Intermediate grade spells for the Material element in mind, and would begin work on them asap.


    He now knew how he was going to handle his faction of moneymakers. He would take his own advice and assign them to various ces in Faust to make use of the spells he would create to create markets and own them.


    In order not to harm the faction as a whole, each of their zones would be demarcated and they would be forbidden to reach out of it unless Darius explicitly gave them permission. That would prevent internal unrest in his own faction, butpetition would be allowed.


    As they all would have simr starting points, values and nurturing would be given to those who were able to develop faster and earn more.


    This kind of healthypetition would keep the factions alive and strong.


    With these ideas bouncing about in his head, Darius casually blinked back into his room and sat down in a mediative position.


    It was time to create the first new spell in the just discovered element!

 Chapter 513 - 513

    Over the course of the next month, Darius had worked tirelessly on creating many new and innovative spells for the Material element across all grades. As long as the idea came to mind, he would systemically work on it with the help of Miranda.


    This had also allowed Darius to gain his first experience with creating Master as well as Grandmaster grade spells, which should definitely help himter on when he reached those stages.


    At that time, making spells of that grade for other elements would be far easier for himpared to others who would have just reached that stage.


    This could be considered yet another hidden benefit of bing an Element Discoverer.


    Some of the spells he made were as follows;


    [Water to Oil - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing water of any purity into various types of oil (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    [Air to Water - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of air molecules to water of any purity (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    [Earth to Metal - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 500 meters around you containing any type of earth to metal of any type (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 500 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 500%.]


    [Flesh to Stone - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Master


    Cost: 500 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 2,500 meters around you containing any form of organic flesh to any form of stone (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 2,500 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 2,500%.]


    [Energy to Element - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Grandmaster


    Cost: 2,500 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 12,500 meters around you containing any form of ambient energy to concentrated elemental extract of any purity (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 12,500 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 12,500%.]


    Just these examples proved that the Material element still had hope, especially under the hands of Darius. What should have been average spells became monsters after passing through the elitist hands of Transmutation, now able to show utility far beyond what even Vena had intended.


    For one, Darius had managed to actually break an important rule about the Material element and its spells easily, which was the fact that only one subtype or a few more could be selected for a change.


    For example, Air to Water should have only allowed him to change specific particles in the air, not anything and everything. To reach that kind of all-epassing level, one would need to pay up in cost of the spell and would have extreme difficulty actuating it.


    However, Darius had been able to do so thanks to the help of Miranda streamlining the path and his own ''increased'' talent with the element assisting him. When one added the fact that the final spell was Static Transmuted, it was no surprise that it reached the pinnacle of what it could do right away.


    His status as an Element Discoverer allowed him to break the rules and create Master and Grandmaster spells, yet the Supreme System was relentless in limiting him to his own stage''s grade.


    It was truly a shame, since Darius could already imagine the sheer utility of Flesh to Stone. One would be able to turn their enemies into statues with ease, or turn a piece of stone into a human body or otherwise and use a Spirit element spell to puppeteer it.


    Heck, if one was trapped underground for months, one could use this spell to create the body of a female and relieve themselves, then transform it back. There were many other uses that would present themselves in dire situations.


    There was also the Grandmaster grade Energy to Element. This was Darius'' crowning joy, and it alone had taken two weeks of his time.


    This spell would allow him to take any form of energy; heat, light, kic, potential, and transform it into the pure essence of any element, like fire, water, wind, earth.


    These extracts could be refined by native Faustian of various kinds to increase their affinity with said element!


    You only had average talent with the Ice element? No problem!


    A one-time session with Material Element Grandmaster Bothstar and his Ice Extract, and your affinity will rise!


    As one could imagine, these Pure Elemental Extracts were exclusively found in rare ces like thete floors of high-rank Dungeons or their equivalent.


    It was not in healthy supply at all, and the demand for it was voracious.


    Darius had also made some of it previously to sell, though in low quantities, since it hadn''t been cheap in terms of CP.


    However, now that it was possible to use the Material Element to make it, he was ecstatic. All it would cost would be some mana and vo, Pure Elemental Extract of any element!


    He could then Static Transmute it for barely any CP to increase its quality to the usual Supreme standard, thereby creating a perfect product for the lowest possible cost!


    Over the past few weeks, Darius'' mentality had greatly shifted, especially towards Transmutation and the Material element. He no longer saw it as a waste since he had something better, but appreciated it as the perfect tool for him to maximize his gains.


    Create something with the Material element at a passable quality using only mana --> if necessary, shape it better using other means like science or thebs he had --> Static Transmute the final product to eliminate any hidden ws and achieve perfection of quality for less than 1 CP on average!

 Chapter 514 - 514

    Darius sighed and put the other spell manuals away. It would be time to develop on them when he returned to Safemoon triumphantly, something which he was looking forward to more and more by the day.


    Gunner and X were extremely restless at this point, and even their beloved anime and the like could no longer satisfy them. When he told them they would be heading to the Test of Mettle, the duo audibly sighed making Darius extremely amused.


    Darius then took the Branded Duo with him as they teleported through Ludo. He had to admit, having more than 7 times an increase in his maximum travel distancepared to when he was a Journeyman was wild.


    Before, they had not felt any of the shifts they had made. It was akin to having blinked only to end up in apletely different ce. The world had practically been moving around them without touching their bodies.


    Now though, there was a slight bit of feedback, though given their stats it wasn''t ufortable. Rather, it was strangely awe-inspiring, like that subtle moment when a roller coaster was moving in slow motion, approaching the pinnacle before it would go crazy.


    That kind of feeling.


    But the time they reached their location, X and Gunner were slightly breathless, the anticipation, anxiety, and slight fear were throbbing in their systems, making them feel alive and aware like nothing else before.


    The two were smiling foolishly, feeling exuberant. Darius was also smiling, but his was more normal as he had ridden many roller coasters with his family.


    He then focused before him to see that they were in the middle of arge city that was extremely bustling. It was quite spacious and actually cleaner than the average Ludoian city, its scope of architecture surpassing all the others.


    Even more amazing was its breadth of life. Hundreds of different races from all over Fallon were walking up and down here, either wearing the local garb to mingle in or wearing their foreign wear despite the heat due to their high Endurance.


    As one could imagine, Darius and his posse soon attracted attention. After all, it wasn''t every day three fellows of different races and heights came together, garbed rather uniquely on top of that.


    "Wee, good sirs and madam, wee~! Is this your first time in Shariah?" An enthusiastic voice addressed them the right, presenting itself to be a middle-aged man with arge paunch.


    He wore white harem pants with a cotton t-shirt and a white jacket. His fingers were wreathed in various rings and his mustache gleamed with oil. He wore a stylish white turban on his head, and his wide smile showed only friendliness and a bit of silliness.


    Whether you liked it or not, your first impression of this fellow would be slightly good, feeling a bit of amusement at his looks and his antics.


    The perfect kind of person to greet newbies.


    The fellow stood before Darius and was startled for a bit. "Oh sorry, sorry, I didn''t know you were a local. Coming back from a long trip?"


    X was startled by this im, then gazed at Darius. She then noticed that Darius'' caramel skin color did match the residents here, even being the same as the man who had greeted him.


    Apart from his outfit, Darius did look like if he wore their local attire, he would perfectly fit in as a local, even though he looked too androgynous. Then again, he certainly couldn''t be the only pretty boy among the Ludoians.


    X turned to Gunner and saw that the half-giant too was the same. He had the same caramel-colored skin as Darius, which was why theirbo had been so striking before X joined them.


    As for her, she definitely would not be confused for a local with her short stature, elfin beauty that no human could possess, sharp ears, and fair skin that was cream-like.


    Darius simply smiled as he stretched out his hand. "I wish I could have been born on such a lovely continent, but truth be told, I hail from Fallon. Same for mypatriot here, Gunner, and my aide, X. The name is Darius Stone, and I''m the Lord of Safemoon."


    The fellow nodded and shook Darius''s hand lightly. "That''s right, how could I not introduce myself? I am Shamael Bucktowar and I am the District Magistrate for the Central District of Shariah City, capital of Ludo!"


    When he introduced himself, he puffed his chest out. Darius and co. found it amusing, but they paid him lip service by gasping in awe, making the fellow twirl his mustache with satisfaction.


    "Right Lord Stone, you say you are the Lord of Safemoon? That''s great! We have a special program where foreign nobles canˇ­ a special programˇ­ whereˇ­"


    Shamael started with vim and gusto, swept up in his usual charismatic side until his brain finally caught up with the conversation and processed the meaning of Darius'' words.


    He then shuddered as he gazed at Darius, narrowing his eyes. The other simply pulled his sleeve up and revealed his HoloBrace. Shamael shivered and raised his own sleeve up, showing one of the standard edition HoloBraces.


    He thenmunicated with it, a child AI informing him that he was indeed interfacing with the central HoloBrace making the other party the Lord of Safemoon. This made Shamael gulp as he realized a huge bigshot had paid them a visit this time.


    He was extremely d within that he had been the first to greet Darius'' group then decided that they looked unique and important enough for him to receive them, especially since he had a bit of free time.


    If someone of a lower caste had dared to receive them and made this bloke unhappyˇ­ Shariah would not be able to bear the cost.


    "Greetings again, Lord Stone. To what do we owe the great honor of our grand continent hosting such an important person?" Shamael asked as he quickly regained his bearings and wore his amiable grin once more.


    Darius smiled, but his former amusement was not present. "Oh, it''s nothing much.. I just came here to participate in the Test of Mettle."

 Chapter 515 - 515

    "The Test of Mettle? Haha, of course, of course!" Shamael answered immediately, surprising Darius with his mild reaction. Even after a couple seconds, he didn''t show any change.


    Was it not a big deal for an outsider to participate in what should be a sacred rite of their people?


    Shamael noticed Darius'' questioning nce and saw fit to answer with a grin. "Ourst Desert King perished in the Insect Invasion, and it has been more than 8,000 years since then."


    Shamael beckoned to Darius, leading him and his group towards a nearby pce. "As you can see, the state of Ludo has fallen greatly since then. There was a time when we were recognized as a powerful continent rich with minerals, yet now we''re the weakest and poorest continent, mildly rich in minerals."


    "This is due to the absences of a Desert King. That title holds more weight than you as an outsider might understand. Rather than just a political leader for us, such a person is a spiritual and military leader as well. He has the power to control all the sands of Ludo, regardless of distance or location."


    "On Ludo, such an ability would make him into a Godking at the least. He can shaft the sand in ces to create homes for us, he can extract precious minerals for us to trade with other continents and he can protect us from threats beneath the sand by forming tight defenses around the settlements."


    Shamael pped his hand, making a set of guards who stood outside the pce open the double doors on either side with a bow as he led Darius and his two Branded Servants in.


    "The power of the Desert King is not limited to just this, but there is no need to borate further, you get the gist."


    Darius nodded. The importance of the Desert King was not lost on him. Krona had gathered little information about Ludo during the time it had a Desert King because he could sense EVERYTHING on the continent.


    The moment one entered the range of the sands, he would sense you. Krona and his spies had often been rebutted from going in, though not rudely.


    Apparently, the Desert King was a True Lord level figure.


    Darius was participating because he wanted to see if the option to be a True Lord would be presented him and what exactly it was that made this ss of people superior to all others.


    "It has been 8,000 years, Lord Stone. Time has flown and things have degraded. Even those who may have felt rebellious towards an omniscient existence like the Desert King back then would probably cry his name out in pain."


    "We are bleeding. We desperately need a recement, but the world is strict. Only someone who passes the Test of Mettle can be the new Desert King." Shamael exined with a sigh. "If you prove worthy, you won''t find any opposition, only support from us."


    "In the beginning, you can be sure that we only allowed those who were considered royalty or nobles among us to participate. After centuries of failures, we lowered the requirements to lesser nobles."


    "This trend continued and as things became worse and entire noble families copsed, what remained decided to open up this option to every Ludoian.


    "s, none had proven worthy. About a century ago the top brass officially gave up and opened it to everyone." Shamael finished as he gestured to avish couch that was big enough for Darius'' group.


    Darius sat down calmly while Gunner walked to stand behind him protectively with his arms folded behind his back, just like when they were kids. X looked left and right with confusion before shuffling over to stand beside Gunner, clutching her staff and wearing a tough expression that only made her look cute rather than menacing.


    The room was well decorated and possessed many small windows. The windows were open, allowing one to see the rest of the bustling Central District. The breeze was extremely good up here, and there were various matsid on the floor with various colorful designs.


    There was an incense burner that wasn''t lit, probably for opium or some other type of narcotic drug for Shamael to enjoy either with his concubines or important guests.


    Seeing as Darius came here for the Test of Mettle, Shamael didn''t bother to offer him some. Now was not the time for such a thing.


    "Since you''vee here to challenge it, let me inform you of the rules and the timing." Shamael began as he got himselffortable.


    "Firstly, the Test of Mettle can be entered at any time by anyone. There is no opening session or time limit in that regard. There is also no limit to the power of the person that can enter."


    "Some of those Elysian Gods have tried, only toe out burned." Shamael stated with a hint of disdain.


    "Secondly, the Test of Mettle is not abat test or a skill test as far as we can tell. It is, as the name applies, a Test of Mettle. Only those with the will to carry on when all else crumbles before them can qualify to be the Desert King." Shamael buttressed with a stern look.


    This did notfort Darius, but rather made him frown. He understood that it was essentially a test of willpower, but his issue was that how could it be possible for not a single one to have passed out of hundreds of billions of candidates over a span of 8,000 years, especially when even Gods had tried?


    Just how tough was it? Darius didn''t doubt him having a strong will, but he definitely was not the toughest person out there. He had the will to preserve when things were looking bad, like with Vena bringing him back to life to y like a monkey, but he also had a limit to his will.


    There were things he could not endure and lines he would not cross, not to mention that he had the heart of a merchant. If things were truly not looking good, he knew when to bend his back and wait for an opportune moment to strike, instead of fight back valiantly and charismatically.


    This made him unsure if he fit the criteria of the test, but he didn''t mind anyway. He was mostly here to see how it worked and if he could qualify. If it failed, he had another way to take over Ludo.... one far less peaceful.

 Chapter 516 - 516

    "Thirdly, we usually schedule attempts into the Test of Mettle once a day. It''s the best way to keep order around the test site and also monitor those who enter."


    "It would be a bit troublesome if one were to suddenly seed and flee the continent or something else without taking up responsibility." Shamael calmly pointed out.


    Darius agreed internally. It would be quite the problem if one seeded and decided that they would use this power how they liked instead of how they should. Especially if it were to enter the hands of an enemy, that would be problematic.


    But ah, because of their dire situation, they cannot say no to anyone who wished to enter on the very slight off-chance that they might have just denied a potential sessor to the Desert King.


    What an ugly situation to be in.


    Darius couldn''t help but think this with an amused smile. He then crossed his legs in a gentlemanly manner before gazing at Shamael.


    "I understand most of these rules and was prepared for them. Is there anything special to note?"


    "No, that is mostly it. We had many more rules, but they were all eliminated naturally over the years. If you''re in a hurry, the next session of the Test of Mettle should beter today, in the early afternoon. You can look around the city if you want or wait in my pce until then." Shamael offered with a wide grin.


    Darius pondered for a bit and rose to his feet. "We will take a look around to make some purchases in the Central District, then return here when it is almost time."


    Shamael rose to his feet and bowed with gratitude. "You have my thanks for your consideration. Please, ept my daughter as your guide during your visit. She''ll make sure to prevent those miscreant peddlers from ying their games."


    Darius smiled softly. "That won''t be necessary, Shamael. Have you forgotten who I am? Hahaha."


    Shamael smacked his own face. He had treated Darius like one of his usual contacts, a rich noble without much life experience, but who was Darius?


    The Lord of Safemoon, the haven of mercantilism!


    He was a man who had organized the greatest auction in the entire world! The top echelon of each and every continent had been in attendance, with goods so expensive that he had set his own standard of pricing.


    How could someone who fought against big guys lose to these small guys trying to make a living?


    "Hahaha, my bad! In that case, I wish you a good shopping experience, Lord Stone!" Shamael genuinely wished the other as he bowed once more.


    Darius also made a bowing gesture as he left the pce calmly. The guards eyed him for a bit, but when Gunner red at them, they paled and looked away.


    The Itemancer led his group into the streets. It should be noted that almost everyone here was peddling something or the other. The houses were arranged behind neatly and orderly, but in front of them were kiosks and stands of various sizes that contained goods.


    One could see either the father or mother of the nuclear family handle the shop, while the kids yed around on the street with makeshift balls and the like.


    It was messy, it was noisy and it was very lively.


    To Darius, it felt quite nostalgic. In his younger years, he had been sent to East Africa to learn how to trade by his father. In his father''s own words, there were no better traders in the world than the Arabs.


    An Arab trader could sell you something for a slightly higher price and make you feel like you have cheated him dearly, even making you think of him as a friend. Their skill and charisma was unmatched.


    Darius had learned this truth during his few years living in the suburbs of East Africa. He had learned all their tricks and even used them himself for a while,ter refining them into his own set of mercantile skills.


    Darius saw a store peddling trinkets and walked over with interest. He and his two Branded Servants had more than 100 points of Luck, with X at a whopping 300.


    He had yet to take advantage of their high Luck in this manner for a while, using it mostly to avoid more critical dangers with the Spiritual Senses.


    He remembered that even when he had less than 100 points, he would find rare and precious items in any shop he visited that could only be imed because he had Analyze to see them for their true worth.


    Heck, even Da, that natural-born Paragon of Luck in the First Order, had possessed heart-throbbing items in her possession that were only released because she had met with Darius who had equivalent Luck.


    As Darius had recently learned through God Krona''s library, when two people of simr Luck met, it canceled each other out and everything reverted to factory settings.


    Now, he stood before this stall that was manned by a man wearing a light grey turban and a purple vest that was worn over a grey thaub. He smiled enthusiastically at Darius as he introduced his goods one by one, but neither Darius nor Gunner paid him any mind.


    Darius was analyzing the goods one by one, while Gunner was ring at the fellow, making him begin to stutter unsurely. Only X felt the need to listen to him so that he wouldn''t feel embarrassed or ufortable.


    Darius noticed that while some items were special, none stood out like the ones he had acquired when he had been weaker. He guessed that there was something significant he did not understand about how Luck worked in this case.


    And it was the truth. Luck worked rtive to a person''s power, needs, and status. The kind of things Darius needed or wanted at his current stage could not be easily found in a market stall in Ludo.


    This was a ce with poor Luck, and there were no conduits for his Luck to present him with opportunities like Foldo or Da.

 Chapter 517 - 517

    Darius wasrgely unimpressed by the disy here and decided to move on. He went through stall after stall looking for something unique and rare, but ended up drawing a nk each time.


    In truth, there were some special items that would have been treated as trading trump cards by him in the past. However, their value to the current him was not that great.


    There wasn''t anything there that couldn''t be created through a small investment of CP and at a higher quality to boot.


    Still, Darius ended up doubling back and buying them anyway. Why? Because he had the money, he had the space and he had the time.


    Even if they were useless now, they could prove to have some useter. What made him change his mind was him noticing his growingcency.


    It was not too hard to notice. Darius was a calm person, yes, but he was also very cautious and very patient. He hadn''t lost much of his patience or calm, but his caution had diminished greatly.


    He could trace it back to when Vena had let him know through Caesar that his Quests going forward would not be fatal or soul-destroying like he had been told in the beginning.


    In fact, the entire situation had changed for him. Caesar had let slip certain facts that led Darius to the conclusion that Vena had bigger ns for him than simple ''entertainment''.


    She had recruited his soul because he was special, calm, intelligent, and patient, even having created Faust for him to organically umte power before - possibly? - joining her side as a soldier, general, or some sort of special forces lieutenant under her.


    That was if the power of a Supreme was enough to fulfill such roles for a Goddess.


    Before, Darius had been living on a bed of nails, taking every step while considering whether it would please or amuse Vena. Since Vena had never made herself known nor penalized him for anything, Darius truly believed that Caesar had twisted her words in order to create that atmosphere.


    Another cause for his growing adaptation to Faust was the presence of Deia. Now that his deceased wife had been reincarnated here, Darius was no longer in much of a rush toplete Vena''s goal and rather build up power in Faust so that he could reim his wife and live with her once more.


    If we were to use the Insect Invasion Quest as a guideline, Darius could technically challenge the next Quest right now after raising his level and using some Events to top up his stats.


    However, he had no ns to, even having the time and will toe here to Ludo in order to partake in a strange test.


    It should be known though, that he wasn''t going to change any of his current ns. He would stick to his n for he still felt it was most appropriate, but he would also concentrate on creating more failsafes and backups as he did before in case any situation went awry.


    Like now, he chided himself for his mentality that items were not worth his time. As long as they had useful effects, he bought them. He still had hundreds of thousands of Bags of Holding in hisrge Inventory, so he could easily store them without a problem.


    When he was done, he took his Branded Servant duo looking around the city. They only shopped in the Central District as a favor to Shamael, but they partook in the food and culture of the entire city at their leisure.


    Eventually, they returned back to the Pce of Shamael where the fellow was eagerly waiting for them with about half an hour left until the Test''s opening.


    "Great, great! I have already handled all the processes for your participation! Please follow me!" Shamael offered as Darius nodded, the group following the short fellow to the back of the Pce where a portal was set up.


    They walked through it and found that they were out of the city, in the middle of a - surprisingly - rocky outcrop. The ground was a dirt red color, with many jagged rocks around, a huge mountain range extending in the background.


    Darius noticed that they were in arge circr clearing, wherein the centery a tower that was quite short. Around the tower were hundred so people of various ethnicities and races gazing at the construct with a mixture of anxiety and desire.


    Around these people were those like Shamael, dressed in much the same fashion, all wearing different expressions as they gazed at each other, ignoring the candidates they brought.


    Shamael though, did not abandon Darius'' group, which made his other fellows surprised, their eyesnding on Darius as a strange light flickered.


    "Lord Stone, this is where the Test is held. Within this building is a special spirit that was created by the first Desert King in conjunction with the Laws of Faust, the Trial Spirit. It''s the being in charge of holding the test and will also judge whether any who challenge have passed the criteria necessary." Shamael exined slowly with a wide grin.


    Darius gazed at the tower and calmly Analyzed it.


    [Tower of Spirits - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Description: This is a tower that was created by the First Desert King of Ludo, chosen by the Goddess Vena, and the Laws of Faust in order to carefully select the sessors to the Desert King title. It is designed to test Mettle, Will, Fortitude, Justice, and Vision. Only those who pass the five tests will be granted the right to be the acting Desert King.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. He turned to Shamael. "Are there any other tests apart from the one that tests your Mettle?"


    Shamael blinked with surprise. "Not that I know of. As far as we know, there is only the impassable Mettle test, which is why it is called the Test of Mettle."


    Darius smiled softly towards Shamael. "Thank you for sharing this with me."


    He then turned to face the tower with a strange glint in his eye.


    ''Now thisˇ­ is going to be interesting.''

 Chapter 518 - 518

    "System, generate an Event for the Test of Mettle." Dariusmanded while folding his arms behind his back.


    [Request received by System.]


    [Analyzing parametersˇ­ Establishing criteriaˇ­ Setting rewardsˇ­ done!]


    [Event generationpleted!]


    [You have self-generated an Event. Please check the Event details below.]


    [The Desert King Trials - Event


    Duration: 24 hours.


    Description: The Desert King is a person who controls Ludo both spiritually and physically! With the power to control every inch of sand and sediment on the continent at will, his power puts him on the forefront of True Lords inside his domain.


    The selection for a new Desert King is quite tough and has stringent requirements on the mind of the sessor, not their power or talent. That, they would get in spades when passing, so the only possible weakness of the future King must be a strength!


    Event details: Pass all the tests and be the new Desert King!


    Event rewards:


    - If Test of Mettle passed: 100 Ability Points, 100 Skill Points.


    - If Test of Will passed: 200 Ability Points, 200 Skill Points.


    - If Test of Fortitude passed: 300 Ability Points, 300 Skill Points.


    - If Test of Justice passed: 400 Ability Points, 400 Skill Points.


    - if Test of Vision passed: 500 Ability Points, 400 Skill Points.]


    Darius was slightly surprised. Was the Supreme System trying to say that passing the Test of Mettle was both objective and subjectively easier for himpared to discovering a new element?


    Well, Darius thought about it and agreed. As far as anyone was aware, the Test of Mettle was not fatal. You fail and youe out, but you don''t get a second chance.


    Discovering a new element was fraught with danger. Without his Spiritual Senses or Miranda, Darius would have likely blown up 90 times of out a 100.


    Still, the way it had been hyped up by others, he had expected it to be more difficult than this if he was understanding things properly. His first disappointment was that there was more than one test, though he was not sure why no one knew about this.


    It could be that no one had truly passed the Test of Mettle, and so did not learn what came after because they did not need to know, but Darius doubted that.


    Sorry, it was hard to believe that among so many attempts, there was no one with enough Mettle to pass. Otherwise, how could previous Desert Kings have existed?


    Surely, they too must have been selected from somewhere? Exactly.


    So this led him to a second hypothesis. The Spirit inside the tower either erased the memories of those who failed when they came out, only letting them know of the first test, or it swore them to some form of secrecy that prevented them from talking about it.


    As for why, Darius did not know.


    His best guess was that it might want to prevent targeted preparation. After all, if one knew what the tests were called and what they were about, they could go on honing themselves for it.


    Just like how if one knew their final Economics test was on Demand and Supply, they would study for that specifically, forsaking all else in the hopes to pass.


    So the Spirit of the tower wanted someone with naturally/organically strong will, fortitude, justice, and vision. In that case, Darius doubted that the first test was hard, but the subsequent ones would surely trap all challengers.


    The fact that he was aware gave him an unprecedented advantage, and it was all thanks to his Itemancer ss once again. Darius smiled as he patiently waited for the test to begin.


    Naturally, he informed Gunner and X of the same, giving them the same advantage as him.


    Soon enough, the remaining time passed. The candidates to enter the tower had been arranged by the time in which they had arrived. Their ''escorts'' watched them walk in one by one, their faces calm and bored.


    They had harbored great excitement in the beginning for sure, hoping that just one of these fellows would be the one toe out the Desert King and turn their lives around.


    However, after so many years filled with nothing but failure as well as disappointment, they had given up. Their fathers, their grandfathers, and even beyond had all gone through the same thing.


    Their sons too would do the same, starting off nervous and excited as they led candidates in, thinking that they might break the chain and be the one.


    That naive hope would be crushed after years of witnessing failures, bringing them to the sobering reality that even if it were to happen, it would not be them, nor would it likely even be during their lifetimes.


    That was supposed to be the case, but there was one of them who was actually looking hopeful. This shocked the others as they approached him after his candidates had entered, inquiring on who they were and why they made him feel confident.


    Shamael stroked his mouth arrogantly and showed his HoloBrace. The others looked confused and mimicked him, showing their own HoloBraces. They thought he was going to forward some confidential information toward them, but he scoffed and insulted their Intelligence.


    He then pointed to his HoloBrace, then pointed to the tower. The group looked at the contraption then back at the tower. Shamael then pointed to all their HoloBraces, to his own, and then to the tower.


    At that point, they were able to clue in what he meant, and their faces greatly changed. Many hurriedly inquired from the Martin AI as to who the creator of the HoloBrace was and received the answer; the Lord of Safemoon.


    When they learned this, they were speechless then expectant. Could the Lord of Safemoon actually seed where others had failed? They would rather bet on such an illustrious character than the random nobodies they shuffled in each time!


    As for Darius himself, after entering the tower he reached a floor where there were hundreds of cushions ced on the floor equidistantly from each other.


    In front of each cushion was an incense burner with a stick of incense within that was yet to be lit.

 Chapter 519 - 519

    Darius saw that there were enough seats for everyone, and the others noticed the same. As such, none got into an unnecessary fight over where to sit and chose their cushions freely.


    Darius chose one to the side with Gunner to his left and X to his right. They all sat down at the same time and entered a meditative posture.


    Once all the candidates sat down, the door to the tower closed softly, and the candbras within lit up. The incense burners suddenly sparked as the incense within took fire and began releasing its fumes.


    Strangely enough, these fumes seemed to angle themselves towards their specific user''s nose or general breathing organs specifically, not wafting around the room.


    Soon, many felt their eyelids be heavy. To the amusement of Darius, many wore ferocious expressions as their bloodshot eyes showed that they absolutely refused to sumb to this sleepiness.


    It was apparent that those assumed this to already be the Test of Mettle, resisting this ''sleeping'' incense. However, Darius doubted this, so he paid the others no mind. He simply closed his eyes and let him sumb to the beckoning darkness.


    ...ˇ­..


    Darius woke up in the midst of a sandy desert. There were endless sand dunes as far as the eyes could see, and the sun was scorching hot, zing down upon him mercilessly.


    He checked his Status and was happy to see he had retained all his powers and abilities, though the Supreme System bluntly told him it would not offer its help during the trials as they were held within the mind.


    Darius was fine with this, as long as he hed ess to all his magic, his Dragon-rted abilities, and his knowledge. Transmutation, the System Brand, and certain abilities were not essible since the Supreme System controlled those.


    One of these abilities was both of his sses, Itemancer and Magus. He could not use Analyze nor Combine and Swap, and he lost his ability to instant cast. Any magic he used would have to be done traditionally, like the average Faustian mage.


    This intrigued Darius, as he pondered while the sun came down on him. He looked around and released his Advanced Psychomancy ability to scan the area around him.


    As far as his senses could reach in all directions, there was nothind but endless desert and sun. This made him raise an eyebrow as he subtly began to understand what was going on here.


    As far as he could tell, he was in an endless desert that had no other life but himself. This seemed to be the setting for the Test of Mettle.


    Darius smiled andughed slightly. ''How devious. No wonder so many failed, no wonder!''


    He then looked around and began focusing on his magic. He went through the circuits for the Stone to Mud spell which was also second nature to him since he practically ''owned'' the Material element.


    Even the Lightning, Spirit, and Space elements that Darius had more than average natural talent in were not as fluent to him as this element.


    This way the Magus created a simple one-room cottage with a window-opening and a doorway. He entered inside to avoid the scorching sun and nodded when he felt the cool shade.


    His Endurance allowed him torgely ignore the difort, yet it didn''t fully eliminate it. Especially since it would build up over time and return to feeling how it should if one were a mortal.


    The cottage was bare as one would expect, so he channeled the same spell and created a table, some chairs, a bed, and a bookshelf. Darius frowned as he rubbed his chin, pondering many things.


    "This will be difficult and time-consuming, but it will be worth it. There is much to gain here and I cannot let this chance up." Darius murmured with conviction.


    He walked out of the cottage, gazed at an area near the cottage, before using the Stone to Mud once more to create a huge dome-shaped building that drained almost 20% of his mana.


    Well, Darius'' disadvantages from overreliance on the system were clear. What would have taken only 1 point of MP under the System rules had taken him almost 5,740 MP.


    However, Darius was shocked to learn something else. When using magic without the Supreme System for the Material element, he had a full range of control!


    To put it simply what was a level 1 Stone to Mud for Darius through the Supreme System was level 20 (Max) Stone to Mud under the Faustian System.


    No wonder being an Element Discoverer was such hot stuff!


    No wonder people regrly killed themselves in the pursuit of discovering one!


    During their lifetime, they would be unparalleled within that element. It was worth any pain and hardships if that was the case.


    However, the Supreme System had clearly blocked such a thing using its usual excuse. It had even greatly nerfed the power Darius should have received from his now Dragon blood.


    Darius'' eyes lit up. Since the Supreme System was not here, it should mean that organic growth was actually possible.


    The power he should have received from various things outside the system should be active and most importantly... could be grown!


    Darius chuckled. There was so much to explore about himself and his power, and he had the perfect setting to do so.


    However, first things first, he cautioned himself to follow a set n and not jump onto every new idea like a witless child.


    Darius checked the dome he created and nodded. He then walked within and used Stone to Mud to clear a hole within creating arge basin.


    Rasing a finger, he cast the basic spell of the Water element, Pulse. Unlike with the Supreme System where a torrent came out, only a little flow sprouted from his finger, like a weak tap.


    Darius smiled bitterly.


    It wasn''t that the spell was weak, nor that he was weak, but simply that hecked proficiency casting this spell without the Supreme System. This was a problem easily solvable, he just had to repeatedly practice until he mastered it.


    Just like how he had made Ash and co.. master their spells and show him, now it was time for him to do the same to reach perfection.

 Chapter 520 - 520

    Darius'' current situation was neither strange nor unique, despite being an Adept. All Faustian mages were able to unlock a new element every time they climbed a stage.


    Some unlocked one, some unlocked two or more. It, just like the number of elements one awoke with, depended on a myriad of factors that could be summarized and substituted under one word. ''Talent''.


    Now how would a Journeyman mage who awoke with a single element go about adapting to another after climbing from the Amateur stage? The same way as every other mage did it, no matter their stage.


    Just like Darius was doing right now, they''d all learn the Basic spell of that element and practice it.


    Of course, the difference between an Adept doing so and an Amateur doing so, was that the former had greater stores of mana, allowing him to practice longer. The Adept would also have more expertise with magic and a higher Intellect.


    The same went for Darius. His progress with the spell was astronomical and he was able to grasp the fundamentals in mere seconds given his above Grandmaster level Intellect.


    Soon, he easily sted outrge volumes of water into the basin, creating arge pool of pristine, sparkling water. Darius was satisfied by this and exited this dome.


    Outside, he created many more domes and square buildings of various sizes, some small and somerge. He fully embraced his Stone to Mud spell as he experimented with what he could make and how to make it.


    Soon, a small territory was carved out by him in this random desert in the middle of nowhere. As he had exhausted both his main mana pool and surplus mana - which existed thanks to his Draconic blood - he decided to take a rest in his cottage.


    Darius was not tired per se, but he wanted to spend some time thinking. He generally nned to use this opportunity to hone his magic and practice it without the interference of the system.


    He also wanted to create more spells for the Material element and utilize it as a recement for Transmutation. He was aware of his reliance on Transmutation to solve many issues, but he did not regret that, as it was his most powerful tool.


    Not using it would be foolish, but this experience would allow him to create a backup in case something like this ever repeated itself out there.


    After reaching here, Darius sat down and focused. He noted that he did not have Miranda here, so he would experience significantly greater difficulties and consume more time creating any spell.


    The worst part was that he couldn''t actuate any of his uing spells, because he didn''t have Transmutation to perfect them so that they grew 5x better than their peers.


    In other words, he could only create the theory and general outline of the spells, as well as innately test them. However, he could neverplete or cast them, otherwise, they would enter his repertoire without being boosted.


    This was useless for his current situation but would benefit him greatly once he went out. For now, Darius spent most of his time practicing the Basic spells of all elements excluding Order and Chaos for obvious reasons.


    He especially dedicated time to the Life and Wood element, since they were crucial in his n to terraform this desert biome into something less harsh and hostile.


    Darius'' first foray to resolve this was creating a brand new Journeyman spell of the Material element, something which took him 3 months and a lot of pain to aplish.


    By the time he was done, he was utterly speechless and very solemn. Darius had greatly underestimated what the average Faustian had to go through when creating even a single spell.


    He had Miranda to chart out routes and simte them using his magicalwork, so A LOT of time and calctive effort had been saved for him. This was something Darius had been aware of but had not experienced firsthand.


    After tasting it, he could confidently say that he respected all those mages who had actually survived such a gruelling process, even if they ended up creating shitty spells.


    Don''t forget, Darius still had the help of his Spiritual Senses, so it was impossible for him to explode when making a spell as long as he was patient and listened to it.


    The reason his spellmaking had been so smooth had been abination of Miranda making calctions and progression extremely fast and his high Luck making the dangers of progression almost disappear as long as he rigidly adhered to it.


    Thisˇ­ put a significant dent in his n going forward.


    "Or does it?" Darius chuckled to himself.


    Darius wasn''t one to say something stupid like ''overreliance on tools makes one weak''. The whole reason why the human race could rise above superior predators was the clever use of tools and natural gifts.


    A tool was a tool, made to be used until its value was no longer sufficient.


    What caused those who ''relied'' on tools too much to fail was not the act of constantly using the tool, but oftentimes not understanding the situation, nor the limitations of the tool.


    It was a subtle difference.


    Someone who would use a tool to solve all their problems, would form a belief that it was limitless and could not fail, only to eventually be proven wrong. The lucky ones would live and learn their lesson, but they would be a minority.


    However, if one used the tool with the knowledge that it would one day not be enough, there was no problem.


    Whatever the case, his n wasn''t as hampered as he had feared. He would just need to invest a lot more time and effort going forward, but that was fine. The goal was worth it.


    Darius thought to here and patted his knees, stretching his body from his meditative position. He did not have the Supreme System with him to disy it, but after using it for so long, Darius was used to its method of showing something.


    So his mind worked on its own and conjured what should be a 90% urate representation of the spell he had spent so long developing.


    [Sand to Humus - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of sandy particles to humus of any kind (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0..1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]

 Chapter 521 - 521

    This new spell was important to his ns going forward, disgustingly so. To show that, Darius immediately began burning his mana turning as much sand around him into humus, or dark earth.


    One moment it had been porous and heat trapped sand only to turn into semi-porous and nutrient-rich soil that could be used to grow crops. Darius made sure the area around which he had built his settlement was turned to humus first.


    This took him the whole day and even with his huge manapool, a few rests to recover due to wastage.


    Darius did not have ess to his system Inventory for obvious reasons, so he could not pull out one of the many potions he had created and tossed into a slot oh so long ago.


    This was fine for him, as he regarded this as his chance to learn how to conserve mana. Therger his pool, the more he wasted, but conversely, the more he could practice with.


    The more he could practice with, the better he got and the faster his efficiency increased. His high Intellect at the Grandmaster stage meant that without the system, his ability to grow and adapt to magic was at its peak for a human.


    Darius finished his task by the end of the day and decided to rest properly. His bed was still made of hard stone, which was less thanfortable as you could imagine.


    Unfortunately, he had never bothered to create a spell such as Stone to Pillows or Stone to Cotton, otherwise, he could shapeshift himself a bed. The best he could do was make the stone there as soft as he could without making it fully mud-like, otherwise, that would beˇ­ yeah.


    Darius slept and woke up eight hourster, ready to begin anew. It was just about morning and the sun had yet to fully rise. The area was freezing cold due to how temperatures in a desert biome worked, and he left his cottage with a look of interest.


    Darius gazed at the humus which had settled, then his various domes. He began drafting a n, but still needed some one or two extra spells to achieve what he had in mind with ease.


    However, his other base ns did not need to be postponed. He walked to hisrgest dome which housed his huge pool of water and cast Stone to Mud.


    He then created small circr pipes made of hardened stone under the sand and walked over while casting to connect them with the various domes and his own cottage.


    And just like this, he had created a preliminarily piping system in the desert.


    Near the humus, he created a huge stone water tank that stood high up and created a pipe that flowed downwards into the soil and split into equidistant rows.


    He had created a preliminary irrigation system for his future crond.


    Darius went into another dome that was half the size of the previous one and created a huge cubical underground stone tank that waspletely sealed off except for one pipe that led to another dome by the side of his cottage that was extremely small, as well as many other pipes that convected to the area under the humus.


    He had created a preliminary fertilizer and waste management system.


    Once done with this, he paused for the day. He returned to his cottage and delved into his mind, entering a meditative pose as he diligently worked on two new spells that would be crucial going forward.


    By the time four months had passed, he was done with both of them. Compared to the initial three months Darius had taken, he was adapting to creating spells of lower grades fasterpared to his Intellect.


    Even with a Supreme System, it was ludicrous to expect a Grandmaster Mage to take months to make mere intermediate grade spells. It may seem impressive to us, but that was because wepared Darius ording to his official stage, not his stats.


    In terms of stats, he was atrocious and abhorrent, but the beautiful thing was that such a thing could easily be fixed.


    All he needed was time.


    His two new spells were;


    [Sand to Polymer - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of sandy particles to polymers of any kind (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    [Pebbles to Seeds - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of small stone or sedimentposed particles to viable seeds of any kind (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    These two spells were a great breakthrough in Darius'' survivability while in this realm. The first one was even moreso than thetter, and the Itemancer was shocked he could even get it to be this versatile!


    The ability to create any kind of polymers with his mana was absolutely crazy given his circumstances, and here''s why;


    A polymer is a material containingrge molecules made by bonding a series of building blocks called monomers. Natural polymers include wool, cotton, and silk. The utility of these should be obvious, given that Darius had just beenining about a hard bed.


    However, the true killer were the synthetic polymers artificially created by humans that were applied in so many areas of life that people didn''t even notice that if polymers were to disappear one day, society as a whole would copse.


    Examples of synthetic polymers included; Polyethylene, Polyester, Acrylics, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polypropylene (PP), Rubber, Teflon, Nylon, Silicone, Hydrogel, etc.


    Of course, to the uninitiated and those not really savvy with such things, most of these names drew a nk while some sounded familiar because they were so integral that it was hard to miss them.


    So what exactly were each of them used for?

 Chapter 522 - 522

    1. Polyethylene - Basically stic bags and wrappings. The stuff that is killing the ocean on earth.


    2. Polyester - Basically water and wind-resistant stuff. It''s the stuff that makes up things like raincoats and the like.


    3. Acrylics - Two-fold utility. The first is the aesthetic stuff like acrylic paint, nails, and LCD screens and the second is adhesives like the almighty super-glue among others.


    4. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) - One of the core building materials in the world. It is used for pipes, for sliding doors and windowsills, and even IV tubes for hospitals.


    5. Polypropylene (PP) - One of the most household rubbers. It is what ismonly sued to make thermostics. This covers a wide range of uses, but a simple one every knew were microwaveable stic bowls/tupperware.


    6. Rubber - This one needs no exnation.


    7. Teflon - an anti-adhesive polymer which was a good instor. Was normally used in a wide range of fields, but a more domestic example is non-stick frying pans.


    8. Nylon - a superstrong silky fiber that is generally found in umbres, socks, and ropes, etc


    9. Silicone - Used to make paints and sents. Also, some used it for sexual purposes due to the texture that was simr to human skin.


    10. Hydrogel - Basically hydrophilic polymers that could absorb and hold a substantial amount of water while maintaining their structure. Used in hair gel, toothpaste, cosmetics, etc.


    These materials could be used to better his constructs and life. After all, while stone could work for most things, it was simply not all-around versatile and would be extremely inefficient at certain things.


    Immediately, Darius created a soft cotton mattress with a woolen sheet. He also changes his stone chairs to stic ones and considered his next steps.


    Darius could create ceramic and ss using traditional means. He had fire magic to heat the minerals that amide up these two materials and had the ability to create the minerals with the Material Element.


    However, he could so simplify things and create two spells for them, allowing him to create custom and intricate ceramics of all kinds and ss of all types with just an infusion of mana.


    The choice was obvious here.


    Before going back to start work, he changed all the piping to PVC and used his Stone to Metal spell to rece most of the stone containers, pools, and the like to relevant metals.


    Darius entered his third dome, and breathed out deeply. He was grateful he had been rich and long-lived on earth, for it allowed him to learn many things which most earthlings felt were unnecessary.


    One of them was how to create generators to generate electricity on a small scale. Darius could not manage an industrial-scale one without Miranda to handle the immense calctive work based on his knowledge to reverse engineer it, but small-scale ones were easy.


    His Stone to Metal allowed him to create any type of metal, so copper, which was important for many electrical applications and especially generation, was in great use here.


    Darius created 100 Kw Generator first, and set its functions to rely on diesel as fuel. He still had his water to oil spell, so the production of diesel was not a problem for him.


    When he sparked it out and ti began working, he smiled with happiness. There was a lot more for him to do though, so he got to work making enough generators to fill this dome.


    He also made sure to air it out so as not to overheat the generators. To best do this, Darius used the Blizzard spell within the dome, but at a low output. He then sealed the entire dome except for the output cables that went under the earth and connected to his cordage among other things.


    He then created seeds of various fruits and vegetables like lettuce, cabbage, onions, and more. He then nted them and activated the water thank which he had filled with clean water from his Pulse spell.


    The seeds were irrigated slowly but surely, and Darius left them alone for now. Rather, he spent the rest of his day using Stone of Mud to create huge basins outside his settlement territory, and then filled them up with water.


    Today alone, he created more than enough water to create a small sea for sure.


    He gazed up at the sky with a smirk, his eyes narrowing coldly. The heat from the sun had never relented for even a second, and even the humus he made had almost been baked dry, cracking at ces.


    If he didn''t set up the pipes to water the humus before he nted the seeds over the past four months, the entire thing would have been ruined.


    In a desert biome, the most hostile enemy was the sun and its heat. If he wanted to turn this ce into a miniature paradise, he would first have to alter the climate before his attempts to terraform thend could be even remotely sessful.


    Darius then folded his arms and walked back to his cottage. To get the next stage of his n working, he would need to enter ''seclusion'' for a longer while this time.


    Darius spent 6 months creating three new spells for the Material Element, and oh how useful they were to him.


    [Sand to ss - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of sandy particles to ss of any kind (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    [Stone to Ceramic - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of stone or sedimentposed particles to finished ceramic of any kind (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    [Stone to Wood - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of sandy particles to wood of any kind (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0..1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]

 Chapter 523 - 523

    With the ability to make ss, Darius right away created windows for his cottage that were heavily tinted so that they could regte the sunlight that poured in.


    He also created windows for many of his sealed domes, even going as far as to rece some with thick ss entirely, rather than stone. He also created a greenhouse around his crops so that they would flourish better.


    Speaking of, many had long since sprouted and some had even be ready for harvest. Darius was happy to include lettuce, cabbages, tomatoes, onions, and more to his diet.


    He then created a metal construct that was shaped like a warehouse. Within this building, he created a special room made of metal that was set to be his cold room.


    He ced the perishable goods in there and then created a receptacle in the middle of the room. Overcharging his mana by using channeling, Darius created a football-sized ball of ice that he ced in the receptacle.


    Darius then cast a rtively weak blizzard in the room that created a cold atmosphere, then sealed the cold room, not allowing the cold air to escape.


    Darius then went to his various water sources and refilled them as they were going low after so long. They managed tost so long because their depth and volume had truly beenrge.


    Before he continued, Darius disyed a very satisfied smile. He blinked to the edge of his settlement and saw that the huge ponds of water he had made had long evaporated due to the constant heat.


    He looked to the sky and noticed that there were more clouds hovering about. Some were still around while others had been blown slightly farther away, but Darius didn''t mind.


    He notice that the sand around the area of the settlement had be strangely soaked and denser. Darius had been quite busy during meditation, but he was aware that it had rained more than a few times during his stay indoors.


    The climate of the desert was bing chaotic as more and more factors were being introduced into the biome causing a change. This time, Darius was ready to introduce the biggest one yet.


    The Itemancer reced many of the metal and stone constructs with wood, like the water towers as well as the bookshelf in his cottage, his table, and chairs, etc.


    He also created many light bulbs for the nighttime using his metalmaking, and connected them with wiring from the generators which had been calmly running all this while.


    He had created a huge pool of diesel beneath the dome that housed the generators like how filling stations had huge tanks underground. Then he connected pumps to the generators that would allow them all to pull directly from the source slowly.


    Darius used his ceramic-making abilities to make tes, pots, and various tools, and especially a toilet. He created toilets and linked them to his intricate waste system, finallypleting it to some extent.


    However, since he had hardly released waste from his body thanks to his high Endurance, it wasrgely empty. Darius rented and refilled everything that should be refilled.


    Since he had ess to a wide array of materials, he reced any of his setup systems with the appropriate materials that were used on Earth.


    Once done with this, he walked out of the settlement area and expanded the stone wall''s range slightly, allowing for the addition of more plots. He then created an intricate walling system that was ornate for aesthetic purposes.


    Outside his settlement, he looked around and saw that the rest of the desert was a bit awkward. Some parts were soggy like mud and drying up while some parts were still sandy and hot.


    In the soggy parts, Darius created a batch of tree seeds and tossed them there. Among the seeds were Peach, Mulberry, Apple, Citrus Fruit, Apricot, Mandarin Fruit, Cherry, and Fig.


    He then made sure to water them and create an entirely new irrigation system just for them, though he connected them to the already existing waste system. He didn''t do this in just one spot, but any spot with sand that had been slowly changed by the rain.


    It took him three days to achieve his work, and he smiled by the time he was done. Darius felt like he was a God right now, creating from (almost) nothing and designing an entire biome using his own power.


    Done with this, he returned to his cottage and sat in a meditative pose. He wasn''t going to create new spells, but finish his practice with all those he had already made.


    Darius nned to invest at least 3 years to manually master every spell he had stuffed into his Inventory. This included the basic spells of all elements and the Intermediate grade spells of various elements.


    He was currently meditating to get his mind in the right form. He then began with the spell he used the most but had shockingly never mastered, Blink. One would think his most frequent basic spell was Sparks but that was wrong.


    Blink was something he used often, even while he was here. Darius meditated upon the path for Blink and realized the ws in his casting that caused him to require more mana, among other things.


    After noting the problems and how to fix them, he began practicing directly by blinking out of the settlement repeatedly. Each time he did so, he discovered a new problem that hampered his progress and would adjust it on the spot.


    Now that he was actively looking to improve his magical prowess and dedicated all of his mental resources to it, his progress was lightning fast, especially concerning Basic spells.


    He charged through most of them practicing and learning them until he felt like he had reached the very limits of their power. Without the Supreme System to invest SP into a maxed basic spell to upgrade it, this was the limit.


    Like this, Darius continued to make up for his failings in the past.. Despite his own estimation, he ended up taking around 5 years before he was done with his task.

 Chapter 524 - 524

    Darius remained unchanged physically. He was aware that even if he could grow older in this realm, it meant nothing. After obtaining the bloodline of the Dragon Ancestor, his lifespan was so plentiful that he had a feeling that Faust would cease to exist before he met a natural end.


    Darius woke up today on hisfortable bed and walked into his manor''s bath. In this past year, he had constantly made small changes to his living area to enhance and optimize everything, and his small cottage had turned into a seasoned Lord''s manor.


    The reason he didn''t do this all at once was previously because he didn''t know how. He had needed to rely on his perfect memory to remember how things were like and how he saw things done, before experimenting himself until he could replicate it.


    Darius bathed in his makeshift jacuzzi that worked using electricity and various pumps, rxing in the soapy water. How did he get soap? Well, it was actually one of the easiest DIY products to make.


    He extracted Sodium Hydroxide from brine and turned it into lye water. He then mixed various oils and fats with it to make some basic soap. The initial types were basically standard, but he had slowly learned to experiment and managed to add unique scents by using the fruit of the trees he had nted.


    Once done bathing, he pulled the plug and let the water drain through the pipes, passing through the settlements'' sewage system that was now intricate and even spread outside its walls to affect the rest of the desert.


    Darius tied his now shoulder-length ck hair into a ponytail. He might not look older, but his face had changed slightly, bing more refined and handsomepared to before where he was androgynous handsome.


    He had to guess that it was mostly due to his Dragon Ancestor bloodline given free reinpared to its suppression under the Supreme System.


    He snapped his finger and let the winds of this world dry him up with ease. Darius had long since achieved the fabled One-Word Cast ability that should be exclusive to Grandmasters. While this might be impressive, he was someone who was actually used to casting without making a single motion except maybe pointing his finger.


    As such, he had created his own Single-Step Casting Method, where one chose a trigger for their spell and used it. In this case, he chose snapping his finger for it was quick and easy.


    Darius then used the Intermediate spell Cleanse on the bathroom, instantly eliminating all grime and dirt from the entire room as if a bunch of maids had been hard at work for hours.


    Darius went downstairs and entered his personal storeroom which also had a freezing chamber. He took out some vegetables that were chilled up due to the way he mimicked a cold room.


    He then went to his kitchen and cleaned out the materials slowly and methodically. He still had his level 1 Cooking skill from his early days when he had been in the wild and made a khebab, but had long progressed further after years of experimenting.


    Darius also took out some flour and rolled it up into noodles after following through with the correct processes. He then put his vegetables on boil while he finished up the noodle dough.


    Using salt and some spices he acquired from his ntations, he seasoned his vegetables before throwing them into a pan with vegetable oil, frying them. He soon amped it up by adding his now-boiled noddles into the mix.


    With some extra spices and a bit more oil he zed the noodles over and whipped up a te of stir fry noodles with vegetables.


    He enjoyed his meal as he drank pure water with it. When done, he casually disappeared from his seat so silently and perfectly that it would spook even another Grandmaster.


    After all, when one used a spell from the Space element, there would usually be some ripples in space. However, Darius made no such sensation! It was like his entire existence was sucked in another location by the world itself.


    Darius checked on the various facilities. Hisrge stock of water was still going strong, but he filled it out of habit. Darius then moved to his generators which had grown in size and number over the years.


    Now, he kept them in a well-cooled location with enough distance from each other. He also made sure to rece any worn parts without even opening the machine, simply using the Material element to rece that part with a brand new version of itself.


    So not only did they look new, but they functioned as if they were new too. Darius refilled the diesel in the underground once more. He frowned at the inefficiency of his energy generation, but shook his head.


    Since it cost him nothing to make, there was no problem yet. Besides, now that he was done with his training, his next act would be to go to the next step and optimize everything to perfection.


    He had long noticed that the Material element, while useful, came at a hidden cost that one would not notice during a short period of time, but would notice only after longer periods.


    Namely, the sustainability of original materials!


    For example, his spell Water to Oil allowed him to make various oils from water or water from oil, though it was obvious which direction Darius used it in. So when creating the diesel just now, Darius had to consume water to make it.


    This was fine since he could ''create'' water using mana through the basic spell of the water element, but it was not so simple in other cases. Especially regarding metal.


    His spell there was Stone to Metal. Now, he had a lot of stone thanks to his earlier exploits and it was easy to make some using the Basic Stone to Mud.


    However, to make stone, he first needed mud. To get some he would water any piece of sand and turn it into mud for his spell to work, which was how he got it to do what he wanted all this time.


    However, the issue was with how much he had created... sand was thinning out!


    In fact, Darius had underestimated how continuous use of the Material element would drain on the natural resources of an area, allowing him to nearly use up all the sand in this desert!

 Chapter 525 - 525

    Truthfully, it wasn''t very bad, nor should it have be this bad anyway. However, what had expedited the process of the depletion of what was arguably his main and most precious resource was his own actions of terraforming.


    Darius walked forward, each stepnding on the air in front of him as if invisible steps existed that took him higher and higher into the firmament. Soon, he was walking solidly on the air high above the settlement with no conceivable effort as he gazed around.


    Outside his little settlement, one could see endless ranges of trees and forest that went on for miles and miles in every direction. He was practically surrounded by it.


    Beneath these trees were fields of grass that carpeted the entire area for more than 20 kilometers in all directions. Most of these trees were bearing fruits like apples, peaches, and so on trees, forming an orchard in many ces.


    With his careful nurturing over the years, it had grown expansively. Darius turned to check those huge pools of water he had created only to see that they no longer existed.


    They had been filled up by earth, the water inside long turning into rain that spread itself over the entirend. In fact, there were some clearings within the surrounding forest where the water had gathered into small pools.


    Now this was great, because the climate around his settlement hadrgely stabilized and be much better, but there were many problems that Darius noticed which could cause adverse reactions he couldn''t even predict.


    Firstly, he now had to traverse more than 20 kilometers to gather any amount of sand needed for anything. This was not a problem as long as he used Blink, as he only needed five jumps to make that journey.


    Not too many things needed to be generated from nothing except the diesel which was why he was unsatisfied with his method of energy generation. For most other things that were fixed, he only had to shift them back to their opposite and then change them back to fix things.


    For example, if he was fixing a faulty metallic part in a generator, all he had to do was turn it off, transform the weary and offending party to stone, and then right back to metal.


    No loss of quantity and when it was changed, it would retain its purity thanks to the power of the Material element and mana. This made it infinitely sustainable, at least as long as apetent Material element user was around.


    It was resources that were consumable/depletable that was a problem.


    Thanks to the Pulse spell, water was not a problem and it could produce the oils he needed through the Water to Oil spell, meaning that even though diesel was consumable, it would be renewable to infinitum as long as he possessed mana.


    The crops too were fine. They had formed their own system thanks to the good soil and the endless supply of clean water as well as sunlight. When harvested, their seeds could be taken to nt the next generation of crops, the extras were also nted in new spots to expand his fields.


    Now, the harvest could likely feed an actual town with ease. Not to mention he had added a variety of products in order to expand his pte with the help of his Pebbles to Seeds spell.


    The second issue guing this world, was theck of aplete ecosystem. It was a terrible defect, because everything here had been artificially created. There was no real nature, and everything would crumble in months without Darius'' input.


    Yes, there was a forest, but it was devoid of any bugs, rodents, or birds. Could youprehend how horrifying such a deficiency was? Bugs were needed to pollinate flowers and fruits, rodents would form the bottom of the food chain in the forest floor and allow predators to exist while living off the produce of the forest.


    Birds were the most important, as they provided music and life to a forest. Not to mention that when they flew around they introduced new elements from other developed ecosystems to this one, allowing the entire ecosystem to adapt to new changes and progress.


    So as you could imagine, without these, the entire world was deathly silent. When it was nighttime, the trees would sway in the breeze that was created from their processes that now made this area quite fresh and windy, but it would sound ominous to the ears of the knowing.


    However, it was even more chilling because one knew that there was nothing there at all, no evil trees or ghosts or the like hiding in the dark. After all, that was the problem, apart from some artificially created and maintained trees, there was NOTHING.


    This wasn''t something that bothered Darius as it sort of resembled the divide between the world and the Divine de. In fact, Darius sometimes took a stroll through the ominous and dark forest calmly in order to feel something.


    He saw it as training his mettle by adapting to the situation, the challenge lying in not easily losing his sanity, Nevertheless, as strong as his will was, Darius was beginning to feel the negative effects of long term istion like this, especially since he knew how absolute it was.


    However, this should be impossible right? Even in Ludo, an actual desert continent, there were oases here and there, such ces had wildlife that migrated from elsewhere.


    So with such a big forest popping up here, there should be a slow migration of wildlife from all ces until it became full. That wildlife would thenplete the ecosystem and the forest would expand on its own without Darius'' input.


    And that led to the third problem, which was the direst one.


    This world was not natural, normal nor perfect. It was a mirage realm made in - likely - Darius'' mind which allowed him to use all his abilities. It was just a desert, but one that was endless.


    So his sand problem wasn''t really a problem, he would just have to go out further and further to get more sand, but one could say that this world was like a sandbox that expanded infinitely based on the distance he traveled.

 Chapter 526 - 526

    This issue was a big one. It meant that there would never be a natural ecosystem, not in the truest sense. If Darius wanted wildlife to exist, he had to create it somehow.


    This was an issue of such difficulty that he couldn''t even describe it to you. Darius may have ess to the Spirit element, but one could not create souls out of nothing.


    Perhaps the Element Discoverer might have created a Grandmaster or Divine grade spell of such a nature, but it was impossible for others. The best one could hope for was to manipte or control already existing souls, which was the traditional use of the Spirit element.


    Like with the Material element, Darius wasn''t able to create an item or material from nothing. He could only change one from one state to another. That was just how the various elements worked.


    To curb this, Darius hade up with an idea, a crazy one. He wasn''t sure if he should attempt it before entering the next stage of his n, because if it worked, it could change things for him.


    Darius walked down to the settlement and entered a certain building which had been shaped like ab. It even had all the various tools he would need. He had long since created it to experiment on various things, and now he would be performing his biggest experiment to date.


    Theb was powered by generators, and most of the machines were not automated since Darius could not create software. There was a limit to his skillset, otherwise he would not need Miranda for many things.


    Most of them were controlled using his Advanced Psychomancy. Despite seemingly moving on their own, they were moved by Darius'' mind, though in a way, this made them more efficient than automated ones.


    Darius took a deep breath before making the machines retrieve a block of stone. They ced it on an experiment table before Darius and shone a light there while the brightness in the rest of theb got dimmed.


    Darius then focused and began casting a spell above his stage that he had never attempted before. He knew the pathways for it as he had made it himself, so he traversed them and put in the perfect amount of mana as stipted by his own guidelines.


    After 5 years of practice, he had perfectly mastered every single Basic spell of every element manually with the exception of the ones belonging to the Order, Chaos, and Aether element, as those were done internally due to their problematic costs.


    He had also mastered the Intermediate spells he had learned for every element, especially those he had learned during his first 5-year break after the ins of Death Quest just to fill his arsenal.


    This included spells like; Fireball, mepir, Water Jet, Rain Clouds, Void Cut, Void Split, Time Forward, Time Reverse, Gravity Push, Gravity Pull, etc.


    Unfortunately, as he hade here right after bing an Adept, meaning he didn''t have many Advanced spells apart from those he had upgraded. This blunder pained him, but he had ways to rectify it once he returned to Safemoon.


    So you could say that he now had reached the level of supremely talented Adept mage that was unprecedented on Fallon. However, he was jumping above his stage to cast something that should be beyond himself.


    That was right, Darius was aiming to use a Master grade spell!


    Now, under thews of the Supreme System, he had been barred from the following;


    1. Create any spell above his stage


    2. Use any spell above his stage!


    The only exception he had found was for rule #1, in case he became the Element Discoverer.


    s, even after he did create a Master grade spell, the Supreme System would only let him look at it but not touch!


    Fortunately, the Faustian System had no such restrictions!


    You were free to create a and cast spell of any grade at any stage, provided you had the necessary talent and mana respectively!


    So then why didn''t anyone do this?


    Why hadn''t Darius done this over the past 5 years?


    Well, the answer to that should be obvious.


    If creating a spell tailored to your own stage was already fatally dangerous, meddling with higher grade spells above your stage was a surefire way of turning yourself into a blood bomb.


    There were so many reasons why this was dangerous, but there was no need to go into them as long as the rule was understood, the danger of casting above your stage was fatal for most.


    What gave Darius confidence to try this was multi-fold.


    - His Draconic bloodline gave him unparalleled magical and elemental talent


    - His Intellect was nearing 500 points, more than double the base needed to ascend into a Grandmaster (200 INT ¨C as a human baseline)


    - His expertise with magic after dedicating himself to it for the past 5 years


    - His status as the Discoverer of the Material element, which gave him great advantages in spells of that elementpared to all others


    If even one of these were missing, Darius would never attempt something so dangerous and risk ruining his chances for the Test of Mettle. It should be obvious, but if he died in here, he would not die on the outside, but he would certainly fail.


    That was why he hadn''t dared to practice around with Order and Chaos especially.


    Now, he was bravely trying to use a Master grade spell, one that would solve all his problems if he was able to master it to perfection and achieve perfect conversion.


    That''s right, the spell Darius was trying to use was Flesh to Stone!


    As long as he could create flesh, he could create a variety of methods to solve his issues, from something as simple as diet to something asplex as ecosystem survival and development.


    Darius passed through all the correct circuits in one practice swoop with the perfect amount of mana. Not only did he create the spell, but he also transmuted the finished version and even read the skillbook.


    It meant the knowledge of the skill and how to perfectly cast it was in his head but he simply had no practice with it.


    Darius activated the circuit without hesitation, and the mana flowed through in a blitz as it activated ''Flesh to Stone''.

 Chapter 527 - 527

    Darius had expected many things before he took on this risk, ranging from his body''s explosion, part of him ending up crippled, all to way to a lucky sess. However, he did not foresee the possibility of the spell simply fizzling out in failure without suffering any repercussions.


    Well, perhaps it could be considered a sess in its own way, since he hadn''t suffered bacsh?


    Nevertheless, this brought up the question of why did the spell not activate?


    The provided mana had been of perfect quantity and the routes it had passed had been calcted to be perfect.


    Darius could only stand there and parse what happened over and over again in his mind as he tried to make sense of this oue. When he reached a preliminary conclusion, he had a strange expression on his face.


    As far as Darius could tell, he should''ve exploded. He possessed the entire knowledgebase of the Great Library of Krona, including its restricted section, and he had ratified that memory. Now that he dug through for simr urrences, he found that Krona had detailed something simr.


    Apparently, pure-blooded Dragons, Phoenixes, Fae, and some others were immune to all forms of magical and elemental bacsh when using Magic/Elements/Spirit Qi, etc.


    This meant that while he had failed there, what saved him had been his bloodline. Darius was amused, because when he had firste to Faust, he believed that he - unlike those protagonists in the shows he had watched - would not have lucky survival encounters where some cosmic force would save his life directly or indirectly.


    Since this was random and unnned, it was definitely luck that had allowed him to survive. One could argue that he had gone through a lot of difficulties to acquire the Dragon Bloodline, yet not knowing of such an effect it should be called ignorance, rather than luck.


    After all, no matter what grade of spell he cast, this feature would be there as an eternal failsafe. Not to mention had Darius not done the Test of Mettle, he would never have gotten this chance in the first ce as the Supreme System''s rules would prevent him from ever even trying to cast above his stage.


    Darius was ambivalent about whether to ept it is a form of the so-called ''plot armor'' or whether it was a natural and sensible development.


    Then again, did it matter?


    Rather, Darius now knew he could experiment as he liked until he achieved sess, and promptly did just that.


    He recast the Flesh to Stone and felt it fizzle out once more, but there was a slight response in the end. Whatever mechanic was preventing him, an Adept Mage from easily casting this Master-grade spell despite going through the process smoothly was weakening.


    He did this more than 20 times, until he felt that the fizzling was so small that it was bing like background noise while the sess of the spell was on the cusp of his fingertips.


    His 25th cast finally saw him seed, a string of mana leaving his body and connecting to the b of stone on the table. Darius was prompted to choose any type of flesh he knew to transform this into, and he would pay the requisite mana cost.


    However, he wasn''t paying attention to that right now. The moment Flesh to Stone had seeded, Darius had felt like a seal or barrier within his body had been shattered open, allowing him to freely move within his magical circuit even more.


    Theb became quiet as Darius leaned over the work table with his eyes closed, his mind parsing through what he had just experienced, trying to understand the cause and effect.


    It was imperative that he did, for once he could, he could replicate this in others without a risk of failure. Darius ran through many theories and cross-checked each one with his Database to see if he was right.


    When he did find out what it was, there was a look of shock and respect in his eyes as he opened them.


    "Terrifying, truly terrifying." Darius remarked with a soft smile.


    Once again, this sort of event had to be attributed to his draconic bloodline. In actuality, casting above your stage was doable, though limited to the early stages for humans if they had the right talent, and for non-human species with higher average stats.


    However, there was a great strain not on your body or mind, but your magical circuit. It made sense to Darius now that he understood the rules behind it.


    Why was it important to climb the stages in Faust? After all, if a person could have, say 100 Intellect while being an Amateur, why bother to be a Journeyman? With that level of Int, it should be even possible to cast Master-grade spells!


    However, the Faustians did not know this, but thews of Faust were designed by Vena from the bottom to the top. She was the one who had input the Amateur, Journeyman, etc stages, what abilities they had, what the requirements were to get there for each race, and the range of power they would have.


    So the rules were grafted onto the world itself. The reason a Master stage mage could cast Master grade spells was not only because he had the requisite amount of Intellect and the knowledge of the spell, but because he had been baptized by Faust after breaking through from the Adept stage.


    This baptism wasn''t overt, but very inconspicuous. For mages, their magical circuit got expanded and fortified, strengthened enough so that they would be able to handle the spells of their stage.


    It was like taking a car and filling its engine with rocket fuel. Forget about getting it to spark, it was likely you would ruin it thoroughly or blow it up. This was the equivalent of trying a spell above your stage.


    BUT!!!!


    There was an exception.


    There were certain races within Faust that had the ability to perform this in time because their magical circuits were refined by their blood.


    Dragons, Phoenixes, High Elves, Demons, Devils, and certain other elite races had superior magical circuits, with Dragons having the strongest.


    This was why Darius had survived with a simple fizzle out.. The reason a normal Faustian would suffer was because their magical circuit would be too fragile to handle the bacsh of a high-grade spell.

 Chapter 528 - 528

    Dragons and those other elite races had ''indestructible'' circuits, which was why Darius could keep practicing without harm. The reason he felt a ''breakthrough'' when he seeded was because he had forcefully strengthened his mana circuit until it could handle Master-grade spells.


    Using the car example, if one created an ''indestructible'' car with internal parts that could never explode and forced jet fuel into it, either it would refuse to start or eventually forcefully adapt.


    Of course, it was not that simple, but it was the best possible analogy Darius could think of.


    The Itemancer breathed out and understood what he had to do. When training his army or elite forces of any kind, he would now focus on magical circuit strengthening and body strengthening.


    The same theory had to work for those who Sparked. They could not use abilities above their stage because their bodies had not been strengthened by their base ability to withstand such a thing.


    This was a precious finding, because Darius had a thousand and one ways to create special substances with his resources outside to make this possible. In fact, he had some basic ways to achieve this even in here where he was limited, though naturally none of them could naturallypare to his current bloodline!


    Darius then focused on his actual work and chose to turn the stone into the flesh type he was interested in right now. He chose human flesh and watched the stone b warp into pinkish flesh that stank.


    The flesh was alive and working, resembling part of a person''s body. What was before he seemed to be the muscle and skin area around the shoulder de, but Darius noticed a jarring problem.


    He could only sigh because he had partially expected this, yet had hoped he could bypass it. The flesh he createdcked bones, so while he could create a whole human body with ease, the entity would be boneless!


    This was not conducive to Darius'' n, so he would have to create a Stone to Bone spell which he estimated to take about a month.


    What was Darius''s n anyway?


    Well, as stated before, the ecosystem was deficient of life and flesh-based species. Since this world would not naturally produce them, why not artificially create them?


    Yes, there were a slew of problems with this. Firstly, even if he created a perfect human body with flesh, blood, and bone, it would be a lifeless husk without a soul.


    Oh make no mistake, the body would be ''alive''. Blood would be pumping, the brain would be working, the entire system active as if the person was asleep at worst.


    However, they would be like a fully catatonic person,pletely without thought or sentience.


    Secondly, how to reproduce them. Since they were mindless, he did not know if reproduction was even possible. This did not affect humans only but any species he would introduce to this ecosystem.


    The problem was not getting them to mate, as Darius had a solution for that. The problem was that even if they mated, how to take care of the budding offspring with braindead parents as well as whether the child would even be in possession of a soul anyway.


    Thirdly, how to bnce them out. Nature usually had its own way to make an ecosystem reach equilibrium of all species at a point. Since there was no true nature orws of that kind here, Darius would have to manually regte everything.


    This was a task that would take a great investment of time and brainpower, but Darius wasn''t daunted. He made sure all his systems were fortified and would work during his downtime, then returned to his manor.


    There, he entered his mediation room and sat on his meditative cushion. He began working on the theory for the Stone to Bones spell.


    Like this, 15 days had passed.


    Darius rose from his meditative position as he stretched his body casually. He was surprised that he had ended up faster than he had hypothesized previously, but he attributed it to the only change that had urred, the breakthrough of his mana circuit.


    He then visualized the details of his new spell.


    [Bones to Stone - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Master


    Cost: 500 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 2,500 meters around you containing any form of bones of all kinds to any form of stone (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 2,500 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 2,500%.]


    Darius was satisfied. The ability to change into any kind of bone was far-reaching as bones were made of various materials and could be of various types.


    Not to mention, he could now face an undead army and turn them to stone with ease. Whether it was their rotten flesh or the boney skeletal warriors, they were nothing to him now.


    But that was not the main use of this spell.


    One could create skeletal systems of various epoxies and sell them. Darius knew of special Ludoian tribes that used the bones of their ancestors to fight, the Shamans.


    Instead of waiting for powerhouses to die and dig out their bones, they could custom make what they wanted with only this bit of mana. They would quickly be menaces on the tier of Mages, Immortals, and Exorcists.


    There were also medical uses for both this and Flesh to Stone. Just ce a brick on a person''s ripped-off arm and recreate the entire limb with just a bit of mana.


    Of course, there were Life Element spells that could achieve this, and even Light Element ones too.


    But hey, one might not always have fellows with such power avable, nor was there a reason to scorn a wealth of options, right?


    Darius smiled as he felt excited for the first time in a long time since he came here. He was about to undertake the activity of the Gods, creating a being!


    How many scientists on Earth wished to grow their own humans in a capsule but were hounded by religious zealots and falsely righteous casuals who cried about morality?

 Chapter 529 - 529

    Darius began work immediately. He focused on a huge b of stone he brought to hisb and cleaned it to perfection.


    It had much more mass and density than a human did, because while Darius could use the spells Flesh to Stone and Bones to Stone, he hadn''t mastered them.


    This meant there would be a significant margin of error on his first many tries, so the goal right now was to perfect himself until he achieved what he needed to do.


    First, he worked on Flesh to Stone, turning the rock b''s various parts onto living flesh before turning it back into stone. After all, with how most Material element spells worked, there was no need to always rece used material with a new one.


    You could just change it back with a little bit of mana to its original state and then re-do whatever you made before. This was actually one thing the Material element had over Transmutation.


    Darius worked on this non-stop for 30 days, an entire month!


    In this time, he had felt his magical circuits be sturdier and sturdier, likely able to withstand more taxing Master grade spells.


    s, this meant nothing to him outside of this mental world as he would go back to the tyranny of the Supreme System.


    Nevertheless, in here the benefit was, that it took him merely 12 days to master the Bones to Stone spell using the same resources.


    It was generally twofold. One aspect was that his magic circuit had be stronger, and so the flow for the Master grade spells had be smoother as well. The other aspect was the fact that Darius was getting more and more proficient with Master grade spells and the Material element in general.


    Darius now stood before his work table, wearing a solemn expression. He had carved out a perfectly human-shaped b of stone, and ity there waiting for work to be done.


    Darius sighed and nodded, prepping himself up. He then cast Flesh to Stone and Bones to Stone at the same time!


    Well, it was obvious that if he was going to build a living and working human body, he would need to transform everything at once. If he did it in pieces, the flesh would exist, but it would be dead or would die in seconds.


    His mind was more than enough to handle this task, with 700 points of Intellect.


    (Author''s Note: It was brought to my attention that in a previous chapter, I put a wrong value for Darius'' Int. It''s not 460 points, but rather 700, sorry about that.)


    In a matter of seconds, Darius had created a human body as perfectly as he could. It was a generic female body of a random woman he saw in Andrato, a woman by the name of Genevieve Kirlio.


    She was attractive enough and had noble genes, so she was the perfect specimen for his repoption n. Darius then pressed his hand to the heart of the Genevieve clone and used a bit of electricity to shock it.


    Using defilibration, he eventually got her to gasp and awaken, her eyes bursting open. However, even though she did so, she simplyy back with dull eyes as she looked around the room.


    After all, though her brain was technically perfect and fully functioning, she stillcked a spirit or soul, which meant she couldn''t use magic or acquire any form of powers, nor would she be sapient.


    Darius frowned. He raised a hand and passed it over her face, to which her eyes followed as she breathed in and out deeply, yet did not make a move to touch him.


    When he took his hand back, she simply gazed at him with nk eyes before looking straight up to the ceiling, breathing steadily.


    Darius'' expression was extremely strange at this point. He had expected many things ording to his knowledge and theories, but thisˇ­ this was different.


    This was neither a total catatonia nor partial catatonia. She seemed fully awake and sentient, just not exactly sapient. No, she was definitely sapient, just without memories, a will, or emotions.


    Sheˇ­ she was just like a robot!


    The moment he realized this, Darius'' mind exploded!


    He was not on Pan, where the Immortals there tried toprehend the DAO and would have random enlightenments, but he experience something simr for the first time in his life.


    His eyes went nk as all of his 700 points of Intellect went into overdrive, processing something profound beyond the understanding of normal mortals.


    Darius'' mind was overclocking itself to digest all that he was processing, and his head soon became red hot as if a furnace was in his skull. His high Endurance saved him from having his brain melt his skull, but the heat was building up.


    Luckily, Darius'' soon cooled down as he finished processing what he had discovered. He then noticed the state of his body, and that the woman he created who was still lying on the table was sweating profusely from the intense heat he had created.


    Darius cast the Cleanse spell on her body to remove the heat and poured water over his head, after which a sizzling sound urred as it was immediately turned to steam.


    Darius could only smile bitterly. A head so hot it released steam was something his nephews and other children wouldugh at when they watched cartoons, symbolizing that a character was livid, yet something like that actually happened to him in reality!


    He chuckled at the thought, something which made the Genevieve clone turn to look at him, before looking away. She then opened her mouth and attempted to mimic what she saw him do,ing out as a stiff and inhuman sound.


    Darius was not bothered by this, as he hade to understand a great many things thanks to his epiphany. Before talking about what manner of gains it brought him, he deduced to finish this phase of his ns first.


    He ced a finger on the forehead of his creation, then used his Advanced Psychomancy to channel information into her head slowly.. The clone closed her eyes and received the information quietly, causing theb to descend into a weird silence.

 Chapter 530 - 530

    Darius removed his finger as he finished sending over the relevant information he needed to the clone. He waited patiently as she digested the information slowly, and decided to name her Genevieve.


    After all, the real her had died when Darius had selfishly used Andrato toplete his Journeyman Quest, in the upheaval that had followed after. He knew of this because Jorge kept track of his acquaintances during his first five-year break.


    Clone Genevieve took three hours to process everything, and when she opened her eyes once more, there was still no light in them. However, some form of sapience and intelligence had appeared, and she rose from the table.


    She gingerly tried to stand, but wobbled and required the help of the table to stand. Darius simply watched her with interest, not offering her any help.


    Like a crippled person learning to walk again, she began trying her steps slowly until she could move somewhat stably then walked to stand before Darius.


    "Greetings, Creator. What is my purpose?" She asked in a strange lull, her voice cracking due to her never having used it before.


    It was extremely high-pitched, but evened out at a point. Darius rubbed his chin and inspected her slowly.


    The body was naked, at a height of 5''10. She was beautiful for sure, with lovely golden hair reaching her shoulder, dull blue eyes, a button nose, small red lips, and a pale, yet flushed skin tone. Her body was svelte, averagely endowed at best.


    Darius then spoke. "Your name henceforth shall be Genevieve. Your purpose is to repeatedly procreate with a variety of partners I will choose for you in order to expand your race."


    Genevieve bowed. "I acknowledge my name and purpose, thank you."


    Darius snapped his finger and a garment made for women appeared before the duo. He promoted Genevieve to wear it before returning to his work table.


    There, he brought another humanoid-shaped stone, and with his expertise from his first attempts, created another entity much in the same way as the first.


    This time, it was Jonathan Silverwater, the Adept mage who had been Genevieve''s husband before their collective death.


    Clone Genevieve watched the process with a dull look, not inputting or making any reactions to seeing another being like her created from mere stone.


    Darius ced a hand on Clone Jonathan''s head much in the same way he did to Clone Genevieve and filled it with information which he the created being also took a while to process.


    Once Clone Jonathan stood up, he also trained himself to walk before greeting Darius and asking his purpose. When he heard he was to be the main male specimen to breed with a variety of females, he acknowledged this, before wearing the clothes Darius gave him.


    "Now, the two of you can move into my manor and find a room for yourselves. Get to work procreating while I continue to work. I expect her to be pregnant in under a week." Darius instructed with a p.


    The two bowed in acknowledgment and left. Darius then brought another stone b and created this time, a dog. He had the anatomy of all beings in Faust in his head with God Krona''s library.


    After all, he had cleaned the basic section AND the restricted section, and this was basic knowledge. He even had detailed profiles of how they functioned, what they ate, etc.


    After creating the dog, that simplyy there breathing, he infused what knowledge was relevant to dogs into it. The dog then jumped down from the table and looked around with slightly dull eyes.


    It woofed as its tail began to wag, sitting itself beside Darius. However, this was only it doing what it had just learned. ''Dogs wag their tail when happy, and are to be happy in the presence of their masters/humans/humanoids.''


    It didn''t mean that the dog itself was happy, just that it felt it should be and reacted ordingly based on what it was shown to be correct behaviors.


    It was no different from a robot who acted based in a certain way after set conditions have been met.


    Darius didn''t mind and created a female dog of the same species and did the same. He then teleported both dogs into the forests outside the settlement to let them do what came ''naturally''.


    For the next 156 days, Darius got to work crazily replicating almost all animals known on Faust and tossing them out into the wilds after passing information rted to their species'' typical and correct behavior.


    He had to do this as these animals did not have any instincts or gic memory. Nature normally guided them on their path, with a mix of instincts covering for what should be done.


    Darius had to rece that.


    He also created many sub-species within one type, and many breeds with variations as well. He also created 100x more prey animals than there were predators, and set it that hunting could not begin for another 15 days.


    In this time, all beings were to reproduce crazily, giving birth to as many offspring before nature unched'' and all of them acted as well as reacted based on the ''instincts'' Darius had inputted.


    When done, Darius returned to his first two creations, Genevieve and Jonathan. He saw that the two were seated in the living room idly, staring into the wall.


    It was already obvious that Genvieve had gotten pregnant. Pleased, Darius returned to hisb after informing the duo on the intricacies of parturition and what needed to be done to ensure a perfect birth cycle by spending almost 3 days non-stop feeding information to their brains slowly.


    He then re-entered hisb and spent the next 9 or so months crazily expanding his creations like he was on drugs. Humans were spat out of hisb like a factory every day, their poption growing more and more by the day.


    By the time Darius came out, fatigued but with a light of power in his eyes, the first natural birth had urred.


    He entered the room where Genevievey on a high-quality bed with Jonathan standing by the side.. In Genevieve''s arms was a tiny little offspring, crying its lungs out as it entered the world.

 Chapter 531 - 531

    Darius inspected the newborn carefully and smiled with pleasure. Not because it represented the birth of new life, but because this child possessed what its parents hadcked, a soul!


    He/she would be like a normal person outside, able to use magic, Spark, Awake, or whatever else this mental world had avable to them. Not only that, but they would also be able to give birth to enhanced offspring once they grew up.


    Pleased, Darius had the two parents hand over the baby. They no longer had to handle raising it and were to get back to mating. Now, Darius needed an increase of soul-born offspring.


    As for the first generation of humans without a soul, they numbered around 200 at the moment. They were set to mate crazily and some would also be giving birth in the months toe.


    Darius brought the newborn to hisb and ced them on the table. He then gazed outward using his Psychomancy to see that the area outside his settlement was lively as hell.


    Birds chirped, insects buzzed and wolves barked. Predator and prey could be found chasing each other, one in a bid to keep its life and the other in a bid to take it.


    About 60% of all first-generation animals of all types and breeds had already perished naturally, allowing their soul-born offspring to continue on. The forests had also expanded beyond the range of his senses, forming savannas and grasnds that stretched for as far as the eye could see.


    Darius had permanently terraformed this mental world, and it would only continue to develop from here.


    Now, it was time to talk about that epiphany Darius had and what it meant for him going forward. The trigger of this realization was theparison between a soulless being and one with a soul.


    As Darius stated, a soulless person was not a mindless idiot who could only respond to stimuli passively, but was actually a sentient and sapient being with full functions that would be able to learn and grow on their own.


    What differentiated them from a person with a soul and spirit were three things; Will, Affinity, and Emotions.


    Will; the capability of conscious choice, decision, and intention. What we humans lovingly called ''free will'', thatrgely separated us from animals that were stuck following nature''sw in the form of instincts.


    Affinity; the ability to feel kinship with the world. This manifested in a variety of ways, but to name a few it would be the ability to reincarnate, to have an afterlife, to utilize magical forces of the world and special energies naturally, etc.


    Emotions; The feelings of life. Anger, hate, love, lust, greed, envy, joy, excitement, satisfaction, sadness, regret, despair, grief, and more. What people lovingly referred to as being ''human''.


    However, that was wrong. These traits were not exclusive to humans but any and all beings with souls had them. Once an entity was in possession of all three of these, it had both aplete and functional spirit as well as the soul.


    Missing one made one deficient as an existence.


    How did this benefit Darius? Well, when he left here, he would be able to pull his resources to bear and create artificial souls!


    He could create flesh and bone, then, instead of waiting for a next-generation, he could infuse them directly with custom-made souls to create genuine life!


    However, that was only the basic use.


    What Darius really wanted to use it for was to create his three children on Faust!


    He could create bodies for Miranda, Martin, and Solena, then give them souls to make them more than just digital AI confined within his Supreme Portal.


    Darius figured that if he became powerful enough and reached the level Vena wanted him to, he might even be able to dip his hand into the pool of souls and pull the real souls of his children over.


    But that was far into the future. Right now, what Darius was focused on was nurturing the new life that was brought to him. He personally cared for the child, feeding it and monitoring it as it grew.


    Soon, more were brought to him at different intervals from different births all over. This continued over the span of the next 10 years, during which Darius spent raising the children, teaching them everything they needed to know manually.


    He provided the best resources he could make without Transmutation and made sure that they were perfect enough to carry this new world to its limit.


    As for the original first-generation humans, Darius had retired them from breeder ss to worker ss entities who maintained the settlement in his stead.


    The new kids all assumed that Darius was their parent, and were referring to him as ''Father''. Though they didn''t know who their mothers were, Darius told them that it was the world itself, which was not wrong.


    They viewed Darius like a god and worshiped him. He trained them until they reached the age of 20, meaning that another 10 years passed since the first birth.


    Now, the youths were adults ready to create the next generation, with a variety of talents they had developed. Darius made sure to infuse them with all his knowledge when they were 18, so they were like walking libraries of Krona.


    The wealth of information would be able to tide them over in any situation, and they also had the ability to pass it down the same way Darius did. A powerful civilization could be built from here and it was all up to the natives themselves to carve out their path.


    As for Darius'' participation in their journey, it hade to an end. It had been a more than 27 years inside this world that was within his mind.


    From an endless desert, it had changed into a lovely biome where all sorts of species could live in harmony, with space to be expanded into more.


    Darius gazed at the walls of the settlement one fine day as the sun was zing hot, before turning and walking towards the forest nearby, vanishing before he even took a step within.


    The Test of Mettle was over!

 Chapter 532 - 532

    Darius opened his eyes, seated within arge chamber with smoke wafting around his face. He regained himself and looked around, to see that apart from him, only 30 others of the initial 100 or so were awakened at the same time.


    This included Gunner and X, who gazed at Darius with confused looks. Darius smiled smile towards them and gazed forward.


    Almost 30 years had passed in his mind, but they felt like a blur out here. Not only that, it had little effect on his mentality and his personality due to his high Intellect.


    It was only those with weaker Intellect and minds that would face severe changes after such events urred, not prepared to undergo some form of time dtion and experiencing so much in such a short time.


    Darius sighed as he thought back to his gains. Not only had he acquired the training and deeper understanding of the elements, but he had gained a deep understanding of the soul.


    Immediately, Darius created a spell manual for all the spells he learned within the mental realm and learned them. He would gather skill points to raise themter, as practice would not suffice anymore.


    He then thought to the ongoing test and noticed that those who hade out all possessed unique traits. All of them had high Intellect for sure, which didn''t necessarily mean they had insurmountable will, but it helped.


    Mostly because, just as Darius had suspected from the start, the Test of Mettle had nothing to do with ''will''. Not only because what would follow was literally called the ''Test of Will'', but due to the nature of the test and the open answer given by its name.


    Seriously, it was a matter of semantics.


    What was ''mettle''? Literally put, it was the courage to carry on.


    However, this was where the trapy. This definition sounded just like what one would attach to ''perseverance'', but ''perseverance'' was attached to ''will''! ''Mettle'' and ''Will'' were simr but not the same!


    They were two sides of the same coin!


    The same concept, but pursued towards different conclusions!


    Will was exactly what the averageyman thought, the act of persevering towards a goal in spite of whatever obstacle or pain that may stand in your way.


    Mettle though, was the ability to rebuild after facing an obstacle or disaster and to keep going when all hope seemed lost.


    To make it less cryptic, pay attention to the keywords for the two. Will = Perseverance. Mettle = Rebuild.


    Using the desert realm as an example, the Test of Will would likely be them stripped naked, without magic or any form of help, forced to trod through the ghost sun and endless sands until they fell.


    That was perseverance.


    In the desert realm though, they had kept all their stats and abilities, not even reduced to mortal levels. There was no danger around nor any threat.


    You were given a nk te to work with. A ce that had no use for you and might be your death ce unless you took it by the scruff of the neck and rearranged it into something useful for yourselfˇ­ something you could leapfrog off to sess.


    Without bing long-winded, it was that simple.


    Darius looked around and saw from the faces of the others who were awake that they had likely realized the same thing. Even if you didn''t know that there was a separate Test of Will like Darius'' trio did, and so clued you in on the answer, there were enough clues to tell.


    Now, what must be going through the heads of the others was how they would decide the next Desert King? After all, as far as they knew, there should have been only one test.


    However, Darius noticed that the incenses in the burners of those who had awakened had been swapped. The original one had been of a brownish color, but this new one was green.


    Soon, the incense lit up and began to burn, releasing a new set of fumes that wafted into the nose of those who were awake. The ones remaining seemed to understand the gist of what was going on and without resisting sumbed to the call of the abyss once more.


    Darius and his two Branded Servants did the same, entering what was likely a new mental realm for the Test of Will.


    ......ˇ­


    Darius rose to awareness to see that he was standing in the middle of a desert. Unlike before though, his clothes were sparse and his stats had been removed.


    If he still had the Supreme System, he would see that all his stats had been reduced to 10 points, the average of humans on Faust. It seemed that even his Draconic benefits had been overruled this time in favor of being closer to a standard.


    The sun was scorching hot and the sands were uneven. There was only more sand and sun in every direction, going on for all directions.


    Darius pondered and thought of many clever ways to pass this test. He decided against them all though, as there was no point in trying to be fancy.


    It was like a smart kid during an end-of-term exam whopletely understood a question and knew the answer, but wanting to show off his knowledge, went above and beyond what was mentioned.


    Even if he didn''t get penalized, he wouldn''t get extra marks for it. After all, the question itself only offered 20 marks.


    If you solved it the traditional way, you would get 20 marks and your new fancy way couldn''t surpass that ceiling.


    So what was the point?


    Besides, there was a chance that trying to show off would rather lead one down the path of failure, a terrible situation where instead of securing your guaranteed 20 marks, you might end up with 0.


    As such, Darius sobered up and began trudging along quietly. He knew that this bit was going to be long and painful, but he had peppered himself for it ever since he had been in the Test of Mettle.


    As such, there was nothing to do now but walk.


    Walk, walk, walkˇ­.

 Chapter 533 - 533

    The Test of Will was rather straightforward. Just keep going until you couldn''t, so there were no changes or alterations. Everything went as one would expect, with Darius pulling along as far as he could by shutting down his senses and leaving his brain with a singlemand to keep walking until he died.


    That was his way of avoiding unnecessary torment.


    A normal person with 10 Int, which this realm seemed to limit all challengers to, would not be able to do this easily. However, someone who had controlled his brain like a supeputer could achieve this with ease because he knew how.


    For Darius, time never passed since the moment he closed off his mind. One second he was in a sort of mental darknessa-like state, and the next he awoke in the chamber within the Tower of Spirits again.


    He noticed that Gunner and 10 others awoke alongside him, yet X was still sleeping with her brows scrunched in extreme difort.


    Darius sighed as he didn''t expect the Elven Princess to pass the Test of Will with her upbringing and soft nature.


    It wasn''t that she was weak. Even Darius knew he couldn''t have easily passed with his pampered life of wealth on Earthpared to those who lived in this horrible desertnd day to day, but he had found a clever loophole to pass.


    After all, the Test of Will would only end in one of two ways, either if one gave up... or when one died.


    The goal was to persevere until one died, because it would be too ridiculous to expect people to behave like those characters in Earth''s anime who would rise up after having their bones broken and their lives practically reaped through ''willpower''.


    Darius noticed that by now the incense of the first batch had disappeared. The 70 or so of them who had not awoken with Darius and co rose to their feet with a dazed expression and walked out of the room after a white light shone over their heads.


    Darius frowned deeply as it seemed his spection was correct. This tower did indeed erase memories of what went on in here if you failed, which was interesting.


    Darius gazed at X and her batch to see that they were still seated. He wondered if such a method would work on the Elven Princess with her stats, affiliations, and most importantly, with the Supreme System at the helm.


    Darius then saw that their incenses were swapped again. This time, the color was a yellow hue, and the smoke soon wafted into the nose of the 12 who had already passed the previous test.


    He allowed himself to sink into the abyss that led to the mental world for this new test.


    ............ˇ­.


    Darius woke up in a courtroom of some sort. It was open with many outlets to the outside but its size was actually quite small. It was surrounded on the left, right, and back by rows of well-arranged cushions ced atop colorful mats.


    Before Darius was a high table with a paramount seat and two subordinate seats on either side. Within these seats were three men with a stern expression and premier wear as they red at him.


    Darius also noticed that the courtroom was packed with people. Those who could sit on the cushions were well dressed, but were split into two groups.


    Those on the left wore a yellowish thaub with a symbol of a lion on their left breast while those on the right wore a reddish thaub with the symbol of an eagle on their right breast.


    Outside the court were hundreds of normal people who were squeezed everywhere to try and spectate what was going on. It seemed that whatever this case involved, it was quite the big deal.


    Darius noticed that he wore a red thaub with the eagle sigil, meaning he was either a part of - or at least affiliated with - the n/family on the right while the person to his left - which was a beautiful woman who was being held by an older woman as she sobbed - wore a yellow thaub, meaning they were with the lion sigil n/family.


    The head judge smashed the gavel to quieten the courtroom and red at everyone, making their necks shrink. He then gazed at Darius coldly and spoke.


    "Young Heir of the Stone Eashira, you are brought before this court today on the usation of rape against the Young Mistress of the Silica Eashira. How do you plead?"


    Darius showed no outward change of expression, but inside his emotions swirled in a steady but calm whirlpool. He had to praise the tower, for it had done really well, using something very personal to him to test his Fortitude.


    As someone who used to hate and distrust women because of the evils done to him and his father, using something like this was a perfect way to test him.


    In fact, the tower had gone the extra mile and somehow extracted his memory of the ordeal he had undergone when his girlfriend had used him of exactly this act.


    He looked to his left briefly and saw that while she was covered by what should be her mother who was ring at him with hatred and usation, the form and voice of the cryingss should be that of his ex-girlfriend, Joan Silica.


    She had been an exotic Franco-Italian beauty who had been more beautiful than all women Darius had interacted with, with the exception of Deia who had far surpassed her. She had a cold and very unapproachable personality, but had be infatuated with Darius, having noticed him due to the way he had dressed andter on falling for his maturity.


    It had been a standard sort of rtionship/attraction,pletely different to the one he had shared with Deia that had been tempered with some life and death action which had fortified their reliance on each other.


    Darius sighed internally. The tower may not even have read his memories, but simply prompted his subconscious to create a scenario using his own memories. If that was the case, then the general situation should be the same asst time.


    As such, Darius raised his head and gazed at the stoic judge who did not seem in a hurry to pass judgment just yet.

 Chapter 534 - 534

    What was Fortitude?


    It was the strength of mind that enabled one to endure adversity with courage. It was basically your mental and emotional ability to remain strong in the face of a challenge or adversity that would wear you down.


    How did this differ from Mettle and Will?


    Mettle was facing a tough situation that was persistent but not fatal, where one could walk away with no repercussion, but chose not to in order to rebuild. Whether it was physically rebuilding or mentally rebuilding, both counted.


    Using this situation, Mettle would be being falsely used of rape and being convicted. When one came out, they would proceed to try to find jobs, start a business and find love again despite the stigma following them, trying their hardest to rebuild their life without faltering.


    Will was being put in a tough, likely fatal situation where one needed to persevere in order to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Will was more of a physical thing, dealing with a response to physical challenges.


    In this case, if Darius was convicted, they might give him 100shes that would make any man start screaming for mercy by the 20th, but he would remain silent until he had received them all without faltering.


    Fortitude thoughˇ­


    "I plead not guilty!" Darius answered simply.


    There was a slight uproar in the court as people began to whisper among themselves. Those outside were rtively calm while those who were of Darius'' n simply frowned.


    The other n though, were not so muted as they murmured furiously and unhappily, as if Darius not begging for forgiveness was already a great crime worth punishment.


    The mother on the other side was the most direct, pointing to Darius as she screeched.


    "How dare you, rapist?! After taking advantage of my daughter, you dare to lie!!"


    Many on her side seemed to want to cry out in anger too, but the banging of the gavel was enough to silence them. The judge then looked at the mother with a cold look.


    "The next time you raise your voice in my court without being prompted, your tongue will be cut off. Do you understand?"


    Chilled, she could only meekly nod, yet that didn''t stop her from ring at Darius with hatred. The used ignored her looks and remained silent, waiting for the judge to prompt him.


    The head judge turned to him and inquired: "On what grounds do you plead not guilty?"


    Darius smiled slightly. He thought back to the case in his previous life. There he had a rock-solid alibi and possessed a hidden camera in his room which had always been on.


    The case at the time had been very simple once he brought out his evidence. She had eventually tried to sue him for breach of privacy yet lost, whereas Darius had sued for defamation and won.


    Her life got ruined socially and financially as the damages he asked for had to be paid out by her family by scrounging. Darius didn''t know how she picked herself up after that as he had put her behind him forever.


    Hah, maybe she had experienced her own ''Test of Mettle'' in trying to rebuild and whether she had been sessful or not was something he would likely never find out.


    As for this case, there was obviously no camera and Darius had nothing going on the situation. Then again, since his subconscious had constructed this realm, it should be one of two things.


    Either anything he said would establish or overwrite the lore of the world or there was an obvious answer he should give that even a deficient mind should be able to glue on.


    Expecting him to beat this case using Intellect was not realistic even though it might be possible, for this was a Test of Fortitude, not a Test of Deduction.


    As such, Darius chose something that fit both criteria of being an obvious way out and something that could count as overwriting the lore.


    "My grounds are simple. The Young Mistress of the Silica Eashira has never been touched by me, hence she retains her purity." Darius stated.


    The entire court froze for a second, not expecting that as an answer. All eyes swiveled to the ''victim'', who froze during her act of sobbing like she had been struck by lightning.


    Her mother felt her reaction and her face changed. It should be known that it wasn''t that she was in on some plot, but genuinely thought her daughter had been unfairly defiled.


    However, she was not stupid, and her daughter''s reaction clued her in. Her face became ugly for a bit before she wore a neutral expression in order to remain calm.


    The crowd also burst into a loud uproar as they felt that this statement was extremelyˇ­ unique. It was thest thing they had expected to hear the used use as a defense, and they were excited to see what would unfold.


    The head judge banged the gavel and silenced the court before asking aloud. "Where is the Constable?"


    Soon, a rotund middle-aged man wearing sses with a messy stubble rushed into the courtroom, wearing a blue thaub that was specially made for his size.


    He was sweating profusely as he had heard what was going on, and was hoping that the statement was wrong, or elseˇ­


    "Constable, you were the one who arranged the used before the court and handled the arrest even. Did you, when the victim reported the crime, check this?" The Head Judge asked slowly.


    The Constable began to sweat even more. He wanted to cry out in indignation. She was the Young Mistress of the Silica Eashira, which were of significance, but not as much as the Stone Eashira.


    Still, they were above what he could y with and he didn''t dare have her checked like most others would. In his mind, someone of her stature wouldn''t lie about this for it was a lose-lose anyway.


    Her reputation would take a hit and her future husband would always be ridiculed for taking someone''s leftovers, so she would probably die alone. The idea that she would still go through with it for any other purpose seemed illogical and ludicrous.


    Heck, most would hide such atrocities done to them for fear of this, so in his mind, only one who had been harmed and wanted justice at all costs woulde forth with such an usation.


    Not to mention the used was such a big fish that he didn''t dare to y around.. He had just processed everything for court quickly so that he could throw the problem over to the judge to sort out.

 Chapter 535 - 535

    "My Lord, it was impossible to verify the virginity of the victim given their background and the intensity of the im." The Constable exined himself directly.


    He didn''t dare to make excuses or beat around the bush, because he knew he was fucked either way, whether she was still a virgin or not. Instead of digging a bigger hole for himself, he might as well appeal to conscience of the authorities.


    The crowd who listened in nodded with the Constable, feeling pity for the man. He wasn''t much of a corrupt fe, so there was no overt hate towards him and his force.


    Even the Head Judge''s stern expression softened. "Hm, understandable. Whatever the case, you have my backing now. Call one of your female medical officers to check immediately."


    The Constable bowed and hurried away, while the sobbingss still covered her face as she leaned into her mother, though she was busy thinking what to do now.


    The moment Darius had pointed out such a simple w in her n, she knew she had to alter things quickly.


    Thankfully, the Head Judge turned to her and spoke. "Will the victim give a defense to the im before the test is done?"


    Seeing her chance, the Joanss slowly broke off from her mother and wiped her face dramatically, doing everything she could to earn the sympathy of the crowd, a rather simple thing to do for someone of her beauty.


    "My Lord, as I told the Constable, I had been invited to a party at the Royal Pce along with all the other prominent youths of our generation for a yearly get together. There, I met the man I was formerly infatuated with - she pointed at Darius - and we danced together."


    "He eventually invited me for a private talk elsewhere, and being the infatuated fool I was, I followed him without questioning his motives. Not to mention that I believed in his valor, which he had proven to be staunch all this while."


    She then blushed. "After some sweet words, I could no longer resist and found myself in his embrace. However, I soon realized what a problem it would cause if we were to go too far, so I tried to push him away and exin that I could only be his after marriage."


    "I don''t know if it was the wine or some other effect that forced him to ignore his better judgment and push me down, attempting to go all the way. He molested me in many ways, but I was eventually able to escape after he exhausted himself using my chest."


    She then gripped her attire with trepidation. "I originally didn''t want to report as this seemed like a moment of passion, but my mother saw my bruises and the remnants of his discharge and demanded the full story."


    The mother beside her nodded with a sad and angry look in her face, but Darius could easily note that it was forced. She knew her daughter was lying for some reason, but as a parent she had to go on with this farce otherwise the price they would pay for this lie was not small.


    The punishment for rape here in Ludo was castration and whipping, while the punishment for false usation of that crime was Female Genital Muttion (FGM) and forced prostitution for 5 years.


    She definitely did not want her daughter to suffer either punishment as they were brutal. She couldn''t believe that the stupid girl had dared to try on someone like this!


    If it was some lowly maggot with no background, they could easily push the case forward and win, but it had to be the Stone Eashira''s Young Heir, a man who was in direct contact with the Crown Prince as his best friend!


    If their Silica Eashira was a 5 in terms of influence, the Stone Eashira was a 9! It was like a rat trying to beat a dog to death!


    The mother guessed that the pampered upbringing of their daughter and her sheltered life had not made her understand the predicament she would be in. After all, any trouble she got into during her earlier years had been waved away by her family with ease, so what was the big deal?


    However, the collusion of mother and daughter won them back some territory, and especially won them the crowd''s favor. The story was sympathetic and easy to follow, also very hard to prove since it had shifted to a matter where it was one side''s testimony against the other''s.


    Whenever that happened in a rape case, all would usually side with the woman for the same reasons the Constable did not check her. It didn''t seem worthwhile to lie for petty revenge considering the huge loss thess would be taking in reputation and marriage value.


    They looked at Darius with ming gazes, considering him a beast that couldn''t control himself. While he might not have gone all the way, he had rudely taken advantage of a young girl, one who had been in love with him no less!


    The Constable soon returned and then was asked to verify Joan''s story. To Darius'' surprise, the statement given matched her story 1:1, instantly giving her credibility.


    Even though her virginity was checked to still be there, it didn''t have much effect except to immunize Darius from the punishment since what he did - ording to Ludonianw - would be sexual harassment, something which for people of his level was usually brushed under the rug, yet no longer rape.


    Darius was naturally surprised as the real Joan hadn''t been this careful. She had just relied on some cheap tricks like bruises and faked messages to work as her evidence, but this one was clever with her story.


    Right now, it became a case of Darius'' word against Joan''s, and she seemed to have the advantage at least in that her version had been somewhat verified. This naturally stifled the case and forced it to be adjourned to ater date, but everyone knew nothing woulde of it anymore.


    Interestingly - or rather, as expected - the Test of Fortitude did not end here. As stated before, it was not a Test of Deduction, but of the courage to carry on in the face of adversity of all kinds.


    One could even say that the real Test of Fortitude had only just begun.

 Chapter 536 - 536

    Darius wasn''t interested in overanalyzing the methods and lore behind the Test of Fortitude, he continued with his daily life here, only that it was greatly marred by what one would expect, a lot of stigmas.


    It started out mild, as the contents of the case had been viewed by many and they understood that it was still somewhat questionable. However, as time went on, it was as if something happened to the memory of the people, and they remembered the case very differently.


    Their reactions towards him became ruder and more disgusting as he lived his life calmly, as if not spending day and night kneeling before the Silica Eashira, begging for forgiveness, was a grave sin.


    Even members of his own family had begun to re at him day after day, though they didn''t dare say anything. Soon, Darius lost the favor of his best friend, the Crown Prince, as the rumors and public dissatisfaction had be too high, and associating with him could ruin his chances to the throne.


    Darius made no fuss and understood. Soon, his father in this world, styled after his real father on Earth, bluntly told him that he was disqualified from inheriting the Stone Eashira''s patriarch position.


    This too, Darius took calmly and dealt with what he was given straightforwardly. He nevershed out, neverined, never showed dissatisfaction. Many people were confused and doubtful.


    Was this an admission of guiltˇ­? Or was there something more?


    It was just too strange. Very few people could suffer such social degradation with a straight face and weing demeanor as if it wasn''t them who was being mistreated.


    Soon, Darius was even disowned from the Stone Family and cast to the streets. He, however, did not suffer much as he still had his magic. He simply created his own little shack somewhere obscure as he waited out the test.


    However, the ''blows'' didn''t stoping. It turned out that the Crown Prince had sent a marriage letter to Joan Silica, and they had epted. Soon, she was wed to him, and the next year, the sultan passed away.


    The Crown Prince became the new Sultan, with Joan the Sultana, meaning that even if Darius were toe forward with evidence of her lies now, nothing could evere of it. His path to clearing his name had been closed off and despair should have set in.


    Darius only replied with an ''oh'' and continued spending this time creating more spells for the Material element. Towards the end of the Test of Mettle, he had been busy creating life and experimenting with souls, so he hadn''t added much.


    When done, he eventually left the territory and redid what he had done in the Test of Mettle, creating a territory using sand and endless precious resources. He was curious as to what would happen next and he wasn''t disappointed.


    The new Sultan sent him a friendly letter stating that he wished to enter a trade with Darius for his resources. After all, Darius was a powerful mage beyond any force his formerly best friend had, so taking military action against him was useless.


    He even offered to pardon all of Darius'' crimes, which made the fellow smile. He naturally agreed and entered a friendly rtionship with the Sultan''s territory, bing their spiritual protector and provider of resources for expansion.


    Joan, who had already given birth to a few children for the Crown Prince, was even forced to apologize for her lies after she had admitted the truth to her husband.


    Of course, the apology had been behind closed doors, as the Sultan couldn''t have his wife''s reputation be publically soiled.


    She had been young and foolish, but motherhood had tempered her wisdom and made her understand what to do for the sake of thend.


    Darius epted this and all was well. The Test of Fortitude soon came to an end, as it was pointless to continue. Darius had already achieved the requirement of never breaking down when faced with adversity and continuing on.


    He awoke in the chamber of the Tower of Spirits once more, seeing that his incense had burned out. This time, aside from Gunner and himself, only one other person was already awake.


    Darius was not surprised Gunner passed, because the Test of Mettle, Will, and Fortitude were extremely easy for him given his nature, especially thest one.


    Knowing Gunner''s nature and past, Darius believed that the half-giant might have experienced being ostracized by his tribe. He had probably gazed at everyone as if they were the biggest retards while they cussed him, not even bothering to acknowledge their wordsˇ­


    Darius noticed that X''s batch opened their eyes with dazed expressions and began to file out of the chamber. X herself got up too at first, but her expression cleared before she had exited the room.


    Suddenly, the entire tower shook, as if it was hit by something heavy. It caused Darius'' trio plus the extra fellow who had passed the third test to gape with shock.


    The shaking soon came to a halt despite Darius getting ready to teleport himself and his group out at the slightest sign of hostility. The other trial takers were still sacked from the chamber, yet the Elven Princess was left alone.


    Rather, a chair popped up at the side of the chamber. Gazing at Darius for direction, he nodded. X then moved to sit down in the provided chair quietly, waiting for the results of the test.


    The third person was stunned by this, as he too hade to the conclusion that those who failed would undergo a memory wipes, and he definitely did not want that to be him.


    Seeing that the tower failed to wipe Darius''panion, made him gaze at the other two with wary hostility. Whoever they were, the tower didn''t seem to dare erase their memory, even providing them with seats to wait on the side while the tests were ongoing.


    This made him feel a sense of crisis like never before.


    Darius and Gunner ignored him noticing that the incense in their burners had changed color once more. This time, it was a bright white color, like the robes of a priest.


    It lit itself, a white color smoke wafting from within and covering the faces of each of the three, entering their nostrils and causing their minds to sink to the abyss.

 Chapter 537 - 537

    Darius awoke with a stutter. He noticed that this time, he was wearing a well-decorated golden thaub. Atop his head, there was a golden turban with a red gem at the center.


    He looked majestic, and beside him sat Deia, dressed in a beautiful dark red abaya, her red lips pulled into a smirk as she satzily beside Darius.


    Darius noticed that Solena was wearing a red bra wrap that was covered by a ck jacket and a pair of red harem pants. Her hair was tied into a long ponytail with a golden hairband.


    She seemed to be around the age of 16 and her beauty made all the young princes who were in the pce throne room hover around her like flies. Darius also noticed that Miranda was squarely seated on her mother''sp, Deia caressing her spoiled daughter''s hair with love.


    Miranda also wore an abaya that was dark brown, and she seemed to be around 15 or 14 years old.


    Standing in front of the court as the one handling the proceedings was Martin, his son who was practically a clone of himself. The fellow looked exactly like Darius did when he had been 13, only that he had Deia''s beauty mixed in, making him surpass his own father''s handsomeness.


    Darius was pleased with this mental world, even though he knew that it was as fake as the others. He was of a high position, likely a sultan with his true family with him. Truly, his subconscious was quite vivid in its recreation, and he didn''t mind living this kind of lie.


    Ah, but no. This was the Test of Justice. Darius easily guessed that he was about to preside over a very troublesome matter that would put his ability to dole out justice to the test.


    As before, Darius stopped to ponder the theme of the test.


    What was ''Justice''? It was the quality of being fair and reasonable.


    Unlike what people thought, Justice didn''t always have to deal with a dispute that needed resolution. Justice was all-epassing. When someone wronged you and you listened to their side and reacted fairly to both sides, that was Justice.


    Justice wasn''t about punishing the evil or righting any wrongs, those were just a part of the whole. It was understanding the rules and the truth.


    One of the most mentioned persons linked to the term was King Solomon, who had been forced to decide who should get custody of a baby between two mothers.


    Both women had given birth around the same time, yet one baby had died, and both imed that theirs was the surviving one.


    In the end, he had called for the baby to be split in two halves, so that both would get one half, leading one woman to give up her ''half'' for the baby''s survival, whereas the other had promptly agreed.


    The King had recognized the first woman as the real mother, who would do anything for her child''s well-being, even if she had to part with it.


    In order to push Darius to the brink where he''d have to be just at a cost or forgo justice for his own benefit, it was likely the next events would pertain to actions done by himself or more likely his own family members.


    "Murderer!" A voice screamed, startling the entire court that was in a state of activity.


    All eyes turned to look at an old woman limping into the pce room with a dead child in hand. The child was sick with defile leprosy, a special form of the disease unique to Ludo that was super contagious and extremely fatal.


    Those in the crowd instantly made way, fleeing far from the woman and her anger as if she was the embodiment of death itself.


    It might also exin why she had been able to waltz this far into the pce, as the guard filed in behind her, yet kept their distance with fearful expressions.


    Darius did not panic, raising a hand calmly. Using his magic, he created an isted stage for the woman and a table.


    "ce your child on the table and have a seat, dear madam. Since you have made it here, I shall address your concerns." Darius instructed calmly.


    The woman was shocked to be treated so well by the Sultan, and her anger diminished as she realized what she had done. However, seeing her dead child in hand reignited the me in her heart, but sheplied with Darius'' instructions and ced her child gently on the table.


    She then sat down on the makeshift chair that Darius made and gazed at him, before her eyes shifted to Martin, who was panicking. The mes of hatred sparked in her eye as she pointed to Darius''stborn and screeched once more.


    "Murderer!"


    This time, the situation of the entire court changed as they realized what this woman was here for and what she was trying to do, but many gazed at her with ridicule.


    Looking for Justice against the son of the Sultan? Old thing, who gave you that right?


    None rose up in support of her and the guards were even prepared to remove her and execute her in some corner, dumping her body in a bush somewhere.


    Darius though stopped everyone and gazed at the woman.


    "Madam, please state your name before you share your story." Darius requested.


    Deia who sat beside him nced at Darius for a second and then the woman below with a raised eyebrow. Darius had to admit, his subconscious had rebuilt his family''s personalities quite well.


    Deia''s current action hadn''t gone unnoticed. Her bodynguage was asking him if there were special circumstances that forced him to behave like this. After all, she knew Darius very well, the concerns of an user towards his family would be thest thing on his mind.


    He would have usually cleverly sidetracked this woman and found an excuse to get rid of her and turn her story on its head, making Martin out to end up looking like the hero of that story, while secretly re-educating his son to never make such a mistake again.


    Darius smiled and continued. "No matter what, Justice will be served, for the Gods above are watching."


    This line had different meanings to different people. To the old woman, it reassured her as she took it that the Sultan would remain fair and just. To the court, it meant that the Sultan was about to uphold fairness and had likely abandoned his son!


    To Deia, it meant that Darius had no choice but to be fair this time around because some higher power - which was likely watching the ongoing proceedings - was pressuring him too.


    This made her eyes narrow, but she remained silent for now.

 Chapter 538 - 538

    "Your Majesty, my name is Hasifa. I am but a poor market woman who sells vegetables on the daily. My son here is calledˇ­ was called Hashman. He was a youth who had been epted to our school of Sand Arts as an Elite Student due to his high talent."


    When she revealed the background of her son, the faces of all those present changed. Now it made sense to others why Darius took this matter seriously, because it wasn''t one he could brush away easily!


    "Recently, the Tri-Semester Competition came to an end, and my son had won the championship against his rival, ass named Hephzibah. The two of them had never seen eye to eye, so before the tournament, they made a wager. If either one of them ended up as the champion, the loser would be the winner''s ve."


    "After winning, this should be when my son enjoyed the fruits of his victory, but rather, the vile Hephzibah girl was unwilling to fulfill her part of the bargain."


    "She was known to be one of the many lovers of a very powerful person in the Royal Pce, so she used her backing to deal with my son!"


    The old woman''s eyes gleamed with graveness as she pointed at Martin. "That''s right, she is one of the lovers of the Royal Prince!"


    The throne room burst into murmurs and uproar, as this was big news. By this point, many believed the story as this woman wouldn''t have the guts toe here and spew rubbish otherwise.


    Martin himself was aghast, staring at the body of thed on the table as if he couldn''t believe it.


    Darius stopped the woman from continuing the story and then turned to Martin. "Son, speak the truth before the world. Let''s hear what you have to say."


    Martin heard his father''s powerful voice and shook himself out of his stupor. He stood out and bowed before everyone and began speaking with a solemn tone.


    "Madam Hasifa spoke the truth. One of my lovers is indeed Hephzibah from the Royal Sand Academy. Two weeks ago, she told me that a person in her school had resorted to underhanded tricks to force her into a possible ve contract. As such, she begged for my help to deal with the person involved."


    "When I asked her to give me the details so I could apprehend the person, she imed there was no need. She only requested that I provide her with some toxins to deal with the person, which I did, thinking it wasn''t a big issue."


    Martin looked downcast, because he knew he had severely messed up this time. "However, I can now clearly see that this was not the case."


    The crowd began to discuss in low tones. The matter was exceeding troublesome, and they knew that it wasn''t going to be easy to solve for the Sultan.


    Darius nodded to Martin and gazed at a nearby guard. "Go and arrest this Hephzibahss and bring her here."


    He then focused on Madam Hasifa. "Please tell me how you found evidence linking the death of your son to Hephzibah and mine."


    Madam Hasifa was startled. "It was my son who told me. Before he sumbed to his state, he told me everything. About the tournament, about how Hephzibah had seduced him andin with him, before giving him the toxin that led to this horrible disease."


    Martin''s face became ck when he heard that one of his lovers had actually gone as far as to sleep with someone else. If his reputation hadn''t been ruined enough for one day, it had just further entered the gutter.


    Darius hummed in silence. His mind proceeded the details of the case so far, and he couldn''t help but apud either the tower or his subconscious for its ruthlessness.


    How to test someone and see if they will remain just? Well, one needed ample temptation of the right form to betray Justice.


    In this case, Martin was technically an indirect cause for the death of Hashman. Thed was someone who was protected byw given his status, so Darius could have rubbished the case away with ease.


    However, hearing Martin''s story, he appeared to have been more of an ignorant aplice, his main crime being negligence. It was negligence of the type where he could be theoretically be pardoned, but that would neither be fair nor just in the truest sense.


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. He didn''t feel cornered yet, but he was sharp. He anticipated that something would happen soon that would prevent him from just killing off thess to put everything in ce.


    Lo and behold, the guard soon returned with a pale face. "My Lordˇ­ the Hephzibah girl has been found in her bedchambers, dead through suicide!"


    There was a round of gasps in the room as they were shocked. This matter had taken so many turns and had gone up and down in ways that left bystanders dizzy with shock and horror.


    Just what the hell was going on?!


    Darius sighed internally. So this was it, the checkmate.


    Now, let''s breakdown the entire matter. The crime was murder, to which the punishment, ording to Ludoianw, would be death by the same method.


    The victim was Hashman, a prodigious talent important to the entire state who hade from humble beginnings. This made it such that legally and morally, Darius could not skirt around the issue since there were intense legal protections for students of the academy, and due to the talent of the victim that would set a very problematic precedent.


    The perpetrator was the girl Hephzibah, who had seduced the target and poisoned him after being unwilling to fulfill a bet she had willingly entered into. She thenmitted suicide to avoid the repercussions of her actions.


    The main aplice was Martin, who had been the lover of the deceased perpetrator and was deceived by her into providing the means of the murder.


    As the Royal Prince, he was also protected byw in the sense that he could take the life of criminals, and the story Hephzibah fed him had initially painted Hashman as a criminal.


    However, Martin had failed to investigate thoroughly, taking his lover''s word for the truth. He should have been the one to deal punishment with his own two hands.


    This had made him negligent and a pseudo-victim as well.

 Chapter 539 - 539

    Now, the solution was usually quite simple. Darius would push forward the girl and give her a severe punishment to appease the old woman while giving Martin a lighter one, but making his more of asocial/atonement style punishment while the girls would be more direct/punitive.


    However, the girl was dead, leaving only Martin behind. Now, that he was the main focus of the case and neither the old woman nor anyone else would ept such a lenient punishment on him.


    This caseˇ­ was truly insidious.


    It had cornered Darius from all sides, forcing him to pick between doling out Justice at the cost of his son or subverting Justice in favor of his direct family.


    There was - theoretically - no third option.


    Of course, aftering to know Darius for so long, it was obvious that there was nothing of the sort for him. He pped his hands and said.


    "Bring her body here this instant."


    Not understanding what the Sultan wanted to do, the guardplied. Soon, the body of the young girl Hephzibah was brought in, and it could be seen from her caramel skin that there were tight bruises from ropes around her neck.


    It appeared that she had hung herself after realizing what she had done, or she might have nned to from the moment she had lost. Whatever the case, thinking she could escape her punishment through death with Darius here was wishful thinking.


    Darius pointed to her body. "Return here vile girl and ept your punishment!"


    [Death''s Call - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Call back the souls of the dead to their bodies, retaking their forms in perfect shape and bing a part of a glorious new race. This spell can only be used on 5 corpses at a time.]


    This lovely spell called back the souls of the dead from wherever they had gone to, right after restoring their bodies into perfect shape. This was just one step below resurrection in its truest sense, just a little bit off from copying the mighty Lunar Dew''s ability.


    If Darius had Lunar Dew, things would be easy as pie. He would just revive the woman''s boy and the girl, then have her punished. Martin wouldn''t even be mentioned in the case again, but the Supreme System refused to make things easy for him.


    While the Death''s Call spell brought back a target''s soul - which meant that their full sentience and awareness were restored ¨C bringing back a deceased body to physical perfection, it didn''t change the fact that their hearts had stopped beating and their blood would no longer flow.


    Those brought back with Death''s Call were still unable to breathe, reproduce, feel pain or pleasure. Their bodies were like any other undead, maintained by Death Energy, only that for Darius'' creation, they didn''t have it focused into a core, but had it freely flowing around to emte a circtory system.


    The girl''s corpse shakily rose up as she opened her pitch-ck eyes to look around with confusion. After realizing she was alive once more, her expression showed shock and fear.


    Thess began to panic, but soon found that her body was bound to a table by metal shackles made from Darius'' magic. The Sultan snapped a finger and had the table tilt itself until it became vertical, allowing everyone to see the girl.


    The crowd was shocked and fearful, gazing at him as if he had revealed himself to be a demon. Even the old woman trembled, unable to believe her eyes.


    "Silence!"


    After that roar, the entire chamber became quiet. They focused on Darius who exined.


    "This is through the ability of magic. I have called her true soul back from the afterlife to house her body and given her a new form of life. However, she cannot feel pain nor pleasure, unable to eat, excrete, breathe or bleed."


    He pointed at the boy. "I could bring back Hashman, but as you should understand this is far from a perfect resurrection. While it would be his soul inside the body, he wouldn''t be himself in the truest sense, not with a lot of life''s joys taken from him. I''m sure you don''t want me to disturb his eternal rest to give hime such an existence, do you Madam Hasifa?"


    The old woman shook her head. Theck of the ability to feel would just make life torturous for her boy. While she wished for him back, she also didn''t want him to suffer because of it.


    Many in the throne room who had been ready to bombard Darius with requests to revive their loved ones went silent as they sighed. They found this much more logical and eptable, because true resurrection was for the Gods, not Man.


    "I brought Hephzibah back to hear what she has to say for herself. While alive like this, she ispletely under my control, so I can guarantee that nothing but the truth will be spoken by her. This I swear on the Desert King''s name!" Darius vowed powerfully.


    Many faces changed once they heard his vows, especially since a wave of sand suddenly passed through the room like a breeze. Darius also felt something ethereal binding him, yet he wasn''t bothered.


    All eyes turned to Hephzibah, who was still struggling, when Darius roared: "Settle down, girl!"


    Immediately, sheplied, much to her own shock. Darius then spoke coldly. "Exin everything regarding the murder of Hashman and leave nothing out."


    "Yes, Master. Three weeks ago, Hashman tried to propose to me butparing him who came from a shitty home to my current lover, the Royal Prince, I naturally declined."


    "However, Hashman had discovered that I was already pregnant with Martin''s child and threatened to reveal this to you, the Sultan, unless I agreed to a bet with him that the loser would be a ve to thepetition''s winner in secret." Hephzibah started narrating in a neutral tone of voice like she was a robot.


    "LIES!" Hasifa screeched with anger as she rose to her feet.


    Darius snapped a finger, which caught the attention of the old woman as he shook his head. "Sit down! You''ve just heard me exin that the current her is unable to lie.. You might not like to hear what she has to say, but it is nothing but the truth. Now sit down and do not interrupt again!"

 Chapter 540 - 540

    Hasifa could only bite her lips and sit down, but red at Hephzibah as if she truly couldn''t believe what she was saying. Hephzibah ignored the older woman and continued her tale once Darius prompted her.


    "Hashman and I were the top scorers for the Male and Female divisions, and our power was about equal. How he managed to defeat me was quite simple, he aimed his attacks at my abdomen, knowing that I was with child. Trying to protect my unborn child and myself at the same time wasn''t working so I lost."


    The faces of all those in the throne room changed. They gazed at the dead body of Hashman with anger and disgust, especially the woman. Hasifa was pale as a sheet as she shook her head, not able to reconcile the image of her great son with the vile beast Hephzibah was describing.


    "I was not willing to go through with it, so I approached Martin and told him a half-truth and yed on his affection for me to get some poison to deal with Hashman. I saw no easy way to use it on him, so I seduced him, and when he dropped his guard insert the poison."


    "I then fled his house and considered reporting everything, but knew I wouldn''t be able to escape punishment. Scared, I return to my chambers and spent hours contemting what to do next."


    "Eventually, I panickedpletely and broke down, deciding to end my own life." With that, Hephzibah became silent.


    The room was deathly still, as many digested the story and corroborated with what they had heard so far. In the three versions, there were some discrepancies that were easy to notice.


    For oneˇ­


    "Excuse me, great Lord, but can you ask thess about how the poison she used tranted into this weird affliction that killed my son? Not only that, she speaks as if shemitted suicide on the day, but my son was in agony for an entire week before passing away!" Hasifa pointed out with a stern tone.


    "Otherwise, how could he have told me everything so clearly. All I know came from him on his deathbed."


    "Hmmˇ­" Darius nodded, but did not pursue the faults of the case. He knew it was the Tower of Spirits or his Subconscious adjusting the story because he had been able to bring back the Hephzibah girl, so it now had to rearrange the details to make sense.


    It now painted her as a victim as well, and in a sympathetic way.


    Once again, Darius had to say it. This Tower or his subconscious, was extremely insidious in its nning. Previously, he had been given a t choice of either helping his son and betraying justice, or meting out justice and betraying his son.


    In essence, it was a stick only sort of thing. Now though, the carrot had been dangled in front of him enticingly, with no stick in sight. It went from forcing him to make the right choice to tempting him to make the wrong one.


    Darius wanted to end this farce, and he knew how. He snapped a finger, silencing the entire throne room. He then pointed to the body of Hashman and brought him back with Death''s Call, shocking everyone as they wondered what he was trying to do.


    Hashman recovered to perfection and his diseased state disappeared. He opened his eyes and rose from the table groggily, seeing his mother first.


    "Mother? Where amˇ­shit." He muttered when he looked around and saw where he saw, as well as Hephzibah who was nearby and seemingly alive. With high Intellect that allowed him to practice the Sand Arts, he could readily put two and two together.


    Darius snapped a finger and released the bindings on Hephzibah. He then controlled Hashman, Hephzibah, and his son Martin to stand before him equidistantly, side-by-side.


    "I have heard enough. Right now, we have ascertained enough of the case to know that there are no innocent parties where and everyone is in some way, a victim. I shall now pronounce judgment." Darius said coldly, not allowing anyone to speak.


    He pointed to Hashman. "Young man, your crimes are ckmail, fraud, and manughter."


    He then pointed to Hepzhibhah. "Young woman, your crimes are murder, suicide, and treason."


    He then pointed to Martin. "Son, your crimes are negligence, abuse of power, and aplice to manughter."


    Darius then leaned back in his seat. "The three of you will spend the next 5 years working under General Gunner at the frontlines against the Insects. You will work off your criminal debt like the others or be devoured by the insects whole if the spirit of the sands finds youcking."


    "Hashman has rued 3,000 points of Crime. Hephzibah has rued 12,000 points of crime. Martin has rued 900 points of crime. General Gunner will decide the value of each insectoid kill and how it would lower your crime value. When you reach 0, you will be pardoned and allowed to live freely."


    "In fact, you two especially - Hashman and Hephzibah - may stay on the battlefield to fight some more and rue merit. I have a method to bringing you back to lifepletely, but only if you prove yourself worthy AFTER clearing your sins."


    Darius then gazed at Martin. "And you, son, are not allowed to stay on the battlefield for even one second afterpleting your task. You have a job to do here that pertains to the smooth running of our state, and the time you spend away will be paid back in full when you return."


    The crowd hissed at that. No mercy whatsoever! Even though he had given both Hashman and Hephzibah both the carrot and the stick, he just kept giving his son the stick.


    Both of the undead teens gazed at Martin strangely, wondering if he had beef with his father, because even though the matter was essentially their fault, he seemed to be suffering a bit more than them.


    However, Martin remained stoic, wearing that soft smile that was trademark to Darius, something that Darius''s foes hade to fear and his allies hase to reverse.


    "Yes, Father."

 Chapter 541 - 541

    Darius opened his eyes and gazed around himself. X seemed stunned by his sudden awakening, which told Darius that he likely had spent almost no time in reality.


    Darius noticed that the other fellow that came with them had furrowed brows and a tough expression as he grit his teeth. To Darius'' left, Gunner''s eyes were already opened, disying a bored expression.


    Darius'' lips twitched. There was no doubt in his mind that the half-giant had 100% passed a cruel and bluntly fair judgment on all parties, without caring who they were to him, even if it might have been another version of Darius or X involved.


    The Itemancer noticed that the third batch of people rose to their feet and left the tower slowly. They were those who had failed the Test of Fortitude, leaving only four people in the room.


    Darius then watched the incense in his and Gunner''s burners being swapped out once more. It was now a bright blue color that looked calm and refreshing. The incense lit itself and sent its smoke wafting into the nose of the final two.


    Both men closed their eyes and entered the final test, the Test of Vision!


    What did it mean to have Vision? To have Vision meant that one had the ability to think about, or n for the future, with imagination or wisdom.


    As usual,pared to the previous tests, the difference was clear.


    Mettle = Rebuild. Will = Persevere. Fortitude = Firmness, Grit. Justice = Fairness and Reason.


    So what was Vision? It was right there in the definition, Wisdom, and Imagination.


    Darius awoke in a small caravan that seemed to be carrying some goods. When he looked around, he saw that he was at the head with his family nearby.


    Everyone looked saddened and beaten, with Deia wearing an expression of fury. When he inquired as to what was wrong, Deia gave him a strange look before speaking about the recent destruction of their kingdom.


    However, she sent Darius a hand signal asking if his mind was taken over or he had acquired some type of amnesia. Darius then signed back that there was a supernatural phenomenon going on and that Deia should act as usual.


    Deia made no more signals and seemed to be a cardboard cutout of this mental world, bringing her husband up to speed.


    They had migrated some of their core family and people to a new area in Ludo where Darius had established a point of retreat in his earlier years. They would rebuild and regain their former glory before seeking revenge for their losses.


    After understanding this, Darius was satisfied. This one was quite simple, especially for him who had established a territory on Fallon that already reigned supreme as the number 1 ce to be on Faust.


    Even without Transmutation, he had the Material element on his side. Darius was quick with this one. Once they reached their destination, he erected various buildings and created a top-tier modern settlement within hours, shocking everyone.


    Before anyone was allowed in, they had to form a line to receive an infusion of information from Darius. He only put in the bare minimum needed to ''educate'' everyone and it took about 2 seconds per person.


    Before receiving the information, they gazed at the modern settlement with confusion, but once they opened their eyes after receiving the information, they looked at it with understanding and familiarity.


    It took Darius 3 days of work to educate everyone and get the settlement popted properly and in an organized manner. When it was time to infuse his family with info, he gave his children a bit more, yet fed Deia everything.


    She was made aware that she was a mental construct for himself in some test, but she didn''t break down. His wife only giggled and told Darius that she would help him pass.


    She also promised to soothe his soul since the real her was out of his reach, and she understood his pain.


    Darius then taught his people the magic of Ludo, which was the ability to manipte the sands. Sand Arts were the way of Ludo, and without it, the people of the continent would never have been able to make a living on such a barren wastnd.


    Darius had the highest quality Sand Arts in his mind and he imparted them to everyone. He also encouraged fertility and procreation, as they needed numbers.


    He eased his people''s need for resources with his magic. They were blessed with an endless amount of what they needed, allowing them to focus solely on training and procreating.


    Darius didn''t stop there, but took the newborns to school and educated them in various topics that would seem useless like the arts, maths, and science. He expanded the settlement many times as newborns flooded the ce, with some subsidiary settlements being created.


    By the time 50 years had passed, the total amount of people had multiplied by a great amount. After all, Darius had offered extremely lucrative rewards to any man or woman for having more than 10 children.


    Instead of going back for revenge, he continued expanding their entire empire slowly but surely even surpassing what they had before. By the time their enemies and the other states could even fathom what was going on, a behemoth was gazing at them.


    However, instead of descending upon them with fury, hatred, and murder, they rather initiated peaceful talks and wished to recognize the sovereignty of one another, preventing arbitrary wars for territory from urring in order to promote peace and growth.


    This baffled the others, making them believe this new state to be a paper tiger, weak and foolish. They plotted behind the scenes, yet after a short surprise war, they ended up thoroughly beaten and squashed, their rules and dynasties reced by those with more ''wisdom''.


    These new leaders adhered to the budding international policy and engaged in trade with the new state. After being hooked to their style of governance, their products of trade, and the level of Sand Arts used, they were quickly mirrored in this new system without a way to break out.


    This was a golden era for the lowest denominator of society as food was assured and opportunities to rise were abundant since the entire Ludo was yet to be tamed.


    The future was bright and anything seemed possible!

 Chapter 542 - 542

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    Darius opened his eyes and smiled with satisfaction. The Test of Vision was something he had technically alreadypleted in prior tests, as it aligned with his nature and his preferences. Darius was less of an action guy and more of a preparation/nning guy.


    Since the Test of Vision required intricate nning, it was like throwing a cat in a room full of women and asking it to be the center of attention. It was too easy.


    Darius looked to his left and was not surprised to see that Gunner failed to wake up. Gunner was incredibly firm, resilient, and bluntly fair, but he had never been much of a visionary nor a nner.


    X by the side was stunned once again, looking as if she had seen a ghost. Then the trio noticed that thest constants rose to his feet and left the room slowly.


    As for Gunner, he rose to his feet and shook his head, clearing his mind. He then nodded to Darius moved over to sit with X, while the entire tower trembled.


    Darius looked before him to see that the chamber was shifting. An altar rose from the northern end of the room that was soon followed by a strange throne that was styled after a sand dragon coiling around a bed of sand.


    Darius rose to his feet, and took out the Desert King Turban that had been in his Inventory all this time. The tower trembled as the turban left his hand and floated towards the altar.


    It exploded into a golden light that increased in quantity by more golden light that was also generated by the altar. It stopped once the golden light formed a solid orb the size of a football.


    Soon, a whirl of sand formed that turned into the form of a traditional jinn that was connected to the floor. It looked just like genie from the ddin movies, only with a graver countenance.


    "Congrattions, Trial Taker. You have obtained the qualifications to be the 4th Desert King of Ludo, an Origin Lord." It spoke in a deep baritone.


    Darius rubbed his chin. "What is an Origin Lord and how it ispared to a True Lord?"


    The Jinn was startled. "Hm? You know of the True Lords? Then that makes things exceedingly simple for me."


    "An Origin Lord and a True Lord are one and the same. Origin Lord is the official name given by the Goddess Vena whereas True Lord is more of the unofficial title they use locally." The Jinn exined.


    Darius'' eyes shed. "What exactly is that energy on the altar? Is that what grants an Origin Lord their power?"


    The Jinn nodded. "That''s right. ording to thews of Faust, once a denizen enters the local system of power, they start from an Amateur, Journeyman, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster. The 5 stages are set into the core of thews and are not negotiable. The only variations concern the various specialized power systems of the continents as well as the power of various races."


    "Parallel to the Grandmaster stage, yet with significantly more power is the Divine stage, which is influenced by the Faith System and Divine Domains. Divine Power has no theoretical limitations in terms of quantity, but is limited in terms of output or power."


    The Jinn looked down and folded its arms. "In other words, a ''God'', as they call themselves, can umte an uncountable amount of Divine Energy, if they have the resources, but the power of their ''punches'' so to speak, would always remain at the same level unless they empower their Divine Domain and Divine Attribute which is heavily dependent on other factors."


    "The power of the Origin Lord resides at the top of the pyramid. It is an artificially created stage by the Goddess a few millennia after creating Faust for reasons she didn''t share with us. It is a power just below that of a Supreme, a theoretically omnipotent being that is destined to rule over Faust."


    The Jinn gestured to the ball of golden energy. "This is Origin Essence. Upon integrating with it, a being would climb from whatever stage they are and attain the power of an Origin Lord."


    "They would then be blessed with the opportunity to meet with the Goddess in spiritual form, who would grant them an attribute and Origin Domain, which would be the source of their power." The Jinn concluded.


    For the first time since this talk began, Darius showed an intense reaction. His aura fluctuated as a reddish-ck aura manifested around him, his eyes turning into serpentine slits that chilled the hearts of onlookers.


    Darius held his chin as if in thought and smiled softly.


    "Meet the Goddess you say? Interesting. That is something I would definitely love to do." Darius spoke with amusement.


    The Jinn felt like something was wrong, but it wasn''t its ce to decide something like this. It simply gestured to the ball of Origin Essence.


    "Assimte with the Origin Essence and after you meet the Goddess, tell her your desired domain is the Sands of Ludo. If you choose anything else, the Origin Essence you assimte with will reject it and you would end up with nothing, so don''t try to be smart."


    Darius nodded obediently and climbed atop the altar and sat in a meditative position. He felt the ball of golden energy enter his body and course through him, making him feel like some form of electricity was coursing through his system.


    Its circtory speed increased greatly to the point where Darius felt numb. His entire body glowed golden as his eyes burst open with a golden beam that illuminated the entire tower.


    Darius'' body was being thoroughly baptized, but what was going on in his mind and soul was vastly different. From the moment the Origin Essence had entered him, he was pulled to a different ce.


    It was an astral ne, a world that stood in the middle of space with countless stars shining in the background like he was in some sort of space museum.


    Before Darius could analyze his surroundings further, he heard azy and youthful voice speak out.


    "Hm? Whozzat?"

 Chapter 543 - 543

    Darius'' attention was stolen by a section of this astral room that was set up like some livestreamers den. There were a total of 16 screens stacked hexadecimally, all disying different things. They all seemed to disy various scenes, but only for a few seconds at most, before the content seemed to change to a different channel.


    The wide table was chock full of various essory devices from amibos to consoles, to even board games. There were controllers of all types as well ced there, increasing the sheer mess.


    Before the table was arge chair that looked like something a top-level CEO would sit inˇ­ if they were the size of the Kingpin from the Spidermanics. The astral room was lit up by an unknown source of light that made things visible, but that corner of the room was purposefully left dark, the light from the screens acting as the only source of illumination.


    Soon, the chair swiveled around and a form came into view. When Darius inspected the person there, he had to admit, nothing was like what he had expected given what he had known.


    The one before him, with a very slight stoop, was the physical manifestation of a nerdy gamer chick.


    She had a messy brown sweater that exposed her shoulders that was partially tucked in her thigh-length booty shorts. Coupled with her thigh-high socks ¨C no shoes ¨C and round-rimmed sses, she hit the look off well.


    The girl - or should that be woman? - had short auburn hair that was furled around her scalp in a mess, with piercing hazel eyes that were simr to Darius'' own.


    She had a cute heart-shaped face which did not fit with her well-endowed body for her height that was around 5''5 at best.


    What was most unsettling however, was that she radiated an aura ofˇ­ otherworldliness. Darius could feel it, a part of him just knew that if this being ever died or decided to stop supporting his existence, he would be nothing and simply cease to exist.


    It was as if aputer or any home appliance had gained sentience and discovered the power cable.


    The girl had azy look on her face with purple bags around her eyes suggesting she hadn''t slept in days... or perhaps in the case of a Goddess it might have been eons. She gazed at Darius without actually registering who he was.


    "Erm, which sub-universe are you from? What''s your world number?" She asked in a slow drawl, a voice that was not exactly annoying, but not very attractive for a girl either.


    Darius shook his head. "Nobody ever told me my sub-universe, nor my world number, but I do have the name. I''m from Faust, the world you created to generate a Supreme."


    "Right, right, Faust. Faust? Did I ever create a Faust? Man, that name sucks. Why would I do that? Oh right, I have bad naming sense. Dammit." She muttered to herself,pletely losing interest in Darius.


    Darius remained silent until she eventually snapped to. "Erm, sorry. Hey, wait a minute, you look familiar!"


    She then paused and tapped her head. "No rather than familiar, you look important. Significant. Like you''re someone I should know, you know what I mean?"


    Darius smiled softly but he did not respond. He was currently in turmoil within, his every expectation for the almighty Goddess was turning on its head,pletely obliterated, not even leaving ashes behind.


    For the first time in a long time, Darius was at a loss for words.


    "Anyway, I''m Vena, Goddess of Games and Recreation. I''m the creator of our fourth universe and its ruler."


    "Whenever any entity within my worlds acquires any special token or power that allows them to meet me, I''m obligated to share the truth of their existence." Vena said slowly, pping her hands as a screen manifested before Darius.


    "First things first, as the ''fourth universe'' suggests there are other universes out thereˇ­ ones that are equally asrge and unique as ours." Vena began in azy tone


    "They number five to be precise. The fifth one is still in infancy however. Nevertheless, any drastic actions taken by the Gods of any of the five universes have an equal and opposite reaction that affects more than their universe."


    "Each universe has a God who has a specific attribute granted to him by our father. I will now list the universe, the names of their Gods, and their attributes."


    "The first universe is called Homados. It''s the embryonic form of every universe that came after since we all based our designs on that one. Its resident God is my eldest brother Caelo, God of Destruction who shares his universe with his counterpart Ca, Goddess of Creation."


    "The second universe is called Gaea. It''s a lovely universe of magic and purity that is managed by my older sister, Myra the Goddess of Life. She is a chipper one, who eventually fell in love with a mortal named Luka and shared her power with him, so now they both overlook it."


    "The third universe is called Infinitus. It''s a strange universe that is a mixture of digital and real, as the Gods there had merged two such worlds together. The resident deities are the Abyssmal Prime Draco and his counterpart the Celestial Prime Eva."


    "The fourth universe is called Metis. That''s ours, anyway, and it''s pretty standard. There''s only me here, the Goddess of Games and Recreation."


    "The fifth universe is unnamed as it''s still developing, and its deity has not been born. As far as I can tell, it seems to want to follow the footsteps of the third universe and wait for a mortal to grow into Godhood."


    Vena paused here for a while and then continued. "Now, each of these five is mutually exclusive, experiencing their own multiverse, timeline, and developments. In other words, we are not directly connected to each other nor are we like mirages of each other."


    "Each universe is its entire separate thing, I need to stress that again. Now about you. You are a being from one of the many multiverses that inhabit my universe. Maybe a slightly different Earth, or a unique type of Andromeda. Whatever the case, you came into existence, lived your life, before ending up in Faust and now you''re here."


    Vena then pped her hands and the screen disappeared. She shruggedzily.


    "There''s a lot more I can exin, but I don''t really see why I should. Anyway, what exactly was your purpose foring here again?"

 Chapter 544 - 544

    "I was sent here after acquiring Origin Essence by passing the trials of a certain tower created by yourself. I''m supposed to gain control over the sands of that continent." Darius answered truthfully.


    Vena nodded and a screen appeared before her with an immaterial keyboard as well. "Right, you said the name was Faust or something. Let me check real quick."


    She tapped for a bit and seemed to rear the information that came up seriously before chuckling. "Oh, THAT Faust. You know, this might give you even more existential dread, but I created your world in a separate void for the purpose of raising generals for myself. Most of the fellows I sent there didn''t amount to anything, butˇ­!!"


    Vena''s eyes gleamed with excitement. "There is one guy I sent there recently who is absolutely promising! I haven''t seen natural intelligence like his since my first sessful reincarnator, Jax. Looking at how powerful Jax became, I have great hopes for this one!"


    Vena then went back to her screen. "Though, I should check up on him more often. I left him to his devices and programmed an AI to see to his needs while he umtes power. By now, that duo should have torn up your world."


    She chuckled and then remembered something. "Oh right, what was your name again? If I check it, I''ll be able to find what exactly you''re describing by browsing the world logs."


    Darius smiled. "Darius Stone."


    Vena nodded passively. "Right, Darius Stoneˇ­ let''s see here. Oh, Darius Stone, that was quick. Hm? This profileˇ­"


    Vena frowned as she read through whatever was in front of her. The more she read, the more her face became stranger and stranger, her mouth dropping. She then gazed at Darius, then the screen before her, then Darius again.


    Darius only smiled softly.


    "Holy shit!" Vena eximed as she jumped from her seat.


    "You''re not supposed to be here! You aren''t supposed toe here until you be a Supreme! Wait, why are you only an Adept? And a fresh one to boot?!"


    "It''s been like 8 years since you were spawned into that world! With all the advantages given to you, even if you haven''t ascended, you should have at the very least be a Grandmaster, on the level of a God!" Vena spoke hyper-fast, her words smashing on each other.


    Then, she raised a hand up. "There''s an easier way to find out."


    She grabbed towards Darius, and he was shocked to see a greyish orb leave his body and enter Vena''s hands. It looked like a smallptop-like icon covered with a greyish light.


    Darius was shocked to see that thing had been in him and wondered what it was, but guessed it might be the Supreme System given the clues. When he turned to Vena to see if she understood what it was, he was further stunned.


    Vena wore an expression of confusion, her head tilted as she smiled foolishly while gazing at the thing that was floating in her palm.


    "What the fuck is this?" She asked with that strange smile still on her face, like she didn''t even know whether she shouldugh or frown.


    She gazed towards Darius who offered an exnation. "That should be the system that I have been using since I got to Faust, no?"


    Vena seemed even more confused at that. "That''s not possible. I''ve stopped using trash like this since Jax''s era."


    She shook her head and a few threads connected her to the grey orb as she closed her eyes. "Forget it, let me see for myself what the source of all this confusion is."


    Like this, she seemingly interfaced with the Supreme System for a few seconds. Darius watched her quietly for a bit before turning his attention to the astral room, which was quite a lovely ce to be in.


    Before he could admire it any further, Darius felt his soul scream in terror as he felt awash with horror. He turned his head to see Vena whose body had erupted with a ck light that seemed to want to devour all light in the world.


    She opened her eyes, revealing a wealth of anger that Darius could see was on the verge of exploding. Vena didn''t focus on Darius but turned her ''y area'' from before and spoke coldly.


    "Computer, summon AI-3456534509 this instant."


    Immediately, theputer shed and ran some data, before a golden light formed into the body of a sophisticated android that was quite tall.


    {Greetings, great Goddess Vena! I am AI-3456534509, aka the Central Assistant Entity for ves Acting Roles, CAESAR. How can I help you today?}


    He greeted Vena in his usual chipper, infomercial-like tone then gazed at Darius at the back. Before Vena could even say anything, Caesar began mouthing off.


    {Well, well if it isn''t Darius Stone! It is not so great to see you here, as you are desecrating the holy area of the Great Goddess Vena! Why are you here when you should still be mucking about in Faust?}


    BAM!


    Caesar''s android body exploded into nothingness, before it got regathered, forming into a line of running code shaped like a human. It was then forced to its knees before Vena, who spoke slowly.


    "AI-3456534509, Caesar, or whatever name you chose to go by. What, and I mean WHAT is the meaning of this rubbish?" Vena held out the Supreme System.


    Caesar seemed to have sustained some form of damage from the earlier explosion, his usual chipper voice gone as he wasden with confusion and fear.


    {G-Great Goddess, that is the System-based tool given to Darius Stone at the start of his journey, the Supreme System.}


    "This? THIS? YOU DARE TO CALL THIS A SUPREME SYSTEM?" Vena looked incredulously at the AI, wondering if her hearing was going bonkers.


    "This rubbish is the earliest archetype of a system I made for reincarnators or transmigrators under my belt and has long been phased out. You just took it in its rawest and basest form then pped the name ''Supreme'' on it." Vena spoke with derision, gnawing her teeth hard.


    Caesar still seemed confused by the Goddess'' reaction. {Well, yes.. That is because a fellow like Darius Stone deserves the barest minimum, after all, he is only there to serve your grand purpose.}

 Chapter 545 - 545

    Vena looked like she had heard the most incredulous thing ever. " ''Deserves the bare minimum?'' What in theˇ­ and that reminds me, I saw in the logs that you told him I sent him there ''to suffer for my amusement''?!"


    Caesar lowered himself even more but answered. {Well, yes. What other purpose could a mere mortal soul full of evil serve other than entertainment? Besides, he is the most unremarkable soul there is!}


    Darius could see that Vena barely held herself back from pping the android once again. "Do I look like some sick sadist to you? I am a GODDESS, not a Demoness! I rule this universe and every life within."


    Vena pointed to herputer screens by the side. "If I would like some sick entertainment like that, I wouldn''t even need to touch his soul. I could run hundreds of thousands of real-time simtions with whatever I want and effect them into reality if I so wished."


    Caesar seemed tongue-tied, realizing the logic of it but not truly understanding. Darius simply stood to the side with his arms folded behind his back, notmenting at all.


    "You know what, don''t even try to exin yourself. Let me see what your programming is like that made you thisˇ­ foolish." Vena said tiredly as she swiped towards Ceasar.


    A strange chip flowed into her hand, which she promptly inserted into her holographicputer disy. After typing a bit and reading things with a solemn expression, Vena sighed and closed herputer.


    She then threw Caesar''s chip back into his android body and walked over to slump in a throne she had generated into the middle of the astral room. She covered her face like she wasing to terms with something very annoying and very stressful, but couldn''t avoid it.


    Eventually, she opened her eyes and stood up. She gazed at Darius and bowed slightly, an action which shocked Darius and Caesar both.


    "Darius Stone, I have to apologize for my carelessness with your reincarnation. Nothing has gone like how it was supposed to and the cause is myziness." Vena admitted with a tired tone.


    Darius waved a hand. "It''s alright. I owe you for giving me a second chance at life, and especially bringing my wife over."


    Vena''s expression became even more awkward. "Thatˇ­ wasn''t me. That was him."


    She pointed to Caesar. Vena raised her body, patted her booty shorts before sitting on the throne where she started to exin.


    "This AI is a special one I made for reincarnators like you who I have high hopes for. They are all nk tes that adopt a personality and behavior of a person that would most invigorate the reincarnator to maximize their chances to seed."


    Darius understood as he gazed at Cesar. In other words, based on his mature and steady personality, the perfect kind of person to galvanize him was an antagonistic fellow who would give him no way out.


    "Normally, it isn''t a problem, but your ability to grow without even receiving the proper tools forced the AI to be harsher and harsher, as its programming told it that you remained exceedingly above its standard parameters."


    "Basically, whatever it was doing, it was doing it very well, so its programming told it to continue that until it detected diminishing returns before seeking an equilibrium."


    Vena rubbed her hair. "In truth, I never expected this as your case in itself is a special one. Normally, all the guys and gals I reincarnate were hardcore gamers and NEETs, because those adapt the best to alternate worlds. You''re the first old-timer I ever selected, not to mention you were a business tycoon."


    "Usually, what urs is that the reincarnators get sexy subus partners or incubi AI, cute fairies/younger sibling AI or steady and wizened master-like AI, depending on their preference and individual cases. "


    "This is because NEETs are the most unmotivated people in the world and to get them going requires scratching an itch in their personality."


    "So, the Caesar AI, doesn''t actually hate you. He thinks he does because that has been deemed the best way to motivate you, but his programming will be reset once you return." Vena stated as she waved a hand, making Caesar disappear.


    "In order to show my sincere apology, I will do three things for you. I am going to custom-build you the best and most up-to-date system I have and infuse some of my own energy into it. Secondly, I will bring over to the souls of your three children, so that the next three children you will have with your reincarnated wife will be exactly them, though naturally reborn into Faust."


    "Finally, I will remove the worldly limitations on your growth. The system I will give you will allow for organic growth right off the bat, but Faust is not very stable since it''s in a separate void."


    "Basically, what thatst part means is that you will no longer have to do those stupid Quests in order to reach the next stage. Rather, you will have to practice the power system of all 10 continents and breakthrough naturally using each continent''s guidelines."


    Vena shook her head. "No, that''s still too tedious. Rather, I will use this time to do some maintenance on Faust and reset a lot of things, as well as update the power systems. I originally just took an archetype and added a bit of ir before tossing it to the side."


    Vena gazed at Darius seriously. "However, the downside of all this means that everyone, and I mean everyone, will be significantly more powerful. Those you could have easily beaten before will be on par with you and those who were already stronger, will now be untouchable. You won''t be able to jump stages as easily as before when fighting."


    "Could you please exin why this will be the case?" Darius asked with a frown.


    Vena nodded. "The reason I sent you into Faust and didn''t just baptize you with limitless power is because of the rules of Godhood.. I need capable generals, and you have disyed great skill in will, vision, intelligence, and nning."

 Chapter 546 - 546

    "However, what I need more is someone with greatbat capability. Darius, you''re good, but your fighting skill is average at best. It''s fine to sit in Safemoon to n and take control behinds the shadows, but I will need you to enter the frontlines henceforth for most things." Vena concluded.


    "Don''t worry, once you see the features of the new system you will have, you will not have any problems. It will be more than enough of a tool to give you the means to acquire true power."


    Hearing her promise, Darius could only remain silent and wait for whatever came next.


    He watched as Vena became much more lively. She took out not only her holographic screen and began typing, but she did so with her feet. Her hands were doing something else, buildingˇ­ somethingˇ­ that resembled a high-tech cube.


    While she worked on these two, much to Darius'' speechless shock, she also took the time to talk to him.


    "Oh right, you were sent here because you obtained some Origin Essence? That''s some good stuff, but not really for you. Origin Essence is basically the waste and impure energy produced from that big lizard."


    "Big lizard? Could you be referring to Yuli''ann Castoro, the Dragon Ancestor?" Darius muttered with shock.


    "Right, is that was he goes by now? Whatever. He is a Dragon that is from the third universe, one of my brother''s cousins when he was a mortal. His power is leagues above anything you can fathom." Vena replied easily even as she worked rapidly.


    "Origin Essence is hisˇ­ waste?" Darius asked uncertainly.


    "Yup, it''s basically the same to him as excrement is to you. In universe three, Dragons regrly produce some form of crystallized energy. Thatw is notpatible nor present in ours, so we had to find a workaround."


    "At his level of power, he produces something called Origin Energy crystals every day. I just made him channel that energy into Faust while he was asleep, and the core purified it slightly and gathered it into clusters that formed Origin Essence as you know it."


    "I was shocked when the first NPC of Faust appeared here because they had broken the limit of power I had set for the ce. I had toe up with some exnation about how they were ''True Lords'' chosen by me and h h. Haha, they ate it up too."


    "Anyway, Origin Essence is irregrly produced and found by random beings, allowing them to attain a higher level of power that supersedes most of Faust''s limit, so I was forced to create something higher."


    "In came the Supreme. After setting that new power limit, things seemed to stabilize, but now I had the problem of finding someone who could actually reach that level."


    "Well, I got you, and you seem to be doing well," Vena concluded with a casual smile.


    "Oh right, you have managed to acquire his bloodline too. Listen, while it may sound great, that fellow might just carry you and force you to inherit his legacy. My advice is to avoid the Dragon race and even suppress the bloodline you gained using other powerful ones." Vena spoke solemnly.


    Darius listened and kept this in his heart. It seemed like he needed to be more careful with what he put into his body, but he was going to have to put even more questionable things due to Vena''s advice.


    "There we go!" She eximed loudly as she stopped typing and building, hovering the cube over her screen. Darius saw hundreds of lines of code be rapidly absorbed by the AI like a sponge in water.


    The cube then lit up with extremely eye-catching golden colors, looking nothing like the shabby wreck he had called the ''Supreme System''. Vena also crumpled that system down and carried its core data off, infusing it into the cube.


    After making sure everything was set, she tossed the cube over to Darius, who tried to catch it. However, it simply dodged his fingers and entered his brain.


    Darius did not feel its physical presence, but he certainly did feel its mental presence. Before he could analyze what was happening, he saw Vena tear open a hole in her astral world.


    Outside, one could see strange djinn-like creatures looking like they wanted toe in and bite their heads, but would Vena let them do as they please?


    The answer was obviouslyˇ­no.


    She waved her hands and eliminated them before focusing on a roaring river that was running throughout the fabric of spacetime. Vena cast her eye over it casually and then smiled.


    "There we go, the souls of your three children are in the river of souls. I will now nt them in Faust so that you can spawn them when you are ready." Vena informed.


    "As for the naturalws of Faust, don''t worry about it, I''ll roll out the patches soon enough. Also, the Origin Essence will be kept by you, but there is no need to assimte it, so I have turned it into a different kind of power for you. Make good use of it."


    Vena waved her hands towards Darius, some strange wind beginning to blow him away from this realm, right back down to the Tower of Spirits.


    He had a new system, his shackles were removed and his children could organically join him in his adventure of this new world. If it wasn''t for the fact that Darius hadn''t solved Deia''s matter yet, things might even be called perfect


    Still, it had gone up on his priority list.


    Darius opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged on the altar. The golden light that was fiercely exuding from his body receded, and seemed to be fully absorbed by him.


    First things first, Darius looked around to gauge Faust in its current state and see any changes, especially with his Banded Servants. When he gazed at the stoic Gunner and X, he saw no changes in their demeanors.


    Still, he put that aside and opened what should be his new system menu, for the first time eager to see what it had in store for him.

 Chapter 547 - 547

    [True Supreme System initializingˇ­ scanning hostˇ­ assessing capabilities, potential, and historyˇ­ done.]


    [Wee to the True Supreme System! Handcrafted by Goddess Vena, it encapstes all thetest features a system can have! Please enjoy its utility as you grow your power endlessly!]


    [True Supreme System: The favorite tool of a future Supreme!


    1. Character - Inventory, Attributes, Skills, Affiliates, Titles.


    2. Activities - Quests, Events, Collectibles, des, Achievements.


    3. World - Map, History, Communication, Fast Travel, Dimensions, Worlds.


    4. System - Settings, Save/Load, Pause, Music, Video, Pictures, Shop, Statistics.]


    Darius immediately noticed that it was a lot fancier, with golden highlights, and a background of himself seated on a throne while Gunner and X sat by his side behind the buttons. It was aesthetically pleasing, much more than the previous version.


    Darius also noticed that this system was sentient and responsive, so he made a prudent request. "Please give me a tutorial on the various functions of the system."


    [Greetings, Master Darius, Future Supreme of Faust! I''m the AI of the True Supreme System, my name designation can be freely chosen by you at any time!]


    [Before that, to ede to your request, allow me to run through the various functions one by one. Firstly, there''s the Character main menu. It deals with everything rting to you personally and your power.]


    [The first submenu has your spatial Inventory. You can use it to store an unlimited amount of anything in an organized way, anything of any size. Withdrawal simply requires a thought and you can share the same Inventory space with your Banded Servants under the fourth sub-menu ''Affiliates''.]


    [For the Attribute sub menu, it deals with the upper part of your former Character sheet. The number of attributes have changed, especially with how they rte to battle. Attributes can now be increased organically, bought from the store, or achieved throughpleting the various Activities listed under the second main menu.]


    [Here is the new Character menu:]


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 10,000/10,000 (15,000 HP Surplus) || MP: 28,700/28,700 (100,450 MP Surplus) || STA: 4,100/4,100


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 100 || Speed: 200 || Constitution: 100


    Magic: 700 || Will: 350 || Luck: 100


    AP: 3,000 || SP: 1,200.]


    [sses have been condensed to Jobs, and you can have one for every stage you climb. The experience system has been overhauled from an inefficient numerical system to a percentage system. Now, all matters of activities will be tranted to experience, not just killing. This depends on the jobs you have at the moment.]


    [Stats have changed. Strength is now Power and acts in generally the same capacity and more, Agility is now Speed and acts in the same capacity and more, Endurance is now Constitution and acts in the same capacity and more.]


    [Intellect is now Magic and acts in the same capacity and more, Willpower is reced by Will, and acts in the same capacity, but now also handles MP regeneration. The rate is the total amount per second.]


    [Finally, Luck remains the same and does all the same things and more. It permeates everything, including your selections and prices in the shop, your chances of generating good quests, finding collectibles, and more depend on this.]


    [You have received a deposit of 3,000 Attribute Points and 1,200 Skill Points. These stem from all the organic growth you should have experienced when acquiring your Dragon bloodline along with the climbing of the stages, your training in your mental world, and your constant consumption of high-quality elixirs such as the Lunar Dew.]


    [Next is the Skills sub-menu. Your skills have remained the same, however the overarching system has changed. Passive skills no longer have a level cap and can grow endlessly as long as you train them.]


    [Active skills still have their cap and can be upgraded, though your casting ability is no longer limited to your stage. You can cast any spell of any grade but your sess rate will depend on your own power.]


    [This is the current Skills menu;]


    [Active: Elemental Breath - Lv.60, Analyze Lv.60, Combine - Lv.60, Swap - Lv.60, Zap Cannon - Lv.60, Mass Teleportation - Lv.60, Spawn - Lv.20, Time Skip - Lv.20, Death''s Call - Lv.20, Spatial Mark - Lv.20, Soul Sense - Lv.20, Spatial Dislocation - Lv.20, etc


    Passive: Magical Mastery - Lv.50, Elemental Control - Lv.50, Draconic Regeneration - Lv.50, Spell Enhancement - Lv.100, Spell Mastery - Lv.100, Mageward Barrier - Lv.100, Spirit Barrier - Lv.100, Channeling - Lv.70, Basic Lancer Arts - Lv. 20, etc


    Abilities: Transmutation (Advanced), Dragon Transformation (Intermediate), Limit Release (Intermediate), Ultra Instinct (Advanced), Man of Steel (Intermediate), Advanced Psychomancy (Master), Metamorph (Intermediate), Divine Favor (Intermediate).]


    [The Affiliates sub-menu deals with your properties, allies, and ves. They can be bound to the system freely, but will not be able to ess its benefits. Rather, you can manage and monitor them always. It functions absolutely, not even the sleekest Soul Paper can hold a candle against the True Supreme System''s binding power.]


    [Your System Brand hasn''t changed and still functions using the same rules. The same goes for your Transmutation and all other abilities you have been granted.]


    [Titles are new parameters set by the Goddess that you can acquire through various means. They are permanent and grant different boons depending on their content.]


    [The Activities main menu deals with all interesting actions you can take within Faust. Each of them will reward you with system currency, experience, attribute and skill points, Faustian cash and more depending on the content of the Activity itself.]


    [The Quests system has been overhauled. It''s no longer limited to herculean tasks you need toplete to reach the next stage. Rather, it has now tasks that the True Supreme System can set for you to achieve, or for the Goddess to give you.]


    [They will all be mostly long terms tasks that will take a while toplete and require a bit of effort and are split into Local, Continental, World, and Divine Quests.]


    [The Events system has also been cleaned up. Itrgely remains the same, but it is now purely self-generated. Set the criteria of any action or task and the True Supreme System will analyze it and append reward should youplete it.]


    [Your previous Events still remain the same and the reward will not be altered, nor the tasks for consistency.]

 Chapter 548 - 548

    [The Collectibles menu sets a list of rare and special items produced on Faust that Vena believes exists nowhere else in the fourth universe. She wants you to collect those so she can study them, enter them into her database and replicate them for other universes.]


    [The rewards for doing so are extremely handsome, beyond any other category, so you should check it out.]


    [The des are things you can do to set yourself apart from previous reincarnators Vena had sent to this world. It is simr in theory to a leaderboard and acts as an indirect form of PVP between you all.]


    [Achievements are actions of great renown that will reverberate in the world of Faust itself. They also have set rewards depending on the one youplete, and most will grant unique Titles that will give you special powers.]


    [The World main menu handles the entirety of Faust and its sub-worlds as a whole. The first sub menu, the Map shows you the entire world of Faust in map form, including the names of locations, statistics,ws, and whatnot.]


    [The History sub menu tabtes the notable ces you have passed through over a certain period of time. If you ever want to retrace your steps or find where you were taken after being kidnapped, this will prove useful.]


    [Communication allows you to contact and speak remotely to any of your designated Affiliates at any time, no matter where you or they are in Faust.]


    [Fast Travel is one of thetest features granted to special reincarnators. Now, you can automatically teleport to wherever you have been before instantly.]


    [The Dimensions sub menu shows the sub-worlds and special realms within Faust that you own or bought through the system. It also always you to ess them uponmand.]


    [The Worlds sub menu shows the alternate nes you can and have traveled to. As the power of Goddess Vena is limitless, you can go anywhere as long as you have the right world coordinates and ess rights. Note that this is limited to Metis.]


    [The System main menu handles all operations and settings for the True Supreme System as a whole, as well as special system functions.]


    [The Settings sub menu is mostly the same as you remember it, and your previous settings have been carried over.]


    [The Save/Load is thetest feature toe out of systems, something that the Goddess Vena has yet to roll out because of how costly it is to add.]


    [It allows you to save a snapshot of yourself and the world under ''save'' and then return to that state at any point in time with ''load''. However, to limit this - as you won''t see the price that Vena will have to pay to facilitate this - you can only use each slot once. You have a total of 5 slots for now.]


    [Pause allows you to ess the True Supreme System menu while stopping the world around you. You cannot move or attack in this form as you too are paused, but your mind remains as active as long as you are browsing the Supreme System. There is no limit to how long Pause can be used.]


    [Music, Video, and Pictures are lifestyle features. You can record anything, snap anything or y a song of anything in Faust right in your mind or out loud in an area around you. Music can be bought from the Shop or taken from your mind.]


    [The Shop is the most special feature of the True Supreme System, and is an old one. It allows you to buy anything in existence through the True Supreme System, but at a cost. It uses the True Coin currency internally, which can be acquired through a slew of means.]


    [You can learn more about this through essing the Shop.]


    [Finally, the Statistics menu is the same as before, keeping count of various things.]


    [Does that suffice as a tutorial?]


    Darius sighed internally. "Indeed it does. I''ll get back to you."


    He then rose from the altar and stepped down. The ethereal Djinn that had even gotten him to take in the Origin Essence now bowed to him deeply.


    "Djinn Djanie greets the Desert King. My Lord, it has been too long since Ludo had one like you, far too long."


    Speaking of this, Djanie reminded Darius of his new power. He had not actually absorbed that Origin Essence as Vena had converted it into a Title for him due to the circumstances.


    The Title was unsurprisingly ''Desert King'', and within the borders of Ludo, he could freely control the sand using his mind at no cost. He also obtained True Lord level power when using the sands to fight, but he himself was not a True Lord, or at least hecked the stats the others would have.


    With that in mind, Darius swept over the entirety of Ludo at once. Even if he had far less mental power, this was easy thanks to his connection with the sands.


    He instantly got the full picture of the continent''s situation, and he noticed many interesting things that were going on in the continent right now, as well as some leftovers of things that had been done in the past.


    Darius even found the nk spot that was the Divine Oasis and knew that if he intruded it using his Desert King''s power, he would suffer an intense penalty.


    Seeing as he could visit the ce at will, this was not very tempting for him. He rather noticed Miranda''s operation easily, even feeling an innate aversion to her conversion of the sands to mental.


    He sent her a message to cease most operations since he already had control over the entire continent. There was no need to sneakily terraform his ownnd as that would weaken him unnecessarily, which was definitely self-harm in the long term.


    Darius then turned to his two Branded Servants who were gazing at him uncertainly. He had to admit, he had a lot of catching up to do with them, but not now.


    Now, he had to decide what to do about this Desert King matter.

 Chapter 549 - 549

    "Djanie, do not announce my sessful ascension to anyone or anything. Also, continue running the trials normally until I return, but extend the trial period from whenever to a yearly period." Darius instructed the Djinn calmly.


    The Djinn seemed shocked but this, but was silent for a while. "I am bound to obey all your instructions Desert King, but may I ask why you have taken this choice?"


    "Do you think I want Ludo alone?" Darius asked the Djinn with a soft smile.


    Djanie''s eyes narrowed as he processed Darius'' words slowly, and they widened when he understood the meaning behind them. When he gazed at Darius now, there was a hint of graveness in his eyes.


    "ˇ­ what an ambition." That was all the Djinn could say in the end.


    "Mhm. Anyway, any candidates who manage to pass all five tests in the future are to head to this location toplete a final test from me personally." Darius indicated towards the area of the Divine Oasis.


    "A final test?" Djanie muttered in confusion.


    What would a final test be needed for if he was already decided to be the Desert King? The only reason such a thing could serve would be to herd all those who should have be Desert King in the false period towards Darius.


    ˇ­


    !!


    Djanie broke out in cold sweat immediately. Darius began leaving the tower without even gazing at the spirit, but Djanie felt like this new Deser King had his dark hazel eyes on him at all times, piercing his very being to read his deepest thoughts.


    For the first time, a Djinn was spooked by a human. How ironic.


    ......ˇ­


    Darius and his two Branded Servants exited the Tower of Spirits, entering into the sandy world of Ludo once more. Outside, the guides who brought them over were waiting for their clients.


    Seeing that Darius and co were thest toe out, many eyes were on them, hopeful that something would have urred. However, Darius simply sighed withment and shook his head.


    This made the hopes of all the guides dim, and they felt a crushing weight on their souls. Shamael who had led them here almost looked like he was about to crumple on himself.


    Darius walked over and forwarded 1,500 Supreme Coins to him, which shocked the magistrate. "Thank you for the help, Brother Shamael. Without your discerning guidance, things would not have been this easy for me."


    "This is a small token of my appreciation. I have also sent you and title deed for the inner section of Safemoon, granting you citizenship and a manor near the core section. I want you to gather every magistrate of power on Ludo for a meeting in your manor in 3 months'' time." Darius instructed slowly.


    Shamael felt his mind go nk when he saw the Supreme Coins and the deed, but he managed to nod and assure Darius that he would get his task done at all costs.


    Satisfied, Darius immediately teleported himself and his two Branded Servants away, leaving the District Magistrate wondering what the hell was happening.


    ......ˇ­


    Darius appeared in the Divine Oasis with his two Branded Servants, right within the cottage itself. Before anything else, he turned to the two and observed them slowly before asking.


    "So, did you notice the changes?"


    Gunner and X shared an uncertain look before nodding.


    "Weˇ­ are not sure. On one hand, we have a set of memories detailing something has changed, yet we also seem to have a new set of memories stating that this was how things had always been." X answered slowly.


    Darius rubbed his chin. "Here''s what happenedˇ­"


    Darius exined the truth of Faust to them, as well as the nature of reality. Both of them took it well, Gunner especially looking unfazed. Jeez, at least panic a little in the face of learning the truth of creation and the limit of your mortality!


    X was quite bothered by this actually, but she could only sigh and ept it. Rather, it was her two Divine Concepts that were prancing crazily. Just like the Gods of Elysium, they had believed they were among the biggest bigshots in the world, only to find that they were merely arger speck in the ocean.


    Their turbulence affected X''s mood, and Darius chuckled.


    "The two of you, stop overreacting. Now that you know the limit of your existence, you also know how to quantify it and how to upgrade it, no?"


    The two Divine Concepts which were screaming and thrashing about like headless chickens suddenly paused as they were shocked. They froze for a few seconds, processing Darius'' words before realizing the truth of what he was saying.


    Yes, unlike their fellow Divine Concepts who were still as ignorant and conceited as they had been, they now knew the truth. Right now, they could use it as an advantage to acquire all forms of power and to surpass whatever ideas they had for themselves previously.


    After calming down, both of them became extremely embarrassed. ording to their visualizations, they were two extremely beautiful goddesses.


    The Life Concept having taken the form of a green-haired elf who was soft-hearted and wore baggy emerald robes, while the Light Concept was a white-haired elf who was tall and slender, but very benevolent and wore standard white robes.


    Seeing their visualizations blush like this made X giggle. Whatever the case, the three of them all looked the same age and were very close. Otherwise, the two Divine Concepts wouldn''t have agreed to share one vessel when there had been so many among the Fallon Elves who could fit their bill.


    Darius shook his head and crossed his legs. "Now, before we return to Safemoon, I intend to spend a week here limatizing to our new situation. Hm, well, you two don''t have much of a problem since Vena imnted new memories it seems, but I have a lot of things to do in the meantime."


    A lot had happened after he received the Adept Quest.


    He had broken through to the Adept stage and gained a more powerful Transmutation as well as skills, he had captured 5 Demigods and was preparing for war.


    Darius was about tounch a satellite in space, he had perfected his magic skills up to the early Adept stage in the Test of Mettle and now, he had been granted an entirely new system that had overhauled most of its previous function for better and more diverse ones.

 Chapter 550 - 550

    Darius first began by opening his Inventory. It was as the True Supreme System stated, vast, endless, and willing to contain anything. It was like its own void that could arrange and preserve anything.


    The best part was that the organization was top-tier. Everything was allocated in ways that he could easily ess with his mind, not his sight. A single thought and a bottle of Common Health Potion would be in his hand instantly.


    Darius tried it with various things and found that the size of the item didn''t matter, collecting it in and taking it out was instant. Not only that, anything he could tough with his mind or eyes could b taken into his inventory.


    He could collect whole mountains and uproot viges by sending them into his inventory, only that living things could not be sent in, so he could not use this trick to capture foes.


    He could take only unowned items, so he could strip an enemy mage or fighter naked and then beat them to death. However, if he did kill them, he only had to nce over and think it before everything they owned would be his.


    Darius was satisfied with the inventory system. He skipped the attributes and skills bit for now as he wanted to deal with themst. He moved onto his affiliates and saw that it was aprehensive tab.


    It showed all his acquaintances, allies, and people of note he had met, even if he didn''t know their names. It showed their feelings towards him and their current situations, as well as their physical and mental states.


    Browsing through, Darius was shocked to find that Celia Lovu was pregnant, and had been for the past 8 months. She was that nature element psychic that was of the Master stage that gunner had a fling with.


    Well, it was not a fling, as Gunner seemed to really like her. Darius was pleased, unlike when they satisfied their sexual urges with prostitutes. If they got pregnant, that would be a problem.


    But with a lover who shares feelings, it was fine. Gunner deserved to be a father and experience fatherhood. Besides, Darius had full faith that gunner would be one of the best fathers.


    Hadn''t he raised those 5ds in his Mage Tower very well? Even now, when they thought of who made them who they were, they normally thought of Gunner before Darius due to the impact he had on their lives and his presence.


    Darius also noticed that her current status was ''missing Gunner dearly''. He could only sigh and mentally promise her that they would be back in a week. Now that she was part of the affiliates system, he could monitor her allegiances at all times, so she could be inducted into the inner circle.


    Darius soon frowned heavily when he saw the status of injured on Jorge, Foldo, Portia, Shanks, and almost all those he left to manage Safemoon. However, the Apprentices were fine, so was Elijah and the entire Safemoon collection of properties were untouched.


    Darius understood that the top echelon must have run a mission of some sort, or counter a hidden attack, which led to the current state. Whatever the case, he left enough resources for them to recover with back at Safemoon.


    Darius then opened his titles menu and saw that he had more than a few already.


    [List of Titles:


    1. Desert King - allows full control of the Sands in Ludo as well as Pseudo-Origin Lord power within Ludo''s boundaries.


    2. Safemoon''s Lord - You have be a true lord of a territory recognized by all powers in Faust. Persuasive ability in politics greatly increased.


    3. Element Discoverer - You discovered a new element in Faust! You have a 200% chance to seed in creating a new spell of that element and can cast any spell of any Rank within that element with an assured sess rate of 30% minimum.


    4. Dragon Ancestor - You have the blood of the Dragon Ancestor flowing through you. Your power is increased to a standard beyond the understanding of any humanoid race, and your libido has be more potent.


    5. Elemental King (Iplete) - You have collected the Thunder Heart and Tree Heart, fusing them with one another and merging with yourself. Your Thunder and Nature affinity is at the highest possible point, and you will benefit from it in all regards.


    6. Creator -You have created life, albeit without a soul, in a mentalscape that can easily be replicated in reality. You have broken a taboo barrier and now have the ability to use Divine Skill without Divine Energy should you acquire them.]


    The list was short but concise. Darius got all he needed to know from these that he had already achieved, but h felt there should have been more. Then again, those things may havee up as des or achievements.


    Darius then moved onto the activities tab and opened the quests list. He was more than surprised to see that he had quite a list of them waiting for him.


    [Quests:


    1. <strong>Divine </strong>


    A. (Stage 1) Kill a Demigod - 200 True Coins, 200 AP, 200 SP, ''Demi-god Killer'' de, ''Demi-god Killer'' Achievement.


    B. Disgrace the Gods of Elysium - 20,000 True Coins, 2500 AP, 2500 SP.


    C. Be a Master Rank Reincarnator - 5,000 True Coins, 500 AP, 500 SP, ''Master Rank'' Achievement.


    2. <strong>World </strong>


    A. Plunge Faust into Chaos - 300,000 True Coins, ''Chaos Bringer'' Title, ''Lord of Chaos'' Job.


    B. Bring Faust into Prosperity - 300,000 True Coins, ''Advent of Order'' Title, ''Lord of Order'' Job.


    3. <strong>Continental </strong>


    A. (Stage 1) Conquer Fallon and be recognized as its ruler by all - 50,000 True Coins, ''Conqueror'' Title, ''Fallon Overlord'' Achievement.


    B. Conquer all the continents and be recognized as their ruler by all - 500,000 True Coins, 4000 AP, 4000 SP, ''All your continent are belong to me'' de.


    4. <strong>Local </strong>


    A. (Stage 1) Conquer Fraterina, your mortal enemy- 50 True Coins, 20 AP, 20 SP, ''Warlord'' job.


    B. (Stage 1) Increase Safemoon''s size and value by 10% - 100 True Coins, 50 AP, 50 SP, ''Developer'' job.


    C. (Stage 1) Raise 5 Apprentices to the Master stage - 300 True Coins, 100 AP, 100 SP, ''Master Teacher'' job. ]


    -------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note:</strong> It hase to my attention that some readers areining about ''wasted'' coins on chapters with a lot of menus or misc text used to enhance the experience.


    There''s a lot I can say, but there is no need to fight with my own readers over this.


    I offer a simple solution. Send me a link to your Paypal and I will pay back that $0.06 that makes up 3 coins or less.


    I don''t wake up and spend 60% of my waking hours and sacrificing my social life writing daily so that someone can point at me like I want to purposefully steal your $0.06

 Chapter 551 - 551

    The Quests were not too many, but very relevant. It was like Vena had taken a mixture of what he was already doing and what he wanted to do, as well as what he should be doing, and made them into Quests.


    What Darius was most looking forward to was the True Coin payout. He had yet to open the Shop, but the currency for it was extremely attractive to him based on the True Supreme System''s description of the function.


    Darius was certain that once he did, as a matter of fact, open it, his current lust would spike greatly. He gazed through the Quest one more time and kept them in mind, before moving onto the Events menu.


    [Events:


    - In progress


    1. A New Element (Recurring) - 300 years, 300 AP, 300 SP.


    - Completed


    1. Coffin of Lord Darm - No Duration, 190 AP, 95 SP.


    2. Hammer of Thor - 10 years, 30 AP, 50 SP, Thunder Element Dragon''s Egg, Thunder Heart.


    3. Civilization Protection Vaults - 1 year, 470 AP, 470 SP.


    4. The Desert King Trials - 1 day, 1,500 AP, 1,500 SP.]


    Darius noticed that thest Event was blinking, seemingly indicating that the reward was unimed. This greatly surprised him, as he had believed that it had bene was part of the 3,000 AP and SP he had been granted.


    Then again, it also made sense. Gaining the bloodline of someone like Yuli''ann Castoro whose ''waste'' practically produced True Lords, the ceiling of power on Faust, should yield this much if not more.


    In fact, Darius was right. He was still at a Fledgling stage, which was like being unhatched and about toe out of the egg. Once he climbed the ranks, the kind of power boost he would gain would overshadow this much.


    Darius rightfully imed his reward for bing the Desert King and moved onto the Collectibles sub-menu. Here he saw a list of items that were said to be very special, and shockingly, his own Resurrection Stone was there.


    The First, Second and Third Resurrection Stones were listed, and even their owners were listed along with it. ording to this, Darius had the First Resurrection Stone and even listed where it was kept.


    The menu read Spawn Point #10, though Darius preferred the name Divine de for its looks.


    The second Resurrection Stone seemed to be in the possession of Hades, kept in his Divine Domain. The Third Resurrection Stone was with the cklight Corporation, the popr Gravitaspany that made most of its tech.


    This interested Darius. It seemed like Vena wanted these items but didn''t want to snatch them herself, probably because she wanted to use them to hone him better.


    ... then again, given her personality, it might as well be that she was just toozy to do it herself.


    Darius personally felt like it was likely a mixture of the two.


    There were some other items in the list of which were named, but their powers were not mentioned. Even if Darius was curious, all he had to do was find them and use his Analyze to see what they were about, no?


    Since he only had one Collectible, and it was something he was not willing to apart with just yet, he moved onto the des sub-menu. Here, there were a long list of des, most of them in categories featuring the statistics of his life.


    I.e a certain amount of kills would him this de, killing this amount of that race would get that de, using a spell of this element this amount of times gave that de, etc.


    des were upgradeable too, in stages from the lowest to the highest. It was like that stuff in games you would do to get in-game rewards, mostly in Eastern made games on Earth.


    Darius already had achieved more than a few des. Most didn''t give any substantial reward, but he had managed to umte 3,000 True Coins, 250 AP, and 250 SP from what he had achieved so far.


    Most stages only gave out something like 1 True Coin, 5 True Coin, 1 AP, 1 SP, etc. None of them were on the same de, as in each de only gave 1 reward, and the amount was small.


    But that was fine, since given the sheer number of them, little drops of water would make a mighty ocean. The only thing was that des could not be forced.


    Just continue living your life and doing your stuff, and you would clear the various stages in time. It was the Achievements - which Darius opened next - that could be manually targeted.


    Achievements were like those in the games Darius had yed on Earth. They were mostly focused on not just significant acts, but absurd ones that sounded simple on paper but would take time, effort, and skill to achieve.


    Darius had achieved a few, which had led to his earlier Titles, among some others. He imed the Achievements that he was owned and received a deposit of 12,000 True Coins and 780 AP as well as 590 SP.


    There were no new titles among the lot, but that was fine. Darius then moved onto the ''World'' section. He opened the Map and saw that it was almost the same as before.


    The reason why he said almost was that his map was entirely dynamic and real-time. In other words, it was as if he had alreadyunched a super-powerful satellite over Faust and could check anything and anywhere as long as he zoomed in enough.


    Darius panned through and looked through the world slowly, checking various ces of interest. He even checked in on the Gods of Elysium and could pierce into their Divine Domains to see what was there.


    Heh, this would be extremely useful during his war, as it would allow him to outmaneuver his foes in ways that would leave them sleepless.


    Darius then checked on Deia and saw that she was valiantly training while that Inquisitor Davian looked on with infatuated eyes. However, Deia ignored him and seemed to have be a very cold person.


    Darius rubbed his chin as he liked it. His Deia had been fiery and hot, the emotional side of their duo while he had been the rational side.. For there to be a cold version of her was a contrast and added vor to his already perfect soulmate.

 Chapter 552 - 552

    Out of curiosity, Darius also checked on Unyris, especially the dragon perch that pierced into the highestyer of the sky. There, he saw a Dragon so huge and magnificent that his mind quaked.


    Suddenly, the Yuli''ann Castoro''s eyes opened with a snap as he looked around vigntly.


    "Someone dares to spy on me? I sense the aura of that damnable Goddess!"


    This seemed to trigger the fellow as he roared out in anger.


    "Bitch girl Vena, roll down here and free this Dragon God from this shitty! Our deal is expiring in like 2 years. LET ME OUT GODDAMMIT!!!"


    Darius decided to leave the thrashing Dragon Ancestor where he was and leave the Map section alone for now. Next, he opened up his History sub-menu and checked the list of ces he had been to.


    Since there was nothing of note here, he naturally moved onto the Communication sub-menu, which was a feature he was quite intrigued with. Immediately, he used it to contact Jorge, and felt surprised when a screen appeared before him that red ''calling''.


    Immediately, Jorge seemed to pick up, disying the beautiful blonde in a torture chamber, her hands and apron bloodied while what might once have been described as a body sat in a chair behind her.


    "Lordˇ­ Darius?" Jorge asked with surprise.


    "Georginaˇ­ how are you?" Darius asked softly, smiling gently.


    Seeing that it was Darius, Jorge was overjoyed, but quickly suppressed her feeling, maintaining rational calmness and professionalism.


    "Greetings, Lord Stone. I''m currently well. Would you like an update on Safemoon''s status, as well as the Supreme Faction?"


    Darius nodded.


    Jorge continued. "Three months ago we discovered some Agents of Fraterina who wore raiding our caravans from Andrato out to the world, stealing our resources and disrupting our business route."


    "Immediately, we captured the ringleaders and interrogated them heavily, finding out much of what was going on. From what we''ve gathered Fraterina has paired up with a certain faction from Gravitas in order to attack Safemoon slowly."


    "Those from Fraterina are unaware of the real identity of their backers, but inferred from the way we were able to be recognized worldwide that they certainly couldn''t take us in a head-on war. So, they resorted to sabotage to weaken us and check the depths of our ability."


    "Our initial lightning-fast response and sess caught them off guard and theyid low for a long while. It was only recently that they started again, this time using arge-scale operation that they must have nned for a while."


    "I mobilized my squad and many others, in fact, all our elites havee forth to fight them. Nevertheless, the enemy outnumbered us 4 to 1 and the enemy had the assistance of some strange robots simr to yours, but nowhere near as smart or effective."


    "Unfortunately some of my men lost their lives and none of us managed to escape without injuries, but we routed them all and even brought captives back. Behind me, I am working on the leader of the operation."


    Jorge gesture behind her as she finished her narration.


    "Hm. Gather the bodies of our dead and keep them whole. I will revive them once return. As for this matter, do not worry. I will be returning to Safemoon in 7 days, and we will have a lot of catching up to do." Darius replied sternly.


    Jorge bowed with reverence. "Yes, Lord Stone."


    Darius ended the call and sat down in his chair, thinking for a bit. He decided that his ns needed to be brought up and he needed to take less of ax position, both for himself and for Vena.


    After all, she had clearly stated that she wanted Darius to gain thebat experience he would require, and not remain the silent nner he was all the time.


    Or to put it better, Darius could silently n everything and anything he wanted, but he also needed to work on his own self and reach a standard where even if his ns failed and things turned dire, his own power and skill would be able to save the day.


    That was a fair request, and Darius added it to his mental to-do list.


    Next, he checked on the Fast Travel. This was something he was extremely interested in given how the True Supreme System seemed to hype it up a bit when they were chatting.


    Darius opened and saw that it was basically the world map, only that he could now select any point he had been to and instantly appear there without paying a single dime, mana, or anything else.


    It was instant too apparently, so he could be anywhere in Faust if he wanted. The moment Vena had told him about it, Darius had formed a devious n in his mind that would more than certainly work.


    As for the n? It was simple and hinged on one item he had kept ever since he had first met Foldo.


    [Entry Token - Misceneous


    Durability: 50/50


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 1


    Description: A special pass meant for outsiders of Gravitas. It allows the owner to teleport to the visitor''s center of Gravitas for 24 hours before forcefully being sent back.]


    As for how he would effect the n, it was obvious enough and didn''t need boration. Darius yed around with the Fast Travel menu for a bit before moving onto the Dimensions sub-menu.


    Unfortunately, there was nothing there, as Darius had never entered a different Dimension before. However, he would do so in the near future depending on how lucrative such things were.


    Darius then opened thest tab of this menu, the Worlds sub-menu. Here, he saw twos ced side by side. The one on the right was Faust, a beautiful with smallndmasses and a LOT of ocean which was marked as ''currently here'' for Darius.


    To his surprise, the one on the left was a familiar blue that no one could mistake, the star of the milky way and the spawn point of most humans, Earth.


    Unfortunately, the was darkened and a tag appeared above it that spelled ''locked''. As if to stress that point, it even had a locked padlock symbol to it.


    It seemed that Darius couldn''t head ''home'' just yet, not that he ever really wanted to.

 Chapter 553 - 553

    Finally, Darius moved onto the System main menu. Here were the functions that really defined this new system, and the first of them was the Settings menu. ording to the True Supreme System, nothing new had happened here that was able to pique his interest.


    Next was a very exciting and lifesaving mechanic, the Save/Load feature. Darius opened it and saw that yes, he did indeed have five slots and that the user design was pretty nice and aesthetic.


    Darius wisely took a snapshot of himself right now. It was the perfect time as he was in a safe location wherebat wouldn''t ur for a few days and still had a load of unassigned Ability and Stat Points, as well as unspent True Coins.


    If something were to happen in the future that forced him toe back here, he would have a lot of time and resources to gear himself up to tackle it.


    After making this single snapshot, he didn''t make any others, for now, only observed the one he had made to see what details it shared. He saw that it disyed his progress, power, the date of the snapshot, and many other details.


    Satisfied with his findings, Darius moved onto the Pause option. Naturally, he immediately paused the world and felt like time had halted. No, he didn''t just feel it, he knew that time for everyone and everything in Faust had frozen.


    It wasn''t that people were slowed down infinitely until it seemed like they stopped, everything hade to an immediate halt. Even Darius himself could not move, merely his mind could think and still ess the True Supreme System with ease.


    Darius knew that if he left the True Supreme System''s interface, the paused time would resume. Its purpose was to allow him to ess the Shop to make a quick purchase if he wanted to change the situation, to Fast Travel, or use whatever means he could to escape or ovee a fatal situation.


    It would also allow him to ess the Load feature if all hope was lost, so he could revert back to a previous moment in time.


    Still keeping the world paused, Darius moved on to the Music sub-menu. It included every single song he had ever listened to in his two lifetimes and had categorized them.


    The amount of detail the song had was rted to his knowledge of it, so there were many songs that were just snippets long or had <Unknown> as their title. Those were the songs he might have overheard at the mall, in a bar, or somewhere else without really paying attention or even bothering to find out their name.


    Darius tried a few that he remembered and liked, pleased that they sounded perfect. It was as if someone had ced spatial surround speakers around him.


    It offered him the choice to switch between Headphones Mode, which would mean that only he alone would hear it, Spatial Surround Mode A where it would y externally but only he and those he chose would be able to hear it, or Spatial Surround Mode B that would basically turn him into a living boom box.


    No matter, which choice he would make, it would certainly make his days less boring. Music was something an Earthling that transmigrated to another world would easily miss as it was an integral part of our lives.


    Darius had put on a catchy song as he checked Videos and Pictures, both of which were nk. He would have to manually take those if he wanted them, so he would take some time to capture rare moments if he could.


    Interestingly, he could export the videos and pictures he made, so it would be a good way to capture evidence of a person''s act without being seen. Whether to prove his innocence in a matter or to use as ckmail to achieve a certain result, it was good either way.


    And this left the one thing he had been looking forward to opening the most all this while, the Shop. When Darius opened it up and was immediately greeted with an interface that was simr to mobile games from Earth, a counter with a shelf behind listing various top goods.


    He saw many things like ''Limited time sale", "Premium gift pack" and more with huge timers and shy cartoonish advertisements for them. The counter itself was manned by an anthropomorphic rabbit that was chewing a carrot.


    Darius saw at the top that his total amount of True Coins were listed, at 15,000 exactly. With such a windfall, Darius Stone was certainly sure to measure how much value a single coin had.


    He decided to use his transmutation as a value forparison. So to begin, he searched up a bowl of Lunar Dew''s cost. It was listed as 12 million True Coins, which shocked Darius, for it was far cheaper than the price Transmutation gave which had been 345 million CP!


    That was 96.5% less than the Transmutation cost! One should know, that conversion was made using Pure Water as the source, which was one of the closest materials in quality to Lunar Dew that would reduce the cost.


    Whereas from the Shop, he would be getting that bowl raw and at the highest quality, just like what his Transmutation would yield.


    So, was 30 CP equivalent to 1 True Coin? Or was the scale far more skewed?


    The answer wasplex. The two currencies had different sources and different ways of being utilized. CP was free, produced every day at a set amount with nobor costs or thought from Darius, its only downside being its limited amount.


    TC were acquired throughpleting anything in the Activities tab that gave out such reward, which requiredbor of different values, but the amount he could acquire was not limited in a day.


    However, the Activities that gave out such reward were not infinite and its cirction into his hands was controlled by the True Supreme System.


    So it was going to be tough topare the two. Since Faustian currency couldn''t affect the two either, it was hard to use that.. As such, Darius would have to get a feel for himself using his own senses. allnovelfull

 Chapter 554 - 554

    Darius continued to browse through the shop and saw that Vena was right, everything and anything was sold here. He found Empty Soul Vessels, Divine Domains that had not been unlocked yet, Divine Tinder to ignite Divine Fire, Insect Larvae, guns, nukes, satellites, cars, boats, nes, Phoenix, and even Dragon eggs.


    World Keys that would allow him to travel to any he knew of, unimed Dimensional zones, some barren and some filled with resources, unique bloodlines he could add to his body, as well as elemental encyclopedias for those still locked on Faust.


    It allowed him to purchase the ownership of any person''s soul, of an entire race, and if he could scrounge up the cash for the entirety of Faust.


    The Shop allowed him to buy any form of information ranging from modern magical, cultivation, exorcist, ninja, nomological, card-based, and even futuristic knowledge like spaceships and the like.


    Look, anything you could think of was there. The only question was if Darius could afford it.


    (Author''s Note: My beloved readers, send me a list of items you''d like to see purchased and I will include the possible price. If it can be afforded, I might let him buy it, so feel free to let your inner shopper out!)


    Darius was not overwhelmed by the choice, but he was aware that unfortunately, his funds were limited. He could get one or two useful things, but there were hundreds of other things he might prove useful too.


    Darius shook his head and closed the Shop for now. Anything it could give - apart from those foreign to Faust - he would eventually be able to Transmute. As such, he would save up True Coins and acquire some special things when the time was right.


    At the moment, he wasn''t particrly bleeding for anything. Darius locked his mind down and focused on what he had to do next, which was allocate points. He''d received a huge windfall this time, enough that his power could go up in ways that would shake even True Lords.


    Well, not really no. If he min-maxed, yes, but it was clear by this point that Darius would do no such thing. He decided to allocate the AP of the three of them first and foremost.


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 2,250,000/2,250,000 (3,375,000 HP Surplus) || MP: 61,500/61,500 (215,250 MP Surplus) || STA: 61,500/61,500


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 1,500 (100) || Speed: 1,000 (200) || Constitution: 1,500 (100)


    Magic: 1,500 (700) || Will: 1,000 (350) || Luck: 880 (100)


    AP: 0 (5,830) || SP: 3,840.]


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 2,250,000/2,250,000 || MP: 4,592/4,592 || STA: 61,500/61,500


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 1,500 (400) || Speed: 800 (200) || Constitution: 1,500 (400)


    Magic: 112 (82) || Will: 2,300 || Luck: 100


    AP: (0) 2,830 || SP: 2,655.]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso || Race: Elf (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Cleric, Divine Maiden.


    HP: 11,500/11,500 || MP: 82,000/82,000 || STA: 4,715/4,715


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 100 || Speed: 780 (150) || Constitution: 115


    Magic: 2,000 (500) || Will: 6,700 || Luck: 1,000 (300)


    AP: (0) 2,830 || SP: 2,640.]


    The three of them felt it, the power and pain that coursed through them once their states of existence were raised. It was not a simple addition of 1+1= 2, but an exponential increase at this stage. All three of them had the stats of top-tier Elysian Demi-Gods or extremely weak True Gods.


    For Gunner, this was even moreso when he activated his Earth''s Guardian. With it, he could probably wrestle with Titans like As head-on.


    Next were their skills and spells.


    [Time el - Level 60 (20) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2,000 (20) MP


    Description: Move through the river of time to cross within a local area to advance forward beyond the means of those who are time-locked. This affects up to a range of 2 kilometers around yourself. The maximum dtion is 1:3 for up to 30 minutes.]


    [Return on Death - Level 60 (20) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 5,000 (50) MP


    Description: Call back the souls of the dead to their bodies, retaking their forms in perfect shape and bing a part of a glorious new race. This spell can only be used on 10,000 corpses at a time. Revived entities can grow organically and retain all the futures of a living soul.]


    [Void Locator - Level 60 (20) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1000 (50) MP


    Description: Using your affinity with space, create a special brand that can be locked onto any coordinate, allowing you to track the location or teleport straight to it if it''s within a certain range. The minimum range needed is 40,000 kilometers.]


    [Soul Sense - Level 60 (20) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 300 (50) MP


    Description: Send out waves of spirit force in all directions, echolocating all other spirits/souls within a certain range of yourself. The range is 500,000 kilometers.]


    [Void Relocation - Level 60 (20) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 5000 (50) MP


    Description: Twist the flow of space around you and send what exists in one fold of space to another. The total radius of dislocated space is 80,000 kilometers.]


    [Mageward Barrier - Level 500 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a legendary faction of mage-killing knights who took on contractual jobs to hunt down mages. This was the core skill, allowing them to great mitigate the damage from all offensive and debuffing spells based on their mastery over the spell at no cost to their mana or stamina. Currently, this skill disperses 500% (100%) of all iing magic damage/negative effects.]


    [Spirit Barrier - Level 500 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique skill lineage belonging to the Witches of Fallon, a group of women cursed with the Mystic Arts and its benefits as well as detriments. As masters of maniption of all things soul-rted, they developed this skill that protects their own souls from interference by others.. Currently, this skill disperses 500% (100%) of all iing spirit and soul damage/negative effects.]

 Chapter 555 - 555

    [Spell Enhancement - Level 1,000 (100) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: You have mastered a unique mana control technique, allowing you to deal more damage with each spell you cast. Your spell power is increased by 1,000% (100%).]


    [Spell Mastery - Level 1,000 (100) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: You have mastered a unique mana control technique, allowing you to use less mana with each spell you cast. Your spell resources have been reduced by 1,000% (100%).]


    [Magical Mastery - Level 200 (50) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, you have been blessed by the Laws of Magic in the world, able to disy mastery beyond any other mortal species in existence. Your mana regeneration, spell-casting speed, spell power, and spell resources have increased by 1,000% (250%).]


    [Elemental Control - Level 200 (50) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of all Dragons, you belong to not a single specific element, but epass them all. Resistance to elemental attacks as well as elemental damage increased by 1,000% (250%).]


    [Draconic Regeneration - Level 200 (50) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: As the Ancestor of Dragons, your lifeforce and survivability are nothing short of a Primordial Titan. Your health regeneration is 1,000% (250%) per second regardless of situation.]


    [Basic Lancer Arts - Level 200 (20) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the fundamentals of the priceless Lancer Arts long lost to history. With your spear, you can stand above all others who dare to use your own choice of weapon against you. You deal 1,000% (100%) spear damage whenever you wield a pole weapon.]


    [Intermediate Lancer Arts - Level 300 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: After progressing through the basics of Lancership, you have now begun upon the path of an Intermediate Lancer! With your spear, you can face a wide array of weapons head-on, and have many variations in which to fight with. You deal 6,000% spear damage whenever you wield a pole weapon.]


    [Channeling - Level 150 (70) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Description: You have gained the ability topress mana into spells, thereby increasing their power per the mana invested within. Spell power increased by 150% for every point of mana invested.]


    At this point, Darius had invested almost all his SP, with only 31 points remaining. Since all the important skills had been upgraded to satisfactory levels


    [Field - Level 36 (5) Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 200 (10) MP


    Description: Expand your control of gravity over an area covering 900 meters. Within that range, the weight of all beings within can be manipted at will, up to 450% (25%).]


    Allocating the rest into his Basic spell of the Gravity Element, Adjust, Darius raised it to be the Intermediate spell Field. Done with his own set, he moved onto Gunner next.


    [Earth''s Guardian - Level 250 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 75 MP per second


    Description: The natal skill of every royal blooded giant, this skill is a blessing of Gaia granted to her protectors who grants them the ability to borrow some of the''s power inbat. The user of this skill is granted +1,250% (+500%) Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense for the duration of its activation.]


    [Mageward Barrier - Level 250 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a legendary faction of mage-killing knights who took on contractual jobs to hunt down mages. This was the core skill, allowing them to great mitigate the damage from all offensive and debuffing spells based on their mastery over the spell at no cost to their mana or stamina. Currently, this skill disperses 250% (100%) of all iing magic damage/negative effects.]


    [Spirit Barrier - Level 250 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique skill lineage belonging to the Witches of Fallon, a group of women cursed with the Mystic Arts and its benefits as well as detriments. As masters of maniption of all things soul-rted, they developed this skill that protects their own souls from interference by others. Currently, this skill disperses 250% (100%) of all iing spirit and soul damage/negative effects.]


    [Energy Ward - Level 1,000 (100) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists physical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 1,000% (100%)!]


    [Mana Ward - Level 1,000 (100) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: Create a tangible shield that resists magical damage from all directions. The amount of damage resisted per attack is 1,000% (100%)!]


    [Extreme Speed - Level 200 (100) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: You have learned the special methods in which the Swire race utilizes to increase the movement speed to the limit. Your Speed is boosted by 1,000% (100%) permanently.]


    [Weapons Mastery - Level 100 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: After years of hardcore training and research, you have gained elementary mastery over all forms of weapon types, whether hot or cold, and can use them without suffering any penalty. You deal 5% extra damage when using a hot or cold weapon.]


    [Unarmed Mastery - Level 100 (5) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: After years of intense training and development, you have finally mastered all the fighting styles known to sapient species regarding unarmedbat. Whether fist, w, beak, snout, tusk, or bite, you can use all as well as defend against all of such moves. You deal 500% (20%) extra damage when using fists, w, bites, etc.]


    [Basic Martial Arts - Level 100 (20) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: You have mastered the fundamentals of the priceless Martial Arts long lost to history. With your fists and footwork, bedazzle and overwhelm any opponents who stand in your path. You deal 500%(100%) martial damage when you fight without wielding a cold or hot weapon.]


    [Intermediate Martial Arts - Level 32 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: Stamina


    Description: After progressing through the basics of Martial Arts, you have now begun upon the path of an Intermediate Martial Artist! With your arms and your legs, you can face a wide array of enemies head-on, and have many variations in which to fight with.. You deal 720% (100%) martial damage when you fight without wielding a cold or hot weapon.]

 Chapter 556 - 556

    Gunner''s leap in power was as exaggerated as Darius'', especially when considering Earth''s Guardian. Though it didn''t seem to go up by much, its power had increased to levels that would give even the staunchest powerhouse a headache.


    Gunner had a base 1500 Power and 1500 Constitution. Boosted by 1250%, this meant that during the utility of this bloodline skill, Gunner had 20,250 Power and 20,250 Constitution. At this point, Darius wondered if there was anything in Faust that could challenge Gunner''s power, but he believed Vena wouldn''t be so short-sighted.


    He then moved onto X''s skills, then closed the chapter on the current power-ups before focusing on his next task, the Satellite Launch, and the Demigod n.


    [Holy Divine Summoning - Level 60 (56) Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1,000 MP per summon


    Description: Establish a connection with the source of Divine Light and call down an Avatar to fight for you. The maximum power of each avatar is 60% (56%) of your own.]


    [Divine Sight - Level 100 (45) Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: Imbue your eyes and senses with the blessing of the Divine Light, allowing you to clearly see the folds of reality and the intricacies of the world around you.]


    [Light''s Chosen - Level 200 (50) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: As the chosen maiden representing the Divine Light, you are blessed by its will and possess a stronger connection to its power. All light-based skills and spells are 200% (50%) more effective.]


    [Pure Body - Level 600 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your body has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all Darkness and Death element attacks as well as any and all ailments by 600% (100%).]


    [Pure Soul - Level 600 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your soul has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all curses, soul attacks, and soul interference by 600% (100%).]


    [Pure Spirit - Level 600 (100) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: After connecting your existence to the Divine Light as its receptacle, your spirit has evolved. You are naturally resistant to all psychic attacks, illusions, and mental charms/suggestions by 600% (100%).]


    [Aura of Life - Level 45 (10) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None`


    Description: Possessing the closest connection to the Divine Light, you radiate an aura of wellness and empowerment, cleansing all Darkness and unwanted elements. All allies of yours enjoy an extra resistance to all diseases and curses by 45% (10%).]


    Done with the Elven Princess, Darius called them over and let them know it was time to go. They were more than ready to get a move on, so Darius activated Fast Travel and sent them back to the central base on Pokterr.


    They appeared in the center of the base immediately, which was even more convenient than using spatial arrays. Darius checked in with Miranda and saw that the satellite was long ready to go.


    Darius gave Miranda permission tounch. Immediately, the base became busy as robots moved up and down, preparing everything for a sessfulunch.


    Darius teleported his group into a nearby observation room where they could watch the events. Darius observed calmly, but Gunner and X were practically glued to the ss as they were awed.


    Soon, the countdown was given. 5ˇ­ 4ˇ­ 3ˇ­ 2ˇ­ 1ˇ­ Launch!


    The entire area began quaking as if an earthquake was going on, though that didn''t faze any of the three in the room. Gunner and X watched the rocket that came up from underground expend huge amounts of power as it shot into the sky.


    Since it used Source Energy, there was no need for fuel, which meant that the entire thing could be reused. Not that they were hurting for either energy or materials given the scale of their operation and nature of Faust.


    Darius watched as the rocket easily entered outer orbit without any problems. The Itemancer didn''t doubt that many powers around Faust that were at the True Lord level would be able to sense its movement, and he was curious to see how they would react.


    His awe towards True Lords had reached an all-time low now that he was aware of the true source of their power, especially since he himself had interacted with it. Those who ignored it would remain in his good books and those who hindered it would be his next targets.


    This was Darius'' confidence!


    .........ˇ­


    The Jade Emperor was hosting the Heavenly Court, discussing the problems of the cultivation world and how to turn more Immortals into Celestials. Suddenly, the Jade Emperor''s expression changed as he gazed upward.


    His eyes glinted with interest as he rubbed his beard. "What an interesting toy."


    However, his interest soon died as he returned to more pressing issues. The world of cultivation had no time for such trinkets.


    ..........


    Jack Frost held his staff over his shoulder as his bright blue eyes watched a bunch of yetilings y around in the snow. He was smiling with indolence when he suddenly frowned and looked up.


    Ice swirled around him as he watched for a threat, only to notice that what he sensed was something leaving the. As such, he regained his calm and put it out of his mind.


    After all, there was something far better to watch right before him.


    ..........


    Yuli''ann Castoro was still lying down, huffing and puffing as he was only half asleep right now. After having sensed the Goddess, he had been too peeved to sleep and so was justzing about while thinking about what he would do once he was free from this contract.


    Just thinking about how long he had spent here made him snort fumes, yet he had to tolerate it as the benefits he was paid would make it all worthwhile. Especially since someone had managed to inherit his bloodline.


    He could capture the fellow to rece himself while he returned to the Third Universe to join the Intergctic War in the Gerdo Gxy. It had been too long since he took part.


    Suddenly, Yuli''ann cracked one eye open and gazed at a rocket that was climbing past his dragonperch.


    He watched it reach its apex and unload its charge. When he saw what it was, his eyes gleamed as he nodded.


    "Impressive! Using a satellite to monitor the world, whichever reincarnator she sent here has 10,000 IQ! Those fellows who came before were retards inparison!"

 Chapter 557 - 557

    Darius watched the rocket reach the apex and discharge its payload before falling back towards the base in order to be recollected. He noticed that the satellite itself seemed to be functioning well.


    He gazed at his HoloBrace and waited for Miranda''s report. His AI daughter soon appeared and seemed excited.


    "All system go, Daddy! There are no problems with coverage or power. Everything is perfect and I am now connected to all HoloBraces in Faust!"


    Darius smiled, yet his usual soft smile was a bit darker this time. This A-okay didn''t just mean that he was connected to all his devices in Faust, it meant that his first step in taking over Faust had just beenpleted.


    Now, the next step should be obvious. He would pump HoloBraces out like crazy, making sure that even those who felt they didn''t need them would have them.


    However, that would be done after he returned to Safemoon. Right now, he had to make his final preparations for the War with Elysium that would soon drag the entire world into it, forming Faust''s first World War!


    The Insect Invasion did not count, as it was one side versus all others in a desperate bid for survival. This was going to put three sides versus all others at first, and the stake would be limited to leadership and power, not survival.


    Right now, Darius could be said to rule over Ludo, Pokterr, and tentatively, Fallon. When he raised his Safemoon army to take over Fallon, there was no way he could lose, which was why he had counted the continent he had spawned on as part of his force already.


    As for Ludo, after he conquered Fallon, he would announce his ownership and begin rapidly developing the continent as well. Ludo would then war with either Gravitas or Kiel.


    Both were good targets for the sandy continent, one that relied on tech and would find no ground on thend of sand and one that survived on ice, which also was terrible for a sandy domain.


    All these thoughts ran through his head, though outwardly all Darius said was: "Well done."


    He then left the observation room with his two Branded Servants, heading for the captive area where Medea and Achilles were kept.


    Darius sent X to check on Pyrrha, as the two were simr in nature and were rtively fond of each other. Pyrrha never opened up in Darius'' presence the same way she did with the Elven Princess.


    Once down, they entered Achilles'' room first to see that he was locked in a crucial chamber, his eyes delirious and his formerly refined body extremely dull andid.


    When he saw Darius, his body shook as he mustered the energy to speak.


    "Please, let me goˇ­ I willˇ­ Do anything you wantˇ­!!"


    Darius remained silent and walked around him, observing him like someb rat. This made Achilles even more desperate as he did not want to undergo another experiment at all costs.


    "I-I knowˇ­ those Godsˇ­ ptui! They are fakeˇ­ falseˇ­ whateverˇ­ I renounce my belief in them!! J-Just let me go..!!" Achilles begged, his eyes wide with desperation and pleasing as he smiled awkwardly.


    "Oh?" Darius murmured.


    He then turned to Miranda. "Just what has he been through in this time that made him break?"


    It was Solena who pooped up, wearing a cuteb coat along with ck, square-rimmed sses.


    "Greetings, Father. As per your instruction, we''ve used this Demi-God as ab rat and injected a total of 109,754 different substances that were rated to be the most painful in Faust in order to derive an objective pain measurement system as the target could not die."


    Solena manifested a checklist as he continued reading and flipping through it.


    "We have also used 914,743 different types of substances that were rumored to be the most destructive, 271,929 substances that were stipted to be the most fatal, and 961,134 substances that were the most poisonous."


    "We alsoˇ­"


    Solena went on and on, listing the various things they had done and used on Achilles. The faces of Darius and Gunner both changed, the former frowning with surprise and thetter gazing at Achilles with some hints of respect.


    "Over a long period of testing, we''ve found that while the target is extremely resistant to all forms of substances and bodily harm, he is not impervious as we suspected. His current rundown state is proof that there are many ways to harm the target."


    "Starvation, dehydration, torture, poisoning, and more should be able to take away the life of the target if kept up long enough." Solena concluded coldly.


    "There is some good news. Due to the repeated attack on the cells by the various substances, we have been able to analyze and extract some of the damaged ones for experimentation and analysis."


    "We havee to the conclusion that whatever substance exists in the waters of the River Styx did not actually change his fundamental makeup, but rather induced a newponent to every cell in his body that generates a special golden substance that coats the outeryer of the cell."


    "Each and every cell has this coating, and it doesn''t interfere in daily activities like splitting or assimtion, allowing the body to function as-is. However, if kic force or dangerous substances of any kind approach these special types of cells, they will be blocked by these golden barriers with ease."


    "Theponent that produces this golden substance has been termed the Stylian by us, subject to a better name at your discretion. It lies beside the nucleus upon assimtion and does nothing but convert the mostmon proteins into this golden substance when the barrier is damaged."


    "Our conclusion is that if we can replicate the Stylian gene, it should be possible to create an army of nearly invincible warriors who only need to eat the same food they do every day to maintain their invulnerability." Solena finished while gazing up at Darius.


    The room got deathly silent.


    Darius was frowning with furrowed eyebrows, Gunner was rubbing his forehead as if he didn''t even want to think about the implications of this, and Achilles was simply dazed, hearing his beloved power and secret dissected so professionally for the first time.


    "First things first, release Achilles for now. Also, present him with a HoloBrace, it''s time to let him know a bit more." Darius instructed Solena.


    "At once." She replied with a bow.


    The Demi-God was soon released by two Guard Androids while a third snapped a HoloBrace on his arm. Seeing the device that had filled him with knowledge previously, Achilles'' expression turnedplex.


    If only he hadn''t been a stubborn fool and had considered the information a bit more, he would not have needed to suffer this much. He wasn''t an idiot, he had merely had believed in the supremacy of the Gods for so long that his brain had refused to immediately ept any type of proof that they might be fake.


    As he had been forced to endure all the torture, the Demi-God had time to think about everything as he needed something to focus on to be able to not go crazy from all the pain. The more he thought about it, the more sense it had started to make until he finally gave up his belief and epted the truth, especially if it would result in salvation from this suffering.


    He waited for Darius''s next action. His usual valor and will were not gone, but he knew who to show them before. He could sense now that Darius was of the same level of power as he, which was shocking since it had been less than a month since he hadst seen the fellow.


    "Let Achilles know the basics of science, as well as the information about reality I learned from Vena." Dariusmanded with his arms folded behind his back, his eyes shing with curiosity.


    How would the beaten and weathered Demi-God respond this time?


    Miranda immediately, extracted the information from his mind without even bothering Darius in the slightest before fulfilling his task. Achilles closed his eyes to digest all this information, and this time, he opened his eyes 15 minutester.


    "Wow, even the True Lords had difficulty epting that they were born from the shit of a Godlike being from another universe! Damn!" Achilles eximed as he pped his forehead.


    Darius and Gunner shared a look before bursting intoughter. They couldn''t help it, they had never expected such a response from Achilles upon digesting this information.


    Achilles saw themugh and scratched his head, before a light bulb went off.


    "Right, since you''re the only ''real'' and ''important'' person on this godforsaken, mind if I swear myself into your services?" Achilles requested as he got to his knees weakly.


    Darius paused hisughter slowly and nodded. "That is why I still kept you alive. I didn''t honestly think you''de around, but I guess sapient beings are unpredictable."


    "Could you make me into one of your Branded Servants, Lord?" Achilles requested while praying in his heart.


    "No, that is reserved for special existences. You are certainly unique, but I don''t need you as a Branded Servant to maintain you. Once you swore allegiance to me, your fate was already sealed." Darius informed Achilles calmly.


    After all, with the Affiliates tab of the True Supreme System, Darius could now see everything about Achilles, even grant him AP, SP, the chance to earn titles, his own Quests, and more.


    This made Darius feel like a Game Dev and Achilles was his yer, or Darius was a coder and Achilles was an NPC.

 Chapter 558 - 558

    Achilles was disappointed by the rejection, yet he did not hold it against Darius. He understood that there was nothing special about him except his invincibility and his understanding of Faust''s true nature.


    Wait, since the secret to his invincibility had already been decoded to the point where it could soon be replicated inrge scales, he was no longer special in that regard.


    Hang on, since he had just received more information about the TRUE nature of the world via a simple download, he wasn''t special in that regard either.


    ˇ­.


    Alright, so Darius REALLY had no reason other than to keep him as anything but a bottom fodder subordinate, yet the Demi-God didn''t mind. As long as he followed Darius, the only ''real'' person, when Faust was done, he, Achilles, would be able to inherit a portion of a ''real'' characteristic as well.


    That''s right, Achilles thought of Faust as something like a simtion, and that everyone within it were simply mirages that would disappear in time. As someone who came from ''outside'' it, he considered Darius to be the only ''real'' element within, and following him would give him a chance to be real too.


    Achilles had the general idea, yet he was wrong. Faust was entirely real, and so was he, but everyone had their own way of interpreting the situation.


    Achilles was acting like an NPC who came to realize that he was a small part of a giant game, desperately wanting to follow the yer character out so he could see the real world, to avoid getting ''deleted'' if the game shut down.


    Darius found this sort of thought amusing, and wondered how Theseus or Hercules would receive the information. Well, in due time he would meet them again. Both had set off to achieve their goals, so Achilles would being with Darius.


    "You will return to Safemoon with me. I will wash away the low-quality Divine Fire in your body and prepare to ignite one that is far superior. I will also give you control of one of the Material element''s domains, Refinement."


    "This Divine Domain focuses on turning any substance or material you wield into its best state or highest quality. You will be the first True God of my forces, and be themander of Safemoon''s Invincible Army." Darius spoke with conviction, as if making a heavenly decree.


    Achilles was so overwhelmed that his whole body shuddered as he fell to his knees in reverence.


    "My life, for Lord Stone!"


    "Hm." Darius uttered nomittally.


    "However, first we will have to change your appearance. The whole point of having your former leaders war with this continent is to distract them while I im Fallon for myself."


    "Once they hear of an Invincible Army, they will be suspicious enough, yet seeing you lead it would give just away the trick." Darius pointed out calmly.


    Achilles froze, as he recognized this problem. He began to worry as he asked Darius: "That is true, my Lord. How do we resolve this?"


    Darius gazed down at Achilles with a weird glint in his eye. " ''We''? Shouldn''t YOU, the subordinate, be giving ME, your lord, ideas on how to resolve this issue? Do you expect me to solve every problem for you?"


    Achilles was chilled and answered truthfully what he thought. "No, of course not! I believe and have seen that my Lord''s intellect far surpasses mine."


    "I''m aware that I''m not a smart man, only good at fighting and not dying! I didn''t dare to propose anything, as I didn''t wish to waste my Lord''s time. Anything you think up will far surpass any idea I might have!"


    "All I need to do is hear yourmand as to where to pierce mynce, and do just that to perfection."


    Darius hummed and turned to Gunner. The half-giant seemed to ponder with a frown before nodding slightly. Darius then smiled and focused on the prostrating Achilles once more.


    "You are lucky to have earned Gunner''s approval. You will now work under him directly once we return to Safemoon."


    Achilles was shocked, then thrilled by this. Being a randomckey and being theckey of one of the most important subordinates under Darius were vastly different things.


    Achilles then felt the nape of his neck being pulled as he was dragged to his feet. He then came face to face with Gunner himself, suffering under the weight of those intense green eyes that seemed to weigh like a mountain on his mind.


    "You will either be a capable Lieutenant under me, or you will be thrown to the side like the trash you are. The choice is yours."


    After speaking coldly, he dropped Achilles to his feet and left the chamber with Darius. Miranda would work on getting Achilles back into shape as he had deteriorated too much.


    From their current level, they traveled through the facility until they came upon the ce where Medea was kept. The Witch was currently in her own workroom, seated in a chair while a huge machine was connected to a helmet that was ced over her head.


    Darius gazed through the observation window calmly and asked. "What''s the progress?"


    Solena appeared in her scientist attire once more and began exining. "We have already breached through 55% of the encryption on her mind. It can be confirmed that yes, she does in fact have a rtion to a True God as we have stumbled across many dangerous situations that were only saved through the depth of information we possess."


    Solena shook her head. "Any less, and not only would we have alerted the True Lord behind her, but we would have been counter invaded."


    Darius was surprised by this. "That dangerous? They have technology behind them as well?"


    Solena hesitated, but exined what she thought. "No, but the mind is aputer of its own. Since we can interpret thenguage of their encryption and breach it using digital means, that entity handling the encryption too is capable of using biological means to interpret digitalnguage and invade us using our own means."


    Darius understood the problem and sighed, for it made sense. It was not far-fetched for this weapon to be double-sided, or to put it better, for this road to be two-way.


    After all, if an Englishman could learn French and speak it, what was stopping a Frenchman from learning English to speak it?

 Chapter 559 - 559

    Darius rubbed his chin and decided on something. "The two of you, use my brain as the main processor for the de-encryption. I have an idea."


    Solena seemed hesitant to do so, but eventually caved in. Darius closed his eyes as he felt a weight fall on his brain, his mental activity spiking until it reached the maximum.


    It felt like hundreds of ants were running up and down his scalp, but instead of ants, it was just information running up and down too fast that it could actually be felt.


    Darius focused on his titles, especially the Desert King one. He bypasses the aspect that allowed him to control the sands as it was useless here on Pokterr, rather focusing on the aspect that made him a Pseudo-True Lord.


    After all, he had imbibed the Origin Essence for them, only that it was concentrated into his title. Now that he was trying to focus on it, he gained the characteristics of a True Lord, only within his mind though.


    But this was enough, as Miranda and Solena reported with shock that the encryption was going much faster, almost at a zing speed. The usual roadblocks they would have to bypass and carefully avoid were being smashed through like the Juggernaut was running through walls.


    Darius felt a remnant presence in the mind of Medea as he neared 100%pletion, and that remnant presenceshed out at him, but was not nearly powerful enough to do anything.


    Rather it spoke coldly. "I sense Origin Essence? Another True Lord? No, a fledging who only just got their power."


    "Take my advice. Stop your nonsense and return my vessel to me, or you will suffer my wrath. You may think yourself invincible, but True Lords have died before and can die. Do not give yourself a reason to be added to that list." The voice stated with killing intent.


    Darius was amused by this. "Goddess Hecate? Hiding among the God of Faust as an undercover agent much like God Krona. You are right in the den of the enemy, of the most vicious and cruel ones. If they were alerted to your true nature, I wonder how many you can kill before they tear you apart?"


    Hecate was silent for a long while before speaking again, this time in an irritated tone. "Who are you? And what do you want?"


    Darius smiled beautifully, having forced the Goddess to take a step back for now. "Me? I''d rather not say. The power of witchcraft is all-epassing and insidious. Why I bet right now you are even nning to stall order to cast a powerful spell to either scry me or track me."


    "So I''ll keep it short. I will extract all the information about you, your operations, and your power from Medea, then destroy her soul. As for her body, I have many uses for it." Darius finished with a smile.


    "You''d dare to-" Hecate began angrily.


    "Yes, yes, I was just letting you know. I don''t have time to let you stall for anymore, so goodbye." Darius interrupted as he resolutely destroyed the mental remnant Hecate left in Medea''s mind and scattered it into nothingness in case there was a trap hidden inside.


    Before he did anything, he opened the system shop and scrolled through casually. He then found what he was looking for, which was quite steep.


    [Anti-Witchcraft Arts - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Advanced


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the powerful Anti-Witchcraft Arts skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.


    Price: 2,500 True Coins.]


    Darius had 15k True Coins, so he bought it and learned it immediately. Feeling the knowledge entering his mind, he was shocked by the depth of Witchcraft, and the things it could do.


    Darius realized that Vena was right, even with millions of stat points, there were things that could make such benefit useless. If he didn''t buy this, he wouldn''t have suffered much under his Dragon Ancestor bloodline and his Desert King title, but those close to him would have paid a steep price.


    Witchcraft was insidious. If a person was more powerful than you, so what? By all means, they had family, friends, or someone they loved. If they didn''t, then you could pay a price to twist reality to introduce people into their lives that would be loved ones and Then hurt them through such connections.


    That was why Witches themselves never associated with anyone closely. Even their Apprentices could be turned into tools to help them achieve their goals at any time.


    Medea like this was probably a vessel Hecate was preparing to possesster on to extend her life, not caring about the current inhabitants'' thoughts at all. After all, she was not a Goddess, but a True Lord.


    She did not have eternal life, like other True Lords or the Gods, especially because as stated earlier, Witchcraft demanded a price, which came in the form of stats, providence, life force, and more.


    That was why stereotypical witches looked like old hags with warts and boils. Did you think they wanted to look like that? They just didn''t have a choice in the matter.


    Hence, Darius taking away Medea was severely harming the interests of Hecate. She would likely stop at nothing to dig his identity out and show him the true meaning of despair.


    [Anti-Witchcraft Arts - Level 1 Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a unique faction of witches who despised their craft and sight to create ways to protect others from it. With their intimate knowledge of the field, it was child''s y to develop a system of spells and incantations that would protect anyone with enough intellect without needing to learn the details of wizardry, witchcraft, and warlockcraft.. Currently, this skill negates 1% of any magical effects from witchcraft specifically.]

 Chapter 560 - 560

    Darius immediately turned to Solena and Miranda who were hard at work extracting everything from Medea''s mind. Darius waited for them to finish, and they only took about 15 seconds in total, which was far faster than he expected.


    Solena smiled at his confusion. "The Satellite is up, so ourputing power has increased more than tenfold. When we get more of them into orbit, we would be able to process things faster than even 1 million points in Intellect or Magic will give you."


    Darius nodded with understanding. "Since you have extracted the information, process it and feed it to the restricted area of the Supreme Cloud. I will also assimte it myselfter."


    Solena bowed. "Yes, Father."


    The devices on Medea''s head slowly came off, and the head of the Demigoddess flopped down as she was near vegetative. While he and Hecate and had been doing their battle, the field in which they fought, Medea''s consciousness, was ruined.


    Both Darius and likely Hecate could fix this, but Darius wasn''t interested in doing so. Rather he snapped his finger as an ethereal blue light emitted from his body and crashed into Medea''s head.


    It snapped back like someone had kicked it. And remained like that for a few seconds until a horrible scream could be heard by all living beings with a soul.


    Then, Medea''s head flopped back down, and everything returned to normal. Her body was still alive, in that her Divine Fire was intact and she was breathing. Her eyes were opened and she could see, as she slowly raised her head to look around.


    However, she was just like Genevieve who Darius created in his mentalscape, a body without a soul. This was the power Darius hadprehended when his brain overheated back then.


    He could now destroy the soul without harming the body, leaving the body for his own purposes. This counted as true Death, as the soul made a person, not their body.


    Your body was just a meat bag that housed your soul and spirit. The reason why killing the body counted as death was because the soul could not survive without a body, and so would evaporate.


    That was why some fellows could resurrect, because their souls were strong enough to survive longer and could possess another body. However, if you destroy the soul, even if the body is left behind, all you had was an empty vessel, a clean te.


    And so, since Darius had killed Medea, he reaped his just rewards.


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Divine Quest: Kill a Demigod (stage 1).


    Rewards: 200 True Coins, 200 AP, 200 SP, ''Demi-god Killer'' de, ''Demi-god Killer'' Achievement.]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    [Quests:


    1. Divine


    A. (Stage 2) Kill a False God - 200 True Coins, 200 AP, 200 SP, ''False God Killer'' de, ''False God Killer'' Achievement.


    B. Disgrace the Gods of Elysium - 20,000 True Coins, 2,500 AP, 2,500 SP.


    C. Be a Master Stage Reincarnator - 5,000 True Coins, 500 AP, 500 SP, ''Master Stage'' Achievement.


    2. World


    A. Plunge Faust into Chaos - 300,000 True Coins, ''Chaos Bringer'' Title, ''Lord of Chaos'' Job.


    B. Bring Faust into Prosperity - 300,000 True Coins, ''Advent of Order'' Title, ''Lord of Order'' Job.


    3. Continental


    A. (Stage 1) Conquer Fallon and be recognized as its ruler by all - 50,000 True Coins, ''Conqueror'' Title, ''Fallon Overlord'' Achievement.


    B. Conquer all the continents and be recognized as their ruler by all - 500,000 True Coins, 4,000 AP, 4,000 SP, ''All your continent are belong to me'' de.


    4. Local


    A. (Stage 1) Conquer Fraterina, your mortal enemy- 50 True Coins, 20 AP, 20 SP, ''Warlord'' job.


    B. (Stage 1) Increase Safemoon''s size and value by 10% - 100 True Coins, 50 AP, 50 SP, ''Developer'' job.


    C. (Stage 1) Raise 5 Apprentices to the Master stage - 300 True Coins, 100 AP, 100 SP, ''Master Teacher'' job.]


    Darius immediately invested his acquired points into two useful areas.


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 2,250,000/2,250,000 (3,375,000 HP Surplus) || MP: 61,500/61,500 (215,250 MP Surplus) || STA: 61,500/61,500


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 1500 || Speed: 1000 || Constitution: 1500


    Magic: 1500 || Will: 1200 (1000) || Luck: 880


    AP: 0 (200) || SP: 1 (200).]


    [Anti-Witchcraft Arts - Level 200 (1) Skill


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a unique faction of witches who despised their craft and sight to create ways to protect others from it. With their intimate knowledge of the field, it was child''s y to develop a system of spells and incantations that would protect anyone with enough intellect without needing to learn the details of wizardry, witchcraft, and warlockcraft. Currently, this skill negates 200% (1%) of any magical effects from witchcraft specifically.]


    Satisfied, he saw that his True Coin Bnce had increased to 12,700. He decided to keep this until he reached Safemoon where he would begin spending freely.


    Darius then focused on Medea''s body that was nowing to life as it soulless acted like a robot, much like Darius had derived through his epiphany as to how such a body would behave.


    "Did you clear all her memories?" Darius asked Solena calmly.


    Solena nodded. "We did. She is apletely empty te like you requested."


    Darius smiled. "Good."


    He then walked over and ced a finger on her forehead, sending information that was carefully curated by him over. Just enough to make her functional in the purpose he had for her.


    When he was done, she knelt down before him and greeted him, Darius waved this away and coldly exined.


    "Your new purpose is to be bred in order to spawn children with Demigod bodies. For each child your birth, you will drink one vial of Lunar Dew to recover after you imbue your Divine Fire in its entirety to them. The Lunar Dew will restore you back into perfect shape for the next birth."


    "You will do this under intense time dtion, and you will bear the brunt of it for the offspring you produce, taking a toll on your body."


    Darius received a folder from Solena and read it. "ording to this, you should eventually die in utter agony after your hundred-millionth birth."


    Medea did not seem fazed or bothered by this. "I shall carry out your will, My Lord."


    Darius nodded.. "Good."

 Chapter 561 - 561

    As for who would inseminate Medea continuously, the answer was no one. He would artificially inseminate the Demi-Goddess repeatedly as that would be far faster and far more efficient than relying on the hip thrusts of some amateur.


    He would sort out the sperm source once he returned to Safemoon. There were only one or two crucial things left to do before he would do just that.


    As such, Darius handled them wlessly before activating the Fast Travel mechanic to take him, Achilles, and Medea back to Safemoon. It was time for him to enter the second stage of his n!


    ......ˇ­


    In another location, a greenish mist wafted around a small vige that looked like it could only house a group of peasants. However, all those buildings were eery and macabre, twisted by the most malevolent forces to be what they currently were.


    Anyone who merely looked upon these houses risked sustaining spiritual damage, due to how asymmetrical and unnatural they were. However, for those who lived inside, they were far more inclined to such sights over the ''correctness'' of the world due to their craft.


    This was Salem, the holy site for witches!


    In a central building near the center of Salem, there was an underground passage that wound through dark corridors and questionable corners.


    At its end was a simple door that when opened would unveil a rtively neat room that smelled intoxicating and pure. It was neat, refined, and well arranged.


    There were stacks of weird tomes and aged manuals arranged on a small shelf near the northwestern end of the room, while the edges were decorated with a circr patch of nts growing in humus.


    The room itself was dome-shaped, and there was a small bed. Apart from a desk near the westernmost end of the room, as well as a cauldron right beside the desk, there was also a lovely carpet on the floor.


    Currently, there was a small form on the bed that was seated in a meditative posture. This person looked to be around the age of eight, with a lock of greenish-ck hair that had been left unkempt, with dark green rings around her eyes.


    Herplexion was pale and she wore a simple green dress with no footwear.


    The next moment, her eyes burst open, disying murky brown pupils that hid a powerful mind behind it. However, this feeling was ruined when the form spat out a clod of blood, then gasped in pain.


    "Interesting. Hearing my warning yet daring to still cross me. You were right that I was trying to track you during ourmunication, and cutting halfway has harmed me. Good." The young girl uttered to herself while wiping the blood on her lips crassly.


    She then grinned widely. "However, if you think Witchcraft is only limited to this, then you are a fool."


    After saying this much, she wasted no time and waved a hand. Immediately, one of the tomes on her shelf flew over and hovered before her, glowing in an eerie green light.


    Her body was simrly enveloped in a dark green glow as her hair came to life, thrashing about like snakes. Her pupils disappeared behind a powerful green light that illuminated the pages of the tome before her as she began chanting at speeds that would make any listener dizzy.


    shes of green light appeared around her as she got deeper into her chanting. A few minutes passed like this and the tome almost manifested the face of a man with the outline of a dragon behind him.


    Aside from that were some indistinct outlines, arge one with a behind it and a svelte one with two symbols behind it. Just as these were about to solidify, the tome sparked with a ck light.


    The w of a dragon manifested out of the green color and swiped at the young girl. Her face immediately changed to horror as she screamed.


    "NO! PLEASE WAIT!!"


    s, her screams fell on deaf ears as she got mmed into the cauldron behind her. She had no time to care about the dent in it, since the impact had crushed all of her bones. Blood came out from all of her orifices while she helplessly sunk into a life and deatha, her survival henceforth would be up to chance.


    The dragon w felt around for a bit before grabbing the tome that had summoned it, ripping it apart before retreating. The formerly neat room now looked as if a storm had passed through, only leaving the body of a youngss bleeding out on the floor.


    ..........


    Yuli''ann Castoro pulled back his w from the green portal manifested before him. He then flexed it and waved the blood on it away as he harrumphed.


    "This Dragon Ancestor is still in a bad mood from seeing that cheap Goddess y with my feelings and you dare to scan for me or my bloodline inheritor? You must be mad."


    He snorted coldly. After all, he would naturally protect the inheritor out there, because no one on this shitty was his match. He was so OP that even moving about too much would destabilize the.


    Hmˇ­


    Yuli''ann paused.


    ''Haven''t I be more activetely? Howe the world isn''t tremoring or anything like before?'' He wondered.


    He then swiped the air, tearing a hole in the fabric of reality that connected to Vena''s astral room. Laying therezily, the fellow breathed in a torrent of harmful Void Energy that wrecked the ce up.


    "WHO?! WHICH MOTHERFUCKER DARED TO RUIN MY SETUP!?" A terribly raspy and unsexy feminine voice screeched with hatred.


    "Bitch girl Vena, your father is calling! Quickly run over to greet me with 300 kowtows!" Yuli''ann replied with a bored tone, as if her anger had nothing to do with him.


    Suddenly, the astral room became quiet, then exploded with energy that almost blew Yuli''ann off his dragonperch. The Dragon Ancestor was shocked by this, gazing at Vena who appeared from the portal with a violent expression.


    She breathed in and out slowly, calming herself down before smiling so widely that her eyes could not be seen.


    "Dear cousin Yuli''ann. How can I help you?"

 Chapter 562 - 562

    Yuli''ann recognized that he was gazing death in the face. However, he was the Dragon Ancestor!


    Okay, that was a shitty title he had while in this universe because his original power had been too great for Metis. After being here so long, he had forgotten that he was far greater than this current form of his.


    This rekindled his arrogance and anger as he spat.


    "Well, ''Cousin'', do you dare admit you duped me?!" Yuli''ann roared with anger.


    Hearing this, Vena was silent for a long while before her malicious aura disappeared. She then disyed a filthy expression that would have gotten her beaten up on the street as she chuckled.


    "Hehe."


    That was all she had to say on that matter, yet it caused Yuli''ann to tremble with untold amounts of anger.


    ''So she knew! This wicked Goddess knew what she was doing! She nned all of this! I''ve been scammed, abused, raped, maligned, beaten, tricked, bamboozledˇ­etc!''


    Yuli''ann gripped his chest as he felt like his heart was about to give out. He could only re at Vena with bloodshot eyes, wanting to attack her, yetcking the guts.


    After all, Vena was a bona-fida Goddess, one that could create endlessly and change the fates of an uncountable number of beings on her whim. She had very few restrictions except what she fancied, only that certain actions might bite her back.


    Vena and the other Gods were like that, beings of real power with senseless freedom to do anything. They didn''t need your prayers, your faith, your existence, or some cosmic energy to sustain themselves.


    They were the source of everything that kept their universe functioning. Without them, the entire universe would crumble and they - the Five Universes'' Gods - would be fine, only needing to borrow Aurora Essence from Origo to rebuild everything from scratch.


    Yuli''ann was infinitely close to that level, yet at the same time an eternity away. Being a God wasn''t as simple as having X amount of power. It was a state of existence that transcended EVERYTHING.


    Even Vena, who arguably was the trashiest atbat, being a Goddess of Games and Recreation, could easily deal with anyone else. Even her fellow gods like Caelo and co who were so powerful that the source of their creation was fearful could not kill each other.


    As such, he had to swallow this grievance and harrumph coldly. "Freak of a female, what have you done to this shit-tier world?"


    Vena''s filthy expression disappeared, reced with irritation. "Stop calling me that! Just because I don''t like girly stuff doesn''t make me a freak!"


    Seeing that this managed to upset her as usual, Yuli''ann felt gleeful inside. "Hehe, says the one who is without a partner. Caelo has Ca, Myra has Luka, Cousin Godco has the Lady Boss. What about you?"


    That ''What about you?'' almost manifested as an arrow that struck Vena right through the gut, causing blood to leak from the side of her lips. Her face darkened as she red at Yuli''ann, yet wisely decided to answer his question rather than argue over a topic she was destined to lose.


    "I''ve redone Faust and increased it to a top-grade world."


    Yuli''ann pped his gigantic wings with interest. "Really? Why though?"


    Suddenly, Yuli''ann seemed to have an epiphany. "Wait, is it because of the reincarnator you recently sent?"


    Vena was surprised Yuli''ann was able to guess it so easily. "That''s right, he''s a special one this time!"


    Yuli''ann nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the fellow has impressed me so far. He ispletely different from those so-called gamers and NEETs who reincarnate and perform averagely."


    "Hmph, you underestimate NEETs! Many of them have gone on to be something great!" Vena argued coldly.


    Yuli''ann waved a wzily. "Yeah, in fiction, to soothe the ego of the NEET who hade up with it. It''s merely fantasy that if they were given cosmic help, they could be much more than the trash who live behind a screen."


    Vena was enraged. "What do you know? Many of my best reincarnators were NEETs."


    Yuli''ann nced at her askance. "Point of correction. ALL your reincarnators were NEETs or some variant of them. Those that are counted as the BEST weren''t defined by their NEET nature, it was just an add-on."


    Yuli''ann pointed a w at Vena with a smirk. "That Jax fellow you always harp on about was a multimillionaire at the age of 21 before you whisked him away, and he built hispany using his scientific genius."


    "He just so happened to like ying a FIVR game and had been the number 1 yer before you stole him. So, what does that tell you?" Yuli''ann queried with a smug shrug.


    Vena''s face became red, unable to argue for the facts spoke for themselves. That was entirely why she had decided to try something new with Darius, and the fellow''s sess, even when given less than her NEET army, only served to buttress Yuli''ann''s point.


    As such, Vena could only sigh weakly and agree in the end. This shocked Yuli''ann as this wench never liked losing an argument.


    He then thought to the cause and felt that hertest one might be the reason. Naturally, this further increased his interest in the fellow, yet as if to get back at him, Vena had not only refused to share anything with him, the Goddess had even gone so far as to lock down all information about him right in front of the Dragon Ancestor.


    The Goddess then kicked him out and locked her Astral Room, so that Yuli''ann wouldn''t be able to bother her for the next while, leaving the Dragon Ancestor displeased.


    However, he acted magnanimously and pretend not to be bothered. Nevertheless, he sent out a message to the Dragon race of Unyris to investigate Darius.


    After doing so, he suddenly remembered what had brought him to Vena in the first ce. ''Right, there was that wench trying to locate my inheritor, lemme check up on her and see if she can suss this fellow out''


    Then, using a w to rip a hole big enough for him to peep into with ease, he saw the witches of Salem hurriedly treating a naked Hecate, yet all of them were young girls of the same age as her.


    Yuli''ann immediately closed the portal as he gazed around in a panic. A breeze passed over his neck, making him yowl as he covered his head and hid it underneath his enormous body.


    "GRANDFATHER FBI, SHE SAID SHE WAS 18, I SWEAR!"

 Chapter 563 - 563

    Darius re-appeared in Safemoon, right on his Mage Tower''s highest floor. He turned and gazed at the swirling portal that could take him anywhere on Fallon on a one-way trip with nostalgia, as this was where he had left with Gunner and X back then.


    He then faced Achilles and Medea. "The two of you, select rooms on the first floor and make yourself scarce. The Maidbots will handle your needs for the next few days until we are ready to initiate your purposes."


    Both of them bowed reverently before leaving. Darius then turned to Gunner and X.


    "It''s about time we went to look for the newest member of our family. Since Foldo helped me find the two of you, let''s pay his operation a visit after we check in on the Divine de."


    X seemed excited by the prospect as this was her first time witnessing a new Branded Servant being added, while Gunner was calm as usual. He only seemed lightly interested as whoever joined them would be family to him.


    Darius then Fast Traveled to the Divine de right away. He wanted to check on its status quickly before returning to Safemoon, as it had been a while since he hadst paid it a visit.


    When they arrived though, the trio was given a shock. The area which was usually vibrant and glowy due to the Lunar Dew spawning all kinds of purple-colored vegetation in this dark de was even brighter than usual.


    In fact, all the nts were glowing intermittently, like strobe lights, only very quickly. The fairies that usually hovered over the Lunar Dew pool were neatly sated on each nt, watching the pool with curious and excited expressions.


    When they saw Darius and co arrive, they rushed over to pay their respects, as they were sort of servants on thisnd, only allowed to bask in the aura of the Lunar Dew pool because Darius and Gunner did not mind back then.


    Darius turned to X, who started tomunicate with the fairies as to what was happening. Once they had informed her, the Elven Princess was both shocked and excited.


    "They said something happened a few months ago. The Resurrection Stone you ced within seemed to have reached a boiling point as it quaked and released a great amount of strange energy within the pool."


    "Apparently, that energy changed the fundamental nature of the Lunar Dew in the pool, allowing for a miracle to happen. A great miracle in Faust that has never urred before." X finished with excitement.


    Darius and Gunner shared looks and frowned. The Itemancer directly blinked to the side of the Lunar Dew pool and noticed that its usual light purple color had indeed changed, into something much darker.


    Frowning, he Analyzed the pool.


    [Soul-Nourishing Divine Lunar Dew - Liquid


    Durability: MAX


    Description: Formerly, the Legendary Dew of the heavens, this strain of Lunar Dew has evolved into a Divine Dew of unspeakable power.


    It retains all the effects of normal Lunar Dew, reviving the dead within 1 year of death, healing all ailments in the world, fortifying life, giving eternal youth, granting great power, and more, yes these effects have doubled.


    This new version has the ability to restore the soul, or create a soul for an empty vessel that will be superior to most beings on Faust.]


    Darius was shocked by this, not believing what he was seeing. If he hadn''t unlocked the mysteries of the Soul during his Test of Mettle, he wouldn''t understand the significance of this dew at all.


    It would allow him to grant souls to any flesh he created using the Material element. He could make perfect warriors from scratch and have them be real lives if they imbibed just a little of this liquid.


    Even though he had nned to use Medea as a breeding vat, those were for elite troops with Demi-God bodies and special bloodlines who would fight with Achilles.


    For his average everyday soldiers in the army, as well as generals and the like, he could create them and imbue them with the skills and expertise appertaining to their rank.


    This was an unexpected, yet wee surprise. Darius investigated further, looking for the First Resurrection Stone that he knew floated in the center of the pool and Analyzed it.


    [First Resurrection Stone - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Uses: ???


    Description: A unique item that was born from the Will of Faust to allow special entities to revive themselves upon death for a limited number of times.


    It is the first of its kind and was incubated in the body of a child in order to grant it sentience after experiencing his life and absorbing his spiritual energy.


    After bathing in a pool of the purest and most concentrated Lunar Dew, its power had reached a limit, making it explode outward, infusing the dew with its properties of revival and nourishing for damaged souls.


    It has reached its peak and cannot grow from here.]


    Darius''s face became hard. That was fine, the creation of a Divine Dew was something great. Why he could even see his Activities tab on the True Supreme System sh, indicating that he had likely received a corresponding de or Achievement for this.


    But looking back, this couldn''t be what all those fairies were seated here for. More than observing a pool of magnificent dew, it was as if they were still waiting for the highlight.


    For something grand that would shake the entire world. As X put it just now, they were waiting to witness a miracle.


    Suddenly, the pool before him began bubbling as if something was rising to the surface. Immediately, the True Supreme System opened itself before Darius and showed him a screen.


    [Discovered that Host, Darius Stone, is at a point in reality where a universally relevant Event is about to ur.


    As such, a Quest has been generated, as well as an Event.


    Check them below!]


    Just as the new Quest and Event disyed itself to Darius, he saw a hand poke out of the pool, clutching the bank.

 Chapter 564 - 564

    The hand that came up was pale and pristine, looking like something belonging to a newborn in terms of freshness. The first hand was soon joined by a second one and these two pulled a body up and out of the pool that gasped a little.


    Darius, X, and Gunner were speechless at the sight before them. Kneeling at the bank of the pool was now the most beautiful elf they had ever seen, even surpassing the Elven Princess next to them... by far.


    She had short purple hair that reached her shoulders, with two locks tucked behind her ears. Her face was exquisite, carved in a style that emphasized feminine beauty, with sharp curves around her temple and soft ones around her jaw.


    Her eyes were a glowing purple color, specks of golden light hidden within that seemed to form a symbol. Her nose was small and perfectly symmetrical, her lips were blood red and t.


    Her ears were knife-shaped, much like X''s, and at the same length too. Her skinplexion was extremely pale, unlike the Elven Princess'' whose was vibrant.


    Height-wise both elves appeared to be around 5"8, tall enough that they were above most women, but short enough that they still had to look up to most males.


    She had huge breasts that were extremely firm, around a G-cup measurement size. Her body was slender but not skinny, with toned abs outlining her stomach, forming a four-pack.


    Her hips curved back, giving her a shape that enhanced her backside. Her waist was thin, her hips wipe and the gluteus more than enough to astound any onlooker, but it was more firm rather than bby.


    Coupled with two rather thickened thighs to support her backside, and protruding calves that werepact, hers was the opposite of her elvish cousin.


    X was pure, lovable, and inspired the feeling of sweet beauty. When someone looked at her, their instinctive reaction would be to buy her some ice cream and make her smile.


    On the other hand, this strangely pale elf was attractive, sensual, and gave the feeling of sexual beauty. Any man who had the pleasure of encountering her, would wonder just how far he could make her bend her over while making her scream his name.


    Even Darius and Gunner slightly fell prey to this, interest forming in their eyes, only for it to quickly dim away.


    X was shocked, then ran over to lift the still soaked beauty up to her feet while wiping her down gently with a towel she kept in her inventory. Only then did the pale elf even seem to notice the gathered crowd, yet she did not seem to be bothered in the slightest that her naked form was being watched.


    "Hello. I came into existence just now and have no understanding of anything except some instincts imnted into me by this world''sws. It says that upon seeing the first native, I should seek information and an identity. Could you help me with that?"


    Her voice was the icing to the cake, a sultry lull that sounded simr to something Darius had heard before. Ah, that''s right, it was from the series Gunner loved.


    There was a pair of Android twins and the Pale Elf had almost the same voice as the blonde female android from that show''s English Dub.


    X finished patting her down and smiled at the elf. "Sure, we''ll be d to help."


    The Pale Elf turned to X and observed her quietly. "I feel a strong kinship with you, like anything you say or do is something I can trust with all my being. I feel a closeness to you, like I never want to leave your side. Why is this?"


    X blushed. "I don''t know, but I also feel the same way. Seeing you makes me feel as if have found half of myself I hadn''t even been aware I was missing, you give me the sense of a sister I''m bonded by fate, though I cannot guess why."


    "Hm." The Pale Elf responded in understanding.


    Darius looked her up then down and Analyzed her right away.


    [Name: Unnamed || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Amateur || Jobs: None.


    HP: 1,000,000/1,000,000 || MP: 1,000/1,000 || STA: 1,000/1,000


    Level: 1 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 1,000 || Speed: 1,000 || Constitution: 1,000


    Magic: 1,000 || Will: 1,000 || Luck: 1,000.


    Skills: None


    Spells: None.]


    "Apparently, you''re an entirely new species of Elf. You are a Moon Elf and while I don''t know what that specifically means for Faust, I can show you what it means in other locales." Darius offered and pointed a finger at her.


    A white orb flew from him towards the Moon Elf who allowed it to enter her forehead. She then closed her eyes to digest the information, only taking a few seconds to do so.


    When she opened them, there was a light of understanding in them. "I see."


    She bowed towards Darius, which was quite a distracting sight for neither of the two men, despite the Moon Elf being naked. "Thank you."


    "Mhm. It''s best I teach you etiquette and some general knowledge of the world you now inhabit." Darius stated as he sent over another orb, this time muchrger.


    The Moon Elf received this and spent much more time digesting it. When she opened her eyes, she seemed much more lively and intelligent, but she looked down.


    When she looked up she disyed a rosy light on her cheeks. "ˇ­May I request some clothing, Lord Stone?"


    Darius chuckled and pointed at her, using a Material element spell to weave a garment live on her body. He made sure everything was fitting and quite stylish, which gave the Moon Elf even more sensual valuepared to before.


    "Now that we have you clothed, it is time for you to seek an identity and decide your path forward." Darius remarked calmly.


    The Moon Elf shook her head. "As far as I am concerned, you are my creator. It is through your actions, albeit indirect, that enough criteria were achieved for me to be born into existence. As such, I shall follow any directives you have for me."


    Darius smiled as he walked over.. "Excellent. How about bing mytest Branded Servant?"

 Chapter 565 - 565

    "I''m amenable to any fate you have in mind for me." The Moon Elf replied humbly.


    Darius nodded. In maintenance of the ritual, he put his ring finger out for her to kiss, which she did. Immediately, the familiar menus came up that Darius had seen twice already.


    [Target has been assessed to be a willing candidate. The candidate is healthy and below the stage of Adept. All conditions met.]


    [Candidate name: Unnamed. Candidate race: Moon Elf (Progenitor). Candidate Jobs: None.]


    [Overwriting existenceˇ­ auto-educating with provided Infopackˇ­ quantizing statisticsˇ­ establishing loyaltyˇ­]


    [Congrattions, Candidate Unnamed has seeded in bing your Branded Servant!


    Note: At the Adept stage, you can only have 3 Branded Servants!]


    Immediately, the Moon Elf seemed to havee to life. She then knelt solemnly before Darius, much in the same way Gunner and X had done previously.


    "I''m your Branded Servant henceforth, Master Darius. Your enemies will be my enemies and clearing your obstacles shall be my utmost goal!" The Moon Elf pledged sincerely, making Darius nod in contentment.


    He then gazed down at her with a strange look. "Rise. Henceforth, your name shall be Luna Stone. Wee to the family, Luna."


    Luna, the now named Moon Elf, smiled beautifully. "Thank you, Master."


    Darius then spared some time to view his Quests and Events.


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Special Quest: (Stage 1) Brand The Neo Lifeform.


    Rewards: 20,000 True Coins, ''Unique Existence''s Master'' de, ''Life Creator'' Achievement.]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Special Quest: (Stage 2) Name The Neo Lifeform.


    Rewards: 30,000 True Coins, ''The Namer'' de, ''Progenitor''s Father'' Achievement.]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Event: Witness the Birth of a New Lifeform!


    Rewards: 2,500 AP, 2,500 SP.]


    [Your list of Events have been refreshed.]


    Mm, Darius was happy for the True Coins. There were some things he would like to buy after settling down, and he would need slightly more than this for some of the fancier options.


    The fairies who had been watching the event suddenly lit up as they flew forth, dancing around Luna beautifully, spinning around Moon Elf until they reached the top of the trees.


    Luna closed her eyes and basked in the purity of the fairy dust, releasing a light violet glow from her body that washed over everyone in the de.


    Darius checked what this was and found that it was called the ''Glow of Dusk''. With it, he and his team members would gain double their base power during the night, regardless of location.


    This startled Darius until he smiled. It seemed Luna would be perfect for her new role, given her inclination for the dark and the night.


    He snapped his finger and their group Fast Traveled back to Safemoon. He then took them to the fourth floor of his Mage Tower and assigned a room for Luna, while X and Gunner checked into their own rooms.


    The first thing Darius decided to do was to check in on those 5 little fellows before anything else. He asked Martin to call them to the first floor so that he could inspect them and their progress.


    Gunner decided toe along while X and Luna stayed upstairs to chat.


    Soon, the fiveds came in, looking slightly more mature and capablepared to when Darius and co had left. About 6 or so months had passed since then, so it wasn''t as if all of them suddenly sprouted beards, but they did lose some more baby fat.


    When they saw Darius seated regally in his chair with a slight smile on his face and the ever-stable Gunner behind him with his arms folded behind his back, they teared up.


    Seeing his Five Apprentices get so emotional, Darius chuckled. He then casually Analyzed them to see where they stood stats-wise.


    Since he had prevented them from bing Journeymen until he came back, their stats had already been squeezed to the limit, so apart from their skills which had grown more diverse, there was not much to report.


    He decided to tabte it forter. Right now, he gazed at quintet and spoke. "Not bad, you have all lived up to my and Gunner''s expectations. Martin kept us abreast with your achievements, and I must say, I''m indeed impressed."


    "Being able to cultivate Sword Aura at the Amateur stage should be something unheard of on Faust, well done Ash."


    "Being able to attach magic to arrows is something that is only avable to the elven archers, and humans have almost no one who can do this outside of those who Spark with the ability, you have certainly done well as well Reina."


    "Jonathan, dual-wielding tworge weapons of two different natures yet managing to adapt a fighting system for them shows your talent with weaponry, very good."


    "James, discovering how to make yourselfpletely undetectable is above and beyond the means of normal Darkness Element magic, very impressive."


    Darius then gazed at Anthony. "And then there''s you. Achieving your race''s unique transformation at such an early age heralds a big change for you. Manifest it better and be stronger, so you can wield power untold. Magnificent job, young one."


    Darius'' words of praise made the faces of the five be ruddy as they were filled with pride and aplishment.


    Only they knew the amount of suffering and struggle they went through to achieve these feats!


    Now, it had all paid off as their mentor and most respected person had acknowledged them wholeheartedly for it. This feeling would bury itself in their hearts, forming a craving.


    They would always want to work hard to receive this kind of praise and feel this kind of emotional and spiritual high, making them diligent fellows in the eyes of others.


    "Now that a year has passed under your tutge with me, you all need to take the next step. That''s right, sit yourselves down on those mats, it is time for the five of you to be Journeyman mages!" Darius dered grandly, shocking the five little fellows who had thought this to just be a weing reunion.


    -------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note</strong>: It hase to my attention that some readers areining about ''wasted'' coins on chapters with a lot of menus or misc text used to enhance the experience.


    There''s a lot I can say, but there is no need to fight with my own readers over this.


    I offer a simple solution. Send me a link to your Paypal and I will pay back that $0.06 that makes up 3 coins or less.


    I don''t wake up and spend 60% of my waking hours and sacrificing my social life writing daily so that someone can point at me like I want to purposefully steal your $0.06

 Chapter 566 - 566

    The Five Apprentices obeyed and sat down on their respective mats. Darius snapped a finger and summoned five Maidbots into the room who were carrying trays of special scrolls and potions.


    There were two scrolls and three potions on each tray. Each of them were powerful, prepared by Darius long before he had left to power up these fellows when the time was right in case he would have been unable toe back in time... or ever.


    The first scroll was a Scroll of Magic. It was a supplementary item for breakthroughs that only the wealthiest and richest of Mage masters would make for their Official Apprentices.


    Most of these scrolls were reserved for Adepts breaking into the Master stage and would be created by Grandmaster mages.


    Contained within a Scroll of Magic would be all the knowledge of magic''s intricacies condensed into a form that would be imbued into the mind of the recipient, granting them a powerful artificial enlightenment.


    The second scroll was a Scroll of the Elements. It was also a supplementary item for breakthroughs, but this one was targeted at Amateurs transitioning into Journeymen.


    Most qualified Mage masters would try and provide this for their Official Apprentices as it could very well decide their future. It contained the understanding of the mentor towards the elements he practiced.


    Obviously, their Official Apprentices would use one or more of the same elements as their Mage masters, else it would be pointless to teach them.


    Not everyone was like Darius who could magick resources into being or steal the knowledge of the greatest library in Faust to supplement his Database.


    How this helped was that, by giving them an understanding of the intricacies of their specific elements, it would make it far easier for them to create new spells for themselves once they reached the Journeyman stage.


    After all, when this stage was reached, there was no longer any handouts from the Laws of Faust. Apart from the spells above Amateur that the Mage master had developed himself and those he had bought, there was nothing else for these Apprentices to consume.


    To also expand his tower''s library, the Mage master would only let them learn a few core Intermediate spells just to give them an idea of how it worked before making them create their own.


    Then, those spells, should their mentor deem them to be useful, would be neatly added to the Mage Tower''s library, increasing the stock for future apprentices and creating a notable legacy for it.


    The first potion, was a simple Potion of Mana, which expanded the mana capacity of the drinker by three times for an hour without causing harm.


    This was necessary since the amount of magic power one imbued into their elemental defense would decide its base power.


    If Darius had the chance, he would naturally prefer something stronger than 3 times but this was the limit of ''safety''. Any more than that, and regardless of whether it was Transmutation enhanced or not, the drinker would suffer some detriment from it.


    Besides, there were other ways around it, like the second potion, which was the Rapid Magic Recovery potion. This increased base mana recovery by 5 times, for an hour.


    This should allow the fellow to maintain their output as long as they controlled it finely, which shouldn''t be a problem with Darius seated before them.


    The final potion was the Body Fortification Potion. This potion would let the Five Apprentices benefit from increased Constitution and Endurance for the next hour, which was necessary for their mentor''s crazy n to seed.


    He snapped a finger, and a huge basin was brought into the room by a group of Maidbots. This basin was full of shiny blue liquid, and the dense mana it gave off made the five of them drool.


    "This is the highest grade Mana Recovery Potion, which should refill you. Any time you are low, request a cup and you will be fed by the Maidbot assigned to you." Darius exined with augh of amusement.


    The Five Apprentices were shocked but calmed down and nodded. Deep down, they felt endless waves in their hearts.


    During the time Darius had been away, they had branched out to learn more about how other mage towers worked and how they fared against other apprentices.


    Once they had learned the truth, they had been unable to decide what to feel. Darius had spoiled them to the extent that if they ever dared to let anyone know, hundreds of Mage Towers would put in an application to war with Darius for his resources.


    The things they drank alone on a daily and ate were above and beyond what some Grandmasters would even consider as ''treating'' themselves.


    Now, the wealthy of resources provided for their first-ever stage transition which was the simplest and usually the most resourcecking one for most parties in Fallon as they were too weak to have any good supply, was so rich and plentiful for them.


    If they didn''t transform into Gods overnight, they would just have to poke their hands into their throats and vomit everything out, because else it would be too much of a waste.


    "What are youds waiting for? Stop thinking about unnecessary things and begin!" Gunner harshly scolded as the five lowered their heads and obeyed.


    First, they drank all three potions at once, before applying the two scrolls. As the Scroll of Magic and the Elements went into their minds simultaneously, they looked like they had achieved a huge epiphany, their eyes closing as their magic fluctuated.


    Darius and Gunner''s faces changed fromx to solemn as they watched the five carefully. They alone knew how risky what they were doing was.


    It was terrible to have ack of resources when breaking through, as that could make one suffer a loss or fail to seed. However, resorting to using too many resources could have a simr effect, causing even worse harm or explosion if not handled well.


    There was a reason why the saying ''too much of a good thing is bad'' existed.

 Chapter 567 - 567

    Magic swirled in the room like a torrent as each of the Five Apprentices put in their all. Their minds were currently being supplemented by Martin who helped them process the information released by the two scrolls at once.


    With Miranda''s overall increasedputing powers, this was possible, not to mention the expansion of it that would beingter. Right now, though, the magic power the five were condensing was truly great.


    It took them only 5 minutes to digest the knowledge imparted, which was visible as when they opened their eyes, there was a gleam of spiritual wisdom that was far more enhanced than what they previously had shown.


    "Now, begin forming your magical barrier!" Darius instructed them forcefully.


    The Five Apprentices obeyed and began channeling their magic into the circuits of their bodies for their chosen element, which was also their main.


    Using their secondaries was not wise for the first time.


    Ash formed a barrier that crackled with a slight bit of lightning, its dark-blue color deepening by the second as he infused more mana into it.


    Reina formed a gray color barrier that seemed to speak to the soul beckoning it to leave the body. It became more ethereal as a mist formed over it the more she poured mana into it.


    Jonathan''s barrier was zing red, the fire within it growing with every bit of mana he poured into it. Just like the hot-blooded fellow, his barrier seemed to want to burn the world.


    James'' barrier was a deep ck color, almost phasing out of existence many times as he continued to pour mana into it. What was interesting was that sometimes, parts of his body would disappear too.


    Anthony formed a greenish-blue barrier that radiated a weird sense of energy. It didn''t manifest much in the way of strange properties, but it seemed to convert any particle that came into contact with it into energy for Anthony to absorb or use.


    The five continued to pour mana into their barriers until they reached their limits about 30 minutes after they had begun, at which point they each requested for the first scoop of Mana Recovery Potion from the basin.


    This repeated itself many times over the course of the next 6 hours, until the five of them had blue lips and tongues due to overconsumption. Their barriers had also be dangerously charged, even causing damage to the room as their manifestations grew.


    However, when it struck anywhere near Darius or Gunner, it would simply fizzle away. It couldn''t be helped, no matter how impressive the kids were, they would never in their lives match up to the kind of power Darius and Gunner had.


    The two mentors calmly watched as the kids soon reach their limit, Jonathan was the first to admit that he couldn''t take another drink, with James following behind soon after. Reina managed to hold out a while longer, followed by Ash.


    Anthony kept drinking and drinking till he emptied two extra basins on his own before reaching his limit. After doing so, the barriers around thends began to condense as they had fused an absurd amount of power into it.


    The barriers then receded into their bodies, ready to be activated passively when something struck them with a spell. It could not affect physical attacks, as that would require the fellows to discover an alternate means to do so themselves.


    Soon, mana coursed through their bodies as refined essence from the Laws of Faust rushed through their bodies, refining their magic circuits, strengthening them to the Journeyman standard for their respective races automatically as it sensed their breakthrough.


    The total amount of time it had taken them was around 8 hours for their breakthrough, which was obviously longer than most due to the number of resources they had avable to them.


    However, it all paid off once Darius took in their stats.


    [Name: Ash Spencley || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 8,918/8,918 (2,115) || MP: 3,045/3,045 (1,440) || STA: 2,058/2,058 (940)


    Level: 21 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 91 (45) || Speed: 79 (44) || Constitution: 98 (47)


    Magic: 145 (70) || Will: 230 (100) || Luck: 50 (30).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Reina McNickles || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 3,933/3,933 (1,152) || MP: 2,814/2,814 (1,100) || STA: 1,449/1,449 (720)


    Level: 21 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 57 (34) || Speed: 84 (37) || Constitution: 69 (37)


    Magic: 134 (55) || Will: 210 (100) || Luck: 55 (32).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Jonathan ck || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 13,915/13,915 (2,862) || MP: 2,037/2,037 (940) || STA: 2,541/2,541 (1,060)


    Level: 21 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 115 (54) || Speed: 68 (42) || Constitution: 121 (53)


    Magic: 97 (45) || Will: 185 (100) || Luck: 45 (25).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: James Jones || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 3,968/3,968 (1,886) || MP: 2,499/2,499 (1,260) || STA: 1,344/1,344 (820)


    Level: 21 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 62 (46) || Speed: 98 (51) || Constitution: 64 (41)


    Magic: 119 (63) || Will: 200 (100) || Luck: 70 (35).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Anthony Sabins || Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 15,125/15,125 (5,100) || MP: 4,410/4,410 (1,840) || STA: 2,625/2,625 (1,500)


    Level: 21 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 121 (68) || Speed: 115 (70) || Constitution: 125 (75)


    Magic: 210 (92) || Will: 500 (100) || Luck: 100 (70).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    Darius nodded his head in satisfaction as he pped to gain the attention of the five excited younglings. "Now that you have be Journeymen, you are adults in a magical sense. Your limitation on leaving the tower is expanded to the boundary of Safemoon."


    "In other words, you can now visit the inner and outer cities if you want, but only after your next assignment," Darius added with a soft smile.

 Chapter 568 - 568

    Darius then revealed what their task would be. "You lot are to learn and practice with the mostmon Journeyman spell of your five elements and bring them to perfection within the span of a single month."


    The excitement in the hearts of the Five Apprentices died immediately, as their faces changed to horror. They didn''t dare toin, but the doubt could be seen on their faces as to their belief of this assignment''s fairness.


    "Haha, you don''t think it''s fair or realistic then?" Darius asked with a casualugh.


    The Five Apprentices were smart enough not to agree, but their silence was telling. Gunner neutral expression darkened as he was about to berate these impudent fellows, but Darius patted him on the shoulder gently.


    He then addresses the Five directly. "You''re forgetting that the standards of my mage tower are higher than any other. You should be smart enough to know that if I have invested so many resources into you, I expect an equivalent amount of effort and quality from you."


    He then pointed to the empty trays and basins which were yet to be carried away by the maidbots. "Look at what you were given for free, and then look at me in the eye once more and tell me it''s unfair."


    The Five Apprentices gazed at the expensive resources, gulping because they knew that these cost hundreds of Supreme Coins alone. They didn''t have the face toin anymore, though they still felt slightly overwhelmed at heart.


    Gunner shook his head in disappointment while Darius remained calm. After spending so many years in a mental realm, both of them had developed a slightly wider outlook on various things.


    With the truths they knew about reality and time, their horizons were broad and their temperaments profound. However, these fellows were not even at the age of marriage yet, so expecting them to show such maturity was a bit much.


    However, it did make it clear to Gunner and Darius that they must cultivate the mind of these fellows far more than anything before lest they be wastes that had swallowed all these resources and went down the wrong path.


    "You may leave." Darius instructed them with a casual wave, having the maidbots clean up the area after the Five Apprentices left.


    He then turned to Gunner. "You should pay a visit to your lover. She may have missed you dearly in this time."


    Gunner nodded with a happy smile, leaving Darius'' side in a sh as he moved faster than the eye could see. It would take him a while to reach Celia''s empire which was near the southern belt of Fallon, but with his current movement speed, he would not spend more than a day.


    Darius, now alone, rubbed his finger as thoughts ran through his mind. There were many things to prepare in this time. The first was to check on Safemoon and provide more resources for the daily sales.


    The second was to nurture the faction of Material Element users and spread them worldwide to make the most profit. The third was to grow his internal faction and turn them into absolute powerhouses.


    The fourth was to create his elite army unit with Achilles at the head, which would be the spawnlings from Medea''s womb. He had to turn Achilles into a True God of the Material Element as well, and provide a batch of suitable semen to impregnate Medea with.


    The fifth was to check on the Mage academy of Safemoon and see how Elijah was handling it. The sixth was to pump out more HoloBraces all over Faust to increase their coverage on the ground.


    Seventh was to produce and fire up more satellites and eventually datacenters to increase the power of the Supreme Portal as a whole. Eighth was to prepare a suitable army of expendable footsoldiers who were at the limit of mortal power and could overwhelm Fallon.


    Ninth was to oversee the war on Pokterr versus Elysium which would weaken thetter enough for his tenth thing to work on, getting his wife back. The eleventh was personally paying a visit to Gravitas and infiltrating their systems with Miranda, while the twelfth was growing his own power by exploring Pan.


    He was extremely interested in the power system of the so-called Immortals and figured he could use it to break through to the Master stage now that his stage climbing had been made organic.


    Those were the main ones, but there were countless others like getting his new Branded Servant up to speed in terms of skills, spells, wisdom, experience, and level as well as stuff like creating more spells for the various elements.


    There was also preparing for his takeover of Ludo, which was why he asked Shameal Bucktowar to gather all of Ludo''s top leaders for a meeting here. He would reveal his position to them alone, so that he could begin subtle developments on the continent before going public.


    So much to do, and while there was no real limitation on time in that sense, he was just one fellow. If he could split himself into avatars, things would be a lot smoother for him.


    However, that was thest thing Darius would ever do, as he did not trust any avatar he''d create. He was the type of person that if he discovered he was a clone or avatar of himself or his true body, he would scheme his way into bing the true body and extinguish all other avatars.


    Knowing this, why would he set up trouble for himself?


    Darius rested for a bit before deciding to first work on the specific semen to inseminate Medea with as he had the tools on hand. He wore his working attire and entered his scientificboratory within the mage tower that was more hi-tech and equippedpared to nay others he''d used out there.


    Miranda docked herself in theb''sputers and got everything ready to assist Darius in whatever way he needed.


    It was time to begin.

 Chapter 569 - 569

    Darius then began bu using thebination of Bones to Stone and Flesh to Stone to sculpt a human-sized block into a human body. While it might be a Master level spell, he no longer had the shackles of the system binding him.


    Not only that within his mentalscape, he had long mastered the path for these two spells - obviously - and had also forcefully raised his circuit to the master level using the Dragon race''s ''cheat'' ability.


    In other words, he was able to craft a new specimen with ease. This one was in the form of the most attractive and well-built male he could think of. He did not have fine control so as to maniptete genes, but he could handle most fundamental structures at will.


    Darius kept the specimen soulless because it did not need a soul for what came next. He snapped his finger, which shifted the experiment table into a family device that Darius had used before, the Medipod.


    The futuristic device from Gravitas wrapped around the specimen and coated them in nanobots that were grey in color. As such, Darius had no problem bringing out a vial of fiery red blood.


    [True Phoenix Blood - Unique


    Durability: 40,000/40,000


    Description: True Blood Essence from the heart of a natural-born Phoenix at its prime. By injecting it, one can be a Fire Phoenix that can grow up to the Elder stage.


    If one applied it over the skin, one can be a Firebird, a humanoid birdman with the ability to control potent fire. If one chooses to ingest it, one can be an Adult Phoenix without the ability to grow further.]


    Darius chose the Phoenix race over his own Dragon race for obvious reasons. He didn''t want there to be any connection between the Lord of Safemoon and the Ancestor Dragon fledging wreaking havoc on Faust.


    Secondly, his CP could not pay for a vial of True Dragon blood, even when he used the best material. Even if he used his own blood, the conversion was terrible because Ancestor Dragon blood was far different from mere True Dragon blood. He would be better off using dirty water even.


    Thirdly, he wanted something stable and hard to track. Phoenixes were fewer than Dragons and even rarer. They also did not have a habit of spreading their blood around, so it would be extremely hard to trace the source of it even if Darius was questioned.


    Darius ced the blood in the docking station of the Medipod, watching it bleed into the device. Them, various needles injected themselves into the specimen, pumping the blood into their body slowly.


    After a few seconds, the specimen began to react with pain, twitching and spamming as their body temperature rose drastically. Darius only watched coldly, remembering his own experience with recing his heart to be the entity he was now.


    The nanobots regted the specimen''s body temperature and used all means to keep them alive until the assimtion process was done.


    Darius watched as the fellow began to shift from a humanoid into a bird, growing a beak, a tail, two ws, and feathers all around. Darius had homegrown his own legendary fire Phoenix!


    "Miranda, extract all lifeforce and blood essence from the specimen after one week. In the interim, supply them with the purest Lunar Dew we have in order to nurture it." Darius instructed calmly.


    Miranda acknowledged his order and the Phoenix was soon taken away. Darius stood there, pondering how things would go. The n was to turn a random humanoid into a true Phoenix, nurture them to tip top shape, extract their everything, and then inject it into the reproductive organs of various humanoids.


    Those that didn''t have their genitals explode would not gain any power, but would not be able to produce sperm that contained the full DNA traces of both humans and Phoenixes.


    Merging with Medea, who was a Demigod and human, the Phoenix blood would be further augmented, allowing the offspring to retain mostly human characteristics without losing the powers that came with the Phoenix bloodline.


    Sort of like Darius himself, who was perfectly humanoid despite no longer being human in any sense of the word.


    This could have been shortened of course, if he just injected the blood into this humanoid specimen, but he wanted more Phoenix blood essence in case he had other nster.


    Producing it with CP was not easy, even with his limit of 2,000 daily.


    As he was temporarily done with this task, Darius decided to head out of the Mage tower and check on Foldo and co. He noticed that the core area hadn''t changed much, as no new members had been introduced and there was already space for more of them.


    He then teleported to the meeting room where the executives of his faction often met and discussed various matters. As you could expect, they were currently in session, discussing whatever information Jorge seemed to have acquired from that fellow she had ''interrogated'' when he called her.


    Darius appeared in the head seat which was always clean and empty, reserved from him whenever he deigned to attend. He appeared so instantaneously and silently, that no one noticed except three burning gazes thatnded on his body.


    They were the eyes of Jorge, Portia, and Jeanne. All three of them had noticed him immediately, not because their senses were better than others, but because a part of them always longed for the figure that sat in the head seat, so a part of their attention was always fixed on it.


    Darius smiled bitterly. Those eyes were piercing and filled with heat that felt like it was more scorching than the Phoenix blood he had led previously.


    It was clear to him that the threedies had not given up. Rather, it seemed that absence had truly made the heart grow fonder, as they had affirmed their resolve and decided on their path.


    Darius felt sad for them, not only because those feelings were one-way, but because Deia would never share. After years of suffering under the hands of men, he was the only man she trusted truly.


    She was not sympathetic or needlessly kind to other girls either, and she wouldn''t pity these three if they got hurt. After all, no one asked them to fall in love with her soulmate, and on her mind, they should be lucky she didn''t take offense from that.


    However, Darius would leave it for Deia to say. It would be more final and absoluteing from her mouth, and he would finally have peace.


    "Carry on." Darius said gently, leaning into his seat.


    The others paid their respect and greeted him solemnly before carrying on with their discussion. In the meantime, Darius checked the statuses of these fellows andpared them to what he had seen before.


    ˇ­Was it surprising that Portia, Jorge, and Jeanne were the ones who made the most progress? They were now qualified Adepts, the top echelon of the former Andrato when it was a weak Kingdom without any backing and suffering under the pressure of the rest of the continent.


    Now that it had Safemoon as its backer, it had long flourished into a Master-level Kingdom, with assured growth to the Grandmaster level. This was likely why Fraterina was taking drastic measures, as they were likely panicking, seeing that their chance to acquire Andrato was declining by the day.


    Speaking of Fraterina, it seemed like the spies Jorge had sent had discovered that they were subtly mobilizing troops for war, not even using just the Kingdom''s troops, but had solicited the help of numerous kingdoms who want to raid Andrato for the benefit Safemoon had given it.


    Oh, they definitely did not dare directly attack Safemoon as they were a power that even Gods and Demons recognized, but Andrato? Pfff!


    They had long formed an opinion of that poor and shitty kingdom, and that would be hard to change. Even if Safemoon was the suzerain of Andrato, once a just war wasunched, they could not interfere, otherwise other parties would also throw in their weight.


    So right now, what these fellows were hotly discussing was the formation of an army, how tot rain them, how to allocate them, who would lead them, etc. After every party had chipped in their opinion, they naturally turned to Darius for the final verdict.


    "No need to worry, I have been on this before I left. I already have a n to draft an elite force that should number around a hundred million. Our basic soldier force would number 10 trillion, and I shall have both of these forces ready in a month''s time." Darius revealed with a sot smile.


    The bodies of all those gathered couldn''t help but shiver with horror at what they had just heard. Why did it sound less like Darius was talking about fellow human beings, and rather than he was talking about nts he could raise and farm at will?

 Chapter 570 - 570

    Since Darius had already provided an answer this powerful, the entire meeting became moot as it was ended in a rush. The various persons there got to know what he was nning and what their next steps were directly from him, so it was time to get to work.


    Darius checked his Quests tab and saw that he had a mission to increase Safemoon''s value by 10%. It may sound simple, but it was quite tough, given that Safemoon already shipped out some of the best goods. The only way to do so would be to expand their consumerbase or introduce a new product that drove the world mad.


    In fact, Darius was currently nning to do both. By conquering Fallon, he could expand his consumerbase without hindrance and he would soon add more precious materials to the sales, in order to raise Safemoon''s value so it can expand quickly.


    To do that, he would need more ''citizens''. Since he could create his own that were truly loyal, Darius had already informed the top echelon during the meeting that they were to stop taking applications from citizenship and those already given were to be monitored heavily.


    Either they would conform or they would feel ufortable enough to leave. Darius didn''t care what price they had paid toe here, but such fellows were like thorns in his eyes when he could create his own loyal citizens.


    He couldn''t outright remove them, but they would be gotten rid of slowly or cultivated into loyalists like the ''citizens'' he was about to make. He returned to hisb in the mage tower and sighed.


    First things first, he called Luna forward. His newest Branded Servant was demure but restless, ready to prove herself to her master, just as Gunner and X had been when they first joined.


    After she spent some time with them, such pressure would reduce as she would recognize that she was among family.


    "Luna. You are newly minted and have yet gained a single experience point to your name. Your current task is to learn the following skillbooks which would form the core of your power going forward." Darius instructed as he handed the Moon Elf three skillbooks.


    Luna immediately inspected them out of curiosity.


    [Void Walking - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 3 MP per second


    Description: This is the trademark skill of the Void Beast n of Unyris. It is a skill that can only be learned by one with the ability to connect with space on a fundamental level and allowed a person to create a void within their own body where they may fight from. At level 1, the size of the void is only 5 square meters. ]


    [Void Transfer - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: This is a spell that allows the user to create a portal in two ces within 10 meters of their body. These portals are invisible to the naked eye, and are the size of a hand. At level 1, it only remains active for 3 seconds.]


    [Eyes of Death - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: The trademark skill of the moonughter vampire n, the Eyes of Death allow one to see the weak points in a target''s body and strike for them. They are also able to see through mild illusions and trace movements and tracks to a small degree.]


    Luna looked up at Darius questioningly. These set of skills with the knowledge he had imbued her seemed to lead her down towards the path of-


    "That''s right. Henceforth, you will be my shadow, the one I task to kill my enemies without being seen, heard, or felt. You are to be the best assassin this world will ever know, and the best thief it would ever remember." Darius stated grandly.


    Luna''s heart trembled as she bowed once more. "I will obey your maxim dearly, master."


    Darius nodded with satisfaction. "Good. Learn those tomes and practice with them. We no longer need skill points to grow strictly, so spend the next month or so practicing. After that, your next assignment will be ready."


    Luna acknowledged the order and left, leaving Darius to start his work turning huge bs of stone cut from the area into human bodies without souls.


    When born, a drop of Soul-Nourishing Lunar Dew would be injected into the brain of the subject, and Darius always found it a visual miracle to see how light came into the eyes of these soulless subjects.


    Each one would then be moved to a separateb where they would enter a virtual reality pod for training and education. The time dtion was intense in there, 100 years of intense training done within the span of a month.


    Darius and Miranda went into overdrive during this time. Darius continually used Flesh to Stone and Bones to Stone while Miranda got her factor assembly working to make new pods by the hour.


    After one week, Gunner returned with Celia Lovu, but did not disturb Darius as he could tell from his Supreme System interface that Darius was in intense focus. It didn''t matter anyway, as Gunner practically had the same authority as Darius when Darius was not around, so he was able to integrate Celia into the core section.


    Knowing that she was with child for Gunner, many faces changed as they realized that despite being new, her status was somewhat higher than theirs, so she was treated with respect.


    It didn''t matter to Celia much because she was a gentle soul who loved nature, which was why she was enraptured with Gunner who looked like the son of nature in her eyes.


    She had been greatly saddened originally when she thought that she might never see Gunner again after their tryst, but knowing that she was pregnant for him filled her with some strange childish joy.


    She kept giggling to herself all the time, thinking about how she would surprise Gunner and how he would tease him. She was naturally shocked when Guinean himself came to find her and take her away.


    When her superiors heard of what he was doing, they were furious, wishing to beat him down. However, Gunner simply fired one Eraser Cannon at a nearby mountain, and the entire city could only watch with horror as it was turned to rubble in an instant.


    Immediately, Gunner was received as a top-level guest deserving of high praise. Celia no longer became a traitor who was eloping, but a proud Princess who was marrying into another territory''s lord.


    Gunner disdained such actions, but could not do anything otherwise as Celia was an orphan raised by her kingdom to be a Master through heavy investment and training.


    For the purposes of their engagement toe, he had to tolerate them as they represented her guardians. When they found out that Gunner was a family member to the ruler of Safemoon, the Emperor of that empire had almost fallen off his throne.


    If his demeanor could be even more respectful, it was just that. He almost kicked out his own princes there and then to give the crown to Gunner, but he naturally refused.


    Why would he bind himself to some shitty empire that had no real future?


    The reason why he had even spent a whole week away was because of the various ceremonies he had to go through to formally engage himself to Celia. Gunner was lucky Darius was not one for events, otherwise, he would have had to repeat more of that nonsense in Safemoon too!


    After 2 weeks, X also returned. She had gone back to Pokterr to chat with Pyrrha and reassure the Goddess that her choice was right. She also received permission from Darius earlier to let Pyrrha know the whole truth, so when she discovered the puny nature of her existence, she wept.


    Not because she had a crisis, but because thest justification in her heart for the God''s actions was forcefully crushed. They were simply evil brutes who had tortured mortals that they didn''t even create, making them monsters she hated the most.


    It was not a stretch to say that she was now more invested in Darius'' campaign than before. However, her part to y was to feed information to them from the other side, reducing the number of needless deaths as Elysium would 100% send their mortals to die.


    This fact pissed Pyrrha off even more as negative emotions slowly grew within her towards her own kin. If it was their war, why didn''t they get down to fight it themselves?


    Why lie to the mortals and use them as cannon fodder? To what end?


    With this in mind, Darius gave Pyrrha and A-okay to be released. His job was done and recalled X who was feeling heavy at heart. She wasn''t exactly wrong in what she was doing, but it would be hard to call it right as well.


    The difference was that X epted the true nature of the world and what she had to do, despite being a kind and benevolent person.

 Chapter 571 - 571

    Darius continued with his ''divine'' work of creating life. Each life he brought into the world became sentient and whole, immediately sent into training as their number grew rapidly.


    By the time the full month had passed - i.e. an extra two weeks - Darius had made more than 500,000 troops and got them training. He spent an average of 2 seconds creating a body, 1 second infusing the Soul Nourishing Lunar Dew, and 2 seconds shuffling them into a pod.


    He and Miranda were like a crazy fast and efficient assembly line, and their work was one that would leave any soulful being speechless. Any human who watched this happen would probably suffer an existential crisis like no other.


    For the purposes of war, Darius allowed the first batch of troops who had been created on the first day toe out, since they hadpleted their one-month training.


    He didn''t know the state of Fraterina''s war preparations after one month, as he had beenpletely holed up, but he was smart enough to make sure that his people would not be left stranded due to his tendency for perfectionism.


    Around 17,000 troops were released from the pods, their actions and demeanors no longer like new souls brought into this world, but ferocious monsters that had seen blood, bathed in it, drank it, and generally revered it.


    100 years had passed, each second had felt real to them in the virtual reality pod. The wealth of experience they had umted made them even mentally older than Darius himself, but only a slight bit!


    Darius was aware that all of these men and womencked a proper name, yet instead of giving them numerical designations, he simply had Miranda assign them codenames.


    Once they obtained enough merit in war and experience, they would be allowed to purchase a name of their choosing and an identity as a Citizen of Safemoon using War Points from the AI.


    Each of them had naturally been given a high-power HoloBrace, as 50% of their 100-year training had been based around it. Their ability to make decisions, allocate troops, check their kills and recognize friends from foe depended on it.


    With Satellite coverage, Miranda had the entirety of Faust under her eye, so even if one of them got ''stranded'', they actually wouldn''t be. Unless those HoloBrace got cut off from their arms, they would be 500% efficient warriors.


    Without them, would be 350% efficient pared to the highest standard of a fighter on Fallon) as the other 50% of their 100-year training had been to prepare them for the case they ever lost their HoloBrace.


    There was no need to intentionally keep such an obvious weakness.


    After sending out his first batch, Darius continued working, as the number needed to be bumped if they were to have a fully pronged war. The good news was that he had also begun work on his elite troops.


    He''d harvested a batch of semen from his soulless male creations injected with Phoenix blood in their genitals. In truth, the survival rate had been a somewhat disappointing 3%.


    The rest had their balls explode and worse.


    There had been one whose balls kept burning up and then regenerating, reincarnating itself through nirvana until it became rejected by his body due to the sheer difference.


    There had been another whose balls had always remained around molten temperature yet had never melted, causing the host intense pain until he had been put down.


    There was one who seemed fine, but any time he peed, it would scald his urethra, and you could imagine how that felt.


    The three who had survived were indeed special. The first one had mutated, and his member had be no different from arge bird, losing any human traits.


    The second one had retained a human dong, yet he was unable to get hard at all. Nevertheless, despite being impotent, one did not necessarily need ejaction to harvest semen, not to mention there were ways to force it up.


    As for the third one, he had a human dong and seemed fine. He had ended up the most normal of the batch, and they had even managed to sessfully mate him with the weakest human female, impregnating her without issue.


    In fact, his virility actually turned out to be a bit horrifying. The AI had run tests on it and discovered that he could literally impregnate anything with enough effort.


    A random dog, cat or heck, even mouse, if bred, would give birth to a demi-phoenix mixed with its bloodline, introducing a new species to Faust.


    You could sure as hell expect that Darius had experimented with this. The cat had given birth to a fire cat, the dog a two-winged ming dog, and the mouse a heatmouse.


    These experiments had continued with all sorts of animals and monsters. Heck, Darius was sure that if he were to build a catb with levels and tossed them there, he could manually create a fire dungeon of a unique kind.


    Speaking of dungeons, that reminded Darius about his n to create more dungeons in Safemoon, at least one of every type as well as dungeons with more than one type.


    He now had enough CP to create triple element Basic Dungeon Cores, so he would certainly work on that after this was done.


    Sigh, Vena had done him a great favor by removing how he formerly leveled up through Quests.


    Now, he could afford to take his time and develop himself without any worry or hesitation, unlike before where he had been forced to develop for a bit and then ''work'' for a bit to ''please'' her thanks to Caesar''s deception.


    Do you think he would have ever gotten up to run to Pokterr or Ludo otherwise?


    Darius kept all the resulting specimens alive and allowed them to reproduce individually to increase their numbers at first before allowing them to crossbreed. This would be a long-term experiment, so he left under Miranda''s care.


    Of course, the reason he created the men with the Phoenix race semen was obviously not to create unique monsters and be some sort of bizarre monster rancher.


    Arguably, Darius did dip his hands into many fields, but the main reason for this was for the production of his elite troops!


    So, how were they faring?

 Chapter 572 - 572

    Darius had a separate chamber for Medea in hisb, and he traveled there as a form of taking a short break from nonstop work. The chamber was a special Faraday cage with many runes carved on it powered by the usual Source Energy.


    The runes were switched off, allowing Darius to enter inside and see that it was a rtively operational room with all the facilities needed for childbirth, including nannybots who were idle, waiting for the birthing to start.


    They all came active in Darius'' presence and got to work cleaning the ce up and making sure everything was perfect for work. Darius went directly to Medea who was on a t bed, sedated.


    He gazed down at the beautiful Demigoddess/witch with a soft smile, nodding to a bot that had apanied him into the room. It held five gallons of clean semen extracted from his best samples.


    With a snap of his finger, the machines got active and tilted Medea''s naked body upward. Soon a soft, silicone funnel with its end shaped like a penis was ced against her vulva and pushed deep into her vagina.


    Medea was awakened by the machines, and reacted a bit to the sudden insertion as she was injected with some stimnts to get her body ready. Then, the robot poured the semen down the funnel, which was first held in the funnels tank.


    When it was full, it acted like a normal penis and suddenly exploded with an artificial ejaction, filling up Medea''s womb sufficiently with the juice. She reacted to this once again, which was necessary otherwise the chances of pregnancy would be far lower.


    The funnel was removed slowly and the nannybots made themselves avable, feeding Medea various potions and making sure she was stable. Darius watched for a bit before leaving.


    The moment the door sealed behind him, he snapped his fingers and said coldly. "Activate the time dtion."


    The runes that were switched off before came to life in full power, connecting with each other as the entire Faraday cage gave a low hum, like a generator that was sealed in a thick room.


    Darius moved to the observation window and was amused. The state of the room was like watching a fast-forwarded video, just that at a very high speed. The movements of those within were almost a blur and only the stationary Medea looked somewhat normal.


    Well, except her belly which was swelling so fast it looked like she was about to explode. She then went into high-speedbor as the nannybots fussed over her, then the child was born and extracted from the room.


    They too would be ced in virtual pods meant for children, in a room with time dtion so they could rapidly grow while receiving elite education and training at the same time.


    The time dtion in Medea''s room was intense, 10 seconds to 280 days which was 1 gestation cycle. In other words, Medea was popping out a baby every 10 seconds in real-time.


    Even the insect race could not manage this, could they?


    Darius watched as she was directly injected with Lunar Dew, her body rapidly healing from the damage of childbirth and restoring itself before the funnel was ced into her vagina and she was artificially inseminated using this somewhat organic means.


    Then, the whole process started anew.


    Darius walked over to a side observation room which was the ''nursery'' for the children. He saw that three had already been brought in, their looks identical to Medea who was their mother, and one of the three specimens he extracted from.


    Because of that, they looked like siblings, which Darius knew was key to their training and identity. If they all regarded each other as not just brothers of life and death, but brothers of blood, their bond would be doubly tight.


    At least, it would be made to be doubly tight under the brainwashing they would go through from young in the virtual reality training.


    Seeing all this, Darius was satisfied and left the area, returning to his main task. That one needed his direct hand, unfortunately, as no one else could rece him for this key process just yet.


    While back into the groove, outside his tower, the world was moving. The first batch of troops he had sent out were arranged by Gunner and set out with him in much fanfare.


    Many who were in Safemoon were shocked by the sight. They knew Safemoon was amercial haven with the best good, protected by someone of utmost power that they dared not offend, but no one knew they had military power.


    Even though their troops numbered only 17,000 or so, each of them radiated an intense aura that caused onlookers to shiver. What was worse, each and every one of them was at least, an Adept!


    This was a fucking big deal, because most kingdoms and even empires'' armies were led by skilledmoners, i.e those who hadn''t awakened! Who would allow their precious awakened and sparked to form their bottom-tier army?


    Those fellows were reserved for elite troops, which were where most of them would be found. An army of 17,000 Adepts was more than some smaller Kingdoms could field for their elite troops, and this was Safemoon''s footsoldiers!


    What?!


    This was big news! This meant a lot not just to the Kingdoms and Empires of gon, but to the world as a whole. Everyone had been waiting for the protection behind Safemoon to show the slightest weakness in order to pounce like ravenous wolves, but now Safemoon were showing their hand.


    Some were able to realize that if Safemoon were to be able to pump out more troops like this, taking over a measly Fallon would be a piece of cake! That could not be allowed!


    They had to quickly report to their various powers and find ways to stifle Safemoon''s progress.


    Otherwise, who was to say that once Safemoon was done with Fallon, they wouldn''t being for each of them next?!

 Chapter 573 - 573

    Gunner, who was leading the army, saw this and sneered. These fools seemed to have forgotten that they were still wearing HoloBraces on their hands.


    By thinking anything, Miranda could read their thoughts and discover the special channels they used to send out information, as well as who their masters were.


    This was counter-espionage at its finest!


    They were reporting what Safemoon would deem ''trivial information'', which these spies mistook as ''vitally important''. s, by doing that, they had unwittingly given up every single piece of important information they possessed in exchange...


    What a good trade!


    Gunner led the team to board some troop carriers that were styled after modern ones, powered by Source Energy. They wererge,fortable, and fast. They had A/C, food, drinks, and entertainment for the troops on board.


    Even though they had undergone 100-year training regiments, they were born with souls and so they had developed interests, emotions, and desires. The troop carriers also had VR helmets and conduits that could connect to the satellite, allowing the soldiers could train in virtual reality while they headed to their destination.


    Gunner sat in a private tank, seatedfortably on a couch as the conditioned chamber glowed with a blue light. The driver before him handled the movement as he was at the head of the convoy, and any of his needs were met.


    The half-giant was currently thinking about his lover Celia, and their child that should be on the brink of birth by the time he came back.


    Darius had estimated that this first campaign shouldst about one month at most, yet both he and Gunner felt it would be resolved a lot faster.


    The Itemancer had been careful in his estimation because he still remembered Vena''s warning that the power level of Faust as a whole would rise.


    Even though most things had seemingly remained the same, and no one''s stats or powers had suddenly jumped as far as Darius could tell, he didn''t find it wise to ignore a direct warning from the Goddess in this case.


    The convoy moved towards Andrato and patrolled the kingdom over the span of three days, clearing out any rebel forces and cleansing the kingdom thoroughly while Gunner looked on coldly.


    Blood rained in Andrato since many forces had infiltrated the ce while Jeanne was away and focus was on Safemoon. In these three days, the 17,000 strong troops had ended the lives of nearly 500,000,000 different people, all who used to have lives, wishes, and dreams of their own...


    90% of the noble faction had been wiped out, and about 2% of the civilians had also been exterminated. Andrato''s army - which was in shambles - was reorganized by Gunner and conscripted forcefully.


    These fellows had sat on their asses while Fraterina had yed games, forcing Jorge and co to take action themselves. If that was the case, what was the use of their existence?


    However, instead of outright ending their lives, they got used as cannon fodder for the next battle, allowing the lucky ones to pay paid off their debts for acts of omission.


    The cruelty of General Gunner inspired the artificially created troops of Darius but chilled the entirety of Fallon who had begun paying attention to this matter.


    Gunner then spent another four days in Andrato stabilizing the situation before bing acting regent in Jeanne''s ce, since she had given him her royal symbol. The half-giant drastically changed thews as he saw fit, and any who opposed him were gotten rid of within reason.


    He mimicked the rules from Darius'' former world, liking how the Earthlings had handled theirws, and he had been especially in love with how a certain country had advocated for freedom and justice at the cost of even their own lives.


    Gunner abolished more than 99% of the powers of the nobles, practically turning them intomoners with a lot of money andnd title, but nowmoners could also acquire such things if they had the money.


    The half-giant also introducedpetitive capitalism, allowing the market to be controlled by only demand and supply and not in the hands of a select few powers.


    He also distributed HoloBraces, creating aw that anyone above the age of 10 without a HoloBrace would be put to death.


    That was why he could return after one week, having turned Andrato''s entire existence on its had, because the AIs would perfect everything and make sure that things ran smoothly in his absence.


    Now, he and his army of 17,000 ''elite'' soldiers and around 500,000 conscripts moved towards thends of Fraterina straight up. They weren''t even going to dere war or seek permission from the Fallon Continental Council because neither Darius nor Gunner recognized them.


    This was important, because once you sought permission from another, you recognized them a superior and gave them the right to decide on your matters legally.


    If they conquered half the continent and the Fallon Continental Council felt threatened, they could find some bullshit reason to legally prevent Safemoon from continuing.


    In that situation, if Darius disobeyed, he would be seen as wrong by other parties, giving them a chance to denounce his conquest and remove their recognition of his sovereignty.


    It was better to do their own thing and bulldoze through.


    If you had enough force and military power, it became hard for those weaker than you to dare say they had control or jurisdiction over you.


    In that situation, instead of sounding righteous, they would sound delusional and stupid. This was the kind of oue Gunner was going for.


    Their army was detected by Fraterina''s spies long ago, and the kingdom was in full panic. They did not care about the trashy conscripts, as they had far more than that, but those 17,000 soldiers were like a noose around their neck.


    When preparing their army, Fraterina had not collected their awakened or sparked because to mobilize them cost a lot. It could be seen in how these empires had only sent out a few Masters to deal with Andrato because they had lusted over their dungeons.


    Only dungeons that had infinite resources could recoup the losses they had made. The problem here was that even if Fraterina''s n had worked and they had sessfully sieged Andrato, they wouldn''t get the rights to the dungeons with Safemoon there.


    The situation had been murky as there were lines they couldn''t cross.


    Now, it was just a in disaster.

 Chapter 574 - 574

    Gunner slowly pulled up on the scared and hapless kingdom that were at their wit''s end. They were no different from a boy who heard his GF wasing over and was rushing to clean up, or a child who was told to thaw the meat and was hearing his parent''s care in the driveway.


    Essentially, they were caught with their pants down.


    Gunner stopped at the borders of Fraterina, where a continent of 2 million standard soldiers from Fraterina''s side were waiting for them. The conscripts he brought over were shivering in their booths seeing death upon them.


    This bolstered the morale of the 2 million enemy troops as their numbers were far superior. Even themanding officer who had been put here, a young woman by the name of Jennser Bidet, felt courage soar into her heart.


    She had initially been panicking when all her seniors deserted to head deeper into the kingdom, using their authority to force her in charge of the border. She felt like the army that wasing would be so huge that they would go on till the horizon.


    However, it was just 500,000 poorly trained soldiers who were shivering like babies and a few thousand menfortably sitting in some sport of magitech vehicles.


    How was this something to fear? Still, Jennser knew that her seniors had more information than her, so there was more to it than she knew. This was why despite feeling confident, she had ced herself at the far back of the army.


    As such, if anything went awry, she could escape quickly like her seniors and seek refuge deeper in the kingdom. With 2 million body bags before her, even if these troops were meat grinders, they would still need time to clear them all.


    As for their lives, she cared even less. They were merely men, and such species could be bred like rats in Fraterina. Men were just tools for reproduction and battle, they did not have the mental faculties nor the right to think politically and on arge scale.


    That was why all leadership positions in Fraterina were filled by capable women, there hardly being a man who qualified or dared to seek anything except the most meager and most menial tasks which befit them.


    Thinking like this, Jennser sat on her horse and watched the event proceed cautiously.


    When the army stopped, Gunner rose up from his tank and slowly climbed down. He then crocked his neck, stretched his body, and performed warm-ups. The entire army on both sides just watched him, tense and unsure what would happen next.


    He then sucked in a deep breath and stretched each hand apart. Then, Gunner pped with full force, causing a huge upheaval as the shockwave was no different from a megaton explosion.


    Everything in from of him for miles turned to bloodmist or was ripped apart into nothingness. Those at the front even had their bones turned to ash, while those in the middle had their bones fly away.


    Those at the back were shredded, but only lost most of their flesh their bodies ragdolling terribly as they flew back. As for Jennser, she had been blown by the shockwave, a far distance, crashing on top of their horse and rolling.


    Unfortunately for her, though her initial fall was broken by the horse, it took its revenge from the afterlife when its body crushed the young woman''s legs to paste.


    The delirious and stunned Jennser initially did not recognize this pain since her brain and body were severely injured, her skin only staying on her body thanks to the ''body bags'' who had stood before her as well as her distance from the source of the cmity.


    However, she soon came to as the pain surged into her mind, making her shriek with agony as she cried, gazing at her bloodied and ruined legs with shock and horror.


    She was an Amateur, which was why she would even be assigned at the border, so she didn''t die easily. She managed to push the horse off her body with her above-average strength and what she saw killed her inside.


    She couldn''t feel her legs, but she hoped at least something remained for her to fix. Rather, it was the case that her two legs had been smashed into nothingness.


    She didn''t even need to bother to try and move the horse, there was nothing of hr left under it. She could have just crawled away as-is.


    Jennser stared at her stumps which had been too mangled to even pump out blood silently, her eyes zed over and her mind numb. She only reacted when she saw a shadow looming over her.


    Before she could look up, she was grabbed and brought up to face two burning green eyes that seemed to pierce into her soul. Jennser was in excruciating pain and shock, but she couldn''t help but dumbly think that those eyes were quite lovely.


    "You are themanding officer here?" Gunner asked her coldly.


    Jennser nodded numbly, her expression still slightly dazed due to how quickly the situation changed to the absolute worst before she knew it.


    Gunner nodded. "Good."


    He flicked a drop of some purplish liquid into her mouth. Jennser swallowed it automatically, thinking that it tasted quite good and how she would long for more than a drop.


    She then shuddered greatly and energy surged in her body, her wounds healing immediately and her two stumps growing perfectly slender legs that were even lovelier than the bruised one she had before.


    While she was shocked and gaping at the changes, she then raised her head to gaze at Gunner with confusion.


    "Why?"


    "Because Darius cannot always spend his time creating troops the manual way. It is best to have a good amount of natural-born troops that can be trained the normal way." Gunner repliedzily as he took one step, moving so fast that he appeared near his tank.


    For some reason, Jennser felt like she would have been better of dying here, and that feeling scared her.

 Chapter 575 - 575

    Gunner soon lost interest in Jennser who was a trophy of war. The woman was connected to one of the VR helmets and had her memories and any useful information extracted by Miranda with ease.


    This information was disseminated to the troops sent by Darius, educating them on key targets and locations to capture and im. As such, they spread out efficiently to start taking over Fraterina bit by bit.


    As for Gunner, he sat in his tank bored as they plowed forward, the 500,000 conscripts still trudging along before him as they went straight for the capital.


    Given their speed, it took them about 10 days to reach the capital, and Miranda had kept him updated on the efforts of the troops who were dispatched separately. Their performance was on the standards of elites and special forces, as their small numbers were able to take down any facility or encampment they came across.


    The losses Fraterina took in these 10 days were incalcble. Even if Gunner packed up and decided to go back, the Kingdom would never be able to fully recover to its peak.


    However, something like that would only happen in Fraterina''s dream. They were blind, having their eyes and ears poked out by the standard troops who were functioning at a higher level thanks to their elite training, so Gunner''s movements were invisible to the main lot.


    Fraterina was caught trying to put out fires over and over until Gunner himself appeared too close for them to miss. Once they realized his presence, they immediately called all troops back in a rush to defend the capital.


    The other cities and towns in Fraterina were bbergasted and horrified. By doing this, the top echelon was basically condemning them to whatever fate they would suffer in order to protect their own skins.


    By the time Gunner was close enough to the capital city, approximately 12 billion troops were arranged before the city.


    12 billion seemed nonsensical by Earth''s standards, but even a measly Andrato possessed trillions of citizens, and it was the smallest kingdom.


    Honestly, trying to calcte numbers using his former world as a standard was just a recipe for headaches. ''Just go with the flow and preserve your braincells''. That was how Darius had mostly gotten by.


    12 billion was not Fraterina''s entire army size, merely the number of soldiers that could be rushed over in this short period of time. Looking at what seemed to be an endless sea of people, even the stoic Gunner marveled.


    As he had been exposed to Darius'' media for longer than he was exposed to Faust''s true nature, he had subconsciously grown used to Earth''s standards.


    The 500,000 conscripts had been emboldened by Gunner power previously, and so they had remained tame, but it was hard to keep them in line when they saw this. They knew for sure that the half-giant would survive, but most, if not all of them, were likely going to die here.


    Well, they were quite astute, for that was the n anyway. However, that would be wasting their lives, and they had technically been dragged here to pay back what they owed for their former inaction.


    As such, Gunner made them drink a lovely potion called the ''Fatal Berserk'' potion. It granted the drinker +1,000% Power, Speed, Endurance, and Willpower, as well as +500% Damage and Defense.


    Itsted for 3 hours and once that duration ended, the one who had consumed it would die such a horrible death that even ghosts would be chilled by it.


    Once the 500,000 men and women of Andrato''s army were made to drink this, they immediately became coated in a red light, steam emerging from their skin.


    Gunner didn''t have to tell them anything, they immediately roared like maddened beasts as they rushed towards the enemy opposite them. The 12 billion troops were shocked by this and naturally met their charge head-on, partly disdaining these small ants who were trying to shake an elephant.


    However, when the collision urred, the Fraterinans were the ones shocked as these individuals who were releasing copious amounts of body heat worked like shredders that had found paper.


    Their weapons cut through them without resistance, slicing them apart as they moved like juggernauts, so fast and so powerful that being in their way would see you trampled to death.


    However, when attacked, it was like trying to cut solid steel with stic, the weapons of the Fraterina army were useless. Don''t forget, they were all unsparked and unawakened humans, so there were no skills or spells flying about, just traditional fighting.


    That was why these few fellows could show such a wonderful performance. It was impossible for a person who wasn''t at least, a Journeyman or above to kill such fellows.


    This was not an exaggeration. The average man in Faust had 10 points in most stats, definitely in the three physical ones.


    If we are to assume that all of these 500,000 fellows had the average 10 points everywhere, then a 1,000% increase saw them at 110 points in Power, Speed, and Endurance!


    The hell?! That put them over the threshold of Master fighters!


    Then if that was the case, how could Journeymen kill them?


    Well, it had to do with the nature of their power-up. Yeah, they did theoretically have Master stage stats, but they certainly did not know how to use them.


    They were not like Darius and his Branded Servants who, when they used Ability Points to increase their stats, would automatically adapt instantly thanks to the Supreme System. These fellows had lived their lives with 10 points and suddenly had 110 points to use.


    At best, they could bring out 30-50 points in each stat. It was enough to make them gods among plebeians like the 12 billion troops who were in the same boat as them, but it certainly was not enough to deal with someone who naturally had those stat points and had adapted to them.


    The massacre continued for the entire three hours, not a single member of the 500,000 falling, yet their hands stained with endless blood.. In this time, they had culled almost a billion troops on their own, which was a marvelous figure.

 Chapter 576 - 576

    Gunner watched it all ur silently, noting how effective these suicide troops were. He decided that if any army were to surrender to him in the future, he would use their troops in the same manner for the next empire.


    What was that? ''Human life'', ''innocent'', ''just obeying orders''?


    Gunner cared nothing for any that. He didn''t even care about the civilians living behind those walls, who had nothing to do with their leaders'' decisions. Neither did Darius.


    You see, what they needed wasn''t even the kingdom itself, merely thend. That''s right, they were interested in the entirend of Fallon, so that Darius could expand Safemoon and build his own towns and cities across the entire continent with ease.


    As for people?


    Couldn''t he create his own that would slowly reproduce and fill the ce up? It was surely better than trying to integrate these fellows who had their own beliefs, political system, and religions.


    So what was being said here? Well, Darius and Gunner would have to resort to in genocide if they could... the only problem is they ''couldn''t''. Such an action would cause too much public outrage, and they would no longer be seen as powerful conquerors, but despicable ughterers.


    They needed to toe the line of public perception.


    While Gunner was allowed, even encouraged, to do these cruel things, it would ultimately be attributed to him, the ''cruel'' General Gunner, yet he wouldn''t go overboard.


    As soon as the three hours ended, 500,000 men and women simultaneously stopped where they stood and began screaming like eldritch horrors. They melted on the spot, their solid and powerful bodies turning into red goop slowly as they suffered every bit of pain from dissolving before dying.


    This sight, more than anything today or before, chilled onlookers to their core. Even those in charge of Fraterina who had been watching everything from the safety of their walls felt sick to their stomach.


    At this time, just one lone cruiser tank was left, faced with around 11 billion troops. The disparity was so great that it was almost funny, yet it actually wasn''t. That was because a form rose from the tank and jumped out casually, his 7 foot 2 height making him tower over most people he met so far.


    Gunner stretched himself once more, something his two drivers realized preluded a ughter beyond what they couldprehend. This time though, the half-giant grinned.


    "System, y battle theme."


    [Now ying: Theme of Broly (DBS) by Takanori Arima // Dragonball FighterZ DLC OST.]


    Gunnerughed and jumped up, soaring into the sky above the troops, right into the middle of their formation. He then came down with such force that the entire area caved in, hundreds of lives lost due to the crushing stones that ripped their bodies to shreds.


    Those who survived this were blinded by sand initially, but not for long. Gunner jumped out of the pit and stretched his hand out, roaring with crazedughter as his forearms glowed with a green color.


    Earthen Lariat!


    Like a train, he charged through the army with both arms outstretched on either side, taking the heads of anyone in his way as the rest of their bodies were turned to bloodmist by the sheer force.


    Gunner then turned around and pped the spear of a soldier who tried to attack him away casually, before he formed a green ball of energy in his palm. He then pped that green ball into the abdomen of the fellow, pushing his farther back as he flew with the ball into another clearing of enemies before exploding.


    Omega Blow!


    Gunner raised a leg and stomped on the ground, instantly unbncing everyone within 12 kilometers around his body, most of them dying right away as the ground below them contorted and shook.


    He raised his leg and stomped once again, taking a step forward with each one, making sure that everyone within range was turned into nothingness after five consecutive stomps.


    Earthen Stomp!


    Gunner realized that the army was trying to give him a wide berth. Their people had deserted, knowing that numbers could not stop a fellow like him. Gunner was about to pull them back when he sensed something.


    He turned and raised a hand to block, and a loud ng sound erupted in the aura as a shockwave blew around. Above him and still trying to cut into his flesh with her sword was a beauty with blue hair.


    What Gunner noticed was that she was likely at the Master stage given her strength, probably one of the mainstays of the Fraterina kingdom.


    "Despicable male beast, I will cut you into pieces for your insubordination to your superiors!" The woman roared in a lovely voice as she began swinging her sword like a hurricane, only the shes of her des showing.


    Gunner easily blocked each and every strike, his body moving so fast he left afterimages of himself just like the swordswoman. She was shocked by this, never seeing anyone above the Master stage being able to keep up with her Lotus Swordsmanship which was famed for speed over power.


    Gunner idly inspected her to see what her power was like.


    [Gerria Sears - Level 76 Speedsword


    HP: 19,276/19,276 MP: 3,952/3,952 STA: 9,272/9,272]


    Hm. Doing the maths, she had 158 Power, 122 Constitution and 52 Magic.


    Gunner felt this was interesting, because this was much higher than those Masters who had sieged Andrato previously, yet they had been from better empires than this one.


    In other words, this was proof that Vena had indeed increased the power level, yet only subtly for Masters while seemingly not at all for Adepts and below. Perhaps the real change came in the power boost for Grandmasters, which would make the most sense.


    Still, he put this aside forter. He pped the sword of the woman away and clutched her by the neck. Gunner then pulled back his other fist which glowed with a green light, then struck her abdomen heartlessly.


    Immediately, her middle body was blown outward, leaving a gaping hole where her stomach used to be, which Gunner''s hand was currently punching through.


    Earthen Punch!


    Her body went limp as she died immediately, Gunner pulling his hand out and tossing her corpse to the side as he gazed at Fraterina''s capital city, grinning like a wolf that had found new prey.

 Chapter 577 - 577

    Not to mention the still fleeing army, but even those on the walls of Fraterina were struck with anger and fear over the death of such a powerful heroine of their kingdom. Gerria was known as a Speedsword, someone who would have minced you into pieces before you yourself would even realize it.


    It was thanks to her and some others that Fraterina had not ended up like Andrato throughout these years, yet now she was dead, her life extinguished in an overly brutal way. They could only grit their teeth and stare at Gunner with hatred, to which the fellow actually responded by shing a smile!


    The half-giant entered into a running stance as green light emerged around his form, spreading across his body in waves. To the horror of all onlookers, Gunner burst forth like a missile, striking the air before him so hard that he created a shockwave from breaking the sound barrier.


    When he reappeared, he was right in front of the city gates, and he simply sted through it with ease, causing the entire wall to shatter like an armored titan had kicked his way through.


    The area behind the wall was mostly clear, as civilians had long been evacuated just in case, Gunner could see shops, restaurants, and hotels near the entrance that had been deserted quickly.


    He casually walked into one of the restaurants and threw a bunch of pastries into his mouth and chewed them noisily before swallowing. Gunner gave it a ''meh'' evaluation before opening a sk of 100% concentrated Lunar Dew to wash it down.


    The half-giant casually put his bottle back and returned to the main street to see that his way was now barred by three women.


    The leftmost one wore a military general''s attire with the jacket hanging from her shoulders, her blue hair tied into a knot and her dark red eyes ring at gunner coldly as she folded her arms.


    There was a lovely purple-haired maiden who looked like she was floating from the ground, her light azure robes fluttering in the non-existent breeze while she gently held a greenish-blue staff. Her emerald eyes looked Gunner up and down while she wore a friendly smile that looked strange.


    The final woman was one who was extremely buff, wearing a fullte of armor that covered her body, only leaving her eyes visible, those burning yellow pupils that seemed to want to sear Gunner alive. She held arge tower shield before her as well as a spiked mace that was bloody with bits of human meat on it.


    [Fergie Lnyx - Level 71 me Pugilist


    HP: 21,168/21,168 MP: 6,248/6,248 STA: 10,437/10,437]


    [Berry Lias - Level 73 Aero Sage


    HP: 3,933/3,933 MP: 10,804/10,804 STA: 5,037/5,037]


    [Kirstien Dunmerst - Level 78 Blockade


    HP: 27,405/27,405 MP: 2,262/2,262 STA: 14,742/14,742]


    Gunner simply gazed at them boredly while readying himself to end their lives. However, before he could move, one of them spoke to him.


    "Vile ape of a man, how dare you attack a kingdom that is part of the Fallon Continental Council without a cassus belli?!" Fergie, the fierymander-looking woman, shouted.


    Gunner simply gazed at her and suddenly disappeared. Fergie''s face changed greatly as she defended her abdomen, yet a resounding ''pah'' resonated as Gunner pped her face once he reappeared before her.


    Fergie held her now red cheek with shock, unable toprehend what had just urred.


    Didˇ­ did a filthy man-ape actually p herˇ­? She must be dreaming right? Never in her wildest nightmares would she ever suffer such humiliation, right? It must be an illusion, right? RIGHT?!


    Gunner simply gazed at the other two who were rmed and sweating, realizing the gap between them and this man for the first time. The half-giant then stated coldly: "Talk well, or never talk again."


    He then returned to his former position and picked up a few more pastries before chewing them down. Berry and Kirstien shared uncertain looks before the windborne woman with a good nature moved forward.


    "Forgive mypatriot for her words, but we have different beliefs here in Fraterina. Let us not waste time and go onto the main topic, we would like to inquire as to why you are attacking us, whether it is legal or not, and whether we cane to a truce if necessary." Berry spoke eloquently.


    Gunner drank down some more Lunar Dew, which made the noses of the threedies twitch as just the scent of it alone filled their bodies with power. They couldn''t tell what he was drinking, but they were sure it was an elixir that should not be treated as a mere casual drink.


    Then, they remembered that Gunner was not dispatched from Andrato, but rather Safemoon, and suddenly the three of them understood that their assumptions were likely correct.


    Gunner faced them and put his sk away before saying. "Punishment, up to me and unlikely."


    The three paused as they tried to parse his words. Gunner was usually silent, so he spoke less to enemies than he did to even friends and family. Berry was the first to put two and two together, or in this case, the question, and the answers.


    Why was he attacking -> punishment.


    Is it legal -> up to me.


    A chance for a truce -> unlikely.


    Berry thought back to the political situations between both parties and the events that had urred behind the scenes. Oh, she was definitely aware, just like all the other top echelon of their state.


    They had all approved the operations personally and collectively, after all. Now she also understood that Gunner was here for their heads in order to punish them for their actions, as well as to send a message.


    As for thews of war... he cared less about them than whatever he chose to do... basically, he would decide what was legal or not based on his own power.


    Finally, there was very little reason for a truce because he came here to destroy, yet Fraterina was unable to pose a threat to him. The only reason he would ept a truce was if they offered him irrefutable terms, but the kingdom likely would not bend that far, so it was objectively unlikely.


    Berry''s heart sunk. Essentially, Gunner hade here to kill them all, and from the power he had disyed, he would not have a hard time doing that. Right now, she needed to find a way to buy time, so she could convince the kingdom to offer meaningful terms to get this brute to back off.


    Fergie seemed to recover from her shock and was about to explode when Kirstien patted her on the shoulder. When Fergie turned to gaze at the stoic woman, Kirstien shook her head with a grave look in her eyes.


    This poured a bucket of cold water over Fergie steaming rage, which had gotten her into trouble more than once. To see Kirstien who had even traded blows with an early Grandmaster look like this, they were facing a humanoid behemoth.


    She put away her secret disdain of Gunner and gazed at him seriously, entering a fighter''s stance as her fists burst into mes. Kirstien also wielded her tower shield and mace with crouched knees, getting ready for a fight.


    Berry still seemed calm as she spoke soothingly. "Well then, Sir, I understand. However, I would like to ry this to my superiors so that they cane to a decision on what to offer you in order to pique your interest."


    Berry canceled her floating skill and bowed. "We recognize that we are no match for your power, and so would like to directly surrender in order to save lives that would be lost in futility."


    Kirstien and Fergie were shocked by this, but did not contradict Berry. She had the power and right to make such decisions, as she was the older sister of the current Queen of Fraterina.


    Her wisdom and far-sightedness had been what had kept her rash and foul-headed sister from ruining the kingdom. Otherwise, it would not just be espionage missions against Safemoon or some slight probing against Andrato back then, but far more drastic actions with serious consequences.


    Gunner heard this and only poked his earzily. "Sure, do that."


    At his level of power, he could have thrown down with Hercules without even going Earth''s Guardian mode. Once he did, only the likes of As and Baal would be able to contend with him one on one.


    So it didn''t matter what tricks they tried to pull, he could easily vaporize their city with one shot of his Eraser Cannon in his base form. That was why it was the only move he had yet to use in this situation.


    Berry seemed moved by his calmness and knew this was her chance. Immediately, she contacted her sister using special means and began speaking with her. She even contacted their mother for backup, because this situation was truly too dire to y games.


    Gunner, over by the side, suddenly saw Fergie walk over with a serious expression.


    "Lower your strength to my level and spar with me!"

 Chapter 578 - 578

    Gunner looked thess up and down with a strange look. "Why the fuck would I do that?"


    Fergie was stunned that he had answered so rudely and brusquely. Stifling her rage and indignation that a man-ape spoke to her in such a manner, she decided to goad him.


    "Aren''t you a man? A woman asks you to spar, yet you hide like a chicken? Do you even have any balls?" Fergie shouted as loud as she could, hoping to embarrass Gunner into fighting.


    Gunner simply folded his arms behind his back, yet remained silent for a while as he stared at the me Pugilist, before eventually asking her. "Are you a child?"


    Fergie was furious, about to blow her top. Her entire body burst into mes, and she nearly charged forward to fight Gunner to the death. That look he gave her was filled with genuine worry and concern, alone made her feel like she would faint.


    Gunner shook his head. Troublesome women like this were never a pleasure to be around. Look at his beloved Celia, so gentle, so kind and far-sighted, so loving and sweetˇ­


    The half-giant lips rose up slightly as he thought about his beloved woman still at home about to give birth to his first child. Gunner was thoroughly smitten with her, seeing all her pros and none of her cons, though to that end, most men would agree that a woman like Celia had very few of those.


    Gunner was a lucky man to strike gold on his first serious rtionship. Many others had to suffer through many such rtionships before finding ''the one''.


    Fergie sucked in a deep breath. "Okay then, let''s make a bet. If you win, I will give you everything I own, including myself, but if I win, you spare Fraterina."


    Gunner came down from his thoughts and gazed at Fergie silently before disappearing. The woman could only brace herself before she was solidly pped again on the other cheek, her face swelling a little.


    With tears in her eyes, her heart full of indignation, she red at Gunner with anger. "What was that for?!"


    The half-giant stood before her with his hands folded behind his back and seemed nonchnt. "Ever since I came here, you''ve been speaking nonsense and gibberish nonstop. I simply thought to p some sense into you."


    Fergie was left speechless by this, then sat on the ground without caring about how she looked. She clutched her legs and hid her face within as she cried silently.


    Gunner sighed. She really was like a child. Then again, all men and women with this kind of temperament were practically just overly energetic children, but when they acted so as adults it made them seem like they had a ''fiery temper''.


    However, Gunner didn''t care about the feelings or life story of his enemy, he simply went back to stuffing his face as he waited. Eventually, he noticed that Kirstien woman had walked up to him to bow.


    "Respected fighter, I''m in awe of your power. Please forgive my friend for her rash and inconsiderate demands. Please understand that she has never seen power nor skill at your level before, so she wanted to experience it for herself." Kirstien apologized sincerely.


    Gunner paused his eating and acknowledged her apology. He was blunt and cold, but there was no need to be rude to the sincere, enemies or not.


    "If possible, I would like to renew the bet she made. If you agree to fight her and she loses, you can have all her possessions as well as mine, but you''ll owe us nothing if you lose. Now that there are no detriments for you agreeing to my friend''s selfish request, will you still decline?" Kirstien questioned, not daring to look up.


    "Oh?" Gunner muttered with surprise as he gulped Lunar Dew again. He then faced this woman seriously, happy that she was like theplete opposite of her friend, actually intelligent and astute.


    "Hm, your terms are agreeable. Since I have to pass the time somehow, might as well indulge her. However, make sure she is ready, because even if I reduce myself to her level, I can''t guarantee that I won''t identally beat her to death." Gunner revealed with a smile.


    As for whether they would pull any tricks, it wouldn''t matter. Gunner was voluntarily lowering his level, not being forced to. He could raise it right back up in milliseconds to negate any sneak attack they might attempt.


    Not only that, but he would only lower his Power and Speed. Why should he lower his 1,500 points worth of Constitution? THAT would be dumb.


    Fergie heard what Kirstien said and raised her tear-stained face to gaze at the armored woman with surprise.


    "Sister Kirstienˇ­?" Fergie muttered with confusion.


    Kirstien walked over and pulled her friend up to her feet, before she patted her down gently. "Fergie, I know how much you wish to increase your pugilistic skills, and he''s about the best fighter you could ever ask for."


    Kirstien pointed to thex Gunner. "Now might be your only chance to learn something from him and if you''re lucky, it might help you finally breach the wall that''s holding you back."


    Fergie still seemed surprised. "But to give up everything you own for meˇ­"


    Kirstien''s eyes beneath her visor softened greatly. "I''ve been looking after you for so long, what''s this small sacrifice anyway?"


    Fergie was touched as she suddenly hugged Kirstien tightly, disregarding her armor. "Sob sob sobˇ­ Sister Kirstien is the best!!"


    Kirstien rolled her eyes and patted Fergie''s back. "Yes, yes."


    Then, she muttered: "Besides, Fraterina only has two options, submit or die. If we submit, we, as well as all our possessions, technically belong to him and his backers, and if it''s to die, well, our possessions would end up bing his anyway."


    Fergie froze then sighed. She remembered what was at stake here and wiped her eyes, thanking Kirstien solemnly. She then readied herself and got into a fighting stance 10 meters away from Gunner, her form experienced and professional.


    Gunner, thanks to his level 100 Unarmed Mastery, level 100 Basic Martial Arts, and level 32 Intermediate Martial Arts, could tell that her stance was solid.


    Those skills on his system interface weren''t just there for the damage boosts, but they actually fed him a wealth of information about the subject area.

 Chapter 579 - 579

    Seeing Fergie, Gunner unfolded his arms. He then spread them out wide as he began roaring, powering up even as he sealed his strength with the help of Miranda.


    Without Miranda, he could still do so naturally, but it would not be as precise. He had calcted Fergie''s stats to be at 144 Power, and 147 Constitution, as for her Speed, he could only guess it, so to be fair, he brought it down to 100.


    Gunner then exploded with a green light that caused a small shockwave, forcing the threedies to cover their faces as the dust was blown up. The half-giant then entered a battle stance and smiled at Fergie wickedly.


    Not one to be easily cowed, the fiery woman maintained her stance and red at her opponent with solemnity.


    "System, y the song in my head out loud for everyone to hear." Gunner prompted with a grin.


    [Now ying: Dream Tag Match by Norihito Sumitomo // Dragonball Super OST Volume 2.]


    Fergie and co were extremely spooked when they suddenly heard a powerful and heroic battle theme y around them, like the source was around their bodies. They wondered if it was a trick by Gunner, yet he didn''t bother to exin himself, rather rushing forward at Fergie, striking out at her.


    The woman was shocked, but quickly manifested searing mes as she struck back. When their fists connected, there was a slight shockwave as their level of force was equal!


    Fergie sighed internally, d that Gunner held up to his end of the bargain. Now, she could fight without holding back and increase her own skill!


    As for the half-giant, he was basically treating this as a game as he struck forth many times, crashing with Fergie head-on while both of them moved like lighting across the streets of the capital city.


    Fergie dodged a blow from Gunner that narrowly missed her head, grazing her cheek and causing blood toe out. She gritted her teeth and saw a chance.


    The me Pugilist roared and grabbed Gunner''s outstretched arm, using his own force to toss him into a nearby building, crashing into it and bringing it down.


    Fergie didn''t stop there, exploding with mes as she jumped up and crashed into the building, exploding it thoroughly. The debris was blown about, striking everything but the other two Masters who were spectating.


    One had a wind barrier that would only show itself when struck, while the other used her own tower shield to block the iing rocks and metal with ease.


    Fergie tried to strike the downed Gunner in order to deal a good blow, but her opponent simply stretched out an arm and pressed a green orb to Fergie''s stomach. She barely had any time to gaze at it with shock before she was already sted away the next second.


    Fergie flew into the building opposite the one she had sent Gunner into, the green orb exploding further and turning the building into rubble, yet with nothing flying away.


    Gunner himself casually got up from where he hadnded and shook off the dust, walking out of it as if nothing had happened. Given his Constitution, even if he allowed Fergie to attack him for 10,000 years with her strongest attack, she would not be able to do so much as 1 point of damage to him.


    Fergie though, could barely rise up as she coughed out blood, clutching her seared stomach with pain. It was not ckened, yet the clothes there had torn, revealing her powerful abs, only they were severely bruised.


    The fiery woman eventually stood up, mustering a battle pose as she gazed at Gunner defiantly, a trickle of blood sliding down her lips. The half-giant could only hm with interest as he rushed forward once more, throwing hundreds of blows at the woman.


    Fergie dodged most of them using skill and speed, but a fewnded because Gunner was simply superior to her in skill. Even if their stats were the same, his Speed actually below hers, his fighting expertise was no joke.


    In fact, what was more shocking was that Fergie could actually keep up with a monster like Gunner in such a high-intensity battle. After all, with his skill, he should have been able to dispose of her in two seconds, yet she had been able to hold on this long.


    It went to show that she too had mastered a great fighting technique, though Gunner could tell it was not as powerful as his Transmuted Martial Arts skill. As such, he easily dominated her, punching her through the streets of Fraterina''s capital, sending her crashing through buildings and various establishments nonstop.


    At this point, her clothes were barely in one piece, and she was almost naked, yet her bruised and bloodied body was not one to be ogled at. If anyone were to see her like that, rather than lust, they would only feel pity for her sorry state.


    The me Pugilist herself was trembling from head to toe, not even having the mind to cover herself, as even standing up was taking all her strength. She felt pain roaring from her body, telling her to lie down and give up.


    However, it was not that she was willful or stubborn, but rather that she knew this might be her one and only chance to advance in this lifetime. She didn''t want to lose it by fainting, so she absolutely had to make sure she gained something from this before cking out.


    Gunner didn''t stop, seemingly not caring about her will to fight. What hadn''t he seen from those 5 tykes he had raised? Whenever he had beaten them up during training, they would rise again and again, only to get beaten up by him again.


    As their mentor, he had beaten them to the point they had seemingly bepletely desensitized to pain, so this behavior from Fergie was not going to make him soft.


    Gunner raised his hand to punch her swollen face that made it hard to recognize her as a human, much less a formerly pretty one. However, halfway through his punch, he suddenly changed from a jab to a strange palm attack that seemed to mirror on itself.


    Once Fergie saw that punch, her mind nked out as her fighting stance slumped. He had stopped his blow right before it hit her, pulling it back.


    With that, Gunner turned around and folded his arms, walking away while Fergie absorbed her epiphany.

 Chapter 580 - 580

    Gunner ended the music, no longer paying attention to the woman who was now partially breaking through to Grandmaster on the spot. Rather, he gazed at Kirstien who looked at Fergie with rapturous excitement, then at Berry who had furrowed brows and a troubled look, then sighed.


    Gunner patted Berry on the shoulder, snapping her out of hermunication. The half-giant then leaned in close and asked coldly. "What is your country''s verdict?"


    If they surrendered, that was fine. Darius would not have much of a problem assimting them as long as they wore his HoloBraces.


    If they resisted, Gunner would have his fun ughtering them all, including the newly made Grandmaster over there that looked like she had been through a thousand boxing rings.


    Caught offguard, Berry couldn''t quicklye up with an answer. She could only mumble while sweating from her brows, but this was enough for Gunner to understand the situation.


    Whoever was on the other side was either not clever or had yet to ept the reality of the situation, resisting the surrender.


    Gunner sighed and stepped back. "I don''t have unlimited patience, I''m not your friend or ally nor am I sympathetic to your current plight. Whichever idiot you''re corresponding with, let them know that what happens next is due to their own behavior."


    The Branded Servant channeled energy into his feet as the ground beneath him cracked. Gunner then shot up into the sky like a bullet, reaching so high that he looked like a dot.


    Berry and Kirstien gazed at him with rm, feeling that something terrible was about to happen. The royal woman panicked and warned her sister on the other side to flee, yet it was far toote for that.


    From the sky, Gunner identified Fraterina''s Royal Castle, which wasrger than Andrato''s though they both bore the same style. He then stretched a hand downwards as a green light burgeoned within, charging up for a few seconds before firing out.


    The Eraser Cannon was his strongest and most devastating attack, which was in the form of a huge green energy beam that struck the castle.


    Immediately, to the shock and horror of Berry and Kirstien, the entire city shook as the Royal Castle exploded, lit up in mes that even caused a small mushroom cloud to form. All the buildings in the city were ruptured and reduced to debris at best.


    Kirstien rushed forward and stood before the still dazed Fergie, whose aura was undergoing changes by the second. The armored woman roared as a blue light formed in front of her shield, another ethereal shield forming before her.


    Berry, who was on her own, could only channel all her magic power to conjure a windshield as she resisted the huge shockwave that erupted from the st. The Aera Sage was blown away like a rag doll, smashing into hundreds of buildings as well as the city wall on her way out, the magical shield breaking as her body suffered intensecerations and burns from the follow-up heatwave.


    Her life and death was unknown as she crashed into the earth hard, creating a severe ditch.


    Kirstien roared as she tanked the shockwave, shocked by its power as the multitudes of ethereal blue shields that existed right in front of the metal one were shattered with ease one by one. Eventually, she was only left physical shield. She dug her feet into the ground still getting pushed back by a few meters.


    However, her arm that had held the shield was thoroughly broken. Even worse, once the heatwave arrived, she could only cry out in pain as she cooked within her suit of armor, the sizzling sound and smell of burning flesh wafting through the area as Kirstien fell to her knees in agony.


    Nevertheless, the naked person she had been protecting hade out unscathed, not even suffering a single bit of damage, as she had continued her enlightenment to reach the next stage.


    The one responsible for all of this mayhem simplynded on the ground, taking in the effects of his actions without even batting an eyelid. Towards the now destroyed Royal Castle, he only gazed coldly with folded arms.


    At this time, Gunner noticed a prompt from the True Supreme System about his kills.


    [You have gained 2% EXP.]


    Gunner rubbed his head. He hadn''t gotten anything from killing that Master Speedsword and now, ending the entire royal family and all their powers, only amounted to 2%? It seemed like the percentage system was far more brutal and demanding of battle than the numerical system.


    Gunner idly wondered if Darius was aware of this and what his ns were to counter it, before focusing on the only survivors around. He walked up to Kirstien and squatted before the kneeling woman, sniffing as she shook his head with pity.


    "Unlikely to survive." Gunner pronounced his verdict.


    He didn''t even need to look at her HP bar to see that it was dropping rapidly as a result of status effects from her action of defending another. The half-giant was sure that if her armor was removed, what was underneath would no longer be a beauty - assuming she had been one before - but something far scarier than a man burned byva kept alive only by hatred.


    Actually no. It was impossible to get that armor off her anymore, as it had likely fused with her flesh at this point. She was going to die without ever being able to leave this metallic shell she chose to put herself in to defend others, which was quite ironic in Gunner''s opinion.


    He rose to his feet and took a single step that practically teleported him to the ditch where Berryy unconscious, her body dirty and extremely bloodied, many bones visibly broken and poking out of her body. She had been an A-grade beauty before with a hint of mature mystery, but now she was just a damaged meatbag.


    "ˇ­Unlikely to survive." Gunner pronounced his judgment again with a difficult expression.


    He then looked at the slowly recovering Fergie who wasing to as her upgrade was finished, his expression not very good.


    "Don''t tell meˇ­ I''m left with that one? Sighˇ­"

 Chapter 581 - 581

    When Fergie came to, the first thing the woman felt was joy. After so many years, she had finally broken through the barrier that held her from reaching the Grandmaster stage!


    She was only partly through the door, her awakened skill having reached there, but it would take a while for her body to adapt and climb as well.


    This was the benefit of Sparking over Awakening. Mages had to do a ceremony and use certain methods that were stringent and specific before being able to reach the next stage, but their power would increase totally afterward.


    On the other hand, those who had Sparked, be it naturally or artificially, could simply upgrade whenever and wherever as long as their special ability had gathered ''enough experience''.


    After that, their special ability would nourish their bodies until it was strong enough to unleash the minimum power of the new stage. To reach the maximum power would require more training, use, and experience, depending on what their ability was in the first ce.


    Fergie wanted to share her joy with her closest friend and good sister, Kristien, who had paid the price for this to happen.


    s, before she could even see her, the me Pugilist smelt her. That smell of burning flesh would make anyone want to throw up, yet she looked at Kirstien kneeling down, her armor red-hot and molten in some ces.


    Fergie drew a nk as she couldn''t fathom what she was seeing. One moment, she had been taking hits from Gunner while Berry had beenmunicating with the Queen most likely as Kirstien had been watching her supportively, then the next, her best friend seemed to be burning in her armor.


    The me Pugilist''s mind snapped as she screamed. She rushed to Kirstien and pressed her hand on the armor, drawing the heat away by using her ability, yet unable to work on the molten parts because she couldn''t handle liquid heat.


    The suffering woman seemed to recover greatly thanks to this, as she didn''t have to grit her teeth to keep from screaming at continuously burning alive in her own armor. Now that 99% of the heat was gone, it had returned to being cool, so her health was not dropping as rapidly as before.


    s, it was just as Gunner had stipted, she was now inseparable from that armor. Her skin and flesh underneath was now deformed so badly that even if she could remove it, the woman most likely would not. She didn''t need to see it to be able to guess that her current self would likely traumatize any onlooker.


    Fergie began crying as she noticed this predicament, her heart feeling endless waves of pain as she wondered just what could have urred. Kirstien could only muster the strength to say: "It''s good that youˇ­ managed to break through safelyˇ­"


    Her voice was raspy and hollow, indicating that her throat had suffered severe internal burns, not from the armor, but likely breathing in that heatwave when defending.


    At this time, Gunner walked over holding a terribly injured Berry in a bed he had taken from his Inventory, carrying her with one arm. He ced the bed down and folded his arms, pointing at the woman.


    "Your friend here could not get your Queen to see reason and surrender, so I removed the problem from the equation. Presumably, that should leave you three with the highest authority over this kingdom now. Decide here and now, are you going to surrender, or do you wish for me to eradicate what''s left?"


    Gunner was blunt and did not hide anything, making Fergie nch as she put two and two together. She gazed at the Royal Castle which was now a crater spanning kilometers, as well as the ruined debris of the once great capital city, and understood in her heart.


    She knelt before Gunner. "I speak for all of us, as well as Fraterina as a whole, when I say that we hereby fully surrender to Safemoon."


    Kirstien by the side did not butt in orment, having wanted this from the beginning, yet their idiotic Queen had stayed obstinate. Now, she could rot in hell for all the lives that had been lost due to her indignation.


    "Good." Gunner answered.


    He then opened his sk and pried open the mouth of Berry pouring a drop of a purplish liquid within. When it was exposed to air, even Fergie, who was still buried and battered felt her injuries healing.


    The half-giant walked over and forcefully lifted Kirstien up despite her groan of pain, and did the same for her. Both women glowed with a purple light that surrounded their bodies, time seemed to reverse around them as they returned to full healthiness within seconds.


    Fergie watched this with stupefaction, wondering what sort of miracle this was, before she remembered where Gunner came from and what kind of resources had been auctioned there.


    When she gazed at that sk, she gulped, realizing that what was within was likely more valuable than her lifeˇ­ no the entire Fraterinaˇ­ NO! THE ENTIRETY OF FALLON!


    Then, she suddenly became dazed again as she realized something strange.


    Why exactly had they fought back against this invasion?


    Wouldn''t it be the best possible scenario to be a vassal under Safemoon? After all, look at how powerful Andrato had grown in the span of a year after getting nurtured.


    Wouldn''t it be perfect if Fraterina could also receive that level of nurturing and give birth to Grandmasters?


    After all, they had a much higher starting point than the shit-tier kingdom that used to be Andrato. Their kingdom also had better efficiency and talent when it came to these things.


    They could have soared to heights unknown, yet by epting this unconditional surrender they had been reduced to mere ves rather than capable vassals...


    The fact that Gunner had even healed Kirstien and Berry was most likely due to pity rather than any real need to keep them alive.


    Even as they woke up, Gunner seemed less interested in them and more interested in looking for his escort. The half-giant seemed to have just remembered that his tank was still parked outside the city, and he couldn''t help but worry as to whether the fellows driving it had survived.


    Seeing this, Fergie understood many things, her former naivete and childishness slowly being washed away by the brutal reality of life.


    However, looking at the state of her home, her city, her kingdom she was reminded of a certain saying.


    ''Experience is something you don''t get until just after you need it.''

 Chapter 582 - 582

    Fergie snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed that an increase in aura from both the recovered women. Berry and Kirstien''s aura swelled and exploded just like hers did, reaching the Grandmaster stage right away!


    Fergie was left speechless! She had risked her life countless times, only reaching enlightenment after Gunner had agreed to spar with her on her level, yet all it had taken for the other Masters to breakthrough had been one drop of the purple liquid?!


    What''s more, how could Gunner have been drinking that stuff casually?! What the heck!


    Suddenly, Fergie''s eyes narrowed. Wait, could it be thatˇ­ Gunner was a God? And that drink was Godly Dew or Divine Ambrosia?


    That would exin everything!


    The Branded Servant, not realizing that the silly Fergie had mentally elevated him to the status of godhood, was now bored as he waved his hands. "Get it done."


    He then left the city area on a stroll, looking unbothered. Deep down though, he was steadily searching for his ride which he might''ve blown upˇ­ identally!


    Kirstien opened her eyes and ripped her armor off her body with raw strength, disying her naked body to the world. She was surprisingly rather beautiful, with deep caramel skin that gleamed in the sunlight due to her sweat and a full body that did not lose out to Fergie, and was even superior in some ways.


    One thing was for sure, the women in Fraterina were of high quality. Descended from Valkyries, it was the least one could expect. How many empires had wanted to annex this ce and capture these high-grade women for themselves but had failed?


    Now, they had crumbled to a contingent of around 17,000 troops and one man. Just one man, though he was quite the manˇ­


    Fergie, Kirstien, and Berry couldn''t help but blush when they noticed that all three had the same thought run through their minds. Kirstien sighed as she touched her skin and regrown hair, shaking her head.


    "Henceforth, I solemnly swear to never wear metal armor again."


    The experience had traumatized her, and she would fight wearing armor made of non-reactive materials. Perhaps Dragonbone or the like, she wasn''t sure yet, only that it definitely wouldn''t be metal.


    Fergie nodded in understanding, while Berry couldn''t help butment. "You two are still buck naked, you know?"


    Fergie and Kirstien shared a look and shrugged. "It''s actually kinda liberating. Besides, is there anyone to see us like this?"


    Berry looked around at the devastated city and sighed. "You''re right."


    She then ripped off her torn-up robes and joined the duo in their nakedness. The three shared a look and beganughing. Theyughed so hard and for so long that they were soon breathless, unable to even stand.


    When Gunner returned and saw three naked women cackling like crazy, even the callous half-giant got goosebumps and quickly exited the scene.


    The devastated Fraterina was revitalized on this day by three naked women amidst a pile of rubble, the three new Grandmasters of the kingdom. After they were given HoloBraces and their next orders, Gunner directly left Fraterina and marched back with the troops.


    The casualty rate was utterly perfect. Among the 17,000-ish troops, only about 20 had perished, though not for long. Each troop carrier had stored Lunar Dew for situations like this.


    As for the 500,000 conscripts, nobody really cared about them. Everyone had known that they had been sent out to be useful onest time before they died.


    The only ones who might shed a tear and remember them were their aggrieved family and friends, who hated Gunner to the core, but were powerless in front of him.


    Gunner managed to return to Safemoon 3 days before Celia gave birth. On the due day, the fellow was like a restless beast, pacing up and down while Darius had taken a break to witness the event.


    He was amused by Gunner''s antics, reminding him of himself shortly before Solena''s birth, yet he helped calm therged down and guide him through it. After all, Darius had done this three times and by the time Martin came around, he was a seasoned veteran.


    Soon, the birth wasplete and a thunderous baby''s cry came from the room. Gunner rushed in with Darius following behind. Within the chamber were X, Luna, and some midwives who were here to help Celia.


    Celiay on the bed, tired after having given birth to a quarter-giant with Royal blood. The size of the crying baby alone was about 27 inches and its weight was easily above 5 kg. If it wasn''t for the fact that Celia had a monstrous Constitution, this would not have ended as pleasantly.


    Gunner, as if mesmerized, looked at Celia and the small baby in her arms that was already in possession of spiky green hair from birth, a notable difference from human babies.


    The littled was like a carbon copy of Gunner, only that his lighter skin tone and his hair color came from his mother. However, his face and body were simr to Gunner in every way, only that his features were a bit softer thanks to his beautiful mother.


    Celia giggled when she saw the dumbfounded Gunner and called him over. The now father walked over as if in a trance and received the baby from his beloved woman and held it in his arms.


    Without nning to, Gunner activated his Earth''s Guardian as a lovely green aura manifested around him that was absolutely pure and potent. What shocked onlookers was that the baby stopped crying and became peaceful, manifesting the same aura, though much weaker and not as concentrated.


    Gunner and his son continued to resonate their bloodlines for a while until they both naturally stopped. By now, the half-giant was calm, he still wore a smile of happiness as he returned the child to his mother''s arms carefully.


    Gunner then sat beside the bed and held Celia''s hand. She had already recovered somewhat from the tough event, but Luna provided her with a ss of Lunar Dew to drink.


    Celia had already been epted into the family, so she came to know just how wasteful they were. However, the psychic was a bit naive and ignorant thanks to her upbringing. She didn''t 100% understand the value of the liquid, thanking Luna before drinking it.


    Immediately, Celia glowed with purple light as her body recovered to its perfect state, and any seque or problems from this birth gone right away.. If they gave her and Gunner some private time, they could conceive another child right away.

 Chapter 583 - 583

    After the child was born, time continued to fly.


    Darius continued with his extremely questionable experiments, Gunner led the created armies throughout Fallon, and X and Luna spent their time bonding.


    The Elven Princess was teaching her new sister many things about their race as well as letting her experience the joys of life. The two elves were extremely tight-knit, seeming inseparable.


    Their bond could even make twin sisters feel inferior, but there was a slight problem. It was the fact that Luna was simply too sexually attractive due to her physical make-up and her unique Moon Elf aura.


    There was a sense of exotic yet wicked sensuality to her that made many male onlookers - and even some enterprising females - disy interest. X was mostly pleasant to those who came to strike up a conversation at first, yet Luna was not interested in any of them.


    Once she noticed that X was slowly being overwhelmed by their repeated visits and ''enthusiasm'', she immediately frowned and released her aura. All those who wanted to approach got blown back, shocked by the power of this delicate yet sensual elf.


    X sighed with relief and hurriedly took Luna away, the Moon Elf casually following the Royal Elf all over the ce as she continued to take her about.


    Luna did not show it much, but she was really enjoying her time with this sister of hers.


    .......


    In the name of conquest, Gunner razed through different kingdoms one after the other.


    The first one was nearest to Fraterina and had coveted the beauties within for centuries, often engaging in skirmishes with them to test their might.


    They were the Derna Kingdom. Gunner had not spent much effort to reduce them to rubble, because they were ignorant and seemingly fearless.


    Hearing about Fraterina''s fall, they had naturally assumed that Gunner must''ve exhausted his troops and was trying to consolidate, so they took it as their chance to finally ''dine'' on high-grade beauties.


    They marched the entirety of their army, which numbered over 20 billion towards Fraterina, in hopes to surprise Gunner and force him out. Somemanders even intended to capture the general, allowing them to ransom him off to Safemoon.


    They, too, feared the city, yet only in its territory. No one respected or even looked at its own battle power at this time. While the rest of the world was reeling from the news the spy sent, most of the northern kingdoms of Fallon were extremely ignorant.


    Fraterina had been the most knowledgable Fallon kingdom about their activities because they were the ones who had actively been antagonizing Safemoon. They had even tried to contact their ''friends'' from Gravitas for help, but it had beente.


    That connection had been severed when Gunner had blown up the Royal Castle, but Darius told him not to worry.


    It didn''t matter who on Gravitas was the culprit, as long as he could enter that ce for even one millisecond, they would be no different from a person bound and gagged, awaiting their fate.


    Back to Derna''s army, they were shocked when they met an entourage of 120.4k troops in high-tech carriers and transports, all following behind one small tank inparison.


    Since a week had passed since Fraterina fell, 17.2k troops had multiplied each day by the same amount, until they reached this number. Each of these men and women had 100 years of elite training and possessed the power of, at least, an Adept.


    Any single one of them was worth more than a million of those cannon fodder troops who had not even awakened. When Gunner saw the 20 billion troops, his eyebrows furrowed.


    Should he test these men by letting them fight head-on, or should he thin their numbers first? He and Darius had full confidence in the troops, but even a million ants could bite an elephant to death.


    20 billion was a huge number. In fact, Gunner wouldn''t even be able to tell the number of human beings there were it not for Miranda''s satellite doing the counting.


    What kind of number was that? If it was dor bills stacked neatly, it would be enough to build a tower! If it was money in your possession, you wouldn''t even be able to spend it, even if youtched onto the top 100 greediest gacha games.


    Just over 100,000 troops could not handle this amount, and Miranda buttressed this point. She estimated that they could kill about 4 billion with their current number, which was crazy in of itself, in 10 days, but they would begin to expire after that.


    Stamina was not infinite, and fatigue - both mental and physical - would eventually get to them. As such, Gunner had to thin out the horde the good old-fashioned way.


    He jumped out of his tank and sent an order to one of his captains in the group, someone who had disyed above-average results in the 100 years of training.


    "Deploy the ward." Gunner ordered the captain before turning to face the army opposite him.


    The soldiers then got busy cing some metallic nodes around the entire force, eventually activating a giant dome shield that seemed to be as thick as steel.


    Gunner exited this shield and gazed at the opposing army. They had stopped, and theirmanders riding forth to pay with him. Upon seeing him erect a shield, their eyes shed with limitless disdain as they felt that Gunner was cowering before their martial might.


    Now, even more than before, they could not tell the power of the 100k troops because of the barrier separating them. Even sound and smells were blocked by it, otherwise, what had happened at Fraterina would just repeat itself.


    "Hold! You over there, Brute! Quickly exin what you''re doing on Derna soil and then surrender yourself for whipping and caging!" One of the captains of that army arrogantly stated as he gazed at the half-giant.


    Gunner simply flicked a finger from where he stood, sending an air bullet that blew the head of the offending captain open as he rode over, his body slumping to the side, eventually falling off his horse.

 Chapter 584 - 584

    "IMPUDENT BRUTE!"


    "DESPICABLE BEAST!"


    "MONGREL, YOU DARE?!''


    The other captains roared with anger, wanting to attack Gunner immediately, but were stopped by the man in the lead who looked buff and strong. He wore a well-decorated military officer''s attire with various medals andpels ced on him.


    He had a gruff mustache that covered the entirety of his upper lip, with his sharp buttchin remaining beardless. He had powerful blue eyes and a well-ridged face that spoke of age, looking to be in his early fifties.


    He stopped his horse a little bit away from Gunner, his eyes exuding coldness and confidence. Gunner also quietly sized him up and inspected him to see what gave this fellow such confidence.


    [Bastian Davis - Level 82 Juggernaut


    HP: 259,228/259,228 MP: 6,560/6,560 STA: 46,412/46,412]


    Gunner''s eyes narrowed. Well, that exined a lot. The leader of this army was surprisingly an early-stage Grandmaster! Since this was exceedingly rare for northern kingdoms, it meant that he must''ve broken through rtively recently, likely when they were fighting the insects on Pokterr.


    A Grandmaster changed the stats of any kingdom or empire, giving it the right to stand on the top of the continent - and even stand tall in the entire world - as a hegemon.


    Bastian seemed to notice something about Gunner as his breath hitched slightly. He made a snap decision at that moment that was backed by his years of warfare and tactical nning.


    "Fellow Grandmaster, forgive my subordinates. They simply do not have the ability to sense true power. Rather, since we are of the same level, may we sit down and discuss various terms and decide what we would do next?"


    The captains behind him had their faces change greatly once Bastian revealed that Gunner was a Grandmaster. Their teeth couldn''t help but chatter at the thought of having offended a legitimate Grandmaster.


    Even if they were killed, the Kingdom wouldn''t pursue the matter against a genuine Grandmaster for a were them. Couldn''t you see that the fellow who had his head exploded was lying in the ditch with his butt up and his blood leaking into the grass,pletely ignored by the two Grandmasters?


    Gunner agreed readily to Bastian''s terms. It had to do with giving respect to a fellow Grandmaster, not to mention that Gunner saw a chance to legitimately take over.


    Apart from that, every day spent in pay between them meant another 17.2k troops would be sent over, drastically reduced the survival rate of this kingdom and all others after it.


    A tent was formed where Gunner and Bastian entered, discussing various terms. Bastian first asked about Fraterina and its status, which Gunner confirmed was now a subsidiary kingdom of Safemoon.


    This disheartened Bastian, as it made their march towards Fraterina partly a waste since they were not as stupid as Fraterina to try and mess with Safemoon.


    He then asked Gunner''s purpose foring here, hoping it was to intercept them, but it was much worse. Gunner was here to conquer the Derna kingdom in the name of the Safemoon.


    Bastian tried to inquire if there was a chance that Derna could avoid being taken over using his name, or something of value to trade. Gunner shook his head and directly revealed that Safemoon was directly taking over the entire Fallon in order to improve its standard.


    Hearing this, Bastian was stunned. Then he jumped in his seat as he understood what Darius was trying to do through Gunner''s words. He then directly told Gunner that on his authority, Derna Kingdom would submit to Safemoon.


    Gunner was surprised by this, not understanding how this fellow caught on quickly but then didn''t care anyway. After all, it simply made his job easier, which he was certainly thankful for.


    However, Bastian made another proposal. Because he was not sure how the people would receive their new suzerain, he decided to put on a show. He would challenge Gunner to a duel for the rights over Derna.


    If Gunner won, Derna would submit, but if Bastian won, Fraterina would be given to Derna. This would legitimatize Gunner''s conquest of both Fraterina and Dernapletely and prevent allter troubles.


    Gunner thought about it and agreed. His chances of losing were 0% in all alternate realties and especially this one, so it was just as Bastian said, a show. He was also interested in throwing down with the Juggernaut.


    Currently, Gunner''s stats were like this:


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 2,362,173/2,362,173 (2,250,000) || MP: 5,125/5,125 (4,592) || STA: 63,591/63,591 (61,500)


    Level: 41 || Experience: 2%


    Power: 1523 (1500) || Speed: 841 (800) || Constitution: 1551 (1500)


    Magic: 125 (112) || Will: 2,322 (2,300) || Luck: 100


    AP: 0 || SP: 0.]


    His stats had grown organically since thest allocation as was expected since he was practically fighting and gulping Lunar Dew on a daily. It should be known that at his current level of stats, it was hard to get even 1 extra pointpared to the lower levels.


    However, drinking Lunar Dew would certainly do the magic in terms of bumping one up.


    As for Bastian, Gunner estimated he had 458 Power, 556 Constitution, and 80 Magic. With such stats, he was qualified to even fight him head to head in his base form.


    Bastian would still lose for sure, but not as pathetically as Fergie.


    The two left the tent and ryed their choices to their respective armies, forming an arena in the center so both of them could witness it. This would also help with the legitimization of the oue.


    Gunner and Bastian soon shed atop the stage, their punches sending shockwaves down onto the army below, making their faces change with horror. They had a newfound respect for their military leaders, watching this brutal disy of physical might.


    Bastian was a Juggernaut, so his skills were geared towards thanking hits, so his damage reduction made Gunner''s power which was 3x his Constitution not as deadly as it should be, which was why Gunner initially felt like Bastian would be a worthy foe.


    It was just like how Gunner could tank Lord Darm back then when Lord Darm had 3x of his stats. He had so many defensive skills giving him protection as well as the old Supreme System''s redundant battle calctions.


    Bastian and Gunner were like mirages on the arena, shing all over the ce. Bastian gritted his teeth as he could feel his entire body tremble with each strike, like Gunner was prating his body with his blows thatnded on all his soft spots.


    Bastian was the first between them to cough blood while Gunner remained unscathed. The Army on his side saw this and were downcast, knowing that they were likely to lose.


    Due to the nature of the agreement, they couldn''t renege on it. They sincerely prayed to whatever God they believed in to give their general strength, but it was useless.


    Besides, your General himself is putting up an Oscar-worthy performance up there, enough to get him his own name, on the red carpet. Tsk, tsk, that was why it was imperative to rue power for yourself, otherwise, someone may decide your fate and you wouldn''t even know.


    Soon, Bastian fell gracefully, making those on his side have ugly expressions, but they didn''t look unwilling. The battle was fierce and intense right from the get-go and there was no foul y involved.


    It was a good, clean, and manly brawl that they could all put their backing behind, and so it was decided. Gunner marched towards the capital of Derna with Bastian''s army as the fellow introduced his Kingdom, its strengths, the royal family, and many other things to their new suzerain.


    This allowed Gunner to know what to do when he reached the capital. Bastian had alreadymunicated his decision to the royal family, so they could only ept it even if they didn''t like it.


    After all, Bastian was the top fighter and even he lost whole-heatedly to Gunner, so what else could they do? Fight back foolishly and be killed, then reced?


    At least in this situation, they retrained their right to rule as their new suzerain, Safemoon, would prefer to maintain a working system to avoid wasting time and money suppressing chaos as well as uncertainty.


    Like that, Derna was also given HoloBraces, mostly the top echelon first, and given their instructions before Gunner left and headed right for the next kingdom on the list, which was the Riaslin Kingdom!


    While Gunner moved out to conquer the rest of Faust one kingdom at a time, the war preparations had finally begun to start on the side of Pokterr and Elysium.


    This was preceded by arge-scale meeting by the Gods of Elysium to discuss the recent odyssey they chartered in response to the Insect threat which led to this current disaster.

 Chapter 585 - 585

    There was a loud bang as the round table was struck by Odin.


    "Preposterous! Insane! Rubbish!"


    His spittle flew as his face became red from anger. He couldn''t believe what was being reported to them by Theseus, who was visibly severely injured.


    The other Gods also had put on ugly expressions.


    How long had it been since they had suffered a loss like this? Most couldn''t even remember thest time they had been forced to consider measures to take to protect themselves?


    The very idea of it enraged them.


    Hel tapped the table and asked thoughtfully. "You identified them?"


    Theseus bowed to her and replied. "Partly. However, using a bit of subterfuge and deception, I was able to glean some secrets from the group while in captivity. Please allow me to share it with the Great Deities."


    Hel nodded and Theseus began speaking. "The ringleader is indeed a newly born Dragon who has the bloodline of the Dragon Ancestor, his heritage made him very arrogant and reckless. He believes his ancestor to be invincible, allowing him to do as he pleases."


    "He is aided by a violent Giant pretending to be a half-Giant that seeks revenge on us for sealing the Titans. There is also a wicked Elf with them who wants to steal the Divine Fire of the Gods, so that her race can use it to nurture those fake Concepts of theirs."


    Hearing this, many Gods nodded, though angered. This was reasonable and fit in with what they had gleaned for far. Theseus had just added more color to the painting, allowing them to see the full picture a bit clearer.


    "So, what was their purpose on Pokterr?" Zeus asked coldly.


    Theseus bowed to him and exined. "As far as I could tell, they were there to vanquish the Insects andy im to the continent in order to form their own territory."


    For once, the Gods were silenced, as this wasn''t even on the list of possibilities in their mind.


    Hades was the first to break the silence as he asked calmly: "And? Did they seed?"


    "Yes, My Lord. I personally watched them ughter Insects of every stage, and I even saw the corpse of the injured one, leftover from the previous invasion, who had been protecting the final dredges of his race."


    The room was silent for a long period of time, with many eyes piercing into Theseus deeply, using various means to ascertain the truth of his statement. All they could find was that he was indeed not lying, meaning the Insect race had truly been vanquished.


    Then, one by one, as if choreographed, the Gods beganughing.


    From the lowest God up to the four Main Gods, all of them began expressing the most fundamental method of showing mirth known to sapient beings.


    It was a steady rumble that slowly climbed into an uproarious thundering. Poor Theseus just stood there,pletely lost about what was going on.


    Eventually, the Gods calmed down as they grinned towards each other, with Odin smacking his belly as he spoke. "Hahaha, I can''t believe it! Those bloody Insects have been dealt with! Pokterr is ours for the taking now!"


    Hel clenched her fist with excitement. "That continent holds many secrets, especially that strange energy source we sensed, as well as many relics of the old Polito Civilization."


    Hades smiled. "With it, Elysium can take one step further in power. With it, we can finally suppress Armadon enough to swallow up Houto and Pan as well!"


    Zeus crackled with lightning as his lips curled slightly. "It has been too long since we have been cooped up here, unable to im our rightful ce as rulers of the world!"


    Zeus turned to the dumbfounded Theseus. "You have done well this time, Theseus. Your intel has been crucial in giving us a clear view of the situation, enough that we can capitalize on it and expand."


    Theseus nodded slowly and bowed. "Then I shall take my leave, my Lords, so you may discuss."


    Theseus was about to leave when Zeus stopped him. "Wait. So Medea, Achilles, and Pyrrha are still held by this Dragon youngling?"


    "Yes, my Lord." Theseus answered demurely.


    "Hmmˇ­ we certainly don''t want to fight the Dragon Ancestor as he is clearly a foreign element to this world with his level of power, and he might be protecting his descendant." Zeus revealed, which startled Theseus deep down.


    If they knew that, then why had they beenughing so happily, talking about iming Pokterr as if it would be no problem? Were they ignoring everything Theseus had told them about the likely mechanical army that had defeated even Demi-Gods with ease?


    Zeus could see Theseus doubt and smiled. "You appear to think us hasty for iming Pokterr as ours despite what you faced?"


    Theseus did not pretend with them, because he had never done so before and never would. The Gods knew him as a sharp-minded fellow and a very clever one to boot, making him one of their best tools, so they had indulged him often.


    Like now, Zeus simply smiled and exined. "It is true, we cannot defeat the Dragon Ancestor yet, and harming his fledgling too is dangerous, but the forces under them do not enjoy that protection."


    "Not to mention, we will beunching a war of remation, conquest, and justice. If we win, we''ll have earned the right to im Pokterr and can get rid of the fledgling without incurring the wrath of his ancestor."


    "No, it should be said that he wouldn''t dare to act since everything was done properly." Zeus concluded with ease.


    Theseus understood what they were thinking and trying to achieve, and couldn''t help but feel disdain deep down. Then again, they were acting like this based off the info he had provided them, which was not fair on them, so there was that.


    Theseus did not ask what the Gods would do if they lost. He was smart enough to know that if he dared, he would only share Hercules'' fate. They would regard him as a potential danger, which would make them slowly ostracize him, which would be contrary to his mission.


    The Gods believed that they would always win and never lose, so he - as a Demi-God - had to believe the same from the bottom of his heart. Doubting the Gods in any way was the first step to disaster, and Theseus wouldn''t make such a rookie mistake.


    Besides, everyone who was someone knew exactly what would happen to these Fake Lords of Faust once they lost to Darius.

 Chapter 586 - 586

    On the shores of Pokterr, hundreds of warshipsden with men and women of different ethnicities and walks of life stood to fight for their faith and their beliefs. Most of them hadn''t even Sparked or Awakened, being just slightly trained humans or other species who knew how to fight.


    They all disembarked on the shores of Pokterr, marching in arranged formations, led by their officers as they sought to prate this continent and conquer it for themselves!


    The first thing this new army noticed was that the entirendscape of the continent was covered in a strange metal that seemed to glow with energy.


    Just stepping on it increased the power of some of them, while others reported suffering a power loss. The non-Sparked/Awakened fighters felt no difference, merely a slight buzz.


    Whatever the case, this fact caused the various armies to pause as they camped near the edge of the continent to investigate what the hell this was.


    However, this very act could be seen as one devoid ofmon sense or arrogance. Which force would allow the enemy to camp so close to their home base and do nothing while the enemy freely investigates?


    By the time evening came, the encampments which had been erected were thoroughly surrounded by various droids from the nearest bases. From tanks to helicopters and nes, even some giant mechs were present.


    Miranda, who could see everything with her satellite, waited until the majority of the warriors had gone to sleep ording to their curfew, while those who were maintaining watch did so.


    Then, as one, the lights in the eyes of all robots shed red as they entered kill mode. They descended on the encampments so fast and so brutally that the majority got torn to shreds during their sleep.


    The ''battle'' was brutal, and it would be more urate to call it a ''massacre''. Only a few beings in the center of the encampments, which was where the strongest members resided, managed to wake up in time to muster some level of resistance.


    s, two hands could not block four sma cannons. Many of them were easilysered to death, no matter how they tried to defend themselves or run away. With Miranda''s satellite tracking, every single soul that came here this day got vanquished or captured.


    To be bluntly honest, it was better to be part of the former group who had outright died than to be a part of thetter group who would rue their entire existence, cursing their parents, gods, or whoever was responsible for granting them unique powers or special physiques.


    Only two individuals were lucky enough to be given freedom, ordered to pilot the ships back to Elysium with a printed message. Upon return, Odysseus was shocked to see the state of the fleet he had assembled and read the message sent.


    When he saw it, his face became so red with rage that he almost steamed. He snorted and tossed the letter to one of the survivors, pointing at the temple.


    "You go and hand it over to the Gods since you opted to be a messenger instead of a warrior!" Odysseus ordered coldly as he began organizing the next fleet right away.


    Those who came back shook, for neither one of them wanted to deliver such a message and still be around when the reader was taking a look. It wasn''t exactly scathing, but the way it was written was certainly infuriating.


    One of the survivors couldn''t help but take another look.


    "Hey, these troops were a nice warm-up for my forces, but do you think you could send twice the amount next time? Oh, and make them stronger too. Thanks! :P"


    It seemed like the writings of a child, which angered all those who read it on Elysium''s side because it made it sound as if their ''elite force'' had been wiped out by a child and its tricks.


    As such, Odysseus directly organized the second war group, this one not having anything but mortals who had powers. From Amateur to even Masters, they were all shipped over to Pokterr.


    In the meantime, Miranda was adapting new troop types into her formations, building even more machines as she waited for the arrival of the second batch.


    A few weekster, they came. They also banked near the shore but did not disembark, rather opting to wait on the ships and do the reconnaissance from there.


    However, while this was marginally smarter, it was just as useless as anything else. Miranda showed the ships the meaning of terror when her aquatic units attacked them from below and forced them to sink.


    Those who survived made it to shore only to be greeted by the muzzle of a sma gun, or, if their Luck was poor, the barrel of a heavy armor unit.


    One thing was certain though, this army was thoroughly wiped out just like those that came before. The only difference was that this time slightly more were captured.


    Miranda also sent another message back, iming that these troops were certainly better, and she was grateful for the effort the organizer put into them.


    Upon reading this message, Odysseus gritted his teeth so hard that cracks began to form on them. His bloodshot eyes showed that the Demi-God of Deployment was thoroughly infuriated and being challenged thoroughly.


    As such, he put together the third deployment, which was chock-full of mortals from all over Elysium, as well as those who had been held captive. However, what Odysseus thought Miranda did not see was that a group of powerful Grandmasters would be hidden within, blending in as normal fighters toy a severe blow when the time was right.


    In truth, Miranda was also spooked by this, and Odysseus'' n would have worked since she couldn''t exactly fight Grandmasters that were hidden head-on, not after Vena''s update at least.


    As such, Miranda took preemptive action and loaded a few bomber jets with thermobaric nuclear warheads. They took to the sky and meet the iing fleet halfway a few dayster.


    The crews of the ships looked up with puzzlement, not realizing that Armageddon hade for them.

 Chapter 587 - 587

    They looked at each other with confused expressions, wondering what the strange contraptions were and what they were doing. Were they some new type of beasts unique to Pokterr?


    When the nes came above them, they all dropped their payload, which were hundreds of megaton bombs. Seeing this, those below frowned, as the would-be invaders believed the nes to be birds and those things to be their droppings.


    Many rolled their eyes as they went below deck to avoid the rain of shit, while some remained above to knock away what they could. Both actions were naturally a terrible mistake.


    When the first person struck the thermobaric warhead, it exploded in grand fashion, first sending its shockwave, followed by its searing heatwave,stly endless radiation that would fry an egg into green mush.


    Setting off one made all others go off, and a beautiful sky of mushroom clouds was formed, with endless shockwaves and thunderous sounds from the explosions that even shook Pokterr which was miles away.


    As for the ships with the valiant armying, there was nothing left, not even ash. Even the sea for miles had been boiled clean, disying a whirlpool that led to the seafloor that spun concentrically due to the remaining forces and radiation.


    Many yearster, unique resources would be produced from this sea zone, and it would end up bing one of the most unique locations of Pokterr, or even the entire Faust.


    Whatever the case, the third vanguard sent by Elysium had been totally wrecked, while Pokterr had suffered almost no losses. However, Miranda could tell that this was not over.


    If one kingdom in Fallon had trillions of people, how could the entirety of Elysiumck lives to throw away like garbage? Odysseus decided that if a small batch of elites could not do the trick, then he would swarm Pokterr to death.


    In his opinion, those machines had to be expensive and costly to make, after all, even Gravitas did not have too many of them. With enough lives, they could vanquish all opposition and pave the way for the elites to make a difference.


    However, by thinking like this, Odysseus had naturally fallen painfully into Darius'' n. Darius agreed that elites being sent would be a problem. Look at Gunner, with one full power Eraser Cannon with stats at 1,800 thanks to Earth''s Guardian back then, he had destroyed a whole section of Pokterr.


    If someone of that level came and attacked, they could easily st the various bases one by one, minus whatever resistance Miranda would put up. As such, it was important that they fought using resources first so that Elysium could be fundamentally weakened.


    Over the course of the next few weeks, hundreds of billions of men and women with some level ofbat training were shipped over from Elysium, promised either salvation, eternal life after death, or endless wealth.


    They beached on Pokterr in groups and charged into the ce, not bothering with reconnaissance anymore. They were cannon fodder sent to use their lives to pave the way for their elites, though they did not know it due to religious brainwashing.


    Miranda had long predicated their arrival, and met them near the shores with the full extent of her current army. The battle was brutal, looking like something that a coboration between Tolkien and Lucas would write and direct after snorting 30 pounds of coke with only 2 hours left to live.


    shing lights were everywhere, from the railguns the robots wielded as well as their newly invented sma weapons, while the fanatics used an aberration of magic that was based on faith and links to their Gods as well as power granted them by their Deities.


    Of course, a majority were just normal people with, at most, one or two gimmicks, and they were the ones to fall the fastest. Before the first organic races shed with the robots, more than 30% of their number had beensered down.


    This level of death would likely even chill Thanatos and Hades, not due to the volume, but the speed. The robots tore into them with ease, their bodies made of Holy Silver.


    Holy Silver was known for its properties of indestructibility, purity, and the ability to spawn sentience and consciousness if created with special techniques belonging to the artificers of the Pokterr''s ancient Polito Race.


    Since Miranda had used just that to create them, they were more than mindless bots that were connected to awork. With every kill they made, every battle they went through, they would gather more and more spiritual will, eventually giving birth to semi-souls.


    Not to mention their indestructibility. It had already been revealed that without pure Divine Energy or some energy on that level of power, it was impossible to even harm these robots, much less take them down.


    So no matter what fancy sword skill you had, or whatever cast you threw at them, none of them even took so much as a scratch. The organic troops did not realize this until it was far toote, and they had long been stranded since the aquatic units had sunk all their ships.


    The army of Pokterr ughtered every single organic species, even those who had dropped down their weapons to beg. There was no mercy or kindness, only raw brutality.


    The bodies were then brought back to the various bases to be sent underground in order to nourish thend once more. In its current state, infusing Source Energy into thend only ensured that countless minerals would be spawned, but no nt or organic life.


    With these organic ''materials'', Miranda had enough to try a few things she had theorized from the knowledge she had from God Krona''s library. However, she first decided to send a message to Elysium.


    ''You despicable organic meatbags, how dare you ruin my precious Metal Army like this? Send your elites for us to fight a real battle like before and stop this pathetic and infuriating tactic! >:?"

 Chapter 588 - 588

    Odysseus saw this message and sneered derisively. He tossed it aside and ordered coldly for double the number of troops as before to be sent, and then a contingent of TRIPLE the amount right after in order to catch this strange machine spirit off guard.


    His decision was well praised by the other Demigod of Elysium who were simply waiting for their turn to be deployed. They did not take Theseus''s warnings and admonishments to heart.


    After all, Theseus'' team had been small and not tightly knit. Pyrrha was a poorbatant and Medea was some weakling no one regarded. Theseus himself was seen as more of a thinker than a fighter.


    It was only the loss of Achilles and Hercules that made many solemn, and was why they hadn''t rushed forward to fight anyway. If even such geniuses ofbat could be beaten, then they would not even be the phlegm in the throats of their foes.


    Elysium was in a state of action, which startled Armadon, their eternal enemies. The Demons initially thought they were about to be invaded, but soon found through their own channels that the Gods were rushing to im Pokterr that was free from the insects.


    This news caused the demons and Devils to go mad with lust and greed, also gathering troops to invade the continent and take it for themselves. However, unlike Elysium which supported human life, Armadon only had demons.


    Their numbers were also less than 1% of that of even Fallon, much less Elysium. Of course, the trade-off was that each and every one of them, even the lowest Demon, was not something a city of mortals could handle.


    They could only gather 30,000 Amateur Demons/Devils and 500 Journeyman Demons/Devils. However, when both Elysium and Miranda heard of this number, their faces became ck.


    It was the same as being told that 30,000 Amateur Dragons or Phoenixes were being sent over. While Demons were not proportionally strongpared to such legendary races, they were far above the rest.


    What was worse, since they used Demonic Energy, Miranda theorized that they could not only harm her troops, but they could destroy them much like the Demigods had.


    Luckily, their numbers were small enough that she could handle them, but this represented a bad change of various parties were simply going to involve themselves in this battle for the fun of it.


    Soon, Houto and Pan got wind of the activities and sent their warriors to join.


    The Onmyoji of Houto with their talisman and special energy, the Shrine maidens who could heal or curse, and the Samurai who could wield a katana like thunder.


    The Immortals of Pan with their Immortal Arts and Spirit Energy, the Body cultivators and their augmented bodies that were tougher than steel, and the Buddhist Cultivators who used their Buddhism arts to edify evil and strengthen their bodies.


    When these two groups joined the fray, it seemed like Miranda had fallen into a quagmire. However, due to her ability to keep tabs on Faust, she could see everything and anything she wanted, as well as develop countermeasures long before they arrived.


    When the warriors from both Houto and Pan set out, Miranda didn''t do much. She just sent out hundreds of thousands of nes loaded with thermobaric bombs that traveled to the home continent of the two groups.


    She then bombarded all factions and forces'' homebases that had involved themselves in this fight, either aright wiping them off the face of the map or dealing them such a severe blow that they were crippled.


    Hearing this news, the oing forces were shocked and horrified, then enraged. However, they were still forced to turn back to go and put out the fire at home before thinking about what to do next.


    They swore vengeance upon Miranda as well as many other things, but she didn''t care. She only wanted to engage a limited set of forces in this first round in order to adhere to Darius''s n.


    However, a problem developed from all this. You see, war was ever-changing, and ns never went as one would expect. In this case, it was Miranda''s own actions that harmed her.


    When Odysseus received the news, his expression darkened. He then put it aside and closed his eyes to think, before opening them with a strange glint.


    "We are being yed!" he roared as he banged the desk!


    "If that Machine Spirit could simply unleash devastation upon the homes of others, she could have long sent her metal birds here and bombard the entire continent! However, it chose not to, rather goading us to send more mortals to fight head-on!" Odysseus was livid at being tricked like this.


    He wouldn''t have realized it too had the Machine Spirit not miscalcted in its haste to correct the situation! However, now that he knew, he would not fall for this trick anymore.


    "Send in the most powerful forces we have! All of them! Since that is what they were asking for, it must be what they fear the most! We will catch the offgaurd and destroy them in one fell swoop!"


    Just like that, what should have been a battle thatsted years was condensed into one final battle of life and death. When Miranda saw the troops being shipped out, she calcted her mistake and immediately reported to Darius.


    Darius, still in hisb at this time as he was working on the Elite troops with Achilles, received this message and smiled softly.


    "No need to fret my dear. No n ever survives first contact and the situation I exined to you was only the ideal one. We have countless options to take, and so, we shall take all of them."


    "First, initiate hundreds of thousands of bombing runs over Elysium. Now that they know you can do this, they will prepare countermeasures, but can theyst against hundred of nukes? We''ll see."


    "Secondly, send your aquatic units to destroy the vessels of the oing troops while at sea. Make sure they are extremely well cloaked, for they will be trying to one-up Demigods and grandmasters."


    "Thirdly, barricade the entire continent. Those who survive to make it there should not have the ease of docking their ships in any regard whatsoever.. Either they jump onto thend, fly onto it or swim towards it, all of which open them to various forms of attack."

 Chapter 589 - 589

    Miranda followed Darius''smands and did just that. He made her fire up her second satellite in this period of time, and now that thest battle was at hand, Miranda rushed up a third satellite that wasunched as well.


    With this coverage andputing power, there should be much she could do. Darius could not help her here because he needed to wash his hands off the metal army in the eyes of the public, while Gunner was handling Fallon very easily.


    He had already steamrolled through the majority of the northern bits, and would soon be encountering the true powerhouses, armed with countless Grandmasters near the middle and towards the south.


    That was where the real battle would be fought. Since both Miranda and Gunner were on the cusp of serious battles, Darius decided to take a break from his work and check on Luna.


    The Moon Elf was training seriously, working on the three new skills that Darius had given her. He checked on her progress in terms of stats and skills.


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Amateur || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 1,000,000/1,000,000 || MP: 1,000/1,000 || STA: 1,000/1,000


    Level: 1 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 1000 || Speed: 1000 || Constitution: 1000


    Magic: 1000 || Will: 1000 || Luck: 1000.


    Skills: Void Walking, Void Transfer, Eyes of Death.


    Spells: Moon Blessing.]


    [Void Walking - Level 45 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 30 (3) MP per second


    Description: This is the trademark skill of the Void Beast n of Unyris. It is a skill that can only be learned by one with the ability to connect with space on a fundamental level and allowed a person to create a void within their own body where they may fight from. At level 45, the size of the void at 225 square meters.]


    [Void Transfer - Level 47 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 200 (20) MP


    Description: This is a spell that allows the user to create a portal in two ces within 10 meters of their body. These portals are invisible to the naked eye, and are the size of a hand and will remain active for 141 (3) seconds.]


    [Eyes of Death - Level 50 (1) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: The trademark skill of the Moonughter Vampire n, the Eyes of Death allow one to see the weak points in a target''s body and strike for them. They are also able to see through moderate illusions and trace movements as well as tracks to a moderate degree.]


    Darius was satisfied with her progress, but noted that her level was slowing her down. While the True Supreme System allowed for organic growth, it was still a level/exp based system, so one could only raise their levels through such.


    As for Luna''s stats, it was tough to raise stats through mere training once you surpassed 1,000 points. Gunner''s stats had only gone up because he was constantly drinking 100% concentrated Lunar Dew as if it was water.


    The Moon Elf noticed Darius and immediately appeared before him like a ghost, down on one knee.


    "Luna, you have done well with your training. It''s now time for your first assignment. Go to the Kingdom of Favelia near the south, and eliminate all the nobles within. Spare those under the age of 18, but all those above are to die." Darius spoke calmly.


    Luna responded. "I hear and obey, Master."


    She then disappeared from Darius'' sight, heading to the fifth level in order to use the portal there to make a one-way trip to Favelia. As for Darius, since he was here, he decided to check on his Apprentices as well.


    He summoned them to the first level, where they obediently gathered and sat on their mats as they gazed at their master with reverence and adoration. Darius smiled and observed them.


    [Name: Ash Spencley || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 15,128/15,128 (8918) || MP: 6,720/6,720 (3045) || STA: 3,968/3,968 (2058)


    Level: 32 (21) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 122 (91) || Speed: 79 (79) || Constitution: 124 (98)


    Magic: 210 (145) || Will: 500 (230) || Luck: 50.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Reina McNickles || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 7,743/7,743 (3933) || MP: 6,336/6,336 (2814) || STA: 2,784/2,784 (1449)


    Level: 32 (21) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 89 (57) || Speed: 109 (84) || Constitution: 87 (69)


    Magic: 198 (134) || Will: 450 (210) || Luck: 55.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Jonathan ck || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 21,025/21,025 (13915) || MP: 4,000/4,000 (2037) || STA: 4,640/4,640 (2541)


    Level: 32 (21) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 145 (115) || Speed: 83 (68) || Constitution: 145 (121)


    Magic: 125 (97) || Will: 330 (185) || Luck: 45.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: James Jones || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 8,091/8,091 (3968) || MP: 6,432/6,432 (2499) || STA: 2,784/2,784 (1344)


    Level: 32 (21) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 93 (62) || Speed: 138 (98) || Constitution: 87 (64)


    Magic: 201 (119) || Will: 480 (200) || Luck: 70.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Anthony Sabins || Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 55,695/55,695 (15125) || MP: 14,496/14,496 (4410) || STA: 7,520/7,520 (2625)


    Level: 32 (21) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 237 (121) || Speed: 196 (115) || Constitution: 235 (125)


    Magic: 453 (210) || Will: 950 (500) || Luck: 100.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    It had been more than 6 months since Gunner had conquered Fraterina and about 7 months since theseds had be Journeymen. In such a short period of time, they had already reached the halfway point of their stage with minimal help from Darius or Gunner, and their stats had grown beautifully.


    Not just that, but each of them had chosen to learn the Material element after they had reached the next stage knowing that their Master had been the one the discover it. They had created many spell in their various elements over this period of time, with much help from Miranda''s increased calcting capacity.


    (Author''s note: Remember, it took Darius so long to create spells in the Test of Mettle because he did not have Miranda to reduce the time consumption. With the current Miranda, Darius could spit out a spell every half week if he went crazy.)


    Darius was quite proud of their achievements, especially since their spells were not like those other Journeymen from Andrato which had been full of ws. Their spells had been perfectly functional upon release and did not possess any bacsh for the user.


    After lecturing them a bit, Darius decided to leave his Mage Tower and enter Safemoon. He wanted to aplish two things today. The first was to check out how the Mage Academy of Safemoon had been faring and the second was to seek out those who could be his arms and legs of the Material element, making money for him from the entirety of Faust.


    Darius entered the Inner City and noticed that it had be much tenser and less upied. He then remembered that the reason for this was his own order to pressure the Citizens into leaving voluntarily or dispose of them quietly, so he could rather fill it up with beings created by his hands and given Soul Nourishing Lunar Dew.


    Such fellows could be brainwashed from the ground up to be loyal to him, and it would carry down to their offspring. Why then would he bother with outsiders who had their own history, their own goals, and their own beliefs to muck up his city?


    It seemed whatever methods Jorge and co used were very effective. There were, of course, those stubborn ones who would grit their teeth and bear it, not willing to give up the benefits.


    Rather than force them, Darius opted to give them a social death. He would flood this ce with his creations the moment he was done with his short break. If every one of his people, who would make up more than 90% of the ce, ignored those who were stubborn or treated them coldly, who would want to stay?


    Not to mention that if they were bullied,w enforcement would not help them, but rather aggravate things.


    To be honest, Darius felt that someone who could stomach all that and stay deserved a fair chance to work under him for such tenacity was not a joke, nor was itmon.


    He finally arrived before the huge Mage Academy of Safemoon, and noticed that it was quite busy. Many older parents were bringing their youths over to the gate, ready to admit them.


    Obviously, this meant that admissions were open once again, meaning that some of these kids would be taken in and nurtured to be powerful mages or warriors, while others would have to leave in dejection.


    Darius looked out of ce as he casually walked through the gates, but how would these parents react if they knew that he was the Lord of Safemoon?

 Chapter 590 - 590

    Darius entered the Academy without any wards, simply gazing at all those who came with a light smile while analyzing them. He showed a surprised expression when he saw talents on the level of Ash and Anthony, while he shook his head when he saw sub-par talents.


    Right from the entrance, there was arge pathway that could support two carriages easily, and it was paved with yellow-white bricks that radiated a strange energy.


    By now, everyone was aware that this was the legendary Mind Stone, an item that was used to build meditation rooms in most ''top'' Mage Academies, for it would calm the mind of the person within and allow them to maintain a focused state.


    Of course, the other Mage Academies could no longer refer to themselves as being anywhere near the top after Safemoon''s Academy came into function. This past year had made many understand what they had lost during that auction, and many had wept bitterly. Those who had sent representatives on their behalf had almost but beaten them to death for missing this chance for their heirs.


    Darius himself rubbed his chin and nodded. This was a Transmuted quality Mind Stone he had prepared for this purpose, in order to set Safemoon Academy apart from all others right from the onset. With this, how could any Mage Academy even dare to talk about their quality when they guarded Mind Stone like gremlins, whereas Safemoon treated it like trash?


    Other Academies would have students pay using internal currency or state currency for using such rooms for a few hours at most, never for free. They would then fight over slots and treasure their hard-bought hours.


    Meanwhile, each Safemoon student could be taking a dump in the grass nearby, but would achieve the same or even better effect! How was this even fair?!


    Darius then arrived at the main courtyard, where there was a fountain that was spewing a strange pale liquid, which was the beloved Pure Water. The fountain itself consisted of Power Stone, which was the physical equivalent to Mind Stone.


    Just imagine sitting by the fountain and taking a sip? Wouldn''t a person transform into the Hulk and begin smashing everything in sight?


    Darius noted other mind-boggling resources, but decided not to pay them heed. They certainly had their effect on the people, but as the one who had produced them how could he be baffled?


    Rather, he gazed at the Academy''srge double doors that were slowly and majestically opened. From within came an entourage of older students who wore the uniform of Safemoon Academy with grace and arrogance.


    They numbered five, three girls and two boys, the one in the lead wearing ck robes that denoted him to be part of the Master ss, two girls wearing red robes which denoted them as part of the Elite ss, and thest two wearing grey robes which denoted them as members of the Common ss.


    They looked down on the various parents, while floating in the air, the hems of their robes pping in the wind. They were nonchnt about the worried and awed looks of both parents and wards.


    "Wee to our Safemoon Academy! My name is Jolickson Patrick, the Head Prefect of this institute and the one in charge of your children and wards for the entirety of their admissions and orientation." The handsomed in the ck robes introduced himself.


    He then gazed at the people lined before him with a sneer, but repeated the opening lines of the Safemoon Academy for admissions. "Here in Safemoon, especially in this Academy, our Principal Elijah is God!"


    Darius by the side raised an eyebrow.


    "In Safemoon, we do not care in the slightest where youe from, who you are, or who you think you will be. In Safemoon, you will be subject to the rules and will also suffer the same punishment as everyone else if you flout them."


    "Here in Safemoon Academy, we do not care about your displeasure, you have two choices, ept our terms or get out, as there are millions who will beg us to take your ce."


    Many heads nodded in agreement. This was already the third admissions, so the details had already been spread out. Most knew how caustic the intro lines were, and they partly agreed with it.


    "We collect the same amount of fees from you whether you are a beggar from the streets or the legitimate son of a God. However much you can digest and benefit depends on one thing, your own hard work!"


    "Unlike other institutes, we care less about how much money you have at home in your piggy-bank and more about your actual talent. After all, Safemoon makes more a second than what any of you would earn in a year, your wealth is but peanuts in our eyes."


    Many heads nodded in agreement. The mary ie had been leaked a few months ago by a student here, scaring many people into aa. They spent almost 50,000 Supreme Coins a year and earned around 80,000 of that amount a year.


    Seeing that his message had gotten across, Jolickson nodded with neutrality. "Now, open your minds to the Martin AI. It will scan your brain to gauge your mental powers and possible elemental affinities using a special algorithm we created."


    Every wardplied as they raised their HoloBraces before them. After the scan waspleted, they waited with trepidation for the results.


    (Author''s Note: This little bit below is a reminder for y''all)


    For admissions, Talent was calcted using Current Int vs Average Int for their respective age group. Potential was calcted as Latent Int vs Calcted Int.


    Current Int was the amount they had quantified at that specific point in time. Average Int was a fixed number that was calcted using the Int of all known species simr to themselves on their respective home continents.


    Latent Int was the maximum Intellect you would have achieved in your life had you nevere to the Academy, or to put it better, the limit of Intellect you could acquire before you hit your ceiling.


    Calcted Int was basically the highest Int you could acquire if you studied and worked averagely throughout your entire stay in the Academy, fully simted by Miranda in seconds based on each person''s makeup.


    In numerical form, Talent = Current Int - Average Int. Potential = Calcted Int - Latent Int.


    Talent and Potential were separated into the normal ten grades of F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, EX.


    For Talent, F = 0, E = 1-3, D = 4-6, C = 7-9, B = 10-12, A = 13-15, S = 16-18, SS = 19-21, SSS = 22-25 and EX = 26+.


    For Potential, F = 0-10, E = 11-20, D = 21-30, C = 31-40, B = 41-50, A = 51-60, S = 61-70, SS = 71-80, SSS = 81-90 and EX = 91+.


    There were 95 wards here, much less than during the first admissions, which had over 200. After all, many had gotten used to the calction that they were able to tell that averagely talented wards would not cut it.


    So in order to save one the embarrassment, they would only bring those who were undeniably exceptional. Still, even with that, the Academy only took 50 wards per batch.


    "The cut-off grade for Talent and Potential for the third admission of our Safemoon Academy is at C grade in both respects." Jolickson stated coldly. "If you do not reach that standard, please leave."


    Many wards sighed with pain, as over 56 people tugged at their parent''s arms in order to leave. Their parent''s faces changed, but they could only smile bitterly and walk out, thinking about what to do next.


    This left 39 wards who had C and above. Before them, the aura of Jolickson and co became significantly warmer, as they would be their future ssmates.


    "Now, we will separate you based on your talent and potential into three groups. The Common ss, the Elite ss, and the Master ss." Jolickson revealed calmly.


    He then pointed to the left area of the courtyard that was unupied. "Those at Grades C and B in both fields, please move to the left."


    Jolickson then pointed to the center. "Those at Grades A and S, to the center."


    Then he gazed at the right with a serious expression as he pointed there. "Those at SS and above, to the right."


    Many wards took deep breaths as they moved towards their designated areas. Both Darius and the five Safemoon Academy students were surprised to count that the number of students who went to the left were 20, those who went to the center were 14 and a whopping 5 went to the right!


    This meant that 5 of these wards had both Talent and Potential above SS grade. No matter how arrogant Safemoon was, such talents were like darling babies that were destined to be pampered and nurtured like Young Masters and Young Ladies.


    Darius couldn''t help but smile and wondered how the orientation would be handled this time around.

 Chapter 591 - 591

    He casually observed these five wards and noticed that four of them were well-dressed, probably from the inner section of the city, given that their HoloBraces were of a higher generation in order to identify actual Citizens from Visitors.


    Thest one was amoner given their attire, but they were not poor, Darius guessed him to hail from a merchant family. Themoner was a boy, two of the nobles were girls and the other two were boys.


    Even Jolickson looked at these five with gentleness, knowing that they would soon be his juniors that he would have to take care of. They had the same level of talent as himself if not higher, given that the standard had been raised since the first admissions.


    That''s right, Jolickson was that boy who had S-grade talent and Potential that Principal Elijah had bought from that ve trader Silvester Cobain! He had matured over this past year and grown to the Adept stage from being unawakened, which was unprecedented outside.


    It was what got him the Head Prefect position, apart from his seniority and his outgoing personality. The elf girl who was bought along with him and had an SS Talent and Potential was not as outgoing, so she preferred to stay indoors.


    "From left to right, report your names!" Jolickson ordered the five.


    "Say Rahh!"


    "Red Steelskin!"


    "Abby Night!"


    "Thob Star!"


    "Maxwell Lord!" (Editor''s Note; As a little thank you, we''ve decided to name these five after some of our frequentmenters ;) . Some names had to be slightly adjusted, but hopefully you recognize your own name ^^.)


    Jolickson nodded. "All of you, follow me inside for the orientation. As for your guardians, they''ll have to return to whence you came. Your wards will be officially admitted into our academy after orientation, so there''s nothing more for you to do here."


    The guardians shared looks but already knew this to be the rule, so theyplied and left steadily. After that, Jolickson led theds in, while Darius followed casually.


    Even though some of them sneaked nces at him, they didn''t dare look for too long. After all, the moment Darius hade in, all of their HoloBraces had gone on alert, with the Martin AI warning them not to speak, interact or acknowledge Darius'' presence unless being spoken to, for he was an existence that could destroy this entire city if he wanted.


    Jolickson lead them to the orientation hall, where they were made to sit onfortable seats. Jolickson and co sat before them while Darius simply folded his arms behind his back regally and watched with a soft smile.


    "The agenda for this orientation concerns the following four core points of Safemoon Academy: ''Tuition'', ''Activities'', ''Graduation'' and ''Rules''."


    "For the ''Tuition'', as you should know by now, the fees are set for Common ss and Elite ss students, but Master ss will be fully sponsored by our Safemoon Academy." Jolickson revealed, making the five who were in the Master ss smile proudly.


    They didn''t exactly need it, but hey, it meant that their burden would be reduced.


    "The fees will have to be paid once a year before the first day of the new semester. It''s the same for Common ss and Elite ss students at 1,000 Supreme Coins per year. This is strictly non-negotiable, however, don''t worry, we don''t expect your guardians to cover this sum each and every time, nor will we expel any student in higher years even if they are unable to gather that much."


    Jolickson simply shook his head with pity. "Students who are unable to pay will have to work dangerous jobs and activities in order to make up for it. Just do whatever you have to earn that amount within a year."


    Jolickson then continued. "sses will start at 6 am, and tardiness for any reason will be judged by Martin based on your circumstances."


    "All courses for the next five years are fixed, we don''t get to choose anything. All our teachers are digital, assigned to us by the Martin AI. As you have established a mental link with him, you will be granted some restricted ess to our school''s database based on what year you are in, what ss you are in, your stage, as well as your talents."


    The wards remained silent and digested this info. There seemed to be no drastic changes to the previous admission, so they were not bothered.


    Seeing that there were no questions, Jolickson moved on. "Now, on to ''Activities''. Safemoon Academy will cover all your basic needs, from meals to education, everything that is absolutely necessary to turn you into capable mages."


    "During your stay here, we guarantee that you will live afortable life, although of course there is the option of turning the next five years into an extravagant stay."


    "If you don''t want to stay in the dorm rooms provided, you can move to a private room, or even live in a special pocket space built to your liking."


    "I myself live in such a ce thanks to my hard work. You can also get equipment made from higher materials than the basic one issued by the school."


    "Even though our cafeteria-served food is superior to the best noble meals you have, you can opt to go one step further and devour food that is meant for Grandmaster mages."


    "Safemoon Academy caters to your needs, and we do it fairly. Like all other academies out there, we have our own internal currency called the Safemoon. You can use it to acquire extra things, purchased through your HoloBrace. From food to amodations, even the rights to leave the academy, or sexual favors if you so like."


    Many youths blushed at that, not having thought that far. However, the youngds among the lot couldn''t help but gulp and imagine that lovely scene while the girls seemed a bit unhappy.


    "Now, the important question is: How do you earn Safemoon? There are a myriad ways to do so." Jolickson revealed as he folded his arms.


    "Simply studying hard and passing tests will you some currency as a reward, but it would notpare to what someone less talented might earn through hard work.. Extracurricr activities are the easiest way if you truly want to strike it rich."

 Chapter 592 - 592

    "As for more tried and tested ways of earning currency, they are ranked as follows in terms of payout:"


    "Number 1: Challenge the Tower of Power. It''s a special building and feature of our academy that you can enter at any time to face off against various monsters produced through Spirit Magic and Runic Arrays. The more floors you clear, the more points you earn. Points can be converted to Safemoon at a rate of 1:1, the best deal in the entire academy."


    Jolickson smirked. "Of course, if it''s that good, then the difficulty is not easy. However, that difficulty is rtive. If you practice hard, train, and follow your curriculum, how can you fail? Obviously, the tower was put there to hone your battle skill."


    The new students nodded in understanding. Safemoon Academy was famous for not raising greenhouse mages, but Battle Mages of extreme skill. All of them hade here knowing that, wanting nothing more than to gain the power to fight.


    Giving them a ce where they could practice like the tower did not scare them, but excited them deep down.


    "Number 2: Challenge Safemoon City''s dungeon. Your HoloBrace will record all your kills while there, so ughter as many as you can, as many times as your stamina and mana allow."


    "You can go alone if you''re confident, but you''re more likely to die. Go in groups to ensure survival and sess. As for the resources you bring back, they will be directly sold to the academy in exchange for points. Beware, though, unlike the Tower of Power where we can eject you upon fatal danger, you will be on your own in the dungeon."


    "As such, all points earned through the dungeons are multiplied by x4, and exchanged for the same 1:1, but the deal is not as good in my eyes due to the heavy risks involved. It''s only lucrative once you reach my level and can boast significant power. If you want my advice as your senior, you should study, train and practice for one year before even considering this option."


    "Number 3: Produce Quality Goods. One thing you should know is that your mandatory courses include Alchemy, Smithing, Enchanting, Herbology, and Tailoring sses because a Mage must always be able to make their own tools. If you are skilled enough, you can craft in your free time and sell them through the marketce in the central courtyard to your fellow Safemoon students or to the Requisitionary which belongs to the school for slightly less."


    "The prices the school offers are less but are stable and hardly influenced by outside factors, so it''s reliable. You also don''t have to stress yourself bargaining and the like."


    "This option is also there for those who are not fully interested in the path of a Battle Mages but would rather be a Research/Artisan Mage. We have separate courses for the two, which you will be assigned to after the first year depending on your performance."


    Many timid-looking students brightened up at this, but Jolickson did not judge them. Some had talent, but not the temperament. It was never a good idea to force those who could not fit in a certain specialization to learn it.


    "On the topic of ''Graduation'', in Safemoon Academy we handle it quite standard. We enroll students for a maximum of five years, and you can graduate as early as your first year if you so choose. Since we only take in the best talents while training them using top-of-the-line products, it is not impossible to have monstrous geniuses graduate in the first year." Jolickson revealed with a smile.


    "To graduate sessfully, you need to acquire a total of 105 academy credits, 25 basic certifications in all our courses, and reach the middle Master stage at the least. There are 25 courses, which grant 10 credits each. You only need an average of 4.2 from each to graduate."


    "As for the certifications, they are basically what you''d consider exams. You only need to pass the Basic level, but if you wish you can challenge yourself and reach Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster, and Divine level. I have reached Intermediate myself, but our academy''s ''Basic'' is the same as the next best academy''s ''Master''. That is how hard it is."


    Jolickson then frowned. "As for those who fail to achieve this basic requirement by the end of the 5-year stay, you will still graduate, but under failure honors. That means you won''t get any benefits thate with graduation, like Citizenship or your military service."


    "Worse, you will be treated as if you had been an ''external genius'', meaning your military service will be an indenture contract for 20 years where you will fight for the city without receiving any pay orpensation."


    Manyds sucked in their teeth as they felt fear course through them, but Jolickson made a calming gesture.


    "As the Principal told me when we first heard this, use your heads. If the academy-set such strict criteria for admission, it means that we are sure that following our n, you will reach the targets. The only thing that can make you fail is if you refuse to follow your studies. You have better resources, a better environment, better materials, the best possible teacher, and many means to enhance yourself further."


    "Safemoon is not a greenhouse, it is the best Mage Academy on Fallon, like no other. You only have one chance to enjoy these benefits, so every hour you spend here must be filled with greed!"


    "You''ve been blessed with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so do your best to suck all our knowledge away, as well as gorge yourself on as many resources as you can!"


    Saying this, the faces of the four with Jolickson shed with greed, but they returned to normal. They normally hid their endless greed deep down so as not to spook the school, but Jolickson had revealed their ugly side.


    "Now, about the ''Rules''ˇ­" Jolickson began, but Darius didn''t linger anymore.


    He smiled and teleported from the orientation hall right into the Principal''s Office, where he found Elijah McKncikles, Nichs Spencely, Shanks, and Derek seated before a table, ying what looked to be DnD.

 Chapter 593 - 593

    The five looked at each other in silence, the four DnD yers raising their heads from their game, their formerly focused and happy expressions warping into shock, horror, and shame.


    Darius himself was surprised, then amused. He walked over and released a bit of sand from his Inventory that he warped into a chair using the Material element. This act surprised the four who were already seated, as this was their first time seeing the new element at work.


    Darius sat down and crossed his legs. "How did you fellows learn about this game?"


    Nichs smiled. "We heard about your ns to take over Fallon during ourst meeting and knew that there was little we could do to aid you. However, the idea to emte your actions came to mind, so I asked Martin if he had a way for us to mimic your actions."


    Elijah shook his head. "He then rmended this so-called ''Dungeons and Dragons'' game, though thed had a weird smile on his face the entire time. Anyway, he offered to be the one to simte everything, and we''ve discovered that it''s quite simr to the rules here, which is pretty interesting."


    Darius did not know what to say. Like Martin, he was terribly amused by this situation. Fallon was a continentrgely styled around augmented DnD, yet the natives of it were ying the archetype that spawned them.


    It was akin to seeing someone from a sci-fi world ying a Star Wars game. There was just something incongruent with the thought that made it peculiar.


    "What brings you here, Darius?" Shanks asked with a smile, rxing in his seat.


    "I was just taking a stroll around Safemoon, so I thought to take a look at our beloved academy and how it functioned." Darius revealed calmly.


    Elijah grinned and asked. "So? What''s your verdict?"


    Dariusughed. "I certainly like what you''ve done with it. I only gave you a limited set ofmands, and you''ve expanded it this far. I knew I was right to rely on Andrato''s former Royal Seneschal who was notorious for his great management skills."


    Elijah''s expression fell as he looked defeated. "Please don''t remind me of that time, Lord Darius."


    The entire room burst intoughter at that, the now Principal rubbing his head with defeat. Eventually, Elijah asked.


    "Right, today should be the day for admissions, no? I should probably go and take a look at the new students to engrave my aura and majesty onto them!"


    As he got up, Nichs grabbed his shoulder and pushed him right back down. He then snorted.


    "Old coot, you''re such a viin. Earlier you''ve boasted how good a seedling Jolickson was, yet now you just want to go and bully those younglings with your power."


    Elijah harrumphed angrily. "Of course! What''s wrong with that? As Principal, I must put the fear of the Lord in them!"


    Nichs sneered. "And which Lord is that? Yourself or Darius?"


    Elijah froze as he had been caught red-handed. However, he still smiled and acted nonchnt. "Haha, of course, Lord Darius. I''m not like some city lord who was unable to show off his might because half his popce was stronger than him, hahaha!"


    Nichs immediately became furious at the other revealing his shameful past. "Youˇ­!!"


    Shanks quickly calmed the two down before they began their usual battle of magic. "Alright, alright. Today, Darius is here, so let''s not devolve into craziness."


    Elijah and Nichs turned their faces away from each other and harrumphed loudly, folding their arms as well.


    Darius enjoyed the sight of his people being so close-knit. It was usually a good recipe for a stable organization if your workers were both treated well and liked each other.


    "Don''t worry about it. Rather, let''s discuss the state of the city, the inner section especially. I see that you''ve done a good job getting rid of most of the unstable elements, Nichs." Darius spoke neutrally.


    Nichs nodded. "It wasn''t easy. Some of them had powerful backings outside, and we did not know if we weremitted to offending them fully. We had to take subtle methods to make them leave Safemoon, and most were dangerously close to ruining our reputation and ie flow."


    Darius sympathized. It was imperative that those fellows be disced, but it had to be done in a way that Safemoon could not easily be med. It was as tough as a man breaking up his rtionship without him gettingbeled as the asshole.


    However, they had managed to seed so far, which was good enough. Now, the City Mayor could rest, like how he was ying DnD currently, because Darius would handle the next stage.


    So far, both Rulers, Nichs and Elijah, had done splendidly in his opinion, and he made it known. While pleased, Elijah asked a very astute question that gued the other leaders of Safemoon.


    "Lord Darius, since you''re now able to create your own people, what do we do about our previously established mechanisms? Safemoon Academy, for example, granted Citizenship to graduating students and their families, on the requirement that they be part of our forces. Should we scratch that?"


    Darius chuckled. "There''s no need. You see, raising warriors and mages is very different from letting established powers move here after paying us a premium. Those who paid to be Citizens often did so, with another agenda in mind, still loyal to their own state."


    "Not to mention, I had to tolerate them mucking up our city with their own beliefs, customs, and values. Safemoon''s inner section is not cosmopolitan, it is supposed to be Safemoon. Only ourws, culture, and customs are allowed to function."


    "On the other hand, the students are brought in during their teenage years or earlier and if they''re smart, they''ll spend the maximum of those five years with us training. By all means, they will adapt to our society and our culture, taking it as their own since they n to live here. As for spies and the like, I''m sure you have dealt with them before." Darius concluded with a smile.


    Elijah snickered evilly. "Oh yeah, in our first and second batch, there were a few. Martin still admitted them and let them in, but I can assure you, they will never get out.. We''ve erased their consciousness and trained them to be Shadow Corps, the third and hidden regiment of the Academy."

 Chapter 594 - 594

    Harsh, but fair, in Darius'' opinion. Spies who were discovered usually got far worse treatment, so simply getting turned into some sort of hidden troops, they should consider themselves lucky.


    "Right, officially Safemoon Academy is split into two parts, the Mage Academy and the Battle Corps. The former is naturally far more prominent and our priority, training young mages into Masters that are versatile."


    "The Battle Corps, though, is by no means any less efficient. It allows us to raise elite troops who have been sparked using specially chosen means by us and trained to the limit of their power."


    "As for the Shadow Corps, I just stated, they are our assassin group mean to handle things in the dark, so Jorge and co can rest." Elijah exined thoughtfully to the three in the room who might not be as knowledgeable on the subject as him and Darius.


    Darius hummed and pondered what to do. He had obviously noticed that there was a problem here, in the sense that these things would conflict with what he was making. His Elite Phoenix troops were far superior to the Battle Corps, but both were actually qualified for the job.


    Darius eventually came to a decision on the spot.


    "For now, continue as is. Your first official graduation will be 3 years from now anyway, and we can incorporate them at that time. For now, the troops I create will be used for the purposes of war, but they will be sent outward, after we are done with Fallon."


    Darius tapped the table with a nod. "So the troops the Academy trains locally can remain as city guards or the equivalent of that. They will be the ones to handle the security of Safemoon and Fallon, while my troops will be the actual army, handling wars, conquest, and defense."


    "Martin will inform me if any of them disy a vast amount of talent, those I might promote to officers and the like."


    The other four nodded as this was a sound n. Keep those trained naturally home, as they were more used to social life and Safemoon''s culture, while those produced on the assembly line could be treated as expendable.


    "How''s the faction going?" Darius asked Shanks.


    "We''ve reached a point of stability. With me, Old Foldo, and Georgina in charge, the faction is stable. Those who have signed have mostly been dispatched around Fallon to do various missions for rewards." Shanks replied while rubbing his beard.


    Darius nodded. "Keep it running as-is, but focus the missions less on espionage and information gathering and rather on assassination and sabotage. Martin should have updated you about it with your level of ess, but we now have ways to monitor and stay connected around the entire."


    Nichs frowned. "Right, I do remember something about a ''satellite'' being exined to me. I couldn''t really wrap my head around it, though."


    Darius rubbed his chin with a smile and borated. "Think of it as a hivemind. It is a central entity that allows all the smaller entities to connect to it and interact with each other."


    The four of them gasped with shock, their eyes wide.


    "Just like the hivemind of the Insects! Brilliant! Why didn''t any of us think of this before?!" Elijah eximed as he banged the table.


    Nichs shook his head. "Even if any of us might have had such an idea, what would have been the use? How many powers beside Safemoon would have the means to execute it?"


    Shanks agreed. "This is a mixture of brilliance and creativity, as well as enough capital to see it be real. With this tool, we shall now have eyes all over the world!"


    Darius was amused internally. These fellows assumed him to have derived the idea of a satellite from the hivemind of the Insects, but then again, it would seem that way to them given how he exined it, as well as the fact that they were unaware of Earth or his affiliation to it.


    After a bit more discussion, he eventually teleported out of the Principal''s office, then roamed the academy casually. He checked out its various facilities for both the Battle Corps and the Mage Academy, especially that tower that was spoken about.


    Darius discovered that it used transmuted level resources, which meant its quality and functionality were super effective. He couldn''t use it because the arrays there could not simte monsters at his level of power, but a cursory look was enough to tell him what he wanted to know.


    Darius then left the academy altogether and then entered the bustling and ever-active outer sector, where all the businesses that made this city rich were held.


    Walking along, Darius saw many shops which were overcrowded, waiting for new stock of his materials toe through. He did realize that he would have to dedicate some time to refreshing stock so that there would be no downtimes like this when he went back.


    However, the people here were not unhappy. No one was a fool that couldn''t understand what was going on.


    They all understand that resources of this quality could not be produced like cabbage. What happened was that the creator of these materials likely worked over a long period of time and stockpiled them, releasing some during the auction and slowly rationing what he had over the past two years.


    This was why the quantity was dropping, no it was likely that the original stockpile was running out, but many were holding hope that the stockpile would be refreshed in time. Some pessimists believed this to be it, the limit of what would ever be made.


    As such, the price of goods had greatly increased, and even those who awaited a new batch had to grit their teeth and rush to buy, because ... what if this was really all that was left?


    Darius saw this and smiled. He decided to create plenty more goods, but to keep this situation going. Right now, the entirety of Faust was experiencing a horrifying transfer of wealth from various powers to one city, reminding Darius of a period of history on Earth where a simr thing had urred.


    His eyes narrowed as he made a few ns in his heart before focusing on Miranda.


    "My dear, show me those you have profiled to be the best candidates for the Material element."

 Chapter 595 - 595

    "Okay!" Miranda chirped happily as she performed a database analysis. Within seconds, a list was beamed to Darius'' mind as to the best possible candidates for this new element.


    He closed his eyes and perused through them, opening them once more with a hint of surprise and a bit of amusement.


    "Oh? Those two are here? I didn''t think there were any survivors from that event back then." Darius murmured with astonishment.


    He then walked through the outer section calmly as he angled towards a certain cksmith shop located in a surprisingly obscure corner. When he eventually arrived he stood outside for a bit with a strange expression before walking in directly.


    There, he saw a dwarf that was busy arguing with a woman with a sleek and appreciable figure but average looks while a handsome elf who wore a ck assassin''s robe stood by the side, irritated.


    All eyes turned to Darius when he entered, the atmosphere seemed to freeze. Just like all the passersby in the outer section Darius had passed, their HoloBraces sent them a warning to not dare to offend the person before them for he was a very dangerous person.


    That was why Darius could walk through Safemoon unimpeded, as more than a few encounters would have urred by now for various reasons. He himself did not mind Martin''s actions, as he was protecting people from him, not the other way round.


    For Maximo Riverstrike, this was his first time seeing Darius but he understood the warning given and was not going to go against it. For Da and Kiran, their faces changed multiple times in a second.


    Then, Kiran said: "Oh shit!"


    He tried to grab Da and blink out of the cksmith shop, but Darius chuckled and snapped a finger, casting a Spatial Block in the shop. Kiran''s skill failed and he fell to the floor with a still shocked Da.


    Maximo Riverstrike simply remained silent and watched the events ongoing as he was, an uninvolved party.


    "Now, that is quite an extreme reaction to seeing an old acquaintance, don''t you think?" Darius said with amusement.


    Kiran and Da shuddered for a bit, before thetter rose up and dusted herself off before analyzing Darius.


    "Howˇ­ are you still alive?"


    Darius smiled softly. "Because It was never my time to die. Not now, not ever. I''m assuming your lucky disposition clued you into the right decision to make back then, and you seemed to have brought a lover as well."


    He then gazed at Kiran, who shuddered. He still remembered that 13-year-old boy who had sat with powerful Adepts (back then) and talked them down with ease, bing the leader of their group.


    The reason why they reacted so strongly was their firm belief that everyone in that tent died that day, not to mention that Darius was the instigator. His survival meant a lot of things to those who were actually therepared to those who only heard stories.


    Da looked Darius up and down then spoke hesitantly. "Are you here for us?"


    Darius folded his arms behind his back as he faced Maximo. "No, let''s call our meeting a pleasant surprise. I am here for the cksmith himself."


    Maximo reacted to being mentioned and came up to the counter, bowing to Darius respectfully. "Greetings, My Lord. How can I be of assistance?"


    "I am recruiting able-bodied workers to learn how to utilize a certain ability to enhance their craft. Martin will fill you in on the confidential details, as well as what your tasks will be." Darius stated calmly, observing the cksmith shop as a whole.


    He thennded his gaze on the silent and contemting Da once more, deciding to check her details out of curiosity.


    [Name: Da Brown || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Rogue, Lucky Star.


    HP: 2,640/2,640 (2,295) || MP: 4,130/4,130 (3,867) || STA: 2,832/2,832 (2,565)


    Level: 59 (57) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Stunned


    Power: 55 (51) || Speed: 99 (98) || Constitution: 48 (45)


    Magic: 70 (68) || Will: 12 || Luck: 100 (50)


    Skills: Dexterous Throw, Swift Steps, Steal, Rob, Sneak, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    Darius'' eyes narrowed. It seemed like in terms of her other stats, she had made little progress, which was normal for average Faustians, especially those on Fallon.


    However, Luck, which was the one stat that couldn''t be artificially or manually increased, had almost doubled for her!


    What happened to thisss that doubled her luck? Could it be an effect of her special blessing which came in the form of her job: Lucky Star?


    Or was it due to her meeting Darius at this time that her Luck spiked? Darius knew that a simple word from him could change the entire trajectory of someone''s life from mediocrity to invincibility, so winning his attention meant one had great Luck.


    Whatever the case, Darius put it aside as he checked on the silent Assassins who was trying to minimize his presence as he sweated heavily.


    [Name: Knthar''rekuthumar Gehriginson || Race: Elf || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Assassin, Dark Shadow.


    HP: 4,958/4,958 || MP: 5,394/5,394 || STA: 3,886/3,886


    Level: 58 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Terrified


    Power: 74 || Speed: 95 || Constitution: 67


    Magic: 93 || Will: 259 || Luck: 12


    Skills: Killing Steps, Shuriken Throw, Assassinate, Shadow Clone, Stealth, etc.


    Spells: Blink.]


    Hmm, the Kiran fellow was not bad, though Darius could not fully understand why he was so terrified of him. They had little to no interaction back then and even less now.


    Of course, the reason for this had to do with the difference between Kiran and Da. One was a happy-go-luckyss who relied on her Luck to lead her to easy benefits in life, while the other was a trained assassin who had relied on himself and his wits to avoid death and seed in all his endeavors.


    One believed her Luck would keep her safe while the other knew he had no bullshit like that, so he was rapidly thinking of countermeasures.

 Chapter 596 - 596

    The contrast between the two certainly amused Darius, but he didn''t really care about either of them. Rather, he focused on the dwarf who was gazing at him respectfully while waiting for the details of his offer.


    Out of habit, Darius Analyzed the fellow.


    [Name: Maximo Riverstrike III || Race: Dwarf || Stage: Master || Jobs: Inventor, Creator.


    HP: 31,706/31,706 || MP: 10,582/10,582 || STA: 14,134/14,134


    Level: 74 || P-Status: Robust || M-Status: Curious


    Power: 166 || Speed: 121 || Constitution: 191


    Magic: 143 || Will: 786 || Luck: 34


    Skills: Grandmaster cksmithing, Grandmaster Refinery, Grandmaster Enchanting, Grandmaster Artificing, Grandmaster Mining, etc.


    Spells: Stone to Mud.]


    Darius'' breathing caught for a second, shocked by what he casually discovered. Firstly, the Master dwarf had the two jobs of Inventor and Creator. Darius had used the system to analyze hundreds of targets, but this was the first time he was seeing this.


    This meant many things, but chief among them was that this Maximo fellow was not a cksmith, that was just ONE part of his skillset. He was a person who created new things, inventing them into Faust. He was a pioneer of invention and design, someone who would likely revolutionize the content if he had the capital.


    Darius could have easily seen himself relying on Maximo to bring the various contraptions from earth to life using his skill had Gravitas not existed from him to use as a springboard to create Miranda and the like.


    Next was his Physical status. Usually, everyone was either Healthy, Injured, Incapacitated, or Ill. This was his first time seeing a ''robust'' status, but then again, it could be a racial thing since dwarves are known to be robust.


    After that was his repertoire of skills. He was a Grandmaster-level crafter in almost all physical crafts! He could literally make the best grade of everything,m whether it was weapons, robes, magic tools, etc!


    He was only at the Master stage too! What kind of talent was this? This was a pure Faustian, with no system to assist him, yet look at his skillset!


    Finally, what shook Darius was the dwarf''s only spell, which was Stone to Mud. He shuddered, for the implications of this were too great. Stone to Mud was the basic spell of the Material Element he had discovered.


    In other words, it was something one could only have if they awakened as a mage and chose the Material Element.


    Maximo Riverstrike was neither a mage nor a warrior. He had not Awakened, nor had he Sparked. He was a pure dwarf who only lived for his craft, and nothing else.


    So how did he acquire a spell?


    This was where the implicationsy. When discovering a new element, Darius was revealed many things about the element and how things worked overall in Faust.


    As said before, he had special privileges like being able to create spells easier and to sue any spell of the element easier, as well as know the locations of the Divine Domains of the new element as well as what they did.


    However, as said before, there were those who, after an element was discovered, would awaken it due to their almost maddening affinity with the element that surpassed the discoverer.


    Being the discoverer was one thing, but having a perfect affinity was another. It meant one would be able to ess the new element with ease and without using the spirit and soul as a medium through magic, cultivation, exorcism, etc.


    In other words, it could be taken that it was a bloodline ability. Something you could use just because, even without understanding it properly.


    Maximo fell into this category. Darius had been searching for those who were extremely high in terms of affinity with the Material Element so he could recruit them into his new faction, but Miranda had just led him to the gold mine.


    "Forget about what I said before. Maximo Riverstrike, what is it that you want in life? What do you fight for?" Darius asked seriously, smile gone.


    The sudden change startled Da and Kiran, but they made themselves inconspicuous as they noticed that Darius was not even paying the slightest attention to them.


    Maximo was initially surprised, but became silent. The entire room descended into this worrisome silence for a while before Maximo spoke.


    "What do I wantˇ­?" Maximo parroted as he pondered.


    He ce both palms t on his counter and sighed gently. "All I want is to be able to work to my heart''s content, creating unique items not for myself, but for those who need them most. Somewhere out there, there is a person who might have a specific problem that only I could solve."


    Maximo then sighed. "However, I do not have the capital nor ability to be everywhere at once. I used to roam thends doing what I could, but things were not optimal."


    "Until Safemoon came about. I immediately signed up when I heard the kind of resources they had here because I want to research them while making money on the side."


    Maximo looked around. "My shop is still shabby because up until now, I still haven''t gotten a grasp on the limits of the goods made here. They seem to be of utter perfection that anything made with them would be limitless in quality."


    Maximo shook his head. "However, that is impossible. The true way to hone one''s craft is not to hammer something a hundred times, but to know the limits of the materials you use. Once you know every single property and how they sh or mesh, you can use even the shoddiest materials to the maximum potential, with no wastage whatsoever."


    The three in the room, Darius, Da, and Kiran, found themselves nodding in agreement. They were warriors, so they understood this concept even better.


    Yes, fear the man who had trained one punch over a thousand timesˇ­ but you should probably fear even more the man who can move his entire body without wasting a single bit of energy, as well as one who knew all the weak points of the body.

 Chapter 597 - 597

    "I need capital in order to fulfill my wants, but I also need time to do so as well. Safemoon perfectly provides me a tform to acquire both. Well, until these two troublemakers came along." Maximo said as he gestured at Kiran and Da.


    Kiran looked betrayed, as he had never pestered Maximo once, while Da softly harrumphed and looked away.


    "I want to invent. I want to create. I want to do all this for others on my own, how I want and when I want. That''s about it." Maximo concluded with a shrug.


    "As for your question of what I fight forˇ­"


    Maximo paused again, hesitating for a bit, then firming his expression.


    "Lord, you must''ve been raised properly, by a good family and with the right methods, right? Unfortunately, not all of us can get such a luxury, even if we deserve it."


    "At the age of three, just after being weaned off milk, I was found by a human merchant caravan, abandoned in a forest. The only thing they could make out was that my abandonment wasn''t idental or unnned, but rather intentional."


    Maximo''s voice became slightly colder. "Either the ones who brought me into this world or the ones put in charge of taking care of me felt that I was no longer worth raising, so left me to fate. My only oues then were to be picked up by a passing group, or eventually, my infantile cries would bring predators for a free meal."


    Hearing this, Da and Kiran couldn''t help but gulp, while Darius'' eyes shed, but he said nothing. They allowed Maximo to continue speaking.


    "This merchant group raised me well, and as a dwarf, I was quickly able to pull my weight in the family thanks to our racial ability at being born already Sparked, but only for crafting. We have nobat abilities, but when ites to mining or working a forge, none other are as godly as us." Maximo said nonchntly.


    The three humans couldn''t help but nod their heads again as they agreed with this simple truth. Dwarfs were the kings of crafting, period. The only other races who were special like them were intelligent goblins and gnomes.


    Howe, Darius distinctly noted that no pride came from Maximo''s voice when he discussed the superiority of the dwarves, and this was soon exined to him but Maximo himself.


    "The specialties of the dwarves have nothing to do with, I, Maximo. I researched and found that the dwarven method of raising is very strict, and every house must ount for the child they birth, as they would be talent tested at the age of 3."


    Da gasped, and Maximo nodded. "That''s right, infants who pass get to stay in the stronghold and became future pirs of the n. Those who don''t? They are cast out to the wilds, sent to fend for themselves."


    "Because to the dwarves, if youck a level of talent in their specialty, they see no use in you. You will only be a burden that would set a bad example to the n, so you the rotten apple is gotten rid of, per se."


    Darius was aware of this, as only Northern Dwarves of Fallon did this. Southern Dwarves didn''t need to because the resources at their side were plentiful and their numbers were bustling.


    They even had one of two top 30 empires to themselves, so why would they need to cast out anyone? It was northern dwarves who lived in mountains or underground, separated by n/stronghold, who need only the elite to work for the n in order to trade for resources.


    They could not upy dungeons on their own because they did not have fighting strength typically. Oh yes, dwarves were free to Spark or Awaken both naturally and artificially, but their passion was crafting, not fighting.


    One would think that the more dwarves at hand, the more the n could make, right? Well, not really. The issue is that dwarves do not grow in seconds. They take days of teaching, nurturing, and testing to learn their craft and bepetent in it.


    All of this required materials and resources, something which the n alreadycks and is the cause of all this trouble. So they cherrypick which descendants to raise based on whatever talent metric, invest what they can, and hope for the best.


    As for those without talent, you would have to go outside and pray your luck was stronger than your talent, otherwise, you perish.


    Yet, here Maximo was, a living testament to the w of their system. Darius'' eyes narrowed as Maximo sighed and gestured calmly.


    "And eventually, I left the family after crafting them some great products to sell and journeyed the world, as I said before. Eventually, Inded here and have been working towards my goal in peace."


    "And what is your goal?" Darius asked with a soft smile.


    Maximo gazed at the ceiling before eyeing Darius silently. "My goal is to be better than those idiots who cast me out, to prove that their shitty fucking metric for judging helpers infants is backward and vile!"


    He roared this as he banged his counter, denting it a little. Darius simply felt a wave of excitement rush into his heart as he wanted tough with joy.


    What he feared most was that the fellow would say something along the lines of crafting was his only passion and he had nothing more to gain. It would then be an uphill task to truly recruit such a prodigy.


    But no, if Maximo had been raised with dwarves, he might have the passion only, but being raised among scheming and conniving humans had given him some human traits, and the chief among them was ambition!


    Maximo had ambition, to be the best dwarven crafter and to prove himself to all Northern Dwarves that even without their teaching and nurturing, even though he was rated as talentless, he had still surpassed those they deemed talented and carefully nurtured.


    At this point, Darius had Maximo in his pocket already, it was just left to discuss the matter in which their goals would be aligned.


    Why did Darius think this?


    Well, it was simple.


    Look at Maximo now. He had long passed the threshold of proving that he was superior to other trained dwarves, because he had achieved Grandmaster level in both dwarven crafting and even goblin crafting.


    The only thing he didn''t learn was alchemy and the like, because dwarves were terrible with nts and reagents, but godly with minerals and ores. He could easily run around the north of Fallon, showing off his skill and facepping all the dwarves.


    But he didn''t.


    Why was that?


    Simply because Maximo was frighteningly astute and clever.


    Likely a result of being raised by humans, he was far from naive. He understood the darkness of society and sapient species, and how far they could go when challenged.


    An outlier like Maximo would not be allowed to live. He was proof that their entire system of the Northern Dwarves was a failure and needed to be changed.


    To those who have relied on that system to control power in their ns, expelling babies from their rivals and secretly raising those on their side to consolidate power, this would pull the rug right out from under them.


    What would you do if you had such power and such a ''threat'' appeared before you?


    The answer was obvious, wasn''t it? Dwarves may not like fighting, but they didn''t need to. Just put out a bounty on Maximo''s head in exchange for some goods from each n, and whole kingdoms would pursue him, not just individuals.


    At that point, he would only die in a ditch, his talent wasted and his message lost, not even bing a martyr.


    So, Maximo hadid low and searched for a way to achieve his goal all the while, and likely chose Safemoon because the city dared to kill a demon. If they could do that, then what was a mere dwarven race?


    What was a mere Fallon?


    What firmed his decision to sign up was not just the quality of resources, but the most important reason why Safemoon had gone untouched for so long, even when the likes of Gravitas would love nothing more than to fire a hundred nukes at it.


    The Demons of Armadon who were wicked, cruel, and vengeful, didn''t darein when one of their own was killed in public.


    This was an extremely crucial detail.


    And so, he nned to work out of Safemoon, spreading his message while relying on the city for protection. If they eventually came and forced him to sign under them, he would ept it as long as his goal was achieved.


    That was why Darius firmly believed that Maximo was in the bag. But as he thought, it was a matter of deciding how things would roll between them and Darius made a split-second decision to not recruit a salve, servant, or subordinate, but a partner.


    "Miranda, inform Maximo of who I am, what I can do, and what it means to stand before me," Darius stated calmly, folding his arms behind his back.


    Maximo was initially confused, but his eyes zed over as he was receiving information from Miranda that would shake the entirety of Faust. It was not the truth of Faust, but only the truth of Darius.


    Even just that much was enough to make Faust shiver and shake. Darius then turned to the two idle spectators by the side with a strange smile, and their necks couldn''t help but shrink.


    "Now, what to do with youˇ­"


    _____________________________


    <strong>Author''s Note:</strong> Thank you Tunder, Ghost, Hamm, Arkon, Aratajun, and Misery for the donations over the past week!


    People like you need to Awaken and assist me in ruling the world, sigh.

 Chapter 598 - 598

    The bodies of Da and Kiran shook slightly. They contemted their options given the circumstances and found that... there was indeed no way to escape should anything go sour.


    Da thought rapidly and raised a hand. "Wait!"


    Darius who had not even made a move, simply watched the two of them panic with amusement. He then heard the woman''s cry and nodded for her to continue.


    Da licked her lips and began speaking quickly. "Well, ya do remember how I am quite tha lucky girl, right?"


    Darius rubbed his chin. "That''s right, you found some great items previously and it also allowed you to survive the ughter back then. What does it have to do with me?"


    Da raised her hands carefully, like someone submitting to an arrest. "Well, it was ma luck that brought me here. It gave me tha feelin that something beneficial would happen to me and ''im if we stayed."


    "Oh?" Darius muttered now interested.


    In truth, he hadn''t wanted to hurt them, knowing her Luck, he thought about recruiting her into his faction for old time''s sake, which would have certainly benefited her greatly.


    Now that he thought about it once, he was wondering if it was his own conscious choice or the influence of Luck upon him. Well, there was a simple way to test it out, wasn''t there? Since the aura of Luck on her screamed a beneficial event, he would just do the opposite.


    Darius wondered what Lady Luck would do if one of her agents or favored ones were killed contrary to her ns/machinations.


    With that in mind, he simply stomped on the gourd as ance formed from the sand, which he grabbed and pierced out immediately. Neither Kiran nor Da were fast enough to respond as thence pierced the woman''s chest and destroyed her heart.


    She stood there in disbelief, looking at the metal piercing her body then the one wielding it, over and over again, until she crumpled to the ground, dead as a doornail.


    Kiran simply stood there, bbergasted and in shock, at the chain of events. One moment, Da was exining why they were here and everything seemed to be rtively stable and the next, she was stabbed through the chest.


    Darius ignored both of them as he checked his interface to see any changes.


    [Warning! Detected that the host has killed a Paragon of Luck. Since they are of the Intermediate Order, you will undergo an Intermediate Luck tribtion. Please be ready.]


    Oh? So there was actually a punishment for those who killed a so-called Paragon of Luck, but it was a tribtion of Luck? So what, a person would go through heaps of bad luck for a while?


    Darius checked and saw that his Luck had been reduced by 100 points, which was the minimum of what a Paragon of Luck of the Intermediate Order had.


    To a normal person, this would be a disaster as they would have around -90 Luck assuming they had been born with the standard 10 points of Luck. At that point, even messing with a rat the wrong way could see you in a ditch.


    However, for Darius, who had 880 points of Luck previously, it was a joke. It changed virtually nothing, which went to show how the punishment for killing lucky bastards worked in Faust.


    Yet still, Darius was displeased, despite the fact that he was smiling while rubbing his chin. He found the idea that killing someone with high Luck warranted a punishment ludicrous.


    The stats of Faust were governed by thews, but it seemed that only Luck had been arrested by something or someone that saw fit to share it how they wanted.


    Darius made a mental note to discover who or what they were and tear them down from their lofty position. He would be a far better judge of Luckpared to the current ruler.


    Whatever the case, he finally noticed that Kiran was sobbing as he repeatedly tried to stab him with a ck dagger, the weapon simply nging off his skin without even leaving a white mark to show for its efforts.


    Darius was left speechless by this and shook his head. He then pressed down the top of Kiran''s head, sending him crashing into the earth like a missile, smashing his bones into dust.


    The Elf died immediately.


    Darius then manifested two drops of Lunar Dew and tossed them into the mouths of the two corpses. He had long known that basic Lunar Dew had the ability to revive the dead, but he had never actually tried it before.


    He watched as the two bodies shone with a purple light and began to seize and shudder like someone going through an intense fit of epilepsy. Eventually, the damage done to both of them was healed, and their eyes regained color as they rose to their feet.


    They rose like zombies at first, but became more and more flexible as they came to, until they were clutching their heads in pain as if they were waking up from an intense hangover.


    However, Darius could see that this pain was from the forceful recollection of their True Souls back to their bodies. Wherever souls would go to after death in Faust, Da''s and Kiran''s had been on their way there when they got suddenly dragged back at terminal velocity them smashed into their original bodies.


    It was no wonder they felt like shit.


    "Urrghhˇ­ what happened?" Da asked no one in particr as her head ached.


    "Errmm. I think we both got killed. Is this Hell?" Kiran, who was a bit soberer between the two, replied as he looked around slowly.


    When he saw Maximo still standing at his counter, dazed as he processed information, and Darius, watching them with an intrigued smile, his sloppiness was washed away immediately as coldness filled his heart.


    Kiran''s first thought was to reveal his weapon to fight back, but just when he tried to grab it, he suddenly remembered how he died and gave up, sighing as he picked a random seat and sat down while nursing his scalp.

 Chapter 599 - 599

    As for Da, the woman was a bit slower to recover and on the uptake, but she too managed to barely grasp the situation as she gazed at Darius with fear.


    She shakily pointed at him. "Y-you killed meˇ­"


    Darius smiled yfully, not hiding the truth. "I did."


    Da''s lips trembled. "You killed meˇ­ but I''m aliveˇ­ how?"


    Darius sighed. "That is beyond your level of clearance. To put it simply, you don''t have the right to know how I revive you due to how weak and inconsequential you are."


    Da''s outstretched finger began to droop slowly. "Butˇ­ my Luckˇ­"


    "Isn''t omnipotent." Darius shook his head. "You should already know that, though. If it could allow you to survive anything, no matter what, you wouldn''t have needed to flee all those years ago."


    "Don''t overly rely on something as obscure as Luck to decide every aspect of your life. Sure, it might work most of the time as the majority of people are caught in its web, but there are those like me who can operate outside its range as well."


    Da didn''t exactly understand what he meant, but also understood the general gist of it. She could only think deeply about what she would do after this, but when she focused on Darius once more, she noticed he was not even looking their way.


    Da couldn''t help but have a weird feeling that Darius even putting his attention on them was due to something interesting he had discovered, and not that he considered them worthwhile beings to interact with.


    Strangely, Da had a bad premonitionˇ­ that being the object of Darius'' attention was something she should avoid at all costs.


    Maximo came down from his revtion as his eyes cleared up. When he gazed at Darius, the earlier casual interest was gone, reced by solemnity and graveness.


    Maximo jumped over his counter andnded deftly, kneeling before Darius respectfully.


    "If you would have me, I''m willing to work for you, Master Darius."


    Darius chuckled and raised Maximo up, much to the surprise of the dwarf. "I didn''t do all that to make you a subordinate. What I want from you is a partner I can trust. Does that sound fine?"


    ''Does that sound fine?'' Maximo looked at Darius as if the other was a unique and exotic beast whose existence defiedmon sense. He would be lucky to be Darius'' ve, much less servant, much less subordinate, much less partner!


    Partner! This would mean that their rtionship would be that of equals! This was a huge undertaking from Darius to trust a random Dwarf like him without even knowing his full capabilities.


    As such, Maximo simply had to ask: "Why?"


    Darius smiled. "Because you have what other Dwarvesck, ambition, and wisdom. You know when to advance and when to retreat. You''re aware of how to n for the future, and your past has taught you what to expect from sapient races."


    "Also, you have the drive to be better, to want to be the best, not just for survival, but because you genuinely want to."


    Darius wagged a finger at the Dwarf. "That makes you special. It makes you unique. It makes you stand out, Maximo. Most importantly, it makes me see you in a new light."


    Darius turned to face Maximo with a soft smile. "I believe in you, Maximo Riverstrike. I believe that as long as you''re provided with the resources, you''re destined to be the greatest crafter in the history of Dwarves, and be hailed as the number 1 for eons toe."


    Maximo''s whole body shuddered with disbelief, his eyes misting as he felt emotions he had sealed awaye to the fore. This feeling of belief, this feeling of having someone acknowledge himˇ­


    Maximo recognized it as the one thing he had been looking for in life. He wanted everyone to be like Darius, looking at him sincerely, satisfied with the work he had done for them, and unable to hold back the truth in their hearts.


    ''Maximo Riverstrike, may the heavens strike me down if I''m lying, but you are the best crafter I have ever seen!''


    Darius saw Maximo''s reaction andughed. "Brother Maximo, let''s head to the core area, so I can introduce you to the key members who decide the fate of Safemoon, and we can hash out the specifics of our partnership."


    Maximo rubbed his eyes and smiled. "For sure, Brother Darius."


    Darius then turned to Da and Kiran who were silently watching without daring to interject, having understood their ce in the world.


    "As for you twoˇ­ hm, take this. Go and show this to Gunner, my General, and tell him I sent you there for training." Darius instructed them, as he tossed a token to each of them, which they caught dexterously.


    Da and Kiran caught it and shared uncertain looks before nodding. They then disappeared from the shop like shadows, heading out to find Gunner, which would be easy given they all had HoloBraces.


    Meanwhile, Darius teleported away with Maximo. As for this cksmith shop, it would be rented out to someone else in order for them to start working on Safemoon''s behalf.


    ..........


    Luna Stone traveled the hallways of a luxurious Noble''s mansion at the dead of night, very little activity around her as she moved quickly yet stealthily. What would spook any onlooker was when she passed by the huge windows that let in the moonlight, she would still remain invisible like a shadow.


    In fact, one could say that in the moonlight, she was even harder to detect than when she was in raw darkness. Luna eventually reached arge door that led to the master bedroom.


    Not one to rush, she used her Eyes of Death to analyze the area. She noticed that there were many Master level magical arrays that would trip rms and roast her to death if she dared to enter this room using magic or physical means without possessing a certain mark.


    Luna scoffed as she activated the perfect counter to this, which was her Void Walking skill. Like a ghost, her body phased and became translucent. She was now more visible than before, but one would not be able to touch or hear her because she factually wasn''t there.


    Luna casually walked through the door without even making a single sound. There was no way to detect someone who was not even in the same space as you, much less not even in the same dimension.


    Within the room, Luna saw a well-decorated chamber that was fancy as hell, fitting for the Prime Minister of this kingdom.

 Chapter 600 - 600

    Between the furnishings and the ambient decorations, Luna felt like this room was enough to buy the entire castle. All of this, just for one portly man whoy spread-eagled in his bed, snoring happily.


    This was the Prime Minister of the Litho Kingdom, the next one on Gunner''s list. They were long aware of the half-giants conquest and were not willing to surrender, but rather hoped to fight him, kill him and absorb all his hard work for themselves.


    The main advocate of this was naturally this manying here, who was probably having sweet dreams of stomping Gunner down and holding the entire northern half of Fallon in his grasp.


    Luna did not get too close to him.


    Rather, she measured the distance and formed a small, hand-sized portal before her. The other end of the portal hovered above the fellow''s neck, not making a sound nor being very much visible in this darkness.


    Luna then took out a special dagger that was crafted for her by Miranda and Darius.


    [Moon Dagger - Weapon


    Durability: MAX/MAX


    Quality: Divine


    Uses: Infinite


    Description: An item made from the carefulbination of the strongest metals on Faust, imbued with Source Energy and the blood of the Ancestor Dragon as well as the blood of the first Moon Elf. Its runes are focused on deriving energy from the moonlight to empower the wielder, allowing their de to cut through anything without leaving a trace, not scent, not sight, not karmic, not spatial and not temporal.]


    Luna moved the Moon Dagger in a strange pattern on the Prime Ministers'' neck so fast it was almost as if she did not move. The result was that the Prime Minister''s body and soul were destroyed, both slowly turning into ash.


    This was the result of her Eyes of Death showing her the weak points on the Prime Ministers'' body. Some of these weak points allowed her to kill targets easily while some destroyed their very essence. Coupled with the attributes of her dagger, any target she struck was likely going to experience such a gruesome death.


    [You have gained 1895% EXP and a Ministerial Seal.]


    [Ministerial Seal - Seal


    Durability: 1/1


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 1


    Description: A special seal that allows you to enter the underground government of the Litho Kingdom, where the true decisions are made by shadow nobles.]


    Seeing this, Luna was interested. Since she hadpleted her main task, she decided to check this underground government and see who else she could execute to make the advance of Gunner easier.


    Luna also noted that she had gotten experience and leveled up a lot. She remembered that Darius told her to allocate her points as she saw fit, she was not a brainless machine meant to only function by his whim.


    As such, Luna did so quickly before activating the Ministerial Seal.


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Amateur || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 1,000,000/1,000,000 || MP: 650/19,000 (1,000) || STA: 19,000/19,000 (1,000)


    Level: 19 || Experience: 95% || AP: 90 || SP: 1 (54)


    Power: 1000 || Speed: 1000 || Constitution: 1000


    Magic: 1000 || Will: 1000 || Luck: 1000.


    Skills: Void Walking - Lv.45, Void Transfer - Lv.50 (47), Eyes of Death - Lv.100 (50)


    Spells: Moon Blessing - Lv.1]


    [Void Transfer - Level 50 (47) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 200 MP


    Description: This is a spell that allows the user to create a portal in two ces within 10 meters of their body. These portals are invisible to the naked eye, and are the size of a hand. At level 50 (47), it remains active for 150 (141) seconds.]


    [Eyes of Death - Level 100 (50) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: The trademark skill of the moonughter vampire n, the Eyes of Death allow one to see the weak points in a target''s body and strike for them. They are also able to see through advanced (moderate) illusions, trace movements as well as tracks to a significant (moderate) degree. The eyes also allow one to see through walls.]


    She didn''t allocate her AP because her stats were high enough that doing so wouldn''t make a significant change. Rather, he shared her SP around a bit, prioritizing her Eyes of Death which was her most powerful skill. Seeing how much better it had be, Luna was more confident in her next actions.


    Still in her own void, she left the room quickly and leaped out of the building, entering a nearby alleyway where she re-entered the world. She first sighed and gripped her forehead, now low on mana because her Void Walking took 30 MP per second.


    Before she leveled up, she only had 1,000 points, but the kill took only 5 seconds, so she spent 150 on Void Walking, then 200 activating her Void Transfer skill, leaving her with 650. As such, Luna waiting in the alleyway for her MP bar to refill.


    Unfortunately, newer systems like the True Supreme System did not have the refill on the level-up feature since it was problematic at higher stats like these. Luna recovered rather quickly as she basked in the moonlight, her body going incorporeal without even putting up an effort.


    She loved the light of the moon on her body. It felt like standing in the mild rays of the sun in a cold area, very refreshing.


    Once she was back to full capacity, she moved through the capital city like a ghost. She had activated the Ministerial Seal, and so knew how to enter the so-called underground government. It was at the Pce of the King, in the lower levels.


    At Luna''s 1000 agility, she was a quarter as fast as a certain speedster. If the average Agility for a human was 10 points, and the average running speed was 10 km/h, then at 1000 agility, Luna should be a hundred times faster at 1000 km/h!


    She was just below Mach 1, so one could imagine the blur that wasncing through the alleyways and streets of the city so fast that the people could not even trace it.


    Eventually, she arrived at the pce and entered it with ease, phasing through using her void. Now with more mana, she could afford to be a little more liberal with it and not save it for thest possible second.


    Luna used the ministerial seal to open a passage in the granary at the bottom of the pce, passing through dark tunnels that seemed to light up on their own. As for herself, she did not walk slowly through them but moved at full speed.


    In her void, she was not even in the same dimension as everyone else so no form of detection could capture her apart from raw sight, since she left a silhouette behind that acted as a gateway.


    As for why she moved quickly, it was because even if she did have a lot of mana now, it wasn''t worth it to waste it foolishly by walking like a divan going down the catwalk.


    Luna halted suddenly when she came upon a foyer that was actually quite busy at this time. Any men and women wearing strange masks coupled with full-body ck suits chatted andughed with each other.


    Luna''s eyes narrowed as she jumped up and clung to the ceiling like a spider. She may not be in this dimension, but she could move her ''gateway'' anywhere, so she attached it to the ceiling, which turned out looking like this.


    Crawling across, she had to make sure that she would cut through any of the lights as she was not sure if they could outline her form, while also making sure not to be spotted by those below.


    She made it across the foyer and up into arge ballroom where even more of these so-called Shadow Nobles danced, drank, and sang merrily. All around them were ves tied by the neck, naked as the day they were born as they served their masters.


    Some males would directly grab any female ve that caught their fancy and pull aside a p before venting their passion. The females were even more vulgar, some who were drunk making passing by male ves drink their pee which was also released from a p.


    None of them allowed the male ves to insert into them, only making them give cunnilingus or pleasure them the way they wanted. It seemed like no matter how handsome the ve, they weren''t willing to let them soil their precious innards.


    Some were mild with their defilement, just humping till they were done. Some were a bit rougher, pulling hair and smacking body parts, but were within limits.


    Some were downright terrible, burning,shing, or cutting while having their fun. Some struck heavily, breaking bones and leaving severe bruises in their passion, and when done, they tossed the body of their victim aside for the other ves to take away.


    Luna watched this without motion, not caring for the plight of the ves.. Rather, she waited patiently as she wanted all the shadow nobles to gather in one ce before she dealt with all of them at once.

 Chapter 601 - 601

    Luna''s attention was drawn around 50 minutester when the doors leading to the upper area opened, and three people came down. On the left and right were obviously two sleek feminine bodies while the center was a well-built male body.


    The crowd who were having fun immediately stopped what they were doing and looked at those who just came in with awe and trepidation. It seemed like they were notable bigshots.


    Luna''s eyes narrowed as she inspected them and saw that the three of them were Grandmasters while 40% of those on the floor were Masters and the real Adepts. Seeing as there were about 500 people here, not including ves, this was not a weak force.


    This was also not even the total force that Litho had. After all, they were a kingdom near the southern belt, so their grade was far higher than weaklings like Derna and co.


    The man in the center raised his hands. "Greetings, fellow Nobles of the Dark! It is I, Darius Blood, your proud leader!"


    The crowd cheered, while Luna almost fell from where she was perched. Hearing that name in such a ce threw her offpletely, but she maintained her poise.


    Luna listened to the one called Darius Blood recite their actions, their grand history, and their purpose. Eventually, the fellownded on what was an interesting topic for Luna.


    "I hear that a contingent of powerful troops travel over from the north, taking over every kingdom and empire in its way. So far, they have had perfect sess and no failures."


    The crowd was deathly silent listening to this, having learned of it through their own channels some were calm, some disyed worry and some disyed killing intent.


    Darius Blood took a ss of wine that was brought over by a maid and swirled it calmly. "I say we meet them head-on and crush their little brigade. Not only can we im their heads and establish our glory, but we can also im their prize for ourselves!"


    Darius then tossed away his wine ss as his voice hitched, leaning on the handrails before him, panting towards the crowd.


    "Can you imagine it? The entire northern section of Fallon, our for the taking! We can do anything we want, umte territory, increase our power, enve new racesˇ­ what we''re doing now would seem like child''s y inparison!"


    Darius'' words stoked the fire in the hearts of these monsters. They were not thinking about how they would fight and die for this, to sate their greed, but who they would send out to die with honeyed words in order to reap the most benefit for themselves.


    Luna remained where she was tranquilly, thinking rapidly. There was no doubt that she would take the lives of everyone in this room, but the question was how to achieve that.


    She was given a set of skills by Darius, sure, but those kills were for infiltration, making a single undetected kill, and leaving. Just like what she did to the Prime Minister.


    She hesitated. Rather than try and fight them all and make a messy scene, she really would rather clear them all out at once. Luna firmed her expression and reported everything to Darius.


    Darius on the other side simply smiled and said one thing. "Leave it to Gunner."


    Luna didn''t understand what that meant, but she was soon contacted by Gunner who spoke to her in a gentle voice. "Luna, please enter your void and leave the area."


    Luna obeyed immediately, knowing that Gunner would never hurt her. In fact, the fellow was extremely kind to herself and X, which made her have a strange feeling in her heart.


    When she had exined this to X, the High Elf giggled and exined. "I feel the same way. It''s because Gunner feels like an older brother to us, so we feel safe andforted in his presence."


    Luna was not exactly cognizant of what it meant to have family, so she couldn''t grasp the full meaning, but she certainly could feel the emotions that came with it.


    Whatever the case, she quickly abandoned the underground passageway and came back into the city. She easily bypassed the patrolling guards as the time of night was almost 3 am, so no proper person was out and about.


    Luna hesitated and decided to adhere fully, leaving the city in a blur. That was when she saw a green light emerged from the horizon, its glow splendid and moving.


    ......ˇ­


    Gunner jumped out of his tank while his drivers stopped. He and his army could move nonstop because of their power and the supplies they brought. There was no need to stop, which was why most of their enemies couldn''t even muster a good response in time.


    Gunner stood before the army, looking into the starry sky with a serious expression. Miranda appeared on his wrist and giggled.


    "Uncle Gunner, there''s no need to try and calcte. I have already done all that for you, so you only need to follow."


    Gunner smiled and nodded, closing his eyes as he let Miranda''s calctions pass through his mind. He then spread his legs out wide, a green light exploding outward from his body as he manifested his full Earth''s Guardian.


    His Damage, Defense, Power, and Constitution had increased by 1250%! From lesser demigod level, he went to either Fake Lord level or just outside the True Lord level.


    There was no way to tell since they didn''t yet have the stats of a Fake Lord or a True Lord to use as aparison. Gunner then channeled his Omega Blow skill at its fullest power.


    [Omega Blow - Level 60 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2000 MP


    Description: Concentrate Earth Element Energy into a ball, throwing it out in apressed form to explode on impact. This deals 6,192% earth damage to a single target.]


    2000 Mp was nothing to the current Gunner, and his damage output with this skill was horrifying when you considered his base stats. A giant green orb formed in his hands that glowed like a fusion bomb about to go off.


    Gunner then angled his body carefully then threw the green orb with a specific amount of strength, at a specific direction, at a specific angle, with a specific posture.


    The orb flew through the air like a missile, its speed tearing through the sound barrier as it passed mach 5 in seconds. Due to themotion it made, those not within its view could see a green light on the horizon, while those it passed by were ripped from where they stood by the shockwave, sent flying like ragdolls.


    Some forests were stripped bare of their leaves in seconds while smaller animals were only left with their muscture as their skins were ripped off, leaving horrifying remains behind.


    This carnage continued as the orb did not lose speed even a little, crossing through various domains and biomes as it either devastated or re-arranged them casually.


    Eventually, Luna saw the green on the horizon that was beautiful, like a unique sun rising with its emerald hue to wake up the world and tell it that nature was still here.


    Luna was snapped out of her trance by Miranda, who warned her to move further. With her speed, Luna was able to create a severe distance between herself and the capital city in a few seconds.


    When she turned around, she felt the wind of the green orb pass by her, easily ripping apart her clothes and leaving her sensual body out in the open, but not harming her skin in the least while everything around her was ruined.


    The orb then began to dip suddenly, leaning down towards the city in the distance.


    Eventually, it collided.


    The world was silent for a few seconds, before Luna saw the brightest explosion of green light she had ever seen in her life. It almost blinded her, but she was able to keep her eyes open to see it.


    Next came the shockwave. This one was nothing like what came before, as it directly blew her into the distance despite her high stats above a thousand. She wasn''t hurt, just unable to remain unscathed like some power ranger after a dramatic explosion.


    She flew along with rocks and earth for a few miles before she regained her bearings and leaped among many of them,nding perfectly and without issue.


    It was then Luna noticed that she was more than ten times away from the city, yet she could see a huge green mushroom cloud from here. Not only did it linger, but it also illuminated the entire sky.


    Even those from Safemoon could see the green light in the distance, and the entire Fallon was suddenly awoken by the shaking of the entire content as it suffered the aftermath of the explosion.


    Luna watched silently, realizing that this kind of power was beyond anything she understood. She realized that her heart was beating massively, not out of fear, but excitement.


    Could she one day wield power like Gunner?

 Chapter 602 - 602

    Darius Stone satfortably in the meeting room of his Manor in the Inner Section of Safemoon. He couldn''t always meet guests in his Mage tower, as that would allow them to survey the core section.


    In this meeting room, he sat at the head of the table while all the other seats were upied by various caramel-skinned men and women wearing white jackets, ornate vests, and white harem pants.


    They were all nervous as they sat before Darius, wondering why they had all been summoned like this. Many were worried that their positions at home might be usurped, but they were also filled with greed as to what opportunity the Lord of Safemoon had for them, so they came.


    Darius pped his hands and got the attention of all the Magistrates of Ludo.


    "Hello, esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Darius Stone, and I am the ruler of Safemoon. I called you here today to establish a new era for Ludo right, here, right now."


    The Magistrates perked up at that, realizing that their hopes mighte true from the way Darius spoke. Only Shamael Bucktowar, the one who gathered them all on behalf of Darius, was a bit nervous as he felt something was wrong.


    Darius continued. "A few months ago, I partook in your Test of Mettle, and came out with an interesting new power."


    Darius swapped his title to the Desert King and used his Pseudo-Origin Essence power to pressure the sultans. They, more than anyone else, felt the pressure as they were adept users of the Sand Arts, something that was taught to Ludoians by the First Desert King as he tore some of his own Origin Essence and shared it with all the people of the continent.


    This was certainly one of the reasons why the Desert King was weaker than other True Lords. Whatever the case, Darius released the pressure he put on the sultans, allowing them to rx as they gazed at him dumbfoundedly.


    "T-The Desert Kingˇ­" Shamael muttered with confusion.


    Didn''t Darius tell him that he had failed? If he had truly seeded, why did he hide it from the world? Wouldn''t receiving fame and adtion of the entire Ludo Continent move his heart?


    Darius chuckled. "That''s right, I''m this generation''s Desert King. If you''re wondering why I hid it, it''s simply because I have great ns for myself and for the world, but unfortunately, I cannot trust any of you enough to share it."


    This immediately sobered up the sultans as they realized the situation. Their minds ran quickly as they processed everything. Darius was the new Desert King, but hid it because he had some n or the other.


    He gathered the leaders here to let them in on the secret, but why was a mystery. He did mention something about coboration, but they didn''t know what they meant by that.


    The only thing they knew was that they were slightly disappointed. Their new Desert King was someone from another Continent harboring his own ns. He would not have the welfare of Ludo in mind like previous Desert King who were born and raised on Ludo.


    However, there was nothing they could do about it now. They could only bite their teeth and listen to the arrangements of this new Desert King.


    Darius saw their hesitation and disappointment, but smiled softly. "Now, the coborations I was talking about. Safemoon will sponsor the entire Ludoian Continent and its people with top tier resources to raise the power and livelihood of the continent."


    "You should have seen our rtionship with Andrato. A Kingdom that was pressed down by all others and treated like garbage, now able to hold its own against most foes while still rapidly growing."


    "This time, the scale increases greatly. However, this is to be done in the shadows and slowly over time. We don''t want to alert the rest of the world as to the rise of Ludo."


    Darius leaned forward. "What do you all think?"


    The sultans shared strange looks as their minds whirred. Now, more than ever, they wished they could manifest clones of themselves, so they could beat them up.


    They realized how foolish their initial thoughts were. Regret that he wasn''t a Ludoain? Rubbish! He was the Lord of Safemoon! He was arguably the richest and most powerful man in terms of finances in the world!


    It was akin to an average International Company from Africa suddenly having Bill Gates as their biggest Shareholder and CEO. Since he has a stake in thepany''s sess, of course, he was going to invest in it.


    And the kind of investment he could make would surpass anything a local African selected due to skill could produce despite having just that, the qualifications.


    Understanding this, their breathing became rough, and their eyes became bloodshot. They could see it now, the wonderful future of Ludo as it upgraded from a continent filled with poverty and disease to one that was bustling like Elysium.


    And the man who could make that dream a reality was seated right before them!


    Darius Stone, Lord of Safemoon!


    Shamael was the first to stand up. "Magistrate of the Central District of Shariah City, Shamael Bucktowar, pledges his full allegiance to the Desert King!"


    Immediately, the other Magistrates followed up, rising to their feet as they hurriedly pledged allegiance to Darius as the Desert King. Darius simply smiled and took in their show with a soft smile.


    He then snapped his fingers, revealing hundreds of Maidbots who filtered into the room while carrying thick chests. The sultans were dazzled by the ornate chest which held hundreds of Bags of Holding within, which also held resources.


    "This is the first batch of goods for the development of Ludo. Each of you will take 10 chests and use the resources within to develop yourselves as well as the people below you." Darius revealed calmly.


    While the light of greed and selfishness roared in the hearts of the sultans, Darius spoke neutrally, and almost coldly. "Piece of advice, don''t try to bite more than you can chew. I understand that people in leadership positions must get the biggest share of the cake in reality, but do not try to eat it all."


    Darius tapped the HoloBrace on his wrist, which was present on some magistrates, but missing on others. "My HoloBraces have full coverage on Ludo, Fallon, and a few other continents. I will know what you do with the resources at all times, and those found to be squandering it will be ''gently'' removed from their positions."


    Darius pped his hands, and the Maidbots left, allowing a new batch to enter with thetest HoloBraces on trays. They stood calmly behind the various magistrates who did not have one, making their faces change.


    "In order to facilitate trust between myself and you, the leaders of Ludo, I insist that everyone is equipped with a HoloBrace. It has more functions than just allowing me to monitor your actions with the resources meant for the continent." Darius joked ndly.


    No oneughed.


    The magistrates who already wore the HoloBraces smiled bitterly, while those who were being gently forced to wear one cursed endlessly in their minds. They hated this, being bound and monitored, but they knew they would do the same in his position.


    It was justmon sense.


    After everyone was equipped with a HoloBrace, Darius smiled softly. "That brings an end to our first meeting. We won''t need to meet like this for a long timeing, as I can send youmands anywhere in the world through the HoloBrace."


    Understanding that it was their cue to leave, Shamael wisely asked. "Lord Darius, thank you for the abundant resources. However, wouldn''t it be dangerous for us to waltz back to Ludo the same way we came with such treasure?"


    The other magistrates'' faces changed as they realized they had neglected this important point in their depression and excitement. They turned to Darius, who gazed at Shamael appreciatively.


    "I will send a contingent of my Elite Troops with each of your groups, or with your total group if you want to move as one. They each have the power of, at least, a Master and can protect you with ease." Darius revealed.


    Wow!


    The magistrates were dazzled by this protection, feeling safe deep down. Minimum Master level troops meant that there would be some Grandmasters with them.


    No matter how many monsters or bandits they met on the way, it would take a simple re to rend them into pieces. They had absolutely nothing to fear!


    Shamael bowed to Darius. "Thank you for the kindness, Lord Darius. We shall take our leave now."


    Darius nodded as they field out of the manor, their faces strange as they contemted what just happened, and what they would do next. The contrast between what they were expecting when they came here and what actually urred here was too great, leaving them muddle-headed for a while.


    -----------------------------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note</strong>: Not feeling so good. May have gotten the Omnicron thing or whatever given my symptoms.


    Sorry if this chapter was rushed, I only had a short window to write today after I took some medicine and got the energy to leave my bed.


    Hopefully, I can write tomorrow too.

 Chapter 603 - 603

    After the Magistrates had left, Darius smiled softly as he rose to his feet and teleported out of this temporary meeting ce. His next goal was to check up on Safemoon''s Dungeon so he could continue his research on Dungeon Cores.


    Darius appeared at the entrance of the Wood element Dungeon he had transmuted before Safemoon had even been founded, gazing upon its size that had more than tripled since hisst visit. He was partly stunned and impressed by how much it had developed without any further input from him.


    Around the Dungeon were hundreds of adventurers who were entering and exiting at all times,ughing about their gains, or sighing about their losses. The adventurers of Safemoon were a very skilled bunch, and they also helped bring a more stable flow of ie to Safemoon aside from Darius'' own resources. As such, they were treated well, trained well and equipped well.


    Naturally, when Darius appeared, everyone''s HoloBrace went off as Martin gave them a dark warning not to interfere with Safemoon''s Lord or even look at him. For their own good, they''d better pretend like they had never seen him before.


    They mostlyplied, though a few arrogant souls or curious ones sized him up to see what was so special about him. However, Darius did not mind it, as long as they stayed out of his way.


    Using Analyze, he checked the details of the Dungeon.


    [Safemoon''s Dungeon - Dungeon


    Element(s): Wood


    Durability: 2,344,000/2,344,000 (95,000)


    Floors: 15 (3)


    Amateur Monsters: 2,100,000 (3,456)


    Journeyman Monsters: 210,000 (2,390)


    Adept Monsters: 21,000 (1,207)


    Master Monsters: 2,100


    Grandmaster Monsters: 210


    Amateur Boss Monsters: 180 (5)


    Journeyman Boss Monsters: 150 (3)


    Adept Boss Monsters: 120 (1)


    Master Boss Monsters: 90


    Grandmaster Boss Monsters: 60


    Dungeon Core(s): 1


    Core Grade: Crystal


    Maximum instances: 100,000,000,000,000 (100,000)


    Maximum persons per instance: 500,000 (500)


    Energy Gathering Rate: 200 SE Per Death


    Energy Gathering Efficiency: Perfect


    Total Energy Gathered: 549,207,980 (43,185) SE


    Total Energy Spent: 442,541,631 (0) SE]


    Darius stood there in total shock. It had been more than 2 years since he hadst analyzed the Dungeon for sure, but the contrast between then, when it had barely been able to cater to Adepts, and now, where it had obviously reached the point that even Grandmasters might get challenged, was far too great.


    He wondered just how many people had died in there to contribute their Soul Energy to the Dungeon''s growth.


    Heh, whatever the case, Darius had them to thank for this. Such growth was unprecedented, and he wondered if there were even any adventurers qualified to go down that deep.


    "Unfortunately, no. The highest level of adventurer we have is still at the Adept stage, though they''re close to bing Master. The rewards from the Dungeon might be good, but facing the talent of some, it can only do so much. Even those nurtured with your resources need a few years to climb from Amateur to Adept, much less cross the Master stage hurdle." Martin exined as he popped up on Darius'' HoloBrace.


    Since he was in charge of User Interaction, he handled the day-to-day functionality of the HoloBraces for everyone who wore them. As such, he was more suited to reveal this information to Darius than his AI sisters.


    Darius nodded and walked forward stately. "If that''s the case, let me try out this Dungeon for myself."


    Thinking about it, Darius had never actually run his own Dungeon properly. Last time, he had let Gunner pave the way and after that, he had never bothered.


    When he entered the ck maw of the Dungeon, a collective sigh of relief sounded from the other adventurers, as the constant warning from the HoloBraces had been weighing on them all this while.


    Darius noted that he had appeared in the first room, which was neither a restroom nor a battle room, but just an empty cavern. He remembered that this was where he had imnted the Dragon Heart into his chest back then, because he had deemed it to be the safest location.


    He continued onward to the first rest station. He noted that the food and drinks here were quite high quality, and would certainly allow anyone to recover quickly.


    There were beds with first aid equipment nearby to help perform emergency treatment, but that was the limit of it. In fact, this much was solely set up due to X''s kindness, otherwise it would be fight after fight with no rest.


    At the end of the day, this was still a Dungeon, and its job was to devour the souls of the treasure seekers in order to empower itself. While it might be gentle, it still had to follow its basic instinct.


    Darius crossed over into the first Amateur room and saw that it was a huge arena that was dome-shaped. All around it were doors that began to open up, releasing waves of Wood element monsters at level 1.


    They numbered more than the eye could see, though Darius counted around 10,000 of them. He smiled with interest, ignoring the restless monsters that had already charged at him.


    Without even bothering to equip his staff, he used the Journeyman spell Fireball. As it was at the max level, its size was as big as a 4x4 SUV.


    Darius simply tossed it onto the ground before him, sending the entire cavern into mes as the explosion spread across. He himself stood within the mes, unharmed in his entirety thanks to his passive magical barrier, and his high Willpower.


    As for the Wood element monsters that popted this ce, they were not so lucky. Many of them directly turned into ashes, and they were the lucky ones.


    The others that were not so fortunate were screeching in agony as they rolled about, burning in the fire and feeling excruciating pain. They tried to survive, but only prolonged their suffering while Darius waited.


    Eventually, the monsters were all cleared by him, and he nodded. He then looked around to see that the doors opened again, this time more than 20,000 level 2 Wood element monsters rushed out, roaring menacingly and screeching their intent to ughter!!!


    Right into the still burning infernoˇ­

 Chapter 604 - 604

    Darius watched speechlessly as the new wave of monsters rushed into the fire and burned themselves continually. They did not even seem to consider the possibility of running back into the doors they came from, which were still closing, rather opting to roll about in agony as they burned in the mes.


    It seemed that the monsters were strictly programmed to zerg any adventurer who had left the rest area, without considering environmental factors or the specific circumstances.


    Then again, with these sheer numbers, such considerations were truly unnecessary. Darius calmly threw another Fireball to end the wave immediately. This cleared out all those that were thrashing about and renewed the surrounding inferno.


    As expected, the third wave now held 30,000 level 3 monsters who all rushed out with malice on their faces, only to fall into the same quagmire as those that came before.


    Speechlessly, Darius continued this process of throwing down a fireball each round as new monsters rushed in. From level 1 to level 5, he cleared all the monsters and was finally confronted by a group of minibosses.


    Darius didn''t even bother to Inspect them before he simply burned them to death and moved onto the second rest station. Here, he noted that the resources were exactly the same as those in the first one.


    He moved onto the second battle room and was immediately besieged by 60,000 level 6 monsters, repeating the same process until he cleared up to 100,000 level 10 monsters.


    Darius then faced off against an evenrger and more powerful group of minibosses, that he also vanquished with ease. After that was the third rest station and then the third battle room.


    ... 150,000 level 15 monsters came running over, their vines and wsncing forward.


    Of course, the same scene repeated itself. Darius went through the motions until he cleared 200,000 level 20 monsters.


    Afterwards, he was faced with a slew of Amateur bosses that came in groups. Clearing them with practiced ease, he ignored therge treasure chest and went down to the Journeyman floors.


    The Dungeon did not give out small treasure chests like others because of the rest stations. With such an advantage, one did not have the right to ask for more.


    Darius entered the first rest station and passed through to the first battle room of the Hourneyman floors. Here, 1,000 level 21 monsters were released at him from all sides.


    Simr to before, Darius threw a Fireball down and vanquished all of them. With his current stats, only Grandmasters of any kind would be able to survive such a blow from him.


    The Journeyman floor followed the same structure as the Amateur floor, meaning he was besieged by 2,000 level 22 monsters, 3,000 level 23 monsters, 4,000 level 24 monsters, and finally 5,000 level 25 monsters in this battleroom.


    Once those were all in, Darius faced a single miniboss that was actually made up of more than five different bosses.


    [Name: Forest of Death || Race: Vegetation || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mobile Predator, Master of Life.


    HP: 2,300/2,300 || MP: 840/840 || STA: 1,960/1,960


    Level: 40 ||


    Power: 47 || Speed: 36 || Constitution: 49


    Magic: 21 || Will: 12 || Luck: 10.


    Skills: Leaf des, Bark Warriors, Root Whip


    Spells: Illusion, Life Drain, Swarm, Summon Vegetation.]


    It was a monster Darius and Gunner had seen before when they had once traversed the Wood element Dungeon of Lord Spencely''s former domain, Listo. At that time, they had been but lowly Amateurs. The Supreme System had still been the cheap knock-off from Caesar and the robotic maniac had still been down their backs.


    As such, they had wisely opted to avoid that battle. Now, though, Darius cast mepir over the Forest of Death and listened to it screech in a high-pitched tone as its body burned ferociously.


    It died soon enough, and Darius continued on. Into this floor''s second rest station, then the second battle room. Here he was attacked by 6,000 level 26 monsters, 7,000 level 27 monsters, 8,000 level 28 monsters, 9,000 level 29 monsters and 10,000 level 30 monsters.


    He then faced off against another boss, which was one-shot as well.


    Darius went through the rest of the Journeyman floors like this, ignoring the big treasure chest and going down to the Adept floors.


    Here, the first battle room spat out 100 level 41 monsters, which he easily dealt with. Then came 200 level 42 monsters, 300 level 43 monsters and so on.


    It was obvious enough by now that each subsequent floor would have 10% of the number of the previous one, so even though the quality of monsters increased, the quantity decreased, making it passable for those with the necessary skill to trek this far.


    Darius cleared the Adept floors as well, making sinct progress towards the bottom, which was his goal. Now, he was on the first battle room of the Master floors, and he could tell that this ce was hardly ever visited.


    10 level 61 monsters rushed out, and their sizes and skill alone were nothing like before, not to mention the abilities they had. This time, instead of using magic, Darius took out his Dragon Ancestor''s Spear.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 25)


    Durability: 3,100,000/3,100,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 33,500-37,500


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creation, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    Given Darius'' physical stats, the weapon''s current power was enough to even kill Demi-Gods, much less these mere mobs. However, what the Itemancer was going for here was obvious.


    Demi-Gods were limited in quantity, and the death of each one would cause untold problems down the line.. However, monsters in a Dungeon were literally an infinite resource, so this was the best ce for him to farm lifeforce for his special weapon.

 Chapter 605 - 605

    Darius waved his spear about a few times and focused on the monsters around him once more. He noted that, just like when dealing with the Master bugs in the underground of Pokterr, his high Speed special ability, Super Instinct, had automatically activated.


    As such, he had naturally avoided all of their attacks while focusing on something else, his body moving somewhat optimally as it meandered through the sharp vines and bullet seeds.


    Darius twirled hisnce and suddenly blurred like he was undergoing bad static on a television. With a whoosh, he finally disappeared from his spot, much to the dismay of the various Wood element monsters.


    When he re-appeared he was beside one of them, and with a smooth movement that could not be blocked, he pierced its body.


    Darius drew out hisnce and disappeared once more, reappearing beside another target. He smoothly stabbed this one too, its movements halted as if time had stopped because Darius was currently moving at maximum speed.


    He continued like this, slowly and methodically killing every target that he faced with ease before stopping in the center of them.


    Time seemed to finally resume as each Wood monster screeched with agony and thrashed on the ground, their essence being drawn out of their bodies towards thence slowly.


    Previously, when Darius had stabbed them, he had been moving so fast that thence did not get enough time to suck them dry. That was part of his n, though, as there were fewer monsters on this floorpared to those above.


    He stood and waited, and it didn''t take long for the 10 level 61 monsters to turn into desated husks. Dariusmunicated with his ever-growingnce and found that the essence of Dungeon monsters was far weaker than ''natural'' beings.


    I.e, thence had benefitted far more from draining Master bugs than it did for doing the same to these Master stage Dungeon monsters, and it didn''t have to do with level, but rather how they were made and how they grew.


    As such, Darius had merely umted a total of around 1.2% exp towards the next level, yet each one of those monsters had given him a varied amount, instead of being t.


    Darius paused as he tilted his head with a frown. He felt like he had grasped something, but it was also kinda elusive. Like when you walk down to the fridge and open it, only to stand there in confusion and wondering what you wanted to grab in the first ce.


    It had to do with the movements he made just now. There was a sh of understanding in his mind as he felt his moves could be condensed further and turned into something more than just some random attacks.


    ''Is this the onset of creating a skill? Or a technique?'' Darius asked himself with a soft smile.


    He had often heard of epiphanies rting tobat, where abat genius would develop skills from basic movements in order to create something unique for themselves.


    Darius naturally felt himself to be more of a magical talent, but if he could easily create a spell, it went without saying that he should be able to create skills as well.


    There simply had never been a need to put in the effort all this while.


    At this time, 20 level 62 Wood element monsters were released, and they rushed at Darius. This made the fellow nod with satisfaction.


    "To create this skill, I''ll need to repeat what I did a few times until I grasp whatever it is that''s tickling my mind. Having you lot here will make things smoother for me."


    He once again channeled his speed to the limit and disappeared from where he stood, appearing beside each monster then stabbing out so fast that it looked like he stabbed each one of the 20 at the same time, not milliseconds from each other.


    They might be Master stage Dungeon monsters, but Wood element beasts were not exactly known for speed. As such, Darius easily dominated them in this regard.


    30 level 63 monsters, 40 level 64 and finally, 50 level 65 monsters were all cleared out the same way, each time, Darius felt like whatever he had ''forgotten'' wasing back to him piece by piece.


    Hisnce had also made progress, having umted a total of 60% experience towards the next level. It wasn''t something that was written by the system, but something he estimated based on the feedback from the budding Spear Soul in thence.


    The more it grew, the more the consciousness residing within it grew as well. That was one of the reasons why Darius took this time toe and upgrade it anyway.


    He had no idea what kind of effect thence would disy once the Spear Soul within was fully awoken. Darius was engaged by a miniboss which was a wolf that had tentacles growing out of its back.


    Those tentacles were actually vines, and theyshed about like they were alive. Give it a pair of dark shades then ask it to read out the line: ''The power of the sunˇ­ in the palm of my hand'' and it would look no different from a certain doctor.


    Darius engaged the monster at normal speed, the two of them shing greatly. He was surprised to note that this wolf was able torgely handle him as it had great intelligence on top of its fighting skill.


    Its vines would intercept hisnce and wrap around it, never trying to meet it head-on, but rather redirecting it elsewhere. It was as if the miniboss knew that getting pierced by that thing equated to death.


    Darius smiled and suddenly spun hisnce once it was wrapped by vines once more. This shocked the wolf, as it rolled it up as a consequence. Like hair that was turned by a rolling pin, its vines now involuntarily wrapped around thence, tying it up like a present.


    Darius brought it close to his face and grinned at the miniboss, chilling it heart greatly.


    "You might be flesh and blood mostly, but let''s see if you burn just as well as the others."


    He then channeled the raw element of Fire through his staff, which lit it up in mes.. The miniboss connected to it howled with agony as it burned, the sizzling sound and burnt smell of flesh assailing Darius'' senses.

 Chapter 606 - 606

    Darius watched it burn coldly, not a hint of sympathy in his eyes. Rather, he casually noted how the flesh and blood nature of the miniboss actually reduced its fire susceptibility, while its vines also seemed to be less Wood element and more fleshly protuberances.


    Eventually, the miniboss was in, and Darius proceeded to the next rest station. From there he entered the second battle room. The usual fare was thrown at him, 60 level 66 monsters, 70 level 67, 80 level 68, 90 level 69 and 100 level 70 monsters in all before a miniboss.


    After clearing them all, thence managed to go up one level.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 26)


    Durability: 3,350,000/3,500,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 36,000-40,000


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    Darius moved on through the Master floors just like this, easily tearing his way through the increasing number of monsters without a hitch. With the kind of damage output thisnce had, it was impossible for anything down here to survive one hit.


    He noted that he was also gaining experience in terms of his level, as he was still an Adept. In fact, he had started gaining experience from the Adept floors till now, the only problem being that it was overall a pitiful amount because of his power.


    The True Supreme System was unlike the previous iteration, which had simplypared Darius'' level with that of his opponent. Here, there were no hard caps, instead experience was calcted organically, based on the quality of the battle, and especially, the power difference between both sides.


    Long story short, it was wishful thinking to hope to see any big changes in level from Darius'' side with his current stats unless he jumped into Armadon or Elysium to do some heavy lifting himself.


    Darius finished off the final boss of the Master stage floors and bypassed therge treasure chest to head down to his true target, the Grandmaster floors. After entering the first battle room, he noticed that instead of hundreds of doors all around, there was on one door and a veryrge arena space.


    It took a minute, but the door opened to release the first and only Grandmaster monster for this round, a level 81 Forest Shambler. It took heavy steps into the area, itsrge, viney body dragging along.


    In the depths of the hold where its face should be, a red light glowed, which likely denoted its eyes or consciousness. Darius calmly gazed at the monster and checked its stats, nodding to himself when he saw that it wasn''t too far from what he expected.


    [Name: Forest Shambler || Race: Vegetation || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Wood Walker, Vine Lord.


    HP: 70,028/70,028 || MP: 972/972 || STA: 23,247/23,247


    Level: 81 ||


    Power: 244 || Speed: 22 || Constitution: 287


    Magic: 12 || Will: 5 || Luck: 3.


    Skills: Shambler Charge, Powerful Swipe, Vine Swarm.


    Spells: None.]


    Darius flourished hisnce and thought to himself how interesting it would be to see how much a Grandmaster would feed hisncepared to the Insect Grandmasters he had killed previously.


    As such, he struck first and without fanfare. With his speed, maneuvering around this slow Shambler was easy. Darius struck it right in the void where its eyes glowed, making the monster screech in agony.


    He kept thence within its body, thought, allowing it to suck out the monster''s essence while he stood there with his arms folded behind his back. Soon, the monster that was twice his size was reduced to some vines and wood that looked decayed.


    Darius fetched hisnce and saw that it had risen by a whole 50%! While this was half what the other Insect Grandmaster gave him, this was more than enough to leave him delighted.


    As such, he spun hisnce and waited for the next two monsters. They were two Treemen, who looked exactly like the archetype from the Tolkien series. They were slow of mind and body, but their size and nature made them overpowered for smaller beings.


    Darius did not waste time. He hefted hisnce on his shoulder and threw it right into the face of the Treeman on the right, sending him crashing down to the ground screaming while his essence was being drained.


    This angered the other Treeman who roared and charged at Darius with killing intent rippling from his eyes. Nonplussed, Darius trapped it in a sphere of dted time, slowing down its movements using his Time el spell.


    [Time el - Level 60 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 2,000 MP


    Description: Move through the river of time to cross within a local area to advance forward beyond the means of those who are time-locked. This affects up to a range of 2 kilometers around yourself. The maximum dtion is 1:3 for up to 30 minutes.]


    So the second Treeman who was already running over quite slowly was now moving three times slower than before. This gave Darius the leisure to walk over to the first one and pull out hisnce that had drained the essence of the monster.


    He then turned to the second one, whose expression was changing at a snail''s pace from fury to horror. With a chuckle, Darius hoisted hisnce once more and threw it like a professional javelin thrower.


    Obviously, such technique was derived from both the Basic and Intermediate Lancer Arts.


    Thence flew through the time sphere, unaffected and exempted from its control, striking the second monster in the same area as the first, unsurprisingly yielding the same results.


    --------------------------------------------------


    <strong>Author''s Note</strong>: After battling on the verge of life and death, I have finally ovee my weakness, and enjoyed my rightful Zenkai boost.


    Chapters should slowly return to normal from here.. From February 1st, chapters will return to their breakneck pace, simr to the past two months.

 Chapter 607 - 607

    Gunner continued to tear through thendscape of Fallon with ease, nothing evening remotely close to stopping him. Even the empires near the belt and slightly below were cannon fodder for him, because of a certain key fact.


    Achilles, and some of his Elite Troops had been dispatched over!


    Of course, the Demi-God himself had gone through aplete makeover courtesy of the Medipod, now looking simr to a handsome Caucasian warlord with blue eyes and golden hair that reached his shoulders.


    He wore a set of armor made of abination of the strongest traits of the Holy Metals, granting its wearer invulnerability to most physical forces and magical ones, as well as rapid energy regeneration, rapid healing, boosted physical, prowess and boosted magical prowess.


    Even a normal man who wore this would be able to ughter a thousand men, much less a Demi-God. With his spear, Achilles was like a whirlwind of blood and gore, tearing through groups of elites with ease.


    Now that he had been supplied, it was no longer Gunner''s duty to fight Grandmasters and the like. That was originally the task of the Elite Troops anyway, only that they had not been released yet.


    Simrly, those normal troops who had been sent on subjugation missions had been recalled and added to the main force. Achilles'' men would also take over that task.


    Each of them was equal to a Grandmaster, so they were dispatched by Miranda tactically to various locations, such as dungeons, special ruins, or locations that Darius had recorded on his map to retrieve special items.


    Once they got back, Darius wouldplete a lot of des and Achievements, earning himself quite a bit of True Coins. He hadn''t yet bought anything significant from there since he already had Transmutation, but he was thinking every day of what to capitalize on.


    Back to his General, Gunner and his troops were currently 30% into the southern half of the continent. As one could imagine, their progress had naturally rmed those stronger empires, who scoffed and disdained at their attempts.


    Of course, that was a mistake. Even the normal army led by Gunner could not be beaten by Grandmasters, much less the Elite Troops that murdered them like dogs and sent their bodies back to Safemoon.


    What they were being used for, no one knew. No, rather, it was for the best that they did not know. If one were to see the fates of those ''corpses'', some even still alive using special means, they would not hesitate to overrun Safemoon with any force they could find.


    Right now, though, things did not seem as critical to them. They still held confidence in themselves to stop the charge of Safemoon''s army. After all, one thing any conquering army always had to do was to consolidate their rule over their new territory to suppress local uprisings.


    However, this was something that Gunner had failed to do. The half-giant would only spend the bare minimum of time in each conquered territory before moving on.


    Seeing their chance, some scheming fellows got ideas and tried to seek power for themselves in this vacuum, dering city-states and the like.


    Even worse, the empires to the south were insidious!


    Instead of waiting their turn, they decided to strike pre-emptively by sending out agents to the conquered but not fully consolidated territories. Their people would then stir up troubles and try to fill the power vacuum themselves.


    As such, the conquered kingdoms became a mess of conflicts, battles, and crime, looking worse for wear than when had Gunner left them.


    Even if Safemoon''s army were to suddenly stop, they would have to spend at least months cleaning out the shit and perfecting everything, which would give the other empires more than enough time to find a suitable countermeasure to this invasion.


    One had to understand, that right now Gunner was moving too fast. Don''t forget, Fallon especially was styled liked medieval Europe, so they thought in that level. Horses, carriages, wagons, etc. were their modes of transport usually.


    When the empires calcted the movement of the army, they subconsciously used their own standards. However, the army was riding all-terrain APCs that were powered by Source Energy, so they never stopped.


    From a high point of view, Gunner was moving like lightning. To the locals of this continent trying to follow his march, it seemed as if that fellow was practically teleporting.


    Ironically, the half-giant and his troops, who knew about the existence of nes and the like, felt that they were moving at a snail''s pace. Unfortunately, Darius had refused to dispatch air support for them, as he didn''t want to take over Fallon too quickly.


    He still wanted to observe the Magistrates of Ludo who he had given resources and see how they would develop upon it. After all, once he conquered Fallon and fully consolidated it, he would announce his True Lord status over Ludo and begin working on the continent in earnest.


    Besides, Gunner could not keep going forward forever.


    After all, one had to simply realize that Fallon had been a ''free'' continent since the inception of Faust. This should frankly have been impossible.


    As one might recall, Thanatos had been on that continent, so couldn''t he have simply chosen to rule over it? He had his old Necromancer Empire that had swept through it but it had been mostly focused on fighting the Demons of Armadon, as the Titan God likely held a grudge.


    At one point, the entire continent had banded together to try to take his empire down, yet they had been brutally defeated. Like Gunner now, the Titan God of Death had no interest in this flimsynd and had refrained from consolidating it, rather relishing the new flow of corpses that became troops for his fight against the Demons.


    This bit him in the ass as the ruined kingdoms and empire had decided to invite wolves into their homes, calling for help from Elysium.. The churches, seeing a chance, came down with full force to eradicate this ''evil empire'' to ''bring peace, justice, and security to their new continent''.

 Chapter 608 - 608

    Chapter 608 ¨C  608


    Naturally, Thanatos had scoffed at that. ''Their'' new continent? The True Lords'' allegiance was to power! To Death!


    And so, they fought, with both sides taking heavy losses. Thanatos ended up crawling to the north where he created the ins of Death to nurse his wounds, while Elysium had been severely weakened.


    However, Elysium was still far better than the ruined Fallon, so they could have easily taken over using some righteous line.


    So why didn''t they?


    Well, as long as one thinks about it, it wasn''t tooplex. There was a certain concept called politics that existed in the world, and it was the binding force of all parties, sentient or otherwise.


    To understand, the Gods of Elysium had the power to technically curb stomp everyone and rule entire continents, yet they had never gone that far. Rather, they chose to rule indirectly or simply eradicate entire ns AFTER finding ''just'' reasons for doing so.


    This was because the various continents each had something simr to the United Nations, in Fallon''s case it was simply called the Fallon Continental Council. Almost every Grandmaster on the continent existed there and worked through them, ruling the continent using politics.


    They had intervened after Andrato had proven capable to retaliate against the various attackers, using their own rules to penalize those who had partaken in such acts heavily. It was through that event that Jeanne had established her reputation across the continent, and fortified Andrato''s status.


    Naturally, they would intervene in such a situation too.


    Gunner sat calmly in his tank, which was at the forefront of the huge convoy of APCs and Troop Carriers that were tearing across Fallon''s southern half. The entire convoy hade to a stop, though, as they were met with some sort of blockade.


    When Gunner checked the disy, it was not what he thought. Rather, the entire convoy had been captured in a blueish light that seemed to be the work of one of the 12 people blocking their way.


    The one responsible was a woman with short blonde hair and ck eyes, of which the center were glowing blue ¨C along with her entire outline ¨C just like the outlines of all the vehicles.


    Seeing this, the half-giant frowned. He opened the hatch and leapt out. Calmly and without fear, he walked up to the 12 who blocked his way, casually inspecting them as he did so in case there was someone he needed to be wary of among them.


    [Ophelia Evercrest ¨C Level 88 Psychic


    HP: 5,280/5,280 MP: 22,440/22,440 STA: 8,448/8,448]


    This was the woman who was holding back the entire convoy. Gunner set his eyes on her first and then focused on the rest.


    [Ferdinand Jones ¨C Level 81 Charger


    HP: 41,160/41,160 MP: 4,455/4,455 STA:15,876/15,876]


    This fellow was a bronze-skinned man who wore a set of custom heavy armor that had leathery bits mixed where the joints met. Probably to not hinder his movements and chafe his skin.


    [Eunice Diver ¨C Level 82 Bishop


    HP: 4,410/4,410 MP: 19,762/19,762 STA: 8,036/8,036]


    A rtively mature silver-haired woman with arge set of breasts, wearing a mixture of cleric robes, but with the red designs usually seen on cardinals.


    [Clive Barton ¨C Level 92 Sharpshooter


    HP: 54,976/54,976 MP: 6,887/6,887 STA: 20,500/20,500]


    He was an average-looking bloke with messy ck hair and dead fish eyes that seemed to not care about anything. He crouched on the ground while his giant bow hung on his back.


    [Dragovich ¨C Level 92 Zilch Berserker


    HP: 56,008/56,008 MP: 10,420/10,420 STA: 9,744/9,744]


    This was a huge man with a mane of ck hair behind him that was silky in nature, with a trimmed mustache and thick goatee. His upper body was bare, and he only had some leather pants on. No shoes either.


    [Longinus Clearsky ¨C Level 98 Mage


    HP: 13,332/13,332 MP: 53,200/53,200 STA: 5,800/5,800]


    This was a suave fellow who had a look of arrogance on his face, as if he disdained being here when he could elsewhere. He wore ck mage robes with an emblem at the center that likely denoted some school or faction.


    [Julis Evenfeather ¨C Level 96 Mage


    HP: 5,560/5,560 MP: 45,300/45,300 STA: 4,897/4,897]


    Hm, an elf. This was likely the first elven male Gunner had seen in his life, and the fellow did have their racial beauty. However, the half-giant soon realized he was a half-elf, due to the shorter ears and the human name. He wore green robes with the same emblem as Longinus in the center.


    [Keira Sweer ¨C Level 93 Mage


    HP: 7,180/7,180 MP: 42,360/42,360 STA: 3,800/5,800]


    This was a woman with fiery red hair swept across her head and scarlet eyes that bore in Gunner, as if she was trying to burn him with her gaze alone. She wore a red mage''s robe with ¨C once again ¨C the same symbol as the other two mages.


    [Illisun Huron ¨C Level 91 Wind Elemental


    HP: 21,311/21,311 MP: 33,182/33,182 STA: 19,881/19,881]


    This fellow was a strange androgynous being that levitated calmly with his hands folded behind his back, like some god. Pale green energy swirled around him, causing the winds of the area to billow strangely.


    [Potenia Juror ¨C Level 87 Mage


    HP: 6,782/6,782 MP: 44,988/44,988 STA: 4,897/4,897]


    This was a brte with a shady look in her eyes, her lips curled in dark amusement, as if she wanted to see something horrible happen at all times. She wore a set of blue mage robes with the familiar emblem in the center.


    [Helen Bastia ¨C Level 83 Defender


    HP: 67,340/67,340 MP: 3,456/3,456 STA: 45,877/45,877]


    This was a thick woman who appeared to have some type of giant lineage, given her huge muscles and thick frame. She had to, at least, have barbarian blood in her, because she could clearly snap a normal man in half. She wore full te mail and only wielded a tower shield and a spiked mace.


    [Cairo Keen ¨C Level 92 Lancer


    HP: 23,332/23,332 MP: 10,420/10,420 STA: 9,744/9,744]


    The final bloke was a fellow who wore a simple sleeveless leather vest with leather pants, hisnce ced across his shoulders as he grinned widely.. His handsomeness was the second-highest here, and he had an air of utter confidence about himself.

 Chapter 609 - 609

    Chapter 609 ¨C  609


    Gunner did not wish to bother to trade simple words with this group. None of them could match him in his base form, much less if he activated Earth''s Guardian. Even Achilles, who was part of their convoy, could ughter them all with ease.


    Once one had enough power, the need for politics and fancy mind battles diminished. This also slowly lowered the intelligence and logical reasoning of those with power, which was why they often ¨C to us, the weak ¨C seemed to be doing foolish things.


    Then again, Gunner did not likeplex scenarios. He left them to Darius, who, no matter how powerful he got, would use his mind first in any situation.


    "You are in the way of the Safemoon Army. Please clear out so that we may proceed."


    For the half-giant to stay this polite to this group, he really hade far. Perhaps he felt there was no need to bully them, or bing a father had softened his heart.


    Whatever the case, he used a less brash methodpared to when he had dealt with Fraterina.


    s, this method was clearly not the best choice here, as the 12 Grandmasters'' opposite ignored him. Longinus Clearsky, the ck-robed Mage with the most arrogance on his face opened a grimoire and spoke coldly.


    "We are here to represent the Fallon Continental Council. You are to cease your march towards the south of the continent henceforth, until your city''s liege heeds our summon and his punishment gets decided for causing chaos across our continent."


    Longinus'' voice was deep and masculine, showing his well-mannered upbringing despite his expression, The Mage spoke neutrally, without sounding provocative, testimony that he was certainly a professional at this.


    However, he was not speaking to Darius. He was speaking to Gunner.


    The half-giant cocked his head to the side as if he was not sure that he had heard them correctly. The General''s looked at his army that stretched out into the horizon, then back at the 12 puny Grandmasters before him who radiated confidence.


    Instead of anything dramatic, Gunner sighed. He folded his arms and gazed at the 12 stoically, not really showing much interest anymore.


    "I understand. Your organization is used to being at the top of the food chain, so you think that every power youe across can either be suppressed, tamed, or vanquished."


    Gunner shrugged. "I subscribe to that as well, since I too have power."


    Despite the situation, the 12 Grandmasters did not belittle Gunner nor ignore him. Rather, they had heard and even seen a lot through various means, otherwise a group of this size wouldn''t have been dispatched for a single individual.


    Gunner''s eyes suddenly sharpened and the 12 felt an aura of danger surrounding them.


    "Have any of you ever wondered what would happen if a power greater than yours appeared on the continent? What your precious council would to in such a scenario?"


    To buttress this, Gunner stretched his hand out, using his Soldering Gauntlets to drag the psychic woman who was still focused on holding back the army''s movement.


    Her expression changed to shock and horror as she hurtled through the air towards Gunner''s palm that acted as a ma.


    Somehow she could tell. No matter how powerful her mind, no matter how lovely her body or visage was, once she entered that cruel grip, she would die. It was a simple fact that she came to appreciate the closer she came towards Gunner''s paws.


    The others cried out, beginning to make various moves, but they were too slow to stop what was about to happen. That was, except for 3 specific blokes among the 12 who empathized speed over power.


    Clive Barton, the Sharpshooter, quickly fired a string of arrows that sted through the air even faster than Ophelia Evercrest, aiming to disrupt Gunner''s flow.


    Aside from him, Illisun Horun, the floating Wind Elemental, also moved forward so quickly that he left a trail of green light. It seemed like he would enter Ophelia''s path before she reached Gunner and save her in time.


    Shockingly, the fastest of them all was Cairo Keen, who appeared in front of Gunner directly, striking out with his blueish-goldennce, aiming for therged''s throat.


    All of this happened faster than the other Grandmasters could react, yet the entire scenario was resolved even faster. The arrows Clive had fired struck the Branded Servant and fell to the side uselessly.


    The sharp spear point left a shallow white mark on the half-giant''s throat before being deflected elsewhere. Illisun managed to catch Ophelia in time, making the two sigh with relief, but their expression changed when Gunner simply switched his target to the Wind Elemental, dragging both him and the psychic woman over.


    While Clive could only watch from his vantage in shock, Gunner''s left hand struck out like a snake, capturing the throat of Cairo Keen, exerting so much pressure that the fellow foolishly dropped hisnce and tried to struggle for air.


    Illisun and Ophelia soon joined on the other hand, both of them being held in this vice grip that was tougher to break through than saying one would lift half of the entire continent themselves.


    In a span of 5 seconds, Gunner had captured and held in his hands, the lives of three expert Grandmasters from the council. The remaining members were rightfully dumbfounded, and in more ways than one.


    He didn''t even look at his captured quarry, rather gazing right into the eyes of those who were still reacting even now, whether it was roaring in anger or trying to cast some spell.


    "What did I tell you? If someone is stronger than you can handle, how do you n to deal with them?" Gunner asked coldly.


    He tossed the three in his hands back over to the other 9, shocking them so much that they stopped what they were doing and caught them. After making sure they were fine, just a little bruised due to the scuffle, they red at Gunner.


    "You are Grandmasters, so you should be smart enough to understand what to do next. Leave here and never step before my army again. Also, tell yourpatriots that the next group that dares to do so will be treated as our mortal enemies." Gunner stated finally, ignoring their resentment.


    He felt that he had done more than enough this time. After all, Gunner may not be much of a schemer, but he also wasn''t entirely sure that Darius wanted the Continental Council as an enemy yet.


    While Darius has given him unlimited free reign to do anything and use any methods he wanted, Gunner would rather execute things as if Darius were here, which should satisfy his master the most.


    "I will ask one question. Does Safemoon intend to go against the Fallon Continental Council?" Longinus asked coldly, still staring into his magic book.


    Gunner frowned, wondering why his words, which were in the samenguage as was being spoken, were being treated like gibberish. Were those fools'' ears just there for decoration?


    Clive Barton scratched his messy hair and sighed. "Here we go againˇ­"


    Cairo stretched his hand out, and hisnce flew back into his grip. The way he looked at Gunner now was full of wariness. Left to him, they would leave this area and never get in this guy''s way again.


    No matter how menacing Gunner looked, or how potent his words you wouldn''t under the depths of his danger, his power, and his cruelty until you shed with him.


    Cairo keenly understood ¨C heh ¨C that he was likely one of the lucky few in reality that got to sh with his half-giant and survive afterward. It was so rare that he should grant himself a trophy for it, so despite his usual battle lust, he did not even raise his spear to attack.


    Rather, his body was poised to run the moment things turned bad. Funny enough, unbeknownst to the others, Ophelia and Illisun adopted simr mindsets and stances.


    Anyone who had managed to advance to Grandmaster stage would treasure their existence greatly. When the odds were in their favor, they would fight, but if there was danger, they would never engage.


    "Hmph, why all the talk? You were all blindsided by his strength, but he is nothing before the almighty Dragovich!" The giant man with long ck hair roared, his lips parting into a wide grin.


    He was the Zilch Berserker, and one who could rip any man he grasped from limb to limb. He had seen Gunner''s application of strength and was impressed, but he naturally felt like he could easily beat something like that.


    As such, he stretched his arms out wide and charged over, his steps thundering the earth like an elephant stomping about. Seeing his power, the others had some confidence in this charge.


    Gunner himself smirked and unfurled his arms, cocking his right one back slowly. He timed the release of his punch to match with the one from the fellow rushing at him.


    He did not use Earth''s Guardian nor did he use any skill like Earthen Punch, but when the fists collided, one of them got blown into sprays of fine blood, gone forever.

 Chapter 610 - 610

    Chapter 610 ¨C  610


    Surprisingly, Dragovich did not scream out in pain. He simply clutched his stump with the other arm and retreated slowly, his expression dark as he red at Gunner. The Branded Servant simply retracted his fist calmly, still wearing a bored expression.


    "None of you are even remotely capable of stopping me here. Go back and tell your council that we have no wish to antagonize you at the moment. However, if the twelve of you continue to irritate me, I will send your heads back in bags and destroy your puny council."


    The half-giant spoke coldly, no longer trying to be nice, as he was getting sick and tired of this. Every second wasted at the frontlines was a second where he couldn''t hold his son in his arms.


    The 12 Grandmasters had varying reactions to that statement. Those who had shed with Gunner seemed to agree, those who hadn''t seemed miffed by his tone and became quite hostile.


    The woman in blue mage robes, Potenia Juror, who was the one with the evil smile, trilled with mockingughter. "What a brute. Do you think yourself to be some Demi-God? You might have great strength and some unusual means, but that''s it. Not to mention, we all have that!"


    Longinus seemed to agree as he snapped his book shut and raised his head for the first time. "Potenia is right. Since this brute cannot understand the instructions given him, and even dares to rebel, we shall capture and cripple him."


    Hearing this, Dragovich, Cairo, Illsuin, Clive, and Ophelia, all those engaged by Gunner, showed expressions of horror, while the others seemed to agree with Longinus. Case in point, Potenia began chanting, hundreds of magic circles forming around her, while Longinus did the same.


    The other two mages, Keira Sweer and Julis Evenfeather joined in the same. The likely half-giant Defender, Helen Bastia, rushed to stand before them, protecting them while she red at Gunner savagely.


    Ferdinand Jones, the Charger, grinned brutally and spread his arms out before rushing at the General like a released bullet, aiming to beat him down with grappling moves.


    Eunice Diver, the Bishop, mmed her staff into the ground with a benevolent expression as a white halo appeared on all 11 of herrades, fortifying them greatly.


    She also began chanting towards Dragovich, likely to heal his wound. Clive Barton sighed with resignation and removed some of his best arrows, before nocking them with all his might and firing.


    Illisun seemed torn as to what to do, while Ophelia was still traumatized by almost having her life snuffed out. However, the Psychic still managed to form something of a psychic prison around Gunner.


    A blue outline surrounded the half-giant''s body, which Cairo grudgingly capitalized on by rushing over and thrusting hisnce with a golden-blue aura coating it, his eyes full of ferocity.


    At this moment, time seemed to stop. With so many things happening at once, there was a bit of chaos for onlookers as they didn''t know what to focus on.


    But at this specific instant in time, all eyes fell on Gunner as he began to react calmly, and methodically. He seemed slow, almost like he was taking a stroll, yet the world could not respond to his movements at all.


    First things first, he grabbed Cairo''snce and raised him into the air with it. The Lancer was too shocked, forgetting to let go, yet the Branded Servant moved faster than he could process anyway.


    Immediately, he mmed thence down hard, sending Cario crashing into the ground with only his legs sticking out. He passed out due to pain, his spine broken from Gunner''s senseless strength.


    He did this while Ophelia still had her blue outline around him, and the beautiful dark-skinned woman smiled wryly as blood leaked from her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth.


    She crumpled like a sack of potatoes, her eyes rolled back into her head as pieces of her brain leaked through her orifices. This shocked the group, but it was merely the beginning.


    Gunner dug his foot into the ground and entered the ''set'' version of a runner''s stance without letting his hands touch the ground. Green light gathered around his form as he continually built up energy, before eventually bursting forward like a bullet.


    Ferdinand, the Charger, who had intended to use his own crazy speed to pin down Safemoon''s General, was trampled over like casual roadkill, his entire body bursting like a water balloon as Gunner just sted through him head-on.


    Dragovich, who had just regenerated his arm, roared and jumped towards Gunner''s back, while Helen Bastia, fearlessly stood before him with her shield.


    Gunner channeled the entirety of his momentum into a straight punch that struck the center of the Defender''s tower shield, causing a sharp metallic noise to resound around the area.


    Helen''s entire right side was blown off, leaving a stoic woman that had only half of her torso and her two legs remaining. She died immediately, but did so standing, her fierce gaze not even softening in death as she red at her killer, her eyes now dim.


    At this time, the magical casts of the four mages had beenpleted. Grandmaster fire spell ¨C ming Meteor from Keira Sweer, Grandmaster water spell ¨C Tsunami from Potenia Juror, Grandmaster wood spell ¨C Endless Forest from Julis Evenfeather, and Grandmaster darkness spell ¨C Engulf, from Longinus Clearsky.


    The four spells crashed into the area where Gunner was, each one dealing its full amount of damage to the area and blinding everyone within miles of the event. It was so catastrophic and fearsome that it proved the horror of Grandmaster Mages.


    Seeing Gunner engulfed, the four mages seemed confident that he would not survive. As such, Potenia surveyed the battlefield and tsked.


    "That brute bastard. He killed Ophelia, Ferdinand, and probably Cairo. Destroying him is not enough to make up for it."


    "No. Not even ughtering his flimsy army would do. We''d best head back and report, then pressure Safemoon to make amends." Julis Evenfeathermented for the first time today.


    Thinking about the precious resources Safemoon had, a hint of greed sparked in their hearts. It even made the deaths of theirrades eptable, as it would allow them to enrich themselves even more.


    "You are fools to dare to daydream in the midst of battle." Gunner''s cold voice spoke from in front of Potenia, having appeared there at some point with sheer speed alone.


    "Huh?" That was thest sound Potenia ever made, as her confused expression was wiped out by a p from Gunner, which smashed her head into bits.


    Brain matter sprayed all over the ground, the now headless body falling limp to the ground. Before the others could express shock or fear, Gunner was before them.


    For Julis, he ripped off his ears and shoved them down his throat, smashing his arms and legs and leaving the half-elf to choke to death.


    For Keira, he grabbed her by the hair and smashed her face into his knee, denting her head and crushing everything within by itself. Her face was no longer visible as it had been knocked back into her skull.


    For Longinus, who he had saved forst among this batch, the half-giant punched through the fellow''s chest and ripped his heart out. Longinus was strong enough to gaze at the gaping hole in his chest and the beating heart in Gunner''s hand.


    Instead of cursing, his final words were a piece of advice. He told Gunner to never lose faith in himself, otherwise he would be destroyed by powers he did not understand.


    With a defeated frown, he fell to the ground and died straightway. After dealing with the four mages, Gunner swiped a slew of arrows like they were annoying bugs before turning to face Clive Barton who had been firing them rapidly.


    Gunner simply ced a Bronze Ando Coin in his finger and flicked it towards the Sharpshooter. Seeing its speed, Clive could understand that he would be hit, as his body was not fast enough to maneuver around it.


    Now, it was left with Dragovich who had been sneaking to get an ambush, Eunice who was pale while sweating with fear, and Illisun Horus who was terrified to his bones by Gunner''s prowess.


    Dragovich roared and threw a solid punch at Gunner, which slugged him. Gunner was surprised by the strength boost, but did not think much of it. Rather, he grinned wolfishly and returned the same punch back to its owner.


    Dragovich screamed and activated his defining feature, the ability to enter a berserk state, greatly increasing his stats and abilities for the duration. In this state, his power was top-tier and was not something that could be easily handled.


    The fists collided, but the same scene from before repeated itself. One had turned into nothingness. However, this time Gunner''s fist didn''t stop, instead it was still hurtling forward, aiming to sock the jaw of the Zilch Berserker.


    Hie berserk aura, even though it gave great strength was not enough to close the gap between himself and Gunner.


    ___________________


    Author''s Note: Thank you Master of Chaos, Pedro Sousa, Hunter101bomber, and CentoEDezMontauk for your donations!

 Chapter 611 - 611

    Chapter 611 ¨C  611


    Dragovich immediately roared, pushing his power to the limit. On the edge of death, he found that his body was bursting to the seams with power he had never experienced before.


    The Zilch Berserker was overdrawing his life force and potential in order to ovee this crisis, but such things would not be enough to keep him from death against this particr foe.


    Gunner''s fist still struck his jaw, sting the lower half of his head off as Dragovich staggered back. The retaliation and defense he had prepared crumbled, as his red aura dissipated into nothingness upon his death.


    He simply fell lifelessly to the side, his body crumpling like a folded omelette. Gunner gazed at the body and calmly stretched his hand out, dragging the fleeing Illisun Horus over into his grip.


    "No, wait, please! Do not kill me! I have never shown direct hostility to you, physically or verbally! Besides, someone needs to ry your message to the council, right?"


    Illisun immediately began to beg for his life once he felt his throat in the hands of Gunner. He knew that nothing he could do would save him from this fellow, so his only choice was to convince the half-giant of his usefulness.


    Gunner listened and agreed to some part. However, he smiled strangely and pointed to Eunice Diver, the blonde bishop who was kneeling in the dirt, vomiting all her stomach''s worth due to the ughter she had just witnessed.


    "What about her?"


    Illisun turned to look at Eunice, who incidentally raised her head to look at him. Her pretty face was in with fear and horror, trauma in her eyes. She was just a bishop who administered light sermons and healed people.


    When had she ever seen such cruelty? Not to mention, she would soon be a victim of it. It was a miracle she hadn''t soiled herself, though it would likely happen once Gunner officially set his sights on her.


    Illisun saw this and sighed. He smiled bitterly, and his aura of desperation shifted to one of despair and resignation.


    "Yes, she is a better candidate than meˇ­ I don''t have anything else to say. You can kill me as you wish, sir." Illisun stated honorably, closing his eyes, so he would not feel too strange when total darkness overcame him.


    However, all he felt were his legs connecting with the earth ¨C something that hadn''t happened in a long while as he liked to float imposingly ¨C which stunned him.


    He opened his eyes to see Gunner towering over him, the half-giant''s intense green eyes scrutinizing the Wind Elemental. Illisun felt that by looking into those eyes, he was like As, a man forced to carry the weight of a mountain on his back.


    "You are not bad. As you said, you did not show any hostility and neither did she. One of you will return to the council to report my words. The other will be sent back to Safemoon along with these materials." Gunner stated with mild interest.


    When he spoke the word ''materials'', he gestured to the corpses of the dead Grandmasters. Stunned out of his mind, Illisun asked the obvious but foolish question.


    "Materials? Materials for what exactly?"


    Illisun suddenly regretted his thoughtless question and was about to apologize when he saw the Branded Servant smile darkly. It was a weird smile filled with morbid amusement that did not fit the fierce and direct Gunner''s face.


    However, after being with Darius for so long, and seeing some things his master had done that would even make Demons fear him, Gunner realized that this world was truly dark.


    "They will be used for a greater purposeˇ­ heh. If you''re so curious, I can subscribe you to their fate as well, so you can find out for yourself." Gunner answered casually.


    Illisun felt chilled to his bones. Whatever it was, he could tell it was something that would scar him for life if he ever found out. As such, he naturally rejected hastily and prayed that whatever purpose Gunner had for him was better than what he was talking about.


    Gunner tossed two HoloBraces to the duo. "Wear these. You are now ves of Safemoon. As long as you work hard enough, though, you''ll be allowed to buy back your freedom by following Martin''s instructions."


    Illisun and the now recovered Eunice hastily caught them and wore them. They understood the alternative was death and with the fresh corpses still around, they were not in the state of mind to try their luck.


    As with anyone else in Faust not from Gravitas, they were shocked by the HoloBrace''s functions when they first logged in, but Gunner didn''t have time to y with them.


    He waved a hand and some troops rushed to carry the bodies of the Grandmasters away to be transported back. Some other troops adept with Earth magic came and terraformed the area back to normal so the APCs wouldn''t suffer any damage.


    These were basic troops, mind you, but they all had Adept level power with magic andbat. Since everyone awoke naturally, their elements were different, though their training in their elements was peak tier with all the time they spent in time dtion.


    The Elite troops were all Grandmaster stage and used only Phoenix fire magic due to their progenitor. Speaking of them, they had been casually watching the battle with interest.


    They were loyal to the Stone family first and foremost, before Safemoon, so they were excited to see their idol, Gunner, pound some retards into a pulp.


    They got to see that and more. They were like boys watching their favorite baseball starnd a home run. If not for the fact that their idol had stated his dislike for it, they would be screeching and cheering like monkeys.


    Achilles especially jumped out and appeared beside Gunner who was gazing at Illisun and Eunice who were hastily leaving now that they got their orders.


    "What''s next, Bossman Gunner?"


    Gunner gazed at Achilles with some level of warmth. He was one of their people in the truest sense, and he was also someone with ¨C now ¨C enough power to at least give the Branded Servant some trouble when they sparred.


    "Let''s allow the fellows to rest. Everyonee out and y for a day, then back in the transports. Set up Devil Summoning Arrays and contract as many subi and incubi as you can to please all of our troops."


    Achilles smiled when he heard that. "The boys will be happy. My Elite guys can easily prevent their core lifespan or true essence from being sucked away while giving the subi something small to feed them. But what about the normal troops. Could they be sucked dry?"


    Gunner shook his head. "They underwent the same body and mind training as your elites. They can prevent their essence from being taken away and will only share what they feel is necessary. They also cannot be bewitched."


    Gunner scoffed coldly. "Besides, the essence thing is only a tip, not necessary. We''ll be paying them directly for their services."


    Achilles blinked in surprise. "Yeah, that would be better, but do we have so many Demon Gold coins?"


    Demon Gold was the currency of Armadon just as Dius was for Elysium. It was a terrible currency that would inflict bad luck on any non-Demon or Devil who kept it, but for those two races, it was harmless.


    Its conversion rate with Dius was abysmal, at 1 Dius to almost 10 million Demon Gold. After all, the currency had no international value since it was used only in barren Armadon, but Dius was like Faust''s dor, it was everywhere.


    Basically, you canpare it to the rtionship between the US Dor and the currency of Venezu, the Bolivar.


    Gunner smiled with amusement. "Why would we give them their shitty currency when we have the best in the world?"


    Gunner tapped his HoloBrace, which had a ¨C theoretically ¨C infinite amount of Supreme Coins. Doing the math, Achilles could only murmur ''ah'' as the realization hit him.


    "That''s probably better than anything they ever hoped for. They might be so excited that they might physically fuck our boys to death. We might even be pestered by them endlessly for us to use their services againter on."


    Gunnerughed. "If anyone dies, mark their name down and resurrect them. Make them wear a cone of shame for the next week. As for the sex services, we can make it a weekly thing."


    The harsh VR training of the normal troops made them mostly asexual, so the only way to curb that would be the demonic vaginas of subi which were said to make one experience pleasure so great that even gods were not immune.


    This should be enough to make them feel good. They also did not umte stress like a normal army, so this wasn''t entirely necessary, but Gunner was in a good mood.


    Achilles licked his lips. "I wonder if I can summon Lilith for myself.. All the Demi-God wanted to try her once, but the Gods forbade it. Thank Lord Darius that I can now enjoy it since I left those cunts!"

 Chapter 612 - 612

    Chapter 612 ¨C  612


    Over on Pokterr, Miranda was having a field day. The AI currently had ess to endless resources, infinite energy and so muchputing power and streams of information that calling her omnipotent wasn''t too far off the truth.


    Over the past few months since the first satelliteunch, she had already added 15 more. After all, they didn''t take long to build, andunching them was pretty direct.


    However, Miranda had encountered a small problem. The more satellites she hadunched, therger her stream of information. Now, this was actually a boon, but the problem was that she mainly used the satellite to boost herputing power for things to do with Darius.


    However, thatputing power was now being gobbled up by the informationing in, which was the actual utility of these satellites. Obviously,unching more wouldn''t help, since even just one had been enough to handle the entirety of Faust.


    What Miranda needed to do was build a local instation to increase herputing abilities. In fact, this should have been the first choice for her rather than waste time building a satellite, right?


    Wrong!


    Faust was not Earth.


    There were no ces like Silicon Valley which could have been used for that purpose. Faust did not have a single area avable where such a thing could be easily replicated.


    From Fallon to Elysium, installing herputing power anywhere was dangerous because people of this world had myriad powers. If they found out how to manipte digital entities and discovered any local instation, it would end up as a one way ticket to the entire Supreme Cloud.


    Look at the battle Darius had with Medea and Hecate. That alone should tell you that to people of a certain power, it didn''t matter how fancy your method was, they could use their own means to breach it.


    However, a new option opened itself up to Miranda, and that was naturally the underground of Pokterr. Using the remnants of those tunnels, she filled every inch with wires and devices that would allow her to run tasks much faster than she otherwise could.


    The tunnels wereced with explosives that would go off in case the surface would ever be breached, and hundreds of elite Mecha Guards patrolled the area with enhanced sensory functions to ensure nobody could sneak it.


    Since Miranda had ess to the entirety of God Krona''s information, she knew every stealth rted trick in the book any Faustian could pull, so there would be no cool espionage scenes here.


    Anyone who tried it would be shot and killed immediately.


    Miranda also expanded under the water, building missile silos as well asputing bays. Underwater was far safer than the underground, and her aquatic troops had spread, expanding from all directions around Pokterr, establishing one underwater base after the other.


    If one looked at the map of Faust using the eyes of an ''admin'', they would see a silver blot slowly spreading from Pokterr outward like a disease. Technically, Miranda was.


    Darius had designed her to be a Mechanical Apocalypse, and she wasing along well to serve that purpose. Gunner and co were a Military/Magical Apocalypse, while his ns for Ludo were still uncertain.


    On the war front, there had been a bit of a stalemate after a while since Odysseus had seen through Miranda''s tricks. The Demi-God had realized that they were being dragged into a pointless war that would soon drain them of their people, but luckily they had only sent cannon fodder so far.


    Odysseus praised himself for seeing the truth before they started deploying holy armies, pdins, and Demi-Gods. Who knew what kind of losses Elysium would have taken if they had yed along?


    Now, Elysium was making ns for how to deal with Pokterr, and right now, they had been secretly contacted by Gravitas. They were in talks to release information about how the Mecha army functioned.


    Once this information was shared to them, they could begin making countermeasures. It was unknown why Gravitas would even do something so stupid, as it would harm them too.


    Whatever the case, the borate nning of the upper echelon of Elysium and Gravitas soon came to a screeching halt.


    Today was 22nd November 8768 of the Faustian 4th generation calendar.


    On the continent of Pokterr, an unprecedented event urred. From all the bases on the continent, various openings split and hundreds of nes with jet engines roared into the sky.


    Each base released around 50 nes, and with a total of over 267,890 bases, that was a total of 13,394,500 nes taking to the sky. As they were all managed by AI, there were no dys or collisions, as they easily got into formation one after the other.


    They were powered by Source Energy and with the best metals being used for their construction, they were sturdy and able to elerate to supersonic speeds, breaking the sound barrier easily while keeping formation.


    They easily crossed over the huge distance that existed between the continents on Faust within the span of three days. The residents of Elysium were startled by the sight of hundreds of thousands of strange flying contraptions passing over the sea and rapidly reaching theirnds.


    Odysseus and the Gods had noticed this long before it reached Elysium, and were wondering what the hell this was. Odysseus assumed it was the first offensive of the enemy, so he wanted to see what they would do.


    To the Gods, the continent did not really matter, as long as the City of Light itself remained intact. Some of the more hot-blooded Gods even sent down incarnations to stop these metal beasts from behaving arrogantly.


    Among them were the likes of Ares, the War God, who was already super pissed about the loss of his favorite underling Achilles, and Loki, who was curious to see the events y out with his own eyes.


    Ares alone went before the army of iing nes and raised a palm as ifmanding them to stop.


    "Halt, you vile things! You trespass on thends of the gods, Elysium! Return to whence you came, lest you suffer consequences you cannot even begin to fathom." He spoke arrogantly, not taking this ensemble seriously.


    After all, with a little bit of Divine Energy, he could destroy all these little contraptions with a wave of his hand. However, he was feeling the need to show off his might to the other Gods, who had mocked him for Achilles'' loss.


    As such, he smirked when a ne at the lead of the army began charging aser cannon.


    "Since you dare to attack this Deity, I will show you the futility of your actions." Ares proimed as he folded his hands behind his back, allowing the ne to charge up and fire the red beam.


    The light tore through the air and struck Ares on the chest. Both Ares and the spectating Gods watched with amusement, thinking that it would bounce off the God of War''s body harmlessly.


    In fact, many Gods werementing not sending incarnations down. This was a perfect chance to posture before the mortals and convert many worshipers over to their faith.


    Many Lower Gods even felt their gums hurt as they expected a 40% loss of worshipers after this, those fickle and simple-minded humans moving to Ares'' church after being awed.


    However, that scene they expected did note to pass. Rather, the beamnced through Ares'' incarnation easily, like a bullet through paper. The God could only gaze at his gaping chest, stupidly as the rest of his body turned to ash.


    He wasn''t even able to mutter a cry of surprise or shock before he died. Loki and co, who were looking on, were dumbfounded, not understanding what the hell they had just witnessed.


    Even worse, the mortals below were beginning to panic, seeing that an actual god had fallen so easily. Whether Ares would lose followers was no longer important.


    At this moment, Athena suddenly screamed into the ''chat'' the Gods shared. "ALL GODS, CONVERGE TO THE CITY OF LIGHT AND CAST A DIVINE BARRIER, NOW!"


    Zeus asked: "Athena, are you sure?"


    "YES! THE ORACLE OF DELPHI JUST FAINTED FOAMING AT THE MOUTH, PREDICTING OUR COLLECTIVE DEMISE!" Athena screamed with desperation.


    Hearing this, the other Gods could no longer y around. They immediately forcefully descended using their true bodies into the City of Light, ignoring their followers as they burned their Divine Energy to spread a barrier of light around the city.


    At this moment, they saw the nes reach the continent and st through the air space, the ones in the leading going towards the end while those near the middle slowed down to their level.


    A childish and excited voice rang out, somehow the entire city was able to hear it.


    "Hey, you, Fake Lords! Do you wanna know why Americans never knock on doors?"


    Hearing this question, the Gods were puzzled, wondering what an American was and how it had anything to do with the current situation.


    "BECAUSE FREEDOM RINGS, MOTHERFUCKERS!" The voice roared with excitement.


    At that moment, the nes unloaded their cargo onto the unwilling Elysium.

 Chapter 613 - 613

    Chapter 613 ¨C  613


    With that cheesy line, hundreds of round-shaped objects dropped from the nes that were passing, categorically aimed at every square meter of the entirend.


    Falling through the air, the sight looked overwhelming and even though all of them knew nothing of what it did, they couldn''t help but feel like it was the end of the world.


    And it was. The moment the explosivesnd, a huge shockwave erupted that shook the entire continent worse than a magnitude 10 earthquake. No, the fallout was so huge that the entire of Faust shook, everyone everywhere was able to feel the tremor of their.


    The seas raged, tsunamis spreading to the various continents across the world. Kiel, Unyris, Armadon, Pokterr, and Ludo who were far away from Elysium felt very little of these effects.


    Those closer to it, namely Fallon, Houto, and Pan suffered the worst. Even though the distance between them, even when described as ''close'' was great, it was negligible in the face of this kind of fallout.


    Miranda had unleashed hundreds of thousands of mini suns on the continent of Elysium. These were not regr bombs, but thermobaric nuclear warheads. These were the kind of things that had earth in a military stalemate for the entirety of the 22nd century until Darius invented anti-nuclear technology.


    Then, war went back to being brutal and all-out.


    However, that was a thing of the past. Right now, Faust was reeling from the aftermath of this madness, something that would forever be written in the history of the.


    The entire continent of Elysium was reduced to sea debris, most of the remaining chunks ofnd floating away to be separate inds all over the world, while the majority of it simply sank to the bottom of the ocean.


    As for the City of Light, it was unknown what kind of status it had. It had disappeared from its ce geographically, either being destroyed to nothingness, sunk to the bottom of the ocean, or had floated away to form its own ind somewhere.


    For the first time, the stable 10 continents that had existed since the inception of Faust had been shattered, the so-called strongest continent being turned into nothing in a single attack.


    Whether it was True Lords, the remaining Gods, or any forces from the other continents that heard the news, they were all shocked to their core. A power like this had grown in just a year''s time.


    Pokterr quickly became a forbidden zone, and many powers sent representatives to negotiate with Miranda. Basically, they wanted to negotiate with her to grant her sovereignty, territory, and various other benefits in exchange for shackling her under legal treaties and social rules to keep her from decimating them too.


    It was a clever move.


    As Miranda was now, she was too dangerous to be let loose, but force wasn''t an option since they did not know the limits of her power or anything about how she worked really.


    Until they could take her down in one fell swoop, they would have to live in constant fear of her retaliation, hundreds of thousands of those flying metal birds unleashing hell upon them.


    Continents like Pan had arrays and formations that could protect them, but how long could thosest in the face of constant bombardment? After all, a continent was situated in one ce.


    It certainly couldn''t raise its skirt and run away like a fearful maiden.


    So they could receive bombardments until Miranda ran out of weapons or Pan ran out of resources to power their arrays. This was not even ounting for Houto and the others, who had nothing of the sort.


    The True Lords were less fearful of this as their territories were on abstract locations in the world, some not even exactly on the!


    It was only those like Thanatos who had a territory on the''s floor who would be worried, but even then, the Death God wasn''t. In fact, he was gleeful, blessing the Goddess for letting Miranda exist.


    So much death had urred in one day that his power had leaped greatly. All his injuries from that past war had been cleaned, and he could now leave this shitty continent to form his territory and restart his feud with Armadon.


    The Titan God wasn''t the only one to benefit, though. All deities and beings within the Law of Death, whether Gods or otherwise, suddenly felt a spike in power as their element was so potent in Faust at this moment that it was like breathing in opium.


    You could picture it as simr to the fellow that ced that 6th stone on his gauntlet. The moment the deaths urred, the death-aligned beings of the world all roared with power, ck light coursing through them.


    Miranda naturally contacted Darius about the ongoing events, which left the fellow speechless. He had certainly asked Miranda to war with Elysium, but the idea was to have a battle of attrition and y to their strengths.


    This wasn''t just to weaken Elysium, but to buy Darius time while he sorted out Fallon and began developing Ludo, then explored the power system of Pan to empower himself.


    However, Darius did not predict the foolishness of Pan and Houto, who were warlike and predatory groups that loved to defeat the weak. They joined in the war to exercise their limbs and reap some benefits, which forced Miranda to get them to return by bombing their homes.


    This had unintentionally clued Odysseus into the trick, and the war had entered a stalemate no matter how Miranda tried to provoke the Demi-God. As such, herputing told her that the best course of action was to scale up the war and force Elysium to act.


    And to do that, they would need to suffer devastating damage and be enraged into a fight, rather than surrendering.


    So Miranda had aimed to carpet bomb the entire continent.


    This would kill the precious mortals that the Gods relied on for their Faith Energy, and get them to retaliate.

 Chapter 614 - [Bonus Chapter]

    Chapter 614 ¨C [Bonus Chapter]


    The reason Miranda had even sent so many nes was that she had expected 90% of them to get destroyed before being able to drop their load. After all, she had done nothing to hide their deployment, certain the Gods would at least strike a few of them down, or some defensive force of the continent would do so.


    This was why she had switched from normal missiles to warheads, as missiles alone wouldn''t do enough damage if most of the nes had been culled, but one or two warheads at the right ce could sort everything out.


    However, the Gods had prepared no real defenses, rather opting to see what these metal birds could do first. Only Ares had attempted to stop them, but to Miranda''s shock, it turned out Source Energy-powered weapons were enough to kill a God''s incarnation!


    Well, that should have been obvious, as an incarnation was basically a clone made of Divine Energy. As the two upper-ss energies canceled each other out, it was no surprise that the God of War had been destroyed in a single hit.


    After that, the Gods had dumbly allowed the nes to spread out fully and divulge their payload. If it wasn''t for the Oracle of Delphi with her future sight reporting to Athena about the fate of Elysium, the Gods would not have even bonded together in time to save Elysium.


    Now, the fate of the continent was a ruin.


    Darius rubbed his temple as he felt a slight headache. Miranda had performed well, she had achieved his goal of weakening Elysium, though but to a farrger margin than he had ever anticipated.


    As for Deia, Darius wasn''t worried about his Soulmate. Even if she had perished in the attack, he could save up True Coins through the True Supreme System to buy her soul or buy an item to resurrect her.


    Whatever the case, he now had to deal with the aftermath. Fallon was almost conquered, with Gunner having sent a message about decimating forces from the Continental Council while sending some materials back for him to use.


    He had only juste out of exploring and testing the Dungeon too. Luckily, he had conversed with the Dungeon Core and decided to hold off on his ns to upgrade it.


    "Receive them. Tell them there will be an ''All Nations Continental Conference'' in Safemoon 5 yearster to officiate everything. In that time, you will sign a non-aggression pact with all forces of the world till the decision of Pokterr''s future is made." Darius instructed Miranda after some thought.


    Miranda acknowledged the order and set out to do just that. Darius himself spun in his chair and pondered many things.


    Currently, what was going on should be quite obvious to any discerning eye. The various continents had witnessed power they could not fathom, so the only thing they desired above all else was time.


    If Miranda sent her nes over to them next, they could only use their current means to defend, and seeing as how even the so-called strongest continent had perished, none of them had confidence in a better oue.


    As such, they wished to negotiate with Miranda to make her stop for now. They would entice her with benefits like having her territory recognized and treated as sovereign, including her into trade agreements, and generally making her a real faction in the world.


    However, while it seemed like it would benefit Miranda, it was actually the opposite. The only ones it benefited would be the other nations who pushed this agenda.


    Right now, Miranda was the embodiment of everything they feared. Unknown, powerful, mobile, and unattached.


    Unknown in the sense that they knew not of her origin or true motives and power.


    Powerful in the sense that her military might either match or more likely supersede theirs.


    Mobile in the sense that her army could reach anywhere in the world without being limited by things like supply chains, logistics, etc.


    Yet worst of all, she was unattached.


    She had no ties to this world or anything that gave her reason to give a fuck about the status quo. They had no way to gauge her. She could either be neutral, maybe seeking vengeance for some evil done in the past, or a demon who did all of that desiring nothing but carnage and destruction.


    By offering her sovereignty and territory, she would lose these four characteristics. As she would now be stationary, she would likely start to consolidate rather than expanding, making sure that "her" territory was fortified.


    That would be great, as it would mean that she would be less mobile. If she decided to open trade rtions, the other powers would get ess to her resources and hopefully some information about her setup over time, which would cancel out the unknown factor.


    Once she set up a territory, she would need people to make it real. Just having robots would not work as they were not citizens, but tools of war. Where was Miranda going to get people?


    Obviously, they would have to emigrate from the other continents, and this would allow the other factions to nt spies. These spies would uncover the secrets of her power or nullify them, or discover their weakness.


    Most importantly, once Miranda settled down, she would gain ''affection'' for hernd and her people. That affection would be the shackle that would control her unattached nature.


    With such attachments to the world, she would no longer crazily bomb people because the other continents could also threaten her people in ways Miranda couldn''t deal with.


    She would then fall into either decline or toe the line, keeping the status quo of the world.


    Even if she never weakened and still remained a military threat, that was fine. The main purpose of this was to curb her murderous tendencies and secure their own safety.


    All of this other devious stuff were by-products assuming things went their way and Miranda was an idiot.


    However, Darius'' reply would shake them dearly. Miranda had agreed to the meeting, yes, but she called for all factions toe, and the location was somewhere neutral, the richest city in the world.


    Not only that, but she asked for a five-year buffer?


    What did she need five years for when there were teleportation arrays?


    Obviously, Miranda was nning to use the next 5 years to pre-consolidate and expand her forces, then pull a stunt 5 yearster. The problem was, none of the factions had any real choice but to ept, because they sorely required those 5 years to research everything and develop a countermeasure.


    Right into Darius'' trap.

 Chapter 615

    Chapter 615


    At this time, Luna had returned to Safemoon afterpleting her mission. Her expression was contemtive after what she had experienced, especially with regard to Gunner''s power.


    In truth, at that moment, the Moon Elf had been overwhelmed. If she had been anywhere closer to that st, she might have lost more than a pound of flesh. She would definitely have been on the verge of death right away.


    Luna did not crave apocalyptic power like this, surprisingly. It was not suited to her tastes and the mission her Master had entrusted her. Rather, she wanted a means to avoid or negate such shows of power from affecting her, so that she would never have to leave the shadows.


    She reached the Mage Tower and entered, heading to the fourth floor where Darius was waiting for her while reading a book. When the Moon Elf entered, he smiled at her softly, but Luna couldn''t help but feel ashamed.


    "Masterˇ­ I have returned."


    "Wee back, Luna. Go downstairs and have a meal, then rest. We''ll talk moreter." Darius instructed her in a fatherly tone.


    Luna acknowledged and went to do as she said, spotting the Five Apprentices in the yard sparring with each other furiously as they honed their skills. The Moon Elf shook her head watching them.


    Her stats greatly surpassed theirs, so to her, as long as she focused slightly, it was no different from watching snails move. She eventually rested and climbed up to meet Darius again a few hourster.


    When she entered Darius''s study, she saw his back facing her, a table set in between the two. On the table were 5 glowing tomes, each of them capturing the attention of Luna easily as she felt some sort of desire for them.


    Darius, who was gazing out the window to see the core area of his city which was still lively even at this time, spoke gently.


    "Those five skills are for you to learn. Take them."


    Luna obeyed and checked the five skillbooks her master had prepared for her to see why they touched her so deeply.


    [Spatial Mask ¨C Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: This spell allows you to hide a specific set of spatial coordinates from detection through the five senses or any other unique sense. The quality of the masking depended on the skills level against the sensory power of the target.]


    [Shadow Stalk ¨C Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a skill that belongs to the Shadow Beast n of Unyris. It allows them to walk undetected through any light-cast shadow in range, teleporting between them with ease.


    At level 1, the maximum range is 1000 meters.]


    [Soul Reading ¨C Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: An evil skill belonging to the Immortals of Pan, it allows a person to read the memories of a target by breaking their mental defenses. This does permanent damage to the target''s mind, so beware of using this!]


    [Extreme Killing Techniques ¨C Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is the set of assassin-based skills created by a certain supreme being when they were still just mortal. It consists of five moves, Death Walk, Veil of Worlds, Ethereal Clone, Dagger of Death, and the Vanishing Technique. Damage with daggers increased by 500%.]


    [Empty Aura ¨C Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique and strange skill belonging to a certain race not native to Faust but had passed through at one point during its inception from the outer universe. It creates a barrier around a person that separates them from the current dimension into the purgatory one.]


    Luna looked through them and felt her heart quake. A part of what she meant to do bying back so soon was to exin her shorings to Darius and ask if he had a solution for her. However, without even hearing a word from her, he had already gone above and beyond.


    Spatial Mask was perfect, because it supplemented her Void Walking skill. That skill allowed her to hide in her own personal void, which removed her from this realm, allowing her to walk through objects and generally acted as a great form of infiltration.


    However, its w was that Luna needed an anchor point in the main dimension lest she locked herself up in her dimension with no way toe out. This anchor point should have been a round portal, but with training, she managed to turn it into an ethereal form of herself.


    But this ethereal form was still visible to the eyes, though it had no sound, no smell, or touch. That was why Luna had been forced to cling to the ceiling upon her visit to that underground society.


    Had she had Spatial Mask at the time, the Moon Elf could have simply waltzed through them brazenly, none able to see her ethereal form using the five senses or even sense it if they were spatially inclined.


    Luna''s danger level had just gone up in a horrifying way, and the skill was only level 1!


    Shadow Stalk was a moremon assassin-based skill, and it was more for Luna to fill up her database and have something on hand since Void Walking required so much mana.


    It would serve her well in Dungeons and the like.


    Soul Reading was a cruel skill belonging to Pan''s cultivators. Apparently, it was used to read the souls of the victims, extracting memories based on the mental strength of the user vs the mental strength of the target.


    Darius had no doubts this spell was often used there, and he was d he did not start off on such a cruel continent.


    As for the Extreme Killing Techniques, they were not native to Faust. Darius had actually checked the system shop for the best assassin techniques, and this had appeared at the top spot.


    However, its price had been more than 20 million True Coins, leaving Darius speechless. However, at that moment, he had received a startling message from the system.


    [Alert! Alert! A Certain Supreme Being has noticed you! They are currently reading your system history as they have the same ess as the Goddess!]


    [Alert! Alter! The Supreme being is now taking ove-ˇ­]


    ["Hm, what an annoying thing. Anyway, nice to meet you, Mr. Stone. I see you are currently second in line to be Little Vena''s next general, and I would certainly like to help. I''ve paid the cost for the Extreme Killing techniques and a few other ones that belong to my counterpart. If you have any assassins or swordsmen in your party, make sure to give it to them! Goodbye!"]


    [ˇ­.]


    [System rebooting! Checking for any hidden virusesˇ­ none!]


    [Checking for any remnant damageˇ­ none!]


    [You have received a 100% discount coupon from The Celestial Goddess for the following items: Extreme Killing Techniques, Paragon Sword Skill, Peerless Sword Skillsˇ­etc. Please redeem them at your leisure!]


    And that was how he had acquired this powerful technique. Luna looked at it with interest, but once she learned it, she woulde to know just why it was priced so ridiculously, even more expensive than buying scales of the Dragon Ancestor.


    As for thest skill, it was a skill to help her Void Walking. Empty Aura could perform the same function as Void Walking and Spatial Mark put together, only that it had a downside.


    Unlike the personal dimension of Void Walking that was for Luna to control, Empty Aura sent her into purgatory, and that ce was a behemothic ce full of unknown dangers.


    Hiding in there was like being in a field of flesh-eating ants, but cing your head in a pool of water to watch the fish within. Even if the ants couldn''t get to your head, they could certainly devour your body.


    It was an alternative that she would have to carefully consider before using.


    Receiving the books, Luna learned them on the spot and patiently waited for her master''s nextmand patiently.


    "Right now, having you assassinate targets is of no use given Gunner''s raw power and the actions of Miranda. As such, I want you to serve me as my personal agent. I have sent a list of coordinates to your World Map."


    Luna checked her system to see the map and the ces she needed to go to while Darius continued.


    "Those locations are ces where Collectibles are kept, as well as some things that can allow me to amass True Coins. Go and train your new set of skills for a month before you set out. You have a total of 6 months to clear them all out."


    Luna nodded and left Darius'' study with a sharp nce. Now that her arsenal had been refreshed, and her task updated, she felt a renewed sense of purpose.


    Where she hade back in dejection, she was now leaving with resolve.


    No matter what she encountered, she would prove her worth to her master and creator!


    Darius watched Luna go with a strange smile.. "This child is quite devoted, but it is a bit too straightforwardˇ­ sigh."

 616 Chapter 616

    Currently, the Five Apprentices of Darius had made great progress into the Journeyman stage. They had long developed their own systems of spells, starting from their base spell to its apanying ones.


    Every Journeyman Mage worth their salt had to, at least, do this much. It was impossible to go far in the realm of magic if one did not systematically create their own personal system and relied on the spells of others all the time.


    The first step to this was to choose a theme for your system based on your elements. It could be ''speed'', ''damage'', ''defense'', ''attrition'', ''cost reduction'', ''closebat enhancement'', etc.


    So for Ash who had the elements of Gravity, Water, Earth, Life, and Lightning. His chosen Main Element was Lightning, and he had shown startling proficiency in Gravity.


    He opted to go for the ''Speed'' theme, where he would use Gravity to increase his speed and reduce that of his enemies while firing quick, unavoidable magic using Lightning.


    Then there was Reina, who had the elements of Water, Light, Wind, Wood, and Spirit. Her chosen Main Element was Spirit while her secondary was Wind.


    She opted to go for the theme of ''Control'', where she would use her Spirit element to subdue the mind of the enemy, or at least hamper them, while using her Wind element to disrupt their physical movements. So Spirit for mental and wind for physical crowd control.


    Next was the caustic Jonathan, whose elements represented his personality as they included Death, Gravity, Metal, Explosion, and Fire. His chosen Main Element was Fire and his secondary was Death.


    He hadn''t hesitated to go with the theme of ''Damage''. With his Fire magic, he could bombard his foe with rapturous heat endlessly, while his Death magic would either summon troops to enforce his actions or directly damage the enemy and reduce their life.


    After him was James, whose elements were Poison, Psychic, Ice, Sound, and Darkness. His chosen Main Element was Darkness and his secondary was Sound.


    Naturally, his theme was ''Untraceable Death''. All of his elements gave him the means to theoretically kill someone without being seen or without even being there! However, the Darkness element granted him a level of invisibility that was not easily detectable, reinforced by his control over the Sound and Psychic element.


    With Poison, he could stand in stealth and watch an enemy die slowly, unable to even tell where he was. He could also stab them in the heart with an ice spike, which would melt when the corpse was found, leaving no evidence behind.


    Finally, there was the mighty Anthony, who had the extreme elements of Space, Time, Order, Chaos, and Aether. His chosen Main Element Space and his secondary was Time.


    He decided on the theme of "Close Combat Enhancement" after careful contemtion. His physical prowess was the highest among the apprentices and was still growing crazily due to his bloodline.


    Not to mention, fighting with his Somersault Cloud and Bo Staff was extremely important to him, while his magical elements either had a high price, were tough to use, or had unique uses.


    As such, a typical magical battle would be awkward, so he chose to use them to enhance his fighting skill, which was the best possible choice.


    With his Space Element, he would strike the air, cutting the distance between him and his prey to have the end of his weapon appear behind you. With his time control, he could suddenly elerate like a speedster and appear before you, not giving you a chance to dodge.


    Or he could slow you down right before he was about to attack, rendering you naked to his strike. With his Aether element, he could turn your attack into energy for him to absorb, forming the ultimate defense.


    At the same level, Anthony was unbeatable. The only way to defeat him was to have far better stats than he did, at least double.


    Speaking of stats, their current status was as follows;


    [Name: Ash Spencley || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 47,460/47,460 (15,128) || MP: 18,000/18,000 (6720) || STA: 9,040/9,040 (3968)


    Level: 40 (32) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 210 (122) || Speed: 127 (79) || Constitution: 226 (124)


    Magic: 450 (210) || Will: 899 (500) || Luck: 50.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Reina McNickles || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 13,407/13,407 (7743) || MP: 15,880/15,880 (6336) || STA: 4,360/4,360 (2784)


    Level: 40 (32) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 123 (89) || Speed: 146 (109) || Constitution: 109 (87)


    Magic: 397 (198) || Will: 1205 (450) || Luck: 55.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Jonathan ck || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 77,778/77,778 (21025) || MP: 9,440/9,440 (4000) || STA: 11,920/11,920 (4640)


    Level: 40 (32) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 261 (145) || Speed: 108 (83) || Constitution: 298 (145)<sub> </sub>


    Magic: 236 (125) || Will: 554 (330) || Luck: 45.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: James Jones || Race: Human || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 14,552/14,552 (8091) || MP: 17,680/17,680 (6432) || STA: 4,280/4,280 (2784)


    Level: 40 (32) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 136 (93) || Speed: 325 (138) || Constitution: 107 (87)


    Magic: 442 (201) || Will: 1020 (480) || Luck: 70.


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Anthony Sabins || Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 397,528/397,528 (55695) || MP: 35,080/35,080 (14496) || STA: 25,160/25,160 (7520)


    Level: 40 (32) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 632 (237) || Speed: 347 (196) || Constitution: 629 (235)


    Magic: 877 (453) || Will: 2340 (950) || Luck: 200 (100).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    They had grown quite a bit, with Anthony taking the cake. Whatever this Sage Monkey n was, it produced some powerful offspring, enough that it even intrigued Darius. He even considered extracting some of Anthony''s blood to make a second group of elite troops, though he ultimately decided against it.


    After all, this kind of bloodline that could yield this kind of power was not easily replicated. Even the Phoenix bloodline he was using was the most basic of them all, the Fire Phoenix, and for it to work, he needed the womb of an actual Demi-God which was Medea.


    However, she was already well on her way to death with how many offspring she had already spat out. Her body had long-lost its sensual splendor and soft, supple nature, bing like leather, as her face also became gaunt.


    Each child ravenously drained their mother without caring for her life, and she too was underpulsion to do her best. Before, if giving birth had given her some sense of pleasure - due to the insemination method and her strong physique - it was now pure pain.


    Each birth felt like the child was scraping the inside of her womb on its way out, like she had an STD that forced her to piss/excrete fire from her genitals. It would only get worse from here though, as Darius had said, she would die in absolute agony after being dried out like a piece of cloth.


    Medea was lucky her soul had already been destroyed by Darius, as she would rather die than experience this painˇ­ which she had.


    Right now, Darius was thinking of a way to clone her or to find a better sample. He could have if Miranda had not turned Elysium into the dictionary definition of Murican Retribution.


    However, he had no means for that yet, though he had some ideas with the help of the system shop, which was why he had sent Luna out on her mission to gather True Coins indirectly.


    However, that was forter. Right now, as theds were at the cusp of the Journeyman stage and had already developed their magic systems, they naturally came to their master asking for his help for a breakthrough.


    Darius, who was reading a book quietly smiled and closed it.


    "No. Not yet. You are not ready to be Adepts." He dered.


    The Five Apprentices were speechless, but didn''t dare argue. Darius saw this and decided to be lenient for once.


    "You have the stats of a Peak Master Mage or a low Grandmaster, so we''ll do this. I will set up an arena in the city for powers all over the continent and beyond to challenge you to a life and death duel." Darius began, tapping his desk lightly.


    "Whoever manages to beat you, will be showered in resources, basically everything I ever gave you at once. If they lose, you umte one Battle Point. Whoever managed to get 100 Battle points will qualify for Adept Ascension from me." Darius concluded as he went back to reading his book.


    Understanding that they had been dismissed, the Five Apprentices filed out of the office with strange expressions. There was a mixture of anxiety, fear, excitement, and confidence.


    They knew their power, but they were still kids at the end of the day. This cocktail of emotions churned through them all night, not allowing them to sleep or focus.


    Meanwhile, Darius'' challenge, thanks to Miranda''s help, spread throughout the continents rapidly. When various persons of interest saw the rewards, they immediately moved out.


    Killing some brats for these rewards was practically the same as giving them away!


    These challengers'' main concern now was to be the first one to im the prize.


    After all, there were only five of them to kill!

 617 Chapter 617

    Safemoon City was usually very busy due to its nature as a business area, but today this was more true than ever. Today, there was an element of danger in the air.


    The reason for this was the life and deathpetition!


    Thispetition was hosted by the Lord of Safemoon himself, as a testing ce for the Five Apprentices he had been raising. The interest for this event was threefold.


    Firstly, the various powers around the continent were curious about the Lord of Safemoon and who backed him. By observing how his Apprentices fought, they might be able to discover a clue towards that end.


    Secondly, the various powers obviously knew that the quality goods of Safemoon must have been used on these five to raise them. As such, they were like live samples as to the effectiveness of Darius'' goods in the long term. If the apprentices ughtered everyone, Safemoon''s business would soar even higher.


    Thirdly, and most importantly, the quality of the rewards were too tempting! Many who were normally rational and even a bit righteous had still trekked over,menting that they were going to have to kill kids.


    Others though, wondered why killing brats had never brought them such a chance before.


    Whatever the case, those interested used various means to reach Safemoon, the fastest being the rail system developed by Miranda. With every kingdom Gunner had conquered, Miranda would send over their robots and refurbish the whole ce, turning it into a technological marvel.


    Of course, the robots used here were the same type as those from Gravitas and had no simrities to the ones on Pokterr, lest a link be drawn to them. If everyone who used bots was suspected, Gravitas would long have been persecuted.


    Whatever the case, the kingdoms would then be upgraded and the citizens given HoloBraces. The HoloBraces would then inject all the necessary knowledge into each citizen about their new tech and how to use it, turning them into the equivalent of earth''s digital age consumers.


    It should be noted here that they only knew how to use the tech, not how to make it. They weren''t even allowed to dismantle and reverse engineer, as that was a crime.


    Obviously, Miranda would know if anyone tried with 15 satellites and everyone stuck with a HoloBrace.


    The point of this was that one half of Fallon was like a differentnd altogether. The quality of life had increased and the people were excited about their new toys.


    They regretted that Safemoon hadn''t taken over earlier, and the needless waste of troops from fighting back against them. However, how could they have foreseen such a future at that time?


    Now, the kingdoms on the continent had been renamed into provinces and their areas had greatly expanded. Their previous marked territory was kept, but not expanded.


    The various ''holes'' and gaps'' in between their territory and the next, which formed smaller territories of unimednd, were also imed by Safemoon as ''unimed provinces''.


    The use of them should be obvious.


    And so, traveling to Safemoon for the northern residents of Fallon was no longer a hurdle that required months or the use of portals. Roads had been constructed between territories while rail carriages ran at high speeds between them.<sub> </sub>


    Did you live in Dernia Kingdom near the southern belt? No problem, board a high-speed carriage and pay 2 SC for a straight trip to Safemoon that would take 6 hours, or use connecting trips at 0.15 SC each.


    As such, the poption of Safemoon reached its peak instantly. Hundreds of visitors came over, either to spectate or participate. Not all contestants were limited to Fallonians.


    There were those from all the other continents as well, making this an interesting challenge for theds. However, their studies included the fighting style of the various continents - obviously - since Darius had all the wealth of information.


    Currently, an arena had been set up in the center of the outer area, one that was big enough for two Grandmasters to fight. Darius sat at the topmost VIP room with clear, transparent ss so that everyone could see him.


    At his current level of power, he had no fear announcing himself as the Lord of Safemoonpared to when the auction had been held and he had to hide in a backroom while an illusion of Deia had handled things.


    ? Below Darius were other VIP rooms meant for his people to spectate. Much to the disgruntlement of other forces, who were only provided normals rooms at best, while others had to sit with the spectators likemon floor members.


    However, they understood that Safemoon was sending them a message.


    This was their turf, and as the number 1 city in the world currently - now undisputed since Elysium was temporarily out ofmission - and they called the shots.


    No matter who you were outside, it meant little to nothing in here, and that was a matter of fact. Normally, it would be dangerous for Safemoon to try this, but the fact that no one else dared to cause trouble showed that it was the right move to make.


    Nichs Spencley, the Mayor of Safemoon, ascended the stage calmly as he addressed the crowd using his HoloBrace that magnified his voice.


    "Greetings, everyone from far and near! Wee to Safemoon City, a ce where all things you dream of can be acquired for the right price!"


    "Today is a special day, as the City Lord of Safemoon has decided to test the five apprentices he has personally groomed together with General Gunner. Each one of them has been stuffed to the gills with the resources you are dying to buy, allowing them to grow beyond sensible limits!"


    Nichs smiled yfully. "ording to Lord Darius'' very own analysis, despite having yet to cross over to the Adept stage, their power level is equivalent to that of a Low-to-Mid-tier Grandmaster!"


    The crowd gasped with shock. What had just been revealed was enough to make goosebumps rise on the skin of everyone!


    Common sense dictated that fighting beyond one''s stage was suicide.


    Journeymen could only fight Journeymen, Adepts could only fight Adepts, and so on. A Journeyman being able to fight a Grandmaster was like seeing a chihuahua beat up a lion.

 618 Chapter 618

    "Impossible! That cannot be true!" A Demon in the crowd roared as he rose to his feet, hellfire sting out from him in his agitation.


    Many in the crowd were in agreement with this sentiment!


    How could such a thing be true? It would totally overturn the way of the world!


    As stated before, one could only fight within their stage, no matter how talented they were.


    The gaps in skill power and stats had been shown already. Someone with 45 Speed would die to someone with 85 Speed a hundred times over.


    Someone with 23 Power at the Journeyman stage would never be able to beat down someone with 65 Power at the Adept stage.


    It was not just fact, it wasmon sense!


    Of course, this did not factor in cross-species fighting. It was obvious enough that different races had different stats at different levels. Once again, the statparison used for the stages was based on humans.


    In their case, Unsparked/Unawakened has stats ranging from 1-10. Amateur = 11-20. Journeyman = 21-50. Adept = 51-100. Master = 101-200. Grandmaster = 201-500.


    Previously, Darius had assumed that everything beyond 200 would be a Grandmaster, and while the Laws of Faust only recognized these 5 stages, he decided that further ssification was necessary.


    As such, even without having Divine Energy or a Divine Spark, he consider those with more than 500 points in any stat as Demi-Gods, because that was the stats those like Hercules had on average.


    Continuing like that, Demi-God = 501-1000. Lesser God = 1001-2000. God = 2001-3000. Greater God = 3001-4000. High God = 4001-5000.


    As for True Lords, Darius did not have enough information about them, so he had naturally slotted them as 5000+. Until he could gain a clearer ssification, this would have to do.


    Of course, these stat ranges were also based solely on the human race.


    All other races had different stat ranges depending on their racial quality. Humans just happened to be the most average. Additionally, it was also a very convenient system to use, so Darius had stuck to it.


    Under this stat system, Darius would ssify as a Lesser God, even though the world only recognized him as an Adept.


    Meanwhile, although Gunner would also qualify as a Lesser God level, once the half-giant activated Earth''s Guardian, he would jump to the True Lord level x4, one of the reasons why Darius feared none anymore.


    On the other hand, X was at the entryway of the God level because she solely focused on upgrading her Magic stat, unlike Gunner and Darius who would split between physical stats and magic ones.


    However, if willpower was ounted for, X was at the True Lord level.


    As for Luna, she was at the early stages of the Lesser God level, the Moon Elf had a lot of room to improve since her stats would rise quickly.


    Going back to the matter at hand, the Five Apprentices had stats at the Grandmaster level using this scale, although they were officially at the Journeyman stage as recognized by the Laws of Faust.


    It would already be preposterous to state that Journeyman might defeat Adepts, but at least those stages were next to each other.


    However, they imed that those brats would be at the level of the peak existences!


    It was impossible!<sub> </sub>


    No, it HAD to be impossible!


    The alternative was too horrible to consider!


    It meant that the sanctity of stages would be usurped!


    A random Journeyman who would usually be a ve for them could not sock them in the jaw!


    Heck, he could not even make Masters his ves!


    Ideally, this should not be an issue, right?


    If the standard for Journeyman rose, then the standards for Adepts, Masters, and Grandmaster should rise ordingly so the bnce would be restored.


    Obviously, if the Five Apprentices had stats like this at this level, then once they rose further, their stats would naturally rise too. This was the basis of the previous assertion.


    BUT!!


    There was one problem. This kind of situation was not natural, but artificially created through the use of Safemoon''s rare and top-tier products. If EVERYONE had ess to these products for free, then there would be no difficulty, as the previous ''ideal'' situation would ur.


    However, reality is, was, and always will be cruel. The truth of the matter was that only a blessed few could get the resources at a time due to their exorbitant cost and low supply, and even those fellows could not get enough to invest as wantonly as the City Lord of Safemoon did.


    In other words, no one would be able to reproduce the effect that Darius had!


    This too was not a concern if only his Five Apprentices were an anomaly in the world, but Safemoon had recently announced that stocks would be refreshed with almost 10 times the previous supply while prices would be increased by 50%.


    This means that the number of goods would increase, but the essibility would sharply decrease. Now, even less could buy, but those who could still buy could buy more!


    This meant that such fellows might be able to reproduce what was being revealed here, and the various powers and factions who came to watch found this horrifying and uneptable.


    It meant that their enemies could possibly buy these goods and manufacture warriors that could beat their Grandmasters at the Journeyman stage. If those Journeyman manufactured warriors reached Adept, then wouldn''t they be able to stomp on their Grandmasters like Gods?


    So those who knew they couldn''t buy had only one choice: Deny!


    Deny, deny, deny!


    Deny so hard that the Laws of Faust are brainwashed and agree with you, wiping this thing out of reality!


    Nichs Spencley saw through this, so he didn''t argue with them. Rather, he continued.


    "In light of this, the only eptedbatants will be those at the Grandmaster stage. Each of the apprentices wille up one at a time, and ten Grandmasters may challenge them in a row. Whoever wins will acquire the prize, while those who lose will have to forfeit their lives and their property."


    The various Grandmasters in the crowd had their eyes light up. They had long treated Nichs'' words about some Journeyman brats having the same power as them as rubbish.


    Their only concern was to be the first one to fight to im the free pot of gold before it ran out!

 619 Chapter 619

    Seeing that the crowd treated his words as nothing but a big fart, Nichs'' eyes curled into crescents. He couldn''t be happier that they would underestimate them, because first up on stage was his own son. Underestimating him would give him easy wins for the first few battles until the rest would begin to wizen up.


    However, it would naturally be toote by then.


    "The rules are simple, you can use any recovery items in your arsenal at any time. The arena has boundaries, so falling off the edge counts as a loss. Each Apprentice will be on stage for 10 battles a day, until they fight a hundred battles total."


    After a few more words exining the rules of the battle, Nichs announced who would be the first toe up on Safemoon''s side.


    "Anyone can apply, but the final selection of their opponent will be up to the Martin AI. First Apprentice, pleasee on stage!" Nichs exited the stage as Ash jumped on.


    The father patted his son''s shoulder reassuringly, to which thed let out a long breath filled with nervousness. He wielded a custom gray sword in a standard stance, his face radiating resolve despite himself.


    Seeing this, those Grandmasters were even more certain that they could handle this. However, some did frown as they sensed that Ash''s life level was unnaturally high.


    (Author''s note: For those who don''t remember what life level is, it''s thebination of one''s Power, Constitution, and Magic stats, allowing native Faustians to sense the power of another person without having a system.)


    Right then, a Grandmaster who applied was selected by the Martin AI, so hended on the stage with a majestic ir. It was a human man who wore a ck swordsman''s trench coat and dual-wielded two short swords in each hand.


    [Name: Killian Gentry || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Sword Grandmaster, de Champion.


    HP: 14,807/14,807 (47,460) || MP: 8,428/8,428 (18,000) || STA: 5,762/5,762 (9,040)


    Level: 86 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are Ash''s current stats, so you canpare)


    Power: 221 (210) || Speed: 138 (127) || Constitution: 67 (226)


    Magic: 98 (450) || Will: 78 (899) || Luck: 15 (50).


    Skills: Grandmaster Dual Wielding Style, Cross sh, Mach sh, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    "Kid, your AI is quite brutal but efficient. It chose a swordsman at the Grandmaster stage to fight you since you seem to wield the de." Killian Gentry, the Grandmaster Swordsman, spoke cockily.


    He then pointed at the nervous yet determined Ash with derision. "Remember my name, Killian Gentry! I will be the one to take your pathetic life and be rich!"


    With that, the battle began. Using his footwork from his dual-wielding style, Killian quickly appeared before Ash and swung both swords down forcefully. He aimed to overpower the boy and cut him in half right away.


    Ash was slightly slower in speed, but the margin was not enough to make a decisive difference at this level. He was easily able to respond to Killian''s attack with his own sword that had been crafted by the best smith on Fallon, Maximo Riverstrike.


    The resounding ng shook the ears of all listeners, a small shockwave urring due to the force used. Killian''s own swords were expensively crafted, so their durability could hold up in high-level fights, but he was surprised to see that Ash''s sword - and arm - hadn''t copsed.<sub> </sub>


    Nonsense!


    Could it really be that this Journeyman boy really had the power of a Grandmaster around his level? Thinking like this, Killian''s heart shook, and so too did those who were looking on, having expected Ash to get eviscerated in the first strike.


    Ash cried out and pushed Killian back, brandishing his de as he struck forward using an Inclined sh attack. Killian calmly parried the strike with one sword and used the other to strike at Ash''s defenseless body.


    However, Ash suddenly smiled and used his mastered Adjust spell.


    [Adjust - Level 20 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 10 MP


    Description: Control the fundamental force of the that retrains all beings to its surface. This spell increases or decreases the user''s weight by 100%.]


    Killian suddenly felt like his body weight had doubled, making his sh go astray while he was now open to Ash''s counterattack. This chilled his heart greatly as he saw Ash''s de slowly go for his neck.


    Killian immediately used the special ability of Super Instinct, which one gained when they passed the Master level limit of Speed. (I.e, 100+ points)


    [Super Instinct - Intermediate Ability


    Cost: 20% of Stamina


    Description: Your mind and body have melded as one. Even before your nerves can transmit information, your body reacts to danger around you. You are able to move anywhere within a distance of 1 kilometer in an instant.]


    As it cost 20% of total stamina, it could only be used five times in a battle, so it was an important life-saving measure for most assassins and fighters with good Speed above the Master stage.


    Just when Killian ''blinked'' away and thought he was safe, he was stunned to find that Ash was still right before him, his de now inches from his neck.


    In that instant, Killian understood his blunder. If he could blink away using this ability, so too could Ash since their speed was almost the same. Even if he blinked away again using this ability, Ash would just follow him, so his end had already been decided.


    Killian''s eyes reddened as he used hisst energy to shout: "Spare my life, Good Sir!"


    However, Ash''s eyes were filled with coldness, and his de passed through the neck of his target with ease, bottoming his HP in one go. Then again, the True Supreme System did not affect this area, so things like HP did not matter.


    Killian''sst sight was the smile of Ash as he swung his de to the side, sshing Killian''s blood that had soiled the shaft of the weapon onto the ground. Thed showed no remorse, only a morbid appreciation for his sess.


    ''Just what did they do to raise a kid like thisˇ­?''

 620 Chapter 620

    The special abilities that came with stats reaching a certain point were hardly used in high-level battles, almost to the point where they seemed forgotten about.


    However, that was not the case. The issue here was expectation versus reality.


    As was shown through Ash''s battle, when two parties had the same special ability - or around the same - activating it was pointless because it would not give either party any real benefit. It would just drain resources and exacerbate the stalemate.


    As such, it meant that one could only utilize it in battles against someone stronger or someone weaker. However, another problem cropped up here.


    Against someone stronger, it would be useless as the person would then activate their special ability which was one stage higher than yours, increasing their already sufficient advantage.


    Against someone weaker, you were already dominating them, so was there really a need to use it?


    So from this, one could see that the need to use these abilities inbat was actually very low. They could help, but it really depended on the circumstances.


    Killian had used Super Instinct because he was subconsciously underestimating Ash. His mind still refused to believe Ash''s stats could be close to his, so he thought that if he used Super Instinct, Ash might not have the same ability.


    However, that proved wrong, and was why Killian was currently dead, his corpse being carried away by some Critterbots as they cleaned the stage in wait for the next challenger.


    Ash, who had cleanly won his first battle, was now much more confident about himself and gazed at the crowd silently. This look did not intimidate the Grandmaster, rather making them smile with strange looks.


    They finally acknowledged the boy and his power, but whether he could survive against 10 Grandmasters back to backˇ­ hehe.


    That''s right, despite Ash beheading a Grandmaster right before them, none of the Grandmasters felt fear. They simply acknowledged that Ash had power close enough to theirs, but since when did they fear their peers?


    As such, Ash''s next opponent was decided immediately. A burly fellow who wore a set of hide armor tipped with steelnded on the stage, shaking the entire ce.


    He swung the huge sledgehammer in his hand casually as if it weighed like a feather, grinning at Ash maliciously.


    [Name: Dodgan Mashre || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Strongman, Hammer Bouncer.


    HP: 81,378/81,378 (47,460) || MP: 4,717/4,717 (18,000) || STA: 24,386/24,386 (9,040)


    Level: 89 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are still Ash''s current stats, just in case you have the memory of a goldfish like me.)


    Power: 297 (210) || Speed: 69 (127) || Constitution: 274 (226)


    Magic: 53 (450) || Will: 21 (899) || Luck: 9 (50).


    Skills: Grandmaster Hammer Bouncing Style, Extreme Smash, Hammer-copter, Hammer-rang, etc.<sub> </sub>


    Spells: Tough Skin (passive).]


    "Brat, I saw how you killed Killian. You used magic of the Gravity element, right? How impressive!" Dodgan began while swinging his hammer in a circle.


    "However, that shit won''t work against me!" He roared as he charged at Ash with his hammer still spinning, using the momentum to leap up and bringing it crashing down upon thed.


    Ash did not panic, rather opting to easily avoid the strike with his greater speed as Dodgan''s hammer created a small dent in the tough arena floor. However, what Ash wanted had urred, the sheer force of the hammer had gotten it stuck in the material of the arena, requiring time to be pulled out by Dodgan.


    It might only be a second, but for someone with Ash''s speed, it might as well be hours. He appeared beside Dodgan and struck out with a stab, aiming to gut him like a fish.


    However, Dodgan suddenly smiled, and to the shock of everyone, a small shockwave erupted from the end of his giant sledgehammer that was embedded in the ground.


    This acted like an ejector, sending it flying out of the dent and in position to strike. Dodgan wasted no time and released another shockwave from the opposite end of his hammer as he swung horizontally, sending the weapon hurtling towards has far faster than he could deal with.


    Ash immediately moved his sword to block, not using the instant blink of Super Instinct for the same reason he killed Killian for it, it left one open. It was an ability EVERYONE could get and EVERYONE knew about.


    Counters and ways to react to it had been long developed before Ash''s 10,000th great-grandfather had been born. Using it on this fellow who had some trick up his sleeve was unwise, so Ash decided to tank the hit.


    However, he clearly underestimated the strength of the fellow, as he was walloped so hard that he was sent flying across the arena.


    (Author''s Note: Just to be clear, Ash cannot see the stats shown earlier. I put them there, for you, the reader, to have an idea of the numbers behind the various actions taken in a fight.)


    Ash crashed into the arena and managed to dig his sword in to slow his glide lest he ring himself out. His body was covered with blood, from his forehead to his armor.


    One eye was severely bruised due to the force, while his left arm was broken and dislocated. Thed was definitely in bad shape, but he grinned.


    "I now understand why Master made me choose this element despite my disposition. It''s almost as if he predicted my fighting style would need it."


    As Ash spoke, a pleasant white light covered his body as he used a spell of his fourth awakened element, Life. The spell in question was the Journeyman spell, Mend.


    [Mend - Level 40 Spell (Max)


    Cost: 200 MP


    Description: Channel mana into the body of any living being to repair any injury they have suffered. This restores the stamina of a target by 20% and their HP by 50%, while alleviating all injuries on their person, both internal and external. ]

 621 Chapter 621

    Dodgan was shocked by Ash''s sudden recovery, then gnashed his teeth. "Brat, you''re full of surprises, huh? You seem to have awoken to the Gravity element and chosen Life as your second one? Not bad."


    Then his angered expression changed to one of mockery and superiority. "However, you are a Journeyman, after all! Unlike those annoying Grandmaster Mage, now that I''ve seen all you can do, this will be the end of you!"


    He swung his hammer around, readying to charge Ash. "Gravity and Life are not difficult for me to ovee! Haarrghh!"


    He roared and jumped up, bringing his hammer smashing down where Ash stood. The apprentice himself was dumbfounded by the thought process of this fellow. He had assumed him to be cunning and smart from the way he acted earlier, but his current words tore down his reputation.


    How could he be unaware that the Awakening Scrolls Darius sold gave one the choice of any 5 elements? Literally everyone knew that, which was why they were so highly sought after in the first ce!


    Since he had used one of them as an Amateur, he naturally had ess to six elements as a Journeyman. His original five and the Material element that Darius had made all five Apprentices select so that they could have ways to make money on their own out there.


    They wouldn''t be under his tutge forever after all.


    Even more bizzare, Dodgan was someone fighting for the rewards for defeating Ash - of which Awakening Scrolls were part - so shouldn''t this fellow have done the obvious calctions?


    The apprentice naturally suspected the Hammer Bouncer was intentionally acting stupid to lower his guard. If so, then this fellow was truly conniving and scheming!


    In order to test this hypothesis, Ash stood right where he was and used his Master''s trademark spell, Lightning Bolt!


    [Lightning Bolt - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Cast a pure bolt of electricity at a foe, paralyzing them immediately on contact. This deals 500% lightning damage.]


    Even though Ash had learned it using Darius'' spellbooks, meaning he benefited from the boost, it was still slightly weaker than his master''s version. Nheless, power of this level, coupled with his stats, was enough to do quite a bit of damage seeing as Dodgan had shitty Will.


    Ash had expected his enemy to avoid the st, but he was left speechless when the fellow was struck head-on by it, frying severely in mid-air as he screamed in agony. The shock was so strong that his skeleton showed as if it were a cartoon, his smoking body falling to the earth limply the next second.


    Dodgan shuddered on the ground severely for a few seconds, barely regaining his bearing a whileter. Ash could have killed him ten times within this period, but he was too bbergasted to react.


    The Grandmaster raised his charred body up and cursed weakly. "Youˇ­ despicable bratˇ­ how could you stillˇ­ have a Lightning element?"


    From his scandalized look, to the way he pointed at Ash with anger, the youngster finally understood. This Dodgan hadn''t yed a fool, he really WAS an idiot. A fresh retard straight from the assembly line of brainless dolts.


    Realizing this, Ash immediately became bored. He simply blinked in front of Dodgan and swung his de across his neck, no longer acting cautiously. The Hammer Bouncer, still trembling from the stun, could only have his usatory words cut off as his head rolled off to the side.


    Ash then turned to the crowd of spectating Grandmasters who shook their heads at Dodgan''s idiocy, some evenughing or sneering. Ash''s face no longer held fear or nervousness, only calm battle will.<sub> </sub>


    He had finally grasped the first lesson Darius wanted him to from this event. This lesson was that no matter the stage, from Amateur to Grandmaster, all were mortals, organisms, and living beings in the end.


    The prevailing mentality for the local Faustian was the higher your stage, the more perfect you were. Just look at the treatment Adepts and above got. Grandmasters were treated like gods on earth, their will thew, and their wisdom endless.


    Truthfully, this was a narrative pushed through weakness and ignorance. They did not understand what it meant to be a Grandmaster, at best only being able to see the huge power that came with it, so they thought with such power, one must also have other extreme qualities.


    Ash had been trapped in the same belief, yet this fight had allowed him to get rid of that mindset. He calmly waited for his next foe with a slight smile, his eyes now firmly on the prize.


    .........ˇ­..


    About 1 hourter, Ash got down from the stage with a beat up appearance. He was burned, cut, and bleeding all over, but the bright look in his eyes couldn''t be diminished.


    He had made great gains in these 10 fights against Grandmasters, so he was in a hurry to head back and digest them before tomorrow''s battle.


    This left space for Reina, the next in line, to go up to the arena''s stage.


    While all four had watched Ash''s battle and had somewhat grasped the lesson by proxy, there was still nervousness and fear as they would need to individuallyprehend it themselves through battle.


    Reina held her bow tightly as she waited for her opponent to be selected. She didn''t have to wait long before a Demon from Armadon in the stands was chosen, specifically, a fire imp!


    [Name: Derrick || Race: Demon (Fire Imp) || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Torturer, Fire Spitter.


    HP: 2,860/2,860 (13,407) || MP: 25,755/25,755 (15,880) || STA: 3,740/3,740 (4,360)


    Level: 85 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are Reina''s current stats.)


    Power: 65 (123) || Speed: 188 (146) || Constitution: 44 (109)


    Magic: 303 (397) || Will: 21 (1205) || Luck: 2 (55).


    Skills: Grandmaster Fire Control, Giant Fireball, me Shield, Heat Ward, etc.


    Spells: Demonic Aura, Demonic Corruption, Spirit Attack, etc.]


    This was a versatile foe for Reina, one that was airborne, small, and very nimble. He could use ranged attacks like her, so pretty much all of her advantages had been negated or leveled.


    Then again, Ash had suffered the same thing, so this was the best way to test theds'' capability.

 622 Chapter 622

    "Krek krek krek, little girl, you look absolutely tasty! Derrick here loves them young and supple, so that when I defile you with my demon cock, you''ll scream like a pig in heat, krek krek krek!"


    The Fire Imp released some extremely vile words that made Reina''s tense expression change to one of anger. Her nervousness instantly bled away as she focused, aiming to put the hurt down on this vile thing.


    Derrick had obviously put those words forth in order to disrupt Reina''s state, but he would have been better off acting menacing by staying silent. Right now, he had only dispelled his advantage in terms of her mental state, truly leveling the ying field.


    When the fight began, the Fire Imp wasted no time summoning the Giant Fireball which was about the size of arge SUV. It spent about 3 seconds generating and expanding in size before beingunched at Reina.


    Reina herself remained calm in this period, nocking three arrows and attaching a different spell to each arrow.


    [Wind Whisper - Level 40 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to prate a target''s defense. This deals 30% true damage.]


    [Terror - Level 40 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to strike at a target''s mental status, inflicting them with the terror debuff. All stats lowered by 30% for the duration of the debuff.]


    [Mana Sink - Level 40 Spell (Max)


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to strike a target''s meridians and connective pathways, rendering them unable to use their mana for a short while.]


    The three arrows contained custom spells the girl had created for her archery over this period of time, and they were truly insidious. If Derrick had a system that could see their effects, he would cancel his shy Giant Fireball and avoid them desperately.


    However, he did not and could not, so he fired his st just as Reina''s arrows curled around the fireball and hurtled towards Derrick. The Fire Imp snorted arrogantly seeing mere wooden arrows rush at him, using his Fire Shield to block the three.<sub> </sub>


    This was obviously what Reina had predicted and was naturally a big mistake, as the first arrow to strike contained Wind Whisper. It hit the barrier and passed through, striking Derrick right in the eye, making him screech in pain. This forcibly dispelled his shield as he was in no state of mind to maintain it, allowing the arrow with terror to strike his right-wing.


    Suddenly, Derrick''s mind was filled with the sight of Reina, whose size had doubled, and her features shifted, looking like a cruel huntress of the gods. Her body radiated Holy Energy that threatened to burn his demonic nature away and edify him into a benevolent being.


    This terrified him more than anything, as most killed Demons would simply respawn in Armadon after sacrificing some of their Demonic Energy, but they would truly die if cleansed by Holy Energy.


    Derrick screamed and tried to flee backward, but was still struck by the final arrow, which had been imbued with Mana Sink. Immediately, he lost connection with his mana, unable to use any skills or spells that required it


    This sudden loss of power synergized with his terror status, inducing a greater fear in him, making him panic as if he was on the verge of edification.


    On Reina''s side, she calmly manifested a Water Shield and blocked the iing fireball with ease, despite it being easily twice her size. After all, her Will was almost double that of Derrick''s Magic, so his spells or attacks doing her any damage was but a pipe dream.


    After clearing the attack, she sneered at the fear-filled Derrick and nocked a single arrow. To this, she attached the Light element spell, Purify. While its damage was not high as it was a mere Basic spell, its effect was to deal Light element damage to the Demon and exacerbate his fear status.


    The arrow struck Derrick''s other eye with sickening uracy, making the Demon howl as he felt his boy ravaged by the light energy. While it wasn''t as potent as what he expected, it was still enough to cause him some serious pain.


    Reina kept firing, striking different parts of the imp with a cold expression, the Light Energy attached to each subsequent arrow taking effect immediately and doubling Derrick''s pain with every strike.


    The Fire Imp soon fell to the arena floor in a heap, barely twitching after suffering such severe abuse. Reina walked over and coldly stomped his ugly head into the ground, ring at the crowd around the arena to see if there was anyone who still dared to doubt her.


    Seeing as there was abject silence as the various Grandmasters assessed the previous battle and saw her in a new light, she smirked with satisfaction.


    She returned to her side and waited for Martin to select her new foe. She was surprised, though, when she saw a young woman of extreme beauty leap onto the stage, her long tinum blonde hair flowing in the wind.


    It was an Elf! Specifically, a Wood Elf who wore a set of leather clothes and had a longbow in hand. Her t gray eyes focused on Reina with a look of genuine interest.


    "Young Lady, your skills in archery are exemry. I would like to contest with you to see who is better!"


    Her feminine, yet powerful voice moved Reina, as this elfdy was something simr to what she pictured her grown-up self to be. Beautiful, elegant, powerful,petent, and always in control.


    As such, Reina couldn''t help but feel a trace of respect for her, but she also felt battle intent oozing from her mind, subconsciously wanting to test herself against the de that was this woman.


    Reina raised her bow and pointed at the woman with a solemn smile. "It would be my honor."

 623 Chapter 623

    [Name: Sashanbarreliia''Yukaterinan || Race: Elf (Wood Elf) || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Sniper, Arrowless.


    HP: 13,774/13,774 (13,407) || MP: 17,424/17,424 (15,880) || STA: 8,536/8,536 (4,360)


    Level: 88 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are once again Reina''s current stats.)


    Power: 142 (123) || Speed: 284 (146) || Constitution: 97 (109)


    Magic: 198 (397) || Will: 509 (1,205) || Luck: 23 (55).


    Skills: Elven Archery, Extreme Haste, Imbue.


    Spells: Wind de, Flight, Wind Clones, Cyclone, etc.]


    "My name is Sashanbarreliia''Yukaterinan, but you humans tend to shorten it to Sasha. Since I challenge you to a test of skill, I shall not keep you in the dark. I am a skilled Elven Archer who sparked with the Wind element."


    Sasha pointed towards Reina and spoke confidently, her eyes gleaming with a strange light.


    The Wood Elf had watched Ash''s battles and Reina''s first fight, so she - more than other Grandmasters - understood that despite their high power, these brats were in the end still children.


    Reina was moved by this scene and replied in turn. "My name is Reina McKnickles, and I''m a normal Archer who has awoken to the Spirit element, Wind element, as well as a few others."


    Hearing this, Sasha''s eyes darkened. Given the age difference, the Elven Archer had attempted to dupe the young girl into revealing her elements and powers on her own through this farce, but Reine had revealed nothing that hadn''t already be apparent from thest fight.


    Who among these Grandmasters hadn''t seen through those spells as observers? The Terror spell Reina had used was of the Spirit element, the Wind Whisper had obviously been of the Wind element, whereas the Mana Sink spell was of the Water element.


    All the Wood Elf had managed to do was grant her opponent some insight into her own strengths!


    This made Sasha wary, as she secretly elevated the status of Reina in her heart, feeling that this little whore must be quite cunning.


    However, the Elven Arched was actually thinking too much into things. She wasn''t wrong that the girl was still a child, yet she had been raised as nobility. Her thought process was quite spoiled and extravagant, though it hardly showed due to Darius'' and Gunner''s harsh training.


    Right now, all that was going through the teenage girl''s mind was how elegant and beautiful Sasha was and how she sorely wished to be like her when she matured. As such, Reina nned to give the battle her all and please her new idol.


    As for not revealing all her elements, she was under the impression that her spells were so unique that none of the Grandmasters would have seen through it. She had merely revealed those two because they were her main and secondary elements.


    The rest were just auxiliary, so she didn''t see them as important. In fact, in Reina''s mind, naming them all would have annoyed her idol, making it seem like she was trying to boast.


    Well, misunderstandings aside, the battle began.


    Sasha smiled and nocked five arrows, coating them with a green light thanks to her Imbue skill, which allowed her to ''enchant'' anything she wielded with her own power.


    In this case, it was with the Wind element. Her arrows were now able to use it freely instead of being limited to one type of spell-like Reina. She fired them out immediately, the arrows spinning in different directions as they zigzagged towards their target with horrifying speed.


    Reina was not to be beaten, though. She also nocked five arrows and attached a spell to each one of them, her mind rapidly calcting the variables of the battle based on her senses.


    [Weaken - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate<sub> </sub>


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to lower a target''s attack power by 30%.]


    [Tracking - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to affix a spirit tracker on a target, allowing all follow-up projectiles to home in one the target.]


    [Bright Impact - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to explode in a burst of searing light, dealing 25% Light damage to an enemy and sealing all darkness element abilities for 30 seconds.]


    [Gaia''s Anger - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to strike a target severely, with a physical might that matches that of nature''s wrath. This deals 30% Wood damage.]


    [Sonic Strike - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Attach this spell to a custom arrow and imbue it with the ability to reach a target before any attack on the field. However, its damage is lowered by 50% due to the effect.]


    Reina''s spells were all synergized and well-nned out. Sonic Strike appeared in front of Sasha before she could even remove her confident smirk from her face after firing a barrage she felt would her an easy win.


    Sasha hurriedly controlled the wind to form a barrier before her, but it was useless. She was struck right in the shoulder by the arrow, crying out in pain as it easily pierced through her leather armor and embedded itself into her body.


    She was shocked that this arrow easily struck her, not to mention its speed. In truth, even though this arrow had its damage weakened, it was still a special arrow crafted for Reina using the best materials.


    The base damage was high enough to deal fatal damage, so even when lowered, it could still inflict heavy injury. Then again such a small strike was not enough to kill a Grandmaster, yet it wasn''t meant to kill, merely to distract.


    Due to her shock from the sudden pain, Sasha had neglected the other four deadlier arrows that were rushing over this very instant.


    When she finally remembered them, the Wood Elf was almost defenseless to their ensuing strike, forcing her to take drastic measures to ensure her life''s safety.

 624 Chapter 624

    The arrow with the Tracking spell was the next to arrive. It struck the Wood Elf on her other shoulder, yet it sted through it with ease, leaving a gaping whole there. However, rather than sending Sasha into an even deeper confusion, this time the pain seemed to awaken her survival instinct.?


    She immediately jumped and activated flight, taking to the air to avoid the final three projectiles. However, with Tracking now on her, those three arrows shifted in the air eerily, resembling guided missiles recalibrating themselves.?


    At this point, the Wood Elf could only grit her teeth and suppress her wounds using air currents to block them, then did the same for her body. She created a vacuum around herself to deny those arrows a chance to strike her head-on.?


    This did stop them as soon as they entered the range, making their momentum fall sharply. Gravity did its work and began pulling them down, but they resisted and tried to continue their movement towards their target.?


    On the other side, Reina was having some difficulty as well. Sasha''s arrows were fearsome, horribly so. They seemingly possessed their own will, utilizing the Wind element to speed up, turn sharply and perform maneuvers that would put even the legion of flying insects to shame.?


    Reina first erected a Water Ward that flowed around her, which captured two arrows and used its torrential and flowing force to halt their movements and eventually grind them to dust.?


    However, the final three arrows suddenly braked sharply and began to circle the ward slowly, as if looking for an opening to rush Reina. At this time, the youngdy looked over to see how her opponent was coping, and was shocked to see her remnant arrow struggling in some sort of vacuum.?


    The apprentice did not know Sasha''s wind control would be so adept, and this made Reina solemn. She decided to directly use magic this time, pointing her finger at the Wood Elf through her ward, casting a Journeyman spell.?


    [Light Beam - Level 40 Spell? ?


    Grade: Intermediate?


    Cost: 100 MP?


    Description: Fire a beam of concentrated light that contains both heat and prative energy. This spell deals 500% Light damage to a single target.]?


    The brightnce of light shot out from Reina''s ward, exposing a slight gap which one of the arrows used to rush in quickly. The apprentice expected this as a consequence of her casting, but she did not fret.?


    Reina simply cast Wood Armor, an Intermediate Wood element spell that created an extrayer of flexible wood over her skin. The arrow struck the wood and tried to break through, but before it could go deeper, Reina grabbed its fletching and broke it.?


    She then ignored the final two arrows that pressured her by hanging around, focusing on the results of her actions.?


    The light beam reached Sasha in seconds, not stopped by the surrounding vacuum, as light traveled in such areas with no problem. With its speed, the Elven Archer was already face to face with the beam before she even realized what was going on.?


    The Wood Elf naturally tried to defend by creating a wind war around her body, but that canceled out her vacuum, allowing the arrows to regain their mobility. The windward did not help much, as Light Energy possessed a prative effect, so it seared a hole through the ward.?<sub> </sub>


    However, Sasha was one of the first-ever Grandmasters on the stage so far with a Will stat that was impressive. This was natural as she was an elf, so with her Will of 509 versus Reina''s Magic stat of 397, the remnant damage was only enough to wound her.?


    The light beam only left a light scorch mark on her belly, but thanks to the speed at which it had been traveling, it felt as if someone had thwacked a baseball into her gut. Naturally, she was winded and in severe pain.?


    This created the necessary opening for her other three arrows to strike. First was the one containing the Weaken spell. It dug a hole in her right thigh, piercing through and going on its merry way.?


    Next was the arrow with the Bright Impact spell that struck her left leg and then exploded in a burst of forceful light energy. The light show ended with Sasha being sent hurtling to the arena floor, crashing into it and digging a small indent based on her body''s shape.?


    She was suffering from second-degree burns all over and blood caked her body. Her eyes were dazed in pain and fear, her left legpletely gone from the thigh downwards, some parts of her right leg also gone for good.?


    The Wood Elf could only watch with despair and horror as thest arrow rushed downwards towards her, glowing with Wood element energies. It was the arrow containing Gaia''s Anger, a spell that struck using pure physical might.?


    If it struck her, she would likely be knocked into the ground and turned into meat paste. Sasha was extremely unwilling to die like this, not at the hands of some brat who had lived only 1/300th her lifespan.?


    However, the arrow stopped right before her face, inches from her nose. Sasha could only stare in a stupor as Reina walked over with her ward still active, the Elven Archer''sst two arrows still patrolling her.?


    "Hey, why don''t you simply admit defeat? I never sensed the intent to kill from you, so I don''t want to take your life." Reina suggested with a smile, bending down towards Sasha.?


    The older elf woman was speechless. Sasha hadcked killing intent because she had felt killing a child would be distasteful for a Grandmaster like her, so she had intended to just cripple Reina and win the match like that.?


    Who knew that her own arrogance and disdain woulde back and save her life??


    Sasha did not even know how to feel about this.?


    Whatever the case, she dispelled her arrows, while Reina also dispelled hers. With a smile, she helped Sasha up, and poured some strange purple liquid down her throat.?


    Sasha, who expected some mild healing, was shocked when her entire body roared with energy, all her wounds repairing as her power even great slightly!?


    What the heck?!?

 625 Chapter 625

    The Wood Elf was shocked to feel her power even rising slightly, crossing thresholds that had previously held her back like a weak current before a thick dam. Now, though, those blockages could not stop and Sasha felt her control over the Wind element had be stronger.


    She could only stare dumbfounded at the pretty youngdy who extended a hand out to her.


    "Let me help you up." Reina offered kindly.


    Sasha hesitated for a second before taking her arm and rising to her feet, dusting herself off. She then noticed her clothing was ragged and much of her body was exposed, but the Wood Elf didn''t care.


    She had lived for millenia, so the days of her being a prude had long since passed. In fact, she had tried everything under the sun before, even some extreme stuff, so this little embarrassment was not enough to faze her.


    Likewise, the Grandmasters watching showed little reaction. They had done stuff that would chill the blood of the average youth, so a little skin was not enough to make them howl like beasts.


    The Wood Elf sized up Reina who was smiling confidently and did not say anything overt. She just left the stage with a final parting line.


    "I hope I live long enough to hear of your legends."


    Hearing this, Reina was moved. She, too, hoped to have her name resound across the continent due to her skill and her discoveries, so she kept these words as a small goal in her heart.


    Soon, Reina''s next foe was chosen, and she smirked as she raised her bow to meet them head-on.


    .........


    Reina panted as she wobbled off the stage, her expression clouded with fatigue. She almost fell over, but Ash hurriedly caught her and prevented her from falling t on her face.


    "There, there, you''re alright." Her fellow apprenticeforted the teenage girl with smile as he hoisted her in a princess carry.


    Reina panted and nodded to show her thanks as Ash brought her over to the side and brought some Lunar Dew for her to drink, which she rejected.


    Partially understanding why, Ash smiled brightly. "You know, I have to say, your archery was awesome. Compared to those who were picked to fight against you, your skills were moreˇ­ what''s the right words to describe it... Beautiful, elegant... and witty."


    Reina''s breath hitched as she felt heat course through her veins and burn in her cheeks. Ash simply smiled in that honest way of his and patted her shoulder gently before returning to the side of the arena to watch the next fights.


    The girl could barely move from where shey, but not because she was tired.


    On the other side, Jonathan jumped up on stage, hisrge frame giving him the look of a 21-year-old athlete rather than a 16-year-old teenage boy. He wore a suave set of medium armor with red and ck colors, along with a thick cape behind his back.


    Given his looks and frame, he resembled a barbarian king from the north who fought dragons for a living. In his right hand was a greatsword and in his left a great poleaxe, both made by Maximo Riverstrike.


    Seeing thisd, the eyes of some Grandmasters lit up. They had been uninterested in the scrawny Ash or the girl Reina, but finally felt that they had encountered ad with meat on his bones.


    Many Grandmasters rushed to fight him, which made Jonathan proud. He simply waited until Martin selected his first opponent, who was - surprisingly - a handsome young-looking fellow who dual-wielded two longswords.<sub> </sub>


    The fellow eyed Jonathan with a cautious smirk, circling carefully. He did not exchange any words with the fellow, only monitored him for the slightest opening he could exploit.


    [Name: Derrick Kylian || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Sword Dancer, Quick de.


    HP: 23,876/23,876 (77,778) || MP: 6,708/6,708 (9,440) || STA: 10,922/10,922 (11,920)


    Level: 86 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are Jonathan''s current stats.)


    Power: 188 (261) || Speed: 265 (108) || Constitution: 127 (298)


    Magic: 78 (236) || Will: 34 (554) || Luck: 8 (45).


    Skills: Grandmaster Sword Dancing, Dual sh, Sword''s Duet, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    However, just because his foe remained quiet didn''t mean that Jonathan would. He casually rxed his stance and ced his pole axe over his shoulder as he smirked.


    "What a retard. Anyone can guess your strategy. You assume due to my build and my choice of armor as well as weaponry that my agility must be low,pared to one like you who definitely focuses on agility."


    The light in Derrick''s eyes shed dangerously, shocked that this boy had been able to read his ploy so easily, but he didn''t care. Even if a man saw a speedy fox rushing at him with its ws bared, he was too slow to stop it from puncturing his throat.


    Just because the apprentice was aware that the Grandmaster was fast didn''t mean that he could suddenly react to speed higher than his.


    Derrick still remained silent as he charged at Jonathan with ease, moving his body in an absolutely perfect manner. He had thepleted Grandmaster special ability of the Speed stat, Perfect Instinct.


    [Perfect Instinct - Advanced Ability


    Cost: 10% of Stamina


    Description: Your mind and body have melded as one. Even before your nerves can transmit information, your body reacts to danger around you. Your body now also moves in tandem with your wishes, even before your thoughts can initiate. You are able to move anywhere within a distance of 5 kilometers in an instant.]


    Super Instinct, which was the Master stage version and what Jonathan himself had, only allowed one to react to danger autonomously as well as move anywhere within 1 kilometer 5 times in a short period of time.


    The Perfect version now allowed one to attack autonomously and use their best power while doing so. It was simply the best tool for Speed users who needed to deal with enemies that were at a distance or had extremely high Constitution.


    Derrick swung his de in a cross sh attack towards Jonathan, probing the fellow''s reaction speed. It was too early to try for a killing blow, and over-extending in a fight could lead to one getting ovee by their own force.


    However, Derrick''s face became ck when his sword struck Jonathan head-on, and the fellow stood there without taking even a lick of damage.

 626 Chapter 626

    Jonathan gazed at Derrick with a look of amusement, while the Sword Dancer disyed absolute shock. He expected the apprentice to be tanky, sure, but to outright ignore his attack seemed nonsensical.


    Immediately, the Grandmaster struck the Journeyman rapidly, slicing and shing all over his body, even aiming for his head, eyes, and other delicate ces he could reach.


    Jonathan just stood there and took it all, the most damage he ever took being some white lines on his throat and face. His smile grew wider with every passing second, until he burst out inughter.


    Why was Jonathan so happy? Well, it had to do with thed himself.


    Among the Five Apprentices, he was the most ambitious and violent one. If given the chance to solve a problem, his go-to method would leave behind a pile of ashes or bones.


    He had always prided himself on hisrge build which had allowed him to beat up the local boys in Andrato before forming his own gang in the back alleys, until he was grabbed by Jeanne''s agent who sifted the capital for talented young mages back then.


    Captured, he resisted but was beaten down and had stopped fighting back once he learned that he was going to be tutored by a Master mage. The boy had forcibly humbled himself and suppressed his violent tendencies so his new master would favor him, yet Darius had read him like a book upon their first meeting.


    What made the Five Apprentices love their mentor was that he had never done anything to suppress their true nature, instead he had encouraged it. He never forced them to be calm and levelheaded mages, allowing them to be whatever they wanted to be as long as they achieved results.


    And this created the most important rtionship in Jonathan''s heart, him and Gunner. The half-giant had been their martial arts trainer and had beaten them into shape repeatedly until they slept while weeping.


    Just drinking Darius'' top-tier potions and using the transmuted materials would not have been enough to allow literal Journeyman humans to have stats rivaling, much less exceeding that of Grandmasters. However, that couple with consistent and brutal training in all aspects had done the trick.


    Jonathan was thergest among them and considered himself the most powerful minus Anthony, though that fellow was only half-human so Jonathan didn''t see him as a rival. If anything, Ash would be his rival, but that story was forter.


    Just like Reina saw herself in Sasha, Jonathan had seen himself in Gunner, and wanted the kind of power the Branded Servant had. As such, he had chosen heavy weapons that took advantage of his mature frame in order to suppress the half-giant.


    The results had been traumatizing.


    Just as Jonathan stood there while Derrick iled upon him, so too had Gunner simply folded his arms while waiting for the apprentice to exhaust himself from trying to inflict some damage.


    Eventually, he was beaten by his ownck of stamina, crumbling in defeat while his mentor just stared at him with disappointment. That had left a shadow in young Jonathan''s heart, but Darius'' mental training had turned that into motivation.


    He fought and fought, even teaming up with the other apprentices to fight Gunner, while the half-giant brushed away their attacks nonchntly every time. Nevertheless, Johnathan had never stopped improving till today.


    He had always wondered, why Gunner had chosen to act so cruelly towards them. Surely, the Branded Servant should have known that showing them how absolutely weak and powerless they were would crush the Five Apprentices'' spirit, yet he had done it anyway.


    Now, looking down at Derrick who was sweating as he had exhausted more than 50% of his Stamina, Jonathan understood. He deeply understood why Gunner took such an approach when dealing with most enemies.<sub> </sub>


    It wasn''t the feeling of superiority. It wasn''t the feeling of invincibility. It wasn''t even a feeling ofziness or disinterest.


    It was shockingly, a feeling of curiosity that could be boiled down to one simple question.


    ''Could this guy perhaps hurt me and prove to be a worthy foe?''


    That was it.


    As Jonathan - and even Gunner at all times - watched Derrick strike him over and over, hisughter subsided as he began to adopt a slightly bored and neutral expression.


    Just like Jonathan back then, Derrick tired himself, dropping his two des as the palms of his hands shook with blood. The Sword Dancer''s eyes were hollow, filled with shock, disbelief, and defeat.


    Even if he survived this, he would probably never be able to feel as confident in his power ever again, always second-guessing himself and believing himself to be wed. He would be a timid character, running away from fights where he would have won had he some backbone, bing a shell of himself.


    Of course, all of this was if he survived.


    Sighing, Jonathan brought his great poleaxe down with slight swing, cleaving Derrick in two from skull to groin with ease. The man still adopted his defeated posture with his hollow eyes, even as his body split apart and fell on either side.


    Jonathan frowned and waited for his next challenger, collecting Derrick''s corpse to the side and not letting the Maidbots clean it up. This action angered some Grandmasters who felt this boy needed to be tortured to death for his disrespect.


    This time, a female mage floated onto the stage, her expression severe and full of reproach. She was a middle-aged beauty, with some slight wrinkles, but her lovely blonde hair that was tied into a ponytail and clear, sapphire eyes gleaming with mana highlighted how exotic she was.


    "Boy, you have no respect for your elders, for the dead, and for life. As your senior, it is my duty to educate you properly." She spoke sternly as he held a carved, cyanwood wand.


    Jonathan just ogled her. "Trust me, I respect life. Just turn around and bend that ass over and I''ll happily demonstrate to you just how much I love creating life, heh heh."


    Filled with endless fury and indignation, the woman screamed in anger. "How dare you!! In ce of your failure of a master, I shall teach you some proper manners!"


    She immediately began casting, using the One-Word Cast skill most Grandmaster mages had mastered.


    "Brisingr!"


    A giant ball of fire and magma coalesced before her, growing in size rapidly as it absorbed her mana. It expanded into the size of a small bus before the female mage shot it out, her eyes gleaming with the intent to cripple.

 627 Chapter 627

    Jonathan showed no panic before this attack. This magma ball was an Advanced spell, and its power was certainly more than impressive. He simply roared and stomped the ground, raising a shield of metal before him.


    The magma ball crashed into this shield and exploded, spreading its hot content all over the arena. None of it reached Jonathan, though, who was cockily smiling.


    The face of the female Grandmaster mage paled slightly. She didn''t expect this boy to have the ability to use magic as well, and not only that, he could use the Metal element.


    She realized that her anger had gotten the better of her, and she would have to be careful lest she loses her life to this mere boy.


    [Name: Lithia Amimn || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Mage, Quick Caster.


    HP: 260/260 (77,778) || MP: 20,315/20,315 (9,440) || STA: 5,525/5,525 (11,920)


    Level: 85 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are Jonathan''s current stats.)


    Power: 34 (261) || Speed: 32 (108) || Constitution: 65 (298)


    Magic: 239 (236) || Will: 125 (554) || Luck: 12 (45).


    Skills: None.


    Spells: Magma Ball, Fire Ball, Spread Shot Fire Wave, FireBolt, etc.]


    She decided to slow down and n her next set of moves, but Jonathan did not allow her. His set of elements were Death, Gravity, Metal, Explosion, and Fire. As such, he raised his finger and shot out the Intermediate Fireball spell, though his was at the Transmuted quality level.


    Seeing the 4x4 SUV size fireball hurtling towards her, its heat alone far higher than her own magma ball of one grade above, Lithia was terrified. She adopted a mana shield made of the fire element to ward off the attack, and the ensuing explosion shook the arena.


    Lithia managed to remain intact and now be blown away, but her mana ward - and her mind - had taken severe damage from that, as blood leaked from her lips.


    She had no time to be grateful, though, as Jonathan was standing right before her, his frame towering over hers. The female Mage yelped and tried to create distance, but therge apprentice simply grabbed her by the neck to silence her and lifted her up.


    The woman choked as she iled and struggled, kicking Jonathan with all her strength, which did almost as much damage as a fly crashing into him. He just watched her with cold eyes as herplexion became purpler and purpler, her life leaking out of her body rapidly.


    ? Choking on her own spit and foaming slightly at the mouth, her hair messy and her eyes bloodshot, the apprentice noted that the previous beauty and elegance were gone.


    Before death, all were just differently shaped meatbags. This amused him, but he threw Lithia to the floor just when she was about to pass out. She vomited and coughed for air desperately, struggling to revive herself.


    "From now on, this woman shall be my property. I could have killed her, but I didn''t, so her life belongs to me." Jonathan stated arrogantly.


    The Grandmasters in the crowd did not cause an uproar, most supporting Jonathan''s ims. They had seen everything, and they felt it was only natural for the victor to get all the spoils.<sub> </sub>


    They didn''t care because they never saw themselves ending up as pathetic as Lithia due to their own personal hubris. Basically, it was like how a person might hear on the radio while driving that someone entered a fatal ident while tuning the radio/switching the song and think such a person was dumb, then do the exact same thinking that it would never happen to them.


    Lithia herself wanted to protest, but with Jonathan''s greatsword hovering over her neck, she kept silent. A piece of Soul Paper was brought over and Martin officiated the contract.


    Lithia had no choice but to sign her soul away to Jonathan, not even knowing what this vulgar boy wanted from her. Suddenly, she thought of his earlier foul words, and her expression became ugly.


    Did he spare her life just so she could be his sperm deposit?


    What a foolish boy and what a waste of Soul Paper!


    Lithia did not much care about this situation, because she had been a servant to an Adept mage hundreds of years ago.


    In order to get resources and climb to where she was, she had done all sorts of things that Jonathan''s young mind could not even fathom and would even find disgusting.


    Dealing with a pubescent boy''s lust would be like getting paid a sry for sleeping,pared to what she could do.


    As for Jonathan, he gestured for Lithia to scram. Unlike what she thought, he had no interest in her body, his earlier words had only been to aggravate his foe to reveal an opening, and it had worked brilliantly.


    Rather, he was surprised by how quickly the arrogant woman had seemingly adapted. Jonathan could only assume that this situation was not something new to her.


    Of course, given the age of the average Grandmaster, it would not be out of the ordinary for any one of them to have been in a servile position in the past. After all, everyone had started out weak at some point.


    The number of Grandmasters who had reached their current stage without a dark past, by being spoon-fed by their faction could be counted on a single hand. Without some sort of fortuitous encounter, most would not have reached their current heights.


    Be that as it may, Lithia''s purpose would not be to please him, but to please those who were loyal to him. That''s right, Jonathan nned to build his own force once he graduated from Darius'' tutge, and the Grandmaster was simply going to be a high-ss tool used to ''satisfy'' and show his ''generosity'' to his high-tier guests.


    Otherwise, why would he contract a beautiful woman? He could have made do with the Derrick fellow from before just fine. Speaking of him, Jonathan showed a filthy smile as he cast a spell Darius had especially taught him.


    [Death''s Call - Level 40 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Call back the souls of the dead to their bodies, retaking their forms in perfect shape and bing a part of a glorious new race. This spell can only be used on 500 corpses at a time.]


    ck light flowed in Derrick''s corpse which Jonathan had put to the side, regrowing his fleshly body to perfection as dark energy coursed through his veins in the ce of blood. His eyes werepletely ck, from cornea to pupil, but aside from his changed look, his strength had not waned even by a little.

 628 Chapter 628

    By the time Jonathan came down from the stage, he had enved two more female Grandmasters. He had also raised four more male Grandmaster from the dead to be his guards.


    As for the other two he fought, they had died in such a way that he was unable to revive their bodies for his own use. In fact, they had actually self-destructed once they had realised that they were going to lose, unwilling to suffer the same fate as their predecessors.


    That was why the current Jonathan, despite his titanium body, was limping and had to be helped by his undead guards.


    "Not bad." Ash stated amiably as he gave Jonathan a thumbs up.


    Jonathan simply snorted and ignored Ash, who he considered his true rival. "Hmph, easy as pie for someone like me."


    Ash waved a hand. "Sure, sure, all hail Johnny the almighty. We are honoured to bask in your glorious presence."


    "I told you not to call me that!" Jonathan growled with anger.


    While he and Ash began to bicker, James ascended the stage as it was his turn. By this point, the visiting Grandmasters had long epted that there was something wrong with these blokes.


    They stopped underestimating them, yet the number of challengers did not stop. Not underestimating them did not mean they overestimated them. In their eyes, theds were well-trained and mysterious, which was why they had the upper hand.


    Their foundations were greater than actual Grandmasters, so they were able to pull off such feats of power. But with every battle, the veil of mystery behind them was peeled off, giving those who cameter a higher chance of winning.


    This wasn''t a facy, but the truth. This was why Darius had charged them each with 100 battles.


    Just fighting the first ten had been so easy, so what could they have learned from it? Very little!


    Depending on their own skill and adaptability, they should start struggling around the 50th battle ongoing. However, for James who was now on the field, he was likely the most mysterious of the Five Apprentices.


    A Grandmaster Assassin jumped on the stage, eying the boy warily. He had already noticed the trend that the first chosen fighter of theseds was always someone who countered them.


    [Name: Ponbas Severe || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Assassin, Fleetfoot.


    HP: 13,860/13,860 (14,552) || MP: 3,330/3,330 (17,680) || STA: 8,100/8,100 (4,280)


    Level: 90 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are James'' current stats.)


    Power: 154 (136) || Speed: 299 (325) || Constitution: 90 (107)


    Magic: 37 (442) || Will: 9 (1,020) || Luck: 20 (70).


    Skills: Quick Step, Short Blink, Cruel Assassinate, Phase Form.<sub> </sub>


    Spells: None.]


    Ponbas wondered what power this boy had that made he - Ponbas - James'' best counter, but realized such thinking was wed. If he was selected as the boy''s counter, then he would stick to his own strengths to win!


    As such, he immediately entered his own unique form of stealth, which was moving so fast that he could not register in the eyes of his foe. James simply smiled and took a single step.


    In a world where the eye couldn''t follow, a world where time seemed to have stopped as the very air had frozen in ce, Ponbas was briskly walking through this realm as he angled towards where James stood.


    In his eyes, the boy was frozen in ce, which was normal since Assassin was moving at such speed that it seemed like time had stopped. However, his calm was broken when James took a slow step and disappeared from his sight.


    Ponbas looked around for his target in confusion. Did the boy use a teleportation or stealth skill in his panic? That would make sense. In that case, an easy way to flush him out was to strike everywhere in the arena till he got lucky.


    Ponbas was about to execute his n when he realized that a sense of danger enveloped his entire being. He quickly dodged to the side, avoiding whatever danger was targeted at him while searching for the source.


    However, he noticed that he could not see anything.


    His brain instructed his left arm to form a defensive stance, but was left frozen, when he noticed that his appendage wasˇ­ gone.


    From the shoulder down, it was gone. He looked to the side and saw his arm frozen in mid-air, falling down extremely slowly due to the high-speed realm he was in.


    Since it was detached, it was obviously moving in normal time now. He checked his stump to see that blood was stuck inside, not flowing out because of the high speed, which was a godsend as he wouldn''t immediately bleed to death as long as he kept this up.


    He checked the rest of his body and notice that he was shed all over, yet had only lost his arm. The Grandmaster calmed down and analyzed his situation.


    He understood that whatever that was, it had been an attack of thatd. Ponbas wasn''t exactly sure what exactly he did or what attack he used, but it was lucky he was moving so fast.


    Probably it was a skill with surestrike, meaning it could not miss its target ording to thews of Faust. Surestrike attacks could not be avoided, only blocked. He was lucky he was so fast that he had partially dodged it, beating thews of Faust.


    ˇ­ or it could be that thed had been aiming for his arm the entire time? If so, then why?


    Ponbas'' mind whirred rapidly as he continually searched around him for any sign of his foe or any sign of fatal danger. He considered many things about his foe from top to bottom, especially in tandem with his initial thoughts.


    However, the mistake Ponbas had made was that he never for a second thought that his enemy might not be pulling any tricks. That the answer to his worry was quite simple.


    His enemy was simply far faster than he was, existing in a flow of sped-up time at a higher level than him, which was why he couldn''t be seen.


    Yes, for in James'' own time, he was currently standing behind Ponbas, a demonic smile on his face as he raised his weapon up to ughter his foe.

 629 Chapter 629

    James brought his dagger down, piercing through the top of Ponbas'' skull before the Grandmaster could react. This time, the Assassin did not even sense the danger before it came down on him.


    After all, the previous situation had only urred because James was a bit unfamiliar with his own speed. Normally, he used the Darkness element and the Sound element together to conceal himself, but Ponbas'' method of moving around had intrigued the apprentice.


    Why waste mana when he can move faster than his enemy could even follow?


    James and Ponbas exited the ''speed realm'', appearing before the bbergasted crowd as suddenly as they disappeared. After all, not every Grandmaster focused on Speed or had enough Speed to follow.


    One needed minimum 100 points in the Speed stat to be able to see into the realm that James and Ponbas had moved in. Luckily, unlike Ponbas, they could see both of them if they concentrated hard enough, because they were stationary and rxed.


    Ponbas, who had physically entered that realm but at a lower state, could not. He hadn''t had the luxury of exiting to look for James, not that it would have changed the oue in any way.


    After the first enemy was killed, the rest of the crowd were hesitant to go up. What was the point of fighting someone who could move faster than your eye could follow?


    As such, only those who could counter speedsters or had high Constitution began to apply.


    James'' next challenger was selected from the many. It was a Goblin Grandmaster who was quite ugly. He wore two rusty goggles and wore a pair of khaki shorts that were held up with brown suspenders.


    [Name: Ger Kek || Race: Goblin || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Inventor, Gadget Lord.


    HP: 1,035/1,035 (14,552) || MP: 42,864/42,864 (17,680) || STA: 8,100/8,100 (4,280)


    Level: 94 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are James'' current stats.)


    Power: 45 (136) || Speed: 89 (325) || Constitution: 23 (107)


    Magic: 456 (442) || Will: 98 (1020) || Luck: 13 (70).


    Skills: Deploy, Merge, Assimte, Invent, Construct, Deconstruct.


    Spells: None.]


    ? James'' expression became solemn. Goblins were a race of geniuses that had poor physical stats and decent magic resistance, but their Intellect (now called Magic) was higher than most races in the same stage.


    However, this did not yield them the typical benefits of such a high stat. They could not use magic nor psychic abilities like any other race with such stats could.


    It was not because they were incapable of doing it, but because their racial characteristics limited them. Their small bodies could not contain much mana nor could they support the ability to lift items and zip them around the ce.


    However, nature bnces things out.<sub> </sub>


    Their natural affinity for the elements was high, and their ability to create was only matched by the Gnomes and Dwarves.


    This gave Goblins a unique ability that slowly made them rise in status on Fallon, until they had carved a part of the southernnds for themselves, forming an empire in the top ten.


    "Bwehehe! Kid, I don''t want to do this, but the price for beating you, could literally change the quality of my institution''s research for the next 100 years!" Ger Kek giggled as he pressed a button on his ne.


    This was a familiar scene for most Fallon residents who were well-traveled, but for Darius who came from Earth, it was uncannily simr to how a certain superhero donned his metallic armorter on in his movie series.


    Chromium metal expanded out from the ne and covered the goblin inventor''s entire body, forming into a blob that began to quickly shape itself. Its final design was that of an enclosed animal mech, especially that of arge tiger.


    It was about the size of arge truck, three times James'' height. With its tough metallic build and lithe form, it looked to be speedy and strong, possessing the capital to give the apprentice a tough time.


    James frowned slightly and disappeared the next moment, the ce where he stood dented in by the casual swipe of the Tiger Mech. He appeared behind it, just in time to see its tail swinging towards him.


    This too he avoided with ease, but his face became darker. The special ability of the Goblin race was truly bothersome.


    Thanks to their high elemental affinity, they could connect with machinery made with specific metals and disy a level of proficiency unlike that of a robot and more like a living being.


    James continued to avoid the rapid strikes that erupted all around him. Ger Kek himself may not be fast, but his high Intellect/Magic made it such that his synchro rate with the mech was higher than 100%.


    For every percentage higher than 100, it added to the Mech''s own stats, multiplying them by that amount. So the already quick Mech was now fast enough that it could not only follow James'' movements, but even strike him.


    Now it made sense why these little greenskins could establish themselves amidst such fiercepetition!


    If all high-level masters like Ger Kek enjoyed such boosts from high Intellect/Magic stats, then they would be nightmares in their machines while being soft persimmons in their normal state.


    However, James was not pressured. He continued to weave through the attacks, feeling the pattern out, and noticed that Ger Kek acted just like a normal feline when in this mode.


    Maybe he was trained to fight this way given his Mech choice, or it could be that the nature of his Mech influenced his fighting style subconsciously, but James didn''t ponder over it given the current situation.


    With that in mind, the apprentice channeled his Darkness element to reach out and bind the Mech for a split second, using this opening to aim for Ger Kek himself who was in the cockpit, connected to the machine through some strange tube at the back of his head.


    Ger''s expression changed when he saw the blur that was the oing James, aware that he was unable to survive a direct strike, so he cruelly set his Mech to self-destruct immediately.


    If he did not get to live, no one should! Especially not James who caused all this!


    KRA-KOOM!!!

 630 Chapter 630

    James was shocked by the sudden explosion, and quickly entered speed time. He retreated crazily, then set up a barrier using all his elements, which were Poison, Psychic, Ice, Sound, and Dark.


    Darkness, Psychic, and Ice formed the main barriers as they could block both physical and magical attacks. Sound and Poison were more technical, with sound grinding down the attacks nature while poison corroded it.


    The final attack only singed a bit of James'' hair, but it told him never to underestimate his foe. Without his crazy speed, he would have been blown away. Even if he had a good Constitution, he would likely need some Lunar Dew toe back to life.


    The arena itself was warped under the power of the explosion, most of the tiles cracked while the area where Ger Kek formerly stood was molten. Soon, maidbots and critterbots rushed over to tidy the ce and up and repair the area for the next fight.


    James'' next challenger was sent onto the arena, and the battle continued.


    ..........


    Out of the 4 so far, James came down in the best condition. However, his sinister expression made hispatriots speechless, until Jonathan walked over and whacked him on the back of the head.


    "You scary freak, why are you smiling like that? Do you want to give us nightmares?"


    James immediately switched to a bashful smile as he rubbed his head. "Err, sorry. It''s part of the problem with my lineup of elements."


    That did make sense. All of them were influenced by their choice of elements, and all of James'' own were sinister and malicious, just like Jonathan''s were fiery and confrontational.


    Anyway, next up for the day was Anthony, and not only Darius and Gunner, but the other 4 Apprentices were looking forward to his performance greatly. After all, only they knew what kind of nonsensical power the half-monkey man had.


    Anthony wore his usual nobleman''s attire as well as a purple cape that billowed behind him. He looked like an evil dictator that was bent on ruling the world, and the aura he exuded suppressed many.


    His first opponent was chosen though, regardless of that. It was a rare enemy for the day, an actual dragon from Unyris. This alone made many wary, as it meant that this boy was different from the previous 4.


    [Name: Kierrvan Gaster || Race: True Dragon || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Lord of the Sky, zing Wood.


    HP: 429,460/429,460 (397,528) || MP: 95,190/95,190 (35,080) || STA: 74,860/74,860 (25,160)


    Level: 95 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are Anthony''s current stats.)


    Power: 545 (632) || Speed: 321 (347) || Constitution: 788 (629)


    Magic: 1002 (877) || Will: 3450 (2340) || Luck: 145 (200).


    Skills: Elemental Breath (Fire and Wood), Woodfire, Fireball Barrage, Dive Bomb, Hail of Fire Swords, etc<sub> </sub>


    Spells: Restore Health, Summon Treeants, Wood Barrier, mepir, Fireball, Magma Ball, etc.]


    "Sake Monkey brat, I didn''te here for those resources, but to have some fun. Let''s fight it out!" Kierrvan Gaster stated straightforwardly, showing battle intent as he pped his majestic wings.


    Anthony heard this and nodded. He took out his bo-staff and jumped as his somersault cloud appeared beneath him.


    "I am ready when you are."


    The dual-element dragon grinned widely before charging Anthony, who also did the same. They met in the middle, bo-staff made of Holy metals striking dragon w imbued with the most powerful essence.


    A small shockwave urred that ruffled the clothes of those in the stands, but they were not miffed. Rather, they opened their eyes wide, wishing they were beholders so that they could see more of this amazing battle.


    Anthony and Kierrvan did not use magic nor skills, resorting to a pure brutal sh of attacks that were head-on. Neither was pushed back by the other, their strikesnding at speeds that left even the fastest blokes feeling sweaty palms.


    Had any of them been in that ring, they would have died ten times over. The Dragon was expected, after all, their species were the Lords of the Sky, but for this half beastman brat to also achieve such powerˇ­


    Once again, lust for Darius'' resources grew, especially for the non-human races. If the previous fourds had shown how Darius'' resources could break the limit for pure humans and make them stronger, Anthony was a live example of how much more exaggerated it was for non-human species!


    The twobatants finally separated in the middle, watching each other warily as they had already gauged the other''s strength, speed, dexterity, endurance, and skill.


    The conclusion was that while their stats were not exactly equal, their various applications made it such that, physically, they were evenly matched. Naturally, it was time to test things out in a magical sense.


    As for Kierrvan, he started things off with the ssic elemental breath, a thick stream of green and red fire spraying out in a cone shape towards Anthony. Anthony sensed both searing heat and destructive vitality in those mes.


    In other words, the fire part would burn your skin, but the wood part would burn your vitality/lifeforce. Anthony pped his hands together and then spread them out, creating a ck portal in front of his body that he expanded to cover his whole self.


    The me that was supposed to engulf him was sucked into the portal before him, the rest of it trailing to the side where it ended at the boundary of the arena. After all, Kierrvan had enough skill to not include the crowd in the crossfire.


    Once the stream stooped, Anthony closed the portal and sighed with fatigue. He then refocused on his foe and pped once more, unleashing a portal near them which soon spat out the very same elemental breath that was absorbed.


    Kierrvan did not bother to dodge, bathing in the mes as they did not do damage to him. Dragons were immune to their own elements after all.


    However, his rating of Anthony spiked. He had the almighty space element, one that was rare and hard to advance for most on Faust. Knowing that he still had another 4 elements, Kierrvan wondered if they were just as potent.

 631 Chapter 631

    Kierrvan did not have to wait long for an answer. Anthony smiled in a strange way, suddenly disappearing from Kierrvan''s sight. The Dragon immediately defended by casting a wood barrier around himself, but noticed that nothing happened.


    Just when he was about to speak out, Kierrvan''s eyes bulged as he felt extreme pain for a second, then numbness. To the outside world, Kierrvan was fine one second and the next, he was battered beyond belief, looking like someone had continually smashed him about for hours on end while he stood in ce.


    Anthony appeared where hest stood, holding his Bo-Staff that was bloodied and swinging the blood away calmly. At that point, Kierrvan and the other Grandmasters understood.


    "T-Time elementˇ­ guhˇ­" Kierrvan revealed as he coughed out scalding hot acidic blood.


    [Time Skip - Level 20 Spell


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Move through the river of time to cross within a local area to advance forward beyond the means of those who are time-locked. The maximum duration is 2 seconds.]


    That''s right. Anthony had used the level 20 Time Skip skill Darius had taught him to advance his time forward by 2 seconds. With his current speed stat of 347 points, you could now understand why he was able to make so many strikes over such arge surface area in an instant.


    Of course, the Time element had its own cost, which was indirect consumption of lifetime, but Anthony did not mind. Those 2 seconds were only a problem if he spammed Time Skip every day for the rest of his life.


    Kierrvan could barely stand, so he directly admitted defeat without shame and exited the field. Against a powerful fellow who was adept in both Space and Time, it would be very hard to win.


    Anthony''s next target was chosen, and it was actually a Demon. This was not a Lesser Demon like that Fire Imp, but an actual High Demon.


    He had two goat-like horns on either side of his head, a humanoid body that was actually very human, only differentiated by his red and ck skin, as well as his ck cornea''s and purple irises.


    With long hair reaching his waist and an attire that was, at best, ''unique'', he did look somewhat dangerous.


    [Name: Laster King || Race: Demon (Higher) || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Underworld Denizen, Necromancer.


    HP: 429,460/429,460 (397,528) || MP: 95,190/95,190 (35,080) || STA: 74,860/74,860 (25,160)


    Level: 96 || (Note: The stats in the brackets are Anthony''s current stats.)


    Power: 322 (632) || Speed: 124 (347) || Constitution: 456 (629)


    Magic: 786 (877) || Will: 1230 (2340) || Luck: 0 (200).


    Skills: Demon w, Demon Fang, Summon Underlings, Hell''s Recall, etc


    Spells: Restore Undead, Summon Undead, Promote Undead, Death Swam, Undead Explosion, Undead Armament, etc.]


    "Surrender, my opponent, and there will be no bloodshed today." The Demon spoke in an imperious tone, as if he was doing Anthony a favor by being considerate.<sub> </sub>


    The Monkey Boy was originally far more aloof and arrogant than even this bloke, so how could be impressed? Anthony just smirked and pointed his Bo-Staff at his enemy.


    "Likewise."


    The Demon clearly did not like that, as his aura red, the ckish-red color of hellfire surrounding him.


    "You will regret that. Summon Undead!" He growled with anger.


    ck portals emerged from the arena floor, various undead pulling themselves up and through it into the world of the living. They were of myriad races, mostly demonkind though, given the origin of their master.


    Anthony simply watched them increase their numbers with a calm nce. He was not intimidated by the numbers in the least, and it showed.


    The Demon waved his army forth to charge at Anthony, their numbers so much that the huge arena was packed. Anthony simply shook his head and raised his Bo-Staff.


    He then swung down where he stood, the tip of his staff disappearing into a swirling portal that was shaped like a diamond. It looked like Anthony''s Bo-Staff had cut through space, but that was far from the truth.


    Rather, hundreds of different smaller ''diamonds'' opened up in the space beside all the undead, the tip of the Bo-Staff appearing from each of them and striking the undead there.


    The monsters were shattered or smashed in a single hit, an entire army turned into nothing at once. Forget, Laster King, almost all the Grandmasters in the crowd stood up with horror upon witnessing this feat.


    To be able to split space to transfer an attack across distances at the Journeyman stage was pretty good and showed sufficient talent in the Space element.


    To be able to do this and superimpose the split space upon empty space as well showed extreme talent in the Space element, one that would go on to shake Faust in the future.


    To be able to do that over a hundred timesˇ­ this was no longer something that could be easily described.


    Yet, here they were, seeing this for their own, with their own two eyes.


    Many fancied snatching Anthony from the stage to dissect his brain and steal his secrets/talent, but they realized that they would not even be able to due to thed''s power.


    He was strong enough to take on a Grandmaster Dragon and a Grandmaster Demon. He - and the brats that came before him - did not deserve to be called ''brats'', but equals from henceforth.


    The crowd settled down once more, and Anthony pointed a finger at Laster, who was grimacing. The decimation of his undead army slowed his battle ns down, but he himself was no pushover.


    He pped his wings and charged Anthony with lightning speed, aiming to sue Demon w to cleave his skull open and allow his brains to flow out.


    Anthony condensed a Void Beam and fired it out, the attack striking Laster up close. The high demon attempted to dodge - obviously - but the attack was not based on conventional physics.


    Unlike typical elements or projectile attacks that are controlled by force, momentum, and whatnot, spatial attacks usually had no such weaknesses.


    There was no ''resistance'' in space, so when it was fired, it practically arrived instantaneously towards its foe.

 632 Chapter 632

    Laster immediately paused and protected himself using his Demonic Energy, but this only slightly mitigated the power of Anthony''s attack. The Demon was blown away into the ground, screaming in pain as the energy coating him got prated by the attack, his arms turning into nothingness.


    They were gone, voided from this area. They definitely still existed, only somewhere else in the universe at this time. This knowledge did not make Laster King any happier, though, as the pain of having one''s body parts instantly teleported away was far more excruciating than using a knife to cut it off.


    It wasn''t just phantom pain, the remnant Void Energy lingered around the affected area, slowly corroding and destroying cells near the wound.


    Laster King climbed to his feet slowly, his bloodshot eyes showing his determination to survive even with this handicap, yet it was futile. A Demon was a powerful being, but against the kind of power Anthony was packing, it was meaningless.


    The moment Laster raised his head, it was easily smashed into by Anthony''s Bo-Staff, blueish-green Aetheric Energy coursing through the Demon''s body and turning him into the building blocks of the universe, pure energy.


    Anthony naturally absorbed this new energy, which enhanced his body and power even further. Part of why his stats were so far above his peers despite only being a half-breed of the Sage Monkey n was because of the Aether element.


    Following the death of Laster, Anthony continued to easily dominate his fights, turning his foes who did not give up in time into energy for himself. The various powers saw this and guessed at what he was doing, but there was nothing they could do.


    Most of them had hunted and killed Aether element users for their absurd power in the same manner as had been done to the respective element discoverer so that they couldn''t propagate it, but Anthony had already reached a level of power where it was difficult to squash him.


    The Gods of Elysium too had been sunk under the sea, the entire continent showered with nuclear bombardment.


    Once Anthony had finished his 10 battles he came down from the arena and all 5 returned to their abodes in the Mage Tower. They consolidated their gains from these fights and healed up, putting the experiences they gained into use.


    The next day, the same thing repeated itself, each one of themsting the full 10 fights, each one disying different applications of their power in order to defeat and outwit craftier foes with higher experience who had factored in what they had already revealed.


    Martin was not picking easy Grandmasters for them either, choosing those who would allow them to test their limits. This continued until the final day came around.


    Ash, Reina, Jonathan, James, and Anthony all had been pushed to their respective limits, even though they had been allowed to rest and restore themselves physically at the end of each day, the mental strain was not something as easy to fix.


    Even just standing where they were made them pant heavily, as if they had run a marathon. It was precisely because of this that those Grandmasters still kept applying, as they saw theds were tired.


    They were not fazed by seeing them ovee the previous 90 Grandmasters each. In their mind, those guys were either unlucky, foolish, or less qualified than them.


    Of course, another reason for the continuous application was the fact that the rewards offered by Safemoon kept doubling with every day. Currently, what was being offered was even enough to make True Lords feel an itch to participate, much less Grandmasters.<sub> </sub>


    Darius was seated in his special VIP room as usual, where he had watched the progress of the Five Apprentices. No matter how often they seeded, how close they came to failure, being left on the verge of death, his expression never changed from a soft smile.


    It was almost as if he had expected everything that was going on, so why disy emotion?


    It was no different from rewatching a movie. The suspense would not work since you knew what came next.


    Even when his disciplespleted their 100 battles alive, with only a few limbs missing for all five, he did not flinch. He simply stood up and teleported back to his Mage Tower, awaiting those excited five brats.


    Soon enough, theds came back after having treated themselves with Lunar Dew. They all knelt before Darius with visible excitement on their faces, hurriedly reporting their sess to him.


    Darius only smiled gently at them. "I know."


    He waved a hand and the five found themselves teleported onto their usual seats before Darius without even being able to resist. Their hearts shook, then settled. After all, their master was the most powerful, so why be surprised?


    Darius crossed his leg gently as he gazed at the five. "I gave you a mission toplete in order to prove you were worthy of my initial investment and for me to take you to the next stage, and you have done so splendidly. Now, it is time for me to fulfill my end of the bargain."


    He snapped his fingers as a slew of Maidbots rolled in and presented the prepared materials to the Five Apprentices who were awash with excitement. They waited for Darius'' signal before they took the familiar potions and used the same scrolls asst time.


    This time, though, there were the additions of the Mind Sea potion, which expanded their mental faculties greatly and strengthen their minds in order to awaken the psychic abilities of Adepts with ease.


    Of course, since their stats had long since passed this threshold, they had already unlocked such power, but this helped them push forward. It didn''t take them long to pierce through their limits, and the limits set by the Faustianws.


    After all, for humans, they far surpassed the threshold. Other races may have high stats, but they would have much more difficulty because their race''s threshold was higher.


    When the energy of theds settled down, Darius pped his hand and gazed at the five of them with interest, thinking to himself.


    ''Now, which elements have you selected for yourself this time, hmm?''

 633 Chapter 633

    The aura of the five settled down and they opened their eyes. Now that they had passed the threshold, the world of Faust had reduced its suppression on them for having stats that were far beyond their stage. because even though they have Grandmaster level stats, they could even use Adept level spells.?


    All spells and tricks they had used in that previous battle were at the Intermediate stage maximum, yet they still managed to clinch victory!?


    So how the hell did they manage to win? Theds did not know, and truthfully Darius didn''t either.?


    You seriously didn''t think he had expected a bunch of 5 Journeyman with Grandmaster level stats who had only been seriously training for around 2 years to beat 100 Grandmasters each whose life had to be counted in centuries and millennia, did you??


    It was as ludicrous as an 11th reincarnator appearing on Faust and being able to not only outsmart but also ovee Darius despite thetter reaching his current means.?


    No, ording to his calctions they should have been able to persevere the first five days, only to lose out the second half, after having shown their hands. Their deaths should have been a natural conclusion to their fights, though given his supply of Lunar Dew resurrecting them would not have posed any problem.?


    a€| and yet the seemingly impossible had happed, so Darius naturally would not go back on his words. With slight anticipation, he waited for them to wake up and state their newly unlocked element, after they had unanimously chosen the Material elementst time around.?


    "Master, I chose the Wind element this time." Ash revealed with a bashful smile.?


    "Master, I chose the Darkness element." Reina revealed respectfully.?


    "Master, I chose the Earth element for myself." Johnathan spoke with clenched fists.?


    "Master, I chose the Light element." James revealed with a creepy grin.?


    "Master Darius, I decided to im the Psychic element." Anthony revealed with a casual smile.?


    Darius listened to them all and nodded, a tiny smile around the edges of his lips. "Exin to me the reason for your choices."?


    Ash began. "I chose the Wind element because, during my battles, I realized that it would synchronize with my Sword Energy very well, allowing me to cast it out farther and faster than any other element, even the Lightning element."?


    Darius raised a finger and fired a gust of wind at Ash, which thed quickly dispersed using his own newly acquired element. "Not bad, it should serve you well."?


    Reina then took the floor. "I chose the Darkness element because I need its ability to weaken targets and bind them. Not to mention that it can help cloak me when I am trying to snipe a target."?


    Darius snapped and sent a spike of darkness towards Reina which she countered hastily using a wall of darkness. "Suitable, the reason makes sense since you already have the Wood element."?


    Jonathan beat his chest bravely. "I took the Earth element because I fell in love with Gunner''s battle style. I don''t want to just be an explosive fighter who deals damage, but also an immovable wall that cannot be breached."?


    Darius hummed and dropped a block of earth from the roof onto Jonathan''s head, which thed calmly caught after coating his arm in Earth Energy.?


    "Great choice, the best so far. It will bnce you out nicely."?


    James was next. "I chose the Light element solely because I want to understand my nemesis. It is the antithesis of everything I am and want to be, so if I am to survive against it and its users, I must know its ins and outs intimately."?


    Darius fired a beam of light which James allowed to strike his body, before he slowly healed himself using the Light element. "Your dedication to understanding your weakness is admirable. You even went so far as to receive my strike head-on to measure the damage it can deal. You have my blessing."?


    All eyes turned to thest and most significant, Anthony. He calmly spoke his reasons as well. "I decided to take the Psychic element despite already possessing some psychic abilities because it is the pathway to not only discover the truth of how the mind affects the world, but how it affects itself."?


    Darius'' eyes narrowed as he released a wave of psychic power to strike Anthony, which manifested as a purplish-blue light that was blocked by a psion barrier that Anthony erected calmly.?


    "Excellent, I hereby permit you to use whatever materials you require to conduct your research. It will be up to you whether you wish to share your findings with me or keep them to yourself."?


    Anthony was touched by this, but he never had any intentions of keeping secrets from his master, he was not an ungrateful fellow. He knew that Darius didn''t care since he and his various resources could likely find the answer faster than Anthony, but it was the gesture that counted.?


    Done with their elements, Darius decided to check their upgraded stats.?


    [Name: Ash Spencley || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.? ?


    HP: 125,960/125960 (47,460) || MP: 40,180/40,180 (18,000) || STA: 15,416/15,416 (9,040)? ?


    Level: 41 (40) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm? ?


    Power: 335 (210)? || Speed: 202 (127)? || Constitution: 376 (226)? ? ?


    Magic: 980 (450) || Will: 1,342 (899) || Luck: 65 (50).? ?<sub> </sub>


    Skills: Omitted.? ?


    Spells: Omitted.]? ?


    [Name: Reina McNickles || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.? ?


    HP: 72,836/72,836 (13,407) || MP: 32,226/32,226 (15,880) || STA: 10,742/10,742 (4,360)?


    Level: 41 (40) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm? ?


    Power: 278 (123) || Speed: 301 (146) || Constitution: 262 (109)? ? ?


    Magic: 786 (397) || Will: 1,990 (1,205) || Luck: 60 (55).? ?


    Skills: Omitted.? ?


    Spells: Omitted.]? ?


    [Name: Jonathan ck || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.? ?


    HP: 302,400/302,400 (77,778) || MP: 23,821/23,821 (9,440) || STA: 22,960/22,960 (11,920)? ?


    Level: 41 (40) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm? ?


    Power: 540 (261) || Speed: 235 (108) || Constitution: 560 (298)? ? ?


    Magic: 581 (236) || Will: 908 (554) || Luck: 55 (45).? ?


    Skills: Omitted.? ?


    Spells: Omitted.]? ?


    [Name: James Jones || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.? ?


    HP: 74,500/74,500 (14,552) || MP: 38,704/38,704 (17,680) || STA: 10,250/10,250 (4,280)? ?


    Level: 41 (40) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm? ?


    Power: 298 (136) || Speed: 736 (325) || Constitution: 250 (107)? ? ?


    Magic: 944 (442) || Will: 1,823 (1,020) || Luck: 80 (70).? ?


    Skills: Omitted.? ?


    Spells: Omitted.]? ?


    [Name: Anthony Sabins || Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.? ?


    HP: 1,525,200/1,525,200 (397,528) || MP: 77,080/77,080 (35,080) || STA: 50,430/50,430 (25,160)? ?


    Level: 41 (40) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm? ?


    Power: 1,240 (632) || Speed: 795 (347) || Constitution: 1,230 (629)? ? ?


    Magic: 1,880 (877) || Will: 3,250 (2,340) || Luck: 300 (200).? ?


    Skills: Omitted.? ?


    Spells: Omitted.]? ?

 634 Chapter 634

    Darius rose from his seat and sent his apprentices away. He teleported to the fifth floor of his Mage Tower and opened his Quest screen.


    [Quests:


    1. Divine


    A. (Stage 3) Kill a True God - 2,000 True Coins, 2,000 AP, 2,000 SP, ''True God Killer'' de, ''True God Killer'' Achievement.


    B. Create your own God - 50,000 True Coins, 2,500 AP, 2,000 SP.


    C. Be a Master Stage Reincarnator - 5,000 True Coins, 500 AP, 500 SP, ''Master Stage'' Achievement.


    2. World


    A. Plunge Faust into Chaos - 300,000 True Coins, ''Chaos Bringer'' Title, ''Lord of Chaos'' Job.


    B. Bring Faust into Prosperity - 300,000 True Coins, ''Advent of Order'' Title, ''Lord of Order'' Job.


    3. Continental


    A. (Stage 1) Conquer Fallon and be recognized as its ruler by all - 50,000 True Coins, ''Conqueror'' Title, ''Fallon Overlord'' Achievement.


    B. Conquer all the continents and be recognized as their ruler by all - 500,000 True Coins, 4,000 AP, 4,000 SP, ''All your continent are belong to me'' de.


    4. Local


    A. (Stage 8) Conquer 50% of the southern territories - 1,000 True Coins, 1,000 AP, 1,000 SP.


    B. (Stage 3) Increase Safemoon''s size and value by 30% - 300 true Coins, 90 AP, 90 SP.


    C. (Stage 1) Raise 5 Apprentices to the Master stage - 300 True Coins, 100 AP, 100 SP, ''Master Teacher'' job.]


    He noticed that some of the older Quests had disappeared, and to no one''s surprise too. A slew of held back system notifications cascaded before him, informing him of what happened.


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Divine Quest: (Stage 2) Kill a False-God.


    Rewards: 200 True Coins, 200 AP, 200 SP, ''False God Killer'' de, ''False God'' Achievement.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Divine Quest: Disgrace the Gods of Elysium


    Rewards: 20,000 True Coins, 2,500 AP, 2,500 SP.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 1) Conquer Fraterina, your mortal enemy.


    Rewards: 50 True Coins, 20 AP, 20 SP, ''Warlord'' job.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 2) Conquer 10% of the northern territories.


    Rewards: 100 True Coins, 100 AP, 100 SP.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 3) Conquer 30% of the northern territories.


    Rewards: 200 True Coins, 200 AP, 200 SP.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 4) Conquer 50% of the northern territories.


    Rewards: 300 True Coins, 300 AP, 300 SP.]<sub> </sub>


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 5) Conquer 100% of the northern territories.


    Rewards: 500 True Coins, 500 AP, 500 SP.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 6) Conquer 10% of the southern territories.


    Rewards: 700 True Coins, 700 AP, 700 SP.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 7) Conquer 30% of the southern territories.


    Rewards: 900 True Coins, 900 AP, 900 SP.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 1) Increase Safemoon''s size and value by 10%


    Rewards: 100 True Coins, 50 AP, 50 SP, ''Developer'' job.]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 2) Increase Safemoon''s size and value by 20%


    Rewards: 200 True Coins, 70 AP, 70 SP.]


    So that was 23,250 True Coins earned. When added to his original bnce of 12,700, this meant he had a gross total of 35,950 True Coins. This windfall was only so good thanks to Miranda''s actions of bombing Elysium.


    Since the Stage 3 Divine Quest wanted him to kill a True God, yet it was iplete, it was a good indicator that the City of Light somehow had managed to survive the bombardment. Truly a shame, but he was not worried about any retaliation in the near future. Whatever means they had used to save themselves, it must have been quite costly.


    With this many True Coins, he could buy a lot of useful items from the True Supreme System Shop, but Darius continued holding out. It required around 50,000 for a specific thing he had set his eyes on, which should prove very useful.


    As for AP and SP, he had gained 5,450 each. This included not only himself, but Gunner, X, and Luna, wherever they were. Darius couldn''t help but smile and decide to see where he could allocate that a bitter.


    He had primarily opened his Quest menu first to see what tasks he could aplish to acquire more rewards. After all, there was no longer a need for him to sit on his ass anymore.


    Everything was now self-sufficient, whether it was the production of troops, the conquering of Fallon, the slow development of Ludo, or the explosive development of Pokterr.


    Nothing directly needed his hand anymore. His apprentices would be busy for a long time with their studies now that they had just entered the Adept stage, Safemoon had already reached a point where it was growing faster than Darius had predicted at this stage, among other things.


    Darius had really enjoyed his time exploring Ludo and going through the Test of Mettle, not to mention the explosive events that came after which had changed his entire second life from the foundation.


    One of the things still left on his to-do list was to pay Pan a visit and study the Immortal system of growth, for it was the only one that promised limitless growth, with no perceivable ceiling.


    However, he only nned to do that once Fallon, Pokterr, and Ludo were 100% secured and he had his three Branded Servants with him. That left him with his original n he had made years ago, when he was still new to the world of Faust.


    Darius took out a coin-like item from his inventory and yed with it calmly. He had earned it a long time ago, when he had still been an Amateur and had just gotten Foldo under his belt.


    [Entry Token - Misceneous


    Durability: 50/50


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 1


    Description: A special pass meant for outsiders of Gravitas. It allows the owner to teleport to the visitor''s center of Gravitas for 24 hours before forcefully being sent back.]


    It was time to pay a visit to this technologically advanced enemy continent.

 635 Chapter 635

    Darius unhesitatingly activated the token, feeling the folds of space warp around him slightly as the token lit up with power. Words appeared in his head as a robotic AI voice instructed him to stand still and wait to be properly warped to his destination.


    Complying, it took a while before Darius found himself traveling through space in the form of a long warp. Admittedly, it was far morefortablepared to the typical portals made with magic or the elements, shocking him slightly.


    Then again, it did make sense. Science-style warping was precise and dealt with heavy calctions of precision and timing, yet it cost absurd amounts of energy while magic-style teleportation just used abstract concepts andws to bind two fixed points using a special type of energy that wasn''t natural.


    Each one had its pros and cons in the end, and Darius was enjoying one of the pros of science-style warping. However, unlike the instantaneous nature of magic-style warping, he was caught in this strange limbo for a few minutes until he felt himself being ejected.


    When he finally appeared at his destination, his ears were greeted by the sounds of ring rm all around him, as his eyes were staring at shing red lights.


    "Alert! Alert! Unauthorized visitor detected! Alert! Alert! Unauthorized visitor detected."


    Hundreds of inferior warrior-like robots came out, all equipped withmon weaponry such as metal-bullet-based guns surrounding him, their weapons pointed at him. To add to this seemingly overkill of a greeting, many turrets opened on each side of the wall, releasing red dots, all aimed at his forehead.


    Despite all of this, he remained calm and inspected the robots around him with intrigue, ignoring the clearly hostile intent behind their appearance. Since they hadn''t straight out attacked him, the real show would begin in only a moment.


    And just then, a set of double doors were opened by a mechanism, revealing three forms wearing what seemed to be skin-tight exosuits. They looked just like what one would expect from actors from a sci-fi movie exploring dangerouss and strange locales in the universe, which amused Darius.


    Like everything else, they didn''t hesitate to point their weapons at him, as the one in the middle addressed him.


    "You! What are you doing here and how did you get here?!"


    Darius shrugged. "I came here to establish a business connection via an Entry Token."


    The three stayed quiet for a bit, before the two at the side raised their weapons once more, while the one in the middle, clearly their leader, gestured out. "Hand it over then."


    Darius tossed the now powerless token to her, at which point she summoned out various tools out of thin air to inspect it. Once she was done, the woman tossed it back to Darius, also aiming her gun at him.


    "It''s a legit Entry Token, which would grant you legal ess to the visitor center... only they were discontinued here many years ago, so no one should be able to get one in this day and age organically."


    Ahˇ­ well yes, that would exin theircking wee.<sub> </sub>


    Darius had really hoped that his visit here could have gone unnoticed while he stealthily gathered information and set up a branch here, but Gravitas was too smart for its own good.


    Well, since stealth was no longer an option, he was not averse to using force, and the situation truly demanded it. Before any could fire, Darius flicked a finger and sent a line of chain lightning snaking through the bodies of his assants.


    The Advanced spell was as thick as a log and had as much power as one smashing through them. Each target was reduced to ashes before the electricity could jump to the next, shocking the three humans.


    Before they could fire or scream, they too were struck and turned into nothing. Darius didn''t even gaze at their corpses before he calmly left the tform where he stood and idly walked through the facility.


    "Miranda, dear, you can enter theirwork and do what you want while I go around." Darius prompted the AI.


    "Yay! I was waiting for your permission before starting, just in case they put a falsework in ce for visitors!" Miranda chirped as she zipped into the continent-widework belonging to Gravitas.


    Darius knew she would be busy for a good while sorting out what she was experiencing and breaking through whatever blocksy in her way, so he snapped and finger and turned the walls of the facility into sand.


    He himself stepped into the wider world, marveling at what he saw which was nothing like what he expected. Instead of a modern-esque world simr to the early 21st century, what Darius saw was rather a hyper-advanced civilization relying on magitech.


    The buildings, technology, and people were all of the same element, which was that they seemed to be straight out of a Japanese role-ying game''s idea of an advanced civilization.


    Progressive medieval-esque clothing fitted with a mixture of steampunk and cyberpunk level technology, cars styled like boats that hovered over the ground, and buildings that had neon lights but had the architectural style of the Victorian era.


    Darius stood there as his eyes narrowed with intrigue. "Well, well Gravitas, it seems you have been hiding a lot from the world, haven''t you?"


    Darius was not under an illusion that they had developed rapidly from what they showed, even in Sino D''Mara''s memories of 8,000+ years ago. Such a change would show in the fundamental aspects of their society, from top to bottom.


    To the world, and to those in the know, Gravitas was as technologically adept as the modern Earth equivalent. It also seemed that had been that way for thousands of years, like they had never been able to progress further.


    However, the biggest proof of their lie was right behind Darius, the visitors center. It was a ce to receive foreign dignitaries who had no choice but to be received by the Gravitas'' top echelon, and they styled the meeting ce like modern Earth.

 636 Chapter 636

    Darius almost wanted tough. This was a great deception, one that had likely even fooled True Lords. Gravitas had pulled the wool over everyone''s eyes, and Darius now understood why, or at least, he had an idea why.


    The umtion of military power!


    Why did he think so?


    Well, apart from it being usually the most obvious reason why a faction would hide their affairs, it was also because the power gap between a magitech civilization and a modern Earth one was huge.


    Bullets were not omnipotent, they could be spotted by a myriad of means, even more so in a world filled with magic and elements. No matter the tanks, the rockets, and all those things, they could be stopped as long as the person receiving them had a certain level of power to resist it.


    In essence, it was dangerous, but not catastrophic. Even nukes, which were something Miranda had used to destroy Elysium, were only deterrents based on their atomic reaction.


    What had made Miranda''s nukes all the more dangerous was how far they were developedpared to the modern equivalent and the fact that they were powered directly by Source Energy, allowing their payoff to be powerful enough to even kill False Gods.


    It was different from typical nukes which even the average Demi-God could tank with ease. Heck, even Grandmasters worth their salt could resist them sufficiently.


    This was why Gravitas was isted but not feared. They had enough power to cause a bit of trouble, but only once and not very potently. Rather than bother with those strange freaks, the rest of the world would rather deal with other problems first thene down upon themter.


    Like this, Gravitas bought the most precious resource for a developing civilization based on technology: Time.


    With time, they developed to what they were now. Now, they were arguably powerful enough to be a threat on the scale of Miranda''s forces.


    Why did Darius say so?


    Because to be a true magitech civilization was not just about the aesthetic, the clothes, the lifestyle, and the designs, but rather theplete and total domestication of Ethereal Energy, i.e mana!


    This was not just terrible because of the powerful nature of mana and the worth of what it could do for technology based on it, but also because of the fact that mana possessed a part of the three traits a machine/tech empire needed to be an apocalypse, infinite energy.


    Mana was a pseudo infinite energy source, always present, free to harvest without ever truly running out. It was like sunlight. It could be harvested and converted into the type of power needed as long as one had the tech to do so.


    So why was it called pseudo-infinite energy and not infinite energy?


    There were two main reasons.


    The first was the density of mana or presence of mana and the second was the efficiency of harvesting.<sub> </sub>


    Mana was anywhere and everywhere, but it varied in quality from ce to ce. Not to mention that when it was drained heavily, it would enter a result in a deficiency and would need to recover over time.


    That endless nature and ability to recover without cost was why it was infinite energy at its base, but its inability to maintain its output or density at all times regardless of harvesting/suction, creating ''downtime'' periods where it could not be essed, was why it wasbeled with ''pseudo''.


    As for the efficiency, it had more to do with the artificial aspect. The technology and machines you used to harvest mana from the atmosphere were very important in the sustainability of energy production.


    Just like with sunlight, sr panels were used in the modern era. Sr panels were not nearly as efficient a method of harvestingpared to a Dyson Sphere for example.


    A Dyson Sphere was sustainable for major uses and could work independently once made, not requiring extra input, whereas sr panels used batteries to store absorbed power after conversion, which were vtile and needed constant changing.


    Such a thing was not conducive to the operation of infinite energy, so this artificial limitation could turn an actual infinite energy source into a pseudo one until it was fixed.


    For example, if your civilization needed, say, 10 trillion watts of power per hour to break even on all forms of consumption, and you could only harvest 2 trillion watts per hour, you would be in a deficit.


    Well, Darius could not tell their level of advancement from just looking, Miranda would have more for him when she stole all of their information. Right now, he needed to deal with the magitech piloted mechs that hadnded before him and began firing without even asking.


    Gravitas REALLY did not want anyone alive who had seen through their farce.


    Darius waved a hand and used his Psychomancy to grip all the mechs in the air, crushing them like tin cans as the drivers within screamed in agony as the sharp bits of their metal exteriors tore them to shreds.


    What shocked Darius were the civilians. Rather than flee like hapless chickens, they all roared with bloodshot eyes and charged at him, even children. With a single swipe, he crushed all their heads in, leaving only a single child alive who rushed over and bit his leg like a feral dog.


    "Die intruder, die! You will bring disaster to my home and my Mummy!" She snarled as she truly bit at Darius in the hopes of ripping him to shreds.


    Darius lifted her up using his hand and dangled her in the air with an amused smile. "Such intense mental programming. They have been made to fear the effect of someone leaking their secrets more than their lives. Truly brutal."


    Darius smiled at the strugglingss who was kicking and punching furiously to try and escape.


    "Before I came to Faust, I would not have been able toy a finger on you. But unfortunately for you, my delicate sensibilities have changed quite badly over time."


    Darius crushed her head and let her body dangle uselessly before tossing her to the side.


    "Now, to continue my investigation."

 637 Chapter 637

    A magitech society was certainly a marvel for the eyes. Darius casually walked through the streets, passively dealing with any civilians who dared to attack him by using his Chain Lighting that turned them into ash as it continued to snake endlessly.


    Its current chain was 28 people, so that exact number were quelled before new ones came in. Pondering, Darius smiled and used Channeling to put his entire 276,750 points of MP into the spell, creating a veritable nuke.


    He fired it out and watched a beam of electricity as thick as an industrial pipeunch out and strike every person in range, snaking through so fast it left afterimages. Darius could now walk unhindered for the next few blocks, as everyone had been turned to ash, leaving dust on the roads.


    He entered what he assumed to be a library and saw a slew of books on various shelves, along with a terminal where students could plug their version of the Gravitas bracelet or whatever contraption they used here to download information.


    As Miranda was busy doing her own thing, Darius decided not to disturb her. Rather, he casually sat down in a chair and took out some books from the shelves using his telekinesis, bringing them to hover before his face.


    Without even touching them, they flipped in front of Darius, his eyes able to record the information within due to his absurd speed at 1,000 points.


    It looked like Darius was removing books, flipping through them casually from beginning to end, recing them, and taking the next one out to do the same, only that he was doing this 5x faster than you would imagine.


    With such speed, he cleared this entire library within five minutes, and finally began to ponder.


    "This is very interesting." He murmured.


    Gravitas had not always been the bastion of technology it appeared as these days. ording to its own history, Gravitas had started out as a continent that was meant for barbarians and pirates, a roughshod ce that was unruly.


    It wasn''t until the Great Hero was born that things began to change. He brought strange political ideals and technological contraptions to the continent, ushering them from their ignorance to an age of prosperity.


    Of course, their Great Hero took more than a lifetime to achieve this, and more importantly, he used many miraculous means which no one understood or could exin. There was a lot more to it, but Darius was already certain of the important factors.


    Obviously, this so-called Great Hero must have been the reincarnator who had spawned on Gravitas. He must have been one of the first, as Gravitas had been known for its tech for as long as written history goes.


    This certainly exined much of everything. The reincarnator in question must have been from modern earth, and had a system like him. Whether it was through system rewards or a shop, he eventually purchased things that had allowed him to develop this continent greatly.


    As for where he was, Darius did not know. He was assuming that the person passed away in peace, but he was doubtful since reincarnators always had a way to survive against time.


    Rather, the likeliest scenario was that Vena had collected them all once they reached the height of their power to add to her army of such fellows. Darius had already epted that his fate was to be collected in just such a manner.


    The fellow respected Vena for giving him a second chance, and he was thrilled at having his loved ones brought along with him, as he had already led a full life to the end.<sub> </sub>


    Rather than live endlessly on Faust, doing the same thing every day until he got fatigued and began hibernating endlessly, he preferred signing under Vena''s banner and experiencing what the pinnacle of the universe and creation had to offer.


    With that, Darius exited the library and found that hundreds of airships hovered above him, their cannons and various weaponry aimed at him. On those airships were thousands of soldiers, as well as mechanical warriors and even true Mechs.


    Unlike before, they didn''t fire at him, rather remaining where they were as a huge airship that seemed to be the leader of the fleet moved to hover above him imposingly.


    Once squarely above him, a tform was released that carried five people down. These five people were a mixture of men and women wearing exosuits, but theirs were most distinct and shypared to the others.


    They looked more like a group of fancy space ninjas being led by a space MILF.


    The one in the lead spoke coldly. "Intruder upon ournds, what is your purpose?"


    "My purpose? I had simply nned to pay you a visit using my Entry Token. However, upon arrival, I was attacked." Darius exined calmly.


    The five seemed astounded by this, not expecting aint, seemingly rather expecting a snarky reply or some threat.


    One of them checked a certain device and then nodded to the leader among them. Darius read their minds and found that this item was a Lie Detector that worked using brainwaves, something that interested him slightly.


    "And how did you get that Entry Token? We have stopped issuing them for many years now." The leader asked seriously.


    "I bought it from a ck market associate and was able to identify it for what it truly was." Darius answered truthfully.


    He wanted to see where this would go, which was why he was humoring them this much. The one holding the Lie Detector nodded once more to their leader, who seemed speechless.


    It was no surprise, though, she may not have been there personally, but she knew the kind of devastation Darius had wrought in mere moments aftering out of the visitor center.


    Right now, more than 200,000 people were dead by his hands alone, killed directly. Who knew how many more had died indirectly through the events of today.


    ? For all of this to stem simply due to a misunderstandingˇ­


    This was by far the worse way the situation could have developed, because the me became hard to pin and the morality of the situation became murky.

 638 Chapter 638

    "So, how do you n to resolve this?" Darius asked with a soft smile.


    His question struck the leader deeply, because this suddenly had be a very troublesome situation. Gravitas didn''t care about its reputation with the world. They had next to no foreign rtions, so this team would not have bothered to even speak to Darius had he not possessed sufficient personal power.


    And that was what stumped them, his power.


    He had seemingly casually razed 30 city blocks into nothingness. The most astonishing thing, however, was that he had limited his targets to only the people. That coupled with how he had cleared the visitor center, his power was definitely above that of typical Grandmasters, that they could tell.


    Was he a Demi-God then?


    At this moment, one of the other team members in the group of five signaled their boss and spoke to her through thems.


    "No need to think so much, Boss. He is a visitor, isn''t he? So let''s grant him top visitor rights and status while waiting for orders on how to proceed next. It should defuse the tense situation and allow us to prepare suitable methods and ns to destroy him."


    The other four seemed shocked by the idea, and the leader quickly replied after thinking for a short while. "Let''s go with that for now. Report upwards on our decision, and set everything up."


    Darius gazed at the one who made the suggestion, speaking for all five of them, then smiled harmlessly. The leader took a deep breath and could not be bothered to fret if Darius had some means to hear their chatter throughms.


    "Well, clearly, this situation is quiteplex and troublesome. We would like to offer you a temporary visitor status from us while we sort out the cause and effect of everything, granting both parties a suitable solution for this unfortunate event." The leader used their best legal and corporate lingo to try to put their n across.


    "I refuse."


    So it was natural that they were bbergasted when they heard Darius resolutely reject the idea while smiling at them as if they were children. The leader took a deep breath and asked.


    "May I ask why?"


    Darius nodded. "I don''t mind answering that. You see, I have already gauged your power and found that it is greatlycking in what I can output at 50% of my max power. None of your Mechs, your men, nor your artillery are capable of surviving my offense nor can they breach my defense. The only thing you have that could possibly harm me are rail guns and nukes, but they''d do far more damage to yourself than me."


    Darius yed with the Entry Token in between his fingers with a provocative smile. "You see, I am a merchant at heart. I like to maintain friendships where I can and seek benefits where I shouldn''t. However, I have reached a level of power that allowsˇ­ no, COMPELS meˇ­ to be selective of those I grant that benefit."


    He copped the coin and flicked it at the member of the five who had suggested the idea, which traveled at what was easily 1200km/h since it was imbued with electricity.<sub> </sub>


    It blew through the head of that person,pletely rupturing their brain and sshing their brain matter on their four remainingpatriots faster than they could execute 1/20th of a blink.


    "There is no need for me to think too much here. I came here to relieve my boredom, not to waste time. Gravitas was never an important destination, it''s just a yground for me while I wait for more important things to reach their conclusion."


    The four finally regained their senses and reacted to the still-standing corpse beside them. One of them, a burly male in a blue exosuit with horns like a triceratops roared with anguish.


    "NOOO! JESSICAA!! YOU MOTHERFUCKER, THAT WAS MY WIFE!!" He charged at Darius while wielding a rocket-powered hammer that radiated magic and mana. A magitech enhanced weapon.


    Darius raised a hand and caught the t end of the hammer meant to smash his head in, pulling it from the grasp of his enemy - which unbnced him - and then struck him into the ground with his own weapon.


    He was nted into the road like a cartoon character, only that the visible dent in his skull was not as amusing for children. Darius slung the hammer over his shoulder with a calm smile.


    "I won''t ridicule your pain. I''m sorry for your loss. Allow me to help you join her in the afterlife, and may Vena be kind to your souls if she''s watching."


    He easily used one hand to smash the hammer down, turning the head of his opponent into his neck. As for his neck, it was not part of his torso.


    Long story short, he was dead.


    With only three remaining, the other party could only stand there dumbfounded. It wasn''t that they were hapless children, but rather things had happened too fast for them to ovee their shock and return to their training.


    In just 2 seconds, two of theirpatriots they had just been joking around and chatting with were dead beyond measure. They had died so simply and effortlessly on the opposing party''s behalf that they couldn''t help but remember his words.


    Seeing his hostility, the airships hovering above immediately began charging their cannons to fire upon Darius. The man himself smiled and blinked onto one of the airship''s deck, nodding towards the shocked deckhands who were prepping everything for the shot.


    "Good day gentlemen, your death will be quick as I will be exploding your power supply." Darius stated as he blinked into the generator room andunched a Fireball at it.


    He disappeared from that airship and appeared in the next one, in the same room as well, performing the same action. Each airship he left immediately shuddered greatly before exploding loudly in the sky, creating a minor mushroom cloud that swept the area.


    Darius had destroyed 30% of them before the heat and shockwave reached the one he was currently on, so he paused and returned to the ground, watching the fireworks as the airships all lit up one after the other due to the chain reaction.

 639 Chapter 639

    Darius smirked as he watched the events unfold. There was a hidden appreciation for the direct method which Gunner often employed. During their journey, he had seen the half-giant resolve pretty much all of life''s problems like this.


    While Darius usually preferred subtler methods, that was limited to civilizations he had a n for. For example, he would not behave like this on Pan, Houto, Kiel or Unyris.


    Gravitas, however, only had one destiny, destruction. After all, there was nothing worth saving.


    Their tech? He had better, even without the new System Shop.


    Their loyalty? They were brainwashed, so the hassle to convert them wasn''t worth it, especially not when he had a cheaper and better way of popting now.


    Their resources? Please, did you forget about the existence of Transmutation? Heck, even the cheaper Material Element could do the job.


    "Daddy! I''m back! Here''s what I found!" Miranda chirped as she downloaded a summarized version of the information.


    Darius paused and absorbed the information, smiling as he understood things better, his conjectures also linking together to finally make sense.


    He had already known that Gravitas would have its own power system, but now he knew for a fact that the mana here was not able to enter the bodies of humans. The residents would always have to rely on external means like technology to convert this mana into something usable.


    Apparently, they used something called an Ether Refinery to convert mana into a derivative energy source called Ether. It was their version of electricity from the modern world, basically.


    It could power anything and everything, and their technology revolved around it. They had advanced into thete stage of magitech when a Great Scientist invented the miniaturized Ether Refinery.


    This allowed households to be powered separately, allowed the creation of airships and allowed them to power great weapons of energy that could deal great amounts of damage.


    Miranda had already gone through their millennia of research over this continent''s mana and ether, finding that there was an interesting dynamic.


    First of all, there was naturally a small loss when converting mana to Ether. Depending on the quality of the refinery, even thetest generation experienced a 0.0002% loss of mana when converting.


    You see, this wouldn''t usually be a problem, if it wasn''t for the fact that mana was finite!


    That''s right, only on Gravitas, for some strange reason, the mana here was actually finite in quantity. Every bit of it that was lost in any form of usage and conversion would be gone forever.


    This was not much of a problem now, but with repeated use of Ether Refineries and Ether energy for daily life, among other things, there would always be a small amount of mana lost per day that would eventually lead to the continent turning barren.


    This was Gravitas most closed guarded secret, and even God Krona did not have ess to this information. Unfortunately for them, they chose to destroy physical recordings and rely on the digital, which - given their cybersecurity - was not exactly a problem... until they encountered the Miranda AI.


    Miranda was powered by endless Source Energy and over 15 satellites as well as the entirety of the underground of Pokterr being returned into a sort of Silicon Valley for her, with many servers lining every cubic meter there.


    Suchputing power was not something that the Gravitas system could withstand, potent as it was. As such, even the most obscure and well protect data ended up being fished out by Miranda with ease, the entirework raided and cleaned out.


    And now, this precious and damaging information was in the hands of Darius Stone.<sub> </sub>


    Oh woe upon thee Gravitasˇ­


    Darius had only about cleared the city area around himself.


    Gravitas, though, was an entire continent about the size of Asia yet shaped like Japan from Earth. From his map, Darius could tell that he was at the southern end of the continent, where most of Gravitas military assets were stored.


    That was why so many airships and Mechas could be mobilized to fight him in such short notice. The true industrial and residential areas were up to the north.


    Darius guessed that the upper echelons of Gravitas government must already have known he was here and must know the power he possessed.


    The interesting thing would be the see how they would approach dealing with him?


    Would they be sincere and seek pardon or cooperation?


    Would they be insincere and pretend to seek peace but plot behind his back?


    Or would they decide to go all out and die to thest man?


    Darius got his answer when Miranda speechlessly appeared on his HoloBrace and spoke with a strange tone.


    "Daddy, theyunched three of their most powerful warheads at you. They took a military vote and decided that the death of almost 300 billion people in this southern section of the continent from the heat, shockwave and ensuing radiation was worth bringing you down."


    Darius raised an eyebrow. "Is that so? Not a bad choice if I was still under Ceasar''s old system. However, the current me, while not immune, can certainly not be killed by such a thing."


    Miranda pouted unhappily. "Hpmh, I don''t like it! Why don''t I remotely detonate those warheads right in their missile silos? Given how they have been spread out over the continent, a simultaneous explosion should end all life here as we know it."


    Imagine hearing a cute twintails loli saying such horrific words. How would you feel?


    Even Darius was a bit dazed, but he remembered that while this was the voice and visage of Miranda during the silliest and sweetest era of her life, underneath the mask was nevertheless a cold and calcting AI.


    "There''s no need to go so far. The more I destroy on Faust, the more I weaken myself when I inevitably be the Supreme. Rather than removing continents, we should see to create more and popte them with new species."


    After all, a King was nothing without subjects, territory and sovereignty.


    Subjects werergely disposable since Darius could now create his own authentic living beings, not to mention he could casually elevate poption growth with a few products.


    Land, though, not so much.

 640 Chapter 640

    Any living being capable of reproducing could be treated as a renewable resource. Land though, was neither renewable nor could it be created easily unless one achieved the ability to stably terraform.


    While Darius had that ability, he was not, as a matter of fact, Goddess Vena or even close to her level of power. When creating Faust, Vena had done more than just wave her hand to create 10ndmasses. Eachndmass had been given its own specific set of rules, powers andws.


    Darius could at best, observe and manipte rules, powers andws but to create them? Hah.


    As omnipotent as he might seem to the inhabitants of Faust, he was a far way off from exploring all the rules andws this world contained, much less create his own. So even if he did use a mixture of magic and Transmutation to spawn a hugendmass and develop it into a continent, what would be its rules?


    It might end up being a raw piece ofnd with no magical/special aspect, like a normal continent on Earth. Able to support life yes, but forget about there being mana, Source Energy or the like avable.


    So no, Darius could not simply treat thendmass of Gravitas with the same level of contempt like he did its poption. Of course, that wouldn''t stop him from the soon to take ce genocide...


    After that, he could secretly develop Gravitas as a second base.


    Like Pokterr, but without being in the limelight.


    Darius rubbed his chin as the idea appealed more in more to his mind.


    "Miranda, do not detonate the warheads within their silos. Wait for them to beunched and then detonate them in the atmosphere, high above thend. That way, the shockwave and heat will only kill living beings and irradiate thend after." Dariusmanded.


    A little radioactivity wasn''t a big deal. Miranda and her robots could easily clean it up. The question that Darius was already pondering on was what kind of life to spawn on Gravitas. He was in love with the act of creation, but was getting tired of limiting himself solely to humans.


    As a qualified Supreme, would it not be best to diversify his portfolio?


    So then, what kind of race to spawn on the continent after? Darius would have to consider that in detail.


    (Author''s Note: to put it bluntly, here is your chance to influence my novel, so give me suggestions!)


    (Editor''s Note: Feel free to give us as much information as you want, be it in thements, or in the discord ;) )


    As for now, he simply looked up into the sky as the entire continent shook. Hundreds of missile warheads had beenunched from the silos situated all around the continent, flying into the sky as they released tons of waste due to the burning of fuel in the form of Ether.


    Darius could vividly imagine how the military heads and all those technicians in charge of these warheads must be in a panic, filled with awe and shock, wondering who or what had breached their system to simultaneouslyunch these weaponsˇ­ and why.<sub> </sub>


    Helpless and unable to stop them, they could only make like the civilians of Gravitas and look up into the sky to watch these missiles go up with almost morbid fascination.


    A part of them told them that they should not just be standing there like idiots but seek immediate cover, but another part of them knew that unless they could suddenly dig hundreds of feet underground in seconds, they were not going to escape what came next.


    In thesest few seconds until the end, leaders were rushed from their ces to nearby preprepared bunkers meant to withstand the nuclear fallout. They did not know that locking themselves underneath such a thing would only leave them trapped and open to ughter once Miranda''s robots woulde over for the cleanup.


    Eventually, the warheads reached the apex of theirunch, and detonated without any suspense. The shockwaves spread out, collided with each other and caused unbelievable damage to all things that existed above and below.


    The sky was painted yellow, as if the sun had risen from the ground, and there was a blinding sh. Those standing below only had one second to cry before their skin was torn of their body, their skeletons standing there like it was Halloween time.


    Unfortunately, before the lovely Halloween theme of spooky scary skeletons could y, the heat washed over thend and turned these skeletons to ash immediately, destroying buildings and vehicles.


    Ah but remember, these things were not powered by electricity, but refined Ether. Refined Ether was a form of energy, and was extremely susceptible to change. Not only that, but it was suitably vtile.


    This meant that the heat caused a chain reaction, causing any device, car or property containing Etheric energy or an Ether Refinery to explode as well.


    So to summarize, there were big explosions and millions of small explosions. The entire continent was swept up by this, shaking to its very core.


    Luckily, due to extensive development by the humans that had formerly called this ce home, the continent was far sturdier than others. It withstood the abuse without crumbling unlike that sad excuse for a continent called Elysium.


    You''d think that a continents made for gods would have more resilience and more defenses, but no. The Gods did not bother to fortify the continents itself because they had their Divine Kingdoms where they invincible.


    What made them extremely stupid in the eyes of all onlookers was that their very same ''invincible'' Divine Kingdoms were attached to the continent itself. If the continent perished, then they would perish too, which was why Athena''s warning had been timely and heeded without dy.


    As for Hercules and Theseus, they should have been given forewarning by Miranda and escaped that ce.


    What was interesting to Darius was the fact that Deia had not perished from that act, a fact he knew for certain as he had already tried to buy her soul from the True Supreme System''s shop. Since it was unavable, it could only mean she was still alive, though it told him nothing about how well she was doing.


    Be that as it may, after dealing with Gravitas today and nting the seeds for takeover, it would be time for him to rest a bit and let Gunnerplete the conquest.


    Once Luna also retrieved all the Collectibles he needed, he and his trio of Branded Servants would travel to Pan next, to experience the wonderful world of the Immortals.

 641 Chapter 641

    While her master was busy in Gravitas, Luna had arrived at the first location on the list that Darius had given her, the fabled Kingdom of the Goblins. Just like you would imagine, it was a pseudo-mechanical empire that stretched far into the southern end of Fallon.


    Here, the the majority of the poption was naturally made up of the diminutive fellows, with a few humanoids here and there acting in various positions. Some appeared to be residents from the way they dressed and interacted, others were likely ves or servants given their hunched backs and attempts to make themselves less visible.


    There were some were tourists in the mix, here to enjoy the scenery, but also those like Luna, here on some type of mission mission. They had guided steps and did not look like they cared much for what was around them.


    Luna checked her current character sheet after fighting, training and allocating points she got after leaving Safemoon.


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 7,500,000/7,500,000 (1,000,000) || MP: 3200/3200 (650) || STA: 80,000/80,000 (19,000)


    Level: 32 (19) || Experience: 33% || AP: 105 (5605) || SP: 4741 (5490)


    Power: 3000 (1000) || Speed: 3000 (1000) || Constitution: 2500 (1000)


    Magic: 1000 || Will: 1000 || Luck: 1000.


    Skills: Void Walking - Lv.100 (45), Void Transfer - Lv.100 (50), Eyes of Death - Lv.100 (50), Shadow Stalk - Lv.100 (1), Soul Reading - Lv.100 (1), Extreme Killing Techniques - Lv.100 (1), Empty Aura - Lv.100 (1)


    Spells: Moon Blessing - Lv.100 (1), Spatial Mask - Lv.100 (1)]


    [Void Walking - Level 100 (45) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 100 (30) MP per second


    Description: This is the trademark skill of the Void Beast n of Unyris. It is a skill that can only be learned by one with the ability to connect with space on a fundamental level, and allows a person to create a void within their own body where they may fight from. At level 100, the size of the void is 500 (225) square meters.]


    [Void Transfer - Level 100 (50) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 200 MP


    Description: This is a spell that allows the user to create a portal in two ces within 10 meters of their body. These portals are invisible to the naked eye, and are the size of a hand. At level 100 (50), it remains active for 300 (150) seconds.]


    [Eyes of Death - Level 100 (50) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: The trademark skill of the Moonughter Vampire n, the Eyes of Death allow one to see the weak points in a target''s body and strike for them. They are also able to see through Master (Advanced) illusions, trace movements as well as tracks to a Masterful (Significant) degree. The eyes also allow one to see through walls and into the atomic realm.]


    [Spatial Mask - Level 100 (1) Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: This spell allows you to hide a specific set of spatial coordinates from detection through the five senses or any other unique sense. The quality of the masking depended on the skills level against the sensory power of the target.]<sub> </sub>


    [Shadow Stalk - Level 100 (1) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a skill that belongs to the Shadow Beast n of Unyris. It allows them to walk undetected through any light-cast shadow in range, teleporting between them with ease.


    At level 100, the maximum range is 100,000 (1000) meters.]


    [Soul Reading - Level 100 (1) Skill


    ? Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: An evil skill belonging to the Immortals of Pan, it allows a person to read the memories of a target by breaking their mental defenses. This does permanent damage to the target''s mind, so beware of using this!]


    [Extreme Killing Techniques - Level 100 (1) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is the set of assassin based skills created a by a certain supreme being when they were still just mortal. It consists of five moves, Death Walk, Veil of Worlds, Ethereal Clone, Dagger of Death and the Vanishing Technique. Damage with daggers increased by 50,000% (500%).]


    [Empty Aura - Level 100 (1) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique and strange skill belonging to a certain race not native to Faust but had passed through at one point during its inception from the outer universe. It creates a barrier around a person that separates them from the current dimension into the purgatory one.]


    Luna had spent most of her AP increasing her power, but only lightly touched her SP. She left it in case she acquired more important skillster on, and rather increased those of her current roster that were factually important to a reasonably level.


    This was all to facilitate her actions. In the time she had left, the Moon Elf had learned a lot about the world and how people were supposed to act and react socially.


    In essence, she had gained quite a bit ofmon sense.


    However, one thing she was still frustrated by was what was urring right now. Some youthful fellow was approaching her with a glint in his eyes, his brainwaves practically emitting lust that Luna could sense thanks to her overwhelming power.


    As a Moon Elf, she was the opposite of the cute beauty X. Luna was more attuned to the dark, and therefore had an easier time sensing ''negative'' emotions. From her face, to her chest, to her hips, and to her slender feet, Luna was built perfectly.


    It was the kind of shape that made it a sin to NOT approach her with nefarious intentions, rather than ignore her. She would always be the center of attention wherever she went due to her looks and body, which annoyed her because it was detrimental to her tasks and designation.


    Luna had learned how to deal with such fellows by openly ring at them with murderous intentions. If the fellow was a noble pansy without much personal power, he would metaphorically piss himself and scramble away.


    A few times, it did not work as well since the fellows were quite powerful and confident in themselves, so they still came over.


    Unfortunately for her, the one currently approaching her, was exactly a specimen belonging to thetter category.

 642 Chapter 642

    "I''m not interested." Luna dered coldly once the fellow was within hearing range. She had intentionally made her voice loud enough that passersby would hear her, something she had learned was super effective on such annoying pests.


    As expected, the fellow paused on the spot with an awkward expression on his face as he was stared at by all those who happened to pass by, some looking at him with mocking and some with amusing expressions. However, the next moment he red at them as a light shed from his eyes.


    They suddenly bled from their eyes and ears, screaming in pain. This surprised Luna, for the Goblin Kingdom might not be as powerful as human empires, but causing trouble on their turf would lead to various consequences.


    Otherwise, Luna wouldn''t have been ''polite'' and would have directly stabbed the fellow to death.


    The fellow sneered and ignored the pedestrians he harmed and focused on Luna, wearing a ttering smile once more. He briskly walked over despite Luna''s rising killing intent, and then bowed to introduce himself.


    "Hello there beautiful elf, my name is Gelud Froriest. I am the Crown Prince of the Justavian Empire and would like to invite you for a cup of tea."


    His mannerisms and his bearing revealed him to be a member of nobility with an excellent upbringing, not to mention his voice was silky smooth for a man. Coupled with his partially slicked back white hair, dark red eyes and angr features, he was truly adykillerˇ­ if thedy in question was interested.


    "You are intruding on my personal space and I have no intentions to get to know you. Thank you and goodbye." Luna replied as she continued to walk off.


    This made Crown Prince Gelud sputter in defeat, wondering why this woman was so tough. Geez, it wouldn''t hurt to take a gander at his dashing, immacte and refined features for two seconds, would it?


    Gelud watched the leaving Luna and hesitated. However, when he saw the sway of her hips in her skin tight polymer suit meant for stealth, as well as the bounce of her two peaches and the way they pped against each other, his will became firm.


    He ''dashingly'' ran past Luna and smiled once more. "You seem to be new to the Goblin Kingdom, so why don''t I show you around?"


    Luna frowned deeply, wondering if she should just forgo stealth and kill this fellow. Even if the item she wanted was here, she could still optionally retrieve it by force, though that was not her first choice.


    Darius hadn''t said anything, but the Martin AI on her HoloBrace advised her that purchasing the Collectibles would be the best possible oue. If not, she could try theft and if that failed, she could resort to violence.


    However, there was now a metaphorical fly in her soup.


    "No, now leave me alone." Luna reiterated impatiently.


    Gelud was aware he was extremely disliked by now and was only making things worse. A part of him wanted to retreat and try again another day, another part wanted to scoff and believe it was her loss, and the majority of his logic function ceased whenever he nced at Luna''s side profile and saw the bulging protrusions.


    At this time, another fellow suddenly appeared with a frown on his face.


    "Beautiful miss, is this guy bothering you? If so, allow me to chase the cretin away on your behalf!" The fellow offered with a winsome smile, feeling as if the beauty before him was all but his, given his performance.


    "Huh? Who the fuck are you?" Gelud asked with an angry expression.<sub> </sub>


    It was one thing for him to fail to woo the beauty in front of him, but he would not allow himself to be used as a stepping stone, paving the way for another to y hero!


    "Prince Justin of the Hukian Empire, at your service." The fellow introduced himself arrogantly, with an expression that said ''know your ce, springboard''.


    "Well, I will have you know that I amˇ­ etc"


    "And so what, the h h empire is only mediocrepared toˇ­etc"


    "Insolent? Do you believe that I wont call my protectors toˇ­etc"


    "Haha call them, I too haveˇ­ etc"


    The two began to argue and threaten each other until they were all but ready to sh. Suddenly, the two of them wanted to check on Luna''s demeanor to see if she was pissed by their bickering, only to notice that the Moon Elf was long gone!


    Immediately, both men felt like they had lost a million bucks and were on the verge of tears. Their perfect queen had appeared before them, but had run away because of an interloper!


    Thinking like this, they gazed at each other, their eyes filled with hatred and malice, and it was clear that neither one could tolerate the continued existence of the other.


    "I hope your Hukian Empire is ready because this means war!" Gelud threatened deeply.


    "Bring it on, we will crush your shitty Justavian Empire!" Justin responded without fear.


    Both men hmph-ed coldly and turned around to leave, but in a few days, they would make good on their word and use their various influence to start a small scale war between their empires that would soon blow up into a full one.


    All because of Luna, who was just passing by and happened to be the perfect eye candy. Could this be the fabled ''kingdom destroying beauty'' that was overhyped on Earth?


    Luna herself appeared in the industrial district of the capital city.


    There was an established museum here that kept special artifacts and baubles that the goblins had created or discovered over the course of their existence, but did not know the exact use for.


    Normally, they were not for sale, but Luna was sure that a deal could be made if the offer was good enough. Given how deep the pocket was of the one behind here, she didn''t worry about that part.


    She was here for a Collectible item called the Red Gem by the Goblins, but was actually a Fire Source, a leftover byproduct of the creation of Faust.

 Chapter 643 643

    Luna entered the museum with a stately gait and looked around for her target. She checked through the aisles as well as the various ancient and rare items ced here with a sharp gaze.


    When her eyes focused on the item she was looking for, they couldn''t help but narrow as she stood near it. She could feel the pure fire energy from outside the seal in which it was ced.


    [Fire Source - Unique


    Durability: MAX


    Description: An indestructible Crystal-like substance that is formed from the extreme condensation of the initialws of fire of the entire Faust.]


    The description was simple because Luna did not have Darius'' Analyze skill. If she did, she could even see ways to use it or how to acquire more of said item.


    Seeing that this was what she wanted, Luna nodded with satisfaction and appeared near a guide for the museum who was supposed to help people explore the ce.


    The young goblin girl, who was working part time to afford her tuition fees, was shocked when the most sensual female form appeared before her, topped off with an elfin face that would set the standard of beauty in any society.


    "Take me to the head of the museum. I am a representative of Safemoon and hope to negotiate something with the institution." Lunamanded coldly.


    The goblin girl was mesmerized by Luna''s sultry voice which was strongly feminine without being high pitched. She only shook her head and snapped out of it when she realized that Luna was frowning.


    "Erm, can I see some identification? I can''t guarantee the head would agree to see you based on my word aloneˇ­" The Goblin Girl pointed out with a soft voice.


    Of course, ording to the aesthetical standard of humanoids closer to the human make-up, any species of goblin was beyond ugly as fuck. Short bodies, huge oval shaped heads, lipless mouths, sharp serrated teeth and monochromatic yellow eyes.


    Nothing like the cute goblins in some media on earth. They were the raw, wild type who just happened to develop the skill of creation and formed civilization. Unless someone changed their genome to make them aesthetically pleasing, they would remain like this.


    Luna didn''t care about this as everyone but her own family and allies were the same kind of dirt in her eyes. She simply brandished her elite HoloBrace and the one on the goblin girl''s arms identified Luna as a top echelon of Safemoon.


    Realizing she was before a powerhouse, the goblin girl was frightened and mumbled some lines before rushing upwards. As for why Luna herself didn''t let the HoloBrace of the head of the museum alert him toe down to meet her?


    Propriety.


    There were certain rules that had to be followed with these things and Luna had made sure to educate herself on these very same things.


    Darius had already made it clear that if it could be acquired easily, then she should acquire it through the easiest method.


    Negotiation was usually easy since Luna had endless capital to spend and her sensual features gave her an edge against both male and female parties.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Luna didn''t have to wait long before the goblin girl came running back while panting. As you could imagine, the current goblin race was not one with significant physical prowess, but rather of strong mental prowess, so the goblin girl was absolutely fatigued after this short run.


    "The headˇ­ of the muse ˇ­um said I sho ˇ­uld take you toˇ­ the VIP roomˇ­ haaa!" She sputtered out through heavy breaths.


    Luna nodded. "Lead the way."


    The goblin girl rested for a bit and brought Luna through the halls of the museum to arge backroom where there was an elite lounge. Apart from a few goblintech appliances, there was nothing else but a short and well-dressed goblin seated.


    When the goblin girl entered, she bowed to the fellow but he waved her away without even looking at her. The goblin girl seemed to treat this as the norm and left Luna in the room with the fellow.


    Luna moved to sit down and crossed her legs slowly, an action withpletely enraptured the eyes of the goblin opposite her. As you could imagine, goblins were still a very lecherous species, something they maintained since their days in the wild.


    However, this fellow clearly took steps to control himself not only because of his stature, but also because of what Luna herself represented. She was not someone he could ogle like a beast and get away with it.


    "Greetings fair maiden from Safemoon. My name is Ger Minal and I can represent everything about the museum. How can I help you?" The fellow greeted with a typical high-pitched goblin voice.


    Luna nodded. "Nice to meet you, Ger Minal. I am Luna Stone, family to Darius Stone, Lord of Safemoon."


    Hearing Luna''s name and affiliation struck Ger Minal like thunder. Oh God, she wasn''t just a representative, but a direct family member of the Lord of Safemoon?!


    Ger Minal began to panic and thought back to his actions up until now, hoping he had not blundered foolishly at any point in time. Luna saw his panic and reassured him calmly.


    "I am not here to intimidate but to negotiate. I wish to purchase the item called the Red Gem, because my master has found it to be very useful." Luna directly revealed without hiding anything.


    Errˇ­ what?


    Ger Minal was confused.


    That stupid hot thing that burned the hand of anyone who touched it? It waspletely useless as a power source, as a topic of research or for anything else. It was just like a hot piece of coal, the best it could do was warm a person up.


    The only reason which a thing was not kept as a trinket for some child was because its ability to remain heated without any noticeable elemental or energy source was intriguing, hinting that it was some form of unique treasure.


    But a treasure that could not be used was useless no matter how rare it was.

 Chapter 644 644

    Ger Minal looked at Luna with confusion. The almighty Lord of Safemoon wanted that thing? Then clearly any fool could tell it was a supreme treasure, but what was it to them - the goblins - if they couldn''t use it?


    This museum gave out a reward to anyone who could identify the use of any of the treasures that could be verified, and it was quite a rich reward. However, what use was such a reward to likely the richest man in the world?


    Asking for the use of the treasure was also at the limit of stupidity and might earn him the enmity of the Lord of Safemoon. The smart thing to do would be to go through with this transaction and earn the favor of Safemoon.


    No wait!


    Ger Minal''s eyes shed.


    Safemoon were currently on a conquering spree and their meaty ws had extended down to the southern area of Fallon. Currently, empires like theirs were even panicking and scrambling to find countermeasures.


    Normally they would invite the Gods of Elysium to help, but they had been bombed into hiding. Then, the next option were the Demons, but not even the most desperate fuck would invite them here.


    There was a difference between inviting wolves into your house and inviting the evilest abyssal entity.


    As such, their kingdom would soon be conquered by Safemoon and this item could be imed by force. However, it was clear the Lord of Safemoon was not willing to wait so long and wanted to acquire it now before any variables urred.


    Since being conquered was inevitable for their kingdom, then why notˇ­


    Ger Minal lowered his head and pondered for a while as Luna remained silent andposed. In her mind, it didn''t matter if the answer was yes or no. If it was yes, she would pay the bill she was supposed to pay and if no, she would simply take it by force.


    Ger Minal raised his head after a while and smiled. "Miss Luna, I would like to trade the Red Gem with you, but on one condition."


    Luna''s eyes narrowed slightly but she did not show any negative responses. "What would that condition be?"


    "I would like to be appointed Governor of the Goblin Empire after it bes a province under the hands of Safemoon." Ger Minal asked with sweat forming on his brow.


    Luna was silent for a while and then nced at Ger Minal deeply. Her disdain for him disappeared slightly as she respected his intelligence and foresight, but she still contacted Darius first.


    Darius chuckled and informed her that with her status, she could easily make decisions like this without checking in first. While Luna was grateful for the responsibility and trust, it also weighed down on her and caused her to feel pressured.


    Luna nced at the expectant Ger Minal and nodded. Ger Minal released an audible sigh of relief and then stood up, bowing to Luna subserviently.


    "Lady Luna, allow this servant to personally retrieve the Red Gem for you then." Ger Minal offered respectfully.


    Luna was amused. The fellow had already adopted the posture that he should have in the future, which said a lot of things. All in all, Luna had to admit that she was left with a positive feeling overall and would count this as one of her better experiences while performing the task Darius gave her.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ...ˇ­.


    Meanwhile, far away on a nearby coast of the Continent of Kiel.


    A hand sted through the surface of the water and grabbed the nearby shore. After securing purchase, it then gripped the shore tightly before another came to join, then pulling up a person from the sea.


    A wave of lush red hair swirled in the air, sshing droplets about. Apart from the sound of clunking metal, the only thing one could see were sharp amber eyes filled with confusion and determination to live.


    Deia pulled herself onto the shore of Kiel with a shaky grip. Her body was soaked with water and her usually pristine armor was a bit ckened at certain ces.


    Deia panted as shey there for a while. She then slowly began removing parts of her armor, only leaving her breastte and the lower part of her greaves which formed some type of boots.


    Her arms and thighs were partially exposed, disying her lovely caramel skin that had intoxicated Darius in their previous life.


    Deia looked around and muttered to herself. "Where am I?"


    Thest thing she remembered was sensing deathing for her. She had seen her Goddess and all the other deities rush up to form a dome over the City of Light, but that dome was easily shattered by the sheer explosive power and the shockwave blew apart the city below.


    Deia did not know or understand how she survived. She was more than certain that she should have died as at thest second, the gods abandoned all the believers on the continent and took only the demi-gods to their Divine Kingdoms to evade the fallout.


    Deia was not a demi-god, just a pdin of her Goddess''s church, so she was naturally left behind.


    Deia felt a pain in her chest as she thought of how she was abandoned. She had believed in her Goddess wholeheartedly despite something at the back of her soul muttering to her that everything was a lie and that she was with the wrong person while also being at the wrong ce.


    As time passed, and especially after she happened to see Darius at that cafe, that voice had be louder and louder until it was almost screeching in her head.


    However, it was silent now.


    After all, the current Deia did not need a reminder.


    Now that her Goddess had abandoned her, she was free to do what she wanted. Unfortunately, she had lost all her power as part of the fallout, so she was basically no different from a weak Amateur.


    Deia picked up her still wet sword at was at her waist and began to trudge forward, wondering where fate would take her.

 Chapter 645 [Bonus ] 645

    Darius was back in Fallon, sitting within the peak of his tower as he pondered many things. He hade back from Gravitas after leveling the entire continent and ending so many innocent as well as not so innocent lives.


    Just like with the war on Fallon, the deaths did not give him any experience since he indirectly caused it. He also was not in any hurry to level up now, because more important than levels were stats.


    With more stats came more raw power, and skills allowed him to funnel and refine the power for his own use. Leveling only gave him 5 points in stats and 3 points in skills but meant that his experience gain was reduced.


    Darius would never do something so counter-intuitive. Just one Event or Quest could give him more than that, and speaking of that, he was pondering about his apprentices.


    They had just recently be adepts but were making rapid progress. Darius expected that within 3 to 4 months, they should be ready to be Masters.


    He would have to prepare resources for them once they reach that level. However, resources of that level were not easy to transmute in one go and would have to be supplemented.


    After all, the apprentices were basically an investment that did not directly pay back. Unlike typical apprenticeship models where the teacher/master would clean his apprentices of everything of value and then give them back the barest minimum, Darius invested the best and most expensive in them without taking anything back.


    He did this not out of kindness, despite what the apprentices themselves thought, but rather to verify his own theory. They were basically an experiment, the five of them being living test subjects.


    The value of an experimenty not in its process, but in the result. The result was what mattered to Darius.


    The previous event where he made them fight against Grandmasters from all over Fallon in order to consolidate their teaching also had the nice effect of giving the public a preliminary viewing of what consuming his resources could bring the average person.


    After all, when Darius started the experiment, he was still using the old Supreme System under Caesar and that version did not allow organic growth.


    So neither himself nor his Branded Servants could use such resources to grow. While they could use them now, it was pointless given their current power and would not do much of anything.


    However, the value was still there. After that tournament, the demand for Safemoon''s goods had skyrocketed exponentially. The prices resellers were selling bought goods for was over 5 times the selling price at Safemoon!


    Of course, Darius only tolerated reselling because not everyone wore a HoloBrace. While Miranda hadunched the satellites and had full coverage of Faust, that was only for those who were wearing HoloBraces.


    Areas without such a thing were still mostly nk to her, otherwise she would have detected Deia who arrived on Kiel and was struggling to survive then informed Darius.


    As it were, she was still establishing herself and HoloBraces were spreading rapidly over the world of Faust. Fallon was about 80% conquered in total and everyone within the conquered areas was forced to wear a HoloBrace.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    So for that matter, one could say Fallon was totally covered. Pokterr was Miranda''s homebase and had been totally terraformed into a mental world, so that too was fully covered.


    As for the other continents, the spread of HoloBraces was scarce and intermittent. Ludo was the most significant of the rest due to the fact that Darius was their new Desert King but had yet to announce his status.


    He had given the various sultans hefty resources to develop their forces first. That way when they announced his rulership over the continent, they would have the capital to resist any unwanted forces.


    Well, the most premier unwanted force would have been those greedy False Gods, but they were currently AFK. However, Houto and Pan were also war-like continents who would invade in a heartbeat to securend and resources for themselves.


    The only reason they had not bothered with Ludo was the distance and the sheer poverty of the continent. Once Ludo was said to belong to the Lord of Safemoon, people wouldn''t be deterred.


    Rather, they would be excited. Just like the situation when Safemoon announced that it was supporting Andrato, people would see thetter as an avenue to filch free top-tier goods ''legally''.


    After all, Darius as the master of thend would not leave it bare and so useless, would he? Naturally, he would develop it to a satisfactory level befitting his status and in a way that could benefit him, so he would use resources on it right?


    Great, then he couldn''t be angry if we raided those resources from individual factions, since while they may be under him, they were not directly linked.


    Even if he was angry, so what? The worst he could do was cklist them, in which case they could tear all pretenses down and raid the goods that came out of his city from every avenue, buyers, caravans, and more.


    They certainly feared Safemoon, but that was the city itself. Outside its walls? It only had a slight deterrent effect at best.


    If Safemoon did not like it, they would just camp outside the wall and bash anyone who bought something to death and loot them. Even if people wizened up and decided to consume their goods in the city, how long could they keep it up?


    Were you, the Prince of Empire A, going to stay in Safemoon forever? Even if you thought you were smart and would consume resources in the city and thene out to go home while empty-handed, we will still bash you on the head!


    Then like a tax agency, we will assume your debt and force you to pay what we assume you would have bought and consumed anyway.


    You can fool the chairman, but you cannot fool the secretary. After all, she fools the chairman every day for a living!

 Chapter 646 [Bonus ] 646

    Darius brought his thoughts to bear. Currently, his mind was wandering, and this was not advisable. He felt himself bing a bit scatter-brained ever since he met Vena and acquired the True Supreme System.


    Darius could only sigh withment at this. No matter how wed and annoying Caesar was, it was true that he was customized the best to fit Darius. He pushed Darius into pits and forced him to break his limits in order to survive and go farther.


    Now, he had power and everything he needed to be stronger without the necessary pressure. He could do things at his leisure and not feel like he was being watched by a callous Goddess and her annoying AI.


    But theck of pressure also caused him to rx and feel like he was not working hard enough.


    Of course, these thoughts were just Darius being willful. He did not n to act on them and put unnecessary pressure on himself nor did he crave to go back to that period of hardship.


    He was not a person who liked to torture himself or suffer.


    Gravitas was still empty, having Miranda''s machines clear up thend, rubble and corpses. Darius wanted thatnd to return to its nk te and then he could terraform it to his wishes.


    One good thing was that with the destruction of all the Ether Refineries and the death of so many living beings, the mana density of Gravitas had shot up to its peak butcked around 0.3% of its total quality.


    Darius had many thoughts and ideas for who to put on that continent. The best ones were dwarves to engineer with mana/ether, a mechano-insect hybrid race that could subsist off anything while being a merger the two most fearsome apocalypses, slimes that could morph and evolve, a psionic race like the Duergar as well as a limitless race like the Saiyans from fiction.


    However, he had stopped and thought of something crucial.


    What was Vena''s intention when creating such a rule for Gravitas? Even though she could, she made it clear that she was someone who enjoyed the process and so did not check the oue ahead of time.


    Then it was likely that she did not know what would be of thend when she created itsws. So, what exactly did she envision when she created it, or what had inspired her to choose such a thing?


    How could Darius ess that information? Well, he could just buy it from the System Shop since he could not contact Vena directly. While she was likely more than willing to divulge this information and even give him pointers, one look at Vena and you could tell she was not one who liked to be disturbed.


    She was that kind of person who rarely replied her messages and when she did, they were one-word answers.


    Darius also did not want to bother her and expire his goodwill in her eyes. Right now, she was feeling guilty and apologetic towards him for his treatment at the hands of Caesar and he nned to save that feeling.


    If he continually relied on her, that feeling would soon evaporate and she would feel she had paid him back enough. Anything after that would slowly turn into irritation and annoyance.


    However, if he never contacted her or relied on her and continued to excel, that feeling of guilt would only deepen and expand, to the point where she would always feel awkward before him, like she had failed him deeply.


    After all, he was to be her general and the way she spoke, there would be aing war of some sort when he became a Supreme.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Since a Supreme was the minimum power needed to be useful to her, it likely meant that the people he would be pitted against had simr power or higher, so he could not just dominate like he did on Faust.


    As a general, he would certainly hope that he had a lenientmander-in-chief, otherwise one wrong deployment and he would enjoy his second time in the afterlife.


    Vena''s foes might have the same power as her, and they certainly would not allow her to resurrect him. What was the point of fighting a war when both sides would just endlessly resurrect their troops?


    They might as well use that energy to sit down and talk.


    Going back to the initial point, which was better? Amander-in-chief who was partial to you because of emotions or amander-in-chief who was mostly neutral towards you?


    This also wasn''t helped by the fact that Vena made mention of a ''Jax'' fellow who seemed to be her first sessful attempt. The excitement in which she spoke about him alone told a lot.


    Darius, as the likely second, would never rece the position her first had in her heart.


    As such, he had to seek advantages where he could. If he could use an acquirable and ''grindable'' resource like True Coins to do it, then he would.


    Darius then opened the System Shop and then typed in what he was looking for. He received a prompt from the system as well as a price for the information he wanted to buy.


    It only cost 5 True Coins, which made Darius rx. It seemed like the True Supreme System was able to gauge Vena''s intention towards him and judged that buying this information was of little consequence to the Goddess.


    His bnce of 35,950 True Coins dropped to 35,945 in the end and he received a single prompt.


    [Vena created the rules of Gravitas to match a game she yed from Earth-335797458. It was a Japanese Visual Novel called Aselia the Eternal.]


    Darius was slightly amused. He then purchased through the System Shop the full knowledge of that game''s story and lore.


    This cost another 5 True Coins, bringing the total down to 35,940.


    Once Darius opened his eyes and ratified the knowledge he received, his eyes shed and he was thoroughly intrigued.


    It seemed that Vena did not make Gravitas the way it was without a purpose, only that things had been skewed by the reincarnator who came there!

 Chapter 647 647

    Well, it was quite strange. Basically as far as Darius could tell, the story of the game that Vena based Gravitas''ws on was and called Phantasmagoria.


    The mana in that world was usable by anyone but humans. No mages and no special powers, but they did live in a magical world since nts could make use of mana and special beings like dragons existed as well as using the energy for themselves.


    However, these dragons were guardians and did not raid humannds.


    Naturally, in the pursuit of technology, ether was discovered and refined from mana. However, the caveat was that every time ether was refined and consumed for various stuff, it would be converted back to mana at a loss, which was then reabsorbed from the atmosphere and so on.


    So after years of this, a crisis came to thend, but the humans didn''t much care.


    However, there was a special species that were born in this world through a unique endgame plot called spirits. They were a female-only race of supreme beauties who were violent and basically killing machines, split into the three elements of Fire, Earth, and Ice.


    There was the asional ck Spirit with curse abilities who were sadistic and one unique White Spirit who could perform unique support.


    The Fire Spirits were usually attackers who could use mana to add me to their des or daggers, very weak in defense, and super strong with fire magic that could one-shot other teams.


    The Earth Spirits were purely defenders and healers, who could use mana to create shields and take damage for the whole team, as well as cast healing, defensive and revival magic for other spirits.


    The Ice Spirits were a mix of attack and support. They had the highest physical attack able to cut down all but Earth Spirits in one blow, even more than fire spirits, and their defense was super weak. However, they were the only ones who could counter and seal magic cast by Fire or Earth Spirits.


    The ck Spirits had weak attacks but were super fast, able to strike multiple times in one roundpared to others. They had a shit-tier defense, but their barriers had slight damage reflection. Their support was deadly, able to curse others by reducing attack, reducing defense, or forcing them to ''skip their turn''.


    Also, ck Spirit magic could not be sealed or banished by Ice Spirits.


    The source of the spirits was revealedter in the game to be an Eternity Sword that was of great power.


    And with that came the whole picture of the world of Phantasmagoria and beyond. In this world, there were two factions, the Chaos Eternals and the Law Eternals.


    They were timeless beings that could live forever and disyed great power through their bound swords. These two factions had obvious motives, Law Eternals who wanted to rule the weak and destroy order, and the Chaos Eternals who advocated freedom and natural development.


    They spent eternity fighting and across multiple worlds across the universe, which was - funnily enough - shaped like the Tree of Yggdrasil.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    And nowes Earth. One Eternal, a female beauty, with the Sword of Time, stays and watches over the story''s protagonist while being in hiding. She recognized the protagonist had the chance to be Eternal and so protects him.


    However, he is forcibly isekaied one day after feeling sick and ced in the world of Phantasmagoria, just one ne out of many in the universe, barely adjacent to earth.


    He is then forced to use a Rank 4 sword called Desire to fight against his worst enemy who wanted to ''marry'' his 13-year-old sister with a sword called Oath which was also the enemy of Desire.


    Naturally, the protagonist, his enemy, his younger sister, and his two best friends - of which one secretly likes him - are all isekaied at the same time.


    They are called ''Etrangers'', the localnguage for ''Otherworldly Strangers''.


    Skipping the initial story, the characters, and the dramatic, tear-jerker plot, Etrangers were basically four tools summoned by the four swords of Phantasmagoria to fight to the death, and the winnerbines the Rank 4 Desire and three Rank 5 Swords including Oath to form a Rank 2 Eternal sword called World of which the 4 were split from during a previous battle.


    All such swords had a specific Rank that they belong to, with those Ranks going from Rank 0 to Rank 9, from Rank 0 being the strongest to Rank 9 being the weakest.


    The stronger the sword, the greater its will, leading most swords from Rank 4 and above to have their own established personality, whereas swords of Ranks 5 and below tend to be moreparable to des that run off instinct, beastly in nature.


    Spirits possessed Swords from Rank 6 to Rank 9, with Rank 6 Spirits being the strongest among them and Rank 9 Spirits being the weakest. Etrangers possessed Rank 4 and 5 swords and all swords at Rank 3 and above were Eternal swords.


    Interestingly, all spirits were born from a Rank 2 sword called Rebirth and when they came into being, they had their sword with them. They were used like disposable war robots by the weak humans of Phantasmagoria.


    However, what interested Darius from all of this was not just the fact that this story was full of interesting ideas for him to take, as well as being the reason for Vena''s work.


    No, what interested him was this Eternal race, or more specifically, the Eternity Swords that granted them their powers.


    That was also one part of it, and the other was that he got a notification from the True Supreme System that he now had the ability to travel to Phantasmagoria in the ''World''s'' Sub-menu as long as he bought the Travel Key from the System Shop.


    This was interesting and Darius began to wonder if he wasn''t limited to real-world in the universe, but also fictional ones created in games, movies, and literature.


    If he could do so, it would change everything and revolutionize his n for what he did during the Master stage and above!

 Chapter 648 648

    But Darius was also moved by these Eternals.


    At their core, Eternals were individuals that had been given unfathomable power by their Eternity Swords. The rtionship between an Eternal and their Eternity Sword was usually one ofpanionship, as the Eternity Swords were powerful enough to have full-fledged personalities of their own.


    In some cases, they could even force their will upon their wielder to gain an advantage in battle. When someone became an Eternal, they must bepletely severed from the time axis or the river of time.


    That is, all evidence and effects the Eternal had existed in their world of origin or any other world is rendered void the moment they be an Eternal. Because of this, they stopped aging from the moment they became an Eternal, and became immortal by practically all means.


    Usually, the only one who could defeat an Eternal was another Eternal.


    Naturally, majority of the tearjerker aspects of the game came from the fact that by bing an Eternal, the protagonist (and you the yer) had to watch all the people you bonded and even partially romanced withpletely forget about you with no chance of remembrance.


    All Eternal Swords broke from a single Rank 0 Eternity Sword, Aeon, the moment everything in the Universe came into being. The true origin of these weapons were a mystery to even most Eternals, mainly to those who didn''t know the truth behind the cosmology of the universe.


    Every Eternity Sword has a name that they know of at birth, different from their wielder''s name. Eternity Swords Ranks 4 and above tend to have a name that harbors over an abstract concept, such as Rank 4 Desire, Rank 5 Oath, Rank 2 wisdom that the protagonist of the story upgrades to after bing an eternal, Rank 2 World that the enemy of the protagonist upgrades to after beating the protagonist in their first ''final fight''.


    Darius folded his arms and pondered. He then opened the System Shop to see the price of a Travel Key to the world of Phantasmagoria. He saw that there were three keys being sold.


    One was a Travel Key, one was a Resident Key and the final was an Owner Key.


    Travel Keys were one-time-use items that allowed him to enter another world for up to 1 month before being brought back to where he traveled from. Resident Keys were one-time use that allowed him to be able to enter that world and be recognized by thews as a native and stay or leave as much as he wanted.


    Owner Keys gave him ownership of that world, bing the literal heaven''s will. He could change thews, rules, history, and future of that world as he pleased.


    Darius was amused and checked the prices, which wiped his smile right away.


    A single Travel Key cost 100,000 True Coins! A Resident Key''s value varied depending on the world, but Phantasmagoria''s was 1 Million True Coins! An Ownership Key also varied depending on the world in question, with this world''s being over 500 million!


    Compared to his 35k True Coins, Darius was clearly not equipped to make a trip. However, he had no intention of heading over since it was too early.


    Only when he reached the Master stage and refined his power would he begin world-hopping and dominating the entire universe from scratch, proving to Vena that he was not limited to a mere.


    Darius shook his head and closed the System Shop, but then re-opened it. He then checked the price of Aeon, the Rank 0 sword that spawned all others.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    [Aeon the Eternity Sword - Weapon


    Durability: MAX/MAX


    Quality: Supreme


    Description: A weapon that came into being during the creation of a lesser multiverse universe. It possesses the entirety of that universe''sws and origin power, causing it to be able to disy around 30% of the full power of a Supreme at its peak.]


    A Supreme quality weapon!


    Darius'' eyes narrowed for this was the first time he was seeing such a thing. A weapon that could bring out 30% of the power of a Supreme at its peak was no joke, and he would even love to wield something like this after bing a Supreme.


    Trying to do so right now would likely vaporize him because as stated, Eternity Swords had their own will. A weapon that powerful would never submit to a mere him, and would likely enve him right from the get-go.


    Besides, its price tag was over 300 billion True Coins.


    Darius then rubbed his chin. His n was naturally to replicate the spirit race without the trash humans who enved them for war and then raise them to be his won war machines.


    It should be known that even Eternals and Dragons of that game''s world respected spirits and called them faeries - not fairy like the Chinese usage, but as in the Western usage - andmented their fate.


    Spirits were made of mana merged with the will of Rank 2 Rebirth. How to regenerate that phenomenon was what he was now considering as well as whether to introduce Rank 2 World and split it into four so that the Etrangers could exist.


    He had no ns to have actual Eternals or Eternity Swords of that caliber because the prices were steep and controlling them with his current power was tough.


    Darius hummed and looked up the price of Rebirth and World. Rebirth went for 3 million True Coins and World was 10 million True Coins, so Darius could only regretfully forgo his ns towards Gravitas for now.


    When he was stronger and better equipped, he could find more ways to gather True Coins and afford such things.


    For now, he closed the menu and stood up, deciding to leave his mage tower in the central part of Safemoon and travel to the southern part of Fallon.


    He had let Gunner return from the frontlines to spend time with his family, and Darius nned to takeover from here so that his half-giant brother could enjoy life in peace.

 Chapter 649 649

    Darius disappeared from his mage tower after making sure everything would function fine in his rtive absence, and then teleported right into the camp of Safemoon at the frontlines.


    Since the army was extremely mobile and powerful, they usually would not need a camp. However, they waited for Miranda to work on the conquered parts of Fallon so far, integrating the technology of Safemoon, especially in transportation, as well as slowly brainwashing the citizens that this was the best choice of their lives.


    So they paused here, right before the final 50 or so empires that were the most powerful n Fallon. The true leaders of the Fallon Continental Council usually came from and were affiliated with these top empires.


    This also caused the empires to feel like they were seated in a quiet exam hall with the urge to take a dump, but did not dare to raise their hands to admit that they want to leave.


    The emperors and nobles of these empires had not had a good sleep for the past few weeks due to Safemoon''s deployment, and they dreaded the day the camp would break down and march.


    Ironically, they also cherished each day the camp existed because it was one more day they could enjoy the freedom and probably even life and limb.


    However, all that would end today.


    When Darius appeared, Achilles rushed over to greet him with a salute. Beside Achilles was a rugged soldier who was young and chiseled jawed, exuding a ''Chad Thundercock'' like aura.


    "Hello Boss, this is Commander Maverick, the leader of the Safemoon Army." Achilles introduced with a smile.


    After all, Safemoon had an army and there was the elite force led by Achilles which actually belonged specifically to the Stone Family. The normal army was made out of crafted humans by Darius with the Material element who underwent 100 years of FIVR training that made them elite and brainwashed them.


    After being given Soul Nourishing Divine Dew to awaken true souls, they instantly sparked and gained unique skills as well as Awakened and reached the Adept stage at the minimum.


    As for thismander, he was a peak Master-stage warrior mage who could be a Grandmaster in due time. In fact, most of the normal army troops had the potential to reach the Master stage.


    As for the Elite forces, they were around 1/3rd of the Safemoon army and were created from the womb of Medea''s Demi-God body, birth from the seed of a Phoenix-infused humanoid.


    So they had the bloodline of the me phoenix as well as Divine Sparks within their bodies that could be lit upter in life. Since they were all born naturally through the same father and mother, they were literally close siblings with very simr features all around.


    They also underwent the 100 years of training, but theirs was more brutal and elite, also focusing less on brainwashing and more on their brotherhood and well as independent thinking.


    They started at the peak Master stage and could easily be Grandmasters with a little bit of effort. From there, they could light their Divine Fires and be Demi-Gods after some training and hard work, reaching their peak power.


    They were led by a true Demi-God in the form of Achilles who was also their mentor in a way. Achilles had been altered, granted the Fire Phoenix bloodline as well, while his special invulnerability had been given to his elite soldiers.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    So obviously, given the difference between both forces, one could not expect them to have the same leader, though they nominally fought together.


    Darius observed Commander Maverick and nodded with a soft smile. "Good to meet you. Give me an update."


    The Commander saluted with the utmost respect and spoke in a deep voice.


    "It is rather my honor to stand before my Lord and Creator. The current situation of the army is that were are ready to push forward at a moment''s notice and conquer all the enemies of Safemoon!"


    Darius smiled and lead the two men to the nearbymand tent. "And? How many troops do you have now, respectively?"


    The Commander saluted once more before speaking. "Lord Darius, we currently have over 20 million men avable. 85% are at the Adept stage, 14% at the Master stage, and 1% at the peak of the Master-stage like myself!"


    Achilles smiled casually and folded his arms behind his back. "Well boss, we have 30,000 Elites so far and 75% are at the Master stage, 23% at the Grandmaster stage, and 2% at the peak of the Grandmaster. No Demi-gods apart from me since we need your permission to light our Divine Fire."


    Darius nodded and was pleased. Upon entry to themand tent, he was it was quite simple in nature, much like how Gunner would prefer it. He walked over to the map on the table and observed the details on it.


    "How soon can your men deploy?" Darius asked while staring at the map and not even looking at them.


    Achilles and Commander Maverick shared a look and answered boldly.


    "Right away, My Lord!"


    Darius tore his eyes off the table and nced at the two leaders of his first army with a pleased smile. "Good, then let''s get ready to deploy. I want to have the rest of Fallon conquered before the end of the weak."


    Achilles and Commander Maverick were excited and felt like this would be a good chance to show off their prowess before the lord. They both saluted and grandly shouted theirpliance before rushing out.


    Darius watched them leave with an amused look. He could tell what they were thinking and actually encouraged it. It was always a good idea to put in extra effort when someone who was qualified to reward you for that effort was looking.


    That was also one of the reasons he bothered toe out here anyway. The other reason was because, as Vena had clearly stated, she wanted him to increase hisbat experience.


    Where better to do so than in war?

 Chapter 650 650

    "Move out!!"


    "Form up 1st Legion! All Adepts to the right and Masters to the left!"


    "APC Operators, start the engines and get into line!"


    Shouts were heard all over the camp as the army of Safemoon rapidly and professionally mobilized with such efficiency and smoothness that it would chill any onlooker. It felt like these guys had been doing this for decades until perfection, but how was that possible?


    Wasn''t this a newly formed army?


    Soon, the hundreds of thousands of Source Energy powered APCs began trudging forward at lightning speed, leaving the scouts and spies around from the remaining empires bbergasted.


    My Brother in Christ, I only turned to take a leak for 2 minutes and the encamped army went from casual and rxed to fully mobile? How could they even do things like this?


    No, I have to quickly report it to the leader! These spies thought with panic and hurry, but found out that they were unable to soon move. Their bodies began to decay in real time and they could only helplessly watch as they crumbled into bone dust.


    The scouts were surprised even as they died. Previously, they had always been fine because the half-giantmander ignored them and let them do as they pleased. After all, Gunner could not care about small fries like these and even used them to let his enemies bundle up together so he could take them all out at once.


    So what changed?


    Well, the army of Safemoon was now in the control of a tighter and crueler hand who would not even let the slightest mishap ur.


    Darius preferred lightning strikes that were covert ambushes, allowing him to capture enemies quickly and easilypared to Gunner who preferred to cruise casually and then beat everyone in his way to death.


    By the time the first empire on their path, the Elemental Golem Empire, was able to respond, the APCs were already at their capital''s city walls. Hundreds of powerful and faceless golems stood there with obvious feelings of despair radiating off them.


    It was clear that they knew this was the end and there was nothing they could do. The enemy had evene so fast that they couldn''t evacuate their top members as well as their families.


    They did not even see the enemying until it was toote. They didn''t even know how their counties, provinces, and towns were doing, but they were most likely already captured and razed to the ground.


    This was theirst stand!


    The emperor of the Elemental Golems came to stand up on the capital city''s battlements and nced down at the hundreds of APCs lined up on the in before their city walls.


    He was unlike his nsmen in that he had a partial face, but his crystal-like eyes did not look organic and he had no nose or lips. Apart from his cloak of elementals that were of lightning specifically, he did not seem any different.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    His crystal eyes shed with a deep light and he spoke through the condensations of elements to his people.


    "My soldiers, today it is do or die! Either we beat back these invaders or we die and lose our families, culture, and heritage forever!" The Emperor dered loudly.


    The soldiers below roared in the elements, which caused heatwaves, water torrents, intense wind, and cracking earth all around. The elites among them shared looks but could not cheer, for they knew the truth.


    Safemoon''s army actually epted surrender, but their emperor simply refused to give up power and would rather spend the lives of all these soldiers to carve out a way for victory than give up sovereignty and be a puppet leader.


    In truth, they too supported this because they were like gods to mortals in their kingdom and to the rest of Fallon. They had enjoyed such power for so long and couldn''t bear to give it up, so they too hoped a miracle would ur.


    It didn''t.


    Today, the empire fell in ruin, its capital captured. The Emperor was impaled on Darius specialnce like a piece of meat on a stick and all the officers were headless as their faces showed endless fear and regret.


    Death should not havee so swiftly and surely!


    Darius allowed hisnce to absorb the essence of the emperor while he nced at his army that moved in and perform their upation duties. Each citizen still alive was forced to wear a HoloBrace and those who didn''t were sold to the Devils and Demons of Armadon through special rituals.


    Darius was a merchant, so he didn''t discriminate among his potential clients. When Gunner had once summoned the subi to please his men, Lilith had approached the half-giant with the offer to buy the souls and bodies of those who were captured during the war.


    Gunner ryed this to Darius who agreed. After all, the only valuable thing wasnd. The people on thend could be mass-produced by him, so their value was frighteningly low.


    The ones sold were those who fought back and caused trouble. They, like everyone else, thought that Darius wouldn''t dare to kill them all since he would need subjects to rule.


    So when they saw the fate bestowed on them, they were frightened and full of regret. What loyalty to the state, what fishing for benefits? They should have been like the timid ones and sat quietly in their homes, but they just had to run out.


    Now, they were going to be subject to a fate worse than death since demons wouldn''t even let their souls go after death.


    Darius saw all this and smiled softly. The remaining 49 kingdoms would also go through the same thing, so he was getting himself used to the sight.


    As for the emperor he battled and killed with rtive ease, he nced at the corpse that was now fully drained and shook his head. He hoped that this fellow would increase the power of hisnce and bring out its destructive power further.

 Chapter 651 651

    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 27)


    Durability: 3,610,000/3,610,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 38,600-42,600


    p¦Ánd¦Á`no¦Í?1--§ăo§® Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel and Soul Essence. During its creating, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]


    Thence had upgraded by one level and had jumped in power again. Darius held it up with a look and satisfaction and felt pleased that this emperor could provide so much power.


    The depth of his energy far surpassed the average grandmaster, as he had beenvished with the best resources on Fallon all his life. None of the Grandmaster monsters even in the Safemoon Dungeon couldpare to this.


    Soon Commander Maverick came to report to Darius that the subjugation was done and the army could move on. That was one thing about Safemoon''s army that was the most fearsome, and it was their mobility coupled withck of logistics.


    They could taken down one ce and then casually roll over another in a matter of hours, not even giving the next city time to prepare because its spies and messengers had been run over on the way.


    Darius nodded and sat in the lead tank where Gunner usually ced himself then closed his eyes to mediate as the army rushed forward. When the army encountered the next empire, Darius did not stop his meditation and only gave one order, which was to line up the grandmasters and tie them up for him.


    He would drain themter, in his own leisure.


    Right now, he was checking his progress with the achievements system and seeing which ones he could quicklyplete to get True Coins. He saw more than a few that could be done with his current resources and pinned them.


    This way whenever he opened the system, he would see them and be reminded to work on them.


    Darius then focused on the Quests tab and saw that if he wanted True Coins, he needed to do the second Divine Quest, which was to create his own True God for 50,000 true Coins and some stats, the two World Quests which gave 300,000 True Coins each and powerful titles and the second Continental Quest which was to conquer them all for 500,000 True Coins and some stats.


    None of them were particrly easy and would require time. However, Darius noted that he was actually objectively close topleting the first World Quest, Plunge Faust into Chaos.


    After nuking Elysium, Faust was not stable anymore. His conquering of Fallon also brought chaos while Miranda''s bombing of Houto and Pan caused unrest.


    However, this was bnced by Pokterr which he fully controlled, Kiel and Unyris which he had not touched or visited, and Ludo which he was silently developing.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Darius'' eyes narrowed as he realized a critical problem. It seemed that he had a very narrow window to achieve this quest, otherwise he would never really have the chance toplete it without burning his own foot.


    After all, Fallon was peaceful in all ces except where he pointed hisnce. Once it was conquered, it would usher in a period of peace and prosperity, just like Ludo.


    Pan and the other continents would likely soon follow as Darius slowly conquered and he would achieve the second Quest, which was to bring Peace to Faust, but at that point, it would be hard to stir up chaos without destroying everything he had built.


    Obviously, the correct way to aplish these two was to bring chaos first and then resolve it with peace, rather than achieve peace and then bring chaos, though thetter was usually more fun and interesting to watch.


    So Darius had to throw Faust into absolute chaos. He remembered that he got Miranda to agree to a Non-Aggression Pact for 5 years until all the continents held a summit and decided the world''s fate.


    It seemed as if he would have to bring some ns forward.


    Darius sighed. Ever since Vena''s update and fortification of Faust, he could no longer easily make long terms ns and execute them bit by bit. He was not forced to make decisions with huge impacts on the fly, which was not his style.


    However, he could not remain a long-term nner forever as that would create a weakness in him. He was going to fight a war, and wars required both long-term nning and the ability to make snap decisions while considering the bigger picture.


    This was perfectly good training for such a thing.


    As such, while he meditated, Darius opened his eyes which narrowed into serpentine slits. Usually whenever this happened in this life or in his past one, he never noticed, but his rise in power and prowess made him realize that a special phenomenon manifested within him right now.


    However, the moment he traced it, it disappeared. However he was able to clue in that it was nothing to do with his biology, but a thing attached to his spirit, rather than his soul.


    It was not a foreign entity, but rather something part of himself that did not disy its true nature easily. Despite this, Darius decided to investigate it immediately and find out why he had this and what caused it.


    As well as, obviously, what benefits it would bring him.


    Hisb would be the best and safest ce to discover what was special about himself, and for now, he could focus on the more pressing matter which was about how to plunge the world into chaos.


    Actually, in that regard, he had more than just a few ideas on how to achieve it.


    For oneˇ­

 Chapter 652 652

    "Miranda. I want you to march your army to Armadon and engage the Demons and Devils in intense warfare. Make it clear that you''re not there for revenge or justice but for greed and insidiousness. You recognize that Armadon is the biggest threat to your expansion, and so what to take them down."


    Darius smiled softly and continued. "Also, send some troops to skirmish with those on the coasts and borders of Unyris, making it clear that they are your next target should everything work out against Armadon. Try your hardest to provoke them into working with Armadon to fight you."


    p¦Ánd¦Á`no¦Í?1--§ăo§® Miranda appeared in his eyesight through the connection they shared, but had an expression of puzzlement.


    "Okay Daddy, but you wanted me to settle down and develop for the next 5 years before. Did anything change?" The AI asked with confusion.


    Darius affirmed the query with a nod. "That''s right. I need to plunge Faust into chaos as quickly as possible so that I canter save it and usher in an era of peace and prosperity."


    The Miranda AI seemed to find this strange but it was not in its programming to deter or question Darius, onlyply. As such, she gave a cry of agreement and then logged off to achieve Darius'' wish.


    Meanwhile, Darius noted that the battle had likelye to an end and exited the tank to see that the army was clearing the remains of the capital city of this empire.


    Lined before him were over 15 Grandmasters with fearful as well as furious expressions. They were severely injured and crippled, unable to fight back with their powers or magic.


    Darius nced at them with a smile and then took a single step. However, that step brought him from one end of the line to the other, and from his previously empty hands was now a magnificentnce that radiated pure draconic power.


    And where the grandmasters stood, their variety of expressions all synchronized into one very clear visage, that of pain and suffering. They looked down and saw that their chests had been pierced at some point by the same kind of weapon, and their blood essence was leaking out of their new orifice rapidly.


    They could only look up and see the offending weapon in Darius'' hand as he no longer paid attention to them who were walking corpses and checked hisnce to see how much it would grow.


    After all, this was technically one of the biggest feasts he had given it ever since he had acquired it back then. A meal of over 15 potent grandmasters was more than enough to rise more than a little.


    When the draining came to an end, thence''s dragonhead sigil roared as its red eyes glowed, and it became more powerful. Darius'' eyes narrowed as he sensed that the will within had strengthened and became more intelligent, being able to form a rudimentary artifact spirit.


    [Dragon Ancestor''s Lance of Destruction - Unique Weapon (Lv. 30)


    Durability: 4,450,000/4,450,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Damage: 47,000-51,000


    Description: A one of its kind spear that has never existed in the history of Faust. It is made from the broken shaft of the Dragonce, Holy Gold, and a little bit of Mithril, God''s Steel, and Soul Essence. During its creation, it was mixed with Lunar Dew and the heart blood of the Ancestor Dragon, granting it Supreme might and a sentient spirit that can grow the weapon''s power endlessly as long as it is wielded by someone worthy.]<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Darius was pleased, It seemed that the spirit had upgraded because it reached the threshold of level 30. Darius wondered where the next threshold would be and what kind of delightful changes it would bring outside of its raw power growing.


    For now, the Grandmasters he had killed so far brought him 98% experience, almost sending him to the next level. With such a slow experience gain rate, it was clear that the True Supreme System wanted him to grind it out through battle and gain the fighting experience to match.


    A bit artificial, but no issue.


    In order to curb this, Darius gave hisnce to Achilles and granted him the temporary right to use it. He could then kill the Grandmasters during battle and absorb right away rather than capture and cripple them for slow absorptionter.


    He then left the warfront and traveled to Safemoon once more. Darius walked towards his private room and then picked up a few things he would need for what he was about to do next.


    He then opened a secure drawer and took out something he had stored here a while back, not sure he would need to use it.


    [Seed of Mortality - Unique


    Durability: 30/30


    Quality: Average


    Uses: 1


    Description: A strange seed with the ability to form a perfect physical clone of the person who waters it with their blood. It will possess 10% of the user''s current power and will not be able to grow, but shares a soul connection with the main host, allowing the clone to act semi-autonomously.]


    An item like this seemed like something Darius should have used long ago, but no, he kept it here. After all, Darius, more than anyone, knew that he could never really trust a clone of himself, because nothing possessing his mind or will would settle for being a disposable entity.


    If given the chance, it would scheme to take over the main body and therefore be the main body, which was not conducive to his ns in any way possible.


    But now, since things were being sped up a brought forward, he had to consider whether he would sue this item or not.


    While there were other alternatives, they were far more limited than this seed, which was even why he gave it the time of day like this.


    Eventually, Darius put the seed in his inventory and first decided to summon his Five Apprentices into the hall downstairs.


    It was time to deal with their growth.

 Chapter 653 653

    ?


    Darius leaned back into his seat and nced at Gunner to the side who hade over when he heard the summons. Since he was technically still on vacation, Darius didn''t specifically ask him toe, but the fellow had also invested a lot of effort and time into these brats.


    He naturally could not miss something as important as this. This amused Darius because he wasn''t exactly going to say something they would expect.


    "The five of you havee far under my tutge, spanning over 2 years of your lives since you were merely young children. No, some of you are almost at Safemoon''s age of adulthood while all of you are about to graduate to be Masters. This brings you one step closer to bing a Grandmaster, the peak of power in the known world." Darius began while crossing his leg.


    "But just like when you became adepts, my lessons and teaching n do not involve just allowing you to go through to the next stage without proving that you have mastered yourselves at the current stage you find yourself."


    "When you were going from Amateurs to Journeymen, I gave you the task to clear the Dungeon and you five discovered something new about yourselves and your martial power."


    Darius turned to the young man with reddish-brown hair as well as deep gray eyes. He was even more handsome after aging this while with his former bright outlook tempered and his heroic bearing condensed.


    "Ash, you cultivated your Sword Aura at the Amateur stage time, a skill which only those who have sparked with special sword-rted abilities could master after bing at least, Adepts."


    Darius turned to a lovely youngss who had short, curly blonde hair, light blue eyes, and a round, pretty face. She had been short for her age when she first came at 15 years and 5 foot 4 in height, but at 17 she was now taller at 5 foot 9.


    Not only that, her svelte and modest form had grown out with all this harsh training and good eating, causing her to be a little bit voluptuous. She looked like she could end up bing like Portia.


    "I remember my shock when I found that you had been able to attach magic to arrows, which is something that is only avable to the elven archers. Humans have almost no one who can do this outside of those who Spark with the ability."


    Darius then nced at a powerful young man of 18 years, who was lean and tall. Thisnky young man had a sharp visage and chiseled features that were a mixture of handsome as well as mature and were slightly vic.


    Minus the light frown and pale skin, he had a mop of curly brown hair as well as dark brown eyes that showed fierceness and domination.


    "Jonathan, dual-wielding tworge weapons with your strength is marginally impressive. However, dual-wielding weapons of two different categories yet managing to adapt a fighting system for them showed your talent with weaponry at the time."


    Darius nced at a boy with an average build and stable looks. The striking thing about him was that he usually wore a strange smile on his face as if he was amused by everything he saw. This made him look a bit silly, but Darius knew that this was a mask that hod the dark and cruel killer inside.


    Thed had ck hair and dark eyes, with lightly tanned skin and a skinny frame that had be taller in time. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "James, I still think about how amazing it was to discover how to make yourselfpletely undetectable which was above and beyond the means of normal Darkness Element magic back then. You have onlye far from there."


    Darius''s attention then focused on his most special apprentice, who was half-human, half-monkey, of the Sage Monkey n who were a special and rare race of Fallon.


    He had golden fur that lined his cheeks, chest, and arms as wee as a tall and muscr body that was always well-trimmed and neat.


    "And then there''s you. Achieving your race''s unique transformation at such an early age was legendary."


    Darius smiled as he nodded with pleasure. "And then after that, you fellows moved up from there and reached the pinnacle of the journeyman stage and were given a task to fight Grandmasters in livebat."


    "That was your crowing achievement so far in your tutge, being able to fight the peak of the continents power cap while being Journeymen. Now, at the peak of the Adept stage, all of you should be more powerful than any Grandmaster in existence."


    "With this level of power, you can now rampage around Fallon and some of the other continents with ease. This is a power that solely belongs to you and cannot be taken away."


    Darius'' eyes happened suddenly. "However, you have to temper this power and how you use it, otherwise you are no different from a maverick."


    The Five Apprentices shuddered at Darius'' seriousness and as for Gunner, he simply snorted as he nced at them as if they had already failed whatever test Darius had for them, leaving them speechless.


    "Your next task is to head to Kiel. You will be randomly teleported to anywhere on the continent and have to survive there for one year without any supplies from me. You will have to carve your own territory on the continent and then grow your territory."


    Darius then leaned his cheek onto his fist and smiled softly. "And 6 months into your survival, you will have topete against each other, and the strongest one gets the best resources for the stage climbing."


    Immediately, the five apprentices perked up and excitement coursed through their bodies. They oftenpeted against each other, but it never usually came under the purview of Darius or Gunner.


    To hear that this would ur for the first time made them fired up.

 Chapter 654 654

    ?


    [Name: Ash Spencley || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 203,397/203,397 (125,960) || MP: 79,200/79,200 (40,180) || STA: 26,940/26,940 (15,416)


    Level: 60 (41) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 453 (335) || Speed: 298 (202) || Constitution: 449 (376)


    Magic: 1,320 (980) || Will: 1,908 (1,342) || Luck: 80 (65).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Reina McNickles || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 90,298/90,298 (72,836) || MP: 74,940/74,940 (32,226) || STA: 17,940/17,940 (10,742)


    Level: 60 (41) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 302 (278) || Speed: 457 (301) || Constitution: 299 (262)


    Magic: 1,249 (786) || Will: 2,645 (1,990) || Luck: 80 (60).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Jonathan ck || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 586,752/586,752 (302,400) || MP: 36,300/36,300 (23,821) || STA: 46,080/46,080 (22,960)


    Level: 60 (41) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 764 (540) || Speed: 321 (235) || Constitution: 768 (560)


    Magic: 605 (581) || Will: 1,009 (908) || Luck: 75 (55).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: James Jones || Race: Human || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 88,596/88,596 (74,500) || MP: 68,640/68,640 (38,704) || STA: 16,560/16,560 (10,250)


    Level: 60 (41) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 321 (298) || Speed: 1,090 (736) || Constitution: 276 (250)


    Magic: 1,144 (944) || Will: 2,011 (1,823) || Luck: 100 (80).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    [Name: Anthony Sabins || Race: Half-Human, Half-Beastman (Sage Monkey n) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 3,145,212/3,145,212 (1,525,200) || MP: 193,980/193,980 (77,080) || STA: 106,980/106,980 (50,430)


    Level: 60 (41) || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Calm


    Power: 1,764 (1,240) || Speed: 1,002 (795) || Constitution: 1,783 (1,230)


    Magic: 3,233 (1,880) || Will: 5,890 (3,250) || Luck: 500 (300).


    Skills: Omitted.


    Spells: Omitted.]


    Their stats had grown by a great amount and put them at the top of Grandmasters. Since Kiel only had one True Lord in the form of Jack Frost, as long as the apprentices did not interfere or mess with his territory, things should be fine.


    Even if they did, Darius would deal with him and prevent him from taking his anger out on the weak.


    He waved his hand and the five apprentices were teleported out of the mage tower and to the courtyard, where he and Gunner soon joined. For this Cross-Continental transfer, he couldn''t use the convenient fast travel system as that was reserved for him and his Branded Servants.


    As such, Darius had to dig out something he used to use back in the day to get around, which was the Cross-Continental Temporary Spatial Array!


    Heid it down and set the coordinates, then had the apprentices enter it one by one. As they were beamed away in a yellow sh, Darius seemed to foresee the chaos they would bring on Kiel in theing months.


    When they were gone, Gunner came over with a curious expression.


    "I''ve been keeping track of your ns. Eternity Sword? They sound interesting." The half-giant spoke with a gleam in his eye.


    Darius nodded. "And those Eternals too. But we cannot afford them right now, so we have to stir things up a bit first."


    "If you do buy the Rank 3 Rebirth Eternity Sword, and spawn the Spirits, I want to make them a subsidiary race for my son, especially those Earth Spirits." Gunner requested with a smile.


    Darius raised an eyebrow and nced over.


    "Well, well, look at that. My old pal Gunner has be soft-hearted so soon for my nephew." He teased Gunner with a knowing look.


    Gunner became slightly embarrassed and scratched his hair. "I justˇ­ I just feel like I want to give him the world whenever he smiles at me." <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Darius patted Gunner on the back. "Trust me, I understand. When Solena was born, I felt the same way and it carried on with Miranda and Martin especially. Your son will be blessed to have you as a father."


    Gunner shook his head. "No, it is I who am blessed to have such a son, and from such a wonderful woman too. Everything I do, I do for them."


    Darius felt emotional. He remembered when he first bought Gunner from Foldo''s ve pen, the emotionless and unambitious look in his eyes.


    At that time, Gunner''s only wish was to be strong enough to seek revenge on the giant race for abandoning him and serving Darius, the one who freed him.


    After so much time together, the lines between servant and family were blurred, to the point where Darius no longer really cared about forced loyalty from his Branded Servants, X, and Luna included.


    The moment he gave them to ''Stone'' surname, he considered them family, and if there was one single positive trait Darius had in his life, it was that he was extremely protective and benevolent to his family.


    And now look. The silent and usually cold Gunner could disy an expression of kindness and familial love, as well as the strong will of a father who wanted to conquer the world for his son or daughter.


    Darius felt happy for Gunner and simply patted the fellow on the back without saying any more. Between men, there wasn''t much to be said or added. Just a few words and a nce was enough to convey intentions more often than not.


    "So what are you going to do about Houto, Pan, and Ludo? You have made ns for the rest to be thrown into chaos." Gunner moved on to what was bothering him.


    Darius rubbed his gold buttons lightly. "Pan is a ce we''ll be paying a visit after we fix some things. Houto is not a problem because they have enmity with Pan, and once we prate Pan''s society, we will exacerbate that conflict and lead to full-blown war."


    "As for Ludo, it''s even easier. I just have to unleash an incest tide on that continent and let the people suffer for a while." Darius revealed with a soft smile.


    (Author''s Note: Due to some issues with writing two novels at the same time, I mistakenly uploaded a Guild Wars chapter here. Since webnovel prevents one from editing premium chapters with more than 100 words, I was stuck for a while. Rather than make the next chapter this chapter and let this one exist, I decided to just add enough words to this one to make the change.)


    "An incest tide?" Gunner was stunned.


    After all, ording to what he remembered, they had ughtered every single member of the insect race on Pokterr back then to be Adepts. He had even watched Darius cruelly smash his own Insect Queen to seal the deal.


    Darius seemed to see Gunner''s skeptical thoughts and smiled. He then opened his inventory and took out a mashed and ruined body, which was that of the Insect Queen he crushed back then.


    Gunner was surprised to see it and then nced at Darius deeply. "You kept its corpse in case you needed to resurrect the insect race for any purpose."


    "That''s right. At the time, Caesar was still in power and there was no system shop, so if I ever wanted the Insect Race back, it would be impossible to achieve since most of their bodies were ruined." Darius answered with augh.


    Gunner nodded and took out a drop of Soul Nourishing Lunar Dew that wasn''t diluted and dripped it on the corpse. Immediately, the ruined body pieced itself together to perfection, and a spark of life emerged.


    The Insect Queen was a pinky-sized humanoid bee with two big yellow eyes, a striped thorax with a stinger, and two fat antennae. The rest of her body was surprisingly simr to that of a human and she was extremely cute, possessing very favorable aesthetical standards for humans to win affection.


    She jolted upwards groggily, herst memory being that of Darius''rge palm closing in on her and crushing the life out of her. Seeing that she was awake and whole now, the Insect Queen was naturally at a loss.


    "You''re alive now, and there''s no need to be confused," Darius spoke calmly, startling the confused Insect Queen.


    The Insect Queen nced at Darius with her big eyes and hesitated. A part of her still loved Darius as her guardian and parent, but the other part was scared and wary due to what he did to her, feeling betrayed.


    Darius understood her thoughts and smiled. He simply flicked a finger which contained a small orb of light. Within it was the information about the Insect Race, their fate, and why Darius did what he did.


    The Insect Queen was at the Master Stage, so she had enough power to easily process the formation. When she didn''t, her big eyes were less ignorant and naive, but there was a bit ofplication in them.


    "Fatherˇ­" She called out to Darius in a sweet, high-pitched voice that was slightly buzzy.


    "Are you sure you want to call me that? After what I did and what you know?" Darius asked with an amused smile.


    The Insect Queen paused and then nodded. "I understand why you did it, father. Also, you brought me back anyway, so it doesn''t matter."


    Obviously, it did matter, but what was the point? It had already happened and she had been given new life and returned to the world. She was also the only insect in the world alive, so she had the burden to revive her race.


    Gunner and Darius could easily see through her thoughts but did not take action on it. It was better for the Insect Queen to have such thoughts and emotions, as it was realistic and sensible, rather than simply being stupid and forgiving Darius inexplicably.


    "Fine then, I shall give you the name of Queenstar Stone, one of my honorary family members. Make sure to bring honor to your family." Darius dered.


    The Insect Queen, Queenstar, hopped up excitedly and seemed moved. A name was an important thing to the insect races as only the top echelon could have it, and it meant that she was a ruler of her own hive.


    "I will! I, Queenstar, will be super good, I promise!" She eximed while buzzing her wings.


    "I trust that you will. Go and rest in my mage tower and get yourself acquainted with the life there. Soon, you will head out to Ludo to begin recovering your brood and rebuild your race." Darius instructed as he pulled his hand back.


    Queenstar easily took to the air and nced at Darius silently before flying away. After all, this was the first time Darius allowed her to fly semi-freely and it was actually a really nice feeling.


    However, the burn of what she needed to do next hit Queenstar like a truck, and her big round eyes could not help but tremble. However, she could only grit her teeth and firm her resolve to bring back the insect race!


    Darius and Gunner watched her go silently. Darius then turned to Gunner and smiled.


    "So, when do you think we should pay the illustrious world of the immortals a visit?"


    Gunner''s eyes narrowed. "As soon as possible. I have always wanted to test the power of those so-called Body Cultivators."


    Darius couldn''t help butugh and pat Gunner on the back. "You can do more than just challenge them. I don''t n to go incognito into theirnd, not 100%."


    Darius folded his arms behind his back and looked into the horizon. "If I am to go, it is as we are, people of significance. It will pave the way for us and allow us to carve out our own territory in those unruly and ruggednds divided by sects."


    Gunner raised his eye brows. "Sects?"


    "Some sort of pseudo-religious group, simr to a mixture between a family n and an organization. The entire system is quite interesting if handled well, but the human factor tends to make it worse than even autocratic governments in terms of functionality." Darius exined with a smile.


    Gunner lost interest. "I hope these sects don''t stand in our way."


    "Oh dear Gunner, they will. They will absolutely do everything to stand in our way from even the pettiest level to the top, from what I have learned about Pan. As far as I know, that continent has the highest death rate in conflicts out of the while Faust." Darius pointed out with augh.


    Gunner was naturally rendered speechless by this.

 Chapter 655 655

    ?


    Meanwhile, the Five Apprenticesnded on the continent of Kiel at the same time, but in five different corners. Ash was ced near the north where it was extremely windy and full of storms, Reina was ced near the east which was full of slush and mushy ice that made it hard to do anything, Jonathan was paced in the west where the ice was solid and shiny, reflecting sunlight but very fragile.


    James was ced in the south where the water had yet topletely freeze into ice and formed chunks of it that acted as inds, looking like an icy archipgo. As for Anthony, he was ced in the center which had the best weather and living conditions, but all 90% of the civilization and powerhouses stayed in this area including Jack Frost.


    Each apprentice''s area was carefully chosen by Darius after a period of research to suit their personality and provide a suitable challenge for them that would allow them to grow.


    Of course, Miranda was always keeping watch on them at all times in case something beyond their means came up. Thest thing Darius wanted was for his experimental mice to end up dying due to an unforeseen ident.


    Ash frowned at his harsh surroundings and immediately touched the ground below himself. The ice was rtively normal, but the winds were truly harrowing and no human with stats ranging from Amateur to Journeyman could easily survive this.


    As for normal people, unless they were born with ice resistance, it was impossible to survive even one night here. Ash could easily manage with his massive endurance that was at the peak of the Grandmaster stage, but that did not solve his main issue.


    Darius stated that they had to build and optimize a territory of people, and then recruit natives from the continent as their people. They had 6 months to achieve this and then the other 6 months would be spent warring between their territories.


    They were not allowed to directly get involved.


    Ash sort of understood Darius'' purpose. They, his apprentices, had been eating, drinking, and training in ways that would make anyone of their age envious. Sure, certain parts were tough, but that was a basic price to pay for the kind of resources they munched on.


    They had proven theirbat capability as peak journeymen when they fought a hundred Grandmasters and survived till the end. However now that they were Adepts, things were different.


    An Amateur was a basic entity who was only finding his way in life and living off the legacy of others as well as the basic rules of the world.


    A Journeyman was a semi-pro who had graduated from being clueless and having to be led by the nose, now discovering the power system of the world and how to create their own special abilities.


    An Adept was a professional who had put together a framework of theirbat and magic system and was now adding the flesh to it as well as refining their control over it.


    These were the definitions Darius gave them during their lessons, which neither Ash nor any of the apprentices forgot. So he naturally was able to pick apart the goal and reason for this.


    Refine their control.


    As Darius stated they had great power, enough that apart from the False Gods of Elysium and the True Lords, no one was their match in raw power. However, what was the point of all that power with poor control? <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Ash looked around and waved a hand. He used a wind element spell of the Adept level to manipte the storm around him and create a barrier that filtered the wind pressure.


    He had chosen the wind element when bing an Adept, and it proved handy at this time. His spell consumed only a little bit of mana as it was of Transmuted quality, but its effect was powerful.


    An area of 20 kilometers around Ash suddenly became calm and livable.


    He then rubbed the back of his head and pondered. "Master Darius told us of his experience with the material element and gave us all a spell he crafted for us to use here."


    [Ice to Stone - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 500 meters around you containing any type of ice to stone of any type (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 500 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 500%.]


    Ash did not have time to even practice and increase his familiarity with the spell, but since he was here, he could obviously do so now. He began to covertrge patches of ice within the wind barrier he propped up into stone.


    He opted to use white stone that was often used to pave the streets of top cities on Fallon, as he chose his territory to be here. As far as he could tell, the area around him was the same as this, so rather than find somece after careful exploration and try to make something, he would rather terraform thend to suit him!


    Arrogant!


    Truly, these little fellows were Darius'' apprentices. They had been influenced by him and Gunner, gaining their audacity andck of respect for the hardship of the world and the rules ofmon sense.


    Ash continued to work, turning the ice inside his barrier into a foundation fornd while he turned the ice outside his barrier into stone that he would convert using the other material element spells like ceramic and the like.


    Luckily, all the material elements spells needed for terraforming and daily life were between Amateur to Advanced. Master material element spells were Flesh to Stone or Stone to Bones, both of which theds could not ess now and did not need to consider.


    As for Grandmaster material element spells, you were looking at Energy to Element and top-tier crazy abilities like that.

 Chapter 656 656

    ?


    As for Reina, when she dropped into her area which was hard to form any sort of surface, she made the same choice as Ash and began to terraform the ce using Ice to Stone.


    However, the entire area was like this so even if she created a living space, it would be influenced by the slush all around that was constantly moving. As such, she wisely decided to evaluate thend she was building upon and produce something akin to houses in the air that were supported by pirs.


    She then melted the ice around thend she chose and turned it into water. Along with her wood element, she created a lot of vines and tough nt life that could survive in these harsh conditions.


    She wanted to see more life around her, so this was her goal.


    On the other side, Jonathan was frowning as he stomped the ground and caused the ice for miles around him to crack. Instead of falling into the water, Jonathan sneered and used his gravity element to reduce his weight to that of a feather.


    As such, he could stand on the surface of the water using surface tension and walk across the water like a messiah. He then saw that it was endless water that was freezing cold for miles around and his face became ugly.


    "Hmph!" Jonathan snorted as he removed some metal from his bag of holding and tossed it into the water, and using his metal element power, he modeled it into a tform.


    [Earth to Metal - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 100 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 500 meters around you containing any type of earth to metal of any type (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 500 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 500%.]


    He then used the material element spell Darius had taught them to turn this metal into a tform of floating earth. Once he had a small foundation, he could now n his next steps on how he was going to manage this area.


    He did not want to waste his stores of metal which he kept in case he needed to cast where there was none of the element or its energy avable.


    As such he checked through the repertoire of material element spells Darius had created and found one that was suitable for his current situation.


    [Stone to Water - Level 1 Spell


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: 20 MP


    Description: Transform an area of 100 meters around you containing any form of stone to water of any purity (and vice versa) directly or remotely. The speed of conversion is 0.1 seconds per 100 meters and the effectiveness of the conversion is 100%.]


    He had not paid much attention to this one initially because it did not seem very useful since if he had water around, he could just use otherbinations of the material element plus his own magical prowess to change the area somewhat. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    However, being in the middle of a sea-locked area with nond around made the utility of this spell soar and Jonathan began expanding his tform in terms of width and depth.


    Folding his arms, the tall youth simply remained standing there while his mana continued to work in shaping the area around him to his purposes.


    Meanwhile, James was also sent into a simr area to the current Jonathan''s, only that he was not as rash or arrogant as the talld. He carefully observed his area and deduced that he could make a territory here as long as he fulfilled the criteria of requirements.


    Here the temperature wasn''t harsh and there was ess to water. However, because the area was basically a bunch of chunky pieces of ice formingrge and small inds all over the ce, it was too disconnected and aloof.


    What he logically needed to do was connect the ice and then stabilize it to prevent them from being swept away by the current. Luckily for James, he was the only one among the five apprentices who had naturally awakened the Ice element.


    Coupled with his Psychic element, it was easy enough for him to create a bridge that was made of Ice to all the chunks near him and then tether them to the mainndmass a few hundred kilometers away.


    Now came the terraforming and James did not have a problem with this part, but his problem came in another way, which was that his nature was against forming territories or ruling people!


    However, this was an obstacle he would have to climb if he wanted to pass this test.


    And finally, there was the diligent Anthony who appeared in a small forest made of frozen barks and ruddy trees that seemed to prefer this kind of weather regardless of the consequences.


    Before he could even take stock of his bearing, he heard a roar and was slightly knocked forward by something hard and round.


    Anthony frowned and turned around casually to see that he was being confronted by a pr bear the size of a small house. Its fur was scarred and matted with blood, and its eyes were full of ferocity and hunger.


    [Icy Ravenous Bear - Level 83 Monster


    HP: 68,340/68,340 MP: 17,430/17,430 STA: 22,244/22,244 ]


    Anthony''s eyes narrowed. This was a Grandmaster species that was native to this continent, the pr bear! They were a solitary race and were extremely violent, and they could use the power of ice to attack, not to mention their strength and constitution were very high.


    Apart from their slow speed and beastly nature, they had no other weaknesses except the fire element obviously. However, he obviously did not have ess to this element, so Anthony could only take out his bo staff.


    The bear saw that he had the intention to fight back and became furious. It expected Anthony to lie down and happily scream in pain while he feasted on his flesh, not daring to fight back!


    As such, the bear raised its front legs and stomped the ground, causing a huge wave of sharp ice to fly toward Anthony.

 Chapter 657 657

    ?


    Anthony calmly rushed forward and stomped as well, using his control over the Aether element to render the icy attack into pure energy which he collected. He then jumped forward at at abhorrent speed the Icy Ravenous Bear could not follow and struck fiercely.


    The bear was his in its right leg, sent flying through over 20 trees beforeing to a stop. Its white fur that was matted with blood had shifted from the blood of its prey to its own red blood, causing it to feel fear.


    Not only that but as it struggled to get up, it realized that the leg that was struck was broken and mangled, so it could not even rise to its feet. From arrogance and dominance, it felt endless fear as it sorely understood what it meant to be crippled in the wild.


    Before it could think further, Anthony rushed over and smashed his bo-staff on its head, knocking the beast out. He then tied its body up and dragged it along as he looked for a ce to settle himself and find out more about his surroundings.


    He had a feeling his part of the trial would be the most difficult.


    .................


    Meanwhile, Darius had finally released Queenstar after a month of preparation and training for what she was to do next. Darius teleported her to the Oasis in the desert, the special space meant for reincarnators sent by Vena.


    He gave her ess to this area to set it as her homebase, something he could do with his won current authority. She excitedly zipped around the ce and explored it while Darius nted some things that could help herter on.


    "Remember, build your initial troops and let them spread out to the nearest viges and kidnap people. Turn those people into biomass and then create more troops and so on." Darius reminded with a smile.


    "I wont tell you exactly how to n your way into dominance, but I expect that by the end of the year, you will have the entire continent on tenterhooks." Darius added as he turned to leave.


    Queenstar flew up and then nodded with a firm expression. "Don''t worry father, I wont fail you."


    Darius did not reply and fast traveled back to Safemoon. As for Queenstar, she watched the area where Darius stood for a while in silence and then buzzed as she returned to the cottage here.


    Using her special ability as an Insect Queen, she birth her first 100 hatchlings who were only barely amateur stage bugs at level 1. They were tiny little beetles like things, but their ferocity was unmatched.


    They dug into the sand and then rushed through the desert in different squads, entering the nearby viges and slowly assessing the ce. Connected to the bugcloud of the queen, they were able to ry all information back to her.


    Queenstar then followed the training Darius had given her, which included all the information from the bugcloud of the insect race as well as her own previous bugcloud before she died, and it was full of useful information and legacies.


    As such, despite being mean little critters, the amateur bugs were calm and practiced. They took away women, children and avoided adult men, slowly dragging them through the sand back to the base. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    When brought back, then were ripped apart by the bugs and turned into biomass which spawned more amateur bugs while those already there were slightly strengthened. However the bugs could not grow fast enough with the energy of such weak and unsparked humans.


    Still, Queenstar''s goal was not to rise in quality, but in quantity for now. As such, with the biomass she got, there came another 5,000 bugs who rushed out with the first batch or any settlement they could see with life.


    They avoided monsters and beasts because they were above their paygrade, and their quantity was not enough to risk such losses.


    Like this, theypleted more than few rounds and turned the area within a few kilometers into a barrennd of humans. Now the number of bugs surpassed 50,000 and then they began targeting weaker desert monsters.


    Huge battles began urring above and below the sands, causing the area to quake. Some bug groups were wiped out by their enemies in time while others won and began the feast.


    Of course, everything changed when the first Amateur bug rise to the Journeyman Rank. The leap in power was palpable, and this bug was not just one. Others also achieved this upgrade and they began assisting the weaker bugs in beating up amateur monsters for them to consume and level up.


    Soon, 50000 bugs turned into around 10,000 journeymen, and this was enough. Queenstar then had them hunt all the remaining amateur monsters around and drag them back to the oasis, where their biomass was used to create more bugs.


    Over 150,000 Amateur bugs were spawned from this and they once again spread with out with the journeyman bugs in the lead. Almost nothing could stand in their way except adepts, but this was the starter zone of the continent, so how could such beings exist around here?


    Over the course of the next week, thousands of amateur bugs were spawned and even more of them upgraded to Journeyman as their targets involved humans, monsters and both at the Amateur and Journeymen stages.


    After a few days, the first Adept bug was born and the entire situation changed. Queenstar got more confident and spread her activities out wantonly, eventually attracting the attention of the higher ups of Ludo.


    When they learned that an insect tide was brewing on their continent, they couldn''t help but panic and call Darius. Darius naturally bluntly told them to handle it themselves with the resources he gave them.


    There was no point investing in them if they cowered at every hurdle in their way.


    Hearing this, they could only grit their teeth and meet the charge of Queenstar head-on.


    Unfortunately for them, this was exactly what Queenstar wanted.

 Chapter 658 658

    ?


    Darius stood before Nichs, Elijah, Maximo and Shanks with his arms folded behind his back. The three men nced at each other with uncertain looks and then back at Darius.


    "Thatˇ­ Lord Darius, you want us to retire from our duties and follow you?" Nichs asked with confusion.


    "That''s right. You few are currently in positions that are not expandable to me, and I feel that your work would be better suited to where I am going now." Darius exined with a smile.


    The men were surprised by this. "Obsolete positions? So there is no longer a need for a City Lord of Safemoon, or a principal of the Academy?"


    "Such things can be filled by others with far less qualifications than you all. No, I would rather have you apany me to Pan and assist me in spreading my influence and managing my growth there." Darius highlighted with a wave of his hand.


    Hearing this, the fellows were surprised, but then their eyes lit up.


    "Pan? The continent of those immortals?" Elijah asked with a rushed tone.


    Darius'' eyes gleamed. "That''s right, that is my next target of conquest, though I n to have a more personal approach to it."


    "Damn, then count me in!" Shanks eximed with excitement.


    "Oh? Why the reactions gentlemen? Do you really find Pan so attractive?" Darius asked with amusement, already knowing the answer.


    "Of course! The powers of those so called Immortals are a big grander and more versatile than our magic, not to mention that they were the only continent that can boast endless growth for all species as long as you umte energy!" Maximo excitedly revealed.


    "But you do realize that ites at a cost, right? The ratio of unawakened and unsparked there are higher because you need a special organ called a Spirit Root to practice their cultivation techniques. Even if you are a Grandmaster mage and travel there, you might be limited to your power system because you do not have a spirit root."


    This calmed down their enthusiasm but they shared looks and smiled. "Even so, we know that with your means, Lord Darius, you can easily give us the best Spirit Roots." Nichs pointed out confidently.


    Darius nced at the fellow askance but nodded. "That''s true, and it is wise to realize the extent of my provisional ability for you."


    Darius then swept his eyes over them. "So, what do you say?"


    The four men unhesitatingly expressed their acquiesce, making Darius nod. "Make preparations. We ''ll be leaving in a few hours."


    Before Darius could leave, he was stopped by Shanks. "What about Derek and Portia? And Jorge as well as Foldo?" <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    "They are better left to fill the shoes of you lot, not to mention that they are too young to manage such a thing. As for Foldo, he is severely embedded in the atmosphere of Fallon, and pulling him out does more harm than good." Darius stated as she shook his head.


    Shanks went went and did not ask anything more. Meanwhile, Darius teleported to his mage tower and saw that Gunner was squatting to chat with X and Luna with a brotherly smile on his face.


    When they saw Darius arrive, their faces lit up slightly.


    "Ive informed the others who wille with us about our journey. We need some people to handle some misc things while we further our goals." Darius informed them with a smile.


    The thee Branded Servants nodded in understanding. Darius then moved to sit down and began to think about what to do with Pan.


    The Spirit Root issue was not a light one. It was a make or break for anyone who wanted to enter their power system, and even if you had one, you could only use t in the special environment they possessed using the special methods they possessed.


    This meant that the cultivation methods to initiate oneself into the the path of immortal hood were in the hands of the powers of the Pan Continent, the sects.


    These strange and pseudo-efficient governments were very brutal and usually operated with extreme corruption, or extremely survival of the fittest, there was usually no in-between.


    They were also very militaristic and narrow-minded, willing to go to war for the slightest issue and would happily throw out their lives of their people, these disciples, just to satisfy bruised egos.


    Darius realized that his presence was sorely needed on thisnd. The Sect system had so much potential that was going to waste due to the mental retardation of those at the top of the pyramid.


    Even worse was the fact that despite Pan''s potential, it was not even in the top 3 strongest continents, even barely making it into top 5 at 5th ce.


    This was due to the fact that the quality of life on the continent was poor and the life expectancy was poor. Unless you were a cultivator or from a powerful lineage, your chances of living till 30 were very slim.


    Mortals died there in droves when cultivators fought and they were often abused and used like resources by the evil factions among the immortals.


    This was cutting their own feet, since majority of their power came from mortals who discovered they had Spirit Roots and then were inducted. However despite knowing this, the immortals hardly changed their ways and their system, rather telling themselves tripe bullshit like ''you are not fated if you die'' and ''only the strong with talent with make it through''.


    Immortals perfectly encapsted the saying that if one could me anything but themselves for the problems they caused, then one should. Now, even fate and destiny took the me for poor management and shitty practices.


    However, with the advent of Darius and the Branded Servants, all of that woulde to an end. Darius nned to create a superrge sect that would rule over the continent and subjugate it to his whims, also promoting its growth and efficiency!

 Chapter 659 659

    ?


    Today was a very bright day on Fallon. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and ohˇ­ it seemed as if the coast of one of the top empires in the western section of the continent was being paid a visit by friends from afar.


    It was arge ship that was moving without sails or masts, looking quite awkward to the eye of the sailor who used traditional ships. However, as it was powered by Spirit Energy and manned by formations, such a ship did not need to care about their opinions.


    This ship was the main cross-continental vehicle used by cultivators of the Heavenly Paradigm Sect toe to Fallon for various purposes like purchasing goods and services, as well as the recruitment of new disciples.


    That''s right, the recruitment of disciples!


    A Spirit Root was really all one needed to be initiated onto the path of cultivation along with a cultivation technique and the presence of ambient Spirit Energy. Pan had loads of thetter two, but not enough of the former, so why not seek it elsewhere?


    Spirit Roots were not unique to the humans on Pan, anyone around the world on Faust could develop one. So the immortals of Pan, or specifically the sects, had long decided to asionally travel around to the habitable continents and then recruit those who were willing toe over and had Spirit Roots.


    Well, ''willing; here was used loosely. If you had Spirit Roots and did not have a background, you would be kidnapped over. Once there, you would be shackled to their whims and it wasn''t like you could swim all the way back home right?


    Not to mention, you would eventually be a cultivator and be stuck using their system, so where could you run to? And if you had great talent and rose, you would be treated like a god, so why would you hold any resentment or malice towards them?


    Rather, they would now be your benefactors ording to the rules of the Dao, so you had to kneel and greet them for kidnapping you against your will.


    Don''t question it, this is the way of the Dao.


    In this small empire, the cultivators from the Heavenly Paradigm Sect strutted through the port like gods among the earth and ignored the stares from the natives. A few officials of the empire rushed over with bent backs to greet them, and the immortals naturally pped them about for being slow and not being up to their standard.


    The officials gritted their teeth with hatred and anger, but they could only suck it up and bear with it. This was the fate of the weak, and they wished that Safemoon could do something about it. However, after dropping the HoloBraces and building some developmental foundation, they just left.


    Initially, they were happy to have little control over their activities minus the strict regtions from the HoloBraces, but now that they were faced with trouble, they resented their suzerains for not being around.


    Funny how that worked.


    The cultivators noticed that this city was vastly different from how it was before, with many new technological advancements and trinkets they had never seen before. When asked, they found that Safemoon had conquered this kingdom and were now the suzerains.


    This caused the expressions of the immortals to change to one of horror and shock. They red at the official as if he had killed their father, causing the fellow to be dumbfounded. What had he done this time?


    One of them grabbed him by the cor and questioned him as to why he didn''t tell them earlier and whether he was trying to set a trap for them.


    How could the fellowprehend what was going on? He could only sputter weakly as he exined that it was because he felt it would be offensive to them and seem like he was trying to put them down.


    In the end, the cultivator dropped the fellow with a look of disgust as he realized that this was just a worm who had no real power. He feared them the same way they were wary of Safemoon, but not exactly.


    They did not fear Safemoon''s might, but rather the punishment of offending them and being cklisted, because it would mean theirpeting sects would be able to buy better goods than them.


    Suddenly, their behaviors became more docile and they didn''t dare act too wantonly on Safemoon''s territory. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The same thing was happening all over Fallon in different directions from the western side, since Pan was located in that direction. This was not only the day for the Heavenly Paradigm Sect to recruit, but all the powerful sects of Pan usually made a trip.


    Since they needed HoloBraces to buy Safemoon things, they all received an alert on this day. The Lord of Safemoon was nning to travel to Pan to establish a branch city there for trade and integration.


    Hearing this, the immortals here were stunned. In the next moment, they were swept away with excitement. This was unprecedented news, and they felt extremely ttered being chosen by Safemoon to be the first to bear this.


    One should know, it was like living in a countryside town at the ass end of nowhere and hearing that Walmart was opening a mega branch there. Not only was it enrapturing, but it also meant that your quality of life would rise day by day.


    Because with the establishment of that branch, other corps may send theirs over like McDonald''s and the like, allowing you to have a variety of goods and services that you want but had to travel far away to get.


    Immediately, these fellows informed those behind them using the special tools immortals possessed, which was what Darius was going for. And when more than one person of a huge force reported it, the news spread rapidly over Pan.


    Many mortals and immortals were excited by it and began preparing to judiciously receive the Lord of Safemoon. If they could win some favor, it was not impossible to get better discounts on goods, right?!


    Some others also heard this and their eyes shed with greed and malice. As stated before, they only feared Safemoon in its own territory because of that mysterious presence that executed a demon during the Safemoon Auction. Still, they actually did not fear the city itself.


    As such, they nned to keep that lord of Safemoon here! Once he left his bunker, did he think everyone was going to shit roses and piss love at his feet? Hehe!


    Once they captured and controlled him, they could gain unlimited stock of his top-tier goods and empower themselves as well as their forces, and even take down the other forces and rule the world!


    Just thinking about it made their faces ruddy and their bodies shake with excitement.


    Of course, they did not consider things like if the Lord of Safemoon had considered what would happen to his safety or any countermeasures he took. In their minds, he had to be a rich idiot who couldn''t even wipe his ass, thereby making it such that they could achieve their goals without suffering any detriment.


    After all, that would mean that they, the cultivators nning this, were idiots and one thing you could be sure of was that no qualified cultivator ever med himself for his own ws. It always had to be someone else.


    If they tried to assail Darius and found that they were unable to and were easily defeated, they would feel rage and indignation, ming him for ying tricks on them. How could it be because they, the idiots about to die, were simply not enough upstairs?


    Anyway, with the information sent back, Pan began to move and galvanize itself, while Darius also began to prepare some things to make sure that his journey over was smooth. Currently, he nned to create a two-way portal from Safemoon to Pan when he arrived and imed thend as his territory.


    That way, moving forces and goods would be much easier for him.


    On this day, Darius set out from Fallon on an airship, with Gunner, X, Luna, Shanks, Elijah, Nichs, Maximo, Da, and Kiran on board. There were also some critterbots, maidbots and bulderbots brought along to facilitate the construction of their property once gained.


    When the people of Fallon heard Darius was leaving, many had different feelings. Those under him felt worry while those who were yet to be conquered sighed with relief. As for those in Safemoon, they red at Pan with red eyes, wishing they could be just as lucky one day.


    With an airship, the speed and convenience of travel could not bepared to a seafaring ship that everyone else used. Especially since this was powered with Source Energy, it had propulsors and thrusters that sent it forward rather than using wind or masts.


    As such, it took them only a few days to go from Fallon to the far-off Pan, something which took those on sea almost a quarter of a year to achieve.

 Chapter 660 660

    ?


    The airship came to a stop above the continent of Pan and those within couldn''t help but look down and marvel at thend before them. Now only was it novel, but it was likely their first time seeing anything apart from Fallon.


    For Darius and his Branded Servants, it was business as usual. Though, their expressions did change lightly once they felt the aura of Spirit Energy wash over them. It felt like the ambient magical energy of Fallon, but with some significant differences.


    However what was interesting was that only the Branded Servants reacted this way. As Darius already knew, to sense Spirit Energy, you needed the special organ called the Spirit Root. Without it, the world would be the same to you as a normal person.


    None of those he brought had natural Spirit Roots, but that was to be expected. Even on Pan, where Spirit Energy is present and the chance of a newborn possessing a Spirit Root was the higher than all other 9 continentsbined, they only had about 0.00001% of their people possess one.


    So the chances of those on Fallon and other continents possessing one was even lower. However, the sects were so desperate for new blood that they came all the way out here to recruit people.


    Why are they desperate for new blood? Because they kept sending their disciples to die in battles, disputes, secret realm explorations and generally encouraged them to kill each other.


    The airship touched down and the group began to disembark. There was naturally a bevy of important dignitaries waiting for Darius as he came down, and he greeted them one by one.


    They were currently docked in the port of thergest and most powerful sect on the eastern side of Pan, the Immortal Rising Sect. They had the most cultivators of the highest levels here, thergest piece ofnd, and the most resources.


    They were chosen by the various powers of Pan to be the ones to host Darius and assist him in getting familiar with the ''rules'' here.


    Darius was led to a nearby pce which was styled in the Ancient Chinese architecture from earth. For Darius it was not much, but for the others, even his Branded Servants, this was an amazing experience.


    They had never seen buildings like this, so they couldn''t help but stare and marvel a bit. However, the group suddenly stopped when they realized that their hosts were secretly gazing at them with disdain.


    They did not know that for these cultivators, emphasis was ced on being ''neither servile nor overbearing'' and also on being ''indifferent'' to anything and everything. Having emotions or emotional disys was seen as the lowest form of behavioral performance.


    Luna and Gunner were usually like this, so they won the respect of the cultivators. More than a few had nced at Luna lecherously, but her sharp killing aura directed at them quelled those thoughts and even sparked respect.


    To a cultivator, you could not treat him gently or kindly, you had to be fierce or you would not get his respect. Taking a step back emboldened them to no end and taking a step forward frightened them deeply. They purely lived off the notion that they would bully the weak and fear the strong.


    As for X, she felt extremely embarrassed and lowered her head, which made some others sneer with derision behind her back. However, Gunner only turned to nce at them and they almost lost their lives on the spot.


    As for Darius. He was busy chatting andughing with the top echelon, and they too with him. Both sides pretended not to see what was happening with their followers, but there was a hidden gleam in each other''s eyes.


    A banquet was held to wee Darius and many things were discussed. It was here that Darius also found that thend they would be allocating him was far to the south of the continent, a rtively barren area with no chance for development.


    When this was revealed, the faces of Darius'' entourage became cold, and the other side had slightly provocative looks on their faces. So what if you were strong in your ce, could you act up over here? Cultivators firmly believed in the saying ''a foreign dragon cannot suppress local snakes''.


    However, this was also a test. A test to see Darius'' bottom line and then began pushing it every so slowly until he became their bitch. They had countermeasures for any reaction he would take, and they were surprised when he smiled and took the deal.


    However, he paid the equivalent value of thend in full without anything extra, making these top echelons solemn. To know the true price, Darius had to have a lot of information on Pan and how things were valued.


    This made their eyes narrow as a lot of things could be inferred from this. Darius was telling them that he was willing to confine himself to a barren area as he had no ns to expand, but would not let them bully him because he could up and leave when he wanted.


    This caused these Sect Masters to be cautious with him and show smiles the entire day. They chatted with Darius as if they were old friends who had been reunited after so long, something which Darius easily parried and indulged in. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Eventually the banquet came to an end and Darius and co were invited to stay over. Naturally, he rejected and took his group in the airship and traveled straight to their new territory from the Immortal Rising Sect.


    This caused the faces of these Sect Masters to darken as at least, 50 ns had gone down the drain. In the end, they could only share a look and then contact those dark forces who nned to capture Darius with inside information.


    After all, they needed someone to test the water for them.


    Meanwhile on the airship, the atmosphere was slightly cold. Luna, Gunner, Nichs, Elijah, and Shanks were silent and unapproachable, their auras poised for a fight as if they expected one soon.


    Darius simply sat in his chair near the bow and looked out into the expanse before him with a soft and confident smile. X fiddled with her hands and wanted to say something, but decided to keep quiet when she saw that everyone else was silent too.


    Soon, they noticed that there was a disturbance up ahead. In front of them, a bright light shone and illuminated the night sky around them, forming a domed carapace-like cage that prevented their airship from going forward.


    Sou! Sou! Sou!


    Unique and strange onomatopoeic sounds urred that one would never have heard on Fallon, seeming to be a part of the rules here. The space around the airship was soon surrounded by men and women wearing different masks and hoods who radiated power.


    One of them was standing opposite Darius near the bow, and he had a burly body that his robe could barely suppress. He nced Darius up and down before speaking in a cold tone.


    "Surrender ande with us and you will be unharmed. Resist and all your subordinates will die and you may note out unscathed."


    Darius looked him up and down with interest. "Excuse me for asking, but what makes you think that you are strong enough to survive this ambush?"


    The cultivator paused before remaining confident. "Either surrender or let''s fight, there is no need for so much talking!"


    Darius raised a hand up. "Calm down. Answer my questions first and I might surrender and make this ordeal easier on everyone."


    Darius could feel the man in the lead frown, but when he thought of the risks he was taking and how it could be resolved by possibly answering some questions, he felt like it was worth trying. If Darius was stalling for time, it was not a problem, they too were doing the same.


    "What do you want to know?" The burly man acquiesced.


    "Like I said, why are you so sure you''ll survive this ambush?" Darius asked with a smile.


    "No one says we will. We believe in our own power, but our judgment about you could be wrong. In the end it doesn''t matter, if we are right, we score. If we are wrong, we suffer." The fellow answered sinctly.


    "Oh? You are willing to take such huge risks? But you have significant power and can continue to enjoy a long life of luxury. Why risk it all here?" Darius asked with intrigue.


    The ambushers seemed to find this funny as many snickered or made sounds of amusement. The burly man himself seemed to rx and exined simply.


    "Birds die for food as humans die for wealth. On Pan, the only thing that matters is power, otherwise everything you have, love, peace, family, is subject to destruction at the slightest mistake. The only way to make sure what you want is fortified and secured is to have more power than everyone else, and to get that power, everything is fair game."

 Chapter 661 661

    ?


    Luna as well as Gunner listened to this and seemed to nod imperceptibly. They were not the most socially apt fellow and definitely could not im to understand the mind of people as well as Darius, but they could understand this saying since it was very direct and touched at the heart of sapient thought.


    As for X, she did not seem to understand this because she had never really felt greed before. The Divine Concepts in her soul also frowned and prevented suchprehension froming to her, for they did not want their lovely and sweet maiden to be corrupted.


    Darius meanwhile had an expression of confusion.


    "In other to pursue wealth, you need to have your life. What is the point of taking risks if they are not fully calcted?" Darius asked seriously.


    The cultivators in the surroundings were rendered silent by this. The burly man in the lead pondered for a while before speaking.


    "We have done some preliminary research on you and havee to the conclusion that while you may have contracted some powerful forces, they are not enough to stop all of us." He answered calmly.


    "My forcesˇ­? What about my own personal power? What if I am a peak Grandmaster with extreme power?" Darius asked with a strange look.


    The expression of those around him changed slightly as they became hesitant and warier. The burly man''s voice darkened a little and became colder.


    "Your personal power cannot be too high. Firstly, your history states you were born in southern Fallon and moved to Andrato in the north. Secondly, we have traced your power from when you were an Adept to now, and you cannot possibly have be Grandmaster in less than 10 years from an Adept."


    p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ăo§® The burly man shook his head. "It is not that we are underestimating you, but it is simply impossible for you to go from Adept to Grandmaster in that time. Your Spirit Root and Nascent Soulˇ­ er, your Magic Circuit cannot bear the stress of being upgraded so fast and with such a poor foundation. It is literally physically impossible."


    Darius nodded and settled down. Their remarks were apt, as Darius knew that for a native of Faust, going through the stages so fast was a thing of madness. Of course, Darius'' resources allowed the apprentices to go from Amateur to Adept in about 3 years which was already mind-boggling.


    But that was purely because of his resources and the fact that their stats were higher than their stage, so as the burly man said, their foundations were beyond being solid, very able to tolerate rapid upgrades.


    However, it was like a person on a regr Earth with a child-like body telling you that they were a 23-year-old adult. Maybe due to some supernatural or paranormal circumstances, that was true but normally and logically, it was physically impossible for it to be so, and supernatural as well as paranormal activities were notmonce enough for you to attach it to every scenario.


    Likewise, Darius saying he was a Grandmaster was like that. While it was true thanks to the Supreme System - and specifically his stats - that he could emte such power and beyond, it was not possible outside of his Transmuted resources and even Darius wouldn''t believe himself - knowing what he was and how he got here - if another person in his shoes told the same.


    One thing with cultivators was that they always seemed rash and used stupidly wed logic, but that was only because they were dealing with a special being protected by cosmic luck with abilities that were out of the norm, so they always lost.


    If you switch the person in that scene to a typical native, that same stupid logic would be sound and factual. That was just the reality of it.


    Likewise, that sound logic was stupidly wed when brought before Darius and his group, and these fellows were about to pay the price.


    "That''s about enough. I finally understand everything, what I need to do, and how to approach the cultivators of Pan on my ns." Darius spoke as he nodded to himself.


    The cultivators heard this and tensed. Now that the questions were done, it was back to the kidnapping, and the oue was up in the air. The burly man forced himself to remain calm and spoke nonchntly.


    "So? Will you surrender as you promised after I answered your questions?"


    Darius chuckled. "Sure, after you survive this."


    He pointed a finger and released a huge beam of electricity as thick as an industrial pipe that was aimed at the burly man as its first target. Its speed was so great that it left afterimages, moving at the literal speed of light.


    [Endless Chain Lightning - Level 60 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1,000 MP


    Description: You create a bolt of lightning that arcs toward a target of your choice that you can see within range. The bolt then leaps from that target to as many as 1,000 other targets, each of which must be within 3000 feet of the first target. The damage reduces by 1% with each jump. This deals 6,500% lightning damage to the first target.] <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The burly man who had been on guard the whole time was ready, but when he felt the power in the spell, his face paled and he screamed.


    "NOOO!! PLEASE SPARE ME!"


    He mustered all his power, a mighty aura bursting from him as energy coalesced around his body to block the attack, but Darius had already checked his stats by Analyzing him while they were doing all that talking.


    [Name: Gu Wenfan || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Cultivator, True Immortal.


    HP: 111,112/111,112 || QI: 41,391/41,391 || STA: 23,579/23,579 ||


    Level: 73 || Cultivation Stage: True Immortal (Rank 8)


    Power: 344 || Speed: 198 || Constitution: 323


    Magic: 567 || Will: 555 || Luck: 20.


    Skills: Immortal Body, Immortal Foundation, Immortal Suppression, etc


    Spells: Nine Fire Immortal Wave, Heavenly Water Palm, King Jue''s Barrier, etc.]


    The details of cultivators were slightly different from those of Fallon due to the different power system here and the True Supreme System acknowledged as well as made changes to it.


    However, that was something for Darius to explore and researchter. Right now, the Chain Lightning he shot out easily pierced the barrier of the burly man whose name was Gu Wenfan and thennced his body, turning him into ash.


    It then jumped onward to the nearest person who was a female, and she didn''t even have time to panic before she was also turned to ash. Some others were faster and had higher speed stats because of their cultivation, so they reacted to defend themselves.


    However, it was futile. With Darius'' current stats, he could even deal with Demi-Gods head-on, much less them. Even though cultivators had seemingly higher stats than those of the same level on Fallon, it was a fixed oue regardless.


    Death swept the area around the airship equivocally, not sparing anyone nor letting them go. By the time a second hade to pass, the entire area was clear, and even the barrier that had kept them locked in was destroyed.


    Interestingly, the Chain Lightning did not dissipate, but darted off into the north where there were some hills and dense forests. With their current physical prowess, the group could soon hear screams and begging that went further off, chilling the subordinates of Darius.


    Not even the spies and backups sent here were spared by the spell, and it intended to do its work before going off. Darius simply smiled and did not even look back, ordering the airship to continue forward to their territory while he pondered.


    As he had told Gu Wenfan before he died, he finally understood how to treat cultivators. They were not fully idiotic, but were rather usually shrewd schemers who possessed all of the negative cognitive and behavioral traits of a sapient being, but strongly enhanced.


    And they fully subscribed to established facts and logic. They hardly or never considered nor nned for exceptions or outliers to their personally understood and epted worldview.


    If they believed that Person A could only achieve this much given the circumstances they knew about, they would never believe or considered that Person A could achieve anything higher than that unless physically proven otherwise.


    This made them seem limited in thought when they were just very close-minded and overconfident in their knowledge and judgment.


    So essentially, the best way for a person like Darius to deal with them is to disy the full extent of his prowess from the get-go in order to deter any thoughts of wasting his time!


    In other words, as they often put it, he had to be high-profile and domineering! In the world of cultivators, the stupidest thing you could do would be to try to be low profile, because this was a world that respected strength.


    There was violence and death everywhere, who was going to give you the time and peace to develop like it was awful world?

 Chapter 662 662

    ?


    Darius'' entourage soon arrived at their destination, hovering over a rocky mountain range that was filled with demon beasts, a special kind of monster only found on Pan.


    p¦Ánd¦Á---no¦Í?1,§ăo§® These demon beasts saw that giant shadow on the ground cast from above, and they became restless as they were filled with both violence and fear. Gunner was about to raise a hand when Darius stopped him.


    "Not yet Gunner. We n to develop here long term, so we can''t damage the area. In fact, looking at how barren this area is, we are going to have to spend a lot of time increasing its quality."


    Gunner took his hand back and the demon beasts did not know that they had avoided a genealogy-ending cmity right there. X curiously looked down at the demon beasts, but soon showed disgust.


    She could sense a certain negative energy within them that was foul to her nose, and she formed an immediate dislike of them. As for Luna, she raised her dagger with a glint in her eye, wondering how many of them she could kill at once and how fast.


    Shanks and co seemed interested, wanting to go down and scuffle to stretch their legs after being in management for so long.


    "Let me make this clear, we are here to build first. Until each and every one of you reach the Foundation Establishment realm, no one is allowed to leave the airship." Darius nipped all those ideas in the bud.


    No one had anyints though. Darius'' word wasw and he must have a good reason for saying this, so they stood next to him as he looked down.


    "Dispatch the bots, Miranda," Dariusmanded.


    Miranda acquiesced and sent down the Guard Bots first who had been powered with Source energy now and had their capabilities greatly increased. They began to clear out the demon beasts in a 360-degree radius around the airship, marking the valley below them as their territory.


    The critterbots and builderbots then went down in their hundreds, rapidly using top-grade materials produced by Darius in the month of waiting to this day. They began to terraform the valley firstly from a rocky and barren ce to and filled with grass and life.


    While Darius watched them for a while, he also spoke. "Now, I will test your Spirit Roots. For those who don''t have any, do not worry, I have something here that will grow one for you."


    Immediately, the group came to alertness and waited for Darius who turned his seat around to face the deck and then fashioned a table before him. He then ced a strange crystal ball which was at the center of arge parchment with strange runes and symbols.


    "ce your hand on the crystal ball and rx," Darius instructed.


    "Now before you do so, let me exin what this is and what will happen. This is a Spirit Root Testing Array, amon device made by the cultivators of this continent to test for Spirit Roots in anyone. Not only can it detect its presence it can detect its element and purity." Darius began as he gestured to the gunner.


    "As you are all elites from Fallon, you already know about the magic system and Awakenings. Spirit Roots are the same, they have fixed elements linked to your talent just like a natural awakening. Of course, my Awakening Scrolls can give a candidate up to 5 pure elements in their Spirit Root and even grant those without one a real Spirit Root."


    Darius chuckled. "Otherwise Pan would not care much about Safemoon''s goods."


    Gunner walked over and looked at the array before cing his hand on the crystal ball.


    "The reason why you might not have Spirit Roots is that all of you old fellows Awakened or Sparked on your own. Anyone who uses my scrolls has their power applicable to all power systems of Faust." Darius added before gazing at Gunner''s results.


    The array in the center absorbed Spirit Energy in the surroundings and then lit up magically. The crystal ball soon shone and then was lit up by an earthen green glow no unlike Gunner''s aura.


    The runes on the array then arranged themselves and Darius read them with a smile. "Immortal Emperor Tier, Perfect Quality Earth Spirit Roots. Good job."


    Gunner nodded and stepped back. The rest looked confused and Darius naturally exined.


    "Spirit Roots have different qualities and the testing array reports them in this way. The first is the cultivation potential, then the spiritual quality, and finally the number of elements within."


    Darius raised a finger up. "There are 10 stages of cultivation which you will soon find out, and Immortal Emperor is the highest. The potential section just highlights the most likely stage you will reach with your Spirit Roots based on empirical evidence."


    Darius raised a second finger. "The spiritual quality is split into five, poor quality, average quality, good quality, excellent quality, and perfect quality. This affects your raw talent, how fast you can absorb Spirit Energy, how pure that energy will be, and how powerful your attacks or defenses as a cultivator will be." <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Darius raised a third finger. "The element stages the kind of cultivation technique as well as the types of spells you can learn as a cultivator. The neutral Spirit Energy you absorb is converted to elemental energy rted to your Spirit Root and cannot be changed to other elements. Not counting exceptions and outliers, and not counting my Awakening Scrolls, it is often better to have fewer elements, because it means your Spirit Root quality will be higher. Having a single element like Gunner makes you a special talent that sects would go to war for."


    After exining this, the group could now somewhat make sense of Gunner''s reading, and their hearts skipped a beat.


    Sasuga Gunner-sama!


    "X, you''re next," Darius stated with a soft smile.


    X gulped lightly and walked over with a worried expression, gingerly cing her hand on the crystal ball. Soon, it lit up just like Gunner and with a single white light that was piercing.


    After reading the runes, Darius nodded. "Immortal Emperor Tier, Perfect Quality Light Spirit Roots. That is super rare and it means you can both heal and attack in this power system."


    Darius knew of certain top sects that only employed Light-element cultivators like X and she would likely be their Holy Maiden immediately if they knew her talent.


    X seemed relieved that she didn''t let anyone down and skipped back to her ce beside Gunner and Luna. Darius then nodded to the sexy moon elf who walked over elegantly and ced her hand on the crystal ball.


    The crystal ball shone with a dark and all-consuming light, making Darius feel pleased. "Immortal Emperor Tier, Perfect Quality Darkness Spirit Roots."


    Luna nodded, a slight smile of satisfaction ying on her lips as she walked back to the happy X who hugged her as if she won a trophy - making Luna speechless - and Gunner who gently rubbed her head - making her blush.


    Darius then turned to the other fellows who were restless and nervous. "Don''t worry, I am not going to make you test for them without giving you one. What I have will make even the most powerful Spirit Roots feel like trash."


    Darius pped his hand and a bunch of maidbots brought over trays with a golden potion on them. The old men picked them up and drank it without hesitating, downing it all in one gulp.


    Immediately, their faces became awkward, and Spirit Energy in the surroundings seemed to rush into their body and purify them. After a minute or two, the wave settled down and the fellows seemed energetic and full of power.


    Darius gestured to the ball. "Now gentlemen, please test one by one."


    They nced at each other and allowed Shanks to take the lead since he was the earliest to meet Darius among them. The aged father walked over and tentatively ced his hand on the crystal ball.


    It lit up with a bronze glow.


    "Oh? Immortal Emperor Tier, Perfect Grade Bronze Spirit Root. This means that you are more suited for the path of Body Refinement." Darius exined.


    Shanks nodded and stood aside, allowing Nichs to ce his hand down next. Darius saw a nice and healthy tinum color along with the image of a sword.


    "Hoho, now this is super rare. Immortal Emperor Tier, Perfect Grade tinum Spirit Root, and a budding Sword Heart!" Darius nced at Nichs with a smile.


    Now it seemed that we could trace where Ash''s sword talent came from. After all, the potion he gave them only awakened Spirit Roots based on their physiology and talents, so this was naturally a part of Nichs.


    After him was Elijah, the former Seneschal, and Principal. When he ced his hand down, a nice, purple glow shone.


    "Another rare one. Immortal Emperor Tier, Perfect Grade Gravity Spirit Root." Darius announced.


    After Elijah was Maximo Riverstrike, and his talent was also a rare Material Spirit root. While this meant he would not be the mostbat capable, it meant he would be the greatest Alchemist and Artifact Refiner on the continent for sure.


    After them were Da and Kiran, who both had a Gold and Silver Spirit Root respectively.

 Chapter 663 663

    ?


    After checking everyone''s Spirit Roots, Darius collected the testing array and then pped his hands once more. The maidbots in the surroundings then rushed over with trays once more, and on them were two books.


    One was bound with a white cover and pulsed with spiritual energy and the other was bound with a golden cover and pulsed with sheer power.


    [Qi Cultivation Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Qi Cultivation skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    [Body Refinement Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Body Refinement skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    The Branded Servants picked up the books and used the system to learn them while the other fellows had to open them and read. In just 30 seconds, they read from cover to cover of both books and had fullyprehended it.


    Immediately, all their faces changed once they felt the effects of the skill. For the Branded Servants, they could directly see the details through the system while the others had a vague idea of what they had just been given.


    [Qi Cultivation Technique - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is amon technique passed around on Pan for entry-level cultivators to use. Its original version had been refined over hundreds of millennia into pseudo-perfection, but it could not fully allow all beings to cultivate smoothly. This version has been perfected and can be used by anyone with a Spirit Root to achieve 100% efficiency of their Qi Cultivation instantly and even possibly upgrade it over time when mastered. Currently, this skill adds 1% efficiency to the cultivation of your Qi.]


    [Body Refinement Technique - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is amon technique passed around on Pan for entry-level body refiners to use. Its original version had been refined over hundreds of millennia into pseudo-perfection, but it could not fully allow all beings to refine their bodies smoothly. This version has been perfected and can be used by anyone with a Spirit Root to achieve 100% efficiency of their Body Refinement instantly and even possibly upgrade it over time when mastered. Currently, this skill adds 1% efficiency to the refinement of your body.]


    Of course, the difference between the Branded Servants and Darius, as well as the other subordinates, was that Darius and his fellows could use skill points to advance their skills or train normally while the others could only train normally.


    "Now all of you have 7 days to reach the peak of Qi Condensation and Mortal Flesh realm. After 7 days, gather here again. Dismissed!": Dariusmanded with a soft smile.


    The rest filed away and went to their rooms to begin cultivating while Gunner remained and simply plopped down beside Darius and began pondering. Darius himself smiled and nced at Gunner.


    "Thinking about whether to invest skill points and cultivate or do it as it is and let it grow naturally?" Darius asked.


    Gunner nodded. "Or even to do it first and then add skill pointster to check the efficiency."


    "Both are not bad, but there''s no need. Now that we have organic growth, unless it''s something that will take a lot of time or is already high level, so the progress will be slow, it''s more efficient to stick to training." Darius advised.


    Gunner thought about it and agreed. Anyway, skill points or training, it did not matter to him. He had been given a task and he would execute it to the best of his abilities. Failure was not in Gunner''s dictionary.


    Darius also remained in his seat and closed his eyes to begin cultivating.


    One thing that must be said was that the Spirit Energy in this ce was exceedingly barren. With the quality of Spirit Roots and the cultivation techniques they had, it should take but an hour to two to ze through most of the stages for them.


    However, the barrenness made it such that they would take a few days at most. A week was just the estimated time that it would take all the builderbots and critterbots to establish the foundation of their Sect.


    Of course, they could use a transmuted quality Spirit Gathering Array, but Darius was saving that forter. Using a Spirit Gathering Array at the Qi Condensation stage was a bit extra.


    Now that everyone had settled down to cultivate, it was time to talk about the stages of cultivation in Pan and how they equated to the general power system, or at least, how they transacted into Fallon''s power system that we were familiar with.


    Just like on Fallon, there was a singr power system split into two streams. The ''Physical/Material'' sub-power system and the ''Magical/Spiritual'' sub-power system.


    For Fallon, this was split into ''Sparking'', which was generating a special power that was like a superpower ability. It could have some simrities with magic, but they functioned just how you imagined superpowers would on a person.


    Then there was ''Awakening'', which was generating a connection with the world itself to use the elements in a more direct fashion. It worked just like how you''d expect Western wizards and mages to function.


    To simplify, the difference between the two was like driving an automatic car and a manual car. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The other continents usually worked like this. Houto had the Samurai or Ninjas who were the physical side and Onmyoji or Shrine Priests who were the magical side. Kiel had the Beast Tamers who were the physical side and the Ice Lords who were the magical side.


    Pokterr, at least the old Pokterr, had the Craftmasters who were the physical side and the Enchanters, who were the magical side. Ludo had the Turban Warriors on the Physical side and the Sand Masters on the magical side.


    And so on.


    The physical side for Pan were the Body Refiners and the magical side were the Qi Cultivators. While both sides had differences, they still both used Spirit Energy to further their power.


    However, the two grew differently and this manifested itself in their sub-system, which was the realms of cultivation/body refining.


    While the system of Amateur, Journeyman, Adept, Master, and Grandmaster applied to all of Faust and was integrated into the basic foundationalws, Vena was not so short-sighted to limit all other systems to this.


    The Qi Cultivation system had 10 major realms, all split into varying sub-realms. They were;


    Qi Condensation - level 1 to 10.


    Foundation Establishment - level 11 to level 20.


    Core Formation - level 21 to level 30.


    Nascent Soul - level 31 to level 40.


    Soul Formation - level 41 to level 50.


    Nihility - level 51 to level 60.


    Ascension - level 61 to level 70.


    True Immortal - level 71 to level 80.


    Immortal King- level 81 to level 90.


    Immortal Emperor - level 91 to level 100.


    So 2 of each of the realms were squeezed into the 5 major realms of Faust. Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment, for example, were considered Amateur level power while Core Formation and Nascent Soul were considered Journeyman level power.


    The same went for Body Refinement which had its own realms. They were;


    Mortal Flesh - level 1 to 10.


    Body Foundation - level 11 to level 20.


    Golden Body - level 21 to level 30.


    Sarira - level 31 to level 40.


    Nirvana - level 41 to level 50.


    Soul Merging - level 51 to level 60.


    Perfect Body - level 61 to level 70.


    Immortal Body - level 71 to level 80.


    Heavenly Body - level 81 to level 90.


    Supreme Godly Body - level 91 to level 100.


    One interesting thing about Pan''s power system was the fact that one could practice both Body Refinement and Qi Cultivation as long as one had Spirit Roots and had the required techniques or methods.


    On Fallon, you could either Spark or Awaken, not one or the other. The proof of this was Nichs and Elijah who were mages as opposed to Shanks and Da as well as Kiran who had sparked.


    But now, everyone could do both. Of course, this was often ill-advised because it consumed twice the time and double the resources, making many people and forces refrain and even ban doing so.


    Whatever the case, the fact was that Pan''s system was truly intriguing, because Darius had done his research and from his findings - backed by what he knew from God Krona''s library - there should be higher levels to peruse that were not limited by thews of Faust.


    That was the real reason Darius came here and also advocated for all his people to cultivate. He was running anotherrge-scale experiment, to see whether he could break through the upper limit of what was known and find a new path!

 Chapter 664 664

    ?


    Darius first began cultivating his Qi over his body. The thin Spirit Energy in the atmosphere was galvanized under his mental power connecting to his Spirit Root to extend its tendrils to bring it over.


    Now the process of cultivation, at least in the early stages, was simple. A person who was unawakened would receive a cultivation technique that would detail how they could use their Spirit Root to connect with the energy in the air and absorb it.


    Then, based on two things, their Mind/Intellect stat and their Spirit Root''s quality, they would use a varying amount of time to achieve this in two steps.


    What affected the two steps the most was the Mind stat. In the first step, it wasprehension ability, as in how quickly you could understand the theories and directions in the cultivation technique and then actually connect with your Spirit Root.


    Believe it or not, some fellows might have top-grade Spirit Roots but absolutely abysmalprehension and could spend a long time - if not be stumped - by this first step.


    As well all knew, the starting stats for the human race was 1-10 in all fields before awakening. Of course, there could be those like Darius who started out with high int stats and high Luck than average, but they were rare.


    The so-called ''geniuses''.


    To go on a tangent, the situation with pan and ''geniuses'' wasplex. On one hand, geniuses referred to those with top spirit rots, but it could also refer to those who had goodprehension, or those who had shitty achievements in both but had a lucky encounter and then suddenly becamepetent.


    Geniuses also varied by cultivation stage. One could bebeled at the Qi Condensation stage because you absorbed energy faster than everyone else, but be called trash because you began tog at Foundation Establishment.


    One simple and unavoidable fact about geniuses in Pan that no one could deny was that thebel could easily be given to you for showing the slightest bit of specialness, and also taken away just as easily for showing the slightest bit of difficulty.


    Back to cultivation, the second step in ''Awakenings'' under the cultivation system was to guide Spirit Energy into your Spirit Root where it automatically converts the neutral energy into your affiliated element.


    This also relied on your Mind stat since the range of energy you could attract was dependent on that. Now since one had not awakened at this stage, obviously they did not have psychic power nor the ability to expand their sense.


    However this was solved by the special organ the Spirit Root. What you had to do was imbue your mind into it and then based on the power of your Mind stat, it would stretch out and gather energy from a certain distance.


    Pretty straightforward.


    However one thing to note was the fact that 1 point of mind roughly equated 1 meter. So if one had the full 10 points of mind at the beginning stage, one could gather up to 10 meters of Spirit Energy at once.


    This might sound banal hearing it, but it made a huge advantage and literally separated Qi Condensation cultivators from the get go, and might even affect the entirety of cultivation.


    Picture you were watching a gatorade or mountain dew contest where two fellows must finish a 100 liters of mountain dew in one sitting - or whoever depletes the most faster wins - and the fellow on the left can open his mouth up to 10 meters while the fellow on the right can only open his mouth up to 5 meters.


    Putting aside how bizarre that would look, who do you think you be able to suck in more mountain dew - especially faster - between them assuming they had the same stomach capacity?


    This was the case for the averaged. He would then awaken after the first wisp of elemental Qi is born in his body, kept in his Spirit Root at this stage.


    The rest of Qi Cultivation was split into 10 stages, and these 10 stages equated level 1 to level 10 of the Supreme System. At level 1, you must have one wisp of elemental Qi. At level 2, you must have two, and so on.


    The power gap between Qi Condensation cultivators was very minuscule since this stage was not about fighting like a dumbass, but rather umting Qi to enter foundation building.


    Just like Fallon, the stats range was 10 to 20 for Amateur, 20 to 50 for Journeyman, 50 to 100 for Adept, 100 to 200 for Master and 200+ for Grandmaster.


    So whether Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment, none of your stats are passing 20 points unless you are an abnormality. What are you doing fighting at that stage for?


    Foundation Establishment ran by different rules which would be discussedter. For now, Darius'' cultivation was simr, but vastly different to what was spoken of. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    After all, all of the above was taking into ount a young fellow around Darius'' age when he first came into Faust who was now being inducted into the cultivation system.


    With Darius'' current stats, such an experience was notparable at all.


    In fact, it wasn''t strange for it to be this way. Many Adepts, Masters and Grandmasters of other continents often migrated over to Pan to learn cultivation and acquire more power.


    How could fellows with stats of that level flounder like newlings who had not yet grown pubic hair?


    Step one,prehension. Not a problem since it was a skill under the Supreme System, and its effectiveness was 100% + 1% due to the skills level.


    Step two, absorption and conversion. With his Magic stat at 1500 points, that was directly converted to 1500 meters, or 1.5 kilometers. His top grade Lightning element Spirit Root spread out wantonly and grasped all the Spirit Energy in this range, sucking it into Darius'' body.


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Normally, there was a waste when neutral Spirit Energy was converted into elemental Qi, but the effects of the transmuted skill showed. There was a 100% efficiency and even 1 extra point, so if Darius absorbed 100 points of neutral Spirit Energy, he got 101 points of Elemental Qi.


    With such a cultivation speed, how could it take a week? Shouldn''t it take only a few hours to reach Foundation Establishment and even beyond?


    Well, yes.


    But firstly, that was in areas with more concentrated Spirit Energy, not a barren ce like this.


    Secondly, Darius was not the only one cultivating, there were almost 10 others doing so on this same airship. Each of them was sucking in the same Spirit Energy within the same rough range, so how much could each person get?


    Thirdly, Darius was not in a rush. He wanted to feel out the stages of cultivation for himself and fully understand the physical, mental, and spiritual changes. Otherwise when he reached the peak, he would not be able to build further upon it.


    And so the bitter cultivation atmosphere descended on the airship. Shanks and co who had less Mind stats were speechless as they wrestled with former mages like Nichs and Elijah for Spirit Energy within their range, but how could they win?


    And Nichs and Elijah were bbergasted when they were mentally beaten away by Luna or Gunner. X was usually kind and would even take the initiative to help them gather spirit energy using her own vast mind stat.


    However, whenever Darius extended his range, everyone stopped what they were doing to respectfully allow him to work. It was fine too since Darius only asionally extended himself out and would fall into pondering for a long while.


    Naturally for those like Gunner and Luna, they zed through the stages and reach the peak of Qi Condensation in 1 day. X was slightly slower at 2 days while the others took 3 days on average.


    Darius was thest at 5 days, but then he shifted to refining the body.


    Fortunately with this, he didn''t need to research too much and could focus on empowering himself. After all, unlike Qi Cultivation which had potential for development, Body Refinement was hard capped.


    That was a fact Darius knew thanks to the System Shop after he purchased some banal information. Naturally beforeing to Pan, you could be sure that he made his research.


    Body Refinement was just a side system, just like the illusive Soul Cultivation, but Faust did not have a power system for that. Vena had created the initialws before creating the continents, and she couldn''t be bothered to amend the fundamentalws after encountering problems.


    Rather, she just squeezed what she could in and went back to her games. In her mind, whichever reincarnator was sent here would be given some of the best resources and assistance from her passively, so he could probably do something about it.


    Of course, this was totally a ''not my job'' mentality, but what were you going to do about it, criticize the Goddess who literally hosts your existence?

 Chapter 665 665

    ?


    The Body Refinement stages were easier to ze through but were far more painful. Unlike Qi Cultivation where absorbed energy was stored in the Spirit Root itself, Body Refinement had the energy spread out into your flesh.


    When spread into your flesh, it doesn''t just sit there but does exactly what it''s called, refining your body. Your flesh is destroyed and recreated using the energy you absorbed, perfected bit by bit as you cultivated.


    Here, your mileage may vary. If your cultivation was slow, you suffered pain in small bits but over a long period of time. If your cultivation was fast, you suffered a huge amount of pain in a short time and were done with it.


    For the fellows here, it was really mild since their Constitution stats were too high to fee;l such a thing. Only if their cultivation reached higher stages would they likely feel it.


    It took them all just a day to ze through to the peak of Mortal Flesh which also had 10 sub-stages that equated level 1 to level 10 of the True Supreme System''s levels.


    After that though, we had to talk about how cultivation benefited the cultivator. After all, there was no point gathering Qi or refining the body if it didn''t benefit you somehow, right?


    Of course, the best and most efficient way to disy this was by talking about how cultivation affected one''s stats.


    For Qi Cultivation, your main stat was naturally your Magic. Your sub-stat was Willpower and these two increased in tandem. As your cultivation increased, depending on the quality of your spirit root, its element, and some external factors, your Magic and Willpower increased exponentially.


    For Body Refinement, your main stat was obviously Constitution. Your sub-stat was Power and these two increased in tandem. As your stages increased, depending on the quality of the spirit root, its element, and external factors, your Constitution and Power increased greatly.


    The key here was how much it was increased on average. This had to do with race, so using the human race''s basic range, you could see an increase of 1 point in Intellect and Willpower with every 2 levels of Qi Condensation and every level of Foundation Establishment.


    Likewise, there was an increase of 1 point in Constitution and Power with every 2 levels of Mortal Flesh and every level of Body Foundation.


    So if you started with 10 points, you should reach 25 points by the time you hit peak Foundation Establishment, which was 5 points higher than the human standard.


    And this was why Pan was rated as a stronger continent than Fallon, because at every stage, a cultivator''s average stats surpassed those on Fallon or those of other systems by a significant amount.


    e¦Áglesn?¦Íel Of course, the price for this came in other fields that would appearter on in their cultivation journey.


    Whatever the case, the interesting thing was that despite having such high stats, everyone unterally experienced the stat increases they were supposed to enjoy. So for the Branded Servants, it was;


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 2,250,000/2,250,000 (3,375,000 HP Surplus) || MP: 61,500/61,500 (215,250 MP Surplus) || STA: 61,500/61,500


    Level: 41 || Experience: 5%


    Power: 1,505 (1500) || Speed: 1,000 || Constitution: 1,505 (1500)


    Magic: 1,505 (1500) || Will: 1,205 (1200) || Luck: 880


    AP: 5,450 || SP: 5450.]


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 2,250,000/2,250,000 || MP: 4,592/4,592 || STA: 61,500/61,500


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 1,505 (1500) || Speed: 800 || Constitution: 1,505 (1500)


    Magic: 117 (112) || Will: 2,305 (2300) || Luck: 100


    AP: 5,450 || SP: 8,145 (2,655).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso || Race: Elf (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Cleric, Divine Maiden.


    HP: 11,500/11,500 || MP: 82,000/82,000 || STA: 4,715/4,715


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0%


    Power: 105 (100) || Speed: 780 || Constitution: 120 (115)


    Magic: 2,005 (2000) || Will: 6,705 (6700) || Luck: 1,000 <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    AP: 5,450 || SP: 8,090 (2,640).]


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 7,500,000/7,500,000 (1,000,000) || MP: 3200/3200 (650) || STA: 80,000/80,000 (19,000)


    Level: 32 || Experience: 33% ||


    Power: 3005 (3000) || Speed: 3000 || Constitution: 2505 (2500)


    Magic: 1005 (1000) || Will: 1005 (1000) || Luck: 1000.


    AP: 5555 (105) || SP: 10,191 (4741)]


    As one could see, they had gained the full 5 points in each stat. Since their Spirit Roots were perfect and they had passed through the various grades, this was normal.


    If they had lesser Spirit Roots, rather than anything, they might not even gain a single stat point at the various stages they were supposed to, and this formed the gap in power between talented cultivators and average ones.


    As it were, a week had passed, and looking over the side of the airship, the formerly barren and rocky mountain range waspletely unrecognizable. In the central valley was a vast pce that spread over arge expanse of thend.


    On the various mountain peaks around, there were sub-pces that were built with different styles ording to what Darius envisioned, with each of them representing a different element.


    Not only that, but the environment of their mountains had been terraformed to fit that element, with the blue one havingkes, a waterfall as well as even a small sea, the fire one having a caldera withva as well as ming caves, and the purple one having low gravity as well as items of heavy mass with now low weight.


    It was a cultivation paradise, but this was only the first step. These mountain peaks and pces were in the inner area. A huge wall marked with elite runes and arrays separated this paradise from the outside.


    Outside, in a total 360-degree radius were hundreds of buildings like shops, inns, hotels, plots, residences and the like that were empty and waiting for tenants. This was the outer area of the future sect where sales would happen and where the mortals they raised would live.


    Looking at the development, Darius nodded with satisfaction.


    Gunner walked over and nced down as well. He turned to Darius and asked.


    "Are you going to be a nice fellow and recruit those from the continent in order to increase their quality of life and give them new hope, or are you just going to manufacture your own mortals and immortals and then raise them like cattle?"


    Darius nced at Gunner with a smile. "You know the answer, why recruit when I can create?"


    Gunner nodded and moved back. "Let me know when it''s time for us to resume cultivating the next stages."


    He plopped over near Darius''s seat, right on the deck, and began sleeping. Darius could only chuckle at this half-giant''s casual nature and then look back down.


    He then instructed Miranda to release the first-generation mortals and cultivators. For now, this group headed into the main pce down from the airship as they had been produced and brought from Fallon.


    In the main pce was arge Faraday cage-like room with runes for time dtion, and as you could expect, these soulless mortals began reproducing like crazy and then spitting out babies.


    They were then collected by maid bots with special runes that made them manufactured by time dtion - so they looked like they were moving at super speed to those who were time dted - and brought into another room.


    There, they were tested for Spirit Roots. The babies with Spirit Roots were taken into a separate time-dted room and raised until they were 6 years old. After that, they were removed from time dtion and shipped to the various side pce based on their element.


    They were now forced by trainerbots to practice the cultivation of Qi and Body simultaneously from age 6 until they grew up in real-time.


    As for those babies without Spirit Roots, they were taken into another time dtion room and trained in how to be a good mortal for business, farming, or any activity by a trainerbot until they were 20 years old.


    Then they were spat out and assigned to a home in the outer section and a job based on their training. They would then focus on their job and gather ie for the sect without keeping anything for themselves, surviving through sect welfare.


    They would also give birth but their children would either be taken away to cultivate if they had spirit roots or continue their parent''s job and live through welfare to the end of time.


    The cultivators Darius trained would reach their peak level and then form one aspect of his army to take over Pan and then begin conflict with Houto in the first step.


    As for the second step and after, it was too early to discuss this since it was not relevant yet.

 Chapter 666 666

    ?


    Once the city below them began to work and move, Darius allowed everyone on the ship to look over the side. Once they saw that there were workers filling the houses and shops one by one every second and youths being sorted into the various cultivation mountain peaks, their faces changed.


    They could sort of understand and feel Darius'' determination and n. However, what intrigued them the most was the fact that the Spirit Energy concentration of this ce was spiking rapidly.


    While the others were curious, Gunner could tell something more as he s face became solemn. Darius had not only covered just about every inch of the ce with Spirit Gathering Arrays, but he also created a central spirit energy diffuser in the central pce.


    It connected to the ever present Source Energy and then converted it into Spirit Energy then spat it out, causing the area to ''produce'' its own Spirit Energy which was rapidly gathered by all the arrays and prevented from leaking around.


    So outside the territory of their sect, the Spirit Energy was still barren. However, the moment you crossed the gate, the concentration rose by almost a hundred times and the farther in you went, it became denser and denser.


    The outer city was great, but the inner sect was more than amazing. It was almost a thousand times denser than the outer city and the various mountain peaks began to be clouded as Spirit Energy mist began to form around them.


    Gunner estimated that by the end of the day, those peaks would simply just no longer be visible. By the time the week ended, the entire inner sect would be a giant ball of mist where no one could take three steps without seeing where they are going.


    While that was definitely a good thing, too much of a good thing was bad. Gunner didn''t think that choking the area with Spirit Energy was the way to go at first, but then his face changed as he noticed that the most rapidly dispersed.


    When he checked why, he understood. The disciples who were cultivating were like little whales, inhaling Spirit Energy and making rapid breakthroughs in their cultivation.


    And this was only when they were all at the first major stage. When they reached Foundation Establishment, which required double the Spirit Energy or Golden Core which required exponentially more to form the core, how much would they suck away?


    Seeing this, Gunner now finally understood the basic fundamental of the current Sect System of Pan and why it was so rubbish.


    Resources, consumption!


    The moment one discovered they had a spirit roots, regardless of quality, they were destined for a life of hardship and scavenging for any resource unless they had someone else to sponsor them.


    And most people who criticized the sect system always forgot to ask this question, which was why should a cultivator or sect sponsor you in particr?


    The answer was based on a set of logical criteria decided over a long period of time. Firstly, talent. Secondly, background. Finally, age.


    The better your talent, the faster you cultivate and the less resources you use overall. The better your background, the more value the sect or cultivator sponsoring you can get apart from the disciples own value. The lower your age, the more malleable and brainwashable you are, allowing them to secure loyalty.


    Also for things like Body Refinement, age was very important unless you had great talent.


    And so came the fundamental sect system, the ssification of disciples. Core Disciples, Inner Disciples, Outer Disciples and In-name Disciples.


    Core Disciples were the backbone of the sect, often the first choice to be the leaders or Sect master. The lowest they can be are elders, but they usually rise above that. Their treatment is no different from a parent sponsoring a child, almost unconditional and natural. This tier was chosen solely by talent and background usually did not matter.


    Inner Disciples were the second line disciples, often being the children of elders or important figures. They may or may not have the talent to match it and the sect gave them strong support. They did not have to ve for the sect, but certain key missions would be allocated them. The least they could be were Deacons of the sect, who were managers of various things under the control of the elders. Some of the exceptional ones may be elders in the end. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Outer Disciples were basically entry level disciples who were given next to no support at all apart form a ce to live and an area to cultivate. They had to fight for their own resources and climb the ranks to inner disciple and possibly core disciple based on their talent and cunning. The sect often acted like it didn''t care about them, but usually its best expectations were on the outer disciples because there was a difference between a flower raised in a greenhouse and one that was raised in the wild, among cruel weeds.


    In-name Disciples were basically next to the level of servants and cannon fodder. Apart from some robes and allowing yourself to call yourself a disciple, you handled most of the day to day chores of the sect. You were not given a dime of resources and expected to use your own talent to cultivate, but since the reason you were even put there was because your talent was bottom-tier, you would stay there all your life, working and ving for the sect. asionally, some miracles could happen and a shock would ur, but it was super rare.


    This was the system all sects used. If it was based solely on merit and credit, it would be a perfect governmental system, but usually, it wasn''t. Nepotism and corruption were heavy in most Immortal Sects, even moreso than any other form of government ever.


    This was because unlike other governments which somewhat needed the popce and had representatives or leader who had to rely on others to maintain power, the Sect system had leaders who had incredible personal power.


    They did not need you or your opinion. They also had enough lifespan to genocide you all and watch as a new batch was cultivated after mortals gave birth to a new cycle.


    So this led to those of the upper echelon being absurdly narrow minded and corrupt, and their vile spawn were even worse in this regard since they were raised in such an environment.


    It was entirely possible for a sect to acquire an Outer Disciple who had shown great cunning and talent, looking to be the one to take them higher up in the grand scheme of things.


    However, because he defeated the son of an elder who is an inner disciple in a tournament which disyed his talent in the first ce, and that fellow is filled with hatred. So he schemes against the fellow suing his father''s superior and vast resources, eventually crippling him and ruining the talent.


    This has cost the sect greatly and damaged their future, but will thed be punished? Of course, but nothing near what he deserves. His father, who is an elder, is a loyalist of the sect and has worked hard, not to mention he knows core secrets.


    He also spouts sophistry like ''a dead genius is no longer a genius'' and everyone seems to nod in agreement. So the young fellow is given a p on the wrist and a warning, and the matter goes nowhere.


    Now, the sect is definitely wrong for its decision, but it is not illogical to decide so. The milk is already spilled and you couldn''t collect it up from the floor and put it in your mouth.


    The best thing to do was wipe it away and buy a new one. No need to bully your cat who spilled the milk andsh it for doing such.


    However, the issue here is that your cat, and the other cats around, are watching and have seen this. They might not actively think it, but in the back of their heads, they know that spilling milk leads to no real punishment, so they could now do it if they pleased.


    This is usually the first sign of a sect''s iing downfall and destruction because an oppressive atmosphere is created where each caste, instead of working together as a unit, fears and hates the higher one while they look down on and despise the lower one.


    Eventually, as you might expect, they would make a mistake one day and be sloppy, ''offending'' a talent and chosen of heaven who would destroy the sect after he trained a few yearster, causing all the umted karma to be paid back.


    Funny enough, this had happened so many times in Pan''s history across the continent that it was a known phenomenon. They had also done everything to find solutions and workarounds, but they only worked for a short while.


    After all, how could man be smarter than the heavens?


    Eventually, the leaders and elders of sects were forced toe to am bitter conclusion. If they didn''t want to be destroyed andst long, they had to stop being assholes.

 Chapter 667 667

    ?


    Darius turned to his people. "A week has passed and now it is time to climb from the first stage of cultivation to the next. How fast you want to do so, is up to you, but you are not allowed to continue without fully mastering the Qi Cultivation and Body Refinement techniques to their maximum value."


    The group nodded as the maidbots brought over two sets of manuals again.


    On the left was a book that was thick and full of energy while the other was twice as thick and seemed to stink like new flesh.


    [Foundation Building Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Foundation Building skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    [Body Foundation Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Body Foundation skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    Everyone shared a look and then decided to learn the techniques on the spot. After going through Qi Condensation and Mortal Flesh, they had some idea of what came next and their subsequent continuation was rtively smooth.


    They naturally easily learned the techniques, excluding the branded servants who just absorbed them directly using the True Supreme System.


    [Foundation Building Technique - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Qi Cultivation that specifically aims at using Qi to nourish the Spirit Root, transforming it into the Dantian.The more Qi infused into the Spirit Root during this stage, and the purer the Qi, therge and sturdier the dantians that forms at the peak of this stage. Using this skill, your Qi infusion is already perfect and your infused Qi is extremely pure. Currently, this skill adds 1% extra perfection to your Qi Infusion and Purification.]


    [Body Foundation Technique - Level 1 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Body Refinement that specifically aims at using Qi to nourish the Spirit Root, transforming it into the Dantian.The more Qi infused into the Spirit Root during this stage, and the purer the Qi, therge and sturdier the dantians that forms at the peak of this stage. Using this skill, your Qi infusion is already perfect and your infused Qi is extremely pure. Currently, this skill adds 1% extra perfection to your Qi Infusion and Purification.]


    Looking at both techniques, it practically seemed like they were the same thing, so what was the point? Well, Body Foundation and Foundation Building really were the same thing.


    In fact, most stages from here on in Qi Cultivation could be easily mirrored in Boyd Refinement, and vice versa. What separated the two was obviously what and where they were cultivated.


    For example, in Qi Cultivation, the nourished Spirit Root transforms into a Dantian that is located in the lower abdomen, around where your stomach is connected to your genitals.


    This dantian was built to store Spirit Energy converted from neutral to your elemental Qi that ister used to power spells and various cultivation techniques. It is your fuel tank, and the better it is, the more fuel you can hold.


    In Body Refinement, the nourished Spirit Roots transforms into a dantian that is located in the chest, smack dab in the heart. The Spirit Root doesn''t actually change but rather turns your physical heart into a dantian where all the elemental Qi you have converted is stored, allowing it to be pumped through your body and strengthening you from the inside out.


    You cannot use spells but only a few techniques because all the energy you absorbed was pumped by your heart into your body, entering your cells and nourishing as well as strengthening them. It is your engine, continually providing you with physical power. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    So the Qi cultivator stores the energy and controls it with their mind, strengthening mind power and mental faculties while the Body Refiner, pumps energy into their body and releases it to fight, strengthening their raw physical power and fortifying their constitution and vitality.


    So yes, while Body Foundation and Foundation Building had simr methods, the goal was different. One was to create a fuel tank in the lower belly and the other was to create a perpetual engine in the heart.


    This was also why the two systems could be cultivated at the same time, they did not directly sh with each other. However, since the same Qi absorbed went into building both foundations, it was clear that doing both would directly double the time you need to clear this stage, and that was being generous.


    It could even triple or more, so it was understandable why many were deterred from doing both.


    So that was basically it for Foundation Building and Body Foundation. It was a rtively simple stage like Qi Cultivation that was not too strenuous to powerhouses like Darius and co with their current stats and power.


    After all, Foundation Building and Body Foundation were thetter half of the Amateur stage, from level 10 to level 20. The harder you worked here, the better you would be in the Journeyman stage.


    Whether Fallon or Pan, the Journeyman stage was where you became mature and could now fightpetently, and whole unique fighting systems were derived. That was Core Formation fellows and Nascent Soul fellows, so it checked out once you thought of their abilities.


    Anyway, while Shanks and co worked hard toprehend the Qi Cultivation and Body Refinement initial techniques they were given to fulfill Darius'' requirements, Darius and his Branded Servants gathered together and used a more direct method.


    [Qi Cultivation Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is amon technique passed around on Pan for entry-level cultivators to use. Its original version had been refined over hundreds of millennia into pseudo-perfection, but it could not fully allow all beings to cultivate smoothly. This version has been perfected and can be used by anyone with a Spirit Root to achieve 100% efficiency of their Qi Cultivation instantly and even possibly upgrade it over time when mastered. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) efficiency to the cultivation of your Qi.]


    [Body Refinement Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is amon technique passed around on Pan for entry-level body refiners to use. Its original version had been refined over hundreds of millennia into pseudo-perfection, but it could not fully allow all beings to refine their bodies smoothly. This version has been perfected and can be used by anyone with a Spirit Root to achieve 100% efficiency of their Body Refinement instantly and even possibly upgrade it over time when mastered. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) efficiency to the refinement of your body.]


    That''s right, they invested 999 Skill points from their bank of thousands to bring this skill to the highest height they had out of all their skills. The result was that when they cultivated Qi or Body from henceforth, regardless of the stage they reached, they would always be a thousand times better than the best of their peers.


    Already, the base technique granted one perfect efficiency, meaning that unless someone with the same technique and same quality Spirit Roots as them appeared, they now represented the best among all cultivators for their stage in the history of Pan.


    Now that advantage was multiplied by a thousand percent!


    Just what kind of power would they be able to disy with their cultivation? The very thought was frightening!


    Of course, since they increased their basic skill so much, it went without saying that they would do the same for their newly learned techniques for Foundation Building and Body Foundation.


    Both now added 1000% to their Qi Infusion and Purification, meaning that their dantians would be infused with that much more Qi than average and be that much purer than average, and the base technique already provided the best of both.


    One couldn''t help but gulp and wonder what their Dantians would look like with such superior Qi in all regards. While others had dantians built like hard stone, theirs would be made out of titanium!


    When one person filled their dantian with around 100 units of elemental Qi, Darius, and co would have almost 1,000 units at the least!


    At this point, the city below was also beginning to fully take shape and the various sects on the continent began to notice something wrong. The barren area to the south that they had ''banished'' Darius to was bing lush and full of life within the range of his territory.


    They couldn''t help but wonder what the hell was going on, and you could imagine their shock when their spies told them of what they saw. Immediately, they began to panic because they knew something was wrong!

 Chapter 668 668

    ?


    The various forced began to panic seriously and realized that they had probably invited a wolf into their house. They had initially thought Darius would struggle to eke out survival in that barren area, so his possible influence on the continent would be limited aside from trading the sweet Safemoon goods.


    However looking at these reports, this area had suddenly be greater than some of the top ten holynd son the continent!


    How could they not understand? Darius had probably used some of his good to terraform the area into what it was now, and it was so fast and potent too!


    After realization came endless greed. If Darius could do it, why couldn''t they? The man himself was nothing special, but it was the produce he peddled that amounted to everything and attributed to everything.


    Many began to rethink their position on Safemoon and Darius. Many eyes shone with bright lights and other eyes flickered with deep intentions.


    All the top echelon cultivators and leaders of various forces across the continent seemed to suddenly be connected with one mind as they sneered. Whether they would trade normally with Safemoon or suppress it and pige their methods depended on the strength of Darius'' fist.


    However, they were terribly afraid of scaring him off. Once he ran back to Fallon, that would be it. Right now, they were already under pressure from Houto who had heard this news and would not stand for their rivals to grow stronger passively, not to mention Miranda had recently started hostile operations again, this time focusing on Armadon.


    So they needed him for sure, but they couldn''t suppress their greed and let objective logic flow. As such, they needed a way to not only test his might, but they needed a way to drag him out of his safety.


    Eventually, the sects came to a conclusion and had a brilliant idea. Since Darius had formed a sect, he would need to recruit mortals and cultivators right? After all, he couldn''t have built all that for fun.


    So they would let their own cultivators crippled themselves temporarily and then apply to enter his sect and then climb to the top using their superior talent. Then they would host a tournament and invite Darius to participate.


    Their imnted disciples would purposely lose and cost Darius resources and if the mood was right, they could even directly capture and suppress him on the spot!


    Of course, the idea was nice on paper, but the entirety of Pan was left speechless when in the second week of hising here, Darius announced the founding and opening of his sect, called the Pan Suppression Sect.


    When they heard this name, all the cultivators and powerhouses of Pan had their breath hitch. Those at the top who were previously smiling yfully had their smiles slowly disappear and were reced by cold looks.


    A hint of killing intent shed in their eyes and their ''benevolence''pletely disappeared. After all, Darius had made his intentions and opinions obvious with that name, and there was no need to over think it.


    The message was clear.


    What was even more interesting was that the sect he formed did not n to recruit even a single mortal or cultivator. Rather, Darius imed to have his own people working, so the rest of Pan need not worry.


    And one more thing, the outer sect was open for business and they coulde and make purchases of his goods at any time. The prices were quite fair and discounted a little bit as an opening sale, but one needed to have a HoloBrace.


    Previously, there was a low demand for a HoloBrace on Pan, and not just Pan, but everywhere other than Fallon because only a few top echelon of the various continents could make the travel to Fallon and then Safemoon and still have the money to shop.


    Now though, with a local shop opened here, even the most basic mortal could acquire a HoloBrace for free and then scrounge to buy resources to awaken Spirit Roots.


    Not to mention that Darius brought America''s mindset here and opened a debt system. You could take a loan to buy an Awakening Scroll to acquire top grade Spirit Roots and then work your ass off to pay back.


    The best part was that Darius did not need their money as the producer of the resources and the owner/printer of the money. So to payback, they were indentured through the HoloBrace, made to aplish task and missions to pay back their debt bit by bit.


    Yes, you guessed it. These fellows were not kept here to do menial tasks helping the sect. Darius had other people who could do that and his little cultivators were growing rapidly.


    As such, these people who had wakened were given tasks to travel to Houto and do various things rted to their level of power. Scouting, drawing maps, contacting locals, bing spies, blending in, sabotage and assassination.


    Darius did not have much time left till Fallon waspletely unified, so there was a short window where he could throw the entire of Faust into chaos to get that award from the True Supreme System, so he would have to do things simultaneously.


    Of course, this loan and attack n would take time and was for the future. Right now, he had to deal with the hungry and greedy cultivators and powerhouses who wanted to bite a piece of his flesh while remaining righteous.


    But as Darius stated form the beginning, the best way to deal with these incorrigible fellow sis to he high profile and domineering, so rather than wait for them to contact their little ns, Darius took the initiative.


    The Pan Suppression Sect invited all cultivators and other sects of Pan toe and tour their sect, and also see the new standard for perfection among cultivators was.


    Hearing this, many cultivators were interested and rushed over, while others sneeredˇ­ and still rushed over. Regardless of their feelings, no power wanted to pass this chance to take a look at the inner sect which had been blocked from view by any spying means.


    As long as they could see what method Darius sued, they could either buy or steal the required goods needed to replicate it and then achieve supremacy over all others!


    With such fantasies in their minds, the various top sects could not sit still. They mobilized huge airships and began to set out from their locations and rushed towards the south. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Meanwhile, Darius and his group had casually reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, and the change in their stats was explosive.


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 2,250,000/2,250,000 (3,375,000 HP Surplus) || MP: 67,650/67,650 (61,500)(236,775 MP Surplus) || STA: 67,650/67,650 (61,500) || QI: 33,000/33,000 (330,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 41 || Experience: 5% || Cultivation Stage: Foundation Establishment (Peak) || Body Stage: Body Foundation (Peak)


    Power: 1,650 (1505) || Speed: 1,000 || Constitution: 1,650 (1505)


    Magic: 1,650 (1505) || Will: 1,350 (1205) || Luck: 880


    AP: 5,450 || SP: 3450 (5450).]


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 2,560,000/2,560,000 (2,250,000) || MP: 8,733/8,733 (4,592) || STA: 65,600/65,600 (61,500) || QI: 4,260/4,260 (42,600 QI Surplus)


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0% || Cultivation Stage: Foundation Establishment (Peak) || Body Stage: Body Foundation (Peak)


    Power: 1,600 (1505) || Speed: 800 || Constitution: 1,600 (1505)


    Magic: 213 (117) || Will: 2,400 (2305) || Luck: 100


    AP: 5,450 || SP: 6,145 (8,145).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso || Race: Elf (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Cleric, Divine Maiden.


    HP: 27,200/27,200 (11,500) || MP: 84,460/84,460 (82,000) || STA: 6,970/6,970 (4,715) || QI: 41,200/41,200 (412,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 41 || Experience: 0% || Cultivation Stage: Foundation Establishment (Peak) || Body Stage: Body Foundation (Peak)


    Power: 160 (105) || Speed: 780 || Constitution: 170 (120)


    Magic: 2,060 (2005) || Will: 6,760 (6705) || Luck: 1,000


    AP: 5,450 || SP: 6,090 (8090).]


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 9,240,000/9,240,000 (7,500,000) || MP: 41,600/41,600 (32,000) || STA: 89,600/89,600 (80,000) || QI: 26,000/26,000 (260,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 32 || Experience: 33% || Cultivation Stage: Foundation Establishment (Peak) || Body Stage: Body Foundation (Peak)


    Power: 3300 (3005) || Speed: 3000 || Constitution: 2800 (2505)


    Magic: 1300 (1005) || Will: 1300 (1005) || Luck: 1000.


    AP: 5555 (105) || SP: 8,191 (10191)]


    Given how the True Supreme System often calcted things, it was not surprising that their Qi was calcted based on the level of their cultivation and not their actual level.


    However, it was greatly shocking to see how much Qi they possessed at this level, and the surplus they possessed had a lot to do with their skills which were sent to a 1000!


    This was specifically linked to the Foundation Building and Body Foundation skills respectively. The basic skills mostly affected the speed and quality of cultivation rather than how much Qi they had at any given time.

 Chapter 669 669

    ?


    While the various powers were rushing over, Darius and his Branded Servants became active as they moved onto the Core Formation stage of cultivation.


    Naturally, they first learned the relevant Transmuted manuals for them.


    [Core Formation Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Core Formation skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    [Golden Body Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Golden Body skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    Unfortunately, only the Branded Servants could learn these skills right now as the others were still slowly increasing their familiarity with both the Qi Cultivation/Body Refinement and Foundation Building/Body Foundation techniques.


    Breaking through to the Core Formation stage required one to condense their newly formed dantians nurtured throughout the Foundation Building stage into an ethereal and illusory core that was simr to a miniature sphere within your dantian.


    The Core Formation stage involved a major Heavenly Tribtion since it was essentially going from Amateur to Journeyman. While the other continents paid different prices to climb the stages, the cultivators of Pan paid them through these Heavenly Tribtions.


    The essence of Core Formation was to turn the Qi within your dantian into a near solid core throughpression, creating a miniature singrity within your dantian that contains the essence of your Qi.


    The benefits of this were great. Firstly, the cultivator could store exponentially more Qi within the same amount of space. Secondly, thepression of Qi to form the core exceedingly purifies your Qi and makes it more solid.


    Thirdly, the existence of this singrity allows you to begin auto-cultivating, or passive cultivation. It continually spins on itself, revolving like a in orbit. This generates an outward pull towards the neutral Spirit Energy around you and is sucked into the core and auto-refined into your Elemental Qi that is automatically at the same level of purity and quality as what you originally had.


    Of course, the downside of this was the fact that your cultivation speed would slow down greatly regardless of talent. It just had to do with how cultivation and bing stronger worked.


    Each stage involved you adding a new power or feature to yourself that either actively or passively increased the quality of your Qi throughpression or increased your ability to control Qi.


    This naturally meant that the Qi you absorbed for Qi Condensation 1 to 10 was not the same as the Qi you had in the Core Formation Stage.


    If the quality and quantity of Qi were 1 point at Qi Condensation, it was obviously going to be at 100 points at core formation.


    So the Qi you possessed had changed and upgraded in quality and quantity, but the Qi you absorbed, which was neutral Spirit Energy, was the same as always. So to meet the current quantity and quality, you needed to absorb more and convert it upwards.


    However, the problem was that your absorption speed was only slightly better than the previous stages, leading to the objective reason why one''s cultivation speed slowed down greatly as they went on.


    The Core Formation realm was split into 3 stages: Void Core, True Core, and Golden Core.


    Void Core was taking your new dantian and thenpressing it from the edges until it formed a core shape, and it would gain the basic abilities of a golden


    core, which were the benefits listed above.


    In this stage, your Qi is like water, having be gaseous in the core, and your core''s walls/edges were thin and illusory.


    True Core was refining the borders/edges of your Void Core until it finally became solid. This alsopressed it further until the Qi inside your core had gone from gas to liquid. The increase in purity and quantity here is great, and the gap that separated cultivators began from here.


    Golden Core is the final realm and the Core Formation stage and the peak of it. Here, you had refined your core into perfection, its glowing golden edges shining with immortal light as Qi was dragged into your body in torrents passively.


    Every benefit from the earlier stages is greatly magnified, but so too are the detriments. Here, your Qi had be fully solid and shines like crystal, looking magnificent.


    Core Formation encapsted levels 21-30.


    Level 21 was Early Void Core.


    Level 22 was Middle Void Core.


    Level 23 was Late Void Core.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Level 24 was Early True Core.


    Level 25 was Middle True Core.


    Level 26 was Late True Core.


    Level 27 was Early Golden Core.


    Level 28 was Middle Golden Core.


    Level 29 was Late Golden Core.


    Level 30 was Peak Golden Core.


    Each level brought great changes to the cultivator and their power, mostly shown in their Magic and Willpower stats. Don''t forget, on average for a human, Journeyman was 20 to 50 points.


    Half of those 30 points added came from Golden Core, and the other half came from Nascent Soul.


    Golden Body was simr to the above, but as usual, was handled differently. Whereas youpressed your Qi into a core in your dantian, for Body Refinement, you did it to your heart.


    Not only do you let your heart be a core, but it disperses some of its special characteristics unto your body, greatly increasing Power and Constitution.


    Likewise, its sub-realms were Void Body, True Body, and Golden Body.


    [Core Formation Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Qi Cultivation that specifically aims at using mental power topress the dantian into a core. The better the dantian and the more pressure effected whenpressing the core, the higher its quality and the greater its function. By using this skill, your Qi is perfectlypressed, and your core functionality is at the highest depending on your talent and bloodline. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) extra perfection to your Core.]


    [Golden Body Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Body Refinement that specifically aims at using physical power topress the heart into a core. The better the heart and the more pressure effected whenpressing the core, the higher its quality and the greater its function. By using this skill, your Qi is perfectlypressed, and your core functionality is at the highest depending on your talent and bloodline. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) extra perfection to your Core.]


    They right away used 2000 skill points to upgrade it to the current level. The skill points they previously had in abundance and seemed like they had little use now seemed so little in the face of the utility of these skills, and the fact that if they kept this up for every cultivation tier, they definitely would not have enough to go all the way.


    Before they started cultivating, though, they gathered together and expressed their confusion to Darius about the disparity in stat gains throughout


    the Foundation Establishment and Body Foundation levels, despite having the same talent and using the same skill.


    To that, Darius answered, "This involves the second thing that all cultivators of Pan value above talent, and that is bloodline!"


    "X has the Royal Elf bloodline, so her increase was around 7 times that of a human with the same talent. Gunner has the half-Giant Royal bloodline, so his increase was ten times that of a human of the same level."


    "I have the bloodline of the Dragon Ancestor, but I''m still a fledgling, so my increase was only 15 times that of an average human with the same talent as us. Luna is a Moon Elf and the progenitor of her race, so her increase was 30 times that of an average human of the same talent."


    After exining this, everyone seemed to understand and nodded. Darius also added, "You should know that from henceforth, the quality of your rewards for cultivating at each stage will be affected by your bloodline quality, so the gap will only grow."


    The Branded Servants could only share helpless looks. Bloodline was something you were born with, and unless you had fortuitous encounters like Darius to change yours, it was unlikely that you could ever change it.


    However, it was possible to upgrade the quality of the bloodline using special methods, but one had to be a Grandmaster at least to achieve something like that since it required great power.


    Darius actually knew many ways to achieve this, but it wouldn''t help any of his Branded Servants, as they already had the best bloodlines of their various races and ns.


    As such, they could only continue to cultivate and strive to reach the peak of Golden Core as soon as possible.

 Chapter 670 670

    ?


    Today was a glorious day, for the ships carrying the various immortals from around the continent of Pan were arriving slowly today. The southern area where Darius upied was usually quite, but today it was exceedingly bustling.


    Not only had the various sectarian cultivatorse over to spy and inspect the Pan Suppression Sect, but almost every itinerant cultivator hade over to either witness this grand asion, do some purchases, see if they could join Darius'' force or fish in troubled waters.


    Pan had not seen busyness and grandness like this in hundreds of thousands of millennia. It was only in the early days before sects when cultivators were still worming their way about that such events could happen.


    However, no matter how many came to Darius territory, the expansivend built by the robots could easily handle and amodate them. As this was the grand opening, one week''s lodging was granted free to all itinerant cultivators, which made them jump for joy.


    After all, the moment they walked through the gates of the outer sect, they had been smacked in the face with Spirit Energy so pure that many orgasmed directly on the spot and fell to their knees.


    The funny thing was that no one elseughed at neers who fell to their knees making shameful sounds, rather showing rare kindness and understanding as they moved to help them up.


    After all, they had also gone through it!


    While the newer fellows who walked in were shocked speechless, the older ones were filled with solemnity and regret. They intimately understood that they had made an egregious mistake and had fallen into a cruel trap from which it would be difficult to escape.


    Now that their bodies had tasted and experienced such pure and perfect Spirit Energy, they could never easily step out of these gates and go back to the ''filthy'' spirit energy of other ces at Pan, their own former territories or cities included.


    To give a crude example, it was like drinking unfiltered water all your life and thinking that this was the norm, so you had no qualms about it. But one day, you saw a bottle of refined water that had been cleaned and drank it.


    After tasting such water - and more importantly, knowing such water existed - you would starkly realize how dirty the water you used to drink was, and suddenly, something that was normal to you a second before now became unbearable.


    Of course, it was not impossible to go back with enough willpower, but that was predicated on the fact that you only drank a bit of the purer water. If you only had a sip, while you may treasure the memory of that sip, you could still drink the unfiltered water to survive as you had till then.


    However, if you had found a whole truck of them with cartons upon cartons and drank continuously for over a month, your entire system would change and the previous dirty water you drank would not be able to enter your mouth. If it did, it would likely be vomited out.


    The itinerant cultivators were in the same position. If they turned around and ran out of the gate without looking back, there was a chance that they could return to their former ces and adapt back to lower-quality spirit energy.


    However, how was that possible? Putting aside how long it took them to get here from where they came, there was also the fact that every second caused their pores to loosen up and their cultivations to be smoother.


    The higher their cultivation, the more they felt this. Golden Core and above cultivators who could ''auto-cultivate'' were like small-scale ck holes. The area around them rting to their Magic stat multiplied by the quality of their Spirit root was being drained by them every second, and no matter how hard they ''sucked'' there was more energy to rece it.


    This was unlike outside where you could even render the best areas barren after ''sucking'' too hard. So they always had to limit their cultivation or find better areas, they could not ''cultivate'' at full power 24/7 because once an area was drained, it would take time to ''refill''.


    However, just the outer sect alone was chugging out so much Spirit Energy of such high quality that they could suck endlessly at full power and not dent anything. In fact, three or more fellows would stand side by side and suck all they wanted, but they would not hinder each other nor render the ce barren.


    In just a few hours of being here, they had gained almost 1 year worth of cultivating hard outside in an average location! Yes, it was that exaggerated!


    Not to mention there was even the shocking and horrifying side effect that continuous absorption of this high-quality Spirit Energy caused those with patchy foundations to have them passively being patched, and those with lower quality spirits roots had their spirit roots quality increased slightly with each second.


    Naturally the lower the grade of Spirit Root and the worse the foundation, the stronger the effect. Some ''trashes'' who had scrounged to get here were on their knees crying, because they could tell that after staying here for a month or more, they could finally have average talent.


    Those with average talent would need to stay here for a decade to have top talent and those with top talent would only be better than their former selves if they stayed here for centuries. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Once this was discovered, there was universal fear and horror from all parties. Itinerant cultivators understood that they were now permanent ves of the Pan Suppression Sect, because they could never leave this ce and pass up the chance to grow stronger!


    The sectarian cultivators were filled with fear and horror because they could envision what kind of power this sect would have in just 10 years, not even a century of time. It would be enough to easily sweep through all of them like rats!


    They normally would be filled with killing intent rather than fear, as such a power could never be let grow!


    After all, the goddamn sect was named PAN SUPPRESSION SECT. Their goals and objectives were obvious and with such a guarantee of power, their dreams would be easily achieved with time if they did nothing.


    No, what caused these top echelons to be full of fear was that this was not Darius'' home base!


    Remember, the fellow was the Lord of Safemoon and his forces had already subjugated most of Fallon, so one could say the entire continent was his.


    Not to mention the resources that only he could produce could achieve this kind of effect meant that even if they seized thisnd from him and caused him to retreat, he could just train the Fallon mages and warriors in the same amount of time and make them just as powerful.


    Or even worse, he could directly go to their rivals on Houto who would use this chance to power themselves up and then dominate them!


    The sectarian cultivators realized that they were in a life-and-death crisis like never before. They absolutely had to verify Darius'' methods and his trump cards, because they only had two choices now.


    Either twiddle their thumbs and wait until Darius conquers them or capture him in one fell swoop and make sure they either kill himpletely or control him without any loopholes.


    The problem was that no matter how confident they were in themselves, they could not guarantee that they could achieve this. After all, it was rumored that there was a True Lord behind Darius who provided all the goods, so what if that fellow interfered?


    What if Darius himself was so powerful that even if they sieged him, he was able to retreat back to Fallon safely? What if he had some means or resources that would allow him to escape?


    If he could create a Supreme Holy Land like this in 7 fucking days, they did not doubt that he might have something of that nature.


    If he escaped, everything would be over so that could not be allowed. No, they had to think of a way, they had topletely dig out his secrets!


    Usually, the best ways were to use a scapegoat, the honeytrap, or a traitor by his side.


    However who was willing to be a scapegoat among them? To fish out Darius'' top-tier power, it had to be someone on their level and who would risk their lives for that?


    A traitor by his side was impossible since he had cut off all ess to his side by preventing his sect from recruiting. Even the most basic street sweeper was one of his people, so how could they ce someone beside him?


    Also, they could not buy off anyone by his side. My brother, putting aside loyalty, did they have any goods that were better than what Darius could give?


    So the only hope left was the honeytrap, but how could a man like Dariusck women? Everyone had seen Luna, and there were only a handful of beauties in the entire Faust who could match her level of feminine perfection.


    What were they to do?

 Chapter 671 671

    ?


    While the average cultivator was going through a crisis of decisions, the top echelon finally arrived in their airships. They had already sent people ahead of time to observe the location and find any suspicious points, and what they reported back had them trembling till now.


    If what their men said was true, then the Pan Suppression Sect''s name woulde true in but a few years! Heck, by the time people of their stature are done with one closed-door cultivation session, they mighte out and find that they had new suzerains.


    Their problem with this was not that the Pan Suppression Sect may harm them or might change the way of life of the people. In fact, given what Darius had done on Fallon, one could infer that he was like Prometheus,ing to bring the Neanderthals fire to upgrade their lives.


    In fact, once he truly ''owned'' them, they would now have legitimate reasons to acquire his top-tier goods which could change the fate of an entire species for themselves for either low prices or for free!


    Bluntly speaking, there were more benefits than detriments in directly knowing Darius when they met and pledging allegiance. It was the best choice for them Pan and their future!


    However, they cared about none of that! None of the above was their concern in the least!


    To them, the only thing that mattered was the power, prestige, and control they had as the leaders of their various forces in their various territories.


    How good did it feel to have the life and death of billions in your hands, from mortals to cultivators?


    How good did it feel to have people kowtow to you in greeting everyday for you to act casual and indifferent despite their standing?


    How good did it feel that if you disliked someone, you didn''t even have to hit them? One dissatisfied look and others would bully them to death on your behalf after ''interpreting'' your intentions.


    How good did it feel to be horny and then just randomly pick out a jade beauty in your territory to coerce into your bed for a one-time thing and then throw her out after you are satisfied, not caring about how she would find a partner now?


    How good did it feel to be greedy for something belonging to a weaker power and instead of making everyone know your selfishness and greed, you could call them a demonic sect and annihte them for ''virtuous'' reasons?


    There were many other benefits that came with the position they upied, and they could do almost anything they wanted in the way they wanted without having to answer to anyone.


    What if Darius imposed rules limiting their actions? What if Darius interfered with their benefits and powers when he took over?


    With that in mind, who cared about the right choice and the benefit of Pan? Who cared if there might be a disaster as a result of their actions? The only important thing was to retain their power, everyone else and everything else could go to hell!


    They knew, of course, in the back of their minds, that this choice might and would probably lead to the death of trillions of mortals and billions of cultivators across Pan, further weakening the continent and making them open for invasion.


    They also knew, that there was a significant chance that they might die to lose in the end despite fighting back, and their ending would be worse than if they had just submitted from the onset.


    However, none of that mattered. Even if there was a 0.0000001% chance that they could seed and maintain the status quo, they would gamble everything on it!


    After all, the ones doing the fighting and dying would not be them, but the innocents beneath them who sought refuge with them for protection and a better life.


    Anyway, it was now their turn to make themselves useful for the protection provided! It didn''t matter that they milked those below them of all their use through missions, contribution points, and other methods, those were things they naturally deserved as leaders and didn''t count.


    Only by wholeheartedly fighting and then dying for their purpose, and even thanking them in the afterlife for this chance, was enough to payback what they had done for them!


    As such, before they evennded in Darius'' territory, their eyes had be bloodshot with killing intent and hostility. However, the more they were like this, the calmer they were for they understood that there could be no mistake.


    As such, meetings were held between them and they discussed how to suss out Darius''s power. Tournaments and the like were pointless because they were not enough to dig everything out, only a true life-and-death scenario can do that. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    However, they were not sure if they had the capital to force Darius into a true life-and-death scenario. They needed more power and more prowess in order to achieve that, and they began to suggest things that would normally leave them bbergasted on a better day.


    Eventually, they came to a conclusion. A very shocking one too.


    They would have to ally with someone strong to take down Darius together and share the spoils!


    After looking at their options, the cultivators of Pan could only grit their teeth and choose there perennial rivals from Houto!


    This was why Darius loved the human race, and especially all sapient species that had logic and emotions. After all, which beast-like species without ''logical'' capabilities would willingly harm itself like this?


    He had strained himself thinking of way to get Pan and Houto into conflict for chaos, and the cultivators of Pan had rushed ahead of him to facilitate means for him to achieve that!


    They sent messages to the leaders of Houto and shared their concerns with them. They also sent information containing what they had seen in the outer section through their men to the upper echelon of Houto as proof.


    When those fellows saw this, their genitals stood upright from desire. Just look at that condensation of Spiritual Energy, if it was brought here and converted to their local power system, how much could they grow?


    Would it not be possible to eventually conquer all of Faust for themselves? Especially now that those False Gods were sunk and the Demons of Armadon were unable to even breathe under the siege of Miranda?


    Thinking like this, the upper echelon of Houto trembled with craziness and desire that they could no longer suppress. As for Pan trying to y any tricks, they were aware that those immortals who loved to scheme would not do this for free.


    They definitely had a scheme behind this, but couldn''t they also scheme back? Anyway, both sides knew that the most important thing was to capture Darius and then carve out his value from his flesh then toss him aside.


    After that, they would fight with each other to split the benefits.


    Both the upper echelon of Houto and Pan rxed greatly. The threat that was Darius greatly diminished in their eyes because they - as rivals for so long - knew the strength of the other party very well.


    If both sides teamed up, it was not even impossible to ughter those False Gods with ease. Darius should be grateful that they were willing to go this far for a mere mortal like him, and now, he should even be the one to bow to them.


    Thinking like this, the various cultivator powerhouses of Pan couldn''t help but burst into raucousughter. Their red eyes dissipated and they regained their calmness and superiority.


    There was even a small smirk ying at the edge of their lips as their eyes narrowed slightly, showing severe disdain. One could see the confident gleam in their eyes and the sneer from they way they upturned their nose.


    The airships eventuallynded and disembarked in a specially designated area where each of the upper echelon were received by the maidbots which Darius was already known for, so none were surprised.


    These upper echelons seemed dissatisfied that Darius himself did note out here to kneel before them and graciously wee them in, but they held it back as they sneered.


    Hmph, Darius could have thesest few seconds of being arrogant. When their reinforcements came and the operation began, would he even be able to act so high and mighty?


    Meanwhile, Darius was in a meeting room with all his inner circle, and he projected the details of the n the cultivators made with the member of Houto, down to the exact wording and even the timestap in which they were sent.


    My Brother in Christ, if you were going to scheme against Darius, why do you still wear the damn HoloBrace on your wrist?


    Seriously, who plotted to overthrow the government with their friends while holding their phones,ptops, tablets, and any device with an inte connection and a microphone nearby?

 Chapter 672 672

    ?


    "Wee to the Pan Suppression Sect." Darius greeted the group of over 200 elite cultivators who manned the various top sects around the continent, as well as their retinue.


    "Haha, today I get to see Lord Darius in the flesh, truly a man of power!"


    "Amazing, amazing! Only here for two weeks and already Golden Core peak? Such divine talent!"


    "Not just that, but also reaching Golden Body peak, such mastery!"


    "Tsk, tsk, truly a dragon among men! Even his subordinates have such unbridled talent!"


    The fellows beganmenting on Darius and his Branded Servants with shocked and pleased expression, like they had epted Darius as one of their own, and wanted the best for him.


    However, in their hearts, their killing intent was soaring crazily. It took this fellow and his people only less than two weeks to reach this level which took some of the best talents over 5 to 10 years, while many were even capped here for life.


    Didn''t that meant that if they gave him a year, he would reach the same level as them? How could they allow such a talent to grow when it didn''t belong to them?


    Eliminate, eliminate, eliminate!!


    However, they maintained calm and pleasant smiles as Darius led them through the gateway from the outer sect to the inner sect. All they had to do was wait for their rivals from Houto to arrive and they couldunch the operation!


    Thinking like this, they felt calmness wash over them and they couldn''t help but look forward to the future. However, that calmness was soon shattered once they took a single step into the inner sect.


    The moment they fell into the literal mist and fog of Spirit Energy so pure that it almost formed the fabled Immortal Energy, their hands sunk to their anuses and their dreams shattered. Their fear rose to the height and many trembled on the spot.


    For people of their level such visible reactions were rare, but the sheer energy density blindsided them and they reacted slightly like how the normal fellows outside did when they first entered the outer sect.


    This level of purity was enough to make them aware that this Pan Suppression Sect was beyond anything they could fathom. If the outer sect was unique and special in the world, enough to spark greed and fear to even ally with Houto, then this inner sect extinguished any will to fight.


    Someone who could craft something like this was possessing a power that they could not even begin toprehend, and they quickly realized that they had already be ves of this sect the moment it hade into being.


    Their reactions might seem exaggerated, but it was actually quite tame.


    It was like on modern earth, if many countries existed side by side on a continent and one of them being newly formed and small from another bigger country on another continent. However, the bigger countriese to hear that the small country is rich in technology and resources that were 10 years ahead of the rest.


    Naturally, they would feel a mixture of fear and greed, pairing together to form arge army and trying to take down that country to enjoy their wealth and riches.


    However, they were invited to the country by its leader and attended with suspicion. Then, that leader opened a vault and casually showed them futuristic weaponry of mass destruction that could even wipe out the.


    At that moment, how would the leaders of the other countries react? They would naturally fall to their knees in despair and realize that the already had a ruler, and the ruler had just shown his hand.


    The same applied here, but unlike the example, this was just the beginning. Darius them gave them a tour of some of the heavenly pces, and the various powerhouses almost unleashed all their cultivation to smashed them down.


    What did they see?


    Literal elemental holynds where cultivating your element for either body or Qi would yield 10 times the result with 10 times less effort!


    And what else?


    Young cultivators no older than 6 years old with cultivation bases at the Foundation Establishment stage! <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    It should be known that even the heaven''s chosen son or daughter who started cultivating at age 6 would reach peak Qi Condensation by earliest 16 years, peak Foundation Establishment by earliest 25 years and Golden Core by 50.


    It had nothing to do with talent but stats, They were now starting from scratch, so their stats limited them, especially their Magic stat. Only those powerhouses from elsewhere who had high stats who came over and cultivated could pass through the early stages once a month or a year, but they would eventually reach bottlenecks.


    Nobodypared them to youngins starting out because those were two different categories altogether. It was likeparing a pro swimmer with a ice skating professional. They were both sports, but not even closely rted to each other.


    However, these were youths at Foundation Establishment and they could even tell that most had not cultivated longer than Darius and co. If they were at this level at age 6, then what would they be at when they reached age 20?


    Immortal King? Or the peak Immortal Emperor?


    How frightening! There weren''t more than a hundred Immortal Emperors on the entire continent and every single one of them was currently here, even those who were presumed dead or were super seclusive.


    The majority were Immortal kings and peak immortal Kings who led most of the forces who had yet to breakthrough to Immortal Emperor. All the Immortal Emperors were old fogies who looked half dead, and they had been silent most of this time.


    Most of the plotting and reactions were done by the younger Immortal Kings, but the Immortal Emperors finally reached when they saw the children. They, more than the Immortal Kings, understood that Darius was mass-producing Immortal Emperors.


    Given the environment and the children''s own talent, it would be difficult for them not to reach the peak with enough time and nurturing.


    In truth, it was harder to be an Immortal Emperor than it was to go from level 90-91 in any other continent. Vena had limited the ability of cultivators and raised the passive requirement to even qualify as an ordinary Immortal Emperor.


    After all, Immortals were stronger than their peers of the same level by about 10-50% depending on their talent. If as many of them could form as on the other continents, then wouldn''t the entire Faust be conquered by them in time?


    However, Vena could not have predicted a monster like Darius with this specific talent of Transmutation would appear, allowing him to manufacture all the perfect conditions needed to mass produce such powerhouses.


    Still, even if she knew, she would rather be excited, because it proved her judgment was right about Darius'' resourcefulness, and it was also an idea she could take to gather some low-level forces to suppress her enemies.


    That''s right, to Vena, these Immortal Emperors who considered themselves paragons of life and the masses were just cannon fodder tier troops to besiege the enemy. Even the Supreme that Darius was supposed to be was a general at best, the peak of a mid-tier fighter.


    This was why Darius had began to desire greater forms of power outside Faust ever since he received the True Supreme System. More power meant more safety and more value, and he would be able to achieve more in the end.


    However first things, first, conquer Faust and secure it as his backyard. Then the rest of the cosmos that Vena created would be his muse.


    Darius then led the numb and despairing top echelon cultivators to his central pce. Here, when they saw the arrays and the perfect spirit energy that had already formed the legendary Immortal Energy, their minds almost exploded.


    Here, if one cultivated, the mortal stages would be like a breeze while the immortal level would be easy peasy. In fact, the Immortal Energy wouldn''t just be called ''legendary'' if it was limited to just that.


    It was said that a top talent cultivating this energy might be able to breakthrough the limit and achieve Immortal stages higher than Immortal Emperor!


    Seeing this many were foaming at the mouth slightly, and they were dragged forward by their retinue who were already pale and could hardly hold on.


    However, everything came to a head when Darius showed them the source of this energy, which was his conversion array that changed the unlimited Source Energy into Spirit Energy.


    Once the powerhouses came to understand that Darius was using some strange endless energy and converting it into Spirit Energy of such purity, many directly coughed out blood essence from their heart and fainted over, their bodies paling greatly.


    The life and death of these Immortal Emperor and Immortal kings who fainted were on the brink, and even the slightest wrong move could send them to nirvana.

 Chapter 673 673

    ?


    Today would be an unforgettable day for Pan. It was only about 2 days into the one week event the Pan Suppression Sect were holding when the itinerant cultivators of the outer sect saw the gate to the inner sect open and a bunch of pale face aides were carrying their masters on stretchers in a rush.


    The aides had tears in their eyes and trauma on their faces, as if they had seen something that should never exist in this world, while their masters were a bunch of shivered old fogies who looked like they were crippled and on the verge of death.


    They got onto their airships and quickly left, seeming as if they were fleeing something. The itinerant cultivators were bbergasted by this and couldn''t help but feel a chill in their bones.


    Justˇ­ just what had those powerhouses seen in the inner sect that led to this shocking disy?


    This question was left unanswered as the days continued to pass and the event went on, the more cultivators came to visit the Pan Suppression Sect, the more they realized that they were trapped and could never leave.


    It was at this time that Darius released ways for these itinerant cultivators to earn the right to live here, and that was to sell certain materials and resources to the sect in exchange for Supreme Coins which could be used to rent lodging in the outer sect.


    The itinerant cultivators quickly sold all they had collected without hesitation, breathing with relief when they managed to buy more time. However the more they stayed, the more they would be tied to this ce and unable to leave, so they were ambivalent.


    One thing was for sure, they would have to find ways to get more materials to stay longer. While they dreaded the idea of leaving and entering the ''muck'' that was the outside world, they had no choice unless they had connections to use.


    Finally, this was where mortals came in handy. Many cultivators set up Chambers of Commerce among mortal viges, towns and kingdoms and had them scrounge their area for the necessary materials. The mortals would then travel over with the goods in caravans and give them to the cultivator''s subordinates, who would hand them to him.


    The cultivator would then exchange then with the Pan Suppression Sect and buy himself more time to stay and cultivate without ever having to step out. So the cultivators had basically mobilized the mortal forces of the continent to not only harvest, but to grow these resources and sustainably collect them.


    The interesting consequence of this was that the value of mortals and their lives rose drastically. From being less than ants that one could squish and destroy at their whim, they were precious little worker bees that kept the hive alive, so had to be cared for and protected.


    In just the span of a few days, the mortality of non cultivators across Pan rose by hundreds of levels.


    Still, there were issues though.


    The main part waspetition, Cultivator A and Cultivator B had their eyes on a kingdom and so set up two separate chambers ofmence there, but since both of them were dealing in the same business for the same reasons,petition had sprung up between them.


    Due to the nature of the business, thispetition was neither healthy nor useful. In fact, it was rather destructive as they harmed each others growth, which in turn harmed the benefits of the cultivators above, which in turn led to either abandonment of the chamber ofmerce or severe punishment for those in charge, which was usually death.


    The next part was banditry. Seeing how these chambers ofmerce were making so much money that they almost didn''t know how to spend, the less fortunate mortals thought of ways to help them spend it.


    Of course, the consequences of this were dire for the new bandits who had only begun to taste the goods when the true rulers of this continent descended upon them. After all, they had no idea that these chambers ofmerce were linked to cultivators and what they were for.


    All they knew is that they had money and it was money that could be taken. So naturally, they had their lives taken, but not being brutally tortured first to set an example for the public and as you could imagine, hearing that cultivators were involved, banditry alms practically died down.


    Now how did Darius benefit from this? It was mostly as you thought, basically relying on Static Transmutation to save costs. So Darius got bothmon and precious resources, Static Transmuted them into their perfect forms and then stored and/or used then for what he wanted.


    This saved him huge heaps of Conversion Points. The best part was that he was giving them his own currency and then taking it back from them while giving them something ''free'' that cost him nothing to produce.


    This allowed Darius to fully and perfectly control the flow of ie and distribute wealth as he pleased. Of course, this was just the beginning as it only involved the itinerant cultivators right now. When the powerful sects joined his little ''economy'', then things would truly explode. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Darius was only just waiting on the response of the powerful cultivators who came. They should had reached their ces and gain treatment for what happened, and Darius was curious as to their responses.


    It would be interesting to see if they made the right choice or they made the foolish one, though Darius doubted they were that dumb. At least on the surface, they presented themselves as schemers, so they should consider the best options, right?


    Well, Darius was giving them the benefit of the doubt, and in truth, it would have been relevant. However, on earth, there was a popr theory that the more a person cultivated, the more damaged their braincells that caused them to response and think in the dumbest possible mannerpared to a human of the same age or level.


    The powerhouses of Pan woke up a few dayster while screaming, having finally escaped their nightmares. When they realized they were safe and sound, they sighed with relief and then thought back to the crazy things they had seen a few moments ago, in their eyes at least.


    Shivering, they realized that they could not take on the Pan Suppression Sect no matter what. At this time, the message from the fellows from Houto came that they hade over and were about to get into ce.


    The cultivators: "???"


    The cultivators: "ˇ­"


    My Brother in Christ, you want to do what?


    Immediately, the cultivators of Pan seemed to share a look that transcend time, space and distance as they all came to a conclusion. They nodded to each other and then focused back on the excited Houto fellows who could see victory in their grasp.


    They imed to be on their way, and they truly did set out with solemn expressions. The eyes of the cultivators of Pan glinted with ferocity as they had decided to face their fear and ovee this adversity by hook or crook!


    This was their only chance to change things up! If they let this pass them by they would never be able to make aeback!


    As such, they rushed back, but not on gaudy airships, but their private mounts. Some even used their own bodies and energy to fly over rapidly so that they could squeeze in and be the first.


    While they sped over, Darius and co sensed the arrival of some guests who radiated a different type of energy from that which was the natural on Pan. Well, they weren''t really trying to conceal themselves as the came over, riding on the back of Dragons.


    The Samurai and Onmyoji of Houto were here!


    The itinerant cultivators who stayed in the outer sect could smell the scent of gunpowder and danger with how the Pan Suppression Sect was surrounded on all sides. As was norm with cultivators, they immediately panicked and tried to separate themselves from the sect, some even directly fleeing.


    Unfortunately for them, they were dealing with powerhouses from Houto, they didn''t care if you were innocent or not, all the knew was that ever cultivator was a potential threat to their supremacy, so if they could nip them in the bid, they would.


    As such, anyone who escaped was killed immediately. In fact, they looked around and saw that the cultivator powerhouses were not here yet and wicked thoughts appeared in their minds. Since those fools werete, they couldn''t me them for opening the ceremony and having some fun!


    As for Darius, they naturally did not take him seriously, just like the cultivators initially hadn''t. They couldn''t feel Spirit Energy so couldn''t see the uniqueness of the outer sect and only thought it was popted because of the goods, good which they coveted.


    As such, they attacked without waiting for anyone to offer an exnation and rained attacks down on the outer sect.

 Chapter 674 674

    ?


    Among the Houto powerhouses, there were 9 of them who radiated power that was significant enough for Darius to take note of.


    [Name: Kekkai Gokou || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Samurai, Dragon Warrior.


    HP: 46,431/46,431 || MP: 23,782/23,782 || STA: 18,894/18,894


    Level: 94 ||


    Power: 231 || Speed: 124 || Constitution: 201


    Magic: 253 || Will: 149 || Luck: 70.


    Skills: Dragon Swordsmanship, Heroic Will, Battlefield Valor, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    The first in the lead was a man wearing all-red dragon armor that was scaly and had sharp spikes at his shoulder des, along with a full helmet that was attached to an eyeless mask. The only thing one could see from that ck helm was a burning red glow from two orbs.


    He was tall, he was menacing and he stood at the head of an Eastern-style dragon. His katana was in its sheathe at his side, and he made no moves to attack.


    [Name: Shin Jukuri || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Ninja, Traceless Shadow.


    HP: 8,272/8,272 || MP: 10,137/10,137 || STA: 4,371/4,371


    Level: 93 ||


    Power: 176 || Speed: 348 || Constitution: 47


    Magic: 109 || Will: 439 || Luck: 200.


    Skills: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Shunpo, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    Seated on the back of a hawk was a cold-faced man with extremely handsome features, with dark green eyes, short-cropped ck hair, and earrings. He wore a ck ninja-yoroi, which was made up of a ck jacket, ck trousers, light sandals, and a hooded cowl, though he flipped his back to show his face.


    His body was covered with daggers that were tied by three sashes going across his body, one across his waist, one from his right shoulder to his left hip, and another from his left shoulder to his right hip.


    He was ncing down at the Pan Suppression Sect arrogantly, with a smirk of cruelty on his face.


    [Name: Shin Hito || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Ninja, Life yer.


    HP: 4,551/4,551 || MP: 35,328/35,328 || STA: 3,404/3,404


    Level: 92 ||


    Power: 123 || Speed: 233 || Constitution: 37


    Magic: 384 || Will: 739 || Luck: 200.


    Skills: Genjustu, Mind Control, True Shadow Arts, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    This one was close to Shin Jukuri, and had the same build. However, his ninja-yoroi was white in color and he hid his face using the cowl and mask, only letting one see the same cold dark green eyes that his twin brother possessed.


    He was far less armed because he focused more on the ethereal and ''magical'' aspect of the ninja''s heritage, unlike his brother who focused on the ''physical'' part.


    [Name: Yui Kusobi || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Omnyouji, Demon Fire.


    HP: 2,470/2,470 || MP: 47,904/47,904 || STA: 6,240/6,240


    Level: 96 ||


    Power: 38 || Speed: 44 || Constitution: 65


    Magic: 499 || Will: 1098 || Luck: 100.


    Skills: None.


    Spells: me Wall, Fire Bomb, Endless me, Fire Ring, etc.]


    [Name: Sakura Fujimoto || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Omnyouji, Divine Lightning.


    HP: 902/902 || MP: 37,037/37,037 || STA: 3,731/3,731


    Level: 91 ||


    Power: 22 || Speed: 23 || Constitution: 41


    Magic: 407 || Will: 889 || Luck: 90.


    Skills: None.


    Spells: Lightning Bolt, Heaven''s Wrath, True Lightning Fire, etc]


    [Name: Kaori Shimizu || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Omnyouji, Groundless Earth.


    HP: 8,100/8,100 || MP: 44,232/44,232 || STA: 10,476/10,476


    Level: 97 ||


    Power: 75 || Speed: 21 || Constitution: 108


    Magic: 456 || Will: 1120 || Luck: 100.


    Skills: None. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Spells: Earthen Barrier, Sand Tomb, Spikes of Earth, Quicksand Ruin, etc.]


    Next were three women of extreme beauty standing together on a single giant dove that cawed with a lovely tune. They were like picturesque jade beauties that one would worship for being transient of the mortal coil.


    The one on the left, Yui, wore bright red robes that covered he svelte body and her burning red hair and eyes were fixed on the Pan Suppression Sect with slight greed as she was one of those who directly attacked, sending a fireball down to strike the outer sect.


    In the middle was Sakura, who wore ivory-colored robes that covered her tall form, her light blue eyes crackling with electricity, and her white hair standing on ends as she channeled her power downwards and attacked as well.


    On the right was Kaori who wore beige colored robes that covered her short but voluptuous body. She radiated a calming aura and did not attack, but only watched with a calm smile as the event urred. Her light brown eyes and brown hair tied into a bun shone asionally due to sparks of her power.


    The three were known as the three beauties of Houto, standing at the top of the Onmyoji pyramid in terms of power, prestige, and influence. They also led the biggest Onmyoji academy as the three principals andmanded the allegiance of all Onmyoji on the continent.


    [Name: Yukiko Tsukada || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Shrine Maiden, Elegant Dancer.


    HP: 360/360 || MP: 28,248/28,248 || STA: 2,640/2,640


    Level: 88 ||


    Power: 12 || Speed: 100 || Constitution: 30


    Magic: 321 || Will: 1509 || Luck: 300.


    Skills: None.


    Spells: Dance of Rejuvenation, Dance of Battle Boon, Dance of Cleansing, Dance of True Sight, etc.]


    [Name: Ryoko Sugihara || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Shrine Maiden, Soothing Singer.


    HP: 870/870 || MP: 44,196/44,196 || STA: 7,569/7,569


    Level: 87 ||


    Power: 10 || Speed: 22 || Constitution: 87


    Magic: 508 || Will: 1277 || Luck: 300.


    Skills: None.


    Spells: Song of Recovery, Song of Bloodthirstiness, Song of Purification, Song of Spiritual Insight, etc]


    [Name: Sachiko Tashiro || Race: Human || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Shrine Maiden, Skilled yer.


    HP: 270/270 || MP: 26,522/26,522 || STA: 1,602/1,602


    Level: 89 ||


    Power: 15 || Speed: 232 || Constitution: 18


    Magic: 298 || Will: 1023 || Luck: 300.


    Skills: None.


    Spells: Melody of Blessing, Melody of Berserk, Melody of Edification, Melody of Mental Foresight, etc.]


    Beside them was another set of three maidens who were far more delicate and less bloodthirsty than them. They all wore a mixture of red and white shrine maiden robes that were quite baggy on them, along with traditional sandals.


    They stood upon a Luan and seemed to not be toofortable with what was going on down there, but had no choice but to be present.


    Darius Analyzed them all and chuckled. He knew that they represented only 20% of the peak forces of Houto, and the rest were either indisposed, unwilling to partake, or on their way here.


    No matter.


    Darius wished to cause chaos to Houto and was a better way than to create a power vacuum when the top echelon suddenly die? Would there not be endless bloodshed and battles to fill those positions?


    Of course there would be, history had proven this over and over again. This made Darius'' job very simple.


    He didn''t need to care about the how.


    He didn''t need to care about the why.


    He just needed to kill.


    Darius stood up from his throne and the Dragon Ancestor''s Lance appeared in his right hand. His eyes shed with a serpentine light as he disappeared from where he stood, appearing beside the three Onmyoji leaders who were the spearhead of the attack.


    Their speed stats were far lower than Darius'' so they didn''t even realize when he appeared beside them. Darius struck out a killing blow, but he found that the three had ced talismans on their robes that exploded with their elemental power, blocking his casual attack.


    Darius hummed with interest as the world caught up to his actions. The two women who were happily attacking were terribly frightened and exploded with more power, creating a danger zone between then and Darius.


    Darius simply floated backwards and nced at them with a smile. His eyes narrowed and he understood many things.


    It seemed like he was finally feeling the ''upgrade'' that Vena made to Faust. These fellows had far greater stats than he expected for mere humans even if their continent yielded strongerbatants on average.


    Not only that, but some things which were passively ignored by the natives now became a concern, or were ''patched''.


    The most obvious one was, if someone had, say, 100 points of speed, even if he had 1 point in all other stats, he should theoretically be able to kill everyone in the world and dominate.


    After all, no matter how high your strength, magic, defense, vitality, or even luck, if you couldn''t even see or react to another person''s movement, you were dead, it was as simple as that.


    However, the natives now took steps to limit such an advantage, and it was shown ''organically'' like this. Darius had fought many foes throughout his growth and he knew for a fact that this was not somethingmon.


    However, it wasn''t like he wasining. While it was slightly annoying, it would allow him to test the extent of his current power before he invested his stats that had umted quite a bit in this period of time.


    With that in mind, Dariusunched forth once more, smiling yfully as he targeted the earth user among them!

 Chapter 675 675

    ?


    Kaori was shocked by Darius'' speed and quickly conjured an earth wall to stop his advance while in mid-air. Meanwhile, Yui and Sakura had finally beaten off their shock and were left furious that they had almost been killed by this fellow.


    "You filthy plebeian, how dare youy your dirty hands on a noble being like myself? Die!" Sakura screamed as she channeled an endless wave of lighting toward Darius.


    Darius himself nced at her askance and pointed his free hand in her direction.


    [Zap Cannon - Level 60 Spell


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: 1,000 MP


    Description: Cast an intense orb of deadly electricity at a foe, sting them apart and paralyzing them immediately on contact. This deals 6,500% lightning damage.]


    His Zap Cannon formed like a basketball-sized orb of electricity that crackled with endless power. It shot forth at a horrific speed and shed with the bolts that Sakura had fired, destroying them all with ease.


    The woman herself was shocked and filled with horror as she watched the orb rush towards her, and she could only try to block using her own power of lightning but manifesting one of her most powerful talismans.


    "Heaven''s Wrath!!" She shouted as the talisman exploded and released a wave of blue lightning with hints of yellow within.


    The orb that Darius fired collided with this wave and diminished by about 30% before breaking through and striking her in the gut. A huge wave of electricity power exploded, causing Sakura to shriek with agony as she was sted down to the ground, forming a crater.


    The mount that she shared with Kaori and Yui was killed immediately and turned to ash while the two women were blown aside, forced to be airborne. They nced at where Sakura crashed with fear and worry on their faces, but they didn''t have time to check on her as Darius appeared in front of Kaori again.


    This time, her earth wall was easily broken apart by Darius''nce, causing Kaori to be choked. She wasn''t much of an attacker but her defense was known to be unparalleled among the onmyoji and even some of the best Dragon Warriors among the samurai could not take her down.


    Darius thrust hisnce forward towards Kaori''s forehead, aiming to pierce the area between her brows and kill her. At such close range and at such speed, Kaori could barely even react as she felt the aura of deathe upon her.


    However, thence disappeared from before her and she saw Shin Jukuri appear where Darius stood, a thread of shadow on his finger as he pierced towards Darius'' back. His exposed face showed shock and confusion that his super-fast sneak attack had failed.


    "Jukuri, watch out!" Shin Hito, his twin brother roared as he made hand signs and used his shadow arts.


    Meanwhile, Shin Jukuri felt the aura of death move to him as Darius teleported behind him to avoid his sneak attack and was now thrusting his spear toward the back of his skull. Shin Jukuri roared and bent his body forward, using some elite movements to avoid being struck.


    Eventually, he did manage to avoid the tip of the spear, but Darius simplynded a kick on his ass that sent him flying forward in a shameful manner, something which made onlookers down below amused. They had no good feelings for these powerhouses because they had just tried to kill them had Darius not stepped in.


    Shin Hito appeared out of Jukuri''s shadow and then grabbed his brother and retreated. The two of them had cold expressions as they nced at Darius, and they made no more moves to attack.


    Meanwhile, Sakura had been fished from her crater by the three shrine maidens as they used their dance, song, and melody to heal her slowly.


    Darius allowed them to regroup and then nced at Kekkai Goukou who had not made any moves since the beginning, not even showing hostility. Darius could understand what he was doing here as from their meeting, this fellow and his faction despised such a method of conquering.


    The Samurai were closely tied to their bushido and derived power from it. As such, they could not go against it, show the fellow only apanied the rest to monitor the situation and see how he could make sure that his faction did not suffer a loss.


    ˇ­ as it were, he didn''t need to do anything.


    Darius nced at the apprehensive and recovering group andughed slightly. He nced at thence in his hand and the power in his body of which he had only used 40% of, and desperately wished that Vena could give him a challenge for this was not good enough. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Darius lost interest in the entirety of Faust as a training ground. He understood that if he wanted to feel something, anything, he would need to first explore other worlds. There were definitely powerful entities out there with better stats than he or Gunner, and only such fellow could make Darius use 100% and more of his power.


    Darius casually teleported back to his seat in the inner section and nced at his Branded Servants. X was sizing up the shrine maidens with interest while Luna''s eyes narrowed toward the ninjas.


    As for Gunner, he was just casually spectating with a bored look. Like Darius, none of these fellows could give him a challenge and force him to use 40% of his base power, much less with Earth''s Guardian put on top. At that level, only a True Lord could probably qualify.


    Seeing this, Darius couldn''t help but ponder. Was there really no way to make this fun?


    Suddenly, Darius nced at Gunner and had an idea. He then checked the True Supreme System''s shop and found the two items he was looking for. He casually bought them for 300 True Coins and then presented them to Gunner.


    When Gunner saw them, his eyes lit up with excitement. He took the items and sted into the sky with a green glow, appearing before the group in a sh. The already beaten and frightened powerhouses of Houto took an unconscious step back and watch Gunner carefully.


    Gunner nced at them and then chose the twin ninjas and extended his hand. In his grip were two golden earrings that gleamed with a special light.


    [Potara Earrings - Unique


    Durability: 50,000/50,000


    Quality: Perfect


    Uses: Unlimited


    Description: These earrings are worn by all Supreme Kais as part of their standard outfits,ing in various colors. The earrings can grant the wearer certain privileges, such as using the Time Rings that are exclusive to Supreme Kais. The earrings also have the ability to fuse two people into a single entity for an hour, and the two entities would have their powers merged and then multiplied between a scale of 5-10 depending on theirpatibility.]


    "Wear it and fight me. If you live, all of you get to leave. If not, you all die." Gunner instructed calmly.


    The twins shared an uncertain look and seemed to hesitate. However, at this moment, the cultivators of Pan appeared in the sky and their auras billowed towards the entire group. Seeing them, the itinerant cultivators seemed to find their backbone as they roared their grievances to the sky.


    Seeing this, the hearts of the Houto powerhouses chilled greatly, and even the unflinching Kekkai Gokou ced his right hand on the hilt of his de, his body tense.


    The Shin twins resolutely gritted their teeth and took the Potara Earrings from Gunner. Gunner instructed them on how to wear them, one on each ear facing the other side of the one the other person was wearing.


    The moment the earrings were ced on, the faces of Shin Jukuri and Shin Hito changed greatly as they felt a strong pull and before they could resist, they were dragged towards each other as their bellies collided.


    An explosive shockwave urred that sent almost everyone flying back, and the faces of the powerhouses changed greatly as they sent the heart-palpitating power. Gunner''s eyes showed fervency and excitement as he saw the light begin to die down, the two formers individual now merged as one person.


    Unsurprisingly, they had the same face since they were twins and their demeanor was the same, but their attire was half-ck and half-white now. They were also slightly taller and slightly more muscr, but what was more despairing was their aura which seemed bottomless.


    The fused man nced around at hispatriots, and then the cultivators opposite with endless disdain in his eyes. When he nced at Gunner, his disdain was greatly lowered as his expression became serious.


    He could not even begin to fathom the depths of Gunner''s power when he was standing before them pre-fusion, but now, they could see his true power and knew that it was no less than theirs.


    They knew for a fact that this was not going to be an easy fight, not in the least. However, they couldn''t help but anticipate it as well, as they were bursting with so much strength it felt like they could destroy the whole continent.

 Chapter 676 676

    ?


    [Name: Shin Hikuri || Race: Human (Merged) || Stage: Grandmaster || Jobs: Ninja, Traceless yer.


    HP: 2,511,600/2,511,600 (2,560,000) || MP: 493,000/493,000 (8,733) || STA: 84,000/84,000 (65,000)


    Level: 100 || (AN: the stats in the brackets are Gunner''s current stats.)


    Power: 2990 (1600) || Speed: 5810 (800) || Constitution: 840 (1600)


    Magic: 4930 (213) || Will: 11,780 (2,400) || Luck: 4000 (100).


    Skills: Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Shunpo, Genjustu, Mind Control, True Shadow Arts, etc.


    Spells: None.]


    Gunner''s expression became colorful when he saw the stats of the fused person formed from the twin ninjas. Even though the two had mediocre stats among Grandmasters minus their great luck and speed, potara fusion was potent enough to help them in this regard.


    It added their stats together and then multiplied them within a range of 5 to 10 depending on thepatibility of the two beings, and since they were twins who chose the same path and even had the same level, of course, theirpatibility was the highest.


    Like the two saiyans who used it, their stats were multiplied by a factor of 10 straight up, leading to the current impressive numbers that caught up to Darius'' group and even slightly surpassed them!


    Of course, none of the Branded Servants nor Darius had allocated their over 5000 free Ability Points yet, so it wasn''t exactly a crushing superiority, but it was enough to make Darius'' eyes flicker with thought.


    If such fictional items could be bought and used in reality, then what was stopping him from buying the body of a Supreme Kai and using flesh to stone to create endless copies of them? After letting them increase their power greatly using all the systems of Faust plus the Ki system of their native universe, he would then merge them with the potara and gain a permanently fused super fighter with exponentially increased stats!


    This path was worth walking uponter when he was done with his work on Pan. For now, he continued to watch the confrontation up above with a calm smile.


    Gunner grinned widely and cricked his neck before squaring his feet. "As I am now, I am not your match butˇ­"


    He bent forward slightly and a green aura exploded from his legs upwards to his head, covering his whole body in the purest earth element energy.


    "I can rise to the asion!"


    [Earth''s Guardian - Level 250 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: 75 MP per second


    Description: The natal skill of every royal-blooded giant, this skill is a blessing of Gaia granted to her protectors who grants them the ability to borrow some of the''s power inbat. The user of this skill is granted +1,250% Strength, Endurance, Damage, and Defense for the duration of its activation.]


    Gunner''s danger value increased greatly and everyone within range was blown back, some sent flying. The cultivators below were directly pressed to the ground like a bug that had been stepped on, unable to even raise their heads.


    Only the fused fighter and Darius group were able to remain steady, but even they felt heart-palpating power. Darius especially was emotional, as he could not remember thest time Gunner was forced to use Earth''s Guardian.


    Hmm, actually he did, it was to deal with Beelzebub back then. The other Grandmaster bugs were not much of a threat, but Beelzebub had been an immediate worry that Gunner had to deal with in this form.


    With the current boost, Gunner''s Power had gone from 1600 to 20,000 and the same urred for his Constitution. If he couldn''t destroy an entire continent barehanded before, he definitely could now.


    Gunner rxed his aura slightly but the green glow that covered him was a fixed addition to his current form. He nced at the fused fighter with enthusiasm in his eyes and spoke deeply.


    "Tell me, what is your name?"


    For the first time, the fused fighter spoke in a voice that was both of the twins oveid upon each other. "I am the fusion of Shin Jukuri and Shin Hitoˇ­ you can call me Shin Hikuri."


    Gunner nodded. "Fine name. Let the battle begin!" <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Before he moved, Gunner naturally wanted a proper ambiance for his fight, so slotted in an OST from the True Supreme System and yed it out loud, which stunned all onlookers as they looked for the source.


    [Now ying: West City (Destroyed) Stage by Takanori Arima // Dragonball FighterZ OST.]


    Even Shin Hikuri was stunned by the song that radiated both blood-pumping will to battle and a desperate battle for survival as if the winner takes all. However, he did not have time to continue being stunned as Gunnerunched at him.


    "Pay attention!" The half-giant roared as he threw a punch forward, one so potent that the atmosphere itself shook.


    Shin Hikuri''s danger sense roared at him that despite his fused stat and his increased power, if he took on that hit, he would likely die immediately if not be on the verge of death. As such, he quickly used the shunpo technique to escape, walking through the sky while the world had turned into a slow-motion painting.


    When the world resumed, Gunnerpleted his punch, and the ce he struck cracked like it was a piece of ss struck by a baton. While it did not break, the resultant hit caused an extreme shockwave to burst out from the cracks that obliterated the area within a 45-degree cone of where Gunner punched.


    What was horrifying was that the shockwave didn''t erupt once, but maintained an intense, tearing gale for over 10 seconds before slowly dying down.


    All onlookers paled greatly when they saw the sheer power of Gunner''s attack, and the various cultivator powerhouses and remnant members of the Houto group quickly flew down to the outer sect area, not daring to remain airborne again.


    Actually with such power, nowhere was safe but they all assumed that Gunner would not attack his own territory with the same force.


    Gunner''s eyes narrowed. His foe was faster than him but many times and he was tempted to allocate his stats into speed so he could catch up, but he held back. His current defense and constitution meant that no matter how hard Shin Hikuri hit him, he would never do any damage.


    However, both of them were in a timer. Gunner''s current Willpower stat was 2400 and the calction for MP recovery had changed from one''s numerical level per second to Willpower divided by one''s numerical level and the result was recovered per second.


    At level 41, Gunner regained 58.5 Mp per second and the current Earth''s Guardian cost 75 MP per second. In other words, he was losing 16.5 MP per second, and out of his total of 8733, he had about 8.8 minutes until his MP run out and he had to wait for it to recharge or drink a potion to recover.


    As for Shin Hikuri, because of his perfectpatibility, his fused state couldst for an hour at most and would decrease with the more power he disyed.


    In other words, Gunner had to defeat this foe within an hour despite his own handicap, because if they defused, Darius would just purchase another set of Potaras for them to use again.


    Or Gunner might just teach them the metamoran fusion to save money. Though that one was far more chaotic and stronger, yet weaker in terms of stability.


    However, he was unsure if they could do that right away or needed to buy the technique from the True Supreme System to validate it.


    Whatever the case, the pressure was on. Gunner had not felt this for a long while, which led to his growing apathy and boredom, but this was it. While Darius may not necessarily crave pressure and like to take things slow, Gunner was the opposite.


    He wanted to battle like there was no tomorrow, trading blows with someone who could kill him or pressure him so that he could feel the weight of his life and mortality.


    Shin Hikuri nced at the cultivators and Houto group who went down and seemed to be thinking something. In the end, he made some handsigns and then ced his finger to his mouth.


    "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"


    The fireball was truly humongous thanks to his increased magic stat and it hurtled toward Gunner menacingly. Gunner smiled widely and then charged forward to the shock of everyone, punching the fireball head-on.


    After all, let us not forget this beautiful skill, that formed Gunner''s foundation:


    Defense for the duration of its activation.]


    [Mageward Barrier - Level 250 Skill


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a long-lost skill belonging to a legendary faction of mage-killing knights who took on contractual jobs to hunt down mages. This was the core skill, allowing them to greatly mitigate the damage from all offensive and debuffing spells based on their mastery over the spell at no cost to their mana or stamina. Currently, this skill disperses 250% of all iing magic damage/negative effects.]

 Chapter 677 677

    ?


    BOOM!


    The fireball exploded and released its heat upon thend, scorching everything below like a wave of fire from a nuclear weapon. A barrier formed around the Pan Suppression Sect that resisted this after-effect, saving the lives of everyone within and making them feel deep fear.


    This battle had already be something beyond their knowledge and expertise, and they had never felt so weak before, especially the various powerhouses of both continents. As for the itinerant cultivators, lying on the floor in fear was business as usual, so they were even chatting casually while it happened.


    Gunner rushed through the dispersed fireball and punched towards his foe once more, causing the sky to crack and a shockwave to billow from it. Shin Hikuri was already sued to this raw power and calmly avoided it while appearing on another side.


    He once again made hand signs and released another ninjutsu to strike Gunner, this one being the Wind Style series. Once again, Gunner simply received it head-on while trying to attack his slippery foe, missing once more but definitely damaging the world atrge.


    The two then shed about throughout the sky, one attacking and one counterattacking, but neither of them could really do anything to the other. Shin Hikuri''s goal was to wear Gunner down as he refused to believe that this kind of boosting technique could be maintained forever.


    This was true and Gunner began tog a bit when his MP was almost out. He took out his sk and took a swig and his Mp was instantly refreshed, allowing him to continue fighting as he pleased. Shin Hikuri saw this and his expression became dark.


    However, it would be foolish toin and speak about fairness in a fight like this. In fact, the entire time, Shin Hikuri was unsure. With the current power he possessed, he understood many things he did not before.


    If this group led by Darius could easily give him an item that could explosively increase his power like this, then didn''t that mean others could too? Didn''t that mean that they could too?


    Until one reached the heights he did and possessed the power he had right now, they would never understand. What Grandmaster, he could pinch every Grandmaster in the world to death with his current power and Gunner who he was currently fighting could easily do the same.


    So what was the goal here? Just a casual fight for fun? Shin Hikuri did not think so. With the power Gunner had and what Darius disyed earlier, they would have been dead in seconds. So what did they want?


    Shin Hikuri was furiously thinking about this the entire time he was here and his mind was mostly focused on this. Due to the speed gap between him and Gunner, he was not too worried about the half-giant.


    If he wanted, he could enter a realm of speed that Gunner could not match and strike him a thousand times before Gunner could even blink, but with Gunner''s endurance, it was pointless to do so. No matter how fast the sh was, he could not beat Superman to death.


    Gunner also knew this, so he continued to exert himself against his foe without stopping, seeking ways to make a breakthrough in his power without relying on updating his stats mid-battle. Of course, this was easier said than done as he had 800 points of Speed and Shin Hikuri had over 5000.


    If Gunner wanted to win, there was only one way. He had to trap his foe with a fatal attack that even the greatest speed could not save him.


    Gunner''s eyes shed as he battled and allowed Shin Hikuri''s guard to fall as he got lost in the rhythm. Then when he charged forward to punch again, as Shin Hikuri was about to casually dodge he stretched his hand out once more and activated the effect of his Soldering Gauntlets!


    As long as Gunner had a higher Power stat than his target, they would be dragged over into his grip from afar. The range and speed of the grab depended on the difference in the Power stat of the two, and Gunner''s 20,000 points far outstripped Shin Hikuri''s 2990 points.


    Shin Hikuri was shocked as he was dragged over at the speed of light. However, the moment his body twisted, he activated his speed and entered a realm of slow motion where he was moving fast enough that the rest of the world almost seemed paused.


    In this realm, he quickly calcted everything and paled, realizing that this was a severe life-and-death situation, he roared and shouted as he did everything he could to break free, using different ninjutsu, shadow arts, and even trying to use genjustu on Gunner.


    Unfortunately for thest oneˇ­


    [Spirit Barrier - Level 250 Skill <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Grade: Basic


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a unique skill lineage belonging to the Witches of Fallon, a group of women cursed with the Mystic Arts and its benefits as well as detriments. As masters of maniption of all things soul rted, they developed this skill that protects their own souls from interference by others. Currently, this skill disperses 250% of all iing spirit and soul damage/negative effects.]


    However, it was pointless. Gunner was unfazed by everything and even grabbed him by the neck, masking Shin Hikuri''s face became red as his eyes became bloodshot from fear and struggle. To everyone else, it seemed like he had been standing in one ce one second and was dragged into Gunner''s grip super fast before he could even react.


    However, you could be damn sure that for every picosecond until he enter Gunner''s grip, he did everything he could to escape. However his skillset was limited to what a ninja possessed and he had no spatial-rted abilities, so how could escape?


    "W-Wait, I-" Shin Hikuri wanted to submit, as that was the conclusion he reached. he would indenture himself to Darius and co in order to maintain his life and seek the higher power of the universe rather than be two small-time ninjas.


    However, since when did Gunner care about such things? He simply squeezed his fist and blew open the head of Shin Hikuri, killing him immediately as his body went limp. Due to the nature of the potara earrings, they remained on the body even after death.


    Gunner collected the corpse because Darius could likely learn something from it. If he could discover the truth of potara fusion, he could create his own merged bodies right from the get-go.


    When the cultivators and Houto powerhouses witnessed the death of Shin Hikuri, their faces collectively paled greatly. The Houto powerhouses remembered the agreement, they could only live if Shin survived.


    However, now that he was dead, what would be their fate?


    They did not dare run because they could not move faster than their captors. Where would they go and hide? As such, their faces became like dead ashes while the cultivators heaved sighs of relief that they had decisively withdrawn.


    Gunner appeared beside Darius with the corpse of Shin Hikuri. X cringed at it while Luna observed it with interest, wondering if she could learn those ninja techniques as they seemed quite useful.


    Darius snapped his finger and had a maidbot collect it on a stretcher and take it to hisb in the inner section. Meanwhile, he nced at the remainder of the powerhouses with a smile as he nced at Luna and Gunner.


    "Luna, take down the guests from afar, and Gunner, clear out the cultivators."


    Darius spoke softly but everyone could hear him pronounce death so easily. What was even crazier was that his two aides did not even hesitate, disappearing from where they stood and appearing near their targets, striking out with fatal blows immediately.


    Luna first attacked the lightning-affiliated onmyoji, Sakura, who was still pale after being hit by Darius'' attack and healed. She could not even find the time to react when Luna appeared before her and cut her head off with a simple slice of her dagger.


    Sakura''s expression was still locked in one of surprise as she heard Darius'' words, not even realizing she was dead until her head hit the ground. By that time, Luna had already moved on to attack the fire element onmyoji, Yui, who was taking a step back from fear.


    Meanwhile, Gunner had appeared before an Immortal King whose expression was slowly beginning to change as he heard Darius'' words. Before he could even react, Gunner grabbed his head and smashed it down into the ground, bursting it open like a balloon of water.


    Just because Gunner had been outsped by Shin Hikuri did not mean that these cretins here could follow his speed when they barely passed 200 points themselves.


    X shook her head and looked away, not wanting to watch another ughter while Darius was solely focused on the True Supreme System before him, checking the prompts that hade up.

 Chapter 678 678

    ?


    "STOP!"


    "LETS DISCUSS THIS!"


    "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"


    The various cultivator powerhouses roared with fear in their hearts, trying to block the assault of Gunner or at least, run away from this ce with their tails in between their legs, however how could such a thing be achieved?


    The Immortal Emperors numbered 12 and the Immortal Kings here reached also 25, which rted to the number of top sects across the entire continent of Pan.


    Luna was also dealing with the top powerhouses of Houto with ease, either beheading them or stabbing them in the heart, ensuring their death. it didn''t matter that half of then had sweet expressions and lovely demeanors due to being female, she killed them nheless.


    Meanwhile, Darius was paying attention to the True Supreme System all this while.


    [You have gained 544% EXP and one Traceless Shadow Token.]


    [Gunner has gained 544% EXP and two upgraded Potara Earrings.]


    [X has gained 544% EXP and one Shadow Divine Concept Fragment.]


    [Luna has gained 544% EXP and a Tome of Ninjutsu.]


    [You have leveled up x5! You are now level 46. You have gained 25 Ability Points and 15 Skill Points to spend as you wish!]


    [Gunner has leveled up x5! He is now level 46. He has gained 15 Ability Points and 5 Skill Points to spend as he wishes!]


    [X has leveled up x5! She is now level 46. She has gained 15 Ability Points and 5 Skill Points to spend as she wishes!]


    [Luna has leveled up x5! She is now level 37. She has gained 15 Ability Points and 5 Skill Points to spend as she wishes!]


    Darius smiled at this heavy bit of experience was gained from the death of Shin Hikuri alone, After all, his stats were around their level and he truly posed a fatal challenge to their group.


    The current True Supreme System was not like that old cheap system that was purely mechanical and could not do anything outside of its bounds. The True Supreme System had benefits like letting him farm an internal currency to buy ANYTHING he wanted and even enjoy organic growth as well as usage of spells/skills outside of the system''s bounds.


    However, it was extremely fair and also calcted the gains of drops and experience based on realistic factors like the power gap between both parties and not just the level difference. Otherwise in ughtering so many Grandmasters while conquering Fallon, Gunner would likely already have reached level 100.


    Even as Gunner and Luna killed, they were only gained decimal points of percentile experience, not enough to add to a single point. This was also one of the reasons why despite having so many stat points backed up, Darius and his group were not in a hurry to allocate it.


    He had previously been worried that he would have to hunt down True Lords in order to gain experience to level up, but that did not seem to be necessary anymore. Not to mention cross dimensional foes from other worlds he would hunt, the potara method had proven useful, hadn''t it?


    Darius checked their collective stat sheets once more.


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 3,802,500/3,802,500 (2,250,000) (5,703,750 HP Surplus) || MP: 89,700/89,700 (67,650) (313,950 MP Surplus) || STA: 89,700/89,700 (67,650) || QI: 58,500/58,500 (33,000) (585,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 46 (41) || Experience: 49 (5%) || Cultivation Stage: Golden Core (Peak) || Body Stage: Golden Body (Peak)


    Power: 1,950 (1650) || Speed: 1,000 || Constitution: 1,950 (1650)


    Magic: 1,950 (1950) || Will: 1,650 (1350) || Luck: 880


    AP: 5,475 (5450) || SP: 3465 (3450).]


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 3,240,000/3,240,000 (2,560,000) || MP: 18,998/18,998 (8,733) || STA: 82,800/82,800 (65,600) || QI: 12,390/12,390 (123,900 QI Surplus)


    Level: 46 (41) || Experience: 47 (2%) || Cultivation Stage: Golden Core (Peak) || Body Stage: Golden Body (Peak)


    Power: 1,800 (1600) || Speed: 800 || Constitution: 1,800 (1600)


    Magic: 413 (213) || Will: 2,600 (2400) || Luck: 100


    AP: 5,465 (5450) || SP: 6,150 (6145).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso || Race: Elf (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Cleric, Divine Maiden.


    HP: 70,200/70,200 (27,200) || MP: 99,360/99,360 (84,460) || STA: 12,420/12,420 (6,970) || QI: 64,800/64,800 (41,200) (648,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 44% || Cultivation Stage: Golden Core (Peak) || Body Stage: Golden Body (Peak)


    Power: 260 (160) || Speed: 780 || Constitution: 270 (170)


    Magic: 2,160 (2060) || Will: 6,860 (6760) || Luck: 1,000 <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    AP: 5,465 (5450) || SP: 6,095 (6090).]


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 11,840,000/11,840,000 (9,240,000) || MP: 62,900/62,900 (41,600) || STA: 118,400/118,400 (89,600) || QI: 51,000/51,000 (26,000) (510,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 37 || Experience: 77% || Cultivation Stage: Golden Core (Peak) || Body Stage: Golden Body (Peak)


    Power: 3700 (3300) || Speed: 3000 || Constitution: 3200 (2800)


    Magic: 1700 (1300) || Will: 1700 (1300) || Luck: 1000.


    AP: 5,570 (5555) || SP: 8,196 (8191)]


    After reaching the peak of Golden Core, their stats had grown explosively once again. Whereas amon human would enjoy around 15 points from Early Void Core to Peak Golden Core, Darius had gained 300 points, Gunner 200, X 100 and Luna 500 due to their bloodlines and constitutions.


    The growth would only get exponential from here, which truly showed the kind of hurdles the human race had to climb to beat other races. However in truth, other races could not use the cultivation method of humans so easily and would be capped at a point.


    X, Luna and Darius didn''t have to worry about that because the True Supreme System didn''t care about limitations. As long as it was added to the skill panel, it could be grown and used as one pleased.


    Theoretically, they could even use the power of their cultivation now that they were at Golden Core and even forcefully use some Nascent Soul techniques with their abundance of Qi and high stats, as well as their extremely solid Golden Cores that could bear the strain.


    However, there was no real point. They already had a set of skills from Fallon''s magic system that worked just fine and had been carefully grown step by step until they got here. The cultivations techniques could wait until they hit the Grandmaster stage through Pan''s system and hit the limit.


    At that time, with Immortal Qi and Immortal Arts, one palm from the sky could smash a hole in thes and cause the world to be in turmoil for centuries.


    Darius also noted that he was getting some notifications from the Quests tab and the Events as well. He first checked his events tab.


    [Your list of Events have been refreshed!]


    [Events:


    - In progress


    1. A New Element (Recurring) - 300 years, 300 AP, 300 SP.


    2. The ughter of Two Continents'' Leadership (New) - Instant, 30 AP and SP per Immortal King, 50 AP and SP per Immortal Emperor, etc.


    - Completed


    1. Coffin of Lord Darm - No Duration, 190 AP, 95 SP.


    2. Hammer of Thor - 10 years, 30 AP, 50 SP, Thunder Element Dragon''s Egg, Thunder Heart.


    3. Civilization Protection Vaults - 1 year, 470 AP, 470 SP.


    4. The Desert King Trials - 1 day, 1,500 AP, 1,500 SP.]


    Darius clicked on the new event and checked the specific details.


    [The ughter of Two Continents'' Leadership - Event


    Duration: Instant, must bepleted in one battle session.


    Description: In order to maintain their supremacy over the continent, the powerhouses of Pan contacted the powerhouses of Houto in a secret meeting to connive on how to ughter and share the spoils of your sect and faction. Unfortunately, not all Houto factions agreed and only 50 of them sent their best forces over, believing that it should be enough to handle anything. Hearing that their allies had moved out after being shocked by the foundation of the Pan Suppression Sect, the powerhouses rushed over to pretend to betray the Houto powerhouses in favor of the Pan Suppression Sect in order to alleviate matters, but when they arrived, the Houto powerhouses had already been put on theirst legs by you. Now, it is time for the bill to be paid, and the price is death!


    Event details: Either yourself or any of your Branded Servants must kill all of the Immortals and all of the Samurai, Shrine Maidens, ninjas, and Onmyoji that came to siege the Pan Suppression Sect today.


    Event rewards:


    - For every Immortal King: 30 Ability Points, 30 Skill Points.


    - For every Immortal Emperor: 50 Ability Points, 50 Skill Points.


    - For every Samurai: 40 Ability Points, 20 Skill Points.


    - For every Onmyoji: 50 Ability Points and 30 Skill Points.


    - For every Ninja: 20 Ability Points and 15 Skill Points.


    - For every Shrine Maiden: 100 Ability Points and 100 Skill Points.]

 Chapter 679 679

    ?


    Darius nced at Gunner who had already killed more than half of his targets and Luna who was currently choking Sachiko, who was in tears as the headless corpses of Ryoko and Yukikoy beside Luna''s feet.


    Luna eventually snapped her neck and ended her misery while Gunner continued to use one punch to turn all the cultivators around him into bloodmist. Some managed to fight back using special tricks like immortal skills that bound Gunner in ce or to teleport away using other skills.


    There were a variety of methods put up on disy, but as they always said, before absolute strength, all manner of plots were useless. Just because Gunner had some difficulty with the merged fighter earlier did not mean that these small fry with stat points below 500 could match him.


    Darius then removed his attention from this one sided ''battle'' and then focused on his quests tab that had been updated.


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    [Quests:


    1. Divine


    A. (Stage 3) Kill a True God - 2,000 True Coins, 2,000 AP, 2,000 SP, ''True God Killer'' de, ''True God Killer'' Achievement.


    B. Create your own God - 50,000 True Coins, 2,500 AP, 2,000 SP.


    C. Be a Master Stage Reincarnator - 5,000 True Coins, 500 AP, 500 SP, ''Master Stage'' Achievement.


    2. World


    A. Plunge Faust into Chaos - 300,000 True Coins, ''Chaos Bringer'' Title, ''Lord of Chaos'' Job.


    B. Bring Faust into Prosperity - 300,000 True Coins, ''Advent of Order'' Title, ''Lord of Order'' Job.


    C. Achieve a level of cultivation beyond the current limits - 1,500,000 True Coins, ''Peerless Sage'' Title, ''Perfected Person'' de. (NEW!)


    3. Continental


    A. (Stage 1) Conquer Fallon and be recognized as its ruler by all - 50,000 True Coins, ''Conqueror'' Title, ''Fallon Overlord'' Achievement.


    B. Conquer all the continents and be recognized as their ruler by all - 500,000 True Coins, 4,000 AP, 4,000 SP, ''All your continent are belong to me'' de.


    C. Kill or subdue all the Grandmasters of the various continents - 1,000,000 True Coins, 10,000 AP, 10,000 SP, ''Beheading The Hydra'' de, ''Final Boss yer'' Achievement. (NEW!)


    D. (Stage 1) Kill or subdue all the Grandmasters of Fallon - 100,000 True Coins, 1,000 AP, 1,000 SP, ''yer'' Title, ''Fallon''s Most Powerful'' Achievement. (NEW!)


    4. Local


    A. (Stage 8) Conquer 50% of the southern territories - 1,000 True Coins, 1,000 AP, 1,000 SP. (Fallon)


    B. (Stage 3) Increase Safemoon''s size and value by 30% - 300 true Coins, 90 AP, 90 SP. (Fallon)


    C. (Stage 1) Raise 5 Apprentices to the Master stage - 300 True Coins, 100 AP, 100 SP, ''Master Teacher'' job. (Fallon)


    D. (Stage 1) Conquer 10% of the southern province - 50 True Coins, 20 AP, 20 SP, ''Cultivation is for Chumps'' Title. (NEW!) (Pan)


    E. (Stage 1) Increase Pan Suppression Sect''s discipleship''s average power to the Foundation Establishment and have a daily sales profit of 300% - 100 True Coins, 50 AP, 50 SP, ''Sect Master'' job. (NEW!) (Pan)]


    There were more than a few quests that had been added as a result of his moving to Pan. It made sense since it was likely, especially in the case of Local Quests, that they would be mirrored per each continent he focused on. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The new quests were not too difficult and many of them could be achieved in due time or in quick session. Anyway, time was something Darius had in abundance since he and everyone he cared for had extensive lifespans.


    Once he raised his head, he noticed that Gunner had killed thest Immortal Emperor, and Darius couldn''t help but smile. A huge upheaval to the world order had urred here and Pan would soon be in unbridled chaos.


    Meanwhile, Houto would likely be no better after having half of their top powerhouses gone. With such a power vacuum, things would not be as simple as just saying one word and upying such slots.


    There would be wars, bloodshed and tragedy, the perfect recipe for endless chaos.


    Darius nodded with satisfaction and had the maidbotse and clean up the various corpses. All of them were good materials for study and if anything, he could revive them using deaths call and preserve their full power and ability without suffering a loss.


    You''d probably ask, why kill them if you were going to revive them as is?


    Why for experience and drops of course! Not only did you get that for killing them you could revive them and have them be eternally loyal undead with their abilities intact, which was basically getting both sides of the deal for yourself!


    Who could say not to that?


    Darius then nced at the relieved experience for all the kills which amounted to about 5%. It was not much, but every little bit added to the whole anyway.


    There was also thepleted event which paid out a total of 1880 AP and 1790 SP each. 3 Onmyoji paid out 150 AP and 90 SP in total, 1 Samurai paid out 40 AP and 20 SP, 3 Shrine Maidens paid out 300 AP and 300 SP in total, 2 Ninjas paid out 40 AP and 30 SP in total, 25 Immortal Kings paid out 750 AP and 750 SP in total and 12 Immortal Emperors paid out 600 AP and 600 SP.


    Hm, what a clean and tidy profit. As usual, Darius let the stats stack and remain in waiting. He would not use them until it was time to assault other nes where he would need every ounce of strength possible.


    Faust as it was right now was underleveled for him, like a level 30 yer in a level 5-10 zone. However, it was his foundation and a special created for him to grow on, so he couldn''t just wrap things up and go elsewhere.


    Darius did not appease the itinerant cultivators who were shivering as they had witnessed horrific events unfold right before their eyes. He allowed them to leave and spread this information, for if people did not know, how would chaos form?


    Now all he had to do was wait patiently for the world to work on his behalf and in the meantime, he could continue what he was doing.


    Darius and his group withdrew into the inner sect and no itinerant cultivator saw their faces again fro a long time after that. The outer sect functioned as usual and even became more lively due to the assurance of safety and fairness in business.


    Sales were made daily, loans were taken and indenture contracts were signed. Many cultivators achieve rapid breakthroughs replying on the abundant spiritual energy here, and they felt their confidence grow.


    However one thing that never wavered was their fear and respect of the sect itself and this extended to all factions on the continent. All of them began fighting with each other brutally, but none ever extended their battle anywhere near the area of the Pan Suppression Sect.


    Houto too erupted in warfare, but it was not as chaotic as Pan which no longer had any Grandmasters, so the numerous Master stage factions reared their ugly heads and began biting crazily for a chunk of flesh.


    However, how could that fit Darius'' n? This was where the itinerant cultivators he had indentured through the loans came in, as they were all dispatched strategically to Houto to cause trouble covertly. None of their lives were wasted doing suicidal things, only entering the are and causing the already tense situation to erupt.


    They also constantly supplied weaker factions with elite goods sent from the Pan Suppression Sect which could allow them to turn the tables against the superior faction and extend the duration of the conflict.


    Of course, some of the fellows died while on missions. If their corpses could be recovered, someone else would be dispatched to receive them. The returned corpse would be brought back to life as undead and made a permanent ve with no hope of freedom, a price to pay for failure plus the remaining debt.


    If the corpse could not be recovered, the HoloBrace on their wrist would detonate with such force that an area of 1 kilometer around the corpse would be thoroughly destroyed, leaving no remains for any enemy faction to deduce their identity or purpose there, not to mention that the one who took their life would either be dead or on the verge of it.


    Those who survived andpleted their missions though, would have their debt lowered, but their credit threshold would increase. So in order to get stronger, they were invited to take bigger loans which would extend their reduced debt and force them to do more difficult missions to payback.


    If they failed their missions and survived, then they would incur penalties without the benefits of more loans. So you''d still have to work more, and now your debt had increased for failure as well as the loan, you''d quickly feel full of regret and despair.

 Chapter 680 680

    Now that things were in motion, Darius and his people returned back to the sweetness of cultivation. Previously, they had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment as well as Body Foundation and had broken through to the Core Formation, coalescing their dantians in their abdomen and heart respectively.


    Throughout the core formation stage, they used their level 1000 Core Formation and Golden Body skills learned through the True Supreme System to ze through the stage. This stage was mostly like Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment, just suck in as much Spirit Energy as you could and thenpress!


    Compress! Compress! Compress!


    From Qi Condensation to peak Golden Core, the goal was just to suck endlessly andpress, in and simple. Here, the only talent you needed was the quality of your Spirit Root and maybe the initial development of your Magic stat.


    Also, your bloodline could y a good role in granting you better stat gains per breakthrough, but then again, cultivation outside of being human was near impossible. Otherwise, the continent would not be dominated by humans and dragons, phoenixes as well as the rest of the top races from Unyris would have run over to cultivate and then take over the continent for themselves.


    The reason Darius and co could cultivate despite the disparity in races was obviously due to the True Supreme System. After all, Darius was no longer human except for bearing the physical look of one, Gunner was half-human at best and the other two were pureblood elves.


    Hence, only they could enjoy these crazy stat bonuses among cultivators. Anyone else who tried to replicate this would be faced with hurdles of the likes that they could notprehend.


    Back to the matter at hand, the process of Core Formation and Golden Body was just to turn your entire dantian - which was shaped like pill (hence the name ''Dan'' which means pill in Chinese) - into a spherical core throughpression.


    So like this. You breakthrough into Early Void Core - which was level 21 - and then your dantian undergoes its firstpression, going from the pill shape in your lower abdomen for Qi Cultivation or in the core of your heart for Body Refinement into a translucent spherical core with grids all over it.


    After the firstpression, your Qi which had been mostly wisp-like and formless condenses into a palpable gas that flows within the sphere calmly. The quality of the Qi is far higher than before and now you canunch attacks and various skills or spells rting to cultivation with much better effect.


    Due topression, your Qi''s visible quantity has been lowered as only the bottom half of your core is full. Of course, the density was just made higher, the actual mathematical quantity was still the same.


    So going from level 21 to level 22 was basically just cultivating to refill the core. Now in your core, you have about 3/10 of your Qi being extremely condensed from your earlier breakthrough from Foundation Establishment and the remaining 7/10 are what you just absorbed.


    The quality of it might not be the same - and most likely will not be due to the science of cultivation - due to the Core Formation technique you used to absorb andpress it. The 7/10ths is still high-qualitypressed Qi, but it is not as dense or perfect as the 3/10ths which underwent far more severepression.


    Now your core is full again, and so you do the same thing you did during peak Foundation Establishment. You use a mixture of your mental power and passively absorbed spirit energy topress your core and squeeze it like how one would try to wring a wet towel dry.


    If you seed without crushing your core due to its fragility - because your earlier cultivation foundation was poor or your earlier techniques were dogshit - or not using enough force and failing to breakthrough - due to lower mental power as a result of a stunted Magic stat or your willpower is weak so you couldn''t tolerate the pain - then your Qi will bepressed again.


    Your core will be smaller and then rebound back in size after the breakthrough, and its edges will be studier which meant two things. Firstly, it would be harder for enemies to ''cripple'' you by destroying your core and secondly, your next breakthrough will be harder because you need more force topress your core.


    However, within the core, your gaseous Qi had be a little more solid and thicker, and the base quantity within had gone from 3/10ths to 6/10ths now. Your core was basically more than half filled, meaning you now only had to fill in the remaining 4/10ths.


    This meant your cultivation time to fill the core is shorter, but that was the only good part. After all, now you had topress again and that was not only painful, but much harder. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    So breakthrough again and now you are inte-stage Void Core at level 23 and your core was now 9/10ths full of the high-qualitypressed gaseous Qi. You fill in thest 1/10 and then prepare to breakthrough again to Early True Core, which is level 24.


    This is a semi-major breakthrough so the threshold of failure is higher than the smaller stages between Void Core. If you seed, your core''s exterior which was translucent and illusory, as well as the Qi which was gaseous and nearly formless now bes liquid while your core remains translucent but is far more solid and resilient.


    It has also be 30%rger, meaning you can store more Qi. This was only just one of the many benefits though, as with the breakthroughs came liquid Qi which was far denser than gaseous Qi and yielded far better effects in battle.


    To give the best analogy, your martial arts or cultivation spell is like a gun, and the Qi is the bullet. The gun remains the same, but the bullet has gotten bigger, harder, and far more lethal.


    Of course, the rules were the same. Early True Core had 3/10ths pure liquid Qi and you would cultivate to fill the remaining 7/10ths. The speed and quality varied based on your various talents and your Core Formation technique.


    Once full, rinse and repeat the Void Core stuff. Level 25 was Middle True Core and you had 6/10ths filtered liquid Qi and 4/10ths unfiltered liquid Qi. Level 26 was Late True Core and you had 9/10ths filtered liquid Qi and 1/10th unfiltered liquid Qi.


    Breakthrough urs once again and this time, it is quite significant. Your solid True Core morphs into a resplendent Golden Core that shines like a disco ball in your dantian/heart and spins around very fast like a Beyde.


    The grids on it are very narrow and interlocked, and it''s not fully opaque, so you cannot see the situation inside without an introspection technique or doing the vague gauging yourself.


    Same rules as before, the core is 30%rger and can store more Qi. The Qi which was liquid has not fully be solid like crystal, making the Golden Core extremely heavy, which is why it generates so a strong pulling force of passive Spirit Energy absorption.


    Funny enough, it was basic science. If twos werepared, one with a density/mass of 10 and one with a density/mass of 100 where both were to spin, B with 100 points would have a stronger gravity well and centripetal force than A with 10 points.


    Every breakthrough in cultivation was not casual, it had been researched and discovered by great pioneers who risked their lives after doing careful research, then future generations built upon it endlessly until it was refined into the perfect system it was now.


    Level 27 was Early Golden Core and you had 3/10ths solid Qi of great purity and have to fill up 7/10ths of solid Qi with questionable and varying quality based on factors already mentioned.


    Level 28 was Middle Golden Core where you had 6/10ths solid Qi of great purity and now had to fill up 4/10ths solid Qi to make up the difference then breakthrough.


    Level 29 was Late Golden Core where you had 9/10ths solid Qi of great purity and now had to fill up the little bit remaining. Here, when you filled your core up and began the penultimatepression, you would squeeze your core into perfection and it would bounce back being full of 10/10 pure Solid Qi.


    Level 30 was Peak Golden Core, and your core was sitting in your abdomen/heart area shining like the sun, spinning furiously, and feeling heavy. It waspletely full and at the peak of its power. Its hardness was enough that you doubted you could squeeze it any further, for it had bepletely resistant.


    However, that was fine, because your journey along the path of Core Formation/Golden Body hade to an end. Now before you stood a gigantic hurdle that had crippled many geniuses and talents for hundreds of thousands of generations, the barrier to Nascent Soul!

 Chapter 681 681

    ?


    Ah, Nascent Soul. This stage was one of the most famous in the entire stream of cultivation, because it introduced an entirely new element to the previously predictable and stagnant cultivation realms.


    Nascent Soul had deeply changed from the previous realms and breaking through from Golden Core was not something just anyone could achieve. It might not be a stage climbing experience, but it was far more difficult than one for cultivators across Pan.


    That the entrance of Nascent Soul, geniuses were broken and turned to trash while trash was elevated into geniuses.


    Let''s take young master Wang, heir of the Wang n. He was adopted into the Spirit Learning Sect and had a top-grade spirit root of the water element. Coupled with the Spirit Learning Sect''s top cultivation manuals from their thick foundation, Young master Wang shot through Qi Condensation in 2 years, Foundation Establishment in 5 years and Golden Core in 10 years!


    My god, what a genius!


    Everyone in the sect fawned over him and his legion of admirers could likely wipe out any dissenting faction with just their spit alone. He was arrogant, lofty, and elegant, not even looking at his mates with amiability or his seniors with respect. However, everyone felt this was normal and praised his temperament.


    However, the sect master and the elders, while they favored him with resources and praised him, did not take him in as a disciple as if they were patiently waiting for something. This puzzled the various disciples and made young master Wang feel unhappy, but no one said anything.


    Soon, young Master Wang reached the peak of Golden Core and was qualified to be an inner sect deacon. He was given perfect conditions to breakthroughs to Nascent Soul but, he failed!


    While he was lucky enough not to trash his core and maintained his cultivation, his foundation and potential were exhausted by the attempt and it was unlikely he would seed again. This shocked the disciples, but the elders simply sighed and shook their heads.


    In a matter of seconds, young master Wang''s treatment changed from genius to trash, and all the fawning disappeared. His own family removed him from the position as heir and everyone but his mother treated him coldly.


    Those he offended in the past descended upon him like locusts and the days of his life from then were very hard.


    Meanwhile, in the Outer sect of the same Spirit Learning Sect, there was amoner brat from a poor family called Cheng Jian. He had a third-grade spirit root which was a mixed Thunder and Fire root.


    Not only was his spirit root of middle quality, but it was a mixed element too? Trash!


    That was the verdict everyone gave him and they treated him as such. The outer sect deacon in charge of his batch gave him the nastiest jobs and his ext missions were very dangerous. The girl he liked spat on him and went to sleep with an inner sect senior who provided her cultivation resources in exchange for twisting her hips on the bed.


    His life was difficult but he managed to live within the cracks and cultivate diligently. He passed through Qi Condensation in 10 years and entered Foundation Establishment. He was then raised to an outer sect deacon and the fellow who bullied him did not care as his backing was young master Wang, the rising star of the sect!


    His ex-crush also was not moved as she entered Foundation Establishment far faster than Cheng Jian with the help of resources even though her talent was inferior. The former bully conspired to kill him with a few others, but Cheng Jian survived and reported it to the sect, which got them punished.


    He then settled in and cultivated for 50 years to reach peak Foundation Establishment and entered Golden Core. He was finally admitted to the inner sect but he was only a bottom-tier fodder in there. The ex-crush now turned woman with a child - who had been abandoned to the side by the inner sect cultivator who grew tired of her and got some new trash talent outer sect girl onto his bed - rushed over and tried to mend things, but Cheng Jian cast her away.


    She was filled with resentment and spread rumors that Cheng Jian raped her and was the father of her child. Cheng Jian immediately applied for an arbitration and the matter easily got out.


    Turns out that the inner sect guy had a devil technique that used these girls as a cauldron, so he targeted those with average talent because they wouldn''t be missed and their talent was trash anyway. Even if he sucked away at what little talent they had bit by bit, he would be a legend.


    However, now the matter was out and he was crippled and locked in prison. As for his victims, they were expelled from the sect as they were now crippled and could never cultivate. As for the one who used Cheng Jian, she was left for him to deal with.


    She begged for her life and seeing the crying child in her arms, Cheng Jian let her go. After all this ruckus, he settled down and began to cultivate for 100 years until he reached the peak of Golden Core, and he was now a respected senior of the sect. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Many new disciples hade and gone, and scandals like the one with young master Wang happened aplenty.


    As Cheng Jian settled in to breakthrough to Nascent Soul, the sect gave him minimal help because his talent was too poor. However, he then broke through easily and even caused a phenomenon when he did, awakening the old ancestor.


    They all came to see that his Nascent Soul was perfect and its spirituality was high, making them screech ''impossible'' and whatnot. They began to fight - almost physically - to take him as a disciple until the old ancestor stepped in and took him in himself, shutting everyone up.


    From then on, Cheng Jain''s life changed, and he eventually rose up to seal the heavens!


    Cough cough.


    Anyway, what was different about young master Wang and Cheng Jian? One had a top-grade spirit root and plenty of resources, so he tore through the first 3 major stages by was blocked by the 4th one, while Cheng Jian had a third-grade spirit root with mixed elements and struggled to go through the first 3 stages with his low talent and poor resources, but he easily smashed through Nascent Soul and would continue to rise crazily until he reached the Ascension stage.


    So what exactly hindered young master Wang but exposed Cheng Jian? Well, it was summarized in one word: talent!


    Yes, talent!


    Only ignorant low-level cultivators who did not have anyone in the Nascent Soul Realm and above would stupidly believe that there was only one talent ssification on Pan, which was spirit root grading.


    Those at Nascent Soul and above keenly knew that there was one more talent grading that hid quietly until one reached this stage before exploding outwards, and that was Comprehension!


    Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation. These three initial stages were greatly different from each other in terms of power, and they had subtle requirements that if not met, could end a cultivator''s journey forever.


    However, to those in the know, there was nothing mysterious. These three realms only focused on how hard you can suck in Spirit Energy in Qi. A genius was not one who had a perfect spirit root that could reach the top, as that would only ensure that they would have no bottlenecks through the first three stages.


    That was just having talent. A genius was one who without such talent, could ze through the first three stages. However, there was something different about Nascent Soul that made it such that the quality of your spirit root was no longer a major factor, but a minor one.


    And this was spirituality!


    Your Dantian, your Core, and your Spirit Root were all body organs that did not have consciousness and worked based on your control. Even the Golden Core which could passively absorb Spirit Energy only did so because it spun on itself and generated a pull due to its density.


    Look at the existence of the ''Dan Tian'', which means ''Heavenly Pill''. The Dantian in your abdomen or heart was shaped like a pill and then molded into a Golden Core. Looking at it like this, what did a pill or a spherical core reusable them most in this world?


    Was it not an egg?


    If the core''s exterior was the shell and the thick solid Qi that was within the core was the albumen, then where was the embryo?


    The cultivator who asked this question was the one to discover the path to Nascent Soul. By splitting small chunks of your own soul and infusing it into your Golden Core, nurturing an embryo of spirituality, you would then breakthrough into Nascent Soul where like an egg cracking open, a miniature soul fed by the solid Qi and nourished in the core woulde out!

 Chapter 682 682

    ?


    This was where Darius and Co were in terms of cultivation. They had reached Peak Golden Core and cultivated the spirituality into their core as it cracked and formed miniature versions of themselves. The only thing was that Darius'' Nascent Soul was a miniature Dragon that swam in his heart and abdomen, Gunner''s was a small green tree, X''s had three Nascent Souls which were small versions of herself and Luna''s Nascent Soul was the Moon.


    The above was for Qi Cultivation only. Boyd Refinement''s version was slightly different at this stage.


    [Nascent Soul Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Nascent Soul skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    [Sarira Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Sarira skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    Nascent Soul''s cultivation after breakthrough was essentially to add more and more spirituality to your budding soul to give it more life and power. It was like a newborn baby, and you had to feed it milk in order to survive.


    The Nascent Soul came with a slew of great powers that were quite shocking. Firstly, a Nascent Soul granted a cultivator almost ten times more Qi storage than Golden Core Peak and your Qi was a bit different now as it contained hints of spirituality.


    So its quality in use during battle, during auxiliary things like alchemy or forging, was much better. Of course, the downside was that it left a taint that was unique to you, so if anyone wanted to track you, they could do so easier now.


    Secondly, the Nascent Soul retained all of the Golden Core''s abilities but significantly magnified them. It couldpletely cultivate on its own at all times, and unlike the Golden Core which required the rotational force to drag in Spiritual Energy, your Nascent Soul used your own talent as it was born from your dantian, spirit root, and core evolving to this level.


    Its cultivation speed was 1x yours and the extra benefit was that it could fully cultivate auxiliary abilities! Your core could only absorb Spirit Energy and convert it to your Qi, but your Nascent Soul could do that AND learn techniques like martial arts and whatnot while you did something else.


    Alongside that, it could double your cultivation speed if you cultivated along with it. You sucked Qi twice as fast based on your talent and you learned cultivation skills twice as fast.


    Thirdly, the Nascent Soul could not grant pseudo-reincarnation. If you died but did not have your Nascent Soul destroyed, it would be able to flee and exist in the outside world for a short while, allowing you to seize a new body to continue living for a while.


    These were the main powers of the Nascent Soul, but there were many smaller ones like physically assisting in battle or in auxiliary work, and more. Its cultivation was even simpler, one had to feed it Qi to strengthen its newly formed body and spirituality to increase its wisdom.


    Now for Body Refinement, it was quite different from this stage going forward. This wasn''t a watershed for just Qi Cultivators, but for Body Refiners as well.


    The Sarira realm was not about shattering the Golden Core formed in the heart, that was too dangerous. One, the Body Refiner used his sheer physical might to squeeze the Golden Core one more time without actuallypressing the Qi inside.


    While reducing its size into a small bead, the Body Refiner has to endure the pain and call his actual soul over into the bead. It would then entire this marble-sized bead called a sarira and enjoy the protection.


    After all, the Body Refiner''s biggest weakness was their soul. So the predecessors pondered how to protect it while also looking at the context of the Nascent Soul devised by the Qi Cultivators. Nascent Soul did not require your full actual soul, just created a new one that was split from it and then nurtured.


    So even if you were dual cultivating, what to do with the remainder? It was still a liability, so one could protect it. After all, it was impossible for a Body Refiner to create a Nascent Soul for the body because they did not have a dantian simr to the Qi Cultivators. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    So the goal was to squeeze the Golden Core into a small orb that was extremely sturdy beyond measure using physical force and then guide your soul into it. This was naturally dangerous and failure had severe consequences that were too deep to bear.


    To be honest, 90% of dual cultivators of Qi and Body stopped here, not willing to risk it. They had already had their Nascent Soul, what was the point of putting the remainder in a sarira and risking depleting the rest of their actual soul?


    Once in the sarira, the soul would be nurtured by the pure Qi inside. The Body Refiner would then begin to carve esoteric symbols onto the body of the sarira which would feedback to the soul inside, making it stronger and more resilient, which was something akin to granting spirituality that Qi Cultivators did.


    The Sarira also had all the abilities and powers of the Nascent Soul.


    So for Darius, his Sarira was blood red with a dragon swimming inside, Gunner''s was a green sarira with a tree digging roots within, X''s was a white sarira with three souls inside and Luna''s was a dark grey sarira with a moon revolving within.


    [Nascent Soul Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Qi Cultivation that specifically aims at splitting pieces of the soul into small bits to feed the Nascent Soul in order to grow its spirituality while also strengthening its power by infusing Qi. The better the quality of spirituality and the more diverse it was as well as the better the Qi you infuse, the faster the wisdom born in the Nascent Soul grows and the stronger its power bes. By using this skill, your soul is untouched while spirituality is organically born into your Nascent Soul on its own while its form bes far stronger using Qi. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) extra spirituality and power to your Nascent Soul.]


    [Sarira Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Intermediate


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Body Refinement that specifically aims at using physical power to turn the core into a sarira and guiding the remnant soul into it then carving esoteric symbols on its body. The more condensed the sarira and the more skillfully you carve the symbols on it, the better the nurturing your soul receives. By using this skill, your Sarira is perfectly carved with the best esoteric symbols, granting your soul the best possible nurturing. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) extra perfection to your Sarira''s functionality.]


    After learning the required cultivation technique themselves, Darius and Co did not have much difficulty in actually cultivating because of the high level of the techniques, not to mention how perfect they were.


    The Nascent Soul stage had different unique traits for each of them due to their special characteristics and bloodlines, and X''s situation was the strangest of them all. Darius actually paused their cultivation to research their uniqueness and discover what made them different from the average cultivators.


    The answer was quite obvious and expected, due to their bloodlines first and foremost, and then due to X having two Elven Divine Concepts which formed her extra two souls. So she had three in total, a normal one representing herself, one that was split from the ''soul'' of the Divine Concept of Life and another that was split from the Divine Concept of Light.


    Luna was the progenitor of the Moon Elves and the future Goddess of the Moon, almost being an avatar of it in the mortal world. It was natural for her Nascent Soul to be the moon.


    Gunner was even more direct. Due to his half-giant bloodline and his absurdly high Earth''s Guardian, he was practically Gaia''s favorite son, hugging the earth mother by her neck while other giants were still in the nursery ying.


    As for Darius, it was obviously due to his affiliation with Yuliann Castoro, the Dragon Ancestor. As such, his soul had morphed from that of a human to that of a pureblooded Dragon, but only an Omni-Elemental one.


    For some reason, Darius felt there was more to the Dragon Ancestor''s bloodline that he was blocked from because he did not have the qualifications to touch upon it.


    However, Darius was not bothered by this nor did he fret. He knew that in due time,m the secrets of this bloodline would be revealed to him, so he focused on his cultivation once more.

 Chapter 683 683

    ?


    Nascent Soul was a step by step process. One couldn''t rush it haphazardly, or the best effect was damaging your soul and the worst effect was destroying your soul. The consequences of both were not something that one could easily bear.


    The Nascent soul stage did not have obviously divided sub levels like Golden Core before it. It was split into 10 mini stages, with each seeing a significant breakthrough in both spirituality and Qi essence of the Nascent Soul until it gained its own wisdom.


    Darius and his Branded Servants shot through Nascent Soul faster than any stage before, because it mostly relied on the height of your Magic stat and their stats were far above the requirement, not to mention they had the severely exaggerated level 1000 cultivation method.


    Unlike others who need to induce spirituality from their souls, Darius and co could induce spirituality naturally by cultivating so there was no danger nor loss. Given the abundant spirit energy, the high talent, and crazy stats, it made sense for Nascent Soul to take only a week.


    If one felt that this was long, consider the fact that a normal grandmaster from elsewhereing over, even with a peak talent and good technique, would take over 2 years at least.


    When they reached the peak of Nascent Soul, their stats had increased greatly.


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 3,802,500/3,802,500 (2,250,000) (5,703,750 HP Surplus) || MP: 89,700/89,700 (67,650) (313,950 MP Surplus) || STA: 89,700/89,700 (67,650) || QI: 58,500/58,500 (33,000) (585,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 54% || Cultivation Stage: Nascent Soul (Peak) || Body Stage: Sarira (Peak)


    Power: 2,550 (1950) || Speed: 1,000 || Constitution: 2,550 (1950)


    Magic: 2,550 (1950) || Will: 2,250 (1650) || Luck: 880


    AP: 5,475 (5450) || SP: 2465 (3465).]


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 3,240,000/3,240,000 (2,560,000) || MP: 18,998/18,998 (8,733) || STA: 82,800/82,800 (65,600) || QI: 12,390/12,390 (123,900 QI Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 52% || Cultivation Stage: Nascent Soul (Peak) || Body Stage: Sarira (Peak)


    Power: 2,200 (1800) || Speed: 800 || Constitution: 2,200 (1800)


    Magic: 813 (413) || Will: 3,000 (2600) || Luck: 100


    AP: 5,465 || SP: 5,150 (6150).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso || Race: Elf (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Cleric, Divine Maiden.


    HP: 70,200/70,200 (27,200) || MP: 99,360/99,360 (84,460) || STA: 12,420/12,420 (6,970) || QI: 64,800/64,800 (41,200) (648,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 49% || Cultivation Stage: Nascent Soul (Peak) || Body Stage: Sarira (Peak)


    Power: 460 (260) || Speed: 780 || Constitution: 470 (270)


    Magic: 2,360 (2160) || Will: 7,060 (6860) || Luck: 1,000


    AP: 5,465 || SP: 5,095 (6095).]


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 11,840,000/11,840,000 (9,240,000) || MP: 62,900/62,900 (41,600) || STA: 118,400/118,400 (89,600) || QI: 51,000/51,000 (26,000) (510,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 37 || Experience: 82% || Cultivation Stage: Nascent Soul (Peak) || Body Stage: Sarira (Peak)


    Power: 4700 (3700) || Speed: 3000 || Constitution: 4200 (3200) <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Magic: 2700 (1700) || Will: 2700 (1700) || Luck: 1000.


    AP: 5,570 || SP: 7,196 (8196)]


    Once again, their stat growth was explosive and for each of them, it had doubled up from the level before.


    Darius gained 600 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Sarira stage while he gained 600 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Nascent Soul.


    Gunner gained 400 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Sarira stage while he gained 400 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Nascent Soul.


    X gained 200 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Sarira stage while she gained 200 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Nascent Soul.


    And finally, Luna gained 1000 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Sarira stage while she gained 1000 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Nascent Soul.


    Man, it was nice to be the progenitor of a race. The bonuses from bloodline were simply crazy beyond belief. Both Darius and Gunner had elite bloodlines, but even they were being left behind, forced to take a bus while Luna drove her sports car.


    Poor X couldn''t even get on the bus despite being a royal elf.


    Once they reached the peak of Nascent Soul and Sarira, it was time to breakthrough and enter the next stage, Soul Formation. For Body Refinement, it was the Nirvana stage, but that will be touched onter.


    Soul Formation was another small realm in the next set of 3 that focuses on the talent ofprehension rather than absorption. Of course, it was also a major realm in the sense that it was the first of the two sub-realms within the adept stage, and it showed.


    Nascent Soul was also called an Origin Infant and was a Yang-type spirit. This meant it was halfplete and while it could exist outside the body and even survive for a while, that while was short and the damage it would suffer was irreparable.


    Whether it was yourbat or through traversal, your Nascent Soul taking damage was a permanent reduction of its ''HP bar''. You could not cultivate to fix it apart from upgrading your stage and even then, the defects might drag you back from breaking through.


    One must remember one of the main benefits of being at the Adept stage was the ability to finally use an elementary form of telekineses for high intellect. If this benefit appeared in the Journeyman stage, it would ruin the rules Vena had set up, but cultivation allowed one to sneakily find a loophole.


    After all, the Nascent Soul''s existence could, to some extent, function like psychic power depending on how it was used.


    However, Soul Formation would proudly tell you that it had no such weaknesses. It was a great transition for the Nascent Soul, going from Nascent to Origin and bing an Origin Soul.


    An Origin Soul was a perfect soul that had both Yin and Yang elements, allowing it to perfectly exist outside the body for long periods of time. Now, it was not the soul (CPU) that was bottlenecked, but now the body (GPU) that was bottlenecking your cultivation and preventing you from going higher.


    Soul Formation had another name that many were more familiar with, and was honestly more astute as a name for the stage - or at least how cultivators used it - and that was Soul Wandering.


    Cultivators at this stage would breakthrough Nascent Soul by facing a Nine-One Yin Thunder Tribtion. Tribtions were heavenly punishments meant to test the foundation of a cultivator and prove some necessary materials to forge themselves for the next stage.


    If your foundation was enough, you would seed. If it was poor, you would fail or die, it was fair. None of that stuff about the heavens hating you, who do you think you are? A mere Adept hopeful could incur the wrath of heaven? Then why doesn''t it strike down True Lords or False Gods?


    Tribtions came in a double numerical form. In other words, the first number was the amount of lighting strikes you would face per round and the second number was the total amount of rounds you would face.


    So Nine-One meant that there was only one round of nine lightning strikes, which was theoretically pretty easy. Even this much brutality was only because Darius and Co were heavily talented and required more force to refine their Origin Souls.


    A youngster cultivating for the first time only went through a Three-One Yin Thunder Tribtion. How could they possibly survive nine strikes with their meager stats? Every strike was double the strength of the one before.


    As for the fabled Nine-Nine Heavenly Annihtion Tribtion, it was just a myth for those bnce-breaking protagonists who swore to seal the heavens or something dumb like that. There was no way the heavens would unleash such ultimate cruelty upon a normal person who knows their ce, even if they are super talented.


    Darius and his three Branded Servants faced their tribtions and passed them easily, using the Yin Energy in the thunder to infuse into their Nascent Souls in order to perfect them. After doing so, the soul no longer looked tiny but grew significantly till it looked like a teenager.


    Well, that was the case for X at least. Since Darius, Gunner, and Luna had non-human souls, they only grew in size and looked a little bit more aged. What was interesting was that the spiritual light in the eyes of the now Origin Souls was almostpletely, butcked a final step.


    This final step was what the cultivation of the Soul Formation stage was about.

 Chapter 684 684

    ?


    Soul Formation was split into three substages. There was the first Dao Discovery Realm, the second Dao Infusion Realm, and the final Dao Perfection Realm.


    The key to cultivating an Origin Soul was that it now had sufficient spirituality and could freely roam the world, but the use of spirit energy to fortify it is minimal, and merging your soul with the energy was not enough to induce a qualitative change.


    So one had to let their soul out of their body and let it cultivate directly, abandoning not the energy of the world, but the truth of it. In other words, Soul Formation is the realm of cultivation where a cultivator firstes into contact with the illusory ''Dao''.


    This was a purelyprehension-focused realm and your absorption talent did nothing to help you, cultivation through this stage varied greatly, because those with excellentprehension would make leaps and bounds of progress by day while those with weakerprehension might spend days grasping threads.


    Since Soul Formation was the first stage of Adept, the Pan version of psychomancy is finally born within the cultivator, and they called it the ''Spirit Sense''. Darius had tested out the spirit sense and found that it was simr to elementary psychomancy, but not.


    Psychomancy allowed you to touch and interact with objects with your mind with very poor sensory abilities while the Spirit Sense had terrifyingly urate senses. It could strip down a person straight down to their cells, but it could note together to attack any lifeforms, not physically at least.


    So the Western style Psychomancy of Fallon and the Eastern style Spirit Sense of Pan. Which one was better and which one would you prefer?


    The Dao Discovery stage covered levels 21 to 24. At level 21, you have just entered the stage and are now in possession of a newly formed Origin Soul. This was where Darius and the others were right now.


    Here, it would leave your body for the first ''soul wandering'' in which it would leave your body and hover in the air above you. It would then begin toprehend the various Daos of heaven and earth and then select the one best for you within a range.


    Now this part was important. This was where having a background helped, because bigger sects had indexes of various Daos and insight from seniors, so you could read them and have an easier time when doing this for the first time.


    Another point was that sects had Mystic Realms where the various Daos converged and were much purer and easier to sense. An example would be how Darius created a temple for every element, which was one for every elemental Dao.


    There was no strongest or weakest Dao, just how you used it. Daos could be either elemental or concepts, and even some energies! For example, the Dao of Weeding, the Dao of Childbirth, etc. These were abstract concepts but could be learned. They didn''t have muchbat use, but when applied to the relevant fields, they could be godly.


    For the group, they each directly chose the Dao that was most relevant to them. Darius released his Draconic Origin Soul and let itprehend the Dao of Dragons, Gunner released his Tree Origin Soul and let itprehend the Dao of Earth, X released her three Origin Souls which were cute maidens, andprehended the Dao of Light, Life, and Divinity while Luna released her Moon Origin Soul andprehend the Dao of the Moon.


    Of course, one would need a technique toprehend the Dao with an Origin Soul or how could one connect to such ethereal forces?


    [Soul Formation Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Nascent Soul skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    [Nirvana Technique - Manual


    Durability: 200/200


    Grade: Basic


    Description: Contained within is the required knowledge to obtain the Sarira skill. Due to the high quality of the material and the penmanship, the sess chance of learning the skill is increased by 100% while its effectiveness is increased by 500%.]


    And then there was the Nirvana technique for Body Refinement. Body Refinement had already fundamentally branched out from Qi cultivation and began walking a simr but distinct path. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The Nirvana stage was exactly as you thought, it was the famous ''destruction and rebirth'' stage in various Body Refinement theories from eastern lore where one had to reduce their body to the most basic primordial soup and then rebuild it.


    Unlike Soul Formation, the Sarira formed in the previous stage is kept within the body and not exposed. Rather, when the body is reduced to primordial soup the sarira would be left alone to face the Heavenly Dao Tribtion.


    This Heavenly Dao Tribtion was another necessary assistance from the heavens which also doubles as a test. There will be a Three-Three Dao Lightning Tribtion that will strike the sarira.


    Each strike will test the strength of the sarira and the soul inside, and also carve thews of the most suitable Dao for you right on your sarira, allowing you to ess its power without needing toprehend it like Qi Cultivators.


    That was basically how Nirvana worked. It was split into three sub-stages as well, the Dao Etching, Dao Carving and Dao Embossing realms. The goal was basically to pass through the first Three-Three Tribtion for Dao Etching, then the Four-Three Tribtion for Dao Carving and finally the Five-Three Tribtion for Dao Embossing.


    Simr to Soul Formation, by the time one reached the peak, they should have fully mastered their Dao!


    [Soul Formation Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Qi Cultivation that specifically aims at introducing the Origin Soul within the dantian to the world outside and allowing it toprehend the esoteric truths of the world into its very being. The longer your Origin Soul spends outside your bodyprehending and the better your overall connection to thews of heaven and earth, the more progress you will make and the more potent your usage of the Dao. By using this skill, the Dao itself bes open like a library to you and you can easilyprehend any of the various Daos without ejecting your Origin Soul from your body. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) extraprehension speed andprehension Quality to your Origin Soul.]


    [Nirvana Technique - Level 1000 (1) Skill


    Grade: Advanced


    Cost: None


    Description: This is a sub-technique within Body Refinement that specifically aims at using physical power to explode the body and reduce it to its fundamental essence while releasing your sarira outward to have the Dao carved upon it gradually through the usage of heavenly tribtions. The more strikes you can handle and the sturdier your sarira, the more amount of Dao Essence is carved onto your being and the more you can call upon your Dao. By using this skill, your Sarira is perfectly embossed with the highest quality Dao Runes, granting your body the best ability in using your Dao. Currently, this skill adds 1000% (1%) extra perfection to your body''s Dao Runes.]


    It would take a look at their stats and this kind ofprehension to climb to the peak of this stage. In fact, it only took slightly over 3 weeks to reach the peak of Soul Formation and Nirvana, and most of the time was obviously spent on Nirvana since they had to get things done perfectly.


    With their tough bodies, undergoing destruction was not easy, especially for both Gunner and Luna. The former had the toughest body and various skills and abilities that made him nearly indestructible, and thetter had the highest overall stats of the group.


    Darius thought, found that in destroying himself and reforming, he perfected his grasp over the Dragon Ancestor bloodline and made leaps and bounds of progress to going from a Fledgling to a Young Dragon.


    Darius was not sure how much benefit going up from the former would be to thetter, but it could not be too bad since it was an elevation of life, right?


    As for X, her three souls were now more distinct and one could finally tell which was which thanks to their Dao Aura. The first miniature X had a cold and valiant expression, like she was here to cleanse the world from evil.


    She gave an elder sister vibe and was the tallest of the three souls. The second was an extremely kind and gentle miniature X who had a loving expression for the world. She gave a motherly aura that filled the heart with warmth.


    Hiding behind the two was a normal X who was uncertain and seemed slightly shy. This version gave the aura of a maiden and a little sister who was not yet used to the cold world, being sheltered by her family.

 Chapter 685 685

    ?


    AN: I noticed that there was a mistake in chapter 683, with the amount of AP and SP each of the gang had. I did not add the 1880 AP and 1790 SP from killing the Houto and Pan powerhouses event, so it caused a discrepancy with the skills. As such, the correct stats shall be disyed in this chapter.


    ...............


    When the group finally reached the peak of Soul Formation and Nirvana, their stat growth had be even more outrageous than before.


    [Name: Darius Stone || Race: Ancestor Dragon (Fledgling) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Itemancer, Magus.


    HP: 3,802,500/3,802,500 (2,250,000) (5,703,750 HP Surplus) || MP: 89,700/89,700 (67,650) (313,950 MP Surplus) || STA: 89,700/89,700 (67,650) || QI: 58,500/58,500 (33,000) (585,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 54% || Cultivation Stage: Soul Formation (Peak) || Body Stage: Nirvana (Peak)


    Power: 2,550 (2550) || Speed: 1,000 || Constitution: 2,550 (1950)


    Magic: 3,750 (1950) || Will: 3,450 (2250) || Luck: 880


    AP: 7355 (5475) || SP: 2465 (4465).]


    [Name: Gunner || Race: Half-Human, Half-Giant (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Vanguard, Anti-mage.


    HP: 3,240,000/3,240,000 (2,560,000) || MP: 18,998/18,998 (8,733) || STA: 82,800/82,800 (65,600) || QI: 12,390/12,390 (123,900 QI Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 52% || Cultivation Stage: Soul Formation (Peak) || Body Stage: Nirvana (Peak)


    Power: 3000 (2200) || Speed: 800 || Constitution: 3000 (2200)


    Magic: 1,600 (813) || Will: 3,800 (3000) || Luck: 100


    AP: 7345 (5,465) || SP: 5,940 (4150).]


    [Name: Xieliartorsobotar Staonroefuso || Race: Elf (Royal Blood) || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Cleric, Divine Maiden.


    HP: 70,200/70,200 (27,200) || MP: 99,360/99,360 (84,460) || STA: 12,420/12,420 (6,970) || QI: 64,800/64,800 (41,200) (648,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 46 || Experience: 49% || Cultivation Stage: Soul Formation (Peak) || Body Stage: Nirvana (Peak)


    Power: 860 (460) || Speed: 780 || Constitution: 870 (470)


    Magic: 2,760 (2360) || Will: 7,460 (7060) || Luck: 1,000


    AP: 7345 (5,465) || SP: 5,885 (4095).]


    [Name: Luna Stone || Race: Moon Elf (Progenitor) || Stage: Journeyman || Jobs: Moon Walker, Dark Predator.


    HP: 11,840,000/11,840,000 (9,240,000) || MP: 62,900/62,900 (41,600) || STA: 118,400/118,400 (89,600) || QI: 51,000/51,000 (26,000) (510,000 Qi Surplus)


    Level: 37 || Experience: 82% || Cultivation Stage: Soul Formation (Peak) || Body Stage: Nirvana (Peak)


    Power: 6700 (4700) || Speed: 3000 || Constitution: 6200 (4200)


    Magic: 4700 (2700) || Will: 4700 (2700) || Luck: 1000.


    AP: 7,450 (5,570) || SP: 7,986 (6196)]


    This was a stunning progression of power even crazier than what came the first few times. If this was what would ur every time they reached a new stage of cultivation, they all began to understand why Darius made them cast away the power system of Fallon and adopt that of Pan.


    This time, they had doubled their previous growth once again, and none of them earned less than 400 points per stat.


    Darius acquired 1200 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Nirvana stage while he gained 1200 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Soul Formation.


    Gunner gained 800 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Nirvana stage while he gained 800 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Soul Formation.


    X gained 400 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Nirvana stage while she gained 400 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Soul Formation.


    With Luna gaining 2000 points to Power and Constitution from the Body Refinement Nirvana stage as well as 2000 points to Magic and Willpower from the Qi Cultivation Soul Formation.


    Now that they had reached the peak of Soul Formation, their speedy cultivation ground to a halt. This was because their cultivation level had technically caught up with their actual level. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    The True Supreme System is not like that older trash system that forcefully hampered and hindered the growth process of its hosts, forcing them to rely solely on skill points and ability points generated by it to survive.


    This one allowed full organic growth, so Darius and his Branded Servants could umte as much power from as many systems as they wanted. However, in the end, what held them back was actually thews of Faust itself.


    The old Supreme System would ignore the Laws of Faust and rewrite them where it could causing and preventing Darius from truly integrating with the world.


    The new system integrated with Faust and allowed Darius to enjoy all the benefits with very few detriments, and this was the biggest one. Since his system recorded level was 46, it meant he was around the peak of the Dao Infusion Realm.


    The same went for Gunner and X, though they were all able to push their actual cultivation to the peak of Dao Perfection, which should be level 50 ording to the system.


    Luna was even worse, at level 37, and had forcefully reached this stage only thanks to the situation of her family members, so they were all locked from breakthrough and entering Nihility or the Soul Merging stage.


    However, this was fine to Darius. He and his Branded Servants finally came out of seclusion which hadsted almost 4 months. In these four months, a lot had happened all across Faust.


    Queenstar had made progress in ruining Ludo, Miranda was giving the demons of Armadon a hard time, Houto and Pan were full of rioting, anarchy, and killing, and Kiel was in uproar since the Five Apprentices were about to start their territory war.


    Apart from Fallon and Unyris, and maybe Gravitas and Elysium, everywhere else was me with trouble. Gravitas and Elysium didn''t really count at the moment because both were incapacitated.


    Darius was thinking of what to do next when he noticed a prompt from the True Supreme System.


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 1) Increase Pan Suppression Sect''s discipleship''s average power to the Foundation Establishment and have a daily sales profit of 300%.


    Rewards: 100 True Coins, 50 AP, 50 SP, ''Sect Master'' job.]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 2) Increase Pan Suppression Sect''s discipleship''s average power to the Core Formation and have a daily sales profit of 400%.


    Rewards: 200 True Coins, 100 AP, 100 SP.]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the Local Quest: (Stage 3) Increase Pan Suppression Sect''s discipleship''s average power to the Nascent Soul and have a daily sales profit of 500%.


    Rewards: 400 True Coins, 200 AP, 200 SP.]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    Huh. It seemed that somewhere along the line while they were cultivating, the disciples with top-tier talent and natural souls from their soulless parents had been shooting through the Ranks.


    Well, that was not surprising. They had the best possible resources on Faust to cultivate with, the best environment, the best Spirit Roots, and the best possibleprehension a native would have while starting out.


    They were now mostly at the beginning of Nascent Soul,prehending the Spirituality of the world using Darius''s transmuted technique, so they didn''t have to harm their souls just yet.


    The reason theds were as fast as Darius and co was also because Darius and his group dual cultivated body and Qi, while the disciples only cultivated Qi.


    They could cultivate body at any time in the future without any repercussion, and that was what most powerhouses did. Normally some sects would stop the disciples and let them do tasks or mission to umte experience and gather their own resources, but Darius didn''t bother.


    He let the disciples continue to cultivate and strive to reach at least, the True Immortal Realm before they could be useful. As for Shanks, Elijah, Nichs, and co, they were still at the Core Formation Realm at this time.


    They did not have the True Supreme System to just dump points into the skill and actually had to physically sit down andprehend them. It went to show how great theirprehension was if they couldprehend and then cultivate to reach Golden Core in such a short time.


    Darius initially thought this was the end of it, but who knew he was about to receive a huge and pleasant surprise that caused him to smile for a long while?


    [Congrattions, Darius Stone. You havepleted the World Quest: Plunge Faust into Chaos


    Rewards: 300,000 True Coins, ''Chaos Bringer'' Title, ''Lord of Chaos'' Job. .]


    [Your Quests have been updated!]


    Darius felt great exhration, because with the reception of so many True Coins, he could finally do two things he had always nned to. The first was to purchase a Travel Key which cost 100,000 True Coins and enter the realm of Phantasmagoria, where the Spirits of Eternity Swords lived!


    The second was to finally begin his full takeover n for Faust since he could now return the world to Peace and Prosperity!

 Chapter 686 686

    ?


    On this day, many things urred in Faust. Today, the Insect Tide that was guing Ludo and had killed over 40% of its poption had suddenly withdrawn and seemingly fled the continent.


    Today, the war on Fallon that had been paused for some reason resumed in full force, and the remaining states were brutally conquered by Safemoon, led by Achilles and Commander Maverick.


    Today, the forces belonging to Miranda which had already invaded more than 30% of the Demon and Devil''s territory in Armadon suddenly retracted their advance and began consolidating their captured territory.


    Today, five territories of immense size and poption began fighting amongst themselves on Kiel, turning the icy continent into a warzone of epic proportions. Today, Pan and Houto were given an announcement from the Pan Suppression Sect that all their territory was to be handed over to the sect with both hands, or fatal action would be taken.


    Finally, today Ludo rejoiced as Darius announced that he was the new Desert King of thend and nned to rebuild the capital in the center of the continent and then link it to Safemoon.


    So much happened today across the world and it would be on the lips of denizens worldwide for months toe. What they didn''t know though, was that every bit of news they heard was rted to, and orchestrated by Darius himself.


    Darius was preparing to finally reel in the and settle Faustpletely before he transmigrated to other worlds in other to plunder their rich and sweet bounties for himself.


    The world''s reaction to Darius'' announcements was extremely intense. Fallon was already conquered and being assimted, so everyone there was practically happy with every expansion Safemoon made, for it meant a betterment to their overall living quality.


    Ludo was currently in honeymoon season, counting the days with which Darius would arrive like maidens in love. Unyris was speechless but did not seem to be interested at first. They were the strongest continent in the world with the strongest species, and even the True Gods and False Lords had to be careful with them.


    Pan and Houto were in uproar, bellowing ''despicable!'' and ''courting death!'' endlessly towards the demands of the Pan Suppression Sect, but at the same time, they made no moves and were filled with endless fear.


    After all, this was the faction that had ughtered their powerhouses like cabbage without taking any losses. Now that Pan Suppression Sect were doing what the two continents'' remaining powerhouses had long feared Darius'' sect would do, they were filled with unwillingness!


    Likewise, Armadon was filled with mixed feelings. They hated the fact that Miranda was setting up a foothold on theirnd and consolidating, because it would make it easier for her totere and do her atrocious acts again!


    Whether it was them or Houto and Pan, they all began furiously dialing the number of the False Gods of Elysium. Back then, whenever one was in trouble, those False Gods were ready to help as it would interrupt the status quo and let them leave their influence on other continents.


    But Fallon looked at this behavior with a sneer. When we were first being invaded you think we didn''t dial up that secret number? Those fellows are gone and trying to rely on them is a false hope.


    While this was ongoing, Kiel was caught up in a war that it never wanted and did not have the time nor energy toment on misc things.


    Meanwhile, there were cricket soundsing from the empty Gravitas and Pokterr.


    Faust was about to shake to its core in theing days.


    ......ˇ­.


    At this time, a blood-red portal that stank of iron and malice opened up somewhere on Fallon, around the northern section and very close to Andrato.


    Two fellows walked out of the portal with surprised and excited faces, their bodies trembling with joy. They nced around at the familiar scenery and couldn''t help but release heartyughter that did not fit their looks.


    They had angr faces, sharp noses, oval-shaped eyes with soft brows, and oiled white hair. Their lips were the same color as their skin, extremely pasty and very pale. They had average builds that were slim and did not seem very muscr.


    Interestingly enough, they wore full noble liveries that were colored ck with the only thing missing from their attires being a family crest, but these two were not interested in that.


    They were two pureblooded vampires who had been away on indenture to help their boss and had now triumphantly returned to take their rightful ce!


    Mikey and Joneson!


    These two fellows had been summoned by Darius far into the past when he was still starting out through the use of the basic skill of the death element, Spawn. Due to Darius transmuting the skillbook, its effects were far greater than anyone could have predicted.


    They had served him well and even obtained the growth characteristic which allowed them to ughter living things and seize their death energy to nourish themselves. They had eventually evolved from bonehead skeletons to pureblood vampires.


    Their current power had increased a bit since they hadst seen Darius due to a mixture of the work Thanatos made them do as well as Vena''s passive upgrading of the entire world.


    [Name: Joneson || Race: Undead || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Mage, Multi-Elementalist.


    HP: 17,690/17,690 (9,215) || MP: 8,778/8,778 (4,998) || STA: 6,090/6,090 (2,058)


    Level: 42 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 122 (97) || Speed: 108 (98) || Constitution: 145 (95)


    Magic: 209 (119) || Will: 520 || Luck: 0. <novelsnext></novelsnext>


    Skills: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote, Create Initiate, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Life Drain, Shadow Maniption, Shadow de, Hail of Spears.


    Spells: Magic Immunity, Damage Ward, Absorb, Ultra Dominate, Sword Mastery.]


    [Name: Mikey || Race: Undead || Stage: Adept || Jobs: Pureblood Vampire, Growth.


    HP: 17,690/17,690 (9,215) || MP: 8,778/8,778 (4,998) || STA: 6,090/6,090 (2,058)


    Level: 42 || P-Status: Healthy || M-Status: Excited


    Power: 122 (97) || Speed: 108 (98) || Constitution: 145 (95)


    Magic: 209 (119) || Will: 520 || Luck: 0.


    Skills: Raise Dead, Heal Undead, Sacrifice, Promote, Create Initiate, Summon Thralls, Create Blood Warriors, Life Drain, Shadow Maniption, Shadow de, Hail of Spears.


    Spells: Magic Immunity, Damage Ward, Absorb, Ultra Dominate, Spear Mastery.]


    When they checked their status screen, the duo shared a look of confusion.


    "Eh, Mikey, seems a bit odd innit? I remember the whole structure was different back then." Jonesonmented while scratching his head.


    "I''m just as confused as you. I wonder if the system went bonkers or anything." Mikey replied his confusion as well.


    "Hey, you know, I can''t sense that annoying Caesar bloke anymore!" Joneson eximed in shock.


    "What? Me neither. Oh, he probably died or somethin. I always felt like his days were numbered ya."


    "What about the Boss then? Did he die heroically in battle or what?"


    "Now why would you go and assume that? How could we be still here if the boss left?"


    "Dunno, I aint no expert."


    "Exactly, so shut up Joneson!"


    The two bickered by the side until a rail carriage came to pass by. Seeing two vampires cussing each other out with such strange ents, the people on the carriage were amused. However, they received a mission from their HoloBraces to receive the two vampires and lead them to Safemoon.


    Seeing that the payout was so much, their eyes bulged. Immediately, they jumped out of the carriage and rushed over to Mikey and Joneson, fawning expressions on their faces as they coaxed them into following them to Safemoon.


    Mikey and Joneson were rightly spooked and wary at first, but calmed down when they heard that Safemoon belonged to Darius. They then became excited at the prospect of seeing their beloved boss again that they wailed while the carriage shot forth, making the passengers shared looks of wonderment.


    These two undeadˇ­ what special fellows.


    Soon the carriage arrived at its destination and the fellow disembarked. They saw that Achilles was walking over to them with broad steps, and the two undead couldn''t help but passments.


    "Look at im Mikey, like some proud peacock innit?"


    "I betcha he has a wank in the mirror everyday."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised. But hey, he''s some sort of general innit? Does that mean he''s like us?"


    "Nah, our rtionship with the boss is special, these bozos couldn''t steal our ce in his heart!"


    "Too true!"


    Achilles could only grit his teeth with forced patience as he led Mikey and Joneson to the core area and deposited them in the Mage Tower. After hearing their chat and banter for so long, he quickly fled once he was done with the task because they had been discussing whether his blood was tasty or not.


    Mikey and Joneson scratched their heads. While they could tell that this must be Darius'' property, they couldn''t sense him anywhere on the continent and their connection to the Supreme System was fuzzy at best and suppressed at worst.


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